Go Home, December. You're Drunk. - A December 2015 TR - COMPLETED

[Elevationist]

Excellent shirt! Haha, glad you woke up

Thanks! I made the shirt! I just love it!

Sweet, AK theming!

No, silly! It's Christmas Holly!

Well, glad they really did enjoy it! I fear my DH will also have a poker face. Maybe I'll have to ignore him. Just can't stress about other people still having a good time, I guess!

This is why I prefer solo. When I take others with me, especially newbies, I spend more time watching them so see their expressions than I do enjoying the shows & attractions for myself! And then I get worried over nothing!

So cute - you all look so happy, and it looks so sunny and warm!

It WAS so sunny and warm! You would have thought it was April, not December!

Haha, you just let that b-o-y know that you already have a Disney boyfriend, but he can be your back up!

Bahaha! God, he was a baby. Way too young. Speaking of my Disney boyfriend, I never did spot James anywhere the whole week. Boooo!

You were obviously going fast, your usual Disney bunny rabbits couldn't keep up with you.

I had no fun critter encounters on this trip! I missed them!

Awwww, I'm going to miss these lights!

Me too!!!

Finally caught up with your adventures! We stayed at AoA at Christmas a few years ago and I love seeing your pictures and remembering our trip.

Aww, I'm so glad you enjoyed them!

Awesome face paint! Our very own Miss Merry Christmas in the princess club, .

Hahaha, yes! Christmas Princess!

That is so awesome...gotta love animals!

They're just precious!

I can't imagine how awesome that would be to see...how lucky!!

It was GREAT! Probably will never be that lucky again, so I'm glad I grabbed the video!

This is something I would love to do....I guess that requires an actual trip booked more than 6 months prior lol

The grass is always greener... I wish I could do last minute trips, and not have to spend FOREVER waiting for my trip to be here!

So funny...I love that picture of you with Darth...so cool...

It was SUCH a neat experience!

You had great luck on your safari! Great photos of the cats up and about.

Yes, except we didn't have any elephants or giraffes! But everything else was out an about!

I wish I had that job!

You and me both, girl! So fun!

That's like me. I have quite the resting ***** face so people always think I'm mad when I'm not.

BAHAHA. I know all about RBF. Did you SEE the first accidental selfie of this TR?

You got some amazing photos that day!

I was trying hard to make up for the lack up photos during the first half of the trip!

Oh, no! He must have been mortified when he realized he'd taken a selfie on your phone.

I wonder if he even knew. I still think about sitting there on that bench, swiping through my photos of the day, then BAM there's Troy all up in my phone. Could NOT stop laughing.

I love their holiday outfits. Great pictures!

Their outfits were ADORABLE, I just loved them!

Great to see these meets. I can't wait to take the boys!

Thanks for the updates.

Just know that Darth Vader is going away soon, and will be replaced by Kylo Ren! I got the notification earlier this week!

Love it!

Thanks! I loves me some Disney facepainting!

I love the interaction at FOTLK (and the tumble monkeys!) - and glad you got to hug Timon.

YES, I love love love FotLK! Best show at WDW. And OMG... Timon! I MUST PROTECT HIM!

Best. Thing. Ever.

Damn Troy all up in my phone. So hilarious.

I've only heard bad things about H&V so happy to see you guy enjoyed it.

It wasn't bad! It wasn't amazing either, but it certainly wasn't bad! I'm glad we went!

This is the first picture I've seen with Mark smiling. It's a cute one, too.

Dang people and their poker faces!

How cute! That was good timing.

YES! I couldn't get over our luck!

They looked like this a lot.

Haha, I know, right?!

That sounds like it was really fun.

It was so cute! Poor little scared Timon needing me to beat up some folks for him!

I'm glad they enjoyed the trip. They deeded to smile more, though.

I agree with you!!

I like this one, too.

ToT is the bestest!!!

Those are big crowds. I'm glad you got to see the light again, though.

It was worth braving the crowds for a little while so I could spend a little more time at the Lights!

There it is!!

You know I gotta get my facepainting on, girl!

GREAT timing! The video is so cute. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for enjoying it!

First being chosen at Olivander's and now this??!!!
You lucky gal. Priceless and absolutely adorbs

Birthday girl pixie dust!

