Dates: December 5, 2007 thru December 12, 2007
Resort: AK Lodge
Cast: Lynda (me) Bruce (husband) Harner
Air Transportation: Delta
Ground Transportation: Magical Express
Package: Magic Your Way w/Dining

So what is the best way to start your annual trip to WDW. Fly out on the last flight to Florida on Walt’s Birthday.
What is the best way to write your trip report other than reading the notes you took on your trip; listen to the CD that you purchased on your trip.
Wednesday & Thursday December 5th & 6th (Day 1)
Our flight was scheduled to leave LAX at 10:38PM to arrive in Orlando at 6:15am, we actually arrived in Orlando at 5:50am. We knew that the flight was full, Bruce and I both had aisle seats across from each other we are seated and watching the last few passengers board the plane. I am getting anxious because the seats next to me and Bruce are still empty and I am prematurely getting excited that I will have a great flight because the seat will be empty. It also seemed that the gentlemen sitting next to the window in my row is also getting a little excited that seat will remain empty. Last three passengers board the plane and here it comes, the surprise of our life King Kong comes waltzing down the aisle and I mean King Kong in every aspect of what King Kong is, this guy is sweating profusely and is large and tall sure enough “TA DA” guess where his seat is? You guessed it next to me and the little guy sitting next to the window. I have to say that King Kong was extremely nice about the whole situation, he knew that this was not going to be possible for him to sit in the middle, flagging down the attendant he asks if there is an aisle seat available they tell him to wait in the back of the plane to see if there are any empty seats. OH and upon King Kong moving our way in a not so loud voice the guy sitting next to the window says and I quote “We’re gonna die” So as luck would have it there is an Asian passenger sitting in the emergency row exit who cannot speak or understand English so the airline attendant asks my husband who is over six feet if he would switch seats and sit in the emergency exit row and for me the light bulb goes off. I tell the attendant that King Kong can have my seat, I will move to my husbands seat and the Asian passenger can sit in the middle next to me and King Kong will have room because the middle seat will remain empty great idea right? WRONG well our Asian passenger must have been traveling for quite a few hours/days/weeks/months because it was the most unpleasant smell or as my husband says he was not hygienically correct. I don’t think he understood or could english and so my choice was to sleep looking left-not, smell was so bad I could not breath or sleep with my head in the aisle and periodically getting woken up because the food and drink carts need to come by. All in all I guess it all worked out because I arrived safely. By the way King Kong was very nice and we did have a couple of good laughs after all was said and done.
Magical Express was there waiting for us and three other guests that were staying at Pop Century, thank god for that because they were rude and cocky towards the driver we were officially on vacation.
Arrived at AK Lodge, checked in and much to our surprise our room was ready. What was funny was when we approached the cast member for checking in with her automatic greeting she proceeded to ask…checking out? Which my Bruce replies “nope”, checking in, she was surprised.
7:35am went up to our room on the 4th Floor Uzima Savannah awesome view of the Savannah. So less then two hrs after landing we were checked in our room and ready to head for Animal Kingdom Park.
Arrived at AK park and got a fast pass for Expedition Everest while waiting for our fast pass we decided to do some shopping as I had a mental list of things I wanted to bring home this year. Not more than an hour later and I had a package heading for my resort and ready to be picked up
After 3:00pm Friday.
Before hopping on Everest we decided to get another fast pass. Our first ride was in the 10th row, not bad…I LOVE THIS RIDE!!! Ok so having time to kill again we walked around a bit and then headed onto our second ride on Everest within a two hour period. Front row…not for me but I still LOVE THIS RIDE.
So now it is 10:30am what to do, Flame Tree Bar B Q for breakfast. I mean what is better than ribs and baked beans with corn bread for breakfast. We split this counter service because we knew we were having a big dinner at Raglan Rd in Downtown Disney. After breakfast/brunch or whatever some may call it we headed of to Harambe Safari another favorite of mine.
