We Wish You a Mickey Christmas... A Dec. '14 TR! Updated 8/24
- Thread starter Missyrose
- Start date
Bethislucy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2009
Joining in. Your nephew is so cute, I got to take my oldest nephew when he was 4 and hands down best Disney trip I have ever been on.
Missyrose
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2009
Thank you so much! We're so happy to finally get to show you guys what we've been working on! There's a spot on the right side of the homepage of the blog where you can enter your e-mail if you'd like an alert when new posts go up.
Thanks!
I don't think I've ever posted, but I love your TRs! Your pictures just make me feel like I'm there!
And your pics of SDMT are amazing - I tried so hard to capture what you did and failed miserably
Thank you!
You're not late, you're right on time! The Christmas decor was so incredibly pretty, much more than I ever expected!
This was such a fun age to take him, he was so interactive with everyone (and everything) around him!
Pixel Dust
It's a trap!
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2012
Thank you for following along! I am using a Nikon D600 and most of them with the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens.
Missyrose
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2009
Welcome back! We last left off with a first ride on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and a big meet and greet with Arendelle royalty.
We wanted to get Tanner on a tamer ride next, just so he could experience something a little more low-key. Little Mermaid would do. As we were about to walk into the queue Tanner asked: “Is this a roller coaster?” We promised him it wasn’t, and he believed us.
Maybe this is why people argue Disney should have at least camouflaged the ceiling a little bit on this attraction.
Tanner was enthralled. He kept waving at all the characters as he went by.
He was less of a fan of the Ursula section, it was a bit dark for him.
We came out of the attraction and took a moment to regroup. We had time to kill before our Main Street Electrical FP+ reservations opened, so we headed toward Storybook Circus. Dumbo’s wait was about 20 minutes, but Tanner was looking awfully sleepy in his stroller. Lala and Keith decided it had been a long day and they were going to take him back to the resort so he could get some sleep. They headed back and Franklin and I went in search of a place to hang out for a bit. We found it at Cheshire Cat Cafe. It felt really good to put my feet up and just flip through Franklin’s photos for a bit. Though we didn’t take our respite quite as far as this young guest.
Now THAT is the hallmark of a good day. Before we knew it, it was time to check in for MSEP. We headed across the bridge and stopped for a moment to take in this beautiful sight.
It was crazy crowded at the park that night. Wall-to-wall people. I was really thankful to have a FP+ reservation for the parade that night, otherwise, we’d probably have left because it was too crowded to find a spot to watch from.
Also, without the FP+ reservation, Franklin wouldn’t have had the opportunity to take what is one of his favorite photos he’s ever taken at Disney.
And on with the show -- er -- parade!
We wanted to get Tanner on a tamer ride next, just so he could experience something a little more low-key. Little Mermaid would do. As we were about to walk into the queue Tanner asked: “Is this a roller coaster?” We promised him it wasn’t, and he believed us.
Maybe this is why people argue Disney should have at least camouflaged the ceiling a little bit on this attraction.
Tanner was enthralled. He kept waving at all the characters as he went by.
He was less of a fan of the Ursula section, it was a bit dark for him.
We came out of the attraction and took a moment to regroup. We had time to kill before our Main Street Electrical FP+ reservations opened, so we headed toward Storybook Circus. Dumbo’s wait was about 20 minutes, but Tanner was looking awfully sleepy in his stroller. Lala and Keith decided it had been a long day and they were going to take him back to the resort so he could get some sleep. They headed back and Franklin and I went in search of a place to hang out for a bit. We found it at Cheshire Cat Cafe. It felt really good to put my feet up and just flip through Franklin’s photos for a bit. Though we didn’t take our respite quite as far as this young guest.
Now THAT is the hallmark of a good day. Before we knew it, it was time to check in for MSEP. We headed across the bridge and stopped for a moment to take in this beautiful sight.
It was crazy crowded at the park that night. Wall-to-wall people. I was really thankful to have a FP+ reservation for the parade that night, otherwise, we’d probably have left because it was too crowded to find a spot to watch from.
Also, without the FP+ reservation, Franklin wouldn’t have had the opportunity to take what is one of his favorite photos he’s ever taken at Disney.
And on with the show -- er -- parade!
