Who/When/Where:

Who: Sue (50), DVC member
Dates: November 26 - December 3, 2008
Travel Method: Personal car
Resort: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas & Disney’s Beach Club Villas Resort
Experience: Extremely experienced


INTRODUCTION:
This trip has changed from the original plan. It was going to be a chance to introduce SB to concierge living at Animal Kingdom Villas & the Sunrise Safari, and to repeat one of his favorite things – Hoop Dee Doo Revue. When he ended up having to miss this trip I canceled the stuff I’d set up with him in mind and kept what I’d want to do whether I was with him or solo.

Normally I check in to my resort and don’t leave until the end of the trip. This time though, I’ll be checking in 3 times during the 7 nights. Originally I booked 3 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge in a savannah view studio, followed by 6 nights at Beach Club Villas. When I loved concierge at AKV so much last January, I called to see if I could convert these first 3 nights to concierge. The Wednesday and Friday were available, but not Thursday. Rather than going on the waitlist, I decided to just take Wednesday. This way I have access to the lounge Wednesday and Thursday nights, and can hang out in the lounge as needed before my savannah view studio is ready on Thursday (one floor down). The parks are very busy Thanksgiving weekend, so I picked this resort knowing I’d be mostly hanging around here – watching the animals, laying by the pool if it’s warm enough, touring holiday décor at the resorts, sitting in the lounge, etc.

Leesa’s roommate works at AKL, so she’s going to tag along with him on Thanksgiving and spend his shift hanging out with me. I’ll put her on my concierge reservation Wednesday night, so we can both enjoy the lounge together Thursday night. I decided to try Jiko for the first time, and booked it for Friday night while I’m still staying at AKV.

On Saturday morning I’ll go check in at Beach Club Villas and then brave the crowds at Epcot. I have a noon lunch reservation at LeCellier, and hopefully my studio will be ready shortly after that. I shortened the BCV trip from 6 nights to 4, since I needed to free up a couple of vacation days to allow me 6 nights in Colombia visiting SB shortly after this trip. The crowds will lessen Sunday and be gone Monday & Tuesday, so those days I can do whatever I feel like doing in the parks. My main objective is my favorite holiday stuff – Osborne Lights, Lights of Winter at Epcot, and the castle lights at Magic Kingdom. I’ll probably tour some of the deluxe resorts as well, and if the weather is warm spend some time by the pool.

The only 2 meals booked are the Jiko dinner and a LeCellier lunch. I’ll eat mainly in the concierge lounge or Mara during the first 3 days, and most likely the Epcot area the last 4 days. This year I won’t be foolish enough to go to the outlets on Black Friday, and hope to not make a return trip to the urgent care clinic this Thanksgiving either!

The plans so far are:
Wednesday 11/26: Work, Check in AKV, Concierge Lounge
Thursday 11/27: AK, Resort, Concierge Lounge
Friday, 11/28: Downtown Disney, Resort, Jiko
Saturday 11/29: Check in BCV, LeCellier, Epcot or MK
Sunday 11/30: Toy Story Mania?, Resort, Osborne Lights
Monday 12/1: Stormalong Bay, Epcot
Tuesday 12/2: MK, Resort, Epcot
Wednesday 12/3: Drive to work


DAY 1 – Wednesday 11/26/08
Who: Sue (50), DVC member

Plan: Work, Check in AKV, Concierge Lounge

Actual: At last this day is here! In some ways the time passed quickly, and I am SO ready to get back to Walt Disney World for another fabulous stay! There’s something about the place that just leaves me feeling completely content – it’s a really nice feeling. Since there might be holiday traffic I decided to leave work at noon instead of 1pm. Oh hell, nobody believes that, lol – I left at noon because I couldn’t stand waiting another hour! It struck me as I was driving north in sunshine and temperatures in the 70’s, listening to Christmas carols on the radio that it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet. But, this is my holiday trip, so the date on the calendar doesn’t matter.

Check in time for dvc resorts is 4pm, so I was taking a chance trying to arrive at 3pm. There are only up to 5 studios on the concierge level (there are 5 2-br lockoff villas so if anyone booked a 2br then that studio is not available because it’s their 2nd bedroom). I did not care whether I was on the savannah side or the pool side, as I was only up there 1 night and had a savannah view room on the 5th floor for the next 2 nights. Besides, the savannah view from the concierge rooms pretty much sucks, so I wouldn’t really be missing anything. However, I did NOT arrive at 3 even though I left work at noon.

Shortly before turning onto I-4 the traffic came to a stop. It took me 45 minutes to go 1 mile, thanks to an accident. Judging from what was left of the motorcycle involved, it’s not looking good for the rider. I also realized I’d forgotten to pack my long Ethernet cable. The Disney resorts provide a short one, but I don’t want to be chained to the table/desk to use the laptop – I want to be able to lay on the bed or sit up in bed and work on the report or be online. So, I stopped at the new Target off highway 27 and bought 1 of the 3 remaining cables they had in stock! Talk about cutting it close.

I arrived at AKV just after 4. I had a bag for the first 3 nights but also had a toiletry bag and the laptop, and it ended up being more to handle than I thought it would be. I self parked and figured it was no big deal to carry my stuff up to the resort, and it wouldn’t have been in anything had wheels <g>. It had also warmed up a lot, and I was in jeans and a heavy sweatshirt, so needless to say it was a very warm walk up to the entrance. A cast member with a clipboard was waiting out front, and as I tried to not pass out in front of her she asked if I was me. I gasped “yes” and she said she was waiting for me and since my room was ready she’d take me there to check me in. She also offered to take the bag I was struggling with <g> - yay!!!

Having stayed concierge here before she didn’t have to go through the whole spiel of information. I know no balloons are allowed, no smoking (thank god), no throwing stuff off the balcony, no feeding the animals, etc. I ended up with savannah view, studio 6206 (just down the hall from my January studio). The room looked perfect, too. We chatted a bit, she scanned my credit card on some hand-held device, and then she left to return to the lounge. I forgot I put Leesa on the reservation (planning to invite her over tomorrow) so I already have a key for her.

I went out on the balcony, and OH MY FREAKIN’ GOODNESS – it still smells so delicious!! All day long out there you smell the wonderful smells from Boma and Jiko. I saw a big eland or something and a giraffe out on the savannah, but didn’t stay long. When I came inside I saw a welcome letter and a gift on the table. I thought it was a large coaster with the resort name/logo but when I opened it up it seemed to thin to be a coaster. Then I smelled it – OH MY FREAKIN’ GOODNESS AGAIN – it’s CHOCOLATE, lol! Since I’m checking out tomorrow I need to eat it before then, which is too bad – it’s pretty enough to keep.

I wandered out to the lounge but they only had “tea” pastries – scones, brownies, rice krispie things, & tea cookies. Since 5pm wasn’t too far away I decided to go back later. A big group was gathered in the center of the lounge, and while I’ll enjoy being here solo, it’s really nicer having a friend to talk to while I’m in the lounge.

There was no need to unpack since I was moving tomorrow, so I got the computer set up and then went for a walk around the resort. The tree is up and looks beautiful as always. I bought a new camcorder a week or so ago, and used it for the first time filming around the lobby and Christmas tree. At some point I might learn how to post some video, but no promises! Outside I started with the Arusha Savannah and spent some time watching a giraffe who was having a snack. There were also several zebra and some cattle-type animals. After video taping the giraffe I switched to the camera and the cast member told me I could stand up on the rocks. When I did, the giraffe stopped what he was doing and just stared at me for a little bit, lol! He should be used to no privacy by now!

When he wandered off I walked over to the Uzima savannah and found several Thompson’s Gazelles and more ankole cattle, zebra, and several giraffe off in the distance. The baby giraffe was with them, but they were too far away for a decent photo even with 10x optical zoom. I did notice the flamingo area really stinks – those are some smelly birds! I felt bad for the cast member working in that area, but maybe he doesn’t notice the stink any more.

Shortly after 5 I went back inside to go up to the concierge lounge. Imagine how pleased I was when my gold resort ID did not work to get the elevator up to the 6th floor! I tried both sides, to no avail. I went to the 5th floor and tried the lock at the staircase, but it didn’t work there either. What a pain!! I went to bell services and was directed to the front desk. The cast member said there didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the key, but she went to the back room and came back with 2 new keys for me. Thankfully, these worked!

I spent the next 1.5 hour sitting in the lounge. I’d brought a book with me, so I took a table along the wall where there was a light to read by. Tonight’s food was lamb & beef bobotie, sausage & lentil soup, and bbq pork ribs. I took 2 ribs and a bobotie, expecting to love the ribs but probably hate the bobotie. Well, I loved the bobotie (went back for another) and hated the ribs <g>. I didn’t try the soup, as I don’t like lentils. The ribs looked big, but they were mostly bone – at least the 2 I selected. The bobotie was in the filo shell they use for the fruit tarts, and seemed to be mashed up beef & lamb. There might be something else in there but it’s best that I didn’t know what it might be as I might not have tried it <g>. I also took some cheese and some crispy bread things. I didn’t care for the cheese, but the crispy stuff was good, especially with the yogurt dip.

