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View Full Version : Pamela McGlinchey - December 4-12, 1998 - Port Orleans



Trip Reports
01-07-2007, 02:39 PM
Time of Year: Holiday Season
Travel Method: Personal Car
Resort: PO
Accommodations
Ages Represented in Group: Adult, Pre-Schoolers
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Veteran
Comments: In this report, Pamela documents her family's trip in early December. It's a lengthy play-by-play style report, and includes many tidbits about how the McGlinchey's handled the trip with two pre-schoolers. If you love trip reports, you'll love this one!



12/4/98-12/6/98

Gee, this trip report writing is addictive. No sooner had I zipped off my first trip report ever to Brian, than I decided to write another one about our December trip to WDW. Our trip was from 12/4-12/6/98 and we stayed at Port Orleans in a standard room.

The cast of characters included:

Myself (Pam), 30-something mom who works 2 days a week in an administrative position at a state university and stays home the rest of the time
My husband, Tim, also 30-something, MIS Director
Our 3 ½ year old twins, Timothy and Tara.
First, some background information. Having grown up in a suburb of Tampa, about 1 hour and 20 minutes away from WDW, I had the opportunity to visit WDW many times while growing up. After I married, my husband and I also enjoyed many weekend getaways to WDW, usually staying onsite with the purpose of visiting Pleasure Island (we even had annual passes to PI one year). After the birth of our twins, in 1995, we became what our friends jokingly refer to as "Disney addicts". Having two young children made commando touring impossible, so we purchased FL Seasonal Passports and first took our children to visit Mickey at age 18 months (staying at the Grand Floridian). Since then, we have visited Disney about once a month for a weekend onsite (usually staying one or two nights taking advantage of FL resident and pass-holder specials). We have stayed at all of the Disney hotels with the exception of the Dixie Landings and Fort Wilderness Cabins, and Wilderness Lodge. Up to this point, our 1998 trips have included the following: Port Orleans: 1/98, 2/98; Disney Institute Bungalows: 3/98; Yacht Club: 4/98, 5/98, 6/98, Coronado Springs: 9/98; Yacht Club: 9/98; Coronado Springs: 11/98; Port Orleans: 12/98.

This trip was booked back in August, 1998 for the purpose of enjoying Disney’s Christmas decorations and to attend the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in the MK. I was not sure exactly which weekend we would go to WDW, so I booked reservations at PO for both this weekend (12/4-12/6) and the following weekend (12/12-12/14). The rate per night for both weekends (with MKC discount) was $105.67 including tax. When the dates for the MVMCP were announced, I called and changed the arrival date for the 12/12 reservation to 12/11, so that we could go to MVMCP on 12/11. Well, near the beginning of November, we received an invitation to a work-related function on 12/11 that we really had to attend. So, we resorted to Plan B and planned to go to WDW the first weekend in December. The only problem was that my reservations began on Saturday, 12/5, and the MVMCP was on Thursday and Friday nights. So, I began to call CRO to see if I could move our reservation up one day. Time and time again I was told that nothing was available at PO for 12/4. In fact, according to CRO, the entire Disney resort was sold out except for some hotels in the Disney Village area. Finally, after one 7 am phone call in which the CRO representative seemed to take such glee in informing me that nothing was available at all for 12/4, I became angry, and, remembering Rita Aero’s advice that if you do not like what one CRO representative tells you to simply call back and talk to someone else, I hit re-dial on the phone and was connected to a wonderful lady named Madge who informed me that "this was my lucky day" and she could, in fact, accommodate me at PO for the night of 12/4. Kind of makes you wonder what changed in those 30 seconds between my first and last phone call, but I was not about to question my good luck.

We had ordered our MVMCP tickets through an earlier phone call to CRO at the passholder’s discounted rate (about $28 each for children and $30 each for adults). Now, this rate was not a huge savings, about $1 off of each adult ticket, but at least it was something. Again, I ran into a problem with CRO. I had called and priced the tickets earlier and I knew that there was a passholder’s discount, but when I called to finally order the tickets, the woman I spoke to said that there was no discount to MVMCP for passholders. When I insisted that I had been quoted a discounted rate earlier, she put me on hold and went to check and came back and told me that yes, there was a discount in effect for passholders. I do wish that WDW could better train the personnel in CRO. CRO is many persons first contact with WDW and to get a person who is uninformed or in some cases, just downright rude, leaves a bad first impression!! Anyway, I ordered our tickets and paid the additional $3 shipping charge. Later, I found out the local Disney Stores also sold the tickets, so I could have saved the shipping charge (since we visit our Disney Store quite often!!), but who knows if I would have gotten the passholder discount rate there?? I know that the MVMCP on 12/4 sold out, as did the one on 12/11, so a word to the wise, buy those tickets early!!!

We actually purchased our MVMCP tickets for 12/4 before I was able to change my hotel reservation to begin on 12/4. My husband’s parents live in Kissimmee and they were also going to be at WDW that weekend, staying at CS. So, they had graciously offered us the use of their house for the night of 12/4 if we were unable to get a hotel reservation for that night. We did not plan our trip to coincide with theirs, it just happened that way!!

