You Get a Suite! You Get a Suite! Everybody Gets a Suite! December 2023 Trip Report! (Updated 5/2!)

[VAtink]

I miss the castle lights, too. They were much better than the current projections.

Yeah, it's too bad they seem pretty much set on just doing projections these days. If they ever bring the lights back I will definitely be making a trip down to see them in person!

We were surprised to see the Hatbox ghost when we were there last month. It was the first day that it was on exhibit and hadn't been expecting it. But he is really cool!

Haha, that's a fortuitous surprise! He is really cool, I'm happy we got to see him.

It is fun to see the beams when riding the Wedway, but I agree with you about not liking it when on the ride.

Yes! I love seeing it from the Peoplemover, but actually being on the ride seeing those beams whip past your head is scary!

 

[VAtink]

Loving your trip report! It's bringing back such wonderful, recent memories!

Thank you!

So sorry you were sick but I'm glad you're doing better!

Aw, thanks! Yeah, I'm much better now, but it was a scary week. Glad I can focus on planning Disney trips again now!

 

[motherdaughtercruisers]

Oh wow, that's wild the prices were similar! I would love to do that one day, I just need to actually save up vacation time instead of using the moment I get it!

Right? I spent the whole ride trying to make myself shorter!

I feel your pain! My Mom is retired and so she is travel ready and when she gets a trip in mind it’s like now! Haha.

Also I am loving your TR, I’m currently reading both of yours!

It is getting me excited! We leave on Sunday for a week in WDW!

 

[PrincessGidget]

All caught up. I was, er…away…
OK, I was in wdw. And I thought you might like this…

I rode by myself and got double galactic here, but sadly, only one sticker.

Glad you are on the mend

 

[VAtink]

I feel your pain! My Mom is retired and so she is travel ready and when she gets a trip in mind it’s like now! Haha.

Ah, yeah, I'm jealous of your mom! My mom is still working part time, and as a teacher her schedule is more rigid than mine, which on one hand is nice that she's not booking all these trips I can't join, but can also be frustrating when I want to do a trip with her that doesn't fall during one of her school breaks.

Also I am loving your TR, I’m currently reading both of yours!

Aww, thank you!

It is getting me excited! We leave on Sunday for a week in WDW!

That is so exciting!! I hope you have the most amazing trip! Will you be checking out FArts? It is my favorite festival, I'm so sad I'm not going to it this year!

 

[VAtink]

All caught up. I was, er…away…
OK, I was in wdw. And I thought you might like this…
View attachment 828789
I rode by myself and got double galactic here, but sadly, only one sticker.

Glad you are on the mend

That's so awesome! (The trip AND the score!) I hope you had a great time. I've never tried getting a double galactic hero, but that is on my list of things to try now!

 

[motherdaughtercruisers]

Ah, yeah, I'm jealous of your mom! My mom is still working part time, and as a teacher her schedule is more rigid than mine, which on one hand is nice that she's not booking all these trips I can't join, but can also be frustrating when I want to do a trip with her that doesn't fall during one of her school breaks.

Aww, thank you!

That is so exciting!! I hope you have the most amazing trip! Will you be checking out FArts? It is my favorite festival, I'm so sad I'm not going to it this year!

Yeah! We’re super excited that FArts will be going on, but not sure what to expect! We have gone for F&W and F&G and have loved those so we are sure we will find something to get into!

 

[VAtink]

Yeah! We’re super excited that FArts will be going on, but not sure what to expect! We have gone for F&W and F&G and have loved those so we are sure we will find something to get into!

Haha, I'm sure you'll love it! I've found the food there to be better than the other festivals, plus there is so much to see with all the art! The fancy grilled cheese from pop eats is amazing, as it the beef from Germany (can't remember the actual food booth name), and the mushroom risotto from Canada rounded out my top dishes from last year, and it looks like they all came back this year!

 

[VAtink]

Day 2, Part 6: MVMCP, Part 4!​

We last left off riding Space Mountain.

After Space, mom wanted to get more cookies, so we headed over to Cosmic Rays to get in the line.

It was a bit of a cluster in here, there were CMs along the windows that kept ushering people further in, telling everyone not to go down any of the lines since they were too full, there were more cookie lines up ahead. Well, this was a total mess since the groups ahead of us, us, and the groups behind us, were all ushered all the way through without ever getting a cookie!

So we all looped back around, and this time I ignored the CMs yelling at us not to get into a cookie line and did and got my cookie!

We decided to sit at a table outside here for a bit so my parents could enjoy the hot chocolate they picked up there (I couldn’t do hot chocolate that night, it was like 80 degrees and stupidly humid, hot drinks just sounded gross). We rested there a bit before heading out again. This time we were going to see if there was any line forming for the dessert party.

We made our way over to Tomorrowland terrace, and were absolutely shocked to see a massive line already! It was only 8:15 and the posted check-in was 9! We usually get there early, but like 20 minutes early, not 45 minutes, and usually 20 minutes early is enough to be one of the first in.

Since the line was already so long, we decided to get in it and wait.

Fortunately they started to let us in at 8:30, and we lucked out and got to pick a table by the railing (I was worried having three of us since most times we’ve been the tables by the railing are only for two people). It was further back and under the roof though, so not as good as our usual spot, but still a nice view.

Once we settled on a table (had three to pick from) the CM that brought us in offered to get pictures of us there, which we of course loved that idea!



We settled in with some treats, water, and wine and enjoyed for a few minutes before mom and I decided to head out to check out some of the first parade. We stood way back so could only see the high floats, but it was fine, we saw Santa.



We did head over to Main Street during the parade since one of my top things I wanted to see that night was the snow in Main Street, but it never snowed during the first parade! Some of the CMs said it was because of the rain it would make the ground too slippery which I guess makes sense.

After the parade we made our way back to the dessert party to enjoy more wine and treats.



A bit later, dad and I headed out to main street to get some photopass pictures with all the decorations!







We then swapped mom and dad, and mom and I headed out to get photopass pictures!







By the time we had gotten all the pictures it was like 9:40, so 20 minutes until the fireworks, so we grabbed some more treats and wine and just relaxed before the show.



The fireworks were AWESOME! And it was so cool to see Tink fly so close to us! I’m so used to the Halloween party where Tink doesn’t fly, it was totally unexpected to see her!



There were parts of the show where the smoke built up sooooo much we couldn’t even see the castle anymore, it was wild, but still a great show!

Next up: MVMCP, Part 5!​

 

[Wood Nymph]

I love the main street Photopass pictures with Santa and his sleigh. It's very Christmassy.

The fireworks were AWESOME! And it was so cool to see Tink fly so close to us! I’m so used to the Halloween party where Tink doesn’t fly, it was totally unexpected to see her!

I've only seen the MVMCP fireworks from the Grand Floridian, but I absolutely adore what I can see and hear from the resort. I just wish they didn't have them so late at night.

 

[VAtink]

I love the main street Photopass pictures with Santa and his sleigh. It's very Christmassy.

That shot is really cool, I love all the magic shots, especially the special holiday ones!

I've only seen the MVMCP fireworks from the Grand Floridian, but I absolutely adore what I can see and hear from the resort. I just wish they didn't have them so late at night.

It is such a great show! I actually liked it better than the Halloween party fireworks.

 

[VAtink]

Day 2, Part 7: MVMCP, Part 5!​

We last left off wrapping up the fireworks dessert party. Once the show was over, we hung out for another 10 minutes to let the crowds clear before heading out.

Our first stop, which should be a surprise to no one, was a photopass photographer!



We then headed over to Frontierland to get a good spot for the parade. On the way we of course took pictures!


Frontierland was still relatively empty at that point so we found a spot a few feet over from another family and sat down to wait. Well, it turns out the ground was a bit wet where mom was sitting, so we scooched over towards the other family a bit so she would have dry ground. So we ended up being only about 1-1.5 ft from the family next to us, but I didn’t want to get closer at that point since there was no one on the other side of us and it just seemed awkward to move that close with no one else around.
Similar to the Halloween party, they had the Country Bears out entertaining us before the parade!


