Scooter Adventures, Twinsies Reunited, and a Bit of Christmas Cheer! Complete 6/22

[mnmrmustard]

Hiya Gretchen! I am frantically trying to catch up on all of the Christmas PTRs I was reading and cross over to the TRs! Happy to have caught up with yours

I’m glad the easy check-in at the airport made up for grandma’s slow driving/bad route. Nice flight, I’m glad that JetBlue worked out so well. And very cool that that terminal drops you so close to the ME area. We used Apple Scooters too (second time we’ve used them) and have always been happy with their equipment and service. Sorry they didn’t have the scooter there for your mom when you got to the resort.

Front row on ME – lucky! I’m still on the fence about the new MK entrance colors, so very used to the old color scheme. Nice decorations in the lobby at WL and cool that Megan was such a good CM in welcoming you both. Interesting that they hide the mini-fridge in the room to keep the lodge theming. I liked the character tiles in the shower.

Amazing view, could ask for better than that! Your lunch looked great, I love Memphis-style pulled pork sandwiches. Too bad about all the noise when you wanted to grab a nap. And we had the same issue with the in-room WiFi, it was pathetic and same scenario in the public areas

Nice that the luggage came so fast and that the scooter showed up before you wanted to leave for a park!

DW uses the scooter and even though she drove one in April of ’11 she still did the same thing your mom did the first time she tried loading up on the bus. Slow and steady is the way to go. Love that DHS tree, very festive. I like the scooter beacon as an excuse to get the Mickey head balloon

Sorry you didn’t get any pics with you and PB together. That is the downside of being the person operating the camera, very hard to be in many shots. I’m sure after being behind the scenes and riding the rides so often you can’t help but get campy with responses to the ride elements. Glad you all enjoyed Fantasmic!

I wish we had spent as much time looking at the Osborne lights as you did. By the time we got over to it we had been at DHS 11hrs straight and the fam was done so we didn’t even make it through the whole song cycle. Great pics of the lights – love the shot with you at the umbrella!

50s Prime Time is always a good choice to finish off a DHS day, yum! So cool that you had a quick trip back to the resort and that you could see some of the Wishes fireworks!

Sleeping in and a great spread for breakfast – that’s the way to start a day! Too bad those beds were so hard, hope sleeping a little more after breakfast made up for it. Yay for remembering your memory card before you left the resort. Yikes on losing cell service during the trip

Nice decorations, I can almost smell the wood and pine. Nice rainbow at the geyser too! Glad you got the cell phone thing settled before you left for MVMCP! Looking forward to hearing more Disney Christmas Adventures!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Joining in! Yay for staying at the WL! I love all of your pictures. It really is an amazing place at Christmas.

I first heard about the "bear face" right before we were going to stay there and it took me forever to see it!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Food at the 50's Prime Time looks really tasty! I like the looks of that crab salad! I like that you took the day slowly and spent some time to check out all of the decorations. Very pretty!

I love 50s! I think it ties with Crystal Palace for being the only table service restaurant that I've visited more than two times. It's really funny to see how our touring style has changed in the last few years-we used to be "go, go, go" (or I did at least) and now we're definitely turtle tourists!

I'm in again! Love trips with you and your mom!

Dee

Welcome Dee!

Hiya Gretchen! I am frantically trying to catch up on all of the Christmas PTRs I was reading and cross over to the TRs! Happy to have caught up with yours

I’m glad the easy check-in at the airport made up for grandma’s slow driving/bad route. Nice flight, I’m glad that JetBlue worked out so well. And very cool that that terminal drops you so close to the ME area. We used Apple Scooters too (second time we’ve used them) and have always been happy with their equipment and service. Sorry they didn’t have the scooter there for your mom when you got to the resort.

It wasn't a big deal that the scooter wasn't there because we weren't going anywhere immediately. But we had quite a bit of trouble on day 4 that I'll tell you about!

Front row on ME – lucky! I’m still on the fence about the new MK entrance colors, so very used to the old color scheme. Nice decorations in the lobby at WL and cool that Megan was such a good CM in welcoming you both. Interesting that they hide the mini-fridge in the room to keep the lodge theming. I liked the character tiles in the shower.

I think they hide the fridges in all the rooms now to go with the theming-in all the resorts I've stayed at in 2012 (six of them, value to deluxe) the fridge has always been in some sort of cupboard.

