No Kids, Gnu Year! Ringing in 2018 at WDW! **Complete 8/31**

[ariane37]

This little red carpet area was set up for photo ops I guess but I never saw anyone using it any time when we were in the lobby area.

Cute! Even though I'm not a SW fan lol

I love all the HS decorations, definitely my favorite of all the parks.

On another note I'm so happy you and DH finally got to do an adults-only trip! It's such a good feeling, isn't it

 

[piglet1979]

Right now we are experiencing a cold front...it was 60 degrees an hour ago, and now it's 38. We were supposed to get some freezing rain and light snow, but that seems to be out of the equation. All the kids are sad b/c they wanted a four day weekend! I'll be honest - so did I!

We are getting this today. I left for work and it was 55. It will drop 40 degrees in 8 hours. However we are getting the rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow. My kids had a scheduled day off today but all of the schools including a few of the colleges are closed. I am not looking forward to my drive home.

 

[xlsm]

Ah good, not too far behind!

OMG I wanted to watch this so bad and then forgot about it when it was on, but I watched the interview with Corey Feldman when it was over. I LOVED both Corey's and of course I grew up watching all their movies and was very sad when Corey Haim died. Surprisingly Corey F. was pretty normal during the interview; did you happen to catch him a couple years ago on Celebrity Wife Swap


It does! But we prefer smaller airports, also.

The Hyatt does look very nice and I'm glad your arrival day/night went well. If we ever arrive super late again I'd consider staying there for the night.

Nope, not behind!

I was completely in love with Corey Haim! When he died a part of my childhood soul was crushed. I always thought Feldman was weird, but probably a better actor. The movie was something special, LOL!! Oh, Lifetime! I never saw Feldman on Wife Swap, yikes!! I'm sure it was crazy!

I would 100% stay at the Hyatt again, it was a good experience, and the convenience factor really makes a difference. I think it helped us not be as tired the next day, and able to power through a 12 hour park day - which we never do!

Oh, that would have made me nauseated :< the reason why I sit in the window seat is because I NEED to see out the window out my motion sickness goes haywire. But those pictures are pretty!



Fancy!

It looks like, from your other pictures, that you guys were across the lobby from the room I was in in April! lol. Being able to see the tree is awesome though!

It was probably one of the worst planes I've ever been on. We were on a small one on the August 2015 trip for the first leg, but this one was even worse. I don't want to be on one of those planes again! I was regretting not sitting on the aisle.

Your pictures of the Hyatt were the only other report I've ever seen with pictures and is part of the reason I wanted to book it. It made things so much easier I think.

We haven't seen this yet. Hopefully we get the full effect in Feb!


That is going to be a LONG day!

Given your username, I think you will love it! It is really something - the music, the atmosphere...it's cool and intimidating and exciting.

Ugh, yes! We are not 12 hour park day people at all, so this was going to be a marathon day.

Cute! Even though I'm not a SW fan lol

I love all the HS decorations, definitely my favorite of all the parks.

On another note I'm so happy you and DH finally got to do an adults-only trip! It's such a good feeling, isn't it

They're my favorite too. It just totally elevates the park, which I think is pretty already!

It was so nice to be there by ourselves. We didn't spend as much time in the parks as usual trips, but it was cold and just not an ordinary few days. It gave us an opportunity to relax, which neither one of us are very good at!

We are getting this today. I left for work and it was 55. It will drop 40 degrees in 8 hours. However we are getting the rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow. My kids had a scheduled day off today but all of the schools including a few of the colleges are closed. I am not looking forward to my drive home.

Ugh, yuck! Stay warm and I hope your drive home isn't too terrible.
We got lucky (well, not according to the kids!) and only got a tiny amount of precipitation, so we had school. But it is like 12 degrees or something right now with windchill making it feel like 5. Negatives last night. Where we live, that is not a common thing. We don't even own winter coats, just light North Face and some heavier fleece. We always say we need to go buy them, but then the temps go back up in the 50s and we forget about it.

 

[missangelalexis]

Yay you made it to the park finally! Love all the photos. DHS at Christmas looks so magical!

 

[piglet1979]

Where we live, that is not a common thing. We don't even own winter coats, just light North Face and some heavier fleece. We always say we need to go buy them, but then the temps go back up in the 50s and we forget about it.

