Our First Holiday Trip...

As many times as DH and I have visited WDW, this was our first trip to the World during the holiday season. DH and I are both teachers, and because he teaches at the High School level, first semester exams has always kept us from any travel during this time of year. Luckily, exams this year have been moved until the return for the second semester.

So, I planned and planned....And, finally, we had a trip!! :sohappy: As a Christmas present, we also decided to take my MIL and FIL along for the ride. This proved to be a big mistake, as they whined the whole time. More on that later....

Novemer 29 - Off We GO!!

DH and I both took 1/2 a day off to make sure that all details were perfect. We also had to make sure that we had everything packed for our little dog. We left our house at around 1:30 and traveled all the way across the street to pick up my MIL and FIL. We packed everything in my Jeep and headed on our way.

The airport is about 2 hours away, and our Vet's office is about halfway. Tasha, my little pekingese, is quite a sick little pooch, therefore I didn't feel comfortable boarding her anywhere else. After arriving, getting all of the paperwork taken care of, and getting Tasha's kennel set up, we were on the road again toward the airport.

We stopped off at the Subway to grab a couple of sandwiches to take on the plane - that way DH would have something to do on the plane. The check in at the airport was relatively easy. There was no line at the Delta counter, and security was not as near as terrible as I expected. It wasn't until we arrived at the gate that we realized that our flight was delayd by 45 minutes. Apparently our plane was coming down from the Michigan-way and was delayed there due to a snow storm. So, we decided to have a seat and eat there in the airport. The pane finally arrived, we boarded, and subsequently sat on the tarmack for another 45 minutes. We were told that the plane was too heavy to take off safely, so 2 people would have to be removed from the plane drevil: I was thinking MIL and FIL....:fork: ) and the cargo would have to be unloaded and reloaded to even out the weight of the plane... This only added to my stress level. Almost 2 hours late, we were off and in the air and on our way to the World....whoo hoo:sohappy: !!

We landed, uneventfully I might add, and made our way to to the ME counter. I left the rest of the family waiting in the wings while I checked in with ME. Keeping the rest of the family as distracted as I could, we boarded the bus. When the bus left the airport, the family was upset that we were on the "wrong" bus. So, I held my tongue while I was berated by MIL and FIL for not paying attention to where I was going. We got off the bus at the Grand Floridian and I surprised the family that I had booked 2 Lodge Concierge rooms as a special treat. Boy, was DH happy :kiss: . Upon checkin, we were even upgraded to 2 Main Building Concirge rooms. That was a real treat.

The GF was amazing...the decorations were absolutely breathtaking. It was around 10 pm when we finally got in the room, and luckily, our luggage was there waiting for us...

More to come....

Tomorrow... Epcot!:sohappy:

 

[Laura]

Geesh Delta seems to be causing people a lot of trouble lately, whether their fault or nature's. No wonder they aren't making any money.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Good start to the trip - patiently waiting for part 2

 

[Cinderella Fan]

Day 2

Day 2 - November 30

Epcot

DH and I were up and ready to go to the park at 8 am. Of course, we were waiting for MIL and FIL to be ready. We headed up to the Concierge lounge to grab a quick bite, but there really wasn't anything that I was quite interested in. So, while the others ate their bagels, I grabbed a hot chocolate to go and soon, we were off to Epcot. One thing for sure, getting of the Monorail at the TTC and walking 20 miles to switch over is just ridiculous. There needs to be a better way to get to Epcot from the GF, IMO.

We headed through the turnstiles and we quickly made our way over to Soarin'. I love that ride, there is just something about feeling that free. I was quite suprised, both MIL and FIL loved it as much as I did. Then, it was over to what I loving refer to as the "Vegetable Boat", AKA "Living With the Land". It was a good ride, and we had a very knowledgable guide and I always love to look at the Mickey Mouse Cinderella Pumpkins. They always make me giggle, which only make MIL and FIL look at me like I have completely lost it. What can I say? I teach kindergarten, anything makes me giggle.

My breakfast was next - and, as is my tradation, I headed over to the FountainView Cafe for my absolute favorite breakfast - a milk and a Fruit Croissant. Nothing beats that croissant - flaky pastry, bavarian cream, and fruit.....YUMMMY!!! :slurp: :slurp:

We moved on over to Test Track, which was not working well. DH and I were in the back seat of the car, and our speakers, nor our screen worked. We also got stuck outside on the loop. Not my favorite ride of the trip...

At this time, the World Showcase was opening, so we headed that way to eat our way around the World. First stop, fish and chips....on to France for pastries....American Adventure for sugared almonds and popcorn (MIL's fave)....German for brats and beer...China for dim sum....Norway for Cloudberry horns and School bread (absolutely amazing!!)....finally Mexico for churros and margaritas for me and DH.

