LIVE from OKW ... Day 11 - post #66 - "All Good Things ..."

[El&Asmom]

Happy Anniversary. Enjoy your trip.

 

[PamOKW]

Happy Anniversary!

 

[dvc at last !]

Happy Anniversary !
We celebrated 39 years in October at the BLT.
We love, love and love OKW !
Subscribing...

 

[Husurdady]

Hi DOC, Happy 39th ANNIVERSARY, I See back in Indiana, there is more than corn growing and snow and that's long marriages, DW and I are in our 42nd year now. Where in Indiana are you from ? Have a Great Time.

 

[dvc_john]

We rode the recently rehabbed Spaceship Earth and were pleased with the improvements in the queue and also liked the comfort of the new ride vehicles.

Doc, did you mean 'Space Mountain', or 'Spaceship Earth'?

 

[jimmytammy]

Hey Doc

We have been at VWL since last Sat, staying until next Fri. We will be at the Merry mixer next Thurs so hope to see you there!

We have noticed the increase in crowds more than normal for this time of year. We bumped into Dan Murphy at 50s on Thurs and he felt the same. We concluded the DDE and the buy 4 stay 7 deal(Im not sure if that is ongoing or not) may be having the biggest impact.

Have fun!

 

[travelbug]

Thanks for the live reports, and keep them coming!

Have a wonderful anniversary at WDW.

 

[RobDoc]

Doc, did you mean 'Space Mountain', or 'Spaceship Earth'?

Thanks, John. That should have been Space Mountain at MK.

jimmytammy - I hope we see you again this year!

See you both at the mixer!

Husurdady - we're in Lafayette and our daughters are in Crawfordville and Fishers taking care of our 5 grandkids while we're away!

 

[mikeandkarla]

Happy Anniversary!

How was WoD this morning?

 

[mcrabeck]

Happy Anniversary! Hope the weather improves for you guys. It sounds like a fabulous trip you have planned!

 

[RobDoc]

Day 3

It rained pretty much through the night but was stopped when we got up at 5:30am to head over to the World of Disney event for DVC members and AP holders. Other than the email we got and an announcement on the Member's site there was nothing in our arrival documents about this event. There were gifts for the first 1000 to enter, a 15% discount on most merchandise (instead of the usual 10% for AP holders) and "Doorbuster Specials" throughout the store. We got up at 5:30am and had a cab pre-arranged to pick us up at 6:20. We were in the cab promptly at 6:20 and arrived at WoD just before the 6:30am opening. OUr first tip off was that the entire DD parking lot was filled with cars and the line waiting to get in streched from the main entrance by the lake, around the side towards Mktplc and then bacl down the street beyond McDonalds and T-Rex. We joined the line in front of Raglan Road.

The doors opened promptly at 6:30 but we didn't get thru the door until almost 7:15. As for the first 1000 guests - everyone got a wristband that enititled the holder to a gift - a VinylMation Mickey statue - and they ran out of wristbands about 35 people in front of us.

The scene inside was pretty much chaos. EVen without any significant promotion it appeared that the crowd was primarily local FL resident AP holders wanting to do some Christmas shopping and many had armloads of merchadise they were trying to carry around while searching for specific sizes on other stuff. The "Doorbuster Specials" appeared to primarily be almost outdated T-shirts (most with "WDW 2009" emblazoned on the front) as well as unsellable plush items and similar specialty items. There were quite a few of these stations scattered throughout the store, but none of interest to us. I was looking for a couple of books (no where to be seen) and DW had her eye on a necklace she had seen at MK on Thursday plus some activity books for our grandkids. The watch/jewelry section was wild, with a long line of guests wanting assistance and only 2 CMs at the counter. After a 15 minute wait we found the necklace and about 10 minutes later we told it was the last one they had - and that there was no discount on jewelry, watches or ceramics. We did get the 10% AP discount on the watch, but were told that the stores in the parks were also honoring the AP discount (at least on jewelry) thru 1/3/10 - so we could have purchased the same necklace at the same price on Thursday (and saved the trip this morning). We did pick up the activity books and the 15% sale discount saved us $3. We left the store about 7:45 - there was still a line waiting outside to get in - and walked thru LegoLand which had opened early because of all the traffic in the area and then decided to have a quick breakfast at McDonalds when it opened at 8am. The DVC discount saved us another $2 there - so all in all our shopping excursion "saved" us a net of a $5 loss since the cab cost us $10 including tip! Did I mention that it had also started to rain?

Other than McDonalds and LegoLand, nothing else at DD was open yet, so we just headed to the Bus Stop and rode back to OKW.

The rain did finally stop about noon, the temp is about 62 with a slight breeze and it feels pretty chilly.

Housekeeping came at about 9:30am for our full clean (this is Day 4 on the DVC calendar) and she did a good job cleaning the villa.

We left OKW by bus around 3pm and headed to MK to walk to the Contemporary for an early dinner at California Grill. We arrived at the CR about 3:45 and then enjoyed walking around the concourse shops followed by taking the monorail to see the Holiday decor at the Grand Floridian. As always, the GF tree is spectacular and the Gingerbread House is a lot of fun. There was a wedding party taking photos on the grand staircase and the band was playing on the second level. We browsed the GF shops and then boarded the monorail back to the CR. We did not have reservations at the CA Grill, but were able to take the first elevator to the restaurant at 5:00pm and got a window table in the lounge. We had our favorite server, Karl, who proceeded to treat us royally as he always does. We each had a nice glass of Chardonnay, followed by the squash soup once the restaurant opened at 5:30. DW ordered the Filet and I had the Grouper and both were wonderful with a bottle of "Black Chicken" Zinfandel. The view from the CA Grill is really wonderful and about 6:30pm we were treated to the lighting of the Castle with Cinderella's Wish ceremony where the castle is illuminated in ice. Truly beautiful from above!

