The "I would never go to Disney over New Years" trip report **Updated 2/9 EPCOT on New Years Day

[emilyindisney]

The snow on mainstreet seems so enjoyable (as opposed to snow at home) lol!

Oh my goodness- hahahaha! Seriously lol-ing at your family's comment after the water slide!

 

[ALEXandFAB]

Love that you're tracking the dining plan expenses. We're still trying to figure out if we should add the plan or just pay OOP during our upcoming trip.

And oh my gosh...unwanted enema... I'm sorry you had to experience that (Note to self: CLINCH)

 

[amberg93]

Following along because we're hoping to be at Disney over both holidays this year. I'm a bit disappointed that your plans changed away from Epcot on NYE because that's our plan so I wanted to see what it'd be like. Oh well, we are planning the 30th at MK so it was great to hear about how you managed. Sounds like if we just keep our expectations set reasonably we'll have a great time.

 

[ohboyx3]

Following along because we're hoping to be at Disney over both holidays this year. I'm a bit disappointed that your plans changed away from Epcot on NYE because that's our plan so I wanted to see what it'd be like. Oh well, we are planning the 30th at MK so it was great to hear about how you managed. Sounds like if we just keep our expectations set reasonably we'll have a great time.

One of the reason that we decided against Epcot was because of some posts I had seen about the alcohol getting a little out of control... Not that my kids couldn't handle it, but it wasn't exactly something I wanted them exposed to. I had heard multiple reports from Food and Wine and just couldn't imagine what NYE would be like. I'll post another report about our night soon, but it was definitely insanely crazy and that was with sober people. I can't even imagine adding alcohol into the mix! LOL. For us, I think it was the right decision, although I wouldn't mind seeing the NYE fireworks at Epcot one day. I have heard they are even better than at the MK. Thanks for reading!

 

[Ombo]

Love your report!! Everybody is waiting to hear about NYE! You are very brave .....

 

[ohboyx3]

Hey all! Thank you for reading! I promise I have not abandoned this report! We all got sick after the trip, and then we are in the middle of wrestling season! I promise to get another installment up very soon!

 

[pagek83]

Love your report!! I've always kind of wanted to go around NYE, but the crowds scare me off, haha. You're brave for going to MK on NYE!

 

[ohboyx3]

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this! Wrestling season is wide open and with all three wrestling, we haven’t had much time to do anything else! I am determined to finish our New Years Eve!


We headed to Typhoon Tilly’s to get some lunch. It was just after noon. In the past when we have been here it was always busy, but not today. There were plenty of tables and we walked right up to give our order. As we were ordering, I overheard some CM’s talking about how the Magic Kingdom had reached a Phase closure by 10am. EEEEEK! Yesterday was crazy and the wait times were nuts and it never reached capacity…. so I can’t even imagine what it was like. I was definitely thinking that we had made the right decision coming to TL on a day like today.


Ordering at Typhoon Tilly’s was when we first decided to try out the substitution system on the dining plan. We were able to substitute a frozen lemonade for our drink which was great. DH and I both ordered a grilled chicken sandwich. I really wanted a pizza… but I didn’t see it on the menu. DS11 and DS14 both ordered burgers, and DS16 ordered chicken nuggets. I believe all of us got some sort of strawberry or blueberry lemonade and cake for dessert. We could have gotten a drink and substituted the lemonade for our dessert… but I had brought bottles of water in with me, so why not get two desserts?


I have to say I really liked the flexibility of substituting items on the dining plan. We substituted items the entire trip without any issues at all.


A nice CM that was getting our food struck up a conversation with us after seeing DS in his wrestling T Shirt. He used to wrestle himself apparently. He was an older gentleman and very kind. I just love Disney!


We sat down to eat and shortly after I saw someone with a pizza sit down near us. Darn it! I know I looked all over that menu and didn’t see it. I guess I should have asked. Oh well. Everyone liked what they ate except for DS16. He didn’t like the chicken nuggets at all. He said they were too spicy? I never did try one to see what he was talking about. DH didn’t like them either though.


We finished our meals and then split up. DH and I back to our spots to relax, While the boys went to ride Crusher Gusher. Now I rode that last time and I actually do like that ride. It’s pretty fun, however, it literally is at the other end of the park and relaxing by the wave pool won out.


I can’t exactly remember the sequence of events here, but I do know that DH, DS11 and myself went to the lazy river, while the other two boys went to ride more rides. I also know they spent some more time in the wave pool.


It really was a perfect waterpark day. Crowds remained low all day. I would definitely suggest this for New Years Eve day for someone not wanting to venture into one of the main parks. All in all DS16 rode Humunga Cowabunga a whopping 17 times!!!!! Crazy!


At one point I went looking for a Mickey Pretzel. I only found regular pretzels and decided to save my snack credit for a mickey Pretzel somewhere else. Lol.


Around 2:30 we gathered up our belongings and headed out to catch a bus. Only… Where do we go? Last time we were there we exited to the right to catch a bus back to our resort. Not so this time. I actually had to ask a transportation person where to go.


