Sheri Niklewski - Thanksgiving - November 26-30, 2008 (Offsite)

[disnut8]

The stuff I'm supposed to include at the beginning of the report -

Dates - Wednesday, November 26 - Sunday, November 30, 2008
Travel Method - our almost always dependable Dodge Intrepid aka Mean and Green or Green Thing
Resort - Travelodge Suites Main Gate East Orange, on Irlo Bronson Highway (Highway 192)
Accommodations - the "suite" sounds great but it's a standard king size bed with a sitting area next to it
Ages - a few years shy of AARP membership
Experience - very experienced

Comments -

This is our sixth Thanksgiving weekend trip to Disney World and it's become our tradition. The only other place we've been for this holiday has been back in Maryland with family but we'll be there for Christmas. One holiday with family is all either one of us can handle without needing counseling.

The two of us -

Sheri (46) - semi-planner since I really don't plan that much anymore
Rich (48) - the guy that drives most of the time and controls the radio stations

The two of us have been to Disney World over 50 times and tour very well together. After almost 27 years of marriage that's pretty darn good.

Introduction -

My last trip to the World was the last week in September with my in-laws and one of Rich's aunts (my mother-in-law's sister). Rich stayed home to work so we could enjoy other trips later in the year. I was on my own with the in-laws and the trip really was the worst trip I've ever taken to my favorite place. The weather was perfect, the crowds were low, everything was great except for the company. I have a trip report here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=119163) relating that entire adventure that I would never wish on my worst enemy. So for this trip, I have very little wants other than to enjoy being with my husband and not having to deal with other people.

The planning stages -

This was really easy and I made all the arraignments the day after I got back from the horrible September trip. I needed to reinforce to myself at least mentally that Disney World really was a great place for a vacation. Rich and I stay off site for budget reasons, the fact that we have our own car, and we're very happy with the Travelodge.

I'm a member of the Wyndham Rewards program so always make my reservations through their website. Don't let the Wyndham aspect throw you. It used to be Trip Rewards and I was a charter member after staying at Days Inn for all our prior Disney trips. But I do like saying I am a member of Wyndham. I usually say that with my nose up in the air just for effect.

Our normal operating procedure is to leave our home in Brasleton, GA (outside Atlanta) on Wednesday night after Rich is home from work. He usually get released early, around 3:00 so he's home by 4:00 or so. We leave after that and fight the day before a holiday rush hour traffic. Rich is usually exhausted after the drive. We stop in Valdosta, GA overnight (we're not that dedicated to drive straight through). This time, I had a free night stay so I booked that at the Days Inn at Exit 5 off I75 which is our standard place to stop.

After I had that all done, I reserved the Travelodge in Kissimmee for Thursday - Sunday. The rate at the Travelodge is extremely reasonable (cheap) at $48.46 with AAA discount. At both of these places, we get a mini-fridge and microwave. I'll try and remember to report about coffee makers and hair dryers but we don't drink coffee and I take my own hair dryer so I never pay attention. And both have free continental breakfasts (the Days Inn in Valdosta is a very good one).

The only meal I had reserved for the September trip had been a lunch at 50s Prime Time which I erroneously thought everyone would enjoy (the other three were 61, 72, and 78 years old). I was terribly mistaken for a variety of reasons and I had a miserable time. Good food, good service but not great company. Rich and I aren't big on traditional Thanksgiving dinners and have been doing a lunch the Saturday after Thanksgiving as our big meal on the trips. So even though I had just been to 50s Prime Time, I booked that for Friday, November 29th at 3:50 PM. A very late lunch but that will be our meal for the day.

That was all for the planning.

Until Rich counted up his remaining vacation days and found two more hiding. Actually, one vacation day and one comp day for working while on another vacation. He added one day to the Christmas trip (one more day with the in-laws!) and then took the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off as well. This way, we could drive to Disney World on Wednesday, take our time and avoid the overnight stop in Valdosta on the way down. The only problem was he finalized all this (only with my prodding) less than two weeks before the trip. Fortunately, I was able to rebook the Travelodge to include Wednesday night without a change in rate.

I also added two requests for the trip, one "have to do" and one "if it works out". The "have to do" is seeing the holiday version of Illuminations. I love Illuminations anyway and the extra added ending is special to me so it's like getting sprinkles on top of the whipped cream you already have on your ice cream. The "if it works out" is to get a PhotoPass picture of Rich and me in the parks. It's almost impossible to get Rich in a photo (he jokingly claims the camera steals his image forever) and family members have been complaining about a lack of the two of us on the family photo walls. I've also been watching a lot of Without a Trace episodes and realized that if either Rich or I disappeared, we wouldn't have any recent photos. Kind of like making sure you wear clean underwear every day in case you are in a car accident.

And that was all for the planning.

Day One - Wednesday, November 26, 2008

We had packed almost everything last night and the alarm was set for 8:00 AM. Darn thing went off right on time. I got up first and got ready. I knew Rich would just lie in bed until after I was done and I wanted to get things loaded in the car as soon as possible. This way, I could be working while he was getting ready.

The only things still to be put in a bag were our morning items we needed. Not too many as we keep a "ditty bag" always full and ready to go. Each bag hold an extra toothbrush, paste, contact case, solution, shampoo, conditioner (me), lotion (me), deodorant, razor, etc. This eliminates the morning rush of getting all the toiletries together. My mother introduced this to me when I was a wee little child since my family went on frequent camping trips. I highly recommend it to anyone who travels a lot.

After the last minute things were packed into a small carry bag, we loaded up the car. Well, Rich loaded up the trunk. I wasn't allowed to put anything in there. In that regard, Rich is like his mother. The trunk packing is theirs. I am allowed to put things in the back seat that need to be accessed during the drive. I guess it evens out since I do all the planning.

The four cats would be taken care of by a new cat sitter (same service, different sitter) so we made sure they were OK for the rest of the day and said goodbye to the ones we could find. They get quite miffed when the suitcases come out. Reasoning with them that we'll be back in five days does no good. They are cats after all. Humans serve them, not the other way around.

With one sort of quick stop at the bank and then another one for Rich to get his traveling Diet Cokes (20 ounce bottles) and a bottle of orange juice for me (I left mine in the fridge at home), we were on our way shortly after 9:30.

Traffic through Atlanta was not that bad at all even though the overhead warning signs said to be careful as rush hour was expected to begin around 11:00 AM. Honestly, that is what the sign said. "Early Rush Hour Beginning 11:00 AM". Rich muttered "what's so different about any other day?" It's almost always rush hour in Atlanta.

We hit the normal bog down at the interchange of I75 and I675. If you are driving through Atlanta and using I75 through the city, it won't matter if you go into downtown or take I285 around, you WILL have this interchange. And I've very, very rarely have seen it not be a parking lot. I don't know what it is but people just can't seem to merge in from I675 and those on I75 just feel the need to slow way down. It's dumb but then so are human drivers most of the time. After a few exits (about ten miles or so), everything loosens up and you can go back up to the speed limit. I wish I could say it's caused by something but it's not.

There was an accident on the other side of I75 going north and we were glad we were going south. The northbound lanes were a parking lot for seven miles. It appeared that someone didn't stop behind a panel truck pulling a trailer and the car that didn't stop needed some syrup because the front of the vehicle looked like a pancake.

Hint - if you are driving on the busiest road travel day of the year, slow down and pay attention.

After the I675/I75 snafu and we were flowing normally on I75, things went fine all the way out through Georgia. Rich and I switched positions in the car after our normal Macon rest area stop. That's the first place to stop after our house. By that time, it's a necessity to have to use the facilities. I knew Rich would insist on doing most of the driving today so I forced him to hand over the keys and I could take over for a couple of hours.

I was driving when lunch time hit so I actually was able to pick the fast food place! Didn't matter as the easiest one to get to was McDonald's. Three double cheeseburgers (two with ketchup and pickle only for Rich), some fries and drinks later, I was driving us south again.

Hint - the double cheeseburgers at McDonald's are a great bargain for $1. Our lunch here was about $8.

As we approached the Georgia/Florida border, we started to discuss where to stop for gas. I thought the prices would be lower in Georgia but had forgotten to check out gasbuddy.com to verify. Rich thought it wouldn't matter either way. He should listen to me more often.

Hint - get your gas in Georgia before you go into Florida.

We switched drivers at the Florida Welcome rest area (the official one, not one that advertises free Universal or Disney World tickets) and I picked up a few brochures to read on the way down. One quite interesting that listed all the driving laws of Florida. Of particular note was that you can drive a motorcycle without a helmet only if you have over $10,000 in medical insurance coverage. Maybe that's a big clue that driving without a helmet is not the safest thing to do. I'll stop now before I take the first step up on the soapbox.

Rich finally had to succumb to the Florida gas prices and stopped at Exit 399. This is where I spent the night in September with the in-laws so I knew there were stations at the exit. Rich was really regretting not filling up in Georgia as the price here was $2.01 per gallon. As he complained bitterly about the price (he's been getting it for $1.60 at home), I did some calculations and reminded him that just two months ago, this tank of gas would have not been a little over $20. It would have been over $40. He said he didn't care, that the oil companies have us by the …… Well, he was still muttering about it when we left the station.

