Tales from A December to Remember--Day 4--Sunday, December 4, 2011

Sunday morning, I was up bright and early. I was like the little boy in the Disney commercials a few years back. I was just too darn excited to sleep! I was heading for a four night cruise on the Disney Dream, and I just couldn’t wait to get on board that ship!

But I wasn’t going to be picked up by the Disney bus until 12:30, so I had six hours to kill until it was time to head to the ship.

When Masayo and I were ready, we headed down to Kouzzina for breakfast. I got the breakfast skillet. It was an omelet with thick pieces of delicious bacon in it and a tasty Greek cheese on top. It was served over diced potatoes and sweet potatoes. It was very yummy!

After breakfast, we headed back up to our rooms. Our bags were magically picked up and we wouldn’t see them again until the cruise. We arranged for bell services to come pick up our carryon bags and Owner’s Lockers, and soon were on our way to Disney Hollywood Studios to kill a few hours until it was time to get on the bus.

I decided to walk, and Masayo took the boat. I arrived at the park long before Masayo. It was too late to get Toy Story Midway Mania fast passes by the time we arrived at the park, so I went to grab a fast pass for Tower of Terror. I called Masayo to see if she had arrived yet, but she was still on the boat. I told her to grab a Tower of Terror fast pass, and headed over to the single riders line at the Rock ‘N Roller Coaster. I lucked up and got to ride in the front row with a nice guy named Gary from DC. 

I took this picture on my walk from the

Boardwalk to Disney Hollywood Studios.

By the time I got off the ride, Masayo was in the park, so I met her, and we headed over to take a ride on Star Tours. I really love the new version. This attraction (like many other attractions at the Studios) desperately needed an update, and they really did a great job on it. Now how about doing something about the Indiana Jones stunt show, Disney?

We then headed over to the Great Movie Ride. The line for the Great Movie Ride was a bit longer than we expected, so by the time we got off the ride, we had to chose between getting a snack to hold us over until we got to the ship or going on the Tower of Terror. We wound up opting for a snack, so we gave someone our Fast Passes.

We headed down to Rosie’s on Sunset to get our snack. I wound up getting a kids chicken nugget meal with fries, and Masayo got ribs. The chicken nuggets were OK--they weren’t the same kind of chicken nuggets that you get when you order an adult meal. But they were enough to get a little something in my stomach.

While we were eating, I couldn’t help but notice an adorable one-year-old girl who was all smiles as her grandfather gave her some water from a bottle. She just looked like a happy little girl, so I had to go say hello to her. Her name was Katie, and she really was adorable. She was also with her equally adorable brother Charlie, who was celebrating his birthday with a bag of Cheetos (and the orange fingers to prove it).

We then walked back to the Boardwalk to catch our bus. We were so excited for our cruise! When we boarded the bus at the Boardwalk convention center, our friends Mark and Janice were on the bus, which they had boarded at the Beach Club. We had met Janice and Mark at an All Ears meet last year, and realized that we would be on the same cruise. We had exchanged e-mail addresses and were e-mailing each other off and on all year.

We were soon on our way to the Disney Dream! It was nice to chat with Mark and Janice during the ride, and also watch the videos on the bus. It really made the bus ride fly by.

We arrived at port after 2:00. It was almost 2:30 by the time we checked in and got on the ship. I have to say that I didn’t like getting to the ship so late. It made the afternoon on the ship too rushed. Next time, I’ll either take a town car or stay at the airport the night before so I can get on an earlier bus.

Our first activity on the cruise was the DVC member celebration at Evolution. I was happy to see DVC cast member Michael at the check-in desk. I had met Michael at a DVC event in Boston a few years back, and have run into him in the parks several times since then. I was also happy to see my guide Amil on the ship. I met Amil on my first Disney Cruise in 2007, and again saw him at the event in Boston. I wound up asking him to be my guide a couple years back when I wasn’t happy with the guide assigned to me after my previous guide left.

The event was your typical DVC event--a sales pitched mixed into a game show with lots of prizes. I wound up winning a DVC travel blanket. They were serving some yummy mimosas, though they were very weak. I drank three of them.

After the DVC event, I ran up to my room for a bit to see if my luggage had arrived, which it had not. I spent some time to checking out my room. I was in room 8502, which was all the way forward on the starboard side of the ship. It had one large porthole overlooking the Vybe. The front wall of the room was slanted, which made the room seem more roomy than the other staterooms I’ve stayed in. The room was well designed with lots of closet space, which had some open shelving. My only complaint was that I wish that there was more drawer space in the room. There were only three small drawers in the vanity/desk area. It would have been nice if one of the three closet spaces was a chest of drawers instead of a closet.

The room featured a split bathroom, one with a toilet and sink, and the other with a tub and sink. While the tub is too short for an adult to bathe in, it was large enough to bathe a child. It was also very deep.

It was then time to head for the muster drill. I am glad that they don’t make you wear the life vests for muster anymore. It was always uncomfortable to stand there wearing them when you are crowded in with hundreds of other people who were in the same station as you.

After muster, I went up to deck 11 for the Sail Away Party. Disney really does a great job on the parties. They are so much fun. I usually walk from the deck above the party, but this time, I was on a main deck dancing and waving my streamers along with lots of other passengers.

After the sail away party, I headed back to my room to change for dinner. This was my first time doing early dinning on a cruise, and I found that I didn’t really like it. Since most families with young children try to get the early dining, the restaurants were more busy and louder. I found dining at late dining on my last two cruises to be a lot more relaxed and enjoyable.

We were starting our dining rotation at Animator’s Palate, the restaurant I was most excited about seeing. I hadn’t read much about Animator’s Palate on the Dream, but I knew it was different than Animator’s Palate on the one the Wonder and Magic. I was a bit disappointed by the theme at Animator’s Palate. It’s basically just Turtle Talk with Crush, which I have seen at both Disney World and Disneyland. It’s fun to see once or twice, and I’m sure folks who never saw it before were amazed, but when you’ve seen it several times at the theme parks, it just isn’t special.

I started off my meal with the Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes, which were basically mushroom raviolis in a cheese and champagne sauce. The raviolis were very tasty--the cheese flavor definitely won out over the other flavors.

