Rabbit, Hatter & Chessie Go Rogue in Christmasland.New5/11 Meet my Nemesis, Splash M.

[SoNotAPrincess]

I love it...being a huge fan of Mr. Dickens, Christmas and lights, it looks like a little piece of Heaven on Earth to me!

 

[Flossbolna]

Thanks for the latest update! That was very impressive, how much effort they put into those Christmas decorations. I think stores here never have done that much... But I gues we do have the Christmas markets to make up for that though...

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Great update! I agree that these kinds of decorations are slowly disappearing, and it is great to see places that continue on with tradition. Dickens Village looks really unique too and that is my very favourite Christmas story. Thanks for sharing

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Oh wow that Bloody Mary customization sheet looks awesome!!

 

[eandesmom]

During the holidays, the "Macy's" in Center City... which is really or really used to be the Wanamakers... has a holiday light show... in its center atrium... which has been going on for many, many years now... actually starting in the mid 1950s and going on with a few changes...., in addition it acquired a really lovely walk through version of A Christmas Carol from another Grand Department Store that is sadly no longer in business, Strawbridges (which used to be Strawbridge and Clothier)...

As a little girl I remember going into Center City every year to see the special holiday displays at the large city Department Stores... (which are sadly disappearing at the ascendency of the malls...) I like a good mall as much as the next person, but honestly there was something special about the lengths and detailing in the holiday displays in the turn of the 20th century Department stores ... New York still has them but they are slowing disappearing in many other cities...

Fortunately when Macy's took over the old Philadelphia store Wanamakers... they continued the light show and acquired the Dickens Village... so It's something of a tradition for us to go in and see them every year...

Isn't there an amazing pipe organ in there? I spent a bit of time there...the Starbucks was one of "mine". The Dickens story and light show all sound so much fun and so very Christmasy!!!

First we need a bit of breakfast/brunch at Jones, which is a restaurant that has a 60s/70s- almost Brady Bunch theme/decor to it... and it is nicely located a block or so from Independence Hall if you are ever in the city of Brotherly Love... the food is quite tasty... we had omelets, pancakes & there was an amazing sweet potato and peppers hash with sunny side up eggs...

great drinks including a design your own bloody Mary...

that looks SO good! YUM! I have to thank you btw for the SF food reccomendations, we actually went to Dotties (which has moved BTW...in a slightly sketchy area now, have to be careful how you walk to it) and Sears. In fact, we went to Sears twice. LOL!

Dotties was the BOMB and totally worth the 45-1 hour wait. At some point I'll do an update on my TR about it, probably should have already

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Very Nice Update.

I love A Christmas Carol one of my favorites at Christmas.

Great Breakfast, Yum.


I need to be better about keeping track of PTRs & TRs here. I try but almost always end up that I just can't keep up. Too Much Going On!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Wow what a great Christmas display in a mall. It's so much better then what one our malls did here they put up some sort of suture and called it a "christmas Tree".

 

[mnmrmustard]

Big time catch up as usual for me! Nice shots walking around the Boardwalk resort, it does look like a nice place to stay at for sure. Creepy chairs next to the fireplace though – yikes! The pool looked like a lot of fun

I was looking at your plan for the July trip – looks like a great time. I can’t imagine being in Orlando in July but we do what we do for Disney/Universal fun! And good call with Savannah – it is a very cool place to spend time in. I have some extended family there. Very cool doing the Dinner with an Imagineer, I am jealous!

Back to the trip – good call from the boys on Beaches and Cream That is one of my few regrets from our trip in that we ended up eating lunch at the Electric Umbrella instead of trekking to B & C. Thank you for the tip on the smaller version of the No Way Jose, I was concerned about being able to get in a good dessert after getting filled up on burgers and fries.

Great shot of the three of you in front of the hat at DHS! Sounded like some good drinks from the Tune In Lounge. I bet it made the rest of the evening more fun. Loved the Tink Santa hat!!! Cool pics in the Osborne lights and sorry to hear you missed out on the cowboy version of GMR – one day you’ll get it!

