Woohoo! It's Karen Annual December Trip to the World!

[TLinden16]

Day 1--Thursday, December 7, 2006

Morning came way too early. The alarm went off at 4:15 so I could get ready for my annual December trip to Walt Disney World for Mouse Fest and to hang out with a bunch of friends. I was excited to be going, so it was pretty easy to get out of bed, but I knew it would be a long, busy, and fun day.

My town car arrived at 4:45 to take me to the airport (a little bit earlier than expected), and I was soon on my way. When I arrived at the airport, my friend Goofy4Tink was already there. Camcolt arrived a little while later after taking the scenic route to the airport.

When they started boarding the flight, I was just so excited. I couldn’t wait to get on the plane and on my way! Woohoo! We’re going to Disney World! Boarding the plane took for ever. I think everyone was feeling the affects of being up dark and early in the morning to fly down to Orlando.

While we were on the flight, I was flipping the channels on the TV, and came across a show on TLC with a character named Hip Hop Harry, a big bear who raps while trying to educate children. Well, this show was just hysterical to me! I was laughing so hard I was crying. Hip Hop Harry and his hip hop kid posse were dancing and rapping about air. The music was infectious. I couldn’t help but dance in my seat with Hip Hop Harry. Even Camcolt and Goofy4Tink joined in!

Our flight was uneventful, and we arrived in Orlando pretty much on time. We walked to baggage claim and were greeted by our town car driver. It took forever for our bags to make it out, but once we had them in our hands, we were on our way! We made a record setting quick stop at Publix for water and soda, and were on our way to our resorts!

I was dropped off first at the Boardwalk. I said goodbye to my friends, and made plans to meet up with Goofy4Tink a little while later to go have some lunch. I checked in at the Boardwalk Villas, but my room was not ready yet. I went down on the Boardwalk and walked around a bit while I waited for Goofy4Tink. I spent some time chatting with some folks along the Boardwalk, and met a nice couple from Oklahoma who were there for the college football awards--their son was nominated for an award. I also met a nice group of friends from Pennsylvania who were making their first holiday visit to Disney World. I shared some of my favorite holiday must dos with them.

When Goofy4Tink arrived, we walked over to Epcot, stopping so I could get a new AP to replace the one that I had forgotten, and Goofy4Tink could renew her AP. We walked into Epcot and went to Nine Dragons for lunch . I started off with a sweet and spicy cucumber salad, and Goofy4Tink got hot and sour soup. The cucumber salad was nicely chilled and had a slight kick to it--very delicious. Goofy4Tink said the hot and sour soup was very spicy. For our main course, we shared General Tso’s Chicken and pepper beef. I thought both entrees were excellent. The General Tso’s Chicken (always a favorite of mine) was very flavorful, and the beef was surprisingly tender. For desert, we both got chocolate mousse cake, which was very good, but neither of us could eat more than a few bites.

After lunch, we headed back to the resorts. My room was ready at the Boardwalk, and I wanted to take the time to get settled in. I was in room 3073, a standard studio overlooking the main entrance to the Boardwalk, close to the loading area for Magical Express and some deliveries, so it got a bit noisy at time.. The room seemed a little bit worn, and the mousekeeper missed some crumbs from the toaster when she cleaned. The faucet was leaking in the bathroom, and the bed was very squeaky--even the slightest movement made the bed creak. It was loud enough that I decided to sleep on the couch bed, which was surprising comfortable!

When I was unpacked, I headed out to the DVC Merry Mixer, where I got to spend some time with some of my DIS friends, and meet a bunch more! The mixer was a lot of fun. Goofy and Pluto were dancing with everyone, and the company of my DIS friends is always a good thing. I got to meet several DISers who I had really been hoping to meet one day.

After the mixer, Goofy4Tink and I walked through Epcot to head to the monorail. We ran into a DISer along the way (although her name escapes me). We took the monorail over to the Ticket and Transportation Center, and walked over the Polynesian, where we were having dinner at the Kona Café.

After checking in, we spotted a couple of DISers--CDN Mickey Lover and Use the Force Luke. We chatted with them for a few minutes while we waited for our tables to be ready. They were both really nice--it’s always fun to run into DISer! If you ever see a lime green Mickey head or ribbon, be sure to stop them and say hello.

When we were seated at our table, Goofy4Tink and I immediately ordered our appetizers--a ceasar salad and sticky wings. The ceasar salad was OK, but nothing special. The sticky wings were awesomely wonderfully sticky (according to Goofy4Tink, who is sitting next to me as I type this). For our main course we shared beef teriyaki with mashed potatoes and an Asian chicken noodle dish. The beef teriyaki with the pineapple relish was very tasty, though it was also a bit tough. The mashed potatoes were very smooth and flavorful. The Asian chicken noodle dish was OK, but nothing special. For dessert, Goofy4Tink ordered banana crème brulee, which she really seemed to enjoy. I ordered the kiddie cone, which was good, but I couldn’t eat very much of it.

After dinner, we hopped on the monorail to head to the Magic Kingdom to go to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. We met up with KristaTX and her DH, KayTX, and Towncrier. We road on Space Mountain, where I continued my tradition of singing “It’s A Small World,” which my niece Michelle and I had started a few years back. We also road on Pirates of the Caribbean, the Carrousel, and the Haunted Mansion.

We also caught the holiday fireworks, although I missed much of them because I was looking in the opposite direction in hopes of catching the space shuttle taking off, which wound up being scrubbed. We watched the fireworks in the Rose Garden with hundreds of people who were there for Mouse Fest. What I saw of the fireworks were enjoyable, but not as entertaining as Wishes.

After grabbing some cocoa, cookies, and apple slices, we found a spot to watch the parade in front of the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon. As we watched the parade, we were surrounded by the country bears and Brer Fox. Brer Fox seemed to really like KayTX. He stood next to her for most of the parade and even danced with her, holding her close and spinning her around.

KristaTX, her DH, and KayTX with Brerfox

After the parade, we sat and people watched for a while before heading to the bus back to our resorts. It had been a long, busy day, but we sure had fun.

