Our Disney Vacation - December 2007!

Reflections of Everest

2008-01-10T10:09:00.001-05:00

Reflections, originally uploaded by fodw.

This is a perfect shot of Everest. I especially like that you can see the Hidden Yeti so clearly!

Scenic Route

2008-01-10T10:03:00.001-05:00

Scenic Route, originally uploaded by fodw.

More of the Osbourne Dancing Spectacle of lights from Barrie.

Peace on Earth

2008-01-10T10:02:00.001-05:00

Peace on Earth, originally uploaded by fodw.

A great shot of Osbourne Lights by our friend, Barrie.

Intrepid Explorers!

2008-01-10T09:59:00.001-05:00

DSC_2100, originally uploaded by fodw.

Here's the group shot outside of Everest. I like how my Disney Bear backpack is peaking out to say hi!

We climb the highest mountains,
just to get a better view.
We plumb the deepest oceans,
because we're daring through and through.
We cross the scorching desert,
martinis in our hand.
We ski the polar ice caps,
in tuxedos looking grand.
We are reckless, brave, and loyal,
and valiant to the end.
If you come in here a stranger,
you will exit as a friend.
KUNGALOOSH!

Photo taken by Barrie.

Day 2 - 12/07/07

2008-01-05T21:24:00.001-05:00

I woke up before the alarm went off and took the dogs out by myself so the others could sleep in. I also took a quick walk up to the beach; this is one of my absolute favorite places. It's always peaceful with a beautiful view. You can see all over Bay Lake, and in the early morning like this, things are just starting to wake up. The launches are sailing towards the marina, but only a person or two is on the docks. Birds nestle along the lake, and most important, you can see the castle.

Except the new building at the Contemporary will most likely destroy that since it will block our view of the castle and the area of the lagoon. The cranes are already messing it up. Of course, that doesn't matter when we're talking DVC sales and when we're talking about Fort Wilderness, the low rung on the resort ladder, you're not going to see people getting concerned like they did in talking about building Fire Mountain and the view from the Polynesian. Or the view into the back of Epcot from the Boardwalk. (Is my bitterness clear?)

As I walked back, a woman pointed out an eagle's nest in a tree. She said that I had just missed the bald eagle flying in and talked about how large he was and how beautiful. I only caught a glimpse of him moving around in the nest, but I hoped I would got to see him.

I was a little embarrassed because, as a typical camper, I was out in my jammies, slippers, glasses, and a fantastic case of bedhead. The other woman was dressed for the day, but didn't bat an eye at what I was wearing. You can tell she's used to campers!

I got back and took my shower, then woke up John. He took his shower and we woke Cathi up last. We got up early because we needed to be in Animal Kingdom when it opened to got a FastPass to Everest and then over to the safari to ride with our group, hosted by Deb Wills of All Ears Net. In the parking lot, we saw a family wearing group T-shirts; most of them say Opa's and Nana's Fan Club! The other two were, of course, Opa and Nana themselves.

I volunteered to run and get the Fast Passes for the three of us while John and Cathi went to the safari. But we needed a little something for breakfast which meant using our ticket/dining cards. So I needed to wait for those.

Once we got our order, I snatched the cards. I basically had no time to do this, because we were supposed to meet Deb and everyone else at the safari in one minute. I told John that if it came down to it, go on the safari without me, we'd meet up afterwards for Everest, and I took off. Boy, I found out fast how much I've let myself go, because I was out of shape. I couldn't even get through DinoLand before slowing to a walk!

I decided to take the path around DinoLand, head for Theater in the Wilds, and to Everest that way instead of Asia; everybody pretty much uses Asia to get there and it would have slowed me down. But even a fast walk was taking a lot of time and I huffed and puffed like a crack addict.

When I got to Everest, didn't the machine not give me a FP, so I had to go to another one! THAT one thinks I had a FP already, so a nice cast member took care of it for me and then I ran some more, now to the safari. I say some more, but it was not a lot. However, when I got to the safari, other people were still coming in and I hadn't missed the safari ride at all. Our friend, John (from Trenton) was, of course, head and shoulders above most of the crowd and saw me; he pointed over to where Cathi and my John (that sounds really bad) were standing. They couldn't believe I found them in the crowd, and I pointed out where John from Trenton stood in easy view. He waved to us.

Equally important, my John (still sounds bad) had my coffee and bearclaw. I inhaled them like I was going to the electric chair and it was my last meal, because when you realize you're out of shape, you want to drink a lot of caffeine and eat a (fantastic) pastry.

We all moved in to ride the safari. Deb and her people had gotten Disney to organize us coming in as a group. We high fived the one woman as she did a head count; in the end, we were 247 people! Way to go, Deb!

John, Cathi, and I as well as Ray and some others were set off separately from the bulk of the group. We had people in EVCs and they decided we'll ride with them. Disney had bunches of safari trucks ready, and we were all happily shouting back and forth, mostly the Swahili cry of "Jumbo!" (Hello) The other park guests pretty much stared at all of us like some cult had descended on them -- which was pretty much true.

But most of the trucks had gone with our group, and we were still waiting. It wouldn't be fun to be separated from everyone, so I finally got up front and asked what was going on. Sadly, I admit, I was testy, so I made myself calm down. The cast member, Emily, said our truck was behind the others and it was coming now. She asked which site I was with and when I told her Tagrel.com, even though Deb of All Ears Net organized it, she got all excited. Her dad is James on Tagrel! And she would be our tour guide! I quickly passed that info through the group.

Emily did a fantastic job, and I don't just say that because she's the daughter of a fellow member. Everyone in the group said it's the best tour they've done of the safari, and I gave her one of our cast member Appreciation cards. When she told us the gnus are called that based on the sound they make, and she couldn't do it well, John teased her to try it anyway. A few times she teased back and called out, "Gnu!", paused, then said, "Nope, didn't work. None of them are coming over here."

As we got near the alligator bridge, John and I started making the prrbbtt! sound Cathi swore gators make; she glared at us and said, "You'll see. You won't laugh when they bite you leg off and I'm calling you Peg the rest of your life!"

