A Very Merry Disney Christmas Vacation- Dec. '14 TR- Updated 6/15 -Day 7

[ememtingle]

Emily, as I promised in response to your post on my TR, I'm here...just took me a bit longer than I thought.

I am all caught up; I wrote down a few notes.

When people ask why we go to Disney without kids we tell them we are kids...just in grown up bodies. We've been doing just DH and I since 2007.

I've not eaten at the Contempo Café in awhile; I'll have to get back there.

DTD was a disaster in September with all that construction. I have both of those ornaments...Mickey and Minnie.

I HATE Rock & Roll and will never do it again. Mark goes and does that while I do Tower of Terror--my FAVORITE ride. Mark can't do TOT since his neck surgery.

I'm glad you got to see Indiana Jones...especially if the rumors are correct and it is permanently closing.

We saw the Osborne Lights for the first time in 2012 and then went again in 2013. I was very sad we didn't get there this year. My all time favorite show...just spectacular.

We must do Fantasmic this year...it's been awhile.

I love how many times you got on TOT.

I'm a little out of order here. We will probably never stay at the Grand Floridian (my husband detests it), but their Christmas decorations are the best...hands down.

We have stayed at the Coronado ten times. We really love it. The only reason we don't now is that we rent points and always stay DVC.

Okay...I think that is everything. Carry on.

Thanks for stopping by! And thanks for all of the comments, we had a great experience at Coronado and I'm glad you feel the same way about RnR as I do.
I'm still reading your TR and I love seeing all of the hat pictures, they're so funny!

Following along! I would LOVE to see Disney at Christmas!

Those decorations at the GF are beautiful!

Can't wait to read more about your adventures at Epcot!

Disney at Christmas just makes it so much more magical. It's amazing and these pictures don't really do it justice.
The GF decorations are my favorite.
And thanks for following along!!

Following. We are going to be at Disney at Christmas next year. I'm in VA, so I appreciate your clothing input. I probably would have only packed shorts and tees, not realizing it can get chilly enough for jeans. It IS Florida, after all. Lol.

Hey thanks for following along! Yeah, we overpacked (whoops) because we weren't sure how the weather would be! I wore shorts one day out of the whole week, the rest of the time I wore jeans or capri leggings. Early morning and night time were the only times I was ever really cold.

 

[Kimbeachy]

It's great to read a trip report by a fellow North Carolinian. December is my absolute favorite time to go! Sounds as if you had a great trip. Look forward to reading more!

 

[ememtingle]

December 15th Part 2: Around the World in an Hour

After getting off the Land, we decided to go on Journey into Imagination since we were right there and there was a 5 minute wait.
I still miss the old Figment ride with the Dreamfinder! But this ride is still cute. And that song will be stuck in your head all day.
IMMMAAAAGINATION, IIIIMAAAAAGINATION. I was singing it all day.

We figured it would be easier to walk around World Showcase starting at Canada and working our way around.







It was nice because it wasn't crowded at all!


I had to get a picture for my dad, this is one of his favorite restaurants at WDW.




Definitely one of my favorite views!



We decided to go to the Tangierine Cafe in Morocco for lunch. We both love Middle Eastern food and we heard that Tangierine Cafe was really good.


I love the ceiling inside!



We both got the lamb platter and we used our dining plan to pay for it. It would've been $12.99 for this. It was a lot of food! I didn't finish mine.
It comes with a lot of lamb, tazaki sauce, onions, couscous, hummus, pita, and then some kind of herb salad. It was all delicious!
We both got large cokes and baklava as our dessert. I've only had baklava once at Kouzzina when I tried Eli's, and I just was not a fan this time. I just thought it was kind of weird, Eli loved it though.

During lunch I checked the 'My Disney Experience' app to see wait times and what characters were meeting. I saw that Snow White was meeting at 12:30 over in Germany and I wanted to go see her! Eli grumbled, but agreed.
So we finished up our lunch and started to head over to Germany.


