More to do (and eat) so we went a third time! Dec. 6-14 (complete)

[mickey916]

12/10/22 Morning at Disney Springs
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We started our morning finally getting a chance to try Everglazed donuts. I wanted to try the Brooklyn Blackout but they didn't have it available. So, we ended up with two peanut butter flavored donuts and the peanut butter cold brew. First up, the peanut butter explosion.

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As you can probably tell, we love our sweets, especially chocolate and peanut butter. I joke with my DH and call him Elf sometimes because I'm pretty sure he'd put maple syrup on pasta....that being said, this was actually way too sweet and rich for us. It was good but just too sweet.

We also tried the Take 6 donut.

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This donut was also extremely sweet but the salty pretzels and peanuts helped to cut the sweetness. We both felt this was the better of the two donuts.

I also bought the Reese's Nitro cold brew. I enjoyed this but I think the peanut butter cold brew at Gideon's is better.

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After our breakfast, we put our names in for the virtual que for Gideon's and picked up the map for the Christmas Tree Stroll. We had fun searching for each of the trees. Since by now it's not a spoiler I'll include the pictures here.

Nightmare Before Christmas Tree (one of our favorites with zero flying around the top)


Haunted Mansion tree (another favorite)


Toy Story Tree (we thought this one could have been themed better)


Encanto Tree (gorgeous)


Mickey & Minnie Tree (very cute)


Once Upon a Toy Tree (kinda cool)


Annual Passholder Tree (my DH said only I could look at it since he isn't an AP)


To be continued...



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[Counting Stars]

Really great pictures- following

 

[mickey916]

Really great pictures- following

Thank you!

 

[mickey916]

12/10/22 Continuing the Tree Stroll

Town Center Tree (huge)


Disney+ Tree (I like the blue ornaments)


Frozen Tree (just okay)


Lion King Tree (loved the African artifacts)


Disney Cruise Line “tree”….
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This one took us forever to find even though we had the map and knew right where it should be…sorry Disney this isn’t a tree. We didn’t realize this was the “tree” until we finally read the sign. Overt marketing at its best.

Moana Tree (really pretty)


Raya and the Last Dragon tree (haven't seen this movie yet so not sure how well this captured it)


Coco tree (love the vibrant colors)


Guardians of the Galaxy tree (underwhelming)


Black Panther Tree (feel like they could've done more with this one too)


Few more to go and then lunch...


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[mickey916]

12/10/22 Finishing Up the Christmas Tree Stroll &
Being Scolded

Sphere Tree
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This one was much cooler to see at night...I'll post a pic and some of the others at night on a later post.

Star Wars Tree (fine)


Princess & the Frog Tree (I like the colors and decorations)
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Having completed our stroll it was now time for lunch. We decided to try a new place for us, Chicken Guy!. We approached the restaurant and entered through a door that led to the seating area and proceeded to go stand in the line at the counter. Suddenly a worker comes up to us, waggles her finger at us, and says "Unh-unh-unh" I responded "excuse me?" and she says "You're not doing that. I'm well aware of who the last people in line are supposed to be and it's not you." I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. So I said, "I'm sorry I don't understand." She proceeds to explain that there is an outside line that must be joined first and then she was letting people in from that line so we had to go back outside and join that line. Hmmmm....maybe a sign on the door we came in might have helped with that? So we said, "oh okay we're sorry, we came in a different door" and then we went back outside to join the line. I get that people try to pull stuff but this was just an innocent mistake on our part. There was definitely a better way for that employee to handle it. How about "excuse me, there's actually an outside line you need to join first" instead of accusing us of sneaking in.

So we dutifully waited our turn outside after being scolded like school children and ordered some tenders and fries, along with buffalo sauce, blue cheese sauce, and sweet 'n sour sauce.

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I have to admit, we were disappointed by this meal. The chicken tenders were just okay. I thought the coating lacked flavor. I prefer KFC tenders over this. I also didn't care for the buffalo sauce, too celery seed forward for my tastes. The blue cheese sauce was fine as was the sweet 'n sour sauce. Perhaps it was the bad taste in our mouth from the treatment before our meal but this place is a one and done for us.

Our virtual queue was finally called so we went to Gideon's to pick up our favorite cake, the chocolate peanut butter cake.


This is the best cake I've ever eaten anywhere. The peanut butter buttercream is delicious and the cake is moist and chocolatey. So incredibly good. We also picked up the chocolate chip banana bread cookie since we've heard great things. We ended up having it the next day for breakfast. It lived up to the hype! Definitely one of the best cookies at Gideon's. Since this picture was taken a day late, the chips look a little weird but this was really a good cookie. I liked the walnuts and the hint of banana without having that artificial banana flavor.



