The Most Magical Time of Year! December 2018 TR Completed 5/8 New TR link!

[Cloe Colton]

Ugh, youths! That's so annoying -- it's amazing how your seat mates can really make or break your rides in cases like that.

I love your Christmas gear - it's so fun. I also have only had drinks in Rose and Crown (there are too many places to eat in Epcot!), and now I'm sad I didn't eat there.

It was very annoying! I should have known too because I had another bad experience on Frozen a few years back and I swore after that I would always take stock of who I'm going to be stuck in a ride car with and I just didn't think to stop lol I also kind of thought that since they were with the group behind them that we would get our own car and not have to share with them. But that probably would only happen on less busy days!

Thanks!! We actually did stop back for another drink for DH later in the day, the pub is just so awesome! You should definitely check it out at some point!

 

[Woth2982]

All caught up! The Tony's party sounds so fun! Also sounds like it was worth the money for the experience. Good call grabbing food before. I would have also been upset if I had waited.

I am so sorry those kids put such a sour taste in your mouth. I once was on a flight and the child behind me "Shelby" (I remember her name because she was THAT annoying, and I am still annoyed 18 years later). She kept kicking my seat, take off was delayed because she was over 2 and was refusing to sit in her seat. I asked them multiple times to stop kicking my seat and was told "we paid for this ticket and she can do what she wants". I was so thankful when my brother accidentally spilled his soda in my seat when I was in the bathroom. The flight attendant let me move my seat. But yah, here we are 18 years later and Im still annoyed lol.

Your meal looks great though! Moving to the brighter side of the day lol. We did CP back in 08 when it was only 1 TS credit on the DP. We liked not having to wait with the masses. You guys are so cute with your xmas clothes this whole trip. I love it!

 

[NJlauren]

Ugh how annoying about he FP! I think that’s exactly what is going on, it’s using his park day not his party ticket! Frustrating

That sounds like a not very good SE experience. I would have probably kept my mouth shut too? But if I had my kids with me I probably would have flipped out. Ugh why are people so rude?!?!? Honestly I probably would have said something to the parents, who is teaching these kids this is ok?

I know exactly where they are learning this is ok, their parents, so saying something to them would have done nothing! We went to a science museum a while back and there is this thing on the wall with forced air and you put in these fabric balls and they fly out. Well this one kid kept putting in hard plastic balls. Her mom was sitting in another area, she saw it happening but was completely ignoring the situation. After the 3rd or 4th time I said I’m sorry but can you please only use the fabric balls those are going to hurt someone. The mom flipped out! Don’t talk to my kid you don’t know what is going on. Honestly your kid who was 6? Is going to injure someone doing that and your ignoring her? ***! We left that room after that. People suck! Ok rant over but I get really worked up over this stuff!

Anyway back to your trip report! I though for sure there was a filter on those pictures with red lighting!

I love rose and crown! It’s one of my favs!

 

[Cloe Colton]

All caught up! The Tony's party sounds so fun! Also sounds like it was worth the money for the experience. Good call grabbing food before. I would have also been upset if I had waited.

I think we would have been able to fill ourselves up enough on the food they offered, we just would have been miserable leading up to it! haha DH always jokes with my Mom (who wholeheartedly agrees) that I tend to be like a gremlin - if I have to go to the bathroom, am hungry, tired then I will be miserable! haha which I know this about myself and I'm so glad we made the time to eat! Plus it was so calm and quiet in CCH we felt like we had the park to ourselves haha

I am so sorry those kids put such a sour taste in your mouth. I once was on a flight and the child behind me "Shelby" (I remember her name because she was THAT annoying, and I am still annoyed 18 years later). She kept kicking my seat, take off was delayed because she was over 2 and was refusing to sit in her seat. I asked them multiple times to stop kicking my seat and was told "we paid for this ticket and she can do what she wants". I was so thankful when my brother accidentally spilled his soda in my seat when I was in the bathroom. The flight attendant let me move my seat. But yah, here we are 18 years later and Im still annoyed lol.

Omg I would be so annoyed too!! Thank goodness the flight attendant let you move. I can't imagine having to deal with that on a long flight!

Your meal looks great though! Moving to the brighter side of the day lol. We did CP back in 08 when it was only 1 TS credit on the DP. We liked not having to wait with the masses. You guys are so cute with your xmas clothes this whole trip. I love it!

It was very good! Man I wish it was 1 dining credit. It would have been SUPER worth it then! I think it might have even been worth two now haha I think it was $60 a person so it definitely wasn't cheap! I was SHOCKED at the crowds waiting for CP! And I honestly don't even know how many of the non-CP dining package people they let in anymore because by the time we got in the whole audience looked pretty darn full!!

And thank you! I was shocked we were able to wear them as much as we did! I definitely expected that it would be a bit warmer but I was happy that we could be cozy and Christmas-y!

Ugh how annoying about he FP! I think that’s exactly what is going on, it’s using his park day not his party ticket! Frustrating

That is the only thing that makes sense to me! The weird thing is not getting any warning emails about his FP getting canceled. Thank goodness its happened to us in EPCOT and MK when we were under club level because if it was a FOP fp getting canceled I would be SO MAD! I didn't even bother booking FPs for my Mom and Calista prior to our After Hours in DHS because I was worried about it happening!