Missyrose
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2009
Anastasia and Drizella were hilarious, they even had Prince Charming laughing. And yes, thats Anastasia holding her leg straight up in the air in front of the prince.
The Lost Boys had a field day playing to Franklins camera.
A Salute to All Nations, But Mostly America. Check that, its really only about America.
When the parade ended, we made (actually pushed) our way through the crowd to move farther back on Main Street for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes.
The winter/holiday addition to CTM was beautiful!
Missyrose
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2009
Though the candy coated castle scene made me hyperventilate a little -- it looked much too much like the cake castle of the late-90s.
Franklin changed over all his settings from CTM to the fireworks. But things didnt go as smoothly as it normally does. The autofocus stayed on from the previous show, which was throwing off the fireworks focus. To remedy this, he had to take the camera off the tripod, the filter off the camera, refocus, place the filter back on the camera and the camera back on the tripod. That was the long-winded way of explaining why he considers this set of fireworks photos his practice round of this trip.
Did we mention it was crowded? The masses of humanity streaming up Main Street after the fireworks ended was unreal. We were tired, but not tired enough to brave that kind of crowd trying to get to the buses. Solution? A snack break. My favorite snack, to be exact. Corndog nuggets from Caseys!
It was a nice moment to sit back, relax and realize how happy we both were to be at Disney again. Our bus ride home was entirely uneventful. And a mere 21 hours after we had woken up that morning, we climbed into bed. Thats where well end for now, but our stay at Universal is up next!
Franklin changed over all his settings from CTM to the fireworks. But things didnt go as smoothly as it normally does. The autofocus stayed on from the previous show, which was throwing off the fireworks focus. To remedy this, he had to take the camera off the tripod, the filter off the camera, refocus, place the filter back on the camera and the camera back on the tripod. That was the long-winded way of explaining why he considers this set of fireworks photos his practice round of this trip.
Did we mention it was crowded? The masses of humanity streaming up Main Street after the fireworks ended was unreal. We were tired, but not tired enough to brave that kind of crowd trying to get to the buses. Solution? A snack break. My favorite snack, to be exact. Corndog nuggets from Caseys!
It was a nice moment to sit back, relax and realize how happy we both were to be at Disney again. Our bus ride home was entirely uneventful. And a mere 21 hours after we had woken up that morning, we climbed into bed. Thats where well end for now, but our stay at Universal is up next!
mousehappync
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2013
Missy, where exactly were you on Main St for the fireworks! I don't think I've ever seen the castle framed so perfectly! Practice round-- ha!
ursalita
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2014
Those are some of the best pictures I've ever seen of the castle, parade, and fireworks. If that was the practice round I can't wait to see the real thing. Even the pics of the ride are great. Thank you for sharing. I can't wait to see MSEP and wishes when we visit. 
kgoodb00
Disney Fanatic
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2010
Loved the updates! Tanner is so cute!! I am glad he enjoyed the Little Mermaid!! 
I love love love MSEP!!! The lost boys are so much fun! And you guys got some really great pics from the FP+ spot
I can't believe that was Franklin's "practice round"!! Those pictures are absolutely beautiful! I can't wait to see his next round of pictures. I always wish I could frame some of his pictures and display them in our house. They are so amazing!
As always, I love reading your trip updates and I am super excited to see what your next day will consist of!!
I love love love MSEP!!! The lost boys are so much fun! And you guys got some really great pics from the FP+ spot
I can't believe that was Franklin's "practice round"!! Those pictures are absolutely beautiful! I can't wait to see his next round of pictures. I always wish I could frame some of his pictures and display them in our house. They are so amazing!
As always, I love reading your trip updates and I am super excited to see what your next day will consist of!!
caralyn817
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2004
Just found you and loving your report so far. I love all the pictures. I was shocked to see how many people had phones out taking pictures. I guess when your there and taking it all in you never really notice that stuff. Can't wait to read more!
JolllyHoliday
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2007
Love, Love, Love the picture of the castle and the Disney balloons !! The firework pictures were awesome too. Great update. Thanks for sharing.
natebenma
Beach Club Dee
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2008
Good morning friends! Franklin and I have some BIG news...
