Operation Rising Snow: December 2019 Trip Report

[TrolleyTrouble2713]

Hi! This is my first trip report, so I'm going off of everyone else's example.

Myself (24M) and my mother and father took a trip to WDW from 12/14-12/18. I guess I'm going to break it up into multiple parts, so this one will be:

Background

We booked this trip about 6 weeks prior. My parents haven't been to WDW since 2007. I was there once in that time, on my Senior Trip in 2013. I do the planning for pretty much all the family trips, so this one was no exception. My planning files were called Rising Snow as my two priorities were holiday decorations and Rise of the Resistance, so I've leant this report the same name.

Flight was through American. We used Advantage Miles to cover it, I'm not sure what the cost was otherwise.

Our lodging was at the Hilton Buena Vista Palace across from Disney Springs. We used Honors Points, so again I can't recall what the cash value was. BUT I do know that both standard "Resort View" rooms and the pricier "Disney Springs View" rooms were the same 200k point value, so we went for the latter.

Tickets were a bit funky. We wanted to do the Christmas Party since we had never been down to see all the decorations before, so to save money I changed two of our tickets to the Mid-Day Magic package. Since we bought them for "starting on 12/15" we were able to actually use them on the 16th and 17th. The other ticket, the one we used on the 15th, was a normal park ticket. We bought that one through Disney, and the MDM and Party tickets through UndercoverTourist.

We also purchased a dining package for the Epcot Candlelight Processional.

We flew to Orlando on Saturday the 14th, got there about 3:30. That's where I'll start the report.

 

[TrolleyTrouble2713]

Saturday:

(The Christmas Tree at MCO)

By the time we Lyfted over to the hotel and got checked in, it was about 5:30. Our room wasn't finished so we went to the hotel bar. Ask for a Tito's Orange Martini if you ever find yourself there.


(The Pool Island at the Buena Vista Palace)

(The view of Disney Springs from our room)

We went down to Disney Springs to get our email confirmation for Sunday turned into physical tickets. Dinner was at Earl of Sandwich (my perennial Disney spot; there used to be one in the Philly International Airport terminal but they removed it). When we go back next we'll definitely make time for the Tree Trail.


(The lobby at the Poly)

After Dinner we took the bus from DS to the Polynesian. I had read about "hotel hopping" earlier this summer, and was excited to watch fireworks from the beach. We were surprised to be chilly as the nighttime temp on the beach was about 60 degrees. But the cafe had hot cocoa so all was forgiven. I had originally considered going to the Grand Floridian after this but over the course of the previous week I was glued to the Rise of the Resistance thread and had learned we had an... early start ahead of us the next morning.

A quick word on ride-sharing at WDW. Lyft and Uber were not things when we were last at Disney, and we stayed at an All-Star resort on my Senior Trip. It's not that expensive and saves you a ton of time. We maybe rode three busses this trip. This trip to the Poly tonight was a full house, about 20 minutes of standing in total darkness. Not the most rewarding experience.

 

[TrolleyTrouble2713]

Sunday:

(The Hollywood Studios gate at 6:39)

We left the hotel a bit after 6 in order to secure Boarding Group 66 at HS. It was still dark when we arrived, but the sun was just around the corner.

Hollywood Studios is quite gorgeous in the early morning. The Christmas lights are on, the 50s Christmas Standards are on the radio, it's a nice scene. Still, we didn't eat or shower before we went to HS, so we Lyfted back to the hotel.

The Palace is a Good Neighbor Hotel, having a shuttle for the parks (Springs Resort Area Route B, to be exact), Extra Magic Hours, and even a character Brunch on Sundays. Goofy liked my Captain Marvel shirt.

We returned to HS by 10:30. I only did our Tier 1 Fast Pass for the day, as none of the other things we wanted to do needed it. We knocked out Muppets while we waited for the next showing of Indiana Jones (a first for us). By then we had about ten minutes to wander before our lunch reservation at Sci-Fi.


(Intermission at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater)

We all got the bacon cheeseburger. I also got an oreo milkshake. They're pretty good, but huge. While we were eating, our BG got called for Rise of the Resistance. An entirely painless process, if you can get yourself out of bed. Keep in mind, this was less than two weeks after opening too, so it will probably get more streamlined.


(My new best friend, Lt. Bek)

Rise of the Resistance is a great time. If you're on the boards it may be too late for you, but like a good Star Wars movie it's best experienced without prior knowledge.

It takes about an hour to get from the entrance to the exit of Rise. We stopped to look around Galaxy's Edge briefly, which made us a hair late for our TSM fastpass. The cast members are pretty lenient about it with the ride opens though, especially since the FP line at TSM was dead. Basically a walk-on. We would have done it again if the standby line wasn't 50 minutes.

Next up was Oga's Cantina. I had to use a third party tool to make all my ADRs because of how last minute our trip was but fortunately I got everything I wanted. We saw a crowd of people gathering in front of Kylo Ren's Command Ship and figured something was going to happen on the hour. We watched Kylo do his thing, and the officer in the show chatted us up while we waited to get into the Cantina. The First Order Cast Members are great, especially on the ride.

My review of the Cantina: probably worth doing once, definitely not worth doing every trip. I'm no expert on mixed drinks, but even a good drink shouldn't be 18 dollars. The Cantina itself is cool, but you do feel like maybe there should be more stuff happening at the bar. Like the Worts in the tanks should move around more, or some of the servers should be dressed as Trandoshans. Something like that.

We were at a standing table by the door. Some Troopers tried to get into the bar while we were there, but the cast members out front made hsort work of them.