They’re using much smaller wine glasses now, but that’s ok because you can get all you want. I like my white wine cold, so I tend to add ice anyway – this way I’m not diluting the wine as much since it’s a smaller glass. I ended up with just over 2 glasses of wine, and I swear this is stronger than American wine – yikes! The lounge was never full, and people came & went throughout the time I was there. Kids were well behaved – even the one wearing a swimsuit and skating on those heelie things that should be banned. Wasn’t her fault her dad let her up there dressed inappropriately.

A little after 6:30 I went back to the room with my wine to update the report and watch the news. The dessert stuff comes out at 8, so I spent the time waiting in the studio. I didn’t see any animals out on the savannah, but that’s no big deal since it’s hard to see them at night anyway. The turndown housekeeper came in while I was out, and left me 3 chocolates with the nightly card. It’s a nice little service – not necessary, but nice. SB called a little before 8 – I was glad I was in the studio because I didn’t take the phone to the lounge. His game was rained out again – Colombia is in the relatively dry season now, and they’ve been rained out of their last 3 games!

A little after 8 I went back out to the lounge with my book <g>. They had the cordials out but when I poured the Bailey’s there was only a drop or 2. It was 8:30 before the guy was able to go downstairs to bring up 2 bottles. For food there were pineapple cheesecake, pumpkin cake, fruit tarts, and 3 kinds of cookies – oatmeal raisin, sugar and chocolate chip. It was never too crowded in the lounge, and again the kids were well behaved. I was keeping an eye out for Jill from the internet, but never saw anyone who appeared to be looking for someone. I had a cup of decaf cappuccino and headed back to the room somewhere between 9 & 9:30.

I was going to go down and find the night vision viewing of the animals, and as I headed back down the hallway a woman asked if I was Sue by any chance. It was Jill, so we went back & sat in the lounge with some water and chatted until close to 10:30. It was great meeting her, and hopefully we’ll meet again.

I headed back to the studio and let SB know I was back so he could call. I took the call out on the balcony, but no animals were visible. The Sunset Savannah is pretty small at this end, so it’s not the best for animal viewing. After talking to SB I finished up the report then spent some time online before turning in for the night.

Tonight was a great start to what I’m sure will be an excellent trip (except for the traffic and the key problem). As famed author & trip report writer would say under “things I think” – I think I could get used to this concierge living <g>.

Tomorrow should be the safari in the morning, and moving downstairs to the 5th floor but enjoying the lounge one last night. Leesa will be joining me at some point, and it’ll be anice relaxing day!


DAY 2 – Thursday 11/27/08
Who: Sue (50), DVC member

Plan: AK, Resort, Concierge Lounge

Actual: Happy Thanksgiving! I’d set the alarm for 6:30 and woke up then after a good night’s sleep. I never heard a sound last night – not because I was tired, but because it’s a quiet resort. I showered, dressed and packed up my stuff. After bringing a couple bags down to the car I stopped at the front desk to check in again. Here you have to call to check on your room – they don’t call the guest when the room is ready. I prefer to be called, but it’s not the end of the world. I went back up to the lounge and grabbed some fruit & pastry, then took it to the room. I went back for some cappuccino but the steamed milk was all gone. I told a cast member, and waited for it to be replenished. When it was, it wasn’t frothing at all – but maybe it’s not supposed to?? It just looked different from last night, so I gave up and made some hot chocolate <g>.

When I got back to the room SB was online so he called & we talked for a little while. Afterwards I ate my breakfast and shortly after 8:30 put the laptop and last few items away. I never did eat that chocolate card, so we’ll see how it survives being in my backpack today! It’s in the upper 40’s now but should hit the lower 70’s later.

The Animal Kingdom bus arrived just after I did, and it was a short ride to the park. They had both sides open for bag checks so that went quickly. The cast member was frustrated by the people just plopping a bag with several zippered compartments that they don’t bother to unzip. As I got to the turnstile my phones started ringing and my pass wouldn’t work. I ended up at Guest Services to have the pass reissued and then it worked fine. Leesa was on the phone but I could barely understand here. She wasn’t in good enough shape to come out today, so we made plans for Sunday instead. Hope you’re feeling better, Leesa!

By now it was after 9, so I walked back to Harambe and got a fastpass for the safari (return time 9:54). It was very crowded already, but it would only get worse! I then walked over to Dinoland and was surprised to see Primeval Whirl operating. I read yesterday that it was closed for rehab until after my trip, and I would have stopped here first to ride it had I know. They were not issuing fastpasses and the wait time was 30 minutes, which is 28 minutes longer than it’s worth so I skipped it.

At Dinosaur the line was out the door, but since they don’t loop people around it was not a long wait at all (maybe 5 minutes). I know to stand near the exit door from the preshow and walked right onto a waiting vehicle once that was done. Usually people are so slow to move anywhere, and my vehicle ended up with several empty seats because people were moseying along slowly. They did have both sides running, which helped a great deal. Despite the warnings “we’re not going to make it, we’re not going to make it” as you can see, we made it <g>.

From there I wandered over to Asia. It was just after 9:30 and the fastpass return time for Expedition Everest was 3 hours from now. I guess they’ll all be gone for the day by 10:30 or 11 this morning. A few people were going on Kali River Rapids despite the cool temperature, but not me. I did the Maharajeh Jungle Trek instead, mainly just stopping for the tigers. Most were sleeping, but one was wandering around a bit so I watched him until he disappeared around a corner and didn’t come back.

By now I was in my fastpass window, so I went back to Africa for my safari. I ended up in the front row, and while the driver did everything she was supposed to do I wasn’t that impressed. At times it seemed like she was just reciting memorized lines to get them over with – without any personality or interest. We did see a lot of animals, including the female lion jumping up to where the male was, and then they circled each other.

At this point the park was really getting crowded – making it hard to walk from here to there with all the slow moving bodies in the way. So, it was time for me to head out. I have a $5 coupon at Rainforest Café that expires Sunday, but I wasn’t hungry for lunch and that’s what they were serving. I went to the bus stop and decided to ride to Wilderness Lodge. After I’d been standing there a few minutes a cast member came over and told me his buses were running a bit behind and it would be 15 minutes before he had one for me. He tried to offer alternatives, since I told him I was just going to tour the resorts by the Magic Kingdom. But, nothing made as much sense as just waiting here and following my original plan, so he suggested I go sit on the nearby bench and he’d get me when he had a bus. In retrospect, being 50 now, he probably was thinking I’m a decrepit old bag who might not be able to stand 15 minutes, lol!

About 15 minutes later he brought a bus up, and he came to make sure I noticed it (I was in the queue as soon as it went by). Wilderness Lodge was the first stop, and I got off there. The tree is up in the lobby, as pretty as ever. I’m not sure if the rest of the holiday décor was scaled back some, as I remember there being more. I walked downstairs and was taking the path to the boat when someone called my name. It was a guy who was one of my department heads a while back – him, his wife, and 2 sons. They’re camping at Ft Wilderness for the first time, and were doing the same resort-touring plan as me since the parks are so crowded. We chatted for a while, then I continued to the dock and was the last person to board the waiting little boat.

I’ve never seen the little boats making the run to Magic Kingdom from here, but perhaps due to the crowds they’re pulling in everything that floats <g>. Once I got to the Magic Kingdom I avoided the hordes of people headed for the entrance and walked up the ramp to the resort monorail. The first stop was the Contemporary, which as usual doesn’t have much in the way of holiday décor. The Pinocchio & Geppeto display made of candy is located up on the 4th floor now, which is a good spot. I went out on the 4th floor observation deck and took a photo of the BLT construction, then went inside to check out the new quick service place (Tempo Café??). It was ok – it’s nice to see some decent food offerings. I’ve seen some people on the internet whine that it’s not burgers and chicken strips and I just shake my head and wonder about them <g>.

It was back to the monorail and when it stopped at the Polynesian there was a huge line waiting to board. Since there’s never been anything worth seeing there I just stayed on board. At the Grand Floridian I did get off, and once inside it again seemed like they’ve cut back on the holiday decorations. The tree is there, and it’s gorgeous. There seemed to be less garland than before – a lot less. The gingerbread house was open for business, but I think that stuff looks & smells better than it tastes. My final stop was the Magic Kingdom, where I walked to the bus stop and found the Animal Kingdom Lodge bus waiting.

I’d called a few times to check on the room, but it was never ready. SB called while I was on the monorail but it is so hard to hear on a phone around here – or at least I have trouble. I could barely make out what he was saying, but sometimes that’s normal for calls from Colombia <g>. Unless he’s rained out again tonight they’re going to Cartagena for a double header, so I said good night on this call at something after noon <g>.

Back at Animal Kingdom Villas I stopped at the car to get the laptop and toiletry bag, then went upstairs to the concierge lounge. I was starving at this point, but hadn’t gotten something while I was out because I didn’t want to carry leftovers. I was even thinking of trying an uncrustable in the lounge, lol! I called one more time, and the room was still not ready. I got the lecture about it not being 4pm yet. Yes, I know the official time is 4pm but I also know that every room doesn’t suddenly become ready then. She did say I could stop by the front desk if I wanted to the check for a ready room, so I said thank you but didn’t bother. It’s a pain dragging my stuff around, so I’m not leaving the lounge until my room is ready.

