Your ULTIMATE SURVIVAL GUIDE to Disney World at Christmas Time! UPDATE x2 10/21

[JessicaFaye508]

Just found your TR

As a DLR vet and AP holder, I would highly recommend making a reservation at the Blue Bayou. The food is good but what you are paying for is the atmosphere. Since it's in the POTC ride, it's EXTREMELY unique. Also, our POTC is different from the MK.

Also, if you are into character meals, Goofy's Kitchen at the DLH or Storyteller's at the GCH are good meals. Great character interaction and good food. I even got a photo with Baloo when I went to Goofy's; a rare sighting! For character meals in the parks, they have Minnie & Friends breakfast at the Plaza Inn on Main St. and Princesses at Ariel's Grotto in California Adventure.

As far as counter service goes, I'm a pretty simple girl. I love me some DL corn dogs and clam chowder (not together )

Are you also going to California Adventure?
I'd DEFINITELY recommend it because now Radiator Springs Racers is open! If you are able to go, definitely take advantage of the park entrance in the GCH.

I'd say don't miss out on any rides, obviously!, but make sure you ride the ones unique to DL (i.e. Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, POTC (different then MK), Space Mt (different).)

Hope that helps, if you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

Blue Bayou is at the top of my list! Everyone recommends that to me so I am SUPER excited to try it!

I was thinking about Storyteller's and Ariel's Grotto. I want to fit in Goofy's and the Plaza (for breakfast), but I don't think I'll have time. The menus don't look as good as the other ones so I made my decisions based on the food lol

YUM I can't wait to go to Pacific Wharf and get my bread bowl of clam chowder!!

Oh absolutely I am going to DCA! I can't wait!

I want to try and ride EVERYTHING. I hope I can do it!

Thank you so much for your advice!

Awesome, thanks!

No problem!
​

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Chapter 71: THE TOMORROWLAND TERRACE IS OPEN!
December 26th, 2011

Since the tour dropped us off at Epcot, we hopped on the monorail.

I posted on twitter:
The monorail is environmentally friendly and you can travel up to 13 miles along the 3 tracks at speeds up to 40 mph #disneyeducation

Just a little tidbit of information I learned from my *sniff* old friend, *sobs* monorail voice guy. RIP. *blows nose obnoxiously*

Ahem.

We took the monorail to the TTC and then over to the Magic Kingdom.

......HOLD THE PHONE. The MAGIC KINGDOM? On THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS?!?!

Obviously, I had a very good reason to go there.

Even though it was 1 o'clock in the afternoon on December 26th, the park was surprisingly not filled to capacity. Thank goodness!

But that doesn't mean it wasn't crazy. LET THE MADNESS BEGIN!

It was INSANE. I had never seen anything like it. We dodged crowds all the way down Main Street USA.

Thankfully, our intended destination was not too far away.

I was crossing my fingers when I walked towards Tomorrowland. Then I thankfully saw what I was hoping to see. THE TOMORROWLAND TERRACE WAS OPEN!!!!

I posted on twitter:
THE TOMORROWLAND TERRACE IS OPEN, PEOPLE! And you betcha I'm eating here

If you were not previously aware, I am ridiculously intrigued with this restaurant. I pass by it CONSTANTLY because I usually take that "back pathway" to Tomorrowland instead of going under the official sign. So I always see it and it's never open!

I figured if it was ever going to be open, it would be on Christmas. And gosh darn it, I WAS RIGHT!

I specifically carved out time in my trip to make sure I ate here, because it's something you can only do at a special time of the year!

Just look at how popular it is! SEE DISNEY!? IT SHOULD BE OPEN ALL THE TIME!!!

We picked a line, and even though it was really long we were filed through fairly quickly!

I took pictures of the menu for you guys, because I figured you would like to see what this mysterious restaurant has to offer. They actually have a couple of unique items!

Mom ordered the Pasta Primavera with Shrimp. It was surprisingly good! Like, yeah it looks good... but it tastes like 5 times better than it looks! I don't know why! Maybe they sprinkled it with Tomorrowland pixie dust or something. (I mean, this restaurant used to be called the Tomorrowland Noodle Station, afterall!)

