Hi it's me- you want some pretzel?- a sisters' Dec 2019 USO/WDW trip! new 1/24!

[missangelalexis]

Love all the pics from the GF!

Pretty cool to see a wedding in action. The carriage is so beautiful!

Sounds like a fun time at Trader Sams!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I ordered this from the outside window because I also wanted the cup. And it was super strong.... And I also didn't really love it.

I have yet to make it inside Trader Sam's. We have done the outdoor patio which is nice but obvisously not the same thing.

I'm sad I didn't end up getting the cup! Hopefully it can reopen soon and you can go. It's a lot of fun and I think you can even bring the kids before a certain time- I think they'd get a kick out of it.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Hey just tuning into your trip report and I have been enjoying it so far.

Thanks for reading!

have been to Trader Sam's Grog Grotto a few times and the last time that I went I ordered the Uh Oa and it was so good. The effects was pretty neat as well, especially when everyone chanted her name.

So good and strong lol. The effects are a lot of fun. I hope Trader Sam's can reopen soon!

Great pictures btw.

Thank you!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I'm sad I didn't end up getting the cup! Hopefully it can reopen soon and you can go. It's a lot of fun and I think you can even bring the kids before a certain time- I think they'd get a kick out of it.

You can I think up till 8PM or something. We tried that time but there was a wait and with the girls they were hungry so we opted for outside. One day I want to get inside! One Day!

 

[eliseisawkward]

I love all the Christmas decorations! So cheery. I hope by next Christmas they will be able to go all out again.

I agree about the Enchanted Rose being nice, but nothing to write home about. All our drinks there were ok, but pricey. Also when we went the bar tender did not seem to like us.

I loooove the Uh-oa! Trader Sam’s is so fun and I am super glad I got to go last time we went to WDW. Hopeful to include it in my sister’s trip in the fall, fingers crossed.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Really! I didn't know they had character meets at the Values.

Yup! pre-COVID, all the resorts had them on certain holidays. Hopefully that will return.

This is correct and true.

And humble too

But of course. It must be done.

Basically the law!

700 lbs!?!?? It would take me almost 2 whole days to eat all that!

How very forward thinking of you.

Right- who knew we were ahead of our time

I thought that video looked familiar. We use it up here in Canada all the time.

I must request my royalties check!

Better be 1. One heck of a show and 2. One heck of a drink!

That's what i was thinking too.

Oh, she just hated you guys. That's all.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Pretty cool to see a wedding in action. The carriage is so beautiful!

It is! I can only imagine how much they charge to use it for a wedding lol.

Sounds like a fun time at Trader Sams!

It was!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

You can I think up till 8PM or something. We tried that time but there was a wait and with the girls they were hungry so we opted for outside. One day I want to get inside! One Day!

I understand that! I get hangry quick lol

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I love all the Christmas decorations! So cheery. I hope by next Christmas they will be able to go all out again.

Me too! It makes me sad that there was no gingerbread house at the Grand this year!

I agree about the Enchanted Rose being nice, but nothing to write home about. All our drinks there were ok, but pricey. Also when we went the bar tender did not seem to like us.

Yeah, I think I expected it to be more with the theming but I get that they went more refined and classy for the Grand but that's not my style lol

 

[pkondz]

Yup! pre-COVID, all the resorts had them on certain holidays. Hopefully that will return.

Ah! On holidays. Okay, that would explain why I've never seen any. I don't think I've ever been in WDW on a holiday.
(Except NYE, but there weren't any Value resorts then. Heck, there were only two resorts back then!)

And humble too

I am nothing if not the model of humbleness.

I must request my royalties check!

Absolutely! You could make millions!
Of course that's in Canadian money, so only about $1.87 US.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Animal Kingdom After Hours

When we left off, we were leaving the Polynesian to go to Animal Kingdom for the After Hours event. At some point before leaving the Poly, we changed for the night.

We made good time getting to Animal Kingdom. The event was taking place from 9 pm to midnight but with the event ticket, you could get into the park at 7 pm. We pulled into the parking lot at 6:50 so perfect timing!



Hi Christmas Tree!



We stopped for some photopass shots with the tree.





Then it was time to enter the park!



It was 7:08 when we officially entered and as we did, the Tree of Life awakenings were going on which we love so it was a perfect start to our night!

https://imgur.com/xuxHU3i

https://imgur.com/9LmCsUb

https://imgur.com/UlUd7nP

https://imgur.com/EgRNCZr

We moved on after a few minutes. Our goal was to start the night off with some character meets that wouldn't be available after the park closed for the event.

Dug and Russell had stopped meeting for the day but they had the cutest Christmas tree in their meet area!



Squirrel!



We'd snagged a FP to meet Mickey and Minnie before getting to the park so that was our first stop.

For some reason, I had a brain attack when we were in the line. The CM told us to wait in the little hallway before the meet and greet room and my brain heard to follow her. She turned around to ask why i was there and Kim was like "What's wrong with you?"

Whoops! it was embarrassing but what can you do?

Soon enough, we were actually directed to enter the room and it was our turn to meet Mickey and Minnie.



Does anyone remember when they met in Christmas sweaters in AK? I miss that. The holiday touches to their outfits were much too subtle for me.



Next, we continued into Dinoland.



The dinosaur (does he have a name?) was lit up for the holidays and he changed colors.

https://imgur.com/WEoEqg0

A Kim selfie for your viewing pleasure.



Our first stop in Dinoland was to meet those adorable Chipmunk-o-Saurus. On top of their dinosaur costumes, they had Christmas attire and we were laughing about how many layers of costume went into this.





They were adorable and playful as always and appreciated that we also had Christmas decorations on our heads lol.





