The Disney Grump & Family Take on the World-Our '09 Christmas w/ the Mouse, COMPLETE

[SoonerGirl]

Hey Michelle!

I've been MIA from DIS lately and I'm playing catch up a bit now, I've missed so much. Loving your TR, sounds like a great trip and loving all your photopass pics! You guys got some great ones! SOOO excited that you're doing a trip with your Mom, too! You're going to have the BEST trip! I was so happy that we did that with my Mom this Fall....girl time is good time!! Can't wait to hear more!!

Hey there Kristen!! I've missed you, hope you can get back into your DIS groove and tell us some more about your trip with your mom I'm really looking forward to mine. Even though we only live about 8 miles apart Mom and I really don't get to spend a lot of time together, so a whole week of just her and I will be really special.

Yay! CP breakfast! The boys just look so happy to be there-Disney magic at its best! I can't wait to eat there in April. Tell me about these french toast puffs...they sound like something I need to try!

I love the picture of Jared trying to be Grumpy-sooo cute! He and my DS would get along quite well me thinks. WE might be crazy after a while with them but they would have a blast!

The french toast puffs are yummy - fried dough covered in cinnamon & sugar and they are melt in your mouth good. You can find them on the children's buffet

Well if your DS is like mine, then he keeps you quite entertained. Jared is a mess but he sure knows how to make me smile. As long as we had a margarita in hand when we got our boys together, I bet we'd be fine

Love CP breakfast! The Pooh and friends topiaries are so cute anyway, but even cuter wearing their winter scarves!

As always, your photos are beautiful!

Thanks I thought it was really cute that they even put winter gear on the topiaries!

Hi Michelle,

So funny... the exact same thing happened to us during our last CP breakfast! We saw everyone but Pooh Bear and we were all done and ready to hit rope drop.

What an agonizing decision! To wait or not to wait....

I wonder what you chose to do!


Kathy

Doesn't that stink to be torn between waiting to see one last character or being able to beat the crowds into the park? We decided that Eeyore would have to wait until next time - rope drop was calling!

What a great TR so far! I love that you took so many pics of the decorations and storytellers. How cool that your boys still go with you and have a good time. My oldest is 7 and already in the mouthy, I'm way too cool for Mom and Dad stage. I'm dreading the teen years!

Hi there & I love your screen name - so cute!

I tend to go just a tad bit overboard in the picture department, but I love having them.

I'm lucky in that my boys still love to go. The oldest is approaching the time where he wants to do other things and go to other places (his Dad's influence probably ) though, so after May I'm not sure when we'll get back to WDW.

The teen years are interesting to say the least. They are becoming so much more grown up and independent, and they really want to test their boundaries! Mostly Justin and his friends are pleasant to be around, but they do have their moments...

 

[SoonerGirl]

It's hard not to be in a good mood when you are wearing Santa Mickey ears like Jared was that morning.

I know!! It's like sacrilegious to be grumpy while wearing Mickey ears, right?!

I had to laugh that Disney even manages to decorate their Pooh topiaries for Christmas!

Everything is decorated - it's amazing!

How cute that the boys look like they are having such a great time with the characters, and thank goodness there were some French Toast puffs by the time you went up for your second plate!

They do still have fun with the characters, but are growing past the age of really getting into them. Jared hasn't done an autograph book for the last two trips, Justin never wanted one. Plus they aren't nearly as willing to get in line to meet them anymore, if the line is really short they'll humor me. It really stinks that they are going up so fast.

Don't you just LOVE being able to enter the park before everyone else? And then getting your pic in front of the castle with no one else in it?! We were able to do that on our last trip b/c Ally had a BBB appt. at 8:00am!! We were able to get some great pics!! And we just LOVE CP!! We've never eaten there for breakfast--only dinner! French toast puffs sound AMAZING!!! French toast is my FAVORITE breakfast food!! Can't wait to read more!!

I did love getting in early, I just wish I would have had about 10 more minutes to really take Main Street in. If we go again maybe I'll make the ADR for 8:15 and give myself just a bit more time in the nearly empty park!

This was our first breakfast at CP, but we've been there twice for dinner. I think I prefer the breakfast, if only for the french toast puffs alone!

I feel your pain. My DS15 is 6'2" and still growing. He hates it, but I keep telling him he'll be glad later!


Great picture!

Sounds like you had a great breakfast, especially since you found the French toast puffs!

