Disney in December (12/1-12/7) - COMPLETE (1/4) About This Page:

[Politzania]

Day 4 – Saturday, 4 Dec 2004
Today's Event: Yuletide Fantasy Tour

Slept in a bit this morning, as our tour wasn't scheduled until 8:45, so Mickey & Stitch didn't call til just before 7:00. We got ready & had breakfast in the room again – were at the bus stop by 7:45. Got to Epcot around 8 & figured we had time to ride the monorail to the TTC & back. The train leaving Epcot was empty except for us & the driver, so we asked to ride up front. Whee! Got some really neat pictures, including an another monorail coming down the other rail! We had about 10 min to look around the TTC – Scott got pix of the huge inflatable Santa Stitch. The ride back was busier, but just as quick, so we got to the meeting place for the tour (outside Group Sales) just in time. This was the largest group I've seen on a tour – they can take up to 40 people & I think we had 30-some at least. We had two guides: Cammi and Maggie. We got checked in & holiday nametags. One woman forgot her ID (despite "Bring Photo ID" being mentioned several places in the literature) & another CM took her back to her room while we started the tour. We had our bags checked & were waved thru the turnstiles (no park admission needed) and went backstage behind The Living Seas.
The reason the tour's so big? A charter bus takes you from place to place – even within Epcot! We rode around backstage to Germany and started the World Showcase portion of the tour there. The group split into two & we were in Maggie's group. She's originally from Venezuela and shared some of her family & cultural traditions as we went through the day.

In Germany, she talked about the many traditions that come from this culture: the Christmas tree itself – which was originally a Paradise Tree as part of an Adam & Eve church play. It was decorated with apples, hence the red color predominating the décor of the pavilion. Glass ornaments are also originally from this area and of course, she recounted the story of "Silent Night". Maggie did a pretty good job of keeping the tour members involved with lots of Q&A opportunities. Next was Italy & the discussion focused on nativities and the novena: 9 days of prayer before Christmas Eve. The décor of this pavilion was from the Renaissance: cherubs, flowers and gilded ornaments.
The American pavilion was next. A bit of trivia: the first state to recognize Christmas as a legal holiday was Alabama in 1836. Maggie talked about community trees & decorations, as well as the history of the poinsettia (named after Ambassador Joel Pointsett, who brought it to the States from Mexico). The pavilion also had displays for Hannukah and Kwanzaa, and she talked a little about them both. Somewhat surprisingly, we stopped in Japan, as the Japanese have adopted Christmas as a holiday of romance and kindness towards others. Maggie also told us about the New Years' tradition of cleaning the home of the "stains" of the previous year. Quite often, household items are replaced at this time of year, and once the cleansing is done, a twisted rope decoration (I forget its name) is hung above the door to let the gods know the rituals are complete. She also told us about the daruma (sp?) dolls – you make a wish or resolution and color in one pupil, then keep the doll until the end of the year. If the wish or resolution is fulfilled, you color in the other pupil and throw it away. We paused briefly in Morroco to talk about Ramadan, which had already happened this year. We went backstage to board the bus – next stop: MGM.

One small issue I have with this tour – it's advertised (some places) as a 3 hour tour & ours ended up closer to 4 and a half! Lots of grumbling stomachs by the time we were done, plus we were kind of pooped out the rest of the day. We entered the park from a backstage area near Rock & Roller Coaster. The group divided in half again and we walked towards the market area – attempting to stay together as a group. Scott's a pretty tall guy & his Tigger Santa hat on made him even easier to spot in a crowd; I think Maggie half-jokingly asked him to stay up front for the rest of the tour! The focus of this part of the tour was how Hollywood portrays the Christmas season. Maggie started by asking us about our favorite Christmas movies. Scott said "Die Hard" – it IS set at Christmastime, ya know… She said that's the first time anyone's even mentioned *that* movie! We then went over to Hollywood Boulevard, where the decorations were in the style of the late 1940's & 50's, with lots of glitz & glitter. Maggie also shared with us that WDW uses over 62,000 poinsettias each year as bedding plants, trees & other greenery. Next stop was New York Street, where she delved a bit into the story of the movie "Miracle on 34th Street", and also told us the background behind the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights.

