NYE and 23 days of Disney

Today we start our journey to the world. After a great evening at Caesars Windsor (the hotel), it's a quick breakfast and off to Detroit Metro for an 11:30 flight into MCO.

Our stay will consist of all nights at BLT, 4 in a MK Studio, 11 in a SV 1 Bedroom and 8 in a MK Grand Villa. We plan on doing the pre NYE show on the beach at the Polynesean and NYE at the MK but we'll see how that goes.

We're flying Airtran today, with fee onboard Internet, so it will allow me to keep this report up to date.

David

 

[mickeysshoes]

Sounds like you have a AWESOME trip planed. Have loads of fun for all of us!!!!

 

[Daddio]

The North Terminal at Detroit Metro was not a fun place to be leaving from this morning. Usually, Tuesday mornings are a breeze and you can get through security in under 5 minutes, even with the new body scanners.

But this morning, only 1 of the 3 body scanners was working and security was pretty adamant about having everyone go through it. So, with people arriving at an average of 10 per minute and the scanner only able to handle about 3 per minute....... well, you get the picture. After 30 minutes of waiting, some brain finally decided it would be a good idea to start funneling the growing crowds through the regular x-ray. Total time for us, 45 minutes.

We're now in flight at 39,000 feet and the Captain has advised us that it is clear and 45 in Orlando. Next stop, Emerald Executive Aisle. What shall we drive today? There's only two of us. Any suggestions?

David

 

[smk]

Hopefully by now you are there and already got your car BUT my suggestion was going to be a car with a great heater! Sounds cold! Hope it warms up for you sometime in the next three weeks! Have a blast, 3 weeks in the world...I am so jealous.

 

[Daddio]

Arrived safetly and because of our Owner's lockers, no luggage to wait for.

The Emerald Executive Aisle was pretty sparse. Just cars and 1 convertible. So, here's hoping the weather WARMS up

Arrived at BLT a few minutes after 3:00 and the room was not ready. Started to head out to the car and lo and behold my cell phone rings with the tune 'Your Room is Ready".

We scored a great MK view, finally. Room 18 on a higher floor (higher than 10, lower than 15). I shot some pics (wish DVC Mike was here to take them with his camera) but we've got dinner at Biergarten in a few hours so I'll try to upload them later.

We plan on attending John's Owner's Locker meet after dinner so it won't be a real early evening.

David

 

[disneygirl1]

Super jealous 23 days in Disney!!! Enjoy and here's hoping the weather warms up for you! :xmas:

 

[Daddio]

Now for some images of the room we are in:
This shot is looking straigt out the patio doors. I don't have a great camera so if you squint, you'll see we are directly facing Cinderella's Castle. No neck turning required.

Steping out onto the balcony provides a much clearer view.

Add a little zoom and this is the result.

David

 

[wdwmagic]

Nice pics, thanks for sharing David. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Daddio]

Just as we settled into the room, it was time to head over to Epcot for our dinner reservations at The Biergarten Restaurant at Germany.

Here are the smiling faces that welcomed us.

And, of course, a little Ohm-Pa-Pa to help ease the beer down into the belly. Prost.

David

 

[Daddio]

To those of you who have been fortunate enough to attend an Owner's Locker get together, (which is held every Tuesday night in front of the France pavillion at Epcot), you all know that John does his due dillegence in snapping everyones picture and posts them on facebook. Well, this time, I beat him to the punch and grabbed one of him.
I can't say enough about John's service. Our storage boxes are delivered and picked up so many times a year that I find it hard to beleive that there has never been a mix up. Every trip, there they are, waiting for us at Bell Services. And within a few hours of our departure, I always get a text message assuring me that my lockers have been picked up and are back in the warehouse. Cudos to you and Brian (John's partner), John.

David

 

[Daddio]

We had a late start this morning as there was no rush to get anywhere. By noon we headed down to the Contempo Cafe for some grub.

After some grub, we needed a shopping fix so into Fantasia we went.

