Christmas at Disney World- again About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

Sorry for the rough start at check-in. I hope you write a nice long letter to Disney and are able to get some action! It sounds like you've had a great couple of days so far (other than the rain yesterday )! I hope you have a great day today!

[KMB733]

Just catching up! Sorry about the trouble you had at check in. I would have been angry and upset too. Sounds like you've had a couple of great days in the parks. Sorry about the rain. We had that problem a few weeks ago. No rain forecast, but then a sudden downpour! I started joking that there was a 10% chance that it was not going to rain!

[Cam22]

Sounds like a jam-packed and fun day at MK until the rain! I've been there during one of those rain river times at the park and it is really hard to stay dry.

[B.M.]

Monday December 22nd/ Epcot
We set the alarm for 6:20am so that we could leave by 7:30am since the park was opening at 8am for extra magic hours (so we thought).

Dillon and I had French toast at the food court, I had sausage with mine and Dillon had bacon with his. Wesley, Austin, and Winston had chocolate chip pancakes with bacon. Winston loved it, the other two were less than thrilled. Madilyn surprised me and ordered a cheese omelet with breakfast potatoes. She took a bite and said “ugh- it tastes like eggs”. I said an omelet is an egg! She said she forgot and that it looked like bread- she thought she was ordering some sort of fried grilled cheese .

We were a little later leaving than planned because the food court was slow this morning. We waited fifteen minutes for those chocolate chip pancakes.

It was about ten till 8 when we parked in the parking lot. We were able to park very close. When we joined the line to get in just a mere minutes before 8 we couldn’t believe how few people were there.

We quickly found out why it was so empty- the park had no extra magic hours this morning! At first I thought maybe they changed their hours, but I looked at my itinerary and seen it listed the park opening at 9am- so I guess it was just an odd oversight on my part. I doubt the kids let me make that mistake again .

Well about 8:15am- they let everyone through the gates, but roped us off before the rides. We were able to get in a few photo pass pictures though. Well once we got to the ropes they said they were having a “magical morning”- meaning Test Track and Soarin were opening NOW. Awesome! But you had to pick one or the other- because once you enter the building you can’t leave till the park officially opens at 9am- but you could just ride the one ride over and over. Great start!

We chose Soarin since we were planning to head there first. We all but walked right onto the ride and enjoyed it very much! This is one of my all time favorite rides.

After riding Soarin we had enough time to ride it again, but Austin realized he left his autograph book on the ride under the seat. The retrieved it for him. But it was basically 9am when we got the autograph book back (and used the restroom), so we headed over to Living with the Land where we walked right on. I’m not sure how much my kids love this ride, but I really truly enjoy it!

Now we headed to Circle of Life which was enjoyed by all. We walked in right after the show had started, so we had about a fifteen minute wait.

It was 10:15am when we made it over to Seas w/Nemo and the standby was listed as fifteen minutes which was probably accurate.

Next, we had a fast pass for Turtle Talk. Winston refused to sit down front and Austin felt too old- so we all just sat on the benches. I really enjoy this show! The way the fast pass works here- is they let the fast pass folks in first and then the standby folks are right behind them. It’s probably not the best use of FP, but we did get a seat at least .

We now headed over to the Electric Umbrella for lunch. Dillon and I split a chicken Caesar salad which I really enjoyed- we had strawberry cheese cake dessert which we split also. The other four got chicken nuggets and fries with chocolate cupcakes. They split meals also. We didn’t want to get overly full as we planned to try a few things in World Showcase.

We were planning to head over to Figment’s Journey Into Imagination next, but Wesley suggested we go ahead and scoot into World Showcase and ride Figment afterwards.

Before we entered World Showcase we stopped by Club Cool. All the kids tried a variety of drinks and I just observed.