Back on the bus again, this time to one of the resorts. The Grand Floridian is lavishly decorated for Christmas in the style of the turn of the 19th century. According to our guides, the new LED lights (which use 1/10 the power of standard lights) allow them to plug the HUGE center tree into a standard outlet; they used to have to run cables out to the middle of the lobby & camouflage them with rows of poinsettias. The gingerbread house – large enough to be used as a stand to sell gingerbread – was lovely as well! They had posted an ingredients lists – 600 lbs of powdered sugar, 800 pounds of flour… and of course, Tons of Creativity! The lobby was somewhat crowded, especially around the gingerbread house, so our guides gave us about 10 min to wander about & take pictures, then we met back at the entrance. They brought us some of the roasted chestnuts the GF staff occasionally hand out this time of year. I kinda liked it; but Scott didn't.

On the road again, to our last park visit – The Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, this was the main day that ABC was filming the Christmas Day parade; so Main Street was PACKED! We took quick glances at the tree in front of the train station & wove our way to the first side street on the right side (Scott was definitely a useful guide during this!) and stopped there to talk about the décor. The theme is early Victorian – mid to late 1900's, with lots of fruit and ribbons. Maggie & Cammi told us that each "store" is decorated a little differently, just as if actual storekeepers were selecting their own decorations. Since Main Street is mostly a "pass through" area – most of the decorations are up high and at more of a surface level; compared to the detail of decoration you'll see at the resorts. If it hadn't been for the parade (and running pretty late), I imagine we would have walked up Main street to the hub, which had several evergreens & poinsettia trees decorating it.

Last stop: Holiday Services. 25 employees work year round in a very, very large warehouse to supply not only the WDW parks and resorts with holiday decorations, but they also take care of the cruise ships and the East Coast Disney time-share properties in Hilton Head and Vero Beach. Of course, they hire extra help in November. Near the entrance, I spotted a calendar that said 354 days til Holiday Deployment… :^). The department staggers their decorating schedule so each park and resort basically gets decorated overnight sometime between mid-Nov and the beginning of December. To avoid issues like the cables across the floor in the Grand Floridian, the latest resorts (like Pop Century) were designed with decorating in mind; planning where the trees would be placed & putting heavy-duty electrical outlets in those locations, for example. The decorating scheme for each resort and each park is also updated every 3-5 years, and planned out that far in advance. This explained why the warehouse wasn't completely empty; retired decorations were being examined for possible re-use; and the supplies & materials were starting to arrive for the next scheme. Most of the decorations are purchased from various sources, but quite a few of the more unique items are made in house by this department. As the employees weren't working on Saturday, we didn't get to talk with anyone who worked there (though we still had to wear safety glasses!), but Cammi & Maggie were quite well-informed.

We rode back to Epcot, and on the way, Cammi & Maggie handed out ornaments; bead covered "Mickey heads" in bright red; just the thing for our trees! We also got a limited edition Christmas Card pin. I would definitely recommend this tour; however, plan on it taking at least half a day & bring some snacks & drinks along with you, as no food was provided, other than the chestnuts!


Needless to say, we were a little pooped out and a lot hungry by the time the tour was finished. My plan of having a shwarma from Morroco was replaced by lunch at the nearest eatery: The Electric Umbrella. It was pretty crowded, as it was still lunchtime (1ish, IIRC). Since I was so hungry, I got the turkey sandwich & the black bean soup, which was piping hot – just what I needed to take the chill off. Scott ended up buying a sweatshirt (Santa Stitch), as I don't think the temps broke 70 at all that day.

