The Trip Full of Thanksgiving and Christmas 11/19-11/28 - Page 14 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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We saw a Photopass photographer going into the park, so we stopped there first.
We saw one again later heading to Rockin' Roller Coaster, and it shows everyone but Preston knew how to make a somewhat scared face. Though mine looks plain silly.
And then one in front of Rockin' Rollercoaster.
Later we found our way over to the Pixar area.
And ten I had a surprise for Caden. As stated earlier his favorite character is Sorcerer Mickey, which I had heard had been relocated to the Pixar area. It was a very short line and Caden was one happy kid.
Mickey just loved him!
And then there was the Phineas and Ferb meet in their holiday garb.
They had fun with Caden's shirt, and wanted them to act Grumpy for this photo.
Next update: A first time show that almost didn't happen
Happy Christmas Eve everyone! We are having my family over today and celebrating. We always celebrate on Christmas Eve with them going back to my German roots. We go to Tim's mom's on Christmas Day.
On with the trip report:
We had Fastpasses for the Indiana Jones show. Tim has been wanting to see this each trip and we have never made it. We love Broadway shows, and I think it is funny that it took us until this trip to see all the shows finally. Except Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Still haven't seen that one since the last trip when we were evacuated five minutes after the show started due to a fire on stage.
Anyway, we were ushered to the Fastpass section and I started to notice that that my lunch was not setting with me very well. I popped some medicine, but it wasn't helping. I knew if I left I probably wasn't going to be able to be let back in, so I tried to wait it out. It wasn't happening. I needed a bathroom that minute. So I fled. I made it fine and....er...... felt much better. But now the show was starting in about five minutes and there was a long line of people of standby people not happy that they couldn't get in. So what to do? I spoke to a frazzled cast member and told her that I knew there was probably nothing that she could do, but explained my situation. She said to follow her and took me off to the side so the line of angry people couldn't see and let me back in! I thanked her over and over.
So we finally were able to see the show! And it was fun to do something new.
I took lots of pictures so we could enjoy this later, so welcome to the show!
I loved how this picture turned out!
So what did we think of the show? We really liked it. Yes it was kind of cheesy, but we love Indiana Jones and it was fun to see all the special effects. I am really glad we finally got to do it!
Next update: Soaking up the Magic, aka Christmas on Steroids
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After Indiana Jones we changed into our new shirts, and Tim noticed what he thought was a mistake on the receipt (it turned out later that we were at fault sort of). He said he would go back to the shop and get it fixed. We checked in for the Merry and Bright Dessert Party and we were able to see the Osbourne Lights we lighted for the night. Now that was magical!
We were the third people in line. As we were let in were were handed special glasses that made candy canes and gingerbread men appear with the lights. We found a nice table right in front and parked ourselves.
Soon Tim came, said they fixed the problem AND the ornaments I had wanted had just arrived so Tim got two. He also got another tote bag because he thought we would need to for getting stuff back home.
I got a few pictures while waiting to be let in.
We soon got some yummy desserts. There were lightbulb eclairs. Wreath cakes, peppermint mousse, and so much more.
Rice crispy treats and a raspberry tart too.
My favorite thing was the peach pecan pie with buttered popcorn gelato. Oh my word was this amazing. Not too sweet and oh so good.
The view from our table.
When we checked in we got stickers (that didn't stick very well) and at the bottom of those stickers were vouchers for the blankets we received as part of the party.
We got two red ones and two blue ones. They are stashed beside our couch cushions now to use if we get cold. Caden uses his all the time. It was a nice souvenir!
More views from our table.
We sat there for hours. The thing ended at 8:30 and we were the last ones out. The cast members didn't say a word to us rushing us out. It was the most amazing experience sitting there soaking it all up, and it truly was magical. The boys got up and left and wandered for awhile.
As we left and they were clearly cleaning up, a cast member gave Caden a handful of glow cubes. That was so nice! Caden loved them!
This shows that the Osbourne Lights have been there for 20 years.
Another hidden Mickey.
We wandered around and just enjoyed every moment.
We got more Photopass pictures which I will post later. I said I loved this Christmas on steroids! Tim totally agreed. If this didn't put you in the Christmas spirit, something is wrong with you! The crowds were very light, especially compared to the other night when we were there. We were leaving and just stood there, arm in arm, at the end of the street, through "just one more song". Just one more right after the other. We said a tearful goodbye to the lights, stopped at the Writer's Stop to get treats for breakfast the next morning, and headed back. We had some trouble getting to sleep this evening after all the excitement and sugar.
