Christmas at Disney World- again About This Page:

[KMB733]

Just catching up! Sounds like you had a great time at AK and MK. I can't believe how much you accomplished at MK on Christmas Eve!! Sounds like you had a very nice relaxing Christmas Day.

[B.M.]

Saturday December 27/ Epcot
The alarm was set for 6:30am. I went ahead and got up just after 6am. I quickly showered and then woke everyone else up. We ate breakfast in the room.
Our goal was to leave by 7:30am for an 8am opening. We were ready by 7:15am and it turned out to be good. My sister has a stroller for her youngest and it takes them a bit more time to get going- so even leaving early, we barely got situated at the park before time for it to open.
The park opened about five minutes early and we all made a bee line for Test Track. The line built up extremely fast. It was obvious quickly that the parks were way more crowded than they had been! We all enjoyed our ride on TT.
We now headed over to Mission Space. My sisters youngest isn’t tall enough for this ride. So, we took turns riding in groups of four.
After Mission Space we stopped by the bathroom.
After a restroom break, we headed over to Universe of Energy. We all enjoyed the ride.
It was now 10am. We were ready to scoot into World Showcase, but the times guide listed it as opening at 11am. Thankfully, I asked a worker to verify and he said no, it opens at 10am.
We started out in Mexico. We rode the boat ride and looked around taking some pictures. The kids got their stamp for Mexico and colored a bit on their Platypus.
We were now hungry. The plan was to eat in several countries. My sister is not a very adventurous eater and she was just going to eat in America and re-join us. Well, all of my kids except Dillon wanted American food too. Ugh. I hesitantly sent all of them with her to eat in America.
Dillon and I had an enchilada meal- we split it. With churros for dessert…. It was very good.
After our meal, we had perfect timing for the Holiday performance in Mexico- they sang songs in Spanish about Jesus’ birth. They were excellent musicians. There were also two dancers…
We now headed to Norway. I’m truly bummed about Maelstrom and the film being closedL. We looked around a bit and took some pics. We also split some school bread using a snack credit. The rest of our party were still eating in America. So, we will have to return to Norway on our next Epcot day for them to get their stamp. We also missed their Holiday performance, as it wasn’t set to start for several more hours.
We now moved into China. My sister and the kids met up with us here. They all got their kid cot stamps and did a little coloring. We spent a fair amount of time looking around and taking pics. We watched the Chinese Holiday performance- it was a dancing dragon and it was an excellent performance!! Top notch!!
We tried to watch the circle vision film twice- but it was cancelled both times due to technical difficulties. So, we will hope to see this film on our next Epcot day as well.
We got two meals at Lotus Blossom Café. One shrimp fried rice w/egg roll and one orange chicken with rice. Everyone ate and every bite was eaten. We got ice cream for dessert- it was an odd flavor and no one cared much for it.
We had plans to head into Germany- but the heat was killer! We were all sweating and my sister said I even looked a little sunburnt! I just couldn’t get over how hot it was!
So, we decided to retreat to Future World where we could enjoy some air condition. We stopped by club cool on the wayJ.
We were able to ride Living with the Land and see Circle of Life with minimal waits.
It was now nearing 2:30pm and we could start using our fast passes. My sister had a fast pass for Soarin (which she LOVED) followed by a fast pass for Spaceship Earth (which the baby fell asleep in).
My group had a fast pass for Test Track (which was much needed) followed by a fast pass for Mission Space. Wesley, Dillon, and Austin elected to forgo their fast passes- they felt one trip to Mars had been enough for the day. Madilyn, Winston, and I enjoyed our trip into space without them.
We now all met back up for 4:30pm fast passes to the Character Spot. We met back up just after 4pm and used this spare time to get some ice cream to enjoy in the shade.
By the time we finished our ice cream, we could use our fast passes. We all enjoyed the characters and got some great pictures!
We now headed out of the park for the day.
Wesley rode with my sister to help her find her way back. The rest of us stopped by the Hess Gas Station to fill up before heading back. The gas station was super convenient and we still beat them back to the hotel (by seconds).
By 5:30pm everyone was in the pool. It was a great relief from the heat! We only swam about an hour- as everyone was getting pretty hungry for dinner.
It was nearing 7pm and we were almost ready to head to the food court for a late dinner. Winston went to open the door (he didn’t have his shoes on yet) and the metal bottom of the door really did a number on his toe. He was screaming and crying. I was worried I may have to take him to the emergency room. My sister really didn’t think it was deep enough for stitches. I hope I made the right call- but I just covered it in Neosporin and bandaged him up.
Winston finally calmed down and was able to walk to the food court. The food court was very, very packed and it took a ridiculous amount of time to get our food. Winston and I had chili cheese dogs. I had carrot cake with mine; Winston had a giant cookie with his.
Three people had chicken parmesan again. A few of the kids had chicken nuggets again. Winston literally fell asleep during dinner.
At 8:30pm I walked Winston back up as others finished up and put him straight to bed. He said his toe feels 99% better. I’m still a little worried about it, but I think it’s going to be okay…
It is nearing 9pm right now and I plan to get to sleep soon myself. Wesley has elected to have another solo night at Epcot. He is at the park right now. He has really surprised me wanting to do this… I’m keeping in touch with him via text.
We have an early morning planned for tomorrow- our second and final day at Hollywood Studios.