That line for Fantasmic! can be daunting, but it is a BIG stadium so it all works out. It is a cool show and we enjoyed it in 2008 but I kind of agree with you about the feel of it and so does my family. We skipped in in 2011 when I was there with Roxy and we talked about it as a family this time and decided to skip it again. The problem for me is that it seems disjointed, there is no real flow from one thing to another and there are too many sites and stories with no cohesion.

Your Christmastime post was cool, I grew up in the southwest & northwest so never had that exposure to old downtowns & department store displays. Thank you for sharing it! Oh, one issue with the Bloody Mary menu though – no Stoli vodka Coffee cake looked amazing though. That Dickens village looked amazing, as did the big tree and lights display.

 

[Alysa]

I absolutely cannot leave here without having a No Way Jose - I think it's part of my own personal code...(On the slim chance you are reading this and have not heard of this scrumptious concoction it's like a peanut butter cup turned into an ice cream sundae... being already full...we were able to get a smaller version... the wonderful waitress recommended getting the 2 scoop sundae and she'd have them make it up just like a No Way Jose...

It was DELICIOUS...

This is the SMALL?!?!?

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Well it is the best of times and the worst of times...

It is the best of times because I will be able to catch up on Dis and read my subs and do replies and even an update...

But it is the worst of times because I feel getting out of the car yesterday, I fell...landing on my butt... it wasn't too bad yesterday but I woke up this morning and OUCH... my lower back... it HURTS really bad...BAD... so I am taking a rest day and praying that with some ibuprofen and Tiger Balm and the heating pad it will be feeling all better soon... (I can't actually make the movement right now... so the smilie will have to do it for me...)

Wow - now THAT was a trip down memory lane! My mom took us to that same display every year when we were kids. I didn't even realize it was still there. As as child, I was always fascinated by it.

Yes... and the Santa(s) there are really good as well... It's just well... different... than the malls... not to hate on malls...believe me I frequent them... but the city Department stores just went so all out... I'm glad that Macy's kept the tradition... they didn't have to and although I know it's to draw in customers... I also think it's a bit of a service to the community...

Breakfast looks amazing and I am all about a make- your-own bloody Mary! Now that looks fun!

Thanks so much for posting those pictures.

Yes- something about filling out the form to make you BM... makes it extra fun... they have really good reliable comfort food there... I don't know if many Philadelphia tourists know about it but it would be a great place for families to go to lunch... there's definitely that fun 60s/70s theme going on there... BTW... did you use your Starr gift card?

And - yes - spring is good for Longwood!

Sounds awesome -lets set a date as it get a little closer...

I love it...being a huge fan of Mr. Dickens, Christmas and lights, it looks like a little piece of Heaven on Earth to me!

It's one of my favorite Christmas things...I LOVE a Christmas Carol and usually watch several versions each season...

Thanks for the latest update! That was very impressive, how much effort they put into those Christmas decorations. I think stores here never have done that much... But I gues we do have the Christmas markets to make up for that though...

Does Germany have a Department store tradition? I know that England and France do... especially in London and Paris... but I don't know if that extends through Europe... The United States had a "golden" age of Department stores and you can still see a lot of them in New York... Macy's, Lord and Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue... they all do those incredible windows at Christmas...

I've heard that the German Christmas markets are quite lovely...

Great update! I agree that these kinds of decorations are slowly disappearing, and it is great to see places that continue on with tradition. Dickens Village looks really unique too and that is my very favourite Christmas story. Thanks for sharing

Yes I don't want them to disappear... I know that the demographics favor the suburban malls but it would be sad to loose these traditions entirely...

Oh wow that Bloody Mary customization sheet looks awesome!!

LOL... oh that is just tons of fun... so much fun it's tempting to do it twice...

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Isn't there an amazing pipe organ in there? I spent a bit of time there...the Starbucks was one of "mine". The Dickens story and light show all sound so much fun and so very Christmasy!!!

Yes there is an amazing pipe organ...In fact I think it may be on the National Historic Register... Mary Ellen might understand the intricacies better but something about it's size and the space... it's one of the very largest in the US....

