Scene: Myself-29 and DH 26, 4 nights in a studio at Boardwalk Villas December 15-19.
In October of 1999 I told my husband that before we started a family I wanted to go on the trip of a lifetime to Walt Disney World. It would be the first trip for both of us. With the help of a travel agent we stayed four nights at CBR and went on a three day Disney Magic cruise from Feb 7-14 of 2000. Well it did turn out to be a wonderful trip, but instead of the trip of a lifetime, Disney World became a new and glorious obsession for me. We returned again in January of 2001 (Dixie Landing) and then our most recent trip in December of 2001. Our next trip is not planned until May-can I make it? With the availability of reading about others' trips, until May, I'll live vicariously through everyone on the dis.
THE TRIP
We live in Spokane, WA so we do spend a day traveling to get to Orlando. We did find incredible airfare on Delta (198.00 RT). My DH had no vacation time remaining for 2001, so we took only four days off and actually on the day we returned, he had to work that evening at 4:00 pm. The airports were insane on Sat 12/15 but we arrived safe and sound at MCO, picked up our car at National EI, made a quick stop at the store for groceries ($118.00) and were off to the Boardwalk. We had not yet purchased our park tickets because I was debating on whether or not we should spring for AP's. What I really wanted were lenght of Stay passes but we would only need the tickets for three days when technically we were there for five, but two are travel days. Prior to our trip, I called CRO and asked if I could purchase LOS passes and at least drop one of the days-of course he said no. When we checked in at the Boardwalk at 7:00 pm our CM Dan was fabulous. He was friendly, prompt and when he found out we'd be checking out at 5:00 am on our departure day, he offered us a 2night 3day los pass. YEAH- I could of kissed him right there. We had not requested anything special on our reservation except for non smoking and were pleasantly surprised to find we had been assigned the perfect location. We were on the first floor, boardwalk level, right by the elevators with a patio that opened up toward the luna park pool area. Every night we would walk to the pool from our patio. The room was perfect it had a queen bed, a couch, table and a mini kitchen area with a ref, micro, sink and coffee maker. It was clean and it great shape.
After a little freshening up and a glass of wine we headed out to the boardwalk. Boardwalk Christmas decorations were absolutely beautiful and the boardwalk was bustling with activity and people. We did not have PS that night and decided to try our luck with a walk in. We chose spoodles, received a pager that allowed us to walk around and were told the wait would be about twenty minutes. We used the opportunity to do a little sightseeing and shopping. We played some carnival games, watched a guy juggle with fire, shopped and were paged about 30 after we checked in at the restaurant. Spoodles has a great atmosphere with the open kithcen and it was decorated for Christmas in a very ecclectic fashion. We shared five different appetizers and all were incredible. Great service, great food, would definitely eat there again. After dinner we headed back to our room, drank a little more wine and went for a midnight swim. The perfect first day in the world.
The next morning we slept in until 9:45, had bagels and fruit in the room and then drove to BB for our first ever visit. We got there about 10:30 and there were light crowds, the weather was warm, about 78 and it was cloudy. BB is awesome and we did every attraction, some twice. My DH and I love water parks and we thought this was by far the best one we'd ever been to. At 2:00 we drove back to the Boardwalk, got cleaned up and took a boat to MGM. The decor once again was awesome. The park was crowded, but everyone was getting ready for the afternoon parade. We walked through the 100 years exhibit, rode RnR roller coaster twice, and TOT. We also went on the Great Movie Ride and walked through the interactive exhibit. We left at about four and made our way to the Magic Kingdom for our 5:15 PS reservations at Crystal Palace and MVMCP. We arrived a little early at Magic Kingdom and a time to walk aroung a bit and enjoy the decorations. We checked in for dinner and were seated at about 5:30. Dinner was very good, one of the better buffets I've had at DW and the character interaction was excellent; I got a lot of great pictures. After dinner we immediately got our photo taken and started enjoying the party. We rode BTMRR twice and Splash mountain without any wait whatsoever. Riding these attractions at night is so much fun! We saw the country bear jamboree, jungle cruise, tiki room, haunted mansion, peter pan, pooh, snow white's scary adventure, buzz lightyear and space mountain. We wathed both parades and the fireworks. We had a magical evening, weather was great, attractions were fun, CM's were friendly and the crowds were quite manageable. I would recommend this to everyone. We headed back to our room via bus and downtown disney and got home around 1:30 am. Another fabulous day!!!
Monday Morning we woke up early and drove to Animal Kingdom. I actually like the later opening time because it means more sleep for me. We love AK and had a great day. We did everything and despite the negative reviews we've heard on the DIS, we loved the new area in Dinoland. We played all of the carnival games and rode the new triceratops ride. We are looking forward to the new coaster ride opening. After a day at AK we drove to AKL to check it out and had no trouble driving in. We were amazed at this hotel and found it breathtaking. We both want to stay there on a future visit. We then drove back to the Boardwalk and decided to walk over to MGM to finish the attractions we had missed. We did RnR again and TOT, we rode backstage tour, watched Muppetvision 3d and did WWTBM which was a blast. After MGM we walked back to Boardwalk and took a boat to EPCOT for the evening. We ate dinner and drank around the world, ordering whatever they had at counter service in the various countries. We watched the parade and staked out a spot for illuminations (which I can never tire watching). After illuminations we walked back to the boardwalk and spent about an hour swimming in the pool.