Fantasia didn't fulfill the shopping urge, so we headed out to the Premium Outlet on Vineland Road, however, we wern't 2 miles from the joint when we both decided that traffic was heavy enough to warrant a U-Turn back to the resort. We thought we'd do Magic Kingdom instead. But on the way back, we ran into this road sign. If you can't read it, Ive zoomed in on the image below.

Come on people. It's 1:30PM on December 29. We're not even close to New Year's Eve.

Being the troopers that we are, it now became our mission to get into the Magic Kingdom and experience first hand what full capacity was like. Here's our first stop. Buzz Lightyear. 75 minutes wait time.

Our second stop, The Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Look at that line. WOW.

I guess there's no point to trying Space Mountain is there? Nope. 150 minutes.

When all else fails, head to It's a Small World. Oh Oh. 70 minutes.

We decided to do a quick boat trip over to Wilderness Lodge and then catch the next Water Taxi back to Bay Lake Tower for an afternoon of rest. It's off to dinner at the Grand Floridian Cafe tonight.

David

 

[stefan74]

Great report and pictures so far. I cannot believe the amount of people at the park...that is crazy!

 

[Daddio]

Last night we were in the room when Holiday Wishes started. After the first few minutes, I grabbed my little camera and attempted to capture some video. The television in the room has the audio piped in so that is what you hear in the background.

Click Here to View Video

It's short but enjoy.

David

 

[smk]

Those crowds are the one reason I cannot go again in December, at least this week in December. Two times we have been there over the Christmas/New Year time and it was fun and miserable all at the same time, if that makes any sense. Fun because it is WDW, miserable because you can't move around and find anything to do in the parks. I have a short memory when it comes to this time of year and have wanted all season to be back there. Today, these pictures have jolted me back to reality! Thanks! Hope the crowds thin out for you after the New Year!

 

[greebomusic]

It's always great to see another DTW to MCO traveler! Dare I ask where you are from? I'm only 8 miles from Metro.

 

[Daddio]

Those crowds are the one reason I cannot go again in December, at least this week in December.

For us, it isn't about the rides or the parks, for that matter so the crowds are not an issue. There will be lots of opportuinty for parks and rides after the crowds go home. I suspect once we get the marathon over and done with, it will be relatively quiet here.

It's always great to see another DTW to MCO traveler! Dare I ask where you are from? I'm only 8 miles from Metro.

London, Ontario. 2 hours 10 minutes to DTW but we always stay over the evening before. How nice it would be to live 8 miles from the airport!

David

 

[greebomusic]

London, Ont. lovely place! And dare I say, have a great trip "neighbor"! :animwink:

 

[Daddio]

Update for December 30 (I'm a few days behind):

I rented a car for 2 days only because the rates leading up to New Year's Eve were outrageous ($68.00 per day ++) and I had 2 free days coming so my total for this little beauty totaled $11.53 with taxes and fees. I love my Emerald Club.

Before returning the car, we went over to Downtown Disney for lunch and a quick walk around. I had the spaghetti and meatballs at Wolfgang Puck and DW had the Pennette Boulagnese (??)

We ran into Frosty and the Mrs.

I stopped to watch the Yellow Medicine East High School Jazz Choir from Granite Falls, Minnesota perform and then a very quick walk through the World of Disney.

Dropped my DW back at the resort and dropped the car at the Car Care Center. They shuttled me back to the resort and we relaxed for a bit. We headed over to the Magic Kingdom for a 5:45 dinner at Liberty Tree. I hate to say this but it just isn't as good as it used to be. However, our server Sebastinn was excellent.

After dinner, we did a quick walk around the park. Every little snack cart and every space that can be used to serve food is open. The family dinner served at Liberty Tree is also being served at the Diamond Horseshoe.

David

 

[Daddio]

London, Ont. lovely place! And dare I say, have a great trip "neighbor"! :animwink:

Thanks, 'neighbor'. We're having a blast.

David

 

[Daddio]

On December 30, 2010 we went over to the beach at the Polynesian resort to watch the rehearsal of fireworks from the Magic Kingdom. I only have a little camera but did my best to video this magnificent show.



Click to view video


David