Amazing view, could ask for better than that! Your lunch looked great, I love Memphis-style pulled pork sandwiches. Too bad about all the noise when you wanted to grab a nap. And we had the same issue with the in-room WiFi, it was pathetic and same scenario in the public areas

I remember last January when they first introduced the Wi-Fi, I was at Old Key West was awful. It was better at Coronado Springs in February, and I don't recall having problems at ASMu, ASSp, or POFQ in May. The in park wi-fi was fine though!

Nice that the luggage came so fast and that the scooter showed up before you wanted to leave for a park!

DW uses the scooter and even though she drove one in April of ’11 she still did the same thing your mom did the first time she tried loading up on the bus. Slow and steady is the way to go. Love that DHS tree, very festive. I like the scooter beacon as an excuse to get the Mickey head balloon

Sorry you didn’t get any pics with you and PB together. That is the downside of being the person operating the camera, very hard to be in many shots. I’m sure after being behind the scenes and riding the rides so often you can’t help but get campy with responses to the ride elements. Glad you all enjoyed Fantasmic!

I wish we had spent as much time looking at the Osborne lights as you did. By the time we got over to it we had been at DHS 11hrs straight and the fam was done so we didn’t even make it through the whole song cycle. Great pics of the lights – love the shot with you at the umbrella!

50s Prime Time is always a good choice to finish off a DHS day, yum! So cool that you had a quick trip back to the resort and that you could see some of the Wishes fireworks!

Sleeping in and a great spread for breakfast – that’s the way to start a day! Too bad those beds were so hard, hope sleeping a little more after breakfast made up for it. Yay for remembering your memory card before you left the resort. Yikes on losing cell service during the trip

Nice decorations, I can almost smell the wood and pine. Nice rainbow at the geyser too! Glad you got the cell phone thing settled before you left for MVMCP! Looking forward to hearing more Disney Christmas Adventures!

Joining in! Yay for staying at the WL! I love all of your pictures. It really is an amazing place at Christmas.

I first heard about the "bear face" right before we were going to stay there and it took me forever to see it!

Welcome Sarah! My mom couldn't find the bear face at first either, but when she found it she thought it was super cool!

 

[bellebookworm9]

We had just boarded the MK bus, and after a stop at Ft. Wilderness, we were soon approaching Magic Kingdom. There were no snafus entering the park using the MVMCP tickets, like there was in 2011 with MNSSHP. We got our wristbands and proceeded back to Liberty Square for dinner, stopping for a few quick pics along the way.

We had a rather lackluster dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern, something we probably wouldn't do again.

Then we wandered around the park for a bit. Mom hadn't seen any of new Fantasyland yet, and a lot of it wasn't even done yet when I left Florida in August. Storybook Circus was our first stop, because Mom was almost tempted to ride Dumbo. But she didn't want to ride by herself and we wouldn't have fit in one together. I wanted to meet the characters at the "Sideshow" tent, but the posted waits were much longer than those on the Lines app, so we forewent that as well. I did take this cool shot of the castle through my balloon back there.

Heading into Tomorrowland we decided to do one of our favorite rides, Buzz Lightyear, which had a brief wait. Mom actually beat me! That never happens!

After Buzz we made a bathroom stop and then walked/rolled over to the Hub, because it was almost time for the castle lighting show.

The castle show was corny, but the end result was beautiful!

I believe the next order of business was some shopping on Main Street. I know we went to the Emporium and I got in the *actual line* to buy a MVMCP shirt. I think the line was about 15 minutes. Mom wanted one, but only if it was short sleeved and green. No luck. They only had short sleeved in red, and not in her size anyway. But I got a long sleeved green one! We also picked up some antenna toppers (mine broke already and it's not even on the car) and an activity set for my brother. I wanted a new initial ring because mine had broken a while back, but we couldn't find one. Mom found some other rings instead that I really liked, but they were rather pricey even with my merch discount so we held off for the time being.

When we were done there, I know we stopped at First Aid for an ice pack for Mom, then went into Adventureland. Mom went to get some of the free snacks while I got in the relatively short line to meet Tink and Periwinkle!

 

[bellebookworm9]

So I had walked Mom over to Sunshine Tree Terrace and gotten in line at the Adventureland Veranda to meet Tinker Bell and Periwinkle. I was the first one at the rope in the long queue and it wasn't a very long wait, maybe 20 minutes. Tinker Bell was up first.

