Melissa,
that update about Tessa is too funny. Get into trouble much, Tessa? That girl is full of life, you can say that much for her!
Somehow I missed at least one, if not two, updates from you. I guess I've been slacking on the disboards. You know, about the Christmas party, my kids really didn't get all that much out of some portions of it either. They did enjoy meeting Santa Claus -- we were there earlier, as you mentioned, which is KEY in my mind. And we still had to wait longer than I thought we could keep Elke entertained for. But as for the rest, my kids are a little on the shy side, so no one really felt comfortable enough to interact with the parade characters, etc, and/or dance with them at the end. We did truly enjoy the decorations around GKTW, and the carriage ride around the village was also cool. But the "party" and parade later on was not their cup of tea. So yes, I'm glad we were there and we did do things they truly enjoyed, but I think you make a really good point that families must be open to the fact that what other people rave about may not be something their family enjoys quite as much.
Glad to know we weren't the only ones who weren't totally in love with Christmas, although your night sounds better than ours. 
We had one of our best days on this trip at the Animal Kingdom. But I have heard many others say their families have not had anywhere near as good a time there. So your advice is spot on, I think. As much as we all like to plan on this board, parents should be ready, willing and able to change plans if things are not "working" for their family. To be flexible. And to realize that there may be something that other families have seemingly universally raved about that just doesn't do it for their family. And, most importantly, that there's nothing wrong with them, their family or their planning if something just doesn't work out. Take it as an experience and move on, reformulating plans if necessary.
Yep, absolutely! If/when we go back I will be much better prepared to make alternate plans when needed. I decided before we left that AK was not a priority for us, because of Phoebe's vision. The most common raves about that park are about the atmosphere and the safari ride, which would be lost on Phoebe. And I doubt she would have enjoyed the few rides they have there.
Universal/IOA is another one where people differ quite widely on their experiences. If I had had the benefit of hindsight, I would not have spent a day there on our trip. It just wasn't a good fit for our girls. The overall atmosphere of the place wasn't as "comfortable" for Elke as was Disney, and the options for rides for her were much more limited. BUT, she did LOVE the One Fish, Two Fish ride. Her absolute favorite, unfortunately, because she got me pretty wet!
I'm glad we went and experienced US/IOA but they were definitely not all day parks for us. I probably wouldn't spend the money until the girls are much older.
Hope things are going okay with Phoebe. Sorry I have been a disboards slackers. Summer is actually more involved for me, as the kids are out of school and I"m ferrying them around all day, or so it seems!
I totally get it! We have 22 days left until Phoebe starts. "It's the most wonderful time of the year!".
Ann
I had never heard anyone who went to it say that it wasn't great. Jennifer had the moment when Santa got down on the floor, Amber loved it because her family is always separated at Cmas, there was always something special about it, in the stories I heard. I was expecting it to be special for us too, which I why I ruined it. 
