Hold Onto Your Bag, It's a Pretty Wild Ride! ~ December 2015 WDW *Completed 5/15*

[princessallison71]

Hey there, hi there, how do you do?
(This is Grove Lions' sayin' hi to you)

Welcome to my 3rd trip report! You can catch up on the others as they're linked in my signature, and we're just going to pretend that I finished my previous one.

This fabulous journey was 2 days and 2 nights long in the most magical place on earth, Walt
Disney World! If you've come to hear all about this adventure, then you're in the right place, but if you didn't, you should still stick around.

Also, welcome if you're coming over from my PTR! You can catch up on that right here.

My mom and I stayed at All-Star Movies on the nights of December 15th and 16th. We spent some quality time with our beloved Osborne Lights, overindulged in Italian food, experienced new Christmastime offerings, and had some serious laughs. Now if any of that sounds appealing to you, hang onto your hats and glasses cause this here is the wildest trip report in the wilderness!

Now onto the introductions!



Hi there, I'm Allison! I'm 18, a college freshman, and I spend way too much time thinking about disney. I'm also a very big hockey fan. Here are some of my favorites: the Peoplemover, 'Ohana bread pudding, Wishes, the Yacht Club, and schoolbread.



This is my mom! She's my partner in crime in WDW, and is always a great sport about getting up early enough for rope drop and staying out until the parks close! Some of her favorites include Soarin', dole whips, afternoon tea at the Grand, and the train.

Now that we're familiar with everyone, let's get on with this trip report!

See ya real soon!

Up Next: Pre-Disney
​

 

[princessallison71]

Index:

Life Update
Life Update #2
Pre-Disney

Day 1:
We Made It! We Made It!
Star Wars Overload
Dinner and Goodbyes
It's the Spirit of the Season
Resorts on Resorts on Resorts

Day 2:
Vamos!
So. Much. Food.
We Tried to Leave!
Avoid Elsa!
Where's America?!

Wrap Up:
That's a Wrap Folks!​

 

[princessallison71]

Pre-Disney

This trip was very carefully planned. I had three finals leading up to this trip, but we were also going to be blocked out of the parks with our Seasonal/Silver annual passes starting on December 17th, so we had to plan accordingly.

The final plan involved my taking my finals on Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday and then leaving straight for Disney after my last one to meet my mom. This meant that the day before I left and the morning before I left were going to be a balancing act between studying, testing, and packing!

Monday was spent mostly studying and packing. Here's some of the progress I made.



I made a trip to my car with some things that I wouldn't need before leaving, and I also has my microeconomics final at 8 o'clock that night.

I also was a complete doofus and forgot my calculator at the exam, but thankfully I didn't end up needing it.

When I got back to my dorm around 9:30 I started to study for my exam the next day. It was a blast.

I crashed around midnight, and I was very excited for my alarm the next morning because that meant it was finally Disney Day!

_____________

On Tuesday I woke up around 8, finished packing, made a final trip to my car, and made sure my room was ready for move out. We can't leave anything plugged in over the break, so I had to clean out my fridge and defrost the freezer. Once I did that I said bye to my room, and headed to Starbucks to study!

I ended up with a donut and a peppermint white hot chocolate because the barista recommended it. As you can see I was starting out this trip being very healthy.



After reviewing, I went to take my test, and then raced to my car to go meet my mom for check in at All-Star Movies!

Up Next: We Made It! We Made It!
​

 

[princessallison71]

We Made It! We Made It!
Thankfully I was able to forget all about my finals and school as I passed under this beauty!



I pulled into the All-Star Movies parking lot just before 3 pm and had a sandwich I had made earlier while I waited for my mom to arrive. She parked around 3:20, and we were off to check in!

My mom offered to wait in line if I would go grab her a coffee from the food court, and I was all too happy to say yes because that meant I could go take photos of the lobby! Now Christmastime in general is fantastic, but Christmastime in Disney is better than your wildest dreams! Even the value resorts are all done up for the holidays!



These wreaths were huge!

When I went to give my mom her coffee we were all checked in and ready to head over to our preferred room in the Fantasia building.

We moved our cars, carried our luggage up to the 3rd floor, and got settled into our home for the next 2 nights!

Side bar: We had made a day trip on November 1st to see the opening night of the Osborne Lights, and my mom was kind enough to buy me the passholder T-shirt as a Christmas gift then. When we got into the room she left a little package on my bed, and it was the shirt! She said that she wanted me to be able to wear it for our last time seeing the lights which was so sweet of her!

Once we were all settled in, we left to catch a bus around 4:15! Our room was also right by the giant Fantasia sorcerer hat, so we had to get a picture in front of it.




The inside of the hat is cool too, and we would always joke that you needed to swim to get to the other side because the inside was blue. We're lame, we know, it's cool.



By the pool my mom also specified that we should remember which side of the hotel our room was on because, "We'll be trashed when we come back!" We weren't going to be drinking, but she thought she was so funny talking about how tired and disoriented we are after a long night in the parks.

We hopped in line for a bus, and funnily enough, met a family from our home town. We chatted while we waited and while on the bus.

Pretty soon it was time to get off the bus and into the parks! My dad had even texted my mom saying how shocked he was that we hadn't even gotten into the parks yet.

We sped through bag check, scanned our magic bands, and walked right onto Hollywood Boulevard.



It was around 5 pm at this point, and we wanted to go experience something very important before finding a spot for the Osborne lights... I'll give you a hint...



And if that wasn't enough, here's another (more obvious) hint...



It was time to go explore the new Star Wars Launch Bay!

Up Next: Star Wars Overload
​

 

[princessallison71]

Star Wars Overload

I had been seeing photos of the new Launch Bay for weeks, and it was finally time to go explore it myself! The waits for meeting Chewbacca and Darth Vader were a little too long for our liking, so we passed on those and went straight into the building.



There were tons of cool props and replicas out on display, and you could tell that everyone there was nerding out.









The Force Awakens wasn't released when we were seeing all of these replicas, so we were a little confused about some of them. However, now that I've seen the movie I want to just go back and spend twice as much time examining everything.



They had full costumes for sale like a stormtrooper and Han Solo too! My mom isn't really into Star Wars. It's shocking I know, but she does love Han Solo, so she was very happy to see his outfit for sale.

Side Bar: When were at Star Wars Weekend earlier this year my mom asked Chewbacca to write Han Solo's phone number in my autograph book next to his name.

After we had gotten our Star Wars fix we headed towards the center of the park. I had made us fastpass+ reservations, but the app refused to load so we couldn't see when or where they were booked.

Thankfully, we weren't too devestated as we were both pretty hungry and wanted to see if we could get in early to our dinner reservation at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano. On our way there we found Santa!



Sadly, the restaurant was running behind and wouldn't be able to take us for a while. We knew that we needed to grab a bite, so we did the logical thing and got dessert before dinner.

We were off to Backlot Express for a Chewie cupcake!



It was delish! It took about 3 seconds for us to eat it, and it was just enough to hold us over to our dinner reservation.

We decided to kill some more time by popping over to the Osborne Lights.



They had just turned on while we were on our way in, and they were breathtaking as always.

The only downside was that the streets were PACKED. It was impossible to move anywhere, and we didn't want to be late to our dinner so after a quick selfie, we fought the crowds and made out way out.



Up Next: Dinner and Goodbyes
​

 

[nilla]

Launch Bay looks AWESOME, but I'll miss the character drawing classes

 

[princessallison71]

Launch Bay looks AWESOME, but I'll miss the character drawing classes

I know! I loved the animation building!

 

[purplelover88]

I'm here and can't wait to read more. I too am a college freshmen and was there with just my mom during that same time period. We even stated at all star movies for a night but it was before you arrived. I'm excited to read about this seeing as we had pretty similar trips.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Hi I'm here!

I give you credit for taking your finals literally right before going to Disney! There is no way I would be able to concentrate that close to a trip!
I have to ask, do you live in FL? Because I know you said you have a seasonal pass to Disney. If you do that is so cool!

ASMovies looks really cool - out of all of the All Stars, tat is the one I have always wanted to stay in first. I love how they have all of the figures giant!

I am not a Star Wars fan, but the Launch bay looked cool! And the lights looked so pretty. I kept hearing how packed it was the entire season...

Great start and I can't wait to read more!

 

[princessallison71]

I'm here and can't wait to read more. I too am a college freshmen and was there with just my mom during that same time period. We even stated at all star movies for a night but it was before you arrived. I'm excited to read about this seeing as we had pretty similar trips.

What a coincidence! I'm happy you're here to follow along, and I hope you stick around!

 

[princessallison71]

I give you credit for taking your finals literally right before going to Disney! There is no way I would be able to concentrate that close to a trip!
I have to ask, do you live in FL? Because I know you said you have a seasonal pass to Disney. If you do that is so cool!

Yes! I grew up in Florida and my college is in Florida too! I can't handle the cold, so it's a good thing I live here!

ASMovies looks really cool - out of all of the All Stars, tat is the one I have always wanted to stay in first. I love how they have all of the figures giant!