After 2:00 there is only one way to get back to your resort and that is to catch a bus to Epcot and then change busses to your resort. A big pain in the hiney if you ask me! If I would have known that, I probably would have pushed to leave 30 minutes earlier. Oh well. Lucky for us, an Epcot bus was waiting. We hopped on, waited a few minutes and were off to Epcot.


We get off at Epcot and start walking to our bust and what do we see? You guessed it! A CBR bus loading… So… Once again we make a run for it! The bus was pretty much empty. We did talk to one family that had been at the MK all day. They were beyond exhausted and were telling their horror story of their day. They had wanted to stay for the fireworks, but were too tired and their daughter was getting pushed and shoved everywhere and they just decided it wasn’t worth it. They had small kids and a stoller, etc.


I do think the heat played a part in the exhaustion. It was unseasonably hot in Orlando for December. High 80’s. It really drains you. I am not going to lie that after talking to her, I had my doubts… but we had already committed and were definitely going to the MK despite the crowds and crazinesss.


After a short drive we were back at our resort and you would think that after being at a water park all day we would relax, rest, nap in the room. Nope. We headed back down to the pool area for more swimming! Well most of us got in the hot tub. The pool area at CBR never seemed crowded at all. There were two hot tubs and we preferred the one towards the back, behind the pool. It was never full and lots of times we were the only family in there.


DS11 and I went to get our refillable mugs while we were there also, and I also checked out the gift shop. I was looking for some minnie ears and I really liked these kind that had the sequins all over them that everyone and their neighbor seemed to be wearing. They didn’t have them in the gift shop, but I figured I would find them in the MK tonight.


We purchased our mugs, along with two giant cookies from the bakery to share and headed back to the pool area. I really liked the food court and I loved having the mugs. Our last trip was the first trip that the mugs were included in the dining plan… but we were staying at Fort Wilderness and frankly there is just not anywhere convenient to fill them, so they went unused. We used them a lot on this trip. I loved getting green tea and also hot tea as the temp dropped later in the week. I also love using them now that we are home!


DS16 had of course struck up a conversation with a girl at the hot tub. By the time we left to get ready for dinner they had of course started following each other on instagram…. Luckily she lives in Nevada… not close to Tennessee!!!


We left the pool and decided to shower and get ready for dinner and our big night. We had also decided to eat dinner at OPR before going to the MK because I;m guessing eating at MK, even quick service, on NYE was quite a fiasco!


We Cleaned up and headed to OPR walking across the bridge. We brought our mugs with us so we could substitute a dessert or snack item for the drink. We did, and again, it worked perfectly.


I went to the pasta bar and got alfredo noodles with sausage and a bread stick, DH got a Cheesesteak sub, and the boys all got pizza. We all substituted and got two desserts instead of a drink and filled up our mugs.


We found a spot outside to eat and go over our evening plans.


Everything was yummy. I ate different pasta the three times we ate at OPR and thought it was delicious.


Oh I should add in here that the CM who was checking us out asked our plans. When we told her we were going the MK, she told us we might be watching from the parking lot! I had done my Disney homework, of course, and knew this not be true… The park had closed earlier in the day to those who had only a one day ticket, but otherwise resort guests were good to go! It was interesting to see the reactions of those when we told them we were going to the MK for NYE!


We quickly finished our meals, and the boys ran our mugs back up to the room while we went to wait for a bus. You guessed it. A bus pulled up just as the boys were on their way back, so they had to make a run for it, yet again!


Now let me tell you…. this bus was AMAZING! The driver had it decorated inside from head to toe with New Years decor! Balloons, streamers, everything! It looked awesome and definitely got us ready for our NYE adventure!


The bus was certainly crowded which was to be expected, but I managed to get a seat in the back while the guys stood. I think we made just about every stop at the resort, with many people getting off and on. Gosh the ones getting off the bus sure did look exhausted.

I’ll add here that the CBR was also offering NYE festivities, and before we decided to go to the MK we would have probably participated in that, as I’m sure it would have been well put together and lots of fun. So… If you are considering a NYE trip and want to do something other than a park, that would be a good option. I’m sure all the resorts have their own festivities that would be considerably less crowded than the parks.


After a quick ride on the “party” bus, we were at the MK gates. I expected the traffic to be a lot worse getting there, but I didn’t notice it to be any longer than normal. The parking lots looked unbelievably crazy. I was definitely glad at this point to be leaving the driving to Disney. We unloaded the bus and I think we all kind of got a little more reenergized. I mean.. who can't be excited about ringing in the New Year with Mickey????


I had decided to go bagless for the night which was definitely a good choice. In fact, looking back I had athletic shorts on, so I guess I went phenols too. Which explains the lack of pictures! Don’t worry… DH managed to take a few with his phone.


We made it through the turnstiles with DS16 again having minor problems with his band. It would always turn blue a couple of times, but on the third try it worked. Thank goodness. None of us got stopped by the metal detectors.