We are in Northeast Ohio. This is normal. Last week the kids were off of school for 2 days because the wind chill was below -15. The ice does not happen as often though. That is the big worry today. I took the train in so hopefully my little 10-15 minute drive home won't be so bad.

On the trip report side. I love your report. I started ready the report for the trip you took with your mom.

 

[Raeven]

it was 60 degrees an hour ago, and now it's 38.

Today it's 60 degrees, tomorrow 28 and snowy, what is happening?

and waited, and waited.

We felt like we waited forever too at ME! We Ubered to USO first on all our other trips this year, and Josh was like can we go to USO first next time?

Things to look forward to on the rest of this day: Three FPs, yummy food, and the Star Wars dessert party!

Yay can't wait to hear!

 

[kastoney]

I about died laughing looking at the furniture at the airport. I have never in all my life seen anything like that. Good news is if you ever get stuck there, I'm guessing catching a little shuteye will be much easier than traditional airports

Glad to hear you all enjoyed the Hyatt. We've stayed there twice and its always been a great experience. We've also eaten at McCoys and were very impressed by it. But with security lines being so long, we haven't done it in a while for fear of not making our plane.

I'm so happy to hear someone loves the MGM Xmas decorations as much as me. I was shocked, as its not my favorite park, but they did such an amazing job with the decorations. It's everything I want my Christmas to be

 

[Sailormoon2]

It was also COLD while we were there. Like, hats/fleece/gloves kind of cold!

Yep, I was there than too, and I even had hand-warmers inside my mitts!

Love all the diffferent Christmas Tree shots, and nice artsy camera work there with the Ornaments!!
I too was really (surprisingly) impressed with the decor at HS! Classic one might say??

 

[wdwnut61]

First how great to go on a couples only trip
That’s great flying first class love the xtra room and snacks
Yea I’ve never seen furniture like that at an airport lol
Thanks for posting your review and all the photos of the Hyatt
Love all the Christmas decorations and the PP shot with the ornament

 

[suse66]

I love the start to your report and am all caught up now. How fun to do a couples trip! Can't wait to hear all about your adventures!

 

[thumper*]

So happy to see this TR. Can't wait to hear the details.

 

[xlsm]

I haven't even logged in to the Dis in almost three weeks

Working on updates now!!

 

[xlsm]

Oh. My. Gosh.

Guys.

I have been away from Disboards for such a long time! It was a combo of sick people, not having the time, and then just getting used to it! I think part of it also had to do with being sad about having no trips in the works for the first time in about five years

But no more pity parties, ok?? Let's get a move on with this thing. I'm going to try to get out at least two updates on this report and one for October, so forgive me for skipping comments. I will get back into the swing of things soon!

Chapter Two Part Two (I think?? )

Ok. So. Star Wars. Storm troopers. Marching. Yeah.

That's where we are, right??

Our first fast pass of the day was for Star Tours, and the window opened at 12:30. We had a lot of time to kill, so we decided to check out the new holiday stuff around the lake. I'd been so anxious to do this!! Even the fact that we were hungry and hadn't eaten anything all day was not deterring me - food could wait! (What did I just say?? Crazy!)

But seriously, these decorations were worth it!

First was a photopass shot!

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Raeven and I have discussed how Hollywood Studios always seems to give us the worst photos...some of the ones from today are really bad. But some of them I'll show you anyway. This one is like, middle of the road in terms of ok-ness.

We then got trapped inside an ornament:

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Help! Let us out, let us out!



(Clue - one of my top ten favorite movies of all time!)

After the photopass, it was time to take it all in!

Santa!

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Deer!!

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I said Deeeeeeer!!

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It's my favorite, could you tell??

I did think the overall lake decorations looked prettiest from this angle:

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Which seemed odd since it was BEHIND Gertie??

Oh, this is out of order, but I got super excited when we were in line for the photopass and I realized the umbrellas were Christmas trees:

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I felt sad thinking the lake looked prettiest with Gertie's rear in the photo instead of her beautiful face, so let's remedy that.

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Aw, pretty girl! All dressed up in a Santa hat!! Why do you look kind of depressed??

Maybe it's because all these little deer statues were getting so much attention.

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There was a third one, but a little girl was climbing all over it so I couldn't get a picture. It's probably why Gertie looked sad. Stop making Gertie sad little girl!!

