Pre-Trip Report: WDW & DCL (Fantasy) WITHOUT the kids! October 16-29, 2012

Well this is going to be very interesting. I've been reading Joanna's recap and her comments about that fateful night, can't wait to hear your version. It is my understanding it was different depending on where your cabin was.

I need to get started on my TR here

Sorry for the TR delay, it IS coming soon!!! I promise!!! My youngest son has been sick, uploading 1,000s of pictures and dealing with Walt Disney World resorts on a hotel room issue we had after the cruise. :faint: (Will give details on the last in my TR too. :thumbs: )

Teaser . . . got to experience the New Fantasyland expansion on a soft opening day (rode Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid!), ate my way around Epcot's Food and Wine Festival, swam with turtles and sting rays in St John, survived Hurricane Sandy's wrath while at sea with over 100 mph winds, attended MNSSHP and didn't hit one candy stop (we were more focused on riding the attractions!!!) . . .

:mickeykid

You will never guess where we just spent Thanksgiving . . . at Walt Disney World!!!

Due to an email I sent Meg Crofton regarding our post cruise stay at The Boardwalk Villas, we were given two free nights and park tickets. I got the letter on Monday, we had no plans for Thursday. Next thing I knew, we were on the road on Wednesday heading east to Florida. Yes, we are "that" crazy"!!! :dizzy:

This was going to be the first Thanksgiving in years we would NOT be at WDW for the holidays. It had become a tradition. Now that we have seen the O-Lights and Cinderella Castle drizzled with icicles, bring on Christmas!!!

A few highlights from this quick trip . . .

Stayed at Bay Lake Tower for the first time. Loved it!!! Had a lake view on paper. But, had a park view AND lake view. Had a great view of Wishes. I didn't want to leave this room/resort. We plan to stay here again. :thumbs:

We only visited DHS and MK this quick trip. As expected, both parks were crazy busy. But, due to my knee surgery, we were able to get a GAC which helped us bypass some of the long lines.

We spent Thanksgiving afternoon and evening at DHS. Nothing gets the holidays started like the O-Lights. We spent awhile just admiring the lights and enjoying the music synchronized to the lights. We continued our annual tradition and found the black (purple) cat. This year was VERY easy!!!

On this day, we got to enjoy . . . ToT, Star Tours, Muppet Vision 3D, Toy Story Mania, Indy Show and Great Movie Ride.

We had an ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In for dinner. But, we finished the park early enough that we were ready to leave before our ADR time. So, we headed back to the Contemporary.

We ended up having Thanksgiving dinner at the Contempo Cafe. I had a traditional turkey dinner and the rest of the family had chicken nuggets and burgers. It was honestly really tasty. It was pretty empty by the time we arrived. A nice and quiet way to end the evening. We wanted to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, we would be at the MK bright and early the next morning. This is "the park" to visit during the holidays. I couldn't wait to see Cinderella Castle illuminated!!! :yahoo:

We arrived in our room not ten minutes, then . . . Boom! Wishes had started at the MKI We got bundled up and sat on our balcony enjoying Wishes. Such a magical way to end our day.

On Friday, we weren't planning to wait in lines for Black Friday deals, we planned to wait in lines to enjoy the Magic Kingdom. We arrived about an hour after rope drop. It was a perfect time to arrive, no long line at bag check and walked right up to the turnstile and this was during a holiday week. I guess everyone was here on Thursday! I later found out, people were just late to awake and the park was VERY busy closer to lunchtime.

Our first stop was at the Fire Station to get our Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom trading cards. We honestly haven't played the game yet. We just love to collect the card. Since the news of Starbucks taking over the Main Street bakery, we made our last visit to it "as is". Bill got the infamous cinnamon roll, the kids got pastries and I got an ice cream sandwich (for breakfast!!!). Only at Disney!

After our breakfast, it was time to ride. We enjoyed the following attractions today . . . BTMRR (2xs), Little Mermaid, HM and Dumbo.

By this time, we were getting hungry. While in the new Fantasyland area, we noticed the BOG gate was open! So, we got to eat lunch at Be Our Guest Restaurant. We lucked out and just made it in for lunch. The ordering process was a little long. But, we found a table no problem and before we knew it, our food was being wheeled to our table. I got the croque monsieur (fancy grilled ham & cheese sandwich) and frites (french fries). It was hot and yummy! They only seat in the main ballroom for lunch. It was gorgeous!!! Pictures do NOT do it justice!

After lunch, we decided to head back to our room to relax and refresh before heading back to the MK that evening. This is when my hubby and youngest son started to not feel well. So, they decided not to head back out that evening and our olded son wanted to stay back at the room too. So, the evening turned into a "girls night" with just me and our 10 yo daughter, Emily.

She was actually skipping into the park with excitement. I gave her free-range on what do to. I just wanted to see Cinderella Castle lit up. Check! I got to ooh and aah over it. It never gets old! This evening we got to enjoy . . . BTMRR (2xs), Peter Pan, TTA, Buzz and CoP. By chance, we caught the new light show on the castle. It is amazing!!! I highly recommend seeing it. Also, we didn't plan to see Wishes. But, caught it while on the TTA and got to see the finale from our car with a perfect view of the castle. Our daughters fav ride is BTMRR. So, that was to be our first and last attraction of the night. One year, by chance we caught Wishes from the ride. So, my daughter was joking and going ooh and aah pretending to see fireworks. Next thing I know, REAL fireworks are going off. It was such an unexpected treat! I still don't know where they were from because we had already seen Wishes earlier.

We decided to end the evening on a "sweet note" and had our usual ice cream cone with chocolate Mickey ears on Main Street. We walked into the Ice Cream Parlor and there was no line. Grabbed a table on Main Street, enjoyed our treat and people watched. We had a view of the bakery with a line out the door. Those people looked miserable! What a way to end your evening. Not us! :-D

Too soon, we were on a monorail heading back to the Contemporary. One last bit of "magic" happened, we got to ride The Avengers monorail. Emily was sooooo happy and couldn't wait to tell her brothers.

Saturday morning came too early. We decided to stop in Daytona Beach and have lunch with my Dad. We had lunch OVER the water on a pier. Then, we were on the road heading back to Texas.

A short, but sweet trip to Walt Disney World. :mickeykid

(I'll post some pictures, when I get them downloaded.)

It may depend on the time, because I've seen the other 2 rooms open for lunch before

What a fun little trip. :grin: I had a bonding trip with just my DD for her 16th birthday. Her brother popped in on us when he wasn't working but it is a trip I won't forget. This year I went down to see my DS, just me for 6 days and he joined me for 3 full days. Don't get much time with them like that as they get older. Glad you and your DD had that time.

What happened that you received 2 comp days?