[YzmaPapa]

Due to my severe laziness, this has been about a month late, but at least I'm doing it:p

members going:

Dad: Disney fanatic, has hard time not turning into Theme Park Commando
Mom: Loves the vacation aspect of trip. Her motto is go with the flow
Jed: Will ride anything. Always wondering where next meal is coming from
Sarah(ME): Will ride anything, but will also reschedule whole day around Off Kilter shows

Day 1-Christmas Eve

We got up in our Dallas hotel severely early (as always) and after the rush of finding everything, getting clothes on, and triple checking everything, we were good to go. We got to the airport with no problem at all. The security line was short, so we just went right through. (It was even quick for mom, who can't go through metal detectors) We can see our plane at the gate, so we know all will go well. Our flight takes off perfect, and lands at exactly 11:11. I got off the plane rather impressed with these Delta people for knowing their stuff, and we make our way to the luggage claim. Our man from Tiffany is already there, and Dad chats with him as Jed, Mom, and I play the claim your luggage game. We finally get all our bags, and are ready to make our way off to Pop Century. This was our drivers first time to take anyone to PC, but he got there with no problem. Check in took forever, so I went to Everything Pop to purchase my postcards. After much deliberation, I decide on the ones I want and go to buy them. I could this was her first time to work in retail, and she had probably only been there as long as Pop Century (which at this time was 10 days) I asked her is I could have stamps for them. She asked another lady about this, and she got the stamps for her. When this girl tried to ring up my 5 post cards and stamps, it came up to 9 something. She knew she had made a mistake, and after about 4 or 5 tries, she got it right. I wasn't worried about time, though, because I knew mom and dad were still stuck in the check-in line. I mosied around for a minute or two, and decided to give Jed a turn to roam, so I went and watched the luggage. Mom and dad finally came through, and we went to our room, which was in the 70's building. We went in the room, made sure we had everything we would need for epcot, and was off.

When we got there, I knew Off Kilter was going to start playing in about 10 minutes, but I also knew that I couldn't skip the family tradition, ride SSE first. So we got on and looked for our favorite characters, and got off quickly. After that, I knew I could slightly hear what must be Off Kilter, so I started walking faster than the rest of my family. Dad must have known my motivation, and sprinted to Canada with me. I was in amazement watching my favorite band on stage, and was embarrassed to approach the stage afterwards. I finally gained the courage (through much prodding from my family) and went up to the stage. Jamie (bagpipes) was standing there, and asked me if I wanted to take a picture on the stage with the whole band. At this point, all motor skills were lost, but somehow, I nodded my head eagerly. I walked up on the stage, and Jamie said something to try to calm me down. It didn't do much for me, and in my picture, I look like a deer in headlights, and it always brings a laugh. We went through our touring of the countries, and when 5:30 rolled around, dad asked me if I wanted to go see the last Off Kilter show of the day. I could tell mom and Jed were tired, so I said no, I'd see them some other time. We decided to go stand in line for candlelight processional. The line was huge, but much to our surprise, when it was roped off for who got a seat and who might, we were guaranteed a seat. We were happy, even though one woman rudely yelled out to a castmember that we had cut. Candlelight Processional was beautiful. Robby Benson was the narrorator. Afterwards, we ran over to Japan, to get a good seat for illuminations. It was beautiful, and I went back to PC with a renewed sense of happiness.

[YzmaPapa]

Day 2- Christmas

For some reason, we decided being at WDW on Christmas, we decided it would be fun to be at Magic Kingdom. We exchanged our few small presents in the hotel room, and then made our way out to the bus stop. We got there, and a full bus had just left. So we were guaranteed a seat on the next one. After about a ten minute wait, the bus came, and we boarded. After quite a jaunt to MK, we got off the bus and saw masses and masses of crowds (which amazed us, since this was our first time to go during a crowded time) we were able to do some things before the park got unbearable (HM, PhilHarmagic, CoP) then we ate, and made our way out of the park. Mom was having a hard time staying awake, so her and dad went back to the hotel, while Jed and I went to MGM to purchase our Guest of Honor badges. We rode ToT, and bought the badges, then went back to the hotel. Mom was feeling rested, so we split two holiday meals at PC (good, but not worth the $13.99 charged for each of them) then made our way back to MGM. We rode ToT and RnRC and made our way to millionaire. As usual, I got on the leaderboard, but not to the hot seat. We were all getting tired by this point, and head back to the hotel.

