What a great time! The Director's Cut

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T_Bone0806 · #1 Post by **T_Bone0806** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:27 pm

OK, let's try this again...

We had a great great time. We started our "tour" with a day at zUniversal Studios. Although there were some highlights (the new Shrek "4-D" was hilarious, and the Terminator 3-D is still awesome), it is easily my least favorite of the 3 major parks we attended. Part of it is the accessibilty issue..some of the rides that used to accomodate my power chair will no longer let me on with it..they now require a transfer to a manual wheelchair. Something about the weight of the chairs...so far, this hasn't seemed to be a problem for Disney..I did this for the Men in Black" attraction, since I had never done that one before, but I skipped "ET" and "Jaws", as I had done them before. Transferring was a time consuming, major effort...since Nancy didn't care one way or another if we did them or not, I passed. On top of that, "Earthquake"was shut down for a major rehab. So we were looking for things to do before the end of the day.

On a side note, the attendance was unbelievably sparse at Universal. A cast member we talked to said that it had been that way on weekdays for a while now. I'm thinking that Universal desperately needs the "Harry Potter Land" that is opening up at Islands of Adventure by the end of the decade.

The next day was SeaWorld. This is a very nice park. The shows are extremely entertaining and well put together, and the creature interaction is fun (I fed a stingray..interesting experience).

Then it was on to 6 days of Disney. We stayed at The Boardwalk Inn, within walking distance of EPCOT and Disney-MGM.The room was huge! Ya coulda played football in it!

More to come...

T_Bone0806 · #2 Post by **T_Bone0806** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:56 pm

Wanted to make sure I got that in before getting bounced like last night..

I love WDW during the holiday season..there are so many "extras"..holiday parades, storytellers from around the world at EPCOT presenting skits about the holiday customs of their country, the Candlelight Processional (a massed choir made up of Disney employees and high school choirs from around the country join a full orchestra performing carols around readings of the Christmas Story from the Gospel by a celebrity narrator (ours was Neil Patrick Harris). Truly a beautiful presentation. Also, the amazing fireworks and laser show "Illuminations" at EPCOT gets extended with a coda involving "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and every firework in the Deep South. Not sure about the "peace" part (l-o-u-d!), but it brought a lump to my throat. There's also the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights..millions of lights and displays strung up on the streets and buildings at the back of Disney-MGM. It's like the Griswold home from "Christmas Vacation" times a zillion. Every 20 minutes or so, they are choreographed to music. Way cool. Also at MGM, we were treated to a half-hour performance by the Harlem Gospel Choir..wow!

In our hotel lobby there was a huge gingerbread gazebo with Donald and Daisy Duck in their holiday finest inside and a train set running on two levels around it.

We saw our favorites like "Fantasmic!" and "Mickey's Philharmagic", among others, and took in the new attractions, like the "Finding Nemo" ride at the revamped Living Seas at EPCOT (the final effect, in which the characters of "Nemo" are projected into a massive tank, making it appear as if they are swimming alongside the real sea creatures.
Also caught the new Monsters Inc. attraction at Magic Kingdom, in which Mike Wazowski hosts an interactive comedy show designed to power Monstropolis with human laughter, and the "Finding Nemo" musical at Animal Kingdom. This was VERY entertaining...the new songs are cute, and the actors very talented. When Crush appears, you can hear the whole audience gasp...he's quite a sight.

I coulda got in major trouble, though, as I got hit on by Daisy Duck. We were trying out the new character breakfast at Animal Kingdom (both because we wanted to see if the kids would like it on our next trip and because it wouldn't be a Disney trip unless I got to see Donald). Daisy came to our table and planted one right on the mouth..er...bill..er..you know what I mean. Luckily, Donald was in the other room at the time.

coming up next..the FOOD!

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #3 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:18 pm

What about the wine? That's the best part of Epcot!

T_Bone0806 · #4 Post by **T_Bone0806** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:57 pm

My Italian ancestors would be ashamed of me, but I'm not much of a wine enthusiast. Never have been, really. Well, I do like plum wine.

