Trip Report Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

[yoyoflamingo]

Hi all! The beginning of December, NNL and I traveled to WDW to join some fellow MCers in some antics. Since it was so close to Christmas, and I am a teacher, I couldn't take off more than one day, but we thought it would be worth it to see the Christmas decorations, which neither of us had even seen.

So, after work on Friday, NNL and I flew down to Orlando and were picked up by the wonderful Dustysage and Fishbulb, where we were taken to the Micechat Mansion for the weekend. By the time we got there, it was about midnight, so after a hello to our fellow Mansioneers, we went to sleep, just to wake up at 4 AM for the World Of Disney AP sale. Yes, we're insane.


The line from where we were. Actually not too bad...



DOOM BGI and brerrbit1 looking at what is on sale at the store.

I won't bore you with the experience in the store, but suffice it to say it was a good time, despite a little too crowded for my tastes at the end, and we found some amazing sales...$20 WDCC? Yes please!

Since it was 20% off, we decided to have breakfast at Earl of Sandwich, which evolved into a discussion of the 10, 15, or 20% discount everyone seemed to randomly get. No consistency, and no one really knew what was going on it seemed.


The Once Upon a Toy tree. I want it!


Downtown Disney seemed to be the most decorated place in many ways. Each store, including Earl of Sandwich, had decorations up, and just seemed to me the most in spirit of the season.


Santa's special meet and greet area for DTD. Interesting you can meet him in so many places at one time, like Mickey...

After our trip, we headed back to the Mansion for a quick nap before hitting the parks...MK was the first stop!


View from the Mansion balcony. Sea World is off in the distance.

[yoyoflamingo]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

So, after a late start due to an early start, we head out to the Magic Kingdom. We parked at the Polynesian for a quick lunch, and for a chance to prepare for Ohana at night.


Poly decorations


Poinsettias everywhere! Pretty.


Lobby tree.

The irony of this trip was, once we went to lunch at the Poly, we met with Dusty and Fishy, IndianaJenn and Skywaygrl, and the rest of the MCers on the trip. No planning, just pure Disney magic we all wound up together.

So, with the party together once again, we set off to the MK!


Having never been here for Christmas, we took a lot of pictures...




Toy Soldiers in Town Square


Wreaths.

Since it was the parade filming, we were a little disappointed there was no main Christmas tree in the Magic Kingdom, no Garland over Main Street, and the Partners statue was covered, but still Christmasy goodness.

Our first stop was the TTA and new Space Mountain. The TTA was welcomed with open arms. I think we rode this more than anything else the entire weekend. And the new narration is actually really good. Relaxing and fun!


While we got stuck, the Railroad came by...

Space Mountain left a little to be desired. Not much really apparently done, and most of the party was upset at the results. Honestly, I felt for the amount of time it was down, it should have been a little better, but Space Mountain here was never one of my favorites to begin with...


The rest of our party...SummerinFl, Skywaygrl, IndianaJenn, Dusty, Norm. Quite a good looking group.


Snazzy Tomorrowland Christmas stage. No shows going on for the entire weekend, but probably wouldn't have watched it anyway. Nice stage decorations though!


I REALLY wanted to meet Scrooge, but he had such a long line!


Our favorite random decorations were the random trees in stroller parking by the old Skyway building in Fantasyland. Really?

After hitting a couple of classics, we wanted to make sure to catch the castle lighting to watch the pretty lights sparkle. This is when we noticed, for Walt's birthday and for the filming, he was covered up.


At least later he got presents, but seriously, on his birthday?


Before


After


Awww


Awww!


Awww!!

After this, we decided to head off to Ohana, for our late dinner, but stop off at the other monorail hotels to check out their holiday decorations.


A look back before we look ahead.

Next: Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Ohana, and back to the MK for late night fun!

[yoyoflamingo]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

Our first stop aboard the monorail was the Contemporary, so we stopped there first. Not too many decorations, but some fun things to look at, and we made it out to the Skyway Bridge...the closest we came to our BLT DVC.


Small World gingerbread tree.


In the Fantasia shop, a tree made of toy monorails.


