Visting the Big Apple and the Big Cheese, for the Holidays! December 2010

[irishdancer86]

Hi Emma,

I musy be equally blond, I actually stopped to wonder 'how did that guy know?!@ before reading on to the realisation it was the royal wedding I think its actually pretty cool to be married in the same year as a royal wedding!

Holy smokes, those annual passes are a bit scary, but I suppose when you divide it out per visit its much more affordable!

That margherita looked so good, and your whole evening looked relaxed and just nice and christmassy too!

I'm investigating Disney florist at the moment trying to fgur out what would be best for 3 adults and one child and I remember reading a trip report where Mickey had left footprints, have you ever seen this?

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Oh my goodness, what is wrong with me!??!! I have been so anxious to hear about your trip, especially the NYC part and I totally missed that you started the TR!!!!!

Going back to start reading now.....

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I have to comment on every update, as if I had been reading all along!!

Sounds like you saw a LOT on your first day in NY! Can't believe you walked all the way to the park! I guess it's not much more than you would walk on a typical day in WDW but it just seems so far! We used to take a cab from Penn Station (34th) to the old World of Disney Store (55th), especially if it was that cold!! What bar did you go to? Looks like it was nice, from what I can tell in the background of your pictures!

Okay, reading on....

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Wow, again, I can't believe how much you did on Day 2! So funny that you went to the SI ferry just to ride it and get off! (Tom is from SI and my sister is there now. We go there at least once a week but on the total opposite side of the island than the ferry terminal. )

You really planned a great trip! You are doing the things that people who live around NYC would never do but should! What an amazing view of NYC from the top of the Empire State Building! I guess you have to be away from something to appreciate it more.

Oh that Whopper Bar! We saw that when we went in to the see Radio City Christmas Show! Thought it was so funny that BK had a Whopper Bar!

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi Emma,

I musy be equally blond, I actually stopped to wonder 'how did that guy know?!@ before reading on to the realisation it was the royal wedding I think its actually pretty cool to be married in the same year as a royal wedding!

Holy smokes, those annual passes are a bit scary, but I suppose when you divide it out per visit its much more affordable!

That margherita looked so good, and your whole evening looked relaxed and just nice and christmassy too!

I'm investigating Disney florist at the moment trying to fgur out what would be best for 3 adults and one child and I remember reading a trip report where Mickey had left footprints, have you ever seen this?

Hi! yes it was a bit scary when the CM read out the total for the Annual Passes! but I'd worked out the cost of buying separate tickets for December trip & honeymoon.. and the APs are cheaper, plus we get 10% off at various shops, 15% off tours/spa & then 20% off food with the Tables in Wonderland card, I'm hoping overall it was a good 'investment'!

I've heard of that Disney Florist thing too.. it's called something like 'Mickey's Big Welcome'.. it looks amazing but does cost around $200+ I think! .. there's a really good selection on the website for adults.. I like the 'Ears to You', Mousketeer hat, autograph book & pen!

It was a really lovely first evening in Epcot, I usually plan which park we'll go to each day; but then we just go with the flow when we get there, I was impressed how many attractions we got done that evening!

Oh my goodness, what is wrong with me!??!! I have been so anxious to hear about your trip, especially the NYC part and I totally missed that you started the TR!!!!!

Going back to start reading now.....

Welcome Nikki! hehe I wondered a few days ago if you'd seen I'd started a TR for this trip!

I loved your NYC TR, makes me feel like we defo have to go one day

Yay you've arrived at Disney and had a good first day. Glad Steve loved the surprises from Disney Florist

I would definitely recommend a trip to NYC Stefy! There's so much to see & do, and it feels sort of familiar, because you've probably seen so many of the sights in movies/tv programmes!
It was really great to combine it with a Disney trip.. the flight from Newark to Orlando was only about £80 each!

