Not A Creature Was Stirring, Except Mickey Mouse! Christmas 2016...**new updates 09/17/18 p.4**

[Raeven]

We took a bus to Epcot from HS and then trekked through Future World, to World Showcase, to the International Gateway to Beach Club to catch another bus to Disney Springs. Like I said...ridiculous

So ridiculous!

I know some people feel like it's just a glorified outdoor mall, but I really liked it

I like it too!

Good luck with your move and have fun on vacation!

 

[vrajewski10513]

Now my memory is a bit fuzzy on the details at this point but I believe we grabbed a snack.

I can't remember what I had for breakfast so the fact that you can recall all of this 7 months later is great!

We are huge Star Wars fans so we are LOVING all the Star Wars stuff in the parks. So cool to see Stormtroopers just randomly "patrolling" the area in HS!

It's so cool!! I could spend hours wandering around the launch bay.

Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

I LOVE YOUR SHIRT!!!

B. There was a Moana meet and greet that I wanted to go to!

At this point we hadn't seen Moana yet but I knew we would be seeing it soon (spoiler alert - we loved it!)

I LOVE IT!! Beauty and the Beast has been my favorite movie since I was about 5, but I think Moana may have de-throwned it!

Jacob wasn't SUPER into this idea...but once the show started he loved it! The "historians" who narrate the show were so funny and had us both laughing the whole time!
Frozen wasn't a huge deal in our house for obvious reasons but we both enjoyed this show a lot. Definitely would see it again!

That show is so much fun. My husband even loves it because the historians are so entertaining.

It is completely huge and confusing now! I had so many issues navigating my way around DS, even with a map! Now I am directionally challenged even on a good day so the new Disney Springs REALLY threw me for a loop
I kept trying to find a certain place on the map and then we'd walk in what I thought was the correct direction but...nope!

It totally is. I've been there quite a few times already and STILL get Lost.

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

looks like you guys had a lot of fun. I am planning Uber gift cards for the rides to hotels and rides to Disney Springs. I hate that they don't have bus to Disney Springs except after 4.

We did!

And that is a good idea...as much as I love Disney transportation, it's not always the most efficient option

That annoyed me too...it would be so helpful to have buses to DS before 4 pm!

So ridiculous!

It really was

I like it too!

Good luck with your move and have fun on vacation!

Thank you!!

I can't remember what I had for breakfast so the fact that you can recall all of this 7 months later is great!

It's fuzzy but it's kinda there

It's so cool!! I could spend hours wandering around the launch bay.

Me too! And we did!
Once I get to the part where we went with my boyfriend you'll see we ended the evening with the place pretty much all to ourselves and it was AWESOME

I LOVE YOUR SHIRT!!!

THANK YOU!! I was wondering if anyone would notice that...I love Mean Girls so much!

I LOVE IT!! Beauty and the Beast has been my favorite movie since I was about 5, but I think Moana may have de-throwned it!

Yes, it's sooooo good! Jacob loved it too!

That show is so much fun. My husband even loves it because the historians are so entertaining.

They were hilarious!

It totally is. I've been there quite a few times already and STILL get Lost.

I mean, like I said, I am directionally challenged as it is. So it was a total maze for me!

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

Well hello there!
It's been over a month since my last update so hello to anyone still interested in this TR!
Sorry for my long DIS absence...we went on a two week mid-west vacation in July and then moved to a new house a week after we got back. So it's been busy to say the least!
But I am back and ready to keep this TR rollin...
When we last left off, we had spent the evening in Disney Springs and John arrived late that night from San Antonio.

Here we go!

A fun and busy day at Epcot!

After getting to bed around 11 the night before, John and I woke up at 7 am the next morning. Epcot (well Future World) opened at 9 AM and we wanted to be there for rope drop.

Now, I hate the tiering at Epcot. Hate it! I couldn't get FP+ for both Test Track and Soarin' since they are both Tier 1 attractions. So I had booked us FP's for Test Track (since if it went down they'd honor the FP later, not sure if they do that for stand by) and decided we would book it to Soarin first thing.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat from the Marketplace and then headed over to the International Gateway to wait for them to let us in.
We took a magic band pic...you can finally see my Haunted Mansion decal!
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

I wanted to get in and get going! John hadn't been to WDW since he was very young and only spent 1 day at Magic Kingdom. I only had 2.5 days to convince him of how awesome WDW is!
I knew starting at Epcot would be a good choice since he loves to travel and I knew he'd really enjoy the World Showcase!

