PART FIVE!! *December 2012 Roll Call* Holidays, FLE & MVMCP!! A very, merry thread!

[SAT887]

Originally Posted by cybrkitn

I have 80+ pages to catch up on ! Did the WiFi work for you at your resort? It worked early in the am for us over at CBR but that was it. We couldn't get it most of the time so I only have 3 posts on here during our vacation.

I was just too busy wifi worked well for us at OKW - however I only used my phone which will revert to the cell if the wifi was slow.

[geckodani]

Originally Posted by molitva

The weather looks promising! We'll be in ak on Sunday too! Can't wait!


Soooo I packed this afternoon! It all fit in my suitcase so I'm pretty proud. Some jeans, some shorts/capris, long sleeved shirts and short sleeved for each day. Also a sweatshirt, a light fleece, light jacket, and rain coat. Unless the weather forecast really takes a turn, I'm going to leave my "winter" jacket at home.

Apartment is cleaned, Christmas cards ready to be mailed, and gifts all bought. I'm feeling pretty good about things!

Yay! I'm packed, loading some last minute music onto my ipod and ready to go in the morning!!!

[cybrkitn]

Ok, so here is a short summary/highlights of our vacation.

Arrived at CBR on 11/29 then headed down to DTD for a bit and then dinner at T-Rex. We were in Trinidad South bldg 34, room 60 and my mom and brother had Jamaica at bldg 42 room 15. Which was perfect for my brother who smokes. The DSA was pretty much right outside their room. All of us loved the resort! DS got to enjoy the pool on our down time days and had fun with the Jammin Pool Party and answering Disney trivia questions. We even watched Lady and the Tramp outside by the pool. DS went back into the pool after the movie was over for the last time as we were leaving to come home the next day.

Epcot - First day in the parks and first of 2 days at Epcot. TT wasn't open yet. Soarin had a 55 to 65 minute wait time all day, so we waited until EMH when it was down to about 25 minutes. While waiting on line the person behind me read my LGMH with my user ID out loud. Turns out she's another DISer . Unfortunately, I don't remember her name (I do know that she's not on this thread). Got the from my brother after we rode it. Even my mom liked it. Lunch was at R&C, which was excellent!

Second day both DS and I had our faces painted. DS picked the Asian Tiger and I picked Christmas Tink. I'll see if I can post that picture later. While DS was getting his face painted, my mom got the phone call she was waiting for. My cousin's wife went into labor! Unfortunately, she had to have a c-section done b/c the baby was too big and the mom-to-be has a small body frame. But she did delivery a healthy 8 lb 1 oz baby girl the next day! It just took the new mom and dad about 4 days to finally pick out a name!

ETA: OMG, I can't believe I forgot to add this! TT wasn't scheduled to open officially until the 6th. But when we were there on the 5th it was open! The CM said it opened that Monday. DH found it open when he used the Disney app on his smart phone when the park first opened. We made a "B" line for it and rode it. As soon as we got out, the line was very long so we opted to get FP's for later. I'm glad we did, but even the FP line had a bit of a wait when our window opened. It was then closed for about and hour or two before re-opening again in the evening.

We had dinner at Tutta Italia. The fettucini was excellent as was the mocha tiramisu.

AK - My family talked both my mom and brother to ride EE with us. DS was talking about it like he's been on it before . He hadn't. Last time we were at Disney he was 4 and too short to ride the attractions like this. After we got off, my mom said never again. She couldn't take the main drop. However, DS and my Dbrother went on it 2 more times. They loved it! After the first ride, we decided to just get one downloadable picture. But after talking to the CM, I did what DH would have done and opted to get the PhotoPass Attractions card. DH was totally shocked that I had done that. He said to me, "You?! That's something I would have done!"

DHS - We had a great time! Highlight of the day was when my brother was picked to be one of the extras in the Indiana Jones Stunt show at the 6:45 show. If anyone was there that night, he was the one wearing the blue plaid shirt and was wearing the striped robe. I was on line for Phineas and Ferb at the time since they were only there until 7 pm.

Worst part of the day was the new The Legend of Jack Sparrow. There was a soft opening so we got on line for it. All I can say is that all of us were very disappointed. Once you get inside, you are standing for 8 minutes with very little interaction. You do two things to help the talking skull and that's it. The rest of the time, you stand there listening to the skull and Jack and watch what is going on on the scenery. If you are over to the left, you can't see the main storyline play out b/c it's blocked. We all thought this was an intro to something bigger and that we would go to another room. But that wasn't the case. When it was over, DS looked at us and said, "That's it :?" Basically, it's not worth it and is right up there with Stitch's Great Escape. DH saw a CM from the research department later on in the evening and told him how disappointing it was.