[YzmaPapa]

Day 3

We were going to AK (probably my least favorite park, but I decided it was worth another shot) We rode Dinosaur first (which is funny, because last time I rode it, it was still called Countdown to Extinction) Then Jed and I opted for Primeval Whirl, while mom and dad went for Tarzan Rocks. Jed and I grabbed a fastpass, rode in the line, then used our fastpasses. We met mom and dad soon afterwards, and decided we would be brave enough (actually, the adjective here should probably be stupid) to ride when it was still chilly outside. We rode, and not only did I get wet, but the place where I put my jacket had developed a mold, so I started to smell like mold. Mom and Dad claimed they didn't smell it, but I was wet, smell, and failry miserable. I wasn't going to let this ruin our PS for Rainforest, though. I always loved RF, and we were early for our PS, but the line was short enough that we didn't need it. After a small wait, we were seated. I was feeling cold, and the fact that I was wet didn't help a bit, but I wasn't going to complain, we were in WDW after all! We ate, and left AK. Back at the hotel, Dad and Jed decided they wanted to swim. Mother and I weren't near this brave, and said we'd meet the boys at MGM later. After I changed into something less smelly, we left for MGM. The crowds were huge, but mother and I decided we would go to the Muppet shop first (I knew I would be riding MV3*D more than once, so I was ok with skipping the ride) I blew $30 easily, and mother and I were on our way. At this point, the crowds became huge, and we couldn't beat it. We claimed a bench right by the entrance, and watched for Dad and Jed to come in, so we could say we wanted to get out of that madhouse. We sat there for around an hour, then decided the crowds were small enough to handle (I'm supposing because they started admitting people for Fantasmic) We shopped for an hour or so, then saw the stage set up in front of the hat. There was a DJ there, so we danced for a while until the guys showed up (at least it was an attempt at dancing:dazed ) The guys found us, and we rejoined. We watched Muppet*Vision, did Millionaire again (and leaderboard again) Then we went back to PC

[YzmaPapa]

Day 4

We decided to try MK again so we could hit all the rides we missed. The big ones we hit were Space Mountain, Space Ranger Spin, Big Thunder Mountain, Philharmagic, Splash Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean. At this point, mom and I split up from the guys, and decided we would shop. We strolled thoughout all of the shops, and I became addicted to watching the guy who did the glass. Mother finally dragged me away, and we met the boys they had secured a great parade spot on Main Street, and it was only about 30 min. until the parade started. We held our spot and chatted. The parade was great! It was wonderful to finally see the parade that we had seen on TV for the past years (and we didn't care that it was actually two days after Christmas!) Afterwards, mom and dad decided they wanted to resort hop, so Jed and I went with them to the Grand Floridian. Jed and I quickly became bored, and decided we wanted to build up the guts to go to Blizzard Beach. We went back to the hotel, put on our swimsuits, and were on our way. We decided to do teamboat springs first, and quickly regretted it becase the water was very cold. We went to the wave pool and spent the rest of our time there. We went back to the hotel, and being the teens we are, we decided to go to the arcade. We blew some money, and met our parents back at the hotel. We decided to go check out DTD. Mother and I checked out the shops as long as I could bare, then I decided to spend my time in DisneyQuest. Finally it got late, and we headed back to the hotel

[crystalrp]

Love your trip report! We don't care if it is late as long as it gets posted! LOL Just curious..how old are you and Jed? Did you ever have any toruble when you all split up meeting again at the right times and spots? Just wondering because this next trip we may let our DS's split up from us.

[DisneyTeacher]

Great report, I can't wait to read the rest. That's great that you got a picture with Off Kilter, what a way to start your trip.

