faline
12-23-2011, 03:32 PM
December 17, 2011
Saturday
Who:
Gene
Linda
DB Scott
DSIL Donna
DN Sam
We are now back at home in New England and I never got a chance to catch up on notes again while we were away. It was almost a week ago since I wrote down any of the notes from our trip! This will truly be from memory!!
Monday, December 12 – continued
Before we began the trip, we made arrangements to stay with Sam for the evening so that Scott and Donna could have an adult evening out. They opted to go to Via Napoli at Epcot.
Sam didn’t want them to leave – at one point, standing in the doorway to prevent them from leaving. He was distracted by some stickers that he got to open and “share” with us. He wasn’t really upset they were gone – just didn’t want them to go to begin with. He’d had a very busy day so I didn’t expect he’d have much fortitude for a lot of evening activities.
We walked across the street to Olivia’s and were seated almost immediately (though we did not have a reservation). Sam had his usual chicken nuggets and fries along with milk. Gene and I each had the fish. Dinner was pleasant and service was very good. We really had some excellent servers on this trip! After dinner, we took the boat ride over to Downtown Disney – the boat lands in Pleasure Island. From there we walked over to the Lego store and checked out all the various displays. We bought Sam a small Tow Mater lego set. We went into World of Disney for a few minutes. We happened to enter through the area that is filled with little girl things. Sam didn’t quite appreciate that saying “This is all girl’s stuff. This is a girl’s store.” We looked around a bit but didn’t make any additional purchases. We walked back to the boat dock. Although Sam had walked the distance from the boat dock to the store, through the stores, and halfway back to the boat dock, he was clearly drooping and happily climbed aboard his stroller for the rest of the trip back to the dock. The boat was waiting for us and we were allowed to wheel the stroller directly on the boat. Sam fell asleep on the way back. Unfortunately, he woke up again as I was trying to get him into bed. He played with his new toy for a bit and seemed to have gotten a second wind. I finally told him to bring his new toy and climb up into bed which he did. He was almost asleep when Scott & Donna returned so, of course, he woke up totally again. He was so tired, though, it did not take Scott long to get him back to sleep.
They enjoyed their evening out though I don’t think they were overly impressed with Via Napoli. Gene & I have not eaten there yet so have no basis of comparison.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
A busy day is scheduled today. We’ll be starting with breakfast at Crystal Palace and ending the day with Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
Gene and I bus over to the Magic Kingdom while Scott & Donna drive. Scott notes that he’ll see which of us makes better time. As we get to the bus stop, we see the Magic Kingdom bus come into the resort to start its circuit. A short while later, we see Scott & Donna start their drive over to the Transportation and Ticket Center. The bus arrives a short while after that and we are quickly deposited at the Magic Kingdom. We wander up Main Street, stopping with several of the photopass photographers. Scott, Donna & Sam arrive about 20 minutes later. I think Scott was disappointed and had expected that he would arrive before we did.
After checking in at Crystal Palace, we only waited a few minutes before we were seated. When he was 2, Sam loved the characters. We did not know how we would react this time as he is generally quite a reserved little boy. He’s a real chatterbox with folks he knows well but will often hide his face when addressed by someone he does not know. We need not have worried. While Scott & Donna were not into having character hugs and/or pictures, Gene & I don’t have that problem so Sam had a good model to follow. The first character to approach was Pooh. Sam seemed a bit unsure about actually going near him but it did not take much urging for him to provide Pooh with a big hug! Each of the characters, in turn, Tigger, Eyeore and Piglet were greeted enthusiastically by Sam and a good breakfast was had by all!
I don’t recall the exact order of rides we did this day but I’m pretty sure we visited Haunted “House” as Sam calls it as well as Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad. We also did Pirates and I believe we did the River Cruise and the Tiki Bird show. Gene & I headed back to the resort as they were about to go on Splash again (I’d already ridden twice this trip which is once more than the once a trip I typically go on this ride). On our way out, I think we stopped and rode on It’s A Small World as we had not been on that yet this trip. We may also have stopped for a few photo pass folks. The end result was that we actually arrived back at the resort after Scott & Donna did.
At one point during the day, we were using the walkway that runs along the waterway through Frontierland. I was telling my sister-in-law about how we had gotten stuck in Frontierland during a Christmas visit that occurred before the walkway was built. A custodial cast member overhead by conversation and joined in the discussion with his version of “Disney History”. Unfortunately, he was not providing accurate information or history so I tuned him out. He continued to walk along with us for the entire distance of the walkway and finally headed in a different direction at the end of it.
Since we were going to the party this evening, everyone was going to try to nap this afternoon. I actually did nap for a little bit. I set the alarm on my telephone (I didn’t want to request a wake up call and disturb everyone else so used the phone instead). It’s a good thing I did that as Gene (who had said he’d wake me up)had also fallen asleep!