We headed back to AK Lodge and took a well deserved two hour nap. I think it was close to 30+ hours that we had been awake if you don’t count the little 10 min cat naps on the plane.
There is just something about landing in Orlando and hopping on that Magical Express bus that just shoots a jolt of adrenaline into your system.
Off to Raglan Rd. for dinner. Appetizers: Me-Drunk Chicken, Bruce-Goat Cheese something. Main Course: Me-Top Sirloin Steak, Bruce-Pork Tenderloin. Dessert: Me-Chocolate Trio, Bruce-Crème Brule Tart. My only complaint about dinner was the steak was tough in a lot of spots. We have eaten at Raglan Rd. all four trips and this was the first time I had a bad steak but the appetizer and the desert we all exceptional. Bruce said his meal was also exceptional. The waitress did offer to have the chef come talk to us about the steak but really it was just not that big of a deal for me. We also met up with a friend of ours who works in Downtown Disney so we visited with him for awhile while eating dinner.
Headed back to AK Lodge as Magic Kingdom was on our agenda for tomorrow.
Friday December 7th (Day 2)
Got up early and split a breakfast croissant from the Mara.
Headed off to Magic Kingdom and got a fast pass for Space Mtn. While waiting for our return time we managed to squeeze in Carousel of Progress (ok this is a great attraction but the song can get on your nerves and it sticks in your head like Small World. All day long I caught myself humming the tune “It’s a great big beautiful tomorrow” UGH) Transit Authority, Buzz Lightyear and then headed for space mtn. This ride makes me laugh like nothing else, I certainly do not laugh on Disneyland’s Space Mtn. like I do here. We had lunch at the Starlite Café again split a counter meal of ribs and chicken. The ribs had great flavor but were fatty not as good as Flame Tree. After lunch we headed of to Hall of Presidents and Country Bear to see the Christmas Show, well they did not put on the Country Bear Christmas show this year so we were slightly disappointed. From Country Bear we headed off to shop for pins and then did the Liberty Bell River Boat. Everything was great and we were having a blast.
We headed back to AK Lodge to rest a bit before getting ready for dinner at the Concourse Steakhouse in the Contemporary Hotel. The bus arrived at the Magic Kingdom and I asked the lady bus driver if she was headed to AK Lodge as her bus did not designate lodge or park she replied with “I’m not but he is” and pointed to a new driver. We arrived just as the drivers were changing shifts. She did ride the bus with us and passed out Fast Passes to all of the passengers on the bus, she asked what park they were going to that night and wrote up a fast pass for that park that you could use on any ride that so because I was dying to ride test track we told her Epcot.
We also were going to meet our friends again and visit before having dinner at the Concourse Steak house. The buses were packed as there was a Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party going on. Our original plan was to hop on a bus to MK, catch the monorail to The Contemporary Hotel. Well we caught the bus to Epcot instead, then transferred twice to get to The Contemporary Hotel, we sort of got confused at the transit centers. Oh well we made it to The Contemporary but only had a little time to visit. We finally were seated at the Concourse Steakhouse.
Appetizers: Me-Sesame Honey Chicken Wings, Bruce-Romaine w/Prosciutto Main Course” Me-10 oz Prime Rib, Bruce-Buffalo with Polenta, Dessert: Me-Chocolate Cake, Bruce-Key Lime Tart. Dinner was just OK, nothing great but I know I will not waste my dining on the Concourse Steakhouse again. (I hear it is closing its doors soon anyway)
We headed off to Epcot the weather was a little on the warm side and muggy certainly did not need a sweater or jacket.
Upon leaving our room for the Contemporary we decided to leave the sliding door open a little bit. Well I guess a lit bit was too much as I was laying in bed watching TV I could see something fluttering about on the ceiling, Mosquito so I pointed it out to Bruce and he managed to kill the little bugger but just as he got back in bed and comfortable I said “Oh there’s another one” so the great husband I have got up and killed that one too. So Bruce hops back in bed and well for the next ½ hour the same line was repeated “Oh there’s another one” we lost count at 11.
Lesson learned, close sliding glass door tight.