That sounds like a not very good SE experience. I would have probably kept my mouth shut too? But if I had my kids with me I probably would have flipped out. Ugh why are people so rude?!?!? Honestly I probably would have said something to the parents, who is teaching these kids this is ok?

I know exactly where they are learning this is ok, their parents, so saying something to them would have done nothing! We went to a science museum a while back and there is this thing on the wall with forced air and you put in these fabric balls and they fly out. Well this one kid kept putting in hard plastic balls. Her mom was sitting in another area, she saw it happening but was completely ignoring the situation. After the 3rd or 4th time I said I’m sorry but can you please only use the fabric balls those are going to hurt someone. The mom flipped out! Don’t talk to my kid you don’t know what is going on. Honestly your kid who was 6? Is going to injure someone doing that and your ignoring her? ***! We left that room after that. People suck! Ok rant over but I get really worked up over this stuff!

Yeah if I had kids with me I DEFINITELY would have said something. My Dad always did that to people around us growing up haha there's just no reason to act that way, around anyone really! I definitely considered trying to figure out who the heck their parents were but once we were free from them and off the ride I just wanted to move on haha especially because if thats how the kids were acting I can only IMAGINE how the parents would react, if they were even around. They probably would have been mad I said anything haha

Anyway back to your trip report! I though for sure there was a filter on those pictures with red lighting!

I love rose and crown! It’s one of my favs!

Haha the heaters were intense! But it was seriously such an amazing lunch! I haven't been back in like 9 years! And its so funny because the last time we were there as a family we got the cheese board and I remember thinking wow these are all gross and this time I was like GIVE ME ALL THE CHEESE! lol

 

[Cloe Colton]

Monday December 17th Part 2

Our meal at Rose and Crown had been great and up until this point our waitress had also been great. She was super attentive but not overly attentive, it was practically perfect in every way and we had no complaints. When it came time to pay the check though, it took her forever to bring the bill and then another eternity to return once we gave her the card to pay. Granted, I never mentioned to her that we were on a time crunch and that we had a fastpass to make so I take full blame for this. I really think she was trying to not rush us out and to enjoy the lunch, so again all on me lol

She eventually did get us all checked out and it was time to book it over to Test Track to use our FP we had rebooked earlier. We were already in the 15-minute grace period leaving Rose and Crown and it was looking like we just weren’t going to make it. ESPECIALLY because DH had to stop for a restroom break before we even left the UK. (Believe me, it wasn’t worth making him hold it to hear him say “I have to pee so bad” fourteen thousand times on the ride and he just wouldn’t enjoy the ride anyway).

I think our grace period ended at 2:25 and we JUST missed it by scanning in at like 2:26 or 2:27. I didn’t even bother explaining to the CM, I just tried my magicband praying we would be able to squeeze one more minute out of the grace period. Thankfully, the CM took pity on our winded selves and let us through without even asking us any questions. I was SO thankful! Especially because if the system hadn’t gotten rid of Dan’s original fastpass this wouldn’t have even been an issue!



We made a cool batmobile car in the car design room. Dan was pretty proud of his design!




We were definitely happy that we made it to our fastpass and enjoyed a speedy ride around the Test Track!




After Test Track. we stopped to get Dan a beer from one of the carts on the way to the Land pavilion.



Next up was our Living with the Land fastpass! I really love that they added holiday decorations to the ride to make it themed and festive! It’s nice to have something different to see!




Now because of the whole fastpass debacle and the fact that Dan didn't actually scan a fastpass for Spaceship Earth the system wouldn’t let me book another tier 1 fastpass for us. So I booked us a couple of Fastpasses for Turtletalk with Crush. I knew we most likely wouldn’t need them but it would get Dan a second tier two fastpass used and allow another tier one. So that was our next stop!

Neither of us had never done the show before but I had seen other people’s vlogs on it and thought it might be cute to do. The jellyfish in the entrance/waiting area were pretty dang cool looking. I thought they looked like they had eyes and a mouth in this picture! Lol



We chose seats at the back since we obviously didn’t need to be close to the kids.



The show was just okay, there was a lot less audience participation than I expected (kids are hilarious, and they definitely should be asked ALL the questions) and too much of them trying to make Finding Dory a thing.

I've heard the one in Disneyland is better but I don't think I'd go out of my way again to do it.

Overall, we could have done without it and we never even ended up using the fourth fastpass I got for Soarin (I literally could have had like any time that night – does Disney not see how the Soarin update has made this ride WAY less popular??). Doing Turtletalk also kind of put us in a rush to get over to the 5 o clock candlelight processional showing. So after the show that’s where we were headed.

Although, we did make a pit stop for Dan to get a bumblebee at the Rose and Crown Pub to enjoy during the show!




So I had looked online before and most people said to get in line like a half hour before your show. We made it back to the area at like 4:38 and everyone had already been let into the seating area it definitely surprised me! I made sure to take pictures of us wearing our CP package stickers because literally two seconds after showing the CM mine came off and fell to the ground. I feel like a wristband would work much better!




