cstorm65
DDC #699
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
It was certainly something we had never experienced in all of our summer trips!
It was a good thing she went and he was feeling better before too long!
Escape From School to Crazy Christmas Crowds - A December 2017 Trip Report - Finished 5/20
- Thread starter cstorm65
- Start date
It was certainly something we had never experienced in all of our summer trips!
It was a good thing she went and he was feeling better before too long!
SweetSerenity
Thank you evenin' star!
- Joined
- May 8, 2009
Ohhh no! Not the flu at Disney. I'm sorry he was sick. I hope it didn't last long.
StarWarsMomofGirls!
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2015
It is kind of cool looking. I like it.It was still foggy!
That is too funny. I can see how that would be a cool toy for a boy... And some girls, just not my girls.Then he saw this and said, “That toy is exactly what I wanted!”
Wouldn't that be nice?!? After our first trip, the girls wanted to use fast pass for everything at home.
so true!
Poor guy. Glad DW took him to the ER!
cstorm65
DDC #699
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
I know, it was the worst. Luckily we got him some medicine when we did!
I thought so too. The fog gave everything such a different perspective.
This boy loves things like this that he can play with in the bath!
Haha...we would love it for some things!
I know. Getting the medicine helped him a bunch and worked pretty quickly too.
cstorm65
DDC #699
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
Day 6 - Part 4 - “Jon...That Was Incredible”
We had just arrived at a bus stop and waited just a few minutes before catching our ride over to Animal Kingdom. We arrived at about 4:10. DS5 was excited to be back here and to introduce my parents to Animal Kingdom.
It wasn’t long before we were seeing the Tree of Life!
After heading into the park we headed right over to use our first FP of the evening here:
It was our flight on Flight of Passage. We were in line at 4:23 and the FP line moved quickly. We all loved the ride. As we were walking out my Mom looked over and said, “Jon, that was incredible!” I told her I definitely agree with her! It is certainly one of my favorite rides of all time and they loved it as well.
When we got out we took a few pictures in front of the mountains.
It was about 5:00 at this point and we headed over towards Flame Tree BBQ for a little dinner. I got the Ribs, Chicken, and Pulled Pork Sample: Smoked ribs, chicken and pulled pork served with baked beans and coleslaw. This meal costs $18.99, but I got it for me and DS5 to share. The ribs were very good and I knew the pulled pork was good as I’d had it before. It was so much food they had to put the ribs on a separate plate:
DS5 ate most of the chicken from the meal and some of the beans. I wasn’t crazy about the coleslaw, but I’m not really a coleslaw guy so don’t put much stock in my opinion there. Overall, Flame Tree is still a great meal that is good, solid food every time we’ve been here over the years. After dinner we headed back towards Asia for our next FP. I just love the theming in this part of the park. They made this area look so authentic.
Before long we had this view of our next FP:
DS5 and I rode with my Dad. We enjoyed showing him some of the details in the queue area.
Before long this was us:
It was certainly a great ride that my Dad loved and it is one of DS5’s favorites as well. DS5 and I got to ride again. I’m not sure how. We must have had a child swap pass from earlier in the week when DS1 was with us. Overall, we were again kind of sad to be away from DW and DS1, but DW had texted me about this time saying DS1 already seemed to be feeling better and he had eaten a few snacks and was down playing for the first time all day. We had a few more things we wanted to do before heading out of the park including one more FP.
Up Next: “You Do Have Animals on Your Animal Tour?”
We had just arrived at a bus stop and waited just a few minutes before catching our ride over to Animal Kingdom. We arrived at about 4:10. DS5 was excited to be back here and to introduce my parents to Animal Kingdom.
It wasn’t long before we were seeing the Tree of Life!
After heading into the park we headed right over to use our first FP of the evening here:
It was our flight on Flight of Passage. We were in line at 4:23 and the FP line moved quickly. We all loved the ride. As we were walking out my Mom looked over and said, “Jon, that was incredible!” I told her I definitely agree with her! It is certainly one of my favorite rides of all time and they loved it as well.
When we got out we took a few pictures in front of the mountains.
