The Craziness of WDW between Christmas & New Years-Wilderness Lodge, Merry Mixer

[mlaw]

I am really enjoying your trip report! We have been to Disney many times but never Christmas week. We are planning on surprising our teenage girls Christmas morning with a trip leaving the next day. Please keep adding to your report because it is really getting me excited. I think it is funny that your entire family is in sweatshirts while other people are bundled up in winter coats! We northerners sure are tough!!!

 

[tksbaskets]

I am really enjoying your trip report! We have been to Disney many times but never Christmas week. We are planning on surprising our teenage girls Christmas morning with a trip leaving the next day. Please keep adding to your report because it is really getting me excited. I think it is funny that your entire family is in sweatshirts while other people are bundled up in winter coats! We northerners sure are tough!!!

So glad you are enjoying the trip report. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is reading it. Either way fun to relive the magic.

You'll love your Christmas trip Wonderful time to be away with your family. With proper planning you can still do a ton! As you will see our plan for EPCOT was sleeping in. You have teenagers so can relate

Only two and a half more days to go.

More coming soon I promise

 

[franandaj]

I'm still reading! I just don't always comment, but I am enjoying all the pictures, and get exhausted just reading about everything you food do. We never get that much stuff in, we're too slow.

 

[tksbaskets]

I'm still reading! I just don't always comment, but I am enjoying all the pictures, and get exhausted just reading about everything you food do. We never get that much stuff in, we're too slow.

Good to know you are out there franandaj! This was our most relaxed WDW vacation EVER. Still managed to pack quite a bit in Thanks for reading!

 

[deejdigsdis]

Loved the parade pictures! You had a GREAT photo-taking spot. It is so fun to see so many things I've never seen before. In answer to your question, I've never been to WDW. Actually, I've never had the desire to go. (Yes...wrong section of the boards to mention that. ) Disneyland is all I need. BUT...you may be changing all that. I am really enjoying your report and seeing familiar friends in unfamiliar places. And that Safari looks really cool. We enjoyed learning about it in the show on Netflix.

PS - LOL about the heat wave and DH basking in the sun! Love that picture, too. You got SO many great family pics this trip.

 

[MsHershey]

Great TR! I am subbing. I am planning a trip between Christmas and New Years 2012. This will be my first trip since 1985 and my 24 yo dd first trip ever. I know they say this is the busiest time to go but it is the only week that I can schedule to be off work.

Sorry it was so cold for you that week. I live in MS and we had a white Christmas last year. My 75 yo Dad said this is the first time he ever had a white Christmas in Mississippi. The weather was crazy that is for sure.

I have joined TGM and feel so overwhelmed. I don't know where to begin.

Looking forward to your next installment.

 

[tksbaskets]

Loved the parade pictures! You had a GREAT photo-taking spot. It is so fun to see so many things I've never seen before. In answer to your question, I've never been to WDW. Actually, I've never had the desire to go. (Yes...wrong section of the boards to mention that. ) Disneyland is all I need. BUT...you may be changing all that. I am really enjoying your report and seeing familiar friends in unfamiliar places. And that Safari looks really cool. We enjoyed learning about it in the show on Netflix.

PS - LOL about the heat wave and DH basking in the sun! Love that picture, too. You got SO many great family pics this trip.

Thanks Deej! I must sheepishly admit that I too love DL just a bit more than WDW (not that I don't love both). Both destinations have their own unique appeal. I must admit that the layout of DL/DCA/DTD makes for a wonderful, bus-free vacation.

There are attractions at both WDW and DL/DCA that are unique which may make it worth your while to head south to WDW some day.

We are trying to finagle a trip to DL over Christmas break again this year. Still trying to see Aladin!

Great TR! I am subbing. I am planning a trip between Christmas and New Years 2012. This will be my first trip since 1985 and my 24 yo dd first trip ever. I know they say this is the busiest time to go but it is the only week that I can schedule to be off work.

Sorry it was so cold for you that week. I live in MS and we had a white Christmas last year. My 75 yo Dad said this is the first time he ever had a white Christmas in Mississippi. The weather was crazy that is for sure.