I had thought about going to the Vacation Club Merry Member Mixer which was being held that afternoon in Epcot but decided that was pushing things so decided to skip it in favor of napping!
Gene & I bussed over to the Magic Kingdom and then monorailed over to the Contemporary. We had a 5:10 reservation at The Wave. Scott and Donna arrived closer to 5:30. Fortunately, they held our reservation for us in that they knew part of the party was there (I suspect the other part is that the restaurant did not seem overly busy and had many empty tables). Scott & Donna parked at the Transportation and Ticket Center and monorailed from there to the Contemporary.
We had a very nice dinner and then walked over to the Magic Kingdom. It was about 7:15 when we arrived. I knew that Chris (Strmchsr) was attending the party with his family on this evening so had put his number in my phone. Oh oh! Know how I used my phone as an alarm clock?! Well, since my phone was so good at acting as an alarm clock, I didn’t have Chris’ number though I did hear the voice mail he left for me the next morning.
When we entered the park, folks were already camped out for the parade. There really weren’t any places on Main Street at all though many of the folks who were waiting for the parade were without wrist bands so likely were day guests who were overstaying for the party. We were not allowed past Main Street without showing our bands. There were plenty of places to stake out for the parade once we were in Frontierland and we found a nice place just by the Country Bears. In fact, Donna took Sam into the show to help pass the time while we were waiting. At one point, I headed over to the rest room to find the entrance manned by cast members who asked to see my wrist band before allowing me into the rest room – interesting place to put a checkpoint but potentially quite effective, I suppose.
The parade was wonderful! I always love the toy soldiers! I also enjoyed seeing my nephew’s excitement – especially when he saw Mickey Mouse!!
Following the parade, we moved over to another section of the park to watch the Castle show and the fireworks. We had a great view of both and watched Tinker Bell fly overhead. By this time, Sam was pretty wiped out and falling asleep in his stroller. Scott had planned to stay about ½ hour or so after the fireworks to allow the worst of the crowds to head out but decided to leave immediately after the fireworks.
Gene & I wandered into Tomorrowland and took a spin on the People Mover. It was getting closer to the start of the second parade which, in the past, we have often stayed to see but decided not to this evening. As we left, I could see that the park crowds had really thinned and, if we had wanted, we could have gotten prime parade viewing right near the train station without any problems.
We walked right onto a waiting bus but as one of the last aboard which also meant we had to stand. Since we didn’t have to wait for the next bus, that was fine.
Saturday
Who:
Gene
Linda
DB Scott
DSIL Donna
DN Sam
We are now back at home in New England and I never got a chance to catch up on notes again while we were away. It was almost a week ago since I wrote down any of the notes from our trip! This will truly be from memory!!
Monday, December 12 – continued
Before we began the trip, we made arrangements to stay with Sam for the evening so that Scott and Donna could have an adult evening out. They opted to go to Via Napoli at Epcot.
Sam didn’t want them to leave – at one point, standing in the doorway to prevent them from leaving. He was distracted by some stickers that he got to open and “share” with us. He wasn’t really upset they were gone – just didn’t want them to go to begin with. He’d had a very busy day so I didn’t expect he’d have much fortitude for a lot of evening activities.
We walked across the street to Olivia’s and were seated almost immediately (though we did not have a reservation). Sam had his usual chicken nuggets and fries along with milk. Gene and I each had the fish. Dinner was pleasant and service was very good. We really had some excellent servers on this trip! After dinner, we took the boat ride over to Downtown Disney – the boat lands in Pleasure Island. From there we walked over to the Lego store and checked out all the various displays. We bought Sam a small Tow Mater lego set. We went into World of Disney for a few minutes. We happened to enter through the area that is filled with little girl things. Sam didn’t quite appreciate that saying “This is all girl’s stuff. This is a girl’s store.” We looked around a bit but didn’t make any additional purchases. We walked back to the boat dock. Although Sam had walked the distance from the boat dock to the store, through the stores, and halfway back to the boat dock, he was clearly drooping and happily climbed aboard his stroller for the rest of the trip back to the dock. The boat was waiting for us and we were allowed to wheel the stroller directly on the boat. Sam fell asleep on the way back. Unfortunately, he woke up again as I was trying to get him into bed. He played with his new toy for a bit and seemed to have gotten a second wind. I finally told him to bring his new toy and climb up into bed which he did. He was almost asleep when Scott & Donna returned so, of course, he woke up totally again. He was so tired, though, it did not take Scott long to get him back to sleep.