I was stuffed....I thought the family was going to have to roll me out the gates...:lol: But all the food is so good, and since this was a shorter trip than I am used to, I had to eat as much as I could to make sure I didn't miss out on anything this time.

We decided to take MIL and FIL back to the GF, because they were not planning on returning with us that evening for the Candlelight Processional.

Now, I was almost positive that I packed a hat (my ears get extremely cold outisde at night), but I couldn't find it in my luggage anywhere. So, DH promised to purchase a Minnie Mouse Santa hat for me upon return to the park, which he did. And, I am going to take this time to mention that those hats are so warm. They keep your ears nice and toasty, which I need.

DH and I did some shopping, as we were still a little early for the CP line for the 8:15 showing. So, I bought a few trinkets to put into my students Christmas gifts, and a couple of souveniers for myself and Dh, then headed over to purchase a couple of hot chocolates for the CP.

One word... WOW! It was amazing...the music, the voices, everything was just amazing. Now, I have been reading these boards for quite a while, and I knew that the CP was something that should not be missed, but I was just stunned at the beauty of it all. Phil Donahue was the Guest Narrator, and he did a wonderful job. He seemed to just feel the story that he was reading. It absolutely brought me to tears. Even DH loved it.

In past trips, we have found that in order to have a decent seat for Illuminations, one must start the search 2 to 3 hours in advance. Not so during this time of year. We walked right out of the CP at around 9:15 and made our way over to Mexico for a great seat. This, too was amazing, as usual. We just happened to be sitting next to a couple of first-timers, so their enthusiasm and surprise made it seem like new to us. I can't say enough how wonderful everything was.

Little did I know, things were about to change....

More to come....

Tomorrow, Magic Kingdom and MVMCP!!

 

[Cinderella Fan]

Magic Kingdom...

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

December 1

We started out the morning grabbing a bagle from Concierge and heading off to the Monorail.

Like I said before, this was our first trip the WDW during the holiday season. I was absolutely amazed at everything - the decorations, the music, the "Christmasy" feel of it all. I couldn't have been more impressed. We decided to go to the left instead of the right upon entering the park, and aboslutely walked on to POC, BTMR, and HM. The only time we even hit a line was when we made our way over IASW and Peter Pan. Then it was off to SM, and Buzz.

We kept making our way around the Magic Kingdom, but decided to keep some of the rides for later in the evening at MVMCP.

Around 2, we headed down Main Street to Tony's Town Square for lunch. DH had the minestrone soup and an order of breadsticks. And, I had the Lady and the Tramp combination plate - hot italian panini and salad. Now, I love the food at Tony's. My only complaint, which really isn't a complaint at all, is the wait for food. I am allergic to nuts, therefore, I can't have the whole grain bread because it contains pine nuts. This is where the complaining from MIL and FIL started. "Why couldn't you just get something easier?" was all I heard while waiting for the food. The waitress kindly explained to them that she felt it was rude to bring their food out before mone and make me watch them eat. They, not so kindly, explained to her that they didn't particularly care - they were hungry. So, I spent the next 10 minutes salivating while they enjoyed amazing food. DH, much to my surprise, asked the waitress to only bring his food when mine was ready. Then, he also explained to his parents that they were being rude to me, which he felt was inappropriate. I was shocked! He normally just sticks his head in the sand to avoid confrontation. I was so proud!!!:sohappy:

My food finally arrived, and it was great. I love that sandwich, which why I couldn't pass it up. As a special treat for having to wait for my lunch, I was offered a free dessert - I picked the tiramisu. Absolutely yummy :slurp: ! I had never had tiramisu that tasted so good.

Around 3, we headed back to the GF to freshen up and put on some warmer clothing for MVMCP.

 

[Cinderella Fan]

Mvmcp

At 6, we all headed back over to the MK for MVMCP.Again, we also paid for these tickets for MIL and FIL.

When we made it through the turnstiles, we bombarded with people who were making their way out of the park. We were quickly ushered to Frontierland to wait for the official start of the party. Only those rides were open, so we did a little shopping. DH and I found some great ornaments to use in the welcome baskets for our "wedding" next year (we never had a wedding, it was drive-thru :lookaroun )

At 7. when the party started, we headed straight for the hot chocolate and cookies. I can't even begin to tell you, I hate cookies :hurl: . Never have liked them, but these cookies were good!! Maybe it was the fact that they were Disney cookies made them taste good, but I ended up eating 5 thoughout the course of the night....

