The End of our Chunky Year of Disney! Dec 2017 TR - NEW 3/21 THE END of our YEAR OF DISNEY

[chunkymonkey]

The End of our Year of Disney!
December 14-19th 2017
WDW Dolphin

Hi Everyone! This is a quick trip report from our most recent trip Dec 14-19. It was our 7th and final trip this year (our 8th using our Annual Passes), and even though I haven’t written TRs for every trip yet (currently writing our August Family TR, October cruise TR, and will soon start our Sept and Nov WDW trips) – I really wanted to preserve the memory of this vacation while still fresh by writing a very quick trip report. We did not do MVMCP – we did Star Wars Galactic Nights instead which we really enjoyed. It was also my husband, Steve’s birthday and he said instead of MVMCP he’d rather do a nice meal instead so we did Morimoto Asia for their omakase dinner. It was fantastic and I highly recommend it!

Intros:

​

I’m Su-Lynn aka Chunkymonkey – I’m 41 years old and a Disney fanatic! I’ve been to WDW and DLR countless times and even TDL when I was younger. I love Epcot and food/eating, my favorite resort is the Polynesian, and favorite restaurants are Tiffins and 'Ohana. My favorite rides are 7DMT, Soarin’, TSMM, BTMRR, the Peoplemover, and Flight of Passage! I’m not really a roller coaster nor ToT girl but I do like RnRC! I’ve written many trip reports on the DISBoards so please feel free to look at them (links in signature) to get an idea of how into Disney I am, haha.

My DH is Steve aka Chubbyhubby, he’s 42 and loves Star Wars and Toy Story Mania, haha. In fact, his goal was to beat my high score all trip. He came close but to no avail. Bua-ha-ha. He doesn’t quite love Disney as much as I do but I think I might have changed his mind a bit, you’ll see. He has a green thumb, especially with hydroponics, so he also loves going on Living With the Land. He used to like the Poly the most but after staying at the Boardwalk he just loves the convenience to both DHS and Epcot so I think that is his favorite resort now. He also enjoys Tiffin's and 'Ohana but will eat just about anything it seems.

This is a different format than what I normally do with trip reports - I’ll post each day as a “story” followed by pictures. It’s just quicker to write that way and I can bang this TR out really fast! Hope you enjoy!!
​

Table of Contents:

• Dec 14th - Arrival Day and Dismeets​
• Dec 15th - A Day Long Remembered...​
• More Photopass Pics from Day 1 and 2​
• Dec 16th - Morning at Epcot​
• Dec 16th - Star Wars Galactic Nights Part 1 ​
• Dec 16th - Star Wars Galactic Nights Part 2​
• Dec 17th - Not so Magic Kingdom​
• Dec 18th - Steve's Birthday​
• Dec 19th - The Last Day and Reflections on our Year of Disney​

 

[chunkymonkey]

Dec 14th: Arrival and Dismeets

We flew down super early from Newark to Orlando. We did this flight in October and it did seem better back then. We were both recovering from bad colds on this trip so I think we just felt super tired in general and the early flight did not help. After collecting our luggage took an uber to the Dolphin where we were staying 5 nights on SPG points. Our room wasn’t ready so we dropped our stuff with bell services and headed to Epcot. It was a gorgeous day, when we left NY there was 2 inches of snow on the ground with a wintery-mix and it was 28 degrees. Today in Orlando it was 71 degrees and sunny. ​

We saw Cruella de Ville upon entering from the World Showcase – she was awesome! I had on a striped shirt but said spots were the new “it” pattern. We found some stuff to eat around the world so we ate and walked around. There was not much we could ride as everything had a pretty decent wait time. By then I got a text that our room was ready so we headed back so I could just grab a quick shower and rest before our early dinner at 50’s Prime Time. Our room was quite large for Disney standards. We had a huge entry area and lots of drawer and closet space. We were upgraded to a resort view so we could see the boats and the river, it was really pretty but I don’t normally spend a lot of time looking out of our hotel rooms.

After a much needed shower and maybe only 20 minutes of rest we headed out to DHS. We skipped our first FP which was for Indiana Jones but we got to do Star Tours – they had just added the new scenes from The Last Jedi and even though at that point we did not see the movie yet, it didn’t really give anything away, just showed the planet of Crait a bit more plus a look into the new Galaxy’s Edge. It was pretty cool!

