Well, that’s exactly what my wife and I ended up doing Saturday evening instead of going to the mall to get my iPhone fixed. Hey, the Apple store is open every day of the week, but the Magic Kingdom staying open until midnight … not so much! My new plan is to go do that tonight, so in retrospect I think we made the right choice!

Moderately Low Lines
After having surprisingly not been to this particular park in quite some time now, we were kind of happy to find that the wait times at most of our favorite rides were minimal at worst. The only thing we really had to “wait” for was Space Mountain and that was maybe 30 minutes; everything else was 10 minutes or less, with even a nice walk-on for Buzz to cap the evening off! I think the only thing we really missed out on was the Haunted Mansion because it had a good 30-45 minute wait, and then Big Thunder because it’s currently down for refurbishment. Our total came out to 6 attractions in about 3 hours, so not bad for a quick evening jaunt if you ask me!

I think if I had to pick just one, I probably actually really enjoyed It’s a Small World the most because I can’t even remember the last time that I rode that one and it was a pleasant reminder of how much fun it can be to shoot photos throughout all of the different colored scenes. Having been to Disneyland myself now, I’d love to see them makeover Florida’s version the same way they touched up the original out in California by inserting characters from the various animated movies into their appropriate scenes – my wife and I both thought that they added a nice touch as well as a fun, little challenge trying to find them all along the way…

Stranded In the Worst Possible Part of Buzz
The low part of the evening, though, had to have been when we found ourselves stuck on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and not because we were tired of the ride and just wanted to leave, mind you, but more so because we got stuck in a really lousy spot and didn’t have crap for targets to shoot at while we were waiting!!! We were right in that very first room, still going up the ramp, where maybe the best targets are worth 5,000 points at best, whereas my sister-in-law in the car ahead of us was perfectly positioned to hit that 100,000-point target on the ceiling heading into the next room … she didn’t even realize that it was one of the best in the whole game, and yet she had already maxed out one blaster and was working on the second one in her single-rider car by the time we finally got moving again!

I Have a Weakness, and the Main Street Bakery Be Thy Name
And lastly, as we paraded triumphantly back down Main Street, like a moth to the most beautiful of iridescent lights I found myself wandering helplessly into the clutches of the much-coveted Bakery. While my wife and her sister showed considerable restraint and each bought some boring fruit and/or vegetable trays, I on the other hand showed absolutely no restraint whatsoever and ended up getting one of these little beauties…

If there is any doubt tomorrow why I don’t make my weekly weigh-in, I need only to refresh my browser once again to this very post and soon it will all become clear!

For what it’s worth, though, it was absolutely delicious and frankly, if losing weight means never getting to splurge on giant cinnamon rolls the size of hubcaps, then maybe I don’t even want to be skinny after all!

(not actually true – mark my words, next trip I vow to “show restraint” by resisting both the Bakery and the Confectionery in the same trip!)

Mind you, the weather report still predicted it being a bit chilly, so sticking around one of the theme parks for fireworks didn’t exactly seem all that desirable, but we figured we could still get out of the house and catch a quick game of mini-golf while it was still daylight (and thus warm) out, then retreat to the comforts of a nearby movie theater to endure the rest of the evening with plush, leather seats, delicious food offerings, and the latest from the always wonderful Robert Downey, Jr.

It’s a rough life, I know…

Fore!
When we arrived at Fantasia Gardens, my wife’s personal mini-golf destination of choice, it soon became very clear that we were not the only ones who opted for a bit of miniature enjoyment that afternoon, to the point where I was seriously starting to doubt if I was going to be able to maintain my own sanity while sandwiched between  several groups of golfers who had no signs of parents in sight and seemed quite eager to take full advantage of that random lack of parental oversight! Fortunately (?!), we eventually caught a break when one of the absentee parents popped in to say that maybe they should hop across the course to do some other empty holes out of order because he had gotten tired of waiting himself, and so although normally I wouldn’t really be a supporter of such line-dodging shenanigans, frankly in this case I was just happy to have them out of my own hair! 

P.S.
Did I mention that I actually beat my wife at mini-golf for a change?!?!?!

It was honestly a really good match – we were just about neck and neck for most of it, or she would go down a stroke on one hole and then I’d make an error on the next and level us back out. If it wasn’t for hole #X, there’s a good chance I would’ve lost, but with her previous olympic caliber track record, I’ll take just about any win that I can get!

