Quick, Crazy, Christmas Trip

[MEK]

Hey LynnSue -

I am working on the Epcot day of my trip, too! We were there on the same day. We probably passed each other in the world showcase. Good to know about the tree lighting ceremony at Biergarten. I love everything christmas and that would be cute to see. I thought all the germany buildings were nicely decorated, too. Germany, the origin of Silent night, better look special for Christmas!

 

[LYNSUE]

Always fun to have more than one view on a trip report.

No interaction at the table at Biergarten? Never been but thinking about it.

Usually, the other people at the table at least introduce them selves and say where they are from. Or maybe comment on some sports items being worn. "Oh, are you a packer fan?"....etc. But this group did not. The two sitting right next to us merely gave a polite nod when we were seated and the group of four did not even do that. DH and I were ok with it. I'm sure next time will be different.

 

[LYNSUE]

After our lunch at Biergarten, our mission was to see some of the storytellers around world showcase. They describe the Christmas traditions for their specific country. We did manage to see four of them plus the mime/ chair stacking guy in France.

First stop was the Kwanzaa booth. Since Africa is not represented in world showcase, this booth was set up just outside the American pavilion. The storyteller was very entertaining, educational and fun. I learned a lot. The event is celebrated over seven days and each day has a specific area for self improvement attached to it.(see photo #2) Here are a couple of photos.

Next stop was France. We did not see the storyteller (this time through) but we saw the mime. Here is a picture.

Next stop was Morocco. Another interesting story.

It had been a very long time (or possibly never) that DH and I had actually explored the Morocco pavilion. So we took a good look around. There are some very interesting shops and the display of tile work is just incredible there. Here are a few photos.

You may notice in the camel picture, we are actually out in just our short sleeves. NO JACKETS TODAY! It finally warmed up.

Next stop was the UK. They had a troop of storytellers (4 people plus some audience participation) doing "A Christmas Carol" This was also very entertaining and funny. Sorry no pictures. We walked up just as the play started so we were back a ways in the crowd. We could not get a good photo. But I did want to mention...One of the performers in the play was an actor we had seen at the Adventurers Club many times. He often played the character Emil. (the guy that wore the boy scout looking uniform). I thought that was rather interesting.

 

[LYNSUE]

Hey LynnSue -

I am working on the Epcot day of my trip, too! We were there on the same day. We probably passed each other in the world showcase. Good to know about the tree lighting ceremony at Biergarten. I love everything christmas and that would be cute to see. I thought all the germany buildings were nicely decorated, too. Germany, the origin of Silent night, better look special for Christmas!

From reading your report, I knew our days overlapped. Very interesting that we were in Epcot on the same day. Too bad we did not run into each other. I am very glad you enjoyed all of the Christmas things at WDW. DH and I did too. I would not want to do Christmas every year. But once every three years would be ok with me.

 

[MEK]

. I would not want to do Christmas every year. But once every three years would be ok with me.

I agree. It was really hectic getting ready for Christmas after I got home. It put me behind in getting the tree up, decorating, and shopping. I did not have my tree full decorated until Xmas eve. I usually put up two trees ( a fun one and a formal one). This year I only did formal, because that happened to be the one DH set up. Formal or not, I stuck some serious hidden Mickey's in there!

I really enjoyed early January, so I may try that again. But I think it will be a few years before DH and I do the solo thing again. I want to wait until we can stay longer!

 

[LYNSUE]

After visiting the UK, we started making our way back around World Showcase. I had to stop in Japan and pick up the pearl necklace. Well back tracking took us through France again. This time we got to see the French Santa Claus. His name is Pere Noel.

This guy was hysterical!! He told the French Christmas Story and his accent was great. During the whole story telling, he was playing it up for the ladies. He was very sure all of the women in the audience wanted him. I enjoyed "Pere Noel" very much.

Continuing on to Japan, we caught the end of the candy making lady's show. That woman is amazing.

Then we stopped in the store to pick up my necklace. Sorry I don't have a photo to show you.

It was getting time to head back out of Epcot. We still had that Soarin FP to get rid of. So Soarin was our next stop. We offered the FP to several couples outside of the ride, but they turned us down for various reasons. Then we went inside and down stairs. We thought we might find someone by the FP machines that was interested. No luck there either. We were getting frustrated and just decided to leave without giving away the pass. We got on the escalator and right in front of us was a mom and 8 year old son. The son was very sad because they did not get a FP for Soarin because the return time was 8:30. Too late for them to return. Also the wait time of 60 min was too long for them. The boy was almost in tears. I offered the FP with the return time of 5:15 to the mom. She gave me this look of disbelief and then smiled wide and said yes she would love the FP. Needless to say, the son was very happy. Mission accomplished!! It could not have worked out better.

