Arnold van Beverhoudt - December 2006 - SSR

[arnoldvb]

Arnold van Beverhoudt, Jr. -- December 2006 -- Saratoga Springs Resort

Travel Dates: December 15-22, 2006
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: Saratoga Springs Resort
Accommodations: 2-Bedroom Suite
Ages Represented: Toddler, Young Adult, Older Adult
WDW Experience: Veteran (annual visits since 2003)
Comments: This was the first trip for my wife and I as DVC members and the first with our new granddaughter.

Cast of Characters:

Arnold, 56 (reporter) -- 8 WDW trips since 1973 and 1 DLR trip in 1985
Helena, 57 (wife) -- 7 WDW trips since 1982 and 2 DLR trips in 1972 and 1985
Selene, 29 (daughter) -- 6 WDW trips since 1982 and 1 DLR trip in 1985
John, 37 (son-in-law) -- 2 WDW trips since 2001
Jaidyn, 17 months (granddaughter) -- WDW rookie

Prior Trip Reports on Mouseplanet:

30 Years at Disney World: 1973 to 2003
http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=67012

December 2003
http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=66932

December 2004
http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=67027

December 2005
http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=67092

Advance Planning:

Even before the trip report for our December 2005 visit to Disney World had been posted on Mouseplanet, the planning for Helena and I to again visit in December 2006 was well underway. After becoming Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members last year, Helena and I had been considering either visiting Disneyland in May 2006 to close out that park’s 50th anniversary celebration or mounting a big family gathering at Disney World in December 2006. Unfortunately, neither option worked out as originally planned.

All the reports we had read and heard about record attendance and all kinds of crowd control problems at Disneyland scared us away from visiting that park at this time. We just didn’t want to travel that far from our island home on St. Thomas just to be disappointed and frustrated by overflow crowds and extremely long wait times at Disneyland attractions. We still wanted to pay a return visit to Disneyland, but that could wait until a less crowded time. As for a big family visit to Disney World, our original intention was to reserve a grand suite at Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR) and invite Selene and her family plus my brother and his family to come along with us. However, my brother already had firm plans for a summer vacation trip that included stops in Las Vegas and Minneapolis tied to professional development conferences for himself and his wife. We then invited Helena’s brother and his family, but they had firm plans to visit his wife’s family in Argentina in December. However, Selene and John were available and eager for their first family visit to The Mouse with Jaidyn.

In early March, I called up DVC member services and reserved a 2-bedroom suite at SSR for seven nights -- Friday, December 15 to Friday, December 22. The 2-bedroom suite used 255 DVC points, so we had to borrow 55 points from the current membership year to add to the 200 DVC points we had rolled over from our prior membership year. Also, I saw on the DVC website that members could get a $100 discount on annual passes, so I purchased two annual passes (for Helena and I) at a total savings of $200. We hope to use them at least one more time before they expire, so that’s a good deal. Selene and John also purchased annual passes, using the Florida resident discount available to them, and we reimbursed them for the cost (our early Christmas gift to them). Of course, Jaidyn’s admission is free since she’s less than 3 years old. After some back and forth discussion, we also decided to sign up for the Disney dining plan, which totaled $1,063 for the four adults for seven days. Again, Jaidyn wasn’t included because of her age. (Financially this turned out to be a good decision, but there are some negative aspects to the dining plan, which I’ll discuss at the end.) Lastly, I made advance dining reservations (ADR) for one big meal each day, including as many character dining opportunities as possible.

As for transportation, Helena and I had more than enough American Airlines frequent flyer miles to opt for free tickets this year. But we were surprised and very disappointed to find that American Airlines had discontinued its non-stop flights between St. Thomas and Miami. Instead we would have to fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico on an American Eagle commuter plane and then switch to the non-stop American Airlines flight between San Juan and Miami. Oh well, at least the price was right. Using an American Institute of CPAs discount code, I reserved a minivan from Hertz to be picked up at the Miami airport. We’ll need the larger vehicle this year to accommodate the five of us and all of our luggage when driving from Port St. Lucie to Disney World. In making the travel plans, we also factored in Helena’s and my annual medical checkups in Deerfield Beach and our plans to visit with Selene, John, and Jaidyn at their home over the Christmas holidays. We made the airline and rental car reservations in September.

One last item that we had to take care of was reserving a full-sized crib from All About Kids in Orlando for Jaidyn’s use at SSR. Disney provides “pak ‘n’ play” playpen/cribs, but Jaidyn is accustomed to sleeping in a full-sized crib. The cost for the week’s rental was $90 and was worth every penny, because Jaidyn had no problem sleeping at the hotel (her first time ever sleeping anywhere but in her own crib at home).

In summary, our final itinerary looked like this:

Fri: 12/08: AA Flights from St. Thomas to Miami, Drive to Deerfield Beach.
Sat-Wed 12/09-13: Annual Medical Checkups and Christmas Shopping in Deerfield Beach
Thu 12/14: Drive to Port St. Lucie, Prepare for Disney World Visit
Fri 12/15: Drive to Orlando, SSR Check-in, Dinner ADR at Turf Club
Sat 12/16: Magic Kingdom, Dinner ADR at Crystal Palace
Sun 12/17: Magic Kingdom, Dinner ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern
Mon 12/18: Disney-MGM Studios, Dinner ADR at 50s Prime Time Café
Tue 12/19: Animal Kingdom, Dinner ADR at Rainforest Café
Wed 12/20: Epcot, Dinner ADR at Garden Grill
Thu 12/21: Epcot, Lunch ADR at Le Cellier
Fri 12/22: SSR Check-out, Downtown Disney, Drive to Port St. Lucie
Sat-Wed 12/23-01/03: Visit with Selene and Family over the Holidays
Thu 01/04: Drive to Miami, AA Flights from Miami to St. Thomas

What Actually Happened:

Friday, December 8:
The Plan: AA Flights from St. Thomas to Miami, Drive to Deerfield Beach

Helena and I were up by 4:30a for a quick breakfast before heading out to the airport. Normally, my brother would drive us, but he was away on a business trip. So, my sister-in-law kindly got us to the airport by 6:00a, which was the required 2 hours prior to departure time. Ticket counter check-in went quickly, but the security line was another story. The security check was the most thorough we’ve ever experienced, but we got through without any problems.

Our American Eagle commuter flight to San Juan took off right on time, and we landed in San Juan 30 minutes later, at 8:30a. We now had a 2-hour wait before our American Airlines flight to Miami began boarding, and we spent the time reading and people-watching. The last hour of the flight to Miami was a bit nerve-racking because we had to descend through very heavy clouds and some turbulence, but we landed safely and right on schedule at about 12:30p Miami time. We had at least a half-hour wait at the baggage claim area before the bags from our flight even started to appear, but our checked suitcase was one of the first to show up. Then it was to the Hertz counter to check-in for our rental car. A short shuttle ride later, we were loading our bags into the Chevrolet Uplander minivan that would be our main ground transportation for the next 4 weeks.

The drive from the Miami airport to our hotel in Deerfield, via I-95, was uneventful. In Deerfield, we’d be staying in a Comfort Suites that’s conveniently located near major local roads. One bit of advice -- carefully check out online price quotes before booking hotel reservations. The Comfort Suites website quoted us $129 per night, but we were able to get the same quality room for $59 per night through hotels.com. The only downside was that hotels.com charged our credit card immediately upon making the reservation. So, if we had to cancel, we would have had the hassle of getting a credit from them. Luckily, that didn’t happen.