We saw one of the baby elephants on the safari, I'm guessing Tufani or Kianga based on the size, and baby Tom the rhino! Plus a peek at a few cheetahs and a wonderful look at the lion snoozing!

A bunch of us moved to Everest with our Fast Passes. Gary and Carol were in the train ahead of us. We joked that whoever survived had to take care of each other's dogs! Then it was our turn to get on board. As we started the ride, John got the other MouseFesters to cheer our train on, and off we went!

We had kept teasing Cathi that Everest was like the Barnstormer in the Magic Kingdom, just a little bit longer. John and Cathy from Trenton heard that and said Suuuure, it is! Now we were on board and going up the big hill, I told her the height is just forced perspective and don't look out to the sides. When we shot backwards into the dark and stopped in the cavern, she very calmly said, "I think I hurt something." And when we got off, she and John joked that they can throw up now. But we seriously love Everest!

I checked out the gift shop for the roly poly Christmas Yeti (they were sold out), when I heard John calling for me outside. We were getting a photo of everyone who rode; I leapt just in time into the front with a big Ta Da!

We met more of our Tagrel group and chit chat for awhile, then some people headed out. We moved more into the Asia section and stopped to have PhotoPass take a picture of us with Everest in the background. I grabbed a chai latte slushi at the tea place, and we checked out the one Gibson monkey family near Asia's main entrance. The baby is practically all grown up now! I thought about checking out the family who had the baby born last year when Cathi saw the raft ride. She suggested we ride that which sounded like a great idea, so off we go. We practically walked on the ride. We were in a raft with two other families, and the guy sitting on my right joked that we were going to got doused!

At first, he was right. At the first decent sized dip, the raft spun and he & I took a wave! Whoa! My pants were soaked! But, as we were going down the big hill, the raft spun some more and it looked like John was going to got it just as the raft turned again and this woman and her young daughter got soaked!

Nobody came out really dry and everyone was laughing. John joked that Cathi wasn't allowed to pick anymore rides. Time to walk around with a wet crotch for awhile!

John suggested we go through the shops before heading out to walk the dogs and hang out before out big night at Disney-MGM. I swear he only mentioned the shopping to got me to go along with the plan! ;)

I checked again for the roly poly Yeti, but all the shops were sold out. I saw a small Christmas tree decorated nicely with animal masks and other ornaments, and when John and Cathi came up to me again, I picked up the whole tree and told Cathi to see how much it was (joking about what happened in Fort Wilderness with the ornament). She told me to stop trying to get her arrested.

I had worn my cast member AK opening day party shirt; it's design is so fantastic! I had a secret fantasy that some cast member, maybe even in Imagineering, would notice it and say something. Um.... no. ;)

I stopped at Guest Services to fill out a cast member card for Emily. These go into the employee's file and shows up in their reviews, bonuses, and other benefits. The desk say they don't have any cards right now and have me put it all on a piece of paper. They promise to fill out a proper card with the information. The cast member there said that if I sent an email to the Guest Services address commending a cast member that the president of the park reviewed them; I had never heard that before and was skeptical about it. I also like the immediacy of filling out a card for a cast member because they can get it within the same day.

We decided to have lunch at the Pepper Market in Coronado Springs. Their lobby was beautiful with decorations and its tree. John went to use the restroom and said he'd meet us at the Market. But who's going to turn down a chance like that to go into the gift shop? Not me! I picked up a Minnie and Figaro slider charm for my bracelet and Cathi got a new book to read. John rolled his eyes when he found us and said, "How did I know to look here?"

We told our hostess that Cathi was new at the Market, which was my way of not admitting that I forgot how the system worked, but getting the explaination anyhow. Cathi and I went to the Mexican stand (I got a burrito and she got fajitas) when she said something that would change the rest of the day.

"How about we get a strawberry margerita?"

We were orginally going to share one, but she decided we should have one each. These things were POTENT! I don't have any alcohol tolerance anyway, so by the time John got back with his meal, and I had drank about a quarter of the margerita, I was grinning. Cathi was doing better than me. When I had drank half of it, I told John that I loved him sooooooooooooo much! He greeted this romantic confession with "Here we go. You're drunk." Is that nice?

After my dissertation on how unfair it was that a churro did not count as a dessert on my dining plan, we paid our bill and left. They were planning to take a nap because we had a later night ahead of us and an early start, and I was planning to work on the trip report, maybe even head to Meadows for wireless Internet. But John got tired of my declarations of love for him and Fort Wilderness, and told me to go lay down. I was going to show him! I didn't need to sleep. I'd wait for him to go to sleep and then get up.

When he woke me an hour later, I told him I needed another half hour. He dealt with this in a friendly manner by saying I had better not ruin the night by still being tipsy. So I got up, dressed in fresh clothes, and we headed for something we were really looking forward to: meeting friends for dinner at Mom's Prime Time and then Osbourne Lights for a meet that John in Trenton called "Ho Ho Ho Lotta Lights"! I had even dug out my sweatshirt for it from years ago and the 3D glasses they used to hand out.

We hadn't eaten at Mom's in awhile; we love hanging out in Dad's Lounge because of the fantastic bartender there, so having dinner there again, especially with a group of people, was going to be good. Right away, the fun started when Michael, dressed in a cardigan, black thick glasses, and his hair slicked back with a camera around his neck, came up to Cathi and I and said we were blocking Mom's front door. Besides, "I told you kids to play in the livingroom until dinner was ready!"

We had a lot of fun with Michael (after making sure the rest of our party knew where we were so we didn't miss dinner)! I begged him for a popsicle; he told me I'd ruin my dinner. Cathi complained that the ornaments on the tree didn't do anything (since the time is set for the 50s, they're not like modern moving or sound chip ornaments); he told her that "their ornaments! They hang on a tree, that's what they do!" He told us to read a book, but Cathi pointed out they were glued to the shelves; you couldn't take them down. Without batting an eye, he returned, "Oh, sure! 'I can't take a book down, I can't finish my homework! What other stories are you kids going to make up?" Disney has a treasure in that guy.

