Joy to the World: an offsite Christmas extravaganza at Disney, Universal & SeaWorld – Dec. 2016 TR

[Joanna71985]

Have a good first day with the job

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thursday, December 22nd (continued)

Once we were inside the park and had made our way down Main Street, we decided to grab an early dinner: we hadn’t eaten anything since our big breakfast at the Portofino with Lynne and her kids earlier that morning (so we were hungry), and this would help preserve the party hours for more important things than eating [OMG what on earth did I just say there?!?!? ]. We decided to try somewhere new, and settled on the options in Frontierland.

Steve found lots on the menu at Pecos Bills that he liked, but nothing really appealed to my finickier palette. That was no biggie, though, because right outside the side entrance to Pecos Bills was the Golden Oak Outpost: they had chicken nuggets on their menu, and while that didn’t exactly amaze and impress me, it would more than suffice. I wasn’t really looking for a big meal anyway, as I wanted to be able to sample the holiday beverages and cookies that were being offered to party guests after 7 pm….that was the reason we decided against an ADR in the first place. Less dinner, more snacking!

We decided on a meeting place inside Pecos Bills……it wasn’t at all busy and there were lots of tables to pick from……and we each headed into our respective food lines. Miraculously, we somehow even managed to reconvene at almost exactly the same time with food trays in hand.

The food was…..unremarkable . Not “bad”, but not noteworthy in any single aspect. Pricey. Not as warm as I would have liked or expected. But, it filled our stomachs and did the job for which it was intended. I did appreciate the waffle fries versus just regular french fries.....that was a positive. Even so, it was underwhelming enough that I doubt we’d ever repeat either quick service location when visiting the Magic Kingdom.

After dinner, we headed to Big Thunder Mountain for the first of the two Fastpasses that we booked: we were super excited to ride on this trip, as our favourite couples ride at MK had been closed for refurbishment when we were there for the Halloween parties in October.

We were glad we had a Fastpass: standby was almost an hour , and with our FP, we were on the ride in right around 10 minutes .

We spotted a Photopass photographer next to the ride as we exited, and since she didn’t have any line, we hopped in for a few pictures.

I guess maybe “hopped in” was more fitting of a term than I had originally thought!

Our second Fastpass was for Pirates of the Caribbean, so we headed there immediately after Big Thunder: another favourite, and one we both enjoy (though Steve remarked that he thinks PotC is even more fun when you’re dressed like one! ). After Pirates, we figured we had just enough time to get over to Fantasyland and catch a character or two at Storybook Circus before the attraction closed for the 7 pm party start.

Crowds were not too bad as we made our way through the park: pockets of congestion interspersed with pockets of nothing. Like lumpy oatmeal, only it was people and not rolled oats .

Arriving at the Storybook Circus line, I let Steve choose which two characters we would meet: Minnie and Daisy or Donald and Goofy.

He surveyed the lines and opted for the one that he felt was shorter; or, he knew I’d get a kick out of meeting the girls and just SAID that he though their line was shorter so I wouldn’t feel bad about his sacrifice . It’s hard to say. Regardless, we hopped into the Minnie/Daisy line and waited our turn to meet the characters amidst the dozens of little rug rats and their parents. We were literally the ONLY people in line without kids .

Photopass was with each character (yay! ) so we were able to get our pictures with each of the lovely ladies without having to whip out our clunky camera. Both characters were sweet and charming and fussed all over Steve, which made me so happy and brought a smile to his face, too .

Character interaction was really great. Minnie, especially, was quite entertaining as she showed us her puppies with the same kind of exuberance that I have for my little furbabies. I could totally relate to her excitement . My kittens were MY pride and joy, after all.

We had hoped to be able to visit Donald and Goofy immediately thereafter, but CM’s were literally just closing the doors as we re-emerged from the Minnie/Daisy exit and made our way to the front of the building . While we were a little bummed to miss out on the second pair of characters, we were excited to know that the clock had struck 7 and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party was now officially underway. Holiday tunes were streaming from the overhead speakers, and the late afternoon twilight had given way to full darkness: best of all, the castle was sparkling in the light of a million white “icicles”.

I think it was the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen at Disney .


Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is continued in the next post.

 

[Inhislove]

The cruise sound amazing. The Dolphin is actually named for the dolphin fish. I found a picture for you View attachment 245978. I'm not sure the statue looks much like that fish either though.

I've always wondered about this! Thank you for solving the mystery

 

[Inhislove]

GREAT trip report, Gina! Would love to meet up sometime when you are here

Best of luck in your new job. It sounds like a wonderful fit!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Love the costume idea! I was Cleopatra once a couple years ago, but it was more of the Elizabeth Taylor Cleopatra from the movie.

We also toyed with the idea of not doing MNSSHP because we're doing 2 nights at HHN, but I felt like we had to. I just love everything Halloween so much.

I'm just glad we have Universal AP's, so we aren't out of pocket for any daytime park tickets. Between HHN, MNSSHP and Volanco Bay....this is going to be a pricey (but hopefully awesome) trip! Good thing I got a job . I need an income source to help feed my Orlando habit .