Unfortunately, Rich was driving when we hit the other major slow down of the trip. This time in and around Ocala. For no reason except volume and more people who ate some stupid pills for lunch. Mean and Green felt like he was an accordion since we got squeezed and then let go, squeezed and then let go over and over again. We were finally on the Turnpike before things went back to normal. Of course, now I had to go to the bathroom which earned me a very dirty look from Rich. But we stopped (I said I could cross my legs for the next hour but I'm very glad he didn't listen).

While we using the facilities, we both took notice that there is a new mini-SunPass available. For $4.99 you can use the SunPass lanes so you don't have to stop at the toll booths. I looked at the information online once we got home and it's something we'll be thinking about for the future. The only problem for us is that the passes are only available at certain stores in Florida and not online. The pass has to put affixed to your glass windshield and cannot be moved from vehicle to vehicle but we almost always use Mean and Green since my car doesn't have a radio right now. I can have my stepmother look at her local Publix or CVS store for this and then send it to us for our future trips.

The rest of the trip was uneventful save for having to stop and pay a total of $3.50 in tolls (hence the interest in the mini-SunPass).

Note on our route - we now always take the Turnpike ($2.50 toll) and then Route 429 ($1 toll) to get to Disney World. Easiest and fastest way. If you go to I4, you save some tolls but have more hassles. If you take Route 27 to Highway 192, you pay $1.25 in toll and have about twenty billion lights on the route. Rich and I are frugal but we feel the convenience of Route 429 more than makes up for the extra tolls.

With the I675/I75 and Ocala delays, we were far behind the eight hour trip we planned. Our original idea was to get into Kissimmee around 5:00 or shortly after, check into the Travelodge, and then go to Epcot for the evening. Since it was getting close to 7:00, we decided to go directly to Epcot and check in later. It was either that or not do Disney at all today.

We parked and headed right for Canada to try and catch some of Off Kilter. We were only going to be able to see the 7:30 show if that. Rich picked up a Moosehead at the beer cart and noticed the price had increased to $6.75 from $6.25. I guess no more Moosehead for Rich (I'll explain later). Rich wanted to stay in Canada for the Off Kilter show but I was hungry. Rich was fine as he had the two double cheeseburgers earlier and was still frazzled from driving. However……

Between May of 2006 and May of 2007, I was hospitalized three different times for a total of three weeks. I no sooner came out and was getting back to normal when I would go back in. If you ever want to lose weight, just break your neck and then have two resulting brain surgeries. I'm a small person and dropped 20+ pounds in that horrible year. It's taken a while to get that weight back (when you need to gain weight you can't, trust me) but now that I have, my appetite is quite large at times.

We made our way to China for me to get some pot stickers. I love these and the egg rolls as a snack. A nice alternative from the normal stuff. Rich resigned himself to not seeing Off Kilter but I got the stickers to go and we went back to Canada for the show. Along the way, Rich looked at the beer prices in Norway and saw the Bud there increased from $5.50 to $6 so no Norway for him.

However, the Showcase Promenade and the Fife and Drum (we saw later) still had Budweiser for $5.50 and those two stands were Rich's favorites for the next four days. Rich likes beer and will drink and has drunk many different brands and flavors. He used to brew the stuff. However, there's no sense spending extra money when a good old Bud at a lower price will hit the same spot.

By the way, we also saw Yuengling is available as a premium beer. I grew up in southeast Pennsylvania where my family is still today. Rich's father is from northeast Pennsylvania and that's where Rich went to college. So we know Yuengling quite well. And we do not consider it a premium beer by any stretch of the imagination.

Back at the Off Kilter stage, we were able to get seats in the second row of benches. In the row in front of us, there was a guy with a hat who was talking to a family next to him. The guy went on and on about how he wanted to start his own band and how he really likes Off Kilter and how great the guys are, etc. The family responded politely but we got the feeling they would have rather been trapped on It's A Small World for three hours than to listen to this guy.

The show started and Guy in Hat was, well, loud and boisterous. To say he was a fan would be understating it quite a bit. As Rich would later say, he thought Off Kilter would rather be stalked by anyone other than this guy. We ended up listening to the band but watching the guy. He had us cracking up with his overenthusiastic reactions to everything, and I mean everything, Off Kilter did. I think if all five band members had laryngitis, the performance would still be met with "you guys rock!" every two seconds.

After the show (and our other entertainment), we headed back to the car. It had gotten quite cold (we both were in jeans, me with a sweatshirt and jacket, Rich with just a sweatshirt and I even had on thin gloves) and we were tired from the long day and the unexpected longer drive. We also don't usually get here this late in the day. And we still had to check into the Travelodge.

We arrived at the Travelodge at 9:15 and I anticipated no problems with arriving later than expected. I was wrong. I had booked (not requested but booked) a king size bed. I requested to be in the back of the hotel since it's quieter back there but that was a request. After the desk clerk said "uh oh" when processing my reservation, the manager was called over. The hotel had "overbooked" king bed rooms. I was not a happy camper. Not happy at all. The only thing that was available to me was one queen size bed (not two beds in one room, one bed) for $4 less a night (regular AAA rate, not a discount offered by the hotel). I could be moved to a king bed room the next day. Steam started coming out of my ears.

Rich and I have had a king bed for the past eight years. We love it. We each like our own personal space (not to mention the cats love it but they aren't with us) and anything smaller makes us feel cramped. I am willing to pay a bit extra for a king bed and book the accommodation whenever I can. In fact, that's one of the main reasons I found the Travelodge - they have king bed suites at a reasonable price. And I emphatically did not want to sleep in one room tonight and have to move everything tomorrow. That was a definite no. I remained calm while talking with the manager but unless we wanted to go somewhere else, we were stuck. Rich and I both later said we were waiting for an offer of a free night or even something knocked off the price more than the regular reduced AAA rate that I could have booked last month. The only consolation was the room was in the back of the hotel.

We accepted the keys and went to the room, making cracks about the Seinfeld episode where Jerry reserves a rental car and then finds he doesn't have one. After seeing the room, I started calling the bed a baby bed and Rich said the room was a miniature version of what we normally get. I kind of felt like Alice when she grew so much. Everything just looked smaller. I know that's an exaggeration but that's what it felt like. To top it all off, the bars on the refrigerator door were broken so we couldn't even use that space for drinks (the rest of the fridge was fine).

I discovered one very important thing with this situation. In the past, I've always liked everything about the Travelodge. It's not a perfect place but we're very simple people who don't need a lot. But because I was in a negative mood when I entered the room, I started commenting on things that have always been there but we overlook or just don't plain care about. It made me realize that a negative review might often be negative only because the entire incident started off badly. There was nothing major wrong with this room. I just wanted a king bed in it.

We unpacked everything and set up home for the next four days. We still had more than enough room in the refrigerator even without using the door. Fortunately, these refrigerators have a small freezer section so we could store our supply of Uncrustibles and a bottle of water for me to take to the parks. Freezing a bottle works great for me and lasts just about the entire day. If it runs out, I use a water fountain to refill. This isn't only due to saving money but I'm spoiled on Sam's Choice bottled water and I very rarely drink soft drinks these days.

Since I said I would take notice of it - this place does have a coffee maker and a hair dryer (wall mounted). The coffee maker and all associated items with it were quickly moved to the top of the safe on the floor under the closet rack. Here's a mini-rant about coffee:

Why it is that coffee is free? Rich and I don't drink coffee. I never have and never will. Rich has had about two cups in his entire life. But it's available in most hotel rooms for free. And it's available in most work places for free all day long. If Rich wants his liquid caffeine in the form of a Diet Coke, he has to either bring his own in from home or pay for it via vending machine. His work even has a cappuccino machine for free. If you want a cup of coffee after dinner, it's free. It's discrimination against non coffee drinkers, I tell you! Kidding, of course. But think about it.

After getting all comfortable, Rich did the most important thing of the trip. He set up the laptop so we could check our fantasy football information. We're in the same league (and have been for ten years) and both of us are primed for playoff spots. After reading everything, we each had some decisions to make. Rich tends to agonize over his a lot more than me. I figure I do my best and since I have no control over the games, I set my lineup and sit back and wait for the results.

We made our necessary changes and then relaxed for what was left of the night. TV proved to be boring and everything we normally would be watching was being recorded at home anyway. We had lights out around midnight with no plans to set the alarm or for where to go the next day. A Disney World vacation Niklewski Style. Just the way I like them.

Day Two - Thursday, November 27, 2008

And a happy Thanksgiving to all!

This morning was a great start. We slept until 10:00 AM! The bed was fine although I felt like I was hugging my edge all night long. Rich said he had no problems so we're staying here. I was ready to pack up and move if we really had to. But if we were able to sleep until 10:00, I guess it'll do.

I was up first while Rich followed shortly after to check his fantasy football squad again. Since there were three games on today, he needed to make sure no decision rested on playing or not playing someone today. I had one decision to make and did that last night. I'm done but Rich will agonize for the rest of the day. Would it matter?

