Merry Snickerdoodle and Happy Dole Whip! A TR Full of Christmas Joy!

[FtWildernessFamily...Holly 25]

Dinner was at Liberty Tree Tavern. We were a little early but we were ok with waiting.

We took this along the way:

Liberty Tree Tavern:

And....our dinner!

We had never eaten at LTT. It was AWESOME. For Christmas Eve, they had a VERY limited menu. You could not order - it was a set menu. And it was GOOOOOOD. We will definitely eat there again. Our waitress was very good as well. She got a nice Christmas present/tip from us. :)

We debated staying for the fireworks....but it was 7:15 and they didn't start until 10. I didn't want to battle the crowds - and I had gotten the information about the Christmas Eve activities back at the Fort so I wanted to get back there before they ended. We headed to the marina and jumped in line for the boat.

There we saw something kind of strange but I don't think it will translate well.

The boat from FW was approaching. CLEARLY the driver was a rookie. It took him 20 minutes just to get the boat lined up properly with the dock. The CM on the dock had to radio someone to tell them what was going on. The other CM on the boat was very frustrated. When the boat finally docked, the driver sat upstairs with his head in his hands until everyone got off. Then he got off and made the walk of shame through the exit lane.

Not sure what was going on there....but from all outward appearances this dude was in training. I'm not sure I understand why WDW would train a rookie on Christmas Eve???

Well, the boat ride back was fun as the guests were singing Christmas carols and everyone was just in a jolly mood.

We head up to Crockett's and guess who is sitting there? SANTA!

Now...I must tell another story.....

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Cool update!!!!!

[FtWildernessFamily...Holly 25]

All week long, Maddie had been reminding me that I needed to up-load a Santa tracking app for my iPhone. We always do the NORAD tracking thing on the internet on Christmas Eve, so I told her we'd keep the tradition and track him this year.

She mentioned it to me SEVERAL times on Christmas Eve and so I made it a point to search iTunes. I knew there were plenty of the apps out there, just needed to decide which one to download.

Before she and Hubs rode the tea cups, she asked me to download it. So while I waited I got on iTunes.....and there were SO many people using their smartphones/transmitting data that my phone was taking FOREVER to download this app. I had a great signal...but the data usage must have been out of this world. In short, the stupid app never downloaded.

She asked about it again at dinner, and I tried again.....no go.

But, here's a good reason why I am glad it didn't. Had we tracked Santa, surely the tracker would have said that he was already delivering presents somewhere in Asia or Europe, right? Santa tracking devices don't track his every day activities, just where he is currently perched on a rooftop.

Had I been able to download that app....and told Maddie that he was currently in Bulgaria delivering gifts...

HOW WOULD I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHY HE WAS SITTING AT CROCKETT'S TAVERN STILL TALKING TO KIDS???

Things work out for a reason! Haha.

Well.....we searched for the characters that were supposed to be there and I have to say, I was a little disappointed that it was Donald Duck. Not that there is anything wrong with Donald....I was just hoping for at least multiple characters. They said Scrooge had been there earlier. Oh well.

Maddie with Donald:

We head back to the camper....and try to get settled down and settled in....and wait for Santa.

Maddie gets ready for bed....gives Daddy a big hug:

Climbs into bed, so excited:

And tries so hard to fall asleep, bless her heart...

Hubs and I relax for a while....and once she's good and asleep, begin preparations for Christmas Day at Disney.....

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Love the updates, Holly! WOW, I've heard about the crowds at Christmas, but OMIGOSH! I don't think I could handle that kind of crowd.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Great updates, Holly. I am with Rita though. I sure couldn't handle those crowds.

Now I feel like a should go to bed and wait for Santa to arrive. :stars-shower-smiley:

[stefa70 205]

Holly, you're killing me with these pictures!! Either Maddie is extremely cute, or I am hormonal.

I've missed so much!

Behind the Checkers that you ate at is "Old Town" They have great car shows on Saturday night. All cars from 1971 and older. Neat little shops, cobblestone streets, live bands and good cocktails scattered throughout. My boys love to visit!

I could not deal with those crowds on Christmas eve. We did New Years eve ONCE, and won't make that mistake again. Good for you for giving Maddie "the talk" about getting separated. I still do it with Nathen and he's almost 22. :rofl2:

Have I ever told you I liked snickerdoodles? My mind went completely blank after hearing that story.