Saturday, December 9 to Wednesday, December 13:
The Plan: Annual Medical Checkups and Christmas Shopping in Deerfield Beach

Since one of my sisters lives in Deerfield, we had several opportunities to visit, catch up on family news, and have dinner together. Helena had a scheduled appointment for a detailed eye exam that’s not available on St. Thomas, and I had appointments scheduled for a lung function test and a followup doctor’s exam for a chronic lung condition called sarcoidosis. In my case, the lung function test showed no change from last year, but Helena’s peripheral vision has deteriorated a little since last year as a result of her glaucoma. That’s something to followup on with her regular eye doctor back home. The rest of the week we just chilled out, did some Christmas shopping, and took in a movie or two. On Tuesday, December 12, on the spur of the moment we decided to drive up to Selene’s home in Port St. Lucie to visit for a few hours (of course, after checking with Selene to see if that was okay). The family time was well spent, although the hour and a half drive each way on I-95 was a bit of a drag.

Thursday, December 14:
The Plan: Drive to Port St. Lucie, Prepare for Disney World Visit

After enjoying a big breakfast at a nearby Denny’s, we packed up the minivan, checked-out of the Comfort Suites, and once again hit I-95 for the drive to Port St. Lucie. A tremendous rain storm hit just as we were passing West Palm Beach that reduced visibility to almost nothing and resulted in traffic slowing to a crawl of 5-10 mph. This lasted for a good half-hour, and West Palm Beach ended up getting a record 8 inches of rain from the storm. We finally arrived in Port St. Lucie around mid-day and, after visiting again with Selene and family, did some last-minute shopping for breakfast food items, toiletries, and other essentials for our week at Disney World.

Friday, December 15:
The Plan: Drive to Orlando, SSR Check-in, Dinner ADR at Turf Club Bar & Grill

We all slept in a little later than normal and, after breakfast, tackled the job of loading up the minivan for our road trip to Orlando. We took along a lot of breakfast items, since it was our intention to save time each morning by eating in. This was a first for us and, as it turned out, we really over-estimated the amount of food we’d actually use at breakfast. A good half of the stuff would later make the return trip to Port St. Lucie, but it certainly won’t go to waste. One thing that didn’t survive was two full cases of bottled water. That was all used up during the week.

We left the house just about 1:00p and hit the Florida Turnpike headed north, destination -- Walt Disney World! The drive was completely uneventful and seemed to go by much quicker than in the past. Maybe that’s just because this was the fourth year in a row Helena and I were making the trip and we had become accustomed to it. Anyway, we exited the Turnpike at Osceola Parkway and made our way towards Disney property, being careful not to exceed the posted speed limits. (And yes, we saw several police cruisers parked off-road to catch speeders.)

We pulled into SSR’s driveway around 3:30p and the security guard cleared us through after taking a look at my driver’s license. The check-in line at SSR had at least 10 families ahead of us, but it went surprisingly quickly and we were at the counter within 15 minutes. The check-in cast member (CM) (I’m sorry I didn’t get her name) soon had us checked into our 2-bedroom suite in The Springs section (room 3610), which was what we had requested at reservation time. She also told us that All About Kids had delivered the rental crib and we could pick it up at bell services. On leaving the check-in area, we stopped at bell services and arranged for them to deliver the crib to our room. After a very short drive, we were parked in The Springs’ lot and unloading the minivan. We took some time to unpack, set up the crib, and organize the food items in the kitchen area, by which it was almost time for our 5:20p ADR at the Turf Club Bar & Grill.

Shelly was our server, and she was very friendly and helpful, describing some of the menu items and making suggestions of favorite items. For table service meals, the dining plan covers an appetizer, an entre, a dessert, and a non-alcoholic drink for each adult. Helena, Selene and I had the Caesar salad and John had mussels as appetizers. Helena and I had sirloin steak, Selene had roasted chicken, and John had the sirloin steak with crab meat dressing. Desserts were apple pie and ice cream for Helena and I, chocolate lava cake for Selene, and cheesecake for John. (Throughout the report I’ll omit listing the drinks we had since they were usually sodas, iced teas, or lemonades.) Jaidyn nibbled on a few pieces of mac and cheese off the children’s menu. The adults’ meals would have cost $175 including gratuity, while Jaidyn’s meal actually cost $9. The food was all excellent, although those of us who had the Caesar salad were surprised by the unusual presentation with complete, uncut stalks of lettuce sticking out of the bowls.

We were back to our room before 7:00p, with Jaidyn going to bed then and the adults following around 10:00p after watching some TV. As for the suite, it was very luxurious and spacious compared to our prior experiences in Disney’s moderate resorts. The main living room includes a living area, a dining area, a kitchen area, and several closet spaces. The living area has a fluffy sofa and an arm chair, a coffee table, and an armoire with a TV and DVD player. The dining area has a narrow table that comfortably seats four on a bench and two chairs. The kitchen area includes full-sized refrigerator, stove/oven, and dish washer, plus a sink, microwave, and full set of dishes, glasses and cups, pots and pans, and flatware. One of the closet areas houses a stacked clothes washer and dryer, and the other has shelf space plus a shallow safe.

The master bedroom is also very spacious and includes a king-sized bed, a desk and chair on one side and a night table on the other side, plus a comfy arm chair and a bench with storage drawers. There’s also an armoire with a TV and more storage drawers. The connected bathroom actually consists of three separate areas. Closest to the bedroom there’s a large whirlpool tub framed by louvered windows that open up to the bedroom, plus a wash basin with storage shelf space, and an adjoining walk-in clothes closet. Through a door there’s a second wash basin and a large shower stall. And through yet another door is the rather roomy toilet area.

The second bedroom is just as large, if not as luxurious. The bedroom area has two full-sized beds, a round table with two chairs, a night table between the beds, and an armoire with a TV and storage drawers. At the far end is a walk-in clothes closet and, through a doorway, a tub/shower, wash basin, and separate toilet area. Throughout the suite, the walls are all pastel shades, with dark wood furniture, and colorful flowered upholstery, bed coverings, and window curtains. To top things off, we had a small balcony off the living room area. Needless to say, we had absolutely no complaints and made ourselves completely “at home” in these surroundings. Oh yes, the toilets are those trademark Disney “turbo flushers” that sound like they’ll suck you down the drain if you’re not careful. :-)

Saturday, December 16:
The Plan: Magic Kingdom, Dinner ADR at Crystal Palace

We all quickly settled into a morning routine to get us to the parks as close to 9:00a as possible. Each morning, Helena and I woke up at 6:00a, and she started applying her glaucoma eye drops while we checked the day’s weather reports on TV. We were showered, dressed, and ready for breakfast by 7:30a. I don’t know what time Selene, John, and Jaidyn got up, but they were also ready for breakfast by 7:30a. We each had our favorites, but those were mainly a light breakfast consisting of cereal, bread and cheese, oatmeal, or a breakfast drink. We tried to be out of the room by 8:30a each morning to catch the bus to that day’s park. Incidentally, in planning which park to visit each day, we made it a point to avoid the Extra Magic Hours (EMH) park whenever possible. We knew that we would never be up and ready early enough to catch the morning EMH openings and we also knew that we weren’t going to stay in the parks extra-late to take advantage of evening EMH. So, why run the risk of larger crowds on EMH days?

Today, we were headed to the Magic Kingdom, and the bus stop was literally just a minute’s walk away from our room. The Magic Kingdom bus arrived within 10 minutes and we were at the park just as the opening ceremonies were starting. But after clearing security, we all had to stop at guest services to redeem our annual pass coupons. Selene and John headed to get their passes, then Helena and I had our first encounter with rude guest behavior. Although we were next in line, a 20-something couple jumped out of line behind us and rushed to the next open window. I couldn’t help yelling out a sarcastic “thank you!” at them as I realized what they were doing. We finally did get to an open window and got our passes in a few minutes. I was expecting photos or finger scans to be taken, but we had to do neither.

