Very Merry D23 Holidaze Dec 2009 TR - 7 magical park days! updt 7/1

[MyMuse]

Loved all the pictures of the decorations at the Grand Floridian and Contemporary! Your goddaughter is adorable!

Denise

Thank you! She's a sweetheart.

I did enjoy visting those resorts and was so glad I was able to do it and with my BFF and goddaughter.

I love that marble floor at the GF! So pretty!

Donald stuck in the gazebo fireplace is too cute

Keep the updates coming, the pics are

Isn't that awesome? It deserved a second showing in this TR. It amazes me how i see something new each time.


Yes, I thought the gazebo was darling. I thought I had more pics of it.

ok, I will be posting more updates because I want to get this going!

 

[MyMuse]

We continue on along the hallway, though I did stop to gawk at Beaches & Creme, but it was onto their gingerbread carousel!

Also absolutely gorgeous!

I finally remembered to tweet...

gingerbread carousel from beach club is gorgeous!
8:56 PM Dec 6th

this is Joy...

the not so hidden mickeys...

little donald!

Liberty...

On each corner...Belle

Snow White...

Nice little santa mickey...

HM on the carousel

Ginger...

chip & dale have their corner too

See the very teeny tiny HM?

little minnie

tink adornes the top of carousel

..and of course can't forget the tree

For some reason, I did not take a close-up of the ornaments!

But I got the rug! (I think, it's from the Beach club)

After this extravanza, we tear ourselves away and head back to the Yacht Club....back down the along, which is where Cape May is located and it looks so fun!!!!

 

[MyMuse]

On the way back to the Yacht Club, along the hallway, I catch this....

look who's waving!

..and again, gawk at B&C. I considered eating here for a sec, but there was a wait and we did have a a wee one and there was school tomorrow for both Miranda & Maggie.

Bye, bye, until we meet again!

However, we did stop to take pics of the windmill in the pool area. We made the lifeguard super nervous! LOL!

...just keep swimming....

We finally got back to the Yacht Club and I could not resist checking out the miniature train once again. I can’t believe that I didn’t take a video! The train does go around the track and the detail is the actual resort. Amazing!!

gumdrop pathway!

We continued on to walk back to the Boardwalk ....

....and was able to catch the street actor juggler act. Very funny & cute!

We did end up buying a sandwiches at Boardwalk Bakery. Mine was a turkey sandwhich with chips for $9.26 at 9:29pm. Odd how that was almost the same numbers! Jennifer got one of those huge muffins, Miranda got a cookie and Maggie bought herself a few sweets. We ate some, relaxed a bit and then headed back to the car. I haven’t eaten since my Yak & Yeti lunch.

There was supposed to be a HM in the shape of a b&w mickey sugar bowl on the upper shelf, but I didn't see it.

Walking back, I realized, there is supposed to be a HM in the Seashore Sweets sign...

It supposed to be in the sky btwn the ladies, closer to the lady on the left. I have to admit, I don't see it....

Back in Boardwalk Inn itself, I stopped for this HM...

It's on the horses' neck!

No HM, just liked it

I was dropped off at the condo around 10:15pm. I finished my sandwich, got organized, journaled a bit and hit the sack around 12:30am.

I set the alarm a little earlier for 6:30am because tomorrow morning is our Keys to the Kingdom tour at the Magic Kingdom!!! YAY!!!

So excited for this. However, I had no actual trouble falling asleep since I have been up for what? 17-18 hours? For the 3rd day in a row? LOL!!!

And for finishing Day 3!

 

[kswm30b]

I'm getting so jealous at some of your Photopass Pics! The only one I saw in a resort was at AKL. I would have loved one at the GF! I would say maybe they are only there at night, but it was night when we were at the WL. Weird. Also, LOVE the PP pic of you in front of the AK tree with Stitch! Again, no PP when we were there.

We stayed at the Boardwalk & that was definitely my fav of the Christmas decorations/gingerbread displays! I have a zillion pics of it! The Beach Club was 2nd, probably. We went upstairs to take some pics from above of the carosuel, which was neat (maybe one day I'll actually do a report & post pics, haha.) I didn't know there was a passageway between the Beach & Yacht Clubs! We walked back outside, lol. Good thing you didn't go to the Poly, there was nothing there other than a few small gingerbread houses (some of which looked like they were done by kids ) Huge disappointment.

