Sharing is Caring - Christmas Trip to the World: Link to Photos Added 4/8/05 About This Page:

[pparm]

Great update! Sounds like MVMCP was a great time!

Paula

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update Karen Glad you found your camera bag, how scary Sounds like you're having another great day! We too were so excited that we could put shorts on that day

Hurry back with more

[lindawdw]

Really enjoying your TR Karen It's so nice your son enjoys WDW as much as you do. My 16 year daughter and I have taken two trips together,without the rest of the family, and it gives us the opportunity for some mother/daughter bonding time. Your trip reports is so entertaining one would think that you'd written many of them Looking forward to the rest!

[zacksmom_1993]

[ QUOTE ]
My 16 year daughter and I have taken two trips together,without the rest of the family, and it gives us the opportunity for some mother/daughter bonding time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Linda,
I'm so excited to hear that your 16-year-old (or soon to be, judging from your countdown calendar ) still loves WDW! I'm holding my breath, hoping I never hear my son say WDW isn't cool enough for him anymore.
Karen

[JulieandChris]

Karen,
I`m so pleased you found your camera bag. Zack sounds like a truly great kid. Looking forward to more.

Julie

[zacksmom_1993]

The Best Steak Ever! – Day Three Part Two

I sat and watched that fountain for a LONG time. Not that I was complaining. It was a beautiful day, I had my son by my side, and I was at Disney World at Christmastime. My son wasn’t quite as patient, and kept running inside to find out what was happening and then outside to give me the play-by-play. My sisters finally emerged, and Alice whipped out her brand new Grumpy hat! Neither of my sisters has really embraced the whole Disney thing, so, for one of them to be wearing WDW apparel, (Grumpy yes, but Disney just the same) was a moment of sweet triumph for me. I’ll hook ‘em yet! Alice explained that there had been two open lines at Mousegears. One staffed by an elderly lady, and one by a much younger man. Alice jumped in the line staffed by the younger guy and just sat there. She said she was just watching in quiet desperation as the woman blasted through four or five guests to the man’s one. Moral of the story: ageism doesn’t pay!

Everyone was getting hungry, so we decided to take the boat over to Morocco and get lunch at the Tangierine Café. I knew my sister, Kirsten, world traveler and vegetarian, would probably find something she liked there. I the boat rides at Epcot! I think I could probably spend all day just cruising the lake at World Showcase. We went outside to the back of the boat. The sun was glimmering off of the water, there was a warm breeze blowing, and music from the different countries would play distantly as we drifted by. Ahhh, Nirvana.

Almost too soon, we were docking at Morocco. I can’t remember most of what we ate. I know Zack had pizza, of course, because what else would you get in Morocco. And, I remember I split a meal with Alice and got a side order of couscous. It probably cost about $2, and I was surprised when it came out that it was only the size of a salad dressing to go cup. But, that was one magical side order of couscous. I kept eating it, and eating it, and eating it. I think all of the strapping men they have working at the café, must spend their time packing impossible amounts of couscous into those little tiny packages. I couldn’t even finish it all!

I did notice that the people working here seemed a little less outgoing than at other restaurants. While we were eating outside, the holiday storyteller came by to tell about Ramadan. There were probably equal numbers of interested children and interested adults listening intently. I’ve often wondered since 9/11 whether there has been any difficulty being a cast member at this country, being that it is the only Muslim country represented around World Showcase. I’d hope that people would come with an open mind. But, they do serve alcohol at Epcot, and the American Adventure can stir up a certain amount of patriotic fervor only 100 yards away. Anyway, I hope nothing has ever happened, but I always wonder.

After lunch, we spent a fair amount of time browsing the Morocco pavilion. Kirsten thought it would be a good opportunity to find some conservative clothes for her next trip to Afghanistan. But, most of the clothing was pretty racy here, and the vendors told her it was definitely designed for a Western audience. Zack and I wandered back to the character greeting area and got pictures and autographs from Genie. The character greeting areas in England, France, and Morocco are so beautiful, and there just never seem to be a lot of people around. It’s my tip for the day about where to have great character experiences!

