verticalchaos
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2007
- Messages
- 1,739
It all started on Christmas Day. I got to MCO about 10am. I debated waiting for my parents, but decided when Daddy called to say they weren't on the plane yet to go ahead and go, so it was off to the Magical Express counter, and thus began the magic.
I got to the counter area and there was NO ONE on my side of the counter. They were all on the other side! I had on my Mickey Ears Santa hat, and an older man working at the counter had one on too. He threw his arms open and said "My people have arrived!" He got me all checked in and walked me down to the red carpet where someone else took over and walked me down my aisle where I was handed off to another person who walked me to my bus. The advantages of there being no one else there! There were people on the bus, and we waited for a few minutes before taking off.
Being at Saratoga Springs, I was the last one dropped off. My sister had put my name on the room, and she said she thought I could check in and she would come in later and put her card on the room. (She's a CM. The card is in her name, but billed to my dad. And yes, she stayed in the room with us as per their rules.) It worked, so I got in. We were in a 1 bedroom villa in The Grandstands ~ 8345 to be exact. It was really nice. Mom and Daddy had the bedroom. I had the sofa bed, and we made a little bed with the sofa cushions for my sister.
Once Mom and Daddy arrived, we grabbed a late lunch at Artist's Palette and headed to Downtown Disney. We were going to see "Enchanted" as sis had tickets she would exchange, but just as she got in line, the show we were going to sold out. We walked around and shopped before grabbing a bit to eat at Wolfgang Puck Express. Then it was back to the villa where I took a nice soak in the garden jacuzzi tub!
Day 2 was EPCOT. We went on Spaceship Earth first. And our car didn't work. No sound, nothing on the screens.
We let them know when we got off, and they immediately put the little grey cases over the top and offered to let us get in another car. We decided not to at that point, but figured we would later. Then sis went to get fast passes for Soarin while Mom, Daddy and I went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. It's cute...but I don't think you see the animals as well. We also did Turtle Talk with Crush, which is adorable. Then it was off to the Rose and Crown for lunch on the Candlelight Package. We had an agreement where I'd cover one meal, and this was it. I was a little upset before we went because sis accidentally told me it was $12 less than it was ~ but I found out before, and it was all good. YUMMY food!!! And the ploughman's lunch is HUGE!!!! Big thumbs up for the chocolate guiness torte as well! YUM! We walked around World Showcase until time to line up for Candlelight at 5pm. It was good... I was a little Christmas story-ed out, but it was nice. Apparently one of the guest choirs didn't tell their girls to eat. No fewer than 8 of them were escorted out looking quite pale. And that was just one side. I couldn't see the other. We went to Soarin and rode that, then went back to Spaceship Earth. We all clapped and cheered when the words "Spaceship Earth" came up on our screen ~ probably confusing the people around us. I like it...but it does feel like the descent is unfinished ~ even with the computer screen thing, which is adorable. We'd all seen holiday illuminations and were tired, so we headed back to the resort.
The next day was Sea World ~ we hadn't planned on it, but one of my sister's friends has an uncle who works for the Busch parks and had given us some tickets if we wanted to use them. It had been 25 years or so since we'd been to Sea World, so we went. It wasn't Disney, but if you want to see marine life, it's awesome! I loved it. The Believe show is spectacular!! Doing that meant skipping the Studios, but that's our least favorite park, so we didn't mind. We headed back and got changed for dinner at Artist Point which was delicious!!! I had the pork chop and then coffee two ways for dessert. YUM!!! Also loved the Stomp Merlot. Excellent!!
