So when I left off, we had settled into our room. Our plan was to take a bus to Magic Kingdom and then the monorail to Contemporary. We were going to eat at the Contempo Café and then go over to the Wilderness Lodge to see the Christmas decorations. However, I was really exhausted and asked Tom if he minded if we changed the plans. Tom was fine with that, so we decided to just explore the Pop and eat there in the food court.

As we left our room, we were trying to figure out the quickest way to get back to Classic Hall. A man passed us with four refillable mugs and asked us if we needed help. We enjoyed a nice chat with him as we walked to the main building. Everyone we came in contact with (guests and CMs) were so friendly!

I had seen menus and pictures on-line, so I pretty much knew what I wanted to eat. Tom didn’t have any idea and was blown away by the selection. I got the Chicken Penne Alfredo; it came with a soft breadstick. For my dessert I got the Tie-Dyed Cheesecake and for my drink I got a Java Monster to save for the next morning. We were both amazed that we could get the Monster drinks, since they were $3.99 each!

Tom got the Shrimp Lo Mein. For his dessert he got the Carrot Cake and for his drink he got a Vitamin Water to save. The total for this meal would have been ~$34.00, but we used 2 CS credits.

We both were very impressed with the portion sizes and quality of the food. Everything was delicious! Tom had to help me finish, though, because I was still too excited to eat.

After we ate, we decided to explore a little more. Unfortunately, I only have one picture. Oops!

On our way back to the room, I wanted to find the Lady and the Tramp statue. I absolutely adore that movie, and really wanted to see the huge icon. I was pretty sure it was in the 50’s section, but we stopped a CM to make sure. He listened and looked at us as we inquired and then struggled to find the words to answer us. Finally, he just said, “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to say that in English.” We thanked him anyway and just headed back to the room.

Our luggage still hadn’t been delivered yet, and I really wanted to get my park bag put together before bed, so we just lounged around and watched some TV. I ended up dozing while Tom flipped the channels. Sometime around midnight the luggage finally got delivered. At that point I was too tired and decided I would just get up a little early to unpack and get things together.

Our plan for the next day was to get to Epcot for rope drop at 9:00am, so I set the alarm for 6:45am. I wanted to be able to “snooze” a few times before I had to get up.

Coming up next…Epcot!

2009-12-19T14:17:00.001-05:00

Thursday, December 10 (cont.)

When I last left off, we had just pulled into Pop Century. We had kept our carry ons with us, so we hopped off the bus and headed right inside to check in.

There were only a few people in the on-line check-in line, so we didn't have long to wait. I had booked a king bed room and requested a ground floor room. When we got our packet, the CM showed us that our room was on the 4th floor of Building 10. I asked her if she could possibly change us to a first floor room. She said she would look. After a minute or two, she told us she found a ground floor room in Building 9. She also gave me a birthday button!

On our way to check out our room, we stopped into Everything Pop to pick up our refillable mugs. My receipt shows that it was now 7:31pm. The mugs would have cost ~$28.00 but we got them free (thanks to free QS dining)!!!

I actually took this next picture after we were home, but I'm including it here for continuity.

We both got the same color, because we didn't see until the next day that they had different color lids. I'm glad to have the mugs for home use, but I never used mine after that first night. Tom used his a lot, though.

We found our room fairly easily, and opened the door. This is what we saw.

This was not going to do! So, we trekked all the way back to check-in. This time we got a different CM. I explained the situation, and he looked on his computer. Then he went in the back and spoke to someone. When he came out, he explained that all the king bed rooms were gone, but we could move to one in the morning. I was disappointed, but decided not to let it ruin the trip. I also did not want the hassle of moving. So we kept the room. Tom didn't care one way or the other. So once again, we trekked back to the room.

Here are the official room pictures.

Up next...where do we eat?

2009-12-19T12:21:00.001-05:00

I wanted to show you what I've been up to this morning! I have a recipe for cinnamon rolls that I usually use, but I searched on-line and found a copy cat recipe for the Main Street Bakery. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

2009-12-18T08:14:00.001-05:00

Thursday, December 10 (cont.)

