Trip Report - Dec 21 to Dec 25

Hi All,

Happy New Year!

Sorry for the delayed TR but better late than never

... in a line our trip was %26#39;SHORT %26amp; SWEET, with a

CHILLY START and a WARM END%26#39; ...

Dec 21: Really bad weather - snow, sleet, in NJ. We

are sure our flight is going to be late, travelling

Jet Blue, but surprisingly flight was on time and got us to Orlando on schedule. It felt so good to see the sun and not need a jacket. Ofcourse we were in a for a rude shock tomorrow! By the time we checked-in, and were ready to leave the hotel it was 7.00pm! Decided to go to Downtown Disney. It was an amazing experience ... our little princess (18 months) who was on her first vacation loved walking around, loved World of Disney store and Chiradelli ice-cream. She cried when the ice cream was over.:) We had dinner @ Rainforst Cafe, on a scale of 1 to 5, the food was 2-2.5. The Rainforst Cafe at Menlo Park Mall in NJ is way better, around 4-4.5. Got theme park ticks and left back for the hotel (Buena Vista Suites) around 10.30pm.

Buena Vista Suites is a good hotel with a modern

feel, good american breakfast (with hot made to order

eggs) but POOR house keeping service.

Dec 22: Left for the park, MK, around 11.30 am! Yeah first day, slept in late ;). It was freezing and windy outside, 40s and with the windchill I have no clue.

It was a crazy day. By the time we got to the main

park, it was 12.30 and we were greeted by the 12.00

noon parade ... got a peek ... SPECTACULAR!

Decided to get a good spot for the 3.30 pm parade. The park was packed and the day went mainly in getting an orientation of the park and doing a few rides. The park was packed. That day we saw the %26#39;Dreams come true%26#39; show, %26#39;Disney Very Merry Christmas Parade%26#39;, %26#39;Disney Wishes%26#39;. Did the tea cup ride and the peter pan ride. Loved the Peter Pan ride. And the place is truly magical.

Had planned on staying late, but the weather made it impossible and we left after the Disney Wishes. Did a lot of shopping and eating and though we didn%26#39;t do much, we had a LOT OF FUN. The little one most enjoyed the parade and the MICKEY ICE-CREAM and pop corn. And this became a ritual for the rest of the trip.

Dinner was pizza delivery from Pizza Hut.

Dec 23: Today is AK day! And we are excited. Got to the park and hour earlier, not before the opening but an hour earlier than yesterday:) we are making progress. :) Weather is nice and warm again, feels like Orlando.

AK is awesome, we loved the park. It is true it is a park to be savored, like a lot of people here have said. We did the Safari - awesome though missed not seeing Giraffe%26#39;s :( Got to see lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, deers, flamingos, ostriches and may be some that I forget. Saw the bugs life, thought it was okay. Loved the Tree of Life. Did the Nemo show ... AWESOME broadway style show but it was so difficult to have our little fish in the theater that we decided to skip the lion king since we have seen the Broadway show. Did a lot of walking and really savored the different sections of AK. Our favs were Asia and Africa! The little one enjoyed walking around Dino Land. Walk thru some trails in Asia, thought they were okay. Our little fish loved the Mickeys Jingle Parade, she wanted to go and dance with them ;)

Dinner was at an Indian Restaurant, can%26#39;t remember the details. Food was average.

Dec 24: Decided to go back to MK! Loved the park and hardly did anything the first day. The first time we were there we just went to Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Today the weather was awesome and though once again we got to the park @ 12.30 again it was such a GREAT AND LONG DAY ... the warm ending. :)

We did a lot today ... let me try and recall ... we did the Monster%26#39;s Inc. - average; Pirates ride - awesome; Jungle Cruise - awesome; Pooh ride - awesome; Snow white - okay; Magic Carpet - good;Beauty and Beast - good; Mickey%26#39;s Philarmagic - awesome; Haunted House - awesome; Lighting of the castle - good. Awesome day and ended it with the breath taking Spectromagic Parade and a round of shopping, just when we thought we couldn%26#39;t take it any more. What a day ... the longest and best day of the trip. Tomorrow morning we leave to get back to cooooold NJ!

Dec 25: Today we are leaving and like always don%26#39;t wanna go back ... good flight and we are back to NJ on schedule.

Guys it was a great trip, thanks for all your input and tips. Can%26#39;t wait to get back and the next time around we will probably go for 8 to 10 days, less busy time of the year. May be stay at a Disney resort. :)

UNC Mickey never made it to the resorts or HS! And will now probably never see Osborne Show of lights, or may be I will - hubby says its busy but its so festive that we should plan our next trip also during the holidays. May be we will do the first half of Dec. ;) But next trip will defi see atleast Grand Floridian and WL/AKL.Thanks.

Partypa thanks a lot.

Happy New Year again to all.

Trip Report - Dec 21 to Dec 25

Welcome Home

Your TR is Great, I can tell you really had a Swell time. Really glad your little princess had fun, it is all so Magical isn%26#39;t it ? !!

It%26#39;s OK to have missed a few things, that%26#39;s why we all keep going back

Maybe think about mid November, the crowd levels when we were there were so easy to manage. All the Decorations were all up and it was very festive without the madness, Lovely.

A very Happy New Year and Happy Planning the Next Trip :)

Trip Report - Dec 21 to Dec 25

Loved readin ur trip report must get mine posted!!

I hope you asked Santa for a new travel alarm clock- yours must have been broken lol! I must admit to cringing ever time I hear a TR with got there for 11:30 plus ;-)

Maybe I%26#39;m just jealous, when my 3 were 18 mos, I never got to sleep later than 6:30 am lol.

Great trip report. Good news on Jetblue. We fly with them out of JFK in February. I love Jetblue.

I am glad you enjoyed it. If planning on beginning of December you might want to skip the days Pop Warner are there. They stay at the values and some stay at POR.

Enjoyed your report, and yes, please do go back when it%26#39;s not so crowded. The Christmas decorations are done by abour November 10 or 11, and the Osborne Lights are ready by Thanksgiving weekend.

Thanks all, glad you enjoyed the TR.

Yes Partypa it is more magical than I ever imagined. Does really bring out the child in you. I was thinking about mid-Nov. but ethelmapotter just pointed out Osborne lights are not up by then ... from whatever I have read about it I really have to see it ... if we plan a trip during the holidays. Look at me think of the details, I yet don%26#39;t know when the next trip is but I know for sure its not before end of next year :)

Amanx, my little one doesn%26#39;t sleep much either but she sleeps really late (around 10.00 pm) and on her first vacation, on days it was even later. :) But she had fun so I am not complaining. And even after she wakes up around 8.00 am (that is our alarm ;)) we would take our time to get ready and on breakfast. We are on vacation so no hurries.

Macsfive this was my first Jet Blue experience I have been a royal Conti traveller so far. But now Jet Blue is going to be my first preference. Have a good flight and a great trip. Thanks for the heads up about Pop Warner. Will probably try and do 3rd week of December then.

Just wondering ... How many times have most of you been there? I am not sure the next time I go, which I defi will, whether I will njoy it as much.

Thanks ethelmaepotter for the details on the decorations and Osborne Lights. We defi have to go back at least once, when our princess is may be 5 or older for her to truly enjoy the place. But I am sure b/w her 18 month mark (this trip) and 5th birthday we will probably be there atleast once ;).

Have fun.

dog