It was about 5:00 at this point and we headed over towards Flame Tree BBQ for a little dinner. I got the Ribs, Chicken, and Pulled Pork Sample: Smoked ribs, chicken and pulled pork served with baked beans and coleslaw. This meal costs $18.99, but I got it for me and DS5 to share. The ribs were very good and I knew the pulled pork was good as I’d had it before. It was so much food they had to put the ribs on a separate plate:
DS5 ate most of the chicken from the meal and some of the beans. I wasn’t crazy about the coleslaw, but I’m not really a coleslaw guy so don’t put much stock in my opinion there. Overall, Flame Tree is still a great meal that is good, solid food every time we’ve been here over the years. After dinner we headed back towards Asia for our next FP. I just love the theming in this part of the park. They made this area look so authentic.
Before long we had this view of our next FP:
DS5 and I rode with my Dad. We enjoyed showing him some of the details in the queue area.
Before long this was us:
It was certainly a great ride that my Dad loved and it is one of DS5’s favorites as well. DS5 and I got to ride again. I’m not sure how. We must have had a child swap pass from earlier in the week when DS1 was with us. Overall, we were again kind of sad to be away from DW and DS1, but DW had texted me about this time saying DS1 already seemed to be feeling better and he had eaten a few snacks and was down playing for the first time all day. We had a few more things we wanted to do before heading out of the park including one more FP.
Up Next: “You Do Have Animals on Your Animal Tour?”
disneyAndi14
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2014
AK is such a fun park, FoP is amazing!
I’m glad you all enjoyed your dinner and EE.
I agree the themes in AK are just so perfect and really transport you to Asia and Africa!
I’m glad you all enjoyed your dinner and EE.
I agree the themes in AK are just so perfect and really transport you to Asia and Africa!
cstorm65
DDC #699
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
Day 6 - Part 5 - “You Do Have Animals on Your Animal Tour?”
After our ride on Everest we had one more thing to take care of on the night, and I apologize I don’t have many pictures of this evening, but we were all a little sidetracked by DS1 being sick. As we walked over to our final FP we stopped for a few minutes to watch the Tree of Life Awakenings show. It was a pretty neat show, even from the backside of the tree we enjoyed it.
After the Tree of Life show we headed back into Africa and the singers were out. This is such a fun little area of the park, especially when a show is taking place on the little stage.
It was time for our final FP, something I was really excited about, the new night time safari at Kilimanjari Safari. We headed in at 6:30 and as I said earlier there aren’t many pictures. The lack of pictures on this ride were due in part to two things, it was almost dark and we didn’t really see very many animals at all. In fact, there were so few animals it caused me to joke with the line from Jurassic Park that, "You do have dinosaurs on your dinosaur tour?"
Overall, this was kind of a let down for me. I had been really excited for this ride, but the animals weren’t really out and when the were the lighting wasn’t good enough to get any decent pictures. Anyway, the nighttime safari was pretty new at this point, so I’m sure they’ve figured some things out, but at this point it just wasn’t very exciting.
We headed out of the park at 7:10. The Christmas tree at Animal Kingdom was looking good:
We were at the bus stop at 7:18 and a bus was pulling right up, so we were back at All Star Sports by 7:30. DW texted me to grab DS1 some Mac ‘n Cheese at the food court on our way back in and we got back and he ate every bit of it. So, needless to say, he was feeling a little better!
DS5 settled in and played with his new toy that my parents had gotten for him:
We called it a night for the boys at about 8:30. DW and I went to get some dessert after that as we didn’t have to get up real early the next day. But by 9:30 or 10 we were pretty tired!
Up Next: We Need a Break From the Christmas Crowds
After our ride on Everest we had one more thing to take care of on the night, and I apologize I don’t have many pictures of this evening, but we were all a little sidetracked by DS1 being sick. As we walked over to our final FP we stopped for a few minutes to watch the Tree of Life Awakenings show. It was a pretty neat show, even from the backside of the tree we enjoyed it.
After the Tree of Life show we headed back into Africa and the singers were out. This is such a fun little area of the park, especially when a show is taking place on the little stage.
It was time for our final FP, something I was really excited about, the new night time safari at Kilimanjari Safari. We headed in at 6:30 and as I said earlier there aren’t many pictures. The lack of pictures on this ride were due in part to two things, it was almost dark and we didn’t really see very many animals at all. In fact, there were so few animals it caused me to joke with the line from Jurassic Park that, "You do have dinosaurs on your dinosaur tour?"