[YzmaPapa]

I am 15, and Jed is 13. We used two way radios, and found them to be quite useful (except when certain people didn't have theirs on :devil )


Day 5

We had breakfast and headed off to Epcot (for Sarah had been pressing Epcot, since Off Kilter was playing there) We got to the park around 10-11-ish and got fastpasses for test track. Jed wanted to try to get to Norway to be Viking of the Day, so he and dad went to Norway, while mom and I worked on getting fastpasses. We got some for Mission Space, and went back to meet the boys at Norway. Unfortunate for them, they didn't recieve the coveted Viking of the Day, but we did walk right on to Rio De Tiempo afterwards (which did a lot of good for my little spanish I heart ;) ) Then, I reminded the family that it was getting close to Off Kilters first show of the day. We all got great seats in the front row, and waited for the show to begin. The boys were 10 minutes late, and when they came out, there was only 4, Mark Randy Tony, and wait....that wasn't Jamie. For some reason beyond my knowledge, Jamie and Scotty weren't there, and another guy was. I decided that they boys would make a grand entrance, but they didn't. Mark went on to say that Scotty (drums) was going to miss the first set, but would be there for the rest of the day. Luckily, though, Scotty showed up during the first song, and was playing with the group on the second. I found out that the man subbing for Jamie was Jason Thomas, a member of Alberta Bound (the band that plays the days Off Kilter doesn't) and played a mean fiddle. He has a lot of talent, but it just wasn't the same for me...after the show, I had the members of the band sign my Off Kilter T-shirt All signed it, and Jason even asked if I would mind if he would. I said of course not! Dad asked Randy if Jamie had the week off, and Randy said he was spending time with his daughter...dad made some comment of 'yeah, I know how he feels' love you too dad ;) I kept my post for the next show, since it was only half an hour away. I enjoyed that and my family was FINALLY able to drag me away, since the next show was at 3. We used our fastpasses, and quickly rode Mission Space. We picked up Fast Passes for Test Track, even though they were a fairly late time, and headed back to Off Kilter. After watching the band for the third time in one day :love: I decided I could miss the fourth show, and we left the park. We ate at the sunshine food fair, and gave our fastpasses to a family of four beside us. We left the park, and decided we would go try our hands at mini golf (had to use those flex features somehow!) we went to winter summerland, and chose the winter! It was fun, and afterwards, we spend more time in DTD. (which meant more time in DisneyQuest for me and Jed.)

[YzmaPapa]

day 6

decided we better do laundry, so we loaded up two suitcases full of clothes, and headed to the laundramat. The main one was full of people, and two of the machines didn't work. We tried the other one, but it was smaller, and in no better shape than the first, so we decided to go with the bigger one. Luckily, we only had to wait a few minutes until a machine was done. My father and I not being fluent in laundromat etiquette waited for the person to arrive who was using this machine, but no one came. Finally, another lady in there advised us to just put their clothes on the counter. We were a little skeptic, but decided if the person who had that one wasn't going to show up, they wouldn't mind if we moved them. We carefully removed the clothes and put our own in. After our clothes washing adventure, we went to MGM for a while. We hit Millionaire, ToT, and Beauty and the Beast, then I decided I had to get back to Epcot, and lucky for me, my family agreed! Apparently, we weren't the only ones that had the idea to go to epcot, for the line was HUGE we finally got on a bus, and when we got to Epcot, I made a mad sprint to Canada, for Off Kilter was already 10 minutes into their show. I watched the rest of it, and had Jamie sign my shirt afterwards. I knew I had one more chance to see OK, so I held my spot so I could get the very best seat. Jed stayed with me, for moral support, and to make sure I didn't do anything crazy....(which I wouldn't do!) in my boredom, I 'borrowed' the batteries from my two way radio for my MP3 player :whistle: a little bit before the show began, I tried to find a bathroom....but did you know Canada only has one bathroom, and a line forms quickly? methinks Canada needs more bathrooms! I decided to skip it, and watched the last show. Dad showed up about halfway through, and after the show, Jed went up to take a picture with them, and dad had pressured me into taking another one with them. I did, and when I was up there, I actually had a conversation with Jamie (which I'm quite proud of myself for being able to accomplish!) I left the stage, and went on to our next adventure. We decided to make a trip to MK to see wishes and spectromagic.