It was such a gorgeous night, I mean just look at this beauty!



Even though most people had already been let in we found a great spot at the end of a row that was perfect for two people and thankfully the family around us wasn’t saving it.




Dan at some point gave up on trying to keep his sticker on his pants and decided his beer was a better spot lol



Remember how I mentioned Dan’s impeccable timing for bathroom breaks? Well of course, as we were sitting there and waiting he realized he needed to go again. I told him to go ask a cast member what to do because I’m sure there are many children who can’t hold their bladders either I was mostly just concerned about the sticker pass because it was obviously not very reliable at staying on! Plus, holding a seat for someone gives me anxiety! Thankfully, there is a protocol in place for these situations and the CM will give you a code word to repeat back to them if it isn’t the same person once you return. So if anyone ever wondered what you can do, there is an answer! (And no one ever asked for his seat! )

We were seeing the Gary Sinese show, which I would have been fine with any of the readers but it was still cool to see him do the readings! I also really appreciate his efforts to help and support the military so I was definitely happy when he was the confirmed reader! I think the front areas might have been reserved for military families but I am not certain. The front seats were definitely roped off though from people with just the normal candlelight processional dining package. I never saw or heard anything about it though so I could totally be wrong lol but does make sense since it was announced that he brought like 1,000 gold star children to Disney that weekend.

Soon the show started and it was so amazing! I really enjoyed the whole show and would definitely do it again! My favorite song of the whole show was definitely Silent Night, it’s one of my favorite Christmas songs and it was just amazing! (It is also the song my Grandpa always insisted on us singing at Christmas and will always have a special place in my heart - tissues may be needed if I go back again! lol) I also was super happy we did the Candlelight Processional package. Yes, it created an expensive lunch but it was definitely worth it to not have to worry that we might not get in. I mean the area looked full just from dining packages so I can’t imagine many people without the package got in.

It also kind of worked out that we did Turtle Talk because I probably would have made us line up earlier than necessary and DH would have questioned the value of the the CP dining package






After the show we of course had to use the restroom again and we ran into Santa and Mrs. Clause!



We did have a fastpass for Soarin to use after the Candlelight Processional but we felt it would make us too rushed to our dinner reservation so we decided to skip it. Which killed me to do but neither of us felt like rushing anymore! lol

On our way around World Showcase I was SHOCKED at how long the line was for the next Candlelight Processional, and that was for the packages! It made the walkways really congested and also made me very happy that we didn't wait in a line and just walked in and found a seat lol

I thought these decorations in the UK pavilion were super cute!



We stopped for some pictures with the Christmas tree on the way out. I wanted photos with the tree farther away but I couldn’t tell if there was a Photopass photographer down the way so we stopped at the closer CM. And even though you can’t really tell that we are at the EPCOT Christmas tree I still love how they made the lights look like Mickey heads!




There was a Photopass farther down but had a really long line so we decided to skip it and continue out of the park. We had a fantastic dinner reservation to get to!




Goodnight EPCOT!
​

 

[dolewhipdreams]

it was practically perfect in every way

I see what you did there...

Thankfully, the CM took pity on our winded selves and let us through without even asking us any questions.

Bless you, TT CM

I made sure to take pictures of us wearing our CP package stickers because literally two seconds after showing the CM mine came off and fell to the ground. I feel like a wristband would work much better!

1. Genius idea
2. Why don't they do wristbands like they do for everything else??

And even though you can’t really tell that we are at the EPCOT Christmas tree I still love how they made the lights look like Mickey heads!

So cute!

Sounds like a fun afternoon/evening in Epcot to round out your time in the parks!

 

[3threebabies]

We would never miss the Candlelight Processional if visiting during the holidays. We have always done the package. It makes it so easy compared to the standby lines. At least one of us looses the sticker every time, and we always have to use the bathroom code word

 

[missangelalexis]

Phew glad you were able to still get on TT!

Sounds like a great experience at the CP!

Such pretty nighttime pics from Epcot!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m glad you made to TT, yay!

I’m glad you enjoyed the CP, I loved it and would gladly do again if I ever get a chance.

I work hard making those night Soarin 4th FP and most of the time we don’t end up doing it, haha!

I love the nighttime Holiday pictures in Epcot. Cool magic shot. Mickey lights.

 

[suse66]

We made a cool batmobile car in the car design room. Dan was pretty proud of his design!

Fun!

Next up was our Living with the Land fastpass! I really love that they added holiday decorations to the ride to make it themed and festive! It’s nice to have something different to see!

I love the snowmen!

The show was just okay, there was a lot less audience participation than I expected (kids are hilarious, and they definitely should be asked ALL the questions) and too much of them trying to make Finding Dory a thing.

That show is hit or miss....it all depends on the questions asked.

Even though most people had already been let in we found a great spot at the end of a row that was perfect for two people and thankfully the family around us wasn’t saving it.

Perfect!

