Our Xmas Extravaganza: Day 6 updated! About This Page:

[princess wannabe]

We leave tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, now that I've gotten that out of the way, here's our cast of characters:

Me, Princess Wannabe - 38, obsessive trip planner and lover of all things Disney

DH - 39, doesn't really "get it" but is going along happily

DS - 6, my partner in crime who loves rides but is still nervous about the big ones

*****************

The trip planning for this vacation began immediately after we returned from our "Quest for the Magic" in November 2003. We had a great time with my parents and DB/SIL but I was ready to go back with just our little family. I have always wanted to be at Disney during Xmas so I dreamed of getting back for the 2004 holiday. Unfortunately, DH was not so excited and after several not so enthusiastic discussions I decided to wait on the trip for another year. Fast forward to September when my grandfather passed away. He left my brother and I some money and I immediately knew what I wanted to do with part of it, my Disney holiday trip. I also thought it would be nice for us to enjoy using some of it (as opposed to bills, etc.). Pop would like that and I hope he can look down on us during the vacation and see how happy his hard work has made my family.

DH has always wanted to stay at a Hard Rock Hotel so I surprised him by making reservations for our first 4 nights there. They had a great deal where you get unlimited park admission free with a 4 night stay. Perfect! Then I had to contemplate which Disney property to book. After much research I bit the bullet and reserved 4 nights at the AKL! I am so excited! In addition, I purchased 5 day Park Hopper Plus passes and MVMCP tickets. After making PS's the trip was set and the excitement was building. I still can't believe the time is finally here!!! Below is a brief outline of our plans though we want to be flexible and go with the flow:

12/15 - Flight leaves at 6:45 (yawn!) arrive at 10:05.
Check into Hard Rock and spend the day at US
Eat at a CityWalk restaurant (probably Nascar Cafe)

12/16 - Go to Epcot, park at Boardwalk to tour the resorts
Eat around the world!!!

12/17 - 9:00 PS for character breakfast at IOA
Stay at IOA until about 3:00
Tickets for MVMCP tonight, get there around 4:00

12/18 - Spend all day at US/IOA
Eat at Citywalk for one meal

12/19 - Check into AKL!!!
MGM all day
3:40 PS for H&V Fantasmic package

12/20 - Epcot all day
4:05 PS for Biergarten CP package
6:45 CP with Illuminations after

12/21 - Animal Kingdom
Want to make sure to see 3:30 parade
5:50 PS for Whispering Canyon Cafe
Still trying to get PS for Sleigh ride (all booked!)

12/22 - Magic Kingdom all day
12:55 PS for Plaza Restaurant

12/23 - 9:40 PS for Chef Mickey's
Resort tour of Xmas decorations
Downtown Disney for shopping!
7:12 flight home, arrive 9:05

Then straight to my parents on Dec. 24 for Xmas. It's going to be quite a hectic two weeks but we can't wait!!!

Be back after Xmas with a full trip report. Happy holidays!

[LizardCop]

Hope to see you at one of the two passporter meets at MVMCP on the 17th....

the Plaza between 6:15 - 6:30

the tipboard at 8:45

[bsblady01]

have a great trip

[luvnwdwgal]

What a wonderful trip you're going to have!! Can't wait to read all about it!!

[wdwlovers]

Looks like a great plan!!! Hope you have a magical time!

[princess wannabe]

We are back! The family had a wonderful trip that was full of fun, new things, and COLD. I couldn't believe we were in Florida most days. The reoccuring theme during our vacation was my orange Old Navy fleece. It makes an appearance in every picture! Co-starring with the fleece are my only pair of jeans and 1 lonely pair of denim capris. I wore each of them 3 times each. Apparently I didn't pack correctly for the weather. Never the less, we had an absolute blast.

Word of warning, we spent several nights at that "other theme park". I am going to detail those days here since Disney parks were dispersed throughout the trip and honestly, we really enjoyed Universal!

So, without further digressions, I present: Our Xmas Extravaganza!

