Jessica Johnson - December 2006

Day 3 - December 24, 2006

We had arranged a late check-out this morning, but I was woken up a bit early by the sounds of holiday music drifting in from the atrium. It wasn't loud or anything that woke me up- I think I was half awake and then was intrigued by the sound, and wandered out to sit on the balcony, watching the people all around the atrium. At some point, Chris got a phone call, so he got up, and we decided to head down and see what sort of food we could find, and to take a few more pictures. Plus, we had a few more Gnomes to hunt.

For breakfast, we ended up going to Java Coast. Chris got a muffin and I got some fruit. Then, we set off to explore the atrium, this time in daylight. We got the last of the pictures we needed, so decided to head back to the room and get ready to move. A quick call to Bell Services, and we were soon packed and waiting for the car in the transportation lobby.

I got the car loaded while Chris was grabbing something we'd forgotten in the room, and once he joined me, we set off for our next hotel. Our third in three nights. As we try to do each year at Christmas, we were staying at the Dolphin. We both love the hotel, and the location can't be beat!

At the Dolphin we handed our bags off to bell services and left the car with the valet and then headed in to get checked in. They had a sign up at check-in saying that if you donated $20 to Make a Wish you got a surprise gift, and we decided to do that. They put three envelopes down, and I picked one of them, which turned out to be free ice cream for two, at the Dolphin Fountain Take out Window.

We had been given the choice between a room with two beds with a good view, or a king bed with a not so good view. So, we decided to go with the two beds and the better view. After wandering down the halls with the bell services guy, we found our room, with a view looking out over the Boardwalk. We lugged all of our bags into the room, and started to unpack and get settled. I was emptying out the mini bar when Chris commented about the curtains and how the sheers were really dirty. He had me come look at them, and I said to call the front desk, and let them know. Then I settled in at my computer to check on work. Chris wasn't sure about calling the front desk, and I suggested that he call and say that he's not sure if it's mold or just dirt and would like someone to look at them. He wasn't entirely sure about calling then, and asked me what would make me think it was mold. But, he did call, and while he was waiting for the person to come up and check it out, he happened to pull the carpet back a little and it turns out that it was mold.

So, he called the front desk again and told them that it was, in fact, mold and that we'd need a new room. Before he hung up, he was told that a bellman was on his way up and that they'd have our new keys. We then spent the next few minutes repacking everything we'd just unpacked, and were waiting when someone knocked on the door. Chris opened it to find a housekeeping guy there with a spray bottle and a brush. After showing him the curtains, his eyes got really big and he asked if we'd called the front desk. We assured him that we had, and at that point there was another knock on the door, and it was bell services.

After we loaded everything up, we set back off down the hall, and up two floors, to our new room. It was a few doors down from our previous room (and, of course, two floors up), and it had a much better view. We could see nearly all of SpaceShip Earth from our bed! Again, we unpacked all our stuff, and got settled into this room. When we were done, we debated what to do next, and decided that we'd head to MGM, to see the holiday parade, get some dinner, and then see the Osbourn Lights.

We decided to take the boat down, and it got to the dock pretty quickly. The ride seemed to go quickly as well, and soon we were at the ticket counter picking up our new Annual Passes. Chris is less than pleased though, because he has a Tinkerbell pass now. I have a Princess one, so I think it worked out well ;o) Once we made it into the park, it was a zoo!

We set off to get some food, and decided that we'd go to Prime Time and see if we could eat in the bar, since I don't really think I'm the type of person who would enjoy the restaurant. It started drizzling while we were on our way to the restaurant, and just after we got inside, a total downpour started. The lounge was packed, of course, and the only place you could order food was at the bar. We found some seats and a menu, and then decided we didn't really want to eat here after all. The rain had let up, so we decided to see if we could get in as a walk in at Sci-Fi, but they were totally booked up. A quick call to the Dining line told me that there was nothing available until after 8 pm, and we wanted to eat before that. So, we decided to revise our plans, and headed over to the Osbourn Lights instead.

The lights are amazing, as they always are, and this year they are Dancing. We wandered up one of the streets of the lights, checking them out, and seeing how many Hidden Mickeys we could find. It started drizzling again, but it wasn't too bad, so we kept going. I stopped and talked to a Cast Member and learned that there were about 50 Hidden Mickeys, 3 Hidden Minnies and 1 black cat. Chris and I headed down the street, and it suddenly started pouring again. We ducked into the bathroom entrance that was nearby to get out of the rain, and spent the next 10 minutes there waiting for it to clear up.

While we were waiting, we listened to repeated announcements about the weather affecting the lights, and then finally they were cancelled for the night. The street suddenly went dark, and we were stuck trying to wait out the storm. When it became obvious that it wasn't going to pass, Chris offered to make a run for it, to get us some ponchos, and I waited, seemingly forever for him. He did eventually come back, and after getting suited up, we made our way out of the park and over to the boat dock.

The line was huge for the boat, so we decided we'd just walk, since we were already kind of wet. It ended up being a good choice, because there were about 4 boatloads of people waiting, and it wasn't until we were crossing the bridge by the Boardwalk area that we even saw another one head out that way. We headed back into the Dolphin, and decided to see if we could eat at the Fountain, which is a sort of 50s diner style place. We were seated almost immediately, and soon had our food. Chris and I split a burger, and I got a side order of fruit. For dessert he got some cookies, and I got my usual brownie.

After eating, we decided that it was still raining, so there was no way we were going to go to Epcot to try and see the fireworks. We ended up going back up to our room and hanging out, and when it was time for Illuminations, we watched the show, curled up on our bed. When the show was done, we decided that we wanted to explore some resorts.

One of my goals for this trip was to check out the holiday decorations at each of the resorts. So, we opted to start this Christmas Eve, and our first stop was Coronado Springs. From there we went to all three of the All Stars, and then Pop Century, and finished up at Caribbean Beach.

It was after midnight when we got back to the room, and we both wanted a snack, so we called room service and ordered some dessert, and then settled into bed for the night.

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