And the money shot! Lol. We wound up waiting 50 minutes. Also, spoiler alert: I read my notes wrong. The posted wait time for this was 40 minutes at 4:20. We were off the ride at 5:15.
Okay guys, that's the end of my 2 hours. Tomorrow, hopefully, we'll finish up our day at Hollywood Studios. My morning is filled with gross Dr. appts. Mammogram and teeth cleaning. Blech. Then I'll get started on housecleaning. One of my daughter's friends is going to come over for a couple hours each day this week to help me out. Have any of y'all heard of the FlyLady system? That's what I use. But since I have these 10 days off I decided I'd do EVERYTHING on the list all in 1 week! Okay, DH has dinner ready. I'm back on keto. Today is day number 5. I'm proud of myself for making it 5 whole days. I'm down 6 pounds too! After dinner, I've got to work in my planner. Do any of y'all use a planner? I use Plum Paper planner. This year I chose their ultimate financial planner. Maybe I'll stop spending all my money at Disney.
Alrighty, let our 2 hours begin! Did I mention I was supposed to be on a cruise? Instead I spent the morning getting my tata's checked, picking up cleaning supplies from Wal Mart, getting my teeth cleaned (2 cavities ), and deep cleaning my hallways and hall closets. I'd rather be on a cruise. So how bout we spend a couple hours pretending we're at Disney instead?
12/3: But that's not all folks!
Farewell Batuu! We exited to Muppets Courtyard and headed for a bathroom break.
The Muppets aren't my favorite. (No, I'm not communist. I am a good American citizen!!!) So therefore, I'd never noticed the sign above the restrooms. Hilarious!
Anyhoo....we made it over to RnR.
We got in line at 5:35 and HERE the CM had a sign with the wait time posted as 50 minutes. By this time, they had begun the holiday projections on Tower of Terror. I took several pictures from the RnR line.
But back to the ride at hand. We made it into the room with the digital posters. Did you know they track your info and put it into those posters? For instance, 1 said, "1 night only December 3 Kirstyn in concert in Weathorford." I thought it was kinda odd that they were advertising a concert for that EXACT night. And I couldn't figure out who Kirstyn was. I'd never heard of her. But pretty ingenius to advertise up and coming artists. And I was racking my brain to come up with where Weatherford was. I mean, we have a Weatherford, Tx. But, nobody's going to do a concert there when Ft. Worth is so close by. Turns out, the group behind us was from Weatherford and they had a Kirstyn in their group! Our wait acutally ended up being 65 minutes. In fact, they were having issues with the ride. The initial ride laundh was misfiring, so it was causing EVERY limo to stop just before the end of the ride and slow roll into the stop. I guess they figured it was close enough to the end of the night, better to just run it as is than shut it down early. Anyway, here are some more pics of the ToT Holiday projections from Sunset Blvd.
Acutally, I think that one was from the RnR line.
TThere we go. We had gotten off RnR at 6:44. The park closed at 7. And we had somewhere to be! But first, shopping.
One last look! We moseyed through the shops. Lauren needed a magic band. Of course! This is the second magic band I've had to buy her while in Disney because she conveniently "forgot" hers at home. I mean, what did she really need a magic band for on this trip anyway? We were off property. No FP+. It really was just that hard for her to keep up with her little plastic ticket for each morning. I swear, I have not turned this child into a princess at all. I also looked in the stores for some stocking stuffers for the boys. I may have picked them up some socks. I don't remember now. We left the park at 7:20.
But THAT'S NOT ALL FOLKS!!!!
We were in line for the Skyliner at 7:24. The line wrapped all the way back to the busses. We were headed for my birthday dinner an 8:15 reservation at ....Beaches and Cream!!! Lauren was convinced we could finish off the Kitchen Sink just the two of us. (Yes, my Type 1 diabetic daughter wanted to conquer the Kitchen Sink with just 2 people. . I mean, at least she had insulin to cover her. But what about me? I can see the headline now, Mother dies of diabetic coma on her 46th birthday attempting to eat Disney's Kitchen Sink!) The line for the Skyliner was crazy long.There was some poor family with a T.I.R.E.D. kid. I'd forgotten how loud kids could scream when they had had.enough. The wait was only 15 minutes and off we went.Arrived at CBR at 7:42 and immediately boarded for Epcot. We got off at the IG at 8 and headed towards Beach Club.
