Trip Log:

Started off the morning with a 6:30am wake up call so we could be down at breakfast by 7am and off to our 8am tee time at the Oak Trail course.    After playing our round it was back to Pop Century for a quick shower then off to the Animal Kingdom.  Wandered out and decided to go on the Safari since it had a posted wait of 10 minutes only.  After the safari decided to head for lunch, grabbed a Fastpass for the Safari for latter on the way.  First stop the Yak and Yeti fast food area then out to Restaurantosourus.  After lunch headed over to Camp Minnie Mickey and watched the Festival of the Lion King and then back out to the Safari to use our Fastpasses.  Once back strolled through Pangani Forest before deciding to head out of the park and over to the Studios.  Arrived on Hollywood Blvd just before 4pm and decided to hike out to the Lights Motors Action show at 4:10.  After the show stopped by Pizza Planet for a bite to eat then roamed around the Backlot area waiting for the Osborne Lights to be turned on.  Watched a couple sequences then roamed back to the parks entrance and out to the boat dock to head for EPCOT.  The cut the line right at my group so we had to wait for the next one.  Took the boat to the Swan/Dolphin and hopped off to get some pics of Santa and then walked down the Boardwalk and met the boat to finish the trip to EPCOT.  Once in EPCOT strolled around the World Showcase and visited the American Adventure, arrived just in time to see the 7:30pm show.  After the show found a spot for the 8:20 Candlelight and then kept walking around World Showcase, stopping in Germany for some caramel corn along the way.  Made it around to the front of World Showcase about 5 minutes before the start of Illuminations and found a spot to watch the show.  After Illuminations joined the masses exiting the park.   Took the bus back to Pop Century to call it a night.

Thoughts & Observations:

• This trip we took advantage of our annual passes and played the Oak Trail course. This is free for Annual Pass holders this year (also its an option if you buy the water park and more add on to your Magic Your Way Pass). This is the nine hole walking course located near the Palm and Magnolia courses. The normal rate is $38 for adults and $20 for 17 & under right now and pull carts are $6. The course is not short, its 5826 from the back tees and a par 36 for the nine holes. It had been quite a few years since I last played and we really enjoyed our time on the course. Plus paying $12 for two people to play 9 holes at Disney was a deal we could not pass up.
  
  
• As the bus drove through an empty Blizzard Beach parking lot (due to the weather) I wondered if they had any photo or shoe restrictions. I was debating getting off the bus to see if they would let me in the park with my tennis shoes (and winter clothes on) as well as camera gear. I thought it would be a perfect way to photograph the park since the odds of getting a lot of people in your shots were close to zero. In the end I decided I was hungry and wanted to go to Animal Kingdom so I did not exit the bus to see. Does anyone know for future reference??
  
  
• Our first stop of the day after golfing was the Animal Kingdom. The park was dead for the most part. We walked on the Safari even though it had a 10 minute wait posted. The lines at the other attractions were minimal too. How I enjoy the parks on a weekday in mid December.
  
  
• On the Safari you will see pictures of quite a bit of construction for the new Wild Africa Trek tour. Hard to believe that tour starts in just over of a month (Jan 16th). It looked like they had quite a bit to do still. If anyone is planning on taking this tour let me know, I would really like to hear about it.
  
  
• Headed over to Lights, Motors, Action to kill some time at the Studios (we were waiting for dusk and the Osborne Lights). It seems like it is time to tweak the show. Its still the same show more or less as when it was launched. I am not sure what can be done but seems they could liven up the segments between the action.
  
  
• We concluded the day at EPCOT with the Candlelight Processional. This was Jodi Benson's last night and we wanted to see her. She did not disappoint with her reading and enthusiasm.
  
  
• As I stood there watching the Candlelight it was hard not to compare it to Disneyland's and as I have thought for years I still enjoy Disneyland's version better. It is grander to me and the music arrangements I enjoy a bit more, it feels more traditional than the WDW version.
  
  
• Stopped by the new store in Germany, Karamelle-Küche which sells Werther’s Original Caramels. This week was annual passholder appreciation week and you were able to show your pass and get a free sample of the fresh caramel corn. Based on the line (that always seemed to be stead and long each time we walked by) the store seems to be a success. The free caramel corn was great too! (ended up buying some later on the trip using our snack options from the dining plan).
  

Pedometer Information for the day:

Enough with the text.. onto the pictures

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