After Star Tours we went to check in at 50’s Prime Time for our ADR – we got a really cute seat with the TV and we were instructed to “set our table.” Steve got a margarita to drink and I got iced tea. His margarita was pretty good! I like a salty rim. I ate the sampler platter which is what I always get here, love how you get a tasting of the best items on the menu: pot roast, meatloaf and fried chicken. Steve stuck with just the fried chicken platter. I managed to eat my entire plate plus a wing from Steve’s plate. What can I say; I live up to being “chunkymonkey”.

After dinner we had some time before our Toy Story FP so we walked around. We ran into a DVC booth and Steve “for the first time in forever” looked at the brochure and then we start chatting with the guy there. We were intrigued with the 3 free fast passes you get just for going on the tour so before you knew it, we were booked for the next morning at 9am. They would pick us up from the Dolphin and then drop us of later at any park or resort we choose. Note the FPs you get are obviously not useable for the most popular rides: anything in Pandora, Peter Pan, Frozen Ever After, but it was valid on other great rides like Soarin’ Test Track, Toy Story, Space Mountain, Rock n Roller Coaster, Thunder Mountain etc.

We stood on line to get pictures with Woody and Buzz. It was a long line but we had our Pizza Planet shirts on. Then we used our FP for Toy Story, where I beat my personal record and also beat DH! (I got 230k)

We caught the last showing of the Frozen Sing-a-long with the new holiday ending. The new ending was cute, they should probably leave it in just for a change. We also had the Fantasmic! Dessert and viewing package so we headed to the theater. We caught the holiday projections on the Tower of Terror which I thought was really cool. It’s called Sunset Season’s Greetings. It also snows on Sunset blvd!

At Fantasmic we went through the FP entrance and checked in to get our drinks and dessert box. We each got a light up lanyard and light up mug in which we got blue margaritas. You can also opt for a non alcoholic drink which looks like kool aid. The margaritas were a bright blue and weren’t as good as the one at dinner and were more like Blue Hawaiians. Still it was included so we drank them. The dessert box was fun. Lots of snacks: corn chips, cheese, chocolate covered strawberries, a cupcake, trail mix, some sort of other colorful desserts which I can’t really describe. They were all very sweet so I appreciated the cheese and chips as I’m much more of a salty food person lately.

Fantasmic! was great as usual and after that we left the park and headed back to the Dolphin. We got back at around 9:30pm and we were all so tired since we hadn’t rested since 3:30am that morning. Steve promptly passed out once he hit the bed, but I had a Dismeet I was very excited about! At around 10:30pm I headed downstairs to Phins which is the new bar in the lobby of the Dolphin. There I met up with @Raeven and her bf Josh who were having dinner at Shula’s, as well as @amalone and her DH Zack who had just arrived for their weekend trip to WDW! It was so great seeing Raeven and Josh again and meeting Alyssa and her DH for the first time. I really enjoy meeting my DISBoard friends! We got a drink from the bar, and @amalone kindly offered us these drink vouchers that they got when they were here for their wedding! Thanks guys! We had a great time chatting, and I gave everyone some candy and a holiday card my sister had made. I was in a festive mood and wanted to share!​

By the end of the night I was exhausted since I had been up for so long but I had a great day and couldn’t’ wait for the next! Here’s pictures from today:

From Coco:

View from the Dolphin:

(sorry I had to make Steve get off the bed for this picture so the pillows are not fluffed correctly haha)​

50's Prime Time:

Construction at Galaxy's Edge:

Waiting for Buzz and Woody:

Frozen Singalong Holiday ending:

Hollywood Movie Magic:

Sunset Seasons Greetings projections on ToT:

Fantasmic Dessert Viewing:

DISMeet with @Raeven and @amalone1013 at Phins Bar at the Dolphin:

​

 

[chunkymonkey]

Dec 15th: A Day Long Remembered…

Today we woke up a little later than I expected but that was because we got barely any sleep the night before and were just playing catch up. In fact, I felt like that the whole trip since I was still on medication. Yawn. So we tried to get downstairs as early as we could so that we could make it to the DVC van pick up. We were about 10 minutes late but luckily they wait for you as long as they can and soon we were on our way to Saratoga Spring’s DVC center!​

The center is very pretty, and they had a nice continental breakfast spread so we got some food and coffees – pretty soon we were shown in to meet with our representative, a very nice guy named Mark. To make a long story short…we knew a little bit about DVC, me more so since I do all the “renting” of points. But we asked some questions, we discussed all the different options available, we toured the model units (a Poly studio, an Aulani 1BR, and a Copper Creek studio) and sat and talked numbers.