Where It All Went Wrong: We made it to Beach Club. But for the life of me I couldn't figure out where to turn (in the dark) to go to Beaches and Cream. I checked a map and we needed to walk just a little further. Well, that little further turned into us walking all the way to Yacht Club. I was getting really frustrated. We walked all the way back to the lobby of the Beach Club and I asked at Guest services. They got me where I needed to be. And guess what time we arrived? 8:15! I hate uncertainty. So between the wrong turns from the morning and this experience. I was NOT a happy camper. But all that was about to change!
We were seated right away and Brian was our waiter. Now, I've read enough TR and am a member of enough Disney FB groups that name rang a bell. I asked him if he knew he was famous. He looked shocked. (And maybe a little creeped out.) But sure enough, I posted in a couple of my FB groups that I had Brian as my server at Beaches and Cream for my birthday dinner and lots of people chimed in saying he was their favorite!
Again with the light fixtures. I was obsessed with them on this trip
Lauren was the unimaginative one that got the Cheeseburger and fries. She said it was good. Okay. But MY DINNER. Holy cow! This meal was HEAVEN. Okay, not as good as the frozen nitro cake pop from the Food and Wine festival back in September. But, it definitely took my frown and turned it upside down! I really wanted the No Way Jose for dessert. But, Lauren...
I did talk her down to just the Mickey's Souvenir kitchen sink. This is bigger than the one they used to offer at the Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street. We struggled to finish even this one. And they don't rinse it out for you anymore due to Covid. So bless Brian's heart, he got us a paper bag to put it in. And with that we waddled out of Beaches and Cream at 9:20.
We made it back to the lobby at Beach Club and I ordered a Lyft. Lauren was done in. But the lobby here was beautiful. Classical Christmas music was playing. And I took a few pics around the lobby.
I love the starfish on this tree.
Look at the ship's steering wheel as the centerpiece.
Pretty.
We were back in our room by 9:55. I ordered up some more towels from Bell services since we used all of our last night. We just suffered through the whole trip with the non draining shower. I'm sure they would have fixed it and moved us. But honestly, we were going non stop and who wants to mess with that once you've gotten everything unpacked and situated.
Here are a few pics from our shopping:
They were offering this tote for $15 with any purchase. I don't know why I bought it. it's sitting crumpled in the bottom of my closet. It did come in handy for the trip home!
There's my Golden Mickey. I knew I took a pic of it! Its sitting in my office now.
And the socks I bought the boys.
And oh my goodness! Yes! This!
Hands down the BEST purchase I've made at Disney EVER. It was $79.99. So yes, it was crazy expensive. I wondered if I had lost my mind. But people...if you have the chance to purchase this on ShopDisney, DO IT. This thing is SOOOO warm and snuggly. I wear it on average of twice a week. And it is sooooo warm. It was 28* here this morning and I wore this to all of my Dr.s appt with NO COAT.
Alright? Can y'all believe it? We FINALLY made it to the end of our FIRST park day!
Good Morning peeps! Well, not really its 7:48 here in Texas. But, in our trip report it is 6 am in Florida on December 4th! AND.....we're headed for Magic Kingdom!! But before we could get there...things went wrong. Well, not really wrong. Unless your spoiled like me. It took forever for the water in the shower to warm up. Therefore, I got a cold shower. I do not like cold showers. (One of the you tubers that I watch for my FlyLady cleaning..Diane in Denmark...anyway, she goes Winter Bathing every morning!)
The advantage to a cold shower is, you're not going to be late to the park because you spent too long in the shower!!! Lauren was also suffering from some shin splints this morning and starting to get some blisters on her feet. But, being the prepared Disney expert that I am (the one who made it to the airport without a DL) had moleskin! We were ready for the day.
The elevator doors at The B Resort were wrapped in this scene from Galaxy's Edge. I mean, this may not be a Disney hotel, but this beats the elevator doors at Pop.
Another random picture of lobby decorations. These shelves are decorated for Christmas. And Hannukah.
I ordered a Lyft at 7:25 to the Contemporary. Once inside I made a mobile order for the Contempo Cafe. This drop off was seamless. They did ask at the guard station why we were there. I showed her our mobile order and she let us right in.
One of the gift shops at the Contemporary all ready for Christmas. We walked right up to the Contempo Cafe and they had our order ready. Such a difference from our morning the day before.
Lauren got a pastry and water. I had my second coffee of the day. Lauren decided that this trip should really be called "The One Where Mom Drank Coffee". I mean, she's not wrong. I did drink a TON of coffee on this trip. But in my defense, I probably drink about a total of a pot of coffee a day. I don't think that's excessive.