I then had the baked potato and cheddar soup with bacon bits and chives. The soup was good, but not what I expected. All of the ingredients had been pureed to a smooth liquid, and while the flavor was fine, it wasn’t the chunky potato soup I was expecting.

For my entrée, I ordered the Lemon-thyme marinated organic chicken breast with sour cream massed potatoes, roasted root vegetables, and grain mustard jus. While the chicken tasted fine, it was very dry. The mashed potatoes were smooth and tasty. The root vegetables were well-seasoned.

For dessert, I ordered the Pineapple Financier (almond cake served with whip cream), and the Cookies & Cream Sundae. The pineapple on top of the cake was very tasty, but the take itself was very dry--it had the consistency of a cookie more than a cake. The cookies and cream sundae was good, but the cookie chunks were very dry.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal at Animator’s Palate, but it didn’t knock my socks off. 

After dinner, I went down to the atrium to watch the tree lighting ceremony to watch the tree lighting ceremony. Before the ceremony started, I saw a guy standing against the wall with his backside facing out as several people took pictures of him. I said, “Do you always have people take pictures of your backside?” He said, “It’s a long story.” One of his friends said, “He just loves pictures of his assets.”

A few minutes later, I walked by the family again and the guy was getting ready to take a picture of some of the members in her party. While he was getting them ready to pose, I snuck over and leaned against the same wall as he had with my backside facing outward in the same position he was standing. The whole family was in hysterics and the guy took a picture of my backside. So somewhere out there, there is a man with a picture of my assets on his camera.

I also ran into our cruise director Clayton. Clayton was the cruise director on my last cruise in December, 2008. I went over to him to say hello, and told him that I remembered the “I’m on vacation dance” and started to do it. He laughed and told me that they still did the dance on the cruise (and he did lead us in the dance later that night at the Golden Mickeys).

I then watched the tree lighting ceremony. The ceremony on the Dream was the same ceremony I saw three years ago. They pick a boy from the audience to be the king, and he joins Mickey and Minnie to light the tree with his scepter. It’s a cute little show.

I had a few minutes until I had to heat to the theatre to see the Golden Mickeys show, so I ran up to my room for a minute. I took my key to the world card out of my lanyard, and put it in the slot to turn on the lights. When I left the room, I left the key in the slot, locking myself out of my room. I didn’t have time to run down to guests services to get another key before the show, so I went directly to the theatre to see the Golden Mickeys.

The Golden Mickeys is a fantastic show. Enson Benson steps in give out the Golden Mickeys to some scenes from Disney classic movies. It featured performances of some of my favorite songs, including “Heigh Ho,” “Out There,” “I’ll Make A Man Out of You,” and “You’ve Got A Friend In Me.” It is so much fun watching some of my favorite songs and scenes from Disney musics performed live on stage.

After the show, I went to Guest Relations to pick up a key. I asked the cast member how many keys they have to reissue each cruise after someone leaves them in the light slot, and she told me that about 150 people do that each cruise.

I then went back to my stateroom to unpack. The ship was really rocking and rolling that night. I have a strong stomach, and usually don’t feel queasy from the movement of the ship, but this night, it was getting to me a bit. I didn’t feel that I was going to get sick, but I felt like I needed a snack before bed, so I went up to grab a late night snack. I grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza and a chicken finger. The pizza was kind of nasty, but the chicken finger was very good—it was piping hot and tasted good.

After my snack, I headed back to my room and was rocked to sleep on the ship.

Tales from a December to Remember--Day 3--Saturday, December 3, 2011

Despite the late night at Jellyrolls, I was up early and ready to go on Saturday morning. I had another fun day planned with my friends, but I didn’t know when the day started just how fun my day would be! It was even more magical and memorable than I ever imagined it would be.

I grabbed an everything bagel at the Boardwalk Bakery and went back to my room to eat it. When Masayo and I were ready to hit the parks, we started walking to Epcot. We ran into a family on the bridge to Epcot. The dad was taking a picture of his wife and daughter, and his young son was sitting in his stroller. As I usually do when I see someone taking a picture of their family, I stopped and offered to take a picture so all of them could be in it. The father was grateful for my offer, and went to get in the picture with his wife and daughter, but he forgot something. He forgot his little boy! I said, “What about him?” and the father was like, “Oh yeah, I forgot.” How someone could forget an adorable toddler sitting in a stroller right in front of him is unfathomable to me, but somehow this dad forgot. So he scooped the little boy up and I took a picture of the now complete happy family. I joked with the dad afterwards that I thought I was going to have to take his son to the park with me that day.

Once through the turnstiles at the International Gateway, Masayo and I made our way to Soarin’ for a RADP meet. My friends John, Sue, Catherine, and Jack were also there. We jumped in the standby line at Soarin’, and the time flew by as we chatted and joked around. We nearly filled the entire middle section of the ride!

I was seated next to Catherine on the ride, and Jack was on her other side. Midway through the ride, I purposely back handed Catherine in the face when the golf ball was shot. Jack said afterwards that Catherine had thought that it was him who she should be worried about misbehaving, but no, it wasn’t Jack. I am the one who doesn’t know who to behave! They should know me well enough to realize this by now.

After Soarin’, we had a bit of time on our hands, so some of us grabbed a snack Sunshine Seasons food court while the rest of the group went over to ride Sum of All Thrills. I got a yummy banana nut muffin with tasty icing. I sat at a table and chatted with Masayo and Sue while we waited until it was time for the next meet.

As the group began to assemble to get in line for Living with the Land, I went to a trash barrel to throw out my muffin container. When I pushed open the trash bin, my hand got covered with maple syrup from a previous guest. So, I had to run to the ladies room to wash my hands before I got in line with the rest of the group. By the time I got back, the rest of the group got in line, so I had to climb under the rail to get in line with the group.

When our group got to the boarding area, the cast member directed our party of 23 to five rows of the boat. I don’t know what the heck that cast member was thinking when he sent he expected to fit five adults in those rows! By the time we realized that we all wouldn’t fit in the boat, the rest of the boat was full. Sue and I wound up having to ride on another boat with two other RADP people.

While I was initially a bit disappointed to be separated from the rest of the group, something happened that made it all right. Sometimes fate steps in and leads you to something so fantastic that you are grateful that a twist of fate changed your plans.