Yup we had a lovely first day! ... that's the third time I've ordered Steve something from the Disney Florist, and he was still completely surprised! He loves all those kinds of Disney sweets/chocolates/snacks, so it was a good choice

Glad you loved your stay in NYC!! And yes-- going through an airport is MUCH nicer when you don't have to go through customs! LOL-- at the wedding comment! I definitely would have thought the same thing you had! The energy in England must be crazy now because of the royal wedding! I love that the country gets a holiday day off from work/school.
The Boardwalk is the DVC resort I'm most interested in-- never really been in that area, always wanted to. Jellyrolls seems like a lot of fun! Your view was great!
Your picture of the Epcot Christmas tree is great-- so beautiful!

Hi! it's funny, after the initial news about the royal engagement & wedding date, there's not really been that much in the news about it?! I guess it's going to be all very secretive... I did read that Kate Middleton's dress might be made by the designer Bruce Oldfield... I found that quite exciting, because I did some work experience with him when I was at school! (back when my plan was to be a fashion designer... but I ended up as an accountant?! )

The Boardwalk is such a beautiful resort, I'm so pleased my parents picked it as our home resort! I went to Jelly Rolls with my sister when we went in December'09.. it was really good fun; I play piano so I loved watching/listening to the duelling piano players!

Loving the pictures so far. You guys are real troopers and got a lot done in NYC especially with how cold it was. What was your favorite thing in NY? Aren't those Mickey and Minnie's freaky? They stand by my job in the summer and I always get creeped out. There was a whole thing about them on the news a few weeks ago that they are not from an agency just immigrants trying to make money. How is Jenny? I have not head from her in a while. If you speak to her tell her hi and congrats on the baby!!! That is so exciting. That wedding comment was hilarious! I would had done the same thing. Looks like Disney was a lot of fun. I went to the Boardwalk for the first time this past trip and it is really nice. I never realized how close it is to Epcot. Looking forward to reading more.

I think our favourite thing in NY was visiting the Empire State Building.. those views were breath-taking! ... I loved the area around Times Square too, although it was busy, we felt really safe - even at night.. and I liked Central Park too, would like to visit it when the weather was a bit warmer!

Jenny is doing good! I keep in touch with her on facebook now as she doesn't post on here anymore... her little boy is growing up fast by the looks of the photos she has posted!

Yes the Boardwalk is really close to Epcot.. from leaving our room, we were at International Gateway (between UK & France Pavilions) in 10 minutes - and to the Hollywood Studios entrance in 20!



I'm hoping to write another update today!



Emma x

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

The wedding comment was soooo funny! I can just image what you must have been thinking!

Yeah, it's funny...we always see people in line with ME tags on their bags or WDW shirts on when we are at the airport. I always try to look at their tags to see if they are going to the same resort as us! Especially if they have obnoxious children! J/K!

Beautiful views from the Boardwalk! So happy you had a lovely few days in NYC and made is safely and quickly to WDW! I LOVE how you started your trip off with a margarita and beer! That's Nikki and Ton style for SURE!! Too bad you couldn't meet up with Jenny and Vinnie in NYC. You should've called me! We would've come in to meet you for dinner!

 

[disneybarbie]

I have to comment on every update, as if I had been reading all along!!

Sounds like you saw a LOT on your first day in NY! Can't believe you walked all the way to the park! I guess it's not much more than you would walk on a typical day in WDW but it just seems so far! We used to take a cab from Penn Station (34th) to the old World of Disney Store (55th), especially if it was that cold!! What bar did you go to? Looks like it was nice, from what I can tell in the background of your pictures!

Okay, reading on....

yes we got much more done that first afternoon/evening than I imagined we would!
Lol we did do a lot of walking! It didn't feel like a long walk to Central Park, I guess because we were just gazing at everything, taking it all in! On the Friday evening, we did take the subway from Penn Station to Times Square rather than walk, due to the cold

The bar we went to in Times Square was called Maxie's .. it was really nice, I loved that we got talking to other people at the bar.. I don't think we'd ever do that in England!

Wow, again, I can't believe how much you did on Day 2! So funny that you went to the SI ferry just to ride it and get off! (Tom is from SI and my sister is there now. We go there at least once a week but on the total opposite side of the island than the ferry terminal. )

You really planned a great trip! You are doing the things that people who live around NYC would never do but should! What an amazing view of NYC from the top of the Empire State Building! I guess you have to be away from something to appreciate it more.

