Quick, Crazy, Christmas Trip

[LYNSUE]

This was my third trip to WDW this year!! I did not do a trip report on either of those first two trips for various reasons. I will briefly tell you why. The January trip was taken without DH. I traveled with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece. This was a trip planned for my niece for a combination Christmas, B-Day, Graduation gift. We stayed a week and had an ok time. And although DH and I both thought it would be ok to be apart for a week….. WE FOUND OUT IT WAS NOT!! We both had terrible separation anxiety which lasted long after my return. There was no way to write about that January 2008 trip without dredging up bad/sad memories.

In October, DH and I returned to WDW just the two of us. This was our usual 6 day trip and we were looking forward to Food and Wine. About six weeks prior to the trip, my DH had a health scare involving his heart, so I was a little worried about how things would go being away from home so soon after. Well he was just fine. I on the other hand was not. The first night at WDW I ended up at a clinic with symptoms of a bladder infection. I only had to spend 3 hours in the clinic to get the antibiotics needed to clear up the problem. After a few days I was feeling better and no longer running to the ladies room every 20 minutes. Well, we have all been warned when taking antibiotics to stay out of the sun. Especially me, since I am very fair skinned. Since I am in Florida, and it’s sunny, I will do the best I can. Well my best wasn’t good enough. I ended up with dehydration and was very sick for the second time in just six days. Not a trip to remember or to write about. There was no way to write about that October 2008 trip without sounding whiney. So I let that trip report slide also.

Which brings us to the December trip…… It was quick, it was crazy, and it was Christmas… and I am happy to report no health issues mental or physical this time. I am excited to write about this one.

It has been three years since we visited at Christmas. I was hoping to experience all of the special-ness of the World at this wonderful time. Also we had signed up for Mousefest activities, which was new for us. Mousefest is a sure bet you will meet other Disers. But the main reason for the December trip was to see the Packers play football in Jacksonville on Sunday 12-14-08. So we made a very short visit even shorter by taking a whole day out for football. I told you it was crazy.

I actually have photos that I am hoping to be able to include. I will see if I can figure it out.

Stay tuned and the actual report will follow shortly.

 

[LYNSUE]

Wednesday 12-10-08 (vacation eve)

DH and I both worked most of the day. We met at home about 4:00pm, did the last minute things, like checking the house and doors and water faucets a dozen or more times. (you all know what I’m talking about) and then we finally pulled out of the driveway at 5:00pm.

We are driving to Milwaukee to stay at the Super 8 near the airport. Milwaukee is about a two hour drive, so in our lovely Wisconsin climate in December, it is very necessary to arrive the night before….. just in case.

Also there are many good restaurants in Milwaukee so we had lots of choices for dinner. I chose one close to the airport that we have never been to before. It is called the Packing House. We found the food and service to be great. For starters, DH and I shared an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms, then I had a salad and he had the navy bean soup. This was followed by an entrée of peppercorn pork for me. (it was very peppery, but good) and a mixed grill for DH. (it was beef, chicken and shrimp over rice). We left there very full and happy.

We made it to our room at the Super 8 by about 8:30. The room was small but ok. Who really cares….we will be at Disney tomorrow!!!!

We watched the Bucks basketball game on TV and drifted off to sleep dreaming of Disney.

Tomorrow…Tomorrow… I love you Tomorrow… your always just a day away!!!!!

Stay tuned…… actual Disney stuff is coming up very soon.

I am practicing including photos. Since we do not have the current ones downloaded from the camera yet, I am practicing with an October one.

This was from our O’hanas meal in October. We were expecting a very nice dinner, but all they served us was a big plate of chicken bones and shrimp shells. We were very disappointed…… Ha, Ha, Ha. (it was really a very nice dinner).

I see my practice picture did not work. Sorry, i will try again later.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Can't wait to hear about the crazy trip!

 

[OhMari]

Hey,
I heard of the Packing House in Milwaukee, but where is it?

Did you see my dd at the game, she was with 3 guys and 2 wore cheese heads.

Post a picture in a thead. I'll take a look at it. I have a feeling you have 2 hppt's.

Boy, you sure do need a "do over".

Hope you had a good time.

M.

 

[MEK]

Glad to hear you finally have a trip you want to post. It's tough to have things go wrong during/before the trip. Looking forward to reading more as I hope to start my own Dec trip report soon. Just got home last night!