When our boat went into the greenhouse section of the ride, the four of us who got separated from the rest of the RADP folks got to witness something totally fantastic. It was unlike anything else I’ve ever seen in my life, and made riding away from the rest of our party totally worth it.

What, you may be wondering, could be so fantastic in Living with the Land? No, it wasn’t a gigantic Mickey Mouse pumpkin or a huge bunch of bananas. We aren’t talking about run of the mill fruits and vegetables, here, my friends. But I’m going to make you wait a bit for the reveal because I have a bit more to say about Living with the Land first.

Living with the Land is one of those attractions that I only visit once every couple of years—usually when I’m with a group, or people who haven’t ridden it before, or I’m trying to kill time before my Soarin’ fast pass return time. I think this ride would be a lot more fun to ride if they handed out samples as you road (“here, have a banana”).

Also, the ride was decorated for the holidays, but you could tell that it wasn’t decorated by official Disney decorators. They had dollar store decorations, bows, and garland all over the greenhouse. It was the tackiest thing I had ever seen on Disney property until I looked in front of me and saw something fantastically tacky in the row in front of us.

Tacky decoration on Living with the Land

There were two older couples sitting in the row of front of us. When our boat went into the greenhouse area, the ladies put on their sunglasses. They were bejeweled and bedazzled with flowers, and beads, and leaves. These were the most wonderfully hideous sunglasses I have ever seen in my life. This is what happens, my friend, when you leave grandma alone with a hot glue gun.

Hey, Grandma, step away from the hot glue gun!

Of course I had to point the sunglasses out to Sue and the other RADP folks. It set me in a fit of giggles for most of the rest of the ride. Sue’s wheels were turning as she was trying to figure out how she could make her own hideously tacky bejeweled and bedazzled sunglasses. I think she already started working on making sunglasses to sell at the RADP meets next year, so start saving your rhinestones and pennies now!

As our boat was approaching the dock, there were about a half dozen RADP people standing by the rail, cameras ready to take our picture. Sue and I motioned to the folks to take a picture of the ladies in front of us, who now had the sunglasses sticking out of the shirts. Hopefully someone got a full frontal picture of the tacky glasses. I also joked that the paparazzi had found me because I am a two-time Academy Award winner.

After riding Living With the Land, John, Sue, Masayo, and I went to use the Soarin’ fast passes we had picked up earlier in the day. While we were in the loading area, Sue noticed a kid wearing a shirt with the name of the small Ohio town where she grew up on it. She asked the boy if he was from the town in Ohio, or the town of the same name in Georgia. He told her he was from the town in Ohio. The boy was travelling with his parents and grandparents. Sue and John started talking to them, and it turned out that the grandmother knows Sue’s mother! Of course, that caused all of us to break into song—“it’s a small world” to be specific.

After Soarin’, John, Sue, Masayo, and I headed over to the Electric Umbrella for lunch. I ordered the meatball sub with French fries. They seemed to be having trouble with the fryolator this afternoon because we had to wait a long time for our fries. John and I watched about a dozen meals sitting on the counter waiting for their fries! Finally after close to ten minutes, the fries were done, and John and I got our food. Masayo had to wait a bit longer for hers. I guess they ran out of fries, again.

After lunch, Masayo and I said goodbye to John and Sue, who were heading over to Mexico for the tequila meet. Masayo and I took rides on Test Track and Journey into Imagination with Figment.

We then walked out to the International Gateway for the annual Big RADP meet. Of course John, Sue, Catherine, and Jack were there, but more of my friends were there, including Ray, Linda, and Deb. It was great to see so many wonderful Disney friends all in one place. It’s always great to catch up with the people I see just once a year.

Here I am with two of my oldest and dearest

DIS friends:  Ray Sharpton and John (Towncrier)

Gloria, one of the RADP people who I didn’t really know, came over to Linda and me while we were chatting. Gloria was wearing a Santa shirt, and she said that everyone was saying how much they loved the shirt. So, me being me, had to be a bit of a wiseass, and I jokingly told her, “I don’t like the shirt. I think it’s the ugliest shirt I’ve ever seen.” Gloria was sweet, and she held her tongue because she doesn’t really know me, but I assured her I was just joking around. She could have given me a witty retort, and I would have had something to shot right back at her.

After the RADP meet, I went back into Epcot, intending to see some of the holiday storytellers. Father Christmas in the United Kingdom was going to start telling his story in about 10 minutes, so I made my way to the UK to see him. He was very entertaining, though I found an error in his story. He said that “Jingle Bells” was written in New Jersey, but it was actually written in my hometown of Medford, Massachusetts.

I checked the schedule to see if I could fit another storyteller in before I had to leave Epcot, but the timing wasn’t going to work for me. I had to run back to the Boardwalk to pack my bags for the cruise the next day. I had plans to meet my friend Joe and his friend Amy, and wasn’t planning on being back in the room early, so I wanted to pack my bags before meeting them.

When I got back to the resort, I grabbed a soda and a delicious S’mores cupcake at the Boardwalk bakery. The cupcake was very yummy, though it was a bit messy.

When my bags were packed, I walked over to Disney Hollywood Studios to meet Joe and Amy. I think everyone and their aunt Margaret was in the park that night, as there were wall to wall people. There was even a long line for the Great Movie Ride, which none of us really wanted to wait in since we had all been on it so many times.

We began to wander around the park. We stopped to take pictures with some of the busts near Sounds Dangerous. In all of my trips to Disney World, I don’t think I took more than a passing glance at the busts, so it was kind of neat to stop and really look at them. Joe was very willing to pose for pictures with a lot of the statues. One interesting thing was the Desi Arnez bust—it was hollow in the back, while the rest of them were pretty solid.

We continued to wander a bit, and we wound up running into my DIS friends Cheryl (CherylP3) and Todd, who were at the park with Todd’s brother. Cheryl and Todd are originally from Boston, so I had met them at meets here once or twice, but now I only see them when I’m at Disney World. It was great to see them again.

In our travels, we also saw an older man wearing a Buzz Lightyear sweatshirt. We were fairly certain that he was the real Buzz Lightyear enjoying a night in the park in honor of his retirement, but when we walked close by him at one point, I said, “To infinity and beyond” and he didn’t even acknowledge it.