I wanted to walk to Magic Kingdom, but Lauren wanted to save her shins so we opted for the monorail instead.
We got a car all to ourselves.
We didn't stop at the Polynesian so this was our next stop. When we passed the Wedding Pavilion, we tried to decide which of my kids should get married there. (My oldest 2 boys are in long term committed relationships. The oldest is planning on probably summer '22. Although he hasn't popped the question yet. And the other one...Lord help us. They've been dating 3 years and he's only 18.) Of course, now Lauren is all wrapped up in a boy too. But I don't have "get married at Disney" kind of money!
Isn't that fantastic? At the time, I told Lauren, "Wouldn't it be really great to stay there someday?" (Mmhmm.)
On another note, we saw the walking bridge down. The one they just opened so now you can walk from Grand Floridian to MK. It does look like it would be quite the walk. But, I've been in that line at night for the monorail, so maybe.
And at 8:22 Voila
Okay, I'm going to leave y'all here. But tomorrow....tomorrow we leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy!
I'm baaaaaack. Boy, I thought with a full 10 days off spending 2 hours a day updating would be easy! Was I wrong! And this deep cleaning the house is for the dogs! Today, I might've been cleaning out the fireplace and humming right along pretending I was Cinderella. I got to the last little bit and thought, let me just suck this up with the shop vac. Turned on the shop vac and was sucking up the fine little dust. Finally pulled my head out of the fireplace only to realize, I hadn't put a bag on the shop vac. Did I mention we have an open layout house? I might've been stressed. But then Pete gave a nice little rant on the cancellation of DME and I felt a hundred percent better.
12/3: Walkin Right Down the Middle of Main Street USA
We made it into the park at 8:20.
I love these light poles.
Christmas on Main Street! This was Lauren's first time seeing the new paint job on the castle. She HATED it. It did take me a little to warm up to it. But I like that its a slightly different color/vibrancy depending on how the light is hitting it.
How's that for low crowds? We were headed straight for:
You guessed it! 7DMT! We waited 35 minutes and were off at 8:58.
I of course, passed the time taking pictures in line. see the lanterns? And notice these are different than the ones in the MMRR line.
I mean, they didn't really HAVE to put the little cottage back there in its full form. But they did!
Of course, we still can't touch the pretty baubles.
When we got off Fantasyland was still pretty empty.
We did stop by the Tangled restrooms. I mean, who doesn't stop here even if they don't have to use the bathroom? Also, they have the little USB ports and outlets here if you ever need a place to stop and charge your phone. I used it during my August 2019 20 Years of Dreams trip. It was a nice relaxing little spot even though it was hot and you were surrounded by a ton of people.
We were walking through to Frontierland to ride Splash.
It amazed me that there were just pockets of the park where you would run into this...
At this point it was about 9, so the park had just officially opened.
I'm not sure the early settlers had it wrong. At least this way you knew where they were and somebody always had their eye on them!
Such a sad, sad sight. But I hope its back and as beautiful as ever for the 50th!
When is the last time you saw a wait time like this for Splash? It took us forever just to walk the queue. We didn't stop until we reached Brer Frog. All in all it took us about 15 minutes before we were off to the Laughin Place. There was no million dollar bunny on this go round. (If you're not familiar with the million dollar bunny and you like Disney trivia google Splash mountain million dollar bunny. I find that sort of thing fascinating.) We were off at 9:40. The end of the line for BTMRR was just at the exit. Do you see Brer Bear in the picture above? Yep right about there. The posted wait time by the CM was 40 minutes. But this line too was moving fast and I didn't get a chance for a lot of pictures.
See? Not the same lighting as 7DMT or MMRR even though they're technically all trains!
And here's one of the light fixtures in the interior of the queue.
This reminds me of Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Its so flat out here in West Texas sometimes I feel like I can see clear there from my front porch. Our wait actually ended up being 20 minutes.
Where it all went wrong: Unfortunately, on the last curve just before you pull into the station I lost my silver Mickey ring. I was waving like an idiot to bystanders and it just flew right off my hand. My daughter and I turned in our car as it sailed over our heads and watched it slip right between the tracks. I bought that ring on a trip in 2012 at Disney Springs. (Then Downtown Disney) at the jewelry store next to Arribas Bros. I don't remember what I paid for it. Maybe $35? I'd say I got my wear out of it. And at least it chose an appropriate resting place. Also, I'm sure I could've continued to check with Lost and Found and perhaps they would've recovered it at some point. But really, half the swarovski crystals were missing out of it and it had served its time.
