Jim Indelicato - November 2005 - Port Orleans Riverside, Animal Kingdom Lodge

Time of Year: Holiday
Travel Method: Plane, Magical Express
Resort: PORR, AKL
Accommodations: Standard rooms
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent


Jim Indelicato -- November 2005 - Walt Disney World (PORR, AKL)

Jim Indelicato – November 24, 2005 – December 3, 2005 (POR/AKL)

Time of Year: Fall – November 2005

Travel Method: Plane and Magical Express

Resort: Port Orleans Riverside / Animal Kingdom Lodge

Accommodations: Standard Room

Ages Represented in Group: Adult, Elementary School

WDW Experience Represented in Group: Infrequent

The Cast

Jim, age 37 – husband/dad/planner/trip report writer, 5 trips to Disney over thirty years, second in the last two years.

Cathy, age 37 – wife/mom, also 5th time at Disney.

Jenny, age 9 – daughter/sister, second trip.

Allie, age 6 – daughter/sister, second trip.

Planning

The planning for this trip began approximately 17 minutes and 34 seconds after returning from our last trip in November of 2004 (link). The ’04 trip was our first family trip to Disney World. It was Jenny and Allie’s first trip ever and it was Cathy’s and my first trip since 1992. Our 7 day trip last year was awesome but was simply way too short. We had such a great time but the minute we arrived home we couldn’t wait to go back. So, let the planning begin!! If you are not interested in the gory planning details, well, too bad, there will be no skipping ahead in this trip report. I worked way too hard to write it and it would hurt my feelings if you skipped around. So, hang with me, OK? Since our last trip, many things have changed. New attractions, new Magic Your Way tickets, Disney Dining Plan, Magical Express…There is quite a bit to stay on top of. Although we had planned to see more of the Orlando attractions during this trip, with the new tickets and with Magical Express, we decided it is most cost effective to do just Disney this time and then do the other attractions on the next trip. The ticket options make it almost free once you pass the 5 day mark and with Magical Express, we did not need to rent a car. We fell right into Disney’s evil marketing ploy enticing people to stay in their resorts and parks and keep them away from the other Orlando attractions. Give Disney’s marketing team some credit…it worked.

First up, we needed to decide when to go. We wanted to go in November again because weather, crowds and value would be maximized. I looked at the week of Veteran’s day again but I guess that week has gotten popular as airfares were sky high and availability at the resorts was low (Did you just say ‘Joisey’ week? Darn those New Jerseyites(?), New Jerseyians(?), whatever…people from New Jersey). Alright, how about Thanksgiving? We could take advantage of the two days off from school during Thanksgiving week but I worried about expensive airfares. It turns out fares on Thanksgiving day itself, especially later in the day when most folks are gobbling down turkey are not bad at all and I was able to get a great fare on Delta Song flying from Hartford. I prefer Hartford over New York because it easier to get to and much more affordable to park. We were all set and our travel dates were 11/24 to 12/3 - ten days and nine nights. Our trip falls right into the beginning of the holiday season at Disney World so all the decorations would be up and there were many special events we would be able to attend.

Next up: booking our resort. Last year, we stayed with Buzz and Woody at the All Star Movies and this year, we wanted to try a deluxe or at least a moderate resort. Because of the length of stay and the fact that the first part of the trip was in “regular” season and the second in “value” we decided we wanted to split our stay to two resorts. At first, there were no public discounts available so I booked a room only with a AAA discount at Port Orleans Riverside for the first half of the trip still in regular season and then Animal Kingdom Lodge (standard room) for the second half in value season. In October, a Magic Your Way package discount code was released so I changed our room only reservation at Port Orleans to a 5 day Magic Your Way package which included our tickets for the whole week (8 day park hoppers) and the Disney Dining Plan. And then I kept the Animal Kingdom Lodge room only reservation for the remainder of the week with no dining plan. Since we were on the dining plan for the first five days, I also booked several Advance Dinner Reservations (ADR); at least one for each day just to be safe. Is your head spinning? Take a deep breath, we’re almost there.

What about airport transportation? Should I be worried about Magical Express? I guess not. It seems the initial bugs have been ironed out and c’mon, they are just driving you from the airport. How bad can it be? I am thinking, though, we might miss not having a car like we did last year. We shall see.

Finally, one other thing we wanted to try on this trip was pin trading because it just seemed like it would be a lot of fun. We bought a few pins on our last trip and we also had a few lying around the house that were either gifts or we got with a Disney DVD or through Kellogg’s or something. I went out to eBay and bought a whole bunch of cheap ones. The goal was to get ones for trading but I got a little caught up in it and ended up getting ones I thought the girls would like. This could have backfired as I was afraid that they wouldn’t want to trade some of the ones I bought on eBay. I really did get some nice ones: Jenny got a pin of Mickey riding Rock ‘n Rollercoaster that was instantly deemed her favorite and Allie got a Dash pin from the Incredibles which was her favorite.

Well, you made it through the planning section. I can tell those are tears of joy you are wiping from your face. Obviously there is a lot that goes into a well planned vacation. I like to think the upfront effort pays off down the road and it always baffles me when I hear people that go without any planning and then come back to say they had a terrible trip and will never go again (yes, I have heard people say that). Of course, I hate to say it but for me, planning for the trip is almost as much fun as actually going….almost.

Thursday 11/24 – Arrival Day

We are all packed and ready to go but believe it or not there is a major snowstorm in the forecast for the Northeast for Thanksgiving day. I’m hating winter already and it is only November!! Our flight is scheduled for 4:15PM but we hoped to get out on an earlier flight. There were three leaving from Hartford on this Turkey Day: 8:15AM, 1:15PM and 4:15PM. The snow was expected to arrive early in the AM. I thought if we got up early enough we might be able to beat it. Unfortunately, none of us are early risers and by the time I rolled out of bed at 5:30AM, the snow was already coming down. I watched weather and traffic reports - we would never get there in time. So, we waited at the house until we were sure the 8:15AM flight departed which it did on time and then we headed out in our four wheel drive sleigh to Bradley International. We made it to the airport at about 11AM and there was no way we could have waited until 4:15PM for our flight. The kids were way too excited. OK, Cathy was also way too excited. Fine, we all were way too excited. We were able to switch to the 1:15PM flight no problem and ended up getting seats right up front since there is no first class on Song. We were in the second and third rows – I sat in row 2 with Jenny while Cathy sat behind us with Allie. As we boarded and got to our seats, a flight attendant politely came up to me and asked if we could get out of our seats because a previous passenger lost a credit card. We got out and stood in the aisle as he tore the seat apart. The cockpit door was open and the pilot was in the doorway. As Jenny was peering in, he came up to her and asked if she wanted take a look around. Jenny’s face lit up. Ironically, she had asked me a few weeks earlier if there was any chance she could get into the cockpit. I said once upon a time they let kids in but since 9/11, nobody is allowed. The pilot let her in and let her sit in the captain’s chair. He even put his hat on her head as I snapped a few pictures. We took off on time and the rest of the flight was uneventful. I pretty much ruled the top of the leader board of the in flight trivia game. Well, I did once the game started to thin out toward the end of the flight. Alright, it was me against a 12 year old kid in 11C but I totally schooled him.

We arrived at MCO and headed down to the Magical Express area. We were checked in quickly and efficiently and before we could blink, we were on a bus heading towards Port Orleans Riverside (POR). We were at the resort in no time and we walked right up to the front desk and checked in. We had requested the Alligator Bayou section building 14 but ended up in building 36 (yikes!). I was glad we were in the Bayou section as it really was beautiful but building 36 was a hike to everything. Even with four bus stops, we weren’t even all that close for the buses.

By the time we got to our room it was near dusk. We walked by the pool on the way to our room and the girls were dying to go in. So, we all changed and headed to the pool. Even though the temps were in the high 60s the pool was crowded. It was heated but still pretty darn chilly. Hey, I’ll deal with a heated pool and 60s over a half foot of snow any day. The cold did not slow down our little fishes as we had to literally drag them out for dinner. The pool was fun and the girls loved the slide and water fountains.

We had an ADR for Boatwright’s for their special Thanksgiving day dinner but decided to use some counter service credits from the dining plan instead. They had a special turkey dinner at the Riverside Mill food court which Cathy and I both got. The girls split some chicken nuggets (shouldn’t they have been turkey nuggets?) and the HUGE sundae that came with it. A quick note about the dining plan that we encountered the whole trip, well, at least the part we were on the plan: It was very confusing as to what was included and what was not and we got a different answer at each restaurant we went to. Cathy and I found it amusing how each time we sat down at a table or walked up to a counter we got a different spiel about what was included and what was not. Some places the kids got appetizers, some not. Some places they could get milk, some not. Some places they could get refills on milk, some not. But dessert was always included…hmmmm…Anyway, more on the dining plan later.

