We're back!! Had a super time, but..
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I'm not 100% sure I would pick this time of year to go again - if the trend towards holding Pop Warner, the cheerleading event, and several other events continue to be scheduled at the same time.. Made for very crowded conditions some days and evenings; quite a bit of noise; long lines for food at times; and a few (not many) groups of unruly, rude teens.. And the weather was a real challenge.. Luckily we packed for everything - cold; warm; hot; cool; perfect; and rain.. The only thing we didn't get was rain - yipee!!!!
Our trip to the airport on a week ago Saturday was uneventful.. We used the Park 'n Fly services and were very impressed with the courteous and quick service we received.. Getting through security was a breeze and went quickly - it was practically empty when we checked in.. However, I was one of the "lucky" ones that was pulled aside to go through the new machine that puffs air at you.. It scared my DGD a little - she was afraid they were pulling me aside because I did something wrong - but they didn't detect any "bomb-making materials" on me so I was allowed to go on my way.. Everyone we encountered was very pleasant and helpful..
Take off was a little bumpy - we were having a lot of wind here - and my son-in-law looked like he'd seen a ghost (he hates flying) - but he was a good sport about it and just hung on for dear life until we reached cruising altitude.. I didn't really think it was that bad, but then I'm not afraid of flying, so I guess that makes a huge difference..
I sat in an aisle seat and spent most of the flight down in a cramped, squished position.. The couple sitting next to me were taking up more than the two seats they had purchased (one of them really should have purchased an extra seat) and although they were quiet - and slept throughout the entire flight - the gentleman had stuff in his hands and lap that kept falling on to me and then sliding down onto the floor.. I was glad to get off the plane when it landed, but I had a wicked kink in my knee all day long from the postion I had to sit in.. Other than that though, the flight was uneventful and we had a good landing - although a tad bumpy..
Very humid when we arrived in Orlando - probably 80 degrees or so.. The airport was very busy and it took forever and a day to get our luggage.. The Alamo car rental line went quickly, but when we went to get our full size SUV there was nothing there.. The lot was pretty much empty.. We were directed to National - which wasn't any better - and ended up with a small SUV for the same price of the larger one.. SIL wasn't happy about that - we were just barely able to fit our luggage in the back - but there just wasn't anything else available.. That was our first hint that it was going to be a very busy week in Orlando..
SIL missed the turn for Pop Century and we ended up having to turn around in the T&TC parking lot for MK.. That was the beginning of a "trend" that we would laugh about for the entire week..
Arrived at Pop around 4 or so.. Quite a few people in line for check-in, but lots of CM's working so the line moved quickly.. The CM that took care of us was very polite and cheerful.. We were able to get a free fridge in my DD's room (for medical and dietary reasons) which was delivered and set up in the room before we even had the car all unpacked! We were in the 90's building - 3rd floor, facing the pool - with 2 connecting rooms.. Rooms were squeaky clean and my gang was very impressed with Pop Century.. Had dinner down in Pop around 6:30 or so (it was the "Mom's Night Out" special - fried chicken with smashed potatoes and green beans - and my DD and her DH loved it!! DGD had one of the kids meals and wasn't all that impressed with it.. (I had Sloppy Joe - yum!!) I tasted my DGD's meal and I could see why she didn't like it that much.. Everything was terribly bland (which appears to be a trend with the new kids meals) and the unsweetened applesauce was absolutely horrible - so bitter! We put a little sugar in it, but it didn't help much.. From that point on, she pretty much ate from the adult menus - except for breakfast, which was fine..
After dinner we headed to Epcot to pick up my temporary DDE card - and to activate my AP (which I forgot to do until the next day) - and my son-in-law took a wrong turn again and this time we ended up driving around the parking lot of AK.. At that point I had to remind him that we didn't come all the way to Florida to tour the parking lots.. (Of course if I were driving we probably wouldn't have even gotten that close - I'd have us in Miami or something.. ) Finally made it to Epcot and picked up my DDE - then we headed over to a supermarket to get my DD's Lactaid milk and a few other things.. On the way back to Pop we saw Iluminations right from the road - so pretty!
Sunday was very warm and muggy.. Woke up at 6 a.m.. While waiting for the others to get up and get moving, I remembered that we had forgotten to bring DGD's autograph book to Florida with us, so she and I walked down to Everything Pop to buy a new one.. She was fascinated by the grounds and all the decorations, but said it felt "weird" to be looking at Christmas decorations and listening to Christmas songs while walking around in shorts..
