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

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Excellent update!

 

[POLY1985]

Really enjoying this TR! It's great that you got to do something different things on this trip. The fishing expedition looked like fun. My husband was dying to fish while we were there - maybe I'll have to take him on another trip. Loved looking at pics of the WL dock. Many great memories and pics standing there waiting for the boats.

 

[cindianne320]

I'm glad my husband isn't home! If he saw those fishing pictures, we'd have to do that every trip! Thanks for the great review- I may have to book it for a future trip to make him happy!

 

[__disneygirl]

Yay, I'm all caught up now!

Thanks for taking so many notes on the Yuletide tour! I learned a lot. I swear I need an entire trip just for all the Disney tours I wanna take.

OMG I love the tip of laying on the pink circle! I am totally gonna do that next time. Do you think they would mind if I took a little nap there? Maybe there IS sleeping in Disney... in the lobby of the Grand Floridian.

I don't know why I'm even surprised that Disney would go to such detailed lengths of perfection for their decorations, but it's just unbelievable how much work they do on everything to keep it all flawless. Best company ever! And I love how much it inspired you! I can't wait til you work for Disney.

Awwww. That letter about Santa and really all your updates got me so in the Christmas spirit! Too bad it's July.

I love that you made a specific trip to the Tomorrowland Terrace. I wonder if the pasta alfredo is as good as the one at Pop... I will have to try it sometime!

And the Diamond Horseshoe too! I've never even been in there but it looks lovely!

LOL walking in circles in the MK. Wow, I don't know if I would even be able to to deal with those crowds. You guys still seemed to have such a magical night though!

I love that people were watching you guys catch fish and clapping! And the bagpipe guy too. That is too funny.

 

[juliehoey]

This is the last of your trip reports for me to read! Thanks for bringing back sooo many memories of all the mom and me trips I had with my mom when I was your age. Now I get to carry on the Disney freak streak with my kids Keep up the good vibes.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Excellent update!

Thank you!

Really enjoying this TR! It's great that you got to do something different things on this trip. The fishing expedition looked like fun. My husband was dying to fish while we were there - maybe I'll have to take him on another trip. Loved looking at pics of the WL dock. Many great memories and pics standing there waiting for the boats.

I am so glad! Yeah we tried to do a lot of different things because, let's be honest, no one wanted to deal with the crowds! It was a great time - you definitely should take him on your next vacation! Our whole family really enjoyed it! And aww yes! Gotta love WL!

I'm glad my husband isn't home! If he saw those fishing pictures, we'd have to do that every trip! Thanks for the great review- I may have to book it for a future trip to make him happy!

Hahaha you can always send him by himself We usually would send my Dad and my brother on this type of thing. It was fun to go as a family though! You're so welcome! I hope you do - we really loved it!

Yay, I'm all caught up now!

YAYAY Lia's back! I was afraid I was speeding too far ahead but I hoped you would be able to catch up eventually ​

Thanks for taking so many notes on the Yuletide tour! I learned a lot. I swear I need an entire trip just for all the Disney tours I wanna take.

You're so welcome! And omg I feel like that too. They are all incredible!​

OMG I love the tip of laying on the pink circle! I am totally gonna do that next time. Do you think they would mind if I took a little nap there? Maybe there IS sleeping in Disney... in the lobby of the Grand Floridian.

Hahaha I think that would be perfectly acceptable!​

I don't know why I'm even surprised that Disney would go to such detailed lengths of perfection for their decorations, but it's just unbelievable how much work they do on everything to keep it all flawless. Best company ever! And I love how much it inspired you! I can't wait til you work for Disney.

I know, hearing about it just made me tear up. I was like WOW THIS IS THE BEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD!! Even though I see it all in the parks, you realize how much meticulous detail is put into all of this stuff. And aww thanks Lia!! Please come visit me when I do my college program The current plan is Spring 2014 ​

Awwww. That letter about Santa and really all your updates got me so in the Christmas spirit! Too bad it's July.

Aww I know! Eh at least it's not a random month like March or September Christmas in July is kind of a thing.​

I love that you made a specific trip to the Tomorrowland Terrace. I wonder if the pasta alfredo is as good as the one at Pop... I will have to try it sometime!

Would we expect anything less from me? hahaha frump. And hmm I wonder! ​

And the Diamond Horseshoe too! I've never even been in there but it looks lovely!