[Cam22]

I've had quite a bit of catching up to do as I've been off due to holiday activities. I can tell you all are having the best holiday time at WDW!

[lauriep]

I've been away so I got behind on your updates-- can't keep up with you! I'm caught up now and am glad to see that you're all having a great time-- not that I expected anything else. I hope poor Winston's toe is ok! Did you mention the sharp edge to the desk?

[lfredsbo]

Glad you all are having such a great time.....well except for poor Winston's toe

You sure have gotten so much done with the crowds!

I have a Lifeproof case in my phone and have added Disney touch to it by cutting a Disney design out of vinyl with my cricut

[chezp]

I hope Winston's toe is Ok. Again, you're certainly getting a lot accomplished, despite the constantly growing crowds.

[B.M.]

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Boy, you certainly got quite a lot done at both AK and MK by getting up early! Nice, relaxing Christmas Day as well! What a great Christmas surprise to be category 1 for HDDR!

I was a little disappointed at first to find out I was category 1- as sometimes I feel catg 3 has the best view (balcony) if you aren't seated right at the front. But then to see we were seated right at the front was very exciting!

Originally Posted by rhinohunter

Just found your TR and have finished reading it. You guys really have packed a lot into each day. Sorry about all of the rain. Even though you are on the quick service dining plan your kid seem to be getting quite a lot of food. The rest periods are working out for you. We never seem to get the rest we should when we are there.

We have eaten so much food it is ridiculous! And I really feel like we've had a pretty good variety even on the QS plan!

Originally Posted by chezp

What a great Christmas Day you had - and I love how you didn't even go to the parks that day and you still had a wonderful time!

We really did have a great Christmas Day!

Originally Posted by shazza

I have enjoyed your Road Trip reports, and am glad I found this one. It's interesting to see how much you are getting done during a busy time. I'm also enjoying the description of the day's activities and the food choices. The QS Plan is working out well for you, and I've always thought it is the dining plan that makes the most sense when traveling with kids.

(We are in South Florida and had quite a rain / lightning storm on Christmas Eve. Glad the rain didn't ruin Wesley's Solo tour of the MK.)

We have been getting a lot done, as the kids get older we seem to be able to just truck it along... And the QS plan is working great for us!

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Sounds like a great trip so far! You really are accomplishing a lot! Getting to the parks early makes all the difference.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

No doubt- getting to the parks early makes ALL the difference...

Originally Posted by KMB733

Just catching up! Sounds like you had a great time at AK and MK. I can't believe how much you accomplished at MK on Christmas Eve!! Sounds like you had a very nice relaxing Christmas Day.

Very nice Christmas indeed!

Originally Posted by Cam22

I've had quite a bit of catching up to do as I've been off due to holiday activities. I can tell you all are having the best holiday time at WDW!

We have! Thanks for following along.

Originally Posted by lauriep

I've been away so I got behind on your updates-- can't keep up with you! I'm caught up now and am glad to see that you're all having a great time-- not that I expected anything else. I hope poor Winston's toe is ok! Did you mention the sharp edge to the desk?

He just took the band aid off after swimming and it looks much much better!!

I informally mentioned it to the front desk. I packed a walking pharmacy for the trip but managed to leave out neosporin. So, I called the desk to see if they had any and told them what happened. That metal on the bottom corner of the door is VERY sharp! With that said, Winston opened the door very quickly and was barefoot- I'm not sure how likely they are to make any changes to the door. It's probably just one of those things where the door should be opened more carefully and with shoes on.

Originally Posted by lfredsbo

Glad you all are having such a great time.....well except for poor Winston's toe

You sure have gotten so much done with the crowds!

I have a Lifeproof case in my phone and have added Disney touch to it by cutting a Disney design out of vinyl with my cricut

I'd love to see a pic of your case!

Originally Posted by chezp

I hope Winston's toe is Ok. Again, you're certainly getting a lot accomplished, despite the constantly growing crowds.

It seems to be a lot better today!

[dutchdisneyfamily]

I am loving reading about your trip. I hope Wesley's toe is okay. It sounds like you are dealing with the crazy crowds okay.

[princetoaprincess]

I am still loving the daily reads. Do you feel y'all have been getting enough food with the QS plan? Is it all fried stuff? Or are there healthy options? We're going in May and have had the dining plan the first 2 trips simply because they offered it for free. But it doesn't appear that's going to happen this time, so I'm trying to figure out if we can afford 2 plans (whether TS/QS or just QS) or need to go OOP and split at meals.