I set up the laptop on my table, unplugging the lamp since they had a Christmas tree plugged into the other spot. The food is not lunch by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not intended to be. They had great kettle chips, gummi bears, trail mix, goldfish crackers, chocolate chip cookies and macadamia nut cookies. No uncrustables, so I was spared trying one of those. The cookies were great, as were the kettle chips. I made a cup of cappuccino, and realized the milk thing wasn’t broken this morning <g>.

I updated the report, and at one point a woman came over to meet me – someone who’d written with a question about a year ago. She was really nice, and I got to meet her (Anne) and her son Ian – a very nice teen. They’re staying in the 2br that includes the studio I had last January. It’s such a small world – how bizarre that up here where there are only 5 2br villas on the entire floor I find TWO families with someone I’ve talked to via email?? I’m bummed I only have tonight left to be up here, lol – who knows who I’ll miss tomorrow!

About 2:45 my room was ready! I packed up the laptop and brought what I had downstairs to my room. I had a bad feeling I would be on the Sunset Savannah (the worst one in my opinion) and sure enough, that’s where I am. I thought about specifying Arusha or Uzima when I checked in but decided not to bother since it’s only 2 nights. I walk into the room & everything looks nice until I go to the balcony. Remember how I was in a corner at BCV last month? Well, I’m in a corner again – but at least it’s angled slightly better so I can NOT have my neighbors looking in at me. If I sit out there I’ll sit in the corner where I can’t be seen. There was an ostrich walking around, but that’s it. This section of the resort is over the big holding pen for people in the case of an evacuation, so the view pretty much sucks. Unfortunately, life can’t be perfect 100% of the time, and the less than perfect room is no big deal in terms of my enjoyment of the resort & the vacation.

I had been wearing a Thanksgiving sweater over a turtleneck and it was quite a bit warmer now. This resort feels too warm, too – the hallways, the lounge – to be comfortable I think you’d need to change into shorts & a tank top! I left the sweater in the room and went down to get my other stuff out of the car, then returned to the studio. I should have used bell services for all of this, but when I checked my wallet at work I saw I only had $3 in cash to my name, lol! I don’t need much cash, since I either room charge or Disney Rewards everything, but it would be nice to have more than $3 <g>.

In the concierge studios the bed is near the balcony, but in the non-concierge studios the sofa is near the balcony. In the concierge studio I could have probably gotten by with the internet cable supplied by the resort. Here in this room though, I needed my 25ft cable so I was glad I made that stop at Target! After I cooled off a bit I made a quick trip up to the concierge lounge to get some cold evian water and some disposable coffee cups. They’re back to using ceramic mugs here, and I prefer the paper cups. The mugs are so small – not a big deal if you make coffee, since you just pour a second cup. But, with cappuccino you have to make each cup individually. I know, it’s hardly the end of the world!

Just before 5 I grabbed my book and a puzzle book in case I finished reading the book, and went upstairs to the concierge lounge. I got my usual table, and read while the cast members were setting up the food. Tonight was probably the best-looking food night I’ve seen up here in all the years I’ve come. They had mulligatawny soup, which is excellent!! I love this soup, and I think it’s the first time I’ve seen it up here. The other food was some sort of chicken and a sausage-looking thing that I think was beef & lamb, but I could be mistaken. I started with a half bowl of the soup and some of the crispy stuff with the yogurt dip – and a glass of wine. Later I tried a skewer of the chicken and piece of the sausage-looking stuff. Neither really wowed me, but the chicken was pretty good. I only ate a couple bites of the sausage-looking thing. I thought it would be sausage, but it was something different.

Anne came to the lounge and came over to join me. We ended up sitting there chatting for hours, lol! It was great having her company, as I do believe the lounge is better shared with friends than solo – not that solo would be the end of the world. When they put desserts out I tried the pineapple cheesecake, a strawberry tart, and a little pecan pie tart. We both had some Bailey’s over ice. I finally excused myself sometime after 9:30 and thanked her again for her company. I picked up some cookies for the room and went downstairs to my studio.

I couldn’t see any animals on the savannah, but that wasn’t really surprising for this savannah. I searched for something on tv and updated the report, just relaxing in the room until I was ready for bed.

Today was mostly good, but it was a pain being “homeless” for hours before the new studio was ready. For that reason I’m not sure I’d do the moving again. I’ll have to do it again Saturday, but I have a noon LeCellier reservation and will hit the pool afterwards if the room isn’t ready. Today it was a little cool for that, so I was stuck sitting in the lounge waiting. On the plus side, I enjoyed my time at Animal Kingdom, got the resort touring out of the way, and really enjoyed the evening in the lounge with Anne. No doubt we’ll meet again here at some point!


DAY 3 – Friday 11/28/08
Who: Sue (50), DVC member

Plan: Downtown Disney, Resort, Jiko

Actual: I had a good night’s sleep except for being woken up at 11:20 by SB calling. Yes hon, so happy to hear from you, lol – now let me go back to sleep! He must have lost track of time, or perhaps my idle sign wasn’t up yet on his buddy list. In any event, I was sleeping not too long after getting off the phone. Without any alarm I woke around 7:15 and got up then since I needed to call him at 7:30 (to be sure he was up in time for his road trip). The connection was lousy the first time I called, but good enough the second time.

I showered and dressed, then called Disney Dining to see if I’d be able to change my LeCellier reservation to another day. But, I had forgotten about Candlelight Processional, which made it even more difficult than usual. Saturday is supposed to be the nicest day, so I was thinking that would be a good pool day if I could move LeCellier to one of the upcoming cold days. No luck – as expected. I could skip it entirely, but I doubt I’ll do that!

Thanks to a friend I still have a key to the lounge, so I went up there to get breakfast. I got a glass of pineapple juice, a sesame bagel and a small chocolate croissant (covered in sugar) and took it back down to my studio. I’d turned the coffee make on to heat the water before I left, so it was ready when I got back. I toasted half the bagel and ate the chocolate croissant – surprisingly good, and I’m glad I didn’t discover this until late in the trip! The bagel surprised me – it was brown rather than white, so it must be some sort of wheat. It was very good, though.

After breakfast I got caught up online and basically lounged around. I’m not interested in fighting the crowds in the parks today, so it’ll be mainly a resort day. I went downstairs to find the fitness center and was shocked to see the smoking area right outside! A few people were out there smoking, which was completely disgusting! How their families put up with their stench is beyond me. The cast member said the fitness center used to be way on the other side, but recently they moved it here and she didn’t understand it either. You’re bowled over by the stink if you go to the fitness center, and have to walk through it to get to the playground (where you’d also smell it – and it’s next to the Jacuzzi).

I went inside & worked out – it’s a small gym, but the facilities are night. Inside the ladies’ room are 2 massage rooms, lockers, a sauna, showers & a bathroom. One of the cast members working the floor was keeping an eye on people and going over to correct anyone who might be using the equipment wrong (concern they’d get hurt). When I finished up I walked around by the pool, then went back upstairs to the studio. It was almost 10 by now and still no sign of any animals. I do know they go back to their barns at 8, so they should start coming back out any time now.

By 11 there were several animals outside so I sat on the balcony with my book and did some reading and animal-watching. One big giraffe came over to eat, then bent down awkwardly to drink from the scummy-looking water out there. He didn’t seem to mind it, though!

I spent some time laying by the pool, doing more reading. It had warmed up to the low 70’s so in the sun it felt pretty warm. Most of the chairs around the pool were taken, except for some in the shade. I don’t go to a pool to be in the shade, so I found some empty chairs in the sun away from the pool and stayed there. I finished my book, read a magazine, and was out there about 2 hours.

On my way back in I stopped in Mara but nothing sounded good that was small enough to not ruin my dinner tonight. I went up to the lounge and got some kettle chips, cookies, a yogurt and cappuccino to take back downstairs. Originally I sat out on the balcony for lunch but the sun was shining in my face and it was just way too hot out there. I went inside and ate the chips, a sugar cookie (very good) and half a container of yogurt. Having all this food is so tempting, but I want to be able to enjoy Jiko tonight!

SB called, then I just hung around in the studio for the next almost 3 hours. I packed up my stuff, and since the weather has changed (cold Mon/Tue) I needed to rearrange stuff between the 2 bags once I got to the car.

About 5 I went upstairs to the lounge and got a glass of wine. The food tonight was beef/lamb kefta kebabs, chicken wings and butternut squash soup. Tonight was the right night for my Jiko reservation, lol! I ate 2 wings but was not impressed with them. They were tiny, and just didn’t taste that great. The lounge was busier than the past 2 nights and “my” table was taken, so I moved to a table in the back hallway since I’d brought a book and the lighting was better there.

Eventually other people came into that area, and a woman at the table across from me got my attention and said that I was Sue, lol. It was Jackie, who used to read the aol dvc board and had emailed me at some point over the years. So, once again instead of being solo I spent the evening chatting with new friends – it was great! She was with her mom, and they’re from PA. The people at the other table were also from PA, so we all were chatting back & forth – what fun! Finally after 7 I went back downstairs to clean up for dinner.

SB had tried to reach me, so I checked in at Jiko and stepped outside to call him. My beeper went off while I was outside, but they knew I was making a call & told me to just come back whenever I was ready. I think the beeper went through it’s routine twice, so I was pretty prompt.

I was seated at a table where one side was a shared bench seat. I sat on that side, as I could look outside from there. A nice young couple were on my left, and we got to talking quite a bit. She works at All Star Movies and he recently applied for a concierge position. This was their first date – and they sure picked a top-notch restaurant! He raved about the lamb and she did the same over the filet with mac & cheese.