When we got to MK, we went straight to Plaza Pavillion, where we wanted to eat and try to get a good seat for wishes. I was able to snag a decent seat out of luck, and we watched wishes. It was phenomenal. I can't describe how great it was, but if you haven't seen it...go see it NOW! After that, we went to fronteirland and snagged a good seat for spectromagic (2 out of 2...great!) Never seeing spectromagic before, it was great! We were walking down Main Street, and it just happened to be snowing! (the magic of Disney!) We rode around the Railroad once, and it was park closing time.

[crystalrp]

So the Plaza Pavilion is a good place to watch Wishes? Did the parade start or end in frontierland?

[YzmaPapa]

Plaza Pavillion is a GREAT place to see wishes, as long as you get kinda close to the edge! The parade actually ended in frotierland

*I'm confused at this point....I think I actually skipped a day somewhere *I KNEW I should have written this stuff down!* so, I think I'm just going to go to the last day, for I CAN remember that!*

Day 8 New Years Eve

This is it, folks the huge day. We had been told by CM's to pick a park and stay there all day, so we chose MGM. We had all our bags packed by the time we left the hotel room, for we were leaving at around 4 the next morning! We got to the park around 11-12 ish and rode ToT a couple times, and did Millionaire a couple times (leaderboard both!) We basically just mosied around the park until 6 when hats and whistles were being passed out. We got in the HUGE line for these free things (just attach the word free and see how many people line up! I could have probably been through the ToT line TWICE by the time we got them....but it was free, so I wasn't going to complain! By this time, Frankie and the West End Boys were switching out sets with another group (Dance Machine, or something to that effect) We watched a set then headed over to Great Movie Ride. Afterwards, we tried millionaire one more time (yes, it's addictive, and I still got leaderboard) We watched some more music, then went to Muppet*Vision. By the time Jed and I were dragged out of the store with Muppet Merchandise afterwards, it was getting near midnight. We inched our way back towards the stage (I was amazed at how many people there really were) and got as close as we thought necessary. At midnight, we watched Sorcery in the Sky (which call me insane, but I liked it more than Fantasmic!) Then, we were faced with the enormous task of getting out of the park. Even though it had another 30 minutes or so until closing, we decided it would be smart to get in line for a bus. It was a smart move. The line was huge, and the busses couldn't come fast enough! One bus came quickly, but the driver took quite a long time loading wheelchairs (something about new straps) another bus pulled up beside that one while it was still loading people, but that barely made a dent in the line of people. Apparently by this time, the park was closing, for I lost sight of the end of the line. I admit it, at this point, I was cranky and would have loved nothing more than to have a 3-year-old screaming temper tantrum. Finally, another bus came and we were able to get on. Unfortunately, there were only 2 seats left, and mom and dad got those, so I stood, which I thought was no big deal since we were a mere hop skip and jump from the hotel. I was wrong. The roads were so clogged we had to go the long way (which really was just that, a long way) FINALLY we got back to the hotel. Everything Pop was supposed to stay open until 2 for package pickups, but when we got there shy of 1:30, they were already closed. Afraid, sleepy, and mad, we asked at the front desk what to do about package pickups, since we would be leaving before Everything Pop opened back up. The lady at the desk told us they shouldn't be closed, and went to get the manager. He came out and told us that he would go in and get the package for us. He did (and I don't think he was too happy, for he got on to the employees who decided to close it) Apparenty, when people weren't coming in at around 1, they closed it. The must not have known that we were all stuck in traffic :dazed we finally got back to the room, where I showered, and slept for about an hour before we had to go (I think I was the only one, mom and dad were afraid that if they went to sleep, they would sleep throught their alarms.) Mom and dad dragged me out of the bed around 4, and we met our driver right outside the hotel. After the driver dropped us four sleep-deprived zombies off at the airport, we checked in our bags (which took longer than it ever has, curse travelling on holidays!) went through security, and had a bite to eat. We caught the plane with no problem. There was a really cute kid behind me, and usually, I would have taken time to listen and laugh at his cute sayings (he was talking about Pirates bringing him milk) but I was tired as all get out, and was rather annoyed. I did get to sleep though, and the flight was over quickly. We drove home and slept forever (or at least half the day and all night!)

[cbeccaboo2]

Great trip! Loved every moment of your trip report. Thanks for sharing.

Becca

[crystalrp]

It was great reading about New Years eve at MGM. Thanks so much for sharing!