Minnie2000's very late trip report - Dec 10-17

This trip report is very late, but better late than never! We came back on the 18th December, and I was so busy over Christmas that I didn't have time to write it.

There are 4 of us, me, DH, and DDs aged 12 and 9.

We drove to Gatwick on the 9th December, after DD's school Christmas play. We arrived at the Travelodge at about midnight. We were given the key to our room and went upstairs to find clothes in the room and the sound of splashing in the bathroom - good thing the lady there had shut the door! We went back to reception and were given another room.

Thursday December 10th

We flew from Gatwick to Orlando. We had planned to take the Magical Express for the first time, and were very pleased. It seemed very quick, getting through the airport and onto the bus.

We arrived at the Polynesian and were given a room in Fiji. We went there, and although there was nothing wrong with the room, we didn't like being that side of the resort (also there was a large tree in front of our balcony).
We have been 3 times before and always been in Tokelau or Tahiti and just like it over there. We went to the front desk to ask if they had any rooms there. We spoke to Tim, who was really helpful. I explained that we did not need to move, but would like to if it was possible. He found us a room in Tokelau, and showed our girls how to do magic tricks with a one dollar bill!

We moved our luggage to our new room, had a quick meal in Captain Cook's and headed back to the room for the night.

 

[minnie2000]

Friday December 11th

We had reservations for the Crystal Palace at 8.15, so we got up early and took the monorail to the MK. The park didn't open until 9, so we were able to walk through the MK while it was really quiet.

We had a great breakfast there. My younger DD loves all food, and she tries everything there. My elder DD is very fussy, but loves the choc chip pancakes at the CP - it is her favourite place to eat!

DH made his own hidden Mickey!

 

[minnie2000]

After a hefty breakfast, we went on the JC, POTC, HM, IASW, Philharmagic, IS, TTA, COP and Buzz. Most of these were walk-ons, except for the Speedway, and Buzz, which we had a fastpass for. We skipped Splash mountain and BTM, as we were feeling too full after breakfast!

Here are some photos of the morning in MK:

Later on - dinner at the Whispering Canyon Café!

 

[HollyBelle]

Great start, Minnie! Our trips totally overlapped; we were there from the 12-18. I can't wait to see all your scrapbook layouts from the trip. :sohappy:

 

[tiaragirl]

Cute girls, can't wait to see the rest!

And that food just made me want *real* food soooo bad... tired of meal hall already this semester! Keer 'er comin!

 

[flydisco]

Great trip report so far. We were there a week before you guys. Did not get around to reporting on it though.
Keep em coming.

 

[DecWDW]

Yay another Dec. report! My trip overlapped with yours too. I was there 7-13th.

 

[disneygirl1]

Minnie, what an adorable family you have!!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[lisak09]

Your girls are beautiful! I'm thinking of booking a character meal at The Crystal Palace for our trip in August so it was great to see your photos there, thanks.

 

[minnie2000]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

Lisa - I would definitely recommend the CP for breakfast! I don't know what lunch is like though. We booked breakfast for 8.15 and the park didn't open until 9, and it was great to walk through a very quiet MK!

 

[minnie2000]

We went back to the room to unpack and have a rest.

The weather was cool that day. DH and I were fine in T-shirts, but the girls wore light jackets. By evening, though, it was quite a bit cooler. We picked up our fleeces and made our way by monorail and boat to the Wilderness Lodge.

We had a reservation at the Whispering Canyon Café. We hadn't been there before, but sort of knew what to expect. It was a lot of fun - of course we asked for ketchup! I noticed someone on the next table asked for a large sprite - and it was very large! The meal was OK, but we don't think we would go back. We had a wander around the WL looking at the beautiful decorations, and took the bus back to the MK, and the monorail back to the Polynesian.

 

[minnie2000]

Today was a little warmer. We went to Epcot early and met Daisy on the way in. We then went to Soarin' and managed a few rides before the lines got too long.

After that we went to Test Track. Younger DD didn't want to ride, so the two of us went to find Sum of all Thrills. She needed a bit of persuasion to go on, but I promised we would make our track as gentle as possible. We waited around 20 mins and then had our turn. We chose the bobsleigh, and apart from a few butterflies as they lowered the cover over our heads, we both loved it.

We all met up again and went for lunch at the Electric Umbrella. We all felt tired, so we headed back to the pool and spent the rest of the afternoon there.