Tink was absolutely adorable. She loved my dress and I liked her outfit too. We determined that I had used strawberries to dye my dress, and she wanted to know what would happen if we did the same to hers. I said I think that would just be brown and she was sad at first, but then she decided we could just be festive together!

And then came Periwinkle. I haven't seen Secret of the Wings yet, so I know virtually nothing about her other than she's Tinker Bell's "twin" and she's a winter fairy. I don't really remember what we discussed.

I met back up with Mom, who said the free hot cocoa was pretty good, but the cookies were obviously pre-packaged and pretty blah. We headed over to Fantasyland because I wanted to meet Cinderella and family, but their line was super long. Pooh and Friends were getting some honey, so no go with them either. My feet were really hurting by then (two days of flats=bad idea) so we headed towards Cosmic Ray's. On the way, we ran into Rosemary, another DISer from the December Facebook group and chatted for a few minutes.

Once in Ray's I grabbed a cup of apple juice and we sat out on the terrace for a little bit. The first parade of the evening was happening, but we couldn't see much of it. After my feet had some time to rest, Mom decided she would be able to walk for a bit and I could ride the scooter. We walked back to Liberty Square and were just about to park and get in line for the Haunted Mansion when a cast member said we could take the scooter right into the queue. I went to do so and a massive crowd of people came up and got in line. OK, not happening. We decided Big Thunder would be much of the same, so we walked over towards the Hall of Presidents. Mom wanted to look in the shop, but she almost got run over by another scooter in there. She came back out and we briefly discussed going to Main Street to wait for the fireworks. I don't recall coming to a definite decision, and she said, "I'm going for a walk." At least that's what I heard, anyway. I guess what she really said was, "I'm going to the shops." By the time I could start up the scooter and maneuver out of my spot, she was gone, and I had no idea where she went. So I decided to stay put, thinking that if she just went for a walk she'd come back. But it was getting close to fireworks time and I was worried we'd be separated. And to make things even better, she walked away with NOTHING. I had both cell phones, her wallet, her room key, everything. So I was a bit angry, but Holiday Wishes was starting and that made me happier. I had a pretty good viewing spot too!

(That was during the "O Christmas Tree" part, so they made the castle green!)

(Perfect smiley face, which sometimes happens, sometimes doesn't.)

An absolutely beautiful show! There's a part right at the end that I adore; they sing "And all our Christmas Wishes! will come true!" and when they say
"wishes" it's exactly the same melody that they sing in the normal Wishes. Gives me chills every time I listen to it. And then the song they play afterwards: "Sleigh bells ringing and snow is falling and friends are singing and chestnuts roasting..." If you have any idea what I'm talking about, you are singing it now too. Oh how I wish I were there right now.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, that song is called "Christmas All Around Us" and you can find it in the D-Cot Jukebox. And the above Wishes mention is found at 13:18 at the D-Cot Jukebox recording of Holiday Wishes.

So after the show, I waited some more. I didn't want to go anywhere in case Mom came back. I was just going to stay there for the parade and then figure out where she went. Then I got a call from Hartford, CT. Well, I don't know anyone from there so I let it go to voicemail. It was Mom, saying she was in the Town Square Theater (some nice cast member let her borrow his phone). So I zip down a surprisingly uncrowded Main Street to the theater.
Can't find her. Cell phone rings again, this time from Lake Buena Vista, FL. Mom again. Now she's at City Hall, calling from Guest Relations. We finally reunited after over an hour. She had expected me to follow her to Main Street and then was waiting for me to pop up after a bit. In the meantime she wandered in and out of the shops, occasionally sitting on some of the recessed stairways to the buildings. We were both pretty frustrated. And I was really cold, even with my sweatshirt, like spastically shivering. Although we both really wanted to see the parade (and I later realized I had missed my only chance to see Belle in her Christmas dress) we decided to go back to the hotel. Mom was really sore because I had the scooter that whole time, and it was just kind of a bust. Overall the party experience wasn't the greatest. I used to feel the party price was worth it because you get 8 hours total (almost a full day's time!) of park time for about $20 less than a regular ticket. But when your normal admission is free, $120 for special fireworks doesn't seem like such a great deal anymore.

I would probably do the party again, but dress for the weather-it got much colder than I thought it was going to-and have a better plan to follow. Heading out to the bus stop we did get some free stuff-a lame ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas guide and a car air freshener. That's not too lame, because it smells like spiced hot apple cider and when I have the heat blasting enough my car smells heavenly. The bus pulled up within two minutes of us arriving and soon we were back at the hotel.