Monorail Man and his monorail tree.

Our next stop was the Grand Floridian, since the Poly was where we already had lunch, and were planning on having dinner.


Deer in the poinsettia lawn.


The tree in the lobby. With the band playing on the upper level, this really was a great Christmas experience.




The infamous gingerbread house. It was good, if pricey. I never knew that many of the resorts sold the gingerbread, but hey, the more the merrier in my mind.


Pictures of the house while in line







After our gingerbread fix (our dinner was at 10PM, so we were hungry!) we walked from the Grand Floridian to the Polynesian. A really nice walk, and a pleasant way to pass the time.

Ohana was wonderful, as it usually is. We were even seated early! One of the added fun was that we were timed for dinner to occur when the fireworks were slated for the MK. It was an interesting experience however, since the track skipped several times during the show, causing it to end much earlier than the fireworks. So, while fireworks are still going off in the background, there was this awkward silence in the dining room as we watched the rest. Anyone know how common this is?

Unfortunately, the pics I tried to take at Ohana mostly came out blurry, but we did have fun with a Secret Santa/White/Pink Elephant gift exchange.


brerrbit1 enjoying the Ohana atmosphere are Skywaygrl looks on.

After Ohana, full of food, being up since 4AM, what else could we do but go back to the MK until it closed at 1AM? A bunch of us decided this is exactly what was needed so out we went!


Main Street Station with lights on.


I love the trees and the ornament floral Mickey.


Gorgeous every time we saw it!

We even got our own boat on it's a small world!

Our motley crew on the rowdiest cruise that ever sailed.


I loved how these trees were lit at night...and they were real trees! Smelled SO much like Christmas!!!


End of the night shot.


Night lighting for soldiers.

While people went to the restroom, NNL and I had some fun in Santa's meet and greet area...


Santa's Candy Cane Garden for the meet and greet.





I am just sending him a tweet this year instead.


Men in uniform....




EPCOT next!

[yoyoflamingo]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

So, after a lovely night sleep in the Mansion, our next stop was EPCOT. Since we were only here for the weekend, we needed to hav ea schedule of what we needed to do, since who knows when we'll come for Christmas next. Since the Lights of Winter were canceled this year, we figured EPCOT was a day stop.


Started by heading through the Yacht Club


Awesome train display sset up in the lobby of the Yacht Club. Too bad we didn't have more to explore more.


EPCOT's tree is huge!




American Adventure tree.

We stopped for brunch in France, after heading through the International Gateway to Norway, which had too crowded a line, so we headed back to France (our exercise for the day). While there we decided to wait and see the Santa around the World from France, Pater Noel. While waiting, NNL spotted a friend and we stopped to say hello.


Marie!


Pater Noel. I really enjoyed these stories much more than I thought I would. It's a shame we only got a chance to see 2 of them, but next time we come, it's a definite on the list!


Passing through the UK, we didn't get to see the Santa, but NNL saw another familiar face.

In Canada, we decided to see Off Kilter (my favorite group in WDW), then the Santa.


Awesome Santa.

2 stories about the Canada Santa. First, when he came out and was giving his speech, he stopped dead in his story when he saw my Mr. Toad's Wild Ride shirt, and said, "Whoa, if that's not a blast from the past." He even asked after the story where I had gotten it.

Second story deals with his exit. As he was walking backstage, there was a napkin on the ground. He actually stopped, said out loud, "This won't do," and picked up the napkin and threw it out! Nice to see people still caring!


Good show Santa, good show!

Our next stop was Future World, to take in some attractions...


The Land's greehouses are decorated.


The group on the way to Nemo..

At this time NNL and I wanted to head over the DHS for the Osborne Lights, as this was the only night we could see them. My parents were over there, so we decided to try and meet them. We would meet the rest of the group in a bit, and we headed to the buses for a quick ride to DHS.


Snazzy stage for the gospel choir, who we didn't get to see.


One last look at EPCOT's tree before we go.


Obligatory Spaceship Earth shot


Topiaries out front of EPCOT. If we didn't use the buses, we never would have seen it!

Osborne Lights are next!

