I didn't forget about you!! - Day IV - Candlelight Processional

[NYPDwife]

After a failed EE ride, we decided to head back to our hotel. Instead of getting off the bus at Trinidad South, we wanted to check out Old Port Royale and see the new pool. I really liked the look and feel of the hotel.

This is where the food court and "main hall" are:

These are pictures of the pool. Forgive the quality, I haven't figured out how to take the best night pictures.

Well, after this, I wanted to head to the room to put our clothes into the drawers and get an hour or two of shut eye. Magic Kingdom was open until 2 AM and I fully intended on taking advantage of that. I told the kids to lay down when we got to the room. At first they played with legos in the bed, but after a bit, Bobbi fell asleep, but Michael was still wide awake! I kept telling him, take a nap, we're going to be up late tonight, but he didn't listen . I fell asleep around 7 ish and woke up by 8. We brushed our teeth, put our clothes back on, I blew out my bangs and we went down the stairs to the bus stop.

I'm excited!

We got off the bus as Wishes was ending. Drat! I forgot that I wanted to catch it!

Here was our first view of the castle...it's so beautiful!!!

Alot of people left around this time even though the park was open until 11. The crush down Main Street was really bad after Wishes.

We walked around for a bit and stopped at Columbia Harbour House to eat. I had the fried fish basket and it was AWESOME! Usually when you get fish and chips from a fast food place, the batter on the fish is soggy or greasy and Disney's was neither. The fish was steaming hot and the batter around was still crispy throughout me eating. It never got soggy! I was very impressed so kudos to Disney for making great fish and chips!

After eating, we saw that the Spectromagic parade was coming around and we decided to stop and see it because we found a good spot. Guess who was cranky from not napping?

Spectromagic was great! I had never seen this one before and I was really happy we stopped for it.

I love this picture of the Evil Queen

After the parade, we headed over to Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe. They were having a great sale!! We bought a few ornaments and while DH was paying, I snapped this picture.

DH kept saying how late it was and he and Michael were tired so we were about to leave, but then we noticed the Mickey Christmas show was about to start on stage so we stayed for that. I thought it was really cute.

After the show, they made it snow in front of the castle!!!

Well, I guess afterwards, DH saw how much I was sulking because I didn't want to go back home. Finally he turned to me and said to stay with Bobbi and he and Michael would go back to the room. I love my husband!! I was so happy!!!

Next up - GIRLS NIGHT OUT AT THE MAGIC KINGDOM!!!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I love that last shot at the MK with the stage show. Soooo soooo pretty. We were amazed at how stunning the castle is in person with all the lights. Looks like you had an amazing time.

 

[NYPDwife]

Awww, I see alot of lurkers. Come out and post!!

 

[NYPDwife]

Okay, I left you when I was sulking about everyone but me wanting to leave the park (well, not everyone, Bobbi was up for staying, I LOVE that girl! ). Anyway, dear DH says to stay with Bobbi and he and Michael will head back to the room! WHOO HOO!!!!! Go ShaeLee, it's your birthday, I'm gonna ride roller coasters like, it's my birthday!!!

Bobbi and I don't walk them to the gate, we give Daddy and baby brother quick kisses goodbye and WE'RE OFF! We go back to Adventureland and get on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Now, a quick side note, if you looked at this picture...

you would see that I'm wearing a t-shirt. No jacket, no sweater. Well, the temperature really dipped and it was COLD!

Well, back to the Aladdin's carpets. I forgot that the camel spits!!! Miss Bobbi kept us up high in the air and lo and behold, I got spit on.

Now feeling just a bit chillier, we head off to Pirates of the Caribbean. We practically walked straight on to the boat. I am SOOOOOO happy to be on this ride, because it's so nice and warm !

After Pirates, we run over to The Haunted Mansion and just miss the prior show. So we waited a few minutes outside and were greeted by a lovely lady with an English accent. She let us know that the Master would see us now and we entered the room to see the picture of the Master getting older and older and then the library to see the pictures that stretch. My favorite part of that ride is the groom massacre. I love seeing the ghost bride who says, I do, til death do us part. It cracks me up!

