More Fun Than Sitting at Home! Our Dec 2009 TR-UPDATE: 6/11 Final Thoughts & Big News

[khertz]

When I left off, we had just rested our feet and watched Voyage of the Little Mermaid! Well, it was getting late in the afternoon, and we wanted to be making our way over to Magic Kingdom for SpectroMagic and Wishes that night. First, though, we stopped at the Indiana Jones store to see if we could a new fanny pack for James because the one he'd had for a ridiculously long time had ripped! But no luck there.

We made our way to the front of the park and found some lonely looking Photopass photographers, so we decided to stop for a little photoshoot! It was crazy how almost deserted the front of the park looked, but we really hadn't found the park to be crowded all day long. Using the touringplans.com suggestions was proving to be a wise decision already!

My mom and I demonstrating what 24 hours a day for a week together will do to our relationship! lol

One of the Streetmosphere characters was out at that time too, the Police officer (don't know his name!). He was in the middle of the street with some young cheerleaders and they were showing him how to stretch. He also saw my shirt (which says "got lost?" on the front like the got milk? ads from a tour DH & I took of filming locations for the show Lost), and said, "Are you lost, ma'am?" very concerned like!

It was about 4:30 pm when we left the park, snapping a few pictures of the street and the Christmas tree on our way out to the car.

Soon enough, we were in the van, and in no time, we were driving under this sign!:

We had no trouble securing a AAA Diamond Parking spot at the TTC, despite how late in the day it was. We still had a little bit of a walk to the monorail though, so we followed some signs to get us there.

And then we found Mickey Mouse himself waving us on!

Apparently, there was some celebrating going on as well.

There was no debate when it came to taking the ferry vs. the monorail...Monorail it was!

We had a little fun with the cameras as the Monorail zipped us around Bay Lake to the MAGIC KINGDOM!!

One side

Other side!

After only ever seeing the MK decorated for Halloween/fall, I was VERY excited to see this just after putting our tickets through the turnstiles!

Continued in next post...

 

[khertz]

We made our way under the train station...

...and stepped into a real winter wonderland!

Our first glimpse of Cinderella Castle from Main Street USA!

I was a little disappointed to note that not only was the Christmas tree not up, but neither were the garlands and wreaths that are usually strung across Main Street from the rooftops. But that didn't stop us from another impromptu photoshoot in front of the Castle.

The front of the park was absolutely packed, a start contrast to the crowds we had just left at DHS! Figuring we wouldn't have much time to ride anything, we consulted Dustin's iPhone to check the wait times and saw Pirates of the Caribbean had the shortest wait time at 20 minutes, so we squeezed our way up Main Street toward Adventureland.

We waited in line for about 15 minutes or so before boarding our boats and heading out on a pirate adventure! DH attempted to get a few pics using his no-flash-needed lens, and some of them came out ok, but VERY red. lol

The best we could get of Captain Jack Sparrow

After exiting the ride, we decided it was time to stop for something to eat. We split up here because my parents wanted to go to Cosmic Ray's to use their Disney Visa reward points, but I wanted to eat at Pecos Bill's, so that's where DH and I headed instead. It was practically empty when we walked in! I've never seen a CS that slow. I still was pretty full from lunch earlier, but I knew once we got a spot for the parade, we'd be planted to that spot so I wanted to eat before scoping out Main Street.

I got the kids burger with fries and grapes, and some cheese sauce from the fixin's bar for my fries. Yum! DH got the bacon double cheeseburger, but the bacon was a disgrace, so he ended up pulling that off! I have to say, it amazes me that Disney changed their buns to multigrain or whatever to be more "healthy" but they don't have just a single hamburger or cheeseburger on their adult menu! Multigrain isn't doing much when you have 2 patties and bacon!!

Continued in next post...

 

[khertz]

Around 6:30 we started walking towards Main Street. We had missed the Castle Lighting Ceremony, but it was great to suddenly be greeted by an icicle-covered castle!

We squeezed down Main Street again, searching for a spot to enjoy the parade. DH and I ended up behind a family with 2 young kids just in front and to the right of the Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street. We were standing behind a garbage can, so we had a pretty good and unobstructed view of the street. The lady in front of me was very chatty, and she started asking me about my t-shirt (another Lost fan! ). DH headed into the street to get a couple of more shots of the castle, so I spread my legs wide to save his space, and the lady's little boy, who was probably about 3, decided to go under them like a bridge! It was pretty funny. She made him apologize to me, and as an apology, he offered me one his soggy fries.

We called our parents to tell them they could still come stand with us if they hurried. The CMs had put a rope up behind us to mark the walkway, but we still had plenty of room. They said they had gotten a spot by the bridge to Liberty Square where they were going to watch the parade. So DH got the camera ready to catch some good shots of SpectroMagic!

UP NEXT: SpectroMagic and WISHES!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Love the pictures of the castle with the lights....I actually get a lump in my throat when I see it. All of your pictures are great!!!

 

[ladybugmom]

Beautiful pictures!!! I wonder why the Christmas tree and garland weren't up?!

 

[khertz]

Love the pictures of the castle with the lights....I actually get a lump in my throat when I see it. All of your pictures are great!!!

