Resorts, Relatives & Restaurants - and a 3 day cruise!

[Monny2AE]

Love the blue crayon story- only in Disney

BLT looks nice but I agree it's not Disney enough for me. Weird that the bathroom door doesn't close all the way and that the sink is in the kitchenette.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I GOT MY PHOTOPASS CD IN THE MAIL TODAY!!!

It took 10 days. I ordered it in the evening on Sunday 1/3. We had 95 pictures in total. It would have been more but my SIL lost one of her cards. That's why you have them take pictures with your personal camera too I guess!

I will start uploading to photobucket so I can post some soon.

 

[coffeehousemom]

Hey Sheree,

As you may remember we also drive to Disney, but we take a different route. may I inquire why you guys go thru Chicago & Indiana? When we go its down thru Ill straight into Ky & Tn. We tend to avoid Chicago like the plague. We only hit toll booths just outside of Orlando. Our total drive time from the Ia/Il/Wi border is 21 hours.


Loved the pics of AKL. Maybe someday

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hey Sheree,

As you may remember we also drive to Disney, but we take a different route. may I inquire why you guys go thru Chicago & Indiana? When we go its down thru Ill straight into Ky & Tn. We tend to avoid Chicago like the plague. We only hit toll booths just outside of Orlando. Our total drive time from the Ia/Il/Wi border is 21 hours.


Loved the pics of AKL. Maybe someday

Hey Kayte!!
It's been a while, but I remember talking biscotti with you! My DH chose the route we took and his reasoning is that we were driving at night and he thought driving through big cities would help him stay awake. Go figure. I think we would have gone the other way during the day to avoid the city traffic. It takes us about 5 hours to get to Beloit. So I suppose the routes aren't too different time wise.
I hope you get to stay at AKL someday. I hope I can go back for more than one night!! It's really something!

 

[coffeehousemom]

We are about an hour & half away from Beloit/Rockford area. I can understand his reasoning. We have to do the opposite Chuck HATES driving in big cities so I get stuck & pray he is asleep during that part of the trip

Yup we talked biscotti. I no longer have the shop we closed in Aug. I now work 3 blocks from home in our LITTLE village's only bank. So we can take vacation during normal times now. We are planing on Nov '10. Can't wait.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Bummer that you have to drive the worst part! I'm lucky that DH loves to drive. Since he does most of it, I'm not saying anything about which way we go!
So are you glad to be out of the coffeehouse business? I have always wanted to work close to home. My main office I work at is about 25 miles (but it only takes 30-35 min) and sometimes I think I should work at the Target that is up around the corner!!

I'm glad you get to travel when you want!! November is a good time to go. Have you read Momof2disneyboys' TR? Shelly was just there in November and some of the Christmas stuff was up. I'm thinking some year about October since the kids have a 4 day weekend for the teacher union convention. But it's not very cold here then, so there's not the urgency to head south yet! Back when I was a kid (a really young kid) we got a week in February. That's when I'd like to go!! When I'm so sick of winter!! Of course that happens earlier every year it seems!

 

[Cory's Gal]

Hey Sheree, great update!! I was thinking of adding Kona Cafe as an ADR, now after seeing your pictures I just might! Those sticky wings looked soooooo yummy!! It must have been so nice to be on the Monorail loop and be able to explore the other resorts! GF and Poly looks so beautiful!! Can't wait to see some Photopass pics soon!!

 

[JoBird]

Wow- I had so much to catch up on!

Okay- first off- great TR-- love all the pics and details you're giving.

My DH had the sticky wings at Kona when we ate supper there and he loved them. They were looking really good in that picture!

The gingerbread house- I am amazed. It is so beautiful in your pictures, I can't even imagine how wonderful it looks in person. Does it smell like Gingerbread in there?

The BLT's look beautiful! It is very modern- I remember as a child thinking that I wanted to live in the Contemporary when I grew up. Weird design of the bathroom doors and sink/kitchenette combo. Nice balcony- lots of room and a great view.

Your girls are too cute-- did they enjoy BLT or AKL more?

