NEVER AGAIN! A holiday family vacation report...

[MHTeacher]

At this point, I was approaching my limit of family time.......


I was tempted to go along, but decided it would be bad for my sanity,…

This would be me if I had a trip to Disney with my extended family!

 

[klacey1]

Wow, you guys definitely got a lot done in a short amount of time! I am admiring your composure with the fam-- doesn't seem like it brought you down too much!

 

[hollybearsmom]

following along

we may take a family trip this summer with dh's clan, oh dear, drama for sure

 

[michellem1118]

Glad to hear you have not knocked anyone out yet And glad you got away from the family for some lunch!!

PS- I am really enjoying your report!

I was amazed at my self-restraint!

This would be me if I had a trip to Disney with my extended family!

I still don't know how I survived the week!

Wow, you guys definitely got a lot done in a short amount of time! I am admiring your composure with the fam-- doesn't seem like it brought you down too much!

We'd never gotten up for rope-drops before, but were so surprised with how much we could get done before lunch if we were in the parks early. We'll definitely be repeating that strategy in March.

following along

we may take a family trip this summer with dh's clan, oh dear, drama for sure

Glad to have you along! I hope your summer trip goes well, and you can avoid the drama!

 

[michellem1118]

Day 4, afternoon/evening

When I left off, DH, mom, & I had just returned to SSR following our morning at MK. We got off the bus at our stop, and mom rode to the Springs to get herself some lunch. DH & I dropped our stuff off in the room, and decided to head over to DTD for lunch and some time away from everyone – we decided not to tell anyone else we were going!

We decided to take the boat, so we began the walk to the boat dock. On the way, we passed mom on her way back to the room. LOL We didn’t wait long for a boat, and soon we were at DTD, where we headed to Earl of Sandwich for a late lunch. By this point, it was around 3:00. I had the Italian sandwich, and DH had the holiday special that was turkey, cranberries, and stuffing. Both were excellent. I’ve never had anything at EoS that I didn’t enjoy, though!

After lunch, we headed over to the giant pin store to look for pins. We don’t trade them at all, but every trip we buy a couple of pins to commemorate the trip, and I put them into scrapbook layouts & frame them in shadowboxes. Here’s a picture of the one I did for our honeymoon cruise, so you can see what I mean.

The pins we wanted (ones that said NYE/New Years Day) didn’t go on sale until NYE, so we held off on the pins and headed back to SSR around 4:30. We relaxed in the room for about an hour, and then either we called MIL or she called us, wanting to know what the plan was for the rest of the night. We decided we wanted to see the castle lit up, so I called my parents, and we decided to meet at the bus stop at 6:00. It ended up being just me, DH, MIL, and my dad. BIL was still not feeling well, and mom was tired from being out with us for most of the day.

We got through the gates at MK and through the train station as they were roping off for SpectroMagic. Since DH & I had never seen the parade (we don’t usually watch the parades or fireworks), and we had stumbled into a good spot accidentally, we decided to wait & watch the parade. I got some pretty good pictures…

After Spectro, we headed down Main Street towards the castle. We’d missed the castle lighting ceremony, but it was all lit up and beautiful. Some pictures…

Since it was close to Holiday Wishes time, we decided to grab something to eat at Casey’s (DH & I shared corn dog nuggets & fries, dad & MIL had hot dogs), and then we began to negotiate the crowds lined up for Wishes. We ended up in a pretty good spot, although not quite as centered as I would have liked – we were to the left of the castle, so it was hard to get photos of the fireworks and the castle at the same time. I ended up with several good ones, though.

And, DH took video with his new video camera (Kodak Zi8). The show was exactly 12 minutes long, so it’s on YouTube in 2 segments… but to make your life easier, here’s the link to DH’s blog post where he’s linked the YouTube videos:
Holiday Wishes Blog Post

After Holiday Wishes was over, we fought the crowds of people exiting the park to get to Frontierland. Our plan was actually to go to the train station by Splash & BTMRR, and ride back to the front of the park, so my dad could see some of the park, and so he wouldn’t have to walk as much since his feet had been bothering him quite a bit already this week. On the way, we noticed that the wait at Jungle Cruise was posted at 10 minutes, and hopped in line. Our skipper for the evening journey was much better, and we had a great time. We continued on and saw that Pirates also had a short wait time, so we decided to ride that as well. We made it all the way into the train station, and then realized… the train was already closed for the night.

It was about 10pm at this point. We debated waiting until 11 to see the NYE fireworks (MK does their NYE show on both the 30th and 31st), but ultimately decided that we should head back so we wouldn’t oversleep tomorrow. We got back to SSR at almost 11 – our latest night so far! – and headed straight to bed.

Up Next: Where do we spend NYE? Did we manage to squeeze in an afternoon break? Where do we eat dinner? And do capacity crowds keep us from enjoying a NYE fireworks display from inside a park???

 

[sharonW]

I'll say ya got some good pics...their AWESOME!!!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I really like the way you've decorated your shadow box, that's a great way to use those pins and keep your Disney memories alive!

First of all, good for you getting over to DTD for a sandwich all by yourselves! I think that must have been just what you needed!

I'm a huge fan of Spectro and the fireworks so I'm glad you got to see both, you had great viewing for each!

Score on walking on to Pirates and Jungle Cruise, what did your dad think? I hope his feet weren't too tired after the walk back with the train not running....
Looking forward to more!