 

[TLinden16]

Day 2--Friday December 8, 2006

Friday morning, I was up at the crack of dawn to head to Spoodles for breakfast with a bunch of my DIS friends. We were seated at the big table in the middle of the dining room. I ordered a ham and cheddar frittata, which was served with a croissant and home fries. The frittata had some delicious ham in it, and was served steaming hot. The croissant was flakey and buttery, and the potatoes were good, but not hot enough. The only thing better than the food was the company of my friends. We had a lot laughs, and shared many stories.

After breakfast, Goofy4Tink and I headed over to the Animal Kingdom, planning to catch the AP viewing of the new Nemo show. Due to a wait getting on the bus, we were late getting there, so we were unable to get into the Nemo show. We wound up heading over to Expedition Everest, which we road twice. It was so cold that day that Goofy4Tink swears that the snow on the mountain was real.

After Expedition Everest, we got in line for the next Finding Nemo Show. DaisyDuck001 spotted us in line, so she joined us for the show. When we chose our seats, Towncrier, OffKilterFan, and her mom wound up sitting in the row behind us. The show was very good--it reminded me of a combination of the affects from The Voyage of the Little Mermaid show in MGM, and the puppetry of the Broadway version on the Lion King. The cast was fantastic, especially the woman who played Dori. She played her with an innocent naiveté , which resulted in a lot of funny moments. We all enjoyed the show.

After the show, Goofy4Tink and I went to Flame Tree Barbecue to grab lunch. We wound up sharing a pulled pork sandwich, fries, and chocolate cake. We sat in the lowest seating along the water, and I had to trek back up to the main area to get the barbecue sauce. The layout of the seating is confusing, and I wound up in Asia, and the Dinoland before finding the barbecue sauce. The pulled pork sandwich and fries were excellent. Goofy4Tink enjoyed the beans that came with sandwich. I thought the corn was tasty, but mushy. The chocolate cake was very rich, but I thought it was dry.

After lunch, Goofy4Tink escaped my company, and I went to ride on Expedition Everest again. I then went over to Dinoland, where I road Primeval Whirl and Dinosaur.

I then took the bus back to the Boardwalk, and headed to Downtown Disney to do some shopping. I picked up some odds and ends in the World of Disney store, and browsed around in the Christmas and Scrapbooking stores. I was disappointed to see that the scrap booking store had shrunk in size.

After dropping a lot of cash, I headed over to the West Side to meet Goofy4Tink for dinner at Wolfgang Pucks. We had a short wait for our table. For starters, Goofy4Tink got Butternutsquash soup, which she said was too die for--she showed quite a bit of restraint by not eating all of it so she would have room for her main course and dessert. I ordered a ceasar salad, which was just OK. For our main course shared a pasta dish which featured chicken and pancetta in a cream sauce, and meatloaf. The pasta dish was very rich, and flavorful, especially the pancetta. The meatloaf was surprisingly tasty, and the mashed potatoes were outstanding. For dessert, we both got crème brulee, which was incredible. I tried to convince our server that he gave us an empty dish, but it didn’t work.

After dinner, we took a bus back to the Boardwalk to go to Jellyrolls for my 4th Annual Meet. About 40 DISers joined me for drinks, singing, laughs, and fun. Michael and Christian were the first piano players to take the stage, followed by Tommy and Jason. Other entertainment was provided by a very cozy bachelorette party. Their activities that evening would be inappropriate for a family board--we couldn’t tell who was marrying who. Needless to say, we were quite amused (and at times a bit grossed out) by their behavior.

Me, Camcolt, and Goofy4Tink having fun at Jellyrolls

The meet wound down on the early side this year, and we left the bar around 12:30. I was ready to crawl into bed and get rested up for my next day at Disney World.

 

[TLinden16]

Day 3--Saturday, December 9, 2006

I was up bright and early, and down on the Boardwalk for a breakfast meet with some folks from Tagrel--Kathleena and MJTinNH joined me at the Boardwalk Bakery. I got a Croissant, which was light and flakey. After breakfast, we walked over to the International Gateway to head to Epcot to meet a group of people to ride Soarin’. Our meet hosts from Tagrel made everyone really cool boarding passes for our flights--they were even personalized for each person who signed up for the meet in advance. We posed for a group picture before filing into the building for our flight.

We had about 32 people in our group for the ride, but Towncrier, KristaTX and her DH came walking down the boarding area behind us, so they joined our group. We filled all but one seat in the middle section of the ride. I was sitting next to Towncrier and someone’s stuffed Eeyore doll, who wound up filling the empty seat. It was fun making comments to each other, and sharing little facts about the ride along the way. We burst into applause when the ride ended.

After Soarin’, I hung around Epcot with Goofy4Tink and Geffric. We made a stop at the Character Connection, which is the best place to go see characters. It’s in a nice air conditioned building, and I’ve never had more than a few families in line ahead of me for it. In just a few minutes, we were able to get pictures with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. All of them were dressed up for the Year of a Million Dreams.

We then walked over and grabbed some Fast Passes for Test Track. We went and rode on the new version of Mission: Space, which was pretty good. I thought the sensation was similar to the original version, minus the weightlessness. They did a very good job on it.

We then went over to Soarin’ to use the Fast Passes, which we had picked up earlier. Soarin’ was also experiencing technical difficulties, and we had to wait for a while in the holding line right before they put you in rows. After waiting several minutes, they turned the group around and led us to the other side. While we were on the ride, we saw a member of the Dream Team single out a little girl in the row behind us before the ride, and when the ride was over, they were waiting for her at the door. They were careful to make sure most people had left before telling her what here dream was, but I heard them mention something about a picture.

We also had a sluggish ride on Test Track, stopping several times during the ride, including right before the high speed track. I can’t remember the last time I went on that ride and didn’t experience technical difficulties.

We stopped at the Electric Umbrella for lunch. We all got chicken strips with fries, which were very good. I can’t resist Disney chicken strips. I wish that they had sweet and sour sauce for dipping, though. While we were eating outside, some teenage boy left his food to get a straw, and a bird tried to grab his burger--those birds sure are aggressive.

