Christmas In The World...Dec 18, 2015 - Jan 4, 2016

tyandskyesmom · Jul 8, 2016

It has been a crazy week!

Skyler had her Regional and National Competitions the last three days and we are exhausted!

At Regionals (Tuesday evening) her Lion King and Malificent dances (Senior Open and Teen Lyrical in the Competitive Division) took Gold on a scale of Elite Gold, High Gold, Gold, High Silver, Silver. House of Mouse (11-12 year old Jazz in the Intermediate Division) took a High Gold. And her solo (God Help the Outcasts for an 11-12 year old Lyrical in the Competitive Division) took a very high point High Gold! She was super excited!

At Nationals (early evening on Wednesday) House of Mouse took a Gold.

At Nationals (late Wednesday night) Lion King and Malificent took Gold again.

And at Nationals (Thursday morning) her Solo took a High Gold...and as close as we can figure from knowing what the Overall 9th and 10th place winners scores were (but obviously no one else's except hers) she may have been 11th overall in the Competitive Division!!!!! And there were A LOT of Gold awards given out for the 11-12 year olds in the Competitive Division so she beat A LOT of Studio dancers!!!! This is a huge thing because we are park district...we are usually the ONLY park district at these kinds of competitions. We don't have mandatory class attendance or anything really. So what these girls do is on such a less intense scale that the Studio Dancers and she is so proud of herself that she can hang with them!

So it was a good three days but very long and very tiring...she passed out the second we got home last night and is still out!

Dance season is over until mid-September now but Nutcracker Auditions is in a month...she is very much looking forwards to that and is crossing her fingers for Clara!!!

And this time in ONE WEEK we will be landing in Orlando! I was hoping we'd be done here by now (especially with my lack of pictures and notes!) but alas, we are not. I am hoping to get more done before we leave but I cannot promise that...we have not even started packing yet!

writergirlpam · Jul 8, 2016

Oh my gosh it has been so fun to read your trip report here. I'm relatively new to the boards and this is one of the first trip reports I started reading. I've made so many decisions about our upcoming trip from seeing some of the cool things you all did, and also making dining choices after reading about your dining adventures. We are traveling to Disney World in 16 days and I'm so excited. Have a great time on your upcoming trip!

tyandskyesmom · Jul 8, 2016

So you're arriving the day we're leaving!

I am glad to be of help...I wouldn't know what I was doing if I hadn't stumbled upon all the helpful reports on here almost 10 years ago...YIKES!

Glad to know we could help! Have a great trip...

tyandskyesmom · Jul 30, 2016

Well, we're back from our July trip and I have so much to say about it but I feel like I need to finish this trip first! So, that is my priority for the next while!

tyandskyesmom · Jul 30, 2016

So after lunch at Yak & Yeti we walked through Animal Kingdom slowly to the front of the park. We grabbed a bus back to Caribbean Beach. We didn't have much of a wait for the bus at all.

When we arrived at our room we all changed and went to play in the pool. Of course, there are no pictures of that but it was hot and fun...and once again, around 6pm I was dragging Tyler and Skyler out to go get ready for the evening.

By 7:15pm we were waiting on a bus to take us to the Magic Kingdom. We waited about 10 minutes at our stop and then got on a mostly empty bus.

We headed back to our dinner reservation but it was still too early to check in so we walked around a bit. All the rides had lines that were too long to wait in right now so we just enjoyed the atmosphere.

At 8:15pm we checked in at Be Our Guest for our 8:30pm ADR. We were taken in within 2 minutes. We were sat in the center of the ball room and encouraged to go look at the other rooms.

in the West Wing!

Our server was Courtney. She took our drink orders...a sprite, 2 orange Fanta, and a root beer.

For appetizers Skyler and Cary had the Garden Salad - with Champagne Vinaigrette (Skye had the dressing on the side). She actually did end up liking the vinaigrette a lot though. It was a basic salad with the good kinds of greens.

Tyler and I did the Assorted Cured Meats and Sausages - served with cornichons, pickled onions, and toasted baguette (serves two) because there was not really anything else on the menu he wanted.

It was good. Some of the items were not something we would normally eat but it was fun to be able to try them and not feel like we wasted money buying them. We all shared in on this.

All of us except Skyler got the Grilled Strip Steak - with garlic-herb butter and pommes frites...me and Tyler medium rare and Cary medium well. Tyler was thrilled that he didn't have to ask for fries in place of something else this time!

As usual, the green beans were really good. The fries were fries. And the steak was good...not the best cut we'd had but it was a decent meal. They were all cooked to our liking.