I knew there was no way I’d finish an entrée, but so much sounded good I ended up getting 2 appetizers. I’d asked to be in Sally’s section, on the advice of trusted friends, and they were able to accommodate that. Sally is a middle-aged woman who knows the menu very well, and provides very good service.

I started with the tomato, red onion and cucumber salad, based on Sally’s enthusiastic description. It has a watermelon vinaigrette and she said the cucumbers are marinated in it for 48 hours. It was light and delicious. Next I had the bbq chicken flatbread, which is an oval crispy flatbread with chicken, bbq sauce and shredded apple. Sounds weird, but it was very good. I ate half, and brought the other half back for breakfast tomorrow. I also had a glass of Riesling – my 3rd glass of wine for the evening! The Riesling was recommended by Sally and the girl at the next table. I liked it but didn’t love it.

For dessert I had the pistachio crème brulee, which was very good! Overall it was an excellent meal, and I was glad I tried Jiko. I doubt I’ll do it every trip, but I’ll be back once in a while. Maybe I’ll come back with SB and just get the filet since everyone raves about that! I used the DDE for 20% off here, so with the tip my dinner was just over $38. It’s not a cheap place <g> but the food is excellent.

After dinner I stopped in the lounge and got a kahlua with skim milk but only drank a few sips. I was too full from dinner! I talked to SB (he’d been rained out again for the 6th night in a row), then went downstairs to the Uzima viewing area for the night viewing. For a resort this size, they have THREE pairs of night binoculars. Thankfully I didn’t have too long of a wait, and it was pretty cool. Without the binoculars I couldn’t see a thing, but with them I could see clearly – 4 thompson’s gazelles, and eland, and a zebra. I do recommend checking this out at some point if you’ve never done it – plus it’s free!

I went back up to the studio about 10 and chatted with SB for a bit then finished up & posted the report. I’ll probably hang out online for a while, as I’m too full to sleep just yet!

Tomorrow I move to Beach Club Villas for the rest of the trip. I’ve really enjoyed my stay here, and what really made it special was meeting the people in the lounge each night! I can’t wait to be back here in January.


DAY 4 – Saturday 11/29/08
Who: Sue (50), DVC member

Plan: Check in BCV, LeCellier, Epcot or MK

Actual: I woke up at 2:40 thanks to some loud voices either in the hall or in a room nearby. I hate rude inconsiderate clueless people, and that’s what I’d call anyone who wakes me up at 2:40 a.m.! After that I had trouble getting back to sleep, and woke up again around 6:30. I laid there a while, and then got up at 7. I showered and heated up the leftover bbq chicken flatbread for breakfast, along with some cappuccino. There were no animals out, of course. I really didn’t see much on this savannah, but in the future I’ll either be up on the concierge lounge or at Kidani.

I still have the chocolate gift since I forgot to eat it these past 2 days, but after the flatbread I wasn’t hungry for the chocolate too. I’ll take my chances with it today and if it gets all melted it’ll still taste good after I throw it in the fridge – it just won’t look nice. I was out the door before 8:15 and made one last trek to the car. Instead of leaving the parking lot right away, I went in the other direction towards Kidani. I was surprised how close the end of that building is to the existing resort. I was not able to get all the way to the resort entrance, so I didn’t really see very much. When I exited I took a right but came to a “road closed” sign and wasn’t bold enough to trespass into where I did not belong!

I drove over to the Beach Club, stopping at the Hess station to fill the gas tank for the return trip. I parked over by the villas and then walked to the front desk in the original resort. Cast member Sandy was excellent, and I had no wait. The room I’d been assigned was not ready, so she volunteered to look for a ready room for me. Unfortunately all they had was a ground floor (no way) handicapped room (absolutely positively no way) so I passed on that. My room was on the 3rd floor, facing woods – but when I had her show me on the map I saw it was not the section I was hoping for. She tried to find me one, but there was nothing. I thanked her for looking, and said this one will be fine. She promised they’d try to get it ready as early as possible for me, which was nice.

I walked into Epcot, arriving about 9:15. My first stop was the Land, where they had ropes up to force everyone to go to the right. They do this when they expect it to be mobbed. I was surprised by how relatively Uncrowded it was. At 9:22 I got a fastpass with a 10:30 return time, and then I walked right onto Living With the Land with only 4 other people on the 2-boat vehicle with me.

After the Land I went to Spaceship Earth, which had a 10-minute wait posted. Lots of people arrived just after I did, and the line really filled up. I was glad I got there when I did! I walked through Innoventions and saw Krista working the Velcro show, but didn’t bother to see that today. I walked around taking some pictures, then went into Mouse Gear to kill time. SB called while I was in there, after struggling to get a signal for quite a while. I found a quiet spot behind some clothes so I could talk to him – it’s amazingly noisy at WDW, thanks to all the music, people, etc. Before I left Mouse Gear I bought a pair of earrings for one of my staff, then headed back to the Land.

I used my Soarin’ fastpass and it seemed to take a fairly long time to get through the line. The standby wait was 65 minutes and the pavilion was much busier now, but still not as bad as last Thanksgiving weekend. I just missed getting on the next show, and was waiting with an asian party of 9 (might have been from Japan). After they loaded people into the theater the cast member came out and told me she had 1 seat if I wanted to ride now. I asked which row it was, and she said row 1 – so of course I grabbed it! She was trying to tell the asian group to let me through, and I’m saying “excuse me, excuse me” but they didn’t have a clue, lol! They either don’t speak English or they don’t have a clue that they’re not the only ones here <g>.

I got to my seat, and it was right at the end by the middle section, so it was great. Or, it would have been great if the woman 3 seats over would have SHUT UP even for a minute! Oh my goodness, was she annoying! The soundtrack is pretty loud, but not louder than her, lol! Her husband was absolutely silent, too – I don’t imagine he gets the chance to speak much. After the ride I headed out of there and since it was after 11 I walked around World Showcase starting with the Mexico side.

As I was passing through Italy about 11:30 my phone rang, and it was someone at the Beach Club calling to let me know my studio was ready. This morning I’d mentioned that the people at Animal Kingdom Lodge make the guests call, and Sandra was surprised. She informed me that here at the Beach Club THEY call the guests <g> and I like this way much better!

I continued walking and as I passed through the United Kingdom I saw Matt (from Comedy Warehouse) working (whatever that theatrical group is). I stopped for just a minute, then continued on to LeCellier. I waited at the podium while people without reservations were turned away. I got checked in, then stepped aside so others inquiring about dinner reservations in the next few days were also turned away. You really need to book this place 6 months in advance, or most likely you are not going to eat here. Doesn’t matter whether that’s right or wrong, whether it should or shouldn’t be like that – it just IS, so either deal with it or skip it!

I was seated in about a minute or so, and had a nice lunch. The menu had changed again slightly since last month, with a new bbq chicken sandwich and a couple other changes. I stuck with my usual glass of wine and I went with the bowl of the cheese soup. Everything was excellent, but I filled up and wasn’t able to finish the last of the soup – so I didn’t have room for dessert, either. With the 20% off and the 18% gratuity added back I think it was under $15.

After lunch I walked back to the Beach Club and went upstairs to check out my villa. Thank goodness I’m not in a corner again! It’s pretty convenient to the single elevator, and I was excited about that since it’ll make leaving pre-dawn on Wednesday easier. My happiness was dashed when I saw a sign on the elevator saying it would be closed from 11/30 through 12/6! So, I’ll have to drag everything down to the other elevators, go downstairs, then backtrack – what a pain!

The studio had a bit of an odor – like someone had smoked in here at some point and they’d tried chemicals to get rid of the stink. It didn’t smell bad, just a little off when I first enter. I went down to the car to bring my stuff up, then unpacked and settled in. I’d thought about going to the quiet pool but in the end I decided to relax in the nice cool studio rather than going down to sweat by the pool. I updated the report, watched some tv, and just acted lazy for a while.

Around 2:45 I’d had enough of “lazy” so I grabbed the camera and set out to walk around the lake and check the holiday décor in the 5 resorts. It’s all basically the same stuff as every year, but it’s nice to see it. It made sense to start at Beach Club, but the lobby was such a zoo! Lots of people, lots of unnecessary noise, and it was not a place where I wanted to linger! They have the carousel set up, and that looks nice. There are also pretty trees, but I like the tree in the villas lobby best of all.

Yacht Club had the train display and lots of nice trees and garland everywhere. There was no sign of cutting back here! However, the train wasn’t operating. At the Dolphin they had a rather ugly, sorta tacky-looking tree. It’s HUGE, but of course it’s hollow inside. It’s white poinsettias with blue as the only other color. They had a pretty large train running around the bottom of it.

The Swan was disappointing – a couple small trees here and there, and some garland on the swans’ necks on the fountain. You almost wouldn’t even know Christmas was coming here. Plus, when I walked into the lobby a somewhat cubby woman my age or older in a low-cut black dress with cleavage from Tampa to Miami was the first thing I saw – oh my goodness! I think I was still somewhat shell-shocked when I left (averting my eyes this time) but I’m sure if there had been more holiday decorations I would have seen them <g>.

