Dec. 13 - 22 Trip! A report with pictures!

[photobob]

Hey Bob, the crowds were larger than we have ever experienced before, but they were tolerable. Saturday and Sunday they were really noticably bigger, though. When I was a kid we always went mid-May and that was a pretty slow time. Now, as an adult with my family, we have been at the end of January into the first of Februay, we have been the first week of December and we have been mid-September. The crowds this past week were much larger than any of those previous trips. The year that we went in Jan/Feb, it was so quiet, we literally walked on everything. I fear that those days are long gone now! lol!

Thanks for the nice review . Next up DHS . . .

We've been relegated to going at times when the kids are out of school but we'll be emptynesters in the not too distant future. I think May could be our travel time of choice in the future or other slower times.

Will you go at this time of year again?

 

[PrincessTiffany]

We've been relegated to going at times when the kids are out of school but we'll be emptynesters in the not too distant future. I think May could be our travel time of choice in the future or other slower times.

Will you go at this time of year again?

Will I go at this time of year again? Well, probably yes. I can't imagine never seeing Disney in all of it's Christmas grandeur again. . . lol. I suppose I will keep watching the boards and listening out for slow times. Our kids are still young so we do take them out of school, but I know once they hit high school our days will be numbered, so to speak!

 

[mcrabeck]

Great trip report and pictures. We are thinking of going around this time next year, so I am very interested in crowd reports. Thanks for sharing!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Day 6, Dec. 18, Disney Hollywood Studios

We were actually supposed to go to Epcot again on this day, but the kids, and my husband, just couldn't wait any longer to try out the new ride, Toy
Story Mania. We rode it first thing that morning with a 20 minute wait. By 10:00 a.m. the wait was 80 minutes. The CM I talked to said the fastpasses were gone by 11 a.m. - we were so glad we got ours early. It was so much fun! Everyone loved this ride!

Then we headed for Tower of Terror (mine and Ellen Anne's favorite ride!) and Rockin' Roller Coaster. ToT had a 40 minute wait and Rockin' roller coaster had a 50 minute wait. We did the Baby/Rider Swap at RnR because Grayson is too short to ride. While DH and the others were in line I went and got ToT fastpasses when our window opened up. After doing the "swap" at RnR we did ToT and then lined up the Beauty and the Beast show.

We then headed for Star Tours. We lucked out with only a 20 minute wait and when we got off the ride the Jedi Training show was starting and our son, Andrew got picked! He was so excited.

We had dinner that night at Coral Reef and it was very good. I know everybody talks about the chocolate wave dessert, which my DH got and was very good, but I got the butterscotch creme brule (sp?) and it was out of this world.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Continued great report, more great pictures!!!

 

[XYSRUS]

Great report and pictures! Thank you!

 

[Brian Shepherd]

GREAT TRIP REPORT....ooohhh, I cannot wait to go!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Day 7, Dec. 19, Epcot - Day 2 World Showcase

We headed back to Epcot for a second day so we could do our favorites in future world and then see the World Showcase. We got there at 9:00 a.m. and went straight to Soarin'. When we got off we got fastpasses and the standby line was 40 minutes. We headed over to Living with the Land, our kids love this "ride" and we waited about 10 minutes. We then headed for Mission Space, the Orange side had a 15 minute wait and the Green side had a 30 minute wait. After that we fastpassed Test Track and headed for Mexico. We did Rio Del Tempio with about a 10 minute wait. After that we went to Norway to ride Maelstrom with a 15 minute standby (I did notice later in the day it was 30 minutes!). By the way, when did they get rid of the Viking ship in Norway? We definitely missed seeing it. We then headed to Germany to see Snow White, my sweet Grayson's favorite princess. We lucked out, as she had just come out, so we were second in line. That did not happen very often, the Character lines were VERY long at all of the parks all week.

Everyone was starving by this point so we went ahead to the American Adventure for our CS lunch. We waited about 10 minutes to order, that was about the average CS wait all week. We had burgers and chicken. Then we headed back to China. The girls wanted to see Mulan and Musha. We missed Mulan, but did get to see Mushu. I love the Terracotta Warrior Exhibit. I hope one day to be able to see the real thing!

We then started to make our way out of Epcot. We used our Soarn' and Test Track Fastpasses on the way out. We then hopped over to DHS for Fantasmic and the Osbourne Lights. We planned on doing ToT or RnR when we got there, but RnR was down and ToT had a 60 minute wait. So we headed on to the Fantasmic Theater. We got seated at about 5:30, an hour before showtime, and the place was already more than half full. By 6:00 it was already packed. We had pretty good seats and really enjoyed the show!

After Fantasmic, we did ToT with a 20 minute wait and then we started walking over to Streets of America to the Osbourne Lights. Here are Ellen Anne and Andrew "acting" scared at ToT. Don't let them fool you, as they love it and rode it about 5 times while we were there.

We got to the lights about 7:50 p.m. so the crowds were starting to go down a bit. We stayed there until about 8:20 p.m. and then headed for our resort. This was our first time to see the lights and they were incredible!

