Debbie & Family - December 2007

In my party: Me, Debbie 46yrs, DH Barry 46yrs, DD Kayla 19, DD Delaney 10, DS Garret 9.
In the other 1/2 of our group: MIL Julia (aka the birthday girl - b-day Dec 24, age not mentioned!), SIL Andrea 34, BIL Jason 34, DN Madeline 6, DN Julia 4, DN Alex 5months.

We arrived by ME at ASMu about 11:00am on Dec 23. The lobby was full of people and was very nicely decorated. My first impression of ASMu was "upscale motel". That pretty much stayed with me for the week. It was nice, I have no complaints, it was just very obviously a value resort. I would stay there again. The rest of our party (arriving by car) got there within minutes of us. We all checked in (and were given Grand Gathering buttons) but of course no rooms were ready so we went to DTD. The bus was not crowded and we didn't wait long at all. DTD was packed! We ate a late lunch at Rainforest Cafe, I had forgotten how horribly expensive it was and we'll skip it next time. We did some shopping and called for our room after 3p, they only had our room ready, not my mother in law's room. Finally about 5 their room was also ready so we went back to the resort. We had 2 family suites, right next to each other in the Jazz building number 9, rooms 436 and 438. I was so hoping for a towel animal to greet us but there was nothing there. We saw towel snowmen and wreaths in other windows so all week I kept hoping. Alas, neither of us got anything until the very last day, and then it was just a very tiny bunny (I didn't even know what it was, my kids had to tell me!). I was seriously bummed!

Our schedule was this:
Mon. Dec 24 MGM, ADR at 50's Prime Time at 4:30.
Tue. Dec 25 AK, ADR at WCC at 4:30
Wed. Dec 26 MK, ADR Tony's for Grand Gathering Breakfast, ADR at LTT 2:30
Thu. Dec 27 EPCOT, ADR Princess Dinner at Norway 4:30
Fri. Dec 28 MK, ADR CRT 4:30

I tried to follow TGM's advice but our 180 mark was before he put out his Least Crowded advice. And we didn't have park hoppers (this trip was planned and paid for by my MIL) So we just took a guess at it, picked where we wanted to eat and hoped for the best. I have to say that MGM was a red day but I didn't think the crowds were that bad, we never waited more than 20 minutes for anything(except Fantasmic) and utilized FP as much as possible. Even Fantasmic we only waited 30 minutes in line and then in our seats for 20 minutes. The only day the crowds were truly unbearable was our EPCOT day. It was hot and just unbelievably crowded. We couldn't move. We stayed in FW most of the day. The only time we left FW was to go to our dinner at Norway. I'm very very sad that we didn't get to do Candlelight Processional and Illuminations. But we seriously couldn't move when we got into WS! The rest of the time the crowds were manageable.

Restaurant Reviews: 50's PT was chosen because it was my MIL's fav and her b-day. Our server was Cousin Janice, she was lots of fun. We ordered a cake for MIL's b-day, but since we were on the DDP we had desert too. So they boxed up the cake and we came back at 10p to pick it up. Food was great, and they were very attentive to my DD's food allergy.

WCC Had to wait almost 30 minutes after our ADR time. Didn't seem that crowded. WL was beautiful and we explored while we waited. Our server Sam was very friendly and talkative. The food was family style and a set menu since it was Christmas day. The kids didn't like it at all, none of the food was "plain kid food". But the adults all enjoyed it.

Tony's Grand Gathering: The BEST meal experience of the trip!!! I can't say enough good things about this meal! If you have 8 or more in your party, DO THIS MEAL!! Tony himself greets you at the door. You are seated and they immediately start bringing out juice, coffee, pastries. Then they bring out pre-plated breakfast, with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, and Mickey waffles! And it's all you can eat. Tony comes around to every table and brings you special pins that have his picture and the words "Grand Gathering" on them. They serve as a permanent FP to Mickey's Philharmagic! You just show the pins instead of a FP and get right in the show. Chip, Dale, Goofy and Pluto came out and spent lots of time at each table signing autographs and taking pictures. Our whole group wore matching Mickey tie-dyed shirts that day and Chip wrote in 2 of my kids' books "Where's my tie dye?" and "I want a tie dye shirt too!". Tony got the kids up for dancing in the center of the restaurant and then it was time for Mickey to arrive. He came in and they called tables up for pictures and autographs, in the order that you checked in. Oh, and when Tony came to our table during breakfast and asked how we liked our food, I told him that my DS loved the waffles so much he ate 5 of them. Tony was so impressed that he gave Garrett an extra pin to trade!

LTT: Food was great and 2:30 was a perfect time to have the restaurant almost to ourselves. The 3p Christmas parade came right outside the doors and we took the kids to the porch and they had front row seats for it, then we finished lunch. The servers were wonderful and the chef took time to talk to us about our food allergy again.

Princess Dinner in Norway: Would NEVER do this again. It was crowded, the princesses seemed rushed and not very interested in taking time with our kids. The food was just ok, nothing special at all. The kids got their pictures taken with Belle before we were seated and then Alice, Jasmine, Cinderella, Aurora came around. My DD 10 was beside herself with excitement to meet Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) but she was a little cold and didn't want me to take a picture of just the two of them before taking a group shot. Too bad, I did it anyway!

CRT: Fantastic! Because of the size of our group we got 3 picture packages so we had one of our family, one of my SIL's family then one of all of us. The girls got wands and the 2 boys (yes, they even gave one to the baby) got swords. The show with Fairy Godmother and the mice was fun and the food was great.