Main street was definitely hopping! It was about 6:30 and by this point there were people already staking their claim on main street, and when I say staking their claim, I mean blankets spread out in the middle of the street and waiting for the midnight fireworks. In hindsight….. I really wish I had done this. I could have spread a blanket out and waited while the boys rode rides, or we could have taken turns…. Again, I knew all of this beforehand, but I chose not to follow my own advice. Sigh… Oh well! We still had a great time.


We had a FP for Haunted Mansion that was getting close to expiring, so we made a beeline for it… Ha. Ha. Ha. There is no making a beeline for anything on NYE! In between dodging strollers and scooters and CM’s with lightsabers directing traffic, we all managed to make it there in one piece! We got separated many times this night, but never really lost sight of each other, it’s just that we kind of all had to stay single file, darting in and out of people, while trying not to get run over. Not trying to scare anyone, but just wanting to give everyone an honest account. If you can deal with the chaos, you will no doubt have fun, but you have to go in with a good attitude and know what you are going to be dealing with.


DS16 and DS14 were in one doombuggy while the three of us squeezed into another, so no one would have to ride alone. It was a pretty tight fit, but we had fun. This was DH first time riding it this trip, as the rest of us had just ridden the day before.


We had a nice ride, and we headed towards our next FP which was Pirates. Again, the second time for us, but first this trip for DH. We maneuvered our way towards Adventureland and got in line. I honestly don’t know how people manage with a stroller or scooter. I really don’t. I think I would be in tears. We had a hard time navigating around the park and are all by Disney standard adults. I saw SO many exhausted parents and children. At one point, I literally saw a mother screaming at what looked to be a three year old child in his stroller, shouting, “STAY AWAKE! STAY AWAKE!” It really ticked me off…. I mean I understand you want to see the fireworks….. but good grief!


I am not going to lie… I was really loving my boys ages this trip, and seeing all of the wailing children, was a great form of birth control!


I was afraid that they were going to stuff us all in one row on Pirates, given what I had read on here and how crowded it was, but they didn’t. We were seated three and two near the front. I was waiting for a big splash like I heard about, but I don’t think any of us even got a drop of water so I am not sure what everyone has been complaining about.


Adventureland we found to be a little easer to walk around in than the other lands. We didn’t see foot in FL the whole night. I can only imagine how nutty that place was.


After Pirates we had another FP for Buzz, but it wasn’t for awhile. We decided to go ahead and start heading that way towards Tomorrowland. We did go on Mainstream and into the emporium to look for my sparkly Minnie ears… They were nowhere to be found! We looked at every little stand we cam across too…. but not Sparkly minnie ears. They had plenty of all the others, but none of the sparkly ones! Yet.. I continued to see virtually everyone with them! All I can say is they must have sold a bunch that week. I could have settled for the plain… and I almost did…. but I really wanted the sparkly, so I decided to wait and look at Epcot tomorrow. Surely Mousegears would have them!


Back towards Tomorrowland and dealing with crazy people and crowds… It was honestly exhausting just trying to maneuver through people. They definitely had the crowd situation under control though and kept things moving and tried their best to keep them going in a certain direction. Some CM’s were friendlier than others with crowd control, but gosh… I can’t imagine having to do that all night.


With a bit of time.. actually a lot of time… before our Buzz FP, we decided to do laugh floor which had a posted 20 minute wait. It probably turned out to be more like 30 minutes. We had a good laugh and though no one got picked this time, it was still a lot of fun, and always a nice place to sit for a few minutes.


We still had a while before our FP for Buzz. There wasn’t much else to do BUT wait in a line somewere… so we got in the standby line for Buzz. I believe it had a posted 60 minute wait and it took about that long. At 9:27, these pictures were taken:


I don’t see what the deal is with this ride, but my boys just absolutely love it and like I said before they were determined to get the 999,999 which by the end of the week, I am happy to report that all of them did!


We had about an hour left before we could use our FP and ride Buzz yet… again…. so we found a nearby bench that surprisingly wasn’t occupied. I waited while DH got some free ice water from Cosmic Ray’s and DS!! decided to get a couple of Mickey pretzels from the lunching pad that we could split using our snack credits.


This took awhile. DH was able to get the ice water with no problems and he said the CM was super nice about it.


It took forever for DS11 to get the pretzels. When he returned he didn’t have mikey pretzels, but two of those pretzels with the hame and cheese in them. He said someone on front of him ordered 20 mickey pretzels and cleaned them out… so the only thing left was those. Lol. They were pretty good….. but we would have definitely liked the regular pretzel better.


It was only after 10pm and almost time for our FP and we were already starting to feel tired. Boy are we wimps! I certainly hoped at this point that we ere going to get a second wind or we would never make it! We people watched (more wailing babies) until our 5 minute window to use our FP. As soon as we could, we hopped in line and at 10:37 these pics were taken:


As soon as we finished riding we saw that CM’s were ushering people through the back stage area between CoP and Buzz. We followed the crowd and it was virtually empty back there… They also had some photo spots with a NYE logo and PP photographers… but no one wanted to wait in a line. You could see the castle great from back there and it was a little more that an hour form midnight at this point.