We were heading out the door shortly after 11:00 with each of us carrying an Uncrustible. These served as our breakfast every morning and it worked out great. Rich had peanut butter and honey and I had peanut butter and strawberry jam. Once up in the morning, we thawed one each which were ready to eat right before we left the room.

Rich had suggested Magic Kingdom for today, jokingly I thought, but he was serious so we headed there. I was surprised to see it wasn't very crowded and even looking at the parking lot on the way in, there were plenty of spaces. I had read on the boards that the crowds were high but I could not see any indications of that compared to previous Thanksgiving weekends.

There was a large surge of people from the ferry boat and monorail at the entrance but the security lines weren't that bad.

Hint - to get through security faster, have your bags (ALL your bags) off your person and ALL pockets unzipped and unvelcroed. Put the bags on the security table and it'll be a breeze.

Hint - don't enter a line behind anyone who doesn't follow the hint above.

We were through the turnstiles very quickly after this as well. One Cast Member at an empty but open turnstiles had to tell people to come over commenting "step right up folks, shortest line you'll see all day". And people STILL didn't go over there! We did.

Hint - don't just follow the herd. Look at all the turnstiles. That little green arrow means you can enter.

At Magic Kingdom (the rare times we go), we are left side people meaning we start with Adventureland and then make our way around to Tomorrowland. We didn't have anything in mind we wanted to do except to be there. We thought about the Jungle Cruise with a FastPass of about two hours in the future but decided not to burn a FastPass on that. Yes, it's a classic but not for us today. Pirates of Caribbean stand by time said 20 minutes but the line was outside of the turnstile so that was a no. The line looked to be moving fast enough but the attraction isn't something we need to see all the time.

I took notice the egg roll cart usually open seasonally was doing business today. I mistakenly mentioned that to Rich who started his crusade to get me egg rolls. I had mentioned my appetite earlier in the report and Rich does try to make sure I'm happy throughout the day when his stomach is nice and settled (plus, he needs to lose a few pounds and tries not to overeat on vacation). I was fine though and had to tell him to shut up.

Rich hadn't been on Splash Mountain for a while and I suggested he look at the FastPass time for that. It was now noon and the return time was 12:45 so absolutely no thought put into that. He made his way through the crowds to get a FastPass and I had to find him later. We brought cell phones but Rich was carrying everything in his daypack (a small backpack thing with only one compartment). This was a new thing for us as we usually use a shoulder bag. Rich agreed to carry everything but only on his back.

We now had 45 minutes for his return and he suggested taking the train all the way around the park. I thought it would be crowded as we had just missed one train. But we no sooner walked up the stairs into the Frontierland Depot when another train pulled up. We enjoyed our round trip with stops in Toontown Fair and on Main Street. It was nice sitting the entire time. The only bad thing was a family that took the trip from Frontierland to Toontown Fair. They were right behind us and LOUD! Rich and I couldn't even carry on a conversation between the two of us. It didn't help that the other two people in our row were also with the family behind us. Thankfully, all of them left and then Rich and I had the entire row to ourselves for the rest of the trip (even though we slid close together in case anyone wanted to join us).

Back in Frontierland, Rich still had about ten minutes until his FastPass return time. We used most of that to find a meeting place for after his ride. Since Splash Mountain thuds, I can't do it anymore. This is one that irks me with my injury. I love Splash Mountain and 99% of it is fine for me. It's the drop that I can't do. Sigh. We decided to meet outside the Briar Patch Gift Shop. Rich would call me on the cell phone and I would go back from wherever I was.

Hint - if you have members of your party who cannot or will not do an attraction, don't have them wait on a bench while you ride. Let them go off and do what they want and call via cell phones.

I used my time to play photographer. I had seen a spot on the way through Adventureland that I thought was interesting so I backtracked to there. Rich indulges my picture taking but it's much nicer when I'm on my own. I found the spot I was looking for - right across from the Aloha Isle. It looked nice and peaceful and not very crowded. I found out why. It's a designated smoking area! Oh well, it was off the regular walkway but nothing really photo-worthy.

I took my time getting back to Frontierland, correctly figuring Rich would not be even close to getting off Splash Mountain yet. Both Pecos Bill's and El Pirata y el Perico counter services were doing very good business with frantic people trying to get lunch.

Hint - don't eat meals at the normal times unless you have a reservation at a table service.

After snapping several "odd" photos (odd in the sense that Rich wouldn't appreciate the artistic angle of them), I was back in Frontierland and Rich still hadn't called. I didn't want to continue further down the main way of Frontierland since I knew we'd be doing that after he joined me. Then I saw one thing that I really needed. A water bottle strap. I joined the line with others who wanted popcorn, ice cream or drinks. I just wanted the strap. I thought the line was going to move fast as there were only three people in front of me. That never happens at Disney World.

The father at the cart when I got there needed to order something for everyone in his family and, of course, that wasn't decided on until he was at the cart.

Hint - make sure you know what you want before you join the line.

Once the father placed the order, his wife made a change. Then they were finally done until the next crisis. Little Timmy or whoever, unwrapped his Mickey bar and promptly dropped it on the ground. He picked it up which caused his mother to scream at him to not eat it. The woman in front of me said "I guess there's no five second rule in that family". I will get more into the five second rule tomorrow but the mother was the only one having a cow over the dropped ice cream bar. She made her husband go and exchange it for a new one.

Now, I am glad Disney World did exchange it without a question. However, I'm not sure I'm really comfortable with the woman expecting it. No one except the mom and the boy saw what happened. The mother made the father go back in front of everyone else who had patiently stood waiting for the family to finally make up their minds about their food. Dad maybe should have gotten to the back of the line for Timmy's replacement ice cream. Timmy didn't even cry about it. He just thought he lost his ice cream.

While witnessing this whole thing, the smell of the Disney World popcorn assaulted me. I had read good things about it but never got any myself. Rich isn't a big popcorn eater and I'd never be able to finish a bag myself but I started to think about getting the souvenir bucket. I didn't this time because as luck would have it, Rich called right about the time Timmy got his replacement ice cream and moved on. I wasn't going to leave the line then.

I met up with Rich after finally getting my water bottle strap. All that drama for $3.50 piece of fabric for hands free touring. The strap was worth it, though.

Hint - don't agree to meet up with your party in front of the Briar Patch Shop. The whole Splash/Big Thunder Mountain area is way too congested

Rich chided me for being "late" but I proudly showed my strap and told him I could stop complaining about having to find one. He suggested going over to Tom Sawyer's Island because we hadn't been there since Chris (our son) was a pup. We didn't have anything else to do so we loaded onto the raft and floated over there.

We really hadn't been here for 15 years and we looked like Disney virgins reading the map and figuring which way to go. We found our way over the barrel bridge, through the caves and had some fun in the dark trying to navigate. I even unintentionally scared an older lady because I thought she had already passed me but she hadn't. I will warn everyone that the cave paths are narrow. I'm not sure Pooh sized people would be comfortable going through some of these.

Eventually, we found our way to Aunt Polly's deck (the counter service place is long gone). I thought this would be a good place for Rich to call his parents to wish them a happy day. While he talked, I rocked and took pictures. A trip to Tom Sawyer's Island is a must if you want some unique photo opportunities. Unfortunately, I was too close to the Liberty Square Riverboats to get any good pictures when it docked. Rich had to halt his phone conversation a bit when they blasted the horn.

After Rich was finally done (he talked to both parents and I guess he and his father got into some sort of conversation about selling military items), we tried to find our way out to the fort but got lost not once but twice. The island is confusing and I can see why it closes at dusk. It's hard enough to find your way around in the daytime!

We finally made it to the fort and climbed all around it. Nothing too much for us adults as the guns weren't a huge priority. All we would be "shooting" at would be wildlife and we do not do that at all. After mostly picture taking by me, we were back at the dock for the mainland.

The ride over to the island had been unremarkable. The ride back was definitely not. First of all, we had the FIFO Guy. FIFO is an inventory term meaning First In, First Out. That's usually how Disney World attraction seating goes. If you are first into the theatre, you are the first one out. But that's not how the rafts to the island work. It's LIFO or Last In, First Out. One guy wanted it to be FIFO so he boarded first and then stood there because he wanted to be the first off. Everyone else just jammed up around him. Rich and I were one of the last ones on and made our way to the front of the raft where there were very few people. FIFO Guy on a LIFO attraction.

But that was okay because of the second event on the ride. A cormorant swimming on the surface dived down and found his lunch. A nice big fish which the bird proceeded to bring up and happily swallow whole right in front of all of us. We've seen many cormorants at Disney World but this is the first time one had lunch in our presence. We were properly awed.

Notes about water life at Disney World -

There are many kinds of water fowl at Disney World besides the standard mallard ducks. Cormorants are one. They have long, thin hooked beaks and are frequently seen on the shore holding out their wings. They dive for food (fish) from the surface. Other water fowl are coots (frequently seen swimming in the canal between the Studios and Epcot), ibises and herons (various varieties). You'll see lots of ibises over at Animal Kingdom and coots in with ducks all around Disney World.

Now back to the trip report.

