Tim(minus)Lesley's Guy's Only Trip to Disapalooza Day 3! DISAPALOOZA! pg.9 2/6

[timandlesley]

Hello everyone!!! For those of you who have followed the timandlesley crew over the years, you know we have me (Tim), my wife (Lesley) and our two beautiful children (Luke and Lauren) in our family. Well….. this trip report will be a little different. Lesley is a special education teacher and used up all of her personal days for our October Trip (which was AWESOME, if you haven’t read it, link is in our signature). So…….. when the opportunity to go to Disapalooza crossed my path (I was given free admittance because I was a beta tester for the new Dis iPhone application) Lesley and I decided it was an opportunity that couldn’t be passed up and I was going to go. I didn’t want to go by myself so Lesley came up with the idea to call Bryan (dddisrunner’s husband) and see if he could go. Well, he could, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to head to Disney for the THIRD time this year and experience all this Christmas season had to offer at the parks.
Away we go……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

DAY 1
The alarm went off at 5:00 am and I jumped out of the bed and was dressed and ready to go in a matter of minutes. Disney was calling my name, and I could hear it! The night before I had already packed my bags and all I needed to do was pack up my laptop and I was ready to depart for the airport.

Here is a pic of me the night before and a self pic this very early morning(OF COURSE the day before I left a huge cold sore appeared on my face, oh well):

I drove 45 minutes to the airport in Dayton where I was flying with Airtran, boy did I miss Southwest this time. Airtran didn’t do a bad job, but the bags weren’t free, and the staff was just not that friendly.

Anyway, we left Dayton at 8:00 am and by 10:00 am I was Landing safely in Orlando, boy was I a happy boy.
Flying alone was lonely at times, but when I got off the plane without kids, I was out the door and on the tram in seconds. Here are some Disney ads to get me in the spirit:

Walking through the airport I snapped this picture:

I took the elevator ride downstairs and I headed to Magical Express. Here are some of my favorite pics each trip:

I was quickly loaded on the bus and we were off in no time. I was so excited to get Saratoga Springs Resort and check in I could barely contain myself. Bryan was already there and I was going to meet him at the Magic Kingdom after checking in at SSR. I almost stood up on the bus and yelled, “drive faster, for the love of God!!!!” But, I remained calm and snapped a few more photos.

Before I knew it I was seeing this, I was home:

There is no feeling like going through those gates and knowing your life will never be the same.

After one stop at Old Key West we had finally arrived.

The lobby was beautiful while checking in:

After checking in I headed to the bus stop at the Springs to catch a bus to The Magic Kingdom.

The bus finally arrived and I was on my way to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with Bryan. After hopping off the bus I snapped some of the pics while heading in to the park.

I saw no line here and hopped in to get my photo taken:

I finally met up with Bryan and he was really hungry after riding Space Mountain 5 TIMES!! So we headed over to Cosmic Rays and took a few minutes for lunch.

After lunch we decided to try Buzz Lightyear out, and with luck there was only a 5 minute wait. Bryan destroyed me and the pics I too of the score did not come out, I swear!!!

After Buzz we thought we would walk around the park and take in some of the decorations before heading to SSR and getting ready for dinner. To our surprise we stumbled upon this great parade.

 

[timandlesley]

The parade ended and we walked down Main Street USA snapping pictures and taking in the great Christmas atmosphere.
Bryan and I shopped in some of the stores and took some fun shots of the decorations for our wives that we had left at home.

We grabbed the bus back to SSR and headed to the room to get ready for our big night (we ended up with a great location in the Grand Stand section). When I opened the door I was excited to see that my luggage was there. Bryan and I showered (not together) and we were set.

Here we are messing around at the bus stop:

The bus for EPCOT arrived just in time so we could make it on time for dinner at Biergarten. We got there in plenty of time and anxiously made our way to the front gates.

On the way back to the World Showcase we saw these great Christmas decorations.

Being the nice guy he is, Bryan had booked us for dinner at Biergarten with the Candlelight Processional package. But, in typical Disney Dining fashion when standing in a very LONG line, Bryan had tried to check us in and they said we don’t have your reservation. Bryan explained that he had reserved the dinner with a credit card and had a confirmation number, but they said they had no access to the Disney Dining system and the confirmation number didn’t even matter. (What's the point of the confirmation!!)

Thankfully they said that this happened all the time and they got us in within 5 minutes. Here are some pics while waiting to go in and while we were seated.

Biergarten is very festive inside and decorated to a tee like everything else in Disney. We were seated at a table for 8 people and had dinner with a family of 4 and mom and daughter. Even though we were in close proximity we were still able to enjoy a nice dinner.

We both order a nice sized beer and we were off to the buffet. The only complaint I have is that they do not have any order when comes to the line for the buffet. People were wrapped around everywhere and cutting in and out of the line and it took almost 15 minutes to get through the line. In fact, it was so long we never went back for seconds…ahh!!!!

Here is my plate after my first and only trip:

 

[timandlesley]

Here are a few more pictures from inside during dinner:

Dinner was great, and we enjoyed some fun entertainment from the performers there. The waitress gave us our tickets for the Candlelight Processional and we headed out to get in line.

