Dis Friends are the best friends! A perfect trip in so many ways even without a ride on Dinosaur!12/7-12/11 Christmas Trip

[vamassey1]

Of course we had to go through the main lobby to see the best tree at Disney!

Love this Tree!!!!

We were happy to see there was a photopass photographer by the tree and had a fun impromptu photoshoot!

So many great photos! We got some of JP here too.

We headed over to meet Irene and Evan who were waiting at Geyser Point. It was SO packed there this evening and we were told it would be at least an 1/2 hour wait. I guess the word is out about Geyser Point!

I finally got into GP. We joint the virtual queue while we were in our room and took our time getting ready to go down. Danielle and Ralphie took JP to look around. I thought they would go to the game room but they ended up making smores. Our table was ready about the time they finished.

We also went for appies here picking their top 4.
​

Lump Crab Cakes​

Old Bay Rémoulade, Corn Hash, House-made Saltine Crackers
$16.00​

Loaded Macaroni & Cheese​

Applewood-smoked Bacon and Jalapeño
$12.00
​

Steakhouse 71 Onion Rings​

Hand-breaded with Spicy "Ranch" Dipping Sauce (Plant-based)
$10.00​

PB&J Chicken Wings​

Sweet Peanut Glaze and Jelly Powder​

These all sound delicious!

Coming back to the table I was all smiles with our dessert in hand. The waitress was giving us sour looks as we happily dug in and oohed and ahhed over the yumminess before us.

You go Girl! Where there is a will there is a way.

Finishing up at Tambu, we decided to head to Enchanted Rose to end the evening. So we piled on the monorail and arrived at the GF only to find they closed at 11 pm!!! Oh well, we got to see the Christmas decor at least.

Sorry it was closed, but look how uncrowded the lobby was.

Disney bar crawl success!

Very much so!

This has happened twice now. Thank goodness, Territory Lounge was an option again.

Territory Lounge is a great back up.

I really enjoyed checking out the lobbies of the resorts we visited.

I enjoy doing this too at Christmas.

We had a wonderful evening, now Susan and I didn’t feel quite the same about our late night the next morning! Actually, it was fine but we wet slow going and our stomachs were not happy with us!

I'm so sorry. I hope y'all fetl better soon.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Territory Lounge is a great back up.

It really is a nice lounge and the staff are friendly and welcoming

I enjoy doing this too at Christmas.

We hit quite a few deluxe resorts this trip to see all the Christmas decorations loved it

I'm so sorry. I hope y'all fetl better soon.

Haha the dreaded bottle flu

 

[disneyAndi14]

Good Morning! We had a busy day in front of us. The break of dawn came quickly especially when we didn’t get to sleep until 1-1:30am.

We had some coffee and sweets in the room and headed out.

The plan was to visit all 4 parks! AK was our first stop. We decided more caffeine was in order and got drinks at Starbucks! I had the iced chai latte and Susan had a flavored cold brew? I can’t remember! Susan will chime in and set me straight She has a great memory and interesting fact, she doesn’t take notes for her TRs and wow I think that is awesome I am a bit fuzzy, I will blame the alcohol from the night before. I do take notes for my reports and I didn’t on this trip!

I know we rode Navi river ride and the CM tried to add more people in our row and we politely said no thanks! The seats are so small. It was early on and not really crowded. We did have Genie+ and also a fancy ride $$ for FoP.


I know we went on the trail across from Starbucks to drink our coffee. I love this area! Never crowded and you get to see the Galapagos Tortoises! These dinosaur like creatures are really fun to watch! Did you know some live to be over 100 years old!

Crazy If a water cavalcade is going by you have a great view! Sadly we didn’t see one. I was hoping to see Santa go by.

We admired the back side of the tree of life! The carvings are amazing. I always try to see an animal I haven’t seen before!

Back to my fuzzy memory, I can’t remember if we did the Safari lol! Don’t drink kids, haha I know we did the trails and checked out the animals. We only saw a couple gorillas I did not take any pictures ugh! Key to remembering your trip take pictures, if you don’t write it down! Susan help!

I know we both had no appetite and our stomachs were a little unsettled from our partying the night before.

We did see the Magical Menagerie out and about!


Here are some fun pictures of us with the mural and meeting Mickey and Minnie!


I definitely remember meeting the awesome couple. They were both very sweet and spent a good amount of time with us.

Dreaded photo box pictures!


The 2pm hopping rule was still in place so we decided to take a bus to Beach Club and explore the Crescent Lake resorts before heading in Epcot!

Today was actually very hot way warmer than we expected!