Love this pic. Actually all the pics from this day look amazing.

It was a good day for photos! I had to make up for the lack of them during the first half of the trip!

So glad you got to see those lights after all

You and me, both!

 

[DisneyJo]

Haha loving your accidental tired selfie then the Disney selfie afterwards

It looks like you had a fun safari and I love the PP photos

Too funny about he PP selfie photo at DHS, that's just so hilarious

OMG I've never thought about the meet with Darth Vader being scary but it looks like it was great and I'm so pleased you got a last glimpse at the lights!

 

[NJlauren]

Seems like a great day! I think it's great that your taking more PP pics! You're all to cute not to get a tons of fun pics

Overall a pretty good safari to start it off, and a good morning at Animal Kingdom!

Also a pretty good day at HS, poor Troy !

Happy you got to check out the launch bay and he Osborn lights again!!!

 

[LindseyJo22]

So so so much fun! I love the holiday outfits on the characters - and I have to say, I would have been super intimidated to meet Vader. And I'm super glad everyone loved the Lion King - it's on my list for next time we are in AK since I've never seen it

Also glad you got to get a last look at the lights. I still can't believe they won't be there next year This year was my first and last time seeing them, and they were absolutely wonderful.

 

[ariane37]

Love your "roaring" AK pp pic!

Y' know your picture of the hippos where one is facing the camera and the other one is showing you his... Ahem... dark side?? I have the same picture from our trip last week lol! Our safari guide said something about getting both the front and back ends of the hippos If I wasn't really lazy laying in bed on the IPad right now, I'd run down to my computer and post it! But....... I'm too comfy

 

[Steppesister]

I would still go Liesa, just maybe do the shopping part in the afternoon and have an early dinner. Or visit during the week when it might be less crowded. Billie and I were also there during Christmas season so not only did we have regular shopping crowds but also Christmas shopping crowds. The layout hasn't really changed that much in my opinion. The difference is that if you are driving you have to park out on the West End and walk all the way to the Marketplace. Not sure if that is an issue when taking the bus??

Nahhh, you should still go check it out! Who know, it could be slower when you're there! Even if not, at least you know to expect crowds. I find that knowing that in advance helps me a lot as far as my patience with them! It's when I'm not expecting them that I get a little cranky!

Ok, I will give it another try and just adjust my crowd expectations appropriately. Thanks for your input, it does make me feel a little better about going. I'm not sure about the busses either. Probably need to hit up the transportation threads again and ask.

Billie, fun pix from the Safari and the Meetkats. Ooooh, those adorable little creatures that I"d love to squeeze and feed!

 

[kastoney]

I swear to ya'll, the above pic was not on purpose, and it cracks me up every time that I look at it. So now you all know my half-awake face.

No need to swear, we all know there is no chance anyone would do this on purpose

This particular PP photographer also told us to put our lion claws up and ROAR!

Way to really commit to it. We've never done memory maker before but now that it comes with the annual passes, totally gonna exploit it.

The male lion was actually awake, up, and walking around! Usually that lazy old thing is usually just passed out on a rock! I didn't get a picture, but at one point I looked up from taking pics of rhinos, and one of the females ran up and pounced him and they played for a few minutes!

Wow, what great luck. Those dang things are usually no where to be seen when we are there.

After our safari, I needed to make a very important and overdue stop, and so Mark and Debby went and looked around in some shops while I handled this bit of business...

I knew something was missing. Love it! Especially the holly

Then around a corner in the enclosure steps two keepers, carrying the meerkats breakfast! They both sat down in the middle of the enclosure to hand feed them... with CHOPSTICKS!

This is beyond adorable. Maybe you can start feeding your cats with chopsticks ; )

Then they were laughing just as hard. Why?

Best photo pass picture every. Now i wanna find Troy!

Finally our names were called and we were led into Minnie's Holiday Dining experience, and immediately met this goofy guy!

This is great. Did you put the border on this or did they do that for you?

Oh, you want to see photos of the afore-mentioned table visitors? Of course you do!

Thanks for all the great pictures. Love, love, love everyone in their holiday garb

The funny thing was the closer I got, the more NERVOUS I got! See?

