I Thought Florida Was Supposed to be Warm! Dec 9th-17th 2010
About This Page:

Angela1312 · 07-23-2011, 12:48 AM

Hi there! This is my first trip report so if it's a bit lame, please forgive me. First let's start with the basics:

Dates: Dec 12/09/10 to12/17/10
Who: me(Angela) and DH(Brian)
Background: We live in North Alabama. DH is prior USMC, and I'm a nerdy scientist with Fibromyalgia. We don't have kids yet, but we act like kids! This was our 3rd Disney trip together. However, this was the first time we have been in December, and the first time staying at Wilderness Lodge. In May 2009 we stayed in a Savannah view room at AKL, and in October 2005 we stayed at Shades of Green (our 2nd wedding anniversary). This was also our first trip as civilians, not being able to use any military discounts

Our Route: From Huntsville Alabama we took I65 south to Birmingham, then AL-280 into Georgia where it becomes GA-520. We took GA-520 to I75 (around Tifton GA) and then took I75 to Orlando.
Day One: On the road...
December 9th, 2010: When the day finally came for us to leave, things started to get stressful. I was supposed to get my braces off my teeth the morning we were leaving, but the orthodontist said the lower teeth weren't ready yet, so only the uppers came off. Then I had to wait a few hours to pick up the temporary retainer. After we picked it up we were on the road (~2:30pm Central Time). Normally we leave in the early a.m. and drive all day to Orlando, but for this trip I was hoping to break up the drive. Things were going good, and DH and I were excited. It was around 4:30pm when we got snagged trying to get out of Birmingham during rush hour. I was hoping we would miss the traffic, but DH drives EXACTLY the speed limit(old habit from living on a military base). So we were snagged for ~1hr. We had a new GPS to guide us along, so once we cleared the traffic we were off into the night. We had not taken this route during previous trips, so I was a bit nervous, but all in all it was OK, but DESOLATED. We went through a lot of small towns and we enjoyed seeing all the Christmas displays.
Note: I HATE fast food but that's life on the highway, so we stopped at a lonely Burger King. This part of the trip was uneventful, but LONG. GA-520 is a very long stretch until you get to the interstate. I could not find the "big map" of our route on the GPS, and at nearly every intersection it would indicate we only had ~5miles to go. Except that 5 miles was just to the nearest intersection, where we were told to "go straight". I was getting nervous, as it was getting late into the night. Nothing scary happened, I was just relieved that we found our way to Albany.
By now my Fibro was starting to set my neck and shoulders on FIRE, and it was impossible to relax (my Fibro is the worst in cold weather). We didn't have room reservations anywhere, and I was hoping to stop somewhere around Albany, but DH is a night owl and he just wanted to keep pushing onward, so we did. Finally we got into Florida, and I was asking if he was ready to stop, but no he wanted to keep pushing on. Finally around 1:30 am we stopped at a Hampton Inn in Ocala and stayed the night. Much to our dismay, it was just as cold as North Alabama! The frigid temperatures were following us!!!
Coming Up...Meeting "Chilly Willie"

disneycruising · 07-23-2011, 01:08 AM

Great Start.

Can't wait to hear more.

We were in WDW in Dec 2009 & 2008, the weather was hot, cold & bitterly cold.

Angela1312 · 07-23-2011, 01:12 AM

December 10th, 2010: We got up around 8am and had our nice continental breakfast and were back on the road. We didn't realize how close to Orlando we were, and were in the city limits about 2 hours later. What was annoying was it seemed that there were more toll roads than before. I was prepared with plenty of change, so no surprises there. We stopped to do some shopping at the Vineland Ave Premium Outlet. While getting dressed that morning I realized I forgot to pack my favorite "unmentionables" so I was off to the Victoria's Secret Outlet (AKA heaven!). We did some shopping, and while there, we found a new friend named Willie. He was a baby gator from nearby Gatorland. We got our pictures taken with him. He was a very mellow gator, probably because he was so cold!

After shopping and lunch at the Outlets we were ready for Disney! We did our usual "hooray" as we passed under the gate and found our way to Wilderness Lodge. We went ahead and parked and grabbed our luggage and checked in (I had done the online check-in 10days prior). I LOVED the look on DH face when we walked up to the lodge. You see, as our family's "King of Christmas" he is very into the holiday, not to mention the traditions. I booked WL knowing it was the most "Christmas-ey" of the resorts, and it did not disappoint! He got a HUGE grin on his face and said "oh wow!". Points for ANGELA!!! Tee hee! Once settled into the rooms we found his smoking section and then it was off to DTD! Boy was it crowded!!! We ate dinner at Earl of Sandwich (yummy!!!) and then did some MAJOR shopping after getting our Disney Rewards Redemption card. We bought so much stuff at the Christmas store!!! And I LOVE Trend-D so I bought some shirts from there. After a long day of blowing all our vacation money, it was time to settle into our room. I had originally thought we would have time to visit the GF and Poly to see the decor, but spent so much time shopping we were pooped, and it was getting late. So we got our re-fiilable mugs loaded up with some hot chocolate, walked over to the WL beach and watched the Electrical Water Pageant. We had never seen this before, and we both thought it was really cute. DH especially enjoyed the patriotic ending. Once back in our room we put up our new mini-Christmas tree (from the Christmas store of course, because the one I brought from home wasn't "Disney enough" LOL!) and went to bed. I plugged in my iPOD and we listened to instrumental Disney love songs to lull us to sleep...
Up next...our first day at the parks!