 

[michellem1118]

I'll say ya got some good pics...their AWESOME!!!

Thanks! I took ~100 pics of a random HS marching band that went before Spectro, trying to get the aperture and shutter speed settings on my camera just right. I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures.

I really like the way you've decorated your shadow box, that's a great way to use those pins and keep your Disney memories alive!

First of all, good for you getting over to DTD for a sandwich all by yourselves! I think that must have been just what you needed!

I'm a huge fan of Spectro and the fireworks so I'm glad you got to see both, you had great viewing for each!

Score on walking on to Pirates and Jungle Cruise, what did your dad think? I hope his feet weren't too tired after the walk back with the train not running....
Looking forward to more!

The trip to DTD, just us, definitely did good things for my attitude. It was a much-needed mid-week break.

We lucked out with viewing for both Spectro & Wishes! I couldn't believe we just walked in and got such good spots, no camping out necessary.

Dad really enjoyed Jungle Cruise... he seemed to like Pirates, just not quite as much.

The walk back was disappointing, but he was ok... he'd rested all day, remember!

I hope to get the next update done in the next few days... as but this week is the end of a grading period at work, so I may not have time.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

How many days do you have to get done before the spring break trip? I know I have a bunch!

 

[michellem1118]

How many days do you have to get done before the spring break trip? I know I have a bunch!

I've got 2 days left - New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Probably 3 installments... I don't think NYD will take more than 1. I shouldn't have too much trouble getting it finished before we leave!

You, on the other hand, need to get writing!

 

[MadiMouse]

Great pics of the fireworks and the castle! I cannot wait until we get to go back. Hopefully summer or end of November. We always say we will skip Spectro but DD always talk us into watching!!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I've got 2 days left - New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Probably 3 installments... I don't think NYD will take more than 1. I shouldn't have too much trouble getting it finished before we leave!

You, on the other hand, need to get writing!

I know, I know, it's pathetic.
I'm going to do another update tonight!

 

[michellem1118]

Great pics of the fireworks and the castle! I cannot wait until we get to go back. Hopefully summer or end of November. We always say we will skip Spectro but DD always talk us into watching!!

Thanks! The wait between trips sure is tough, huh? We're going in just under 4 weeks, and I'm already trying to plan another trip! I'd love to do a weekend for F&W, but I don't think it works well with our school calendar next fall...

I know, I know, it's pathetic.
I'm going to do another update tonight!

I'm looking forward to it!

 

[praisehisname]

Wow, I love your shadow box! I've been trying to find a way to display my pins since I don't trade either, and now I might have an answer! Thanks!

Denise

 

[jelloarms]

I am currently at the part where your cell phones didn't work in the Living Seas and you couldn't find each other. The same thing happened to my family. My mom and I were trying to figure out where my sister was and our phones didn't work so we split up to find her. When I finally found my sister, we were like "oh crap, now we have to find mom." Luckily she was in the place where I had left her.

 

[michellem1118]

Wow, I love your shadow box! I've been trying to find a way to display my pins since I don't trade either, and now I might have an answer! Thanks!

Denise

Thanks! I'm glad I could help!

I am currently at the part where your cell phones didn't work in the Living Seas and you couldn't find each other. The same thing happened to my family. My mom and I were trying to figure out where my sister was and our phones didn't work so we split up to find her. When I finally found my sister, we were like "oh crap, now we have to find mom." Luckily she was in the place where I had left her.

LOL! We had issues with spotty cell phone reception the whole trip... oddly, usually my phone worked & DH's didn't, or vice versa, even though we share a phone plan. I hope you enjoy reading the rest.

 

[MHTeacher]

Great update---We were at MK on Dec 30th all day/evening. We watched that very same Holiday Wishes from the hub that evening. Isn't that funny that we might have standing near each other?

We watched the 10 or 10:30 Spectro back in Frontierland that night. I love Spectro!

We stayed and watched the NYE preview fireworks at 11:50---That was the most amazing thing I've seen at Disney. Too bad you all couldn't stay that evening.....unless, of course, you saw them the next night on NYE.....???? I guess I'll just have to wait until you post another update!

 

[dd50]

I love EoS. I go there every trip. Glad to see that you got some alone time.

Love your shadow box. What a good idea to make that instead of putting things away somewhere.

 

[michellem1118]

Great update---We were at MK on Dec 30th all day/evening. We watched that very same Holiday Wishes from the hub that evening. Isn't that funny that we might have standing near each other?

We watched the 10 or 10:30 Spectro back in Frontierland that night. I love Spectro!

We stayed and watched the NYE preview fireworks at 11:50---That was the most amazing thing I've seen at Disney. Too bad you all couldn't stay that evening.....unless, of course, you saw them the next night on NYE.....???? I guess I'll just have to wait until you post another update!

I bet we were right near each other for Wishes, how funny! I really wanted to stay for the late fireworks, but I was outvoted. You'll have to wait til the next update or two to see where we ended up for the NYE fireworks!

I love EoS. I go there every trip. Glad to see that you got some alone time.

Love your shadow box. What a good idea to make that instead of putting things away somewhere.

EoS is definitely a favorite, especially if we don't have the meal plan... you can't beat their prices, especially at Disney!

 

[honeydiane1953]

I don't think for one minute you are a go with the flow person. You went at a very busy time of year and a rather short visit. You watched every penny and imagine family wasn't all that thrilled either.