More to come later.
Lynda

Saturday December 8th (Day 3) Disney’s Hollywood Studios (MGM) had early entry so we got up early and headed out to MGM. Got a fast pass for Tower of Terror before entering for our first ride and Bruce rode Rockin Roller Coaster while I sat just off to the entrance of Rockin Roller Coaster and was terrorized by two squirrels who thought it was cute to jump from Palm Tree to Palm Tree and once in awhile jump in the smaller bushes behind me. I should have gone on Rockin but I don’t do loop de loops.
Second ride on Tower of Terror and I really felt sorry for this little girl sitting in front of us, she was in the front row and was probably five or six and that poor thing could not stay seated as we went up…and down…and up. At first I thought she was laughing but as the ride had ended and we were waiting for the elevator doors to open she was crying and saying to her mom “I don’t want to go up again”
Stopped at Starring Rolls Café to get coffee and a cinnamon roll on our way to The Great Movie Ride. There is absolutely no organization in this place, people are entering and exiting from whatever door they choose and one of the registers does not move real fast because you are waiting for people to toast their bagels, rolls or whatever they purchased but I must say that the cinnamon roll was excellent, coffee was expensive for the little cup that you get.
From there we headed off to The Great Movie Ride, another one of my favorite rides. Our cast member Matthew needs to understand the meaning and use of a microphone. You don’t need to shout into the microphone he was extremely loud and I rode most of the time with my fingers over my ears and could still hear him loud and clear gawrsh it was incredible on just how loud he was.
Off to Lights, Motor, Action. This is the first time that we have seen this show and although loud it was an excellent show would definitely do it again.
We ate lunch at the Studio Catering Company & Flatbread Grill. We split a counter service again because of dinner plans at Jiko at AK Lodge. We got the pulled pork sandwich, not bad was hot and the roll was nice and fresh.
We then headed off to see Walt Disney One Man’s Dream. The show was pretty much the same as the one at Disney’s California Adventure but the lobby area was nicer because of all the memorabilia and
Shopping was next on the list. Like I said I had a mental shopping list in my head. Shopping was a bust at MGM but one thing that was a plus was the new gadget that Kodak has put in the photo shops at the theme parks. Our camera disk was showing that we did not have many pics left and we could not understand this because had not taken a lot of pics. We hopped into the camera shop and found this machine where you can put the disk into and preview pics and put them on a CD for $12.99. The mystery we have we our camera disk is that the disk still had pics from Disneyland’s 50th and our last trip to WDW but if you previewed the pics from your camera these pictures did not show up, still a mystery and need to figure this out before next years trip.
Headed back to AK Lodge to rest up and get ready for our Dinner at Jiko. I was really looking forward to this dinner because the last two dinners had not been anything to brag about.
Fantastic meal at Jiko, well worth the money. Appetizer: We split the Chicken Flat Bread. Main Course: Me-Filet Mignon with Mac & Cheese (AWESOME!!!) Bruce: Scallops. Dessert: We split the chocolate Dessert: Tanzanian Chocolate Cheesecake - with chocolate ganache, Amarula sauce, and lavender ice cream: We did not use any of our Dining for this we decided to pay cash. Met a really nice couple that was seated next to us they were celebrating their wedding anniversary and were locals but had never eaten at Jiko before.
After dinner we decided to head out to the MK seeing as they had extra evening hours. We wanted to see the Spectro Magic Parade and ride space mountain. Had I known what this evening was going to hold in store for us I would have opted to stay at AK Lodge and watch the animals on the Savannah as they were more tamer then the people at MK.