Overall, this was kind of a let down for me. I had been really excited for this ride, but the animals weren’t really out and when the were the lighting wasn’t good enough to get any decent pictures. Anyway, the nighttime safari was pretty new at this point, so I’m sure they’ve figured some things out, but at this point it just wasn’t very exciting.
We headed out of the park at 7:10. The Christmas tree at Animal Kingdom was looking good:
We were at the bus stop at 7:18 and a bus was pulling right up, so we were back at All Star Sports by 7:30. DW texted me to grab DS1 some Mac ‘n Cheese at the food court on our way back in and we got back and he ate every bit of it. So, needless to say, he was feeling a little better!
DS5 settled in and played with his new toy that my parents had gotten for him:
We called it a night for the boys at about 8:30. DW and I went to get some dessert after that as we didn’t have to get up real early the next day. But by 9:30 or 10 we were pretty tired!
Up Next: We Need a Break From the Christmas Crowds
cstorm65
DDC #699
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
Day 7 - Part 1 - We Need a Break From the Christmas Crowds
It was our final full day and we had a fairly easy morning planned. We slept in a little and got some of our stuff packed up so we could just enjoy our last day. DS1 slept well and woke up appearing to feel much better. After packing up our plan for the morning was to head over to Disney Springs to shop around a little and get some lunch. We got to the bus stop at 10:05 and waited about 10 minutes before one arrived, not bad for Disney Springs in the morning. We had a nice ride over. DS5 was feeling well after a good nights sleep.
We arrived right around 10:30 and our first order of business was to find a few souvenirs, and of course that means a trip to World of Disney!
The Christmas tree was nice and I also found these coffee mugs that were pretty cool. I’m a sucker for cool coffee mugs, especially some of these more vintage/historical ones like this, although I decided not to buy these. I also prefer to look around at a lot of options before purchasing something, otherwise I would have gone home with two new mugs!
Of course Star Wars was hot at this point and World of Disney had a huge section for this stuff.
DS5 even decided on his souvenir for the trip to be these Star Wars figurines. He actually said he wanted to to use them along with his green army men!
We’ve had some fun times with all of those figurines since then as well!
Up Next: Extremely Underrated Counter Service Meal
It was our final full day and we had a fairly easy morning planned. We slept in a little and got some of our stuff packed up so we could just enjoy our last day. DS1 slept well and woke up appearing to feel much better. After packing up our plan for the morning was to head over to Disney Springs to shop around a little and get some lunch. We got to the bus stop at 10:05 and waited about 10 minutes before one arrived, not bad for Disney Springs in the morning. We had a nice ride over. DS5 was feeling well after a good nights sleep.
We arrived right around 10:30 and our first order of business was to find a few souvenirs, and of course that means a trip to World of Disney!
The Christmas tree was nice and I also found these coffee mugs that were pretty cool. I’m a sucker for cool coffee mugs, especially some of these more vintage/historical ones like this, although I decided not to buy these. I also prefer to look around at a lot of options before purchasing something, otherwise I would have gone home with two new mugs!
Of course Star Wars was hot at this point and World of Disney had a huge section for this stuff.
DS5 even decided on his souvenir for the trip to be these Star Wars figurines. He actually said he wanted to to use them along with his green army men!
We’ve had some fun times with all of those figurines since then as well!
Up Next: Extremely Underrated Counter Service Meal
cstorm65
DDC #699
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
Day 7 - Part 2 - Extremely Underrated Counter Service Meal
After our shopping excursion at World of Disney we were ready for some lunch. We would normally have hit up Earl of Sandwich, but it looked really crowded and we all wanted to try something a little different anyways, so we settled on Wolfgang Puck Express. I’d always heard good things and this meal certainly didn’t disappoint. DS5 had the Kids Spaghetti with tomato sauce and he loved it. It was a big plate of spaghetti and he ate about every bit of it!
DS1 got the Kids Cheese pizza and he ate a bunch of it as well, although I didn’t get a picture of it. I ended up choosing the BBQ Chicken Pizza with mozzarella, Cilantro, red onion, Parmesan for $14.50.
