The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (Dec 5-11)

[rinkwide]

Since we already had an annual pass and had heard such positive things about the first week of December we decided to do a trip on the cheap with 6 nights in an OKW studio.

The notable...

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THE GOOD:

Disney's Old Key West Resort - Quiet, spacious, well staffed/cared for and a great value.

Illuminations Holiday Finale - They shoot so many shells up at one time it's hard for your brain to process it all. Simply breathtaking and not to be missed.

SSR Grand Villa - Stopped by for a quick look and we were blown away. It's true, you get what you pay for.

Earl of Sandwich at DD - A great meal value at WDW. (And they said it coudn't be done.)

Bringing your own sheets - Thanks to the suggestions of others on these boards we put our own fitted sheet on top of the existing one and then put the extra top sheet on top of the blanket. Wonderful.

Restaurant Marrakesh - Stopped in here on a whim. Try the couscous.

Mickey's Very Merry Xmas - Mickey's Christmas Carol Show, Holiday parade and delish cookies.

Bahama Breeze - Don't have these out West yet but had heard good things from other DISers so we tried it on the way back to the airport. Gotta' love that Aruba Red on draft.

Gingerbread House Decorating - Beach Club hosted this fun activity for the kids and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

THE BAD:

Disabled access room number 5010 at OKW - Don't get me started.

Holiday display at BWV - Sorry, but compared to Y&BC this looked like a 'half-baked' effort done by a bunch of grade-school kids not a pastry chef.

Mickey's (Not So) Merry Xmas Party - Crowded without anything truly special like the holiday overlays of Small World or Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. In my opinion a mediocre value at best.

Pre-teen Cheerleader Invasion - I'm so thankful to have only boys.

Crowds - Obviously one of you leaked that this is a nice time of year to go. Everyone sure seems to have caught on.

Jim Caviezel - In our performance, "Jesus" stumbled his way through the scripture readings of the Candlight Processional and then tacked on a plug for Mel Gibson's movie at the end. Unforgivable.

Flimsy Paper APs - Eh, what should I expect for $400?

THE UGLY:

Big Fake Trees - Appearantly it's impossible to have real Christmas trees in Florida. At Disneyland you can smell the tree from the castle. Dissapointing.

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The over-all impression we got was that early December is somewhat over-rated at WDW (and somewhat under-rated at the DLR) and we probably won't be going back at this time again. I think we'd do better to use our points at the Food & Wine Festival instead.

 

[kathleena]

Hi Rinkwide

Sounded like the goods were outweighing the others until I got to the end! Hope you had a great trip anyway!

I agree on the Earl of Sandwich. Delightful.

And I love Marrakesh

The BWV display - in my opinion - is detailed and delightful. I think it's hard to do people. But the mini carosel was up to the BC par and they also have a ferris wheel and roller coaster. I think those take talent.

Seems to be more crowded this year then when I went in 2002 and 1998.
Jim C gave the same plug for the movie when I was there - twice. I was disappointed with him - I thought he stumbled also. We were there on 12/6 at 8:15. I'll not be doing the CP again for a long time. We were an hour early in line and still got lousy seats. Most disappointing.

You would think they could give us a plastic AP? Good news is you can only pay $300 the next time for your paper.

Fake tree in my living room and I live in Maine.

 

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

Thanks for sharing!!!

Allison aka Ms. Sparrow

 

[DebbieB]

We saw Jim Caviezel on 12/6 at 6:45. I was shocked too when he added the line "as you saw in Passion of the Christ....." in the middle of the One Solitary Life reading! We've seen CP many times over the years with different moderators, he was fairly good compared to most. Most of the moderators aren't public speakers. As for the package, we got better seats when we saw it standby on Thursday night with Marlee Matlin. I think we'll pass on the package next year unless there is somebody big we want to see.

The cheerleaders were a little bit of a nuisance. I sat in front of a group on ToT, this one girl screamed at the top of her lungs the whole time, from the moment the doors closed. Even one of her friends said "nothing is happening yet". She went hysterical when the car moved across the floor. Then they invaded Planet Hollywood on Wednesday night. "Hey Mickey" came on the speakers as we were leaving and they were all chanting along to it loudly.

 

[Simba's Girl]

I totally agree!

& Thanks for reminding me about the sheets! The whole week I was saying to myself...so *that's* why they (other Disers) bring thier own fitted sheets!

Heather

 

[JerJan]

Can someone PLEASE explain to me the deal with the sheets? I haven't heard about this and upcoming trip to SSR 1 bedroom is 01/19/05 to 01/27/05. If we need to bring sheets, why and what size? Thanks.