We slowly left Morocco, and began the great dessert tour of World Showcase. Kirsten got some baklava at the Tangierine Café, Zack got a Kaki Gori in Japan, and Alice settled for a good ol’ American funnel cake in, you guessed it, America. I batted in the clean-up spot and sampled all three. We checked out the gingerbread house inside the Liberty Inn. It’s definitely not as elaborate as the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian, but there’s something about a life-size gingerbread house inside which they sell gingerbread cookies and hot cocoa. Only at Disney World! Our country tour continued to Italy and Germany, mostly just browsing in the shops and looking at the train in Germany. I wanted to go to China because I’d heard they had a new film. So, we walked past the amazing acrobats and went into the pavilion. In the time before the show was scheduled to start, we looked at the exhibit about some of the minority cultures in China. It was a fascinating exhibit, especially because I tend to think of China as so homogenous. Kirsten said that many of the cultures seemed similar to the culture she had seen in the neighboring country of Kyrgyzstan. I think Zack was a little frustrated with us because we were spending so much time on an “educational exhibit.” His direct quote was, “Maaw-um (his term of exasperation for me) I just got out for Christmas break my brain needs to relax!” Ok, ok, let’s go learn some more in the movie theater! The Circle vision movie was beautiful, but it seemed exactly the same as the one I’d seen in 2003? Maybe the refurbishment was before then?

Anyway, our moment of culture passed, we walked towards Future World, with a brief stop at Norway to check out the chocolate. Kirsten was going to take the car to meet a friend of hers for dinner in Tampa, but had time for one last ride. We chose Spaceship Earth, mostly because of proximity to the entrance, but also because neither of my sisters had been on it before. I was getting nervous about how they’d like it, especially after the Great Movie Ride fiasco. So, I was thrilled when Alice came off the ride saying it was her favorite thing at Disney World. She loved it, and gushed for several minutes about how great it was. You’re guessing who the weak link is in the not-so-into-Disney-duo, aren’t you? We bid farewell to Kirsten, and walked back towards the heart of Future World.

Zack had been eyeing the Stitch Christmas hats since we’d arrived, and he thought he had seen them at the hat cart outside Spaceship Earth. We went over and purchased one, and bought another pen for autographs. Keep track of these pen purchases. We’re on Day Three, Pen Two, and we’re just getting warmed up! I had heard there was a new Finding Nemo exhibit at the Living Seas, so we headed over there. We spent a lot of time looking at the fish, but I kept noticing huge crowds of people lining up in the main area. I noticed the Turtle Talk sign, and vaguely remembered reading about an interactive exhibit with Crush from Finding Nemo. We were second in line, as a group had just entered, so we decided to wait until the next show. While we were in line, they did a demonstration in the tall spherical tank next to us. I guess it had something to do with scuba diving; we couldn’t really hear the woman talking. But, basically it involved a diver being dropped in the tank, the water quickly being drained out, and the diver coming out a door near the bottom. I’m not sure what it was about (this is what it’s like to be flushed down a toilet?! ) Just, very, very random.

Our time was up for Turtle Talk, and we got seats in the very front row. They called the kids up to the front, but Zack felt like he was too big. I was disappointed because I thought he wouldn’t get picked to talk to Crush. The effects in this show are amazing. They must have a bunch of pre-programmed response sequences because Crush instantaneously responds physically, and perfectly, to the audience. Crush did seem to call on many of the kids in the front, but he was also calling on some of the adults in the back too. Then he said, “Let’s talk to a little bigger dude. How about that big dude in front with the funny ears on the top of his shell?” Thank goodness, we’d bought the Stitch ears. Crush asked Zack if he knew how to surf. Zack had learned at a camp the previous summer, so he looked pretty good showing his stuff. The rest of the kids followed Zack, while the parents did the wave. Zack was so proud, and I was doing the wave with tears in my eyes. There is nothing as wonderful as the feeling of seeing your children truly and completely happy.

