1st Timers to the World Christmas Trip - Updated 08/24 (COMPLETED!!!) About This Page:

[taopiglet]

We Finally make it to Disney

<font color="blue">Our original plan:
Saturday - Finish up any last rides at Universal and check out of RPR. Pick up Annual Passes (already paid for) at Downtown Disney. Drive over to Beach Club to check in. Spend our first day hopping between Epcot and Studios. Fantasmic Dinner Package (Mama Melrose's). Illuminations after Fantasmic (if we can make it).

What really happened:
Saturday (December 11, 2004)
Weather: a cold front blew through; pleasantly cool with highs in the mid 60s and down to 50 at night.
While Universal was GREAT, it was time to move on to Disney. So we skipped the idea of any last minute rides at Universal, packed up and checked out of the Royal Pacific.

Goodbye Royal Pacific:

and the beautiful grounds, too:

Make sure to have your Moose Juice or Goose Juice next time you're at Islands of Adventure:




It was a short drive to Disney and we easily found our way to the Beach Club, our home for the next 3 nights:





We took advantage of the valet to empty all our bags out and then a speedy check-in despite a crowded lobby for the Cape May Character Breakfast. Our room turned out to be at the very end of a very, very long hallway. I hadn’t really made any requests for this room, but it turned out to be a HUGE room, at least the size of 2 normal rooms due to it being an end room I guess. The room was nice but in need of a renovation (a little worn looking).






There were hidden Mickey’s everywhere (bedspread, pictures on the wall, carpet in hall, etc).

We didn’t relax for long before heading to Epcot to get our annual passes activated. It was definitely chillier today with a bite in the wind. We walked around the World Showcase (via the International Gateway) through Britain and Canada stopping for a quick ride on HISTA and Journey into Imagination (Figment)…both fun. I spied a Christmas tree had that I had to get (complete with working Christmas lights).



Little did I know that I would need the warmth of this hat in the days to come. We worked our way over to Mission Space for our first ride. WOW! This is a great ride. I did get a little disoriented particularly during the takeoff, but quickly got my bearings. We were a little worried about pushing our buttons at the right time, but quickly figured out that the “computer” would do it for us if we didn’t do it in time.



After our flight to Mars, we headed over to China for a bite to eat at the counter service restaurant. It was good and hit the spot. We then backtracked and explored Mexico taking a ride on El Rio De Tiempo and Norway taking a ride on Maelstrom. By this time, it was time for a rest, so we headed back to the room for a rest.

After a brief rest, we took the walkway (kind of long) to MGM for a night of Fantasmic. It seemed the walkway from Beach Club to MGM kept going and going and going.

Arriving at MGM:




We finally hit the crowded gates of MGM at about 4:00 pm and headed straight back to Mama Melrose’s for our 4:30 Fantasmic Dinner Package reservation.

We were quickly seated at Mama Melrose's:

We enjoyed a started of Grilled Pepperoni Wood-Fired Flatbread which was delicious (we would come back later in the week just to have this again). I had the Charred Butcher Tender Steak:

and Mike had Chicken Parmesan:

Both were excellent. For dessert, it was the Fantasmic Tiramisu:

I would have probably picked something else, but this came with the package.

We received our Fantasmic pass, paid our bill and headed over to the “back entrance” for Fantasmic. We made a quick stop to ride Star Tours (one of my favorites from a past Disneyland trip) and headed for the Garage at the front gate and up the path to the Fantasmic Theater. We got there about 30 minutes to show time and it was really starting to cool off, so I had Mike get me a $10 hot chocolate in a souvenir (that I lost) cup that lit up. The Fantasmic Dinner Package was one of the best tips I read on this board, as people were pouring in at the regular entrance and it really seemed to be a madhouse. Despite the fact that these seats are on the far right, I agree with others that there really isn’t a bad seat here.


The show was enjoyable and we will definitely do it again. When the show was over, we quickly ran back down the walkway so we could get to the boat launch back to Beach Club (we weren’t taking that long path again). After a short wait, a boat pulled up and we started on our extremely SLOW boat to China…I mean the Beach Club. I saw people walking on the path that were passing us. These boats go really SSLLLOOOOWWW:


We hit the Beach Club dock and called it a night (after the 5 mile hike through the hallways to our room). A few drinks later and we were snuggled in for the night.
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[taopiglet]

<font color="blue">Our original plan:
Sunday - Breakfast at Boma's, check out the Lodge, spend the day at Animal Kingdom. Return to Beach Club early and spend some time at Stormalong. Dinner PS at O'Hana. Watch fireworks from Poly beach after dinner.