Here it goes we arrive at MK just in time to see the 8:00pm parade of Spectro Magic. We watched the parade from in front of the train station. All is good at this point. Enjoyed the parade but it reminded me a little bit of Main Street Electrical Parade. After the last float we started down mainstreet making our way for Space Mtn. MK was crowded as the parade was still making its way down mainstreet but traffic is flowing with the help of efficient cast members. Fast Pass time for Space Mtn. 11:30pm with an hour wait time. We decided to hop on the Transit Authority and then head out to the lodge and call it an evening. We safely make it out of Tommorrowland head for mainstreet, this is where the magic stops and frustration and a slight panic attack kicks in. We get to the restaurant that is on the left side of the park, I am not sure of the name but as you round the corner there is an ice cream shop on the left. Just slightly prior to getting to the ice cream shop we manage to get tangled in traffic. People are trying to get to another place in the MK other than mainstreet, people are trying to exit MK and the fireworks above the castle begin. So here we are at the ice cream parlor and traffic comes to a complete stand still, no one was moving in either direction. People are yelling at each other to move aside, to keep moving that you cannot watch the fireworks from here you must keep moving. Now the people shouting are not cast members or security, I repeat no cast members or security, these are guests that are trying to make their way thru the crowd both directions is like a fish swimming upstream and not getting anywhere. Two ladies begin yelling, cussing and making a big scene, calling each other names, threatening to call the police etc. By now we have been stuck in this corner for a good 20 minutes with NO movement. We even tried to cut through the ice cream parlor but that idea crossed about 200 other guests. We tried explaining to the people that we were trying to make our way out of the park and to please step aside so that we could keep traffic moving but this was not going to happen. Ok so now we still have not moved I am officially pinned up against a wall just in front of the ice cream parlor, MK fireworks is over but we are still getting a verbal fireworks show from the two so called ladies. At this point I am wishing I had ruby red slippers so I can just click my heels and say “I want to go home, I want to go home” There is no security, no cast members no one to trying to a diffuse the two angry women who are making threats against each other. Now hear comes a cast member from the ice cream parlor pushing a wheel chair and making the statement please excuse us we are trying to get a wheel chair through. UGHHHHHHHHH hello we are all trying to get through. If this person was having a medical emergency she should have assisted her through back stage, not trying to push her through a mob of people who are pissed, hot and sweaty and not having a MAGICAL TIME. Forty Five minutes later we are free from mainstreet and I head for City Hall to make a complaint about how unsafe the situation was down on mainstreet and how there were two ladies (term used loosely) practically ready to rip each other apart. No sympathy from the cast member. I have a strong feeling that I was not the first guest to enter City Hall and complain. As I started to tell her about the events she took a pen and made a stick mark on a piece of paper. All she kept saying was “There is nothing I can do, Parade security is on their way” Nice… I feel so much better knowing that after 45 minutes of being pinned up against a wall, guests threatening each other parade security is on their way. Absolutely magical.
Here is my thought on this situation. All the other theme parks were closed by 8:00pm. Its a weekend plus you have locals and AP’s at the park and you have four major events happening at the MK 5:45pm lighting of the Ice Castle, 8:00pm Spectro Magic, 9:00pm Fireworks and finally at 10:00pm you have another showing of Spectro Magic.
Now take all the resort guests who are not at Epcot waiting for Illuminations and cram them into the MK. And have no security. I don’t understand this because when we started our way down mainstreet to ride Space Mtn. there were plenty of cast members keeping traffic moving with no problems whatsoever. What was even more confusing is that we were stuck in this mess but on the other side of main street the guests were moving, slow but moving. This I could not see but Bruce who is over 6ft could see the guests moving. The whole event was unbelievable. Another thing, people with strollers and scooters do not have the right of way. They think they do and most certainly always get by because you are afraid they are going to run you down.
Safe and sound at AK Lodge.
I do understand that there was nothing the cast member at City Hall could have done, but a little more sympathy or concern would have been nice.
Sunday December 9th (Day 4) A good night sleep eased the memories of the MK last night. After getting a blueberry muffin at the Mara we headed off to Epcot.
