Welcome to the Williams Family Blog!

Now that you have found us, we invite you to return often for more adventures!


We Came To Play!

We Came To Play!

Opening Magic Kingdom

Opening Magic Kingdom

Friday, December 31, 2010

Disney Woe Turns Into Disney Wow--Part 1

 Some people take lemons and make lemonade or take grapes and make raisins. . . I think that is how the saying goes. So on our last trip to Disney when we experienced difficulties with Disney service, I turned it into an official complaint. . . that turned into a gift for our family. Here’s the story:




On Saturday of our trip in November, we spent the day at Hollywood Studios—click here to read more about the day. We had a 6:30 pm ADR for ‘OHANA, located at the Polynesian Resort. ‘OHANA is one of our favorite restaurants and we eat there each trip—sometimes twice! (Click here to read about dining at ‘OHANA.)



So, we, okay, I, wanted to see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights turn on at 6:00 pm and snap a few photos. I knew it would be cutting it close, but thought we could make it in the nick of time.




We left Studios shortly after 6:00 and headed to the bus stops. After checking the unlit sign, we headed to stop 12 for the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian. No bus, but a short line. I thought about stop 11, which was for the TTC. If we took that bus, we could just walk to the Poly, but the queue was filled with people making their own line beyond the queue. So, stop 12 was it.



When the bus arrived, it loaded two wheelchair riders first. That’s a rule with Disney busses. No other guests board until the wheelchairs are on and secure. While I’m fine with that, it did take off more time to get where we were headed.



Now we were on the bus and headed to the first stop—the Contemporary. Well, there was so much traffic pulling into the Contemporary that the bus was backed up. More waiting. We unloaded guests and headed to the Poly.



We got off the bus and ran through the lobby and up the stairs—no time to wait for the elevator. When I checked in at the reservation desk, it was 7:20 pm. Aimee said she couldn’t find our reservation. Luckily, I had our ADR confirmation numbers with me and that helped Aimee find our reservation. We had been kicked out of the computer. Aimee send some form of electronic message to someone in the restaurant, gave us a pager. When I asked how long the wait would be, Aimee told me that she couldn’t tell me right now. I needed to check back in 20 minutes and she could tell me then. We found some comfy chairs in the lobby and visited with a family with a young boy who was fascinated with the boy’s Disney train toy.



Tune in later for Part 2 of Disney Woe turns into Disney Wow!



Sunday, December 26, 2010

It's Been 12 Months Since My Last Cruise

"It's been 12 months since my last cruise," I said whiningly to the husband over breakfast this morning. Maybe it is post holiday blues, as the presents are all opened, food all cooked, and guests all gone to their respective homes. Nothing left to do but clean, eat the leftovers, and put the trash out. Maybe it’s that one year ago today we were stepping onto the Disney Magic for a 7 night Western Caribbean itinerary and as I look at the six inches of snow outside I’m longing for a bit of warm Caribbean sunshine. Maybe I just like to whine. Nah, couldn’t be that!




So now that I have whined, now what? Well, the official countdown to our next cruise has begun—an anniversary cruise aboard the Disney Dream. We pour over the Disney Parks Blog looking for videos and sneak peeks of the new ship. We check out the deck plans of the new ship on the Disney Cruise Line web-site so that we know where everything is located.



Since we are combing our cruise with a “land” stay, I have printed out the park hours for July, as we can begin to make our dining reservations in just a few days. We decided, while completing the weekly task of changing the sheets on the beds, that the Crystal Palace is going to be one of our stops this next trip. And, we are thinking about trying a new resort—Port Orleans French Quarter. Rumor on the web indicates a refurbishment between now and our stay featuring the installation of Queen sized beds. Yeah!



We are waiting for the 2011 PassPorter’s Guide to Walt Disney World to be released, as we have already ordered it at our local bookstore. Then we wait for the new cruise guides featuring the Dream, which I’m guessing will be published soon after its maiden voyage on January 26, 2011.



Here’s to wishing that all your Disney Dreams do come true!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Orlando Hyatt Regency or How We Spent Christmas Day 2009

As the mid-west braces itself for another winter storm, I was reminded about how we were keeping an eye on the weather this time last year.



We were set to take our 3rd Disney Cruise on aboard the Disney Magic from December 26 through January 2, 2010. We had planned to fly from Kansas City to Orlando on December 25, and stay one night at the Hyatt Regency at Orlando International Airport. Then the winter storm warnings started to appear in the forecast for Kansas City—not just snow, but ice.



