just came back - 12/6 - 12/12 trip

[Aljo]

If this is too long, sorry! Had a wonderful trip, I cried when I saw MK decorated for Christmas and a CM was so moved by my tears, she gave me a big hug

AK
Luckily we had 2 FP for FOP on 2 different days...amazing ride. Lines were up to 210 minutes
sat'uli canteen in pandora for quick service - excellent and healthy, you build your own bowl
Na'vi River Journey - cute, waited 45 min - not worth waiting more than 1/2 hour for it
Rivers of Light show - loved it, try to see the 2nd show, less crowded
after missing DiVine on prior trips, finally saw her!
Goofy in Santa suit with Pluto - across from Primeval Whirl
Mickey and Minnie in Christmas sweaters - waited an hour for this!

MVMCP
lined up for Jack 4:30 - he came out 6pm, we were done by 6:30
hustled after 11pm parade from Main st. to storybook circus to see if Dwarfs were still there, 11:50pm and we were able to get photo with them
Mickey's Merriest Celebration show was very cute
felt there could have been more snack stations
You definitely need a plan ahead of time so you don't waste time

Epcot
candlelight procession is worth seeing - we didn't line up for it and saw it from outside
american adventure lobby has an adorable gingerbread display of lincoln memorial, washington monument and the capitol bldg.
caught storytellers in Norway and Italy - worth seeing
saw Belle in her red gown in France

Resort Decorations
went to Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom lodge - all 3 were spectacular

MK
loved Festival of fantasy Parade

HS
enjoyed Sunset Seasons greeting, easy to find a good spot for viewing
Jingle Bell Jingle Bam - enjoyed very much

other thoughts
pepper jack pretzel was just okay - didn't see the cream cheese stuffed pretzels anywhere
Main St Bakery had delicious wraps
nutella fruit waffle is still a big hit at sleepy hollow's
quality of food is deteriorating
very long lines for character greetings
touring plans is so worthwhile; though I had an itinerary we didn't follow it to a tee and there was plenty of room for spontaneity.
I did get a little carried away with Christmas ornaments, my entire carry on was filled with breakable ornaments.
Weather was very erratic, 80/84 degrees first couple of days, then rainy - cold and 50s for 2 days and then 60s/70s. I would bring a variety of clothing

 

[Texans_loyal]

Glad you had a gret time!

 

[mousehouse23]

Wonderful trip report! Thanks so much for sharing.

 

[cassie58]

Glad you got to see DeVine - she is amazing!

 

[bladiator]

Weather was very erratic, 80/84 degrees first couple of days, then rainy - cold and 50s for 2 days and then 60s/70s. I would bring a variety of clothing

Totally felt that. I couldn't believe I was sweating almost every day in December, and then right before I left (Sunday 12/10) I was watching people get out of their cars with fur-lined parkas on.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Nice trip report. Just a little tip: if a certain meet and greet is important to you, get a fast pass for it. As you say, the wait times are often LONG.

 

[marcar12]

Thank you for sharing your experiences!

I am curious about a few specific meet-and-greets and their wait times. Do you by chance remember what the lines were like in Hollywood Studios for meeting Cruz Ramirez, Buzz/Woody, and Olaf?

Also, is Cruz the only car available to meet?

 

[annemce118]

Thanks for sharing! Sounds like
a great trip!

 

[Aljo]

Nice trip report. Just a little tip: if a certain meet and greet is important to you, get a fast pass for it. As you say, the wait times are often LONG.

appreciate the advice, but the rides were more important to us to get FP than the character greets.

 

[Aljo]

Thank you for sharing your experiences!

I am curious about a few specific meet-and-greets and their wait times. Do you by chance remember what the lines were like in Hollywood Studios for meeting Cruz Ramirez, Buzz/Woody, and Olaf?

I couldn't tell you about Cruz, the line for Olaf was about 1/2 hour in the afternoon. Woody and Buzz were slightly more; about 45 min.

 

[vladimir]

Thank you for posting. We are arriving tomorrow and appreciate the information you shared!

 

[Cameron1515]

Awesome thanks for the info.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

If this is too long, sorry! Had a wonderful trip, I cried when I saw MK decorated for Christmas and a CM was so moved by my tears, she gave me a big hug

AK
Luckily we had 2 FP for FOP on 2 different days...amazing ride. Lines were up to 210 minutes
sat'uli canteen in pandora for quick service - excellent and healthy, you build your own bowl
Na'vi River Journey - cute, waited 45 min - not worth waiting more than 1/2 hour for it
Rivers of Light show - loved it, try to see the 2nd show, less crowded
after missing DiVine on prior trips, finally saw her!
Goofy in Santa suit with Pluto - across from Primeval Whirl
Mickey and Minnie in Christmas sweaters - waited an hour for this!

MVMCP
lined up for Jack 4:30 - he came out 6pm, we were done by 6:30
hustled after 11pm parade from Main st. to storybook circus to see if Dwarfs were still there, 11:50pm and we were able to get photo with them
Mickey's Merriest Celebration show was very cute
felt there could have been more snack stations
You definitely need a plan ahead of time so you don't waste time

Epcot
candlelight procession is worth seeing - we didn't line up for it and saw it from outside
american adventure lobby has an adorable gingerbread display of lincoln memorial, washington monument and the capitol bldg.
caught storytellers in Norway and Italy - worth seeing
saw Belle in her red gown in France

Resort Decorations
went to Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom lodge - all 3 were spectacular

MK
loved Festival of fantasy Parade

HS
enjoyed Sunset Seasons greeting, easy to find a good spot for viewing
Jingle Bell Jingle Bam - enjoyed very much

other thoughts
pepper jack pretzel was just okay - didn't see the cream cheese stuffed pretzels anywhere
Main St Bakery had delicious wraps
nutella fruit waffle is still a big hit at sleepy hollow's
quality of food is deteriorating
very long lines for character greetings
touring plans is so worthwhile; though I had an itinerary we didn't follow it to a tee and there was plenty of room for spontaneity.
I did get a little carried away with Christmas ornaments, my entire carry on was filled with breakable ornaments.
Weather was very erratic, 80/84 degrees first couple of days, then rainy - cold and 50s for 2 days and then 60s/70s. I would bring a variety of clothing

Could you elaborate on why you feel the quality of the food is deteriorating?

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

Great report! Sounds like a wonderful time.

 

[maxiesmom]

What food did you find lacking? Sounds like that was a low point in an overall great trip. You make me want to go back to WDW for Christmas!

 

[AnneK]

Am also curious why you thought the food was lackluster. We are just now ending a 10 day trip and almost every meal we had was phenomenal.

 

[Babsy]

Great report! Glad to hear that you had such a good trip! Thank you for sharing.

 

[mickeymom629]

Glad you had a great trip!

We went in Oct/Nov and you just reminded me of a favorite snack I forgot to have!! The jalopeno pretzel...but I think it's only in HS (? not positive) and we skipped that park this trip. I had 3 chocolate covered bananas (so upset to see how much these cost now, though) and a Dole whip instead . I agree about touring plans. We followed ours pretty closely for once and still had plenty of leisure time.
Don't know about the quality of food deteriorating as our only ADR was for Crystal Palace, but we all enjoyed the dinner buffet there and stuffed ourselves silly! And, like you, we enjoyed the restaurant near Pandora for healthy options. We stayed at AKL and The Mara food court was very good food, though not a large variety and some in our group enjoyed Sanaa for their new breakfast options.

Thanks for report - fun read!

 

[Burgermom]

Thanks for the report
How long did FOP with FPP take you?