Celebrating Christmas at the Cape: A December 2009 Trip Report

Brett · Jan 12, 2010

disneygirl1 said:
Hey Holly!! Loving the report as always!!! Brett I feel your pain... Saturday's Eagles game was a disgrace... We have been season ticket holders for 14 years, and we hate handing over the $$$ especially when they let us down like this!!! Such a love hate relationship isn't with the Eagles?!!? LOL!

I know, right?! It's just such a terrible way to end the season, losing to the Cowboys badly... twice in a row. ARGH!

It's okay, I'll be right there next year wearing green and pulling for the birds!

HollyBelle · Jan 13, 2010

Brett said:
That definitely was a better performance by the Eagles than the last two. Maybe that's our lucky spot? We'll just have to watch every Iggles game from the ESPN Club next season!

Sounds like a perfect plan to me! Now we just need to come into a large sum of money and quit our jobs.

BlizzardPoke said:
Great trip report as always, I can't wait to read more! I agree with you 100% about the Beach Club/Boardwalk area. I love just walking around there at night, maybe sitting in the sand for a while and relaxing, and having so much basically right outside your room makes it even more magical.

Thanks, BlizzardPoke. This was our first time staying in that area and I must admit... I'm hooked! It just has so much to offer morning, day and night. One of my favorite things was being able to walk right out there and go for a morning run!

njDizFan said:
I'm also still upset about losing the breakfast options at the Riverside. Fried french toast baguettes and the stuffed french toast were awesome.

I had the same experience as you at Jellyrolls. Love a good piano bar but it was completely empty when I was going to enter. You really need a fun and filled audience to really get the most of that experience. Maybe they could drop or lower the cover charge and get more people in there.

BTW, love your reports and this one is no exception.

Best breakfast EVER! I'm still bitter about losing it. :lol:

I think you might be on to something with Jellyrolls. Because I'd think it would have more of a draw. If there weren't a cover charge, people might wander in and then find it so enjoyable that they stay awhile.

And, thank you!

TakeMeThere81 said:
Hey Hollybelle!! Great to see a trip report from you!

How awesome was that surprise upgrade??!! I also love Yacht Club, I love the nautical theming! All of your pictures were just beautiful!

I, too love the International Gateway, something we discovered for the first time last trip!!:sohappy:

The t-shirt idea was cute...I love the Tinkerbell shenanigans! :drevil:

Hi, Melanee! I also loved that when we checked in at the Yacht Club they said "Welcome Aboard," rather than "Welcome Home." It was a nice touch, along with the rest of the theming.

I fear our "once-in-a-million-years-only" t-shirts will come back to bite us. Now that Kathy knows we would actually subject ourselves to them for a day, I have a feeling she might start showing up with them each year.

HollyBelle · Jan 13, 2010

We never seemed to find time for it, but the quiet pool at BCV looked really nice… and especially quiet. There was hardly ever anyone in it. I guess with Stormalong Bay right around the corner though, it does make sense. That’s where we were headed anyway. An interesting note, we did have to show our room key to get towels and access the pool area; however, the room keys look the same for all resorts so I can’t see how they truly control it. Brett held up two keys and the CM handed us some towels. He hardly even looked at the keys. So to me it seems the only people they could keep out with this strategy are the ones not staying at any WDW resort. :shrug:

HollyBelle · Jan 13, 2010

After relaxing at what was a very empty Stormalong Bay, we decided to go grab a snack somewhere on the Boardwalk. For some reason, Starring Rolls was sounding really good to me, so we took off down the path to the Studios instead. It was a nice 20-25 minute stroll. Much more leisurely than our last trip along this path (which was the last couple miles of Marathon 2009)!

Brett noticed that the filmstrip around the base of the DHS Christmas tree was new this year. And I think it really adds a lot to the overall effect; if I recall, in previous years there was only a single present as the base. I guess this means DHS gets the award for Most Improved Tree! And I'd have to say it was my favorite of them all this year.