We headed out of Epcot at about 12:30 to head to the Dolphin for the Mega Mouse Meet. I stopped at my room really quick to freshen up, and went over to the Dolphin to meet up with my friends.

The Mega Mouse meet was a lot of fun, and the turnout seemed very good--the room was packed the entire time I was there. It was much better than last years, when it seemed like they had us squished into a room that was too small for the size of the group. It was fun to mingle with the authors and webmasters, and my friends from the DIS and Tagrel. There were so many familiar faces, and some new faces to see as well. We wound up staying at the Mega Mouse Meet longer than originally planned.

After the meet, Goofy4Tink, Geffric, and I took a bus to the Magic Kingdom, and then walked over to the Contemporary to check out the holiday chocolate sculpture. Once again, it was a Pinnochio and Gepetto sculpture. It was cute, but I wish they had done something different than last year. It would have been nice to see a little bit of variety.

We then took the monorail over to the Grand Floridian. We spent some time looking at the Gingerbread House and the Christmas tree. The holiday decorations at the Grand Floridian are always beautiful and extravagant.

We had dinner at 1900 Park Faire. It was fun watching all of the little Princesses dressed up in their Princess gowns at the restaurant. This is truly a fun dinner for little girls. The Fairy Godmother was greeting people in the waiting area (I found her to be a little bit rough and lacking personality, although she seemed to interact better with the little ones). When we were seated, Suzy, Perla, Cinderella, and Prince Charming all stopped by our table to greet us.

The food was good, but nothing really stood out as being out of this world. I liked the selection on the salad bar (and couldn’t resist the orange jello). The hot dishes were good, but nothing particularly memorable. I got some drumsticks off the kids buffet that were tasty, but filled with small bones that I was constantly spit out--I wouldn’t let the little ones eat them. The dessert bar was decent, but not as good as the ones I’ve had on other buffets. The bread pudding with vanilla sauce was excellent, though.

After dinner, I took the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom and boarded a bus back to the Boardwalk, where I was planning to spend the evening sitting on a bar stool in Jellyrolls. Michael and Christian took the stage shortly after I arrived. While I was watching them, pianoman Scotty walked into the bar, and stopped by to say hello--it was really great to see him. It had really been too long since I’d last seen him.

I stepped out of the bar to check out the shuttle launch about about 8:30. My DIS friend Aeryn, who lives in Florida, called me to let me know that it was definitely happening, and I got so excited that I hung up on her. She called me back, and I apologized hanging up on her. We chatted as we watched the shuttle go up.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF!!!!

Seeing the shuttle go up was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I was standing on the Boardwalk, right in front of Jellyrolls--there were dozens of people along the Boardwalk watching the blast off. All of the sudden, the darkened sky behind the ESPN Zone had an orange tinge to it, and shortly there after, we saw an orange fireball shooting through the sky. It was so cool, the way it just kept on shooting to the left. We saw the separation of the boosters, which made a white tail off the fireball. Then it turned into what looked like a very bright white star--but brighter than any star I’ve ever seen--and just seemed to sit there for a very long time. It was truly an amazing sight to see--something I won’t soon forget.

Shortly after walking back into the bar after the shuttle launch, my beloved Scotty and Ray took their seats. Some of my best memories of my trips to Disney World involve sitting in this bar watching Scotty and Ray sing--there is no better way to spend an evening at Walt Disney World. I wasn’t feeling that great this night, and was exhausted, so I wound up leaving Jellyrolls around midnight that night. I watched a little bit of Saturday Night Live, and the lights were out and I was fast asleep by 12:30 (only to be woken up by the drunken idiots leaving Jellyrolls at 2:00 a.m.).

 

[TLinden16]

Day 4--Sunday, December 10, 2006

I was up and ready to roll at about 7:30. I was out the door by 8:15, grabbing a yummy cinnamon roll at the Boardwalk Bakery before heading over to the Dolphin to meet Goofy4Tink for the ride to the Magic Kingdom. We were at the front gate by 9:00, and made our way into the park.

As we were walking towards the castle, we were shocked to see that there was a tall crane behind it, and then we saw that they had a bucket with two guys painting the turret of the castle. While I understand that they have to get work done, I was disappointed to see that they were doing it when guests were in the park. I just thought of all those people who were having pictures taking--some of whom were probably visiting the park for the first time--who would now have this hideous crane and two workers in their pictures. It was not very magical.

A not so Magical Memory

Our first stop was Peter Pan, which we wanted to ride before the line got hideously long. I try to greet cast members by name as I enter rides, and thank them by name when I get off the ride. When we got in the queue, there were two cast members there, and I said, “Good morning, Richard. Good morning, girl whose hair is covering her name tag.” She smiled an embarrassed smile, and moved her hair so I could read her name--Kristen. I noticed that by the time we got off the ride, her hair was back covering her name tag again.

I really love the Peter Pan ride. It’s just so pretty to fly around the different scenes of the movie. The only things that I hate about it is it’s not long enough, and the line backs up early in the day, and stays that way pretty much all day.

After Peter Pan, Goofy4Tink and I went on it’s a small world. Yes, it’s annoying. Yes, the song sticks in your head for months after you ride it. But it’s a classic Disney ride, and one that I must do every trip.

We then headed over to Frontierland. We grabbed fast passes for Splash Mountain since it was too cold for Goofy4Tink to ride it that early in the morning, and walked right on Big Thunder Mountain. I’m sure you’ve all heard of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld, well, we ran into the line Nazi at Big Thunder Mountain. She was yelling and screaming, “Follow me. Do not skip rows. Follow me down to the end. Do not leave any rows empty.” She really had a screechy horrible voice. Wish I had some Pixie Dust to sprinkle on her, but somehow, I don’t think it would have helped.

After our ride on Thunder Mountain, we were debating about hopping on Splash Mountain when we ran into Towncrier, KristaTX, and her DH. They were planning on meeting up with the Mousefest people for the big Splash Mountain/Thunder Mountain meet, so we decided to join them. We had some time to kill, so we all went on Thunder Mountain before the meet, and then went to meet up with the Mousefest group.

