A Disney Family Christmas 2009 - Trip Report - Page 9 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Andrew was unsuccessful in his FP search so we kept heading around the world. Our next stop was the crepe stand and we got one chocolate and one strawberry to share. Very yummy ! We next wandered toward Japan and watched the candy maker for a while as she made a pink dolphin. She is so amazing!
Pink dolphin!
My family decided they wanted a funnel cake when we got to the USA, so Andrew and I found a place to sit and wait. I love people watching at Disney, so sometimes waiting can be fun. We saw a cute exchange between the Kwanza storyteller and a little girl. She had just finished her story and the little girl came up and asked who her prince was . The storyteller laughed and said she hadn’t found him yet. We also watched the band that comes out in front of the America pavilion.
Getting a little tired:
This is where we made a big mistake . We had really wanted to see the stunt show at the Studios, and I knew there was a 4:15 showing, so we decided to try and head back over there by boat. As we were on the boat and making our way to the Beach Club, we overheard the boat captain tell someone that the Studios was at stage 4 for capacity and they weren’t allowing anyone in. He said that the Studios holds 48,000 and there were 55,000 there today . I am not sure how accurate that is, but it is what he said. So, we got off the boat at the BC and made our way back to Epcot. At this point we were thinking that we better just get in a park and stay in a park before they were all closed !
We headed back toward Canada and watched Off Kilter for a while. They were really fun and if I had not been so worn out, I think I would have enjoyed it more.
Off Kilter:
Showing off our matching shirts while watching Off Kilter:
By now it was getting close to 4:30 and since I have a Disney Visa card, I wanted to try out the character photo opportunity in Innoventions. We found the location, which was tucked in the back and there was only a short line (we waited maybe 10 minutes). When it was our turn they led us back past a curtain and they have a decent sized room set up with two characters. We saw Mickey and Pluto. I was very glad to see Mickey, because a trip wouldn’t be complete without a photo with Mickey . I was a little worried they wouldn’t let Brent do a photo with the characters since he was wearing a Coors Light shirt , but it was fine. The characters were great and Pluto danced around a bit with us. We got photo pass pictures and even took a few with our own camera. This is really a great deal!
Mickey and Pluto!
We were all getting really tired and my feet were still killing me, so what better to do than Ellen’s Energy Adventure! We grabbed a snack first and then only had about a 10 min wait to get in. It felt good to take my shoes off for a little while. By now our TT FP were just about ripe, so we headed over that way. We still had just a few minutes left and the CM was being very strict about this so we waited until 5:00 exactly. Even with our FPs we still had a 20 minute wait. The FP line was out the door and winding around just like the standby (which was a ridiculous 200 minute wait!!!). We had a good run and it is fun to ride this in a group of 6 and get a car for just us.
By now I think we were all a little tired, hungry, and sick of the crowds, so we decided to split up and get a few things done rather than debate our next step. Andrew and I headed over to the photo shop to get our free photo from the Visa card and to pick out a frame for it. I think Mom and Dad went to do some shopping and Beth and Brent headed to Germany to try out the brats and beer.
Andrew and I sat for a while in the UK and people watched and then met up with everyone at the International Gateway. Our original plan for this evening was to go to dinner at the California Grill, but we had cancelled that a few days earlier because we didn’t want to be tied down to get there and because it was a little expensive . Now I wish we hadn’t cancelled that reservation. That would have been a much better end to our last day at WDW. By the time we all met up we were all starving. We tried the restaurants on the Boardwalk but they were packed. I don’t know why we didn’t just head back to Epcot and eat CS in the WS, but we decided that it would be better to just head back to the Studios, get our car, and find someplace by our hotel.
So, we did just that and by the time we got back to our hotel area it was LATE. We ended up eating at Logan’s Roadhouse, which was good but not spectacular. I think we had all hit our vacation wall .
After dinner, we went back to the hotel, did a little packing and went to bed. The next day was fairly uneventful, we finished packing, headed to the airport and were home with no delays.
Just got caught up on your trip report! What a great report! It sounds like you all had so much fun. We are planning a Christmas trip for 2011 and now that I have read your report I am thinking maybe it will be a pre-Christmas trip...we usually go in September when the crowds are low and I think "1,000,000 of our closest friends" might be a shock to our system!