Tuesday Morning our last day in the world we had big plans. We started the morning at EPCOT future world and took in all of the attractions. We had CP dinner package reservations at LE Cellier that evening which allowed us to receive a 15% discount on shopping, so we also spent a lot of time buying Christmas presents and souveniers. I was looking for a stuffed Dumbo and I could not find one anywhere in EPCOT. At about 2:30 we decided to head over to MK to ride a few more rides and look form Dumbo. We took the monorail over and arrived just in time for the snow globe parade. This is my new favorite parade at DW, I thought it was beautiful and very clever. After the parade we went to the Hall of presidents, and then over to fantasyland were I found my Dumbo. We rode space mountain and the TTC before heading back to EPCOT. We went on a few world attractions and then got a spot for the CP. Our celebrity narrator was Blair Underwood who is not only a fabulous speaker, but also very good looking. It was his first night and his wife and kids were sitting two rows in front of us. The CP was incredible and moved me to tears on a number of different occassions. After the show we headed over to Le Cellier for our dinner reservations and were seated about 35 minutes after we arrived. We had fun playing on the palm pilots we received and spent a lot of time sending text messages to our friends back home. Dinner was awesome. We had the rock crab spring rolls, the cheddar cheese soup, filet mignon with mushroom risotto, the new york steak, the creme brulee and the chocolate cake. We also shared a bottle of wine. Needless to say, we were stuffed. Our server was from our neck of the woods, British Columbia and was thrilled when she found out we were from Spokane, WA. Overall the best dinner we've ever had at WDW and we'll definately eat there again.
After dinner we headed back to the Boardwalk, walked around some more and then went for one last midnight swim.
This trip was short, but wonderful. WDW during the holidays is absolutely beautiful. We loved the convenience and the amenities of the Boardwalk and would highly recommend it. The weather was beautiful always warm and not a drop of rain. We know there were cutbacks with the elimination of EE and such, but we found the CM's to be helpful and happy.
Thanks to everyone for there words of wisdom on the DIS. Happy New Year!!!
In October of 1999 I told my husband that before we started a family I wanted to go on the trip of a lifetime to Walt Disney World. It would be the first trip for both of us. With the help of a travel agent we stayed four nights at CBR and went on a three day Disney Magic cruise from Feb 7-14 of 2000. Well it did turn out to be a wonderful trip, but instead of the trip of a lifetime, Disney World became a new and glorious obsession for me. We returned again in January of 2001 (Dixie Landing) and then our most recent trip in December of 2001. Our next trip is not planned until May-can I make it? With the availability of reading about others' trips, until May, I'll live vicariously through everyone on the dis.
THE TRIP
We live in Spokane, WA so we do spend a day traveling to get to Orlando. We did find incredible airfare on Delta (198.00 RT). My DH had no vacation time remaining for 2001, so we took only four days off and actually on the day we returned, he had to work that evening at 4:00 pm. The airports were insane on Sat 12/15 but we arrived safe and sound at MCO, picked up our car at National EI, made a quick stop at the store for groceries ($118.00) and were off to the Boardwalk. We had not yet purchased our park tickets because I was debating on whether or not we should spring for AP's. What I really wanted were lenght of Stay passes but we would only need the tickets for three days when technically we were there for five, but two are travel days. Prior to our trip, I called CRO and asked if I could purchase LOS passes and at least drop one of the days-of course he said no. When we checked in at the Boardwalk at 7:00 pm our CM Dan was fabulous. He was friendly, prompt and when he found out we'd be checking out at 5:00 am on our departure day, he offered us a 2night 3day los pass. YEAH- I could of kissed him right there. We had not requested anything special on our reservation except for non smoking and were pleasantly surprised to find we had been assigned the perfect location. We were on the first floor, boardwalk level, right by the elevators with a patio that opened up toward the luna park pool area. Every night we would walk to the pool from our patio. The room was perfect it had a queen bed, a couch, table and a mini kitchen area with a ref, micro, sink and coffee maker. It was clean and it great shape.
After a little freshening up and a glass of wine we headed out to the boardwalk. Boardwalk Christmas decorations were absolutely beautiful and the boardwalk was bustling with activity and people. We did not have PS that night and decided to try our luck with a walk in. We chose spoodles, received a pager that allowed us to walk around and were told the wait would be about twenty minutes. We used the opportunity to do a little sightseeing and shopping. We played some carnival games, watched a guy juggle with fire, shopped and were paged about 30 after we checked in at the restaurant. Spoodles has a great atmosphere with the open kithcen and it was decorated for Christmas in a very ecclectic fashion. We shared five different appetizers and all were incredible. Great service, great food, would definitely eat there again. After dinner we headed back to our room, drank a little more wine and went for a midnight swim. The perfect first day in the world.
