I love those photos of you guys all bundled up on the ride!
I think I've decided, after assessing all of your photos of Christmas trees - or with trees lurking in the background - that I like the main tree in the Magic Kingdom the
least. I like all the other trees better (including the hotel trees). For some reason, to me the tree in the MK looks as as if the ornaments have just kind of been sparsely pasted on it, rather than hung from branches. It looks like there are also big gaps of 'tree' showing in between ornaments. This is different from the giant tree in DL, which is pretty covered from inch to inch with ornaments.
But maybe if I saw the MK tree in person it would appear different and I would like it better.
Anyway, I just spent the last couple of hours catching up on your TR and re-reading some of the parts I had already read but forgot. I'm not one of those who reads the first several installments of a long TR, leaves and then comes back only to jump on the latest installments, skipping everything in between. I like to read the middle sections, too. There's no point in sticking with a long TR unless you follow along with the entire thing because you want to feel like you have taken the trip too - and you can't do that if there is a whole missing chunk in the middle! It turned out that I had read some of the parts in the middle, but some of them I had skipped (unintentionally). When I stumbled upon a couple of installments that looked unfamliar, I thought, "Where did that come from? I thought I had caught all the segments!" So it's good that I went back to double check.
I think what I have enjoyed most is reading about and seeing photos of the different hotels, the lands in Epcot and the different food experiences. Even though I'm content with the food choices we have at DLR, I can
totally see how someone who is used to WDW would be disappointed to not have the variety of food choices at DLR. And they can't help it - it's just what they are accustomed to. Whereas, those of us who are used to DLR would get to WDW and feel totally overwhelmed by the choices. But I was totally fascinated to read about all of your dining experiences because we have none of that here, basically!
Despite the fiasco you endured at AKL, I must say - THAT is a hotel I would love to stay in. While I wasn't that thrilled with the look of the Wilderness Lodge's decor or fireplace off hand (would have to see it in person), I
love the look of everything at the AKL! If I had a room/villa there that overloooked the animals, I don't think I would ever sleep. I would be watching for animals all night long! I think I would also love the Poly.
Love the dinosaur claw light fixture/lamp near Jurassic Park. I am a dinosaur freak from childhood, so anything relating to dinos is right up my alley! I love all the various dino statues in your photos.
Love the stuffed, portly Yeti!!
Ack!
What the heck was Barney doing in this TR?
That is one dinosaur I do not dig. Now I have that song - "I love you...you love me..." stuck in my head. Annoying purple puppet.
Yes, you're right - I would have enjoyed seeing more of the photos from the Kali queue!! Gotta love those details!!!
It's interesting to see the difference in some of the 'with flash' photos and the 'no flash' photos. Even though I rarely use my flash now, every now and then, once in a blue moon, a flash photo will look better than one without, as it draws more attention to the colors of the subject in the picture.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Universal holiday decorations! (I hope no one minds if I just refer to the whole IoA/WWoHPUniversal experience as Universal?) I liked them
much more than I thought I would. Love the whimsy and colors of the whole Seuss area, and the great theme of WWoHP. Even though I haven't been to 'my' Universal in 100 years, I still think the one in Orlando looks much more festive than the one out here.
You know, I have some silly "Up" borders on my DLR photos, too!! That was one of the things that discouraged me from this whole past PhotoPass experience. I like fun, clever, cute, colorful borders that make sense. I didn't see anything that made sense with the "Up" borders in relation to my photos...and yet, because I was paying for the darn CD, I felt I had to use the "Up" borders!
I just was not thrilled with this last round of PP pictures at all. Either I found them too boring in a 'been there/done that' kind of way, or there was not a single photo that made the whole thing worthwhile. For example, in 2009, the CD was worth it because I got a really great photo at night in front of the Winter Castle. But this past December, all of the photos were just...blah. I still think PhotoPass is a good option to have, but I've burnt out on it a little.
Oh yeah, I guess we could have gone in on the CD (not that we are encouraging sharing here on the DIS)! That would have been a good idea in theory. I had a combo of November and December photos on there, so I had to get all of mine ordered by early January. But I did get a good $15 discount, so that would have been beneficial to you as well. Ah well, hindsight is 20/20, as we know!!
I'm sorry to see the trip come to an end. Glad to hear you are making a return trip in September. Looks and sounds like it was a fulfilling trip for everyone. Hopefully you will be able to make a return trip to DLR soon too!
I immediately thought of your trip report and how they did that to you!