Bruce went and got a fast pass for test track while I tried desperately to find the smoking section. I am not very good at reading maps and I am aimlessly wandering around the Epcot Fountain reading the map seeing several smoking sections and not being able to find a one. I would not do well on the Amazing Race.
Bruce catches up to me and he notices I am frustrated trying to find the smoking section, OMG I was about 25ft away from one, now who in there right mind puts a smoking section next to a souvenir store, not logical in my book but oh well I did finally after four trips see the Fountain do the Standing in Motion routine which was a real treat for me as I am a big Yanni fan.
Seeing as we were right next to Mouse Gear we decided to in a shop. Bag #2 being sent to our Lodge.
Rode Test Track and then went to go see Journey into Imagination with Figment another attraction that took four trips to see. So now I have a new love…Figment he is so adorable I only wish I would have seen this show yesterday prior to being stuck in MK I could have imagined the whole thing was a dream. From Figment we headed towards The Land another great ride. We had lunch at the Sunshine Season Food Fair, great Chicken Salad I had the chocolate Cake and Bruce had the Strawberry Shortcake both were very good.
Off to Canada to see the new show with Martin Short. Canada has to be the most beautiful place on earth and Martin Short does a good job on narrating. From Canada we took the boat over to Germany and made our to Italy where it was must stop for Italian Chocolates for my boss, she gave me $20.00 to buy her the chocolates that I brought home last year to her. I would have stopped for a Café Mocha because the cart in Italy makes the best but it was hot and muggy and coffee was the last thing on my mind. Into Italy no bags of the chocolates that I got her last year the new thing with these chocolates is you buy them separately they are all in little bulk containers and you pick and choose the chocolates you want. So I grab a bag and start picking her most favorite chocolates and adding a few others from around the bulk candy section, how much could one little Italian Chocolate cost? I then walk up to the counter and the Italian cast member says in his little Italian accent “ Oh my” I said yeah, you use to sell them separately in the bags and he replies with “No more” in his little Italian accent. The girl her is running the register looks at the bag and pretty much has a shocked look on her face but smiling. She then opens the bag and dumps all the chocolates onto the counter, wonder what the look on my face was because I was flabbergasted. Apparently each chocolate has its own little Italian SKU number and one must count each different chocolate separately, let see I had 54 Choctini at .65 each, 10 Mini Hearts at .45 each, 5 Choc, stars at .65 each and a 7oz bag of Dark Choc. At $12.95, grand total for Italian Chocolates $59.43. Of course just as I get in line to check out 3 other customers walk up behind me so I extend my sincerest apologies for the long wait, OMG I am so embarrassed and all I kept thinking was lets get these chocolates back to the resort before I see $59.43 melt into one big chocolate glob.
We rode the boat back to Mexico and scurried back to the lodge protecting those ever so popular chocolates.
Arrived at AK lodge chocolates arrived safely in the room and managed to get a little nap before heading off to the Boardwalk for dinner at the Flying Fish Café and Epcot for Illuminations.
We took the bus to MGM and from there rode the ferry over to the Boardwalk. Flying Fish has always been one of our favorite restaurants and we have eaten there all four trips. Appetizers: Me-Caesar Salad, Bruce-Crab Cakes, Main Course: Me-NY Strip, Bruce-Scallops with Summer Squash Risotto, Dessert: 2 Chocolate Gallettes and as much as a choclolateholic I am I could not finish mine, it was great, rich and chocolately. Our waiter Bob was a riot, we had him the first year that we ate at Flying Fish and he was just as enjoyable. If you ever go eat at the Flying Fish Café you must ask for Bob’s section because he is hoot. I spilled chocolate on my nice cream sweater and was trying to dap cold water on it when Bob appears with a glass of soda water and salt and starts mixing this concoction and told me to use this instead of water. I tried desperately to get the chocolate stain out but all of it just would not come out.
Off to Epcot to watch Illuminations, much to our surprise there was an excellent spot just around the Canada area we had about an hour wait before the show started. Illuminations was GREAT!!
and there was no issues with getting out of World Showcase after the show, people moved well and there was not a long wait for the bus back to the lodge.