What really happened:
Sunday (December 12, 2004)
Weather: Now it’s starting to get downright cold. High for today of only 60. Low, a bone-chilling (for Florida) 45 degrees.
We had an early wakeup call for our 8:00 am PS at Boma. We decided to drive since we were running a little late. We arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge and found parking:

When we walked in the lobby, it was very WOW! How beautiful.

We walked around and took it all in before heading downstairs to Boma. We checked in and were immediately seated. It was only about half full of people. I, of course, ordered the Frunch and it was really good.

Overall I found the Breakfast buffet to be unimpressive (sacrilege, I know). It was all very good and there were some African inspired dishes. But overall, not much better than any other Breakfast Buffet anywhere else. I guess on the whole, Mike and I just don’t care for buffets. Maybe it’s just too many choices. Plus, we really aren’t big breakfast eaters as you probably figured out by now as this is our first breakfast on this trip.

After a quick walk out to Arusha Walk:



to see the animals, we headed back through the lobby to drive over to Animal Kingdom:





We arrived right at opening and headed, where else, but to Kilimanjaro Safaris. There was no wait and we probably got on one of the first few safari busses. This was a great ride/attraction that seemed really long. We saw a lot of animals:

Peek-a-boo









Like others, I thought the whole Lil’ Red thing seemed kind of contrived, but fun for kids so who cares.

After a quick trek through the Pangani Forest Trail:







I think a lot of people take a pass on these trails and they are really GREAT. Definitely check out these trails as you will probably see more animals than on the safari.

We walked toward the Flights of Wonder show, but who did we see on our way? That’s right, DeVine:

She is really interesting to watch. After leaving her, we were walking next to this lady who was asking some CMs a lot of questions about DeVine. She was wondering if it was an animatronic or if it was a real plant and the CMs could do nothing but laugh. It really sounded like she was sincere in her questions, so somehow she believed that was some kind of real plant. Some people are funny and Mike and I got a kick out of it.

I don’t hear a lot of people talking about the Flights of Wonder show on the boards and that is a shame because it is a great show.

We just went there because it was time for the show and we were nearby, however, in the future we will definitely go back. Some of it was corny, but in the end I really liked the message of the show.

We then headed through the Maharaja Jungle Trek spying all the hidden Mickey’s painted on the various walls:

We even got other people involved after we pointed a couple out. It was a little chilly today for Kali River Rapids, so onward to DinoLand.

We stopped on the way to see the Tarzan Rocks show which I didn’t really care for:

It was one of those shows where I was hoping every number was the last. I know this show is going away, and can’t wait to see what replaces it.

DinoLand is just tacky and I don’t think it really belongs. However, the kids seem to like it and that is what Disney is all about.

The games, however, really need to go. They just seem so “Six Flags”…not up to Disney Standards to have all these amusement park games. I will have to say that the imagineers did pull off the “tacky roadside attraction” look pretty well. It’s kind of jarring to the sense though especially when Dinosaur is in the same “land” and is more themed like the rest of Animal Kingdom:


Having said all that, we did ride Primeval Whirl and had a good time:



We also took 2 rides back in time on Dinosaur. A fun ride that had us laughing most of the way.

After that, lunch time was calling, so we hit Flame Tree Barbecue (our second miss of this trip). It was OK, but maybe counter service is just not our style. We are not snobs by any stretch, but when we’re on vacation we like to do it up as far as meals are concerned. I wish there were a couple of full service (other than Rainforest) option in Animal Kingdom.

After lunch, we took in It’s Tough to be a Bug. The Tree of Life is just incredible (so detailed):



and the show was a hoot:

Luckily, this was another one I had avoided reading too much about, so I got a lot of surprises.

It was approaching mid-afternoon and we were tiring out, but since we didn’t think we would be back this way we decided to see the Festival of the Lion King. This was a great show, especially the Monkey acrobats. However, I will say that if you ever get a chance the Lion King Musical, you must go.