I have joined TGM and feel so overwhelmed. I don't know where to begin.

Looking forward to your next installment.

Thanks for reading! It was a tad bit chilly - LOL.

MsHershey I'd recommend purchasing 'The Unofficial Guide To WDW'. I used a modified version of their touring plan my first few trips and it was a big help. I found TGM a bit confusing. For our family vacationing during school breaks is a must and now that our sons are in college the vacation window is shortened further.

For our family getting a TS reservation based on extra magic morning really made the most of the time at the parks. You know the parks will be crowded but vacationing at Christmas time is very special. If being able to ride popular rides is important you'll be getting up early.

Hope you can learn some tips from our report. If you have any questions about scheduling/crowds feel free to ask!

TK

 

[tksbaskets]

Thursday December 30, 2010 at EPCOT/DVC Merry Mixer

As we decided the day before today would be a day of R&R for our family.

Well not so much for me! I woke up at 4 am freezing~ WHAT, had I magically returned to the park?? You may recall we were in a 1BR Villa. The thermostat is located in the living room with the boys' rock bed. Grumpy and Donald were a bit warm and had tuned the thermostat down to 66 AND closed our bedroom door. I was sleeping next to the sliding glass door and I'm thinking our room was in the 50's. I turned the heat back up to 70, donned my hoody sweatshirt and went back to bed.

DH and I went to Roaring Forks and got breakfast sandwiches for all and a Diet Coke for me We were at the WL bus stop by 10:30 and at EPCOT at the crack of 11 am. We've gone long enough without a picture don't you think?

Beautiful day and we headed right to The Land to get our FP for Soarin'.

YIKES look at the time for our FP! TIP: Often you can get another FP before your return time. Be sure to check the fine print at the bottom of your FP. I'd like to shake the hand of the smartie who thought up the FP system.

While in the area we took in Captain EO 3-D. It was fun but did not compare to Muppets 3-D or Mickey's Philharmagic. IMHO.

I was very excited to have reservations for an early lunch (11:30 am) at Tutto Italia Ristorante. I had read so much about the new Italian eatery with the wood-fired pizza.

Imagine my surprise that I had not booked Via Napoli Restorante E Pizzeria but the fancy Tutto. WHOOPS My bad.

When you book for the first of lunch or dinner you get lots of attention from the cast members!

The family rolls with it and had a delicious lunch. Want so see what we had?? If not, close your eyes and hit scroll.

The portion sizes were just right. Satisfying yet not stuffing. Left us room to enjoy some GREAT dessert. Both Donald and Grumpy proclaimed this to be their favorite meal of the trip.

LOVE the dusting on the plate!

Here is the 12:30 pm crowd in the World Showcase.

We rode the boat from Germany to Showcase Plaza and then headed to Mission Space to snag FPs for later.

One little Photopass stop on our way:

I had to laugh about what was behind us but didn't show at all in the Photopass pic!

Happy young men packing two FPs each for Mission Space for later (as DH and I would selflessly give up ours!)

Anyone notice we are not wearing our sweatshirts and hats?? SO nice. We actually rented a locker to stow them! I think it was in the upper 60's today. It wasn't warm by any means but for a family from Michigan it was great.

Up next: Our private photo shoot with Mickey, and the nightmare of getting to and from the DVC Merry Mixer

 

[tksbaskets]

All this for a free ornament???

If you have a Disney Visa don't forget to stop by Innoventions for your private photo shoot and free 5x7 photo. DH and I both have an account so we got two free photos. They have a photopass photographer and he/she will also take a picture with your own camera.

Our plan was to zip over to the Contemporary Resort for the DVC Merry Mixer that was scheduled from 3-5 pm in one of the ballrooms.

We stopped to take our first ride on Spaceship Earth. LOVED it. You journey through the evolution of man and there is a fun interactive video portion at the end.

This was the first year the MM was held at one of the resorts. In years past the Merry Mixer was held right outside EPCOT at the International Gateway. This was fun and very convenient to spend the day at EPCOT in conjunction with the member only event. In my opinion it was NOT a positive change.