Angela1312 · 07-23-2011, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by disneycruising

Great Start.

Can't wait to hear more.

We were in WDW in Dec 2009 & 2008, the weather was hot, cold & bitterly cold.

Apparently I didn't get the memo that it could get so darn cold in Florida!!!

Angela1312 · 07-23-2011, 01:37 AM

Day 3: MAGIC KINGDOM!!!
December 11th, 2010: I'm an early riser so I went down to Roaring Forks and got some coffee in my re-fillable mug. Then I took a shower and got DH up around 8am. He was tired and dragged his feet. Like I said, he's a night owl. I told him if he didn't hurry he'd miss his cinnamon roll from the Main Street Bakery. So up like a flash he was ready and we rode the boat to Magic Kingdom. Since our first trip we have made it a tradition that MK is our first day, and we always make that first trip by boat. The anticipation builds up and we get super excited!! We hit up the bakery for a cinnamon roll (I had breakfast in the room) and then went to the Barber Shop. DH had been putting off a haircut so he could have one at Disney, and I wasn't allowed to take any pictures of him with "civilian" hair.

So after a nice haircut it was off to our favorite ride, Haunted Mansion. On our way there, we got stuck in a pedistran traffic jam. Everywhere we looked, there were people in yellow sweatpant/sweatshirt combos, and none of them could speak English. While I don't mind this at all, I do mind when people are rude. For some reason (probably because I have rotten luck) we got stuck behind some really rude people! We managed to squeeze our way through, but DH's anxiety was getting bad (he hates crowds where he can't find an easy way out) so we had to stop for his smoke break. After HM, we went to Pirates, and then it was time for lunch. I wasn't all that hungry, so DH had a Taco Dog from the stand in Future World. We did some shopping after lunch, and found the glassblower on Main Street giving demos. We found out that for about $30 he could make us a custom Christmas ornament! So DH asked for Red and Green swirls. It now has a special place on our tree.

After more rides (finally got to see Carousel of Progress and Mickey's Philharmagic!) and some shopping for a jacket (it was starting to get colder) we went to have dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table. We had never been before, and it was a lot of fun!

After waiting for quite a while we finally were seated at our table. I got my picture with all the Princesses, and during the wishing ceremony I was given a purple wand and DH was given a plastic sword.

After that, the man at the table next to us proposed to his girlfriend! Their daughter was all dressed up as Cinderella, and shortly before that she was given her birthday cupcake. She didn't seem to understand what was going on after he proposed, because the servers brought out a special dessert and champagne for her parents. Then a photographer came and took pictures. I felt so silly because I was crying the entire time!! They were literally right in front of our table so from now on they will look at those pictures and see this crazy looking redhead crying in the background of all their pictures! Before the "groom" came to our table and apologized for all the fuss around our table, but I apologized for ruining their pictures. After dinner we were feeling giggly and romantic, so we rode HM again, and then we got a good spot in front of the Castle for Wishes. Crowds were super bad at this point, but we expected it considering it was the best fireworks display on the planet!!! After some tears and AMAZING fireworks we went shopping until the crowds thinned out and took the boat back to WL. Boy was that a bad idea!! It was getting windy and VERY COLD! The boat we caught just happened to be the one that's open to the elements. We huddled together and made it back to the room, so ready to get warm again. I changed into my new PJs and it was time for some Phineas and Pherb until we fell asleep.

Stay Tuned for Epcot and the Candlelight Processional!

**chezp** · 07-23-2011, 02:22 AM

What a great start to your trip!

**Colexis Mom** · 07-23-2011, 08:36 AM

Great updates!

lazanya · 07-23-2011, 04:04 PM

What a great time you are having so far!

**Cam22** · 07-23-2011, 10:07 PM

Great start to your TR!

taylan1 · 07-24-2011, 07:14 PM

Great start! Love it so far! I totally would have been in tears at CRT with someone proposing too! We had the exact opposite in weather during our Christmas trip, it was hot and very humid! It just goes to show that you don't know what you will get in Florida so be prepared for everything.

Looking forward to more.

Angela1312 · 07-24-2011, 10:21 PM

Thanks everyone! Glad you are enjoying my TR. I wasn't sure if anyone would actually read it.

