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

[dawnbu40]

Great pictures of the Seas and Canada! I think people tend to skip over Canada and they miss how lovely the grounds are there!

Looking forward to more!

 

[MyMuse]

Happy Easter!!!

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[PrincessCaitlin]

Happy Easter!

 

[jenseib]

Happy Easter!

Great updates. I have been so behind lately. It was nice to read a whole bunch though. Looks like alot of fun.

 

[MyMuse]

Happy Easter!

Great pictures of the Seas and Canada! I think people tend to skip over Canada and they miss how lovely the grounds are there!

Looking forward to more!

Happy Easter!

Great updates. I have been so behind lately. It was nice to read a whole bunch though. Looks like alot of fun.

Happy Easter all! I hope yours was a great one.

I hope to get another update up today. Also, did you hear that Luxo Jr (pixar lamp in DHS) is retired, effective immeidately?

Apparentely, something is wrong with the animatronics.

 

[MyMuse]

I last left you, I was in free time from D23's Magic & Merriment celebrations. I just left Canada and on my way to the UK! (hey, that rhymed! ).

isn't this pretty? i want this in my backyard! lol

can you see the HM in the sign?

united kingdom! your 1 hidden mickey is mine!
2:46 PM Dec 12th

decor

UK Santa

alice in window

inside UK

more window decor

fish & chip counter service next to Rose & Crown
(same food, less $)

the garden

The Beatles are coming! The Beatles are coming!

Video of UK Santa


Interestingly enough, no Photopass pics as of yet. I must have been slacking! LOL!

 

[MyMuse]

I saw UK, now I see France!

However, on my way there, y'know, I stopped on the bridge for a ....

I'm wearing the Santa Ears hat (& earrings I picked up during family shopping day) that I got that morning; I tried to wear the hat as much as I could since I wasn't about to hold it along with all the paperwork & book they gave us. Besides, it was great! Where else can one wear it? LOL!
While I appreciate the book (& the paperwork), holding these things all day was getting a little tiring.

Anyways, off to France!

If you look carefully...

...you'll see the HM!

And trust me, it is not easy to get that shot! I think I climbed on something.

I like this window

did you know France has a little library room?

and wouldn't you know it, but one of those books has a ....

People were definitely looking at me oddly, but hey, I was having a ball!

more area photos

one day, I will eat here....

this kid definitely thought I was taking a pic of him...

Off to Morocco!

One of my fav HMs...it's on the lakeside storefront

this is supposed to have a HM in it, but I can't find it - can you?

Off to Japan!

I was able to see the "santa" they have; I forget the exact story but it was a frightening one, not cheery at all!

area pics

not sure how, but this is supposed to be a HM?

Next: My trek continues!

 

[MyMuse]

Ahhh, now the land of my birth!

What's more USA than funnel cake? (besides, apple pie)

Santa! just missed him, wanted to take another pic with my christmas finery

just missed meeting santa in my xmas finery; the line closed right before i got there. darn.
3:28 PM Dec 12th


I consoled myself with yet another PP pic..

...and then with a performance by Voices of Liberty. This time, I caught on that they have a show before the showing of American Adventure.

Video of Voices of Liberty


If you remember from earlier in the TR, I missed a few HMs, so I went back to make sure to get it this time around

it's in this picture.....

...on the steal beam....

..a bit closer, though blurry

I went back to VoL to get some pics, they were so nice!!!
the down side of being solo, no one to take pic with them

area pics inside

I didn't actually see American Adventure again, since I wanted to make sure I had a handle on time. D23 meets back up again later!

area pics

Gingerbread House! not quite as grand as Grand Floridian's but smells just as nice inside Liberty Inn

reached to the ceiling!

did you ever notice the state flags inside Liberty Inn? from that period, of course

New Jersey!

On my way out of USA pavilion for now...will come back for D23's reserved seating for Candlelight Processional, this time with Chita Rivera! (see where her name was added? she replaced Vanessa Williams)

I am beyond excited to be able to see Candlelight Processional (seated) twice this trip. The other time with my friend Mary & her mom was booked way before my ticket to M&M.

 

[dawnbu40]

Great Epcot updates! You look so cute in your Santa hat

I love all the Hidden Mickey pics you find! Finding them always adds extra magic to a trip doesn't it?

Looking forward to more!

 

[MyMuse]

After visiting the USA, I decided to check out Italy, since I still had a bit of time before meeting back up with D23.

