meeko_33785
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- Joined
- Oct 20, 2000
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If you havent read Part One and Two of this report, then youve missed most of the day! You can check out the links at the bottom of the page to read them if you wish. Anyway, here we go with Part Three:
After Philharmagic, I had finished pretty much everything I had wanted to see and do at the Magic Kingdom and then some except the Tree Lighting in Town Square which I had never seen before. I had about an hour left before that ceremony, so I took some time to look around Fantasyland. I checked out Tinker Bells shop and took a few photos around the area including the one of Gus and Jaq on the Carousel sign you see here. As I was doing this, Merlin came out and started the Sword of the Stone Ceremony. Its been ages since the last time I saw this. The child that got picked to pull the Excalibur from the stone seemed less-than-thrilled with becoming the temporary ruler of the realm, but is was pretty cute. After this, I left Fantasyland and headed to Main Street to check out some of the shops and such.
While on Main Street, I thought Id check and see if there were any characters around. To my surprise Little John from Robin Hood was there. For some reason, he always seems to be one of the hardest-to-find characters in the parks. He couldnt sign autographs, but he posed for a photo for me. King Louie was there as well, so I got a photo of him as well. Next, it was over to the Expo Hall to see if anything was going on over there. Steamboat Willie was playing in the theater, so I saw just a little bit of that before heading back to the shops for some more browsing and watching some of the Flag Retreat. By then, it was getting pretty close to tree lighting time, so I decided to grab a seat in Town Square and wait. While I was waiting, I noticed Launchpad McQuack from Duck Tails was now over by the Emporium to do a meet-and-greet. I got an autograph and photo as soon as the Tree Lighting was beginning.
Maybe it was scaled back due to the weather or perhaps Im just spoiled by the elaborate lighting ceremonies that Im use to at EPCOT and Disney-MGM Studios, but I wasnt really wowed by the Tree Lighting. Basically, the Mayor, Mickey, and Minnie appeared at the top of the Train Station, counted down from ten, lit the tree and then disappeared. Not too thrilling. Even if the ceremony wasnt the best, at least the tree looked nice lit up. By this time, the park was getting close to closing for the Very Merry Christmas Party, so I hoped on the monorail and headed back to the Contemporary. When I arrived back at the resort, I entered the Grand Canyon Concourse for the first time. Id been through the Concourse many times on the monorail, but it was nice to finally be able to see it up-close Id spend more time here later, but for now I just headed back to the room. After walking through a wet Magic Kingdom all afternoon, I defiantly wanted to change into some dry shoes.
On the way to my room, I stopped to check out how the Contemporarys Christmas tree looked all lit up. Got a few photos and went on my way. After some down-time, it was back to the monorail and on to the Transportation and Ticket Center. Because this would be my first time in 10 years where I didnt go to EPCOT at Christmastime, I figured I could at least ride the monorail through the park and still see it decorated through Christmas. It turned out being pretty nice. The way the Lights of Winter are set up, the monorail went right through the middle of the display. Plus, I was able to see the Christmas tree and the entire park lit up. It was nice to include the park in my trip even though I didnt get to go there. After getting back to the Contemporary, I spent some time looking around the shops at the Concourse, check out the giant murals, and getting as close of a peek of Chef Mickeys as I could. After hearing so much about the restaurant, I had to at least see what it looked like.
One of my favorite finds in the Concourse was the sculpture of the Tower of the Four Winds. The sculpture is a miniature version of the 12-story kinetic tower that sat at the entrance of Its A Small World during the 1964 Worlds Fair. I was impressed to see that piece of Disney history represented in some way, and thought that it looked cool in motion. After the Concourse, it was time for dinner, so I went to the Food and Fun Center to get something to eat. In all honesty, the dining room was extremely small, pretty noisy, and not extremely appealing, so I just got some dinner to go and took it back to my room. I had a personal pizza which I thought was better than what you would usually find at similar restaurants in the theme parks. After dinner, it was just about time for the Very Merry Christmas Partys Holidays Wishes fireworks to begin. Even though I could only faintly hear the shows music, I could see the actual fireworks well from out my window. It was a nice finale for a wonderful day. The report concludes in Part Four...