Yes lovely Christmas traditions...


that looks SO good! YUM! I have to thank you btw for the SF food reccomendations, we actually went to Dotties (which has moved BTW...in a slightly sketchy area now, have to be careful how you walk to it) and Sears. In fact, we went to Sears twice. LOL!

Dotties was the BOMB and totally worth the 45-1 hour wait. At some point I'll do an update on my TR about it, probably should have already

Any chance we'll see a little side TR on that trip in the near future (like I should talk ... I need to finish a 3 year old Paris TR...hmmm maybe good day to work on that...) I LOVE side TRs...

Very Nice Update.

I love A Christmas Carol one of my favorites at Christmas.

Great Breakfast, Yum.


I need to be better about keeping track of PTRs & TRs here. I try but almost always end up that I just can't keep up. Too Much Going On!

I know... I want to catch up on my TR subs totally... I did some of my PTRs this morning was behind...I think the Dis should have a user friendly spreadsheet built in... so you can see when you visited them last and when they were updated...lol... maybe someone can get right to work on that...

Wow what a great Christmas display in a mall. It's so much better then what one our malls did here they put up some sort of suture and called it a "christmas Tree".

Wow...very future worldish... now the way my caffeine addicted mind works... when I look at that photo... I kind of see it as a large beacon coming up through the floor pointing the way to that Starbucks kiosk below...

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Big time catch up as usual for me! Nice shots walking around the Boardwalk resort, it does look like a nice place to stay at for sure. Creepy chairs next to the fireplace though – yikes! The pool looked like a lot of fun

It is a really great place to stroll about and yes those chairs have gotten a bit of a cult following... in a negative way... i mean seriously... look at them... Storm a long Bay is an awesome pool... I'd have liked it just a bit warmer... I bet late October/earlier November is perfect...

I was looking at your plan for the July trip – looks like a great time. I can’t imagine being in Orlando in July but we do what we do for Disney/Universal fun! And good call with Savannah – it is a very cool place to spend time in. I have some extended family there. Very cool doing the Dinner with an Imagineer, I am jealous!

July should be great... but yes very hot... I imagine that some one from Oregon would probably melt... July in Philadelphia is not exactly cool and refreshing though... It becomes pretty hot and humid here as well... I am very excited to be heading to Charleston and Savannah... as for the drive... we'll see about that...

Back to the trip – good call from the boys on Beaches and Cream That is one of my few regrets from our trip in that we ended up eating lunch at the Electric Umbrella instead of trekking to B & C. That would be a bit of a trek... especially is anyone was tired...

Thank you for the tip on the smaller version of the No Way Jose, I was concerned about being able to get in a good dessert after getting filled up on burgers and fries.

Oh you'll still be full just not incapacitated

Great shot of the three of you in front of the hat at DHS! Sounded like some good drinks from the Tune In Lounge. I bet it made the rest of the evening more fun. Loved the Tink Santa hat!!! Cool pics in the Osborne lights and sorry to hear you missed out on the cowboy version of GMR – one day you’ll get it! Thanks about the photo and yes the drinks did make everything more festive...Em and I both have those tink hats from 3 years ago... I'm keeping my fingers crossed about the cowboy... but not holding my breath...hmmm maybe I should ask and a kind CM will take pity on me...

That line for Fantasmic! can be daunting, but it is a BIG stadium so it all works out. It is a cool show and we enjoyed it in 2008 but I kind of agree with you about the feel of it and so does my family. We skipped in in 2011 when I was there with Roxy and we talked about it as a family this time and decided to skip it again. The problem for me is that it seems disjointed, there is no real flow from one thing to another and there are too many sites and stories with no cohesion.

I can't tell you how freaked out I was when I saw the line and so relieved when I saw how large that stadium was... yes I think that's it... it is disjointed... it does feel like different stories with no real good connections... there are good effects... but it definitely isn't a must do every time for us either...

Your Christmastime post was cool, I grew up in the southwest & northwest so never had that exposure to old downtowns & department store displays. Thank you for sharing it! Oh, one issue with the Bloody Mary menu though – no Stoli vodka Coffee cake looked amazing though. That Dickens village looked amazing, as did the big tree and lights display.

