Tygger7
12-29-2011, 03:03 PM
I can't believe that just a mere 2 weeks ago I was in the Magic Kingdom getting ready to eat at CRT for the very first time. There were so many "firsts" on this trip: first trip to see the Christmas decorations, MVMCP, MMY castle show, castle lighting ceremony, Candlelight Processional, holiday tag for Illuminations, Osborne Lights, resort decorations, dinner at CRT, staying at Port Orleans Riverside...whew! This was without a doubt one of our best trips EVER...just me & DH, spending some much needed time together after a crazy year.
We drove down on 12/10, leaving Ohio about 4:45am, and arriving at POR about 8pm. We normally stay at WL, but the budget just wouldn't allow it for this trip. Got a fantastic deal with free dining thanks to Terrisue at Magical Journeys. We had a terrible experience at POFQ back in 2001 and I was a nervous wreck about staying at POR, fearing the worst. I did a LOT of research on POR to try and ease my concerns, and it really paid off. We requested a refurbished room and our request would have been granted, but we would have been in Alligator Bayou Building 39. We could get a room in Magnolia Bend, Building 95 (Parterre Place), but it wasn't refurbished yet. I jumped at the chance to stay closer, so Parterre Place was our home for the next 8 nights. I couldn't have been more pleased with our room and the resort. It was so QUIET! The bus service was exceptional during our entire trip, but we figured out that it was quicker & easier to drive to Epcot. We were always opposed to driving to the parks, but after our stay this time, I'm sold. Only park it doesn't make sense to drive to is MK.
In a nutshell, the rest of our trip went as follows:
-Sun. Dec. 11: Rope drop at MK & our traditional cinnamon roll at the bakery, followed by Space Mountain. What a great way to start the day...the park was empty. Rode SM, People Mover, HM, BTMRR, Splash Mountin, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Small World, Snow White, Mickey's Philharmagic, & Peter Pan all before noon. Headed to Epcot around noon for our 2:15pm CP Package lunch at Biergarten, 5pm CP with Neil Patrick Harris (who was AWESOME!) This was our worst weather day...it poured during most of the CP but we had ponchos, so it was no big deal to us. Preferred viewing for Illuminations and all I can say is WOW! No video can do the holiday tag justice...it's amazing. We ended up watching it 3 more times during our trip.
-Mon. Dec. 12: Spending the day at DHS, dinner at Sci Fi, seeing the Osborne Lights. I should know better than to order steak at Sci Fi, but did it anyway...worst meal of the trip. But, we were full from our CS meals, so it was really no big deal. Osborne Lights are breath-taking, rode new Star Tours (like 5 times in a row...no line). Headed back to POR around 8pm, then took the boat to DtD. I was desperately trying to find my Dooney bag. WoD didn't have it either, but they said the Hilton at Bonnet Creek had several. Also said there were 2 at the Poly, and 1 at GF, so the quest continues.
-Tues. Dec. 13: Up early to try & get my Dooney. The Poly didn't have them, so we went to the GF, which we wanted to see anyway. Finally found the shop, and the lady in line in front of me bought the Dooney I wanted...I was crushed. All day at MK, late lunch at LTT, MVMCP in the evening. Again, low crowds and more awesome food. Loved the party...got my fill of cookies & hot cocoa. :D
-Weds. Dec. 14: Finally slept in. My wonderful husband insisted I call the Hilton to see if they had my bag...they did! I pleaded with them to hold it for me, and we immediately drove to pick it up. Everyone there was so nice! Not only did I get my Dooney, but it had never been on display...still all wrapped up! I was on cloud 9 the rest of the day. We took a drive over to DtD and decided to have lunch at Raglan Road. Nothing better than sitting outside in beautiful weather, especially when it's cold & miserable at home. Since driving around was so easy, we decided to drive to Epcot and walk through the park to go to our dinner at the Yachtsman. Another fantastic meal, beautiful decorations, & overall experience. We decided to catch Illuminations again after dinner, then drove back to the hotel.
Thurs. Dec. 15: Another full day planned at MK. Dined at CRT for the first time and it exceeded my expectations...the food was fantastic, and you can't beat eating in the castle. Watched MMY & Wishes, then headed back to the hotel.
Fri. Dec. 16: Spending the day at Epcot, again. The more I go, the more I love it. Took the boat from Epcot to DHS to pick up some presents from the Star Wars store for our DD19, & just had to ride it a couple more times. :mickey: Walked back to Epcot, and on to dinner at Rose & Crown. Beautiful evening to sit on the patio & catch Illuminations...again.
