Hello all!
Just wanted to stop in and give a quick report on our quickie-trip to The World, complete with a stay at the YC from Dec 4-8.
I do well by category, rather than by narrative, so here goes....
Resort-YC
We booked a LV room and were assigned to room 3183, overlooking the back waterfront entrance. It was a really lovely view. I do love the BWI, and we had clear view of most of the BW, and it was lovely to look at at night, along with all the lights wrapped around the lampposts on the walkway to the lighthouse. Speaking of the lighthouse, there was no light on it or coming from it at all. Why is that? It's so pretty...why isn't it illuminated? Anyway, the room was lovely, and the decor is really growing on me. Beds and pillows were perfect. I may order 4 of the pillows for my bed at home. I took a picture of the tag on the pillow and was able to locate it online. Mousekeeping was the best we've ever had. I love turndown service, and when we arrived late on the 4th, I called and asked for it, and they did it every night without me having to ask again. The room was immaculate, and our housekeeper Martha should be commended, and will, when I get around to writing that email. Transportation was great, bus waits were minimal, even after
MVMCP, and the walk to Epcot isn't really any longer from YC...or at least it didn't seem it. The Christmas decorations at YC were my favorite of any of the resorts, and we saw all the deluxes except AKL. It was just so classy, smelled like heaven, and with the music, and the fact that the YC lobby is just quieter in general, it was perfect. On our last night, my travel companions were at the Atlantic Dance Hall, and I unwound in the lobby, in front of that tree with a cosmopolitan (the drink, not the magazine), and it was Christmas perfection. The YC has really....really grown on us, to the point that I think (so sorry
Teena!) we might be more YC people than BC people. Both resorts are so gorgeous, and of course BC has the best greeter, but we like the quieter, darker, more forma feel (call us crazy). I also enjoy shopping in peace at Fittings and Farings. Somewhere, I know
YCFan is smiling.
Parks
The Studios were great, nice and quiet, and we got done everything we wanted. We were able to see the Osbourne Lights and they were incredible. I always imagined it would be tacky or overdone, but it really was magical. The snow falling, the dancing lights, it was perfect!
MK- We were there on a "taping" day for the Christmas Day Parade, but it really didn't interfere much at all. The Wanted, Candace Glover and Ne-Yo all performed in front of the castle, but besides about 5 min. of Ne-Yo, we didn't see much. We were enjoying rides, which were
mostly easy to get to. We did feel the park start to fill...and fill...and fill...around 4 P.M. MVMCP was a treat, but it was a lot of pressure. We're not going to be able to get to WDW in December very often at all (maybe once every 10 years), so there was a lot of pressure to "get stuff done." We waited and saw the Cinderella's wish castle show, we waited and ate the cookies, we waited and drank the hot chocolate, we waited for pics with Scrooge McDuck, we waited for pics with Mary Poppins and Bert, we waited and watched the projection show on the castle, we waited and saw Holiday Wishes, we waited and saw Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, and finally, we waited for the bus home. If you didn't catch my drift...there was a ton of waiting. Now, we had a great time, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but oh boy, it's a lot of pressure. My favorite part was the parade itself and the projection show. We also really enjoyed a ride on The People Mover late at night, looking at all the lights and people.
Epcot- A complete mob scene. We read that on a scale of 1-10, crowd levels were supposed to be a 1.7, and yet in 14 trips to WDW, I've never seen any park so crowded! It was a complete zoo! It bordered on gridlock at several points. I counted close to 100 people in line for Grey Goose slushies! We waited 45 (!) minutes to hop into a clam mobile with Nemo and Friends. Our lunch at Chefs De France took over 2.5 hours because they were so slammed, and I couldn't get near some of my favorite stores in the World Showcase. It was an epic fail in that I really was looking forward to a leisurely day of strolling through the countries and enjoying the Christmas decorations. There is a silver lining though, as we bought the CP Dinner package. I will say that the CP was the single best thing we did on the trip. It was so moving! I would fly down some weekend each December just to see that. Whoopi Goldberg was our narrator and we loved her. I can't say enough about it! It was the spirit of Christmas...completely and totally. Illuminations with the Christmas tag at the end was also very moving and special, so though the day started off rough, it ended triumphantly.
Food-
Flying Fish- A+
Hollywood Brown Derby- A-
Citricos- A (would have been an A+, but we had a late rez, and didn't care much for them clearly trying to move us along and shutting down the restaurant around us)
The Plaza- B+
Chefs De France- D
Magic Bands/FP+
It all worked fine for us, except for the fact that many rides seemed more jammed than ever, during what was supposed to be a quiet time of the year. I mean...45 min for Nemo? Come on! I also found out that since I'd made my FP+ selections, they've tiered the system, meaning that you get 3 FP+ picks per day, but now at the Studios for example, you can pick ToT OR RnR OR TSM, and your remaining 2 choices are for things you'd never really wait for anyways. Add to this several CMs telling me that they're looking to do away with picking fast passes at the rides on the day....and it seems like a headache to me, and as I said recently, it's really stealing all the spontaneity out of a Disney trip.
Future Plans
We're taking a week-long CL trip with my sister and her BF next August, and after discussing it with them (they are terrified of leaving the MK area), our original plan to stay BC has been scrapped (
), but fear not, based on their requests, and the impression the resort made on us, we will be staying YC next August! We booked CL with a water view, and thanks to a neat BB offer, saved 35%! Dee, please add us to the list! August 17-23
We also took advantage of a much-discussed great deal and booked two bonus nights at the GF for just the 2 of us! We can't wait! I plan to do a PTR and TR for this upcoming trip. I'll post the link here when I start it!
Sorry this took so long, and don't think I forgot
Teena! Teena, it was such a delight as usual to see you in the lobby! Mary still apologizes for ...ahem..."watering" the carousel. (Ooops!) See you in August!
back! 