The decorations in Dinoland were so festive! We loved them.





Daisy was closest and had no one in line so we met her next.



We complimented her decorating abilities.







She was excited to show us around.



So cute and festive!



How cute are these wreaths?!

​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Animal Kingdom After Hours part 2

We knew we didn't have time to hit all the DInoland characters so we prioritized. Scrooge and Launchpad were two of the "rarer" characters and they had barely any lines so they were our choice.









This was the setup for either Donald or Goofy but they finished meeting for the day so we just admired how cute it was and moved on lol.



More cute decorations.







We decided to take a ride on Triceratop Spin since it had a short line and Kim had never been on.





It's basically dinosaur themed Dumbo but still fun.









Or scary if you're Kim

https://imgur.com/QqXAU2i

Next, we went across the way to Primeval Whirl.

I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I'm sad this ride is gone. Yes it was a basic carnival ride and it kinda hurt but I liked it and laughed hysterically when I rode it being whipped around!





Kim's face suggests she didn't share my opinion.

https://imgur.com/HquONSE

https://imgur.com/LmHGuYl

It was 8:15 when we got off the ride which means we'd been in the park just about an hour and met 7 characters and rode 2 rides! The night was off to a good start.

The way they did the event was a little weird. The park closed at 8 but the event didn't start til 9. So after Primeval Whirl we went to try to ride Dinosaur but it wasn't open again until 9 but the CM told us Expedition Everest would still be open in the meantime so we headed to Asia.

Sorry to cut off abruptly but baby is up and crying! ​

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Ah! On holidays. Okay, that would explain why I've never seen any. I don't think I've ever been in WDW on a holiday.
(Except NYE, but there weren't any Value resorts then. Heck, there were only two resorts back then!)

Wow only two resorts! I think the only actual holiday I've been there for is Halloween. Oo actually we were there over the 4th of July in 2000 and my parents got so frustrated with crowds that we watched the fireworks from the Epcot parking lot lol.

Absolutely! You could make millions!
Of course that's in Canadian money, so only about $1.87 US.

If my job doesn't start paying me soon, I might get desperate for that!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

What a wonderful trip report!

Thank you! Thanks for reading!

Im staying at the Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista for the first time and your report of the Rosen Inn by Universal is giving me confidence. It was a great price and Im there all of February but Ive never stayed there.

We liked the Rosen Inn! It wasn't fancy but it was clean and safe and very affordable. The staff were all nice and we had no issues!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I'm sad this ride is gone. Yes it was a basic carnival ride and it kinda hurt but I liked it and laughed hysterically when I rode it being whipped around!

We actually liked it as well. I mean I am not going tto chain myself to the ride or anything. But it was fun. And the girls were so excitied when they could ride it once they were tall enough. Kind of a right of passage kind of thing.

 

[pkondz]

At some point before leaving the Poly, we changed for the night.

No! We love you just the way you are!


Oh. Wait... You meant your clothes.
Okay, that's fine.

We stopped for some photopass shots with the tree.

Cute! Matching sweaters.

Tree of Life awakenings were going on which we love so it was a perfect start to our night!

I love that show. The first time I saw it, it was just the moving animals and I stopped dead in my tracks.

Squirrel!

For some reason, I had a brain attack when we were in the line.

That sounds serious. Did you need medical assistance?

The CM told us to wait in the little hallway before the meet and greet room and my brain heard to follow her. She turned around to ask why i was there and Kim was like "What's wrong with you?"

Whoops! it was embarrassing but what can you do?

Wait in the hallway?

The dinosaur (does he have a name?) was lit up for the holidays and he changed colors.

Oh, cool! I was hoping to see that. Really nice!

A Kim selfie for your viewing pleasure.

She looks absolutely thrilled.

Our first stop in Dinoland was to meet those adorable Chipmunk-o-Saurus. On top of their dinosaur costumes, they had Christmas attire and we were laughing about how many layers of costume went into this.

Not hot at all!

Scrooge and Launchpad were two of the "rarer" characters and they had barely any lines so they were our choice.

I'm not really familiar with Launchpad, but meeting Scrooge would be fun.

I really like this shot of you guys.

Or scary if you're Kim

What????

Next, we went across the way to Primeval Whirl.

I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I'm sad this ride is gone.

It's gone???

Oh. Sorry. I meant "oh, that's too bad"...

it kinda hurt

"kinda"... like smacking your head on concrete "kinda hurts".

Kim's face suggests she didn't share my opinion.

Kim is smart.

So after Primeval Whirl we went to try to ride Dinosaur but it wasn't open again until 9

You're right. That is weird.

Sorry to cut off abruptly but baby is up and crying!

Priorities!

Wow only two resorts!

And we didn't even see them. Well, no. We saw the CR as the monorail went through it, of course. But didn't visit them. Nor would we have. You went to WDW to go to the one and only park, of course.

I think the only actual holiday I've been there for is Halloween. Oo actually we were there over the 4th of July in 2000 and my parents got so frustrated with crowds that we watched the fireworks from the Epcot parking lot lol.

If my job doesn't start paying me soon, I might get desperate for that!

I'll send you a cheque!

 

[eliseisawkward]

AK after hours is one of the best things I ever did. I bet during the holidays it’s even better (we did February 2019). I love the chipmunks in their holiday gear on top of the Dino suits! So cute!!

And I suppose we will have to excuse your abrupt ending... babies always come first!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a great start to the night! You met so many characters!!

 

[Jerzetta]

Love your report

 

[tundra1]

What a fun time! It is so odd to see the parks a year ago, pre-covid, compared to now. I am loving this sister trip!
And Congratulations on your new little baby!