You can never have too much of a good thing!"Turkey Day 2009" 11/09 - 12/09 TR w/Pics

[TheTXTaylors5]

The Moderators got overzealous and closed my Trip Report thread before I could finish it. So, here it is AGAIN!

Well, we are heading back to WDW for the third time this year and I am just as excited about this trip as the first. In addition to the three trips to WDW, we went to Disneyland California for the first time this past March. Personally, I think visiting the "original" Disneyland is "a must" for any Disney fan! If you haven't been ... GO!

For those that have never read one of my trip reports, I'll give you some information on us ...

OUR HISTORY
Bill (DH) and I have been married for almost 13 years. "Lucky 13". We are celebrating our 13th Wedding Anniversary at WDW in November. This has been a tradition for the past three years. Bill and I never visited WDW as children. Let's just say, we don't come from "Disney families". My Dad refers to Mickey Mouse as "the rat". Enough said (or rather written). Our other family members and friends don't embrace our Disney obsession either. We get the usual "going to Disney World again!". However, what they don't know or listen long enough to hear is that we bought into DVC (Disney Vacation Club). Heading to Florida is our getaway. They think WDW is just one big amusement park and it is so much more. DH works in IT in a very stressful environment. So, stepping onto the WDW resort property is an escape for him. I am a Stay-at-Home Mommy and when we visit WDW, it is nice to get away from the household responsibilities and just have fun with the family. And have fun is what we do at Walt Disney World.

We visited WDW for the first time in 2004 with then DS4 and DD2. I did ZERO planning for that trip. Fastpasss ... What is a Fastpass? Rider Switch ... What is that? ... ADR (or known then as Priority Seating) ... Can't we just walk up and eat the week of Thanksgiving? Yes, we were that unprepared. However, even with such a poorly planned trip, we had a blast! However, we never really made it out of Fantasyland at the MK and didn't even know about Fantasmic! during our day of fun at DHS. Yes, we only visited two parks that trip. That was because we thought Epcot was only for adults and we weren't paying the outrageous price to see Disney's version of a zoo. Oh how our opinions have changed over the years and our WDW knowledge has been greatly expanded by this great site, travel guidebooks and just reading the WDW site itself. For our second WDW trip, DH found the DISboards and the rest is history ... We have been back to WDW at least once a year sometimes as many as four times a year since our first trip. You could say we were bitten by the Disney bug or rather "magic".

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Cast of Travelers:

Me (Jennifer) - SAHM and self-proclaimed Disney nut.
Favorite WDW ride/attraction: Rock 'n' Rollercoaster (DHS) (In the name of all that rocks. Hit it dude! - Stacey)
Favorite Disney Character: Snow White (Brunettes need to stick together!)

DH (Bill) - Hard working IT Manager. Our WDW trips are his "escape" from the fast-paced high stress environment of work.
Favorite WDW ride/attraction: Soarin' (Epcot), Expedition Everest (DAK) is a VERY close second.
Favorite Disney Character: Mickey Mouse (The big cheese himself has always had a special place in DH's heart.)

DS9 - As he gets older, he gets more adventurous. Which makes our WDW trips more and more fun and a different experience for him each new trip. DH and I no longer have to ride RNR and EE alone.
Favorite WDW ride/attraction: Haunted Mansion (MK)
Favorite Disney Character: Pluto (Boy's best friend. Who doesn't love Pluto?)

DD7 - She is our girly girl. But, still a wild child at heart and up for some of the more adventurous rides at WDW now.
Favorite WDW ride/attraction: Test Track (Epcot), Space Mountain (MK) is a close second. ("That was awesome!" - DD6 after her very first ride on SM.)
Favorite Disney Character: Ariel

DS4 - He is like most boys his age, he loves anything related to Cars or Toy Story. With each new WDW trip, he is "willing" to ride more rides. A lot of people ask us why we visit WDW so much (usually three times a year). For us, each trip is a different experience and the children can atest to that.
Favorite WDW ride/attraction: Splash Mountain (MK) (He rode this for the first time this past June and loved it. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is a VERY close second.
Favorite Disney/Pixar Character: Buzz Lightyear (Little Green Aliens from Toy Story close second. He calls them Ewwwwww!)

