Hanging with Earl the Squirrel and The Grinch. A Christmas TR! PTR info 2/21*

[luvpoohandcompany]

That Christmas tour sounds great and a decent price too. Love the Grinch! Don’t love him enough to wait 2+hours to meet him so the tor would be perfect

 

[schumigirl]

Love your pictures once again, I agree, the show and tours are good ways to see the Grinch in person, no way in heck would I wait the length of time we have seen folks line up to see him.

One man showed us the video of his daughter meeting him and he said it was worthe the three hour wait to see her face!!! Takes all sorts I suppose.

Always nice to see you having such a lovely time.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hello Everyone
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas I really can’t believe it has come and gone already! The New Year is right around the corner, wow
I do have a few trips planned for the 2025 year.
Today was ADR day for my first trip of the New Year!

Donna and I will be heading to Disney and Universal in late February.
We will stay the first 7 nights at The Boardwalk Inn! Donna love’s Crescent Lake and I also love the Epcot Resort area!
I was able to get the best discount at BWI and I loved staying there in September and Donna hasn’t stayed in the newly refurbished Inn.
We will stay 3 nights at Universal Orlando. The first 2 nights are at my favorite place Portofino Bay. Our last night will be at Adventura basically just to sleep. Our flight leaves early Sunday. I loved Adventura during my stay at Sapphire. I went over there each day to The Starbucks and the food court area. It will be Mardi Gras at USO and the food booths are usually very good so not sure we will have many sit down dinners.
Dining plans at USO will likely include Strong Water Tavern, and maybe Vivo Italian Kitchen, and food booths in the park. I haven’t put much thought into the dining at USO yet, more to come on that portion of the trip!
Today I booked a few ADRs for us. Disney has added a few new features with dining reservations. You can now not only see multiple times, you can do a date range for a reservation.
I may change the reservations some as time goes on, for now here is my rough draft.
These are the dinner reservations
Rose and Crown
Coral Reef (This is not for the food really but Donna’s absolute love for all things aquarium related. She has a huge aquarium at home and she loves it!
San Angel Inn
Cake Bake
Jaleo
We also plan on hitting up lounges around Crescent Lake and in the parks.
F&G doesn’t start until mid trip for us, so we will check out the booths on our last couple days.
I’m excited for a long trip in the dead of our winter
If you are reading along, tell me some of your favorite restaurants at WDW! I have been to so many now and with all my trips I find a big meal isn’t always for me anymore.
I love to graze with small bites more and more now!
Thanks for following along and I will have my next post up very soon!

 

[disneyAndi14]

That Christmas tour sounds great and a decent price too. Love the Grinch! Don’t love him enough to wait 2+hours to meet him so the tor would be perfect

It really was! The price was reasonable for a 5 hour tour with food and the meet and greets. I see the Keys to the Kingdom at MK is 5 hour tour with QS, and it is over $150 per person.
I couldn’t believe the wait times for the Grinch in the park, wow crazy!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Love your pictures once again, I agree, the show and tours are good ways to see the Grinch in person, no way in heck would I wait the length of time we have seen folks line up to see him.

One man showed us the video of his daughter meeting him and he said it was worthe the three hour wait to see her face!!! Takes all sorts I suppose.

Always nice to see you having such a lovely time.

Thank you! I loved taking the time to just enjoy the Christmas atmosphere at US. It was really nice not to have a packed agenda this trip.
There are so many things to see in the park that don’t have anything to do necessarily with a ride!
I would never wait 2-4 hours for anything! Not even my last meal, lol

 

[disneyAndi14]

A “Merry” Day with a chill in the air!

Today is Tuesday 12/3/24

I had another wonderful night of sleep! My room once again was very quiet. I knew a couple work conventions were happening this week at the resort and it still was very quiet!

I woke up to beautiful bright blue skies once again. There was a definite chill in the air. I think it was in the 40s this morning. I dressed in layers. I had my leggings on under my skort and a “Merry” sweater with my under armor long sleeve 32 degree shirt under my sweater.

I had a little giggle as I stepped outside and saw several TMs all bundled up! They definitely are not acclimated to these colder temps.