Thanks for the update. Waiting for more.
Very patiently, I might add.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hey Sheree, great update!! I was thinking of adding Kona Cafe as an ADR, now after seeing your pictures I just might! Those sticky wings looked soooooo yummy!! It must have been so nice to be on the Monorail loop and be able to explore the other resorts! GF and Poly looks so beautiful!! Can't wait to see some Photopass pics soon!!

I'm going to load the photopass pics on either tonight or tomorrow. The Kona is awesome! I think a TON of people say the breakfast is great too. Maybe next trip...
The monorail loop resorts are just so convenient! You get spoiled.

Wow- I had so much to catch up on!

Okay- first off- great TR-- love all the pics and details you're giving.

My DH had the sticky wings at Kona when we ate supper there and he loved them. They were looking really good in that picture!

The gingerbread house- I am amazed. It is so beautiful in your pictures, I can't even imagine how wonderful it looks in person. Does it smell like Gingerbread in there?

The BLT's look beautiful! It is very modern- I remember as a child thinking that I wanted to live in the Contemporary when I grew up. Weird design of the bathroom doors and sink/kitchenette combo. Nice balcony- lots of room and a great view.

Your girls are too cute-- did they enjoy BLT or AKL more?

Thanks for the update. Waiting for more.
Very patiently, I might add.

Thanks for the compliments!! You know, I don't recall an overpowering smell of gingerbread at GF, just slightly. Maybe because it had been standing for a few weeks already?? HA - it was stale!
The girls are pretty cute - when they're behaving!! Thanks! They liked AKL a bit more for the animals, but they liked being so close to MK too. They definitely liked the bunk beds at AKL! It seemed that BLT was more of just "a room", you know?

Keep being "patient". I'm going to do another update today. I just have to do a little actual work first. Stupid job keeps interfering with DIS life!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Yes, that is me swearing!!
I had an update with about one sentence left to type and my internet just shut down!!!! I'm going to eat lunch and try again. Dang, it was a good one too.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Take two.

We had all gotten our stuff in our rooms and I was itching to get going. We had a 4:40 ADR at Crystal Palace. I was pretty happy with this time, because 1) we could get into MK at 4 with our MVMCP tickets. 2) it would give us enough time to eat and then see the castle lighting and have a couple rides before the party festivities began at 7.

So we rounded everyone up to head to the monorail. I believe it was around this time that we gave SIL Sharon the nickname "Crash". She was using the ECV. Had just a little trouble getting used to it. I think she had yet to figure out the adjustments needed to prevent the turbo from kicking in! There were a few "incidents". Like near the elevator at BLT there are windows and some ottoman style benches. She managed to move the benches. With her scooter. Unintentionally. ZOOM ZOOM!! It was at this time that I made a mental note to walk on the SIDE of her or very far behind! Never directly in front. That's just asking for torn up achilles tendons.

Okay - we all get on the monorail - Steve and Debbie were going to meet us at CP (they were at FW, remember?). We're riding along for about 2 minutes.
We stop.
This is not good. I'm already annoyed at being late. It's past 4. I keep checking my watch. I think about 27 minutes later we get to MK, with a couple other stops. Okay, it might not have been that long.
But, this was the first shot taken at MK when the CM was putting our MVMCP party wristbands on. She was very nice by the way. The picture was taken at 4:45.

Guess we were late for our ADR. Guess who was NOT HAPPY!!!

So that's me with the blue backpack, I think Paige was next to me, MIL in the blue sweatshirt with white hair, SIL Sharon - Crash - on the ECV and SIL Donna next to her in red. We tried to high tail it to CP - but it was really crowded!! I hoped it was a residual effect from the parade taping crowds and Jonas Brothers fans from earlier in the day. Make them go away!!!

Got to CP, still no Debbie and Steve. Of course, they had to navigate the same crowds. DH went to check in - the line was SUPER long!!! Apparently CP was late too.
While we were standing around, Debbie and Steve arrived. We had not seen them yet, so there was a bunch of .

Then it happened.

Someone came up to me. That was not part of our family.