 

[librarygeek]

The castle is just stunning with those lights. I dream of the time I will be able to be in Disney for Christmas! Tink was really cute in her winter outfit too. I'm sorry you had all the frustration with your mom though. That would've really upset me too.

 

[bellebookworm9]

The castle is just stunning with those lights. I dream of the time I will be able to be in Disney for Christmas! Tink was really cute in her winter outfit too. I'm sorry you had all the frustration with your mom though. That would've really upset me too.

I've always wanted to see the castle lights. I got a tease of them in January 2012 when I went down for my college program. The night before I checked in, my roommate and I went to the Poly beach to watch Wishes, since we didn't have our IDs yet and couldn't go to the parks. But the lights were still up on the 10th and we could see them from a distance! Unfortunately, by the time we were actually able to go into MK on the 13th, they weren't lit anymore.

I told Mom her wandering privileges were revoked. I was just beginning to trust her again going off on her own during the Lost Mom Fiasco of 2010, but no more. I know better now, and I need to keep her on a leash!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Wednesday morning brought one of our favorite meals on property-Crystal Palace! We've eaten there once for dinner and twice now for breakfast. We headed to Magic Kingdom around 9:30, again by bus with a very short wait. After we got through bag check, I had some holiday cheer to spread! As a cast member, I was given a holiday admission pass good for me and three people on any one day. Well, it's only me plus one, ever, and I always feel like I'm wasting those other two admissions! So I found a DISer on the Facebook group whose parents were joining them during the vacation. With my admission, they'd be able to get two park days with their family instead of just one. So we met up with them, and they were lovely people. From New York, too! After we all entered the park, they thanked me profusely, I told them they were so welcome, gave them a couple of free popcorn/soft drink coupons, and we went on our merry ways, my heart a lot happier at bringing joy to another family.

On our way up Main Street, Mom wanted to look in the Jewelry store where they sell Dooney & Bourke bags. She's been eying them for almost three years now and has yet to buy one (yes, even with my 40% discount!). I, on the other hand, have two-a white Sketch wristlet and a purple Sketch cross body-and if I could afford them I'd probably own at least one of every design. But Mom thinks they're too expensive and she can never find a purse she's totally satisfied with. It's not even a problem with pattern placement, but no purse has a design that she can live with. If it has a shoulder strap and carrying straps, she thinks that's dumb. You get the gist. So no purchase was made and we headed up Main Street again.

Our ADR was for 10:20am, and we checked in about 10 minutes early. Here's one of the decorations outside.

We were called to our table right on time, and I'm 99% sure it was the exact same table we ate at on our last trip there in 2010! Our server was Monika, and it took her a bit longer than we found acceptable to come get our drink orders. Pooh came around pretty quickly.

Then it was up to the buffet for round one...the ever so boring Pooh's Puffed French Toast and a Mickey Waffle with Strawberry topping!

Boring, but yummy! You can't go wrong with these two items.

Just minutes later, we saw Piglet.

Heigh ho, heigh ho, back up to the buffet I go...

Bagel with cream cheese, bacon, and breakfast potato casserole. Again, very boring. The casserole was super delicious though! I need to see if allears has that recipe.

And a plate of fruit.

As usual, pineapple, grapes, and watermelon were amazing, cantaloupe was decent, and honeydew was just kind of meh. It always seems really mushy to me.

Here comes Tigger!

One last trip to the buffet. It was getting close to lunchtime now, so they shut our side of the line down. We started feeling a little rushed around this point.

A croissant, Southwest Breakfast Pizza, and that interesting glob in the back is Breakfast Lasagna. The croissant was soft and buttery, if not particularly warm. I was surprised by how much I liked the pizza because I normally don't care for eggs, or peppers, or really most of the ingredients on it. But it had a nice little kick to it without being overwhelming. Now, the breakfast lasagna. They had taken this off the menu when we were there in 2010, so I didn't get to try it. I was very excited to see it back now. And it was such a disappointment when I finally tried it. Part of it was overly sweet and part of it had no flavor at all. The whole thing was just mushy and as much as I hate to say it, gross. I managed maybe two bites before I gave up. I really wanted to like it because so many people love it, but I just couldn't.

Our last character of the morning was Eeyore.

This meal was on the dining plan, so no out of pocket expense except for the tip. Once again, we loved our meal here and I recommend this restaurant to everyone consistently! GO if you get the chance!

