Disney Divas Xmas 2009 - Day 3

weather: 45 degrees at 7am...warmed up to about 56 during the late afternoon, dropped down to low 40s around 9pm.

We decided to wait until after 10 am to head to Hollywood Studios as it was supposed to break 50 degrees by then. LOL. The bus situation this trip has been a pain. I don't know if they don't have enough buses running or new drivers or what but we have spent more time waiting on buses than ever before. Three Magic Kingdom buses came with not a single bus to another park! Finally got a bus to Hollywood Studios about 40 minutes of waiting at bus stop. It was crowded but we were able to get a seat as our bus stop was the first so most of the people on it were getting off at later stops at our resort. By the time we made the loop and headed out....it was wall to wall people standing room only.

Getting off at the park was not much better. It was reasonably crowded going through the bag check line (we decided to bring a backpack today with extra sweatshirts LOL). I renewed Tey's annual Pass - yay they are still offering the Florida Resident 3 months free on an annual pass promo. So her pass is good until March 2011..I renewed my pass back in October. Once we got to turn styles it was crazy people everywhere and once inside.....wow! Should have known then and left but we didn't. It was far too many people! Tried to ride Toy Story but the standby line was 90 minutes, no thanks. And all of the fast passes for the whole day had already been given out! Wow! We went to Studio Catering Company for lunch and both got chili dogs with chips and chocolate cake. This dining plan is killing us with all the food LOL.

The hot dogs under the chili were burned to a crisp in places but we did not feel like fighting the crowds to go back up and complain so did not eat those parts. The chili was bland...basically beans and meat with no spices or flavor but it did the job. The chocolate cake had peppermint flavored sprinkles on top and was surprisingly moist and choco-good!

I did notice that they had closed the High Octane Drinks that was right next to Studio Catering...booohoo! I loved their Red Hero (Meyers dark rum, blackberry brandy, banana liqueur and juices) - would've been great way to warm up LOL!

Anyways, we wandered down Streets of America and went to Youse Guys Moychandise (love that name! LOL) to look around and found our annual Xmas pin - we buy a new Holiday themed pin every year to commemorate our trip....AND surprise surprise everything was half off! So even better! We wandered by The Little Mermaid and the line was ridiculous so then headed to the candy shop on Sunset Blvd and used snack credits to buy a bag of cotton candy and Tey got a large cup cake that was mostly frosting LOL!

We sat and watched the traveling players do a skit and laughed our heads off. We decided to go ahead and head to EPCOT since the park was so full. The boat came just as we walked up and it took about 30 minutes (with the 3 stops in between) to make it to EPCOT. EPCOT was busy but not congested like Hollywood Studios. Whew! WE walked through France and hear Pere Noel. Then saw the newer terrace garden at Morocco. I got a sangria and el kiddo got a hot mint tea from Morocco stand. The tea was basically green tea poured over mint leaves. We then hit the stores in Japan and Tey bought herself a small Daruma doll (it is basically a roundish head with large eyes and no irises. you paint in one eye when you make a wish, you then paint in the other eye when that wish comes true). Be sure to listen to the Daruma Doll Maker storyteller if you are at EPCOT during Xmas time. We also got to see the candy maker, Miyuki, create a yellow dragon lollipop. Nice! Also stayed for the Japanese Taiko drummers - Matsuriza.

From there it was off to the American Adventure and the Kwanzaa storyteller. Tey gets a kick out of that every year as she wants to start celebrating it and knows all the days and principles. The line for santa was long but not horrible. Also noticed a stand that was closed but that had a sign saying it sold hot spiced cider and other holiday goodies Yum! Next was a quick jaunt through Italy. There was a large crowd there so we bypassed it. At Germany I got some GlubWien - which is a warmed, spiced wine. It was very good! While I sipped on that we listened to Helga
tell the story of Martin Luther and the first Xmas Tree and talk about nutcrackers and she lead us all in a round of O' Christmas Tree. There is a surprise visitor during her story but I will not tell!