The Boardwalk was beautiful as usual, and no signs of them cutting back here either. The garland is gorgeous, and they also decorated down the hall near the Bellevue Room. Donald & Daisy Duck were created as part of Santa’s workshop, and although it has 5 hidden mickeys I never saw any of them. I need a cheat sheet!

When I got back to the Beach Club I stopped at Beach Club Marketplace and asked for a few empty coffee cups (the throw-aways) and the girl told me they were $2.29 each! I said I didn’t want coffee, just the empty cup to make coffee in my room and she said they sell them for $2.29 each, lol! I said “forget it” and left. I’ll try again somewhere else, as I hate those stupid little mugs they put in the rooms.

Back up in the studio I touched base with Leesa about tomorrow – we’re not going to let the stupid rain stop us. We’ll see tomorrow night if that was a good decision or not, lol! I updated the report and then around 4:30 I walked over to the bus stop just to see the Magic Kingdom bus pull away long before I could have reached. So, I sat on a bench and waited for the next one, which probably took about 15 minutes. Bag check and turnstiles were a breeze, and I entered Main Street as the 5pm flag lowering ceremony was going on. A lot of people stopped and watched, and the band with the pretty white & red uniforms played the national anthem. After that I was waiting for the first pitch, lol!

The park was busy but not mobbed. Everything had 30-60 minute waits but most of them also had fastpasses available for an hour or so later. I’ll be back some chilly morning so I didn’t care about any attractions tonight. I started with Adventureland and just leisurely wandered throughout the park. In Fantasyland I was shocked to find a 30-minute wait for It’s a Small World, with people in line outside of the building even! Peter Pan’s Flight was insane, but it’s always that way. In Tomorrowland the line was outside of Space Mountain, although the sign said 30 minutes.

I hopped on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and the up ramp was not working so we all had to walk up. As I got to the spot across from the Laugh Factory the attraction stopped. We sat there for about 30 minutes before moving again. According to the guy walking the track to check on us, the “intrusion” alarm rang, so they stopped the ride for everyone’s safety. I hope some moron didn’t decide to get out of the ride vehicle – although I wouldn’t have any empathy at all if they got seriously injured as a result!

While the TTA was sitting still, a female cast member kept announcing “remain seated at all of the time”, over and over and over. Guess they don’t teach grammar at her school, and I was tempted to leave the vehicle myself and climb down the railing to get away from her safety warnings, lol!

By the time I got off the TTA it was after 6, and the castle lights up at 6:30. I walked over to the front of the castle and sat for about 10 minutes and then stood for the last few before the show started. I taped it, and it was mercifully brief. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy & the Fairly Godmother were in it, and then Cinderella appeared to have the castle turn to ice. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I was there for the lights, so the shorter the “show” the better <g>.

It’s beautiful, just like last year. I noticed the Christmas tree was not next to the castle, and it wasn’t at the end of Main Street, either. Is this another cutback – no tree?? I can’t imagine they’ll tape the parade next weekend without it, but I sure didn’t see it tonight. I let the crowd ease up a bit, then worked my way down Main Street and out of the park. Originally I thought I might walk to the Contemporary, ride the bus to Downtown Disney, and have dinner at Puck’s Express. But, it was such a nice evening and the next few nights will be quite a bit colder, so I decided to go see the Lights of Winter at Epcot.

I took the express monorail to the TTC (had to sit on the track twice waiting for traffic to clear) and then switched to the Epcot monorail. There was hardly any line to enter, so it went very quickly. I really like this park at night! I went back to the Lights of Winter and taped some of it, then took some still photos. It was almost 7:30 by now, so the mob that would have been there when they came on were no longer in that area.

After I’d watched the lights for a while I did another loop around World Showcase. In Germany I bought a glass of wine and a piece of apple strudel. I knew I’d want something sweet later, and I purposely didn’t get this during Food & Wine Festival since I could get it this trip. They don’t have carryout containers, but the strudel is “short” enough that another plate turned upside down on top works just fine. I continued wandering around, and couldn’t believe the people in line for Candlelight Processional. The ones who didn’t do the dinner package were snaked around inside the pavilion between USA and Italy. The ones who DID pay the overpriced package were in a line that extended well into Morocco. That’s out of USA, all the way through Japan, and into the next country!

I sat on a bench in France since I couldn’t take my wine out of Epcot. Of course, I ended up knocking it over! It fell under my bench and the wine splashed up all over the back of my legs. I picked up the empty plastic glass and headed back to the resort. I took another chance at Beach Club Marketplace and approached a supervisor/manager type person standing there looking around. He said housekeeping would bring me the Styrofoam cups, so I thanked him & went up to the studio.

I called housekeeping and it was quite a challenge explaining what I wanted, to someone who speaks some other language as her primary one. Finally, she was sure she knew what I meant, asked how many I wanted & said they’d be right up. I toasted the other half of the AKV bagel, and it was really good – for some reason, it really hit the spot. It’s got to be the wheat vs regular white bagels, but it’s a big improvement to me. I also ate the apple strudel – yummy as always!

There was a knock on the door, and standing there was a housekeeper holding 3 ceramic coffee mugs – the same rinky dink ones I have 4 of in my cabinet already, lol! This lady finally understood what I was looking for, and came back a couple minutes later with the blue foam coffee cups!

I finished up the report and did some online stuff while half-watching tv and waiting for SB to get back from his doubleheader. This room has a good location, if you ignore the main road, lol! From inside I don’t hear any traffic noise at all, but if I go out on the balcony it’s constant vroom, vroom. I wish that other elevator wasn’t going to be down starting tomorrow, as it was really convenient for me!

Today was a nice relaxing day, and I was really happy my room was ready so early! Tomorrow the weather will change – gone are the nice warm days and after a lot of rain we’re in for colder than normal weather (up to 16 degrees below normal). I plan to enjoy Stormalong Bay for the morning, knowing it’ll be my last chance this trip. Leesa will arrive sometime later, and we’re planning on Osborne Lights unless the weather is really awful.

DAY 5 – Sunday 11/30/08
Who: Sue (50), DVC member

Plan: Toy Story Mania?, Resort, Osborne Lights

Actual: Since I spent the evening in the studio last night, I could see the Illuminations fireworks from my bed. There were lots of green and red, so it must be the holiday version – or at least have a holiday piece added to the show. It was really pretty – and very loud! The only other noise I’m getting is the occasional footstep upstairs. I usually stay on the top floor, and I really like NOT having anyone above me! I slept well, waking at 7 when the sunrise lightened up my room.

I showered and had a cup of cappuccino, then watched the news for a little while until my hair dried. Right around 8 I walked over to the Yacht Club and had breakfast at Captain’s Grille. There was no wait and I was seated immediately. I love this place because it’s not a madhouse like Cape May or Spoodles. I had my usual, the yogurt parfait. It’s always excellent, and today was no exception.

After breakfast I took a walk around the lake, and by 9am it was completely cloudy. I was hoping for some sunshine this morning, but it was not going to happen! I checked online to see when the Premium Outlets would be opening, and saw they were already open (9am)! I drove over there and bought a few more Christmas gifts. The connection from Colombia was poor today, but I was able to talk with SB briefly before returning to the resort.

I really didn’t feel like heading to a park because now I’d missed the opening and it was really humid and breezy outside. It was a lousy weather day and I had no desire to be outside. I hung out in the studio for a little while, catching up on emails. Around 11:30 I decided to head out to have lunch at Puck’s Express.

When I turned left coming out of my studio I saw a lot of construction workers. One came over to me and explained this hallway is closed. I told him about the sign on the single elevator, and he went with me to see it, saying that’s a mistake. Along the way he explained they were replacing the furnishings, carpet and are painting each room, so I guess the resort is being refurbished bit by bit. My room is the same old furnishings/décor as always but it’s still in excellent condition. It’ll be nice to have a flat screen tv and a thin dvd player next time, though!

When we got downstairs he removed the sign by the elevator, so I will have the use of this elevator all week! Unfortunately, I’ll be going a bit out of the way to get to Epcot, but it’s not a big deal. As I left the building I noticed it was raining, but at the bus stop the sun was shining. I was regretting leaving the sunglasses in the room, but in the end it didn’t really matter.

After stopping at Boardwalk we went to the Marketplace, where I got off. I stopped in the Christmas store & it was so mobbed I just walked back out! Puck’s wasn’t too bad – there was a line but once I got in line 2 more registers opened and I really had no wait at all. I ordered the tortilla soup and a glass of the 14 Hands Riesling, then took one of the empty tables outside. Leesa called during lunch and we made plans for later in the day. I couldn’t believe how sunny it was outside, but it didn’t last!

After lunch I opened the door to the Pantry shop and it was also mobbed so I didn’t even go in. I went to Goofy’s Candy Co and that wan’t any more crowded than normal. I got a marshmallow thingy with m&m’s all over it. This woman ahead of me with 2 kids was taking forever – getting samples of different fudge and badgering her kids to try them, pointing to each item in the case & talking about them with the kids, etc and then she just walks away and doesn’t buy a damn thing!! I’d been tempted earlier to just ask the cast member for my marshmallow thing but didn’t want to seem rude – I shouldn’t have hesitated, lol! The cast member was a bit frustrated too, but luckily nobody was waiting behind me.