We returned to the mainland (FIFO Guy must have been so excited to be the first one off) and realized that the parade was going to start. In fact, it had started as the cheerleading squad was marching down the street. We had seen the members of the squad around Frontierland and Adventureland in the past couple of hours enjoying the attractions. Now they had to work.

Not being parade people, we worked our way around behind the ropes and finally to a break where we could hurry across the street (it was a legal move) and then towards Main Street. We hadn't even gone near Liberty Square, Fantasyland or Tomorrowland except for what we could see from the train and the island but that was fine. Magic Kingdom isn't our cup of tea (spinning or not) and parade people make it even worse.

We were prepared to make ample use of going through the shops to avoid the crowds on Main Street but found there is an actual cleared walking area now. I am so glad Disney did this for the people who simply don't want to view the parade. We might actually come over to this park more often if the crowd control continues to improve.

I didn't even ask Rich where he wanted to head next. Our MO is to visit one park when we arrive and then when finished with that one, move over to Epcot. Rich had suggested the monorail but I whined a bit about having to go through the main entrance at Epcot. That is the worst entrance of all of the parks. Rich said we'd just have to suck it up but then decided taking a bus to one of the Epcot resorts would be much better. We headed for the Swan/Dolphin one since we don't mind the walk from there and the bus is usually not that crowded. However, it was this time. So we queued right next door for the Yacht and Beach Club bus which came while the Swan/Dolphin one was still loading. Uncrowded bus to us.

Hint - if you are staying in the Epcot resort area, take any of the buses back. It's not that much of a walk from resort to resort.

We got off the bus at the first stop which was the Yacht Club and then went through the International Gateway entrance. We had talked about a snack of some sort and saw the fish and chips place was not crowded at all. I don't like fish but I do like the chips. Rich likes fish. One order to go and we shared (with Rich sneaking some chips).

Of course our main goal was Off Kilter and their 3:30 show had just started when we arrived. Rich gave up on getting a seat but I saw one and led him over there. He sat on the bench while I was on the ground. I divided the food and then we had a pleasant snack with some good entertainment.

By the way - Rich absolutely cannot sit on the ground. It's something about his body style. It's very uncomfortable for him. His mother is the same way so it's got to be something in the Wood genes.

Off Kilter was highlighted this afternoon by Dancing Woman. The guys encourage dancing and have the room for it (it's usually little kids) but I don't think what this woman was doing qualified as dancing. She was over to the side and gyrated wildly to the music. She was accompanied by her husband or boyfriend who was grinning from ear to ear at her. He had what I'm sure he wanted everyone to think was orange juice and she had a travel mug. They both sipped from their drinks continuously. I have a feeling there was at least one empty water bottle somewhere that had contained something a little stronger than water. A beverage made from potatoes perhaps.

After the set (I think we are always entertained here not only by the band but by the audience), we walked around World Showcase taking in the decorations and enjoying the quiet before the entire Christmas season. I am fervent in my belief that Christmas should not start until the day after Thanksgiving. Santa doesn't release his real helpers to go to malls until Thanksgiving. I'm so tired of seeing Christmas things being in stores right after school starts (which is in August in Georgia).

Any time we have some extra time on our walks around the lagoon, I try and go through one country's shops. This time it was Italy. Before anyone makes wisecracks about women and shopping, I am the antithesis of a typical woman. I do not like to shop. I make a grocery list, I stick to it and I'm out of there. I dislike shopping for clothes. You will not find me at malls. Rich on the other hand, can and does spend his entire lunch break walking around stores.

Rich had a margarita when we started out and it was around this time he confessed why. He said he felt dehydrated since the only thing he had to drink all day was his two Diet Cokes that morning. Sigh. At work, he has a cup of water on his desk all day long so drinks frequently. I should have paid more attention and insisted he get a Diet Coke from the Magic Kingdom. That way, he would have had a magical Coke rewards cap too (Rich collects the rewards points - never spends them, just collects them).

The margarita was a green apple one. I sipped a bit of it and was so grossed out. The Beverly at Club Cool tastes better! Bile would taste better. Rich loved it though.

We caught the 5:30 Off Kilter show and this time not only was Dancing Woman there but Guy in Hat from last night was there too. Woman was in her place at the wall and Guy was shut out of a seat at the beginning but eventually got one later on. Since he wasn't at the front of the area, he was more subdued. We were disappointed. But Dancing Woman didn't disappoint. She was like a car accident. You don't want to look but you just have to. No, more like a train wreck. Husband just grinned again.

At the end of this set, Guy in Hat made sure Off Kilter knew that he (Guy in Hat) was going to be eating at Boma that night. Guy in Hat was very proud of that. Rich and I remarked to each other that we were glad we were going to be anywhere but Boma tonight.

After the 6:30 show, we left as it was getting cold. Rich was in shorts with a sweatshirt on now and I was wearing jeans with a sweatshirt and my thin gloves. I wanted my jacket which was in the car. We headed out and back to the room to figure out what to do for Thanksgiving dinner. Rich preferred something we could walk to or pizza delivered to the room. I started to mention the walking distance restaurants which were Chili's, Pizzeria Uno, Cracker Barrel (all those on the opposite of busy Highway 192 so we'd have to take our lives into our hands to cross), Longhorn Steakhouse, and Ruby Tuesday's. Rich *still* doesn't believe me that there is a Ruby Tuesday's here even though we've walked to it before. The pizza was brought up again.

Rich has had problems with high cholesterol and is currently on medication not only for that but also for high blood pressure (under control) and gout (under control). He and I both know that he needs to eat better. After his last visit to the doctor, I put my little foot down and started cooking healthier at home (which I try to do anyway) but also nagged Rich about what he eats outside the house. We go to trivia three times a week and all three are pizza joints. He's now limited to pizza once a month and this was the weekend for it.

Longhorn won out and we started our walk over there going behind the businesses along Highway 192. We had walked quite a ways when I asked Rich if he knew where he was going. He said Longhorn was on the other side of the Japanese place. I said "you mean where Ruby Tuesday's is?" That confused him because he didn't remember Ruby Tuesday's from before. So we went out towards the highway. And saw Longhorn. Two parking lots from where we had already come from! We went back that way and saw no one in the parking lot of Longhorn. The big outside highway sign was lit and advertising their specials. But the restaurant was closed for the holiday.

Rant - please turn off your highway sign if you are closed for the day. Or at least stop your advertisements and put up "Closed Thanksgiving Day". I wonder how many other people saw the sign and stopped by.

We ended up going back to Ruby Tuesday's (Rich is finally going to remember this place if it kills him) and getting seated immediately in the bar area. The restaurant was pretty full (probably from all those people going into Longhorn first) but the service was great and the complete menu was available. Rich and I both had burgers which were very good except Rich's had "goop" on it (lettuce, tomato, and what looked to be a mayo based condiment). His was a Smokehouse (bacon and BBQ sauce) and mine was an Alpine (Swiss and mushrooms). We were both stuffed at the end of the meal. Total was $24 without tip.

Since we were seated in the bar area (not at the bar, in the area but on those high seats at a table), I was able to witness the bartender making the drinks. She was very busy and quite good at her job. I don't think any server had to wait extremely long for any drinks from the bar. There is no way I could be a bartender or a server. I can't remember things at all. I'd have to be looking at my notes constantly. I guess that's why I have an appreciation for servers and other wait staff. And Rich and I tend to tip generously.

I was glad we had walked because I certainly needed to get some exercise after the meal. We both had made "happy plates" (that's what we used to tell Chris he needed to do) and all we wanted to do was get into our nighttime clothes and relax.

Back in the room, we quickly changed and crashed to watch TV. Only there wasn't that much on Thanksgiving night that hadn't already started. Unfortunately for me, Austin Powers in Goldmember came on at 10:00. I like Mike Myers but this movie franchise is not for me at all. Rich can quote from it but I think the entire thing is sophomoric at best. It was the only "game" in town so it was left on.

I used the term "game" as a joke because Rich's Maryland Terrapins were playing in the Old Spice Classic basketball tournament this weekend right here at the Wide World of Sports. I had thought about getting tickets but knew it would cut into the touring time and Rich wouldn't mind seeing one game but not having to be committed for the entire weekend. However, the game was on TV. We both forgot about it until much too late. Fear the Turtle.

The movie (I use that term loosely) didn't end until midnight and even though I was tired and was reading a book, there was no way I could pretend to go to sleep during the inane garbage that was on the boob tube (and that term is not being used loosely). Finally lights out.

Day Three - Friday, November 28, 2008

Although we didn't hear any noise yesterday morning, we did today. First, we could hear the hangers rattling together from the room next door. I have never heard that before. Then we heard a couple of our neighbors leaving for the morning.

Hint - if you are staying at a hotel where you can park your car right outside your door, your neighbors inside the rooms can hear every single syllable you are saying in the morning. And it sounds very loud.

Then we heard some kids outside playing around.

Hint - the do not disturb signs on doors means you should be semi-aware that the occupants don't want to be bothered by noise.

We gave up after a while and got ready for the day. We've never really had a problem with noise at the back of the Travelodge but then again, they've never overbooked on king bed rooms and that's where most of those rooms are - in the back with the handicapped parking spaces right in front of the doors.