HollyBelle · Jan 13, 2010

Once in the park we wasted no time getting to Starring Rolls knowing that they close at 4pm (which I still don’t understand). Luckily we made it; we were the last customers of the day. Decisions, decisions! Debating between the m&m covered brownies and white chocolate cupcakes proved difficult; eventually though, the cupcake won out.

We enjoyed our snack at one of the tables just outside the bakery and discussed what we wanted to do with the little time we had at the Studios. Guessing both Pixar Place and Hollywood Boulevard would be overly crowded, we took off for the Animation Courtyard, where we had just enough time to participate in the Academy! And lucky us… we got to draw a new character: Jiminy Cricket! Let your conscience be your guide!

After the art lesson we strolled back to the entrance to await a Friendship boat back to the Beach Club.

Despite evidence to the contrary, we were in fact at the Studios boat dock awaiting our ride:

We dropped off folks at the Swan and Dolphin before making our way to the Y&BC dock.

Heading to the Studios for a snack ended up being a great way to relax and enjoy the afternoon.

HollyBelle · Jan 13, 2010

After getting ready for dinner, we met back up with Brett’s family out on the Boardwalk. We had 6:40pm dinner reservations at Kouzzina and it took about 10-12 minutes for us to be seated. I must say, I was a bit disappointed that the waiting area and restaurant appeared almost exactly as they did when it was the former Spoodles. I guess it just seemed a little lame to me. With all the hype over the new restaurant, I thought they’d follow through with some new interior design ideas, as well. The Mediterranean map and olive press are both still in the lobby and aside from what I think is new paint on the walls; the dining area looks the same to me. I know they flipped it extremely quick, but I would have preferred they take their time and create a new environment.

For dinner I ordered the cinnamon stewed chicken with orzo pasta, which was quite tasty. Brett had the Pastitsio, which is basically lasagna with béchamel sauce; it was a little too heavy on the cinnamon flavor and a bit dry. Danny and Kathy split the lamb and Derek ordered the Fisherman’s stew. While everyone was happy with their choices, no one walked away raving about the meal.

The consensus? It was good, but none of us are in a hurry to go back. Hopefully we’ll feel different about breakfast; especially considering it’s on the agenda first thing in the morning!

HollyBelle · Jan 13, 2010

With dinner over, we took off for evening EMH at the Kingdom and got there just as Wishes was coming to an end. No question as to where we were headed, we started swimming upstream towards Tomorrowland. With Space Mountain fastpasses in hand we hopped in line for Space Ranger Spin. As per usual, Brett scored 999,999; however, this time he maxed out before we even cleared the first two rooms. Show off! The sad thing is that even though he has shared his secrets and pointed out the best targets to me, I still can’t seem to hit them. :lol: One reason why I much prefer TSMM. With Buzz, I can never be sure I am aiming my laser accurately.

We headed to Liberty Square and rode the Haunted Mansion, followed by trips on both Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Splash Mountain. As we were waiting to board our log flume, we watched a mother try forcefully to keep her flailing 4 year old in the flume being loaded. He refused to sit down and was trying desperately to crawl out the other side of the load area. It became quite the spectacle.

CM: “If he doesn’t want to ride, ma’am, we can’t make him. Please exit this way”
Mom to her son: “You’re going to ride this ride if I have to hold you down.”
4 year old wailing and screaming with fear: “I don’t want to. Don’t make me. Pleeeeeeeeeeeease don’t make me.”
Mom, to CM: “He’s fine.”
CM: “I’m sorry ma’am, we can’t make him ride. Please. The exit is this way.”
Mom, with an exaggerated sigh, hoists the kid out of the flume by one arm and storms past the poor CM.

Poor kid, he’s going to have nightmares about Splash Mountain for the rest of his life. I’m sure the folks in that flume were quite happy not to have those two on board anymore. No doubt in my mind that kid would have eventually dove out of the flume to save himself from his mother. Wow. So let’s get a move on to the laughing place, shall we?

Completely drenched, we left the Briar Patch and made our way back to Tomorrowland. Our fastpass time for Space Mountain was up and we were all excited to ride. Should’ve guessed they’d add an on-ride picture during refurbishment! Overall, I’m satisfied with the changes they made and I’m glad they kept so many of the original touches. I’ll admit it’s going to take me awhile to get used to the change from orange to neon green signage.