The cast includes:

Me (princess wannabe) - 38, Disney-aholic.
DH - 39, likes rides but doesn't get the "magic"
DS - 6 (almost 7 he wants to add!), my partner in crime

Our story begins as I roll over and notice that the clock reads 4:15 a.m. Ugh, only 5 minutes till the alarm goes off. I got up and quickly dressed, makeuped, haired....you get the picture. Got all the bags double checked and in the car and then woke up DS. He was very excited and was ready and in the car in a flash! It was a smooth trip to the airport and an easy stroll through security. Our flight was on time and we were in the first group to board. Uh, oh, our first problem arose, we were booked in prime legroom seats but they are in an exit row. Because DS isn't 15 or older he can't sit there. The only seats they have together are the very last row. Bleh, I hate being in the back but I'm going to Disney so I move happily to our crappy seats. Where we sit, and sit, and sit....uh, obviously something is wrong. The captain comes on and tells us that we have no potable water. Well, since I don't know what that is I'm not too upset. Turns out it's just water to wash your hands. Seriously. And they have to bring in bottled water for the restrooms before we can leave. Huh. 30 minutes later we're in the sky, minus sink water but living the high life by washing with Evian.

After take-off we're also informed that the video screens will not come down and, therefore, no TV. Now I'm not happy. I'll live with dirty hands but don't mess with my television. No, seriously, it was fine and DH was able to move to some empty seats across the aisle so we could spread out.

Arriving at the airport we headed to the Budget counter to get our rental car. Well, with a stop for DS and DH to get a Cinnabon which I somehow managed to end up carrying through the airport along with several bags. Men, sheesh. Anyway, we made it to the counter and waited in a long line before being summoned to the next available customer service agent. When DH showed his preferred customer card the man behind the counter immediately held it up and yelled at the top of his lungs, "If you have THIS CARD and are a preferred customer you DO NOT have to wait in this line. Go directly to the parking garage!" Yeah, thanks dude. Embarrassment and wasted time, way to start our vacation off right.

Finally in our Alero we headed to the Hard Rock Hotel to check in. Parking was easy (albeit $7.00 a day which we didn't find out about until the bill came!) and no one was in line so we were in our room quickly. DS got a blow up guitar from the front desk and we got a we got a compilation CD to play in the CD player that was provided with our room. That was pretty cool.

The room itself was fairly nondescript. It actually looked kinda like a motel room to me. DH liked all the rock memorabilia in the halls and lobby but agreed the room was a little spare. A few black and white pictures of singers with some ugly comforters doesn't really do it for me. However, we were stoked about the front of the line access so that really overshadowed any upset about the ugly room.

DS was begging to go on Men in Black, the only ride he had really heard of prior to the trip so we took off for Universal Studios. There is a path you can walk to the parks on (about a 10 minute stroll) or you can take a water taxi from the hotel boat launch. We decided we were going to be walking a lot so we'd ride the boat. It was only a 5 minutes ride and we were in Citiwalk. It's a lot like Downtown Disney but with more restaurants and less stores. Very nice. We got into the park and headed straight for Men in Black. DS loves Buzz so he was anxious to try this ride.

After putting our backpack in the lockers provided and a brief panic moment where I forgot the number (DS remembered) we were headed for the line, room key cards in hand. We strutted into the Express line and all the way up to the loading area without stopping. We were already loving front of the line! I had a secret up my sleeve for scoring points and couldn't wait to show the boys up. They tell you several times NEVER to touch the red button. Well, I had read that if you press it when the big alien attacks you get 100,000 points. It worked! I was the big winner and they badgered me until I told them how I did it. We immediately went around and rode again, it was so fun! Much better than Buzz, I must say. You could shoot the other cars at one point and spin them around, plus it would just spin you at random intervals (supposedly the aliens shooting you). Very, very cool. DS could have kept riding and riding.

We drug him away because I was starving to death. I wanted to check out Lombard's Landing and it was right around the lake so we headed that way. We played a carnival game along the way and didn't win. DS was shocked, somehow he always seems to win and this was not part of his plan. Promising another try later, we found the restaurant and checked out the menu. Looked great but the prices were very high and DS and DH don't like seafood that much. Like the nice person I am I suggested we go to the pizza parlor next door. Cheering ensued and we got a large pepperoni to share. It was very good. Fortified we used our Express pass to get right on Back to the Future.