After dinner we explored the resort. We walked down to the French Quarter section which I thought was really nice - nicer than the mansions section but not as nice as the bayou section. We could see the top of Spaceship Earth and we were able to catch some of the EPCOT fireworks on the way back to our room. Back in the room our bags had yet to arrive from Magical Express and a bit of panic set in even though we had enough stuff in our carry on to last a day or two. I figured they never got the message that we were on an earlier flight so they probably figured we had just arrived. I mean it is just driving luggage from the airport, right (gulp). I called bell services and sure enough our bags were on the way and they arrived about ten minutes later (whew). By then we were already ready for bed and it was lights out for a busy day on Friday.

Thought of the day – I hate winter and snow more and more every year which is one of the reasons why I love going to Florida so much. Just hand me my government issued white shoes and plaid pants so I can move down there now.

Thumbs Up – Song Airlines, Magical Express, Port Orleans Alligator Bayou and French Quarter

Thumbs Down – Snow, ice, cold, winter (you get the idea)

Friday 11/25

Since we are here for 10 days, the plan was to do a little more “down time” away from the parks. But I knew it was going to be tough for us slow down too much. As I stated in last year’s trip report, we are not “lay around the beach” type people and we love having things to do. The theme parks provide us with the type of excitement and fun that we love. With the ticket options, it was easy to go to a park everyday since incremental days were so inexpensive and because of the duration of our vacation, it is also easy to go for partial days. After all was said and done, we ended up doing some pool time and down time but not as much as I originally planned. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being total commando and 1 being asleep in our resort all week, I would say we were about an 8 this trip where as last year we were probably an 11.

One thing we tried to stick with was hitting the parks early to avoid the crowds. After all, Thanksgiving was one of the busier times of the season, right? Another thing we wanted to do was to experience all the attractions we missed last time for whatever reason. So, we were up bright and early for the Extra Magic Hour (EMH) at the Magic Kingdom. The plan was to stay thru the morning anticipating huge crowds in the afternoon and then go to Chef Mickey’s for a late breakfast / early lunch at 11:30AM. We had no plans for the afternoon and would play it by ear.

We were up, showered, dressed and on our way to the bus stop on a gorgeous sunny morning. Since we were on the dining plan, our backpack was pretty light this year. We did not carry snacks or bottles of water but this year we did have a very special guest with us. Yep, you guessed it, Pal Mickey. The Character Warehouse was blowing out last year’s model (the pre happiest celebration on earth model) for $13.99 back in October. So I bought two, one for each Mouseketeer. Both pals joined us on our trip but only one came with us to the parks and that would be whichever one had fresh batteries. What a pain to change the batteries in those cute little guys. Mickey was conveniently clipped to my belt loop with a heavy duty clip and the perfect height for the girls to hear him giggle and talk as we walked through the parks. I thought he was cute and had some interesting things to say especially in EPCOT, so for those considering buying one, I give Pal Mickey my endorsement especially if you can get him for less than $15.

The bus pulled up and we were on our way. As we rode the bus I looked at Jenny and Allie and couldn’t help but notice the huge smiles on their faces. I thought about the people who scoffed at me when I said we were going to Disney World again. How could I deprive them of all the other great vacation places in the world? I must be a terrible parent. “Yeah, they look so disappointed,” I thought to myself. If you are one of those people and you happen to be reading this report, I wish you could have seen the excitement on their faces as we pulled into the Magic Kingdom and headed toward the main gate. And if you are not one of those people, I am picturing you nodding to yourself in agreement with a little smile yourself. ?

We walked through the turnstiles where some of us (errr..ummm, Cathy) had a little trouble with the new finger-scan. But they eventually let her in and all of us were soon strolling down Main Street snapping pictures. The weather today was beautiful with highs in the 70s. The girls had their pin lanyards on and started trading right away. We really got into pin trading all week and it was so much fun. The girls each had a lanyard and we had a third that Cathy and I shared. I wore a few pins to trade on my baseball hat while Cathy wore the lanyard when she wanted to trade.

We started in Fantasyland and hit all the dark rides including It’s a Small World which was closed on our last trip. The EMH was awesome and I was very surprised at how empty it was during the first hour. By 9AM we were ready for the rope drop to open the rest of the park. We cut through the castle to a small path on the front side facing the hub. From there we could see a crowd starting to line up at the hub waiting to head into Frontierland. There was a cast member (CM) standing by a small rope blocking the narrow path. He looked like he graduated from high school about a week ago. He smiled at us and started up a conversation. “It is gonna be a crowded one today” he said as he looked over the growing crowd at the hub. I think it may have been his first or second day on the job. Just as he turned back to us, he noticed a small crowd starting to gather around his tiny rope. Suddenly a look of concern came over his face as now about twenty people were line up behind us. As the announcement was made and the rope at the hub was dropped, the CM smiled nervously toward the crowd and attempted to unhook his rope. I think the pressure of a true rope drop at his little out of the way location got the best of him. The rope was stuck on the latch and he could not release it. The small crowd began to push as the kid continued to struggle tying to get the rope unhooked. His face started to turn red and it looked like he was going to start to cry for his mommy. We decided we did not want to stick around for that and the four us ducked under the rope, strolled down the path and hooked up with the hub crowd on the way over to Splash and Big Thunder mountains. We did Splash twice and Big Thunder once, both were walk ons. We also did Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion just for old time’s sake. It was now 11AM and it was time to head out for breakfast.

We got to the Contemporary right around 11:30AM in time for the last seating for breakfast at Chef Mickey’s which is always the best time to go. There was plenty of food and the characters were really out and about. This was the only restaurant we repeated from last year, although, last year’s trip was for dinner. Since this was our breakfast and lunch we ate twice as much and basically stuffed ourselves. We got our pictures with all the characters and we were off. We did some shopping at the Contemporary and also did some pin trading.

It was about 1PM and we decided to hop over to Animal Kingdom (AK) to check out the parade. Allie was dying to go on Primeval Whirl (PW) and she could not stop talking about it. With her shoes on she measures about 47 ½ inches. Just short of the 48 inch minimum. She was so close. I told her not to expect to get on and she replied with the usual “I know, I know, Daddy.” We got to AK and headed straight to Dinoland and then straight over to PW. Allie measured up at the gate and somehow she made it. I was skeptical but sure enough, she hit the bar. Unfortunately, neither me nor the Cast Member (CM) at the gate noticed that she was actually on her toes when she was checked. We waited about ten minutes in line and when we made it to the ride vehicle, she was checked again and not allowed on. Allie went into melt down mode. A manager came over and explained why she could not be allowed on. I certainly understand why there is a height requirement and why they could not let her ride. Obviously, the manager was smart enough to realize that Allie never should have made it past the first measurement so he right away said he wanted to make up for our lost time and gave us three anytime fastpasses to be used anytime at Animal Kingdom for the whole family. I didn’t ask for or expect anything but he came through anyway which was just an example of the great customer service Disney is famous for. Another CM saw Allie crying and she came up and gave Allie a voucher for a free game in the carnival section of Dinoland.

After everything settled down, we regrouped and then took a spin back in time on Dinosaur (still my favorite attraction at WDW) and then we headed toward the center of the park to queue up for the parade. We missed this parade last year. Since it was holiday season, the parade was Mickey’s Jammin’ Jingle Parade or something like that, so there was a Christmas, eh, sorry, holiday, twist to it. After the parade was over, we headed to the exit.

It was back to POR for some more fun in the pool. The girls swam and Cathy and I watched. After relaxing and swimming, the plan was to go back to the Magic Kingdom for dinner. We wanted to see Spectromagic which we missed last year and Wishes. Personally, I think the fireworks at both EPCOT and the Magic Kingdom are worth the price of admission alone. They are that spectacular. I wanted to see at least one of them every night. Another item on my list for this evening was the Timekeeper: a seldom open attraction that was only open during the busiest times of the year. It was only open Thursday through Saturday so I wanted to catch it.

After our swim we changed and headed back to the Magic Kingdom. After swiping and scanning, we trekked over to Tomorrowland for the Timekeeper. To my surprise, the crowds in the park were not bad at all. It was crowded but I was not blown away. I was picturing the proverbial sardine can and not being able to even walk around. We saw the Timekeeper which was pretty good and pretty well done. It certainly is not the best attraction in the park but I am glad I got to see it before it is shut down for good. After exiting we noticed almost no wait for Stitch’s Great Escape. So, we headed in with some resistance from the family. We were able to experience this last year during a “soft opening” a week before the official opening and everyone hated it. I thought it was bad but had some potential if they fixed it up a bit which I heard they did. Allie has suddenly become Stitch’s greatest fan so, she was easy to convince to try it again. Jenny was a bit more reluctant. I thought they made some good improvements and although it is not my favorite attraction, I did enjoy it. Allie seemed to like it too. No comment from Cathy and Jenny is still giving it two thumbs down.

We ate dinner at Peco Bill’s and then got a space by the restaurant and waited for the night parade thinking it would start in Frontierland. After Spectro, we found a perfect spot on Main Street for Wishes. I can’t think of a better way to end a great day. Even the crowds leaving after the fireworks were not all that bad and we did not have a long wait for our bus. We were back in our room and asleep pretty quick. It was a long day. It was both relaxing and exhausting and special all at the same time. But then again, aren’t most days at Disney World?

