lmillercrew
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2007
I can't believe how many people were NOT there. Although I've heard that if you go the first two weeks of Dec, crowd levels are smaller.
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There's no place like "home" for the holidays...*updated 3/18 p. 43 and 44*
- Thread starter wdwgirl03
- Start date
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
OMG me too! I told Sidney I would not stay that week for nothing! It could be free and I'd still leave. I HATE crowds like that!
tinkerbell87512
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2005
Yay I'm all up to date! So glad you got to meet Tink. I need to do this in May when I go again.
Love all your pics from the MK. I was suprised by the crowds in November but December looks perfect! Not many people at all! Wow!
Looking forward to more. Keep warm in WI!
Love all your pics from the MK. I was suprised by the crowds in November but December looks perfect! Not many people at all! Wow!
Looking forward to more. Keep warm in WI!
wdwgirl03
<font color=red>I'm just a big Disney Freak! :-)<b
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2004
You were so lucky with the crowds! I don't know what happened the week before you got there, but I promise you it was worse than in the thick of summerI love all your MK-Christmas decoration pictures, they really go above and beyond. And you gotta love those Jungle Cruise jokes!
Yeah, the crowds were great! That is so strange it was so busy when you were there. The Jungle Cruise jokes are awesome even if they are super cheesy.
I know, we couldn't get over how empty it was. It was amazing that you could actually see pavement on Main Street. haha And thanks for the compliment of the pictures.
I can't imagine crowds being even smaller!
It's really funny...because we've taken so many trips during spring break or winter break, the crowds usually don't bother us. But since our trip in May and this one seemed so uncrowded we were spoiled. Now I don't know if I could deal with crowds again!
Yeah, you have to go meet Tink! You'll love it.
Glad you liked the pictures. And the light crowds made the trip even better.
School was cancelled again today (the temperature right now is -12 degrees with a wind chill of -30 degrees!
) so I'll probably be doing another update later.
Jennifer48
Not a Disney bride but engaged and honeymooned at
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2005
Wow I can't believe the crowd level. It looks less busy than it was when I went the first week of December! and they said that was the slow time. Go figure!
Gotta love the Jungle Cruise jokes, no matter how corny they are
Gotta love the Jungle Cruise jokes, no matter how corny they are
wdwgirl03
<font color=red>I'm just a big Disney Freak! :-)<b
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2004
Wow I can't believe the crowd level. It looks less busy than it was when I went the first week of December! and they said that was the slow time. Go figure!
Gotta love the Jungle Cruise jokes, no matter how corny they are
I know, it was very nice to not have to deal with tons of people. I had heard it was busy the week before so I was expecting it to be more crowded than it was. Luckily it wasn't!
haha, thanks. Hi Dad!
wdwgirl03
<font color=red>I'm just a big Disney Freak! :-)<b
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2004
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 cont'd (part 6)
Instead of taking the bus back to the Beach Club, we decided to hop on one of our favorite rides in Disney World...the monorail! We'd then cut through Epcot to get back to the hotel. We only had to wait a couple minutes before monorail coral pulled into the station.
Riding the monorail brings back memories from when we stayed at the Polynesian so we always try to ride it atleast once on every trip. Emma took some pictures along the way...Bay Lake Tower is coming along!
The Polynesian!!!!!!
We got off at the TTC and transferred to the Epcot monorail. This time we got monorail blue!
(these are all Emma's pictures...she sure does get some unique ones!)
In just a few short minutes we arrived at Epcot. As we were circling around Future World you could tell that the crowds were pretty much nonexistant again...not a whole lot of traffic. On our way in we stopped to take some more pictures. Again, I wonder how many SSE photos I've taken over the years...???
Right in front of Spaceship Earth were some Christmas topiaries. It was the perfect spot for some more pictures. We also got a couple photopass pictures taken.
As we were waiting for our turn for the photopass photographer, I was again surprised at how dead the park seemed. More proof...
