WDW, Christmas & folks new house: Update 2/11 Part 10 COMPLETE About This Page:

[RobinKay6573]

Thanks for all the great comments guys! This is my first real trip report so bare with me. Sorry it is kind-of off topic so far but trust me we will get to WDW eventually. I just thought you guys would like to see alittle bit about my folks new house!

[BritDisFan]

The place where your parents are going to be living looks fantastic. I love the photos.

Karen

[luvnwdwgal]

Great update Robin! Loved reading about your folks new home!!

[MickeyMAC]

Robin I'm really enjoying your trip report. Very interesting--sorry you had such a rough start to your vacation.

[RobinKay6573]

Day 2: December 22, 2004: Passporter Meet and The Adventure Club with Cheryl and Mark.

This would be my first Passporter meet and honestly I was a bit nervous. I had chatted for months with so many of my fellow Disney fans and had only met one when I worked at Disney Store. Cheryl (Chezp) and her DH Mark were first to arrive. I spotted Cheryl first and called out to her. We hugged and then discussed who was potentially going to show up for our meet. We waited about 5 minutes and then decided to go to the table. I introduced Cheryl and Mark to my mom and sister. Cheryl offered to hold the table while we got our food. Mom, Sandy and I ordered Barbeque chicken. Mom got her al a cart and Sandy and I had ours with potatoes. We went back to the table each with a beeper and waited for our food to be done while Mark and Cheryl went up to get theirs. When Cheryl and Mark came back we chatted for a bit until our food was done. A CM came to our table (I guess our beeper went off but we didn’t notice) and delivered our food…which was funny because Mark had to got get he and Cheryl’s. Mark kept on saying how he was just the “DH”. I felt bad for him then I thought maybe he should visit the boards more :P but perhaps Cheryl is hogging the computer Mark I don’t consider you just a DH (for the record)

About halfway through dinner Bill (LizardCop) and his DW Jan strolled up. I was so happy to be able to meet Bill. Jan was not feeling well and had woken up that morning with no voice so she communicated with us via gestures and mouthing words. There was some confusion about what Wolfgang Puck restaurant we were meeting at. Originally Bill thought we were meeting at Wolfgang Pucks in the WestSide (opps). Bill told us about some of his adventures that day and Cheryl shared stories about her many Passporter meetings in the last couple of weeks. We posed for some photos and then Bill and Jan headed to Epcot to see Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. As you can see from the photos my sister wasn’t real thrilled to be there. She gets really grumpy when she has to compete for my mom’s attention. It makes life miserable for me.


Cheryl, Me, Bill, Sandy (my sister) and Mark
Passporter Meet 12/22 Wolfgang Puck Express

Cheryl, Mark and I decided to go to Pleasure Island and visit the Adventure Club. I had never been to Pleasure Island. The Adventure Club is like no place I have ever been before. I went back to my car to drop off my packages and say good-bye to Sandy & Mom. I then headed over to Pleasure Island. There was only one ticket window open and there was only 3 people so I thought this will be quick. WRONG! The guy in the front of the line was ticked off about something. From my understanding he thought that regular hopper passes included Pleasure Island. He said the sign wasn’t clear and he insisted on seeing a manager. We waited and waited the guy was still going on about how he should be let in because…blah blah blah. Honestly I think it would have been better to have him step aside let him calm down a bit and help the NOW line of 15 guests waiting to buy tickets. The guy ended up with 4 FREE tickets to Pleasure Island.

I knew Mark and Cheryl were waiting and I felt bad but what could I do? When I got there Cheryl said they almost gave up on me. I am glad they didn’t. I wasn’t really sure what to expect at the Adventure Club, Cheryl assured me I would enjoy the shows. I won’t spoil it for anyone that hasn’t gone but it is a must see. The building is like Saturday Night Live but in your face. They pull people out of the audience to assist. It is hilarious! Since it was Christmas week everything had a Christmas Theme. There was a lot of singing and corny jokes.