DN17 - My nephew had been to the Magic Kingdom about four years ago. However, he didn't get to ride any rollercoasters because his step-brother was too scared. This trip, he will get to all four parks and ride rollercoasters until he can't anymore. He is VERY excited!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Trip Dates: November 21, 2009 - December 4, 2009

Okay, we purposely booked this trip for the week of Thanksgiving. Yes, I know it will be crowded and I may add a few extra gray hairs. But, it has become a tradition with us to celebrate our anniversay, visit my Dad (has a winter home in FL) and spend the week of Thanksgiving and the following at WDW. That second week is kind of like a make-up week for the crowds and chaos in the parks that week of Thanksgiving. If a ride line is too long, we wait and ride it next week. It works out great!

This year is a little different from our past trips. Instead of staying on property for the full two weeks and be in the midst of the holiday crowds, we decided to head off WDW property on Thanksgiving and not return until Monday, November 30th. Hopefully, the holiday crowds go home on Sunday and we can come back to a semi-empty WDW. We'll see ...

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

I don’t know if I mentioned it in my Pre-Trip Report, but my DH (Bill) injured his rib a week before our trip. He has been sick with bronchitis and has a terribly-persistent cough. While away on business, he coughed so hard he heard a “Snap!” He suffered through the week and went to the doctor when he got home. Come to find out, that “Snap!” was his rib breaking. He coughed so hard he fractured a rib. So, he has been instructed by his doctor to take it easy for the next few weeks. He probably won’t be fully recovered for a few months. Even so, he decided to push on with our family vacation. Obviously, he wouldn’t be able to ride Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Expedition Everest, Test Track, etc … But, he was willing to still go and let his family enjoy themselves. So, off we went …

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Saturday
November 21, 2009
We departed our home in Texas around 7:30 am. For us, that was late. Normally, we leave around 6 am. For some reason, we just couldn’t get going this morning. We were finally on the road to Walt Disney World! We have never taken a road trip without rain somewhere along the way. It is just an ongoing family joke and it continued with this trip. The windshield wipers were on the WHOLE trip. That is not an exaggeration. From Texas, through Louisiana, into Mississippi, Alabama and finally we entered a wet Florida. There was no sunshine waiting for us as usual. This was just the beginning of things to come this week. We found our usual comfy Holiday Inn Express past Tallahassee for the night. It would only be a quick three hours to WDW the next day. That is nothing compared to the already sixteen hours on the road. No one had any problems falling asleep tonight. I dreamed of tomorrow’s destination … Walt Disney World!

We're on our way to WDW!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Sunday
November 22, 2009
We woke up with a little more pep in our step than the previous morning. Bill and DS9 (Will) went downstairs to grab the rest of the family some breakfast and bring it back up to the room, while I hopped in the shower. Holiday Inn Express is known for their cinnamon rolls. We can’t pass them up when staying there. After a quick in-room breakfast, we were on the road. With windshield wipers on, Bill navigated his way to our home away from home. We have a GPS, but Bill can make the trip blindfolded we’ve done it so many times. My little Honda Odyssey has 12 WDW trips and 1 DLR trip under her belt. Great traveling mini-van!

No matter how many trips we take to Walt Disney World, it never gets old seeing this beautiful site ...

We pulled into Disney’s Boardwalk resort around Noon. Bill had pre-registered online. So, our room keys (Key To The World) and packet were ready. However, our room was not ready. So, the bellhop unloaded the car to store our suitcases until we had a room number. Bill would receive a text message on his cell phone when our room was ready.