The next morning we slept in until 9:45, had bagels and fruit in the room and then drove to BB for our first ever visit. We got there about 10:30 and there were light crowds, the weather was warm, about 78 and it was cloudy. BB is awesome and we did every attraction, some twice. My DH and I love water parks and we thought this was by far the best one we'd ever been to. At 2:00 we drove back to the Boardwalk, got cleaned up and took a boat to MGM. The decor once again was awesome. The park was crowded, but everyone was getting ready for the afternoon parade. We walked through the 100 years exhibit, rode RnR roller coaster twice, and TOT. We also went on the Great Movie Ride and walked through the interactive exhibit. We left at about four and made our way to the Magic Kingdom for our 5:15 PS reservations at Crystal Palace and MVMCP. We arrived a little early at Magic Kingdom and a time to walk aroung a bit and enjoy the decorations. We checked in for dinner and were seated at about 5:30. Dinner was very good, one of the better buffets I've had at DW and the character interaction was excellent; I got a lot of great pictures. After dinner we immediately got our photo taken and started enjoying the party. We rode BTMRR twice and Splash mountain without any wait whatsoever. Riding these attractions at night is so much fun! We saw the country bear jamboree, jungle cruise, tiki room, haunted mansion, peter pan, pooh, snow white's scary adventure, buzz lightyear and space mountain. We wathed both parades and the fireworks. We had a magical evening, weather was great, attractions were fun, CM's were friendly and the crowds were quite manageable. I would recommend this to everyone. We headed back to our room via bus and downtown disney and got home around 1:30 am. Another fabulous day!!!
Monday Morning we woke up early and drove to Animal Kingdom. I actually like the later opening time because it means more sleep for me. We love AK and had a great day. We did everything and despite the negative reviews we've heard on the DIS, we loved the new area in Dinoland. We played all of the carnival games and rode the new triceratops ride. We are looking forward to the new coaster ride opening. After a day at AK we drove to AKL to check it out and had no trouble driving in. We were amazed at this hotel and found it breathtaking. We both want to stay there on a future visit. We then drove back to the Boardwalk and decided to walk over to MGM to finish the attractions we had missed. We did RnR again and TOT, we rode backstage tour, watched Muppetvision 3d and did WWTBM which was a blast. After MGM we walked back to Boardwalk and took a boat to EPCOT for the evening. We ate dinner and drank around the world, ordering whatever they had at counter service in the various countries. We watched the parade and staked out a spot for illuminations (which I can never tire watching). After illuminations we walked back to the boardwalk and spent about an hour swimming in the pool.
Tuesday Morning our last day in the world we had big plans. We started the morning at EPCOT future world and took in all of the attractions. We had CP dinner package reservations at LE Cellier that evening which allowed us to receive a 15% discount on shopping, so we also spent a lot of time buying Christmas presents and souveniers. I was looking for a stuffed Dumbo and I could not find one anywhere in EPCOT. At about 2:30 we decided to head over to MK to ride a few more rides and look form Dumbo. We took the monorail over and arrived just in time for the snow globe parade. This is my new favorite parade at DW, I thought it was beautiful and very clever. After the parade we went to the Hall of presidents, and then over to fantasyland were I found my Dumbo. We rode space mountain and the TTC before heading back to EPCOT. We went on a few world attractions and then got a spot for the CP. Our celebrity narrator was Blair Underwood who is not only a fabulous speaker, but also very good looking. It was his first night and his wife and kids were sitting two rows in front of us. The CP was incredible and moved me to tears on a number of different occassions. After the show we headed over to Le Cellier for our dinner reservations and were seated about 35 minutes after we arrived. We had fun playing on the palm pilots we received and spent a lot of time sending text messages to our friends back home. Dinner was awesome. We had the rock crab spring rolls, the cheddar cheese soup, filet mignon with mushroom risotto, the new york steak, the creme brulee and the chocolate cake. We also shared a bottle of wine. Needless to say, we were stuffed. Our server was from our neck of the woods, British Columbia and was thrilled when she found out we were from Spokane, WA. Overall the best dinner we've ever had at WDW and we'll definately eat there again.
After dinner we headed back to the Boardwalk, walked around some more and then went for one last midnight swim.
This trip was short, but wonderful. WDW during the holidays is absolutely beautiful. We loved the convenience and the amenities of the Boardwalk and would highly recommend it. The weather was beautiful always warm and not a drop of rain. We know there were cutbacks with the elimination of EE and such, but we found the CM's to be helpful and happy.
Thanks to everyone for there words of wisdom on the DIS. Happy New Year!!!
Glad you loved the Boardwalk we have our first trip home this December 