Next, we headed to the teacups, which DH says we rode last time, but I still say we didn't. Nonetheless, Bobbi and I get on IMMEDIATELY ! Just kidding, we had to wait one cycle, but it was still less than five minutes. Well we get on and I made Bobbi do all the work .

BEWARE, the below video may get you sick. Watch at your own risk .


Once I felt like I would lose my fish and chips, the ride came to a jerky halt. Seriously, we were spinning and spinning and then we just stopped! No slowing down, just a jerky halt.

We then decided that Bobbi was big enough for Space Mountain. Okay, I'm going to give you a side story again. When DH was 12, he was a very skinny little boy. Well, he went on Space Mountain with his sister. His sister sat behind him. Going on, once they were almost at the top of the first incline, his seatbelt unsnapped . He grabbed the bars (way back when, they had side bars on the inside of the cars) and his sister behind him held down his shoulders so he wouldn't go flying up. All in all, this was a very traumatic experience for him. Okay, back to girls night at MK. I was a little apprehensive before getting on the ride, but I trust in God and figured everything would be okay. After a 25 minute line (the longest in the park at that point), we get on board. To my dismay, they no longer have the bars on the inside of the car. I start to freak out a little, but again, I have faith that everything will be okay. I get in the car behind DD and the car starts. I have really forgotten how jerky that ride is. I hope when they renovate it, they make it smoother. It really goes fast around the bends!! Bobbi loved it and I did too, I just wish I didn't have DH's story on my mind the whole time.

After congratulating DD on surviving Space Mountain, we head to Buzz Lightyear. I took a picture of the screenshot..

After the ride, Bobbi and I walked back over the bridge to Fantasyland and I decided to take a last shot of her with the castle in the background. Fortunately, a very nice girl offered to take a picture of the both of us. Look at the time stamp. Oh yea! The girls in MK at 1:54 in the morning!!!!

On the way out of the park, we stopped at the popcorn vendor and got the Christmas bucket full of popcorn! Can I just say, MK has THE BEST popcorn!!! Bobbi and I ate about 1/4 of the bucket on our slow walk out of the park. We only waited 5 minutes for a bus and we were back in our room a little before 3 AM!

We were beat!! We brushed our teeth, threw on some pj's and headed straight to bed! I was happy that the next day, we were only going to DTD, so we were able to sleep in a bit!

Next up - Downtown Disney and the Lego Store!!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

What a great girls night! It sounds like it was so much fun - all except for that ride on the teacups!

I have to agree with you on the MK popcorn - I don't know why it tastes so good, but it does!

 

[DisneyTabby]

I couldn't even get on the teacups,you're so brave. Wow! 3am you must have been so tired the next day,but your in Disney who cares, right. Great trip report so far.

 

[NYPDwife]

I have to agree with you on the MK popcorn - I don't know why it tastes so good, but it does!

I was eating out of that bucket (it has a cover) three days later and the popcorn was still buttery delicious! I bet if I had stuck it in the microwave, it would've been like eating it on the first night!

I couldn't even get on the teacups,you're so brave. Wow! 3am you must have been so tired the next day,but your in Disney who cares, right. Great trip report so far.

Believe me, I had the only headache the next day and I attribute it to lack of sleep and vertigo from the teacups. But they were fun and Miss Bobbi got a great upper body workout, compliments of her lazy Mommy.

 

[rentayenta]

Great report!

I agree that MK does have the best popcorn!

What fun to have a girls' night out! I bet your DD loved that!




I love the hotel photos! Is that the Caribbean Beach Resort or the Coronado Springs Resort? I always confuse their abbreviations.

 

[NYPDwife]

Great report!

I agree that MK does have the best popcorn!

What fun to have a girls' night out! I bet your DD loved that!




I love the hotel photos! Is that the Caribbean Beach Resort or the Coronado Springs Resort? I always confuse their abbreviations.

She was so excited to stay at the park with me! Like I said, we didn't even wait for them to walk away, we just ran towards Adventureland!