In the time we had before all of the wonderful shows began, we rode absolutely everything - with little to no wait!! It was great. I even talked DH into riding Dumbo and the Magic Carpets with me.... :lol:

While that only took an hour, it was a lot of fun. Then, again, the complaining started. MIL and FIL wanted to go back to the resort. They didn't want to stay. They said they didn't pay for it, so it wouldn't matter if they left early. I was furious. Not only had I paid for 1/2 of their room, and the difference to have them upgraded, but I had also paid for these tickets!! But, instead of making a scene, which I was totally prepared to do, I said that was fine. The night would be a lot more enjoyable without them complaining the whole way. I think this offended them, but I didn't particularly care. I was angry and felt as if they had taken advantage of our generosity. :fork:

We saw them on their way and went on our merry way enjoying the park. Again, I was highly impressed. The parade was a ot of fun. I smiled and waved at all of the characters like I was 5 years old (I guess that comes from being surrounded by them all day long). All of the performances were a lot of fun. The snowflakes were beautiful, Mickie and Minnie looked like they were enjoying themselves, and Santa Claus just made it! You can't have a holiday parade without Santa:xmas: !

Then, it was on to Holiday Wishes. Again, amazing. The music was jolly, and the fireworks were beautiful. I was just so impressed with everything!

We stayed after Wishes to catch the other shows, then headed back to the GF for some much needed rest - as the next morning we were to be extras for taping of the parade.

All in all, MVMCP was great! We really had a lot of fun. We have already made plans to visit again next year.

More to come....

Tomorrow, the Christmas Day Parade and MGM....

 

[crazygirley]

I'm loving this!!! More, MORE!!!

 

[ilovemykids]

I'm REALLY enjoying your posts! I'm very sorry to hear about the behavior of your MIL and FIL, but you're definitely handling it like a champ, that's for sure. Can't wait to hear about the Christmas Parade taping!!

 

[Magic Maker]

Cool report, keep it up.

 

[Cinderella Fan]

WDW Christmas Day Parade

Day 3 - Magic Kingdom (Christmas Day Parade)

December 1

Friday morning we were awoke early by a strange sounding creature - the one and only Stitch! While I find him cute and somewhat endearing, it is a shame that his voice had to be first one I heard at 6 am. DH and I didn't get back in until after midnight the night before.

We quickly showered and dressed for the parade. Our attire consisted of our very cute Mickey and Minnie "Santa" hats and our matching WDW Christmas t-shirts. Dorky, I know. We arrived at the park at 7:45, our admission was for 8am. We were instructed to go to the far right turnstiles for entrance with the parade. There were three rows, we were in the last of the three. Apparently there were people there at 6:30 !

However, our line was the second line usheredd in. They placed us in front of the castle, and DH and I were quickly bombarded with people who wanted to be "in front". I couldn't believe the way some people were acting. There was a family beside of us that was quite rude. They pushed and shoved, and, again, I held my tongue. They even went so far as to ask some of the production people if they would hold their spots while they took their children to the restroom....By the end of this trip, I should have been THE most un-confrontational person in the world...:zipit: . DH and I were in the front row and it was quite cold. My feet were freezing. We stood in the same spot for what seemed like hours....while Sheila from the Adventurers Club and Holland tried to entertain the crowd.

Then, the taping began. The first shots were of the Brian Setzer Orchestra, sans Brian Setzer. The crowd was just supposed to look excited and jump around to music that was being piped in via speakers and the band members were doing their "actions". 45 minutes later, Brian Setzer showed up. 4 shoots later, it was supposedly in the can. Minnie and many of the other characters came out during this music and did a special choreographed number. They were cute. There was this girl, I mean woman, who kept yelling at the characters the whole time - "Minnie I love you so much! You are beautiful, the dancing was great!" "Chicken Little, I saw your movie. You are such a great actor!". Now, I act like I kid when I am in WDW too, but geez. Theis lady was getting on my nerves...no offense to anyone. But this went on for almost an hour! After Mickey came out and completed his special effects, we decided it was time to give our legs a workout and head over to Epcot for lunch.

However, this was not the end of our parade activities. We also attended later in the afternoon and Saturday morning.

More to come....

 

[LouDisney]

Love your trip report, can't wait for more

 

[Cinderella Fan]

Let me see if I am doing this right...

I haven't posted any photos before. :brick:

Our rooms at the GF

That didn't work the way I wanted it to. Can someone tell me how to actually post the image, not just the link?

Thanks so much!:veryconfu Feeling a little silly here....:lookaroun

 

[Cinderella Fan]

We ate lunch at The Land in Epcot, which by the way was great! DH had the turkey sandwich and I had the spicy beef with asian noodles. Amazing food! I like the changes that have been made at the Land Pavilion.