By the time we ended the meeting 2 hours later we are now the proud owners of a new DVC contract at the Polynesian!!!!

Steve turns to me and says “Merry Christmas.”

O.M.G. Best Present Ever!

I’m so excited, I’m still pinching myself!! I never in a million years thought that Steve would agree to purchase DVC, I’ve often talked about it but he was always adamant that he didn’t want a timeshare, whether it is Disney or not, and that he’d rather spend the money on an actual vacation home (preferably in Hawaii, although that will be a long time from now). I don’t know what actually convinced him to pull the trigger but I’m thinking the 7 trips this year either scared him as to the amount we spent or he finally saw the light about going to Disney like, all the time, hahaha. You have to understand that Steve is pretty thrifty, and I’m the one that likes to spend (on Disney, haha). He also does not like things that are too complicated to plan so he was not too keen on the point system, but maybe Mark had explained it better than I ever did. Whatever the reason, I’ll take it!!

Currently the only resorts that Disney is actually selling new contracts for are Polynesian and Copper Creek Villas. Copper Creek looks gorgeous but we selected the Poly for a few reasons: Biggest studios on property, 2 split bathrooms, monorail (although unreliable at times), and slightly cheaper maintenance due to higher taxes on CCV. Note that the contract you buy is for your “home” resort which allows you to make reservations 11 months out, all other resorts are 7 months out. Steve was relieved that just because you purchase at the Poly we didn’t have to use the points at the Poly (which cost more points per night). We can use the points on other DVC resorts like AKV and the Boardwalk which Steve LOVES – although only at 7 months out. I know our use year starts in December, so that means every December we get another set of points for the next 12 months after that. They have already given us 100 points for this December and we didn’t have to pay any maintenance for it either which is nice. We have until the middle of 2018 to either book a vacation or to bank them for the next year (2018-2019). Steve is thinking he wants to save them all for when Star Wars Land opens!

I’m still trying to learn everything that I can as a new DVC owner so if you already own DVC and have any tips for me, please share them! I’ve already purchased the discounted annual passes for us (Platinum Plus Aps for 25% off!) although we’re not sure when we will be using them in 2018 yet.

So it seems like our year of Disney has turned into almost 50 years of Disney
(although not quite as many trips per year!)



OK so back to the TR…since our “meeting” took so long, we had missed some FPs that I had made for early in the day, so in addition to our 3 anytime FPs for us (just for taking the tour), we got another FP for Star Tours which is the FP we missed, available to use today only. The anytime FPs were good for another 4 days at any park. Oh did you know that at the end of the DVC meeting you are taken to their ice cream parlor? It’s so funny that they have their own ice cream parlor. We each got a scoop of ice cream while waiting for our ride. We also got new DVC owner buttons which we didn’t end up wearing.

After rounds of congratulations by other DVC staff, we were whisked off in a DVC van to DHS. We went to use our FP for Toy Story (I had made this prior to our trip) and then used up our Star Tours FP that we got from DVC. On Toy Story I again beat Steve! This never happens! He’s usually beating me all the time! ​

We had a snack of a charcuterie platter and beer at Baseline Tap House, which is a really nice venue at DHS I just wish they had more food options. Right now it’s mainly snacks. Our platter was good and hit the spot, and the beer we got had a passion-fruit flavor that was yummy.

Since we were still carrying around the giant DVC tote bag they gave us with all the information, we decided to head back to the Dolphin and drop the stuff before heading to Epcot. As we exited DHS they handed out The Last Jedi pins so we got some. We hopped on a ferry to the Dolphin, dropped our stuff, picked up some clothes for that evening and were on a friendship boat to Epcot for the late afternoon. We were going to eat around the world but I realized I was not that hungry and didn’t want to spoil my appetite before our omakase dinner at Morimoto so we just got a tamale thing from the Feast of the Three Kings booth. It was not bad but wish it had more filling as the outside part was a bit bland.

