3 WDW Trips in 6 months: August, October and December Reports *Completed*

[wdwgirl03]

Bummer about the weather not cooperating but sounds like you made the best of it.

 

[meeko_33785]

It sounds like it could have been a really frustrating day but that you all stayed flexible and just rolled with it! Hope the rest of your day went smoother!

It was a little frusterating at times, but it couldn't ruin the day. I will say things do start smoothing out a bit after this.

Flexibility is certainly the key when the weather musses up your plans!

Sorry Mom didn't get her Three Kings wish...

But persistance paid off with Alice and Mary!

What a great Father Christmas... he really looks the part!


Kathy

That's so true about flexibility. And as far as the Three Kings, that part of oue EPCOT story isn't over yet. Mom might just get her wish yet.

Bummer about the weather not cooperating but sounds like you made the best of it.

Very true. We still managed to have a fun time despite the weather.

 

[meeko_33785]

After a soggy but quick trek around the World Showcase Lagoon we arrived at the American Adventure where the line for tonight’s first Candlelight Processional already stretched nearly to Germany! Somehow the idea of waiting an hour in the rain to see a show that may or may not be cancelled due to said inclement weather (still not sure if Candlelight does get cancelled for rain) didn’t seem so appealing, so we were feeling like skipping the show for tonight. I think we all remembered that if you want to see it without standing in line forever, you really need to do the Candlelight Dining Package. Something to remember for next time, I suppose.

Inside the American Adventure rotunda, the Voices of Liberty were performing their last set of the day. I’m sure the gospel choir that we didn’t get to see is wonderful too, but I’m really glad that we got to see the Voices of Liberty after all. They always sing those Christmas songs so beautifully!

While the rest of the crowd headed upstairs to see the American Adventure presentation, we stayed downstairs to check out the National Treasures gallery. I think Mom had heard that they had switched out some of the artifacts since we had seen it last.

A Mark Twain manuscript. Actually, it’s a reproduction, but it’s still pretty cool.


The weather seemed like it was starting to let up a little, so we headed off to France.

When we arrived, we noticed the Serveur Amusant acrobatic act in front of Chefs de France. As sporadically rainy it had been all day, I was shocked that they were actually performing, but they certainly were. They did a few magic tricks on the ground first and then went in for the big finish.

Once he’s reached the top…

I guess they see fit to put him to work.


Pere Noel was scheduled to come out in a little bit for some Holiday storytelling so we decided to stick around France. Marie was doing meet-and-greets near the front of the pavilion now, but I decided to pass on seeing her since I had just seen her in August. Besides, after walking around World Showcase and Future World all afternoon, sitting down on a bench and enjoying the ambiance of an evening in France sounded much nicer than standing in another line.

After a while, Pere Noel came out to share the Christmas traditions of France with the crowd.

He read us a letter that a little girl named Babette had written him.

Unbeknownst to Pere Noel, a giant white cat was approaching behind him.

He finishes his storytelling with a Christmas greeting: Joyeux Noel!


After the story was over, we decided to check out some more storytellers as we walked around World Showcase again, hopefully making it back to Mexico to see the Three Kings. It looked like we would be able to make it to the next performance in Germany, so we headed back in that direction. Along we way, we stopped in front of the American Gardens Theater to watch some of the Candelight Processional including hearing some of the Christmas story (specifically the verses about the angels appearing to the shepherds) as narrated by tonight’s special guests Whoopi Goldberg. What the parts we heard, it sounded like she did a good job and the choir, of course, sounded magnificent. One of these days, perhaps we’ll come back and see the whole show again, but for that day, I think this was enough to give us enough of the Christmas spirit.


Next chapter: Lots more storytelling, but will more rain keep us from seeing the Kings again?

 

[dawnbu40]

We saw Pere Noel and you did a great job capturing how animated he is when he speaks!

I love the Voice of Liberty and was really disappointed we didn't catch them on our trip. They are a must do next time!

Hope you finally get to see the 3 kings!

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

I have been following along but haven't posted until now

I love Perre Noel's Christmas story!

I did enjoy the Candlelight Processional when I went at Christmas time but I ended up falling asleep during it a missed quite a bit

 

[photographymom517]

HELLO!!! First of all, I wanted to say that all of your photos are simply gorgeous!!! I've read tons of trip reports on here & they are some of the best I've seen! Love them!

I was also glad to read some of the Christmas info because we will be going this year for the Christmas festivities. I cannot wait!!! I haven't read much of your report yet, but I will definitely be going back to Page 1 and reading it all the way through!

 

[photographymom517]

Sorry, I forgot one thing...

I love how you wrote underneath each Character photo on your Flickr site where the characters were located. That is sooo helpful! Last year my son was only 10 months old so we didn't see many characters except the main ones like Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pooh, Tigger, etc. This year, I really want to see a ton of characters & I was wondering how in the world I would figure out where to look for them at! lol I know you can get a "times guide" at the front entrance of every park & it will list the general character type & location, but this is even better! Very useful, thank you!!!

