Week After Turkey Day Shenanigans

[kellyjeanie]

Ok I'm sorry this is super long but I wanted to get something down somewhere!

We had a great trip. I didn't get on here or Facebook much, I felt like we were always running! I think my only regret is again not stopping to get enough Photo Pass pictures, I'd see the photographer but we'd be on our way somewhere, or the kids were exhausted, or whatever. We stayed in CBR in Jamaica 42, I was hoping for something closer to OPR but that was as close as they could get us due to Pop Warner descending on the resort at the end of our stay. Put those kids in the boonies, they can handle the walk, lol. But the room was clean and comfortable, housekeeping was good. We only ate at the resort twice, on our last night and then breakfast our last morning, food was good. I think the resort had the best options for kids' meals with all the side choices. Main pool was fantastic, even though we only got to use it twice. We used the Jamaica pool one night while I did some laundry, kids had fun there too. I thought the buses were great, the only night we had a problem wasn't really Disney's fault.

We arrived Friday night 11/25, stayed in a Hyatt near the airport that had a shuttle. Very nice room. Got back to MCO early Saturday to take DME to CBR. Our room was ready right away but we were in Jamaica 41 so I asked if they had anything closer - they managed to get us to Jamaica 42 which was pretty much the same, lol. But I felt better that I tried and they did their best to accommodate. We headed to Epcot for lunch at GG. Super tasty food and fun character interaction. I was happy we started our trip there. We headed out into a really busy Epcot but got a lot more done than I had hoped. Did the Seas and Test Track, got through the right side of World Showcase up to Japan. It was crowded but manageable. We even ran into a Mr. Smee and Captain Hook M&G! We had reservations at Marrakesh, it was pretty good. I got the beef kebab, very nicely cooked. Kids meals were terrible, I wish they had something more interesting for them than hamburger or chicken nuggets! We stayed for Illuminations. It was a little chilly but that was our only cold night.

Sunday was our first full day. We had PPO BOG, I had hoped to get in there earlier than our reservation but we didn't make it until 8:20 and by the time we got out we missed our chance for 7D. Food was really good, DH ordered the Croque Madame (yum), ODS got the cronut (super sweet but really good). I got the assorted meats and cheeses, I really enjoyed it! The pastries were ok. DD got the kids crepes, I thought they were good but she was unimpressed. YDS ordered the oatmeal, it was very no-frills but he loved putting his own toppings on. They didn't have any allergy pastries for his peanut allergy but he had plenty to eat. From there we headed out to Fantasyland - teacups, Dumbo, Barnstormer, all walk ons that time of day. Made our way over to HM, then BMTRR and SM. Lunch at Pecos Bill, SO PACKED holy cow, food not bad. Jingle Cruise, then picked up 4th FP for Pirates. While waiting saw the Captain Jack show, very cute. Decided to skip out when the party crowds started coming in and headed to Disney Springs. We got the poutine! Sooooooo good. I want to try to recreate that at home!

Monday we went to HS. Had hoped to get there early for the JTA sign up but didn't get there until 8:30ish, and by the time we got back to the sign up the line was an hour long! Kids still wanted to do it so we waited. By the time we got up to the front the times were in the afternoon which was fine with us. They gave us the anytime fast pass. I had hoped to head to RNRC from there but the lines were long by then. We hit our TOT fast pass (our first time - fun!!), cupcakes at Starring Rolls, then Toy Story. I felt like we crisscrossed the park all day! I don't remember the exact order but we did Star Tours 3 times (kids elected to use our anytime fast pass there instead of Toy Story, I was surprised), Frozen sing-a-long (fun show, even managed to get Frozen-hating 11-year-old to smile), Beauty and the Beast show, Jedi Training. I managed to get a FP for RNRC and we used rider swap. H&V dinner was really good for a buffet, we thought. Good character interaction. No problem finding a good seat for JBJB 30-45 mins out, the fireworks and lighting were good though the story felt slapped on and unnecessary. Never did find the time to get over to Launch Bay but saw the Stormtrooper parade a couple times.

Tuesday, ODS and DH went to Universal which was my son's favorite part of the trip. They only did HP, the ride lines were all very short. They had a great time. My 8-year-old, 5-year-old, and I slept in and went to MK for lunch in the castle and a few fast passes. Only bummer was the Photo Pass pictures with Rapunzel, no flash so they're terrible. Otherwise fun. We cut out late afternoon to do a little swimming and met up with DH and ODS, went to AK for dinner at Y&Y quick service and a couple nighttime EE rides. Y&Y was alright, not worth going out of the way for but decent mall-style Chinese. She forgot to give me my son's chicken nuggets but insisted she did, that was annoying but whatever.

Wednesday we were back at Epcot, got there around 11. Did the left side of WS, up to Japan again so my 11-year-old could shop. Got kind of rainy in the afternoon. Met Anna & Elsa (line moved quick!), fast pass for FEA, rode the ride in Mexico, had a fantastic lunch at Biergarten (chef even brought out some allergy safe cookies and candy for youngest). Went back to Future World to wait to see Baymax (quick line), Joy and Sadness (probably our longest wait of the trip, had to be 45 minutes but worth it), managed to snag fast pass for Soarin, though the standby wasn't all that long, DH and oldest waited about 15 minutes for Soarin while I was waiting with younger 2 for J&S. We did Mission Space, kids loved it. I did green with younger two, DH and oldest did orange. We had a fast pass but standby was a walk on. We decided to trek back to Morocco to get shawarma for dinner, caught the last boat from Canada. Yum, that was tasty, so worth it. Had to walk alllllll the way back from Morocco to get out of the park to take the monorail to MK for Wishes. Again got there later than I wanted to, it was after 9 but got lucky and got a spot right between Casey's and The Plaza on main street. Kids were soooooo tired, they were fighting before the fireworks started and my oldest cried through the show. We waited for Celebrate the Magic, that went better. We had kicked around staying in MK for a few late night rides but the kids were so done. Instead of fighting the crowds the kids were hungry so we decided to go get a snack at Cosmic Ray - dumb idea, by the time we were done there we had to walk further to get out and the buses were still mobbed. It was well after midnight by the time we got back to our room.

Thursday morning we had to be back at MK for 8:25 BBB. Again, had hoped to get there earlier to be done earlier but we ended up being about 15 minutes late. They got us in no problem and there was no wait at Castle Couture for pictures but it was still well after 9 by the time we were done. Got a sweet roll at Gaston's and did our 7D fast pass. The lines over at SM and BTMRR were short so we went over there, rode SM once (walk on) and BTMRR twice (short waits). Had lunch at Casey's, Space Mountain fast pass, Peter Pan fast pass. Peter Pan was so underwhelming, TBH! I would not wait in an hour line for that. After late night the day before we decided to cut it short after hitting a few more rides. Got fast pass for IASW (haha yes we did), fast pass for Buzz, headed out for a nap. And the kids actually napped, that never happens.

Thursday night we had ADR for Ohana at 7:30. Left the room at 6. Immediately realized none of us were wearing magic bands, had to call to get someone to let us back in. That didn't take long, we were at the bus stop by probably 6:15 to get a bus back to MK. The bus had to stop at all the villages since there were people on the bus coming from MK so it took forever. Got to MK by 7 to catch the monorail but ran into everyone leaving MK because of the party, took forever to get on the monorail and didn't get to Ohana until 8. Yes, it took us 2 hours to get from our room to Ohana, mostly due to poor planning on my part! They were nice and got us a table but we still had to wait an hour after we got there. Finally got seated at 9 pm. Definitely worth the wait, food was amazing and I would definitely eat there again! So glad we got a nap in, the kids were troopers. Only peanut allergy flag was the dip, chef kindly came out and talked to us. After dinner I decided I'd run to Disney Springs while DH took the kids back to the room so he rode with me to catch the CBR bus in DS. Well, DS may have been open until midnight but the shops start closing at 11. By the time I got off the bus, buzzed through the Disney store, decided to walk across the bridge to the Christmas store, whipped through there for some ornaments and then walked back to the stop, my family was still waiting for the bus. By the time I walked all the way around to the bus stop they were gone but I got on 10 mins after they did.

