Simply having a wonderful Christmas Time -12/24-12/31/12 UPDATED 3/4

[debrapagliasotti]

As promised, I came back to read the posts (just had to wait until my little boys were napping )

Osborne lights sounds like a perfect way to start the trip! They were sooooo amazing!

Cant wait to hear how your Epcot Christmas day went! We were there the same day

 

[1stvisit0909]

Following! I'm glad the crowds didn't get in your family's way. Sounds like a great trip already.

Welcome! Not at all, but we did do our best to avoid the worst of them. A couple of times it got crazy - you'll hear/see soon!

Your DD11 sounds like me lol

I hope you don't mind but I would love to follow on & read all about your Christmas trip sounds great so far!!

Dont mind a bit! I'm glad you're here.

Joining in on this trip report! I dont think I will ever go at Christmas, so I cant wait to read about your experience. My dd22's husbands family was there over that same time in Ft Wilderness. Total novices so Im sure their trip did not go over as well as yours

I was super worried about it, but it really was magical and great! Id do it again. Id change up a couple of things, but Id go back for Christmas no doubt!

Joining in! Havent read any of the posts yet, but I will come back and catch up in just a little bit

Following! Sounds like a great start to your trip. Osbourne Lights are so stunning, what a great way to spend Christmas Eve Can't wait to read more.

It was! I loved the lights, they were so pretty.

As promised, I came back to read the posts (just had to wait until my little boys were napping )

Osborne lights sounds like a perfect way to start the trip! They were sooooo amazing!

Cant wait to hear how your Epcot Christmas day went! We were there the same day

I KNOW! I kept looking for you but I never saw you, even around Le Cellier. But were seated and out before your ADR time I think. They were super fast and efficient that day. All our ADRs were really. I was kinda worried about that and the crowds but they were all good.

Another update being written right now

 

[1stvisit0909]

After we had our quick bite of breakfast, we grabbed our KTTW cards, and our park bag and made our way to the bus stop. We got there at 705, and in just a few minutes a bus to EPCOT pulled up. We were on our way!

We arrived at EPCOT at 725.

People were already lined up at the middle turnstiles, but because I DIS, I knew you could walk up to any of them. So we went over to the next set and got in line, right next to the RFID tap stations. The CM at the turnstile told us to get in line at the regular ones, b/c sometimes the RFID stations don't come up online right at opening, so they wait before they line people up there. That was fine, the regular old turnstiles work just fine.

The CM at our gate was awesome. She chatted with us and talked to us about Christmas and about MK and the crowds on CE. Someone asked what capacity was at MK, with the Fantasyland Expansion, and she went and talked to a "suit" by the gate, and came back and said "ooops, we arent supposed to tell you that, and she wouldnt tell me"

At about 745, they turned the turnstiles on and the opening song began. I cried. I'm such a sap. I had never heard the welcome song at EPCOT, but my goodness it was sweet. We had fun saying hello in all the languages. Then, it was ON! We were one of the first families all the way in.

And we're off! We walked, not ran, not jogged, I hate that "race" for FPs. So we strolled, and made our way to Soarin' to get FP.

Our plan was to grab FP for Soarin, so we could go through the queue in Test Track. After I almost grabbed FP for the "land" ride - thanks to the CM that said, um are you sure you arent looking for Soarin'?? I said, matter of fact, I am. I got our four FPs and came back out of the land to meet up with the family.

We started walking towards Test Track. And read the map wrong, and took a wrong turn. BUT it turned out to be an AWESOME wrong turn.

Stay Tuned!!

 

[1stvisit0909]

Are you ready for the first GALLONS of pixie dust that was dropped on our magical Christmas vacation, at 805 am in EPCOT 12/25/12? Are you ready??

I hope you are. I hope you have tissues because every time I look at this set of photos I tear up.



We turned a corner, and a whole slew of CMs and photopass photogs were coming out of a building....

with none other than, MICKEY, MINNIE AND PLUTO. All together.

My dds saw them and dd7 squealed. Grabbed on to her santa hat and took off running as the CMs were waving her over to them. And then, Minnie opened her arms and started running TOWARDS my DD7. And then Pluto. And then Mickey. Check out the series I managed to snap.

Minnie made a big deal over DD11s Christmas jewelry. She loved the fact that it matched! They all pointed at our shirts and just danced around.

Then they took the girls by the hand and took them off to a place to pose for photos

I'll add a couple of mine for now, and when photopass comes in I'll update with those.

After this could we possible have any more magic??? After our "uhoh" detour that turned into WOW, it was time to RIDE some RIDES!!!!

Would we like Test Track? Did we make our Soarin time? Would we get ANYTHING accomplished the busiest week of the year?