Oh that Whopper Bar! We saw that when we went in to the see Radio City Christmas Show! Thought it was so funny that BK had a Whopper Bar!

We are probably the same here with London, it's so close that we never think to go & do the 'tourist' things!

The Whopper Bar was pretty much a BK.. IMO - but it cost more! someone came in & asked for a double bacon cheese burger, and the girl who worked there had to day "Um.. we don't serve those, this isn't a Burger King" !

The wedding comment was soooo funny! I can just image what you must have been thinking!

Yeah, it's funny...we always see people in line with ME tags on their bags or WDW shirts on when we are at the airport. I always try to look at their tags to see if they are going to the same resort as us! Especially if they have obnoxious children! J/K!

Beautiful views from the Boardwalk! So happy you had a lovely few days in NYC and made is safely and quickly to WDW! I LOVE how you started your trip off with a margarita and beer! That's Nikki and Ton style for SURE!! Too bad you couldn't meet up with Jenny and Vinnie in NYC. You should've called me! We would've come in to meet you for dinner!

oh I should've thought to see if you guys were free on the Friday night! next time we come to the city

when we were boarding the plane, the lady doing the announcements said "usually now we'd ask people travelling with children to board the plane.. but since that's nearly everyone... you may all now begin boarding!"

I thought of you & Tom when were got to the Margerita stand in Mexico! It was about 5.30pm.. it was still warm, the sun was setting.. we were in Disney World.. it was definitely time for a margerita & beer to celebrate!

 

[disneybarbie]

Our Photopass cd arrived this week! .. I had pre-ordered one before we went, so it csot $99 rather than $150.. I really like doing this, as it makes us stop for PP photos & get more pics with both of us in them!

Here are a couple from the first evening in Epcot..

I noticed on these that a family had walked right behind us while the photos were taken... and PP had faded them out so just a 'ghost' of them can be seen... magic!

 

[disneybarbie]

Sunday 12th December

I’d set our wake up call for 6.45am … lovely to hear from Stitch & Mickey on the phone!
I put on the coffee pot then had a shower, got dressed & ready for our day at Magic Kingdom!

The original plan for this day was to have breakfast at the Crystal Palace at 8.05am… as Magic Kingdom didn’t open until 9am … however, a couple of weeks before we arrived, Disney changed the park hours, so that MK opened at 8am on this Sunday… we decided to cancel the breakfast ADR, as there was no point eating breakfast for 30-45 minutes & missing that extra hour of park time! (we have booked a breakfast at CP for our honeymoon now though!)

We headed out to the bus stop, a few other families were there waiting..

(someone’s sleepy!)

3 buses for Animal Kingdom came & went… crazy since the park didn’t open until 9am – I guess it was to pick up Tusker House breakfast guests, but three buses?!

After about 15 minutes.. the Magic Kingdom bus arrived!

Luckily we didn’t stop at the Swan & Dolphin.. and headed straight for the park.

We arrived at the turnstiles just as the opening ceremony was beginning..

We headed down Main Street USA – I love all the Christmas decorations..

Our first stop was Tomorrowland.. Steve hadn’t ridden the refurbished Space Mountain.
It was pretty much a walk on!

Steve really enjoyed the updates to the ride – so we got fast passes to go on it again later!

Next up was Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. On the way there, we saw Stitch strolling by! I waved at him, and he waved back.

Steve beat me on Buzz, as usual it was good to go on the ride when most of the cars around us were empty, it was much easier to tell which was my red laser beam!

Stopping for a Photopass..

We headed to Adventureland – the park was so quiet still!

First attraction was.. the Jungle Cruise.

We walked straight on to a boat – and then had to wait a few minutes for more people to arrive! The Skipper noticed our ‘just engaged’ buttons & said congratulations.. he asked if we’d been on the ride before; guess he was preparing us for the corny jokes, just in case it was going to be the three of us on the boat! 4 more people joined our boat (two of them couldn’t speak English)… and off we headed into the jungle! The Skipper did a fantastic job, considering he only had an audience of 6, I imagine it’s easier to do the jokes when you have a boat full!