My pizza was delicious and a pretty good size. It had just the right amount of BBQ sauce on it and the chicken was tasty as well. I would definitely order this again. DW had another great looking meal as she chose the Chicken Salad Sancwich with Grapes, Apples, Romaine, Dijon Aioli, Whole Grain Bread and Sweet Potato Fries for $12.00.
DW loved this, although she said it was way to much food for her! The chicken salad was great and she loved the sweet potato fries.
My parents enjoyed their meal also and overall, this was a great place for a quick service lunch. The food is good quality and the prices are very reasonable.
We headed out at about 12:00 and made a few stops as we were going to head back to the hotel to let the boys take a nap before our last fun evening. DS5 found some animals to look at:
We also stopped in Goofy’s Candy Company and the Christmas Store before moving back across the lake. I miss the rides across this lake to French Quarter...we have to do that again sometime!
The boys also got a kick out of the new Amphicars at the Boathouse.
The ladies found a little shop they liked as we walked so they looked around a bit:
And My Dad had to walk over and take a look at the menu at Paddlefish. He is a huge seafood fan!
We headed past the Coca Cola Store at around 12:35 and got to the bus stop a few minutes later.
The bus came for us at 12:50 and we headed back “home”.
We arrived back at 1:10. I ran DS5 down to swim a little while DW and DS1 went to sleep. After we swam for a bit DS5 and I joined in with a nap of our own for a couple of hours that afternoon.
Up Next: “We Might Need the Diaper Bag!”
After our shopping excursion at World of Disney we were ready for some lunch. We would normally have hit up Earl of Sandwich, but it looked really crowded and we all wanted to try something a little different anyways, so we settled on Wolfgang Puck Express. I’d always heard good things and this meal certainly didn’t disappoint. DS5 had the Kids Spaghetti with tomato sauce and he loved it. It was a big plate of spaghetti and he ate about every bit of it!
DS1 got the Kids Cheese pizza and he ate a bunch of it as well, although I didn’t get a picture of it. I ended up choosing the BBQ Chicken Pizza with mozzarella, Cilantro, red onion, Parmesan for $14.50.
My pizza was delicious and a pretty good size. It had just the right amount of BBQ sauce on it and the chicken was tasty as well. I would definitely order this again. DW had another great looking meal as she chose the Chicken Salad Sancwich with Grapes, Apples, Romaine, Dijon Aioli, Whole Grain Bread and Sweet Potato Fries for $12.00.
DW loved this, although she said it was way to much food for her! The chicken salad was great and she loved the sweet potato fries.
My parents enjoyed their meal also and overall, this was a great place for a quick service lunch. The food is good quality and the prices are very reasonable.
We headed out at about 12:00 and made a few stops as we were going to head back to the hotel to let the boys take a nap before our last fun evening. DS5 found some animals to look at:
We also stopped in Goofy’s Candy Company and the Christmas Store before moving back across the lake. I miss the rides across this lake to French Quarter...we have to do that again sometime!
The boys also got a kick out of the new Amphicars at the Boathouse.
The ladies found a little shop they liked as we walked so they looked around a bit:
And My Dad had to walk over and take a look at the menu at Paddlefish. He is a huge seafood fan!
We headed past the Coca Cola Store at around 12:35 and got to the bus stop a few minutes later.
The bus came for us at 12:50 and we headed back “home”.
We arrived back at 1:10. I ran DS5 down to swim a little while DW and DS1 went to sleep. After we swam for a bit DS5 and I joined in with a nap of our own for a couple of hours that afternoon.
Up Next: “We Might Need the Diaper Bag!”
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disneyAndi14
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2014
I got that first coffee cup you were admiring I really like it!
WPE is a good choice!
It sounds like a nice last day at DS, glad your son was feeling better!
WPE is a good choice!
It sounds like a nice last day at DS, glad your son was feeling better!
StarWarsMomofGirls!
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2015
Eating food is always a good sign! Glad he was feeling better.
I love that he has the bucket on his head!
Awsome! I love the mash up of toys!He actually said he wanted to to use them along with his green army men!
cstorm65
DDC #699
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
It was our first time there and we enjoyed it a lot! Will definitely be going back!!
Yes, it was a nice morning...and one more evening to go!
So much better!
