Christmas 2010 Trip to WDW: POR

[wewantsdaredhead]

WARNING: This is going to be a long one!
I am writing this to let you know about my trip, but I am also writing this to help us remember our magical trip to WDW at Christmastime.
Let me start by thanking everyone on here for their info and input to help make our trip a successful one. I am a veteran of WDW, but it always amazes me how much you can learn from people that eat, breathe and sleep Disney. You guys are the best.
Secondly, I want to let everyone know my real name: it’s Henry. Feel free to call me that—I know it’s probably a real pain to type ‘wewantsdaredhead’ every time. So, call me “Henry” at will. Plus…I will know that whoever calls me that was brave enough to attempt reading this monstrosity!
I guess I should start at the beginning…
My wife is not the biggest of Disney Fans—not like me anyway. I can drag her butt down there every other year or so, but me and my boys (14 and 12) get the itch every, well, every time we get home from our most recent trip. She went with us in August of 2009 for my son’s birthday (free b-day promo thing), but she did not go with us when we went in April of this year (2010). She gives us the old, “Go ahead—have fun. See you when you get back. Get me a t-shirt.” But this trip was different…
Shortly after the April trip, I began scheming and trying to figure out a way to get us all back down there again. In June I was presented with the opportunity in the form of a new camper.
We are big camping-type people…we go all the time in the summer. Almost every weekend, you can find us out at the lake in our camper or sitting around the campfire. My wife had been making grumblings about getting rid of the old pop-up and upgrading to something with a potty—that’s all she wanted. I made a counteroffer (pretending the whole time that I wasn’t totally excited to get a new camper)—We could upgrade if one of the trips it made was to WDW. She quickly agreed. Wow, that was easy…?? Hmmmmm
I had always wanted to camp at Ft Wilderness, so this would all work out. My mind was already spinning on where to eat, etc…
We went back and forth on the “when.” I wanted to go in the late summer, but we were pretty booked up already, so my wife suggested Christmas. What’s this? Christmas? At DISNEY?!!! Heck, yes!
We both checked with work and we decided on leaving for WDW on the 19th of Dec and returning home on the 25th. Since we would be driving, we figure we would leave to come home Saturday “just in case” and also to give us a back-to-reality day on Sunday.
Then it happened…Reality hit me upside the head. I am a numbers guy—I love them—I use numbers to make decisions in life and at work. So…as I was crunching the numbers, I discovered that 6 nights at Ft Wilderness was quite pricey at Christmastime, not to mention the fuel we would burn towing a camper from NC to WDW. I figured out that other than food, we could stay in a hotel for the same amount.
Then the free dining offer came in and clinched it. We would drive down in our car—stay at a WDW Resort Hotel and eat their food—for less than camping—who woulda thought!?
But where to stay…? My favorite (as you all know) is the Port Orleans-Riverside, but my wife has a “but we already did that” mentality (which makes us a great pair). So, as she looked over my shoulder while I entered my parameters into the WDW website, I entered POR just to see what she would say---nothing, silence.
The price popped up and she said, “And that includes the Dining Plan?”
“Yes.”
“Wow—book it.” I did it quickly before she changed her mind.
Ahh yes, the kids. What to tell the kids. They knew we were camping at Christmas at WDW, but that was it. So, did we tell them? Nope—not a word. It was one of the hardest kept secrets I ever held. Part of the fun would be how to tell them and when… More on that later.
So, we were booked and now it’s just a waiting game—this was around the beginning of November. I started squirreling away money (cash) whenever I could. $100 here, $50 there…
Of course I did my usual due diligence—checking park times, making ADRs, creating a spreadsheet, etc…But it was a looooong 2 months of waiting. Not to mention reading about the upcoming Mayhem Marauder Trip making me jealous!
Since I came late to the party, I knew some of the hotter ADRs would not be available, so I tried some newer places (to us) and then (as chronicled on these very boards), I scored an ADR at Le Cellier for the 24th. Wow! We had never been and it’s all you hear about, so we HAD to go. As far as the rest, I will visit those as we come to the days we went.
Around the 1st of December, I realized I had saved so much money under my mattress that we could afford airline tickets—then we came into a windfall from my wife’s work that sealed it—we were flying.
We decided to get our kids cell phones for Christmas—they had been nagging us for a few years and I finally caved in. I wanted to make sure they had them at WDW in case of an emergency, so we figured out a way to tell them about the “real” trip and give them to them all at once. On the 18th, the day before we were supposed to leave, we hid the phones in their drawers and told them it was time to go pack. Then we called their phones from ours and told them “Merry Christmas”!! Then after getting over the shock of that, my wife said, “There’s more—we’re not driving to Disney. We’re flying!” My younger son looked puzzled and asked, “How are we going to get the camper there…?”
We explained the whole deal to them and my son had a look of jubilation on his face—he was in Disney-heaven!
DAY ONE: 12/19/2010
The plan: Fly to WDW, check into POR and hit Downtown Disney.
Actual:
We flew out on schedule on Southwest Airlines and landed around 9:10am. We were almost immediately whisked away on Disney’s Magical Express—there was only about a 2 minute wait to get underway. I had heard some horror stories, so I was worried, but it was all good. POR was the first stop! A little after 10, I was second in line in the online check-in queue. Sweet—our room was ready! We were in room 9610 of Parterre Place in the Magnolia Bend area. Not too far from a quiet pool, not that we were looking to swim—it was cold!
Welcome Back!!!