We were off the ride at 10:03. At this point, Lauren's blood sugar was dropping. (She ahs a pump that warns her.) But she wanted to ride Pirate's before stopping for food.
Due to the social distancing guidelines this line was long. Usually, we either ride this first thing in the morning, late at night, or with a FP. Lauren kept saying, " I don't think we've ever been in this part before. Is it new?" Lol. We got in line at 10:07 and the wait time was posted as 40 minutes.
Lauren was over selfies with mom by this point in the trip.
The line here moved at almost the perfect pace. You were really able to enjoy all of the scenes in the queue without feeling like you were just standing around forever. With the lighting it is hard to get good pictures in here. They sent us to the right at the loading dock. I've never loaded from the right in here! Only the left. The wait was only 25 minutes. We were sat in the first row and that was quite the treat! I was able to see more details and felt more immersed in the storyline.
About a month before this trip, Disney had really started cracking down on mask compliance and eating and drinking in line. So being the good little rule followers that we are, we decided on a refillable popcorn bucket and found ourselves and little socially distanced spot between Jungle Cruise and Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.
We've never done the refillable popcorn buckets before, but this little guy sure was cute! We had a choice between this one, and a white Christmas Tree with Mickey. We were very happy with our choice.
Here's a little view from our snacking place! The line for jungle cruise was passing right in front of us. It extended all the way back past the entrance to swiss Family Tree house. Lauren and I took our time relaxing and eating popcorn.
Where it all went wrong: The people in this line!!!!! it wasn't just someone here or there popping their mask off for a quick drink. No, it was complete family after complete family eating Dole Whips, asking the kids which snack they wanted from the backpack and eating it. I mean, it was a parade of picnickers! What happened to Disney doubling down on mask compliance? I had just gotten over Covid (a VERY mild case) a week before. So this really irritated me. Even though I was probably the safest person there due to antibodies. But to me, its more about respect than risk. And I was irritated.
Anyway, once we were done with OUR little snack we went to find the end of the line. And boy was it back there. I said something to the CM about all the picnickers and she just laughed and said, "Oh, I don't doubt it."
But we could follow the rules! Regardless of what anyone else chose to do!
We got in line at 11:06 and it was a posted 40 minute wait.
Watch out! He spits! But does he spit now?
I LOVE the Christmas overlay for Jingle Cruise! And here you see 2 DIFFERENT types of lanterns!
I mean, you may be stranded in the jungle, but that's no excuse to NOT decorate for Christmas! ...
12/4: Trader Sam's Christmas special. 2 of his head for 1 of yours.
We waited 45 minutes before we could sail off into the mist.
Definitely USPS drivers.
Wonder if one of those packages was my order from Vera Bradley that never came?
I had never ridden this version of the Jungle Cruise. I found it quite funny. But I love puns. So take that under advisement. It was 1203 when we got of Jingle Cruise. We had a 1 pm lunch reservation outside the park. But we wanted to do just a little shopping on the way out. Of course we ducked into The Emporium.
Where it all went wrong: We were just looking for a new pair of ears. We found some. And then confusion ensued. I wanted the MMRR ears, but there was no price. The ears were positioned close to the check out. There was a CM behind the desk who wasn't with anyone at the time. So I asked how much the ears were. She told me and began to ring us up. Well, apparently that was NOT to be done. There wa a family waiting in line to be checked out. THEY were next. (Of course, they were. I honestly wasn;t trying to cut in line. I didn't see the family there and just needed a price check.) So this other CM was the one who YELLED at the CM ringing us up and then turned to us and said, "Ypu need to get in the back of the line." I was embarrased. I apologized to both CMs and the waiting family (who, Bless their hearts didn't seem to ruffled by me cutting.)
So we took our ears and went in search for the end of the line. The way they had it laid out in there was very confusing because there's merchandise EVERYWHERE. So it was hard to figure out who was in line and who was just looking at merchandise. We finally found the end of the line, only to discover it was actually the front of the line and the people that we cut off had been the ONLY ones is line! So the rude CM approaches and says, "I'll ring you up now." She takes our ears from me and I follow her to the cash register. She starts ringing them up and says, "This will be cash correct?" I say, "No ma'am. I'm using a giftcard." She literally huffs and rolls her eyes and says, "You should have told me that in the beginning. this register only take cash. You'll have to wait for someone else to check you out."
