ADP - Live From Disney World - Family Holiday Adventure

[crazydisneyman]

Hi Everyone,

We are sitting at EPCOT waiting for our Candlelight reservation at Chef's. Crowds are thick. Wait time on Soarin is 160 minutes. We have Fastpasses for 7:30. We got those at 10:30 today. Wait time on the Grand Fiesta Tour in Mexico was 35 minutes.

More later.

Don't they have FP for the Gran Fiesta Tour?

 

[ADP]

At the Candlelight Processional. Courtney Vance and Angela Bassett. Chef's De France was very good. 2 thumbs up!

 

[newmouse2008]

We were there last night and the crowds were massive. Candlelight was wonderful. ( we sat in the second row right in front of Grace). Freezing cold (for Florida)!

 

[georgemoe]

At the Candlelight Processional. Courtney Vance and Angela Bassett. Chef's De France was very good. 2 thumbs up!

Glad you had a good meal at Chef's Aaron. Enjoy CP!

 

[ADP]

Tuesday, Dec. 29th

Hi Everyone,

We are back from a long day at EPCOT. The crowds were thick today. We didn't plan to get much accomplished except for shows and other experiences I'll get to in a minute. As for attractions....Forget it. Test Track and Soarin saw 160 minute waits, but we expected it. We did nab fastpasses for Soarin earlier in the day for 7:39PM, so we were able to at least ride that.

I woke up this morning fighting a bit of an eye infection, but it's cleared now. My eye looks and feels normal again. I was a bit worried this morning. I ended up wearing my glasses to the park today. I never wear my glasses unless I have an infection or discomfort.

We arrived at EPCOT around 10:45AM. The weather was beautiful today; however, it did get a bit chilly this evening. Hats and gloves were nice to have in your possession.
Spaceship Earth welcoming guests this morning

Anna and I decided to give the Kim Possible adventure a try. We picked our Kimmunicator at the International Gateway and were given the France mission. Today, because of the crowds, we were only allowed one mission at a time. We couldn't do more than one like before.

As I mentioned earlier wait times were out of control.
Here's a look at the digital tip board around 10:45 this morning

Here's a photo I took of the crowds in World Showcase around Noon

Knowing crowds would be thick we turned our attention to shows and Christmas entertainment. We were able to catch some very good shows today.

Off Kilter

Sergio in Italy

Canadian Santa Claus storyteller

Chinese Twirler

Morrocan belly dancer

Anna with the German Christmas storyteller named Helga

The German Christmas story included a live nutcracker. Apparently, the nutcracker is/was a German tradition

After we saw a good dose of entertainment it was time for us to head to Chef's De France for dinner. This was part of the Candlelight Processional dinner package I booked some time ago. We checked-in and were seated within 5 minutes. It surprised me because the check-in desk was slammed with guests. After we sat down our waiter Felipe explained what we could get with our package. We got 1 app, 1 main entree and 1 dessert with the package. I chose a bleu cheese salad for my appetizer, then the grilled tenderloin with au grautin potatoes, and green beans. Dessert was a choclate mousse cake with vanilla ice cream. Kim had the Cheese de Macaroni; basically macaroni and cheese with a white cheese sauce. We all thought our food was very good. Although for the price it should have been. For the 3 of us to dine with the candlelight package our bill came to $160 tip included. Lots of things go through my head when I pay that much for a meal....Mostly like what I can do with that kind of money. But, hey....I know the cost going into the meal.

Our service was excellent! Felipe did a great job; especially with Anna. Here's a photo of my main entree, the grilled tenderloin. I really enjoyed it. The best compliment I could give it is I'd order it again the next time I visit.

After dinner we strolled around World Showcase until it was time to line up for the Candlelight Processional. We waited in the line with other dinner package guests. As usual, there was quite a line stretching all the way to Morrocco. We were fortunate enough to get great seats for the show. Guest narrators were Courtney Vance and Angela Bassett. They are a married couple both Hollywood actor and actress.

After the processional ended we walked around World Showcase and used our Soarin fastpasses. Another great ride!

That was pretty much our day. We are now back at the lodge enjoying evening desserts from the lounge. We are planning on waking up early tomorrow to try and get to Hollywood Studios for an 8:00AM rope drop and a ride on Toy Story Mania. Wish us luck! We also hope to check out some of the Streetmosphere after TSM.

Before I call it a night here are a few photos from last night.

Mickey and Minnie at the Animal Kingdom evening Extra Magic Hours

I found a hidden Mickey at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. This was way down low and I was on the ground to get this photo.

Up Next:
Hollywood Studios
Streetmosphere
Downtown Disney
Cirque Du Soleil - La Nouba

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I am glad that you are having a good time even despite the crowds. We absolutely adore going the peak seasons because of the nighttime EMHs. They are wonderful and the parks are open so late that you can be casual with your touring during the day. Enjoy your time!

 

[NC Belle]

Great report so far! I love going to see Off Kilter...I need to get their cds some day. They put a smile on my face any day.

 

[ADP]

Hi Everyone,

We are headed out the door for Hollywood Studios. We got a late start this morning so getting on TSM will be tough, but we shall see what happens.

The weather looks good today; sunny and 70 degrees. I'll be back with more later.

 

[Launchpad11B]

Hi Everyone,

We are headed out the door for Hollywood Studios. We got a late start this morning so getting on TSM will be tough, but we shall see what happens.

The weather looks good today; sunny and 70 degrees. I'll be back with more later.

Good luck with the crowds today buddy and have fun. It's 2 degrees today up here! Enjoy the nice weather. Tell Anna & Kim hello.

 

[georgemoe]

Hi Everyone,

We are headed out the door for Hollywood Studios. We got a late start this morning so getting on TSM will be tough, but we shall see what happens.

The weather looks good today; sunny and 70 degrees. I'll be back with more later.

Great pics Aaron thanks! Hope you Kim, and Anna, have a great day.

Next time you take a photo of the the Moroccan belly dancer, please borrow a zoom from Don or Mike. Some of us would appreciate that.

 

[crazydisneyman]

Hi Everyone,

We are headed out the door for Hollywood Studios. We got a late start this morning so getting on TSM will be tough, but we shall see what happens.

The weather looks good today; sunny and 70 degrees. I'll be back with more later.

Have a great day!

I remember running with you to TSM during DAP and the cast members yelled at us to slow down.

BTW, everyone, ADP is sly at getting past Cast Members at rope drop.

 

[ADP]

Hi Everyone,

We are at the bus depot at Hollywood Studios heading back to AKL. The crowds are over-bearing. Wait time at TSM is 140 minutes. By the time we got to Pixar Place the wait was 60 minutes and the line was out the door. We didn't ride. We did get a spin on Star Tours.

Most fastpasses were gone for the day.

Streetmosphere was very good as usual.

We are headed to Downtown Disney later for some shopping and to see La Nouba.

More to come!

 

[justluvthemouse]

Glad you enjoyed the processional. My niece was in the choir. I wanted to see it myself.

 

[jennz]

We are headed to Downtown Disney later for some shopping and to see La Nouba.

More to come!

Will you be visiting Santa Goofy at DTD?

 

[ADP]

Will you be visiting Santa Goofy at DTD?

if we can get to him ...Yes.

 

[ADP]

Wednesday, Dec. 30th

Hi Everyone,

We are back from our morning/afternoon at Hollywood Studios and the AKV Jambo pool. The weather has warmed up a bit so swimming was a possibility and we took advantage of it.

We woke up a bit late this morning so we got a later start than we wanted. It cost us as we couldn't get on TSM. By the time we got to Pixar Place the wait was already 60 minutes. That's a bit too long for us. The line across the street to see Buzz and Woody was short so we jumped in line and saw them.

Hollywood Studios got crowded very quickly today. Here's a photo of the crowds pouring in as we came in.

Another of my favorite trees is the one outside of Hollywood Studios. We love the film strip at the bottom.

The only attraction we experienced today was Star Tours. The wait time wasn't too bad so we decided to give it a spin. On our way out we strolled through Tatooine Traders where I saw this pretty cool T-Shirt.

Because the crowds were so thick we decided to check out some of the Streetmosphere. They were great as usual. One of our favorite Streetmosphere characters is Paige Turner.

A very popular character is Alberto Dante....Italian movie director.

One of the things we found funny was Sounds Dangerous was actually open. I'm guessing because of the crowds levels. I hear it will be open for the Holidays and we may not see it open again in the future.

Hollywood Studios is great for backstories and funny little quirks like this one.

On our way out of Hollywood Studios today we stopped at Sid's of Hollywood. Here is the board they had posted. Answer all 5 questions correctly and get a certificate.

After we returned to AKL we had some cookies in the lounge. We then proceeded to the pool because the weather had warmed-up nicely. The pool was beginning to get a bit crowded, but not too bad. It was nice to be able to get out and enjoy the pool because both pools at AKV are very nice.

We spent a few hours at the pool and now we are getting ready to head out to Downtown Disney to shop and catch the 6:00PM show of Cirque Du Soleil - La Nouba. It will be our first time to see it. I don't think we can take photos so unfortunately I won't be able to post any, but I'll have some photos of Downtown Disney later.

More to come!

 

[JCandKT]

Great trip report!

Have fun at La Nouba ---- it truly is a magical show. We caught it when we were there in September 08...definitely something to see at least once in your life. And even though Pete calls them "Freaky French Clowns" I still think it rocks.


ENJOY! I certainly hope the crowds calm down, at least a little, before our arrival on Sunday!

 

[ADP]

Just got out of La Nouba. Very amazing! You should see it at least once.

 

[jen3003]

Aaron glad you are having a good time despite the crowds.

Love reading all about your trip, can't wait for more!

 

[ADP]

Hi Everyone,

We are back from our evening at Downtown Disney. We saw La Nouba. It was great and really worth every penny we paid to see it. As I said in my previous post you should go and see it at least once. The theater was about 80% full. Our seats were Category 2 in the upper section right behind the main path. Great seats except for the many people who showed up 5, 10, 15, and even 20 minutes late for the show walking right in front of us. Some even decided to stop in front of us to figure out where to go in the dark.

Before we went to La Nouba we stopped in at Earl of Sandwich to grab a bite to eat. We then proceeded to TrenD and World of Disney to look around a bit. Time was moving fast so we didn't get to shop much. We needed to be over to the West Side as quickly as possible.

Just one quick observation about La Nouba. The Chinese acrobats don't look anywhere close to 16 years of age. It they are 16 or older then the chinese have figured out some sort of youth cream they haven't shared with us Americans.

Tomorrow morning we will be embarking on the Sunrise Safari. We are really looking forward to it. In order to participate in the Sunrise Safari you must be staying in the Kilimanjaro Club Level. Our group is to meet at the lounge between 6:15 and 6:30AM. From there we head to the AKL Savanna overlook and board our safari vehicle. I'll have much more tomorrow with photos about the safari.

Before I end tonight here are a couple of photos from the club lounge.
Breakfast offerings

Our view from the 6th floor club lounge looking down into the lobby

Tomorrow is New Years Eve....Here's wishing all of you..........

Up Next:
Sunrise Safari
Animal Kingdom
New Years Eve 2010!