Our home for the next week…

We dumped our stuff and off we went to DTD. By 11:00am we were on the boat from POR to DTD freezing our butts off! We did the usual walk through the Marketplace hitting all the good stores. My sons bought a few pins and gifts for their friends.
You decide which one is the real Potato Head:

We decided to eat and, of course, I suggested the Earl of Sandwich. I waffled back and forth on using our first QS credits…due to our early arrival and late departure I knew we would have to purchase (out of pocket) one meal. I decided to use the QS credit, but I had to explain to everyone what was included and what wasn’t. My wife was thrilled to find out that she could get pudding with her lunch. (By the end of the trip she was begging them to keep the lunch desserts!) As usual, the meal was incredible—I highly recommend this place. But it was CROWDED—man was it ever crowded.
While sitting in the Earl of Sandwich, I was thinking about the finer points of the DDP and I had an epiphany…I was going to use all 6 of my snack credits on Dole Whip Pineapple Soft Serve. Could I do it? Stay tuned!
We managed to kill about 2 hours in DTD and we decided to take the bus back—too cold for that boat! Hopefully our luggage would be there and we could unpack and setup the little Christmas Tree we brought .

It was all there, so we got setup and comfortable and we came up with a plan. We wanted to watch our beloved Steelers play the Jets in an important game (for them), so we decided to take a cab to the Buffalo Wild Wings at the shopping center over by DTD, eat some wings, drink some beers, get a few groceries while out, and be to bed early. But then we noticed that game was on in our hotel room, so we changed plans. I went to the grocery store by myself for a few things (beer!) and we watched them lose in our own room. (Good game, though!)
We never got those wings, so we went to the Riverside Mill and Food Court or whatever it’s called and had some munchies. I seem to recall stealing some pizza from my son and some of those kettle-cooked-type potato chips from my other son. We paid out of pocket for this feast. Oh and we bought some refillable mugs too.
We watched a few “Suite Life on Deck” episodes and reclined into the arms of Morpheus in preparation for an early morning at MK.

NEXT UP: DAY TWO

[mindflipper]

LOL! I love the Christmas tree, H! A few years ago we stayed at Swan with my parents over Christmas holidays, and did the Candlelight Processional on Xmas day! I had smuggled amongst the luggage a box that when opened in the hotel contained a small Xmas tree just like the one you had there! My mother didn't feel it was right not to have a Christmas Tree for Christmas day, so she got her wish!

Look forward to seeing the rest of your trip report! It sounds like you agonize over your trip planning about as bad as Len90 (check his trip reports, and he does spreadsheets too!)...