After luch, we took MIL and FIL over to the GF for us to meet with our Event Manager - DH and I were married in a drive-thru, so we are planning on having a wedding in December of next year. We did a couple of site visits, and we decided on having our ceremony at the Wedding Pavilion. And, since we are having an Intimate Ceremony, we also had to tentively select a location for a dinner afterwards. At the moment, we chose Narcoossee's, which may or may not change. During this time, I kindly "suggested" to MIL and FIL that they return to the resort for some rest. :brick: During our site visits, the only comments I head from them was "I don't think this is a good idea, you are already married" or "This is a waste of money." So, I just felt it would be best for us to continue with our planning alone.

After meeting with the EM, and leaving the MIL and FIL at the GF, DH and I headed back over to MK for some of the parade action. While we were pretty far away, we were able to see some of the actions on the Castle Stage. Not alot was going on, so we decided to head over to the Pinocchio Village Haus to try out the Figaro Fries that I had read about on this site. I couldn't believe that I had been to the World so many times in the past, and just walked by this place. These were great! :slurp: I was a little worried about having tomatos on there, but not a problem! There was so much great food on this trip, even though we didn't do as many restaurants this time as in the past.

From there, it was off to MGM for the Osbourne Lights. We arrived just a little early, so we made our way over to the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and stood in line - the 30 minute wait wasn't too bad. And, since I was basically a bottomless pit on this trip, made our way over to pick up some of the white chocolate covered strawberries. They were huge and I dripped strawberry juice all over my sweathirt.

The Osbourne Lights wer amazing! I have never seen so many lights in one spot! We live in a small town, and some of the houses decorate quite a bit, but this was so much fun. DH and I were like little kids when we saw them for the first time. I know we were making some people angry, we kept stopping in the middle of the street to take pictures. I managed to wrangle $10 away from DH so I could have one of those light-up cups of hot chocolate:slurp: ( I think I was swimming in the stuff by the time we left). Then we spotted him - Pluto. One of my all-time favorite characters. So, we grabbed a spot in line so that we could get a pic with him. When we got up to Pluto, he was so funny. Of course, he posed for a couple of photos with both of us, but when we went to leave, he grabbed my hand and wouldn't let me go! I laughed and giggled, which just made DH smile. The PhotoPass CM asked Pluto if he was going to keep me, and he shook his head Yes! Dh replied "I hope you can afford her!", so Pluto got down on one knee and kissed my hand! I couldn't believe it. It was hilarious.

Then, DH made the decision that it was time to return to the GF. He said it was because he wanted to check out the desserts in the concierg lounge, but I think he was afraid I might leave him for Pluto!:lol:

More to come....

Tomorrow, last day...MK and Epcot, again!

 

[Cinderella Fan]

You can visit this site and view a few of our pics from this trip.

 

[nibblesandbits]

I am loving this trip report! Sorry the MIL and FIL had to be a bit of a pain...

I wanted to tell you that the link to the pictures takes us to a place to sign in...so we can't view them. If you want to include them in your post...right click on your pics, click on properties, copy the information there, then come back to this page. Once you are back on this page, click on the "Insert Image" icon (the one that is yellow with the triangle mountains), you will then insert the information that you copied. Then click OK. When you view your post, you will now have pics inserted. (If any of this is confusing, let me know and I will try to help you.)

I look forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[Cinderella Fan]

Sorry

I am sorry it has taken me so long to get back to finish writing this TR, but DH and I have both had the flu. So, we have done nothing but sleep for the past couple of days. :dazzle:

Thanks for being so patient.

 

[Cinderella Fan]

Last Full Day - Saturday, Dec. 3

DH and I woke that morning with the phone ringing, this time it was Minnie Mouse telling us to "rise and shine". DH peeped his head through the door and asked MIL and FIL if they were going with us. Thankfully, they said no.

We hurried to dress, and ran upstairs to the concierge lounge for a bagel and some hot chocolate to go. This seemed to be our normal routine for breakfast. We took the elevator down to the main floor so I could go to one of the shops. A couple of days before, I had seen this black linen track suit with the GF logo on the jacket, and it was marked down 50%. It had taken me a couple of days to decide whether or not I wanted it. But, when we walked in they didn't have it in my size. So, I asked the nice CM behind the counter if she could check and see if it was stocked in my size....she got on the phone and luckily they had it! She said they would bring it over in just a little while, so instead of waiting, I gave her my name and room number, and she agreed to hold it behind the desk for me. Little did I know that only giving her my last name would come back to bite me in the butt!!!