It was fun but very jerky. DH is tall and ended up sitting on the last seat next to the door when it came down. His head was bouncing off the ceiling, door and back of the car. Ouch! DS liked it so all was good. Strolled down the first path we came to and DS saw ET.

The Express pass didn't work so good on this one as you have to give your name and get a "passport" which causes a backup no matter how you go in. It's cool what they do with your name but I don't know if the extra wait makes it worth it. Anyway, we all enjoyed our bike ride to ET's planet and I really thought it was a cute ride. DH was meh on it. DS loved flying on the bikes.

With no plan we walked past the Horror Makeup Show as it was letting in. So we gave it a try. Verdict? Funny! It showed how they do special effect makeup and had some funny dry, sarcastic humor. The person they picked from the audience was hilarious as was her daughter who moved sooooo sloooooow to get the camera out and take a picture with the hosts that they made fun of her the rest of the time. At one point they said, "this isn't Disney, we don't have to be nice." Hee.

Looking at the map, DS requested Jimmy Newtron's ride so we hiked that way. Again to the front of the line and we got into the next show. It is a large screen movie with moving seats, similar to Star Tours but on a larger scale. DS was over the moon as it had all Nick's cartoon characters in it including his favorite, Spongebob. He laughed all the way through. I had a lump in my throat just watching his joy, it was contagious. Then, as we were walking out there was Spongebob, in the flesh (or, um, sponge as the case may be). We took our picture with him and it is one of DS's favorite of the whole trip. We look so happy in it!

Walking out we saw Shrek 4D was letting in for the next showing so we hustled over. We tried to fill DH in on the plot since he hadn't seen either movie. Luckily the pre-show had a little background info. It was an incredible 3D type show, very high tech and full of all the characters. We really liked it! DH and I were enjoying the fact that some of the humor was a little more adult. Made it fun for all of us.

DH was really working on DS to ride the Mummy but he was not convinced. Since the parade was coming soon we sent DH off to do it (front of the line!) and we bought popcorn and staked out a spot. I realized that there was really no one in front of the Irish pub (Finnigans) so we stood over there until DH came out. He loved it and tried again to convince DS, it didn't work (this time!). Since the crowds were really low we headed into the pub for two beers and a game of pinball for DS. When the parade came by we just stepped out on to the sidewalk and saw the whole thing. Very unusual but welcome! It was Macy's parade themed and had the large balloons plus character floats. They also shot confetti off the top of the buildings and had fake snow during certain parts. We were impressed! And it was even better with no waiting and a cold beer! Though at one point a guy with a video camera walked right in front of DS (we were about 1 foot from the curb) and proceeded to tape the parade. His wife was behind him and I just said, "I can't believe that!" to DH and moved DS to another spot. The wife looked suitably embarrassed so I hope she set him straight later. I don't know how people do that, I would feel so guilty!

At this point it was cold. Like 40 degrees cold and I had on the soon to be famous capris with sandles. So we decided we would head to a restaurant at Citiwalk for dinner and then back to the hotel. Our first thought was the Nascar Cafe since DH loved racing but the menu didn't do anything for us. We decided on the NBA Cafe and were so glad we did!

Though it was a themed restaurant the menu was fabulous and the food was out of this world. DH had chicken breast stuffed with wild rice, mashed potatoes, and veggies and I had a pork loin sandwich with onion strings and veggies. DS had mac & cheese. We all loved it! We talked to the manager and he said they specifically hired a 5 star chef cause they wanted to be more than just a gimmick. It worked! After eating we let DS play some of the basketball arcade type games which was pretty much a rip off. Too expensive and pretty hard for a kid. Not worth the money.

We rode the boat back to the hotel and were asleep by 9:30! That 4:00 a.m. wake up caught up with us.

Tomorrow: Dinosaurs and super heroes and Norway, oh my!

[luvnwdwgal]

Welcome Back!! Awesome start to your trip!!! Looking forward to more!!

[bsblady01]

souds like you had a great trip

[Colexis Mom]

What a great first day Hurry back with more

[DouglasE]

It sounds like you really had a lot of fun on that trip. When do I get to see a picture with you in your famous orange Old Navy fleece?