I will let Susan fill in some blanks and I will continue with resort pictures, coming up soon!

 

[pkondz]

The break of dawn came quickly especially when we didn’t get to sleep until 1-1:30am.

I can relate. Just had a night like that last night.

The plan was to visit all 4 parks!

After the previous night... very ambitious!

Or foolhardy!

We decided more caffeine was in order

Ya don't say!

She has a great memory and interesting fact, she doesn’t take notes for her TRs and wow I think that is awesome

I am a bit fuzzy, I will blame the alcohol from the night before.

I know we rode Navi river ride and the CM tried to add more people in our row and we politely said no thanks! The seats are so small.

Agree. Two is plenty on a seat in that boat.

Did you know some live to be over 100 years old!

I was hoping to see Santa go by.

Don't be silly. He lives at the North Pole. Sheesh.

We admired the back side of the tree of life! The carvings are amazing. I always try to see an animal I haven’t seen before!

That's one I've never seen!

Back to my fuzzy memory, I can’t remember if we did the Safari lol!

Don’t drink kids, haha

I know we both had no appetite and our stomachs were a little unsettled from our partying the night before.

Not super surprised by this.

Here are some fun pictures of us

Cute pics.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hey I remember we did not do the Safari because of my sore back! I guess I wanted to forget my backaches and sour tummy

 

[suse66]

We had some coffee and sweets in the room and headed out.

I managed to hunt down coffee at Cafe Rix today. We had our delicious cheese danishes we had picked up the previous afternoon and kept in the fridge. Why oh why did I eat the entire thing???? Not the best idea!

The plan was to visit all 4 parks! AK was our first stop. We decided more caffeine was in order and got drinks at Starbucks! I had the iced chai latte and Susan had a flavored cold brew? I can’t remember! Susan will chime in and set me straight She has a great memory and interesting fact, she doesn’t take notes for her TRs and wow I think that is awesome I am a bit fuzzy, I will blame the alcohol from the night before. I do take notes for my reports and I didn’t on this trip!

Vanilla sweet cream cold brew for me! It was so good but a bit too rich for the state of my stomach, lol.

I know we rode Navi river ride and the CM tried to add more people in our row and we politely said no thanks! The seats are so small. It was early on and not really crowded. We did have Genie+ and also a fancy ride $$ for FoP.

Yep, no. No cramming 4 into those small rows.

I know we went on the trail across from Starbucks to drink our coffee. I love this area! Never crowded and you get to see the Galapagos Tortoises! These dinosaur like creatures are really fun to watch! Did you know some live to be over 100 years old!

The Galapogos Tortoises were so cool! I really loved hanging out around the Tree of Life.

I know we both had no appetite and our stomachs were a little unsettled from our partying the night before.

I think that was the first time ever I didn't hit up Nomad Lounge when I was at AK!

The 2pm hopping rule was still in place so we decided to take a bus to Beach Club and explore the Crescent Lake resorts before heading in Epcot!

I loved all the Christmas decor in the Epcot resorts.

After the previous night... very ambitious!

Or foolhardy!

Maybe a bit of both....

Cute pics.

Thank you!

Hey I remember we did not do the Safari because of my sore back! I guess I wanted to forget my backaches and sour tummy

 

[suse66]

A fabulous morning at my favourite park!

Even though we had a late night, I was wide awake and ready to go this morning. First up was water and advil followed by a large coffee. I sat downstairs in the lovely seating area again and sipped my coffee while I waited for 7 am to book FoP and our first Genie + ride. I got a 10:35 for FoP and Navi River at 9;45. I came back up to the room to let Caroline know what I managed to book. We had our breakfast and got ready for our park day.

I absolutely love these cheese danishes but eating the whole thing was not a good idea. Caroline was smarter and just enjoyed 1/2 of hers for now.

Arriving at AK, I was struck by their stunning tree and the intricately designed decorations on it was just beautiful!



The lions were adorable!

I really loved the stars as well.



Creature Comforts was top of our list for coffee so we headed there first. Then we went to see the Galapogos turtles which I really enjoyed. This is such a quiet and serene way to start your day. We also had a quick look at the playful otters but that area was a bit noisy and congested. You can imagine we both preferred calm and quiet that morning!

I took a little video of the tortoises for my son, Jack.

We continued around the tree looking at all the beautiful carvings.

Another view of the rabbit.

The elephant.

The salmon.

The magestic owl.


*Continued in next post*




​

 

[suse66]

After admiring the carvings we made our way to Pandora for Navi River Journey. I was happy the shaman animatronic was working today.