Next.. one of our favourites… Pirates of the Caribbean!

This was also a walk on – it was so quiet in fact, that we had an entire boat to ourselves!

We had to sit in the middle to keep it balanced!

There was no one on the boats in front of us, or behind – it made it a bit spooky on the drop, but also really nice because it meant there was no camera flashes or distractions

(I took these with no flash lol)

We walked around to Frontierland.. and I had to take a photo…

Where is everyone?! I thought maybe the change to opening hours was not widely known.. it was great for us though!

 

[disneybarbie]

Next up was another favourite.. Splash Mountain! No wait at all.

We noticed the water jets were turned off (the ones where you get really soaked through), so apart from a bit of spray on the big drop, we were quite dry.

We wandered back to the hub..

And back to Tomorrowland to use our FPs for Space Mountain – we went on the other side this ride, nice to experience both tracks.

Next was.. breakfast at the Main Street Bakery … and also our biggest queue of the day so far! Only had to wait about 15 minutes.. I got a latte & muffin, Steve had a Danish & Orange Juice.
While we ate, there was an announcement that a high school marching band was performing – it was fun to hear and see them march down Main Street to the hub.

With breakfast, we got a 20% off coupon for several shops in WDW, which was valid between 9am-12pm until January 4th – we actually got several of these during the trips when buying breakfast!

The Dapper Dans in their Christmas outfits..

Trolley horse..

Next we went to the Haunted Mansion – it was a shame to see the graveyard at the entrance all boarded up – but I’m excited to see what’s coming to that area soon! Apparently it’s going to be more like an interactive queue. Otherwise enjoyed visiting the 999 grim grinning ghosts!

We went back to Frontierland to ride Thunder Mountain, which had no wait, and then noticed that Splash Mountain also had a 5 minute wait posted.. so we decided to ride it again. Unfortunately, now the water jets had been turned on… and we got soaked!!! We got off the ride, and could actually hear people saying “wow, look how wet they are!”

We wandered around to Fantasyland, apart from seeing a few cranes over the construction walls, I didn’t think it looked too ‘messy’ back there… I liked the pictures & descriptions on the walls

We got a drink from the Friar’s Nook, and sat in the sunshine.. attempting to dry off!

Flying elephants..

Tigger & Pooh skipping through Fantasyland

We decided to do Philharmagic next, had to wait about 10 minutes for this as we just missed a show – at least we were inside & in the warm…. Drying off! Enjoyed Philharmagic, and as we went to exit .. realised a huge rain storm had arrived! We stood for a couple of minutes in the shop – then got out the ponchos, and carried on..

We walked to Liberty Square & in to the Hall of Presidents – Steve hadn’t seen it since the Obama animatronic was added, and we agreed it’s a really interesting show now!
Luckily, the rain was easing off as we exited, so we put the ponchos away & decided to get some lunch.. at Casey’s Corner! (I think this is the only place I eat hotdogs at!)
We added jalapeno peppers to our dogs at the fixings bar, it was really good! We sat inside.. and bought coffees rather than soft drinks – the rain had really cooled the temperature down

We wandered through the Emporium to the front of the park – and then into the Fire Station (I hadn’t ever been in there before, it was nicely themed!). Steve stopped at the restrooms, I stood on the terrace & took in the view – even in the rain & grey skies, Magic Kingdom looks beautiful!
There was a CM doing guest surveys stood near me.. it was interesting to hear the questions he was asking some other guests.

It was about 1pm by then, so we decided to head out of the park and back to the Boardwalk.. we’d had a great day so far!

 

[disneybarbie]

I took this photo along the corridor back to our room – thought it was a nice feature..

Back at the hotel.. we found that the Disney Florist had visited again!!

We had a beautiful bouquet of festive flowers delivered, from my sister, Verity … such an amazing surprise!
It had a Christmas tree decoration attached to it..