I walked over to Adventura, this is a resort right across the street from SFR. I loved it in here. My main mission was hitting up the full service Starbucks. It was not busy and I got my Sugar Cookie latte not iced today, too chilly for that. I saw the cute little robot Relay in the lobby. I will see him again tomorrow!

I ordered up a Lyft and in just a few minutes I was heading to DHS. My plan was to check out the decorations at HS, ride a few attractions then head over to Epcot for The Festival of the Holidays! I realized on my way over to Disney, I managed to visit every Epcot festival in 2024, this was my second year in a row being able to hit every festival! Having experienced all 4 many times now, F&G is still my all time favorite with FArts coming in 2nd, Festival of the Holidays 3rd and F&W 4th. How do you rank the festivals?

I arrived at DHS right before 9am, ugh this park is the biggest cluster of all the parks at opening. Of course, I had to remind myself, Andi isn’t here, you are not in a rush, don’t sweat the small stuff! I put on my patience pants and waited my turn, smiling the whole time, lol

I entered the park and took it all in! Glamorous old Hollywood was on display! I did buy FP for cash today.

My first ride was MMRR. I walked right on with FP$$.

I do enjoy this ride! I had a TSMM next. The SB line was 20 minutes already. I have to say being solo brought on so many compliments this trip. I don’t know if people felt sorry for me or what. I talked to many guests and CM/TMs and so many stopped me to say how much they loved my outfit, ears, and backpack! I am slightly introverted so I don’t always jump in to conversations with other people in line but this trip took me out of my introversion some and I liked it!

I got my standard score on TSMM, collected my beaver prize once again.

I decided to go and check out the single rider line at Rise in GE. I had heard it was now open. I got over there and a CM had a sign pointing to the SR line, yay. You walk down a short path and then are held there by a CM, well I literally was held for like 2-3 minutes! The CM then walked me into a side door of the First Order ship. It was right by all the stormtroopers. You totally miss the transport ship experience so I wouldn’t recommend SR line if it is your first time experiencing Rise.

I was soon in the line waiting to go on the ride. It was super quick, however, womp womp, the ride went down and they announced it would be an extended downtime. We were escorted out of the ride. Bummer, I couldn’t ride, however, wow SR is great and I will definitely do this again.

When Rise is down, you do Muppets next, of course you do!

I started noticing how busy HS was compared to USO. Much busier at Disney. I thought a Tuesday wouldn’t be super crowded in early December, I was wrong!

The Muppets was even a full house. I did get Andi a muppet pin this trip since it is a beloved attraction for both of us!

After the Muppets, I took a few pictures and headed out to the Skyliner. I had made a FP$$ for LwtL in Epcot.




Join me in Epcot, very soon….

 

[Wood Nymph]

I managed to visit every Epcot festival in 2024, this was my second year in a row being able to hit every festival! Having experienced all 4 many times now, F&G is still my all time favorite with FArts coming in 2nd, Festival of the Holidays 3rd and F&W 4th. How do you rank the festivals?

We missed F&W this year because we decided not to take a fall trip. But I think this is the first time we ever missed F&W. My favorite festival is Flower & Garden because of the flowers, the food and the weather. But I also love Festival of the Holidays. This year was crazy busy, though. FARTs is my least favorite festival.

I arrived at DHS right before 9am, ugh this park is the biggest cluster of all the parks at opening. Of course, I had to remind myself, Andi isn’t here, you are not in a rush, don’t sweat the small stuff! I put on my patience pants and waited my turn, smiling the whole time, lol

If you don't get to DHS before early opening, it is just a crazy mess. At least they changed to entrance to allow guests into the shopping area instead of holding them back at the touchposts.

After the Muppets, I took a few pictures and headed out to the Skyliner. I had made a FP$$ for LwtL in Epcot.

I'm considering buying MPLL for our February trip. It will just be the two of us, for a change, so we have more freedom to do what we want than when we travel with family. An Epcot/HS combination would work very well.

 

[VAtink]

How do you rank the festivals?

Currently my ranking is: 1. FArts, 2. Flower and Garden, 3. Festival of the Holidays, 4. F&W.

Now if they ever brought back the special events for F&W that would take over the top spot, but for now with it just being food booths and nothing else it doesn't have the draw it used to for us.

 

[Mollydolly334]

I’ve been lurking but just had to comment and say we have the exact same rankings for Epcot festivals!! No wonder we tour so well together!