On the other side were Mickey and Minnie topiaries!
Then we continued on our way through Future World to World Showcase. As we were approaching the information center/pin station the fountain was going off. I guess I must not usually pay attention to this because this was the first time in a while I remember seeing the show.
We didn't stop to do anything so we just headed toward the International Gateway. It was a nice walk back to the resort and I was enjoying the whole atmosphere. How can you not enjoy a resort that looks like this?!
Ariel greeting guests outside the Villas...
Soon we were back "home."
Right inside the entrance to the villas was another pretty Christmas tree.
When we got back to the room we rested for a bit but then Dad and I decided we wanted to go swim. There was a quiet pool pretty much right outside our room but let's face it, Stormalong Bay is a heck of a lot more fun so we chose to go there. It was a little cloudy but still comfortable for swimming. We found a couple lounge chairs by the pool and hopped in! Emma decided she would rather read about the Disney Cruise Line. haha I loved how the pool had sand on the bottom. It's a lot better than cement bottoms! And it was so huge! So many little areas to explore. After a while we decided to try out the slide. Let me just say that it was pretty awesome. Dad and I each did it a couple of times. Stormalong Bay has a great atmosphere. They were playing music and you could also participate in Bingo (it was $1 a card I believe...) Lots to do! When we had had enough of the water, we had seen the night before that there were some
ping pong tables outside the pool area so we went to see if we could get one of those. Luckily nobody was there so we played some ping pong for a while. It was a good thing nobody was around because Emma and I were pretty bad! We had to fish the ball out of the bushes more than once. 
But it was fun. There was also a group of people playing sand volleyball and I really wanted to join in but we decided to go get ready for the rest of the evening.
Instead of taking the bus back to the Beach Club, we decided to hop on one of our favorite rides in Disney World...the monorail! We'd then cut through Epcot to get back to the hotel. We only had to wait a couple minutes before monorail coral pulled into the station.
Riding the monorail brings back memories from when we stayed at the Polynesian so we always try to ride it atleast once on every trip.
Emma took some pictures along the way...Bay Lake Tower is coming along!
The Polynesian!!!!!!
We got off at the TTC and transferred to the Epcot monorail. This time we got monorail blue!
(these are all Emma's pictures...she sure does get some unique ones!)
In just a few short minutes we arrived at Epcot. As we were circling around Future World you could tell that the crowds were pretty much nonexistant again...not a whole lot of traffic. On our way in we stopped to take some more pictures. Again, I wonder how many SSE photos I've taken over the years...???
Right in front of Spaceship Earth were some Christmas topiaries. It was the perfect spot for some more pictures. We also got a couple photopass pictures taken.
As we were waiting for our turn for the photopass photographer, I was again surprised at how dead the park seemed. More proof...
On the other side were Mickey and Minnie topiaries!
Then we continued on our way through Future World to World Showcase. As we were approaching the information center/pin station the fountain was going off. I guess I must not usually pay attention to this because this was the first time in a while I remember seeing the show.
We didn't stop to do anything so we just headed toward the International Gateway. It was a nice walk back to the resort and I was enjoying the whole atmosphere. How can you not enjoy a resort that looks like this?!
Ariel greeting guests outside the Villas...
Soon we were back "home."
Right inside the entrance to the villas was another pretty Christmas tree.
When we got back to the room we rested for a bit but then Dad and I decided we wanted to go swim. There was a quiet pool pretty much right outside our room but let's face it, Stormalong Bay is a heck of a lot more fun so we chose to go there. It was a little cloudy but still comfortable for swimming. We found a couple lounge chairs by the pool and hopped in! Emma decided she would rather read about the Disney Cruise Line. haha I loved how the pool had sand on the bottom. It's a lot better than cement bottoms! And it was so huge! So many little areas to explore. After a while we decided to try out the slide. Let me just say that it was pretty awesome.