DD & her DH picked us up out front at about 10:15 a.m. and we headed off to our character breakfast at Chef Mickey's.. Of course son-in-law got lost again and we ended up in the parking lot of T&TC for MK again.. At that point we told him if he didn't get his act together we were going to demand a new "driver".. LOL
Arrived at the Contemporary at 10:50, had our photo taken, and were seated pretty quickly.. Unfortunately they seated us up in back and we literally had to flag down - or grab - the characters whenever we would see one.. DGD enjoyed it though and we thought the breakfast (food) was great!! DD & DGD wanted to browse through some of the shops, so SIL & I went outside to explore the grounds and take some photo's.. After we all met up again we decided to take a ride on the monorail, but one of them was broken and there would be at least a half-hour wait for the next one, so we decided to go back to Pop instead so my DGD could go in the pool before the weather cooled down the rest of the week.. SIL & DGD hopped in the pool and I took DD on a tour of the grounds of Pop.. She really liked it and we took lots of pics.. When we got back, she went in the pool for awhile too.. After that we decided to go to the MK - because it was extra hours night - but first we had to drive all over heck and high water trying to find memory sticks for my DD's digital camera because she forgot to unload hers at home before we headed to Florida.. Grrrr... DGD was getting very anxious to actually get inside a park - rather than just in the "parking lot" (LOL) - and quite frankly, so was I!! Finally got the new sticks in Walmart (took FOREVER) and headed to MK.. The monorail was packed (and smelly - ewwww) and kept starting and stopping on the tracks because they were testing the brakes.. DGD was actually holding her nose closed - it was NASTY in there!
We got to MK - I got my AP activated - and we walked inside just as the evening parade was starting.. DGD wanted to do rides first (knowing we would be back to MK 2 more times) so that's what we did.. (Also forgot to mention that DGD had her Pal Mickey that worked GREAT!! Thanks, DMRick.. ) We did a few rides and then watched Wishes from the Rose Garden area.. Very pretty!! We ate at Cosmic Ray's (good food there) and then walked through Cinderella's Castle to Fantasyland.. We all LOVED "Mickey's Philharmagic" - I haven't laughed at a cartoon like that since I was a kid.. Convinced DGD to try the Haunted Mansion and she loved it.. By the time EMH's were in full swing, the park was great! Very, very low crowds - which was definitely not the case during regular hours last week.. My SIL convinced my DGD to try Thunder Mountain and after that her exact words were: "Goodbye Dumbo, Hello Thunder Mountain!!!!!!" They rode it four times in a row - and she still wanted to ride again, but by then the park was closing.. We thought we would take the ferry boat back to T&TC, but it wasn't running, so we had to hold our breaths and take the smelly monorail again.. LOL.. (It improved later in the week, but boy - was it nasty in the beginning!!) Got back to Pop about 1 a.m. and collapsed into bed.. (By the way - I was having no "issues" - but just to be safe, was still taking the Imodium AD - as well as the Flagyl.. )
Monday I woke up not feeling so great - I was very tired and could tell I was dehydrated - and toyed with the idea of sending the gang off to the parks alone, but DGD was really disappointed at that prospect, so I did what any good "Grandma" would do - dragged myself out of bed and got ready to go - LOL.. We did part of AK, watched the parade, and checked out the Conservatory and Petting Zoo just before closing time.. It was getting cool, but we had brought along warm clothes that we could layer..
Decided to go from AK to MGM for the evening and our timing was PERFECT!! We went right to Osborne Lights and the crowd was very low - allowing us to leisurely walk through and enjoy the sights.. All I can say is WOW!!!!! Definitely something NOT to be missed!!!!!! We did the "Great Movie Ride" and cracked up when DGD finally realized that "Mugsy" was a woman.. She thought it was a man and just shook her head and said, "Wow - she must have played "Deal or No Deal" and she definitely got a bad deal... " Took in Fantasmic and the crowd was HUGE - scared DGD at one point when we were pretty much just being shoved along by people behind us.. (If anyone ever fell........don't even want to think about what would happen.. ) Made the mistake of sitting in the third row and we got pretty wet because the wind was blowing all of the spray towards us.. Even though we were dressed warmly, we still ended up being cold because the spray got our pants wet.. SIL convinced DGD to go on Rockin' Roller Coaster (forgetting that it goes upside down in the loops and DGD was not very happy about that.. Didn't cry or anything - just said she kept her eyes closed the enitire time, complained about her nose "running" up her face, and said she thought her heart was going to jump out of her chest.. Oops!! Got back to Pop around 10 pm and DGD and I danced around the parking lot singing "Hooray For Hollywood" while DD and her DH were inside filling up their refillable mugs.. Then we went inside and I bought my DGD her pink Mickey ears hat for the MVMCP the next night.. Ironically it matched the outfit she was going to wear (purchased back here) perfectly with the pink and silver glitter going down the sides of her jogging pants and across the back of her zipped jacket..