Disney's Boardwalk resort and Villas

It was lunchtime. So, we headed to the Boardwalk to see what it had to offer. Being a Sunday and Bill is a BIG football buff (Go Cowboys!), we first headed to the ESPN Club to maybe grab a burger and watch a game. However, there was a line out the door. So, we just grabbed some hand-dipped corn dogs from one of the stands and had a nice leisurely lunch outside. One thing to know about the food stands on the Boardwalk, they are CASH ONLY. So, make sure you have plenty of cash if you plan to eat there. By this time, the rain had stopped. But, the sun was playing peek-a-boo behind the clouds and it was still an overcast day. Just as we were done with our lunch, Bill got the page our room was ready. Off to see our Boardwalk Villas room.

Munching on corn dogs and hanging out at The Boardwalk.

We are Disney Vacation Club Members. This would be our first stay at the BWV. We walked into our one-bedroom standard-view room. We were on the fourth floor with a view of the entrance and grassy area out front. It was not bad for a standard view. The room was spacious with a full kitchen, living room w/sofa bed, king master bedroom and split bath (shower and toilet in one and bath tub in the other). Also, there was a stackable washer and dryer in the hallway. Not too shabby for our week at WDW. After un-packing, we heard the usual “Can we go swimming?” from DS9 (Will) and DD6 (Emily). Even though we have a pool at home, there is something exciting about swimming in public pools to them. Bill needed to relax and rest a bit and DS4 (Cole) wanted to stay with him. So, I took Will and Emily down to the pool.

Our one-bedroom DVC Villa.

(My favorite accent in the living room was the teacup lamp. Too cute!)

We had a HUGE double balcony.

The pool area (Lunar Park) is very well themed. The refreshments/bar area was made to look like a carousel. The main attraction at the pool was the Keister Coaster water slide. It was made to look like an old wooden rollercoaster like you’d see at Coney Island. The slide exited the riders through the mouth of a clown. Of course Will and Emily wanted to give the Keister Coaster a ride. After the first slide down, they wanted to go again and again and again. So, I relaxed in a nearby lounge chair to watch them splash through the clown mouth. After being at the pool for about an hour, it started to rain. Luckily, I was protected by an umbrella. I asked the kids if they wanted to leave, but they were having too much fun and even made some new friends. They were already wet. A little rain wasn’t going to hurt them. So, I sat in the shelter of the umbrella while they splashed in the pool for about another 45 minutes. Finally, I took my two prunes up to get dressed. We needed to go off property to get some groceries and it was almost dinner time at this point. Before heading off-property, we had one stop to make … Downtown Disney.

Lunar Park

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Sunday
November 22, 2009 Part II
Bill and I are not big coffee drinkers. However, we both can’t get enough of the Disney Coffee Holiday Blend. Of course, it is only offered during the holidays (November – January). So, we stock up on it during our annual Thanksgiving trip. We try to ration it through-out the year to last us until the following November. But, we always seem to use the last of our supply in September. It was still raining when we pulled into the Marketplace section of Downtown Disney. So, I hopped out of the car and ran into The World of Disney while Bill and the kids temporarily parked at the curb. The WoD only had three cans on display. So, I grabbed the cans, paid (got my 10% AP Discount) and was back in the car within five minutes. We would have to pick-up more cans along the way. At least I could have some yummy Holiday Blend coffee the following morning (I would need it!).

We decided to pick-up dinner and eat in the room. Bill and I ordered pizzas from Pizzeria Uno and the kids wanted McDonald’s. Since we were already at The Crossroads (shopping center near DTD), I ran into Goodings (an over-priced/under-stocked grocery store) and picked up a few items. Normally, we go to Walmart on I-4. But, it was getting late, raining and we just didn’t want to go that far. So, we paid the price and bought some groceries at Goodings. Then, we were on our way back to the Boardwalk Villas. Luckily, we were able to find a parking spot near the resort. If the lot is full, you have to park across the street. With it raining and we had bags of groceries, I am very thankful for our parking spot.