Again… in hindsight… we should have stayed back there, but it seemed really really weird to be watching from behind Main Street in what essentially was a parking lot. DH wasn’t satisfied unless we were inside the MK, so we just kept walking on around until we entered Main Street again. By this time it was wall to wall people and very loud. They had a DJ playing tunes and keeping the crowd entertained. I didn’t really care at this point, I just wanted to find a spot and stand and wait. Being shoulder to shoulder with people was really getting old and exhausting.


There were lots of places being blocked off by CM’s and it was amazing to me how many rude people just ignored the poor CM’s and would try and walk through them, etc. We definitely were not going to be “those” people who basically walk up and try and take away a spot from a family that had been waiting for hours.


We finally settled on a spot in Liberty Square which turned out to be the absolute worst place to see the fireworks, but we didn’t know that… and trust me there were plenty of people who had equally as bad of a spot as us. Lol.


We stood and waited and danced and waited… it was fun to watch the CM’s dance. Of course my boys had to get their pics taken with two cute Cm’s from the Christmas store that were out dancing and having fun with the crowd.


It was definitely a night to remember.


The DJ played some great family appropriate songs that got the crowd going and soon it was time to count down!


10, 9, 8……


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!


It was here we found that we couldn’t have found a worse spot for the fireworks. It was highly obstructed, but the good thing is…. we were so busy having a good time, that no one cared!


After a New Years smooch with my husband and the masses moving towards Main Street to exit, we knew we had two more hours to play. We had gotten our second wind and we were ready! There was no way we were going to fight that mass of people exiting the park.

We headed straight towards BTMRR and apparently we made it there before most of the crowd, because we were able to walk right on!


We were right next to another couple and they said that so many people were watching the fireworks that no one was in line for Splash and they got to ride it twice and stay in the same log. Again…. In hindsight maybe that’s what we should have done!


After the wildest ride in the wilderness.. I mean how cool is it to ring in 2016 by riding BTMRR??? we went right to Splash and waited my be 10 minutes. It is here where I got one of my favorite ride photos of the trip. This was taken at 12:44am:


Apparently DS16 is giving the smolder.


After Splash walking in Frontierland was wonderful. What a difference a few hours makes. It was almost empty. Quite different from being shoulder to shoulder.


We made our way back to the hub and it was still busy, but not anything like it was just 30 minutes prior. I was also amazed at how clean it was already. There was trash laying around, but nothing like before. I can’t get over how trashy people are these days. It’s a huge pet peeve of mine.


We headed back towards…… you guessed it…. Buzz! These were taken at 1:16 am. You can see from my photo what I wanted to be doing right then…..

I don't know what DS11 is doing in that pic... His brothers gave him a hard time about it... saying it looks like hes making an inppropriate gesture, but I promise he wasn't!


After Buzz we had about 45 minutes until park closing. SM was down to a 20 minute wait, so the boys went to ride. I love SM and would have ridden too…. but DH was pretty much done at this point, so I waited with him in a very quiet Tomorrowland. Much different from what we had experienced earlier. Oh… if park touring could only be this empty during regular hours??? DH went to get him an ice water from Cosmic, but they were closing. The CM ended up feeling sorry for him I think and grabbed a Dasani and gave it to his for free. He would have paid, but he insisted he take it.


The boys ended up waiting a little longer than 20 minutes and at 1:48 am this pic was taken:


We waited for them outside the exit and then started making our way out of the park, but not before stopping for our first PP pic in front of the castle! We couldn’t end our NYE celebration without a family pic!!!


These pics were taken at 2:11 am! Yes… we look a little weary… but we made it! and we are still smiling!


We made our way out of the park and to our bus stop. By this time we had been going on pure adrenaline and it was quickly turning into exhaustion. We got to the bus stop and it literally was a mile long. I knew we wouldn’t make the first bus…. and I didn’t think we would even make the second bus…. So I was disappointed that we would be waiting for a long time…. However, not two minutes after standing there, not one, not two, but three busses pulled up to our stop. They were on top of the transportation this night. One of the busses was not a Disney bus, so I am guessing they hired out other forms of transport for this night.


We loaded onto a bus, with all of us standing and were on our way. The bus driver took all kinds of back roads to avoid traffic. It took us about an hour to get back to CBR and I have never been so happy that were were the first stop. At 3:35am we literally crawled into our beds and were out. What a night!


Final recap of NYE:


Was it worth it? I think so….. We still managed to do a lot, and have a lot of fun. It is definitely a NYE that I won’t forget. The key is knowing ahead of time what you are getting into.


Would I do it again? Not sure…. I think if we ever did NYE again, I might do Animal Kingdom or TL during the day and then spend the evening at the resort. Although I wouldn’t mind seeing Epcot’s fireworks. I kind of feel like it’s a been there, done that thing…


Tips: Don’t stay all day and think you’ll make in until 2am… You’re setting yourself up for disaster. Also… and I may get flamed for this…. but I would not have ever attempted this when my kids were little, in strollers or if anyone in our party was in a scooter. It’s just too hard to even walk, let alone try and maneuver those things. I saw way too many parents with unhappy kids. Not very magical. If the fireworks are your main reason for going, stake your spot out early. Be prepared for traffic on the way back to your resort. What should take 10 minutes will take an hour. Take Disney transportation! Don't bring a purse… It was nice not having to worry about it. Frontier land and Adventureland seemed much easier to maneuver than everywhere else, so go there if you need a little space, because trust me, you won’t get it anywhere else. Just enjoy the moment and enjoy your family making a memory. This was totally out of our comfort zone, and we managed to enjoy it.