I know. He legitimately thought it was a hat that went with the set! haha
He really enjoyed playing with this along with the army men. Talk about a mash up!!
cstorm65
DDC #699
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
Day 7 - Part 3 - “We Might Need the Diaper Bag”
After a nice afternoon rest we got to the bus stop at 4:45. We were heading to our final park of the trip and guess which one it was. If you know me it isn’t hard to guess what park we are going to as I always like to finish our trips in the same place. Anyway, we got on a bus rather quickly and by 5:15 we were boarding the monorail. I guess I should tell you we were going to grab a bit of dinner before heading to the park as well as see some Christmas decorations at a resort we hadn’t seen yet. DS5 was ready to ride the monorail for one last time.
I guess I should explain the title of this update. About the time we were getting on the bus at All Star Sports we realized we didn’t have the park bag which also doubles as a diaper bag for DS1. A bus was pulling up though, so DW said she would run and grab it and catch the next bus. I knew what she wanted for dinner anyway and she was going to wait until we were in the park to get it.
Some great views from on the monorail:
Anyways, we got off the monorail for dinner at the Grand Floridian at about 5:40. We spent a little time in the lobby just looking around and taking in the Christmas decorations and the Gingerbread house. Now, it was super crowded in here and that Gingerbread house takes up a lot of space so it was hard just to walk through the lobby, but we got to see some of the holiday things.
We headed out the back side of the lobby as we were going to go grab some dinner at Gasparilla Grill. We’ve been to this quick service before and it served us well this time as we wanted to see some of the Grand Floridian Christmas Decorations. I got the Ham Sandwich with lettuce, tomato and Tillamook cheddar for $10.49.
I wasn’t all that hungry and knew we would snack some tonight so this was a little bit lighter option than other things on the menu. It was good, although the bread was really thick which made it a little hard to bite through. I typically don’t like bread that thick on sandwiches, though it is more of a preference than anything else. DS1 had chicken nuggets and DS5 had a burger and both seemed to enjoy it. DW had to wait about 30 more minutes for a bus and so she was just going to meet us at the park, so at about 6:40 we got back on the monorail and before too long met her at the Magic Kingdom.
Once in the park we stopped to take some family pictures as it was our final night. That is kind of a tradition of ours on our last night at the Magic Kingdom.
Of course the tree was looking good tonight!
We were inside by 7:00 and headed to use our FP here:
We had a great ride and really liked the Christmas overlay. After this me, DS5 and my Dad went over and took a ride on Big Thunder Mountain. While we were doing that DW mobile ordered herself something at Columbia Harbour House and went to get it. She loves Columbia Harbour House! Meanwhile, we had a great time on Big Thunder.
After the ride we went and met the ladies and DS1 at Columbia Harbour House before heading over to another FP at Winnie the Pooh.
After Pooh the ladies and DS5 took a ride on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
As you can tell, they had a good time! Following Seven Dwarfs it was time for our obligatory ride on the Tea Cups to keep DS5 happy, so naturally it was just me and him while everyone else sat this one out!
It was just a couple of minutes until 9:00 at this point which meant Fireworks. Stay tuned for one of our favorite fireworks spots in the Magic Kingdom.
Up Next: “Daddy, Why Does the Sword Never Come Out?”
After a nice afternoon rest we got to the bus stop at 4:45. We were heading to our final park of the trip and guess which one it was. If you know me it isn’t hard to guess what park we are going to as I always like to finish our trips in the same place. Anyway, we got on a bus rather quickly and by 5:15 we were boarding the monorail. I guess I should tell you we were going to grab a bit of dinner before heading to the park as well as see some Christmas decorations at a resort we hadn’t seen yet. DS5 was ready to ride the monorail for one last time.
I guess I should explain the title of this update. About the time we were getting on the bus at All Star Sports we realized we didn’t have the park bag which also doubles as a diaper bag for DS1. A bus was pulling up though, so DW said she would run and grab it and catch the next bus. I knew what she wanted for dinner anyway and she was going to wait until we were in the park to get it.
Some great views from on the monorail:
Anyways, we got off the monorail for dinner at the Grand Floridian at about 5:40. We spent a little time in the lobby just looking around and taking in the Christmas decorations and the Gingerbread house. Now, it was super crowded in here and that Gingerbread house takes up a lot of space so it was hard just to walk through the lobby, but we got to see some of the holiday things.