 

[LYNSUE]

The Packing House restaurant in Milwaukee is 900 E. Layton Ave very near the airport. Not only is there a fine restaurant there but also a bar with a piano lounge (kind of retro).

At the Packer game in Jacksonville there were two guys with cheese heads about 6 rows in front of us. They also had their faces painted in green and gold. I did notice a girl with them. We had end zone seats. It would be a very big chance that we were in the same section. There were many Packer fans throughout the stadium.

I am still working on the picture thing. I wish you could view the picture of the bones and shells from O'hanas. I really find that picture of messy plates very funny. I was very careful about the duplicate "http" thing, so I know it's not that. But thank you for the suggestion.

 

[LYNSUE]

Got up at 5:00am and caught the 6:10 airport shuttle. We were inside the airport by 6:20. Both check-in and security were very quick. We were at the gate by 6:45am for our 8:00 flight. We flew AirTran. Our October trip was also on AirTran. Those people run a very tight ship. We were please with this flight and the previous one from October. Our airline of choice had always been Midwest. But they did some very funky restructuring this past year and we are no longer happy with the flights and service they are offering. So for now we will stick with AirTran. Hopefully things with Midwest will improve.

So the AirTran flight left right on time at 8:00am. We were expecting a two and a half hour flight. However, as the pilot explained, they ran into some very strong head winds which slowed us down and added an additional 20 minutes to the flight. There was some turbulence, but all in all a good flight.

As I mentioned earlier, we signed up for Mousefest activities. It was just a coincidence that our trip dates coincided with Mousefest. One of the first events was a meet at the Contemporary called Mousefest 101 to start at 1:00pm. It was for first timers, like us, to learn what it was all about. We were originally suppose to land at 11:45am. And we knew that even if we arrived on time, getting to the Contemporary by 1:00 would be tight. So with the half hour delay, there was no way to make it to Mousefest 101. Oh, well, we would have to go into it uneducated.

For the first time in many trips we did not use ME. We needed a car to get to Jacksonville on Sunday. Also we are staying at SSR, and we felt that a car would be convenient when staying there (based on past experience). So we collected our luggage (which arrived very quickly) and then walked right up to the National rental counter with no wait. Within 10 minutes we were on our way to the garage to pick out a vehicle. We chose National because they have the cars right on site at the airport. That is very important to us when renting. We drove off in a silver Kia Rondu (or something like that). I know the Kia part is right, not so sure on the model name????

We promptly put our Garmin (GPS system) in the window. We always bring our own unit with us when we travel. We just love that thing.

We arrived at Saratoga Springs Resort at about 1:15.

Will continue this shortly.

 

[LYNSUE]

Thursday 12-11-08 continued…

When we entered the lobby of SSR the first thing you notice is the very large Christmas tree right in the center of the room. (Yes, I am not afraid to call it a Christmas tree).

There were some people around, but not crowded by any means. We were able to step right up to the counter for check-in. I had requested the Springs Section. The check in person confirmed that we were in fact in the Springs Section, however, the room was not ready.

We wandered off to have lunch at the Turf Club. This was a first for us trying this restaurant. We had no reservation, but were seated after a short wait. The décor is very dark and reminded me of a gentleman’s library or after dinner smoking lounge…. But nice none the less.

DH and I shared an appetizer of crab bites, then I had a Rueben sandwich and he had the penne pasta with shrimp. Everything was very good. We would return to this restaurant again if we were in the area and it was convenient for us. I did let our waitress know that we had “Tables in Wonderland” dining card. (use to be Disney Dining Experience). However, after telling her that, I remembered I did not have the card with me. Oh, well, no 20% discount this time. Well the waitress smiled and said, “if you know the name “tables in wonderland” I believe you have the card”. She said that name is just too strange to make up. She gave us the discount…. Woo hoo. With the dining card, they automatically add in 18% tip and then take the 20% discount. Our total bill for lunch with tip and discount was $39.19. Then DH threw in the extra to bring the tip to 20%. So basically the card is providing us with free tips???

After lunch we moved the car from short term check-in parking over to the building where our room was going to be. Then we walked to the bus stop. As we are walking up, a Magic Kingdom bus pulled up. We arrived at MK about 3:30. They were only open until 7:00 that night because of a party. Since we always start our WDW vacation at the MK, I was willing to spend just 3 ½ hours. It was better than not being there at all.

The park was somewhat crowded at this point, but the waits were still manageable. We did not get or need any fast passes, so that tells you it was not terrible crowded yet.