Friday, 12/4/98

We left our house at 9:30 am and arrived at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian for our 11:10 ps for breakfast at exactly 11:10!! The kids napped in the car, so by the time we arrived on Disney property, they were raring to go. This is one of our favorite character dining experiences. Around 11 am, the place really starts to clear out (they accept breakfast ps until 11:30 am) and we did not have to wait for our table. The food is outstanding here and the fresh squeezed orange juice is wonderful. They have a buffet and also an omelet station. This is one of the few breakfast buffets we have found at WDW that serves cheese blintzes (I think Chef Mickeys also has them) and they are just wonderful!! The characters were Mary Poppins, Minnie, Pluto, Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter.

On this day, my daughter had chosen to wear her Minnie Mouse dress with matching shoes, socks, headband, the whole nine yards. This was one of her birthday gifts last year and she loves to dress like Minnie. My son wore a Captain Hook outfit that he had received as a birthday gift last year. My daughter was really looking forward to meeting Minnie and showing off her dress, as it was the first time that she had worn it to WDW. Well, when Minnie finally reached our table, she was holding the hand of a little boy about 2 years old that seemed to have permanently attached himself to her. In fact, Minnie made hand gestures to the fact that she could not get the little boy to let go of her hand. This little boy seemed to be with a large group of South Americans and they did not seem to be making any effort to make him sit back at their table. Finally, when we indicated that we would like a photo with Minnie, they took the little boy back to his table, but at this point Minnie did something strange. My husband had the camera and I was standing with Minnie and my two children. Well, I started to get the camera from my husband and asked Minnie if I could take a photo of her with my children. She put her arm around me (she was quite strong) and motioned that I should be in the photo with her and the kids and that my husband should take the photo. Well, we complied with her wishes, but when we were done I wanted to ask her for a photo of just her and my daughter. Well, after she posed for the group photo of me and the kids, she immediately went back to that table of South Americans. I did not even get a chance to ask for the photo of her and my daughter!! And wouldn’t you know, this time not only did the little boy attach himself to her, but a little girl about 4 years old did the same. So, Minnie walked around the restaurant visiting tables holding the hands of these two children!! Now, for us, who visit WDW so frequently, this was no big deal because we knew we would see Minnie again somewhere sometime when my daughter had on her special dress, but I wondered about others who perhaps were scheduling this as their only character meal and were expecting at least few minutes of one on one time with Minnie, only to have two strange children also part of the deal!! My daughter seemed a little hurt that Minnie did not make a big deal of her dress (or even appear to notice it at all), but we assured her that we would see Minnie again later when she was less busy!!

To their credit, I must say that the other characters were wonderful and really played it up with the kids. The Mad Hatter even stole my son’s Capt. Hook hat at one point.

After eating breakfast, we decided to visit the MK before checking into PO. So, we boarded the monorail to MK. The crowds seemed particularly light this day. Now, we had left our double stroller in the car at the Grand Floridian, so we rented one of the new double strollers at the MK, since the kids did not seemed inclined to walk. This was the first time we had used the MK’s double stroller and I really liked it. It was easier to push along those tracks on Main Street and since it was inline rather than side by side, it was just easier to maneuver than my side by side Graco Duo-Rider. On the downside, the seats did seem rather small and my children (aged 3 ½ and around 40 and 41 inches tall) did not have as much leg room as they are used to. Also, only the rear sear reclined and this did not recline all the way back the way that the MK’s single strollers do, but rather at a slight angle. I don’t think too many children could get comfortable enough to sleep in the MK’s double strollers. But, for the afternoon, it was fine.

After taking a ride on the carousel, we decided to line up to meet Ariel, since the line to meet her had been so long on our previous visits that we had not done this attraction since early spring. Today, the crowds in the MK were very light and we waited no more than 10 minutes to meet Ariel.

Our next stop was Snow White’s Adventures, which also was a walk-on. My daughter used to be somewhat scared of this attraction, but lately she has wanted to ride this attraction and says that she will just "laugh at that old witch".

We then made our way to Toontown, but along the way we stopped at the Character Festival located where 20,000 Leagues under the Sea used to be to check on what time Captain Hook would be there. The CM was nice enough to call for us and told us that Capt. Hook would be there at 2:30. So, we decided to return then so that my son could meet the Capt. and show him his own Capt. Hook costume.

At Toontown, I took my son to ride Goofy’s Barnstormer (about a 5 minute wait) while my husband took my daughter to Minnie’s house. She loves playing in the kitchen there and is just not that thrilled with the Barnstromer.

I suggested going into the character tent to try to get a picture of my daughter with Minnie since the crowds were so light, but my husband did not want to do that. We had ps for Chef Mickeys the next night, so we knew we would see Minnie there. After Toontown, we made our way over to Tomorrowland and my husband took my daughter on the Grand Prix and Buzz Lightyear. My son was tiring out, so he and I just sat and people watched for a while. Grand Prix was our longest line of the day, and my husband and daughter waited about 15 minutes for this ride. Buzz was a walk-on, but my husband reported that the air conditioning still was not working in the queue area and that it was quite hot in there. During our October trip, the air conditioning had also been out in the queue area. I hope this is fixed before the heat of summer!! While my husband and daughter did Buzz, my son and I took a ride on the TTA (also a walk-on) , always a favorite of mine.

