December Surprise and I do mean Surprise

[TammiMcMan]

Cast
Myself ~ 40
DH ~ 40
DD ~ 19
DS ~ 14
DD ~ 8

A new trip is in the works:

In May 2004, we took a wonderful Disney cruise. By August though, I was definitely suffering from post-vacation withdrawal. That’s when it happened though, on August 3rd, I got an e-mail from Disney, they wanted me to come back and they were offering me a pin code discount. Now, I’m one of the many who’ve never gotten the coveted postcards, so I was finally feeling the specialness. I was intrigued, so I called and got a few quotes. I’m a deluxe kind of gal and the savings per night off the rack rates were very good. Again, out of curiosity, I checked the airline fares and was shocked to see roundtrips being offered for $99. I’m proud of myself when I can get them for $200. Within 24 hours of receiving my e-mail, I had plane tickets and a reservation for 4 nights at the Yacht Club. Now what’s a girl to do? Why set up a trip countdown and start researching on the DIS. I quickly learned about MVMCP and decided to add a party night to the plans. We were staying on concierge level, so I sent along an e-mail to the IPO department and introduced myself. They helped me plan out my itinerary and put some pending requests into their computer system. The one thing that I really wanted was an Illuminations cruise. This was our first time staying at an Epcot resort, which is my DH’s favorite park. He especially loves Illuminations. I wanted to plan some surprises and this was at the top of my list.

The only other time that I’ve been to WDW for the holiday was back in 1995. I was a few months pregnant with my youngest daughter. My mother had been diagnosed with cancer and it had metastasized to other parts of her body. After recovering from having a tumor removed from her brain, my parents decided to sell everything, buy a camper and start exploring the US with the time she had remaining. They decided to spend Christmas in Fort Wilderness, so we joined them for the week. This was way before I knew about the DIS and I don’t even know if they had MVMCP back in those years. I will say that even for the week of Christmas, the parks were not overly crowded and we walked right into the Candlelight Processional when it was starting and got seats. Obviously, many things have changed since then. So, the plans were set to return to the world 12/9 – 12/13.

I am usually the world’s worst secret keeper, but I was determined to try and hold onto this one for as long as I could. Of course, I had the DIS and my oldest DD became my confidant. I had to tell her because I needed to find out her college finals schedule. Unfortunately, they don’t release them back in August, so we guessed at the dates as best we could. Finally, the school year was upon us. DD went back to college; DS started his life as a high school student and DD returned to her social life, also known as 3rd grade. I kept in contact with my pre-planners and they sent out a huge packet of information. It was complete with park guides, recreation guides, resort information and a questionnaire to help in my planning. Everything went to my secret hiding place and I only pulled them out when the kids had left for school. When you plan so spontaneously, it’s amazing how fast you arrive at the coveted 90 day PS window. Mine was September 10th and I was getting nervous. A few threads on the DIS boards mentioned a group called Mousefest. I checked out their site and they had a preliminary itinerary all set up. What caught my eye was that they wanted to have an Illuminations cruise for each night that I was going to be at the Yacht Club. I fired off an e-mail to my pre-planner and she told me not to worry. Well, long story short, I didn’t get the cruise. I was disappointed, but I figured we were so close to Epcot, that we could simply walk over and view it.

Life slipped into our normal, hectic routine and September quickly became October. There is nothing I love more than autumn in New England. The foliage was beautiful, the weather was great and my secret was still safe and sound. I was utilizing the pre-planning department more than I ever have before. They purchased a Pal Mickey and found a Tapestry of Dreams CD for my DH. Everything was right on schedule, until DD’s final exam schedule was released. She wouldn’t be able to make it to Disney. When she came home for Thanksgiving, she brought her schedule with her and we tried to figure out a way to make it happen. Over many mocha lattes at our local Starbucks, we hatched a plan. If her professor would allow her to take the biology final early, I could get her to Disney World the day after us. It was going to be tough, but if she was up to multiple finals in a single day, it could be done. I made some inquiries for flights out of the small Allentown airport and came up with two options. One was a direct flight with a charter company called Southeast Airlines. I liked the fact that she wouldn’t need to make a connection and the price was great, but they only flew into Sanford and if anything happened, other airlines were under no obligation to honor their tickets. My other option was with Delta. She would have a connection in Atlanta, which wasn’t perfect, but at least the airline was one that I was comfortable with.