In theory you get on the monorail to the transportation and ticket center and then hop the other monorail to the Contemporary Resort. It took about 30 minutes to get to the Contemporary. The ballroom was located in the basement of the resort and decorated sparingly. There was a DJ and music. Many of the children were dancing.

For attending the MM we got entered into the raffle for a gift basket (alas didn't win), had the opportunity to take a picture with a character or two, a big rice crispy like treat, punch, and the opportunity to stand in line for a limited edition pin.

The ballroom that we felt was a bit dark.

In past years a regular PP photographer was in attendance. This year it was 'event photography' and we were given a little business card for the opportunity to purchase the photo (which didn't work).

Here is the one with my camera:

OK, these displays were cute. Kind of dwarfed by the ballroom.

I waited in line for over 40 minutes to purchase our LE pins while the guys sipped punch and ate a sub-standard packaged crispy treat.

OK, we did like the ornament we received when we exited.

The nightmare was trying to get BACK on the monorail to go to EPCOT. There was one escalator up. I don't know if a huge convention just let out but it took over an hour to get on the monorail.

Nice view from the monorail:

"I TKsBaskets do solemnly swear to never hop to a resort for a member event and free ornament while dragging my very tolerant menfolk with me"

We quickly forgot any stress of the monorail with a quick ride on Spaceship Earth (#2). There was only a 20 minute wait!

Very cool close up!

Grumpy and Donald went to Mission Space twice with their FPs before we headed to our FAVORITE counter service meal at WDW. Shawarma Platters - served with side of Hummus, Tabouleh and a Tangierine Couscous Salad with fresh Moroccan bread at Tangierine Cafe in Morocco.

The air had cooled quite a bit now that the sun went down and I must admit I was COLD at dinner. After dinner we did a bit of pin shopping and then headed over to The Land to use our Soarin' FP. The ride itself is identical to the one at DL in California. The queue is a bit different.

After our soar we went over and walked onto Living with the Land which is a boat ride through green-houses and a fish farm. It was really hard to see much in the dark.

On our way out we couldn't resist our third ride on SE as it was a walk-on!

We arrived back at Wilderness Lodge at 10 pm. The guys went to the room and I headed to Roaring Forks for a Diet Coke and muffins for the morning.

Next up: New Years Eve at Disney's Hollywood Studios

 

[MeMom]

Soarin' is my #1 favorite ride in any park. I want a model of it in my backyard. When I got home from school, I could go out there and Soar away my tension.

Mickey and Minnie are cute in their Christmas attire.

We have not eaten at Tutto Italia or Via Napoli, but we'll get to them eventually. We're chipping away at the long list of WDW restaurants little by little, and we return to some favorites, too, of course.

 

[tksbaskets]

Soarin' is my #1 favorite ride in any park. I want a model of it in my backyard. When I got home from school, I could go out there and Soar away my tension.

Mickey and Minnie are cute in their Christmas attire.

We have not eaten at Tutto Italia or Via Napoli, but we'll get to them eventually. We're chipping away at the long list of WDW restaurants little by little, and we return to some favorites, too, of course.

We love Soarin' too. Can I join you after work in your backyard?? I am humming the music in my head right now going up over the mountains in my head....

There are many dining choices at WDW that's for sure. At EPCOT we haven't scratched the surface yet!

Thanks for reading and commenting.

 

[MsHershey]

TGM mentions that Soarin may cause motion sickness. Does your dh experience this from this ride? I have Meneires Disease which is a disease of the middle ear and I suffer with dizziness and vertigo. I sure don't want to ride anything at DW that may cause a flare up.

Loved this installment! Can't wait to read more.

 

[franandaj]

Your update about the crowds and the Merry Mixer is very We are going to Destination-D which is in the Contemporary Ballroom, but we have a one bedroom at BLT,and plan on fixing our own meals, and not leaving the resort during that time period. I can't imagine what it will be like when 1500 people leave the ballroom and try to board the monorail, or what the lines will look like at the CS restaurant. hope there is ground access to the ballroom.

 

[tksbaskets]

TGM mentions that Soarin may cause motion sickness. Does your dh experience this from this ride? I have Meneires Disease which is a disease of the middle ear and I suffer with dizziness and vertigo. I sure don't want to ride anything at DW that may cause a flare up.

