There's no place like "home" for the holidays...*updated 3/18 p. 43 and 44*

[tinkerbell87512]

Ugh, I had to go into jury duty until yesterday when I was only supposed to have it Mon. and Tuesday (of course I would be a lucky one to actually get put on a jury... ) But it's over now, thank goodness.

I can't wait to hear what you think of the AI show. I know we're all excited to try it. I love AI too...what do you think of the top 12 so far?

Ugh that stinks about the Jury duty. Glad it's over for you now though.

I'm real excited to see the AI show. Are you guys going to try out next time you go? Not me! I would rather just watch it. lol I like the top 12 (well top 6) right now. I like Danny and my favorite right now is Adam! He was so good last week. Who's your favorite so far?

It's so sad when it's your last full day. I always hate that day. You want to have fun but the day just seems to fly when you do. The faster the day goes...the faster your departure comes.

I'm like you I can't bring myself to ride Mission Space. I always tell myself that I'm going to but it never happens.

Thanks for the cool info on the fountain. I always thought it flowed up!

 

[xoktenox]

Awww sounds like you guys had a great last morning in Epcot, sounds like you got a lot done in not a lot of time even though the Christmas crowds were beginning. Thanks for the info about the fountain, thats pretty cool how our minds and eyes play tricks on us!

 

[Jennifer48]

Don't feel bad about M:S. I went back when there was only one ride and it freaked me out enough that I won't even try the chicken side now!

I don't like when TRs come to an end

 

[irky416]

to the snake!!!

Sounds like you're having a good morning so far! I don't think I will ever ride Mission:Space again.

I like SSE also. I thought the personalization was cute!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Ugh that stinks about the Jury duty. Glad it's over for you now though.

I'm real excited to see the AI show. Are you guys going to try out next time you go? Not me! I would rather just watch it. lol I like the top 12 (well top 6) right now. I like Danny and my favorite right now is Adam! He was so good last week. Who's your favorite so far?

It's so sad when it's your last full day. I always hate that day. You want to have fun but the day just seems to fly when you do. The faster the day goes...the faster your departure comes.

I'm like you I can't bring myself to ride Mission Space. I always tell myself that I'm going to but it never happens.

Thanks for the cool info on the fountain. I always thought it flowed up!

Yeah, atleast I am free of jury duty for atleast 4 years now!

There is no way I could ever try out for the AI show...I cannot sing (though I wish I could!). As for my favorite I have to go with Danny since he's from around here. I actually just found out that my friend's husband was friends with him. I also like Kris. I was so surprised he made it!

I definitely agree with what you said about the last day. It goes by way too fast and then it's time to pack up and go home.

I'm glad I'm not the only one afraid of M:S!

I am not 100% sure about the fountain, I could've sworn that's what I read. I think it was in the Epcot Imagineer's Field Guide...I should go look it up to verify that, I don't want to be giving out false information! haha

Awww sounds like you guys had a great last morning in Epcot, sounds like you got a lot done in not a lot of time even though the Christmas crowds were beginning. Thanks for the info about the fountain, thats pretty cool how our minds and eyes play tricks on us!

We did have a good morning despite the pick-up in crowds. Luckily they were not bad the rest of the trip.

Don't feel bad about M:S. I went back when there was only one ride and it freaked me out enough that I won't even try the chicken side now!

I don't like when TRs come to an end

haha, I don't think I could even get on the chicken side! Though my dad and sisters claim it's "not that bad." Yeah right...

Me neither...

to the snake!!!

Sounds like you're having a good morning so far! I don't think I will ever ride Mission:Space again.

I like SSE also. I thought the personalization was cute!

I know, that was such a crazy story!

Atleast you can say you've been on it before, and for that you're much braver than I am.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Saturday, December 20, 2008 cont'd (part 2)

First off, I want to give some clarification on that fountain by the Imagination pavilion. I did end up looking in my Epcot field guide and it says that the fountain "tries to play with your senses by flowing up rather than down." So I guess it really does flow up! My bad. But I think it flows up AND down. haha

Anyways, I left off right as we were about to head over to World Showcase. Our main reason for visiting WS was to find a little something to bring home for mom. We did pick up a couple of pins for Claire and a Tinkerbell pin for Mom earlier, but she really likes the countries so we thought we'd find something else there. We started off in Canada since that's one of Mom's favorites.

I had to have my picture taken by this little Christmas tree. It's the little "stage" for the storyteller. Cute, huh?

I saw these adorable stuffed moose (mooses?!).