Typhoon Tilly’s: $94.82


Refillable mugs: $86.92


Old Port Royale: $91.00


Lunching Pad: $9.52


Total: 282.26


Saving on dining plan: $-17.94


Up Next: After our big night, how early do we get up for Epcot? Do I ever find my sparkly Minnie ears??

 

[dragonflydoll2]

Love your report and wondering if I will ever be brave enough to visit WDW for New Years break!!! I may try after reading your report

 

[emilyindisney]

So glad you're back and updating- very interesting to hear about NYE. It sounds like you guys had a great time and, as you said in your advice, were prepared for what you were getting in to. Hope you recovered from your long night well. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[6travel]

I'm impressed with your New Years Eve accomplishments. I completely agree with your stroller comment. I was just there last week and I'm already looking forward to Disney with no stroller.

 

[Carathryn]

I am loving your trip report! CB was the one moderate we didn't have much interest in staying at, we normally go to Coronado, but after your positive reviews we may have to reconsider.
I'm glad you survived NYE in MK. There is no better way to ring in the new year than at Disney!

 

[ohboyx3]

Love your report and wondering if I will ever be brave enough to visit WDW for New Years break!!! I may try after reading your report

You should try it! I was actually surprised by how manageable it was... I'm not sure I did it again... but we had a blast!

 

[ohboyx3]

I'm impressed with your New Years Eve accomplishments. I completely agree with your stroller comment. I was just there last week and I'm already looking forward to Disney with no stroller.

Disney without a stroller is fantastic! Although.... the first time I didn't know what to do without a place to put all of our stuff! That is kind of hard to get used to. We always stored jackets and such underneath.

 

[ohboyx3]

I am loving your trip report! CB was the one moderate we didn't have much interest in staying at, we normally go to Coronado, but after your positive reviews we may have to reconsider.
I'm glad you survived NYE in MK. There is no better way to ring in the new year than at Disney!

I would love to try coronado, but it's only set up for four

 

[ohboyx3]

With an unexpected snow day here, I am working on another installment that I hope to have up later this evening. Thanks for reading!

 

[ohboyx3]

Two updates in two days! I’m on a roll!

Our plan for this morning was to go to Epcot. Obviously we didn’t make rope drop. I’m guessing those who did basically walked onto everything for the first 2 hours that morning. If I went this time of year again, having seen the fireworks and done the midnight thing, this would be my plan. Park touring on the morning after NYE is supposed to be great. I believe we were out the door a little after 10. We had already missed our FP window for Spaceship Earth, so I ended up changing the time for that, but the only available time was at 8:10 that evening. Quite a difference. I knew there would be no changing the Soarin FP and it was set to expire by 10:50, so we were going to be cutting it close. Luckily we managed to only wait about 3 minutes before at Epcot bus pulled up. I think we had waited a total of 10 minutes the whole trip for transportation. Either we just had really good luck with the busses, or their transportation system had greatly improved. I was expecting the worst after reading about the bus transportation in the weeks prior to us leaving.


After a quick bus ride we were at Epcot. I had to go through bag check…. and I got stopped for the metal detectors, so my family had to wait for me. Crazy. I must have looked very intimidating! DS16 also had another issue with his band and this time it stayed blue, and never would turn green. A CM had to reset his band and then take his picture with an Ipad… Not really sure what that’s for. The CM asked me if I wanted him to come along with us for the day… because if I didn’t she didn’t have to let him through. It was pretty funny. I told her that it was a hard choice, but I guessed I would claim him. After that we never did have another issue with it and no one else did either. It really wasn’t too much of an inconvenience, but glad it got fixed!


It was busy, but I still think we managed to make it before most people and with Epcot’s size it was definitely easier to hide the crowds. It was not anything like the night before and a nice change of pace. We had to high tail it to Soarin, and made it there with just a few minutes to spare. I think the standby line was only 30 minutes at this point, which is actually pretty good for Soarin’ I think.


The FP line really seemed to move slow…. so DH snapped this pic: I can’t wait to see if they change the Queue for Soarin… it could really use some livening up. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the loading area and we were seated in the second row. I took my flip flops off so I could ride barefoot! I just love this ride and I was so glad we managed to catch it one last time before it went down for refurb. If we had gone later in January like we had originally planned we would have missed it altogether… so there are definitely perks for going in the busy season when there aren’t any ride closures. I can’t wait to ride it again when it reopens and see the new version.


I like it so much that I would have loved to ride again…. but the standby line was over an hour now, and I had had my fill of lines for the time being.