Anyway, on to the restaurants. We had fun at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville in Universal's CityWalk. And of course, there are many many fine eateries at WDW. We managed to sample a few

. Really enjoyed Mexico and China at EPCOT, the new Yak and Yeti Asian themed place in Animal Kingdom is much better than its name, and since we were just travelling as a duo this trip, we were able to try out a couple of swankier joints. Todd English's BlueZoo in the Dolphin resort has awesome seafood..verra nihce..

My new favorite Disney Restaurant, and possibly my favorite experience of the trip, was the California Grill. It's on the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort, overlooking Cinderella's Castle and the Magic Kingdom. We could see the castle from our table, but when it came time for the fireworks, we went out on the observation deck anyway, as we were told they would time the dinner so that our entrees would be brought out after the fireworks. The music and Jiminy Cricket's narration is piped in over speakers in the restaurant and observation deck. It was a Christmas version of the "Wishes" fireworks show, and it was jaw-dropping. Just when I think Disney can't amaze me anymore..

When Jiminy spoke of home being where the heart is, fireworks in the form of red hearts went off. When he talked about giving gifts, fireworks in the shape of wrapped boxes appeared. When "Oh Christmas Tree" played, fireworks formed a gold tree. I was...ummm..impressed.

After the show, we went back to a "every bite makes you close your eyes and savor it" dinner of Pork Tenderloin, creamy goat cheese polenta, and mushrooms with zinfandel glaze, and dessert (mine was "caramel apple"..a 3-sectioned plate with an apple torte, caramel mousse, and green apple sherbet over apple meringue). Yum to the 55th power.

It was a romantic, whimsical, and delicious evening that will definitely take a top spot in the memory book.

Yes, I was a naughty boy and ate some stuff I should take it easy on, but my numbers are normal as we speak, so I don't think I did any irreversible harm

Other than a steady drizzle on our first day at Disney (EPCOT), the weather was fantastic. 80 most days, the last couple of days at 70 and 74. Lots of sunshine. The forecasts were calling for temps to go back into the 80's for Fishie's arrival, so he should be getting decent weather too.

Coming back to NY and 25 degrees was not so great. Going back to the grind yesterday was less so. But for eight days, I was the big guy with the 6-year-old's heart, big smile, and wide-eyed gaze.

Next trip should be the entire crew, all 22 of us. Spring of '09. Central Florida is already bracing for the onslaught. I'm already looking forward to it.

MarleysGh0st · #5 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:18 am

Thanks for the great report, T-Bone!

I tried Universal Studios one day, after my WIAW attempt. The rides were okay, but there was nothing that compelled me to want to repeat them time after time. Nothing like my favorites at WDW.

T_Bone0806 wrote: Then it was on to 6 days of Disney. We stayed at The Boardwalk Inn, within walking distance of EPCOT and Disney-MGM.The room was huge! Ya coulda played football in it!

Ah, yes, the Boardwalk Inn was very nice! I hope your room was closer to the elevators than ours was--it would be impossible not to be.

MarleysGh0st · #6 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:19 am

T_Bone0806 wrote:Next trip should be the entire crew, all 22 of us. Spring of '09. Central Florida is already bracing for the onslaught. I'm already looking forward to it.

Wow!

Have your designed your matching T-shirts, yet?

minimetoo26 · #7 Post by **minimetoo26** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:28 am

We try to stay at The Boardwalk whenever we can get a rate that doesn't make us cry too hard. It's our fave. And it sounds like you had one of the signature dishes at California Grill. I think I had that at Flying Fish first, then again at CG. Excellent!

I love Christmastime at WDW, and it's great if you can manage to go before Christmas to avoid the crowds. Just not doable on a school schedule anymore. Last year was good until Dec. 26th, then Katie, bar the door!

You also got lucky with the Osborne Lights, because they won't turn them on in a drizzle, as we discovered on Christmas Eve after dinner. Alas. We saw them other times, but that was going to be out Christmas Eve Family Activity. So we rode Rock N Rollercoaster instead. What the heck. Life and Lemons and all...

Thanks for the warning about Spring. Exactly which dates should I avoid....?

5LD · #8 Post by **5LD** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:58 am

What a lovely time you had!

