That is crazy. We went to MVMCP on the 9th and watched Holiday Wishes from the TL bridge as well!
Hi guys- will try and catch up soon- just getting back into the swing of work! i know there are still a lot of you out there about5 to head out- so here is a summary of our trip in case it helps! be sure you check the weather and pack for the cold if necessary- we all wore gloves, hats and scarves almost all week- it was extremely cold in the shade and at night. they were selling lots of gloves, sweatshirts and hats!!!
We just returned from a 7 night stay at our new home, BLT on Saturday night. Had a fabulous time! Here are some highlights:
- Was cold- we are from TX, so it was feeling pretty chilly to us, in the 30s/40s most of the time. Best day weather wise was our first day, 12/4 and last day, 12/11. Rest of the time, we were in hoodies, jeans, gloves and scarves, even donned our winter coats for a few nights too. glad I brought them, almost didn't.
- Crowds- not too bad the majority of the time---Epcot was a zoo though on Friday, 12/10......we were in world showcase wandering around, and had dinner at Via Napoli, could hardly walk through there, it was so crowded! Same thing on 12/11 in the am- super crowded at Epcot!!! We spent a a few hours there before heading to MCO- the line for TT said 30 minutes, we waited over an hour!!!! Soarin said 90 minutes. Earlier in the week, we rode everything we wanted with 20 minute waits or less. In fact, on 12/5, we hit MK (was raining a bit) and did all of Fantasyland with almost no wait. Splash was empty the entire trip due to the cold! We finally rode it (no wait) on 12/9 when it was slightly warmer. They even had Kali closed at one point or delayed opening due to the cold. We rode EE 3x at AK with little wait!
- BLT- was great!! we had a 7th floor room. did online check in and worked great. however, room was not ready until 3pm on the dot. When we left on 12/11, the lobby was packed with people check ing in and the regular check in line was HUGE!!! so do online checkin ifyou can. We originally were given a second floor room and i went up and asked if they had anything else and got moved to 7th. so even with online checkin, you can still go back up and request something else if you aren't happy. no guarantees, but you can ask. We used garden grocer too- on time and everything was just perfect from them. nView was over the lake/pool of the CR. Elevators were crazy on saturday, 12/11---we had to wait several times through full elevators of people checking in or out. We had a car and parking was so easy and convenient at BLT. the walk to the MK was fabulous! Loved the skybridge and walk to the monorail. not too bad! did not like the non locking sliding doors to the bathroom. Never got to try out the pool- too cold. maybe next time? I only saw a handful of people swimming all week long.
- food- great! tried Via Napoli for dinner and the pizza was fantastic! La Hacienda- so so, but view was amazing for Illuminations. Those were our two new restaurants- all our oldies were still great- O'hana, Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's etc. Got all my favorites in- dole whip float, kaki gori, cheese stuffed pretzel and tried the butterfinger cupcake at starring rolls- YUM!
- Candlelight Processional- saw it with the dining package on 12/8 with Jodi Benson- had early ressies for dinner at Le Cellier for 5pm- they even got in the one extra person we had with no problem. We lined up about 7:45 for the 8:15 show and were lined up back past Japan. I couldn't believe how long the line was, but we still got great seats. Great show!!!
- MVMCP- we did the 12/9 party and it ended up being sold out! still had a great time- rode a TON! saw a few characters (but that wasn't our priority). Saw holiday WISHES on TL bridge and then caught the second parade in frontierland. Was able to walk up 5 min before and get a pretty good spot! hardly any lines for most of the rides during the first parade- we managed to do HM, indy speedway, Pooh, Toontown, BTMRR twice, Pirates and much more. Snacks were great too and plentiful and easy to find. They were checking wristbands early in the night, but not so much later in the night.
- Specials- we used the 20% coupons given at the fast food joints for 20% off purchase at world of disney (also mousegears, island merchantile, mickey's of hollywood and emporium). great deal!
- Got the cute snowman bucket for like $9 with popcorn, not easy to get back on the plane iwth all the other stuff we bought!
- With purchase....Loved the 'pleather' bags offered with $25 purchase for $11.95- got a cute green one. by end of week, only the yellow and grey were left. earlier in the week they had red, green and other colors. Looks like they were replacing that bag by week's end with a rolling duffle instead for like $15.95. the throws and fleece blanket were also offered (I think $40 purchase for that and ran like $15 or $18 for those).
- POP Warner- first time i have been in early Dec (out of 3 trips then) that i actually saw a lot of them in the parks. We had them following us out of epcot one night chanting all night long. ugh! We even saw some families staying at BLT and the CR too from POP. They seemed to be out in the parks more this trip for some reason.
- Closures/rehabs- we did check out Toontown one last time since word is out that it is officially closing in early February for good- so go see it! RnR was down the day we planned to do it. bummer. New Pooh queue is so darn cute! We rode it twice. The construction walls didn't bother me a bit, you can really see the progress they are making.
