Escape From School to Crazy Christmas Crowds - A December 2017 Trip Report - Finished 5/20

[Lesley Wake]

Finally caught up and I forgot to quote!

I of course had to get a pic of the Periodic Table of Candy...I don’t teach Chemistry anymore, but I used to and this is still cool to me!

I need to stop by and see this next time!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Your score is way better than I ever get

It sure does pay to get to parks early, I have noticed now a days an hour early at least, so busy!

 

[cstorm65]

Finally caught up and I forgot to quote!

I need to stop by and see this next time!

Hey, I understand! I am the worst at commenting on other peoples posts. I love reading, but I read so much at once I don't even know what I want to say by the time I'm all caught up! haha

Your score is way better than I ever get

It sure does pay to get to parks early, I have noticed now a days an hour early at least, so busy!

So true! My Dad wasn't too happy about getting up early, but we won him over on this day! And that we all went back and took naps later!

 

[cstorm65]

Day 4 - Part 2 - Cream Cheese Pretzels...Yes, Again!

We had just finished our morning ride on Toy Story and we headed over for a ride on Star Tours. No one else was really feeling up to a simulator ride, so DS5 and I rode. What a great queue area this ride has...I could hang out in here exploring for a while!

We had a great ride and when we got out we found everyone sitting and sharing these delicious looking cream cheese filled pretzels! DS1 was obviously enjoying himself!

Everyone loved them so much that by the time DS5 and I got there the two they were sharing were gone, so I had to go get us one to share. Let me say, it was definitely worth it. A perfect snack!! We headed back because the next thing we wanted to do was to see the Muppets show, but on the way we saw a Photopass spot and DS5 and I wanted to get some pictures! As you can see I’m not very good at using The Force!

We enjoyed our show at Muppets after this, especially my parents and the boys, before heading off for another ride on Star Tours, this time with a FP. My dad went with us this time and he loved the ride! My mom and DW weren’t really in a simulator mood so they kept DS1 and found a photopass photographer at this great spot and got some of my favorite pictures! Get ready for some adorable pics!

After our Star Tours Ride we headed over to check in for our lunch here:

"Mom...open your eyes!"

Also, I'm putting this picture in here now. It ended up out of order somewhere, but of course DS5 wanted to show off his driver's license that he got at lunch!

We were ready for our lunch, but that’s coming up next!

Up Next: “My Olaf!”​

 

[amberdc1987]

Okay so I started reading this when your stared writing it then I left and now I'm back and all caught up! Yeah have had a great start. I'm so sorry for all the people in Epcot . Ugh it looked tough.

I had never heard of those cream cheese pretzels. So are they like stuffed or something? They look amazing . I'll have to see if I can find them when we go in December. Two of my favorite things combined sounds amazing!

 

[disneyAndi14]

The pictures of ds1 are so cute on the speed racer, not sure of the name.

We really like Sci-fi, one of our favorites.

 

[cstorm65]

Okay so I started reading this when your stared writing it then I left and now I'm back and all caught up! Yeah have had a great start. I'm so sorry for all the people in Epcot . Ugh it looked tough.

We definitely hit some crowds on this trip, as we expected at that time of year, but for whatever reason that night in Epcot was the worst!

I had never heard of those cream cheese pretzels. So are they like stuffed or something? They look amazing . I'll have to see if I can find them when we go in December. Two of my favorite things combined sounds amazing!

So incredible! Stuffed with cream cheese. I agree, those are two great things and when you put them together...ahhh...now I'm hungry!

The pictures of ds1 are so cute on the speed racer, not sure of the name.

We really like Sci-fi, one of our favorites.

Those are some of my favorite pics of the trip. Seeing his face is what it's all about!

 

[cstorm65]

Day 4 - Part 3 - “My Olaf”

After a great morning of touring Hollywood Studios we were fairly quickly seated for our lunch at one of our favorite places...Sci-Fi Diner. We actually hadn’t planned on this meal on this trip, but we all decided earlier in the day it would be nice to do something for lunch and I was able to snag this reservation on the app after refreshing for about 30 minutes!

But it was worth it as we all sat down to this:

DW and DS5 sat together in the front of our car.

My mom had gotten DS1 an Olaf stuffed animal earlier in the morning and he was loving it! He kept saying “My Olaf” anytime anyone would ask him about it!

DS5 was enjoying the show!

