Jingle Bell Jingle BAM: A Christmas 2019 Trip Report

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Yay! Following along...

Thanks for following Along!

I'm here and following along!

Glad you are here!!!

I’m here and excited to read about a Christmas time report
I would have been on an airplane right now to Disney if times were normal! Bummer..
What a whirlwind Thanksgiving before your trip. I love the surprise in the tree for the kids.

I am sory about the cancelled trip... That is hard. When this all started, I would never have thought this would all still be going on... sigh. Hopefully you will get there soon!

Joining in too!

Thanks for following along!!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Travel Day / Day One: The Journey

We woke up SUPER early, 4:00 AM. We packed up the last of the needed items and loaded up the car. We were all tired but also super excitied for the trip. The girls found Candy Cane (our Elf) waiting to great them in the morning.


I sent the girls and Andy to load up the car while I quickly prepped all of the typical Christmas suprises for the girls to find when we cam back.

There Advent Calendar was stuffed!


And Candy Cane was waiting for there return with a new friend!

By 4:45 AM we were on the road!

Since it was the day after Thanksgiving we booked a spot at a private parking place. We were worried that the standard airport parking would be full from all of hte holiday travelers. So, we drove over to Wally Parking. When we pulled in I got slightly worried that we were too early for our reservation. We had gotten out of the house way faster than I thought we would have. But we didn’t have any issues. We parked and immediatly got picked up by a bus. (this alone is worth the extra $2 a day) and dropped off at our terminal in no time.

We dropped off our bags with no wait and got through Security fast! The regular TSA guys were NOT happy to be working today. The one guy was just yelling at everyone and everyone was sleepy and just a little slow. You could just tell he was not happy to be working that day. We were glad to be on the Pre-Check Side. Those guys were in a bit better of a mood.

Exactly 1 hour from leaving our house we were already at our gate! 5:45 AM and we were literally the first people there!





But we didn't care, we were ready for the trip!

We took turns grabbing breakfast items. I went and grabbed Coffee from a stand that was open. I waited for what felt like forever. It probably wasn’t that bad, but just felt so slow. They had some breakfast items as well, and Gwen wanted the ham and butter baquette, but they didn’t have it. So, we went with a bagel, but they didn’t have plain, so she ended up with Honey Wheat. Which Gwen of course didn't like. So, Andy and I ended up splitting it.

Morgan was was happy wiht her blueberry muffin. No pictures, as it was a standard muffin.

Andy went and grabbed an Iced Coffee from a different stand and I had my hot coffee. Which at that time in the morning is really all I need.

Since Gwen didn’t like the bagel, I took Gwen to check out what McDonalds had. They had “Hot Cakes” otherwise known as Pancakes. She was happy.

Can you tell?




Man do I look tired in this picture!

Slowly more people filtered into the area and we were able to board on time.


We were flying Southwest again, but I was able to get us boarding group A this time. We we didn't have to stress about getting seats together. Thanks goodness!

By 7:30 AM we were boarding the plane.


We were able to get a row of 3 for me and the girls, and Andy sat behind us at the window seat. The flight was fine, nothing really to note.

The girls did get these cute charm things on there waters...


The girls did travel light for the plane this trip. Since they didn't have any homework to do, they just had there park bags with there ipads. Which was nice to not feel like we were lugging around the world with us.

By 10:20 AM we had already landed and were headed to the Pho-Monorail!

On our way to the monorail we saw a Turkey Mascot & Pilgrim wandering the airport. A little strange. Girls had no desire to “meet” them.


I also made the girls take a photo at our 1st Christmas tree of the trip.

Gwen thought it was big. Little did she know.

We were a little TOO excitied to see the Star Wars wrap at the pho-monorail area.




We had become pros at navigating our way down to Magical Express, as my photo has us checking in at 10:30 AM


We were directed to Row 10 and literally had just enough time to take our traditional Magic Band photo.