They enjoyed their evening out though I don’t think they were overly impressed with Via Napoli. Gene & I have not eaten there yet so have no basis of comparison.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
A busy day is scheduled today. We’ll be starting with breakfast at Crystal Palace and ending the day with Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
Gene and I bus over to the Magic Kingdom while Scott & Donna drive. Scott notes that he’ll see which of us makes better time. As we get to the bus stop, we see the Magic Kingdom bus come into the resort to start its circuit. A short while later, we see Scott & Donna start their drive over to the Transportation and Ticket Center. The bus arrives a short while after that and we are quickly deposited at the Magic Kingdom. We wander up Main Street, stopping with several of the photopass photographers. Scott, Donna & Sam arrive about 20 minutes later. I think Scott was disappointed and had expected that he would arrive before we did.
After checking in at Crystal Palace, we only waited a few minutes before we were seated. When he was 2, Sam loved the characters. We did not know how we would react this time as he is generally quite a reserved little boy. He’s a real chatterbox with folks he knows well but will often hide his face when addressed by someone he does not know. We need not have worried. While Scott & Donna were not into having character hugs and/or pictures, Gene & I don’t have that problem so Sam had a good model to follow. The first character to approach was Pooh. Sam seemed a bit unsure about actually going near him but it did not take much urging for him to provide Pooh with a big hug! Each of the characters, in turn, Tigger, Eyeore and Piglet were greeted enthusiastically by Sam and a good breakfast was had by all!
I don’t recall the exact order of rides we did this day but I’m pretty sure we visited Haunted “House” as Sam calls it as well as Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad. We also did Pirates and I believe we did the River Cruise and the Tiki Bird show. Gene & I headed back to the resort as they were about to go on Splash again (I’d already ridden twice this trip which is once more than the once a trip I typically go on this ride). On our way out, I think we stopped and rode on It’s A Small World as we had not been on that yet this trip. We may also have stopped for a few photo pass folks. The end result was that we actually arrived back at the resort after Scott & Donna did.
At one point during the day, we were using the walkway that runs along the waterway through Frontierland. I was telling my sister-in-law about how we had gotten stuck in Frontierland during a Christmas visit that occurred before the walkway was built. A custodial cast member overhead by conversation and joined in the discussion with his version of “Disney History”. Unfortunately, he was not providing accurate information or history so I tuned him out. He continued to walk along with us for the entire distance of the walkway and finally headed in a different direction at the end of it.
Since we were going to the party this evening, everyone was going to try to nap this afternoon. I actually did nap for a little bit. I set the alarm on my telephone (I didn’t want to request a wake up call and disturb everyone else so used the phone instead). It’s a good thing I did that as Gene (who had said he’d wake me up)had also fallen asleep!
I had thought about going to the Vacation Club Merry Member Mixer which was being held that afternoon in Epcot but decided that was pushing things so decided to skip it in favor of napping!
Gene & I bussed over to the Magic Kingdom and then monorailed over to the Contemporary. We had a 5:10 reservation at The Wave. Scott and Donna arrived closer to 5:30. Fortunately, they held our reservation for us in that they knew part of the party was there (I suspect the other part is that the restaurant did not seem overly busy and had many empty tables). Scott & Donna parked at the Transportation and Ticket Center and monorailed from there to the Contemporary.
We had a very nice dinner and then walked over to the Magic Kingdom. It was about 7:15 when we arrived. I knew that Chris (Strmchsr) was attending the party with his family on this evening so had put his number in my phone. Oh oh! Know how I used my phone as an alarm clock?! Well, since my phone was so good at acting as an alarm clock, I didn’t have Chris’ number though I did hear the voice mail he left for me the next morning.
When we entered the park, folks were already camped out for the parade. There really weren’t any places on Main Street at all though many of the folks who were waiting for the parade were without wrist bands so likely were day guests who were overstaying for the party. We were not allowed past Main Street without showing our bands. There were plenty of places to stake out for the parade once we were in Frontierland and we found a nice place just by the Country Bears. In fact, Donna took Sam into the show to help pass the time while we were waiting. At one point, I headed over to the rest room to find the entrance manned by cast members who asked to see my wrist band before allowing me into the rest room – interesting place to put a checkpoint but potentially quite effective, I suppose.
The parade was wonderful! I always love the toy soldiers! I also enjoyed seeing my nephew’s excitement – especially when he saw Mickey Mouse!!
Following the parade, we moved over to another section of the park to watch the Castle show and the fireworks. We had a great view of both and watched Tinker Bell fly overhead. By this time, Sam was pretty wiped out and falling asleep in his stroller. Scott had planned to stay about ½ hour or so after the fireworks to allow the worst of the crowds to head out but decided to leave immediately after the fireworks.
Gene & I wandered into Tomorrowland and took a spin on the People Mover. It was getting closer to the start of the second parade which, in the past, we have often stayed to see but decided not to this evening. As we left, I could see that the park crowds had really thinned and, if we had wanted, we could have gotten prime parade viewing right near the train station without any problems.
We walked right onto a waiting bus but as one of the last aboard which also meant we had to stand. Since we didn’t have to wait for the next bus, that was fine.