We had an uneventful dinner. Then, I tried to get the family to lay down and take a nap. We plan to visit The Magic Kingdom this evening. It has Evening Extra Magic Hours until 3 a.m. Yes, 3 a.m. and we plan to stay until the very end. They’ll have to kick us out of the park!
Everyone was too anxious. No one slept. But, they did relax and watch some television until around 9 PM. Epcot’s fireworks display IllumiNations was about to start. Our room faced Epcot. But, I wasn’t too sure what kind of view we would get of the fireworks being on the backside of the resort from Epcot. Emily and I sat out on our balcony and Bill sat on our bed with the door and drapes open to see what kind of view we had. As expected, we couldn’t see the low fireworks. Surprisingly, we got a clear view of the high fireworks. We could faintly hear the music, but the fireworks were spectacular. What a way to start our WDW vacation. Truly magical.

After the fireworks, we decided to freshen up and get ready and head to the MK. We waited about five minutes when a Magic Kingdom bus arrived. One thing about the Boardwalk, it shares a bus with the Swan and Dolphin. So, we made a quick stop at those resorts. Next stop … The Magic Kingdom!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Sunday
November 22, 2009 - Part III
We walked into the Magic Kingdom just as the evening parade, SpectroMagic, was starting. We got a prime spot near the Train Station with no one in front of us. We’ve seen the parade before and hadn’t planned on catching it this evening. So, this was a nice treat. Once the parade ended, we made our way up Main Street via the sidewalk. We were actually walking next to the still on-going parade on Main Street. Somehow, we were beating the parade up Main Street. We wanted our first ride of the evening to be Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. It is Cole’s (DS4) favorite WDW attraction. However, we couldn’t cross Main Street yet to the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station short-cut because of the parade. So, we stopped near Casey’s Corner to wait for the parade to finish. That is when I noticed a pained look on Bill’s (DH) face. He was almost in tears. I knew before I even asked him what was wrong. He said his rib is hurting even worse than before. Walking past the air conditioned stores on Main Street put him into a coughing fit and he re-injured his healing rib. By this time, the parade had passed and there was a sea of people trying to exit. We had to pretty much push our way to the other side of the street and find a spot to let Bill sit and rest for a minute and figure out our game plan.

Bill really needed to head back to the room to rest. However, he didn’t want the rest of the family to miss out on the fun. So, he decided to ride Buzz with us once and then head back to the room. Before our trip, Bill purchased a rib band/brace in case he needed it on the trip. I put it into my backpack before heading out that evening. So, he went into the restroom near The Plaza Restaurant and put it on while we headed off to get in line for Buzz.

The line was snaked outside of the ride entrance. So, it gave Bill time to catch up with us while we were still outside the entrance. He arrived just as we were about four people from entering the inside queue. I asked if the brace helped, he said no. But, he still wanted to ride. Bill rode with Cole, I rode with Emily and Will rode in his own car. We had fun battling the evil Emperor Zurg.

Fun photo with Zurg.

There was no line for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and we thought it would be “mellow” enough for Bill. So, we hopped into a car. Boy were we wrong. You don’t notice every little bump and turn until you have a fractured rib. The TTA does a lot of sharp turns. I didn’t remember it being that jerky before. However, poor Bill was cringing with every turn. Once we got off, he decided to head back to the room. Even walking was hurting him at this point. Cole was starting to look tired and was happy he got to ride Buzz. So, Bill and Cole headed back to the room while Will, Emily and I took on Evening EMH at the MK.

TTA

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Sunday
November 22, 2009 - Part IV
It was a holiday week. So, the park was still buzzing with people even at midnight. Our first mission was to ride the refurbished Space Mountain that just re-opened that day. However, the stand-by line was well over an hour and that was precious EMH riding time. So, we decided to stop back at the end of the evening to ride. Hopefully, it will be less busy by then.

We headed to Fantasyland past the Indy Speedway and came upon no wait at the Mad Tea Party (Tea Cups). The three of us hopped into a cup and spinned ourselves silly. I had to make sure I kept looking at Will and Emily to not get dizzy.