[Amy]

Wow Henry! Great start to your trip report I'm glad to see a little of the POR because that was one of the resorts we considered for this past trip. Cute Christmas tree! I don't know how you managed to stuff that in your luggage though
I have to ask if you enjoyed those kettle-cooked-type potato chips. Neither my Mom nor I found them to be very tasty
We found out quite late on in the trip that they would allow you to substitute a bottle of water for a dessert. That would have been handy to know earlier on since the desserts do start to get old.
And the Earl of Sandwich was awesome! We had never eaten there before. Loved the Italian sandwich but would have to agree about it being super crowded
More! More! More!

[wewantsdaredhead]

LOL! I love the Christmas tree, H! A few years ago we stayed at Swan with my parents over Christmas holidays, and did the Candlelight Processional on Xmas day! I had smuggled amongst the luggage a box that when opened in the hotel contained a small Xmas tree just like the one you had there! My mother didn't feel it was right not to have a Christmas Tree for Christmas day, so she got her wish!

Look forward to seeing the rest of your trip report! It sounds like you agonize over your trip planning about as bad as Len90 (check his trip reports, and he does spreadsheets too!)...

Thanks! That tree comes apart in the middle and we packed it in this huge suitcase we have. My wife was the same as your Mom--she had to have a tree at Christmas--it just wouldn't feel right without it!
I've read some of Len90's work--I think I am a little worse than him---trust me...there's lots of planning I dont even mention
Thanks for reading

Wow Henry! Great start to your trip report I'm glad to see a little of the POR because that was one of the resorts we considered for this past trip. Cute Christmas tree! I don't know how you managed to stuff that in your luggage though
I have to ask if you enjoyed those kettle-cooked-type potato chips. Neither my Mom nor I found them to be very tasty
We found out quite late on in the trip that they would allow you to substitute a bottle of water for a dessert. That would have been handy to know earlier on since the desserts do start to get old.
And the Earl of Sandwich was awesome! We had never eaten there before. Loved the Italian sandwich but would have to agree about it being super crowded
More! More! More!

Glad you like it so far, Amy!
I did not like the chips--not very tasty and they tasted stale--not a fan...
I wish I would have known that about the water also--I guess next time I should just ask. We did find out at one meal that we could sub a bottle of water for the soft drink. I was drinking beer and didn't want a Coke, so she offered the water.
I'm glad I am not the only one that tired of the desserts

Thanks to the both of you for calling me by my name and thanks for reading so far...

[Len90]

Henry, seems like you have everything under control when planning a trip. You know the most important thing to take care of when planning a Disney trip is the dining and you think of all the smaller things like park hours, EMH, parade and firework times, etc. I seriously think I have finally met somebody who puts in as much thinking and planning into a Disney vacation as I do. I end up having multiple sheets that will cover EVERYTHING!

Your first day of the trip report seems really interesting and I found it to be an enjoyable read. I enjoyed reading how everything magically played out for you.

[wewantsdaredhead]

Henry, seems like you have everything under control when planning a trip. You know the most important thing to take care of when planning a Disney trip is the dining and you think of all the smaller things like park hours, EMH, parade and firework times, etc. I seriously think I have finally met somebody who puts in as much thinking and planning into a Disney vacation as I do. I end up having multiple sheets that will cover EVERYTHING!

Your first day of the trip report seems really interesting and I found it to be an enjoyable read. I enjoyed reading how everything magically played out for you.

Thanks, Len90!
We need to talk someday about our planning
Maybe in person ---if we can fit it in our itineraries

[wewantsdaredhead]

DAY TWO: 12/20/2010
The Plan: MK in the AM, break at POR mid-day and DHS for PM. ADR: 6:45 at Mama Melrose.
Actual:
MK opened at 8, so we wanted to be there around then. It was cold and blustery (relatively speaking) that morning—I think it was around 40-45F. Not what I expected, but thanks to you SubSonic’ers, I was well prepared with plenty of warm clothes. We rolled up just as the train was coming around the corner. I took a video of it with my digital camera—I don’t do that too often.