I dabbed the eyes, exited the show, and toured the rest of the pavilion. Zack took the requisite picture inside Bruce’s mouth and then we were ready to go. I think I may have tricked a few people with my “Best Steak Ever” title, because we headed to our priority seating, not at Le Cellier, but at San Angel Inn. I’d always wanted to eat here, and we lucked out with a seat right on the railing overlooking the water. Alice and I decided to split the Plato Mexicano and the Nachos appetizer. Zack got a cheeseburger. Of course. You’re in Morocco, you get pizza; you’re in Mexico, you get cheeseburgers. Didn’t you know? The Plato Mexicano came with a piece of beef tenderloin, a chicken enchilada, and a beef burrito. The Nachos were not the big, sports bar type. Instead, they were just a few chips with a delicious red sauce, some spicy chorizo, melted cheese, and jalapenos on each chip. Each round chip, was like a mini-Mexican pizza, and so good. Everything in the dinner was delicious, but the steak was truly exceptional. It was so tender; you could cut it with a fork! Alice is still talking about this steak months later, and declared it the best steak ever. Dinner was exceptional, with wonderful service from our server, Laura.

It was one of the best meals I had ever had at the World. One funny thing, a group of teenagers was floating by on El Rio Tempo and shouted out to Zack, “Hey kid, do you got any food to spare.” Zack shouted back, “Yeah, sure, come swim over and get it.” I thought it was a pretty snappy comeback for an 11-year-old. We finished our meal, talked, and generally enjoyed ourselves. We’d decided on Beaches ‘N’ Cream for dessert, so with a quick trip to the restrooms, we were on our way.

Next Up – The Bus Ride from H-E-double-hockey-sticks

[Jillybean]

I had to smile reading about the tears in your eyes when Zack was called on during Turtle Talk. I am the exact same way - - it doesn't take much for me either.

And you had me fooled about the steak. I was thinking Le Cellier also! I am going to San Angel Inn in May and will definitely try exactly what you had! Yum!

Jill

[zacksmom_1993]

The Bus Ride from H-E-double-hockey-sticks – Day Three Part Three

We shopped a bit in Mexico, and then slowly wound our way around World Showcase in a clockwise direction. At night, when the countries are all lit up with holiday decorations and the torches are glowing by the lagoon, there is nothing more beautiful. We stopped in Japan at the Mitsukoshi Department Store. This store is Zack’s favorite shopping destination at all of WDW. Our visits there usually involve him heading directly to the action figures and model cars, after I’ve given him instructions that he can get one thing. I stay with him for as long as I can stand it (usually about 42 seconds.) Then, I browse the displays around the action figures in a slow loop, over and over again (usually about 42 minutes.) Then, I head back to Zack and exasperatedly say, “Haven’t you made up your mind yet?” To which Zack usually responds, “I can’t decide between these two (or three or four) things.” I’m so ready to leave by then; my usual answer is, “Just get them both.” They wear you down, don’t they?

This time, I handed him $20 and said go pick something out. I had to laugh when I read another trip report where a Dad handed his room key to his little girl and said, “Get whatever you want.” If I did that with Zack, the nice kimono clad cast member would be calling me over to the counter saying, “I’m sorry. Your son is trying to purchase $10,462 worth of action figures and your credit limit isn’t that high.” Anyway, the new bribe with a 20 method seemed to work, as we were out of the store in about 15 minutes, definitely a new record. We walked around the France pavilion for a few minutes as we’d missed it earlier in the day and then head out through the International Gateway.

We got to the Beach Club a little after 8:00, and there was quite the crowd at Beaches ‘N’ Cream. The wait was about 20 minutes so we grabbed a pager and headed into the Beach Club lobby to check out their gingerbread display. The carousel was just as extraordinary as I had remembered it from the previous year. Alice was in awe, and really got into the hunt for the golden Mickeys hidden on the carousel. I think she’s converting into a closet Disney fan – hee, hee, hee. We walked back to Beaches ’N’ Cream and only waited another minute or two before the pager went off. We love Beaches ’N’ Cream, and Zack and I are on a secret mission to bring my whole family (6 of us) down so we can polish off a Kitchen Sink. But with just three of us, coming off a huge meal at San Angel Inn, it wasn’t in the cards. We did order two desserts: The No Way Jose (peanut butter and hot fudge) and The Fudge Mud Slide (brownie sundae with Oreo cookies on top.) It was probably just as much food as The Kitchen Sink, and we finished only a third of it, at best. I’m not sure what I was thinking. One of these desserts would have been more than enough.