For my lunch I got a BURGER. Nom nom nom. I love Disney burgers so much.

I posted on twitter:
IM GETTIN' A BURGER!!!! #imonvacation

Surprisingly, even though the restaurant was so crowded, we didn't have any trouble finding a table! We sat right down. Here's our view:

It was SO loud. The Dream Along with Mickey show was BLASTING. Oh my God. I swear, they amplified the sound to go over the crowds, but it was just NOT a good idea. Having that show screaming in the background made the Magic Kingdom crowds seem so much more hectic and stressful.

However, we really enjoyed our lunch. We sat there for a while and wrote down everything about the Yuletide Fantasy Tour. We wanted to jot down notes while it was fresh in our head so I could accurately report back to you guys. You are welcome!

After that lunch, I was able to check off a very important thing from my Disney Bucket List. Eat at Tomorrowland Terrace - CHECK!

Christmas Tip #34: The Tomorrowland Terrace restaurant is actually OPEN during Christmas week! If you usually pass by it and wish it was open during the regular year, you may want to factor a little quick service lunch into your schedule.

We left Tomorrowland Terrace and ended up exiting the park. We didn't have anything to do in the Magic Kingdom that was worth fighting the crowds.

We WALKED back to Bay Lake. Literally, the best part about staying there is that you can walk to and from Magic Kingdom. It's so convenient!

Christmas Tip #35: Whether you are staying at the Contemporary or you have a dining reservation at that resort, remember that you can WALK THERE from the Magic Kingdom!

We got back to the room and I decided that a nap was necessary. I went into the master bedroom because I wanted to try out the actual bed, and I was asleep within seconds! It was so comfy! I didn't even toss and turn. I was so tired.

While I was sleeping, apparently they got some lunch from Contempo Cafe!

This looks like a Chicken Sandwich:

Pepperoni Pizza:

Then lastly they had some Oatmeal Rasin and Chocolate Chip cookies for dessert!

The next thing I knew it was already time for dinner! I woke up at 5:15 pm and had to quickly get ready.

Dad and Jonathan wanted to go over to watch the hockey game at the ESPN Zone, so they didn't come with us. The good news is that they got their meal for free since the restaurant messed it up! So that saved us some money LOL

However, I really wanted to go to our ADR! So Mom and I were off.

I posted on twitter:
Being able to walk to the Magic Kingdom is basically the best thing that ever happened to me.

We got to the park and we entered the madness once again. Oh MY GOD.

I posted on twitter:
Trying to get through the crowds at the Magic Kingdom during Christmas week are like an out of body experience.

It seriously is. It was so crazy that it was humerous. I was literally cracking up. The whole situation was just FUNNY.

Kids were crying, people were running into eachother... IT WAS LIKE WE WERE ALL A BUNCH OF WILD ANIMALS. It was the definition of absolute INSANITY!

We slowly made our way down Main Street...

Through Adventureland...

Continued in Next Post​

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Chapter 72: The Diamond Horseshoe/Wishes Dessert Party
December 26th, 2011

We cut through from Adventueland to Frontierland and ended up right at The Diamond Horseshoe - our dinner destination!

I posted on twitter:
Time for another Disney restaurant obscurity- the diamond horseshoe

Christmas Tip #36: The Diamond Horseshoe is another restaurant open during Christmas week that is closed during the rest of the year. If you enjoy Liberty Tree Tavern's thanksgiving feast, then you'll love this!

We went inside and the restaurant literally looks like a scaled down version of the Hoop Dee Doo building! It was really cute!

We were seated within about 10 minutes. Our waiter's name was Cuong. We sat at a two person table, so when the food was brought to us it was VERY crammed.

I didn't know what food to expect at this restaurant, but it was exactly the same family style dinner as Liberty Tree Tavern! Trust me, nobody was mad. YUM.

We started off with the salad. It had an excessive amount of strawberry vinaigrette dressing on it. It would have been good in moderation, though. It had a unique taste!