We wound up heading to see “Beauty and the Beast.” I haven’t seen this show in years, and I had forgotten how entertaining it is. They did a great job staging a mini-version of the story.

We then started to walk back to New York Street to see the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. Before we came to the Osbourne lights, we came to the blinding lights at the Disney Channel Rocks stage. Despite the fact that there wasn’t a show going on, they had the bright, blinding lights from behind the stage shining. I joked with a cast member standing next to them with a flashlight directing people to the Osbourne lights that here light paled in comparison to the stage lights.

Walk into the light!

Photo Op!

The Osbourne lights are absolutely stunning. Pictures and videos just don’t do them justice, especially when they are dancing to your favorite holiday songs. When the lights started dancing to “Feliz Navidad” I had to call my friend Jen, who was with me in December 2007 to videotape me dancing to the song with my good friends Diane and Mary Anne.

Hanging with Joe and Amy at the Osbourne

Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

And speaking of dancing, there was a cast member named Aaron from Tulsa was dancing to the music near the Nativity Scene. So, me being me, I had to join in and dance with him. And I had to get Joe to immortalize it on my Flip cam.

While we were admiring the lights, a nice family asked a man standing near us to take their picture. I stood behind him and watched as he took the picture, and he zoomed in close on the family, barely getting any of the lights in the picture. When he handed back the camera and walked away, I told the mom that the guy didn’t get any of the lights in the picture, and offered to take another one. She was afraid that the guy might be offended if he saw them posing for another picture, but when he was far away, she let me take the picture for them.

When we had our fill of the dancing lights, we decided to find something to eat. As we walked, we spotted a woman carrying a funnel cake with ice cream trying to take a picture while she walked. I asked her if it was for me, but more than that, I was waiting for her to trip and fall into the thing. Why would anyone try to take a picture of their snack while walking through a crowd?

Our quest for food turned into a series of decisions and changing our mind on the fly that lead to one of the most perfect evenings I’ve ever had at Walt Disney World. It was one of those evenings that wouldn’t have worked out so well if we had tried to plan it.

And it all started with our indecisiveness over what to have for dinner, and where to go to eat it. Nothing sounded particularly appealing at Disney Hollywood Studios, so we decided to leave the park. We decided we would see if there was a line to get on the boat to the Dolphin so we could have dinner at Picabu. But the line was long, so we started to discuss other options. Joe suggested that we go to Downtown Disney, but I didn’t think it was a good idea on a Saturday night, especially since we would have to transfer buses to get there.

I suggested that we go to a monorail resort for dinner so that we would be in the Magic Kingdom area for the fireworks, figuring we could watch them from a beach or something. The Magic Kingdom was opened until 1:00 a.m. this night, so we would also have the option of going to the park after dinner if we wanted to go. We decided to go to the Polynesian for dinner, so we hopped in the line for the bus that went to the Polynesian, Contemporary, and Grand Floridian. It was a long line, and we figured we’d have to wait for the second bus.

While we were waiting, the bus to the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness showed up. The line wasn’t that long, and it was one of the older buses with lots of seats. I turned to Joe and said, “We should go to the Wilderness Lodge. We’ll definitely get on the bus, and we’ll probably get seats, too.” Joe agreed, so we got Amy off the nearby bench and went to get on the bus to the Wilderness Lodge.

When we got off the bus at the Wilderness Lodge, we started to walk into the building. When we saw the cowbells outside the building, Joe said, “We need more cowbell,” a reference to a classic Saturday Night Live skit. Just seconds after Joe said it, a little boy in front of us said, “We need more cowbell.” Joe and I started laughing because we knew this little boy didn’t hear Joe say it first, and he was far too young to have seen the skit. His mom heard us laughing and told us that she taught him to say it.

Since we were all hungry, we headed to Roaring Forks to grab some dinner. I wound up getting a Wilderness Salad, which had chicken, apples, and walnuts on it. It was made to order and tossed in a delicious vinaigrette.

After dinner, we browsed around the mercantile for a while. Although none of us bought anything, I did enjoy browsing in the shop. The Wilderness Lodge gift shop always has the most interesting merchandise.

We then headed to the boat dock to catch the boat to the Magic Kingdom, hoping that we would make it to the Magic Kingdom in time to catch Wishes. When we got to the dock, there were a lot of people already in line for the boat. The small boat wasn’t big enough to take everyone, and we wound up having to wait for the next boat. We were the second party in line.

And having to wait for the second boat ended up being a stroke of luck. We were able to watch the Electric Water Pageant from the boat dock! We stayed in line, so we didn’t have the best view of it, but it was still fun to watch it.

While we were waiting in line, we started chatting with the family in back of us. Mostly we were talking to the mom, who shall henceforth be referred to as Drunk Oklahoma Lady. Drunk Oklahoma Lady was very awed when she heard that we were from Boston. She called us the quintessential Americans, and kept on telling us how adorable and perfect we were (hmm, maybe she wasn’t that drunk, since she was obviously correct about me being perfect and adorable).

Drunk Oklahoma Lady was the mother of an adorable son named Luke. Her friend showed us a picture of her son by the pool, and said that he could be a J. Crew model. I totally agreed with them. Drunk Oklahoma Lady is going to have to fight the girls away from her son with a stick in a few years.

We continued to listen to Drunk Oklahoma Lady talk about how wonderful, and adorable, and perfect we were until the boat arrived. Once again, we realized that missing the first boat was a stroke of luck. The timing was perfect and we would now be able to watch Wishes from the boat as we made our way to the Magic Kingdom!

When the boat arrived, it was one of the large boats. I decided that I wanted to sit outside in the front of the boat. The first party took seats inside, so we had first choice of the seats outside. I sat in the front row on the right, and Amy and Joe sat in the front row on the left.

Drunk Oklahoma lady sat in the seat behind me. She continued to tell me how adorable and perfect I am. She told me that everyone loves me because I am so fun, and vibrant, and adorable, and energetic. Drunk Oklahoma Lady is really perceptive when she is drunk because she had me perfectly pegged. Drunk Oklahoma lady introduced me to her beautiful daughter Sophie and told me that she wanted Sophie to be just like me when she grew up.