We sat down to dinner. Dave and his family was there, and I immediately began pushing and shoving his daughter, Maddy, who sat on my left. to make friends and create fun with our cousin, the waitress. Suzy was back with her husband and little Li Li, as well as her sister Jill and brother-in-law. Jill and Cathi bonded over griping about how bad it is to have little sisters. I got in a lot of trouble over starting the shoving match with Maddy, and when I got up to hand out pins to everyone at other tables from tagrel, I was put in the corner for not asking permission to get up from the table! It made Cathi's whole vacation! Until she got in trouble for not finishing her dinner and had to do the "open the hatch, here comes the airplane"!

We had to get over to meet everyone for the Osbourne Lights, so John started getting anxious at the table. I finally sent him ahead while Cathi and I waited for the dining cards, then we left too.

We met Moley (her tagrel name) and everyone already there. Moley gave everyone penguin lights (the mascat for tagrel), we had our pins, other people handed out candy canes... it was fantastic! Emily from the safari was there too! I told her about Guest Services, and if she doesn't see it in her folder in the regular time, let me know and I'll email Services with it. She said she mentioned me to her dad and he knew right away who I was. Hopefully, that's a good thing!

Emily's brother is also on tagrel, Zack, and he's working Osbourne Lights tonight! Plus her sister works as the MGM kennel!

Once everyone was there, off we went into the lights, just in time for one of the musical synchronized breaks! I so love the Osbourne lights! I have ever since they were there on a test period back in 1995 and we got to see them. I might even love them more now that they're on the streets, because it's just a full embrace of them. Besides, I see surburban house decorated all the time; whoever sees a whole CITY blocka decorated?

Our group got separated by the crowd, but we kept running into each other. I'd hear voices calling hello to each other, and when I flung my arms wide to the falling "snow", I heard Moley tease me. John, Cathi, and I got pictures taken by the PhotoPass people, then explored the lights even more. I don't know how long we stayed, almost an hour, before John wanted to get off his feet.

We were going to see Fantasmic, but John was wiped out. So we said we'd try for another night, and relaxed in the bookstore for awhile next to Sci Fi. Then we went into the Great Movie Ride. We literally walked right in.

Our new camcorder has a "night vision" setting, and I was all the way at the end in the back row, so I was ready for the Indiana Jones section. And I did it! I found the Hidden R2 and 3PO!

We left there and was near closing. I hated leaving; I felt like we got nothing done, but we'd be back. Besides, it was time to go to the Gift Exchange!

We headed for the Swan where we were meeting friends for a Yankee Swap style gift exchange. On the way over, we talked about we were going to karaoke the next night. John said he was doing a duet of "I'll Cover You" and Cathi asked what was that.

John: It's a love song between 2 gay men from "Rent", but I'm singing it with a woman.
Me (teasing): A woman that's not his wife.
John: Right, not with Erin. I've been rehearsing it, but I just suck at it.
Cathi: Well, that sounds like something to look forward to.

We got to the Veranda at the Swan, but no one was there, so we killed time at the gift shop. Cathi pointed out they sold little Disney buses in a set, "So you must not be the only one who's weird about those buses." I said, "Told you so."

People started coming in for the gift exchange, taking pictures, and greeting each other. Someone wanted a photo of John and me, and Cathy from Trenton shouted, "Give him a hug!" So I sat in his lap. Immediately after the picture, Cathy yelled, "OK, get off him. This is a family place!"

We hadn't done the gift exchange before, but we were so glad we did it this time! It was so much fun, and the gifts were incredible! Ornaments, decorations, plushes, a homemade afghan and even 4 days at a DVC! And lots and lots of laughs as Linda went on the rampage for anyone trying to steal her robe, and as the afghan and DVC points were stolen over and over.

We all posed for a picture (unfortunately, I don't have one), when I heard a bunch of the guys hysterical in the back. I later asked John what was so funny and he said he had mumbled about needing to hurry up so he could get back to the campground to walk the dogs. Our friend Brian teased him:

Brian: Walk the dogs? Is that some new euphemism you use for It?
John: And I have 3 dogs to walk!
Brian: You're a helluva man.

Cathy from Trenton was laughing so hard, she was bent over double. John told she wouldn't be seen in the photo at all if she didn't get up!

It was a fantastic day!

Osbourne Lights @ Disney

2008-01-05T21:17:00.001-05:00

With one of the musical breaks!

John and Erin at Mom's Prime Time

2008-01-05T21:01:00.001-05:00

John and Erin at Mom's Prime Time, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

The two of us at Mom's Prime Time. I'm wearing my "I like my boyfriend, but I love Mickey" t-shirt. John hates that shirt! ;)

No laughing matter!

2008-01-05T20:52:00.003-05:00

No laughing matter!, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Our "cousin" told me to stop laughing and face the corner, because I was shaming my family!

Standing in the corner at Mom's Prime Time

2008-01-05T20:52:00.001-05:00

Standing in the corner at Mom's Prime Time, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

I got in trouble for horsing around at the table and then getting up without asking permission. Cathi took way too much pleasure in telling EVERYBODY about it, including our mom.

Michael at Mom's Prime Time

2008-01-05T20:51:00.001-05:00

Michael at Mom's Prime Time, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Michale was wonderful! Funny, quick thinking -- one of the best I've ever met!

We're off! for December 17, 2007, 11:42 AM

2008-01-05T19:38:00.001-05:00

Thought I'd catch up with our videos!

Here's when we left. I wish we were doing it now!

Let's blend into the background, ok?

2008-01-04T14:29:00.001-05:00

DSC_2490, originally uploaded by fodw.

If the actors playing the tacky tourists in Streetmosphere ever quit their jobs, Disney now knows who they can call!

Erin and John at the Osbourne Lights. The 3D glasses used to be handed out by Disney MGM to look at the lights back in the 1990s; Erin never throws anything away!

Photo taken by Barrie.

Erin getting on safari

2008-01-04T14:27:00.001-05:00

DSC_2084, originally uploaded by fodw.

Got the camera? Check. Got tagrel buttons? Check. Got your cellphone in a Mickey holster? Check. Got your Mickey reindeer antlers on? Check. Got your hip pin lanyard hanging on your thigh? Check. Are you wearing the Imagineer's AK Project Party t-shirt that you got from ebay, hoping Joe Rohde and his people would notice you? Check. Did you just finish catching your breath running to Everest and then inhaling a bear claw from the pastry cart? Check.