Having completed our stroll and successfully accessing Gideon's, we decided to head out and continue our resort touring. We headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the impressive tree at the Jambo house. Absolutely stunning!

We also got to see the Ginger-affe and her zebra friend.


Another view of the tree from above:


Up next, Kidani Village tree and an evening at Celebration.

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[Tatum20]

She proceeds to explain that there is an outside line that must be joined first and then she was letting people in from that line so we had to go back outside and join that line. Hmmmm....maybe a sign on the door we came in might have helped with that? So we said, "oh okay we're sorry, we came in a different door" and then we went back outside to join the line. I get that people try to pull stuff but this was just an innocent mistake on our part. There was definitely a better way for that employee to handle it. How about "excuse me, there's actually an outside line you need to join first" instead of accusing us of sneaking in.

Wow. I would have left. Navigating anything Disney can be a steep learning curve, I wouldn't assume the worst intentions of anyone, and especially wouldn't call them out so rudely.

 

[mickey916]

Wow. I would have left. Navigating anything Disney can be a steep learning curve, I wouldn't assume the worst intentions of anyone, and especially wouldn't call them out so rudely.

I was torn...I did want to leave but we really wanted to try the chicken tenders so we decided not to let her rudeness deter us...it was very strange though to be treated like that.

 

[mickey916]

12/10/22 An Evening in Celebration
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In my quest to take a picture of holiday decorations at every resort, we walked down to Kidani Village. Their tree was nice but not nearly as impressive at Jambo house.

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We then headed to Celebration and walked around the downtown area. We saw this guy swimming.



We did some shopping and took a picture of the tree in the center square.

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We then checked in for our dinner reservation at Columbia Restaurant. Decorations there were very pretty.

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We started with the bread service, just a nice crusty piece of fresh bread.



I had to order the 1905 salad that is mixed fresh table side. Just an excellent salad! So glad I listened to @primalJ who recommended this!



For my entrée, I ordered a special that included scallops and shrimp over yellow rice.



This dish was incredible! The seafood was plentiful and fresh. Everything was so nicely seasoned. Delicious!

My DH ordered La Completa Cubana: a Cuban feast of roast pork a la Cubana, boliche criollo, Empanada de Picadillo, platanos, yuca, black beans and yellow rice. He also loved every part of this dish!



This meal was excellent! Sadly we didn't have room for the bread pudding for dessert (next time for sure). If you ever want to venture off-property, we highly recommend Columbia Restaurant in Celebration. The food and the service is top notch!

After our meal, we walked around Celebration and watched the many holiday festivities. There were carriage rides, street performers, a "skating rink" and roaming carolers.



There was even snoap every hour.



This was a fun and festive atmosphere and a great change of pace from the theme parks.

Up next...a day exploring the monorail resorts.

 

[ambula603]

Yay, I found you here! I am enjoying the Holiday specialties, but sad to see the Cookie Stroll was a bust. And just reading about the Chicken Guy made me cranky! I am such a rule follower, and I despise getting scolded. Especially when the signage was non-existent!

So sorry to hear about LTT - did you ever send the email? I would think maybe she was having a rough moment when you first walked in, but the repeated attitude and treatment were definitely unnecessary!

 

[mickey916]

Yay, I found you here! I am enjoying the Holiday specialties, but sad to see the Cookie Stroll was a bust. And just reading about the Chicken Guy made me cranky! I am such a rule follower, and I despise getting scolded. Especially when the signage was non-existent!

So sorry to hear about LTT - did you ever send the email? I would think maybe she was having a rough moment when you first walked in, but the repeated attitude and treatment were definitely unnecessary!

Glad you found my latest thread! I am definitely a rule follower too so I'm sure you know exactly how I felt when we were scolded. I unfortunately never did send the email about LTT. I got very wrapped up in Christmas preparations and a bunch of family stuff after we came home and by the time I had time to send it I thought it was probably too late. I too thought she'd get over it once she accepted the fact that they had seated us in her section after 6 but the attitude just continued the whole night. Both the LTT and Chicken Guy situations still baffle me. The good news though is the rest of our service was very good to excellent the whole trip.

 

[primalJ]

An Evening in Celebration
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In my quest to take a picture of holiday decorations at every resort, we walked down to Kidani Village. Their tree was nice but not nearly as impressive at Jambo house.

View attachment 738353​

We then headed to Celebration and walked around the downtown area. We saw this guy swimming.