Since we weren't sure if we were coming back to Epcot for any large chunk of time, we (well, mostly me) decided to see as many of the storytellers as we could. We started in Mexico and heard about the posadas from both the storyteller and a CM from Mexico. They chose 2 children from the audience to play the roles of Mary & Joseph and split the crowd into the "houses" that the children would visit. At each stop, they asked for a place to stay & we said no, until the last time, when we said yes & "the party" began. They handed out candy to the children and we headed inside to ride Rio de Tiempo. Yes, it's kind of cheesy, but we figured it was the closest we'd get to It's a Small World this trip. :^)
In Norway, we met Juleniessen – a sprightly gnome who lives in the barns and really, really likes porridge. I think I like the reinactor style of storyteller better than the ones who just told about the legends of the country. God jul! The line was fairly short for Maelstrom, so we checked it out again. Finally spotted the Mickey in with the Vikings, thanks to Scott's zoom lens! We missed the China storyteller, but I did make a quick stop for bubble tea. It's an interesting treat – sweet, milky tea with tapioca pearls & chunks of jellied fruits. I got the chocolate flavor & quite enjoyed it.
In Germany, they had a storyteller and a CM from Germany. They talked about the Christmas pickle - parents decorate the tree in secret and then unveil it on Christmas Eve. Somewhere on the tree is a pickle ornament, and the first child to find it gets an extra gift. We were also visited by a life-size Nutcracker after a quick summary of The Nutcracker Suite.
La Bufanda in Italy was particularly interesting; I'd never heard of her story before. A poor peasant, she was astounded by the Star's appearance, as well as the Three Wise Men stopping by her home on their way to see the Christ Child. They invited her to come along, but she said she was too old and too poor to go with them, so they continued on. A group of people from her village then came by and invited her to go along, but she gave the same excuse. After they left, she thought for a bit & remembered the dolls she had made and some other simple gifts. She went back into her home to collect them and gather some food for the journey, but by the time she went back outside, the Star had faded. So she wanders the countryside in search of the Baby Jesus, visiting each household and looking at the faces of the children. She leaves gifts and treats behind, just in case she overlooks the Christ child.

We missed the storytellers in the American pavilion – we figured we knew the Santa story fairly well (tho were curious if Coca-Cola & Haddon Sunblom were mentioned) and had already heard versions of the Hannukah and Kwanzaa stories during our tour. We didn't see the storyteller in Japan either, but did stop in the department store to pick up Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh cards as a Christmas gift for a friend. We got to France just as Pere Noel was coming out to tell us about the wonderful letter he received from a little girl in Provence. (That was a clever way to tell the story). She was a little mischievous, as she put out about a size 15 shoe for Pere Noel to fill with gifts! Another wonderful performance by a reinactor.
The last storyteller we saw was in the United Kingdom pavilion. We caught the tail end of the troupe's performance of "A Christmas Carol", then a few minutes later, Father Christmas came out. A great jolly man all dressed in green robes, he sang some of the traditional carols and quoted Shakespeare regarding the Christmas season. It was getting dark, so we'd missed the last performance of the Canadian storyteller. This is also when I discovered that they're no longer selling beavertails. Sigh…. I'd only had them one time before, in May & was so looking forward to another!

We were about worn out, but I hadn't been on Test Track at all, so we jumped in the single riders line & after about a 10 min wait, were whizzing around the pavilion. If you've never been on this ride at night/evening – it's highly recommended. Scott watched the Epcot tree lighting ceremony while I tried to track down a sweatshirt I really wanted at Mouse Gears. We'd seen it over at the American pavilion and at one of the shops at the Lagoon, but not in our sizes. A CM, Clay from Detroit MI, was incredibly helpful, even tho we weren't successful. He did get an SKU for me, so I could call the mail order number & try to get it that way. I made sure to fill out a comment card before we left the park that evening.
Spaceship Earth had no line at all, so we visited it before leaving the park around 7:00. We headed back to the hotel & picked up a pizza and breadsticks… very very yummy! We even had a couple of pieces left over & were thankful once again for the fridge.

We rested for about an hour, then took the bus over to DTD. This was going to be our big shopping expedition, so we visited the Christmas store and World of Disney. We dropped quite a bit of cash, but got lots of neat stuff. Decided to have it shipped back home (the shipping vs not paying Florida sales tax basically cancelled each other out), so we'd have something to look forward to upon our return to wintry Indiana.
Bedtime was later than we wanted – Mileage was 19,429 steps = 8.80 miles.