We rested for a while, set up the laptop (free internet as we are DVC members) – I had a shower & got changed… the next thing planned for the day was to go to the ESPN bar to watch the New Orleans Saints NFL game … Steve absolutely loves (American) football, but when he watches it at home, it’s only on late on Sundays because of the time difference.
A great advantage of having a Boardwalk view room was that we could see the ESPN bar.. and the line that was forming outside!
It was about 2.30pm, the Saints weren’t playing until 4pm.. but we decided to head out to the bar, just in case we had to wait a long time to get in!

Luckily, when we got there – the line was for tables in the restaurant area, the door to the bar had no line.
We got two beers (I usually drink wine when we’re out, but decided beer suited the location more!) and found a spot to stand against the wall… it was sooo busy! I know a little about NFL, but I’m still learning the rules of the game .. it’s very different to English football (soccer) and rugby – I loved that all the fans of different teams just sit next to each other.. if it was a pub at home and football (soccer) was on, there would probably be fights breaking out

Steve was wearing his Saints white jersey.. and found it funny that other fans would walk by him and say “Who Dat Baby!” .. he didn’t know how to respond (we’d had the same thing in Magic Kingdom earlier that day, a lady & her children shouted “Goooo Saints!” to him as he was wearing his Saints hoodie!!)
After about an hour of standing, a couple sat at the bar left – and very kindly offered us the seats! We sat down and ordered a pitcher of beer..

Steve drank most of it (apparently I drink beer too slowly!) so I swapped to a Bud Light with Lime –

we don’t get these at home but I love them! It tastes more like lemonade hehe.

It was fun that there were several games on at the same time.. you’d hear people cheering & have to try work out which game they were watching!
Another Saints fan sat next to me said ‘congratulations’ because he saw the ‘Just Engaged’ button on my handbag – then we started talking, he realised I was English, then asked how/why DF was a Saints fan.. Steve explained he’d read a story in the news a few years ago about how New Orleans was recovering from Katrina, and that the football team was a really big part of that.. the other guy seemed so impressed that someone in England supported his team!

We had to leave just before the fourth quarter (see… I’m learning about the game!) as we had to head off for our dinner reservation… Mama Melrose’s at the Studios!

The night definitely felt much cooler now, we were glad we’d brought jumpers out with us – it would’ve been a chilly walk to the park otherwise!

Studio’s Christmas Tree..

As we approached the turnstiles, I noticed a group of teenage girls in matching outfits – our one & only sighting of Pop Warner attendees!

I love the Studios at night, it’s like a different place! We strolled around to the left, past American Idol Experience… even Sounds Dangerous was open! (I guess because Star Tours is closed) – and got to the restaurant

We’d never been here before, but my parents really like it .. so glad we gave it a try!
We had to wait for about 5 minutes for our table – it was fun to watch the chefs..

Our waitress was really lovely & took a real interest in our engagement & wedding!

The restaurant..

We had a sharing platter to start – cured meats, olives, bread, cheese… for entrée, I had tuna with risotto which was fantastic,

Steve had a chicken flatbread, which he liked – but it had a strong cheese on it (maybe parmesan) which he said was a bit too powerful.

We said no to dessert, but our waitress brought out a scoop of icecream with cream & sprinkles for our engagement!! (Steve was now understanding why I kept wearing the button everywhere!)

During our meal, two ladies were seated at the table across from us..

They called the waitress over, and asked her if she could take the bulb out of the light above them – because one of them had had cataracts surgery the week before & couldn’t take bright lights?! … but, of course, being at WDW.. the manager came out – and took the bulb out for them! Amazing service.

After our meal, we headed to Muppets 3D – there was no wait… we really love this show, find myself quoting it a lot!!

 

[disneybarbie]

Then we walked into the Streets of America to see the Osborne Lights… I saw these in 2004 and 2009 – but it was Steve’s first time seeing them… they are so breathtaking!

(sorry for the photo quality – my camera battery died but luckily I had my iphone with me!)