Once the group was assembled, we made our way to the queue. There were about 30 of us in the group. Goofy4Tink and I were in the second row of the log with a bunch of people I didn’t know. We had fun on the ride, but we got drenched--wetter than I’ve gotten on Splash Mountain since December 2002, when I road it in the rain three times in a row and got stuck on it. We got hit with water from the water canons as logs came down the big drop twice. The entire log was drenched from head to toe (although a couple people were saved by the emergency ponchos they were wearing. It was only in the mid-50’s at that point, so we were all pretty cold. When it’s that cool out, Disney really needs to turn off those water cannons--there’s no need to have wet park guests.

Of course, Disney may keep them on to help their bottom line, turning those water cannons into money makers by people who think ahead and by their $6 ponchos, or people like Goofy4Tink who go spend money on overpriced sweatpants to get out of their wet ones. Luckily, I had an extra shirt in my bag that day, as I we would be going to Ohana for dinner that night, and I brought a Hawaiian shirt to change into. I thought about buying a pair of socks since mine were wet, which resulted in squeaky crocs, but this being Disney, you can only buy socks in multiple pairs--at the price of about $12 (or about $4 per sock). I decided I’d live with the squeaky crocks and keep my $12--those water canons weren’t going to get the best of me.

Goofy4Tink and I said goodbye to the rest of the group, and headed to Main Street, where Goofy4Tink would be shopping for dry clothes, and I was meeting my VMK friends for a quick hello. I stopped in VMK central, and about a half dozen folks who I play VMK with stopped in. It was nice to see some of my good VMK friends like DISAeryn and FlyingPegasus, and also to meet some who I hadn’t met before like Melkirob and DaraAllen.

After the VMK meet, I met up with Goofy4Tink, and headed towards the Columbia Harbor House, where we would be meeting Towncrier, KristaTX, and her DH for lunch. Along the way, Goofy4Tink and I saw a member of the Dream Squad. We had been suffering from what I like to call Dream Envy all week--whenever we saw someone with a Dream Fast Pass, we would comment to each other, “They got a dream.” We asked Tom, the Dream Squad member, if we could touch his Dream Bag, and he let us. It was so magical.

Tom asked us a lot of questions, and for telling him our favorite Disney characters, he gave us buttons that declared us Honorary Citizens of the Walt Disney World Resort (although if we are DVC members, doesn’t that make us official citizens of the Disney Resort? I mean they do Welcome us home every time we check in). He asked us trivia questions about our favorite Disney movies, and for getting it right, we were awarded with a single ride Fast Pass, which we could use to get on any ride in the Magic Kingdom. Tom was very sweet and funny, and we enjoyed chatting with him.

After chatting with Tom, we headed over to the Columbia Harbor House. Goofy4Tink and I both got the salad with pecans, pineapple, and chicken, accompanied by a side of fries. For desert, Goofy4Tink got chocolate cake, and I got apple crisp. The salads were good, nicely chilled, and a nice combination of flavors. My only complaint is that they put the dressing at the bottom of the salad, so it made getting the dressing on the top of the salad a bit of a challenge. Goofy4Tink said that the chocolate cake was good. I thought that the apple crisp was kind of nasty--I gave most of it to Towncrier, and he seemed to like it.

After lunch, we spent the afternoon touring the park. At some point, we met up with Carl. Amongst the attractions we hit were:

The Country Bear Jamboree--KristaTX’s DH had never seen it, and he needed to experience the politically incorrectness of it. Plus, I know it drives Goofy4Tink crazy, and that makes it more enjoyable for me.

The Jungle Cruise--Where we had a skipper who had a thick accent, and spoke so quickly that we missed most of his jokes.

Space Mountain--Which is always fun.

The Carrousel of Progress--Where we sang along to the song every time they changed rooms.

The Tomorrowland Transit Authority--Which is always a great spot to relax for a bit, and enjoy the company of your car mates.

Buzz Lightyear--Where I had as much fun shooting Towncrier as I did the targets.

We may have done a few other things, but it’s all a blur now.

We said goodbye to Carl and headed out of the park at about 4:15. We took the monorail over to the Polynesian, where we would be meeting a bunch of DISers for dinner. Everyone was there shortly after 5:00, and we had a long wait for our table. I have to say that sometimes Disney reservations frustrate me. At least once every trip, I have to wait over a half hour after my advance dining reservation time to be seated. What’s the point of making an advanced dining reservation if you still have to wait another 30+ minutes? I find that Ohana, Le Cellier, and 50’s Prime Time Diner are the worst for this.

To pass the time while we waited for our table, we spent some time chatting, sharing stories, and laughing. I found myself on the little stage where there is sometimes a singer in the Polynesian lounge, so I entertained everyone by attempting to tap dance. Everyone knows that I don’t know how to behave, so I somehow doubt that they were surprised by this. I even used Danny1649’s hat to collect money for my efforts. Through the generous donations of my DIS friends, I was up to close to $1.50. But I never ended up seeing that money--some how it ended up in Danny1649’s pocket. All my hard work and I don’t see a cent.

We were finally seated at a table about 35 minutes after our advanced dining reservation time. We were seated behind the wall behind the grill, so we were somewhat hidden from the rest of the restaurant (which was probably a good thing, considering that I don’t know how to behave). In our party were: me, Goofy4Tink, Camcolt, Danny1649 and his DW, KristaTX and her DH, KayTX, Towncrier, WDWLvr, and IluvDisney. I trapped myself in on the bench seat between Goofy4Tink and a pole.

Service was just OK at Ohana that night. There was a long wait to get meat from the skewers brought to our table. When they finally did bring a skewer of sausage and a half skewer of turkey, only half our table got meat, since most did not want the sausage. After about 15 minutes, our waitress came over, and asked if we were missing anything, and I blurted out, “Yeah. Meat.” It was still another 10 minutes or so before they brought meat to the table. You’d think after all of the years Ohana has been existing they’d know what they need to do to keep the tables in meat.

I had quite a bit of fun giving our assistant server, Cousin Pedro, a hard time all night (again, remember, I don’t know how to behave). At one point when he brought us a bowl of chicken wings that we emptied onto our plates before he had the chance to finish putting down the rest of the appetizers, I showed him the empty bowl and told him that he forgot to put chicken wings on it. He laughed and told us he would bring us more chicken wings.

