Hi, All.
Posting my first trip report. Sorry if I go on a little long! This trip was myself and a friend. We had travelled to WDW last year around Halloween and decided to go down for a Christmas trip this year.
Friday, December 6, 2002
Well, this day actually began at 6:00pm December 5th when I discovered on Deltas website that my 7:00am flight on the 6th had been cancelled. 45 minutes on the phone with Delta led to the discovery that the only flight available to me was Friday at 7:55pm! One day of my precious four day vacation lost due to a minor snowstorm. Ah, well, at least we found out before we left for the airport Friday morning.
When we finally checked in Friday night, we couldnt be assigned seats till we got to the gate and then we couldnt sit together (not a big deal, but just another thing that went wrong). We arrived in Orlando at 11:15pm and had to wait a few minutes for a Mears shuttle, getting to the All-Star Movies around an hour later. Believe it or not, there was a line at the check-in desk at that hour and we didnt get into our room in the Mighty Ducks section until around 1:00am. That was when we discovered the final challenge of the day: we were assigned to a king-bedded room when we wanted 2 doubles. So, I called the front desk only to be told that the hotel was completely sold out for the night, but she would be happy to have a cot sent up. Not wanting to wait any longer to get to bed (we had a 9:00am PS for breakfast the next day or is it later that morning?), we declined the offer, but did ask if we could be moved the next day. I was told that would be no problem and a message would be left on our phone when that had been accomplished. I advised her that we had an early breakfast the next day and should I check at the front desk before heading out. I was told that would not be necessary. Thus reassured, we went to bed.
Saturday, December 7, 2002
6:30am wake-up call (thankfully its not me hearing Mickeys voice). 8:00am bus to Epcot for our 9:00am PS for the Storybook Princess Breakfast. We were able to pick up our Candlelight Processional materials before entering the park. Security check-in went smoothly through the special line and it was quite a treat to stroll through a practically empty Epcot before the general public was let in. Got to the breakfast and were seated right away. Fruit and pastries were brought immediately with juice and coffee and the hot food came very shortly thereafter. The food here is at least as good as at Cinderellas and the ambiance was almost as regal. Our server was very friendly, as well. The characters (Princess Aurora, Belle, Mary Poppins, Mulan and Jasmine) came through in a very orderly fashion and spent a few minutes talking with us, even though we had no kids. This breakfast gets two thumbs up from us.
After breakfast, we obtained a Fastpass for Test Track and went shopping (love that 15% discount). After dropping mucho dinero at MouseGear and having our stuff shipped to the resort, we went back and rode Test Track. The park guide didnt list the Journey Into Imagination ride as being closed, despite my reading that it was, so we went over only to find out that it was, in fact, closed. Ah, well, we wound up going to the Land to see Food Rocks at my friends request. No crowds to report at this time anywhere.
By this time, World Showcase was open, so we went back to make our circuit. It was so enjoyable to see the countries in their holiday finery. We lucked out and saw the Holiday Storytellers at several pavilions Canada, United Kingdom and France. They were all great storytellers, especially in the UK. We were also able to get pictures of the storytellers in Morocco and Italy and saw Santa Claus in the US, but he didnt tell a story, just listened to what children wanted for Christmas. We also took time to see the American Adventure and have lunch at the Liberty Inn. I was very gratified to see that displays devoted to Hanukkah and Kwanza were set up inside the American Adventure building.
As we completed our circuit and were leaving the Mexico pavilion, we saw the Disney Characters on Holiday bus just ahead of us. As seeing characters was a priority for us, we caught up with them and were treated to lots of pictures and autographs. I couldnt believe the number of characters they squeeze on there we saw the White Rabbit, Meeko, Prince John, King Louie, Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Minnie, Chip & Dale, Goofy, Pluto, Gepetto, Gideon, Rafiki and Mr. Smee. Talk about one stop character shopping!
While we were in Showcase Plaza, we also took pictures of the archway and HUGE Christmas tree. After that, it was time to head over for the Candlelight Processional. It was my first time seeing this presentation and was I impressed! We got right in and got great seats. Not sure how the pictures we took will come out, but we will have our memories. Marlee Matlin was narrating that night (with interpreter) and everything was perfect. The music, the ambiance, the snow at the end. Cant say enough about it! We had some time to kill until our dinner PS at Le Cellier, so we decided to drop some stuff off in the locker we got at the beginning of the day and were then able to walk right on Spaceship Earth. We then went back to check in for dinner. Waited about 20-30 minutes for dinner, but it was worth it. Great food with great ambiance (though the server was a bit pushy in recommending higher priced wines). I initially thought the portions to be small, but was nearly full after the entrée and wasnt sure Id have room for dessert, but was able to make a decent stab at it. After dinner, we found spaces around the lagoon for Illuminations. What a great show!