Soon the show started and it was so amazing! I really enjoyed the whole show and would definitely do it again! My favorite song of the whole show was definitely Silent Night, it’s one of my favorite Christmas songs and it was just amazing! (It is also the song my Grandpa always insisted on us singing at Christmas and will always have a special place in my heart - tissues may be needed if I go back again! lol) I also was super happy we did the Candlelight Processional package. Yes, it created an expensive lunch but it was definitely worth it to not have to worry that we might not get in. I mean the area looked full just from dining packages so I can’t imagine many people without the package got in.

I love Silent Night too, so special. What a great night you had!

I thought these decorations in the UK pavilion were super cute!

They are adorable!

There was a Photopass farther down but had a really long line so we decided to skip it and continue out of the park. We had a fantastic dinner reservation to get to!

Now I am curious where you had dinner!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Remember how I mentioned Dan’s impeccable timing for bathroom breaks?

LOL! I swear Joe does this every time it gets close to us boarding our SW flights...I hate SW to begin with and hate how there are no assigned seats, so his having to use the bathroom so close to boarding gives me anxiety...

 

[Araminta18]

Originally today was to be our departure day but then when I scored a reservation for the new Storybook dining at Artist Point (that was opening the weekend we were there!) I decided to book a room at the Hyatt Regency at the airport on points. I only needed an extra 1,000 points to book the room which only cost me $24 so I basically call that a win! AND our new return flights were about $60 cheaper each so it really was a win! Dan was surprisingly on board with this plan and felt like it would make our last day truly feel like a last day because we wouldn’t be worrying about making it to the airport on time. We packed everything up and loaded it into the car so we wouldn’t have to come back to POFQ before heading to the airport.

That's awesome! How could you not do it, with that kind of a deal!

Thankfully, we shouldn't have this issue anymore since we are both now APs!

That's the answer to all Disney problems right? Buy an AP!

So after that crisis was averted came one of my worst ride experiences in history in Disney. There were some fairly annoying kids behind us in line but I normally avoid giving kids dirty looks because hey its Disney and they are just being kids, I’m just being a grump. I hoped they would be in their own car but quickly realized at least two of them were going to end up with us. In hindsight, I should have let them go ahead and waited a few cars but I didn’t want to be a pain so I just went with it. These boys (one was probably early to mid-teens, the other was probably just under ten or a preteen) spent the whole ride being completely vulgar and saying things purposely trying to get a rise out of DH and I. They also flipped off the camera which caused our pictures to not get used in the end scenes as well. At the time, I wasn’t sure if I would be back before SE went down for its two-year refurb and I just wanted to enjoy one last ride through, taking pictures and videos of all of my favorite scenes. Which I did still do, but they will always remind me of that terrible ride through. Honestly, it was so bad that there were some extra cast members at the exit to SE that DH and I both thought they were going to say something to the kids. It was that bad. For what its worth, we never bothered to say anything to the kids. We ignored them as best we could and just tried to get on with our day!

BOO youths. I'm sorry they kind of ruined that last ride for you

DH pug sweater got SO many compliments!

LOL I was totally gonna quote it and say how much I liked it! But not now, don't want to be redundant. LOL

I think our grace period ended at 2:25 and we JUST missed it by scanning in at like 2:26 or 2:27. I didn’t even bother explaining to the CM, I just tried my magicband praying we would be able to squeeze one more minute out of the grace period. Thankfully, the CM took pity on our winded selves and let us through without even asking us any questions. I was SO thankful! Especially because if the system hadn’t gotten rid of Dan’s original fastpass this wouldn’t have even been an issue!

Yay!!

Remember how I mentioned Dan’s impeccable timing for bathroom breaks? Well of course, as we were sitting there and waiting he realized he needed to go again. I told him to go ask a cast member what to do because I’m sure there are many children who can’t hold their bladders either I was mostly just concerned about the sticker pass because it was obviously not very reliable at staying on! Plus, holding a seat for someone gives me anxiety! Thankfully, there is a protocol in place for these situations and the CM will give you a code word to repeat back to them if it isn’t the same person once you return. So if anyone ever wondered what you can do, there is an answer! (And no one ever asked for his seat! )

Wow Disney, super spy-like! Very sneaky

 

[ariane37]

I was super frustrated because this was the second time this happened to us in Disney on our last day to Dan specifically. Well, what I think keeps happening is that when I book FPs for Dan on party tickets (MVMCP this trip, DAH in July) the system is taking away his FP for the last park day but not warning me that they are going to do it.

Ugh sorry this happened to you, it happens to so many people! And not everyone gets an email that's it's happening unfortunately. We just warn clients if they're in this situation that it MIGHT happen and they MIGHT be notified. I wish they would fix it!

These boys (one was probably early to mid-teens, the other was probably just under ten or a preteen) spent the whole ride being completely vulgar and saying things purposely trying to get a rise out of DH and I. They also flipped off the camera

I'm laughing now but if these were my boys I'd be smacking them in the head if I found out. Yes that's right, I said smacking them in the head everyone! It is hard sometimes to say something and can make the situation uncomfortable and they obviously wanted to feel "cool" with no parents around, but it's not an excuse.

I think it was the first time Dan realized that anyone besides me reads my TRs!

It's been years since we've done the CP but we saw Neil Patrick Harris and LOVED it. I do think the narrator can make a huge difference as 2 nights prior we'd seen Geena Davis. I like her and there was nothing wrong when she did it, but NPH definitely brought something "more" to it

 

[missjackiemcg]

I was so behind, but finally caught up now!!