(A pair of Stormtroopers weaves through the crowd in front of Smuggler's run)

The sun was starting to set by now. MFSR was over an hour wait, but those types of rides aren't my speed anyway. We took a break at Pixar Place for some water and a Mickey Pretzel (and a bench!). Then we met Edna since there was no line.

I wanted to get some night shots of Batuu, so we circled back around. Red Carpet Dreams was still backed up so I never got to meet Sorcerer Mickey. We did see that Star Tours had a 20 minute wait, so decided to do that. It wasn't even 20 once we were in. I didn't care for it. Those rides make me uneasy. It was also a lot rougher than Rise's sim section, which probably isn't a fair comparison.

From HS we hopped the bus to Wilderness Lodge. Their tree is gorgeous, and they have a PhotoPass photographer on duty until around 9. We had dinner at the Geyser Point bar, which wasn't as good as the scenery.

 

[TrolleyTrouble2713]

Monday:

(While nowhere near the size of the Wilderness Lodge's tree, the Yacht Club's is nothing to sneeze at)

We started by Lyfting to the Yacht Club, as our Dining Package was for Brunch at Ale & Compass. This was one of my favorite meals we had at WDW. You get access to the buffet and a choice of entree (try the Blueberry Bacon Pancakes if you're not feeling too adventurous).

Our tickets didn't get us into Epcot until 12 (though I think they let us in 10 minutes early). Since we had never been to the Boardwalk Area, we took in some sights, and went next door to the Beach Club (BoardWalk in was a bit far, being on the other side of Crescent Lake). I've heard that BC is a but more airy and fun than YC, and while I suppose I believe that, the opulence of YC is hard to beat. Especially with the decorations up.


(It pays to exit the stores in World Showcase through a different door than you entered)

At the UK Pavilion we met Pooh. A family behind us said that this meet and greet had been closed for years and only recently opened back up. There was no line, and in fact no signage either. The only reason we knew it was there was that we could see the giant yellow shape of Pooh behind a frosted door in the back of the Toy Shop. The entrance is the green awning in the little back square where Mary Poppins meets (and St. Nicholas during the holidays, who wasn't out at that time). It's a cool space, it looks like Christopher Robin's bedroom. If you don't need to meet Tigger it's probably better than the Thotful Spot in MK.

We listened to the band at the Canada Pavilion. Unfortunately, we then had to leave the park for a while as my mother seems to have developed an allergic reaction to something we haven't yet determined. They sent me back to Epcot to see a few more things while she got checked. I met Belle in the France Pavilion to get a get well soon recording for my mom. More importantly, I was able to move our Processional to 6:45 so that we could still make it! Huge shout-out to the CMs, whose names I wish I had made note of.

We lost out on a few rides (including Frozen and the Living With the Land overlay) but not that. I would have maybe liked to do Spaceship Earth once before the remodel and see Epcot Forever in person, but it's whatever.

A few other miscellaneous things from my afternoon:

- The Holiday Storytellers are the unsung heroes of the Festival of Holidays. Most of them aren't very crowded; the musical acts in Mexico and Canada are the major exception, followed by the ones right out front like Pere Noelle in France and the Chinese Acrobats.
- None of them hold a candle to Sigri and Barn Santa, and a small fence helps keep their crowd manageable. Don't miss them.
- World Showcase is light on things to do, but high on things to see. Only Galaxy's Edge compares to the amount of stuff you can see in the stores. And soon there will be Ratatouille and Mary Poppins, so even better.


(A massive orchestra and choir flank your celebrity host at the Candlelight Processional. Pat Sajak, tonight)

The CP was excellent. Probably the closest thing to a "mass" you could see at WDW. The Dining Package is also pretty much required for it. I didn't have a choice for which show I got when I ordered the package, it seems kind of like brunch gets you the 5pm show, lunch the 6:45 show, and dinner the 8pm. But at any rate, they for two lines: the Package Holder line starts on the Japan side of the USA Pavilion (the show itself is on that stage there where the boat is) while the standby line starts on the Italy side. Around 15 minutes before showtime they let all the Package Holders in first, then the Standby Line. The 5pm show didn't seem that busy, but at the 6:45 show the Package line went back to the Morocco Pavilion. I'd be surprised if a hundred people from the standby line made it in. The good news is, if you don't have a seat you might be able to find a standing spot on the outside. The theater is open air, so you can still hear everything.

After the show we had dinner at Via Napoli. My mom's side of the family is Italian, so the Italy Pavilion has never quite wowed me. Brick Oven Pizza, however, is almost always good, and this place wasn't open yet the last time we were here.

The pizza is good, probably the second best I've had on vacation (that #1 slot goes to Home Slice in Austin, TX, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that the rest of Texas' pizza is nothing to write home about). Moreover, the space is very pretty. I don't remember what the Italy Pavilion interior looked like before Via Napoli was here, but I could hardly imagine it without the placemaking it lends.


(The ovens at Via Napoli are named after Italy's three volcanoes)

After dinner we were pretty wiped from the day's adventures. We were cut a bit short at Epcot, but still had fun.

I'll leave with another note on the hotel: the Buena Vista Palace can be a bit nosiy depending on you have around you, but you won't hear anything from the lobby that all the rooms open up to, which I liked. While I think the hotel is good overall, they're a bit stingy on the shampoo. Also, if you can pony up the money for it, an Epcot View Room would almost certainly give you a prime fireworks show from your balcony.

Oh yeah, all the rooms have balconies. Tiny things, but there's a table and a couple little stools.


(Spaceship Earth, stupid photogenic as usual)

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more