Can't wait to hear about Christmas morning, but let me get some tissues first!

[dblr....Rennie 224]

It's a shame Maddie does not like her daddy, hope she never outgrows that!!!!!!!!! We did NYE and leaving was a nightmare, I told my youngest son(12 then) that if I didn't have my hand on him he was to grab onto to me, it took aver 2 hours to leave the MK and get to our condo at SSR but we had a ball that night.

[rm0530 5]

Maddie is a doll! I love the name Madeline, it's on my list of baby names.

I can't get over the weather you had! We went last year for New Years and froze! We needed hats, scarves, and gloves and here is Maddie in shorts!

Waiting for your next update--I can only imagine how exciting Christmas morning is at WDW

[FtWildernessFamily...Holly 25]

Sun, 12/25

What is it like to wake up at Disney and FW on Christmas morning?

If you have never done it, I highly recommend that you add it to your list of things to do before you die.

It was just.....awesome.

Now, bless Maddie's heart...when she went to bed the night before, Hubs told her that when she saw daylight she could get out of bed.

She woke up at 1am and came to our room.

"I can't sleep."

She had to pass right by the loot Santa left to get to us.

She went potty and Hubs walked her back to bed.

Again, he explained "when you see daylight, you can get out of bed."

At 6:30am, she saw daylight and got out of bed.

Again, she passed by Santa's loot to come get us.

Which is a shame, because one of the things she asked him for, and was most excited about, was the monorail set. And he brought it. And she saw it. And I didn't get to capture her reaction. Bummer for mommy.

So, we all get ready to be up, let Marley out, and get in position for gift opening.

Now, Hubs and I had agreed that the trip would be our gift to each other. That was ALL I wanted. But Hubs doesn't do so good at following the rules.

Earlier in the week, he gave me a gift....it was a netbook. I was so surprised and shocked. He's good at that. He's a good hubby,

Back to Maddie's Christmas.

Here is the loot that Santa left and gifts from mommy and daddy mixed in:

This is our family's elf. His name is Jackson. He has been coming to our house for 5 years now. He can be a little mischevious sometimes....this year he seemed to enjoy writing on mirrors with lipstick. When he comes, he always claims some new 'friends', which are usually some of Maddie's toys. Sometimes she isn't too happy about that. Once he claims them, she can't touch them until he leaves.

This year he took her American Girl Doll's dog, Pepper. He took Pepper last year too. He also took her little Wendy (Peter Pan) toy AND he rummaged through our groceries and made a snowman out of marshmallows! He hangs around until Christmas day then he goes back home. You'll see he is wearing Duffy's "My first trip to Disney World" shirt AND he is sitting in the American Girl Doll's camping chair.

And the fun begins!

And there are HUNDREDS more of these.....

She decides she wants to head outside and play with her Mario Kart remote control car. This thing was a TON of fun! There were folks driving by in golf carts asking where we got it. :)

we enjoyed a quick breakfast.

We let her play...and play...and play.

Then we had lunch around 12. It was GOOD! We grilled a turkey, had macaroni and cheese, succotash, mashed potatoes (wow, I am hungry now.....).

For the rest of the afternoon we just settled in and relaxed. My friend Judy came by again for a couple of hours. It was nice to spend part of Christmas with her. We gave her her gift. She left around 4:30.

All in all.....such a mixture of emotions for the day:

Overwhelmed - because we are so blessed.

Happiness - because there's nothing like your child's face on Christmas morning.

Thankful - my little family is so precious to me and I am so thankful for them.

Peace - there's something about Christmas morning that makes it all right in the world.

Love - like that feeling that your heart is going to explode; surrounded by my family on the day that Christ was born, at the happiest place on earth. Does it get any better than that?

All of this was compounded by an overwhelming loss due to the passing of my brother. Truth be told, I spent the day going back and forth between overwhelmingly happy and overwhelmingly sad because I missed him and because I was worried about my father.

It was a great day, albeit a bittersweet day.

Next.....our dinner at HDDR and the closing of my TR.....

[FtWildernessFamily...Holly 25]

Wow, somehow I missed your update and just got caught up. I am so enjoying your trip report, Maddie is a very lucky young lady!

