OK so it took a few days... but here it is :)

Day 1: Saturday 12/13/08

Today was my travel day. I learned some interesting stuff at JFK airport this day. I learned that apparently I am (or another Joanne Davis) is flagged by Homeland Security, and therefore I am not able to do online check-in or the quick check-in at the terminal kiosks... Nope, it's the big long line for me.... Grrrreeeaaatttt!!! After my drama at the check-in counter, I got on board the flight and had a peaceful flight to Orlando. No kid bugging me every 10 minutes for entertainment, or a snack, or to get up to let him past to get to the restroom... You get the picture...

Once in Orlando, I decided that I was going to go straight to MGM (that's right, MGM...) I refuse to call it the new name, nope, not gonna do it - can't make me... I met up with my Father In Law, Bill - and we headed over to New York Street to see the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights - STUNNING!!!

Here is a picture of me taking a picture...








even the bikes have lights...






After oooohhhhing and aaaahhhhhing at the lights - I decided that I needed to go to the Magic Kingdom to see Wishes... Since my trip was going to be so short, and had set plans for most days - I knew this was my only opportunity to see Wishes - so off we went... I refused to look in the direction of the castle from the monorail as we were approaching the MK station - Since it was so late in the evening already I wanted my first sight of the Ice Castle to be from right there on Main Street...

This was my first sighting of it - it was PINK!!!!


The sight of the castle all decked out in the beautiful lights was simply breathtaking - and I would be lying if I said that it didn't make me tear up at the very sight of it... I'm such a sap!!!

While in the MK, I touched base with Cori to firm up plans for the following day, she is a CM and is also Joey's friend, and she was kind enough to be getting him into the parks on her pass - SWEEET!!!... There was some confusion around what time everyone was getting there, and whether or not they would show up at all... which resulted in numerous phone calls and texts... I think my face clearly shows how much I love being on the phone in Disney... LOL (please note - at this point all traces of makeup are gone from my face, and I was tired...)


After plans were set, I enjoyed some more time walking the park with Bill, and then decided to head home for some sleep - as the next day was gonna be a blast!!!

Day 2: Sunday 12/14/08 - My Birthday!!!

The morning started off where most of my Disney vacation mornings start off... Waffle House.... Come on - did you really expect something else??? After breakfast, Bill and I met up with Cori and her Mom in the EPCOT parking lot to take full advantage of the CM SALSA sale (Spend A Little Save Alot). I got some sweet deals on some ornaments for my tree!! Joey had decided that he was going to sleep in a bit, and he would join us later in the day for lunch in Mexico!!

After shopping, Bill headed home - he was not up for trekking through the parks all day, plus he had to get home to start packing for his return trip to NY for the holidays...

Once we split from Bill, I met Cori and her Mom over at the Boardwalk. They had to check into their room, so I tagged along with them.

Cori:


We walked into EPCOT World Showcase right from the resort. After a while, Cori's sister and brother in law met up with us - and we hit some rides. Cori's family is just fantastic - and her sister and I got along like two peas in a pod!! We rode Test Track, and I managed to make the most awesome face for the picture ROFL... for those of you that don't know, one of my favorite things to do is to make the funniest (or most serious) faces for the on-ride photos...

an instant classic:


From Test Track, we headed back to the front gate area to meet up with some other friends that Cori was treating to a day in the parks with her pass... Did I mention that Cori rocks!!! While she was swiping them in, I took advantage of a photo op:


Then we rode Spaceship Earth... Another funny face moment, but this time it is set to a video... enjoy!!! LOL

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWVn1r6MThg[/YOUTUBE]

Once we were done with SSE - it was time to trek back over to the International Gateway to meet Joey, so Cori could get him in. I swear, he gets taller everytime I see him!!!

We wandered around the countries a bit - and then we passed the American Pavillion... Guess who Joey spotted?? Santa and Mrs. Claus!!!

Joey wanted a picture with them, but they saw him coming and took off...

so he pouted...

LOL Sorry buddy!!!

The good news was, that there were some peeps from Precious Moments there that day signing these awesome dolls - so Joey got one for his Mom for Christmas and had it signed for her - how awesome!!