We decided that since we hadn’t had any breakfast that we would go ahead and try and beat the crowd and eat an early lunch at Sunshine Season. It was just after 11. I love love love Sunshine Season and I think it’s the best value on the dining plan for a quick service credit! I just have a hard time choosing dessert. They all look so good!


Again… It was SO nice leaving everyone to pick out what they want and go through the line on their own and use their bands to pay for it! There are perks to the kids getting older! DS16 and I chose the sweet and sour chicken with rice, DS11 got a Cuban Sandwich and pasta salad (which I ended up eating) and DS14 and DH each got the salmon. I think we all just got fountain drinks… Gold Peak Green tea for me! So yummy…. and DH and I both got the cheesecake with berries, DS14 and DS16 both got chocolate brownies and DS11 got a Mickey bar which he ate first!


Our sweet and sour chicken was fantastic and there was so much that I couldn’t finish it. DS11 didn’t like his sandwich… I kind of figured when he got it he might not like it. He ate a little bit of it and then DH finished the rest. DH liked it, but said he understood why DS11 didn’t like it, since it had kind of a different sauce on it that had an unusual flavor. DH and DS14 absolutely loved their salmon and licked their plates clean. DH actually said it was the best salmon that he had had which is a pretty big deal! MY cheesecake was exactly how I remembered it… so so so good. I wish I had room to finish it all, but I was stuffed. If you want a good quick service place, give SS a try…. It is delicious and there is plenty of items to choose from to make everyone happy. It was also nice for my boys to get out of ordering cheese burgers, chicken nuggets, or pizza for every meal!!!!



While DH and I finished our meals, the boys decided to ride standby on Mission Space. I had no desire to do that right after lunch, but I figured this was the shortest wait they would see all day… It said 20 minutes, so they went ahead without us. DH got seriously sick on that ride last time, so he was not doing it again. I have never done the orange, only the green, so I did not mind skipping.


They left and DH and I cleared our table and went searching at Mousegears for those hard to find sparkly mouse ears! I thought for sure they would have them. They didn’t. I even went as far as to ask a CM to do a product search to see where we could find some. She wasn’t too helpful… but did say they should have them in Animal Kingdom, or at a jewelry cart at Epcot.. but she didn’t know where that jewelry cart was located.


We went to a few carts right around there and they had every kind of mouse ear except those! We saw a CM working a cart wearing some and got excited…. only for her to tell us they had sold out yesterday. LOL. Oh well!


We headed over to Mission Space to wait by the exit. It is really fun to watch people get off that ride. ! lot had to sit for a bit after. Just reassurance that I made the right decision when it came to riding. No thank you!


We waited what seemed forever for the boys to return. What was posted as 20 minutes actually ended up taking an hour. DS16 said they stood and didn’t move for several minutes. He was texting me their progress while they were waiting in line.


We didn’t mind waiting, because it was a beautiful sunny day. It was hot, but felt great in the shade. This was our last really warm day, as a cold front and rain was supposed moving in that night, so we were taking advantage of the nice weather.


I thought for sure one of them would come off feeling sick after riding just after lunch, but they all have iron stomachs, so I don’t know why I ever thought that! They loved their ride and would have gone again… but the standby line was too long and they didn’t want to wait. when you go this time of year you don’t get re rides too often… Unless you hit rope drop I guess. This was definitely different from our off season travels.


We decided to head toward Club Cool to get some free drinks and cool off. It was really getting hot! We hadn’t tried the new flavors yet. Fanta Pineapple we have here in TN, so it wasn’t a big deal. I love the one from Thailand the best. We each had several samples and then we decided to go watch the new short films in the imagination pavilion.


Last time we had been was when this theater hosted Captain Eo, my boys quoted that as 20 minutes of their life they couldn’t get back… so imagine my surprise when just a few weeks before our trip they announced they were putting something new in there. Were excited to see it, as we love the 3D experiences overall and enjoy the Pixar shorts. We entered about halfway into the Pre show. I found it to be really interesting and I’m actually bummed that we didn’t catch the whole thing. The shorts are cute… and a great diversion and a place to sit, rest your feet, and cool off. I think we had seen all of them but the first. The funny thing was is that we all liked different ones. I feel like the 3D effects were kind of lame, and you could tell it was thrown together fast, but it was still fun, and I’m glad we did it. Everyone enjoyed it. I kind of miss Honey I shrunk the audience. I loved that movie when I was a kid…. and that attraction had just opened on my first visit with my Mom and Dad back in 1995 when I was a senior in High School. I guess it holds sentimental value for me, so I was sad when it was replaced with Eo. I hope they put something else in there that’s a little better. Off topic.. but on that trip in 95 they were building Test Track and Body Wars was a big deal in the Wonders of Life Pavillion… Man I miss it. Ok time to get back on track!