Youtube video during the ‘Feliz Navidad’ section..
Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights video

We spent about 20 minutes wandering the streets, the way they dance is incredible!

After the lights, we walked over to Sunset Boulevard to the Hollywood Tower Hotel – just as we approached, the wait time changed from 20 minutes to 45 minutes!

Although it was an extra magic hour evening, we decided to head back to the Boardwalk – we knew we’d be back at the Studios again later in the trip.

After a lovely 20 minutes walk ‘home’.. we got back to our room, and heard some fireworks outside… it turned out to be Illuminations.. and… Holiday Wishes – at the same time!

We stood out on our balcony taking in the shows – I didn’t get any photos of Wishes – but here is Illuminations..

We could just about hear the music too.


So that was the end of our day! Off to bed, ready for some (chilled) adventures in Animal Kingdom tomorrow!

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

I’d set our wake up call for 6.45am … lovely to hear from Stitch & Mickey on the phone!

I always forget to do that!! Must make a point of it for my trip in June.

We arrived at the turnstiles just as the opening ceremony was beginning..

We got there right around the same time. I think I missed the first 30 seconds of the opening show.

Next.. one of our favourites… Pirates of the Caribbean!

This was also a walk on – it was so quiet in fact, that we had an entire boat to ourselves!

You sure you didn't see a short girl wearing a pink Giants jersey that day??? LOL

Where is everyone?! I thought maybe the change to opening hours was not widely known.. it was great for us though!

We were thinking the same thing! It was so EMPTY!

 

[disneybarbie]

We got there right around the same time. I think I missed the first 30 seconds of the opening show.

You sure you didn't see a short girl wearing a pink Giants jersey that day??? LOL

We were thinking the same thing! It was so EMPTY!

When I was reading your TR.. I was thinking we must have been stood next to each other at the Opening ceremony ... our photos are very similar! "It's a Small World..'"

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Stellar day!! Sounds like so much fun. You did so much, yet it seemed really relaxing at the same time! Too bad about Crystal Palace but it sounds like you lucked out with the morning crowds. We ate at Mama Melrose once and really enjoyed it. Kind of heavy though...especially if you ride RNRC right after! That woman must not have gone out in the day, or many places at all for that matter, because Mama Melrose is about as dim as you can get for a restaurant! Wow, what an incredible view you had from your balcony! I totally would've cried...but you know me!

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

Next up was another favourite.. Splash Mountain! No wait at all.

I think you were stalking us that day, LOL.

I was EXTREMELY happy the jets were turned off. However, DS's butt was wet. Maybe b/c there were so many empty seats and they get really wet.

We walked to Liberty Square & in to the Hall of Presidents – Steve hadn’t seen it since the Obama animatronic was added, and we agreed it’s a really interesting show now!

I loved it. DD fell asleep

the rain had really cooled the temperature down

We thought so too. It was really chilly.

 

[klacey1]

I can't believe how empty MK was for you guys! You got a ton accomplished!

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

The story about Katrina is the same reason why I'm a Saints fan. I was soooo happy they won the Superbowl last year. DH is the one who really got me into football. I love the game now. And beer does go much better with football than wine does, LOL. I will say that I hate Bud. I love NY but Boston beer is awesome!! We plan on doing the Sam Adams tour in Boston, MA for his 40th bday this year.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Wow MK does look empty from your early photos! Yours is the first TR I have read that actually likes the changes to Space Mountain! I was a bit hesitant to ride it after hearing negative reviews but you two sure seemed to enjoy it!

What a great surprise from your sister! That flower bouquet looks gorgeous.

Wow the Osborne lights look incredible and on seeing illuminations from your room.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I was glad to read another update from you! You really lucked out with the low crowds at the Magic Kingdom! I love their opening show, even though it's corny! Good morning, good MORning!

You can reply to "Who Dat!" with "Who Dat" or "We Dat!"

I was wondering about your Osborne Lights photos. They are nice, but my first thought was that "Her camera takes better pictures than that, I wonder what happened!" I love my iPhone; it's nice to always have a decent back-up camera!