By this time, it was nearing 2:30 pm, so my husband took my son to meet Capt. Hook while I took my daughter for a spin on the teacups (another walk-on). My son enjoyed his visit with Capt. Hook and also met Pinocchio. At this point, the kids were getting tired and we wanted to head back to the hotel to rest a little before the MVMCP tonight.

We made our way down Main Street and the kids could see that people were lining up for the 3 pm Remember the Magic parade, so they asked to stay and watch it. We found a spot right along the curb on Main Street at 2:50 pm (again, the crowds were very light!) and waited for the parade. While we waited, a parade coach came by and gave the kids each an Ariel sticker and said that they could dance with the Ariel float. The coaches gave a brief demonstration of what the kids would do (a conga line dance) and then the parade began.

Now, before we had kids, I was never one to watch parades. During the very first trip I took to Disney World as a kid with my mom, we arrived in the MK right around noon and got caught in the hordes of people waiting for the parade (I think it was at 12:30 pm way back when WDW first opened). Maybe it was because of that experience that I was forever turned off of parades, but after having kids, it is a different story. They get so much out of seeing their favorite characters and watching the floats that seeing the parade through their eyes is a wonderful experience!! My kids are still singing the "Remember the Magic" song at home 2 weeks after our last trip and they pretend that they are in the parade.

Anyway, the Ariel float came by and stopped in front of us and the kids did their bit, which consisted of shaking moroccos and doing the conga. It was fun to watch and of course, I took a lot of pictures. The kids loved it!!

After the parade, we left the MK and took the resort launch back to the Grand Floridian and retrieved our car from valet parking. We then drove to PO to check in. I had called the Room Controller on Wednesday (12/2) to request a first floor room in Building 4. We like this building because it is closest to the food court and bus stop. At the time of my call, the Room Controller told me that they had us blocked into a corner room next to the food court and she asked if I thought this would be too noisy. We had never had a corner room before, so I jumped at the chance to experience one and told her that room would be fine.

I stayed in the car with the kids while my husband checked us in. A problem arose when he did not have his Disney credit card on him and was using mine to check in with. Because my signature was on the card, they wanted me to sign the receipt, so he came out to the car and stayed with the kids while I went in to sign the receipt so that we could charge purchases to the hotel bill.

We were given Room 4126, which is the corner room (facing the parking lot, but with the gardens around, you don’t notice that you are facing the parking area) closest to the food court. I could not tell that the room was any bigger than a regular room, but the advantage of having a corner room is that you have two sets of windows, which does brighten the room up a bit. The room was like all of the moderate hotels and included two double beds, a table and two chairs, armoire with TV, and two sinks. The beds at PO seem unusually high, so I always request bed rails for the kids when making my reservation. Housekeeping delivered the bed rails shortly after we arrived. The bathtub had that soap dispenser, but I did not mind using the soap from it, however it was rather hard to get the soap out of the dispenser. My husband just used the bar soap in the shower. Missing from the room were the iron and ironing board, hair dryer, and coffee maker we had enjoyed at CS in September and October. We never were disturbed by noise, despite our close proximity to the food court area.

We tried to get the kids to settle down for a rest, but did not have much luck. They lay down, but did not sleep and spent lot of time giggling with one another. My son said he was hungry, so I went to the food court for grilled cheese sandwiches for the children. The PO food court has to be one of the best food deals at WDW. A children’s grilled cheese with french fries is around $4 plus they accept the Disney Dining Experience card for FL Residents, which gives a 20% discount. I love the red beans and rice ($1.69) and that was all that I wanted after our large breakfast. We had our refillable mug from a previous trip, so I got my husband some iced tea (he was full from breakfast also) and I had juice boxes from home for the kids.

After eating, I took the kids for a walk around the hotel so that my husband could try to rest (he was coming down with a cold and wasn’t feeling well). The playground area had been renovated since our last stay in Feb. and they have also added another spa by the playground. Every other time we have stayed here, it has been winter and it has been cold (at least by FL native standards), so the kids have never been in the pool here. They were anxious to try the serpent slide, so we decided to make time for that during this trip. This was the week that all of the country was experiencing a heat wave and the temperatures were in the 80s during our entire stay.

We met my husband in the gift shop (poor dear was buying aspirin) and took the bus to the MK. We arrived at about 8:10 pm. The official time for MVMCP was 8 pm to 1 am, but by the look of Main Street, they had let people in early. Main Street was very congested with people staking out spots for the 9 pm Christmas parade, so we quickly made our way to Frontierland to stake out a spot there for the parade. There are two showings of the Christmas parade, one at 9 pm and the other at 11:30 pm. We knew the kids would never make it to 11:30 pm, so we wanted to see the early parade. While my son and I staked out spots in front of Pecos Bills in Frontierland, my husband took my daughter to see the Country Bears Christmas Show. They had to wait about 15 minutes until enough people showed up for them to run the show, but they enjoyed the show. Afterwards, they picked up complimentary hot chocolate and Christmas cookies in Pecos Bills and brought some to my son and I. The cookies were basic decorated sugar cookies, but the hot chocolate was good (and had mini marshmallows in it), although it was a little warm outside for hot chocolate. It was still in the high 70s, even at night, so it really did not seem that much like Christmas. Christmas carols were piped in throughout the park and there were giant balloon wreaths and candy canes (both which lit up) placed throughout the park.