We headed out the back side of the lobby as we were going to go grab some dinner at Gasparilla Grill. We’ve been to this quick service before and it served us well this time as we wanted to see some of the Grand Floridian Christmas Decorations. I got the Ham Sandwich with lettuce, tomato and Tillamook cheddar for $10.49.
I wasn’t all that hungry and knew we would snack some tonight so this was a little bit lighter option than other things on the menu. It was good, although the bread was really thick which made it a little hard to bite through. I typically don’t like bread that thick on sandwiches, though it is more of a preference than anything else. DS1 had chicken nuggets and DS5 had a burger and both seemed to enjoy it. DW had to wait about 30 more minutes for a bus and so she was just going to meet us at the park, so at about 6:40 we got back on the monorail and before too long met her at the Magic Kingdom.
Once in the park we stopped to take some family pictures as it was our final night. That is kind of a tradition of ours on our last night at the Magic Kingdom.
Of course the tree was looking good tonight!
We were inside by 7:00 and headed to use our FP here:
We had a great ride and really liked the Christmas overlay. After this me, DS5 and my Dad went over and took a ride on Big Thunder Mountain. While we were doing that DW mobile ordered herself something at Columbia Harbour House and went to get it. She loves Columbia Harbour House! Meanwhile, we had a great time on Big Thunder.
After the ride we went and met the ladies and DS1 at Columbia Harbour House before heading over to another FP at Winnie the Pooh.
After Pooh the ladies and DS5 took a ride on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
As you can tell, they had a good time! Following Seven Dwarfs it was time for our obligatory ride on the Tea Cups to keep DS5 happy, so naturally it was just me and him while everyone else sat this one out!
It was just a couple of minutes until 9:00 at this point which meant Fireworks. Stay tuned for one of our favorite fireworks spots in the Magic Kingdom.
Up Next: “Daddy, Why Does the Sword Never Come Out?”
cstorm65
DDC #699
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
Day 7 - Part 4 - “Daddy, Why Does the Sword Never Come Out?”
It was 9:00 at this point and we settled into one of our most favorite fireworks spots that is out of the way and away from the crowds. We love sitting over near the exit of Space Mountain where there are some tables and benches. You have a great view of the fireworks, although you miss all of the projections. But if you are looking for an out of the way spot that doesn’t usually have anyone competing for seats on the benches this is a nice place. We had a great time watching from here on our last night in Magic Kingdom, and even better were the Mickey Bars we ate as there is a stand right by this spot!
After the fireworks we took a spin on the TTA which we just enjoyed and I managed to not get one picture of! Haha! After this we headed to the Christmas Dance Party in Tomorrowland and let the kids get their groove on for a bit. They even got snowed on!
At 9:45 we walked to the front of the park as my parents were going to take DS1 back to the resort. They were all tired and we wanted a little time with DS5 before we headed out.
After getting my parents and DS1 out of the park we headed back to Tomorrowland to use a FP at Space Mountain. DW didn’t want to ride, so just DS5 and I went on.
After riding Space we headed out and snapped a quick picture in front of the castle. We were on our way over to ride Seven Dwarfs again before the night ended.
At 10:40 we were finished with our Seven Dwarfs ride and DS5 had something he wanted to try:
Well, as it happens most of the time the Sword wouldn’t budge. DS5 was disappointed and said, “Daddy, Why Does the Sword Never Come Out?” Of course I can’t really say to him, “Well son, the person with the switch in the secret bag they are carrying around isn’t out right now to hit the button and release it.” So I made something up and we moved on, probably by bribing him with candy or something. Great parenting...I know! Haha! It was about 11:00 and we were making our final walk down Main Street for this trip. We always hate this part of the trip as everyone does!
We got to the bus stop at 11:05 and a bus pulled up at 11:08 which was great timing! We were back here by 11:30.
We were all asleep by midnight and sad that tomorrow was the day we dread where we have to travel home.
Up Next: This Monorail is Taking Forever
It was 9:00 at this point and we settled into one of our most favorite fireworks spots that is out of the way and away from the crowds. We love sitting over near the exit of Space Mountain where there are some tables and benches. You have a great view of the fireworks, although you miss all of the projections. But if you are looking for an out of the way spot that doesn’t usually have anyone competing for seats on the benches this is a nice place. We had a great time watching from here on our last night in Magic Kingdom, and even better were the Mickey Bars we ate as there is a stand right by this spot!