And Tony even showed up to serenade us all!

That's such a cool addition! Lady and the Tramp was one of the movies my brother and I watched excessively as kids, so this would have had us screaming

My favorites were Anna and Elsa, Olaf and Cinderella and Prince Charming. I also really loved our spot because of the way I could frame the lit castle with everyone coming by, it was perfect!

That is the BEST picture spot!! These pics were really awesome!

We were seeing the Gary Sinese show, which I would have been fine with any of the readers but it was still cool to see him do the readings!

He would be an awesome narrator to see! My favorite one ever was John Stamos, but I'd love to see Gary Sinese or Neil Patrick Harris some day!

After the show we of course had to use the restroom again and we ran into Santa and Mrs. Clause!

These two are the real deal. Even I believed when we met them!! Jimmy is almost 10, and I'm always nervous he's going to say he doesn't believe in Santa anymore, but he often brings up how the Santa at the mall is just pretending because the real Santa is at Epcot

 

[Cloe Colton]

I see what you did there...

Haha glad it translated!

Bless you, TT CM

I would have been SO upset if she would have said no!

1. Genius idea
2. Why don't they do wristbands like they do for everything else??

Right?? like a sticker can't be that much cheaper than a wristband. It was stressful trying to keep that bad boy on

So cute!

Sounds like a fun afternoon/evening in Epcot to round out your time in the parks!

Yeah it was definitely a great last day to our trip! I actually wish we had more time to spend in EPCOT because we didn't get a chance to hit up any of the festival booths or the holiday story times! Hopefully we'll get to this year!

We would never miss the Candlelight Processional if visiting during the holidays. We have always done the package. It makes it so easy compared to the standby lines. At least one of us looses the sticker every time, and we always have to use the bathroom code word

I definitely think I want to do it again this year! We'll probably try a new restaurant for the package (I think Coral Reef because that sounds fun!) but it was definitely worth it in my opinion! I just don't think I would have paired the expensive lunch with the expensive dinner

I don't understand why they do the stickers! I'll happily take a paper wristband any day! lol

I did not know the bathroom code word was a thing. I never heard anyone talk about it so I was grateful when DH came back and said it wasn't an issue!

Phew glad you were able to still get on TT!

Sounds like a great experience at the CP!

Such pretty nighttime pics from Epcot!

I was so happy we made it on haha I would have been so frustrated if we didn't make it!

And thank you! I didn't realize it was the Mickey heads in the lights photo op until they popped up in MDE so that was a happy surprise!

I’m glad you made to TT, yay!

I’m glad you enjoyed the CP, I loved it and would gladly do again if I ever get a chance.

I work hard making those night Soarin 4th FP and most of the time we don’t end up doing it, haha!

I love the nighttime Holiday pictures in Epcot. Cool magic shot. Mickey lights.

I definitely think we will do the CP again when we go this year! It's something that I know my Mom and sister would NOT enjoy but DH is happy to do whatever I want, especially if he gets to sit still and have a beer so it really checked off all the boxes for the both of us!

Haha right?? We definitely would have used it if I had been able to make it when we did Turtle Talk but there just wasn't enough time after the CP. Plus, I feel like even with a FP Soarin is a long experience like FOP!

I was so happy when the pictures popped up in MDE! I didn't realize they were a magic shot when we stopped at that CM!

Fun!

I feel like they must have added some more options in the last year because we've definitely had some more creative designs the last couple of times!

I love the snowmen!

They were so cute! I loved the little holiday details throughout!

That show is hit or miss....it all depends on the questions asked.

The couple of questions they did ask were funny but I felt like they only asked one or two and then went back to just prerecorded screens with Dory and friends.

Perfect!

I had heard some horror stories from last year so I was worried walking in but it ended up being a really great spot for us!

I love Silent Night too, so special. What a great night you had!

It was the perfect last park day!

Now I am curious where you had dinner!

I think I might have briefly mentioned it earlier but you will find out soon!

LOL! I swear Joe does this every time it gets close to us boarding our SW flights...I hate SW to begin with and hate how there are no assigned seats, so his having to use the bathroom so close to boarding gives me anxiety...

Right??? I try to be understanding but DH always does this to me lol I'm praying Disney implements the bathroom pass for the new Star Wars lines otherwise I can kiss that dream goodbye! lol

That's awesome! How could you not do it, with that kind of a deal!

Especially since we had both already requested the next day off just to chill at home so we definitely had to do it! It was an early flight home but staying right at the airport it was not bad at all!!

That's the answer to all Disney problems right? Buy an AP!

Haha yep!! Although, its probably the worst thing for me to do since we'll both be inclined to go to Disney like ALL the time

BOO youths. I'm sorry they kind of ruined that last ride for you

Thankfully I got another ride in March with my Mom and Calista so at least it wasn't my last ride! But at the time we didn't have our girls trip planned (or any of our other Disney trips planned) so I was definitely bummed thinking that was going to be my last ride on SE!