Friday was our last day. We made it to AK around 9:30, walked back for our safari fast pass. Such a good ride, so many animals!! We did Lion King, Kali Rapids, EE a couple times. Hiked out for late lunch at Sanaa, it was pretty good. The bread service was amazing. The entrees were alright, DH and ODS enjoyed the butter chicken. ODS ordered the Tandoori shrimp but he didn’t like it. I am glad we went to Sanaa because I felt I expanded my food horizons but other than the bread service I don't think I'd go back. The kids' meals were at least interesting though my 5-year-old ordered the boring hamburger and it was the worst we'd had, the bun was so bad but I didn't bother to get it replaced because he wasn't that hungry anyway. The view was neat, with the animals. After lunch we kicked around going to another park but I couldn't get any decent fast passes anywhere but AK so we went back to close down the park at EE and Dinosaur, and we did an awesome sunset safari. Found a great cache of Tsum Tsums in the Dinosaur gift shop, not that we didn't get any elsewhere, we came home with close to 2 dozen of those things.

And that's it. Saturday morning we went and used our last quick service for breakfast at CBR, made our way to the DME bus and home. My 11-year-old left his Nintendo DS at the gate in the Orlando airport, didn't realize until we were in the air. Hopefully we get that back. Landed in Milwaukee around 5:30, made it home to Michigan around 11. Oh, never eat at the Grafton, WI KFC, it's terrible. We made it home just fine but my 5-year-old started throwing up around 2 a.m., he seems fine now, must have been the junk food and the traveling. Nobody else is sick, whew. Didn't get any homework done while we were gone, whoops.

 

[Meeko5]

Ok here is my trip report post I was going to add some pics but I can't figure out how to resize them and they post huge from Instagram darnit!

Friday - arrived at MCO at 2:30, waited about 35 min for a DME bus and arrived to our resort without issue. Room was far, but ground level and ASSp is a small resort so "far" wasn't too far in actuality. Maybe a 3 min walk to the bus and food. Plus we were a corner end room so it was pretty quiet, and we were able to see JBJB fireworks from our room! We grabbed CS meal from the resort - all meh food but fine, although expensive for sure. We settled in and went swimming around 5:15 and the kids got a big kick out of swimming at night! We were in bed and asleep not too far off our normal 8/9 schedule for the kids since all were tired from travel.

Saturday - kids up at 6:30 because they hate me. We snacked from our groceries, got ready and headed to Blizzard Beach to play putt putt. Bus situation was confusing since BB was closed - finally got squared away but taking the bus to Epcot, then the Coronado Springs bus which made a stop at BB. Putt putt was great and not at all crowded since we arrived about 20 min after they opened. finished in an hour, then went back to Epcot and hopped on the AoA bus to check out radiator springs and have lunch. My youngest LOVED the Cars stuff. We spent an hour or more wandering the different areas after a yummy lunch at the food court, then hit the DS bus since we had a 4pm T Rex reservation. Got a Santa pager when we arrived at DS and the wait was 2-3 hours. It ended up going off about 3.5 hours later as we were finishing dinner so it worked great. Santa there was AWESOME, but sadly my 2yo wouldnt go near him haha. Got some cute pics with the 7yo though. Back to the hotel and in bed early!

Sunday - Got to DHS about 7:35 for EMH. HOLY CROWDED. The lines for the tapstiles were super long and it seemed like they only had a small section of them open. That was a bummer, since we were hoping to get there earlier and in good position for JTA. We got in, and the line was already loooong. We waited about 45 min for JTA but managed to get the 2nd show and they gave an anytime FP. Woo! didn't have enough time for any rides before JTA at this point so we wandered a bit and then got DS7 ready for JTA. Great show, but he got "stuck" fighting 7th sister which was a bummer. DH had him in the line that was supposed to fight Vader but a CM came and moved a few kids. DH tried talking to the CM about keeping him there and how he missed JTA last year blah blah but no luck. DS still had an awesome time and it was worth waiting for! We had FP for TSMM, Star Tours, and ToT and got rider swaps wherever we were able. Worked out great for my oldest! 3:10 reservation for H&V Holiday Dine - loved this. Characters were great, food was hot and fresh and really tasty. When finished we caught the Star Wars stage show, then headed to Launch Bay and met Chewie and Kylo. My youngest wouldn't go near Santa, but LOVED Chewie!! It was so cute. Tried twice trading with Jawas but they declined a pin, a penny, and a Mickey Sticker (forgot the light up crap in the room of course!). Kids still thought it was great fun. Rode Star Tours again with a 10 min wait, while DH took youngest to see Olaf. Then we got in a spot on the walkway for JBJB which we liked except for the rude guests around us all trying to crowd in last minute. We bolted for the exit right as the finale started because kids were tired and ready for bed but they LOVED the "snow" all the way out.

Monday - Epcot day. Got there and in a good spot for RD, headed right for Baymax since we had FPs for the big rides. We were first in line for Baymax and my obsessed 2yo was SO excited and happy. We waitied about 15 min for him to come out and it was worth it for sure. He got a hug, a fistbump, and the handler was great about showing Baymax my son's shirt which he bounced around to show his approval of. We were going to wait for Joy and Sadness since there were only about 15 families in line at this point but kids decided not to wait. We waved hello over the rope and that was sufficient! hopped on Spaceship Earth, then off to Test Track, then Soarin. Loved the new Soarin! We were in concourse B and right in the middle - some of the abrupt transitions were awkward but overall a big improvement! We headed to the Land next and spent an hour or so with the aquariums and Nemo. Then LWTL, then Garden Grill lunch. We had a super nice Server who adored my youngest and was very sweet and attentive. Characters were really fun. Food was pretty good. We headed to the world showcase for a bit and were going to try to stay for Illuminations but kids were tired and with a 3 hour wait before it started and nothing for the kids to "do" we headed out around 7pm. Got to sleep shortly after 9 with my oldest and 2 hours later I wake to him puking alllll over the floor and bed. Awful. Had to call for a linen change, cleaned up what I could and maintenance sprayed something on the carpet to help with the smell - all without waking the toddler. Phew. Back to bed!

Tuesday - MK day with PPO BOG. Got a later start than I wanted, walked up to the buses just in time to see the MK bus pull away at 7:19 waited 20 minutes for the next and by the time we got to MK it was 8:10. By the time we got to BOG we were 10 min late but they were fine with it. Shared 2 Feast A La Gastons, oldest didnt eat anything still but was drinking juice and seemed ok. Didn't get out in time to ride SDMT but we hopped on Pooh and Barnstormer with no waits. Then SDMT was down when we tried to use our FP so we went to Tomorrowland and hit buzz and speedway with some very short waits. I also managed to get a SDFP for SDMT later that day. Score! Rode Splash, then used out Peter Pan Fastpass (because there is no way in hell I'm waiting more than 15 min to ride that thing. Cute, classic, not worth the wait!!). Longest wait this day was lunch at Columbia Harbor House. Oy. but good as usual. AFter lunch we did Space with A FP and swap, while my youngest rode the Peoplemover with the other parent. this was his favorite ride of the week! Good old peoplemover Hit up Pirates with a SDFP which the kids loved. Hopped on carpets with a 1 min wait, then went to pick up Sorcerer's cards took the train to do a few portals. Used our last SDMT FP's and then teacups twice before we left for Whispering Canyon. HAd a great meal there - server was fun, food was great. He even brought us a giant glass bottle of Evian to take with us since DH ordered a beer and didn't use his drink entitlement. Pumpkin cheesecake was DIVINE and the cobbler was incredible. Will definitely be back!!

