Very Merry Trip Report 12/7/2006 - 12/18/2006 - Updated 6/14/07 - Complete!!!

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Three - Night - Magic Kingdom

After dinner, it was still pretty early, before 7:00. Apparently eating solo is faster then eating with others. Of course solo, I pay attention to my food, and when I'm out with BF or whoever I don't shut up, and just pick at my food, making a simple meal last hours. I also take forever deciding what I'm going to order usually, but at Disney, know exactly what I want most of the time, since I always memorize the menus before I go.

Anyway, I had already planned to go to Magic Kingdom that night since it was open until 11:00, and I could see Spectro Magic and Wishes, two things that I had somehow both missed in 2005.

I got to MK around 7:00, and though Spectro Magic was less then an hour away, the streets were still pretty empty. Knowing there'd be another showing, (and knowing it'd be less crowded,) I went to Tomorrowland, since I had completely skipped it the day before.

The first thing I did was get a FP for Space Ranger Spin, which I've always enjoyed, but have never been very good at.

I had some time before my FP time came around, so I rode the Carrousel of Progress, which I had never been on before, and liked it. I think they could use a rehab, and make the decades a little more spread out, like instead of 1900, 20, and 40, and present day, they could do 1900, 1930, 1970, and present day. Just seems like from 1940 to now is a pretty big leap. I also rode the TTA which was a walk-on, and had a nice nighttime tour of Tomorrowland.

Then I was able to use my FP for Buzz, and as always, had an embarassing score. For whatever reason I never manage to get over 20,000 points.

It was almost 8:00 then, and I wanted to avoid Main Street, since I knew Spectro Magic was starting, and knew I wouldn't be able to get through, so I walked to Toon Town instead, and decided to check on the lines at the Hall of Fame.

I walked right into the room with Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto, and since I hadn't seen them yet this trip, was glad I made the stop. Minnie and Pluto are my favorite of the Fab Five, (which I actually think of as the Fab Eight, since I always think Chip and Dale and Daisy, (more favorites, LOL,) should be included.)

I then went to Fantasyland, since I wanted to watch Wishes from there. Since I still had about twenty minutes until Wishes, (I don't know how it took half an hour to get from Tomorrowland to Toon Town to Fantasyland, I must have been dawdling,) I decided to ride It's a Small World, since it was a walk-on, and I knew I'd be off before Wishes started.

Big mistake! It ended up stopping in the last room with all the white-dressed children, which is my favorite room, but I did not want to miss Wishes, so was getting really antsy waiting for it to start again. It did start again, but then in the room with all of the good-bye signs, it stopped again.

Do you have any idea how annoying it is to be stuck in a boat when you can see the exit, and be in a hurry to get off to see something else, all the while with that song playing over and over? Not the best circumstances.

Luckily, it did start moving, and I did have just enough time to get to "my spot," to watch Wishes from.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Three - Night - Magic Kingdom - Continued

I love Wishes. My trip didn't seem complete in 2005 without it, even with Hallo-Wishes, and watching it from California Grill the night before was nice, but nothing is the same as seeing it in person.

I especially love the princess part, and the finale. And I love the music the fireworks are set to. I have the cd at home, which I listen to a lot, but, like watching Wishes from CA Grill, it's just not that same.

After Wishes, there was less then an hour until the second showing of Spectro Magic, which I had no intention of missing.

I was a little hungry, and wanted a snack. It only been a few hours since dinner, and as good as dinner had been, the portions hadn't been huge, and I needed a snack.

Since I was still in Fantasyland, I decided to go to Pinocchio Village Haus, since I remembered they had special fries, and I didn't want anything sweet. I ordered the fries, which are called Figaro fries, and are topped with bacon, cheese, dressing, (which I'm pretty sure was ranch,) lettuce, and tomatoes, except I had it without the lettuce and tomatoes. No point in attempting to be healthy with this dish. LOL.

They were sooo good, and probably sooo fattening. I think I'll definatly have to limit myself to one order of these per trip. The same way I limit myself to one of Ghiradelli's sundaes each trip, or one Dole Whip each trip, they're more special that way.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Three - Night - Magic Kingdom - Continued Again

After I had finished eating my Figaro fries I walked over to Liberty Square to get a seat for Spectro Magic, about half an hour early, and was right in the front.

This was my first time seeing Spectro "in person," since 1998, and I was really excited, and looking foward too it.

On my left side there was a family with the parents, and a son about my age, on my right side there was a couple. Or, let me rephrase that, there was a couple on my right side until about five minutes before the parade started, then it was the couple, and their three grown children, (also about my age,) who came from the street, and duck under the ropes to their parents.

I wasn't going to budge, I had waited half an hour and had a good spot I wasn't going to give up. So the five of them, (the kids and the parents,) where in a spot that should of only fit the couple, maybe three people. It's not like they had just come back from getting a snack or using the restroom. They were talking loudly, since they'd been on rides, and wanted their parents to know what they'd been doing for the last hour or so.

I hate it when people show up at the last minute, and try to take over space that others had already claimed. If you care about the event, and want a good view, get there early. It's as simple as that.

That being said, Spectro Magic was great. I had a great spot right where they turn from Main Street to Liberty Square, so was able to take pictures of the front of all the floats, and then the sides after they turned.

After Spectro I was really tired, (I had been at the parks since 7:00 that morning remember.) I was going to go back over to Tomorrowland, and try the stand-by line for Space Mountain, but that was at the opposite end of the park, and I just didn't feel like walking back over there.

So I started to walk to the exit, going in and out of the shops on Main Street. I picked up a bag of peanut brittle at the candy store. Yummy. That bag actually lasted awhile.