Thought for the day – I think Chef Mickey’s will be our family’s little tradition for future trips.

Thumbs Up – Pal Mickey, Pin Trading, EMH at the Magic Kingdom, Dinosaur, Wishes

Thumbs Sideways – Stitch’s Great Escape

Saturday 11/26

In the original plans, we considered doing a non park day today because we figured this would be one of the highest crowd days of our trip at the parks. But, we decided we would do some park time and some stuff outside the parks. The choice for today is the Studios for the morning and then to Downtown Disney (DTD) for lunch. We had an Advance Dining Reservation at Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge for dinner so we would get a chance to explore another resort as well.

We bussed it over to MGM where we were at the gate for the park opening. As I mentioned earlier, none of us are earlier risers, so getting up and getting going is not an easy task. Since our room was so far from the main building and the restaurants at POR, it was difficult to eat there. We did not even get a refillable mug. After going through the gates, I walked down Sunset to get fastpasses for Rock n Rollercoaster (RnRC) while Cathy and the girls picked up something to eat at the Starring Roles Bakery. We relaxed on a bench for a while sipping coffee and people watching (see, we can slow down). After a yummy muffin and a couple of bagels, we headed to the less crowded part of the park and did Star Tours and the Muppets. Absolutely no wait for these attractions. As we made our way back toward Sunset we walked on to the Great Movie Ride. We did this twice last year and both times got the gangster scene so we asked to wait for the western scene this time. They updated the film clips at the end which was still my favorite part.

Jenny and I scampered to RnRC while Cathy and Allie did some shopping, pin trading and character meets. Cathy has been harassed repeatedly for not even giving RnRC a chance. Every other attraction she tried at least once but she is such a chicken because of the inversions. Luckily, Allie wants nothing to do with RnRC either because again, she is just a bit too short. She loves coasters but is scared about the going upside down part. My guess is next trip this will be her favorite ride just like her sister. Jenny has been talking about this attraction ever since she returned home last November 2004 and has been dying to go on again. We had four fastpasses so we rode twice. On one trip while we were standing in line waiting for the doors of the studio to open, I asked the CM if all of Aerosmith’s amps go to 11. I chuckled to myself as he had no idea what I was talking about. After our final spin around LA, we met up with Cathy and Allie and sat down on the same bench for a while to relax (my goodness, what has come over us?). I was again somewhat surprised that the park was not all that crowded. I mean it was crowded but I was expecting it to be so much worse. We used some of our snack credits for some bottled water and popcorn and looked at the pins on the pin station on the corner of Sunset. After our snack we headed to the bus to go back to Port Orleans.

We decided to get off at the French Quarter and then take the boat down to Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney was what I expected. We shopped, pin traded and had lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. The World of Disney was impressive but the scrapbook store left Cathy a little disappointed. We each bought a pin at the Pin Traders and we traded with the independent traders outside the store. We took some more pictures and then headed to the bus stop. While waiting, we had our first family disagreement and shall we say, mild temper tantrums by the kids…and the parents. The girls pleaded as only kids can do to go back to POR to go swimming again. I had planned to go from DTD to EPCOT and then to the Wilderness Lodge (WL) for dinner. Since you can’t go from resort to resort by bus, we needed to go through a theme park to get to the WL. By the time we got back to POR, changed for swimming, swam, changed again and then headed to a theme park we would not have made it the WL for dinner. Plus, Cathy and I noticed that the pool seemed to sap the energy out of the girls which in turn caused them to be a bit cranky and crabby after the swim. So, I put my foot down and threw a little tantrum myself. I even pulled out the seldom used but very effective “it’s our vacation, too” line. Cathy calmed everyone down and told Allie and Jenny that I had planned the trip very carefully and we would all have more fun if everyone followed my lead. We all hugged and wiped our tears as everything settled down. And really, after that moment, things were pretty smooth the rest of the trip.

We took the bus from DTD to the Beach Club Resort and walked through the lobby and around the beach area. Obviously we would love to stay here some day or any of the higher end deluxe resorts. We took pictures and then headed to EPCOT through the International Gateway. EPCOT was pretty crowded; more like I expected for the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. We walked through the World Showcase and to Future World where we had time for a few attractions. Obviously, Soarin’ was top on our list of attractions we wanted to try but at this point, all the fastpasses were gone and the wait was an hour and a half. We’ll catch it another day. Journey into your Imagination and Ellen’s Energy Adventure were a couple of attractions we missed last year so we did both of them. Allie loved Figment and wanted to go on again. At the end of the ride, we did the Kodak picture postcard thing and sent an email to my mom. Ellen’s was pretty well done and from what I remember much different from the old Exxon Energy attraction that we saw in 1992, although, I think the dinosaur part was pretty much the same. On our way out toward the busses, we had time for Spaceship Earth so we took a spin through the giant golf ball and we were off to the Wilderness Lodge.

When booking this trip, I determined that one of the “lodges” would be the most affordable way for us to stay at a deluxe resort. The Wilderness Lodge was our first choice but standard rooms were booked for the time we wanted to go so we booked the Animal Kingdom Lodge instead. I was looking forward to this dinner for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to check out the resort and second I had heard so much about this restaurant and I thought it would be fun. From what I had read, it was hit or miss based on the server; there were great reviews and some bad reviews. We checked in about an hour early and took some time to walk around the lobby, gift shop and pool area. We saw the geyser going off and we got a bit wet from it. We hung out in the lobby by the giant fireplace waiting for our beeper to go off.

We walked to our table in the middle of the restaurant, right in the middle of all the action. Our server was BJ – AKA Bobby the Kid. I don’t think we could have gotten a better server. He was at total hoot. As soon as we were seated Bobby got into it right away throwing our menus, napkins and straws, etc. I was totally prepared and I had a few good comebacks for him which he loved. It doesn’t take much to get Jenny going. She has a tendency to laugh hysterically at anything remotely funny which Bobby picked up on as well. He had her in stitches. I was actually starting to feel bad for some of his other tables because he was giving us so much attention. He sat down and drew pictures and played games with the girls. At the end of the meal, he cleared a few nearby tables so that we could get some pictures with him sprawled out on a bunch of chairs. Our meal at Whispering Canyon turned out to be one if not THE highlight of our trip. It was that much fun. Oh, and the food was pretty good, too. Since we were on the dining plan, we ordered off the menu and not the family style skillet.

After dinner, we took some more pictures in the lobby and then headed to the bus to the Magic Kingdom so we could transfer to POR. Of course, I planned it perfectly so that we would arrive at the Magic Kingdom right at the start of Wishes. We were also able to catch the Electric Water parade which was just ending in the Seven Seas Lagoon. We went through the gates and didn’t go beyond Main Street as Wishes was only about 15 minutes off. We did some shopping, watched Wishes and then we climbed back on the bus to go back to POR. Another great day was over. There was not as much relaxing today and even though we were only in the parks for a few hours; we probably packed a little too much in. But with the exception of the DTD bus stop incident, we really had an awesome day.

Thought of the day – Everyone is entitled to a little temper tantrum at some point during a long vacation – even if you are over the age of thirty.

Thumbs Up – Rock n Rollercoaster, Pin Traders, Thanksgiving Crowds (better than expected), Whispering Canyon (especially Bobby the Kid)

Thumbs Down – The scrapbook store at Downtown Disney

Sunday 11/27

We slept in just a bit today as we were not up for the park openings but we were still pretty close. As we walked toward the bus stop, it was impossible not to notice all the empty spaces in the parking lot at POR. I guess folks were clearing out from Thanksgiving. I thought this would bode well for us for the rest of the week. And yes, the crowds were lighter the rest of the week but it was not like night and day. We still hit crowds and it certainly wasn’t empty. So, I guess crowds at Disney World are more consistent than I thought. Since this will most likely be the last time we take our kids out of school for a vacation, I think this is a good thing.

The plan today was to go to EPCOT and then hop to MGM after dinner. We had dinner reservations at Spoodles. I called to try to switch to one of the MGM restaurants so we could hop before dinner but NOTHING was available at any of them. That is crazy. There is no way the restaurants are that crowded tonight as I am sure so many folks are leaving today. I think Disney is going to have to try to do something to prevent guests calling for several ADR’s at once. As we waited for the EPCOT bus a Magic Kingdom bus pulled up. Showing some total spontaneity, we bagged our plans and jumped on the Magic Kingdom bus. We ended up spending just about the entire day at the Magic Kingdom. We started in Tomorrowland and took a few spins on Space Mountain and then a few spins on Buzz Lightyear. As Cathy took Jenny and Allie on the Indy Speedway, I thought about using our table credits for breakfast like we did on Friday. So, I called to try to get a breakfast ressie somewhere in either the Magic Kingdom or one of the monorail resorts. Again, nothing open. What? C’mon, nothing?? So, I decided to just stick to our plans and we would use our credits for dinner at Spoodles.