Or firsts today were Rockin' Roller coaster for Caden, Sci Fi lunch, Indiana Jones show, and the Merry and Bright Dessert party.
This ended up being one of the best moments of the trip, and because of it, it feels like we have been celebrating Christmas for a month! Hello and Goodbye Osbourne Lights. We truly will carry those memories in our hearts forever.
You and I posted at exactly the same time! I'm so glad you had such a magical experience with the Osborne Lights, although I have to confess to looking at your photos with a lot of sadness. I still can't believe this is the last year of them.
Sorry you weren't well, but thank goodness the Cast Member let you back into the show.
I was so grateful! And also grateful I was feeling better!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
You and I posted at exactly the same time! I'm so glad you had such a magical experience with the Osborne Lights, although I have to confess to looking at your photos with a lot of sadness. I still can't believe this is the last year of them.
I know what you mean. As much as I am always amazed by the awesome things that Disney creates, and I am looking forward to Star Wars Land, I am sad that these had to go away. And yet, so ever grateful we were able to experience them at all.
The next morning we were up pretty early. It was Thanksgiving Day! And though we allowed ourselves to sleep in and not rush out the door to get to drop drop, we couldn't wait to be the crazy people in Magic Kingdom. Would we regret going there on Thanksgiving Day? Would the park close? We would just have to find out.
Breakfast this morning was our goodies from the Writer's Stop. We all had carrot cake cookies. I had half and I was done. Caden also had a cinnamon roll. Preston and Tim ate their carrot cake cookies.
But Caden, that crazy bottomless pit, ate both of them.
Meanwhile my friend that I had met the other day texted me that they had some trouble with bus issues getting to Epcot yesterday and they had an extra Fastpass for Epcot that they wouldn't use. We were staying at the same resort, so would we want to come and get it? Sure! Thanks so much Donna!
Tim needed to take care of some business at the front desk (I think it was checking on our balance and switching the credit card assigned to our room), so we hung out for awhile.
We were able to catch a bus easily to Magic Kingdom.
Tim found a bathroom and I took pictures. A cast member told us that the Move it Shake it parade would be coming out in a few minutes. As you can see, the crowds were not bad!
I really liked how this picture turned out.
Soon the parade started. We were right in the front.
After the parade we headed to the hub area.
High crowds? No way!
We decided to ride Pirates of the Caribbean since the Standby time wasn't bad. I think maybe it said 20 minutes but it was more like 15 when we got on the boat. The boat was really leaning to the right Sadie, and everyone was spread out pretty evenly. I had Tim move a little more to the left, but it didn't help a lot. I had asked to be in the back because I knew you could get wet now, and sure enough, there was quite a bit of water in the bottom of the boat to be fine with. During the drop the people up front did get wet. We only got a couple of sprinkles.
After that we made our way to Liberty Tree Tavern t check in for lunch. We were the second family in line. Now I had set up ahead of time to meet someone here that I had talked to in a Disney group. We new we would be here at the same time. So I looked around but couldn't find her.
So I sat on this bench and snapped some pictures.
It turns out she was sitting on the bench right behind me.
I found out she was sitting right behind me because their family was called to open the restaurant!
At that point we were called and seated on the opposite side from where they were. We messaged and said we would meet up afterward.
Because it was Thanksgiving Day, the dinner menu was served all day.
Caden, ready to eat again.
We were seated with a view of the Liberty Tree and Tim explained the history of it, as he had heard it from the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. I know Walt picked it out and had it planted there. Anything else beyond that has escaped my memory.
First the bread arrived.
Then the salad, which was very good!
The platter of meat contained pot roast, turkey and ham. The ham was the winner. It had a slight heat and sweetness in the glaze. The pot roast was good, and very tender. The turkey was moist but turkey is never my favorite. The macaroni and cheese was Caden's favorite.
The mashed potatoes were perfect, but the green beans were my favorite. I am not usually a fan of gravy, but this was very good. The stuffing was pretty good. A little dry. I know we asked for seconds on the ham, mashed potatoes, and our server brought out more pot roast too. The boys ate and ate!
Dessert was a tart and it was served with ice cream. We were very full from lunch, so it was lighter and not too sweet.
After lunch we tried to look for my friend but couldn't find her. We messaged back and forth bug just couldn't wait, as we had a Fastpass for Seven Dwarves Mine Train to get to.
Next update: Seven Dwarves, and a magical meet up.
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Pixie Dust
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for the tour of the Great Movie Ride. Your PhotoPass photos are all turning out so good! 
I'm so glad you had such a magical experience with the Osborne Lights, although I have to confess to looking at your photos with a lot of sadness. I still can't believe this is the last year of them. 
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