After breakfast we headed up to the monorail, just missing the one at the station, and waited a few minutes for another one. Then it was over to the Grand Floridian. As we entered the lobby on the upper level, I took this shot, which is pretty darn good if I do say so myself.

We honestly don't even like the Grand Flo-it feels too snobby for us-but the decorations were stunning. I took a bunch of pictures of the gingerbread house (which PB told me he got to help assemble a few years ago!). I loved this window with my favorite princess.

And this one is super cute too.

I really don't understand these birds (swans? geese?) that are everywhere on the tree. I think they're a little bit creepy, but if anyone knows their significance, please let me know!

I love that Minnie dress, but I think mine is a little cuter-and I know mine was A LOT cheaper because it's homemade!

Upstairs we went into M. Mouse Mercantile, thinking they sold Dooneys, but they don't. Guess what I left with instead? That ring from the Emporium the night before. I did find my initial ring at this store, but this one was just calling to me. So it left with me.

I love it and wear it almost everyday.

Back outside we boarded the monorail right before it left the station and went back to MK, where we caught the launch right before it departed as well! Water levels must have been high enough for us to take it that day. Kenny was the cast member doing the docking stuff, and he chatted with us through the whole voyage. He was a current college program kid so we discussed our experiences with that. Soon we were back at the Lodge, where we decided to do, what else? Nap.

 

[librarygeek]

What a sweet thing that you did with your free admissions! Disney is the perfect place to spread cheer like that

The decorations at the GF are really gorgeous; that was a great shot of the lobby that you got! And I don't own any Disney dooneys, although I really like a lot of the designs and styles, because they are just too expensive for me!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Sorry readers, I didn't mean to abandon you! I moved a few weeks ago and I've been busy with school and my new job, but I think I have time for a quick update.

So after our nap, we headed out toward Animal Kingdom. The bus arrived within two minutes of us getting to the stop. Pretty sure we stopped at the Ft. and then the driver took the most circuitous route possible to the park. Literally, we circled half the property.

Upon getting to the park, we headed for the two open turnstiles. Now, people never seem to realize that there are generally two turnstiles open right next to each other, and instead of forming two lines, they form a clump. As we got closer to the turnstiles, I could see this was the case. There was one family ahead of us, and they deviated to the left turnstile. I waited a few moments to see if any of them were going to use the right one, and they didn't, so I stepped up to it. Of course, at that moment, the 9-ish daughter stepped over. I indicated she should go first, but she told me I could. So I did, and then her mother yelled at her. Told her she shouldn't let other people in front of her and she could now go to the back of the line, she wasn't dealing with that today. Absolutely ridiculous.

Moving on, we decided to try and get a spot for the parade. Unfortunately, we had cut it a little too close and no spots were open, even in the handicapped areas. So we decided to go get some lunch over at Flame Tree and try to see the parade from there.

Our lunch choice was the BBQ Sandwich (delicious as always) and the chocolate mousse (just okay).

Thankfully, our plan did work out and we were able to see the floats from our table.

Truthfully, I was a little disappointed. It's the same parade that's there everyday, just with some decorations added and some of the lyrics changed. While I do enjoy the normal parade, I was expecting something different.

We headed back to the Safari, along with basically everyone else in the park, but the line still wasn't very long. We were directed over to the wheelchair loading dock, and our truck was soon on the way. Cheryl was our driver and she was awesome, just slightly sarcastic, which was great because there weren't a lot of animals out at that point.

This is probably an Okapi.

I think this is a Water Buck.

I've kind of watched these elephants grow up over the last year.

Something new: I actually got some decent cheetah pictures!

And here goes Mr. Lion running down into his cave, and then he roared and his friends roared back. It was awesome!

It was just after 5 by the time we got off the truck, and we had dinner ressies at Ft. Wilderness at 6:05. Uh oh! I don't know how the time had gotten away from us! So we hustled as best we could to the bus, stopping (or probably taken on the run, actually) for a picture of the AK tree.

A bus pulled up right as we got to the stop, and once we loaded (after the other passengers, because they were there first and the driver didn't see us in time), the bus proceeded to sit there for another ten minutes, which was super frustrating. I was texting PB to see if he could get them to hold the table for us, and eventually we were on our way, but would we make it in time?

 

[mnmrmustard]

Hey Gretchen!

I somehow didn’t make it back to your TR, darned RL! I’m here now and picking up with your entry for MVMCP:

Yay for not having issues getting in with your tickets – you were doing it the right way with a leisurely beginning of the day and dinner at MK before the party starts! Sorry the dinner wasn’t a good one for you.