It was approaching parade time, but we were tired and needed a rest so we headed back to the car and the Beach Club for a little nap. We got up and showered and had a couple of pre-dinner drinks in our room. We then headed over to Epcot

taking in more of the countries, but with a goal of getting to the Monorail for a trip over to the Polynesian. We had a 7:20 PS at O’Hana.
BBrrrrr!! Freezing:


After arriving at the TTC, we took the short path over to the Polynesian and quickly found O’Hana.

Even with a PS, we still had about a 45 minute wait. No matter, as we sat at the bar and had a couple of more drinks.

We finally got paged and got our table. Our server wasn’t very friendly, but did his job well:

We had taken my Christmas tree hat and sat it on the table as decoration.


The food here was good, but not spectacular.

Most big cities have these Brazilian Steakhouses (I think they’re called Churrascarias) where they serve unlimited amounts of steak, chicken, shrimp, etc from swords (same concept) but the taste is far superior to O’Hana. Plus, all the side dishes kind of spoil it. However, one thing I couldn’t wait for was the pineapple and caramel sauce (I’m a caramel freak). But, it was another bomb. The caramel sauce tasted like it came out of one of those Smucker’s jars (it definitely wasn’t real) and the pineapple was tough. Overall a disappointment.

We headed back to the monorail and asked to ride in the front.

When the next one pulled up we started to head up and a family of four behind us asked to ride up front. We were already entering so the CM said only 2 of them could go. I felt bad splitting up the family, but the kids were older (probably 15). Riding in the front was great especially going around Epcot.

Once we got off, we took a ride of Spaceship Earth. After a long day, a big meal, and several drinks, I think we both started to drift off but really enjoyed the ride. We got to the lagoon in time for Illuminations. We ended up near the American Pavilion for the show. Despite all the hustling for people to get to the bridge between France and Britain, I don’t think there is really a bad view for this show. It was GREAT! However, the best part was after the normal illuminations show when they did the added Christmas (Peace on Earth) portion. That final volley of fireworks was just INCREDIBLE. You could feel the ground vibrating underneath your feet from all the explosions. AMAZING!!!!!!! For some reason...no pictures??

We headed back to our room for a well-earned sleep.
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[RobDVC]

You took some great pictures on the Safari!

You're right about that MGM to Epcot boat.... I beat it walking and pushing DS5 in a stroller from MGM to Epcot last August... we left MGM at about the same time and I cleared the gateway I'd say a solid 5 minutes before it did.

[taopiglet]

<font color="blue">The original plan:
Monday - Kona Breakfast (Tonga Toast). Our first day to experience the Magic Kingdom. Dinner PS at California Grill (hopefully with a window seat for Wishes).

What really happened:
Monday (December 13, 2004)
Weather: a little warmer today with a high of 73, but another cold front brings the low back down to 46.

We started the day at MGM to do all the things we didn’t have time to do before Fantasmic last time.

We got there right after opening and immediately headed (with a very small crowd) to Tower of Terror where we grabbed a Fast Pass, but since there were so few people there we went ahead and went through the regular line with no wait.


This was a ride I was very apprehensive about as I hate those drop type rides that they have a Six Flags (the whole fear of height thing). However, being indoors, you really don’t have that fear of heights thing. And the whole drop part seemed a lot tamer that the other drop rides at other amusement parks. In the end it was fun, but in a funny way I was disappointed with the drops. Even though I don’t like the other amusement park drop rides, they are exhilarating. I think I worked myself up too much prior to this ride thinking it was going to be bad.

Next up was Rock N Roller Coaster:

This was a fun indoor coaster. I know people don’t like to compare rides between Universal and Disney; however, since it is an indoor coaster, I think some comparison is in order. The Mummy at Universal absolutely blows Rock N Roller coaster away. RNR just seemed so short. I like the part where you got shot out, though. The Mummy is fun in the way it is part ‘dark ride’ part roller coaster. The theming or something just seems to be lacking on RNR.

