Now that we have a temperature of 7 degrees, which feels like -8 degrees, I thought I'd share a little of our WDW Christmas/New Years experience. The weather was unseasonable cold which is still a considerable improvement over what we have here in the Midwest. Mid-60s during the day dropping to the mid-40s at night. I can handle that. We arrived at OKW around 12:30 pm on the 20th. Our room was ready, clean and in pristine condition. Before we headed to the parks we ate lunch at Olivia's which is becoming a ritual for each of our trips.
The week before Xmas was the most crowded we've ever experienced. We found out that Disney had given military personnel and their families a free five day pass plus accommodations at Shades of Green. Once that ended so did the crowds. It was still crowded but reasonably manageable.
As usual the decorations are unbelievable. The only thing we were disappointed in was that they no longer had Lights of Winter at Epcot or the tree lighting ceremony. On the plus side there is now a tequila bar located in the pyramid in Mexico/World Showcase. When you enter the plaza within the pyramid it is on your right. Many, many excellent choices. Also new at Epcot is "Sum of All Thrills" in Innoventions East. You can create a cyber roller coaster of varying intensities. It's not quite the same as the one in Disney Quest. It incorporates math into the design of your roller coaster. Your provided a card so that you can continue this at experience in the privacy of your own home: www.mathmovesu.com.
New at Hollywood Studios is the Pixar Desk Lamp. This is located at the Pixar Studios section across from "Toy Story Midway Mania." I know my description will not give it justice. On the lower roof of one of the buildings the Lamp just appears, via Disney magic, and will either conduct the decorated trees playing music, or dance to the music, or just put on an entertaining show. It never seems to do the same thing twice.
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights continues to expand and entertain. We still can't get over the way they get it to snow on the Streets of America and we don't need a snow shovel. The decorations continue to awe and surprise. One balcony was tastefully decorated with dead rubber chickens. You'd have to see it to believe it. It really works. I'm inspired.
We did New Years at Epcot. Tried to drink our way around the world. Ate dinner at the Biergarten in Germany. I had not been there in a few years. I had forgotten how good the food, the drink, and the show was.
We had a surprising experience as we were preparing to leave for home. We ate breakfast at Olivia's. My DW returned to the room to do a final check. When she started the car to return to Olivia's the car wouldn't start. She called me and told me that it smelled like gas and that there was gas all over the ground where the car was parked. Of course I made my way back to the area and tried to start it myself. The same outcome. Of course I'm thinking a worst case scenario. The fuel pump was replaced right before we left. With my luck it was going going to be a defective fuel pump and, here it is, January 1st when no repair shops are open. We have the AARP Motoring Plan so I'll just call them and see what happens. Wait a minute! I'll call Mickey Mouse instead. I was connected to security. I gave them the whole story. The gentleman asked me if I knew why this happened. He said it happened because Disney wanted us to stay an extra day and spend more money. I think Icould live with that. He said they'd send a mechanic to look at it. The mechanic, who had to be channeling Johnny Depp, shows up and discovers a fuel line under the car came lose. He hooked it up and the car started right up. He asked me to follow him to the shop since he wanted to check it out to make sure there was nothing else causing the problem. We only made it a couple of blocks when the car died again. The car was loaded on a hauler for the rest of the journey to the shop. This shop is located within the Magic Kingdom. It was an interesting tour into MK. The car was unloaded, put on the rack, and they worked on it for about an hour. When it was finished I asked how much I owed. The price? Have a Happy New Year and a safe trip home. Needless to say I had to ask twice because I couldn't believe my ears. Gosh I love Disney!
The week before Xmas was the most crowded we've ever experienced. We found out that Disney had given military personnel and their families a free five day pass plus accommodations at Shades of Green. Once that ended so did the crowds. It was still crowded but reasonably manageable.
As usual the decorations are unbelievable. The only thing we were disappointed in was that they no longer had Lights of Winter at Epcot or the tree lighting ceremony. On the plus side there is now a tequila bar located in the pyramid in Mexico/World Showcase. When you enter the plaza within the pyramid it is on your right. Many, many excellent choices. Also new at Epcot is "Sum of All Thrills" in Innoventions East. You can create a cyber roller coaster of varying intensities. It's not quite the same as the one in Disney Quest. It incorporates math into the design of your roller coaster. Your provided a card so that you can continue this at experience in the privacy of your own home: www.mathmovesu.com.
New at Hollywood Studios is the Pixar Desk Lamp. This is located at the Pixar Studios section across from "Toy Story Midway Mania." I know my description will not give it justice. On the lower roof of one of the buildings the Lamp just appears, via Disney magic, and will either conduct the decorated trees playing music, or dance to the music, or just put on an entertaining show. It never seems to do the same thing twice.
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights continues to expand and entertain. We still can't get over the way they get it to snow on the Streets of America and we don't need a snow shovel. The decorations continue to awe and surprise. One balcony was tastefully decorated with dead rubber chickens. You'd have to see it to believe it. It really works. I'm inspired.
We did New Years at Epcot. Tried to drink our way around the world. Ate dinner at the Biergarten in Germany. I had not been there in a few years. I had forgotten how good the food, the drink, and the show was.
We had a surprising experience as we were preparing to leave for home. We ate breakfast at Olivia's. My DW returned to the room to do a final check. When she started the car to return to Olivia's the car wouldn't start. She called me and told me that it smelled like gas and that there was gas all over the ground where the car was parked. Of course I made my way back to the area and tried to start it myself. The same outcome. Of course I'm thinking a worst case scenario. The fuel pump was replaced right before we left. With my luck it was going going to be a defective fuel pump and, here it is, January 1st when no repair shops are open. We have the AARP Motoring Plan so I'll just call them and see what happens. Wait a minute! I'll call Mickey Mouse instead. I was connected to security. I gave them the whole story. The gentleman asked me if I knew why this happened. He said it happened because Disney wanted us to stay an extra day and spend more money. I think Icould live with that. He said they'd send a mechanic to look at it. The mechanic, who had to be channeling Johnny Depp, shows up and discovers a fuel line under the car came lose. He hooked it up and the car started right up. He asked me to follow him to the shop since he wanted to check it out to make sure there was nothing else causing the problem. We only made it a couple of blocks when the car died again. The car was loaded on a hauler for the rest of the journey to the shop. This shop is located within the Magic Kingdom. It was an interesting tour into MK. The car was unloaded, put on the rack, and they worked on it for about an hour. When it was finished I asked how much I owed. The price? Have a Happy New Year and a safe trip home. Needless to say I had to ask twice because I couldn't believe my ears. Gosh I love Disney!