 

[rkmassa]

Your pictures are gorgeous, as are your kids. Just wondering what type/brand camera you used.

 

[photobob]

Excellent photos Tiffany, i hope to go when Christmas decorations are up sometime.

 

[dolphindan1]

Day 2, Dec. 14, Animal Kingdom
We got to AK at about 10:00 a.m. (yes, I know I'm supposed to be there at rope drop, but it just didn't work out) headed to Everest first and got fastpasses and then rode with a standby time of about 20 minutes, the posted wait was 30 minutes. Then we headed for Bugs Life - which we all love! It was about a 15 minute wait.

We then headed to Kilamanjaro Safari and the posted wait time was 40 minutes, we waited about 30 minutes.

We ate at Flame Tree BBQ and it was great, as usual. We tried to wait in line for Lilo and Stich after lunch, before we went to Lion King, but after about 25 minutes we gave up and went on to Lion King where we waited about 25 minutes or so to get in.

We headed to Dinoland after that and all of the Dinosaur fastpasses were gone. The CM said they were all gone by 2:00 at Dinosaur and Everest. The standby line was posted at 40 minutes, we waited about 25 minutes. Primeval Whirl had a posted wait for 70 minutes and my kids waited about 50 minutes to ride it. We finished off the day by using our Everest fastpasses. My MIL and youngest daughter went to the Nemo show. After closing we headed for our dinner ADR at Whispering Canyon. We loved this meal. The food was good and the kids enjoyed the "silliness" of the wait staff.

The next day we headed to Epcot.

We were there that day too...too bad we missed you

 

[dolphindan1]

Day 3, Dec. 15, Epcot

Once again we arrive late, at about 9:30. We head straight for Soarin'. We get fastpasses for later and get in the standby line which is posted at 40 minutes. Our actual wait was about 25 minutes. We then headed to Mission Space and and Test Track. Mission Space had a 15 minute wait for Orange and a 30 minute wait for Green. We then rode Test Track with a 40 minute wait. After that we headed for Spaceship Earth and had a 15 minute wait. Then we went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. The walk ways were very congested. Once again, fastpasses for the big attractions were gone by early afternoon.

We ate at Garden Grill that night with a Candlelight Processional Package. The food was good and our waiter, Patrick, was really great. However, he did forget to give us our passes for the CP and my husband had to go back and get them after we had already gotten around to the other side of the world showcase.

The Candlelight Processional was beautiful and it was a full house. We lined up about 45 minutes early and we ended up in the middle on the right side. They were pretty decent seat. Monique Coleman was our narrator and she did a great job. We saw the last show at 8:15 and then we stayed to see Illuminations. Both were fantastic!

We were gonna go to Epcot this day but that morning changed our minds and went to DS...

 

[dolphindan1]

Day 4, Dec. 16, MVMCP

Since it was Christmas party day, we decided to sleep in and get some rest before the party. It was definitely hot enough to swim. It was pretty much in the mid 80's the whole time we were there. So, after a morning of swimming and an afternoon of napping, we headed to the MK for our 5:00 p.m. dinner ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern. The food was good and the characters were fun.

After dinner we headed around to see the Castle in it's dream lights. It was truly breathtaking. It was packed around the Castle all night. The party was a sell-out and it was very crowded most of the night. We did stake out a good seat for the fireworks early, though.

Then it was time for the second parade. The crowds were still about 6 people deep.

We were there too but left at 7, didnt do the party this trip...but it was crazy when we were leaving...we watched the tree lighting from the empty seats at the closed Terrace Noodle seating...we could see everything and kinda hear it...we herd fairy godmother and mickey easily

 

[dolphindan1]

Day 6, Dec. 18, Disney Hollywood Studios

We were actually supposed to go to Epcot again on this day, but the kids, and my husband, just couldn't wait any longer to try out the new ride, Toy
Story Mania. We rode it first thing that morning with a 20 minute wait. By 10:00 a.m. the wait was 80 minutes. The CM I talked to said the fastpasses were gone by 11 a.m. - we were so glad we got ours early. It was so much fun! Everyone loved this ride!

Then we headed for Tower of Terror (mine and Ellen Anne's favorite ride!) and Rockin' Roller Coaster. ToT had a 40 minute wait and Rockin' roller coaster had a 50 minute wait. We did the Baby/Rider Swap at RnR because Grayson is too short to ride. While DH and the others were in line I went and got ToT fastpasses when our window opened up. After doing the "swap" at RnR we did ToT and then lined up the Beauty and the Beast show.

We then headed for Star Tours. We lucked out with only a 20 minute wait and when we got off the ride the Jedi Training show was starting and our son, Andrew got picked! He was so excited.

We had dinner that night at Coral Reef and it was very good. I know everybody talks about the chocolate wave dessert, which my DH got and was very good, but I got the butterscotch creme brule (sp?) and it was out of this world.

We did go to Epcot this day....