Next on the agenda was the Great Movie Ride (along the way we saw some streetmosphere):

This is another one that I didn’t know much about and really ended up liking it a lot. The only thing that was lacking was the end where they show the clips of the movies. I’ve read where there was actually supposed to be a different ending to this ride, but something about rights to Wizard of Oz or budget ended up giving it this lackluster ending.

After GMR, it was off to the Muppets which was great fun. Then we stopped in there Christmas store for some more Christmas tree decorations. Since we were nearby and loved the flatbread, we had lunch at Mama Melrose and had more of the grilled Pepperoni flatbread and Chicken Parmesan. Mama Melrose was definitely a hit with us. Great food and great atmosphere. In case you haven’t noticed, it was this day that we totally started disregarding our PSs (we did have a PS at Kona for breakfast which we skipped and a PS for dinner tonight at California Grill which we would end up skipping).

We then headed over to the Beauty and the Beast which was good:



We were tiring out, so back to the room (via the SLLLOOOWWW Boat) for a rest.

We saw some "friends" on our way out:








I love the brooms pouring out the flowers:


We headed over to Epcot to ride Mission Space and Test Track to take in all the countries in World Showcase, stopping to see the acrobatic children in China:



and the Candy Making Lady in Japan:



The Candy Making Lady was incredible and you should really make an effort to see her. It seems she can make anything out of candy. Plus, she is funny the way she keeps repeating…”Candy” “Candy for you” “Florida” “hop, hop” “Crème Caramel” “American Corn Syrup”. If you’ve seen her, you know what I mean. Aterwards, we headed back to Beach Club.

After a rest and shower, we decided to stick nearby and have dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse. The food here was GREAT, but the service was NOT memorable. Nothing bad happened service-wise, just forgettable.

Of course, we had to see Illuminations again. Man, that final volley in the extra Peace on Earth segment is just INCREDIBLE!!!

Time for another well earned rest back at the Beach Club. Tomorrow, we move over to the Wilderness Lodge for 4 nights.
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[FanOfMickey]

I am enjoying your report and can't wait to read more. I too love the Candy lady and know exactly what you mean by candy candy and such. I could listen to her all day lol.

[Colexis Mom]

More great updates Boy, do I remember that cold Love your room at the BC, it's so big

[taopiglet]

<font color="blue">Our original plan:
Tuesday - Segway Tour (ssshhh! it's a surprise) in the morning. Morning at EPCOT, check out of Beach Club and move over to Wilderness Lodge, afternoon at Studios (late lunch PS at 50's Prime Time). MVMCP tonight, playing dinner by ear (will either eat our way around World Showcase or counter service in MK before MVMCP).

What really happened:
Tuesday (December 14, 2004)
Weather: another cold day, high only 64, low 42…yikes and we are going to be out late for MVMCP.

Our first event today was a surprise for Mike. I had managed to keep this a secret for months and now the day was here. I told him we had to get up early and get to the International Gateway for opening, but he didn’t know what for (I think he was kind of tired…but that didn’t last long). Once we got to the gate, I had to tell him what we were doing….A Segway tour. His eyes lit up as he has always wanted to ride one. Well today was the day. Once they opened the gate, we walked around a completely abandoned World Showcase and Future World to the front gate Guest Relations area:

We checked in for our tour and waited for the others. We were then escorted to a room in Innoventions where there was a wall lined with Segways.



After a brief safety video and instructions, we hopped on them and started going through the basics of starting, stopping, and turning as well as going up and down hills. After about an hour, it was time to head out to World Showcase. Epcot was still not open, so everything was still deserted. We worked our way around all the countries going inside the pavilions. We stopped directly across the lagoon from Spaceship Earth for pictures and a little free time. We kind of got yelled at (in a Disney way) for seeing how fast we could go backward.



Once we got to Morocco, we were actually going through some of the shops. I was just waiting for someone (possibly me) run into a table of merchandise. But, we successfully made it through. Once we got back to Future World, that part of the park had opened. Everyone we passed was asking how they could ride one which was kind of fun. We were definitely getting a lot of looks.

We took our Segways back to the room in Innoventions and received our cool pins. The Segway Tour was definitely the highlight of our entire trip. Even though it was bone chilling cold and the wind was blowing pretty hard (my teeth were chattering at several points), there was one girl who only had a tank top on. She must have been freezing but never complained. If you ever get the chance to take this tour, you MUST.