Loved this installment! Can't wait to read more.

Hi, I don't think you'll have any issue with motion sickness on Soarin'. My DH and my sister both suffer from motion sickness and neither had ANY issue on Soarin'. It's more like a gentle swing as you glide through the air. NO abrupt jerks or changes in direction. Just confirmed with DH "tell her not to worry at all"

Your update about the crowds and the Merry Mixer is very We are going to Destination-D which is in the Contemporary Ballroom, but we have a one bedroom at BLT,and plan on fixing our own meals, and not leaving the resort during that time period. I can't imagine what it will be like when 1500 people leave the ballroom and try to board the monorail, or what the lines will look like at the CS restaurant. hope there is ground access to the ballroom.

If you are already at the Contemporary it will probably be worth your while to stop by. We were in the Fantasia Ballroom at the Contemporary for the MM. There are escalators up to the main floor and then as I recall we took another up to the monorail station.

If we had it to do over again I think I would have planned a day at MK where we could have walked from the Contemporary Resort to the park easily or planned dinner at Chef Mickey's so there would have been a dual purpose to our journey from EPCOT.

Thank you both for reading!

 

[deejdigsdis]

^^^ ADORABLE ^^^ Yes, I'm sure that is exactly how your boys would choose to be labeled. I can't believe how many great family shots you got.

And speaking of your boys...my boys could take a lesson from them, as far as wanting to hang out with mom at Disneyland goes. I decided to take my sister up on her offer and meet her at Disneyland for a few days before my AP expires next month. I planned to take DS8 and DS5 with me. DS8 told me he didn't want to go. Well, I have to take DS5 because I don't want my husband to have to take any days off from work this time. My older boys said to DS5 "Guess where you're going?!? DISNEYLAND!" DS5 was very excited, until they told him that it was just me and him going. Within 2 minutes he told me 7 TIMES "I don't want to go!!" He was on the verge of tears because he has to go to Disneyland with just mom. Thankfully he has warmed up to the idea and is starting to actually get excited. When DS8 said he didn't want to go, and then DS5 was on the verge of tears because he had to go, I seriously thought, "Why can't they react more like Grumpy and Donald?"

Back to your TR...it looked funny seeing you in short sleeves after being all bundled up. Glad it warmed up to a blistering 68 degrees for you!

 

[tksbaskets]

^^^ ADORABLE ^^^ Yes, I'm sure that is exactly how your boys would choose to be labeled. I can't believe how many great family shots you got.

And speaking of your boys...my boys could take a lesson from them, as far as wanting to hang out with mom at Disneyland goes. I decided to take my sister up on her offer and meet her at Disneyland for a few days before my AP expires next month. I planned to take DS8 and DS5 with me. DS8 told me he didn't want to go. Well, I have to take DS5 because I don't want my husband to have to take any days off from work this time. My older boys said to DS5 "Guess where you're going?!? DISNEYLAND!" DS5 was very excited, until they told him that it was just me and him going. Within 2 minutes he told me 7 TIMES "I don't want to go!!" He was on the verge of tears because he has to go to Disneyland with just mom. Thankfully he has warmed up to the idea and is starting to actually get excited. When DS8 said he didn't want to go, and then DS5 was on the verge of tears because he had to go, I seriously thought, "Why can't they react more like Grumpy and Donald?"

Back to your TR...it looked funny seeing you in short sleeves after being all bundled up. Glad it warmed up to a blistering 68 degrees for you!

Deej - that is one of my favorite photos from the entire trip!

Your DS8 doesn't want to go to DL with you??? When he's 20 like Donald and Grumpy he'll probably be saying "Mom, remember when I didn't want to go to Disneyland with you in 2011? I can't believe I was that silly. How did you put up with me??"

I must admit that Grumpy had a 'moment' before a trip to Disney a few years back. A bit of an eye roll and an attitude. I told him his cousin would be happy to take his spot because I wasn't taking any crank buckets to Disney. He quickly changed his toon and 'tude. I don't want you to think my guys don't have their moments too

On a positive note - TOO COOL that you are going to DL with your sister!! What fun to be able to spoil DS5 with a special trip (which you know he'll enjoy once he gets there). Tell him how much you are looking forward to doing all the things he wants to do.