[DonDuck]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

Wow, you did a lot in such a short period of time. Really enjoying this report and look forward to more.

[yoyoflamingo]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

Beofre we go on, I just want to apologize about the blurriness of the pictures. In a way, it is symbolic of the weekend...a blur. A lot of time I just shot as we were walking, which made for less than perfect pictures. However, I am trying to pick the better ones to post.

So, over to the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. In a word, WOW. Purely amazing. It was insanely crowded, but there was enough space that it didn't seem claustrophobic. Also, the crowd control wasn't the best, with people just sneaking around the barriers when the CMs weren't watching. However, it truly was an amazing thing to see, and the dancing lights made it even more wonderful!

Some pictures:

Tree at the Studios


Our titlecard


Just amazing how much they cram in here.







After enjoying the lights for a bit, we walked back to EPCOT, as a few of us had reservations at France for dinner.


Boardwalk tree.

NNL, brerrbit1 and I decided to enjoy EPCOT, get some dinner, and watch Illuminations.


What? We're not creeping...


Pretty fountains in France

They were still having dinner after the show, so we decided to head back to the Beach Club for a bit to wait for them.


Carousel at the Beach Club made out of Gingerbread.


Chip and Dale!


So much detail!


Tree at the Beach Club.

After meeting the rest of the party (and enjoying Beach Club gingerbread and some gelato), we headed back to the Mansion for the last day at WDW.

[Barbaraann]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

Looking at your photos brings back good memories of when I was there 2 years ago.

Thanks for taking the time to share them with all of us.

[yoyoflamingo]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

Last Day!

Since we had seen (almost) all of the holiday excitement we wanted to, it was decided the day would be spent at the MK to hit a few more attractions...

After lunch, we realized we hadn't seen Tiana's Showboat Jubilee yet! SO GLAD we saw it! So much fun, and it made us so excited for the movie!!


Why they come through Liberty Square I still don't get, but it's still fun...





After a few attractions, it was sadly time to leave the Mansion, WDW, and all our wonderful friends. We had a fantastic time and are so excited to see everyone in January, including a few wonderful people who couldn't make this trip

[mikeland]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

Great TR and photos! Thanks so much for sharing.

[Angie_Duke]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

When is the January trip? I feel as though I should join the fun for at least a little bit if I'm there when everybody else is.

[yoyoflamingo]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

When is the January trip? I feel as though I should join the fun for at least a little bit if I'm there when everybody else is.

It's actually in Disneyland, the 5 Year anniversary meet.

Here's the info. It's one of the best MC events of the year!

[Angie_Duke]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

It's actually in Disneyland, the 5 Year anniversary meet.

Here's the info. It's one of the best MC events of the year!

Well if it's in Disneyland, then no I can't make it. ) But you all have a good time!

[Imagineer Scott]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

Amazing TR!

I love your tree shots!!!!

[Stitchy]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

WOW! You got tons of stuff done! And you saw SO much in such a short time! I'm impressed!

Thanks for sharing your pictures. I'm trying to talk hubby into a Christmas Disney vacation!

I hope you don't mind...I "stole" your Castle pic to use as my background. I've been searching the internet for weeks trying to find a great picture of it all lit up!

[SummerInFL]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

It was great seeing you two that weekend, you are right, it was a crazy blur of fun!

[Disney Magic]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

Great trip report thanks for posting!

[aimster]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

Thanks for sharing!

Wow, you did a lot in such a short period of time.

That's nothing. I've done 3 parks in one day. Started at the Studios, took the boat to EPCOT, then the monorail to MK to end the day. I was EXHAUSTED by the time I was done. But yeah, even 2 parks in one day is a lot and is quite an accomplishment, especially when EPCOT is involved.

[yoyoflamingo]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

We've done 4 in a day at the MiceChat WDW Gumball Rally last year. Now there is a challenge.

[aimster]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

I can imagine. The most for me will be 3 in one day as I refuse to ever set foot into AK (I have my reasons, which are personal).

[DonDuck]

Re: Whirlwind Weekend of WDW!

Cannot imagine 3-4 parks in one day, I commend you both on such a feat.

Wonderful report!