When I left off, we were just boarding the plane. We had seats 1C and 1D, which ended up being across the aisle from each other in the front row. Both of our seat mates immediately put headphone on and went to sleep. Suits me just fine. I'd rather read than make conversation anyway!

Tom and I had been trying to decide how to spend our evening once we arrived. After MANY variations, we decided that we would check in to Pop and then head over to the Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge to eat and check out their decorations.

There were heavy winds in Baltimore that day, so the flight crew actually started boarding us early. They were hoping we could depart early and not land too late due to the winds. It worked out pretty well, and we were only about 20 minutes landing.

We landed at about 6pm and MCO was really quiet.

These were window decals on the wanna-be monorail.

I was so excited, because we would be at the party on the 13th!

We had decided to let Magical Express deliver our luggage, so we skipped baggage claim and went straight to Magical Express. There were quite a few people in line to check in, but had our voucher book and were able to bypass the line! A very nice CM scanned our voucher and pointed us to our line. We were the only ones in it!

See? No one but me in line!

Well, it turns out the reason we were the only ones in line was because everyone else had already boarded... I was really bummed, because I wanted a front row seat to get a good picture of the arches. Oh, well. At least we got to sit together.

Here I am updating my Facebook status to let everyone know we had arrived!

I could barely wait for the welcome video to begin!

Awww, look what my sweet hubby was able to capture for me!

The ride went quickly, and soon we were seeing this sign.

Up next...checking in!

2009-12-16T17:12:00.002-05:00

Thursday, December 10

Well, departure day was finally here. Our flight wasn't until 3:33, so Tom went in to work for a half day. I had cleaned the house the day before, but hadn't packed a single thing! So after I got the kids off to school, I spent the morning doing one last load of laundry and packing. I was done by 11:00 and was so antsy I couldn't stand it. I should have planned lunch with a friend or something, but I had been afraid I would have too much to do.

Raven could tell we were leaving and she was really sad. Here are some pictures I took before we left.

Tom finally got home and we loaded up the van and left for the airport.

Traffic was light, and we made it to the airport in about 15 or 20 minutes.

We were only checking two bags, so Tom dropped me at the terminal and then went to park the van. A shuttle bus was waiting for him and he was back pretty fast. While I was waiting, I took this picture of the security line. After I took it, I realized that I probably broke some law!

When it was our turn to go through security, we greeted the TSA official and asked her how she was doing. She commented that it was so nice to have someone pleasant come through her line. C'mon, people...it takes more energy to be grumpy than pleasant!

Here we are waiting for our plane. Tom had surprised me and upgraded us to business class!

It's time to board!

To be continued...

2009-12-15T09:43:00.001-05:00

I had a really hard time coming up with a title for this report. Here are some of the contenders:

I'm Sorry. I Don't Know How To Say That In English
Why Do The Oblivious Get The Right-Of-Way?
Recession? What Recession???
Sit Down, Jared!
If You've Got It, Flaunt It
Hey Dad, My Hands Smell Like Stinky Feet!

This trip was just me (40) and DH, Tom (46).

This is me on our 2008 Disney Cruise.

This is Tom holding our granddaughters.

Back in July I turned 40. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Last winter I told Tom that I wanted to go to Disney for my birthday, just us. We usually go away once a year without the kids, so that wouldn’t be a problem…telling them where we were going, though… He thought it was a great idea. I already knew I didn’t want to go for my actual birthday because of the heat, so it came down to Food & Wine or Christmas decorations. It was REALLY hard to decide. I knew if I went for F&W, I’d get to meet my trip report idol Brenda (oybolshoi), but going at Christmas time has always been a dream of mine. I priced it out and December was a few dollars cheaper, so we went with that.

We stayed at Pop from December 10 to December 14, non-hoppers with quick-service dining (got it free!). We also attended MVMCP on December 13.

My cousin Laurie came to our house to stay with Lee (15), Maggie (11), and our dog, Raven. Sarah Jo (13) went to stay with my parents.

