T'was the Night Before Christmas, Not an OUTLAW in Sight!..Updated 2/13

[OhioTony]

So you told the outlaw's you were home!

Tony's Mom let it slip! We couldn't lie to her. Plus we ran into one of his aunts at the mall Christmas Eve!

did they hunt you all down?

They all had their shotguns and coon skin caps! It was terrifying!

I just found your trip report and am loving it! A lot of your vacation sounds like ours. We were in WDW Dec 14-21 with our two kids, 12 and 9. We took our children out of school four days before their vacation started. Like you, I was nervous about approaching the principals about it.

We also ran into the Epcot Dream Team and got the Dream Fast Passes! We spent our Epcot day going from ride to ride. We never did make it all the way around the World Showcase.

We went to MVMCP on Dec 20. I had read many reviews on the DIS about this event and decided that I would just have to go myself to decide whether or not it was worth it.


I hope your night at MVMCP was just as wonderful as ours! I would definitely do this event again. Please post more of your trip report! I am keeping the Disney spirit and excitement alive by reading your trip report!

Your trip does sound alot like ours!
How did your school react to pulling your kids for 4 days?
We had heard so many negatives about the Christmas Party and we were so nervous! You'll read our report coming up and we'll see if we match again!

Lynn

 

[OhioTony]

Okay , I’ve teased you long enough .

About 2:00 we made our way to the Monorail so that we could get to the Magic Kingdom early enough for a ride or two before our 4:00 ADR at Liberty Tree.
The Mono pulls up

and an older couple asks if they can ride up front. The driver said Sure. We have never gotten to do this so I ask if there is room enough for Brandon and Deavon. He said Sure! Then to top it off the couple asked if we would like to ride up front also since they had already done it before. We said Sure!

How nice of them! We got our little cards that said we were copilots and the view was fabulous! The driver was very friendly and never went off the track once!

We waited anxiously for the MK to come into view and then what to our wondering eyes did appear?

The beautiful castle

and eight million Christmas lights! Okay they weren’t turned on yet!

...and I couldn’t see them, but I knew they were there!

We went straight to Adventure Land and got on Jungle Cruise

with no wait, POTC with no wait and then to Liberty Tree by 3:45. We checked in and Brandon and I headed upstairs to freshen up. When I came back down Tony and Deavon were grinning ear to ear

with yet another SURPRISE! Our family was chosen to open the restaurant! At 4:00 We were walked up the stairs to the balcony . They had Deavon ringing a bell

and we all said “ Hear Ye Hear Ye Let Freedom Ring!” Then the CM introduced us to everyone and we went downstairs where the CM took a picture of us with all the Characters and gave is a certificate!

This was so cool! I couldn’t believe that we got DreamFastPasses, rode in the front of the Monorail and were chosen to open the Liberty Tree. This was turning out to be a perfect day!

The food at Liberty Tree was really good. We started with a salad and rolls:

Then all the other stuff:

Turkey, Roast Beef, Ham , Stuffing , mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese , green beans.
Minnie Mouse visited:

Then Chip and Dale:

Pluto:

I think the EPCOT margarita just kicked in!

Then they served warm apple cobbler with ice cream. Sorry we ate it all before a picture

but trust me it was delicious!

Our next installment will include MVMCP!
Will our perfect day continue into a perfect night?

 

[coles1mom]

Glad you found the Rose, maybe they'll order the cocoa for ya. What a great day you were having!

J

 

[Rozz]

Another installment, Hooray!!

I did not know the Liberty Tree had an opening ceremony. I love it! I am jealous that you got to meet Chip and Dale. They are favorite characters of mine.

About taking the children out of school a few days early; well, for my second grader, it was no issue at all. This was partly because of the grade she was in and partly because she has straight As.