Off to the African outpost to look at hand carved canes and masks. We took a break to shoot a quick trip account on my video camera LOL. At this point we were both cold and tired and decided to forgo the Monkey King in China and head back to hotel to rest a bit before 7pm ressies at Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco. One quick stop at Club Cool to sample coke products from around the world (we never get tired of this one)



We relaxed at the hotel until about 5:45 and headed back out....ok the bus situation was even worse. No buses for a while then finally at about 6:10 ended up with Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and EPCOT all coming at once but the driver of the lead bus (HS) was having issues with wheelchair ramp so that took another 6 minutes to straighten out. And then had a repeat at each of the remaining 3 bus stops in the resort before finally heading out to EPCOT at 6:35! Drove me nuts LOL! But it is Holiday time so it is all good. Just meant we would take the boat across lagoon to Morocco instead of walking. Got to EPCOT around 6:45...talk about cutting it close. Timed it just right and made it through Future World and to the boat launch just before boat left. Walked into Marrakesh with 1 minute to spare LOL.

The girl checking people in was rather rude and curt. And I saw several people giving her the evil eye after she spoke with them. We waited about 10 minutes to be seated and while our table was not right on the floor where the band and belly dancer perform, we had a great view. Tey got some more mint tea and I ordered a Tangiers Breeze (vodka, midori, pineapple juice) garnished with a date and a cherry. For our meal Tey got the Couscous M'Rouzia Fass: braised beef served with caramelized onions, raisins, honey, almonds, and eggs while I got the chicken kebabs which came with couscous with raisins and spicy marinated sliced olives. The olives were divine and I could have eaten a ton of those! The bread served was soft and warm and delicious. Even the water was crisp and clear and good.

Our waiter and busboy team, Amine and Rashid, were very nice but disappeared for long periods of time and not good about refills. We arrived just as the belly dancer was finishing a set but she came back out during our dessert. It was very entertaining.


For dessert we both ordered the Bastilla (crispy leaves of pastry topped with vanilla cream and sprinkled with toasted almonds and cinnamon)...all I got to say is WOW!!!. The cream reminded me of an unset custard and the dish was huge and looked kind of a mess but when you put it in your mouth? Holy cow!! Could not stop eating it! Amazing. I also ordered coffee and I have to say it was about the best cup of coffee I have ever had on Disney property!

We finally wobbled out - over stuffed but happy. Walked back around to Future World as the boats had stopped in prep for fireworks. The temp had dropped and neither of us felt like waiting around for the fireworks in the cold so we just headed for the bus....we ended up standing as it was packed but thankfully it was a short trip. We were both pleasantly exhausted.

Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom, Grand Floridian Gingerbread house, Sanaa

Disney Divas Xmas 2009 - Day 2

Date: Sunday, December 20


Weather: 45 degrees when we got up - stayed in low 50s until afternoon when it got up to about 58 LOL! Low 50s/high 40s when we went to dinner


Ok I found out today just how big a wimp I have turned into since moving to Florida! I was born and raised in New England and have only lived here for 7.5 years but it was too durn cold for us yesterday to do much. LOL.

We had breakfast in the room and then since the wind was so strong decided to drive to Downtown Disney instead of waiting for the bus. Figured we would stop by EPCOT on the way back to hotel. Had ressies for 7:05pm at Cali Grill.

Downtown Disney parking lot was packed! Had to drive around a lil bit to even find a spot and finally lucked out. It seemed a tad warmer there than it had at CSR so we were glad of that. We were both ready for lunch as we had goofed off at the hotel a bit before finally leaving so we decided to try Earl of Sandwich as we had not been there in a few years. There were 2 people in line ahead of us but all the tables were taken! People getting in from the cold I guess.

The CM who took our sandwich order was rather abrupt and short when I tried to ask a couple of questions but we refused to let that put us off. Everyone else was pretty friendly. Tey got the Hawaiian BBQ (ham, grilled chicken, Hawaiian BBQ sauce, Swiss cheese and pineapple) with chocolate milk while I got the BLT and a soda. We both got the Brownie sandwich for dessert. The Hawaiian BBQ was ok the sauce is more of a sweet and sour than a BBQ. The BLT was great! As for the Brownie Sandwich...it looked like it had cream in the middle but it was really like a frosting...far too hard and sugary to be really good.

From there we went to the Pin store and picked up a couple new pins including new ones for the Princess and the Frog and a few for the kids that Tey regularly babysits for. We walked through several other stores just being silly and Christmas shopping for friends back on the West Coast. Then we went into my favorite store - Basin. Love that place. Plus they give an Annual Passholder 10% discount on purchases.

We played with catching a movie but decided that we really did not want to sit in a theater and after people watching until we got too cold, headed back to the car. Tey was still sleepy and had caught a slight chill the night before so we decided to bypass EPCOT and headed back to hotel. We kept feeling like we needed to go SOMEWHERE and not just sit in the room but realized that hey this is our vacation so we can do what we want...even if that included nothing at all. Tey took a much needed nap and I did some work UGH!




We got ready and left for Cali Grill around 6:15pm as I was driving. Tables in Wonderland is a great program if you are an Annual Passholder or Florida Resident as it gives you 20% off meals and alcohol plus free valet when you are dining at a resort hotel! So we valet the car and headed on up to the 2nd floor to check in even though we were early. The guy checking us in ( I am drawing a total blank on his name right now) was from Ireland! I mentioned that I had gone there last year and that spawned into a lively discussion on Northern vs Southern Ireland and places to go see when I go back....hopefully next year! While waiting for the escort up to the 15th floor another couple that was dining at Cali Grill asked me about Ireland as they had overheard the convo and of course I had to recommend that they go! LOL.
We were seated within 2 minutes of arriving upstairs and our waiter turned out to be from our home state..about an hour away from where we are from! So that degraded quickly into a who can do a better Boston accent contest between us all with other tables laughing at us. It was great.


We were not real hungry so decided to forgo appetizers. Tey was adventuresome and ordered the Bison (which was new on the menu today) with mushroom risotto and turnips. I love Bison but was not sure how she would like it so I ordered the filet of beef just in case so she would have another option. Both were delicious and we split the too plates. I was not a big fan of the risotto as it was chunkier and crunchier than I expected but kiddo loved it. the bison was wonderful (would have been better if Tey had ordered it medium-well as opposed to well done) as was the filet. I even ate all my broccolini! LOL.


The pomegranate martini I ordered was so good I had to have a second and Tey got a virgin strawberry daiquiri (was included in dining plan!) For dessert, she ordered the Valrhona Chocolate Cake which for Xmas came with peppermint ice cream and pomegranate macerated cherries....sooooo good! I got the Buche de Noel or Yule log with cranberry compote and ginger cookies. Did not like any of it. The yule log was dry and bland and the cookies were like cardboard with only the slightest ginger flavor. But hey you live and you learn. LOL. Also ordered coffee with dessert...can you say warm coffee colored water? Blek. Let Tey have some to warm up.



Tomorrow plans: Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, Restaurant Marrakesh

Disney Divas Xmas 2009 - Day 1

Date: Saturday, December 19

Weather: windy, temps - 65 during the day and in high 40s at night



We arrived at Coronado Springs around 11:30am and the check in line was so-so. I did notice that the line for those who did on-line check in was longer than the regular line and did not seem to be moving quickly. That made me glad I had opted not to do online check-in ( I wanted to make a room request at the desk). I asked for a room in Casitas 1,2, or 3 and was told no problem but that it was not ready yet but should be ready in the next hour or so as most of the rooms in that section were already cleaned and mine should be done soon. So we decided to head to Pepper Market for some lunch and first meal on dining plan. I wasn't real hungry and neither was kiddo so we just split a chicken quesadilla (which was cut into 3 rather large triangles) and each got a drink and split the dessert. - so I just had to pay for the drink. The quesadilla was very good. Nice flavor in the chicken and very cheesy. Would definitely try it again.

For dessert we got their version of Strawberry shortcake which was really just 2 layer white cake with strawberry filling and icing....but man was it good! The cake was very light and the strawberry cream filling was great..not too sweet, same for the icing. It was so good that we ended up getting a second one LOL! Hey we are on vacation after all!

I called at 1pm to check on the room but it wasn't ready so we went into gift shop and I surprised DD with a Tinkerbell Disney gift card for her use on this trip as an early Xmas gift. We then decided to walk over to the arcade and use the 30 minute play card that came with our package. Could not get it to work so we stretched out on loungers by the pool and relaxed a bit while reading. It was very breezy which made it chilly but we were right in the sun which felt so nice and made the breeze tolerable for us as we had on fleece jackets and jeans. I did have to wonder at the number of parents who were all bundled up in sweatshirts and jeans and scarves etc and their kids were not only in the pool swimming which was fine but running around on the playground in nothing but their wet swimsuits in the cold...i see some sick kids this week.

Anyways. I called back around 2 and the room was still not ready..hmmm what happened to ready in an hour? LOL. But it was fine. check in is not officially until 3. But then I remembered that I had parked in the 30 minute parking spots out front OOPS! so we headed back so I could move the car. Decided to move it to Casitas 3 as the check in CM had said that was where our room would be. We sat there reading and joking around and finally around 3:15 the room was ready. we were able to get everything upstairs in 1 trip since we opted not to bring the Christmas tree and all the decorations this year along with all the gifts etc. We did bring a wreath for the door and a string of lights for the window though.

We then headed to Winn Dixie to get breakfast foods and snacks as I had not had a chance to shop before leaving home that morning. We got back to the room around 4:30 and since we had 7:30 ressies for Kouzzina at the Boardwalk, we just decided to unpack and relax a bit before heading out. I made the mistake of deciding to use Disney Transport to get to the Boardwalk instead of driving...it is basically right down the road from us so that was a bonehead move. But I commute a good distance for work every day so when I go on vacation I like to just park the car and not use it unless we are going off site...big mistake! LOL We left the resort at 6pm just to allow plenty of time on a bus headed for Hollywood Studios (planned to catch the boat from there to the Boardwalk).

Of course the bus had to go to the other stops in the resort and then we hit some traffic jam so did not get to Hollywood Studios until almost 6:45!! When I say it is right down the road..I mean it...it is a straight shot on the opposite side of road. Crazy! The line for the boat was almost to the big Xmas tree! We had to wait through 2 boats to get near the front of line and it was as the 3rd boat was pulling in that I remembered the walkway to the Boardwalk. DOH! I am choosing to blame it on all the cold meds and antibiotics I have been on this week for my total brain freeze LOL!. I am usually more organized and on the ball than this. But it was all good. We boarded the boat around 7:15 Yikes! Ressie was for 7:30. It took 8 minutes to get to the first stop - Swan/Dolphin. We decided to get off there and walk over the bridge to the Boardwalk instead of staying on the boat as it had to stop at the Yacht/Beach Club before getting to the Boardwalk and the captain said that would take about another 15 minutes. It was about a 5 minute walk to the Boardwalk and we went in to doors of Kouzzina with 1 minute to spare!

There was quit a crowd in the entry area but we got our pager and waited maybe 7 minutes to be seated. I now think some of those people came in to get out of the cold as it was very breezy and chilly on the Boardwalk last night. LOL! We were escorted to the table by Charlotte was was very friendly and chatty. Our table turned out to be right next to the open kitchen and DD got a kick out of watching the chefs though everytime they would yell Opa! She would jump LOL! I got a kick out of that. LOL.

Our server was Patrice and while she was very nice and friendly, she seemed stressed and out of her element. She would disappear for long periods of time and forget to bring things we asked for. She kept apologizing and saying it was crazy tonight. While yes the restaurant was doing brisk business, unless something was happening behind the scenes, it was no busier than any other restaurant I have been to on a Saturday night. Actually it was more calm.

I decided on the Cat's Ouzu-tini (Absolut Vodka, Metaxa Ouzo, Pineapple Juice, fresh Lime Juice, and Pomegranate), though I was not sure how that would taste combined but it was actually pretty good. The black licorice undertone worked. DD ordered a Mega-Berry Smoothie (Raspberry Puree and Nonfat Yogurt blended with Odwalla Berries GoMega). We started with Kouzzina Spreads (Harissa Yogurt, Kalamata Fig, and Chickpea Hummus with Grilled Pita). We both loved the Harissa Yogurt...nice blend of spicy and sweet and sour. Second was probably the Fig. I usually love Hummus but this hummus was chunky and a weird consistency. The flavor was good but the texture was off. DD ordered the lamb shank and I got the pastitio (Greek-style Lasagna with Bucatini Pasta, Cinnamon-stewed Meat Sauce, and Bechamel). The pastitio was interesting flvor and very good. I am not a big fan of lamb but DD seemed to like it and she has never had lamb before but wanted to try something new. We were full and sleep so took dessert to go. I got Loukoumades which are greek donuts drizzled with honey and DD got Galaktoboureko which is semolina custard baked in phyllo dough which we ate later in the room. Both were just ok to us.

We caught a bus to DTD as it was after 9pm and HS was closed. It was very cold at this time and we ran into several ticked of New Orleans Saints fans as it was around half time and the Saints were down 17-3 to the Cowboys LOL. There were some very rousing debates and convos between them all at the bus stops and on the buses LOL! We finally got back to room around 10pm! Learned my lesson (yet again)...will be driving from now on to meals at other resorts!

On a side note ran into several people who had checked out of hotel already just to find out their flight back up north had been canceled and were having a mad scramble to get a room. This hotel is pretty much full up as most of the Disney resort is this time of year. I felt so bad for them and hope that everyone got accommodations and do eventually make it home safely.

Tomorrow plans: EPCOT, DTD, Cali Grill