 

[blessedby3]

That is some awesome pixie dust!! Your girls are just precious...and the younger one running for Minnie sweet! Cant wait to see what other pixie dust you have dumped on you

 

[1stvisit0909]

That is some awesome pixie dust!! Your girls are just precious...and the younger one running for Minnie sweet! Cant wait to see what other pixie dust you have dumped on you

Thanks! It really felt like a commercial. All the planning I did and 15 mins into our first full day BAM unplanned pixie dust.

 

[blessedby3]

I love your shirts too! Did you make them or get them on etsy? Very cute!

 

[1stvisit0909]

I love your shirts too! Did you make them or get them on etsy? Very cute!

Thanks! Etsy all the way! I have good ideas, but I'm terrible at follow through. I loved them! We got so many compliments.

 

[SAT887]

Are you ready for the first GALLONS of pixie dust that was dropped on our magical Christmas vacation, at 805 am in EPCOT 12/25/12? Are you ready??

I hope you are. I hope you have tissues because every time I look at this set of photos I tear up.



We turned a corner, and a whole slew of CMs and photopass photogs were coming out of a building....

with none other than, MICKEY, MINNIE AND PLUTO. All together.

My dds saw them and dd7 squealed. Grabbed on to her santa hat and took off running as the CMs were waving her over to them. And then, Minnie opened her arms and started running TOWARDS my DD7. And then Pluto. And then Mickey. Check out the series I managed to snap.

Minnie made a big deal over DD11s Christmas jewelry. She loved the fact that it matched! They all pointed at our shirts and just danced around.

Then they took the girls by the hand and took them off to a place to pose for photos

I'll add a couple of mine for now, and when photopass comes in I'll update with those.

After this could we possible have any more magic??? After our "uhoh" detour that turned into WOW, it was time to RIDE some RIDES!!!!

Would we like Test Track? Did we make our Soarin time? Would we get ANYTHING accomplished the busiest week of the year?

I LOVE this so much. People wonder why we keep going back - it's not the rides and everything it's THESE moments, the unplanned magical moments whether its super Disney magic like this or the magic you create together. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!! You can't put a price or dollar amount on this stuff!!

 

[1stvisit0909]

I LOVE this so much. People wonder why we keep going back - it's not the rides and everything it's THESE moments, the unplanned magical moments whether its super Disney magic like this or the magic you create together. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!! You can't put a price or dollar amount on this stuff!!

This moment made the entire trip worth it and then some.

 

[AustralianJetsetter]

Oh WOW!!!!! Those pics are the best they gave me goosebumps of the good kind!!

That is very special. I remember when I was 9 yrs old my parents took me to Disneyland....one time we took a wrong turn & bumped into Mickey coming out of a behind the scenes door. I acted like your DD7 & Mickey grabbed me & we danced together It was the highlight for me!!

Magic memories that last a lifetime <3

 

[disneydeed]

Just joined in! Your pictures are fabulous! We are considering a Christmas trip in 2014, but I am wondering if it is a crazy idea. Maybe your trip report will convince me that it is not.

 

[jecskc]

Loved your photos of Minnie, Mickey and Pluto !! How awesome was that??!! Also, I LOVE your shirts !!! Those are super cute !!!

 

[1stvisit0909]

Oh WOW!!!!! Those pics are the best they gave me goosebumps of the good kind!!

That is very special. I remember when I was 9 yrs old my parents took me to Disneyland....one time we took a wrong turn & bumped into Mickey coming out of a behind the scenes door. I acted like your DD7 & Mickey grabbed me & we danced together It was the highlight for me!!

Magic memories that last a lifetime <3

Awww what a sweet story! I hope my kids remember it like you do. I know I will.

Just joined in! Your pictures are fabulous! We are considering a Christmas trip in 2014, but I am wondering if it is a crazy idea. Maybe your trip report will convince me that it is not.

I wont lie, it WAS crazy, but it was so much fun! and if you aren't a rope drop or late night family, it would be tough. Middle of the day to early evening was insane, which you'll hear more about that later. But we avoided those times mostly, and had very low waits for even the big rides. Id go back. It only took one day for my family to be 100% on board with early. Then we did a late night and the girls were just giggling being able to walk on rides.

Loved your photos of Minnie, Mickey and Pluto !! How awesome was that??!! Also, I LOVE your shirts !!! Those are super cute !!!

It was SO awesome. And thanks! the woman I bought them from on etsy did a great job.

 

[MelMel11]

Great pics!! Sounds like the trip was a blast. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[1stvisit0909]

I left off at our Magical Moment AKA our Disney Commercial moment.
After our fun with Mickey, Minnie and Pluto we went over to Test Track. It was about 810 when we got there. Our FPs for Soarin were for 830-930 so we had plenty of time. The SB wait for TT was 10 mins. (yeah!)

Got in line and in a snap we were in the car design room. The queue was cool. * caveat: I never rode the old TT, so I have nothing to compare it too.

We had a blast designing our cars. Well, DD7 and I did I let her do it, and we ended up with a lime green monster car with butterflies on it.