Through the turnstiles, we again didn’t have to do finger scans to gain access to the park, which was another surprise. As we headed up Main Street, we stopped at a Photopass photographer to get a group picture and then continued towards Cinderella’s Castle, enjoying the sights and sounds along the way. One disappointment was that the huge crane being used to paint the castle was still towering over the castle itself. That really detracted from any pictures that included the castle. I’m also not crazy about the beige colors they’re painting the castle’s towers. I much preferred the original bluish grey tones. Does anyone know the reason for the new color scheme? I had heard or read somewhere that Disney World’s castle had cool bluish tones to counter the Florida heat, while the castle at Disneyland Paris had warm pink tones to counter the cool climate in France. I don’t know if that’s really true or not.

As an aside, because this was Helena’s and my fourth consecutive December visit to Disney World, the priority on this trip was to give Selene, John, and Jaidyn the opportunity to tour at their pace and to concentrate on attractions that would be appropriate for and most appreciated by Jaidyn. When Selene, John, and Jaidyn returned to the hotel for Jaidyn’s afternoon naps, Helena and I stayed in the parks and visited some of the attractions that weren’t toddler-friendly. Also, on some occasions, Helena stayed at the hotel with Jaidyn at night so that Selene and John could also enjoy some of the “grown-up” attractions.

Our first destination today was Mickey’s Toontown Fair to give Jaidyn a chance to meet Mickey and some of the other characters. But we soon found out that Toontown doesn’t open until 10:00a. So, we detoured to Fantasyland. In quick succession and with absolutely no waits, we rode The Many Adventures of Winnie Pooh, Snow White’s Scary Adventure, Peter Pan’s Flight, and “it’s a small world.” John rode with Jaidyn on Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and Selene rode with her on Cinderella’s Golden Carousel. Jaidyn took everything completely in stride and thoroughly enjoyed all of the rides, including Snow White. By now it was around 11:30a and getting close to time for Jaidyn’s lunch and nap, so Selene and John took her back to the hotel, stopping at Artist’s Palette to get counter service lunches for themselves - pork flatbread and a cookie for John and a Caesar salad with chicken and chocolate cake for Selene. Meanwhile, Helena and I saw Mickey’s PhilharMagic and rode the Haunted Mansion before grabbing lunch at Columbia Harbour House. Lunch for us consisted of a garden salad and apple crisp for Helena and chicken strips and apple crisp for me. The apple crisps were refrigerator cold and not appealing at all. A few seconds in the microwave would have made a big difference. All four counter service lunches were on the dining plan, but would have cost about $55.

After lunch, Helena and I continued touring and watched the Hall of Presidents and Country Bears Jamboree shows and rode on the Liberty Square Riverboat. We were disappointed to hear, some months back, that Disney was not going to redress the Country Bears for the traditional Christmas show this year. At the time, I had emailed Disney to complain and received a phone call response indicating that the change was “in response to guest demand.” I doubt that, but looking on the positive side, at least Helena and I got a chance to see the regular Country Bears show for the first time since 1989 (all our Disney World visits since then have been in December). From the Country Bears, we started making our way towards Main Street to stake out a spot for the afternoon parade.

We ended up about halfway down Main Street on the left (west) side with the sun at our backs. Selene, John, and Jaidyn were able to make it back to the Magic Kingdom in time for the parade, but weren’t able to navigate up Main Street to meet us. So, they watched the parade from the hub in front of the railroad station. Although the floats used in the new Disney Dreams Come True parade are just reworked versions of the “snow globe” floats used in the earlier Share a Dream Come True parade, the changes are enough to make it a different experience, especially with the new music. Incidentally, the new music was catchy enough that it stuck in my mind for a while. But I’ve since forgotten it completely and hope I can find it on CD or online somewhere soon.

After the parade, we all headed over to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin after a 30-minute standby wait. Helena again was the champion with a score of 64,800 versus my 48,100. (I don’t remember what Selene and John got.) I noted that a “coming soon” sign was up for the new Monsters Inc. Laugh Factory show and that the Carousel of Progress was open for business. By this time, the park was very crowded and lines everywhere were long, so we just took a slow walk over to Mickey’s Toontown Fair to kill some time until it was time for our dinner ADR. At Toontown, we visited Mickey’s House and decided that tomorrow we’d make the character photo-ops the priority.

Our dinner reservation at the Crystal Palace was for 5:15p, but we headed over there around 4:45p and were seated within about 10 minutes. Besides the usual excellent buffet selections, we all had a fantastic surprise during dinner. Jaidyn’s reaction to Pooh and the other characters was absolutely priceless! Pooh sneaked up behind her and leaned forward over her head. When Jaidyn looked up and saw Pooh, the look on her face was hilarious. She quickly reached out to give Pooh a hug, feel his fur, and tug at his nose. When each of the other characters (Tigger, Piglet, and Eyore) came around, Jaidyn’s response was just as enthusiastic, and the characters then reacted positively to Jaidyn’s response by clapping, patting her on the head, and kneeling down to get closer face-to-face interaction. Needless to say, we got tons of great pictures. By the way, without the dining plan, dinner for four would have cost about $140 including gratuity.

After dinner, Helena joined Selene, John, and Jaidyn in going back to the hotel to put Jaidyn to bed for the night. Helena stayed with Jaidyn while Selene and John returned to meet me for the Spectromagic parade and Wishes fireworks. In the meantime, I went over to Adventureland to get my first viewing of the updated Pirates of the Caribbean. With no Fastpass, the queue turned out to be a 30-minute wait, but well worth it. The appearance of Davy Jones projected on the smoke screen was really spectacular (I got a pretty decent picture) and the Captain Sparrow animatronic character is so lifelike compared to the older characters in the ride, it’d be great if Disney would make the investment to update all of the animatronics on the ride.

After Pirates, I returned to Main Street to get a spot for Spectromagic. I ended up on the right (east) side of the hub near the railroad station. While waiting for Selene and John to meet me, I had my second rude guest encounter. I was standing behind a trash bin, partially leaning on it when along came a pushy family of three. The father leaned against the other side of the bin and asked his young daughter if she wanted to sit on top of the bin. Then the mother popped out a huge princess balloon and began floating it directly in my line of sight for the parade. To avoid a confrontation, I just moved to another trash bin a little further down the lane, where I had an excellent, unobstructed view of the parade, and Selene and John were able to also see the parade next to me when they arrived a short time later. (FYI, I tend to look for strategically-placed trash bins as parade viewing spots because I usually can stand behind the bins for unobstructed views. If that’s not available, I like to stand behind people who are sitting at the curb or in those motorized scooters. Most recently, Helena has started using a folding walking stick/chair to sit right at the curb, and it’s perfect for me to stand directly behind her.)

After Spectromagic, Selene, John, and I followed the crowd up Main Street and stopped just before the Partner’s hub and a little to the right side to see Wishes. The parade and fireworks were as awesome as ever, and I was able to get some nice pictures. As a bonus, because of the unseasonably warm weather in Florida, we were all comfortable in shirt sleeves and without the lined hoodies and leather jackets of all our prior December visits. After Wishes, Selene and John headed over to Adventureland to ride Pirates of the Caribbean, while I headed for the exit and a 10-minute wait for the bus back to the hotel. After Selene and John got back to the hotel, everyone was in bed by midnight, except me. I downloaded the day’s pictures to the computer, checked email, and updated the trip report notes until almost 1:30a.