Dinner was at 50 PTC which was great. Our waitress wasn't as interactive as the other one for our section. But she was still good and we had a great dinner. As far as the Osborne lights go, we finally caught that during EMH.

Oh, and we finally upgraded to PhotoPass+. We liked the fact that we get all the pictures and the rights to them. Originally we weren't going to go with PhotoPass at all b/c the quality of the pictures in 2006 were very washed out. But Disney has come a long way and the quality is so much better than it was.

MK - Day 1 of 2. We hit the section of Fantasy Land with Ariel's Grotto first. I know a lot of people love the new section, but I wasn't that impressed with it. It was kind of "eh" for me. The rest of my family like it though.

DS finally got to drive a car at the Tomorrow Land Speedway. This has been something he's been looking forward to this since he was 4. He also loved Space Mountain. The rides like Winnie the Pooh were kept for EMH when the lines were much shorter. Dinner was at LTT, where DS was so tired that he fell asleep at the table after eating . The food was really good.

The highlight was during the 3 pm parade (which we got an excellent spot over in Frontier Land). DS was using his Bloggie (aka video camera) and Captain Hook comes right up into his face while he's recording. He wasn't expecting that and backed up a bit. We all started .

The second day was the grand opening of Fantasy Land. We missed the show with Ginnifer Goodwin b/c we were at the Steam Trains tour at the time. However, being inside before the guests was an excellent opportunity to get some great pictures without a sea of people in them. We did get to see the opening and everyone running . DS and DH both got it on video. Once the tour was over, we did the attractions and areas that we didn't have time to do the first day as well as get pictures & autographs from Goofy and Donald Duck. We left MK early to head for our ADR over at the Captain's Grille at YC.

While taking the bus from YC to DTD for transfer back to CBR, I got to meet another DISer from this thread - Christine (aka Mom2rtk). It was really nice talking to you Christine!

After all of the walking we did, my body was hurting so I made an appointment for the Spa over at the YC for Dec 7. All I can say is . The soreness in my body was gone after that!

Later that day, my mom and I headed over to the GF for afternoon tea. We really enjoyed some mother/daughter time. I even took a picture of the swan dessert we got.

The one surprise was from DS. He's now into pin trading! At the beginning of our trip it started out as just collecting the limited edition pins that he received. By the end of our trip he was bit by the pin trading bug and started to trade with the CMs.

Overall, we had a great time. I wasn't ready to come back home to the cold weather yet and would have loved to stay in paradise just for a few more days. But we couldn't.

Ok, so maybe using the word "short" in my opening was not a good idea :

[cybrkitn]

Originally Posted by SAT887

I was just too busy wifi worked well for us at OKW - however I only used my phone which will revert to the cell if the wifi was slow.

I found that to be true for us as well; being too busy and getting back to the room very late. DH has his HotSpot for his phone, but I don't believe he used it.

[cybrkitn]

Originally Posted by Valgoof

I dont remember anything too major that you missed. People counted down to their trips. Other people packed and left on their trips. And other people were on their trips and checked in occasionally.

Oh, lcaemom is pretty sure she is getting engaged in Disney. The ring came Fedex on Friday. And her daughters were in a car accident. They are fine, but the car is bad.

Oh no. I'm glad they are ok.

I was happy to hear from Mom2trk while talking with her on the Disney bus that your plans are back on schedule

[SAT887]

Originally Posted by cybrkitn

Ok, so here is a short summary/highlights of our vacation.

Arrived at CBR on 11/29 then headed down to DTD for a bit and then dinner at T-Rex. We were in Trinidad South bldg 34, room 60 and my mom and brother had Jamaica at bldg 42 room 15. Which was perfect for my brother who smokes. The DSA was pretty much right outside their room. All of us loved the resort! DS got to enjoy the pool on our down time days and had fun with the Jammin Pool Party and answering Disney trivia questions. We even watched Lady and the Tramp outside by the pool. DS went back into the pool after the movie was over for the last time as we were leaving to come home the next day.

Epcot - First day in the parks and first of 2 days at Epcot. TT wasn't open yet. Soarin had a 55 to 65 minute wait time all day, so we waited until EMH when it was down to about 25 minutes. While waiting on line the person behind me read my LGMH with my user ID out loud. Turns out she's another DISer . Unfortunately, I don't remember her name (I do know that she's not on this thread). Got the from my brother after we rode it. Even my mom liked it. Lunch was at R&C, which was excellent!

