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We just got back from 4 wonderful days in the world. I can tell you that though some things have changed there is still plenty of magic.
First our cast of characters: Myself, age 46, mother of 2, stepmother of 3. DH of 1.5 years, aged 45. And NO KIDS!!!!!!!
We arrived at MCO on Saturday 12/15 at about 10:00 am after an uneventful flight. For some reason I was chosen for a more thorough search by security
on 3 different occasions during our 2 flights roundtrip. DH said it was my beady little eyes! We rented a car through National Emerald Aisle and had
a smooth exit from the airport. Emerald Aisle was very convenient (no waiting in line at the counter), but there really wasn't much to choose from
in the aisle and it was only 10:00 am.
I had reserved a room at AKL savannah view for the 3 nights of our stay. Our room was ready when we got there at about 11:00am. When I had called
for reservations I had tried to use various codes from mousesavers for AKL and several other hotels without success. Finally I asked the castmember
who was helping me whether she had any suggestions for special deals. She gave me one that was better than all the codes I'd tried to use! Anyway, we
got a really nice room (4302) on the Kudu trail and we loved it. We saw tons of animals during our stay. I gave DH an early x-mas present of a pair
of binoculars and they were really great. The room was beautifully decorated and very comfortable. I would definitely stay there again.
After checking in we went to guest services to pick up our CP package and they gave us a really nice printout which included all our reservations and
times for our whole stay. From there we went to the gift shop to pick up a magical moments pin and a pair of sunglasses for me (we'd left in the dark
and I'd forgotten to bring any). From there we took the bus to Epcot. We were very pleased with the bus service at AKL during our entire visit. We
never waited more than 10 or 15 minutes and most waits were much shorter.
We arrived at Epcot at around 1:00 and DH was hungry. We spent the afternoon doing what we call "beer around the world". We started in Mexico
splitting a plate of nachos and a Dos Equis at the outdoor café by the lake. We watched the Christmas customs show outside Mexico and moved on to Norway
where we split a Rignes and did some Christmas shopping at the shops. Our next stop was China where we split a Chinese beer (can't remember the name)
and did some more shopping after stopping to watch the amazing acrobats. Germany came next and we really explored the streets and shops after
stopping to split a Beck's beer and sausage with sauerkraut. On to Italy where we caught the tail end of a very unusual show while splitting an
Italian beer whose name I can't remember either. After more shopping in Italy we went to America where we split a Sam Adams while listening to a
really beautiful holiday program by the Voices of Liberty. We then saw the American Adventure...it's so uplifting. I always tear up during the "two
brothers on their way" song during the civil war portion. Our last stop on the beer tour was Japan where we split a Kirin and a plate of sushi. We
finished in time to watch the Tapestry of Dreams parade which was lovely and then went over to find seats for the 5:00 Candlelight Processional . The sky
was threatening and we felt a few drops of rain, but luckily it passed us by. CP was breathtakingly beautiful, inspirational, and fun! DH proposed
to me at CP so it is really special to us. The narrator was Alfre Woodard. She was very good but we both agree that James Avery is the best narrator
we've seen. He's got that really deep majestic voice and it almost sounds like the voice of God!
After CP we went to Morocco for our dinner package. Although we enjoyed the beautiful room and the music and dancer, we were underwhelmed with the food.
I generally like Moroccan food but found this to be a bit bland. Overall, the restaurant was very romantic and enjoyable, though.
After dinner we returned to our hotel, doing a bit of exploring of the grounds of this beautiful hotel before turning in for the night. Our Epcot
day was great fun. When we called our kids they were amazed when we told them we had spent 8 hours in EC without riding a single ride (unless you
count AA). Our only negative of the entire day was we were shocked to see cleanliness problems at EC. We noticed several bottles in the water near
where the flamingos are and various bits of trash around the park in random places. We never noticed it in any of the other parks so we wonder if this
was just a fluke or if the maintenance at Epcot is truly slipping due to recent cutbacks. Anybody else notice this? Please say no!!!
Day 2 dawned with a very nice view of Giraffes and bongos in our back yard. We sat out on our balcony and enjoyed the animals for a while with our new
binos. On a whim we called Kona Café for breakfast reservations and got them for around 10:00. We called at 9:00. We drove to the Poly and were
seated immediately to the consternation of several families who had been waiting for a while for a table. Go figure. We enjoyed the Tonga toast but
could have easily split one rather than ordering two. We considered leaving our car at the Poly and going straight to MK but we chickened out and took
it back and parked at AK and spent a bit more time exploring the hotel. We caught the bus to MK, arriving about 1:30 pm.
MK was fairly crowded but sooo much better than it was during our trip last August with the kids. We enjoyed several rides using fast pass and luck and
never waited in a line that was more than 20 minutes long. We split a turkey leg for lunch and sat on a bench across from Diamond Horseshoe and
enjoyed the parade...well I did anyway, DH's not much on parades! He did enjoy the turkey leg, though! After the parade we went to the Shooting
Gallery and I had a great time shooting the laser rifles. Hubby refused...he's a real live sharpshooter and firearms instructor for our
local police department so this was just waaaaay below him, but I thought it was a hoot! He got a kick out of Buzz Lightyear, though, and beat the pants
off me, of course.
