|
Day One- Thursday, December 9, 2004
Today was our first day of our annual early December trip to Disney. We normally go to see the decorations, and as it had last year, our trip lined up
with MouseFest, so we were going to be able to meet up with various list members, and spend time with some good friends. We had debated going down the night before, but since Chris wasn't able to get out of work until after 5 pm, we figured it was better to get a full night of sleep and then drive down early in the morning (for me at least). I had made sure we had everything packed up and ready the night before, and the plan was for me to wake up long enough to get dressed and into the car. Chris was going to drive, and I would finish sleeping, as I'd only gotten to bed at 4:30 am.
The alarm went off about 20 after 8, and we quickly got ready and gathered up the last minute stuff. We loaded up the car and set off on our
trip. Strangely for us, I managed to only forget one thing, which was so small, I don't even remember it at this point. The trip down was pretty uneventful, we made our usual stop at Wendy's around 11 am to grab something to eat, and then I settled in with the DVD player to watch several episodes of West Wing from Season Three.
We pulled through the gates and onto Disney property right around 2 pm, and headed directly to the Swan, our home for the next 6 days. Chris
unloaded the car with the help of bell services, while I got us checked in. The check in was quick and easy, and we were soon off on our way to our room, on the
second floor. The bellman took us to our room, and we got settled in. We had reserved a standard room, but had been upgraded to a resort view. As you entered
the room, you were in a little hallway. To the left was another short hallway leading to the bathroom. On the one side of that hallway was the closet, which
held an iron, ironing board, shelving until and an electronic safe. On the other side was an area that was almost a wet bar of sorts. There was a counter with a
sink, and here also was located the coffee maker and accessories for it. There was a full length mirror on the bathroom door, and another vanity and sink
inside the bathroom. As you continue into the room the bed was on the left, and on the right was a long unit that combined the dresser and the desk. The Swan
has large tvs, and in a drawer is a web tv keyboard. Built into this unit is also the mini bar. Next to the far end of the desk was a padded bench that we
used to hold our suitcase, and on the opposite side of the room, beside the bed was a sofa, that pulled out into a bed. Our room had a King Bed and a balcony,
with the same view we always seem to get- we looked out across the water to the entrance to the Boardwalk, between Jellyrolls and the Atlantic Dance Hall.
We spent a few minutes getting ready, and then headed back downstairs to get the car. After parking at the Ticket and Transportation
Center, we made our way down to the ferryboat dock, and took the boat over to the Magic Kingdom. We got through security fairly quickly, and headed into the
park, just as the Share a Dream Parade was passing by. Chris went to the ATM, while I watched the end of the parade. I was surprised, as they changed the
order of the floats around. The Cloud float which used to be last was before the Princess floats this time, and they ended the parade.
Chris and I took our time heading up Main Street, just enjoying the view and the fact that we were on vacation with no work ahead of us. We talked
about what to do, and finally decided that we'd just head back to the Castle, as I wanted to go in the shop underneath it. This is where they've moved the
Gallery to, so I wanted to see if they had a cross stitch kit I'd been looking for. As it turns out, they did, so I made a mental note to pick it up at some
point. Our next stop was Tinkerbell's Treasures, where we discovered that they've remodeled the back wall, and you can no longer see Tink fly on that
side. I was really disappointed until I saw that she still does fly on the other two walls.
Then we made our way back out into Fantasyland and decided it was time for a snack. We opted to go to Scuttle's Landing, and I found a seat under
the gazebo there while Chris got in line to get us a drink and some snacks. I had wanted a pretzel, but it turned out that they didn't have plain ones, so he
got chocolate chip cookies instead. We hung out for a while, just watching people go by, and remarking on how crowded the park was.
At a little past four, we decided that we'd head towards the Castle, to wait for the others, as we were meeting up with a group for dinner. Plus, we
were going to meet Robin and her family, they had a dinner seating 10 minutes before ours, so we wanted to be there early enough to see them before they were
seated.