This is one of my favorite pictures I took during the trip.



We got in line at about 12:20 and it didn't take too long to get through the line.
Where Snow meets is right next to a beer cart, so Eli got out of line and got in line for beer...typical. And he finished it while we waited.





Snow was such a delight to meet. She told us that we should go horseback riding and go dancing in a field. I love her.

Up next, we continue wandering around World Showcase and then go back to finish up Future World!!

Next Post



​

 

[Bethislucy]

Sounds like a fun trip so far.

 

[missangelalexis]

Joining in!!

My feelings totally match yours about Tangled!! I'll take it and Rapunzel over Frozen any day (even though I do like Frozen too!).

I love how you spent your first night, sounds so fun. The Grand Floridian looks GORGEOUS will all those decorations.

Your morning/afternoon at HS sounds like it was great. Getting dinner at Boardwalk seemed like a good choice for you guys

The Osborne lights are AMAZING!! Your picture in front of them is so cute

It's hard to resist taking pictures when the boat comes out during Fantasmic!

I really need to ride TOT at night, I'm sure it takes on a different feel.

It's so funny, my hate for RNR is the exact opposite of yours! I don't mind the 0-60 but hate the upside down part!

Sounds like you guys did really well during EMH, awesome!

You got some great Epcot/WS pics!

 

[KatMark]

I'm with your dad...Rose & Crown is one of our favorite restaurants in all of Disney.

I ate at that Tangierine Cafen once a few years ago. I agreed to give it a try. Unfortunately, I did not like it which I was afraid I wouldn't (I'm not very adventurous in my eating), but I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I love the picture with Snow White.

 

[ememtingle]

Sounds like a fun trip so far.

Hi Beth! Thanks for stopping by! Yes, we had a great time but wait, there's so much more to come!!

Joining in!!

My feelings totally match yours about Tangled!! I'll take it and Rapunzel over Frozen any day (even though I do like Frozen too!).

I love how you spent your first night, sounds so fun. The Grand Floridian looks GORGEOUS will all those decorations.

Your morning/afternoon at HS sounds like it was great. Getting dinner at Boardwalk seemed like a good choice for you guys

The Osborne lights are AMAZING!! Your picture in front of them is so cute

It's hard to resist taking pictures when the boat comes out during Fantasmic!

I really need to ride TOT at night, I'm sure it takes on a different feel.

It's so funny, my hate for RNR is the exact opposite of yours! I don't mind the 0-60 but hate the upside down part!

Sounds like you guys did really well during EMH, awesome!

You got some great Epcot/WS pics!

Tangled is everything, I'm so glad we agree! Haha most people are now Frozen people.
TOT at night is totally different then during the day. It's a lot more creepy. And thanks for joining in!!

I'm with your dad...Rose & Crown is one of our favorite restaurants in all of Disney.

I ate at that Tangierine Cafen once a few years ago. I agreed to give it a try. Unfortunately, I did not like it which I was afraid I wouldn't (I'm not very adventurous in my eating), but I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I love the picture with Snow White.

Hey Kathy! Yeah Tangierine Cafe is defiitley for adventurous eaters, too bad you didn't like it!
And yes, I loved the picture with Snow White too. She was fantastic.

 

[ememtingle]

December 15th Part 3: Yellow Tights are a Fashion Trend and I've Gotten Really Good at Changing in Disney Bathrooms

Hi Everyone! So this might be my last update for a few days..maybe, maybe not. I'm heading back to college today to finish up my last semester of senior year. Ugh, I can't believe it!! Anyways, with going back to school means less time for social media...boohoo. But I'm going to really try my best to not be MIA for like 2 weeks or 2 months. But anyways! Enough about that, let's get back to Disney!

So where I left off was meeting Snow. We decided to finish our way around World Showcase and then go over to Future World and finish our fastpasses.