I crashed as soon as I got back to Pop.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Four - Morning

After my late night the night before, I had decided to sleep in and have an easy morning the next day. This of course was planned out months before to be my Downtown Disney morning.

I had set my alarm for 8:00 AM, which is a late wake-up for me while in Disney, though it's the time I usually get up at home. Turns out, I wouldn't of had to bother with the alarm. I ended up waking up at 7:00 AM on my own.

How is it, that when I'm home, I never want to get out of bed, but then at Disney I'm up and ready to go super fast?

I wasn't that hungry, but went down to Everything Pop anyway, to see if there was anything I felt like getting for breakfast anyway. Nope, I just got my usual breakfast of diet coke. Thank god for those refillable mugs.

Honestly, I think the mugs are a great investment if you drink at least two sodas a day, and stay at least three days. Now me, I drink a soda or two in the morning, and a soda or two at night, and if I did bother to go back to Pop during the day, I always had another soda or two then as well. I did keep track the first two days to how many sodas I had drunk, and was at seven on day two. So between when I arrived at noon on day one, and when I went to bed on day two, (neither day taking a break,) the mug had already paid for itself with ten days left to go.

At 9:15, after an hour of catching up on filling in my Pass Porter, and writing in my journal, I headed to the bus stop to catch a bus to DTD. It was time to do some (Christmas) shopping.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Four - Morning - Downtow Disney

On the bus on the ride to Downtown Disney, there was an older lady that was complaining when the driver said the bus was only going to stop at Marketplace, and not at the Pleasure Island - West Side stop, since those shops and restaurants didn't open for another hour or so.

Apparently, she had a lunch reservation somewhere, (this was at 9:30 mind you,) and she didn't want to be late. The earliest DTD lunches don't start until 11:00, 11:30 at the earliest. I don't know why she got so snappy.

After all, I had a lunch ADR at West Side as well. I was just going to go to Marketplace early, do some shopping while it was slow, and then walk to West Side from Marketplace.

At Marketplace I walked from shop to shop making a mental list of things I should buy for Christmas gifts. I also realized it's really hard to find dark chocolate at Disney, with the exception of Ghiradellis.

I ended up not buying any Christmas gifts at all, but did buy some things for myself; two pairs of earring, MLP at Once Upon a Toy, and Dead Man's Chest on DVD.

When it got to be 11:00 I started to walk over to West Side, it wasn't a long walk, and couldn't of taken more then five minutes or so.

I think I've decided I like the shops better at Marketplace. They are definatly more Disney then the ones at West Side. There is a huge cd - dvd store at West Side, with two stories, and another candy store, as well as a magnet store that I went into.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Four - Lunch - Wolfgang Puck Cafe

I arrived at Wolfgang Puck at 11:23. I remember the exact time, becuase the lady inside said I couldn't check-in yet because they didn't open for another seven minutes. She was nice about it, and I didn't care that I had to wait. I went across the street to the Virgin music store. That was a bad idea. They were playing Pirates - Dead Man's Chest, which of course, I started watching, even though I had seen it before, and had just bought it that morning. So I didn't make it back to Wolfgang Puck until about 11:40.

I was seated immediatly, right near the kitchen. My server for this meal was Antavius, and he was good. He was fast, and asked me how my food was. But he wasn't anything spectacular, or over-the-top, so I have no need to mention him again in this review.

I was brought out a bread basket with two kinds of foccacia, olive, and herb. Along with the bread came a plate of olive and balsamic oils for dipping. I said in my Citrico's review that I love foccacia. Well, this may be the best foccacia bread I've ever had. There were two pieces of herb foccacia, and one of the olive. I ate half a piece of herb, then half a piece of olive, then the other half of the herb, and then the other half of the olives. These were big pieces too by the way. I was debating what a pig the waiter would think I was if I ate the other piece of herb foccacia, and completely cleaned out the bread basket, when I was served my entree.

I had ordered the pumpkin ravioli. It was regular pasta, filled with a pumpkin filling, which was slightly sweet, but not sweet enough to make it taste like pumpkin pie. Which I love, but I don't like savory pumpkin items to taste too much like dessert. It had a brown butter sauce with fried sage, port wine glaze, toasted pine nuts and aged parmesan cheese. It all went very well together. Especially the sauce and wine glaze. I ate everything on the plate except for some larger pieces of sage and parmesan.

You'd think I'd be full after this. And I pretty much was. But, I had heard really good things about the creme brulee here. And I told myself I could cancel my dinner reservation, which didn't happen by the way. So I ordered the vanilla bean creme brulee.

It was good, very good even, but I've had just as good at home, and I wouldn't of really needed to order this.

I'm very glad it's on the dining plan, since I have that next year. Though I can't imagine getting an appetizer in addition to all the rest of the food.

 

[Tinkerbell's Mom]

Jumping on board for the ride, I'm loving the solo trip, I want one myself!!!!!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Four - Afternoon - Animal Kingdom

After eating lunch I walked to the Pleasure Island - West Side bus stop, which, being that the West Side attractions were now open, was operating. While at the bus stop I called my BF, and for the first time of the trip got a hold of him.

I know four days isn't a long time. But, usually we talk at least once a day. I'd been so busy running around the parks, that I'd rarely had my phone on the past few days. (I won't turn it on in the parks, unless I'm outside, (and not on a ride or at a show,) and just feel like calling someone.)

I was off the phone before the AK Lodge bus arrived, (BF was at work, and could onlt talk for a few minutes.) I took the bus from DTD to AK Lodge, and switched buses there to go to AK.

