Our 2014 Christmas Trip Report - Final installment and thoughts (updated 5/22) - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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It was a good morning mainly because we got to do a lot of stuff before getting lunch. We had planned to go back early to the resort to rest a bit because that night was MVMCP, and we didn't want to be too tired for that.
It's okay about her not feeling well. Some things just don't sit well with her for various reasons. Not sure what it is.
Finally, we were quite surprised there was no castle when we turned down main street, but luckily we knew it was still there. Once we saw it, all was most right with the world.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
What a great morning! You got a lot done. Sorry DW wasn't feeling well, hope some rest helped.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Sorry your DW became ill because otherwise a great MK morning!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Sorry your DW wasn't well. I love the shot along Main Street with the castle missing in the fog - wow, how weird is that?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great day at MK, except for your DW! Great pictures!!
Catching up with this report. Glad you enjoyed AK, it's one of my favs! That foggy photo of Main Steet is eerie. I never have seen WDW like that. Sorry Dw didn't feel well. Hope she was well soon after.
When DW got to not feeling well and decided to go back to the resort, DGD and I decided to do the same. We spent a couple of hours relaxing and watching television (I was watching TV while they were sleeping). Then it was time to go back to the MVMCP.
I have to say looking back that I'm glad we tried it once. We might do it again, but we're not going to be making a special trip at Christmas just to do the party. Here goes the recap:
Here we are waiting for the bus back to Magic Kingdom. We had gotten matching shirts made specifically for this night (I designed them, hehe), so we broke them out for the first time.
This is what the shirts looked like:
We didn't have any plans for the evening other than watching a couple of parades and stage shows. We didn't have any FPs, no ADRs and nothing scheduled as we really didn't know what to expect.
The night opened with us having a bit of a problem at the ticket window. We went to get our tickets at the window, and they said they didn't have our names down for that event. In other words, they said we had never bought tickets. DW didn't have the credit card she had used to buy the tickets, but she did have the receipt on her email. She pulled that up on her smart phone for the CM to see. We explained that we were married (had to show IDs to prove that) and told the CM that I had a card with the same bank. After a bit of waiting and CM being on the phone, she let us go ahead and get our tickets.
Off to the party we went, and it began with a second meeting with Tinker Bell and gathering of maps, etc. to find out what was going on. We got pics with Tinker Bell, but I didn't take the time to upload those since i uploaded the ones from the first night.
To be honest, I don't remember much from the night.
We started out by heading into Tomorrowland. DW and DGD went into Stitches Great Escape while I found the potty. We walked back to the front of the castle after that for the first of the stage shows.
DW was not happy with the spot I had picked out, so she went and tried to find a spot by herself and said she just wanted to be by herself. Knowing that wasn't the case and that she still didn't feel good, DGD and I decided to work our way up to the front to where DW was standing.
I was hungry at this point. I tried to go to the cafe in Tomorrowland (can't remember exactly what it's called), but it only had 1 line open for dinner as the other 2 were being used for snacks for the party. The line was extremely long, so I decided to go elsewhere. I finally decided to get a hot dog at Casey's Corner.
We went back to Peter Pan for another trip through Neverland. The wait was about 35 minutes or so. After that, we made our way back to the castle to find a spot for the Celebrate the Season and Fireworks.
After Wishes, we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We sat in the very back car and it was the most fun ride of the trip as it was at night and was in the back. First time we had done that.
Following BTMRR, we decided it was time to find a place for the Christmas parade. I went and got us some popcorn and drinks (we didn't have cookies the entire night as we didn't know where to find them).
About an hour later the parade started, and we took lots of pictures.
As the parade was ending, we decided to go ride Peter Pan again. So, we waited about 30 minutes or so in the line and did it again. That was the final ride of the night, as I was worn out from being upset that DW was mad.
We left the party a bit early (probably 11:30) and headed back to the room for the night.
I think after 5 days, everybody was ready for a break. And what do you know? That's what we had planned for the next day.
Up next: A day of relaxing, sleeping late, visiting DTD, a Grand dinner, riding the monorail for the first time and a special appearance at one of the parks.
