Now I know how those frozen Mickey ice cream bars feel A December 2010 TR!

[Whisker Biscuit]

Wednesday December 8 continued…


Did you do your best Sherlock Holmes and crack the code for which show we were going to hit up before the parade started? Well, we bearly made it in the doors as the show was about to start… Now, if that doesn't give it away, nothing will. Of course we were going to see the…

Country Bear Jamboree!

After Big Al and the rest of the crew entertained us, we stepped outside just in time for the parade to start! We love Disney parades! So much fun and so much energy! I usually don't like parades, but I make an exception when I'm in WDW. We knew the parade was almost over when we saw the star. This guy…

Jiminy Cricket!

After the parade was over and the crowd started to thin out, there was only one attraction that was on our minds. This attraction had been closed on our last trip to Walt Disney World in January of 2008, so we were really looking forward to getting on it again (especially before they put those lap bars in)… Which attraction am I talking about? It's gotta be one of these two…

Help me out, Brer Rabbit. Which one should we ride first?

We didn't really need Brer Rabbit's help for this decision, because we had already made up our minds during the parade which attraction would be next. That attraction was...

Splash Mountain!

Splash Mountain was awesome! Even better than I had remembered it. I got a few good shots and a really good video of the ride that you can see on my youtube page. Before we got into the Splash queue, Brittany and I had been watching the logs as they came down the hill; so we knew not to sit in the front… Scott wasn't so fortunate. He sat in the front and got soaked! He stood up from the time we got to the bottom of the hill, basically until we got off the ride. They kept coming over the loud speaker saying, "Please remain seated at all times." It was hilarious! I told him he wouldn't be able to do that next time he was in WDW because lap bars were to be installed not long after our trip. So, I guess you could say he enjoyed his "last stand" on Splash Mountain… As we got off the ride and made our way to our next attraction, we made fun of Scott for being soaked. He has a history of being the one to get soaked at WDW. Last time it was Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom. Haha. Anyway, after we had all laughed until we hurt, we were ready to go fast so that we could dry off. Where would we find an attraction that would go fast enough to dry us off?? Oh yeah, right next door at…

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!

Wow! That definitely is the wildest ride in the west! After Big Thunder Mountain, we decided to head toward the next land in the Magic Kingdom. That's right, next up was Adventureland and one of my all time favorite attractions in Walt Disney World. I'll give you two guesses, but I bet you'll only need one to figure out which attraction I'm talking about...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Wednesday December 8 continued…

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me… Of course I am talking about the classic Disney attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean! This has always been one of my very favorite attractions at Walt Disney World. There is just something about it that makes me love it! A trip to the Magic Kingdom is not complete without a trip on PotC!

I absolutely love this attraction! I don't even mind the few new additions from the movies. It gives it a little bit of an updated flavor to go along with the classic attraction. Be sure to check out my Pirates of the Caribbean video on my youtube page…
All this talk about Pirates makes me want to pop in my PotC DVDs and watch them all. I can't wait for the fourth installment this May!
Anyway, after we left Pirates, we walked a little until we came upon another type of boat ride…

The Jungle Cruise!

A lot of people don't really care for the Jungle Cruise, but I enjoy it. I love all the boat ride attractions at Walt Disney World. They are very soothing and relaxing to me. I enjoy seeing all the scenes on the Jungle Cruise and I even like the corny jokes that the captain tells. The only thing about the Jungle Cruise that I did not like was the wait time we had! It was, BY FAR, the longest of our entire trip! That is ridiculous! The standby said 20 minutes, but it was more like 45 to 50! I won't make the mistake of waiting that long again. I'll either grab Fast Passes or come back at another time. Anyway, after our cruise, it was starting to get dark and we were getting hungry! I said, "I know a good place to grab a bite." So, I led my group over to Pecos Bill's Tall Tale Inn and Café! It was delicious! Once again, I have to apologize for the lack of food pictures… but like I said before, my next trip report will have lots of food pics to make up for it.
After we stuffed our bellies, it was time to do some more attractions. First up was yet another one of my all time favorites at Disney. I know I say that a lot and you are probably thinking, "Which attraction ISN''T this guy's favorite?" Haha. Well, I do like them all and I guess that is why I love Walt Disney World so much! Anyway, on to the attraction! We headed back into Liberty Square to check out 999 happy haunts at…

The Haunted Mansion!

