Photo by The Joneses Only at Disney World! Here's a look at some of the decorations outside Magic Kingdom. Ralph and Gisela spent the holidays checking out the best of what Disney World and Florida have to offer. — — — E-mail Gisela — — — SLIDE SHOW: Christmas — Disney style!
ARCHIVES: You wouldn't believe how beautiful Canada is! Wouldn't change a thing Who knew there was so much to see in South Dakota? Time is flying by — but at least we're having fun! I (heart) Hart Ranch, South Dakota Rallyin' in Goshen, Indiana A special day From friends to work to warmer temps, we're still having fun in Florida Traveling to Texas Finally, we're in Alaska! On the way to Canada Boise sure has changed a lot Escapees Rally in Wyoming Bittersweet trip through the southeast From Boy Scouts to ‘Stars on Ice’ Michigan is full of treasures Arriving in Florida Earning our ears Celebrating Christmas and New Year's in Florida and the Disney Parks Down in the Lowcountry Making our way through Minn., Wisc. and Ill. The holidays in Florida Our time in Lakeland has come to an end Couldn't have had a better time in Omaha! Arriving in Charleston A day with friends from Frederick 'Life is good' in Lakeland, Fla. Leaving Florida, and heading north Our final days in Kentucky Into the Keys Out of Charleston and off to Indiana Dreams come true in Vermont You never know what you'll see or who you'll meet in Alaska Leaving Indiana, but not before taking some of the state's best sites Idaho is full of natural treasures — and moon-like craters, too It's all about the theme parks From prairie country to beautiful views to grand 'ol Yellowstone Thunderstorms, flooding, tornados and a visit with the 'Duke' And so it begins ... Moving days for Greg and his family The gang's all here! Happy to be in Florida again Strawberries, and more strawberries 'The RV Capital of the World' From the beautiful Maine coastline down to southern Connecticut Training for our jobs at Disney World Chillin' out at 'Camp Monaco' Under the weather Back in Florida At long last, back in the area Lots to see in the 'Show Me' state With family and spectacular sights in Hailey, Idaho Look back, look ahead Back in the Lower 48 The cold weather is hitting Florida From Dallas to devastation Back on the road again Leaving Idaho and heading east Beautiful Alaska A memorable visit to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Watch out for flying dinner rolls

Before coming here we spent two weeks at the Peace River Thousand Trails Park in Wauchula and another two weeks at the Orlando Thousand Trails Park.

Wauchula is approximately 70 miles south of Orlando and is different from the Orlando area. It is very rural there with a large part of the population working in the many orange groves that can be seen from the highway. I was told that the Florida oranges are mostly used to make the famous and delicious Florida orange juice.

Just north of Wauchula in Bartow is a large processing plant. Wauchula is a very small town, but we saw one of the best and largest Christmas parades we had seen in a long time there. We just happened to be near Main Street and saw people lining up for a parade. So we stayed and thoroughly enjoyed the many floats and bands. Too bad I didn’t have my camera with me.

We spent Christmas with the kids – Richard, Robin, Jordyn and Nick – and just as last year we had a wonderful time. Jordyn (13 – a real teenager) and Nick (almost 12 – the typical "little" brother) are a lot of fun to be with.

Of course, we enjoy Richard and Robin also, but grandchildren are very special. They are indeed “God’s blessing for growing older.”

Unfortunately, we had to work Christmas day. Since it wasn’t until 4 p.m. we still had time for opening the gifts in the morning and a large Christmas dinner.

I shouldn’t say “unfortunately” because we are actually fortunate to work again at Disney. There is a hiring freeze at the moment – guess the bad economy also takes its toll with Disney World. However, since we worked there last year we were put on the schedule again – same place – Port Orleans in the Food Court, wearing the same costumes as last year. Many of the people we worked with are still there. It was like we had never left.

We had our December outing with "Friends of the Mouse" just before Christmas. This time we had a treasure hunt on the Boardwalk, the Yacht and Beach Clubs, and the Dolphin and Swan Hotels. All these places are hotels within Disney World. We did OK with finding the items, but some people were better than Ralph and me. It was a lot of fun, though, and we saw all the beautiful decorations in these hotels.

Disney World sure does get decked out for Christmas. We checked out decorations at Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studio. The parks were magnificent in their Christmas splendor. At Magic Kingdom we saw the Christmas parade – so lovely – but somehow the characters in their winter outfits looked a bit strange in 80-degree weather. I bet the characters were very uncomfortable, too.

At Epcot we watched the "Christmas Celebration" a spectacular performance of orchestra and chorus music. I particularly liked that is was called "Christmas Celebration" and not Holiday like so may other events are now called.

At Hollywood Studios we saw the "Osborne Lights." When Richard was stationed in Little Rock, Arkansas (that was BJ – "before Jordyn") the Osborne family had this huge light display.

Their house and the house next door, that they had purchased, as well as trees and lawns were decorated with thousands of lights. It was quite the attraction in Little Rock, but also caused a lot of traffic concerns since it was in a regular neighborhood.

The neighbors, needless to say, weren’t thrilled to have hundreds of people drive through the streets, park their cars everywhere, and walk through their yards to get to the light display. So it ended up in Disney World, a much better place for this fantastic display.

Disney, of course, has embellished on it and it is the largest light show I have ever seen. It spans about three city blocks and has lights ‘dancing’ to music in several areas. Just incredible! It is on display for a few hours in the evening only, but what an electricity bill it must be for Disney.

Our time in Florida so far has been great and I am now looking to explore a totally new area – the town and surroundings of Lakeland.