We're proud to introduce Magic of Main Street, our brand new blog devoted to all things Disney.
Need trip planning tips? We've got you covered. Want to plan a Food and Wine Festival trip and you want to read about our past F&W adventures? All of our past (and current) trip reports will now be at your fingertips.
We want this new blog to be a place where you hang out, have fun talking about upcoming trips, hear the latest Disney news and enjoy all things related to the Mouse!
We hope you'll join us at www.MagicofMainStreet.com
Don't fret though, Franklin and I will still be here on the Dis and the Facebook page will still be hopping (we've got big plans for that, too).
Congrats on the new blog!!! I am psyched that you have put together all of your fabulous trip reports, advice and instructions in one convenient location!!!
PS- Is this how you announced the Big News to your families?
natebenma
Beach Club Dee
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2008
Fabulous update!
The pictures of Tanner in The Little Mermaid are too precious!!! Please let Tanner know that he has already done two things that your *cough* 50-year-old Disney veteran friend has yet to do- TLM and Beaches & Cream!
That is a great picture of the balloon guy in front of the castle! Sometimes a favorite photo is an unplanned one.
Gorgeous pictures of the parade, Celebrate the Magic and Wishes!
The pictures of Tanner in The Little Mermaid are too precious!!! Please let Tanner know that he has already done two things that your *cough* 50-year-old Disney veteran friend has yet to do- TLM and Beaches & Cream!
That is a great picture of the balloon guy in front of the castle! Sometimes a favorite photo is an unplanned one.
Gorgeous pictures of the parade, Celebrate the Magic and Wishes!
kastoney
Disney foodie served with a side of sarcasm
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2010
Wow, franklins picture are amazing! Of course they always are, but nighttime and disney really makes them come alive. The balloon picture is just perfect. Hope you all have that one up in your house somewhere.
I'm too impatient to hold a spot for a parade, so that means my poor daughter has yet to actually see one. Got fastpasses for FoF and the electrical parade for next trip so I can make up for all my bad deeds. My hubby, who fashions himself a an amateur franklin, will certainly enjoy from the looks of your pics.
Love the late night Casey's run. What a great idea to avoid the masses
I'm too impatient to hold a spot for a parade, so that means my poor daughter has yet to actually see one. Got fastpasses for FoF and the electrical parade for next trip so I can make up for all my bad deeds. My hubby, who fashions himself a an amateur franklin, will certainly enjoy from the looks of your pics.
Love the late night Casey's run. What a great idea to avoid the masses
Missyrose
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2009
We last left off with a fabulous first day at Disney: An afternoon at the Epcot resorts, dinner at California Grill and a magical night of fun at Magic Kingdom. We were up fairly early the next morning and we were on the move -- kind of. We’d decided to book a night at Hard Rock Hotel at Universal since we were going to be spending a couple of days at the Universal parks. The Express Passes were too alluring NOT to book a Universal resort. The original plan was to pack our carry-ons and move to Hard Rock for the night, leaving the rest of our stuff at Boardwalk.
But after a long travel day the day before, we made the executive decision to just use the Hard Rock room as a crash pad during our park days, but we’d ultimately stay at Boardwalk that night. Off to the dark side we go!
Our first stop was Hard Rock to check in.
Our room was ready, hooray! This resort was absolutely gorgeous. Very sleek, modern and had just enough rock-and-roll edge.
We dropped off some of our stuff and promptly left again. This time stopping in the lobby to print out our Express Passes, which was such a quick and easy process. And then we were off to the boat!
Getting to and from the parks was so easy at Hard Rock. There were always boats available and the ride took maybe five minutes! Sooooooo much better than schlepping from the parking garages, through City Walk, to the front gates.
We stopped at guest services so Franklin and I could pick up our brand new annual passes. Yes, friends, we are now officially passholders at BOTH Disney and Universal! Luckily, it didn’t take long and we didn’t have far to go in the park to our first attraction.
Yes, we were extremely excited to take our minion-loving nephew on Despicable Me. He took one look at it…
… and said “Gru’s house?” He was ready.
How did he do? He loved the movie (especially since it’s so similar to the Minion Mayhem app that he loves to play), but it was really loud for him. That became a running theme, I had never noticed how much louder the attractions at Universal are compared with attractions at Disney. No stopping, though, we had minions to meet!