Finally, with only a few weeks to go, I started second guessing everything. My youngest came home with her December school calendar and her Holiday concert was scheduled during our vacation. I knew that she would miss being there. DS announced that he was attending his schools Winter Ball and had asked a friend along. Of course it was going to fall during our vacation. In the end, the ball was rescheduled to the previous weekend and he got to go. Other than DD’s concert, everything else fell into place.

 

[TammiMcMan]

A few days before we arrived, I packed up the small 3 foot Christmas tree that I purchased, along with a few more presents and shipped them to the resort. We weren’t going to be arriving until nearly midnight, so the pre-planning department offered to set everything up in the room for me. I had also sent gifts to the staff of pre-planning. I have stayed in other concierge resorts, but I have never received the treatment that they gave me. They were warm, friendly and always eager to assist. I know that there are strict rules about what they can accept, but I found some very appropriate ornaments that I had engraved with their names. I sent in a note to my DD’s teacher, informing her of our upcoming vacation. They would end up missing school Friday and Monday. I had decided that I would simply call DS’s school and say that he was home sick. Vacations during school are not encouraged and while lying is typically not my style, I felt it was my best option.

The plan was working great. DH took the day off from work and he packed the suitcases into the back of our minivan. On this particular night, my son skates in town. We usually leave the house around 5pm. At 4:30, DH pulls out his blackberry and makes an announcement that we need to stop by his work before skating. He says that there is an install going on and he needs to check on the progress. This is not out of the ordinary and the kids don’t even bat an eyelash. I tell DS that I have his skating clothes and there’s no need to change at home because we’ll be so early. I carry them to the car in my hands while DH says that his skating bag is already in the back of the car. Now the reason this is going to work so well is that the route to DH’s office will take us right by the airport. We travel along, take the airport exit and are literally inside the airport by the time DS figures out that something is amiss. I tell them that I thought it would be a good idea if we picked up their DS. They take that to mean she has come home early and is waiting at the airport for us. There is much yelling and screaming from the backseat. We pull into the departure area and the kids hop out, hugging and jumping up and down with excitement. It takes them a moment to notice that DH is putting suitcases on the curb. I tell them that we’re going to Philadelphia for the weekend and that DSis will be coming home with us. The hugging and jumping starts all over again. Well, that is until DD asks me when we are coming home. I tell her that we’ll be home on Monday and she is not happy. I’m told that she will not be missing her concert and we need to fly back on Sunday to accommodate her schedule. Exactly what I would expect to hear from my miss independent.

DH and I check in curbside and I bring the kids inside to the coffee shop while he takes care of the car. DS takes some time to do his homework while they pump me for information about the trip. Are we going to Hershey Park while we’re in Pennsylvania? I answer that I’m sure we can squeeze in an amusement park visit. Was that really me who said that lying isn’t usually my style, because I seem to have become pretty good at it. We meet up with DH and make our way down to the gate. The one across from it, is currently boarding passengers for a flight, so we take a seat there. The kid’s question why the gate doesn’t say Philadelphia, so I tell them that it will be changed as soon as they are done boarding the plane. DS asks for my cell phone and starts calling his friends. DD and I go to the ladies room where I ask her if she’s happy with her surprise. I’m told that next time I want to plan a surprise, I should tell them because sometimes people have things that they really don’t want to miss. Of course, she is referring to her concert. I’m wondering if she’s going to feel the same way when she finds out our real destination.

We hear them announce our boarding and with DS still on the phone, he doesn’t hear it. We walk across to the gate, right by the sign that clearly states “Orlando” and get on the plane without the kids noticing. DH and I are just shaking our heads in disbelief. The surprise was going better than I could have ever hoped. Finally, the flight attendant announces that our flight time to Orlando will be 3 hours. It’s not my 14-year-old son who notices, but my 8 year old. She looks at me with pure panic on her face. She starts exclaiming that we are on the wrong plane and we have to get off immediately. Finally her brother notices that she’s upset and asks what’s wrong. She’s practically yelling at him that didn’t he hear the flight attendant say that this plane was going to Orlando. I look at them both and say surprise! Back to the screaming and hugging. I ask DD if we still need to come back on Sunday and she say’s no way. I’m in tears at this point and I can’t believe that I actually pulled it off. Little did they know that there were more surprises in store.

