mandymouse
Bahama Mama Time !!
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2003
- Messages
- 72,440
Castmembers
Mandy (me
), Hubby (Paul
), DD1 (Kerry
) and DD2 (Becky )
Monday 24th December 07 Christmas Eve
Our plan of action for today was to be up at 5.45am, and leave for 6.20am to arrive at Magic Kingdom (by bus) by 7am. Well things didnt go according to plan, and when I woke at 6.45am (and woke the troops), we decided to get ready and get to MGM Studios for EMHs at 8am.
We were there for opening and after being held back for 5 minutes at the Planet Hollywood shop, we grabbed FPs for Tower of Terror and rode RockNRollerCoaster. We were really surprised at how quiet it was there, so we rode RnRc again. When we got off our FP time had come round for ToT, so we grabbed another ToT FP for later and rode it.
We had breakfast at Starring Rolls of apple turnovers, cookies, muffins, fruit cups and juice.
After breakfast, Star Tours was a walk on and then we wandered around taking photos. We then went back on ToT and then headed out of the park.
Paul was looking for something computer related, that could only be found at the Target Store up by the Florida Mall, and after finding it there, he bought it along with plenty of Christmas Eve booze.
We went back to the ASSp for a lie by the pool.
Later in the afternoon, Paul, Me and Becky got the bus to Epcot for a chill out evening. First we went to The Land for a couple of glasses of White Zinfandel and an assortment of pastries, and then we rode Journey Into Imagination before walking around the World Showcase.
We stopped for some spring rolls in China, a glass of Liebfraumilch in Germany (with a bag of Haribo frogs for Becky), and Paul nearly had palpitations in Italy due to the cost of a glass (and a small one too) of Asti Martini costing $8 a glass
. We had a look in the shops and stalls set up in the US Pavillion and then we got a text from Kerry who had arrived at the park and was going to meet us in Japan.
As I waited for Kerry, I ran into Amy. We had a quick chat (I hope your DD enjoyed her Bibbity Bobbity Boutique makeover that she was having on Christmas Day) and then Kerry arrived. We had dinner at the Yakitori House of 3 Japanese Curries and 1 Teriyaki Chicken.
After some extremely expensive Cadburys chocolate in the UK Pavillion, the girls got the bus back to the ASSp, and Paul & I had an hour in the Rose & Crown.
After a quick wander around MouseGear, we got the bus back (and saw Amy at the bus stop) and the girls said that they hadnt been back long.
Tuesday 25th December 07 Christmas Day
We had a bit of a lie in today as Epcot didnt open till 9am. There were no presents to open, as wed opened them all before our trip. We got up around 7.30am and were out by 8.30am.
Outside, the park was empty, but that was because they had let people in up to the rope drop. It was really busy, btw, was that you Ian (crispy welsh) near the rope, as there was a guy wearing a blue Santa hat like your Cardiff one.
As the rope dropped, half the crowd went to Soarin and the other half went towards Test Track/Mission:Space. We went straight to M:S, and it was a good ½ hour wait due to the lines.
We wandered around Future World and then took a slow walk up to the World Showcase. I love walking around here when it hasnt opened properly, its so quiet. Anyway, we had a 10.20 ADR for the Princess Storybook Breakfast. We arrived around 10am, but we werent seated till about 10.40am.
The girls had their photo taken with Belle, and then we were shown to our table.
The girls thought that they had received all their Christmas presents, but once they sat down, mum and dad produced their surprise pressies a couple of new mobile phones. So we were the best mum and dad in the world well for the next 5 minutes anyway.
We were told to help ourselves to the buffet of pastries, meats, cheeses and fruit and then our server brought us a platter of sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, potato casserole and biscuits (those scone looking things). The food was really nice, and our server brought us another platter. The girls had their photos taking with Aurora, Jasmine, Cinderella and Mulan.
After that huge breakfast, we rolled ourselves around World Showcase, did some shopping in MouseGear and then left for DownTown Disney. We finished our souvenir shopping and then went back to the ASSp for a relax by the pool, though it was really cloudy by now, but at least I could catch up with my trip report.
After our cloud bathing, Me, Paul and Becky got the bus back to Epcot. It looked as though there had been a downpour that afternoon, but it was fine when we got there. We wandered around World Showcase, had a quick drinky-poo in the Rose & Crown and Germany and then we rode Test Track (we had picked up FPs earlier in the day) and then we went to choose a photo from our photopass, as we had a voucher from booking direct with Disney.
We got the bus back to the ASSp and had pizzas for tea before getting an early night.
Wednesday 26th December Our last full day
EMHs at Animal Kingdom lost out to a lie in and a morning of shopping.
First we went to the Florida Mall, which surprisingly wasnt as busy as we thought it would be. The girls once again bought stuff from Hot Topic and after a wander around the mall, we hit Festival Bay.
We had McDonalds for lunch and then went back to the ASSp so that Paul could have a lie by the pool, and I could get on with some washing and packing.