Justin has a good friend that is 6'2", in the 8th grade! His mom is 6' though and his dad is at least 6'8" so we always knew he was going to be tall. And, yes, I'm sure one day your DS will embrace his height, it's just hard while going through the awkward growing stage!

We did have a really good breakfast, but I would have been big time bummed if they hadn't put out those french toast puffs

It is SOOOOOOOO funny that you said that about the CP!! MY DS7 feels the same way!! He loves those CINAMONY (I agree :yes: it IS a word LOL!) french toast puffs!!!!!

Yeah, they are on the children's buffet - but that didn't stop me from digging into them. Your DS has good taste!

What great family photos you have! I have never made it to a Park opening breakfast ADR.. only because my family can't make it that early!!!! Well we can be up that early, and at a park that early, no problem, but my DH is not a breakfast eater at that early in the morning ... no one has the appetite... we ate at Chef Mickey's early (8:30) this past October, and we felt all out of sorts... not in the park, not ready to eat a full meal, etc.. we tend to do better taking the brunch time slot-- my guys eat more too. Anyhow I am envious of those empty park pics! I might try to get one early one morning for this coming trip, WHO knows, and make them come!

We aren't usually big breakfast eaters either, but can do it if we've been up a couple of hours. That morning I got up at 6:15 and the boys were up by 6:45, so since we'd had a good 1 1/2 - 2 hours of time to wake up already we were good to go. Plus I really wanted to see what it was like to be in the park before everyone else!

We've also done the 10:00-10:30 brunch slots and those are great!

Great update as always!! I guess you rode it four times in a row!

Close.....

CP is the only restaurant I visited last time that we are making a repeat visit. I am not a big breakfast eater but have been very excited about the puffed french toast too. I didn't know they have an omelet station - now I'm really glad I am going back

I really think I liked the CP breakfast better than dinner, I think you'll be happy with it. Justin was pumped about the omelet station - little pig had TWO of them!! Don't ask me where he puts all the food he consumes, I wish had a metabolism half as fast as his!

 

[RachelNinja]

Based on what you guys were wearing that day, it looks like nice weather! Not too cold and not hot. I love Disney in cooler weather. Makes the waits much more bearable.

The Pooh characters with the scarves and hats are so cute! I think it'd be fun to be the person who gets to put up the Christmas decorations in the park.

I'm not a fan of french toast, but there's something about how people love those puffs that makes me really want to try them! It doesn't look at all like typical french toast; hehe, it looks like dessert!

Ooo, I'm curious to know how many times you rode BTMRR! I love Splash, but I don't know that I could ride it over and over again, but I could definitely do that for Thunder!

 

[Charleston Princess]

They do still have fun with the characters, but are growing past the age of really getting into them. Jared hasn't done an autograph book for the last two trips, Justin never wanted one. Plus they aren't nearly as willing to get in line to meet them anymore, if the line is really short they'll humor me. It really stinks that they are going up so fast.

My two are the same way. Forget waiting in a line, and they haven't done an autograph book for a couple of years, either. So sad. I loved it when they would get all excited and giddy over seeing one of their favorite characters.

 

[Spartangirl]

Great update! Love the family picture in front of the castle.......with NO ONE else around! I've thought about booking an early ressie at CP just for that reason!

Love Jared's Mickey Santa hat........too cute!

 

[shannon47142]

just joining in--love the report so far!! the parks look so awesome with the holiday decorations

 

[MeMom]

I was born in Oklahoma, but I'm a later, not a sooner to your report. I've just skimmed through the report and have quite enjoyed the pictures. You have some fine-looking boys!

I know you guys had a great time. We arrived on the 28th and met up with Wigd and crew the first night in DTD. Being back in Disney World, even if it was just DTD, made me a happy person very quickly. The Christmas decorations and music welcomed us back in such an exciting way.

I had the meatball sub at POFQ on arrival night of our October trip. I agree with your son. It was good, but sloppy!

Love the Animal Kingdom pictures.

I will do a better job at keeping up now. Thanks for the good report.

 

[gellybean]

Just caught up... again!


Congrats on your May Mother/Daughter trip!!!!

Wonderful family picture of you guys in front of the castle!!! Just makes me want to go at Christmas that much more!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I'm in mourning, my Viks just lost the NFC Championship Game They just gave the game away, 3 turnovers when they were in scoring position and 1 that gave the Saints the ball on like the 10 yard line

Only thing to make me feel a little bit better about it is that a former Sooner kicked the game winning field goal for the Saints - but I'm still NOT happy!!!!

OK, I'm done whining now.....