Ummmm....okay lady. And why don't you go get some lunch because you're honestly hangry. Furthermore, if you're over this job, I get it. I couldn't do what you do. But ummm...there are 28,000 other CMs who would kill to be in your shoes right now.
Luckily for us, there was another CM who had just finished a transaction and was available to check us out.
As we exited The Emporium we ran across the Princess at the Train Station.
We waited for them to leave and then we left MK for the morning. We went to the resort launch to catch a ferry to Wilderness Lodge. We had a reservation for Whispering Canyon Cafe! We got to the launch at 12:23 and had to wait a bit for a ferry. There was already a small group waiting. They had various dots all spaced out for your party to wait on.
We had a little bit of time waiting on the ferry. So here are our ears:
These were $35. They were an impulse buy. I mean, I had been looking at them since the September trip, but now, I don't really know how I feel about them.
Lauren on the other hand was very happy with her ears!
The ferry came at 12:23 and they loaded one party at a time. They asked us to move from our original seats so they could accomodate a family with an ECV. I didn't mind moving. Except.....
They were playing beautiful jazz Christmas music. It was sunny and in the 70's, but seated a couple rows behind me were these three couples, spread out between a few benches. Within this group was a man. And he insisted on yelling in a super high pitched voice. For no reason other than to just hear himself talk. And of course, he wasn't wearing a mask. In fact, he was so loud, I couldn't hear the Christmas music. But I could sure hear every word he had to say OVER the roar of the ferry engines! We arrived at Wilderness Lodge at 12:50. But I'm going to leave the tale of our lunch for tomorrow.
We're here! At my favorite resort! Oh, how I want to stay here someday. We arrived at the Wilderness Lodge dock at 12:50. We took our time walking into the Lobby.
Tell me that is not just the most amazing sight?
Okay guys just kidding. My computer is acting up and won't upload the photos to the site. Give me a pass tonight? Sorry.
Well, my original plan for this day had been to mosey around and get to the airport late, around 1:30 for our 3 pm flight. However, due to our little issue... I figured we should be there by noon. I had texted my friend who had lost his DL at Disney a few years before. His consolation, "Well, at least you won't have to get a colonoscopy this year. Don't worry," he said, "TSA is VERY thorough." Thanks.
Lauren got up and got ready for her online class. I got up and got dressed so I wouldn't be wandering around the hotel room in an undesirable state during her video class. (That's all I need...a federal charge on transmitting porn.) View attachment 544013
Appropriately dressed.(Can you believe I got this whole outfit at the Disney store on clearance this summer for less than $50?) While Lauren did her class, I did my hair and makeup. I wanted to be ready for my appointment with TSA. View attachment 544014
I was going to leave no doubt that I was going where I said I was going!
Lauren's class got out a little early. We decided to make a quick Target run on the way to the airport. Lauren had packed so quickly that there were a few things she needed as well. (Hairspray, snacks for the plane, etc.) View attachment 544016
As long as we were at Target might as well get our caffiene on! If Lauren were going to title this trip report she would have called it, The one where Mom drinks all the coffee. Lol. Its true. I needed my wakeup coffee, my arrived at the park coffee, my midmorning coffee, my afternoon coffee, and sometimes my after dinner coffee. Depending. You know.
So with all our essentials in tow, we headed towards the airport. Would we make it? Would I make the flight? How up close and personal would TSA get?
I'll give you a little spoiler alert: View attachment 544019
I DID NOT get pulled over and sent to county lock up on the way to the airport for driving without a license! And if you happened by this spot on the afternoon of 12/2, yes, that was my silver Nissan Rogue. Lol.
Okay, for reals, gotta go now. There are peeps waiting on me to keep them breathing. You know, the little things in life.
Come back for another installment of The One Where It All Went Wrong: Will I stay or Will I go?
We finished lunch at 1:50. I needed to run over to AoA to pick up some stuff for a friend in Chicago. Lauren opted to stay in Galaxy's Edge. Let me tell you, this mid afternoon Skyliner experience was pretty impressive. View attachment 549322
I was on the Skyliner by 2pm. 7 minutes later we arrived at the CBR station. Got off and walked right on to the AoA line.
It was 2:08 as we soared through the sky and away from CBR. 2 minutes later we were coming in for a landing at the AoA/Pop Skyliner station. (Also kudos to you, if you realized I cheated and took both of the above pictures at the AoA station! ) I've never been to AoA before. Not to stay, not to visit. I haven't even walked over to eat at Landscape of Flavors the numerous times I've stayed at Pop. Or taken an AoA bus back after a long day and walked back to Pop. This was my FIRST TIME!