Coming up, getting there...

2009-12-15T09:40:00.002-05:00

Itchin' For Some Fun...12/10/09 - 12/14/09

We got back late last night from a fantastic adults-only trip! I'll be back to get this report going!

2009-12-10T05:55:00.002-05:00

Well, today is the day! I can't believe it's really here! Tom is working a half day, and I will be finishing (and starting!) packing. Then we're off! When I get back, I'll be doing a trip report with lots of photos. Have a great 5 days!!!

Disney Weather

2009-12-07T08:48:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been watching the forecast for Disney, and it's looking like we may have some rain. I'm trying really hard not to let it get me down. The worst day will be the day we leave, so that seems fitting, right? I really don't want the Christmas party to get rained out. I'm looking forward to that the most! We'll just pack extra ponchos and go with it, I guess...

Updated Itinerary for Disney Trip

2009-12-04T08:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I couldn't resist tweaking things a bit! I had really been wanting to attend the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, and finally decided to purchase the tickets this morning. So here is our updated schedule:

12/10: arrive around 5:30pm; check in at Pop; head to Animal Kingdom Lodge to eat and see the Christmas decorations

12/11: hit Epcot for rope drop; eat and drink our way around the World Showcase; watch Illuminations

12/12: hit Hollywood Studios for rope drop through lunch; head back to Pop for nap/Tom swim; go back to HS for Osborne Spectacle of Lights, Fantasmic, and DISapalooza Toy Story Mania private party

12/13: hit Magic Kingdom for rope drop through lunch; head back to Pop for nap/Tom swim; go back to MK for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

12/14: hit Animal Kingdom for rope drop; leave by 1:30 to get back to Pop for Magical Express to airport

Only 6 more days!

Disney Trip

2009-11-29T13:41:00.000-05:00

Tom and I are headed to Disney (without the kids!) in 11 days! We'll be there from December 10 until December 14. I'm so excited to see all the Christmas decorations. We're not going to be super commando this time, just focus on what we missed in 2007 and enjoy the atmosphere. Our plan is:

12/10: arrive around 5:30pm; check in at Pop; head to Downtown Disney to eat and shop

12/11: hit Hollywood Studios for rope drop through lunch; head back to Pop for nap/Tom swim; go back to HS for Osborne Spectacle of Lights and Fantasmic

12/12: hit Magic Kingdom for rope drop through lunch; head back to Pop for nap/Tom swim; go back to MK for Spectromagic and Wishes

12/13: hit Epcot for rope drop; eat and drink our way around the World Showcase; watch Illuminations

12/14: hit Animal Kingdom for rope drop; leave by 1:30 to get back to Pop for Magical Express to airport

We'll probably be exhausted when we get back, but it will be so worth it to have that time alone together!

I'm Going To Try Again...

2009-11-28T19:18:00.000-05:00

OK, I started this blog in May 2008 and posted one time. Not so good. I'm going to try to get this thing going again. I think I'll post weekly, and share whatever the Lord is impressing on my heart that week. Let's see how I do!

Do I Want To Blog?

2008-05-30T22:30:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm going to try out this blogging thing...

It's been a long week, even though it was shortened by Memorial Day. We've had two visits by the plumber (with one more tomorrow), a visit to my grandfather, KidStuf rehearsal, two doctor appointments, music lessons, and dinner out for Lee's birthday. Plus school in between all the running around. I'm wiped out!

When the plumber leaves tomorrow, I should have my bathroom back!!! I'll still need to pick out a new sink, but at least I'll be able to use the one that is in there now. After that, we start the process of putting all new windows in the house. I really hope that will help with the energy efficiency.

Tomorrow I get to sleep in and then we have CCC Night at the Movies. The movie is "Indiana Jones," and I'd rather not go, but tomorrow is Lee's actual birthday and he really want to see it. So I'm doing the good mom thing and going. Maybe I'll take my iPod...

Well, I can't hold my eyes open much longer, so I'm going to sign off.

--Denise (praisehisname)