We took a relaxing journey on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority before calling it a night. Oh how I missed the TTA. I wish they would have updated some things, but maybe it’s just as well they didn’t. Because the new voiceover leaves a lot to be desired.

We watched the Kiss Goodnight and made the trek back to BCV. I managed to take only one picture at the MK, probably because we were in serious commando mode for most of the night:

Shocking, I know. :lol:

HopLow · Jan 13, 2010

Great trip report as usual, HollyBelle! :sohappy:

I appreciate that you and Brett are foodies. Your restaurant reviews are super helpful. At least they will be for my eventual trip back to the World, whenever that may be...

Can't wait to read the rest! And I really can't wait for the Princess Marathon trip report. You guys will be dressing up in tiaras and tutus, right?? :lol:

tiaragirl · Jan 13, 2010

Great TR.. Makes me want to go to Starring Rolls and eat a delicious snack, though. We discovered that place on our last trip and it's definitely now one of my favourites.

BlizzardPoke · Jan 13, 2010

HollyBelle said:
An interesting note, we did have to show our room key to get towels and access the pool area; however, the room keys look the same for all resorts so I can’t see how they truly control it. Brett held up two keys and the CM handed us some towels. He hardly even looked at the keys. So to me it seems the only people they could keep out with this strategy are the ones not staying at any WDW resort. :shrug:

Not saying that he actually looked at it, but on each card there is a number at the bottom (bottom left side if memory serves) that translates to the resort you are staying at. It could have been a quick glace to make sure that it matched the number for Yacht/Beach, or he could have ignored it totally, but at least it is a possibilty.

TakeMeThere81 · Jan 13, 2010

Wow, crazy mother!! How embarrassing!

And for that being the only photo you took, that is one heck of a photo! Just breathtaking!! Did you have your tripod?

angieandtrevor · Jan 13, 2010

HollyBelle said:
Thanks, Angie. And congratulations on the baby!! We booked a fairly last minute cruise on RCI's Monarch of the Seas with my parents. It went to Nassau and Coco Cay. When I'm finished with this trip report, I'll be posting the cruise one over on cruisecritic.

I'd love to hear about your upcoming trip, as that's one of the cruises we are considering for May. I really want to go to all those ports!

WOW girl, you really do have the best of both worlds - going away to Disney with Brett's family and then cruising with your parents, sounds perfect to me !!!! I definitely highly recommend this itinerary. As I mentioned we have been to all 4 ports twice in the last few years and many are our favorites. We did the Western Caribbean in October and that was great but we do favor the Eastern Caribbean. I don't want to take over your trip report with cruise details but I have tons of suggestions for you if you were interested and I could email them to you.

Brett · Jan 13, 2010

That's an excellent drawing of Jiminy Cricket, if I do say so myself. :king:

I'm also really glad that the crazy Splash Mountain mother wasn't my mother... this time.

HollyBelle · Jan 14, 2010

HopLow said:
Great trip report as usual, HollyBelle! :sohappy:

I appreciate that you and Brett are foodies. Your restaurant reviews are super helpful. At least they will be for my eventual trip back to the World, whenever that may be...

Can't wait to read the rest! And I really can't wait for the Princess Marathon trip report. You guys will be dressing up in tiaras and tutus, right?? :lol:

Thanks, HopLow. I'm glad my dining/foodie info is helpful; hopefully you can start planning a trip soon.

As for tiaras and tutus... Brett is considering dressing like Goofy, so maybe he'll be Goofy in a tutu! I really do love that he has no problem running a Princess themed race with me.

tiaragirl said:
Great TR.. Makes me want to go to Starring Rolls and eat a delicious snack, though. We discovered that place on our last trip and it's definitely now one of my favourites.

I know... isn't it just the best place, ever? I wish I were there right now.

BlizzardPoke said:
Not saying that he actually looked at it, but on each card there is a number at the bottom (bottom left side if memory serves) that translates to the resort you are staying at. It could have been a quick glace to make sure that it matched the number for Yacht/Beach, or he could have ignored it totally, but at least it is a possibilty.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing that bit of info. I figured the cards were coded in some way, but I didn't realize that's how they did it.

TakeMeThere81 said:
Wow, crazy mother!! How embarrassing!

And for that being the only photo you took, that is one heck of a photo! Just breathtaking!! Did you have your tripod?

I know, right? It was really rather disturbing to watch. You know those train wrecks, though, you can't help but pay attention to them.

Thanks for the compliment on the picture. I don't have a tripod, and although I might invest in one someday, I don't really see myself ever lugging it around the parks. Of course, I say that now.

angieandtrevor said:
WOW girl, you really do have the best of both worlds - going away to Disney with Brett's family and then cruising with your parents, sounds perfect to me !!!! I definitely highly recommend this itinerary. As I mentioned we have been to all 4 ports twice in the last few years and many are our favorites. We did the Western Caribbean in October and that was great but we do favor the Eastern Caribbean. I don't want to take over your trip report with cruise details but I have tons of suggestions for you if you were interested and I could email them to you.

Yeah, we aren't usually able to take two vacations so close together, but once we planned it out we were able to budget for both. Plus, we really didn't spend much on the cruise (our Disney vacations are another story!) We had interior staterooms and didn't plan any big excursions for either stop. Plus being in driving distance to the port really makes a difference.

I would love some more info, especially on those ports. My parents have been to San Juan and Grand Turk before, but I always appreciate different perspectives. I'll PM you with my email address.

Brett said:
That's an excellent drawing of Jiminy Cricket, if I do say so myself. :king:

I'm also really glad that the crazy Splash Mountain mother wasn't my mother... this time.

Best Jiminy I ever did see.

As for your mama, while she might embarass you sometimes, I know for a fact she would never drag your 4 year old self off a ride like that.

HollyBelle · Jan 14, 2010

Day 4 – Tuesday, December 15: Epcot/DTD

Guess what? Back to Kouzzina we go, but for breakfast this time.

We were seated right away in an empty restaurant, as per usual. I don’t know why we still bother making ADRs for all our breakfasts. Considering all the places we eat at, with the exception of character breakfasts, are definitely available for walk ups between 7:30-7:45 am, our usual breakfast time.

Here’s a nice view of the empty restaurant and open kitchen. What’s that? You think it looks like a picture you took of Spoodles two years ago?! No way.

I ordered the breakfast flatbread and Brett had the… you’ll never guess… French toast. Brett enjoyed his, and the chicken sausage that came with it was really good. Mine was good, but not as good as Spoodles’ version. And for comparison’s sake I found pictures from our last breakfast visit to Spoodles, which was May 2008.

Kouzzina flatbread (with spinach and feta):

Spoodles flatbread (mmmm… so much better with the tomatoes and bacon):

Kouzzina French toast:

Spoodles French toast (just disregard the crazy guy with the bloody mary):

And neither of these are good pictures, but look, it’s the Kouzzina waiting area:

No wait, it’s Spoodles’ waiting area:

I could go on...

I guess if I were a celebrity chef about to put my name on a restaurant, I’d want to add a bit more originality to the menu and overall establishment. This is of greater concern and something I’ve noticed at many of the dining establishments across the board at Disney. Sometimes when researching dining options before a trip, I come across near identical items on two different restaurants menus (and I’m not just talking about the breakfast basics like French toast). For the inflated prices we pay, we should at least get originality. And I fear over time we’re going to see more and more standardization of Disney sit down restaurants. With originality being found only at the signature dining locations. And that's just unacceptable to me, because food is a huge part of our trips.

HollyBelle · Jan 14, 2010

The only thing on the agenda for the day was Epcot. Woohoo!

We quickly grabbed fastpasses for Soarin before lining up outside the Character Spot. Usually Brett and I split off from his family when we want to take character pictures, but the funny thing is Kathy enjoyed meeting Tigger so much the previous day that she was all about characters during this trip! It was just about 9 am so we didn’t have to wait long at all.