I was starting to get a little worried about missing the last boat to MGM, and none of us wanted to walk back through Epcot, so we left pretty quickly. But, with all the construction around Stormalong Bay, it took forever for us to find our way to the pier. Once there, we saw a boat just pulling away and heading towards MGM. I asked the cast member on the boat that was headed towards Epcot if that was the last MGM boat. Of course, it was ; so we jumped on the boat to Epcot and hitched a ride over to the Boardwalk. The detour gave us a chance to look at the decorations inside the Boardwalk Hotel, and they were just spectacular. They had made a little miniature Boardwalk, complete with a ferris wheel and roller coaster out of sugar and chocolate. The detail on everything is fantastic, right down to the little chocolate Santa sitting in a roller coaster car with his hands up in the air as he prepares to go down the long drop. Alice was having me take pictures of everything. “Oh, you’ve got to get a picture of the roller coaster. Oh, what about that garland. Look at that garland. Karen, get a picture of that garland.” No doubt, we’d won her over.

Down another roll of film, we walked out towards the busses. We didn’t wait too long for the bus to roll up, but then it seemed to take forever to get to Downtown Disney (our transfer spot.) The pick-ups at the Swan, Dolphin, Yacht Club, and Beach Club didn’t help. When we finally got to Downtown Disney we looked around for the AKL spot, found it, and arrived just as a bus was pulling away. AKL shared this spot with Coronado Springs, so we asked some people sweetly, “Was that the Coronado Springs bus?” Please say yes. Please say yes. Nope, Animal Kingdom Lodge. We sat down to wait, and it was starting to get cold. Poor Alice was in just a t-shirt. Zack was in shorts, but at least he had a sweatshirt with him. We waited FOREVER for a bus, but finally one pulled up with Animal Kingdom Lodge posted on the front.

When we got on the bus, Alice told me that she and Kirsten had the same bus driver and he had cracked horrible, corny jokes at the beginning of the ride. And then, he got the entire bus to sing Disney songs for the rest of the ride. She didn’t sound too excited about the prospect of a second trip, but that sounded great to me! We stopped at the Pleasure Island stop and picked up a bunch more people and then we were on our way. The driver’s jokes were pretty bad (“Why doesn’t Cinderella know how to play tennis very well? Because her coach was a pumpkin. ) But, I like the Jungle Cruise, so I was enjoying them. The worst part was there was a group of people at the very back of the bus, who had clearly had too much fun at Pleasure Island. Their answer to every joke was, “Because she was knocked up.” Said very loudly, in a lecherous tone. It just wasn’t funny, or appropriate considering they had their own kids with them, let alone everyone else’s. The bus driver did his best to try to handle it by joking that he was going to let them out at the Animal Kingdom for a special nighttime safari with the lions and cheetahs. They continued on being obnoxious.

I guess the driver figured it would be safer to switch to trivia, so he asked what the first animated character was that Walt Disney had developed. After a bit of thinking, I shouted out, “Oswald The Lucky Rabbit!” I was right, but the bus driver seemed more irritated than impressed. He then asked what modern cartoon character Oswald had turned into. I paused again, and then shouted out, “Bugs Bunny!” We were stopped at a light, and he turned around and said, “Bugs Bunny? Lady do you know where you are?” I then explained that I thought that Disney was on contract with Warner Brothers and they had owned the rights to Oswald, and that that was why Walt had created Mickey Mouse to begin with. The bus driver told me I was wrong, and then basically explained the story exactly as I described it except saying that Disney was never on contract with Warner Brothers, that he just worked for them. He asked me if I wanted the special nighttime safari, as well. Humph!

Alice said later that she thought he was asking rhetorical questions, and that he didn’t want to be interrupted. Well, subtlety is lost on me buddy. If you’re asking a question, I’m gonna answer! I was embarrassed because I thought the bus driver was grouping me with the very low class people at the back of the bus. I was glad when the bus finally pulled up at AKL. Zack and I did thank the bus driver profusely, as we do on every ride. And Alice said, “Come on. You’ve got to be impressed with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.” And, the bus driver said he was. So, maybe I was just being overly sensitive. Anyway, I was glad to be back in the AKL and back to bed.