I know! I wish both restaurants were open all the time!​

LOL walking in circles in the MK. Wow, I don't know if I would even be able to to deal with those crowds. You guys still seemed to have such a magical night though!

I was like RE RE RE. There was nothing else I could think of to do. ​

I love that people were watching you guys catch fish and clapping! And the bagpipe guy too. That is too funny.

Hahaha frump life to the max.

This is the last of your trip reports for me to read! Thanks for bringing back sooo many memories of all the mom and me trips I had with my mom when I was your age. Now I get to carry on the Disney freak streak with my kids Keep up the good vibes.

Woohoo thank you so much for reading them all! That's awesome! You're very welcome. I'm so glad that the trip reports can bring back memories for you! I hope your kids love Disney as much as you do! And I will - I hope you keep reading and enjoying!​

 

[lovegrumpy]

My youngest would love to do the fishing excursion. Have to look into it when we go down next.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

My youngest would love to do the fishing excursion. Have to look into it when we go down next.

Aww you definitely should! We enjoyed it a lot!​

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Chapter 77: Teppan Edo
December 27th, 2011

I posted on twitter:
Rain rain go away. I have candlelight processional today ):

I was really hoping that the weather would clear up because I was not in the mood to sit in the rain that night! We would have to see…

After lunch we stopped back up at our room, got ready to go, and then went back to the Contemporary to catch the monorail. The one going from the Contemporary to the Transportation Ticket Center had an unexpected power outage.

I posted on twitter:
WE LOST POWER ON THE MONORAIL OMG.

But don’t worry… after about five minutes we were up and running again. I made sure to stand clear of those doors while the monorail was not moving.

We got to the TTC and hopped on the Epcot monorail. Then we finally got to the park!

It was VERY crowded and we didn’t really know what to do. However, in my mind, the most logical thing to do was to grab…..

MAELSTROM FASTPASSES. YES.

Mom wanted to take Dad to see Joyful because he missed it our first time around. Jonathan and I felt like exploring… so we set off in another direction.

We wandered around and ended up at Figment. However, the line was 20 minutes so we decided to skip that one. Instead we went over to Innoventions! I never spend any time in there, so I thought it would be fun to look around.

We ended up doing the GREAT PIGGY BANK ADVENTURE! (Yes, that must always be typed in all caps and said in a big announcer’s voice.)

It was really cute! You actually carry around an actual piggy bank! We picked the ultimate vacation for our goal, and we achieved it! GO US!

We also played another game where you run, jump, and dance and then they insert you into a video game. It was pretty cool!

After we went over to Nemo ride! The person next to us was taking pictures the WHOLE time so I was basically blind by the end of it. Plus the ride kept stopping and going and stopping and going… WOO borderline thrill ride.

We exited the ride and went to the aquariums because I HAD SOMEONE I HAD TO MEET.

If you read Lia’s trip reports, then you may have an idea of who I was going to see. (If you don’t read her stuff… You're missing out on life. I'm doing you a favor... here is her current one.)

I was going to visit OUR FROG FISH FRIEND that Lia so kindly informed me about. (Lia’s mention-worthy description of him is located here in her old trip report.) I never knew he existed until I found her report, and I knew that it was about time that the frog fish and I officially became friends.

He is the frumpiest fish you’re ever going to see in your life! However, I love him. He’s just so strange! I swear, there is not another type of animal you can even compare to him. I don’t even know how he’s classified as a fish! AHH he’s so INTERESTING to look at! I’m sure Jonathan was thinking “…ummm well, you’re weird for being obsessed with this even weirder fish thing” but I was like “AHHH LOOK. HE’S SO COOOOL.”

Anyways, after I composed myself, Jonathan and I headed out of the Seas and went to World Showcase!

Mom and Dad were sitting in France with some glazed almonds. I had a few and they were DELICIOUS!

We decided that it was about time to go over to Teppan Edo and check in for dinner! One of the little Japanese girls at the podium was named SAKI! Love it.

OH and before I forget, this was our Candlelight Processional dinner package! Woohoo! It was a big, big night. Our reservation was for 5:10 pm and we went to the latest show.

We were sent up the huge flight of stairs to the second story of the building where we waited for our table. To our left was Teppan Edo (where they cook in front of you) and to the right was Tokyo Dining. (which is your basic table service style restaurant)

As I mentioned, we were dining here:

After 5-10 minutes we were seated! The other group at our table was a family from Tennessee. One of the girls was a senior in high school and the other was 14-15. However, THEY LOOKED LIKE TWINS. It was crazy. I seriously thought they were. The older one liked my castle phone case! The rest of the family consisted of the Mom, Dad, and Grandpa!