I had a $5 coupon from Rainforest Café that expired today, so took a quick look in their shop but didn’t see anything I wanted. So, I headed for the bus stop and saw my bus sitting there. I tried to run towards it so it wouldn’t leave behind me, but a family of 4 extremely large people were in my way and were spread way out blocking the walkway! They were standing around deciding what to do, I guess – but not in the best spot to do that. I got to the bus’ door just as the driver pulled away, and once they pull away they can’t open the door. The next stop was empty, so he pulled in there and thankfully opened the door so I didn’t have to wait for the next bus.

By now it was overcast again & soon it started pouring out! We stopped at Pleasure Island, then the Swan, Dolphin, Yacht Club, Beach Club, Boardwalk, and then back to the Marketplace. In my opinion, that’s way too many stops! I was going to get off at the Swan and walk back but it was raining way too hard when we got there. Instead, I got off at Yacht Club, and found it strange that they don’t have a covered walkway to the bus stop for their guests! Both Beach Club and Boardwalk do, so this made no sense to me.

I walked through the lobby and walked (under cover) to Beach Club. The lifeguards were all standing inside, and nobody was at the pool. A lot of the walkway was wet too, from the rain blowing sideways. I heard thunder at some point, and the trees were whipping all around (then half an hour later it would be calm). I went up to the room and ate a marshmallow off the thingy <g>.

I had the weather channel on, and learned some cars were damaged here (at WDW) due to a reported tornado. I guess I’ll see later if it was mine! Leesa called, and would be spending some time in Epcot with her roommate, and then will be dropped off here. I decided to stay at the resort and wait for her to arrive later instead of getting caught in the rain. Hopefully the worst will be over before Osborne Lights.

A little before 3 I made a small cup of cappuccino (using the small paper cup and lid from AKV concierge) and decided to take a walk around the lake. Leesa called before I left the resort, and was almost here. I gave her directions and waited for her by the parking lot. When she arrived we went up to the studio and hung out there for a while. She showed me Facebook and I signed up – thank you Donna (iluvwdw) for being my first “friend”. It was funny looking at it when it said “you have 1 friend”, lol!

Around 4:30 or so we left to catch the boat to Hollywood Studios. We just missed it, but the next one came along soon. I was surprised it was so easy entering the park, but there was no crowd at all. We stopped at guest services to get the 3-D glasses passholders are entitled to. The cast member gave me an extra pair for Leesa, which surprised me because he was also checking the pass for each person plus their photo id.

We wandered down the street and checked the tip board. Other than Toy Story Mania having an 80 minute wait, the rest of the attractions were not too bad. It was 5:45 now, and Leesa had never been on the Great Movie Ride, so we did that first. We pretty much walked right onto the ride, which was nice. When we came back outside we walked back to the Osborne Lights. We took lots of photos, and watched the lights dance twice. It was mostly dry, with just occasional light rain showers.

The lights were beautiful, and it was not horribly crowded. It’s obvious the holiday crowds have left, thank goodness! There wasn’t any snow falling, so I’m assuming that was due to the light rain and high humidity. We left the park and took the boat back to Yacht Club. It must have been around 7-7:15 by now and we decided to get something to eat before going to Epcot.

At Beaches and Cream I was surprised to find no wait for a table, and plenty of room after we were seated! Maybe it gets crazy business after the park closes? Anyway, it was a very pleasant surprise. The food here is very good, but I do think it’s over priced – perhaps a little more than normal for Disney. For example, the chicken noodle soup is $6.49! We decided to share the roast beef sandwich, which was $11.49. We knew half would be plenty for each of us. Our server split it before bringing it to us, which was nice. Leesa had her heart set on a banana split but could not possibly eat a whole one, so our server made her a mini version with a single scoop of vanilla ice cream, a cut-up banana, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. I went with a single scoop mint chocolate chip cone. Overall it was a good meal, and plenty of food to fill us up. Leesa bought dinner – thank you again, Leesa!

From Beaches & Cream we walked through Beach Club and then walked over to Epcot. Leesa finally saw how convenient this resort is (she never knew there was a back door) and thought I was really smart for staying there, lol! We had no wait getting into the park, which was a nice surprise.

As we were walking through the United Kingdom she wondered if Carol Stein was working, and I was pretty sure she wasn’t. We peeked in the window, and sure enough, it was Carol. We went inside and were trying to work our way over to where she works when she spotted us. She announced “oh look, it’s Leesa – and my new Facebook Sue”, lol! So much for not interrupting <g>. We stayed for a song, but we were sort of in the way of the door, and had a Soarin’ fastpass to use, so we left fairly soon.

We walked to Soarin’ and used the fastpasses Leesa & her roommate had gotten earlier, but there was almost no line on the standby side. We ended up in the 2nd row, which was pretty good. At least this time nobody was talking loudly through the whole thing! Afterwards we went outside and headed to the Lights of Winter. We got there as the final song was ending, and then the lights were just all on but not changing. I guess the “show” stops at 9:15! I also spotted a burned-out light bulb – surprising since it’s only been on for 3 nights so far! We also heard Mary’s voice announcing Illuminations, which was a nice surprise from the new guy they’ve been using.

As we started to walk back towards the International Gateway, Illuminations started. We watched bits & pieces of it along the way, then caught the fireworks from the bridge between UK and France. When it ended we turned to go back to Beach Club Villas the cast member said “not yet”. There’s a holiday piece that’s added to Illuminations during the holiday period, so we stayed & watched that as well – it’s set to Christmas music (Let There be Peace on Earth if I remember correctly). Those are the fireworks I saw from bed last night, as there’s a lot of red and green!

Finally, we walked back to the resort! I checked my new facebook status and was glad to now have more than 1 friend <g>. Leesa laid down on the couch and I finished up the report. Her roommate gets off work at 12:30 a.m. (damn Disney hours, lol) so he’ll be coming to pick her up then. I’ll try to stay awake so I can walk her out!

Today started out rather questionable in terms of the weather, but the evening was much better than expected! The only miserable weather was during the few hours I was in my studio, so that worked out perfectly. Osborne Lights is still beautiful, and it was nice to see it without big crowds. I’m glad I had someone to share a sandwich with at Beaches & Cream, as SB always thinks I should get my own! Overall, it was a great day!

Tomorrow I might head to Hollywood Studios to do Toy Story Mania and perhaps the Backlot Tour since it’s been a long time since I did that. Later I’ll head to Epcot to see Mary.


DAY 6 – Monday 12/01/08
Who: Sue (50), DVC member

Plan: Stormalong Bay, Epcot

Actual: Leesa’s roommate was here right on time (12:30 in the MORNING,lol) and despite getting to sleep so late I still woke up at 7. That’s a good thing – one of my pet peeves is sleeping & wasting the day! I showered, dressed, checked facebook <g>, had a cup of cappuccino, and around 8:20 I went downstairs to the Beach Club Marketplace to get breakfast. I love their custom yogurt parfaits, and I had fresh strawberries, granola and a small amount of mini chocolate chips added to mine – yum!

I ate the parfait as I walked along the path to Hollywood Studios. It’s a pretty big portion but it’s so good I eat it all! SB called, but thankfully it was after I finished the parfait, so I was able to take his call <g>. At the Studios I was shocked by the line at the turnstiles – it went beyond the ticket building! I’ve only been here on early entry mornings, and the line is much worse on a non-emh day.

They let people in a little before 9, and by the time I started up Hollywood Blvd they were finishing the little pre-show up at the rope. A few people headed down towards Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, but by far the big crowd was headed to Toy Story Midway Mania. Today I decided to be really smart and get a fastpass, then jump in the standby line. Well, that was a really good idea until everyone ahead of me at the fastpass machines had 17-25 tickets they were running through there! It took forever!

The standby line said 20 minutes and it was snaked around outside the building, but I decided to give it a try – it’s not like I had somewhere else I needed to be. The line moved steadily, but it probably was almost 20 minutes longe. One lady came pushing through the line saying she was going to join her family, and I was too shocked to simply tell her NO. Everyone let her through, and I did finally see her meet up with her son way ahead – she should have had him wait for her outside of the line!

For the first time I wasn’t put with anyone else, so I nobody else’s score to compare to mine <g>. It was fun – worth the wait this time. When I got back outside I walked over to the Backlot Tour, but it was closed & no cast members were out there. I found a schedule for the park and saw it doesn’t open until 11:30!! What the hell is up with that??? I won’t still be here at that time, so if I want to see it I’ll have to get over before 5 tomorrow. I wandered around the park, and noticed the Drew Carey thing doesn’t start until 2pm! I don’t like that not everything is open when the park opens, and not opening until 11:30 or 2pm is just awful in my opinion.

It was time for my fastpass so I went back to Toy Story and rode alone for a 2nd time. This time I finally broke 6 figures for my score! When I left the attraction the fastpass return time was after 3pm, and it was just 10:15 or so now. There wasn’t anything else I wanted to do in the park, so I wandered around a bit more and then left. I went to the bus stops and had a very short wait for a bus to Saratoga Springs. It didn’t go in the main entrance, but continued around the back entrance. It went first to the Springs so I got off there, and saw it was now a Downtown Disney bus. That’s where I was headed, but I’d rather walk than ride!

I walked back to Congress Park and as I was walking through the parking lot a car backed up and called to me to introduce themselves. It was Chuck & Peggy from Chicago – very nice to meet them. They just arrived yesterday, so they’ve still got their whole trip ahead of them – wish that was me, too! I continued on to the Marketplace and the Christmas store was less busy but still pretty mobbed. The rest of the stores were not too bad.