There's more coming up!
Angela

Angela1312 · 07-24-2011, 10:38 PM

December 12th, 2010: Woke up a little later this day, and watched the weather, it was going to get rainy and COLD! Not such great news for us World Showcase junkies. But we finally managed to get to Epcot around 10am. We left our ponchos and coats in the car, because it was surprisingly warm when we went outside. We rushed to Soaring and got Fast-Passes for 5pm. As we were walking away, a gentleman asked us if we wanted his fast-passes for RIGHT NOW. He and his wife did the baby-swap so they didn't need their fast passes!

So we got into the line for Soarin. This was a first for both of us. DH was nervous b/c he hates heights AND flying, but I re-assured him it wasn't bad at all. He even said he would ride it again!

After Soarin it was time for lunch so we ate at Sunshine Seasons. This was another first for us and I was very impressed with the huge selection! The food was super tasty, we both got sandwiches. The desserts were great too!
After lunch we headed outside to go to World Showcase, and it was lightly raining, but VERY windy and cold! So we went back to the car to get our ponchos and jackets. We just missed the tram, and DH thought we could run to the car and beat the tram there anyway. The rain started to come down hard, and wee got pretty drenched. I was very grumpy! But, we headed back to WS with our ponchos and jackets on. We snagged a Photopass Photographer on our way back in:

Oh and we ran into Tinkerbell!

DH's favorite pavilion is Germany, so he grabbed at pretzel and beer, and I snapped a pic of what would be his best smile of the entire trip! (notice the pretzel bulge in his cheek!)

We (and everyone else) were trying to avoid the rain and wind by huddling in the shops. It was pretty crowded. We did manage to get a beer stein while at Germany and sent it to the park entrance. We did more shopping at the other pavillions and watched Impressions de France. On our way to the smoking area just over the bridge I ran into Mickey and Minnie! A nice lady took this pic while DH was smoking (he just couldn't wait!).

By the time we got to the UK, we were about 30 min early for our 5pm dinner ressies at the Rose and Crown. We were going to wait at the bar, but it was JAM PACKED with people! The weather was getting progressively worse, and we ducked into the shops while we waited....and waited... Finally around 6pm we found a seat at the bar to warm up. We didn't get called to our table until 6:30!!!!!!!!

I've never had to wait an hour and a half for a table in my entire life, and we were both really angry

. When we got to our table we realized what was going on. The weather was so bad that no one was leaving after they were done eating. It seemed that most of the people in the restaurant were waiting to go to the Candlelight Processional, and figured they would wait at their table until time to leave. By now a HUGE crowd was waiting outside, and more than several people complained to the manager, who explained that they cannot make guests leave. I think that's a load of bologna, but whatever. So after a hurried dinner, we rushed over to the America Gardens to get a spot for the 8:15pm Candlelight Processional. We did the dinner package so we got pretty good seats. I wish I could say that I enjoyed the performance, but I didn't.

The weather was so DREADFUL that I wanted to leave before it was over. The wind was about 20mph and the wind chills were getting worse. I had on a long sleeve shirt, a sweater, my new fleece Minnie Jacket, AND my pea coat with mittens. It was so windy I nearly cried from frustration, I was on the verge of an adult meltdown. DH was also miserable as we forgot to buy gloves for him, but he did pick up a wool cap from the Norway pavilion. After the Processional was over we left, and didn't stick around for Illuminations. This is a big deal for us because we NEVER miss fireworks at Disney, but it was so cold and we were so grumpy/miserable it was time to leave. As soon as we got into our warm room we crashed for the night, both still in very bad moods.
Will things get better? Wait to find out....

Angela1312 · 07-24-2011, 10:50 PM

December 13th 2010: We woke up relatively early and watched the weather. The forecast was for highs in mid 30s!!!!! AND it was windy again!!!

This time we knew what to pack with us and left the resort looking like Ralphie's brother from Christmas Story (you know, where he's so bundled up he can't move!

). We drove over to Hollywood Studios and got Fast-Passes for Toy Story Mania, another first for us. We got our Fast-Passes around 9:30am and the return time was for 5:30pm. So we did MuppetVision 3d (another first) and some shopping.

It was so cold we had no interest in watching the outdoor shows. We had lunch ressies at Sci-Fi Dine in. So after wandering around One Man's Dream we had our lunch. It was nice and warm in there and we had a cute car to sit in. The food wasn't fantastic but it was good. After lunch we decided that since none of the stores had their heat on, we would go back to the resort for a bit and return to ride Toy Story and watch the Spectacle of Dancing Lights. So back at the resort we took naps after drinking some hot cocoa

. Around 5 we headed back and rode Toy Story Mania. It was a lot of fun, but I personally don't think it's worth the hassle of the long lines. After Toy Story we grabbed some Cap'n Morgan Hot Cider and watched the Spectacle of Dancing Lights. This was one of the highlights of our trip! The "king of Christmas" was blown away and I was giggling and Oooh-ing and ahhh-ing. The snow was the icing on the cake, and the fact that we were both freezing made it authentic!! We ended up back at the resort before 8pm, and watched a local church group perform Christmas Carols using bells. It was very cool!