The fantasy football news from yesterday was pretty darn good for me. The guy I had to decide whether to play (I played him) ended up giving me 16 points. Unfortunately, my opponent had a good game too. Rich's one guy was OK. But at least now we could relax a bit for the Sunday games. We could still make changes but it's mostly just watch the injury reports for now.

After our Uncrustible breakfast, we headed out for the park of the day, Animal Kingdom. The park wasn't crowded either so maybe this whole economy thing is something to be concerned about, huh? Rich suggested getting a FastPass for the Safari and he began to lead us back there. Through Asia. The man simply does not know how to get around this park. He says it's not his fault, that our son can't do it either. I don't understand the problem. I think it's very easy.

Rich detour did provide us with the best opportunity to see Flights of Wonder which is always a must for any of our trips to Animal Kingdom. Even if we know the script and have seen this many times. I wanted to sit on the right side and towards the back of the ground section so I could get a good picture of Frasier Crane when he's first brought out from the side (before he's introduced). We positioned ourselves and when the show started, I snapped a few pictures and then had the most awful message a photographer could ever have. Memory Card Full.

I have downloaded the pictures on my camera. In fact, I just did the entire thing a few months ago. But I never erased them from my camera because a few days after I did the download, my PC crashed and had to be rebuilt (this is the third time it's happened). The only files I didn't have backed up were the recently downloaded pictures. After that, I've been gun shy on doing anything. Now I was going to pay for it. And what was worse, Fraiser would have been a perfect photo!

Hint - download all your photos from your camera before vacation or travel with an extra memory card.

Even with my disappointment photo-wise, Flights of Wonder was a great show as always. And to show that these birds don't have to do anything they don't want, Groucho the bird who "sings", did not want to perform today. Something had him aggravated as he was walking back and forth on his perch and bobbing his head. The trainer tried but Groucho was not in the mood. He still got his treats but was allowed to retire for the performance.

We finally made our way over to Africa with some observations from me along the way. The first was there was a PhotoPass photographer along this walk at the drums as well as with the Tree of Life in the background. Either one would have been nice for the picture of Rich and me together. Rich declined both. I started to get the feeling that his agreement to doing this was just to placate me at the time. Grr. My second observation was the open egg roll stand along the walkway. Different snack alert went off in me.

At the Safari, the FastPass line was extreme! It spilled out and over into the walkway. I don't know why this was so bad. A Cast Member was trying to get groups to give their admissions to one person and have that person get all the FastPasses. The stand by time was 55 minutes and the FastPass return time was for an hour away. We made our way through the masses and got our passes (I rhyme!) and then went to look for a snack and a break.

Our normal snack at Animal Kingdom is a beer and a pretzel. But I'm not doing beer anymore and the egg rolls really did look good on the way over. The line wasn't that bad on the way back so Rich insisted I get a couple of vegetarian ones and then he would do the beer and pretzel when we got there. The egg rolls were only $1.89 each and turned out to be really good. I haven't ever seen this place open before but then again I'm usually am not paying attention.

I carried the egg rolls over to the best place on Disney property to get a soft pretzel. The Safari Pretzel kiosk across from the Beastly Bizarre. Rich entered that line and then looked at me in horror. There wasn't beer here anymore! That was not going to do. Rich likes his beer and that and a pretzel are his meal at Animal Kingdom (it used to be mine as well).

Sheri came to the rescue as I first went to the Safari Turkey (no beer there) and then to the Safari Popcorn where the cold suds were. All three of these kiosks are in a row between the exit of It's Tough to be a Bug to the entrance of the attraction (coming from Asia). Rich caught up with me while I was in line for his beer.

Which took longer than normal because this group of three ladies was having a difficult time getting their beer. Not all three. Just one witch who didn't have her money out and had to fish for it (she took so long one of her traveling companions paid for the drink instead) and then the witch announced loudly that she didn't want that beer since it was mostly head. Then the witch gave the poor Cast Member loud instructions on how to "correctly" pour a beer. The other two ladies were standing off to the side and looked a bit embarrassed but the witch was not going to be silenced by anyone. She finally took the second beer and went off a few feet only to complain that it still was five inches of head. I quickly moved over in front of the cashier so the witch could be dead and gone finally. The poor Cast Member appeared to be shaken.

Rich finally got his beer (well, I got it for him) and we took the egg rolls, pretzel and beer to the Flame Tree BBQ seating area and had a nice snack break along the little fountain area they have. We like to sit here and commune with the ibises and ducks. As long as little kids don't try and scare the birds. Especially when the parents of said children don't bother to tell the child to stop. How would you like it if you were just minding your own business and someone ran straight at you for no reason at all? Honestly, sometimes I feel like doing that to the child. Just standing up and running right at them. Wonder if that would get the parents' attention? OK - off that soap box now and the poor duck was confused for a while.

Another male duck did have Rich in fear, though. The guy just kept staring at Rich for food and even went up and walked into Rich's leg (Rich was sitting down) to attract attention to himself! We don't feed the birds but Rich "had" to make an exception. Right. The man caves to any cute face. That's how he ended up with me. Or at least that's what I tell him.

My veggie egg rolls were very good and I ate them while apologizing to the ducks for enjoying "their" sauce. Duck sauce is not made out of ducks but should be served with ducks, I guess. I can't bring myself to eat duck anymore. Or lamb or veal. I pointed out to Rich that so far today, we hadn't had a meat product yet. He vowed to get that rectified quickly.

While we were sitting there, the second of the "five second rule" incidents came up. (The other one was yesterday when the little kid dropped his Mickey bar.) If you are a self-proclaimed germaphobe, I highly caution you to skip the next paragraph.

A little boy was sitting with his grandparents (I'm assuming because they were older and I don't think his mother would have done this). He dropped a half eaten hot dog onto the ground (bunless, just the hot dog). The male duck who had been stalking Rich immediately made a run for the dog. The kid picked it up very quickly, either because of the charging duck or because Grandma told him to. He put the hot dog onto his plate and his grandmother picked up the dog, wiped it off with her napkin and gave it back to him to finish which he did without a complaint. As Erma Bombeck said "a fuzzy brownie never hurt anyone."

After our snack, the time for the Safari had opened up so we made our way back there. We tend to criss-cross Animal Kingdom a lot which is part of the reason Rich claims he doesn't know his way around. I still don't understand why he finds it so difficult.

We had a short wait to board the jeep for our two week adventure and the stand by time was still 55 minutes. During the time that other people were waiting in line, we had gone and had ourselves a nice snack. I don't think people will ever understand the proper use of FastPasses.

The Safari itself was great with lots of animals out and about. We saw a couple of the baby giraffes (not small by any stretch - I crack myself up! - of the imagination) plus both lions and even a cheetah laying way off. It was an enjoyable trip since I wasn't concerned at all with trying to take pictures. Stupid memory card. Not stupid me, oh no. Stupid memory card.

It's very easy to walk through the Pagani trail after the Safari so that's what we did with lots of gorilla activity (they are *not* monkeys as the Cast Member made sure the guest knew). After that, I asked Rich if he wanted to try for the Single Riders Line for Expedition Everest but he had no interest this time because "I did that last time". Dinoland and Camp Minnie Mickey are out for us unless we are with kids. So, that was about it for Animal Kingdom.

Except for the PhotoPass argument. There were several opportunities here for that. Just one simple picture of Rich and me. In casual clothes, doing something not really that posed. Having fun. But Rich kept finding excuses for each one I saw. So I sort of exploded on him and said that I wished he had never even indicated he was interested. We bickered on the way out of Animal Kingdom and I finally just said we'd forget about the picture but I was not happy at all. This remains a sore point between the two of us.

The tiff had us in silence on the bus over to the Epcot resort area where we got off at the Swan for the walk over to Epcot (again). Off Kilter had changed their performance times because of the Candlelight Processional and we arrived during the longer layoff between the 2:00 and 4:00 shows. We did the usual walk around but this time actually bought something other than food or drink. We had been looking for a Christmas present for Rich's mother and had seen hand blown German bird ornaments. Bobbie loves birds (her kitchen clock has different bird chirps on the hour - freaks me out every time) and she's extremely difficult to buy for. This time, we actually settled on a color pattern and bought the darn thing. I also bought myself a very small round ornament. Thankfully, Bobbie is now done for Christmas.

On the way back to Off Kilter for the first of the two shows we stayed for, Rich stopped at the Promenade Refreshments for a beer and I finally gave in and asked him to get me a bucket of popcorn. The smell was too good for too long. The bucket was a holiday one for $3.49. I like popcorn but this took me three days to eat the whole thing. A very nice snack and a very nice souvenir. Looks like I might have to start making this a habit if the buckets change from time to time.

For today, Off Kilter was using a fiddler for the bagpipes (even Off Kilter members get a day off every now and again). The sets were different but not lacking in any way. I think it really helps that Off Kilter's substitutes don't just fill in for a day. They are almost part of the band. I know the fiddler has performed with them many times.