 

[meeko_33785]

We saw Pere Noel and you did a great job capturing how animated he is when he speaks!

I love the Voice of Liberty and was really disappointed we didn't catch them on our trip. They are a must do next time!

Hope you finally get to see the 3 kings!

Thanks Dawn. Pere Noel was very good.

Hopefully next time you'll get to see the Voices of Liberty again. They really are fantastic- especially at Christmas, I think.

I have been following along but haven't posted until now

I love Perre Noel's Christmas story!

I did enjoy the Candlelight Processional when I went at Christmas time but I ended up falling asleep during it a missed quite a bit

Hey Caitlin. Thanks for following along.

Well, if you have to fall asleep somewhere at Disney, you could do worse than Candlelight. All that beautiful music and listening to the story- what a peaceful way to drift off!

HELLO!!! First of all, I wanted to say that all of your photos are simply gorgeous!!! I've read tons of trip reports on here & they are some of the best I've seen! Love them!

I was also glad to read some of the Christmas info because we will be going this year for the Christmas festivities. I cannot wait!!! I haven't read much of your report yet, but I will definitely be going back to Page 1 and reading it all the way through!

Sorry, I forgot one thing...

I love how you wrote underneath each Character photo on your Flickr site where the characters were located. That is sooo helpful! Last year my son was only 10 months old so we didn't see many characters except the main ones like Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pooh, Tigger, etc. This year, I really want to see a ton of characters & I was wondering how in the world I would figure out where to look for them at! lol I know you can get a "times guide" at the front entrance of every park & it will list the general character type & location, but this is even better! Very useful, thank you!!!

Hi and ! I'm very flattered you like my photos so much and very glad to know that you're enjoying them.

Christmas is a fantastic time to visit the parks. I bet you're going to love it. We didn't make it over to Magic Kingdom in December, but there's a lot of wonderful Christmas events and decorations there too. Of course, I'm pretty partial to the Osborne Lights at DHS and all the entertainment at EPCOT too. Everywhere you go, there's almost certainly something extra-merry for the season.

As far as character locations, my photos are a good staring point, but if you want even more info on where to find characters, the Theme Park Attractions and Stratagies board here on the DIS is a fantastic resource. There's a number of DISers there who are very knowledgable about the characters and a couple of them even have great websites that keep up with where all the characters are currently since which characters are appearing in certain locations tend to change over time (usually in May and then again in October at the beginning and end of the Summer season). That's where I tend to get a lot of my info to know where to look for characters before I head off to WDW.

 

[KathyRN137]

After a while, Pere Noel came out to share the Christmas traditions of France with the crowd.

Another great-looking Christmas character!

I love the Madeline doll in the first picture... a nice little touch!


Kathy

 

[meeko_33785]

Another great-looking Christmas character!

I love the Madeline doll in the first picture... a nice little touch!


Kathy

All the Holiday Storytellers really were terrific this year, and there are more to come.

 

[meeko_33785]

After hanging out for a little bit in Germany, it was time for the Holiday story and Helga, the Christmas storyteller in Germany came out. She was a lot of fun- great at working the crowd and going off-script to include the audience when it helped.

Explaining the German tradition of the Advent Calendar.

To finish her presentation, Helga brought out her Nutcracker and told everyone how sometimes she wishes he could be alive like the one from the Nutcracker Prince in the story.

Of course, Helga’s wish came true and a giant Nutcracker appeared! Take a good look at the detailing on his hat. Can you spot the hidden Mickeys?

After the story, Helga and the Nutcracker stayed out to do a meet-and-greet.

It was almost time for Italy’s storytelling so, since we were nearby, we made it our next stop. The storyteller here was La Befana, a gift-giving Holiday. She told us a bit about Christmastime in Italy and about how a visit from the Three Kings inspired her search for the Christ Child.

A little ways into her story, it began to rain again, but instead of ending her story, she invited the crowd to journey with her to a covered area outside one of the shops and continued her story.

Once the rain had ended, she lead the way back to her original spot and finished her schick, thanking everyone for taking the journey with her from the courtyard to the shop and back. Again, this was another fun storyteller experience, but there was one more that we knew we wanted to make one more attempt to see- Los Tres Reyes Magos, the Three Kings in Mexico. After getting rained out two times earlier in the day, we were hoping that the rain would stay away long enough for our third attempt our last.
When we arrived at Mexico, the weather seemed to be holding, but it looked as if at any moment it could start raining again. Even the CM that would be assisting the Kings that seemed to be keeping an eye on things at their stage before they were scheduled to appear weren’t sure if they would be coming out or not. Finally, they made their procession out of the pyramid and arrived to so some storytelling. We would get to see them after all.

Their performance was good. Out of all the storytellers’ costumes, these have to be the most elaborate. Pretty impressive.

The Kings describe some of the traditions of a Mexican Christmas.

I thought it was an interesting move to have the two Kings you see here on the right speak in English and the one on the left spoke only in Spanish during the storytelling. I wasn’t expecting it to be bilingual, but it worked out well, I thought.

After getting to see the Kings, Mom and Dad felt ready to head back to the French Quarter, while Buzz and I decided to stay a bit longer and hit Maelstrom and maybe a few other rides before joining them for dinner at the Floatworks.



Next chapter: Some classic EPCOT attractions, beautiful music, and the end of our last full day

 

[dawnbu40]

Beautiful pictures of the storytellers!

I'm so glad you finally got to see the 3 Kings!

We saw LaBefana and thought she was great but missed Germany and Mexico. I'll guess we need another Christmas trip

Looking forward to more!

 

[meeko_33785]

Beautiful pictures of the storytellers!

I'm so glad you finally got to see the 3 Kings!

We saw LaBefana and thought she was great but missed Germany and Mexico. I'll guess we need another Christmas trip

Looking forward to more!

Thanks Dawn. I'm really glad we got to see the Kings as well. I didn't think we would for a little while, but everything worked out in the end.

 

[jenseib]

So glad you got to see the kings finally.

 

[peterpanlover96]

Hi Meeko!

All the plans sound good so far - am looking forward to the photos of Riverside, we're really looking forward to staying there next year.

Yak and Yeti was our favourite restaurant, the honey chicken was just gorgeous!

The balloon ride will not be an option for us as I am terrified of heights and that just sounds like torture to me (well, am not actually scared of heights, it's the falling to my death that terrifies me). But the boat trip to DTD is lovely - it will be interesting to see the treetop villas now they are finished.

As for the POFQ visit - how could you not go for the beignets???? Have I mentioned I love the little deep fried icing sugar covered bites of heaven? And as you say the resort is just beautiful, and the riverside walk is lovely - very peaceful.

Di x

Beignets are a must have for each trip me and my family take! It's tradition, even if you gain a pound just looking at them!

 

[meeko_33785]

So glad you got to see the kings finally.

Thanks. So am I.

Beignets are a must have for each trip me and my family take! It's tradition, even if you gain a pound just looking at them!

Yep, it's tradition for us too when we're staying at French Quarter or Riverside (and sometimes we've even made a special trip from other resorts).

 

[KathyRN137]

Your Storyteller pix are great!

I notice how Helga did not need a little microphone the way La Befana did! I love her facial expressions, too!

So glad you were able to see the Three Kings. You're right, their costumes are spectacular. And it was a nice touch to have the presentation both in English and in Spanish.

At least the rain did not dampen your holiday spirit!


Kathy

 

[meeko_33785]

Your Storyteller pix are great!

I notice how Helga did not need a little microphone the way La Befana did! I love her facial expressions, too!

So glad you were able to see the Three Kings. You're right, their costumes are spectacular. And it was a nice touch to have the presentation both in English and in Spanish.

At least the rain did not dampen your holiday spirit!


Kathy

Thanks. Kathy. Glad you enjoyed them.

Actually, all the storytellers wore microphones so guests could hear them almost anywhere in the courtyard they were in. Helga's was actually on the left side of her face insteed of the right like La Befana. You can see it poking out from behind her face in this pic:

So true about the rain not dampening our spirit. And I'm happy to say that, as far as I can remember, we didn't have another drop of rain the entire trip (which is really just the rest of this evening and the hours before check-out the next morning, but it's something!)

 

[Donald_Duck_Rules]

We are planning our first Christmas trip to Disney this year. We will actually be there the week of Thanksgiving. Do you know if all of this will be going on then. I've tried researching it, but haven't found any good dates. We really hope to see the Christmas festivaties going on that week. Thanks for your post they are great.

 

[meeko_33785]

We are planning our first Christmas trip to Disney this year. We will actually be there the week of Thanksgiving. Do you know if all of this will be going on then. I've tried researching it, but haven't found any good dates. We really hope to see the Christmas festivaties going on that week. Thanks for your post they are great.

Hi! Glad you're enjoying the report.

Traditionally, a lot of the decorations start going up not too long after Halloween and should be up by Thanksgiving. As far as some of the events I've mentioned in the report, the Osborne Lights at DHS usually starts up somewhere between mid-November and Thanksgiving week and the festivities at EPCOT like the Storytellers and Candelight Processional tend to start Thyanksgiving weekend (usually the Friday or maybe the Saturday after Thanksgiving).

As far as the other parks, MK starts doing Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party events around the second week of November so they might have some of those going when you're there. Not sure about AK's Christmas makeover of the Jammin' Jungle Parade. I think it might start up Thanksgiving weekend as well, but I'm not sure.

These dates are all based on past years and could change, but typically, this is what I've noticed over the years. Hope that helps.