I was a little annoyed with myself for not booking FoP for 10:00. We had almost 40 minutes to kill before our return time so headed off to the Gorilla Falls trail. This is hands down one of my favourite areas of the park. If I lived close by I would want to be there all the time!

The aviary is always a delight.



So serene and beautiful!


We had fun spying the quick and clever meerkat as we enjoyed a chat with CM in that area.

The gorillas were out with three young teenagers being introduced to that side of the exhibit.

We backtracked back to Pandora now as it was almost time for FoP. This ride is magical to me and always makes me cry from sheer awe at the beauty of it.

We took advantage of the chance to get photos at the Magical Menagerie mural and strolled through the Island Mercantile. Is it just me or does AK always seem to have some interesting merch you don't see anywhere else?

Caroline had made us a LL for Minnie and Mickey next so we headed in that direction. We noticed the line for Moana looked short on the way and stopped to inquire with the CM. She said it was about 20 minutes but we were almost at the end of our window for M&M so decided to try our luck afterwards. Sadly by the time we finished with Minnie and Mickey, it was almost an hour for Moana. Something for another time!

On the way out of the park we saw the magical menagerie! This is the most delightful addition to the park for the holidays. I am obsessed with the penguins!!




It really had been a lovely morning and we were ready to try our luck at our next park. We still had about an hour before we could hop so put that to good use by heading to the Yacht Club, Beach Club and Boardwalk to see all their Christmas decor. That's next!​

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

The break of dawn came quickly especially when we didn’t get to sleep until 1-1:30am.

Oh but it was so worth it for the great time you had the night before.

The plan was to visit all 4 parks! AK was our first stop.

Definitely ambitious given the late night. I'm curious to see how it goes

Susan will chime in and set me straight

I am a bit fuzzy, I will blame the alcohol

I know we rode Navi river ride

It's all coming back to you now lol

I know we went on the trail across from Starbucks to drink our coffee. I love this area!

See you've got an awesome memory just like Susan-who needs notes anyway

We admired the back side of the tree of life! The carvings are amazing. I always try to see an animal I haven’t seen before!

I love the tree of life. I find it utterly fascinating. Always spot something new.

Back to my fuzzy memory,

Ach it was bound to happen after the great craic from your monorail crawl but hey you made it out of bed by 7 am so go you

Don’t drink kids, haha

I know we both had no appetite and our stomachs were a little unsettled from our partying the night before.

The things we do to ourselves

Here are some fun pictures of us with the mural and meeting Mickey and Minnie!

I love your photos especially the one of you both,arms raised, in front of the mural

anaged to hunt down coffee at Cafe Rix today. We had our delicious cheese danishes we had picked up the previous afternoon and kept in the fridge. Why oh why did I eat the entire thing???? Not the best idea!

OOPS!

The Galapogos Tortoises were so cool! I really loved hanging out around the Tree of Life.

The trails are amazing!

Even though we had a late night, I was wide awake and ready to go this morning. First up was water and advil

Breakfast of champions (and late night party people)

I sat downstairs in the lovely seating area again and sipped my coffee while I waited for 7 am to book FoP and our first Genie + ride.

You really were up and at it early.

Arriving at AK, I was struck by their stunning tree and the intricately designed decorations on it was just beautiful!

Absolutely gorgeous!

We also had a quick look at the playful otters but that area was a bit noisy and congested. You can imagine we both preferred calm and quiet that morning!

The perfect spot for you both today.

We continued around the tree looking at all the beautiful carvings.

Another view of the rabbit.

The carvings are stunniing aren't they.

We backtracked back to Pandora now as it was almost time for FoP. This ride is magical to me and always makes me cry from sheer awe at the beauty of it.

I've yet to do this.

It really had been a lovely morning and we were ready to try our luck at our next park. We still had about an hour before we could hop so put that to good use by heading to the Yacht Club, Beach Club and Boardwalk to see all their Christmas decor.

Perfect plan. I do think the resorts look beautiful during the holidays.

 

[suse66]

Oh but it was so worth it for the great time you had the night before.

Absolutely!

See you've got an awesome memory just like Susan-who needs notes anyway

I rely on the photos to help me remember.

I love the tree of life. I find it utterly fascinating. Always spot something new.

OOPS!

My eyes were saying yes but my stomach did not agree.

You really were up and at it early.

I simply can't sleep in. No matter what I do I am wide awake by 5am. I wish I could sleep in.

The carvings are stunniing aren't they.

So beautiful!

I've yet to do this.

You will love it!!

Perfect plan. I do think the resorts look beautiful during the holidays.