We had a useless fastpass for Turtle Talk that we decided to use. Not that I don’t love Turtla Talk, it’s actually one of my favorites!!!! But using a fast pass for it is kind of crazy… However when I re booked my fast passes after we changed our plans, it was really the only thing left to choose from. So… we headed on over to the Seas and were able to walk right onto the Nemo ride, then we walked around and explored the tanks and managed to catch the tail end of the dolphin show. It wasn’t terribly crowded in there and it was nice to walk around. Next we went to watch Turtle Talk and sadly all of my boys were too big to sit on the floor and ask questions to Crush. So sad…. We have seen this show several times over the years and it never failed that one of the boys would always get chosen. Once we were interviewed as the parental units or “big Kahuna.” I do miss those days of the boys being small…. and it’s moments like this that I would think back to our previous trips and all of the memories we made. My how fast time goes. The show did not disappoint and even though our boys weren’t apart of it anymore, it was every bit as enjoyable. We laughed a bunch. It’s always so funny and a must do attraction for us on every trip.


After the show we decided to head towards the World Showcase. We had one must do there and that was to watch the American Adventure. I love this so much, and always want my boys to appreciate and respect American History. I think it was a little bit before three when we started that way and we ran into these guys:


I had never seen their act before and we were very impressed! I was glad that we happened into it. We didn’t catch the whole thing, but most of it.


We walked at a pretty quick pace because DH wanted to catch the Japanese drum show at 3:20 and then we wanted to make the American Adventure for the 3:45 showing.


I am used to touring the WS at a much more relaxed pace, so this was definitely different. I felt very rushed and was starting to regret having only one day at Epcot. In trips past we had always spent at least a full half day just touring the World Showcase. There is so much it offers.


We made it to the Japan pavilion and at exactly 3:20 the drummers came out. They are truly amazing to watch. I just couldn’t believe the muscles in these girls arms! Maybe I should take up drumming. It sounds way more enjoyable than working out!


We watched for about ten minutes and then high tailed it to the American Adventure. Turns out we didn’t need to rush, as Voices of Liberty still had a few songs in their set and they didn’t let us in the theater until they had finished. I feel like our timing couldn’t have been better, having caught three performances in the short amount of time we were in the WS! I love the Voices of Liberty and they sounded amazing as always.


We were the first ones through the doors and got a seat pretty close to the front. Usually we sit pretty far back. The theater wasn’t crowded at all. It seems as though the holiday crowds were already starting to thin. I think Epcot was a great choice for us for New Years Day.


My boys have always liked the show, but I think they have really grown to appreciate it now that they are older. It never feels I ALWAYS tear up at this every time and so does DH. It must run in the family because DS14 told us after that he got all choked up. He is my sensitive one… and he also carries a lot of pride for his country. I can remember him being little and telling me when he grows up he wanted to be an army man. He still feels this way and is already signed up for ROTC his Freshman year of high school. We will see where life takes him.


Anyways…. after getting all emotional from the American Adventure we headed out and made our way around the rest of the World Showcase not stopping for much. We had a 5:30 reservation at Garden Grill and decided we better start to make our way back over there. I did miss riding Maelstrom this trip, but I can’t wait to see what they’ve done with it. I like Frozen and you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be coaxing my family of boys to ride with me when it’s up and running.


After an albeit rushed trip through the World Showcase we headed back towards Future World stopping for these pics which were taken at 4:38 pm:


We don’t get pics of all of us taken very often and I just love the fact that we had so many taken this trip. I love this pic and think it’s one of my favorites of the trip.


We made it to The Land and we had just a little bit of time before our GG reservation, so we got in the standby line for Living with the Land. This is another favorite of mine though I miss when you used to have a real live narrator. I always like to ride this before we eat at GG. I think it makes it more special.


The standby wait was posted at 25, but ended up only taking 10-15 minutes. I do not have a green thumb and manage to kill any plant I come in contact with, so it’s always amazing to see what they can do.


Question.. Has anyone ever seen anyone in that lab? Or is it just for show? I have ridden it several times over the years and I can’t recall seeing anyone in it ever. Today was a holiday, so I didn’t expect it… but surely people or in it.. right?


We unloaded and headed right over to Garden Grill. We were about 5-10 minutes early so they gave us a pager. We waited maybe three minutes before it went off and we were quickly seated.


My only gripe with this place is that the tables and booths are so incredibly small. There literally wasn’t room for us to move. We were squished into that little booth so tight! When they started bringing out all the food there is hardly room for it. That’s my only rant though!

Our server had barely taken our drink orders before the characters started coming. I love the fact that my boys humor me and still love meeting and interacting with the characters. The characters each came to our table more than once.


we called the chipmunk squirrels and they weren’t happy with us! There is great interaction here, and I encourage everyone who want good interaction and a kid friendly menu to give this pace a try. I was going to try somewhere else this trip and I got outvoted. The boys say a trip isn’t complete without GG!


The food here in my opinion is always good. The bread and salad came out first. I could make a meal out of this alone. The orange butter served with the rolls is SO GOOD!!!!!!! I used a whole cup of it myself. My family makes fun of me for my love of butter! Mmmmm. The salad was great too. So fresh and the house dressing is delicious.


Next the brought the platters of meat, fish, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, veggies and sweet potato fries. Seriously there is not enough room on the table for all this food.


Everyone agreed that the filet of beef was the favorite. The fish that was in season was tilapia. Last time we ate here it was fried cat fish. Everyone agree the tilapia was better than the catfish.