Mask Room at The Adventure Club


Mark playing along with one of the character at The Adventure Club


Final Show at Adventure Club


Final Show at Adventure Club

Mark, Cheryl and I then decided to part ways. After a few quick photos outside of The Adventure Club we hugged and said good bye. I really enjoyed spending time with, Cheryl, Mark, Bill and Jan. Someday I hope to meet more Passporters at Disney and maybe elsewhere.

I was tired from the day’s events so I decided to head home. All the shops at DTD were closed by the time I walked back through. I got to bed about midnight.

Part 4: Magic Kingdom Christmas and Osborne Lights!

[LizardCop]

Great Update Robin, and it was my pleasure to meet you and your family...

[pparm]

Robin,
I'm so sorry to hear about your awful travel experience! At least you finally got there and seem to be having lots of fun already. Looking forward to more!

Paula

[Tara O'Hara]

Great update, Robin!! That's a really nice picture of you guys! (Even Bill looks good! )

This cracks me up: [ QUOTE ]
Mark kept on saying her was just the “DH”.

[/ QUOTE ] Poor, poor Mark!!

[kimdisneynut]

Great Update

Kim

[luvnwdwgal]

Fun update Robin!!

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update Robin Glad you got to meet some Passporters

Hurry back with more

[Jillybean]

Great update, Robin!

Jill

[BritDisFan]

Great update Robin, it looks like you had a great time Meeting Cheryl, Mark and Bill.

Karen

[RobinKay6573]

Magic Kingdom Christmas

We dropped off my rental car at about 8:15. I was following Sandy to the airport and discovered I had forgotten to fill the car up with gas. I pulled into a gas station and realized that I had put my bag with my wallet in it in Sandy’s car. Oh no! I then realized I had my traveler’s cheques with me in my Passporter! Good save! I filled up and by the time Sandy had discovered I was not behind her and tracked me back to the gas station. We made out way to the airport. I pulled in to the garage and was alittle apprehensive about driving over the stop strip. The spikes were facing the other way but they look so ominous. The guy kept waving me forward and I was hesitating. I parked the car and checked to make sure I had not forgotten anything. I was given a printout with the charges and I made my way to my sister’s car.

Before we headed to MK for the day Sandy had a few errands to do. Sandy is still recovering from the hurricanes that ripped through Central Florida in the fall. She has been battling with Home Depot to get her carpet replaced since early November. Several times she had appointment for the work to be done and every time they either didn’t show up or canceled beforehand. The one time they did come they showed up with the wrong carpet! She got a call the day before that they weren’t planning on coming to do her carpet until January 11! Sandy is a teacher and was going back to school on January 3rd and she needed to get her condo back in order. I should have taken some photos of the boxes and electronics staked in her hallways and kitchen! Poor Sandy had been living like this since her carpets were drenched from hurricane rains coming through her sliding glass doors back in August! Sandy had to go to Home Depot to give them a piece of her mind about the carpet situation. They finally agreed to come on December 30 and Sandy wanted to get this in writing! After Home Depot we went to the UPS Store so Sandy could mail a package.

We went to Village Inn for breakfast on 192 in Saint Cloud. Breakfast was very good and almost too much to eat. Sandy and I both had pancakes, eggs and bacon and mom had an omelet, which she said was the best omelet she has ever had. She gave me a bite and I thought it was very good although I am not a huge omelet fan.

By this time it was approaching 10 and we wanted to be at the park before noon. We had to stop back at my sister’s condo so she could change her shoes, then we were off. As we drove Sandy explained that many homeowners lost shingles from their roofs from the storms. We saw home after home with one or more tarps stapled on their roof. Sandy was one of the lucky ones that got her tarp put on right after Charlie although it did little good when Francis flooded central Florida with rain. Many homes in Central Florida had to be totally gutted because rain had seeped down into ceilings and soaked the drywall. It was also apparent that many homes lost their screened in pools and porches. Buenaventura Blvd or BVL (the street my sister lives off from) lost many of its utility poles during Charlie. Sandy was without power for about 4 days. Sandy also mentioned that almost every traffic light was gone. Could you imagine being at the intersection of John Young Parkway and Osceola Parkway with no traffic light! There was still evidence of hurricane damage at Walt Disney World as well. Many of the tall evergreen tree forests along the roads were leading in one direction with many downed trees in the middle. Along the Rivers of America there were down trees with their tops chain sawed off. Thank goodness very few people were killed during the storms. Hopefully in time everyone affected will be whole again.