 

[DLo]

I am going to my first FArts in Feb - can’t wait . I also love flower and garden. The one time I went to Holidays was 2020 so obviously not the full experience.

 

[pkondz]

Today was ADR day for my first trip of the New Year!

Yay to another trip!

We will stay the first 7 nights at The Boardwalk Inn! Donna love’s Crescent Lake and I also love the Epcot Resort area!

Perfect location, then.

I was able to get the best discount at BWI

Good for you!

HOW????

It will be Mardi Gras at USO and the food booths are usually very good

I didn't know this was a thing. Nice!

You can now not only see multiple times, you can do a date range for a reservation.

Oh, that's good. Glad to hear that.

Rose and Crown

You know what? I've never been. How is this possible??

Coral Reef (This is not for the food really but Donna’s absolute love for all things aquarium related. She has a huge aquarium at home and she loves it!

Ohhhhhhh... Too bad, well... two things. One, I won't be there and Two, Divequest isn't offered now. (Although it's supposed to come back in the spring. )
I'd love to say hi to someone I know, for a change, while I'm diving.

Cake Bake

Never heard of this?

I’m excited for a long trip in the dead of our winter

Such a nice break from the cold.

If you are reading along, tell me some of your favorite restaurants at WDW!

Hmmmm...
I like Tony's at MK. Not the best, but better than it was before.
At Epcot... Mr. Paul and Takumi-Tei for fancy. Teppan Edo for fun. Biergarten for when I'm starving and want to remember my dad. Les Halles for quick bites.
DHS, I think I'll pick Brown Derby or for a quick bite... Ronto wrap. Or Woody's for a grilled cheese and tomato soup.
AK... I must admit I like to snack all over more than any single place... except for Tiffins, for a nicer sit down meal.

 

[pkondz]

Today is Tuesday 12/3/24

No it's not! You left off the "zero" after the 3!

I had another wonderful night of sleep! My room once again was very quiet.

I think it was in the 40s this morning.

Warm.

I had a little giggle as I stepped outside and saw several TMs all bundled up!

Nothing like seeing someone in full winter parka while you're wearing... shorts.

I managed to visit every Epcot festival in 2024, this was my second year in a row being able to hit every festival!

Impressive!

F&G is still my all time favorite with FArts coming in 2nd, Festival of the Holidays 3rd and F&W 4th. How do you rank the festivals?

I don't think I've even done all of them, so can't comment.

I arrived at DHS right before 9am, ugh this park is the biggest cluster of all the parks at opening.

Why do you say that? (It's been a while...)

I had to remind myself, Andi isn’t here, you are not in a rush, don’t sweat the small stuff!

I put on my patience pants and waited my turn, smiling the whole time, lol

I have to say being solo brought on so many compliments this trip. I don’t know if people felt sorry for me or what.

No. You just looked very nice and deserved them.

I am slightly introverted so I don’t always jump in to conversations with other people in line but this trip took me out of my introversion some and I liked it!

I decided to go and check out the single rider line at Rise in GE.

Hello? I hadn't heard they were doing that.

You walk down a short path and then are held there by a CM, well I literally was held for like 2-3 minutes!

Wow! Not bad!

You totally miss the transport ship experience so I wouldn’t recommend SR line if it is your first time experiencing Rise.

Hmmm... I really like that part, so I'd have to think on this.

It was super quick, however, womp womp, the ride went down and they announced it would be an extended downtime.

Well, poop.

When Rise is down, you do Muppets next, of course you do!

Better do it while you can.

Aw... cute Stitch present.

 

[Steppesister]

Hi Liesa! It was a wonderful view, missed sharing it with you!

I'd love a trip sometime with you and maybe Donna could join in! I enjoyed her company too!

Today was ADR day for my first trip of the New Year!

Already?!

We will stay the first 7 nights at The Boardwalk Inn! Donna love’s Crescent Lake and I also love the Epcot Resort area!
I was able to get the best discount at BWI and I loved staying there in September and Donna hasn’t stayed in the newly refurbished Inn.
We will stay 3 nights at Universal Orlando. The first 2 nights are at my favorite place Portofino Bay. Our last night will be at Adventura basically just to sleep.