AirTran Airways, our favorite airlines, e-mailed us early on December 23, stating that they were aware of the impending winter storm and would change our flight without a fee. We phoned our travel agent and within minutes, we were booked on a flight for December 24, just before the storm was to hit Kansas City. We drove to K.C. on December 23 and stayed at the Embassy Suites near the airport, as they would keep our car and shuttle us to the airport. (We had originally planned to stay there on Dec. 24.) Our travel agent had changed our reservation at the Hyatt for our arrival on Dec. 24, and with a quick call to Santa asking him to come to our house on the eve of Dec. 22, we were set. We only experienced thick fog on the drive to K.C. and the ice was on its way shortly after our flight left around 11:00 am. We were on our way to Orlando and would be in time to make the cruise.



 Here we are in front the huge Christmas Tree on Christmas Day, 2009,
 in the atrium of
Orlando International Airport.

 This is the view from our floor at the Hyatt into
the atrium below. 

Now, many airports have hotels, either nearby or attached to them via shuttle, etc.  But Orlando International offers the Hyatt Regency right inside the airport.  Yep, you step out of the security area on the east side of the airport and look up in the atrium to see the 6 floors of rooms with balconies spanning the perimeter of the atrium.  That’s the Hyatt and guests take the elevator up one floor to check-in. 
 The outside of the Hyatt from the pool deck.
All rooms either have an inside atrium balcony or
an outside balcony.

This is in one of the "green spaces" inside the Hyatt.

We had stayed at the Hyatt one other time, just before our first cruise. One of the amenities we like is the ease of transition between a Hyatt stay and a Disney Cruise. Tell them at check-in you are a Disney Cruise passenger, tag your luggage with the Disney Cruise bag tags, leave your bags inside your hotel room door at check-out and your luggage will appear in your stateroom on board the ship. Magic!




Since the first night of our Hyatt stay was December 24, the staff knocked on our door that evening and presented us with a small holiday gift and wished us Merry Christmas. How thoughtful!

 
 Another "green space" inside the Hyatt--there were
birds in the bird cage.

On Dec. 25, we started the day with breakfast at the Hemisphere Restaurant located on the top two floors of the Hyatt offering breathtaking views of the airport runways and a lovely breakfast buffet.  We were not the only ones in the restaurant and took our time eating and watching the planes.  Towards the end of the meal, our server told us that the staff had picked our family to wish a Merry Christmas and that breakfast was on them.  What a great surprise!
 The pool at the Hyatt.

 The boy on Christmas Day ready to explore the airport and the hotel.

 A photo op outside one of the two Disney stores located in the airport.

 We found the boy's favorite character.
Yes, that's a shopping bag in his hand.
He used his Christmas money.

 By another Disney shop inside the airport.  There are also
Universal, Seaworld, and NASA shops located inside the airport.

We spent the rest of the morning browsing the various shops and displays located throughout the airport and the hotel.  Orlando International has some great shops, a huge food court, other restaurants, moving sidewalks, elevators, escalators, and incredible people watching.  There was plenty to do!

 Taking a swim on Christmas Day!
We phoned our family from the pool deck to wish them
a Merry Christmas!

 The husband took time to read and enjoy the warm weather.

By afternoon, it had warmed up enough for us to take a dip in the swimming pool, located on the rooftop of the 6th floor of Hyatt and overlooking the runways.  Nothing like taking a swim on Christmas Day!
The wind made coming out of the water a bit chilly.

By evening, we snuggled down with visions of our cruise coming the next day.  We were very excited!

Waiting on the lower level of the airport for the Disney bus to take
us to Port Canaveral for our Disney Cruise! 

On December 26, we checked out of the Hyatt, leaving our cruise luggage behind in our room.  We even left a suit case (dirty clothes and things we didn’t need on the cruise) with luggage services at the Hyatt for a small fee, as we would be returning there on January 2.  You see, the Hyatt offers “day room” rates and we had a room booked for January 2 since our return flight did not leave until late in the day.  We were able to use all of the hotel amenities prior to flying and even had a bell person help get our luggage to the airline check-in.  It beat lugging our bags around and waiting in the airport for 8 hours.  We had space, quiet, a TV, swimming pool, a place to keep our stuff, etc.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Dining at The Rose & Crown

It is our goal to eat around the world in EPCOT's World Showcase at the Walt Disney World Resort.  Prior to our last trip, we had eaten at Akershus in Norway, Biergarten in Germany, Teppan Edo in Japan, and Le Cellier in Canada.  Now we can add eating at Rose & Crown at the United Kingdom Pavilion.

 While most of the pavilion is located opposite the World Showcase Lagoon, the Rose & Crown is nestled beside the World Showcase Lagoon.  We had a lunch ADR and asked to sit outside.  Our table offered excellent views of World Showcase Lagoon and we would add this restaurant to the list of possible eateries to book for a time to eat and view EPCOT's Illuminations.

 Here's the boy and the husband enjoying the outside dining.  They are facing the World Showcase Lagoon.