Skyler again got the Seasonal Sustainable Catch du Jour - served with seasonal vegetables...which was again salmon. She had Courtney explain to her the presentation and asked for everything to be separate...she did not want the fish on anything or any sauces directly on the food. She also asked for green beans instead of any other vegetable. This was all ok with Courtney and it came out as specified. I can't find any of our pictures and none, obviously anywhere else the way Skye's looked so you're going to have to use your imagination a little here...

So hers was salmon on the plate next to green beans with a small ramekin of sauce. She did not touch the sauce but I tasted it and it would have been great on the salmon.

For dessert we had 2 The "Grey Stuff" - chocolate spongecake topped with Lumiere's special "grey stuffs, a strawberry cream cheese cupcake -vanilla sponge cake, strawberry mousse filling, and cream cheese icing, and an Eclair a l'Orange - Custard filling with zested Orange and then finished with Chocolate Ganache. One of the grey stuffs and the cupcake were packed up to go...the others we shared there.

The grey stuff was Skye and my favorite. Cary and Tyler liked the cupcake the best. But we enjoyed them all!

We walked around the other rooms and took pictures...making sure not to be on top of someone elses dinner in doing so.

At about 9:30pm we paid our bill and went to stand in line to see Beast! We waited about 10 minutes. He was on break when we got there.

All in all we really liked Be Our Guest. I don't know that I'd kill myself to squeeze it in but if it worked out, we'd be game! Breakfast and lunch does not seem to thrill me though. It is really a beautiful setting and meeting the beast at the end is awesome (although it would be cool if Belle was there too!).

We may return someday.

TOTAL = $208.49 ... TOTAL FOOD = $4850.43
USED 4 CREDITS ... USED 109 MEAL CREDITS

dizzy daisy · Jul 30, 2016

I hope you had a good trip! I'm so enjoying this report and admire that you're still on board for finishing it :thumbsup2

but I am looking forward to reading about your mostly QS trip, too!

tyandskyesmom · Jul 30, 2016

After dinner, we hung out at Magic Kingdom. I am not sure what we did because I have no notes and no pictures.

I do know that at 11:37pm we were at Old Port Royale buying a chocolate milk and 2 white milks (3 snack credits) and heading back to our room to partake in the left over desserts...and then to bed!

tyandskyesmom · Jul 30, 2016

Monday, December 28, 2016 was Cary's 43rd Birthday! And he requested a late start and not a ton of ADRs. BOO! So we cancelled Kona for breakfast and Citricos for dinner. BOO!

We slept in a little and then headed out to our bus stop around 10:30am. As you can see, Tyler was STILL lagging behind the rest of us!

We caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom again. We waited about 5 minutes for one. First order of business was lunch. We opted for Caseys.

Casey's had just opened when we arrived. And as usual, the lines were crazy...and the tables were filling fast. But miraculously, the lines moved quickly and we were able to snag a table quite easily. Our receipt says we paid at 11:16am.

We ordered 3 Foot Long Hot Dog - with French fries, an order of corn dog nuggets served with French fries, 2 pink cotton candies, 2 brownies, a chocolate milk, an orange Fanta, and 2 cokes.

Cary and I loaded up with toppings and the kids ate theirs plain. Casey's is always a good meal and everything was hot and fresh.

TOTAL = $64.42 ... TOTAL FOOD = $4914.85
USED 4 CREDITS ... USED 113 MEAL CREDITS

tyandskyesmom · Jul 30, 2016

After our quick lunch we headed to Fantasyland and ended up at Gaston's Tavern. Did we really want to eat again??? Yep, apparently we couldn't resist a little munch!

We ordered 2 Warm Cinnamon Rolls and a LeFou's Brew - Frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow and topped with all-natural passion fruit-mango foam ($14.75 or 3 snack credits). As you know, Tyler is a cinnamon roll FREAK and these and his fav!

We noticed that Gaston was due out soon and since we were so near we jumped in the short line (in the shade) and waited a few minutes.

He was very cocky and funny. That's a great meet and greet!

After that we headed to Tomorrowland. Ty flat out chickened out of Space Mountain. We had fast passes for a return time of 1pm - 2pm. Skye decided she wanted to ride. She rode one time on our last trip. She was finally big enough. She got off crying, saying never again. I think it was that she had to sit in her seat by herself. She likes to sit next to me (and only me) and have me hold my arm across her lap...like that makes her safer. But on this ride I can't do that. So we go into the line and she is slowly getting more scared. I can tell she's trying not to cry. We kept telling her that if she decides not to ride, she can go thru the line with us and right before we get on they will direct her to an exit so she can go meet Tyler. And just before we get there, she takes that option. We texted Tyler that she was coming and would meet him in the dump shop. And in the next few minutes we were on!