I really like this theming. In fact, I had forgotten about the Nemo rooms! I don't like the pictures of the Cars suites or Lion King suites I've seen on line. Too busy. My kids first trip was in the All Star Music Family Suites. I like Pop better than ASMU, but at the time, that was the most affordable for a family of 6.
Did anyone else grow up with the Disney Store? I was in highschool when the first one came close to us in Dallas. I LOVED that store. I LOVED how the theming was and I LOVED going and staring at the movie cells for sale. This wall in the lobby took me back to those days.
I just think this is so fabulous. I loved the art classes. I miss them being at DHS. If you read my trip report from September, you know I had the chance to do it at AK. In fact, my husband never remembers doing that class when it was back at DHS. Anyway, if they ever start those classes back at AoA, it is definitely a reason to take a day and do a Skyliner crawl.
I bought a mug and pen for my friend and then made the walk back to the Skyliner station.
So what do y'all think about the Big Blue pool? When they first announced you could hear under water I was super excited. Of course, years have gone by and now, I'm not so sure its a reason to stay here. Spoiler: I've already booked my stay for the 50th. I chose Pop. But I'm thinking about changing. It will be a solo trip. How many of you would switch to AoA ? How many would choose CBR or CSR? How many would stay at Pop?
Here's a view of Pop from the Skyliner station. There was a restroom at the station, so I stopped in. If I was going to get Covid on this trip, it would've been at this bathroom. Or maybe an STD. (If you're under 18 skip that last sentence.) Needless to say, it is NOT in the same echelon as the Tangled restrooms, or the Norway restrooms in Epcot.
I boarded the Skyliner at 2:35. Switched cars at CBR for the DHS line. Took off from CBR at 2:41 and landed at 2:45.
This was my view walking back into the park at 2:50. EMPTY. The lack of crowds at times absolutely amazed me.
Anyway, in an hour, I had made the round trip to AoA made a couple of purchases and made my way back. It was a nice little break from the park. And absolutely NOTHING went wrong!
I love AoA. We stayed in the Nemo rooms and they are so colorful, but not as assaulting on the eyes as Cars or Lion King. The Big Blue Pool was so much fun and it was spacious to where everyone could spread out. I also loved the good court. There were some really good choices so you weren't eating the same thing all the time. When my brain thinks Disney, my heart thinks AoA.
This is the hallway on the back side of the resort. Down by Artist Pointe etc. So this is NOT the grand front entrance which is just so breathtaking.
Decked out for Christmas, but this picture is actually about the little ironwork hummingbird overlays on the fixture.
This is such a fantastic picture (composition not quality) First, the Christmas Tree...grand, well lit, and gorgeous. Secondly, the light fixtures..those are teepees folks! Teepees! as lights! And finally, those gorgeous faux wooden posts and beams.
Honestly, I'm not sure there is a better spot in all of MK, excluding walking down Main Street to the castle. The only complaint I have is that this doesn't actually put off heat. (I mean honestly though, could you imagine if it did? Trying to sit in front of this thing at 3 pm on any day in August? )
Here is a closeup of the different ornaments on the Christmas Tree. I do love these resort Christmas Trees and how they are unique to the resort. The one at Animal Kingdom Lodge is fabulous.
As you can see we had a few minutes before we were called for our table. Lauren went to the restroom and applied some more biofreeze to her shins. We had a few minutes to sit in front of that awesome fireplace. Our table was ready at 1:30. My phone was nearly dead so I had to turn it off and save the battery. But Lauren took a few photos for us.
I have 5 more pictures from our lunch which is too many for this post so I'll give those 5 pictures there own post.
You may have heard of the antics at Whispering Canyon Cafe. Due to Covid some of those aren't occuring. But the waitstaff do their best to give a little attitude and spice up your meal.
This is a picture of the restaurant. It opens up to the lobby as you can see. It is much more spaced out than it was previously. This was our first time to eat here. It has been on my list for a long time. I would love to come back when ALL the shenanigans were in full play. But it was pretty funny. For instance, the family behind us, one member asked for a refill. I don't know if it was his second or third. Anyway, she brought out a FULL gallon size mason jug. Their kid dropped his spoon so she brought out this HUGE spoon that was probably the same size as this 4 year olds arm.
We placed our orders.
As you can see, Lauren was once again boring. I think she got like a BLT or something.