I actually really love that black hole. Spent my teen years running amuck on those streets. I've also enjoyed my visits to your hood as well. Bit of a small town vibe in a city.
I will be through your fair city on Friday on my way to Mt Tremblant. I'll be sure to

You're originally from Downtown Toronto? No kidding?

Oh contraire mon ami.......think Vogue, think Calvin Klein underwear model. Editorial is where it's at.

I just spit out my Seagrams, thinking of Steve being an underwear model . Made my night.

He's more of a Hanes or Fruit of the Loom guy than Calvin Klein .

Love the costumes! Have a wonderful first day!

Thank you. And thank you! Glad to have the first day jitters all over with.

Love your costumes!! Yours will look lovely with your dark hair .
I am more than a little jealous of your Fall trip. Autumn is so fun in Orlando. My heart is with the Christmas season though and I am bound and determined to do a big trip in December 2018. We are planning an epic cross Canada adventure next summer with ds before he starts high school (dd20 will have to work though). So December 2018 will be the next trip to Disney. I doubt we will do Universal in 2018. We've been passholders for the last year and we've done two week long onsite Universal vacations. We are going to cap off the awesome year with three days at Universal over Labour Day weekend. So Disney will be next!

Best of luck at work today! I'm looking forward to hearing how it went.

We aren't planning on renewing our Uni AP's this year either. We'll take a break and purchase SW AP's if they offer them again on Black Friday. If the SW AP's aren't offered at a deep discount, I won't rule out just getting Disney tickets from UT for spring: I wouldn't mind seeing Pandora at AK for sure, and I'd do the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival again in a heart beat.

I will have to bring my hair straightener in October but I'm not making any promises that I'll be able to get my hair as sleek as it should be for Cleopatra LOL. Fingers crossed for low humidity levels!!

Great costume choices!

Thank you!! I am so anxious to know if they will fit!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Have a good first day with the job

Thanks Joanna! I made it through . It was a long day, but I learned a lot .

GREAT trip report, Gina! Would love to meet up sometime when you are here

Best of luck in your new job. It sounds like a wonderful fit!

Thank you! And absolutely, I'd love to meet up! Whatcha doin' in October?

 

[Raeven]

We were literally the ONLY people in line without kids .

Haha I think we were too when we were in line for this.

I'm just glad we have Universal AP's, so we aren't out of pocket for any daytime park tickets. Between HHN, MNSSHP and Volanco Bay....this is going to be a pricey (but hopefully awesome) trip! Good thing I got a job . I need an income source to help feed my Orlando habit .

Same here. I think we'll keep renewing our USO passes, not sure about Disney passes yet. We added on all those things too and it is definitely pricey, but I hope it'll be awesome too. Now you can add even more things to your next trip.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Enjoyed your update. The counter service food can be a bit blah! We normally go to CHH. Outside is a stall that sells baked potatoes and they can be a good snack.

The castle does look beautiful, we have a photo book from a previous holiday with a picture like that's on the front. I love Christmas in Florida.

Glad to hear you got through your first day. I'm sure you'll soon be in the swing of things

 

[JenLanDisney]

"Like lumpy oatmeal, only it was people and not rolled oats"

This is the most wonderful description I have ever read in a trip report!!

Glad to hear your first day at the new job was good. Did your brain feel full?

 

[Lynne G]

Yay! Party night. It was a great evening, even though we were tired, and son was not feeling well. The fireworks and parade were fun, and we were starved too, ate at the Poly's food court, it was okay food too, but nothing to write home about. In MK, we tend to go to Columbia House, as son likes the fish or tuna fish sandwich, and yes, daughter is a chicken nugget fan. Picky at times, but likes Disney nuggets enough to eat them. I like the fried shrimp there. We got a huge ice cream sandwich to enjoy during the party. The hot chocolate was decent, though some cups were better than others. No one enjoyed the cookies. We're not sugar cookie fans.

Awesome pictures!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Haha I think we were too when we were in line for this.

Same here. I think we'll keep renewing our USO passes, not sure about Disney passes yet. We added on all those things too and it is definitely pricey, but I hope it'll be awesome too. Now you can add even more things to your next trip.

Our next trip (after October) is what Steve would like be our vow renewal. We celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary on May 1st, 2018, and my tender-hearted guy asked me quite a few months ago if I would be interested in renewing our vows at a pond-side ceremony at the Vistana. If that's the case, we hope to have friends and family along, so it definitely has the possibility of being a "big" trip (budget-wise). Nothing is officially planned out yet, but that's what we are tentatively contemplating.

Enjoyed your update. The counter service food can be a bit blah! We normally go to CHH. Outside is a stall that sells baked potatoes and they can be a good snack.

The castle does look beautiful, we have a photo book from a previous holiday with a picture like that's on the front. I love Christmas in Florida.