We took part in the morning chaos that is TSM on Monday...I had never seen such an event to get there...We were near the front and I went straight to get FP and the machine wasnt working by then there were 7 to 8 people deep at each machine...we finally got one for a 9:30 return I think, we got in standby and waited I guess 15 mins...I came back and got another FP at 11:30 and it had a return of about 6...So I was lucky to get that one....the ride is good but its not the best ride ever....the new wore off and I was bored on the 3rd ride....I think next trip I will just FP it and not bother with the hassle...we prefer ToT and RnR and the stunt show, which by the way I thought was amazing...DS and Us had the worst crowds for us....of course neither handles any crowd very well. especially DS...which is my least favorite park...if it wasnt for the 2 rides I mentioned we wouldnt waste our time here....

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this over to our trip report board for you.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Your pictures are gorgeous, as are your kids. Just wondering what type/brand camera you used.

Thanks!

I have a digital Canon Rebel Xti. I really love it!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Finally back to finish my trip report!

Day 8, December 20, Magic Kingdom

We got to Magic Kingdom at a bout 9:15 am and headed for Tomorrowland. We did Space Mountain first with about a 15 minute wait and got fastpasses for later. We then did Astro Orbitor, which must be the slowest loading ride in MK (worse than Dumbo I think) it took us like 30 minutes and there didn't seem like that many people in line. We also did Buzz and the Indy Cars with about 20 and 30 minute waits. We then headed to Cosmic Rays for an early lunch at about 11:00 a.m. with virtually no wait, but at about 11:45 when we were finishing up, I looked around and the place was packed out - sure glad we ate early. We then headed to Toontown to see the princesses and the faires. My strategy was to see them while the 12:00 Christmas parade was going on. We got over to the Judges tent a few minutes before 12:00 and the posted wait for the princesses was 20 minutes and the posted wait for the faires was 75 minutes. Since the princesses line was fairly short, I got in that line with my girls and my MIL got in the fairies line to hold us a spot. I think a lot of families appeared to be doing this strategy also. It did take us about 20 minutes to get into the princesses, but the total wait for the fairies was about 40 minutes.

While we girls were seeing the characters, my two guys rode the barnstormer, with a 20 minute wait, and then took the train over to Frontierland to get us fastpasses for Splash Mountain. We met up with them by the teacups and headed over to Auntie Gravities for an ice cream break. I HIGHLy recommend the pinapple-orange smoothie - they were out of this world (excuse the silly pun)! Then then used our fastpasses for Space and Buzz and were just in time to catch a showing of Mickey's Night before Christmas show. The Dec. 16 party was so packed we had no seen it yet, so I was really happy we got to see it.

We then headed to Haunted Mansion and the wait was about 30 minutes. I think it wasn't too long at that point, because people were already starting to line up for the 3:00 Christmas parade. After that we headed for Splash Mountain to use our fastpasses. Grayson doesn't like BTMRR so the CM was nice enough to let us to a Child/Rider Swap for this ride. So my DH and the the three older kids waited in the standby line for about 40 minutes. While Grayson and I waited for them, we decided to sit in the shade on the wall behind the fastpass machines for BTMRR. I had a pretty good view of Frontierland from there and I was just amazed at the crowds - it was just wall-to-wall people once the parade was over. We then fought our way over to Pirates and had a stand-by wait of about 40 minutes. After that I was exhausted and glad to be heading to our 5:30 dinner ADR at O'hana.

We checked into O'Hana at about 5:15 p.m. and we were told "it wouldn't be long. . . " Well, we were finally seated at 6:00 p.m. Luckily, it was worth the wait. This was definitely the best meal of our entire trip. The food was INCREDIBLE, the wait staff was fun and efficient and the kids loved the hula lessons and Limbo games.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Sniff, sniff - our last day in the parks.

Day 9, December 21, Magic Kingdom

We had a 8:00 a.m. breakfast ADR for Crystal Place, so they let us into MK at about 7:45 a.m., which was 15 minutes before actual park opening because it was an EMH morning. This was the first time I have been in MK before actual opening and it was great!

We were seated at CP about 8:10 a.m. and had a great breakfast with Pooh and friends.

After breakfast we did a few of our favorites, before heading back to the resort for a swim and a nap. I wanted to make sure everyone was well rested so we could stay for the late EMH hours at MK that evening. We had late dinner ADRs at Chef Mickey's at 8:30 p.m., but we headed for MK at about 6:30, so we could see SpectoMagic before dinner. I'm so glad we did, because it was fantastic!

After Spectro we headed to Chef Mickey's - always a hit with the kids. The food and characters were great and of course, we did the "napkin dance." After dinner we headed back to MK for EMH. They were open until 2:00 a.m. I didn't really think we would stay that late, but we lasted until 1:30 a.m. It was just about the best part of our entire trip. The weather finally cooled down and the park had very light crowds after about 11 p.m. It was a great end to a great trip!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Hope everyone liked my first ever trip report!

We will probably head back to WDW sometime in 2010. We also want to visit Universal for the first time then and see the new Harry Potter "land."

 

[BigDogMom7]

Thanks for the great trip report, Princess Tiffany! Your outfits look great.