We had reserved seats, so I didn't feel the need to wait in line. The standby line was quite long at 3:30pm for the 5pm showing!

candlelight proc standby is waaaaaaay looooooong! now at 3:30 for 5pm show
3:41 PM Dec 12th

I entered Italy when the Showcase Players were just starting. I love this! The visitors they pick as part of the skit is always fun.

video of Italy Showcase players


area pic; I never noticed this before!

inside mask shop

There's not really many instances of HMs in Italy (based upon Venice). Besides, I spent all my time watching the showcase players. Now, there is supposed to be a pizzeria located in the back, so that will be interesting. I saw it being built in the March trip.

The belltower (campanile)

I have to say, having visited Venice, the pavilion does do a great job. Of course, the real Venice (St Mark's Square) is much much larger. I did have a link to my Venice photos earlier in this TR.

I decided to head to Germany, and was able to see their German holiday storyteller. I loved that lady! she was really funny.

..the nutcracker came to life! since solo, no pic with them

Videos of German holiday storyteller





After this, I decided to check on Santa to see whether I can get a pic; he was supposed to come back at 4:10pm. Our CP show was for 5pm, so maybe I can squeeze it in.

 

[MyMuse]

I left Germany to hustle back to USA to see about Santa. As I got there, D23 & dinner packages was being seated. So, I joined the D23 line and dropped my idea of meeting Santa again. Boy, am I glad I did it that first time!

Our D23 reserved seats were in the last 3 rows of the Theater! How sucky was that?!

they just started letting in packages & d23 peeps
4:20 PM Dec 12th

So, I wait and text a bit for the start of the show, with Chita Rivera.

got hidden mickeys in morocco, uk & japan. morocco is a challenge, have pic no idea where it is?
4:51 PM Dec 12th

Since I have a bit of time (guess I could have left to meet Santa now that I had a seat....solo disadvantage again), I notice that my pictures have not been posting to Twitter.

sorry guys. all my cool pics r not posting! heeeellooo twitrpix??
5:00 PM Dec 12th

The person next to me seems familiar, but I don't want to disturb. I'm not usually overly forward and I don't like to interrupt family/couple time.

I took a few minutes to write in my journal too and before one knows it, it's time for the Processional to begin. My pics will not be as good as the other night, but it's from a different perspective.

on the sidelines

Chita

Interpeter; these guys really get into it!

yup, that far back...

Did you see how the backgrounds keep changing? And how the center section forms the tree? very cool!

chita rivera did a wonderful job at candlelight processional! ahh..first noel singing now...
5:54 PM Dec 12th

Now that D23 has us back in their loving hands, our night continues with a ride to DHS!

 

[BippityBoo]

WOW! Great updates! Your pics and videos are SO helpful in planning.

The Voices of Liberty are absolutely beautiful! I plan on seeing them in December. Do you think the American Adventure would be really packed after the VOL performance?

I plan on doing the CP package. I am debating the earlier time with the later 8:00ish time. I see that it did get dark on you at the 5:00 show. Do you like it better at the later time or at the 5pm slot?

I read that you said they were "allowing" the CP package and D23 people in at 4:20. Do they let the stand by in first and then allow the package people in? That would be a huge time saver....do NOT want to get there 1 1/2 hours early!

Your photos and descriptions are awesome! Keep up the great work.

 

[MyMuse]

WOW! Great updates! Your pics and videos are SO helpful in planning.

The Voices of Liberty are absolutely beautiful! I plan on seeing them in December. Do you think the American Adventure would be really packed after the VOL performance?

I plan on doing the CP package. I am debating the earlier time with the later 8:00ish time. I see that it did get dark on you at the 5:00 show. Do you like it better at the later time or at the 5pm slot?

I read that you said they were "allowing" the CP package and D23 people in at 4:20. Do they let the stand by in first and then allow the package people in? That would be a huge time saver....do NOT want to get there 1 1/2 hours early!

Your photos and descriptions are awesome! Keep up the great work.

Thank you! I'm so glad, it's helping you out!

American Adventure Theater is HUGE & the film runs every hour or so. It's never packed; it just looks packed when in the gallery/rotunda area. Don't worry, you don't want to be upfront anyway. It's too close. 5th-8th row is nice. Or people can be like me, and just be in for VoL and then leave.

When I did the 8:15pm CP package, I think we got online at 7:30pm-ish and they started letting the pckage in a little while later. so, I'm making a guess they start allowing CP packages in 45 minutes early. D23 is a one-off thing, but we already had reserved seats vs. finding our own seats like CP packages.

