Get out of the pool!! - Nine Nights, Three Resorts, and a Surprise Upgrade, July 2019 TR - Final Update 1/22

[jrmint427]

Aw, I hate to talk folks out of summer trips. We're doing it for the 3rd year in a row next year, so it hasn't been bad enough to completely scare us off. We did spring break in March one year and that weather was amazing, though.

I'm glad to hear it's not so bad to keep you from an annual summer trip! March will be our other option... it looks like the weather will be much better, but I'm worried the crowds will be worse. How were the March crowds compared to summer crowds?

They'll be thrilled to have an audience member. And he did have a favorite. Stay tuned...(ok, it was Artist Point)

Haha thanks for not keeping me in suspense! AP was probably my favorite mac n' cheese of the trip too.

DH agreed to take all of our dirty clothes to the laundry room and get them washed while I agreed to…drum roll…rope drop Epcot alone with the kids.

I think you got the better end of the deal haha... I will do about anything to avoid laundry!

After we said goodbye to R&V Alex, of course, asked to ride Figment. As we were already there and the line was completely non-existent we went ahead and did so. We had the entire ride to ourselves.

I've still never been on this ride!

I made us stop at the photopass photographer on the bridge on the way back out the International Gateway.

Cute pictures!

Alex didn’t want to start working on his shake while the server was still there (because of course) so this was his sad longing face as he waited to begin drinking it.

That is an amazing display of patience. I'm not sure I would have outlasted the server.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

? As it turned out, no. Those people were rope dropping the short film festival (???). Whatever floats your boat.

I mean, totally, whatever works but.... really?

The kids decided to pick at each other for the 10 minutes we had to stand there. Cora put her hands on her hips and her elbow hit Alex so then it became a battle of him trying to control how she stood. Really made me feel good about volunteering to bring them into the park.

Sybling love!

Alex didn’t want to start working on his shake while the server was still there (because of course) so this was his sad longing face as he waited to begin drinking it.

that poor face... It is just taunting him....

 

[Jfsag123]

I agree that a huge advantage of staying at an Epcot resort is the ease of popping in and out of Epcot. We do it all the time and it really has us spoiled - so much so, that even though I actually like the Poly more than the YC/BC, we tend to stay at the YC or BC more because of the ease.

We're the same! I feel like BLT is my actual favorite resort, but I'm getting to the point where I will choose BC or BWI over it because of the Epcot factor. I love that park so much.

We love D-Luxe burger. I haven’t been there in a few trips though so we really need to visit next time. Have you tried Chicken Guy yet? That’s another one I want to try.

I haven't! I was thinking about it this trip, but, obviously, went with D-Luxe again instead. One day...

I'm glad to hear it's not so bad to keep you from an annual summer trip! March will be our other option... it looks like the weather will be much better, but I'm worried the crowds will be worse. How were the March crowds compared to summer crowds?

The March crowds were significant, but at that time (2015) they were still opening and closing the park earlier and later to accommodate crowds, which was great. We did a 7:00am EMH at MK on that trip and it was glorious. They also ran the parade twice a day. They haven't been doing that in late July. Shorter hours + heat made the crowds feel worse this year in July than March did. However last July and the year we went in June were much better crowds than March by quite a bit.

Haha thanks for not keeping me in suspense! AP was probably my favorite mac n' cheese of the trip too.

It looked really good.

I think you got the better end of the deal haha... I will do about anything to avoid laundry!

I was thinking I did too until the kids started being pains. Then I felt a little jealous of him getting time to just sit in quiet and look at his phone in peace while the clothes were in the wash lol. However, I still agree I got the better deal.

I've still never been on this ride!

It doesn't hold a candle to the old version, but you've gotta try it at least once if only for the classic Sherman brothers song!

Cute pictures!

Thanks!

That is an amazing display of patience. I'm not sure I would have outlasted the server.

I for sure didn't. Mine was a third of the way gone by the time he left.

I mean, totally, whatever works but.... really?

My thoughts exactly lol

that poor face... It is just taunting him....

I felt a little bad for him...but only a little! Mostly I found it pretty hilarious.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

What a great "off" day! I'm glad the kids were able to meet Ralph and Vanellope - and even better that they were FIRST and had a long interaction! Being able to saunter over to Epcot easily is definitely an advantage of the Epcot resorts.

I've never heard of the Photopass shop at Disney Springs! What great pictures! I'm not sure if we'll make it to Disney Springs on our next trip, but I'll have to keep it in mind for the future.