I don't understand why there can't be buses going to and from DTD to the parks. It would make transportation easier, especially for guests who don't know which resort is in which area. For instance, it would of taken me more time if I went to Pop, my "home" for the trip, and switch, then it did going to AK Lodge, since that's much closer to AK then Pop is.

I arrived at Animal Kingdom around 1:30. Even with going to AK Lodge, I didn't arrive at AK for almost an hour from when I left DTD. I think that was the longest it took me to get anywhere all week.

I saw a favorite of mine for the first and only time this trip, Festival of the Lion King. As much as I love it, I always have a hard time scheduling it, since I don't spend a lot of time at AK. On my last two trips I've only spent two half-days at AK. I think I may need to figure in three half-days from now on.

After Lion King, which ended around 2:30, I hurried over to Dinoland hoping I could make the 3:00 showing of Nemo. The line ran back to the big yellow dinosaur, and when I did get into the theater, there were almost no seats left. I got a half-decent seat that wouldn't of been possible if I'd not been solo. There are times when I'm glad I'm not part of a big group. This was one of them.

Once again I loved the show. I can't believe I thought about skipping this on the first day!

After Nemo, I got to my parade spot by Tamu Tamu, and was able to see the parade both times it passed.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

After the parade, I went straight to AK Lodge for dinner.

Day Four - Dinner - Jiko

To be added from my dining reviews, coming up soon.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Four - Night

I was originally, planning on going to MK since they had EMH this night, and I could see Spectro Magic.

But, since I had just seen Spectro the night before, didn't feel like facing the mob, and my throat started feeling a little sore, went back to Pop instead.

It was about 7:30 when I got back to my room, and I remembered that the season finale of the Amazing Race was on at 8:00. All of a sudden, going back to Pop instead of MK seemed like a great choice!

Great finale, as all the finales always are.

After AR, I went to bed. This was around 10:30. Around midnight I woke up. My throat had really started to bother me, and it felt like I had a huge headache starting.

I blamed it on eating too much food, and seeing too many shows that day, and didn't really think anything of it. I took a couple asprin, and tried to fall back asleep, which didn't happen until after 2:00.

Then around 4:00, I woke up again. I think I felt worse when I woke up at midnight, but didn't feel much better now. My head hurt less, but my throat was still really bothering me.

I tried to fall back asleep, but couldn't. I kept watching the clock all night, trying to sleep.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Five - Morning - Epcot

When it got to be after 6:00, I didn't feel that great, but got up anyway, thinking maybe a shower would make me feel better. My headache seemed to go away, so I figured I'd stick with my plans, go to Epcot, and just be careful about what I ate.

I skipped breakfast. I wasn't hungry at all, but was really thirsty. I probably should of just drunk water all day, but drank a lot of soda, thinking whatever I had, would just go away.

Note - I never get sick. Never. The last time I got even remotly sick was in 2003 when I was in college, and had, what I considered, a stomach ache. But that wasn't too bad, and I never missed any classes. The last time I was really-really sick, was back in 1999. So I never get sick.

I got at Epcot before opening, at 8:15. I traded some pin I had, (I bought a bunch of pins I wasn't interested in off of E-Bay, to use for traders,) and got this Aurora pin I really like.

As soon as Epcot opened, I got a FP for Soarin, and then rode it using the stand-by line. After riding Soarin, I waited until I could get another FP. Killing time by getting a soda at Sunshine Seasons. So, when I left the Land pavillion I had two FPs for Soarin, both of which would be good before noon.

At 10:00, I went to the Living Seas pavillion to see Turtle Talk. What a cute show! There was, however, some lady, who wanted to sit on the floor with her kids, in the middle of the aisle. Poor CM had to keep asking her to move.

After seeing Turtle Talk, I was walking back to the Land to use my FPs, when I got a call from BF. When I got off the phone with BF, my first FP had hit its end time. Of course, I blamed BF, who wasn't even in Florida for this.

Luckily, it was only late by about ten minutes, so I didn't feel badly about using it. Then I used the second one, which was still in its return time. After that, I grabbed another FP.

Now, my throat didn't feel any better, but I decided to head over to France, to keep my lunch ADR, and try and get something in me other then soda.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I will be trying to finish this report within the next few weeks. I just finished my Feb 07 one, (yes the later trip had its TR written first,) but I'm going to finish this one before I start my pre-TR, which I want to start. But I set a goal for myself to finish my halfway done TRs first. So this is now back in progress.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Five - Lunch at Chefs de France

I had a short wait. My ADR was for 12:00, and I was not seated until 12:05. Not that I really cared about five minutes.

I realized something this day. For the most part, French boys are really hot, and have the cutest accents. My server, was Aurelien. He was very pleasant.

For my appetizer, I ordered the lobster bisque. Soup seemed like a good idea, with my throat hurting I really didn't feel like eating anything that would require chewing.

I was served a roll. It was good, but me being in my non-chewing state, ate very little of it. I was offered another, but of course, I declined.

The lobster bisque was good, better then the one I had at Coral Reef last year, which up to this point is the only Disney seafood type bisque I had to compare it to besides the crab soup at Boma, which is above excellant. So this was better then Coral Reef's bisque, but nowhere near as incredible as Boma's crab soup. That may have been the best soup I ever had, that, and the cheddar cheese soup at Le Cellier, and the butternut squash soup at Citrico's. I could write a whole review on why Disney has some of the best soups ever.

Although my throat still hurt, like that had gone away in the last ten - fifteen minutes, the soup did make me feel a little better. And although I could of also probably gotten away with just the soup as my lunch, I had been looking foward to the tarte a la flamme alsacienne. Since I had wanted that since I had booked my ADR here, (way back in June,) my common sense went out the window, and I ordered it anyway.