I love all the pictures!
It is definitely busy that time of year. The busiest days were probably from December 27 onward, so if you go right before Christmas and leave right after you will probably miss most of the craziness. Although I have been in September, and unfortunately it is nothing like that wonderful crowdless bliss . Good luck with your planning!
Sorry your last day was marred by the crowds - it sounds like the Studios were insane that day. I'm glad you were able to get into Epcot and it looks as if you had a pretty good time there, just a shame about dinner.
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Well, it is about time I finish this TR! It may have taken a while, but at least I can say I finished it. I am going to organize my final thoughts a bit by category.
Hotel: We stayed at a Radisson off-property because I work for the parent company and we got a really good deal on our rooms. Normally we would stay on-property and I think we did miss a little of the Disney magic that you get when you stay at one of their hotels. Other than that we had no complaints. The rooms were great and the pool looked wonderful – even though we didn’t use it because of the cold. We actually kind of enjoyed driving to the parks each day. We didn’t have to wait for a bus and we didn’t have to factor time in to make sure we made an ADR.
Food: We most definitely had some great meals this trip. We enjoyed every one of our table service ADRs: Restaurant Marrekesh for Christmas Eve (I think this is becoming a must do for every trip), Narcoossee’s for Christmas Day (WONDERFUL food ), 50s PrimeTime (we had such a fun waiter!), House of Blues Brunch (VERY good food), and the Kona Café for breakfast (great alternative to the crowds at O’Hana!). We really enjoy taking time each day for one sit down meal. My only regret is not doing another sit down for our last night. We originally had planned California Grill, but even after cancelling that I wish we had picked up something else as eating at the roadhouse place was not the most magical end to our vacation.
Going at Christmastime: We were pleasantly surprised at how light the crowds were the first few days of our vacation. Christmas Eve and Day were actually not bad! It most definitely picked up toward the end though. We love the Christmas decorations, but I don’t know that we will be back during the week of Christmas again. It seemed worse that when we were there in 2004 and it just gets to be a bit much. I was amazing at how much we were able to get done, but we definitely had a plan every day to be able to do it. I wish we would have had more time to just relax and enjoy.
Well, that’s it! Overall we had a great trip and enjoyed sharing one of our favorite vacation places with Brent for the first time. I know we will be back as a family- hopefully soon! I would love to go for the food and wine festival next – maybe next year? Thanks for following along!
About This Page: 
! We next wandered toward Japan and watched the candy maker for a while as she made a pink dolphin. She is so amazing!
. The storyteller laughed and said she hadn’t found him yet. We also watched the band that comes out in front of the America pavilion.
. We had really wanted to see the stunt show at the Studios, and I knew there was a 4:15 showing, so we decided to try and head back over there by boat. As we were on the boat and making our way to the Beach Club, we overheard the boat captain tell someone that the Studios was at stage 4 for capacity and they weren’t allowing anyone in. He said that the Studios holds 48,000 and there were 55,000 there today 
. I am not sure how accurate that is, but it is what he said. So, we got off the boat at the BC and made our way back to Epcot. At this point we were thinking that we better just get in a park and stay in a park before they were all closed 
!
. I was a little worried they wouldn’t let Brent do a photo with the characters since he was wearing a Coors Light shirt 
, but it was fine. The characters were great and Pluto danced around a bit with us. We got photo pass pictures and even took a few with our own camera. This is really a great deal!
). We had a good run and it is fun to ride this in a group of 6 and get a car for just us.
. Now I wish we hadn’t cancelled that reservation. That would have been a much better end to our last day at WDW. By the time we all met up we were all starving. We tried the restaurants on the Boardwalk but they were packed. I don’t know why we didn’t just head back to Epcot and eat CS in the WS, but we decided that it would be better to just head back to the Studios, get our car, and find someplace by our hotel.
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. Good luck with your planning!
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I'm glad you were able to get into Epcot and it looks as if you had a pretty good time there, just a shame about dinner. 
Liz 
It may have taken a while, but at least I can say I finished it. 
I am going to organize my final thoughts a bit by category.
Thanks for following along! 
Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us! 
Susan
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