We did several things in Fantasyland, then the HM, BTMR, then Laugh Floor Comedy. After LFC, I called to check on our room. It was ready and was told #4123. First floor studio in the springs section. Well it was dark by now and I wanted to get around to the front of the castle to see the icicle lights. The lights were AMAZING!! I had seen them on TV and in pictures on the boards, but neither did them justice. They were real and they were spectacular!!!!! And as a bonus……there was a lovely full moon rising right over the castle as I was viewing the lights for the first time. Simply amazing, and well worth the price of admission that day.


I was awe struck and just kept staring with my mouth hanging open. After a while we did start heading for the exit for our 7:15 ADR at Grand Floridian Café. It is a long monorail ride from MK to GF with three stops and we did end up being about 15 minutes late for the ADR. I should not have taken so long staring at the castle. However, GF café was very gracious and sat us right away anyway.

 

[LYNSUE]

Thursday 12-11-08,

Upon entering the Grand Floridian, the first thing you notice is the very very large Christmas tree in the center of the massive lobby. We made our way down the staircase and past the very crowded ginger bread house area. We finally made it to the café. GF café has excellent food and service. It is fast becoming one of our favorite places to dine in the world. This place still gives their chef some freedom to be creative with the items served. It is a far cry from the cookie cutter menus that so many of the other restaurants have been reduced too. We had lunch here this past October and that too was very good.

DH started with a glass of wine. I had my usual drink of plain old tap water. It is what I prefer??? We each had an appetizer. I had the mushroom ragout. It was a variety of mushrooms served on truffled French toast topped with a poached egg. I ordered it because #1, I really like mushrooms and #2, it sounded interesting. Let me tell you it was very good and I am not sorry I tried it. DH had the field greens salad with strawberries, cashews, feta cheese tossed in a strawberry vinaigrette. Again, very good.

I had an entrée of oven roasted chicken served with cipollini onions, fingerling potatoes, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and arugula. Best roast chicken ever. I don’t know how they did it, but the entire half chicken had only two bones in it. One for the leg (which I gave to DH to try) and another bone in the wing section. The thigh and breast were boneless. Very interesting dish for flavor and a great presentation. DH had the Popcorn crusted Mahi-Mahi served with corn, peas arugula and crayfish with lobster sauce. He said it was excellent. Again the presentation and flavor was fantastic. The total bill with the dining discount card came to $66.00. DH did leave a little extra tip since the service was go great.

I did check with our waitress as I had a question about the breakfast menu. I really wanted to try the lobster eggs benedict. This item always disappears from the menu during free dining. I wanted to be sure it was back on there. She assured me it was. So I knew I would be returning to the GF café on Sunday morning for breakfast.

So now we have tried breakfast, lunch and dinner at the café. All were great and I highly recommend this place. I believe it is only one credit on the dining plan.

I was hoping to finish day one in this post. Not gonna happen. I have to go to lunch now since the food description above made me very hungry. LOL.

When I return I will definitely finish day one. Our day (now night) continues with a trip to Jellyrolls and meeting some other Dis-board members. Jellyrolls is a first time visit for us and we had a great time.

At this point we have been up since 5:00am. We are getting a little tired, but the fun at Jellyrolls will wake us right up.

 

[LYNSUE]

Definitely finishing day #1

We have stayed at the Boardwalk many times. In all of those times, we have never stopped in at Jellyrolls??? In fact, we were staying at BW this past October trip, and it would have been extremely convenient to just wander back to our room after Jellyrolls. But no, we did not do that. We decide to go to Jellyrolls when we are staying far away at SSR???

But really our main reason for stopping at Jellyrolls now was because I had heard about a small Dis-Meet happening there. It was not an official meet, so it did not appear in the Mousefest pocket guide. I just happen to run across a thread where it was mentioned….and I am so happy I did.

Anyway….I left off in the previous post as we leaving the GF. We took the mono-rail back to MK and then caught a bus to the BW. On the ride to BW, DH and I put on our Mousefest lanyards so we might look official for this meet.

When we arrived at Jellyrolls, Scotty and Ray were playing the pianos. These guys were just great. Very enjoyable to listen to or even sing along with. There is a $10.00 cover charge per person to get in. But believe me, it is well worth the price of admission. We were greeted by Karen who had organized the meet. For the last few years I had read Karen’s trip reports and enjoyed them very much. It was very nice to finally meet her. Thank you Karen for making us feel so welcome at your favorite place. I have a nice picture of me, DH and Karen. If only I can figure out the picture posting thing!!!! We also met Webmaster Kathy. Very sweet and nice lady. Glad to meet you Kathy. I requested several songs, but the only one I stayed long enough to hear was “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel. Great job guys on that one and all of the other songs as well.

