Joy to the World: an offsite Christmas extravaganza at Disney, Universal & SeaWorld – Dec. 2016 TR

[dancin Disney style]

We were watching Melissa Etheridge at Bluesfest last night (she is still in incredible form - amazing show). The event is at Lebreton Flats; a giant open area beside the center core of the city that used to be the site of Ottawa's lumber and paper mill past. The stage has a scenic view of the downtown skyline, and Melissa commented on it, including the view of our amazing "castle". Never thought of it that way, but I guess Parliament's Gothic form is very castle like.

It is sort of castle like. The original centre block was gothic revival style. 10th century I think.


Here's you Canadian history lesson for today children.
In 1858 Queen Victoria declared Ottawa as the capital of the (then) province of Canada. Construction of Canada's Parliament Hill started in 1860. The only remaining portion dating to 1860 is the library which is the turret like portion with the dark coloured roof. There was a fire in 1916 that destroyed all of the centre block except the library and that was only because someone quickly closed the iron library doors.

The Peace Tower (the clock) was completed in 1927. It was dedicated to all Canadians that lost their lives during WWI.

Side note...the library is STUNNING and should be seen by all

 

[verleniahall]

loving your trip report! we kust bought a timeshare so i know what interval is! made my day.

i have been showing my dh (who is ready for a disney break) your universal and seaworld posts, and he said we will do that for 2019!!

looking firward to the rest of your report!

 

[dixonsontour]

Just caught up with your December trip report. I love all the photos with the trees and decorations. We were lucky enough to go twice in early December before DD started school it is a magical time. Hope your new job is going well.

 

[I-4Bound]

Ah, more Christmasey goodness...I think we are heading to Universal in December this year, and I'm so stoked! Really looking forward to your review of Ice! May I ask how much the tickets are?

 

[travelbug]

I'm arriving late to this wonderful trip report. Just caught up on reading it. I love all the pictures and vivid descriptions; they really help me to experience your trip vicariously. Looking forward to reading the rest of your report when you have a chance to add onto it.

Hey, welcome to SE Michigan! I was born in Canada and spent part of my childhood there, but have lived most of my life in the U.S., the past 37 years in SE Michigan. I love this area and all it has to offer. The state of Michigan has so many beautiful places to experience, especially if you like anything waterfront. I hope you come to enjoy living here too. Best wishes at your new job!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I love Santa Goofy. We met him at Animal Kingdom with Pluto in reindeer ears instead of at the party. I got my photo with just Goofy and used that same boarder you have on yours for my christmas card this past xmas Glad you guys enjoyed the party.

We've always had great interactions with Goofy . He never, ever disappoints!

I was thinking of doing the same thing for our Christmas cards this year. I need to have REALLY nice cards since last year was the first year ever that I didn't send them out. In the midst of the packing and moving, it just didn't make my to-do list. This year, though, I am vowing to do better .

Phew, I'm finally all caught up!

What a great trip report, can't wait to read more

Thank you! There's more coming, I promise . "Life" has just gotten in the way this week.

The fireworks above the castle are amazing. The ice cream parlour is a favourite of ours too and we still love meeting the characters which are extra special when in Christmas costume. MK is great late at night when crowds are thinning and you can enjoy that walk down Main Street

Yep, it is hard not to love the Plaza's ice cream. Still on my to-do list is the Mickey Pants Sundae. Every year I keep saying we're going to have one, and every year we never do. I am tentatively planning on enjoying one at this year's MNSSHP!

Thanks so much Gina! I'm going at the end of September (AK on Sept 20th, MNSSHP on Sept 22nd). I'll definitely head over to the Easy WDW boards and check out the threads on the shares!

Did you have any luck tracking down a share group yet? I hope you got a response to your post over on easywdw!

I need to do ICE at Gaylord Palms! Hopefully I can go this year

We've gone twice now......the sculptures are SO amazing! But oh, my word....its cold in there . Even as a hearty Canuck, we find it tough to take!

It is sort of castle like. The original centre block was gothic revival style. 10th century I think.
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Here's you Canadian history lesson for today children.
In 1858 Queen Victoria declared Ottawa as the capital of the (then) province of Canada. Construction of Canada's Parliament Hill started in 1860. The only remaining portion dating to 1860 is the library which is the turret like portion with the dark coloured roof. There was a fire in 1916 that destroyed all of the centre block except the library and that was only because someone quickly closed the iron library doors.

The Peace Tower (the clock) was completed in 1927. It was dedicated to all Canadians that lost their lives during WWI.