After crossing the finish line at Indy, the girls went to the new Cinderellabration show in front of the castle while I rounded up breakfast at the Main Street Bakery. The cast members behind the counter and at the register were so friendly and helpful I found myself smiling as I left struggling to carry four breakfasts back to the castle. We ate on the benches in front of the castle. After breakfast we did most of the attractions we missed last year including the Tiki Room, Aladdin, Hall of Presidents, Country Bears and the Swiss Family Treehouse. While doing those attractions, we also got fast passes and did the Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain. We took a break and relaxed and had some ice cream outside of Splash Mountain. While buying the ice cream, the cast member working at the ice cream cart starts up a conversation with me asking me where I am from and what we were doing today. I was looking around for hidden camera or something. Am I like the millionth customer or something? Why is he being so friendly? I guess being from the northeast, I am not used to it. Anyway, we each had a yummy cookie ice cream sandwich - gotta love those snack credits! After our break we headed over to Toontown which we completely skipped last year. On the way, we eyed the attractions in Fantasyland that we missed last year one of which was the spinning tea cups. Even though I really hate any spinning ride I was on a quest to try to do every attraction so, I queued up in line with the girls. Cathy wanted no part of it and thought I was nuts. I tried hard to keep the cups from spinning too much which was a battle with the girls because they kept trying to spin them. They laughed, I turned green but in the end, somehow, I survived. Let’s move on.

We then strolled leisurely through Toontown. We walked through Mickey and Minnie’s house, Donald’s boat and and rode Goofy’s Barnstormer. It was getting late so we headed out down Main Street and to the busses. We waited for and caught the bus to the Boardwalk Inn. Upon arrival, we walked through the lobby and out to the boardwalk itself. There was not a whole heck of a lot going on here and I was expecting it to be much more lively. So, we headed to Spoodles early expecting it to be crowded. And surprise, we walk in to an almost completely empty restaurant. As I scratched my head a bit, I thought about how empty all the restaurants probably are at MGM, too. Oh well. The food at Spoodles was excellent and we had a great meal, so I am glad we ended up here.

After dinner, we headed back to EPCOT again through the International Gateway and walked around the World Showcase. We found a spot on the bridge between France and the UK for Illuminations. We only saw this once last year and it is truly spectacular. At the end a voice came on thanking everyone for visiting EPCOT today and we started to head out. The voice came back on announcing a special finale to celebrate the holiday season. I had read about a special ending to Illuminations for the holidays but this was not really part of Illuminations, it was really a separate show set to Let There be Peace on Earth and all I can say is WOW. I have seen some amazing fireworks in my life but that three and half minutes was unbelievable. I just kept muttering ‘holy cow’ (except I used a different word in place of cow) over and over to myself as I looked up in the sky. After the show, we took our time filing out of EPCOT to the buses and back to POR for the night.

Thought for the day – Why does it shock me when I see so many people at Disney World being so nice and so friendly?

Thumbs up – Cast Members, Illuminations, Special holiday ending to Illuminations (wow!)

Thumbs down – Allowing people to make multiple ADR’s and not use them.

Monday 11/28

Rain is in the forecast today as well as a turn to some colder weather later in the week. So far we have had beautiful days in the 70s and the nights have been nice but a bit chilly. For today, we have dinner planned for Le Cellier with the Candlelight Processional (CP) Dinner package. The reservations are for the 5PM show with Dinner at 7:15PM. I was very much looking forward to Le Cellier and the CP as I had read so many good things. I had to go to the front lobby to pick up our tickets for the show and our voucher for dinner. Of course, we were able to use our dining credits for the whole package.

As for our plan today, we decided to try to take advantage of the extra magic hour at EPCOT to experience Soarin’. Then we would hop to MGM for the majority of the day and back to EPCOT for the Candlelight Processional and dinner. I was out the door before everyone else and off to the lobby to pick up the dinner vouchers and CP tickets. I met the rest of the family on the bus to EPCOT which they picked up at the north depot. We were at the gate a few minutes after 8AM for the opening and we went straight to Soarin’. I grabbed fastpasses and we waited on the 10 minute standby line as well to ride it twice. I can see why this ride is so popular. It is thrilling and gentle at the same time and it is one of those rides for everyone that can be done over and over. And how can you not love David Puddy, err, I mean, Kronk, umm, sorry, Patrick Warburton in the pre show?

After our second flight, it was time for breakfast. Allie was dying to see Figment again. Jenny had no desire, so Jenny and I headed to the Electric Umbrella to round up breakfast. We picked up some fastpasses for Test Track first and then ordered breakfast. We found a table just as Allie and Cathy were heading back from the Imagination pavilion. We had a cheezy (literally and figuratively) breakfast and then hit Test Track for a quick spin around the “proving grounds” for everything GM. Surprisingly, we made it though the ride without it breaking down. After walking through the huge 3D GM advertisement at the end of the ride, we were off to MGM.

There was a bit of a wait for the bus to MGM and I had wished we took the boat. The same is true for the trip back. Something made me nervous about taking the boat. I remember a comment in a previous trip report that said “I could have dog paddled faster” so I shied away. At MGM we did just about everything we missed last year including One Man’s Dream, Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Who Wants to be a Millionaire Play It! We also checked out the 1:15PM presentation of the new Lights Action Motors Stunt Show. About half way through the show, the sky opened up and it started to rain. Luckily we were covered and amazingly, they did not miss a beat on the show. We had some cheap ponchos we threw on after the show to keep dry. Most of the stuff we did at MGM was indoors including another spin for Jenny and I on RnRC and a stop at the Tower of Terror. When we exited the hotel, the sky was clearing and it remained clear for several hours.

We hopped back to EPCOT after another long wait for the bus and then hoofed across to the World Showcase for the 5PM Candlelight Processional. We had the package so we were able to sit up close in the covered area. The threat of rain left some open seats in the uncovered area but it did not rain throughout the performance. Phil Donahue was the celebrity narrator and the performance was very nice but nothing spectacular. I think the girls were bored. After the show, we had some time to kill before our dinner reservations so we were able to catch the American Adventure which we missed last year. I enjoyed it. It was like the Hall of Presidents on steroids. As we exited the theatre the girls wanted to do the Kidcot craft which was a mask that they could color at each country. They received a tag and stamp added to the mask at each stop and at the end, they get some kind of certificate. We started in the American Pavilion and started working towards Canada. By the time we reached Morocco, the skies opened up again and it started to pour; much worse than the afternoon. MGM is great in the rain, because just about everything is inside or covered. The World Showcase…not so much. By the time we made it Canada, we were soaked. We dried out in the lobby waiting for our table. We were seated and had a great dinner. The appetizers were awesome, probably better than the meal itself. We finished eating at about 9:15PM and when we exited, the sky had cleared again; perfect timing for Illuminations at 9:30PM. We watched this time from the sloped landing at the front of the World Showcase lagoon in Future World. This was a great spot. We had perfect view of the globe and because of the slope, it was very easy to see everything.

Well, it was another long and fun day. We did and saw a bunch of new stuff we had never seen before but I think we pushed it a bit today. There was certainly no down time at all and today resembled last year’s commando style more than any other day we were there this year. The bus situation was a bit of a pain as it just seemed we spent quite a bit of time waiting for busses all day. So, Cathy and I decided to limit the amount of hopping we did. Hopping to one park is OK but we will avoid hopping twice the rest of the way.

Thought for the day – I wish there was a monorail that connected all the parks or they at least added a connection from EPCOT to MGM.

Thumbs Up – Soarin’, Tower of Terror, Le Cellier (especially the appetizers)

Thumbs Down – Rain

Tuesday 11/29

Today is “moving day” as we are packing up from POR and moving to the Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL) for the remainder of our trip. We wanted to do a split stay for three reasons: 1) we felt that doing two resorts would be like having two vacations. 2) It gave us a chance to try another resort. And 3) we wanted to try a deluxe and it was too expensive (in my opinion) to do a deluxe for the entire trip. In retrospect, I did not like doing the split stay. I enjoyed both resorts tremendously and AKL was simply spectacular but there was something to say about uprooting and moving just as we were really settling in at POR. Even simple things like remembering which bus stop number we had at each park started to get confusing after we moved.

So, Tuesday should be a pretty quiet day. We only planned a half day at the parks while our luggage moved and then we would check in and relax at AKL before our final meal on the dining plan at the California Grill. An advantage to doing the split stay and splitting the dining plan was that we have until midnight of the day we check out to use our dining credits so, in essence, we get an extra day to spread out the credits and take advantage of them. Today was one of the many days that the Magic Kingdom hosted Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Personally, I could not justify ponying up an extra $150 just to be in the Magic Kingdom during these extended hours when we had so many available hours we could be there. We didn’t really care about the hot chocolate or the special parade but we all wanted to see the special Holiday Wishes. So, I planned it perfectly to be at the California Grill in time to see the show.