But here's what we actually came here for:
An All you can eat skillet. This was all BBQ, Pulled pork, ribs, chicken. The only thing not so great about this meal, was I could've eaten a whole rack of those ribs. But they were V.E.R.Y. S.L.O.W. to bring them out. So I think I only got one extra helping of the ribs. That kinda disappointed me. I'm pretty sure that we also ordered a chocolate cake as dessert? Or maybe a cobbler? I'm pretty sure we split it whatever it was. Also, we were joined for lunch by a very special guest.
Introducing Lieutenant Kernel! Isn't he just adorable? Anyway we paid our bill and waddled out of the restaurant to the front of the resort where we ordered a Lyft. (I'm really bad about using the terms Uber/Lyft interchangeably. Most of the time on this trip we actually used Lyft. Just know anytime you see this reference, we ordered a car.)
If you've never been to/stayed at Wilderness Lodge, this is the port cochere that greets you. Those doors are huge! Our Lyft arrived in about 5 minutes. Today we were headed back to the hotel for a midday break.
Where it all went wrong: Remember the missing DL? Well, I had DH overnight my passport to me so I wouldn't have any issue getting back home. I had confirmed the resort and everything with DH upon arrival (Wednesday) and he had mailed it out the day before (Thurday). So I checked in at the front desk to see if it had arrived. And the lady behind the desk let me know, that if he had mailed it USPS they didn't deliver to the resort and she would need to send a staff member to pick it up from the post office. I was sure he had sent it Fed Ex (because honestly, who uses USPS to overnight something THAT important DURING the holidays?) So I gave David a call on the way up to the room. Nope, he had sent it USPS. . I called down to the front desk (spoke with a different person) and let them know that I should have a package containing my passport waiting for me at the post office.
That taken care of, I laid down for a short winter's nap! It was about 3 in the afternoon and we set the alarm for 5. We were ready to go by 5:15. Now this time I did make the mistake of ordering our Lyft from the room. For whatever, reason the elevator took FOREVER so the Lyft arrived to the lobby before we did. (Literally, I confirmed the ride as the hotel door shut behind us.) Anyway, we were off for a beautiful night at the Magic Kingdom.
The Lyft dropped us at the TTC (an ad for nurses for Orlando Health came on as we pulled up to the drop off area. Mickey is calling me!) We were on the monorail by 5:40. We did stop for a little photo shoot on the way in.
I'm telling you...that sweatshirt spirit jersey was THE BEST DISNEY PUCHASE I HAVE EVER MADE.
Just a close up of the wreath that hangs of MS. Main Street was crazy packed. People were waiting for the castle lighting and the holiday overlays to begin. We got in line at Starbucks at 5:52. The Clarabelle Cow calvacade was coming down Main Street. The line at Main Street Bakery/ Starbucks was moving pretty quickly. We ordered at 6:05 and had our coffee in hand by 6:10. We made our way over to the bridge that leads to Tomorrowland and just sat back and soaked up the atmosphere.
I like the old Tomorrowland sign better. But I do like this area all lit up at night. The funny part about this little bench, one ear hears the hub Christmas music and the other hears the synthesized Tomorrowland music! Looking the other direction from this picture we could see the castle. So we did get to see the little flourish of fireworks and the first holiday overlay projection. We finished up about 6:25 then stopped by the restroom. Now, I want y'all to know how proud I am of myself. I am a plan it out minute by minute, stick to the Touring Plans app kinda gal. Wear a diaper, insert a catheter, LET'S GO kinda person. But, do ya'll see how relaxed I've been this trip? Taking my time, soaking in the surroundings. See? We CAN change!
This was our destination. We were in line at 6:30.There was a posted 40 minute wait. My phone does not like low light so I didn't take any pictures in the queue. But we only waited 20 minutes!
Doesn't this fixture look very futuristic? We were off the ride by 6:50. I was definitely feeling this ride. I was in the last seat of the last car. I first rode this with my dad when I was 8. Definitely a different experience at 46. I texted my Dad to let him know I appreciated his sacrifice to ride this with me. He reminded me that he rode it again at 62 with my kids back in 2012.
We were in line for Buzz by 6:55 and there was no CM at the end of this line. The wait time was posted at 30 minutes.
I tried to snap a quick picture of the castle while we were in line for Buzz.
We only waited 20 minutes. Lauren controlled the spinner. I say that's why she won! (Her score: 274,000. My score: 31,000) I might need some work! We were off at 7:21
Does anybody else sing this in their head just to cheer themselves up? I do, all the time. I also sing One Little Spark from Figment. He's my favorite. After Mickey Mouse, of course!