[Politzania]

Day 5 – Sunday 5 Dec 2004
Today's Event: MVMCP!

We slept in a little this morning, as we planned to visit MGM, which wouldn't open til 9:00. We got there a little before they opened Hollywood Boulevard, and I walked briskly over to Rock & Roller Coaster. Since Scott was still recuping from a cold, he didn't think that ride would be such a good idea.
I always forget just how close R&RC comes to crossing the line between "Oh boy, this is fun!" and "Oh no – this is NOT fun!". The 0-60 acceleration lets off JUST before panic sets in & the loops go by almost too fast for me to notice. Unfortunately, I think this is where I lost my Guest of Honor badge. We'd gotten them during the 25th anniversary celebration & they had our names & hometowns on them…. you can't get them like that anymore.

Met back with Scott at the Hat – we asked about the Annual Pass merchandise – we hadn't had any luck with Tshirts the night before at Epcot. MGM had the tshirt, but not in 2XL. In fact, we weren't able to find the shirt in that size in any of the parks. Guess we'll try again in February. We did get the pin and I got a shirt for me. We met up with Bugsy on the Great Movie Ride (we run about 2-3 gangsters to 1 cowboy on this ride, I think) and then checked out the new incarnation of the Animation Tour. Sigh – I miss getting to see the actual animators' offices & desks. I also miss the movie with Robin Williams & Walter Cronkite, but do like the new version with Mushu.

At The Magic of Disney Animation, we saw signs for The Incredibles and a bit of a line forming – turns out that Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl & Frozone were scheduled to make an appearance fairly soon. We got in line – now that I think about it, this was the longest line we experienced in the parks – and about 15 min later, the characters came out. Frozone came & visited those of us in line for a bit while the Parrs were posing with families. We got some good pictures (tho the Photopass must not have picked those up right) & autographs… looks like Elastigirl needs a little more handwriting practice. :^)

This is when I realized I'd lost my tag – so while I retraced my steps, Scott went ahead & got FP's for Star Tours (and rode it once, as the line was short). He'd also made PS's for the Sci Fi café while I was on Rock & Roller Coaster (how thoughtful of him!) and it was just about time for lunch, so we looked around the bookstore a bit before getting seated. We usually end up in the back seat with a family; this time was no different. Oh well, we'll get to drive *someday*. I tried the turkey sandwich (you'd think I'd be tired of turkey by now) and Scott had a burger (ditto). We split the Orbiting Oreo shake – since it was lunchtime, I think they just put in a splash or two of alcohol; the drink I got at the Adventurer's Club was a LOT stronger. The shake was still pretty good.
Our FP's for Star Tours were ready, so after lunch, we took the long way around to Endor. We ended up in the front row & while the legroom is nice, you don't get nearly as bumpy of a ride! We checked out the Streets of America - they have San Francisco done & are working on Chicago – and picked up some of the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Lights merchandise. The logo shows Stitch on the skyline of San Francisco with the motto: Osbourne Family Spectacle of Lights Goes to the Big City.

Since we knew we'd be staying up late at the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party – we headed back to the hotel & got to the room around 1:30. I napped for about an hour and a half, while Scott watched football. We put on our Disney personalized sweatshirts - Pooh & pals decorating a tree with "Scott & Tracey, Walt Disney World December 2004" as the text – and our hats: I wore a Santa Mickey hat we'd had for a few years & Scott wore his Santa Jack hat we'd gotten last year at Disneyland – and went over to the Magic Kingdom.