Tuesday - the night of our MVMCP - we all slept late.. Guess we're not as young as we used to be - LOL.. (No Imodium AD and no issues yet - hooray!!) Oh - and the Flagyl never made me "deathly sick to my stomach" the way the doctor said it would - nor did I get a metallic taste in my mouth.. DD, her DH and my DGD went shopping out one of the outlets and DD got matching Christmas sweatshirts for her and I to wear for the party.. SIL kept talking about these sneakers he saw - 2 for 90 bucks - since the first night we were there (while DD and I were in the supermarket) and was talking about them non-stop, so he was finally able to get them when they went to the mall.. (That became a standing joke - "Two for 90 bucks.." LOL) When they came back we had dinner at Pop - roast turkey dinner - and it was pretty tasty.. Left for MK at 5:15 - and DGD was singing her opera version of the Christmas carols that were playing while we were waiting for the ferry.. (This became a trend - every day around 5 - 5:30, she would go into "opera mode" - ha! The party was GREAT!! Not too crowded at all and we did lots of rides with minimal (and sometimes no) waiting lines.. Saw "Mickey's Twas The Night Before Christmas (great show) - Celebration at the Castle - DGD and her Dad did Thunder Mountain 4 times in a row again - the Holiday Wishes was GORGEOUS - and the special parade was awesome!! Got our free cookies and cocoa (very good) and had our photo taken in front of the Castle.. Photo came out GREAT, but didn't leave enough room the way it was taken to put a Christmas border around it without cutting off my DGD's face.. Will have to see if I can find a MM border in my computer program that will work so we can use it as a Christmas card..
Crowds were low and the time spent there was great.. LOVED the special parade!!!!! Was getting very cold when we left the park though and the driver of the tram welcomed us to "The Polar Express"... When we got back to Pop at 1:30 a.m., the temperature was a chilly 50 degrees (wind made it seem much colder)..
By now you have seen a trend here.. My family is not the type to get up and out early in the morning, so we would have a few hours of daylight in the afternoon and then the rest of the time in the parks it would be dark.. This was kind of rough on me because I can't see well in the dark and I was beginning to feel like I hadn't really seen much of the parks yet.. Still - we were having a GREAT time!
Wednesday we arrived at Epcot around 12:15.. The weather was nice - in the 70's - perfect for tee shirts and jeans.. We thought "Crush" was super - so funny!! The decorations in Epcot were to die for - soooooooo pretty!! Had our Garden Grill character lunch at 3 pm and felt the food was nowhere as good as it was in 2001.. Still enjoyed it though and the character interaction was better than at Chef Mickey's.. DGD and her Dad did Test Track and she thought that was pretty neat.. We walked around "The World" and couldn't believe the lines for the Candlelight Processional.. My goodness!! They just went on forever and ever.. It was very crowded walking around the world and I had no sooner said to my SIL that the motorized wheelchairs might not be such a good idea when things are so crowded and a man ran right into a little girl.. (He was looking over at the lake instead of in front of him..) That was SOOOOO scary!!!!!
She let out this blood curdling scream and I could see her leg under the wheelchair where it seemed to be caught.. I was afraid it was going to be terribly mangled - or maybe broken - but she did manage to limp away, so I guess she was very lucky.. The special holiday performance of Iluminations was absolutely GORGEOUS - the prettiest of ALL of the fireworks - but I cried when they sang, "Let There Be Peace On Earth" (made me think of my late DH).. The finale was HUGE - and SOOOOO pretty!! Stopped at the Refreshment Court to get a cup of coffee and got talking to the man at the register.. Imagine my surprise when he mentioned that he was from NY - and had dated a girl from MY hometown (just a speck on the map that no one has every heard of).. Guess it really IS "a small world after all.. Got lots of Passport photos taken and was thrilled when the guy gave us a hint and suggested we buy the whole CD at the end of the trip for $99 rather than purchasing individual packages that would have cost several times that..
After we left Epcot we went searching for a supermarket or 7/11 where we could get milk and ceral for DGD to eat in the room and it proved to be quite a challenge.. SIL was also dying for a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts and we found no lass than three - that were turning off the lights and locking the doors as soon as SIL would pull up.. We found this very odd for an "all night town" and had a really hard time finding anything that resembled a supermarket.. Finally found one that sold luggage and lap tops too - LOL - and got what we needed.. Got back to Pop at 1 am and I felt like I had been run over by a truck.. Yipes!
Wednesday we were all wiped out (don't know about the rest of the gang, but I'm getting too old for this go, go, go non-stop!).. We hung around Pop until 2:30 and then arrived at MGM just in time for the parade.. Got a PERFECT viewing spot - right where it ends at the front, so all the floats were coming right towards us.. Did some rides and headed back to the hotel around 9 p.m.. SIL got lost again - LOL - and he was so gosh darn tired, he said, "Who cares? At least we're sitting down.."