We slept in a bit today and woke up to rain. It was not pouring like the night before but more of a steady drizzle. I called bell services and they were on their way to pick up our bags for transfer to the AKL. Our original plan was to go to the Animal Kingdom which is probably the worst park to go to during the rain since just about everything is outside. We decided to throw on some rain gear and stick to our plan hoping it would clear later in the day. It actually did clear and it turned out to be a beautiful day so this was a good move.

We took our time with breakfast and ate at the Riverside Mill before hopping on the bus to the Animal Kingdom. As expected, it was pretty empty due to the weather. We headed to Festival of the Lion King since it was indoors. I enjoyed this show much more than I did last year. I think it was over hyped in my head last year and this year I appreciated it more. When we exited, the rain was starting to let up but still drizzling a bit. We continued to try to do things inside so we headed to It’s Tough to be a Bug where we were sheltered from the rain by a giant tree.

After the fun bugs, we headed to Tarzan Rocks which along with the parade which we saw on Friday were the only things we missed at Animal Kingdom last year. So we wanted to make sure we saw it especially since I heard it was closing down. After seeing it I can’t say we’ll miss it. We then started to make our way towards Asia. During Flights of Wonder, Jenny was called up as a volunteer to throw a grape up in the air for one of the birds to catch. I think that show is cute and very well done. We moseyed over to Kali River Rapids which was completely empty. Last year, each time we rode we used fastpasses so this was the first time we used the standby line. I had heard so much about the queue area here and we certainly had plenty of time to look closely at everything since nobody was coming in at all. We figured we were wet anyway, right? We noticed empty rafts going around and after our ride we were told we could just stay in the raft and go around again which we did. The girls wanted a third ride around but Cathy and I had enough. During the second ride the rain officially stopped and the sun was even peaking through a bit.

Next up: our favorite area in the park, aka Dinoland. Allie still wanted to ride Primeval Whirl. Allie, do you think you grew since Friday? I can’t say I am overly proud of what transpired next. I just hope I don’t end up in Disney h-e-double hockey sticks some day if one exists. In fact, maybe it would be better if you just skipped ahead to…No…wait…we’ve made it this far…there will be no skipping ahead!! We must push on…

Leading up to the trip I had contemplated “lifting” Allie a bit to get her on Primeval Whirl if she did not make it the height requirement. I weighed in my head the probability of something happening. I really did not think this ride warranted a 48 inch minimum because it was pretty tame. Because of the seating configuration, I figured she could squeeze between me and Jenny and I also figured I could put my arm around her and hold her tightly the entire time. After debating it with myself over and over, I gave it a what-the-heck. I assured Cathy she would be fine and I grabbed a stack of napkins at the nearby ice cream stand and stuffed a bunch into each heal of her shoe. She now easily made the height minimum and we were off. She survived it fine and had a blast so we decided to tempt fate for a second ride and again everything was fine and she loved it.

After Primeval Whirl, everyone was in a great mood and the park was still pretty empty so I gave the girls a few bucks to play “wack-a-mole” at the carnival. Since it was just the two of them, I kinda a figured, one would win. Jenny won the first time and then they played again and Allie won and they each received a little stuffed dinosaur.

It was now about 1PM and we wanted to do the safari ride before heading out of park to check in at the AKL. We were also hungry and wanted to get some food. So we made our way to Africa and decided to try the Tusker House for lunch. We used our final counter service credits for what turned to be a very yummy lunch.

Before we were in line to order we met up with two characters from the Jungle Book, Louie and Baloo. We got pictures and autographs and played along with them a little. Baloo was grabbing and hiding the girls’ little stuffed dinosaurs they had just won in Dinoland. In the meantime, Louie was pointing to me and giving me hugs. The character handler started up a conversation and asked if we were going to the parade. I am thinking she is just being another very friendly cast member so I replied honestly that no, we saw the parade on Friday and we are actually getting ready to leave the park soon to go check in at the AKL. Louie overheard the conversation, put his head in his hands and pretended to start crying. The handler said, “are you sure you can’t stick around? Louie really wants you to see the parade.” Being completely clueless, I put my arm around Louie and said, “We saw you in the parade on Friday and it was great but we need to leave soon.” Meantime Cathy is poking me in the ribs because she can sense something is going on. I, of course, continue to be oblivious. The handler looks at Louie then at me and then back at him and then they both nod and she says “How about if I said you could be IN the parade, then would you stay?” I felt like an idiot. “Oh, yes of course…we would be honored.” Cathy is shaking her head with an I-can’t-believe-I‘m-married-to-this-guy look on her face.

The cast member gave us some instructions about where we needed to be at 2:45 for the start of the parade and what we would be doing. We went back in and ordered lunch and ate. We figured we still had plenty of time for the safari and we utilized one of our “anytime” fastpasses that we got on Friday to get to the front of the line. At 2:45 we were at the entrance gate of the parade with three other families. We were told that each family would be in one of the floats and would have to wear a hat and vest that was in theme with that particular float.

The doors finally open and we get to go back stage with the other families. It was exciting being back stage and seeing how everything is prepared for the parade. We waited on a bench waiting for our name to be called. We were called and told that we would be in the Goofy section on a float right in front of Goofy’s float. We were given silly green and red vests to wear as well as Goofy hats with a red nose and antlers. The cast member helped us into our float. She took our picture with a disposable camera and then gave it to us to keep and to take pictures along the parade route. We saw the character bus pull up and all the characters got out and found their positions in the parade. I was amazed that even being back stage, they were completely in character. For example, when Minnie was walking by Mickey before getting into the floats, she gave him a huge hug and kiss and they did a little dance. It was so cute. At 3:45PM our float started moving with the rest through the gate and off through the park. It was a pretty amazing experience seeing the thousands of people out on the streets watching the parade and waving to us. It was interesting to see the expressions on everyone's faces especially the kids. Some people looked so so so happy to be there and were waving like crazy. Other people were sitting there with grumpy looks on their faces. Those are the people I smiled to and waved to the most. Hey! You are at Disney World - SMILE!!!!!!!!!! At the end I asked the girls if they had fun. Allie turned to me and said her mouth hurt from smiling for so long. Hmmmm, mine definitely did too!!


After the parade we were on cloud nine. It is almost 5PM and the park was closing soon. Wait, what were our plans again? Who knows and who cares. We walked around a bit aimlessly. We took some pictures on the bridge in Africa that overlooks the new Expedition Everest. The mountain looked finished and we noticed some ride vehicles going up and around. The ride was not opening for months but perhaps, just maybe they were doing a soft opening. It couldn’t hurt to check it out. As we walked over, we noticed several guests with wristbands and I finally figured out that it was evening extra magic hours at the Animal Kingdom. So, since it was now past 5PM and the park was technically closed for non resort guests, we decided to get the wristbands and stay a bit longer. This was a mistake. We should have left as planned and headed over to the resort to check in. I guess we just weren’t thinking straight. We walked over to Everest and sure enough, the ride was still closed and in fact, the queue area was far from completed but the vehicles were going through being tested with dummy sacks in the seats. I can’t wait to ride this the next time we come.

We went back over to Dinoland where we couldn’t agree on what to do so we split up. Jenny rode Primeval Whirl by herself, Allie and Cathy rode TriceratopSpin while I headed off to Dinosaur by myself. Cathy and Allie were done way before Jenny so that was no problem but for some reason she split off with her to meet me at the exit of Dinosaur because there are two ways out. Clearly she wasn’t thinking straight as it would be easier to just call me on my cell. She ended up doing that anyway to tell me that she had split up with Jenny and now could not find her. So, I waited by the exit with Allie and five minutes later Cathy called to say she found Jenny. That five minutes seemed to take about an hour and was very scary. We finally realized we really needed to leave. We started heading out towards the exit when all of sudden I heard a clang noise and looked down to see one of Allie’s pins lying on the ground. As I reattached it to her lanyard I noticed a space where another pin should be and sure enough, she was missing a pin. Which pin? I did a quick inventory in my head and of course, it was her favorite pin, the Dash pin that I had gotten on eBay. So, now we needed to back track a little to see if we could find it. It was starting to get dark and this was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. We did not have time to look anyway so we smartly gave up our search quickly and headed to the bus for the AKL.

Our dinner reservation for the California Grill was at 7:30PM. Although we were cutting it close, we still had plenty of time. We checked in to the resort at about 6PM. We had reserved a standard room and we hoped for an upgrade but we knew we would be very happy in any room we received. We also requested bunk beds which the kids really wanted. At check in, the cast member did not mention an upgrade but when she circled the Zebra Trail, I knew we were upgraded. It just depended on which side of the resort our room was on but we were upgraded at least to a pool view room. Sure enough when we made it to the room, we were on the pool side and not the savannah side but the room did have bunk beds so, we were very happy. Also, in retrospect, I loved the view from this room overlooking the pool. It was very beautiful and dare I say, a nicer view than the savannah? There are so many viewing spots to see the animals that I am not sure we needed to see them from our room. And it was fun to explore the resort and watch the animals from the different areas. But the savannah itself is kind of barren and the view is kind of blah where as the pool view was very lush and again very beautiful.