We made out way back to the hotel, anticipating have two beds to sleep in. Unfortunately, the front desk informed us that nobody had made our room switch and they were again full. At this point, it would have been foolish to pursue the matter further at that level, and we just decided to leave things as they were. Tomorrow, after all, would be a long day.
Sunday, December 8, 2002
Another 6:30am wake-up call! Wish we could have slept in, but today is the day to make up for the time missed on Friday. Another 8:00am bus, this time to Disney-MGM Studios. Through the gates at 9:00am and first stop breakfast at the ABC Commissary. Believe it or not, we werent the first people there! After breakfast, we took in Muppet Vision 3D, then headed over to the Great Movie Ride. Practically walked in to both.
Then headed over to Who Wants to be a Millionaire Play It! The audience was only about half full. The fastest finger question was Put the presidents in order of their appearance on Mt. Rushmore. Ah, well, I just hit the buttons and hoped for the best. Appropriately, the person who got it was in seat #1 in the fastest finger row. Ive seen this attraction both at WDW and DCA and know the importance of pressing the button of the correct answer as soon as it appears on the screen. I heard a woman behind me saying Its better to be quick than right, which I thought was ridiculous what good is a quick, wrong answer? Anyway, when the contestant hit the 1,000 point level and they flashed the top 10 scores, my friend was #8 and I was #4. Cool! The contestant then lost on the 32,000 point question and they showed the scores to see who would take his place. My friend was #9 and I kept looking to see my seat number and got a little put out when it didnt show, as I knew I had answered all the questions correctly. Then, they showed #1 and it was me! I was completely shocked! I somehow got down to the stage (they had people to guide me the whole way down, thankfully) and settled in. I got up to 1,000 points with no difficulty and then managed to get up to 32,000 without needing to use a lifeline. I kept praying for the times up horn to go off so I get a breather I was so nervous! I kept rubbing the tops of my legs, Im surprised my jeans didnt fade! My 64,000 point question was What is a million million? None of the answers looked right, so I 50/50d and was left with trillion and quadrillion. Trillion didnt sound high enough, so I said quadrillion and was wrong. Ah, well I was thankful to get that far and walked off with a smile on my face and in my heart. I was brought backstage to get my prizes and sign a waiver. I thought it was interesting that the prize person started to ask me when the last time I won was. I guess they must get a lot of locals who just win again and again as soon as theyre eligible. Easily the most exciting thing to happen to me in a long time!
Still light-headed, we returned to the plaza around the hat and into another character extravaganza. Eeyore, Dopey and Donald had been there most of the day, but now Cinderella, Princess Aurora, Snow White, Mulan as Ping, Megara, and Wendy were appearing. I got a photo with Megara and made a mental note to try to come back for the others (never did, but I had seen most of them before). Then off to Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage. A personal favorite of mine, the changes made a year or so ago makes the flow a little smoother. Just love it! We then set off in search of Lilo and Stitch and found them near the Magic of Disney Animation. Then lunch at Backlot Express and time to grab a spot for the Disney Stars & Motor Cars parade. Got a great spot in front of Sounds Dangerous. Lots of pictures, but was disappointed that the Atlantis car was taken out, as I didnt get any good pictures last year. We then headed over to Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular to find that it was pretty much the same show its always been, but neither of us had seen it for a while, so we werent disappointed.
We had tickets for Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party that night, but made the decision to stay at the Studios to see Fantasmic and the Osborne Lights before going over to MK. We got to Fantasmic about an hour and 15 minutes before showtime and were rewarded with seats in the very middle section. I was kind of surprised, as Ive shown up an hour before and had to sit way over on one side or the other. The final sections were just filling up about 15 minutes before it started. I just love Fantasmic!
After it was over, we went to see the Osborne lights, which I had seen before but my friend hadnt and we were both bowled over by its beauty. We didnt see anybody giving out the special glasses (although just everybody else had them), but I wasnt going to quibble. An argument could be made that Fantasmic and the Lights were worth the days admission to the Studios.