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Sorry for the long delay. I've started planning the next trip, so that's kinda taken front seat to this TR. But here goes another day. Will work on getting the final 2-3 days up more quickly.
Dec. 17 - A day of (semi) relaxation
As stated earlier, we didn't have anything planned for this day until dinner at 1900 Park Fair at the Grand Floridian. It was a sleep in day, maybe go to DTD, who knows what else.
I was the first to wake up about 8:30 or so. It's really weird how when you want to sleep in after getting up early a few days in a row, you can't. Your body clock wakes itself up at the time you've been waking up. So, I woke and watched some TV in bed while the ladies both slept.
Eventually, I got up and got ready and I drove to the lobby of our resort to get some food for breakfast/lunch. While I was there, I decided to ask the concierge how much extra it would be to add another day to our park tickets. The lady said it'd be $10 apiece. I figured that was a great deal, so decided to do it without telling DW or DGD.
I went back to the room and they were finishing getting ready. We ate a few bites of some stuff I had picked up (waffles, sausage, eggs, etc.).
We stayed in the resort until about 1 p.m. and then decided we'd go to DTD.
Here's the picture as we're getting ready to board the bus.
Having heard Earl of Sandwich was good, we decided to try that for lunch. I can't remember what everyone had, but I had a Philly Steak and Cheese. When I got it, the meat was RED. It wasn't cooked hardly at all. So, I had to take it back. But like Disney is known for, they made it right without any problem.
Stops at DTD included the Toy Store and World of Disney for some Christmas presents, Ghiradelli for some coffee and ice cream and the Lego store.
A little something my wife bought with a Visa gift card her boss had given her before we left just to say thank you. The card covered all but about $10 of the purse.
About 4:30 p.m. or so, we decided to work our way over to Grand Floridian.
This process was what I was so excited about. None of us had been on the monorail EVER. I own a monorail train that goes around the Christmas Tree, but had never been on the ride.
The decision was made to catch a bus to the Contemporary, since we had never been there either. So, we got a bus from DTD to the Contemporary. We checked out that resort for a bit and then caught the monorail over to the Grand Floridian. I was so exited to be on that Monorail. My wife said I was acting like a little kid. I said I didn't care.
We caught the monorail over to GF and went by the Polynesian on the way. The sun was starting to set as it was about 5:45-6 when we caught the rail.
As most know, the GF is its own paradise at Christmas. We got there about 6 p.m. and checked out the resort from the gift shops, to walking the grounds a bit, listening to the piano guy, checking out the gingerbread house and the extremely large tree in the lobby.
Here's some pictures of the lobby:
We made our way to 1900 Park Faire for dinner. Of course, they didn't have our ADRs in the system. So we waited. But that gave us an excuse to take some pictures in front of the mural.
Then it was time for dinner. It was the Cinderella characters like the Fairy Godmother, the Stepsisters and the Prince. Remember how DW made fun of me being a kid on the monorail. It was now my turn to make fun of them for this stare when they first saw Prince Charming:
Here's some other pictures from the night:
DW and her favorite princess:
My 2 dates for the night:
While we were at dinner, I told them I had a surprise. They thought we were just going to go back to the resort after dinner. Then I told them about getting an extra park ticket.
After dinner, we made our way down to the boat dock (once we found it) and rode the boat to the Magic Kingdom. It was very romantic for DW and myself (not sure about DGD).
We walked in right as they were starting the fireworks. We didn't get any pictures this night as we had taken pictures earlier in the week.
After the fireworks, we decided to ride a few rides. Of course, Peter Pan was on the list. As was BTM railroad.
After BTMRR, we decided to line up for the late running of the electrical parade.
DW got a selfie with Snow White during the parade. There weren't very many people at the 11 p.m. parade, plus we were down by the BTMRR and Splash Mountain, so there was like ourselves and maybe a dozen other people within site. She was so excited about that Snow White heard her and came over to take a picture.
A few more pictures from the night:
After the parade, we made our way back to the resort and called it a night.
Up next: Our only visit of the trip to Hollywood, and I see where the dream all started.
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I love the shot along Main Street with the castle missing in the fog - wow, how weird is that? 
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