 

[Jfsag123]

What a great "off" day! I'm glad the kids were able to meet Ralph and Vanellope - and even better that they were FIRST and had a long interaction! Being able to saunter over to Epcot easily is definitely an advantage of the Epcot resorts.

I felt a little silly going through the rope drop stuff for just that, but it worked out well. Never could have done that from a different resort area!

I've never heard of the Photopass shop at Disney Springs! What great pictures! I'm not sure if we'll make it to Disney Springs on our next trip, but I'll have to keep it in mind for the future.

I think most people don't know about it. There were only a couple of other families in there the whole time we were there. I think it's mainly used for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique portraits, but it's actually open for anyone with memory maker to use. Next year I'm thinking we'll take Christmas card photos there.

 

[Jfsag123]

Next trip update: so this trip has been morphing pretty quickly, as I tend to change my mind a bunch leading up to having to start booking dining, and in some cases even FP+, much to the annoyance of everyone around me. All that is to say that the plans I have now are in no way guaranteed to be the final thing, but here goes. We got one of those “past guest” pin codes that was good through June 30th. In order to take advantage of the pin code (we’ve gotten several, but never been able to use one before!), we moved up our dates. We’re now planning on going 6/25-7/5. So we’ll still be there for the 4th, but it will now be the end of our trip instead of the beginning. Anyone who has read one of my reports before knows we love our split stays, so we’re planning on another triple split – 3 nights Boardwalk, 3 nights Grand Floridian, 4 nights Beach Club. Feeling pretty set on part 1. Parts 2 and 3 are subject to change (who am I kidding, part 1 is also subject to change). We’ve never done the Grand before and Alex has been begging to try it, so we’ll see if it sticks. That was his proposed trade for me moving the trip off of his birthday date (7/8), which we would have been there for with the original dates. We’re still calling it his birthday trip and he’ll still get a day to celebrate his bday on the trip, it just won’t be the actual day. Dining date is still 2 months out, so stay tuned for more inevitable changes!

 

[Jfsag123]

Day 4: July 22, Part 3 – Hollywood Studios

We put the fabulous location of the Boardwalk to good use again to walk back to Hollywood Studios after our break. I decided that I actually like the location of the Boardwalk better than Beach Club. Beach Club is great for Epcot access, but DHS is a bit of a hike. From the Boardwalk it’s a nice easy walk and Epcot is still right there. But I still like the Beach Club more as an overall resort. Sigh. Disney problems.

We started in Toy Story Land with a FP for Slinky Dog Dash. Really not my best look on the ride photo…

Ok, this may be a little gross, but as we were standing in line I noticed that Cora had neglected to shave her armpits for a bit. She is now at the age where she needs to do that regularly, but still at the age where she doesn’t remember regularly. Her unshaven pits were wonderfully displayed in the sleeveless top she was in (note that she self-consciously kept her arms down in the ride photo above), so we decided to get her a t-shirt to put over it. She hadn’t gotten many souvenirs on the trip and is always down for a new Star Wars t-shirt, so we headed over to the Star Tours gift shop to let her pick something out. She ended up getting a “The Force is Strong in My Family” shirt and it’s become one of her favorites. Fortunately, the store was not far from where we were headed next anyway. Where was that, you ask? A dining establishment we had not yet experienced.

I don’t know if that picture is ruined or improved by the random girl in the corner biting her nails, but I’m just gonna go with it.

So as I said, we’d never eaten here before, but had considered it several times. We loved the atmosphere.

The food? …eh, not so much. It wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t my favorite. We paid out of pocket for this one, as it didn’t seem like a great use of a dining plan credit. I could only really get pictures of my food and Cora’s food, as we were in one of the cars, the boys sat in the row ahead of us, and it was pretty dark. But

I got myself another pina colava. Yum!

Cora got a cherry coke with plenty of cherries in it, which made her very happy.

And she ordered a meal with lots of meat, the Sci-Fi Barbecue Platter, which made her even happier.

I got the chicken pasta.

The portion size was big, but the food was pretty bland. I only finished about half of it. I tried to get a to-go box, but it took our server so long to bring one that I ended up just leaving it there, as we had a fastpass to make. It didn’t feel like a big loss. I don’t remember what the boys got, but I’m all but certain Alex’s was mac and cheese (of course). There was definitely more added to the musical here, so he must have gotten it.

I don’t want to come across as too negative on Sci-Fi. Both kids loved everything about this place, and our server was really nice, just got kind of slow at the end. But both of us adults agreed that it was low on our list of food, which is a shame because the concept is awesome. I’d be willing to give it another shot, though.