After a couple of hours, Paul, Becky and I got the bus over to the Magic Kingdom. We had Pineapple Floats, took photos, watched Mickeys PhilharMagic and had chicken dinners at Cosmic Rays and wandered around the shops.
After a few hours there, we got the bus back and Paul & I had a couple of drinks in the bar at the food court (blimey the Bahama Mamas are really strong here)
We got to bed around 11pm, and the depression started to set in as we thought of DownTown Disney early check-in with Virgin and possibly Islands of Adventure ??
Thursday 27th January Time to go home
At 4am I was awoken by Becky letting me know that she was going to be sick. Bless her, she hadnt slept all night and she was obviously suffering after some very salty popcorn shed had at the Magic Kingdom.
We got up around 7am and started getting ready for check-in at DownTown Disney and getting rid of our suitcases. It opened at 8.30am, all went smoothly and we were away by 9.15am.
Becky was still unwell, so Paul dropped us back to our very empty room at the ASSp, and he took Kerry to MGM Studios. Around 11.30am, after a good sleep, she woke up feeling better, so we got the bus down to MGM Studios. The place was packed, so we watched MuppetVision and did the Backlot Tour.
After a couple of hours at MGM, we drove up to the Mall at Millenia, where yet more trainers, jackets and t-shirts were bought and we had a Chinese lunch at the food court.
We left the Mall at Millenia and headed for the airport.
We dropped the car off at Alamo, and we decided to go straight through Passport Control, as it was packed. The flight was delayed by an hour to two, but the time went by so quickly. The flight was uneventful, the pilot made up lots of time, and I dont think we were too much later than our expected time of arrival when we landed.
I slept for most of the time, except when I watched Run Fatboy Run, which I thought was hilarious.
Thoughts
Yet again we had a great trip. The weather was great, as was WDW and the Cruise was FAB !!
We didnt do all the Parks, or see any characters (except at the Princess Storybook breakfast) or do all the rides we really did just what we wanted, and we loved it.
Our only gripe was the buses at the All Stars. We occasionally got a bus from our resort straight to the parks, but more often we would have to go to the other All Stars resorts, which seemed to take forever. So there was one bus for all 3 resorts, but they certainly didnt run 3 times as often.
So now our planning has gone into overdrive as we look forward to our August trip as we are staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort for the first time for 8 nights, with the free Disney Dining Plan (weve never done that before either), a 4 night Disney Wonder Cruise with two stops at Castaway Cay and 2 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel (again somewhere weve never stayed at) and WE CANT WAIT !!
Thanks for taking the time to read my reports, sorry about all the shopping, and thanks for all your comments
Mandy (me
), Hubby (Paul ), DD1 (Kerry ) and DD2 (Becky )Monday 24th December 07 Christmas Eve
Our plan of action for today was to be up at 5.45am, and leave for 6.20am to arrive at Magic Kingdom (by bus) by 7am. Well things didnt go according to plan, and when I woke at 6.45am (and woke the troops), we decided to get ready and get to MGM Studios for EMHs at 8am.
We were there for opening and after being held back for 5 minutes at the Planet Hollywood shop, we grabbed FPs for Tower of Terror and rode RockNRollerCoaster. We were really surprised at how quiet it was there, so we rode RnRc again. When we got off our FP time had come round for ToT, so we grabbed another ToT FP for later and rode it.
We had breakfast at Starring Rolls of apple turnovers, cookies, muffins, fruit cups and juice.
After breakfast, Star Tours was a walk on and then we wandered around taking photos. We then went back on ToT and then headed out of the park.
Paul was looking for something computer related, that could only be found at the Target Store up by the Florida Mall, and after finding it there, he bought it along with plenty of Christmas Eve booze.
We went back to the ASSp for a lie by the pool.
Later in the afternoon, Paul, Me and Becky got the bus to Epcot for a chill out evening. First we went to The Land for a couple of glasses of White Zinfandel and an assortment of pastries, and then we rode Journey Into Imagination before walking around the World Showcase.
We stopped for some spring rolls in China, a glass of Liebfraumilch in Germany (with a bag of Haribo frogs for Becky), and Paul nearly had palpitations in Italy due to the cost of a glass (and a small one too) of Asti Martini costing $8 a glass
As I waited for Kerry, I ran into Amy. We had a quick chat (I hope your DD enjoyed her Bibbity Bobbity Boutique makeover that she was having on Christmas Day) and then Kerry arrived. We had dinner at the Yakitori House of 3 Japanese Curries and 1 Teriyaki Chicken.
After some extremely expensive Cadburys chocolate in the UK Pavillion, the girls got the bus back to the ASSp, and Paul & I had an hour in the Rose & Crown.
After a quick wander around MouseGear, we got the bus back (and saw Amy at the bus stop) and the girls said that they hadnt been back long.
Tuesday 25th December 07 Christmas Day
We had a bit of a lie in today as Epcot didnt open till 9am. There were no presents to open, as wed opened them all before our trip. We got up around 7.30am and were out by 8.30am.