Then they brought out the rolls. I posted on twitter:
DIAMOND HORSESHOE'S ROLLS TASTE LIKE ROADHOUSE ROLLS!

Oh my God I died of happiness. My childhood restaurant was the Roadhouse Grill and when they closed it down I was HEARTBROKEN. I was so happy to have such similar rolls again! The taste of them just brought back so many memories. They made my day!

Then they brought out the main dish - Turkey, Pork, and Beef! You can kind of see the stuffing that's under the meat, too. There's also some Cauliflower in the bowl to the left.

Then they gave us Mashed Potatoes and Mac and Cheese. TWO OF THE BEST CARBS IN EXISTENCE.

And here's the green bean casserole:

My biggest regret about this meal was that I wasn't hungry enough to enjoy it. It was a HUGE dinner! I ate as much as I possibly could but it filled me up so fast.

For dessert we were given some Johnny Appleseed Cake with Crasins in it. That was GREAT. It was perfectly complimented by the giant scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream on top. YUM. I was a big fan of this dessert. I know it was added recently to Liberty Tree Tavern menu, and I think it was a great decision on Disney's part!

Overview of the Diamond Horseshoe:
Waiter: Cuong
Service: Nice and efficient, but our waiter was very quiet. 3.5/5
Atmosphere: Surprisingly quiet. It was great to finally go in there! It was nicely decorated and it looks like the Hoop Dee Doo. There weren't a lot of tables, but that's probably because the restaurant only operates seasonally. 4/5
Food: It was the same exact thing as Liberty Tree Tavern. I wasn't super hungry so that kind of stunk. But it tasted really good. It was VERY filling. I just wish I could have eaten more. I really like the new dessert, too! 4/5

We left the restaurant feeling stuffed beyond belief!

We went over to the Jungle Cruise to visit my one friend who is a Skipper, but it was CRAZY busy and he was working until 8. So we decided to come back in a little bit.

We went to the bathroom in Adventureland and Mom had a little panic attack moment. The crowds were VERY overwhelming. She was able to manage though because I helped her find the humor in the situation. It was NUTS!

I posted on twitter:
Welcome to the Madness Kingdom, where child meltdowns happen everywhere you turn. #lol #goodthingiknowwhatimdoing

I tweeted at Kristen:
I'm like dying laughing. This is the craziest thing of my life. These people are hilarious and the Adventureland Loop is playing in the background. And I'm just so amused.

I tweeted at Kara:
hahaha this is insanity. If we were ROTCOMS-ing right now, we would probably get trampled. Like the stampede in lion king.

Since the lines for everything were really long, we decided just to walk in circles around Frontierland.

I'm not even kidding.

We went down the bridge, through the main pathway, and back again and again.

I posted on twitter:
MUST BE HUNGRY FOR THE DESSERT PARTY! Walking around frontierland in circles because the lines are too long to do anything #frumps

Frontierland: turkey leg chomping zone. #chompchomp

Eventually it got to be 8 o'clock and we headed back to the Jungle Cruise! I saw my friend Ryan walking around - he actually just got off of work!

When I was at my first college, I went to the Disney College Program presentation during one of my last weeks of school. Ryan was the College Program Representative and we instantly became friends! I stayed and talked to him for about 40 minutes all about Disney and he told me about his DCP experience. Afterwords we became friends on facebook and chatted a bit! We knew that we were both going to be in Disney for Christmas week, so we planned on meeting up!

I told him I would come visit the Jungle Cruise quickly tonight, but it was so crazy that it was really hard to have a normal conversation! However, he took the time to talk to us for a few minutes and he gave us SIX Jungle Cruise fastpasses! How generous. He couldn't stay because his friend was getting him allergy medicine from First Aid. (Poor College Student + Work at Disney = Meds from First Aid. hahaha)

He asked us where we were staying and he was excited to hear we were at Bay Lake! He had never been there before! He brought us over to the Jungle Cruise queue, disappeared for a few moments, and then he came back to make sure we got on the ride.