Apparently, I have the same taste in attractions as your son. Men In Black and ET are among my favorites at USF. As far as the Mummy was concerned I thought while it was an excellent ride, it just was way too short! They need to lengthen it. Especially since I was there for one of the first few weeks it was open. I (unlike you) was not staying at a Universal hotel and did not have Express line priveleges. They had sold out of the Express tickets by 11 am! So with about a 45 minute wait I got whipped around in what seemed under a minute. But the effects definitely were loads of fun.

[CarolRose]

Great report! Looking forward to more!

[princess wannabe]

Sorry it's taken so long for me to write the next update! I'm still getting over the fact that I accidentally deleted my memory card so I can't post pictures (I did have them developed before this happened, thank goodness!!).

On with the story.....

Day 2

This was the day that we were supposed to visit Epcot but we were enjoying US so decided to do a quick tour of IOA before we headed over there. Once we were up and dressed we went straight to the park with the goal of getting breakfast once inside. The first restaurant we came to was the Croissant Moon Bakery so we headed in for some takeout to eat on the patio. The guys went to find a table so I got 2 ham and cheese croissants and a muffin to share. When I found the rest of the family they had spotted a Cinnabon and gotten 2 of those too! Now that's a lot of food for 3 people. We did our best with it but there was still quite a bit left. I wrapped the muffin up and put it in the backpack which was a huge mistake since it just crumbled and made a mess and we never ate it. Oops!

Fortified, we followed DS's request to visit Jurassic Park first. I had read that the Pteradon Flyers didn't have front of the line access and were very slow loading so I suggested we do this first. The line wasn't long but it took almost 20 minutes to get on! It was basically a swing type seat on a wire and you "fly" around the Jurassic Park area. And it's quite a zippy litte ride! It only lasted about 90 seconds though so the wait wasn't quite worth it. Oh, well DS enjoyed it so all was good.

The ride spits you out into Camp Jurassic which is a dinosaur themed playground area. We met up with DH who stayed on the ground to take our picture and spent over 45 minutes exploring. It was very well themed and just plain fun! There were squirting dinosaurs that you could "battle" other people with, footprint that you could step on and make LOUD dino noises plus paths, slides, and caves. Awesome!

After prying DS out of there we wandered into Toon Lagoon and saw Dudley Do-right's Ripsaw Falls. It is a typical flume ride but seemed to get you really wet. Well, we were going back to the hotel before moving on to Epcot so we went for it. DS was not too excited and halfway through (after a thorough soaking on a small hill) he wanted OFF! Uh, not happening. So he toughed it out even though he hated the big hill. I have to say it was the fastest and roughest flume I've ever been on so he's got a point! Add to that the fact that we were very wet and he wasn't wanting anything else to do with old Dudley.

Since we were already wet we backtracked and went on the Jurassic Park River Adventure. When we got to the front of the line with our Express Passes the attendant gave DS a dino finger puppet. That was cool! This ride was SO much fun. There are harmless dinosaurs and then, as is typical on most theme park rides, something goes terribly wrong. You are sent into a wrecked building where meat eaters and a huge T-rex are terrorizing everyone. You float right up to the roaring T-rex before dropping out of the building and down a steep hill. I loved this one and DS was fine with the dinos but hated the drop. Still tramatized from Dudley, I guess! We let him decided where to go next and he chose the Discovery Center which is similar to a museum with dino exhibits, etc. He played with all the interactive stuff including this great machine that had you place an "egg" inside, analyze it, and determine which type of baby was inside. Very realistic and fun! After about 30 minutes we backtracked again since the whole reason we had come today was to ride Spiderman and we hadn't even made it there yet.

So on to Super Hero Island where we got right on with our passes. DS was a little nervous and decided not to wear the 3D glasses. This was the best ride I've ever been on! The 3D, real elements like water and fire, and the moving car blended to immerse you in the experience. It was fabulous and DS really liked it! He said he would ride it again later and wear the glasses, yeah! When we came out of the ride there were lots of super heroes riding ATV's around while music played. It was quite a production! When they stopped they all posed for pictures. We got one with Wolverine and then decided to leave for the day.