There were various booths set up throughout the park to have a complimentary picture taken, so we did this in Frontierland, with about a 5 minute wait. I had read from other newsgroup postings to bypass the photo stands on Main Street as these are always crowded. The picture is mailed to your home.

We had hesitated about taking our children to this party, thinking that it would be a little late for them, but we saw many strollers and many children younger than ours. I don’t know about the wisdom of having very small children up and about that late, but I guess the warm temperatures may have had something to do with the amount of small children there.

The parade finally made its way to Frontierland (it begins on Main St) and it was just beautiful. It is the same parade that is shown on Christmas day, but seeing it in person and at night was definitely something special and worth the price of admission to me. The children were simply enthralled, which only added to our enjoyment.

When the parade ended, we made our way to the Plaza Pavilion in Tomorrowland to stake out a spot for the 10 pm fireworks (this is one of the fireworks viewing spots recommended in the Unofficial Guide). We found a table by the railing and sat down about 9:50 pm. The fireworks were beautiful and included something different: during the finale, instead of just appearing at one side of the castle, they appeared on both sides of the castle. They would shoot off identical fireworks in four places, two on each side of the castle so it was like viewing fireworks in a half circle. The kids loved it and my husband and I were also quite impressed. Right after the fireworks, both kids fell asleep in the stroller (we had our own, which allowed both kids to recline).

My husband and I took this opportunity to walk around and enjoy the sights of the MK at night. The MVMCP was crowded, but not nearly as crowded as the park during a normal weekend, when it is opened late. My husband rode Space Mountain with a posted waiting time of 20 minutes (I don’t think he actually waited that long), so that kind of gives you an idea of the crowds.

We browsed in some shops and my husband had his favorite dessert at Sleepy Hollow (the ice cream sandwich consisting of ice cream between two jumbo chocolate chip cookies). We tried to do Timekeeper, but the CM wouldn’t let us wheel the stroller into the attraction. That is the one attraction (besides Alien Encounter, which I have no desire to ever see!) in the MK that we have never done. My husband has done Alien Encounter, but I just have no desire to see this attraction, based on reports I have read. I would like to do Timekeeper, but my husband never wants to stand with the kids during the show. We thought this would be a good opportunity to see the show, but the CM said no strollers were allowed in the attraction. I was disappointed!!

We debated on taking turns riding Splash Mountain, but by now it was nearing 11 pm and we figured we had better exit before the hordes of people who would be leaving after the 11:30 pm parade. We left the MK and waited about 2 minutes for a bus to take us back to PO. We got to sleep around midnight.

Saturday, 12/5/98

After our late night last night, we got a somewhat late start this morning. We had 10 am ps at Hollywood and Vine at MGM for the new character breakfast. Recently, this restaurant has been transformed from a cafeteria to a character dining buffet. The Soundstage Restaurant, which used to be character dining with Aladdin, Genie, Rafiki, and Esmerelda, is closed.

We left our hotel at 10 am and took a bus to MGM, arriving at about 10:15 pm. It was 10:20 by the time we got to Hollywood and Vine, but they still were able to seat us. While we waited for our name to be called, a CM approached us and asked if our children would like to be in a special Christmas parade they were having to commemorate the anniversary of Belle’s Enchanted Christmas video. Of course, the kids wanted to participate, so the CM took down their names and told us to meet at Sid’s near the main entrance to MGM at 12:20 pm.

The food at the breakfast buffet was only mediocre (eggs, breakfast meats, chocolate french toast, which tasted a bit odd, and varied fruits), but the characters were dressed in full movie star attire. Minnie wore a long gown and Goofy was in a tux and had the longest black patent leather shoes I have ever seen. Chip and Gale walked around in cummerbunds. About every 20 minutes, they would play big band music and pass out pink boas to the children and encourage everyone to get up and dance. The kids loved dancing around with the boas and it was great fun. There was a professional photographer taking photos of people with Minnie, who stood near the entrance rather than circulating amongst the tables. I’m glad we did it once, but unless the food improves, I’m not in a hurry to return to this restaurant for breakfast. They were setting up for lunch while we were there and the lunch entrees did look good. They also have an ice cream bar with various toppings like Chef Mickeys.

By the way, during breakfast, we ran into a man whom I work with and his wife, who were also visiting WDW that weekend. It is a small world!!

After our breakfast, we had time for one more attraction before we had to meet for the parade, so my husband took my son on Voyage of Little Mermaid (a walk-on). My daughter is somewhat scared of Ursula, so she did not want to see this attraction. Mickey was posing for photos in a corner of the Animation Courtyard, so she got her photo taken with Mickey. Today, she also had on her Minnie dress (I couldn’t get her out of it this trip!), so the picture came out really cute. $13 a pop is a little steep for the professional photos, but we could not resist this one!! We also browsed around the shop outside of the Little Mermaid attraction while we waited for my husband and son.