The fastpass we were almost late for was for my favorite thrill ride in WDW, so no way I was missing that.

Ok, I know it looks like I’m the only one who’s having a good time, but I swear we all love Rockin’ Rollercoaster. The rest of my family does look hilariously tortured here, though.

After RnRC we headed across the way to use our final FP+ at Fantasmic(!). This show gets a lot of hate around these parts, but we all love it, even after seeing the Disneyland version, which is typically touted as being far superior. The DL version was amazing, but we still love ours too. And our seating arrangement beats DL’s by a mile.

Sadly, shortly after we sat down it started to rain. They started making announcements that the show may be delayed or cancelled. A few people left pretty quickly. We put on our ponchos and awaited further information. The waves through the crowd started up shortly after, of course. DH hates the wave and I love threatening to start waves in public places to irritate him. I got really into the wave here for his benefit. He was not amused.

It continued to rain. They continued to play the same announcement. People continued to leave. We talked about leaving, but decided to soldier on.

We figured we’d be rewarded for our persistence with a mostly unobstructed view or be punished by a long, late, wet, walk back to the resort with no Fantasmic! to show for it. They kept making that same announcement right up until about 5 minutes before the show was scheduled to start. So were we rewarded or punished?

Woot! And it actually started on time! The walk back to the Boardwalk was easy, and made even more awesome by seeing a young guy (looked early 20s) all by himself walking back to the parking lot pumping his fist and exuberantly singing the Fantasmic! music. And it wasn’t even raining anymore.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Ok, this may be a little gross, but as we were standing in line I noticed that Cora had neglected to shave her armpits for a bit. She is now at the age where she needs to do that regularly, but still at the age where she doesn’t remember regularly. Her unshaven pits were wonderfully displayed in the sleeveless top she was in

Morgan is in the exact same place! It is a hard age, they don't really understand / get all of it just yet.

The food? …eh, not so much. It wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t my favorite.

The food is just ok. But I don't think it is bad. We don't really like most of the sit down places in HS anyway. We have started leaving and going to DS on HS day.

The fastpass we were almost late for was for my favorite thrill ride in WDW, so no way I was missing that.

I love it. It looks like you are enjoying there torchure. Also, Someone mentioned on another TR that if you are late to a FP becuase of dinner, you can show them your reciept that, that is why you were late, and they would let you still go. No idea if it actually works... but it couldn't hurt.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I agree with your on Sci-Fi - great atmosphere, mediocre food. I think the best way to experience Sci-Fi is with an afternoon reservation for a snack. Their shakes are excellent and it would be a nice break in the air conditioning!

I love RNRC and always look like I'm terrified in the picture. The launch on RNRC makes it impossible for me to look anything but crazy in the ride photo.

What great luck on Fantasmic - I'm glad you stuck it out!

 

[disny_luvr]

We got that same pin code after not getting one for years, and wouldn’t you know it, next year we are traveling in August. We thought about switching to late June, but gosh darn it, I want to be in Disney for my birthday, so August it is. I’m really hoping for a pin code for that time. Since you are booking with a pin code, no DVC stay this trip?

So, we don’t really love Sci-Fi either. We keep on talking about trying it again, but all the reports I read say the food is meh. I’m impressed that you ate and then rode RnR. That makes me feel .

I’m glad you stuck it out for Fantasmic! We love it, too, but my one son loves it more than any of us. As long as he’s in tow, we’ll never miss it, unless it’s canceled for weather.

 

[ariane37]

Great day! As for Cora and the shaving, it was the same for both my boys when they got to the point where they needed to shower every day. They wouldn't remember or wouldn't want to and depending on the day I would or wouldn't feel like arguing!

I must say I am with Alex and you should keep the Grand for next summer. I didn't think I would particularly love it but it has become my 2nd favorite resort now Plus you can check another one off your list!

 

[Jfsag123]

Morgan is in the exact same place! It is a hard age, they don't really understand / get all of it just yet.

I'm ready for it to click in, because I'm getting sick of doing shaving and deodorant checks lol

The food is just ok. But I don't think it is bad. We don't really like most of the sit down places in HS anyway. We have started leaving and going to DS on HS day.

It's a shame because we all love that park and want to spend lots of time there, but there isn't a single QS or TS there that we really enjoy, so it's hard to stay in that park for a long time because we want to plan meals elsewhere. I'm thinking we'll try 50's Primetime next trip and hope we like it beter.