When we were eating dessert, Towncrier had requested more, and when Pedro brought it over, he said, “I know who ordered this” and he plopped it down in front of me. I said, “I didn’t order this.” He said he knew it was me. I told him I only wanted it if he stuck a candle in it and sang “Happy Sunday” to me. So he smiled and said, “I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later, he was back with a candle, and another server, and they sang “Happy Sunday” to me. It was absolutely hysterical.

In all the confusion of singing “Happy Sunday” to me, he forgot to bring coffee to some folks at our table. So I told him he now would have to sing “Happy Coffee” to them when he brought them their coffee. So, as he came out with two cups of coffee, he sang “Happy Coffee” to Towncrier and KristaTX’s DH.

As he was walking away, Camcolt said she was disappointed he didn’t sing “Happy Lapu Lapu” to her. Pedro asked me what was wrong, and when I told him that Camcolt was jealous that he didn’t sing to her, he smiled and said, “I’ll be right back.” Camcolt didn’t see me talking to him, so imagine her surprise when Pedro came back and sang “Happy Lapu” to her. I think that Danny1649’s pour wife must have been mortified by this point because she turned to me and said, “We have put this man through enough.”

Happy Lapu, Camcolt! From Cousin Pedro at Ohana

Our stomachs filled with chicken wings, salad, meat, and bread pudding, we headed our separate ways. Most of the group was heading to the Magic Kingdom for extra magic hours. I opted to take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, and a bus to the Boardwalk to go to the bar. Surprise, surprise. I needed my Jellyrolls fix.

The bar was pretty dead, so I took a seat in the front row. Scotty and Ray were already on stage when I arrived, and they welcomed me to the front row. Ray immediately asked me what I would like to hear, so I told him I would like to hear Scotty sing “Beyond the Sea” since I had not yet heard him sing it on this trip. Scotty, of course, was happy to oblige. He really does a fantastic job on that song, and I highly recommend that you request it next time you’re at Jellyrolls.

I put down a nice tip to hear “Drift Away,” which is usually done by all four guys. Ray usually shares the lead vocals on this with Scotty, and they always do a fantastic job on it. I had requested it the night before, and much to my disappointment, Christian did the lead vocals on it, and it just didn’t cut it. So I decided to request it again when Christian wasn’t there so that I knew I would hear Scotty and Ray singing it.

Tommy and Pete were the other players that night. It was great to see Pete again, as it seems like I have a hard time catching him when I’m down there. I made him sing “Bright Lights” by matchbox 20, and “This Love” by Maroon 5 for me.

The bar was so dead that night, it wound up being one of those nights where I felt like I had to save the guys by requesting good songs. Every once in a while, I’ll hit it on a slow night, and I’ll be requesting song after song just so the guys have something to play. It’s OK though, because then I really get to hear what I want to hear.

I wound up leaving the bar around 1:15, shortly after Scotty and Ray’s last set of the night. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my boys sing.

 

[TLinden16]

Day 5--Monday, December 11, 2006

I was out the door by 8:30 to head over to the Animal Kingdom. I grabbed a couple of donuts at the Boardwalk Bakery, and was there shortly after the park opened.

I immediately headed back to Expedition Everest. I grabbed a fast pass, and got in the standby line. I made it through the line pretty quickly, and was off the ride by 9:15. I then headed over to Dinosaur, and road on it twice in a row. I then hot footed it over to the Festival of the Lion King. I really love this show--I could watch this show a dozen times a trip. It’s just so well done, and so fun to watch.

After the Lion King show, I went through a couple of the character trails. It’s always great to get a picture with Santa Goofy, and I also went to see Donald, who had some festive touches on his safari suit. There was an acapella group singing Christmas carols near by, so it made the wait to meet the characters very pleasant (but made me really miss Epcot Vybe/American Vybe).

Santa Goofy Baby!

I then went back and took a couple more rides on Expedition Everest before heading out of the park. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go, so I decided to hop on a bus and take the first bus that showed up to take me to another park, which ended up being an Epcot bus. I walked around the World Showcase for a bit, and had chicken strips at the Liberty Inn. They were very yummy, of course.

After lunch, I walked around the World Showcase a bit more, and then headed back to the Boardwalk. I called KristaTX to see what she was doing, and she said they were taking a break, but would be going over to Disney MGM Studios later. She also mentioned that Towncrier would be going there as well, so I wound up calling him and walking there with him. I really enjoyed spending time with Towncrier this year--he is always fun, but this year, he joined in with me screaming woo whenever we had the urge.

We grabbed some fast passes for Tower of Terror, and went to meet up with the Mousefest people to take a ride on the Great Movie Ride. There were about 40 people in our group, and we sure made a lot of noise for our driver. I have to say that lately I’ve been disappointed in the cowboy and mobster scenes in this ride the last few trips. They just don’t cast the parts well anymore. I mean, do you really think that some pimple faced college kid can pull off the role of a mobster? I don’t.

After the ride, we met up with KristaTX, her DH, and KayTX. We stopped by at our last meet of Mousefest, which was hosted by Dave Marx from the Passporter, and then went to ride on the Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘N Roller Coaster. KristaTX had mentioned at one point during the trip that she didn’t always like my woo screaming, so me being me, had to annoy her. We had made a pit stop in the ladies room near the Tower of Terror, and while I was washing my hands, I screamed woo. When we met up with the rest of the group, KristaTX DH asked me what happened in the bathroom because he heard me woo in the men’s room.

After our rides, we stopped so the others could get a bite to eat. They wound up sharing a couple of pizzas combo meals on Sunset Blvd. I then said goodbye to my friends, and headed over to Epcot, where I was meeting Goofy4Tink for dinner at Alfredo’s, followed by the Candlelight Processionals.