It was getting near time for our lunch reservation, and that meant meeting up with Rocky and LouLou!!! While waiting for them, I received a Happy Birthday phone call from Jennings - Thanks bud!!

We met up with Benny and Marisa in Mexico and we enjoyed a fantastic lunch amongst friends - couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday!!! Thanks to Joey for treating me to lunch - that was awesome of you!!! Benny and Marisa also gave me the most beautiful present:

It is a Lenox box - will look beautiful in my curio cabinet - Thanks again guys - you rock!!!

This is a picture of the box close-up:


Group Shot:


After lunch/dinner, we all decided to head over to MGM (hah, said it again!!) to check out the lights again - Joey had never seen them, and it really is must. It was getting near park closing time - and we had every intention of riding Toy Story Mania - but the line was tremendous - and that particular day was extra magic hours for that park - and they were only letting guests with wristbands get in line... Bummer!!!

It was getting near time to part ways - but I still had to give Joey the gift I brought for him - but I had left it in my car, because I did not want to carry it around the parks all day. We had both parked at the Boardwalk Resort, so we said good night to Cori, and I drove Joey around the lot looking for his truck - and gave him his gift. It was a book of memories from VMK - I think he liked it :) I know I had fun putting it together!! He had work the next day, and he had a long ride home - so we said goodnight and both went on our way.

It was a birthday to remember!!!!

Day 3: Monday 12/15/08 - Magic Kingdom

I decided to sleep in a bit this day - I made some dinner plans with an old pin trading buddy of mine, then proceeded into the MK. I made it just in time to meet up with my buddy Scoop Sanderson - he was singing Christmas carols in Town Square with the other Main Street citizens - it had been a while since I saw him last, so I stuck around to watch the show so I could have a chat with him after the songs. Unfortunately - he was on the clock, so he did not have much time to spend - but it was still nice to see him!!

He's in the brown plaid:




After leaving Main Street, I decided that I was a bit hungry - so I headed over to Tomorrowland to visit Sunny Eclipse over at Cosmic Rays... I got myself a grilled chicken salad and was entertained while I ate. I decided to call Cori to see what she was up to - she was just heading into the Kingdom with her family. They had somehow managed to get walk-in seating at Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch - so I told her to give me a buzz when they were getting ready to finish up and I would trek on over and meet up with them. While I was waiting, I rode a few rides and found Push!!! I never get bored of watching people interact with a trashcan!!!

I headed over to Liberty Square and sat on a bench outside the Liberty Tree, and not 5 minutes later, Cori and her family walked out the door. I tagged along with them for a few hours, until it was time for me to meet up with my friend for dinner. We rode some rides and had some more laughs. Right around 6pm was when I needed to leave the park to head over to Downtown Disney to meet up with my friend Laurie at Rainforest Cafe (I had been looking forward to the coconut shrimp and the chocolate banana blast drink - YUM!!!) Before I left the kingdom, I helped Cori and her family secure a sweet spot in the hub to view the castle lighting - I really wanted to stay to see it, but had plans - and I knew that the following day was my chance to see it, as I had tickets for the Very Merry Christmas Party. So I said my goodbyes and parted ways.

Dinner at the Rainforest was delicious - and afterwards I did some shopping at the Lego store for some last minute gifts. I headed home pretty early, because I knew I would do alot of walking the next day!!...


...nearly forgot!! During the day, Cori and I headed over to Cast Connection - a cast member only shop that sells out of season close-outs to CM's at awesome prices - I scored myself the coolest MM ears!!...

Day 4: Tuesday 12/16/08 Animal Kingdom & MVMCP

Bill and I started the day at Animal Kingdom. We got a late start, because we knew we would be out late that night at the Christmas party. We went on safari, where I got the most awesome picture of a lioness... They are usually well concealed so you can't really see them - but this day she was lounging on a rock in the sun:


After the safari, we had lunch at the Flametree BBQ - YUM!!! Bill had never eaten there before, and was happy to discover something new. Some ducks were after my cornbread:


After lunch, we caught the Finding Nemo musical - I had never seen it before, and I enjoyed it alot.

