Christmas Trip Day 4

Our last full day began with an early morning “motor coach” ride to the Animal Kingdom. The turnstiles all the way to the left were completely wide open when we arrived around 8:30 a.m. so we jumped on the opportunity and were one of the first people in the park. Of course this didn’t matter because they roped us off in front of the Tree of Life for 10 more minutes until the park actually opened at 9 o’clock but it still felt exciting.

This was the tree from our waiting spot.

After an agonizing amount of time the rope walkers led us to Kilimanjaro Safari where we boarded the third truck of the day. I’ve always been with people who want to go on the safari first thing in the morning so I don’t how the rides would vary as the day goes on. I’ve heard its better in the morning and evening because it’s not as hot. As far as I can tell, the animals are active and pose for pictures well in the morning so I’ll stick to that.

Look at this rhino. He’s chill.

I wonder if they are all named Nigel.

One giraffe.

Two giraffe.

These guys are always hiding in that group of trees. They should really branch out.

A Little Red impostor.

How much grass does this guy have to eat to weigh that much?

Reminds me of my (read: Ashley’s) two kitties.

Sleepy kitty. I’m glad he’s upholding the male reputation.

Probably the best picture of a lioness I have ever taken.

The zebras were present this time.

They were moved to the end of the ride. There’s still no theme.

On both this trip and our Honeymoon we had a woman driver/guide. Now, I definitely don’t have anything against women but either 1) the guides aren’t as good as they used to be (or I remember them being) or 2) female guides aren’t as good as male guides. Both times our guide wasn’t animated nearly enough; it’s like she didn’t care about her job and would rather be at home (which I can respect). There would also be long pauses of no talking. At least turn on the Swahili jams or something. The last time I remember have a male guide he talked a bunch, was very informative and was so energetic I was afraid he was going to jump right out of the truck and hug a giraffe. Maybe he was just an exceptional tour guide and maybe the last two were bad; probably.

After getting off the Safari we neglected to head to either animal trek. I’ve seen them before and Ashley wasn’t too interested so we didn’t waste our time. Because we had been on Expedition Everest a handful of times two nights prior, we also skipped over that and headed to Dinoland. We had BIG plans to eat at Flame Tree BBQ as soon as it opened so we wanted to stay in the Dinoland/Discovery Island area until 11 a.m. It was harder than we thought.

This ride is too rough, even for two 20-somethings. Yikes!

We rode Dinosaur a couple of times and meandered around the rest of Dinoland before heading to It’s Tough to be a Bug! to enjoy the 3-D spectacular. We didn’t see it on our Honeymoon and had a while before Flame Tree opened so we figured “why not?”

Dug and Russell were meeting outside the entrance to It’s Tough to be a Bug! This was my attempt at taking a picture without invading somebody else’s family picture time. As you can see, the ELPH didn’t handle it too well.

It’s Tough to be a Bug! is actually quite scary. If you have small children I would advise you NOT to see it. There are MULTIPLE times where children started crying or screaming during the show and I don’t blame them. Spiders fall from the ceiling, Hopper busts out a couple of times and just looks scary, you get thwacked with a fly swatter, you get “stung” (which actually hurts and is why I don’t sit back during the show) and there are many times where the entire room is pitch black. I was a pretty big sissy when I was a kid so I’m surprised I never had to be escorted from the show.

After the show we browsed the giant gift shop across from It’s Tough to be a Bug! and Flame Tree BBQ.

I found these bad boys. Unfortunately, they aren’t scented. Well…they aren’t scented like turkey legs when you buy them, let’s put it that way. I can’t guarantee they won’t be scented after you wear them a couple of times.

Because we were on a strict budget we didn’t buy anything from Island Mercantile. Instead, we saved our money for onion rings at Flame Tree BBQ!

So much vegetation and color.

Yes, I’m lazy and use the “Super Vivid” setting on my camera.

Boy do they put on the show when Flame Tree opens. Workers come out and grab somebody in line to lead it all. The guest yells, the workers yell back and bang trays on the metal counter. The guest yells again, they yell and bang. This continues for a couple of minutes until everybody has yelled and banged a tray on some solid surface. Then, they open.

I can’t speak for Ashley but, food wise, Flame Tree BBQ is easily the best quick service restaurant. Of course if you don’t like BBQ you probably won’t enjoy it but, if you do, you HAVE to eat here. Because we are creative, free-thinking humans we ordered the EXACT same thing we did last time minus one drink and (free) dessert. Ashley discovered “bark” during this meal. It’s funny because we were just talking about it the other day but she had never eaten ribs with a true “bark” on them. Turns out she likes it!

That’s a half rack of ribs, baked beans and slaw in front of Ashley, a pulled pork sandwich and slaw to the left and a nice portion of delicious onion rings to the right.

Going right at opening afforded us the opportunity to sit wherever we wanted. I knew exactly where I wanted to sit…

It may be far away from the actual restaurant but the eating pavilion closest to Everest provides breathtaking views. Too bad my picture-taking skills don’t convey this.

Zoomed in.

Is there a difference between this picture and the one above? You know as much as I do.

There are somewhere between six and 10 pavilions to eat in around Flame Tree BBQ. This could be a downside if it’s a hot July day. At least they are all covered and have operational fans. As far as I could tell, every pavilion is essentially the same. The only differences are the size and view.

I think those are dragon koi fish.

The structure in the front is the condiment station. They have two kinds of BBQ sauce, ketchup, cups for BBQ sauce and ketchup, napkins, paper straws (yup), salt, pepper, spoons, forks, knives, mustard (?), etc. here. Most pavilions have one.

Another great aspect of Flame Tree is the wildlife trying to steal your food. Obviously there are signs up telling you not to feed the animals and obviously nobody pays them (the signs, that is) any attention. I paid for my vacation, darn it, so I will do as I darn well please. COME AND GET IT BIRDIES.

Is that Blue Steel?

He likes to play innocent, but I know…

After our meal we left the park. I don’t remember what happened between then and getting to the Magic Kingdom but apparently we stopped at Downtown Disney???