Then you're ready to ride the safari with the other geeks, my friend!

Photo taken by Barrie.

Holiday Wishes!

2007-12-23T21:13:00.001-05:00

DSC_1102, originally uploaded by fodw.

Barrie took this photo too. Fantastic!!

Rose Garden in Magic Kingdom

2007-12-23T21:12:00.001-05:00

DSC_1043, originally uploaded by fodw.

Here's where we met our friends to watch the Holiday Wishes!

Barrie took this picture. We're somewhere in that press of bodies!

Sing it, Johnny!

2007-12-22T21:31:00.001-05:00

DSC_2871, originally uploaded by fodw.

John crooning "Mack the Knife" the way it should be! Karaoke at Kimonos lounge in the Swan.

This picture was taken by our friend, Barrie, from tagrel.

Coronado Springs Christmas tree

2007-12-17T19:50:00.003-05:00

Beach Club Christmas tree, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

The whole room was gorgeous!

Gingerbread carousel

2007-12-17T19:50:00.001-05:00

Gingerbread carousel, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

The gingerbread carousel at Disney's Beach Club. We met friends here for a gift exchange.

Here comes the airplane!

2007-12-17T19:49:00.001-05:00

Here comes the airplane!, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Erin's sister, Cathi, has to finish the food on her plate! We met friends for dinner at Mom's Prime Time Cafe.

Reflection in the mirror

2007-12-17T19:48:00.001-05:00

Reflection in the mirror, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

An accidental picture: Erin caught our safari truck in the mirror. She's the one with the bright yellow T-shirt; it makes her easy to spot.

Baby Tom the rhino

2007-12-17T19:47:00.003-05:00

Baby Tom the rhino, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

With his folks on the safari

King of the Jungle

2007-12-17T19:47:00.001-05:00

King of the Jungle, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Taking a nap. Emily, our safari guide, made sure we got a great look at him.

We saved Little Red!

2007-12-17T19:46:00.001-05:00

We saved Little Red!, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Little Red is safe and sound, rescued from the poachers! We rock!

Ready to ride Everest!

2007-12-17T19:45:00.003-05:00

Ready to ride Everest!, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

John cheers on the waiting crowd for Everest.

Temple and Everest

2007-12-17T19:45:00.001-05:00

100_2809, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

The mountain range is used again in the arches of the temple

Animal Kingdom Christmas tree

2007-12-17T19:44:00.001-05:00

Animal Kingdom Christmas tre, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

One of Erin's two favorites

Do you believe?

2007-12-17T19:43:00.001-05:00

Do you believe?, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Why, yes. Yes, I do.

Mock webcam

2007-12-17T09:20:00.001-05:00

Since I didn't have Internet access to set up the webcam, I took a few videos from the rear of our site as we sat around enjoying the breeze.

We looked into the canal and meadow area.

Elphie let a passing by dog know that the campground belonged to her and her sisters.

From Crackle: Fort Wilderness Site 322 Elphie

Day 1 of fun!

2007-12-17T09:10:00.001-05:00

Magic Kingdom - 12/06/07

We head up to the marina on the cart - me pointing out it's 626, Stitch's number; John rolls his eyes at that. - and see a number of decorated carts including one with a Santa Snoopy, and one with an entire Rudolph the Reindeer scene on the roof done with beanies! The camera batteries go dead - figures! - so I take video of it. The people who own it come up and ask if I really like it that much and when I go on about how great it is, I hear them say, "That makes all the work worth it!" as I walk away.

The boat comes right away and we sit on the bow. Right then, everything with a battery falls apart! Pal Mickey, my family radio, the camera! I brought one pack of batteries with me, but it's not enough! Unbelievable! For a little while, I'm frantically ripping out batteries and shoving in other things.

We dock at MK and Cathi teases me about all the paraphanalia I'm carrying, which is always fun with Disney security too. But at last: Main St! Decorated for Christmas!

And an immediate stop at the Emporium for batteries. :) Fortunately, this very nice CM tells me that I picked up the most expensive batteries - lithium -- which are 3 times the price of the regular. Since we have tons of batteries at the camper, I get regular and we're on our way.

50 million pictures of decorations and the castle later, John suggests Cosmic Ray's to get something to eat. We sit outside by the water and watch people crossing on the bridge as we eat. The CM at the register very nicely explained the dining plan to us once I told her it was our first time ordering with it. It made up for us having to wait while someone ordered their chili cheese fries with the toppings in separate containers, confusing the kitchen order.

We missed our first MouseFest meet while we get things set up at the campground, and we almost decided not to do the next one, but we headed for it and I'm glad we did. It was a short digital photography class given by the owner of MagicinPixels.com. I'm still rough with night photos, but I think I'm a little better. My speed shots still really suck. If nothing else, I hold the camera better. ;)

While we're sitting at the photo meet, the new ice lighting comes on for the castle. Someone yelled look and we turned to see it. Oh... my. Nothing describes seeing it in person. The man giving the class was very sweet about a bunch of us jumping out of our seats to go see it!

When that was over, we went into the new Laughter Comedy Floor attraction. We all enjoyed it, especially as John "fuzzy hat guy" (his Eagles Santa hat) had to get up an dance! The woman in front of us got such a kick out of it, she turned around to get an extra photo of John waving to her.

We then went around on the TTA (PeopleMover in my heart) where I proceeded to take a lot of very bad photos in trying to apply what I had learned. This got me frustrated and when we got off and John talked about going to Haunted Mansion, I felt more off. I felt we weren't doing anything special, and I had looked forward to doing something different and special since this was the Very Merry Christmas party. John pointed out that we would be doing more later and suggested we do Buzz since we were in Tomorrowland. That didn't quite hit the spot, especially when Cathi said she was going to find a restroom and wasn't interested in the ride, but when John started laughing and CHEATING, I felt a whole lot better. Captain Cheats-a-lot won, but by dirty means!

We then headed for Haunted Mansion, but I stopped to ask a CM why he was holding a lit up Mickey Snowman sign. I didn't get an answer, but when I told him I liked the snowman, he took a photo of us with it.