You totally should have rocked this face with vader!!!!

es, that was the massive crowd still there at 5 mins until park closing... So so so crazy!

Definitely crazy, but so glad you got to see them one last time

 

[hokieinpa]

I swear to ya'll, the above pic was not on purpose, and it cracks me up every time that I look at it. So now you all know my half-awake face.

Good morning, sunshine!

To contrast with the above, I decided to snap one more and put on my Disney face...

MUCH better!

Yay! Love the holly and sparkles!

Then around a corner in the enclosure steps two keepers, carrying the meerkats breakfast! They both sat down in the middle of the enclosure to hand feed them... with CHOPSTICKS!

What?? Is this a thing? How awesome is that job! You get to feed adorable meerkats with chopsticks FOR A LIVING!

And the part where "Scar" comes out and sings "Be Prepared," Timon ran over to ME and put his arms around my shoulders and acted like he was cowering into me. I hugged him and told him, "Don't worry, I'll protect you!" He nodded, gave me a squeeze, then ran over to Pumbaa and I lost track of him after that. I was just thrilled!

Best moment in a FOTLK that I've ever read about!


Your HS night sounds perfectly planned and executed, of course! I'm glad Mark enjoyed the rides. And great pictures at Minnie's Holiday Dine - we loved our dinner there!

So then I pretty much BOLTED out of the room. I learned that apparently I'm way too much of a delicate flower for the Dark Side!

I've heard he is very intimidating. Not sure I'll be able to muster the same fear of Kylo Ren!

The BEST part was that as I passed through the door, behind me I heard the CM standing there say: "Hey, look! A land speeder!" It was pretty amazeballs.

Yep. I was determined to squeeze in just a little more Osborne lights time before the park closed on me!

Best way to end a night at Hollywood Studios!

 

[SarahDisney]

Once I sat down with my phone and was getting my phone ready to take the above pic, I turned it on and it was in selfie mode and my finger accidentally brushed the shutter...

I swear to ya'll, the above pic was not on purpose, and it cracks me up every time that I look at it. So now you all know my half-awake face.

I love the accidental selfie-mode picture! Mornings are the worst ... and your face very clearly reflects that.

Debby was too shy to do it, but clearly Mark and I give zero craps.

Debby's like ... I'm smiling, don't ask me for anything else.
You and Mark are like ... ROAR!!!

The rhinos kept following us around...

It's a known fact that rhinos love stalking birthday princesses, so I'm not surprised at all.
(I may or may not be making up facts right now)

You got some really awesome animal pictures! Looks like it was a pretty good safari!

Then around a corner in the enclosure steps two keepers, carrying the meerkats breakfast! They both sat down in the middle of the enclosure to hand feed them... with CHOPSTICKS!

Well, sure. How else are you going to feed a meerkat?

Well, I was partying it up enough for all three of us! And the part where "Scar" comes out and sings "Be Prepared," Timon ran over to ME and put his arms around my shoulders and acted like he was cowering into me. I hugged him and told him, "Don't worry, I'll protect you!" He nodded, gave me a squeeze, then ran over to Pumbaa and I lost track of him after that. I was just thrilled!

OMG that is awesome!!! Timon!!!

Back at the resort, the sun was still shining. So before heading back to my room, I decided to get my photos of the Finding Nemo section!

Yay Nemo! That's one of my favorite sections of the resort (okay, they're all my favorite sections of the resort).

Mark looks like he's sleeping! He was actually hollering and having a BLAST... basically the total opposite of this photo! The camera just got him mid-blink!

It really makes for a funny picture ... everyone else is excited, Mark is sleeping. But I'm so glad he enjoyed!

Mark LOVED this one. (I can't say I blame him, ToT is my favorite in HS, too!) It's just too bad we were behind some hand-raisers, so his face is obscured... But if you look closely, you can see that he's having a GREAT time!

He definitely looks more excited in this one!

I'm dying all over again trying to put this picture into this report. Oh, Troy. You rascal.

Some CMs are just like ... I can't even. Too funny.

Oh, you want to see photos of the afore-mentioned table visitors? Of course you do!

OMG! I love all of the holiday outfits. So cute!!!

The show started, and I tried to grab some pics, but my shots of this show NEVER turn out well!

I have the same problem. I haven't even looked at my pictures from the last trip (and I mean any of them, not just the Fantamsic! ones), but I'm guessing I probably didn't get many great F! pictures either. The ones you shared came out okay - thanks for posting them!

The funny thing was the closer I got, the more NERVOUS I got! See?

I totally don't blame you on that one ... Darth Vader is one scary dude.

He was funny. When I walked up to him, he just silently loomed, leaning forward and staring down at me. I don't know if he was confused by my face paint, or what.

Oh, Chewie. Always being weird.

Yep. I was determined to squeeze in just a little more Osborne lights time before the park closed on me!

Yay Osborne lights pictures!!

Sounds like you had an awesome day ... and I'm glad you finally got some pictures in there!

 

[pigletgirl]

Hi Billie!

Haven't been around in a while, a new baby does that to you.

This trip looks like such a blast thus far. At some point we'll stay at AoA, but right now POP fits the bill. Anyway, love reading your reports. Hope you're having a magical day!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I didn't know you could get burgers for breakfast at AoA! I would totally eat one! In Hawaii they have this dish called a loco moco which is a burger patty over a mound of white rice, topped with fried eggs and doused in brown gravy. And it's a breakfast dish! It's really quite amazing.

I love your AK day! The meerkats are so cute! And your facepaint! It's totally you - but Christmas-y!

I LOVE this picture. Is this a new magic shot with the balloons? I have not seen it before!

I love your Star Wars Launch Bay pictures!! The Darth Vader ones made me crack up. I guess Light Side you are!
And the land speeder comment...that is sooo cute!!

I'd call you day at AK and DHS just about perfect!!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

The "growling/claw" photopass picture us hilarious because your aunt isn't playing along. Too funny.


Love the meerkats, so adorable!

Glad that you got to sneak in some more time at the Lights!

 

[BibbitybobityLu]

Wait-how have I not realised that this was happening?! Okay I'm off to catch up! BRB!!

 

[Elevationist]

Haha loving your accidental tired selfie then the Disney selfie afterwards

The contract as amazing, right?

It looks like you had a fun safari and I love the PP photos

yes, the safari was great! I loved those rhinos following us around!

Too funny about he PP selfie photo at DHS, that's just so hilarious

It was so funny as I was flipping through the photos on my phone and came across it, because it was so thoroughly unexpected. I about fell off the bench in laughter.

OMG I've never thought about the meet with Darth Vader being scary but it looks like it was great and I'm so pleased you got a last glimpse at the lights!

He's TERRIFYING, dude!!!

Seems like a great day! I think it's great that your taking more PP pics! You're all to cute not to get a tons of fun pics

I agree!!

Overall a pretty good safari to start it off, and a good morning at Animal Kingdom!

It was a lovely morning, I was pleased!

Also a pretty good day at HS, poor Troy !

Poor poor Troy. So freaking funny.

Happy you got to check out the launch bay and he Osborn lights again!!!

Yes, I was super excited and it was totally worth hanging around for!

So so so much fun! I love the holiday outfits on the characters - and I have to say, I would have been super intimidated to meet Vader. And I'm super glad everyone loved the Lion King - it's on my list for next time we are in AK since I've never seen it

Vader is SCARY! And most definitely put FotLK on your MUST DO! list for next time! I think it's the best show in all of WDW!

Also glad you got to get a last look at the lights. I still can't believe they won't be there next year This year was my first and last time seeing them, and they were absolutely wonderful.

And least you got to see them once! They're so much fun, I will miss them!

Love your "roaring" AK pp pic!

Thanks! I'm fond of it, too!

Y' know your picture of the hippos where one is facing the camera and the other one is showing you his... Ahem... dark side?? I have the same picture from our trip last week lol! Our safari guide said something about getting both the front and back ends of the hippos If I wasn't really lazy laying in bed on the IPad right now, I'd run down to my computer and post it! But....... I'm too comfy

By all means, NEVER get uncomfy or out of bed on my behalf!

Ok, I will give it another try and just adjust my crowd expectations appropriately. Thanks for your input, it does make me feel a little better about going. I'm not sure about the busses either. Probably need to hit up the transportation threads again and ask.

There's one bus stop for Disney transportation buses, and it's on the Marketplace end. There are also boats on that end that go to Port Orleans, Saratoga Springs, and Old Key West.

Billie, fun pix from the Safari and the Meetkats. Ooooh, those adorable little creatures that I"d love to squeeze and feed!

I am super in love with those hungry little meerkats! TOO CUTE!!

No need to swear, we all know there is no chance anyone would do this on purpose

You got that right. I very nearly didn't even include it in the TR actually, but decided it was too funny not to share.

Way to really commit to it. We've never done memory maker before but now that it comes with the annual passes, totally gonna exploit it.

I love love love Memory Maker! I won't go without it!

Wow, what great luck. Those dang things are usually no where to be seen when we are there.

Same for me! That's why I was so shocked and pleasantly surprised that I caught them being somewhat active that morning!

I knew something was missing. Love it! Especially the holly

Thank you! It's so SPARKLY!

This is beyond adorable. Maybe you can start feeding your cats with chopsticks ; )

Don't tempt me, you know I'll do it...

Best photo pass picture every. Now i wanna find Troy!

Hilarious, right? I think if I was a PhotoPass photographer at Disney, I would be tempted to leave surprises like that on people's phones and tablets, too!

This is great. Did you put the border on this or did they do that for you?

It was part of the PhotoPass system. They have a bagillion borders and graphics and stuff you can add to your photos. I love playing with them and dressing up my Memory Maker photos! On this one, I added the border, and Goofy's signature.

Thanks for all the great pictures. Love, love, love everyone in their holiday garb

Aren't they just the CUTEST?!

You totally should have rocked this face with vader!!!!

I was on the inside!

Definitely crazy, but so glad you got to see them one last time

I am too! I wanted just a little more time to hang out and enjoy them, so I'm glad I was able to make it happen!

Good morning, sunshine!

*grumble grumble*

MUCH better!

GOOD MORNING!

Yay! Love the holly and sparkles!

Thank yoooou! I felt beeeeeyooteeful!

What?? Is this a thing? How awesome is that job! You get to feed adorable meerkats with chopsticks FOR A LIVING!

I KNOW, RIGHT!? I want that gig!!!

Best moment in a FOTLK that I've ever read about!

It was AWESOME!!

Your HS night sounds perfectly planned and executed, of course! I'm glad Mark enjoyed the rides. And great pictures at Minnie's Holiday Dine - we loved our dinner there!

It was definitely better than I was expecting, and I'm so glad that we went!

I've heard he is very intimidating. Not sure I'll be able to muster the same fear of Kylo Ren!

Maybe not, but I'm still excited to get a photo with him on my next trip! My biggest question though is WHEN DO I GET TO MEET BB-8, DANGIT!

Best way to end a night at Hollywood Studios!

I agree!

 

[Elevationist]

I love the accidental selfie-mode picture! Mornings are the worst ... and your face very clearly reflects that.

Yep! Totally not a morning person AT ALL, but I force myself to be when at Disney!

Debby's like ... I'm smiling, don't ask me for anything else.
You and Mark are like ... ROAR!!!

Accurate!

It's a known fact that rhinos love stalking birthday princesses, so I'm not surprised at all.
(I may or may not be making up facts right now)

Oh, Sarah. I love your made-up facts.

You got some really awesome animal pictures! Looks like it was a pretty good safari!

It was a great safari, definitely different from any I've done on previous trips!

Well, sure. How else are you going to feed a meerkat?

Makes perfect sense!

OMG that is awesome!!! Timon!!!

YES! I was so surprised, but so so so happy!

Yay Nemo! That's one of my favorite sections of the resort (okay, they're all my favorite sections of the resort).

Because it's an all-awesome resort! I loved it!

It really makes for a funny picture ... everyone else is excited, Mark is sleeping. But I'm so glad he enjoyed!

Hahaha, it's a hilarious photo! Cracks me up!

He definitely looks more excited in this one!

Yes... The half of his face that you can see. (I'm still mad at that hand-raiser.)

Some CMs are just like ... I can't even. Too funny.

I know, right?!

OMG! I love all of the holiday outfits. So cute!!!

They were SUPER ADORABLE!

I have the same problem. I haven't even looked at my pictures from the last trip (and I mean any of them, not just the Fantamsic! ones), but I'm guessing I probably didn't get many great F! pictures either. The ones you shared came out okay - thanks for posting them!

You said you took 97,358 photos... You better get started soon, girl!

I totally don't blame you on that one ... Darth Vader is one scary dude.

TERRIFYING! I thought he was going to Force-choke me any minute!

Oh, Chewie. Always being weird.

SUPER weird.

Yay Osborne lights pictures!!

Sounds like you had an awesome day ... and I'm glad you finally got some pictures in there!

It really was an awesome day!

Hi Billie!

Haven't been around in a while, a new baby does that to you.

Congratulations! And welcome back!

This trip looks like such a blast thus far. At some point we'll stay at AoA, but right now POP fits the bill. Anyway, love reading your reports. Hope you're having a magical day!

I loved my stay at Pop Century in 2014! It's super fun!

I didn't know you could get burgers for breakfast at AoA! I would totally eat one! In Hawaii they have this dish called a loco moco which is a burger patty over a mound of white rice, topped with fried eggs and doused in brown gravy. And it's a breakfast dish! It's really quite amazing.

I've heard of loco moco! And I want to EAT IT! Maybe somebody should convince them to add it to the breakfast menu at Kona...

I love your AK day! The meerkats are so cute! And your facepaint! It's totally you - but Christmas-y!

Hahaha, that's exactly what I was going for!

I LOVE this picture. Is this a new magic shot with the balloons? I have not seen it before!

Hmm, I don't know how new it is! I think it's relatively uncommon... I've only seen it once or twice in other's TRs. But I know I had seen it because when he told me to put my arm up like that, I knew exactly what shot he was setting us up for. (The magic shot I've yet to get is Pascal! I WANT IT!)

I love your Star Wars Launch Bay pictures!! The Darth Vader ones made me crack up. I guess Light Side you are!
And the land speeder comment...that is sooo cute!!

Yeah, I want to be on the Dark Side, but I'm just too soft.

I'd call you day at AK and DHS just about perfect!!

It really was!

The "growling/claw" photopass picture us hilarious because your aunt isn't playing along. Too funny.

Haha, yeah! I teased her about it all day, but it did make for a really cute photo!

Love the meerkats, so adorable!

They were SUPER CUTE!!

Glad that you got to sneak in some more time at the Lights!

Yes, you and me both!

Wait-how have I not realised that this was happening?! Okay I'm off to catch up! BRB!!

Tsk. Slacker.

 

[Steppesister]

There's one bus stop for Disney transportation buses, and it's on the Marketplace end. There are also boats on that end that go to Port Orleans, Saratoga Springs, and Old Key West.

Perfect! Thank you so much! I imagine we'll spend most of our time there, so we won't have much walking then to get home.

I am super in love with those hungry little meerkats! TOO CUTE!!

Going on the Wanna-Do List now...

 

[Elevationist]

Perfect! Thank you so much! I imagine we'll spend most of our time there, so we won't have much walking then to get home.

Even if you find yourself on the West Side when ya'll decide to head back to the resort, and your tootsies are just worn-out, there are friendship boats that will take you from there back to the Marketplace side!

 

[tabrizia]

Somehow I missed catching up on this yesterday. Anyways I am caught up now!

Animal Kingdom looked fun, we loved the Lion King show too. I am glad you got to see the Osborne Lights one last time. And yes Darth is a bit intimidating, minion 2 looked scared out of her mind when we went to meet him, poor girl.

 

[BellaSoleil]

I LOVE your report! You are so funny! Can't wait to head over to your dining report.

 

[Elevationist]

Somehow I missed catching up on this yesterday. Anyways I am caught up now!

Hooray! Welcome back!

Animal Kingdom looked fun, we loved the Lion King show too.

It's it the BEST?!

I am glad you got to see the Osborne Lights one last time.

Me too!!! My one little visit earlier in the week just wasn't enough!

And yes Darth is a bit intimidating, minion 2 looked scared out of her mind when we went to meet him, poor girl.

I don't blame her!!! He's terrifying!!!

I LOVE your report! You are so funny! Can't wait to head over to your dining report.

I'm glad you're here!