We flew Delta’s Song airlines and I just love them. It’s a toss up with JetBlue on who I prefer. The flight was excellent and the TV’s just make the time go by so fast. We arrived in Orlando right on schedule. In the past, we’ve always flown the first flights of the morning. That usually means a wake up call at 4:30 for the 7am flight. It always got us into Orlando by 10am, but it’s a tiring way to start the vacation and more times than not, our room was not close to being ready. Now, we fly in the evening. I can normally find a flight that allows us to work and the kids to go to school. I’m paying for the additional night at the resort, but I know that my room will be ready and we wake up refreshed and ready to dive right into vacation. Orlando has got to be one of the best-run airports around. This is the one place that always has our luggage waiting for us instead of the other way around. Our luggage is not the only thing waiting, there is also a well-dressed man holding a piece of paper that’s welcoming me to Orlando. A week before, DH came home and announced that he had been promoted. I thought that was cause for even more celebration, so I booked a stretch limousine to bring us to the Yacht Club. The kids were so excited. DD exclaimed that she felt like a princess and she could live in a car like that. The service we used was TrioTrans and they were excellent. They had cold drinks for us and the limo was beautiful.

By the time we arrived at the YC, the concierge staff had already gone home, so we checked in at the main desk. This was our first visit to the resort and we were very impressed. Our CM was knowledgeable and friendly.

We made it to our room and there was the Christmas tree with all the gifts underneath. There was even something for me from the pre-planning staff. They gave me a beautiful picture of the YC lighthouse. There was also a card inviting us on an Illuminations cruise. I was speechless. Amy had informed me all along that she was working on some magic for me and I just couldn’t believe this was it. Right then and there, she had made our entire trip. The kids ripped into their presents and found new lanyards, along with some pins. DD couldn’t quite figure out Pal Mickey, but he ended up being a huge hit with our family. There was one minor detail that took away from near perfection, no daybed. The only people who knew that my other DD was going to join us, were the pre-planners. They had recommended not putting her on the original reservation because when we checked in, the surprise would be spoiled. They did assure me that they would make a note about needing maximum bedding however. I knew that we would end up having to be moved now and I didn’t quite know how I was going to explain it to my family. After filling our bellies with room service, we finally drifted off to sleep at about 1am. I had an early wake up call though. I wanted to explore on my own and I needed to call DS’s school to report his absence. With earplugs firmly in place (DH could wake the dead with his snoring) I drifted off to sleep in a very comfortable bed.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Okay, so going to bed with things on my mind didn’t help in getting a good night sleep. I tossed and turned until about 5:30am and then I decided to give up and get out of bed. It was a beautiful morning and I watched the sun come up as I walked the Boardwalk. I got back to the resort at about 6:30am, but the lounge had still not opened. I ended up sitting on a chair outside the doors. They did have a carafe of coffee set up outside, so I did enjoy my morning cup. I just can’t figure out why it’s necessary to keep the lounge closed. There is a separate entrance that the CM’s use to bring in the food and it’s at the other end of the lounge. I felt a bit awkward sitting out in the hallway, but I really didn’t want to return to our dark room where everyone was still fast asleep. At 6:50, I made my way to the concierge desk to speak with Betty. I had to add my DD to our reservation, get our park tickets and request the room change. Well, Betty was a bit disappointing. She informed me that the room assignor wasn’t in yet, but she’d be happy to leave him a message. She recommended that I check back at about 10am because they might have to store our luggage if the other room wasn’t ready yet. This really didn’t sound right to me, but it was early and I was only operating on 3 hours of sleep and a half a cup of coffee. I went back to our room and DD was starting to stir. She was anxious to check out the food offerings in the lounge. We walked down and my first thought was this is not for the carb conscious. They did have cheerios and fruit, but the majority was croissants, donuts, pastries and bagels. The new Nescafe coffee machine made a fairly decent mocha cappuccino, so I was happy. By 8:30, the boys had joined us and everyone was anxious to get going. We walked around and finally found ourselves at the entrance to Epcot. It was 5 minutes before 9 and we were the second people in line. DD really wanted to ride Test Track, so we waited. At 9:03, we were finally permitted to enter the park. By the time we walked over to Test Track, there was all of a 5-minute wait. Being DIS savvy though, I still grabbed us a set of fast passes in case we wanted to go on again. This is one of DD’s favorites, so we definitely had to go through a second time. The wait was still only 5 minutes, so we hung onto the fast passes and did standby. After nixing DD’s request to go on a 3rd time, we gave away our fast passes and decided to head on over to MGM for ToT and RnR. The boat was right at the Int’l Gateway dock, so we hopped on board. It was getting close to the time that Betty told me to check back, so when the boat stopped at the YC, I told my family that I was going to run back to the room for Pal Mickey and my camera. They could go ahead and ride RnR and I’d meet them there.