Friday we started at Animal Kingdom. I had never ridden Everest, so Mom, Sis and I got in line. Daddy doesn't do those rides well (never mind he insisted on trying it the last time they were there and was sick the rest of the day), so he waited for us. Incidentally, in the main (non fastpass) line, there are TWO hidden Mickey's in the room before the museum. One's obvious, the other you have to look for. Sorry...I don't have pictures of that ~ like an idiot I left my bag and camera with Daddy. We had some time to kill before the 1pm Nemo show, so we grabbed a snack. I went to ride Everest again (via the single rider line). By the time I got out, they were already in the theatre and there was no way I was getting in, so I had to skip the Nemo show. I opted to ride Everest a third time and then headed over to Camp Minnie Mickey to meet them for Festival of the Lion King. They've changed some of the orchestrations, but it's still excellent. It was a little weird because the audience was DEAD, which brought the energy down, but it's still my favorite. After that, we barely escaped the parade and headed to the Yacht and Beach club for Sis's meal at Beaches and Cream. YUMMY burgers, and the brownie a la mode is wonderful chocolatey gooey goodness. Then we headed into the Magic Kingdom. Did the Haunted Mansion ~ LOVE the changes they've made there. Then found a spot for Spectromagic (not my favorite, but we got great places for the fireworks) and Holiday Wishes. Very pretty! We went on Pirates after that to see the addition of Jack Sparrow ~ love the ride! Then in spite of it being Extra Magic Hours until 3am, we headed back because we were TIRED.
Saturday we met friends in the Saratoga Springs lobby and had breakfast. I checked into my flight (JetBlue... Word of caution ~ if you check in online on your way there, they may not be able to print your boarding pass at the resort. It's no big deal, I got it at the airport, but that seemed to create a problem with their system ~ I'm guessing since that's what the woman checking me in at the resort asked me.) and Mom and Daddy stored their luggage (they weren't on a preferred airline). We did a little shopping at Downtown Disney, then ate at the Earl of Sandwich. Then we headed back and waited on the Magical Express for my trip. I was to leave at 3:30. At 3:45 a bus pulled up and the driver said "I've come to rescue you!" Apparently the 3:30 we were supposed to go on filled before it got to us, so they had him pick us up. Mom and Daddy were supposed to go at 4, but since there was room and we were going to the airport from there, he let them on with me.
All in all, it was a great vacation!!!
If you want to see pictures, the links to my facebook albums are in my journal entry here.
I got to the counter area and there was NO ONE on my side of the counter. They were all on the other side! I had on my Mickey Ears Santa hat, and an older man working at the counter had one on too. He threw his arms open and said "My people have arrived!" He got me all checked in and walked me down to the red carpet where someone else took over and walked me down my aisle where I was handed off to another person who walked me to my bus. The advantages of there being no one else there! There were people on the bus, and we waited for a few minutes before taking off.
Being at Saratoga Springs, I was the last one dropped off. My sister had put my name on the room, and she said she thought I could check in and she would come in later and put her card on the room. (She's a CM. The card is in her name, but billed to my dad. And yes, she stayed in the room with us as per their rules.) It worked, so I got in. We were in a 1 bedroom villa in The Grandstands ~ 8345 to be exact. It was really nice. Mom and Daddy had the bedroom. I had the sofa bed, and we made a little bed with the sofa cushions for my sister.
Once Mom and Daddy arrived, we grabbed a late lunch at Artist's Palette and headed to Downtown Disney. We were going to see "Enchanted" as sis had tickets she would exchange, but just as she got in line, the show we were going to sold out. We walked around and shopped before grabbing a bit to eat at Wolfgang Puck Express. Then it was back to the villa where I took a nice soak in the garden jacuzzi tub!
Day 2 was EPCOT. We went on Spaceship Earth first. And our car didn't work. No sound, nothing on the screens.