Chris and I settled on a low wall outside of Sir Mickey's and chatted while waiting for the others. After a little while, my cell phone rang
and it was Deb telling me she was at the turnstiles and would be heading back soon. A few minutes later, we spotted Deb, Annette, Carla, Tom, Pam and Steve
coming up the path to the side of the Castle. After the hellos and hugs, we decided we'd go inside as it was close to our seating time. Steve checked us in
at the podium, and we made our way into the lobby of the restaurant.
Cinderella was there greeting people as we came in, and we all made our way inside. Normally the process is that you wait downstairs until you are
"announced" and then you follow the hostess upstairs to the restaurants. After a minute or so, it was explained that we were to just head up the stairs on our
own. So we made our way up- quite the little parade. Unfortunately the top landing was a bit congested, so we ended up stopped, each person on a different
step, extending halfway back down the stairs, until they were ready to get us seated.
After we settled into our seats, our waiter came over, introduced himself, and took our drink orders. At this point, a kid showed up at our
table, who we quickly identified as Vincent, Robin's son! It turns out that they had somehow gotten past us and seated upstairs. Robin came over, and we finally
got to meet, and we spent a few minutes talking before it was time to place our orders, and settle into the meal. We made plans to meet up with Robin later on,
and then she headed back to her table.
Deb, Chris, Annette and I were all at one table, with Carla, Tom, Pam and Steve at the next one. Deb, Annette and I all ordered the same thing,
the filet medium rare. Deb and I substituted mashed potatoes instead of the grilled vegetables. The filet was extremely good- very tender, and cooked
perfectly. The mashed potatoes though, had too much pepper, so I ended up only eating two bites of them. Chris wasn't that hungry, so he only got the shrimp
and lobster appetizer.
We chatted and laughed through the meal, and it was quickly time for dessert. Deb, Annette and I again all ordered the same thing, the Chocolate
Castle Cake. When we had planned this meal, Deb and I had checked out the menu on the internet, and there was a chocolate raspberry lava cake. We both decided
that we HAD to have it, however when we got our menus it wasn't on it!! So, we ended up settling on the Castle cake. It turned out that it was two HUGE pieces
of cake served with two kinds of caramel sauce.
After the meal, I asked our waiter if he had the wristbands for the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and he said he did. All of the others had
arrived late enough to get the bands, but Chris and I had been too early. Rather than hold everyone up, we got ours at the restaurant, and after a quick
restroom stop, we were all on our way out to enjoy the Party.
It was still a bit early, though, so they were ushering us all into Tomorrowland. We took our time heading down there, and on the way decided that
since Carla, Tom, Pam and Steve hadn't yet been on the new Stitch ride, that would be the first stop. Once was enough for me, as well as Annette and Deb, so
the three of us sat out the ride, while the others headed inside. During our wait, we checked out the Stitch store, and asked about the pin for the evening.
They told us that we could get it in Mickey's Star Traders, however it was closed until the Party officially started.
When the others were finished with Stitch, we all met back up and decided that Buzz Lightyear would be our next ride. We headed over to it and
got in line. It was a bit crowded, but we made it through the line and onto the ride in less than 5 minutes. Deb and Annette rode in front of Chris and I, and
I can say that I really suck at this ride. I scored lower than anyone else. Even our stop in the "vertigo" room didn't help me gain more points.
After Buzz, we hit the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Chris and I shared a car with Carla and Tom, and we all enjoyed the break, and the view of
Tomorrowland as we zipped around above it. Our next stop was Space Mountain for some of the group to ride, while I sat it out with a few others. Their ride
went quickly, and so we headed back to Mickey's Star Traders to get our pin for the event.
While we were in the store, Gracie caught up with us, so she joined our group. We made our way over to Fantasyland, with the intention of getting
on Peter Pan, but the line for it was just huge. After a quick powwow, we decided we'd skip it, and headed on to the Haunted Mansion. Here we were able
to walk right up and into the preshow area, where we got separated from Tom and Carla. We all loaded into our Doom Buggies, after Chris heckled the crowd for
not screaming well enough, and enjoyed our trip through the ride. Afterwards, we met back up with Carla and Tom, after Steve hid in an attempt to scare them.