DD11 and DH were being all serious trying to get the best numbers out of their car, and they crashed their machine. Figures, my IT husband would crash a computer at Disney. So they had to move to another one, and then we werent in the same line later, but it worked out.


The ride was fun! Then to the photopass line to get our pictures. I had heard that the line is sometimes really long, but we didnt experience that at all. we really enjoyed pp+!

The performance scores came in and DD7s monster car with butterflies did just as good as DH and DD11s. That was pretty funny. We played around in the car racetrack area for awhile before heading out.

By now it was time to use or Soarin' FP, and the kids (and daddy) enjoyed TT so much that we grabbed FPs for it to use later. The return time was 920-1020 which worked perfectly for our plan.

We strolled back to Soarin' to use or FP. I had never been on Soarin' because at our last trip we were standing on the little gliders in the floor when DD7 who was 4 then had to go to the bathroom. they offered us a rider swap card, but then she fell on the way down the ramp and was done for the night. So I REALLY looked forward to this ride!

It was great! I loved it! DD7 did too. So very cool.

From there we went and road Nemo b/c DD7 remembered that ride from last time, and then we went to spaceship earth. We actually had to wait in line for a little bit. The crowd was starting to build, I guess it was about 930 by the time we got off spaceship earth. We made our way slowly back to Test Track, and used our FPs. We decided not to build the car this time and just go to the ride. We were in the same car this time

After our race, we checked out the display cars.

Foreshadowing?

By this time it was about 1045, and even though we had reservations at Le Cellier at noon, I knew if I didnt get a snack I was going to regret it. So we stopped and got a pretzel to share, and two frozen lemonades to share. I could tell I need some carbs/sugar or I was going to get sick. So we sat on a wall and rested our feet, enjoyed the sites and ate our snack while we waited for the WS to open at 11. Hubby decided to pick up a bag of trail mix with a snack credit too, and add that to our bag in case I felt bad again.

Next up, Le Cellier on Christmas Day!

 

[1stvisit0909]

I cant take it I want to keep writing.
I know I should pace myself so I can relive the trip, but I want to relive it NOW!!!

So after our break on the wall to rest our feet and have a snack, we wandered into the world showcase, headed towards Canada and our 1150 reservation at Le Cellier. I had heard sometimes they back up, so I wanted to check in 15 mins early. It was about 1110 ish after our little rest break. So we just looked around Canada, and snapped some photos. The WS is so pretty!

I loved this little cottage, I could so live there!

After we explored around Canada, it was about 1130 so we made our way to the check in at Le Cellier. There were a lot of people in the waiting area. We checked in and took the last chairs. A family came in after that and asked if there was anyway the could be worked in, and the lady told them that Le Cellier had no openings until mid January. The lady was NOT happy, but she left with out too much complaint. We only waited about 5 mins for a table, so we were seated about 10 mins before our ADR time. I wasnt feeling very well, I had gotten to hot, and I was bummed b/c I had really been looking forward to this meal.

We settled in, and decided what to order. We had the CP package so we got app, entree and dessert. I got the cheddar soup, filet, with the risotto, and the mousse. DD7 got the soup, spag and ice cream sundae. DD11 got the soup, the NY Strip, and ice cream. DH got the mussels, the NY Strip and creme brulee. I took a few pictures. The food tasted good, but I couldnt eat much, which bummed me out a lot! I did think the filet had a little too much garlic and salt. The soup was GREAT! but I was too hot to eat much of it. DH and DD11 really enjoyed their meals, but DD7 didnt like her spag. She ended up eating more of my soup. The pretzel bread was great!

Here are a few pictures. It was very dark and I didnt want to flash like crazy so I only took a couple.

Service was ok, and the meal was actually pretty fast. We were out of there by about 1. We were full, and tired so we decided to take a break because the crowds had really shown up! We made our way to the gate and took the bus back to the resort. We knew we needed to leave about 3-330 to make it back to the CP line by 430, so I took the kids to swim and relax in a pool chair. Swimming on Christmas Day, thats not something we can do at home!!

I relaxed, the kids swam, and hubby took a nap in the room. Next up - trying to navigate the world showcase at 4pm on Christmas day - MAD HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!! Would we make the line for the CP??!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

We loved Le Cellier!! Its the 1 ADR I have been advised we have to get for Oct

How exciting you were able to do Soarin and TT by 11am on Christmas!! Major score!!

I was so glad the kids were able to take advantage of some swimming time on our trip too!

Love those pics of your DD running up to Minnie!! What a great way to start out the day!

 

[debjk4]

Having a great time reading your TR. It will be our family's first visit in June~ we have two girls (11,13) and we cannot wait! I'm living vicariously through you right now

 

[Valgoof]

Wow! Such a great day so far!! Amazing Disney commercial moment. Love the shirts. I am glad DH agreed to wear one. I remember when that "battle" was being waged.