..........Disney World was great!

We returned home on December 27 from our annual Christmas trip to Disney World. We had a great time with the girls and had some great family time together. We stayed at the Boardwalk resort on the Disney property. I really like the location of this resort. It is located within a five minute walk to EPCOT, and you can catch a boat from the hotel to MGM Studios. There is also several restaurants and shops on the boardwalk that is in front of the hotel.

We enjoyed some great meals while we were there. Our Christmas dinner was enjoyed at Jiko, an African restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The food was outstanding. We also ate at the California Grill ontop of the Contemporary Resort, and at The Brown Derby in MGM Studios. I highly recommend each one. They are all pretty expensive; but, well worth it. I think our favorite was the California Grill. I always hear lots of complaints about the cost of food in Disney. It is expensive, but it's also some of the best food you will eat (at the higher class restaurants). At some point, I hope to dine at the Grand Floridian Resort. They have a program there where you can dine at the Prince Albert restaurant, in the kitchen area with the chef. There are only 6-8 people that can reserve that table at a time. Maybe that will be a part of the "retirement tour" in a few years.

We rode some of our favorite rides (Soarin', Test Track, Buzz Lightyear, Spaceship Earth, World of Energy). We also got to see the Candlelight Processional again at EPCOT. The show begins with six hearld trumpets; and I have never heard six trumpet players play that well in sync in my life! The celebrity reader of the Christmas Story this year was Gary Sinese (Lt. Dan). He did a great job. I never get tired of this production. The music is the same every year, but it always brings to me the same emotions as if it were the first time.

Walt Disney World is a highly commercial institution that employs more than 60,000 people in the Orlando, Florida area. I know that up-front. It has also been the place that has brought me more life-lasting memories with my family than anywhere on earth. This was the tenth straight year we have been at Disney on Christmas, and I hope to have many more. Our kids are getting older and will soon be out of our house and on their own. We will always have the Christmas trip open for them, and hopefully, their families some day. I look forward to what the future will hold in that respect.