suse66
When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true!
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2008
We loved the new Moana area and had so much fun playing with everything.It was a pretty chilly day so we toured the “dry route” on Journey of Water. It is a very nice area and there were lots of kids having fun with the water elements.
That was delicious!It was time for another snack so we picked up the spiced chocolate cookie from Nochebuena Cocina.
Two of my favourite rides! My DH is the same as yours and could not do Guardians.We rode Gran Fiesta tour and the Seas with Nemo and Friends, also with no wait. I then used my ILL for Guardians. I really wish DH could experience that ride. I just love it so much but his severe motion sickness makes it impossible for him to ride. This is by far my favorite ride in WDW.
That was such a weird interaction!So…on to my “flashing” story. As we were standing in line lots of people were walking by in holiday outfits, many wearing flashing Christmas light necklaces. I was wearing a Mickey Mouse Santa sweatshirt that had tiny lights that run off a battery. My DH suggested I turn on my lights while we stood in line. So I did. A CM came over to me and said abruptly “You’re going to need to turn those off.” I smiled and said “Oh definitely. I won’t keep them on during the show. I know that would be distracting.” She looked at me and sternly said “No. You will turn them off now. You need to be respectful of the performance.” These lights were not overly bright and we were not even moving in the line yet. It was a bit of an overreaction on her part, especially since all around us were people with flashing lights around their necks and on their “antlers”. But, I did as she requested and turned off my lights. No more “flashing” for me at Epcot!
We found the same thing. We did the Akerhaus dinner package but really didn't need it.We ended up getting a great aisle seat for the show. We definitely didn’t need the Garden Grill breakfast package. Ashley Eckstein did a phenomenal job. It was a beautiful (yet chilly) night.
Mine too!After the show, we headed to Living with the Land to use a LL I had booked earlier. This is my DH’s favorite attraction and we both love the Holiday overlay so much!
Party days are the best days!After going to Magic Kingdom last year on a MVMCP day and finding really low crowds, we decided to go on a party day again this year hoping for the same luck. Since we weren’t eligible for early entry we arrived at the TTC right around regular opening time. As we boarded the ferry, we went to the upper deck to discover only two other families onboard.
Mmmmm!At this point it was time for our LL for Peter Pan so we headed to Fantasyland and rode PP. With all this excitement it was time for a mid-morning snack. We headed over to Gaston’s Tavern to pick up one of our favorite treats.
I did Space for the last time in 2021. My back can't take it anymore.After our delicious snack break, we rode Little Mermaid, It’s a Small World, and the People Mover, all with no waits. I got in line for Space Mountain which was showing a 10 minute wait but then all of a sudden people started coming back through the line saying it was temporarily closed. I decided to wait a little to see if things started moving and probably waited 10 minutes before things started to move. A CM asked if there were any single riders and so I was able to jump ahead of a bunch of people. The wait would have probably been another 10 minutes at least. I think I’m getting too old for Space Mountain or maybe Guardians has spoiled me but I find the ride way too jerky. I love coasters and have ridden every single one at Hershey Park, Dorney Park, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Cedarpoint, and Universal but Space Mountain just does me in…lol.
I really need to try this!We also ordered Cream Cheese Warm Stuffed Pretzel.
Same! Love this show.We then decided to see the Country Bears one more time before it gets updated.
I would love to do that tour! I really hope they bring it back.This is the first time we’ve visited MK since the train re-opened so of course we had to ride it. Way back in 2010 we did the Behind the Steam tour and it was the best tour we’ve done at the parks. If it ever comes back, we’d probably take the tour again.
Yum! A delicious trear and CoP sound perfect to me.This was very good! The peppermint ice cream had just enough peppermint flavor without being overpowering. The brownie had a cake-like texture. This was a very tasty treat, even for my DH who isn’t always a fan of peppermint. We enjoyed this at a table outside the Plaza Restaurant overlooking the castle.