Comfy Seats, Yummy Eats, and an Idiosyncratic Detective Caper
Simply put, this was a meal that I had been looking forward to all week. I’m officially back in “diet mode” once again (read: “trying to avoid eating 5,000 calories of crap a day”), so my mind has been doing a lot of watering when I think back about first checking out the new AMC Dine-In Theaters at Downtown Disney last summer! My wife and I had decided days earlier that this was going to be our big splurge after a full week of being good, and I was destined to make it count – the same amazing Crab Rangoon Dip that we had enjoyed before, a no doubt ridiculously fattening Oreo Mudslide (might as well be milkshake, also like before), and for my entree I ended up trying their Smokehouse Beef and Cheddar Pizzini, which ended up being kinda messy, but still very good…

I guess the only real complaint I had about this particular visit was that the service seemed a little slower than last time, albeit the theater was considerably more busy, too. Our appetizer came out fairly quickly, though it was probably 30 minutes into the movie before our actual entrees showed up, and they never have been really good on water refills … especially once they’ve already delivered the check. Still a strong recommendation from my perspective, though – every time I leave here, I seem to have several new items from the menu that I’m already looking forward to trying next time … something that more Disney restaurants should be striving to achieve!

Oh yeah, and as for the movie itself??? We ended up seeing Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and both ended up really enjoying it. Granted, it won’t exactly be anywhere near my running for Best Movie of All-Time or anything, but it was a good, solid piece of entertainment, had a lot of really fun and lively moments, as we’ve come to expect from Robert Downey Jr in this role, and it had a rather amusing ending, too!

All in all, not too shabby for an afternoon/evening out on the town…

The soundtrack is incredible, featuring hits from The Little Mermaid and The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin - a span of probably the most back-to-back successful animated movies Disney has ever produced, although admittedly I may be a bit biased because this was also the period when yours truly had just started going to the theater to see these kinds of movies growing up!

The 3D effects are executed very well and for lack of a better word, just don’t seem cheesy like they do in so many of these shows. I mean, let’s face it – most 3D movies, some at Disney included, are just the same four or five special effects done over and over again, but at least PhilharMagic introduces them in a fun and whimsical way that doesn’t feel as much like cheese…

And frankly, just the whole Disney vibe in general is really personified during this fun, 12-minute theater show – we get to see (or at least hear) all of the main characters and many favorites from the silver screen as well, the entire show from beginning to end is filled with magic and adventure and action and even a little romance, and you just know that by the end even if people weren’t singing along during the show itself, they’ll have their own personal favorite song bouncing around inside their heads at least until they make their way over to It’s a Small World… and find it replaced by an entirely different whimsical tune!

If I had to pick a single attraction to take someone on to properly introduce them to Walt Disney World, this one most definitely be it.

More Favorite Photos:

I, for one, am pretty excited about 2012.  Not only does it have a lot of new magic sprouting up around Walt Disney World throughout the course of the year, but I also see a lot of opportunity to do some things that I may not have been able to get around to last year. You may recall that back around this time a year ago, I wrote a my very first column for this new website called New Years Aspirations, 2011 Edition, and in that column I detailed out about half a dozen random things that I especially wanted to try and do in 2011. Some actually got done and some didn’t, but before we get into that and also jot down some new aspirations for 2012, let’s take a quick look at that list of new construction changes around the Resort to see if there’s anything we should keep an eye out for…

Of course, the biggest enhancement in all of Disney World that we’ll be seeing is the Fantasyland expansion project, which serves to nearly double in size the Magic Kingdom’s most popular land and also bring us some pretty cool, new attractions to boot! Scheduled first to open in early 2012 is Dumbo the Flying Elephant, now with two queues to double your flying elephant enjoyment, and also The Great Goofini, which is essentially how they’re re-themeing Goofy’s Barnstormer, the lone attraction (other than the train stop) to survive from Mickey’s Toon Town Fair. Later in the year (fall-ish?), we’re told that the rest cream of the crop is set to open, including Journey of the Little Mermaid and the whole Beauty & the Beast area – namely, Beast’s castle and the Be Our Guest Restaurant. Apparently this unique, new restaurant is to be a counter service eatery during the day and then convert over to table service for dinner, so hopefully I can sneak in a Dining Around the World review by the end of the year!

Concept Art © Walt Disney Imagineering - 2011

Note: The remainder of the expansion, including The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and the rest of the Storybook Circus area won’t open until 2013, but it’s nice that this is a big enough expansion that they’re not making us wait until the very end to start checking it out!