We changed into our required business casual dress for the California Grill and headed quickly to the bus stop. Cathy had hand made special Mickey/Minnie ponchos that the girls wore and they looked adorable. We were at the bus stop at 6:45PM which should have been plenty of time for our 7:30 ADR. We planned on taking the bus to Magic Kingdom then walking over to the Contemporary. As we waited, busses for every other park came including DTD. Then a second bus for each park came as we continued to wait. We were starting to get frustrated and a bit nervous. When the second EPCOT bus came we thought about jumping on it and taking the monorail to the Contemporary but we decided that would be a mistake. So, we continued to wait. It was 7:25PM when the Magic Kingdom bus finally pulls in. There is someone in an ECV that needs to be unloaded and then there is one waiting to get in so I knew it would be an even longer wait. Just then, are you kidding me…a THIRD bus for EPCOT pulls in. Out of frustration, we jumped on it instead of waiting for the driver to unload and then load the ECV passengers. Big mistake I know but we were so frustrated. We made it to EPCOT and jumped on the Monorail switching at the Ticket and Transportation Center. Unfortunately, we got behind a monorail they were taking out of service and waited an additional ten minutes or so on the track before getting to the Magic Kingdom. By time we got to the Contemporary it was 8:15PM; an hour and a half from when we first queued up for the bus at the AKL. Ugh!

We made our way to the check in area and luckily we were seated immediately with no wait. On the way up to the fifteenth floor on the elevator, the hostess asked us who we paid off to get this table. Huh? She had a big smile on her face. “Oh, you’ll see,” she said. When we made it to our table we knew what she was talking about. Wow, what a view! We were not against the window but one table removed right in the corner facing the Magic Kingdom. We had a great server who was very helpful with our order of appetizers and wine. We were on the dining plan but only had 4 credits left. Since this was a two credit per person restaurant, we needed to pay out of pocket for the kid’s meal which was fine because it would be crazy to waste 4 credits for a couple of bowls of mac and cheese. Since Cathy and I had wine with dinner, our server let us transfer our beverage credit to the girls making it even easier to pay out of pocket.

Jenny and Allie received several compliments about their ponchos including someone coming to our table asking where she could buy one. When Cathy said she made them the person’s jaw dropped. Score one for my super talented better half.

The appetizers came about 5 minutes before the Holiday Wishes were about the start. Although we had a perfect view from our table and the music would be piped in, I thought it would be weird to watch fireworks from inside the restaurant so we went out to the huge observation deck to watch the show. It was wild seeing it from up there - a much different perspective. I was surprised that they launch the shells so far back behind the castle. The 360 degree finale looked very cool from up on the deck.

After paying our check and using up our last table service credits, our server commented about how good our little princesses were. “We have adults that come here that aren't as well behaved.” After making it down to the lobby I knew there was no way I was going to try to deal with the bus situation again so we grabbed a cab right outside the Contemporary for the trip back to AKL. That was the best $20 I spent all week. Before heading to our room, we stopped at the Mara to use up our remaining seven snack credits for seven bottles of water we would use the rest of the week. We also purchased a refillable mug while we were at it. All I can say is wow, what a day. Everyone was exhausted as we headed to bed.

Thought for the day – Something can be said about planning your trip: Have a plan but be willing to be flexible with it. Sometimes those curveballs take you down an amazing path.

Thumbs Up – Getting back stage for the parade, AKL, Holiday Wishes, California Grill

Thumbs Down – Do I have to mention the busses again?

Wednesday 11/30

Speaking of unplanned events, we were up at the crack of dawn Wednesday morning. A wee bit earlier then we had planned. Poor Allie was up with some kind of stomach bug. After returning the majority of her dinner, she insisted that she felt fine and wanted to go the Magic Kingdom. She seemed to be OK and the fresh air would probably be good for her. The laundry was right downstairs from us so I grabbed her clothes and a bunch more and threw them in the washer while everyone else got up and started to get ready. I also called mousekeeping to give them a heads up. When I returned we finished getting ready and headed out. At the bus stop Allie was looking fine but by the time we pulled into the Magic Kingdom, we could see she was starting to lose some steam. Because it was so early, we were able to see the park opening ceremony and we got some pictures with Mickey outside the train station. We stopped for breakfast at the Main Street Bakery and had breakfast in front of the castle again. Allie did not want to eat and I can’t say I blame her. She laid down on the bench and looked like she was ready to go to sleep. Cathy and I agreed that she needed to go back to the resort. Cathy said she would take her back and that I should stay with Jenny.

Jenny and I went to Tomorrowland and did Space Mountain a few times and then Indy Speedway. Cathy called me on my cell to say they got to the bus stop and Allie did not want to go back to the resort and insisted on coming back in the park. She told me that they were at It’s a Small World. Jenny and I met up with them after the ride where we could clearly see Allie was still not feeling well. I told Cathy to take Jenny and I would watch Allie. We took it very slow. We sat on a bench in Fantasyland and relaxed. We watched the Sword and the Stone ceremony from a distance. Allie wanted to get up and do something so we went to Mickey’s Philharmagic which was a pretty good relaxing attraction. After the show, Allie wanted to go on Space Mountain…hmmmm, probably not a great idea. We walked toward Tomorrowland and as we approached the giant space structure I asked Allie if she was sure she wanted to go on. I suggested we rest on a bench for a while. Allie agreed and after about five minutes of sitting there she fell asleep on my lap. It was another beautiful day and the sun felt so warm as I sat watching people walk by. Allie was out like a light. In the meantime, Cathy and Jenny did Splash Mountain, Big Thunder and the Haunted Mansion and then met up with us in Tomorrowland about an hour or so later. I woke Allie up and I carried her out of the park and back to AKL.

Back at AKL, our room was already cleaned. I tucked Allie in bed and she went right to sleep. Jenny and Cathy went to the pool while I stayed with Allie. I thought it would be nice to sleep, too, so I did for a couple of hours. After waking, I sat out on the balcony and read while Allie continued to sleep. When Jenny and Cathy returned, Jenny and I went around the lodge and explored the different animal viewing spots. I also figured, while I was at it, I might as well throw in another load of laundry. We came back around 5 PM and took orders from Cathy for dinner. Jenny and I then headed downstairs to round up some food at the Mara and at the same time throw the clothes in the dryer. We all ate in our room while Allie continued to sleep. Jenny wanted to go back out. Since the Magic Kingdom had the evening extra magic hours we decided I would go with her while Cathy stayed with Allie, finished the laundry, watched some TV and then turned in early herself.

When Jenny and I arrived at the Magic Kingdom it seemed pretty crowded. The lines for the wristbands were outrageously long. We went over to Tomorrowland and did Buzz Lightyear. As the ride slowed and then stopped for a few seconds, I found a target on the ceiling that was worth 100,000 points. I shot it quickly 10 times and I hit the 1 million point plateau. That was great except the rest of the ride was really boring. I wish I had thought of taking a picture of my scoreboard. After Buzz, we waited in line for the very slow loading Astro Orbiter. An elevator? Who designed this thing? Anyway we waited about 25 minutes and then rode it. I hated this ride. I thought it would be like Dumbo but it was very high up and spun pretty fast. I was not prepared for it all and started to freak out a bit.

The lines now for the wristbands were even worse. We got in a long line at the Timekeeper for wristbands and got out with about 5 minutes to spare before Wishes. We watched from the bridge to Tommorrowland and had a great view. Personally, I like the Main Street view better but Tinkerbell did fly right over us.

After Wishes the park seemed to completely clear out nicely. Just about everything for the rest of the night was a walk on. In some cases, it was eerie. For example, the Haunted Mansion was so empty it was a cool effect – it actually made it a bit creepier. It was also pretty chilly so Splash Mountain was not only a walk on but a ghost town. On our ride, we had the flume to ourselves while the ride vehicles both ahead and behind us were empty. That was weird. It was so empty I had no problem taking some pictures while inside the ride. There was nobody to bother. I finally spotted the hidden mickey in the clouds of the riverboat seen at the end of the ride (after only about a gazillion attempts) and I snapped a picture of it. We did a few more attractions including Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain and the Jungle Cruise which I wanted to do at night. We had a very funny captain. Afterward, we headed back to the lodge for the night. Allie and Cathy were asleep as we climbed into bed.

Thought for the day – When your child wakes up with a stomach bug and then says she wants to go to the Magic Kingdom, take that statement with a grain of salt.

Thumbs Up – Evening Extra Magic hours a the Magic Kingdom, an empty Haunted Mansion

Thumbs Down – Astro Orbiter

Thursday 12/1

Allie was feeling much better as we rose from our deep sleep this morning and Jenny woke up very thankful that we had the bunk beds at AKL. We seemed to have reached a point where we have really pretty much done everything we wanted to do with the exception of a few things here and there so it started to become easier to take things slowly. Allie was working off about 18 hours of sleep so, she was raring to go. We considered taking a break from the parks today and doing something different but when laying out the options, with the exception of a water park (a bit too chilly for that), going to the park was still tops on the list. So we decided today’s plan again was to limit the amount of hopping and to spend the whole day at MGM and since we have now seen just about everything at MGM, today will be very laid back. We have an early dinner reservation at the 50’s Prime Time Café which was another fun looking restaurant we were eager to try. We also planned to see the Osbourne Holiday Light Spectacular and Fantasmic. The only other attractions we had not seen at MGM were Sounds Dangerous and the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area.