We got to MK for MVMCP around 8:00pm and people were lined up for the early parade already. We zipped through the stores on the right-hand side to get to Tomorrowland and almost ran right past Belle off to the side in her Enchanted Christmas dress. I was able to spend a few minutes talking with her as nobody else seemed to know she was there. When we got to Tomorrowland, we rode Space Mountain and then were able to WALK ON Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin. Just walked on. As many times as Ive taken that ride, I still cant get the hang of it. Its fun anyway. After that, we bought fun Christmas hats and found our spots for the fireworks on the bridge into Tomorrowland. Its really my favorite spot for fireworks, especially for the special parties, as you get the full 360 degree effect and Rudolph (or the witch at Halloween) flies right over your head.
By now, we were ravenous, so we had dinner at Cosmic Rays Starlight Café. Then we got our complimentary picture taken and grabbed spots for the second parade. The parade was pretty much the same as two years ago, but did have a couple of new units. It was really just icing on the cake, I would have loved it anyway. We then headed over to Fantasyland to find it just about deserted. They had Cinderellas Carriage set up on that side of the Castle and Cinderella, Snow White and Princess Aurora were there for photo-ops. We were able to ride Small World, Peter Pan, Cinderellas Carousel and Snow White in quick succession with no waits (the CM at Small World said we were the first people shed had in 20 minutes). By now it was midnight and we were able to see the last showing of Celebrate the Season at the Castle Forecourt Stage. I was struck by how large the cast was. We had wanted to see Mickeys Twas the Night Before Christmas, but never got back that way. What a long, but enjoyable day!
Monday, December 9, 2002
One last 6:30am wake-up call! We never really unpacked, so we really didnt need to pack up anything besides the results of our frequent shopping therapy (thank you, Kirstie Alley!). It was raining off and on (mostly on). I had an umbrella and my friend bought a poncho. An 8:00am bus to the Magic Kingdom and an 8:55am PS for Cinderellas Breakfast. We only had to wait about 5-10 minutes to be seated and got the table for 2 right next to the window we had last year (the best seat in the house). The food was a little cold, but not to the point of complaining about. We saw Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Mary Poppins and Princess Aurora upstairs and Fairy Godmother in the lobby. I asked Fairy Godmother if she could do anything about the rain and she said shed see what she could do. After breakfast, I had a surprise for my friend, who is a big villains fan. We headed over to the Fantasyland Character Festival and were rewarded by being able to have the Snow Queen, Maleficent, Cruella de Vil and Jafar practically to ourselves. What a fun group to hang out with!
From there, we headed over to the Haunted Mansion, then over to the Country Bear Jamboree for their Christmas show, which was new for both of us. What fun! I was hoping to get my friend onto Splash Mountain, but he was a little hesitant, so we went over to Adventureland. We started with the Jungle Cruise and got more wet from water dripping off the roof of the boat than from the rain. My friend had never done this ride before and was a little under-whelmed. It just doesnt hold the same allure now that you can see most of the animals for real over at the Animal Kingdom. Also, the guides radio didnt really work, so his spiel was lost on us. We then headed over to the Tiki Birds, mostly because we had time and it was indoors, but I do enjoy the new show.
Then we went over to Pirates of the Caribbean and, again, walked right on (the rain really seemed to keep the lines down, but the time of year may also have had something to do with that). I was really hoping that reports that I had read about Peter Pan making appearances at this ride were true, so I asked a CM who said he would be coming out around 1:00pm. We saw Captain Hook and got a picture with him. The CM said to keep a look out for Peter Pan and Wendy, as they wander around when making appearances. Sure enough, they came out and wandered around Adventureland and Frontierland. I was nervous to approach them, but they stopped for a minute and I went up to them and they happily agreed to a picture and autographs. By then, my friend agreed to go on Splash Mountain, so we went over and did that. We decided to skip Big Thunder Mountain Railroad due to its being mostly outside and the rain was starting to pick up.
By now, it was time to grab some lunch at the Columbia Harbor House, some last minute shopping therapy and then the bus back to the resort to wait for the transfer back to the airport. Surprisingly, everything went very smoothly at the airport and we arrived back in Boston with no further trauma.
Interestingly, I looked back over my original itinerary and was surprised to find that there wasnt anything we were forced to skip over due to not having enough time during our shortened trip. It would have been nice to be able to do everything with a little more time to smell the roses, but we were able to smell enough roses to not feel overly-rushed. Another Disney trip to score in the win column!