Well, the parade starts, and the area around us is still relatively empty, so I didn’t bother moving any closer to the family next to us. Turns out this was a mistake. A few minutes into the parade this family comes rushing up behind us to watch, we were sitting so they had great views, but they ended up shoving their son into the space between the other family and myself, which was a small enough space it was just super awkward, like the kid was entirely in my personal space AND he kept kicking me (and not a little kid, he was like 13). I shot the parents a few glares, and they half heartedly told the kid to move back a bit and stay still, but he kept pushing forward and pushing the rope out so he was fully past the line and in the parade route blocking my view. Ugh, I hate parents like that, so self absorbed. If they needed front row spots, they should not have shown up to the parade 5 minutes after it started.

Besides the obnoxious family, the parade was great! They did cut the toy soldiers for the second parade though which was a bummer, I was looking forward to seeing them, but oh well, the reindeer were plenty funny enough to watch!







After the parade we headed over to Tortuga Tavern to get the cookie there, then headed way back over to Buzz. This time dad wanted to ride with mom!

I have no idea what anyone’s scores were this time around, all I know is dad got a higher score than my mom and she wasn’t very happy about it!




When we got off Buzz, we saw the boy band was performing and there was hardly any crowd, so we headed over to watch a bit before deciding to call it a night, it was just before midnight at that point. Of course stopping to get pictures on the way.



As we’re making our way out we turn onto Main Street, and I stop short, and scream “OMG, IT’S SNOAPING!!!!!!!!” Seriously, I figured after not having snow during the first parade, and watching the second from Frontierland that I would miss out on it completely, so it was the most awesome surprise to turn the corner onto Main Street and see the snow!




​

https://flic.kr/p/2puNPxa

As we were taking in the snow, I decided to see if I could book us a Minnie Van to get home, and surprise, I got one! It was still 20 minutes out, so we had plenty of time to take tons of pictures and just enjoy the snow on Main St.

Finally it was time to head out, so we made our way over to the Minnie Van stop and waited a few minutes for ours to arrive. It was a quick drive home, and soon we were enjoying some wine in the room before calling it a night!

I had to laugh when I saw how we had left some of our nighttime snacks, it looked like we left it out for Santa!



Next up: Goodbye Boardwalk, Hello Animal Kingdom Lodge!​

 

[Wood Nymph]

When we got off Buzz, we saw the boy band was performing and there was hardly any crowd, so we headed over to watch a bit before deciding to call it a night, it was just before midnight at that point. Of course stopping to get pictures on the way.

I haven't heard of the boy band but it sounds like they would be fun to listen to. I'm impressed that your parents made it to midnight, especially your Dad.

As we were taking in the snow, I decided to see if I could book us a Minnie Van to get home, and surprise, I got one! It was still 20 minutes out, so we had plenty of time to take tons of pictures and just enjoy the snow on Main St.

The Minnie van was a great idea. It can take forever to get a bus back to the resort.

 

[Woth2982]

There were parts of the show where the smoke built up sooooo much we couldn’t even see the castle anymore,

Add this to one of the 1,000 reasons I really don't like that they have added projections on the castle into the fireworks shows

he kept pushing forward and pushing the rope out so he was fully past the line and in the parade route blocking my view

This is insanely annoying. A kid that age should know better

If they needed front row spots, they should not have shown up to the parade 5 minutes after it started.

THIS! I have two small kids. We got to a parade late in Disneyland and I put my stroller behind the family sitting in front of us and let my DD stand in the stroller during the parade so she could see. We were late. Our own fault!

They did cut the toy soldiers for the second parade though

What a bummer! They are my favorite part of the xmas parade akin to the grave diggers at Halloween!

 

[VAtink]

I haven't heard of the boy band but it sounds like they would be fun to listen to. I'm impressed that your parents made it to midnight, especially your Dad.

Haha, yeah it was way past his bedtime! He was having so much fun though, he wasn't even tired!

The Minnie van was a great idea. It can take forever to get a bus back to the resort.

Right? It's such a nice way to get home after a party, especially knowing you don't have to stand up on the way home!

 

[VAtink]

Add this to one of the 1,000 reasons I really don't like that they have added projections on the castle into the fireworks shows

Oh yeah, I never thought about that! We don't really even care so much about seeing the projections, they're kind of cool, but we're more focused on the fireworks!