The only reason I know this picture wasn’t taken when we were there a couple of days earlier was because it was dark by the time we arrived on that day. Maybe Ashley remembers how we ended up here.

Another child lying on the ground! Parenting win.

We wanted to do a little more shopping Downtown and figured mid-day would be less busy than at night. Well, we were wrong. I’ve NEVER seen the World of Disney as busy as it was when I took this picture. It was wall to wall people and walking around was a struggle. Obviously these people didn’t know to get out of our way. Obviously they didn’t know how much we paid for our vacation…

After saying “screw this” we made our way to the Magic Kingdom. Once again, I don’t remember how we did this. I think we stopped at POP Century to grab something from the room. Makes sense.

Our first stop at Magic Kingdom was Main Street Bakery. The scuttlebutt on the internet was that the bakery was changing into Starbucks. We had read a lot about the place so we had to try a few things.

We split a cinnamon roll earlier in the week. Must have been on day 2. This is a holiday cupcake.

Being our last night in the parks we wanted to get the most out of the evening. What better way than to enjoy a Dole Whip in Adventureland? And I’m not talking about the Dole Whip Float. I mean a real Dole Whip: vanilla and pineapple ice cream (or frozen yogurt or whatever it is) swirled. No pineapple juice. No funny shaped cup.

To our dismay, the pineapple/vanilla machine was BROKEN. Yeah, I know. I waited 15 minutes behind a smelly grandma to get my Dole Whip and the machine is BROKEN!? I had to settle for either all pineapple or pineapple and orange swirled. If we had been thinking I would have got all pineapple while Ashley got all vanilla. Like I said, if  we had been thinking. Instead one of us got all pineapple and the other orange and vanilla swirled. Convenient that the orange/vanilla machine works but not the pineapple/orange machine, eh?

This was after we enjoyed our ice cream.

Since we were walking past it we went on Pirates of the Caribbean. We skipped the Jungle Cruise, Swiss Family Treehouse,  Dumbo: Aladdin-style and the Tiki Room on this trip. We went on the Jungle Cruise and the Treehouse during our Honeymoon. We haven’t gone on Aladdin or the Tiki Room in a while. Aladdin is a waste compared to Dumbo and the Tiki Room, while a gem in my eyes, does not resonate as well with Ashley. I haven’t actually seen it since they changed it back to the version from my childhood, finally nixing the New Management/Iago fiasco.

A little love for Willow.

Since we hit all the big attractions two mornings prior we spent our evening going on the less popular rides and generally doing whatever the heck we felt like.

It doesn’t look so scary when the colors are blown out.

We got to walk through the normal line this time. Take that FASTPASS+

This puppy must be close to opening by now. Josh has up-to-the-minute updates.

While in the Frontierland/Liberty Square area I convinced Ashley to see The Hall of Presidents (YES!). Afterward we ate dinner at Columbia Harbour House. I wasn’t too crazy about the place as our last dinner at Disney but fish did sound good and Ashley was ready for a lobster roll so we bellied up. The fish was very good while the “chips” left a lot to be desired. I have definitely had better Disney fries in my life. Ashley’s lobster roll was good but a bit runnier than the one she had on our Honeymoon. We both left full and satisfied but wanting a little more.

This should give you a good idea of what the inside looks like in case you have never been.

We continued around the park in our clockwise fashion…

And just to prove it’s not only children that lie down at Disney…

By the time we got to Tomorrowland it was starting to get dark, which meant the Christmas Party was starting soon, which meant we would be coaxed out of the park. After sampling most of the attractions Tomorrowland has to offer, we decided on the TTA as our last ride that evening. It was perfect, as ushe.

Blurry.

Blurry.

Since we had to be out by 7 p.m. we decided to tour the Monorail resorts and check out the Christmas decorations. First, we hopped on the monorail and headed for the Contemporary Resort. They don’t get crazy Christmas-y here but they do enough. The gingerbread display was one of the best.

Close-up of the gingerbread “bricks”

They had little white chocolate monorail cars. They were VERY pricey.

The monorail station was packed with people trying to get to the Magic Kingdom for the Christmas party. The guy standing next to us while we made our way to the Polynesian was watching the Steelers/Cowboys game on his iPhone. I was envious. Except for the fact that he was at Disney with his family, who were at the Christmas party, and he wasn’t with them…except that part.

The Polynesian also wasn’t as Christmas-y as I was expecting but it gave us a new-found appreciation for the resort. The first time we visited neither of us really like the place because it was so darn loud. Well, this visit it wasn’t raining so we walked outside a bit. WOW, what a big difference. While the main building can be loud and hectic, walking around the resort as night is very peaceful. I still doubt we will ever stay there because of the price but I don’t dislike it as much as I did in September.

Random hanging garland.

The volcano pool. It’s much smaller than we were expecting.

They have a freaking Dole Whip machine in the food court (Capt. Cook’s) here. Notice there is no spout for pineapple juice.

We were getting tired and still had the Wilderness Lodge to go so we skipped the Grand Floridian. Neither of us regret it. When we exiting the Monorail outside of the Magic Kingdom we made our way to the boat dock/launch for the Wilderness Lodge and waited. And waited. And waited a while longer until the boat finally showed up and we were off.

This was the resort I was most looking forward to seeing decked out for Christmas. I had heard rave reviews of the place at Christmas and couldn’t wait.

Not as festive in January.

This tree is gigantic. I’ve never seen the Rockefeller Center tree in person but this thing must be just as pretty.

It’s beautiful inside and out.

The place definitely didn’t disappoint. If we have $300 a night to spend on a hotel the next time we visit Disney during Christmastime I would love to stay here. If you want REAL pictures of it at Christmas, check out Tom Bricker’s review of it.

Through some concoction of “motor coach” rides and stops we made our way from Wilderness Lodge to POP Century before collapsing in our room. Four days of Disney touring with no breaks was rough. The only thing left to do was a morning at EPCOT before heading home. We had no idea what was in store for us the next day.