We stopped in Norway to pay our respects to Malestrom, RIP, and to walk through the giftshops. Eli likes looking at the ski jackets since he skis and I looked at all of the Frozen merchandise. I couldn't believe how much Frozen merchandise they had!!

After Norway, we both wanted to get a frozen margarita so we stopped at the margarita cart next to the Mexican pavilion. I got just the regular lime margarita and Eli got the orange flavored one. They were delicious!!



Since we had been walking and it was getting warm out, we figured to sit inside the Mexican pavilion and take a break and finish up our margaritas.
It was very relaxing inside, and it smelled like Mexican food, YUM.

We made our way over to The Seas with Nemo since that was our first fastpass.
This ride was new for both of us.



I thought the ride was cute! I love Finding Nemo. After getting off the ride we walked around the Living Seas, is that still what it's called...?
We looked at all of the fish and of course had to visit my favorite, the manatees. I love them so much, they're so cute!!
Next, we decided to watch Turtle Talk with Crush. The show was really cute and it was really cute watching all of the little kids get so into it and answer questions. A lady next to me asked, "Which kid is yours?" I was like...ummm. I don't have a child. It made a very awkward rest of the show.

Eli wanted to go to Club Cool to try the Beverly. He is honestly the only person ever to actual ENJOY the Beverly!!
I decided to look around, I wasn't really in the mood to try the drinks.


How cute are these magnets! I almost bought one.

It was time for our next FP+ and we were going on Mission Space.

OMG the smell of Disney popcorn

I have a love/hate relationship with Mission Space. I think it's a really cool ride, but I just do not like the blast off part when you feel like your chest is sinking in or your face is melting off. Eli loves it, so I go on it for him (since he meets Princesses with me, guess we're even).


We had time to kill before our next FP+ so we decided to go on Spaceship Earth again.


We had to say hello to my favorite girl! Disney, please give her a new outfit...Where do you even buy yellow tights?!

Next up we decided to head over to Innovations to walk around. We wanted to do Sum of all Thrills, but the wait was over 30 minutes and we didn't really feel like waiting.
Instead, we walked through the house of the future. Eli and I love house stuff, huge fans of House Hunters right here. So the house of the future was right up our alley.

After Innovations it was time for Soarin', our last FP+.
I am terrified of heights but I really do love Soarin', especially all of the smells!

Hashtag blessed because me and Eli always get front row of Soarin'

Y'all, every.single.time we have rode Soarin', we get the front row! It makes the ride so much better!

After Soarin' we both needed some caffeine so we walked over to Starbucks. Eli got his typical cappuccino and I got my typical caramel macchiato.



We had done all we wanted to do in Future World, so it was time to head back over to World Showcase.




And who doesn't love the monorail!!


And who doesn't love a photoshoot!!



Next it was time to meet Duffy! I love Duffy so much, he's so cute and cuddly and he was in his Christmas outfit which made him so much cuter.



We had a great meet and greet with him. He wanted me and Eli to kiss under his mistletoe on his Christmas hat but I am so awkward with PDA so I gave Duffy a huge kiss on the cheek.

After Duffy we went over to Mexico again. We went on the Grand Fiesta Tour next.









I still remember when it wasn't the Three Caballeros, it was the people who like tried to sell you things! Really strange ride. But it's still cute because I have a soft spot for Donald.

Next up was going back to Norway.


Depressing


No more trolls sending you back, back, over the falls.

We walked around all of the shops and listened to the Norway Christmas story which was great and really funny!!





I decided to change out of my t-shirt and put on a nicer shirt for dinner.
It was getting chilly since the sun had gone down, so I packed a long sleeve shirt. Changing my shirt or pants in a Disney bathroom was almost an every day thing for me. I got really good at it too!


And yes, time for another photoshoot.





This photopass photographer was great, he was really nice. And while we were posing he goes, "Oohh, happy family" in an Italian accent.

