Peter's Very Merry 10th Birthday Vacay About This Page:

[shnewell]

Originally Posted by JoJayMom

The boys looked amazing! Sounded like a great day!!

It was a fun day. I was pleased that we accomplished so much by early afternoon so that we could go back to the villa and rest a bit.

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

love the Pirates League and that you did it before the cruise. I'm glad I read this because we're thinking about doing the cruise on our next trip.

I really can't say enough about how much fun we had on the cruise. Patch, our pirate host, was a total hoot. And the boys had fun goofing around with Hook and Mr. Smee before the cruise departed.

[shnewell]

We woke up at 6:30 and were on the bus to MK by 8:00. We arrived around 8:30 for our 9:00 Grand Gatherings breakfast at Tony’s, so I decided to go into the Chapeau to look around while David went to get FPs for Peter Pan. Peter picked out some R2D2 ears and Jacob chose a set of Donald Duck Mickey ears, while I picked out a 40th anniversary pair of ears.


Naturally, the boys were drawn into the Confectionery, so we looked at all the wonderful Christmas treats in there. Peter really wanted a chocolate covered rice krispie treat. We already had one in the room, but he insisted he wanted THIS ONE. He agreed to pay for it with his own money. We went to the counter to pay, and a nice CM there from London struck up a conversation with Peter. As another CM rang up his purchase, the CM from London chose a Mickey shorts caramel apple from the display case, cut it in half, put each half in a box and presented them to the boys as a Christmas gift! I swiped a piece or two later in the day, and it was delicious! This was a great start to our Christmas weekend, and it just completely took me by surprise. Love that Disney magic!


We checked in at Tony’s a bit early and they seated us almost right away. Tony came over to greet us at our table and gave us our exclusive Good Morning Breakfast pins that also served as FPs for PhilharMagic. They brought out our breakfast plates – scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, hash brown and Mickey waffle for the adults and the same for kids, but no sausage. Coffee and OJ were on the table. Around 9:15, the fun was ready to begin. Tony sang Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah and brought out the characters. We got to meet Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Daisy. I got my camera out to get ready for the first character and it wouldn’t turn on. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to take my camera battery out of the charger, so we had to rely on David’s iPhone for photos. We also forgot Peter’s autograph book! This is the reason why this portion of the TR has no pictures!


After breakfast, we went to PhilharMagic, then Peter Pan. I hadn’t had the opportunity to see PhilharMagic since 2006, so I was happy to be able to see it again. The boys were 4 and 2 on that 2006 trip, so they didn’t remember this attraction at all. They enjoyed it, especially the part at the end with Donald.


My parents didn’t want to ride Peter Pan, so we sent them for 4 FPs to Splash Mountain and met them there. After Peter Pan, David’s parents went back to the hotel. Linda was having some trouble with pain and swelling in her feet, so she had to take it easy over the last few days of our trip. It was 10:30 and the Splash FPs weren’t ripe until 11:00, so we went to ride POTC.


We finished there around 10:55 and David, my dad and the boys went to ride Splash, while Mom and I shopped around in Adventureland. We found Disney snuggies in the POTC shop on sale for BOGO 30%. We bought two and had them sent back to the resort. We walked back to Splash and had to wait only a few minutes before our damp crew appeared at the ride exit. Jacob was determined to get as many family members wet on this ride as he could! Somehow, each time, he ended up in the front of the log with a new unsuspecting victim!!

It was now 11:15 and getting really crowded in the park. On our way out we stopped at the Shooting Arcade, where I gave away the 6 surprise FPs for PhilharMagic that David had gotten when he went to get the Peter Pan FPs. It took me a while to find a group big enough to use all the FPs, but I finally spotted a family of 6 sitting outside the shooting arcade. They were pleasantly surprised when I offered the FPs.


We exited through Adventureland and as we passed Aloha Isle, we couldn’t resist a Dole Whip. My mom got an orange soft-serve and I got a pineapple float.


We headed back to BCV for some down time. After everyone rested a bit, my parents caught a cab and went shopping in Orlando while David and I took the boys to SAB. It was about 85 degrees and sunny! We found a great, quiet, shady spot on a raised deck at SAB and settled in. There was a Christmas tree up there and the decorations were so cute!


