Joy to the World: an offsite Christmas extravaganza at Disney, Universal & SeaWorld – Dec. 2016 TR

[Mrs Doubtfire]

I have never really appreciated the Seuss Landing area as I don't know the characters or even The Grinch (I'm not really old, I just missed out......) But it looks like you had a blast and the breakfast certainly provided plenty of photo opportunities

Glad to have you back

 

[dancin Disney style]

I'm going to pretend I didn't see that .

So.....did you make any decisions yet as to your Christmas options? I, of course, would vote for Orlando....but I'm a bit biased. And I'm not a week-on-the-beach kind of gal.

See what? There was nothing to see and my friends will back me up on that.

No decisions yet. I'm going to have to wait until SW releases the next block of dates, which will include Christmas, to see more options. I did look up the Excellence resorts that had been mentioned. They look very, very nice. I had heard of them before but never took more than a passing glance. Problem is the price. Booking right now at any of them would be $10,000+. That is just not EVER going to happen.

 

[sk8jdgca]

I too was over the moon to meet the Lorax!

 

[KsGiGi]

Never thought about going to Universal at Christmas because of the crowds, but after reading about your experience, I would love to see the Grinchmas show. And the breakfast sounds fun also. Really enjoying reading your trip report!

 

[Ruthie5671]

Geez, you make this thread sound so boring, I don't know if *I* want to come back to it!!

The dancing boys sounded kind of fun .

Now you know I love your trip reports and they are never boring. If Tony and I ever go back to Orlando, you have given me a million ideas of things to do!

The dancing boys were fun. Hehehe.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

You can say that again! I've only lived in FL for 8 years, but now whenever the temp falls below 75, I am literally freezing (which makes everyone make fun of me, as I'm from NJ)

Being a perpetually cold-bodied person, I find it MUCH easier to adjust to the from cold-to-hot versus hot-to-cold. If I ever realize our dream of living in the south (or at the very least, being snowbirds) I can see myself being EXACTLY like you! Unfortunately, I won't receive much sympathy from friends and family back home .

Fun. I didn't even know they had a stage in Suess Landing. Where is it? My kids also love Cat in the Hat. They also love the "zoo" attraction. Have you ever walked through it? There are fun interactive things throughout, including a little water play area.

I want to say that it was behind Circus McGurkus (kind of between/behind the circus tent building and One Fish Two Fish). I have no idea if they use that building for anything else throughout the year, or just for Grinchmas .

We have never toured through the zoo part of Seuss Landing, mostly because we've never visited IOA with little ones in tow. I need to recruit Joe and Lisa to bring those nieces and nephew back for another trip, this time to the Universal parks!!! Or, you need to let me borrow your young man .

Lovely to see all the Grinchmas entertainment, must be so much fun! Lovely to see the Lorax, I remember sitting on a ledge outside one of the Seuss shops waiting on the kids coming back from riding Hulk and as if out of nowhere the Lorax appeared and came over and gave me a hug. Its those kind of moments that just dont happen outside Orlando lol!

Isn't that the truth! I hate the overuse of the term "magical"....but yet.....it really does fit, doesn't it?

What a great memory......just picturing it made me smile! We are all so, SO blessed to have these experiences. I never lose sight of how fortunate we are for this to be just part of our regular lives.

I have never really appreciated the Seuss Landing area as I don't know the characters or even The Grinch (I'm not really old, I just missed out......) But it looks like you had a blast and the breakfast certainly provided plenty of photo opportunities

Glad to have you back

Oh, my friend.....its never too late to start reading the books! I love them now, even in my 40's (and have more than a few still on my bookshelves). We were in the various gift shops last week, perusing the selection of Seuss book for sale in the parks, and Steve found an anthology of 13 different Seuss stories in a beautiful hard cover that he wanted to buy for our future (and still non-existent) grandchildren. While it was a sweet sentiment, it seemed a little premature and Lord knows we don't want to spur anything on too soon (the power of suggestion, you know!) so I made him leave it on the shelf, but he was mighty disappointed. I wondered if maybe it wasn't really for the "future grandchildren" after all?

See what? There was nothing to see and my friends will back me up on that.

No decisions yet. I'm going to have to wait until SW releases the next block of dates, which will include Christmas, to see more options. I did look up the Excellence resorts that had been mentioned. They look very, very nice. I had heard of them before but never took more than a passing glance. Problem is the price. Booking right now at any of them would be $10,000+. That is just not EVER going to happen.

I'll join you on the flight watch, though Southwest doesn't fly nonstop from either Detroit or Flint so I doubt they'll be an option for us now. That said, their pricing often affects Jetblue (keeping 'em honest and all that) so low prices on SW generally benefits us one way or another. Steve has been talking a lot about Christmas in Orlando again this year, despite it being (at this point) out of our budget. I know he'd like to avoid the family drama again if at all possible, and feels compelled for us to return to Canada for the holidays unless we have other plans in place. Time to start buying lottery tickets, I guess. I was hoping to have a job by summer but Customs & Immigration is taking their own sweet time in getting me my Employment Authorization card .

Is that $10,000 for the excellence resorts in USD? That would be a tough price to swallow after exchange!