Outside, the park was empty, but that was because they had let people in up to the rope drop. It was really busy, btw, was that you Ian (crispy welsh) near the rope, as there was a guy wearing a blue Santa hat like your Cardiff one.
As the rope dropped, half the crowd went to Soarin and the other half went towards Test Track/Mission:Space. We went straight to M:S, and it was a good ½ hour wait due to the lines.
We wandered around Future World and then took a slow walk up to the World Showcase. I love walking around here when it hasnt opened properly, its so quiet. Anyway, we had a 10.20 ADR for the Princess Storybook Breakfast.
We arrived around 10am, but we werent seated till about 10.40am. The girls had their photo taken with Belle, and then we were shown to our table.
The girls thought that they had received all their Christmas presents, but once they sat down, mum and dad produced their surprise pressies a couple of new mobile phones. So we were the best mum and dad in the world well for the next 5 minutes anyway.
We were told to help ourselves to the buffet of pastries, meats, cheeses and fruit and then our server brought us a platter of sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, potato casserole and biscuits (those scone looking things). The food was really nice, and our server brought us another platter. The girls had their photos taking with Aurora, Jasmine, Cinderella and Mulan.
After that huge breakfast, we rolled ourselves around World Showcase, did some shopping in MouseGear and then left for DownTown Disney. We finished our souvenir shopping and then went back to the ASSp for a relax by the pool, though it was really cloudy by now, but at least I could catch up with my trip report.
After our cloud bathing, Me, Paul and Becky got the bus back to Epcot. It looked as though there had been a downpour that afternoon, but it was fine when we got there. We wandered around World Showcase, had a quick drinky-poo in the Rose & Crown and Germany and then we rode Test Track (we had picked up FPs earlier in the day) and then we went to choose a photo from our photopass, as we had a voucher from booking direct with Disney.
We got the bus back to the ASSp and had pizzas for tea before getting an early night.
Wednesday 26th December Our last full day
EMHs at Animal Kingdom lost out to a lie in and a morning of shopping.
First we went to the Florida Mall, which surprisingly wasnt as busy as we thought it would be. The girls once again bought stuff from Hot Topic and after a wander around the mall, we hit Festival Bay.
We had McDonalds for lunch and then went back to the ASSp so that Paul could have a lie by the pool, and I could get on with some washing and packing.
After a couple of hours, Paul, Becky and I got the bus over to the Magic Kingdom. We had Pineapple Floats, took photos, watched Mickeys PhilharMagic and had chicken dinners at Cosmic Rays and wandered around the shops.
After a few hours there, we got the bus back and Paul & I had a couple of drinks in the bar at the food court (blimey the Bahama Mamas are really strong here)
We got to bed around 11pm, and the depression started to set in as we thought of DownTown Disney early check-in with Virgin and possibly Islands of Adventure ??
Thursday 27th January Time to go home
At 4am I was awoken by Becky letting me know that she was going to be sick. Bless her, she hadnt slept all night and she was obviously suffering after some very salty popcorn shed had at the Magic Kingdom.
We got up around 7am and started getting ready for check-in at DownTown Disney and getting rid of our suitcases. It opened at 8.30am, all went smoothly and we were away by 9.15am.
Becky was still unwell, so Paul dropped us back to our very empty room at the ASSp, and he took Kerry to MGM Studios. Around 11.30am, after a good sleep, she woke up feeling better, so we got the bus down to MGM Studios. The place was packed, so we watched MuppetVision and did the Backlot Tour.
After a couple of hours at MGM, we drove up to the Mall at Millenia, where yet more trainers, jackets and t-shirts were bought and we had a Chinese lunch at the food court.
We left the Mall at Millenia and headed for the airport.
We dropped the car off at Alamo, and we decided to go straight through Passport Control, as it was packed. The flight was delayed by an hour to two, but the time went by so quickly. The flight was uneventful, the pilot made up lots of time, and I dont think we were too much later than our expected time of arrival when we landed.
I slept for most of the time, except when I watched Run Fatboy Run, which I thought was hilarious.
Thoughts
Yet again we had a great trip. The weather was great, as was WDW and the Cruise was FAB !!
We didnt do all the Parks, or see any characters (except at the Princess Storybook breakfast) or do all the rides we really did just what we wanted, and we loved it.
Our only gripe was the buses at the All Stars. We occasionally got a bus from our resort straight to the parks, but more often we would have to go to the other All Stars resorts, which seemed to take forever. So there was one bus for all 3 resorts, but they certainly didnt run 3 times as often.
So now our planning has gone into overdrive as we look forward to our August trip as we are staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort for the first time for 8 nights, with the free Disney Dining Plan (weve never done that before either), a 4 night Disney Wonder Cruise with two stops at Castaway Cay and 2 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel (again somewhere weve never stayed at) and WE CANT WAIT !!
Thanks for taking the time to read my reports, sorry about all the shopping, and thanks for all your comments
Thanx so much for sharing... 
Your enthusiasm is infectious and I'm really uber-excited about my May trip now - I can hardly sit still... 
