DAY 5
SAT 1st JAN 2000
Despite the late night I
wake up at 9:00. I leave the rest sleeping and sneak out
to the food court and drink 2 large mugs of coffee to
clear my head. While there I catch up on my trip notes. I
am using a different method this trip. Last time I just
made brief notes as I went along but the trip is so long
this time that I am practically writing the report as I
go. This tends to take much longer but hopefully will
mean that I don't forget too much.
Back in the room we have breakfast and everyone gets
ready to leave. The plan today is to take it easy and
tour the resorts to see the Christmas decorations, ending
up in the Disney MGM Studios tonight to see the Osbourne
Family Lights.
Tammy buys a phone card and phones her mother to see how
the New Year was for her family. Her mother and one
sister had it at home, her brother was in London and her
other sister lives in Sydney, Australia. They all had a
great time.
We clamber aboard a bus to the Magic Kingdom at 11:00
where a kind American gentleman offers his seat to
Grandma. So much for my moaning last night.
The first stop is going to be the Grand Floridian, so we catch the boat across. It is another beautiful day and the sun is glinting on the waters of the 7 seas lagoon as we enjoy our brief crossing. We walk in to the atrium and are stopped in our tracks by the sight of the huge tree.
It is so perfect that you
have to go up to it and get a closer look. Some of the
decorations are enormous, hang one of these on my tree at
home and it would collapse! The rest of the decorations
are very pretty as well. Tammy has decided that this is
probably her favourite resort now, just ahead of the
Wilderness Lodge. I suppose the girl can dream.
The monorail takes us
round to the Contemporary. This has never been our
favourite resort and the Christmas decorations are
minimal here except for the large silver tree out front.
The Polynesian resort is next where the Christmas theme
is again understated. We try to get into the Kona Cafe
for Tonga toast (something that we have never tried but
is on Tammy's 'must do' list) but they stop serving at
11:00 so we catch the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom
to get the boat across to Fort Wilderness. The idea is to
have a meal in the Trails End Buffet and then walk to the
Wilderness Lodge.
The boat ride is very relaxing. On a balmy afternoon
there is no better way to travel. At Fort Wilderness we
have the Southwestern Chicken Salad and the Philly
Cheesesteak accompanied by beer. The food is very good
and reasonable value for money. Afterwards the girls
spend some time in the playground and Tammy and Grandma
spend some time in the shop. It is soon time to set off
for the Wilderness Lodge and Tammy has the bright idea of
hiring bikes as she thinks we get them free with our
unlimited magic passes. I think that we should walk,
pointing out that it is a fair walk just to get to the
bike barn. As usually happens with these disagreements I
mumble and grumble and then let her have her way. Well,
we troop off to the bike barn where one of the very few
miserable CM's that we meet all trip informs us that we
have to pay. So we all trek back again with Kevin
harbouring dark thoughts about females in showers and
sharp knives.
We aim in the general direction of River Country and come
across the petting farm and stables. There are peacocks
wandering around and the girls enjoy petting the goats
and looking at the horses. From here we set off in what
we think is the right direction. We walk for a little
while and it seems to be getting quieter as we go. I am
starting to think about strange men asking me to squeal
like a pig when we come across a sign for an exercise
trail. This seems about right so we head off along it.
Very soon we arrive at the shores of Bay lake and enjoy a
stroll along to the Wilderness Lodge in complete
isolation. It is very beautiful and peaceful and I can't
help thinking what a complete contrast this is from
yesterday. It reminds me that there are many ways to
enjoy WDW. You can rush around enjoying the theme parks
or you can relax around the pool or the water parks. I
think that my favourite way to enjoy things is to just
walk around looking at the magnificent scenery and
seeking out the quieter, off the beaten track areas.
The Wilderness Lodge is, in my opinion, the best
decorated of all the resorts. The tree seems to be
completely at home here and the all round effect is quite
stunning. The gingerbread village is also lovely but what
do they do with all that food when Christmas is done? All
I can think of is, what a waste. We climb up to the
second floor and spend a peaceful few minutes sitting
around the fireplace. This is one of my favourite places
to just sit and relax. Sorry, you can keep the Grand
Floridian, this is the place for me. One day I will stay
here, if only for a couple of days.
After a happy hour or so absorbing the atmosphere we
catch the bus to the Studios. It stops at the Polynesian
and the Grand Floridian before finally heading for MGM. I
must agree with the people who say that if you pay the
big bucks to stay at the Wilderness Lodge you deserve a
better bus service than this.
At the Studios we head directly for the Osbourne Family
Lights. I had seen lots of pictures of this on the
internet but none of them did this justice. Understated
it is not but breathtaking it is. I wouldn't want to pay
the electric bill for this lot. Grandma is enthralled by
it all and Tammy says she could spend hours here. I am
told that there are 5 million lights here and I believe
them. Good job they are not like the old Christmas tree
lights where if one went out they all went out.
We had intended to head home after this but we are on
such a high that we decide to catch the last showing of
Fantasmic! Another first for the Stringer family.
We enter the theatre half an hour before the show and
there are plenty of seats available. There is no pre-show
entertainment so the note book comes out again, after
getting a beer of course.
Poor Georgia is whacked out and goes to sleep on Tammy's
lap. I know that some people have said that the water
screen sections are too long but I thought that they did
a very good job of explaining the battle between good and
evil in Mickey's imagination. Tammy and India are asking
if there are any loud bangs in the show and I just get
through saying I don't think that there are when a loud
explosion goes off at the start of the Pochahontas
section. Accusing eyes are turned my way. Hey, I didn't
know!
We all think the show is excellent although the fire when
Mickey fights the dragon fails to work. We will see it
again later in the holiday so we are not really worried.
The paddle steamer at the end is much larger than I
expected from what I had read and is greeted with
cheering and clapping from the crowd. It is one of the
advantages of reading RADP that when you read a lot of
bad reports about something and are expecting mediocrity
you can be pleasantly surprised.
I can't understand all the fuss about clearing the
stadium at the end of the show. We wait for 10 minutes
and then walk slowly out. Have a little patience people.
Mind you, I suppose you must have if you have read this
far.
We catch the bus back and once again all have to stand. I
thought it was too good to last. Don't misunderstand, I
don't want to sit down personally. Most of the time I
stand if the bus is full anyway, it is just that the
elderly and young children should always get a seat.
Nice to end with a good moan. It makes me feel better!