WOW! Long trip! Nice, and nice digs too.

San Angel Inn
Cake Bake
Jaleo

You'll pay as much as the Cake place as you will at the others. LOL! It IS pretty though!

I realized on my way over to Disney, I managed to visit every Epcot festival in 2024, this was my second year in a row being able to hit every festival!

Whoa!!

F&G is still my all time favorite with FArts coming in 2nd

Yes, my order as well. F&W is getting too crowded and doesn't have much "other" mixed in.

I arrived at DHS right before 9am, ugh this park is the biggest cluster

Yes.

This.

I got my standard score on TSMM, collected my beaver prize once again.

I'll never outrank Beaver. It is just not going to happen.

I decided to go and check out the single rider line at Rise in GE. I had heard it was now open. I got over there and a CM had a sign pointing to the SR line, yay.

Had NO idea this was a thing. Next time... I'll be a little bit wiser.

 

[disneyAndi14]

We missed F&W this year because we decided not to take a fall trip. But I think this is the first time we ever missed F&W. My favorite festival is Flower & Garden because of the flowers, the food and the weather. But I also love Festival of the Holidays. This year was crazy busy, though. FARTs is my least favorite festival.

I absolutely love F&G! It is so beautiful with all the flowers and topiaries! The Festival of the Holidays is such a wonderful experience but I agree very crowded!

If you don't get to DHS before early opening, it is just a crazy mess. At least they changed to entrance to allow guests into the shopping area instead of holding them back at the touchposts.

They didn’t do that on this day and the lines to scan in extended way past the entrance sign. Crazy!

I'm considering buying MPLL for our February trip. It will just be the two of us, for a change, so we have more freedom to do what we want than when we travel with family. An Epcot/HS combination would work very well.

I agree! I don’t love paying for this service which was free but I also detest waiting in line for more than 20 minutes!

Currently my ranking is: 1. FArts, 2. Flower and Garden, 3. Festival of the Holidays, 4. F&W.

Now if they ever brought back the special events for F&W that would take over the top spot, but for now with it just being food booths and nothing else it doesn't have the draw it used to for us.

You really can’t go wrong with the festivals however I totally agree about F&W now. Not much to look at and the booths are okay but nothing stellar.

I’ve been lurking but just had to comment and say we have the exact same rankings for Epcot festivals!! No wonder we tour so well together!

I knew it, haha It would be fun to hit up our fave festival together again!

I am going to my first FArts in Feb - can’t wait . I also love flower and garden. The one time I went to Holidays was 2020 so obviously not the full experience.

I think you will really enjoy FArts it is a wonderful festival and all the art on display and for sale is amazing!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Yay to another trip!

Yes! I can’t believe it is less than 60 days away!

HOW????

No secret here, I choose the best priced resort with the AP discount. BWI definitely had the best price for a deluxe when the rates came out.

I didn't know this was a thing. Nice!

Mardi Gras at USO is so much fun! Parade and food booths at US.

You know what? I've never been. How is this possible??

I’ve only been one time like 10 years ago! Donna wanted to check it out.

Ohhhhhhh... Too bad, well... two things. One, I won't be there and Two, Divequest isn't offered now. (Although it's supposed to come back in the spring. )
I'd love to say hi to someone I know, for a change, while I'm diving.

Tell me how you really feel! I was thinking a couple appetizers here? Nothing sounds great we may cancel it! I wish they had the cool Future world tour they had years ago when it was future world. It really gave an in depth experience of the aquarium in a private suite area, Donna would have loved that.

Never heard of this?

It is new on the Boardwalk, it took over the ESPN space.

I like Tony's at MK. Not the best, but better than it was before.
At Epcot... Mr. Paul and Takumi-Tei for fancy. Teppan Edo for fun. Biergarten for when I'm starving and want to remember my dad. Les Halles for quick bites.
DHS, I think I'll pick Brown Derby or for a quick bite... Ronto wrap. Or Woody's for a grilled cheese and tomato soup.
AK... I must admit I like to snack all over more than any single place... except for Tiffins, for a nicer sit down meal.