I forget if I've mentioned this yet, but I'm glad I'm not the only one that takes pics of the resort carpets. I always get weird looks, so I try to do them quickly!

 

[dawnbu40]

Wow! Great updates! But what an exhausting day you had! Looking forward to hearing about the tour!

 

[jenseib]

Wow those are beautiful pictures. I hope to eat some icecream at Beaches and Cream sometime. It always sounds so good!

 

[praisehisname]

We didn't make time to visit the resorts during our trip, so I'm really enjoying seeing the decorations! No wonder you slept well, after all that walking!

Denise

 

[MyMuse]

I'm getting so jealous at some of your Photopass Pics!

Also, LOVE the PP pic of you in front of the AK tree with Stitch! Again, no PP when we were there.

Good thing you didn't go to the Poly, there was nothing there other than a few small gingerbread houses (some of which looked like they were done by kids ) Huge disappointment.

I forget if I've mentioned this yet, but I'm glad I'm not the only one that takes pics of the resort carpets. I always get weird looks, so I try to do them quickly!

I tried to find them everywhere. I wanted to take total advantage, especially as I was not doing a big share.

I think Stitch present one is just for Christmas?

I figured there wasn't much at Poly. There was never much said abotu decor there. And that monorail was super slow, so we just decided to skip it. Much better time at Boardwalk.

Yay for carpet pics!!

Wow! Great updates! But what an exhausting day you had! Looking forward to hearing about the tour!

It was, but that how I do it on vaca. LOL!

Next post should be about KTTK.

Wow those are beautiful pictures. I hope to eat some icecream at Beaches and Cream sometime. It always sounds so good!

Thank you.


I'm going to try to make it there someday.

 

[MyMuse]

We didn't make time to visit the resorts during our trip, so I'm really enjoying seeing the decorations! No wonder you slept well, after all that walking!

Denise

I'm glad you are enjoying.

I definitely did alot of walking, but it doesn't bother me at all. I can walk all day.

 

[MyMuse]

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7TH – MAGIC KINGDOM

I woke up at 6:30am at the alarm and got myself ready to head to Magic Kingdom for the Keys to the Kingdom tour!

Up & getting ready for Keys to the Kingdom tour of Magic Kingdom!! yayaya!
7:21 AM Dec 7th

I was in the car at 7:45am and at the TTC at 7:57am! As I was paying the parking fee, another car rolled up and breezed right thru! How rude! I mentioned it to the CM taking my money and he didn’t seem to mind too much. Sort of shrugged and said people do it all the time?! Well, as a paying customer, I really hope the parking lot CMs you are ticketing or something. But I would never do that anyway; I’d rather pay me $14, thankyouverymuch. And it was raining again! Argh.

the weather in orlando has seriously offically sucks! it's raining AGAIN!! ergh.
7:48 AM Dec 7th

As I drive thru, and no parking lot CMs to speak of but I saw the Diamond parking sign & followed, parked about 5th or 6th car in. I was right outside the gates to TTC.

The Express monorail was not running yet (too early), so I took the resort monorail. Thankfully, it came really quickly. I walked up & ended up in the same car as Mary & her mom! How funny is that! This tour is with them this morning. Mary’s mom is a DVC member and I was able to get a discount on this tour as well. YAY!

We get to the park and able to get in early, check-in & give our lunch order. Our tour was at 8:30am, so I took the opportunity to have some coffee and take a pic of an empty park.

Our tour leader was Debbie and she was great! She was also part of the Dream Squad. I don’t want to give everything away and truthfully, I can barely remember everything! We got our earpieces and we started at 8:30am.

That's Mary & her mom behind Debbie

We spent quite some time in the front of the park, with CM talking to us about her start in the company and Walt’s start. Then we made our way up Main Street, with CM pointing out various windows and meanings.

HM Decor

Then we ducked into the side street by Crystal Arts (I love this little street!), while she continued her talk as the park opened. It’s like we ducked in until the crowd “ran” by! LOL!

Get it? Real fake name used when buying property

We saw the trolley go by; I am so doing this next time!

Eventually we got up to the Castle area...

Walter's apt above ice cream shop, he would have liked it there better than the front of the park

Ad at the nearby cart - going during Magic & Merriment!