It was after 11:45am when we entered Canada. We took a few pictures before getting seats for The Canadian Holiday Voyageurs. They were very talented and I’m glad we took the time to see this show! During the show Austin was planning to get the band’s autographs but he chickened out afterwards. I encouraged him to do it and said I thought they’d be glad too- but he wasn’t feeling it.
We now headed to see the Canadian film. But just as we were about to enter, Dillon said he had to go to the bathroom and the nearest one was in the UK.
So, Wesley and Dillon ran for the bathroom. We entered the Circle Vision building but told the boys if they weren’t back in time, we would wait and watch the next show with them. Well the door closed and they weren’t back. No biggie, we just took a seat on a bench to wait. The door hadn’t been closed a full minute when the boys came running in. I asked the attendant if it was too late to enter, and she was very sweet to let us in. I really enjoy this film!

We now stopped by the kid cot station where the two little boys got stamps and started coloring on the Platypus.

We now headed into the United Kingdom. We got there with plenty of time for the 1:25pm Father Christmas show/appearance. We claimed a bench while Wesley went to get an order of fish and chips with some sort of odd jelly pastry. We all six just split the one meal so as to have a taste. The fish was very, very good. I really enjoyed listening to Father Christmas also. The little boys took their picture with Father Christmas. Austin asked for his autograph, but he said he couldn’t sign.

We now headed into France. We headed straight for the Impressions de France film and had great timing to walk right in. I really love this film!

We took some pictures around France. We also stopped at the kid cot station for another stamp and coloring fun.

Wesley went to get us some French food to try. I told him to get the croissant meal and to pick a “Frenchy” dessert to go with it. He also got a bacon thing for a snack credit. The Frenchie dessert Wesley chose- a chocolate chip cookie .
We all really enjoyed the food here.

We wanted to see the Christmas show here too, but the next one wasn’t till 3:30pm and it was going to interfere with our Soarn fast passes, so we elected to head back to World Showcase with plans to see the France Christmas performance our next EP day.

We now headed to Figment since we had skipped it earlier. It had a 40 minute wait! I’ve never seen a long line for this attraction. We had time to spare before our Soarin FP’s, so we went ahead and rode it. We enjoyed the ride.

We now headed to Soarin where the wait was posted at over two hours but the fast passes got us on in no time. I just love this ride!

We were now headed to our last fast pass of the day- Spaceship Earth. This ride had a 45 min wait time posted but our FP’s got us right on. I really enjoyed the ride.

We now headed out of the park for the day.

We quickly found the van and got back to the resort easy peasy.

Once back at the resort, we swam for about an hour before getting cleaned up for dinner. We had laundry going during pool time and dinner time.

It’s 8:45pm right now and the little boys are already asleep. I plan for us to all get to bed soon- we could all really use a good night’s sleep.

Tomorrow: Animal Kingdom

[princetoaprincess]

A 2-hour wait for Soarin is crazy. Never seen it that long. Glad you were able to FP it. That's what we did too. Always nice to get into bed early when you can. We tried to close the park down a couple of days, but that wore us out quickly. So, we didn't do that every night.

[lauriep]

You are so good at getting these updates out quickly! I'm loving having the virtual experience of Christmas week at Disney reported live. I've always imagined this week to be so insanely crowded that it would be hard to even walk from place to place. I also thought it would take hours to do a quick-service meal because you'd have to wait in such long lines and then would have trouble finding a table. You're showing me that if you use FP+ and common sense in getting to the parks before opening, it's not bad at all! You're getting even more done than most people do at the slowest periods of the year.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by lauriep

You are so good at getting these updates out quickly! I'm loving having the virtual experience of Christmas week at Disney reported live.

I was going to make a similar comment.

What a treat to be given a magical start to the morning like that! And once again, your planning's really worked out and you've made great use of your Fastpass+ selections.

[Colexis Mom]

See, your early morning mistake paid off in the end! Great day at Epcot!

[lfredsbo]

Sounds like your trip is off to a good start..............except for the craziness at check in That would have pushed me over the edge!!!

Good luck dealing with the crowds this week - although sounds like you are doing okay with it - getting to the parks so early

[KMB733]

Sounds like a great day at Epcot!! What a great surprise to be able to ride either TT or Soarin before the park opened!