After our Segway Tour, we did a little shopping until World Showcase. We were a little hungry so stopped to get some fish and chips:



After we sat down at a table, Mike went to go get some napkins and ketchup. As he was walking back, a bird flew right to our table and snatched up the fish. I was still sitting at the table when this happened and it happened in a split second. That bird was fast. So, we were left without any fish, just chips.

We worked our way back to the Beach Club to check out. We loaded our bags back in the car and drove over to Wilderness lodge, our home for the next 4 nights:



Even though it’s a very quick drive, it seems as if we had gone to a different state with all the mountain-type trees. Once again, we hit the valet to offload our bags. The lobby was beautiful and there was no line a check-in.

I walked right up and requested the North Wing with a view toward the Magic Kingdom on the 3rd or 4th floor. I even gave her a range of room numbers. The lady asked me how I knew what to request. I told her the Internet and she said she hears a lot of that. She went to go check if the room was ready and was gone for a long time (10 minutes). Finally, she comes back and says it’s ready and gets us checked in. We head to the room and find it is exactly what we requested. We have a great/obstructed view to the Magic Kingdom.

One of the reasons I requested this side is so we could see the fireworks at night. However, as luck would have it, we were never in the room during fireworks. Oh well, we still had a nice view of the trees and otter pond.

It was approaching lunch time, and since the bird stole our fish earlier, we headed downstairs. Our lunch PS was back at MGM’s Prime Time (back where we practically just left), so we decided to skip the PS and try Whispering Canyon. Now, I knew all about this place but Mike didn’t. Luckily, it was a late lunch, so they were winding down and the hostess put us in a quiet table overlooking the lobby. So, we had a pretty peaceful lunch, but were able to watch some of the antics in the middle of the Dining Room. I had the Hedda Lettuce Smoke House Stack (club sandwich), and Mike had the Canyon Skillet. Both were very good.

Tonight we had the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, so we took it easy this afternoon doing laundry and trying to find the Hidden Mickey’s around the resort. We actually found a tour guide that was giving a group a tour of Wilderness Lodge and they were doing the hunt also. She had a list (from the Internet) of all the locations, but we couldn’t find the one by the geyser. Several people claimed it was a piece of Mickey glitter that was in a puddle of water about 2 feet from the walkway. So, I bent down and picked up the glitter and said there was no way that this was the Hidden Mickey. Some people still thought it was.

After our Hidden Mickey adventure, we took the boat over to the Magic Kingdom (this would be our first time here since we arrived):



We got there just in time to be directed to Tomorrowland while the rest of the park was cleared out and setup for MVMCP. We quickly grabbed seats in the theater for our first show. The theater filled up very quickly and there were many people standing. Thanks again to the boards for the tip on getting a seat quickly. The show (Night before Christmas??) was very good:




After the show, we took a ride on Buzz Lightyear with almost no wait. Here comes another comparison to Universal. I love the Toy Story and even have a Woody on my work desk. However, the Men In Black ride at Universal Studios blows this away. Most of Buzz is just cardboard cutouts and it is impossible to see what items your laser is shooting at as the laser point is so jumpy. We ended up just randomly shooting not really taking aim at anything in particular. Amazingly, and through no skill, I ended up with over 200,000. I have no idea how. The Men In Black ride has actual 3 Dimensional characters to shoot at and you can definitely see exactly where your laser is shooting, no question. Sorry, but Universal definitely got this type of ride right and Disney misses the mark.

Next it was on to Stitch’s Great Escape. I pretty much knew what to expect, so I wasn’t really as disappointed as others have been. It was fun, but I feel they could have done a lot more. Plus, the seats were incredibly uncomfortable. They had these bump-outs in the back of the seat that made it hard to lean back.

It was getting incredibly cold at this point, but it was time for the fireworks, so we headed to the hub and caught the last part of the show.



We were both freezing, but the fireworks soon started and they were incredible. Especially the end where fireworks are going off all around you. We, and everyone around us, got a big kick out of the whole show.