Dad and I each did it a couple of times. Stormalong Bay has a great atmosphere. They were playing music and you could also participate in Bingo (it was $1 a card I believe...) Lots to do! When we had had enough of the water, we had seen the night before that there were someping pong tables outside the pool area so we went to see if we could get one of those. Luckily nobody was there so we played some ping pong for a while. It was a good thing nobody was around because Emma and I were pretty bad! We had to fish the ball out of the bushes more than once.
But it was fun. There was also a group of people playing sand volleyball and I really wanted to join in but we decided to go get ready for the rest of the evening.
xoktenox
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2008
I love your BC pictures its sooo pretty! And once again I'm amazed at your luck with the lack of crowds. It sounds like Stormalong Bay is alot of fun too, seeing all your pictures and hearing about your great stay at BCV is really making me wish more and more that we get to stay there!!
Figment's Friend
a haunter of The Haunted Mansion
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2008
Stormalong Bay sounds like a blast! I've read about the sand-bottom, that sounds really cool. I just love this afternoon of having fun at the hotel, great pics!!
Lady Lallie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2008
Stormalong Bay sounds like so much fun!!
I've been reading a lot of TR's lately where people are really loving their Jungle Cruise Skippers. We loved ours in September, corny jokes but it was the delivery and enthusiasm that made the difference.
I've been reading a lot of TR's lately where people are really loving their Jungle Cruise Skippers. We loved ours in September, corny jokes but it was the delivery and enthusiasm that made the difference.
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
I like the monorail pics. We promised the baby we'd let him ride form MK to Epcot this time. He LOVES the monorail! My mom and dad bought him the monorail for Christmas.
wdwgirl03
<font color=red>I'm just a big Disney Freak! :-)<b
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2004
I love your BC pictures its sooo pretty! And once again I'm amazed at your luck with the lack of crowds. It sounds like Stormalong Bay is alot of fun too, seeing all your pictures and hearing about your great stay at BCV is really making me wish more and more that we get to stay there!!
The Beach Club is a really pretty resort. I am so jealous of the people who have BCV as their home resort...not that I don't love Saratoga Springs! I was amazed at the lack of crowds too. We were able to get a lot done!
Stormalong Bay sounds like a blast! I've read about the sand-bottom, that sounds really cool. I just love this afternoon of having fun at the hotel, great pics!!
Stormalong Bay is so much fun...that was actually the only day we went swimming because we were too busy doing other stuff!
Hi! Thanks for reading and I'm glad you are enjoying the pictures.
I think it does make a difference...it seems the last couple times we've rode JC we've had some good skippers. When we were getting ready to unload we had to wait a little bit...if the skipper would've just stood there it would have been kind of awkward but she kept making jokes. She was very entertaining.
I love the monorail too! Like I said it brings back memories from our trips when we stayed at the Polynesian.
wdwgirl03
<font color=red>I'm just a big Disney Freak! :-)<b
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2004
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 cont'd (part 7)
The plan for the rest of the evening was to head over to Epcot for Illuminations. We'd also of course see what attractions we could get done. But our first stop was the Boardwalk. I'm not sure if it's every Wednesday or every other Wednesday, but regardless of when it is, the Disney Vacation Club hosts something called "Welcome Home Wednesdays" for the members over at the Dance Hall. So we decided to go over and check it out. On the way over, I of course had to take another picture of the Beach Club...I'm sorry, but it's such a cute resort. I still can't believe we were lucky enough to get a room there, especially so close to the holidays.
So off we went to the Dance Hall. Unfortunately by the time we got over there, the show was almost over but the Cast Members told us we could still go in. We caught the tail end of the show. It seemed like they had some entertainment and raffled off some prizes. On the way out everyone got a free DVC hat which was kind of cool. Then we headed back down the Boardwalk. We saw that one of the BW models was open so we stopped in there to check it out. It was so cute and colorful! Hopefully some day we will be able to stay there. We also went inside the lobby to check out the Christmas decorations.