Next Up – Good Stuff for Breakfast

[Jillybean]

Well, your night sounded terrific (especially those desserts) until that bus ride!

I, for one, was very impressed with your knowledge!

Jill

[zacksmom_1993]

Good Stuff for Breakfast – Day Four Part One

Stitch and Mickey woke us up early the next morning. I had wanted to hit EMH at Magic Kingdom thinking the crowds would really get bad towards the end of the week. Alice popped her head up as we were trying to noiselessly leave the room and said that their goal was to be at Magic Kingdom sometime between 10:00 and 11:00. Zack and I went down to the bus stop and waited a few minutes for a Magic Kingdom bus to pull up. After the ride, security, and going through the gates, we were probably inside a little after 8:00.

We stopped for autographs with Launchpad McQuack and Terk. I it when we find the lesser-known characters. My sister, Alice, and my brother grew up with the 80’s generation of Disney cartoons. They loved Darkwing Duck and Rescue Rangers. I’d give anything to find Darkwing in one of the parks – but, I’ve asked, and he’s retired. Under the railroad tracks and we nearly crashed into Pluto. So, one more photo and autograph and we were on our way to Tomorrowland. As we were walking down Main Street, I did ask Zack if he wanted something for breakfast. We both decided that we were still too full from the previous night. Important to remember before you get tempted to call Child Protective Services on me later in the day’s report!

We walked over to Space Mountain, and the line was out the building and reaching towards the overhead track for the TTA. I sent Zack ahead to get Fastpasses and told him he could join me in line when I got up to the front. I thought I remembered them holding people at the front of the building sometimes before they opened Space Mountain. This must have been what happened here, because, the line went nowhere for a while, and then it started moving slowly and steadily towards the building. I reconnected with Zack and we continued our slow pace until we boarded the vehicles. It was probably about a 15-20 minute wait total, but a lot of people were leaving when they saw that huge line. The trip was worth the wait for us. Zack and I had back of the car seats, which seemed really zippy on this cold, December morning.

Zack wanted a return trip to Stitch’s Great Escape, so this was our next stop. The lines were already starting to build, and we probably waited another 20 minutes to get inside. Zack noticed several people holding little pieces of paper and looking at some of the plaques and signage written in alien language. We asked one of the boys, and he told us you could get decoder sheets at the hotels. We’d definitely have to try that! We made it through both rooms of the pre-show, and were strapped into our seats in the main auditorium. Stitch appeared in the capture chamber and began to terrorize us, and then the lights went back on and Stitch stopped moving. In just a few seconds, they were clearing us out of the room. I’m not sure how they can tell so quickly that it’s not just a minor malfunction, or maybe they just don’t want to ruin the illusion by starting the sequence over again. In any case, we were handed a Fast Pass on our way out the door.

We decided to walk over to Fantasyland for a little bit, and then be right at Toontown when it opened at 10:00. We stopped for pictures with the Mad Hatter in front of the Teacups, and then I wanted to ride on Snow White’s Scary Adventure. We hadn’t been on it in years. I think for the first time ever, there was a pretty substantial line, and we waited another 10 or 15 minutes before we boarded. I liked the ride, but thought it would be really scary for any one less than 7, and figured I wouldn’t need to ride it again for another few years.

We walked around Fantasyland a bit more, mostly trying to stay in the sun where it was a bit warmer. The lines were starting to build at Toontown, so we headed over there about 10 minutes before rope drop. The parents in this area were crazy! There was a line about fifteen people across, and probably about 10 deep. Most people would pull up and get to the end of the line. Others would try to weave in and around people to get closer to the front. The people without strollers seemed to be the worst offenders. It got to the point where people started to really crowd together to not give the cutters any room to jump in between. Rant On: People come on! Do you think we’re standing here in the cold waiting for no reason? If there’s a line, get in the back of it. Don’t try to weasel your way in front of all of us so you can have a three-minute advantage on your picture with Mickey. Ok, Rant Off.