Friday was VERY cold and VERY windy!!! I think the wind chill was in the lower 40's - and I had been VERY sick to my stomach during the night; hot flashes; achy; etc. - so I decided to stay in and rest and start my packing.. The gang went back to finish MGM and then over to Epcot for the EMH's.. I walked down to Pop to get my dinner - a kids meal (mac and cheese with applesauce and grapes) and it was awful.. I don't know how they can make mac and cheese taste SOOOOO bland, but somehow they did.. Yuck! Wish they had the children's meals that they used to have.. I called DMRick to see if she would do our check-in at Southwest on Saturday afternoon so we would be sure to get "A" boarding passes and she so kindly agreed to do so.. (Thanks again, DMRick ) I packed everything I could and then layed around and watched soaps.. That night I was sick again all night - really felt like I might be getting the flu - but there was NO WAY I was going to miss our last day at MK on Saturday!!!
As we were leaving Pop to head to MK, I took a closer look at the sign out on the main road and my jaw about dropped to the floor.. It says "Disney's Pop Century Resort" and then right next to it, "Remember when...." (the words I had inscribed on my late DH's headstone).. How ironic is that?
The weather on Saturday was perfect for jeans and a sweatshirt - but - the park was MOBBED!!! Most rides had a 50-minute or more wait - but that didn't deter us from doing the things we wanted to do - mostly the day parade, evening parade, Carousel of Progess, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, etc.. Ironically we were standing in Town Square when the shuttle launched and we had a great view of it.. Even saw the launchers separate from it.. Wow!! A "first" for all of us and my SIL managed to get a few photos.. After that we got our photopass CD - I picked up my packages at City Hall - and we headed back to Pop.. Figured we better get back by 9:30 or so to finish packing.. While packing DGD busted out crying - I mean TOTALLY sobbing - and when I asked what was wrong, she choked out, "I don't want to leave Mickey"... Man - talk about yanking at the heart strings.. I told her she would be coming back again - maybe with her other grandparents next year - but she said it wouldn't be the "same".. Made me wish I could keep her out of school and send her parents home alone - LOL..
Sunday we were up and at 'em early.. Got packed and checked out - no problems.. Took some pictures out front, then headed for a quick stop at Downtown Disney.. Only DD went in (I don't like to shop under time pressure - too easy to make impulse purchases) and when she came out, she had bought gold Mickey head rings with cubic zirconias in it for both DGD and I.. Earlier in the week her DH had bought her a gold MM ring with real diamonds, but obviously such an expensive ring wouldn't be practical for a child and I myself don't care for diamonds.. So now the 3 of us all have gold MM rings!
Got lost at the airport - kept missing the turn for the return of the rental cars - so we got a great view of the parking areas there too - LOL.. No big deal - I took pictures of the airport!! Security lines weren't too long - but DD set off the alarm (forgot to take her cell phone off her waist band) and then I see security standing to the side with her carry-on, waiting for her.. Uh oh! What did she do?? She had a can of soda in the side pocket - LOL.. (Can't take that kid anywhere without her getting in trouble... )
We were in line to get something to eat and my son-in-law felt someone bump into him.. He turns around, and here's this young woman fainting dead away on the floor.. He tried to catch her - as did another man - but she slammed the concrete floor pretty hard.. They got her head and back off the floor though and then my son-in-law helped wheel her stroller over to where her friend was.. We thought that was the end of the excitement, but as we were lining up to get on the plane we heard this screaming coming from a little ways down in the boarding area - "Is there a doctor or a nurse in the house?" There was a femal doctor in line with us and she went booking down to the other area.. A woman (probably my age) had suffered a heart attack.. Her adult DD was there with her.. It seemed to take the paramedics a very long time to get there - and a very long time to get her on the stretcher.. We later heard the doctor say that it was "too late".. I had to really fight back the tears.. What a way to end a vacation..
Flight home was uneventful.. A little bumpy taking off, but one of the smoothest landings I've ever had.. It was supposed to be a full flight, but for some reason, just before take off a husband, wife, and their three kids got off the plane in a huff.. So - the little girl sitting next to me - a 4th grader (who had been separated from her parents) was able to go back and sit with her Mom and that left an empty seat between me and another woman.. Made for a MUCH more pleasant ride home..
It was a WODERFUL trip and everyone had a GREAT time!!!
The only "negatives" were that it was much more crowded than I expected; the kid's meals are awful; the Garden Grill lunch isn't as good as it used to be; MGM seemed fairly dirty - with somewhat cranky CM's; and there should be some kind of rule to discourage parents from allowing their children to use those sneakers with the rollers on the bottom - especially racing up and down the hallways at Pop at all hours of the night and very early in the morning..
All in all though - I accomplished what I set out to do.. Showed the gang a great time and they really enjoyed themselves..
I'll go back next Christmas with my sister - but hopefully I can find a less crowded time.. The parks are SO big now - and there is SO much to see - it's almost impossible to do all you want to do in just one week without pushing yourself to the point of absolute exhaustion! I think I'll plan for a week and a half to two weeks the next time..
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I'm not 100% sure I would pick this time of year to go again - if the trend towards holding Pop Warner, the cheerleading event, and several other events continue to be scheduled at the same time.. Made for very crowded conditions some days and evenings; quite a bit of noise; long lines for food at times; and a few (not many) groups of unruly, rude teens.. And the weather was a real challenge.. Luckily we packed for everything - cold; warm; hot; cool; perfect; and rain.. The only thing we didn't get was rain - yipee!!!!