Tarte a la flamme alsacienne is a flatbread topped with creme fraiche, (which, for those of you who don't know, is soured milk,) bacon, and onions.
It was very good, though I thought there was a little too much onion on it. I really liked the crust, taste-wise anyway, it was very crispy, which usually I would of loved, except with my throat, made it almost painful to eat. I managed to eat about a third of it.

I was debating weather or not to let my common sense go out the window again, and order dessert, when I actually looked out the window and saw Belle and Aurora coming out of the back and saw they were going to do meets and greets.

So I liked Chefs de France, even though I know I would have been able to enjoy it better had my throat not been bothering me.

Day Five - Continued

I rushed out of the restaurant so I could see Aurora and Belle before they had to go back inside. Yes I'm sick, but no, that won't stop me from meeting characters, and I hadn't seen either of them yet this trip.

After I saw them I walked to Morocco, and there was Jasmine! She was wearing a robe over her usual outfit, and I'd never seen her like that before, at least out meeting. She did have a robe whenever she'd been in Cinderellabration, which had been the stage show the year before.

When I walked to the America pavillion I traded for an Ariel pin, that I had been considering buying, so I was happy to trade for it. Then I saw the American Adventure Show. Yeah, I won't be needing to see that again. I'm glad to be an American and all, but that almost put me to sleep. It was more interesting then the Hall of Presidents though, but that really doesn't say much.

After I saw the show I walked back to Future World. I had gotten a Disney Visa more then a year ago for my 2005 trip, just for the Visa holders meet and greet, (see, this is the character obsession I have,) and I never took advantage of it that year. That was not going to happen again!

There was like a ten minute wait, which I don't get, since there was no one in line ahead of me, so I guess they had to go get the characters from somewhere. But I had a pleasant conversation with the CM there, so it wasn't too bad.

I ended up having a private audience with Mickey and Pluto, and got a free 5X7 with their autographs magically added. So it was worth the ten minute wait.

After that I was still in a character mood, so I went to the Character Connection. There was a short wait there, mainly because Mickey and everyone needed a break as soon as I got there. There was a toddler there who was absolutly transfixed with Pluto. She kept on crawling over to him, away from the other characters, CMs, and her parents. She only wanted to see Pluto. Who could blame her? He's always been one of my favorites too.

So obviously Pluto was there, as well as Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Chip and Dale. All of them were in their Year of a Million Dreams outfits, which are cute, and I absolutly love Minnie's dress for it. I'm partial to the color blue.

Aftet that I was kind of thirsty, but instead of actually spending money and buying a soda, I went to Club Cool, and tried a few samples there. (I did this every time I got thirsty in Future World.)

I then went to the Living Seas, and rode the Seas with Nemo and Friends. It had a five minute wait listed. And I guess you could say I did spend five minutes in line, but that was because it took so long to walk through the queue. I think that is the longest queue in Disney World. The ride was cute, but I'd never ride it if the line was out the door of the pavillion, which at one point I saw it was. Disney is definatly cashing in on Nemo, but between this, the Nemo musical at AK, and Turtle Talk, was definatly my least favorite.

After Nemo it was getting close to my ADR time, but I had a Fast Pass fpr Soarin that I wanted to use before leaving the park. So I used that and then walked to the International Gateway, to get a boat to the Dolphin Resort.

Day Five - Dinner at Blue Zoo

I just made it to the Dolphin at 5:00, which was my ADR time, and I was able to find Blue Zoo quickly, since it was right inside the doors.

I was seated almost right away, at 5:05. I must say, they make a spectacle of being seated, and placed my napkin in my lap for me. Which I'm sure is the way it is done in fancy restaurants, though I rarely eat at any.

As much as I love fancy-gourmet food, I am not a fancy person. So when I go out at home, a good Italian place is Olive Garden, and a good seafood place is Red Lobster, throwing in a few local places for good mix. But, I'm not one of those people who go into the city, (I'm less then an hour away from Philly,) and get all dressed up for a fancy dinner.

So Disney is my favorite place to dine. Besides the almost always excellant service, and good, if not great, food, I never feel the need to dress up. I enjoy knowing that the most I have to dress up is a pair of nice capris and a nice top, and that is the norm. With the exception of Victoria and Albert's, which I do hope to experience one day.

After I had been seated I was greeted by my server, Paul, almost immediatly. He was excellant. He quickly took my drink order, recommending the Blue Zoo special drink, the Zooberry Martini, which he said was made with blueberry-infused vodka. I love berries of all king, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc, and I remember reading a review awhile back, which I believe was written by Mister Disney, saying that it was good, so I ordered that along with a glass of water.

Paul also went over the appetizer selections, explaining that they sold clams by the half shell, which I skipped, I don't care for raw clams, and usually will only eat them fried or in clam chowder. He also mentioned they were selling crab claws by the piece that night, which I didn't get, but looking back now, I'm not sure why. Must of been my throat. I do enjoy crab legs when we have them here at home, which is only once every couple of months.

What I did order was the teppan seared jumbo sea scallops, and the yellowfin tuna tartare. Which, according to Paul were two of Todd English's specialities. The scallops are the special appetizer at Blue Zoo, and the tuna tartare is the special at Olive's. So I felt good about my choices.

After my order was taken I was served bread. This was my one dissapointment of the night. I had heard many, many, great things about Blue Zoo's bread basket, featuring three different types of bread. But, I only got one kind, so I was sad not to be able to try the other two.
The bread was served with fennel butter, which I didn't really like that much. I like flavored butters, and I don't mind fennel, but for whatever reason I really didn't care for this.