Scotty and Ray played for about another hour and then two other guys took their place. I cannot remember their names, but they both did a fabulous job as well. DH and I will definitely be returning to Jellyrolls. On our next trip in April of 2009, we are staying at BW the first three nights, so it will be real convenient.

We left Jellyrolls after 11:00pm. We thought for a moment about taking the bus to DTD and then another bus or walking to SSR. But on our way to the BW bus stop, there were cabs just sitting there calling our names. We went for the quick fix and took a cab. $10.00 well spent.

We got to SSR and stopped at the store in the main building. But since it was after 11:00pm, it was closed. We would have to get milk for breakfast in the room in the morning.

We finally entered our first floor studio #4123 and found the room to be in good shape except for the carpet that looked a little worn. We really liked the location though. So I kicked off my shoes and promptly stepped in a puddle of water in front of the fridge. My socks were soaked. The previous guest had turned the fridge completely off. All of the frost build-up in the freezer melted and leaked onto the carpet. It took a kitchen towel and most of a roll of paper towels to get the water soaked up. I know I could have called maintenance to take care of it, but it was very late and I did not want to wait for them.

After cleaning up the mess and hanging my socks to dry, DH and I watched the rest of the Thursday night football game on the computer. You don’t see the real game, you just get a continuous feed of stats and field position with some graphics thrown in. I did some trip notes and then hit the bed about 12:30. Very long first day!!! We need to be up early tomorrow because we have a tour starting in Epcot at 8:45am.

I warned you this trip was crazy!!!!!!

 

[MEK]

We just stayed in a studio at SSR, and I will agree that the carpet was a bit worn. More than a bit - I think it needed to be replaced.

I love your description of the Grand Floridian cafe. I will definately need to try it on a future trip.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I keep forgetting about Jellyrolls. It does sound like a lot of fun.

 

[LYNSUE]

I forgot to mention in my "day one" posts that the weather was quite cool. We needed jackets for sure. I even wore some light gloves in the evening.

So Friday morning.... We were up at 6:30am to get ready for our tour at Epcot. It was called the Yuletide Fantasy Tour. Of course it is only available at Christmas time. The length of the tour is 3.5 hours, so this will take up our entire morning. DH ran to the Carriage House store to purchase the milk we did not get the night before. We had a breakfast of cereal in the room before departing. We left the room at 8:00am. While waiting at the bus stop, DH decided he needed an extra sweatshirt this morning. (I already had a sweatshirt, jacket and gloves). So he ran back to the room. I was very worried that the Epcot bus would come while he was gone. As it turned out... three buses arrived, MK, AK and DTD but no Epcot. He got back to the bus stop and we waited another 5 minutes for the Epcot bus. We arrived at Epcot in plenty of time.

We arrived at Epcot at 8:30 and went to the tour gathering area. This is at the far left of the entrance in front of guest services. There were lots of people milling around.

At promptly 8:45, we were greeted by our tour guides, Jeff and Johnny. Both great guys. We were given head sets and name tags. There were 40 people in our group. This was the biggest group I was ever in for a Disney tour. We got on a bus and drove around the back of Epcot. We re-entered world show case from the back near Germany. We visited three countries and learned about their Christmas traditions. Back on the bus and drove over to the Studios. Here we learned about how movies influence our Christmas celebrations and traditions. Then we went to Magic Kingdom and viewed the decorations on Main Street. All of the parks were entered from behind the scenes back/side doors. So we saw some areas of the park you do not normally see. Next stop was the Grand Floridian where we saw the decorations and ginger bread house. Upon re-entering the bus, we were give a piece of chocolate covered ginger bread candy to sample. The last stop on the tour was the warehouses where all of the Christmas decorations and trees are stored. The area was huge and stuff was stacked to the ceiling. They showed us a large area (empty right now) where all of the huge trees you see in the parks are stored. Since the building is not as tall as the trees, the trees are cradled in a horizontal position while stored. We did enter a work area (we had to wear safety goggles) where actual employees were busy working on a huge mickey head shaped wreath for the Contemporary. Of course this is for next year! Then we were back on the bus and dropped off at the entrance to Epcot. We were given a cute pin with the Fantasy Tour mentioned on it.