More to come
Lynda

This is so much fun to read! Thanks for writing this report. Can't wait to read the rest!

Jan

Monday December 10th (Day 5) What a fun filled day this was. We were able to sleep in because none of the parks had early entry. We headed off to AK Park to ride Expedition Everest.
On our first day when we went to AK Park I was shopping in the store just outside of the entrance when I noticed that they had a display filled with Webkinz, my niece and nephew collect these little critters and recently got me started on these adoptable furry critters. When I saw them the first day I called my sister in law and asked which ones my niece and nephew wanted for Christmas. Well after a somewhat long conversation I decided that I would get the Webkinz at a later date just in case I found others that they wanted. One of the Webkinz that my niece wants is the Collie, the store had it but I did not buy it instead I thought I would buy it later. Well guess what? The Collie was gone, sold out. Now I am thinking to myself… boy oh boy Auntie screwed up, had that Collie in my sight 5 days ago should have bought it then. :confused:
The cast member told me to try Mombasa in Africa so I headed there while Bruce went to get fast passes for Expediton Everest.
So I call my sister in law and left her voice mail message at her work letting her know that I screwed up and the collie was gone. Mombasa did not have the collie so I bought the Elephant and Hippo met up with Bruce we rode Expedition Everest and got a fast pass for later and headed off to Dinoland to ride Dinosaur. Stopped off at a pin cart and bought some pins to add to our collection. Dinosaur is not my favorite ride but it was something to do to kill time. On our way to Dinosaur I saw a gift store Chester and Hesters why not give it a shot and see if they have Webkinz…they did and they had the Collie so I swooped him up. The cast member was really nice because I was carrying the Webkinz with me that I bought over at Mombasa and we had just purchased the pins when she asked if we wanted this sent to our resort or package pickup, I asked her about the other packages I was hauling around and she put them all together so I did not have to lug these Webkinz with me all day. (Mental note: Need a 10 step program regarding Webkinz)
Bruce and I headed back to ride Everest "I LOVE THIS RIDE"::D:) and from there we went to Flame Tree Bar B Q, again what is a vacation if you cannot have ribs at 10:30am. We got to Flame Tree just minutes prior to opening when a cast member pops out and asks Bruce and I if we would like to help her and the other cast members open the restaurant, we said sure. So this is how it goes: The cast members open the roll up doors and then the cast member standing outside with us introduces us and says “Cooks” and Bruce and I shout “Are you ready”, cast member: “Servers” Bruce and I shout “Are you ready”
Cast member: “Bus Boys” Bruce and I shout “Are you ready” Cast Member: “Cashiers” Bruce and I shout “Are you ready” and then she turns to the crowd waiting to place there orders and says “Guests” which Bruce and I shout “Are you ready” by now I was laughing and totally enjoying myself we got a nice certificate showing that we opened the Flame Tree Restaurant, let me tell you if I was not completely hoarse from screaming on Everest I am now. But the whole experience was a lot of fun.
After lunch we headed off to see Flights of Wonder, by now it was getting really hot and muggy. After the show we went to Rafikis Planet Watch but the weather was taking its toll on Bruce and I, much more me then Bruce. I have a bumm foot from two years ago when I fell off one of the buses at WDW and my foot has never been the same but I manage. I wear a brace but with it being so hot my foot was beginning to swell and I was not having a good time so we headed back to the lodge to rest up for dinner at Boma. I was really glad we did not have to travel too far for dinner because I was really hurting and the vicodin was not helping.
Boma was excellent but you must really be hungry to enjoy all the food. For a change I passed up pigging out at the dessert bar and kept going back for more beef and chicken. The flavors were awesome but again you really have to be hungry.
After dinner we decided to walk around our resort and sit at the pool for awhile. We wandered over to an area at the lodge that has night vision of the Savanna. This is just totally awesome, we had a reticulated giraffe that was as close as he could be just laying in the bush not a care in the world. The
We were talking to the cast member who is from Africa and I asked him if it was unusual for a Giraffe to lay down for this long period of time. He explained to us that on the Savanna in Africa you will rarely see a giraffe laying down in the bush, it is not safe for them and is not easy for them to get up if danger approaches but explained that the giraffe here on the savanna have learned that there is no danger and they lay down all the time. The only down fall to this event was the mosquito’s were eating me alive, I was in shorts. As I mentioned earlier the night vision is something spectacular and a must see. Anyone can do this and it is free you don’t even need to be staying at AK Lodge it usually starts around 8:30pm to 11:00pm.
Tuesday December 11th (Day 6) Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Bruce woke up with a sinus attack so we decided to stay at the lodge and just relax in hopes that he would be feeling better and up to going to MVMCP tonight at the MK.
I went downstairs and got a blueberry muffin at the Mara and just sat around the pool and read a book. The weather was great not too hot and had not quite started getting muggy yet.
Finally went back up to the room, Bruce was feeling a little better so we went back downstairs to get some lunch at the Mara. I had the bacon cheeseburger and Bruce had some sort of chicken pita sandwich. My burger was not very hot, actually is more on the cold side then the hot side.
We finally headed off for the MK around 3:00pm so that we could see the lighting of the Ice Castle, this was a definite not miss show and it was spectacular. From there we headed off to Cosmic Ray’s for dinner, thought we would have the chicken but much to our surprise they had switched the menu to burgers, salads and chicken strips only as one of the stations was turned into the hot chocolate and cookie station for MVMCP. I had the bacon cheeseburger and it was a huge mistake. Let me just say that this was the most horrible bacon cheeseburger I had. My foot was killing me so I took a pain pill with dinner. The carrot cake was good and Bruce had the chocolate cake.
After dinner we headed for the trading post to get the special Christmas pins that were being sold for MVMCP. We then headed for Big Thunder. The evening was a little on the warm side and there was no air flowing inside the cue area of Big Thunder so it was a little on the stuffy side. My foot was killing after the nine mile hike to the cue area. When we exited Big Thunder we wanted to ride it again but the hiking up the hill was taking a toll on my foot so I asked the cast member at the entrance if I could take the handicap way back to Big Thunder seeing as walking up the hill to get to the cue area was very hard on me, I had my foot brace on and she replied with “only if you have a special pass” Did you stop at City Hall and get a pass?”
Uhhh no, I really did not think that I needed to use the handicap entrance for most of the rides and I thought seeing as it was the MVMCP that it would have been no big deal. The regular line was not long, very few people I was just trying to make it easier on me. So we opted not to ride Big Thunder again.
We headed for space mtn and on the way there I was not feeling too good :::(so we stopped so I could rest my foot and Bruce went and got me some milk. We finally managed to make our way to Space Mtn. I am not sure what it is with Space Mtn. but after the first drop I get the giggles and start laughing uncontrollably. When we exited Space Mtn. I was really not feeling good and the firework show was beginning. In the middle of the show I thought uh oh and headed off to the ladies restroom. I guess upset stomach + Milk + Space Mtn. = Time to toss your cookies. :(:(:(:(
After that we headed back to AK Lodge and arrived just in time as that special feeling was running across my body and I was getting the chills. It was a long night. The whole night all I kept thinking was geez I can’t be sick we have lunch at Le Cellier and I need to get on a plane tomorrow.