We piled in like everyone else and hit some of the faves: Space Mountain, Indy Speedway (Dad hates it, but the kids love it—I don’t get it…), Teacups, Snow White…and then we wandered over to see Mickey.
One of my wife’s very few requests was that we go see Mickey---it went something like this, “In all my visits I have no pictures with Mickey...woe is me.” More or less anyway. So we went over to his Toontown Fair and it was a ghost town…
We went into his house and I turned around to take a picture of Mickey’s Christmas tree (fake) when this alarm went off. I spun around to see my son leaning over “trying to see what was on Mickey’s TV set.” Freakin` kids!!! He didn’t scale the half wall but he was leaned so far over that he tripped some sensor. I thought: Great we’re going to get thrown out of WDW on our first day. But nothing happened, the alarm quit and we moved into see Mickey. He never mentioned the alarm when we were having our picture taken with him, but you could sense the tension. I tried to tell him that it wasn’t me, it was my son, but his handlers shooshed us away quickly.

Having pleased my wife (for the time being), we moved onto some other attractions: Carousel, iasw and BTMRR. While waiting for the family to finish their 30 second carousel ride (exaggeration, of course, but doesn’t it seem short?) I was standing all alone snapping some pics of them going around, when a CM sort of sidled up to me. I thought, “Oh, so this is how it’s going down, huh. I knew they were tailing us since we left Mickey’s house.” I was waiting for her to say, “Please come with me, Sir” but she never did…Mary Poppins came out of nowhere and stood right next to me. Whew! It was her ‘handler.’ I smiled at Mary and snapped a picture of her.

Then we walked by, but did not go on, Splash Mountain --no one was even willing to risk getting wet—it was too cold! So we moseyed on over to POTC.

Now, some of you may remember that my wife claims she has never been on POTC---truly, truly amazing isn’t it? Especially considering my nickname (on here). Well, I am pleased to announce that she can no longer say that! As we walked through the queue (a total walk-on BTW) she kept saying, “Nope, nope, I don’t remember this.” So maybe she was right…
We checked that box and you know what we’re approaching, don’t you??
Yes, a Dole Whip!! Snack #1-check. The wife and kids had something—I don’t remember what—I was in pineapple heaven!

It was at this point we witnessed some Disney Magic. A little girl about 7-8 told her Mom, “I still can’t believe we are at Disney World, Momma—it’s like a DREAM!” My wife and I smiled at each other and my commented on how awesome that was. I wish everybody to have a moment like that little girl.
We wandered back through Liberty Square and then went on HM (walk-on). We checked PP, but it was already 40 mins, so it was time to eat. It was 11:30---yes, we did all that by 11:30!
My kids raved about Columbia Harbour House so my wife wanted to try it. (Honestly, I think they like the actual place more than the food—they get a kick out of the upstairs.) We had the usual fish and chicken with chocolate cake for dessert (Who eats dessert with lunch anyway? Only at Disney) It was dee-lish like usual. By the time we left the line was out the door! These lunch lines would be a common occurrence this week.
It was 12:00 and we were full, so we decided to head back to the hotel for a breather. We kicked back until 2 and then headed to DHS.
We took a photopass pic in front of the huge Christmas Tree at the entrance and then wandered in. My wife wanted to go on RnR, and I won’t do that anymore (it just messes me up—rattles my brain or something, so I pass). They all went on and Dad (Me) was tortured in the shop/exit area. It’s amazing how quickly that exit “movie” gets old. I think it’s only two versions that loop over and over endlessly. I still hear it in my sleep. Why didn’t I just go outside? It was cold!
After listening to Steven Tyler say, “Gimme some!” a zillion times, we stared in astonishment at the ToT which was covered in scaffolding. It looked to be in operation, but they were doing some exterior work to it—paint or some such. We did not ride it at this time, the line was too long.

My plan at this point was to take my wife to American Idol because she had never seen it. The boys and I went last time and, honestly, it wasn’t that bad. (Do I lose my man-card for that?) My wife loves the show, so I thought she would like the attraction—plus you get to sit down for half an hour... A show was just about to start, so we got right in. My son saw a hidden Mickey on the stage—he was great for that on this trip. (He found another one on PP that I had never seen---awesome!)