The rope dropped and I saw quite a few nervous faces on parents wondering what would happen with all of the people crowding in. Luckily, it seemed pretty smooth; and we walked directly to Goofy’s Barnstormer. The line was nearly as short as the ride, but the ride was a lot more fun! After the ride, we went over to the Toontown Hall of Fame to see which characters were out. We hadn’t had any time with any of the Winnie The Pooh Characters, so we hopped in that line and waited about 10 minutes. We just missed Tigger, but did get photos with Pooh and Eeyore. We did a bit of shopping in Cornelius Coot’s and Zack started greedily eyeing the cotton candy. He asked if he could get any, and I thought about it. The little shoulder angel on the right said, “He hasn’t had breakfast yet. Get that kid some fruit instead.” The little shoulder devil on the left said, “You’re on vacation. What’s it really going to matter?” So, I brushed the little shoulder angel off, and purchased a big, sticky batch of pink cotton candy for my son’s breakfast. Breakfast of champions, right?

We got a call from my sisters that they were inside the park, so we agreed to meet in front of Space Mountain in a few minutes. Zack and I took the secret path to Tomorrowland, handed off the Space Mountain FP’s and grabbed everyone’s tickets to get FP’s for Buzz Lightyear. That mission accomplished, Zack and I used our FP’s for Stitch’s Great Escape and finished the ride at just about the same time as Alice and Kirsten’s ride on Space Mountain. They said the Fast Passes had been great because the Standby line was listed as about 45 minutes. We left Tomorrowland, and Kirsten said she was hungry for breakfast. What she really wanted was a funnel cake. Healthy eaters, we Weisses, eh?

We grabbed a bench in Liberty Square and enjoyed some funnel cake and cotton candy. Looking at that in print is making me groan and grab my stomach, but it sure tasted good that morning! We decided that Country Bear Jamboree sounded good and headed over there. I really like the Christmas show. My favorite is Big Al dressed as Baby New Year singing about how his love stole, “My heart, and my truck, and my dawg.” There was a group of women in the front who went crazy when the Elvis impersonator bear came out. I mean seriously screaming, and feigning the “Oooos,” and “Awwwws.” I thought it was pretty funny, and kept expecting to read about it in one of the Passporters’ trip reports, but I haven’t seen it yet.

After Country Bear’s we went out to Tom Sawyer’s Island where Zack had a blast. He loves the caves, and the air guns in the fort (they’ve removed these from Disneyland, guess they weren’t PC enough for us Californians.) He was taking forever leaving one of the caves, and the rest of us were ready to go. Kirsten and Alice decided to flush him. So, Kirsten went in one side, and Alice waited at the other. Kirsten said that there was a little alcove that Zack was hiding in making a ghost sound. He was pretty well disguised, so if my son scared your children on December 19th on Tom Sawyer’s Island, I apologize. Anyway, Zack got his due when he exited the cave and Alice jumped out at him with a, “Boo!” I thought he was going to fall into the river.

We were getting hungry for some real food and I had wanted to try Pecos Bills Café. So we went back to the mainland and grabbed some burgers. Very tasty! Our Fast Pass time for Buzz was up, so we headed back to Tomorrowland. My sisters went in one car, and Zack and I in another. Zack beat everyone, but my sisters had so much fun on this ride. Alice’s comment was, “If I was Michael Jackson rich, I’d have this ride in my backyard.” We’d seen about everything we wanted to, and it was about 37 degrees (really it was probably low 60’s,) so Zack figured it was a good time to go swimming. We headed out of the park with a stop at the candy store for some fudge for Alice. At least that’s what I’m putting on paper, blaming it on Alice after the cotton candy, funnel cake, burger extravaganza from before. As we left, Alice wistfully turned around and said, “Bye Magic Kingdom,” as it was the sisters’ last time there for this trip. We’d definitely converted her.

Next Up – A Cold Fantasmic at MGM and a Hot Dinner at Boma

[Jillybean]

You guys accomplished a lot for one morning! And I would love a funnel cake for breakfast! And when I was eleven, I'm sure that I would have loved cotton candy!