I would definitely do a package; you have to eat anyway and it cuts down on time (or anxiety) about getting a seat. Stand-by gets in after the CP package people.

I would say go for the 5pm show, if you want to do Illuminations. With the 8:15pm show, it cuts very close to Illumination to get a decent spot, unless you already have someone there or don't really care where you are. Or it could very well come down to what packages are available at the time you call to book the package to begin with.

I go down to FL every December, so chances are, I'll be doing it all over again. (I just never did Disney like this, but I will now!)

 

[MyMuse]

I know this comes as no great surprise, but I did tell you that I do indeed visit FL a bit since the fam, BFF & goddaughter are there.

...


...


...


I booked my timeshare condo for Oct 10-17!!

I'll be staying at my BFF for a few days either before or after, so it should be about a 10 days trip. I really don't know at this point, how many days will be Disney grandish.

 

[dawnbu40]

So glad you're getting your fall trip too!

 

[If U Had Wings]

Woo hoo for a fall trip!

 

[MyMuse]

So glad you're getting your fall trip too!

Woo hoo for a fall trip!

Thank you!

I think I'll be heading to the BFF (& her mom lives next to her too!) earlier on Oct 6, which makes this Friday (I think!) 180 days.

I don't know if we want to do anything Disney/ADR related as she really doesn't committ. I know she wants to go back to Jellyrolls. I probably don't need to worry about ADRs until I hit Oct 10 and onward.

Which means I will have to do ADRs DAILY. *groan* Not looking forward to that. Alas, I have a stupid timeshare I must use, which actually forced me to make FL trips in the past. I refused to exchange as I can't stand it and my home resort is in Kissimmee.

I am not going to my home resort but the one I used last December, so I only had to pay a "developer exchange fee" which started last year. Prior to that, it was internal exchange at no charge.

I already booked a car, but hoping for a better deal to come along. I'm not even going to look into air as pratice in my area tells me, usually the best rates are at 6 weeks (or a bit earlier) out.

hmm, but I should probably out in to take the time off!

Ok, so that's all I gots for now, onward to this TR!!!

 

[praisehisname]

I'm back and all caught up again! We probably crossed paths sometime coming up, since you're headed to DHS and we spent the whole day/evening there!

 

[MyMuse]

So, now the Candlelight Processional is done and we are hustled out to a backstage area directly across from the Theater. I wasn’t expecting that! Once we get checked (neck badges now on display!) and actually got on a waiting Cruise Line bus.

we just went backstage to board a cruise line bus to bring us to hollywood studios to continue d23 event! kewlness.
6:11 PM Dec 12th

When Disney says all its money is for the “show” part, they are right. Backstage areas are definitely working areas. It’s such a difference of a few feet, but one would never know it walking around in the parks.

Anyways, it takes quite a long time to get to DHS from Epcot using the super secret internal roads. We passed Test Track; we went underneath the track. It was freaky! And alas, NO PHOTOS under the threat of certain death.

we just drove by test track backstage! so close to internal road!
6:24 PM Dec 12th

Finally, we are dropped off at the backstage set entrance of Lights Motor Action! We literally just walked 10 steps from the bus into the set. After getting our bags checked, which I didn’t understand at all, but apparently, we left one park for another and had to be checked again.

I picked a table after taking some photos and left my sweater behind to mark it (solo disadvantage!) and went to check out the foodstuffs. There was chicken, turkey, beef carving station, seafood mashed potatoes (yuck for me), sweet potatoes with marshmallows (yay for me), salad, breads, & beverages. It was a dazzling array.

Because it I wanted to rebel a little; pic of seat in front of me on bus - LOL!

the sight that greeted us coming off bus!

closer shot of screen

walking from bus into LMA! set

taking pics of other peeps taking pics

pretty table

from the tables looking out

food & servers

my din-din

we are IN the set

The fun doesn't end! This is just the beginning of an awesome night! Since I finished earlier than most, I had a chance just to walk around and take it all in.

 

[MyMuse]

I'm back and all caught up again! We probably crossed paths sometime coming up, since you're headed to DHS and we spent the whole day/evening there!

We were kept pretty separate from the general population. I think by the time we got to DHS it was already closing/closed. The rest of our night was all private stuff & there was one other party going on, but it didn't impact us. The twine shall never meet.