I was served the tuna tartare first. The tuna was wrapped in cucumber, on top of crispy-fried rock shrimp, and had an orange glaze and a scallion cream.

It was good, though a bit more spicy then I had expected. I remember thinking to myself that it would clear my throat up, lol. My favorite part of the dish were the shrimp.

After I had finished my tuna, or almost finished, I can only eat so much raw fish. I was served the seared sea scallops. They were on top of braised beef short ribs and silky cauliflower puree.

These were excellant. I'm not a huge scallop fan, and only have them once in awhile, and while they were very good, it was the short ribs that really stood out. And also, the sauce, which I'm not quite sure what was in it, was very good with it.

After that it was time for dessert. I had looked at the menu before entering the restaurant, and while my original choice back home would of been the sampler, I had switched to either the molten chocolate cake, which had a lot of Asian sounding accompianments, or the creme brulee bar. When I recieved the dessert menu, it was different then the one outside the restaurant, there was still a molten chocolate cake on the menu, but the accompianments had changed, so I ordered the creme brulee bar.

Paul was quick to explain that this was not a traditional creme brulee, and instead was a layered bar thing with different layers, which had a caramelized top, hence the name, creme brulee bar.

The bottom of the bar was a lemon shortbread cookie, then there was a layer of custard, a layer of raspberry jam, for lack of a better word, and then the caramelized top. It also came with a shot glass of some kind of raspberry liquor.

This is one of the best desserts I had all week. I tried a forkful of it with the raspberry liquor, and that made it taste a bit to bitter for me. But it was excellant nontheless. I'm so glad I ordered this over the chocolate cake though I'm sure that would of been wonderful as well.

So I really liked Blue Zoo. The service was excellant, and the food was very good. I had felt better then I had at lunch, and had I been in my normal state, I would probably have said I love Blue Zoo. I will definatly be returning, though they don't use the DDP, so I won't make it back here in 2007. They also don't accept the DDE, not that I'm complaining, it was worth it, but two appetizers, a drink, and dessert cost me $60.

I hate to say I'm going to skip it due to the lack of DDP, but another meal on top of the one's I'm already going to be getting with the DDP, would be too much. Plus with the DDP, I'm going to need meals open to make use of the CS credits, which I'm actually looking foward to trying lots of new CS restaurants, since I usually eat at mainly TS.

Day Five - Night

I had planned on going to MGM that night after dinner, to see a second showing of Fantasmic, but I really didn't feel up to it, and I had a long day ahead of me coming up. So I went back to Pop instead, and went to bed.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Six - Early Morning

I woke up early the next morning at 5:30 AM. I hadn't slept very well again, though I had slept better then the previous night. I went down to the food court to get a diet coke, and then went back to my room to get ready for the day.

I had an 8:05 ADR at Crystal Palace, and I wanted to get to MK in plenty of time. I hate being late. I went to the bus stop at 7:10, and it's a good thing I went down as early as I did, since I had a wait for a bus, and I didn't get to MK until 7:50, but I had time to spare, and that is all that matters.

Day Six - Breakfast at Crystal Palace

I was let into MK as soon as I arrived, so was able to take a few pictures of Main Street and the castle, though this being the second time I've done an before park-opening ADR I'm starting to have an abundance of empty Main Street and uncrowded castle pictures.

I really wasn't that hungry, but I loved the breakfast I had there last year, and I hadn't seen Pooh and the gang yet this year, and I have a thing for Eeyore.

I was seated at 8:10, on the opposite side of the restaurant I had been on last year, in the circular booth thing. I'm sure those of you who have been there before will know what I'm talking about.

My server advised me that the characters would be starting on the opposite end of the room, and even that wouldn't be for a few minutes, so I had time to go up to the buffet.

I had a piece of sausage, and two pieces of bacon. They were good but nothing special. I would also like to take a moment to say I never eat like this at home, my breakfast at home usually consists of diet coke. I know, breakfast of champions. So bacon, and all the other fatty delicous foods I eat are a once-a-year treat.

I also had a piece of breakfast pizza, which I also had last year and loved, this year, it was good, but I think I liked last years better. I'm not sure why. I also had some potato casserole, which was way too salty, last year the potatoes were too peppery. It seems like Crystal Palace can't get the seasoning right on potatoes. Though I didn't mind the overly-peppery potatoes last year I don't like things that are overly salty. There was however also roasted potatoes with onions, (the red-skinned ones,) that were perfectly cooked, and very good. And I finally tried the puffed french toast, which somehow I missed last year. I thought it tasted like funnel cake. That was very good as well, though I was only able to eat one piece of it.

As I was eating that I was visited by Tigger and Piglet, and one of the character handlers offered to take my picture for me with them. After being visited by those two, Eeyore and Pooh were just getting to the side of the restaurant I was on, when they, (the characters,) all took a break, so I went up to the buffet for a second plate of food.

I had a helping of breakfast lasagna, which was less sweet then the one I had last year, even though it had the same kinds of fruit, blueberries and bananas, so I'm not sure why this one was different. I liked it better less-sweet though, since last time it was too sweet to eat more then a few bites.

I also had a honey-berry mini-muffin, I think that's what it was called, but I'm not sure, and some vegetable fritata, which was all right, I didn't eat it all. I can be kind of picky about eggs, and usually won't eat them out since I need them prepared a certain way, and usually they're either to runny or dried out or there's something wrong with them that I won't eat them. I usually load mine, (when I make them at home,) with cheese, so it's more cheesy then eggy. For whatever reason though, I do love quiche. Not that that has anything to do with breakfast, but it's kind of ironic that I'm that picky about eggs, and that we have quiche at home a few times a month. I also had some more of the red-skinned potatoes that I had on my first plate.