Our trip to the airport on a week ago Saturday was uneventful.. We used the Park 'n Fly services and were very impressed with the courteous and quick service we received.. Getting through security was a breeze and went quickly - it was practically empty when we checked in.. However, I was one of the "lucky" ones that was pulled aside to go through the new machine that puffs air at you.. It scared my DGD a little - she was afraid they were pulling me aside because I did something wrong - but they didn't detect any "bomb-making materials" on me so I was allowed to go on my way.. Everyone we encountered was very pleasant and helpful..
Take off was a little bumpy - we were having a lot of wind here - and my son-in-law looked like he'd seen a ghost (he hates flying) - but he was a good sport about it and just hung on for dear life until we reached cruising altitude.. I didn't really think it was that bad, but then I'm not afraid of flying, so I guess that makes a huge difference..
I sat in an aisle seat and spent most of the flight down in a cramped, squished position.. The couple sitting next to me were taking up more than the two seats they had purchased (one of them really should have purchased an extra seat) and although they were quiet - and slept throughout the entire flight - the gentleman had stuff in his hands and lap that kept falling on to me and then sliding down onto the floor.. I was glad to get off the plane when it landed, but I had a wicked kink in my knee all day long from the postion I had to sit in.. Other than that though, the flight was uneventful and we had a good landing - although a tad bumpy..
Very humid when we arrived in Orlando - probably 80 degrees or so.. The airport was very busy and it took forever and a day to get our luggage.. The Alamo car rental line went quickly, but when we went to get our full size SUV there was nothing there.. The lot was pretty much empty.. We were directed to National - which wasn't any better - and ended up with a small SUV for the same price of the larger one.. SIL wasn't happy about that - we were just barely able to fit our luggage in the back - but there just wasn't anything else available.. That was our first hint that it was going to be a very busy week in Orlando..
SIL missed the turn for Pop Century and we ended up having to turn around in the T&TC parking lot for MK.. That was the beginning of a "trend" that we would laugh about for the entire week..
Arrived at Pop around 4 or so.. Quite a few people in line for check-in, but lots of CM's working so the line moved quickly.. The CM that took care of us was very polite and cheerful.. We were able to get a free fridge in my DD's room (for medical and dietary reasons) which was delivered and set up in the room before we even had the car all unpacked! We were in the 90's building - 3rd floor, facing the pool - with 2 connecting rooms.. Rooms were squeaky clean and my gang was very impressed with Pop Century.. Had dinner down in Pop around 6:30 or so (it was the "Mom's Night Out" special - fried chicken with smashed potatoes and green beans - and my DD and her DH loved it!! DGD had one of the kids meals and wasn't all that impressed with it.. (I had Sloppy Joe - yum!!) I tasted my DGD's meal and I could see why she didn't like it that much.. Everything was terribly bland (which appears to be a trend with the new kids meals) and the unsweetened applesauce was absolutely horrible - so bitter! We put a little sugar in it, but it didn't help much.. From that point on, she pretty much ate from the adult menus - except for breakfast, which was fine..
After dinner we headed to Epcot to pick up my temporary DDE card - and to activate my AP (which I forgot to do until the next day) - and my son-in-law took a wrong turn again and this time we ended up driving around the parking lot of AK.. At that point I had to remind him that we didn't come all the way to Florida to tour the parking lots.. (Of course if I were driving we probably wouldn't have even gotten that close - I'd have us in Miami or something.. ) Finally made it to Epcot and picked up my DDE - then we headed over to a supermarket to get my DD's Lactaid milk and a few other things.. On the way back to Pop we saw Iluminations right from the road - so pretty!
Sunday was very warm and muggy.. Woke up at 6 a.m.. While waiting for the others to get up and get moving, I remembered that we had forgotten to bring DGD's autograph book to Florida with us, so she and I walked down to Everything Pop to buy a new one.. She was fascinated by the grounds and all the decorations, but said it felt "weird" to be looking at Christmas decorations and listening to Christmas songs while walking around in shorts..