Betty is at her desk and informs me that the room assignor is not in today, so there’s nothing they can do about my changing rooms. She says that maybe tomorrow I’ll have more luck. I ask her where exactly is my daughter going to sleep and she tells me that they ordered a roll away. I go down to our room and the roll away has already been delivered. It’s not even down and it takes up a lot of room. I spend the next few minutes, trying to find a spot where this thing will fit. The best I can do is have it take up the whole balcony door and to get into it, you have to climb over the other bed. I end up taking out my paperwork and calling on my pre-planner. I have already called them once and we thanked each other for the thoughtful gifts. I start my message by apologizing for being a pain, but I don’t think CM Betty is quite doing her best. To myself, I’m thinking that this is a hotel, which runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If the room assignor is not in, they don’t have anyone else to handle requests? I didn’t think what I was asking for was out of line either because it had been noted on my reservation. By this time, DH has already called once looking for me. I grab my stuff and run down to the boat dock. My timing is perfect and within minutes I’m on my way to MGM. While I’m on the boat, Alana from pre-planning calls me to apologize for the mix up and she already has a new room for us right down the hall. As soon as I hang up from her, my phone rings again and it’s DD calling from school. I know that I’m probably annoying the heck out of the people around me, so I go out to the back of the boat. It’s raining, so I sit in the rain shower and talk to my daughter. She has just finished one final and she’s ready for her last. In a few hours, she’ll be heading to the airport.

I arrive at MGM and hook up with my family. They have already done RnR once, but they got fast passes for a second ride. I volunteer to go on with DD while DH and DS do ToT. The skies have cleared for a while and it gets pretty warm with the sun out. By the time we all hook up again, it’s nearing noon. I still can’t believe how much we’ve accomplished in just 3 hours time. I think the rain has kept a lot of people away and there are barely any crowds. After a few minutes of lunch discussions, we decide to go back to the YC. We’ll eat there and maybe the kids can get some swimming in between the raindrops.

I don’t know how we managed it, but at 12:30 we walked up to Beaches & Cream and were seated right away. The food was delicious and we were at the counter watching the girl who made all the ice cream treats. She was amazing and we even got to see a Kitchen Sink get made.

Back to the room for the kids to change into their swimsuits. Today was going to be the warmest of our vacation and after another brief shower, the skies were clear again. Oh oh, I had forgotten about the roll away bed though. Of course my family questioned it as soon as we got into the room. I lied (again) and said that I knew DS would probably be more comfortable in his own bed. DH thought it was going to take up a lot of room and probably wasn’t all that necessary. I said that I thought the same thing, so instead, we were moving to a room with a daybed. While everyone was changing, I went down the hall to the concierge desk. They were in the middle of a shift change so Betty was on her way out. I worked with Ke’Jay who checked on the room status and cut my new keys. While I was there, another resort guest came down to put in a room change request. She was hoping a king room had opened up. The new CM had no problem pulling up the information on his computer and making the change. Me thinks that Betty might need some more training. Within two minutes, we have all our belongings moved from one room to the other and I can finally unpack. Down to SAB we go. The only area that they have closed off is the lazy river section. I can understand why they do rehabs at this time of year though, even with the warm temperatures, there are no more than a dozen people in the pool. I tried to find a good spot to sit, somewhere that I could keep an eye on my kids. I’m thinking that only a helicopter would give me the view I needed. This pool is really spread out. I can’t even imagine what it’s like in the summertime. I know that the kids think it’s really cool, but I don’t like it at all. You have to walk across the public pathway in order to get to the slide. I was constantly escorting my daughter over. Then when she was in the pool swimming, the walkways don’t make it easy to get from one side to the other. I sat in my chair for all of 1 minute and then I just constantly followed them around.