[MMMD]

I'm just like Wesley. I like to solo tour at night when everyone else is tired.

[KMB733]

Sounds like you had a nice time at Epcot with your sister. Hope Winston's toe is doing ok!

[B.M.]

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

I am loving reading about your trip. I hope Wesley's toe is okay. It sounds like you are dealing with the crazy crowds okay.

Winston's toe is much, much better!

Originally Posted by princetoaprincess

I am still loving the daily reads. Do you feel y'all have been getting enough food with the QS plan? Is it all fried stuff? Or are there healthy options? We're going in May and have had the dining plan the first 2 trips simply because they offered it for free. But it doesn't appear that's going to happen this time, so I'm trying to figure out if we can afford 2 plans (whether TS/QS or just QS) or need to go OOP and split at meals.

We have gotten plenty of food with the QS for sure! At first it seemed like there was a lot of variety- but now that we are nearing the end of our trip- it is starting to seem like we are eating a lot of the same things. Lots of fried options... but there are healthy options too....

Originally Posted by MMMD

I'm just like Wesley. I like to solo tour at night when everyone else is tired.

He has really enjoyed doing this!

Originally Posted by KMB733

Sounds like you had a nice time at Epcot with your sister. Hope Winston's toe is doing ok!

We did have a great time at Epcot! Winston's toe is much, much better!

[B.M.]

Sunday December 28/ Hollywood Studios
The park was set to open at 8am. I had my alarm set for 6:15am and our goal was to roll out of the parking lot by 7:15am.
We all quickly got ready, eating breakfast items such as pop tarts and dry cereal in the room.
It was 7:20am when we pulled out of the parking lot. It didn’t take us long to arrive at the Studios. We had been going bag less, but my sister had a stroller and a bag to be checked and the line was loooong.
Even though it wasn’t 8am yet, the park opened early and we were still trying to get through bag check. By the time we made our way into the park and back to Toy Story Mania- the line was already at 30 minutes!
The parks have been busy the entire time we have been here, but the crowd level has grown tremendously post- Christmas!
We all really enjoyed Toy Story Mania!
We now walked over to see the first Little Mermaid Show of the day. We got there at 8:35am and the first show was at 8:45am. We all really enjoy this show.
We now rode the Great Movie Ride. This wasn’t on my itinerary for the day, but the line was short and I knew my sister would like to check it out.
We now headed to see the Beauty and the Beast show. We were able to get into the first show of the day at 10:30am. This is a wonderful show!
After Beauty and the Beast, we made our way across the street for lunch. Several of us had Fairfax. I had the ribs which was delish. Madilyn and my sister had the BBQ sandwich. Madilyn loved hers!
Austin had a pizza from Catalina’s which he enjoyed. The rest of the kids had chicken nuggets from Rosie’s. We had trouble getting tables. We ended up sitting at three tables spread away from each other, but we enjoyed our food all the same.
It was now nearing time for our Frozen Sing Along fast pass. The FP was for 12:10 for a 12:30pm show. This show was so AWESOME! It was so much more than I would have guessed! It was so fun and so hilarious!! Dillon’s ex-girlfriends family said they skipped out on it thinking a Frozen sing along held no appeal. But I would strongly recommend anyone and everyone to give this show a try! We truly loved it!!
** Lightning McQueen and Mater were situated right by the Frozen FP line. There was no line, so my sister was able to make a quick detour for her youngest to meet McQueen and Mater.**
When the show let out, we made a bee line for the 12:45 Comedy Warehouse Special. We walked up right as they started letting people in and there was plenty of seating left. This show was hilarious! We just loved it!!
At this point, our next fast pass was available.
Wesley and Dillon took my sisters youngest son to ride TSM and see Muppet 3D.
The rest of us went to use our two fast passes: Tower of Terror and Rock and Roller Coaster. Both rides were as great as ever!
We went to meet back up with everyone after using our fast passes. Star Tours had a reasonable wait, so we all rode that together.
At this point- my group headed back to the resort.
We went swimming for a bit and ate dinner in the food court. Once again, Wesley headed back to the park for a couple of hours solo touring. He had gotten a fourth FP for Great Movie Ride. Other than that, he just walked around and took pics.
My sister watched the 4:15pm Lights Motor Action show after we left and then managed to hot foot it over to Indiana Jones for the 5pm show. She then checked out the Osborne Lights. Afterwards, they got some dinner and took it to eat while getting in line for Fantasmic! She said they got in line at 7:20pm for the 8pm show. They really enjoyed the show. Afterwards, they left the park with the masses.
Tomorrow: Animal Kingdom

[chezp]

Your experience sounds so like ours in years gone by at Disney at Christmas, that the post-Christmas crowds are insane, compared to the run-up to Christmas, but once again, with your great plans, you still managed to have an excellent day.

[Cam22]

Very nice day at Studios and it sounds like your sister had a great time.