DD & her DH picked us up out front at about 10:15 a.m. and we headed off to our character breakfast at Chef Mickey's.. Of course son-in-law got lost again and we ended up in the parking lot of T&TC for MK again.. At that point we told him if he didn't get his act together we were going to demand a new "driver".. LOL
Arrived at the Contemporary at 10:50, had our photo taken, and were seated pretty quickly.. Unfortunately they seated us up in back and we literally had to flag down - or grab - the characters whenever we would see one.. DGD enjoyed it though and we thought the breakfast (food) was great!! DD & DGD wanted to browse through some of the shops, so SIL & I went outside to explore the grounds and take some photo's.. After we all met up again we decided to take a ride on the monorail, but one of them was broken and there would be at least a half-hour wait for the next one, so we decided to go back to Pop instead so my DGD could go in the pool before the weather cooled down the rest of the week.. SIL & DGD hopped in the pool and I took DD on a tour of the grounds of Pop.. She really liked it and we took lots of pics.. When we got back, she went in the pool for awhile too.. After that we decided to go to the MK - because it was extra hours night - but first we had to drive all over heck and high water trying to find memory sticks for my DD's digital camera because she forgot to unload hers at home before we headed to Florida.. Grrrr... DGD was getting very anxious to actually get inside a park - rather than just in the "parking lot" (LOL) - and quite frankly, so was I!! Finally got the new sticks in Walmart (took FOREVER) and headed to MK.. The monorail was packed (and smelly - ewwww) and kept starting and stopping on the tracks because they were testing the brakes.. DGD was actually holding her nose closed - it was NASTY in there!
We got to MK - I got my AP activated - and we walked inside just as the evening parade was starting.. DGD wanted to do rides first (knowing we would be back to MK 2 more times) so that's what we did.. (Also forgot to mention that DGD had her Pal Mickey that worked GREAT!! Thanks, DMRick.. ) We did a few rides and then watched Wishes from the Rose Garden area.. Very pretty!! We ate at Cosmic Ray's (good food there) and then walked through Cinderella's Castle to Fantasyland.. We all LOVED "Mickey's Philharmagic" - I haven't laughed at a cartoon like that since I was a kid.. Convinced DGD to try the Haunted Mansion and she loved it.. By the time EMH's were in full swing, the park was great! Very, very low crowds - which was definitely not the case during regular hours last week.. My SIL convinced my DGD to try Thunder Mountain and after that her exact words were: "Goodbye Dumbo, Hello Thunder Mountain!!!!!!" They rode it four times in a row - and she still wanted to ride again, but by then the park was closing.. We thought we would take the ferry boat back to T&TC, but it wasn't running, so we had to hold our breaths and take the smelly monorail again.. LOL.. (It improved later in the week, but boy - was it nasty in the beginning!!) Got back to Pop about 1 a.m. and collapsed into bed.. (By the way - I was having no "issues" - but just to be safe, was still taking the Imodium AD - as well as the Flagyl.. )
Monday I woke up not feeling so great - I was very tired and could tell I was dehydrated - and toyed with the idea of sending the gang off to the parks alone, but DGD was really disappointed at that prospect, so I did what any good "Grandma" would do - dragged myself out of bed and got ready to go - LOL.. We did part of AK, watched the parade, and checked out the Conservatory and Petting Zoo just before closing time.. It was getting cool, but we had brought along warm clothes that we could layer..
Decided to go from AK to MGM for the evening and our timing was PERFECT!! We went right to Osborne Lights and the crowd was very low - allowing us to leisurely walk through and enjoy the sights.. All I can say is WOW!!!!! Definitely something NOT to be missed!!!!!! We did the "Great Movie Ride" and cracked up when DGD finally realized that "Mugsy" was a woman.. She thought it was a man and just shook her head and said, "Wow - she must have played "Deal or No Deal" and she definitely got a bad deal... " Took in Fantasmic and the crowd was HUGE - scared DGD at one point when we were pretty much just being shoved along by people behind us.. (If anyone ever fell........don't even want to think about what would happen.. ) Made the mistake of sitting in the third row and we got pretty wet because the wind was blowing all of the spray towards us.. Even though we were dressed warmly, we still ended up being cold because the spray got our pants wet.. SIL convinced DGD to go on Rockin' Roller Coaster (forgetting that it goes upside down in the loops and DGD was not very happy about that.. Didn't cry or anything - just said she kept her eyes closed the enitire time, complained about her nose "running" up her face, and said she thought her heart was going to jump out of her chest.. Oops!! Got back to Pop around 10 pm and DGD and I danced around the parking lot singing "Hooray For Hollywood" while DD and her DH were inside filling up their refillable mugs.. Then we went inside and I bought my DGD her pink Mickey ears hat for the MVMCP the next night.. Ironically it matched the outfit she was going to wear (purchased back here) perfectly with the pink and silver glitter going down the sides of her jogging pants and across the back of her zipped jacket..