Posting my first trip report. Sorry if I go on a little long! This trip was myself and a friend. We had travelled to WDW last year around Halloween and decided to go down for a Christmas trip this year.
Friday, December 6, 2002
Well, this day actually began at 6:00pm December 5th when I discovered on Deltas website that my 7:00am flight on the 6th had been cancelled. 45 minutes on the phone with Delta led to the discovery that the only flight available to me was Friday at 7:55pm! One day of my precious four day vacation lost due to a minor snowstorm. Ah, well, at least we found out before we left for the airport Friday morning.
When we finally checked in Friday night, we couldnt be assigned seats till we got to the gate and then we couldnt sit together (not a big deal, but just another thing that went wrong). We arrived in Orlando at 11:15pm and had to wait a few minutes for a Mears shuttle, getting to the All-Star Movies around an hour later. Believe it or not, there was a line at the check-in desk at that hour and we didnt get into our room in the Mighty Ducks section until around 1:00am. That was when we discovered the final challenge of the day: we were assigned to a king-bedded room when we wanted 2 doubles. So, I called the front desk only to be told that the hotel was completely sold out for the night, but she would be happy to have a cot sent up. Not wanting to wait any longer to get to bed (we had a 9:00am PS for breakfast the next day or is it later that morning?), we declined the offer, but did ask if we could be moved the next day. I was told that would be no problem and a message would be left on our phone when that had been accomplished. I advised her that we had an early breakfast the next day and should I check at the front desk before heading out. I was told that would not be necessary. Thus reassured, we went to bed.
Saturday, December 7, 2002
6:30am wake-up call (thankfully its not me hearing Mickeys voice). 8:00am bus to Epcot for our 9:00am PS for the Storybook Princess Breakfast. We were able to pick up our Candlelight Processional materials before entering the park. Security check-in went smoothly through the special line and it was quite a treat to stroll through a practically empty Epcot before the general public was let in. Got to the breakfast and were seated right away. Fruit and pastries were brought immediately with juice and coffee and the hot food came very shortly thereafter. The food here is at least as good as at Cinderellas and the ambiance was almost as regal. Our server was very friendly, as well. The characters (Princess Aurora, Belle, Mary Poppins, Mulan and Jasmine) came through in a very orderly fashion and spent a few minutes talking with us, even though we had no kids. This breakfast gets two thumbs up from us.
After breakfast, we obtained a Fastpass for Test Track and went shopping (love that 15% discount). After dropping mucho dinero at MouseGear and having our stuff shipped to the resort, we went back and rode Test Track. The park guide didnt list the Journey Into Imagination ride as being closed, despite my reading that it was, so we went over only to find out that it was, in fact, closed. Ah, well, we wound up going to the Land to see Food Rocks at my friends request. No crowds to report at this time anywhere.
By this time, World Showcase was open, so we went back to make our circuit. It was so enjoyable to see the countries in their holiday finery. We lucked out and saw the Holiday Storytellers at several pavilions Canada, United Kingdom and France. They were all great storytellers, especially in the UK. We were also able to get pictures of the storytellers in Morocco and Italy and saw Santa Claus in the US, but he didnt tell a story, just listened to what children wanted for Christmas. We also took time to see the American Adventure and have lunch at the Liberty Inn. I was very gratified to see that displays devoted to Hanukkah and Kwanza were set up inside the American Adventure building.
As we completed our circuit and were leaving the Mexico pavilion, we saw the Disney Characters on Holiday bus just ahead of us. As seeing characters was a priority for us, we caught up with them and were treated to lots of pictures and autographs. I couldnt believe the number of characters they squeeze on there we saw the White Rabbit, Meeko, Prince John, King Louie, Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Minnie, Chip & Dale, Goofy, Pluto, Gepetto, Gideon, Rafiki and Mr. Smee. Talk about one stop character shopping!
While we were in Showcase Plaza, we also took pictures of the archway and HUGE Christmas tree. After that, it was time to head over for the Candlelight Processional. It was my first time seeing this presentation and was I impressed! We got right in and got great seats. Not sure how the pictures we took will come out, but we will have our memories. Marlee Matlin was narrating that night (with interpreter) and everything was perfect. The music, the ambiance, the snow at the end. Cant say enough about it! We had some time to kill until our dinner PS at Le Cellier, so we decided to drop some stuff off in the locker we got at the beginning of the day and were then able to walk right on Spaceship Earth. We then went back to check in for dinner. Waited about 20-30 minutes for dinner, but it was worth it. Great food with great ambiance (though the server was a bit pushy in recommending higher priced wines). I initially thought the portions to be small, but was nearly full after the entrée and wasnt sure Id have room for dessert, but was able to make a decent stab at it. After dinner, we found spaces around the lagoon for Illuminations. What a great show!