 

[Sammie]

Can someone PLEASE explain to me the deal with the sheets? I haven't heard about this and upcoming trip to SSR 1 bedroom is 01/19/05 to 01/27/05. If we need to bring sheets, why and what size? Thanks.

Disney does not use fitted sheets, so many DVCers bring their own to make their bedding more enjoyable. Just remember on Housekeeping day to take your own personal off and put them in the wash as your bed is being made or your personal sheets will be carried out with the laundry.

In a one bedroom the Master Bedroom has a King Bed.

 

[goldilocks_63]

We're going this Friday, and this was DD favorite.

Do you know when they have this, and if it'll be still going on when we get there? Dec 17 - 24th.

Goldi

 

[donald...really]

When I worked at WDW back in the early 80's they did have a real tree in the MK (actually, they used three real trees to create one really BIG tree). You could smell it all around Town Square. I guess with 4 parks and over 20 hotels using GIANT trees, it is easier and less costly to use fake ones. It is also probably better for the environment.

 

[Pinnie]

We just got back today from 1 night at POFQ and 3 at the BCVs. I will write my own trip report later this week but I agree with the OP about Earl of Sandwich.....it's worth the trip in and of itself.

We were at the CP on Friday night with Marilee Matlin...WOW....it was awesome. Her interpreter was wonderful. Kuddos to Disney for having her.

BCVs decorations were kind of lame this year. This is our third year at BCVs and they seem to be trimming the trimmings. The gingerbread house that used to be in the entryway is now gone. There were burnt out lightbulbs on the tables by the main elevator on the 2ond floor the whole time we were there.

MVMCP no longer gives out the commemorative buttons with the year. Instead we got cheap postcards. What's up with that?

More later.....<Sigh> real life is taking hold

pinnie

 

[Cruelladeville]

We always do the CP on Christmas 24-26th and always get Gary Sinise as the moderator, and he's wonderful. It's become a Christmas tradition for us, and apparently for Mr. Sinise, too, since he will be back this year, his 4th year in a row, even with a TV show to film. Lucky us!

 

[MJTinNH]

Thanks for the detailed report. I am thinking of trying for an early December trip in the future. From all the reports I have been reading, I will not expect the smaller crowds that were reported in years past.

 

[MiaSRN62]

apparently for Mr. Sinise, too, since he will be back this year, his 4th year in a row

Just to add.....we had him as the CP moderator in Dec '98. So he's been doing this for even longer than 4 years. We agree....he was terrific.
Thanks for the report Rinkwide.

 

[lenshanem]

I like fake trees.

No, really.


Now I have a fellow DISer who understands how much 5010 at OKW stinks!

Sounds like a good trip overall. Thanks for sharing!

Here's some cheers for ya! (Just kidding!)

 

[robinb]

Now I have a fellow DISer who understands how much 5010 at OKW stinks!

OK, now I'm curious. What makes 5010 "special"?

 

[Tigger031266]

Nice Format!!

Thanks

 

[poohj80]

We took the Backstage Magic tour in September which included touring the Christmas Decorations warehouse at WDW. If you saw all the decorations one team of about 20 people put up to get the World ready for the holidays you might understand why the trees are not real. By using fake trees, the trees can stay decorated all year long and just reassembled the following year. I can imagine this couldn't happen overnight if each tree had to be decorated from scratch every year.

 

[laceemouse]

Rink, thank you for the great report! I guess it would be hard to have real trees, but I agree with you that there is nothing like the smell of a real evergreen. About the teenage girl thing, I have a 13 year old "anti-girl" who would not even be caught dead speaking to a cheerleader, and she is no piece of cake to raise either believe me LOL!!! My DS9 is pretty difficult too though. We plan to go next year AT Christmas and no way do we expect small crowds. I thought MNSSHP was pretty packed in October. Have a great Holiday at home

 

[DisneyDVClover]

Good report even if we don't agree on some of it 100% we just love Disney World the first 2 weeks of Dec. MVMCP was great the first time we saw it the second time it was still good but I would save the money and not do it a second time if anyone is thinking of it.

 

[poohj80]

MVMCP was great the first time we saw it the second time it was still good but I would save the money and not do it a second time if anyone is thinking of it.

I have to disagree. We did MVMCP twice in one year and enjoyed it both times and they were completely different experiences. It was much colder the second night than the first so it felt more like the holiday season which added to our experience.