- ToW lounge- watched holiday wishes from up there and it was amazing! what a view- if only it wasn't so cold out there!
- MISC- loved walking to MK from BLT. the monorail was just so long sometimes- and it always seemed crowded--- in fact, many times would arrive at CR and would be packed to the brim with no one getting off- i think a lot of non monorail loop guests are using the resort monorail to get the TTC and avoid the longer lines at the express monorail- but it makes it tough on us CR guests when it is full and we can't get on.......bummer. Saw a guy being frisked and arrested at the drop off at the MK as we were walking from BLT to the MK.....who knows what he did. Heard one monorail got stopped for over an hour or more with a medical emergency too- it was later in the week and some folks were stuck for quite a while apparently. Not sure if someone had a heart attack or something like that. Also saw a huge car accident on the road into the MK- shortly before the entrance/parking gate---looked like 3-4 cars, one was a taxi minivan- firetrucks and ambulances there.
Great trip overall- slightly bigger crowds than i expected on 12/10 and 12/11. rest of week was great crowd wise other than on the monorails (lots of POP kids on there too). We had a great time, saw and did everything we wanted to do!!! Can't wait to go back for our first Oct trip to try food and wine and MNSSHP!
i think i read that somewhere too- can't wait. my son (3yo) walked in on my MIL and niece a number of times since they used that outside bathroom. just didn't seem very private, like the door didn't even shut all the way
too cool!!! it was pretty crowded over there, but we grabbed a last minute spot- perfect to see Tink!
great notes!
We are super excited 
Now if it will just stop snowing here and I can finish my finals tomorrow then we can hop on our flight..
i think i read that somewhere too- can't wait. my son (3yo) walked in on my MIL and niece a number of times since they used that outside bathroom. just didn't seem very private, like the door didn't even shut all the way
too cool!!! it was pretty crowded over there, but we grabbed a last minute spot- perfect to see Tink!
great notes!
btw- on reservations- there were numerous times we heard folks being turned away for walk ups, especially the last few days and at Epcot. on friday night, 12/10, we checked in at Via Napoli at 7:45pm and people were being turned away if they didn't have reservations. On Saturday, 12/11 at Epcot, i went in guest relations for something and they had a huge sign up saying (this was at 1pm) that all dining reservations for sit down service were completely booked. scary!
all of our ressies were in tact and fine when we got there.
I have to agree on the decorations- i didn't notice anything less over last year. the lights of winter in epcot are still gone (like last year), but everything else looked the same to me- garland on the light posts, candy canes and soldiers at the entrance, the big blow up mickey/minnie snowmen on the MK parking gates before the parties (they take them down on non party nights). Osborne lights was great as always too. Tons of holiday merchandise, although i noticed NO Christmas village items anymore- last year we bought the light up castle- hoping to get another piece this year (I think i saw the haunted mansion or city hall in year's past), but nothing. looked at all the major Christmas stores and asked. they did have all the water play areas turned off completely- like at Epcot over by TT and also the one on the main walkway towards where the tree is at Epcot.
We only had two incidents of 'bad' magic.........we had great spots for MSEP near Sleepy Hollow and of course someone walks up last minute gets way too close into my personal space and completely blocks my view. i tried to ask him to move back a bit so my son could see, but he didn't speak english and kept pushing closer and closer into me. his arm ended up in a ton of my photos. boo!!! another one- on MVMCP night- we headed to BTMRR and my son measured up outside! yeah. he rode and loved it. there was only a 10 min wait, so we went up to go again- got in the line and were about to board, when the CM stops us and asks to measure him- and he tells us he doesn't measure up.......okay, then how did he just ride 5 minutes ago and why did the CM up at the front let us on BOTH times? we were mad and poor DS was crying, saying he wanted to go on the ride. We all just left- couldn't ride. some nice lady behind us was upset about it too and said it was so wrong for them to be so inconsistent and that if they measure at the front, then that should stick- why let a poor kid wait in line all excited to ride, see the ride and train pull in and then be told no? i have to agree with her. he measured up just fine the rest of the trip at 40" for Soarin, TT, Splash etc. For some reason that one CM just didn't want to let him even though he just rode it. Bummer.
So jealous of you guys yet to go- you will have a fabulous time!!!!!!
Good idea! We had a rain shower while we were there and it soaked the cushions on our double stroller. We had to carry our two kids the rest of the day! We still had fun though!Just bought rain ponchos *just in case*, there are a couple days next week with a chance of rain. Think that was the last thing on my list, now it's just getting through 2 busy work days!
We leave tomorrow in the middle of the night and I have not even packed yet!!! Normally I am totally ready to go now but for some reason I am so far behind. Worst part is I feel like crap. I of course am getting sick. UGHHHHH Hoping Disney air will make me all better LOL
1 WEEK DANCE