We arrived just after 4:00 & they were letting people in just on their party tickets & issuing the armbands. We visited Tomorrowland first & helped Buzz defend the universe, then toured Tommorrowland on the PeopleMover/TTA. Next was Liberty Square and Haunted Mansion. We were on our way over to Big Thunder mountain, when we noticed a crowd of people (including CM's & security) grouped around a spot on the dock.
We walked over and saw an alligator in the Rivers of America! The CM said he'd been hanging around that area for a few days & they keep an eye on him, mostly to keep the guests from feeding him. The other day, he'd been over by the smoking area, which is closer to the water than where we were. A guy didn't quite believe he was real, and stretched his arm out over the gator, who, thinking he was being fed, opened wide. I asked when they'd be removing him to a more remote part of the property, and the CM said probably within a few days, as he was starting to get a little too acclimated to people.

We took another trip on "the wildest ride in the wilderness" – at this point the park was getting pretty empty, so we visited the Jungle Cruise on our way back to Main Street. The CM's were starting to check for armbands and asked guests to stay in to Tomorrowland until the party officially started. Except for getting caught in the parade filming, this was definitely the most crowds we'd dealt with all week. The rides were still available and they started the photo opportunity early. We'd heard that you should try to get your photo taken ASAP, so we made that our first stop. They were set up in the Timekeeper pavilion, using the leanbars as line control. It was rather sad to see the Timekeeper up on stage, silent and still. I do hope they either reopen this attraction or put something new in its place. The line was quite long, but moved quickly, as there were about a ½ dozen photo stands.

Next stop was Mickey's Star Traders for shirts & pins. They didn't have any of the Tshirts – which was the only item that had a large version of the logo. The CM said to check out the Emporium, so I headed that direction. The doors were still closed & a line had formed… I didn't like the looks of this & my suspicions were confirmed when they did open the doors. People descended en masse on the single display of shirts and within 2 minutes it was practically picked clean. I was a little miffed to see people carrying 5 & 6 shirts around; maybe they need to be limited just like the pins? After the dust cleared, I politely asked a CM if they had any more of the tshirts and if so, I was looking for a 2XL. He returned in a few minutes with several shirts & made sure I got what I needed before turning to put them on the rack – tho I don't think he even made it that far! I called Scott to let him know my search was successful & met him back in Tomorrowland.
Lunch seemed like a long way behind us – so we stopped at the Plaza Restaurant & got the complimentary cocoa & cookies (snickerdoodles!) Scott's not a big fan of cocoa, so I got most of his drink. We took a slow walk down Main Street, watching it snow and taking pictures of the lovely decorations. We wanted to at least see the fireworks, the parade & Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas , so we planned out the rest of the evening. The parade route was already well-staked out & a show was coming up fairly soon, so we got some snacks (popcorn & soda) to tide us over and made our way towards the theater.

The show was very cute! A group of singer/dancers and Mickey & Minnie read the Clement C. Moore poem, interspersed with songs that tied into that part of the poem. For example, after reading the list of reindeer, they sang "Run, Run Rudolph". It was about a 45 min show & we figured the parade would be done by then, so we could cross over Main Street & have some dinner at Casey's. Well – due to technical difficulties (a security CM said there had been an injury) the first showing of the parade was delayed & hadn't even started yet. Surprisingly, Casey's wasn't that busy, so we got our hot dogs & grabbed a table. While we were eating, the parade did start & we saw a couple of the floats from a distance.

We took advantage of the parade's popularity & rode Aladdin's Flying Carpets for the first time – the long line & lack of shade had always deterred us before. That and my unpleasant experience with Astro Orbiters on our first trip – I could have sworn I was just going to fly out of that rocket! The Carpets were much more tame & we had lovely views of Adventureland at night. Scott thought he caught a glimpse of the words Ho Ho Ho on the side of the Comptemporary, but by the time we left the park, the lights were out. Pirates was absolutely deserted – Scott took some non-flash pictures that turned out a little blurry, but better than any we'd tried before.
There'd been an announcement that the fireworks would start at 10:45 – so we found a spot near the Liberty Belle to take in Wishes. Unfortunately, our view was a bit obscured by trees – but during the 360-degree finale, Scott got some neat pix of the fireworks reflected in the Rivers of America.