They really do.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I can relate. Just had a night like that last night.

I’m to old for late nights and a variety of mixed drinks

After the previous night... very ambitious!

Or foolhardy!

let’s just say it was both!

Don't be silly. He lives at the North Pole. Sheesh.

Sometimes a Christmas miracle happens!

That's one I've never seen!

Same and Andi and I love being back in this area! Always something new to see

managed to hunt down coffee at Cafe Rix today. We had our delicious cheese danishes we had picked up the previous afternoon and kept in the fridge. Why oh why did I eat the entire thing???? Not the best idea!

Haha I remember we felt worse as we went along! Not horrible just a little unsettling

Vanilla sweet cream cold brew for me! It was so good but a bit too rich for the state of my stomach, lol.

Same! The chai latte is a favorite of mine but not this morning to sweet!

The Galapogos Tortoises were so cool! I really loved hanging out around the Tree of Life.

This is a favorite area for Andi and I. love it back here!

think that was the first time ever I didn't hit up Nomad Lounge when I was at AK!

Same! We had enough lounges

Creature Comforts was top of our list for coffee so we headed there first. Then we went to see the Galapogos turtles which I really enjoyed. This is such a quiet and serene way to start your day.

This is hands down one of my favourite areas of the park. If I lived close by I would want to be there all the time!

I totally agree If I lived down there (hopefully soon) I would walk that area every morning if I could!

We had fun spying the quick and clever meerkat as we enjoyed a chat with CM in that area.

I love the meerkats!

She said it was about 20 minutes but we were almost at the end of our window for M&M so decided to try our luck afterwards. Sadly by the time we finished with Minnie and Mickey, it was almost an hour for Moana. Something for another time!

Ahh I remember that! I really want to meet Moana again, I love her

It's all coming back to you now lol

It is! I need to take more pictures! I usually do but this morning I was forgetting many things!

See you've got an awesome memory just like Susan-who needs notes anyway

Who needs notes, right?

I love the tree of life. I find it utterly fascinating. Always spot something new.

Same! I love spending time walking along the tree and admiring the skill of the carvers!

I love your photos especially the one of you both,arms raised, in front of the mural

I love that mural!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We admired the back side of the tree of life! The carvings are amazing. I always try to see an animal I haven’t seen before!

We finally took this trail after ignoring it for decades. We were amazed at the detail in the carvings and enjoyed the serenity of the path along the waterway.

Then we went to see the Galapagos turtles which I really enjoyed. This is such a quiet and serene way to start your day.

The turtles were surprisingly active when we saw them last month.

We had almost 40 minutes to kill before our return time so headed off to the Gorilla Falls trail. This is hands down one of my favourite areas of the park.

Gorilla Falls is our second favorite area after the safari. The gorillas are usually doing something interesting.

Is it just me or does AK always seem to have some interesting merch you don't see anywhere else?

The AK gift shops are the most interesting of all the gift shops in the parks. And the favorite resort gift shop is the Wilderness Lodge mercantile.

 

[pkondz]

Hey I remember we did not do the Safari because of my sore back! I guess I wanted to forget my backaches and sour tummy
View attachment 827385
View attachment 827386

Even though we had a late night, I was wide awake and ready to go this morning.

Rope drop waits for no one.

Whoa! That looks decadent!

Arriving at AK, I was struck by their stunning tree and the intricately designed decorations on it was just beautiful!

I'm struck by the guy wires. Never noticed that before on the trees. Must make a note.

You can imagine we both preferred calm and quiet that morning!

Gee... I wonder why?

The elephant.

Another I don't remember seeing.

I was happy the shaman animatronic was working today.

The gorillas were out with three young teenagers being introduced to that side of the exhibit.

Good! About time there's more company on that side.

This ride is magical to me and always makes me cry from sheer awe at the beauty of it.

It is such a good ride!

Is it just me or does AK always seem to have some interesting merch you don't see anywhere else?

It's not just you.

On the way out of the park we saw the magical menagerie! This is the most delightful addition to the park for the holidays. I am obsessed with the penguins!!

 

[pkondz]

I’m to old for late nights and a variety of mixed drinks

Nah...

Sometimes a Christmas miracle happens!

And if anyone can do that, he can.

 

[amazingact21]

A 4 park challenge after the night you both had?! You two can rally much, much better than I can. Smart idea grabbing coffee and spending a lot of the morning on quiet trails.
FOP is such a beautiful ride. Glad it didn't mess with your back, Caroline.

Love all the animal carvings. I haven't seen the owl yet. I'm going to be on the hunt for it in April!

No Nomad lounge this morning?