On the way out DS spotted Seussland and asked to walk through and look it over. Fine with us, so in we went. He saw The Cat in the Hat ride and we walked in with no wait. It is a cute dark ride that adds a little element of spinning. It was fun and we immediately went around and did it again. Next we saw that there was absolutely no one waiting for One Fish, Two Fish so DS and I grabbed our yellow one and away we went. This is just like Dumbo but with fish and a cute song that tells you when to go up and down. If you don't you get squirted with water! DS thought this was hilarious since I was on the outside so he was purposely getting me wet. Stinker - ha!

We decided that we better head on out if we wanted to get to Epcot so we made a quick stop for a change of clothes (and hats and gloves, it was cold!!!). I had read here that you could park at the Boardwalk and go in through the International Gateway so we decided to try it. DH was a little skeptical but I thought it would be ok. When we reached the gate we told them we would like to look at the resort and get a bite to eat and he just waved us through. We're in! We hiked up to the lobby from self-parking (that's a long walk!) and looked all around the resort. It's really nice and it would be great to have all those restaurants so close. I thought more would be going on on the Boardwalk, it was pretty empty! We boarded the resort boat and were there in less than 5 minutes.

Our goal was to tour the countries and get something to eat. I wanted to try Tangerine Cafe and DH wanted some brats. The beauty of Epcot is that we could have both of these with minimal fuss, love it! DS got his mask in Canada and started working on it. This was his third time to make one and he enjoyed it just as much as he did the first time, what a great activity! Since they give a you a poster when you finish all the countries he was determined to stop everywhere. No problems on our side, we love Epcot! When we reached the UK the street performers were out so we grabbed a beer and a piece of curb to watch. It was the same show we saw on our last trip but, with the audience volunteers, it's always a different experience. This time, a guy from France was Sir Lancelot and he didn't speak much English. They didn't figure this out until he was already into it so they just went with it and helped him along. Boy, was he enthusiastic, he stole the show! We continued along, making the mask until we reached Morocco where I got another beer and the platter with hummus, couscous, and chicken. It was great, loved it. We listened to Mo-Rockin while I was eating and thought it was interesting but not necessarily our musical taste! Stopped again in Germany and DS and DH ate. DH also got us a Jaegermeister shot each. Whew, that'll wake you up!!!

In Japan we stopped and DS got some Yu-gi-oh cards while I opened a pearl. DS was fascinated by this and wanted to do another one for him. We told him to wait until we came back and, if he still wanted to do it, he could spend some of his souvenir money on it. I looked at getting it put into a simple setting to go on one of my necklaces but $23 for silver seemed a little high so I decided to do it when I got home. It was a pretty white one so I was happy!

More masking and when we got to Norway we rode Maelstrom with no wait. For some reason, we just love this ride! When we reaching the unloading dock the CM was giving his little speech with instructions and then he said, "And now you will see an exciting 5 minute film on Norway...<comedic pause>...Vow." It was the most unexcited Wow! I've ever heard and we laughed so hard. People were looking at us like we were nuts but he smiled and winked so I think he was happy we picked up on his little joke. We ran through the movie and went on again with no wait. No "Vow" in the speech this time and we headed off to Mexico.

Wandered through the pavillion and rode El Rio del Tiempo. It was getting COLD and we were basically running from building to building trying to stay warm so we decided on one ride on Test Track before we left. More walking and we got on with a 5 minute wait. Had a blast, I loved speeding around the track at night!

We watched the fountain for a minute and went back to the boat launch. We knew we were coming back at least once more so we wanted to get out before the crowds. Another quick boat ride and we were at our car. We made it to the hotel around 10:20 and were asleep as soon as our head hit the pillow. It was a long day!

Tomorrow: The Mummy and MVMCP - what a combination!

[Tara O'Hara]

It sounds like you are having a wonderful adventure so far!! I the HRH and would stay there again in a heartbeat!!

[luvnwdwgal]

What a funfilled day!!!

[Colexis Mom]

What a great update! I'm glad you had such a great time at US, and now at Epcot too Hurry back with more