Thank you! Seeing the castle lit up in pictures so many times I thought I would be used to it when it came time to see the real thing, but it is 100x more beautiful in person! I'm so glad & thankful we had the opportunity to go at the holidays!

Beautiful pictures!!! I wonder why the Christmas tree and garland weren't up?!

Thanks! I think because of the parade taping over the weekend. Because of the rain, some things got pushed back, and if I remember right, they were even filming as late as Monday morning! But don't worry, they eventually make their appearance.

 

[praisehisname]

That is so cool that you got to be first on TSM!

Oh no...there are rumors that RNRC is going to be changed???

Love all your pics from One Man's Dream. I had really wanted to do that, but we ran out of time.

I wonder why the garlands weren't up at MK yet? Was it because of the parade taping?

Denise

 

[khertz]

That is so cool that you got to be first on TSM!

Oh no...there are rumors that RNRC is going to be changed???

Love all your pics from One Man's Dream. I had really wanted to do that, but we ran out of time.

I wonder why the garlands weren't up at MK yet? Was it because of the parade taping?

Denise

Being first on TSM was definitely one of the highlights of our trip & the story we told most often!

Rumors about RnRC being changed to Hannah Montana or Jonas Brothers pop up every now and then on the Theme Parks board. I doubt that would ever happen, but I worry when the contract with Aerosmith runs out that it might change to a generic rock music rollercoaster.

I think the garlands weren't up because of how much the parade taping had to be adjusted due to the torrential rain on Friday. But they made an appearance eventually!

 

[khertz]

I will gladly admit that DH and I normally are not parade people. We are "ride the rides with no lines while all those suckers watch the parade!" people normally. I had my heart set on seeing the Christmas parade at MVMCP of course, but when I sat down to make our plans, I realized with so much time in the parks, we'd be crazy not to try and see all of the nighttime shows. Wishes was certainly a must, since I LOVE fireworks, but we had never given much priority to Spectro. This year, I decided to change that, and designated Monday night as Spectro & regular Wishes night!

So when I left off before, Spectro was just about to begin. We had gotten our spot on Main Street about 30 minutes before parade time. MK was PACKED! Obviously, many other people had the same plan as me. But luckily, we had those park hoppers, so we were able to spend a relatively crowd-free day in DHS prior to coming to the MK for the nighttime stuff.

DH took A LOT of pictures, but with the movement of the floats, most didn't come out so great, though no one can say he didn't try! So on with the pictures!!

Continued in next post...

 

[ladybugmom]

I just LOVE Spectro!!! Great pics!

 

[khertz]

After the parade, Main Street became an absolute madhouse. It was nearly impossible to move in either direction. We went into the shops along Main Street to try and avoid some of the crowds while we waited for Wishes to start. At some point, I decided to try and go to the bathroom and headed up towards the ones by the Plaza, but it was literally impossible to move after a little bit. So I had to turn around and go back the opposite way to get to the ones by City Hall. I think by the time I got back to the store and found DH, I think he thought I'd gotten lost!

Finally, it was time for WISHES! We took a lot of pictures this time too, but it took DH awhile to get the right settings. And there was no wind that night, so all the smoke stayed right over the castle where the fireworks were going off. Not the best night for the fireworks, but I promise, the Holiday Wishes will make up for it!

After WISHES was over, even more people started spilling out of the park, while DH and I booked it against the flow of traffic to get to the bridge to Liberty Square. As we were walking, we passed our parents and told them we were heading to Thunder Mountain to try and get a ride before the park closed. They all complained they were tired and ready to go (wimps I tell ya! ) but we pouted enough that they said they would go get ice cream and wait for us. So we ran all the way to Big Thunder Mountain and were through the line in less than the 10 minute posted wait time.

It had been SO LONG since we'd been on this ride, because it too was closed during our honeymoon. I know DH really missed it because it's his favorite ride. Soon enough, we were whipping through the wilderness on the fastest train in the west! It was so fun in the dark. I don't know if I've ever done that before! And I had forgotten how LONG of a ride it is! So much fun!!

The wait time was WAY longer when we came out, so we had gotten there just in time.

We got a couple more pics of the castle and Main Street on our way out.

We found our parents and wandered through the Emporium a little before leaving and taking the monorail to the TTC and collecting our car. It had been a long day, so we all hit the pillows VERY early that night!

UP NEXT: AK morning, and MVMCP Day!

 

[ladybugmom]

Yay for Holiday Wishes!! It looks soooo pretty!! And that is great that you were able to ride BTMR!!! Ally rode that on our last trip and LOVED it!! Maybe I'll get to ride it in May!!

 

[disneybarbie]

Love your spectromagic & Wishes photos!!.. that last one of the floats & the castle in the background could be an official advert for WDW!! ... seeing the pics of Spectro made me remember something we learnt on KTTK!!

Emma xxx

ps - bet you were happy on Sunday after the Saints game!! It was on tv waaay too late here for DF to watch so he had to wait til morning to know who won hehe! x

 

[khertz]

I just LOVE Spectro!!! Great pics!

Yay for Holiday Wishes!! It looks soooo pretty!! And that is great that you were able to ride BTMR!!! Ally rode that on our last trip and LOVED it!! Maybe I'll get to ride it in May!!

I absolutely love Wishes! Definitely my favorite nighttime show that Disney has!

Love your spectromagic & Wishes photos!!.. that last one of the floats & the castle in the background could be an official advert for WDW!! ... seeing the pics of Spectro made me remember something we learnt on KTTK!!

Emma xxx

ps - bet you were happy on Sunday after the Saints game!! It was on tv waaay too late here for DF to watch so he had to wait til morning to know who won hehe! x

I know, I LOVE that picture! Disney is free to contact me if they'd like to use it.

Girl, at the end of that game I CRIED massive tears of joy! My facebook news feed exploded! It was such an exciting night for Saints fans!!

The video in this article about sums it up: http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/01/who_dat_nation_erupts_with_joy.html

 

[Queenofallthings]

As I was looking at your Wishes pictures, I could hear the music in my head. Isn't it amazing how we can be instantly transported. Spectro moves me to tears every time I see it and I honestly don't know what it is about it that does it to me....FOTLK I'm usually a blubbering idiot too.

 

[praisehisname]

I've never seen Spectro in person, so I enjoyed all your pictures! Love BTMR at night!

 

[skier_pete]

I love your wishes shots. I never get good nighttime photos, or more generally can't be bothered. I tend to spend more time videotaping than getting photos anyways. I taped like 4.5 hours this past trip, though I haven't watched them yet.

 

[khertz]

I've never seen Spectro in person, so I enjoyed all your pictures! Love BTMR at night!

I had seen bits & pieces of Spectro, so it was nice watching it start to finish for once. And BTMR at night was amazing!!

I love your wishes shots. I never get good nighttime photos, or more generally can't be bothered. I tend to spend more time videotaping than getting photos anyways. I taped like 4.5 hours this past trip, though I haven't watched them yet.

The holiday wishes shots came out even better. Those are coming up soon! My mom did some video taping. I tried taping holiday wishes while DH took pictures, but after awhile I decided I'd rather watch the real thing instead of watching through the camera lens so I stopped. My mom taped a few things though. If she ever figures out how to get the videos to me so I can put them on youtube or photobucket, I'll post them.

 

[khertz]

DAY 5: Tuesday December 8th

This was our semi-sleep-in morning, since we would be attending Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party that night and planned to be there until they kicked us out! At 9:30, DH, myself, and my mom and dad went to mass at Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine to celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It was the absolute emptiest I have ever seen this church being that it wasn't a weekend Mass, I guess. We even saw a Brazilian Tour Group there! They were of course much more well behaved than in the parks, and I probably wouldn't have even noticed them except that the priest pointed them out during the homily.

After church, we went over to Downtown Disney to grab a couple of things from World of Disney. We had been searching everywhere for an Ariel mug that my aunt asked us to get for my cousin, and that was the only place my mom had been able to find one. Also, one of my co-workers really wanted a Cinderella Castle playset for her little girl for Christmas, but they were sold out online. These things were huge, so we figured this would be the best time to get it so that we could bring it straight to the room.

Once we had made our purchases, we headed back to the resort for a quick lunch before we all 6 set out for a leisurely day at Animal Kingdom.

3 guesses as to the first order of business? If you guessed PhotoPass, you're right! We just couldn't resist taking pictures everywhere!

Finally, we got ourselves inside the park, and armed ourselves with some maps. We very quickly realized that we all had differing priorities of what we wanted to accomplish before leaving AK to get to Magic Kingdom for the party. Look, we even have evidence!

The parents were more interested in doing all of the shows, Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo the Musical, and Flights of Wonder. DH and I didn't feel the need to do Nemo again, but really wanted to do FOTLK. Our other priorities were meeting characters, especially Mickey & Minnie in their Christmas sweaters, seeing the character trees, and walking the nature trails. So we decided it was best to split up. DH and I stopped for a couple more PP photographers before moving on into the park.

I just LOVE the Tree of Life! So be warned, there are lots of pictures of it from all over the park.

We had plenty of time to wander before needing to head to Camp Minnie-Mickey for the next FOTLK show. Our first stop was at the Tree of Life Garden to check out some animals.

Some kangaroos...love those!

Sleepy flamingos

After watching the animals for a bit, we decided it was about time to be heading to Camp Minnie-Mickey to get in line for the show. But which way to go?

Oh, that way!

Continued in next post...

 

[khertz]

We made it to our destination quite easily!

No, Daisy does not have some disgusting lip fungus...

...it's a lizard!

We still had a bit of a wait, but luckily we were in line in the shade. And we were pretty close to the doors. So once they opened up, we got right in and got a seat on the third row from the floor in the elephant section. We actually ended up at the same show our parents had decided to go to! I guess they had just taken a different route to get there. lol

Finally the show started!

I love this show! The music, the acrobatics, the colors...it's just really amazing. The fire dancer guy is my favorite, followed closely by the monkeys. I was glad we had decided to see this show again, since it had been awhile since DH and I had seen it. Well worth the wait.

UP NEXT: Meeting some real characters!