I too was over the moon to meet the Lorax!

I don't know what it is about that guy, but oh, he makes my heart melt!

Never thought about going to Universal at Christmas because of the crowds, but after reading about your experience, I would love to see the Grinchmas show. And the breakfast sounds fun also. Really enjoying reading your trip report!

We didn't find the crowds an issue at all, but to be fair, we were also there the week BEFORE Christmas (ideal, really......all the excitement of the holidays without the chaos of Christmas week). SeaWorld is still my favourite park as far as Christmas is concerned, but Universal is not far behind. The Grinch breakfast will be a must-do for us on any future trips during that time of year!

Now you know I love your trip reports and they are never boring. If Tony and I ever go back to Orlando, you have given me a million ideas of things to do!

The dancing boys were fun. Hehehe.

I think you and Tony should plan to come down in October......specifically, the 14th to the 21st. And that's a serious offer. You've got 5 months to get some vacation time approved and put the plans in place. Promise me you will give it some thought?

I think we need to bring the dancing boys back for an encore . Just one more number.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

So, I've been tardy on getting an entry typed out today, but will try to have something up before nighttime. Steve is working late so after I'm done at the gym, perhaps me and the kittens can whip another installment up before we hit the sack. I have spent half the morning on the phone with the Vistana, working out an issue that we encountered on our most recent stay (no more details to share on that just yet......you'll have to wait for that report to roll around). I am also still working on uploading the last of our vacation pictures to Facebook.......while it didn't feel as if I took as many pictures on this most recent trip, maybe I did after all?

I've also been working on our October plans.....the best medicine for the post-vacation blues is planning the next adventure. So, yesterday we booked a cabana for a day at Volcano Bay and purchased single-day admission tickets to go with it. Today, I'm going to pick up our Halloween Horror Nights tickets (unfortunately, our RIP Tour is not yet available to book, so that aspect will have to wait a little longer) and try to hammer out a bit of an "itinerary" so we ensure we squeeze everything in that we want to do. I am also going to look for an activity to do in Fort Lauderdale before our evening flight home: with having to check out by 10 am from the resort and our flight not until evening, that leaves us a nice chunk of the afternoon to fill with something fun. I think Groupon will likely be my friend for that task.

And.....I'm trying desperately to get the autumn car rental down to something reasonable. I did finally manage to get it down under $300 yesterday ($283, to be exact).....but the only vehicle I could get for that price is a convertible . Not exactly the car class we had hoped to secure, but for now, it will have to do. After picking up a full size car for this last trip for $150 taxes included, the thought of paying almost double in October is kind of painful.

 

[JaxDad]

Hi Gina! I keep forgetting you're over here on the Disney side! I'll try to keep up.

I'm not sure of your driving route or timing for a potential Fort Lauderdale activity in October, but you might look at this place up the road in West Palm Beach instead. We're going in June...

http://www.mccarthyswildlife.com/

 

[I-4Bound]

Can't wait to hear what you thought about Skull Island! We really liked it.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I'll join you on the flight watch, though Southwest doesn't fly nonstop from either Detroit or Flint so I doubt they'll be an option for us now. That said, their pricing often affects Jetblue (keeping 'em honest and all that) so low prices on SW generally benefits us one way or another. Steve has been talking a lot about Christmas in Orlando again this year, despite it being (at this point) out of our budget. I know he'd like to avoid the family drama again if at all possible, and feels compelled for us to return to Canada for the holidays unless we have other plans in place. Time to start buying lottery tickets, I guess. I was hoping to have a job by summer but Customs & Immigration is taking their own sweet time in getting me my Employment Authorization card .

Is that $10,000 for the excellence resorts in USD? That would be a tough price to swallow after exchange!

Oh I hear you on the Christmas drama. We have no choice but to spend Christmas with my mother. She doesn't get along with others and if we don't spend the day with her I'm a major a$%hole in her eyes. So never mind that I have a brother and his family or that I have in-laws that I kind of like. I'm stuck. However, if we are on vacation it might be ok.

That $10K is Canadian but that's only for 3 of us. I have set the limit at around $6000. Even that is far more than we usually spend... going to WDW never costs more than about $3000.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I think we need to bring the dancing boys back for an encore . Just one more number.

 

[pepperandchips]

Why limit the party to male dancers? I know a party animal we could invite...

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hi Gina! I keep forgetting you're over here on the Disney side! I'll try to keep up.

I'm not sure of your driving route or timing for a potential Fort Lauderdale activity in October, but you might look at this place up the road in West Palm Beach instead. We're going in June...

http://www.mccarthyswildlife.com/

That looks absolutely like the EXACT type of thing we had in mind!! And West Palm Beach is right on our way. I will be anxiously awaiting your review after you visit in June. If you enjoy it, then we will absolutely be booking, too.

Can't wait to hear what you thought about Skull Island! We really liked it.

We really liked it, too! Every single one of us!

Oh I hear you on the Christmas drama. We have no choice but to spend Christmas with my mother. She doesn't get along with others and if we don't spend the day with her I'm a major a$%hole in her eyes. So never mind that I have a brother and his family or that I have in-laws that I kind of like. I'm stuck. However, if we are on vacation it might be ok.