Other Parts in this Report:
Meeko's December 2005 Photo Trip Report- Part One
Meeko's December 2005 Photo Trip Report- Part Two
After Philharmagic, I had finished pretty much everything I had wanted to see and do at the Magic Kingdom and then some except the Tree Lighting in Town Square which I had never seen before. I had about an hour left before that ceremony, so I took some time to look around Fantasyland. I checked out Tinker Bells shop and took a few photos around the area including the one of Gus and Jaq on the Carousel sign you see here. As I was doing this, Merlin came out and started the Sword of the Stone Ceremony. Its been ages since the last time I saw this. The child that got picked to pull the Excalibur from the stone seemed less-than-thrilled with becoming the temporary ruler of the realm, but is was pretty cute. After this, I left Fantasyland and headed to Main Street to check out some of the shops and such.
While on Main Street, I thought Id check and see if there were any characters around. To my surprise Little John from Robin Hood was there. For some reason, he always seems to be one of the hardest-to-find characters in the parks. He couldnt sign autographs, but he posed for a photo for me. King Louie was there as well, so I got a photo of him as well. Next, it was over to the Expo Hall to see if anything was going on over there. Steamboat Willie was playing in the theater, so I saw just a little bit of that before heading back to the shops for some more browsing and watching some of the Flag Retreat. By then, it was getting pretty close to tree lighting time, so I decided to grab a seat in Town Square and wait. While I was waiting, I noticed Launchpad McQuack from Duck Tails was now over by the Emporium to do a meet-and-greet. I got an autograph and photo as soon as the Tree Lighting was beginning.
Maybe it was scaled back due to the weather or perhaps Im just spoiled by the elaborate lighting ceremonies that Im use to at EPCOT and Disney-MGM Studios, but I wasnt really wowed by the Tree Lighting. Basically, the Mayor, Mickey, and Minnie appeared at the top of the Train Station, counted down from ten, lit the tree and then disappeared. Not too thrilling. Even if the ceremony wasnt the best, at least the tree looked nice lit up. By this time, the park was getting close to closing for the Very Merry Christmas Party, so I hoped on the monorail and headed back to the Contemporary. When I arrived back at the resort, I entered the Grand Canyon Concourse for the first time. Id been through the Concourse many times on the monorail, but it was nice to finally be able to see it up-close Id spend more time here later, but for now I just headed back to the room. After walking through a wet Magic Kingdom all afternoon, I defiantly wanted to change into some dry shoes.
On the way to my room, I stopped to check out how the Contemporarys Christmas tree looked all lit up. Got a few photos and went on my way. After some down-time, it was back to the monorail and on to the Transportation and Ticket Center. Because this would be my first time in 10 years where I didnt go to EPCOT at Christmastime, I figured I could at least ride the monorail through the park and still see it decorated through Christmas. It turned out being pretty nice. The way the Lights of Winter are set up, the monorail went right through the middle of the display. Plus, I was able to see the Christmas tree and the entire park lit up. It was nice to include the park in my trip even though I didnt get to go there. After getting back to the Contemporary, I spent some time looking around the shops at the Concourse, check out the giant murals, and getting as close of a peek of Chef Mickeys as I could. After hearing so much about the restaurant, I had to at least see what it looked like.
One of my favorite finds in the Concourse was the sculpture of the Tower of the Four Winds. The sculpture is a miniature version of the 12-story kinetic tower that sat at the entrance of Its A Small World during the 1964 Worlds Fair. I was impressed to see that piece of Disney history represented in some way, and thought that it looked cool in motion. After the Concourse, it was time for dinner, so I went to the Food and Fun Center to get something to eat. In all honesty, the dining room was extremely small, pretty noisy, and not extremely appealing, so I just got some dinner to go and took it back to my room. I had a personal pizza which I thought was better than what you would usually find at similar restaurants in the theme parks. After dinner, it was just about time for the Very Merry Christmas Partys Holidays Wishes fireworks to begin. Even though I could only faintly hear the shows music, I could see the actual fireworks well from out my window. It was a nice finale for a wonderful day. The report concludes in Part Four...
Other Parts in this Report:
Meeko's December 2005 Photo Trip Report- Part One
Meeko's December 2005 Photo Trip Report- Part Two