I so miss that popcorn. I'm really craving it right now.

The hotel is the Caribbean Beach Resort. I loved it.

 

[joelp]

1:54 am - I LOVE IT!! That will be a night you'll remember for a long time ...

... and it brought back memories of the night my now-DW and I closed down Pleasant Island many moons ago ... but we were young(er) and crazy back then ... and were up at 6 the next morning to get to the MK opening ...

... and then catch a flight home that evening ("We can always sleep on the plane!" was our motto ...)

I think for our next trip I'll planning some evening EMH "days" ... the DW can always take the DD back to our room - or she can sleep in a stroller ... (the DD - not the DW ... )

I ordered my Photopass CD - so once that comes, I'll start posting my TR ... but now that I see I can upload videos to Photobucket, I may have to rethink a few things ...

Later ...

 

[NYPDwife]

1:54 am - I LOVE IT!! That will be a night you'll remember for a long time ...

... and it brought back memories of the night my now-DW and I closed down Pleasant Island many moons ago ... but we were young(er) and crazy back then ... and were up at 6 the next morning to get to the MK opening ...

... and then catch a flight home that evening ("We can always sleep on the plane!" was our motto ...)

I think for our next trip I'll planning some evening EMH "days" ... the DW can always take the DD back to our room - or she can sleep in a stroller ... (the DD - not the DW ... )

I ordered my Photopass CD - so once that comes, I'll start posting my TR ... but now that I see I can upload videos to Photobucket, I may have to rethink a few things ...

Later ...

Yes, that definitely is a night to remember forever. I just wish my son had taken his nap so we could've all experienced it together...

I have to order my PhotoPass CD and then I'll be uploading those also. We took some really great pictures and that will be the "PHOTOPASS REPORT" . We have until the 29th to order it. We're just waiting for some more $$. We had some issues when we came back home (there was poo in my garden, you'll have to wait for the report) and we had to shuffle money around so I dare not ask to order the CD, just yet.

 

[NYPDwife]

We woke up around 9:00 the next morning and I headed off to the food court to get some coffee. For anyone thinking about staying at CBR, the walk from Trinidad South to the food court is a little less than 10 minutes. It was a beautiful morning (crisp and breezy) and I didn't mind the walk by the lake. I took some pictures with my cell phone and texted them to my friends and family, just to make everyone a little jealous! Don't judge, you would have done the same thing.

I got the coffee and noticed that they don't have the cream in that thing that you just pull down the handle and it comes out of the tube. Now, you have to open a million creamer tubs if you like your coffee light like I do. I liked it the other way .

I got back to the room and DH was getting the kids ready. I seriously love that man . Finally, all of us were dressed and we go downstairs to catch the bus to DTD.

Since we got there around 12, everyone was hungry, but we took our mandatory picture with the holiday statues

We were supposed to just go and eat afterwards, but DH saw the Design a Tee store and he wanted to check it out. We decided to have tshirts made for ourselves so we each went to a kiosk and picked our pictures and fonts and put "______ Family Christmas 2008" on all of them. The CM said they would take a while to print so off we went to find Earl of Sandwich. I saw the kitchen store on the way and tried to go inside but DH said he was hungry. Suuuuuure, when you want to design a tshirt, it was okay, but when I want some Mickey potholders, you're hungry . Anyway, we walked into EoS and it was PACKED!DH decided not to wait on line so we went to Wolfgang Puck Express. The kids had pizza and I had the BBQ Chicken Foccacia sandwich and DH had the Beef & Gorgonzola pocket. They were both soooooooooo good!.

The Yukon chips were delicious! While the food is good, I do have to say, the name above the door makes it seriously pricey. $50 something dollars for lunch that consists of sandwiches and soda? Thank God for the DDP!!

Afterwards, we decided to head towards the Lego store. Our DS Michael loves Legos and collects the Indiana Jones Lego sets so we wanted to see if they had any he didn't have yet.

I wonder how long they took to build this?

and this?

the kids liked this one...it reminds me of Santa Clause II where they make the plastic Santa.