Some great kids from Alabama sat with me on the boat. Their names were Zanna, Kalie, and Eli. They were very inquisitive kids, and I really enjoyed chatting with them. They really seemed to enjoy watching Wishes on the boat. When we came around the Contemporary and could see the castle, the kids were very excited to see the castle lit in different colors.

One of the crew members on the boat, Ed, instructed the boat’s captain to take the long way to the Magic Kingdom so that we could watch all of Wishes from the boat. Ed stood at the front of the boat, and even softly sang some of the music for wishes.

When Wishes ended, we still had a few minutes left in our boat ride. I enlisted Drunk Oklahoma Lady, Kalie, Eli, and Sophie to join me in trying to get everyone on the boat singing “Jingle Bells.” So, we started singing, and just about everyone on the front of the boat joined in (although Joe likes to say that only two people joined in—but he was singing along too).

When the boat docked, Joe, Amy, and I said goodbye to our new friends, and made our way into the Magic Kingdom. We arrived shortly before the Magic, the Memories, and You show was supposed to start, so we found a spot in the hub to watch from, as Joe and Amy had not yet seen it. This was my first time seeing the holiday ending to the show, and I absolutely loved seeing the castle looking like a candy cane and a gingerbread house. When I first heard about this show, I didn’t think I’d like it, but I really do love watching it.

We then made our way over to the Haunted Mansion. We took the graveyard queue, as Joe and Amy had not yet seen it. After our ride on the Haunted Mansion, I said good night to Joe and Amy. I had to be up early in the morning, as I had to have my bags ready to go for the cruise by 8:00 a.m., so I knew I had to be up bright and early the next morning.

It sure was a magical day at Walt Disney World—one that I won’t soon forget. There were a lot of laughs, a lot of memories made, and a lot of quality time with my wonderful friends.

Tales from A December to Remember--Day 2--Friday, December 2, 2011

Since I had an early night on Thursday, I was up bright and early Friday morning ready to go! But the parks wouldn’t open for over two hours, so I had some time to kill. I took a walk over to the Hess Station near the Boardwalk to get some water. I always bring an empty suitcase with me to carry the water back to my room. It took me about 25 minutes to walk to the store, grab some water, and walk back. For you coffee lovers who don’t like the Nescrape coffee they serve at Disney World, note that they sell Dunkin Donuts coffee at the Hess Station.

After filling my fridge with water, I made my way to the bus stop to catch a bus to the Animal Kingdom, where I would be attending a couple of RADP meets. I’m not really part of RADP, but many of my friends do, so I was attending the meets to see them.

Once through the gates of the Animal Kingdom, I made my way up the path on the right, and waited for rope drop. I figured that I was bound to run into someone I knew, so I turned back to walk back towards the entrance. Within a few steps, I ran into my friend Catherine and Jack! I met Catherine about five years ago in San Antonio when we were both at the same conference for work. Jack lives in a neighboring town in Massachusetts, but he is a Disney friend who I only see in Florida. Hey Jack, we should go get some shepherd’s pie at Harrington’s sometime!

Jack was also kind enough to inform me the rules of bing part of RADP.  If you heard of it, you're in. So I guess I'm in. But I also heard that Jack sends new members $50, so I'm waiting to get that money. I was the one who said it, so it must be true, right Jack?

When the rope dropped, we made our way to Expedition Everest to grab fast passes to use later in the day. Along the way, we ran into more RADP people, most of whom I did not know.

I broke away from the group to grab some French toast sticks for breakfast at a counter service restaurant. They were very yummy (though a bit pricy for what is basically one thick slice of cinnamon coated bread and a small container of maple syrup.

I then headed to the Safari to meet the rest of the RADP group. My friends John and Sue were there, as expected. But so were my Tagrel friends Carol and Gary, who I didn’t expect to see at the meet. It sure was great to see Carol and Gary, who also happen to be some of my favorite Canadians--I put them right up there with Trevor Linden, Ray Bourque, Bryan Adams, Corey Hart, and the cast of MVP: the Secret Lives of Hockey Wives.

After mingling and chatting with the RADP group, I joined Carol and Gary for a ride on the Safari. I have about as much interest in animals as I have in having my teeth pulled without Novocain, but I always have interest in spending time with my friends, so where they go, I am willing to go. We wound up sitting in the last row of the truck, and it’s really an ideal spot to get some great pictures of the animals, as you can turn around and snap pictures from the back window. There were tons of animals out this day, and we even got to see a hippo lying in the sun outside the water.

An unusual animal climbed into

our truck and sat next to Carol.

After the safari, we walked through one of the animal trails on our way to Expedition Everest. We were too late for the RADP meet, so we wound up riding on our own. We were in the last two rows of the train. The front car and the back car are the best cars to ride in for Expedition Everest! It’s especially fun when you are riding it with friends who love it as much as you do!

After our ride, Carol, Gary, and I had a Photopass photographer take our picture with Expedition Everest in the background. It was then time to say goodbye to my friends, as I had lunch reservations at the Kona Café, and they had to go back to Fort Wilderness to let their dogs out of their trailer. I really enjoyed the unexpected time I spent with Carol and Gary! They sure are a great couple!

And this is part of my December trips that I love so much. Spending pockets of time with different friends!

I made my way to the Polynesian bus stop, and just made a bus. I arrived at the Polynesian shortly before the Kona Café opened for lunch at noon. I checked in, and was seated a few minutes after noon. Kona is normally one of my favorite restaurants, but I was a bit disappointed this time. The service was extremely slow. I waited 10 minutes for a waitress to come to my table, and then another half hour before I had any food on my table! I was sitting there for a full 40 minutes before I got any food.

I asked my waitress if it was possible to order sticky wings for one instead of the sticky wings for two on the menu. She told me they didn’t do it, but she would check with the chef. She came back a few minutes later and told me that they would do it just for me, but don’t tell anyone. Well, you may be asking, why am I writing about it in my trip report if she told me not to tell anyone? I’ll tell you why. They also made sticky wings for one for the table next to me. So, it really isn’t that big of a deal. They weren’t doing it just for me. They did it for anyone who asked. So if you want sticky wings for one, then order sticky wings for one.