Sat. Dec. 17: Yes, another day at Epcot. Lots of shopping capped by dinner at Via Napoli. Absolutely amazing experience..the pizza was heavenly and our server was the best. And yes, we decided to stake out a spot & stand for 2 hours to catch Illuminations one last time.
Sun. Dec. 18: Final day. :( Drove to TTC & walked to the Poly to pick up some Kona coffee for Christmas. Took the monorail to MK, walked down Main Street...and there was my Dooney. If I hadn't gotten one from the Hilton, I guarantee they wouldn't have had them. This is where we had the "strangest" experience I've ever had at WDW. You know where the brick planters are right by the Teacups? Every time we went by there, we would always see 2-6 people standing on the wall taking pictures of the Fantasyland expansion. As we walked by, we noticed that no one was there, so I begged my husband to hop up and take a couple of quick pictures for me. He stood on the lowest part (maybe 18-24" high) to take a couple of quick pictures. As he snapped the 5th picture and was getting ready to hop down, a custodial CM approached him and said, "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you not to do that. We're supposed to report anyone taking pictures over the fence to our security team so they can be detained for questioning. It's a major security issue and given the current climate of terrorist activity, no picture are permitted over the fence. I'm not going to report you, but let's just say that I'm being nice. Trust me, I could have security really ruin your day." And with that lecture, he walked off. At first, we honestly thought he was kidding around, but then it became apparent he wasn't. I even looked around after that, to see if there were any signs on the fence (or anywhere) about not taking pictures over the fence and found nothing. We weren't out to break any rules, and honestly we took pictures from the People Mover earlier in the week. We even considered braving Dumbo to take some pictures, but decided the motion sickness wouldn't be worth it. Does anyone know if there really is a policy prohibiting taking pictures over the fence? You see signs about line-cutting being grounds for park removal, but I've never seen anything about pictures. It just really surprised us since there are pictures all over the internet of the construction taken above the fence. By early afternoon, the crowds were definitely increasing and we had a long day of driving on Monday. We took care of the last of our shopping, and headed back to POR.
Mon. Dec. 19: Pulled out of the hotel at 4am and promptly got lost. I don't care where we stay, this always happens. I think it's our subconscious telling us not to go home. :D Beautiful weather for the drive home and we pulled into our garage at 7pm.
All in all, a fantastic trip. Only 499 days until we go back!! :cloud9:
We drove down on 12/10, leaving Ohio about 4:45am, and arriving at POR about 8pm. We normally stay at WL, but the budget just wouldn't allow it for this trip. Got a fantastic deal with free dining thanks to Terrisue at Magical Journeys. We had a terrible experience at POFQ back in 2001 and I was a nervous wreck about staying at POR, fearing the worst. I did a LOT of research on POR to try and ease my concerns, and it really paid off. We requested a refurbished room and our request would have been granted, but we would have been in Alligator Bayou Building 39. We could get a room in Magnolia Bend, Building 95 (Parterre Place), but it wasn't refurbished yet. I jumped at the chance to stay closer, so Parterre Place was our home for the next 8 nights. I couldn't have been more pleased with our room and the resort. It was so QUIET! The bus service was exceptional during our entire trip, but we figured out that it was quicker & easier to drive to Epcot. We were always opposed to driving to the parks, but after our stay this time, I'm sold. Only park it doesn't make sense to drive to is MK.
In a nutshell, the rest of our trip went as follows:
-Sun. Dec. 11: Rope drop at MK & our traditional cinnamon roll at the bakery, followed by Space Mountain. What a great way to start the day...the park was empty. Rode SM, People Mover, HM, BTMRR, Splash Mountin, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Small World, Snow White, Mickey's Philharmagic, & Peter Pan all before noon. Headed to Epcot around noon for our 2:15pm CP Package lunch at Biergarten, 5pm CP with Neil Patrick Harris (who was AWESOME!) This was our worst weather day...it poured during most of the CP but we had ponchos, so it was no big deal to us. Preferred viewing for Illuminations and all I can say is WOW! No video can do the holiday tag justice...it's amazing. We ended up watching it 3 more times during our trip.