We also got to do something that we’ve never done before…go to the DVC Member Lounge in Epcot for the first time!!! We had to show them our membership number on our phones and we headed upstairs. It’s so interesting to be up here. There are a few coke machines, a k-cup machine, and there is a snack cart which comes around. It was pretty crowded in there but we got seats and were able to charge our phones which was nice. We got some chips and sodas/water and hung out there for a little while before heading out. We had made another FP+ for Spaceship Earth so we got to do that and LWTL before we headed out of the park to Disney Springs. I changed into my “Star Wars” attire and we caught a bus to Disney Springs. We had a bit of time before dinner so we did some shopping and we took some hilarious photopass pictures.

At 7pm we arrived at Morimoto, we were escorted upstairs to the sushi bar and we sat in front of Chef Alex who would be taking care of us that evening. Our dinner was delicious. It combined sushi with cooked dishes, a bit like kaiseki, and the cooked foods were warm and comforting for the slightly chilly evening. It was a great dinner, which lasted about 2 hours. We had an hour to kill before our 10pm The Last Jedi showing so we headed to the Christmas Tree Trail which was really fun. We were going to get our free Disney Springs tote bags by filling out the on line survey but we had gone to the Guest Services desk instead of in World of Disney and didn’t want to walk back so we decided to try again when we’d be back in Disney Springs on Monday.

Finally we headed into the AMC at Disney Springs for The Last Jedi. We sat in the dine-in theater although we didn’t eat anything since we were so full from dinner. So I will say the movie is great, without giving anything anyways. I really liked it but Steve is on the fence. I thought it was different and I am a Rian Johnson fan so I liked the way he chose to film certain scenes whereas Steve thought some scenes were unnecessary. So I guess the movie is polarizing in views which is definitely what I’ve heard from my friends as well. J

Here’s pictures from today:

I really wanted a fancy handbag for Christmas but I got a tote bag instead!

I love it!! Best "handbag" ever!!

New home:

Baseline Tap House Charcuterie:

Outside DHS:

Rockin' The Last Jedi Pin:

Tamale at Epcot:

Inside the DVC Member Lounge:

Living with the Land:

Our future:

Morimoto Omakase:

Sake sampler:

Sashimi Salad:

Giant clam stew:

Various Sushi (I'm not posting all the sushi we got just a few):

A-1 Wagyu dumplings:

Seafood "hotpot":

Bibimbap and roasted tuna collar:

Dessert - Pear torte and pastry creme dipping sauce:

Christmas Tree Trail:

The Last Jedi:

What a great day!
​

 

[xlsm]

jumping in to hold my spot!! I will go back and read later tonight I have a LOT of catching up to do on everything after we get back from our trip. This week ends my Disney year too We head to WDW the day after tomorrow!

 

[Raeven]

Following along! I’ll also have to come back later, and comment because it’s hard to on my phone. But it’s awesome you’re DVC owners now and I had so much fun at our Disneet! I guess our year of Disney just turned into another year since I renewed my AP hopefully we’ll see you there again!

 

[Bizzie71c]

Awesome start to your trip. I would love to do more than one trip a year!!

Yay for being DVC members.

Love reading your reviews. Can’t wait to follow along. We are heading back home in 40 Days

 

[Lesley Wake]

By the time we ended the meeting 2 hours later we are now the proud owners of a new DVC contract at the Polynesian!!!!

Steve turns to me and says “Merry Christmas.”

Best Present Ever!​

So it seems like our year of Disney has turned into almost 50 years of Disney
(although not quite as many trips per year!)

Yay! You know, every time I saw your trip reports I always thought - why aren't they DVC members yet? And I don't know why, but Poly just seems to fit you guys more than CCV! I think because you've written about your visits there so I can picture you guys! I'd love to buy into DVC, but I think my mom would kill me if I got that before getting out of her house!

Maybe we'll overlap on trips next year? I'd love to have a dismeet!

 

[annie170]

Congrats on being DVC members! That's so awesome! And why does your hair always look perfect!?