As I waited, and waited, and waited for my wings to arrive, a manager came over to me and explained that he was going to charge me $8 for my chicken wings, but I would receive a full order even though I only paid for a half order. Apparently it is too confusing for the chef to count out six wings instead of 12 wings. When the wings finally arrived, they were as wonderfully stickily delicious as I remembered them being the last time I had them.

For my entrée, I ordered the beef teriyaki salad. The beef teriyaki salad at the Kona Café used to be my favorite salad on Disney property, but they changed it. It used to be a delicious salad of mixed greens, cheddar cheese, and slices of beef teriyaki tossed in an honey lime vinaigrette served in a crispy wonton bowl. Now, it’s a good, but not nearly as delicious salad of mixed greens, vegetables, crispy noodles, and slices of beef teriyaki tossed in an Asian vinaigrette served on a plate. I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as the old version of the salad.

After lunch, I took the monorail to the Grand Floridian to check out the decorations. I always have to go see the gingerbread house and beautiful Chrismtas tree at the Grand Floridian. It’s truly a magical spot during the holidays.

I then took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. I took the train to Frontierland and grabbed a fast past for Big Thunder Mountain. I then made my way to Pirates of the Caribbean to pay a visit to Captain Jack Sparrow. I was thinking about taking a ride on the Haunted Mansion, but the line was long, so I kept walking through Fantasyland. Even it’s a small world had a long line, so I continued to walk through Fantasyland and cut around the side of the castle.

Jennifer Hudson and a choir were filming a song for the Christmas parade, so I stopped on the side of the castle to watch for a bit. I can’t remember what they were performing, though. I guess I’ll have to watch the Christmas parade on television to find out. It was interesting to hear the audience being instructed to step back, move forward, go crazy, and other instructions for the taping.

Jennifer Hudson performs a song for

the Christmas parade

I stopped to have a picture taken

in  front of the castle while

Jennifer Hudson performed

I stopped over at the Main Street Bakery to get a cinnamon roll for a snack. I really love the cinnamon rolls at the Main Street Bakery. It’s my big splurge once or twice every trip. They are warm, and gooey, and tasty. I sat at a table on the lower level near the Plaza Restaurant to eat my cinnamon roll. A nice couple from Delaware sat with me, and I really enjoyed chatting with them while we ate our snacks and watched Jennifer Hudson from afar.  

I then walked back over to Big Thunder Mountain to use my fast pass. I took the train back to Main Street, and made my way to the Boardwalk bus stop. I wanted to be back at the resort in time to meet my friend Masayo when her Magical Express bus arrived. Masayo would be staying with me the next two nights, and also be going on the Disney Dream with me. 

I arrived at the Boardwalk before Masayo, so I arranged to have her Owner’s Locker delivered, and picked up her key. I grabbed a soda at the pizza window, and went to wait at the Magical Express. I chatted with a nice couple from Pennsylvania while I waited for the bus. The husband was originally from Boston, so we talked about the Bruins and Red Sox while we waited.

When Masayo’s bus arrived, I helped her bring her bags up to our room. We set up the couch bed for her, and spent some time catching up while Masayo got settled into the room.

We then made our way down to the ESPN Club to grab some dinner. We both got the Asian chicken salad. The salad was very good, and it even had celery in it, though the menu didn’t say that. I was also happy to see that the ESPN Club served Coke Zero, which is only served at some locations at Disney World. And it was an excellent mix of Coke Zero. You know how sometimes when you get a fountain soda it’s kind of flat, and other times, it is fuzzy and yummy? Well, this was a fuzzy and yummy mix. I wound up taking a cup to go with me just so I could savor it rather than suck it down at the table. Ah. The little things in life make me happy!

After dinner, we went back to the room. I wound up heading down to Jellyrolls to see my favorite piano players, Scotty and Ray. I had only seen them once on my last trip, and this would be only one of two nights I would see them on this trip. I arrived at the bar right at 8:00, and took my normal bar stool in the back of the bar.

Michael W. and Matthew took the stage shortly after 8:00. They were very interactive with the audience, as the piano players usually are in the first hour or two, and were as entertaining as always. Scotty and Ray both stopped by to say hello to me while Michael and Matt were on stage. It sure was good to see them again.

At 9:00, Scotty and Ray took the stage, and I was happily enjoying their set. I put up a few requests to hear them sing some of my favorite songs, including “Haven’t Met You Yet” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”  In the middle of their set, I saw the nice family I met on the monorail the night before walk into the bar! It was a nice surprise to see Mark, Missy, and Emily again. I wound up moving my seat to sit with them on some bar stools in the back of the center section.

Scotty and Ray! 

Mark, Missy, and Emily really enjoyed the bar, and absolutely loved Scotty and Ray. At the end of their set, Mark asked me how anyone could top that. Mark left midway through the next set, but Missy, Emily, and I stayed, and were eventually able to move down up to a table. They loved watching Scotty perform “Why Are There So Many Songs about Rainbows?”.

The crowd was hopping this night thanks to some drunk guys who attended a wedding earlier in the day. They were dancing all over the bar, and with any woman who was willing to dance with them. There was also a family wearing Santa hats who were dancing and acting crazy.

My favorite part of the night was hearing Scotty sing “Seasons of Love” from the Broadway musical “Rent,” which someone had paid him $20 to sing. As many of you know, “Rent” is my favorite Broadway musical, so it was a real treat to get to hear Scotty sing the song. How often to two things you are really passionate about collide? It was a wonderful moment.

I wound up leaving the bar around midnight. I just can’t stay at the bar until closing after a full day in the parks anymore. It’s no fun getting old.

I went up to the room, and climbed into bed, grateful for another fun day with friends, both new friends and old friends.

Tales from a December to Remember--Day 1, Thursday, December 1, 2011

At last one of my most anticipated days of the year had arrived! It was finally the day to leave for my annual December trip to Walt Disney World to spend some time with my Disney family, that crazy group of hundreds who I see each December. So, I was up long before the sun to get ready to head to the airport for my 7:10 a.m. flight to Orlando. Yes, it was early, but totally worth it because it was the start of 12 days of fun with the Disney family I usually only see once a year.

There is something really special about having a Disney family. They come from all over the U.S. and Canada. Some of them come from far off lands like Japan and Great Britain. For some reason, a large number of them come from a peculiar place known as Texas, known for its father and son presidents, cowboys, and groping. But no matter where your Disney family comes from, you can guarantee that you are in for fun, and laughter, and craziness.