IT WAS SHAWNA!!!
Disneymommy3 had somehow found us in this crowd!! She and her DH and 3 wonderful kids came over and . They had been at MK all day dealing with crowds and had dinner ressies at CRT! So we were close by. It was so fun to see her and visit for a few minutes. We knew we'd be in the same parks a couple more times during our stay and they were at the Contemporary, so we planned to text and meet again. They went off for their ADR (on time!) and we finally got called into CP at 5:20.
We were seated to the left as you walk in along the back wall by the bathrooms. We had 1/2 booth seats facing the window and castle (!) and then 1/2 chairs facing the wall. I sat facing the castle!
We made a few trips to the buffet in between visits from our friends in the 100 acre wood.

This poor little guy just couldn't wait to see Pooh!! His dad had to restrain him!!

Tigger decided he liked the Santa Mickey hat!! He borrowed Dave's - he is a boy you know!

So we finished up at CP around 6:30. I was sad because while we sat there waiting for Tigger and Eeyore, the castle lighting ceremony was happening!! I got to watch through the window, so I could see the lighting, but didn't see or hear the little show. I vowed to be parked in front of the castle the next MK night we'd be there (Wednesday).

We used our first TS credits and they added an automatic 18% tip since we were a party of 6 or more. I don't have the itemized receipt, but it was like $29 for adults and $14 for kids.

cont. in next post - MVMCP!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Okay - so NO, I did not take a picture with Shawna. Note to self - that is why you carry your camera around your neck. To remind you to use it!!! That happened to us in January too!

Here's what the castle looked like after dinner:

Isn't she beautiful???

A bit later..

There were so many activities scheduled for the party, and we knew it would be busy. They had the princesses with princes rotating for character meets back in the stroller parking area by Peter Pan. The lines were ridiculously long. So we decided we'd wait and see some on our cruise. Even though they were with their princes and in Christmas outfits. Oh well, I didn't want to spend a lot of time standing around.

We decided to hit the rides - pretty much all walk on!!
We didn't do these all at once, but mixed in with some other activities: Jungle Cruise, POTC, Buzz, IASW and teacups (not me!!). A few of the guys went on Space Mountain too. We tried to catch Storytime with Belle, since she is Paige's favorite. We were late. Here's what we saw.

Oh well. We got some hot chocolate and cookies. Like I needed more desserts. I think I made about 4 trips to the dessert buffet at CP!!

sorry that's blurry. I'm pretty sure it wasn't me taking that picture!! But I did tell DH to take lots of pictures - of signs, Christmas decorations, anything that was special to the MVMCP or the holidays that wouldn't normally be there. It got to the point that everytime we saw a Christmas tree or decoration he'd say "there's a Christmas tree, do you need a picture?" Duh, of course I do!! I'm planning my TR!!

They had a dance party going on in Cosmic Ray's.

It was really hard for me to balance out the scheduled events, trying to do some rides and then finding and staking out a spot for the parade. I was not going to miss that!!
There were two parades and in between was Holiday Wishes. We were situated to watch near CP and the little bridge to Adventureland. Not the best fireworks viewing, but not too bad either. I like the bridge to Tomorrowland better. But we had been on that side of the park. A few of us had to run to squeeze in a ride on POTC before the fireworks!! We made it back just in time!
I have to tell you (since I have no pictures to show you) that this was absolutely the most beautiful thing ever!!! The holiday story and music was so moving!! There may have been a tear or two. Worth the price of admission alone to me. (of course two weeks later you could see it without an extra price!)
LOVED IT!!!
You may have noticed that the girls had on Christmas light necklaces. My SIL got them for all the females in the group. I turned my off of blinking because it made me nuts to be wearing blinking lights. But it was nice to be able to spot people a little ways away!

We headed down Main Street to somewhere around the Emporium where we usually watch the parades. This was the second parade, which started at 10:30. I was informed (DIS) that usually the second one is less crowded because the people with little kids watch the first one and often leave after fireworks. This night, that was not exactly the case! It was still pretty crowded. But I really didn't care. We were still having SO much FUN!!

I had been shopping looking for something that had the MVMCP logo on it to remember the night. They had a few things in the shop in Tomorrowland, but nothing I wanted. So when we were waiting for the parade, DH went into the Emporium looking. He came out with pins. Yes, we do collect pins, don't trade much. Mostly Sarah will trade. She collects Tinkerbell, Paige collects the Princesses in their glitter dresses and I am all about my favorite mouse, Mickey! So DH found the MVMCP pins. There were 6 different types. He bought 2 of each!!! Oh boy. I thought I was a crazy shopper! He figured they were only available that night, one for each kid, didn't I want all of them? I had only planned on picking out one, but I guess he would not have known that. We got pins from MVMCP!

parade pics in next post (After what happened before,I'm afraid to lose my post before I finish, so I am splitting it up.)