Taking a spin on the Mad Tea Party.

After the Tea Cups we made our way further into Fantasyland. However, everything else still had long lines. The only attraction without a line was It’s A Small World. So, we decided to give it another try. We rode it once a few years ago and I remember being underwhelmed. We rode IASW at Disneyland California this past March and love the addition of Disney characters to the attraction. Maybe, they can do that to the Orlando one too????? It needs “something”.

After IASM, we came upon The Haunted Mansion. This is one of Will’s favorite rides. He was excited to see no wait. We walked right into the stretching room. The kids recently saw The Haunted Mansion movie with Eddie Murphy. It was neat to see the ride scenes in the movie and vice versa.

When we exited HM, Liberty Square was like a ghost town (pun intended). We walked through LS to Frontierland on our way to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The posted time read 10 minutes. But, we walked all the way through the winding queue and waited only one carload of riders. Somehow, we ended up on the side with less people. The other line/loading area was busier than ours.

After BTMRR, we ventured into Adventureland. The CMs outside Pirates of the Caribbean were waving people in. We can never pass up a ride on PoTC, especially with no wait. So, we walked into the dark cold entrance without a soul in site. It was eerie. We boarded a waiting boat. We got to sit in the very front. If you ever get the chance, try for the front seat. This was my first time, since we normally have a party of five. You can see everything up there. It was a whole new experience for me. Great ride as usual.

After PoTC, we decided to ride another family favorite The Jungle Cruise. This attraction takes on a whole new vibe at night. Also, we like the corny puns. Our children have been on this ride so many times that when the Skipper asked if anyone knew what type of snake they were pointing at, my children shouted, “Plastic!” I love my Disney Kids!

After Jungle Cruise, Will and Emily appeased me and we rode The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. It’s the closest we were getting to a Dumbo-type ride that evening. It will be nice when they do the Fantasyland expansion and add another Dumbo. That attraction is ALWAYS busy.

We were making our way out of Adventureland when a counter-service caught my eye. Aloha Isle was still open with NO LINE. It was around 2:00 am at this point. Only at WDW will my children get ice cream at 2:00 in the morning. I had to have my “Dole Whip for Bob”. So, I took one for the team and forced that yummy treat down. Will got a rootbeer float. Emily tried the citrus swirl, but she didn’t like it. A CM walked by us and noticed she wasn’t eating her ice cream and brought her out a dish of vanilla ice cream. I thought that was nice of them. We found an empty area next to the stand to sit, eat and relax for a bit.

Our ice cream treats. They were colored red (vanilla) and green (pineapple) for the holidays. Yum! Yum!

After our late night treat, we decided to head over to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain before calling it a night. As we approached the Space Mountain queue entrance, I saw a rope up at the entrance with two CMs standing there as if on guard. As we got close they pretty much shouted out to us that the ride was down and they were not re-opening the queue. That was a bummer and not the way we wanted to end the night. So, we hopped onto an empty TTA. It was relaxing to sit back and take in the sites of The Magic Kingdom. You get a great view of Cinderella Castle up there.

After our TTA ride, we still had about ten minutes of Evening EMH left. So, we hopped into the queue for the Astro Orbiter and only had to wait for the elevator to come back down before we were on our way up to ride. This would be our last ride of the evening.

I wanted to make the most of the evening with Will and Emily in case we had to head home the next morning because of Bill’s re-injury. We would find out when we got back to the room.

We casually walked down Main Street with about a handful of other guests towards the exit. It was definitely a different scene than the chaos we encountered earlier. I hadn't taken any Main Street photos on our way in. The kids relaxed on the stairs leading up to the Train Station while I snapped some photos of the entrance decorations.

MK Main Street decorations.

Will and Emily patiently waiting for me.