We got to Alfredo’s right about 5:00, and were seated immediately. We were seated in the small room next to the outdoor seating area. Our dinner was somewhat noisy, as there was a kid who was about three or four who would periodically screech on the top of his lungs--it was one of those screeches that just cuts right through you. He was loud and disruptive throughout the meal, pushing his chair out and getting in the way of the servers, throwing things on the ground. Sadly, the parents did very little to control their son, except for occasional scolding from the mother (the father seemed like he was hoping the Dream Squad would come sweep him away and seat him with another family). I’m not trying to open a bag of worms here, and I am very patient when it comes to understanding that kids aren’t always going to behave, but this was a clear case of a child misbehaving, and the parents doing nothing about it for the entire hour we were in the restaurant with this family.

Despite the noise, we had an enjoyable meal. I started off with a ceasar salad (I can’t remember what Goofy4Tink got for her appetizer). The salad was very good, although a bit dry. The dinner rolls they served were very yummy as well. For our entrées we both ordered the lasagna, which is really fantastic. Lots of flavor, served piping hot. So good. For dessert, we both ordered chocolate mousse. I tried to convince our waiter that he brought me an empty bowl, but it didn’t work again. Drats.

We were scheduled to see the 8:15 Candlelight Processional, but since we finished eating early, I made a comment to the waiter that we could actually make the 6:45 show. He wound up bringing us tickets for the early show, which worked out really well for me, as I was planning on heading to the House of Blues to see Jellyrolls pianoman Scotty’s brothers Mike and Dave (aka two thirds of the Killwein Family Tree-o) perform, and had decided to skip the Candlelight Processional. The tickets to the earlier show allowed me to do both.

We made our way over to the theatre, and found some seats for the show. Steven Curtis Chapman was the host, and he was very good (although not as good as Jim Caviezel or Louis Gossett Jr.). The show was as incredibly moving as it has always been, and I loved every second of it. I’m so glad I didn’t have to miss it.

Steve Curtis Chapman

After the show, I said goodbye to Goofy4Tink, and walked over to the Beach Club, where I hopped in a cab to Downtown Disney. I wanted to get there as quickly as possible so I could see as much of the Kilwien Family Tree-O show as I could, so I didn’t waste the time waiting for a bus.

Scotty and some friends were watching the show, so I sat down and joined them out there. Scotty wound up joining them for their final set of the night, which was a nice treat. The brothers sang a combination of original songs (go to www.tree-o.com to check them out), and cover songs, including “The Man Who Never Returned” (which was dedicated to me, since it was a song about Boston), “Southern Cross,” and a lot of other songs. It was a lot of fun watching Scotty and his brothers play. One of the things I love about watching Scotty at Jellyrolls is you can tell how much he loves performing when he’s onstage at the bar. And as much as you can see it at the bar, you can see it even more when he’s playing his own material with his brothers. That is one talented and great family, and I’m very blessed to know them.

After saying goodbye to Scotty and his brothers, I stopped at the marketplace to pick up a cell phone case for myself, and some VMK pins for myself and my friends. I took a bus to the Boardwalk, and wound up stopping in at Jellyrolls for a while. A few DIS folks were there, so I hung out with them. Jason and Pete were on the stage when I got there, and they were really fanstastic. It’s so much fun watching Pete, and Jason is just a big fireball. Michael and Tommy were the other players that night. I didn’t stay for Tommy and Michael’s set, but I did speak with them for a few minutes. I also had a really nice conversation with Pete--he’s a nice guy. Christian, one of the other piano players, was there on his off night, and jumped onstage at one point to sing back up.

I left the bar shortly after midnight, and climbed into my nice warm sofa bed.

 

[TLinden16]

Day 6--Tuesday, December 12, 2006

I met Goofy4Tink, Towncrier, KristaTX, and her DH at the Boardwalk Bakery bright and early so we could walk over to Epcot for early entry. Towncrier only had about an hour, as he was heading to the airport that morning. KristaTX and her DH would be leaving a little later than Towncrier.

We walked over to Soarin’, and realized that the line was already out of control. We grabbed some fast passes, and walked over near Spaceship Earth and found a photo pass photographer to take a picture of us. Goofy4Tink parted ways with us after the photo, as she was going on a tour. The rest of us walked over to Test Track and got in line. We had the entire car to ourselves, which was a lot of fun. But we decided that Towncrier is a horrible driver.

After Test Track, we went over to use our Soarin’ fast passes--we actually could have walked on in through the standby line at this point, as it was before official park opening, and all of the early entry folks had already ridden. We didn’t realize it when we got in the fast pass line, so we had to surrender our fast passes. It was a fun ride, but sad because it meant the trip was over for my friends. I gave them lots of hugs, and we said our goodbyes. It sure had been fun spending time with my friends, and hopefully next year we will all be together to have more fun and memories.

I then met up with CrazyBoutDisney and DaveH to take another ride on Soarin’. It was great to see my good friends CrazyBoutDisney and DaveH. I hadn’t seen them in a while, so I was thrilled to be able to spend a little bit of time with them. We road Soarin’, and then I said goodbye to my friends and headed over to the Magic Kingdom.

When I got to the Magic Kingdom, I went over to VMK Central to turn in some quests. I walked around the park for a bit, and went on a few rides, including Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain.

I left the park around 12:15 to catch the boat over to the Wilderness Lodge, where I was meeting Goofy4Tink and wdwr for lunch. The boat ride seemed to take forever. Some poor woman got sick, and threw up over the side of the boat. Some guy sitting in the back pretended that she got him when she threw up, but she knew he was kidding. I jokingly scolded him, telling him it was really mean.

Once at the Wilderness Lodge, I found wdwr in the lobby, and we chatted while we waited for Goofy4Tink. When Goofy4Tink arrived, I let the hostess know. We had a bit of a wait for a table, as there were some big groups in the restaurant. I was shouting at the servers, telling them to hurry and get our table ready because we were hungry.

After about a half hour wait, we were finally seated. I got the southwest chicken soup, a buffalo chicken salad, and a vanilla shake. Goofy4tink got a chocolate shake and a burger. wdwr got the skillet. The soup wasn’t as good as I remembered it being when I ate there back in May, but it was OK. The salad was good and very tasty--the buffalo chicken was very spicy. The vanilla shake was extra thick and really good. Goofy4Tink and wdwr both seemed to enjoy their meals as well.