And they loaded us onto a but at 10:34 AM.


And the bus pulled out of the terminal at 10:45 AM! Good Bus MoJo!

I tried to close my eyes for a little bit to rest but I don't think I was very sucessful. At 11:10 AM we were passing through Disney Gates!


And we pulled up to Caribbean Beach at 11:15 AM! We were the first stop! I don't think we could have gotten there any faster!


We were greated with some Caribean inspired decorations and the wonderful smell of suntan lotion and coconut mixed together. Since it was so early, we knew our room wouldn't be ready, so we just checked everything we didn't need with bell services. And headed into the lobby area.

There was a decent line in the check in area. I did online check in, and just figured we would get the text later. We just went on our merrily way!

Checked out the Christmas merch in the store.

Gwen wanted holiday ears. I sent this picture to Mama C and said that we had been hear 5 minutes and Gwen was already buying stuff!




She actually ended up with these ears... Which I also wanted and she agreed to share with me!

I text’d a little with Mama C as we browsed that we were here and she said she was packing for them to leave tomorrow!

We decided to try to get lunch at the pool bar, but they weren’t service food till noon. And it was 11:30-ish... So, we decided to head to EPCOT to grab some lunch there instead.

We walked over to the Riveria stop, not know how the skyliner worked yet.



It was a beautiful Day! The temp was perfect. Warm but not too hot.


So, Morgan was not looking forward to riding the Skyliner. She has def decided that she is afraid of heights. But we told her the best way was for her to ride it right away, so she couldn’t build up the nerves waiting to ride.


And it def was!


She quickly got over her fear and just enjoyed the ride.


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Up Next we finally make it in a park!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Meanwhile...

This morning Mama C and Dad C had made the big reveal to the boys.

Needless to say they were a little excitied!


They had some homemade Mickey Waffles to celebrate.

And there elves were ready to go with them!

Not really... those guys stayed home!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I love Candy Cane's hat! Is it one of the ornaments they sell in the parks, or did you actually make it?!

I sent the girls and Andy to load up the car while I quickly prepped all of the typical Christmas suprises for the girls to find when we cam back.

When we travel to WDW over Christmas, this is always the challenge! Getting him out of the house, so I can quickly set up that Santa visited while we were gone!

Last year, we were gone over Christmas, and I had gotten all the gifts set up, etc. BUT I forgot to put our elf away! He could NOT still be there when we got home January 2nd since he should have gone back to the North Pole with Santa, so I texted my brother and asked him to stop at our house and put the elf in my closet. Of course he put it in the wrong closet, so I had momentary panic when we got back and couldn't find him! Sheesh. The things we do

On our way to the monorail we saw a Turkey Mascot & Pilgrim wandering the airport. A little strange. Girls had no desire to “meet” them.

That is pretty funny actually! I probably would have forced Jimmy to do it, LOL.

Oh, look at their happy faces!!! This is such a great picture!

Cute!!!! I'm glad they left them at home, trying to deal with elves at Disney would be so stressful!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I love Candy Cane's hat! Is it one of the ornaments they sell in the parks, or did you actually make it?!

I did not make it, someone at Etsy made it.... I can plan these things out but I am NOT crafty like that. And ironically I purchased the ornament on this trip that you mention...

Last year, we were gone over Christmas, and I had gotten all the gifts set up, etc. BUT I forgot to put our elf away! He could NOT still be there when we got home January 2nd since he should have gone back to the North Pole with Santa, so I texted my brother and asked him to stop at our house and put the elf in my closet. Of course he put it in the wrong closet, so I had momentary panic when we got back and couldn't find him! Sheesh. The things we do

Seriously! The things we do! but I am glad I am not the only crazy mama doing them!

That is pretty funny actually! I probably would have forced Jimmy to do it, LOL.

I was probably anxious to get to the parks!

Cute!!!! I'm glad they left them at home, trying to deal with elves at Disney would be so stressful!

Can you imagine... Maybe you could leave an extra tip and a note for mousekeeping to get them to help out, though...

 

[missangelalexis]

Joining in! So fun to be able to go with such close friends!

So fun to surprise them with the news on Thanksgiving morning!

Major props to you for setting up all the surprises for the girls that early in the morning so they'd be there when you returned!!

Sounds like a smooth trip down! And always nice to get there early with a full day ahead of you!

 

[vamassey1]

I'm here!

Love the start of your report. I would not have been able to host a Thanksgiving and leave the next day for Disney. We had enough trouble hosting and then leaving 2 weeks later. Kudos to you. Always enjoy the surprises you do for the girls.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Sounds like a smooth trip down! And always nice to get there early with a full day ahead of you!

Thanks! It was so smooth! And we made good use of the full day ahead!

Love the start of your report. I would not have been able to host a Thanksgiving and leave the next day for Disney. We had enough trouble hosting and then leaving 2 weeks later. Kudos to you. Always enjoy the surprises you do for the girls.

Lots of planning and prepacking went into play. I had us FULLY packed over the weekend. Anything we would normally grab the night before or morning. I just bought a duplicate of. I wasn't messing around. And thankfully, my family is great at helping with dishes and stuff.

 

[suse66]

Such a fun start to your trip! I love early flights as having a full Disney day ahead of you is the best feeling ever!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Travel Day / Day One: A Quick Taste of the Festival of the Holidays

At exactly noon, we walked inside EPCOT, via the World Showcase entrance. I think since we have discovered this entrance, we haven't gone in the front entrance in awhile.

We were extremely hungry, I think getting up so early made our stomachs think it was later than noon. We headed to France, as a quick glance of the food booths, it sounded like ones we liked better that way around the world showcase.

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These were the first peak at any holiday decorations and I already loved them! So much more to come!

First stop was France - Le Marche De Noel Holiday Kitchen
I was worried how busy it would be. This was the first day of the festival. So, I knew all of the bloggers and vloggers would be out today. But it wasn't too bad, as it was so early in the day. We only had one of two people to wait to get out food. We did have a hard time finding a place to sit. With it being noon the sun wasn't giving us many places in the shade. We were able to grab a bench right there, but it was VERY sunny. And Gwen in her hungry state was kind of grabby. (She was also made that I wouldn't let her sit on the ground up against a trash can in the shade...

I really wanted to to try the Rillette de Saumon: Salmon Spread with House-made Bread.
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It was just ok.I just had one bite. The salmon was kind of canned Tunafish-ish, you know that harder denser fish. Not a soft fresh fish. I wouldn’t order it again. Gwen did eat some of the bread, so at least she got something in her stomach. to level her blood sugar & mood.

Andy and Morgan decided to try the Bouchée à la Reine Traditionnelle: Turkey and Mushrooms in a Veloute Cream Sauce served in a Light Puff Pastry
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Morgan and Andy shared this, as they both love all of the traditional Thanksgiving food and wanted to try this "french" version. Andy and Morgan really liked this. Morgan didn’t want to try it at first but did and really liked it.

Morgan and Gwen wanted to try the dessert here, and well, it was vacation so we got that as well... It was the Bûche de Noël au Chocolat “Christmas Log”: Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Caramel Ganache.
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This looked really cute. But was just ok. Morgan and Gwen ate all of it, don't you worry... It wasn't bad but not amazing.

I had wanted to get the frozen hot chocolate from France as well, but I think my stomach was not ready for alchol quiet yet. I figured I could get one later in the trip. And spoiler alert, I never got to try it...

Once we all had a little food in our bellies we moved on. We checked out the L’Chaim booth but skipped it for now. We tried to soak in the fact that we were already in EPCOT, but to be honest we had one goal in mind and that was food!

Our second stop ended up being Japan - Shi Wasu Holiday Kitchen
It was only 12:20 when we got there.

I wanted to get the sushi tree! It was early in the festival (obviously) so, there weren't any reviews on things yet. But I love sushi, so I knew I wanted to try it!

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Chirashi Sushi Tree: Sashimi-grade Tuna, Salmon, Ikura and Yellowtail with Vegetables decorated on a bed of Rice
This was also just ok. It was good, but the sushi donut at the festival of the arts was better. (More fish) But the presentation is so cute! We ordered 2 of these, so Andy and I didn't have to share.
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Having now eaten some food, I was ready for an adult beverage. So, I tried the Whisky Sour that they had here.
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Tsubaki Whiskey Sour: Plum Wine with Whiskey, Cranberry Juice, Sugar and Lemon
This was really good! I do like my drinks sweet but this one wasn't overly sweet. And it was STRONG!

We got the girls an order of the Soba Noodles to share.
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New Year Celebration Soba: Buckwheat Soba Noodles in Hot Dashi Soup with Kakiage (Vegetable Tempura) and Chopped Green Onion
This was a HUGE hit for the girls. They LOVED it. And it really hit the spot for both of them. This was a huge hit for Gwen, and really sparked her love of ramen so much so that she asked for a fancy ramen bowl for Christmas.

We ordered also ordered one boba drink for the girls to split. (You can see it in the first picture in the backround) Gwen and Morgan both tried it and liked it so much they both wanted there own. So, we ordered another one so they didn’t have to share.
Ichigo Milk Boba: Strawberry Cream Drink with Japanese Calpico and popping Strawberry Boba Pearls (non-alcoholic)

With that, we decided that we had all had enough to eat and were ready to get out of the sun!

Our goal today was to see some of the gingerbread displays, so headed out of EPCOT.

Up next our first Gingerbread display!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Such a fun start to your trip! I love early flights as having a full Disney day ahead of you is the best feeling ever!

We def made the best of this day! The whole trip was very jammed packed! There was a lot of holiday stuff to do and we really needed another day. But unfortantly, we really needed the girls back in school.

 

[missjackiemcg]

At exactly noon, we walked inside EPCOT, via the World Showcase entrance. I think since we have discovered this entrance, we haven't gone in the front entrance in awhile.

With the way the front entrance is so torn up right now, at least you aren't missing anything!! Staying at Pop with the Skyliner, we've only entered through the International Gateway on our last few trips, too. It's definitely weird not walking up to Spaceship Earth, BUT skipping the insanity of the Epcot bag check is a nice perk of coming in the back way!

I had wanted to get the frozen hot chocolate from France as well, but I think my stomach was not ready for alchol quiet yet. I figured I could get one later in the trip. And spoiler alert, I never got to try it...

This happens to me on EVERY trip! You think I'd learn by now! If there's something I want to do or try and I think "I'll have time later in the trip," I should really know to stop in my tracks and just do the thing!! I never make it back!

 

[suse66]

We def made the best of this day! The whole trip was very jammed packed! There was a lot of holiday stuff to do and we really needed another day. But unfortantly, we really needed the girls back in school.

I know....there is just so much to do and see. I did a three day Christmas trip last year and crammed so much in. It was ridiculously fun! I had to get back to school too (as I teach kindergarten). Really hoping to get back next year!

 

[Piglet843]

Travel Day / Day One: A Quick Taste of the Festival of the Holidays

We got the girls an order of the Soba Noodles to share.
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New Year Celebration Soba: Buckwheat Soba Noodles in Hot Dashi Soup with Kakiage (Vegetable Tempura) and Chopped Green Onion
This was a HUGE hit for the girls. They LOVED it. And it really hit the spot for both of them. This was a huge hit for Gwen, and really sparked her love of ramen so much so that she asked for a fancy ramen bowl for Christmas.

You should get her some of these too !