This is insanely annoying. A kid that age should know better

Exactly! If it were a little kid it wouldn't have been so obnoxious, but this was basically a teenager!

THIS! I have two small kids. We got to a parade late in Disneyland and I put my stroller behind the family sitting in front of us and let my DD stand in the stroller during the parade so she could see. We were late. Our own fault!

Yes! People can be so frustrating, and so entitled!

What a bummer! They are my favorite part of the xmas parade akin to the grave diggers at Halloween!

I wish they were in the second parade, but at least we got to see the tops of their heads in the first parade!

 

[VAtink]

Day 3, Part 1: Goodbye Boardwalk, Hello Animal Kingdom Lodge!​

I tried to sleep in this morning since the previous night had been so late, we didn’t get home until about 12:45, and then took a bit to wind down before heading to bed, so I was annoyed that I was awake by 7:30.

The one downside to the room in the Boardwalk is the window coverings didn’t do a great job blocking the light, so once the morning light started to stream in, I was awake. Seriously, I suck at sleeping.

I took a quick shower and dried my hair before checking in with my parents to see what they wanted to do.

They had already gone to breakfast, but offered to join me again, so we all headed out to the lounge.

This morning they had a quiche and bacon, the quiche was really good, but the bacon seemed undercooked, it was just kind of soggy. I also got a few glasses of POG juice, and a few cups of coffee. We hung out in the lounge for a while enjoying the food and drinks.

Finally, we headed back to the room to pack and just enjoy some more time in the room. We absolutely loved that room, I would stay in it every single trip if I could!

Around 10:15 we decided it was time to check out our next hotel, so headed downstairs and called for an Uber.

We got a car quickly, and soon were pulling into the AKL!

Once inside we headed to the front desk to check in. I was surprised when the woman checking us in went through the entire check-in process and didn’t bring us upstairs. We get to the point where we’re all checked in, and still no mention of club level, so I finally ask if we could go up to the lounge.

I actually feel kinda bad, the CMs face totally fell when she realized that she missed that we were staying club level. She apologized profusely, and brought us over to bell services to drop off our stuff and then took us upstairs to transfer us to the club level CMs.

Once upstairs we chatted a bit with the CMs up there, we loved the club level CMs at AKL, they were so amazing. One of our favorites was Rachel, she always seemed to be there and was so helpful!

Since we’d already completed the check-in downstairs, the CMs started going through the daily offerings with us and mentioned that they have sangria, to which both my mom and I perked up and one of us said “oh really? Sangria?” The CM asked if we would like one right then, and of course we said yes, nothing wrong with drinking at 10:40 in the morning on vacation!

We settled into a table in the lounge to wait for the drinks to come out. It was so nice being able to hang out there even though it was between food services, especially since our room wasn’t ready yet. While sitting there another CM brought over our welcome gift.





We ended up hanging out there for a while, during which time the lunch/snacks service started, so we grabbed some bites to eat, and took some pictures.





We also spent a ton of time chatting with the CMs up there, they were all so amazing and just fun. One, who’s real name I either forgot or never picked up, was wearing a borrowed name tag, Odin, and she was hilarious. She also gave the most ridiculous wine pours. Just before heading out of the lounge I asked if I could get wine to go, so she went back to grab some for me, and came back carrying a plastic cup filled to the brim. I thought she accidentally got me a beer, but nope, she just forgot to stop pouring.


(this is after having a few sips!)

I made a mental note to find “Odin” every time I wanted a drink!

Next up: Exploring AKL!​

 

[Wood Nymph]

I would be in no hurry to leave the beautiful suite at BWI. I can't wait to hear how you like AKL.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Love AKL, especially at Christmas. The tree is gorgeous. You are really selling me on staying club level but I'm afraid I will love it so much that I want to do it every time. That's what happened to me with DVC, first stay in a one-bedroom and now I am disappointed if I have to stay in a studio. So spoiled!

 

[VAtink]

I would be in no hurry to leave the beautiful suite at BWI. I can't wait to hear how you like AKL.

Yeah, we really wanted to stay as long as possible, but at least we were moving over to another suite, so it wasn't all that hard to move over!