Cool shot of the castle through the balloon. Yay for seeing the castle lighting!

Sounds like the shopping was fruitful.

I’m glad the Tink interaction was so good. I agree on the cookies, they sucked. Cool that you had that random DISMeet!

Sorry your mom left you in Liberty Square, but at least you had a good spot for Wishes.

Our MVMCP was pretty much a bust too so don’t feel bad – no parades for us or character interactions at all …and we missed Wishes. I agree having a clear plan together would make all the difference.

Yay for being able to help that DIS family and getting their parents admission!

CP looked like a lot of fun with great food and characters, good choice.

Nice shot of the GF lobby – cool Mickey ring.

Sorry you didn’t get to AK in time for spots for the parade, good call getting those yummy BBQ sandwiches at Flame Tree and still having a decent view of the parade from there! Much better to sit and eat and watch anyways. As far as the parade itself we skipped it as we had heard the exact comment you spoke of, same parade with some decorations and the characters in holiday costumes.

So cool that you got cheetah pics (although for some reason they didn’t show up in my browser) and that the Lion roared on the safari!

I hope you swing back around to continue the TR, I’m really enjoying it and I'm sure there's some silent readers out there too who want to see how it all goes

 

[bellebookworm9]

Well, as long as no one minds that it's April and I'm still talking about Christmas festivities, I guess there's no harm in continuing.

So when we parted a month and a half ago, we had just left Animal Kingdom and were headed for Ft. Wilderness. We were cutting it very close on time and weren't sure if we could make the reservation. The bus had finally pulled out of AK and it's first stop was the Lodge. Then it continued on to the Fort, finally! We departed at the Outpost Depot and then had to switch to another bus to get us to the Settlement. I remember the Yellow bus coming first, so I'm assuming that's what we got on because I knew all three buses would get us to the same place eventually. We loaded up Mom and were on our way. I think we just made it, and PB had been able to check us in and hold the table. Yay for my twinsie!

I don't have any pictures of the meal. I think we were just so hungry I forgot! But I've eaten there before and if you're really curious there are pictures in my "Four Months of Disney Dining". It was just okay. Service was average at best and food was below average. Best things were the mac 'n cheese, cornbread, red velvet cake, and ice cream.

After dinner, we took a little stroll/roll around the nearby campsites to look at the decorations. The pictures aren't the greatest, but you get the gist.

Amazing! Most of these were decked out better than houses in my neighborhood!

As we wandered back towards the boat dock to catch a ride to MK, I wanted to take a picture of the Fort tree. The camera wasn't on my wrist or in my pocket. I asked if anyone else had it. Nope, Mom suggested it was in the bag and while I didn't find it, I wasn't too concerned because the bag was pretty full, items were shifting, and I didn't want to empty it out. Anyway, I had my phone (every picture from here on out was taken using it)!

The wait for the boat was a bit long. When one arrived, a mother and little girl around 4 years old walked by us as they were getting off. The little girl was adorable, in a Cinderella dress, wearing glasses, and she had a light up Mickey face around her neck. And her mother said, "Why did we let you buy that thing? You look absolutely ridiculous!" My heart broke a little bit for the girl. Everyone in line that heard it said something.

We made it onto the boat and soon we were back at MK. Mom and PB decided they would ride Buzz Lightyear and I would be the FP runner for Journey of the Little Mermaid. I made it all the way back to New Fantasyland, searching for the FP machines, only to be told they are over at PhilharMagic!

I ran back to meet them at the exit of Buzz, and in the meantime I got an e-mail from my apartment complex telling me where I would be living when I moved in in February, so that was pretty exciting. We wandered back to New Fantasyland again, took a bathroom break, PB stopped at Gaston's for Le Fou's Brew, which I thought was a bit gross, and then it was time for our FPs to be used!

We waited exactly six minutes before we were on the ride. PB had ridden it before and was raving about it. I managed to get some no flash pictures.

I enjoyed it, but didn't absolutely adore it as PB does.

 

[bellebookworm9]

There was about 15 minutes left before "Celebrate the Magic!" and Wishes, so we walked around the castle to get a spot for that.

We were kind of under one of those coverings around the hub, so our spot wasn't great, but not terrible either. I hadn't seen Celebrate the Magic in person yet, but watched videos on YouTube, and my jaw was on the floor the whole time! I adored Magic, Memories, and You, so I was interested to see how this would stack up.