Will was nice to pose out front before we headed for a bus back to The Boardwalk.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Sunday
November 22, 2009 (early Monday morning) - Part V
We arrived back at the Boardwalk resort around 4 am. When we arrived earlier in the day, I noticed there was not an ounce of Christmas/holiday decorations up. Not a wreath, not a single light strung. Arriving back at the resort so "early", we caught the "Disney Elves" at work. We walked into the lobby and were smiling and commenting on the decorations. I saw the CMs working on the decorations look at us and smile. I am sure they appreciated the positive reaction to the decorations. They were decorating the Boardwalk resort inside and out. It was neat to see the little crane in the lobby area and the gingerbread display half assembled. Going from nothing to these elaborate decorations was amazing. They work pretty quickly. So, the guests that morning would awake to a holiday wonderland. Pure Disney magic at it's best.

We entered the room to a sleeping Cole and Bill. Bill woke up when I entered the bedroom. He was half-asleep and asked how the night went. I told him all that we did. But, I didn't want to sound like we had too much fun as he missed out. Will was concerned all night about his Daddy. I know he had fun on the rides. But, it just wasn't the same without the whole family together. Something was missing all night. Bill slowly fell back asleep. We would discuss his injury the next morning (our 13th Wedding Anniversary). Will and Emily got into their pajamas and didn't fight sleep. I hopped into the cozy bed and was catching z's within minutes of my head hitting the pillow.

Tomorrow, we plan to visit Epcot in the afternoon for a late lunch and some Anniversay fun. Would we make it or head home? Stay tuned ...

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Monday
November 23, 2009 (Our 13th Anniversary)
We woke up around 10 am this morning to a rainy Florida sky. Booooooooooooo! We were dragging from our very late night and the gloomy day didn't help. My first thoughts were on Bill's health. Did a good night's sleep help? Sadly to say, no. Bill was VERY sore this morning. He could slowly walk, but was in pain. He called DVC to see if we could check-out to head home and get our points back for the rest of the week. However, it was too late to get the points back from our week one. If we left today, we would lose the points. So, Bill decided to suck it up and stay until our scheduled Thursday (Thanksgiving) departure day. He was able to cancel our week 2 (AKV). We have since rescheduled that week for the end of January/early February. We decided to take it easy the rest of the week.

Today, we relaxed and I did laundry. Being our Anniversary, we wanted to have a nice dinner. So, we headed off-property to the town of Celebration. I am originally from Massachusetts and read rave reviews about the Celebration Town Tavern. We typed the address into our GPS and off we were to the quaint town of Celebration.

Celebration Town Tavern

We arrived to a busy restaurant in downtown Celebration. I was very surprised since it was a Monday night. We were led into a quiet back section of the restaurant. Our server recommended the onion rings and clam chowder for appetizers. How could we resist? Bill and I shared a bowl of clam chowder and the whole table shared the onion rings. The clam chowder was delicious!!!!! It was thick and rich. Yum! Yum!

The "infamous" clam chowder.

The onion rings batter was very light. However, it had no flavor. For our main entrees, Bill got fried cod and I got fried scallops. Both had the same light coating as the onion rings. My scallops were just "okay". Bill's fish arrived as a full piece of cod which caught him off-guard. Like my scallops, it was just "okay". Both didn't have very much flavor. The seafood may have been from up north. However, they weren't cooked by New Englanders and it showed. Just my opinion. We'd go back for the clam chowder and to visit Celebration.

Pictures from dinner.

If you've never been to Celebration and want to get off Disney property for a bit, check it out. It is a really cute town. They really deck it out for the holidays. There's even an ice skating rink installed for the winter weekends. The town was developed by The Walt Disney Company. Disney Cruise Line even has it's offices located there.

After dinner, we decided to head to Downtown Disney. We spent some time in World of Disney. We did a little Christmas shopping and stocked-up on more Disney Holiday Blend coffee. Then, we headed back to the Boardwalk to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, my Dad and his girlfriend are meeting us at Epcot.