This December trip to Disney World was going to extra special because we would be celebrating the 15^th Anniversary of All Ears, an amazing encyclopedia of everything Disney World that has been used by countless travelers to help plan their trips to Walt Disney World. Deb Wills, the amazing woman who founded All Ears, and her team, who work so hard to keep All Ears up to date, had lots of special events planned for the weekend of December 8^th through 11^th, and I couldn’t wait to participate! They named the series of events A December to Remember, and I adopted it as part of my countdown clock for my trip (Dreaming of a December to Remember), and now my trip report title.

I was also taking a four night cruise on Disney’s newest ship, the Disney Dream, in the middle of my trip. I was very excited to see the new ship, and really looking forward to relaxing on the ship.

As if that wasn’t enough fun for a week, I would also be attending DISapalooza after my cruise! I would be joining a group of DISers who would be venturing away from Walt Disney World to head over to Universal Studios for a private party at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

So, it was easy to get up at 4:30 a.m. to get ready for my flight because I had so much to look forward to on my trip this year! My driver arrived a bit before my scheduled pick up time, and I was soon on my way to Logan Airport!

I grabbed a quick breakfast at Johnny Rockets in the airport. I grabbed a seat next to two guys who were travelling to Fort Lauderdale on business. One of the guys kept asking the waitress for increasing amounts of money every time she asked him if he wanted anything else. When my check came, I jokingly asked him to pay my bill since he obviously has so much money because he asks people for money so much. Sadly, he wouldn’t pay for my breakfast.

I went to find a seat near the gate to wait for my plane to board, and a grumpy old couple sat down near me. They were arguing about when they would get to board the plane, and where they would sit once they boarded the plane. I said a silent prayer that they would not be seated near me. Thankfully, that prayer was answered.

Soon, I was on the plane, and waiting for it to back away from the gate. I was seated next to an annoying man who kicked off his shoes, wore a heavy jacket with a fur hood, and encroached upon my space and the space of the woman sitting next to the window. I soon found out that the rules don’t apply to him either. He sat there with his iPhone out reading something after they announced all electronic devices should be turned off. He even kept it on after the flight attendant specifically asked him to turn it off. In fact, he kept it on and read until we were about a half hour into the flight. The woman sitting across the aisle from me and I just shook our heads at each other after witnessing this behavior. Some people just don’t do what they are supposed to do.

I also was sitting in front of the Loud Family on the plane. I love the televisions on JetBlue. They really help pass the time on a flight. But lately, it seems like I’m always stuck sitting in front of a family that decides to have a conversation while wearing their headphones, causing them to shout loud enough for the people on the ground below to hear rather than speak in an indoor voice.

But even the Loud Family, and Annoying Guy couldn’t keep me from being excited about this flight to my favorite vacation spot. Luckily, my flight was on the ground about a half hour ahead of schedule, so I would be on Disney property a bit earlier than planned! I made a quick pit stop, and made my way to Magical Express. The Pop Warner kids were already starting to arrive, so there were long lines to board the buses at Magical Express. I made my way into the long line for the Boardwalk, and was seated on a bus within about 10 minutes. I was soon on my way to the Boardwalk!

My driver was Joe Gatlin if everything was all right on the ride, but if anything went wrong he was Joe Schartzz (with two z’s) if something went wrong. Joe was one of those drivers who shouldn’t be given access to an open microphone. He was funny at first, but then it got to be a bit grating. He was joking that if something happened to the bus like in the movie “Speed” a woman sitting up front would throw him down the stairs. About midway through the ride, I was ready to throw him down the stairs so I wouldn’t have to listen to him anymore.

After a quick stop at the Port Orleans Riverside, we were soon on the way to the Boardwalk! I went to the desk to check in, and was shocked to hear that my room was ready! I’ve never had my room ready at 11:30 in the morning!  I was in room 3071, a standard studio that overlooked the main entrance to the resort and the resort airline check-in desk. I wasn’t overly thrilled with the location. The noise from the main entrance wasn’t too bad, but on occasion, you could hear cars beeping, and every morning at 5:00 a.m., I was woken up by the resort airline check-in employees chatting loudly.

The room itself was just a few doors down from the elevator, and connected to another room. The room was clean and fresh. The bed was very comfortable, and everything was in working order. The mousekeeper made a Mickey head out of towels.

After dropping my bags and Owner’s Locker in my room, I headed out to start having fun. As I walked by the gift shop in the Boardwalk lobby, I noticed that resort specific merchandise was back! I was very excited to see the shirts, jackets, cups, key chains, and other merchandise for the Boardwalk! I also looked at the new DVC merchandise! I wanted it all, but I made a promise to myself not to buy anything at Walt Disney World until after my cruise, so I walked out of the gift shop empty handed that day. Thankfully, I resisted the urge to buy it all my entire trip, and only bought a polo shirt and a luggage tag at the Boardwalk.

I made my way to Epcot, where I would be meeting my friends (aka my stalkers) Cheryl and Keith for lunch at Le Cellier. I met Cheryl and Keith at an Owner’s Locker Wine Night a few years back, and almost every trip I have taken since that time, Cheryl and Keith have also been there. So, clearly they are stalking me--I think they have an in at DVC who tips them off when I’m going to be there so they can plan their trip accordingly. I was a bit early for our reservation, so I watched Papa Noel, the Canadian Holiday Storyteller, talk about some of the Christmas traditions in Canada.

I then made my way to the restaurant. My stalkers weren’t there yet, so I walked back up the pathway to meet them. Within a few minutes, my stalkers had arrived to commence their stalking. We checked in at the podium outside the restaurant, and made our way to the lobby to wait for our table. It had been about a year since I had seen Cheryl and Keith, since I had expertly avoided their stalking ways on my September trip to Disney World, so it was nice to catch up with them.

We were soon seated at a table. We all started our meals with a delicious cup of cheddar cheese soup. It was nice and peppery, so it had a bit of a kick to it. It was really delicious. Of course, we all ate tasty pretzel bread with our soup. I was sad to see that the now had sour dough and multi-grain rolls instead of breadsticks.

Cheddar Cheese Soup.  Yum!