I love it. It looks like you are enjoying there torchure. Also, Someone mentioned on another TR that if you are late to a FP becuase of dinner, you can show them your reciept that, that is why you were late, and they would let you still go. No idea if it actually works... but it couldn't hurt.

Good to know! I hope to not need that info, but undoubtedly will at some point.

I agree with your on Sci-Fi - great atmosphere, mediocre food. I think the best way to experience Sci-Fi is with an afternoon reservation for a snack. Their shakes are excellent and it would be a nice break in the air conditioning!

That might be something we try in the future, as we really did love the atmosphere.

I love RNRC and always look like I'm terrified in the picture. The launch on RNRC makes it impossible for me to look anything but crazy in the ride photo.

For some reason the launch always seems to make me grin, even though I'm terrified of the feeling. I think I'm always just so happy to be on that ride.

What great luck on Fantasmic - I'm glad you stuck it out!

Yes! I'm glad we did too. Would have felt like something was missing if we had gone the whole trip without Fantasmic.

We got that same pin code after not getting one for years, and wouldn’t you know it, next year we are traveling in August. We thought about switching to late June, but gosh darn it, I want to be in Disney for my birthday, so August it is. I’m really hoping for a pin code for that time. Since you are booking with a pin code, no DVC stay this trip?

I get it! I still feel pangs of wanting to return to my original July dates to be there for Alex's birthday. I guess we'll see when the discounts drop. We may still end up with a DVC rental for at least part of the stay, as we always do split stays. I know I'll run out of time on getting one booked pretty soon, but we'd be glad to to AKL again if we rented one, so the countdown clock is a little less strict. We really liked staying on the hotel side this last trip, so it kind of spoiled us.

So, we don’t really love Sci-Fi either. We keep on talking about trying it again, but all the reports I read say the food is meh. I’m impressed that you ate and then rode RnR. That makes me feel .

We as a family seem to be immune to motion sickness, even after just having eaten. I don't understand it, but am thankful for it.

I’m glad you stuck it out for Fantasmic! We love it, too, but my one son loves it more than any of us. As long as he’s in tow, we’ll never miss it, unless it’s canceled for weather.

It's DH's favorite night time show (despite the pre-show wave lol), so we had to at least try!

Great day! As for Cora and the shaving, it was the same for both my boys when they got to the point where they needed to shower every day. They wouldn't remember or wouldn't want to and depending on the day I would or wouldn't feel like arguing!

It's a battle I continue to choose to pick, but I don't know how much longer my stamina will last.

I must say I am with Alex and you should keep the Grand for next summer. I didn't think I would particularly love it but it has become my 2nd favorite resort now Plus you can check another one off your list!

But you got upgraded to the amazing suite! Kidding, I know you've stayed other times. Honestly, the idea is growing on me and I like the idea of checking another one off the list. I'm still too fickle a Disney traveler to commit, but the odds are looking better.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

As we arrived at the pavilion, I saw other people approaching at a fast walk just ahead of us. Oh no. Were we going to be beaten for first in line to meet the characters? As it turned out, no. Those people were rope dropping the short film festival (???). Whatever floats your boat.

Interesting choice lol. Glad they weren't beating you to the characters though!

We got a bunch of pastries that we split that I didn’t take pictures of and just enjoyed sitting on the boardwalk while eating. It was incredibly peaceful and so beautiful.

That sounds lovely. Wish I was doing that now!

That's awesome!!

DH hates the wave and I love threatening to start waves in public places to irritate him. I got really into the wave here for his benefit. He was not amused.

 

[ErinF]

I just caught up on your trip report! The DIS had stopped going me notifications so I had some catching up to do. You all always seem to have so much fun. Sorry that you didn't love Sci-Fi, we haven't tried it yet. We have been to 50's Prime Time twice now and we do love it there, so I think you need to give it a try. Your server can really make it fun as they play your cousin/babysitter/etc. and I think the food is delicious!

So I just remembered that you all were in Disneyland over the break just like us, but I can't remember if we overlapped or not. Maybe by just one day? I hope you had a wonderful trip! We lucked out and our first 2 park days (Nov 21st and 22nd) were amazing and proved to be just crowd level 1's on Touring Plans. Sunday the 25th, our 3rd and last park day, was a 5 so it felt so much busier, but we had already done pretty much everything we wanted to do the first two days. Are you going to do a DL trip report??

 

[Jfsag123]

Interesting choice lol. Glad they weren't beating you to the characters though!

