The IOACentral Radio Family Christmas

[yaytezIOA]

IOACentral Radio...since I'm sure most of you dont venture over to the Universal side of the DIS.....is a weekly podcast devoted to all theme parks, but we concentrate mostly on Universal and Islands of Adventure. However, (before you go complaining and locking this topic)....we did make a trip to WDW for our "Very Disney Christmas Episode" which you can hear at http://myspace.com/ioacentralradio (its episode 14).
The family and I met up with co-host Matt and headed over to Epcot. I love Epcot...its my favorite of all parks simply for Christmas. We got to check out all the rides in Future World before heading over to World Showcase, including a fun spin on Test Track:

After that we headed on over to World Showcase for some Holidays around the World. We recorded Japan, France and Canada....only because we were on a schedule and had to get a few things for the show. We missed out on recording all the cool stuff from Mexico, Norway and Germany...but we did get a pretty good variety.

One of the coolest things we got to see was the gingerbread house in the American Adventure.....this things was unbelievable

Oh...and did I mention that Wonders of Life was open?

 

[yaytezIOA]

Pt 2:

Erik and Matt acting out a scene from their favorite movie Bill and Ted in the UK at Epcot

After rounding about the world...we stood in line and got on the monorail to MK. What a madhouse. Regis and Kelly had been there all day, we got to see them for a minute or two, also Andrea Bocelli(sp?) was there. It seems that what a little bird told us was right and we were witnessing the taping of the "Very Merry Christmas" parade for television. The 5 o clock parade was going to be the very same parade...instead of the usual parade.

Over all the parade was nice, but if this was truly the star of the "Very Merry Christmas PArty"....then I am very glad we didnt pay the extra to see it. It was all the same old stuff with Holiday overlays. It was getting late, and the crowds were unreal...so we had one more stop to make...and that was MGM.

 

[yaytezIOA]

Pt. 3:
We left MK and were debating on whether or not we should take the monorail back to Epcot and head over in our car to MGM or if we should just take the bus. We saw the lines for both the monorail and the ferry and said screw it. Bruce and his gang decided to go back to the disney parking lot and get their vehicle and meet us there..My wife had another idea.....
We hopped a hotel bus to one of the yacht clubs and then took a boat over to MGM...we made it there in 20 minutes.....It took Bruce and family over an hour to get there. Theres a hidden tip for you trip planners.
I was pleased by Epcot, and very disappointed and frustrated in MK...I was preparing for the worst when it came to MGM......boy was I wrong.

We decided to find a quiet place to wrap up the show so we hit the back of Herbie while the kids and wives chilled out

Overall it was a great trip. We had a blast, but we were glad to finally wrap it up and head for home.....we had to prepare the show for airing, and had to prepare for our next show which was going to send us to Cypress Gardens. Not much of a trip report I know...but I hope you enjoy the pics, and heres a short vid of the Dancing lights in case you missed it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osrgFasb_fY

Hope you listen to this episode of IOACentral Radio, and listen to the others as well...its a fun show...and as you can see we have fun doing it.