Just the facts... Dec. 12-18, 2010

[twitch]

For those who expect long stories, drama, excitement, and exhilaration, please turn the page and find a different trip report now...

After introducing the trip, I'm just going to post the list of the things that we did each day, along with an observation or two along the way. My objective is not to entertain, titillate, or inspire... but to simply provide facts which might help others plan their trip!

The trip was a Christmas trip for my wife and me - 34 years old, no kids. I'm a pastor, so getting away to see Christmas decorations at WDW seemed nearly impossible, but we managed to get ALL of our Christmas preparations done early, allowing us to be away from Dec 12-18. By the beginning of December, all presents were bought and wrapped... cards (both church and personal) were signed, addressed, and stamped. The week before the trip we mailed the Christmas cards.

I don't have a church secretary (my wife and I do all the administrative work), so we also had to have all the powerpoint put together and the bulletins copied and folded--for both the 12th and the 19th. The good news is that our children's department was putting on a musical on the 19th, so I only had a brief devotional to share (already written, printed, and tucked in my sermon folder before we left!)

And Saturday, December 11th, we hosted the all-church Christmas party at our house! The bags were mostly packed, and we cooked up a storm, entertaining nearly 40 guests at a time with appetizers, entrees, and desserts. The last guest left around 4:20, and we had to zip over to the dump, wash dishes, vacuum, and finish packing. We took showers, and went to bed around 9:30, with the alarm set for 4AM!

 

[twitch]

Transportation
We flew with AirTran, with a stopover in Baltimore. Smooth connections... we even departed the same gate we arrived at! The flights were not so smooth, especially into Orlando. It was raining lightly when we arrived, but we were able to get ushered onto a DME bus fairly quickly, and made it to POP Century in good time to check out our room and make it to Epcot for a 4:00ADR.

I don't have an exact timetable, but we were on the ground at MCO around 12:40. I suspect we were at our resort by 2:00-2:15, and then leaving for Epcot by 2:45-3:00.

Checking In

We did have a little hangup checking in... not sure why... I think it had to do with the new computer system. We requested to be near transportation... and we did end up in a very close wing to the buses. We were put on the 4th floor. At first, I wasn't thrilled with the stairs... but then I remembered that top floor rooms tend to be quieter because you don't have anyone above you!

Epcot

• Canada: Off Kilter (5-10 minutes)
• France: Pere Noel
• Dinner @ "Les Chefs de France" (watching Serveur Amusant out the window)
• Morocco - Toured the pavilion and shops
• Japan: Daruma Vendor (about 10 minutes)
• Candlelight Processional: 6:45 show (dinner package)... lined up about 30-45 minutes early, sat in the front row of the non-VIP section
• Japan - Toured the pavilion and shops
• America - American Adventure Show (And grabbed Hot Cocoa from the cool gingerbread house)
• Illuminations (arrived about 30 minutes early, over near Norway, and had a spot on the fence, right next to a VIP section.)

Observations
It was cold. And windy. Fortunately, we were somewhat prepared... with a blanket in the carryon bag, gloves, handwarmers, and hats/earmuffs/scarfs. It was still cold... especially during the Candlelight Processional. Illuminations was so windy that most of the smoke blew away immediately, giving the lasers nothing to paint on.

CP was beautiful... everything I'd hoped it would be. We were on the dining plan, and even though it took 2 TS credits, the package was worth knowing that we'd have a seat.

 

[twitch]

Our original touring plan was different from this. We'd initially planned to go to AK on this day, but because of the bitter cold, wanted to have places where we could be mostly indoors. Epcot and MK became the places to go!

Epcot

• Rope Drop
• Soarin'
• Got FP for Test Track (wish I'd gotten one for Soarin' instead... didn't really need it for TT)
• Mission Space: Orange
• Universe of Energy (I told you... we wanted to be indoors! Never did this attraction before... not the highlight of the trip, but at least it was warm!)
• Test Track (with FP)
• Spaceship Earth (Waiting under the big ball was the coldest and windiest part of this day... and we watched someone (angrily) try to convince the line greeter that they could take their stroller through the queue. *sigh*)
• We grabbed a Fruit Cup at the Electric Umbrella. (Finding a place to get a snack/breakfast was not particularly easy for us)
• We wandered into Innoventions to try Sum of All Thrills, but the wait was 40 minutes. We skipped it.
• Nemo & Friends ride and browsing The Seas
• Captain EO
• Canada: Papa Noel
• 1:40 - Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco
• Italy: La Befana
• Germany: Toured the pavilion
• German: Helga
• China: The Monkey King (maybe 5-10 minutes)
• Mexico: Los Tres Reyes Magos
• Mexico: The Gran Fiesta Tour
• Norway: Julenissen & Sigrid

Magic Kingdom

• Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party. (We arrived just in time for this... it wasn't on our plan... and we didn't actually watch the party in the hub, just the parade down Main St.)
• The Hall of Presidents (remember... we're looking for indoor things!)
• Bought Hot Cocoa from Sleepy Hollow, and staked out a spot for the parade.
• Main Street Electrical Parade (This was our only chance to see this... glad we did... really cute parade, and we love the soundtrack!)
• Wishes (also, our only chance to see regular Wishes.... however, it was cold...)
• Casey's - Chili (Great use of a snack credit!) The only bad part was that we had to find a spot outside to eat it. (No thanks to the people without food who were sitting at indoor tables!)

 

[twitch]

Hollywood Studios

• Rope Drop
• Got FP for TSM
• Toy Story Mania (Standby)
• Rock 'n Roller Coaster
• Breakfast at Fairfax Fare
• Got FP for Tower of Terror
• The Magic of Disney Animation & Character Greeting with Sorcerer Mickey. (I'm not usually critical, but our CM for Magic of Disney Animation must have had an off day... really dry in her delivery, and stilted in her conversation with Mushu.)
• The Great Movie Ride
• Toy Story Mania (using FP)
• Tower of Terror (using FP)

Magic Kingdom

• We strolled the park and looked at Christmas decorations... grabbed a FP for Space Mountain as we circled the park counter clockwise
• Staked out a spot for the Parade...
• The Notorious Banjo Brothers & Bob
• Main St. Philharmonic
• Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade
• Pirates of the Carribean
• Country Bear Jamboree
• Supper @ Pecos Bill
• Castle Stage Show : Dream Along with Mickey
• Carousel of Progress
• Space Mountain (using FP)
• Castle Lighting (Cinderella's Wish)
• Line up for 7 Dwarfs (about 6:30... ended up standing in line with a Pastor from Texas... who also was amazed at being able to take a few days off in December to go to Disney! Chatting with him sure made the time pass more quickly!)

MVMCP

• Character Greeting with 7 Dwarfs
• The Haunted Mansion
• Free Cocoa and Cookies & Columbia Harbour House
• Totally Tomorrowland Christmas Show
• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
• Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (This seems like the old worn-out toy in the corner that nobody wants to play with anymore!)
• Cosmic Ray's Jingle Dance and Play (we watched as we sipped cocoa!)
• Found a spot for Wishes
• Holiday Wishes
• We staked out a spot for the Christmas Show at the castle... but it was cancelled. The characters came and led some carols, and that was that. I wish they'd made an announcement earlier, we might have done something else. Instead, we ended up standing around from before Wishes began until after the parade. Fortunately, the spot we got for the castle show was good for the parade.
• Once Upon a Christmastime Parade

 

[twitch]

We slept in (a bit) this day. Since we had done rope drop, TSM, TOT & RnR on the day before, this was a day to get in shows. However, we'd happily squeak in another ride on TSM and TOT!