For our sixth grader, we were referred to "The Office". I assumed they meant that we needed to speak directly with the Principal. We did and she said to check with all the teachers first and see if anyone had a problem with Alex missing the last few days. We also had to arrange for him to take his finals a week early. Alex makes straight As also-usually…

At first, we only got a response from one teacher. I e-mailed the others and got a response from everyone except his math teacher. I had to track her down in the classroom. This was three days before our departure. The teacher said, "Oh, no problem. I'll be out tomorrow but I'll have another teacher give him a study sheet so he can take his final Thursday." Poor Alex! He gets one evening to study for a final and cannot even go back to his teacher if he has a question about the study guide! Alex does well in math and had been keeping up pretty good so he did okay. Sheesh!

I’m not sure we’ll pull them out a little early next time but it sure did make for a more relaxing and pleasant vacation!!

 

[Pakey]

This perfect day has created quite the trip buildup; I hope the rest of the vacation maintains this level. We have never ridden in the front of the monorail. That is great. And how cute that Deavon got to open LTT. I've been there when others got to do it but nope, never happened for us.

It must be the t-shirt Tony refused to wear. I'd be hanging onto that one for next trip!

 

[winkers]

I loved the food at LTT!

 

[Trentmom]

Great update!!!

Sorry, but that is funny you ran into one of your aunts at the mall..hope they were not too upset


Thanks for the outlaw update, you are so funny


That is great you all got to ride in the front of the monorail. That is so muc fun

How cool you got to open up Liberty Tree Tavern too. That was one of our fav meals on our last trip..

great Liberty Tree Tavern Pic

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Thanks for the update! Sounds like a perfect day at WDW - hope the trend continues! I didn't know about the opening ceremony at LTT - sounds like fun (we've never actually eaten there). Please continue....

 

[OhioTony]

Glad you found the Rose, maybe they'll order the cocoa for ya. What a great day you were having!

J

Tequila cocoa has now become my mission in life! I WILL FIND IT!

Another installment, Hooray!!

I’m not sure we’ll pull them out a little early next time but it sure did make for a more relaxing and pleasant vacation!!

Exactly my sentiments! Our trip was great, but I will never pull them out of school again. It just created too much tension before and after the trip.

This perfect day has created quite the trip buildup; I hope the rest of the vacation maintains this level. We have never ridden in the front of the monorail. That is great. And how cute that Deavon got to open LTT. I've been there when others got to do it but nope, never happened for us.

It must be the t-shirt Tony refused to wear. I'd be hanging onto that one for next trip!

Chip and Dale are Deavon's favs too!
I'm not sure that the shirt would look as festive in September, which is when we usually go.

I loved the food at LTT!

We really like the food too! Everyone says how it is just Stouffers but HEY it tastes good and I didn't have to prepare it so I think it is AWESOME!

Great update!!!

Sorry, but that is funny you ran into one of your aunts at the mall..hope they were not too upset


Thanks for the outlaw update, you are so funny


That is great you all got to ride in the front of the monorail. That is so muc fun

How cool you got to open up Liberty Tree Tavern too. That was one of our fav meals on our last trip..

great Liberty Tree Tavern Pic

Well we weren't exactly laughing when we saw her at the mall. We tried to hide in one of the clothing racks but think that is what drew her attention to us!

Thanks for the update! Sounds like a perfect day at WDW - hope the trend continues! I didn't know about the opening ceremony at LTT - sounds like fun (we've never actually eaten there). Please continue....

Next update: MVMCP! I hope you have a big box of popcorn cause it's a long one!

 

[Trentmom]

T




Well we weren't exactly laughing when we saw her at the mall. We tried to hide in one of the clothing racks but think that is what drew her attention to us!



Next update: MVMCP! I hope you have a big box of popcorn cause it's a long one!

Yeah, that might have done it


Will be waiting for your next update.....Can;t wait to see and hear all about MVMCP

 

[mrsksomeday]

YAY!! I am finally caught up, but for some reason your pictures are just red X's for me. I can't wait to read more .

 

[OhioTony]

YAY!! I am finally caught up, but for some reason your pictures are just red X's for me. I can't wait to read more .