We made out way back to the hotel, anticipating have two beds to sleep in. Unfortunately, the front desk informed us that nobody had made our room switch and they were again full. At this point, it would have been foolish to pursue the matter further at that level, and we just decided to leave things as they were. Tomorrow, after all, would be a long day.
Sunday, December 8, 2002
Another 6:30am wake-up call! Wish we could have slept in, but today is the day to make up for the time missed on Friday. Another 8:00am bus, this time to Disney-MGM Studios. Through the gates at 9:00am and first stop breakfast at the ABC Commissary. Believe it or not, we werent the first people there! After breakfast, we took in Muppet Vision 3D, then headed over to the Great Movie Ride. Practically walked in to both.
Then headed over to Who Wants to be a Millionaire Play It! The audience was only about half full. The fastest finger question was Put the presidents in order of their appearance on Mt. Rushmore. Ah, well, I just hit the buttons and hoped for the best. Appropriately, the person who got it was in seat #1 in the fastest finger row. Ive seen this attraction both at WDW and DCA and know the importance of pressing the button of the correct answer as soon as it appears on the screen. I heard a woman behind me saying Its better to be quick than right, which I thought was ridiculous what good is a quick, wrong answer? Anyway, when the contestant hit the 1,000 point level and they flashed the top 10 scores, my friend was #8 and I was #4. Cool! The contestant then lost on the 32,000 point question and they showed the scores to see who would take his place. My friend was #9 and I kept looking to see my seat number and got a little put out when it didnt show, as I knew I had answered all the questions correctly. Then, they showed #1 and it was me! I was completely shocked! I somehow got down to the stage (they had people to guide me the whole way down, thankfully) and settled in. I got up to 1,000 points with no difficulty and then managed to get up to 32,000 without needing to use a lifeline. I kept praying for the times up horn to go off so I get a breather I was so nervous! I kept rubbing the tops of my legs, Im surprised my jeans didnt fade! My 64,000 point question was What is a million million? None of the answers looked right, so I 50/50d and was left with trillion and quadrillion. Trillion didnt sound high enough, so I said quadrillion and was wrong. Ah, well I was thankful to get that far and walked off with a smile on my face and in my heart. I was brought backstage to get my prizes and sign a waiver. I thought it was interesting that the prize person started to ask me when the last time I won was. I guess they must get a lot of locals who just win again and again as soon as theyre eligible. Easily the most exciting thing to happen to me in a long time!
Still light-headed, we returned to the plaza around the hat and into another character extravaganza. Eeyore, Dopey and Donald had been there most of the day, but now Cinderella, Princess Aurora, Snow White, Mulan as Ping, Megara, and Wendy were appearing. I got a photo with Megara and made a mental note to try to come back for the others (never did, but I had seen most of them before). Then off to Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage. A personal favorite of mine, the changes made a year or so ago makes the flow a little smoother. Just love it! We then set off in search of Lilo and Stitch and found them near the Magic of Disney Animation. Then lunch at Backlot Express and time to grab a spot for the Disney Stars & Motor Cars parade. Got a great spot in front of Sounds Dangerous. Lots of pictures, but was disappointed that the Atlantis car was taken out, as I didnt get any good pictures last year. We then headed over to Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular to find that it was pretty much the same show its always been, but neither of us had seen it for a while, so we werent disappointed.
We had tickets for Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party that night, but made the decision to stay at the Studios to see Fantasmic and the Osborne Lights before going over to MK. We got to Fantasmic about an hour and 15 minutes before showtime and were rewarded with seats in the very middle section. I was kind of surprised, as Ive shown up an hour before and had to sit way over on one side or the other. The final sections were just filling up about 15 minutes before it started. I just love Fantasmic!
After it was over, we went to see the Osborne lights, which I had seen before but my friend hadnt and we were both bowled over by its beauty. We didnt see anybody giving out the special glasses (although just everybody else had them), but I wasnt going to quibble. An argument could be made that Fantasmic and the Lights were worth the days admission to the Studios.