Tuesday - the night of our MVMCP - we all slept late.. Guess we're not as young as we used to be - LOL.. (No Imodium AD and no issues yet - hooray!!) Oh - and the Flagyl never made me "deathly sick to my stomach" the way the doctor said it would - nor did I get a metallic taste in my mouth.. DD, her DH and my DGD went shopping out one of the outlets and DD got matching Christmas sweatshirts for her and I to wear for the party.. SIL kept talking about these sneakers he saw - 2 for 90 bucks - since the first night we were there (while DD and I were in the supermarket) and was talking about them non-stop, so he was finally able to get them when they went to the mall.. (That became a standing joke - "Two for 90 bucks.." LOL) When they came back we had dinner at Pop - roast turkey dinner - and it was pretty tasty.. Left for MK at 5:15 - and DGD was singing her opera version of the Christmas carols that were playing while we were waiting for the ferry.. (This became a trend - every day around 5 - 5:30, she would go into "opera mode" - ha! The party was GREAT!! Not too crowded at all and we did lots of rides with minimal (and sometimes no) waiting lines.. Saw "Mickey's Twas The Night Before Christmas (great show) - Celebration at the Castle - DGD and her Dad did Thunder Mountain 4 times in a row again - the Holiday Wishes was GORGEOUS - and the special parade was awesome!! Got our free cookies and cocoa (very good) and had our photo taken in front of the Castle.. Photo came out GREAT, but didn't leave enough room the way it was taken to put a Christmas border around it without cutting off my DGD's face.. Will have to see if I can find a MM border in my computer program that will work so we can use it as a Christmas card..
Crowds were low and the time spent there was great.. LOVED the special parade!!!!! Was getting very cold when we left the park though and the driver of the tram welcomed us to "The Polar Express"... When we got back to Pop at 1:30 a.m., the temperature was a chilly 50 degrees (wind made it seem much colder)..
By now you have seen a trend here.. My family is not the type to get up and out early in the morning, so we would have a few hours of daylight in the afternoon and then the rest of the time in the parks it would be dark.. This was kind of rough on me because I can't see well in the dark and I was beginning to feel like I hadn't really seen much of the parks yet.. Still - we were having a GREAT time!
Wednesday we arrived at Epcot around 12:15.. The weather was nice - in the 70's - perfect for tee shirts and jeans.. We thought "Crush" was super - so funny!! The decorations in Epcot were to die for - soooooooo pretty!! Had our Garden Grill character lunch at 3 pm and felt the food was nowhere as good as it was in 2001.. Still enjoyed it though and the character interaction was better than at Chef Mickey's.. DGD and her Dad did Test Track and she thought that was pretty neat.. We walked around "The World" and couldn't believe the lines for the Candlelight Processional.. My goodness!! They just went on forever and ever.. It was very crowded walking around the world and I had no sooner said to my SIL that the motorized wheelchairs might not be such a good idea when things are so crowded and a man ran right into a little girl.. (He was looking over at the lake instead of in front of him..) That was SOOOOO scary!!!!!
She let out this blood curdling scream and I could see her leg under the wheelchair where it seemed to be caught.. I was afraid it was going to be terribly mangled - or maybe broken - but she did manage to limp away, so I guess she was very lucky.. The special holiday performance of Iluminations was absolutely GORGEOUS - the prettiest of ALL of the fireworks - but I cried when they sang, "Let There Be Peace On Earth" (made me think of my late DH).. The finale was HUGE - and SOOOOO pretty!! Stopped at the Refreshment Court to get a cup of coffee and got talking to the man at the register.. Imagine my surprise when he mentioned that he was from NY - and had dated a girl from MY hometown (just a speck on the map that no one has every heard of).. Guess it really IS "a small world after all.. Got lots of Passport photos taken and was thrilled when the guy gave us a hint and suggested we buy the whole CD at the end of the trip for $99 rather than purchasing individual packages that would have cost several times that..
After we left Epcot we went searching for a supermarket or 7/11 where we could get milk and ceral for DGD to eat in the room and it proved to be quite a challenge.. SIL was also dying for a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts and we found no lass than three - that were turning off the lights and locking the doors as soon as SIL would pull up.. We found this very odd for an "all night town" and had a really hard time finding anything that resembled a supermarket.. Finally found one that sold luggage and lap tops too - LOL - and got what we needed.. Got back to Pop at 1 am and I felt like I had been run over by a truck.. Yipes!
Wednesday we were all wiped out (don't know about the rest of the gang, but I'm getting too old for this go, go, go non-stop!).. We hung around Pop until 2:30 and then arrived at MGM just in time for the parade.. Got a PERFECT viewing spot - right where it ends at the front, so all the floats were coming right towards us.. Did some rides and headed back to the hotel around 9 p.m.. SIL got lost again - LOL - and he was so gosh darn tired, he said, "Who cares? At least we're sitting down.."
Friday was VERY cold and VERY windy!!! I think the wind chill was in the lower 40's - and I had been VERY sick to my stomach during the night; hot flashes; achy; etc. - so I decided to stay in and rest and start my packing.. The gang went back to finish MGM and then over to Epcot for the EMH's.. I walked down to Pop to get my dinner - a kids meal (mac and cheese with applesauce and grapes) and it was awful.. I don't know how they can make mac and cheese taste SOOOOO bland, but somehow they did.. Yuck! Wish they had the children's meals that they used to have.. I called DMRick to see if she would do our check-in at Southwest on Saturday afternoon so we would be sure to get "A" boarding passes and she so kindly agreed to do so.. (Thanks again, DMRick ) I packed everything I could and then layed around and watched soaps.. That night I was sick again all night - really felt like I might be getting the flu - but there was NO WAY I was going to miss our last day at MK on Saturday!!!