With one last look at the tree, we decided to get some food

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Where did we go? There's a hint in the picture.

And by "hint" I mean, the place we went is literally in the picture.

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Min and Bill's Dockside Diner.

I'd never eaten anything here before, but they had nachos on the menu so...
Why not give it a try?? It certainly can't be worse than any other QS at Hollywood Studios, amiright??

We both had the loaded nachos, which may or may not be their official name.

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and as you can also see, I had the hot cocoa flight and we both had ice water. A closer look at the flight:

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From left to right: Salted caramel with Bailey's (my faaaavorite), Chocolate martini (tasted too much like vodka, we didn't finish it), and Cherry bourbon (my second fave, DH's favorite. He ended up drinking it)

As soon as we finished we knew we'd be revisiting the cocoa at some point later in the evening!!

If the nachos stay on the menu, I can say 100% that this is the best QS I've ever had at DHS. Now, I'm not saying they were earth shattering nachos, but comparatively, these are a safe bet in my opinion.

While we were eating, the Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away show was going on. DH went closer to watch for a minute, and then after we'd both finished we went back to catch a bit more. I'd seen all of it from right up front in May, so I was good, but I knew he'd get a kick out of seeing the characters.

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We are Star Wars people, so we enjoy it!

My next goal was to see the noon show of Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, so that's coming right up!

Next update coming as soon as I can type it!

 

[xlsm]

Chapter Two Part Three

Indiana Jones, here we come!

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I had wanted to go get in line for Indy a lot earlier than we did...but because I'm a good wife, I let DH watch the Star Wars thing all the way through. So now were were faced with a crowd and a really long line. It was so long that they were telling us we wouldn't have a seat and would be in the standing room only area. We decided to risk it anyway because we hadn't watched the show since 2014 and we both really enjoy it.

As luck would have it...

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We did NOT have to stand, and ended up with seats right up front and to the left side of the theater.

It wasn't a bad view:

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In fact, the only person not having a good time was this guy on the motorcycle:

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I title that photo, "My mom was right, I should have been a doctor"

We had a fun time with Indy, but it was time for a ride! Our first ride of the trip...Star Tours!

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I always seem to get the same scene here every time I ride, so I was super excited to get a new one from The Last Jedi. Ice foxes, woo!

Afterward, we battled the hordes of people in Tatooine Traders, and managed my now favorite selfie

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When we couldn't take it anymore in there (it's always crowded, but this was beyond!), we decided to go visit the Muppets. But on the way we got distracted by...

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a really big wall! Oooh! Ahhh!!

Why were people standing in front of this really big wall??

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Because it's the entrance to Galaxy's Edge.

Annnd this is one of those bad photopass pictures I was talking about. I look like I ate BB-8. Actually, that comes later...

We stopped for one more photopass in the area as we got back on track for Muppets

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The line for Muppets 3D seemed long, but it offered the chance to see this poster, which I've probably seen before but was super excited about anyway:

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Security is a little lacking in this area of the park:

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We watched the pre-show, entered the theater, admired my favorite fuzzy Fozzie

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and settled in for the show! I love the Muppets, so I'm on team "Give me more Muppets in the parks". I'm accepting new members.

We left and I took this picture of Mama Melrose's wall for some reason:

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I've never eaten here, but I think about it sometimes...but when it comes down to it, when I think about picking it or Sci-Fi or Brown Derby, it comes in last place.

But none of that really matters, because...

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Miss Piggy's fountain was up and running again! In May it was a planter, and in October it was all boxed up, so I was thrilled to see it working.

Our next fast pass time was open, so we started making our way over toward it. On the way, I noticed this really beautiful flower basket:

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I said, "they look like jellyfish!" Then I realized...

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yes, yes they were jellyfish, and they were right by The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Makes sense.

I took a picture of them from every angle b/c I thought they were so pretty.

DH and I are very competitive, so we were really anxious to get to that next fast pass

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As you can see, it was pretty crowded, but not quite as bad as it looks. While we were in line, @MeghanEmily and I were messaging each other - she and her DH were in the park and we were trying to figure out where to meet up. They were headed over to the Toy Story area too, so hopefully we'd get to meet up after we finished riding.

After a short wait, we were shrunk down to the size of toys and were ready to take on the carnival games.

And...

I won!

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I've never beat him before, so you can imagine I gloated a little. A lot.