We then moved on to Big Thunder Mountain RR which was a lot of fun. It seems really long and the theming and layout make it very exciting. We did Haunted Mansion next which I had done in Disneland years ago (1981 or so). It just didn’t seem as neat as I remember. Maybe the California version was different.
Next we headed to Fantasyland and hit Snow White, Pooh, and Peter Pan. I thought Peter Pan was the best of the dark rides. We also hit Philharmagic. Let me just say that this was an incredible experience. I was amazed when the whole screen opened up and virtually surrounded the front of the theater. It was definitely a do-again.

Since we hadn’t had dinner, we went over to Cosmic Ray’s for a couple of burgers and took in a little Sonny Eclipse:

Once again, counter service food, so it was just OK. We walked around for a little more and hit Space Mountain twice. This may be an old coaster, but it is still fun. I hope they give it a refurb like they did in California and Paris. At this point it was just getting too cold, so we headed out.

We took a boat back to Wilderness Lodge and headed to bed.
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[taopiglet]

Our original plan:
Wednesday - Sleep in after MVMCP. Lunch PS at Rose and Crown. Candlelight Processional Dinner Package (Le Cellier). Hmmm...Must be an EPCOT day.

What really happened:
Wednesday (December 15, 2004)
Weather: the coldest day yet with a high of 55 and low of 37.

Since we didn’t stay too late at MVMCP due to the cold, we got up relatively early and hit the Magic Kingdom (via boat) for some more rides.



We arrived just past opening and took the train to Frontierland. We were hoping to ride Big Thunder but it was having technical difficulties. It was far too cold for Splash Mountain, so we headed over to the Country Bear Jamboree Christmas show. This was a fun show. I liked this Christmas version of it.

Next up was Pirates of the Caribbean. This was another I had rode years ago at Disneyland. It’s still a great ride. We were already getting hungry, so after watching people get hit by water at Aladdin’s Carpets, we headed for Casey’s hotdogs. This was our first positive counter service experience as we both thought they were really good.

We hit Philharmagic again (love this show) and worked our way back to Mickey’s Toontown Fair. We walked through Mickey and Minnie’s house which were fun. However, the whole area has a cheapness to it kind of like DinoLand at Animal Kingdom. Based on pictures I’ve seen of the Disneyland version, I feel Magic Kingdom got the cheap version of this area.

On our way out of Toontown we stopped and watched the people driving on Autopia. It was a laugh riot watching the kids drive with their parents in the passenger seat bouncing form side to side. We stood there for a good 30 minutes just laughing at the poor parents. It was actually great entertainment.

It was getting late in the afternoon, so we headed back to the Lodge for a little rest:

Once we rested, we took the bus over to Epcot for our Candlelight Processional Dinner Package.

We got there early enough to ride Mission Space again. We felt like old pros because the two people in our spaceship were asking all sorts of questions and seemed nervous about the button pushing they had to do. I think I made them more nervous when I started randomly flipping switches and pressing buttons before we even got started. They really enjoyed their trip though when all was said and done.

We explored more countries:
Canada:

The trains:

Italy:

We checked out the line for the Candlelight Processional which was getting long. However, we had our package deal, so we decided to do a little more walking around. We finally got in the package line just as they were letting people in. We got pretty good seats in one of the center walkways where we could stretch our legs out. However, this is also where a couple of wheelchairs decided to park. Since it was an emergency exit path, a CM told the wheelchairs they had to move. Well, one of them started backing up right into us and almost ran over Mike’s foot. Luckily, no damage was done and we now had a clear view.

The music and singing at CP was great. We had Eartha Kitt (Cat Woman) as our narrator. At first she seemed very detached and disinterested. However, toward the end she picked it up and put some of her personality into it. I was disappointed when she didn’t give out a puuurrr (Cat Woman style), but I guess it would have been inappropriate.

After CP, we had time before our package PS at Le Cellier, so decided to warm up in the American Adventure. This was really GREAT. You don’t seem to read much about this on the boards and we probably would have missed it had it not been so cold. We will definitely do this again.

Finally it was time for our PS at Le Cellier. We headed over and checked in. After about a 15 minute wait we were shown to our table. Of course we had the Cheddar Soup ( YUM…Cheese) and the Asian Shrimp cocktail which was cleverly presented in one of those Chinese takeout containers. For our entrée, we had the New York Strip and Herb Crusted Prime Rib (DOUBLE YUM). For dessert I had the Apple Cobbler (YUM YUM again). Everything here was GREAT!