While we were at the pool, DH checked out the fitness center. Through his work, he’s a member of a beautiful health club and has become a bit of a snob when visiting others. He wasn’t impressed by this one. He prefers private sauna and steam rooms. By comparison, he gives the GF spa two thumbs up.

We had a 6:00 PS at the Yachtsman Steakhouse, so we pulled the kids out of the pool at 4pm for nice hot showers. We managed to get into the concierge lounge before they closed up for a quick snack and I do mean snack. From 11-4pm they serve goldfish crackers, pretzels, nuts, gummy worms, cookies and snack pack puddings.

Throughout the entire day, my phone was vibrating constantly. DD and I were busy text messaging each other. I was making sure that everything was going okay. After dressing for dinner we stopped by the lounge for a glass of wine and some cheese. This would be serving as our appetizers tonight. They also had hot soup and some sort of beef dish. Other than that, it was vegetables & dip, pb&j sandwiches and the cheese & crackers. Well, at 5:30, as I was enjoying a glass of Merlot, DD calls. I thought this was odd because she should have been on the plane by now. She tells me that there is a weather problem and they are going to be delayed by about an hour. She’s concerned because now she doesn’t think she’ll make her connection in Atlanta. I feel a little bit helpless without a computer to check other options for her, so I get in touch with my brother back home. Keeping a cheerful face, we go downstairs to dinner. The food at the Yachtsman is wonderful. We have the filet mignon and order a side of mushrooms. The desserts look incredible, but we just don’t have any room.

After dinner, we have plenty of time to go back to our room and get changed for our Illuminations cruise. We arrive at the dock where there is a crowd of people from Mousefest. They looked like they were having a great time. We ended up on a boat with one other family. We stretched out in the front and they took the back. There was supposed to be another family joining us, but they were a no show. Our driver did go back to the dock on a few occasions to look for them, but at 9:15, it was their loss. The weather was beautiful tonight. The skies had finally cleared and we were all in sweatshirts and jeans. Our boat driver had supplied us with blankets, but they weren’t needed. We got a great tour of the lake and finally settled in under the bridge to watch the show. With just 5 minutes before it started, DD sent me a message that she was in Atlanta. Her connection was on time and she had a confirmed seat. She had even called the car service company and given them her new flight information. I was very proud of her. She’s 19, but doesn’t have a lot of street smarts yet. I think she handled the situation very well. Illuminations made me cry as usual. I loved the holiday ending and our view was priceless. I don’t know what’s customary, but we tipped our driver $20.

We were all pretty tired when we got back to the resort. DD wanted a sundae, but the line at Beaches & Cream was very long. We decided to get comfortable and call room service instead. The message we got when we dialed was that they were experiencing extremely heavy call volume. Guess there were lots of hungry people at 10pm. When we finally got through, we were told they didn’t do sundaes and anything we ordered would take up to 40 minutes. I didn’t think DD would be awake much longer, so we declined. Everyone changed into pajamas except me. I didn’t want to get too comfortable because I was waiting up for DD. I put my phone on vibrate and kept it tight in my hand. I figured if I did fall asleep, that would wake me up. I managed to keep my eyes open and finally at 12:20, she called me from the Orlando airport. She was on the shuttle to baggage claim. Another message from her at 12:38 and she was getting into the town car. I must have relaxed at that point because I completely missed her next two messages that announce she was in the lobby. Finally, I awoke to the 3rd message and she was standing outside our room. We had quiet hugs and kisses and finally both settled into bed at 1:30am.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Youngest DD awoke first. She is a cuddle bunny and assumed that the person she had her arms wrapped around was me. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was her big sister and she was thrilled. DS woke up shortly after that to go to the bathroom. He had a confused look on his face as he walked by the two beds. When he came out of the bathroom, he started counting the lumps and including himself, they totaled five. DD waved and pandemonium broke out. DH awoke to the noise trying to figure out what was going on. I told him that a surprise was delivered during the night. More hugging and kissing and a special thank you to his wife for bringing the family together. And a secret admission that our first day of vacation just wasn’t the same without her.