We got to MK for MVMCP around 8:00pm and people were lined up for the early parade already. We zipped through the stores on the right-hand side to get to Tomorrowland and almost ran right past Belle off to the side in her Enchanted Christmas dress. I was able to spend a few minutes talking with her as nobody else seemed to know she was there. When we got to Tomorrowland, we rode Space Mountain and then were able to WALK ON Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin. Just walked on. As many times as Ive taken that ride, I still cant get the hang of it. Its fun anyway. After that, we bought fun Christmas hats and found our spots for the fireworks on the bridge into Tomorrowland. Its really my favorite spot for fireworks, especially for the special parties, as you get the full 360 degree effect and Rudolph (or the witch at Halloween) flies right over your head.
By now, we were ravenous, so we had dinner at Cosmic Rays Starlight Café. Then we got our complimentary picture taken and grabbed spots for the second parade. The parade was pretty much the same as two years ago, but did have a couple of new units. It was really just icing on the cake, I would have loved it anyway. We then headed over to Fantasyland to find it just about deserted. They had Cinderellas Carriage set up on that side of the Castle and Cinderella, Snow White and Princess Aurora were there for photo-ops. We were able to ride Small World, Peter Pan, Cinderellas Carousel and Snow White in quick succession with no waits (the CM at Small World said we were the first people shed had in 20 minutes). By now it was midnight and we were able to see the last showing of Celebrate the Season at the Castle Forecourt Stage. I was struck by how large the cast was. We had wanted to see Mickeys Twas the Night Before Christmas, but never got back that way. What a long, but enjoyable day!
Monday, December 9, 2002
One last 6:30am wake-up call! We never really unpacked, so we really didnt need to pack up anything besides the results of our frequent shopping therapy (thank you, Kirstie Alley!). It was raining off and on (mostly on). I had an umbrella and my friend bought a poncho. An 8:00am bus to the Magic Kingdom and an 8:55am PS for Cinderellas Breakfast. We only had to wait about 5-10 minutes to be seated and got the table for 2 right next to the window we had last year (the best seat in the house). The food was a little cold, but not to the point of complaining about. We saw Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Mary Poppins and Princess Aurora upstairs and Fairy Godmother in the lobby. I asked Fairy Godmother if she could do anything about the rain and she said shed see what she could do. After breakfast, I had a surprise for my friend, who is a big villains fan. We headed over to the Fantasyland Character Festival and were rewarded by being able to have the Snow Queen, Maleficent, Cruella de Vil and Jafar practically to ourselves. What a fun group to hang out with!
From there, we headed over to the Haunted Mansion, then over to the Country Bear Jamboree for their Christmas show, which was new for both of us. What fun! I was hoping to get my friend onto Splash Mountain, but he was a little hesitant, so we went over to Adventureland. We started with the Jungle Cruise and got more wet from water dripping off the roof of the boat than from the rain. My friend had never done this ride before and was a little under-whelmed. It just doesnt hold the same allure now that you can see most of the animals for real over at the Animal Kingdom. Also, the guides radio didnt really work, so his spiel was lost on us. We then headed over to the Tiki Birds, mostly because we had time and it was indoors, but I do enjoy the new show.
Then we went over to Pirates of the Caribbean and, again, walked right on (the rain really seemed to keep the lines down, but the time of year may also have had something to do with that). I was really hoping that reports that I had read about Peter Pan making appearances at this ride were true, so I asked a CM who said he would be coming out around 1:00pm. We saw Captain Hook and got a picture with him. The CM said to keep a look out for Peter Pan and Wendy, as they wander around when making appearances. Sure enough, they came out and wandered around Adventureland and Frontierland. I was nervous to approach them, but they stopped for a minute and I went up to them and they happily agreed to a picture and autographs. By then, my friend agreed to go on Splash Mountain, so we went over and did that. We decided to skip Big Thunder Mountain Railroad due to its being mostly outside and the rain was starting to pick up.
By now, it was time to grab some lunch at the Columbia Harbor House, some last minute shopping therapy and then the bus back to the resort to wait for the transfer back to the airport. Surprisingly, everything went very smoothly at the airport and we arrived back in Boston with no further trauma.
Interestingly, I looked back over my original itinerary and was surprised to find that there wasnt anything we were forced to skip over due to not having enough time during our shortened trip. It would have been nice to be able to do everything with a little more time to smell the roses, but we were able to smell enough roses to not feel overly-rushed. Another Disney trip to score in the win column!