We let them know when we got off, and they immediately put the little grey cases over the top and offered to let us get in another car. We decided not to at that point, but figured we would later. Then sis went to get fast passes for Soarin while Mom, Daddy and I went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. It's cute...but I don't think you see the animals as well. We also did Turtle Talk with Crush, which is adorable. Then it was off to the Rose and Crown for lunch on the Candlelight Package. We had an agreement where I'd cover one meal, and this was it. I was a little upset before we went because sis accidentally told me it was $12 less than it was ~ but I found out before, and it was all good. YUMMY food!!! And the ploughman's lunch is HUGE!!!! Big thumbs up for the chocolate guiness torte as well! YUM! We walked around World Showcase until time to line up for Candlelight at 5pm. It was good... I was a little Christmas story-ed out, but it was nice. Apparently one of the guest choirs didn't tell their girls to eat. No fewer than 8 of them were escorted out looking quite pale. And that was just one side. I couldn't see the other. We went to Soarin and rode that, then went back to Spaceship Earth. We all clapped and cheered when the words "Spaceship Earth" came up on our screen ~ probably confusing the people around us. I like it...but it does feel like the descent is unfinished ~ even with the computer screen thing, which is adorable. We'd all seen holiday illuminations and were tired, so we headed back to the resort.The next day was Sea World ~ we hadn't planned on it, but one of my sister's friends has an uncle who works for the Busch parks and had given us some tickets if we wanted to use them. It had been 25 years or so since we'd been to Sea World, so we went. It wasn't Disney, but if you want to see marine life, it's awesome! I loved it. The Believe show is spectacular!! Doing that meant skipping the Studios, but that's our least favorite park, so we didn't mind. We headed back and got changed for dinner at Artist Point which was delicious!!! I had the pork chop and then coffee two ways for dessert. YUM!!! Also loved the Stomp Merlot. Excellent!!
Friday we started at Animal Kingdom. I had never ridden Everest, so Mom, Sis and I got in line. Daddy doesn't do those rides well (never mind he insisted on trying it the last time they were there and was sick the rest of the day), so he waited for us. Incidentally, in the main (non fastpass) line, there are TWO hidden Mickey's in the room before the museum. One's obvious, the other you have to look for. Sorry...I don't have pictures of that ~ like an idiot I left my bag and camera with Daddy. We had some time to kill before the 1pm Nemo show, so we grabbed a snack. I went to ride Everest again (via the single rider line). By the time I got out, they were already in the theatre and there was no way I was getting in, so I had to skip the Nemo show. I opted to ride Everest a third time and then headed over to Camp Minnie Mickey to meet them for Festival of the Lion King. They've changed some of the orchestrations, but it's still excellent. It was a little weird because the audience was DEAD, which brought the energy down, but it's still my favorite. After that, we barely escaped the parade and headed to the Yacht and Beach club for Sis's meal at Beaches and Cream. YUMMY burgers, and the brownie a la mode is wonderful chocolatey gooey goodness. Then we headed into the Magic Kingdom. Did the Haunted Mansion ~ LOVE the changes they've made there. Then found a spot for Spectromagic (not my favorite, but we got great places for the fireworks) and Holiday Wishes. Very pretty! We went on Pirates after that to see the addition of Jack Sparrow ~ love the ride! Then in spite of it being Extra Magic Hours until 3am, we headed back because we were TIRED.
Saturday we met friends in the Saratoga Springs lobby and had breakfast. I checked into my flight (JetBlue... Word of caution ~ if you check in online on your way there, they may not be able to print your boarding pass at the resort. It's no big deal, I got it at the airport, but that seemed to create a problem with their system ~ I'm guessing since that's what the woman checking me in at the resort asked me.) and Mom and Daddy stored their luggage (they weren't on a preferred airline). We did a little shopping at Downtown Disney, then ate at the Earl of Sandwich. Then we headed back and waited on the Magical Express for my trip. I was to leave at 3:30. At 3:45 a bus pulled up and the driver said "I've come to rescue you!" Apparently the 3:30 we were supposed to go on filled before it got to us, so they had him pick us up. Mom and Daddy were supposed to go at 4, but since there was room and we were going to the airport from there, he let them on with me.
All in all, it was a great vacation!!!
If you want to see pictures, the links to my facebook albums are in my journal entry here.
