2015 Annual Christmas Card
I started taking pictures of highly decorated houses in Taunton in 2013. I thought it might be fun to see the top 3, in my humble opinion.
2013
2014
2015
Friday morning we were up bright and early. Joe had breakfast reservations for us at Trattoria on the Boardwalk.
Joe had eggs but rounded out his breakfast with a Mickey Waffle.
I decided to try the caramel apple pancake . I thought it would be similar to the Big apple pancake they have a Bickfords or like I make at home with apple slices through the pancake batter but I was wrong. These were a short stack of pancakes covered in hot cinnamon apples and caramel sauce. Real good but oh so sweet.
I had hesitated about ordering a Mickey Waffle as I was afraid it would be too many carbs but I was glad for it as it cut the sweetness of the pancakes. Besides, calories don’t count on vacation, right?
It was fun breakfast.
After we ate we wandered through the Boardwalk shops and lobbies checking out those decorations and taking pictures.
I think the elaborate chandelier was the best.
Our plan was to spend the morning that way and then go to the Orlando Eye. Joe had coupons for combo tickets, buy a ticket for all 3 attractions, Madam Tussaud’s, Sealife and The Eye and get a 2nd ticket free. We did it online and it worked so soon it was time to head to downtown Orlando.
Charlie Brown: Isn’t there anyone, who knows what Christmas is all about?!
Linus: Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights please?
And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings o great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men.
That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
What do candlelight, France and Neil Patrick Harris have in common? Why Disney , of course. Lunch at Les Chef Da France and the Candlelight Processional.
Imagine Linus’ narration with an extraordinary production of orchestra and choirs and you have the Disney Candlelight Processional.
In our version Neil Patrick Harris has the role of Linus.
The show is moving.
It’s spectacular.
The grand finale of the Hallelujah Chorus will bring you to your feet.
Amazing, beautiful , not to be missed!
Please understand that my plan for Disney was to spend one day at the Magic Kingdom to photograph decorations and hopefully get some shots I can use for Christmas cards.
Hidden Mickey
That was it. The rest of the time I planned to check out other venues like botanical gardens that I hadn’t been to before. I am not now and never have been a Mickey fanatic.
Those plans got side tracked very quickly when I told my friend Joe that I was coming to Orlando in December. I booked the dates in March and that led to a continuous series of emails and phone calls with everything Joe wanted to do while I was in town. It pretty much revolved around the Disney parks.
After much suggesting, pleading, assuming and just charging forward, Joe finally convinced me to book the Candlelight Processional with dinner. The two possible narrators while I was in Orlando were Neil Patrick Harris or Whoopie Goldberg . I enjoy both so it came down to when we could get a reservation. Dinner/show spots were all sold out so we settled on lunch/5 pm show. I booked Thursday because, I confess, I was doing this more to appease Joe than because I wanted to go so I wanted to get it over with. Thursday was the last night Neil Patrick Harris was the narrator. By having a 1:15 lunch reservation at Les Chefs de France it pretty much guaranteed we’d be spending the day at Epcot.
Joe met me for breakfast at Kenzie’s and then we headed for the park. Epcot was beautiful as are all of the parks at Christmas. We enjoyed a few rides/shows before scrambling to make our reservation for lunch.
We had a small two top (that’s restaurant speak for a table for 2) right next to the window so we could watch Father Christmas and other characters pass by. Lunch was acceptable. I’m just a plain and simple person when it comes to food so french cuisine is just “over the top”. Sometimes a grilled cheese should just be a grilled cheese.
I chose Les Chef de France because I wanted escargot but I’d just had that in New Orleans and it’s not an item I can eat every day. My favorite part was the dessert, puff pastry with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.
Joe had the mousse.
Then with several hours to kill we went Soaring. This is a really popular ride and usually has long lines so I had never been on it before. All I can say is that it’s terrific. I hated to have it end. I guess it’s as close to flying as you’ll get unless you are one of those glider suit people.
Kris Kringle was entertaining all comers with a series of Holiday Stories. He was funny even if he looked a bit intimidating.
We followed up with a visit with Tigger and Poo Bear and then it was time to get in our seats for the main event.
Love Poo Bear
And Tigger!