If at all possible, we try to ride Big Thunder Mountain at least once at night during each trip – and after the fireworks we had our chance. Very little line & lovely views. The second parade was coming up – so we made our way back to Main Street & picked out a spot about a half-hour early. It was already rather busy; we ended up standing next to the Cigar Store Indian. Scott joked that I'd made a new friend! The parade was a lot of fun – and seeing it snow on Main Street made it definitely worth the wait!
We visited Stitch again (and waited quite a bit longer than the advertised 5 min) and cruised around one more time on the TTA; it's amazing how much more of Space Mountain you can see once your eyes are adjusted for night vision! Several trips ago, we lucked into seeing Space Mountain 101 & lit up on the inside while riding the TTA – unfortunately, the cheap camera we had with us didn't do it justice. Very pooped out – we headed for the bus right around midnight. We had less of a wait than I thought we'd have, but it still took longer than we wanted. One of the prices we pay for staying out so late! Mileage: 16,764 steps = 7.1 miles.

[jude411]

I love your trip report. I am going next year about the same time and it makes me so excited. I am thinking of doing the holiday tour. Can't wait to read more.

[Politzania]

We're definitely planning on going back to the World this time of year - maybe not in 2006, but sometime. We may even "reschedule" our anniversary trips

[luvnwdwgal]

What a great time you guys are having!! I feel like I'm right there with you!! More, more!!

[Politzania]

Day 6 - Monday, 6 Dec 2004
Today's Event: Donald's Breakfastosaurus

Wasn't quite thinking when I made a PS for Donald's Breakfastosaurus for 8:00a the morning after MVMCP... Woke up quite early & were on the bus by 7:10. Forecast high of 82 and it was already 60 degrees when we left the room, so we were both wearing shorts & t-shirts & I had a denim long-sleeve shirt as a jacket.

It was EMH for Animal Kingdom that morning, so the lines were building already; we found the queue for the character breakfast & got checked in fairly quickly once we got let into the park. We ended up in the section that was the first to be greeted by the characters (and first to get the food!) Donald, Goofy & Pluto came out to visit, but Mickey was apparently running a little behind; we joked with our server that he must have been out late at his party the night before!

We looked around a bit in Dino-Land and for some unexplainable reason (there was no wait?), decided to go on Primeval Whirl. We'd ridden it once before & this time it spun a LOT more. Not the smartest thing to do on a full tummy, but we were mostly OK. We walked back to Asia via the "back route" and took some pix of Everest - quite a bit of progress since we saw it in May. There's one rather steep drop that looks like it goes underground.... not sure if I'll be riding this once it opens or not! We watched the monkeys cavorting around then ambled over to Africa. There was a relatively long line for the Safari (20 min or so) but it was worth it. Saw quite a few of the elephants and got a good view of the male lion.

Speaking of lions, we wanted to make sure to see the Festival of the Lion King on this trip, so we caught the second show of the day. I was somewhat surprised to see that one of the hosts (the older man) was missing; however, the other hosts did a great job of covering his role. I wanted to see what Animal Kingdom Lodge looked like dressed for the holiday, so we took the bus over after the show.

This was probably the poorest planning of the trip - while the tree and decorations were quite lovely, and we spotted an eland from the observation platform... I didn't realize how SLOW the bus service was! We originally planned to go back to AK and catch a bus back to the hotel, as the night before and the trip in general was starting to catch up with us .... but after at least 20 min, we were ready to hop the next bus, regardless of destination! It was getting hot & we were both getting a bit cranky.

We ended up on our way to MGM - our main goals for that park were the parade and the Osbourne Lights, and we weren't sure we'd have time to go back to the hotel between them, so we put off going back; possibly a mistake. We ate lunch at the ABC Commissary & just hung out there for about a half-hour. I tried the taboulleh wrap, since I never did make it back to Morocco for a meal. It was pretty good!