What a great ride! Definitely a Disney classic and even though it's not scary at all, I love riding this attraction, especially at night! I do have a word of warning for anyone who is brave enough to go into the Haunted Mansion… watch out for hitchhiking ghosts!
After we escaped with our lives from the HM, we headed back into Fantasyland to hit a couple more attractions before we called it a night. First up was a ride that is not my favorite. I actually think it is very annoying and the only reason I rode this particular attraction was because everyone else in my group wanted to ride it. So, not wanting to be a party pooper, I reluctantly entered the new queue for…

It's A Small World

Ok, it wasn't that bad… but I can't ride it more than once per trip. That song would drive me insane! Haha. After Small World, we continued through Fantasyland and came across an attraction that I had always wanted to do, but had never gotten the chance. Oh, and what a surprise, the wait time was 0 minutes! We jumped right in line and were basically the only people in the queue/waiting area for…

Mickey's Philhar Magic!

Wow! I was blown away by this attraction! Like I said, I had never seen this before and I was really impressed! I have a new favorite 3D show at Walt Disney World and it is Mickey's Philhar Magic!
After the show, we leisurely made our way back around the castle and got a good spot to watch Wishes! Be sure to check out my Wishes video on my youtube page as well. Wishes was great as usual! It never disappoints. Sadly, we made our way back down Main Street and toward the exit… Our full day at the Magic Kingdom had come to an end. My, does time fly when you are in the most magical place on earth! We headed back to Fort Wilderness with mixed emotions… We were sad because our day at the MK was over, but we were excited about the adventure that the next day would bring. I had waited all week to go to this park and tomorrow, I was going to finally get there! Stay tuned to find out what park we were going to next (if you have been following this trip report, you already know the only park we haven't been to yet)...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Thursday December 9, 2010

If you didn't already know, did you go back through the trip report and figure out which park we were going to today? Well, I'll give you a hint… In this park, you can go back in time, into the future, under the sea and around the world, all in day's time! You know by now that I'm talking about…

EPCOT!

I love EPCOT! Some people may find this park boring or too educational, but I don't. I love everything about it! I think everyone should know where we have come from and where we are going. I probably took hundreds of pictures as we made our way into the entrance to EPCOT…

Our first attraction of the day is the first one we came to. A lot of people skip this attraction first thing in the morning because they run off into the park to get in line or get Fast Passes for some of the bigger name headliners, but not us. We strolled right up to a practically empty…

Spaceship Earth

I love Spaceship Earth! Whenever I ride it, I just get lost in the story that is being told and I forget all about the real world for a little bit. What a perfect way to start another day at Walt Disney World! After our journey through SSE was over, Brittany and I posed for a picture…

Next, we had a decision to make… Which way to go? We ending up going toward the Land first.

We really enjoy this area of EPCOT because it contains one of our very favorite attractions in all of Disney World. Can you guess which one I'm taking about? Yep, that's right…

Soarin'!

I absolutely love this attraction. From Puddy doing the preshow to flying over Disneyland, it is an awesome experience! I wanted to get video of Soarin, but Brittany wouldn't let me get my camera out because they said no filming or flash photography… so I didn't. Look for it next time though!

Soarin' is so great, I could ride it over and over again! As soon as we got off, we got Fast Passes for later, but now we were ready for our next attraction. Where would we go from here? Stay tuned to find out…

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Thursday December 9 continued…

We left the Soarin' with Fast Passes in hand and headed right next door to board our next attraction…

Living with the Land!