Up next, we continue wandering around WS, eat, and wrap up our night at Epcot.

Next Post

​

 

[ememtingle]

December 15 Part 4: Dinnertime and Explosions in the Sky

After our photoshoot, we continued walking around Italy. And I honestly, we were going into every single shop in World Showcase, which was a lot of fun.







Funny story! While we were in France, we ran into a guy who me and Eli both go to school with! Of all of the places! It was so funny and weird.

Anyways, it was getting close to our ADR so we made our way back through WS to Japan.



We still had some time before our reservation, so we decided to walk around the Japan pavilion and walk through the huge shop. I love the giant shop in Japan, they have everything!!

After perusing, we went to check into Tokyo Dining which was a new dining experience for both me and Eli.
We waited about 20 minutes to be seated, the hostess said they were running behind.
The restaurant is very open and has a sushi bar and lots of tables. It was really busy and there were a lot of people waiting too! Tokyo Dining is right next to Tempo Edo. In the Tokyo Dining dining room there are large windows overlooking World Showcase.
We were seated at a 4-top table, I hate being a party of 2 and they seat you at seriously an end table, it's so uncomfortable. I like being spread out. I know, that's weird.
Me and Eli both got the bento box with steak because it came with a little bit of everything.
Eli took Japanese in high school so he was able to speak a little to our waitress.



So the bento box came with steak and broccoli, California roll, sashimi, and tempura shrimp and veggies. It was all so delicious! I was very impressed with how tender the steak was and how yummy the tempura was. We were both very very happy with our choice.

For dessert, Eli got ginger cake and I got green tea ice cream. We used our Dining Plan to pay for our meal.

After our delicious meal, we stopped and looked around Morocco since we didn't get a chance to do it earlier.



We made our way to Showcase Plaza, near the Christmas tree, to watch Illuminations. It actually was a really great spot to watch them from. We couldn't really see the giant globe though.














It's a very close tie between Wishes and Illuminations, I can't decide which show I like more.


During Christmastime they show a Holiday finale which is amazing! It's gorgeous.

After Illuminations, it was time to head back to Coronado Springs.
On our way out, we did stop at Mouse Gears one last time just to avoid the crowds leaving. It's always a mess leaving the parks as soon as they close.


Bye bye Epcot!


I had to get one last picture of my favorite guy Stitch!!

It was a great day in Epcot and we did a whole lot too! Tune in next time as we take a relaxing day and head into the Magic Kingdom for a special kind of party!

Next Post

​

 

[missangelalexis]

Good luck back at school!

So many great pictures of World Showcase! Especially the one later in the day while the sun was setting, BEAUTIFUL!

Not fair that just because you're at what's considered a "Kid" attraction that it's assumed you're a parent! Disney is for all ages!

Sounds like a gun time in Future World. Love the picture of you two in front of the Christmas topiary!

Great Illuminations pictures, I could imagine the Holiday finale is awesome!

 

[ememtingle]

December 16th Part 1: Took us an hour to get here, but it was worth it

Good morning everyone! I'm back up at school, and it's a currently 18 degrees. So I really wish I was back down in Florida right now.

So this day was our Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! YAY! We were both very excited. So since we couldn't enter the Magic Kingdom until 4, we decided to "sleep in" and then go to the Polynesian for breakfast.

We woke up around 9, that's totally sleeping in at Disney. We decided the easiest way to get there would be to drive.


I love seeing this sign.

Okay, so I drove and of course I went the wrong way. Typical me. We ended up in the Magic Kingdom parking lot. So instead of leaving and turning around and whatever we decided to just park here and walk over to TTS. We took the monorail over to the Poly and yes it took close to 45 minutes to get to Captain Cooks, but it was so worth it.

The lobby of the Poly wasn't open yet, so there really wasn't much to look at.
We went straight down to Captain Cooks for breakfast.