After waiting for what seemed like forever (but probably was only about 20 mins) they started to let us in. Poor John tried to look around at some of the UK pavillion but I dragged him through at break neck speeds while assuring him we'd see it later on We needed to get to Soarin!
Well all that speed walking was for nothing because we got to Future World and the CM's were corralling people outside of The Land since the park hadn't officially opened yet. Womp womp!

They finally let us in and we were seeing this soon enough!
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

Pretty soon we were soarin around the world again! Jacob and I loved it just as much as the first time and John really enjoyed it too! I was glad he liked his first official Disney ride with us. So far so good!

After we finished at Soarin Jacob wanted to go on Living with the Land again. There was no wait so we hopped right on. John thought this was pretty neat too! He liked seeing how all the fruits and veggies are grown there and I told him he'd get to eat some when we had dinner later that evening at Garden Grill.

After LWTL we walked out and were able to do Spaceship Earth, Journey Into the Imagination, Nemo, Mission Space, and Ellen's Energy Adventure with little to no waits. It was great! And by the time we finished up there it was 11 and we were ready to make our way over to the World Showcase.
First stop...Canada!
First order of business was some Canadian beer
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

John had a Moosehead Lager and I had a LeBatt Blue! They were both good and refreshing!

We hung around the Canadian pavillion for a bit and also caught the show, O Canada!

At some point in the previous day, Jacob convinced me to buy that hat for him. I figured it would be a waste of money since he doesn't usually like wearing hats but he wore it for the rest of our trip! He looked cute in it so I guess it wasn't a waste of money after all

Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

Jacob also started out getting his Duffy bear in Canadt. For those who aren't familiar, you can get a Duffy cut out stamped and signed in each country in that language...it's pretty neat and a fun (free) souvenir! He still has it in his room too

John really enjoyed talking to some of the Canadian CM's...his half siblings were born in Canada and have dual citizenship and he loves Canada. We want to visit Canada together one day and the CM's talked to us at length about where they were from. So cool!

After we finished up in Canada we walked to the next pavillion...Morocco!
We were hungry by then so we grabbed lunch from Tangerine Cafe. We both had shwarma platters, he had chicken and I had the gyro. So yummy! Jacob had the kids nuggets I think. He liked them!
Once we finished up lunch, we saw that Princess Jasmine was meeting just then. John loves Aladdin, it's his favorite Disney movie so we hopped in line to meet her. And when I say line I mean, there was hardly anyone there! There was only 1 family ahead of us and one that came in after us. Nice!

Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
John's other dream girl

We discussed a few important things with Jas, such as where the Genie might go on vacation this year, Abu and Carpet's antics, and the price of apples in Agrabah. She was fun!

We took a few more silly pictures in Morocco...
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

After Morocco, we were headed to one of my favorite pavillions...Japan!

Stay tuned...


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[HomeSweetDisney]

Chapter 5
Part 2
World Showcase fun, cont.

After finishing up in Morocco, we headed to one of my favorite pavilions...Japan! I could spend all day in Mitsukoshi if you let me!
John loved seeing the details in each country and the lengths they went to, to make each area look like what you'd find in that country. I explained that this was just the Disney way! They don't do anything without putting lots of care and detail into it
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

After spending about 30 mins looking around Mitsukoshi (and me wanting to buy everything I saw ) we headed out. I would have loved to spend more time there but I knew I'd be back and I wanted John to be able to see each pavilion.

The American Adventure was up next! One of the storytellers was out and she was telling the story of Hanukah and the meaning and traditions behind it. We enjoyed listening to her!
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

My only regret is we didn't get to see any of the other storytellers in other countries I guess that just means we will have to go back again at Christmas time!