 While the Rose & Crown has the word "pub" in it's title, don't let that scare you away from thinking it is a family place to eat.  Kids have their own menu and the atmosphere is very kid friendly. . . nothing stuffy here.  The word "pub" is meant to tell you that they do serve alcoholic beverages, especially various beers, and that it is quaint.  Both accurate descriptions of the Rose & Crown.

Note that the check in area for ADR's or any other inquiries as to tables for dining is located outside and left of the entrance. 

 The menu offers many British favorite signature dishes.  It was hard to decide what to eat.  The husband had the Filet of Beef and I had the Corned Beef Sandwich.  The boy had a more American meal from the kids menu, but he tried bites of each of our dishes.
 The husband enjoyed a hearty lunch as well as a couple of "ales."  He even came home with a souvenir glass, as show in the photo above.

 The photo above of the rooftops in the pavilion demonstrate the quaintness that abounds as well as reminds me of Bert, my favorite chimney sweep from Mary Poppins.  Can't you just imagine him dancing and singing among the chimneys?

 Since we were celebrating the boy's birthday, the wait staff delivered a chorus of "Happy Birthday" along with a make your own sundae as shown below. . .

The service at the Rose & Crown was great, the food hearty, the atmosphere fun and authentic.  I understand there is often a piano player performing inside later in the day.

We would eat here again.  But first, there are other restaurants to take in as we attempt to accomplish our goal of eating around the world in World Showcase.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

We Met Pirate Goofy

During our last visit to Walt Disney World, specifically, the Magic Kingdom, we got to meet Pirate Goofy.


We spied him just inside the entrance of Pirates of the Caribbean attraction and just to the right.  Pirate Goofy has his own section of the entry way.




 The queue for Pirate Goofy was relatively short and moved quickly.  Pirate Goofy interacted well with guests, but don't try to take his treasure!

 In the photo above you can get an idea of the backdrop used for his character meet and greet.


Disney Photopass photographers are on hand to capture your photos--click here to read more about Disney's Photopass Service.

Click here to read about other meetings with Goofy.

The husband caught a bit of this character interaction on video--his newest thing--which you can see below.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Santa at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2010

Each year, the Magic Kingdom hosts Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party--click here to read more about this special ticketed event.

We have been to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party twice.  Highlights for us are the parade, the fireworks, and meeting Santa.  Santa greets guests for the party in the middle of Town Square at the Magic Kingdom.  This year, we were the first guests of the night to greet him!  Check out the video. . .



 We dressed for the occasion.  The boy and the husband doned reindeer antlers and I had on a Santa hat.  I think Santa is checking out the boy's antlers in the photo above.

 Santa took his time and listened to all that was on the boy's list this Christmas.  At the top of his list--trains!


The Photopass Photographers do a great job of capturing the moment. (Click here to read more about Disney's Photopass Service.)  I put our camera away, let them do the work, and enjoy being in the moment.

 After the boy had his time with Santa, it was our turn.  He insisted I sit on his lap!  Check out the decoration on the ground--I hesitate to say rug here, as I don't think it was a rug.  It's Santa's initials.  Only in the Magic Kingdom!
Here we are, with Santa, with Cinderella's Castle all lit up with Castle Dreamlights smack dab in the middle of the most magical place on earth.  Wow!  Just writing about it gives me goosebumps.  For anyone who ever wonders why we keep going back--it's because of moments just like this!  Magic!  Disney Magic!

The Train Garden in the Germany Pavilion at EPCOT--A Story

 I was once again reminded of the boy’s love for trains and I remembered what happened in the Germany Pavilion at EPCOT in the train garden.




You see, there is a lovely train garden in the Germany Pavilion at EPCOT. Various G-gauge trains traverse the rails, go through the tunnels that are under the sidewalk, and in general, delight the guests that take a moment to find out what is “over there.”



For us, a trip to EPCOT is not complete without a visit to Germany and the train garden.  In fact, the boy’s day is calculated by how long until we get to Germany or when are we going to Germany.  The timing is crucial, as if we go to Germany in the middle of a rushing part of our touring schedule, we are sunk.  A visit to Germany is a 45 minute to 90 minute affair.

The husband and I know to look for a bench.  We know which ones have the bathrooms and drinking fountains nearby.  We often use the stop in Germany for snack, bringing turkey legs or funnel cake from the nearby American Adventure Pavilion.  Sometimes we separate for a while—leaving one of us with the boy while the other browses in the nearby shops.  We just know that our stop in Germany will be leisurely.


On our last visit to EPCOT and the train garden, the boy was somewhat distressed as the trolley just wasn’t running right.  The wheels were turning, but it would inch forward in a jerking motion.  The boy immediately began to keep an eye out for a Cast Member.  In the meantime, he would visit with the guests who were stopping to look at the trains, and point out that the little trolley needed help.