Me with my Cap'n Morgan spiced cider

Coming up, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!!

Angela1312 · 07-24-2011, 11:10 PM

December 14th 2010: The most anticipated day of our trip had arrived! I was going to Harry World!! As a self proclaimed HP geek I was tingling with excitement to see the park. And being the OCD planner that I am, I had read online that the park filled up fast and got crowded quickly. So we woke up early and saw that the weather was so cold the wind chills were in the 20s!!!!!!!! Why GOD?!?!?! We are supposed to be in Florida for goodness sake!!!! Did I mention that I DESPISE the cold weather! Not just because I'm all shiver-y, but it makes my Fibro really bad, which makes me a very grumpy person.

Chronic pain is difficult enough without feeling like all my muscles have been punched my Chuck Norris . But I kept my happy face on and we arrived just after park opening. Boy, did we not realize how long of a walk it would be!!! But we finally made our way to Hogsmeade and I was in Heaven! I got lots of photo ops, but sadly it was too crowded for me to get into Ollivander's wand shop.

I did notice that this part of the park was REALLY SMALL. So we headed to Hogwarts Castle and quickly stopped in our tracks: DO NOT RIDE IF YOU ARE SUCCEPTABLE TO MOTION SICKNESS, AFRAID OF HEIGHTS, HAVE CLAUSTROPHOBIA OR HAVE BACK/NECK ISSUES. DH said NO WAY, so I went on my own. Now, when I first got in line I noticed it wasn't very long and it was moving quickly so I was excited! But shortly after I got in line, a lady and her son came up behind me....then walked around me and got in front of me. Ahhh...am I invisible?! "Excuse me I'm waiting in line" I thought maybe she didn't speak English, but then she rolled her eyes at me and got behind me with her teenage son. Nice. Then we got to the locker room. I got in line behind someone who was almost finished getting their locker, when Miss Rude slid right in front of me AGAIN

and proceeded to try and get a locker. I have a temper people, and I refuse to put up with rudeness. So I told her "I'M NEXT IN LINE" in my not very polite voice literally in her face

(maybe she had vision problems!?). She just took a step back (still all up in my personal space!) and waited for me to get a locker. Seriously people I think I'm invisible sometimes, because this happens to me a lot.
ANYWAY with Miss Rude out of my way I proceeded through the castle with very little line and snapped pictures along the way. But then I realized that the 30 or so people in front of me were all families, and that this ride had Single Rider! So I ran backwards through the line (move it Miss Rude!) and was directed to the single rider, where I was promptly loaded on the next vehicle with a family of 3. The ride was so amazing! The effects did start to make me a little nauseous but then the ride broke down, and we were laying on our backs!!!! I was in my winter layers, and as the minutes ticked by I started to get a little panicked/claustrophobic. How long would I be hanging like this?! What if I throw up?! It'll land in my face!!! Why is it so hot?!?! So I was able to wiggle out of my peacoat and pull up my sleeves----ahhhhh...relief. No more panic and the ride resumed about 5 minutes later, but they forgot to turn off the emergency lights. Luckily it broke down for me towards the end so I didn't miss too much.

DH was waiting for me in the SUPER CROWDED gift shop so we skipped shopping there (big mistake) and went to the 3 Broomsticks. We didn't feel up to having lunch there because it was super crowded so we just went to the bar. DH had the Hogshead brew and I had a butterbeer. Both were EXCELLENT!

After that we went and had lunch at Mythos (it was only 11am) and that was also tasty. We only had a 1 day park pass so we couldn't go to Universal Studios, so we explored the rest of IOA. Because of the windy cold weather many of the roller coasters were CLOSED! So we didn't get to do the Dragon Challenge or the Flight of the Hippogrif. If fact, we didn't get to do much at all while there, but we did get this picture taken:

We ended up leaving around 2:30pm after getting some souvenirs at the park entrance. That's when we found out only certain items are available in the Castle, nowhere else. Bummer! But we managed to get some candy from Honeyduke's earlier and the rest was for DH who just wanted a Ravenclaw scarf (because his favorite color is blue). So he couldn't get one with the crest on it, but he was happy and we headed back to the resort. We were in the cold most of the day, since IOA didn't have ANY heat in their shops or rides, so we got tired pretty quickly. Since it was too cold to do much at the resort, we purchased the Haunted Mansion Game of Life and played that in our room until bedtime.

Coming up: Animal Kingdom and Dinner at Chefs de France....