And this is what Ty and Skye did while waiting...

She loves those photo booths that go right on your Photo Pass!

Disney_traveler · Jul 31, 2016

Really enjoying your report as a way to benchmark our trip for this December.

vamassey1 · Aug 6, 2016

I just read through your report and love it. We're booked for next summer but thinking about bumping it to Christmas 2017. I'm really worried about the crowds. It looks like ya'll had a great trip. I really hope you finish this one.

dizzy daisy · Aug 8, 2016

I had no idea there are photo booths that send your pic to Photo Pass! I usually just gloss over the photo pass info (obviously, lol). How fun

tyandskyesmom · Aug 11, 2016

dizzy daisy said:
I had no idea there are photo booths that send your pic to Photo Pass! I usually just gloss over the photo pass info (obviously, lol). How fun

She stumbled on these accidentally! There are some in the Imagination Pavilion at Epcot and in the dump shop after Space Mountain (I forget the store's name). I don't know if there are others but she did try to look every time she saw a photo booth and those were the only two places she noticed them. She had fun in them!

tyandskyesmom · Aug 15, 2016

I really did come back over the weekend to update but photobucket was not cooperating so I couldn't! BOO!

tyandskyesmom · Aug 27, 2016

It has been crazy around here with school going back and football practice and Nutcracker auditions and orientation for Skye's school and football meetings and football games...

Skye is waiting on her call to see if she got "Clara" for this year's performance...she and two other girls were called back for that part. She (and about 3 of her buds) think she got it just because of the way the call back went but it's not official until she gets the call!

Tyler's team had their first game last night and lost 6-0 BUT that is a great improvement from the last three years when their scores were usually high double digits to zero...with them having the zero most of the time. And the touchdown they did get our quarterback threw right to their guy about 5 years in front of him at about their 15 yard line....OOOFFFF! That stung! But what are you gonna do? SO really, at the end of the regular play, it should have been 0-0...so a much better played game than usual!

So, after meeting up in the store under Space Mountain

it was time for our Buzz fast passes But on the way we walked the Incredible's Dance Party!

And saw Buzz was out but we didn't stop.

I love this toy stand...

Skye was with me and Ty and Cary rode together.

Tyler won that time by a lot! As you can see, he was aiming high.

We stopped to see Carousel of Progress.

Then ran in for spell with Stitch...Skyler does not care what everyone else says, she loved this one!

We were able to walk right into the line entering the Monster's theater and got in a quick show (good timing there!)

We walked back around through Fantasyland and hung out. Skye loved this sign being the chicken lover that she is...

We hunted for hidden Pascals...

Do they count?

tyandskyesmom · Aug 27, 2016

We made our way around towards Main Street U.S.A. and our late lunch ADR at The Plaza Restaurant. We checked in at the podium and there was about a five minute wait. So on course I took pictures.

There was an Elf taking pictures in the grassy area and we never get around to getting pictures taken because the line was always really long!

We were seated along the windows towards the Castle. Our waiter was Carlos. He was efficient but services was a little slow here...which was not a problem for us today.

For my appetizer I had the the Tomato Bisque Soup (it might be my favorite tomatoe soup ever...very thick and creamy with croutons to crunch!), Cary had the Italian Wedding Soup (which he had never had before but said it was a lot like a beef vegetable soup), and Tyler ordered the Tossed Salad with ranch dressing on the side for Skyler (which she loved).

I ordered the Cheese Steak Sandwich - shaved beef grilled with onions, mushrooms, red peppers, and white American cheese served on a hoagie roll with fries. I love this sandwich here.

Skyler ordered the Kid's Grilled Cheese Sandwich with fries (which counted as her appetizer). It was a decent grilled cheese sandwich.

Cary had the Meatloaf Meal - hearty slices of home-style meatloaf served with red skinned garlic mashed potatoes, gravy and seasonal vegetables. He initially forgot to tell Carlos no gravy on the potatoes but Carlos said no prob and took it back. It did not take long to bring him out a new plate minus the gravy. He thought this was very good.

Tyler had the Grilled Chicken Sandwich - topped with bacon, remoulade, bruschetta, provolone, and arugula served on a Kaiser roll with everything on the side! How he can live with such plain food is beyond me. But he liked it. And Cary and I munched on the other things he has put "on the side".

Then it was time for dessert...mmmmm!

Tyler ordered the Brownie Sundae (which is no longer on the allears menu). Nice soft, chewy brownies, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry...what's not to like?!?!?!

Skye had the Mickeylodeon with cookies and cream ice cream...

I had the Original Banana Split - chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream topped with hot fudge, strawberry sauce, crushed pineapple, chopped nuts, whipped cream and a cherry...yummy! My favorite! It's hard to find a real balance split that uses chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice cream and strawberry, chocolate and pineapple sauces anymore...well, The Plaza does!