View attachment 738354

We did some shopping and took a picture of the tree in the center square.

View attachment 738355
​

We then checked in for our dinner reservation at Columbia Restaurant. Decorations there were very pretty.

View attachment 738357

​

We started with the bread service, just a nice crusty piece of fresh bread.

View attachment 738358

I had to order the 1905 salad that is mixed fresh table side. Just an excellent salad! So glad I listened to @primalJ who recommended this!

View attachment 738359

For my entrée, I ordered a special that included scallops and shrimp over yellow rice.

View attachment 738360

This dish was incredible! The seafood was plentiful and fresh. Everything was so nicely seasoned. Delicious!

My DH ordered La Completa Cubana: a Cuban feast of roast pork a la Cubana, boliche criollo, Empanada de Picadillo, platanos, yuca, black beans and yellow rice. He also loved every part of this dish!

View attachment 738361

This meal was excellent! Sadly we didn't have room for the bread pudding for dessert (next time for sure). If you ever want to venture off-property, we highly recommend Columbia Restaurant in Celebration. The food and the service is top notch!

After our meal, we walked around Celebration and watched the many holiday festivities. There were carriage rides, street performers, a "skating rink" and roaming carolers.

View attachment 738362

There was even snoap every hour.

View attachment 738363

This was a fun and festive atmosphere and a great change of pace from the theme parks.

Up next...a day exploring the monorail resorts.

So happy you liked it. My wife made the salad at home ( recipe is on their website) and its wonderful

 

[mickey916]

So happy you liked it. My wife made the salad at home ( recipe is on their website) and its wonderful

Great to know! I'll check that out.

 

[mickey916]

12/11/22 Monorail Resorts Day​

At this point on our adventure we succumbed to the old "eyes are bigger than our bellies" syndrome and had to modify some of our original plans. We had a breakfast reservation at Kona Café for some Tonga Toast and Macadamia Nut Pancakes but we realized the night before that we weren't going to be able to eat there and also at our Steakhouse 71 lunch ADR. So, we made the tough choice and canceled our Kona Café reservation opting to eat the Gideon's Banana Bread cookie that I posted above for breakfast. After our cookie breakfast, we drove to the TTC and boarded the monorail to the Grand Floridian resort to check off another bucket list item - the Gingerbread House.

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It was very impressive to see up close and smelled wonderful! We were still saving room for lunch so we didn't get any snacks. Here's a great view from above as well.

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The main tree was also gorgeous!

A view from above as well...

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We also admired the inlaid floor with the Fab 5 characters. Here's my favorite:

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The line for the monorail was quite long and it was decent weather so we decided to walk to the Contemporary.

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We took pictures of the Contemporary Gingerbread house. Nice touch with the castle and Mary Blair/small world styling.



We enjoyed looking for the hidden five legged goats.

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In my quest to take a picture of the Christmas tree in every resort, I found this one on the main floor at the Contemporary...I think I expected something a little grander for a monorail resort.

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We sat outside on the beach for a bit as we awaited our lunch ADR and enjoyed the view...

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Up next lunch at Steakhouse 71.

 

[mickey916]

12/11/22 Lunch at Steakhouse 71​

We checked in for lunch at Steakhouse 71 and were called pretty quickly. We ate at the lounge in April and had breakfast there in May so it was time to try lunch.
We decided to eat get an order of the French Onion soup since that would be hard to share.


This was very good French onion soup. It had plenty of melty cheese and a nice beefy broth. It wasn't heavily sherry-flavored which some onion soups can be. It could've been a little hotter but at least we didn't burn our mouths!

We then decided to share the stack burger which we had tried before at the lounge.



This picture doesn't really do this justice. I don't know why the picture looks so weird. This was a very good burger. Lots of cheese and nicely seasoned and well-cooked patties. We really enjoy this burger. The parmesan waffle fries are also pretty good.

We also asked if it was possible to get a side of the loaded mac n cheese. We had ordered it at the lounge back in April and it was delicious. The server seemed a little confused by our request and said "So you want a side of mac n cheese?" I said "Yes the loaded one if that's possible." This is the mac n cheese we received.



It was very good mac n cheese but wasn't the loaded version from the lounge, which is even better. Next time I think we'll just get it at the lounge again some time...it is soooo good!

This was another great meal at Steakhouse 71. It is definitely one of our top favorite restaurants right now.