Christmas Trip Day 2

The second day of our trip started out like any other at Disney: waking up earlier than we wanted, getting ready and making our way to the bus station. The plan was to go to the Magic Kingdom even though we had been there all night the previous night because it was the most recommended park by Josh. As soon as we walked out the front doors of the lobby I immediately doubted him. There were WAY too many people waiting to board a “motor coach” to the Magic Kingdom. On top of that there was a caravan of ECVs waiting to board as well.

After three buses and a whole lot of waiting around for the ECV people to navigate their scooters up the ramp, turn the corner, pull forward, back up into the spot, miss, pull forward again, hit a seat across the aisle, back up and miss again, pull forward and hit a different seat closer to the front of the bus, back up so far they run into the half-wall separating the upper seats, pull forward and go halfway up the aisle, back up slowly as not to hit another seat, miss the spot again, give up, get out of their scooter, ask the bus driver to park it, sit down in the seat they hit with the scooter moments before, and watch the bus driver park it in precisely four seconds, we were on our way to the Magic Kingdom.

My faith in Josh was restored once I realized we were walking through the turnstiles as the Mayor, Mickey and his gang were opening the park and there weren’t that many people in front of us. By the time we squeezed through the bowels of the train station and bobbed and weaved through the hub it seemed even less crowded than it had before. Since we had seen and/or done most of what we wanted in New Fantasyland the evening before we skipped it this morning and headed straight to Peter Pan.

We both got a FASTPASS and got in line for the ride. The young boy in front of us reminded me of myself as a child, mainly because of all the screaming and squalling (I cried once getting on Peter Pan because I wanted to sit next to my mother but somebody else was, so I threw a fit). He did NOT want to go on Peter Pan and he was letting his mother know it. By the time he boarded his vessel he was clawing at his mother and trying to abandon ship. As the cast member at the end of the conveyor belt was lowering the lap bar he was screaming “Save me! Save me!” I didn’t really feel that bad for him; everybody has to do something they don’t want to every now and then. Fifteen seconds into the ride and he was fine. He did look a little bitter when he got off though, giving his mother the stink eye.

Next we headed to Frontierland and rode both Splash and Thunder Mountain with minimal wait. When I say minimal I really mean no. We walked through the queue for Thunder Mountain and didn’t stop until we were the next to board a train. I believe this morning was the only time we rode “the wildest ride in the wilderness.” After the two mountains we hit Pirates real quick before making our way back to Retro Fantasyland to use our FASTPASSes. On the way we hit up Haunted Mansion and were forced to walk through the graveyard part of the queue since the regular part was being used for FASTPASS+ which was annoying. One thing to note about Haunted Mansion on this particular trip: The creepy doll lady at the end said “Hurry baaaaaaaaack” every time our Doom Buggy rolled under her. We hit the audio loop at the right time every time.

It was a few minutes after 10 a.m. by the time we exited Haunted Mansion. Since the plan was to eat at Be Our Guest right at 10:30 a.m. and we wanted to get in line prior to that, we found a young couple and their daughter and gave them our FASTPASSes. I forgot to mention earlier but when I got our FASTPASSes that morning there was already one sitting in the machine so we had three. I was actually surprised at how easily we gave away our FASTPASSes that morning. During our Honeymoon in August I tried to give them away multiple times and never succeeded. The family seemed excited but confused: I had to explain to them how FASTPASS worked. After a few moments they got in the FASTPASS line instead of the regular one (like they had tried initially) and were on their way to Neverland.

After my heart grew three sizes we followed the crowd to New Fantasyland. By the time we got in line for Be Our Guest there were at least 100 to 150 people in front of us.

This was our view of the sign from our spot in line. The line went around the sign, across the bridge, through the front gates and almost up to the doors.

They started letting people in a few minutes before 10:30 a.m. and the crunching began. People started scooting closer and closer to each other until we could smell each others breath. Once we made it onto the bridge it got less crowded.

This is the view from the beginning of the bridge. As you can see, there are quite a few people in front of us. Somebody was thinking because they rope off the left side of the bridge for those exiting the restaurant. Otherwise they would have to climb down the mountain, forge the moat and scale the other side.

This poor gargoyle and his buddies have to hold up all the lamp posts along the bridge. He doesn’t look too happy about it either.

Another picture of the entrance. I went a little overboard here.

The entrance is straight ahead. The door to the left is the exit.

Close-up of the mosaic work above the entrance. They let a handful of groups in at a time then close the doors for a few minutes.

We only waited for 15 or 20 minutes before being granted access inside the castle. I was impressed with how quick and smooth things went. The detail on the outside was amazing so we were pretty pumped to finally step inside.

A blurry picture of a Minotaur holding up the entire restaurant.

This is your view as you first walk in the doors. To the left is the exit. To the right is the corridor leading to the ordering room. Straight ahead is the ballroom. If you walk past the Minotaur(s) then turn left you will find the restrooms.

The corridor leading to the ordering room. The doorway at the end leads to the ordering room. The knights on each side of the rooms talk and have conversations with each other. There are electronic menus posted on a couple pedestal screens in the middle.

Once you walk in they make you choose one of two lines. As far as I could tell neither was any faster than the other. If you are in a big hurry, you may get frustrated as it will all come down to how quickly the people in front of you can figure out the electronic ordering system. Unfortunately for us, the two couples ordering before us most likely got AARP The Magazine delivered to their home. And you don’t get a choice in the matter either. After you get your RFID rose you wait for a cast member to tell you which ordering station to go to. You can’t scope out the room and get behind the youngest looking people there.

After a few (or 10) tense minutes it was our turn to order. I know my family wants to go here in May but some of them may have a hard time finding something they like. It’s not that the menu is  outlandish but it’s definitely not hamburgers, chicken strips and fries. I went with the Croque Monsieur and Ashley, after much deliberation, chose the Grilled Steak Sandwich.

After what seemed like five minutes (which was probably more like 10 or 15 since I was busy taking terrible pictures) a “waiter” came out with a cart full of meals and guess what? Ours were on it!

