yepod
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2001
- Messages
- 2,578
Introduction Me 49, DW 39, DD 2 ½, all HUGE Disney fans
Note: See my restaurant report posted 12/14 for meal details.
DAY 5 (12/5 Wed)
Took the bus to MGM for Walts Birthday. Grabbed our paper Sorcerers hats at the gate. Stopped for breakfast at Hollywood & Vine. Last year DW had looked in & decided she didnt want to go in. Were glad we tried it this trip as we all enjoyed ourselves & of course DD LTC. Watched All Stars & Motor Cars parade. Enjoyed the pre-parade warm-up & the nice cars. DD LTC & her favorite car was Genie & favorite characters Snow White & the Seven Dwarves! And yet another great parade! Saw the Stage 5 show, we missed Bears bigger Blue house props from last year, but DD loved all the new Playhouse Disney stories that were added even more. She danced & sang along. Definitely recommend this for the younger set. Just remember for those of us with older bones & that gravity is especially cruel with, the majority of the guests sit on the floor! There are benches along the back wall, but I havent given in to this temptation yet. I enjoy being right with my DD as close to the stage or isles as possible to enjoy her reactions. Then while waiting in the Animation courtyard in front of the Stage 5 area for DW & DD to take a potty break I saw Fess Parker, Mickey Rooney & some original Mouseketeers. I shared my mutual excitement with a custodial CM. He told me there was an inductee ceremony for Disney Legends just letting out, so I hung around & finally saw Roy Disney himself! I really had goose bumps from the whole experience. Call me corny (my DW did) but I was thrilled! Ran into (literally) an old CM friend from our hometown Disney Store who transferred to WDW 3 years ago. This was a really nice coincidence. My DW & DD patiently waited while I road RRC & I loved it as usual. Saw Beauty & Beast & DD loved it, DD cried when the Beast was hurt, so cute to see her empathy at her age! Checked out the interactive kiosks under the Sorcerers hat. We missed all the hoopla that was going on in front of the Sorcerers hat (birthday cake & celebrities on stage. Then on the way out we caught the end of the parade again for shots we missed from the first one. Back to CBR for R&R. Back to DD for more shopping (saw our favorite CMs again)! DD loved sliding outside Lego store (over & over again)! Had dinner at Captain Jacks. My only disappointment was my wife refusing to let me get dessert at Giradellis!
DAY 6 (12/6 Thurs)
Took bus to AK. Breakfast at Donalds Breakfastosaurus. DD LTC as usual. Then I road Triceratops with DD twice! I did Dinosaur ride while DD & DW did Boneyard. Saw Tarzan Rocks & DD & I LOVED it, DW not a rock fan but still liked the show. I left to resort hop while DD & DW went on Triceratops 1 last time & then back to CBR for R&R. I checked out WL, GF & Poly for Xmas decorations. I was SO impressed with WL, never been there & I said lots of WOWS as I took video! Met a couple who were staying at CONT & hopping like me who told me Gingerbread house was missing from WL this year & the tree was even bigger at GF. Boy were they right, I thought tree at WL was big but GFs was HUGE! I did see GB house at GF though, they mustve missed it. The Polys decorations were kinda sparse IMHO. Arrived at the MK for MVMCP at 4:30, had a PS at Cindys for 5:30 just so we wouldnt have to wait in crowded line at 7pm opening (got the idea from DIS thread). In 97 they closed the MK at 6 & re-opened at 7 for party (with a huge crowd at the gates). This year they were letting everybody in early! They were asking if you had a ticket & then giving you a wristband. I read on another thread that they observed people without wristbands throughout party. I heard after 7pm they didnt issue wristbands, but wonder how they determined who paid & who didnt. When we got to Cindys they turned us away & said come back at 5:30. DD & DW rode the Teacups & Cindys Carousel, then we returned to the castle. Unfortunately we waited almost an hour after our 5:30 PS to be seated. Service was SLOW because they were short handed. We ate quickly so we were out by a little after 7. I stopped & talked to the manager about our disappointment & she was very understanding about my complaints & even shared with me that her management had changed the schedule twice that night upsetting her planning. Normally CMs arent supposed to tell guests the truth about screw-ups. I experienced this honesty a lot during this trip, as I think cutbacks are upsetting most of the CMs. IMHI Disney Corp. needs to realize we guests appreciate (timely) truth better than no information or worse yet glossed over hype! Cindys coach was set-up outside & it was neat, we missed seeing Cindy though! Caught as much as we could (family picture, treats & Belle story). Disappointed that Toon Town wasnt open this year as we found it empty in 97 & wanted to take our DD on Goofys BS & meet the characters, oh well. I did get to ride the Speedway with DD & we all did Buzzs ride. DD met Buzz outside! Caught fireworks as we left Speedway, impressive as they surrounded the entire park! Missed seeing Santa Goofy on Main Street for photos as in 97. We thought the park was a lot more crowded & therefore less enjoyable than before so we were not as impressed as our last trip. Probably wont do this again for many years. We had to leave early because despite our DDs afternoon nap she was GONE! Had Caseys hot dogs on the way out at 11. I took video of a couple minutes of the parade & it was outstanding!
Click below to go back to Report 2 (Day 3 & 4)
Report 2 (Day 3 & 4)
Click below to go to Report 4 (Day 7 & 8)
Report 4 (Day 7 & 8)
Note: See my restaurant report posted 12/14 for meal details.