(I'm pretty sure that's the Floating Lanterns)

Absolutely amazing! I can't wait to go see it again next month!

 

[bellebookworm9]

And then it was time for WISHES!

(I think that's my second favorite picture of the trip!)

(Darn finger!)

 

[bellebookworm9]

When it was over and I was looking through the photos, I was slightly disheartened to realize that my iPhone takes better nighttime/fireworks pics than my Nikon point & shoot!

PB and I decided we wanted to go ride Big Thunder and Mom started her journey towards the train station, where the wheelchair viewing is for the Parade.

We rode, little wait, and it was super fun, as always. Probably my favorite ride at MK. Mom was texting me and she was so upset. My mother does not cry, and she was almost in tears of frustration when we met up with her. People were purposely cutting her off repeatedly with their stroller as she's trying to make her way up Main Street. I think she may have nudged one of the most annoying ones in her frustration, and that made him mad. She now does a ridiculous impression of a guy with a hispanic accent going, "Ay lady, you need to learn how to drive that wheelchair. When you run someone over you say sorry!" I told her we didn't have to stay for the parade, but she said it was fine.

Pretty soon it started, and I was aghast at what was happening. People were being total idiots, running across the street to the exit WHILE THERE WERE FLOATS COMING! Oh my God, it was ridiculous. People have literally died that way! Those floats can't stop suddenly and they don't care what's in their path. There was one lone cast member stationed in the area and she was trying to keep them from doing it, but as soon as one had been lectured, another group in a different area would go.

Anyway, the parade.

(I had been trying to get a shot of that gosh darn frog's lit up tongue for MONTHS and I finally succeeded!)

And then my phone died so no more pictures for now. Mom didn't care for MSEP. She much prefers SpectroMagic (and truthfully, so do I, but MSEP has grown on me). I was trying to figure out why, because the floats and concept are almost exactly the same, but it's the music. The spectro soundtrack is so regal, and this one is just hokey. It's the same parade that was there before I was born, and she just thought it was obnoxious.

Well that day kind of fizzled out. We said good bye to PB and headed to a bus to get us back to the Lodge. Very short wait once again. When we got back to the room, emptied out the bag, and still couldn't find the camera, I started to panic. Mom may have gone down to the desk to have them call Ft. Wilderness, but maybe that was the next day. We headed to bed quite exhausted!

 

[librarygeek]

Wow, the decorations around Fort Wilderness are really good! And I love the Little Mermaid ride, I was very impressed with it. Just a pleasant, feel good ride I think. So many of your castle and Wishes pictures are great!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Wow, the decorations around Fort Wilderness are really good! And I love the Little Mermaid ride, I was very impressed with it. Just a pleasant, feel good ride I think. So many of your castle and Wishes pictures are great!

Thanks! One of my friends said the other day that he doesn't like the camera on the iPhone 4S (which is what we both have) and I was like, "What are you talking about?! This thing takes better pictures of certain things than my actual camera!"

 

[bellebookworm9]

Thursday was our last full day in the parks. It looks like I went down to Roaring Forks to get breakfast around 9:30. Mom was boring and got pancakes again, but I switched it up a bit and got the Chocolate Lover’s Waffles.

According to my review on Allears, we headed to the bus stop around 10:15 and there was no wait once again. I’m trying to figure out the time frame because I have a picture of the Epcot Main Entrance decorations an hour later. But I guess between the bus ride, the bag check (which always seems to take forever only at Epcot), and the line to use my Main Entrance Pass to enter the park, it was probably about an hour.

I told Mom to head over to Test Track and I ran to Soarin’ to get Fastpasses. These gingerbread houses were on display in The Land.

Heading back towards Test Track, Mom was nowhere to be found. Now, we’ve been to Epcot at least eight times in the last three years. I was positive she wouldn’t get lost. I just never learn, I guess. Eventually she made it over there and we headed for the single rider line, which was about 20 minutes (or so it said). I don’t remember if we didn’t have the option to “design” our car or if we just chose to skip it, but we did not participate in that. This picture is of (I think) a gas model and a turbo engine.

For what may have been the first time ever, Mom and I were not in the same car using the singles line, probably because she was in the scooter and the CMs escorted her to the front. I ADORED the new makeover. Felt a lot cooler and seemed faster. Here’s a pretty terrible red neck ride photo.