Mine was a fancy grilled cheese with some ham on it but was very yummy. Ashley’s wasn’t bad but I was expecting a little more from this godsend of a restaurant. We ended up splitting our sandwiches and eating half each. I took pictures of our food but the quality is so bad even I am embarrassed  Also, as we did with most meals this trip, we shared a drink as there are unlimited refills here: One definite perk of this place. Enough of the food though because really, who cares? It’s all about the AMBIANCE PEOPLE.

Here is an absolutely terrible picture of the ballroom. I love my little point and shoot but it does NOT do well in low light situations and Be Our Guest is most definitely a low light situation.

It snows outside the giant windows at the end of the ballroom: magical.

Here’s the room from the other direction. We didn’t sit along the edge of the room but still got as close to the windows as we could.

After we gobbled up our meals we explored the place a bit. There are three dining rooms and, unless you move your half eaten quinoa salad, you can only eat in one. First we visited the West Wing.

…and I thought the Ballroom was dark. Holy cow this place is hard to see in. As usual though it is expertly themed.

I think we all feel like tearing up portraits of ourselves every now and then.

The enchanted rose and magic mirror. There was a big line to take a picture here. Being an arrogant American I didn’t wait and pushed my way to the front. I paid for my vacation and I’m going to get my money’s worth damn it!

On the other side of the Ballroom is the Rose Garden. If you like to eat in light places this is the room for you. It also seemed more family friendly for some reason.

The left side of the Rose Garden room. This was easily the least busy of the three dining rooms.

Belle and Beast adorn the center of the room with their beautiful dancing.

On our way out we stopped to check out the bathrooms. There is also one more gem waiting for you right before you leave.

Tale as old as time.

By the time we left the restaurant it was almost 11:30 a.m. and the park was starting to get busy. We decided to head toward the exit via Tomorrowland. On our way out we hit a couple Tomorrowland staples: the TTA and Carousel of Progress. The TTA Peoplemover has always been a family favorite. As they say on the ride, “The Peoplemover is great for people watching.” As they don’t say on the ride anymore, “Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow. Your party from Saturn has arrived, please give them a ring.”

Ashley has grown to like this ride. I always have. It’s one of the rides still left at Disney that makes me feel like I did when I was a child. It’s like Walt is still behind the controls, making dreams come true with his magic.

She really gets to the core of the apple.

Besides, it’s not going to rain today. My lumbago isn’t acting up.

Our dog Rover over here keeps the water in the drip pan from overflowing.

Hey everyone. I’m done programming our new voice activation system.

Don’t worry dad. Someday, everything will be automated. You won’t even have to cook another Christmas turkey again.

Oh no! You’re not going to tell us about the old days when you didn’t even have a car phone.

After our journey through the decade we left the park with no incident. As we were walking to our bus stop a “motor coach” was sitting at the Art of Animation stop and the Pop stop was empty. We didn’t get to explore much the last time we visited AoA because I was bitter and we could simply walk across the Generation Gap bridge to get back to our room: let’s go!

The guard stand.

The Art of Animation is similar to Pop Century in a lot of ways. Obviously it is themed differently but the bones of the resort are practically the same.

We’ve seen this before but it’s still SO COOL.

Christmas tree in the atrium.

The staircase cover for the Finding Nemo building.

We headed toward the Lion King section first. If you walk out of the food court towards the back it is to your left.

Asante sana, squash banana.

The log is higher up than it looks. You can see the entrance to one of the buildings below it.

At the end of the Lion King section is the Little Mermaid section. Well, not really at the end. Once you leave the Lion King area you have to walk a couple of minutes THEN you are in the Little Mermaid section. Poor Ariel is so far from the main buildings; we didn’t go visit her because we are lazy.

Instead, we doubled back and headed for the Cars section. Oh, my, gosh; this place is crazy. It is easily the best themed section and if Cars Land in Disneyland is anything like this sign me up!

Most of the section in one view.

Seems safe to me.

Why wait in line at Hollywood Studios to see inanimate cars when you can see them anytime at Art of Animation?

The cozy cone pool. One of the “quiet” pools at Art of Animation.

Each cone is a cabana. In the summer I imagine you would have to stake one of these out pretty early. It was in the 60s this day though so there were plenty available.

The cozy cone motel actually exists. Unfortunately, all it seems to be is a covered walkway to get into the pool. There could be more to it that I didn’t notice. Maybe pool towels are stored here?

It’s OK though, they have no vacancy.

Another entrance to another building. Tow Mater annoys me.

Of all the sections of the resort, the Cars section makes you feel like you are in the titled movie the most. It’s incredible how well themed it is. I don’t remember ever feeling so immersed in a movie, even when we ate at Be Our Guest earlier that day. We walked through the Finding Nemo section on our way to Pop Century.

Mr. Ray is so colorful. Everything in this section is so colorful.

The kiddie pool. I’m guessing the urine content is higher than chlorine content here.

When we walked into one of the buildings I was immediately turned off. Ashley agrees with me that indoor corridors just don’t feel like Disney. There’s something about walking outside to get to your room in 90 degree heat at 10 o’clock at night that feels like Disney to us. Something about opening the door to your room and immediately getting smacked in the face with 100 degree heat that feels like Disney. This place just felt like an extremely well themed hotel that could be located anywhere. It’s nice to have that extra 30 seconds of air conditioning I’m sure but still prefer outdoor corridors.

Finding Nemo section from the Pop side of the bridge.

We took a very short break before heading out again. This time Hollywood Studios was our destination. I never realized it before but I NEED that mid day break. Not only is it nice to avoid the crazy crowds and crazy heat but my poor little body needs a nap while at Disney. I was really dragging during the afternoons this trip, deprived of my nap.

A big Christmas tree outside Hollywood Studios.

Our main objective at Hollywood Studios was to see the Osborne Lights. We skipped Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania this trip. It was the afternoon so lines were long and FASTPASSes were either gone or for later in the evening when we would either be looking at the lights or already gone for dinner at Downtown Disney.

Looking good.

While checking on FASTPASSes for Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster I came across this young man. He was pitching a fit and nobody in his family seemed to care (which I commend). He would cry, look up, see that nobody was paying attention, think about it some, then cry again. I took a picture because I found it not only hilarious but commendable parenting as well.