Our waitress’ name was Mari and our chef’s name was Takeyoshi. (Like... Take Yoshi. Does he have something against the little green dinosaur that is friends with Mario!?!?! The world will never know.)

I posted on twitter:
Teppan Edo time gimme that asakusa pleaseeee <3

DIPPING SAUCES!

With the Candlelight Processional Package, you get an appetizer, entrée, and dessert.

Mom and Dad started out with salads with ginger dressing:

I got the Wafu Ribs, aka pork ribs. They were alright but they didn’t have a ton of flavor. I only ate two because I wanted to save room for the rest of the meal.

Jonathan got the Assorted Tempura (aka a bunch of fried shrimp, chicken, and vegetables):

Then the fun began! You gotta start a classic Teppan Edo meal with the oil in the shape of a Mickey Head:

Takeyoshi made the vegetables and noodles first! YUMMY NOODLES.

When he seasoned them with sesame seed he was like “sesame seeds... (then laying out a line of seeds on the griddle) sesame street!” ba-dum-CHING!

He made the dis-famous onion volcano!

Vegetables and Noodles:

Then the next part was shrimp! YUMMY SHRIMP!

The next portion was the chicken!

That’s what Jonathan ordered:

Then he made the steak and filet mignon!

I ordered the Asakusa, which is a steak and shrimp combination. NOM.

Mom and Dad both got the filet!

I posted on twitter:
I'm so full but I just keep eating.

Teppan Edo is very similar to Fuji Grill, which is the Japanese place we have at home. I hate to say it, but I like Fuji Grill’s food a little bit better. It’s just more flavorful. I hate saying stuff like this because I swear by Disney food, but I wanted to be honest. It’s not saying that I’m never going back to Teppan Edo (actually we just went there in May!) but I do like the sauces or something better at Fuji. I overall did love Teppan Edo, though, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back!

However, what Fuji DOESN’T have is the Chocolate Ginger Cake. People, THIS is where it’s at.

It has such an interesting flavor and you can taste the ginger. Once you get used to the unique taste, you just are in heaven. It was REALLY delicious! The light brown part is a mousse and it is very cool in temperature. That combined with the light cake and the chocolate glazed top was just DIVINE! I just love the texture of this cake. It’s wonderful!

Mom got the Green Tea Pudding, which she thought was really good! It had a texture similar to flan. She gobbled it right up!

Dad got Vanilla soft serve…

And Jonathan got Chocolate soft serve.

So there ya go, you just got pictures of every dessert offered at Teppan Edo. Congratulations!

I left that meal feeling SO full. I hit a food wall that night, that’s for sure. But it was DELICIOUS and so worth it!

Overview of Teppan Edo:
Servers: Mari and Takeyoshi
Service: It was very hard to hear them, but they were both efficient. Mari cleared out plates quickly and continuously filled our waiters. On top of that, watching the food being cooked was super entertaining! I enjoyed it. 4.5/5
Atmosphere: AWESOME. It’s such a fun restaurant and it is very authentic. This is a very unique experience that you can’t find in many other places. 5/5
Food: I do like Fuji Grill better flavorwise but it was still VERY good. YUM. 4/5

Continued in Next Post​

 

[michael's mom]

Chapter 77: Teppan Edo
December 27th, 2011

Teppan Edo is very similar to Fuji Grill, which is the Japanese place we have at home. I hate to say it, but I like Fuji Grill’s food a little bit better. It’s just more flavorful. I hate saying stuff like this because I swear by Disney food, but I wanted to be honest. It’s not saying that I’m never going back to Teppan Edo (actually we just went there in May!) but I do like the sauces or something better at Fuji. I overall did love Teppan Edo, though, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back!

​

My sentiments exactly. We have a Japanese Steakhouse nearby and I like it better than Teppan Edo as well, but I LOVE Teppan Edo. We get a longer "show" and it's much more interactive here at home, and we get more food. BUT, we also know that it's they have a little more time here at home than they do in Disney.

Great photos! HOpe it stopped raining!

 

[beachphotog]

Mmmmm, your dessert looks amazing!! I love how your dad and brother got the soft serve that you can get all over the place when they could have had Japanese dessert?

Keep up the great writing!