Indiana Jones was starting at 5:00, so I thought we could check that out, see the Osborne Lights and by then it would be time for our ADR at Mama Melrose. It all worked out according to plan, except for one little thing…
None of us had ever seen the lights before, but I had (of course) heard about them. You always hear how awesome they are and that they are a MUST-DO, but honestly—nothing can prepare you for how amazing they are. There are just so many lights and they are EVERYWHERE…

I was speechless…We wandered around a little bit and saw what we could. It’s just so much to take in! I looked all over for the “leg lamp” from A Christmas Story that NaCler posted a pic of, but I could not find it. Then again, it’s easy to miss something in those lights. Wow! Is all I have to say about that. Oh...that little problem…Well I didn’t realize that there was a ‘flow’ to the whole lights-thing. They had normal walking areas blocked off to create a nice flow, but what that did was force us to go all the way around by the ABC Commissary and AI, etc to get back to Mama Melrose. I thought about asking to cut through one of the barricades, but I hate being “that guy” so we walked allllll the way around, much to the dismay of my kids. (“Where are we going?” “We were just here…” Etc)
But it all paid off because we had a great meal. As we sat in the waiting area with about 1,000 other hungry revelers, I saw them making the flatbread that “Mama” was famous for (or so they say). Well, that was all it took—I couldn’t wait to eat one. I showed my wife and then she was getting one also. So, we each got a different one and split it. They were the perfect end to a great day! We got 4 different desserts and tried a little of each. I was a little disappointed at the tiramisu, but everything else was good.
We headed back to POR and I don’t even remember what we did—probably watched a few “Suite Life on Deck” episodes before calling it a night. This was a common occurrence on this trip…

[Amy]

That is so funny about the tv at Mickey's house. I have always wondered if there was anything on it myself but I never thought to peek. And as you were describing it occurring, I was picturing a much younger child being the guilty party! Good for your son still being curious!
No body even though about going on Splash Mountain?! I bet you wouldn't have had to wait at all!
Dole Whip #1 - check. I'm keeping track to see if you managed all 6
My Mom thought ToT was closed with all the scaffolding on it and wondered why I kept going to ride it I don't think it had quite as much scaffolding surrounding it when we were there though
I went with my Mom to see American Idol and thought it was ok as well. I was actually intending to skip it entirely since I'm not a fan of the show once it gets past the auditions (those are a hoot!) but at least I can say I went. And it was a nice warm spot to sit down for a bit.
Aren't the Osborne lights AMAZING?!?! We love them and that is definitely the highlight of a holiday-timed trip for us!!
The leg lamp was down one of the side streets all the way up in a second floor window. I didn't see it the first night we went, but I looked for it (and the cat) specifically after I saw NaCler's photos!
I'll have to keep Mama Melrose's in mind for the next time we go. Those flat breads sound tasty. Did you take any photos of them?!
Great day 2 with suspense, lights, action, food! I can't wait for day 3!

[mindflipper]

First-time for the Osborne Lights?!? It is a bit overwhelming the first time (I remember that when I took my cousin), and hard to believe Disney did not use all the lights that was donated!

Hey, H, did you try to see the motor car stuntshow?

Look forward to Day 3 report!

[Sleepy90]

Great trip report so far Henry. I'm keeping count on the Dole Whips as well. The Osbourne lights are a sight to be seen however I think I still prefer the old lights that went the whole way up the Backlot they were incredible.
Waiting patiently for the rest of the report.

[Amy]

Great trip report so far Henry. I'm keeping count on the Dole Whips as well. The Osbourne lights are a sight to be seen however I think I still prefer the old lights that went the whole way up the Backlot they were incredible.
Waiting patiently for the rest of the report.

I enjoyed walking through the streets looking at the lights the way they used to be displayed too. I do enjoy the new "Dancing" synchronized light show though, I am a sucker for Christmas music that puts on a show!