After our treat, we went to the Carousel of Progress. Then, we took another ride on the train, stopping in fantasyland to ride It’s a Small World again with no wait.
I have never noticed those windows. Must add it to the list.Having experienced every attraction that we desired (some a couple times), we decided to stroll Main Street and admire the decorations. We loved seeing the Christmas Carol windows (missing the Jacob Marley photo…too many reflections in the window for a clear photo).
We had that too on our Christmas trip and it was SO good!Such a perfect setting for our meal! We decided to share Tony’s Garlic Bread for the Table.
Love that! We really enjoyed Tony's too.This was not just a good meal. It was a fantastic meal! We are so glad we made the last minute switch. It was one of our best meals all week.
As we exited the park, we decided to take the boat to Fort Wilderness to see the resort’s and guests’ decorations. Here’s our beautiful view of the Contemporary during our boat ride.
It looks so good! Too bad it was disappointing.So, we settled on just the kitchen sink cookie: Chocolate Chunk Cookie with Toffee, Peanut Butter Chips, Salted Caramel, and Flaky Salt. This is listed online at $4.29 but we paid $4.79, $5.10 with taxes.
I have never tried beignes. Another thing to add to the list!We woke up this day with only one thing on our mind - beignets! Usually we get them on our arrival day but arrived way too late and the next two days were park days. We were excited to see that the new hot cocoa beignets were making their debut on December 1st and made our way to POFQ to be some of the first to try them.
It's such a lovely area.We just love the POFQ/POR resorts. We walked off breakfast by walking along the Sassagoula and then drove to Disney Springs to begin the Christmas Tree Stroll and, of course, visit Gideon’s. We stopped by Gideon’s to see if there was a virtual queue and found a very long line. The CM said there was no VQ and that she estimated it to be a 1.5 hour wait. We decided to start the Christmas Tree Stroll and hope for a shorter line or VQ later.
Oooh! I didn't see this one!Lion King Tree. We love the Simba topper to this tree.
Weird!!Gideon's for some reason was hesitant to have the VQ. There were several times during the week that the line was at 1.5 hours and they were not having a VQ...I don't get it. We walked away a few times. I'm not waiting 1.5 hours for a cookie or even for a slice of cake, especially when they have the ability to have a VQ. You would think the other vendors at Disney Springs would be annoyed that Gideon's is monopolizing potential customers by keeping them in line for over an hour when they could be shopping at their stores and still buying Gideon's cookies with a VQ....I have more to come on our Gideon's experiences...
That looks delicious and perfect to share.After completing our Christmas Tree Stroll, it was time for lunch. We placed a mobile order at D-Luxe Burger for the Bacon & Blue Cheese burger and large fries to share.
We tried Ganachery but didn't love it.Since we couldn’t get dessert at Gideon’s we decided to try the smore at the Ganachery, another first for us. However we discovered that as of Dec. 1st they were only offering the Peppermint Smore. As I mentioned before, DH isn’t a huge fan of peppermint. So, instead, we purchased the gingerbread pecan toffee.
Those cakes look fantastic!This never disappoints! The chocolate cake is moist and the peanut butter cup frosting is absolute perfection. We can’t come to Orlando without getting a slice of this deliciousness! The cakes are far superior to the cookies in our opinion.
Yum!There was much discussion as we waited in line regarding getting two slices of cake, but just look at this beauty! We just had to give it a try. This too was phenomenal! The cream cheese icing was soooo good and the carrot cake was nicely spiced. These two cakes lasted us almost the whole week.
The Poly doesn't wow me at Christmas. They could do a lot more.Here is the Christmas tree at the Poly. It’s very pretty but kinda understated compared to the other Deluxe hotels. Also, there’s no gingerbread display at the Poly. I think that’s odd when most of the other deluxe hotels have some sort of display.
Love those nachos!These were very good. There was a variety of chips it seemed. It was very dark as we were seated outside so it was hard to see but we think there were wonton chips and kettle style chips. Either way, it was extremely good.