Emma also stopped to get a picture by this tree...she did that several times throughout the trip. I should count how many trees she got pictures by!
There were these garlands that were COVERED in ornaments...so pretty!
There was also another gingerbread display with Donald and Daisy!
Even the fireplace was decorated. I also loved the elephant.
By that time we were getting kind of hungry so we decided to get dinner at the ESPN Club. So we headed back outside and saw another Christmas tree. I wonder how many trees Disney puts up every year...
Did I mention I love the whole Boardwalk/Beach Club/Yacht Club area?
Since it was still pretty early the restaurant was nearly empty. We got our food quickly...I had the chicken nuggets which were good. There were a lot of them since they were on the appetizer menu! After dinner we strolled over to Epcot. It was starting to get dark out so I attempted to take a picture of the Boardwalk all lit up (surprisingly it turned out halfway decent...)
I forgot to mention that when we cut through Epcot coming back from the Magic Kingdom, we stopped in The Land pavilion to see if we could get fastpasses for Soarin. So once we got back to Epcot, that was our first stop.
While we were in line we started talking to this older couple who said that they visit WDW the week before Christmas pretty much every year. We told them how we were so surprised at how uncrowded everything seemed and they said that they thought it was busier than usual. Hmm...guess everyone has different opinions but that kind of surprised me. Anyway, Soarin was great as usual. I love this ride! It's also funny how when it's over so many people start clapping. And I know more than a couple times I've heard people saying how it's amazing. I agree. Our next stop was Living With the Land since there was nobody in line. It was interesting going through the greenhouses since it was dark outside. Definitely a different perspective. I was getting kind of annoyed though because there was this little kid behind us who kept asking his dad what every single sign said. Ugh!
After the boat ride we went over to Journey Into Imagination. Again, another fairly short wait. I am glad they put Figment back into the ride but I miss the original.
We didn't really want to do anything else in Future World so we made our way over to World Showcase. We figured we could spend some time there before Illuminations.
The archway was all lit up too. Sorry, some of these pictures are not so good. I wish I knew how to take decent night pictures! But it was very pretty. Like the Osborne Lights, sometimes the lights would be sychronized to music.
At the end of the archway was the Christmas tree.
Then we just kind of strolled around WS. We rode the Maelstrom in Norway and stopped in the shop in China. We also watched most of the Candlelight Processional.
The narrator that night was Chita Rivera. It was a really neat show and I liked how they combined the story and the music. The choir was amazing! I took a short video of one of the songs...I'm not sure what it's called but Emma said that she sang it in French class. (sorry for the bad quality too...we were pretty far away and with it being dark outside...)
If you ever go during the holidays, I recommend you see this show. It just seemed so Christmasy! We left a little early to go find a place to watch Illuminations. We found a spot that was close to the International Gateway so it would be easy to leave when it was over.
The show was great and it was cool because they had a special holiday segment at the end as well. So, it was a nice ending to the evening and we headed back to the resort so we could do it all again tomorrow!
The plan for the rest of the evening was to head over to Epcot for Illuminations. We'd also of course see what attractions we could get done. But our first stop was the Boardwalk. I'm not sure if it's every Wednesday or every other Wednesday, but regardless of when it is, the Disney Vacation Club hosts something called "Welcome Home Wednesdays" for the members over at the Dance Hall. So we decided to go over and check it out. On the way over, I of course had to take another picture of the Beach Club...I'm sorry, but it's such a cute resort. I still can't believe we were lucky enough to get a room there, especially so close to the holidays.
So off we went to the Dance Hall. Unfortunately by the time we got over there, the show was almost over but the Cast Members told us we could still go in. We caught the tail end of the show. It seemed like they had some entertainment and raffled off some prizes. On the way out everyone got a free DVC hat which was kind of cool. Then we headed back down the Boardwalk. We saw that one of the BW models was open so we stopped in there to check it out. It was so cute and colorful! Hopefully some day we will be able to stay there. We also went inside the lobby to check out the Christmas decorations.