We always really enjoy this attraction. It is just a relaxing little boat ride, but there is so much to see and so much information to take in! I always like to see the new and different ways Disney is using technology to help save our planet. Here are a few shots from Living with the Land…

Such a cool attraction that I think a lot of people overlook. If you skip Living with the Land, you are missing out and only hurting yourself! As we exited our boat, we made our way up the escalator in the Land pavilion. As we headed toward the Circle of Life show, I looked up and saw this…

We had just left the Land and were heading toward our next attraction, when we came upon a glorious sight… a Disney snack cart! Scott and I got our traditional Mickey ice cream sandwiches while Brittany, Brooke and Pam got pretzels. We ate as we walked and before long we arrived at our next destination…

We decided to go to the left and check out an old classic that Disney had brought back from the 80's to honor the recently deceased King of Pop, Michael Jackson. I am talking about, of course…

Captain EO!

The show was ok. You can tell it was dated, but it was fairly entertaining. I'm not sure it's something I'll do on future trips though… too many other good things to do at EPCOT. While we were in the area, we decided to head over to see what Figment was up to in Journey into Imagination!

Journey into Imagination with Figment is a fun show, but again, not something I have to do every time I'm at EPCOT. I checked the time and just as I thought, it was time to use our Fast Passes for Soarin'! We ran back to the Land to take another flight! Man, this attraction never gets old!
By this time, we were ready for some thrills, so we headed toward the other side of Future World. I got this shot of one of the fountains as we walked…

Where were heading? Which attraction would we ride first? Stayed tuned to find out…

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Thursday December 9 continued…

We were walking from one side of Future World to the other and we didn't get far before I saw this…

Club Cool!

I made everybody go in so we could all try the sodas from around the world! I insisted that everyone try the Beverly first, since it was so delicious! I let everyone try it and I watched their faces go from happy to disgusted within seconds! Haha. It was priceless. I kick myself for not getting video of those reactions! I was a good sport though, I tried it too. That stuff is nasty!

After tasting the Beverly, we tried most of the other drinks and they weren't too bad. After a few minutes, everyone was ready to keep moving, so we left Club Cool and continued toward the other side of Future World. Here are some shots I took as we walked…

We finally reached the other side of the park and two of our favorite attractions at EPCOT. I bet you can get which two attractions I am taking about. They are pretty much next door to each other. The only question was which one would we ride first!?! Well, we decided to take a "spin" on this little beauty first…

Mission: Space!

We decided to "man up" and be on the Orange Team, which is the more intense version. That was a bad decision. Nobody got sick, but we all were feeling a little less than stellar after we exited our space shuttles. It was a rough trip, but it was still a lot of fun. Now we can look back and laugh! After we got our barings, we decided to head toward the next attraction. This is yet another favorite of ours, not just in EPCOT, but in all of Walt Disney World. We stumbled along until we got to the entrance to the attraction. This attraction is none other than…

Test Track!

I love Test Track! It is so fun! I also got a really good video that you can check out on my youtube page. Here is a free tip for you for this ride or any attraction that has a single riders line. USE IT. There is normally little to no wait at all. So what if you don't get to ride with you friend or family member?!? How much talking do you get to do on an attraction anyway? Of course this does not apply to families with smaller children, but for a family with teenagers or for a group of young adults to adults, single rider is the only way to do it! Here is another hint for ya - If you get in the single riders line in pairs, half of the time they still seat you together! Enough about that...
I was really, really wanting to get to World Showcase, but as it got later in the day, I realized it wasn't going to happen on this day... We had already planned on going back to another park on this night for two events; but I was going to make a point to get back to EPCOT tomorrow for World Showcase!
On the way toward the exit, everyone wanted to make a quick stop at one of the best merchandise stores in WDW...

Mouse Gear!

We looked around for a little while, but we had to get going if we were going to make it to the other park in time for the show we wanted to see... On the way our of Mouse Gear, I spotted this retro EPCOT Center shirt that, looking back, I wish I would have gotten.