We got to MK about 11:15 and parked in Goofy. We jumped on the tram and made a b-line for the monorail. The crowd was very low and I didn’t see anyone in line for the front car so I asked if it would be okay if we sat in the front. We were ushered to the front car waiting area to wait for the next train. The next train pulled up and we were in luck no one was in front! At this point it was a bit hazy so the photos are dark.


Monorail Red


Our pilot he seemed kind of grumpy at first

Our train had to stop and wait for another train to be switched to the service track. Our pilot explained to us how they go about doing this an pointed out where the service line met the main line.


Pulling into station at MK

We were at the gates of the MK at about 11:45. My family are not planners at all and I (like many of you) are excessive planners. This is a major cause of friction throughout my whole vacation. Mom is one of those “play it by ear” kind of people and I want to have some kind of idea what is going to happen in, let’s say, the next 12 hours. Just an idea, I don’t want the entire day mapped out. Mom said, “If we plan stuff people end up getting upset when something is missed.” AAAGGHHH she just doesn’t get it the reason why you plan is so you don’t miss anything! Anyway we knew we wanted to see the parade which was at 2 so we headed to Tomorrowland first.

As we strolled down Main Street USA I snapped a few photos and even got to see the Mayor of Main Street (Mayor Weaver for those who don’t know)





Decorations on Main Street USA


Mayor Weaver, Mayor of Main Street USA



The line for Stitch’s Great Escape was short so we decided to wait in the standby line. We were in the pre-show in less then 20 minutes. After the pre-show we were all ushered into the experiment room. Sandy was in front of me and mom was behind me so I thought. When I turned around she was gone and another family was next to me. I told them I needed to save a seat for my mom (who was right behind them). The lady scoffed at me and said she needed seats for HER family. I wasn’t going to argue with her so I politely made my way out of the row. Sandy didn’t realize what was going on and ended up with a seat by herself. Mom and I were in the aisle with another family and were told if we didn’t find a seat that we needed to wait for the next show! We were escorted out of the theater. The CM assured us that we would be able to get into the next show. Mom then explained to me what happened. A family who was already seated decided that they didn’t like their seats and wanted to be closer so they pushed their way in front of my mom and behind me to sit in the seats one row up (like it really matters in this attraction). Mom was left in the aisle alone. Similar circumstances happened to the group that was escorted out with us. Another CM (the lead) came and spoke with us about what happened. She gave us FP to enter the ride again with the rest of our party and escorted us back to the gift shop and had us look for my sister as the guests exited the show. Sandy came out and we rejoined her and were directed to the “cast members only” door where we were able to skip the pre-show and wait for the next show to start. After all that we were finally able to see Stitch’s Great Escape. I was not a big fan of Alien Encounter but I loved SGE! I was laughing through the whole show. I am not sure it was worth all the hype that surrounded it but it was well worth the wait. When we exited the show the lead CM that helped us so much was there waiting for us with 3 FP to other attractions at MK. She said she was very sorry about what happened.

We decided to use the FP on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. Mom was alittle apprehensive of this ride. She thought it was a roller coaster. I told her that it did spin around but it wasn’t a roller coaster. When she discovered that you had control over how and when it spins she told me, “no spinning”! oh mom you are not fun! I explained to her what to do and tried to direct her to what to hit. Mom had the whopping shore of 21,000! I think I scored under 40,000 (I was trying to help her, spin the vehicle for good shots and shot myself). I can’t remember what Sandy got I think it was close to 60,000.

[b]Part 5: Mickey's Night Before Christmas and Mickey Very Merry Christmas Parade[b]

[Caldercup]

Great report so far! I'm looking forward to more.
Eileen