I was tempted to get that for myself but decided I didn't need it. Neither did Mom. There were some other cute things but nothing that we thought Mom might like. So it was time to move to the next country. Before heading over to the United Kingdom Emma took a couple more pictures of the pavilion. I'd love to visit Canada for real some day (especially with the Winter Olympics there next year!).

Next up was the United Kingdom, another one of Mom's favorites.

We went into the tea shop and knew that something from there would be a good possibility. But we decided to keep looking...we could always come back on the way out of the park.

As we continued around the world, we found ourselves in France.

We saw that Pere Noel (Father Christmas) was out telling his story. Unfortunately we didn't really stop to listen but I did get a pretty neat picture of him!

If I ever go again around the holidays I'll have to take some time to hear all the different Christmas stories. Anyways, we stopped in the shop in France to see if there was anything exciting. Mom did mention that she wanted a bigger version of those Eiffel Tower statues. We found the statues but weren't sure how we'd get it home so we decided not to get it. Instead we just continued on our way.

We didn't stop in any more stores until we arrived in Germany. There we went into the Christmas store thinking we could find a nice ornament for Mom. Emma and I did find a bunch of cute ones. We had one all picked out but then we started worrying about it breaking on the way home. Instead we finally decided to just call home and see what she would like. Mom told us the type of tea she liked so we headed back toward the United Kingdom. There we found the tea as well as some tea biscuits. Finally we had the perfect treats. With gifts in hand, we called it a day and walked back to the Beach Club to get ready for our dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe!

 

[irky416]

Nice pictures from the WS! The moose(s) are cute!

 

[xoktenox]

Awww glad that you guys found something good for your mom that she really likes and will use! I'm sure she was happy with her gift.

Great pictures around World Showcase too, what kind of camera do you have?

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

I'm enjoying your trip report. I can't believe it's almost over, though. I think we need to plan a new trip to write about.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I'm so glad you were able to find something for your Mom! I love your pictures, they are Holiday-ish!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Nice pictures from the WS! The moose(s) are cute!

Thanks!

Awww glad that you guys found something good for your mom that she really likes and will use! I'm sure she was happy with her gift.

Great pictures around World Showcase too, what kind of camera do you have?

Yeah, she did like her gifts.

Thanks for the compliment on the pictures...my camera is a Kodak Z710. It's got 7 megapixels and a 10x zoom (hence the name 710, haha!). It's a little bit bigger than some digital cameras but it's no SLR either. I still love it though.

I'm enjoying your trip report. I can't believe it's almost over, though. I think we need to plan a new trip to write about.

I know, we so do need to plan another trip so we can get to the American Idol show!

I'm so glad you were able to find something for your Mom! I love your pictures, they are Holiday-ish!

Glad you liked the pictures!

 

[Michelle_and_Aaron]

Ooh! I have been waiting months for your WCC review! I am so excited it is almost here and I hope it was as fun for you guys as it looked on youtube. Oh, and I agree with your sister, you need to plan another trip so that you can start your pretrippiy as soon as this is over!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Ooh! I have been waiting months for your WCC review! I am so excited it is almost here and I hope it was as fun for you guys as it looked on youtube. Oh, and I agree with your sister, you need to plan another trip so that you can start your pretrippiy as soon as this is over!

We are off to New York today but I promise when we get back this weekend I will try to finish up this report. I've been such a slacker lately. But I can't wait to tell you how our trip ended.

As for a new trip...Emma and I were jokingly talking about going over the summer. We found out that we actually might be able to go (at some of the other DVC resorts!!!)then and if we do decide to we have to make a decision soon. So definitely stay tuned, who knows what is in the works!

 

[kaysmommie]

I love your Epcot pictures. Looks beautiful during the holidays even in the daytime! Sorry about Jury Duty but at least they will be bothering you for a while. I haven't done it since 1999 but it was kind of fun because the case we had was nothing really serious or anything.

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

We are off to New York today but I promise when we get back this weekend I will try to finish up this report. I've been such a slacker lately. But I can't wait to tell you how our trip ended.

As for a new trip...Emma and I were jokingly talking about going over the summer. We found out that we actually might be able to go (at some of the other DVC resorts!!!)then and if we do decide to we have to make a decision soon. So definitely stay tuned, who knows what is in the works!

Hi Sarah!

I was sure I'd posted before now - but apparently not! Great updates and photos, can't wait to hear about WCC, hope you had as much as we did!

Enjoy New Yoick! My 2nd favourite place after WDW!

And I'm so jealous you might be going back this summer .