Jill

[Tara O'Hara]

I'm just catching up with your wonderful report, Karen! You are a terrific writer and even had me crying a couple of times! I can't wait to hear more!!

[zacksmom_1993]

A Cold Fantasmic at MGM and a Hot Dinner at Boma – Day Four Part Two

When we got back to the rooms, Zack and I quickly changed into our swimsuits. Alice and Kirsten had decided to just relax in the room and enjoy the animals from the balcony. We made plans to meet back in the room at 4:00.

I was surprised at the number of people in the pool (probably 15-20.) But, I’m sure that other people were feeling the way we were: “I’m on vacation in Florida, so I’m putting on my swimsuit darn it!” The kids were having a great time in the water, but then they’d be shivering, little blue Popsicles when they finally got out. There were a bunch of kids going down the slide. They looked miserable as they waited for their turn at the top of the slide bouncing around in unison to keep warm, and then they looked completely joyful when they finally got their turn and were back in the warm (well sort of) water. Too funny! Zack and I both got in, and the water was ok if you kept moving and you were in the sunshine. Unfortunately, the building was casting shadows over most of the pool area. I’d remembered loving the shade when we swam here in June; I wasn’t liking it so much on a cold day in December.

I did stay in the pool for a little while and spent some time racing with Zack. There used to be a time when Zack wasn’t the best swimmer, and since I swam competitively in high school, I’d have to hold back a little bit. Zack’s gotten a lot better, and he dusted me pretty authentically most of the time. It was complete role reversal, and I was very tempted to pull a Tanya Harding and start whining about a bad start, water up my nose, a broken lace on my skate… whatever. But, I let Zack have his moment of triumph. Make that many moments of triumph over the vacation. Heck, he’s still gloating about it!

To soothe my aching feet and my bruised ego, I ditched the cold pool for the hot tub and found the 15 parents to go with the 15 kids in the water. The hot tubs at WDW are the great meeting grounds for vacationers around the world. What is it about sitting side-by-side, practically naked, in a hot, little germ pool that makes you open up to the people next to you? There was a lot of talk about how crowded the parks were getting. We’d managed to stay one step ahead of the crowds so far, so I wasn’t really able to relate. Warmed up, I got out of the pool, found a patch of sunshine, and sunned myself. Well sort of, I think I was wearing leggings, a turtleneck, a sweatshirt, and my parka. Zack just kept swimming happily away.

They started playing some pool games, and it became very clear that I wasn’t going to get Zack out of the pool by 3:45. I called up to my sisters, and Alice came down to watch Zack while I went back to the room to change. Then, I brought Zack’s clothes down to the pool so he could change at the bathrooms down there. Zack was having such a good time. The game pretty much involved a cast member throwing some small toys into the water and then the kids swimming out to collect them all. The kid who got the most toys, got to hop out of the water and help throw the next round in. Hop out of the water? If it was my game, the losing kid would be the one hopping out of the water and into the cold. But, obviously Disney’s got the child psyche down better than I, because these kids were really going for it, trying to be the lucky kid to hop out of the water, dripping wet to get hypothermia. Zack finally won the last game, so there was no throw back in the water anyway.

Zack tried to change as best he could, but I was really worried about his wet head. We hoped for the best, stuck on his Stitch hat, and dashed up to the lobby to meet my waiting sisters. I had really wanted them to ride the Backlot Tour, and I knew the last showing was at 5:00. It was probably about 4:25 when we got to our car at AKL. I drove very purposefully to MGM, and we parked pretty close to the entrance. I then led my little squadron in a very fast march across the parking lot, through the entrance gate, between crowds of people, and racing down Mickey Avenue to the Backlot Tour. We probably made it there about 4:50. When my sisters finally caught their breath, Alice said, “Man, you can really move when you want to.” If only I had that kind of motivation when I’m on my treadmill at night!