Glad to hear you got through your first day. I'm sure you'll soon be in the swing of things

We're not seafood lovers, so we've never given Columbia Harbor House a try. Steve will eat fish & chips, but I don't like anything that swims (or used to ). I wonder if they have many other non-fishy menu items? I will have to look up their menu.

"Like lumpy oatmeal, only it was people and not rolled oats"

This is the most wonderful description I have ever read in a trip report!!

Glad to hear your first day at the new job was good. Did your brain feel full?

That's what happens when I post an update when I'm tired. What's left of my brain just oozes out and I end up typing exactly what I'm thinking, without prettying it up for the report .

My brain felt unbelievably full by the time I left yesterday afternoon. Let's just say I have a lot of learning to do. And lots of individual quirks to learn, too. The staff is ALL women.....and boy, do some of them have STRONG personalities .

Yay! Party night. It was a great evening, even though we were tired, and son was not feeling well. The fireworks and parade were fun, and we were starved too, ate at the Poly's food court, it was okay food too, but nothing to write home about. In MK, we tend to go to Columbia House, as son likes the fish or tuna fish sandwich, and yes, daughter is a chicken nugget fan. Picky at times, but likes Disney nuggets enough to eat them. I like the fried shrimp there. We got a huge ice cream sandwich to enjoy during the party. The hot chocolate was decent, though some cups were better than others. No one enjoyed the cookies. We're not sugar cookie fans.

Awesome pictures!

CHH has chicken nuggets? Well, then I'd be fine there too! Maybe I'll have to earmark that location for our MNSSHP night. We'll have to eat somewhere that evening. Man cannot live on chocolate alone (though it would be fun to try ).

We ended up at the Plaza for ice cream too....more on that coming up! Like you, we are not fans of sugar cookies (or gingerbread) so we did less party snacking than what we thought we would. I ended up having a hot chocolate "accident" at one point in the night ... the CM's need to be extra sure that those lids are on tightly!!!

 

[dancin Disney style]

You're originally from Downtown Toronto? No kidding?

I was born in Toronto but spent my first few years living in a bunch of different areas including Trenton, Belleville, Kingston. My dad was a general contractor/Master carpenter and moved a lot for large jobs. He had a big part in the rebuild at Kingston Pen in the early 70's. At some point we ended up in Muskoka and stayed there until I was about 11-12 then moved to Toronto. We always went back and forth to TO because my grandparents lived there. One of my crazy childhood memories is of going to visit my grandparents in the middle winter and being able to wear running shoes instead of winter boots.

I just spit out my Seagrams, thinking of Steve being an underwear model . Made my night.

He's more of a Hanes or Fruit of the Loom guy than Calvin Klein .

There is just something about the name Fruit of the Loom that I find really funny.....maybe the similarity to the expression' fruit of my loins' and where the Fruit of the Looms go.

So it's true, you do learn something new everyday. Steve likes fruit.

 

[DontRushMe]

Never rode the Ferry to Magic Kingdom? That is the only way to arrive! It makes me tear every time! I even teared up just looking at your photots! Unfortunately we usually stay onsite if we are doing Disney and don't get to ride the ferry often. Have to say that is my Classic Ride.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Asking for a friend.....
Boxers or briefs?

 

[dalmatian7]

I dislike fish and CHH is one of my favorite QS stops in MK.... but for the life of me, I don't know what I got last time. I used to love Pecos Bills as a kid. It was the first place we ever saw or had nachos back in the late 80s. I know their menu has been changing a lot recently.

 

[Raeven]

Our next trip (after October) is what Steve would like be our vow renewal. We celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary on May 1st, 2018, and my tender-hearted guy asked me quite a few months ago if I would be interested in renewing our vows at a pond-side ceremony at the Vistana. If that's the case, we hope to have friends and family along, so it definitely has the possibility of being a "big" trip (budget-wise). Nothing is officially planned out yet, but that's what we are tentatively contemplating.

Aw that's so sweet! And sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[bankr63]

I was born in Toronto but spent my first few years living in a bunch of different areas including Trenton, Belleville, Kingston.

Familiar story - East York General Hospital - arriving class of '63.

Also move around a lot when young - Edmonton, Montreal (DDO), London (dad also worked in Stamford CT, but we stayed in London), then Ottawa by grade 4 where we finally put down some roots. The only immediate family I have left in Toronto is oldest sis who migrated back there after living in Vancouver for a while (despite the fact that she was born in Montreal).

 

[bankr63]

Asking for a friend.....
Boxers or briefs?

I'm betting commando...

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Asking for a friend.....
Boxers or briefs?

Yes like we all believe that............

 

[dancin Disney style]

Familiar story - East York General Hospital - arriving class of '63.

Also move around a lot when young - Edmonton, Montreal (DDO), London (dad also worked in Stamford CT, but we stayed in London), then Ottawa by grade 4 where we finally put down some roots. The only immediate family I have left in Toronto is oldest sis who migrated back there after living in Vancouver for a while (despite the fact that she was born in Montreal).

You are a Torontonian!!!!!! Mon frère