This time for our other entertainment during the show, it was Blond Woman. Rich and I were sitting on the end of one bench with the rest of it and the next bench empty. I was on the outside and Rich was on the inside. While we were waiting, an extended family came up and took the rest of the bench and the other one. No big deal. As show time approached, more family members came up and talked and then moved over to stand or to sit on the ground. Except Blond Woman. She was the type who needs to be center of attention, thought she was the greatest gift to the world, and everyone should bow down to her superior knowledge. She obviously needed a seat and not one on the ground. So she sat on the knee of the guy sitting right next to Rich. Rich was to the guy's left. And Blond Woman sat on the guy's left knee. I'm not a jealous person but Blond Lady was as close to my husband as I was going to let her. And she wasn't the smallest woman in the world either. Well endowed would be a good description. Most of the time, I thought she was going to fall into Rich's lap with all her moving around and just trying to be the main event. I wished Dancing Woman and Guy in Hat were back. They were fun but at least kept to themselves and didn't really bother anyone else. This chick was downright annoying.

Rich's idea had been to possibly stay for the holiday Illuminations tonight since if we didn't then we would have to see it tomorrow night. But my mind was on Rich and the one pizza he was allowed. I suggested we go back to the room and then order in some Flippers pizza which I know he loves when we are here (and we don't have it where we live). Back at the room, Rich then had the idea to maybe go to Pizza Hut instead. Now, we do have Pizza Huts near Brasleton and I knew what he was trying to do. Give me a choice besides being forced to eat pizza tonight. The decision was finalized when I saw The Incredibles were on TV that night. I had only seen the first few minutes of the movie and Rich never saw any of it (he didn't even realize it was Pixar). So we stayed in, ordered Flippers extra large (16") all meat pizza, and watched the movie. This was probably the best thing as Saturday turned out to be a very full day indeed.

Flippers did a nice job with the delivery and the pizza was very good. So good that we ate it all. Actually, that surprised Rich but it didn't me. It's my appetite in full healthy swing. Flippers brought lots of paper plates, napkins, crushed red peppers and forks. I guess they thought with an extra large pizza there would be more than two people sharing it. Oops.

Day Four - Saturday, November 29, 2008

We were able to sleep in a little longer today but not as late as we wanted. Our lunch at 50s Prime Time wasn't until almost 4:00 and there wasn't enough at the Studios to keep us busy from the time we were up and ready to go until the meal. I had anticipated this when we arrived and had discussed the daily plans. Rich said we could do the Studios today because of the lunch. Once he said that (back on Wednesday), I looked online to see if there was a branch of a store we've been frequently lately - Goodwill.

I know, start rolling those eyes. We've found some really good bargain at Goodwill, mostly on wall hangings and generally things for our home. But we have also found Mikasa picture frames for a few bucks and I've added to my book collection quite a bit. And yes, we've also bought clothing there. It's amazing what some people don't want anymore but others can use. I had quite a prejudice towards these stores before I went into our local one in Buford. It's cleaner than the KMart across the street!

There is a Goodwill store in downtown Kissimmee so the plan for today was to drive all the way down Highway 192/Irlo Bronson Highway/Vine Street until we found it. We knew along the way we'd pass a super Wal-Mart and Rich likes to visit those for potential sports cards. I dubbed this the Bargain Hunting Day.

We weren't in any hurry and took our time seeing what Highway 192 had to offer. The drive reinforced my belief that the area we stay in is the best for off site purposes. It has enough to offer but it doesn't overload with things. The closer you get to Kissimmee, the less expensive things are but you pay for it in convenience to the parks.

Wal-Mart was up first and Rich surprised me with suggesting we look for a new memory card for the camera. He said he thought it was an SD card and I asked why we didn't just look at the one we already had. He didn't realize my camera case is my "purse" when at Disney World although I've been doing that for the past three years (do men every really pay attention to how women carry things around?). I never carry a "purse". Never. We figured out how to get the memory card out (we hadn't had to do this before) and were glad we did. I needed an XD card. Thank goodness we looked.

Rich skimmed the electronics department for a memory card but didn't see one (which was odd but I trusted him). We then split up so he could look at his sports stuff and I could window shop myself (I'm not a big fan of Wal Mart). Rich found a magazine he needed ($9! And he says my Disney World hobby is expensive!) and since he was going to be checking out, I thought I'd look for some head bands. It's a good thing I did because Rich got a bit bored and decided to check the electronics department again. Memory cards!

I won't go into details but we ended up with a card that will hold twice as many pictures as my other one. And the price wasn't that bad which made Rich happy (less than $20). He always thought memory cards we cost prohibitive. I'm happy because I learned something new about the camera and I shouldn't have to concern myself with downloading pictures all the time (although I *still* haven't downloaded the full memory card yet).

After Wal-Mart we continued on to find the Goodwill. And got an unexpected bonus. A Salvation Army store for on the way back! More eye rolls I'm sure but if there's something we need for a good price, why not? Through the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores, we found some bargains, mostly books for myself but Rich saw a wall hanging he liked as well as a few trinkets with cats on them (we don't own cats, they own us).

We brought all our findings back to the room and Rich made a phone call to a friend who is trying to get Rich to cover a table at a sports card show. I don't want Rich to do it and he doesn't want to do it but Rich has a very difficult time saying no to anyone. Surprisingly, the call was short and the topic wasn’t brought up once the friend realized Rich was out of town (the show wasn't this weekend). After that, we headed out for the Studios and lunch (I snacked on popcorn while Rich made the phone call).

As I said before, the Studios doesn't hold very much for our interest these days. We did the normal guest thing and checked out Twilight Zone stand by line which had a longer than we wanted. Rich said he didn't need to do Rock N Roller Coaster single riders line either. I suggested he stop at the Tocula Turkey Leg place for a beer and we eyed the changed menu quite a bit. I think I see a pulled pork sandwich in Rich's future here. But not today.

Near the big hat, we saw our first and last High School Musical performance. Well, we walked by as it was going on. We saw the first movie and liked it but obviously did not feel the need to get involved in the whole experience. Even our granddaughter has moved on from there. In fact, Marlie likes only Miley Cyrus now, not Hannah Montana.

We walked to the back of the Studios and I needed to take a break for some ibuprofen and to rest my neck. After breaking the thing, it seems to get a bit aggravated from time to time. We grabbed a table at the Studio Catering Company for a sit. Now, if you get grossed out by comments, you probably shouldn't read the next paragraph.

While we were sitting there, Rich saw a hawk up in the rafters (the Catering Company is outdoor with a big roof over it) which Rich thought was looking for lunch. He thought he maybe a mouse was the prey. This led to a conversation where we imagined the hawk capturing a mouse and accidentally dropping it onto the eating tables below (we were safely seated not under the roof). Which then led to mouse body parts being dropped into various things like soft drinks. And then a certain corporate spokesmouse body parts. It was cruel and evil but it was hilarious to us. BTW - this really would not have happened. The hawk would have taken his kill to a safer place for lunch.

In September, I had ridden the Back Lot Tour with the in-laws and was rushed through the AFI displays at the end. My father-in-law and I tried to see as much as we could but my mother-in-law and her sister didn't want to have anything to do with it and were already through and waiting for us. I mentioned to Rich that a longer stay was needed by me.

And I'm glad we did. I'm a movie buff and so is our son. We "talk" (IM) about them a lot. Rich's idea of a movie is something you plug into the DVD, watch it and then forget about it. Chris and I like to know much more than that. We are two people that watch the specials of the AFI top 100 films of all time. Chris even embarked on a project of watching all 100 films but it's been interrupted by mundane things like raising two kids and going to college full time. The AFI display is wonderful for someone like me. The first display of the list of all the top 100 films is enough let alone a second one of all persons honored by the Kennedy Center. Sure, the rest of the displays are of costumes and props from Disney films but they are good displays. We spent about a half hour in the building (standing to the side when a tour group left off and people rushed through). Please take just a few minutes at the end of the Tour to appreciate the displays. You don't even have to take the tour; you can enter from behind the Studio Catering Company.

It was still a while until lunch so we walked through the Avenues of America and marveled at the people who thought they could get the perfect picture of their child or family with the forced perspective of San Francisco. Unless you hold up all the people walking through this area, you are not going to get only a picture of exactly what you want. We had no fewer than three families wanting the world to stop so they could take a picture. Across the entire walkway. Those streets aren't narrow. It's one thing to take a picture quickly and then let people go. But to hold up the entire street for a perfect shot is a bit too much. We held our patience for as long as we could and then continued on.

Hint - take note of your surroundings when taking a picture of your family. Do it as quickly as possible and don't expect the entire park to pause just because of you.

Next up was the Christmas shop and the Tatooine Traders. At the latter, Rich saw a sale (yes, a sale at Disney World!) on some signed drawings but nothing that really was worth his while. Chris is a big Star Wars fan and we always look for things he might like. Of course, in future years, we'll probably be looking for our grandson Mitchell. I don't think Chris is going to let Mitchell grow up not having an appreciation for movies, especially Star Wars and James Bond (Chris has been a fan of Bond for many years before Daniel Craig entered the picture).

