I Just Want to See the Dancing Lights Gleam! Nov 2015 TR *COMPLETE* 3/29

[missangelalexis]

Meeting Mickey is a perfect way to start the trip. I just love how happy DS looks in all the pics!

I'm sure you didn't take a picture of your TSMM score because you didn't want DH and DS to feel bad about their scores

I'm glad to hear the crowds were manageable!

 

[Imagineer5]

We also found Mickey with no wait, it was great! I agree, after using the system a bit I actually don't mind it (although I do miss the old paper FP's when you could return any time later that day, not within the window lol). Glad you didn't find the crowds too terrible. I think during the 12 days I went to 1 baby care center to nurse (no make that two, one because I forgot to bring my cover to the park that day lol). It was just usually the most convenient bench nearby - glad you found a quiet spot!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

There’s DH’s and DS’s scores. I can only assume that since there is no photographic proof of my score, I must have wiped the floor with them!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

While I’m not a huge fan of FP+ in general and still prefer the old system, I can’t deny that it’s nice to be able to get a FP for Toy Story without having to be there at rope drop so we could actually ride despite not getting to the park until the evening without waiting forever.

I actually prefer the new system ... and not having to "run with the bulls" at rope drop for TSMM is roughly 87.34% of the reason why

I can only assume that since there is no photographic proof of my score, I must have wiped the floor with them!

I mean, it's the only logical explanation

Glad to hear the crowds weren't crazy - I know you were a bit worried about that.

gotta love Muppet Vission. I've said it before that I don't want to live in a world where "A net full of Jello" isn't funny

 

[Dugette]

Love all the pics of DHS at this time of evening. Very pretty!

DS was just a little excited…

I'm glad to see how much he still enjoys the characters at 5 years old. I always wonder how long that excitement for character meets will last with Izzy.

While I’m not a huge fan of FP+ in general and still prefer the old system, I can’t deny that it’s nice to be able to get a FP for Toy Story without having to be there at rope drop so we could actually ride despite not getting to the park until the evening without waiting forever.

That is a HUGE perk of the new system, that specific ride. It was fun using the paper system in Disneyland, but it is a lot more running around, especially since you have to use them within the window. I liked it better when you could use them all day.

There’s DH’s and DS’s scores. I can only assume that since there is no photographic proof of my score, I must have wiped the floor with them!

Then it was time...time to see the lights!!!

 

[afwdwfan]

We had FP+ set for Toy Story Mania, but we were still a few minutes early to go for that. So we headed in that direction anyway, and stopped for some truly terrible Photopass photos. They all came out really blurry, and this was the only halfway useable one.

Wow... looks like your DH should have set the camera for them.

We had to wait outside for less than 10 minutes, then moved inside to meet Mickey!

That looks like such a nice repurposed M&G area. I like the backdrop and the brooms.

After a great meet with Mickey, we were ready to go use our TSM FP+. While I’m not a huge fan of FP+ in general and still prefer the old system, I can’t deny that it’s nice to be able to get a FP for Toy Story without having to be there at rope drop so we could actually ride despite not getting to the park until the evening without waiting forever.

This would be the one redeeming quality for FP+...

There’s DH’s and DS’s scores. I can only assume that since there is no photographic proof of my score, I must have wiped the floor with them!

I wasn’t expecting to find any quiet areas on Thanksgiving, but both DH and I had commented to each other that the crowds were not nearly as bad as we had been expecting!

That's good news! I've been there starting the weekend after Thanksgiving and didn't find the crowds to be horrible, but I've never been there for the entire holiday weekend.

 

[ginny65]

So exciting to have a last minute trip to WDW. I think it actually takes some of the stress off of planning, although I do love to plan. Glad you had fun.

I'm glad to see how much he still enjoys the characters at 5 years old. I always wonder how long that excitement for character meets will last with Izzy.

My kids still love the characters and they are in their 20's!

 

[khertz]

Meeting Mickey is a perfect way to start the trip. I just love how happy DS looks in all the pics!

I'm sure you didn't take a picture of your TSMM score because you didn't want DH and DS to feel bad about their scores

I'm glad to hear the crowds were manageable!

It was a nice surprise to find of all characters Mickey with no wait on Thanksgiving day! And it was definitely a nice way to start off our short little trip.

Clearly, that is the only logical explanation

There was a point walking around that DH and I looked at each other and said, "If these are the Thanksgiving crowds, I think we'll be okay!" We did end up finding the crowds later, but I think we had managed our expectations well. We didn't go in planning to do everything, and had actually overestimated...I thought for sure I'd encounter a 20 minute wait for the bathroom at some point but thankfully not!! lol

We also found Mickey with no wait, it was great! I agree, after using the system a bit I actually don't mind it (although I do miss the old paper FP's when you could return any time later that day, not within the window lol). Glad you didn't find the crowds too terrible. I think during the 12 days I went to 1 baby care center to nurse (no make that two, one because I forgot to bring my cover to the park that day lol). It was just usually the most convenient bench nearby - glad you found a quiet spot!

I love that they didn't get rid of Sorcerer Mickey with the changeover of the Animation building, and also that they totally improved his backdrop & props. It was in a perfect little location that most people were just passing on by so it was great not to have a wait!

Although there are some things I don't mind about FP+, I definitely miss the days of being able to use the paper FPs all day as well. I really hate what it has done to the standby lines at some attractions, and I can't stand the tiering at Epcot and DHS!

I found myself using the baby care centers a lot just because I found quiet spots hard to come by in the Disney parks. There were definitely some days I was cursing how far away they were from wherever I happened to be in the park when DD was ready to eat! But when I did find a quiet bench some where it was a welcome blessing!

What can I say? I'm modest! lol

I actually prefer the new system ... and not having to "run with the bulls" at rope drop for TSMM is roughly 87.34% of the reason why



I mean, it's the only logical explanation

Glad to hear the crowds weren't crazy - I know you were a bit worried about that.

gotta love Muppet Vission. I've said it before that I don't want to live in a world where "A net full of Jello" isn't funny

It has its benefits, but overall I hate the effect it has had on the standby lines on attractions that used to flow just fine without FP under the old system. We are normally at rope drop anyway, so I guess that's another reason I preferred the old system. But yeah, times like this it does come in handy to have the new system!

Of course!!

I was definitely worried, and for that day at least, it was a nice surprise to not be shoulder to shoulder. There did end up being heavier crowds over the next couple of days, but it still wasn't as bad as I had imagined. I guess that's the one good thing of expecting horrendous crowds!! When they aren't THAT bad, you feel like you've won somehow. lol

I'm really glad DS is turning out to be a Muppet lover too. We just can't WDW and not do Muppet Vision at least once!

 

[khertz]

Love all the pics of DHS at this time of evening. Very pretty!


I'm glad to see how much he still enjoys the characters at 5 years old. I always wonder how long that excitement for character meets will last with Izzy.


That is a HUGE perk of the new system, that specific ride. It was fun using the paper system in Disneyland, but it is a lot more running around, especially since you have to use them within the window. I liked it better when you could use them all day.

We are not usually in DHS at that time of the evening when the sun is going down and everything has that soft glow. It was so gorgeous! And I didn't even miss the hat like I thought I would!

It's kind of strange with the characters. 95% of the time, if I ask DS if he wants to meet a character, he says no. Most of the time I don't push it. But sometimes, like with Sorcerer Mickey, I'm like, "No, we're meeting him!" And once we get there and it's his turn, he gets so excited! So sometimes he still needs a push in their direction but he still enjoys the actual meet, which is the most important. I hope that feeling stays!

Yeah, FP was GREAT when they could be used all day! Ahh, the good old days. Right now while DD is little, rider swap is where it's at for us. Not only can we use it all day, we can use it all trip since they're usually good until the end of the month!! lol

Wow... looks like your DH should have set the camera for them.

That looks like such a nice repurposed M&G area. I like the backdrop and the brooms.

This would be the one redeeming quality for FP+...



That's good news! I've been there starting the weekend after Thanksgiving and didn't find the crowds to be horrible, but I've never been there for the entire holiday weekend.

Haha! I was thinking the same thing when I saw them...DH could have done so much better! Ah well, it is what it is.

It's my new favorite place to meet Mickey! I always loved him in his sorcerer outfit, and now he has that great backdrop to go with it!

Yeah, really the only one that I can think of...

Of all the days we were there, this was definitely the best when it came to crowds. The rest of the time, we tried to go totally opposite of where the crowds would be going for as much of the time as we could, which was easy considering we had just been there. I'm sure it would have been different if we had been away from the parks for awhile.

So exciting to have a last minute trip to WDW. I think it actually takes some of the stress off of planning, although I do love to plan. Glad you had fun.



My kids still love the characters and they are in their 20's!

It is kind of fun to throw caution to the wind sometimes and go to Disney on such short notice with hardly any plans! We have done this a couple of other times, and we always have a great time of it!

 

[khertz]

Day 1 Continued: Thursday November 26th

When I left off, DD and I had just met up with DH and DS at the exit to Muppets and we were ready to go see the dancing lights gleam for the first time! This, of course, was the whole reason behind taking the trip, so we were all really excited. We haven’t seen them since 2011, and DS was only a year old at the time so it was basically like the very first time for him to see them.

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A preview as we walked down to the entrance to the lights


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DD was just amazed!

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I don’t know that there is much better than turning the corner and seeing the Lights stretched out down Streets of America in front of you.

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We made our way down to the San Francisco side street where the big canopy of lights is, and we found a Photopass photographer. There was a bit of a line, but we didn’t mind waiting since we were really just there to enjoy the lights. It did take a bit of time because the lights were dancing something like every 3rd song, and the photographers don’t take photos while they are dancing so that the lights are on in your picture.

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That roped off area to the side of me is the line for the Photopass


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While in line, I spotted baby Sinclair from Dinosaurs! I used to love that show as a kid, and I knew he was there, but had never seen him.

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I’m the baby, gotta love me!


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The kids were both loving the lights!

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Continued in next post...

 

[khertz]

Day 1 Continued: Thursday November 26th

Once it was our turn, we got our photo taken. It didn’t come out really great, but I still like it.

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We spent a good while just wandering and watching the lights dance, taking it all in. We did stop at the little kiosk to buy myself one of the green long sleeved That’s A Wrap t-shirts and the Christmas ornament.

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In all, we were at the lights for about an hour and left a little after 8 pm to go back to the room. The park was still not too crowded as we made our way towards the entrance.

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We got back to the room to bathe and get ready for bed. DS was excited to watch the Duffy Bedtime story on TV before settling down to go to sleep.

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We had plans to be at Epcot early in the morning, so it wasn’t long before we all went to sleep!

UP NEXT: Now Is the Hour...

 

[rdkeim]

Your pictures of the lights are just wonderful! Love the one with the dalmatians and Mickey and Minnie at the picnic table. Also, I thought your PP pictures were great! I sure hope the lights come back somewhere but if they don't, you were able to say a proper goodbye

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Glad you got to spend a good amount of time at the lights. I am glad they had them this year and that they seemed to even enhance them this year with more character placements, etc. - really giving people a chance to "say goodbye" to them in style

I like the first Photopass family pic with your son's arm on his hip - very good looking family!

 

[cindianne320]

The lights are so beautiful! So sad I never got to see them in person.

 

[hokieinpa]

Meeting Mickey is a great way to start any trip!

Great pictures of the lights! I love the PP picture! And the one of DS under that huge tunnel of green lights.

I enjoyed finding all of the hidden stuff in the lights - I see you found the lightsabers too!

 

[Dugette]

This is an adorable picture of you two girls!

Love seeing the lights again. Will be so strange without them there if/when we go back during December sometime. Glad you got to bid them farewell and collect a couple souvenirs to remind you of the experience.

 

[missangelalexis]

So many gorgeous pictures of the lights! I still can't believe it was the last year, so sad

I'm so glad the kids were enjoying them too!

 

[Imagineer5]

LOVE your evening at the lights. The family photos were totally worth the wait, and oh I just melted at Delilah smiling in the carrier. How adorable!! Love the ornament too!

 

[heatherrrrz]

Your photos aren't coming up for me. Probably because flickr is a blocked site on my work computer. I'll have to come back and reread when I'm on my laptop.

 

[afwdwfan]

I don’t know that there is much better than turning the corner and seeing the Lights stretched out down Streets of America in front of you.

It is (or I guess, was) an amazing sight to see!

While in line, I spotted baby Sinclair from Dinosaurs! I used to love that show as a kid, and I knew he was there, but had never seen him.

Not the Mama!

I loved that show! I didn't even realize that was there!

Great picture! That's one big smile!

We spent a good while just wandering and watching the lights dance, taking it all in. We did stop at the little kiosk to buy myself one of the green long sleeved That’s A Wrap t-shirts and the Christmas ornament.

Cool! I'm sure that ornament will be one that you'll treasure for years.

In all, we were at the lights for about an hour and left a little after 8 pm to go back to the room. The park was still not too crowded as we made our way towards the entrance.

Not too bad. You got to get out and experience the lights and it still isn't even a terribly late night.