 

[Raeven]

but I had a Dismeet I was very excited about!

At around 10:30pm I headed downstairs to Phins which is the new bar in the lobby of the Dolphin. There I met up with @Raeven and her bf Josh who were having dinner at Shula’s, as well as @amalone and her DH Zack who had just arrived for their weekend trip to WDW! It was so great seeing Raeven and Josh again and meeting Alyssa and her DH for the first time. I really enjoy meeting my DISBoard friends!

Yes it was so good to see you both! I had a lot of fun.

We got a drink from the bar, and @amalone kindly offered us these drink vouchers that they got when they were here for their wedding! Thanks guys!

Yes thank you again @amalone1013!

I really like those cups!

By the time we ended the meeting 2 hours later we are now the proud owners of a new DVC contract at the Polynesian!!!!

Steve turns to me and says “Merry Christmas.”

Best Present Ever!
​

So it seems like our year of Disney has turned into almost 50 years of Disney
(although not quite as many trips per year!)

​

Woohoo 50 years of Disney

Baseline Tap House Charcuterie:

I like how impressed you look with that beer.

I had this too! And I agree not a lot of filling.

 

[chunkymonkey]

jumping in to hold my spot!! I will go back and read later tonight I have a LOT of catching up to do on everything after we get back from our trip. This week ends my Disney year too We head to WDW the day after tomorrow!

Have a magical trip! I am looking forward to the pictures and Happy New Year!!

Following along! I’ll also have to come back later, and comment because it’s hard to on my phone. But it’s awesome you’re DVC owners now and I had so much fun at our Disneet! I guess our year of Disney just turned into another year since I renewed my AP hopefully we’ll see you there again!

Yay! I know - can't believe we are DVC owners now. Seems like a dream come true! I hope we get to see each other again! I'm sure we will over the next 50 years or so (which is how long our contract is for, LOL). We bought new APs at the discounted DVC rate we just have to use them before 2018 is over, so yes at some point in 2018 we will make it down there, although Steve doesn't want to go back right away.

Awesome start to your trip. I would love to do more than one trip a year!!

Yay for being DVC members.

Love reading your reviews. Can’t wait to follow along. We are heading back home in 40 Days

Thank you so much!! I never did more than one trip a year until 2016 when we did two and then this year we did 7, I can't believe how crazy we were. Our DVC points only really allow us about a week or so each year depending on what resort and what times we go so we probably won't be doing 7 trips again!
Thanks for reading and have a MAGICAL time! I've always wanted to go in January/early Feb as I've heard the weather is great and crowds are low!!

Yay! You know, every time I saw your trip reports I always thought - why aren't they DVC members yet? And I don't know why, but Poly just seems to fit you guys more than CCV! I think because you've written about your visits there so I can picture you guys! I'd love to buy into DVC, but I think my mom would kill me if I got that before getting out of her house!

Maybe we'll overlap on trips next year? I'd love to have a dismeet!

I know right? I've been asking Steve all the time why aren't we DVC members yet and all our friends keep asking but Steve probably just wanted to really make sure he was doing the right thing. Our DVC representative was really helpful and helped put his worries at ease. They are really great salespeople, hahaha.
I know, we LOVE the Poly, just wish it wasn't so expensive to stay there. I am not even sure we can stay there on our DVC points because it literally costs so many points per night that we can't spend as much time at Disney. The cheapest is AKL so Steve really wants to stay there as our trips could then strech out longer than a week but the cheapest rooms are usually always booked up.

Tell you mom you are staying with her to save up to buy DVC, haha! Disney is your second home anyways, hehe.

I hope we do overlap! Either WDW or in DLR. I really want to make a trip out west!

Congrats on being DVC members! That's so awesome! And why does your hair always look perfect!?

Thank you so much!! LOL
Oh have you seen my August TR? My hair was a wreck I spent most of the time with it up. It was so humid that no amount of manipulation of my hair worked.
The weather in Dec was much nicer! So my hair actually stayed somewhat sane but it got a little wiry after it got warmer at the end of our trip! But thank you, you are too kind!

 

[Lesley Wake]

I hope we do overlap! Either WDW or in DLR. I really want to make a trip out west!