We slowly made our way out of Epcot and to our parked vehicle. We changed into our winter clothes. I probably should not admit this, but I changed from my capris into long jeans while standing next to the vehicle. The parking lot was rather deserted and I am sure no one saw. (I hope ).

The drive to the airport was uneventful. Sure was nice having our own vehicle. I really do hate that three hour window with ME getting you to the airport. We allowed ourselves two hours (including returning the rental car) and that was plenty. It was very hot in the airport. Of course it did not help that I was wearing several layers. As usual in MCO, check-in and especially security was very stressful. But we made it through. While waiting in the jam packed security line, I noticed a special line (with no one in it) for medical passengers. I was really wondering if my DH with his C-Pap machine (night breathing) might qualify us for that nice short/less stressful line? Next time, I will definitely ask. We were at our gate at 6:00 for our 7:30 flight.

Again, AirTran came through with on time flights. Of course leaving Orlando at 7:30pm got us back to Milwaukee late and then we had a two hour drive from Milwaukee to home. We also learned that our usually very dependable Super-8 transportation from the airport to our car is no longer so dependable. They have now combined with another hotel and only arrive for pickup at the airport on the hour and the half hour. We had just missed one. Instead of waiting outside in 5 degree weather, we got a cab. Cost us $8 (minimum fare) for a one mile ride. The cabby was very nice and would not take the extra $2 tip we tried to give him.

Our quick, crazy Christmas trip turned out just great. Only one regret... we did not get to AK at all. I will be missing EE until our next visit. Also we only spent a short 4.5 hours (including our tour time and Wishes) in MK. Simply not enough! I totally promised DH that our April 2009 trip will be much more relaxed. For the first time we will have a full week at WDW. So that will certainly help us to slow down and enjoy.

I am so happy I could mildly entertain my fellow disers with this trip report. Now that this one is finished, I can start reading some of the very many new ones started out there. I like to see just how many other crazy WDW travelers are following the same path we are.

Thanks for reading. See you again in late April 2009.

 

[Laneychris]

Great report!

 

[Angelrose]

Thanks LYNSUE for a great report. Can't wait for your next one.

 

[Maroon]

Diamond in the Ruff...

 

[MEK]

We thought we might find someone by the FP machines that was interested. No luck there either. We were getting frustrated and just decided to leave without giving away the pass. We got on the escalator and right in front of us was a mom and 8 year old son. The son was very sad because they did not get a FP for Soarin because the return time was 8:30. Too late for them to return. Also the wait time of 60 min was too long for them. The boy was almost in tears. I offered the FP with the return time of 5:15 to the mom. She gave me this look of disbelief and then smiled wide and said yes she would love the FP. Needless to say, the son was very happy. Mission accomplished!! It could not have worked out better.

Our quick, crazy Christmas trip turned out just great. Only one regret... we did not get to AK at all. I will be missing EE until our next visit. Also we only spent a short 4.5 hours (including our tour time and Wishes) in MK. Simply not enough! I totally promised DH that our April 2009 trip will be much more relaxed. For the first time we will have a full week at WDW. So that will certainly help us to slow down and enjoy.

.

LynSue-

I loved your trip report. We didn't get to ride EE during our trip either. We were supposed to do AK for a few hours on our last day, but neither of us could muster the courage to spend another morning stepping on stroller wheels and dodging other guests. So we resort hopped instead.

I am so glad you found the perfect person to give your FP to.

 

[gbpackfan9]

The end of another trip to WDW. It was hectic, but we did cram a lot of fun things into those 5 days. Many old favorites, and some new adventures also.

On the last day, after riding the "wild side" of MS we staggered over to TT and rode as single riders. I can't remember the last time we got a FP or waited in the queue for this attraction. Most times we end up in the same car anyway (as we did this time). DW sat in front with a father and older daughter, and I was in the back with the mother and young son. He kept asking his mother, "are we going to go fast????" I think he was a little nervous about it. As we rounded the corner to begin the "crash test" he asked his mother, "Are we going outside?" I smiled and told him, "Yes for a little while, but you are really going to like it" He smiled and seemed to relax. We we crashed though the doors and started to pick up speed, he was really enjoying it.....



DW stated that she didn't have a pic of her necklace. We did take a pic of the one we gave away in October though.....

This was my first attempt at helping with a trip report. It was fun. In April, we will try to post a couple of reports while we are there. I take thtop along to keep up on email (and fantasy football stats, this time of year). It will be nice to download the pics and write about it while it's still fresh in our minds.

MEK... DW was telling me how much you and her have in common. I wish we could have run into you at EPCOT...... Maybe in a future trip we can get together and compare notes.......

That's all for now.... See you in April