From there, we headed back to the Polynesian to park the car for the evening, and headed towards the MK. On route, I decided that I needed to see the Gingerbread House inside the Grand Floridian lobby - I had heard it was spectacular - and it is. It's HUGE!! It actually houses a gift shop that sells gingerbread cookies.



Candy flowers:


From there - we headed into the kingdom. We were really taking our time, and were not rushed at all - it was really nice!! As we entered the park - we got our wristbands for the party and headed over to Pirates. From there Bill decided that he was hungry - so we headed over to Cosmic Rays and had an early dinner. From there, we headed over to the hub to find a spot for the castle lighting ceremony. We sat for nearly an hour before it was time. The colors of the castle were just spectacular - and this was even before the show!!


Then it was time... Basically the reason behind this trip of mine - to see the Ice Castle... Let the show begin...








I got it on video too!!! Apparently, I'm a spaz and didn't realize that had placed my hand on the mic - so the sound in some spots is pretty bad...
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCVt48jgIvs[/YOUTUBE]

It was just as spectacular as I imagined it would be!!




After the ceremony - Bill and I walked up Main Street to his favorite spot - the rockers up on the porch of the Exposition Hall. There we found 2 rockers side by side, so we grabbed them and decided to stay put for an hour or so until the Christmas parade came by. During the hour we were sitting, I looked back to see this little CM standing in the doorway - it was Marisa!! So I called her over and she came and chatted with us a while. She handed me a treasure, that I am thrilled to have. It was a never released VMK card for the Mickey Carpet - there is not even a record of this card on the Wiki - so it truly is a treasure!!! Thanks Marisa - you rock!!!

After the parade - we decided to go get some hot cocoa and cookies - Bill snapped a picture of me from behind - you can see the awesome ears I got!!!


Then we took advantage of some photo opportunites with some of the characters. First stop was Minnie:




Then onto Donald... he didn't like my MM ears at all - he tried to hide them for the picture:


After Donald, was Uncle Scrooge - rarely do you see him - so I jumped at the chance:


It was getting pretty late, and we had to travel the next day - so we headed home - but not before one last photo op with the castle:


On the way out of the kingdom - I snapped this great shot of the train station:


I had such an awesome time - this may become a new tradition for me.

:yay: What a great trip report so far. I loved the giggling and "Look at us go!" on the video! You had a great birthday Jo, and I'm so glad.

Sorry Joey about Santa. He looked quite good though, nice full beard. I detest the fake looking Santas.

The castle looks so beautiful too, and I bet the camera doesn't do it justice. Can you feel the heat coming off all those lights in MGM?

LOL @ Jo wearing sparkly glasses while snapin' shots!

And the pic story of Santa dis'n me is hilarious lol.. frig them then!

Had a great time BFF.. and sadly, the shorter time than usual went so fast..

Pics of Jo's gift to me to come! :popcorn:

Rest of the trip posted :)

Enjoy!!

I give your trip report :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: . Thank you for sharing. The castle lighting was awesome I felt like I was there.

The candy flowers are WAY to gorgeous to eat. Loving the gold ears too Jo!

Most spectacular of course is that castle! Wow what a sight! Thanks for sharing your pics and report with us. :hugs:

Nice report Friend, awesome pictures! It was nice to see Cori, Joey, and of course you, I missed you all. It's so awesome that were all able to be together that day. I have so much fun with you all. Next time I'm spending the day with you all in the park! Wow I thought the Salsa sale was over, I'm glad Bill and you were able to still go to it. :yay:

Great Trip Report Friend. Perfect mood setting for Christmas. :tree1:

Great report, Friend!

Nice B-Day ears, and you're right, I've never seen Scrooge anytime besides December. (Not even in November)

ok, finally catching up... Uh, how did I miss your trip report?

aww, it looks amazingly fun!!! maybe if you make it a tradition I can tag along one year.

Friend you always seem to be having so much fun im soooo jealous lol :).
Also, beautiful trip report! My favorite part was when your on test track and screaming your head off hahaha. i really hope it becomes a yearly tradition because the trip reports on this board are pretty much my window to the east coast!