Great report so far.

One thing though, if possible. It would be easier to just reply to the post of the original report, because it is much easier to follow in one thread, rather than a different thread for each report on the same trip. :)

OK will do. Sorry new at this posting stuff I have only done one other report.

Thanks

So everyone look for final post on this thread, its a doosy

Last Day:crying::crying::crying::crying:

Wednesday December 12th (Day 7) Our last day here. Woke up feeling totally drained from lack of sleep but did not have an upset stomach anymore which was a good thing in my book. We were able to sleep in a little bit because none of the parks had early entry.
We split a mickey waffle from the Mara and ate it by the pool. Just when you think you have seen everything in WDW there is always room for one more little surprise. And "NOT" a magical moment:eek: As we sitting by the pool at the Uzima bar I noticed Bruce sort of looking at the pool area with a strange look on his face. I asked him what he was looking at and he replied with “those two little boys that are stark raving naked swimming in the pool” I could not believe my eyes, twin boys (in all respects) probably 8 or 9 frolicking in the pool with not a stitch of clothing on. What was even funnier ( not really funny) about the whole thing is there we probably 10 to 12 other guests, kids and parents in the pool who managed to keep a safe distance from them. It was clear that they were uncomfortable with the situation. The father of these two boys was pacing back forth at the pool area talking on his cell phone with not a care in the world. These two boys are running in and out of the pool, jumping up and down chasing each other and it was just something I could not believe. The lifeguards were at the pool but as near as I could tell t hey were not on duty they were having a training session so I am not sure that they even saw the kids. I don’t know about all of you, but if I was a parent and had kids in the pool I would make sure that I notified a cast member or something about these little boys. ( I think 8 or 9 is just too old to be swimming naked in a public place) I understand that they were not hurting anyone and I also understand that different countries have different ways but I believe when you are in a foreign country you adapt to their customs. I thought to myself ok, it’s a little warm, maybe they just checked in and are waiting for their room but at least the father could have let them swim with their undergarments on. I was also thinking how I would like to shout the following rules: “There will be no jumping, running, squatting or bending over if you are swimming a la nude” We headed back to the room to finish packing and check out and check in with the airlines before heading off to Epcot.
We went to see Journey into Imagination with Figment again and then got a fast pass for Test Track. From there we headed to Canada to see the film again and then have lunch at Le Cellier.
Lunch at Le Cellier was great. There was a little mix up so we had a whole section to ourselves, it was like private dining without using the points. Appetizers: Me-Beef Barley Soup, Bruce-Cheddar Cheese Soup, Main Course: Me-Prime Rib Sandwich, Bruce Seasonal Pasta with Shrimps and Scallops, Dessert: Me-Chocolate Moose, Bruce Seasonal Sorbet. I had a great chuckle when I got my dessert it was actually a moose and the ears were thin maple leaf cookies. I took a pic but for some reason the pic never showed up on the camera. One of those disc things again I guess.
From Le Cellier we rode Test Track even though our fast pass had expired they still let us go thru the fast pass line.
Back to AK Lodge before having to catch the Magical Express for that undesirable plane ride home.