If they still have it in September when we go back, I'm going to get it.
Anyway, we proceeded toward the exit and headed over to Disney's Hollywood Studios! I gave you the park; can you guess the two events we wanted to catch that night at DHS?

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Thursday December 9 continued...

We had just left EPCOT and were heading to Disney's Hollywood Studios for two specific reasons, which I'll get to in a minute... I was still bummed that I had been at Disney World for almost an entire week and hadn't stepped foot in World Showcase yet! That is unacceptable. That is the only negative of going to WDW with a group; you kind of have to go along with whatever to keep the peace... Ok, off to Hollywood Studios...
In no time flat, we were entering the Studios! Here is a shot of Brittany and Brooke on the way in...

Have I mentioned how I love Hollywood Studios?!? Haha. But really, I do love it. Not just the attractions, but everything - especially all the little details. I mean, check out this display window...

Now back to the reason we have left EPCOT prematurely. Have you figured it out yet? If you said Fantasmic and the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, you were right!
As we headed toward the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater for Fantasmic, which was going to start at 6:30, we stopped for a quick picture in front of my favorite attraction in WDW...

After our picture, we turned around and saw this billboard for Fantasmic and it got us really excited for the show!

DHS was unbelievably crowed, just like it is every night Fantasmic is showing... Here is a shot looking back down the street...

Pretty soon, we were at the entrance to the amphitheater and it was about 5:30, so we headed on it to make sure we got a decent seat...

Once we got inside, Brooke, Pam and I went to get seats while Scott and Brittany went to grab some snacks! It wasn't long before they returned with chicken nuggets, fries, carmel popcorn and drinks! We snacked until the show was about to start. Then it was show time! Here is the view from our seats...

Fantasmic is a great show, but if you've seen it and you go to Walt Disney World often, I would recommend skipping it every other trip or so. Hollywood Studios triples in attendance on days it is showing, so it's not worth it EVERY trip.
After the show was over, we were waiting to file out with the rest of the crowd when I got this cool shot of the back of the Tower of Terror...

Like a herd of cattle, we made our way out of the amphitheater and toward the Osborne Lights. We had heard so much about this and had seen so many great pictures online, we couldn't wait to see them in person! Well, they did not disappoint! We stayed and watched them and listened to Christmas music for probably about an hour. Here are a couple of shots from the Osborne Lights...

Wow! The Osborne Lights were amazing!
This long day had come to an end and we were beat. We headed out of Hollywood Studios and caught a bus back to Fort Wilderness. Tomorrow was going to be our last full day at Disney and we were depressed... We did, however, have a full day planned that included attempting the impossible - park hopping to all four Disney parks in one day! Did we succeed? You'll have to stay tuned to find out...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Friday December 10, 2010


We got up and out of the bed early this morning because we had a busy day planned. On the other hand, we were a little sad because today was our last day at Walt Disney World...
The plan for the day was to go to all four parks and hit our most favorite attractions. Do you think we were able to do it?? Well, here we go...
The weather was supposed to be the warmest of the week today! Of course, on our LAST day! Oh well, we were going to make the best of it! In no time, we were off to the bus stop and heading to our first park of the day. Can anyone guess which park we were heading to first? If you said Animal Kingdom, you were right!

I love Animal Kingdom in the morning! I don't know what it is, there is just something about it... Anyway, we were here for one reason and one reason alone. EXPEDITION EVEREST.
As were entered Asia and headed toward EE, Animal Kingdom's unmatched theming was evident all around us...

Finally, Everest was in sight! Before we knew it, we had sped through the stand by queue (which was basically empty), boarded our train and were headed up the mountain to face the Yeti one more time!

We rode Expedition Everest again since the line was so short and then we headed toward the park exit. We were just about to go to the next park on our list, but out of nowhere, a bus to a certain Disney resort pulled up... We had always wanted to check out this resort, so we jumped on the bus and rode over to...