We thanked him and then we were whisked onto our Cruise!

Our skipper was a blonde girl with a very nasally voice. She was really funny though!

At the end of our tour, I tweeted:
"we are now getting to the scariest part of our journey, the retun to civilization." but really. #magickingdomhysteria

Thank you skipper for my jungle cruise fastpasses <3

We exited the ride and we still had an hour until the dessert party! So what to do to pass the time? We went on the PeopleMover, of course!

I posted on twitter:
Waiting in LINE for the PEOPLE MOVER. #ithascometothis #LOL

BRING BACK THE OLD TTA NARRATOR </3 </3 </3 </3

MICKEY'S STAR TRADERS!

Once we got off, we wandered around Tomorrowland, went in the shops, and grabbed some Buzz Lightyear fastpasses. Then we decided to get in the check-in line for the WISHES DESSERT PARTY!

The line was relatively long but once they started loading us in it went by pretty fast.

Dad and Jon were making their way over from the ESPN Zone so they were a little late. They left at 8:20 pm and our ADR was at 9. Their bus had to stop at the Swan and Dolphin so it took a little while.

Thankfully they seated me and Mom right away! We didn't have to wait for them which was good haha.

I posted on twitter:
Time for my first wishes dessert party!!! YUMMM FOOD!!! #sooverwhelmed #dessertgoodness

They gave us our wrist bands and we were brought to our table. All of the tables were preassigned. We lucked out and got one in the center of the FRONT ROW! Score!

We went up and got our desserts - there were SO many! Ahh it was beautiful. I have LOTS of pictures of the desserts... so prepare yourself now. They are going to make you VERY hungry.

The options that were available were:
Chocolate Truffles, Cup Cakes, Creme Brulee, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Brownies, Cookies, Cheesecake, Mini Apple Pies, Fruit Tarts, Key Lime Tarts, Fresh Fruit, Cannolis, Chocolate Mousse, and Mango Shooters.

The drinks that were available were Raspberry Lemonade, Lemonade, Iced Tea, Milk, Water, Coffee, and Tea.

Here are our individual plates:

I posted on twitter:
I can't control myself at regular buffets... Me + a dessert buffet is just a dangerous combination. #SUGARRUSH!!!!!!!!!

I particularly noted that the little apple pies, the chocolate covered strawberries, and the chocolate mousse with oreo crumbs at the bottom were my FAVORITES!

Continued in Next Post
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[onelilspark]

Before we moved to Florida, my parents lived here for a few years. I came down over Christmas the one year and my Mom and I both had off the day after Christmas, so we decided to head to Epcot. We had a blast! We had the same kind of attitude - it's going to be crazy, so we'll do what we want and just relax. We didn't do too bad, but we mostly just enjoyed the World Showcase. The crowds weren't too bad back there, but I don't think we did even one ride!

 

[mermaid764]

wow the diamond horseshoe is gorgeous inside...it looks so Christmassy and festive.

I knew it wasn't open all the time but I had no idea that it was table service when it is...I always just assumed it was counter service like Disneyland's is.

And yay for finally getting to eat at the Noodle Station.....but wow those crowds are insane

 

[♫♥MickeyManda♥♫]

AHHH! Tomorrowland Terrace was open! I always pass by it and wonder why they keep it closed so much, it seems sad!

The Wishes dessert party is another thing I would love to try! A buffet of nothing but desserts just sounds so magical, haha! Looks wonderful and I can't wait for more

 

[bambi0921]

I am dying right now hearing your description of MK at Christmas. My DH and I were there in the evening right at Christmas and I used the exact wording "out of body experience" to describe it. There were parents literally using their kids' strollers as battering rams to push their way through the crowds, people cutting in line left and right, and TTA had a 30 minute wait , it was madness!!! When we finally got fed up and decided to leave, we ended up having to form a conga line with the people in front of and behind us and held on to each other's shirts in order to make it out alive. After that we made a pact to never ever go near MK at Christmas again.