Hmmm I guess that's true that the Department Store thing is an Eastern thing...& Chicago too I think...I have to let them know about the Stoli... Their food is consistently good...

This is the SMALL?!?!?

YES... (unless you are getting just a scoop of ice cream...)

 

[Alysa]

But it is the worst of times because I feel getting out of the car yesterday, I fell...landing on my butt... it wasn't too bad yesterday but I woke up this morning and OUCH... my lower back... it HURTS really bad...BAD... so I am taking a rest day and praying that with some ibuprofen and Tiger Balm and the heating pad it will be feeling all better soon... (I can't actually make the movement right now... so the smilie will have to do it for me...)

Oooo - I am so sorry to hear about your back - that is the worst. Hope you feel better soon! Maybe a hot bath would help? (Ooooh - I just channelled my mum there)

 

[Moira222]

Happy New Year Patricia! (or maybe happy early Chinese New Year? ) I am finally catching up on your Christmas trip!

Looks like you had a great DHS day. We've yet to see Phineas & Ferb so they are pretty high on our "must see" list. Your Family photo with them is great!

Too bad there was a bride interfering with your photography. The Nerve! Those chairs are creepy -- we may end up staying at Boardwalk sometime soon and I have avoided mentioning the creepy chairs. The creepy clown pool is bad enough! I will just keep that little tidbit from my family....think of it as a need to know. They don't need to know till they see 'em!

Did Tune In have to go cups for your drinks? that would be nice. And was that a glowing Mickey head lid I saw on your hubby's cup?

Someday we will get to see the Osborne Lights, but for now I will just live vicariously through fellow Dis'ers. It looks awesome in a literal way.

I didn't realize that Philly had the holiday display windows too -- I've been to see NY's several times but never to Philadelphia's. Very pretty and the Dickens show is unique - I've never seen one like that before. Thanks for sharing.

(sorry for the randomness of my comments, I've learned that multi quoting can take a really long time so I just make notes as I read & then seem to ramble on in my comments. )

 

[Moira222]

Well it is the best of times and the worst of times...

It is the best of times because I will be able to catch up on Dis and read my subs and do replies and even an update...

But it is the worst of times because I feel getting out of the car yesterday, I fell...landing on my butt... it wasn't too bad yesterday but I woke up this morning and OUCH... my lower back... it HURTS really bad...BAD... so I am taking a rest day and praying that with some ibuprofen and Tiger Balm and the heating pad it will be feeling all better soon... (I can't actually make the movement right now... so the smilie will have to do it for me...)

OH NO! I hope that your back is feeling better soon.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

The Animal Kingdom, Kali River Rapids & ...Does your school lunch really smell like that?


Having had a lovely time the night before at the Studios, we had a good night's sleep and got ready for the day's adventures at the Animal Kingdom...


Hatter was lovely and went over to the Boardwalk Bakery to grab bagels and a yogurt parfait for me and of course COFFEE...

I took David down to the lobby while Eric made some phone calls for work and we mapped out the AK plan...

We made a great bus connection and got there BRIGHT and early... Really Eric ... please no photo too bright... Seriously...

We were in line with still close to a half an hour to go... and Eric was already on his plan to get over to Everest to nab the fast passes...


Disclaimer.... I am a bit of a hypocrite... I don't enjoy the mad dashes (fast walking/jogging lol), planning and maneuvering to get the fast passes but I am all too happy to take advantage of them... Eric was doing some hard thinking about the best way to go (he actually already knew) while David and I were going to meet him by Kali...


Scheming....

Ah as an aside I just know that you've all been thinking ... wow... those are some awesome photos... just what kind of camera has been taking those...lol

Well we used this and my iphone but rumor has it that I'm getting a Canon S110 as a Valentine's Day gift- which will be a big step up for me... it's a fairly nice point and shoot with some bangs and whistles...) so that should help with the photos... I really need a better camera... we're going to Rome for a week for spring break... I don't know when/if I'll be back there and I'd really like some decent photos to record the event...but as it will still be me actually taking the photos, I suppose the camera can only do so much... so we'll have to see...


so anyhow... Animal Kingdom is just a stunningly gorgeous park... the details...it's so evocative and even a bit romantic... I think that you could have a spectacular long weekend by staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and just going to AK and enjoying the resort... OK... honestly I don't think I could not go to the MK... but Animal Kingdom is just really beautiful...