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge!

This place was awesome! I can't wait to stay here one day!
Here are a few shots from the Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House and Kidani Village...

The Jambo House lobby

Jambo House

Kidani Village Lobby

Kidani Village

My pictures do not do the Animal Kingdom Lodge justice! The place is beautiful!
Ok, enough with the resorts! It was time to hit our next park! Which one was next on our list? Stay tuned to find out...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Friday December 10 continued…


We loved the Animal Kingdom lodge, but we were ready to go to our next park. I was so excited to get back to this park because this was our last day at Disney and I always try to make a point of going to this park on my last day, if possible. Of course, the park I'm taking about is none other than the granddaddy of them all…

The Magic Kingdom!

I could have stayed here all day, but we had a specific plan of hitting all of our most favorite attractions in WDW in one day, so we forged on. We decided to take a bit of a different route toward the castle today. We were going to cut through the Emporium and do a little shopping if something caught our eye. On the way into the Emporium, I spotted these two hanging out on a bench…

Roy and Minnie!

We headed into the Emporium and it was ridiculously crowded, so we looked around for just a minute and then headed out the door and on to Main Street.

That's when we spotted the Main Street Bakery and immediately crossed the street! Once we got across, we stopped to listen to these guys for a few minutes…

The Dapper Dans!

They were great, as usual, but we had sweets on the brain so we headed into the Main Street Bakery. This place smells so good and there are goodies everywhere! If I stayed in there very long, I would eat everything in sight! We picked up a few things including some Mickey shaped rice krispy treats! I snapped this shot before we left…

We stepped back out on Main Street and headed toward Tomorrowland for the main attraction we were in the Magic Kingdom on this particular day for. As we came closer to the castle, before we headed right for Tomorrowland, I snapped this shot…

Although I love the classic Disney décor, the Christmas decorations all over WDW were wonderful and tastefully done. We finally made our way deep into Tomorrowland and to the main attraction that we wanted to ride in the Magic Kingdom…

Space Mountain!

As we got closer to the entrance to the queue, we saw a terrible sight! Space Mountain was temporarily closed! What the?! This was throwing a major wrench in our plans! The cast member standing at the entrance could not give us a time frame for when it would be back up and running… Oh, well, no time to pout about it because we had other things on our list! We headed back toward the main hub and went directly across to Adventurland because there was one place I had heard so much about on these message boards that I just had to go check it out for myself! Can you guess what I'm talking about? Think about it as we cross the (now old) Adventureland bridge…

Did you figure it out yet? There was only one place in Adventureland I wanted to go to satisfy my need for something sweet, fruity, cold and wet… Of course, I am talking about…

Aloha Isle!

The reason I wanted to go to Aloha Isle so badly was because of the famous Dole Whips I had heard so much about! I rushed up to the window to place my order, but I had no idea how much there was to choose from! I just told the lady I wanted a "Dole Whip" and she gave me an ice cream float with pineapple juice. What did I think of it, you ask?

It was glorious! So good! I recommend getting one next time you are in Adventureland. I bet they are especially delicious on a hot day! I can't wait to go back and try another item from the menu!
After my Dole Whip fix, we decided we were not quite ready to leave the Magic Kingdom yet. It occurred to us that we hadn't even walked through the castle on this trip! What a crime that was! We had to do that before we left, so we headed back toward the castle via the little pathway from just outside of Adventureland to Fantasyland. Stay tuned to find out what happened next that derailed our plans yet again...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Friday December 10 continued...

After I got my delicious Dole Whip, we were getting ready to head toward the back of the castle because we hadn't walked through it yet on our trip. Nothing could go wrong here, right? Wrong! The castle walk through area was closed due to the show going on at the front of the castle! Yes, we could have waited until the show was over and then walk through the castle, but as I've said, we were on a mission! It wasn't the end of the world, but after Space Mountain being closed earlier in the day, it was rather discouraging. I snapped a few shots as we exited Adventureland...