 

[kansasdisneygal]

I have always been so curious when I pass by the Tomorrowland Terrace. Its just so confusing that its not open. I feel like its such a prime location for a quick service! The food looks really good!!

OMG the CROWDS!!! That is completely insane!!!! I am so glad that you guys are able to laugh about it, it is down right unbelievable how busy it is.

The Diamond Horseshoe looks soooo cute on the inside! I don't blame you for making walking loops with those kind of crowds. Yay for the Jungle Cruise FP!!

OMG the Wishes Dessert party looks amazing! I am so like you in that I can't control myself at buffets! I just want to try everything! A dessert buffet would be even worse! Those all look sooooo delicious!!! May have to do this next time

 

[trackie]

I was in Disney two weeks ago and everytime we went to the Magic Kingdom, Tomorrowland Terrace was open. I feel like its open regularly now. But I don't know haha

 

[petals]

those desserts look yum!

 

[LifeIsDis]

I love how you said a while ago at the beginning of this trip that the crowds were dead and it was Christmas vacation week and I was like “Where are all the crowds?!” Now I see the crowds! Oh wow. That is just ridiculous.

The Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant was open? I am in shock!

I was like “Wasn’t it called the Tomorrowland Noodle Station?” when I first saw this update. I knew it!

Jess, you and your family are some brave people. I couldn’t imagine being in those crowds with people crashing into each other and kids crying. And I thought the crowds in the summer were bad. My goodness!

I wish the Diamond Horseshoe was open throughout the year and just not at Christmastime. It looks very nice inside and the food looks delicious, even though it’s the same as the Liberty Tree Tavern.

That is awesome you know someone that does the DCP. And now Alicia!

Thank God we are having dinner soon because I just got really hungry from looking at the AMAZING desserts at the Dessert Party.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Omg. Part of me wants to experience the magic of Disney at Christmas. Part of me gets a panic attack just thinking about it. I should research when the best times to go to get the optimal Disney Christmas experience without all the crowds would be. First week of December, I suppose?

 

[sue_88]

YUM!
Loooove chocolate covered strawberries at Disney. I want that whole platter of them! I think I may need to make some myself.

 

[MissPrice]

Wow! I don't think I could handle the crowds during Christmas. shudder
I had a hard enough time on MLK day. I'm so happy you got to eat at the mysterious Tomorrowland Terrace, I know you've been intrigued by that place for a while. I didn't know they still opened up the Diamond Horseshoe. That place is like super vintage, opening day stuff right? I think they used to have shows there. Wishes dessert party looks amazing. I'm surprising my husband with that for our next trip. -Amanda

 

[Caretames1]

Ok, thanks! I going to look into getting an ADR for the Desert party! Really, I just showed my DH and he's like book it!

I don't think Christmas week will be in my plans! Holy Crowds! I wouldn't be very happy to bounce off people like that.

 

[Leasha_Loves_Disney]

I posted on twitter:
The monorail is environmentally friendly and you can travel up to 13 miles along the 3 tracks at speeds up to 40 mph #disneyeducation

Just a little tidbit of information I learned from my *sniff* old friend, *sobs* monorail voice guy. RIP. *blows nose obnoxiously*

Ahem.​

I read this and had to let you know...

Jack Wagner was the original original voice of the Disneyland monorail and was known as the actual voice of Disneyland. They brought his voice to WDW to do the monorail announcements as well BUT they replaced his voice with that of Kevin Miles (who actually started out with Disney as one of the "Voices of Liberty") but they kept Wanger's voice (he's the Please stand clear of the doors guy) THEN around 1998 they replaced Miles with another Disney employee Matt Hanson who was then replaced by Joe Hersh (who I am pretty sure is the magical express voice guy. He's got a voice over website http://www.joehursh.com/) and that is the history of the monorail voice guy!!!

SOOOOOO long story short there have been a bunch of monorail voice guys and a majority of them are still alive!!!

Sad news is the "Please stand clear of the doors" one is the one who actually died back in 1995.
​

​

 

[Fantasia79]

Not sure if I've posted here before, love the trip reports!!! I'm excited to see food pictures too (every time).