We both got Tonga Toast. We paid out of pocket for our breakfast, that's what did most mornings. We brought our refillable mugs and got coffee and hot tea with our breakfast.

After finishing up breakfast we decided to wander around the Poly. We walked around outside, it's crazy how much construction they're doing!! But I think after the referb it's going to look awesome.

Eli had never been to the Wilderness Lodge, so we decided to go check it out. We waited for the boat to the MK and then we would take another boat to the Wilderness Lodge.



It didn't take us too long to get over there, but we really didn't care because we didn't have anything else to do. As we waited for the boat to the Wilderness Lodge, I could hear all of the music from the Magic Kingdom....I wanted to be in the park right then.



I love going to the Wilderness Lodge, especially at Christmastime.







We wandered around the resort for a while, but we decided to head over to Downtown Disney.

Eli was on the hunt for a Christmas shirt, so he wanted to go to World of Disney to get one. World of Disney was packed!!
Eli ended up getting one of the new Christmas shirts, you'll see a picture of it later.



I didn't buy anything, but I was dying over this pin.

After World of Disney we were hungry, again! We went over to Cooks of Dublin to grab a sandwich. Eli got the grilled salmon wrap and I got a fish and chips sandwich. It was delicious!

It was around 2 when we made our way back to our room. We wanted to have a relaxing day and maybe go by the pool, but transportation set us back for sure. Our car was parked at the TTC, and we just left it there since we were going back to the Magic Kingdom.

When we got back to Coronado Springs, we changed into our Christmas outfits and packed up the backpack with jackets and we were ready to go!
We did relax and watch TV before we left.

Tune in next time where we go to MVMCP!

Next Post

​

 

[ursalita]

I'm really enjoying your report so far! I love all the pictures of the Christmas decorations. That bento box is just the most delicious looking things I've ever seen. I'm looking forward to getting some sushi at Epcot when we visit.

 

[hokieinpa]

I love the you rode SSE twice! Our group was split - half loved it, half hated it. But it's a classic! You have to ride it!

What a great meet with Snow White! She is always so sweet!

And what a yummy looking dinner! I loved Illuminations but the Holiday finale really looks amazing!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a fun morning! Can't wait to hear about the party!!

 

[KatMark]

Okay, I'm back and caught up again.

Beautiful pictures in World Showcase.

I'm glad you got to experience the Nemo ride and Turtle Crush...both fun.
We spend a lot of time with the manatees as well (and we often see them when we stay at the condo in Marco Island).

My hubby says the Beverly isn't bad either.

I have yet to figure out the love of Duffy.

Your evening pictures at Epcot are stunning (and I love the shirt you changed into for the evening).

I have to say that your dinner looks yummy (although I'd be skipping the sushi part of it); I may have to add that place to our list.

I am a Wishes girl, but your photos of the fireworks during Illuminations are fabulous.

I'm glad you enjoyed your breakfast at Captain Cook's. The whole Polynesian thing continues to upset me.

The Wilderness Lodge at Christmas is stunning.

That bus transportation here and there can tire one out. Glad you found a Christmas shirt.

 

[ememtingle]

I'm really enjoying your report so far! I love all the pictures of the Christmas decorations. That bento box is just the most delicious looking things I've ever seen. I'm looking forward to getting some sushi at Epcot when we visit.

Hey there! Thanks for joining. The bento box was amazing, I would recommend it for sure. It just lets you try a little bit of everything. And I'm glad you're enjoying all of the Christmas decorations, there are plenty more to come!!

I love the you rode SSE twice! Our group was split - half loved it, half hated it. But it's a classic! You have to ride it!

What a great meet with Snow White! She is always so sweet!

And what a yummy looking dinner! I loved Illuminations but the Holiday finale really looks amazing!

We love SSE! It's just so relaxing and laid back. Also it brings back so many memories of me growing up, the smell of Rome hello!!
And Snow White was fantastic, I haven't met her in a really long time so it was great seeing her again. Thanks for stopping by!!