The new effects in Haunted Mansion are very good; John pointed out the gargoyles talking and how the sound now comes from different points in the room. But I'm so busy keeping an eye on the CM who is doing a very good job at being a creepy host that I miss the new hanging scene above us.

We take the few steps into Fantasyland and ride Peter Pan (a long time favorite), where Cathi says this is the start of the gator attacks, then Philharmagic (got to love it!!), and Pooh. Then it's time to get to the Rose Garden to watch Holiday Wishes.

We meet up with our buddies from Tagrel; they always amaze us with their friendliness, big hugs, and warmth! Dave set us up with lanyards and pins, Moley told us how much she's looking forward to the Lights the next night, John (WDWNJ) picks me up in a big bear hug, and everybody settles down for the fireworks! They're wonderful, and I hopefully get a few pics that'll turn out.

A bunch of us scoot up the side path to ride Small World together, hosted by Tacey. We jump into a couple of boats, making a big deal over the CMs, and cracking jokes like "What are the words to this song?" We're sitting in front of Suzy Q, her husband, and their little girl, Li Li. Li Li is wearing a Santa hat that keeps falling over her eyes!

Tacey is tossing candy bags to everyone, including from boat to boat, and one lands in the water. John shouts, "I guess it's okay to dump my mother's ashes now!" after the story of a woman who done that with her father's ashes.

When we get to the end and hear the last of the song, I yell "One more time!". People tell me I'm cut off from caffeine.

Li Li puts this on her list of acceptable rides for Grandma when she arrives on Sat.

We all hustle over to Frontierland Shooting Gallery to catch the parade. A few people point out my reindeer antlers saying they want a pair; I have to tell them that they're from 1995 and are no longer sold. Seeing our lanyards, they ask what's going on, and when we start to explain, they perk up: Is this MouseFest?! Is Deb Wills' here! Of course, Deb is widely known in the Disney Internet community with AllEarsNet.com -- probably more widely visited that the official Disney site -- but she had packed it in after being tired from the cruise and with a lot more ahead of her.

We stood enjoying the parade when John hugged me and said, "This is so much better than the Halloween party."

After the parade, people break up and we head back for Fort Wilderness. It's been a long day, but a great one. We have an early start the next day too. But as we reach Main St, the parade is still going full force there (with snow falling!), so we cut through the stores. We duck out of the Emporium to catch a glimpse of the toy soldiers and Santa again (still didn't get a good photo). I turned from doing that to see John had thrown an arm over Cathi's shoulders and they were talking and laughing together. It warmed me so much to see them like that.

As we're waiting for our boat to FW, I see a couple of people dancing to the music on the way to the monorail. I love happy guests.

When we get back to Fort Wilderness and head for the golf cart, I find out that after a day of insisting we have cart number 626, we have have 646!

Cathi & I walk the dogs and we hear a warbling sound. She teases that it's a gator, and I tell her that she's nuts, it's some kind of bird. After a while, I say, "Maybe it's a coral snake", sending her scooting back in the camper.

We get a lot of mileage out of that gator noise joke in the days to come.

Last of the travel log going to Florida

2007-12-17T09:02:00.000-05:00

5:19 am

Yep, John "the bat" got us up again! That's what Cathi said: he's always up at night. She then told the dogs that "When we eat lunch at 6am, I'll give you a treat!"

Obviously, someone is too excited to sleep! That and he wants to be through Jacksonville before rush hour, and really to hopefully get in our site early.

We stop at the Hess station right outside the campground to fill up the tank and grab coffee.

5:46 am

Welcome to Florida!

Never entered the state in the dark before!

7:47 am

Turn off to I-4! I woke up just in time!

Weather is beautiful! Warm and sunny! And we understand that the snow stopped at home last night.

8:07 am

See billboard with "Vascectomy! No needles! No scapel!" John finished it with "We just use our teeth!"

Traffic jam. Thankfully we're going on Love Bug Rd (Rt 417) soon and will miss all this. We call it Love Bug Rd after the first time we went on it and it was love bug (they look like Jersey lightning bugs) mating season. Thousands of them were in the air!

8:15 am

Turn on to Love Bug Rd. Hopefully, traffic will be better.

Cathi and Casey were cuddle buddies in the chair, but Casey moved up here when I had pretzels. Now she and Elphie are sleeping side by side across my lap. It's funny when they lift their heads in unison to see something.

First toll plaza. Lose my lap buddies. :(

I smell garlic in the air. John says it's Old Lady smell. Cathi asks does he go around smelling old ladies?

9:00 am

We're here! Oh how great! So beautiful!

When we pull up to the guard post to explain that we're checking in, the CM discovered we frequently stay here. He waved his hand towards Fort Wilderness and said, "Welcome hom!" Oh, he made my whole trip with that!

We can't get on our site yet; the people who have been staying there haven't checked out, so we walk the dogs, use the restrooms, and relax. I'm so happy that I throw myself in John's arms and give him a huge hug as we walk into the lobby!

John wants a nap and sends Cathi & I to breakfast. We find a Hidden Mickey in the kennel sighn! And then take the bus to the Settlement where I am so busy pointing things out to Cathi that I walk right into one of those yellow poles! We both crack up and turn around to see the bus driver grinning and shaking his head.

We go to the gift shop and saw a great camper ornament on the tree. We took it down to get a price, but the CM told us, "Ma'am, this isn't for sale. It's a decoration." Cathi thanked me for getting her into trouble already! Getting arrested for stealing ornaments!

We go to Trails End and get the bad news that you can't get the buffet to go anymore! That stinks. So we sit down to eat and bring John breakfast back. Actually, I toast him a bagel, get some cornbread and other things, and we stuff them in Cathi's bag in case the CMs tell us we can't take them wil us. We felt like we stole it! Cathi thanks me for getting her in trouble yet again.

Cathi got a call from her in-laws while we were eating and we thought it was bad news. Thankfully, everybody is fine. Our waitress is from Cinnamonsin NJ!