Wednesday - last day of the month, and we had saved a few Swap passes. 6 between the 3 parks we had been to lol. Started at DHS and got there right after RD. Headed to RnR with a 15 min wait so we rode that and used the swap pass right away. Headed to TSMM with our anytime FP for jedi training, then hit up star tours with a final swap pass. Left there around 11 and took the (suuuuper slow) boat to Epcot. Was nice to relax and not fold the stroller for a bus though! Headed to WS and had brunch at Les Halles. SO GOOD! We split a BLT, a ham and cheese croissant and a strawberry tart. Perfect amount of food and everything was delicious. Headed to FEA with our one FP that day. RIP Maelstrom! Frozen was cute, but the Elsa in room 2 was frozen (lol) and not moving at all while she sang. Definitely wouldn't wait more than 15 min for that ride! After frozen we continued around the WS for a bit and had Lunch at Teppan Edo. Food was very good, service was great. Loved this meal too! Wandered the WS a few more hours and grabbed some snacks and scheduled our other 2 FP for MK that night. About 4:30 it was drizzling, so we decided to head to room for a nap since we wanted to see Wishes that night. DS2 and DH fell right to sleep. My 7yo laid in the dark for 30 min then declared he was wide awake so we quietly lounged for awhile. After 2 hours of napping I had to wake the other up so we wouldnt miss our Space Mtn FP. Got up, headed to MK and holy crowds. glad we had FP and SDFP. Rode Space, buzz, SDMT (saved a swap from earlier in the week), Speedway and teacups then found a (not great) spot near Sleepy Hollow to watch the show while we ate waffles. Crowds were crazy! We hit the peoplemover and buzz again then decided to leave since kids were tired and grumpy. Buses to leave were crazy still at 11:30!

thurday was AK day. Picked up SDFP for Kali, EE, and primeval whirl. Got there about 9:10 and headed straight to Safari to use our FP. Animals were very active, great safari. Headed to EE and did that twice with Rider swap. Dinosaur was down so we did Primeval Whirl (barf) and let the kids dig at the dig site for about and hour before having lunch at Yak and Yeti. Kali, then back to EE. DH And DS were about to get in line and a lady with 2 kids asks the CM there if he can watch her 4yo so she and her son can ride. He's like "definitely not" lol. So she looks at me all sad and asks if I'm waiting with my youngest now. I said yes, and she asks me to watch her daughter too. No small talk, she didn't even ask my name. Just said her husband was sick and she wanted to ride with her son. I was so stunned I just agreed lol. She was sweet and shy and it was only 15 minutes but YIKES. I can't imagine leaving my 4yo with a stranger ever. Lucky for her I am not a predator or serial killer We left for AKL and had dinner at Boma. Server was a dud but food was delicious. I seriously ate 3 bowls of sausage stew and am wishing I had asked for a recipe. We still had our anytime FP and Dino still wasn't up so we hauled it back and did a nighttime safari at 6:55 lol. couldnt see much but it was a fun experience. We watched the tree of life awakening and then left for the hotel.

Friday - final day. MK again. Got to the bus stop AGAIN to see a MK bus leaving, so we got there later than planned. We were in the security line when the welcome show started so we did get to see part of that. headed right to tomorrowland and did buzz 3x. Finally got Galactic hero! Woo! Used a FP for space, then Splash with SDFP. Rode the train all the way around and used BTMRR FP before hitting up SDMT with a SDFP (seriously got it both MK days with a SDFP!). BOG lunch which was delicious Speedway SDFP, then Space and peoplemover with swaps again haha. Used our regular FP for SDMT and back to BTMRR with our swap pass. grabbed a 4th FP for Under the Sea (really lame, wow haha) and then another for buzz. Hit the teacups 2 last times then headed out to Ohana via the monorail. Ohana did not disappoint, as usual. SO GOOD. The steak this time was perfectly cooked (medium) and we all ate our weight in food before stuffing the amazing bread pudding down too. We had a view of the castle from our table as well, too bad holiday wishes wasn't for a few more hours

Got back to the room to pack, pack, pack and sleep before being picked up by DME at 6:55am Saturday. Sad day, but man were we exhausted. My feet and legs were killing me by the end of the week! I still need to upload my pics from the big camera, but I managed to post 144 pics on instagram that week HAHA! My 12 yo smart alec nephew called me out on that.

We found all the CMs to be very helpful, buses were a little longer waits than last year but I think that was mostly just bad timing on our part. Parks seemed clean and SO festive. Yes we had some grumpy guests but that's to be expected. Oh! and I asked a CM at Tattoine Traders in DHS if they would sell me a replacement part to a lightsaber we built last year that broke - she came back a minute later, handed the part to DS7 and said "This is an early Christmas Present from Mickey Mouse! Enjoy!" so that was some great pixie dust Using our old bands for SDFP worked AWESOME and was worth the time spent figuring it out and finding kiosks for sure.

We ended up with 4 freaking CS credits and 1 snack at the end. Whoops!! Those TS late lunches screwed it all up! So now I have 13 bags of candy/trail mix to get us through the next few months of post-Disney sadness!

 

[Meeko5]

My 11-year-old left his Nintendo DS at the gate in the Orlando airport, didn't realize until we were in the air. Hopefully we get that back. Landed in Milwaukee around 5:30, made it home to Michigan around 11. Oh, never eat at the Grafton, WI KFC, it's terrible. We made it home just fine but my 5-year-old started throwing up around 2 a.m., he seems fine now, must have been the junk food and the traveling. Nobody else is sick, whew. Didn't get any homework done while we were gone, whoops.

Oh man, I hope you get it back!!

Loved reading about your trip! Running late seemed to be the theme of the week all around haha

 

[MonaMN]

DD actually finished all her math homework - her teacher gave her the explanation part, the in class part and the homework... so three sections for four days. And we only did about half of one days' work before today. Painful, but done and now ready for school tomorrow. Not sure we can pull her out of school again... she gets kind of worked up about missing things.

 

[heath92681]

Love hearing details from everyone's trip!

 

[kellyjeanie]

Sounds like a great trip @Meeko5 ! We were in some of the same places at the same time, wonder if we shared any lines, haha. Good thing you didn't wait for J&S, 15 families would have been deceptively long - J&S took frequent breaks while we were waiting so the line was longer than it looked. That thing about that 4-year-old is CRAZY. I mean obviously you're a nice, safe person but how could she know that of a total stranger?

 

[MonaMN]

Some of our highlights:

AKL - awesome! We had a standard room, but got our room requests of a partial savannah view and bunk beds. We saw giraffes, antelope, cranes, and zebras from our room, and we visited the public viewing areas too. One time, they were feeding the animals so they were super close. We loved the atmosphere and pretty much everything about it. Would TOTALLY stay there again. We did both dinner and breakfast at Boma - yummy.

MK - we decided that we would have been OK with only two days there - we did two plus MVMCP (with the other two being party days that we didn't attend). We loved MVMCP - much more than MNSSHP. Partly because we made more educated decisions - like just skipping the long and time-consuming character lines and focusing on rides, snacks, parade and fireworks. We had a total blast.

HS - Jedi Training was great - DD liked it a lot... but she loved Star Tours - we rode it four times. She also loves the Indiana Jones show. We enjoyed Sci Fi Diner, and just in general love HS. I love the old-timey feel to it, and we find ways to keep ourselves more than busy, even with big chunks of it closed. We decided to skip JBJB... we were getting tired and since the reviews were a bit ho-hum, we decided to head back to the resort instead.

AK - This may be my favorite park. I love the theming so much. We had a great Kil Safari ride - at one point, a rhino and zebra were so close to us I might have been able to touch them. It was great, despite a bit of a longer line than I would have liked. We also had great pixie dust on our first day to meet Pocahontas... and enjoyed some yummy food at Harambe Market. Just love this place!