Merry Christmas from Stormalong Bay!


The SAB tree






Closeup of tree decor

We had lunch at Hurricane Hanna’s (hot dogs and hamburgers). After lunch, the kids swam some more, but then Jacob bonked his head on the side of the pool and we called it a day. His head was bleeding a bit, but it stopped by the time we got back to our room. The kids showered and we watched football.


Around 5:00, all the adults in our room wanted to wander around WS, so we sent the kids to David’s parents’ room and headed for Epcot. My parents wanted to do the movies in Canada and China. David and I stopped at Rose & Crown for my mandatory fish & chips and his mandatory black & tan. We cannot leave Disney without these, and it was nice to have some time alone with my hubby!


From there, we walked to Mexico to look for a blanket and successfully found one. Back in 2001, we bought a heavy wool blanket in the Mexico pavilion on our marathon weekend trip. We loved it so much that the next time we were there in January 2006, we bought another one. We looked for another one during our June 2009 trip, but the CMs there told us that they didn’t sell those blankets in the summer (makes sense, I guess!). Now that we had invested in an Owner’s Locker, we wanted to buy a 3rd blanket (we call them our “Mexican blankets”) to keep in Orlando. Thankfully, we found one in the pavilion!


After we browsed a bit more in Mexico, we headed to China. I bought some tea for my mom for Christmas and some red hong bao envelopes because we were running low. On Chinese New Year, we follow the Chinese tradition of giving the children money in these red envelopes. They had quite a selection in the China pavilion, so I picked up a package.


We then stopped at the Bead Outpost where I bought a red Beads for Life bracelet. I had to go into Trading Post to pay and the woman in line in front of me turned around and saw my pin lanyard and encouraged her son to trade. I was a little surprised since most people don’t ask/want to trade with other guests (though it has happened to us before), but before I could react, she apologized and said that she had mistaken me for a CM because I had so many pins on my lanyard! I told her I would be happy to trade and pointed out the 2 or 3 pins that I wasn’t willing to give away. Her son spent a long time looking at my pins, but ultimately decided he didn’t want to trade, so they paid for the items and went on their way. After I paid for my bracelet, I saw that they had a pin board and traded for a baby Mickey pirate pin. David had gone to find a restroom and met up with me outside Germany, then we headed back to the villa. We rested for a while and then got ready for our late dinner at California Grill.



Up next: Christmas Eve night

[chezp]

What a great day! The breakfast sounded wonderful and I love the Disney magic you got first thing! Thanks for the photo of the Stormalong Bay Christmas tree - I don't ever recall seeing one before in all our stays at the Beach Club over Christmas and I love it!

[Colexis Mom]

Great day so far! How great it was so warm that you could swim!

[disney_duke]

What a great day! Breakfast sounded like fun! Swimming, 85 degrees, December. What a concept! How was Jacob's head? Probably a good idea that the boys rested a bit after that - ouch! Time alone at Epcot sounded wonderful.

[JKnott17]

Love all of the decorations on the tree at SAB! Sounds like you had a great time at Epcot with your DH, glad you were able to get some time alone. Looking forward to hearing about Cali Grill!

[stardust190]

Sounds like a great time was had by everyone! Sorry you forgot your camera battery. That's my biggest fear as we just got a new camera that has a wall charger. Our old camera just used AA's so I could easily buy new ones anywhere (although at Disney they're $$). You still have the memories even though you don't have pictures! And kid-free time at Epcot sounds lovely.

[OhToodles!]

What a great day! One day I want to spend Christmas at Disney and it sounds perfect!

[shnewell]

Originally Posted by chezp

What a great day! The breakfast sounded wonderful and I love the Disney magic you got first thing! Thanks for the photo of the Stormalong Bay Christmas tree - I don't ever recall seeing one before in all our stays at the Beach Club over Christmas and I love it!

The tree was really cute. One of those little delights that tells you you're at Disney!

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great day so far! How great it was so warm that you could swim!

We're from Texas, so warmth at Christmas isn't out of the question for us, but I think this is the first time we've actually gone swimming at Christmas!