FINALLY I'm going to be reporting on our last full day at WDW. Still in the same calendar year

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

WHAT?? you got the ornament???? We were told they weren't doing it this (well, 2010) year. So we went through the same stupid hassle without the "reward." All I got was a stinkin' Krispy treat.

Your meal at Tutto looks so yummy. Though bummer you didn't get to go to Via Napoli. I really want to try both!

 

[tksbaskets]

WHAT?? you got the ornament???? We were told they weren't doing it this (well, 2010) year. So we went through the same stupid hassle without the "reward." All I got was a stinkin' Krispy treat.

Your meal at Tutto looks so yummy. Though bummer you didn't get to go to Via Napoli. I really want to try both!

TOTAL BUMMER that you didn't get the ornament! I thought I was the only one who thought it was a hastle.

You should have seen my face when we checked into Tutto and I literally said 'where are the wood ovens?' to DH. He laughed and pointed across the courtyard to Via Napoli. Next time we are visiting WDW we will definitely be dining there!

 

[deejdigsdis]

Deej - that is one of my favorite photos from the entire trip!

Your DS8 doesn't want to go to DL with you??? When he's 20 like Donald and Grumpy he'll probably be saying "Mom, remember when I didn't want to go to Disneyland with you in 2011? I can't believe I was that silly. How did you put up with me??"

I know. He's acting like he's been there 50 times instead of just the one time.

I must admit that Grumpy had a 'moment' before a trip to Disney a few years back. A bit of an eye roll and an attitude. I told him his cousin would be happy to take his spot because I wasn't taking any crank buckets to Disney. He quickly changed his toon and 'tude. I don't want you to think my guys don't have their moments too

On a positive note - TOO COOL that you are going to DL with your sister!! What fun to be able to spoil DS5 with a special trip (which you know he'll enjoy once he gets there). Tell him how much you are looking forward to doing all the things he wants to do.

I am so excited about this! It will definitely be a different trip -- compared to the recent trip with DS11. I'm excited to let DS5 lead the way. He was 3 when we went as a whole family and the most adventurous he got was riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. He said he's looking forward to Space Mountain this time. We'll see. I remember having to get out of line because I was too scared to follow through. I think I was 9 or 10..

FINALLY I'm going to be reporting on our last full day at WDW. Still in the same calendar year

Can't wait for the next installment, but will be sad when it's all over.

 

[tksbaskets]

New Year's Eve at DHS
We rousted the troops at O-6 hundred and were at the gate by 7:30 am.

We were able to enter the park and go down Hollywood Boulevard to the rope in front of the big hat. Since we had a couple of minutes before our dash to...guess where...I took a few photos.

Yes, all these people behind DH and Donald are waiting for the rope drop too!

And they're off! Around the right side of the hat...you still with me?? Down the steps to Mickey Ave., take a quick left and behold - Pixar Place. Ah...heaven...

Notice the line on the right? That is the line to get your FP for TSM. Do this first

Don't you love the monkeys and green army men??

Holy smokes they are still coming! Luckily DH is in the FP distribution line that actually moves right along.

I waited for my sweetie across from the FP distribution and got to spend a little time with Woody.

Remember a while back I promised some pics of the queue for stand-by riders. Here they are!

I SOOOooo loved my viewfinder as a child. There are cells on these too. So detailed!

Another show of my men folk's tolerance:

Who didn't love the Barrel of Monkeys??

Seeing Mr. Potato Head means you are about to grab your 3-D glasses! You don't see him if you are using the FP return (but at that point you are happy to avoid the 90+ minute waits )

I was very happy to get a picture of him when he had his ear off. He couldn't hear us

Not to bore you with our TSM morning but we rode three times in a row using the stand-by line and by 10:15 had bagged our second set of FPs! A good day by our standards.

Grumpy came 'this close' to breaking the 300K mark!

Don't you wonder who in the world can get 400K? The day is only about an hour old at this point.

Next up: Donald, Grumpy, and DH are featured in the Backlot Tour~