Epcot - NPH. Enough said! We tried our first EMH hours here - it was much busier than I expected, which would have been fine if Test Track wasn't having a hard time waking up... that took up much of the first hour - I was hoping to get over to Soarin during that time too. Anyway - we had a long full day at Epcot but got all our priorities done - Joy, Sadness, Baymax, Test Track, Soarin - twice, FEA (wouldn't go again w/o a FP), Candlelight Processional, a GREAT late breakfast at Garden Grill... we usually do parts of two days here, so we could have used more time, but it was lovely.

DS - the new section of DS is beautiful... but since it's just normal shopping, we headed to our favorites - the Lego store and World of Disney. We had a fun (loud!) lunch at T-Rex. We could have spent more time there - and there are so many restaurants I want to try (esp Frontera), but alas... we needed to rest before MVMCP.

Overall - a really lovely trip. We have gone to a Disney park every year for the last four years, and I think we plan to take 2017 off... but it is hard to think of not going!!

 

[L_MD]

Some of our highlights:

DS - the new section of DS is beautiful... but since it's just normal shopping, we headed to our favorites - the Lego store and World of Disney. We had a fun (loud!) lunch at T-Rex. We could have spent more time there - and there are so many restaurants I want to try (esp Frontera), but alas... we needed to rest before MVMCP.

If you do get back to Frontera in 2017 (or whenever!), make sure someone gets the carnitas. It was SO good.

 

[CCxmas]

Sorry for the long recap. I just wanted to get it all down before I forgot anything. Sorry to hear some didn't have as magical a time as expected. There was definitely some fails on my part but no regrets and we had a magical time.

DD woke up at 2a on Thanksgiving eve throwing up with a 103 temp. DH was ready to cancel the trip. I was distraught to say the least. But after a good nights rest sleeping in the spare bedroom with her she woke up declaring that she was "all better and NEEDED to go to Disney!" After being up with her most of the night I was exhausted to say the least.
Arrived at MCO at 315 and we got to Beach Club at 445. It was a much better experience on magic express compared to last year (almost 3 hour ordeal). Tried to get some food and DH had a fit over the food at the food court. I ended up asking the possibility of getting in for dinner at Cape May. Luckily they fit us in about 30min. He was happy to wait the 30min for the buffet until he saw the bill. I told him not to look at the bill anymore. We were supposed to monorail hop to look at the Christmas decorations but after the long night and traveling we decided to go relax in our room a bit. Ended up touring around the Boardwalk and watching illuminations from our balcony.
Saturday we slept in just a bit then hit MK. Saw the Christmas main street show, got some pics in front of the castle. Got in a few rides including HM. Watched the Elena show, Mickeys Royal Friendship show, Carousel, Rapunzel and got some amazing pics in front of the sword in the stone. Rapunzel was by far the best character interaction we had. DD asked her about Maximus and so they talked about DD horse. Rapunzel said she liked DD Mohawk Dutch Braid Ponytail and asked her if she wanted to come back to the tower to fix each others hair then pick flowers to put in their braids. It was amazing!! Headed back to room for lunch and nap. Hopped to HS. Snagged a FP for Fantasmic!. Ate at Mamma Melrose. The service was SO slow. we went straight after F! and were a little early for our ADR. There were people that came after us that go seated before us and it wasn't because the restaurant was full. Then they pitched a fit that they wouldn't seat us until DH was there. I was holding DD and looked at the lady and said you will seat us he is just in the bathroom. The waiter was nice but slow. The family next to us got there after us and got their food before us. They forgot the appetizer but still brought it out without charge. DH really wanted dessert but we were afraid we would miss JBJB. We almost missed the show. Sorry to any of y'all at the show that night. We were that family that just pushed our way into the crowd at the last minute to see the show. Then a CM told DH that he needed to move our stroller. The show had already started and he was at his last nerve. He politely told her that they had us herded in there like cattle and there was nowhere to go... It was a good show. Felt rushed but probably because we were running behind. DD liked it and got to see Jack Skellington/Sally and the Oogey Boogie Man. So she was happy. The snow landed in DH eye and about made his eyeball swell shut. The boat back to BC was ridiculous slow. We were close to the dock so we debated if we should just walk or ride boat. Thought since we were close to front it would be quicker to ride. Well we waited almost 20 min for boat and were literally the last group let on the boat. I thought that they would have more boats running at park close...
Sunday we slept in a bit but made it to MK in time for our 7DMT. Saw a mini parade that DH wanted to stop and watch. I was so glad we did because on the back side of the floats hidden were Nick & Judy!! I had told DD that she probably wouldn't see them because they had to go back to Disneyland so she was so happy they were there!! It was by far the most productive day as far as FP. Did 7D, Under the sea, barnstormer, dumbo and pooh. Barnstormer was no wait but let down after 7D. Rode monorail to Epcot. Again super slow transportation. Ate at Le Cellier. Definitely the best meal of the trip. Attempted a nap and then did MVMCP. It was a mini flop for us. DD didn't nap and was exhausted. We didn't get back to MK until 645ish so the crowds were ridiculous. She was super excited but that exhausted running on empty hyper. The line to meet aurora/philip was over an hour so I didn't even try to find Jack or Nick/Judy. We went and found a place for the shows. Saw the Christmas show and Anna/Elsa light up the castle. Went to heat up some food I had brought for DD/DH at the baby center and they told me that I couldn't use their facilities even when DD was with me. I get it she's not a baby anymore but it's not like people were pounding down the doors to get in the baby center. She said the I could only use it if it was for a special diet. DD is gluten allergy to I let her know that it was specially prepared food so she let me use the microwave. We stayed to watch the Parade but left as soon as it was done. DD was almost in tears and clung to DH the whole way back to BC at least until she saw the fireworks at Epcot going off. That counts as holiday wishes right?
Monday we went to AK. Slept in again after the MVMCP. Got to get her on Dinosaur. The first CM said no she wasn't tall enough but the second said she was fine. T was completely on her tippy toes at that point. It was the right amount of scary. She talked about running from T. rex for days. Got to do Safari, ate at Flame tree and saw Russel with no Dug. She took a nap that day. Went to MK for our BoG. It was amazing. We sat in the west wing and DD kept telling the waitress that the Beast was so angry but he would be okay. #adorable. She kept telling us to hurry up and eat so she could meet the Beast. He wasn't in the study when we got there so she had to wait for the grand entrance and she started chasing after him. She was so excited to meet him. She literally danced with him and twirled in her twirl dress for him. everyone in the room was getting a kick out of it. Rode Tea cups at her request. Debated staying for wishes but ultimately decided to leave before the crowds got bad.
Tuesday was our Epcot day. Ate at Trattoria al Frono for bfast. DH cold that he was fighting for over a week had finally gotten the better of him. The waitress was really nice and let me take his food to go so he still got his ticket for Candlelight Processional. I told him to take a nap and just meet up with us later before our FEA FP. We were standing in FP line for Character spot and I was trying to take his FP off for am attractions and managed to delete our FEA. I PANICKED. The CM was nice and let us get out of line and sent us to the guest relations. I was in tears. The CM was really nice and added our FP back on. Said you wouldnt believe the stuff people try to pull but she believed me so added an anytime FP for FEA. The CM also let us back in FP line for Character spot. After I let DD choose what she wanted and she wanted to meet Joy/Sadness. It was an hour wait. I knew that if DH was with us he would have lost it so I told her we could since Dh was napping. He literally walked up when there was one more family in front of us. They were great and worth the wait. DH had no idea what was going on with the "weird blue characters" but DD was laughing hysterically at them. We went on living with the land and debated on Soarin but decided we would just go do our FP for FEA because I was afraid to mess with any other FP until we used it. Watched Christmas story in Norway and rode FEA. DD loved it but I would not wait 90m for it. Tried to meet Anna/Elsa but it was a really long wait. Opted to take naps. I had to wake everyone up to make it to CP in time. It was NPH and it was BEAUTIFUL. DD was upset that Anna/Elsa were not at CP. I had cancelled our GG earlier in day when DH wasn't feeling well so we waded through the massive crowds. Made it to UK and wandered around. Saw Father Christmas and shopped a little. DD made some friends with some older girls and wanted to color Duffy the bear with them.. Those little moments right?!? Ate dinner in the room and wandered back to epcot for illuminations.
Wednesday we went back to MK for our last day. Did railroad which only had one train running. Pirates, Jingle Cruise then went for our 7D FP. We all scanned our bands and the ride broke down. There was an announcement to exit. We walked back to the CM (who must have the worst job in history and/or really hate her job) and said if we left that we would not be able to re-enter despite the announcement. Said that they would fix it rather quickly. At this point they were not letting anyone else in the FP lines and threatening them that if they left they would forfeit their FP so there was a zombie hoard forming. I let her know that we had ADR for CRT and was afraid for how long we would stand in line. She didn't care one single bit. After about 5 more min I marched back to the FP stand and let her know this was unacceptable. She told me that If we were still in line 10 min before our ADR she would try to help me. So will 11 min before ADR I showed back up at stand. They had just released the ride to work again so she started giving me attitude that the ride was operational and we would forfeit our FP. I literally glared at her and said if we wait we miss CRT. She huffed at me and gave me a paper FP. I had to change DD into her Cinderella dress and fix her hair all before the ADR. It all worked out that we were changed and ready to meet Cinderella right on time. She had a blast and was more into the princesses than I thought she would be. We really enjoyed our lunch and Kriztina our waitress was amazing. We were seated right by the windows so she got to overlook the carousel. She made a big deal about it being her Bday week and sang to her. Ariel was fabulous and made her way back to talk to DD again. It rained when we were inside the castle so we missed the big storm. Ended up using our FP for 7D right after CRT. She was still in her Cinderella dress so that made for super cute pics. Carousel was broken after we got done so we did Small World which DH thought I did it just to torture him. Carousel was still broken so we headed back to room. Everyone took a long nap. Got up in time to head over to epcot to watch the fireworks again. I had a FP for soarin but we would have pushed it to make it over there in time. So we just sat and people watched until the fireworks started. We were all super tired at that point.
Thursday we woke up and packed up to leave. Ate QS breakfast in hotel and got on magic express back to airport. And just like that it was all over..
It was a really fun but busy trip. DH said that I planned better than last year but still ran everyone ragged. So far no sickness this year. Everyone got the plague as soon as we got home last year. DH said he needs a decade off from Disney. DD wants to go back and eat grapes/cheese at the castle with Cinderella. I think I'll start planning my next trip real soon!!