I have to say though, we watch a lot of Disney dining vlogs and they often make off menu requests that are happily accommodated. We tried it twice this trip with the fries at Liberty Tree Tavern and with the loaded mac n cheese at Steakhouse 71 and both times it confused our server (and actually appeared to anger the one at LTT). I almost think the vloggers are given special treatment to get positive reviews but what is allowed for them isn't really what they want to happen with every day guests. Just an observation but I think the vloggers probably shouldn't tell people to make these special requests because it just makes things awkward. Lesson learned for us...stick to the menu.

Next up...venturing over to the Wilderness Lodge to check out decorations and dinner at Three Bridges.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

We just booked a stay for this coming December and it will be our first trip over the Christmas season, so I'm EXTRA enjoying your TR! Thanks for sharing! You're giving me so many ideas and tips!

 

[mickey916]

We just booked a stay for this coming December and it will be our first trip over the Christmas season, so I'm EXTRA enjoying your TR! Thanks for sharing! You're giving me so many ideas and tips!

It is a great time to be there! Glad my report is helpful!

 

[mickey916]

12/11/22 Resort Hopping Continues
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Our plan was to take the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom but the line was super long so we decided to just walk over. Took this cool picture on our way over.



We then boarded the boat to the the Wilderness Lodge and took pictures of their beautiful decorations.
The tree was magnificent.

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After exploring the Wilderness Lodge and its grounds. We needed to head back to the TTC for our car to continue our resort hopping. The line for the boat was very long so we decided to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom. We then hopped aboard the ferry to the TTC and took the parking lot tram to our car.. So far this day for transportation: car, monorail, boat, bus, ferry, tram then car (with lots of walking mixed in)

We headed to Coronado Springs hoping to be able to grab an early dinner at Three Bridges and to check out the decorations at the Gran Destino Tower. The tree here was spectacular as well.

I love this picture too with Walt and Mickey looking on in the background.


Coronado Springs and the Tower were really decked out. So pretty!




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We also loved how everywhere we went we could hear holiday music themed to the resort. Definitely heard Feliz Navidad here...as well as other Latin themed holiday music.

Wilderness Lodge, Gran Destino and Animal Kingdom definitely get my votes for prettiest resorts.

Up next...dinner at Three Bridges.

 

[suse66]

Just binged your report from start to finish and am really enjoying it! I was there witth my DH at the same time (Dec 9-13). Can't wait to hear about your dinner at Three Bridges!

 

[mickey916]

Just binged your report from start to finish and am really enjoying it! I was there witth my DH at the same time (Dec 9-13). Can't wait to hear about your dinner at Three Bridges!

Welcome! It was such perfect weather that week! Glad you were able to enjoy it!

 

[mickey916]

12/11/22 A Light Dinner at Three Bridges & Dessert at the Fountain
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As soon as Three Bridges opened, we put our names in for walk-up seating and we were called right away. We unfortunately were still full from lunch so we decided to just split a couple of appetizers (someday I'd love to try the tacos and burger). Last time we got both dips and we remembered liking one better than the other but couldn't remember which one it was. We decided to go with the Manchego and Oaxaca Cheese dip.



This was decent but it turns out it was the corn dip we liked better last time. Who knew we'd prefer corn over cheese and chorizo?

We also ordered the Pan con Tomate described as toasted bread, crushed tomato, garlic and olive oil.


The flavors in this were very good but I didn't expect it to be served cold. The bread must have been toasted long ago and the tomato mixture was cold like it just came out of the fridge. My DH thought the flavors were good but very garlicky and he felt like he was reliving the dish the rest of the night. Nice flavor just not what we expected.

Sadly, Three Bridges was just okay. The food was okay and service was mediocre (probably because all we got was apps). The views are really awesome though!



And here's a few more pictures of the holiday decorations at the Gran Destino Tower.



Such a beautiful resort. Definitely on the bucket list to stay in the Tower someday.

After a great day of exploring, we headed back to the Swan but then decided to walk over to the Fountain at the Dolphin for dessert.

We ordered two milkshakes. First, the Coco-Loco Shake: Chocolate and Caramel Cappuccino Ice Cream, Whipped Cream, Malted Milk Balls, Chocolate and Caramel Drizzle

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This was really good! It was mostly chocolate flavored with only a hint of the "cappuccino" which is good since DH doesn't care for coffee-flavor.

We also ordered the PB&J Shake: Peanut Butter and Strawberry Ice Creams, Whipped Cream and Reese’s Pieces on top.

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This shake was amazing! We both preferred it over the Coco Loco and that's saying something coming from two people who prefer chocolate over everything! It had just the right amount of peanut butter and strawberry flavor. Soooo good!

Up next...touring the Skyliner resorts...