Wow... there was a heck of a wait at Kali....

So Eric showed up and we just walked on ... and when I say walked... I really do mean walked... the walk is lovely but it may be as long as the actually ride (I think the 5 minute stand by actually means 5 minutes to walk to the ride...) The ride really is shorter...

I love this ride but I wasn't quite prepared...I think David was...

Nice little Elephant sculpture...

Hmmm... Not too sure about that...

We got very, very wet...

But I definitely took the worst of it...


Wait for it...

This really cracked David and Eric up...

and it really cracked me and Eric up when David mentioned that the burning smell you get by the log deforestation camp... smelled like Barbeque Chicken Day at his school... Going to have to check that out...

We got off this ride and I had definitely gotten the worst of the water... It was warm out about 75 degrees but not quite warm enough yet to make wet jeans sticking to me feel that great... so I went off to the ladies' room to perform miracles with the hand dryers and paper towels...with limited success...


WE still had a little time to use our Everest Fast Pass so we decided we would head over to the very lovely trails... the Maharaja Jungle Trek ... so I would hopefully dry off and not leave my seat on Everest embarrassingly wet...


​

 

[eandesmom]

Well we used this and my iphone but rumor has it that I'm getting a Canon S110 as a Valentine's Day gift- which will be a big step up for me... it's a fairly nice point and shoot with some bangs and whistles...) so that should help with the photos... I really need a better camera... we're going to Rome for a week for spring break... I don't know when/if I'll be back there and I'd really like some decent photos to record the event...but as it will still be me actually taking the photos, I suppose the camera can only do so much... so we'll have to see...

Rome so jealous!

so anyhow... Animal Kingdom is just a stunningly gorgeous park... the details...it's so evocative and even a bit romantic... I think that you could have a spectacular long weekend by staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and just going to AK and enjoying the resort... OK... honestly I don't think I could not go to the MK... but Animal Kingdom is just really beautiful...

why yes, yes you could! Just wait till later in my TR!

and it really cracked me and Eric up when David mentioned that the burning smell you get by the log deforestation camp... smelled like Barbeque Chicken Day at his school... Going to have to check that out...

You were Brave. Kali. In Jeans!

Oh my.

I am abou tthe BBQ chicken comment!

 

[Alysa]

The Animal Kingdom, Kali River Rapids & ...Does your school lunch really smell like that?

Hmmm... Not too sure about that...

"You mean the swirling vortex of terror?"
(name that quote)

and it really cracked me and Eric up when David mentioned that the burning smell you get by the log deforestation camp... smelled like Barbeque Chicken Day at his school... Going to have to check that out...

Does Jamie Oliver have to visit David's school?
You know, the public schools in Canada don't have a lunch program. I think of that on occasion when I run out of apples, yogurt, and bread all on the same morning.

 

[Angies1274]

I was so far behind but I'm all caught up now!!

I really enjoyed your updates!! Yay for meeting Phineas and Ferb! They are such a fun meet and greet! We really enjoyed the Animation Academy despite the fact the CM moved very quickly and looking at our pictures I think there were a few things we may have missed. Overall, a fun time though...

Great Boardwalk pictures!! Creepy chairs...I have never seen them before. Oooh...those cupcakes look very yummy!!

The Osbourne Lights look amazing and I love your matching scarves...so cute!!

Yay for braving Kali! Ugh...on getting soaked....especially in jeans.

Sorry to hear about your back. I hope you feel better really soon.

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Great updates!

So glad you like the lights. They are one of my favorites at Christmas time. I just love taking my time and looking at everything there. Did you see the purple cat?

Love your glow cubes in your drink. How festive. Must try that sometime.

Fantasmic is my favorite show on property but once every so often is fine with me. You do get your exercise going into the theater and coming out.

I have never done Kali in the fall. I hate to be wet when it is a tad cool out. Very impressed with you for doing so. Hope you dry off before Everest.