Sunday, December 17:
The Plan: Magic Kingdom, Dinner ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern

We were a little late getting started this morning and didn’t get to the bus stop until about 8:45a. The wait for the Magic Kingdom bus was also a little longer at 15 minutes today, so we arrived at the park a short time after official park opening. On navigating the turnstiles, today we had to do the finger scans, which weren’t a problem. But we saw that several guests in front of us had problems because they were inserting their admission tickets upside-down (with the magnetic strip facing up). Of course, that slowed down the whole line.

Our main goal today was to get Jaidyn some interaction with the characters at Mickey’s Toontown Fair. But since it was still before the 10:00a opening time for that section of the park, we headed over to Fantasyland and rode on the Mad Hatter Teacups. This was probably the first time in over 20 years that Helena and I had ridden the teacups, and the spinning ride was a fun change of pace. Selene, John, and Jaidyn rode in their own teacup and, of course, Jaidyn had a great time.

We then returned to Toontown and had a 5-minute wait for the rope to drop. When it did, we headed right over to Mickey’s House for a quick walk-through and then to Mickey’s Judge’s Tent for the photo-ops. Because Jaidyn is accustomed of seeing Mickey on the Disney Channel, she recognized him immediately and had a big smile on her face as she put out her hand to touch Mickey’s face -- especially to tweak his nose. This would be a recurring priority of Jaidyn’s to touch and squeeze the characters’ big rubber noses.

After the picture-taking with Mickey was finished, we headed over to the Toontown Hall of Fame to meet some more characters. There were three separate greeting lines in this building, one for Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto, one for other classic characters (most likely Donald, Chip, and Dale, but I’m not positive), and one for some of the princesses. We chose the first line, but it was soon obvious that the princesses were the most popular characters for photo-ops because that line was almost twice as long as the others. We figured that Jaidyn might be more hesitant approaching the unfamiliar humans in the princess costumes than meeting the fluffy characters she was used to seeing on TV, in storybooks, and as little plush toys. First up were Minnie and Pluto, and again Jaidyn approached them with complete enthusiasm, tweaking their noses and grabbing for Pluto’s whiskers. Last, but certainly not least, was Goofy, who not only wowed Jaidyn, but also is John’s favorite Disney character. Overall, the time spent in Toontown was worth every second!

Leaving Toontown, we found that all of the Fantasyland rides had very long lines, so we headed over to the fast-moving “it’s a small world” line for a repeat boat ride through the lands of children. By now it was time for lunch, so we headed over to Columbia Harbour House, where Helena, Selene, and I had garden salads, while John had a tuna sandwich. We all had chocolate cake for dessert after the apple crisp fiascos of yesterday. Our lunches were valued at about $55 for dining plan purposes, while Jaidyn’s kid’s meal of mac and cheese, jello, and milk cost $6. After lunch, Selene, John, and Jaidyn headed back to the hotel for an afternoon nap.

Helena and I continued touring, and I took the opportunity to ride Splash Mountain. The standby line ended up being about 20 minutes, but I got the surprise of my life early in the ride. I was a solo rider in the back row of my log and, as we passed to the left side of the drop, another log that was coming down the flume created a huge splash right in our direction. I got absolutely soaked from head to toe! I was expecting to get wet on the drop, but not before the ride really got started. On the drop itself, I hardly got a sprinkle of water on me. After getting off the ride, I stopped at the gift shop to buy myself a dry t-shirt to change into. (I was recovering from a cold at this point, and didn’t think it would be a good idea to walk around the park the rest of the afternoon with a completely soaked shirt.)

Now dry and warm, Helena and I headed to Adventureland to ride some of the classics in that section. Because the lines at Pirates and Jungle Cruise were pretty long, we first headed to the Enchanted Tiki Room for the show with Iago, Zazu, and the rest of the birds. By this time, the standby line for the Jungle Cruise was a manageable 15 minutes, so we went on a ride through the rivers of the world. Our skipper was enthusiastic and changed up the routine just enough to make it unique. Next up was Pirates of the Caribbean, which now also had a fairly short queue that lasted about 20 minutes. Helena got a kick out of trying to spot Captain Sparrow. On the way out, we bought a couple Pirates movie t-shirts for two nephews at a total cost of $47. After this ride, we found ourselves a bench in the shade and just relaxed and people-watched for a spell while we waited for Selene and family to return for our dinner ADR. While sitting there, the afternoon parade passed close by in Frontierland and we were able to see it from where we were sitting.

Selene called us on the cell phone around 4:30p to let us know they were on their way, so we agreed to meet next to the Swiss Family Treehouse. Nearby we found a restroom area that shortcuts to Liberty Square, and in a few steps we were at the Liberty Tree Tavern checking in for our 5:15p ADR. We were seated within 10 minutes, with Walter as our server. The family style meal included a mixed green salad with strawberry vinaigrette dressing; slices of roast turkey breast, roast beef, and ham; mashed potatoes, bread stuffing, mac and cheese, and veggies. Dessert was a delicious cherry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Jaidyn nibbled from the mac and cheese and veggies. Without the dining plan, the cost would have been about $140 including gratuity. During dinner, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Dale all stopped by to visit, with each one stooping down for face-to-face interaction with Jaidyn, who again was enthusiastic and often clapped in glee at each encounter.

After dinner, we all headed over to Big Thunder Mountain so that John and Selene could ride while Helena and I minded Jaidyn. She began to get a bit restless towards the end, but lasted the 30 or so minutes before her parents returned from the runaway train ride. Coincidentally, another grandmother was next to us minding her toddler, but that toddler was fast asleep in his stroller. We took the restroom shortcut back to the area of the Swiss Family Treehouse and headed down Main Street as other guests were beginning to line up for Spectromagic. We finally exited the park around 7:30p and only had a 10-minute wait for the bus back to SSR.

Back at the hotel, I downloaded the day’s pictures, checked email, and updated the trip report notes. By then, it was time for all of us (minus Jaidyn, of course) to watch the season finale of Survivor before heading to bed by about 11:30p.

Monday, December 18:
The Plan: Disney-MGM Studios - Dinner ADR at 50s Prime Time Café

We again hit the bus stop around 8:45a, but our bus to Disney-MGM Studios didn’t arrive for 20 minutes today. (I hope it doesn’t keep coming later and later each day!) On entering the park, Selene had to make a stop with Jaidyn at the baby care center, then we continued up Hollywood Boulevard, pausing for a couple Photopass pictures. John then went ahead to Sunset Boulevard to ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and get a Fastpass for the Tower of Terror. John’s the thrill ride fan in the family, so he eventually did all of the major thrill rides on this trip except Space Mountain, which he couldn’t fit into the schedule at the Magic Kingdom.

After John’s ride with Aerosmith, we all headed to the backlot area for the 10:30a showing of Lights, Motors, Action. Surprisingly, Jaidyn was pretty alert and watched the cars speeding back and forth, although the noise was pretty loud and she was too young to know what was going on. After that, John headed over for his Fastpass ride on the Tower of Terror while the rest of us took in the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. This blacklight show was as entertaining as usual, but I still miss the laser effects above the audience that used to create a greater illusion of being “under the sea.” It was now lunch time, and we stopped at the Backlot Express for a quick bite. Helena had chicken strips, Selene had chicken salad, John had a cheeseburger, and I had a turkey sandwich. Desserts were cheesecakes for Helena and I and strawberry parfaits for Selene and John. Without the dining plan, these would have cost about $50. Jaidyn’s kid’s meal hotdog with carrots and milk cost $6.