I never get any good food pics in here because of the lighting, but here’s what we had. I ordered the Sci-Fi Seasonal Specialty Burger. It was topped with a fried green tomato which was cooked perfectly and made the burger really good. It was still a Disney burger patty, so not great, but it was definitely something I’d order again.

DW got the Classic American Burger - our signature blend of beef on a brioche bun, topped with caramelized onions, American cheese, bacon, lettuce and gourmet tomato for $19. She enjoyed it, especially the bacon!

DS5 got the kids chicken noodle soup...yes, you read that correctly. Let me tell you this kid loves chicken noodle soup. I mean we send it for lunch with him a couple of days a week. He ate it all eventually, although it was unbelievably hot when they brought it out, so watch out if your kid orders it!

DS1 got the chicken nuggets and he of course enjoyed them...well, he enjoyed the ranch dressing with a little bit of chicken nugget.

My Dad got a rib plate that I don’t see on the menu anymore. He really liked them and kept going on about how good they were. I tried one he couldn’t finish and they were definitely good. He wasn’t too impressed with their mac ‘n cheese here as he is quite the mac ‘n cheese connoisseur

My Mom got the Drive in BBQ Burger - our signature blend of beef, BBQ spice, brioche bun, house-made BBQ sauce, bacon, and cheddar served with crispy-fried jalapeno and onion straws for $21. She really enjoyed this as well. She also tried a holiday special the Gingerbread shake and said it was awesome. The boys helped her finish it off and they both enjoyed it!

Overall it was a great meal and almost all of the food we got was a total hit. It was also nice to get this reservation on the busy day on the spur of the moment, so that was great as well.

Anyways, that was about the end of the morning for us. DS1 was certainly ready for a nap as it was about 12:30 by now. Of course we had to stop for a photopass photographer in front of the Hollywood Studios tree.

I also have this picture of me and DS5 as we were leaving the park:

And of course I had to get the obligatory construction photo of the skyway construction, which was in it’s infancy at this point.

Anyways, it was time for a break. Stick around to see what we did with ourselves this evening.

Up Next: That’s a Lot of People with Fastpasses​

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love the magic shots with the pictures by the water, very cool!

We always enjoy the atmosphere and food at Sci-fi, such a fun and relaxing spot all at the same time!

 

[amberdc1987]

Love those magic shots! I will have to remember those when we go in December.

Sci-Fi is one of my favorite places! The food is okay. But the whole reason I love it is the atmosphere! It's is one of the best places to eat.

 

[cstorm65]

I love the magic shots with the pictures by the water, very cool!

I like them too. I wasn't sure where all of the Christmas magic shots were since we'd never been at this time of year, so this was nice to find!

We always enjoy the atmosphere and food at Sci-fi, such a fun and relaxing spot all at the same time!

Yes, a fun spot for sure. We've always found it great for the kids, but I think I'd go there without them too!

Love those magic shots! I will have to remember those when we go in December.

I like those pictures as well! It was a nice place to find.

Sci-Fi is one of my favorite places! The food is okay. But the whole reason I love it is the atmosphere! It's is one of the best places to eat.

I agree. The food isn't the only reason to go, although I think the food has gotten better since we started going there 3-4 years ago. So we enjoy that part as well. Also, do the shakes count as food? If so I love the food here! haha

 

[cstorm65]

Day 4 - Part 4 - That’s a Lot of People with Fastpasses

After our great lunch at Sci Fi we were back at the bus stop by 1:00 and a bus came within 10 minutes. DS1 was still loving the bus rides!

DS5 took the opportunity to play on my Dad’s phone during the ride!

We were back “home” at 1:25 and everyone was ready to settle down for a little nap. I only napped for about an hour as I usually do and then headed out to explore a little bit. It was a cloudy afternoon around the resort.

A picture at one of my favorite locations at All Star Sports.

DW went to walk around at some point to this afternoon! She even visited the basketball area of the resort, which we hadn’t see yet.

After some much needed rest this afternoon we were back at the bus stop by 5:00. We waited about 15 minutes for a bus to come, then DS5 found a friend on the ride.

Where were we headed? Well, the Magic Kingdom of course!

What a beautiful night it was as those clouds had moved out to make way for a great sunset over the Grand Floridian.

Of course I could photograph this all day.

We even got a family shot in front of the castle, but we decided not to wait for a photopass photographer at this time. We were hungry and ready for dinner!

