My Disney Thanksgiving Trip- Part 1

[Idontwanttogrowup]

November 19: Magic Kingdom/Keys To The Kingdom tour. We had breakfast at the resort. This time with my chocolate croissant, I had Strawberry milk. It was delicious. I believe we also ate outside this time. We had breakfast earlier than usual because we had to get to the Magic Kingdom to take the Keys To The Kingdom tour. We took the bus to the Magic Kingdom. We had to go into a special entrance since the park was still closed to the public. When we went in we had to walk to the left to where City Hall is. We went into a small building beside City Hall & we had to sign in. We got cute little name tags so the tour guide knows who you are. We even had to look at a menu from Columbia Harbour House to see what we wanted for lunch. I chose the nuggets and sweet tea. As we were waiting for the tour to start we were introduced to our tour guide. His name was Patrick & he was cute. He spoke loud enough for me too which I'm happy about. This is also the time they let the gates open & a stampede came running in. I'm glad I was already inside. We also saw some Disney characters get off the train so they can get in their respective spot on Main Street. The tour started & Patrick had us introduce ourselves to everyone in the group. They were all a nice group. We even had someone in the group that worked at EPCOT. He even said we could take pictures until we got to the backstage area. He took us along Main Street first and explained all the different buildings, then he took us to the middle of the park to show us how each area is on a wheel spoke. It was interesting to know. Patrick took us to Adventureland & he explained some of the rides to us. He even told us that his favorite is Aloha Isle but they were closed at the time of our tour. He took us on a ride on the Jungle Cruise. He slowed the boat down in some areas & would explain some of the stuff there. He even took us on the Pirates Of The Caribbean which was a lot of fun. After Pirates, Patrick took us backstage where they store some of the parade stuff. He even explained how the parade works. He also explained a lot of other secrets too. Don't want to give too much away. Patrick took us to Frontierland & he explained the whistle on the Ferry boat and what it means if it toots three times. He explained the Hall Of Presidents and why they will be out until July this year. Then he explained the guns in the windows of some of the houses. This is where we got our lunch. We went into Columbia Harbour House and Patrick took us upstairs into a reserved area which was nice and quiet. I had the chicken nuggets which I thought were OK. I loved the sweet tea though so now I know where to go to get my sweet tea fix. After we ate Patrick wanted to take us on the Haunted Mansion to explain things to us but they were having technical difficulties. We didn't get to ride it. He walked us over to Cinderellas Castle and explained what some of the windows on the castle meant & then he talked about Walt's Statue with Mickey Mouse holding his hand. He took us over to another backstage area where the utilidors are & I will not reveal anything here. If you want to know what goes on you should take the tour for yourself. After taking us backstage he took us back to City Hall where the tour ended. He gave everyone passes for the Haunted Mansion for another day. He talked to a few people in the group including us. I shook his hand & thanked him for the lovely tour. After leaving Patrick, Louis & I decided to check the board to see how long ride waits were. We decided to go into Tomorrowland. We went into Monster Inc Laugh Floor. It's where the Monsters tell jokes and they wont let you go until you fill the laugh tank. We then went to Toy Story Space Ranger Spin but they told us there were too many wheelchairs so they gave us a Fast Pass to come back in 10 minutes. We talked to one of the workers while he was on break which made time go faster. We went on the ride & I still say Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios is a lot more fun. We decided to go to the Carousel Of Progress which is one of our favorites. It has a catchy tune & it talks about the progress throughout time. We decided to see the Dream Come True Parade so we went back to Main Street & I sat on the curb. It was so nice to sit down after being on my feet from the tour. The parade was good as it usually is. After the parade we decided to go back to the hotel. We ate dinner there since we were still full from lunch. I had pizza & Louis had a hot dog. We sat there awhile & then we went to our room for the night.