LOL I was totally gonna quote it and say how much I liked it! But not now, don't want to be redundant. LOL

I mean it is a pretty cute sweater!! I just found it funny because he looked at me like I was crazy for telling him to pack it and everywhere we went he was getting compliments on it!

Yay!!

I would have been BUMMED

Wow Disney, super spy-like! Very sneaky

Right? haha I wonder if they pick a different word every time? They must right?

Ugh sorry this happened to you, it happens to so many people! And not everyone gets an email that's it's happening unfortunately. We just warn clients if they're in this situation that it MIGHT happen and they MIGHT be notified. I wish they would fix it!

If they notified me, I'd be way less annoyed! haha I feel like Disney likes to send emails about FPs getting cancelled for just about everything else and then doesn't actually cancel them but when they do cancel them its super secret The worst part is that I usually screen shot our fastpasses just in case this happens and both times I've forgotten to screen shot the last day so DH is convinced that I just forget to book him fastpasses every time

I'm laughing now but if these were my boys I'd be smacking them in the head if I found out. Yes that's right, I said smacking them in the head everyone! It is hard sometimes to say something and can make the situation uncomfortable and they obviously wanted to feel "cool" with no parents around, but it's not an excuse.

Which I totally get! Like if they had just been swearing or being silly I would have been like whatever, they are teenagers in Disney, its kind of to be expected. But they were like beyond vulgar with the words they were using which is what really ticked me off.

It's been years since we've done the CP but we saw Neil Patrick Harris and LOVED it. I do think the narrator can make a huge difference as 2 nights prior we'd seen Geena Davis. I like her and there was nothing wrong when she did it, but NPH definitely brought something "more" to it

I definitely could see how he would make a difference! I hope we can see someone else this year just for variety but since we are going the same weekend I have a feeling it will be Gary again! haha

 

[Cloe Colton]

I was so behind, but finally caught up now!!

That's such a cool addition! Lady and the Tramp was one of the movies my brother and I watched excessively as kids, so this would have had us screaming

It was super fun! Plus it was nice to have a couple of drinks in MK where thats usually not possible! haha I mean unless you're having dinner but even then getting more than 1 or 2 really hurts the wallet!

That is the BEST picture spot!! These pics were really awesome!

That was definitely an awesome perk to the Tony's party. I think we probably could have even gotten a decent spot here later if we were willing to stand so there was plenty of room!

He would be an awesome narrator to see! My favorite one ever was John Stamos, but I'd love to see Gary Sinese or Neil Patrick Harris some day!

I definitely think John Stamos and Neil Patrick Harris are both like my two bucketlist narrators to see! I saw some vlogs from John Stamos' this past year and it was so sweet how happy he was to be there with his wife and son

These two are the real deal. Even I believed when we met them!! Jimmy is almost 10, and I'm always nervous he's going to say he doesn't believe in Santa anymore, but he often brings up how the Santa at the mall is just pretending because the real Santa is at Epcot

I've heard the wait to meet these two is like CRAZY long??? They definitely look like the real deal to me. Thats so cute that the real ones are in EPCOT. Obviously Disney has the budget for THE Santa and Mrs. Clause

 

[buzzrelly]

Hi Cloe! I'm sorry, I got so far behind on so many trip reports! Happy to say I am finally catching up!

My grandfather passed away last week and I have been spending a lot of time with my family and honoring his memory.

I' so sorry about your grandfather

We made our way to the boats to get to Disney Springs, passing by the pool with all of my favorite childhood Disney memories! We used to go in at night and climb up the tongue of the slide and slide back down there was no water running on it and I’m not sure how well we slid but we still loved it. Always with supervision of course!

Now I know why you love POFQ so much! We loved our stay there in April!

Our first stop in Disney Springs was the Christmas tree trail. We got a bit turned around at first because the POFQ boat dock is closer to the exit of the trail but we found our way soon enough!

I have serious Disney Christmas envy reading your TR. I've never seen these trees and they look amazing! I think our plan is to go early December 2021which seems really far off, but to make our points work, it'll have to do. Plus we have three trips planned between now and then so I guess I'll just have to be patient

The coolest and most unique tree had to be the Haunted Mansion tree. I mean the Black Widow Bride was literally coming out of it!

That is AWESOME!

My brother's tree - if you click on it you should be able to hear the music his tree topper plays!

I love that! I would love to get that for my DS someday!

AND EVERYTHING WAS SO GOOD! Like I have been dreaming of those thigh high chicken biscuits since that night because they were just that good! Granted, we could have split the chicken biscuits and the deviled eggs and still have been full but I don’t regret getting everything to at least try it all! I definitely want to try the hush puppies the next time we go. Too many delicious foods, not enough stomach space! lol

Homecomin'

And here’s what it looked like!

To celebrate Mickey’s 90th birthday I went with the main man himself

Those are really cool! Thanks for the tip, I never knew they would do that!

So I don’t want to give any spoilers away but we really enjoyed our experience! I think if you’ve never done any of the Void experiences before Star Wars is probably the most awe-inspiring of the two but the Wreck It Ralph experience was super fun too

My son and I did the VOID in April and I had no idea what to expect. It was way cooler than I expected it to be

That was the only thing I didn’t like about the Star Wars option since it was harder to tell who was who and since it’s so popular you are normally paired with other groups if you have less than 4 people which can lead to some awkward interactions with people you don’t know!