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

This happens to me on EVERY trip! You think I'd learn by now! If there's something I want to do or try and I think "I'll have time later in the trip," I should really know to stop in my tracks and just do the thing!! I never make it back!

Right?!?! I saw a picture on social media somewhere along the way this week and it made me sad all over again. But really, there are way worse things to be sad about!

I know....there is just so much to do and see. I did a three day Christmas trip last year and crammed so much in. It was ridiculously fun! I had to get back to school too (as I teach kindergarten). Really hoping to get back next year!

School is always getting in the way! How is teaching going for you these days? Are you remote? The struggle is real for remote learning! And I HATE it.

You should get her some of these too !

I actually ordered these for my husbands stocking stuffer last night! He had a pair of green ones but the battery died, so I ordered red ones this time!

 

[vamassey1]

I think since we have discovered this entrance, we haven't gone in the front entrance in awhile.

We came in this way due to the Skyliner on our December trip and never saw the front of the park. Love entering here.

It was just ok.I just had one bite. The salmon was kind of canned Tunafish-ish, you know that harder denser fish. Not a soft fresh fish.

This does not sound good.

Andy and Morgan decided to try the Bouchée à la Reine Traditionnelle: Turkey and Mushrooms in a Veloute Cream Sauce served in a Light Puff Pastry

Now this sounds good.

New Year Celebration Soba: Buckwheat Soba Noodles in Hot Dashi Soup with Kakiage (Vegetable Tempura) and Chopped Green Onion
This was a HUGE hit for the girls. They LOVED it. And it really hit the spot for both of them. This was a huge hit for Gwen, and really sparked her love of ramen so much so that she asked for a fancy ramen bowl for Christmas.

Danielle loves ramen too. I'm sure she would have loved it too.

I had wanted to get the frozen hot chocolate from France as well, but I think my stomach was not ready for alchol quiet yet. I figured I could get one later in the trip. And spoiler alert, I never got to try it...

Happens to me EVERY SINGLE TRIP. So many goodies I have missed thinking I would get or do it later.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day One: Gingerbread!

So, I left off with us heading out of EPCOT already. My girlfriend had texted me and asked what we were doing. And she thought we were crazy! We went into a park and didn't go on a ride or anything?!?! But we were all ok with it. And I liked that we could go in with our annual passes and feel like we didn't waste a ticket or anything.

We headed to Beach Club first.
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I do remember it was actually fairly hot and the walk felt long. Probably because we were also a little tired from getting up so early and the holiday being just yesterday.

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Once we got inside, the girls loved see the caroseul! They spent a decent amount of time checking out all of the details and finding the hidden mickeys.

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Gwen liked this horse the best.

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And Morgan liked this one the best. She is so predicable.. It's blue so she liked it... Pretty sure that was the only reason why...

Next we headed to the Yacht Club to see what they had.

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We found a tree along the way to take a picture with... We were still keeping count at this point, but quickly lost count.

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We were able to walk most of the way without going outside but did have to go outside for a little bit.

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I loved all of the nautical holiday decorations.

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And man, when we got to the lobby at Yacht Club I was instantly wishing we were staying here!
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It really just is our favorite resort!

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My girlfriend would also love this resort, she loves Cape Cod and all things nautical... Next time!

We checked out the tree and the train set up that they had here.

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The train is cute but def not worth a visit JUST to see it... unless you have a kid who is really into train. Which my sister does, so we took a couple videos and sent them to her.

IMG_0895 by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

At this point, Gwen was loosing steam FAST! So, we decided to skip walking over to the boardwalk. The walk might have broken her at this point. So, we took an uber from Yacht Club over to Grand Floridian. As, I def wanted to see that Gingerbead House!

We were getting out of the uber and walking into Grand Floridian right around 1:30. We weren't rushing by any means but I think we were "making" good time as seeing the tree we wanted to see.

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The tree here was great!

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It fits the space perfectly!

Andy wanted to get a picture of us in front of the tree, but I said let's check out the gingerbread house first and then do that on the way out.