After lunch, we browsed around in the gift shop for a few minutes (but didn’t buy anything), and then took the bus over to Disney MGM Studios. The Rock ‘N Roller Coaster was down, so we grabbed fast passes to use later, and then went over to the Tower of Terror. We had a fun ride on the Tower of Terror--or at least I did--Goofy4Tink and wdwr don’t love it as much as me. We then took two rides on the Rock ‘N Roller Coaster. We also spent time talking with Jellyrolls pianoman’s brother David, who works at the DVC booths all over the parks. If you ever run into David, tell him Karen from Boston says hello.

We then walked over to see the Osbourne Lights. I was not overly impressed by it. It’s just too many lights in too small a space now. It was much better when they had residential street to spread them around a bit. Now it’s just a big clump of color. The dancing lights weren’t that impressive. I just don’t think that MGM is the right place to house these lights anymore.

After watching the lights for a while, we went on Star Tours, and then went to Sunset Blvd. to have a bite to eat. Goofy4Tink and I both got chicken strips. Surprisingly, they weren’t very good. The fries were cold and soggy. I probably would have complained about them except I was so full that I didn’t really want to eat them anyways.

After dinner, Goofy4Tink and I said goodbye to wdwr, and headed back to the Boardwalk. I headed straight for Jellyrolls to spend my last evening watching Scotty, Ray, Tommy, and Jason. I always hate saying goodbye to Jellyrolls my last night. It was cast member night, so the bar was already packed by the time I got there, but I grabbed a bar stool, and watched my boys sing away. They all really seemed to be having great fun that night, and it was a great way to end my Jellyrolls portion of my trip.

 

[TLinden16]

Day 7--Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Getting up is always difficult on the last morning. It means it’s time leave my favorite place and head home. I met Goofy4Tink on the Boardwalk, and we took the bus to the Magic Kingdom. First stop was the Main St. Bakery, where we were grabbing breakfast. I ordered a cinnamon roll. Goofy4Tink ordered a breakfast sandwich, cinnamon roll, and a drink. We sat at a table in front of the Plaza Restaurant. The cinnamon rolls were very yummy--big, gooey, and sticky, just the way cinnamon rolls should be.

After breakfast, Goofy4Tink left to go over to the Floridian. I wandered around the Magic Kingdom for a while, and then left to head to Epcot. When I got to the Ticket and Transportation Center, a monorail had just left, so I asked if I could ride in the front. I told the cast member that I was by myself, so they could let someone else ride with me if they’d like. A few minutes later, I saw Goofy4Tink walk up the platform. I told her to ask the cast member if there was still room in the front, which there was, so she joined me for a ride in the front of the Monorail. Riding the front of the monorail to Epcot is a lot of fun because it’s such a long ride, and you can get some great pictures with Spaceship Earth in the background.

Once through the gates at Epcot, we went on Spaceship Earth. This is just one of those rides that I must do every trip. It’s not the greatest ride, but it’s fun.

We then headed over to LeCellier to meet wdwr for lunch. For starters, I ordered cheddar cheese soup, which was delicious as ever--I love to dunk my breadsticks in it. Goofy4Tink started with the tomato stack, which she seemed to enjoy. For our entrees, Goofy4Tink and I both ordered the petite fillet. It was awesome, very tender and tasty. It was served with awesome cream cheese mashed potatoes. If memory serves me correctly, wdwr ordered a N.Y. strip steak, which she seemed to enjoy. For dessert, Goofy4Tink ordered the crème brulee sampler, and I ordered the S’mores, which I proceeded to eat entirely with my hands (including the ice cream).

After lunch, we headed over to ride the boat rides in Mexico and Norway, and slowly wandered back towards the International Gateway, where we said goodbye to wdwr. Goofy4Tink and I walked back to the Dolphin and Boardwalk, stopping at the Yacht & Beach Club to look at the decorations along the way.

Our town car driver picked Goofy4Tink up at the Dolphin, and then came to get me up at the Boardwalk. Much to our disappointment, our flight was delayed about two hours due to inclement weather in the Northeast. We could have had two more hours of fun.

I finally made it home about 11:00 p.m., exhausted from a very busy trip, but excited knowing that I had at least two more trips in the works for 2007.

 

[TLinden16]

Afterthoughts
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party--I was a bit disappointed by Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year. While I enjoyed the company of my great friends, I found the party itself to be just OK. The parade was OK, but basically the same as it’s been every other year with a few small changes. I was disappointed they stopped the free picture--it was always fun to get that picture with the character boarder in the mail. It was nice that they started passing out apple juice and apple slices with the cookies and cocoa this year--the apples were delicious.

Painting the castle during park hours--The castle being painted while guests were in the park was a huge disappointment--so unmagical. Walking into the Magic Kingdom and looking at the breathtaking sight of the castle lost some of it’s magic by the big crane with a bucket behind and around the castle. So disappointing.

The Bus Drivers--We had a lot of memorable (for lack of a better word) bus drivers this trip. Many of the bus drivers seemed extra talkative--there were a couple I wished would just shut up. I don’t know if it’s a new group of drivers, or they are dealing with new equipment, but there seemed to be a lot of them who did not know how to use the wheelchair lifts on the buses--it just seemed like loading and unloading wheelchairs took a lot longer than it should.

Service in the counter service restaurants--The service in the counter service restaurants was excruciatingly long. It was on average about a ten minute wait from the time we placed our order until the time we received our food. It was consistantly bad at every place we went to. In all of the years I’ve been going to Disney World, I’ve never had to wait so long to get my quick service meal.

Random DIS Sightings--I can’t remember ever having so many random DIS sightings in one trip as I did this trip. I met dozens of DISers at various meets throughout the trip, but I met another half dozen or so just by spotting their lime green Mickey heads. It’s always great to run into random DISers!

Christmas Decorations at the Resorts--I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m ready to see some changes in the decorations at the resorts. It seems like the same old same old every year. I know some folks are fortunate enough to go every year, but it’s been a long time since we’ve seen much different at the resorts (except for the Boardwalk). Give us something different. Also, I noticed that the mechanics at the display at the Yacht & Beach club weren’t working this year. Maybe I just need to take a year or two off from Holiday trips so that everything will be fresh and exciting to me again.