 

[DisneyGB]

I love reading all the recaps! I've got to write one up.. soon, soon! Christmas being less than 3 weeks away is stressing me out lol.

 

[kellyjeanie]

I love reading all the recaps! I've got to write one up.. soon, soon! Christmas being less than 3 weeks away is stressing me out lol.

I can't wrap my mind around it! I know Christmas was everywhere at Disney but now we're home and it's 12/6 and we still don't have our tree up and my sister is coming up to bake cookies this weekend and I should probably watch an Elf marathon or something to get in the right frame of mind. I'm glad I took a couple days before Christmas off, I think I'm going to need them!

 

[goav2000]

Loving all the trip reports. Here's some highlights for us...

Sunday 11/27 - Wonderful 1st class flight from MSP to MCO. I drank as many Captain Cokes as I could! Waited about 45 minutes for Magical Express (grrr). Lost my buzz lol. Checked in at CBR, and our TA failed to send in our room requests (grrr). So, we got stuck in Barbados on a 2nd floor room. But, the room was clean, no odor issues like others have mentioned, and we had places to be, so we moved on quickly. We hustled over to Epcot having already missed two Fastpasses (we knew they'd be close), but we made it in time for our 1st ride on the new Soarin'. After that, we had our CP dinner reservation at Via Napoli. The food and service were great. Next was the our 1st CP, and we loved it (Steven Curtis Chapman). If we go during the holidays again, this will be a must do again.

Monday 11/28 - RD HS. Rode TSMM 3x right away. Hit everything we wanted. Lunch was Mama Melrose F! package and dinner was at Minnie's Holiday Dine. Enjoyed both. I had a great interaction with Kylo Ren at the Visa character spot and he was shooshing me out of the room when it was over. After Fantasmic, we went back to resort as I was having stomach issues the entire day.

Tuesday 11/29 - PPO BOG at MK. We split one of the platters, than rode SDMT once before crowds arrived. We then ran over to BTMR and rode 3x before there was a wait. What a fun way to start the day! We had lunch at Cosmic Rays, and even got some pixie dust as we got a free LeFou's Brew at Gastons for our Anniversary buttons. We headed out at 3 to get over to Poly for 'Ohana dinner. Then straight back to MK for the party. We waited 90 minutes for pics with the 7 dwarves...and it was worth it. They are so much fun. We snacked around the "free" food stations, watched Christmas Wishes, the 2nd parade, and stayed for the midnight stage show. Yep, we were there PPO and stayed for the last show. It was a loooong day, but so much fun.

Wednesday 11/30 - Pool day / DS. Had drinks by the pool, ate lunch at the resort food court. Took the bus to DS where I drank some margaritas and she shopped. Had a wonderful dinner at The BOAThouse. We will be going back as there were approx. 15 things on the menu we wanted to try, but ended up doing the lobster bake for 2. We walked around a bit more, then took the bus to Contemporary for dessert at California Grill and Wishes from the viewing deck. That was a lot of fun too...and we got our 2nd dusting as the server gave us a cupcake to go for our anniversary.

Thursday 12/1 - Epcot day. RD Soarin' (2x) and then over to TT (2x, 1 via FP). Finished Future World with lunch at Electric Umbrella. Made our way through the countries, splitting cocktails and sampling some of the holiday foods. We had an excellent meal at Chefs de France and then headed over to ESPN club at the Boardwalk to watch the Vikings/Cowboys. There were a few fans in the bar area, but it was pretty quiet for a football game. We took Uber back to the resort after the game. It was a whole $5.

Friday 12/2 - RD AK. Headed back to safari. Most animals were up and moving. No giraffes? We rode Dino a couple of times and Primeval Whirl (her favorite) like 5 times! Lunch was Flametree BBQ and dinner was Yak & Yeti Café. Both were fine for quick service. She loved loved loved the dole whip with coconut rum they sell here. Ended the night with riding EE at night. Headed back to resort to soak in hot tub...where a cranky lady on a ECV joined in. She barked at kids and took a strict count on how many people were in the hot tub. She just killed the joy for the 20 minutes she was there. But after she left, she complained about everyone else so mgmt. showed up. After we all gave them our side of the story, they gave us all anytime fastpasses! In a roundabout way, it was worth it. But for some of the families, I'm sure some of the kids were scared of her.

Saturday 12/3 - I got a cold overnight, so very little sleep. We packed and dropped our bags and leftover water with bell services. Headed over to MK, which was already very busy. We strolled around, had lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern (just ok) and really only rode our four fastpass rides. This was by far the most crowded park we saw all week.

It was a magical week indeed. Never thought about work once, and had very few bad/negative experiences. Thanks to all on this board for any advice intended or not (like Minnie's, I wouldn't have booked it without hearing from some of you here).

The Worst: (3) cranky lady at hot tub (2) getting sick on vacation (1) bus service at CBR
The Best: (3) the parades at MK (2) Christmas Wishes (1) Pics w/Seven Dwarfs!

Thanks again for all of the fun planning! Hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!!