We took our time, shopped for Christmas gifts, rode a few rides, watched the parade, and generally had a relaxing afternoon at MK. We rode SM several
times just before park closing with almost no lines. At 5:00 the park was closing and we were hungry so we decided to see if we could get in early to
LTT for our 6:05 reservation. We were seated immediately and the place was almost empty for quite a while. We found this odd as I hadn't been able to
get 5:00 reservations...was told there was nothing available until 6:05. We loved the dinner...DH was in heaven...said he wants to eat there from now on
whenever we're there!
When we left LTT, MVMCP had started. No one ever asked us for our tickets. We walked right over to the photo place in Liberty Square and had our photo
taken...third in line. We rode HM and then stopped to hear a lovely acapella (sp?) group singing Christmas carols in Liberty Square. We caught
(and loved ) the special Christmas show at Diamond Horseshoe and then went to Tomorrowland and rode SM again. We decided to try to get a good table at
the outdoor tables by the Plaza and we got one right where we were advised to by these boards. I went up and got our cookies and hot chocolate from
the Plaza carryout while DH saved us a table on the rail. We were one of the first ones there and had a wonderful view of the fireworks and Rudolph's
flight. The fireworks were the best I've ever seen at WDW...really well done. Our only gripe was with our seats. Did we unknowingly plant
ourselves in the smoking area? People were smoking all around us...at every table. Some were chain smoking. It was awful. I endured it but DH had to
get up and walk to the back before the fireworks started in order to get away from the smoke. He still had a good view but it really put a damper on
our fun.
After the fireworks we made our way over to the show in front of the castle. We timed this wrong. Everbody at the fireworks had the same idea and it was
very crowded. The show was excellent, though. We should have zigged when we zagged. After the show we went to Fantasyland and tried to ride a few
rides but all the line were 30 to 45 minutes so we decided against it. We walked around enjoying the beautiful evening until it was time for the 2nd
parade. We got great seats and really enjoyed this parade. Even DH thought it was "nice." I'd say it was great! We left after the parade and had no
wait getting on the bus back to AK. It was a wonderful day.
Day 3
We slept until we woke up...no alarm clocks. We got up around 9:00, got cleaned up, and watched the animals for a while. Around 10:00 we made our
way over to AK and got breakfast at Tusker House. There was a fair selection of breakfast sandwiches but we were very disappointed in the
"bacon" and egg biscuit. The bacon turned out to be very fatty Canadian bacon that I had to pull off the sandwich in order to make it edible.
Our first stop at AK was the Safari. We had an excellent guide from South Africa and saw lots of animals. We really love this ride. We spent most of
our day at AK walking around looking at the animals. We got the trail guides that help you identify the birds and animals and really took our
time. When we're with the kids they're not too excited about looking at animals and we have to rush through if we get to see them at all! It was
our 5th trip to AK but my first time taking the train to Rafiki's planet watch. While I know my kids would have been bored we would have to rate
this as "not to be missed" for adults. We were only sorry we didn't time our visit right to see the animals receiving veterinary care.
We had a late lunch at Flame Tree Barbeque which, contrary to reports on these boards, is still very much open. On our last visit we had attended a
presentation at Disney Vacation Club and they had given us coupons for a free meal at a variety of restaurants. DH had the barbequed ribs and
chicken combo platter while I had a pork barbeque sandwich with coleslaw. It also included dessert so we had a couple of slices of key lime pie.
Everything was very good. We ate at around 3:00 and took our trays down to the waterfront. We basically had the place to ourselves. It was great! At
4:00 we left the park and caught the bus back to AKL.
DH and I have had some really good times at Pleasure Island in the past so we were really looking forward to an evening there. We had wanted to see
the Osborne lights but were afraid we'd be too wiped out for a night at PI if we went to MGM first so we opted not to. This was a mistake. We arrived
at PI at 7:00 and it was dead. We figured we were just too early but we stayed until 10:00 and the people never materialized. The clubs were
absolutely dead. Now this was a Monday night in December and I didn't expect huge crowds but this was ridiculous. We went to the Jazz club and
there were only three tables filled...and one was with the musician. The musician was excellent and we felt guilty about leaving because we didn't
want him to play to a completely empty room. We tried to order something to eat at the jazz club but were told that they didn't serve food anymore
despite the menus on the tables. We ended up eating a really awful slice of pizza from the pizza stand. Yuck! We enjoyed the comedy club but just had
to leave PI afterwards. I'm telling you it was really dead. One of the castmembers told us that it had pretty much been that way constantly since
9/11. She said that they had just started a policy where people could come in for free until 9:00 instead of 7:00 but that they couldn't go into the
clubs. They could enjoy the street entertainment and shop in the shops until 9:00. I sure hope this doesn't last. We really loved PI in the past!
We walked over to Westside to do a bit of shopping and walked down to the end. It was dead there too! We gave up and decided to go back to the
hotel. Since we were down at the other end we decided to catch the bus at the Westside stop. Whoops! That stop is now closed. It was a long walk
back to the PI stop but we finally made it and went back to our hotel.
On the morning of our last day we slept late, packed up, and drove over to DD for a day of shopping. We had breakfast sandwiches at McDonald's (2 for
1 with DVC coupon) and spent the morning and early afternoon shopping at every store! We got a few things but really did our most productive
shopping in the parks. Lunch was a Big Mac for DH and a hot dog for me along with a couple of beers down at the waterfront and then it was time to
leave for our 4:00 plane.
All in all it was a wonderful trip and I want to thank everyone for their advice.
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