This was another place where people just NEEDED to be! Everyone seemed to be buying Legos! Michael had $60 to spend and he spent all of it in that one store!

After Lego hell, we walked around for a bit and took a picture of the new T-Rex restaurant. I wish we would've gone inside to see what it was like.

We went into The World of Disney store and got some HSM stuff for DD Bobbi. Bobbi & I also got Pixie Dusted!! Better to get pixie dusted than crop, okay, not going there.

Pongo?

Pressing on, I heard of these delicious, create your own rice krispy treats and caramel apples. Yes folks, I got both. The kids took a cute picture in the crazy mirror while they waited for all of the sugar on my apple and marshmallow treat to set.

I bought a few things in Mickey's Mart (needed a new mousepad) and then we went to pick up our design it yourself t-shirts.

By 4:30 we were ready to head over to the Wilderness Lodge for our ADR at the Whispering Canyon. We forgot to have our stuff sent to our room so we were carrying quite a few packages.

Here's DH quenching his thirst at the bus stop. Notice Bobbi staring at him, you think she wants some of that water?

Next up - Day 2 - Part II- Ketchup and Spooky Jingle Bells

 

[retiredkid]

Great update and pics. that food from WPE looks DEE-LISH !

 

[rentayenta]

Great update! That pita looks amazing!!!!

 

[bellasmommy0]

Great trip report so far, and you are coming up with some interesting ways to disquise DH!!

 

[NYPDwife]

Whew! Okay, we left off at the bus stop leaving DTD and heading to the Wilderness Lodge. We had a 5:05 ADR to Whispering Canyon. I read a few good things and a few bad things about this restaurant, but I was willing to try it out.

I was a little nervous because by 4:30, we were still waiting at the DTD bus stop.

But lucky for us, we arrived just in time!! Here was our first view of the inside of the WL!

This hotel is so beautiful and I hope that one day, we can be (financially) lucky enough to stay here!

We got to the desk at exactly 5:05 and were given a buzzer. Since we had so many bags, we went to the concierge to ask if there was anyplace we could hold them. At first the guy behind the desk gave me a snide answer and said I could just put them under the tree and hope that no one took them. I'm assuming the look on my face showed that I didn't appreciate his sarcasm, so he gave us a tag and held our bags in the luggage room.

While waiting for our buzzer to go off, I took a few pictures of the totem poles.

By 5:15, our buzzer went off and we were immediately seated. Minutes after settling in, they started the wooden horse rodeo. All of the kids in the restaurant seemed to be having a blast!

While DD & DS were horsey-ing around, I decided to make myself happy. I ordered a glowing drink. I can't remember the name but I KNOW it wasn't the YOMD Glowtini because I won't drink anything that has sweet n sour mix in it. Anyway, the drink was delicious! Here it is, in all it's glowing glory!! Isn't it pretty??


And then our food came. After walking around all day at DTD, I decided to be a little piggy and get the canyon skillet.

DS ordered the child's canyon skillet with chicken and DD ordered a hamburger.

DH ordered the meatloaf and said it was good (and he's VERY picky about meatloaf).

Well of course, we needed ketchup. Who can eat a burger without ketchup? Well, we asked our waiter who said "Are you suuuuure you want ketchup" and the kids looked at him and said yes. All of a sudden, he cups his hands to his mouth and yells out "WEEEEEEEEE NEEEEEEEEEEEED KEEEEEETTTTTTTTTCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPP!!!!!". Before we knew it, we had 6 little boys bring us about 10 or twelve bottles of ketchup. Um, I think we had ketchup to last us for a year . We thought it was the funniest thing!

I dig in to my skillet and started to get full really quick (I ate with my eyes, sue me ). This is how much I was able to get down. Compare it to the last picture...

Before we were about to order dessert, we were asked to do the HOKEY POKEY!