Emma also stopped to get a picture by this tree...she did that several times throughout the trip. I should count how many trees she got pictures by!
There were these garlands that were COVERED in ornaments...so pretty!
There was also another gingerbread display with Donald and Daisy!
Even the fireplace was decorated. I also loved the elephant.
By that time we were getting kind of hungry so we decided to get dinner at the ESPN Club. So we headed back outside and saw another Christmas tree. I wonder how many trees Disney puts up every year...
Did I mention I love the whole Boardwalk/Beach Club/Yacht Club area?
Since it was still pretty early the restaurant was nearly empty. We got our food quickly...I had the chicken nuggets which were good. There were a lot of them since they were on the appetizer menu! After dinner we strolled over to Epcot. It was starting to get dark out so I attempted to take a picture of the Boardwalk all lit up (surprisingly it turned out halfway decent...)
I forgot to mention that when we cut through Epcot coming back from the Magic Kingdom, we stopped in The Land pavilion to see if we could get fastpasses for Soarin. So once we got back to Epcot, that was our first stop.
While we were in line we started talking to this older couple who said that they visit WDW the week before Christmas pretty much every year. We told them how we were so surprised at how uncrowded everything seemed and they said that they thought it was busier than usual. Hmm...guess everyone has different opinions but that kind of surprised me. Anyway, Soarin was great as usual. I love this ride! It's also funny how when it's over so many people start clapping. And I know more than a couple times I've heard people saying how it's amazing. I agree. Our next stop was Living With the Land since there was nobody in line. It was interesting going through the greenhouses since it was dark outside. Definitely a different perspective. I was getting kind of annoyed though because there was this little kid behind us who kept asking his dad what every single sign said. Ugh!
After the boat ride we went over to Journey Into Imagination. Again, another fairly short wait. I am glad they put Figment back into the ride but I miss the original.
We didn't really want to do anything else in Future World so we made our way over to World Showcase. We figured we could spend some time there before Illuminations.The archway was all lit up too. Sorry, some of these pictures are not so good. I wish I knew how to take decent night pictures! But it was very pretty. Like the Osborne Lights, sometimes the lights would be sychronized to music.
At the end of the archway was the Christmas tree.
Then we just kind of strolled around WS. We rode the Maelstrom in Norway and stopped in the shop in China. We also watched most of the Candlelight Processional.
The narrator that night was Chita Rivera. It was a really neat show and I liked how they combined the story and the music. The choir was amazing! I took a short video of one of the songs...I'm not sure what it's called but Emma said that she sang it in French class. (sorry for the bad quality too...we were pretty far away and with it being dark outside...)
If you ever go during the holidays, I recommend you see this show. It just seemed so Christmasy! We left a little early to go find a place to watch Illuminations. We found a spot that was close to the International Gateway so it would be easy to leave when it was over.
The show was great and it was cool because they had a special holiday segment at the end as well. So, it was a nice ending to the evening and we headed back to the resort so we could do it all again tomorrow!
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
Awesome update! Ya know I missed Illuminations again!?
LBelle0890
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2008
Love the TR! & your pics are awesome!
heaven2dc
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 26, 2003
Really enjoying your TR! You were in MK the same morning I was! I had arrived on 12/13 by myself and went to MK that night but on 12/17 I went in the morning to go on some rides and take pics b4 my DD, DDF and DGS arrived that afternoon. We went to ESPN for lunch around 1:30 (it was pretty empty when we were eating lunch too) and headed back to BWV so they could rest while waiting for ME to deliver their luggage (they had to wait 5 1/2 hrs b4 it got there). Then we went to MK that night (which was their only night at MK).
Can't wait to read more!
Can't wait to read more!
*DisneyDreamer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2007
I'm loving your TR so far. It's very detailed, and you have so many good pictures. I can't wait to read about Day 3!
I can't wait to read about Day 3!Share this page
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