Downtown Disney

Before heading upstairs to our room, we enjoyed the newly decorated lobby. Our children loved the carousel and the holiday gingerbread display. The lobby smelled so good!

Pictures from the Boardwalk lobby.

more from the lobby ...

and one more ...

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Tuesday
November 24, 2009
The weather today was a lot better than the previous days. The sun was "semi" shining today. Great park day! I spoke with my Dad first thing this morning and they wouldn't be able to make it to WDW property until around 11 am. We waited at the resort until around 10 am. The family was getting antsy. So, we decided to head into Epcot without them and meet them inside. Bill did not move very well today and visiting Epcot involves a lot of walking. So, after much coaxing, he agreed to rent an ECV at Epcot. We took the boat over from The Boardwalk to the International Gateway entrance of Epcot. Normally, we would have walked the short distance. But, we didn't want to push Bill's rib this morning. We have been to WDW numerous times. So, we didn't have to tour "commando" or arrive at rope drop. We arrived well after most other guests and eased through security and the turnstile into the park. Bill called earlier that morning to inquire about an ECV for the park. He was told we would have to walk to the very front of the park to get one. Luckily, that CM didn't know what they were talking about and we were able to rent one right inside the entrance at the International Gateway. Bill had his ECV and we were off to get Fastpasses for Test Track to ride later. Bill didn't plan to ride due to his injury. But, me and the kids could still ride. TT is one of Emily's (DD7) favorite rides in all of WDW. So, off we were to join the masses at Epcot that day.

When we made the trek up the hill at the International Gateway, we came across a Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure kiosk. So, we decided to get a Fastpass to do a mission later after lunch. Getting the KPWSA FP didn't count toward our "regular" FPs. Then, we made our way over to Test Track to get our FPs. I let Bill lead the way in his ECV. He was like Moses parting the sea. However, he was moving pretty quickly and DS4 was NOT in a stroller. He wanted to be a BIG boy today and we left the stroller in the room. So, we got our work-out "running" behind Bill to Test Track. By the time we got to TT, the FPs were good for later that evening. We decided to ride Spaceship Earth, one of Will's (DS9) favorite rides at Epcot. On our way to SE I got a call from my Dad. My Dad and his girlfriend were in the park. So, I waited for them outside SE with Will and Cole (DS4), while Emily and Bill went inside to figure out if we could use the handicapped entrance because he can't stand very long.

With my Dad and his girlfriend in tow, we met back up with Bill and Emily. They were waiting in a special area near the exit inside. Epcot is pretty handicapped accessible and most ride queues WILL fit an ECV or wheelchair. However, SE is one that does not. So, we waited until a CM told us to enter the ride loading area. We waited about five minutes which wasn't bad at all considering the 30 minutes line waiting outside. If you've been on SE, you know the line is usually pretty short because of the continually loading cars. But, during holiday weeks ... EVERY ride is busy!

After our trip through time, we headed over to World Showcase for our Nine Dragons ADR. I've read mixed reviews about Nine Dragons on the DISboards. However, we've been going here for four years and love it! We arrived to a crowded waiting area inside. Another thing we NEVER see during our non-peak week trips to WDW. Usually, you can walk-in at Nine Dragons and be seated immediately. Good thing I thought to make an ADR. Visiting WDW during the holidays is for the birds. This may be our last trip to WDW for the week of Thanksgiving for awhile.

More to come ...

 

[GrumpyCAdad]

Loving your report!!!

I was there with my family the same week, and I was bummed at the crowds this year. We went to DWD the same week in 2004 and it was not nearly as crowded as it was this last year. I am sure the free dining has something to do with it.

I will never visit WDW again during a holiday or the summertime. From now on, it's May or September!!!!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

We head back to WDW in a couple of weeks. I'd better get going on this Trip Report before I start the next one! I will finish the Trip Report and then add the photos later. It takes awhile to load photos on Photobucket lately.