Even though we didn’t go on any of the BIG rides at Hollywood Studios there was still plenty to do. We checked out the Magic of Disney Animation for the first time which was cool. There are lots of things to look at, a BUNCH of characters to meet and a little show in one spot staring Mushu. I know, I was surprised too. I love him but never see him at Disney.

Fix it Felix arcade game outside the Mushu show. I don’t believe you can actually play it.

After the little tour we headed for another: The Great Movie Ride. Our journey through the movies was the busiest I remember in a long time. They used BOTH CARS. I know, it was crazy. We even got to see the Western bank robbing scene too. I was getting bored with the gangster one. I had to laugh because Ashley didn’t know the Western scene existed. I had almost forgotten about it myself. In fact, the ride was so busy we even had to stop a couple of times to let the cars in front of us finish the movie at the end. At least we got to hang out in Oz longer than normal.

Oh, it’s definitely spectacular.

Follow the yellow-brick road.

Emerald City looks so nice. I might consider moving there.

My only complaint about the ride this time was that the bandit who stole our ride vehicle was so short she couldn’t reach the gem in the Indiana Jones section. Now, how is she going to be killed by the gem if she CAN’T EVEN REACH IT. Horrible casting on Disney’s part there. That should be the number one requirement for bandit/gangster on the Great Movie Ride: tall enough to reach the glowing stone in the Indiana Jones section. My golly.

We walked around for a bit after the ride, making our way through Pixar-land where we laughed at the people in line for Toy Story Mania.

To improve Hollywood Studios I think Disney should expand on the Pixar area. Heck, why not make the entire park Pixar themed?

In our continued meandering through the park we walked through One Man’s Dream. While there I saw another kid lying on the ground pitching a fit! BONUS. What a great day for children at the park.

Not even a parent in sight: brilliant.

Oh, Horizons. Horizons….Horizons.

We didn’t see the show at the end because I didn’t want to cry. Actually, I don’t know why we didn’t see the show but if you are an “emotional” person, you may just cry during the video presentation. At this point it was getting close to lighting time so we made our way to the Streets of America. We saw Pizza Planet on the way.

I may have said this before but I am not a fan of this place. It’s cool and all but it’s the same pizza you can get anywhere else on Disney property, it’s always busy, it’s always loud, there are always children screaming and running around and it’s not exactly cheap.

You remember when I talked about crying a few seconds ago? Well, I honestly was on the verge of crying when they lit up the Osborne Lights. It’s so overwhelming and so magical that the waterworks almost turned on. But, I’m a man so I held them down. I have a video of the lighting ceremony that I will add later. The lights are stagnant some of the time and synchronized with music the rest of the time. If you go to Disney around Christmas time you HAVE to see them.

“Tilt shift” just for good measure.

And a picture of us to boot.

After gawking at the lights for a half hour or so we made our way to the park exit and headed to Downtown Disney. We took the Port Orleans bus to make our transfer in hopes of seeing more Christmas decor at the resort we adored on our Honeymoon. Other than some trees and wreaths they don’t do a whole lot. This, coupled with the fact that the Downtown Disney “motor coach” was loading people up, meant we got on the Downtown Disney “motor coach” and headed there for our dinner date.

Since our buddy was late because he forgot to charge his camera, we had some time to roam around. We bought a ton of merchandise on our Honeymoon, plus we only took carry on bags, so we didn’t buy very much stuff this trip. Downtown Disney is nice during Christmas too. Everybody is all decked out in Christmas decor and the spirit is more jolly than normal. We made our way down to Splitsville to check it out from the outside since it wasn’t open at the time. I’m sure it’s extremely expensive but I’m also sure it would be a lot of fun to hang out there for a night.

A Christmas tree of Mickey heads outside Fulton’s Crab House.

Eventually Josh made it and we decided on Earl of Sandwich since we were already in the area. The line was incredibly long but they are incredibly efficient so it couldn’t have taken more than 15 minutes to order our food. Because there were people playing Uno at booths – For real, they had NO food, they were just playing cards at a table inside a busy restaurant, some people – we had to sit outside. Besides the cackling wench sitting somewhere behind us it was a very pleasant meal. I once again ordered the Full Montagu. Ashley went with the Earl’s Club. Josh had the holiday surprise (not its actual name). It had turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce and other holiday favorites all wrapped up in a toasted bun.

Sitting there for a couple of hours talking was actually very relaxing. We had a short trip so we were on the go the entire time. These couple of hours were a little respite for us. Also, talking with my wife and Josh was pleasant, definitely less awkward than our last meal with him when we were strangers. Well, I suppose we are still somewhat strangers now – I read his blog, comment on it, email him when I have questions and we have eaten two meals together: we’re practically dating!

After a cast member asked us what time it was we got the hint and left. Josh had to catch the last bus out of town as well so it worked out. Ashley and I went to Goofy’s Candy Co. so she could get a custom Mickey crisped rice treat. Once acquired we headed for the bus station. Our “motor coach” arrived and we went back for a good night’s sleep. As with day one, day two was quite eventful and tiresome.

Christmas Trip Day 1

The first day of out trip was a real whopper; I almost cried twice but for two very different reasons.

After successfully packing everything in all of our carry-on bags (thus avoiding baggage fees), we managed to pile into my grandparents van by 8:03 a.m. only three minutes past deadline. We made it to the airport with a little over an hour before take off: perfect. Self check-in at AirTran was super easy and we were off to security in no time. Grand Rapids is a fairly small airport so there were only 20 or so people in front of us. The TSA dude pacing back and forth was giving everybody helpful hints to speed up the security process.

“Make sure your bag of liquids is in a separate bin,” he said. Check.

“Make sure everything is removed from your pockets including any belts and shoes,” he said. I didn’t wear a belt and left my shoes untied – double check.

“Make sure you have your boarding passes and IDs ready,” he droned. Easy enough, I thought, and retrieved my ID from my wallet. I was ready to go, ID in one hand, boarding passes in the other.

“I didn’t bring my wallet,” Ashley said.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I didn’t bring my wallet so I don’t have my ID,” Ashley clarified.