I browsed through the Pantry, World of Disney, and bought some foil-wrapped chocolate stars at Ghiradelli. I wandered into Trex and saw what people mean about it being so loud in there. It wasn’t busy at all, which surprised me. I wanted to eat at Earl of Sandwich, but I wasn’t hungry, so that’ll be something else I’ll have to do tomorrow (or not at all).

I walked through Pleasure Island, which is just depressing. They’re working on a food place, but it looks like it’ll be quite a while before it’s open. Until then, it’s just closed-up clubs and a couple of non-Disney shops. I didn’t bother with the West Side, and took the bus back from the Pleasure Island stop.

The bus was making the complete loop starting with the Swan, so I got off there and walked back to the Yacht & Beach Club. It was a beautiful day for walking, but a bit cool still to be by the pool. As a result, Stormalong Bay had very few people! I stopped at Hurricane Hanna’s and got the chicken salad to take back to my studio. I love this salad – it’s got pieces of chicken, croutons, diced granny smith apples, dried cranberries, and shredded white cheddar cheese! I ate about half of it, and saved the rest for later. Had to save room for dessert, so I ate some of the marshmallow thingy. That’s almost TOO sweet – if there is such a thing, lol!

I hung out in the studio for a while, and booked a few DVC reservations for next Food & Wine Festival! The cast member was confused that I appeared to be calling from a local number until I explained I was at Beach Club Villas now (using their phone since it’s free). Around 2:30 I changed into long pants, grabbed a sweatshirt (for later) and walked over to Epcot.

Since it was early yet I turned right towards France and took a leisurely stroll through the countries. In Germany I tried the pinot grigio, but it was dryer than I like. The last few sips tasted better than the first few, lol! I sat somewhere with the wine and watched people going by for a while, then walked over to Spaceship Earth and rode that. I try to answer the questions at the end differently each time, so I don’t get the same scenes every time.

By now it was about 3:45 so I headed over to Innoventions to see Mary’s 4pm show. I met Carol Stein there, and soon we were joined bye Steve P, Angela and Layden! Steve & Layden were both long-time actors at Comedy Warehouse and both were excellent! Angela did an internship there 6 years ago and I know her from those days. It was so great seeing them all again. When the show started Steve & Layden were on 1 bench, and the 3 of us women were on another on the opposite side of the room.

Missy (also from Comedy Warehouse) was the co-host with Mary today, and they both did a great job & worked well together. It was a fairly full house, which is why we split up for the seating. They did the first game, using some kids. Then Mary was setting up the 2nd game and looked out into the audience and said “I want you 2” pointing at Carol & me, and then did the same to Steve & Layden, lol! I just said “oh no” under my breath, and I think Carol thought Mary didn’t mean us, but she did <g>. We played the pack your bags game, as 2 teams competing. Carol & Steve wore the big yellow loop poncho, and Layde & I each had to fill as many bags as we could and attach the bag to our partner’s poncho. We actually got about twice as many bags on our partners as I’d seen anyone else do in the past, lol! But, near the end Layden grabbed my remaining bags while I was attaching something to Carol, so they declared it a tie – we were all both winners and losers, lol! I wish I’d thought to have Angela tape it, as I’m sure we looked ridiculous!

We talked to Missy & Mary after the show. Missy surprised me by saying goodbye using my whole name. I hope she didn’t think I was upset by that – I was just surprised. I asked her how she knew my name, and it turns out she’s read stuff I’ve written – cool! We were meeting Mary at Rose & Crown later, and Layden needed to go meet someone, so Angela, Steve & I planned to go get a table. However, Layden came back to say we should really see Turtle Talk with Crush.

We decided to do that, and had just a very short wait for the show to begin. I wasn’t thrilled with it before, but Steve asked if I was willing to suffer through it again. Turns out everyone was underwhelmed by it, but the kids seem to love it. I get tired of all the “duuuuude” stuff.

We walked quickly over to Rose & Crown, and when I mentioned I’d seen Matt working in the UK we stopped at the show tonight to see if he was there. He wasn’t but Karl was. Angela & I left Steve there & went to join Mary inside since she was alone trying to save our table. She lucked into the very front table, which was excellent!

Eventually Steve joined us, and he went up to buy us drinks. Mark Miller (Krista’s husband) came by & joined us also, so it was really nice group. Carol arrived in her costume and a big hat and hung around our table as well. I also found Bill (Major Woody on RADP) and his wife there, so I got to visit with them, too.

Carol’s show is excellent, and this is such a good fit for her. She improvises with the people in the audience, whether she knows them or they’re a stranger who just wandered through the door. She called Mark up for a few songs, and he’s got a big deep voice that’s really great. We ended up staying for 3 sets, lol! But, it was a lot of fun, and a lot of other people who know Carol, Mary, Mark or Steve stopped by. Eventually Bill & his wife moved over to our table, and later we called it a night. I’d missed a few calls from SB, but when I called back I think it was during the game, and I got a Spanish “leave a message” recording!

I walked out with Mary, and then walked her niece & nephew out the International Gateway so she could pick them up at the Boardwalk. I then went back up the hill and did another leisurely loop around the countries. It was such a beautiful night – just like it’s supposed to be! After I passed Mexico I walked under the Lights of Winter and sat in front of it watching it for a while. I did notice they replaced that burned out bulb from last night – good job, Disney!

I walked back to the resort, and got back in time to see Neil Patrick Harris’ show on the tv – funny, because at the same time he was over in Epcot narrating the Candlelight Processional! He’s a real sleezeball on his show, but I don’t have a problem with that when it’s not my real life <g>.

I ate more of the salad from Hanna’s and tossed the rest because I didn’t want to have to eat it again tomorrow. I updated the report and hope to remember to watch General Hospital tonight on SoapNet.

Today started out mildly disappointing with the Backlot Tour not open for my visit, but it got much better from that point on. I especially enjoyed the evening in Epcot, and was thrilled to spend time with everyone at Mary’s show and Carol Stein’s Rose & Crown <g>. It was a nice surprise to find Steve, Angela & Layden there, too!

Tomorrow is my last full day, so I’ll hit the Magic Kingdom in the morning, get to Earl of Sandwich for lunch, then repeat Osborne Lights & Lights of Winter one last time.


DAY 7 – Tuesday 12/02/08
Who: Sue (50), DVC member

Plan: MK, Resort, Epcot

Actual: I did remember to watch General Hospital last night <g> and even talked to SB a couple of times after his game ended. I slept well again, and woke up at 7 when the sun was up. This is my last day of sleeping until 7 – tomorrow it’s 3:30 and then back to 4:40 after that! I showered, dressed and had a cup of cappuccino. Since I hope to have lunch at Earl of Sandwich today I didn’t want anything as big as the yogurt parfaits today (but I’d love to have one) so I just got a chocolate croissant from the Beach Club Marketplace. Those things are such tasty pieces of total crap that it shouldn’t “stick with me” like real food would <g>.

I was at the bus stop a little after 8:30 and the Magic Kingdom bus was pulling in. It was a full bus – standing room only. The driver had the heat cranked up so high it was rather uncomfortable, too. We got to the Magic Kingdom just before 9, but missed the pre-show. There was no wait at the bag check area and only a couple people ahead of me at the turnstiles. I headed down Main Street and was walking through Tomorrowland when SB called. Doesn’t he know I’m trying to get a fastpass now??? <g> I talked to him, searching for a spot with minimal noise (hard to do), then continued on to Space Mountain. My return time was 10:05.

I walked to Fantasyland and walked right on the Pooh ride and then Peter Pan’s Flight. From there I walked over to Big Thunder and walked right onto the loading area without stopping. I got the back row, which is my favorite. Next I rode Pirates of the Caribbean, which was also a walk-on. A kid in the front row took a couple photos with his flash, and I was glad to see him quit after he saw the pictures of darkness on his display screen <g>. That is so annoying in a dark ride!

Haunted Mansion was next, but I stopped behind the Christmas shop to make some work calls. I’ve been waiting for the fbi background check results to get back on someone I want to hire as our Food Service Director, and it’s taking forever! I look forward to handing over the apron once I get someone on board.

With the calls finished, I went to the Haunted Mansion but waited outside to take a follow-up call. The stretching room filled up pretty much, but there had been no wait to get in. The attraction stopped just as I was about to step on the moving walkway, but it started up again in a couple of minutes. This is a pretty cool ride!

I passed by the front of the castle and went back into Tomorrowland, stopping at Buzz Lightyear since the wait was only 5 minutes. Boy, compared to Toy Story this attraction really sucks! It’s also a lot harder on my hands/thumb. I had an absolutely pitiful score (15,400) despite stopping for several minutes in one of the rooms, lol! By now I was well into my fastpass window so I headed over to Space Mountain and paused for a call from SB again. I truly don’t mind him calling every now & then – it’s just frustrating when I’m in MK because it’s so hard to hear him. A conversation mostly consisting of “what?” or “what did you say?” on my part is hardly thrilling <g>.