After VoLM, we made our way to Sid’s and browsed around there a bit while we waited for the CM to tell us what to do in the parade. Sid’s is the store with a lot of autographed photos of TV and movie celebrities, so it is a fun place to browse around in. About 15 children ranging in age from 2 to about 10 gathered to participate in the parade. Several CMs came out and called role to see who was there (several children were from Africa and had very unusual names, but the CM handled the tough pronunciation gracefully). We were told that the children would march down the street to the Chinese Theater and then would sit and watch Belle dance with the Beast and then they would march back. Then, they took the children behind a barricade to get them into costume. Well, I started to go back with the kids and the CM stopped me, asking if the kids were scared. "They are not scared, but I normally do not let my kids out of my sight, " I replied. Another mom also said that she was wary about letting the kids go "backstage", but there was a crack in the wooden board separating us from the kids, so this other mother and I took turns peering in through the crack, trying to see our kids. They were standing in a backstage area with Belle and a horse drawn carriage and some other men dressed like elves. The kids looked like they were fine, but it was just the idea of letting my 3 year olds go off with strangers that frightened me!! My husband also took a peek through the crack, so it was not just me who was the worry wart!! After what seemed like an eternity (in reality, it was about 10 minutes), the gates to the backstage area opened up and the parade began. Over the loud speaker, came an announcement inviting everyone to join in a celebration of Belle’s Enchanted Christmas video and the music started ("As long as it’s Christmas…") and the children made their way up the main boulevard towards the Chinese Theater. One parent from each family was given a special sticker so that they could walk directly behind the parade, so my husband took that job while I tried to get pictures of the processional.

I must give the CMs in the parade special credit. Several CMs were dressed as elves and they did a wonderful job with the children. One young man stood in-between our two kids and held their hands and kept a good watch over them. Another CM took charge of another little girl (who looked about 2) and he actually ended up carrying her at the end of parade during the walk back down the street!!

The kids looked like they were having the time of their lives and had little jingle bells that they rang. Two lucky children got to ride in the carriage with Belle and the others followed behind. When they reached the Chinese Theater, the Beast, Clock, and Mrs. Potts (I think) were waiting and Belle danced with the Beast. The children all sat down right in front and the parents who had on stickers stood right behind them. It was at this point that I knew I could never be a stage mom. I was on the sidewalk running with the parade to try to get a few feet ahead to take pictures at various intervals (we had left our video camera at home, isn’t it always the way!!). Well, at one point, the kids and my husband got away from me as I was delayed by the crowds. I was waving at my husband trying to get his attention and I thought, this must be how the stage moms feel, when the movie star kids have to go and do their thing and the moms are left behind!! It was not a good feeling!! I finally caught up to my husband and we watched the show, although I do not remember much of it, I was so intent on watching the kids to make sure they were ok. Then, it was time for them to march back down the street. My daughter and son were just skipping along, ringing their bells, and every once in a while, they would wave to us. It was a wonderful experience and one we will not soon forget.

The parade participants went "backstage" again to get out of their "costumes" and it was about 5 minutes before they emerged. When they did, all of the parents gathered clapped for them. The CMs thanked them for participating and we were on our way.

After the parade, we made our way over to HBND and arrived before they opened the gates to the theater. We got our usual aisle seats by the stage and thoroughly enjoyed the show. Matt the Juggler was the pre-show act and he was wonderful as always. This show always just blows me away and my kids (especially my son) just love it.

After HBND, we went to the camera shop to purchase the photo of my daughter and Mickey. It came out really cute. We also got one of the kids at the Hollywood and Vine restaurant with Minnie in her movie star dress.

We had taken our car, so we decided to visit my husband’s parents and brother at CS before heading back to PO to rest. They had a room in the Cabanas section, in almost the same area as we stayed in during our first visit. They did have a garden view, so they were not facing directly out onto the parking lot, as we were (see my September, 1998 trip report). After a short visit and a walk around the grounds, we headed back to PO. On the way there, the kids both fell asleep, so I sat with them in the car while my husband went into the room to nap. I knew if I tried to carry them into the hotel, they would wake up and would be grouchy, so I just decide to let sleeping children lie and I relaxed in the car while they napped.

After about an hour, they woke up and we went back into the room to wake my husband and to get ready for our dinner at Chef Mickeys. Originally, I had made the ps for just the four of us, but later, Tom’s parents and brother decided to join us. When I called back to Disney Dining to try to add 3 more people to the reservation, they told me they were entirely booked. So, we decided to take our chance as "walk-ins".

We drove over to the Contemporary and my husband’s parents and brother were already waiting for us at Chef Mickeys. We gave our name to the woman at the podium and told her there would be three more people in our party and she said, "No problem. You will be seated in just a few minutes". We were happy that we did not have to wait long. Sometimes I get really annoyed with the reservation system at Disney Dining. For instance, many restaurants will not take a ps for parties over 7. You would think a company as extensive as WDW could arrange to make reservations for large parties!!