Back in the day we once saw people using fastpasses at Captain EO within the first hour of park opening.

That sounds lovely. Wish I was doing that now!

Me tooooo

I just caught up on your trip report! The DIS had stopped going me notifications so I had some catching up to do. You all always seem to have so much fun. Sorry that you didn't love Sci-Fi, we haven't tried it yet. We have been to 50's Prime Time twice now and we do love it there, so I think you need to give it a try. Your server can really make it fun as they play your cousin/babysitter/etc. and I think the food is delicious!

I've got 50's on the schedule for next time and I'm determined to keep it in the plans. Based on some of the feedback here I think we may try Sci-Fi again as a lunch reservation and just do apps and desserts. The themeing is so great and we always struggle with what to eat for lunch in DHS as none of the quick services are really any good.

So I just remembered that you all were in Disneyland over the break just like us, but I can't remember if we overlapped or not. Maybe by just one day? I hope you had a wonderful trip! We lucked out and our first 2 park days (Nov 21st and 22nd) were amazing and proved to be just crowd level 1's on Touring Plans. Sunday the 25th, our 3rd and last park day, was a 5 so it felt so much busier, but we had already done pretty much everything we wanted to do the first two days. Are you going to do a DL trip report??

I'm not planning to do a DL trip report, but wrote a little bit about it in the post below. I think we just missed each other! We flew into CA the night of the 22nd and went to the parks on 11/23. We skipped Sunday the 24th and did non park days, then were back the 25-27 and again 11/29. We definitely had some crowds when the weather was nice, but the crowds scattered when the cold and rain came in! I missed the beautiful weather, but the lack of crowds was soooo worth it. The photos below are from DCA the day before Thanksgiving, taken between 9:00 and 11:00am. We were there the same day last year and it was such a striking difference.

 

[Jfsag123]

Disneyland, November 22-30, 2019

I must take a moment here to pay homage to that other Disney park on the opposite coast, which is the reason I’ve been away from this for so long! I got into heavy Disneyland/trip planning mode, then actually went on the trip, then needed to time to recover from/mourn the end of the trip. We went to Disneyland over Thanksgiving and had an amazing time, despite some rain and cold temperatures. I won’t do a full report, but if you’ll indulge me, I’ll share a bit here. We were in the parks for 5 days, 4 before Thanksgiving as well as Friday, 11/29. We stayed with my MIL who lives about 20 minutes away from the parks (seen in a few photos below, also a Disney nut) for most of the trip, but spent 3 nights at the Disneyland Hotel, which we LOVED. We had breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen Thanksgiving morning, got to enjoy the “snow” on Main Street during the fireworks, and had our first ride on Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run. The holiday versions of Haunted Mansion and it’s a small world were as great as I remembered and my kids got to meet Jack and Sally dressed as Jack and Sally, which was a highlight.

Probably the most memorable moment of the trip came on the last day, when we got stuck on Space Mountain. Space Mountain in Disneyland is pretty much my favorite ride in a Disney park. It’s so superior to WDW’s that I don’t even go on that one anymore because it’s just a disappointment. They had the Star Wars overlay going on, which was cool, as we’d never seen it before. About halfway through the ride it stopped abruptly. I was kind of terrified for a moment that another car was going to come slamming into the back of us, but then they turned the lights on. I have briefly seen Space with the lights on once at WDW when we were riding the Peoplemover when it was down, but it was extra awesome to actually have the perspective of sitting in a ride vehicle with the lights on.

We were thinking we were going to end up needing to be evacuated off, but nope! CM’s actually came around and push-started us down the track, which was wild. We got to finish the rest of the ride with the lights on, which was exhilarating, but terrifying. I think I laughed maniacally the whole time. When we got back to the loading station they let us stay on to ride again the normal way without getting out, so we got to ride twice in a row. The kids were going nuts about how they couldn’t wait to tell their friends at school and the adults were pretty over the moon as well.

A theme for me on this trip was being given the red card. I was the chosen one many times.

The theme for DH was apparently being unable to look like a normal human in ride photos.

I mean, what is happening?? To be fair, in that last picture we were riding in cold rain, which was actually pretty painful at high speeds so we’re all pretty squinty, but still – come on, man!

A couple more photos before we return you to your regularly scheduled WDW programming. Ok, maybe more than a couple…

And I’ll end this post with an update to our upcoming WDW trip. We finally officially have dates, as Southwest released summer flights this week so we’ve got our plane tickets booked. We will be back in the World 6/26-7/6, our first ever 4th of July at WDW. Can’t wait!