We meandered around for a bit, then scouted out a spot for the Hollywood Holly-days Parade at 3:30. We were down by Star Tours, trying to find a spot of shade (quite a change from earlier in the trip!). We found a railing spot and Scott was able to get some neat pix of the Motorcars decked out for the season! The rest of the afternoon was a bit of a blur... we did visit the Muppet Labs and rode Star Tours again (this time in the back row - whee!) and got our pictures taken with Mike & Sulley. Shame they can't figure out how to let them do autographs. We also visited Sorcerer Mickey for another photo opportunity and enjoyed the cool & dark of The Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

We just made it onto the last Backstage Tour (in May, I got to be the captain in the Harbour Attack scene!) and got some good looks at Lights, Motors, Action! We had a little time before the lighting ceremony on Streets of America, so we got a green screen photo taken, where we're helping Mickey & Pals decorate their Christmas tree. We were down at the far end of New York street (near where the Backstage tour lets out) so we didn't get to hear the little presentation before they turned on the lights. On the other hand, we got a GREAT view of the whole main street when they came on!

We'd seen the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights in 2001, when they were still on Residential Row; however, I think they look even more magnificent on the Big City set (tho not as attractive during the day). Not surprisingly, the area was *packed* with people! They'd set up "two-way traffic" management & were funneling people out of the area at each end of the street; however you could go around the other way if you liked fairly easily. We were feeling pretty worn out by this time, so decided to forgo Fantasmic! for this trip (sorry Mickey!) and headed back to the hotel, as we had packages to pick up & packing to do for tomorrow. .

We'd gone ahead and done the 5 for $5 deal at Pleasure Island (buy one night's admission and for $5 more, get 5 subsequent night's admission) earlier in the week & really didn't want it to go to waste. We'd also heard that the Adventurer's Club has a holiday radio broadcast around 10:00, so after dinner, a bit of rest and packing, we got back on the boat (the warmest trip yet!). Unfortunately, the Pop Warner kids were starting to arrive and obnoxious teens were a feature of both the boat trip over and the bus trip back.

We got over to PI a little after nine; Scott got another Leisure Suit and we made our way over to the Adventurer's Club. Sugar Snap was wandering around, looking for animals for the nativity... squirrels in particular. (Yes, squirrels!) She got into a discussion with Babylonia about that, then the Goddess and Pamela had a nice chat. She found two new bodyguards (I think Scott narrowly avoided that!), then, as people were leaving from the Library, Miss Perkins tried to arrange them into a Christmas parade, with mixed results. Then it was into the Library for the Holiday Broadcast - starring Miss Perkins (of course!) Sugar Snap, Hathaway and Emil. Otis threw a fit because Pamela took charge AGAIN, but was lured back at the end of the show with everyone singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". I was particularly tickled to hear two of my new favorite oddball Christmas tunes - "The Pretty Little Dolly" (performed by Pamela) and "Dominic, the Italian Christmas Donkey" (Emil's contribution). Hathaway did an international version of "Home for the Holidays" and to noone's surprise, Sugar Snap belted out "Santa Baby".

We got back to the hotel about 11:00, after being subjected once again to Wound Up Teens - flash photography should be prohibited on the busses too, don't you think?
I admit we were already tired & cranky, but I doubt we would have appreciated their "high spirits" even if we'd been well rested. Two long days in a row... 19,888 steps = 8.14 miles.

[luvnwdwgal]

Love the update! The picture of you helping Mickey and his Pals decorate the Christmas tree sounds wonderful!!

[Colexis Mom]

What a great time you are having, but boy, you must be tired, I know I am from reading it! Sorry it's coming to an end.

[BabieeMelly]

Sorry your trip is coming to an end. Wow, you walked a lot! I'm tired just thinking about it, lmao! I enjoyed your TR and I can't wait to hear the end!

[Politzania]

Day 7 - Tuesday, 7 December
Today's Event: Heading home

Got up around 7:20 am so we could finish packing. It looked to be another warm day, as the temp was already in the mid 60's & mostly sunny; but we made sure to put long pants in an easily-accessible location. After calling bell services, & double-checking our express checkout receipt, we headed over to the buses. With everything that happened leading up to this trip and the fast pace we'd kept, today we planned on taking it nice and easy.