-Mon. Dec. 12: Spending the day at DHS, dinner at Sci Fi, seeing the Osborne Lights. I should know better than to order steak at Sci Fi, but did it anyway...worst meal of the trip. But, we were full from our CS meals, so it was really no big deal. Osborne Lights are breath-taking, rode new Star Tours (like 5 times in a row...no line). Headed back to POR around 8pm, then took the boat to DtD. I was desperately trying to find my Dooney bag. WoD didn't have it either, but they said the Hilton at Bonnet Creek had several. Also said there were 2 at the Poly, and 1 at GF, so the quest continues.
-Tues. Dec. 13: Up early to try & get my Dooney. The Poly didn't have them, so we went to the GF, which we wanted to see anyway. Finally found the shop, and the lady in line in front of me bought the Dooney I wanted...I was crushed. All day at MK, late lunch at LTT, MVMCP in the evening. Again, low crowds and more awesome food. Loved the party...got my fill of cookies & hot cocoa. :D
-Weds. Dec. 14: Finally slept in. My wonderful husband insisted I call the Hilton to see if they had my bag...they did! I pleaded with them to hold it for me, and we immediately drove to pick it up. Everyone there was so nice! Not only did I get my Dooney, but it had never been on display...still all wrapped up! I was on cloud 9 the rest of the day. We took a drive over to DtD and decided to have lunch at Raglan Road. Nothing better than sitting outside in beautiful weather, especially when it's cold & miserable at home. Since driving around was so easy, we decided to drive to Epcot and walk through the park to go to our dinner at the Yachtsman. Another fantastic meal, beautiful decorations, & overall experience. We decided to catch Illuminations again after dinner, then drove back to the hotel.
Thurs. Dec. 15: Another full day planned at MK. Dined at CRT for the first time and it exceeded my expectations...the food was fantastic, and you can't beat eating in the castle. Watched MMY & Wishes, then headed back to the hotel.
Fri. Dec. 16: Spending the day at Epcot, again. The more I go, the more I love it. Took the boat from Epcot to DHS to pick up some presents from the Star Wars store for our DD19, & just had to ride it a couple more times. :mickey: Walked back to Epcot, and on to dinner at Rose & Crown. Beautiful evening to sit on the patio & catch Illuminations...again.
Sat. Dec. 17: Yes, another day at Epcot. Lots of shopping capped by dinner at Via Napoli. Absolutely amazing experience..the pizza was heavenly and our server was the best. And yes, we decided to stake out a spot & stand for 2 hours to catch Illuminations one last time.
Sun. Dec. 18: Final day. :( Drove to TTC & walked to the Poly to pick up some Kona coffee for Christmas. Took the monorail to MK, walked down Main Street...and there was my Dooney. If I hadn't gotten one from the Hilton, I guarantee they wouldn't have had them. This is where we had the "strangest" experience I've ever had at WDW. You know where the brick planters are right by the Teacups? Every time we went by there, we would always see 2-6 people standing on the wall taking pictures of the Fantasyland expansion. As we walked by, we noticed that no one was there, so I begged my husband to hop up and take a couple of quick pictures for me. He stood on the lowest part (maybe 18-24" high) to take a couple of quick pictures. As he snapped the 5th picture and was getting ready to hop down, a custodial CM approached him and said, "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you not to do that. We're supposed to report anyone taking pictures over the fence to our security team so they can be detained for questioning. It's a major security issue and given the current climate of terrorist activity, no picture are permitted over the fence. I'm not going to report you, but let's just say that I'm being nice. Trust me, I could have security really ruin your day." And with that lecture, he walked off. At first, we honestly thought he was kidding around, but then it became apparent he wasn't. I even looked around after that, to see if there were any signs on the fence (or anywhere) about not taking pictures over the fence and found nothing. We weren't out to break any rules, and honestly we took pictures from the People Mover earlier in the week. We even considered braving Dumbo to take some pictures, but decided the motion sickness wouldn't be worth it. Does anyone know if there really is a policy prohibiting taking pictures over the fence? You see signs about line-cutting being grounds for park removal, but I've never seen anything about pictures. It just really surprised us since there are pictures all over the internet of the construction taken above the fence. By early afternoon, the crowds were definitely increasing and we had a long day of driving on Monday. We took care of the last of our shopping, and headed back to POR.
Mon. Dec. 19: Pulled out of the hotel at 4am and promptly got lost. I don't care where we stay, this always happens. I think it's our subconscious telling us not to go home. :D Beautiful weather for the drive home and we pulled into our garage at 7pm.
All in all, a fantastic trip. Only 499 days until we go back!! :cloud9: