Christmas In The World...Dec 18, 2015 - Jan 4, 2016

[tyandskyesmom]

The night before I was able to snag some fast passes. Obviously not for the big rides but I was able to get some. So our first one, our very first experience with the new Fast Pass + was Lights, Motors, Action. They were for 12:30pm - 12:50pm for a 1pm show. We stopped at Herbie's Drive In for a coke slushie and a lemonade slushie to share ($7.44 and we used two snack credits). We grabbed them and headed into the show. We were seated centerish....a little to the left and a bit towards the top of the bleachers. We waited probably about ten minutes before the show started. Now Cary is a car guy bit not a "CAR" guy. So I don't think he expected much. Tyler is starting to get into cars a little bit more now which thrills Cary. And Skye likes things blowing up...ya, sometimes I wonder about her??? Needless to say, when I told them all it was now gone, they were upset.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

After the show that we all enjoyed we found monster tales in that little store by the mermaid fountain.

The kids wanted to play at the Honey I shrunk The Kids Playground. Tyler hadn't been there since he was very little and I don't think Skyler ever had. Cary and I sat near the exit and waited until we didn't want to wait anymore so we went in to find them.

After looking around and finding the kids we headed over to Pixar Place.

The line for Buzz and Woody was out the door and Tyler didn't want to wait but we talked him into it.

All in all they line wasn't as long as it seemed and they have lots of stuff to play with. After Skyler and Cary did the Stinky Pete picture there was an Asian family behind us and the little boy was about two maybe. And he thought it was hysterical so when he and his dad went to do their Stinky Pete pose he kept holding his nose and the dad couldn't get him to stop and couldn't stop laughing at him either. Entertainment at it's finest!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We walked past Animation Courtyard.

I had also gotten us Fast Pass + for Indiana Jones for return time of 2:30pm - 2:50pm. And it's a good thing I did because without the fast pass we would not have gotten seats!

Those are some of the weird trees in that area. We actually had to wait and walk through a line...We have never even seen the line before...we have always just walked right in and to a seat!

This show is always fun and we all loved it!

Skyler thinks she's funny!

We took our time walking around, looking around, shopping around and finally headed to our late lunch destination.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

At about 3:54pm we checked in for our 4:10pm ADR at Sci-Fi Dine In. We were not seated until about 4:30pm!

Or receipt does not say what our waiter's name was but it didn't really matter because he was basically not there and when he was he was just ok. He offered to take our picture for us. So we went for it. I shodl have checked them out before leaving because even though he should be used to taking pictures in a dark place, he so obviously had no clue...and didn't say anything about it either!

Looks like we were in a lightening storm in our convertible! This is someplace they should have a roaming photopass guy with a tripod who knows how to take pictures on the dark.

For drinks the guys got Cokes and the girls got Peppermint Milkshakes...mmmm, they were good!

Skyler did not see anything she wanted much so she wanted except for an appetizer so she got one of our appetizers as her meal. She had the Spicy Buffalo Popcorn Chicken...celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.

And the rest of us shared the Sci-Fi Appetizer Sampler...Honey-Barbecue Chicken Wings, Crispy Onion Rings, Fried Dill Pickles with Spicy Ranch and Horseradish dipping sauces...which counted as two.

Everything was really good on it and it was enough for the three of us as a appetizer.

For entrees Cary got Build-Your-Own Angus Chuck Burger...on a brioche bun, flame-broiled beef patty topped with swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, and raw onions.

He said it was a really good burger.

I had the Shrimp Pasta...Whole-Grain Penne Pasta with garlic, Sauteed Shrimp with Olive Oil, Basil, Cream, and fresh Tomatoes topped with Parmesan.

Skye snagged some of the pasta. I really loved this dish. It was sort of scampi-ish but not.

Tyler, true to form, got the Flame-broiled New York Strip Steak ... topped with Blue Cheese Butter and served with Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, and crispy Onion Rings.

He forgot to ask for fries instead of all form of vegetable but that worked out because Skye snagged his potatoes and asparagus. He picked the Blue Cheese butter off right away and inhaled the rest!

Dessert brought us the Sci-Fi Candy Bar which I do not see on the menu anymore...

It was Tyler's and it was really good! Like a Twix bar but better!

Cary ordered a Out-of-This-World Turtle Cheesecake ... with Heath Bar, Pecans, Chocolate Chips, Caramel Sauce, and topped with Whipped Cream to go and I think this one got eaten eventually and it was still good!

And I got what is listed on the receipt at the Doughnut Dessert but I no longer see on the menu...

It was a glazed Doughnut on top of apple pie filling with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce! What's not to like?

Even though Sci-Fi gets a bad rep, we liked it a lot. We will be back someday...might not be on the top of our list but it will make the long list for sure!


TOTAL $160.91 .... TOTAL FOOD = $771.44
USED 3 MEAL CREDITS ... TOTAL USED = 17

 

[tyandskyesmom]

After our late lunch we went to see the lights actually lit!

***Continued in the next post***

 

[tyandskyesmom]

More lights!

We are sad to see them leaving. It was very crowded in there almost immediately. It was very difficult to move in the main area. I would never even think of trying to buy a treat or drink...partially because it would take forever but partially because you would have a hard time staying in the line that you may or may not have actually found! I was paranoid that I was going to lose Skye...and I'm not generally worried about that plus, she knows her way around pretty well but still, it was crazy packed back there. I felt sorry for anyone with a stroller or wheel chair. But all in all, it was very worth seeing again before they leave the world forever. I am really hoping they decide to put them up some where else but I am not putting too much effort into that hope.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

After viewing the lights we took our time moseying up to the front. We shopped a little. We looked a little. We took some pictures.

And we had plenty of time so we started our walk towards the Boardwalk Inn.

We looked around a little at the shops on the Boardwalk and then headed inside to take some pictures and see the Christmas decorations.

Tyler bought that BB8 on our way out on Hollywood Studios.

We changed and freshened up in the bathroom near one of the elevators.

And then headed down to dinner.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We checked in for our 9:45pm Flying Fish ADR at about 9:30pm and waited only a few minutes. Tim was our waiter and we were seated near the back in the center of the room.

Tim brought our bread and butter and took our drink orders.

Skyler decided she just wanted a Bowl of Mickey Pasta ... Creamy Alfredo so we paid for her OOP. She can't pass up food shaped like a Mickey head! I actually can't believe I did not take pictures of kids meals...normally I do.

For appetizers Tyler got the Crispy Togarashi-scented Calamari and Florida Rock Shrimp ... Asian-inspired Dipping Sauce.

I got the Fresh Mozzarella di Bufala alla Caprice ... Yellow, Ugli-ripe and tiny Tomatoes, aged Balsamico, Petite Basil, and Sicilian Olio Verde.

And Cary got the Flying Fish Cafe Signature Crab Cake ... Vegetable Slaw, Red Pepper Coulis, and Ancho Chile Remoulade

It was all very good. The calamari was really fresh and it still surprises me that Tyler eats it! The tomatoes were one of the best I've have, and the crab cakes are full of meat not filler. My one complaint here, and it has never changed, is that the crab cakes always taste well done...like they are fried too long. So it is my thought that that is the way they cook them and they are just not my favorite...but they are still very good!

Cary and Tyler both got Char-crusted Angus New York Strip Steak - roasted young carrots, fingerling potatoes, haricot verts, sauce Foyot... but Cary got it as written and medium well and Tyler subbed fries for anything that wasn't beef and had it cooked medium rare!

Tyler's actually looks more done because the char is darker so he was worried but all was good and they were each cooked perfectly.

And I got the Flying Fish Cafe's Idaho Potato Wrapped Red Snapper ... creamy leek fondue, veal glace de viande-red wine-cassis butter

The guys loved their meals and this is one of my favorites! I cannot wrap my head around how they get the potatoes to fry so well and the fish to cook so perfectly flaky without being even the least bit greasy. My biggest disappointment was that they used to serve it on these cute fish shaped blue plates that were so pretty...as you can see, it wasn't served that way today.

For dessert Tyler got the Sinful Nutty Chocolate Delice Creation ... Dark chocolate-hazelnut chiffon, peanut butter-white chocolate mousse, raspberry coulis, and chocolate sorbetto on sea salt-laced raspberry rocks

This was really good. I think they should serve a big, ice cold glass of milk with anything this chocolatly though...that would make it perfect.

I got the Almond Crusted White Mascarpone Cheesecake ... Kuentz Riesling poached mini pear, honey-lemon grass coulis, pineapple puree, crisp tuile ... to go.

Again, I don't know if this got eaten. I know it looked and smelled good.

And Skyler used the other dessert portion and got Mickey's Chocolate Puzzle ... white chocolate puzzle, sugar "paints", and creamy-topped chocolate cupcake.

This is a very fun dessert. I think she has more fun "painting" her teeth though.

We finished and "paid" up by 10:50pm.





We love Flying Fish. I hope they don't change it much. It's loud and themed to the boardwalk. Fish flying on the ceiling. Food is really good. We will be back!

TOTAL = $244.50 ... TOTAL FOOD = $1015.94
USED 6 CREDITS ... USED 23 MEAL CREDITS

 

[tyandskyesmom]

After dinner it was cold. And we had to get home. What to do, what to do???

We ended up catching one of the last boats back to Hollywood Studios and then grabbing the bus back to Caribbean Beach from there.

When we got back we found everyone having a good time in the room without us!

And it did not take long for us to stop their partying and pass out!

 

[dizzy daisy]

Enjoying the TR so far!

I'm sorry I won't get to see Osbourne Lights at DHS on our trip. I guess the upside to that is if they end up somewhere else I'll have nothing to compare them to and think they are fantastic no matter what, lol.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

December 20, 2016 dawned bright and early at 5am! Shower had by all and we headed to Old Port Royale for fill ups in our mugs.

We looked around a little at Calypso Trading Company...

The store clerk took our picture for us.

It was early and they had just opened so no one else was around. We wandered out to the bus stop and waited about 5 minutes. We arrived at Magic Kingdom at 7:10am.

We headed straight to the Seven Dwarves Mine Train! The sigh said a 30 minute wait but it wasn't. The line is cute and the ride was fun.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

And here's out ride photos...

We really enjoyed our ride!

Then we headed over to ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The sign said 10 minutes but we pretty much walked through at our leisure.

Then we had a potty break and the kids rode The Mad Tea Party with no wait...I can't do it but they would ride it 600 times in a row if they could!

We headed over to Tyler's favorite...Dumbo...with NO WAIT! Tyler is an elephant FREAK! Even at 17 he sleeps with Elle (she's the elephant on the bed that looks every bit of her 17 years!) he owns more elephant stuffed animals and statues that I ever thought existed!

And Skyler's BFF of choice is a chicken! She rivals Tyler in the animal world of stuffies and statues...her favorite is one of the three on the bed in one of the above posts that is sitting with his brothers...he is the dirty one...he used to look like the others but again, he is showing all of his 12 years of love...his name is ChiChi and hit brothers are ChaCha and ChoCho...LOL

After Dumbo we stopped in the Big Top and saw some friends with no wait! Minnie and Daisy were together...

Then Goofy and Donald were together. You have to actually go outside and back in but neither line had more than one family ahead of us.

This was new since we've been here last so we had a lot of fun with it. Goofy loved Skyler and danced with her. Donald was amazed by Tyler's height. It was a very good interaction and we pretty much had them all to ourselves!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

After meeting with all our friends we looked around (remember, this section is all new for all of us!) and headed around to Tomorrowland! We took a spin on the People Mover with no wait.

(She's amazed at how she looks on film. She always seems to be in the middle of something and then I get these horrible(she thinks) funny (I think) short of her that you never actually see with you eye but catch with the click of a shutter! LOL)

We always love the People Mover!

Then we headed over to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin! We had fast pass + for 9am - 10am that I was able to snag that first day after we got the annual passes. The first ride I rode with Cary and Tyler and Skye rode together. The second time Skyler snagged Cary so Tyler and I rode together. But the line was nothing so we rode stand-by once and then turned around and used our fast pass +. By the time we got off our first tour, the line was forming but it still wasn't horrendous.

She's excited she can actually be seen in the picture...she was always so little before she was hidden by the laser gun!

Great picture, right??? LOL

Our first time through we were stopped at a good part so I was able to get a super high score and Tyler was mad! He's the gamer so he always thinks he has to win on these kinds of things. The next time I think he beat me...

Even though in half these pictures Cary does not look like he's having fun, he was. A lot of times I think it was a bit overwhelming and something he'd never experienced before so it was taking a bit of getting used to for him.

After Buzz we walked into Stitch's Great Escape...Skye loves this one...I don't know why she loves it so much but she does. It's cute but not something we'd wait in a long line for. But we walked right into the loading area and the pre-show began. Cary was unsure if he liked it or not...

After smelling chili dogs burped in our faces, it was time for breakfast so we headed that direction...

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We had 10:10am ADRs for breakfast at...

We checked in around 9:45am. We porch was pretty crowded and the sun felt good (this was the start of the heat that followed us through most of the rest of our trip!) so we stood around playing with cameras.

Before we were called about ten minutes later to begin our Friendship Celebration!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

So we were called in and we were seated to the left (the side we have always been seated on) right along the edge...great seats as far as we were concerned as we were right by the buffet! Our waiter was Amir and he was a buffet server. Tyler ordered OJ, Skye an apple juice, Cary a chocolate milk and I think I had iced tea. We had a bit before the characters started coming around so we got some food.

Tyler's first place...toast, bacon, cinnamon roll and scrambled eggs.

Skyler's first couple of plates ... Mickey Waffles, Poohs' Puffed French Toast, hard boiled egg, bacon, scrambled eggs, bagel, and a pancake.

This is either me or Cary (I'm thinking Cary's because of all the bacon!)...fruit salad, Pooh's Puffed French Toast, bacon and it looks like an omelet???

This I think was mine. Potatoes, bacon, sausage, cheesy hash browns, corned beef hash, looks like a cinnamon roll but theor's don't actually look like that so I am not sure what that is, Pooh's Puffed French Toast, a Mickey waffle and something else I can't see.

Eeyore was the first around, which made us very happy since he is usually the one we are waiting around for. He just seems to move through very slowly!

And there's Skye's fruit loops.

Then Pooh came by...

I don't know what the next one is!

Piglet was next and "commented" on Tyler's height! Skyler wanted us to eat or hide all pork products while Piglet was there!

Then Tigger came through...

Usually we are here longer waiting on characters, usually Eeyore. We even left without seeing Eeyore once because we were coming a different day for lunch and we were tired of waiting. Today, everyone filed around in quick succession but we did not feel rushed by anyone.

We were leaving by 11:10am.

We love the breakfast here. We are not crazy about the lunch or dinner buffet though. We will be back to Crystal Palace. It is a great breakfast, with fun characters in a beautiful setting.

TOTAL = $127.76 ... TOTAL FOOD = $1143.70
USED 4 CREDITS ... USED 27 MEAL CREDITS

 

[tyandskyesmom]

After breakfast it was time for our Big Thunder Mountain Railroad fast pass + I was able to get that first day. Our return time was 11am - 12pm. And we did actually had a little bit of a wait ion the fast pass line. Not a bad wait but we're used to the old fast passes when almost always you walked right in.

The frog (Pamana) fought it but in the bag he goes!

We all loved this ride (even the frog in the bag). Skyler insistes on riding with me on things like this. She wants me to put my arm across her lap. I tried to convince her that she wasn't so little anymore that she could slip out form under the restraints but she feels better that way. And apparently she thinks I'm the only one who will not throw her out or will save her before myself. The stand-by line was too long to want to wait for another ride right now. It wasn't horrendous but considering we just rode, it wasn't something we felt the need to wait in.

We snapped a couple of pictures on the way out.

It was really sunny out!

Our next fast passes were coming due soon so we headed that way.

We never rode this. It was either not open yet, just closed for the night, or had a massive line every time we thought about it.

We tried on some hats in the Briar Patch.

Cary and Tyler got their first buttons...

And we caught a bit of the Christmas Parade while waiting to cross...

Our next, and last, Fast Pass + for for day was a 12:15pm - 1:15pm return time for Pirates of the Caribbean!

And Cary as a pirate...

We stopped by the Tiki Room...

...to see the show. We love the Tiki Room and are very glad it's back to it's almost original show. Tyler has had a tape that played the song since he was very little and has loved it! Iago and Zazu didn't use it much in their production.

We headed up to Main Street after the birds.

On the way out we walked through Emporium and looked around and kept cool. When we approached the Fire House, guess what I remembered??? Yep, Sorcerer of the Magic Kingdom Cards! So we stopped in there. There was no line but there really wasn't any help readily available. We finally asked someone and they pointed us in the right direction. The girl there explained the game to us and took us to the sample portal. When we were done learning and asking questions we each received a pack of cards. The are pretty cool. Of course the kids wanted to start right away but we couldn't...we had things to do!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

So we headed out of the Magic Kingdom and boarded a monorail bound for Epcot!

While they couldn't put down their cards and the map that goes with it.

There was no line to get through bag check or the entry. And soon we were seeing...

And there was a line for Spaceship Earth!

We headed over to the Seas.

It always seems like we never have enough time to just relax and enjoy it here.

We didn't have the time to go in right now because THERE WAS A LINE FOR NEMO!!!!

So we checked in for lunch.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We had a lunch ADR at Coral Reef at 3:05pm. A little early but I know they never seat us early so it wasn't that early.

Skyler had a thing this trip with taking pictures with all the Christmas Trees.

We were seated in the back row. I thought the kids would flip! The always want the table along the tank. The furthest away we've ever been seated was the first row along the tables. But no one has a problem. I used to be of the mind that there were bad seats in the house but after sitting where we were this time, I have decided this is the best place to sit. Yes, along the tank you may be close up but you can only see that one window but where we were, we could see all of them.

Our waitress was Yayoi. She was a little hard to understand but very nice and efficient. She brought our bread and butter.

And took our drink orders...the usual.

For appetizers Skyler has a garden Salad with ranch on the side...which is not on the menu but they had no problem bringing her one.

Cary got a Caesar Salad...with shredded parmesan and croutons...

And I got Heirloom Tomatoes - sherry vinegar, Tuscan olive oil, fresh mozzarella, and balsamic reduction...

All of our salads were to our liking but mine was the clear winner. Oh, and we decided on ordering three meals this time because we were not all super hungry. So Skyler had the appetizer of one meal and Tyler got the entrée.

For our entrees we had...

Cary...Grilled New York Strip Steak medium well - served with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes, seasonal vegetables and bercy butter

Tyler has the same but medium rare and subbed fries for his mashed potatoes and Skyler snagged the green beans!

And I ordered the Shrimp and Grits - jumbo shrimp, cheddar grits, local corn succotash, Andouille sausage, and Creole spice emulsion.

This was really good! The grits were probably better than the shrimp actually! But the whole thing together was great! I don't know how they did not get tired of steak all the time!

For desserts we had the Turtle Cheesecake - chantilly cream and hazelnut praline

The Chocolate Wave - served with Raspberry Gelato

Coconut-Mango Chiffon Cake - with raspberry sauce (to go)

The turtle cheesecake and the wave were great. All of us ate off of them! The "exotic dessert" as it says on the receipt, I am not sure we even tasted...it looked like a soft boiled egg sliced in half!

Food is always great here. The wait staff and waiting times to be seated have always been our downfalls. This time we have none! Yayoi was very nice and accommodating, we didn't wait long even arriving slightly early, our food was great and where else can you dine "under the sea"?!? We do not understand all the bad reviews. Coral Reef is always on our medium list to return to.

TOTAL = $159.13 ... TOTAL FOOD = $1302.83
USED 3 CREDITS ... USED 30 MEAL CREDITS

 

[tyandskyesmom]

After lunch we headed back up to the front of Epcot.

And headed back to the room for naps or swimming.

I think the kids went to the quite pool and Cary and I took a nap.

Around 7pm we started getting ready to head to dinner. At 7:30pm we loaded a bus to Magic Kingdom. We arrived at Magic Kingdom at 8:05pm and at 8:12pm we were at the boat launch and one had just left!!!

So we had to wait 20 minutes for another one...the line was L-O-N-G behind us and we were just about the last ones let onto the next boat. But once we were on the boat it was a nice relaxing trip. We arrived at Narcoossees at 8:48pm for our 9:10pm ADR. This was one of my favorite meals and I was so looking forward to it...and I WASN'T FEELING WELL ALL OF A SUDDEN!!!!

 

[Mainemama]

Just found your report and am joining in! We were in the World 12/20-12/30! In fact, we were just arriving in Epcot (through the IG) as you were leaving. I can't wait to relive the magical holiday through your report. This was our first Xmas trip, and likely our last, but I loved it! Thanks for sharing yours. I hope your ill feeling vanished.