Good choices! Tony’s has some really good items now and sitting out on the patio is perfect
I’d have to say Via Napoli is a favorite in Epcot for me. I want to try the new restaurant which took over Tokyo Dining. I think when Andi and I travel in the summer/fall we will try it.
I did like BD and I totally agree on the Ronto wrap and Woody’s Lunch Box
AK, I have to say Satuli Canteen and Nomad Lounge, hands down!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Warm

Right! 40 degrees here in December is warm! Today is going to be a high of 7 at least it is sunny!

Nothing like seeing someone in full winter parka while you're wearing... shorts.

Very true! I did see some northerners (I assume) wearing shorts and t-shirts

Why do you say that? (It's been a while...)

They hold everyone at the checkpoints until 9 and it is such a cluster with the lines extending so far back and there just isn’t room here for that!

No. You just looked very nice and deserved them.

I knew I liked you

Hello? I hadn't heard they were doing that.

The SR is awesome if you don’t mind missing the pre show, which is a big part of the experience, I don’t mind once in awhile because I have been fortunate to ride it many times!

Better do it while you can.

RIP Muppets!

 

[mickey916]

Finally having a chance to catch up on trip reports after the busy holiday season. Loving your report so far!

Coral Reef (This is not for the food really but Donna’s absolute love for all things aquarium related. She has a huge aquarium at home and she loves it!

We went there for the first time on our December trip and had a great meal! Service and food were actually excellent!

I arrived at DHS right before 9am, ugh this park is the biggest cluster of all the parks at opening. Of course, I had to remind myself, Andi isn’t here, you are not in a rush, don’t sweat the small stuff! I put on my patience pants and waited my turn, smiling the whole time, lol

I vowed after the last time we did rope drop as an off-site guest never to do it again!

Having experienced all 4 many times now, F&G is still my all time favorite with FArts coming in 2nd, Festival of the Holidays 3rd and F&W 4th. How do you rank the festivals?

There's life goals right there! So far have only attend F&G and Festival of the Holidays. F&G is definitely #1. Hoping to do FArts maybe next year.

Also we've never attended holidays at Universal. Love the idea of the tour! Maybe next time....

 

[disneyAndi14]

Finally having a chance to catch up on trip reports after the busy holiday season. Loving your report so far!

Yay! Thanks for joining in!

We went there for the first time on our December trip and had a great meal! Service and food were actually excellent!

Thank you, that is good to know! I know Donna will love it!

I vowed after the last time we did rope drop as an off-site guest never to do it again!

Totally agree, it is terrible!

There's life goals right there! So far have only attend F&G and Festival of the Holidays. F&G is definitely #1. Hoping to do FArts maybe next year.

I totally agree with you about F&G, I will be excited to hear your thoughts on FArts if you get to experience it. Andi and I love this festival I think it might be Andi’s favorite!

Also we've never attended holidays at Universal. Love the idea of the tour! Maybe next time....

I really think USO does a great job with the holidays and worth a visit and the tour is highly recommended!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Epcot here I come! I love the Skyliner especially at this time of day. It is not crowded and I had a gondola all to myself.

Soon I was walking through the IG into Epcot. My Epcot goals for today included a few festival treats, checking out the SE gingerbread display, photos, and a few rides.

The delicious cheese fondue bread bowl was calling me, however, I have had this the last 3 years and I steered myself in the direction of Japan. I wanted to try the Sushi Tree, well the line was crazy so I moved on and got the next best thing Vegetable Spring Rolls in China

Now I do realize the bread bowl filled with delicious cheese is better than this, however, I still tried the spring rolls and these tasted very good and were fresh! I could tell they hadn’t been sitting under a heat lamp for long. I sat in the China Pavilion and enjoyed my snack.

I saw a PP CM and had pictures taken here in China.

I continued on enjoying the sights and sounds of the WS.

My plan was Communicore Hall (CH). I stopped in the Odyssey building to see if Santa was meeting. His sleigh was empty at this time.

This building had desserts in it. I skipped food here and worked my way to CH. The Encanto musical show was performing and it was wonderful. They sang a funky version of “We don’t talk about Bruno, no no.

This was amazing! I loved it

My food goal for this area was the Reuben Croquettes. I love Reubens and we have a food truck in Duluth that makes the best Reuben Balls, haha the trucks name not as refined as croquettes. Well, I was pleasantly surprised with Disney’s Reuben Croquettes. You get a nice portion with a 1000 Island dipping sauce. I ate everyone of these little balls of goodness. I sat inside CH to enjoy my snack.