As we finished our photo and started to walk away, one of the minions was following us.
Turns out, he wanted to tour with us for the day.
Sadly, his character attendant said he still had a full day of work to do, so he couldn’t hang out with us. One of the big things on our to-do list was get a photo of Tanner with the Transformers marquee, because he loves them so much. We came around the corner and ran smack dab into a M&G with Bumblebee, score!
There were just two families in line, so I was worried that maybe the line was closed. It wasn’t! Let me stop for a minute and say that this was one of the coolest things about Universal, you could just walk up to M&Gs without waiting for an hour for each one.
We were a little concerned that, as much as Tanner loves Transformers, seeing a giant one in real life might scare the bejeezus out of him.
No fear, though, Tanner ran up to Bumblebee as soon as it was his turn!
Mission accomplished. That’s where we’ll stop for now, but stay tuned because we have quite the animated lunch ahead!
But after a long travel day the day before, we made the executive decision to just use the Hard Rock room as a crash pad during our park days, but we’d ultimately stay at Boardwalk that night. Off to the dark side we go!
Our first stop was Hard Rock to check in.
Our room was ready, hooray! This resort was absolutely gorgeous. Very sleek, modern and had just enough rock-and-roll edge.
We dropped off some of our stuff and promptly left again. This time stopping in the lobby to print out our Express Passes, which was such a quick and easy process. And then we were off to the boat!
Getting to and from the parks was so easy at Hard Rock. There were always boats available and the ride took maybe five minutes! Sooooooo much better than schlepping from the parking garages, through City Walk, to the front gates.
We stopped at guest services so Franklin and I could pick up our brand new annual passes. Yes, friends, we are now officially passholders at BOTH Disney and Universal! Luckily, it didn’t take long and we didn’t have far to go in the park to our first attraction.
Yes, we were extremely excited to take our minion-loving nephew on Despicable Me. He took one look at it…
… and said “Gru’s house?” He was ready.
How did he do? He loved the movie (especially since it’s so similar to the Minion Mayhem app that he loves to play), but it was really loud for him. That became a running theme, I had never noticed how much louder the attractions at Universal are compared with attractions at Disney. No stopping, though, we had minions to meet!
As we finished our photo and started to walk away, one of the minions was following us.
Turns out, he wanted to tour with us for the day.
Sadly, his character attendant said he still had a full day of work to do, so he couldn’t hang out with us. One of the big things on our to-do list was get a photo of Tanner with the Transformers marquee, because he loves them so much. We came around the corner and ran smack dab into a M&G with Bumblebee, score!
There were just two families in line, so I was worried that maybe the line was closed. It wasn’t! Let me stop for a minute and say that this was one of the coolest things about Universal, you could just walk up to M&Gs without waiting for an hour for each one.
We were a little concerned that, as much as Tanner loves Transformers, seeing a giant one in real life might scare the bejeezus out of him.
No fear, though, Tanner ran up to Bumblebee as soon as it was his turn!
Mission accomplished. That’s where we’ll stop for now, but stay tuned because we have quite the animated lunch ahead!
Wood Nymph
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2012
I love Franklin's pictures of the MSEP, Celebrations and Wishes. I was especially glad to see the perfect Celebration pictures since we are never in a good enough location to see it properly.
Tanner is so cute. I love his expressions on the Under the Sea ride. I'm not surprised that he found the movie at Universal to be too loud. One year when we took our grandson to WDW the sound seemed to be extra loud. We had to cover his ears during many of the attractions because it was too loud for him.
Tanner is so cute. I love his expressions on the Under the Sea ride.
I'm not surprised that he found the movie at Universal to be too loud. One year when we took our grandson to WDW the sound seemed to be extra loud. We had to cover his ears during many of the attractions because it was too loud for him.
PracPerfPatricia
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2006
Wow- reburbished Boardwalk Villas, WDW decorated for Christmas, Cali Grill, Beaches and now Universal... You really have it all going on in this TR- not to mention your uber cute nephew
))
Congrats on your blog launch! I'm sure it's great- I will have have to pop in for a read!
))Congrats on your blog launch! I'm sure it's great- I will have have to pop in for a read!
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