Favorites-in no particular order: Expedition Everest, Jiko, Boma, Journey into Imagination with Figment, Lighting of the Ice Castle, Illuminations, Le Cellier, O’ Canada film, cinnamon rolls and Walt’s One Mans Dream.
Dislikes-in no particular order: Concourse Steak House, warm muggy weather and what it does to my hair. Next year I just might shave myself bald. Bugs the size of miniature horses flying around.
Observations-in order: Parents should not let their kids frolick in the pool naked, they should be courteous and observant of the customs of the country they are in. Rude people who are pushing strollers and or riding a motor scooter. Having a stroller or scooter does not allow you to swoop past people causing them to run into other guests just because your vehicle is bigger or you can push your way through a crowd.
Things I am grateful for-in no particular order: That this was all started by a mouse. Larry Dotson paintings, brought three prints home of his art of AK Park and Lodge and his newest release Haunted Mansion. We now have seven of his prints.
Things I am looking forward to: Planning next years trip.:D:D

My sincerest condolences to the family who lost their loved one on Expedition Everest the other day.

I throughly enjoyed your trip report. Sorry you got sick. That is just the pits on vacation.
Great job!!
Ellen

Thank You Ellen. Being sick was just a small glitch in the vacation but we still had a fabulous time.

We were also at MK on Saturday, December 8, and experienced a very similar situation. My husband and I held on to our 3 kids for dear life. I even made my very-embarrassed-to-be-holding-his-mother's-hand 14 year old son hang on, or we would have all been separated. People were pushing, trying to plow through w/ motorized wheelchairs, etc. It was insanity. I was almost in tears till we cleared the massive crowd. As I just wanted to get out of there, I did not complain immediately, but I do plan to do so in writing. We chose to vacation in early December b/c we heard the crowds were not as bad, but our first night had us worried that we had really chosen a bad time to visit.

Hello WDW07
This is the first year out of the four that we have experienced something like this. We are still planning on going the same time next year, we don't want one bad experience to spoil our annual trip.

I agree, it won't stop us from going again either, because the good definitely outweighed the bad. We had many magical moments that made it special.

So here is a little something that I am adding to this trip report.

With all of our trips to WDW we have eaten at the Flying Fish Cafe and two out of the four trips we have eaten at Jiko. The food and atmosphere at both of these restaurants is awesome and with us on the Dining Plan we can only enjoy these places once. My husband and I decided that starting with the trip last December we would start saving our change and use that money to enjoy an extra night of great food. As of this date we have saved $145.00 in change so looks like we are a great start for enjoying our two most favorite restaurants more than once.
It amazes me just how much change you can save and how quickly it adds up. Can't wait to see the expression on the bank tellers face when I cash in all of our change at the end of November 2008.

With the changes in the DDP, I thought I wouldn't do it again, but you know, I'm going solo in December and I might just add it to my room. I would be able to eat REALLY well and it's just me, so I may very well add it! Thanks for the nudge. I haven't been to FF in a LONG time and never been to Jiko (it's 2 credits, right?). Hmmm....decisions, decisions......

Yes both Flying Fish and Jiko are two points for dining. If you go to Jiko you must try the Filet Mignon with Macaroni and Chesse it is to die for. And no it's not the Mac & Cheese your mama makes. I know it's a strange combo but it works and works well. :) :)