As we were leaving Pop to head to MK, I took a closer look at the sign out on the main road and my jaw about dropped to the floor.. It says "Disney's Pop Century Resort" and then right next to it, "Remember when...." (the words I had inscribed on my late DH's headstone).. How ironic is that?
The weather on Saturday was perfect for jeans and a sweatshirt - but - the park was MOBBED!!! Most rides had a 50-minute or more wait - but that didn't deter us from doing the things we wanted to do - mostly the day parade, evening parade, Carousel of Progess, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, etc.. Ironically we were standing in Town Square when the shuttle launched and we had a great view of it.. Even saw the launchers separate from it.. Wow!! A "first" for all of us and my SIL managed to get a few photos.. After that we got our photopass CD - I picked up my packages at City Hall - and we headed back to Pop.. Figured we better get back by 9:30 or so to finish packing.. While packing DGD busted out crying - I mean TOTALLY sobbing - and when I asked what was wrong, she choked out, "I don't want to leave Mickey"... Man - talk about yanking at the heart strings.. I told her she would be coming back again - maybe with her other grandparents next year - but she said it wouldn't be the "same".. Made me wish I could keep her out of school and send her parents home alone - LOL..
Sunday we were up and at 'em early.. Got packed and checked out - no problems.. Took some pictures out front, then headed for a quick stop at Downtown Disney.. Only DD went in (I don't like to shop under time pressure - too easy to make impulse purchases) and when she came out, she had bought gold Mickey head rings with cubic zirconias in it for both DGD and I.. Earlier in the week her DH had bought her a gold MM ring with real diamonds, but obviously such an expensive ring wouldn't be practical for a child and I myself don't care for diamonds.. So now the 3 of us all have gold MM rings!
Got lost at the airport - kept missing the turn for the return of the rental cars - so we got a great view of the parking areas there too - LOL.. No big deal - I took pictures of the airport!! Security lines weren't too long - but DD set off the alarm (forgot to take her cell phone off her waist band) and then I see security standing to the side with her carry-on, waiting for her.. Uh oh! What did she do?? She had a can of soda in the side pocket - LOL.. (Can't take that kid anywhere without her getting in trouble... )
We were in line to get something to eat and my son-in-law felt someone bump into him.. He turns around, and here's this young woman fainting dead away on the floor.. He tried to catch her - as did another man - but she slammed the concrete floor pretty hard.. They got her head and back off the floor though and then my son-in-law helped wheel her stroller over to where her friend was.. We thought that was the end of the excitement, but as we were lining up to get on the plane we heard this screaming coming from a little ways down in the boarding area - "Is there a doctor or a nurse in the house?" There was a femal doctor in line with us and she went booking down to the other area.. A woman (probably my age) had suffered a heart attack.. Her adult DD was there with her.. It seemed to take the paramedics a very long time to get there - and a very long time to get her on the stretcher.. We later heard the doctor say that it was "too late".. I had to really fight back the tears.. What a way to end a vacation..
Flight home was uneventful.. A little bumpy taking off, but one of the smoothest landings I've ever had.. It was supposed to be a full flight, but for some reason, just before take off a husband, wife, and their three kids got off the plane in a huff.. So - the little girl sitting next to me - a 4th grader (who had been separated from her parents) was able to go back and sit with her Mom and that left an empty seat between me and another woman.. Made for a MUCH more pleasant ride home..
It was a WODERFUL trip and everyone had a GREAT time!!!
The only "negatives" were that it was much more crowded than I expected; the kid's meals are awful; the Garden Grill lunch isn't as good as it used to be; MGM seemed fairly dirty - with somewhat cranky CM's; and there should be some kind of rule to discourage parents from allowing their children to use those sneakers with the rollers on the bottom - especially racing up and down the hallways at Pop at all hours of the night and very early in the morning..
All in all though - I accomplished what I set out to do.. Showed the gang a great time and they really enjoyed themselves..
I'll go back next Christmas with my sister - but hopefully I can find a less crowded time.. The parks are SO big now - and there is SO much to see - it's almost impossible to do all you want to do in just one week without pushing yourself to the point of absolute exhaustion! I think I'll plan for a week and a half to two weeks the next time..
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It's a shame that early December is getting so crowded! It used to be such a great time to go! I'm glad you liked the new Osborne Lights - I can't wait to see them! I totally agree with your last comments. WDW has gotten so big it's hard to do-it-all in only a week without feeling 'rushed'. We decided to go for 2 weeks this time. I'm hoping the first week will not be very crowded, because I know Christmas week will be! Thanks for writing a wonderful TR! 
We stayed for 2 weeks, but the atmosphere was so bittersweet - trying to be happy and smiling on the outside for my DGD - while crying on the inside.. 