We started to walk to Adventureland and I turned around and got this....

I just thought this pic is absolutely gorgeous and I don't think I ever took a pic from the front left side of the Castle before. I'm in love with it!!

We rode Jungle Cruise where CM was the skipper as we got our own boat. She even did some of the jokes and did point out some HMs and put her mic by the native and it does indeed say “I love Disco!”, a nod to the imagineer of the ride. I think everyone knows that the “skipper” doesn’t actually pilot the boat, right?

HM on the plane

The next ride was Pirates of the Caribbean and we got our own boat again. On this ride, we found out the only reason there is a dip is that the tracks are above, so a dip was created in order to accomodate the tracks above.

After Pirates, we continue on to Liberty Square.....

 

[MyMuse]

So, now we continue with Liberty Square and found that the swirls on the ground represents sewage, but she made us wait for that.

Also that in Frontierland area, the lights in the window as well as the guns meant as a warning. Also that the windows are crooked because the metal was a melted down for guns and were replaced by leather, which drooped the windows.

House number was on purpose to reflect history

We ate at Columbia Harbor House at 11am. I had chicken nuggets (so sophisticated!). Our food was already there when we got there all set up with place cards with pins attached. We were on the second floor and it was private as well.

Tweets from lunch (without pics since they are above):

castle from kttk tour!
11:04 AM Dec 7th


cute xmas cup at Disneyworld
11:06 AM Dec 7th


Columbia Harbor House pics:

Lunch is finished & we got hustled out (next KTTK group coming in shortly).

We also got to see the “Princess and the Frog” parade, so we got a front row view. I took a video as well. Later on in my trip, I saw the Riverboat show as well.

You can also see the "sewage lines" on the ground if you never noticed it before in Liberty Square.

We also rode was Haunted Mansion by which we entered by the back entrance. Very cool. We waited for our turn and we all went in separate doom buggies, of course. CM stayed out of this ride for obvious reasons. Tho, we did find out that after you exit the ride at the end before you end back upstairs, the bricks on the right are actually cushioned, just in case people fall. Also, up the rolling escalator thingie, there is one footprint only as the other is a peg leg print. I also tried to remember all her HMs on this ride; the dinner table, looking back at one point, etc.

There is also a Mr Toad in the cemtary as a nod to a ride gone by. I have a pic of it later in the trip, I think.

Eventually, we saw the floats, various backstage places and the utilidors! This basically is HR, laundry and various offices; just like any regular workspace. Though, it was a little disturbing to see characters without their heads! LOL! We also got to see where the close parking was, right behind the City Hall. You can see Jungle Cruise from there as well and where Tink’s line from the Castle ends behind City Hall.

Everything “backstage” is very close together and even in the utilidors, there are halls & doors labeled for people to travel the underground to get to a different place so the guests do not see people walking around. It is also color-coded down there as well. there are also mirrors, so CM can check to make sure they look their best. THey are also lines on the ground all over to mark where "backstage" end and "show" begins. Very cool.

Of course, no cameras allowed. But it was awesome.

going to the underground at magic kingdom!!
12:44 PM Dec 7th


Eventually, we ended back by City Hall, with a stop by the Roy & Minnie statue, which as you know I wanted a pic of on my list of things-to-do.

Love the facial expressions!

We ended at 1:30pm and we took a pic of Debbie, myself, Mary & her mom. Debbie was nice enough to find another CM who took the pic. I also gave her one of my “CM thank yous”. I don’t have a pic of us though; it's on Mary's camera.

Then it was goodbye to Mary & her mom as they were going back to Bay Lake and I was heading for my 2:05pm ADR at the Castle!!!

 

[dawnbu40]

That is a gorgeous castle shot!

The tour sounds really fun and informative. Glad you enjoyed it!

I wish the Princess and the Frog show was still there! I would have loved to see that!

Looking forward to hearing how you enjoyed dining at the castle

 

[kswm30b]

I tried to find them everywhere. I wanted to take total advantage, especially as I was not doing a big share.

Oh, I always look for them (I had 391), they just weren't there!

Our tour leader was Debbie and she was great! She was also part of the Dream Squad. I don’t want to give everything away and truthfully, I can barely remember everything! We got our earpieces and we started at 8:30am.

