Christmas day was our last at WDW 
Although I had scheduled it so we wouldn't leave too early... 
Since we had to be checked out by 11am, that meant we did have to wake up earlier than we really wanted...
So, I got up and set forth to dismantling our Christmas decorations and to finishing the packing while the boys got themselves to a sociable state... 
Around 10:30 we called bell service to get our bags stowed for the rest of the day. We weren't being picked up by Tiffany Town Car until 6...
Once the bags were gone, we headed to WL for our Christmas lunch at WCC. We actually arrived pretty early, but I checked us in as soon as we could and we sat and waited...met a really nice family from Miami who were on their way home in a couple of hours. Their kids (a boy 5 and a girl 3) were the sweetest...and very talkative...they told us all about the gifts Santa left them that morning, their dog at home...just a hoot. When the dinner bell rang our name was called shortly after and we went into WCC, where we had a good meal...kinda just like home with all the yellin'...
When our bellies were stuffed....just like home...we headed out for the day.
We grabbed a bus to DTD, getting off at the West Side. We walked past Guest Relations to have a look at the lake and take a few photos. We'd never paid any attention before to the sidewalk that goes behind all of the lake side establishments and decided to walk along the lakefront. It's a really nice walk back there! We'd never seen the back side of House of Blues and didn't even know that part was there until now. Here's what the back doors look like...
DS has to shop at HOB every trip...some kid actually paid him 5 bucks just to wear his Jake and Elwood shirt every Thursday for the last quarter of school last year...easy money DS said.
So, we spent a bit of time there...DS walked out with 2 shirts, 1 for Ddad and 1 himself and a deck of HOB cards. We noticed as we started walking on the main walkway the crowd was getting larger as we went...guess lots of folks were trying to avoid the parks on Christmas day. We stopped at several shops along the way, but didn't buy much. We did walk through PI, took a shot of the Adventurer's Club...DH keeps hoping he gets one more chance to go here before the rumor comes to fruition...no more lake side clubs at PI. So for all you AC fans...here's a photo...
I think the most crowded place we encountered during this entire trip was on this day as we tried to get from PI to the Marketplace via the walkway around the new Raglan Road...it was a solid mass of bodies and no where to go, but with the flow.
DS wanted to stop at Legoland to grab something for his best friend, which took a while since he decided to do the fill the cup thing...DS is great at packing those full and he was trying to grab the colors and stuff ya can't get at home or in the catalog. When we were done we decided we'd had our fill of DTD and went to grab the boat back to SSR, which didn't pan out since it was too windy to operate the boat...rats! Oh, well, another bus ride it would be...
It was about 4 when we got back to SSR and they were giving out cookies, cider and fruit punch, so we had some while we sat in the sitting area between the check-in and Artist Palette. It's really cozy here with lots of natural light flowing in...DS decided to break in his new cards while we just enjoyed the tranquil space. At 5 we thought we'd better grab a bite to eat and headed to Artist Palette before the driver would arrive. When we finished we headed to bell service to grab the bags and noticed our driver was about 15 mins. early...fine...got the bags in the car and headed for MCO.
Security at MCO was a breeze!!! We entered and were done in 5 mins. total time for all 3 of us! Since we had an "A" boarding pass, we were in good shape, but headed to the gate just in case. We ended up being the second family in line and only about 4 preboards so we had no trouble getting seats. Again, I was really pleased with Southwest...the flight attendants were joking around...in good spirits for folks working Christmas day. It was a good flight and we landed on time in Nashville.
When we arrived, we grabbed our bags, called the hotel shuttle, then noticed 2 bags were damaged...great! So, DS and I headed to SWA baggage office while DH waited in case the shuttle arrived. The bags were taken care of quickly...we just had to swap out the contents into the new replacement bags...and as luck would have it...one was all the dirty clothes... The shuttle had just pulled up as we caught up to DH and we were off our hotel for the night...got checked in...watched a little TV and konked out!
12/26...back to reality...waaaaaaaaaa
Well, it was the day after Christmas and the official end of our trip.
We slept in since check out wasn't till noon, gathered up our belongings, and headed for the car. The nice thing about flying thru BNA is the Opry Mills mall, where there is a Rainforest Cafe and some other neat shops, so we tend to grab a meal here...RFC this time. We decided to try one of those Marble Slab Creamery places for dessert...they're good, but as DH learned don't get marshmallows mixed in...they turn into rocks. There was a new store in the mall...DISNEY!!! It was automatic, ya know...how my feet just responded and carried me over there.... 
It looked like an outlet store...cool! They had some great deals, but nothing that I just HAD to have...DH was relieved...
So, when finished checking out the mall and streching our legs, we climbed into the car and headed north to Illinois.
It's not a bad drive...3 1/2 hours on all interstate except for the last 5 mins. The worst part was when we arrived home our house was 
!!!
Things learned on this trip....
I always learn something to improve future trips. This time....
-always have a day of relaxation or do those midday breaks on shorter trips
-IF offered to buy the photos taken that day and you really want them....BUY on the spot
-WDW tranportation isn't perfect, but it's great when ya hate to drive
-enjoy the little things on trips...it's not always about riding Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and the other big namers
-Listen to the DIS boards...the folks here really do know what they are talking about
-but most of all, it's a vacation so relax, enjoy and try not to kill each other...
Although I had scheduled it so we wouldn't leave too early... Since we had to be checked out by 11am, that meant we did have to wake up earlier than we really wanted...
So, I got up and set forth to dismantling our Christmas decorations and to finishing the packing while the boys got themselves to a sociable state... Around 10:30 we called bell service to get our bags stowed for the rest of the day. We weren't being picked up by Tiffany Town Car until 6...Once the bags were gone, we headed to WL for our Christmas lunch at WCC. We actually arrived pretty early, but I checked us in as soon as we could and we sat and waited...met a really nice family from Miami who were on their way home in a couple of hours. Their kids (a boy 5 and a girl 3) were the sweetest...and very talkative...they told us all about the gifts Santa left them that morning, their dog at home...just a hoot. When the dinner bell rang our name was called shortly after and we went into WCC, where we had a good meal...kinda just like home with all the yellin'...
When our bellies were stuffed....just like home...we headed out for the day.We grabbed a bus to DTD, getting off at the West Side. We walked past Guest Relations to have a look at the lake and take a few photos. We'd never paid any attention before to the sidewalk that goes behind all of the lake side establishments and decided to walk along the lakefront. It's a really nice walk back there! We'd never seen the back side of House of Blues and didn't even know that part was there until now. Here's what the back doors look like...
DS has to shop at HOB every trip...some kid actually paid him 5 bucks just to wear his Jake and Elwood shirt every Thursday for the last quarter of school last year...easy money DS said.
So, we spent a bit of time there...DS walked out with 2 shirts, 1 for Ddad and 1 himself and a deck of HOB cards. We noticed as we started walking on the main walkway the crowd was getting larger as we went...guess lots of folks were trying to avoid the parks on Christmas day. We stopped at several shops along the way, but didn't buy much. We did walk through PI, took a shot of the Adventurer's Club...DH keeps hoping he gets one more chance to go here before the rumor comes to fruition...no more lake side clubs at PI. So for all you AC fans...here's a photo...
I think the most crowded place we encountered during this entire trip was on this day as we tried to get from PI to the Marketplace via the walkway around the new Raglan Road...it was a solid mass of bodies and no where to go, but with the flow.
DS wanted to stop at Legoland to grab something for his best friend, which took a while since he decided to do the fill the cup thing...DS is great at packing those full and he was trying to grab the colors and stuff ya can't get at home or in the catalog. When we were done we decided we'd had our fill of DTD and went to grab the boat back to SSR, which didn't pan out since it was too windy to operate the boat...rats! Oh, well, another bus ride it would be...
It was about 4 when we got back to SSR and they were giving out cookies, cider and fruit punch, so we had some while we sat in the sitting area between the check-in and Artist Palette. It's really cozy here with lots of natural light flowing in...DS decided to break in his new cards while we just enjoyed the tranquil space. At 5 we thought we'd better grab a bite to eat and headed to Artist Palette before the driver would arrive. When we finished we headed to bell service to grab the bags and noticed our driver was about 15 mins. early...fine...got the bags in the car and headed for MCO.
Security at MCO was a breeze!!! We entered and were done in 5 mins. total time for all 3 of us! Since we had an "A" boarding pass, we were in good shape, but headed to the gate just in case. We ended up being the second family in line and only about 4 preboards so we had no trouble getting seats. Again, I was really pleased with Southwest...the flight attendants were joking around...in good spirits for folks working Christmas day. It was a good flight and we landed on time in Nashville.
When we arrived, we grabbed our bags, called the hotel shuttle, then noticed 2 bags were damaged...great! So, DS and I headed to SWA baggage office while DH waited in case the shuttle arrived. The bags were taken care of quickly...we just had to swap out the contents into the new replacement bags...and as luck would have it...one was all the dirty clothes...
The shuttle had just pulled up as we caught up to DH and we were off our hotel for the night...got checked in...watched a little TV and konked out!12/26...back to reality...waaaaaaaaaa
Well, it was the day after Christmas and the official end of our trip.
We slept in since check out wasn't till noon, gathered up our belongings, and headed for the car. The nice thing about flying thru BNA is the Opry Mills mall, where there is a Rainforest Cafe and some other neat shops, so we tend to grab a meal here...RFC this time. We decided to try one of those Marble Slab Creamery places for dessert...they're good, but as DH learned don't get marshmallows mixed in...they turn into rocks. There was a new store in the mall...DISNEY!!!
It was automatic, ya know...how my feet just responded and carried me over there.... It looked like an outlet store...cool! They had some great deals, but nothing that I just HAD to have...DH was relieved... So, when finished checking out the mall and streching our legs, we climbed into the car and headed north to Illinois.
It's not a bad drive...3 1/2 hours on all interstate except for the last 5 mins. The worst part was when we arrived home our house was !!! Things learned on this trip....
I always learn something to improve future trips. This time....
-always have a day of relaxation or do those midday breaks on shorter trips
-IF offered to buy the photos taken that day and you really want them....BUY on the spot
-WDW tranportation isn't perfect, but it's great when ya hate to drive
-enjoy the little things on trips...it's not always about riding Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and the other big namers
-Listen to the DIS boards...the folks here really do know what they are talking about
-but most of all, it's a vacation so relax, enjoy and try not to kill each other...
To say the least this trip made me think my baby is really growing up... 
