[llama]

This is just a round-up to my trip report:

On November 28th we returned from a wonderful cruise and had one more day at WDW before heading home. We got off the ship in Ft. Lauderdale and headed to Orlando, getting there by 1 p.m. We had enough DVC points left for one night in a studio villa, and we chose WLV, because I really wanted to give it another try. Some many love it, and our first and only stay there didn't impress me for a number of reasons. I'm so glad we gave it a second try - I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!! I still think that the Lodge rooms are small and dark, but the studio villa was very spacious and beautifully decorated. It was so cosy. We had a room overlooking the lake and it was peaceful and quiet. I was immediately sorry that we only had one night there. I will definitely go back. The lodge itself was all decked out in it's Christmas finery with a beautiful huge tree in the lobby. What a great place that would be to spend the holidays! Well - with only half a day to enjoy, we quickly made our way down to the boat launch to catch the boat to MK. (OK, I still find that boat frustratingly slow!) The MK was quite crowded. I was surprised at this - I had understood that the week after Thanksgiving was the quietest of the year. We stopped at the Columbia Harbour House for a tuna sandwich (I discovered these earlier in the trip - they're delicious), then we took in a showing of Mickey's Philharmagic. Fantasyland was very crowded, so we headed to Tomorrowland and had no problem getting on Buzz Lightyear and the TTA. Instead of fighting the crowds we decided to head to Epcot by monorail. The Living Seas Pavillion is open, but all the aquariums are covered over - only Turtle Talk with Crush is open and we caught a show of that. I'm glad we were able to see it. Then we headed to The Land and the wait for Soarin' said 30 minutes - but turned out to be about 10. I can only add what others have said - wait for a front row seat - it makes such a difference! Soarin' is fast becoming one of my favourites! We then strolled around the World Showcase, I did some Christmas Shopping and bought some beautiful ornaments in Germany. We stopped at the Norwegian bakery to pick up a cinnamon bun for our early start home the next morning, and then stopped for a bite of dinner at the China Pavillion. I had orange chicken with rice and it wa surprisingly good! We've never eaten there before, it gets such bad reviews - but I have to admit that it was really good. I stopped in MouseGear to pick up some stocking stuffers, and then we decided to head back to the WL. I really wanted to spend some time there. As we were leaving, the skies opened up and it poured! It was the first rain we'd had all month, so I didn't even mind getting soaked. Cosy in our studio villa, with dry clothes, the rain stopped and I spent a quiet hour just sitting on our balcony, looking at the lake, appreciating the wonderful trip we had and relishing the last warm weather I'd feel for a very long time. And that was the end of our month long vacation. I enjoyed every minute (well, almost every minute), and by 6 am we were on the road. Two and a half days later, we arrived home. I was so happy to see my cats! I missed them so much! And it was so nice to have cards from DC members in the mail! Now, Christmas!

[Dopey]

Good end to a great trip. Glad you're back Llama!!!! Is there by chance a report from a week on the ship?

[missy H]

Glad you had a great trip and you are back safe and sound!
How was the cruise? Was it everything you hoped it would be?

[Princess Tessa]

wow Llama, thats so nice to get a short little trip too! Makes if feel more homey hee hee
Where was your cruise too? That must have been nice too!
Now it's back to the snowwwwwy canada eh? hee hee