We got out of dinner in time to take in Illuminations one more time. WOW!! Love that ending.

Since it was cold, we headed for the exit and back to WL via the bus and another good night’s rest.

[taopiglet]

<font color="blue">Our original plan:
Thursday - No breakfast PS, Lunch PS at Concourse Steakhouse, Resort hopping, MK, who knows. We will end up at Port Orleans Riverside so we can take the boat to DTD for our showing of La Nouba. Dinner at Earl of Sandwich or Puck's for some sushi. Spend the evening at Pleasure Island (Adventurer's Club, Warehouse, etc).

What really happened:
Thursday (December 16, 2004)
Weather: Finally starting to warm up. High of 64, but low of still 46.
No pictures today as I think we were tired of carrying the camera.
We started off a little late today and actually hit one of our PSs at Concourse Steakhouse. There was virtually nobody there, but our server was always hard to come by (reflected in tip). I had the Steakhouse Burger and Mike had the Cheesesteak Sandwich. Both were very good.

After lunch, we spent some time at the Magic Kingdom to shop and hit Fanasmic one more time. We headed back to WL to get ready for La Nouba. We were running a little late, so we took the bus directly to Downtown Disney. Once again, thanks to these boards, I knew to stay on at the first stop (Marketplace) and wait for the second stop (West Side) which was a good thing because we only had about 10 minutes. We got to the theater with about 5 minutes to spare, and found our seats. We had great seats just above the center walkway which was perfect for seeing this show.

In the previous year we had seen Cirque “O” in Vegas and had front row seats (actually got a little wet). If we ever do “O” again, I will want those front row seats again. However, for La Nouba we both agreed that being about half way back was perfect as there is always so much going on. I think the front row would just be too close.

Having said that, this was a GREAT show and another highlight of this trip. It does seem kind of short for the money with no intermission, but in the end it was well worth the price. The things they do are incredible. You must make room in your plans to see this show on at least one of your trips to WDW.

After the show we stopped in Wolfgang Puck’s express for some Roast Beef and Sushi. Note to self: we must stay away from counter service restaurants. It just wasn’t that good. Finally, we decided to head over to Pleasure Island. The Adventurer’s club had free entry for until 9 so we went in and had a blast. We saw their Christmas Radio show, and the trophy room. We decided to step outside after about 2 hours and found a drink stand where drinks were half the price of anyplace else at WDW. Well, we took advantage of that and went ahead and paid the admission to get in the other clubs.

We basically club-hopped for an hour or so and ended up back at the Adventurer’s Club. We love this place and still talk about it today. After many drinks and a long night we hopped the bus back to WL and turned in.
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[taopiglet]

<font color="blue">Our original plan:
Friday - Sleep in after night at Pleasure Island. Lunch PS at Marrakesh. Dinner PS at Hoop Dee Doo Review. This is our day to do whatever we missed or want to do over.

What really happened:
Friday (December 17, 2004)
Weather: Finally it has warmed up. High of 69.

OK...I know these last 2 entries are lacking any pictures. I think I posted most of the best ones earlier in this report and I think the last couple of days, we just didn't feel like carrying the camera.

Due to being out extremely late, we slept in through most of the morning. We finally got rolling around lunchtime and headed to Epcot. We got Fastpasses to Mission Space and headed to Mexico for a little lunch at San Angel Inn.

Let me just say that I know it’s all about atmosphere, but it’s just a little too dark in here. You can barely see your food without the help of candles. I know that’s very romantic, but just a little more light (not much) would help. It was an enjoyable lunch, typical Mexican food.

We headed out for our fastpass window at Mission Space, but were still too tired. We decided to take the bus back to Wilderness Lodge and take a nap which lasted most of the afternoon. When we finally woke up, we decided to go to Downtown Disney to do a little shopping at the Marketplace. We got some shirts and some gifts at Basin and basically just windows shopped. After we were done, we headed back to the lodge to get ready for Hoop Dee Doo Review.

We got ready and took the boat over to Fort Wilderness. We skipped the picture and had a drink at the bar before going in. We were seated right up front but off to one side. The show was corny (of course), but the food was GREAT! The Chicken and ribs were both excellent. We decided we were glad we did it once, but we probably wouldn’t do it again. However, we will definitely be going to the Trail’s End Buffet next time to get some more of that yummy chicken.