The Dis is updating their photo server so I guess that's why the pictures are Xs. I sure hope they fix it soon!

 

[mrsksomeday]

The Dis is updating their photo server so I guess that's why the pictures are Xs. I sure hope they fix it soon!

I can see the pictures now . Great pictures, I love your sense of humor, I can't wait to read more!!

 

[OhioTony]

Let’s get this party started!!!! MVMCP that is.
After our wonderful dinner at Liberty Tree it was time to snag a spot to watch the castle show and lighting. We didn’t leave LTT until almost 5:30 so we thought we would be S.O.L. on finding a good spot.

WRONG. There was plenty of space

really close. We waited anxiously . Tony had cheated and watched the video online already

but I didn’t . I wanted it to be new and magical. Guess what? It WAS new and magical! It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

I could have sat there all night and just looked at the castle but Tony and the kids insisted on doing more than that!

The ceremony was over around 6:00 and we headed to the Haunted Mansion

to check out the refurb. There was a 20 minute wait posted but you guessed it…we were in in less than 10. We loved this ride before but it is superb now! While we were on the ride, it stopped a couple of times, once for quite a while.

When we came out, the attraction was closed due to a technical malfunction. Whew, that was close!
After HM we headed to Tomorrow land . We knew that we wanted to do the 7:00 Twas the Night Before Christmas

so it just made sense. Space Mountain

had no wait so off we went! This attraction is such a classic I think we will love it even 40 years from now!
After SM it was time to line up for the show but I knew the kids would lose it if we made them wait in a line for 30 minutes. So I waited and got seats while Tony, Brandon, and Deavon went to Buzz.

They joined me just as it was getting full and I was feeling bad for saving 3 seats.
This show was adorable and the animated character heads really are amazing!

The show was about 20 minutes and then Brandon insisted on doing Stitch.

Stitch is his favorite so we couldn’t say no (even if we REALLY wanted to).

After Stitch it was off to Frontierland. Splash Mountain

is Tony’s favorite so we lined up for no wait. Everything was clean and fresh and working right after the refurb. Man you really get wet now!
We love to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

at night so we did…2 times in a row with now wait!
Even though we were still stuffed from our dinner at LTT

we had to have cookies and cocoa. We paid over $200 for our tickets but we came no where near that in cookies and cocoa as planned. We each only had 1!
We thought the castle area would be jam packed for Christmas Wishes but once again WRONG! We had a great spot and the display was amazing!

We wanted to get something for Tony’s Mom so we went to Main Street Emporium to look. When she goes on vacation she usually gets us t-shirts from where she has been. Now , I don’t know about you , but I really don’t want a t-shirt from somewhere I have never been . But I am led to believe that if she thinks we would like a t-shirt from her vacation destination, then maybe she would like a t-shirt from ours. So I picked out a MVMCP t-shirt just for her! I also picked out a MVMCP ornament for our tree. We collect ornaments so this one was perfect!

I also chose a gift for Tony, a coffee mug with Walt & Mickey!
After our shopping it was time to find a spot for the parade. We thought Main Street would be wall-to-wall but WRONG! Things were really going our way this whole day! We got a spot right behind a trash can in the edge of the street so that no one would get in front of us . Our view was perfect! The snow on Main Street was a nice touch especially since it was 70 degrees outside.

By this time it was after 11:00 and we had done everything we wanted and then some. We decided to head back to the resort. The bus was quick and we were asleep by midnight.

Day 3 up next and was it ever SWEET!

 

[scottny]

Hi,
followed you over from Monica's thread and your report is great. Love the pics and the video of FQ.
Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[Poohtigeey]

Nice updates. (Except the missing pics) Glad to find some else who loved the party. Your trip sounds very magical so far. Was your party the 13th or the 14th? Was it sold out?

We avoided "that" side of the family on Christmas, but got the update. Both BIL and SIL aren't working (they have 3 girls) so they'll be kicked out of their 3rd home very soon. We'll be with the other group of "oultlaws" tommorrow. Unfortunately I can't call them inlaws because they're my side of the family!

