Is this Thunder Mountain or Splash Mountain?!?! Dec 10 - 15, 2012 (COMPLETE)

[geckodani]

Day Four: Pillowworks!

After waiting what seemed like forever for a bus (is it me or is the bus service at AK just not as good as elsewhere?) we finally made it back to POFQ and stopped for some lunch under the creepy watchful eyes of the floats. I had a nummy quesadilla and Mom had a salad. We split an order of beignets and they were amazing.

My ankle was bothering me after the uneven pavement at AK, so I soaked my feet for a bit in some epsom salt once we got back to the room. We lounged a bit, put on some warmer clothes as it was supposed to be chilly this night. Little did we know we were about to be reeeeallly cold!!!

We had a 6:00 ADR at Le Cellier, so we made our way to the bus stop at about 4:00 and headed on over to Epcot!

We had some time to kill, so we rode Maelstrom and did a bit of shopping in Norway before heading over towards Canada. The UK had some interesting wares to browse as well.

That pic cracks me up every time I see it! My mom doesn't drink at all, so to see her with beer goggles on is priceless!

Our dinner at Le Cellier was absolutely FANTASTIC. I had the Filet, and I can't remember what mom had. We split my maple creme brulee and took this little guy with us for later!

We got out of dinner around 7:30, and it was FREEZING. We're from MI, and even we were cold! I think it was about 45, and the wind off the lake around the WS was absolutely frigid. We really wanted to stay for Illuminations, but we were miserable, even after Mom insisted on buying me a super cute fleece, I was still really cold.

So, after a bit of deliberation we decided to head back to POFQ, get some hot chocolate and warm up!

One last pic on our way out:

While I was a little bummed to miss Illuminations, I'm glad we made the decision we did. We went back to the room, grabbed some hot chocolate and watched Miracle on 34th Street. In the middle of the movie we could dimly hear the "pop pop pop" of fireworks somewhere on property.

After finishing the movie, we snuggled up for a good night's sleep. My pillow was a wee bit flat, so I decided to fluff it by pounding on it. Apparently it sounded like the fireworks we had heard earlier, because Mom suddenly said. "Fireworks? No! Pillowworks!" Which set us both of laughing, and was a wonderful way to end the day with a laugh!

 

[geckodani]

Day Five: Look Out, It's Pooh Bear!

Day Five dawned sunny and clear - FINALLY! We didn't have any breakfast plans, but we were going to MK so I called WDW Reservations and asked if they had any breakfast reservations along the monorail track, and we got a 10:30 at 1900 Park Fare! We grabbed a cab, and spent some time looking at the decorations and the gingerbread house. There was a wedding party taking photos in the lobby, so I didn't get many photos.

1900 Park Fare was a lot of fun, but really crowded! I ended up sitting with my back to the characters/dining room, and Mom was sitting against the wall. Food was really good- they have lobster eggs benedict!! I was in heaven.

We had a few fun character interactions, and a few meh ones, but when Pooh Bear came along that all changed. He snuck up behind me and bonked me on the head with his nose, which caused me to jump, scream a little, and bonk him in the head.

If you can't tell from this pic, we are cracking up!!!

After my heart beat returned to normal, we hopped on the monorail and over to MK. We took the train around to Fantasyland, because we had FP+ for Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Ariel and Splash Mountain. We headed first to Ariel, but the ride was down. So Mickey's Philharmagic saved the day! After that we hopped on Peter Pan (love it) and then over to Haunted Mansion.

And then.. I rode it again, solo this time. Mom was Haunted Mansioned out. She stopped for a snack at Columbia Harbor house while I rode again. It was on this ride that I found out that the hitchhiking ghosts do different things to your head when you're solo! I don't know what I thought they did, but the little bearded dude blew my head up like a balloon and popped it!

We opted out of Splash Mountain; we'd had enough of being wet this trip! Big Thunder was down again, so our very wet ride would be the only one of this trip.

I'm low on pics this update, we were just meandering around, soaking it all up since this was our last day! I know we did the Laugh Floor again, and Buzz Lightyear, before stopping for some lunch at the Main Street Bakery. We got giant pastries as our desserts and decided to save them for breakfast the next morning (departure day).

We did a little shopping, and then bid MK good bye and headed back to POFQ to pack up before heading to HS for the evening. When we got back to the room we were greeted by a hidden Mickey!

We had an agenda for our last night at HS - Fantasmic and the Osbourne Lights!

 

[geckodani]

Day Five: Feliz Navidad!

After we packed up a bit, Mom and I headed back to HS to catch Fantasmic and the Osbourne Lights! While we were waiting at the POFQ bus stop, we got to chatting with a family that was also waiting and on their last night. The mom commented that the last night was always so sad, and Mom and I just looked at each other and laughed. We told them that actually, we had been having a fantastic trip, and we were ready to go home and see our spouses! She was impressed that we had left them behind.

We got to HS around 4:30, and rode Star Tours and ToT before lining up for the 6:30 Fantasmic! I once again had a ball handing out glow sticks, and got some genuinely delighted reactions from a bunch of the kids around me.

Fantasmic was fantastic as always, even if I do still miss the dragon from Disneyland! After all, I was there for opening night of Fantasmic in California!

After Fantasmic we rode ToT for the third time this trip (my mom loves ToT like I love Haunted Mansion) and then we headed off to see the Osbourne Lights!

This was an absolutely wonderful way to end the trip. We spent about an hour back there, and had a blast watching the lights and goofing off.

I had two glow bracelets missing connectors, and decided they would make admirable antennae.

Nanu nanu!

Just as we were getting ready to leave, Feliz Navidad played again. My mom called me the day after we got back and told me that Feliz Navidad had started to play on the radio, and that she'll never be able to listen to it again without remembering our trip!

We left HS just in time to get caught in the crowd coming from the 8:00 Fantasmic , and had standing room only on the bus. I was okay, but Mom was stumbling a bit, and a very nice young man gave up his seat for her. To whoever you were, thank you; I hope karma comes back around to reward you!

We got back to POFQ, watched the end of Toy Story, and then went to sleep.

ME picked us up at 9:15 the next morning, and we came home full of good memories.

It was truly a fantastic trip. We got rained on, frozen out of fireworks, and I wouldn't change it for anything. It's a trip I'll never forget, and I'll be forever grateful that we were able to go and spend that time together!

Feliz Navidad!

 

[SAT887]

Day Five: Feliz Navidad!

After we packed up a bit, Mom and I headed back to HS to catch Fantasmic and the Osbourne Lights! While we were waiting at the POFQ bus stop, we got to chatting with a family that was also waiting and on their last night. The mom commented that the last night was always so sad, and Mom and I just looked at each other and laughed. We told them that actually, we had been having a fantastic trip, and we were ready to go home and see our spouses! She was impressed that we had left them behind.

We got to HS around 4:30, and rode Star Tours and ToT before lining up for the 6:30 Fantasmic! I once again had a ball handing out glow sticks, and got some genuinely delighted reactions from a bunch of the kids around me.

Fantasmic was fantastic as always, even if I do still miss the dragon from Disneyland! After all, I was there for opening night of Fantasmic in California!

After Fantasmic we rode ToT for the third time this trip (my mom loves ToT like I love Haunted Mansion) and then we headed off to see the Osbourne Lights!

This was an absolutely wonderful way to end the trip. We spent about an hour back there, and had a blast watching the lights and goofing off.

I had two glow bracelets missing connectors, and decided they would make admirable antennae.

Nanu nanu!

Just as we were getting ready to leave, Feliz Navidad played again. My mom called me the day after we got back and told me that Feliz Navidad had started to play on the radio, and that she'll never be able to listen to it again without remembering our trip!

We left HS just in time to get caught in the crowd coming from the 8:00 Fantasmic , and had standing room only on the bus. I was okay, but Mom was stumbling a bit, and a very nice young man gave up his seat for her. To whoever you were, thank you; I hope karma comes back around to reward you!

We got back to POFQ, watched the end of Toy Story, and then went to sleep.

ME picked us up at 9:15 the next morning, and we came home full of good memories.

It was truly a fantastic trip. We got rained on, frozen out of fireworks, and I wouldn't change it for anything. It's a trip I'll never forget, and I'll be forever grateful that we were able to go and spend that time together!

Feliz Navidad!

Loved your TR! I can't believe how rainy it turned out to be. We were there the week earlier and had such wonderful weather!!

 

[geckodani]

Loved your TR! I can't believe how rainy it turned out to be. We were there the week earlier and had such wonderful weather!!

Thanks; I'm glad you enjoyed it!

And pthhhbt to the weather! I know, I was watching the weather the week before we left and it was perfect, and it cleared up on our last day! Ah well, I wouldn't trade that wet and wild ride on Big Thunder for anything!

 

[LisaKeys]

I am SO glad I ran across this trip report as I was looking through the list. I cannot even begin to tell you how heartwarming it was to read about your trip. What a wonderful, special relationship you both have; truly blessed!

I just LOVE the photo of you and your Mom from years back on the carousel. Look at her long, long hair! Did you notice that the smiles way back then match the same smiles on your face now?

Thank you again for sharing. It truly is one of my favorite reports I've ever read. I teared up more than once (yes, I'm a mushy sentimental type - lol) and my heart sank when the report was over.

Have a great year!

 

[geckodani]

I am SO glad I ran across this trip report as I was looking through the list. I cannot even begin to tell you how heartwarming it was to read about your trip. What a wonderful, special relationship you both have; truly blessed!

I just LOVE the photo of you and your Mom from years back on the carousel. Look at her long, long hair! Did you notice that the smiles way back then match the same smiles on your face now?

Thank you again for sharing. It truly is one of my favorite reports I've ever read. I teared up more than once (yes, I'm a mushy sentimental type - lol) and my heart sank when the report was over.

Have a great year!

Aw! Thank you Lisa!!! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hadn't noticed the similarity in the smiles until you pointed it out.

My mom just cut her hair about 2 years ago, it was down to her hips for as long as I can remember before that. She loves it short, but I think sometimes she misses the length!

This trip... I'll never forget it. I know we have a unique and close relationship, and I really, truly enjoy spending time with her. She's my favorite travel buddy, and I hope we'll get to go again someday, but if we don't, I'm just so glad that this trip happened.

Thanks for reading, and I'm glad I brought a smile to your face.

 

[geckodani]

A Few Final Thoughts

I asked OhMari to move this out of the completed forum so I could add some final thoughts and one more set of pics (thanks OhMari!).

I was looking through some of the photopass photos, and came across this progression that pretty much sums up why I love vacationing with my mom.

I have no idea what we are laughing at, or why the pointing (clearly she's channeling her inner gangstah), but we are clearly having fun. :

The whole trip was like that. Even when we were being rained on, we were still just having a blast. It really was a trip that I will remember forever. I was at POFQ with my husband a month or so after this trip, and I kept thinking about how my mom got such a kick out of all the foliage at the resort. That woman knows her plant life! We still laugh about a lot of the little moments, and I am so very glad that we went.

 

[geckodani]

So.... a small update. We had so much fun, we're going to try to go again!

I'm saving my pennies and crossing my fingers that a trip will happen over President's Day week in 2014! I know it will be busy, but it's the only time we're going to be able to swing it next year. Can. Not. Wait.

 

[geckodani]

A Review of FastPass+

After reading teekathepony's TR (We Got No Troubles; Life Is The Bubbles! A Sept. 2012 Art of Animation Trip Report!) I realized that a review of FP+ might be helpful for some folks.

We had two days that we were able to test FP+. We were allowed to choose one day in HS and one in MK to test. On our HS day, I had FP+ for Star Tours, Toy Story Midway Mania, and Tower of Terror. I don't have the confirmation times for that one, but if I recall correctly they were about an hour apart (except for ToT, which I put at the end of the night). So the schedule looked something like this:

3:05 - 4:05 Star Tours
4:05 - 5:05 Toy Story Midway Mania

6:05 - Dinner ADR at Sci-Fi

7:00 - 8:00 Tower of Terror

This worked out beautifully for us on this day. We ended up missing the Star Tours spot, but we had ridden it before so it was no big deal. We walked right up to TSMM, waved our cards and on we went. The after dinner ToT FP+ worked out beautifully as well.

At MK, I actually still have our email with our times:

When we got to Little Mermaid, the ride was down but we were told we could come back at any time and they would let us in. We didn't end up doing so, but it was nice to know that they would have honored it. We used the FP+ for Peter Pan, which was wonderful as the stand by line was over an hour long!

We utilized the HM FP+, but skipped Splash as we were sick of being wet.

Overall, I really enjoyed FP+. Walking into HS in the afternoon and directly on to TSMM was worth its weight in GOLD. I look forward to using it on future trips as well.

It seemed to work the best for us by scheduling around an ADR; I knew that Sci-Fi was reasonable close to TSMM, so I put that spot just before our ADR etc.

While we didn't end up using all our spots, knowing that I had a guaranteed spot on some of my favorite attractions was awesome.

 

[teekathepony]

Hello! I made it over! I read through the whole thing this morning. Great report!
That pic of you and your mom on the carousel at Disneyland is just priceless, literally. That's a keepsake for sure. I love that you sorta re-created it! I have a pic of my dad and I at the Sunshine Tree Terrace that I would love to re-create if I ever get him back with me!
The creepy clowns are seriously the biggest reason I didn't want to stay at POFQ! Hahaha
Wow, you guys had a lot of rain! Kept your chins up though, that's really great.
All your Christmasy pictures are making me so excited for my Christmas trip this year!
Love those Photopass pics of you and your mom. You two look like you had a LOT of fun together.
Thanks for your review of your experience with the FP+ system! We definitely had opposite opinions, but I can definitely see how it *could* be a great thing to have. Walking up to TSM and just hopping right in the FP line sounds awesome!

 

[geckodani]

Hello! I made it over! I read through the whole thing this morning. Great report!
That pic of you and your mom on the carousel at Disneyland is just priceless, literally. That's a keepsake for sure. I love that you sorta re-created it! I have a pic of my dad and I at the Sunshine Tree Terrace that I would love to re-create if I ever get him back with me!
The creepy clowns are seriously the biggest reason I didn't want to stay at POFQ! Hahaha
Wow, you guys had a lot of rain! Kept your chins up though, that's really great.
All your Christmasy pictures are making me so excited for my Christmas trip this year!
Love those Photopass pics of you and your mom. You two look like you had a LOT of fun together.
Thanks for your review of your experience with the FP+ system! We definitely had opposite opinions, but I can definitely see how it *could* be a great thing to have. Walking up to TSM and just hopping right in the FP line sounds awesome!

We were going to try to re-create it, but didn't have anyone to take the pic, and I wasn't comfortable leaving my camera with a stranger to try! Maybe next time.

It really did pour on us. It could have been miserable, but I'm glad we just went with it. And we really did have a TON of fun. And the masks.... so creepy. Not enough to keep me away, but when I was there with DH in Jan we ate outside a lot, LOL!!!

Christmas at Disney is awesome - you are going to love it!

FP+ really did work for us, but I can totally see how it could be frustrating in different circumstances. I think the fact that I looked at it as a perk and not a necessity might have helped as well.

Thanks for coming to check out the TR!