This was really cute and I'm glad almost everyone joins in. It's not fun if you have party poopers in the crowd

Well, right afterwards, the call for ketchup came in for another table. We had so many to carry over so DH and I helped the kids. Unfortunately, they had a smaller table then we did and I don't think the mom found it so funny, but her husband was laughing and so were her kids.

Since my dinner shelf was full, but my dessert shelf was still empty, I ordered the pecan pie and DH had the apple cobbler.

Both were delicious (yes, I just had to taste DH's), but we were full and ready to get on with our night.

 

[NYPDwife]

Great trip report so far, and you are coming up with some interesting ways to disquise DH!!

Thanks!! Photobucket has some great disguise tools!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Whispering Canyon looks like fun! I've been afraid to try it in the past because I've heard some really negative reviews, but I'm thinking we may take the plunge this next trip and give it a try! Not to mention, I want to do the sleigh ride at WL, so we'll be there already, might as well eat too!

 

[NYPDwife]

Well, right after dinner, we decided to head out for our sleigh ride. Right before we went outside, I foolishly decided to pick up our purchases from the concierge desk.

There were two horses outside hooked up to sleighs, so we asked which one we were supposed to be on. They let us pick and we chose the horse on the right. I'm glad because we got a very nice lady to take us around. We climbed in and packed all our bags under our feet. It was chilly and there was only one blanket, but we all took a corner and cuddled.

The horse had bells on its saddle and there were people around the hotel that kept pointing and staring. I guess not alot of people realized that they had sleigh rides during the holidays. We headed out into the forest, which I'm assuming is the trail to Ft. Wilderness. It was really dark and this made for some really beautiful star watching. The lady in the drivers seat spoke to us for a bit and then she put on this really beautiful Christmas music. It must have been Sarah Brightman because I remember the angelic voice. Well, with the cool breeze, the dark, starry night, Sarah Brightman serenading us and the bells on the horse, it was sooooooooooooooooooooo relaxing. DH tilted his head back and nodded off for a few minutes and I listened to the kids babbling on about how stars are made. It was such a peaceful moment.

I thought the ride was supposed to last 30 minutes but about 15 minutes into the ride, the driver turned around and headed back. Our trip was cut short about 10 minutes, but that's okay. We still had a really great experience.

She asked if we'd like our pictures taken in the sleigh so we gladly handed over our camera.

Afterwards, DH wanted to take a look around the hotel for a bit. We were able to see some our our Photopass pics at the kiosk and listen to a chorus of bells in the lobby. They were taking pictures in front of the tree, but the line was sooooo long so we just went to the giftshop to browse a bit. I was surprised because the giftshop at CBR is so much bigger than the one at WL. I found the Mickey cookbook and decided to add that to the already growing pile of bags we had (yes, I paid first!). I seriously don't know why I kept forgetting that they ship the stuff to your room.

We had originally planned on staying around to watch the Electrical Water Pagaent, but it was cold and we were a little tired so we decided to head back to our hotel.

Since we had an early breakfast the next morning, I got the kids all snuggled up into their pj's. Michael wanted to play with his new Legos and Bobbi wanted to play with her DS so I told them, lights out by 10 PM! Well, I was soooo tired that I fell asleep by 9:30 . I woke up around 11 and saw that the light was still on, so I got up to turn it off. Well, I almost bursted out laughing because the kids had built a staircase with the Legos and placed different toys around it. They're so creative those two!!!

I turned out the lights, turned off the TV and snuggled up next to my DH and pretty soon, I was snoring again.

Up next - Day III - Tuesday, December 23, 2008 -Gingerbread houses & Very Unbirthdays.

 

[NYPDwife]

Whispering Canyon looks like fun! I've been afraid to try it in the past because I've heard some really negative reviews, but I'm thinking we may take the plunge this next trip and give it a try! Not to mention, I want to do the sleigh ride at WL, so we'll be there already, might as well eat too!

Ugh, I remember when I was at 11 months until Christmas at Disney and it passed soooo slowly. Then by Thanksgiving, it was coming sooo fast!!!

Whispering Canyon was a great experience. I thought the kids wouldn't like it that much because there weren't any characters, but they jumped right in!!