Second day both DS and I had our faces painted. DS picked the Asian Tiger and I picked Christmas Tink. I'll see if I can post that picture later. While DS was getting his face painted, my mom got the phone call she was waiting for. My cousin's wife went into labor! Unfortunately, she had to have a c-section done b/c the baby was too big and the mom-to-be has a small body frame. But she did delivery a healthy 8 lb 1 oz baby girl the next day! It just took the new mom and dad about 4 days to finally pick out a name!

ETA: OMG, I can't believe I forgot to add this! TT wasn't scheduled to open officially until the 6th. But when we were there on the 5th it was open! The CM said it opened that Monday. DH found it open when he used the Disney app on his smart phone when the park first opened. We made a "B" line for it and rode it. As soon as we got out, the line was very long so we opted to get FP's for later. I'm glad we did, but even the FP line had a bit of a wait when our window opened. It was then closed for about and hour or two before re-opening again in the evening.

We had dinner at Tutta Italia. The fettucini was excellent as was the mocha tiramisu.

AK - My family talked both my mom and brother to ride EE with us. DS was talking about it like he's been on it before . He hadn't. Last time we were at Disney he was 4 and too short to ride the attractions like this. After we got off, my mom said never again. She couldn't take the main drop. However, DS and my Dbrother went on it 2 more times. They loved it! After the first ride, we decided to just get one downloadable picture. But after talking to the CM, I did what DH would have done and opted to get the PhotoPass Attractions card. DH was totally shocked that I had done that. He said to me, "You?! That's something I would have done!"

DHS - We had a great time! Highlight of the day was when my brother was picked to be one of the extras in the Indiana Jones Stunt show at the 6:45 show. If anyone was there that night, he was the one wearing the blue plaid shirt and was wearing the striped robe. I was on line for Phineas and Ferb at the time since they were only there until 7 pm.

Worst part of the day was the new The Legend of Jack Sparrow. There was a soft opening so we got on line for it. All I can say is that all of us were very disappointed. Once you get inside, you are standing for 8 minutes with very little interaction. You do two things to help the talking skull and that's it. The rest of the time, you stand there listening to the skull and Jack and watch what is going on on the scenery. If you are over to the left, you can't see the main storyline play out b/c it's blocked. We all thought this was an intro to something bigger and that we would go to another room. But that wasn't the case. When it was over, DS looked at us and said, "That's it :?" Basically, it's not worth it and is right up there with Stitch's Great Escape. DH saw a CM from the research department later on in the evening and told him how disappointing it was.

Dinner was at 50 PTC which was great. Our waitress wasn't as interactive as the other one for our section. But she was still good and we had a great dinner. As far as the Osborne lights go, we finally caught that during EMH.

Oh, and we finally upgraded to PhotoPass+. We liked the fact that we get all the pictures and the rights to them. Originally we weren't going to go with PhotoPass at all b/c the quality of the pictures in 2006 were very washed out. But Disney has come a long way and the quality is so much better than it was.

MK - Day 1 of 2. We hit the section of Fantasy Land with Ariel's Grotto first. I know a lot of people love the new section, but I wasn't that impressed with it. It was kind of "eh" for me. The rest of my family like it though.

DS finally got to drive a car at the Tomorrow Land Speedway. This has been something he's been looking forward to this since he was 4. He also loved Space Mountain. The rides like Winnie the Pooh were kept for EMH when the lines were much shorter. Dinner was at LTT, where DS was so tired that he fell asleep at the table after eating . The food was really good.

The highlight was during the 3 pm parade (which we got an excellent spot over in Frontier Land). DS was using his Bloggie (aka video camera) and Captain Hook comes right up into his face while he's recording. He wasn't expecting that and backed up a bit. We all started .

The second day was the grand opening of Fantasy Land. We missed the show with Ginnifer Goodwin b/c we were at the Steam Trains tour at the time. However, being inside before the guests was an excellent opportunity to get some great pictures without a sea of people in them. We did get to see the opening and everyone running . DS and DH both got it on video. Once the tour was over, we did the attractions and areas that we didn't have time to do the first day as well as get pictures & autographs from Goofy and Donald Duck. We left MK early to head for our ADR over at the Captain's Grille at YC.

While taking the bus from YC to DTD for transfer back to CBR, I got to meet another DISer from this thread - Christine (aka Mom2rtk). It was really nice talking to you Christine!

After all of the walking we did, my body was hurting so I made an appointment for the Spa over at the YC for Dec 7. All I can say is . The soreness in my body was gone after that!

Later that day, my mom and I headed over to the GF for afternoon tea. We really enjoyed some mother/daughter time. I even took a picture of the swan dessert we got.

The one surprise was from DS. He's now into pin trading! At the beginning of our trip it started out as just collecting the limited edition pins that he received. By the end of our trip he was bit by the pin trading bug and started to trade with the CMs.

Overall, we had a great time. I wasn't ready to come back home to the cold weather yet and would have loved to stay in paradise just for a few more days. But we couldn't.

Ok, so maybe using the word "short" in my opening was not a good idea :

Sounds like it was a great trip. I can't believe how fast it went!

[molitva]

Originally Posted by geckodani

Yay! I'm packed, loading some last minute music onto my ipod and ready to go in the morning!!!

Making a play list is on tomorrows to do list! A 7 hour drive calls for a varied selection lol

[TwoCortWort]

We are basically two days away from leaving and are still debating where to eat for dinner our 2nd night off. -.- It's like what happened to trying something new this trip? :sigh: Plus I have to figure out how to practice for a play since I will be missing a week of rehearsals. Blah!!!

[geckodani]

Originally Posted by molitva

Making a play list is on tomorrows to do list! A 7 hour drive calls for a varied selection lol

For sure!

[mrstomrice]

We have a split stay Christmas week. We chose to have the dining plan but had to divide it amongst the 2 hotel stays. I assume that we will get the refillable cups with each dining plan? Thanks!

[tmbowers]

Originally Posted by jeremeyp

Can't wait to leave! Just four more days of work for me. We are driving from South Carolina on Saturday. Sunday at AK, Monday at Epcot, Tuesday at DHS, Wednesday at MK, Thursday at MK, and I'm unsure about Friday. Heading out before the major crowds get there.

Our first trip since Dec 2010. My son has Down syndrome and is non-verbal, but he has learned to say Disney (he says Dee-dee). He's really excited about going, and has reached 40 inches so he'll be able to ride most rides. In 2010, I think it was a little bit of overload for him. I hope the weather beats 2010!

Have a great trip. Hope your son enjoys it.

Originally Posted by cybrkitn

Ok, so here is a short summary/highlights of our vacation.

Arrived at CBR on 11/29 then headed down to DTD for a bit and then dinner at T-Rex. We were in Trinidad South bldg 34, room 60 and my mom and brother had Jamaica at bldg 42 room 15. Which was perfect for my brother who smokes. The DSA was pretty much right outside their room. All of us loved the resort! DS got to enjoy the pool on our down time days and had fun with the Jammin Pool Party and answering Disney trivia questions. We even watched Lady and the Tramp outside by the pool. DS went back into the pool after the movie was over for the last time as we were leaving to come home the next day.

Epcot - First day in the parks and first of 2 days at Epcot. TT wasn't open yet. Soarin had a 55 to 65 minute wait time all day, so we waited until EMH when it was down to about 25 minutes. While waiting on line the person behind me read my LGMH with my user ID out loud. Turns out she's another DISer . Unfortunately, I don't remember her name (I do know that she's not on this thread). Got the from my brother after we rode it. Even my mom liked it. Lunch was at R&C, which was excellent!

Second day both DS and I had our faces painted. DS picked the Asian Tiger and I picked Christmas Tink. I'll see if I can post that picture later. While DS was getting his face painted, my mom got the phone call she was waiting for. My cousin's wife went into labor! Unfortunately, she had to have a c-section done b/c the baby was too big and the mom-to-be has a small body frame. But she did delivery a healthy 8 lb 1 oz baby girl the next day! It just took the new mom and dad about 4 days to finally pick out a name!

ETA: OMG, I can't believe I forgot to add this! TT wasn't scheduled to open officially until the 6th. But when we were there on the 5th it was open! The CM said it opened that Monday. DH found it open when he used the Disney app on his smart phone when the park first opened. We made a "B" line for it and rode it. As soon as we got out, the line was very long so we opted to get FP's for later. I'm glad we did, but even the FP line had a bit of a wait when our window opened. It was then closed for about and hour or two before re-opening again in the evening.

We had dinner at Tutta Italia. The fettucini was excellent as was the mocha tiramisu.

AK - My family talked both my mom and brother to ride EE with us. DS was talking about it like he's been on it before . He hadn't. Last time we were at Disney he was 4 and too short to ride the attractions like this. After we got off, my mom said never again. She couldn't take the main drop. However, DS and my Dbrother went on it 2 more times. They loved it! After the first ride, we decided to just get one downloadable picture. But after talking to the CM, I did what DH would have done and opted to get the PhotoPass Attractions card. DH was totally shocked that I had done that. He said to me, "You?! That's something I would have done!"

DHS - We had a great time! Highlight of the day was when my brother was picked to be one of the extras in the Indiana Jones Stunt show at the 6:45 show. If anyone was there that night, he was the one wearing the blue plaid shirt and was wearing the striped robe. I was on line for Phineas and Ferb at the time since they were only there until 7 pm.

Worst part of the day was the new The Legend of Jack Sparrow. There was a soft opening so we got on line for it. All I can say is that all of us were very disappointed. Once you get inside, you are standing for 8 minutes with very little interaction. You do two things to help the talking skull and that's it. The rest of the time, you stand there listening to the skull and Jack and watch what is going on on the scenery. If you are over to the left, you can't see the main storyline play out b/c it's blocked. We all thought this was an intro to something bigger and that we would go to another room. But that wasn't the case. When it was over, DS looked at us and said, "That's it :?" Basically, it's not worth it and is right up there with Stitch's Great Escape. DH saw a CM from the research department later on in the evening and told him how disappointing it was.

Dinner was at 50 PTC which was great. Our waitress wasn't as interactive as the other one for our section. But she was still good and we had a great dinner. As far as the Osborne lights go, we finally caught that during EMH.

Oh, and we finally upgraded to PhotoPass+. We liked the fact that we get all the pictures and the rights to them. Originally we weren't going to go with PhotoPass at all b/c the quality of the pictures in 2006 were very washed out. But Disney has come a long way and the quality is so much better than it was.

MK - Day 1 of 2. We hit the section of Fantasy Land with Ariel's Grotto first. I know a lot of people love the new section, but I wasn't that impressed with it. It was kind of "eh" for me. The rest of my family like it though.

DS finally got to drive a car at the Tomorrow Land Speedway. This has been something he's been looking forward to this since he was 4. He also loved Space Mountain. The rides like Winnie the Pooh were kept for EMH when the lines were much shorter. Dinner was at LTT, where DS was so tired that he fell asleep at the table after eating . The food was really good.

The highlight was during the 3 pm parade (which we got an excellent spot over in Frontier Land). DS was using his Bloggie (aka video camera) and Captain Hook comes right up into his face while he's recording. He wasn't expecting that and backed up a bit. We all started .

The second day was the grand opening of Fantasy Land. We missed the show with Ginnifer Goodwin b/c we were at the Steam Trains tour at the time. However, being inside before the guests was an excellent opportunity to get some great pictures without a sea of people in them. We did get to see the opening and everyone running . DS and DH both got it on video. Once the tour was over, we did the attractions and areas that we didn't have time to do the first day as well as get pictures & autographs from Goofy and Donald Duck. We left MK early to head for our ADR over at the Captain's Grille at YC.

While taking the bus from YC to DTD for transfer back to CBR, I got to meet another DISer from this thread - Christine (aka Mom2rtk). It was really nice talking to you Christine!

After all of the walking we did, my body was hurting so I made an appointment for the Spa over at the YC for Dec 7. All I can say is . The soreness in my body was gone after that!

Later that day, my mom and I headed over to the GF for afternoon tea. We really enjoyed some mother/daughter time. I even took a picture of the swan dessert we got.

The one surprise was from DS. He's now into pin trading! At the beginning of our trip it started out as just collecting the limited edition pins that he received. By the end of our trip he was bit by the pin trading bug and started to trade with the CMs.

Overall, we had a great time. I wasn't ready to come back home to the cold weather yet and would have loved to stay in paradise just for a few more days. But we couldn't.

Ok, so maybe using the word "short" in my opening was not a good idea :

Sounds like a fabulous trip! Glad it was fun.

I really need to be wrapping but instead I'm on the DIS while watching last week's episode of Revenge. Maybe a wrapping paper fairy will stop by during the night and take care of it for me!

[levenhopper]

If you like Bruno Mars and/or the Little Mermaid, you'll enjoy this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29Hgr...layer_embedded

[Canadian Disney Mom]

Originally Posted by levenhopper

If you like Bruno Mars and/or the Little Mermaid, you'll enjoy this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29Hgr...layer_embedded

Love it!!!

[phins_jazy]

Been crazy busy the past few days trying to get the stinking matching shirts done. They are making me pull my hair out! Had to stop tonight after I ruined a shirt. But as dh says one shirt out of 48 isn't too bad. hope to get them all finished up this week so I have the weekend to pack, clean and bake cookies! Just not enough hours in the day.

[molitva]

Good morning and happy Monday!

Only 3 more sleeps till departure!