Our arrival was perfectly timed though because The Voices of Liberty were getting ready to perform and then we could see The American Adventure show right after. I love both of these things so it worked out great!
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
They sang a bunch of Christmas classics and sounded AMAZING as always. Their voices always blow me away! They are so incredibly talented

John enjoyed both the VoL performance and the American Adventure show. I know it's a little cheesy and over simplified but I love the message behind this show and I always leave with a tear in my eye and feeling extra proud to be an American

After we finished in America, we were off to Italy!
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

Originally I had made an ADR for Via Napoli that I ended up cancelling (I can't remember why) and I regret it! I still haven't been! I am determined to go on our next trip, whenever that may be!

Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

We wandered around Italy a bit, checked out the stores and had an Italian beer of some sort. Then it was off to Norway!
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

The line for FEA was posted at over 2 hrs, so that was a no go! Someday I will get to ride it but that day was not today

The line to meet Anna and Elsa was 30 mins and looking back I regret not getting in line for them! Oh well, live and learn.

After we finished up in Norway, we walked to Mexico...where John would get to meet a very special friend.
But my lunch break is almost over so you'll just have to stay tuned to find out!




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[MeghanEmily]

Sorry for my long DIS absence...we went on a two week mid-west vacation in July and then moved to a new house a week after we got back. So it's been busy to say the least!

Congrats! So many exciting things happening! I hope you're settling in well and you had a great trip.

I couldn't get FP+ for both Test Track and Soarin' since they are both Tier 1 attractions. So I had booked us FP's for Test Track (since if it went down they'd honor the FP later, not sure if they do that for stand by) and decided we would book it to Soarin first thing.

Hmmm, that's actually a really good argument in favour of Test Track. Seems like a lot of people (incl. me) do Soarin' instead, but I like this idea.

Poor John tried to look around at some of the UK pavillion but I dragged him through at break neck speeds while assuring him we'd see it later on We needed to get to Soarin!

Haha on a mission!! Non-Disney veterans just don't understand at first haha

Pretty soon we were soarin around the world again! Jacob and I loved it just as much as the first time and John really enjoyed it too! I was glad he liked his first official Disney ride with us. So far so good!

Fabulous! This was also the first ride we took Nathan's family on, and it also turned out to be a super good choice! They loved it and thought it was really impressive.

At some point in the previous day, Jacob convinced me to buy that hat for him. I figured it would be a waste of money since he doesn't usually like wearing hats but he wore it for the rest of our trip! He looked cute in it so I guess it wasn't a waste of money after all

That's so cute! Totally worth the purchase.

John really enjoyed talking to some of the Canadian CM's...his half siblings were born in Canada and have dual citizenship and he loves Canada. We want to visit Canada together one day and the CM's talked to us at length about where they were from. So cool!

Awesome!! If you're even on the east coast of Canada make sure to look me up! I grew up in New Brunswick and live in Nova Scotia.

one of my favorite pavilions...Japan! I could spend all day in Mitsukoshi if you let me!

Love Japan! It's hard not to get sucked into this pavilion every time we go. Last trip we did the pick a pearl thing for the very first time.

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

Oh hey there guys! Remember me? No? Yeah, not surprising considering I completely abandoned this TR. You know when you get major post Disney depression because you realized your trip ended a while ago and have no idea when you'll be back? That's kinda what happened to me. I wasn't even keeping up with other DIS'ers TR's! Talk about #firstworldproblems huh?
Well the good news is twofold:
1. I decided I want to finish this TR regardless if anyone reads it or not. Mostly because I hate to leave things unfinished.
2. We have another trip planned! It's a ways away but as you can see from my ticker down below, we will be heading back to the world in the summer of 2020. It'll be the same crew as this trip report plus my parents! Staying at Beach Club (of course) for 8 days in June. And since Star Wars Galaxy Edge is supposed to be open by Fall of 2019 we will get to see that too. Let's hope they don't take wayyy longer than planned like they did with Pandora.
Anyway, here's another (extremely and ridiculously belated) installment to my December 2016 TR.
Onward!

Our Epcot Day Continues...