After the fireworks we took a spin on the TTA which we just enjoyed and I managed to not get one picture of! Haha! After this we headed to the Christmas Dance Party in Tomorrowland and let the kids get their groove on for a bit. They even got snowed on!
At 9:45 we walked to the front of the park as my parents were going to take DS1 back to the resort. They were all tired and we wanted a little time with DS5 before we headed out.
After getting my parents and DS1 out of the park we headed back to Tomorrowland to use a FP at Space Mountain. DW didn’t want to ride, so just DS5 and I went on.
After riding Space we headed out and snapped a quick picture in front of the castle. We were on our way over to ride Seven Dwarfs again before the night ended.
At 10:40 we were finished with our Seven Dwarfs ride and DS5 had something he wanted to try:
Well, as it happens most of the time the Sword wouldn’t budge. DS5 was disappointed and said, “Daddy, Why Does the Sword Never Come Out?” Of course I can’t really say to him, “Well son, the person with the switch in the secret bag they are carrying around isn’t out right now to hit the button and release it.” So I made something up and we moved on, probably by bribing him with candy or something. Great parenting...I know! Haha! It was about 11:00 and we were making our final walk down Main Street for this trip. We always hate this part of the trip as everyone does!
We got to the bus stop at 11:05 and a bus pulled up at 11:08 which was great timing! We were back here by 11:30.
We were all asleep by midnight and sad that tomorrow was the day we dread where we have to travel home.
Up Next: This Monorail is Taking Forever
cstorm65
DDC #699
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
Day 8 - Part 1 - This Monorail Is Taking Forever
The final day has arrived and as always we were sad we had to go, but it was a great trip overall, despite the sickness for DS1. DW and I were up at 7:45 and finished any packing we had. We also took the bags down to resort airline check in and got them on their way to the airport. I had been wrestling with buying a pullover I had seen at the Poly earlier in the trip and at about 9:00 I decided I’d head back over and get it. Our Magical Express bus was set for 11:25, so I had plenty of time, right? I got to the bus stop at 9:10 and had to wait until 9:30 for a ride. Finally, I made it to the Magic Kingdom and headed towards the monorail. While waiting on the monorail I got a few nice pics across the lake.
Long story short and to explain the title of this update I was on the monorail at 9:32 and didn’t make it to the Poly until 9:58. We stopped for “clearance” 5-6 times on the tracks and we sat inside of both the Contemporary and TTC for 5-6 minutes each just waiting. It was a long trip for sure which had me getting a little worried.
One nice thing was I was alone and had plenty of space!
I finally made it to the Poly and was able to find the pullover I wanted and get it purchased.
At this point it was about 10:10 and I was a little worried and definitely knew I didn’t have time to take the monorail and a bus back to All Star Sports. So, I just gave in and ordered an Uber for about $10 and got back to the resort by 10:40. When I got back we got everyone out of the hotel room and headed down to grab a quick bite to eat, that I didn’t take one picture of, sorry! Our Magical Express bus was about 10 minutes early, arriving at 11:15, but they assured us it was the 11:25 bus so we headed off to MCO. The boys were exhausted as we got on the road, especially DS1.
We got to MCO just after noon and had to wait until about 3:00 for our first flight, so the boys got some iPad time.
We normally fly Southwest, but were on United for this trip home as we had some points to use. So we connected in Houston and had a great dinner at Pappasitos in the International Terminal. We had about a three hour layover, and weren’t leaving for OKC until around 9:00 PM. DS1 had a lot of fun looking at planes.
Of course all of that looking at planes it tiring. I had made DW mad as I booked our seats on the very last row of the small regional jet we were on, but it really paid off as there was no one in the back three rows of the plan, so we had some nice room to sleep. Of course DS 1 wanted to sleep on DW so we got him to sleep and then laid him down on the empty seat next to me for the rest of the flight.
It was a smooth flight with a great flight attendant who really took care of us and did everything she could to keep the boys happy. We made it home at about 10:30 and got home and to bed before midnight.