I think the only things we got seconds of was the beef and mac and cheese. Unlike LTT on our first night they didn’t skimp on the servings and there was plenty of food to go around.


We were so stuffed at this point, but you always have just a little room for dessert. I believe the dessert here was strawberry shortcake that is topped with whipped cream. I know the boys were a bit disappointed as it looked like ice cream. For whatever reason, none of them like whipped cream! Crazy. We all took a few bites and it was delicious, but we were so full, we just didn’t have room for anymore.


We settled up with the bill and tipped our server, who by the way, did the CP and now just comes to work during the holidays to make some extra money. She was really sweet and attentive, but that place was busy and it sure looked like she was a little over extended. She did a good job though and we tipped her well.


DS16 had been texting a friend who he had met on our Disney Cruise two years prior. She was at Epcot with her cheer team. Apparently they had cheered that day at one of the bowl games. They had texted back and forth and wanted to meet up, so after we ate they met outside Soarin’ and he introduced us and we went our separate ways.


They headed towards Spaceship Earth and we decided to try riding TT by the single rider line. I like TT, but not as much since they did the refurb. I miss the hot and cold area. I really wanted to ride though and I hadn’t held out much hope, as the wait time was never under an hour. The single rider line said 10 minutes, so we hopped in. Apparently everyone else had the same idea. It took more like 30… but it still wasn’t bad.


When you ride single rider you don’t get to design your car, which wasn’t a big deal to me.... but I’m sure DS11 would have liked to.


DS11 and I ended up in the same car and so did DH and DS14, but somehow our picture didn’t show up. This actually happened quite a bit, as I’m missing quite a few of our ride photos. I don't have proof we rode, but I did and it was lots of fun. We of course had to take a photo with DS14 and his dream car:


The temperature was great out right now. It was a beautiful evening. By now I think the previous late night was getting the best of us, and we were really starting to feel tired. We had done essentially everything we wanted to do except for Spaceship earth which we had a FP for… but it was still an hour away… This is where I made my one regret of the trip…


We decided not to stay for illuminations. I love illuminations, but it was 7:30 now and the thought of staying until 9, then waiting for the park to clear out, then waiting for a bus, etc…. we were just all not up for it after last night.


So… after talking it over and seeing what the boys wanted to do, it was unanimous that we head back. Everyone wanted to swim and get in the hot tub for a little bit and just chill.


So…. two things I didn’t accomplish at Epcot. Space ship Earth (we ended up letting it expire) and Illuminations.


It is here when I really contemplated adding on the park hopper option, but just couldn’t rationalize it or how much we would use it.


I will say that now that the boys are older I will be getting the park hopper. I would have really liked to have spent one more evening in Epcot to see Illuminations, explore the WS a bit more and visit any attractions that we missed.


We never did make it back there.


We called DS16 to see where he was and they were walking towards MS where his friend had a fast pass for. They said their goodbyes and we met up with him by the entrance.


We offered to wait if the boys wanted to ride one more time Standby for MS, but the wait was still about 45 minutes and they were all ready to get back.


We headed to the bus stop and walked onto an almost empty bus and were back at the resort in no time. We quickly grabbed our mugs and changed into our swimsuits and headed to the hot tub.


The pool was open until 10 and we made the most of it. We even managed to see part of illuminations from the pool which was pretty neat. I think this pool area is so beautiful... Especially at night:


I have to say the to tub sure did feel good on my aching feet! I really wish we had fit in Illuminations, but coming back was definitely the right decision. We wanted to get a decent nights sleep, because our intention was to get up early and hit rope drop at HS in the morning. The boys wanted to ride TSM standby and then again with their fast pass, so they were determined to get there early.


I’ll also add that we didn’t use any of our snack credits on this day. We just weren’t hungry! I really wanted some school bread… or a kaki Gori…. but honestly that lunch was huge at Sunshine and the dinner was huge at GG and we just didn’t have any room! This would become a trend… we had SO many snack credits leftover….


Sunshine Seasons: $100.01


Garden Grill: $237.01


Savings on dining plan: +36.82

 

[emilyindisney]

I see GG got you into the green for your dining plan savings! I personally love that place! The character meals definitely make the cost of the dining plan more worthwhile

 

[ohboyx3]

I see GG got you into the green for your dining plan savings! I personally love that place! The character meals definitely make the cost of the dining plan more worthwhile

Yep. GG is a family favorite. I'm not sure how worthwhile the Dining plan actually ended up being for us, but we will see! Thanks for reading!

 

[momof2gr8kids]

I'm really enjoying your TR. We are planning to go this Dec for NYE. I know it will be crazy crowded, but we know that going in and will change our expectations. We plan to do MK on the 30th and hopefully Epcot the 31st. We won't have the dining plan this time, so not as many ADRs so we will be flexible and change plans if needed. I am hoping for as nice of weather as it was this past Christmas so we can enjoy some water park days as well.
BTW, you don't look old enough for sons that age - at first I thought you had a daughter as well! LOL