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Tuesday
November 24, 2009 (continued)
After our yummy lunch at Nine Dragons, we slowly strolled around World Showcase just taking in the sights and ambiance. We don't have a trip planned over the pond anytime soon. So, visiting all the countries in World Showcase is a nice trip around the world without the jetlag.

When we came to the bridge between France and the UK Pavilion (near the International Gateway), we spotted the Kim Possible kiosk again. So, we decided to turn in our already obtained FP to participate in the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure. If you've never done a Kim Possible Mission, it is so much fun for kids of all ages (meaning adults will like it too!). The missions take you deep into the Pavilions and take you places you may have otherwise overlooked. Our children really love exploring the different Pavilions. So, they have a blast with the missions. We have done Mexico, China, Japan, Germany and Norway during past trips. So, we asked to do the UK since we were already in the area. The CM gave us our "Kimmunicator" (modified cell phone) and off we were on our first mission. After we saved the world from becoming one big golf course, we decided to head out of a crowded Epcot to the serenity of The Boardwalk. We still have Fastpasses to ride Test Track. So, we planned to return later that evening to watch IllumiNations and ride Test Track after my Dad and his girlfriend left. They needed to head out around 5 pm to return their rental car.

We weren't in our room one minute when Emily and Will asked if they can go swimming. My Dad and Bill were already on the couch relaxing. So, I told them I would take them. My Dad's girlfriend (Laurie) said she would come along too. DS4 stayed back to keep his Daddy company. When we got down to the pool, we noticed no one was in the pool and people were leaving the area. I guess it had started to thunder and lightning while we were upstairs. So, the lifeguards ordered everyone out of the pool. The kids were so bummed. Back upstairs we headed. We socialized for a bit over wine and cheese and crackers. Then, it was time for my Dad and Laurie to leave. We would see them again on Thursday (Thanksgiving). My Dad planned to cook us Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings.

It was around dinnertime. So, I took DD7 with me down to The Boardwalk to get the family dinner from the corn dog cart. By this time, it was raining. DD7 still had on her bathing suit. So, she was fine and actually had fun dancing in the rain. But, I was becoming a wet mess. We have been to WDW for the week of Thanksgiving the past few years. I don't remember it raining this much years past. We rushed back upstairs and had a feast of corn dogs and we got two funnel cakes to share for dessert. However, people munched on the funnel cakes WITH their corn dogs. It was all so yummy. But, oh so bad for you. But, who thinks about that type of thing while at WDW. We'll worry about that when we get home.

We waited for the rain to stop and headed back to Epcot that evening. We didn't want to chance DS4 falling asleep because I would have to carry him back because Bill couldn't. So, we brought his stroller along this evening. When we left Epcot earlier that day, Bill turned in his ECV and they kept the card in it and told him they would charge it for his return later. I thought that was very nice of them to do that. So, we arrived back to the International Gateway entrance of Epcot to a fully recharged ECV for Bill. Off we were to finally ride Test Track. As expected, the park was still bustling with people. The stand-by line for Test Track was well over an hour. The FP queue was even to the door. Bill couldn't ride and DS4 didn't want to ride. So, DS7 stayed with Bill to push DS4's stroller and he would ride the second time with a FP. So, Emily and I entered the FP queue and we would meet Bill, Will (DS7) and Cole (DS4) at the exit. Luckily, the FP queue went pretty quickly. But, it did give us time to find some new hidden Mickey's. This is a fun game to play and it makes the time pass quickly if stuck in a WDW queue. It was a great ride as usual. We met DH right outside the exit area. Emily and I rode it again right away with Will. Poor Bill was stuck waiting with Cole. After our second ride, it was almost time for IllumiNations. So, we took the short cut to World Showcase from Test Track. Halfway there the fireworks started. We spotted a bench on the bridge going from TT and couldn't believe we scored a prime-viewing area. It was really nice not being huddled along the lake with thousands of other people. We were relaxing on the bench with a great view of the fireworks. What a magical end to our Epcot day.