DS and I had it all to ourselves We were saying after that it might have been more fun with a whole group. We must've gone at an unpopular time.

Dan said one of his favorite moments of this trip was sitting by the fountain and finishing his beer while I shopped he's just a simple guy!


Look at that happy face! haha

Sounds like Mike on his bench

We had rushed into TSL so quickly that I had us stop to get a picture with Woody and his scarf on the way out!

Again…Christmas envy

I saw this mask fabric in the store before our trip and just knew I needed to make some ears with it! And I love how they turned out! They just screamed POFQ to me!

Those are adorable, but then all of your ears are adorable. I wish I could make something like that!

I definitely want to stay at the Contemporary again someday. Even though I’ve only ever spent one night there I just love it!

Me too

The parade made it to us around 11:20 so we did quite a bit of waiting but I really wanted the straight down Main Street view and it was so cool to watch the parade from there.

Great pictures!

After the parade we made our way back into Tony’s to let the crowds die out and get some more drinks and snacks. We could have gone on more rides as I'm sure the park was pretty empty but we were happy to just hang out in Tony's! I got a hot cocoa which was super delicious and Dan got a warm alcoholic cider with whipped cream that he said was super good too!



We basically waited until the Tony’s party was over (it went until 12:30AM) before heading out for the night. But not completely out, because I wanted some more pictures! Haha

I have never heard of this. Granted, it's been a few years since I've been to a MVMCP. I hope it sticks around for 2021.

So after that crisis was averted came one of my worst ride experiences in history in Disney. There were some fairly annoying kids behind us in line but I normally avoid giving kids dirty looks because hey its Disney and they are just being kids, I’m just being a grump. I hoped they would be in their own car but quickly realized at least two of them were going to end up with us. In hindsight, I should have let them go ahead and waited a few cars but I didn’t want to be a pain so I just went with it. These boys (one was probably early to mid-teens, the other was probably just under ten or a preteen) spent the whole ride being completely vulgar and saying things purposely trying to get a rise out of DH and I. They also flipped off the camera which caused our pictures to not get used in the end scenes as well. At the time, I wasn’t sure if I would be back before SE went down for its two-year refurb and I just wanted to enjoy one last ride through, taking pictures and videos of all of my favorite scenes. Which I did still do, but they will always remind me of that terrible ride through. Honestly, it was so bad that there were some extra cast members at the exit to SE that DH and I both thought they were going to say something to the kids. It was that bad. For what its worth, we never bothered to say anything to the kids. We ignored them as best we could and just tried to get on with our day!

Ugh, that's so awful. It's bad enough when people talk on a ride, never mind vulgarity. That's completely uncalled for. You should have asked to get another ride after going through that.

 

[Cloe Colton]

Hi Cloe! I'm sorry, I got so far behind on so many trip reports! Happy to say I am finally catching up!

Welcome back! You've been pretty busy though so I completely understand!!

I' so sorry about your grandfather

Thank you

Now I know why you love POFQ so much! We loved our stay there in April!

It really is a great resort! I'm currently trying to rent points to stay at Riviera in March 2020 but if it doesn't work out I think we'll end up here!

I have serious Disney Christmas envy reading your TR. I've never seen these trees and they look amazing! I think our plan is to go early December 2021which seems really far off, but to make our points work, it'll have to do. Plus we have three trips planned between now and then so I guess I'll just have to be patient

I know it's so hard!! At least you have a plan in place to get there at some point, its definitely an amazing time of year to go. Its just so Christmas-y and magical!

I love that! I would love to get that for my DS someday!

It's really cool! Especially for a Star Wars lover haha it'll be interesting to see if my brother's GF lets him put it up next year now that shes officially moved in lol they may have to get two trees!

Homecomin'

SO GOOD!!! Its a good thing I don't live in Florida or I would gain many many pounds eating here all the time lol

Those are really cool! Thanks for the tip, I never knew they would do that!

It was so fun to do!

My son and I did the VOID in April and I had no idea what to expect. It was way cooler than I expected it to be

Thats how I felt when we did it the first time! I was thinking it would be a bit silly but I actually really enjoyed it! And DH loves anything virtual reality so he's always down to do it haha

DS and I had it all to ourselves We were saying after that it might have been more fun with a whole group. We must've gone at an unpopular time.

Must have been! But thats good though because I feel like unless you know the other people with you it's kind of strange. Like for the puzzle things only one team will end up doing it, so I think you were probably better off!

Sounds like Mike on his bench

Haha exactly!!

Those are adorable, but then all of your ears are adorable. I wish I could make something like that!

Thank you!! Its getting out of hand at this point

Me too

Me and DH are actually staying here in June! Disney was offering up some pretty great AP rates that we just couldn't pass up!

Great pictures!

I have never heard of this. Granted, it's been a few years since I've been to a MVMCP. I hope it sticks around for 2021.

It was actually new this year! I think it was pretty successful for them so I feel like they probably will bring it back!