 

[SoonerGirl]

Based on what you guys were wearing that day, it looks like nice weather! Not too cold and not hot. I love Disney in cooler weather. Makes the waits much more bearable.

The Pooh characters with the scarves and hats are so cute! I think it'd be fun to be the person who gets to put up the Christmas decorations in the park.

I'm not a fan of french toast, but there's something about how people love those puffs that makes me really want to try them! It doesn't look at all like typical french toast; hehe, it looks like dessert!

Ooo, I'm curious to know how many times you rode BTMRR! I love Splash, but I don't know that I could ride it over and over again, but I could definitely do that for Thunder!

It was a little cool that day, but not bad at all. If it would have been about 10 degrees warmer it would have been perfect!

Regular french toast, ehhh, I can take it or leave it. The french toast puffs are more like a doughnut, so it kinda like a dessert

I'm not sure I could ride Splash over and over again either!

My two are the same way. Forget waiting in a line, and they haven't done an autograph book for a couple of years, either. So sad. I loved it when they would get all excited and giddy over seeing one of their favorite characters.

I hear ya! But the trips are still so much fun, they just get excited about other things. I have a hard time letting go of those little boys though that would wait forever to meet a character they loved!

Great update! Love the family picture in front of the castle.......with NO ONE else around! I've thought about booking an early ressie at CP just for that reason!

Love Jared's Mickey Santa hat........too cute!

The lure of an empty MK was my sole reason for booking the ADR (well that and maybe the desire to try those cinamony puffs of yumminess )

just joining in--love the report so far!! the parks look so awesome with the holiday decorations

Hi there and welcome!! Glad you are enjoying the report - thanks for reading!

I was born in Oklahoma, but I'm a later, not a sooner to your report. I've just skimmed through the report and have quite enjoyed the pictures. You have some fine-looking boys!

I know you guys had a great time. We arrived on the 28th and met up with Wigd and crew the first night in DTD. Being back in Disney World, even if it was just DTD, made me a happy person very quickly. The Christmas decorations and music welcomed us back in such an exciting way.

I had the meatball sub at POFQ on arrival night of our October trip. I agree with your son. It was good, but sloppy!

Love the Animal Kingdom pictures.

I will do a better job at keeping up now. Thanks for the good report.

Hi MeMom!! Thanks for coming over I clicked on the top report in your siggie the other day, but got intimidated by the 200+ pages I do plan on reading through it though as I have time.

I agree, it's hard not to have a good time at WDW during the holiday - everything is just so festive and wonderful!

Just caught up... again!


Congrats on your May Mother/Daughter trip!!!!

Wonderful family picture of you guys in front of the castle!!! Just makes me want to go at Christmas that much more!

Hey there gelly, glad you're back!! I went over and read through the start of your report earlier tonight - can't wait to hear all about your trip!

 

[kschafer]

I
We aren't usually big breakfast eaters either, but can do it if we've been up a couple of hours.

We've also done the 10:00-10:30 brunch slots and those are great!

I really think I liked the CP breakfast better than dinner, I think you'll be happy with it. Justin was pumped about the omelet station - little pig had TWO of them!!

I'm not a big breakfast eater either so I got a 10:20 ADR on an EMH morning. I figure after being in the park a couple hours, I'll be finally ready to eat (and like the idea of getting breakfast when we arrive but lunch toward the end). We did CP for lunch before so I'm looking forward to brunch!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Oh man, last night was a sad night in this house too. Poor Brett and the rest of the Vikes. They had it too. So close, yet so, so far away from the Super Bowl. This was supposed to be our year too! My son, wearing his Jared Allen jersey, cried after they lost. Poor kid.

Onto the TR, great update! I would be a little disappointed too that you weren't let into MK until right before your ADR. It would have been nice to walk around that empty Main Street a little bit.

Justin has the right idea about the omelets, yum! Now a CP breakfast is definitely going on my next time to-do list. I'm sorry you didn't get to see all of the characters though, bummer!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I'm not a big breakfast eater either so I got a 10:20 ADR on an EMH morning. I figure after being in the park a couple hours, I'll be finally ready to eat (and like the idea of getting breakfast when we arrive but lunch toward the end). We did CP for lunch before so I'm looking forward to brunch!

That sounds perfect!

Oh man, last night was a sad night in this house too. Poor Brett and the rest of the Vikes. They had it too. So close, yet so, so far away from the Super Bowl. This was supposed to be our year too! My son, wearing his Jared Allen jersey, cried after they lost. Poor kid.

