Our Practically Perfect Christmas Week Trip!

[kerri0616]

I'd like to post the highlights of our very recent (12/24-12/30) Christmas Week trip. I must admit that I am not the gifted writer that so many of you are, so I'll try to just give a synopsis of each day.

I want anyone who has any worries about visiting during "the busiest, most crowded week of the year" to know that we accomplished about 98% of everything we hoped! We were never affected by park closures or 210 minute waits for attractions. With good planning anyone who visits during Christmas Week can have a magical vacation and see most of their top attractions.

Edit: I should probably tell you who we are...me, DH, DS15, DS12. We like to take an afternoon break from the parks each day to rest and recharge and get away from the masses that showed up 12/27. We also don't parkhop...we are masterful fastpassers and we collect them all morning and tend to use them when we return in the evening. We never had one CM question our using the FPs well after their times. The longest lines we waited in were the FP return lines since I suspect many people follow our strategy and use FPs later. The longest stand by line we chose to wait in was 15 minutes.

The weather was perfect. I know that December weather can be a mixed bag. We lucked out with no rain, temps in the 80's when we arrived, and cooling to upper 60's when we left. Perfect.

I'll be back in a bit to give more details. I am currently washing my 6th load of laundry since returning home yesterday. Isn't that the worst part of the vacation...the laundry? (Well, other than checking out of the resort and putting the key to the world cards away for the last time...that's the worst part .)

Kerri

PS...looks like I need to get rid of my ticker...now that also makes me sad!

 

[GrammyJudy]

The best cure for "return to reality blues" is to plan another trip and get a new ticker started!

 

[kerri0616]

We arrived at our awesome resort, POFQ, around a bit before 8 am. Surprise! Our room is ready!!! On 12/24 at 8 am, our room is ready! What a way to start the trip. The only downside is that we decided to unload the van now and delay our entry to HS. Got everything secured in the safe and the fridge and we caught the bus to The Studios.

We like TSM, but we don't feel it's worth all the hoopla. We casually strolled over to the FP machines and secured our one and only ride for around 3pm, I believe. Next, we tried out Star Tours for the first time since the refurb. Loved it! Since stand by was 5 minutes, we rode again. We ended up visiting the Wookie planet on both rides. Loved the experience very much.

Next up was Muppets 3D. We've seen this oodles of time, but my family enjoys the classics...personally, I'd like to see a new movie here. Have I mentioned how light the crowds were? At some point, we saw the Beauty and the Beast Show (first time!--it was me, DH, DS12, DS15) Even the boys enjoyed it. We did the Great Movie Ride also. The boys did a bit of vinylmation trading too. We split up for lunch...I went to Starring Rolls for a sandwich/red velvet cupcake. I carried my tray and met up with my family who choose burgers at Fairfax Fare. (Loved my cupcake!)

At this point, we were ready for a break and we wanted to settle in back at FQ. We caught a bus and were back at the resort in no time. While my husband unpacked and the kids fought over the TV, I decorated our room for Xmas...table top tree in the window, window clings, light up Mickey Head. Came out cute, IMHO.

After our chill out time, we headed back to HS and then caught a boat to The Beach Club. We enjoyed our dinner at Cape May. Side note: I just love the Epcot resorts. If I could pick anywhere to stay, I'd probably pick BW, BC, or YC. Just love the location and the atmosphere around the lake.

After eating large quantities of food, we decided it would be best for us to walk to HS. So we did. I think we walked off all of our calories! That's quite a hike! We entered HS and headed right to TSM and used our fastpasses. Next up was one of our trip highlights...The Osborne Lights! They really are spectacular! Not to be missed. There were only 2 showings of Fantasmic that night, and our timing just didn't work for us, so it's one of the few things we didn't do this trip. After enjoying the Osborne Lights, we headed over and did Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster (both walk on's). What a great way to end the night!

To summarize, HS was a wonderful choice for Xmas eve...light crowds and we really enjoyed the atmosphere also.

I'll be back later...bye!