We did the tour on our last day & loved it! Even though I think we got one of the tour guides that weren't the best, especially when we were in the utiladoors, she seemed like she just wanted to get out of there. When I got home I read about other tours & everyone seems to have been told about Tink (we weren't) & ridden Pirates (we didn't, we just stood outside & she told us stuff.) There was so much stuff and I tried to remember it all, when I got home I wrote everything I could remember & it was 6 pages. I need to type it up sometime

Love that pic of the castle!

Very cool that you got to see the Princess & the Frog parade! We saw the show & wanted to try another time to see the parade, but never got the chance. I love that show, I hope they bring it back!

Though, it was a little disturbing to see characters without their heads! LOL!

LOL, that kind of took us aback, too! Especially when headless Woody & Jesse waved to us!

 

[praisehisname]

The KTTK tour sounds amazing! I would love to do that someday!

Denise

 

[If U Had Wings]

I'm so glad you enjoyed KTTK. I loved it last year when I went. We didn't get to do Pirates though. I'm dying to try another tour one of these days now.

 

[jenseib]

I swear you are doing all the things I want to do. I love that you did the tour. I have read other TR's about it too. It just sounds so fun. And I would love me some Columbia Harbor us for lunch right now!

 

[ladybugmom]

First off--LOVE the pics of all the resorts all decorated for Christmas!! And how exciting that you got to do the KTTK tour?! I also want to do that sometime!!

 

[MyMuse]

That is a gorgeous castle shot!

The tour sounds really fun and informative. Glad you enjoyed it!

I wish the Princess and the Frog show was still there! I would have loved to see that!

Looking forward to hearing how you enjoyed dining at the castle

Thank you; I just love that shot, now that I've seen it other than my camera screen.

Well, I took a zillion photos & videos of Princess & the Frog Riverboat show, so you'll be able to join in that way.

CRT was very nice; more about it soon!

Oh, I always look for them (I had 391), they just weren't there!

We did the tour on our last day & loved it! Even though I think we got one of the tour guides that weren't the best, especially when we were in the utiladoors, she seemed like she just wanted to get out of there.

LOL, that kind of took us aback, too! Especially when headless Woody & Jesse waved to us!

Love that pic of the castle!

Very cool that you got to see the Princess & the Frog parade! We saw the show & wanted to try another time to see the parade, but never got the chance. I love that show, I hope they bring it back!

Oh, then I must have had some serious PP Karma! Well, y'know, I'm cool like dat.

Loved out tour guide! maybe she did a little extra special? or maybe it changed recently? Our Jessie & Woody seemed quite tired.

Thank you I love that pic of the Castle too.


I saw both the show & parade for P&theFrog, but the parade was all due to KTTK tour. I don't knwo if I would have caught it on my own. I have a soft spot for P&theFrog since I saw it before it came out in theaters. Disney will definitely bring it back if the numbers call for it.

The KTTK tour sounds amazing! I would love to do that someday!

Denise

I was nice and I think it was decent value for the money. I'm glad for the DVC discount.

I'm so glad you enjoyed KTTK. I loved it last year when I went. We didn't get to do Pirates though. I'm dying to try another tour one of these days now.

I would definitely do it again, but after some time passes by.

I swear you are doing all the things I want to do. I love that you did the tour. I have read other TR's about it too. It just sounds so fun. And I would love me some Columbia Harbor us for lunch right now!

I am? Then I'm glad you are here to share it with me! It's been a year now, y'know.

Columbia Harbor House is definitely ont he list to try again.

First off--LOVE the pics of all the resorts all decorated for Christmas!! And how exciting that you got to do the KTTK tour?! I also want to do that sometime!!

Thank you for coming along with me on the PTR/TR. The Holiday Resort Decor Tour is now finished though. Decor itself still abound!

THe KTTK tour is definitely worth it!


And I forgot to add in the KTTK review is that there are no bathrooms at all in Liberty Square as per the history of the era and the "sewage" lines. THe bathrooms that you *think* are in Liberty Square are actually in the neighboring lands, Fantasy and/or Frontier.

Update soon-ish!

 

[MyMuse]

20 years ago today started the journey that shaped me into the person I am now.


My father passed away. Love you, Dad!

 

[dawnbu40]

My husband lost his mom when he was 15 so I know just how hard anniversaries like this can be. and prayers!