“WHAT!?” I exclaimed. “What are we doing to do? We can’t go anymore! How did you forget your wallet?”

“I didn’t even think about it,” Ashley replied. I usually drive when we go places and we have the same credit card and share a checking account so she rarely brings her wallet – Something that has changed a bit since this incident.

At this point I was freaking out. My hands were shaking, I was fighting back tears and my mind was racing as to what to do with the situation. I had heard of people’s “heart dropping” when they heard bad news but had never experienced it myself. I know it sounds silly because its just a trip to Disney and many, many people have it far worse than me but in that moment my world was rocked. Cooler heads (Ashley) prevailed and we were headed back to the AirTran counter as I was in a daze of anger and disbelief. Ashley talked to the people at the counter while I called my mother. Looking back, I don’t know why I did this; there wasn’t anything she could do about the situation.

She suggested I call my grandparents to see if they could somehow get the ID to us before we left. It was an hour before our flight and it took us an hour to get to the airport so it seemed possible. If my brother could run to our apartment, grab her wallet and meet my grandparents half way, it just might work. Luckily we left a key with my parents in case we needed them to get into our apartment while away. After a slew of phone calls and “Oh, no” and “How did she forget that?” and “Drive fast but not too fast” the plan was in action.

Ashley went back to security, waited in line and informed the TSA agent about her situation. They ran a background check, asked her some questions and somehow we got through security. Ashley asked me to call my grandparents and have them mail her ID to us instead of racing to get it to the airport in time but I still thought we had enough time. After a tense 20-30 minutes of waiting we had five minutes to board the plane with no grandparents in sight. I called them back, realizing they wouldn’t make it in time so I thanked them for all of their crazy efforts, asked them to mail it to us instead and boarded the plane with two minutes to spare.

Whew!

Two and a half hours later and we were walking off our plane in Orlando. The Magical Express took us to POP Century and fun time was upon us.

Christmas tree as you first walk in from the “other” entrance by the Magic Express drop off/pick up.

Once again, we opted for online check-in so it took all of two minutes to get our KTTW and head to our room, after taking some mediocre pictures of course!

Big Christmas tree in the middle of the lobby.

POP Century doesn’t go too crazy with Christmas decorations but you can definitely tell the difference between a normal day and a day in November or December. POP has become our favorite value resort. The rooms are comparable (if not better) to the All Star rooms but having a dedicated bus service to just that resort is invaluable. The food court is also a lot nicer than the All Stars and there aren’t droves of football players or cheerleaders reeking havoc on the grounds.

We only took about 10 minutes to settle into our room before splitting (read: inhaling) a turkey ciabatta sandwich at the food court and grabbing a “motor coach” to the Magic Kingdom for a little fun before the Christmas Party. We arrived around 4 p.m. so we had a solid two to three hours before the festivities began.

The Hub all decked out.

Main Street U.S.A. really is a sight to see around Christmas.

Our main objective during these couple of hours was to check out New Fantasyland. When we went in August only half of Storybook Circus (double Dumbo and Goofy’s Barnstormer) was open so there was a lot to take in. Ashley and I agreed that it was weird yet exciting to see new things at Disney World. It’s weird (especially for me) because we have been a lot and are used to things that are there so new things shake it up a bit. Obviously its exciting because everybody likes new stuff and anything Disney does in their parks are usually top-notch. We set out for Storybook Circus first.

We saw Pooh and Tigger leaving their post on the way. This was the beginning of experimenting with different settings on my camera. I don’t know what this one is called but it’s trippy.

This sign is gigantic. It also lights up a night. Well, at least some of it does.

The large crowd to the left of the picture above were watching the clown band. They probably have a proper name but I think clown band is fairly self-explanatory. We didn’t stop to watch but they looked quite entertaining. If nothing else it’s probably a good way to spend a few minutes of your time in the park.

The gift shop in Storybook Circus.

Inside the shop is awesome. There are spot lights and the coolers and merchandise shelves along the outside wall are themed like train cars. Unfortunately, you can’t see any of them very well in this picture. They are along the back wall to the left of Big Top Treats.

Inside Big Top Souvenirs is Big Top Treats. They have the normal treats you would find at other Disney locations: cookies, cupcakes, etc. After not buying any souvenirs or treats we headed for the newest part of New Fantasyland.

Here’s a look at construction of the Seven Dwarfs mine ride. The footprint of this thing is ridiculous.

Beast’s Castle. When we saw it in August it looked small but we were quite a ways away. Now that we got closer to it, it still looks rather small BUT impressive nonetheless.

We didn’t get anywhere near Enchanted Tales with Belle since the waits were routinely 60+ minutes every time we walked past. The little village Disney has created is quite charming however.

The fountain outside Gaston’s Tavern. To the left is the tavern, directly behind the fountain is the walkway to the appropriately themed bathrooms and to the right is the gift shop which probably has a proper name.

The decor is very…manly.

A wonderful antler chandelier.

Although it’s a quick service location there aren’t many choices when it comes to food. Your two choices are pork shank or cinnamon roll. That’s it. The pork shank could be a substantial snack or possibly a meal. I’m guessing it’s a sister act to the ever-famous Turkey Leg. The drink of choice in the Tavern would be LeFou’s Brew: a frothy, apple-infused, semi-frozen drink. Ashley described it best saying the “head” of the brew tasted like the fluoride treatment you get at the dentist: YUMMY! Once you get past that though it’s a very refreshing drink. It’s hard to describe the consistency of the drink. It’s frozen but not like a slushie. Instead, it’s very creamy. Whatever it is we both enjoyed it. I still like Butter Beer better though.

Two straws because we ain’t swapping spit.

I’m not sure if this is Gaston’s chair or not but it was large.

After getting a good buzz going at Gaston’s we went next door to the gift shop. It’s kind of small but they have a good assortment of Beauty and the Beast themed merchandise. I didn’t take any pictures inside but things of note would be the beautiful china and glasses with gold detail along with the awesome, light-up, plastic, crown shaped goblets. I meant to buy one but forgot. It’s okay, I’m sure there are better things I can spend $17 on.