After showering, we went to the Kona Café for dinner. DH, younger DD and I had the teriaki steak and it was wonderful. Elder DD had something off the kids' menu, I can't remember what, but she enjoyed it.

 

[minnie2000]

Sunday 13th December

We had a great breakfast at 'Ohana. The food was delicious, and I love that juice that they bring. Elder DD decided that she was too old to join in the parade, but Stitch was with us when the music started, and he grabbed each girl by the arm and off they went!

 

[minnie2000]

Feeling full after a lovely breakfast, we took the monorail to Epcot. We all went on Sum of all Thrills and had a lot of fun.

The girls wanted to take part in the Kim Possible mission, so we signed up, and they did the secret missions in Japan and England. They were good fun and very well planned, but we chose the wrong day to do them, because it was HOT!

We had lunch at Le Cellier. The food was excellent - I had the filet mignon and I think it was the tastiest steak I have ever had. DH had a different steak, and while it was still very good, he tried mine and preferred it. Both girls had hot dogs and enjoyed them. In fact the food was so good that we forgot to take any photos!

We walked out of Epcot at the International Gateway, and took the boat to DHS. It was a nice slow relaxing ride after our large lunch!

DHS is not our favourite park, but we all wanted to go on the Toy Story ride, and we wanted to see the Osbourne Lights.

The girls met the characters from UP and Mr and Mrs Incredible.

We then went to the Toy Story ride. There were no more fastpasses available, so we queued for an hour - the longest we queued all holiday! The ride was excellent though!

We walked around to the Streets of America, and waited for the Osbourne Lights. The girls shared a pretzel and we all shared a frozen raspberry lemonade. Soon after the lights came on and there was a huge gasp from the crowd. They were really spectacular and worth waiting to see.

We took the bus back to the Contemporary Resort and had a quick snack in the food court there. We then took the monorail back to the Polynesian and watched the fireworks on the beach.

 

[disneygirl1]

Great update Minnie!!! Love the pic of the girls on the bridge at WL!!! That's one to be framed!!! Kim Possible is so much fun, but your right if it's HOT, it takes away from the experience... We ran into that issue on out Sept '09 trip. We were sweating bullets playing KP!

Love the Osborne Spectacle of Lights!!! I think that I am looking forward to that the most this coming December trip!

 

[minnie2000]

Monday 14th December

We got to the AK by 8 today, for EMH. We went on the safari, and then went for breakfast at Pizzafari. I didn't know they did breakfast there, and it was very quiet, but the breakfast was great!

We watched the Festival of the Lion King, and then Flights of Wonder.

We walked around the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

For lunch we went to the Flame Tree BBQ and were really impressed. We hadn't been there before, but really enjoyed the food.

The girls met a few friends as we left the AK!

It was still hot, and we all felt like swimming, so we went back to the quiet pool at the Poly.

We spent a few hours there, and then went for a lovely meal at Ohana.

We watched the Electrical Water Pageant from the beach, and then went to bed.

 

[Princess Clayre]

Great photo's. Yours girls are so alike!

 

[heartodisney]

Thanks for update and photos! I am JEALOUS! I hope we are able to see Daisy next we are there! Your kids look like they are enjoying things! Hoped you liked the Osbourn lights, I live just outside Little Rock, when they were here, it was great but also a nightmare! They are where they need to be for EVERYONE to enjoy and see much more easlily! Keep the phots coming...just makes me want to be there so much more...

 

[minnie2000]

Tuesday 15th December

No photos today, because DH didn't want to lug the camera around again!

We set off early for EMH at Epcot. We waited for the monorail from 7.20, but it didn't come until 7.45 so we missed the opening of Epcot.

We rushed to Soarin' and went on twice, and had a quick snack for breakfast in Sunshine Seasons. We then went on Sum of all Thrills, Stormstruck and Test Track. We walked over the the Beach Club, as we wanted to have lunch at Beaches and Cream. I was a bit worried that we would have to wait a long time, but we got straight in and had a booth! We had a lovely lunch there and then headed back to the Polynesian. We hired a pontoon boat for half a hour, and enjoyed the sunshine on the lake.

We had a quick swim, and then headed back to Epcot as we had ADRs for Le Cellier. Once again we had an amazing meal, and then watched Illuminations from the bridge between the UK and France.

 

[disneygirl1]

Great update! We are heading to the World 12/3-12/11 this year... I sure hope it is warm enough to swim for us!!!