We headed over to have dinner at Pecos Bills and I ordered for us and came back to DS1 like this:

I’m not sure what was going on there! Haha. I guess I was off my game too because I didn’t write anything down about what we ate or anything else about this meal, nor did I take any pictures. When you have grandparents there you just really try to take in every moment you can and that’s what we did during this meal. I also forgot to mention we had a Big Thunder FP right before dinner, but the fastpass line was about ½ the way back towards Pecos Bills on the bridge heading over to Big Thunder. I told DW, "That's a Lot of People with FP's". I guess those clouds we saw early shut some rides down at some point in the day. It was a long line, so we headed on to dinner. Now, you thought that fastpass line was long, wait until the next update!

Up Next: I’ve Never Seen a Fastpass Line This Long​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I am finally back and all caught up!

something he wanted in Liberty Inn! In six other trips I had never been inside of that quick service location.

We have never been in there either! For awhile I didn't even know it exhisted..

As you can see I’m not very good at using The Force!

Better get practicing!

So cute!

Also, I'm putting this picture in here now. It ended up out of order somewhere, but of course DS5 wanted to show off his driver's license that he got at lunch!

We didn't get any this trip but the drivers liscense were a big hit last time.

My mom had gotten DS1 an Olaf stuffed animal earlier in the morning and he was loving it! He kept saying “My Olaf” anytime anyone would ask him about it!

cute. And great coloring!

 

[Lizzie the Banker]

I’m enjoying your trip report very much. I’ve never seen an AS Sports report so I think your pics are great.

 

[taymorel]

Loving your trip report!!

 

[cstorm65]

I am finally back and all caught up!

Well, sorry your trip had to end, but I'm looking forward to reading all about it!!!

We have never been in there either! For awhile I didn't even know it exhisted..

Me either. I don't know that me or DW would ever want to eat there, but I'm sure it's good for some people.

Better get practicing!

I know...I heard a little something about Disney adding more Stars Wars to the parks. Has anyone else heard this?? Haha!!

So cute!

Some of my favorite photopass pics of all time!

We didn't get any this trip but the drivers liscense were a big hit last time.

This was the first time we've gotten them, so the boys got a kick out of it.

I’m enjoying your trip report very much. I’ve never seen an AS Sports report so I think your pics are great.

We really enjoyed All Star Sports. I mean you certainly have to know what you're getting from the resort, but it was great for us!

Loving your trip report!!

Thanks for reading along!

 

[cstorm65]

Day 4 - Part 5 - I’ve Never Seen a Fastpass Line This Long

We had just finished our dinner at Pecos Bills, that I failed to photograph, but hey...we were having a great time! That’s all that matter right? After dinner we headed over to use another FP at Peter Pan.

DS1 loved the ride that’s had become one of his favorites! After Pan we stopped next door and did Philharmagic which was awesome for me as always! After Philharmagic we had FP’s at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. DS5 and I went with my parents and then DS5 and DW went after on the child swap.

While the first group of us was riding DW went in search of something she’d seen for the kids that she wanted to get them. Glow toys! And she found them in Fantasyland. DS1 was loving his when we returned and DS5 was soon happy to find he had his own Buzz Lightyear one.

I’ll also tell you guys, it’s now 16 months after this trip and the Buzz Lightyear one is still running here at the house! It was about 8:30 at this point and my Parents were a little tired and they wanted to take DS1 back and put him to bed so we walked them to the front gate. I gave my Dad a quick lesson on how to collapse the stroller for the bus and they were off to rest and get DS1 in bed. The rest of us headed back into the park for some more fun.

Our first stop back in the park was for some tasty treats...I mean that is what your supposed to eat at 9:00 PM.

We then dropped in for a ride on Pirates with only a 10 minute wait.

After pirates we jumped on the Magic Carpets, which I failed to photograph because DS5 was trying to get us wet, but only waited five minutes for that ride. After our time in Adventureland we headed across the park as we had our final FP of the night coming up at Space Mountain, but first, DS5 had requested this:

As you all know I’m the designated Teacup rider in our family...DW says no way to that one, but it’s fun for me, at least for now. After our “spin” on the teacups we headed down into Tomorrowland and were met with a FP line for Space Mountain that stretched out all the way past The Lunching Pad. I’m not kidding you guys! DS5 really wanted to ride, so we jumped in line. It moved pretty continuously, but it still took us about 30-35 minutes to get onto the ride. I wrote down that Seven Dwarfs and Big Thunder had both closed for significant amounts of time on this day and so the FP lines were really backed up everywhere. Anyway, it was a long FP wait, but we ended up getting to ride and DS5 loved it again!