Next on Disney World’s 2012 list is the new Art of Animation Resort to take over the seemingly abandoned buildings opposite of Pop Century on Hourglass Lake that were originally intended to become The Legendary Years. Mind you, I’m not entirely sold on this particular resort, mainly because it seems like the movies being featured were picked kind of haphazardly and don’t really go together all that much, but it should still be fun to at least wander around and check out all of the new giant stuff that Imagineering comes up with for this one! Especially if they finish Generation Gap Bridge so that it’s within actual walking distance of Pop Century – that would be kinda cool…

Concept Art © Walt Disney Imagineering - 2011

And finally, I’m actually a little surprised at myself that I’m somewhat looking forward to this one, but the new Splitsville Bowling Alley being built at Downtown Disney’s West Side is set for completion in the fall of 2012 and I don’t know, maybe I’m just intrigued by the idea of something fun and different besides mini-golf for my wife and I to use when we have a random hour to burn! I’ve honestly only been bowling a handful of times, so I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’m a fanatic by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve done some in recent years on the Wii so I wouldn’t necessarily mind my chance to try knocking down a few pins in the flesh! Not to mention, there’s actually a Splitsville over here in Tampa, but I’ve never really gone because it’s billed as more of a trendy place to go, so frankly I’m a little curious to check out Disney’s version just because I have a distinct feeling that the probability of there being DJs and martinis and guys wearing extraordinarily tight t-shirts should be at least a little less over in Mickey’s neck of the woods!

Concept Art © Walt Disney Imagineering - 2011

So there’s the big list!

Switching gears a bit to aspirations real quick, though – as much as I didn’t spend quite as much time at Disney World in 2011 as I would’ve liked, the time I did spend there with my wife was nonetheless wonderful and I can’t really complain too much when I look back at what we did…

• First Trip to a Water Park – Spent the afternoon at Typhoon Lagoon for my birthday and had such a good time that we’ve been weighing the pros and cons of upgrading our annual passes to include the water parks ever since!
• More Table Service Dining - Granted, a lot were at Downtown Disney, we actually ate at more places in 2011 than any year since I’ve been coming to Disney World.
• Go on an Official Disney Tour – didn’t get to this one…
• Fully Embrace Food & Wine – We still didn’t manage to get to all of the booths, but my wife, her sister, and I had an absolute blast snacking away as far as we did and if anything, I think now we’ve got a better strategy to help us fight the odds when we return next year!
• A Very Merry WDW Christmas… – Not as much as I would’ve liked because we still only hit one park (Epcot), and it rained a lot, but we did get to check out the displays at all of the Epcot resorts in addition to seeing Neil Patrick Harris narrate the Candlelight Processional – a show we haven’t seen in years – so it was a small improvement.

And as for a new list of aspirations to strive for here in 2012? Well, we’re running out of space so I don’t want to be too long-winded about it, but I guess you could say in my mind it would look a little something like this…

• Go on an Official Disney Tour
• Spend More Time Just Hanging Out in the Parks
• Seek Out Some of the More “Unique” Dining Experiences
• Do Something Really Cool for Our 5th Wedding Anniversary
• Visit Every Single Disney Park at Christmastime

Happy New Year – see you around the World!

Cuisine:
Japanese - Teppanyaki

Overall Rating:
2 out of 5 stars

High Hopes
Simply put – we were really looking forward to this meal! My wife and I first dined at this restaurant back in 2006 when we were still dating, as sort of a “celebration” for our 6-month anniversary together, in fact. At the time it was technically still called the Teppanyaki Dining Room, but whatever the name – we had a great time! The food was great, the chef was funny as he entertained us with “smoking Space Mountain” and “Mickey Space Mountain,” and we vowed to come back again soon.

Sometime in 2007, it ended up closing for a major refurbishment, and between now and then we ended up trying a variety of other dining options instead, but eventually the stars aligned once again and we were able to return, with Teppan Edo as our choice for this year’s Candlelight Processional dinner package…

Friendly Faces
In a word, the service was excellent. We actually showed up a little early and had no problems getting seated right away; everything was brought out quick and of course, the food coming right off the grill was plenty hot! All of the cast members who we met seemed to be exceedingly friendly and enthusiastic, and if it weren’t for one particularly important thing, it would’ve been a textbook experience…

The Food

• (appetizer) Assorted Tempura
• (appetizer) Gyo no Negi-maki
• (appetizer) Spicy Tuna Sushi Roll
• (appetizer) Tuna Salmon Sensation
• (entree) Filet Mignon
• (entree) Swordfish Steak – “Kajiki Maguro”
• (entree) Cold Water Sea Scallops – “Hotate”
• *note: all entrees served with  seasonal vegetables, udon noodles & white rice
• (dessert) Soft Served Ice Cream (vanilla/chocolate swirl)
• (dessert) Green Tea Pudding
• (dessert) Chocolate Ginger Cake

Bland. Uninspired. Boring. Should I go on?