[Cam22]

Great day at Epcot and being early actually worked in your favor!

[MMMD]

Great TR

[B.M.]

Originally Posted by lauriep

Well, it was a great day until the rain started! What a disappointment after a forecast of zero percent. You did get a lot done, though. The surprise video you made for your sister's kids sounds fantastic. I hope she videos the reveal for you.

I know rain is inevitable when you visit WDW for very long, but it's still not enjoyable when it happens... I'm really excited for my niece and nephew to see the video! I think it came out great! And she knows I expect her to video the reveal!

Originally Posted by chezp

Once again, you certainly packed a lot into that day! Sorry about the rain.

We definitely got a lot done! Unfortunately, I don't think that will be the last of the rain.... Next time, we might just seek cover and stay put though

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Sorry for the rough start at check-in. I hope you write a nice long letter to Disney and are able to get some action! It sounds like you've had a great couple of days so far (other than the rain yesterday )! I hope you have a great day today!

I told myself I would file some sort of formal complaint simply because I really hate for anyone else to be stuck dealing with this lady at the start of their vacation (or anytime during their vacation). It was not her fault about the room situation or that the wrong name was listed as primary but she should have known how to handle these things better and just overall I don't feel she is suited to work with the general public.... But despite the check in experience, we've really had a great trip so far!

Originally Posted by KMB733

Just catching up! Sorry about the trouble you had at check in. I would have been angry and upset too. Sounds like you've had a couple of great days in the parks. Sorry about the rain. We had that problem a few weeks ago. No rain forecast, but then a sudden downpour! I started joking that there was a 10% chance that it was not going to rain!

The rain definitely threw me for a loop.... That morning it was saying zero percent.... But I'm very thankful Wesley looked at the weather right before we went back out so at least us girls had poncho's....

Originally Posted by Cam22

Sounds like a jam-packed and fun day at MK until the rain! I've been there during one of those rain river times at the park and it is really hard to stay dry.

The rain was coming down so hard..... and the "river" we stepped in was unbelievable- it was like a flood! We did have a great day in spite of it though!

Originally Posted by princetoaprincess

A 2-hour wait for Soarin is crazy. Never seen it that long. Glad you were able to FP it. That's what we did too. Always nice to get into bed early when you can. We tried to close the park down a couple of days, but that wore us out quickly. So, we didn't do that every night.

We've already seen several rides with insane lines and I can imagine it is going to get worse as Christmas is quickly approaching.... We do best when we can get to sleep at a normal hour... I try not to have very many days where we are in the parks past dark.... We are just not night owls...

Originally Posted by lauriep

You are so good at getting these updates out quickly! I'm loving having the virtual experience of Christmas week at Disney reported live. I've always imagined this week to be so insanely crowded that it would be hard to even walk from place to place. I also thought it would take hours to do a quick-service meal because you'd have to wait in such long lines and then would have trouble finding a table. You're showing me that if you use FP+ and common sense in getting to the parks before opening, it's not bad at all! You're getting even more done than most people do at the slowest periods of the year.

It's definitely crowded! As far as the waits for QS meals- It really works to our benefit that we like to eat on the early side.... so, we haven't had much trouble with waits for meals... FP+ and arriving at opening are definitely important this time of year! I love writing the updates at the end of each day- not only is everything fresh in my mind, but it's a good wind-down for me at the end of the day....

Originally Posted by chezp

I was going to make a similar comment.

Thanks for following along!

What a treat to be given a magical start to the morning like that! And once again, your planning's really worked out and you've made great use of your Fastpass+ selections.

It did work out awesome! When I first realized they weren't opening for an hour, I was really concerned that would be a miserable hour to just stand there with nothing to do.... but it worked out great!

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

See, your early morning mistake paid off in the end! Great day at Epcot!

Very much so!

Originally Posted by lfredsbo

Sounds like your trip is off to a good start..............except for the craziness at check in That would have pushed me over the edge!!!

