Disney Trip
Did this for a Disney Board I thought I would post this in case there was any interest here.

On Nov 6-13 we took a trip to WDW. My wife and I, 2 adult daughters, 1 adult son. 2 sons-in-law’s, 1 daughter in-law, 7 grandchildren ages 9 months to 12 years. We arranged for quicksilver limo to pick us up at Orlando airport. 2 Vans 1 went direct to All Stars Music hotel the other swung by the grocery store.

We had signed up under the Grand Gatherings program we got 1 suite and 3 rooms all next to each other. We have previously stayed at the Contemporary, Wilderness Villas, Fairway Villas, Port Orleans and Vacation Villas. While the All Star was a step down with our numbers the price was great. The resort met our needs. Transportation to parks functioned well. Most times we got to the parks within 20 minutes of getting to the bus stop. The hotel staff was great with the exception of check in. 3 of the 4 of our groups checking had a hard understanding the person checking them in. We arrived before noon and were lucky enough to get into 3 of our 4 rooms. We put away the food and luggage and were at the Magic Kingdom by 1pm.

We got the park hopper pass with the dinning plan. The dinning plan worked well for us. We went to Character meals at the Crystal Palace and Park Fare. We had dinner and breakfast and the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Boma. We had dinner at Ohana also

We all started our days at the same park. We then broke into groups as some preferred thrill rides and other wanted less thrills. Each day when the parks opened we were able to get on at least 2 of the major attractions with hardly any line. When there were lines the posted times were less than the actual waiting times. Oddly enough the only real long line we waited in was for Peter Pans ride. That was during the afternoon and there was heavy fast pass use.

We took advantage of the Grand Gatherings program to take the Fireworks Cruise on the Seven Seas Lagoon. We met at the Contemporary and were offered snacks we were then visited by Captain Hook & Smeed there was plenty of time for pictures and autographs.
At the appointed time the two pirates came to lead us down to the boats. Each pirate had a boat and served as guides and entertainers. The fireworks were synchronized with music onboard the boats and the show and our view was spectacular. We had the extra bonus of seeing the castle decorated with Christmas Lights.

I always enjoy the flag retreat at the Magic Kingdom.
This year I witnessed it on Veterans Day. It included the Main Street Philharmonic Band, the Sons of Liberty singing group, a Naval Honor Guard and Disney main street staff. The flag bearer was a Korean War veteran. It was impressive. I only wished that the would have released the dove as they did years ago. It was fitting that it was held on the last night of our visit. The Magic Kingdom to me it also represents the Magic of the American Dream and the possibilities for all Americans.

Delray