Hollywood Studios

• I bet we arrived around 10:00
• Got a FP for TSM
• Journey into Narnia
• Studio Backlot Tour
• Muppet Vision 3d
• Beauty and the Beast (we tried to find a sunny spot on the bleachers up back... it was still cold... glad we had our blanket to sit on!)
• Got FP for TOT
• "Sounds Dangerous"
• Lunch & Mama Melrose
• Block Party Bash
• Lights, Motors, Action! (the show was interrupted with a fire in one of the cars... but after about 20 minutes, it resumed without incident. We believe that the driver was OK.)
• Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
• Tower of Terror (using Fastpass)
• Osborne Lights
• Toy Story Mania (using Fastpass)
• Supper @ ABC Commissary. (My second bad experience eating here... the only reason we ate here was because it was indoor seating. But they were so slow that we didn't get to eat indoors... we had to pack our food and run to F! and eat it there)
• Fantasmic!

 

[twitch]

Magic Kingdom
We didn't quite make Rope Drop... it was AM EMH, and we simply didn't quite get going quickly enough. We were probably only 10 minutes after park open though.

• Got FP for Peter Pan (with "bonus" FP for Philharmagic)
• Dumbo
• Carrousel
• Winnie the Pooh
• Mad Tea Party
• Snow White's Scary Adventures
• It's a Small World
• Breakfast at the Crystal Palace
• Got FP for Big Thunder Mountain RR
• Tom Sawyer Island
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (using FP)
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Enchanted Tiki Room
• Jungle Cruise
• Haunted Mansion
• Peter Pan's Flight (using FP)
• Casey's Corner Pianist
• Dapper Dans
• Mickey's Philharmagic (using FP)

Epcot

• The Sum of All Thrills (20 minute wait)
• "Joyful" by D'Vine Voices
• America: Hannukah Storyteller
• Character Greeting with Belle
• UK Pavilion
• Canada Pavilion
• UK: Father Christmas
• Living with the Land
• Supper @ La Cantina de San Angel
• China Pavilion

 

[twitch]

We had breakfast at our food court.

Animal Kingdom

• Rope Drop
• Got FP for Safari
• Rode Safari (Standby)
• Got FP for Everest
• DINOSAUR
• Finding Nemo Musical
• Got second FP for Everest
• Expedition Everest (using first FP)
• Maharajah Jungle Trek
• Pangani Forest Exploration
• Kilmanjaro Safari (using FP)
• Expedition Everest (using FP)
• Flights of Wonder
• Staked out spot for Parade (outside Dawa Bar... thanks Robo for the tip)
• Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade
• Dinner @ Yak & Yeti. We were about 9 minutes late for our 4:00 reservation. It was about 4:04-05 before we could move from out of the ropes, and took us about 5 minutes to make it to the restaurant. We had no problems getting in, and it was probably the fastest table service meal all week!
• Character Greetings with Goofy & Donald. We waited in line for Minnie, but she had to go check on some cookies just as we made it to the front of the line. We were concerned about getting into FotLK, so we didn't wait for her to come back.
• Festival of the Lion King

Boardwalk et al
We made a middle-of-the trip decision to go from DAK to the Boardwalk by bus... so we could walk around and see some resorts, and come in the back entrance to Epcot for Illuminations.

• Boardwalk
• Yacht Club
• Beach Club

Epcot

• Impressions de France. (Why... oh why must people talk through this movie? The music is one of the best parts!)
• Norway Pavilion
• Illuminations. This time, we watched from the back railing of the walkway. We could see most everything, and didn't feel like we were in a crowd. We were on the walkway outside Norway... and I wondered, has anyone ever tried watching it from the 'porch' of the Stave Church?

 

[twitch]

Transportation and Summary

It was raining on Saturday morning... which made it easier to leave! We ate breakfast at the food court, finished off our snack credits with rice crispie treats, finished packing, and arrived at the resort airline desk at 9:00. We stood in line for about 15 minutes, got checked in, and were on the 9:15 bus (which was a little late). Long Long lines at MCO... glad we could skip checkin and go straight to security. No problems in security, and we were on our plane in time for an early takeoff... but just as we reached the first position in the queue, the wind shifted and they changed the direction of the runway... so we had to taxi to the other end before we could take off. We took off 45 minutes late, but still touched down at our destination within a minute of the scheduled time.