After lunch, Selene, John, and Jaidyn made their daily trek back to the hotel for Jaidyn’s afternoon nap, while Helena and I stayed at the park to continue touring. We first headed over to see MuppetVision 3D (great fun and mayhem, as usual), then took in the Great Movie Ride (the ride’s just fine, but the movie at the end needs to be redone to at least produce a new, scratch-free copy). By this time, people were beginning to line up for the Hollywood Holly-Days parade, so we staked out our usual spot near the Sounds Dangerous attraction. After the parade, Helena and I headed over to the Magic of Disney Animation. After the short presentation by a live CM and an animated Mushu, we checked out some of the exhibits in the back area, especially those related to the upcoming “Meet the Robinsons.” Photo-ops were available with the Incredibles and mock-ups of the stars from “Cars.” Too bad Jaidyn wasn’t with us for that.

From there, we went over to visit the One Man’s Dream exhibits. On entering the studio, a CM asked if we wanted to participate in a trivia quiz related to the exhibit. We did, and that added a bit to our enthusiasm in looking at the exhibits to find the answers to the questions. At the end, another CM gave me a souvenir certificate for completing the quiz. (I hope the certificate wasn’t meant to be one of the “million dreams” they’re bestowing at the parks, because if it was, I’m many years older than the target audience for this kind of thing. The certificate would have been more appreciated by a child of 12 or less.) At the Animation Gallery shop, I picked up the updated 5-disc Disney World DVD boxed set for $85 including tax, and at the Studio Store, I got the new park music CD and a Minnie doll for Jaidyn for a total of $67.

Selene, John, and Jaidyn met us near the Sorcerer’s Hat for our 5:15p ADR at 50s Prime Time Café. I had heard so much about this place that I was really looking forward to eating here for the first time. Our server, “Sister” Tabitha, quickly set down the rules of the house including “no elbows on the table” and “no dessert until you eat your veggies,” and she seemed to target John for most of her attention, but no one from our table got sent to the corner (other guests did). For our meals, Helena had Caesar salad, grilled chicken, and a hot fudge sundae; Selene had shrimp cocktail, glazed salmon, and a brownie sundae; John had fried herb cheese, glazed salmon, and a s’mores treat; and I had fried herb cheese, meatloaf, and a hot fudge sundae. Dining plan value for the meals, including gratuity was $147. Jaidyn’s kid’s meal hotdog and salad cost $9. Overall, we found the atmosphere and food to be “okay” but nothing to really rave about. We found out later that the Disney Studios has a character meal with JoJo and Goliath at Hollywood & Vine and, if we had known before, that would have been our ADR meal of choice today. Jaidyn watches JoJo and Goliath on the Disney Channel and would have loved seeing those characters in person. Well, there’s always next year!

After dinner, we joined the huge crowd that had gathered on the Streets of America to view the Osborne Family Lights. The display, synchronized to music, was really awesome. Jaidyn was all ooh’s and aah’s over the lights. Unfortunately, the crowd was packed so tightly that it was impossible for us to travel down the street to see the far-end lights up close. After viewing the lights for a while, Helena, Selene, John, and Jaidyn went back to the hotel to rest up. I stayed over for the 7:00p showing of Fantasmic. Today was an evening EMH day, and it was really obvious from the crowd in the amphitheater. I barely ended up getting a seat at the end of a bench on the far-left side of the theater, but the view was still pretty decent. Fantasmic continues to be one of my all-time favorite Disney World attractions (along with Illuminations, Wishes, and Spectromagic). After the show, I just held back until the worst of the crowd had exited the theater and then made a bee-line for the bus stop. Luckily, a SSR bus arrived just as I did. Back at the hotel, I updated the trip report notes and downloaded today’s pictures, and we all turned in by 11:00p.

Tuesday, December 19:
The Plan: Animal Kingdom - Dinner ADR at the Rainforest Café

We were a little more efficient this morning and managed to get to the bus stop by 8:30a, but we still had to wait 30 minutes for the Animal Kingdom bus. On entering the park, we stopped to have some Photopass pictures taken, then made our way over to Camp Minnie-Mickey for the day’s first showing of the Festival of the Lion King. We were seated near the front of the lion section and had a great view of the entire show. After Timon chased us out of the theater, we hustled over to Dinoland for the first showing of the new Finding Nemo: The Musical show.

A bit of good luck came our way as we approached the line for the show. A CM who was manning the line saw Helena limping up the incline with her cane/stool and offered to let us go to the front of the line. Helena thanked the lady and said that she was okay, but the CM kept insisting until we agreed to go with her to the front. At least there were only about 20 people in the line at the time, so we really didn’t cost anyone a seat, but we did feel rather self-conscious about cutting to the front. As you might expect, we got great seats right up front in the theater. As for the show, it was fantastic! At first I found myself looking at the actors rather than the puppets they were manipulating, but I soon started focusing on the undersea characters and got into the story and the music. Here’s another case where new show music really needs to be put out on CD real soon. The only negative was that we were strictly prohibited from taking pictures of any kind. So, I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with downloading the official Disney photos that I’ve seen online.

After Nemo, we headed across the bridge to Asia and then over to Africa to catch the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. The goal here was to give Jaidyn a chance to see and pet some of the animals in the Affection Section. She was shy with the little goats at first, but finally got up the nerve to softly touch some of them. After getting back to Africa on the train, we walked over to Discovery Island to have lunch at the Flame Tree Barbecue. Helena had a chicken salad and a frozen lemonade, Selene had a salad without chicken and a frozen lemonade, and John and I had turkey sandwiches, his also with a frozen lemonade and mine with a key lime pie. The dining plan value for the meals was about $45. Jaidyn’s hotdog and milk kid’s meal cost $4.

After lunch, Selene, John, and Jaidyn went back to the hotel for the usual afternoon nap. In the meantime, Helena and I got Fastpasses for the Kilimanjaro Safari and then headed over to the Pangani Forest Trail to watch the gorillas, only one of which was up close and in clear view. We then returned to ride the Safari only to find that many of the animals were hiding out for the afternoon. Getting back to Africa, we got viewing spots near Tusker House Restaurant for Mickey’s Jingle Jungle parade, which was starting in less than a half hour. Just our luck, as the parade started, a CM stationed himself right where he blocked our view of the parade floats until they were directly in front of us. When the parade ended, we followed the crowd over to Discovery Island where we watched the It’s Tough to Be a Bug movie. But while walking through the queue, we witnessed a confrontation that almost became physical when a man tried to get ahead to catch up with his wife and a much larger man got angry and was almost at the point of physically pushing him backwards. That’s three rude guest encounters on this trip.

After the Bugs movie, we headed for the exit to meet Selene, John, and Jaidyn at the Rainforest Café. We were seated within minutes of checking in, but our server, Elizabeth, took a good 15 minutes before she appeared to take our drink orders. We were almost to the point of leaving when she showed up. To make matters worse, Jaidyn was in a very cranky and uncooperative mood because she didn’t fall asleep back at the hotel for her afternoon nap. When Elizabeth finally took our order, Helena had the filet mignon, Selene and I had Tuscan chicken breast, and John had a Mayan combo platter. Jaidyn messed around with a kid’s mac and cheese dish but really didn’t eat anything. Selene wasn’t even able to finish her meal because of Jaidyn’s acting up, so we had her dinner packed to go and entirely skipped dessert. Since the Rainforest doesn’t accept the Disney dining plan, the meal cost a total of $131 including gratuity, which I charged to my credit card. We’ve eaten at this Rainforest Café before and have always been satisfied with the service and the food, but today’s visit wasn’t a good experience.