Today was much cooler than yesterday, but the sun warmed us up nicely. DH was very comfortable in shorts and we were fine in long pants and t-shirts. We started our day by stopping into the concierge lounge. I had croissants and fruit, DH and the kids had cereal. We’re not typically big breakfast eaters, so this set up was fine for us. The unanimous vote was to begin our day at Epcot again. We got a slower start today, so we arrived at about 10am at the Int’l Gateway. By the time we walked over to Test Track, it was a posted 40-minute wait for standby. The single rider line was 15, so I volunteered to wait at the exit, while the others went through. I took a walk over to Mission Space first though. I thought that I would get fast passes and start that wait. When I arrived, standby was only 5 minutes. I skipped getting fp’s and went back to wait at Test Tracks exit. It did take them only about 15 minutes to go through. We headed to Mission Space, where DH decided to wait for us outside. He managed it once last year, but will never ride again. Youngest DD thought that she was ready to give it a try, so I went along as their 4th. They have definitely toned this ride down since I was on last January. I didn’t feel a twinge of motion sickness and having to fly the aircraft on your own wasn’t nearly as fun without the joystick “fighting” you. DD loved it though. At 8 years old, she’s already a thrill ride junkie.

World Showcase was now open so we started in Mexico and made our way around. The kid’s favorite land is Japan. They love shopping here. DH went in search of Japanese takeout while the kids and I shopped. DH will follow us anywhere, he just requires frequent bathroom and food breaks. I like to keep everyone happy. We caught the street show in England and they were doing A Christmas Carol. Besides Off Kilter, this is our favorite entertainment. We did see the balancing act in France also. That was pretty amazing, but I still like the man who used to dance inside the bubble.

We had a 4pm PS at Mama Melrose’s. We have never seen Fantasmic and I was determined not to miss it this time around. I got the dinner package with the reserved seating. We left Epcot and walked back to the YC. So far, I had been bag free, but I knew that it was going to get cold tonight. My backpack got filled with jackets, scarves and mittens. I dread the bag check line. Off we go to the boat dock and as luck would have it, they are just loading the MGM boat now. And as luck would have it, the boat girl locked the gate in our face and casted off. I don’t know what her problem was, but they must have been running behind schedule. That’s the first time that I’ve seen that done. We had to wait another 15 minutes for the next boat and we were really pushing our PS time. If the previous boat was behind schedule, then this one was way ahead because if he was moving any slower, we would be going backwards. We pulled up to the MGM dock and walked into a sea of humanity. The security line for bag checks was huge. It was so bad, that I thought about putting on everything that was inside and then ditching my backpack into the trash. I didn’t want to hold up the rest of my clan, so I told them to go ahead and get a fast pass for RnR and I would catch up. In the amount of time it took them to walk down to the fast pass machine and back, that’s how long it took me to get through security. They had 2 men on duty for the millions who were packing in to see the Osborne Lights. My timing went from bad to worse, as I entered the park during the parade. My DIS savvy paid off though and I escorted my family quickly through the crowds by ducking into the stores. Definitely a huge time and sanity saver.

We checked into the hostess podium at 3:55 and were informed that there was about a 20-minute wait. While waiting, we heard them turn away numerous walk ups. I heard a guest comment that none of the restaurants had standby seating that was less than an hour and a half wait. In less than 10 minutes, we were seated with Ken as our server. He made some excellent recommendations and was very attentive. The meal was great and this is one of our favorite restaurants. If we tried to plan what happened next, it never would have worked. We finished our meal and when we left the restaurant, we went to our left because the crowd was much lighter in that direction. Well, we somehow managed to walk right into the Osborne Lights display as they were closing it off. Of course that meant we were somehow backwards and walking against the crowd. I still don’t know how we managed it, but as we made our way to RnR the line to get in just went on and on and on. When the kids finished their ride, we headed to the back entrance for Fantasmic. They were selling stuff in the aisles, just like we were at a sports game. We ended up buying 3 hot chocolates to warm us up. All I can say is that we fulfilled our quest to finally see Fantasmic and we don’t have to worry about seeing it again.

We exited the show and were able to make it on the 2nd boat back to the resort. We even made it back to the concierge lounge in time for desserts and cordials. We stayed until they threw us out and even then we sat in the chairs outside the lounge while we finished our drinks.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Tonight we have tickets to MVMCP, so we sleep in a little. The older kids want to go on ToT one more time and I have made arrangements for DD to do the Aqua Seas tour. DH, youngest DD and I hop on the bus to DTD for some shopping. I want to check the Christmas store for the guest of honor badges, but they still haven’t come in yet. The store is packed to the gills and there are only 2 registers open. We head to the Under $10 store and DD fills a basket. She is in shopping heaven. There’s only 1 register open here and the line quickly grows in size. I’m a little surprised with the under staffing, but I guess everyone is cutting corners.