I still bring it up almost weekly.

After I BEAT HIM, it was time for a long awaited Dis Meet!!

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I wish my hair wasn't such a disaster in these pictures, but I was really happy to meet her and her DH after getting to know each other from our TRs!

Hopefully we'll cross paths again soon!!

That's it for right now! Hopefully no more long stretches between updates! Thanks for sticking with me!!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Help! Let us out, let us out!

DHS photopass for the win!

I did think the overall lake decorations looked prettiest from this angle:

This is so pretty. I want to be back here now.

From left to right: Salted caramel with Bailey's (my faaaavorite), Chocolate martini (tasted too much like vodka, we didn't finish it), and Cherry bourbon (my second fave, DH's favorite. He ended up drinking it)

Oooh, we never got over to check out the hot chocolate flight after you were mentioning it to me, and I wondered what it was like!

I had wanted to go get in line for Indy a lot earlier than we did...but because I'm a good wife, I let DH watch the Star Wars thing all the way through. So now were were faced with a crowd and a really long line. It was so long that they were telling us we wouldn't have a seat and would be in the standing room only area. We decided to risk it anyway because we hadn't watched the show since 2014 and we both really enjoy it.

Spoiler alert: we also risked this with a crowd and a long line, but we weren't as lucky as you. Glad you got in and had a seat!

I title that photo, "My mom was right, I should have been a doctor"

I said, "they look like jellyfish!" Then I realized...



yes, yes they were jellyfish, and they were right by The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Makes sense.

Wait...woah. So neat! Pretty!

While we were in line, @MeghanEmily and I were messaging each other - she and her DH were in the park and we were trying to figure out where to meet up.

Hey, that's me!

We WERE messaging each other! And DH and I WERE in the park!

I wish my hair wasn't such a disaster in these pictures, but I was really happy to meet her and her DH after getting to know each other from our TRs!

Hopefully we'll cross paths again soon!!

You look great! I wish I'd been a little less derpy in our pictures, but that's kinda how my Dismeet pictures seem to go. Glad we got a chance to finally meet!

 

[Lesley Wake]

I did think the overall lake decorations looked prettiest from this angle:



Which seemed odd since it was BEHIND Gertie??

That is a great photo!

Oh, this is out of order, but I got super excited when we were in line for the photopass and I realized the umbrellas were Christmas trees:

Super cute! I can't wait to see the DHS decorations next year!

Annnd this is one of those bad photopass pictures I was talking about. I look like I ate BB-8. Actually, that comes later...

Oh, I think you look great!

 

[missangelalexis]

Welcome back! You were missed

Love the Clue gif..great movie!

Ahh so many pretty Christmas pics! That hot cocoa trio looks/sounds so good!

So great that you and Meghan could meet up!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

If the nachos stay on the menu, I can say 100% that this is the best QS I've ever had at DHS. Now, I'm not saying they were earth shattering nachos, but comparatively, these are a safe bet in my opinion.

So, I just looked on the website to see if those nachos were still on the menu and Min & Bill's isn't even a choice. Did they close it? Maybe it's under refurbishment?!?

Security is a little lacking in this area of the park:

Ha!

I love all of the dismeets in the park!

 

[Raeven]

Raeven and I have discussed how Hollywood Studios always seems to give us the worst photos...some of the ones from today are really bad. But some of them I'll show you anyway. This one is like, middle of the road in terms of ok-ness.

#ThanksPhotopass

Aw, pretty girl! All dressed up in a Santa hat!! Why do you look kind of depressed??

Gertie is a pretty girl!

From left to right: Salted caramel with Bailey's (my faaaavorite), Chocolate martini (tasted too much like vodka, we didn't finish it), and Cherry bourbon (my second fave, DH's favorite. He ended up drinking it)

I never got this But at the JBJB dessert party I think they had one of those choices because I tried one.

I title that photo, "My mom was right, I should have been a doctor"

I've never eaten here, but I think about it sometimes...but when it comes down to it, when I think about picking it or Sci-Fi or Brown Derby, it comes in last place.

Same.

I've never beat him before, so you can imagine I gloated a little. A lot.

And you should!

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Can't wait to hear what you guys thought of the dessert party. I canceled ours the night before to do dinner at H&V instead, I just realized that for my littles dinner with Mickey and friends would go over way better. It was the right call but maybe someday!