 

[Mndisneygirl]

While we were waiting, DH and the girls and I ran up to the photopass guy in the middle of main street to get a couple shots with the castle and then turned around and got the big Christmas tree. I'll post those later when I load the photopass pictures.

It's a little blurry - but that's Alice, Mad Hatter, Pluto, Wendy, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Gepetto and I think Mary Poppins behind Alice.

I think Minnie looks a little stunned in this one!

There were about 6 or 8 of these ladies skating around.

LOOK!! It's Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen!! I was surprised they were in the parade!

Sometimes it depends which side of the street you're on. This is obviously Cinderella's carriage (and her prince!)

We got to see Belle!!

Behind that pillar thing is the Fairy Godmother. Here's the back of her.

more pictures...

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Never seen Clarabelle before!!

There were a lot of these guys!

The elves and reindeer can only mean one thing!!!!

Santa's coming!

Oh, this was a wonderful parade!! Just sitting here at my desk looking at all the pictures made me smile and tear up. It was so much fun that night even after the slow rocky start. Time flew by and it was after 11 when the end of the parade passed us. As much as I wished we could stay for the last hour and hit more rides, if I were honest, I was exhausted!! It had been a busy day even though I didn't feel like it was too much. We walked back to BLT. Slowly.

This was greeting us on the side of CR.

The girls walked ahead with the nephews, who they had been "pestering" all day by putting stickers on their backs. They were good sports.

When we got back to our rooms, SIL Donna brought over a ton of presents for the girls. Christmas came early!! It was ridiculously late, but hey, we were all on vacation!! They got these little hamster toys (like ZhuZhu pets) and a bunch of cute little things. Auntie Donna loves to shop and she has teenage boys. So she loves to shop for little girls!!! The little girls LOVE Auntie Donna!!!

We finally made it to bed around 12:30. We were planning to hit rope drop at DHS on Monday. Any bets on whether we do it????

Again - stay tuned...

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Another great update!!

Crystal Palace is always such a great time. I would have been a little mad if I had to wait that far after my ADR time to be seated though! Glad things turned around for you and you ended up having a great night.

LOVE the parade pictures. Makes me wish we would have gone to the MVMCP. I was worried about the crowds though. We don't do well in crowds. I don't know how crowded the party would have actually been in mid November though.

Sounds like the girls hit the jackpot with gifts from Auntie Donna!

I am going to guess that you did not make it to rope drop the next morning. I know we sure wouldn't have after a day like that!

 

[heaven2dc]

I am having so much fun reading your TR! I think it was very brave of you to drive down from Minnesota but it didn't seem to take as long as I would have expected. I loved that you surprised the girls with the stay at AKL - watching the giraffes at dinner was priceless. We have yet to attend MVMCP but hope to this year - there will be 9 of us going so will see what everyone plans to do. Your pics of the castle all lit up are beautiful! I saw it for the first time in December 2008 and it really brings a tear to your eye

 

[Panotchr]

WOW... I am so excited for next December. Your update and pictures are great!

Thanks... I needed that today

 

[Charleston Princess]

I would have been DYING with the monorail stop!!! I hate being late for anything!

Tigger with the Santa hat is too funny! He is such a fun guy!

Your castle pics are so pretty! That's one of the main reasons I want to make a Christmas trip is to see the castle like that!

Were the cookies and hot chocolate for the party yummy?

Kudos to DH for getting all the MVMCP pins! Do we get to see pictures of them later on?

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

I just love your trip report!

 

[disneylovin24]

6 types of MVMCP pins When we went in 04 there was only one type of pin and they sold out fast. I had to end up buying one on ebay when I got home!!!


Crystal Palace is my favorite place to eat Sadly, it's going to be closed during my trip this year

Can't wait to read more, and I had to go and read your intro again because I forgot who everyone was