Ho! Ho! Ho! Away we go - A Disney Christmas - 2/15 Dec TR final thoughts and FEB TR!

[IluvXU]

DH had my Vera big backpack on his back for minute at Disney. That is what happens with three kids five and under... you suck it up I guess. I would not have dared to take a picture though... but my mom and I got a chuckle out of it.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Oh let me tell you those little touches, pink icecream! Cracks me up -- it was green in October! Do you remember? That cappucino float is the best use of a snack credit hands down!!!

Sadly, it is bound to be plain Jane vanilla in July. Oh, maybe it will be red, white, and blue then.

CHOCOLATE CHEERIOS??!!! Oh dear... we tried the fruity cheerios (not Fruit Loops clearly, hence no one liked them!!) but Honey Nut Cheerios is a good staple for us... wow Chocolate, yup mine would eat the whole box too!!!

They are quite tasty and Connor keeps reminding me that they can reduce the risk of heart disease every time he reaches for the box.

YES. Space Mountain SIX times. Even I was stunned... I was stunned after three... it must be something about size... like his equilibrium isn't effected the same way or something....

Maybe he will be your child that wants to skydive and stuff when he is an adult.

Oh let me say that the parade was one of the best parts! I loved it!! My photos are okay, but it was so fun to watch!

It was fun to watch the taped version that morning so the real thing must have been incredible!

 

[eandesmom]

Hmmn, on your bag quandary I am of no help.

I've yet to succumb to the madness though with the April DCA trip...that could change.

Personally I prefer the style of the Carried Away bag, I like the short handles in concept but never so much in execution. But it's not my favorite pattern in that style.

I vastly prefer the yellow bird pattern, it's adorable and elegant all at the same time!

And therein lies the reason I do not own a Vera. The bag styles I like never seem to come in the patterns I love. Probably a good thing!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Seeing the vera talk going on I had to come out of lurkdom to post this picture from our trip last fall. We were at AK waiting for the train to rafiki's planet watch and I saw this cute couple with their matching his and her's vera backpacks. I love wigd's trip reports and had remembered how she got some of her manpri pics so I said "hey Nick, stand right here so I can take your picture..." Dh thought that I was nuts for using our child to take a picture of random strangers, but being a huge vera bradley fan I just had to. And I had to point out how much I liked that the man was carrying his own vb backpack.... DH just said "NO!"

That has to be one of the best pictures I have seen! So STINKIN funny!
Thanks for posting!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Oh and I do really like that "Loves Me" print!

 

[eandesmom]

Good morning!

Not sure if you already have a deal on Hilton Head but we just got a Disney Visa PIN Code for HH/Vero this morning for 40% off between now and the end of March.

Not sure if you have the Disney Visa but thought I'd pass it on!

 

[Happydog]

DH had my Vera big backpack on his back for minute at Disney. That is what happens with three kids five and under... you suck it up I guess. I would not have dared to take a picture though... but my mom and I got a chuckle out of it.

Cute! Well at least it was on his back!!!

Sadly, it is bound to be plain Jane vanilla in July. Oh, maybe it will be red, white, and blue then.

Maybe he will be your child that wants to skydive and stuff when he is an adult.

It was fun to watch the taped version that morning so the real thing must have been incredible!

I think something normally not blue or red was blue or red for the 4th of July.... I can't remember what though... It was something we bought at the Orange slushie stand near the Tiki room..... So maybe it won't be plain jane!!!

Oh that is very likely.... I curse the day I bought bunkbeds for him...

It really was a sight to see!!!!

Hmmn, on your bag quandary I am of no help.

I've yet to succumb to the madness though with the April DCA trip...that could change.

Personally I prefer the style of the Carried Away bag, I like the short handles in concept but never so much in execution. But it's not my favorite pattern in that style.

I vastly prefer the yellow bird pattern, it's adorable and elegant all at the same time!

And therein lies the reason I do not own a Vera. The bag styles I like never seem to come in the patterns I love. Probably a good thing!

Well it came in the mail, and I am sold on the Weekender style. I know what you mean about the handles, some it will work others no. However this has a detatchable strap, too, so that makes it very versatile. It has much more character.. I'll share a photo tonight, the pattern really is nice (the yellow bird!) And while I like the other one too, I cant justify needing both! Too much $$!!!!