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I have to admit... I was a little disapointed in the gingerbread house... For some reason I thought it would be bigger? Granted it was huge but still... I think because the lobby is so big, it makes it look smaller than it actually is.

1:30PM:, walking into the GF. Checked out the tree and the house. I was slightly under-whelmed by the gingerbread house. I knew it was big but since the lobby is so big, it didn’t seem quiet as big as I thought it would be. I also thought you got to go inside of it. But still glad we saw it.

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We decided to wait in line to get some treats. Which the line didn't move very quickly. In fact, I took Gwen to the bathroom and came back while Morgan and Andy were still in line.

Morgan went with a Giant Cake Pop
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This was pretty good. It was a cake pop... And HUGE!

Gwen wanted the Snowman Donut
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This was just ok. It actually had a weird consistancy and had a VERY strong ginger taste.

Andy and I split a Gingerbread Mickey Head. Although, I wasn't really feeling the sugary snacks at the moment.
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We alos had plans for the evening with more sugary snacks. So I told everyone to not eat too much.

We found a quiet place to sit and relax for a minute. Which I think we needed. A little sugar kick also helped us all. While we snacked we talked about the plan for the rest of the day.

We decided to check out one last ginergread house and then head back to the hotel to rest for a bit.

So, after a little bit we headed to get a picture by the tree before heading out. AND... the photopass person that was there was JUST leaving on break. oops. Guess we should have done that first.

Oh well, Andy took our pics intead.
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I look tired in this picture!

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We headed upstairs and the view upstairs was great also!

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And I have to say that the view was actually more impressive from above!

We hopped on the monorail over to the Contemporary for our last Gingerbread Display of the day.

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This was def the least impressive one. I totally get what they were going for but after just seeing the Grand's version, this was meh. I think if we had seen it before we might have liked it more.

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Gwen wantted to get her photo op in!

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We randomly saw a family that was on our plane down while we were here. Guess we all had the same thought!

We checked out the gift shop there in the lobby and finally headed out! We grabbed an uber back to the hotel.

Up next dinner and some evening christmas fun!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Danielle loves ramen too. I'm sure she would have loved it too.

I wish I could find the reciepe... Alot of it has to do with the broth.

Happens to me EVERY SINGLE TRIP. So many goodies I have missed thinking I would get or do it later.

I know. You would think after all these trips, I would learn my lesson!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I have never seen the Gingerbread Carousel in person, but that sure is beautiful! I didn't realize they themed the horses after certain characters or movies either, so that was pretty cool!

The Grand Floridian lobby is SO gorgeous at Christmas! In 2016 when we did our vow renewal, it was the first time we'd ever seen it decorated for Christmas, and I just fell in love. Some of my favorite pictures from the day are the ones we took by the tree before heading to our renewal spot.

Checked out the tree and the house. I was slightly under-whelmed by the gingerbread house. I knew it was big but since the lobby is so big, it didn’t seem quiet as big as I thought it would be. I also thought you got to go inside of it. But still glad we saw it.

I agree with what you said above, the tree and house look more impressive from the balcony looking down. I also thought you'd be able to go in the gingerbread house the first time we saw it!!

Thankfully, we actually did get that experience on our Merrytime Cruise last year. The gingerbread house isn't much bigger, but on Christmas morning, they serve treats INSIDE!! I was far more excited than Rob and Jimmy about this, but definitely made them go in with me and take pictures despite their bad attitudes!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I also thought you'd be able to go in the gingerbread house the first time we saw it!!

I thought the same thing!!!! Maybe you used to be able to?

Thankfully, we actually did get that experience on our Merrytime Cruise last year. The gingerbread house isn't much bigger, but on Christmas morning, they serve treats INSIDE!! I was far more excited than Rob and Jimmy about this, but definitely made them go in with me and take pictures despite their bad attitudes!

That would probably have been me as well.