We headed over to MK to take part again in the taping of the parade. We were late, which seems to be the story of my life lately . We went into the park and found a spot on the side of the street for the taping. We also saw Regis and Kelly. DH has a huge crush on Kelly, I am not sure why, she seems a little too ditzy for my taste. But, I have to say, she did look pretty that day. I took some pictures, which I will post in a speparate post at the end. We continued to follow directions during the taping, but again, after a while, I got a little bored. So, we headed out to do a little shopping. Off to DTD, and the Days of Christmas Store. I have never seen it so crowded! I assumed it was because it was Saturday. There were 10 to 30 people in line just to check out. Forget wandering the store aimlessly. If you saw something you liked, you better pick it up fast....people were carrying stuff out by the truck loads. I picked up one of the last sets of Mickey ornaments, 4 in a pack. I was going to have all of our names and the date put on them as a souvenier for the trip. Now that I am home, I wished I had gotten more. I have decided to use them in the welcome baskets for our wedding next year. :xmas:

Then, we went over to the World of Disney store. There, I picked up a couple of presents for my youngest brother (7, yes he really is that young). He loves Disney, even though he has only been once. So, I got him a t-shirt, a sweat-shirt, and hat. Then I grabbed a few things to play with, a pirate set and the monorail. He can't wait to come next year with DH and I for the wedding. He thinks he is so cool that he is going to be the ring-bearer :king: .

After completely draining my remaining Disney Reward $, we headed to the bus stop to take our packages back to the GF. We waited...and waited....and waited.....for about 45 minutes. We saw 2 busses come for the Contemporary and Polynesian, but none for the GF. So, when the 3rd CR and Poly bus came, we got on board. We could ride the monorail over, besides I wanted to see the Poly Christmas decorations. That bus driver was absolutely rude! A couple of people came over to ask him how to get back to Epcot from DTD. He rudely told him that they couldn't do that, this was a bus to the resorts..... They didn't understand what he was saying to them, they were French. The poor lady started to cry. But they got on the bus anyway, and sat next to me. I kindly explained to them to just get off at one of the resorts, ride the monorail over to the TTC, then go on over to Epcot. The man thanks me, and even offered me $50 for my help. I said thank you, but that was not necessary...I just wanted to help make their vacation as stress free as possible.

The bus driver must have taken the longest possible way to get to the resorts. It took him almost 40 minutes to get us over to the Poly! I was so glad to get off that bus, I could have cried myself!

The decorations at the Poly were a lot of fun. Very tropical! I had seen the Food Network show about Holidays at WDW, and was really amazed at how detailed the pastry decorations were. Absolutely beautiful.

We finally got back to the GF, and I made my way over to pick up the outfit that I wanted. The lady behind the counter was not the same as this morning, so I asked her if the size I had asked for was brought over from stock. "No", she said, someone had already bought it. "How can that be? It had my name on it!" I asked her. Well, someone with the same last name had already bought it! She checked with the stock room, and there were no more size smalls.

A-ha!! I knew who it was, so I headed upstairs to find the culprit! She had my oufit and I wanted it back!!! And, just for the record, she wasn't a size small, she is a large!! DH heard me quiet rant and rave all the way up to the 3rd floor. We went to their room and found that my MIL had bought my outfit, as I had figured. This time, I didn't hold my tongue :zipit: ! I asked her if she thought it a bit strange that THAT outfit was sitting behind the counter with a last name on it. Did she honestly think that they were holding it for her?? Instead of answering, she started telling DH and FIL how mean I am to her and I never let her have anything! And, as usual, they both started into me that I was upsetting her. So, I went into our adjoining room, shut the door and locked it. They could both stay in there with her for all I cared. This was my vacation and I had plannned everything around what they wanted to do.

That night I decided to go to Epcot alone. I still wanted to do some shopping for my Mom, my friends, and my other brother (18). I had dinner at Mexico, and, as usual, the food was great. So, I spent the evening wandering around Epcot, enjoying the lights and sounds, and having a wonderful time.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Let me get this right:
Your MIL thinks you're mean because you won't let her keep clothing that doesn't fit her?


(says silent prayer that I do not become that MIL)


Seriously, you are doing a great job of holding your tongue. Big hugs to your hubby for standing up for you at Tony's.

And weren't you lucky that they opted out of several activities? Really, it was worth the price of their (wasted) tickets to have some time alone with your honey.

 

[MSTINKHERBELL01]

Your trip report was awsome...felt like I was right there with you....However if I were there...Your Monster in Law would have heard lots of choice words from me. Lesson learned huh??? No more Monster in Laws on your WDW vacations (heck any vacations).:lol: :wave: