~A XMAS STORY~decorations, crowds, pixies..AND A BLOODY NOSE~ACTUAL UPDATE 11/9 p190

[punkin413]

well, we're back from our first-ever christmas trip to disney world!

as you can tell from the title, we had ups, we had downs. we had rain, we had cold weather and we even had snow!!! we met some fun characters, saw some great shows and we had some yummy food. but most of all....WE HAD FUN!!!! oh, and that little thing about the bloody nose.....you're just gonna have to wait on that one to get the scoop!

so get comfortable and get into the christmas spirit and come along with us on this crazy trip of ours! i look forward to sharing it with you all.

INDEX

~intro - you're reading it!
~travel day

day 1 - BW / BC / EPCOT
~rain, rain, GO AWAY! (boardwalk/beach club)
~lunch with everyone and their mother (arrival at epcot)
~to soar or not to soar? (epcot FW)
~dinner with yoko......saaaaaaaaaaaank you! (teppan edo)
~around (half) the world in an hour-and-a-half (world showcase)
~pretty lights and.....gangsters in germany???? (epcot Xmas decorations & more world showcase)
~an illuminating evening! (illuminations)

day 2 - DHS
~freezing at DHS....with the masses (arrival at DHS)
~is this a CRAZY elevator??? (characters & ToT)
~lunch at the drive-in (sci-fi dine-in theater)
~ain't no party like a disney block party 'cause a disney block party don't stop! (block party bash)
~fast cars and mean old men (lights! motors! action!)
~why did that cat play with my hair? and ray and anna's duet! (bolt/fantasmic)
~are they gonna start moving now??? (TSM, osborne lights and we close the park)

day 3 - MK / GF / POLY
~high fives for uncle scrooge (arrival at MK, luke meeting uncle scrooge)
~faith trust and PIXIE DUST! (meeting the fairies)
~you really ARE a scrooge, huh? (alice & the mad hatter, uncle scrooge take 2 and morning at MK
~a big dose of christmas-y fun! (mickey's twas the night before christmas)
~MK crowds and a dole whip float (afternoon stroll through MK)
~my awesome view of mickey's philharmagic - score! (philharmagic, space mountain, TTA & casey's)
~excuse me, ma'am, are you alive??? (buzz, train ride & HM)
~a giant gingerbread house and a DIS celebrity sighting! (GF decorations & arrival at poly for dinner)
~pineapple envy and wishes from afar (dinner at kona cafe, first glimpse of castle lights and wishes from outside MK)

day 4 - AK / WL / MVMCP
~to be dissed by goofy is like a slap in the face (arrival at AK, character breakfast at tusker house)
~monkeys and meerkats and gorillas....OH MY! (pangani forest exploration trail)
~a monkey for a yeti (more devine and EE)
~we found nemo! and safari time with giraffes, elephants and....a teddy bear? (finding nemo show & safari)
~a jammin' parade and the christmas decorations i SHOULD have seen (jingle jungle parade and WL)
~the castle comes ALIVE!!! (MVMCP and castle lighting)
~that's some wicked dancing! (dinner at cosmic ray's, the queen of hearts and a dance party with cinderella's stepsisters)
~dancing chipmunks, meeting piglet and SHOPPING! (dance party with chip & dale, belle & the beast and shopping on main street)
~the dreaded BLOODY NOSE!!!!! (luke's accident and ornament shopping)
~holiday wishes in the sky (MVMCP fireworks)
~celebrating the season with mickey and the gang! (celebrate the season show)
~once upon a christmastime in the VIP section (mickey's once upon a christmastime parade)
~now it's time to say goodbye... (leaving disney world)

LINK TO MY PRE-TR FOR DECEMBER 2010: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2327634


non-TR stuff
~my christmas mini TR!
~2008 in pictures
~really neat disneyland documentary from 1956
~exciting news....NYC here i come!
~weekend in the ATL
~ultrasound pics of my niece!
~a night with the killers
~our girls' skating adventure
~we got snow!!!
~snow, part 2
~luke's new haircut & cabin pics for our romantic getaway!
~margot rain.....born april 14, 2009. she's beautiful!
~our anniversary trip to the mountains.....with goats!
~IT'S SPRING!!!!!
~new pictures of miss margot!
~if you'd like to read about my adventures in new york city, click here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2189155
~new car!!!
~R.I.P. LUCY
~HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKE!!!
~INVASION OF THE BABIES!!!!! (father's day weekend in nashville)
~summer pics & Happy 4th of July!
~pics of miss margot laughing
~various pics and a trip to AMERICAN GIRL
~incubus & tonga toast!
~trip to TN to visit cows, toddlers, memom and margot!
~having fun in the middle of a mountain and SEE 7 STATES
~Disney's A Christmas Carol Train Tour
~savannah & tybee island mini-trip - day 1, part 1
~savannah & tybee island mini-trip - day 1, part 2
~savannah & tybee island mini-trip - day 2, part 1
~a detour from the detour - some friends head to disney world!
~savannah & tybee island mini-trip - day 2, part 2
~savannah & tybee island mini-trip - day 3
~disney on ice: celebrations!
~HAPPY HALLOWEEN! and fall foliage pics, too
~more disney fun with people you don't know! (including breakfast at CRT)



a quick intro to our cast.....

there's me. i'm dawn. i'm the planner, guide, timekeeper, disney dork extraordinaire. you probably already know me if you're reading this.

then there's ray. that's hubby to me. you probably already know ray if you know me. if not, he's a wonderful husband who caters to my disney obsession without too much complaining, although i've promised him we're taking a disney break in 2009 (that happens when you go 5 times in 2 years!).

this trip we had some company in the form of one of my bestest friends, anna.....

her husband, chris......

and their 4yo DS, luke......

if you read my pre-TR, you already know all this. if you haven't, then go here to get more of the lowdown on our gang: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1981033

 

[punkin413]

AND WE'RE OFF!!!!!!

well, the day had finally come: december 10th - the day we leave for disney world!!!! as you can see, luke was very excited about his countdown being finished!

we left after we all got off work (minus anna who had taken the entire day off to get ready). i think we left our houses around 4:15. we took separate cars but generally stayed together the whole way down except for straying here or there to get gas, etc. the rain from atlanta through valdosta was HORRIBLE!!!! it took us way longer than normal because of the weather. and the semi trucks were scaring me to death! when the weather finally cleared up and we had been driving in clear skies for about 20 minutes, i looked at ray and said, "how relaxing it is to drive without having a death grip on the steering wheel!"

we saw this at exactly 9:29 p.m.!!!

we stopped for gas about 45 minutes later and luke was out.......

it was smooth sailing through florida, although my directions this time were very odd - taking us on some highway and it wasn't 429 like we usually take. anyway, we arrived at our condo around 12:30. it was BEAUTIFUL! i'm so glad we got a decent place to stay at. this was the first time we'd staying off property (to save money) and i have to say it was really nice for the money ($109/night).

the living room....

dining area......

kitchen.....

luke's room....

he was very excited about sleeping the top bunk bed!

chris and anna's room....

our room....

oh, and we had a christmas tree!!!!

the only complaint i had was that the cable didn't work but who cares when you're in disney world? nobody really has time to watch TV anyway! we got local stations and some random other stuff. ray was missing his ESPN!

we unpacked and i was ready to hit the hay by around 1:30. this is the last thing i saw before i went to bed....

anna said they stayed up really late playing on the internet. BOYS!

up next.....our first park....EPCOT!!!!

 

[IluvXU]

I cannot believe I am first... just a lucky moment to DIS!
Cannot wait to see what this trip entails. I am sad you are taking an 09 break... I need to live through your trips Dawn, but starting a family is the best reason. BTW... did you get any Jim Shore collectables... I want the ornament set for Christmas, but I think I am not getting that, but getting another piece!

 

[MeMom]

That looks like a very nice place! Looks like Luke could have had lots of buddies over to spend the night with him with all those beds.

I'm interested to hear what you thought of staying off-site overall - the pros and cons. I'm thinking if we ever do a full two weeks sometime, we will try one of the house rentals, because moneywise it makes sense. It would be cheaper than staying on property, and we'd have plenty of time to do the driving back and forth that we'd need to do. It's just a thought, of course - both the staying off property and the staying two whole weeks.

Trent would have been dying away without ESPN.

You should be completely immersed in the Christmas spirit now, huh? Jill will be here tomorrow night, so we'll be doing our Christmas stuff this weekend. Then it's pretty much two weeks of just chilling out and being happy to not be at school!

 

[MeMom]

I cannot believe I am first... just a lucky moment to DIS!
Cannot wait to see what this trip entails. I am sad you are taking an 09 break... I need to live through your trips Dawn, but starting a family is the best reason. BTW... did you get any Jim Shore collectables... I want the ornament set for Christmas, but I think I am not getting that, but getting another piece!

You may be first, but there's a chance I'm going to be second and third!

You do get a prize. It's a year's worth of Mickey heads in assorted colors. You know Dawn and her countdown calendars. Since she's taking a break, you should have the honor of taking them in her place.

I looked at the Jim Shore stuff over and over, but I never did figure out what piece I wanted to start with. I ended up leaving with NONE of them.

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

I'm here, I made first page! I beat Vandyfan...

 

[troobabiee7]

Yay, I'm so glad you started! I've been studying all day for my music final tomorrow so it was a nice little distraction. Were you on I95 driving down? It gets crazy on I95 whenever it rains on our drive down to Orlando - the trucks FLY by and send water shooting everywhere, and then they weave in and out of the different lanes. It's SCARY! I'm glad you guys made it down despite the rain, and the house looks really pretty! I love how they had a Christmas tree set up. I've never been down to Orlando in December; we always go in the summer so Disney always means the summer and heat to me, but having that tree there would definitely help gets things in the Christmas spirit. I'm interested to see how you liked staying offsite. We rent a house/condo every year and LOVE having the extra bedrooms and bathrooms, full kitchen, washer/dryer, and just general extra space. Can't wait for more!

 

[Spartangirl]

Yay! You started!!! The condo looks amazing.......that's cool that you had a Christmas tree too! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Your place looks great, very decorative and tropical. I love all the details. I like it alot.

You got a tree!

Luke looked so happy. Hope he was able to get back to sleep after his nap in the car.

Silly boys there are other things in life than ESPN... I'm sure they could say the same about us and Disney.

I hope it isn't Luke who gets the nosebleed, I know I have to wait and see.

 

[Hedy]

 

[eemmie1]

I am also interested on your opinion of off site verses on site. I have only stayed on site and I must say that after looking at the condo you had might reconsider. You can really save a bundle especially when you go with another couple.

 

[LMO429]

Hi Dawn! You must go back to Disney in 2009 I love your trip reports!

 

[hlrababy]

Hey Dawn!!!!!

I'mmmmmm heeerrrrreeeeeee!!!

I am so ready to hear all about it!!

 

[Sarilas]

How cool that they decorated for Christmas for you!

 

[jwwi]

The condo looks so nice, and very well decorated for the holidays. What an amazing price too. Can't wait to hear all about your trip.

BTW love the mickey head print

 

[tinkgurl]

Yay! You've started!

Love the intro pics of everyone (even though I already know who everyone is )

The place looks nice and so cute that you had a x-mas tree!

Started my TR! How do you put the title in your sig so then when people click on it, it brings them to your TR?

 

[starlight_003]

I am glad you started!!! Just love your trp's. The condo looks very nice. Can't wait to hear more about your trip.

 

[shannon47142]

the condo pictures looked great! I'm looking forward to another awesome report

 

[Ally192]

I'm so glad to see you've started your TR!!
Looking forward to reading more!

 

[kschafer]

I'm here

Glad they had the christmas tree up you were hoping for. Can't wait for more