YEEESS! I always love it when I can have a dismeet close to home!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Congratulations and welcome home!! There are several DVC member special events - painting class in Cali Grill, special wine/beer/cocktail tastings in Top of the World lounge, behind the scenes Soarin tour, the moonlight magic events etc. I never seem to see the announcements so I find checking the boards here and another site (not sure I can mention name here) to be very helpful in keeping up with things like these special events as well as general news like the change in trash service just announced. When I didn’t live within driving distance, I found the Owners Locker to be very helpful. I’m sure you guys will make great use of membership!!

Yours is the second review of Omakase at Morimoto I’ve read recently. It looks amazing!!

I’m with Steve and on the fence about the Last Jedi.
Oh and back to your intro, “I like Epcot and eating.” Me too, me too.

 

[shannie102]

So excited that you joined DVC, WOOT WOOT!! Sounds like an awesome way to end a year of Disney-- with the promise of 50 more, love it!!

 

[stitch'sgirl]

Welcome Home Chunky Family!! Best Christmas present ever.

 

[dizneeat]

I am here! Just securing my spot, now going back to read .........

 

[ONUAtrain]

Congrats on DVC! I'd love to do it someday, wish it made more sense for DCL. I think it'll happen....just not sure when haha

 

[chunkymonkey]

YEEESS! I always love it when I can have a dismeet close to home!

Cool!! I'll definitely let you know if we go out to Cali!! If not, we have 50 years to make this happen at some Disney property somewhere! LOL!!

Congratulations and welcome home!! There are several DVC member special events - painting class in Cali Grill, special wine/beer/cocktail tastings in Top of the World lounge, behind the scenes Soarin tour, the moonlight magic events etc. I never seem to see the announcements so I find checking the boards here and another site (not sure I can mention name here) to be very helpful in keeping up with things like these special events as well as general news like the change in trash service just announced. When I didn’t live within driving distance, I found the Owners Locker to be very helpful. I’m sure you guys will make great use of membership!

Thank you so much! I'm so excited! I have been looking at the DVC website. The Moonlight Magic is definitely an awesome perk. I really really really want to go to the ones in Sept for DHS since Toy Story Land will hopefully be open. I'm already trying to plan a trip around it (although if I don't get tickets to it, I'd be sad).
Thanks for the tip on Owner's locker! I probably should have done that this year. I had no idea we would have so many trips. We kept adding more as the year went on, LOL.

Yours is the second review of Omakase at Morimoto I’ve read recently. It looks amazing!!

It's really is very good I highly recommend it. I actually would do this again over Victoria and Albert's as then we don't have to dress up and Steve doesn't like wearing a suit on vacation!

I’m with Steve and on the fence about the Last Jedi.

So many people are! It's actually very interesting to see the different reactions to the movie!

Oh and back to your intro, “I like Epcot and eating.” Me too, me too.

It's like, my favorite part of every trip! Food first, rides second, hahaha.

So excited that you joined DVC, WOOT WOOT!! Sounds like an awesome way to end a year of Disney-- with the promise of 50 more, love it!!

Thank you!! It's a dream come true!

Welcome Home Chunky Family!! Best Christmas present ever.

Thank you!!! It is the BEST present ever!!

I am here! Just securing my spot, now going back to read .........

Hi Karin!! Happy Holidays!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Congrats on DVC! I'd love to do it someday, wish it made more sense for DCL. I think it'll happen....just not sure when haha

Thank you!! I wish it were more useful for DCL too. I haven't done the math myself but people say it's not a good value to use it for cruises. But I can understand for those with families how it helps offset the cost of the cruise, and if you needed to use your points anyways...
I'm sure I won't have the issue of trying to use up points. If anything, I need MORE points, hahaha. So excited!!

 

[franandaj]

Signing on! Will be back to read!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Sharing some Photopass Pictures from our first 2 days which I finally downloaded. I really dislike the Photopass online website! It's so annoying. I hope they are fixing it and making it easier for people to sort and download pictures!

At Epcot:

From the Photobooth at Boardwalk (lighting is terrible!):

At DHS:

From the next day at Epcot, before heading to The Last Jedi:

Funny Disney Springs Photopass Studio pictures:

​