We saw this bad boy on the way to Eric’s castle.

The only new ride since our last visit was Journey of the Little Mermaid. If you like constant, slow-moving rides with lots of animatronics, color and music surrounding you, this is the ride for you! Somehow we managed to arrive when there was a meager 15 minute wait so we hopped on.

Eric’s castle. The faux rock-work is incredible.

My Canon Elph 300 HS has a “Miniature effect” setting on it. I think it’s an attempt at tilt-shift photography with higher saturation.

Close up of the rocks.

There is a waterfall in the outdoor portion of the queue. I can imagine it will get very, very hot during the summer months.

We both enjoyed the ride. If nothing else it’s fun and air-conditioned. It won’t wow you like other rides or get your heart racing like “The Mountains” will but for kids it’s great and even for two 20-somethings it was a good one. Granted, a good portion of the ride reminds you of The Seas with Nemo and Friends if you removed “Nemo” and replaced it with “Ariel” but at least Scuttle is in this one!

We all know he is better than the “Mine” seagulls in Finding Nemo.

The clam-mobiles.

I took a video during the big room scene of the ride and it was dark for the majority of the rest of it so I didn’t take many mediocre pictures of the actual ride. I know, I know. I’ll add the video into the post soon though.

Looks like she could use some straps on that gown of hers.

And P90-X Triton saves the day. Seriously, I didn’t get a good shot of it but King Triton is RIPPED in the ride.

Between Journey of the Little Mermaid and Storybook Circus is Ariel’s Grotto. It’s where she now meets guests. We didn’t venture over that far because the walkway between the two areas wasn’t open (because it apparently wasn’t busy enough to warrant opening the gates). Insulted, we left and went to Retro Fantasyland. Peter Pan was too busy to ride and it’s a Small World is silly so we continued walking.

Rapunzel’s bathroom and stroller parking area are coming along nicely. I anticipate this will be open when we go with my family in May and I can’t WAIT to urinate here.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see Pascal anywhere.

We spent the next little bit riding Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean and just enjoying the atmosphere of the Magic Kingdom. Thanks to Josh I knew there was a spot by Stitch’s (Abomination of a ride that should be bulldozed immediately) Great Escape where we could get our wrist bands for the party without having to go all the way to the front of the park by the entrance. This was extremely helpful since there were maybe 10 people getting theirs in front of us while there were hundreds getting them at the front of the park.

I wore mine the entire trip hoping to sneak back in another night but, alas, they change the color of them frequently.

I think we rode Space Mountain before heading back to Storybook Circus to see the non-Christmas lights and actually ride Dumbo.

It’s way better at night than during the day.

More “shadow” effect. Not as good as the Pooh and Tigger picture.

I also discovered I could take long exposure pictures with a point-and-shoot. Marvelous!

This one is better. I learned to take the picture right at the end of the ride where it forces your dumbo-craft to raise all the way up to the top for a few seconds. You can even see the second ride in the left side of the picture. I tried to take pictures while on the ride but it…. well, yeah; it didn’t work out so well.

We also moseyed over to Casey Jr.’s Splash Zone for a hot second. It wasn’t as wet as I remember it being in August. Makes sense I suppose.

The overhead string lights add to the circus theme.

Here’s another built-in effect. I’m not sure how I feel about it quite frankly.

At this point it was getting close to party time so we took the super secret passageway behind Goofy’s Barnstormer to Tomorrowland and continued towards Main Street. I found yet another guide animal bathroom area on this trail. So, if you have a guide dog, cat, camel, etc.  make sure you stick around Tomorrowland. There is one bathroom area by the human bathrooms and a second area on the path to Storybook Circus.

Got a decent night-time picture of Space Mountain on the way.

And this is the whole reason we went to Disney in December: Cinderella Castle all lit up!

It really is breathtaking.

When will my reflection show, who I am inside?

They make it snow on Main Street. While it is magical, being from Michigan it’s not the same. I’m sure people from the South enjoy it because they don’t see much real snow but this stuff is a little soap-y for my liking (literally, it’s soap). Still, it’s magical in the moment and it wouldn’t be the same without it.

Here’s the “tilt shift” effect again.

It turns colors throughout the night. This is while waiting for the Celebrate the Season stage show.

As close as I could get without the quality being worse than it already was. The lights are a series of gigantic nets draped over the castle.

The finale of the show. My camera isn’t the best at night-time pictures. The show was great though. Lots of Disney characters coupled with classic Christmas songs.

The show was the first real part of the Christmas Party we experienced (since we missed the lighting of the Castle, whoops ). There are a TON of characters strewn throughout the park meeting guests but we didn’t stop to see any of them. If we go back with kids somebody I’m sure we will. Instead, we actually rode a handful of rides during the party if we happened to be walking past them since most had five-minute (non-existent) waits. Splash Mountain was particularly fun during the party because you could see everything all gussied up for Christmas while at the top.

After the show we headed for Tomorrowland as we wanted to avoid the entire area between Main Street and Frontierland because of the first parade shortly thereafter. On the way we stopped for cookies and hot chocolate. The choices were chocolate chip and snickerdoodle. You can get two of either kind or one of each. I opted for one of each every time we got cookies. I enjoyed both kinds. They were soft and chewy and weren’t wafer thin: they had some heft to them. Also, the hot chocolate was quite possibly the best I have ever had. It was extremely rich and chocolate-y and always the perfect temperature: not burn-your-entire-mouth hot or this-tastes-like-bad-chocolate-milk cold. I was impressed with both the cookies and hot chocolate. We were planning on seeing how many we could eat but stopped at six a piece. Or maybe it was four. Or maybe Ashley had four and I had six. I know we got them at Tomorroland Terrace and Columbia Harbour House but after that it gets a bit fuzzy.

Club Tinsel was bumpin’

On our avoidance trek we popped into Club Tinsel (Cosmic Ray’s) for a little bumping and grinding. At first I was appalled because Sonny Eclipse had been lowered into the stage and a real, live DJ was imposing on his space. But then I saw Santa Goofy and Pluto poppin’ and lockin’ and I was instantly satisfied. For real though, they had some moves. I think I might apply to be the “Dancing Santa Goofy at Club Tinsel” next year.