The first parade was starting at this time, so we took the back pathway, down by Tom Sawyer Island's docks, to get to Frontierland, as we'd
otherwise be stuck from it. While the rest of the group hopped on Big Thunder Mountain, Gracie and I found a quiet place to wait. I was holding Chris's cell
phone and when it rang, it was Robin asking where we were. We'd been trying to meet up with them on our pass through Fantasyland, but they'd just gotten in
line for Philharmagic, so we missed them. It turns out that the show went down, and they spent 25 minutes in line waiting for it to be fixed before the Cast
Members finally said they had no idea how much longer it would be. At that point they headed out, and took the "back way" to meet up with us.
When they caught up with us Vincent was very disappointed to hear that Chris was already on the ride, as he really wanted to go on it with him.
When the group emerged from the ride, Vincent and Chris made their way back into line, to go again, while the rest of the group, except Robin, Gracie and I,
headed over to Splash Mountain. In the end, only Carla and Tom braved the lines for Splash, and the rest of the group came back and we hung out until Chris and
Vincent were done. Then we moved up to wait for Tom and Carla by the exit for Splash.
They got through the ride pretty quickly, and then we decided it was approaching the time to find our spots for Wishes. Finding our spots was a bit
of a progression, as we started in Liberty Square close to the bridge to the hub, and then some of us moved father forward into the Hub, while the rest of us
actually headed back into Liberty Square, and watched the show in front of the Liberty Bell. The show was mostly the same as normal, however the finale was
fireworks in the round for the holiday- and that is an amazing sight to see.
After the fireworks, we gathered back up and headed off the Parade meet in Frontierland. The plan was to gather in front of the Shooting Gallery, and we
commandeered the large wooden planter/bench there. We also gathered the stools that were in the area, to fit our group, and settled in for our wait. We people
watched, and took turns heading off to get cookies and cocoa, and shop while waiting for the parade. When it was closer to parade time, the Cast Members
started roping off the area, and our spot was perfect, as the ropes went right in front of us.
The parade was wonderful, and I was very happy to see that it had changed quite a bit from last year. We've done the Christmas Party each year
since 2001, and the parade had been the same each year. After the parade, Carla and Tom decided to head back to the hotel, and Robin and her family split off to
see Tomorrowland. The rest of us made our way over into Adventureland, where we planned to go on Pirates and have our picture taken.
We made Pirates, and the group got on the ride while I wandered around the gift shop and checked out the Pirates edition of Life. While I was
wandering around, a kid, probably about 7 or 8 came up to me and asked me if there was anything in the store less than $5. I smiled and told him that I
didn't know, that I don't work there, and then his mom gave me a nasty look for not answering him! Oh well- people can be strange.
Everyone finished Pirates, and we made our way over to the photo area while enjoying the calypso carols that a band was playing. The line for
the pictures was huge, though, so we decided to skip it, as it was already quarter to twelve. Instead, we took our time heading out of Adventureland and
back down to Main Street where it was snowing!! I love walking down Main Street at Christmas with the snow. Being from the north, it's the best of both worlds
to me, it really looks like Christmas, but (some of the time anyway) it's about 80 degrees. When we reached the front gates we split up to head back to our
hotels, with Deb, Annette, Chris and I hopping on the monorail. It turns out we were parked fairly closely in the TTC lot, so we took the tram together as well,
after stopping to visit Deb's brick.
Once back in the car, Chris and I made our way back to the Swan, where we had to navigate the zoo of a parking lot. The only thing I dislike
about the Swan and Dolphin is the fact that the valet parking is $14 per day, and it's not transferable with the Disney resorts. For $6 a day (Disney's
charge) I have no problem paying for parking, and love the convenience of the valet. I don't even have a problem with the charge if we were in a different
area, say Atlanta or some other city, but when every other "local" hotel has a lower charge, it's just crazy. So, we self parked, which isn't normally an
issue, but during this trip, they were progressively ripping up the parking lot at the Swan, so it was quite a challenge finding a space.
We got parked, though, and headed into the hotel and back up to our room. We settled in for the night- into our Heavenly bed, with the alarm set for 10 am.
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
|