We were off the ride about 10:45 and we took a few minutes to walk around as we headed out of the park. I got one quick photo of these two in front of the castle.

Then we of course stopped and marveled at the Christmas tree.

Overall, it was a great night at the Magic Kingdom, but we were tired. We were at the bus stop at 11:10 and it took about 10 minutes for a bus to come. We were back at 11:40 and by midnight we were all fast asleep. Good thing we didn’t have to be up super early in the morning, although we have a couple of really fun things planned, so stay tuned in!

Up Next: 2018 Merchandise is on Sale!​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Well, sorry your trip had to end, but I'm looking forward to reading all about it!!!

I had to tell the girls many times on the Sunday we came back that all good things must come to an end! I hope to get my new trip report started this weekend. I just can't muster the mental power to do so during the week.

I know...I heard a little something about Disney adding more Stars Wars to the parks. Has anyone else heard this?? Haha!!

Maaayyybeeee... I am only stalking the AP Preview thread like it's my job! As my board name may suggest, we may be excitied about it. But also NOT excitied for the crowds.

This was the first time we've gotten them, so the boys got a kick out of it.

Gwen tried to convince us for weeks after that we "NEEDED" to buy her a hotwheels, since she had a drivers liscense now.

Our first stop back in the park was for some tasty treats...I mean that is what your supposed to eat at 9:00 PM.

um Of Course!!! Is that the cirtus float? That is seriously my new favorite!

How nice that you go to have some evening fun with just you guys and DS5!

 

[cstorm65]

I had to tell the girls many times on the Sunday we came back that all good things must come to an end! I hope to get my new trip report started this weekend. I just can't muster the mental power to do so during the week.

I understand that! Sometimes you just need a quite day at home to get re-focused on the trip reporting!

Maaayyybeeee... I am only stalking the AP Preview thread like it's my job! As my board name may suggest, we may be excitied about it. But also NOT excitied for the crowds.

I know it is going to be such a great thing, but the crowds I fear are going to make it difficult at least for...oh, I don't know...10 years or so. I hope by the time we got in summer of 2020 it's slowed down enough for us to at least experience a little.

Gwen tried to convince us for weeks after that we "NEEDED" to buy her a hotwheels, since she had a drivers liscense now.

That's great! Thank goodness hot wheels are only like $1 each! ha

um Of Course!!! Is that the cirtus float? That is seriously my new favorite!

Yes!! DW still likes the Dole Whip better, but I am in Love with the Citrus Swirl and the Citrus Swirl float!

How nice that you go to have some evening fun with just you guys and DS5!

I know. It is definitely a benefit to having other people on the trip with us.

 

[cstorm65]

Day 5 - Part 1 - Who Needs 2018 Merchandise in 2017?

After a late night we had a morning to sleep in today. Unfortunately for you that means not a lot of pictures to document what we did. DW and me took DS1 down to get some breakfast, but DS5 wanted to stay in the room with my parents so we just bought him something. I had the chocolate chip pancakes and they were ok, but the tater tots were pretty good as they usually are. DW and DS1 just shared a kids meal and they said everything was pretty good except the biscuit. She said it tasted like it had been sitting since yesterday and wasn’t warm at all.

Anyways, DS5 and I did a little swimming later in the morning before getting to the bus stop at 11:10 to head to the Magic Kingdom! The bus came in about five minutes, but for the only time on this trip we also had to stop at All Star Music & All Star Movies. I was pretty happy this was the only bus all week that we had to do multiple stops, I had heard some horror stories about the buses, but none of that happened on this trip.

Before anyone asks...yes, we are from Oklahoma and yes, DS5 is a huge Clemson football fan. No, I don't know how he became one, we now have to watch them on TV every week with him. It just kind of happened and now he has jersey's of the team and everything.

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 11:45 and walked through the Emporium only to see they had put the 2018 merchandise out overnight! At this point it was still about 10 days until the new year, but it was kind of cool to see this stuff.

We came out after looking for a few minutes when we heard the music to the Dance Party Parade. For the life of me I can’t keep up with all of the different things this parade/street party has been named over the last several years. The boys love watching it come down the street though.

It was about 12:10 by the time the parade got by us and we headed off to use our first FP of the day. We were trying to move quick today as we had a few things to do before leaving to eat at one of our favorite Disney World restaurants.

Up Next: Meeting Our Daring Heros​