We got into the line, which immediately started to move forward into the first staging area. The guests they had picked to be in the water scene were great. The people who were scrubbing the deck as the planes started attacking were high-larious. They really hammed it up: hugging eachother in terror, waving their swabs like white flags, hitting the deck with rears in the air. And, the woman who got knocked by the wall of water had the whole crowd laughing. Alice and Kirsten loved it, with Kirsten saying, “That was worth the price of admission, right there.” We boarded the trams, and I noticed Kirsten was sitting in the farthest seat to the left. I remembered that that was the wet seat, so we started to give Kirsten hats, gloves, and jackets to protect herself. Then our guide came on the sound system telling us, “Those of you sitting on the right side of the tram might get a little bit wet.” Huh? So, we started passing things over to Alice. Until she said, “Those of you on the left side of the tram are going to get a lot wet.” The things got passed back to Kirsten. It was really starting to get cold, so we all just huddled close, scrunched towards the right, and ended up staying perfectly dry. We got through with the tram at about 5:30. I told Alice and Kirsten to go see the Osborne Lights, and Zack and I would try to save seats for Fantasmic.

Zack and I walked down towards Fantasmic, and had just about made it into the theater when my sisters called on the walkie-talkies and asked where we were. We stayed on the line, as I told them that we were in the section straight ahead of the entrance, (I think it was Scar?) They called back about ten minutes later and we had one of those “amusing-to-watch-not-so-amusing-to-be-in” conversations. You know the ones I’m talking about, when two people are standing about 50 feet apart, but don’t see each other. I finally saw Alice, but she couldn’t see me. So, the people around us were treated to me and Zack standing up arms waved saying, “OK we’re just to your left. No your other left. No too far. There. Do you see us? Do you see us?” The group sitting behind us seemed particularly amused. They finally made it over. We got some hot chocolate, huddled together, and watched Fantasmic with teeth chattering. Everyone enjoyed it, but we’ve all seen the Disneyland version. There’s just no comparison. At Disneyland, the characters sail around on the Mark Twain at the end, and there’s an honest to goodness pirate fight between Captain Hook and Peter Pan in the rigging of the Columbia as it sails around Tom Sawyer’s Island. That show alone is worth the price of a trip to Disneyland.

In any case, we enjoyed it, but also enjoyed turning on the heat in the car when we made it back. As we were leaving MGM, we noticed some amazing Disney detail. On the palm trees at the exit, Disney strings little green lights on each and every palm frond. I have no idea how long something like that would take. I’m the impatient one who thinks they made those net lights that you just throw over the trees just for me. But, it was a beautiful, beautiful effect. We were back to the lodge in no time flat and headed down to our priority seating at Boma.

Much has been made about the food at Boma. Again, I have nothing to add except that everyone has to go try it. I ordered a bottle of wine, a wonderful Guard Peak red, after getting assurances that I could take the rest back to my room. I figured it would be lovely to sip as I watched the animals from our balcony. My favorite thing about Boma is the soup. That night, they had the most delicious Butternut Squash soup. I don’t know how to describe it. It was like liquid, homemade pumpkin pie, fresh out of the oven on Thanksgiving. You could taste the cream, the nutmeg, and a hint of cinnamon. It was to die for! Zack isn’t that adventurous, but he finds lots of things he likes. Kirsten, the vegetarian world traveler, was of course in heaven. And, Alice, the chocolate connoisseur, was in love with the dessert bar. There really is something for everyone, and this restaurant has become my one “not-to-be-missed” spot for each trip. Getting the idea that I like it here?

After dinner, we spent some time in the Zawadi Marketplace. Take a wild guess what we bought. Come on, just guess. That’s right. Pen number three on day number four. I had been told that I could exchange them, but we were never in the right place with the right pen. We’d have a broken Epcot pen at Animal Kingdom, or we’d have a broken Animal Kingdom pen at Epcot. Anyway, another $3 spent, we were off to bed early. Everyone was getting up early tomorrow to go to Animal Kingdom EMH to celebrate my birthday!

Next Up – “What Did You Get For Your Birthday?” “Hypothermia.”

[mrskpete]

For being a rookie you are writing one heck of a fun trip report! I hope I can do half as good as you when my time is up. Cannot wait to hear more..............

[Jillybean]

You are making me so hungry with that butternut squash soup description - - I can almost taste it myself.

And I can't think of a better way to end the day than sitting on your balcony, sipping good wine and watching the animals graze.

Jill