Captain Jack Sparrow?

We left Adventureland and took the little path beside the castle toward the back of the castle and into Fantasyland. Here are some shots from our trip AROUND the castle...

I absolutely LOVE all the detail in Cinderella Castle!

We wished we had gotten the opportunity to walk through the castle, but walking around it was good enough. Now, it was almost time to head to our next park, our third of the day, so we headed back toward Main Street USA...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Friday December 10 continued...

We made it around the main hub to the front of the castle and started to head down Main Street for this last time on this trip... Such a sad time... I looked around and snapped some final shots of the most magical place on earth for the last time on this trip...

I love all of these sights... They make me realize that I am in Walt Disney World and these images stayed etched in my mind in between trips. We were about to exit the Magic Kingdom when I turned around and took one last look up Main Street USA toward Cinderella Castle...

As we passed through the exit tunnel, I looked up and saw this sad sight...

Not soon enough...

Ok, deep breath, we had left the Magic Kingdom. We wouldn't be back to this wonderful place until our next trip. Our sadness was short lived though as we started thinking about the next park on our list. The only dilemma we had was how to get to this particular park. Well, we headed straight toward...

And we were on our way. Can you guess where we were headed? Stay tuned to find out...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Friday December 10 continued...

We took the Monorail over to the Transportation and Ticket Center and we went down to the bus stop and hopped a bus over to our next park...

Disney's Hollywood Studios!

We weren't even going to try to ride Toy Story Midway Mania, so we went toward the back of the park to our favorite part of DHS. We were really only here for two reasons: The Rock'n' Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror! Here of some final shots of these two favorites...

The alley in the Rock'n' Roller Coaster queue is second to none. After our limo ride, we headed over to the Tower of Terror...

And since the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is my favorite attraction at Disney World, here is a little photo tribute of the queue...

Ahhh, how I LOVE this attraction!
After our last ride on the Tower for this trip, we headed out to do and see a few more things at Hollywood Studios before departing for our last park of the day...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Friday December 10 continued...

We walked around for a little longer at Hollywood Studios, but we didn't ride anything else. Brittany wanted to get a funnel cake, so we got one outside of the Indiana Jones stunt show and sat down at a little table to enjoy our snack. After the delicious funnel cake, we went off to take a few more pictures before leaving DHS for the last time on this trip. First, we went to pay tribute to the man that started it all...

After checking out Walt, we headed over to the park's icon for some shots...

After our last few pictures at Hollywood Studios, we decided to head toward the exit so we could maximize our time at EPCOT to finish out the day. I was sad to leave DHS, but excited to get back to EPOCT since our time there was cut short the day before. We took the short bus ride from DHS and within minutes were were walking into EPCOT!

We weren't in EPCOT for 5 minutes before I turned around and saw this making it's way around the concrete track...

The Tronorail!

EPCOT was decorated for Christmas just like the other parks with topiaries everywhere - including this guy...

Stitch! Even though I hate his ride, I still like him as a character. As we got a little deeper into the park we decided to head toward the Seas with Nemo and Friends since we hadn't made it there the day before.

What would we do next? Stay tuned to find out...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Friday December 10 continued...

Since we were at the Seas with Nemo and Friends, we decided we should at least ride the Nemo attraction before we ventured off into the rest of the park. So, we headed inside...

I personally enjoy this ride, as I do all the dark rides, but especially this one because of how Disney incorporates the characters from Finding Nemo in with the real fish in the tanks. There is so much more to see in the Seas, but we had already been to Sea World earlier in the week and plus I was ITCHING to finally get to World Showcase! So, we left the Seas and headed toward the countries! On the way, we saw these guys...

I love the Disney topiaries, especially the ones at Christmas!
As we neared World Showcase Lagoon, I looked behind me and saw the EPCOT Christmas tree with Spaceship Earth in the background...

We finally reached the lagoon and we just stood there at the railing and took in the beautiful view of World Showcase at night, which I believe is one of the most beautiful sights in all of Walt Disney World.
Overall, I was not pleased with my night shots from World Showcase and I vow to get better pictures on my next trip. Here is a four part "slide show" of our view looking out at World Showcase...

Wow! What a view! My excitement was at an all time high as I could not wait to explore World Showcase! I swear on my next trip it not take me until the last day to make it here. In fact, I plan on going to WS several times on my next trip!
Ok, enough talk, let's go check out some countries! The only question was Mexico or Canada? Which way did we go? Stay tuned to find out...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

December 10 continued...

After a brief deliberation, we decided to head toward the Canada pavilion! Finally, we were off to see World Showcase! On our way, we passed this...

All of the countries in World Showcase take on a different light at night and the way they are all lit up is just beautiful. Some of my favorite times and memories at Walt Disney World are from World Showcase at night.
Like I said, we headed to Canada first...
Oh, Canada! One of my favorite pavilions in all of World Showcase! I look forward to spending more time here on my next trip and finally giving Le Cellier a try!
Back to this trip... We explored Canada for a while and I took several pictures. Like I said earlier, I was so disappointed in my night pictures - especially the ones I took in World Showcase. I’m so upset I didn’t get to WS during daylight to take some shots and I vow to make several trips and take many more pictures to make up for it on my next trip!
Here are a couple of my better shots from the Canada pavilion and a hilarious shirt we saw in the gift shop...

We headed out of Canada and toward the next country, which is yet another one of my favorite pavilions in World Showcase - The United Kingdom! I love the UK pavilion because of my love for all things England (especially England soccer). It is also incredibly well themed and I love going in all of the shops. Not to mention, it’s beautiful lit up at night...

After exploring the United Kingdom, we crossed the small bridge into the France pavilion. Just like the others, it looked awesome all lit up. We looked around for a bit and then just stood back and took in all of the sights of France...

After exiting France, the next pavilion we came to was Morocco. I have to admit that I have never really spent a lot of time here. One of my goals for my next trip is to really take some time to check out this pavilion and see what I’ve been missing.

After a quick stop in Morocco, we headed into the next country... Japan. Before we went deeper into the Japanese pavilion itself, I glanced back across World Showcase Lagoon and got this great shot Spaceship Earth...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

December 10 continued...

After a couple of pictures of Spaceship Earth from World Showcase, it was time to explore the Japan pavilion. Although not my favorite pavilion, Japan, like the all the countries, really looks cool at night...

As we left Japan, we noticed the stage for the for the Candlelight Processional. The seats were already filling up and there was a long line of people forming to see the performance and that night’s celebrity narrator, Whoopi Goldberg! Here is a shot of the stage area that I got as we headed to the next country...

We checked out the Candlelight Processional stage for just a minute before we headed to the American Pavilion.

I really wanted to do the American Adventure on this trip, but I was afraid there weren’t going to be any more shows that day... I was really bummed until I saw a sign that said the last show of the day was starting in 10 minutes! We rushed into the show just in time!

The American Adventure is such a wonderful show! Every time I leave that show, I feel more patriotic than I was before! When we came out of the show, the Candlelight Processional was in full swing, so we stopped and listened to Whoppi Goldberg for a little bit before we decided to keep moving... The next country we came to was Italy. Again, a beautiful pavilion and one I would like to spend more time in on my next trip to Disney.
After leaving Italy, we came to probably my favorite themed country in World Showcase... Germany! The detail in this pavilion is second to none. I would really like to spend some time here on my next trip as well. Here are a few shots from Germany... (Again, sorry about the pic quality)

I really love the architecture in the Germany pavilion. I’m definitely going to take a boat load of pics in Germany next time! Reluctantly, we left Germany and headed toward the next country. Where did we go next? Stay tuned to find out (or just grab an EPOCT map of World Showcase)...