I rode Space Mountain, getting the front seat this time. A mother with 3 kids was behind me, taking their first ride. They all loved it! My last attraction was the TTA and this time it did not break down! It was getting close to 11 by now, so I decided to head out of the park. It had been a delightful morning, and I got a lot done since there were no waits. I made a quick stop in the Main Street Confectionary and had a small piece of the pumpkin fudge (sample) – wow, it tasted just like pumpkin pie!

I exited the park and walked to the Contemporary, talking to Michael at work along the way. As I approached the bus stop the Downtown Disney bus was there, so I ended the conversation and rushed over so I wouldn’t miss this one! The bus went to the Polynesian next, then on to the Marketplace. I think I was the only person on the bus besides the driver!

At the Marketplace I went to Earl of Sandwich and there was a huge line! It snaked outside of the queue area, but I know it tends to move pretty quickly and this was the reason I came over here today! When I got to the counter to order, I saw they have their holiday sandwich again, which is really good! But, it’s more than I wanted to eat, so I stuck with the Caprese. I also got one of their small strawberry yogurt parfaits to eat before I leave tomorrow morning.

I took my sandwich outside and ate half. I wish they had an option for half a sandwich, but the only kids’ choices are not what I’d want. I started on the 2nd half, but gave up – so I wrapped it back up and put it in the bag for later. I’d browsed through the pantry on my way in and saw some items I wanted to get, but I bought them in World of Disney to get the 10% discount. For a couple of my food service supervisors I got them each a set of Mickey measuring cups and a Mickey spatula.

From there I passed Santa posing for pictures with the kids and went to Goofy’s Candy Co. I got a caramel apple with white chocolate and both white and dark chocolate chips for Chris, then went to the bus stop. This time I had a very long wait – the only bad wait of the entire trip (and I wasn’t surprised it was this particular route). Again I got off at the Swan and walked back to the resort rather than sitting on the bus for 3 more stops.

My trash & towel service had not been done yet, which was surprising. However, if they somehow forget it, it’s no big deal as I have a clean towel for tomorrow (helped myself to a housekeeper’s cart in the hall) and I can live without empty trash cans. I packed up what I could, and settled down to work on the report. Luckily I remembered to call DVC again, as I needed to add Amanda’s address to the reservation I made yesterday for her & Chris, plus I booked myself at Vero over the 4th of July weekend. Normally it would be a Comedy Warehouse weekend for me (my park pass is blacked out then), but thanks to the geniuses who decided to close that, I won’t be at WDW at all. I also got my final call from SB, so we said goodnight even though it’s afternoon!

Around 3:30 I made one more trip to the car, then walked over to Hollywood Studios. It’s such a pleasant walk, but I must have been walking slow as the boat beat me this time! Getting into the Studios was a breeze, and I headed straight to the Backlot Tour since I missed it the other morning. I just missed one, so I had about a 13-minute wait. They did not do the water tank pre-show since it was so chilly. Instead, they told us what the special effects in the show would have been, lol! Wow! It was not busy, so they could have just sent us on to the trams, instead of wasting our time like that. Oh well – not the end of the world.

I ended up in the front row of the tram – lesson to others, try NOT to be the first person to the trams or you’ll be stuck in the first row, too. Directly in front of me was a dirty window, so visibility was slightly diminished. The tour has changed some since my last time, due to the addition of the stunt show and elimination of Residential Street. Basically going through costuming and into Catastrophe Canyon are about the only things that are the same. It seemed shorter, too.

Afterwards I ate the rest of the Earl of Sandwich caprese sandwich from earlier. It’s even good cold! I wandered through the Walt’s One Man’s Dream thing, just looking at the exhibits but not seeing the movie again. From there I was going to do the Animation Tour but I’d just missed one and didn’t want to wait for the next one. Instead, I did the Great Movie Ride again, and this time got the western scene – which is my favorite!

By now it was a little before 6 so I wandered through the area with Muppetvision and ended up in that square at one end of Osborne Lights. They no longer do the opening show and don’t have any stage or live people. Instead, an announcement plays and the lights come on. Anyone here for their first visit wouldn’t have any idea about this cut-back, but the repeat visitors might notice. The same is true at Epcot – there is no tree-lighting ceremony, no stage, no singers, no characters. I think they tree just lights, but perhaps they play an announcement there, too.

SB called (surprise) just before the lights came on, so when we finished I took video during one of the songs and I think I got the opening announcement. I’ll try to get some video posted somewhere once I learn how to do that. I spent some time watching the lights and walking around enjoying the atmosphere. It snowed tonight, too – it’s too bad Leesa missed that part. Eventually I decided to get over to Epcot, so I left the Studios.

I called my friend Patty who happens to be Mary’s sister as I started the walk, and talked to her until I was almost at Epcot. Entering Epcot was also a breeze – no wait at all. I took a walk around World Showcase, starting in France. In the USA they were starting Candlelight Processional so I stopped to hear the band play a song and then watched the cast member choir walk through the theater. I thought about waiting to try to get a look at Neil Patrick Harris, since he’s easy on the eyes. But, since he announced he’s gay that sorta killed any younger man fantasies I might have been harboring <g>. So, it was onward to Germany.

They have this warm spiced Christmas wine there, and although I hate red wine I decided to try it. The first few sips were pretty gross, but it got better with time. I doubt I’ll get it next year, though. I continued around the countries and sat on a bench watching the Lights of Winter for quite a while. I wish the 2 streetlamps between the lights and me weren’t there, but otherwise it was a perfect spot. Eventually I got up and filmed the lights for a song, and then walked over to Test Track.

The single rider line said 20 minutes (standby said 60) but there were only 2 boys in line ahead of me. The cast member kept loading the other rooms, and left us standing there. It stands to reason if you send through 4 rooms full of regular riders, you might need a few single riders to fill in the gaps! Finally she sent us all the way through without the pre-show because they were out of single riders lol! It was a “cool” ride – literally! It felt good in the cold night air, though.

I stopped to watch Lights of Winter again, then headed out of Epcot. I stopped at the Boardwalk Bakery and bought a chocolate/vanilla pretzel to take home. These things used to be excellent years ago, before 9/11. They changed the sugar from powdered to big fat granules, because of course anyone buying baked goods at Disney would assume powdered sugar is really anthrax. So, it’s good for us that they destroyed these pretzels, lol! Now they’re also a little more than half the size, but the price is probably higher than before. That’s the Disney way!

On my way back to Beach Club I met Kathy & John McNeil, who are also dvc members and trip report readers – and really terrific people. We stood on the bridge chatting for a while, then they continued to Boardwalk and I continued to Beach Club. I stopped at the front desk to settle my account, so a bill wouldn’t be delivered to my doorknob after I left in the morning. Due to the cool weather the “movie on the beach” had been moved to the Solarium, and it looked like Little Mermaid or maybe Nemo. It was a cartoon, and it was under water, lol!

I went up to my studio and saw the trash & towel got done after I’d left this afternoon. It makes sense to do those last, and concentrate on cleaning vacant rooms first! I finished up the report, watched some tv, and got ready to leave in the morning.

This trip was FABULOUS!!!! I’m sure there were a few minor glitches here and there, but right now I can’t recall what they were, so they couldn’t have been too bad. I loved meeting so many new friends this whole trip, and seeing so many old (length of friendship, not age of the people) friends. I loved both resorts, and I cannot wait to get back to AKV concierge – have 2 trips there booked for 2009! Beach Club Villas is always a favorite, and I’ve got 2 trips booked there for 2009 and another planned. I’m so thankful for the internet, trip reports, Walt Disney World, and DVC – that combination has allowed me to meet so many great people I’d never have met otherwise!

The next trip is 6 nights in Barranquilla, Colombia starting Saturday (12/6). I’ll post that on the radp newsgroup, and send it via email to anyone who wants it. If you haven’t already asked for it, just send me an email and I’ll add you to the list for the report and photo album.

The next Disney trip is AKV concierge over Martin Luther King weekend in mid-January. It’s possible SB will be back by then, but only if his team does poorly – so I’m hoping he misses that trip <g>.

Until next time – thanks for reading.

Oh wonderful! Another trip report from you! I can't wait to read it!!!

Great report! :) Its awesome how many people you met there! And the rooms you stayed in sounded so nice. I wish we could afford to go there!

Wow Sue, another great trip report. Thanks for sharing.

Ellen

Yay another trip report from Sue!!! Once again fabulous as always!!
You're trip reports always put a smile on my face :)

:cool: SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD A SUPER TRIP :) WE JUST MISSED EACH OTHER . CAROL STEIN IS PRETTY TALENTED . DISNEY IS A PLACE THAT ANYONE, SINGLE OR WITH A GRAND GATHERING CAN HAVE ALL THEIR WISHES COME TRUE :D

Thanks for another great report, Sue!

I was one of those people standing in the long line for the expensive (oh, it was! REALLY was) CP, but it was worth it IMHO. Since it was my 1st trip during the holidays since 1975, I thought it was worth busting the bank. LOL

Another great TR Sue!!! Thanks for sharing and I hope you had a great trip to Colombia!

Thank you - Colombia was great, but way too hot for me! I was there during their coolest month, and it was worse than the most humid summer day at WDW, if you can believe that!

The people were very nice, and Barranquilla was safer than most American cities. I'm glad I had the chance to visit!

Thanks for another great trip report Sue! I've been living vicariously through your trip reports for a long time! Looking forward to reading your January one. Oh, and that was me who tried to "friend" you on facebook recently! :)