My server, had left me the bill right after I had been seated, so I just had to give him my DDE card, and have him revise the bill.

After I had finished eating I would have left, but I still hadn't seen Pooh and Eeyore. Had it been anyone other then Eeyore, I would have just left, and not bothered to see them, but I had to wait, and see Eeyore. Then right after I saw him, Pooh was only two tables away, so I waited, and saw him too.

I still really like Crystal Palace, and have to have breakfast here every trip.

Day Six - Morning

After breakfast it was 9:00 AM exactly, and the park had just opened. I made a beeline for Tomorrowland, grabbed a FP for Space Mountain, and then got in the stand-by line. It only took a few minutes to get through the line, ride, and get back outside.

I decided to go on Astro Orbiter next, since I'd never been on it before, and I knew it'd get longer lines later in the day. I was by myself in the elevator going up, but I figured there'd be other people up there waiting to ride. But nope, I was by myself. I felt really weird for the first half of the ride since I was the on it, but after I got over that, I was really able to enjoy having the whole ride, and the great views of Tomorrowland and the rest of the park to myself. I bet not many people can say they had a ride to themselves.

After my solo flight, I walked right on to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, which is another favorite of mine.

There wasn't anything else I wanted to do in Tomorrowland after that, and my FP time for Space Mountain hadn't come around yet, so I walked to Fantasyland, so I could get in line for Ariel. On the way to Fantasyland I saw the Mad Hatter and Alice by the Mad Tea Party, so I got my picture taken with them.

I got there about quarter of ten, and since Ariel doesn't open until ten, I had a few minutes to wait, but I knew it was worth it, since Ariel gets mobbed later in the day, and I did not want to be stuck in that line.

After seeing Ariel, who was very nice as always, I got my second FP of the day for the Many Adventures of Pooh. (I get made fun of all the time for this being one of my favorite rides. )

I didn't have anything else I needed to see in Fantasyland, so I walked to Toon Town, and toured Mickey's House, which I hadn't been in for years. After that I got to meet Mickey. How cool am I?

I decided to take the train from Toon Town to Frontierland, and then I could ride the other mountains over there. I walked right on to Splash Mountain, and then was able to get a FP for Big Thunder Mt. Railroad, which already had a decent line, so I decided to wait for my FP time then ride it on stand-by.

Instead I walked to Adventureland, (I did a lot of walking around this day,) and rode Pirates of the Caribbean with just a five minute wait. As I exited that there was a showing of Captain Jack's Pirate Tutorial, which is a cute show, but really isn't worth seeing more then once. Except that it is Captain Jack, so I ended up seeing it three times.

After the Pirate Tutorial was over I walked back to Fantasyland, and saw Mickey's Phillarmagic, and then got a FP for Peter Pan's flight.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Six - Afternoon

I had a lunch ADR at Grand Floridian Cafe, but my throat was bothering me, so I decided not to go. Plus I was really enjoying MK, and really in my park touring mode.

I left Fantasyland, and walked to Tomorrowland, (I do a lot of zig-zagging across the park all day,) and decided to get a burger at Cosmic Ray's since I wasn't going to be having a sit down meal. It was a decent burger, and the topping bar made it even better, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again.

After my lunch, I was just in time to see the High School Musical Pep Rally, which hadn't been a priority of mine, since I didn't like the movie that much, but for the rest of the afternoon I found myself humming the songs.

I then got a FP for Space Mountain, and used the one I had gotten first thing that morning. I then walked back to Fantasyland and used the FP that I had for the Adventures of Pooh, and the one that I had for Peter Pan's Flight. I was able to get another FP for Adventures of Pooh after riding both of those.

I walked to Frontierland then, and used the Fast Pass I had gotten earlier, for Big Thunder Mt. Railroad, and also got a new one after riding. I was having a great time with Fast Passes today!

After that I went and got a spot for the 3:00 parade, and saw that. I think I may like it better since they removed the snow globes. Even though I love snow globes I think the floats may be better with the added decorations since they've been removed.

I was hungry again after the parade. I had a dinner ADR at Ohana, but didn't feel like going. With my sore throat I knew I wouldn't be eating a lot, or getting my money's worth. So instead, I just got a hot dog at Casey's Corner. I don't get why everyone makes such a big deal out of the hot dogs here. They taste the same as the ones I have at home.

I couldn't get the High School Musical songs out of my head from earlier, and decided I wanted to see the Pep Rally again. I also decided I wanted to buy the soundtrack, which I had the hardest time finding BTW.

While I was in Tomorrowland I used my Space Mt. FP. I then walked to the castle so I could see the last showing of the day of Dream Along with Mickey, which I had seen the other day, but hadn't gotten any good pictures of, so I wanted to see it again. Besides I liked the show.

After the show I went back to Fantasyland, and used my FP for the Adventures of Pooh, and saw Mickey's Phillarmagic again. It was almost time for Wishes then, so I watched them from Fantasyland.

After that I used my last Fast Pass for Big Thunder Mt. Railroad. It was then almost park closing, and time for my first Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

 

[Tinkerbell's Mom]

Ok I HAVE to ask, less then an hour from Philly? Me too . . . WHERE are you?

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - Take One

That night I was attending my first-ever Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, soon to be followed in two nights by me secong-ever MVMCP. I would've liked them spaced out a little more, but that's what fit my schedule best, so that's what I did.

I go to these parties for the special entertainment, and things special to the parties. Not for going on rides I can do anytime on normal park days.