Movies is my second favorite of the All-Star resorts. I had a really great trip once at Sports, so it's my fave! The giant statues are really awesome especially at night.

I am not a Star Wars fan, but the Launch bay looked cool! And the lights looked so pretty. I kept hearing how packed it was the entire season...

I was there when they first started this season on November 1st and it wasn't too bad, but I was back a few weeks after and it was horrible! I gave up and left after 15 minutes. Don't worry about this trip though... there will be plenty of photos in a future update.

Great start and I can't wait to read more!

Yay!

 

[princessallison71]

Dinner and Goodbyes

It's a good thing we were so hungry or else we may not have had the motivation to fight through the crowds on our way out of the Osborne Lights.



Luckily we both made it out with minor injuries. Just kidding, but it was a serious challenge to make it out.

We didn't have a very long walk until we had made it to Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano, and it was time to eat!

We checked in, and we were seated in the center of the dining room.



Shoutout to the guy in red throughly enjoying his pasta.

I'm terrible with names, so I can't share the name of our server, but she was great! We passed on an appetizer and put in our entree orders.

They came out quickly.

My mom went with the shrimp campanelle. It was described as wood-grilled shrimp and campanelle pasta tossed in a four-cheese sauce with broccoflower, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach, and sweet onions.



It was delicious, huge, and SO rich!

I went with the penne alla vodka with chicken which was described as pancetta and sweet onions finished with tomato-basil sauce, cream, vodka, and pecorino romano.



This was also delicious! I'm a big fan of penne alla vodka, and this did not disappoint.

After polishing off both plates we needed to be rolled out of there straight to go see more of the Osborne Lights.

When we realized that they didn't keep a dolly around to wheel guests out we gathered our strength and waddled out.



Thankfully the crowds had thinned out, and we were able to enjoy the lights. I'll do my best to control the number of photos I include here, but I make no promises. (Lucky you, the Dis limits how many photos I can upload)









This was the very last night that we were going to have with these lights, and I was emotionally unstable for the majority of it. I think I said "Okay, it's time to go. Wait, let's just do one more song." at least three times.



Sadly, we wouldn't be seeing these lights anytime soon, and at 8:30 we said our real goodbyes and reluctantly left. I was a hot mess during this, and walked out of the park backwards so I could keep looking towards them.

Now I would hate to end an update on a bad note, so I'll let you know that this night wasn't close to ending. We had some resorts to hop to...

Up Next: It's the Spirit of the Season!
​

 

[FantasiaMagic]

I bet it was very sad to leave the lights, but gosh are they pretty! I bet you have so many pictures of them! I go crazy with picture taking at Disney lol

 

[princessallison71]

I bet it was very sad to leave the lights, but gosh are they pretty! I bet you have so many pictures of them! I go crazy with picture taking at Disney lol

I went crazy with taking pictures! I must have hundreds of these lights, so don't worry, you're definitely not the only one going crazy with their camera!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining in - how fun to pop down just for a few days. I think I would find it weird to have finals and then the trip right then - not sure if it would help make the time go faster or be a distraction so I didn't stress as much about the finals.

The wreaths are really cool - I like how they try to theme all the decorations to the location

I must say I love the view without the hat at the end of the street!


The Launch Bay looks really cool! Hope it is still up for our next trip in July

Side Bar: When were at Star Wars Weekend earlier this year my mom asked Chewbacca to write Han Solo's phone number in my autograph book next to his name.

That's fantastic!

 

[abarriger]

I'm following along! What a sad good-bye to the lights! I've never made it out there at the right time of year and now I feel sad whenever I think about them because now I never will!

 

[emilyindisney]

Following! How awesome that you could pop over to Disney right after your finals for a little lights-goodbye trip! Twice during college I left for Disney on the same day as an exam and I surprisingly always aced those- hope you had the same good fortune with your finals!

 

[princessallison71]

Joining in - how fun to pop down just for a few days. I think I would find it weird to have finals and then the trip right then - not sure if it would help make the time go faster or be a distraction so I didn't stress as much about the finals.

Oh, it was definitely difficult to stay focused on my studies! It probably wasn't the best timing, but I couldn't NOT go say adios to the Osborne Lights one last time.

I'm following along! What a sad good-bye to the lights! I've never made it out there at the right time of year and now I feel sad whenever I think about them because now I never will!

YouTube videos of these lights are pretty fantastic, but I will admit that nothing can compare to being there when they turn on.

I'm glad you're following along! I hope you enjoy the rest of the trip!

Following! How awesome that you could pop over to Disney right after your finals for a little lights-goodbye trip! Twice during college I left for Disney on the same day as an exam and I surprisingly always aced those- hope you had the same good fortune with your finals!

Hi! I did okay on my finals, but we're just going to not think about that. I'm glad I'm not the only one crazy enough to leave right after exams!

 

[princessallison71]

It's the Spirit of the Season!
Once my Mom dragged me out of Studios for the night, we headed off on our next adventure as it was only 8:30/8:45.



I grabbed some photos, and we made our way to the buses.



Were we going back to All-Star Movies for the night?

Nope! We hopped on a bus for the Poly!



The flowers outside the entrance to the lobby were gorgeous and perfect for the season!



Now I would have loved to say that were going to have a 2nd dinner at 'Ohana, but sadly that wasn't true.

So, instead of going upstairs, we went out to the beach and grabbed a seat on the curb between the pool and sand. We got here around 9, and timed it perfectly for seeing the electric water pageant.



Neither of us had seen the full show this closely before, and we both thought it was really cute.



You can even see the top of Cinderella Castle and her dreamlights!

We had a really nice spot to watch everything, and we were next to this giant family who had everyone from grandma to the grandchildren there. These two precious little girls were so well behaved sitting in their strollers on the beach completely in awe of the entire show!

Now, although the water pageant was cute, we had come all the way here for a much bigger show!



We were here to watch Holiday Wishes! And let me tell you, it did not disappoint.



Although it is my least favorite MK firework show (Hallowishes blows my mind every time and I always cry like a baby during Wishes), it was pretty darn magical.



Life Hack: the perimeter fireworks look AMAZING from the Poly beach.



Once the show ended we began wandering around the resort on the hunt for something delicious...

Up Next: Resorts on Resorts on Resorts
​

 

[princessallison71]

Resorts on Resorts on Resorts

We got completely turned around on the Poly beach and ended up near the boat rental dock, but we finally found our way back to civilization.

We were on the hunt for some dole whips, so we asked the guy at the poolside bar where we should go, and we ALMOST made it to where he sent us.

Except we didn't. I could smell the food from the 2nd floor so thats where we went.

Our mission for a dole whip had suddenly turned into a mission for some 'Ohana bread pudding because it is the most delicious thing to ever grace my mouth.

We knew that 'Ohana wouldn't be able to supply us, so we went next door to Kona Cafe. The lovely woman working at the podium gave us the 411 on how to get the bread pudding. So pay attention if you're like me and wake up in the middle of the night craving it occasionally (okay, almost every night).

She said there were 4 ways to get the bread pudding.

1. Have an 'Ohana reservation.

2. Have a Kona Cafe dinner reservation, and be REALLY nice to your server. They may be able to bring over a single serving as a dessert.

3. Go to the bar in 'Ohana and sometimes you can order bread pudding for one.

4. The little sushi/coffee bar to the left of Kona Cafe may be able to run into the kitchen to get a piece if they aren't too busy.

Now sadly, we didn't have any reservations, the sushi/coffee bar was closed by this point, and the 'Ohana bar was packed.

So, we gave up. I know, it sounds horrible. I am not a quitter, but I guess that I just wasn't meant to have bread pudding tonight. *sigh*

Once I got over the tragic loss, we hopped onto the monorail for some more resort fun!



I couldn't get a photo with the doors shut, but we were able to hop on the Star Wars monorail!

We had our own cart, and we were on our way to the Grand by 10 pm.

To be completely honest with you, we hadn't even planned to get off the monorail at the Grand, but we could see Basin White when the doors opened. That was enough to get us off our butts and into the store.

We normally go crazy in there, but they were all out of the sample bags where they slice up 4 different soaps and put them at half the normal price so we used some self control. I ended up only buying a solid perfume in the scent Basin White, and my mom walked out empty handed.

There was a monorail waiting outside...

But then we saw the Christmas decorations...



We were in awe of it all.



My mom was in LOVE with the ornaments.





Once we had gotten our fill of the resort, we hopped back on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.



We passed by the front around 10:30ish, and we could hear the Christmas party still going on inside!

We love to go Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, but ever since Elsa and Anna took over the Very Merry Christmas Party we've avoided it like the plague.

The cookies and cocoa are pretty great and the parade is phenomenal, but we can't justify supporting the F word in any way. (RIP Maelstrom and all of the Norway pavilion)

On the way to the buses we were getting pretty loopy because we were both so tired, and my mom got really excited that we were under a monorail and that we were, "Walking down the Disney World!"

We were cracking up and we were getting some pretty strange looks. #YOLO

We got on our bus for All-Star Movies, and were back to our hotel by 11.



I took more photos of the inside of the hat, and we went off to our room.

We were asleep by 11:30!

Up Next: Vamos!
​