Tomorrowland Noodle Station is seriously one of our favorite meals at MK. It's always so sad to see it closed when it's not in season.

I did ONE trip during the days after Christmas. It is like the worst of a shopping mall, family reunion, holiday gathering, any restaurant, and mixed up with a healthy dose of crazy. It takes planning to avoid crowds and people just at their limit. Coincidentally, the tomorrowland transit authority provides some world class people watching during high crowds. As bad as MK gets, I think DHS is worse, mostly because of less space/things to do.

Keep the fantastic reports coming!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[emmysmommy]

They seriously would need to provide me with a blood sugar monitor if I was let loose with all of those yummy treats! I don't see anything that I DON'T like... scary! Thanks for sharing this.

I've NEVER seen the Noodle Terrace open so you have satisfied my curiosity as to the menu. It's certainly not what I expected since it has some unique offerings compared to the rest of the park.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Before we moved to Florida, my parents lived here for a few years. I came down over Christmas the one year and my Mom and I both had off the day after Christmas, so we decided to head to Epcot. We had a blast! We had the same kind of attitude - it's going to be crazy, so we'll do what we want and just relax. We didn't do too bad, but we mostly just enjoyed the World Showcase. The crowds weren't too bad back there, but I don't think we did even one ride!

Aww that's really cute! My Mom and I would totally do something like that! I know, during Christmas week it's not even worth riding rides. It's too crazy!

wow the diamond horseshoe is gorgeous inside...it looks so Christmassy and festive.

I knew it wasn't open all the time but I had no idea that it was table service when it is...I always just assumed it was counter service like Disneyland's is.

And yay for finally getting to eat at the Noodle Station.....but wow those crowds are insane

I know, it's so cute!
Nope, it's a table service! I have heard that it was a counter service before but who knows.
FINALLY! I was so happy. It was worth it because I needed to eat at that restaurant hahaha

AHHH! Tomorrowland Terrace was open! I always pass by it and wonder why they keep it closed so much, it seems sad!

The Wishes dessert party is another thing I would love to try! A buffet of nothing but desserts just sounds so magical, haha! Looks wonderful and I can't wait for more

I KNOW! I always wonder the same thing!
It was absolutely delicious! I would go back in a heart beat!

I am dying right now hearing your description of MK at Christmas. My DH and I were there in the evening right at Christmas and I used the exact wording "out of body experience" to describe it. There were parents literally using their kids' strollers as battering rams to push their way through the crowds, people cutting in line left and right, and TTA had a 30 minute wait , it was madness!!! When we finally got fed up and decided to leave, we ended up having to form a conga line with the people in front of and behind us and held on to each other's shirts in order to make it out alive. After that we made a pact to never ever go near MK at Christmas again.

Hahaha isn't it insane!? Wow, I can just picture being there. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before! That's so funny!! I don't mind going to WDW for Christmas, as long as I don't have to go into the parks for the entire day

I have always been so curious when I pass by the Tomorrowland Terrace. Its just so confusing that its not open. I feel like its such a prime location for a quick service! The food looks really good!!

OMG the CROWDS!!! That is completely insane!!!! I am so glad that you guys are able to laugh about it, it is down right unbelievable how busy it is.

The Diamond Horseshoe looks soooo cute on the inside! I don't blame you for making walking loops with those kind of crowds. Yay for the Jungle Cruise FP!!

OMG the Wishes Dessert party looks amazing! I am so like you in that I can't control myself at buffets! I just want to try everything! A dessert buffet would be even worse! Those all look sooooo delicious!!! May have to do this next time

I know, they really should open it more. That's why I documented the experience for you guys!
I know! Me too. It was insane.
I loved that restaurant. Haha it was really frumpy. Yay!
It was! Every single dessert was SO good. Ahhh I want to go to it again!!!​

 

[FancyNancy]

I had no idea that Tomorrowland Terrace was only open Christmas week Thank You Ultimate Survival Guide to Disney World at Christmas Time! Seriously Jess I love the little tips and info in this TR! Great Job as always!