We were at MK in time for the Grand Opening at 8:50; our first stop was at Expo Hall for one more try at the Annual Pass t-shirts. No luck for Scott's size; guess we'll look again in February. Since the Jungle Cruise didn't open til 10, we grabbed FP's and went over to PotC; we were the ONLY people in line, with empty boats in front and behind us. I was tempted to take some flash pix, but restrained myself.

BTMRR was next (practically a walk-on) then we made a quick pass thru the pin shop while waiting for the Country Bears. After the Jamboree, we walked back to Liberty Square. We'd just missed the Steamboat, so visited the 999 Happy Haunts. We had a brief pause in the Picture Gallery, due to a "mischevious spirit"; I keep hoping we'll be somewhere really interesting (like the ballroom or the seance) during those pauses; at least we weren't in a dark corner!

Pocahantas was just coming out to visit as we walked by, so got an autograph and pictures, then stopped in at the Golden Horseshoe & saw Woody and Jessie. I hope they bring a show back to the Saloon soon. We spoiled our lunch by snacking on a couple of Mickey bars whle waiting for the next steamboat launch at 11:30. Once we boarded, we headed up to the top level and got good spots up front - it was sunny and warm by this time, but the breeze kept it comfortable.

After our tour of the Rivers of America, we went over to Fantasyland and watched Donald make a mess of things again at Philharmagic - walking in just as the theater doors opened. From there, we walked to Tomorrowland for another ride on the TTA. We had lunch at Casey's & caught a couple of songs by the piano player. We realized we hadn't used our Jungle Cruise FP's yet, so that was our next stop. Our skipper had a new (to-me) line: at the exit of the temple: "So that's what happened to the Golden Girls!"

We were both pretty pooped by this time & decided to head back to the hotel & rest by the pool or the lobby area before meeting Happy Limo, so we started thinking about leaving the park. I wanted to ride the train again, so we caught it at the Frontierland station and rode back around to Main street. We got our last bits of shopping in at Expo Hall and the Emporium, said Goodbye to the Castle and caught the bus back to POFQ. This was the hardest part of the trip for Scott, I think - as he realized he wouldn't be able to tell his mom about all the things we did.

We got back to the hotel around 3 & our pickup time wasn't til 5, so we just vegged in the lobby (it was almost too warm to sit out by the pool!) & watched cartoons for a while, occasionally getting a snack out of our luggage or checking out the gift shop.

We changed back into jeans just before our towncar arrived - with a freebie stretch limo upgrade! Thanks, Happy Limo - we'll be doing business with you again! We had the same driver both times, too. We got to the airport about 5:45 for a 7:20 flight. Both the check-in and security lines were fairly short; we were sitting at our gate by 6:25. We boarded the plane around 7 - the flight was only about 2/3 full, so once most everyone was seated, we asked an attendant if we could move to an empty row; no problem. We took off pretty much on time and had a smooth flight back. Believe it or not, I started working on the trip report on the way home... but the holidays (and getting sick) have delayed this last installment.

Final mileage report: 13,381 steps = 5.56 miles.
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We got to do a lot of new things on this trip, as it was our first visit this time of the year; we're definitely planning on coming back again during the first week or so of December - the weather was good, the crowds were light and the parks were gorgeous! Unfortunately, we came into this trip emotionally exhausted... so that took a bit of a toll.

On the brighter side - we're coming back in February for my birthday! We upgraded from Pop to POFQ thanks to Nanci and a generous Christmas check from Scott's dad; Scott wants to visit Disney Quest and I'm definitely going to get my meal at Morocco this time! Then in early December, we're going to California for Disneyland's 50th - am looking forward to Passporter's Disneyland edition to get the details on the celebration! Will probably do a Happiest Homecoming package.

[GoofyMom]

Tracey, terrific TR! Thank you so much for sharing all your photos -- they're great!

[Colexis Mom]

Thanks for sharing your report with us Looking forward to your next adventures

[luvnwdwgal]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!! Great pics!!

[Caldercup]

Great trip report - love all the great details and little anecdotes. You really know how to capture the mood of Disney!

Can't wait to read another!
Eileen