Girlbomb and ppan77 -
I've been to the World twice pregnant and those spicy cheese pretzels are exactly what I was thinking! They can be found at the Lunching Pad (outdoor counter service) in Tomorrowland and at Scuttle's Landing across from Ariel's Grotto in Fantasyland. If spicy isn't your thing, they also have sweet cream cheese pretzels. I also love the chocolate chip cookies at Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square. And finally, I craved sweet ice tea and you can find it at Columbia Harbour House also in Liberty Square.
And girlsbomb- maybe a few more pictures or something you forgot to tell us... I don't want you to be done!
Just2DisneyKids, thanks for the info, and for the good vibes. Back at you!
That is easily one of the best trip reports I've ever read! Thank you SO SO much for putting all the time in and sharing such an awesome trip with all of us. DH and I leave in 2 days for our trip (no kids for us either) and I love that we're not the only ones who can totally appriciate all the little stuff--like the little girl in the wheelchair, or being goofy on the speedway.
And now, I need to go find your books!
Bekkiz, I'm honored. There are so many great TRs on this board -- I love reading them! I hope you and your DH will have a wonderful trip, and that you'll come back and tell us all about it.
As for us
Shmoopy DINKs -- well, it’s three weeks later, and I’m sitting here at my desk, thinking about how to wrap up this trip report. “You’re done with the report,” said Bill this morning. “I’m sad.”
I know how he feels. This trippie has been tremendously fun for me to write, and therapeutic, too. It’s allowed me to relive our amazing vacation for the past three weeks. Now that it’s over, I’ll have to go back to my “real” writing – which I love, don’t get me wrong, but still. It means the 2007 Samantha Dunleavy Memorial Christmas Trip is really over.
Waaaaaah!
As I said above, we were originally thinking of skipping our 2008 trip, since Space Mountain will be down, and we could probably stand to use our time and money to see another corner of the world for a change. But I think we were on Day Three of our trip when we realized that there was no way we were waiting until December of 2009 to come back. Still, nothing was said explicitly about our return to Disney until we got home.
We were downloading the pictures and reviewing them together, sighing over all the happy moments captured in images, remembering the happy moments that weren’t.
“I can’t wait two years,” I said.
“I can’t wait two
days,” said Bill. “When are we going back?”
We got back from Disney World on Sunday the 16th. On Friday the 21st, we loaded up the website and made our December 2008 reservations. Five days – that’s how long we lasted before caving in and making ressies!
We’ll be there from Friday, December 5 through Sunday, December 14. Contemporary, baby – MK view. Only ten months and twenty-nine days until we’re back in the World!
In the meantime, here are some final thoughts on our third and best trip yet:
1. THANK YOU, DISers. Reading your trip reports prepared me for this vacation better than any guidebook ever could. Seeing Disney World through the eyes of knowledgeable enthusiasts turned me on to so many things we never would have tried otherwise, from great restaurants, to the amazing Adventurer’s Club, to the beautiful Boardwalk (which didn’t even get its due this trip – oh well, next year!). You advised me to slow down and take in the details; you warned me to get parade spots well in advance; you showed me the best place to watch Wishes. Every time I saw a lime green Mickey head on someone’s person, I wanted to stop and smooch them (I refrained, but it wasn’t easy). The DIS has enhanced my already sky-high level of enjoyment of Disney World, not only while we’re there, but in the long months between trips. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
2. Oh my god, the food. We were already fans of the California Grill, Crystal Palace, and Biergarten, but now we’re huge fans of Boma, Kona, and Le Cellier, too. I was raving about the food to a friend last night – “Really?” she asked, surprised. “I thought it was all fried food and hot dogs.” Silly girl! We have some of the best restaurants imaginable available to us here in the city, and we take advantage of them as often as we can. Still, some of the meals we had at Disney were incredible treats. We can’t wait to go back and try more of the DIS recommendations – we’re even thinking of trying Victoria and Albert’s!
3. Highlights of the trip: The Segway tour. The Adventurer’s Club. Watching Bill play Scrooge with the World Showcase Players. Crying my eyes out at the dance party at
MVMCP. Riding Expedition Everest after sunset. Watching Finding Nemo. Being gifted with FPs for Soarin’ on our last night at Epcot. Whooping it up on the Tower of Terror. Riding in the front of the monorail with a little girl and her father, who obviously adored each other; seeing them a few times around the parks after that. Watching Wishes from the deck outside the California Grill. Waking up and seeing the MK from our window. Every single ride on Space Mountain. Walking around Epcot saying, “How did we never ‘get’ this park before?” Laughing my butt off on the Tomorrowland Speedway. And yeah, sitting in that gazebo by the rose garden at the MK on our last day, just letting it all soak in.
4. Lowlights of the trip: Seriously? None. There were three times that I got crabby, and a few times that I fell asleep. The food at Chefs de France and Sci-Fi Dine-In was mediocre. But other than that, none. It was a brilliant, beautiful trip, and I will always treasure the memories.
5. What we’d do the same:
a) PLAN. Plan, plan, plan, and plan. It’s fun to do in advance of your trip, and it serves you so well when you get there. Even when you abandon the plan, as we did a few times, it’s so much better to have it than to do without it. No worries over where to eat when you’re hungry; no regrets that you might have missed something. PLAN.
b) Take cabs when we’re really beat, or in a rush – we may have spent an extra $100 on cabs this trip, but it made a huge difference in our peace of mind and energy levels. I know not everyone can afford to do this; I wish everyone could. But even if you only do it once when you really need to, it can be a real lifesaver.
c) Drink Emergen-C every morning – maybe it was just a placebo, but neither of us got sick, and that’s good enough for us.
d) Remember the names of the great CMs we met so we could email Disney and commend them. It's part of the fun to write that email (just sent it off last week), and Corporate Offices always calls us to thank us for our feedback!
e) Make ADRs for many of the great places we enjoyed this time; make reservations for tours and special events.
f) Build in time to relax, sit on a bench, and soak it all in. Even better if this time is spent staking a good spot for shows and parades.
g) Make that vow to stay grateful and happy and full of wonder, not to take things for granted. It served me so well this year.
h) Take notes for a trip report. No trip will be complete without a report!
6. What we’ll do differently:
a) I’ve obviously got to give myself a little more rest. It’s hard to think about leaving the parks midday, or getting up later and missing rope drop, but something’s got to give. I can’t be falling asleep every time I’m in a dark room – I might miss Philharmagic that way!
b) Next year, we’re doing MVMCP again, and I am going to DANCE! I don’t care if I’m too old, too dorky, or whatever. I’m dancing!
c) I won’t take it so hard if I make “a mistake,” or one of the plans doesn’t go off as we’d thought it would. Whatever happens, we’re in Disney – how bad can it be?
d) Um…that’s it. We wouldn’t do anything else differently. It was that great!
So thanks again, wonderful DISers, for all the advice, companionship, and encouragement throughout this trip report writing process. Your comments have been immensely gratifying. You’ll find me lurking around the TPAS forum, and on many of the action-packed TRs right here; please feel free to post or PM me if there are any questions I can answer or suggestions I can make. See you around the DIS!