When we arrived, we went for bagels and coffee again at Starring Roles bakery. After breakfast we strolled down Sunset Boulevard and caught some street performers. Very funny. We got to RnRC and Cathy wanted to walk through. She of course used the chicken exit while Jenny rode by herself. I waited outside with Allie and got into a long conversation with another overly friendly cast member who basically told me her whole life story. After exiting, we did the same routine at Tower of Terror although this time, Allie could walk through too because she was tall enough. So, both Cathy and Allie got to chicken out of this ride together while I rode with Jenny. Cathy took several pictures around both attractions waiting for us to return. Our last ride on Tower of Terror was a bit longer than expected as the elevator stopped at the end of the ride while still in the shaft. The lights came on while we sat for about ten minutes. It was pretty neat. After finally exiting the hotel, we met up with Allie and Cathy and headed back to the main courtyard.

Next up, we did the Animation Studio and this year we drew Goofy in the class at the end instead of Mickey. We then headed in to the Who Wants to be a Millionaire Play It! show again. For some reason the girls, especially Jenny, loved this attraction and honestly thought they could get to the hot seat. I thought it was fun too but I am terrible at this game and figured that if I got to the hot seat, I would miss an easy question and embarrass myself. When we came early in the week, I actually secretly hoped my score never reached the top. However, I did know the trick for getting into the hot seat during the fastest fingers part. People get in the first hot seat by randomly hitting answers quickly and then just getting lucky. As we filed in for the show today, I thought about applying that philosophy just for the heck of it. The first fastest finger question came up. It has something to do with putting Bruce Willis movies in order which I could probably do. But instead, I put four fingers on the pad and randomly hit the buttons. Seat numbers started to appear from 10th place to 2nd place and then a long pause. And the winner…Seat 110. I looked down and sure enough, it was me. I had an oh my God, what have I done, I don’t want to go up there feeling come over me as Cathy is pulling me out of the seat and pushing me toward the aisle. Needless to say the next fifteen minutes of my life was pretty terrifying. Yeah, of course I would have loved to win the cruise but really, my main focus was to get to the first plateau and win the darn hat which I did…barely. I missed the next question which had to be the easiest question you have ever heard. I will not repeat it here but I will say, I will never forget the question and I will forever remember the difference between a liter and a quart.

After Millionaire we did Sounds Dangerous which was simply awful. We also did Indiana Jones and then did the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground which was pretty terrifying. We lost the kids instantly in a sea of swarming children amongst all the play structures and when we finally found them we pulled them out of there pretty quick.

It was nearing dinner time. We caught most of the parade and then we headed to the 50’s Prime Time for dinner. We had a significant wait here because the hostess never put our names in when we checked in. After about 40 minutes we finally realized that other people were coming in and getting seated before us. After the mistake was realized, we still had to wait 15 more minutes and we did not even get an apology. That left a bit of a bad taste in our mouth as we were seated for dinner. Our server was very nice but there were not nearly the antics that we had witnessed at Whispering Canyon. We saw some other tables get harassed a bit. We of course paid for this meal out of pocket and I thought it was the worst of all the table service meals we had during the trip. It was not terrible but it wasn’t great and I think it speaks more to how good the other restaurants were as opposed to how bad Prime Time was. The food was just kind of bland. Maybe that is the way it is suppose to be keeping with the theme? I don’t know.

We had some time to kill before the holiday lights were turned on so we did the Muppets and Star Tours again and then we just waited on the streets of America for the lights to come on. By 6PM when they switched on the lights, the street was packed. The lights were beautiful and we all loved the fake snow. We walked down the street taking in all the holiday cheer and then we headed out into the main courtyard. We walked across the park to Fantasmic. We were at the theatre about a half hour before the 7PM show and we settled in to our seats dead center half way up. By this time it was starting to get pretty chilly. OK, it was downright cold. It was by far the coldest night of the week and I was starting to wonder if perhaps REAL snow would start to fall on the streets of America.

After Fantasmic, Jenny and I wanted to try our luck at EPCOT for the evening extra magic hours. Both Allie and Cathy were just too cold and they wanted to head back to the resort. So we parted at the bus stops and hopped on different buses.

Jenny and I made it to EPCOT and got our wristbands right away in front of Spaceship Earth. I thought this would be a good sign for the crowds later. We tried to do as much inside as possible to avoid the cold. We walked on to Spaceship Earth and then zipped over to the Living Seas where we caught Turtle Talk with Crush. We saw this one last year when it was in test mode and it is definitely a totally awesome attraction, dude.

After, Crush, we started to prepare ourselves for Illuminations. I offered to buy Jenny a hot chocolate and she was so exited. The only problem is that Jenny’s method of drinking hot chocolate was to wait for it to cool then drink it. She could not drink it hot so it defeated the purpose. My cup kept me warm enough to survive another amazing spectacular fireworks display. We watched from the same location on the landing in Future World, so after the show we were close to the very few attractions open at EPCOT during the evening EMH. This is a bit of a flaw in the setup. Unlike the Magic Kingdom that had everything open the night before, basically only Soarin’, Test Track, Mission Space and a few smaller attractions in Future World were open so everything was way over crowded. Luckily we were close to the Land Pavilion after the fireworks so we were pretty much able to walk on to Soarin’ but by the time we came out, the wait was already over an hour. Since Jenny did not want to do Mission Space, we decided we would just ride Test Track and then hightail it out of there. Test Track also had over an hour wait so we decided to try the singles line. We walked right in and then right into a ride vehicle after the preshow. We ended up in the same car anyway so the singles line turned out to be a good call. Of course, I don’t know what we thinking riding a convertible at 60 mph’s with temperatures in the high 30s. It was freezing. After riding, we left EPCOT with our teeth chattering and we headed back to the resort to turn in for the night.

Thought of the Day – I don’t know how these game show contestants do it. It was bad enough humiliating myself in front of an audience of 250. Imagine if there were millions watching on TV?

Thumbs Up – Tower of Terror with the lights on, Getting to the Hot Seat (OK it was a learning experience for me plus I got a special hat and 5 pins), Fantasmic

Thumbs Down – Sounds Dangerous, EPCOT evening extra magic hours especially with temperatures in the 30s

Friday 12/2

We had another pretty casual day planned for today. One thing we wanted to do was spend some significant time exploring the World Showcase at EPCOT. We have done all the rides in Future World and we have spent some time exploring the countries but not as much as we have liked. It was early extra magic hour at the Magic Kingdom again so we thought it would be a great way to start the day. This would be our last stint at each of the parks. Again, the extra magic hour was super with very low crowds. We had one goal for the day: Dumbo. After two full trips, this was one of the last rides we have not done. That is so un-Disney like. We were there early enough to get right on and we took many pictures. We did Pooh, Peter Pan and It’s a Small World one more time in Fantasyland. We also did a last ride on some of our other favorites like Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, Big Thunder and Splash Mountains. At 10AM, we took the boat over to Tom Sawyer’s Island and explored there. We were one of the first ones on the island and had a chance to find the paintbrushes but we came up with nothing. We took the railroad from Splash Mountain all the way around to Main Street where we said goodbye to the Magic Kingdom for the last time.

We hopped on the monorail and we were at EPCOT before noon. Cathy and Allie wanted to see Turtle Talk with Crush so we started at the Living Seas. EPCOT again was pretty crowded and really was the most crowded park the entire trip. There was about a half hour wait for Turtle Talk so we waited and saw it again. The visual reality effect is amazing and I can only image what it took to program it. After Crush, we headed over to the Land for lunch. I grabbed fastpasses for Soarin’ and we had a scrumptious lunch at Sunshine Seasons – very good sandwiches and probably the best counter service meal we had the entire trip.

Being Disney Visa card holders, we had an opportunity to have a special character meet and greet at Innoventions West. After lunch we headed over and I don’t know why I was surprised but there was a very long line for the meet and greet and we ended up waiting about 45 minutes. What we’ll do for a free picture. The girls took advantage of the time by trying the video games and all the interactive games in Innoventions. We got our picture taken with Mickey and Pluto and then I went to the front of the park to pick it up. I met up with everyone back at the Land for one last ride on Soarin’ and then it was off to the World Showcase.

The girls had fun doing the Kidcot craft and we decided to just start over instead of lugging around the mask they started earlier in the week. We started in Canada and worked our way around to Mexico. We took a boatload of pictures in each country. We also saw the firework barges and the giant globe being dragged out for Illuminations. It was still a bit chilly today but the sun was shining bright and we had a very relaxing trek around the lagoon.