We went to Innoventions next to check out the new Sum of all Thrills. It was an interesting and thrilling experience for all the wrong reasons! After Kathy and I built our roller coaster (the coolest part of the experience in my opinion), we made our way to the simulator and handed off the card. We each sat down in the pod, for lack of a better word, and all was well. Then the CM pulled down the harness/screen and pushed it down until it was super tight. So what’s the catch? Did anyone notice in previous pictures that I have on a skirt?! Well, as the CM kept pushing down on the harness, the harness kept pushing my skirt higher and higher. Luckily it stopped just before assisting me in putting on one helluva show. My arms were rendered useless from the contraption so I couldn’t do much about it but inform Kathy. We laughed uncontrollably through the whole ride. Kathy and I were laughing so hard we had trouble relaying the story to the guys afterwards.

Thing is, I wear skirts/sundresses at Disney World all the time, and other than having to be mindful of how I get on/off some rides, like Space Mountain, I’ve never had a problem. So to all my skirt-wearing friends out there… beware the Sum of all Thrills! :lol:

We introduced Brett’s family to the Great Piggy Bank Adventure… something he and I tried on our July trip, and now my favorite thing in Innoventions. I don’t think they were as amused with it as I am, but that’s okay!

Here's our piggy on vacation... Brett and I succeeded in saving enough money for him to really enjoy himself! :sohappy:

HollyBelle · Jan 14, 2010

By now, it was time to ride Soarin. My favorite part is when we soar over the field of orange trees! I'd still really love to see them add some different videos for different locales. Maybe one day.

Once we touched down, Kathy and Derek left to go outlet shopping. I don’t know how they do it because I can never bring myself to spend valuable Disney time shopping (or anywhere off property for that matter). Danny, Brett and I wandered over to the other side of Future World. We were headed for Mission: Space until we saw the 100 minute wait time posted.

Whhaaaatt? We didn’t investigate further to see if it was indeed accurate; instead we walked onto Test Track via the single rider line.

Don’t you just love how, after passing two or three of these signs and being notified by every CM you encounter that your party will be split up, you get to the load area and the family in front of you doesn’t understand why they can’t ride together?! :brick:

HollyBelle · Jan 14, 2010

We took our time strolling through World Showcase, exploring the countries and shops along the way. In Italy we stopped to watch the mime. In all our trips around World Showcase, we’ve never actually taken the time to stop and watch his performance. I was impressed with the guy’s ability to communicate with only eye contact and a whistle. Brett was quickly drawn into the performance when a soccer ball came flying at his head.

He shoots! He scores!

HollyBelle · Jan 14, 2010

By the time we made it all the way to England we were ready for some beer! We checked in at the Rose & Crown for our lunch reservations and were seated on the lower patio about 20 minutes later. The location and weather couldn’t be beat! It was really relaxing.

Lunch was perfect! Danny was very happy with the pub burger he ordered; something I’ll definitely be getting on a future visit. And Brett and I split the butter poached shrimp appetizer and fish & chips.

Pub burger:

Butter poached shrimp with barley risotto:

Note: The Tom Colicchio (or rather Gail Simmons) in me noticed that while the barley “risotto” was scrumptious, it wasn’t a true risotto, more like a pilaf. Nonetheless, it was still delicious.

Fish and Chips and a Bass Draught:

Good planning on our part for this meal, because after lunch we were only a hop, skip and a jump (or roll) back to the room for an afternoon break.

Up next... Downtown Disney and then back to Epcot!

disneygirl1 · Jan 14, 2010

Brett said:
I know, right?! It's just such a terrible way to end the season, losing to the Cowboys badly... twice in a row. ARGH!

It's okay, I'll be right there next year wearing green and pulling for the birds!

The fact that we lose to the Cowboys 3 times this years totally was a heartbreaker!!!

And yes, I will be right there wearing my green next season too Brett, just won't be a McNabb jersey thats for sure!!!

Celebrating Christmas at the Cape: A December 2009 Trip Report

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