 

[Idontwanttogrowup]

November 20: Downtown Disney We ate breakfast at our resort again. This time I had chocolate croissant for breakfast & Louis had crumb cake. We decided to go to Downtown Disney to do some Christmas shopping & see a few movies. We took the bus to Downtown Disney. We saw three movies. We saw Rachel Getting Married. It has Anne Hathaway in it. I thought the movie was boring. Then we saw Role Models. That was a funny movie with Seann William Scott & Paul Rudd. The third movie we saw was The Haunting Of Mary Hartley. This was an OK movie. After the movies, we decided to go back to the hotel & have dinner in the food court. I had a cheeseburger with fries. We refilled our mugs & then we went back to the room. Tomorrow we go to Animal Kingdom. November 21: Animal Kingdom/ Rainforest Cafe We decided to go to Animal Kingdom so after breakfast we took the bus to Animal Kingdom. After we got to the park & checked in we went over to rent an ECV for me because there is a lot of hills. The first thing we did was go on the Kilimanjaro Safaris. As we headed over there we found out they were having technical difficulties. They told us to get a Fast Pass so we did. While waiting for our time to go to the Safari, we went to Pangani Exploration Trail. At Pangani Exploration Trail I got to see some Gorillas being active. They were eating their breakfast. Quite interesting to watch. Then I watched the Meerkats. Then we would go around looking for birds. They would fly around too. After we got done Exploring, we decided to see how the Safaris were doing so we used our Fast Pass. There wasn't a line so we went right through. This was the best Safari ride I have ever gone on because the animals were really active. There was even a traffic jam. It was a traffic jam with cars but it was a traffic jam with rhinos. They even came close to the vehicle. Yes, I took pictures. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to go again. This time we went in without a fast pass. This time it wasn't as interesting because the animals weren't as active. I still love this ride though. We went to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We took the wildlife express train to it's destination. I wanted to see if they were doing any surgeries but they did them earlier. Instead I watched a frog climb over another frog. The frog even sat on the other frog for awhile too. Louis came over to me & told me he wanted a picture with Jiminy Cricket so we went over there. When we got to him he went on a quick break & then he walked over to us. He kissed my hand & then we got a picture with him. Once we got the picture done we went out to the petting zoo. I petted a goat & a sheep. I washed my hands and then we were on our way out. We saw Pipa, the talking recycling can. He is really hilarious so if you get a chance, go visit him. We went to Flights Of Wonder which is a bird show. The birds even fly right over you and they are close enough that you can feel them go by you. I like to wear a hat for this occasion just in case they decide to dump. This is a show you must see at least once on your visit. Louis loves Its Tough To Be A Bug so we went to that. Its a 4D show about how bugs lives are. I'm getting used to it but I still don't like bugs. After the show we found a spot for the parade. We stayed for the Mickey's Jammin Jingle Parade. It was a parade they usually have and this one was the holiday version. It was neat because I have never seen the holiday version. It was time for our dinner reservations so we went to Rainforest Cafe. It is a noisy theme restaurant but I like the food and I love it when there is a rain storm & the animals have a cow. After eating we went back to the hotel. November 22: Hollywood Studios/Kona We got up earlier than usual & we took the bus to Magic Kingdom & then took the Monorail to the Polynesian Resort. We had breakfast reservations at Kona. I had the Samoan which was shredded beef with poached eggs & hollandaise sauce. It was good but it gave me indigestion. We took the bus to Hollywood Studios. I headed straight for the Animation Courtyard because I wanted to meet the cast of Bolt. They were not the actors that play the character's but it was the character's themselves. I got a picture with Bolt, Mittens & Rhino. Bolt is a dog, Mittens is a cat & Rhino is a hamster. I felt like they were being rushed but they were probably nervous since they haven't been doing it for awhile. We went over to Pixar Place & we tried to get Fast Passes for Toy Story Mania but they were already out. We stood in line anyway. It was worth the wait because that is a fun ride. Its a 4D ride where you are playing carnival games. Its a lot of fun. We walked around & I found the Cars Garage so I got a picture with Lightning McQueen. I have never met him before but I didn't want Mater to feel left out so I got a picture with him too. After all he was honking at me. After the picture we went to Muppet Vision 4D. We love this show & we never stop going to it every time we go to Hollywood Studios. I have always been a Muppets fan anyway. My favorite is Kermit & Miss Piggy. We were hungry so we left Hollywood Studios & took the boat to the Beach Club resort & ate at Beaches & Cream. They have really good hot dogs and delicious milk shakes. The waiter remembered us from our last trip. He was telling us about how cold the weather has been for FL. After we ate we took the boat back to Hollywood Studios so we could catch the bus back to our resort.