I’ve got another trip report in the queue so I won’t do a major wrap up here, but I’ll say this was a great trip despite being very different. Due to the crowds and DS1’s sickness a lot of things didn’t go to plan and we missed out on doing some things we wanted to do. With that said we made the most of it and my parents had a great time being there with us. We would definitely do a Christmas trip again and we may structure things a bit differently, but all of the Christmas decor and events were great to experience as well!
Keep watching and I’ll post a link to our big trip from the summer of 2018. I might be able to get that report finished before we go again! Thanks for reading everyone!
The final day has arrived and as always we were sad we had to go, but it was a great trip overall, despite the sickness for DS1. DW and I were up at 7:45 and finished any packing we had. We also took the bags down to resort airline check in and got them on their way to the airport. I had been wrestling with buying a pullover I had seen at the Poly earlier in the trip and at about 9:00 I decided I’d head back over and get it. Our Magical Express bus was set for 11:25, so I had plenty of time, right? I got to the bus stop at 9:10 and had to wait until 9:30 for a ride. Finally, I made it to the Magic Kingdom and headed towards the monorail. While waiting on the monorail I got a few nice pics across the lake.
Long story short and to explain the title of this update I was on the monorail at 9:32 and didn’t make it to the Poly until 9:58. We stopped for “clearance” 5-6 times on the tracks and we sat inside of both the Contemporary and TTC for 5-6 minutes each just waiting. It was a long trip for sure which had me getting a little worried.
One nice thing was I was alone and had plenty of space!
I finally made it to the Poly and was able to find the pullover I wanted and get it purchased.
At this point it was about 10:10 and I was a little worried and definitely knew I didn’t have time to take the monorail and a bus back to All Star Sports. So, I just gave in and ordered an Uber for about $10 and got back to the resort by 10:40. When I got back we got everyone out of the hotel room and headed down to grab a quick bite to eat, that I didn’t take one picture of, sorry! Our Magical Express bus was about 10 minutes early, arriving at 11:15, but they assured us it was the 11:25 bus so we headed off to MCO. The boys were exhausted as we got on the road, especially DS1.
We got to MCO just after noon and had to wait until about 3:00 for our first flight, so the boys got some iPad time.
We normally fly Southwest, but were on United for this trip home as we had some points to use. So we connected in Houston and had a great dinner at Pappasitos in the International Terminal. We had about a three hour layover, and weren’t leaving for OKC until around 9:00 PM. DS1 had a lot of fun looking at planes.
Of course all of that looking at planes it tiring. I had made DW mad as I booked our seats on the very last row of the small regional jet we were on, but it really paid off as there was no one in the back three rows of the plan, so we had some nice room to sleep. Of course DS 1 wanted to sleep on DW so we got him to sleep and then laid him down on the empty seat next to me for the rest of the flight.
It was a smooth flight with a great flight attendant who really took care of us and did everything she could to keep the boys happy. We made it home at about 10:30 and got home and to bed before midnight.
I’ve got another trip report in the queue so I won’t do a major wrap up here, but I’ll say this was a great trip despite being very different. Due to the crowds and DS1’s sickness a lot of things didn’t go to plan and we missed out on doing some things we wanted to do. With that said we made the most of it and my parents had a great time being there with us. We would definitely do a Christmas trip again and we may structure things a bit differently, but all of the Christmas decor and events were great to experience as well!
Keep watching and I’ll post a link to our big trip from the summer of 2018. I might be able to get that report finished before we go again! Thanks for reading everyone!
disneyAndi14
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2014
I really enjoyed reading your trip report. I will be looking for your next one!
StarWarsMomofGirls!
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2015
Thanks for sharing your trip!!! I always love reading your updates.
cstorm65
DDC #699
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
Thanks everyone for reading this report of our Christmas trip. I've got our next one going at the link below. Would love for you to join us. Thanks for reading along. Your reading and commenting makes it so awesome to re-live these trips! See you over on the new thread!
Lesley Wake
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2017
Phew, finally caught up!
I wasn’t a huge fan of the nighttime safari either when I went. Not enough active animals and horrible photos. I prefer morning or mid-day!
That is too cute! Especially with the bucket helmet!
Now do they fight for the First Order or the Resistance?
Maybe one day?
Ecomommy09
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 6, 2019
Your boys are adorable. Had fun reading your trip report!
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