It just didn’t taste like anything had any flavor to it – the appetizers, including my sister-in-law’s sushi, were pretty uneventful; the veggies and noodles were just so-so and even the sauces didn’t really help, despite having loved their soy sauce the last time we were there; and the meats … were lackadaisical, to say the least. My fish was incredibly chewy, which I wasn’t sure about at the time because I’ve never had swordfish before, but now I’ve read that it can also either be a sign of low quality or bad cooking. Dessert crept half a step back up, mainly because the Chocolate Ginger Cake was decent, but the ice cream looked like the kind out of a rundown state park’s ice cream machine and the Green Tea Pudding was, in a word, yucky.

Final Thoughts
This was honestly a tough one to rate because as much as we absolutely loved this place 5 years ago, I just couldn’t justify bumping it from 2- to 3-stars based on how terrible the food was. Also keep in mind that as part of the Candlelight Processional dinner package, the cost was $65 per person, so while even though I don’t always expect gourmet food when I sit down to eat in a theme park, for a bill that topped $200 between 3 people, I do expect to leave happy. The concept at Teppan Edo is solid and the people are charming, but first and foremost, we go to restaurants for the purpose of eating and that’s where Teppan Edo squarely missed the mark for me.

Review based on dining experiences from October 2006 & 2011.

I mean, talk about truly being immersed in the holiday spirit – Christmas music blasting songs of tidings and joy in the streets, “snow” falling from the skies as cast members serve cookies and hot chocolate, all surrounded by a staggering number of lights that seem to grow every single year!  And if that wasn’t enough, the entire display is even choreographed to dance at regular intervals throughout the evening – impressive enough to even give this guy a run for his money!

Even the story of how the lights first came to be is an inspiring one – an Arkansas father strings up 1,000 Christmas lights one year at the request of his 6-year-old daughter, then continues to build on them each year until legal action from upset neighbors in 1995 eventually shuts down the now-massive 6 million light display that spans three houses and backs up traffic for hours during its nightly time to shine!  Of course, as we all know that’s when Disney stepped in and offered to bring the entire display down to the Studios where it could be freely enjoyed by millions, and the rest as they say, is history…

Sadly, the beloved philanthropist passed away earlier this summer from heart complications at the age of 67, but it goes without saying that his spirit lives on with every twinkle as those millions of lights bring smiles to countless onlookers just as they first did to his own daughter way back in 1986.

More Favorite Photos:

Unfortunately, the one thing that we failed to scope out was the weather report, so you could certainly say that the latter portion of our celebration was a wee bit damp, but nonetheless we did what we could to make the best of it…

A Disappointing Dinner
Our first stop was at Teppan Edo in Japan for a bite to eat – my wife and I actually ate here some 5 years ago when we were just dating, so we were kind of looking forward to our return! Surprisingly enough, though, the food quality just didn’t even come close to what we had remembered from that first visit back in 2006. Despite great service and an entertaining server, it ended up being a pretty bland meal that, frankly, for the extra cost of the Candlelight Dinner Package at $65/person, simply wasn’t worth the money…

A Quick Jaunt Around the Boardwalk
By the time we were done with our late lunch/early dinner, it had started to sprinkle outside, but as much as we tried to wait it out, it soon became clear that unless we were willing to suck it up and don those ever-fashionable Mickey Mouse ponchos, our chance to checkout any of the cool holiday decorations around Crescent Lake before the Candlelight show was rapidly dwindling!

Surprisingly enough, I actually think that my favorite display this year was the miniature winter village display over at the Yacht Club, although there’s certainly no denying that the gingerbread carousel and bakery looked particularly yummy as well! But I guess this time I spent a little extra time taking in the detail of the scene and honestly it’s kinda cool to see just how much they put into it, from lights on the town’s tree to the carolers in the square to even the snowman water tower on the outskirts of town … what can I say, sometimes it’s fun to stop and appreciate the smaller things in life…

A Wet and Soggy Candlelight Processional
Back in Epcot, admittedly we were a bit taken aback to find that the reserved seating line for our show had already snaked itself nearly back to the France Pavilion, though in reality I guess we should’ve just been glad that we arrived when we did because by the time the line actually started moving, it looked like it was even beginning to back up onto the bridge leading toward the International Gateway and the UK Pavilion from France!

Nonetheless, the show itself – narrated by Neil Patrick Harris – was great, even though it was raining pretty hard by the time we sat down and at some points even kicked into torrential downpour mode. So the rain was definitely a bit of a downer, but I think NPH surprised us all with an unexpected introductory, “What up?!” before cracking a few lighthearted jokes about the horrible weather to kind of loosen things up a bit. Frankly, it was just really cool to see him in person, even if we were maybe 100 feet away from the stage through  it all!