 

[Idontwanttogrowup]

November 27: EPCOT/Thanksgiving We went to EPCOT for Thanksgiving. We wanted to try something different for Thanksgiving this season so we booked a reservation at the Biergarten. We were going to Germany for Thanksgiving. We took the bus to EPCOT & then we rented an ECV for me. We went to Test Track to get a Fast Pass & then we went to Soarin to get a Fast Pass for that but it wouldn't let us get a Fast Pass since we already had one for Test Track. We weren't too happy about this so we went to Guest Relations to complain about it. They told us we are only allowed to get one Fast Pass at a time so we went to Mission: Space to send out the last Space postcards to friends. We went to Club Cool to get some Coke samples from around the world. I love the watermelon flavor from China. I still hate the Beverley from Italy. The place was a little crowded so I had to take my time with the ECV. Something happened that I don't want to talk about but I hope the person is OK. I decided next time I go into Club Cool that I would go in without the ECV since it's too crowded with the ECV in there. After quenching my thirst we went back to Test Track to use our Fast Pass. It was a lot of fun as usual. Louis was sitting in the middle this time. After we got off we still had some time left on the Fast Pass. I didn't want to use it so we played wish maker & gave the pass to another couple. Then we went back to Soarin to get a Fast Pass but they were already out of Fast Passes which didn't make us very happy. They wouldn't even take the Guest Access Pass & they have taken it before. We went over to Canada to see Off-Kilter. They are one of my favorite performers in EPCOT other than British Invasion. While waiting for them to start, Chris called Louis' cell phone to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving which was really nice of him. He really made my day a little better after the incident at Cool Club. After they performed we went up to the stage and talked to Jamie, the lead singer. He was very nice. I was feeling much better & I was hungry. Didn't get a picture this time. We had dinner reservations in Germany at the Biergarten. They took us in right away & I ate as much as I could. They even had turkey & stuffing which I was happy about. After we ate we rode around & as we rode around we noticed three of the band members of Off-Kilter were standing around near the stage so Louis called me back over to them & asked if we could have a picture. I got out of the ECV and got a picture with Off-Kilter. The three band members were Jamie, Randy & the other guitarist. This made me very happy. We decided to go over to The Seas With Nemo & Friends to see Turtle Talk with Crush. He is really funny & he is also different just like with Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. When the show was done we went around to look at the other fish & I knew they had dolphins so I went to the dolphin aquarium. They were really pretty too. After we looked at the dolphins we decided it was nice enough & close to Illumination time that we decided to stay for that. We sat over near Rose & Crown Pub to watch it. It was just as beautiful as it always is and this time Earth was there. After that spectacular show I turned in my ECV and we left. We got back to the hotel & I filled up our refillable mugs. We went back to our room for the night & I had a lot to be thankful for that day & the rest of the year. November 28: Hotel Hopping/ Whispering Canyon Cafe We decided to do some hotel hopping instead of going to the parks because it was boxing day. This was also the day they put up all the holiday decorations. We also had dining reservations at Whispering Canyon Cafe. The first hotel we went to was the Animal Kingdom Lodge because I wanted some Zebra Domes & those you must eat right away. Zebra Domes are a domed shaped cake with decorations that look like a Zebra. After I ate those we walked around to look at the animals for awhile. We took the bus to Magic Kingdom to catch the Monorail to the Contemporary resort. I took a picture of Pinnochio & Gippeto make of Gingerbread. It was impressive. We walked around & Louis didn't see any steps so he went flying down the steps on his ECV. He was lucky he didn't fall off or break the ECV. It was funny later on. After the Contemporary we took the monorail to the Polynesian. The only thing we did there was take pictures of the little gingerbread houses. Then we took the monorail to the Grand Floridian Hotel. We went inside the Grand Floridian because we wanted to see this gingerbread house that they build all night. Disney World makes a huge deal out of it. We saw the house and it was really impressive. The house was bigger than I was so I got a picture in front of it. Inside the house they had a gift shop that was selling gingerbread. We took the monorail back to Magic Kingdom to catch a boat to Fort Wilderness Lodge. We had dining reservations at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. This restaurant is known to get wild & crazy. We have been there before & we got a waiter that remembered us. He even asked where our friend, Jim was. We told our waiter, Dave that he wasn't with us and Dave said that's his loss & then we laughed. After we ate we took the boat back to Magic Kingdom to take the bus back to our resort. When we got back to the hotel we did the laundry. After we did the laundry we took the clothes back to the room & then we went to the food court to get something to drink.

 

[Idontwanttogrowup]

November 29: Magic Kingdom/Liberty Tree Tavern After breakfast we decided to go to Magic Kingdom & spend the day there since we had dining reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern. Yes, that means I had a second Thanksgiving dinner this week. We took the bus to Magic Kingdom & the first thing we did when we got there was get a Dole Whip Float. I love those things & I didn't have it yet. This time was a good chance to get it before a big line formed which happened after I got it. After I drank that I rode on the Magic Carpets Of Aladdin. While waiting in line I saw the Prize Patrol give out Magical Mouse Ears but as I got up to the turnstile they didn't have anymore which I was not too happy about. The lady in front of me with a child even got mad. It's not nice to give out prizes like that in front of everyone and then not have any for anyone else. It should be done discreetly. I have gone to Disney four times in one year & I still didn't win anything. I wasn't going to let a thing like that ruin the rest of my vacation. A guy sat in the back seat of the carpet & he had a video camera. He was trying to video tape his family but I kept going up & down on the ride to try to get wet from the camel. He hated it when I did that because the car we were in jerked a little. We walked over to Frontierland & I saw this country western band performing on the steps of Country Bear Jamboree so we stopped to watch them. They were pretty good too. After we watched them we went into Country Bears again. We love watching them & we were already there so why not. After country bears we went on the Liberty Square Riverboat. This time I had to stand the whole time but I didn't mind. I was on the other side of the boat this time. I waved to the people on Tom Sawyers Island. Some would wave back & some didn't. When we got off we decided to go to Fantasyland & we rode on "it's a small world" again & then I rode on Peter Pan's Flight. I went on Peter Pan alone. It was a lot of fun. It would have been hard for Louis to get into the ride. We walked over to Mickey's Toontown Faire because I wanted to meet Tinkerbell & her friends. I heard there would be a long wait & this time there was no exception. The wait was longer for them than there was for the princesses. It was worth the wait though because I have always wanted to meet Tinkerbell. They were all sweet too. At least Tink was staying out of trouble. After meeting the fairies we had to go back to Frontierland because we had dinner reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern. It was a really good Thanksgiving dinner too with Goofy, Minnie, Pluto, Chip & Dale. This would be the last time I would have dinner with them because they are no longer going to be there after December which is a shame. After we ate we went to Main Street to wait for Cinderella's castle turn to ice which is really beautiful to watch. I even took a few pictures of it. After the castle turned to ice we left. As we were going to the bus to go back to our hotel I saw a snake. I told Louis to stop so I could look at the snake from a distance. I was trying to see what kind it was. It looked like a garter snake. I wanted to take a picture of it but decided not to because I didn't want to freak it out. After we watched the snake we got on our bus back to the hotel & then we went to our room for a bit to relax. Then we went to the food court to fill up our mugs. November 30- Downtown Disney As we were having breakfast we decided to go to Downtown Disney to see a few movies because we were getting rain. Louis couldn't get his shoes & the ECV wet & I couldn't get my hearing aid wet. We took the bus to Downtown Disney & got off in Pleasure Island. We saw two movies. We saw Australia which was directed by Baz Luhrmann. He was the guy who directed Moulin Rouge which I thought this movie would be just like that one. It also has Nicole Kidman & Hugh Jackman. I was disappointed in the movie. It dragged on too long. The other movie we saw was The Boy In The Striped Pajamas which I thought was really good. I recommend this movie. After the movies it stopped raining so we walked over to the Marketplace & ate at Earl Of Sandwich. We decided against Ghiradelli's again because it was really chilly out. We were still hungry so we ate at the hotel. After we ate at Earl Of Sandwich we took the bus back to the hotel & then ate in the food court because we were still hungry. We also filled up the mugs. December 1: Hollywood Studios/ Osbourne Lights We decided to go to Hollywood Studios & spend a day there because we had dinner reservations at 50s Prime time Cafe & we wanted to see the Osbourne Spectacle of Dancing Lights. We took the bus to Hollywood Studios & then we decided to take the boat over to the Boardwalk & the Swan/Dolphin resort to see the holiday decorations there. They didn't have much at