Ugh, that's so awful. It's bad enough when people talk on a ride, never mind vulgarity. That's completely uncalled for. You should have asked to get another ride after going through that.

We did consider asking for another ride but at that point we were just ready to move on lol but I have actually asked for another ride before on Frozen because of a terrible experience before because of rude people!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

The show was just okay, there was a lot less audience participation than I expected (kids are hilarious, and they definitely should be asked ALL the questions) and too much of them trying to make Finding Dory a thing.

That makes me so sad! Turtle Talk was one of the highlights of my childhood trips...and it also makes me feel a little old to think about it lol

I feel like a wristband would work much better!

I completely agree! My sticker kept getting stuck in my hair or falling off!

On our way around World Showcase I was SHOCKED at how long the line was for the next Candlelight Processional, and that was for the packages! It made the walkways really congested and also made me very happy that we didn't wait in a line and just walked in and found a seat lol

That was the experience we had for the 5:00 show. We weren't even going to get in line until we saw how long it was (thankfully they started letting people in not long after we got in the line). It was kind of insane!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Monday, December 17th Part 3

Any guesses to where we were headed? The new Storybook dining at Artist Point of course! When they had first released the reservations I was so mad that I wasn’t able to snag one but then closer to the trip I was able to get one for this night and I was so happy! I was actually able to grab one for the opening night too but we decided to pass on that since we felt like it might be too much rushing around with the Christmas party. Once we added the last night to our trip we knew we had to eat here!

My plan was to valet park using my TIW card but when we pulled up they told us that the new dining wasn’t accepting TIW. We were still pretty early for our reservation so I asked if we got a couple of drinks from Territory Lounge and used the TIW would that count and he said absolutely! Dan tried to tell me to just pay for the valet but to me it made way more sense to get drinks for less than the price of the valet and still get free valet. Win win! (We obviously could have just parked ourselves but its just so nice to have them park the car for you!)

The decorations even from the moment you walked up to the Wilderness Lodge were SO cute!



And THEN when we walked into the lobby there were carolers singing. It was so magical! Does this happen a lot during the Christmas season at the Wilderness Lodge? Or was that unusual?




We checked into the restaurant and made our way to the Territory Lounge to get our drinks. We were about thirty minutes early for our reservation so we figured we had plenty of time!




We actually were seated almost twenty minutes before our reservation which I was pleasantly surprised about! Especially for the restaurant just opening this weekend I was surprised at their efficiency. I also loved the front page of the menu – so sweet!




I was so excited!

Now I don’t know if it is because we were there once the sun went down but I LOVED this meal. The ambiance was amazing, I loved how the fairy lights sparkled and shimmered every time someone appeared and the characters were all great too! I think the addition of the Christmas wreaths around the restaurant really warmed up the atmosphere, too.





First to our table was Snow White and she was as lovely as ever. I told her how she was my Mom’s class’ favorite princess and she told me to warn them to never take an apple from strangers.



After Snow White our appetizers were delivered. Everyone gets a portion of each appetizer, which I thought was super fun! And the leaf/plant thing is like a lazy susan so no one has to reach for anything.


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The appetizers were a winter squash bisque, hunters pie and a shrimp cocktail. I’ll be honest, these didn’t really wow me. I don’t like squash anyway and hunter’s pie was just different. The shrimp cocktail was good but only the top one really got any of the sauce on it so mine was just a piece of shrimp. BUT do not let the apps fool you! (Just as a side note - I also dined here in March and enjoyed the apps. So they may have updated the recipes since then!)

Next up was Dopey. I was super excited for him to see my Dopey purse and he seemed to really love it!





After Dopey was Grumpy’s turn. He did get pulled away for a minute to do a dance but he made sure to come right back and finish our turn which was awesome!





After Grumpy, our entrée’s came out. And man this was no disappointment at all, these were AMAZING!

I went with the A Stroll through Nature which was butternut squash (okay I guess I like SOME squash lol), arugula, gnocchi, sage and parmesan. This was so good, I'm sure it is probably the least valuable thing to get on a set price menu but I would order this again and again!



Dan had the Royal Prime Rib Roast which was served over mashed potatoes and he said his was really delicious too!



Last up were the desserts which are the same set up as the appetizers. Everyone gets a bite of each one. (With just two people our servings looked a bit sad haha)



There was the Fairy Tale Gooseberry Pie (the green thing with meringue) and I did not like this one but that was probably just my palette more than anything else. The poison apple, which was very tart but was cute and made for cute photos! Lol and lastly the miner’s treasure which was my favorite and actually it was really good! Basically just think of a buttercream cake, delish!





But wait there’s more! Every table is hand delivered The Hunter’s Gift to the Queen which is ganache hearts and maple popcorn, this was really good too and a fantastic touch!



After we finished eating it was finally time to meet the Evil Queen. She was awesome, I asked her if she liked my ears or my purse and she gave a resounding NO to both. It was great




Overall, we really enjoyed our dinner here. Even Dan who isn't a fan of character dining thought it was a lot of fun and that the food was all good. Like I mentioned earlier I have already been back with my Mom and sister and have plans to go again this December! I will admit though, I do think the Christmas feel adds something to the meal! Definitely a fun dinner to end our trip on! ​