After dinner we headed back to the boat dock. All week I had been waiting for a little Disney Magic and was starting to wonder if we just missed out. Sure, we had gotten to ride in the front of the monorail. Sure, we hadn’t gotten the view I requested at Wilderness Lodge. Sure, we had had a great time. But, we didn’t ever really seem to get a dose of that unexpected Disney Magic. Well, tonight was our night!

On the boat trip back to Wilderness Lodge, the Christmas edition of Wishes started. So, our captain shut off our boat and we got a great view of the fireworks from our position. It was great seeing them while gently floating in the water. It was definitely one of those Disney magical moments. After the fireworks, we headed into Wilderness Lodge and another good night’s rest. Tomorrow, we go back home.
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[taopiglet]

<font color="blue">Our original plans:
Saturday - Our day to leave. We will pick a park, enjoy a couple of last attractions, have lunch, then drive back to Atlanta.

What really happened:
Saturday (December 18, 2004)
Weather: another nice day, high of 69
We woke up and packed up the car for our trip back to Atlanta. We were ready to get home so just decided to head out. We got on the road early and pretty much drove straight home with a stop for lunch. It had been a great trip and since we have Annual Passes to both Disney and Universal, we are already setup to go back in late September.
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[taopiglet]

<font color="blue">Lessons Learned:
Go to Universal for at least one day, they have some GREAT rides.

3 nights at Universal is more than enough; however, you should plan to spend at least one night at one their resorts for the “front of the line” privilege.

Make sure you get the various Dinner Packages (Fantasmic, Candlelight Processional, Hoop Dee Doo). They cut down on waits and you know you will have a seat. Well worth the slightly extra cost.

Don’t let fear be an overriding factor when deciding not to ride something. You might find you will have a great time if you try it just once.

Do at least one nice dinner.

See Cirque Du Soleil: La Nouba. It is well worth the cost.

Go to the Adventurer’s Club. It is great fun.

Animal Kingdom is a wonderful park that sometimes gets a bad rap as a half-day park. We could have easily stayed all day, but we were tired. Even leaving a 2:00, we still missed some things.

See as many of the resorts as possible, they are all beautiful. Possibly schedule a breakfast or dinner at different ones.

Don’t inundate yourself with PSs (or ADRs as they are now called). Leave yourself some flexibility. For our upcoming trip I have only scheduled ADRs for dinners. For lunch and breakfast we will play it by ear and just eat wherever we are at.

Do the Segway Tour.

Relax and take it slow. Animal Kingdom has a beautiful entry and so many people rush through it to get to Kilimanjaro (we were guilty of this too).

Ride the monorail even if you just take it round trip. Try to sit in the front.

Christmas is beautiful at WDW, but kind of lackluster at Universal. Royal Pacific Resort had a beautiful tree, but there Christmas village display looked like it was put together by me (not good). Seuss land at Islands of Adventure is the only land that has some neat Christmas decorations (curvy trees).
If you are driving, try to arrange to stay several hours outside of Orlando at a cheap hotel the day before arriving. That way you only have to drive 3-4 hours and you are nice and fresh for your first day at Disney or Universal.

If at all possilbe, stay on property at Disney. The transportation system is excellent and with the Value Resorts it’s affordable for most everyone. We only left Disney property once after we arrived and the minute we were off property, the magic disappeared for a little while.

Take pics of your food especially if you are posting a trip report. I did get some of ours, but other times we either didn't have a camera or had already started eating.

Research hotels that you will need to stay at enroute to Disney and don't leave it to chance. You might end up at a fleabag motel like we did. I've found Trip Advisor is a great website for this.

Always carry your camera as you never know what you might miss if you don't have it.
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[RobDVC]

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Eeyoresmom]

I really enjoyed your TR. Thank you for posting it, and thank you for all the tips at the end! Have fun at the parks in September!

[Bellaciavo]

Thank you for sharing your trip, I really enjoyed reading about it. We are going to Hoop De Doo for the first time this trip and I'm happy to hear the food is good.

Looking forward to your next trip report.
Karen