Side note...the library is STUNNING and should be seen by all

Would you believe the closest I've ever been to the Parliament buildings is across the street? I've never been inside.

loving your trip report! we kust bought a timeshare so i know what interval is! made my day.

i have been showing my dh (who is ready for a disney break) your universal and seaworld posts, and he said we will do that for 2019!!

looking firward to the rest of your report!

The Universal and Seaworld parks are spectacular: if your DH is needing a little holiday from Disney, they are the perfect attractions to visit. I think you will be VERY pleased!

My apologies for the delays in posting updates over the last week. I'm smack in the middle of two weeks of craziness with work, but hopefully by this time NEXT week, I'll be back on track with installments.

Just caught up with your December trip report. I love all the photos with the trees and decorations. We were lucky enough to go twice in early December before DD started school it is a magical time. Hope your new job is going well.

It's definitely tough to visit during the holiday season when you still have school-aged kids.....unless you have the strength to handle the Christmas week crowds (we did it when we had to, but glad those days are over ). It's definitely one of my favourite times of year in Florida. So unbelievably festive!

Thank you for the good wishes on my new job! I will try and post an update on my crazy life in the next post. Ya'll have been so patient I think I owe you at least that!

Ah, more Christmasey goodness...I think we are heading to Universal in December this year, and I'm so stoked! Really looking forward to your review of Ice! May I ask how much the tickets are?

Yay for a Christmas trip! What fun you are going to have!

I think that tickets were about $25 each, for just the ICE! exhibit. Depending on your dates, you might get lucky and find discounted passes on Groupon or Livingsocial. Other event activities like snow tubing and gingerbread decorating are extra. They usually offer combo passes if you want to 'do it all'.

I'm arriving late to this wonderful trip report. Just caught up on reading it. I love all the pictures and vivid descriptions; they really help me to experience your trip vicariously. Looking forward to reading the rest of your report when you have a chance to add onto it.

Hey, welcome to SE Michigan! I was born in Canada and spent part of my childhood there, but have lived most of my life in the U.S., the past 37 years in SE Michigan. I love this area and all it has to offer. The state of Michigan has so many beautiful places to experience, especially if you like anything waterfront. I hope you come to enjoy living here too. Best wishes at your new job!

Thank you . And how cool that we are 'neighbours'! (actually, I guess that would be 'neighbors' ... I'm trying my best to Americanize my spelling, but oh.....those U's are hard to give up! ) We are really enjoying life here in the USA, and every weekend is a new adventure. It's funny you mention the waterfront, as we're seriously considering purchasing a kayak so we can spend the weekends exploring the lakes. There's just something rejuvenating about fresh air and exercise.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hello, everyone!! While I haven't had a chance to type up the next entry, I did at least want to drop in and let you know that I'm still alive...just very, VERY busy. I'm going to finish this report, that I promise you. That said, it may be another week before I can return my focus to penning an update. I'm in the middle of two weeks of insanity that has encompassed both my business and personal life. All good stuff (thank goodness), but things that keep me off the computer and focused on other tasks.

For those who have so kindly inquired about how my new job is going, I can officially say "so far, so good". I was in an official training program from Monday to Friday last week, which happened to be held in a location more than half an hour away from where we live. So, in addition to full-time class hours, I had a rather lengthy (by my standards ) commute as well. On a happy note, I not only passed the class ("pass", in this case, was a minimum 85%) but I also managed to secure the highest overall score out of all 10 participants. That had me kicking off the weekend in a high mood, indeed .

As I was wrapping up my final assessments at the training center, Jake and his girlfriend were just arriving in Michigan for their first visit to our new home.

After a long, busy, stressful and chaotic week, having my boy here was exactly what this momma needed! We spent two days squeezing in as much fun as we could manage, with the highlight being catching our Toronto Blue Jays at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit as they faced the Tigers on Saturday afternoon. While the baseball game was abysmal (our Jays got smoked by Detroit) we had SO MUCH FUN. Just being together was all my heart needed .

It was Floppy Hat Giveaway Day, so you know.....there HAD to be a selfie .

And just to keep this on topic, look who we found on Saturday just hanging out at Comerica Park!

He would have been cuter if he wasn't wearing a Tiger's uniform. Just sayin'.

It was hard to say goodbye to those to kiddos of mine when they left to return home this afternoon . I sure hope it gets easier over time. I am rotten at goodbyes at the best of time, but for some reason today's adieu stung a little more that normal. I had thought maybe I would have time after they left to pen the beginning of my ICE! update, but honestly, I just wasn't in the right mood to post. My apologies for that.