Anyways, this was the 3rd time that my wife and I saw the show and even though I’m not really a religious guy myself, I still can recognize a great performance and for the 45 minutes that the choir and orchestra are on stage, they really put on a stellar show that does a wonderful job of helping to share the Christmas spirit. Seeing it this year after missing out the last couple really makes me want to try harder to go back again next year, and not simply for another chance to see it without the rain… 

Funnel Cake Finale
After the waterlogged show, we decided that we were just too wet to stick around for fireworks, but before heading off to Downtown Disney for a Christmas stocking and some other random presents, I just had to stop by the funnel cake stand to pick up a little something that I had noticed earlier. For a limited time, the stand is offering a special Pumpkin Spice Funnel Cake in addition to the standard faire, and as those who also happen to read my goofy, little pumpkin blog will be sure to understand, some things are just too good to pass up!

Quick summary – it was pretty yummy, especially after sitting in the cold during the show … be sure to click on over to my official blog post for the full review!

Have I mentioned that this is my favorite Disney resort?!

Neat, even though didn’t the Tanooki Suit only show up, like, twice in Super Mario 3?!

All of the decorations and people generally being in good cheer, the frosted Santa cookies and other assorted sweets, the giving and receiving of presents – what’s not to love, really?! Sure, things may get a little chaotic at times when we find ourselves running around in a frenzied attempt to beat out the Christmas Eve clock, but even within that madness there are still good tidings to be found because more likely than not you’re just scrambling for the simple fact of trying to take in as much of the Christmas spirit as possible in these few short weeks before it’s time to clean up the discarded wrapping paper and cookie crumbs, move on into a new year!

Anyways, it’s probably no surprise that being such a big fan of the holidays in general, this is probably my absolute favorite time of year to be around Walt Disney World as well. All of the effort that Disney puts into themeing during any other time of the year seems to be exponentially amplified by the spirit of the season – resorts all decorated with their own unique atmospheres in mind, Downtown Disney bustling with gift ideas and even a chance to whisper in the old man’s ear yourself to put in any special requests, and let’s not forget … the theme parks themselves, each embracing the holidays in a larger than life way that reminds you unequivocally in the brightest of colors and boldest of sounds that Christmas is a very special time of year around this place.

I think part of it might be simply because each in their own right are thought of as somewhat magical – Christmas being a magical time of year filled with joy and happiness, and Disney World being just the kind of place where dreams come true every day of the year! It makes only good sense then that when the two should meet, the outcome would be an overwhelming display that spans nearly every facet of holiday spirit, from Santa and presents to the nostalgia of being surrounded by thousands of twinkling lights to a profound retelling of the biblical version of the first Christmas that can wow even a guy like myself who isn’t necessarily very religious…

To visit Walt Disney World between Thanksgiving and Christmas is to find yourself completely surrounded by the spirit of the season, and even though the crowds will get a little carried away immediately around each of the actual holidays themselves, I still tell people time and time again that Disney World at Christmastime is really something you have to experience for yourself to truly realize just how incredible it feels to be in the epicenter of the magic during this already special time of year. Sure, you may see 2-hour waits for Space Mountain or find slim-pickings for ADRs if you didn’t have the foresight to make them months in advance, but the things that you simply can’t experience any other time of year:

• watching Cinderella Castle sparkle as 200,00 lights drape its peaks and arches with iridescent snow
• listening to a full orchestra and choir perform some of the most moving songs of the season
• standing in absolute amazement on the Streets of America as millions of Christmas lights dance to the music in a display that years ago got its creator, Jennings Osborne, taken to court by his neighbors for his holiday spirit simply being “too disruptive” for their quaint, suburban subdivision

…those and so many other special festivities are really what you come to Disney this time of year for. And just like in life how I try to use this time of year to slow down and really savor the things that mean the most to me, I do the same as I walk around the parks, not only taking it all in for another year myself, but also in cherishing the “ooohs” and “ahhhhhs” of those who are experiencing this special place at a special time for the very first time. It’s kind of like that hour of opening presents on Christmas morning, except it’s happening all the time pretty much wherever you turn until it’s finally time to get in the car to head on back home again!

It’s a feeling that I consider myself very fortunate to get to experience every year, and if you’re not able to personally make it down for the holidays yourself here in 2011, then I hope that perhaps this humble website of mine (along with so many others) can allow you to share a little of that special brand of Disney holiday magic vicariously as you embrace the spirit of the season wherever you may be.

Happy holidays to you and your own, and may all of your Christmases be magical!