And Cary had The Plaza Restaurant Sundae - ice cream (your choice of chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream, no sugar added raspberry sorbet, no sugar added butter pecan or non-fat chocolate-vanilla swirl) with hot fudge, strawberry sauce, crushed pineapple, topped with whipped cream, chopped nuts and a cherry. It was a great mix of flavors!

We finished S-T-U-F-F-E-D! The kids and I had been here before but not Cary. We were all very happy as usual. We did use fur dining plan credits even though Skye only ordered a kids meal...I don't even know why...maybe I forgot to tell him and we just didn't want to hassle with it once he brought our check.

Everything was really good and our drinks were filled regularly. The Plaza is not a great use of the dining plan credits because it is on the cheaper side (well, for Disney anyway) but it is good food right on Main Street with a great view. It's little and cozy inside.

I don't know how I am going to feel about it if they are no longer taking ADRs though because it is very small and even with ADRs we have sometimes had a horrible wait to be seated but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

We were here about an hour and a half...which is normally longer than we would dine but we were relaxing and service was a bit slow...but at this point in our trip, that was ok with us.

TOTAL = $97.88 ... TOTAL FOOD = $5012.73
USED 4 CREDITS ... USED 117 MEAL CREDITS

tyandskyesmom · Aug 27, 2016

We originally had a late dinner planned for Citricos but Cary wanted to not be running so we cancelled it. BOO HISS! I was looking forward to Citricos because it has been a while since we have been there but I was outvoted...and to tell the truth TIRED!

So after lunch we slowly headed down Main Street.

And headed to our bus stop.

As you can tell, we waited a little bit for a bus to come. Buses from the Magic Kingdom seemed to be the longest wait but still not too bad.

When we arrived back to our room, we found this...

We changed into our swim suits and went to the main pool for the rest of the evening. It was very relaxing. The kids swam and hung out in the water. It got a bit on the cool side for me after a while so I just lay out on a lounge chair wrapped in a towel...I may have even fallen asleep...ssshhhh! Cary played with the kids a bit and hung out with me a bit.

After getting dressed for bed, the kids ran to Ole Port Royale for some food. They brought it back to the room to eat. They got a cheese pizza, a pepperoni pizza, a cinnamon roll, a chocolate dipped crisped rice mickey head on a stick, a Fanta orange and a lemonade.

It was all good and what they wanted.

TOTAL = 32.54 ... TOTAL FOOD = $5045.27
USED 2 CREDITS ... USED 119 MEAL CREDITS

tyandskyesmom · Aug 27, 2016

After they ate dinner in bed we all passed out and slept like logs! We were more than half way through our trip and even with all we had done, and even with almost 4 more days to go we were starting to get sad....

xlsm · Aug 27, 2016

Glad I stumbled on this report today! We're normally summer travelers, but we're heading to WDW in December for the first time, and I love seeing all of the holiday touches around the parks, and the special borders on the photopass pictures. Love the photobooth pictures too.

Terra Nova guy · Aug 28, 2016

tyandskyesmom said:
It has been crazy around here with school going back and football practice and Nutcracker auditions and orientation for Skye's school and football meetings and football games...

Summer is an easy time to get lost in the shuffle of life, especially near the end when school starts up. We've still got a week to enjoy it up here since our schools don't go back until after Labour Day. I think most Canadian schools are like that.

Good luck to Skye on the audition. My youngest is getting ready to audition to see which competition team she gets on at her dance school (hopefully the same team as her closest friends).

tyandskyesmom said:
Cary had the Meatloaf Meal - hearty slices of home-style meatloaf served with red skinned garlic mashed potatoes, gravy and seasonal vegetables.

It looks good. I almost had this on my last trip but went with a burger after. I think I would have enjoyed either one.

tyandskyesmom said:
Tyler ordered the Brownie Sundae (which is no longer on the allears menu). Nice soft, chewy brownies, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry...what's not to like?!?!?!

Oh no, not on the menu anymore? I had that and it was really good.

tyandskyesmom said:
he Plaza is not a great use of the dining plan credits because it is on the cheaper side (well, for Disney anyway) but it is good food right on Main Street with a great view. It's little and cozy inside.

We went to The Plaza for the first time on our last trip and we really enjoyed it. I think it's underrated for MK dining.

tyandskyesmom said:
So after lunch we slowly headed down Main Street.

I keep meaning to comment on Tyler's awesome choice of head gear! (I have the same one :thumbsup2

)

Christmas In The World...Dec 18, 2015 - Jan 4, 2016

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