SFTrny
12-06-2008, 01:05 PM
Thanksgiving at WDW! We had made the decision early on that if we were going to WDW over the holiday, we weren’t going to get wrapped up in the whole TV and Turkey tradition.
It was an EMH at MK, so…off we went, arriving at the park just after the gates opened. On the way, we saw the wild turkeys again. Run, hide!
Buzz Lightyear was the first ride of the day, and I redeemed myself. We all compete for highest scores, and I am extremely competitive – or so I am told. When we did Buzz on Saturday, I was eyeballing the scores through the ride and was comfortably in the lead by a couple of hundred thousand going into the final room. I still don’t know what she shot, but when we came out, the wife’s score was devastating – as in almost twice my total! AAAARGH! This time, I came out ahead…soundly beating her by a thin margin of twenty thousand. So – of course – I declared that we were tied, one game each. :-)
We did the Haunted Mansion today, and the updates are exceptional. My favorite renovation is the attic area, where you get a better sense of the storyline. Overall, everything seemed cleaner, brighter, and newer...which sounds weird since it is still a very dusty, dark, old haunted mansion. After another round of BTM and PotC, we were ready for a break with a Dole Whip.
By now, the park was pretty packed. The holiday crowds had arrived! If you don’t have a Park Hopper, or if you aren’t prepared to leave and come back to the same park later in the day, I would recommend avoiding the EMH parks during peak seasons. We are a morning crowd, even on vacation. So the EMH was great until midday. Now, it was time to bail.
Our first thought was to grab lunch at Olivia’s at Old Key West. Usually, the resorts are great places to find an uncrowded restaurant for lunch. Unfortunately, Olivia’s was packed. So, we toured a little bit of OKW and then headed over to Port Orleans. We had a nice lunch in the near empty food court area and then headed outside for a boat ride. We rented one of the Boston Whalers and cruised the river for an hour. We got to see the new Treehouse Villas along the river. They look GREAT, and very much in style with the originals. I stayed in a Treehouse Villa on my first ever trip to WDW many years ago and would love to go back and stay there again.
After the boat ride, we headed back to the cabin at FW. It was time to do some laundry, so the golf cart helped us transport several loads of clothes to the comfort station. Quarters, quarters, quarters! Thank goodness the change machine would change a five! We had planned on some French bread pizzas and salad for dinner, but we were really hungry that afternoon. So, in between laundry runs, we carted over to the outpost to see what our snack options were. We grabbed a package of hamburgers and buns, turned the pizzas into an afternoon snack and cooked hamburgers on the grill for Thanksgiving dinner. :-) Packing and planning note: Unless you are burger fiends, buying a bottle of ketchup for a week or less stay at WDW isn’t worth it and is very wasteful. There are places where you can buy small, individual size bottles of condiments. Cost Plus/World Market and minimusbiz.com are two suggestions. A small assortment of those were packed with our spices and mailed ahead of time.
We wrapped up our Thanksgiving with a nighttime drive around FW in the golf cart to tour the Christmas lights and displays that people had at their campsites. I am amazed at how elaborately some of the campsites are decorated and am sure that it must have taken the campers a few days to setup their decorations.
It was an EMH at MK, so…off we went, arriving at the park just after the gates opened. On the way, we saw the wild turkeys again. Run, hide!
Buzz Lightyear was the first ride of the day, and I redeemed myself. We all compete for highest scores, and I am extremely competitive – or so I am told. When we did Buzz on Saturday, I was eyeballing the scores through the ride and was comfortably in the lead by a couple of hundred thousand going into the final room. I still don’t know what she shot, but when we came out, the wife’s score was devastating – as in almost twice my total! AAAARGH! This time, I came out ahead…soundly beating her by a thin margin of twenty thousand. So – of course – I declared that we were tied, one game each. :-)
We did the Haunted Mansion today, and the updates are exceptional. My favorite renovation is the attic area, where you get a better sense of the storyline. Overall, everything seemed cleaner, brighter, and newer...which sounds weird since it is still a very dusty, dark, old haunted mansion. After another round of BTM and PotC, we were ready for a break with a Dole Whip.
By now, the park was pretty packed. The holiday crowds had arrived! If you don’t have a Park Hopper, or if you aren’t prepared to leave and come back to the same park later in the day, I would recommend avoiding the EMH parks during peak seasons. We are a morning crowd, even on vacation. So the EMH was great until midday. Now, it was time to bail.
Our first thought was to grab lunch at Olivia’s at Old Key West. Usually, the resorts are great places to find an uncrowded restaurant for lunch. Unfortunately, Olivia’s was packed. So, we toured a little bit of OKW and then headed over to Port Orleans. We had a nice lunch in the near empty food court area and then headed outside for a boat ride. We rented one of the Boston Whalers and cruised the river for an hour. We got to see the new Treehouse Villas along the river. They look GREAT, and very much in style with the originals. I stayed in a Treehouse Villa on my first ever trip to WDW many years ago and would love to go back and stay there again.
After the boat ride, we headed back to the cabin at FW. It was time to do some laundry, so the golf cart helped us transport several loads of clothes to the comfort station. Quarters, quarters, quarters! Thank goodness the change machine would change a five! We had planned on some French bread pizzas and salad for dinner, but we were really hungry that afternoon. So, in between laundry runs, we carted over to the outpost to see what our snack options were. We grabbed a package of hamburgers and buns, turned the pizzas into an afternoon snack and cooked hamburgers on the grill for Thanksgiving dinner. :-) Packing and planning note: Unless you are burger fiends, buying a bottle of ketchup for a week or less stay at WDW isn’t worth it and is very wasteful. There are places where you can buy small, individual size bottles of condiments. Cost Plus/World Market and minimusbiz.com are two suggestions. A small assortment of those were packed with our spices and mailed ahead of time.
We wrapped up our Thanksgiving with a nighttime drive around FW in the golf cart to tour the Christmas lights and displays that people had at their campsites. I am amazed at how elaborately some of the campsites are decorated and am sure that it must have taken the campers a few days to setup their decorations.