 

[ChelseaIsMyBelle]

Loved your update!!! My kids really loved the Piggy Bank Adventure, couldn't get my little one out of there... It was great for me and DH because nothing beats A/C in the August heat!!

 

[Enchanted88]

Great few updates!!
I'm all caught up again, and it I say it everytime, but it looks like you guys are having so much funnn!!!
I'm very excited to read about your CP expereince! I'm still debating on whether to do it or not!
Teppan Edo looks yummy! We have a really great Japanese Steakhouse by our house as well, so I'm not sure if we'll rush to eat there anytime soon at Disney, but that chocolate ginger cake looks sooo yummy!

I hope you are having a great week!

 

[flyergrad09]

Those little kids on the dock behind your mom and Terry are so cute! You can totally tell that they wish they were fishing too! I had no idea that you could even do a fishing excursion at WDW! Maybe that's how I'll lure my DBF's parents to make a trip sometime... no pun intended.

Those pictures of the food at Teppan Edo are making me so hungry! Even if it wasn't super-flavorful in real life, the pictures make it look amazing! I really want to try that chocolate ginger cake!

 

[__disneygirl]

WHOA. I've never even seen a Maelstrom fastpass before! They are far too hard to get! They are usually gone as soon as World Showcase opens. You are a magician, my friend!

I hardly ever spend time at Innoventions either! I know it was quite the attraction back in the day, but I mean who has time to do anything but ride Maelstrom anyway? You know what I mean.

Oh MAN YES!!!!!!!!!! OUR FROGFISH FRIEND!!!!!!! Lookin' great as usual. Whew. I miss him. You can tell he misses me too I think just from your picture.

Thanks for the shoutouts btw! EVERYONE STOP YOUR LIVES AND GO READ MY TRIP REPORTS!!!!!

OH MY GOD THAT CAKE FROM TEPPAN EDO. Why must I be in my house and not in Epcot right now?! I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Woah, I swear you frumps are going to kill me with all these crazy triple and double updates that I missed. Well, I'm all caught up anyways! I love the holiday TRs since it will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance that I get to do something like this so it's nice to hear all about it. The Yuletide Fantasy Tour sounded like a ton of fun, so much fun learning ALL about what goes on behind the scenes at the World AND YOU GET A RARE PIN! Totes need to figure out a way to sign up for this lol Also, these restaurants you went to all sound great. I went to my first hibachi grill for my birthday so I really want to test out this one... because... And the Wishes Desserts Party! OH... there is so much I want to write, but I don't want to bore you too much, but those are at the top of my list for next trip ressies though I think California Grill is creeping up and Narcoosee's is definitely something to knew. to all the pin trading! I feel so happy to see more DISers actually enjoying this (along with Vinylmation which I just got into )

Can't wait to read more!

 

[emma212010]

Wow, that cake looks yummy!!

I hope it stops raining for you guys!!

 

[JessicaFaye508]

My sentiments exactly. We have a Japanese Steakhouse nearby and I like it better than Teppan Edo as well, but I LOVE Teppan Edo. We get a longer "show" and it's much more interactive here at home, and we get more food. BUT, we also know that it's they have a little more time here at home than they do in Disney.

Great photos! HOpe it stopped raining!

I'm glad that you understand! That is EXACTLY the way I look at it! Disney just has to file people through, so that's why there's less of a "show." But hey, I still LOVED it! The food is yummy, I'm not complaining!

Thank you!

Mmmmm, your dessert looks amazing!! I love how your dad and brother got the soft serve that you can get all over the place when they could have had Japanese dessert?

Keep up the great writing!

It was SO good! And hahaha yeah, I wouldn't expect them to be adventerous though.

Thank you!

Loved your update!!! My kids really loved the Piggy Bank Adventure, couldn't get my little one out of there... It was great for me and DH because nothing beats A/C in the August heat!!

Thank you! Aww that's adorable haha. Innoventions has AWESOME A/C. I would not have been mad!

Great few updates!!
I'm all caught up again, and it I say it everytime, but it looks like you guys are having so much funnn!!!
I'm very excited to read about your CP expereince! I'm still debating on whether to do it or not!
Teppan Edo looks yummy! We have a really great Japanese Steakhouse by our house as well, so I'm not sure if we'll rush to eat there anytime soon at Disney, but that chocolate ginger cake looks sooo yummy!

I hope you are having a great week!

Thank you! We did have so much fun!
I think it's worth doing if you're going during Christmas week, but if not, it's really up to you. You can see the CP either way.
It was delicious, but yeah, it's not something I'm running back to on every trip.
I am! Thank you!