It was a great trip. More crowded than our trip in Sept 2007, and definitely much colder. The Christmas decorations were fun, and we managed to get in lots of things that we hadn't done before. Bus transportation was great... we only waited 5-10 minutes at most in the morning... a couple of nights we had long queues for boarding the buses, but they kept more buses coming, and we probably only waited 20 minutes at most. The worst night was our first night out of Epcot, which was so cold to wait in the bus line.

DME and the (free) dining plan work great for us. I don't think I'd do it any other way. I can't imagine renting a car, parking, eating and alternate housing on the price of the room rack rate. We love not having to count dollars while we're eating, and to simply order whatever we want. We can't imagine eating counter service all week, so the upgrade to the regular plan was good for us. We still had 4 snack credits left over at the end of the week, and the only out of pocket food I had was: hot cocoa on the first night, and a Caesar salad at Mama Melrose (that we split).

I'm sorry I have no great stories to tell... but feel free to ask questions!

 

[twitch]

As I look over the list of things, it looks like we did a LOT!

And while we were tired at the end of each day, we never hit a point of exhaustion... I feel like we paced ourselves well, making the most of the 'stand around and wait' time that happens before shows and parades. We were up early most every morning, and we had a pretty good plan for the first hour of each day.

After the first hour, we would continually plan our next two or three steps, keeping in mind the objectives for the day. We had used our phone calendars to plug in the major shows that we wanted to hit, so we could make sure that we got to everything on time.

If anything, we often overestimated the time we would need before a show/parade/etc. I was so concerned about missing out, that we would show up earlier than needed.

We vacation together really well... which adds to the amount that we can see and do... we're both fairly easy going, and recognize that we probably won't get in everything we wanted to do.

For this trip, I don't have any real regrets... it would have been nice to ride Soarin' again... and we didn't manage to fit in the railroad or the TTA. But we were really glad to fit in stuff we hadn't done before:

• Haunted Mansion (closed when we were there in 2007)
• Spaceship Earth (closed when we were there in 2007)
• Tom Sawyer Island
• Ellen's Universe of Energy
• Sounds Dangerous (these last two attractions are sort of 'meh' in my book, but glad to do them anyway!)
• MS:Orange (we weren't feeling well on Day One in 2007, so we stuck with the green... don't know that I'd care to do Orange again, but glad to do it once)
• Captain EO
• Christmas Stuff (including the processional, the holiday storytellers, the decorations, Osborne Lights, and the party)
• Dumbo
• Mad Tea Party
• Toy Story Mania (Didn't exist in 2007)

Well... thanks for reading my report... any questions?

 

[MagicKisses2]

Great summary! My husband and I travel a lot like you guys, we are very relaxed and go with the flow and always have a wonderful time.

Sounds like your trip was full and rewarding. Isn't Christmas a beautiful time to go?

 

[LisaKeys]

HI There! Nice quick read, very nicely done.

I thought your report was precise and right to the point. Well laid out with details.

People who haven't been to WDW can learn from your suggestion if a day is cold, don't hesitate to change your plans and switch up days so you can still enjoy your time there. Nothing should ever be set in stone.

We leave in exactly 21 days!!! We can hardly wait to return. We upgraded to DxDP with 10 day park hoppers.

There's nothing like driving under the welcome sign at WDW, and feeling like the rest of the world has stepped aside. Closest to being a child again.

Happy Holidays!

 

[twitch]

People who haven't been to WDW can learn from your suggestion if a day is cold, don't hesitate to change your plans and switch up days so you can still enjoy your time there. Nothing should ever be set in stone.

We felt kind of crazy on the Thursday night before we left. We had made ADRs a couple of months ago, and thought we'd settled on a touring plan... but we knew that we had to make a couple of changes... so suddenly, everything was up for grabs. We moved a couple of ADRs, and lost Coral Reef... but we picked up Marrakesh, and that was a great meal too! The only things that were really set in stone were the Candlelight Processional Dining Package and the MVMCP. We rearranged at least 3 of the remaining days because of the weather.

(I also made a special trip on Wednesday to LLBean to get hand warmers... and then we realized that she needed a new coat... so we made another special trip to LLBean on Thursday to get a coat. All in all, great decisions to make. No regrets.)