 

[OhMari]

Hi Karen,
Someone posted a group picture a few days ago of your group and I saw you in the picture and noticed you were at WDW in the beginning of December. Glad to see you posted a TR.

Did you do the Dining Plan this time?

I just got my 2007 Passporter for Christmas. The kids asked me what I wanted and I told them about the Passporter, but I told them you had to order it on line. The Saturday before Christmas, me and my 2 dd's walked into a really little bookstore in Fond du Lac and I couldn't believe they had one sitting there.

Thanks again for sharing your TR with us.

 

[twotoohappy]

Day 4--Sunday, December 10, 2006
I put down a nice tip to hear “Drift Away,” Christian did the lead vocals on it, and it just didn’t cut it.

Are you kidding me? Christian rocks my face off!

Thanks for the trip report, I always enjoy your Jellyrolls stories

BTW..... Isn't it great that Scotty got married! I'm so happy for him!

I'm glad you got to hear Pete this trip. He's definately a must see

 

[chyam]

I met you in the rose garden for the fireworks at the Christmas party .....you even gave me a lime green bracelet Thanks! I too was distracted because of the shuttle launch and I too am disappointed with not getting the free photo, it seems each year they cut a little more back, last year it was the buttons! I guess we should be glad we went on Thursday night and not Friday when it was downright frigid Anyhow it was nice meeting you along with a few others, more this year then I have met in the past, and glad you had a great trip!

 

[sharonW]

Hi Karen..loved your TR. You have such a flair for writing
fabulous reports. I'm glad you had a nice time and are
anxiously awaiting more of the magic in 2007. I hope you
brought me some pixie dust so I can return to the greatest
place on earth one day! I so miss it all. I treasure all the
memories of past visits. Hope chat is up and running soon
so I can hear even more about the fun.

 

[geffric]

Great TR Karen.. I had fun spending time on Saturday with you and Goofy4Tink..

 

[travelin' tigger]

Are you kidding me? Christian rocks my face off!

Thanks for the trip report, I always enjoy your Jellyrolls stories

BTW..... Isn't it great that Scotty got married! I'm so happy for him!

I'm glad you got to hear Pete this trip. He's definately a must see

Glad you had a good time at your Meet at Jellyrolls. I finally got there on Sunday night (12/17) and had a great time. Michael was awesome - even put me on the guest list for the days I was in WDW (thanks again, Michael!)!!! Got to see everyone play except Scotty, who was on his honeymoon - wow, he's a married man now! I think the best night was when Pete and Christian played together. They are fun the way they play off each other.

 

[goofy4tink]

Sure does sound like we were joined at the hip doesn't it???!!! It was a terrific trip, but tiring. TLinden was as she described....incredibly annoying to some of us....but we love her anyway. I mean, come on...she's just a kid, right Kay??
I can't imagine how she remembers so much detail. She remembered stuff I had forgotten. Must be my tired old brain. So...thanks for the reminders of some terrific fun Karen.

 

[LisaS]

Thanks for posting your trip report, Karen. I always enjoy reading your reports. I don't think there are many people (if any!) who pack as much activity into a WDW vacation as you do!

From past experience, I have learned I need to read your reports on a full stomach because otherwise your vivid descriptions of the wonderful meals you had just make me sooooo hungry!

And thanks again for arranging that great DIS meet at Jellyrolls!

 

[BriarRosie]

Karen, you goofball! I can't believe the DVC couch was more comfy than the
bed! And I see VMK has you spelling words like "road" instead of
"rode". Thank you VMK limited dictionary!

The photos were very fun, and it appears you're well on your way to meeting
all my Disney friends before you meet me in person. Great report.

 

[KayTX]

Hey Karen!! So glad to find your trip report, I've been watching for it. You do the VERY BEST trip reports! Enjoyed spending time with you, and thanks for planning the Ohana meal again. Happy 2007!!

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Hello Karen,

Thanks for anothere great report. It's nice to see you back here. We were down in the world the same time as you were too. We were there from Dec. 7-17. It was so great to have really small crowds.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

Day 5--Monday, December 11, 2006



We got to Alfredo’s right about 5:00, and were seated immediately. We were seated in the small room next to the outdoor seating area. Our dinner was somewhat noisy, as there was a kid who was about three or four who would periodically screech on the top of his lungs--it was one of those screeches that just cuts right through you. He was loud and disruptive throughout the meal, pushing his chair out and getting in the way of the servers, throwing things on the ground. Sadly, the parents did very little to control their son, except for occasional scolding from the mother (the father seemed like he was hoping the Dream Squad would come sweep him away and seat him with another family). I’m not trying to open a bag of worms here, and I am very patient when it comes to understanding that kids aren’t always going to behave, but this was a clear case of a child misbehaving, and the parents doing nothing about it for the entire hour we were in the restaurant with this family.

Despite the noise, we had an enjoyable meal. I started off with a ceasar salad (I can’t remember what Goofy4Tink got for her appetizer). The salad was very good, although a bit dry. The dinner rolls they served were very yummy as well. For our entrées we both ordered the lasagna, which is really fantastic. Lots of flavor, served piping hot. So good. For dessert, we both ordered chocolate mousse. I tried to convince our waiter that he brought me an empty bowl, but it didn’t work again. Drats.

[\QUOTE]

Sorry about the noise
that was me and my family, yes I am not kidding folks it was us

i saw you but didnt know if you would remember meeting me from the boston meet so i didnt have the "nuts" to go over and say hi

anthony isnt 3 yet and has some hearing issues which resulted in speech delay when he gets frustrated he will screech
and it is awful he is in speech therapy 2 a week

i would not say I scolded him I try to use the signs as in sign language to help him he was over excited
he did bounce all over in his high chair I did my best to control him and we left without eating all of our meal
but i dont know how you could have seen my DH as his back was to you we were the first table to right as you entered from the restaurant

I think its important to note that we dont all know each others situation
and I have to diagree that he was out of control
Im sure never in a million years would you thought you would have know this family and that I would see this post
once again sorry your dinner was ruined Karen