Now let me give you an idea about the weather. When I left Cincinnati that morning it was 0 degrees outside, and when I arrived it was overcast and kind of chilly in Orlando. So when I prepared for the night at EPCOT I wore a long sleeved t-shirt with another shirt on top thinking I would be plenty warm, well I was WRONG!!!! So outside it was dark at 6:00 pm and cold, windy, and rain was on its way. I was freezing at Disney World, SERIOUSLY, c’mon!! But Bryan, being the smart *** from New Jersey, constantly reminded me how warm he was in his nice Disney fleece. What a good friend!

So, we went and looked at the stand by line there was over 200 plus people just hoping to get in. Thank God we had tickets and didn’t have to wait in line for that, but we had a whole other line for us. The line started at the outdoor theatre and stretched all the way down to Morocco. We waited until they we were letting people in to be seated and by that time I froze. Finally the line began to move and we grabbed a great seat and waited for the show to begin.

Andy Garcia was the narrator for the evening and he did an amazing job. The live orchestra sounded terrific, the choir was unreal, and the voices of liberty were awesome! I literally had chills sitting there listening to the beautiful Christmas music. With all the companies being so politically correct with the holidays, I was sitting in Disney hearing them read from the bible, singing classic Christian Christmas carols and no one was trying to silence them. What a great experience!

Here are some pictures I took during the show:

After the show we left and met up with the 100 + people from the DIS doing the Drink Around The World. Amy Leonard had been texting Lesley and telling us to meet up with them. So after many texts and phone calls I found Amy and her husband Jimmy and we joined the mob and starting walking around drinking are way through the World Showcase.

Here is a pic of Amy and Jimmy, they were super sweet and a lot of fun:

We got together with part of the crowd from the DIS and had a picture taken by a Photopass photographer.

I was very excited when I caught up and got to meet Teresa from the DISunplugged Podcast. She was so nice, and made me feel like I had known her for years. Here we are together:

Now Bryan is a huge Disney fan, but his wife Diane has always been the one on the boards and listened to the Dis podcast. So, when I thought I would have to drag him around to meet all these people he had never heard of before he may hate it. But, it was just the opposite. He jumped right in there and met them all and had a great time.

After meeting Teresa, we were introduced to Corey from the DIS and the Podcast and waited in line with him while trying to ride Maelstrom. He couldn’t have been any nicer and it was a pleasure to meet him and everyone else from the DIS that night.

After leaving Maelstrom, we came out just in time to see Illuminations. Here are some pics:

Lesley had told me that there was a special holiday ending to Illuminations and it did not disappoint.
Check out my video, click on it to play:


After Illuminations, we said goodnight to all the new friends we had met that night and headed for the buses. We made it back to SSR exhausted, and so excited about the awesome night we had. We quickly jumped into bed (not together) and were dead asleep.

Day 2 Part 1, click here:http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2362085&page=3

 

[Trentmom]

Am I first?



WOO HOO

Back to read now

 

[dddisrunner]

OK...let's try this again! WOW! I am surprised that you let Bryan back into the room that 1st night at Saratoga. He didn't wait for you at the airport or Saratoga! He rode Space Mountain 5 times without you and then rubbed it in how warm he was in his fleece....NICE GUY! Seriously, it looked like a BLAST and I love your AWARD WINNING smiles!!!!! Looking forward to more!

 

[Trentmom]

Love all your pics. You did a great job taking a lot so Lesley and Diane could see.

Looks like you and Bryan were having a great time

Loved that video.....was amazing

 

[Jeanine3kids]

Tim u had me cracking up with your comments of not together about the shower and bed I was laughing so hard my husband was staring at me like I am a crazy person so funny

 

[ReneeDisney]

Great day 1.. looking forward to more......

 

[Plutes]

Hey Tim! Loving the trip report so far!! (and Jimmy just informed me that you took those Illuminations pics while I was...umm...busy in the tequila bar! Lol)
It was great meeting you guys...looking forward to your next installment!

 

[Nicole786]

Awesome start! I was at the CP with Andy Garcia but the 5pm showing. Wasn't it amazing?? I thought he did a great job. While we were waiting we chatted with a woman who said she came one year with Mario Lopez and he was texting during the performances!

 

[bentleygirl22]

I'm here!!

 

[caralyn817]

Subbing! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Great start! Looking forward to more!

 

[cdotla]

Great start to the TR! Can't wait for more!

 

[lmillercrew]

Subbing, and can't believe I made it on the first page!!! I never make it onto the first page anymore. Sounds like you guys had a great first day, even with the mix up at the restaurant.

 

[cathy0124]

I'm in! I always love a good Leslie and Tim TR Looks like you had a great time.
Can't wait to read the rest.

Cathy

 

[mylag1rl]

Off to a great start Tim ! Can't wait to hear more about the guys only trip.

 

[eemmie1]

Great start to your report. I can't wait for more!

 

[morgtroy]

I'm in. I think we were at Epcot the same night, It was freezing! We had just gone back for Illuminations, and drizzling rain started as we waited for illuminations. At least the weather got much better in the days following.

I saw the candlelight processional for the first time last year and felt the same way. It is so moving. You put it best, with all the "political correctness", everywhere, it was nice to hear the bible and Christian Christmas songs and it was viewed as ok and good.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip.

 

[disneyfan61]

Looks like a great start to your trip!! Too bad it was so cold that first night. I never think about it being so cold down there (we are usually there in April or May) but I guess it does get pretty cold!! Cannot wait to read more!!