Those little kids on the dock behind your mom and Terry are so cute! You can totally tell that they wish they were fishing too! I had no idea that you could even do a fishing excursion at WDW! Maybe that's how I'll lure my DBF's parents to make a trip sometime... no pun intended.

Those pictures of the food at Teppan Edo are making me so hungry! Even if it wasn't super-flavorful in real life, the pictures make it look amazing! I really want to try that chocolate ginger cake!

Haha aww I know, they loved watching! Yup, Disney has everything! I bet that would help ease them along in the decision making process!

It was flavorful! Just not as much as the place back home. However, it was GOOD. Yum. That cake was my favorite thing!!

WHOA. I've never even seen a Maelstrom fastpass before! They are far too hard to get! They are usually gone as soon as World Showcase opens. You are a magician, my friend!

I hardly ever spend time at Innoventions either! I know it was quite the attraction back in the day, but I mean who has time to do anything but ride Maelstrom anyway? You know what I mean.

Oh MAN YES!!!!!!!!!! OUR FROGFISH FRIEND!!!!!!! Lookin' great as usual. Whew. I miss him. You can tell he misses me too I think just from your picture.

Thanks for the shoutouts btw! EVERYONE STOP YOUR LIVES AND GO READ MY TRIP REPORTS!!!!!

OH MY GOD THAT CAKE FROM TEPPAN EDO. Why must I be in my house and not in Epcot right now?! I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.

I know, I know. I had to talk to my "special connection" so I could arrange to get a few of those beautiful tickets in my hands. Even so, it was VERY difficult.

I completely understand! The Maelstrom is not only the #1 priority of my Epcot visits, but it is also the #1 priority of my life.

He does. He asked me about you! He says that you need to get your butt back to WDW ASAP!!!!

You're welcome! I feel like I shout out to you ALL the time in this TR. But obviously you had a great influence on my life. So, you deserve it.

I know. Let's go right now. Kristen is there! She can meet up with us.

Woah, I swear you frumps are going to kill me with all these crazy triple and double updates that I missed. Well, I'm all caught up anyways! I love the holiday TRs since it will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance that I get to do something like this so it's nice to hear all about it. The Yuletide Fantasy Tour sounded like a ton of fun, so much fun learning ALL about what goes on behind the scenes at the World AND YOU GET A RARE PIN! Totes need to figure out a way to sign up for this lol Also, these restaurants you went to all sound great. I went to my first hibachi grill for my birthday so I really want to test out this one... because... And the Wishes Desserts Party! OH... there is so much I want to write, but I don't want to bore you too much, but those are at the top of my list for next trip ressies though I think California Grill is creeping up and Narcoosee's is definitely something to knew. to all the pin trading! I feel so happy to see more DISers actually enjoying this (along with Vinylmation which I just got into )

Can't wait to read more!

I mean... we can stop writing trip reports if it makes your life easier. Just kidding. We only have so many updates because we have so many pictures and we have pretty fantastic adventures.
Yeah the Yuletide Fantasy Tour was INCREDIBLE! As was the entire trip.
Any time you go on a tour you get a 100% exclusive pin to that tour. So that's how you get one!
Haha I'm glad I'm giving you dining ideas!
Yay for pins! I have always been a pin girl. It faded a little bit for a few years, but my collection is pretty insane at this point. And it's only growing from here

Wow, that cake looks yummy!!

I hope it stops raining for you guys!!

It was!! YUM.
I know! No rain in Disney!!!​

 

[LifeIsDis]

I have never done the GREAT PIGGY BANK ADVENTURE before. I’ll have to play it. The pig is really cute. I wonder if he has a name. Like Hamm or something. I wish they sold the piggy banks as souvenirs.

THE FROG FISH. He is so awesome. I need to track him down. I’m sure it will be easy though. There are big neon signs above his tank that say “THE COOLEST ANIMAL EVER IS RIGHT HERE!!”? I’m sure there are.

I’m eating at Teppan Edo for the first time next month. It looks very good I’ve heard some great stuff about it.

The onion volcano! OOOOHHHHH! AAAHHHH!

The food looks scrumptious!

 

[ChelseaIsMyBelle]

You can NEVER stop your trip reports... I've gotten so many tips from them, they are what made me a DIS addict (that and the fact that the app for my iPhone and iPad is so awesome),