Anyway, we had a very pleasant dinner and in addition to the usual prime rib, they also had roast turkey at the carving station. We love the parmesan mashed potatoes here also. Of course, the kids love the "Celebrate" segments in which they get to swing their napkins and sing along and "party". The make-your-own-cupcake station is always a big hit with my kids too!! The waitress brought carafes of diet coke and iced tea so we wouldn’t have to wait for refills!!

After dinner, I took the kids to the restroom to change into warmer clothes (it was cooler out tonight than last night, but still very pleasant) while the rest of the party looked around in the gift shops on the fourth floor. We love the children’s shop and usually find some items on sale here!! The area outside of the gift shops had been transformed into a temporary Christmas shop and had beautiful holiday items. We said our good-byes to my husband’s parents and brother and walked over to the MK. I think the walk from the Contemporary to the MK is so convenient. It just takes a few minutes and for parents with kids in a stroller (especially a double stroller), it’s much less hassle than using the monorail. I hope that Disney builds more hotels within walking distances of theme parks. For instance, I wonder if a path could be made from the Grand Floridian to the MK? I know that a hotel is planned within walking distance of AK.

Tonight the MK was open until 11 pm, so we decided to try Splash Mountain at night. There was about a 10 minute wait and then we were on our way. We thought that the fireworks would be at 10 pm, however they were at 9 pm, so we got to see some of them from SM. My daughter usually puts her head in our laps during the big drop and tonight she was so proud that she kept her head up throughout the entire drop. We wanted to buy the picture of all four of us on the ride together, but it took a very long time for the photos to appear. We stood around and waited for about 10 minutes, but the photos were not changing. We overheard that there was a problem with them, so we eventually gave up and left.

My son was getting tired, so he slept in the stroller. My daughter was raring to go, so I stayed with my son while my husband took my daughter on Peter Pan and Small World, both with just about 5 minute waits.

After that, my daughter was also tiring out, so we made our way out of the park, enjoying the walk down Main St. and the walk back to the Contemporary. We got back to the hotel at about 10:30 pm and packed up a bit and went to sleep.

Sunday, 12/6/98

The kids woke up at about 7 am and we decided to change our plans a bit. Originally, we were going to go to the MK this morning, come back to the hotel for a swim and a nap for the kids and then checkout by 1 pm. (we had requested a late checkout upon arrival). However, my husband was coming down with a cold and wanted to sleep in, so we decided to stay around the hotel in the morning and let the kids swim and then go to the MK later in the day.

Although we have stayed at PO many times last year, it was always during the winter months and since last winter was much colder, there was no opportunity to use the pool. The kids love the toddler slide at the Yacht Club and when they saw the serpent slide at PO, they were dying to try that one also. Since I would be alone with the kids in the water, we used life jackets. These are distributed at a stand by the pool free of charge (however I did have to leave my room ID, something we did not have to do at YC). Towels are also provided by the pool and they rent big alligator floats for $5 an hour.

The kids went down the slide alone, with me catching them at the bottom. The slide is long, but it is curved, so it is not very steep at all. My 3 ½ year olds were able to go on it alone with no problem. Towards the end, they did not want me to catch them, but I still stood at the end of the slide to make sure they were ok and to guide them out of the current that develops at the bottom of the slide. The kids took swimming lessons all summer and swim at our pool at home, so if I had another adult in the water with me, I don’t think we would have needed the life jackets, but they were a wonderful safety precaution with me being alone in the water with the kids.

After sliding a bit, the kids wanted to rent an alligator float, so we got one for the two of them to share. Two children could easily straddle the float and they had a good time with me pushing them around the pool. The first float that we got had a hole in it and was slowly leaking, so we traded that one in for another gator. The pool was not crowded at all and the water was heated very warm (although the water by the slide was somewhat colder for some reason). By this time, my husband had awakened and had walked out by the pool, so he took some photos of us in the water. By now it was about 10:45 am and the kids had had enough swimming, so we went back to the room to give them a hot bath. The housekeeping cart was next door and the housekeeper asked me what time we were leaving. I told her we had a late checkout and she handed me some extra towels, which I thought was nice.

After bathing and getting the kids dressed, I went to the food court for some breakfast to bring back to the room. The PO food court is very reasonable priced and the kids’ meals are very large and the adult meals are huge!! The food court was not crowded this late in the morning and we got our food very quickly. After eating a good breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, biscuits and bacon, we loaded up the car to go to the MK.

We drove to the Grand Floridian and valet parked the car. We had no trouble getting in the gate, as we just told the guard we wanted to look around at the decorations. We took the monorail to the MK and arrived at noon. We were meeting my husband’s parents and brother at Pinocchio’s Village Haus and we found them there just finishing up lunch.

We made our way over to Adventureland and did the new Tiki Birds show first (about a 5 minute wait). My husband’s parents and brother had not seen the new version, so it was fun to see their reaction. I don’t think they were too impressed though. We like it, however, and the kids really get into it.

Next stop was the Pirates of Caribbean (with a 5 minute wait). My daughter has gone on this ride countless times, but for some reason, she decided that she did not want to ride this time, so I waited with her while the others did the ride. We browsed in the gift shop and picked up a cute Goofy pirate hat for my son. It is a Pirate scarf with long Goofy ears pierced with hoop earrings. My son is in a big Pirate phase, so we said this would be my daughter’s Christmas gift to him. (He had already gotten her Christmas gift—the Disney princesses nightgown from the Disney Store).