the Swan & Dolphin but at the Boardwalk they had some decorations so I took a picture. We took the boat back to Hollywood Studios. We rode on the Great Movie Ride which is a ride that takes you on a tour of classic movies. I love this ride especially the Wizard Of Oz part. At this point I felt like I was catching a cold. Great. Even though I felt like I was coming down with something I did the best I could & just made the day out of it the best I could. After the movie ride we went on Star Tours which is a Star Wars ride simulator. I love this ride but Louis thinks its boring. That's OK because I don't like the rides he likes. We went over to Muppet Vision 4D again. We both love this show & I have been a Muppets fan since I was a little girl. I hope they never get rid of this one. After the Muppets we walked over to the park entrance to get a seat for the Block Party Bash which is a lot of fun. Its basically a parade but they stop in a certain area and play dance music & have the audience scream & dance. I love it. After the party bash we walked over to the 50's Prime time Diner because we had dinner reservations. This is a diner where they make you feel like you are living in the 50's & you have to have manners or they will get on to you. Instead of green stuff I asked for corn. I love corn. I also had fried chicken which was really good. After we ate & I was full we walked over to Streets Of America so we could get a good spot for the Osbourne Spectacle of Dancing Lights. We stood in between New York & San Fransisco. We even got to watch them turn the switch on. It was really beautiful. They even had fake snow fall down on us. It was nice watching it without being mobbed. After the lights we decided to go back to the hotel because my legs were getting tired so we took the bus back to the hotel & we filled our mugs. December 2: Animal Kingdom/EPCOT This was our last full day in the World so we decided to do some park hopping. We decided to do Animal Kingdom & then EPCOT so I could get an ECV in both places. We took the bus to Animal Kingdom & when we got inside the park we rented an ECV for me. Then of course we headed for Kilimanjaro Safari's again. Nothing too exciting happened on the Safari's this time. After the Safari's we went on the Pangani Exploration Trail. I wanted to see the tigers and bats. The tigers were active but since it was too cold, the bats were in their cave staying warm. Who could blame them. We went took the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. When we got there it was time for Pipa, the talking recycling can to make his appearance. We watched him for a bit. He is really funny. After he got done with his jokes we went inside. I missed the surgeries again but there was a lady out holding a boa constrictor. She offered me to pet it but I declined. I hate snakes & I do have my reason for it. Louis wanted to see Pipa again so we went back outside to watch him for one last time. When he came over to me I patted him on the top & he said Thanks I needed that. We took the train back to our destination we decided to go to a Bugs Life 4D. Louis loves this movie & I'm starting to get used to it. We have seen it enough times, I know when the bees start jabbing so I sit forward when that comes. We decided to head for the exit so I turned in my ECV & we told them we were going to EPCOT so would get an ECV there too. We took the bus to EPCOT. When we got there they were out of ECVs. I was not very happy about this so they said there was a waiting list with 17 people on it. We were told from others that they are not allowed to have a waiting list so we went to Guest Relations. They said they can't do anything about it because they are from a different company so they got the manager from there & he got me an ECV from the back that was being charged on the battery. How rude. After I got the ECV we went to United Kingdom so we could see British Invasion. Off-Kilter was off that day which was sort of a bummer. It was chilly sitting there watching them since they didn't have any sun in that area. We saw Circle Vision 360 movie about Canada hosted by Martin Short in the Canadian area. Its a nice film & Martin Short is funny in it. Yes, he is Canadian. We went over to America to eat. We had bacon double cheeseburger which was OK. We prefer Electric Umbrella. After eating we went to Germany so we could hear Helga, the German storyteller talk about how they do Christmas in German. I got a picture with Helga & the Nutcracker. After Germany we went to Future World to see Turtle Talk with Crush. He was really funny like the last time. After watching Crush we decided to go back to the hotel so we turned in the ECV & then caught the bus back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel I filled up our mugs twice & then we went back to our room to pack because we had a 2:30 p.m. flight to catch the next day.