 

[vamassey1]

I am a bit fuzzy, I will blame the alcohol from the night before. I do take notes for my reports and I didn’t on this trip!

I like your explanation. I always tell myself I'm going to take notes, but don't follow through.

We admired the back side of the tree of life! The carvings are amazing. I always try to see an animal I haven’t seen before!

I love the carvings and loving finding new ones.

We only saw a couple gorillas I did not take any pictures ugh!

I've been on this trail before and only seen a few before too, they were also far away.

We did see the Magical Menagerie out and about!

Love these!

Here are some fun pictures of us with the mural and meeting Mickey and Minnie!

Great photos. Caroline, I love your top and Susan your dress is so cute. The colors really look great with the mural.

YUM!!

Arriving at AK, I was struck by their stunning tree and the intricately designed decorations on it was just beautiful!

The dress is gorgeous and so much to see.

We had fun spying the quick and clever meerkat as we enjoyed a chat with CM in that area.

I like spending time with the meerkats. The CMs always have some interesting information.

Is it just me or does AK always seem to have some interesting merch you don't see anywhere else?

I think so too!

 

[KaSe]

Oh my gosh! Despite a couple hiccups, your monorail crawl sounds like SO MUCH fun!! But I definitely would have needed a later start to the morning!


We love doing 4 park days, but we didn't try it while the park hopping restrictions were on -- thank goodness that's gone!!

 

[suse66]

I’m to old for late nights and a variety of mixed drinks

No we're not! Just maybe not 4 drinks next time though!

Haha I remember we felt worse as we went along! Not horrible just a little unsettling

I think the sugar on top of our tender stomachs didn't help.

Same! We had enough lounges

Definitely!! This was a dry Disney day for sure!

I totally agree If I lived down there (hopefully soon) I would walk that area every morning if I could!

My goal too...... hopefully I will find a short term rental for January through April.

Ahh I remember that! I really want to meet Moana again, I love her

I've never had a Moana meet but think it would be a lot of fun!

We finally took this trail after ignoring it for decades. We were amazed at the detail in the carvings and enjoyed the serenity of the path along the waterway.

It's just incredible back there. Not only is it peaceful and serene but there is also so much to see.

The turtles were surprisingly active when we saw them last month.

They are so fun to watch!

Gorilla Falls is our second favorite area after the safari. The gorillas are usually doing something interesting.

I love that trail too. I could just walk the trails at AK, take in a show, browse the shops and be completely happy!

The AK gift shops are the most interesting of all the gift shops in the parks. And the favorite resort gift shop is the Wilderness Lodge mercantile.

Agreed!

Rope drop waits for no one.

Nope! I am such an early riser that rope drop is never an issue.

Whoa! That looks decadent!

The infamous disney cheese danish! I love them but they don't love me back the way they used to!

Another I don't remember seeing.

It was my first time noticing it as well.

Good! About time there's more company on that side.

I thought so too. It was a little sad with only two of them out there.

It is such a good ride!

Simply magical!

A 4 park challenge after the night you both had?! You two can rally much, much better than I can. Smart idea grabbing coffee and spending a lot of the morning on quiet trails.
FOP is such a beautiful ride. Glad it didn't mess with your back, Caroline.

We are both early risers so that helped. Plus when you are only there for four days you have to take advantage of every minute.

Love all the animal carvings. I haven't seen the owl yet. I'm going to be on the hunt for it in April!

Aren't they beautiful!

No Nomad lounge this morning?

Hard pass today, lol!

I love the carvings and loving finding new ones.

Same!

Great photos. Caroline, I love your top and Susan your dress is so cute. The colors really look great with the mural.

Thank you so much! I have bought a few things from Enchanted Dress Shop lately and really like their prints. By the way, did you know Ambrie reopned?

The tree is gorgeous and so much to see.

Nothing like the tree of life!

I like spending time with the meerkats. The CMs always have some interesting information.

The CMs are so knowledgeable. The meerkats always make me laugh.

Oh my gosh! Despite a couple hiccups, your monorail crawl sounds like SO MUCH fun!! But I definitely would have needed a later start to the morning!

It was a VERY fun night!

We love doing 4 park days, but we didn't try it while the park hopping restrictions were on -- thank goodness that's gone!!

So happy that is a thing of the past!!

 

[pkondz]

Nope! I am such an early riser that rope drop is never an issue.

And being an early riser sure pays dividends at Disney!

I thought so too. It was a little sad with only two of them out there.

Yes

 

[vamassey1]

By the way, did you know Ambrie reopned?

I did see that. I have been getting their emails.