[wewantsdaredhead]

That is so funny about the tv at Mickey's house. I have always wondered if there was anything on it myself but I never thought to peek. And as you were describing it occurring, I was picturing a much younger child being the guilty party! Good for your son still being curious!
No body even though about going on Splash Mountain?! I bet you wouldn't have had to wait at all!
Dole Whip #1 - check. I'm keeping track to see if you managed all 6
My Mom thought ToT was closed with all the scaffolding on it and wondered why I kept going to ride it I don't think it had quite as much scaffolding surrounding it when we were there though
I went with my Mom to see American Idol and thought it was ok as well. I was actually intending to skip it entirely since I'm not a fan of the show once it gets past the auditions (those are a hoot!) but at least I can say I went. And it was a nice warm spot to sit down for a bit.
Aren't the Osborne lights AMAZING?!?! We love them and that is definitely the highlight of a holiday-timed trip for us!!
The leg lamp was down one of the side streets all the way up in a second floor window. I didn't see it the first night we went, but I looked for it (and the cat) specifically after I saw NaCler's photos!
I'll have to keep Mama Melrose's in mind for the next time we go. Those flat breads sound tasty. Did you take any photos of them?!
Great day 2 with suspense, lights, action, food! I can't wait for day 3!

Just so you know--he said he didnt even see anything on Mickey's TV--he's not sure if there wasnt anything there or what--I guess he panicked when that alarm went off
I hate I missed the leg lamp...or did I?? Stay tuned!
I did not take any pics of the flatbreads--but they were great! I feel funny taking pictures of my food...I have a few of the family eating, but none of just food. Sorry...
But try it next time--you won't regret it.

First-time for the Osborne Lights?!? It is a bit overwhelming the first time (I remember that when I took my cousin), and hard to believe Disney did not use all the lights that was donated!

Hey, H, did you try to see the motor car stuntshow?

Look forward to Day 3 report!

mindflipper: I have been to WDW about 12 times now and, no, I never saw the Osborne Lights---just never had the timing right. That's why this time it was a MUST! I'm so glad I finally got to see them. I was telling the family how far back they used to go, etc from reading about it.
We never did get to see L,M,A. My boys and I had seen it before, but the wife had not and she wanted to go...but it never worked out. She wasn't too upset---there's always next time!

Great trip report so far Henry. I'm keeping count on the Dole Whips as well. The Osbourne lights are a sight to be seen however I think I still prefer the old lights that went the whole way up the Backlot they were incredible.
Waiting patiently for the rest of the report.

Thanks! Stay tuned, I have Day three almost all done. It's fun to "relive" this trip through my report. It was our longest and best yet.
Thanks for staying tuned!

[wewantsdaredhead]

DAY THREE: 12/21/2010
The Plan: EPCOT all day with ADR at Rose and Crown for 8:20, we will watch Illuminations from there (9:30)
Actual:
Breakfast in the hotel…

( I apologize for the blurriness, but I like this shot of Son #2 eating in front of the tree.)
…(cold cereal and pop-tarts) got us in gear for our long day at Epcot. It was around this time that my wife shocked me by announcing how much she liked Disney’s coffee! What the…?? Ah, I still love her…
Another shot of the resort—man, I love this place.

It was morning EMH at Epcot and I know you are supposed to avoid a park those days, but because of my ADR at Rose and Crown, we were obligated. I tried a few times to change days around, but to no avail. But you know what? It was fine. Epcot is so huge that I really didn’t notice anything crazy. Yes, it was crowded, but so was everywhere we went that week.
We started like we always do by getting FP to Soarin` but this time with a twist. Dad and Son #2 got the FP’s while Mom and Son #1 went on Mission: Space (another one that messes me up, so I passed). Secretly, I was hoping that the standby line was short enough that we could go right on and ride while they were in the queue for M:S. The tip board out near The Land said M:S was only 10 mins so I didn’t think we could pull it off. Now…EMH started at 8 and when we walked into The Land at 8:45, the standby line was already 45 mins—yikes! Dejected, but with FPs in hand, we trekked on over to join back up with the family. I had time to send an email postcard back to the guys slaving away at work (suckers!) and they came off the ride. Nobody puked—mission accomplished!
We headed to Test Track and got in the single rider line (20 mins vs. 40 mins). We all rode separately (unlike last time) but that’s what single rider is all about! One of my pet peeves is people that get in that line and insist that they ride together. Follow the rules, people!