They had these projections on multiple buildings throughout the park. This one was on Mickey’s Star Traders.

We dilly-dallied around for a while before watching the Totally Tomorrowland Christmas show. It featured Buzz Lightyear, Mike Wazowski and Stitch (I booed when they introduced him). It wasn’t anything special but it was entertaining and fun watching the children dance around and be happy, unless that sounds creepy than that wasn’t the case. Compared to the show in front of the castle is was high school musical caliber but since it costs upwards of $60 to go to the party you may as well see everything you can and get your money’s worth.

After the show we bolted over to Main Street for the Magic, Memories and You castle projection show and Holiday Wishes. We got a spot right in the middle of Main Street between Casey’s Corner and the Ice Cream Parlour: it was perfect.

Looking behind us towards the park entrance. It was a wee bit busy.

The Magic, Memories and You show was revamped since August and obviously had a few special holiday sections added just for the party. It’s an entertaining show and since Wishes comes five minutes after it there really is no excuse not to see it. Seeing different things projected on the castle is pretty cool and reminiscent of the 25th anniversary birthday cake castle that I actually got to see in person. I took the best pictures I could.

Wreck it Ralph

Ashley’s boyfriend, Walt

I’m not sure what this one is. Gumdrops maybe?

Gingerbread castle.

After the first show I popped into Casey’s Corner to get an order of mini corn dogs on Ashley’s instruction. It actually wasn’t that busy and I only missed the first minute or so of Wishes. Holiday Wishes is definitely better than normal Wishes, especially the finale where Disney practically surrounds you with fireworks. Throughout the show there are a few other times where perimeter fireworks are used.

After the fireworks we headed towards the exit to snag a spot for the parade. We had a good hour between Wishes and the parade so I was planning on seeing Minnie and Mickey or shopping or something but we didn’t end up doing any of it. Instead, we trudged up the stairs to the balcony of the train station and shivered for 45 minutes. I mean it was COLD. We had been in Michigan that morning but I swear it was colder in the Magic Kingdom. We both had sweatshirts on and I could have used a coat and gloves. Ashley ended up hiding behind a lamp post as best she could until the parade started.

One thing this spot did allow for was a great angle for mediocre picture taking.

Our view. I hate how my camera turns lights into blurry lights with an aura around them.

Main Street U.S.A – “Tilt Shift”

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade was a good one. There are a ton of floats with common and rare characters, plenty of goofy vehicles, Santa and the best part of all, a toy soldier marching band. I have a video of them performing that I will upload shortly. I managed to take a few salvageable photos of the parade itself. Even with the “Night time” setting the pictures are still more horrible than normal.

The Toy Story float. You can see the toy soldiers coming up behind it.

Scrooge

Chip and Dale have possibly the coolest float. They get to skate around and throw “snowballs” at the crowd.

Why wait in line to see the Seven Dwarfs when you can take a picture of them during the parade and Photoshop yourself in later?

Snow White and Prince Charming, looking lovely as usual.

Cinderella and her entourage. The mini horses pulling it must be to keep the forced perspective of Main Street in check.

Then there is this behemoth. We have Beast on the far left, I think Belle is behind him, Eric and Ariel in the middle, Jasmine and Aladdin behind them and Fairy Godmother at the end.

Although we had about 45 minutes before the party officially ended after the parade, we were wiped from a long day of heinous travel so we packed it in for the night and headed for the bus station. We ended up getting on the second “motor coach” out so that wasn’t bad. I think we ended up in bed by midnight so we were happy about that.

We were both pleased with the Christmas party but agreed that if we go to Disney during November or December again before we have kids we probably won’t pay the money to go to it again, especially since it gets more expensive every year. We could go again and see more characters since that was the only thing we didn’t do but I still don’t think it’s worth it. We saw all the shows, went to the Tomorrowland dance party (we didn’t go to the Frontierland dance party but figured it would be about the same just different characters), saw the parade, ate lots of free cookies and hot chocolate, marveled at the lights around the park, marveled at Cinderella Castle dressed in her Christmas sweater and even rode about a dozen rides.

Not going to the party would mean we’d miss out on five extra hours at Magic Kingdom but for the money I don’t see it happening again until we have children.

I would still encourage anybody thinking about going to attend though: it’s definitely something you need to experience at least once upon a Christmastime at Christmas.

Honeymoon Trip Report: Magic Kingdom

EDIT: If you click on an individual picture if will give you the full size image (or at least a larger image). The quality of some of the in-text pictures is…bad.

Magic Kingdom is THE park to visit when you go to Disney World. There are so many classic attractions that we ended up spending the majority of our time there. Let’s get right to it.

Starting in Fantasyland (non-logical here) Snow White’s (Not so) Scary Adventure was gone. In its place will eventually be a Princess meet and greet but for now a large scrim covers it.

Dumbo has moved and doubled in size. It’s over in “Storybook Circus” by other yet-to-open attractions and Goofy’s Barnstormer. There is a big play area for the kids in the middle of the line. We decided to skip it but it could be very fun for kids. The only problem I see is getting them to leave when your buzzer goes off and it’s time for you to board the ride. Although I have heard if you go up to the desk they will swap your pager for a new one with more time on it.

Goofy’s Barnstormer had been re-themed and the queues were swapped. The lengthy entrance has been turned into the exit and the entrance queue is shorter now. The ride, however, is still the same length and very kid-friendly.

Is Google Street View available?

There were a lot of scrims and walls up around the back side of Fantasyland making way for the NEW Fantasyland.

The crane is a nice addition

Above the walls you can see Beast’s Castle and Eric’s Castle (?).

Phenomenal Photos

Completely unrelated to the theme of this blog…

I was looking through pictures of Port Orleans French Quarter on the DIS Boards in anticipation of our Honeymoon there in August and came across a couple of brilliant photographers that have plenty of Disney pictures to feast your eyes upon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottrsmith/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/expressmonorail/

I’m sure there are thousands more out there but I found these two to be spectacular.