Mini-Report - December trip

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This isn’t a complete trip report but merely some random thoughts, comparisons and general impressions intended to help anyone considering a pre-Christmas visit to the World.

Our trip dates: 12/10/10 to 12/18/10
RESORT: POFQ, a resort we’ve stayed many times in the past. I made two room requests: courtyard view, near hot tub. We got a beautiful courtyard/ river view room but in Bldg. 1, which is not all that near the hot tub. This was our second time in Bldg. 1 and we liked it very much. We enjoyed the boat ride to Downtown Disney several times and the food court was fine for the few meals we ate there. Saw a bunch of folks using old and VERY old refillable mugs, which made me a chuckle. The new one we bought was pretty small so the old tubby ones are quite noticeable.

Buses were very efficient, with one glaring exception: Magical Express back to the airport! They sent a bus with 6 available spots for about 20 of us waiting. We had gotten there quite early so I made sure we got on. Evidently ME sent another bus quickly for the rest of the folks because we saw some of them later at the airport and they didn’t look too frazzled. We’ve used ME many many times and this was certainly a first.

We will stay at POFQ again. Next time queen beds all around so it will be nice!

PARKS: We had visited WDW twice in early December, back in the mid-90’s, and overall the parks were much much more crowded this trip. Even with chilly weather! We were at MK on Saturday, Dec. 11 just to see the castle lit up, and the crowds were at THIS IS NUTZ level. If this was NOT a capacity crowd, then I would never ever like to see one. Scary. We left well before the 8pm Wishes but we heard later that gettting out of the park that evening was insane.

Otherwise, crowds were manageable. As usual, getting there early was the key to short lines and early FP return times.

DECORATIONS: Christmas decorations were fairly disappointing. We did get over to the Grand Floridian to see the gingerbread house, which was pretty cool. Overall, the decorations fell far short of what we remember from years ago.

FOOD: Food, glorious food! We had the regular dining plan and once again, it was way too much. We ate too many buffets, that’s for sure. The saddest part was that the pomegranite lemonade disagreed with my stomach Tuesday night (I think it was the artificial sweetener) and I could hardly eat my LeCellier lunch the next day (more on that later). Some quick reviews:

Columbia Harbor House- We ate here twice because my DH loved the fried shrimp. I got them the 2nd time and they were indeed very good. First trip was insane trying to get a table – many people holding empty tables (even upstairs) with other folks, like us, carrying heavy trays searching for a place to sit. I quickly became a convert to the “table police” concept that they use over at Cosmic Rays. On our second visit, similar time of day, the dining room was half empty. Go figure.

Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch- I got the pot roast. Was not expecting a huge plank of meat but it was very good. DH got turkey dinner which he liked. I made him get the Ooey Gooey toffee cake for dessert, which turned out to be a warm chocolate chip cookie with ice cream on top. Did they run out? They sure didn’t say so. I got the apple tart which was OK but not warm enough.

Crystal Palace Breakfast: We love this place and do it every trip. This time did not disappoint.

Tony’s Town Square Dinner: I had the calamari appetizer which I enjoyed very much. Don’t remember any other food but we both liked our meals. What I remember is that our waitress grew up in town next to ours in Rhode Island so we had quite a few long chats about her hometown and left that evening like we had discovered a long-lost friend.

Le Cellier Lunch: This was our third trip there. As I stated above, my stomach was upset from the night before and I had very little appetite. I decided to try the Cheddar Cheese Soup and will confess to being greatly disappointed. It was little more than a glob of melted cheese (and I love cheese) thinned out slightly to be spoonable. Not at all what I was expecting and really not great on an upset stomach. It worked better as a dip for the bread sticks. I normally get the mushroom filet here but I decided to try a burger since I just wasn’t hungry. The burger was excellent but I only ate a few bites. My DH enjoyed his lunch here very much. This was probably our last trip to LC as the change to 2 TS credits for dinner will make lunch ADR’s that much more difficult to get.

Biergarten Lunch: We ate here with my parents and we all enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. Our neighbors ignored us but we finally figured out they were not unfriendly, but actually spoke very little English. We typically enjoy chatting with our neighbors here but it was still a good experience.

Teppan Edo Dinner: We go here on every trip and this time was just as good as the others. For some reason the chef decided to single me out to pick on (giving everyone a scoop of vegetables and me one little slice of onion, for example) and it was all great fun. Our neighbors had never been to a hibachi-style restaurant and their kids hardly ate anything at all. Luckily they were on the dining plan!

Boma Breakfast: Very good. Not too many exotic choices but a few. I had never seen Animal Kingdom Lodge so it was worth the trip just for that. In an ironic twist, we waited so long for an AK bus after breakfast (several buses for every other park PLUS Downtown Disney showed up – not a single one for AK) that we ended up hopping at bus to the Studios instead. What’s up with that?

Tusker House Dinner – The food was very good here and I would do it again, albeit without the lemondade. This buffet had the best roasted meats of all the buffets we tried- quite tender and flavorful.

Wolfgang Puck Café – We split a pizza here and just ordered an extra drink, which was a great way to stretch our CS credits. That said, I didn’t like the sauce on the pizza so I won’t be eating here again.

Earl of Sandwich – Ate here twice and both times very good.

Boulangerie Patisserie: On advice from this forum, I tried the ham & cheese croissant and asked for it warm. BLISS! It was quite delicious and with a slushy strawberry drink, made for a filling meal for just 2 snack credits. Definitely one to remember.

Starring Rolls: Got pastries here a couple of times. Tried the red velvet cupcake, which was overloaded with icing and very dense. Probably would not try this again- it was just too rich.


ACTIVITIES: I got to do the Segway Around the World tour at Epcot and it was a complete blast. My favorite experience the whole week! I definitely plan to do this one again (and again, if I can get away with it.) Worth every penny.

TRANSPORATION: We stopped renting cars once ME came along but this time we had access to my parents’car for 3 days. We had the AAA Diamond Parking Pass and I swear at Epcot we parked so close it would have been a further walk to the bus stop! The car was also very handy for getting to Animal Kingdom for our Boma breakfast (left POFQ, picked up parents at CBR and drove to AKL- total time 12 minutes.). Can’t imagine how long the bus would have taken us.

Getting to Epcot and the Studios was a quick 5 minute ride, and was so handy that my DH thinks we should rent a car next time.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

1. Visiting in early December: Not worth it now that the crowds have caught on. The decorations simply don’t justify the trip. The weather is quite unpredictable, although it was better to be cold than to be sweltering.

2. Dining Plan: Too much food, yet again. We’ve tried most all of the restaurants that interest us now, so next time we’d either pay OOP or get the Quick Service plan.

3. Car Rental: Definitely will try this next time, although we have very few complaints with Disney’s bus service.