We walked through Mouse Gear and watched the fountain for a little bit—it was 10:00. I decided we would go and see something that none of us had ever seen—Captain EO! I knew we were in for a real treat after reading all the glowing reports on here

My plan was to see Captain EO, then Nemo to burn a few minutes before our FP matured…ride Soarin` and then eat at the Electric Umbrella before it got too crowded. My kids love that place for some reason—it’s a family tradition (of all things, huh?).
I warned my kids several times that Captain EO was going to seem corny, but to imagine it was the 1980s and Michael Jackson was still King! It didn’t work—they behaved, but afterwards they howled at how silly it was. I was glad we saw it, but I doubt I will be back. Sorry, Michael.
We hit Nemo and then Soarin` (can’t get enough of that—it’s my favorite attractions in all the parks—ever!) The plan was falling into place—it was 11:30. And then it happened…
We ran into the wall of humanity that was: The Line to get into the Electric Umbrella. I’ll be honest…it rattled my nerves. I thought, “No way can I deal with this all week—we’re going to be eating at 10 everyday!” We slouched our shoulders and got into the line. As I got closer I saw that they were just trying to control the lines at the registers and it went quick-- my faith was restored. Although I was unnerved a little bit when everyone kept getting past the crack security guard with the old line, “but my family is in there already.” Hmmm…some people.
They made it easy on me this time—burgers and fries all around. No special requests. It was at this point when I got into my first ECV incident. There were two ECVs battling for position in the handicapped line and one of them bumped into the back of my leg as I turned around with a tray of burgers, fries and Strawberry Cheesecakes. People! There are plenty of flavorless burgers for everyone—you must chill!
We slowed down and enjoyed lunch. The CM who was cleaning tables and such, was super friendly and offered to take a family picture of us. Wow! I didn’t catch her name—(One thing about your author: I am TERRIBLE with names. I just cannot remember names for the life of me. I think it’s because I am too busy looking at all the other details of a person. Who knows?)
Then I did something curious—I took a picture for the “Where in the World” thread and now I don’t know where I took it! LOL. I’ll post it on that thread and I’m sure one of you will know where it was taken. (I think I know where it was…based on our route that day, but I cannot be 100%. You guys might tell me that it was taken on Space Mountain and I would have to believe you )
Then it was off to Club Cool to get a picture of my wife’s Beverly face. She has never had it before and my son’s (the little miscreants) kept telling her she had to try…had to try it…had to try it. They pumped it up so much that I thought for sure they were going to blow it. Well, they didn’t—we got her good. I didn’t get a good picture of her—they all came out blurry, but you get the idea. It was priceless. She said, “Why would you do that to me?” I just laughed and told her that it’s a time-honored tradition!

Off to the World Showcase!
My older son was bored at this point and wanted to do his “own thing” so we told him to beat his feet. (We found out later that all he did was go back to the room and watch TV---what a rebel.) He left and we headed to Germany for a well-deserved beer for me. I must have really wanted that beer because I did not take one picture from the “front” of the WS (where the Christmas Tree is) until my wife is holding her beer in the “Holiday Biergarten.” Too funny.

A little different look than the Beverly isn't it?!
We walked around Germany for awhile and we decided it was time to head back to the hotel for our siesta. I had never been out (or in) the International Gateway, so I decreed that we would catch a boat from there to DHS where we would catch a bus to POR. Just because we had never done that.
After the 75 stops that the boat makes and several on the bus, we got back to POR at around 3. We hit the pool! No, I didn’t swim, but my kids did and several other crazy people were swimming...we just took in some sun and a few Rum and Cokes.
We were ready to head back to Epcot for some more World Showcase and Illuminations. OK, and beer! The kids were whining that they were tired, WS is boring, etc… So, we talked about it and we decided they could come later and just meet us for our ADR at 8:20. This was huge. It meant they had to navigate WDW Transport busses and then get into the park and then find us! They are WDW vets and they know their way around, but this was uncharted waters. They usually all just follow me around. Hmmm….I had my normal, Dad-type doubts and kept a wary eye on my phone. This is the very reason we gave them their phones before Christmas.