We take the bus back to Outpost and get the same driver again. We check with the lobby and the people are still are in our site! Cathi passes time by reading the resort information and sees the small note that while everything is done to be safe, they can't guarantee something like a snake or gator isn't in the lake. She swears John has joined the list of brothers-in-law trying to kill her. ;)

It's not until 12:30 that we get clearance to go, and when we get there, the people are still there! But they're leaving, a mother and son, and we finally get to settle in.

We get site number 322, one of the ones we requested!

As we check out the site, we see Carol walking Zak and Zoe and stop to say hi. She tells us they've been watching out for us all day. Sharon and her husband are "up there somewhere", so it's Tagrel.com homeweek here in loop 300! We tell her our sister, Cathi, is in the van with our dogs.

While we're setting up, (Cathi nicely took the dogs for a walk while we backed up the camper), Gary stops by to say hello. He had sent a note to us before that Fort Wilderness is clearing out the brush around sites; a lot of it was messed up a few years ago with the storms, so they clearing out the ratty pieces of brush to replant with better brush. It makes sense, but it makes things look bare. One of the things we love about here is how the brush gives privacy to the sites; fortunately, our loop hasn't been cleared yet and the brush is fine.

Cathi & I go to Meadows to pick up the golf cart. Carol stops by on her bike and Cathi tells me how Carol has said hello to her while walking the dogs; she didn't know how Carol knew her name! Carol says she could move in a minute, and loves being back at Fort Wilderness again, but Cathi tells her how Gary said he still loved snow. She rolls her eyes.

We get the same bus driver again! Poor guy can't get away from us!

The CM at the Meadows Bike Barn asks if I had ever rented before and I say yes, realing off the rules of the electric carts: buses and traffic have right away, if I damage the cart, I'm screwed, etc. She laughs and says that saves a lot of explanation. I hear her say we have cart 626 which, being a Disney geek, I know is Stitch's experiment number so that'll be easy to remember! It also has a fold down windshield which will make John happy, and is a newer cart with a battery meter. It feels so great to be scooting around Fort Wilderness again with the warm breeze playing around and the serenity of the campground all around. Plus, the Griswolds are back in their spot at 301, and 303 is giving them a run for their money!

I'm so happy! This is the best part! It's all in front of us now.

Cinderella Castle

2007-12-17T00:31:00.001-05:00

Cinderella Castle, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

The ice lighting cables really do blend in during the daytime so you don't see them.

John in Grumpy hoodie

2007-12-17T00:30:00.001-05:00

John in Grumpy hoodie, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

John hanging out in Philharmagic, contemplating people going by. He's wearing his Eagles Santa hat that our friend, Becky, gave him last year.

John, Cathi, and me with snowman sign

2007-12-17T00:24:00.001-05:00

John, Cathi, and me with snowman sign, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Erin asked a cast member what the sign was for and that she liked it. So he took our photo with it! This was at the beginning of the Very Merry Christmas Party.

Fort Wilderness sign

2007-12-17T00:21:00.003-05:00

Fort Wilderness sign, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Fort Wilderness! Home away from home!

Golf Cart with Snoopy decorations

2007-12-17T00:21:00.001-05:00

Golf Cart with Snoopy decorations, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

People at Fort Wilderness campground decorate their electric carts (ours had lights and a sign on the back with toy fox terriers). Here's one with a Santa Snoopy.

Mickey and me

2007-12-17T00:19:00.001-05:00

Mickey and me, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Erin and her Pal Mickey in his Santa suit in the Laugh Floor waiting area

Magic Kingdom Christmas Tree

2007-12-17T00:18:00.003-05:00

Magic Kingdom Christmas Tree, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

The tree on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom

Toy Soldiers

2007-12-17T00:18:00.001-05:00

Toy Soldiers, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

From the parade during the Very Merry Christmas Parade. They've always been one of our favorites!

Castle with Ice Lighting

2007-12-17T00:16:00.001-05:00

Castle with Ice Lighting, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

The castle is gorgeous with the new ice lighting! No matter how many times I saw it, it blew me away. I hope they keep it for every Christmas.

Grrr!! YouTube!

2007-12-16T22:31:00.001-05:00

I just found out that YouTube only posted 1 of the videos I sent them! What a pain in the &(*^#@~!!!

See our PhotoPass photos!

2007-12-16T21:27:00.000-05:00

Here's the one the Disney photographers took:

Our PhotoPass photos

I'll put this in the links box in the right hand column too.

Bookends

2007-12-16T14:45:00.001-05:00

Elphie and Casey snooze away the miles.

Bookends, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Rainbow!

2007-12-16T14:25:00.001-05:00

In Virginia:

Rainbow!, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

We left Fl for this?!

2007-12-16T09:04:00.001-05:00

We left Florida for this?! Cold and damp weather?! We're in North Carolina; how bad will it be when we get more north?

Leaving Fort Wilderness

2007-12-15T10:55:00.001-05:00

Time to head home. :(

Leaving FW, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Goodbye

2007-12-14T19:11:00.001-05:00

Goodbye, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Fantasyland

2007-12-14T14:53:00.001-05:00

Fantasyland, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Riverboat

2007-12-14T13:44:00.001-05:00

Riverboat, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Sniff! Just used our last

2007-12-14T13:42:00.001-05:00

Sniff! Just used our last counter service credits!

Polynesian

2007-12-14T08:31:00.001-05:00

Polynesian, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

The Colonel

2007-12-13T22:36:00.001-05:00

The Colonel, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Italy

2007-12-13T14:34:00.001-05:00

Italy, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Italian Pavilion - Decorations

2007-12-13T14:31:00.001-05:00

1213071429.jpg, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Adv Club

2007-12-13T12:32:00.001-05:00

Adv Club, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Papa Noel

2007-12-13T11:32:00.001-05:00

Papa Noel, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

I'm already miserable about coming

2007-12-12T19:53:00.001-05:00

I'm already miserable about coming home.

Animal Kingdom Lodge

2007-12-10T17:10:00.001-05:00

Animal Kingdom Lodge, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Epcot tree

2007-12-08T13:28:00.001-05:00

Epcot tree, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Weather is gorgeous! We had

2007-12-08T12:29:00.001-05:00

Weather is gorgeous! We had a great group photo done this morning and then I got John's Christmas present!

Castle lights!