On leaving the Rainforest, John headed back into the park to ride Expedition Everest and Dinosaur, while the rest of us headed back to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel by 7:00p, and Selene got Jaidyn ready to go to bed for the night. John got back after his “awesome” rides around 8:30p. Despite some of my “grumblings” above, we really had a good time at Animal Kingdom. The low point was the dinner experience, but the park and its attractions were as enjoyable as ever.


Wednesday, December 20:
The Plan: Epcot - Dinner ADR at Garden Grill

We were at the bus stop by 8:30a with another 20 minute wait, this time for the Epcot bus. After we entered the park, I rushed ahead to collect Soarin’ Fastpasses for the four adults. I then caught up with the rest of the family at the Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilion. The new ride is very entertaining and colorful, and the technology that places the Nemo characters into the aquarium with the real sea creatures is very impressive. After the “too short” ride, we got in line for Turtle Talk with Crush. We had a wait of about 10 minutes for the earlier show to finish and, although Jaidyn was too young to really know what was going on, she enjoyed watching Crush move about the large screen. We stopped in the Sea Base shop to get Nemo and Squirt plush toys for Jaidyn, cost $20, and then headed over to The Land pavilion for our Fastpass rides on Soarin’. Helena and I rode first, and then Selene and John took flight while Helena and I minded Jaidyn. Everyone agreed that Soarin’ is awesome and a ride that everyone in the family can enjoy. By the way, I saw the hidden Mickey on the golf ball this time.

By the time we finished with Soarin’ it was almost noon. So, we just went over to the Sunshine Seasons food court right there in The Land pavilion. Helena, Selene, and John had chicken with mashed potatoes and I had rotisserie chicken on a bed of lettuce and flatbread. Desserts were cheesecake for Helena, brownies for Selene and John, and key lime pie for me. Dining plan value for the meals was again around $50. Jaidyn’s lunch consisted of a banana costing $1 and nibbling on Selene’s chicken and potatoes.

After lunch, Selene, John, and Jaidyn again went back to the hotel for Jaidyn’s afternoon nap. Meanwhile, Helena and I got in six more attractions. First, I rode the non-spinning version of Mission: Space and found it to be every bit as thrilling as the original version but without the threat of motion sickness. The ride capsule still has major changes in pitch, roll, and yaw, and you definitely feel yourself being thrown around a bit. But if you can survive Star Tours over at Disney-MGM Studios, you have nothing to fear on the non-spinning version of Mission: Space. A foreign-speaking family of three who rode with me didn’t seem to know what was going on, but at least they survived the ride without anyone freaking out.

Passing by the Wonders of Life pavilion, which was closed during our visit to Epcot last December, we realized that it was open for business today. This was a real treat, and Helena and I saw the Cranium Command show, followed by myself riding Body Wars. This ride confirmed for me that Body Wars doesn’t really have as much change in pitch, roll, and yaw as does Star Tours, but the motions are more jerky and abrupt than Star Tours, thus shaking you up quite a bit. Overall, the Wonders of Life pavilion had a steady stream of visitors, but nowhere near the amount of traffic as the other pavilions.

Next, Helena and I went on an Energy Adventure with Ellen and then rode Spaceship Earth, both with short lines. (Three little girls who live next door to Selene and John had recently visited Epcot with their grandparents, and the girls returned home calling the Spaceship Earth ride “the stinky ride.” On our ride, we did note a strong chemical smell inside the globe that might have been some kind of cleaning solution.) After Spaceship Earth, we headed across to the opposite side of Future World and viewed the Honey, I Shrunk the Audience movie and then took a Journey into Imagination with Figment. We haven’t done the 3D movie in several years, and I had completely forgotten that, unlike the other Disney World 3D movies, this entire theater moves about during the show as if mounted on a gigantic simulation machine. The behind-the-scenes mechanics of this moving theater must really be impressive.

The highlight of the day came at dinner at the Garden Grill, where Jaidyn and the characters (Farmer Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale) had just priceless interactions. As we ate dinner, each of the characters had the opportunity to come to our table twice, and each time, Jaidyn reacted enthusiastically, with big smiles on her face, wild clapping, and reaching out to touch the characters. The characters all reacted positively to Jaidyn, with Pluto winning the award for enthusiasm, as he jumped up and down and clapped wildly in response to Jaidyn’s antics. As for the food, our server was Youssef, and he brought the family-style servings of roast turkey breast, flank steak, and catfish with all the trimmings, plus vanilla bread pudding and ice cream for dessert. The dining plan value for the meal was $140.

After dinner, we headed over to the Imagination pavilion to give Jaidyn a ride with Figment, but the pavilion was closed for the night. So, Selene, John, Jaidyn, and Helena headed back to the hotel, leaving me alone to take a nighttime stroll through World Showcase. But first we passed by the Showcase Plaza to see the Epcot Christmas tree and the Lights of Winter arch up close. Once they headed for the exit, I started my World Showcase tour at Mexico and kept a slow pace, stopping at each pavilion to take an “after dark” photo or two. On the way, I also stopped at China to see the Dragon Legend Acrobats, at the American Adventure to see a little bit of the Candlelight Processional with Neil Patrick Harris as narrator, and at Morocco to listen to Mo’Rockin’ with their very alluring belly dancer. :-) When I got to Canada, I turned around and headed back the other way, eventually stopping in front of Germany to save a spot to view Illuminations. After Jaidyn was in bed, Selene and John left her with Grandma Helena and returned to the park. On the way in they stopped off for a ride on Mission: Space. They went for
the spinning version of the ride and said that they definitely felt the G's from the centrifuge effect. Selene ended up with a mild headache afterwards. After their flight to Mars, they met me near Germany for Illuminations. I was glad to see that the inferno barge was back in action, and the special Christmas finale with its rapid staccato of firework bursts was just amazing. After the fireworks, we slowly walked back to the park exit and luckily only had a 10-minute wait for the bus back to the hotel. Everyone hit the sack by 11:00p

Thursday, December 21:
The Plan: Epcot, Lunch ADR at Le Cellier

Again we were at the bus stop by 8:30a and today we had only a 10-minute wait for the Epcot bus and lots of empty seats (a rarity throughout the week). On entering the park, we stopped for some Photopass pictures and then went to find our Leave a Legacy tiles in the entry plaza. Ours (Helena and mine) and Selene and John’s are both on the first row of panels on the right side, ours on panel E and Selene and John’s on panel A. From there, we headed over to Test Track to ride the last major attraction we had missed in Future World. Selene, John, and I shared the front row in our car and, after the ride, added the ride photo to our Photopass account.

We then headed over to the Imagination pavilion to again try to get on the Figment ride, but again we were disappointed. This time the ride was down with technical problems. Instead, we made a return visit to the Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilion, including spending some time on the observation deck watching the fish and dolphins. Leaving Nemo behind, we made a quick trip to Mexico to ride El Rio del Tiempo (the River of Time). Then it was across the Showcase Plaza to Canada for our lunch ADR at Le Cellier.

We were seated in the Quebec section and Stephanie, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, was our server. For appetizers, Helena and Selene had shrimp cocktail, John had salmon timbale, and I had beef and barley soup. For entres, Helena, John, and I had petit filet mignon and Selene had a prime rib sandwich. Finally, for desserts, Helena and I had creme brulee samplers, Selene had Canadian Club cake, and John had berries and ice cream. This meal had a dining plan value of $196 including gratuity, the highest of the week. Jaidyn’s kid’s meal of a hotdog, fruit salad, celery and carrots, and milk cost a whopping $17 including gratuity.