 

[L_MD]

I need to just suck it up and write this out quickly for you lovely folks!

Monday 11/28: Super quick flights with no issues. Got in 30 minutes early, walked right onto the DME with no wait, and was on my way about 10 minutes later. The ride to POFQ took about 40 minutes and I got my room ready text in that time. Grabbed some beignets (the only thing about POFQ I didn't like...completely raw in the middle), dropped off my stuff, and headed to the pool. Had a ton of fun, especially on the water slide, before I decided to head to Disney Springs a lot earlier than originaly planned. It worked out so well- boat came in about 5 minutes, nice leisurely ride, and Springs wasn't super crowded at 1pm. I snacked/got food at/drank at so many places...BB Woolf, Daily Poutine, Ganachery, Amorette's (highly recommended, even though it's pricey), Sprinkles, Coca-Cola Store, Hangar Bar. I did some shopping (notably at Basin, what a money-sink) and had a reservation at Frontera at 6pm. I was stuffed/a bit tipsy so I only ordered the Carnitas instead of the 3 dishes I was planning, they were delicious. Walked back to the boat dock, had to wait for the drone show to end, but was back at POFQ by 7:30pm. I was asleep by 9pm, because Tuesday was...

Tuesday 11/29: EMM at MK! Started out poorly though, the buses weren't running nearly as early as I needed so I Ubered, but to the TTC (rookie mistake), and then only the boats were running, so I wasn't as close to the entrance as I wanted. But things moved quickly and an empty (nearly) Main Street is worth the price and hassle. I started with PPx3, Carrousel x1, 7DMT x5, Pooh x1, and then another 7DMT by which time they were letting PPO guests on so it wasn't nearly as nice. I thought everyone was super friendly for the event and I'd highly recommend it. Hit IASW right at Rope Drop and then ate at Pinnochio's...EMM really does a nice spread, and I thought it was really good for park food.

After that (about 9:45am) I headed to Frontierland and waited in my longest line of the entire trip (20 minutes) for Big Thunder. Hit my Splash FP at 10:15am then to Adventureland after that was over. Got my first Citrus Swirl and loved it! Then Swiss Family, Tiki Room (love), and Pirates FP around noon. Got a Dole Whip as soon as I was done- Citrus Swirl wins for me even though it was good. Then time for my BOG lunch at 12:45 (salad with tuna and a Master's cupcake, amazing), Little Mermaid after that, PeopleMover, and then Space FP at 2pm. Left to head to Trader Sam's at the Poly. Was there for about 30 minutes before I got a pager, then another 20 minute wait, then got in. Super good cocktails, totally worth the wait and money.

I stayed at the Poly for some nachos from Tambu Lounge, then back to MK for MVMCP. By this time I was tired, didn't feel great, so I just sat in a spot for the first parade (I might have went on IASW again, not sure). I had about an hour wait which was a bit excruciating by myself. I didn't think the parade (or the Party) was all that great, to be honest, but I wasn't in a good mood. After I was just going to leave but I grabbed a cookie, did the PeopleMover, and watched Wishes from a spot where I couldn't see the projections, but I got the fireworks so who cares! Then I left, had a short (10 minute?) wait for the bus and headed to POFQ. Grabbed a beer from the bar, soaked my tired feet, and went to bed.

Wednesday 11/30: Universal day, mostly for all Harry Potter. Ubered and arrived at about 8:30am, was allowed into the park at 8:45am despite it being open only for Universal guests until 9am (thank you, nice lady!) and then proceeded to be wowed by HP. The themeing is just so spot on. I beelined to Gringotts which was terrifying (front row on a ride I had never been on, argh!) but I figured what not and rode again. Both times there was absolutely no wait, and the Single Rider line skips the boring preshow for an even faster queue experience. After that I got a butterbeer and just wandered around. I Hogwarts Expressed to IOA at about 10:30am. I wasn't as impressed with Hogsmeade (seemed more crowded) but the castle makes up for it. Forbidden Journey was fun and a bit motion-sick-inducing even for me who has no symptoms of that. Once was enough! I grabbed lunch at 3 Broomsticks, pretty standard fish and chips, and went back to Universal for Diagon Alley. I grabbed a Wizard's Brew (great beer) and just wandered around a bit. I decided to leave pretty early (12:45pm) but hit the Mummy coaster before I left. Scary, but fun!

Ubered back, tried to take a nap but didn't succeed very well, and swam in the only bit of rain all week (nothing more than a light misting). After that I had dinner at Artist Point at Wilderness Lodge at 8pm so I went a bit early to look around the hotel (fond memories from an old trip) and grabbed a drink in Territory Lounge. I really enjoyed Artist Point, perfectly cooked salmon and mushroom bisque that was probably one of the BEST things I ate all week.

MK was open until 1am that night, so I watched the Electrical Water Pageant from the WL docks and then headed there. I was a bit tired so I only did Big Thunder, IASW x2, and the Peoplemover again. Back to POFQ, another beer, another foot soeak, and bed!

Thursday 12/1: All Epcot all day. So much fun. Was there early than expected around 8:30am. Went right to Test Track single-rider, then did it again, and again for a total of 3x! Ate at Starbucks, Spaceship Earth FP+ 10:40am, then Sunshine Seasons for shortcake and Living with the Land FP. Had time to kill before Soarin so went on Journey Into Imagination- terrible. Hung around until Soarin FP at 12:55pm. After that, straight to Canada for one of the best beers ever, La Fin du Monde. Then basically World Showcase snacking/drinking/shopping until Marrakesh reservation at 6:30pm (changed it from 7:30pm earlier in the day). Marrakesh wasn't too bad, will probably try somewhere else next time. I was pretty tipsy by this point so I left (grabbed a Guinness in England as I left) and was back at POFQ by 8pm probably on another relatively fast bus. I swam for the last time of my trip and was in bed by 10pm.

Friday, 12/2: Earlier than expected to Hollywood Studios (about 9am). Great Movie Ride (boring), RnR FP+ around 9:45am (hated it), fruit tart and coffee from Starring Rolls to calm down, some mindless shopping, ToT FP+ an hour later (was super scared, but looking back it wasn't too bad), then wandered to Star Tours area (FP at 11:50am). After that I went directly to the Brown Derby lounge for a bloody mary and a cobb salad- delicious! Left and started my walk to Epcot at about 1:30pm, needed to kill time before Yachtsman Steakhouse at 6:30pm. First hung around the Boardwalk until Ample Hills opened at 2pm...AMAZING ICE CREAM. Then wandered the pavilions I didn't the day before...France, England, and then had to return some stuff to Japan. Watched the movie in France and the movie in China, hung out in the quiet area in Japan for awhile, and then headed to Yacht Club for my reservation. Food was really amazing. I think I made another FP for Spaceship Earth but I can't remember! Anyway, headed back and was at POFQ by 9pm. Felt kinda sick (I don't usually eat so much meat) so I was up until about 2am and had to pack.

Saturday, 12/3: Last day! Got up early despite my late night and was at Magic Kingdom by 8:30am. Adventureland to start and went on Aladdin's carpets (fun!) followed by Big Thunder and Haunted Mansion and IASW for my last time! I believe I headed to POTC and got one more Citrus Swirl, then I had a FP for Talking Mickey which almost made me cry but he's definitely better for little kids, or maybe I just have trouble holding a conversation! I think at this point I went on Carousel of Progress, then to my Haunted Mansion FP, to Casey's for corn dog nuggets, then to PP for my last FP of the trip. One last ride on the Carrousel and then I headed home. Waited at POFQ for a good while for my DME. Flights back weren't as great and I had a killer headache on my MCO- Charlotte flight but was better for my last leg.

All in all- a WONDERFUL trip!

Favorite rides: It's a Small World might be my favorite ride now. Strange, huh? I also thought 7DMT was really fun. Test Track. Both HP rides.
Least favorite: Pooh, Little Mermaid, Rock n' Roller Coaster.

Favorite park: Epcot/MK tied.
Least favorite: Hollywood Studios, hands down.

Favorite food: Yachtsman Steakhouse Filet Mignon was amazing. As was the Mushroom Bisque from Artist Point. And a carnitas taco from a stand outside Mexico was delicious. Brown Derby cobb salad.
Least favorite: Norway's School Bread has a really strange flavor and I was not impressed.

Best drink: Pretty much any beer I got was really good. There was a good smoked porter from Norway. Oh, and Trader Sam's mai-tai.
Worst: That Tipsy Ducks in Love from China's pavillion that everyone raves about is TOO sweet and not that great.

Things I missed this time around that I'd like to do: Illuminations, a nice spot for Wishes, actually Drink Around the World (even though I went over 2 days I still skipped a drink in Mexico! Argh!)
Things I won't do next time: go during Christmas or, at least, not watch Christmas parade.

 

[DisneyGB]

Ok here's my recap!

Sunday 11/27
4 a.m. wake up to leave for airport by 5 a.m. Had noticed my son's eyes getting a little gunky late the prior afternoon, and luckily got a prescription for eyedrops to treat pink eye. He woke up this morning with full blown pink eye so I was relieved to have a treatment. It cleared up pretty quick with the drops but did add some drama to getting out the door. Flight took off as scheduled (security was crazy the Sunday after Thanksgiving but we padded our time enough to not stress). Landed about 15 minutes early. I had arranged for a car pick up because of the stories I've heard about waiting for Magical Express. Car was waiting for us and we were at the Boardwalk in no time! Our rooms weren't ready but we checked some bags with the bellhop and were ushered upstairs to the Club Level Lounge. Completed check in and were told we'd get a text when rooms ready. Grabbed some food in the lounge (they had set out mini sandwiches, chips, trail mix, drinks) and then headed to bus stop. Waited about 15 mins for bus to Animal Kingdom. Arrived ahead of my schedule to AK. Fit in Tough to Be a Bug first thing. Kids were scared but also laughed. Headed to FP for Festival of the Lion King. Great show! So glad we made it for this. Especially loved the fire twirling and the "flying" dancer. Took some photo pass photos on our way over to our FP for Everest. Kids were terrified and I reassured them it was a "family coaster". Oops. I'd never ridden either. This was a scary one!! I had to close my own eyes, and my daughter was basically in my lap while my son was in my mother's. DH loved it. We had a good laugh afterward at my incorrect assessment of the ride. Hit Flights of Wonder after Everest. Awesome show!! My son especially loved it. We had some time before our Tusker House ADR so my son participated in one of the dancing shows while DD and I looked at pins, then they both banged on some drums. Tusker House was great - service was great and so were the character interactions. Food was so-so but fine. After dinner we headed to FP Safari. Ended up waiting in line about 20-30 mins despite the FP and was frustrated as it was getting dark (I had planned for it to be right at sunset so we'd have light). Despite that, had an awesome safari that the kids absolutely loved!! We caught a few minutes of Tree of Life Awakenings and headed back to hotel. Rooms were great! Loved the Boardwalk all week - highly recommend.

Monday 11/28
Universal Day. Kind of a flop overall. DD loves Harry Potter but she's also pretty nervous/cautious and the rides were just way too intense. We hit Forbidden Journey first and she and DS were pretty terrified. I had to close my eyes a few times too! Rode Flight of the Hippogriff with DH & DS; DS loved it (DD sat it out with my parents). Bought wands at Ollivanders - loved the preshow, but couldn't get the wands to work so ended up returning them. Fortunately they were very nice about returns, no problem. Took Hogwarts Express over to UF. Rode Escape from Gringotts, but only could convince DS to ride with DH and my dad and I. Loved it, but DS was spooked. My dad was pretty tired of Harry Potter at this point so we went to grab lunch. At at Simpson's food court - poor reviews all around. Terrible food. I got tacos from a taco truck that looked like a bee (?) outside of the food court -- those were actually pretty good. After lunch we rode ET which was a crowd pleaser for our group. Then I tried to sell the kids on Despicable Me but they'd lost all trust in me!!! DH and I rode it alone. I was getting frustrated at this point. We ended up taking Hogwarts Express back to IOA and rode some of the Suess rides, then called around 2:30 to be picked up by the van service. This actually ended up being a really fun afternoon as kids got to swim in the pool, and we had dinner on the Boardwalk (sandwiches from Boardwalk Bakery - good food, not great service) and watched some Boardwalk entertainment, etc. My mom and I walked over to Yacht & Beach to see their Christmas decor. Beach Club carousel was gorgeous!

Tuesday 11/29
Epcot (back in the Disney bubble!) -- Great day. Walked over from Boardwalk, which was so convenient. They let us in the park before 9a.m., so we headed right for Frozen where we were able to get right in line. Waited maybe 15-20 mins. I was blown away by Frozen! Rest of family liked it too. From Frozen headed to our Garden Grill ADR. Super fun time there. After breakfast rode Livin with the Land (FP) and Soarin (waited 25 mins, but kids loved the interactive trivia game in line). Kids like Livin with the Land better than Soarin!! But both were hits. DS wanted to head back to hotel at this point to swim, so DH and my dad walked him back while my mom and I brought DD to our Character Spot FP. This went slower than I would've liked, but was her only chance to meet Minnie and she had fun. Then we walked back to hotel as well for pool time. After pool break, headed back to Epcot for our Test Track FP. Another big hit with everyone except DD who was scared (liked designing the car though). Then headed to Via Napoli for our CP ADR. Great dinner! Had some time to kill between "dinner" (was at 3:45!) and the CP (6:45) so we took our time and kids did a Fun Stop I think in America, and we wandered through Japan where DD bought herself a Pokemon hat of all things for a souvenir. Candlelight Processional was lining up super early; we got in line later than we should've and ended up pretty far back. Regardless, the show was AMAZING and I wish I could've seen it more than once! NPH was our narrator. I was completely moved by the whole experience, teared up a few times. So beautiful! Headed back to hotel afterward to meet my parents on the Boardwalk for some ice cream at Ample Hills and then bed. We had a FP for Illuminations later in the week so were ok skipping it tonight.

Wednesday 11/30
Planned late start to the day. 11:20 1900 Park Fare ADR. Ended up using a van to go over to the Grand Floridian about 10:30. This was great and worth the $20. Spent some time exploring the decorations there, and having some photo pass pics in front of their tree, etc. Breakfast was fun -- DD especially liked meeting Alice and DS Pooh & Tigger. Food was delicious!! Took the monorail over to MK after. Hit up our FP for Peter Pan which was cute but cannot imagine waiting in a long line for it?! Went over to Philharmagic afterward which was also cute. Then we met up with our VIP Tour Guide at Mine Train. He was the BEST!! If you ever have the opportunity to use a guide, I highly recommend it. We cut some days off our trip to be able to afford it, but it was such a wonderful afternoon with him! I can't remember the exact order, but he got us on Mine Train 3x (DS fave), Tea Cups 3x (DD fave), Carousel, Small World, Winnie the Pooh, Big Thunder, Splash, Magic Carpets, Pirates, Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Space Ranger Spin. We also got awesome reserved parade seating. He found us a table when we grabbed dinner at Casey's, and he pushed our double stroller the entire time! Our time was up with him at 8:30 and we had sprung for the Wishes dessert party that night. His last piece of pixie dust for the day was getting us to the front of the line for the party which was a nice treat. The dessert party was nice - it was a relaxing way to see the fireworks for sure. Fireworks were amazing, I'd never seen them before. Kids were TIRED but liked it.

