Flitterific
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2009
- Messages
- 631
DBF and I just returned from our first Christmas DLR trip! We got there around 6pm on Christmas Eve and stayed until 5pm on Sunday. I am so glad that we decided to go during the holidays...the decorations made it extra magical. Even though we did two 16 hour days, there were still a lot of things that I didn't get to do.
Anyway, here is the rundown of our trip:
Hotel: We stayed at HoJo's for the first time in Building 1 (Room 606) which faces the freeway. The noise did not bother us at all though since we literally went back to the hotel, showered and crashed. The room was nice with a balcony. The bed was really comfortable and the pillows were not too soft, just the way I like them. The staff were really nice as well. And you really can't beat staying there for $59/night with the Entertainment Rate
Crowds: Christmas morning wasn't too bad but the crowds got considerably worse in the afternoon/evening. We tried leaving DLP around 5pm in the midst of a parade and the sidewalks were completely blocked. The street was full of people shoulder to shoulder and it was impossible to move at all. I definitely felt bad for the kids in strollers
The day after Christmas was even more crowded and Sunday was just crazy. The line for POTC wrapped around so many times...same with IASW! Luckily, the line for IASW moved really quickly. By early evening (around 6pm), the FPs for Indy were already all gone.
Weather: Brr...definitely dress in layers. It was chilly in the mornings and freezing in the evenings/night. Scarves, hats and gloves are recommended. I think there was a little bit of sun Christmas day but overall, it was pretty cold.
Food: We had dinner at Jazz Kitchen on our first night. The food was just as delicious as the last time. We tried Lucky Fortune Cookery in DCA...we tried the Spicy Korean Beef which was okay but definitely too overpriced for the amount of food that they give you. We had Christmas dinner at Napa Rose. Although the food was good, it did not blow my mind like my previous experiences. I think it was because they only had the pre fixe and everything was prepared ahead of time that it did not taste as good. Cafe Orleans somehow misplaced our reservation card
so we waited 30 minutes in the cold wondering why it was taking them so long to get us a table. The hostess did not apologize at all which really irritated DBF but things got a lot better after we were seated and our server was nice and gave us beignets on the house for making us wait so long for them. We also ate at Mimi's Cafe for the first time using the free breakfast coupon 
I will share food porn tomorrow once I upload all my pictures 
Transportation: We took a flight to SNA and took Super Shuttle to our hotel, which was really convenient and cheap as well using the $3/off each way code. Surprisingly, there was not a lot of traffic from the airport to SNA. I was actually really worried about hitting traffic on Sunday so I scheduled our pick-up time at 5pm for a 7:50pm flight. Since there was no traffic, we got to the airport more than 2 hours early. The worse part was that our flight got grounded. We waited for an hour on the plane since the pilot kept assuring us that it was a small paperwork problem and that we would be on the way soon. After a few updates, he finally announced that it was a bigger problem than they thought so we would have to get off. He originally told us that Southwest would get us another plane in 30 minutes, which did not happen. Not only that but there were no more flights to SFO! DBF and I ended up flying to OAK (about 40 minutes away from SFO) and were then shuttled back. I didn't get home until almost 1am
Despite the minor setbacks, it was a wonderful trip and definitely one that I will never forget. I loved the HM holiday overlay, especially the smell of gingerbread in the ballroom scene. IASW was really cute as well. DBF an I rode each one 3x
I also got to take pictures with all of the characters in their holiday wear including: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Clarabelle Cow, Pluto, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore. The princesses and fairies also had on long sleeve dresses/jackets...so cute!
I hope everyone gets to visit DLR during the holidays at least once in their life because it really is so magical
Feel free to ask me questions
Anyway, here is the rundown of our trip:
Hotel: We stayed at HoJo's for the first time in Building 1 (Room 606) which faces the freeway. The noise did not bother us at all though since we literally went back to the hotel, showered and crashed. The room was nice with a balcony. The bed was really comfortable and the pillows were not too soft, just the way I like them. The staff were really nice as well. And you really can't beat staying there for $59/night with the Entertainment Rate
Crowds: Christmas morning wasn't too bad but the crowds got considerably worse in the afternoon/evening. We tried leaving DLP around 5pm in the midst of a parade and the sidewalks were completely blocked. The street was full of people shoulder to shoulder and it was impossible to move at all. I definitely felt bad for the kids in strollers
The day after Christmas was even more crowded and Sunday was just crazy. The line for POTC wrapped around so many times...same with IASW! Luckily, the line for IASW moved really quickly. By early evening (around 6pm), the FPs for Indy were already all gone.Weather: Brr...definitely dress in layers. It was chilly in the mornings and freezing in the evenings/night. Scarves, hats and gloves are recommended. I think there was a little bit of sun Christmas day but overall, it was pretty cold.
Food: We had dinner at Jazz Kitchen on our first night. The food was just as delicious as the last time. We tried Lucky Fortune Cookery in DCA...we tried the Spicy Korean Beef which was okay but definitely too overpriced for the amount of food that they give you. We had Christmas dinner at Napa Rose. Although the food was good, it did not blow my mind like my previous experiences. I think it was because they only had the pre fixe and everything was prepared ahead of time that it did not taste as good. Cafe Orleans somehow misplaced our reservation card
so we waited 30 minutes in the cold wondering why it was taking them so long to get us a table. The hostess did not apologize at all which really irritated DBF but things got a lot better after we were seated and our server was nice and gave us beignets on the house for making us wait so long for them. We also ate at Mimi's Cafe for the first time using the free breakfast coupon I will share food porn tomorrow once I upload all my pictures Transportation: We took a flight to SNA and took Super Shuttle to our hotel, which was really convenient and cheap as well using the $3/off each way code. Surprisingly, there was not a lot of traffic from the airport to SNA. I was actually really worried about hitting traffic on Sunday so I scheduled our pick-up time at 5pm for a 7:50pm flight. Since there was no traffic, we got to the airport more than 2 hours early. The worse part was that our flight got grounded. We waited for an hour on the plane since the pilot kept assuring us that it was a small paperwork problem and that we would be on the way soon. After a few updates, he finally announced that it was a bigger problem than they thought so we would have to get off. He originally told us that Southwest would get us another plane in 30 minutes, which did not happen. Not only that but there were no more flights to SFO! DBF and I ended up flying to OAK (about 40 minutes away from SFO) and were then shuttled back. I didn't get home until almost 1am
Despite the minor setbacks, it was a wonderful trip and definitely one that I will never forget. I loved the HM holiday overlay, especially the smell of gingerbread in the ballroom scene. IASW was really cute as well. DBF an I rode each one 3x
I also got to take pictures with all of the characters in their holiday wear including: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Clarabelle Cow, Pluto, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore. The princesses and fairies also had on long sleeve dresses/jackets...so cute!I hope everyone gets to visit DLR during the holidays at least once in their life because it really is so magical
Feel free to ask me questions 