After lunch, we were finally successful in getting the ride with Figment, and then Selene, John, and Jaidyn again returned to the hotel, leaving Helena and I to do some shopping at Mouse Gear before also going back. A picture frame, a nightgown, a t-shirt, a polo shirt, a box of chocolates, a DVD, and a throw blanket cost a total of $179. On the way out, we stopped at the Camera Center and purchased a PhotoCD with all of our Photopass pictures for $106 including tax. Buying this CD gives us a copyright waiver to make our own prints of the Photopass pictures.

Helena and I were back at SSR by 2:00p to mind Jaidyn while Selene and John spent a few hours at Downtown Disney to do some shopping of their own. After they got back, around 5:30p, we all headed across the way to the Artist’s Palette for a light dinner consisting of flatbreads and salads plus cookies for dessert. These dining plan meals had a value of about $45 and Jaidyn’s kid’s meal cost $4. We also picked up a few little souvenirs, including a photo album, three DVC luggage tags, and a couple refrigerator magnets at a total cost of $50. Then it was back to our room to do a last load of laundry, begin packing our suitcases, and to bed. We decided to forget about trying to visit Downtown Disney tomorrow morning after checkout and instead made an lunch ADR at the Turf Club for our final meal of this trip to Disney World.

Friday, December 22:
The Plan: SSR Check-out, Downtown Disney, Drive to Port St. Lucie

We all slept in a little later today and eventually were up by 8:00a to eat breakfast and collect all of our belongings. I packed up the rented crib and drove it over to bell services so that it would be available for All About Kids to pick it up later in the day. However, I wasn’t able to reach All About Kids on the phone to confirm with them that I had taken the crib to bell services. I kept getting a recorded message that their number was “out of service.” Hopefully this won’t prove to be a problem down the road.

When I got back to the room, we began packing everything into the minivan and then took a leisurely stroll around the SSR property, which gave me the opportunity to take some pictures of the various buildings, scenery, and main pool area. We ended up at the Turf Club for our 12:00p ADR, and Shelly was our server again. She was just as friendly and helpful as during our arrival night dinner at the Turf Club a week before. Our appetizer, entre, and dessert selections included crab cakes, chicken breast sandwich, and apple pie for Helena; Caesar salad, chicken breast sandwich, and chocolate lava cake for Selene; buffalo chicken strips, cheeseburger, and cheesecake for John; and buffalo chicken strips, sirloin steak, and apple pie for me. The dining plan value was $156 including gratuity. Jaidyn’s kid’s meal hamburger and fruit salad cost $6.

After lunch, we stopped at the Artist’s Palette to make a few last-minute souvenir purchases and to try to use up the last of our dining plan points. We bought two Sorcerer Mickey frames (one for Selene and John), a lady’s t-shirt, and a postcard at a total cost of $75. We also picked up a variety of snack items and bottled water with our 28 unused dining plan snack coupons. (Based on the cashier’s comment, we assume that many dining plan members end up doing the same thing with their unused snack coupons.) We also had 4 unused counter service meal coupons, and I tried to spread a little bit of pixie dust by offering to pay for other guests’ meals. But, for my efforts, I got no takers and several strange looks from the people I approached. Maybe they thought I was up to something underhanded, but at least I tried.

By the time we got back to the minivan to begin the drive home, it was almost 2:00p. On leaving the Disney property, we first made a slight detour into Kissimmee for a short visit with a cousin of Helena’s. (We had visited with her and her family for a longer time last December when they invited us to their home for dinner.) On leaving Helena’s cousin, we were soon on the Florida Turnpike headed south to Port St. Lucie. This was another uneventful drive, and we arrived home by 6:00p. Selene’s two cats seemed to be happy to see us and, at least, didn’t trash the place. I guess they didn’t mind having the next-door neighbor feed them each day. It took a few trips out to the minivan to unload everything, and so ended our road trip to Disney World.

Saturday, December 23 to Wednesday, January 3:
The Plan: Visit with Selene and Family Over the Holidays

I won’t bore you with the details of the next almost-two weeks but, in general, Helena and I spent the time with Selene, John, and Jaidyn, including having a quiet Christmas Day turkey dinner at home and eating out at TGI Fridays on New Year’s Day. Helena and I had been nursing mild colds since we were in Deerfield earlier in the month, and we unfortunately seemed to have passed them on to Jaidyn, Selene, and John. Luckily though, this was a mild cold and not a severe flu, so they were over the worst of it by the time we were ready to fly home to St. Thomas.

Thursday, January 4:
The Plan: Drive to Miami, AA Flights from Miami to St. Thomas

We were up by 7:00a to have breakfast and pack our stuff into the minivan for the drive to Miami. We actually left Selene’s home around 9:30a. The stretch of I-95 from Port St. Lucie to Deerfield Beach (about an hour and a half) went by smoothly although, as usual, there was heavy traffic through West Palm Beach. We stopped in Deerfield for a quick lunch and an unplanned stop at a shopping mall where Helena wanted one last opportunity to look for a particular handbag that she had been looking for all month. She was lucky to find it at Sears, and we then stopped at a Boxes, Etc. store to have them pack and ship the handbag to our home. Then we got back on I-95 and continued on to Miami (about 50 minutes) to dropped off the rental car at Hertz. Once at the airport, we used curbside check-in and then settled into the long security line. This was again a thorough check, but we didn’t have any problems. (Transportation Security is very strict about what types of liquids, gels, and paste-like items they’ll let you carry on. They threw out peanut butter, fruit jellies, and barbecue sauce that some passengers had in their carry-on luggage. Only 3 ounce or smaller containers of medicines, perfumes, etc. are permitted.)

Our flight boarded right on time, but then they held the plane for an hour waiting for one passenger, which was unbelievable! The only reasonable explanation I could think of was that this passenger was the air marshal for the flight and security wouldn’t allow the plane to leave without him. Anyway, the late departure put Helena and I in a bind in terms of making our connection in San Juan. As it turned out, the pilot made up 30 minutes of the delay thanks to a tailwind, and we made it to the American Eagle check-in counter in San Juan just 5 minutes before boarding for our commuter flight to St. Thomas. We landed right on time at 9:00p, and my brother was there waiting for us, but our one checked bag was missing in action. It eventually arrived on the next commuter flight about 50 minutes later. We were then on the road and back home within a half-hour. The house was safe and sound and we just got ready for bed after a long and tiring travel day.

Conclusion:

Overview:

Overall, this trip, the fourth December visit in a row to Disney World for Helena and I, was just magical and, for Helena, it was a dream come true. She has always enjoyed seeing pictures of multi-generational families on vacation and looked forward to when she could do the same. So, being at Disney World with our daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter was very special for her from that point of view. We have a lot of great pictures to remember the trip and, God willing, many more years to repeat the experience. Although this is supposedly Disney’s “Year of a Million Dreams,” we weren’t granted any “dreams” by Disney’s “dream teams.” In fact, we saw many people with the special Fastpass badges and wished that we had gotten one. However, Mickey and the other Disney characters got together with Jaidyn to create some special magic and dreams that were more priceless and meaningful, not only for Helena and I but also for Selene and John. I’m sure they’ll also treasure those memories. Although she was only 17 months old, hopefully Jaidyn will remember some part of the experience when she’s older and sees the pictures from this trip. We couldn’t have asked for a more magical and memorable experience.

The Highs:

- Jaidyn’s interactions with the Disney characters produced the highest highs of the trip, no contest! We thank all of the unidentified Disney cast members who wear those hot and uncomfortable costumes in order to bring smiles of joy to a little child’s face.

- The unseasonably warm weather in Florida during the entire week was just perfect. The temperatures never rose above 80 nor dropped below 60, and there wasn’t a single drop of rain the entire time. What a difference from our prior December visits to Disney World, which have included lugging around leather jackets and lined hoodies to keep warm during 60-degree days and 40-degree and below evenings.