That $10K is Canadian but that's only for 3 of us. I have set the limit at around $6000. Even that is far more than we usually spend... going to WDW never costs more than about $3000.

I'm, apparently, a major shrew in several family members' eyes as well . My sister and I haven't spoken in years (I don't like the way she mistreats my mom, who has Alzheimers ) and apparently my brother thinks I need mental help [because I refuse to condone my sister's selfish behaviour]. Sigh. Steve's family is just happy to largely ignore us, but I guess that's an improvement over my side. Every holiday season, after yet another spectacle at a family dinner we are forced to attend, Jake thanks us not-so-jokingly for making him a only child .

Your $6K limit includes flights?

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

We first went away for Christmas for our Honeymoon and have been quite a few times since, we all really enjoy a Florida Christmas

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Just popping in with a quick apology to all. I've been a TERRIBLE trip reporter this week......and for that, I am sorry. I ended up getting my Employment Authorization Card in the mail on Wednesday afternoon, so I've been knee deep in busy work refreshing my resume and getting applications out to prospective employers. It's a time consuming and stressful task....stressful enough that I managed to work myself into a nasty old headache yesterday.

While I'm in a good position that I don't "need" a job (and Steve is VERY happy to have me at home, so I have zero pressure from him to find work) I still would like a part time position here so I can begin making some new contacts and (hopefully) some friends here in my new community. But, I'm also a bit of a worrier, so the whole process has me fretting about my suitability, about fitting in, about having to commute in still a rather largely unfamiliar area, about measuring up to American standards versus those at home. Adding to that is the prevailing reminder that I'm getting to be a bit of an old dog, and jumping into a new role is rather daunting. I've felt a little more than overwhelmed the last few days.

I've also been a bit emotional as Mother's Day weekend approaches, knowing I'll be spending it without either my boy or my momma. Just some raw feelings I need to work through during this first year away from family. It's made keeping my mind on a quality entry impossible, though I know I need to reframe my thinking and get back to productive posts.

So, please bear with me if you can: I *will* be back (hopefully soon!).

 

[llcoolj]

Just popping in with a quick apology to all. I've been a TERRIBLE trip reporter this week......and for that, I am sorry. I ended up getting my Employment Authorization Card in the mail on Wednesday afternoon, so I've been knee deep in busy work refreshing my resume and getting applications out to prospective employers. It's a time consuming and stressful task....stressful enough that I managed to work myself into a nasty old headache yesterday.

While I'm in a good position that I don't "need" a job (and Steve is VERY happy to have me at home, so I have zero pressure from him to find work) I still would like a part time position here so I can begin making some new contacts and (hopefully) some friends here in my new community. But, I'm also a bit of a worrier, so the whole process has me fretting about my suitability, about fitting in, about having to commute in still a rather largely unfamiliar area, about measuring up to American standards versus those at home. Adding to that is the prevailing reminder that I'm getting to be a bit of an old dog, and jumping into a new role is rather daunting. I've felt a little more than overwhelmed the last few days.

I've also been a bit emotional as Mother's Day weekend approaches, knowing I'll be spending it without either my boy or my momma. Just some raw feelings I need to work through during this first year away from family. It's made keeping my mind on a quality entry impossible, though I know I need to reframe my thinking and get back to productive posts.

So, please bear with me if you can: I *will* be back (hopefully soon!).

Congratulations on getting your Employment Authorization Card! I think you would be an asset to most any organization and you'll find the right fit before you know it. I think you should consider doing something at one of the tourist places. Your personality and interest in the greater world would make you delightful in working with visitors.

for dealing with being away on Mother's Day. I know how rough it can feel being far apart. You are close in their hearts and they in yours.

 

[dalmatian7]

Well I am sending a big hug to you. Missing family is hard. Often the pressure we put on ourselves is harder then anything. You have a great hubby. I just wish you lived by me and I would hire you in an instant. You would fit in great with my office mate and me. We are the only women in our company and could use more female common sense in the establishment.... and people who actually do their job..... Can you tell how my day is going?

have a wonderful weekend.

 

[3cmom]

I imagine it isn't easy being away from your mom and Jake this weekend. I hope you are able to have a Happy Mother's Day despite being away from family. Maybe you and Steve can make a new tradition for the two of you!

Congrats on the Employment Authorization Card! I'm sure you will find some work to get out of the house for a little bit!

 

[sk8jdgca]

Congratulations on your Employment authorization card...you can do this! Any company should be very happy to get you! I feel bad that you won't be with your mom or son on Mother's Day. Hopefully Steve has planned something special for you. We don't feel great on Father's Day now that my dad has passed away. My kids also have no contact with their dad so we celebrate "us" day. Last year we went to African Lion Safari and this year we are going to Stratford to see Guys and Dolls.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Good luck with the job search, I know how you feel I had to get a new job after 25 years with the same company and it is daunting. Let your talent, experience and good looks win them over

Hope this weekend isn't too bad for you, I'm sure Steve will give you a nice big bear hug from your Jake