I ordered an angus cheeseburger for my entrée, and in true stalker form, Cheryl and Keith ordered a cheeseburger to share. The cheeseburger had cheddar cheese, thick slices of delicious bacon, and maple barbecue sauce. It was big, and juicy, and you could tell that they used fresh ground beef. Oh no, this wasn’t anything like the horsemeat burgers that they serve at the counter service restaurants. This was a deliciously messy five napkin kind of burger. We were all too full from our delicious burgers to order dessert.

After lunch, I said goodbye to Cheryl and Keith, intending to walk around the world showcase for a bit. But I changed my plans on the fly and decided to make my way to the Magic Kingdom. They would be filming the Christmas Parade at the Magic Kingdom on Friday and Saturday, so I thought it would make sense to spend a few hours over there this afternoon rather than with the crowds on Friday and Saturday.

So, I started to walk towards the front of the park to catch the monorail, and I ran into my stalkers, who were heading out of the park. We wound up taking a ride on Spaceship Earth on the way out. I chose different options for the moving at the end, and saw some scenes that I had never seen before.

After taking pictures of the topiaries at the Epcot entrance, I said goodbye to Cheryl and Keith, and hopped on the monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center. On the ride, I met a really nice family from Atlanta, Mark and Missy, and their daughter Emily. Mark and Missy were celebrating their anniversary with a stay at the Boardwalk. We chatted on the two monorail rides between Epcot and the Magic Kingdom, and I recommended that they go to Jellyrolls while they were at the Boardwalk. It’s always nice to chat with nice people during a trip to Disney World!

Once through the gates of the Magic Kingdom, I met up with my good friends John (aka Towncrier) and Sue. It is always great to see John and Sue, who had been such gracious hosts when I went to Cleveland for their Memorial Day Picnic in May. John and Sue had been collecting fast passes for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, and they had six in hand when I met them. They invited me to join them on the ride, so off we went to Tomorrowland!

Sue and I rode together the first time. Sue told me that she was horrible at Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, and I insisted that I was worse. Well, it turns out that Sue was my good luck charm because I got one of my best scores ever on the ride! Thanks, Sue!

After our first ride, we had some time before the next set of fast passes would be usable, so we took a ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. I have always enjoyed riding on the TTA. It is a great way to have a few minutes to relax and chat with the folks you are touring the parks with.

We then headed back to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. This time Sue rode with John. Since my lucky charm was in another car, I was back to my normal bad shooting self, and didn’t even break 100,000, but that’s OK because I definitely had fun on the ride.

We then decided to head over to Epcot to catch the Candlelight Processional. Michael W. Smith, an amazing Christian singer, was narrating this evening, and I was looking forward to seeing him. We entered the long standby line, and Sue thought there was no way we would make it into the show, but thankfully, we did make it!

Michael W. Smith

We were seated about fives back in the back half of the theatre on the far right side of the stage. Several announcements were made asking people to slide down their rows so more people could fit in the theatre. The people in back of us wouldn’t move down, even after a cast member asked them directly. A lady stood up and announced that they wouldn’t be moving down because there was bird poop on the seat (though she used a different word that poop to describe it--Mickey would have blushed if he was there). The cast member said he would get a rag. He also handed her some programs and told her to sit on it, which had John, Sue, and I giggling.

When the show began, I was as mesmerized by it as I always am. Listening to the choir of over 300 sing some of my favorite religious Christmas songs always gives me goose bumps. It’s definitely a must do during my December trips to Walt Disney World! Plus, I say it counts as my weekly trip to church, so I don’t feel bad about not going to church on my Disney trips.

Michael W. Smith was an excellent narrator. He spoke each word like he meant it, and even sang along with the choir. At the end of the show as he was leaving the stage, he shook hands with each of the Voices of Liberty, many of the choir members, and even the woman who was signing the show. He just seemed like a really nice guy. As we were leaving the show, they whisked him right by us on his way backstage.

After the Candlelight Processional, I said goodbye to John and Sue. They were planning to head back to the Magic Kingdom to see Wishes, but I wanted to stay in Epcot so I could see Illuminations with the special holiday ending. I made my way to the Maelstrom, and then made my way towards the Gran Fiesta Tour. I ran into Donald Duck along the way, so I stopped to take a picture with him before going on the Gran Fiesta Tour.  

I then headed to Future World and jumped in the single riders line at Test Track. I wound up in line, and subsequently riding with the most judgmental and racist teenage girl I have ever encountered in my life. In the 10 minutes I stood next to her in line, she implied the cast member standing at the entrance to the single riders line was an idiot for saying that parties would be split up, made negative remarks that I would never repeat about several races and nationalities, and made fun of the nice foreign family who were in the car with us for not speaking English. Nothing says Holiday Spirit or Disney Spirit like a racist teenager.

I then made my way over to Mission: Space. I rode with a really nice mother and daughter. The mom was a bit apprehensive about riding, but I assured her that she would be fine. She wound up loving the ride. 

I then made my way over to Soarin’. I was surprised to see that there were still fast passes available at after 6:00, so I grabbed one to use later. 

Hunger struck, so I made my way over to Nine Dragons, one of my favorite restaurants at Epcot. I ordered my favorite dish—the General Tso’s chicken. They have the best General Tso’s chicken at Nine Dragons. They use all white meat, and it’s in a delicious peppery General Tso’s sauce.

After dinner, I took another ride on Test Track, and started to walk towards Soarin’ to use my fast pass. Along the way, I noticed that there was only a short line for the Epcot Character Spot, so I decided to go spend some time with the characters. Mickey, Minne, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy were all there for me to have a picture with them.

I then went to take a quick ride on Soarin’ before finding a spot for Illuminations. I was pretty tired by this point, so I looked for a spot where I could lean against a rail. I wound up leaning against the mask sculpture in Canada. While my view of the globe was obstructed, I had a clear view of the fireworks. I really love the Holiday ending of Illuminations. Listening to the holiday greetings and watching the fireworks shoot of as “Let There Peace On Earth” plays is always one of my favorite parts of my December trips to Disney World.

I then swam upstream towards the International Gateway, and the warm bed waiting for me at the Boardwalk walk. I was exhausted from the early morning, but elated by the wonderful start to my trip.