Thursday 12/1
Another late starter on purpose. Got to Epcot about 10:00. Rode Spaceship Earth (FP) which DD loved, then hit The Seas for Turtle Talk (we all thought was boring) and Nemo (DD liked). Then Sunshine Seasons for lunch (pretty decent). This was Day 2 with our Guide. Met him at Soarin and he got us on that again. Fun! Then he drove us the back way over to ride Test Track! That was pretty neat, to go in the cast member entrance. Then we jumped on Mission Space (green) which ended up being another favorite for DS. Then, because I mentioned the kids loved the safari, he drove us over to Animal Kingdom and we parked right by the safari and hopped on! Then he drove us over to Hollywood Studios, parked outside Rockin' Roller Coaster, and DH & DS hopped on that (another favorite for DS). You can't imagine how much time it saves to drive between the parks and to park at the Cast Member entrances! After RnR I could not convince anyone to ride Tower of Tower. We ended up watching the Storm Troopers march, and then headed to Jedi Training which the guide had reserved for us. Kids LOVED that, and I thought it was completely awesome too. We grabbed a quick dinner at Backlot Express, which was actually delicious, but ended on a bad note when my mother saw a rat!! We hightailed it out pretty quickly. Evidently with all the construction the rats are being displaced... . Anyhow, we went over to Star Tours which was also great. Then we hit the biggest crowd pleaser of the trip, Toy Story Midway Mania. We quickly rode this twice before rushing to Jingle Bell Jingle Bam. We watched the beginning of this, and then followed the guide over to Fantasmic where he had reserved us seats. He was SO excited for us to see Fantasmic (I had been on the fence about seeing it). Honestly, I didn't love it, but it was ok. After this, the last bit of pixie dust was a ride back to Epcot, where he dropped us over by Spaceship Earth so we could ride again. After he left we rode Mission Space one more time, then headed to our Illuminations FP. Illuminations as always was my favorite nighttime show and did not disappoint. The holiday tag / peace on Earth at the end was unbelievable. Oooh I also ate a cronut during this - yum! Then we walked back to Boardwalk.

Friday 12/2
This wasn't a great day for us. It was our MVMCP day. We started the day at Epcot so that we could jump on Mission Space for DS and Imagination ride for DD (we split up). Then met back up to take monorail to MK. The crowds going to MK from the Transportation center were crazy. Then the back up at security to get into MK was forever. Since we had ridden so much with the guide, my plan for this day was to hit the rides with no wait that my kids had wanted to do. We spent a lot of time on Tom Sawyer Island which they loved exploring. Then we had a FP for Big Thunder, which DS, DH & I rode, others sat out with DD. Then Swiss Family Treehouse, which they liked but I had allocated another 30 mins to explore and it was quick, just climbed up and down and were done, so needed to find a filler before our Jingle Cruise FP. Kids rode Magic Carpets again. Then Jingle Cruise, which honestly was kind of lame but the kids liked. Then I forced the kids to ride Haunted Mansion (this was quite a fight, they were scared) and I think they didn't hate it as much as they let on but also didn't really like it. I probably should not have made them ride it! Then we had a lunch at Crystal Palace which ended up being kind of a waste. The kids had already met Pooh & Tigger, and those were the only characters that made it over to us before we finished eating. They really wanted to meet Piglet & Eeyore, but they were super far away and I couldn't see waiting another half hour to meet them. The food was great here though, and so was the service. Afterward we hit Barnstormer (FP), Tea Cups, Dumbo, Monster's Laugh Floor (loved this! so cute and funny! also picked up our party wristbands outside here), People Mover, Carousel of Progress (surprisingly everyone enjoyed this), and Buzz again (bit of a long wait but we like that one). Columbia Harbor House for dinner - good. After dinner my phone was showing 20 mins for 7DMT so we went to that figuring we'd have time before parade. Sign said 30 mins when we got there, but decided to wait anyway (my mom took DD on teacups twice while we waited). Ended up taking probably 50 mins before we got on!! Parade started while we were in line. We saw the backs of the floats from where we ended up watching. Then everyone was SUPER cranky and could not hold it together so we left. So basically, we saw the back end of a parade and had one cookie with eggnog for the party. Total waste of money - would either do it very differently or just not do it again. Kids were too tired, lines were too long, it felt super crowded...

Sat 12/3
Packed in the morning. Checked our bags & printed boarding passes, but our flights were not until 6:45 pm. Split up the group -- DH, DS, and I went to Hollywood Studios; my parents took DD to Epcot for World Showcase shopping and lunch. The Studious was great!! Got on Start Tours two more times (DS was the rebel spy the last time!), saw another Trooper march, DS made his own light saber for his souvenir, saw Muppets 3-D and Indiana Jones, had lunch at PizzeRizzo, and ended the day with our final FP at Toy Story MM. We had walked to HS (it only took about 15 mins) so we walked back. Met up with the rest of the family, had Ample Hills ice cream on the Boardwalk. Kids made gingerbread cookies in the lobby. DH took DS to the arcade. Then Magical Express picked us up and we were off!

Truly a great trip. I could give so many more details but this is probably long enough!!! Cannot thank you all for your help in planning. The tips I got on hear were extremely valuable and made the vacation run so smoothly!

 

[L_MD]

Ok here's my recap!


Monday 11/28
Universal Day. Kind of a flop overall. DD loves Harry Potter but she's also pretty nervous/cautious and the rides were just way too intense. We hit Forbidden Journey first and she and DS were pretty terrified. I had to close my eyes a few times too! Rode Flight of the Hippogriff with DH & DS; DS loved it (DD sat it out with my parents). Bought wands at Ollivanders - loved the preshow, but couldn't get the wands to work so ended up returning them. Fortunately they were very nice about returns, no problem. Took Hogwarts Express over to UF. Rode Escape from Gringotts, but only could convince DS to ride with DH and my dad and I. Loved it, but DS was spooked.

This is funny to me because while I did have to close my eyes on Forbidden Journey (more because of potential motion sickness than scare factor) I thought Gringotts was MUCH scarier. That first drop, oh my god!!

 

[DisneyGB]

This is funny to me because while I did have to close my eyes on Forbidden Journey (more because of potential motion sickness than scare factor) I thought Gringotts was MUCH scarier. That first drop, oh my god!!

I think it was the imagery in Forbidden Journey that I found scarier.

I should add that something that contributed to me enjoying rides throughout the week was that I took Dramamine every morning before the parks! Worked wonders!!!

 

[JamieOak]

I think it was the imagery in Forbidden Journey that I found scarier.

I should add that something that contributed to me enjoying rides throughout the week was that I took Dramamine every morning before the parks! Worked wonders!!!

I loved Gringotts and wanted to ride it as many times as possible. Forbidden Journey was more intense to me and we only rode twice and I was done with it. I wore a motion sickness patch every day and Forbidden Journey was the only one that tested it's limits. I did close my eyes on Forbidden Journey a few times. Who wants to be that close to a dementor??

 

[L_MD]

Maybe I blocked out most of Forbidden Journey's imagery because I remember the spiders but not the dementor! I was also next to two women who kept screaming so I felt OK to scream too and maybe that released some of my tension! I will say the Quidditch Pitch part was way intense. I don't know how people come off that ride not feeling slightly dizzy.

 

[heath92681]

How's everyone dealing with Disney withdrawal??

 

[L_MD]

How's everyone dealing with Disney withdrawal??

I'm not doing too bad, I'm still attempting to finish up writing out my trip report in a little journal I took and I still have to do one posting regarding it. But I've definitely stopped going on the Disboards as much, and I'm doing my best to cope with being back in the real world! I placed one order when I got back so I'm still getting a few little Disney odds-and-ends here and there. Last week I was playing the "at x time I was at Magic Kingdom" game, but I'm 2 weeks out now and I've been a bit better about not doing that to myself. I'm just doing my best to keep the memories fresh and think (just slightly!) about my next trip. But even starting to plan for that is about a year away so I have some time.

How about you?