After our shopping was done, we exited to find the parade just about ready to start. We are not parade people but seem to be attracted to them this trip. We were able to get around things to be on the correct side for our lunch reservation which was still fifty minutes away. I suggested we go and check in anyway and see if they could seat us early. Rich was fine with that as we hadn't had anything to eat except our morning Uncrustibles (I had popcorn but that doesn't count).

I checked in the Niklewski Kids and we found a couple of seats to wait. We didn't have to wait long, maybe three minutes until we were called. Very nice for us today. We were seated in a room with a family of six on one side of us and a couple on the other side. One not so great thing about the 50s Prime Time is the tables are very close together. But there's only a few parties in each room so no big deal as long as one table isn't totally occupying the server's time.

Our server was very good with making sure we knew he would be right with us as he was getting drinks for the family of six. There was also some issue with the mom as she needed to talk to a chef before she ordered. I didn't really pay attention; Rich was seated where he could see what was going on with her.

Rich ordered a Diet Coke and I had a cherry Sprite. I love the Mickey's Bee-Bop drink which is cherry Sprite but in a souvenir cup with a flashing ice cube. I already have two of the cups (with straws) at home and didn't think I needed a third one. For entrees, Rich had the meatloaf after his debate over that or the chicken sandwich. I had pretty much decided on the pot roast before we even left home and stuck with that. Mainly because my father-in-law had it in September and said it was really good. He didn't lie. Rich said his meatloaf was good (he substituted the mashed potatoes with fries) but not as good as before. And he said I make much better meat loaf (I don't even like the stuff but tolerate it for him) so he got brownie points for that. Both of us made happy plates and I eyed the dessert menu just a bit. Both Rich and I had the same idea to wait until later and get some ice cream for dessert while at Epcot.

The tables on both sides of us were on the dining plan and I did not take notice that their service was any better or worse than ours. The party of six would have had the automatic 18% gratuity added to the bill. I get aggravated when people on the boards suggest their poorer service was only due to the dining plan and/or the automatic gratuity for larger parties.

Hint - if you do have an automatic gratuity added to your bill and you don't feel it's justified, speak to a manager immediately. That's the only way to get any service problems corrected.

I used my Visa gift card (we each had $100 one for the trip) for the lunch. Rich kind of gagged at the cost but it was only $50 or so for the two of us. After the filling meal, we headed up to Epcot for Illuminations. The only problem was since we ate an hour early, we now had to wait over five hours until the show. And there was only one Off Kilter performance left at 6:15. We needed to fill time at Epcot.

We started by walking to Epcot. That was needed after the lunch. We saw lots of coots and ducks along the way. As we were going along the boardwalk, the ESPN club had a long line out of it. College football day with lots of rivalries going on including one we were interested in - Georgia versus Georgia Tech. We may live in Georgia and we may live fairly close to Athens but we are definitely not Bulldog fans. So we were very happy to find out later that Tech beat Georgia. Now, if our fantasy football teams could have that much luck tomorrow.

We were able to get a bench for the last Off Kilter show of the night and of our vacation. Rich wasn't too thrilled with the family that had camped out across the way from us. Four little boys (from different members of the family) that were, shall we say, a bit rambunctious. With parental guidance that consisted of "don't do that, stop it now, I said not to do that, if you don’t stop, I'm going to come over there, don't make me come over there" with the parent sitting on his butt the entire time. Yesh, I know what my parents would have done if I hadn't listened to them the first time. And I know what I would have done if Chris hadn't listened to us the first time. There would have been no second time. We must be getting old. Of course, our grandchildren are angels and never bother anyone ever. Well, you can't prove otherwise.

The fiddler was still there for this set which was still enjoyable. By now, it was close to 7:00 so we headed for Future World to see if we could fit anything in. Rich was so confused on why certain things were open and others were closed. He expressed an interest in Ellen's Energy Adventure and I was game for that but he decided (incorrectly) that we could do Mission:Space first and then Ellen.

Stand by for the green side was only ten minutes which was basically a walk-on. Rich says he doesn't mind not doing the orange side but I'll bet if there was someone else along who could do it, he'd leave me in the dust. We were joined in our capsule by a solo preteen who chatted with Rich for a bit. The boy asked Rich if he had been on Mission:Space before which, of course, Rich had. Then the conversation turned to the orange versus the green side and Gary Sinise came on the monitors so I lost interest in the conversation. I found out later from Rich that the boy had continued to ride Mission:Space throughout the day but was always handed a green side pass. He didn't really know how to go on the orange side. After his ride with us, he was determined to do the orange side. I'm glad Rich was able to help him. We did see his parents at the end of the ride waiting for him. I have a feeling he left them quickly to try the orange side!

Our trip to Mars went as planned and it was very refreshing to hear Rich and the boy talking through the mission. Rich is one of those people that others seem to find to ask for advice and help. He's talkable. After this attraction, Rich found out himself that once it's after 7:00 PM, a lot of Future World closes. He still didn't understand the whole concept. He's a black and white person. Closed means closed. Not some closed and some open.

On the way back to World Showcase, I became photographer again. So glad for that memory card! You can say whatever you want about Disney World's holiday decorations. Resorts, tree lighting, Osbourne Lights, whatever. To me, nothing beats the Lights of Winter. Nothing. Looking towards World Showcase, you have the tree as a backdrop. Looking towards Future World, there's the fountain. I could stand there for hours, listening to the music and watching the lights. I'm sure that's what it felt like to Rich as I snapped picture after picture after picture. My Christmas season has officially started!

There was still plenty of time before we wanted to get situated for Illuminations so we did another walk around World Showcase. I decided to get a soft ice cream cone (combo of chocolate and vanilla) when Rich went for a beer at the Promenade Refreshments. The cone was much bigger than I thought and even Rich was envious. But I didn't share and told him to get his own later. The ice cream hit the spot. I really am getting more variety in my eating habits at Disney World. It was during this purchase that the realization hit Rich. He did not have one single Disney World hot dog the entire trip! And only one soft pretzel. We are making much improvement.

After the walk, we still had time so Rich suggested seeing the British Invasion. I groaned a bit but it was something to do to pass the time. Don't get me wrong, the group is fine. But I am not a Beatles fan at all. This stems from rooming with two Beatle fan(atics) my sophomore year in college. These two girls not only liked the Beatles, to them there was no other band in the world. They knew everything about John, Paul, Ringo and George. The only albums they owned were Beatles. We had to decorate our room to look like the Yellow Submarine. Any liking I had for the band disappeared after hearing and seeing nothing but the Beatles for a college year. To top it all off, this was the 1980-1981 school year. John Lennon died in December of 1980. They held a vigil, didn't go to class for three days, and wore black for the rest of the semester.

I might be coming out of my Beatles stupor because the set was not unbearable. After it, we walked our way back to Germany and our normal place. Same one as in September when the family next to the in-laws and me was upset my 78 year old father-in-law had to sit down on a bench before the show started. But that's another story.

Rich and I had almost the whole area to ourselves until two guys walked up a few minutes later (this was shortly under 45 minutes before the 9:30 show). We had fun listening to these two. The one guy was a blowhard saying that his "peeps" needed to get there for the show, that he found a perfect spot. Then he called one of his "peeps" and told them to lead up the "mobilization" to get back there. I thought Germany was going to be invaded again. The blowhard continued while his "peeps" "mobilized" before the show. We were surprised the "peeps" weren't required to salute when they reported for duty, er, to see Illuminations.

I was a bit concerned when Rich wanted to run up to America for another beer from the Fife and Drum. This was a few minutes before 9:00 and I was afraid the Candlelight Processional would let out while he was over there. And I would have to guard his spot. I wasn't too worried about the Mobilized Force of Peeps but there was a German family (they spoke German to each other) at the corner that kept adding people to the group. Rich decided to brave everything while I stood sentry. He was back in less than ten minutes. He said the Candlelight Processional was still going on and the choir hadn't even exited yet. So that's a warning for seeing the last Processional and then wanting to find a spot for Illuminations. You will have less than thirty minutes to do so. I was successful in my endeavor to keep our two spaces. It wasn't that bad although a latecomer to the German family was quite interested in the empty place (not quite so empty since Rich had left the bag on the ground and I kind of spread out my arms along the railing). It shouldn't be that difficult to save one measly spot. Maybe I just made more out of it because I really wanted to see the holiday edition. I'm usually not this paranoid.

Hint - for any parade or show, keep your entire party together as much as possible. One or two saved spots isn't a big deal but more than that probably is not the best idea. If you are two people, you are basically screwed no matter what you try to do.

I have seen Illuminations many times. But I never really knew about the back story to it. Steve Russo had written an article about the story of Illuminations which I enjoyed very much (and sent to my mother-in-law who lists this as her number one attraction at Disney World). Because of that article, I really enjoyed Illuminations much more this time. The different acts (chaos, order, meaning), the images on the globe, the music, even the colors. Thanks to Steve for that article since it just heightened my pleasure of watching this wonderful show.

Hint - if you want to watch Illuminations, check out the storyline. Wikipedia is a good source for information.

The holiday version of Illuminations adds a five minute ending with Walter Cronkite narrating. And what I think is every single firework in the state of Florida. A wonderful meaning and a wonderful way to start my Christmas season.