Shopping done, we return to the bus stop. I think we must have had the same CM from the resort boat, because as we arrived in our bus slot, the doors were closed and off it went. We caught the next one and met DS at the resort. We were all going to the Living Seas to hopefully catch a glimpse of DD in the big tank. She was due to meet the guide at 12:15 and I knew that they did a behind the scenes tour. By my reckoning, she would be in the tank between 1:30 and 2pm. We arrived and started searching for her on the observation level. DH finally spots someone who looks exactly like her. We follow her around and all agree that it’s her. She swims toward the window and we start waving like maniacs. We found out later that day, that it was definitely not DD. She didn’t get into the tank until 2pm and we had left by then.

Tonight we had dinner reservations at LTT for 4:15pm. We took the bus over to the MK and found it to be very convenient. When did they start dropping you off so close by? I love that. For whatever reason, the security line at the MK is the most well run. I have my bag checked in no time and they have just opened the turnstile with the wristbands, so that’s one less thing we have to worry about for later on. Main Street looks very pretty, but I’m not a huge fan of the fruit decorations. That just say’s autumn to me. One thing I’d like to comment on is the number of characters that we’ve seen on this trip. They were everywhere we looked. I thought this was great.

When we go to the parks, I wear my pins lanyard along with one from the Passporter. I love the size of it. While waiting for our table at LTT, a board member from Passporter came over and introduced herself. She was there for Mousefest and said that they were having a wonderful time. We only waited a few minutes for our name to be called. I can’t remember our servers name but he was excellent. Our glasses never went below half full and he brought the bread without us having to ask. The cook stopped by our table during dinner and asked if we were enjoying our meal. We saw the characters at least twice and we never felt rushed.

We finished up by 5:30 and there was no wait for Haunted Mansion. We were able to do that and Mickey’s Philharmagic before they closed the park. At 6pm we went to Tomorrowland and met up with my cousin and her boys. They live in Orlando, lucky ducks. We went on Space Mountain, Stitch and Buzz Lightyear. I was remarking that every time I get on Buzz, my laser is broken. This time was no different, as soon as I sat down in the car, I noticed that it was flashing “error”. We finished up with some shopping and by then, the park was officially open. All the rides we saw had less than 10 minute waits. The shows were all very crowded, but the kids really only wanted to do rides. We skipped the first parade, but walked onto Main Street at 9:05 for Wishes. We had a great spot near the hub and plenty of personal space around us. Tink flew over and the show was beautiful as always. We tried to have our photos done after the fireworks, but right up until closing, there was always a long wait. By the second parade, we were all heading downhill. Feet and backs were starting to ache. We exited the park right after the parade and had only a few minutes wait for the bus.

My MVMCP opinion was that for us, it's an expensive e-ticket night. If you want to see the shows, it's one thing, but there were probably less people in the park during the day. This was our first time and based on posts from experienced DIS'ers, it's not the same as it was in the past. There are fewer locations for pictures and for hot cocoa. There were no pins given out and the merchandise was very limited and hard to find. Rudolph didn't open Wishes and a majority of people think that Disney oversold the event.

 

[TammiMcMan]

The limo arrived promptly at 9:30am the next morning. We had time to grab a quick cup of coffee and a snack from the concierge lounge before we left. I had offered my little Christmas tree to any DIS’ers that were coming down after us and someone took me up on that offer. I put it back in the box and a concierge staff member was going to make sure that it got held for them at the front desk. I hope that they were able to get it okay. We also hadn’t received our express check out packet, so I had her print another one out for me.

The trip to the airport was smooth and once again we did curbside check in. The security line was pretty long and DD had been selected for a more intimate security check. We ended up waiting an additional 15 minutes for her to get through that line.

FlySong did a nice job in getting us home on time and as usual with Logan airport, we waited and waited and waited for our luggage to arrive.

The trip was wonderful, but it honestly didn’t do anything for me in terms of Christmas spirit. It was more like a time out from the hustle and bustle of the holiday. We were able to relax and do some things that we’ve never done before. I love the convenience of staying in an Epcot resort, but I missed waking up and seeing the castle each morning. WDW remains our favorite vacation destination and I can’t wait to start planning our next trip.

Happy Holidays everyone.

 

[Janet2k]

TammiMcMan, what a lovely trip. And what a heavenly surprise! Welcome home (and have fun planning your next trip).

 

[Ozymoe]

You are an amazing planner! Someday you will have the fun of hearing how your DD1 or DS or DD2 is planning to surprise their own family/loved one...because you are such an excellent example!

Surprises are just the BEST!!!

Merry Christmas!

 

[Ozymoe]

...also, I forgot to ask...your "magical cruise for 2" that you are doing a countdown for in your sig...where are you going?

LOL...as a member of your DIS family, inquiring minds want to know! You plan such interesting events!

 

[TammiMcMan]

Thank you Janet. Your special trips were an inspiration to me.

Ozymoe, I'm surprised you even had to ask about the cruise, it's the Disney Magic of course! We're going for 4 nights and have a DIS meet set up with about 100 other Dis'ers. Even without my kids, Disney is the only vacation spot for me.

Tammi

 

[Janet2k]

By the way, TammiMcMan, I am jealous that you have your trip report done. You put me to shame. And since you have a few days before your cruise, how 'bout you help me finish my current trip report? Pretty please?! (I've asked Erikthewise the same thing since he's got the bulk of his trip report done already. The two of you are amazing writers -- and quick, too!)

Have fun on your upcoming cruise. One of these years, I hope to hitch a ride on the DCL. Until then, I'll just have to live vicariously through my fellow Dis'ers, ~sigh~ (thank goodness they love to share their stories, hint, hint!).

 

[KerryCM]

TammiMcMan, what a wonderful trip report! It sounds like you had a magical time with all of your family.
I used TrioTrans for my trip in Oct. and was also very impressed with the service. Alana had told me she has used them for guests for the past few years.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Janet, there are plenty of DIS'ers who will agree that your posts are definitely worth the wait. I'm lucky enough to work in education, so I had the time off from school to do a marathon of writing.

Kerry, thanks for the help with TrioTrans. DH was very impressed that I had taken care of everything. He did double check that I had the right tip amount though. I brought up the Boardwalk at Christmas dinner yesterday and DH was wondering if it was noisy. He's afraid to have a room that overlooks all the shops, but I know that he would love to see Illuminations from our balcony.

Tammi

 

[KerryCM]

Tammi, I have had both quiet and bW view rooms and I love them both. You are able to see the high fireworks from Illuminations from the garden view rooms and from the lounge. The BW view rooms are great to sit and people watch. I did not find them noisy. Either way you can't go wrong staying there!

 

[kathymc]

thanks for posting - I cant believe you were able to pull off all the secrets! sounds like a great trip!

 

[kar313]

Wonderful report. Sounds like you had a great time. And your kids seem to really enjoy being together. Happy New Year and have a great time on the cruise. You know we'll be waiting for that report too LOL

 

[johnsonet]

What a great trip report, Tammi! I enjoyed all your planning-mode posts and really loved reading about your trip!
I totally agree about the Christmas trip not doing much to get you in the Christmas spirit! As much as we enjoyed it and LOVED the decorations, Candlelight Processional, Lights, etc....it was strange getting home a few days before Christmas - I was still in vacation mode
Knowing how much you love GF and RPC, I think you would LOVE BWI Concierge. I would seriously consider it especially since you all like the Epcot area so much
Thanks for your TR!

 

[kaseyC]

Wonderful Trip Report! You are an excellent writer. Looking forward to your next one. Enjoy your cruise for two.

 

[twinmomplus2new]

tammy.. It looks like you got my Mousefest cancelation. I had 5 people on the boat and canceled just a few days beofe we left! Glad to see a fellow Russos follower got the seats!

 

[TammiMcMan]

I'm sorry to had to cancel. It was a beautiful night and we only had to wear sweatshirts. The rain cleared out and the sky was full of stars. I don't think we got your cruise though, I think we ended up with one from the Platinum Plan. At least that's what it said on our itinerary. I will definitely book this again for our next trip. It really was one of the highlights.

I was at Russo's just the other day and I was thinking of you, what a coincidence.

Tammi