In a while, a Cast Member did appear and the boy approached to inform of the train trouble.  The Cast Member opened the gate to enter the train garden and did her best to fix the trolley.  No luck. 

Now, this is where it got interesting.  I could tell from watching the exchange the boy was just itching to make his way behind the gate and into the garden to fix that trolley himself.  He was talking to and convincing the Cast Member that he could help—he could fix the trolley.  The Cast Member, knowing that going into the garden would break policy, brought the trolley to him.  They visited for some time about what might be wrong with the trolley.
In the end, neither of them could fix the trolley.  But the boy was satisfied knowing he did everything he could do to help and left Germany happier for the experience and happier that he had had time to visit the train garden. 

****Rumor on the web indicates that someone is chosen each day near Germany, at the time World Showcase opens, to turn on the train garden.  We haven't been in that area of the park when World Showcase opens to be sure, but it is something in the memory banks in case we are ever in that area at that time.  And, it never hurts to ask.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

A Ticket To Ride. . . On The Polar Express!

 Last Sunday, a train took us to the North Pole to see Santa.  Well, actually, we took a train from Mount Pleasant to the "North Pole" and Santa was there. . .

 Each year, the Midwest Central Railroad offers North Pole Express (copyright issues) train rides on the grounds of the Old Threshers Reunion during the first two week-ends in December.

 We mailed in our reservation for tickets in the middle of October.  Most folks begin to call the telephone number posted on the MCRR web-site on November 1--the day tickets go on sale.  The trains usually sell out in 10 days or less.

In the picture above, the boy is ready to board the Rudolph Coach--our coach for the trip to the "North Pole."

 Here's the husband along with Grandma Carol with our tickets.  The conductor will be coming soon to punch our tickets.

 It's exciting to ride!  As you can see in the photo above, the windows of the coaches are covered to obscure the vision.  It is magical how we are transported to the North Pole.  The narration of the Polar Express book is piped into the coaches via speakers and the ride to the North Pole takes about as long as it takes to tell the story.

 Each coach has its own conductor.  Here's our conductor ready to punch our tickets.

 Since the coaches unload from the back, we sat in the last row and were first off the train.  The photo above is the first peek at the North Pole.  The elves were there to welcome us.  And, since our coach stopped near Santa's red caboose, we were first inside to meet him!

 Here's Santa and the boy.  Santa is giving the first gift of Christmas. . . a bell.  We all got a bell, including Grandma Carol, as the bell rings for all who truly believe.  Of course, a train was on the boy's list as he was visiting with Santa.

 Something new at the North Pole this year was a huge train layout with various trains and controllers.  Imagined and built by Russell--the tall one in the photo above.  The boy, of course, talked his way under the ropes to get a better look and Russell let him have the controls to the Hogwarts Express train.  I would say that at least half of our time at the North Pole was spent at this table.  There were 4 different controls for the trains and the boy tried everyone multiple times.

 Here's the Snow Princess.  She has traded her traditional blue gown for a white one.  Jack Frost was listed as being present, but we didn't see him.  And, we looked!

 Ah, the conductors!  Always making sure the train runs on time and that everyone has a ticket.  There's something in the air at the North Pole that makes some of your photos look as if it was snowing.  Magic!

 All of the North Pole was decorated for the holiday season.  Hot chocolate and cookies were complimentary for every guest.  I think I had two cups of yummy hot chocolate!


 We stopped off at the Red Caboose Gift Shop located at the North Pole.  We did purchase an electric train set under the condition that it is a Christmas gift for the boy from us, his parents.  While that caused a bit of a dilemma, he did agree that he could wait until Christmas.  Now I have time to figure out where to put it!

 Alas, it was time for us to return to Mount Pleasant and at a breakneck pace, I might add.  Once we arrived, our conductor posed for one last photo and we said good-bye until next year.

 The number 9 Shay was our trusty steam engine.  The Shay is a narrow gauge engine, typically used for hauling lumber.  MCRR has the number 9 and number 6 Shay engines.

 The number 9 is taking on water for its next run to the North Pole.  Guests exiting the train are to the left, while guests on the next train, are on the right.

And, here we are at the North Pole.  One of Santa's elves takes pictures and has them ready for you before you board the train back to Mount Pleasant.

This is the 5th year for us riding the North Pole Express.  Each year, we have received a different bell. . . some big, some small, some gold, some silver, each with its own ribbon including the year.  And, each year, I take one of the bells and put an ornament hook through the top and add it to our Christmas tree.   It is fun to remember all of our rides on the Polar Express as we decorate the tree each year.  Riding the train to the North Pole is certainly an annual holiday tradition for our family.  What are yours?