I walked over to Tomorrowland so I could see the first showing of Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas. By the time I got there, half an hour early I might add, it was already standing room early. I ended up standing right behind the last row of bleachers, and this little girl stared at me the whole time until the show started. The show was cute, but nothing I'd need to see again.

I then walked to Toon Town, and went into one of the character greeting rooms where I saw Princess Aurora and Phillip, and Cinderella and Prince Charming. It was my first time meeting both Phillip and Prince Charming, so I was pretty excited about that.

I then walked to Fantasyland, and when I was near Pooh's Playful Spot I got to meet Scrooge Duck, who I had never seen before either.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - Take One Continued

After seeing Scrooge I grabbed some cocoa. I could've gotten some cookies too, but my throat was still bothering me, so I just had the cocoa. Which I swear was like the best cocoa I've ever had. Maybe that's because it was in Disney.

I decided to wait for the parade then, and watched from the stocks in Liberty Square. I didn't feel like messing with my camera then, so I just watched, and didn't take any pictures.

I only watched about half of the parade, since I knew Belle and Snow White were alternating over in Fantasyland, and I wanted to see both of them. I knew one was scheduled to come out at 9:00, so I skipped the rest of the parade, so I wouldn't have a wait with the characters.

At 9:00 exactly out came Snow White and her prince, and I was third in line to meet them. I'd never met Snow White's prince before, (seriously, he needs a name though,) and was excited to meet him. Snow White was very flirty. I had just asked for the prince's autograph, since I already had hers, and she said most people had wanted his and not hers, but who could blame them. Of course, I let her be in the picture.

I went back to Toon Town then, and got in line to see Minnie and Mickey, since I wanted a picture with them in their Christmas outfits. There was a really cute baby in the room, who was completely fascinated with them, and spent five minutes grabbing their mouths and noses, and getting pictures taken. No one in line seemed to mind though, it was just too adorable.

After meeting Mickey and Minnie, it was time for Holiday Wishes, which even though I'd heard 1,000 times since I own the soundtrack, I'd never actually seen, so I was glad to finally see that.

I then got in line again for Snow White, since the CM there said she'd be leaving soon, and Belle and the Beast would be coming out. I figured I'd stay in line now, and let people ahead of me if Snow White was still there when I got to the front. But that wasn't necessary, there was still one family in front of me when Belle did come out.

Of course, the girl who was in front of me didn't want to have anything to do with the Beast, and would only go near Belle, and poor Beast had to stand off to the side when her parents took a picture.

Now I've met both Belle and the Beast several times before, but I had really wanted a picture with Belle in her Christmas dress, so it was worth the wait. And Beast was in his formal outfit, so those were two new outfits that I hadn't seen characters in yet.

I was pretty tired by then, (I had gotten up at 5:30 that morning remember,) so I decided to go buy my AP pin, and leave. I bought the pin, and when leaving the store ran into Bert, Mary Poppins, and two penguins. So I had a group picture with them, and was able to get Bert's autograph, as he was another new one for me.

I left the park then, I hadn't seen the whole parade yet, but I was going to another MVMCP in two nights, so I wasn't too worried about it.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Seven

I woke up around 6:30, but I didn't feel like getting out of bed or doing anything. My original plan was to wake up, and get to Epcot at rope drop. But that just wasn't going to happen. I didn't feel that great, and my throat was still bothering me. Plus having a really long day the day before probably hadn't helped at all.

At 10:30 I finally got up, and instead of going to Epcot, like I'd planned, I went to Downtown Disney. Beating the mob at a theme park was just not something I felt like doing.

I got a sandwich from Earl of Sandwich, but didn't eat most of it. It was good, don't get me wrong, but bread was apparently really irritating me, so I gave up on the bread and just picked out the beef and cheese.

I went to a few of the stores in the Marketplace, and bought a few gifts, some for other people, and some as a self-pitying, I'm sick at Disney pick-me-up.

I stopped at Ghiradelli's too, and got a sundae. I figured the ice cream wouldn't be too hard to get down. I had a new sundae, that was inspired by the intense dark chocolate line. I think it was called espresso escape, or something and it was really good. And, like I thought, wasn't too hard to eat.

After a couple hours at the Marketplace, I decided I wanted a nap, so I went back to Pop. When I got back the cleaning lady was at my room, so I went back down to the main building so I could kill some time in the gift shop as she finished. I ended up buying the soundtrack for High School Musical, since I still had the songs stuck in my head from the day before.

I then went back to my room, and took my nap. I didn't nap for very long though, maybe about two hours, and most of that was resting, I don't think I actually slept that much. Yeah soda and espresso sundaes, and it's not that easy to fall asleep.

I went to Epcot around 4:00 since I did have a CP dinner package, and since there was a CC deposit on that, I didn't want to cancel. Plus Le Cellier was one of my favorite restaurants, and I hadn't had a TS meal since the morning before. And after my nap I felt up to going to a park.

When I got to Epcot I decided I had just enough time to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience before I had to be in Canada for dinner. When the show ended I had five minutes before my ADR time, and I had to rush over to Canada quickly, since I don't like to be late.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day Seven - Dinner at Le Cellier

My ADR was for 5:00, and I was seated at 5:05. There was a lady at the door making sure everyone who entered had an ADR for that evening, so I'm assuming walk-ups were turned away.

My server for the evening was Patrick. He was good, and as quick as possible considering how busy the restaurant was. I usually get early ADR times in order to avoid crowded restaurants. But Le Cellier was filled despite the fact that it was only the early evening.

I felt better this evening than I had the last couple days. Maybe it was because I hadn't forced myself to go to the last few previous meals, and I was looking foward to being waited on again. My last sit-down meal had been breakfast at Crystal Palace the day before, and I had missed three ADRs inbetween.