When we last left off, we were leaving The American Adventure and heading towards the land of my people...Mexico!
And even better, the home of the meet and greet for Three Caballeros Donald Duck! Or Mexican Donald as many refer to him as
Donald Duck is John's favorite Disney character and since we are from San Antonio and I am Mexican, I knew John would love meeting this version of DD. And I was right!
He had a lot of fun and when we told Donald that he was John's favorite and this was his first time meeting him EVER, he got SO excited. He insisted on some solo pictures with John and gave him lots of hugs
This one is my favorite:
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

After we finished up our fun M&G with Donald, we headed inside the pyramid. I love this place, it's really cool how they created this pavillion!
We hopped on "Mexican small world" as we refer to it in my family
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

After that, we walked through all the little shops and stands they have set up. I love how authentic it looks!
This is where we met one of THE sweetest CM's ever...Fernanda. She spent so much time talking to us about her home (Mexico City) and she and Jacob played the maracas and bongo together and danced. They decided their band name would be "The Maracas"
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

It's always nice to meet such friendly CM's, they really make my day!

We left Mexico and I guess went to China? My memories are getting pretty hazy at this point and I am going based on the order of my photos
We did meet Mulan and I remember she was very sweet and told Jacob he looked like a very mighty warrior
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

After that it was time for our FP to meet Mickey and the gang at the Character Spot. But I think I am going to hit my photo max soon so I will continue that in the next post!

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[HomeSweetDisney]

The Character Spot & dinner at Garden Grill

After we finished up in the WS, we had a FP set up for the Character Spot. I wanted to make sure John met the Fab 4 & knew this was the easiest way to do so.
I remember this line moved reaaalllyyy slow, even with FP and we probably waited about 30 mins to get to the front.
Oh, here's Jacob waiting with his completed Duffy BTW. He got EVERY country on it!:
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

First up was Minnie! I will never forget the "conversation" we had with her. I commiserated with her over the fact that Mickey STILL hasn't put a ring on it...because neither had John. (And still hasn't for the record ) I told her I would give Mickey a stern talking to and she did the same to John. There was a LOT of finger wagging and foot stomping let me tell ya I honestly regret not recording it because it was SO funny!
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Next up...Goofy!
I don't remember a whole lot about our meeting with him but I'm sure he was silly as always
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

Then the big cheese himself! He is just so cute
I mentioned my conversation with Minnie to Mickey and he tried to hide behind John
These guys! I tell ya!
We got a very nice family photo with him!
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

I just realized I referred to the "Fab 4" earlier but it was only Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy so I guess it was just the "Fab 3" instead

Next up was our dinner at Garden Grill which unfortunately ended up being our most disappointing meal at WDW. I had high hopes because it generally gets positive reviews so I am convinced they must have been having an off night. The food was pretty bland, not particularly warm and it was PACKED to the gills so the character interaction was super slow moving. Our waiter did the best he could considering it was so busy and he did a pretty good job of keeping our drinks full, etc.
It took us about 2 hours total to finish which I know isn't unusual for a character meal but I guess we were just so underwhelmed that it felt like forever. Plus this was one of our most expensive meals (talk about sticker shock for John when he got the bill ) so I decided this was probably a one and done for us.
The characters themselves also weren't super interactive which I know was, again, because of how busy it was.They pretty much took the pictures, signed Jacob's autograph book and then moved on.
We did get some cute pictures at least, so that's something!
by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr
Untitled by Veronica Villarreal, on Flickr

After that, we were pretty much done. We walked around Future World some more and did a couple small rides we hadn't done earlier. I think we did Seas with Nemo and Ellen maybe?

That's where I will leave off for now...tomorrow will be DAK and HS!

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[MeghanEmily]

Welcome back!!

We have another trip planned! It's a ways away but as you can see from my ticker down below, we will be heading back to the world in the summer of 2020. It'll be the same crew as this trip report plus my parents! Staying at Beach Club (of course) for 8 days in June.

Yay!! It's always easier when you know when you're going back.

He had a lot of fun and when we told Donald that he was John's favorite and this was his first time meeting him EVER, he got SO excited. He insisted on some solo pictures with John and gave him lots of hugs
This one is my favorite:

Oh, I love this! Awesome meet for John!

This is where we met one of THE sweetest CM's ever...Fernanda. She spent so much time talking to us about her home (Mexico City) and she and Jacob played the maracas and bongo together and danced. They decided their band name would be "The Maracas"

That's so sweet! Sometimes a special CM makes all the difference in your trip memories.