It was about 15 minutes before our ADR at Chefs de France by this point, so we made our way back there. The scooter was going veeeeerrrrry slowly. I don’t know if it had been charged the night before, but there was a full battery indicator when we headed out in the morning. Now, it was almost empty. We made it back to France and were seated almost immediately. I’m pretty sure the table we were at was the exact same one I was seated at when I dined there in March, with a lovely view of the promenade. This was hands down our best meal of the trip. Our server Brice was absolutely amazing! Since this was a Candlelight Processional package, we were able to order appetizers. I chose the French Onion Soup and Mom went with the Lobster Bisque. They were both delicious.

For the entrée, I decided on the Baked Mac ‘n’ Cheese and Mom ordered the Quiche. As I had found before, she thought the dressing was too strong.

And finally for the dessert, I went with the standby of Profiteroles and Mom asked for the Strawberry Cream Cake. She adored it, as it was light and not too sweet.

Heading out after lunch, the scooter went slower and slower. We made it up to the World Showcase Plaza and had to park the scooter to take a side trip to First Aid for an ice pack for Mom’s back. I did get a picture of the Epcot tree.

We came back to the scooter and it died as we were going up to the front of the park. Just died. So I tried pushing it, while Mom was still in it, mind you. Approaching the Fountain of Nations a nice couple on their honeymoon offered to help us get it up front, which I declined. However, I did give them our Soarin’ FPs as thanks, since I knew we wouldn’t be back in time to ride. Slowly, slowly, slowly we made it out of the park and over to the bus stop. Of course, the bus departed as we were inching our way over to it, but thankfully another one came around in about 10 minutes. Back at the hotel, a nice man from Alabama (I think, maybe it was Louisiana) helped push us from the bus stop to the elevator. I offered him a coupon for a free popcorn or soft drink, but he said his family was on the dining plan and they had more than enough food already! The people who offered to help us throughout the day helped restore Mom’s faith in humanity, after encountering the not so nice people the evening before. We plugged in the scooter and napped for a while, making a decision about the Candlelight Processional.

 

[librarygeek]

Mmm, your meal at Chefs de France does look good! Both the desserts look tasty - though when we were there we had the creme brulee and it was absolutely amazing. I don't think we'll ever be able to order anything else because even though it was a year and a half ago, my husband still talks about that dessert all the time!

 

[bellebookworm9]

I am bound and determined to finish this TR tonight!

When I left off, our scooter had died, and we were returning to the hotel to recharge, both the scooter and ourselves. Our CP package was for the 5pm show, but it was already a little after 2pm when we left Epcot. We decided to skip the 5:15 show and just try the standby line for a later one.

Going back to Epcot in the evening, we arrived just after 6pm. We headed over to the Land for some food, and I took some pictures of the fiber optic sidewalks along the way.

I think we split a Pizza Panini from Sunshine Seasons, which was just okay, and shared this cheesecake.

Then we made a stop at first aid so Mom could get another ice pack for her back and I could get one for my shin, because my shin splints were acting up.

Heading over to the America Gardens Theater, we decided to explain the situation to the cast members and see if they would be willing to accommodate us at the 8:15 show. We spoke to George and his coordinator Gail, who were so helpful and generous by honoring our package tickets. There was a grumpy guest at the front of the handicapped line who was muttering and scolding us for talking to the cast members, telling us to go to the back of the line like everyone else. After speaking to Gail, we were escorted to the back of the handicapped line; after all, we had no intention of skipping the line in general, just wanting to see if we could avoid the standby line, which we did. And we ended up getting better seats than the grumpy lady, in my opinion!

The pictures aren't amazing, but the show itself was! If I would have still been working there full time and not back in New York, I absolutely would have been in the cast member choir. (I don't think an actual audition is required for it, just that you can attend practices.)

That is the ASL interpreter, who was really cool to watch.

Trace Adkins was our narrator, and Mom thought he had the perfect voice for it. Again, if I had been living there, I would have chosen some other narrators to see as well (Neil Patrick Harris, Whoopie, and Marlee Matlin).

The only downside was that I was sitting next to a family with a young daughter, probably 4 years old, who did not want to be there, and was just kicking and whining and crying through almost the whole show.

After it ended, we decided not to fight the crowds at the "VIP Viewing Spot" for IllumiNations and chose a random spot in Germany instead.

As usual, I took a billion pictures (104 to be exact) but I'll narrow it down to the best ones.

We could also see some of Holiday Wishes!