Originally Posted by disney_duke

What a great day! Breakfast sounded like fun! Swimming, 85 degrees, December. What a concept! How was Jacob's head? Probably a good idea that the boys rested a bit after that - ouch! Time alone at Epcot sounded wonderful.

Breakfast was a lot of fun. Jacob was swimming (more like gliding) across a narrow "channel" in SAB, and he didn't have his arms out in front of him and misjudged the distance to the wall. He's a pretty tough kid, so the fact that it brought tears to his eyes told me that it really hurt! It was just a little scrape on his scalp, and he was feeling better rather quickly.

Originally Posted by JKnott17

Love all of the decorations on the tree at SAB! Sounds like you had a great time at Epcot with your DH, glad you were able to get some time alone. Looking forward to hearing about Cali Grill!

It was nice to have some time to ourselves, especially to indulge in one of our Disney "traditions" at Rose & Crown!

Originally Posted by stardust190

Sounds like a great time was had by everyone! Sorry you forgot your camera battery. That's my biggest fear as we just got a new camera that has a wall charger. Our old camera just used AA's so I could easily buy new ones anywhere (although at Disney they're $$). You still have the memories even though you don't have pictures! And kid-free time at Epcot sounds lovely.

I was really kicking myself for forgetting the battery. But, in a way, it was nice to just experience the breakfast rather than worry about documenting it!

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

What a great day! One day I want to spend Christmas at Disney and it sounds perfect!

Disney is wonderful anytime, but it was especially magical at Christmas!

[Dlandmom2]

85 degrees on Christmas Eve...I love it!

I didn't realize they sold the red envelopes in China...do they have a Disney theme, or are they "authentic" ones? My mom sometimes finds really cute Disney themed ones (in So Cal) and buys them for me! I have a feeling they're probably not Disney-approved, but they look so cute!

Happy New Year to you and your family!

[shnewell]

Originally Posted by Dlandmom2

85 degrees on Christmas Eve...I love it!

I didn't realize they sold the red envelopes in China...do they have a Disney theme, or are they "authentic" ones? My mom sometimes finds really cute Disney themed ones (in So Cal) and buys them for me! I have a feeling they're probably not Disney-approved, but they look so cute!

Happy New Year to you and your family!

They are "authentic" ones. Of course, I'm 3rd generation American and don't read Chinese, so for all I know, the ones I bought say "Best wishes for your marriage" or something (though they decidedly do NOT have the double happiness symbol on them, so I think I'm safe there)! I've never seen Disney ones -- how cute that would be!

I don't recall ever seeing them in Epcot before, but it seems that after the recent refurb of the store in the China pavilion, they are carrying some new kinds of merchandise I hadn't seen before (like lots of cute purses!).

Happy New Year to you too, Jeannie!!

[lmkenfield]

We spent more time in the pool during our visit (at the same time) than we did in the parks! My daughter lives in Seattle and we are stationed in Iowa right now so we were LOVING the toasty temps!! So amazing to look back at those pictures right now as we are waiting for all the snow to melt!!

[Cam22]

What a great Christmas Eve! Awesome swimming weather, too! The SAB Christmas tree is so cool! Glad you found another Mexican blanket!

[KMB733]

Sounds like a wonderful day!!! Glad you got a little alone with DH!

[shnewell]

Originally Posted by lmkenfield

We spent more time in the pool during our visit (at the same time) than we did in the parks! My daughter lives in Seattle and we are stationed in Iowa right now so we were LOVING the toasty temps!! So amazing to look back at those pictures right now as we are waiting for all the snow to melt!!

I can imagine it was a most welcome change from the weather at home! I looked at the weather in Houston over Christmas weekend and it was raining and in the mid-40s. Boy I was glad we were in Orlando!

Originally Posted by Cam22

What a great Christmas Eve! Awesome swimming weather, too! The SAB Christmas tree is so cool! Glad you found another Mexican blanket!

Thanks! It was a great day, but I kind of kept forgetting it was Christmas Eve, mostly because of the weather!

Originally Posted by KMB733

Sounds like a wonderful day!!! Glad you got a little alone with DH!

It sure beats the cooking and cleaning frenzy I'm usually doing on Christmas Eve!