I very much enjoyed the tour. DH said it was ok. The two wonderful guides we had played a big part of making the tour so great. Thank you Jeff and Johnny! I did want to mentioned that all three of the parks we entered seemed extremely crowded in the limited areas we saw during the touring.

We were dropped off at Epcot at 12:45 and had a 1:10 ADR at Rose & Crown. We knew we would have to get moving to make it there on time.

 

[LYNSUE]

Friday 12-12-08 continued….

I wasn’t all that thrilled about the ADR at Rose & Crown. This is mostly based on not so good reviews read here. It has been several years since we last dined at R&C, and I do remember it being just ok the last time. So just for fun, we thought we would stop in Germany to see if we could be a walk-up at the Biergarten for lunch. I don’t know what this experienced Diser was thinking!…. The line to get to the check-in desk was at least 40 people. Plus there were many many people hanging around the plaza area directly outside the Biergarten. No way were we dining there today with no ADR!!! I decided I would be satisfied with my R&C ADR on this extremely busy day.

Even with our stop in Germany, we arrived on time for our ADR. We were given a pager and we waited across the street on a bench in the sun. It felt good in the sun on this very cool day. We waited about 15 minutes for our table. Since it had been a long time since our light breakfast in the room, I was starving.

We were seated inside the restaurant, thankfully. Although the tables on the patio area were full as well. They did have clear plastic tarp/windows rolled down and there were heaters going, so I am sure the people dining on the patio were comfortable enough that day.

Our waiter was a nice, young good-looking British man. (imagine that!!). Since I am a sucker for a British accent, he could have said anything good or bad and I would have thought it was wonderful. LOL.

DH and I started with the Cheese Plate to share. It contained, Irish Cheddar (it was my favorite one), Mushroom Brie and a Stilton Onion Pastry. There were accompaniments included for each specific cheese. I remember candied pecans, and an onion marmalade also there were some grapes. Everything was fantastic. Our waiter instructed us on which accompaniments went with which cheeses. We then each had a cup of potato/leek soup. Also very good. My entrée was the fish and chips. Extremely large serving. I am not a fan of battered fish. I prefer a light breading or no breading on my fish. So I did peel away a lot of the batter coating and enjoyed the yummy cod inside. Since I was at the R&C, I did want to try one of their signature dishes which is mostly why I ordered the battered fish. DH entrée was the Samosas from the appetizer menu. I am very glad he went with something small, because there was plenty of fish to share. The Samosas are described in the menu as Indian-inspired pockets stuffed with spiced vegetables served with greens and tamarind/mango sauces. DH said they were good. I did not try them. The total for this meal with the dining discount was $50.00. I really enjoyed the cheese plate and the soup. The rest was just ok. It may be a while before we return to R&C again. But you never know, I may get a hankering for that cheese plate and soup again. Those two thing would make a great light lunch.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Were the gingerbread samples any good?

 

[TLinden16]

It was nice to meet you and your DH at Jellyrolls. Thanks so much for coming. I'm glad you had a good time.

"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is one of my favorite Billy Joel songs. Scotty and Ray do a fantastic job.

Tommy and Michael W. were the other piano players that night.

Looking forward to ready more of your trip report.

 

[gbpackfan9]

Hi, I'm Lynsue's DH and I may also be adding some of my own thoughts about our trip when I get a chance. I am also helping with the posting of photos. She's "technically challenged" in that area...(her words, not mine).

Here is the picture of the Bones and Shells from O'Hanas

 

[MEK]

The Yuletide fantasy tour sounds neat. You did all that in three hours??? Sounds like alot to see.

 

[OhMari]

We got our dd a gps system for Christmas. Did you pack your's in your checked bag or with you as a carry-on. I'm just wondering if you have to take it out since it is medal.
Our dd has to fly back the Sunday after Christmas, and then drive back Jan. 14 from Jacksonville to Milwaukee, then a week later out to NYC for 3-6 months.


I ordered the cheese platter too and the leek soup. I thought the soap at the RC was a lot better than the soup at Le Cellar in Canada. My waitress never explained what cheese to eat with what.

Aren't you about sick of the snow and cold.

 

[gbpackfan9]

Here are a few more pics for the TR so far...

First, the full moon over the castle

..The Gingerbread House at GF...

..Recipe for Gingerbread House..