Oh and I do really like that "Loves Me" print!

That was a funny photo, and yes it is cute, I agree!!!!

Good morning!

Not sure if you already have a deal on Hilton Head but we just got a Disney Visa PIN Code for HH/Vero this morning for 40% off between now and the end of March.

Not sure if you have the Disney Visa but thought I'd pass it on!

Hey, Thanks!!!! YES we do have a Disney Visa, but interestingly enough when I had tried to use the AP discount (the same 40%) for HH and our dates they didn't have availability... Yes an owner was able to get it! Odd, huh? So for that one night, we ended up renting points and got a studio for $90.00. I figured that would do!

 

[Happydog]

No, you beat me by about 9 hours I didn't need it anyway I just got carried away by the extra 10% off!

Okay, just checking!!!!

Bunch of Vera enablers. I wasn't even in the market for one until I read this. Seriously, we should all start to sell add space on our TR's. It would be a smart investment for Vera!

You are probably right!!!!!

 

[aprilisis]

I am loving your TR! You had some great shots of the Princess & the Frog characters. I can't believe how empty MK was on Christmas! Epcot even looked pretty slow on Christmas Eve. Heck- It was less crowded than the parks were over MLK weekend!!! I can't wait to read more.

 

[Happydog]

So we left off with waiting for the Christmas Parade on Christmas Morning in the Magic Kingdom...

Here we are waiting for the parade to start. DS4 was busy playing with one of his new Movie Cars cars... and we had fun just waiting with the crowd and enjoying the sun that was now coming out... Again it was a really pleasant temp out, and the crowd in this area wasn't oppressive. I feel this is a great location to watch, because you are close to attractions when the parade passes...

Soon, around the corner we saw the start of the parade...

And of course the first to come was M & M, but before their float were various characters, Peter and Wendy, Mary Poppins and Bert, Pinocchio, and a few others... You can see them in the crowd...

After came some CM's on Rollerskates -- these ladies were "snow flakes" I guess, and really really fun to watch... I think my favorite part of the parade were there interludes of CM's actually doing something, dancing, etc.... I didn't get very good shots I am afraid, but you get the idea! Donald and Daisy were in a carriage, again there were more dancing/skating CM's in front of them in some really pretty festive costumes...

And then one of my favorites in the parade, the chalet with Chip and Dale -- toooo cute!!

Then came what I called the "Princess Brigade" -- no offence to the Princesses of course -- but I found this to be too many princesses in a row, and they felt stuffed in the middle of the parade! They were not "themed" to Christmas at all, no "christmas or winter costumes -- except the carriages they rode in were "decorated", and of course that mirrored float that according to photos posted on Amy's PTR is from the 90s!!!! I had no idea... it did look a little "disco" for princesses but that is my opinion... I know the Princess and Prince characters have to remain intact, but it felt a little recycled.... However, they did have more dancing CMs in between the princesses and I though they were so fun to watch...

See next post!!!!!

 

[Happydog]

So the Christmas Parade continued!!! And after the Princesses the floats returned to the Christmas theme.... Next around the corner came the sweet shoppe and the bakery....

Everything here was themed, and all the dancing CMs were waving hoops and ribbons, and such... It was so festive and lively... The candy canes were s cute!

The Gingerbread house was followed by the famous gingerbread cookies -- these are my favorites no doubt!!!!

Next came the toys.... and there were CMs on hobby horses, dancing teddy bears, and the "elves" in the toy shoppe... Here is where Geppetto and Pinocchio should have been in my opinion! Of course WITH the Toy Story toys were the Wooden Soldiers.. I just love these as well, so cute and again so festive! They were fun to watch....

The toys were followed by more Dancing CM's this time with packages getting ready for the "Man with the Bag" and his reindeer...


See the NEXT POST for MORE !!!!

 

[Happydog]

The final bit of the parade included elves and packages and reindeer... of course Santa was last...

The parade was a great highlight of the trip for me. I had thought we would catch it earlier, but I was secretly happy that we ended up only catching it on Christmas morning. Somehow that made it more special...

After the parade, we headed towards Tomorrowland again, so my DBIL could catch SM with the FPs we had from earlier... Just a few random photos along the way, note the # of people now...

As you can see, I sat that ride out while the rest of our party rode SM.... DS4 decided it was nap time -- he had been going since 6am, so I wasn't surprised!!!! His Iguana kept him company

When they came back, we decided that it was time for some lunch, and we were ready to leave the MK. So we all strolled out of the park, and headed to the Contemporary for lunch.... I am only going to say this for the umpteenth time.... guys, a GREAT CS lunch is to be had at the Contempo Cafe. It is a short walk or Monorail ride from the MK. And when the park is massively crowded, it is refreshing to not be in a crowded place!!! It was wonderful to actually eat lunch in a relaxing environment, and the selections are very good for CS. Excellent sandwiches, really good gourmet sandwiches and fabulous dessert options!!!!

I bought some Gingerbread cookies at the Contemporary and grabbed a photo of the Gingerbread tree... okay, and the goats...

We were finished with lunch close to 2pm I would guess... and then as we were leaving the Contemporary, good gosh, the skies opened and the rain poured down. I was very very very glad we were not in the MK at that point!!!

DH ran with umbrella to collect the car, and drove to the entrance to pick us up. DBIL and Christine took the monorail back to get their car in the MK parking.... We agreed to meet at our villa at 5:30pm so we could walk over for our dinner at the Flying Fish. Once back at the Villa, the boys played with their toys, and DH and I sat on the sofa and watched A Christmas Story -- one of our Christmas day traditions!! "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!" Eggnog in hand, of course

SO, HOW was that dinner at the Flying Fish???? Coming up next!!!

 

[Happydog]

I am loving your TR! You had some great shots of the Princess & the Frog characters. I can't believe how empty MK was on Christmas! Epcot even looked pretty slow on Christmas Eve. Heck- It was less crowded than the parks were over MLK weekend!!! I can't wait to read more.

Thanks! It has been fun reliving my trip because it makes me want to go back NEXT year.... which is NOT in the plan, unfortunately, but I think a Christmas in the next few years might be, We'll see.. I think after going once it will always be something special! It was reasonably crowded as the day got on, and I am SURE it was crazy busy later in the day -- we saw lots of people going in when we were leaving around 1:30... but regardless it is Christmas!

Wow, was it busy that weekend? I am sure with the discounts and the holiday weekend it was!

 

[SoonerGirl]

OK, now I'm even more bummed about missing the parade!

We should have used your lunch strategy on our MK days as those CS places were

Looking forward to your review of Flying Fish!!

 

[MeMom]

Nice parade pictures. The wooden soldiers are just the coolest with their choreographed clomping around. The gingerbread men are so cute.

It is good to give credit to all of those in-between characters/floats CM's. I try to do the same when I am parade watching.

Maybe we'll get a chance to try the Contempo Cafe this summer. We only have three ADR's, so we're going to do lots of counter service, and I am always up for something new.

 

[shannn]

We missed the parade too. It looks like fun! And it looks like y'all had the plan~ it's always get to get in in the morning and out before the crowds get too bad. (and, in this case, before the rain comes!)

I want to take another Christmas trip as well. Maybe one of these days I can convince my family.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

The parade looks like such fun. I agree, it is especially special that you saw it on Christmas morning!

Holy crowds!

Your son sleeping w/ his iguana is just adorable!!

Contempo Cafe has never even occurred to me as an option. I will have to keep that in mind. Thanks for the tip!

Love that you guys still preserved some regular Christmas traditions in your home away from home!

Cannot wait to hear about Flying Fish!!!!

 

[manntra]

Awesome parade pics! Ummm Prince Naveen is doing the universal rock band thing with his hand!
Love the soldiers and the gingerbread man...I bet they look even cuter in person!!
Chip and Dale's earmuffs were cute! They are very well placed!
How special that you were able to see the parade on Christmas morning!
I remember you saying that the Contempo Cafe was really good..
Mmmmm FF! Haven't been there in awhile!

Tracy

 

[eandesmom]

Oh I want to see that parade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What wonderful wonderful pictures, they actually gave me goosebumps!

I do need to remember about Contempo, that is easy on the way out of the park and since we will be taking mid day breaks will work if the park is too crowded to deal with CS inside!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Hi there! I've missed all the chatter in between but have had the lovely advantage of seeing all your updates since New Years day all at once!

To sum it up ....

Your Christmas day parade pictures are wonderful. I've never seen it before and now I cannot wait to see it in person this December! Thanks!