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Friday December 10 continued…

As we continued around World Showcase, we slowed down and just tried to take in all of the sights, smells and sounds because we knew tomorrow we would be heading back home. We strolled along, and came to the next country pavilion - China! I love this pavilion because of the beauty of the architecture! Disney really goes all out when making the buildings in the countries as authentic as possible.

I glanced at my phone and saw that it was about 8:00pm! We needed to get a good spot for IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth! We rushed past the Norway pavilion and the Mexico pavilion so that we could get a good front row seat for the show back over near the boat dock. Don't worry though, we would go back and hit Mexico and Norway after IllumiNations! Anyway, while we were waiting, I realized that I was about to starve! Brittany wasn't hungry, so she held our spot against the rail surrounding World Showcase Lagoon, and I went off in search of food! Just to our left was the new restaurant in the Mexico area, La Cantina, so I quickly got in line.

I absolutely love Mexican food and Brittany does not, so this was perfect seeing that I was the only one eating at this time. I got my food and scarfed it down and then went back to join Brittany for the show.
IllumiNations was awesome, as usual! They did a Christmas version and it did not disappoint! My only regret is that I didn't get any pictures of the show… I did, however, video the entire show but unfortunately have not had time to post it on YouTube yet.
After IllumiNations was over, we hung around for a little while to let the crowd thin out a bit. After we could move again, we made our way back toward the last two countries on our list. The first one we came to was Mexico. I love this pavilion and can't wait to go back here on our next trip! I have got to eat at San Angel Inn!

I love Mexico, especially at night!
After a quick bathroom stop, we were back on course and heading for the last country on our list… Norway! I have always loved the Norway pavilion. I don't know why really, I just always have ever since I was a kid. I guess it is because of the fact that it is one of two countries in World Showcase that actually have a ride/attraction. Gotta love Maelstrom! Either that or because the buildings look cool and I have always liked Vikings! So, without further ado, we heading in to check out Norway…

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Friday December 10 continued…

After our ride on Maelstrom, we headed out of Norway… I got a couple parting shots from the Norway pavilion as we headed back out into EPCOT…

It was getting pretty late and we were completely worn out from not only the day's events but the wear and tear of a full week at Walt Disney World. We slowly made our way back around World Showcase Lagoon passing Mexico one last time before entering Future World. This was the low point of our trip. We were so sad to see it coming to an end right before our eyes. I think the only thing that kept the tears out of our eyes was knowing that we would be back again in 9 months or so.
On the way out of EPCOT, I took the last pictures from our trip…

We boarded the bus to Fort Wilderness one last time and didn't say a word to each other or anyone else the whole ride back to the camp site. When we got back, we packed up a few last things and crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep like kids who had just lost their puppy…


Saturday December 11, 2010


Today was the dreaded departure day. We got up at the crack of dawn and headed out of Fort Wilderness, which was quiet because most everyone was still asleep. We drove back under the famous Walt Disney World sign, but this time we were going the opposite way. Not the way that brings such excitement and joy, but the way that brings sorrow and disappointment…
Well, enough of this feeling sorry for ourselves crap! We were lucky to have been able to spend a week in the most magical place on the planet! Some people are not fortunate enough to go to Disney World ever and here we are, lucky enough to get to go every other year at least! We began to perk up and realize that things weren't all that bad after all. We were grateful that we got the opportunity to spend the past 8 days in Walt Disney World and already could not wait to go back!

Well, that is going to do it for my Trip Report. I hope you all enjoyed it! Please take the time to check out some of my videos from the trip by clicking on my YouTube page below! Also, as I mentioned during my TR, Brittany and I are going back to the World in September of this year (2011) to celebrate our Anniversary so stay tuned for the Pre Trip Report…

Thanks again and SEE YA REAL SOON!

 

[Whisker Biscuit]

Check out my September Pre Trip Report here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=40872009#post40872009