I had those meatballs last summer and was blown away by how good they were.These were absolutely scrumptious! I don’t really know how meatballs and rice can taste so good but we very much enjoyed this. It was one of the favorite things we ate the whole week! So much flavor! My DH wants me to try to make them at home.
Must try!To drink I ordered the new Coconut Cold Brew.
Same!The tumble monkeys and the bird dancers were our favorite parts.
Oh my goodness, I need this!Since we still had time before our tour check-in, we decided to share a sweet treat from Tamu Tamu Refreshments, the Pineapple Crisp Sundae: Pineapple Crisp Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream, Pineapple Caramel, Crispy Streusel Topping.
I am so sorry your tour did not live up to expectations.Unfortunately for us the tour was a little disappointing. We have previously taken the Up Close with Rhinos tour and that one was much better. The keepers on that tour seemed more knowledgeable and we even got to touch a rhino. We were so far away from the elephants and I didn’t have the sense that the tour guide was truly that knowledgeable. It really felt like we were just seeing elephants in the distance at a zoo. In fact, we had gone to the Roger Williams Zoo in Rhode Island last February on an usually warm day and gotten much closer to the elephants and far more information from the elephant’s caregiver at that zoo (and that wasn’t a special tour, just us walking by).
Perfect!After our tour we used a LL for Expedition Everest and the Finding Nemo show. My DH really enjoyed the updated version of the show. We also made it just in time to catch a performance of the Feathered Friends in Flight. How is this for an action photo?
The fellow guests and CM make or break this attraction.I have to say though that this was a really fun ride. The CM was great and interacted so well with the group. There were some really funny people joking around with her and it was a blast. She even said it was the most fun she had had with a group on the Safari. Big difference from our morning safari.
Great tip about swapping in chicken!For dinner I had booked a 6:15 ADR at Yak n Yeti. We decided to share the Ahi Tuna Nachos with chicken instead of tuna, since my DH doesn’t eat Ahi tuna.
Nice pixie dust!As we were stopped to take the picture, a CM yelled “excuse me” over to us. I thought for sure we were going to be in trouble for not heading right out of the park. But, no, when we responded, “Yes?”, she said, “would you guys like some free popcorn?” and handed us a box! It’s funny, we’ve NEVER bought Disney popcorn and were just saying earlier in the day that we should try it sometime.
That thing could feed a family of five!This plate was one of those oval platters and we included the fork to give some sense of the massiveness of this treat. We found it in a warming cabinet and it was nicely heated. This was very tasty but also really heavy. We finished it but decided next time we need at least one or two more people to share it with. It weighed heavily in our bellies for many hours.
My least favourite as well.This one is actually our least favorite of all the gingerbread displays. Just not our style I guess.
But the real beauty at the Contemporary is their outdoor tree.
I have had this in my radar for a while so am glad to hear it was amazing.My goodness this was sooooo good! It was creamy and cheesy and delightful. I figured it was probably over-hyped, but it wasn’t! I think my number one is still the loaded mac n cheese at Steakhouse 71 Lounge but this one is very good! I wish we had room in our bellies for a full order.
Nice to get a great table!We drove to the Poly, checked in and were seated at the same table as our trip in December of 2022. It is a perfect table overlooking the pool with Cinderella Castle in the distance. It was an MVMCP night so we were way too early to see any fireworks but it’s still a great view.
The noodles rock!This is the reason we come here so much. DH’s favorites are the potstickers and noodles. Mine are the wings and noodles. I don’t know why the noodles are so good but every time I eat them I fall in love all over again.
I miss the old skewers here.I really enjoy the chicken thighs. They are perfectly cooked and the chimichurri sauce adds a nice garlicky flavor. My DH isn’t a big “on the bone” fan so he likes them but he prefers the steak (when it’s good).
That is strange. I know you always ask for more if you wanted.This was the smallest portion we’ve received. It’s strange how inconsistent it is. It was fine however since we were both very full. It was just enough to let us experience its deliciousness without feeling sick.