A Different Kind of Trip Report: Holiday Edition - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Thanks for sharing your experiences with FP+. We liked it too and I was leery as well. It did change how we tour somewhat, but it was all good in our book.
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Our time at OKW overlapped! I love how you're doing this TR...great info so far!
OKW was a really nice resort. We unfortunately ended up in a room next to where the entire ground maintenance staff seemed to want to start work at 5:30 almost every morning! Aside from that, it was beautiful!
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Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
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Sorry for my long pause. Work caught up to me and this is the first chance I've had to get back to the TR. Can't wait to catch up on some others I've been reading!
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Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Nice points about the Fastpass+ system - I too was a leary user, but was able to give it a try twice in August and Sept for long weekend trips and found that I actually liked it. I do hope that once the kinks are all worked out, they will open more than just the 3 per day. I also found that my teen daughter was fascinated with being able to easily make changes!
I'm glad you liked it as well. More than 3 per day (or 2 parks per day!) would be fantastic!
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Originally Posted by chezp
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Fastpass+ and I'm glad it worked out so well for you.
Hard to go wrong when you are at Disney... but we really did enjoy Fastpass+
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Originally Posted by lauriep
I'm always very happy to hear positive reviews of FP+, which I'll be trying for the first time very soon. I'm especially grateful that you took the time to explain how you used it and why it worked for you. I see now that in fact it does give you quite a bit of flexibility. I don't have a smart phone, so will be tied to the kiosks to make any changes, but I'm feeling more and more confident that I'll like this system. Even for rope-drop people it works, because you can get in attractions without FP first and then hop to another park and still get to do the top rides.
Good luck! I hope you have a great trip and a great experience with Fastpass+. I think you'll be fine without a smart phone if you get a start beforehand and then use the kiosks to change if needed.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great review of FP+!
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
you so much for the is clear explanation of how FP+ worked for your family. I was thinking as I was reading that this sounds like it's right up my DH's alley as he is a computer tech guy. He'll probably find it all very fun.
Hope he enjoys it! I loved that my DH had something to get him as engaged as I am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xwewhisper
Love your approach to this TR and the updates so far. Its impressive how much you got cooked and together for Thanksgiving, love the leftovers all week, just like at home
Since we were also there for NYE I can't wait to hear your experiences of it too!
It was like home! Leftovers is always a highlight of Thanksgiving for us and I'm glad we got to experience it at Disney as well. I'm behind on your TR, but looking forward to catching up tonight and reading about your NYE experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HollyH
I'm really enjoying the format of your TR!
Thanks for sharing your experiences with FP+. We liked it too and I was leery as well. It did change how we tour somewhat, but it was all good in our book.
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Thanks for the great review of FP+!
You are welcome! Hope you get to try it soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dlandmom2
Our time at OKW overlapped! I love how you're doing this TR...great info so far!
OKW was a really nice resort. We unfortunately ended up in a room next to where the entire ground maintenance staff seemed to want to start work at 5:30 almost every morning! Aside from that, it was beautiful!
So sorry you had maintenance noise at your OKW room! Bummer! Wonder if we were on a bus together
It’s true that the parks are crazy crowded over the holidays. Disney crowd control is phenomenal, but don’t expect short wait times for attractions or plenty of tables to choose from at quick service locations. I think the extra holiday ambiance is well worth dealing with the crowds! On top of the beautiful decorations and special productions like Osborne Family Festival of Dancing Lights and Holiday Wishes, there are plenty of fun seasonal treats to sample. Here are just a few of our observations of holiday extras….
Pumpkin Cheesecake at Sunshine Seasons
This was available only for Thanksgiving Week as part of the Limited Time Magic Celebration. DD and I split a piece the day before Thanksgiving and it was delicious. Creamy, not too sweet, just the right amount of spice. Yum! We went back to look for it again a few days after Thanksgiving and it was no longer offered.
Crazy Waffles in Epcot
Did anyone try these? They were at the Promenade Refreshments in Epcot as part of the Holidays Around the World. I couldn’t bring myself to try one, but was very curious. I think I would have gone for the Sweet Potato Casserole Waffle if I had to choose. The flavored hot cocoas looked good too!
Holidays Around the World in Epcot
You could spend entire days exploring the Holidays around the World in Epcot during December. We visited briefly on December 1, watching a few of the storytellers and looking at the various food and beverage booths that sprang up overnight.
We didn’t try many of these, but had a good time looking. DD had the Iced Caramel Mocha at the Germany holiday stop. I took a sip and it was too sweet for me, but she loved it. Italy looked fun with limoncello or a hot chocolate with espresso liqueur. The bakeshop in America was cute, but the gingerbread men had so much frosting I did not have any desire to try one. I was tempted by the hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps, but held out for a (non-holiday) margarita at La Cava instead.
Here's a photo of the Nutcracker storyteller in Germany near their holiday food booth.
Cocoa and Eggnog at Osborne Lights
We loved the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights! I think this is hard to “get” without being there. It sounded un-Disney to me…. just a lot of blinking lights. But I’m so glad we went! Everyone in my family- from 6 year old, to teenagers, to DH- loved it. We went 2 or 3 times over our two visits and enjoyed walking around, watching the “dance” numbers, and looking for hidden mickeys. We didn’t sample any beverages, but the displays were fun and the hot cocoa mugs were adorable.
Random Snowflake Ladies
Does anyone know the story on these characters? We got off the boat to Downtown Disney (from Old Key West) one night and these women were coming in from the parking lot. Whoa! No handlers. The photo doesn’t do them justice – they were dressed like big glowing snowflakes. They were happy to pose for photos and soon had a long line waiting. We were near La Nouba, so I’m guessing they were connected in some way, but they didn’t say.
That's all for tonight....I'll have to do another random holiday extras post later as there were many more!
P.S. I seem to be having trouble with Photobucket again.... can someone tell me if these photos are too big? I have edited them in Photobucket to reduce the size below the limit, but they still look huge!
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Deer Isle Mom
Last edited by deerislemom; 01-27-2014 at 06:51 AM..
I've been to WDW many times in early to mid-December, but never the holiday week itself. Many of the special treats I don't think were around, or maybe I just didn't notice! This is the first time I've ever heard of the snowflake maidens. They're amazing!
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I was sad to have missed the holiday treats and storytellers in Epcot, so hearing about them was great! It's definitely something I want to try to do in the future
I couldn't have brought myself to try the waffles - those are just too far out for me. We saw something similar to the snowflake ladies at Downtown Disney a couple of years ago. I can't remember what they were now, but I wonder if they do something every year at Christmas there?
We loved the Epcot storytellers too. And you're right about the Osborne Lights......they really have to be experienced....all the photos don't do the experience justice.
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Deer Isle Mom
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We saw something similar to the snowflake ladies at Downtown Disney a couple of years ago. I can't remember what they were now, but I wonder if they do something every year at Christmas there?
The pictures look fine to me, at this point. 
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