- Being able to see or ride all of the attractions on our personal “must see” lists. For John, that included all of the extreme thrill rides except Space Mountain (maybe next time). For Helena and Selene, it was the classic rides that were kid-friendly enough for Jaidyn. And for me, it was all of the parades and nighttime fireworks plus the two new attractions (The Seas with Nemo and Friends at Epcot and Finding Nemo: The Musical at Animal Kingdom).

- The space and luxury of our Saratoga Springs Resort 2-bedroom suite. As a Disney-loving family, investing in the DVC last year was a very good decision. We just wish we had done this years ago.

The Lows:

- My three rude guest encounters.

- A few signs of needed maintenance, such as the clock face on the loading area facade of “it’s a small world” not rocking back and forth and part of the neon lighting on the exterior sign for The Great Movie Ride being out.

- I really can’t think of anything else worth mentioning.

Disney’s Dining Plan:

I promised some words about the Disney dining plan, so here goes. On a strictly financial basis, the plan is a worthwhile choice. The up-front cost was $1,063 for four adults for seven days, or an average of $38 per person per day. On average, our counter service meals cost about $50 per day for four adults ($12.50 per person) and our table service meals cost about $150 per day (including gratuity) for four adults ($37.50 per person). In addition, each person was entitled to one snack per day costing no more than $4. So, that’s a total actual food value of $54.00 per person per day ($12.50 + $37.50 + $4.00). So, assuming you “consume” all of the food covered by the dining plan, you would have saved $16.00 per person per day ($54.00 - $38.00). But that word -- “consume” -- is where the rub comes in.

The dining plan cost covers a lot of food, maybe more food than the average person consumes or should consume each day. That certainly was true in our case. Back at home, Helena and I normally have a light breakfast consisting of a couple slices of bread, or a bowl of cereal, or a couple egg-beater eggs plus a cup of coffee. Lunch for me usually consists of a sandwich and a glass of fruit juice and for Helena might consist of just an apple or other fresh fruit. Dinner would be our big meal of the day, consisting of some type of meat, rice or potatoes, and some type of vegetable. Later in the evening, we’d snack on some dessert, usually sugar-free ice cream.

However, because we had pre-paid for our meals through the dining plan, we found ourselves feeling obligated to eat much more in order to get our money’s worth while at Disney World. During the week, we ate our normal breakfast in the hotel room, but then we also loaded up during the day on an entre and dessert at lunch, plus an appetizer, entre, and another dessert at dinner. And that doesn’t even include the daily snacks that we didn’t use. As a result, the four of us adults gained an average of 5 pounds during our week at Disney World, even considering all of the walking we did at the parks.

So, is the Disney dining plan worth it? That really depends on your normal eating habits. If you’re a big eater or are willing to put on some pounds during vacation that you’ll have to work off when you’re back home, the answer is “yes.” But if you’re not a big eater or don’t want to gain weight on vacation, my suggestion is to think twice about signing up.

What’s Next:

Helena, Selene, John, and I have annual passes that expire on December 16, 2007. Helen and I have 145 DVC points that we can roll over into our 2007 membership year plus 200 points for 2007. What would you do?

Yes, we’re considering a return engagement to Walt Disney World with Selene, John, and Jaidyn during the first week of December 2007. I even already have my annual medical appointments on the books for the second week of December 2007. So, let the planning begin!

Contact Info:

You can view some of our best pictures in a day-by-day photo diary of our Disney World visit on my SandcastleVI website, beginning at:

http://www.sandcastlevi.com/travel/d...2006-wdw01.htm

Lastly, Helena and I welcome your comments on this trip report and our online photo diary. Our email address is:

arnoldvb@islands.vi

[Alex S.]

I like that you provided links to your earlier reports at the beginning.

A future note for when this is well established. One of the searches that can be done is to search for threads started by a specific user within certain forums. Unfortunately there is no way to assign your past reports to your new ID now that you've registered.

[arnoldvb]

Thanks, Alex. Since I've never really participated in a discussion forum setting, it'll take me a little experimenting to get used to how things work. I'm a member of a couple "email discussion groups" but they operate differently, with posts being emailed directly to group members.

[Alex S.]

No problem. A lot of people are going to be working out how to make it work best for them.

This may not matter so much to you since your email address has been on the internet with your old trip reports for years now (so you're probably already on every spam list in the universe) but if you (or any other potential posters) don't want to publicly provide it, you no longer need to.

People can, of course, comment here about your report, but they can also send you email through MousePad. It will go to the address you provided when registering.

[gordon24]

Thanks for the great trip report. Yours are always very detailed and I always look forward to reading yours. Thanking for sharing.

[sithchick]

Hi Arnold. I always enjoy reading your trip reports! My family and I will be at WDW at the end of November so we'll just miss you. Glad you had a nice time with your grandaughter. And thanks for your opinions and honest words about the dining plan. We were trying to make a decision about adding it when we go in November. I'm still not sure.

[arnoldvb]

Hi sithchick, I'm glad you enjoyed the trip report. In addition to our planned December '07 return trip with our daughter's family, Helena and I are going to also be visiting WDW in July, where I'll be attending a professional training conference at the Coronado Springs Resort. My brother, who's also an accountant/auditor, will be there with his family. Unfortunately, my brother and I will miss most of the daytime fun as we sit in our conference sessions, but we'll at least get to visit the parks in the evenings. I hope you have a great time during your visit in November.

[EJ4Disney]

Thank you. I have always enjoyed your trip reports.
Ellen

[relaaxedwheniamthere]

your trip reports are always great. but HEY you had lunch at flame tree barbque and did not eat any . ie.beef, pork sandwichs ,ribs chicken. flame tree is a classic shhh!!!!!

[arnoldvb]

Relaxed,
Glad you enjoyed the report. Yeah, we didn't go with the BBQ menu items on this trip because we knew we were going to be eating a heavy meal at the Rainforest Cafe at dinnertime.
Arnold

[relaaxedwheniamthere]

arnold what i like about your reports is you always seem to go at xmas , which by the way is my fav time to go. i know you take care of a lot of family & personal bussines . xmas season is the best time to go to the world. this from someone who goes 5 to7 times a year. i just returned 5/26 for 3 days to see the flowers @ epcot & THE GUESS WHO in concert.
guess it shows my age .like your pics as well. keep up the good work.

[Kellie19891992]

Great report really like hearing about the different resorts

[arnoldvb]

Relaxed,

Early December is definitely one of the best times to visit. The decorations are already up, the weather's cool, and the crowds light. Helena and I will be visiting Disney World again in just a few weeks. I'm attending a professional development conference at the Coronado Springs Resort the last week of July. My brother will also be attending that conference and his family will be joining him in Orlando. While he and I are in the training sessions, the other family members will be touring the parks. My brother and I will, very unfortunately, only get a few hours at the parks each evening.

On the one hand, I'm happy to be returning to my favorite place. But I'm not especially looking forward to the heat and the big crowds. This will be the first time since 1982 that Helena and I have visited Disney World at any time other than December, and we'll just have to put ourselves in the frame of mind to enjoy what we can and not sweat (no pun intended) the high temps and crowds. Besides, we'll be visiting again the second of week of December with our daughter, son-in-law, and grandaughter. So, we have that to look forward to.

Arnold

[arnoldvb]

Kellie & EJ4Disney,

I'm glad you both enjoyed the trip report. Look for another one in August for a combination business/Disney World trip my wife and I will be making during the last week of July.

Arnold

[relaaxedwheniamthere]

sshh!!!!!!!!! arnold 1st flame tree now early dec. xmas decorations, good weather. your giving away some of the best kept secrets.