Love the updates, Holly! WOW, I've heard about the crowds at Christmas, but OMIGOSH! I don't think I could handle that kind of crowd.

Thanks Rita. We certainly are blessed.

And the crowds - exactly why we limited our time in the parks later in the week and especially on Christmas Eve.

Great updates, Holly. I am with Rita though. I sure couldn't handle those crowds.

Now I feel like a should go to bed and wait for Santa to arrive. :stars-shower-smiley:

Haha! Yeah, me too.

Holly, you're killing me with these pictures!! Either Maddie is extremely cute, or I am hormonal.

I've missed so much!

Behind the Checkers that you ate at is "Old Town" They have great car shows on Saturday night. All cars from 1971 and older. Neat little shops, cobblestone streets, live bands and good cocktails scattered throughout. My boys love to visit!

I could not deal with those crowds on Christmas eve. We did New Years eve ONCE, and won't make that mistake again. Good for you for giving Maddie "the talk" about getting separated. I still do it with Nathen and he's almost 22. :rofl2:

Have I ever told you I liked snickerdoodles? My mind went completely blank after hearing that story.

Can't wait to hear about Christmas morning, but let me get some tissues first!

Oh Stef, she is that cute. You aren't hormonal. LOL>

It's a shame Maddie does not like her daddy, hope she never outgrows that!!!!!!!!! We did NYE and leaving was a nightmare, I told my youngest son(12 then) that if I didn't have my hand on him he was to grab onto to me, it took aver 2 hours to leave the MK and get to our condo at SSR but we had a ball that night.

Splitting image of her daddy. As Hubs likes to joke, "she looks better in a skirt".

Maddie is a doll! I love the name Madeline, it's on my list of baby names.

I can't get over the weather you had! We went last year for New Years and froze! We needed hats, scarves, and gloves and here is Maddie in shorts!

Waiting for your next update--I can only imagine how exciting Christmas morning is at WDW

Aww, thank you! We picked Madeline out of a baby book. It was different, and there aren't 6 other Madeline's in her class. :)

And our weather was just perfect. There's no other way to describe it.

[stefa70 205]

Looks like Maddie had a great Christmas!! :heart:

Jackson sounds like a fun guy.

Lunch sounds amazing...now I'm hungry too!

[MicknMin...Holly 54]

I love the pictures of Maddie opening her presents! The look of pure joy on her face is just priceless! Looks like it was a perfect Christmas morning.

[kampfirekim 260]

Love all the daddy / daughter photos! Maddie is a doll!

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

I love the pictures of Maddie opening her presents! The look of pure joy on her face is just priceless! Looks like it was a perfect Christmas morning.

+1! Great TR.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Christmas morning was worth waiting for. I wish I were Maddie, I wanted to sit down and play along with her. Makes me a little sad that my kids are grown up, Christmas mornings aren't quite the same.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

LOVE the Christmas photos! Hopefully one day we will be able to spend Christmas at the fort. You make me want it all the more!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I love all the photos from Christmas Eve and Christmas morning!

What a great Christmas Maddie had!

Good job mom and dad!

I can't wait to hear about Hoop Dee Doo on Christmas night.

TCD

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

Holly, All caught up!! A wonderful trip report for sure!! We may be at Disney this Christmas, and those crowds are scaring me already!!!

Maddie, is soooooooo cute!!!

Heidi

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I am glad Heidi bumped this report up, because somehow I had missed the Christmas update when it was posted. We have been debating between Thanksgiving again this year, or doing Christmas, which we've never done. You've got me leaning toward Christmas!

Any chance you can still update the HDDR experience??

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

I am glad Heidi bumped this report up, because somehow I had missed the Christmas update when it was posted. We have been debating between Thanksgiving again this year, or doing Christmas, which we've never done. You've got me leaning toward Christmas!

Any chance you can still update the HDDR experience??

Sorry you are already on the list for Thanksgiving.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

I am glad Heidi bumped this report up, because somehow I had missed the Christmas update when it was posted. We have been debating between Thanksgiving again this year, or doing Christmas, which we've never done. You've got me leaning toward Christmas!

Any chance you can still update the HDDR experience??

Anna would love a Christmas Fort trip!

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

Anna would love a Christmas Fort trip!

You're not helping.. :banghead:

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

You're not helping.. :banghead: