Jingle Bell Jingle BAM: A Christmas 2019 Trip Report

[vamassey1]

The official description: Ichigo Milk Boba: Strawberry Cream Drink with Japanese Calpico and popping Strawberry Boba Pearls.
It tasted like a yogurt drink that kids drink. Not for me but the kids loved it.

I agree with you but I can see the appeal for kids.

And I got another one of the Tsubaki Whiskey Sour: Plum Wine with Whiskey, Cranberry Juice, Sugar and Lemon.
Good and strong again!

This sounds much better.

Nice family photo.

The L's split the Bianca Neve: Italian Flatbread, Mozzarella and Parmesan. It was floppy white pizza. Not good.

This doesn't look good at all.

Crespelle di Mele: Cinnamon Apple Fritters and a Vanilla Sauce Drizzle with Confectioners Sugar
Morgan shared with the kids and they all said they were good. But no adults ate any, sooooo take that with a grain of salt.

I think I would like this too.

She was amazing! I was so glad we got to see her! She was so engaging and her story was really intresting. Granted at this point, I don't remember what the story was... but it was great. I want to say it was something about how the legend of Santa started with her.

I wanted to see her too but I only caught part of her show.

He was very intresting as well, a bit silly. And his story didn't have as much substance to it as the Italian Witch. But entertaining just the same.

I'm so jealous you got to see more of the Storytellers.

He also bought a giant pretzel with his beer. And the kids munched on that.
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That is huge!

He was def my least favorite of the 4 we ended up seeing.

I'm sorry to hear this. This was the ONLY storyteller I saw in full and really enjoyed him.

As part of his story, he asked for someone to come up to help him with the story, and he picked Gwen! He asked her where she was from, and there was a few jokes about New Jersey... And then he gave Gwen a bell... a lot of bells...

What a treat for Gwen.

At the very end, he gave Gwen a single bell on a red ribbon. And said that it was her JOB to wake everyone up on Christmas Morning with it. And let me tell you.... she cherises this bell! And has used it BOTH Christmases! She even hid it from Morgan, so Morgan couldn't steal it from her.

I love this! I hope she has fun for year with her bell. It makes me think of the bell from "The Polar Express".

The sun was setting fast and it was getting cold!!! We had the kids grab a table while the adult got the food. It was freezing by now and the kids picked the seats right by the water. Which was beautiful but also freezing!

It does look cold.

Miss L def enjoyed the pavillion and I am glad we didn't skip it!

This was my favorite pavilion on my very first trip when I was in High School.

We ordered 2 of these beauties,Macaron with Raspberry and Lime Cream! One for me and Andy to share and one for Morgan.

Sounds soooo goood.

I'm liking everything in this box.

You had a really great Epcot day.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

love this! I hope she has fun for year with her bell. It makes me think of the bell from "The Polar Express"

I have to admit, we have never seen The Polar Express.... We have started it a couple times and just never make it very far. Actually this year the girls barely wanted to watch ANY christmas movies with me! It was kind of sad... Hopefully they will circle back around.

I'm sorry to hear this. This was the ONLY storyteller I saw in full and really enjoyed him.

I do think our rushing had something to do with that. If we do end up going this Thanksgiving, I will give him another try!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a great day at Epcot! The Storytellers sound so fun, and so cool that Gwen got picked to help Father Christmas!

 

[vamassey1]

I have to admit, we have never seen The Polar Express.... We have started it a couple times and just never make it very far. Actually this year the girls barely wanted to watch ANY christmas movies with me! It was kind of sad... Hopefully they will circle back around.

The Polar Express is pretty long. I remember when my kids quit watching Christmas Movies with me too. They did come back around so I have hope for your girls.

I do think our rushing had something to do with that. If we do end up going this Thanksgiving, I will give him another try!

I'm happy to hear that. Fingers crossed on your Thanksgiving trip.

 

[disneyAndi14]

What a fun Epcot day, we have never been during the Holiday festival. The storytellers really sound unique to each country.
You all did have many snacks, treats, and yummy drinks!
How quick to get back to the resort with the Skyliner, that is nice!

 

[Steppesister]

And I got another one of the Tsubaki Whiskey Sour: Plum Wine with Whiskey, Cranberry Juice, Sugar and Lemon.
Good and strong again!

Okay NOWWWWW we're talking!

At this point, we decided to focus on actually seeing some of the storytellers. We had been just missing them and I was starting to be a little bummed about it. We saw the time for the Italian Witch in Italy and remember that @lesleywake said she was a good one. So, we headed over to Italy.

I super need to go at Christmas again. If for this alone.

It was floppy white pizza. Not good.

Yuck. Yeah, that doesn't look very good!

Does anybody know if it actually had anything to do with Italy?

Yes Italy has a history of jugglers in piazzas dating back to 1920's with Enrico Rastelli.

We were able to grab a picture and then we high tailed to see another one!

I

Man, those boys are just so darned photogenic. Excellent Christmas Card material!

Such a sweet photo keeper!

I was so sad to this part all turned off for Covid. It's like 50% of the whole point.

So, basically chips and cheese.

Uhhhh...... ??? ok. LOL!!

IM

Sooo yum yums!!

 

[Paulaparm]

Love the updates

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Five: Tusker House Breakfast

Today was a good day but also kind of was our breaking point day. I had originally said that today should be a rest day / pool day. But then I wanted to got to Animal Kingdom so the L's could expierence Flight of Passage and eat at Tusker House. So, against my better judgement, I planned for us to head to Animal Kingdom early and the plan was to leave around noon to go back and rest in the afternoon.

We were all up around 6:30 to get ready to head out today.

Tinkerbell left a pile of stuff for the girls today! It was all stuff for the kids to use tonight, as we were going to the Very Merry Christmas Party tonight! So, I ordered 3D glasses like they give you for the Jingle Bell Jingle BAM dessert party. And I also ordered cheap versions of the christmas light necklaces for all the kids to wear as well. And then I grabbed dollar store ear muffs and mittens for just he girls.

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All the items were a big hit and they were excited for the party tonight.

But first some time in animal kingdom! We were all out of our rooms by 7:30 and we decided to just call ubers to get over to the park.
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We were at the front of the park at 7:50 and our breakfast reservation was at 8:10. So, Mr. L was getting anxious about the timing again, but I knew we would be fine.

We made it through security with no problem. And took some photos in front of the Tree.
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It was COLD this morning! The weather def took a turn for the cold by now. We loved it! Especially since AK is usually so hot. But Miss L was a little disappointed that it wasn't warmer this trip in general.

We lined up in the pre-park opening line but they weren't letting people in yet! They didn't start scanning people until 8:00 on the dot. This made Mr. L even more nervous. And all I kept thinking was what if your reservation was at 8:00 am? You weren't going to be there on time. It was just strange.
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It also took forever to get through! They had 2 lines with 3 tapstiles and we ended up in the line that used only one tapstile. It was one of those moments that you just want to get into the park and it felt like we were moving in slow motion! It took a good 10 minutes to get to the front of the tapstile line.

But we made it in and started making our way back to Tusker House.

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I snapped photos of the decorations as we walked.
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The decorations were really beautiful. And I loved them!

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Little M wanted to direct us to our destination this morning.

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It only took 5 minutes for us to make it to Tusker House, So we checked in 5 minutes late, which really was not a big deal BECAUSE they were behind as they were still seating all the 8:00 folks!

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We waited for what felt like forever! Realistically, it was probably only 15 minutes but it was cold, it was early and we were hungry!

We were finally seated about 8:35 and it was a relief to finally get inside! We were sat at the exact same table that we sat at the last time we ate here. Which was a weird!

But quickly we had our first character! Daisy came by first.
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Me and Miss L wanted our own picture with the lovely lady!

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The girls brought there buttons again today to get autographs again. As this was it for character dinning for us this trip.

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Gwen wanted a picture by herself with Daisy!

After Daisy left, we took turns grabbing food and keeping an eye out for the characters. I think someone grabbed a big plate of pastries just for all of us to share.

Goofy came out about 10 minutes after Daisy.
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Goofy was fun as always! I think he joked around with Little M the most.

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At some point we ordered drinks from our waitress. Coffees all around for the adults and the kids all got hot chocolates and orange juices. I never got any pictures of the food. I am terrible at getting pictures when we are at buffets to start and then it was just a little chaotic with so many of us.

But the food was all really good! And there was something for everyone. We have loved all of the food at Tucker house every time we have been here. Although I would say that BOMA buffet is better but for in park food, this is great.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

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Mickey came about 10 minutes after Goofy. They were well spaced out but it also made it hard to get up and get food. We made it work, but I don't think I love the character buffet meals anymore. Then again, who knows what will happen with buffets going forward.

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Right after Mickey was at our table, they announced the parade around the room.
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The younger kids all did the parade, but Morgan had gotten up to do it and promptly sat back down. She said she felt too old to do it.

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Our waitress was kind enough to mention to Mr. L and Miss L that since they were on the dinning plan, that they could order an alcoholic drink. Mr. L didn't want one. So Miss. L and I got mimosas!

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Cheers!

Donald finally came last. IMG_1814

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And with that we had meet all the characters and we finished up our food. And got ready to head out.

We left the restaurant around 9:30 and headed to our first fast passes of the day!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I'm happy to hear that. Fingers crossed on your Thanksgiving trip.

I am REALLY hoping we can go! I really need it.

You all did have many snacks, treats, and yummy drinks!

It didn't feel like it at the time. But reading it really feels like a lot of food!

How quick to get back to the resort with the Skyliner, that is nice!

It is so nice, you guys will love it when you stay at Riveria!

Yuck. Yeah, that doesn't look very good!

It was so floppy. It was very disappointing!

Uhhhh...... ??? ok. LOL!!

Morgan actually is a fairly ok eater. But this is how she likes her "nachos" She hates condiments. I don't get it.

Sooo yum yums!!

It was really good. And I could really go for one right now!

Love the updates

Thanks!

 

[Steppesister]

Tusker is one I"ve never done but would consider it at some point. IF buffets ever make it back to the mix. Generally, I steer clear of them, but with family style replacing, I'd maybe do it simply because I love AK so much. I love that the kids had such a good time though with the characters.

 

[missjackiemcg]

We LOVE Tusker House, so this post made me really hope that it will be open again soon, or at least in time for our next trip in December

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Tusker is one I"ve never done but would consider it at some point. IF buffets ever make it back to the mix. Generally, I steer clear of them, but with family style replacing, I'd maybe do it simply because I love AK so much. I love that the kids had such a good time though with the character

I am mostly for family style instead of buffets. Getting up with characters gets stressful. But that would also mean less choices. So, we will have to see!

We LOVE Tusker House, so this post made me really hope that it will be open again soon, or at least in time for our next trip in December

I know! I am realizing now how much is still closed! I have to hope most of it is just based on the # of people eating inside. And that some of these items will come back eventually!

 

[vamassey1]

Your rushed morning was making me nervous. I hate being late too. The food looks really good. Character meals are a circus. I'm sure they are much more relaxed now that they are family style. I'm also really loving the holiday touches to the character costumes.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

our rushed morning was making me nervous. I hate being late too. The food looks really good. Character meals are a circus. I'm sure they are much more relaxed now that they are family style. I'm also really loving the holiday touches to the character costumes.

I was probably more annoyed than I let on in my story at the line at the tapstiles. Shhhhh don't tell anyone..

 

[vamassey1]

I was probably more annoyed than I let on in my story at the line at the tapstiles. Shhhhh don't tell anyone..

Not a soul.

 

[Tracy161]

I'm finally all caught up and really enjoying your TR! And how fun to see the Ls experience Disney for the first time. I hope they plan to return again!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I'm finally all caught up and really enjoying your TR! And how fun to see the Ls experience Disney for the first time. I hope they plan to return again!

Glad you are all caught up!!! We talked about going again together in like 4 years! I would love for our other family that we consider family to come as well. So all 6 "pho-cousins" can do Disney together. We will see. First we have to get through the rest of this stupid pandemic!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a good breakfast! I've always liked Tusker House!

 

[kastoney]

Happy Saturday Everyone!!!
We survived another week of cold! Good Job everyone! I saw a graphic that something like 75% of the US had snow on the ground. That is craziness.

Happy Saturday! Of course you wrote this a few weeks ago so I'm a wee bit late. But what do you know its still Saturday

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I did not like it but I don’t really like Matcha. But Miss L loved it.

I'm not sure I've had matcha but that does not even remotely look appetizing

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Andy's face here just cracks me up!

We all took turns running to Germany to use the bathroom. Why is there not a bathroom in each country!?!?

I know, right? Makes zero sense. I remember when we went when I was pregnant and let me tell you there were some near emergencies thanks to that good ole lets skip a country plan. Don't Italians need to pee?

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At the very end, he gave Gwen a single bell on a red ribbon. And said that it was her JOB to wake everyone up on Christmas Morning with it. And let me tell you.... she cherises this bell! And has used it BOTH Christmases! She even hid it from Morgan, so Morgan couldn't steal it from her.

Oh she looks so happy there. I'd totally forgotten they did all of these storytellers. What a unique Christmas time treat.

And Gwen had Macaroni & Cheese: Cavatappi Pasta in a Rich White Cheddar Cheese Sauce. Which was pretty good!

And very Mexican

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I loved the drink!!! It wasn't overly avacado-y. And I would order it again, although I do perfer the spicy variety of margaritas.

And speaking of Mexican. Pretty sure I saw this lady on the streets of Tijuana once. Ole!

But the food was all really good! And there was something for everyone. We have loved all of the food at Tucker house every time we have been here. Although I would say that BOMA buffet is better but for in park food, this is great.

We really like it too though we haven't done it in forever. We did Boma once but liked Tusker House better. It's about the only character meal we do. I can taste that bobtie now.