This week, I have another zany five days on deck as I embark on a second full week of training, this time at the branch though so at least I only have a short drive to and fro. I will try and get something up here on this thread during one of the evenings this week, but I'm making no promises. After months of 'retirement', getting back into the working groove has been tougher than I anticipated . I've apparently grown soft since the new year .

In the meantime, for anyone still reading along, I hope you all are well and just wanted to say thank you for your unending patience!! You guys are the best .

 

[Monykalyn]

Hang in there Gina! Once you get your new routine established I am sure it will be a bit better. LOVE the floppy hats . Glad you got to see your baby (well grown kid but always your baby )

We will be here when you are up to TR'ing. And your next trip is only 3 months away too...

 

[dancin Disney style]

Would you believe the closest I've ever been to the Parliament buildings is across the street? I've never been inside.

Well, you really must go. Everything inside is beautiful.....the House of Commons, Senate, old paintings etc. To say the library is beautiful is an understatement....it's breathtaking. You can Google it but the pics don't do it justice. I wonder how security has changed since the shooting in 2014. Perhaps @bankr63 can weigh in on that. The last time I was there we pretty much just walked right in.

BTW, you usually go way to fast on the TR, which is appreciated, but it ends to quickly. This way you are just dragging out for an appropriate length of time.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Jake looks more like his dad with the matching beards! So glad you had a good family weekend together. The updates will wait, but I might forget what's going on....... just saying

 

[bankr63]

Well, you really must go. Everything inside is beautiful.....the House of Commons, Senate, old paintings etc. To say the library is beautiful is an understatement....it's breathtaking. You can Google it but the pics don't do it justice. I wonder how security has changed since the shooting in 2014. Perhaps @bankr63 can weigh in on that. The last time I was there we pretty much just walked right in.

BTW, you usually go way to fast on the TR, which is appreciated, but it ends to quickly. This way you are just dragging out for an appropriate length of time.

I haven't been back to the hill since the Cirillo shooting either. My last trips were chaperoning school trips with my kids classes. And BTW - if you ever want to show a primary school class how NOT to behave, let them watch a few minutes of Question Period from the gallery.

It seems though that most of the security tightening is outside now, the grounds are a fair bit harder to access, (impossible on Canada Day - the city is still buzzing about the 6+ hour lineups to get through security to get on the hill for the 150 celebrations), and security is much more visible. I haven't heard much about increased security inside parliament once you are on the grounds. You still need to go through a metal detector and leave all bags outside before entering the gallery, but it has been like that for years.

Gina, so glad to hear that training is going well! Good luck on week 2. Knock 'em dead!

 

[Lynne G]

So nice a visit from the boy and his girl. Great pictures from the game as well.

Yep, we will patiently wait. So glad to hear you are doing well, and getting used to working again. Hang in there.

 

[I-4Bound]

Your pictures made me smile I know how much it means to have your boy with you for the weekend!

 

[LISAMWDW]

No worries! Training for a new job is tough. Have a good week!

 

[chiamarie]

Ugh- the goodbyes NEVER get easier. Never. (wish I could say otherwise...but 11 years later and I still dread the goodbyes)

 

[Joanna71985]

Congrats on the new job! Sounds like it's going well

And love the baseball photos! I always love going to a game (which I haven't done in awhile though- I should make plans to visit Tampa or Miami soon)

 

[Penguinempress]

Did you have any luck tracking down a share group yet? I hope you got a response to your post over on easywdw!

I signed up for an acccount on easywdw about a week ago but I'm still not allowed to post messages on the forums. I sent a message to their admin to ask for help but didn't get a response. I did find a Facebook page for share groups and was able to join one that way. Now I'm excited that I'll be able to get some of the fun magic shots at MNSSHP, yay!

Glad the new job is going well! Too bad we can't say the same for the Jays performance lately...this season has been pretty dismal. Still, at least you got a fun family day to enjoy.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Just in case anyone is considering this......

In Oklahoma it is illegal to have a sleeping Donkey in your bathtub after 7pm.

 

[vrajewski10513]

Just in case anyone is considering this......

In Oklahoma it is illegal to have a sleeping Donkey in your bathtub after 7pm.

Good thing I live in New York!

 

[Monykalyn]

Just in case anyone is considering this......

In Oklahoma it is illegal to have a sleeping Donkey in your bathtub after 7pm.

so it is OK before 7PM-I guess after 7 you have to kick him out?