Happy New Year!

 

[winkers]

Looks like you had a great time!

 

[Pakey]

Hey Lynn. I'm almost thinking of not speaking to you anymore because I'm sooooo jealous that you got to see that castle with the lights on it. Seriously, it's breaking my heart that I was supposed to go in Dec and then had to change to Jan and will miss those lights. Next year, again we are going in Jan and will miss them. I just don't know what to do!!!!

When we went to MVMCP two years ago, the crowds were thin and we had great seats for everything and no lines on rides. It was so much fun that I do not want to go again for fear that we'll never have a time like that. Glad to hear that you had that same great experience.

Don't tell anyone, but I like the Stitch ride also. Your son and I are two against the world. Everyone in my family hates it so I've never even told them that I like it. I didn't like the original because it was touted to be scary but was lame so this version is known to be lame and is so I'm not disappointed!!!!!

I'll be waiting for the sweetness in the next update. I like all things sweet.

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Nice update Lynn - love all the pictures. We too had a great experience at MVMCP - can't wait to go back next year (hopefully).

Hmmm - something sweet tomorrow.....

 

[OhioTony]

Hi,
followed you over from Monica's thread and your report is great. Love the pics and the video of FQ.
Looking forward to hearing more.

Ahh, a Monica follower are ya? Well, just to let you know, I'm nothing like her.....I am not crafty...I bought our t-shirts...When my kids were little , I bought autograph books....I didn't make my window clings ( I bought them!) You may call it lazy. I call it craft challenged!

Nice updates. (Except the missing pics) Glad to find some else who loved the party. Your trip sounds very magical so far. Was your party the 13th or the 14th? Was it sold out?

We avoided "that" side of the family on Christmas, but got the update. Both BIL and SIL aren't working (they have 3 girls) so they'll be kicked out of their 3rd home very soon. We'll be with the other group of "oultlaws" tommorrow. Unfortunately I can't call them inlaws because they're my side of the family!

Happy New Year!

Our party was on the 13th and they were still selling tickets for it at the gate when we arrived. It really wasn't crowded at all.
I think (hope) the missing pictures have something to do with the server change?
Outlaws in your own family are the worst! Not that he is an outlaw....but I have a 55 yr old brother who hasn't had a steady job in 25 yrs. He moved to Virginia about 11 yrs ago when he used up all his resources here.Well guess what? Their generosity has run out as well ( and they are very generous in the south!) so now he is considering coming "home". And he will need a "place to stay until he gets settled"

Looks like you had a great time!

That was the best day of my life!!! Pretty pathetic huh?

Hey Lynn. I'm almost thinking of not speaking to you anymore because I'm sooooo jealous that you got to see that castle with the lights on it. Seriously, it's breaking my heart that I was supposed to go in Dec and then had to change to Jan and will miss those lights. Next year, again we are going in Jan and will miss them. I just don't know what to do!!!!

When we went to MVMCP two years ago, the crowds were thin and we had great seats for everything and no lines on rides. It was so much fun that I do not want to go again for fear that we'll never have a time like that. Glad to hear that you had that same great experience.

Don't tell anyone, but I like the Stitch ride also. Your son and I are two against the world. Everyone in my family hates it so I've never even told them that I like it. I didn't like the original because it was touted to be scary but was lame so this version is known to be lame and is so I'm not disappointed!!!!!

I'll be waiting for the sweetness in the next update. I like all things sweet.

you don't really mean it do you? How else will I find out about disgusting food manufacturing practices that no longer allow me to enjoy my most favorite Christmas cookie?

Nice update Lynn - love all the pictures. We too had a great experience at MVMCP - can't wait to go back next year (hopefully).

Hmmm - something sweet tomorrow.....

No fair!!! I don't get to go back next year.
Next year is Mine and Tony's 20th anniversary and we are going on a cruise! Cruising is our 2nd favorite vacation! Maybe I'll even run into GP!