Another wonderful day in Paradise.

We have nothing planned for tomorrow and will just have to see what happens. Temps are predicted to be around 70.

Quiet days can be a wonderful thing!

 

[Disney Princess]

It sounds like the later half of your day was just about perfect! Your story about the WoD crowd makes me laugh. I was sad when I first heard we'd be missing this event, but I think I'll live without it. I would be like you - end up spending money to save! I'm happy you had a nice dinner, and I am more happy to hear that you made it up without an ADR. Being up there for the castle lighting sounds wonderful. I hadn't even thought of that.

I hope your anniversary trip continues to go well. Enjoy the rain-free weather.

 

[DisneyJen]

Thanks for the idea of watching the Castle lighting from California Grill

We have a 5:30 p.m. dinner reservation in two weeks and then we planned on doing the monorail loop to see the resort decorations. Never thought about watching the Castle light during dinner

 

[dvc at last !]

I am enjoying reading your "live" TR. Hope your anniversary was great !
The trip to DD for the sale sounds quite funny. Oh well...
your dinner at the CR and the watching the lights on the castle
is a great idea !

 

[RobDoc]

No rain today. There is some sun which makes it look warmer than it feels. The temps today are mid-upper 60's - depending on the clouds.

We had another lazy morning and after a light breakfast headed over to AK around noon. We wanted to ride the Safari and see the Nemo musical and have lunch at Flametree. The next Nemo show was at 2:00pm, so we walked back to KS. Fastpass was for times after 3pm and the standby line was listed as 40 minutes, so we got in line. It moved pretty quickly and we were seated on the vehicle within 15 minutes.

The Safari was pretty typical with good views of a lot of animals and a driver with good delivery of the script. Afterwards we went to Flametree - which is a great counter serve and also on the TIW 20% list - and both had the 1/2 chicken and a beer. When we finished, it was 1:45 so we hustled over to Nemo - the show was already filled and they still had a long line for possible standing room for the show so we voted to take a pass and try again later in our stay. We've seen the show many, many times and really enjoy the production, but not enough to wait in line for another 90 minutes.

We'll have a quiet evening around the resort and head out again tomorrow morning. We have lunch reservations at Le Cellier late afternoon.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Doc, please tell me that you have gotten the rain and chilly temps out there for awhile! We arrive on Tuesday just ahead of a predicted snow storm here. I want warmth and dryness!

 

[RobDoc]

Doc, please tell me that you have gotten the rain and chilly temps out there for awhile! We arrive on Tuesday just ahead of a predicted snow storm here. I want warmth and dryness!

It'll be warmer than MN!

Prediction is for 78 tomorrow with scattered showers followed by highs of 81 Tues. and 85 on Wed both also with possibility of showers - but no all day rain events.

No snow has been forecast.

Have a safe trip down!

 

[JimC]

Right now Wednesday is the best shot of rain/thunderstorms for us next week. Figures it would be the day we are doing the CP dining package. Well we did it in a miserable cold downpour before and we will do it again if need be. It is too good of a program to miss.

 

[RobDoc]

The weather today was greatly improved. Overnight temps stayed in the low 60's and predicted high was 78. It was pleasantly cool this morning, but when the clouds cleared about 1:30 it warmed up quickly and was pretty humid.

We entered DHS about 9:30 and got a FP for TSM for 12:50. The line was minimal so we went on in and then were able to ride again immediately a second time. After TSM we went into One Man's Dream - a favorite - and then over to TGMR before heading back to TSM to ride once more before our FP time. I finally got over 210,000 this trip, but that was nowhere near the high score board.

Next we took the bus to Epcot for our 2:20 reservation at Le Cellier. They are not taking any walkups at Le Cellier -- we overheard the spiel about 3 times while waiting to be seated. They are suggesting Rose&Crown, Biergarten and/or Chefs de france for those wanting a walk-up dining option.

Our meal was nice as usual. We shared the shared appetizer - beefsteak tomato, lump crab cakes and cheese soup - very nice and DW enjoyed the King Salmon while I had the filet. As usual, the breadsticks were great too!

After dining we went to listen to the Voices of Liberty again and then went up to the American Adventure program - wonderful as always. After the show got out at 5:10 we watched a few minutes of the Candlelight Processional. Tonight's narrator was Anika Noni Rose - who provides the voice of the Princess in thee new Disney movie The Princess and the Frog which opens on Friday. She did a nice job.

Nothing planned tomorrow except possibly the Owners Locker wine event at Epcot. I'm sure we'll find something else to do before then though.

Temps tomorrow are expected to be around 82 and then 83 on Wednesday with a chance of scattered showers mostly Wednesday into Thursday. Predicted temps for Thursday will drop back to around 70.

OKW has been at occupancy this week. Yesterday there were 330 checkouts ... and 330 arrivals, so the resort staff was really busy all day.

The park crowds (at DHS and Epcot) seemed to be better today, but still busier than we are accustomed to at this time of the year.

Wednesday is the DVC Annual meeting. I hope to file a report from the meeting. We plan to attend both the board meeting and the member meeting.

 

[dianeschlicht]

It'll be warmer than MN!

Prediction is for 78 tomorrow with scattered showers followed by highs of 81 Tues. and 85 on Wed both also with possibility of showers - but no all day rain events.

No snow has been forecast.

Have a safe trip down!

LOL, well I was pretty sure no snow would be in the forecast!

That 81 and 85 sound marvelous too! Unfortunately, It will likely be that when we arrive in the mid afternoon, and we'll still be wearing Minnesota clothes until we get into our room!