2007-12-06T21:57:00.001-05:00

Castle lightr!, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

We're here!

2007-12-06T09:52:00.001-05:00

We're here!, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Webcam is live! Trip Log for Dec. 5th

2007-12-05T20:01:00.000-05:00

1:13 am

We're off! John didn't even have to wake us up! Cathi was up for a little while and I heard everyone moving around - plus Elphie jumping around. Nobody is stirring in the world but us. The bad wind from the day before is gone so we have cold, but smooth sailing weather.

It's funny how many people leave their holiday lights on all night. I said this out loud and my sister Cathi said, "They're probably like Martin (her son, my nephew) who forgot to turn them off even though you told him 4 times!"

2:30 am

Maryland! Listening to new comedy CD. Everybody's awake and excited -- except Casey who didn't care and laid down, until we opened a box of breakfast bars.

3:23 am

First stop, about 25 miles outside of DC. My fault really; since I didn't go back to sleep, I drank a bottle of water and required the stop. That'll teach me to stay awake. LOL!

Cathi has the grace of a gazel: she's tripped twice on the curb at the rest area! She lays down on the bed in the back and Casey snuggles with her.

John took the keys with him when he went to the rest room. Is that some guy thing? He does it a lot. So we're waiting for heat.

The trucks are backed up to the highway because the parking lot is full. John figures they're resting while they wait for the businesses to open so they can make their deliveries.

5:07 am

Stop for gas at marina station (Shell station at Exit 160, it has a boat marina next door, very pretty) but Cathi & I are sleeping... until John opens door & lets in light and cold! Back on road at 5:15.

8:00 am

Welcome to North Carolina! Cathi & I finally woke up after our nap. We walk the dogs and joke about them leaving messages for others. We switch seats so she's up front, and John says we'll stop soon for more of a real breakfast and gas.

Mile marker 159

First South of the Border sign!

Truck pulls in front of us with a ton of snow on his roof. It hits us like a storm! The road is so bumpy here; you have to wear a sports bra to ride in NC!

Casey made a nest out of a throw rug; Morgan & Elphie took over the bed. I'm sitting in the chair John put in the back. It's like a Capt Kirk chair and I tell John, "Ahead warp factor 1, Mr. Sulu."

With the daylight and having slept, I feel like we left yesterday.

9:12 am

Mile marker 121. Stopped for breakfast and gasoline. Back on road at 9:42. Whoa, the gas is expensive here. $3.15/gal

10:54 am

Lots of Porsches going by on trailers, must be a show nearby.

11:26 am

John's tired, so I'm going to take over driving at So. of the Border. I haven't pulled this camper before, so I joke that we all had to agree that wherever we crashed is where we stay for the night.

11:40 am

South of the Border! Doing great time!

A sign says the town of Lumberton; I thought I left work. I am so going to get in trouble for violating the dress code with what I'm wearing!

A fighter jet ROARED overhead, flames from the engines showing. WOW!

John jokes that he's putting his sunglasses on to bring out the sun.

1:05 pm

Stop for gas. The pleasant service that I receive in the mini-mart makes up for $3.09/gal. NOT! What a crank!

Munching on jalepeno Doritos. Yum!

3:13 pm

I just took a good nap! We're only 13 miles from Georgia. I tease that it's a good thing I got up because the dogs needed water.

John's sunglasses worked! It's sunny and warm!

3:26 pm

Georgia! Stopping at the Welcome Center.

I love the limbo section that you go through; you pass a sign saying you left SC and it's half a mile before the sign for Ga.

We end up staying longer than we wanted at the Welcome Center. For the second year in a row, we overpacked so much that we broke the brackets for the curtain rod in the closet! John had disappeared in the camper for so long, that I went to see what was going on. He fixed it though with a spare bracket and, of course, duct tape.

On the plus side, they had fresh baked cookies in the Welcome Center. Yum again!

Finally back on road at 4:09, so behind schedule now. Cathi says she's going to take a nap.

We pull off immediately at exit 109 for gas and lunch. I asked Cathi how she enjoyed her nap. ;)

I was so NOT popular at Subway. First, because I ordered more than 1 sandwich, and then because instead of doing all 3 at one station at a time, they kept sliding each one down, forcing me to have to answer and dart back & forth to all the stations. Then they wrapped up John's w/o asking me about dressing and I requested they unwrap it to finish it the way I wanted. You know they griped about me after I left. LOL!

We're at a Pilot gas station with much better price: $2.83/gal. But it and the last one cut you off on how much you can spend. For example, we're cut off at $50 here.

We plan to stop at exit 29 at a truck wash for the camper.

6:26 pm

Country Oaks! Our stop for tonight! Weather is beautiful! High 50s and clear. We were at least an hour behind schedule, but no problems. The Truck Wash had a very long line, so we skipped it.

Cathi got a text message from a co-worker saying: I hate you! It's snowing! We each call home; my mom said it started at 11:30 and was still snowing, already a couple of inches despite weather man calling for light snow. My nephew, Martin, said it's snowing like the dickens.

What a shame.... for them. We, on the other hand, are so thrilled we were way ahead of the storm and didn't get one bit of it.

Now for a quiet night of movie watching and hanging out.

Georgia!

2007-12-05T15:48:00.001-05:00

Georgia!, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Welcome to North Carolina! Got

2007-12-05T08:21:00.001-05:00

Welcome to North Carolina! Got here a little bit ago after a nap! Now, breakfast.

Tomorrow!

2007-12-04T09:27:00.001-05:00

We leave tomorrow!!!

By coincidence, our trip starts on Walt's birthday and ends on the anniversary of Walt's death. Cue Twilight Zone music!

Webcam page is ready!

2007-11-30T16:08:00.000-05:00

Right now, I'm using webcam images from us decorating our tree on Friday night. Starting Dec 5th, it'll give you (hopefully!) a webcam during the trip! On Dec 5th, we'll have wireless access - for free! - so I want to put the webcam up then. And we're hoping to connect once or twice in Disney. I'll post when the webcam is up and the link to the page is in the right hand column under Links, and that page has a button in the top nav bar back to here.

Webcam page!

The trip is so close!

Pal Mickey is ready!