We stayed at the Boardwalk for our first trip to WDW - also in early Dec. We loved it. We saw the show you mentioned but our celeb was Robby Benson. And those horns were exceedingly loud with a 9 month old Isaac sitting on my lap. Yowza. We also watched the christmas fireworks from The California Grill. Altho it sounds like they've upgraded them in the past four years. Wow!

It was unseasonably cold when we were there (low 40's for highs) so it wasn't quite the respite from the NY temps we had hoped.....but it was still magical! Thanks for helping me remember it, t-bone!

minimetoo26 · #9 Post by **minimetoo26** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:06 am

We saw the Candlelight Processional last year with Gary Sinise, and I think Edward James Olmos was last year, too. Or maybe we saw him the time before that. I can't even remember the name of the first one we saw. All I'm remembering is "Not Denzel Washington." Pretty lame, huh....

christie1111 · #10 Post by **christie1111** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:34 am

This was great and timely.

Wish we could avoid the crowds, but we are going because daughter1111 is going with her band to march in the Citrus Bowl Parade.

Leave on Dec 27 come back on Jan 2.

Staying in a house in Kissimee or however you spell it.

Any other hints would be appreciated.

minimetoo26 · #11 Post by **minimetoo26** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:45 am

christie1111 wrote:This was great and timely.

Wish we could avoid the crowds, but we are going because daughter1111 is going with her band to march in the Citrus Bowl Parade.

Leave on Dec 27 come back on Jan 2.

Staying in a house in Kissimee or however you spell it.

Any other hints would be appreciated.

Don't believe any of the "5 minutes from Disney" nonsense, especially at holiday time. The traffic there really sucks, so leave way early.

Pack your sense of humor. As much as I love Disney, that is the absolute worst time to go. There was a total roadblock on one of the footbridges in Animal Kingdom. This woman was screaming "get me out of here!" People couldn't move. We stayed in the Dinoland corner while my husband tried to get safari FastPasses (they were gone, and this was barely noon) and just rode Primeval Whirl until our FastPasses for Everest were valid, then had lunch and bailed. And this is the largest park in WDW.

Stuff like that will happen, so make the most of what you can do. You just won't be able to do everything you want to.

And if you want to eat at WDW, you should make reservations, well--last month would have been good. But call now and see if there's anything left.

peacock2121 · #12 Post by **peacock2121** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:50 am

I love how much you love it.

You are a great person to see the park(s) with.

MarleysGh0st · #13 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:56 am

christie1111 wrote:Any other hints would be appreciated.

To Do:

1. Mission: Space
2. Soarin'
3. Tower of Terror
4. Expedition Everest
.
.
.
5. Lay a wreath at the old WWTBAM Play It!

earendel · #14 Post by **earendel** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:12 am

MarleysGh0st wrote:5. Lay a wreath at the old WWTBAM Play It!

Why not go full out and hold a memorial service?

MarleysGh0st · #15 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:14 am

earendel wrote:
MarleysGh0st wrote:5. Lay a wreath at the old WWTBAM Play It!
Why not go full out and hold a memorial service?

The Disney security people might get bent out of shape by that.

peacock2121 · #16 Post by **peacock2121** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:16 am

So what!

I heard a guy on Sean Hannity yesterday talking about these kids going into Victoria Secret and asking that the posters get taken down. One at a time - 30 of them - than all 30.

If those kids can do that in a mall, you can hold a service at Disney.

ladysoleil · #17 Post by **ladysoleil** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 3:53 pm

MarleysGh0st wrote:
christie1111 wrote:Any other hints would be appreciated.
To Do:

1. Mission: Space
2. Soarin'
3. Tower of Terror
4. Expedition Everest
.
.
.
5. Lay a wreath at the old WWTBAM Play It!

I love Soarin. Not as much as I love Mission Space, though.

Tip: do not hit the Coca Cola Club COOL before Mission Space. I found that one out the hard way. Lots of Beverly plus lots of spinny equals lots of internal unrest.

And *sigh*, I have been known to shake my fist at the (now-vacant) Play It building. I'm boycotting MGM in perpetuity at this point.

WWTBAM Bored

What a great time! The Director's Cut

What a great time! The Director's Cut

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