Anyway, we headed right for Carousel of Progress. There was no wait! No most of you are like, "Duh." But with Covid...there have been waits! Seriously!
Isn't it great how they paired each of these scenes with a different season? And I find myself quoting this attraction a lot!
I think this is my favorite scene. When my husband and I moved into our first parsonage. They had a refrigerator similiar to this one in there. I LOVED it. Unfortunately, they did not and the deacons INSISTED on replacing it. I'm sure they were right. The wiring alone on it probably would've burned the parsonage down. But the nostalgia!
This scene still amuses me. But it also irks me because its ooooold. All of this technology has come to pass. However, its already pretty jarring to jump from "the rat race" scene to this one. So, I'm not really sure how well an update to this attraction would work.
We were off at 7:41 and cut through the castle hub stopping for a mini photo shoot.
We made it over to Haunted Mansion at 7:55. It was a posted 10 minute wait, but we walked right on. (Hence, no pictures.) From there, we went over to Splash. It had a posted 20 minute wait, but again we walked right one.
We went straight from Splash to BTMRR. The posted wait was 25 minutes. We waited 3, by the time we stopped walking. The park closed at 9 on this night. So when we got off of BTMRR we practically RAN to 7DMT. The line went all the way back to the entrance of Storybook Circus. It was a posted 65 minute wait. It was 8:49 when we got in line. I did commit a big faux pas. And I'm not sure I'm sorry. Lauren needed to go to the bathroom so I help our spot in line while she went. I know, you should have your whole party in line with you when you get in line. Here was my thinking (and y'all can call me out below) she was 1 person. So whether she was with me or not we were going to take up the same amount of time in line. Now if we had been a party of 3, that wouldn't be true. Or if this had been the line for Space Mountain. See what I'm saying? She took a couple of pics once she rejoined me.
The cottage at night. We only waited 35 minutes. And I spent the time in line texting with my charge nurse Tammy....considering a possible February Trip!!!
It was 9:25 when we got off and began making our way to the exit.
I just find the detail required to create this amazing.
These holiday overlays are just really so much fun.
We really had quite the night! if you think about it, we didn't get in line for our first ride until 6:30. Between 6:30 and park close at 9 pm we rode: SM, Buzz, CoP, HM, Splash, BTMRR, and 7DMT. That's 7 attractions in 2.5 hours, and 5 of those were headliners. All without FP. Pretty impressive!
I am loving your trip report! I am also a super planner that has always used TP or my own plans to maximize our trips. We just went over Thanksgiving and I LOVED having no FP or true plans (other than ADRs, which were all wonderful!) It really made the trip different and special (and more relaxing!)
We couldn't leave without getting pictures in front of the train station!
By now, it was 10 pm. The park had been closed for an hour. Our only transportation option at this point was a buss back to the TTC. Who wants to end such a magical day on a bus??? So, we walked to the Contemporary. (And guess what? I didn't make any wrong turns! ) We arrived at the Contemporary at 10:12 and ordered an uber. We were back to our hotel by 1035. We both took showers. There was plenty of hot water and we didn't have any problems with the bathroom flooding. By 11:15 we were tucked in our beds with visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads.
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), 
. I mean, at least she had insulin to cover her. But what about me? I can see the headline now, Mother dies of diabetic coma on her 46th birthday attempting to eat Disney's Kitchen Sink!) The line for the Skyliner was crazy long.There was some poor family with a T.I.R.E.D. kid. I'd forgotten how loud kids could scream when they had had.enough. The wait was only 15 minutes and off we went.Arrived at CBR at 7:42 and immediately boarded for Epcot. We got off at the IG at 8 and headed towards Beach Club. 
I do not like cold showers. (One of the you tubers that I watch for my FlyLady cleaning..Diane in Denmark...anyway, she goes Winter Bathing every morning!) 
I figured we should be there by noon. I had texted my friend who had lost his DL at Disney a few years before. His consolation, "Well, at least you won't have to get a colonoscopy this year. Don't worry," he said, "TSA is VERY thorough." 
Or maybe an STD. (If you're under 18 skip that last sentence.) Needless to say, it is NOT in the same echelon as the Tangled restrooms, or the Norway restrooms in Epcot. 
Their kid dropped his spoon so she brought out this HUGE spoon that was probably the same size as this 4 year olds arm. 
. I called down to the front desk (spoke with a different person) and let them know that I should have a package containing my passport waiting for me at the post office. 
