**Are You Sure That Snow Is Fake?!**A December Disney Trip**8/5 The End & Souvenirs**

[CAStevens218]

Just found your trip report and I am loving it- we are taking a three gen girls trip in nov and am planning a lot of what you did. (although we're doing 1 night at RPH for the express pass at IoA). And hopefully dd 11 won't be getting engaged this trio LOL Congrats on your engagement and I'm looking forward to reading more

Welcome, I'm glad you found my trip report!

How special to be able to take a three generation girls trip! It sounds like it will be amazing!

I agree, hopefully your 11 year old will not be getting engaged!!!!

Thanks for the congrats! I should have another update coming in the next few days!

 

[silverhaze269]

I hope you have an AMAZING time at Harry Potter World! It truly is AMAZING! I would just say get there as early as possible. It was really cold on the day we went, so that and the time of year probably kept the crowds away for us. Even with crowds, it will be totally worth it!

Thanks for the tip! I have plans to do a TR when it's all over (I'm getting just thinking about it being over, and it hasn't even happened yet ), so if I can follow through with them, I'll post how everything went

 

[CAStevens218]

Thanks for the tip! I have plans to do a TR when it's all over (I'm getting just thinking about it being over, and it hasn't even happened yet ), so if I can follow through with them, I'll post how everything went

Oh, I hope you do write a trip report! I'd love to hear all about your trip!

I know the feeling of being sad that its over before it even starts! I hate thinking about the last day of my trip, I always avoid planning it out too much because I don't want it to end!!

 

[CAStevens218]

Time for an update!!

Today (12/14/10) we were heading to EPCOT and it was cold, cold, cold!!!! We had decided to make this a sleep in day, and didn’t get to the park until about 10:30. We were just so exhausted from all of the busy days that we had been having, so it was worth it to get some extra shut eye!

After a quick picture on the way in…

We were off to grab fastpasses for Soarin’!

I just love these!

Next, we headed over to Norway.

I had a certain pretzel on my mind!

This was really good, but not what I expected. Its actually more of a Danish in pretzel form than an actual pretzel, so its actually pretty light and airy. Still very good though!!

You get a lot of food here on the Disney Dining Plan. You get a sandwich AND a side (fruit or soup if I remember correctly) PLUS any pastry. Great deal!!!!

Here is our delicious lunch! I believe I had turkey and Ben had ham, we both had fruit cups and then I got the pretzel and Ben got that chocolate mousse thing in the background. The only place to sit is outside, which was a bit of a bummer because of how cold it was, but our sandwiches were hot and we made it through!

Next up:

This was basically a walk on. It was our first time and we loved it! I don’t know what it is about it, but I really enjoyed this ride!

Of course, we stopped for the mandatory photo op at the end of the ride!

Ben really committed!

Next we headed over to Mexico. We spent some time checking out the little outdoor shop across from the pyramid. We were trying on hats and a really sweet CM came over and asked us if we wanted her to take a picture of us. Of course we did!! I figure she must do that all day long…who can resist trying on a huge sombrero, right??!!?

At this point, we had to pause because Ben had realized that he forgot to videotape the scenery as we walked into Mexico. So, I waited and he went to redo it!!!

When my crazy fiancé was satisfied, we went inside the Mexico pavilion. This woman’s work was beautiful!

Of course, we had to take a tour…

I love the Donald piñata!

After the ride, we shopped around for a little while. This man was molding glass and it was unbelievable!! We watched for a good fifteen minutes and could have stayed longer if I didn’t make us move on!!

Next time, more of our day in EPCOT!

 

[CAStevens218]

As we headed to our next destination, we stopped for a quick picture.

Where were we headed?? To try some sodas from around the world of course!!

I REALLY liked the watermelon one!

Next we hit Test Track, and then our next stop was our favorite activity in Innoventions. I don’t know exactly what its called, but its the one where you get to be the character in a video game. We love it!

Next stop was Nemo!

This is such a cute ride! We always spend some time after checking out the animals!

This fish posed for me…

I love, love, loooovvee manatees!!

Next, we headed back to the World Showcase. We played around in the phone booths in Canada…

And we visited with our friends Tigger and Pooh in England! I was really hoping to find Rabbit, but no such luck! Maybe some day…

When we got back outside, we were trying to take a picture of ourselves with Spaceship Earth in the background, but I couldn’t aim it right. After a few tries, a woman saw how much we were struggling, and she came up saying “No, no, no, no, no!” She took my camera and snapped the picture for us! That was the extent of the conversation! I thanked her, but she just handed the camera back and walked away!

I love this little train village in Germany!

And the Caramel shop is heavenly!!

Love this:

We had dinner plans soon, but first we had just enough time to visit our friends in the Character Spot!

Donald was there too, but the lady who took our picture with my camera rushed us through so quickly I don't think she even stood still for the picture...it came out as a big blur! Oh well, we have a picture with Frontier Donald from earlier in the trip!

Next time: Our favorite character meal ever!!

 

[thechesters420]

We were at Epcot the same day!! I remember waiting until it warmed up outside before we would even go outside. Great report!

 

[CAStevens218]

We were at Epcot the same day!! I remember waiting until it warmed up outside before we would even go outside. Great report!

What a coincidence!! I hope you enjoyed your trip!! This was definitely the coldest day of our trip!!! It probably worked in our favor since we slept in though! It might have kept the crowd level down!

 

[jc040404]

Lovin' your pics! Some of this stuff I've never noticed before. Looks like a fun Epcot day. The pretzel sounds yummy.

Curious about this character meal.. Can't wait to find out where it was!

 

[CAStevens218]

Lovin' your pics! Some of this stuff I've never noticed before. Looks like a fun Epcot day. The pretzel sounds yummy.

Curious about this character meal.. Can't wait to find out where it was!

This ended up being one of our favorite days, despite the cold and the fact that we didn't get to the park until 1030. Ben always says he doesn't like EPCOT, but we end up having a blast once we are there!!!

 

[CAStevens218]

Our day continued on with dinner at Garden Grill! I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews on these boards, but we LOVED it! The character interaction was the best we have ever had, so I can only imagine how great these characters would be with kids! The service was a little slow in the beginning, but we loved the food!!

While Pluto was doing this, the waitress was trying to tell us about the menu, and I couldn’t concentrate at all!!!!!

We really enjoyed our food! Was it the best we’d ever eaten? No, but it certainly wasn’t bad by any means. We liked it enough to clear the plates! The salad was also DECLICIOUS!

It was a lot of fun to rotate through the living with the land scenes as well! We highly recommend this meal!!

Ben was excited because they brought us the adult AND kids desserts!

After dinner, we wanted to ride Living with the Land but it was closed! I love this ride so I was pretty disappointed! We’ll make sure to hit it next time!

Instead, we took a ride on Spaceship Earth!

By this time we need to stake out a spot for Illuminations. I’ll tell you all about the rest of the night next time!

 

[jc040404]

Yay for double desserts! We finally managed to try Garden Grill this week. I totally agree with how yummy that salad is! It looks like you had some fun character time, too. Those pics are adorable! I love how happy you both look in all of these. I smile the whole time I read your updates!

 

[CAStevens218]

Yay for double desserts! We finally managed to try Garden Grill this week. I totally agree with how yummy that salad is! It looks like you had some fun character time, too. Those pics are adorable! I love how happy you both look in all of these. I smile the whole time I read your updates!

I'm sure I'll read about it in your trip report when you get to it, but did the boys enjoy Garden Grill? It seemed like it would be a great place for the kids to see characters!

We are always REALLY happy the whole time we are in Disney World! We have our few cranky moments....mostly when I'm trying to pack too much in ...but we truly do enjoy ourselves 99.9% of the time!

 

[CAStevens218]

In my last update we had a fun and tasty dinner at Garden Grill! Next, we headed over to the World Showcase to find a spot to watch Illuminations.

We got a spot somewhere near Italy, and I had Ben wait while I went to get us some treats from the Caramel shop! I really wanted to get caramel popcorn, but they were out when I got to the front of the line, so I **settled** for two AMAZING cookies! Not really settling at all as it turned out! We enjoyed them back in the room that night!

I met back up with Ben to wait for Illuminations to start. He was a little cranky because it was cold, but we were excited for the show! Also, in the fifteen minutes I had been gone the spot had gone from being just the two of us to being packed like sardines!! We had our spots in front though, so we were happy! We could see the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom!

Then, it was show time!

The Illuminations globe with Magic Kingdom fireworks in the background!

I LOVE Illuminations. I DO get a little bored during the globe part, but the fire works are so dramatic they make up for it!!!!

There WAS one crazy woman in our area that deserves a mention! We had spots right up against the fence, and we squished real close together to make room for as many people as possible. Well, this woman was behind us and kept leaning on my back and shoving her video camera in front of my face. I used my concert move and leaned back on her, but she was NOT giving up! I ended up just dealing with it, but geez!!! I like my personal space!

We took our time heading out after the show. We shopped around in Mouse Gears and picked up some souvenirs!

We also snapped some pictures on the way out.

All in all, this was a very long, very cold, but AMAZING day at EPCOT! We did sooo much, even with sleeping in!

Next, back to Hollywood Studios for some more fun!!

 

[CAStevens218]

Life Updates: I think I'll start with some life updates first! I graduated with my Master's degree last week! It feels sooo good to be done with school...now I just need to find a job!!!

We also planned out some wedding details. We are going to have the wedding at a local aquarium. It should be fun and unique! The date is July 22 2012! Soon it will be 1 year away!

I'm also starting to get excited about our January 1/2 Marathon trip! I'm up to running 6 miles comfortably and 7 without much trouble. I truly think that if I needed to do the 13.1 tomorrow I could push through it! But, at this rate, I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to make it happen in January!

I'm anxious for the January calendar to come out so I can start planning park days! My Dad and brother are joining us on the trip, so I want to make sure they get to see and do all the big stuff, but we will only have 4 days including our arrival and departure, so I know we'll have to pick and choose! I just can't decide which parks to do on which days. Obviously I need to see the calendar, but I've been thinking about which park would be best for our arrival day since we will have to get there and check in AND go to packet pick up before we can go to a park! Ugghh!!

Anyway, after I finish this report I'm going to do a pre-trip report for the January trip, so I hope some of you will join me in my planning!!

Alright, back to the regularly scheduled program:

____________________________

Today, 12/15/10, was our full day at Hollywood Studios.

We started with some rides on Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller Coaster of course! We road Tower of Terror 5 times this day!!! I just can’t get enough!!!!

After getting our fill of thrills, we went to grab fastpasses for Toy Story Mania. On our previous Hollywood Studios morning, they had run out before we got over there, so we knew that it was a must do for this day! I think they were already for 6PM or something like that, but that’s fine for us! We were in it ‘til the bitter end!!!

I guess we had a lot of fastpasses??

We took a ride through our favorite movies next:

Next, we made our way toward the Backlot Tour.

First, Ben needed a ride on some kind of Star Wars vehicle? That’s as specific as I can get!

And of course…

He HAD to pull the rope!

The Backlot Tour was fun and relaxing.

Next up was Indiana Jones! This show wasn’t running during our previous trip, so it was a first for Ben and I hadn’t seen it since I went as a kid! We really enjoyed it! Of course, I always think of the Full House episode where they go to Disney World and DJ thinks Indiana Jones is Steve!

Dinner on this day was at 50’s Prime Time Café! We really enjoyed our waiter. He made us vow that we would “stir before we pour”, when he brought us our milkshakes. Ben concentrated really hard to make sure he did it correctly!!

Our food here was really good. I’m not sure that we’ll be back because we didn’t really like the set up of the restaurant. We felt very crowded. Maybe it was just where we were sitting…either way, it was a fun experience!

In the next update: The rest of our day at Hollywood Studios!

 

[jc040404]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS Of course, I always think of the Full House episode where they go to Disney World and DJ thinks Indiana Jones is Steve! [/COLOR][/FONT]

Too funny!! I did the exact same thing when we saw it! That was a great one, but I love any show with a disney episode!

LOVE the aquarium idea for the wedding.

 

[CAStevens218]

Beauty and the Beast was our next stop, and I was very excited about it! I remember that there was a couple taking part in some serious PDA in front of us in the bleachers. REALLY people? At Disney World? In the middle of a packed theater??? Ugh, I HATE PDA, so maybe its just me, but it really grossed me out!! I seriously considered moving, but we had a really good view!!

Anyway, thankfully they stopped once it was showtime! This show is GREAT, I can’t wait to watch it again!!

Now, it was finally time to use of Toy Story Mania fast passes!!!

Ben won, but not by much!! And my accuracy was better!!

Acting silly…

I know we rode Tower of Terror a few times after this…until it was time for…

I really like this show too, but I would definitely choose Wishes or Illuminations before this. Still a very good show though!

I’m pretty proud of this shot:

We headed back to the hotel after this. Of course, I needed one more glimpse of my favorite ride!

Next, back to the Magic Kingdom for more fun!

 

[CAStevens218]

Today, 12/16/10, we headed out for another morning at the Magic Kingdom!

It was a bit warmer today, and as you can see, we didn’t have to bundle up in our winter coats!!!

Seriously, is there anything better than walking into the Magic Kingdom as the CMs wave and say good morning!??! It brings tears to my eyes! I invite you to enter the Magic Kingdom with us…

Now, since we had already done Magic Kingdom I didn’t take many pictures during this morning. I’m fairly certain that we took a few rides on Space Mountain first, because that is what we always do! It looks like we headed over toward Fantasyland next…

We rode It’s a Small World! Ben isn’t a fan but I love it and I feel that it is a requirement when at Disney World! Care to join us for the happiest cruise that ever sailed?

I love this room:

Someone in our boat was nice enough to inform everyone that all of those words mean good-bye! That always cracks me up for some reason!!

We road Peter Pan’s Flight next:

Then, we did some of the Adventure and Frontierland stuff…
Ben wanted to try the shooting gallery...it didn't seem all that exciting to me but he enjoyed it.

We also did Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, etc…and maybe Splash?

Eventually, it was time to say see ya real soon to the Magic Kingdom because we had a score to settle elsewhere!

 

[jc040404]

Loved that last Fantasmic shot! That show is fun, but I'm with you Wishes being better, at least. (Not an Illuminations fan still ) How early were you there for it? Thinking of the crazy wait kept us from trying it at all this year.

Nice that the MK morning was warmer for you. Your pics are great. I'm loving the color in them, especially the last castle shot. It's perfect! Makes me wish I was there right now!

 

[CAStevens218]

Loved that last Fantasmic shot! That show is fun, but I'm with you Wishes being better, at least. (Not an Illuminations fan still ) How early were you there for it? Thinking of the crazy wait kept us from trying it at all this year.

Nice that the MK morning was warmer for you. Your pics are great. I'm loving the color in them, especially the last castle shot. It's perfect! Makes me wish I was there right now!

This was the second Fantasmic show on a pretty cold night, so I don't think out wait was too bad. We were over riding Tower of Terror and periodically checking on the line. We probably waited 45 minutes...maybe an hour at most, and thankfully most of that time was spent sitting inside the theater rather than standing in line!

I love Illuminations, but only at the end. The whole globe part just doesn't do it for me, I get really bored. The fireworks at the end are great though...they are so close to you!

I definitely wish I was there right now! We havent had very many nice summery days up here yet, so I could do with some sunshine! The good news is that the packages for next year came out AND the January hours are out there as well! I'm excited to start planning...but I can't decide if I want to book now or wait to see what kind of deals come out...

 

[CAStevens218]

When I left off we had spent the morning and early afternoon at the Magic Kingdom and we were headed off to settle a score! Where were we going? To play mini golf of course! I ALWAYS beat Ben whenever we play, no matter where we are, and he always refuses to admit it afterwards! SO, I was determined to keep up the tradition and he was determined to break it!!

We actually went back to the hotel to rest for a bit first. I took some pictures on the way to the room.

After a nap, we headed back out to find our way to Winter Summerland Mini Golf!

Here is the view as we walked to the main building.

At that point, had already completed atleast 2/3 to 3/4 of the walk. Have I mentioned it was a long walk? It was.

We had a bit of trouble getting to Winter Summerland. You see, it was cold when we were there and Blizzard Beach had been closed for most of the trip, including this day. I had read on the Dis that busses will run to Blizzard Beach anyway to drop people at the mini golf, but after waiting for about twenty minutes Ben insisted that we go inside to double check, and I was starting to second guess myself as well. We went in and asked at the concierge desk to see if the busses were running. The girl made a call and confirmed that there should, in fact, be a bus. So, back outside we went. When we got there, a guy who was hanging around nearby told us that a Blizzard Beach bus had JUST come while we were inside and didn’t stop because nobody was waiting. Well, at least we knew the busses were running now! We probably waited another fifteen or twenty minutes and then we were finally on a bus!

At Winter Summerland you can choose either the Winter course of the Summer course. We chose the Summer course, which is themed as where Santa goes on his summer vacation. It was cute, but not very well kept. I think that mini golf is one place where Disney has really dropped the ball. We went to Fantasia Gardens on our last trip, and we felt the same way there. It could just be soooooooo much better than it is!!! Oh well, we still enjoyed ourselves!

Now, here is the best part of the experience. Here is Ben posing like a fool before running across the bridge:

And here is what he looked like AFTER he crossed the bridge!

If you can’t tell, his pants are all wet!!

There is a sensor on the bridge and the fish on either side squirt water when you walk over it!!!! I laughed sooooooo hard and he was sooo mad at me!!!!!!! It makes me laugh just looking at the pictures and thinking about it!!

I took some random pictures while I waited for Ben to finish up on a hole…

“Don’t you dare move that ball, get in there!!”

Thumbs up because, of course, I won!!

Souvenir golf balls and candy canes in hand, we headed off to catch a bus. We had a Very Merry Party to attend that evening!!