Good luck dealing with the crowds this week - although sounds like you are doing okay with it - getting to the parks so early

So far, so good- we've been able to manage the crowds well.... But it is definitely a crowded place right now

Originally Posted by KMB733

Sounds like a great day at Epcot!! What a great surprise to be able to ride either TT or Soarin before the park opened!

It was a great surprise! And one that I have never heard of either

Originally Posted by Cam22

Great day at Epcot and being early actually worked in your favor!

Sure did!!

Originally Posted by MMMD

Great TR

Thanks!

Thanks for following along everyone!

We had a great day at Animal Kingdom today! I plan to type up the report shortly....

[B.M.]

Tuesday December 23/Animal Kingdom
The alarm was set for 5:30am today as the park was set to have extra magic hours starting at 7am. (*This time the park really did have EMH ) Wesley had a bounty platter from the food court and Dillon used a snack credit for biscuits and gravy. The rest of us had breakfast things we had brought for the room.
We left for AK at 6:30- driving the van again. We arrived and parked very quickly. We stopped for a photo pass photographer at the Christmas Tree and by the time we joined the line the park opened letting everyone in.
The plan was to head straight for Expedition Everest. We got a little lost getting there- but we did make it. Dillon decided not to ride it; I don’t think he has ever ridden it. I told him I would count how many times it took my stomach away so he could consider it for next time. I counted two times…. I think that was two times too many for him- so I don’t think he will ride it on our next AK day either…
Next we headed for the Safari. It didn’t open till 8am. By the time we got there, it was just shy of 8- so it opened quickly. We had an excellent safari ride. It was longer than usual though as several giraffes were walking across the road. They kept zigzagging and we had to make several lengthy stops waiting for them to move. It made for some great fun (and pics) though. One giraffe was standing it’s ground and a pickup truck ended up coming out to lure it away with food .
After the Safari ride, we headed for the train to Rafi Ki’s Planet Watch. It didn’t open till 8:30am and it was just 8:27 when we got there. We were glad to wait the three minutes and joined several other families on the first train ride of the day.
The little boys loved looking at the snakes, lizards, bugs and such…. There was one poisonous centipede that captured all of our attention as it looked very similar to some centipedes we had at camp in Guadalupe Mountains NP a few years ago… I asked one of the CM’s if they were native to NM/Guadalupe NP and she said that yes, they were. Interesting!

The little boys loved the petting zoo as well.

There are some booths in the back where you can listen to rain forest sounds and such. I don’t remember ever seeing this before- so I assume it is new. We sat through one show, but it didn’t hold our interest enough to do a second…. *I do believe they were all different*

It was nearing 9:30am when we headed to It’s Tough to be a Bug. We all enjoyed this show.

By this time we were all pretty hungry. Unfortunately nothing opened for lunch (other than Pizzafari) until 11am. I had really hoped to eat at Flame Tree BBQ.

We had Lion King Show FP’s for 11:30am- I tried switching it to the 11am show with no luck.

Reluctantly, we ate Pizzafari. It was good- it just wasn’t what I wanted.

We took a nice long leisurely lunch until our 11:30am FP’s were good for the Lion King Show.

I just love this show!!

We now had a 12:30 FP for Adventure Outpost to meet Mickey and Minnie. Winston really hugged on both of them so I was disappointed to find out the photo pass photographer was having camera troubleL. I think she may have gotten one shot at best.

We were now near the park exit and exhausted. We had a Safari FP. But it wasn’t good till 1:40pm which was nearly an hour away.

We reluctantly decided to forgo the FP and go ahead and leave the park for the day….

Once back at the hotel we quickly got ready for the pool. They had some great pool games going on and we swam for about two hours.

It’s currently 4:30pm. We plan to go eat at the food court in about an hour and go to bed at a decent hour.

Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom

[princetoaprincess]

It's always nice to get in a little early like you were able to do on the AK day. Take advantage of that chance to rest.