Di x

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

We are off to New York today but I promise when we get back this weekend I will try to finish up this report. I've been such a slacker lately. But I can't wait to tell you how our trip ended.

As for a new trip...Emma and I were jokingly talking about going over the summer. We found out that we actually might be able to go (at some of the other DVC resorts!!!)then and if we do decide to we have to make a decision soon. So definitely stay tuned, who knows what is in the works!

Hi Sarah!

I was sure I'd posted before now - but apparently not! Great updates and photos, can't wait to hear about WCC, hope you had as much as we did!

Enjoy New Yoick! My 2nd favourite place after WDW!

And I'm so jealous you might be going back this summer .

Di x

 

[wdwgirl03]

I love your Epcot pictures. Looks beautiful during the holidays even in the daytime! Sorry about Jury Duty but at least they will be bothering you for a while. I haven't done it since 1999 but it was kind of fun because the case we had was nothing really serious or anything.

Thanks! The holiday decorations were really neat. The case that I was on was very interesting. It took us forever to deliberate though since there were 9 charges. Though I guess I was lucky because there were some really big trials coming up that supposedly could've gone more than a week.

Hi Sarah!

I was sure I'd posted before now - but apparently not! Great updates and photos, can't wait to hear about WCC, hope you had as much as we did!

Enjoy New Yoick! My 2nd favourite place after WDW!

And I'm so jealous you might be going back this summer .

Di x

Hey there!

I promise the WCC update will be coming soon!

We just got back from NYC today and it was a lot of fun! Maybe I'll have to post some of the pictures from there.

haha, yeah, I never thought I'd ever even consider going during the summer but we have been talking...like I said, stay tuned to see what may be in store!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Saturday, December 20, 2008 cont'd (part 3)

After a short break at the hotel it was almost time for our dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe! We walked over to the bus stop and waited for one of the Magic Kingdom buses. From there we'd head over to the Wilderness Lodge. On our trip last December (in 2007) Dad and I went over to the WL because I had always wanted to see what it was like there. I was excited to be going back. It's such a neat resort! As soon as we walked into the lobby we were greeted by another soaring Christmas tree.

There were of course lots of other Christmas decorations around the lobby too.

I thought these bears were really cute!

Since we still had a few minutes before our ADR time we decided to go outside and explore. The last time we visited it was dark out so I didn't get to see what it looked like but let me tell you, it was just as beautiful outside. Have you ever seen that Great Hotels episode where Samantha Brown is at at the Wilderness Lodge? She made a comment about how you don't even feel like you're in Florida. I couldn't agree with that more! All the pine trees and other plants make you feel like you're in some national park. So pretty!

Needless to say Emma and I both got a little photo-happy. I'm sure you all won't mind the pictures though...

I think we both decided that the Wilderness Lodge is the next resort we want to stay at! We just loved it.

When we went back inside we walked over to the restaurant to check in. We had to wait a couple minutes so Emma and I kept busy by building a house out of the Lincoln Logs they had there for kids (luckily there weren't any other kids waiting at the time...) Then our waitress came to greet us with a big "HOWDY!" and took us to our table. Since our reservation was pretty early it wasn't too busy there. We ordered our drinks and were also given a basket of corn bread to munch on. It was very good! Then the waitress brought us our drinks, served in glass jars!

We also ordered our dinners. We know that the skillet or whatever it's called is really popular but we just decided to order our own meal instead. Emma and I both got the chicken and I think Dad got the ribs. As we were waiting we got to experience some of the WCC fun. Mainly the whole ketchup thing. Whenever someone needed ketchup, one of the CMs would direct a family to deliver all the bottles to another table. It was actually quite funny. Their motto was something like "use it then lose it." haha! After a while, there was a guy seated near us who had obviously been to WCC before because he literally screamed that he needed ketchup. It was hilarious. Here's all he got:

As for our food, it was really good! The portions were huge as well. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures but we all enjoyed the dinner. Emma and I couldn't finish all that chicken though...we think we each got half a chicken, it was so much! But even though we were full we had to get dessert. I really wanted cheesecake so we got the smores cheesecake to split. Again, it was very good. So overall we had a good experience there. And they were really snappy too, I think we were in and out in 45 minutes.

On the way out we took a few more pictures. Love this sign outside the restaurant.

We also stopped in the store to look around.

Then we went to get a bus for our last night at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[irky416]

The Wilderness Lodge looks awesome!

Glad you had fun at WCC. I would like to try that out someday.

How was your trip to NYC? You should definitely post some pictures!

 

[TigerKat]

WL is the only resort we haven't visited. We need to remedy that on our next trip.