Waiting for the bus…
The wife and I picked up where we left off and I seem to recall we went right to the UK for a Harp. Make it two! We wandered around there for awhile and enjoyed each other’s company as we made our way around the lagoon. We got a photopass pic from the bridge in France. We had no kids and it was very liberating. We just window-shopped and took our time with nowhere to be except at 8:20. I showed her some of the areas we just never go with the kids (Morocco and Italy...)

We grabbed another beer and a pretzel in Germany. It was my second snack—so much for 6 Dole Whips. I had let myself down and caved at the sight of a pretzel---too many beers perhaps? I re-focused after this, but that pretzel just looked so good. I know it’s sort of anti-climactic, but stay tuned to see if I did any better the rest of the trip!

We sat in the courtyard when the clock “went off” for the half hour. Then two minutes later it happened again…what the…?? And again! OK something was wrong!
It was the Kim Possible game—duh! I had never watched it played, but as we sat there kids were coming up and “Kim-Possible-ing.” I won’t say more than that in case anyone wants to try it. We decided that next time we were going to get the kids to do it. It looked like fun, but it’s not the kind of things they would do without a nudge from us.
I dragged the wife into China to see the movie. I really like it and I thought she would. She did, but wasn’t as wow’ed as I was.
We stopped in Mexico and I tried to talk my bride into some tequila, but with no luck. I wanted to go and look for Donald if the line wasn’t too long, but it was crazy, so we passed. We walked around there for a long while—it’s one of my favorite pavilions. The kids called and were in Epcot—I was pleased and relieved.
We met them in the UK where we planned on watching a little bit of The British Invasion until our ADR. My plan was to not check in too early—we wanted to be able to see Illuminations from the little private viewing area. It’s not the greatest vantage point, but it is never crowded—they do a good job keeping it clear. If we checked in early and ate too quickly, we would not get to take advantage of this little perk.
Yours truly mugging it up in the UK:

We went over right at 8:20 to check in and she asked, “Party of 4 adults?” It caught me off guard…No two adults and two kids, I thought. Ahhh—yes, a 12 and 14 year-old are adults at WDW. “Yes, 4 adults…” I announced sarcastically.
After the brief confusion, we were seated immediately (drat!). We had an awesome, incredible table—so much so that I didn’t even think we were going to go out to see the show (it was still very cool at night). I ate the Surf and Turf (steak and fried fish) which was excellent! Our waitress was superb and I think my older son had a little crush on her with her cute accent. He mentioned getting his picture taken with her, but when I told him that I would ask her, he chickened out. So what I did was not leave him an option…when she came around I asked HER if she would be in a picture with my son and of course she obliged. She was very excited and went over and grabbed him and made him stand. It was too cute. She said she likes getting asked for her picture because it makes her “feel famous.” My son even smiled for me… Again, no name—but I do remember she was from Bristol, England. (See… I can remember that, but not her name—weird.)

We mentioned that we wanted to watch the fireworks from the little area and she told me to hang onto my receipt and the CM monitoring the area would let us in. She did say that if we finished before the fireworks started, we could always leave and come back—very cool. I shall remember that for the future.
After Illuminations we stumbled back to POR, full and happy about another magical day at WDW. My wife told me after our trip was over that this was her most favorite day ever at WDW. It’s mine now too!!

Day Four: The search for the leg lamp continues...

[Amy]

Love your wife's Beverly face! But you are right, her beer face looks happier
That was nice that you and your wife got a chance to do some wandering around without the kids.
The pic of your son with the CM from England is very nice. He looks kind of happy/scared/embarrassed all at the same time
You are doing an awesome job with your trip report...would you like to finish mine?!

[mindflipper]

Hey, H, if you want your wife to be Disney Park fan, then giving her a cup of Beverly is a step in the wrong direction. And BTW where's the picture of your Beverly face?