I saw many people buying the gingerbread tile of SE and I could tell most people did not care for it and it was $10.00 for a cookie tile. More than I payed for my awful Gingi cookie. I wasn’t wasting any money on that tile even if it is a beloved replica piece of one of my favorite places. Andi told me about this guy on social media he apparently was asked who is the prettiest girl at school and he says the Epcot Ball haha I think it goes something like that. We say it every time we see SE now.

Well, the prettiest girl did not disappoint as a Gingerbread display! This was amazing and every 6 minutes it would light up and play music. It also had little hidden Mickeys all over it. I really enjoyed this and spent time with a few other people looking for the Mickeys.


It was now time for my LwtL FP$$, I love this attraction and at this time of year it is even more special with the Holiday overlay. The narration is even different, I loved it and was looking forward to doing this ride with Susan at night.

I had a FP$$ for Soarin next. Dude! They fixed the Eiffel Tower and the ending is new Epcot. Way better in my opinion. Subtle changes which make a difference.

After that nice unexpected experience, I was off to ride SE, get a few pictures and jump on the monorail to MK.

Follow me to MK, coming up in the very next post….

 

[disneyAndi14]

I got to the monorail and debunked a myth. If you only thought the cow barn smell on the monorail happens in the sweltering hot months of summer, well you are wrong! It even smells awful on cool crisp days! What is that smell and why does it have to smell like cow manure??

The second leg of the trip didn’t smell as bad, thank goodness.

It was a party day at MK and I arrived at 3:15. I knew it would get crowded soon with party guests arriving at 4pm.

My objective here was a train ride, dole whip pineapple upside down cake and a few rides.

I took the train to Storybook circus from Mainstreet and had a FP$$ for Dumbo.

I went in to meet the boys in Pete’s silly sideshow! Wow, I am not going to lie, I got rather teary eyed after meeting them! I told them about all my trips with Andi and how MK was always our first park as soon as we arrived at WDW, and meeting Donald and Goofy was top of our list. I have so many pictures of us meeting the characters here over the years. These pictures are for you my beautiful Andi girl! We haven’t visited Pete’s Silly Sideshow in quite sometime and I really enjoyed myself!




Andi isn’t a big fan of MK anymore, boo so we often don’t start here anymore. I think the large crowds and pushy people have changed her love of MK. Epcot is her favorite park now! I didn’t wait to see the ladies because their line was quite long. I got a FP$$ for Little Mermaid next.


I couldn’t get a FP$$ for HM or PPF despite refreshing like crazy.

I did get Pirates and this was perfect since I could get my Dole Whip treat after the ride.

Can you find me on Pirates?

I got my treat and went into the Tiki Room, a show was just starting and you can eat in there! I forgot to get a picture of my dessert, trust me it was delicious!

I headed out of the park, getting a few pictures of park #3.

My plan was to walk to the CR, check out the gingerbread display and call for a Lyft back to USO.

The crowds outside of the park were crazy, wow Disney sure oversells the parties now! I was glad I could bypass all that and walk over to the resort.

I quickly checked out the Gingerbread display. It was really crowded at CR. I couldn’t get any decent pictures of the display because kids were wild in there, literally jumping around and always in front of the display. It was a new design this year.

I went downstairs and got a Lyft back to SFR.

Guess what I had for dinner a little later in the evening? Andi knew, in fact she said to me did you live on kid’s hot dog meals, well sort of

I went back over to Adventura and picked up a kid’s hot dog meal with an all beef dog and sweet potato fries! I got to see Relay the Robot again.

Today would have been the day Liesa was to arrive. I was very sad to miss her this trip and knew she was going through a lot at home! We talked several times and I knew exactly what she was going through! Losing a parent is hard. I lost my beautiful 90yo mom in September and it was very difficult I think about my mom every single day!

My heart went out to Liesa and her family and I was really going to miss spending time with her! We are going to travel together again one of these years!

I took my food back to the room and loved it. The sweet potato fries were really good. I watched Dateline and called it a night!

Stay tuned for A squirrel word game, a squirrel meet and greet, and basically Earl the Squirrel all day long, haha