Question - do we have anyone for our generation who is as trusted as Walter Cronkite? Whose voice you just stop and listen to? I can't think on anyone.

My eyes were misty as the show ended and we started walking out. This truly was the perfect ending for this trip. This is why I love coming to Disney World for Thanksgiving weekend. The holiday season begins on a high note.

On the way out, we noticed Spaceship Earth was projecting "Good Night" in the various languages of World Showcase. Rich, the joker, said the ones we couldn't read probably said "Get the hell out of here, we want to clean up". Sheri is brought back to earth very quickly by her husband. He did get punched in the arm for the comment.

With that end, we marched to the car and back to the hotel. I packed while Rich looked at fantasy football things and agonized again. I decided to let my lineup go and see what happened. Then lights out with the alarm set for 8:00 AM.

Day Five - Sunday, November 30, 2008

I was awake before the alarm went off and in retrospect, I should have just gotten up so we could have had an earlier start. But hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it?

We loaded up the car quickly and I checked us out. Another manager actually did the checking out and said he hoped to see us again. I said that they would as long as they weren't overbooked on king rooms again. There must have been a note in my file because he didn't even blink and said that he apologized for it but they could have given us a room the next day. He did immediately say that we would have had to pack up again and he could understand why we wouldn't want to do that. We like the Travelodge and we will be back for Memorial Day weekend. However, if they are overbooked on king rooms again, I won't be staying. There are plenty of other choices along Highway 192. It won't matter if I can get a double room or a room with a queen bed at the Travelodge. Screw me once, fine. I don't get screwed twice in a row.

Rich determined we had enough gas to wait until before Alachua to fill up. We did that at a much nicer rate than the over $2 we paid on the way down. On the way home, we noticed that right around Alachua, the gas prices went higher. We had already known that Gainesville gas was higher too. When I got home, I researched and found that both of those cities are in Alachua County.

Hint - don't get gas in Alachua County. Their rates are much higher than the surrounding areas.

The drive home was horrible. Not for me because Rich did all the driving over my protests. He stubbornly thought we would get football coverage and he would be fine driving during that. Unfortunately, that never happened. Lunch was a quick trip to Wendy's and eating in the car still vainly hoping for football. Why can't south Georgia have a station that carries the ESPN feed? What was worse was the Falcons were the late game so we would have been home shortly after kickoff.

Notice I said would have been home. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is not a good time to be driving. I told Rich if we had to do it over again, we'd leave on Thanksgiving Day and then take the Monday after it to drive back. A very good idea for next year. Since Rich drove the whole way (I tried, I really tried to get him to switch positions), he had all the traffic frustrations. He's normally a very calm driver but I could tell his blood pressure was rising which is not a good thing. To top it all off, we both wanted to go to our regular trivia game that night but it didn't look like we were even going to make that.

The clincher was I75 about 40 miles before we get off and take I675 to I285. This was after the last rest area in Macon. Thankfully, we always stop at that area because we know there are no other places until we get home. Forty miles from our exit, the traffic stopped. We inched forward for a while and hoped it was due to an accident and we'd break free. It didn't. I had a Georgia map in the car and sought out alternatives to the interstate. I found roads that would somewhat parallel I75 so we could check on the progress of the traffic there. Fortunately, we sort of knew the area from our semi-annual trips to see the NASCAR circuit at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Traffic on I75 never let up so for those forty miles, we took back roads. And I mean back roads. Nice countryside but not when you only want to get home.

Hint - always travel with detailed maps of any state in which you are driving. You never know when you might need to get off the main roads.

In the end, we barely made it home in time for us to make sure the cats were alive and unpack the car. Rich had said no to going to trivia which was OK but then he changed his mind. I think he was simply ready for other people's company besides mine. And he needed some beer!

Postscript to the trip -

We ended up winning first place at trivia so maybe we should both just be drive tired every week. Rich's fantasy football team went 0-2 which cost him to not make the playoffs. So much for agonizing over the lineup all weekend. My fantasy football team went 2-0 which put me in the playoffs. See what not agonizing over the lineup all weekend gets you? As of this writing, I'm going for the Championship and the trophy.

Summary

All in all, this was a very good trip. The king bed thing at the Travelodge was not a great way to start the vacation but it worked out. We will go back although I will note in my request that I do not want to be overbooked again. Hopefully that will cause them to look at my history and see how many times I've stayed there in the past. I wasn't too pleased at not getting a PhotoPass of Rich and me but I didn't really make an issue out of it before we left. Now Rich knows it's a priority for me for the next trip.

Traffic both ways was bad but coming home was down right horrible. We will plan better for next year and if Rich does have an extra vacation day, it'll be used for Monday and not Wednesday.

As always, Christmas season began for me the day after Thanksgiving like it should. I thank Disney World every year for that. Some people on the boards were disappointed when the holiday events were announced and the start date wasn't until November 28th. I rejoiced. The season should be special, not something that goes on for six months.

Our next scheduled trip will be Memorial Day Weekend, 2009. We have no big vacation plans for 2009 so I'm hoping for some extra longer weekends at Disney World since our traditional Labor Day weekend will be at NASCAR. But we will be at Disney World for Thanksgiving next year for the start of my Christmas season.

[wdwjan]

Wow--it doesn't get much better than coming home to a Sheri TR! Thanks again, Sheri, for putting all those wonderful details into your report.

[relaaxedwheniamthere]

wait a minute !! hold the phone !! first you put my DOGS down . then the BRITISH INVASION !! . HINT: IF RICH LIKES BEER WHY NOT TRY THE ROSE & CROWN ? HINT TO ALL : NEVER & I MEAN NEVER TRY & GO TO DISNEY EITHER RIGHT BEFORE OR RIGHT AFTER A MAJOR HOLDIAY. I KNOW I HAVE TRIED IT. GLAD YOU ENJOYED YOUR TRIP SHERI . JUST GOT BACK MYSELF & THE XMAS BUEATY WAS GREAT. NEXT TIME TRY OSBORNE LIGHTS IF YOU CAN

[disnut8]

Originally Posted by relaaxedwheniamthere

wait a minute !! hold the phone !! first you put my DOGS down . then the BRITISH INVASION !! . HINT: IF RICH LIKES BEER WHY NOT TRY THE ROSE & CROWN ? HINT TO ALL : NEVER & I MEAN NEVER TRY & GO TO DISNEY EITHER RIGHT BEFORE OR RIGHT AFTER A MAJOR HOLDIAY. I KNOW I HAVE TRIED IT. GLAD YOU ENJOYED YOUR TRIP SHERI . JUST GOT BACK MYSELF & THE XMAS BUEATY WAS GREAT. NEXT TIME TRY OSBORNE LIGHTS IF YOU CAN

I didn't put the British Invasion down, they are a good group. I just said I don't like the Beatles because of my college roommates. Once you've been overloaded on something (force fed basically), you can develop an aversion to it.

Rich doesn't do the Rose and Crown simply because of the cost effectiveness. He looks at volume and price and does price per ounce. Rose and Crown just isn't cost efficient for him.

We would have done Osbourne Lights if we hadn't been able to eat earlier at the 50s. After lunch, there wasn't any reason to stick around for the Lights since we had done everything at the Studios we wanted to do. Epcot holds more for us and the holiday Illuminations was a big priority for me.

[relaaxedwheniamthere]

agree about epcot @ christmas . our bad luck this year was we saved illuminations for our last nite & the earth was not working properly.so no WALTER, but the fireworks are always great.

[EJ4Disney]

Wow, thanks for another GREAT trip report.

Ellen

[tdelaney_98]

I FINALLY saw Off Kilter. They were awesome! Thanks for your hints!

[MrsGrumpy]

As always, another excellent trip report. I'm glad your trip was much better than the last!

Thanks for your hints!

[wdwjan]

Sheri,

Goodwill & Sal's are among my favorite stores. I've found some amazing deals there, and sometimes things still have the original tags on them! I tell my husband that I'm not shopping, I'm recycling, and donating to a good cause. ;-)

[GaRain]

Haven't been on here in awhile and it was nice to catch up with the Nikleski's!
I love Disney for Christmas decorations! And the special Illuminations always brings a little mist to my eyes as well.
I am off to read the awful trip report - to compare it to my trip from h - e - double hockey sticks!!!!

L

[relaaxedwheniamthere]

Originally Posted by GaRain

Haven't been on here in awhile and it was nice to catch up with the Nikleski's!
I love Disney for Christmas decorations! And the special Illuminations always brings a little mist to my eyes as well.
I am off to read the awful trip report - to compare it to my trip from h - e - double hockey sticks!!!!

L

shame on you garain

[GaRain]

Originally Posted by relaaxedwheniamthere

shame on you garain

sorry, parts of it were good. I didn't do a trip report to save myself from reliving it, though.

[Mickey021]

Thanks for another great report Sheri. I'm only sorry we have to wait until next summer for the next one.

[lindawdw]

As always, a great trip report Sheri!!! I love your sense of humor and your storytelling. Sorry to hear your drive home was so rough but it was great that you won the trivia game after the frustrating ride! Can't wait for the next TR!