Trip Log:

Started off the morning a bit later.  First stop was the front desk to check out of our current room and into one on the dining plan (took advantage of the free dining plan promotion for the last 5 nights of the trip).  After the line it was off to Everything Pop for a quick breakfast then spent some time roaming the resort grounds and taking some pictures.  Joined the rest of my group in line for the Magic Kingdom bus and we were off for the day.  Once at the park made our way up Main Street and into Adventureland.  The Jungle Cruise had a 5 min wait for went for a cruise followed by walking onto Pirates.  Continued on around Pecos Bills and into Frontierland.  Country Bears was just loading so stopped by there before continuing on through Liberty Square and into Fantasyland.  Grabbed a Fastpass for Peter Pan and then wandered through Fantasyland stopping to see Philharmagic and around into Tomorrowland.  Ate lunch at Cosmic Rays (and Casey’s) before venturing into Tomorrowland.  Went for a ride on the People Mover and then headed back to Main Street and over to Liberty Square.  Hiked around the Castle and into back into Fantasyland.  Used our Fastpasses for Peter Pan and then went for a trip on the Liberty Bell Riverboat.  Once back on dry land walked along the river and out to Frontierland where we hopped on the train and took it around to Main Street.   Exited the park and took the monorail to the Contemporary.  Wandered around a bit and then hopped back on the monorail to the Polynesian.  Strolled around the resort a bit and then took the launch back to the Magic Kingdom where we took a bus to the Boardwalk.  Spent some time in the lobby area and then went to take the boat over to the Yacht club, missed it by one group again son hiked around past the dance company and into the Yacht club.  Ate dinner at Captains Grille and then walked through the Beach Club and over to EPCOT.  Walked through France, by Morocco and Japan and stopped to watch the opening of the Candlelight Ceremony.  Then continued on to Italy to check out the new restaurant and then to Germany for a sample of caramel corn.  Continued on around d World Showcase lagoon and into Future World stopping to take some pictures along the way.   Decided to head for the bus and back to Pop Century.  Stopped for a quick drink at Everything Pop then back to the room to backup some pictures and call it an early night.

Thoughts & Observations:

• This morning our first reservation ended and we transferred to the second which included the free dining plan (could not get it for the first two nights). Luckily everything continued perfectly and we did not have to change rooms or anything. The checkout then in process only took a few minutes. I thought it was interesting how they had to re-enter all our information again though. Also found it funny they asked if we had everything out of the room, and this was after they said we would not have to change rooms.. guess the autopilot kicked in for the CM?
  
  
• Had some time so wandered around the Pop Century Resort a bit and took a look across the lake at the new Animation Resort work. It was great to see that construction has resumed with a targeted opening date of 2012. Disney released some more concept art for the new resort on the official parks blog recently if you were interested.
  
  
• Ate a quick breakfast in the chaos known as Everything Pop. That is one of the down sides to staying at Pop Century. The food court area can get a bit crazy at peak times.. breakfast seems to be the worst. Very rarely have I managed to get a hot breakfast between say 8-10am. Between the lines at the food counters, the food waiting around, the checkout lines, or finding a table, and sometimes just getting to a table that you already have is a challenge with a hot tray of food. At best it seems to be luke warm.
  
  
• They had non Disney busses operating many of the routes out of Pop Century this morning. The ride was definitely more comfortable but the boarding and exiting process was painfully slow.
  
  
• I was extremely torn about seeing the Country Bears this morning. I enjoy the show but half of me still wanted to boycott it since they once again did not put the Christmas show out. It was the regular/original bear show. Still good, but I really do miss the Christmas show and put this in all my survey replies...
  
  
• As I roamed around the Magic Kingdom I always find it hard not to compare it to Disneyland. This time my mind wandered off into the Christmas decoration front. The Magic Kingdom seems to have quite a bit less in terms of original decorations. Disneyland seems to have some decorations out in most of the lands and I guess the heavy dose in New Orleans Square and Toontown make it seem that way. But also the Frontierland and even a few Adventureland ones put it ahead of the Magic Kingdom in my mind.
  
  
• Spent some time in Fantasyland and things are moving along, but visibility is hampered due to some trees they have placed along the wall. I am assume this is on purpose but it makes it a challenge to see what was going on and photograph it (I am sure that was part of the plan). The Little Mermaid show building looks to be moving along as does the steel for the Beauty and the Beast area. This area looks to be quite large as it houses the meet and greet and restaurant. The new Winnie the Pooh queue was open but I did not have the patience to wait in it and see the difference.
  
  
• The crowds were heavier today compared to the past couple of days. Not sure if this is because it was the weekend, slightly warmer weather or what.
  
  
• One food note to make.. the new hot dog buns at the Magic Kingdom are great! Especially compared to the terrible ones they had the last couple of trips. They also have several variety of specialty dogs now both on Main Street and in Tomorrowland.
  
  
• Made the rounds to the monorail resorts and really have nothing new to report from the two originals.
  
  
• My bad luck with the Friendship launches continued today as we missed the boat again being the group they stopped and put the rope up in front of. We ended up just hiking around the lake this time.
  
  
• Had a great dinner at the Captains Grille. Only complaint is I am not a fan of their bread or dessert offerings.. they do not even have regular ice cream so picky eaters like myself have no real choices, but the steak was great and the others enjoyed their crab legs and pork chop (as well as their desserts).
  
  
• Over at EPCOT stopped to catch a little of the Candlelight. Tonight Whoopi Goldberg was the guest narrator. There was a substantially larger crowd for her. Again not sure if it was the weekend, weather, or that she is better known to the general public than Jodi Benson.
  

Pedometer Information for the day:

Enough with the text.. onto the pictures

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