DAY 5 (12/5 Wed)
Took the bus to MGM for Walts Birthday. Grabbed our paper Sorcerers hats at the gate. Stopped for breakfast at Hollywood & Vine. Last year DW had looked in & decided she didnt want to go in. Were glad we tried it this trip as we all enjoyed ourselves & of course DD LTC. Watched All Stars & Motor Cars parade. Enjoyed the pre-parade warm-up & the nice cars. DD LTC & her favorite car was Genie & favorite characters Snow White & the Seven Dwarves! And yet another great parade! Saw the Stage 5 show, we missed Bears bigger Blue house props from last year, but DD loved all the new Playhouse Disney stories that were added even more. She danced & sang along. Definitely recommend this for the younger set. Just remember for those of us with older bones & that gravity is especially cruel with, the majority of the guests sit on the floor! There are benches along the back wall, but I havent given in to this temptation yet. I enjoy being right with my DD as close to the stage or isles as possible to enjoy her reactions. Then while waiting in the Animation courtyard in front of the Stage 5 area for DW & DD to take a potty break I saw Fess Parker, Mickey Rooney & some original Mouseketeers. I shared my mutual excitement with a custodial CM. He told me there was an inductee ceremony for Disney Legends just letting out, so I hung around & finally saw Roy Disney himself! I really had goose bumps from the whole experience. Call me corny (my DW did) but I was thrilled! Ran into (literally) an old CM friend from our hometown Disney Store who transferred to WDW 3 years ago. This was a really nice coincidence. My DW & DD patiently waited while I road RRC & I loved it as usual. Saw Beauty & Beast & DD loved it, DD cried when the Beast was hurt, so cute to see her empathy at her age! Checked out the interactive kiosks under the Sorcerers hat. We missed all the hoopla that was going on in front of the Sorcerers hat (birthday cake & celebrities on stage. Then on the way out we caught the end of the parade again for shots we missed from the first one. Back to CBR for R&R. Back to DD for more shopping (saw our favorite CMs again)! DD loved sliding outside Lego store (over & over again)! Had dinner at Captain Jacks. My only disappointment was my wife refusing to let me get dessert at Giradellis!
DAY 6 (12/6 Thurs)
Took bus to AK. Breakfast at Donalds Breakfastosaurus. DD LTC as usual. Then I road Triceratops with DD twice! I did Dinosaur ride while DD & DW did Boneyard. Saw Tarzan Rocks & DD & I LOVED it, DW not a rock fan but still liked the show. I left to resort hop while DD & DW went on Triceratops 1 last time & then back to CBR for R&R. I checked out WL, GF & Poly for Xmas decorations. I was SO impressed with WL, never been there & I said lots of WOWS as I took video! Met a couple who were staying at CONT & hopping like me who told me Gingerbread house was missing from WL this year & the tree was even bigger at GF. Boy were they right, I thought tree at WL was big but GFs was HUGE! I did see GB house at GF though, they mustve missed it. The Polys decorations were kinda sparse IMHO. Arrived at the MK for MVMCP at 4:30, had a PS at Cindys for 5:30 just so we wouldnt have to wait in crowded line at 7pm opening (got the idea from DIS thread). In 97 they closed the MK at 6 & re-opened at 7 for party (with a huge crowd at the gates). This year they were letting everybody in early! They were asking if you had a ticket & then giving you a wristband. I read on another thread that they observed people without wristbands throughout party. I heard after 7pm they didnt issue wristbands, but wonder how they determined who paid & who didnt. When we got to Cindys they turned us away & said come back at 5:30. DD & DW rode the Teacups & Cindys Carousel, then we returned to the castle. Unfortunately we waited almost an hour after our 5:30 PS to be seated. Service was SLOW because they were short handed. We ate quickly so we were out by a little after 7. I stopped & talked to the manager about our disappointment & she was very understanding about my complaints & even shared with me that her management had changed the schedule twice that night upsetting her planning. Normally CMs arent supposed to tell guests the truth about screw-ups. I experienced this honesty a lot during this trip, as I think cutbacks are upsetting most of the CMs. IMHI Disney Corp. needs to realize we guests appreciate (timely) truth better than no information or worse yet glossed over hype! Cindys coach was set-up outside & it was neat, we missed seeing Cindy though! Caught as much as we could (family picture, treats & Belle story). Disappointed that Toon Town wasnt open this year as we found it empty in 97 & wanted to take our DD on Goofys BS & meet the characters, oh well. I did get to ride the Speedway with DD & we all did Buzzs ride. DD met Buzz outside! Caught fireworks as we left Speedway, impressive as they surrounded the entire park! Missed seeing Santa Goofy on Main Street for photos as in 97. We thought the park was a lot more crowded & therefore less enjoyable than before so we were not as impressed as our last trip. Probably wont do this again for many years. We had to leave early because despite our DDs afternoon nap she was GONE! Had Caseys hot dogs on the way out at 11. I took video of a couple minutes of the parade & it was outstanding!
Click below to go back to Report 2 (Day 3 & 4)
Report 2 (Day 3 & 4)
Click below to go to Report 4 (Day 7 & 8)
Report 4 (Day 7 & 8)