Our next stop was Splash Mountain. This had about a 15 minute wait. Again, my daughter was so proud that she kept her head up throughout the big drop, but her face was hidden behind my husband’s brother (who is over 6’ tall), so we did not purchase the picture. By the way, there was no problem with the pictures today, so whatever problem they had yesterday night must have been repaired.

We said goodbye to my husband’s parents and brother, as they wanted to head over to Tomorrowland and do Alien Encounter and Space Mountain. My son likes BTMRR, so after taking a break for Mickey ice cream bars, I took him on that ride with just about a 2 minute wait!! My daughter does not like roller coasters, so she stayed with my husband. I had not been on this ride since my college days and I really enjoyed it, especially with my little boy beside me with a big silly grin plastered over his face!!

As we exited the ride, we saw our stroller parked by SM, but saw no sign of my husband and daughter. It was nearing 3 pm, so I thought they might have staked out a spot for the Remember the Magic parade. It was at this point that my son and I discovered a prime viewing spot for the parade. The sidewalk leading to SM and Tom’s Sawyer Island is a parade crosswalk until 3 pm. At 3 pm, when the parade starts, this area is roped off and if you happen to be lucky enough to be standing around there at 3 pm, you get a front row spot for the parade. The parade begins in Frontierland just a little bit past SM. Since we were literally blocked in by the parade, my son and I watched it. We discovered another benefit to this viewing spot also. The floats do not stop for the audience participation segments until the very last float, so you get to see almost the entire parade without interruption. The parade ended and we made our way back to our parked stroller and saw my husband and daughter. It turns out that they had gone to Tom Sawyer’s Island while we were on BTMRR. This was my daughter’s first time on Tom Sawyer’s island and she enjoyed running around.

Our next stop was the Country Bear Christmas show. My daughter and husband had done this on Friday night, but my son and I still had not seen it yet. We waited about 5 minutes and very much enjoyed the show. This is another attraction that we might not do if we didn’t have children, but with kids it’s fun, just to see their expressions as those silly bears sing.

My son wanted to do the Haunted Mansion next, so I took him on that (5 minute wait again) while my husband stayed with my daughter, who said she was afraid of the hitchhiking ghosts. This is another ride she has been on many times, but she was just in a different mood today.

We had 4:25 pm ps at Cinderella’s Castle for dinner, so after HM, we went directly there. We were seated within minutes and that’s when the trouble began. I wrote in my September, 1998 report about the importance of giving children naps during a day at WDW. Well, I should have followed my own advice because the effects of the long day were showing on my daughter. She threw a big tantrum and was crying inconsolably during the entire meal. I would take her out of the restaurant only to have her cry to come back in. When I would bring her back in, she would still cry!! Our waitress was wonderful and kept asking if she could help in anyway, but unfortunately, there was nothing much anyone could do. We were seated next to a family with a child about the same age and they looked over and smiled and said, "Been there, done that." I’m sure quite a few other people in the restaurant were muttering about the wisdom of bringing 3 year olds to the Castle for dinner, but in our defense, I can only say that this is the first time that my daughter has ever acted this way. Also, since we were dining early, I hope that we did not spoil anyone’s attempt at a romantic evening.

The food…what little I could eat was wonderful, as always. I had the queen’s cut of prime rib, which was served with a generous helping of mashed potatoes. My husband had the shrimp meal, which he said was also good. My son enjoyed the macaroni and cheese, while my daughter only ate the bread and the Mickey shaped butter (we went through two of these). The children’s meals are also served with Mickey cookies in a little bag (like animal cookies) that we took with us.

Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother alternated being downstairs (one would take a break and then the other would appear) and on the way out, we took a photo with Cinderella. After dinner, my daughter’s disposition drastically improved and she was a happy child again. We walked down Main St. and at the end (by City Hall), Mickey and Minnie were dressed as Christmas carolers and were posing for photos. We got in line, but right at 6 pm, they took a break, so we decided not to wait. As we made our way out of the park, just before the turnstiles, we encountered the largest group of characters I had ever seen. Snow White was there with all seven dwarfs. In addition, Peter Pan, Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit, Pluto, and many others were just standing around posing for pictures and autographs. We spent about 30 minutes visiting with them all. It was a great opportunity for lots of character interaction and there were not long waits for any of the characters. I really think WDW goes all out at Christmas time.

Finally, we took the resort launch back to the GF and walked along the beach for a bit. We intended to stay to watch the 7 pm MK fireworks from the beach, but it was my son’s turn to be grumpy, so we decided to leave just before 7 pm, so the kids could sleep in the car. We retrieved the car from valet parking and made it home by 8:30 pm.

Final Thoughts

Our usual plans for the last day of a stay at WDW are to go to a park early and return to the room around 11:30 am or 12 to let the kids nap until 1 pm, when we have the late checkout scheduled. Then, we can return to a park and usually stay until closing, or at least until the fireworks. In retrospect, we should have stuck to that plan. The kids just get too tired out with a full day at the parks, especially by the third day of a whirlwind WDW stay. I don’t think that most children act up unless they are overtired and I think that letting them get their rest should be a priority. We find that even if we just get in the car and drive around WDW, they will nap in the car and we have used this strategy for times when we did not have the late checkout and a room to go back to for an afternoon rest.