 

[Jfsag123]

Day 5: July 23, Part 1 – Bye Bye Boardwalk/Epcot

It was time to leave Boardwalk. The kids’ love was evident as they pouted about leaving the resort and insisted on saying goodbye to everything in the dang hotel (Cora now sporting freshly shaven armpits – woohoo!).

We figured we’d make things easy on ourselves and have Epcot as our park for the day. We woke up on our own schedule, had our bags sent on to our next resort, then popped right into the park in time for the opening of World Showcase.

We spent a little time looking around Canada and the UK and the kids got some Turkish Delights from a shop in the UK. As we made our way toward France the kids noticed some Mickey head confetti on the ground and insisted on collecting as much as they could to spread as “pixie dust” later on.

We had some dining plan credits to finish off so we split up to grab some QS lunches. The boys went to Morocco to get their food, then met Cora and me in Japan where we had gotten our meals.

This food was definitely not my favorite thing, but at least we can say we’ve tried it now. Fortunately, we followed it up with something that definitely is one of my favorite things: kakigori with sweet milk. YUM!

What’s next? Why more food, of course! But not to eat for now, I promise. I needed to burn a few more snack credits and decided to do so by stocking up on some treats for later from another of my favorites.

I swear that we rode some rides at some point. In fact, that was the next thing we did (after I looked at the trains in Germany for a bit).

We always seem to be in the back for this one. Oh well. Next we rode Mission: Space with our second fastpass. I use the term “we” loosely, as I didn’t ride. Once the kids tried the orange side for the first time they were hooked. I, on the other hand, was out for good, as it ended up giving me a terrible headache. I don’t have issues with motion sickness and didn’t feel nauseous at all, but I am prone to headaches and boy did this one mess me up. While the rest of the folks were on the ride, I moved up our next fastpass, a gimme, as it was for Nemo.

My tiny babies in the same spot 6 years earlier.

We spent some time exploring the aquarium, which we have not done much of in the past, and got to see this guy eating up close.

We headed outside the Seas and busted out the first of our Karamel Kuche snacks. Hey, I said we’d eat them later. I didn’t say how much later. DH and I split a caramel apple, as did the kids. By this point my hair had completely lost the battle against the humidity.

Cora had been bugging me to hunt for an extra fastpass for Test Track, as it’s her favorite ride. I had actually been successful, and had gotten one with a return time 20 minutes in the future. However, I was hot and full and we had gotten the text that our room was ready at our next resort back at 11:30am – nice and early for a DVC rental! So I was a bad mom and lied and said I hadn’t been able to get a FP. Thankfully she gave up easily, as she was also hot, and I only felt slightly guilty, as I knew we’d be riding it again later in the trip. I quietly released the fastpasses back into the system for some other lucky soul as we made our way out of the park to the monorail.

 

[soniam]

Ah the parks during the holidays. I am hoping to get to Disneyland during the holidays at some point. We were at WDW Thanksgiving last year, so feeling a little blue about missing the holidays this year. But we have a Thanksgiving trip for the D23 Destination D convention planned for next Thanksgiving at WDW again. We are staying in a DVC studio at Boardwalk for the first time in July, so looking forward to seeing this.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Your Disneyland trip looked like great fun!

You know you picked a great resort when your kids want to say goodbye to everything!

What a sweet picture of your much smaller kids! I always love seeing a throwback picture.

Despite the heat, it looks like you had a great morning in Epcot. Even though you bypassed TT, since you'll get to ride it again later it was probably a good call.

 

[ErinF]

I'm not planning to do a DL trip report, but wrote a little bit about it in the post below. I think we just missed each other! We flew into CA the night of the 22nd and went to the parks on 11/23. We skipped Sunday the 24th and did non park days, then were back the 25-27 and again 11/29. We definitely had some crowds when the weather was nice, but the crowds scattered when the cold and rain came in! I missed the beautiful weather, but the lack of crowds was soooo worth it. The photos below are from DCA the day before Thanksgiving, taken between 9:00 and 11:00am. We were there the same day last year and it was such a striking difference.

Yay, glad you had some uncrowded days (even if it was due to the rain/cold)!! It looks like you all had a wonderful trip to DL, thanks for doing a mini write-up. I'm not sure when we'll make it back to DL, this was our 3rd year in a row going. It may be a few years from now, but I'm glad I got to see it all decked out for the holidays again. Your Space Mountain experience sounds so cool, what a thrill doing it with the lights on!