Okay, I'm back and caught up again.

Beautiful pictures in World Showcase.

I'm glad you got to experience the Nemo ride and Turtle Crush...both fun.
We spend a lot of time with the manatees as well (and we often see them when we stay at the condo in Marco Island).

My hubby says the Beverly isn't bad either.

I have yet to figure out the love of Duffy.

Your evening pictures at Epcot are stunning (and I love the shirt you changed into for the evening).

I have to say that your dinner looks yummy (although I'd be skipping the sushi part of it); I may have to add that place to our list.

I am a Wishes girl, but your photos of the fireworks during Illuminations are fabulous.

I'm glad you enjoyed your breakfast at Captain Cook's. The whole Polynesian thing continues to upset me.

The Wilderness Lodge at Christmas is stunning.

That bus transportation here and there can tire one out. Glad you found a Christmas shirt.

Thank you so much Kathy! I love that shirt I changed into! And Tokyo Dining was fantastic. We had wonderful service and food. We will be going back.
Yeah, the Polynesian was a mess when we were there. We went back later in the week and it wasn't as bad...But I don't want to stay there anytime soon because of all the work they're doing.

 

[ememtingle]

December 14th: Why Does Everything Keep Breaking? And Getting Judged in the Bathroom

Hello everyone!! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've been really busy with school and what-not.

So where I left off, we were heading to the Magic Kingdom for MVMCP! YAY! I had never been to the Christmas party before so I was really excited. So we hopped on the Magic Kingdom bus and headed off to the park.


So I got this really cute shirt from Etsy that I was very excited to wear for the party. It's long sleeve, and was very comfortable.

I was so excited to be back in the Magic Kingdom, it was just so fantastic. We got our wrist bands and we headed straight over to Splash Mountain.




I was so overwhelmed with all of the Christmas decorations.





Splash Mountain is one of our favorite rides at MK. We could honestly ride it over and over.



After Splash, we decided to head over to Space Mountain. We wanted to get our top to do rides done before the actual party started.

So after walking over to Tomorrowland, we saw that Space was closed. BOOHOO! After of course, being very sad...we made our way back through Fantasyland so I could look at my favorite bathrooms ever.





And yes, there were a few people looking at me while I was snapping pictures. Obviously I didn't care....These bathrooms are amazing! How can you not take pictures...






Sorry Punzie, I'm moving in when I graduate.

Okay after total fangirling over Tangled, we continued to walk over to Adventureland to go on Pirates.
As soon as we got there....Closed. Y'all! This has never ever happened to us before. We were cursed!! (And yes, there was another closing that we came across later in the night).



After being disappointed again, we decided it was time for dinner. We had never been to Pecos Bills, and since we were right there we ate there. We both got BBQ sandwiches and corn on the cob. We were all french fried out.
It was really good! During dinner we figured out what we wanted to do the rest of the night. What shows we wanted to see, etc.

So check back next time to see what we did! I promise it won't take too long to update!

Next Post

​

 

[KatMark]

Love your shirt...very cute.

I sure missed seeing the Christmas decorations last month.

I'm sorry that two of the rides you went to were down. I hate when that happens.

Did you like the pork sandwiches? We were NOT fond of Pecos Bills when we went, but then we had burgers and were not impressed.

 

[ememtingle]

Love your shirt...very cute.

I sure missed seeing the Christmas decorations last month.

I'm sorry that two of the rides you went to were down. I hate when that happens.

Did you like the pork sandwiches? We were NOT fond of Pecos Bills when we went, but then we had burgers and were not impressed.

Hi Kathy!
I love going through my pictures and seeing all of the Christmas decorations, I am obsessed. And yeah we actually did enjoy the pork sandwiches, they were very flavorful and filling.

 

[missangelalexis]

Cute shirt! Taking pics at the Tangled bathrooms is a total must!
Booo to closed rides, that stinks