I said it in my last trip report and I will repeat it here. For young children, dressing up in a costume when visiting WDW seems to be really fun. My kids love to dress up anyway, and it is fun for them to be dressed like their favorite Disney character when visiting WDW. The CMs always have an nice comment for the kids and it just makes the trip more special for them. Of course, you have to take the weather into account when planning to wear a costume. In extreme temperatures, either very hot or very cold, I don’t think it would be practical, but for this time of year, it was perfect.

The Christmas parade at MGM was also a lovely memory both for all of us. It is these special touches that makes Disney like no other theme park and keeps us returning time and time again. We made the mistake of purchasing the two plus two annual passes to Busch Gardens and Sea World (two parks for two years) and boy, when comparing these parks to WDW, there is just no comparison. Sea World is the better of the two, in my opinion. But, Busch Gardens leaves much to be desired. The personnel are downright rude. You know how you get the little welcome speech on each ride at Disney, "Welcome to Dumbo. To make Dumbo fly, push up the little lever…". Well, at Busch Gardens, you get an insolent, "ok, hold on". My kids went on a Dumbo like ride (it was a children’s only ride; no one over a certain height was allowed on) and tried to push the lever to make the thing fly, but it worked differently from Dumbo, so they could not make it go up. How hard would it be to provide instructions at the start of each ride? We were in a cafeteria style restaurant at Busch Gardens and when I gave my order to the woman behind the counter, she never looked up or even acknowledged that I had spoken to her. When I repeated my order she said, "yes, I heard you." Even after paying $800 for two year passes for the four of us, I am not anxious to return to Busch Gardens after our experience there!! People may think that the grooming restrictions for the CMs at WDW are corny or out of date, but just visit another theme park and see the wild hair and unshaven faces and believe me, you will appreciate the clean appearance of the WDW CMs. Not every CM at WDW is always polite and we have run across a few that were rude, but overall, I think the level of service at WDW is still way ahead of any other theme park or resort area we have visited. And yes, WDW is expensive, but IMO, you get what you pay for there and usually you get a few little extra surprises thrown in. At closing time at Busch Gardens, we walked out of one restroom without using it because it was so filthy. At WDW, you usually see an attendant cleaning the restrooms no matter what time of day you visit. Ok, I am finished ranting!!

With this trip, I have finally solved the moderate resort dilemma for myself. I definitely prefer CS to PO. The visit to my husband’s parents’ room only served to confirm my beliefs. After seeing their room compared to our room at PO, I definitely like CS better. I prefer the central air/heat at CS rather than the unit in the window at PO. I like having the coffee pot and hair dryer at CS (although I know these can be requested from Housekeeping at other moderates). But, most of all, I think I like the fact that the rooms at CS are situated around that giant lake. It just looks prettier to me. PO is a lovely hotel and I know that the kids loved the slide in the pool (we have not tried out the one at CS—in Sept. it looked like it was geared to older kids). I think that the bike paths are also more private at PO, so each hotel has its good and bad points, but for me, CS is my favorite.

I have a reservation at PO for Feb.5-8, 1999 for the kids’ fourth birthday that I have been trying to change to CS without luck. I guess I will have to continue those 7 am phone calls to CRO.

My husband and I had different reactions to MVMCP. He really did not think it was worth the price of admission (about $116 for the four of us), since nothing was really different from other nights in the MK. For me, the opportunity to view the Christmas parade and those outstanding fireworks made it worth it. Now, I agree that $116 is a little steep for a parade and fireworks (especially since the fireworks could be seen from any of the hotels around the lagoon), so I don’t think this is something we would do every year. I did not go on any attractions at all during the MVMCP and my husband just did two: Space Mountain and Country Bears. I know that WDW offers resort packages which include the MVMCP, but in the past, when pricing out the items in a package and comparing them to purchasing them individually (using passholder and FL resident discounts), it always seem that the packages are just a little more expensive.

The complimentary picture that they take of you during the party arrived by mail about 2 weeks after we got home. It was not very good. The lighting was off and it was just not very flattering of any of us. There was an order form included to order additional copies, but the picture was nothing special. Now, I wish they had taken the photo in the sleigh that is on Main St. during the holiday season. That would have been a nicer picture and maybe even one that we would have wanted extra copies of to include in our Christmas cards. How expensive could it be for Disney to set up those sleighs at the various photo locations?

The first weekend of December proved to be a wonderful time to visit, as the crowds were very light. I do wish we had had the opportunity to see AK and EPCOT in their Christmas decorations. We also missed the Osborne lights in MGM this year. There is so much to do that I think next year, we will have to schedule a longer trip for the Christmas season.

Well, thank you for reading my trip report. As I said in my last report, I really have respect for those of you who complete one of these after each and every trip. It is work!! But, I love writing about my second favorite subject (after my husband and kids!), WDW!! E-mail me with any questions or comments.

Pamela McGlinchey