2007-11-30T09:22:00.001-05:00

Pal Mickey is ready!, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

Santa at the Magic Kingdom

2007-11-27T12:09:00.001-05:00

Santa at the Magic Kingdom, originally uploaded by mhuffman.

Nice photo from Flickr! We'll be there in 8 days!!!

Two weeks!

2007-11-21T12:04:00.001-05:00

Two weeks! I love it! It's getting so close!

Itinerary

2007-11-18T13:50:00.000-05:00

• Our journey to Florida

• Leave home: 12/5 at 1:30 am

• Arrive at Fort Wilderness: 12/6 at noon

• Stay overnight at Country Oaks in Georgia

• Thurs, 12/6

• Set up site and decorate

• Pickup golf cart

• Take boat ride to Magic Kingdom

• Dole Whip meet at 7pm

• Magic in Pixels: digital photography tips and tricks

• Dinner at Columbia House or similar restaurant

• Attend Christmas Party including cocoa, cookies, parade and fireworks (castle decorated with new lighting - see photos used in this page

• Small World meet

• Fri, 12/7

• Animal Kingdom in morning

• Morning safari

• Ride Everest

• Flame Tree BBQ or Pizzafari for lunch

• Walk the dogs and relax - view from dog walk

• Disney Studios

• Dinner at Mom’s Prime Time

• Host “Ho Ho Ho Lotta Lights” Christmas Light Party!

• First 100 attendees get free pin from us!

• Fantasmic (hopefully!)

• Gift exchange at Yacht and Beach Club

• Sat, 12/8

• Terry and Jennifer arrive

• Epcot

• Dogs go to kennel since we’re here all day

• Brunch at the Ball - Electric Umbrella

• Mega Meet for John - Erin goes shopping for John’s present and see
decorations at the Yacht Club and at the Beach Club (click links for decoration photos)

• Start viewing holidays celebrations in other cultures

• Walk Dogs

• Mexico! For the World Showcase Hidden Mickey tour!

• Dinner at new Italian restaurant - Tutto Italia

• Dog and relaxation break - view from dog walk

• Karoake at Kimonos lounge at the Swan hotel

• Sun, 12/9

• Magic Kingdom

• Columbia Harbor House or similar for lunch

• Capture the Magic: photo scavenger hunt

• Dog and relaxation break - view from dog walk

• Dinner at Whispering Canyon in Wilderness Lodge

• Special dessert café seating for Illuminations - afterwards, Deb Wills, who is hosting this party through her famous site, All Ears Net, has asked to stay around for 'extra magic'. We can't wait to see what that means!

• Mon, 12/10

• Animal Kingdom

• Tour Christmas decorations - if we're lucky, we'll be picked for the parade!

• Lunch at Pepper Market

• Dog and relaxation break - view from dog walk

• Dinner at Boma in Animal Kingdom Lodge

• Pleasure Island

• Tue, 12/11

• Do what you’d like to morning!

• Erin on Fort Wilderness Segway tour

• John - ?

• Lunch is up in the air!

• Dog and relaxation break - view from dog walk

• Epcot in afternoon?

• Dinner at Le Cellier in Canada

• Pleasure Island

• Wed, 12/12

• Disney Studios - morning

• See Harlem Gospel Choir

• Lunch at Raglan Road

• Dog and relaxation break - view from dog walk

• Animal Kingdom for evening Extra Magic Hours

• Pleasure Island

• Thurs, 12/13

• Animal Kingdom

• Dog and relaxation break - view from dog walk

• Dinner at Jiko in Animal Kingdom Lodge

• Pleasure Island

• Fri, 12/14

• Magic Kingdom

• Dinner at Tony’s Italian Restaurant

• Dog and relaxation break - view from dog walk

• Pleasure Island

• Trip home

• Leave Fort Wilderness: 12/15 at 11 - noon

• Arrive home: 12/16 at 1pm

• Stay overnight in North Carolina/South Carolina border area

• Cry. A. Lot.

Keep the kids busy! It's a long drive!

2007-11-15T19:20:00.000-05:00

John surprised me with 3 new DVDs to watch on the way to Florida!

History Channel's Walt Disney World: Modern Marvels - the cover alone is gorgeous!
Pixar's collected shorts
Ratatouille

When I said it'd probably be okay if we watched one movie, he snatched them from me and said he was going to hide them until the trip. LOL!

A sweet place to spend the night

2007-11-14T12:14:00.000-05:00

We're stopping at Country Oaks Campground on the way down. We stayed there last year and it's a great little campground. The main house with it's big wraparound porch is wonderful, and any place that has a campground dog is fine our book.

Decorations for FW

2007-11-12T19:55:00.001-05:00

Decorations for FW, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

We got Pluto new for this trip!

We're set!

2007-11-12T15:51:00.000-05:00

I have my video widgets figured out. Nothing did everything I wanted: wiremob lets me do by phone and posts immediately, but their widget only shows the last video. YouTube will do cellphone and Blogger gives me a good widget, but YouTube takes forever for videos to show up in search. Flickr is immediate but it only does photos.... but now I have photos and videos all set. The videos that are posted as of today are naturally just test ones.

Of course, if I could just have wireless while in Florida.... sigh. But still, I think this will be a lot of fun!

Now watch me be so exhausted every day that I'll end up not sending a thing. ;)

I hope you like the theme. I played around a lot with basic layouts and then customizing them. I'll probably play some more, but I like this. Thanks to Disneyland's commercial for the Snowman and Wallyspam on Flickr for the castle photo.

My next task for this trip blog: getting a cable so camcorder and my laptop talk to each other because right now, they don't!

Meanwhile, it's time to get some content together! Such as, what we've been doing to prepare for the trip. After all, we have most of our packing done. ;)

Hi!

2007-11-09T10:56:00.001-05:00

What do you do when you get a new wireless notebook so you can send vacation photos and videos, maybe even have a webcam? You go somewhere without wireless! Whoo hoo!

So that's when I started looking into other venues and found the Wiremob widget and Blogger. I'm hoping I can share our vacation with everyone back home here. And then we'll have to read and view when we get home!

Bear with me as I set everything up. We'll get to more interesting things very soon.