We left EPCOT just before dark skipping Illuminations for the night breaking our consecutive string of firework viewing. We had dinner reservations at Boma back at the AKL. This was another meal we were very much looking forward to. We had time to shop at the main gift shop and explore the lodge when we returned. After dusk, we did the night goggle animal viewing. As we relaxed in our room, we talked about our plan for our final day. Our flight was not until the early evening so we had time to do something before we left. We could try for another character meal, perhaps Chef Mickey’s again or Cape May or O’Hana. We also thought about resort hopping or Downtown Disney again. Or we could spend the final day park hopping. We had used the last day on our tickets today but I knew we could add the extra day for very little cash. After all was laid out, we decided to just go to the parks again. So, before our dinner at Boma, I went to the front desk and added the extra day to our tickets. They charged a total of about $11 to our room to add a day to all four tickets. That is a pretty good deal, huh?

Dinner at Boma was awesome although I liked it much more than Cathy who is a bit of a picky eater. Just about everything was delicious and the deserts were out of this world. My mouth is watering just thinking about those zebra domes.

Back to the room for the most dreaded part of any vacation: Packing. Tomorrow we would go to Animal Kingdom and MGM and then it is off to the airport for the trek back north.

Thought of the Day – We simply love the Disney theme parks. I know there is so much other stuff to do at Disney World but most of that stuff can be done in other places. There is nothing else like the theme parks themselves.

Thumbs Up – Dumbo, Zebra Domes

Thumbs Down – Packing

12/3 Departure Day

Our last day. We were all packed and ready to check out. We had our Magical Express reservation confirmed for 4:30 PM; our flight was at 7:50PM. We brought all our bags down to the main lobby. We checked our bags and checked in for our flight (very nice features of the new Magical Express) and also stored our carryons with bell services. We then headed out to the bus and we were on our way to Animal Kingdom.

We wanted to just walk around and take in a lot of the animals on the different trails. It was very relaxing much like our stint around EPCOT yesterday. We also took another trip around the safari using another of our anytime fastpasses. We hit our favorite attractions in Dinoland again and then Cathy and I relaxed while Jenny and Allie played in the Boneyard. We then did the Festival of the Lion King one more time because we all loved that show. After the Lion King, we caught the Pocahontas show which meant we did every attraction at Animal Kingdom this year.

We hopped over to MGM and saw the Beauty and the Beast show and did our last ride of the trip: No surprise it was, Rock n’ Rollercoaster. Allie and Cathy went to see Playhouse Disney while Jenny and I rode and we all met up for lunch at the ABC Commissary. We relaxed for a while after lunch and then headed back to the AKL lodge to get ready to leave. Just like last year Jenny started crying the minute we walked out through the turnstiles at MGM after realizing we were done at the parks. Allie seemed to be fine and if I must say, she seemed to be ready to go home.

Back at AKL, we had about an hour or so to explore some more and take pictures. I took dozens of shots from all over the resort. We did a bit more shopping and everyone bought a souvenir from the lodge and then it was off to catch the bus back to the airport. I believe Jenny set the all time record for consecutive minutes of uncontrollable crying as she cried from boarding the bus to boarding the plane. En route to the airport, we stopped at Pop Century where our quarter full bus was soon filled to the max. I found it interesting that coming from the airport, they get you right to your resort but leaving, they won’t go to the airport until the bus was filled. Luckily we only had to stop once. I had heard stories of three or four stops before getting on the way.

We had some fast food in the airport and we were soon on our flight back to beautiful Hartford, CT. In flight, thanks to direct TV on Song, I was able to watch my Huskies blow a chance for a second consecutive bowl bid by losing their final game of the year. Still not bad for a team that just went division 1A a few years ago. Oh well, basketball season is right around the corner. We returned to sub freezing temperatures and snow which had remained on the ground from Thanksgiving. Yuck!!

Thought for the day: Animal Kingdom Lodge is awesome and even more amazing than I expected. I did not feel isolated or “removed” from Disney at all. If you are thinking about staying there but worried about the location, don’t be.

Thumbs Up: Airport check in at your resort

Thumbs Down: Departure Day

Review of the Dinning Plan

Since we like to have sit down, aka table service meals, the Dining Plan was great and well worth it. The plan cost us $90 a day. A "normal" table service meal cost about $90 for four people. So you can look at it as you are paying for your table service and getting your counter service meals and snacks for free. However, you can order whatever you want and when our bill came, our meals were usually about $120-$150. Our meal at the California grill was over $230 (We paid some out of pocket). And since each counter service meal cost between $20-$50, it is very much worth it. The only way it is not worth doing the plan is if either 1) all you want is food court stuff or 2) you have a car and plan to eat offsite.

There are a few pitfalls/pains to watch out for with the dining plan: first, trying to use the right number of credits for each meal. There is so much food, we usually only got 3 counter services meals at a time and we shared them. For breakfast we usually only got 2 and shared them. It was a pain trying to figure out when to order two, three or four meals at a time. For table service meals, we thought about trying to pay for the kids' meals out of pocket and then save the credits to use later. This can be done because the credits are pooled. We also thought about sharing table service meals. It became too much of a pain trying to figure everything out so with the exception of the California Grill, we did not do either.

Other pains include planning around your advance dining reservation. It never works out that you have planned your park time perfectly around when and where you want to eat. Unless you make several reservations, this becomes a problem. Disney could alleviate this problem by controlling the number of reservations guests can make for the same meal thus opening up the possibility of walking in at some restaurants. Since you don’t want to get stuck with unused credits, you have to plan a bit more than normal.

Finally, as I mentioned earlier, it was confusing as to what was included and what was not and we got a different answer at each restaurant we went to. At Whispering Canyon the server said "you’re on the plan?? Order anything you want I don't care." So we got milkshakes as our drinks (yum!). Other places like Le Cellier would not bring us milk for the kids because "they get audited regularly." It was very inconsistent.

Table Service Restaurant Reviews

The California Grill was amazing. We had such a great view of the Magic Kingdom and we were able to watch the holiday wishes from the observation deck even though we could have watched them from our table. The food and service was top notch. The food at Boma, Le Cellier and Spoodles were all excellent and lived up to the hype - probably the 3 best 1 credit places at Disney World. Whispering Canyon was the girls' favorite and was soooooo much fun. Our server, BJ was hysterical and had Jenny and Allie falling out of their seats laughing. The food was very good (better than expected) but we could have eaten cat food and had a great time. Chef Mickey's is becoming a “must do” tradition for our family as it just feels official when we have breakfast or dinner at Mickey’s place. Finally, bringing up the rear was the 50s Prime Time cafe which although had a cute theme and very good servers, it just didn't do it for us. The food was blah at best...

Final Thoughts

To our family, vacations or more about having fun than relaxing. In the summer time, we love doing things on vacation like, biking, swimming, golfing, mini golfing, etc. If it wasn’t for someone in our family’s intense adversity to cold weather, we would probably love skiing in the winter. A Disney vacation is everything we love about vacations: tons to do. And the Florida weather makes me smile, especially in the winter.

We had some great memories that we will share for a lifetime like being in the parade at Animal Kingdom, getting into the hot seat at Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the view from the California Grill, “lifting” Allie so she could ride Primeval Whirl, our server at Whispering Canyon, etc.

Besides one full day of rain, we had beautiful weather. For me, it can’t get too hot, so I would have liked it warmer, but I can’t complain. It was like springtime weather we have in Connecticut. That one night at EPCOT, though, was a bit too cold for Florida in my opinion.

Every Disney World fan should go during the holidays. There are so many special events that only happen during this time. Plus the holiday decorations are special. Originally, I was against the idea of going during this time because I thought the holiday stuff would be overwhelming and would take away from the theming that Disney works so hard to perfect. In reality, it was very well done. You didn’t see a Christmas tree out of place in Tomorrowland or at the entrance to Star Tours or anything like that. They did a great job.

I can honestly say that with the exception of a few very small minor attractions, between our two trips, we have done all the attractions at the four theme parks. And yes, next time we will hit the other non-Disney parks…probably.

I am glad we pin traded. It was so much fun even more fun than I expected. I was surprised that Cathy and I enjoyed it as much as the girls. All the cast members were so friendly and even if they were trying to focus on whatever job they were doing they would always stop to share pins and trade.

On the negative side, in my opinion the only thing keeping Walt Disney World resort from being perfect is the bus transportation. There is something about being on vacation and having to ride a bus everywhere that knocks it down a peg. Obviously, having more of the resorts and parks connected via the monorail would be the best solution but if that is cost prohibitive, there are little things that could be done like using global positioning to post estimated arrival times at each stop or having a way to anticipate crowd levels better or simply having more buses available.

Overall, it was an awesome trip. We are home now and already can’t wait to go again. Next time will include a trip to Universal Studios and Sea World…I think. The plan is to wait until Allie safely hits the 54 inch mark so she can ride everything at all the parks without any ummm…assistance...That is still a few years off. I am not sure if we can wait that long. Does anyone have a pair of stilts we can borrow?

Thanks for sticking with me. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing. Feel free to send questions or comments.

Jim Indelicato