Awwww, poor little guy - I wanted to cry too! I saw an interview with Adrian after the game and my heart was just breaking for him. It's doubtful that Favre will come back next season and so the Vikings will go back to being a really good team without a quarterback.

I'm the only true Viking fan in this house. Don has been a Cowboys fan his whole life and so the boys lean that way too, but they do root for my Vikes as well especially since Adrian Peterson got there (you know, the whole Sooner connection). But, Jared, the little traitor, told me last night at the end of the game that he was going to have to hope that Hartely made that field goal since he was a former OU player.

Oh well, I'm over it - really I am.......

Onto the TR, great update! I would be a little disappointed too that you weren't let into MK until right before your ADR. It would have been nice to walk around that empty Main Street a little bit.

Justin has the right idea about the omelets, yum! Now a CP breakfast is definitely going on my next time to-do list. I'm sorry you didn't get to see all of the characters though, bummer!

I think if I do an early ADR like that again that I'll try for just a bit later. They let everyone with breakfast ressies in at the same time, so if we had had just a few more minutes before we checked in it would have been perfect!

 

[SoonerGirl]

After finishing our breakfast, we stepped out onto Main Street and noticed that the masses were just beginning to be let into the park. So, we quickly walked over to get a couple more shots without all the people in them

Then we began our walk towards Frontierland. We had learned the morning before that almost everyone went to Space Mtn first, so we decided to head in the opposite direction.

Jared acting like a goofball playing with the bubbles coming out of the trashcan.

Of course we took some pictures along the way

The boys weren't too happy to be incarcerated

Soon we were ready to ride one of our family favorites, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!

We walked right on; the only wait was the time it took us to get from the entrance to the loading area. So when we got off, we walked right around and rode it again. I took a picture of the kids when we got off after the second ride. Gee, you think the sun was in Justin’s eyes??

And then, we rode again! This time there was a bit of a line, we had to wait a whole 3 minutes! Half of our crew wanted to ride a 4th time and half didn’t. The half that didn’t won. Can you guess which side I fell on? The boys wanted to ride Splash, but Don & I said no. I was not getting wet early in the morning on a chilly day! So instead we walked back over to Liberty Square and rode Haunted Mansion.

Next was the Hall of Presidents. We’ve never done this attraction and had made a point to see it this time.

After HoP we went into the gift shop and the boys tried on some hats. It was cute, they were so big that Jared’s kept falling down over his eyes. He put it on about 3 times before he finally got it to stay so that I could take the picture.

Next up was

I tried to take a picture of Jack at the end of the ride, but this was the best I could get.

When we came out the tutorial was going on, so we walked over to watch a bit of it. We had a spot close to the front, and after I had taken a few pictures

I stepped back so that Jared could get in front of me and be able to see. Well, as soon as I stepped back this full grown man jumped in front of me. Don made a comment that that was rude. And I said, plenty loud enough for him to hear, that I was just moving so that my kid could move closer and be able to see. But this guy wasn’t budging – he had seen his opening and he had taken it. Don was ticked, I could see it in his face that things were about to get ugly, so I just removed us from the situation. I told them we had seen it before, that it wasn’t a big deal and we should just move on. So, on we went.

To cheer everyone up we decided to stop and get a snack. Justin got an Itzakadoozie, Jared got frozen lemonade, I thought it was too cold for ice cream so Don & I got some cinnamon almonds to share. The boys enjoying their treats

And the yummy almonds

As we ate the boys were laughing at the ‘pickle’ tree above us

After we were finished with our snack we took a walk through the treehouse

Continued in the next post

 

[SoonerGirl]

After our tour through the treehouse, we went over towards Tomorrowland.

First we got a FP for Buzz, and then rode the Carousel of Progress. I know this attraction is dated, but I still love it and hope they continue to keep it around! After CoP we used our “free” FP from the day before to ride Space Mountain.

The boys were now starting to feel hungry so we went to Pinocchio Village Haus for lunch. They were sooooo crowded, it was crazy! They did have CMs all over the place though, making sure that people didn’t save tables while someone stood in line for 30 minutes, and also helping people find tables after they got their food. We were able to find one without too much trouble; we walked around for a minute or so and then saw a family getting up to leave. I had a pepperoni pizza and Justin & Jared both had chicken and fries. Don was still full from breakfast so he didn’t eat. (That’s why I’m overweight and he’s not….. ).

It was wall to wall people in Fantasyland, but it looked like there wasn’t too much of a wait for Philharmagic, so we decided to watch it. I love this Donald in the shop as you exit the theater

I took this picture of the castle as we made our way back over towards to Tomorrowland to use our Buzz FPs

We rode Buzz & all did terrible. Seriously, I don’t think our guns were working properly – I’ve never done as bad as I did this time! We did manage to get a picture of the boys with Zurg though. I’m sure soon they will be too big to squeeze through those bars, but for now they still fit!

I had really wanted to see the Christmas Parade, but my family is just not into parades, and by this point it was too late to find a decent spot anyway, so we went back across the park to Adventureland. Jungle Cruise was an hour wait, nope, not doin’ it. Pirates was out the door – nope, not doin’ that either. That left……….The Tiki Room.

The boys said ‘let’s do it’. I said, ‘we don’t like the Tiki Room, remember?’ They didn’t remember (they were 9 & 4 the last time we watched it), so we waited for the next show to start.

Afterwards they looked at me and said, ‘yeah, now I remember, its lame’. The boys wanted to go ride BTMRR again, regardless of the wait time. So Don took them to ride and I went off on my own to do a little shopping. I had seen some necklaces in the POTC shop that I wanted to get for the boys stockings in the room, and they had each seen something that they wanted in the shop in Liberty Square by the HoP. After I got my purchases in those two stores I walked through the Christmas shop, and then headed over to the Emporium. It was really crowded in there though and I couldn’t really do much shopping. I looked around a bit, but didn’t buy anything.

I walked over and took some pictures of the tree.

By this time Don & the boys had met up with me and we were all ready to sit for a little while. We bought some popcorn and drinks and walked up to the train station, found a table, and took a load off.

While we were up there we got to see the flag retreat. It starts off with part of the band coming up to the part of the train station platform that faces Main Street. One member who was playing the trumpet noticed that Don was video taping them as they came up the steps, he smiled and waved and mouthed 'I'm number 1' & he stuck his finger in the air. It was really pretty funny. They played America the Beautiful, then went back down the stairs, as they were leaving the guy gave Don a thumbs up.

The opening is followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The National Anthem is played while the flag is being lowered and the Dapper Dan's sing God Bless America during the folding of the flag. The ceremony ends with a medley of the military fight songs. This was the first time that we had seen the retreat and we thought it was very nicely done.

Coming Up: Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It & Cinderella's Wish

 

[princess&her4princes]

WOW, what an update! And what a great day at MK, you guys did a ton and sounds like you had a lot of fun! And snacks..yummo!! Those almonds looked delish!!! I know I said this before but you have such a beautiful faimly and you really got some nice pictures of the four of you!! Looking forward to hearing more!!

ps- hoping to get my DIS groove on soon too so I can finish my TR....so much to do, so little time!!!

 

[Happydog]

Wow!!! Those are wonderful updates!!! Great photos and sounds like you had a great time at the MK! Nice nice family photos... and it sounds like you got plenty of attractions in during the day! We really enjoyed HOP, did you all?

 

[Charleston Princess]

The red poinsettas and the Castle are such a pretty combination!

What a great day at the Magic Kingdom! Sounds like you got almost all of my favorites in!!!

Shopping by yourself is always nice!!!

 

[RachelNinja]

I think it's so cute that Disney would bother to put bubbles in a trash can! I mean, they could have easily just left it for garbage and no one would have known any better! Love the attention to the little details.

WOW! I think I need to follow your plan of attack and go somewhere other than Fantasyland/Tomorrowland! I'd love to do Thunder Mountain so many times in a row!

Every time someone watches the Pirate Tutorial and I see pictures of Jack, I always have to think about the person playing the character. I mean, it's one thing to be a princess with the sweet voice because it's imitating an animated character that really doesn't have many idiosyncrasies. But Jack? Wow, that takes some skill!

Boo for the made jumping in front of you! I love how you handled it though.

Mmm, those almonds look delish! Do you know if they're a year round thing?

As bad as the Tiki Room is, I'm really excited for DBF to experience it, I don't know why! Haha, it just seems like one of things that you have to do just so that you understand why everyone else has such issues with it!

That stuffed bear under the tree looks really comfortable. I could take a break from a day and nap on top of it!

 

[MHTeacher]

Great update---sounds like you all had a wonderful day at MK. We've never seen the flag retreat either. I'm sure DH would cry, because he gets choked up at all things patriotic.


Beautiful family photos. From being around middle-schoolers all day ( and having one at home), I love that Justin always looks like he's having fun in all the photos. He doesn't seem to "act like he's too cool" for family photos. That's a good thing!