As always the bread was, the pretzel, multi-grain, and sourdough. And I liked them just as much as I did last year, except I wished I had soup to dip the pretzel bread into. Next year, with the DDP and my DM, I think one of us will get the soup, to have it, and we can split our appetizers.

Since I had the CP dinner package, I was entitled to an appetizer, entree, and dessert. I had been debating over the beef kabob and shrimp cocktail for an appetizer. I've had the cheddar cheese soup previously, and it's very good, so if you haven't tried it, I highly recommend the soup. But, I make it at home, and it's "almost" the same, and I wanted to try something new. Since I knew I was going to have steak for my entree, I decided to order the shrimp cocktail.

The shrimp cocktail on the menu is described as Asian. The idea of a non-traditional Asian shrimp cocktail intrigued me.

It was served in a bowl, with a set of chopsticks, like I would use them. I've attemped to use chopsticks before, and that has resulted in flying food. Thankfully, that's only been at home, where I had no one to embarass at my lack of chopstick skills except for myslef.

The shrimp was covered in a horseradish-chili sauce, on top of a wasabi coleslaw. It was very good. It was a little on the spicy side, though with the three ingrediants listed on the menu, horseradish, chili, and wasabi, it would have been shocking had it not been spicy. It wasn't so spicy however, that it was over-powering and inedible. The combination worked well together, and I ate all the shrimp, and a good portion of the coleslaw.

For my entree I had the 14 oz New York strip steak. I'd been looking foward to this all week, since I had such a wonderful steak here last year, the maple-bbq filet mignon. I had ordered it medium, knowing that Disney has a tendancy to cook steaks a little more on the rare side. One of the worst things you could do, in my opinion, is order a steak well-done. I never understood why people, (and there's some in my family,) want meat cooked so much that it gets to the point of being almost dried out. On the flip side I also have a friend who will just sear something off so only the very outer edge is cooked, and everything else is raw. That's a little too rare for me.

The steak was served with sauteed leeks, frise and roasted Yukon potatoes. It also had a veal demi-glace sauce. The sauce, went well with the steak. I did not however care for any of the other accompianments. The potatoes weren't seasoned at all, and were cold, and the other two just didn't taste right with the steak.

The steak itself was very good, and more medium-rare then medium, which is what I had expected. It being a fourteen ounce steak, was more then I could of ever eaten. But I did a pretty good job at it if I say so myself, and ate probably at least ten ounces of it. I do think I like the maple-bbq filet mignon better though.

Then it was time for dessert. Which I really wasn't that hungry for. But it was included, and it's me, so skipping it was not an option. Along with dessert I decided to order a drink. I had the berries and cream tini. It was a mix of stoli razberi vodka, chambord, and amarula cream. It really didn't have a huge berry taste, and actually, what I thought it tasted like was some kind of milky liquor. It wasn't bad though, and I really liked the chocolate rim, which I'm sure ended up all over my mouth.

For dessert, even though Patrick recommended the creme brulee, I had decided on the chocolate cake a long time ago. It had changed since the Happiest Celebration on Earth, when it was a chocolate-orange concoction, and what I had been looking foward too. And it was now a chocolate on chocolate whiskey cake. The cake was brushed with whiskey, and had a chocolate mousse filling. There was a small dish of tarragon-anglaise as well, to pour over the cake.

The cake was sooo good, and so rich, and very moist. I only ate about half of it. It was very chocolaty, and the first really chocolate dessert I believe I had all week. The tarragon-anglaise had just the slightest hint of tarragon, that could easily be missed if you weren't trying to find it. It's one of the best restaurant-made chocolate cakes I've ever had.

I still love Le Cellier, except for my wallet. Both times I've eaten here it was $50+. Not that I'm complaining, both meals have been excellant. But, I'll be glad when I'm there next year, that I have the DDP for free, and that it won't cost me a cent.

Day Seven - Night

After dinner I decided to see the O Canada movie since I'd never seen it before. I only had a short wait. It was all right, I like the movie in China better.

I then walked back to Future World, and watched the Fountain of Nations and the Christmas lights for awhile. They really are beautiful, and, suprisignly, my favorite live entertainment at Epcot. Not that I don't like the other entertainment, I just really enjoy the Fountain.

I then walked back to World Showcase, so I could get in line for the Candlelight Processional. By Showcase Lagoon there was a cart set up, and they were selling candied pecans and eggnog. How could I pass that up? The eggnog was great, the best I've had. And so were the pecans. The pecans were a great deal, and I could only eat a few at a time. So few in fact that they lasted me a few days, and I had them to snack on in my room for the rest of the trip.

By the time I got to American Adventure the line for the dinner package guests was already through Japan and into Morocco. I was very glad right then that I'd gotten the dinner package. I don't think there was much room for guests from the stand-by line.

I had a little while to wait before the show started. I had a seat pretty close to the front, so was able to see everything quite cleary. I knew that the show was a retelling of the Christmas story, so I wasn't quite sure that it was going to be my kind of thing, and, I was right.

I really liked the singing, and it's not that I thought the show was bad, but I'm just not that religous. I know why we celebrate Christmas, and Easter, and all that, but I'm just not one of those people who go to church every week. That being said, this was way cooler then any church service I've ever been to, but I wouldn't have to see it again. If I went with my family at Christmas-time, (which is unlikely,) and had the dinner package, (I don't think I'd ever go without the dinner package,) I'd go again. But solo, it's just not something on my must-do list. I am glad I saw it though.

After the CP, I was tired, so I went back to Pop, and went to bed.