The Gang's Back Together Again- A December 2021 Trip Report

[Tink0812]

Okay friends, we left off with my mom, my dad, DD, and I arriving to our room at Saratoga Springs. Ryne, Kyle, and Kimberlyn flew home on this day. After we unpacked and threw our evening clothes in the dryer, we rested for about 45 minutes before it was time to get ready for our exciting night. We had tickets for the 5:30pm show of Cirque de Soleil, Drawn to Life. We left our room at about 4:30pm and walked over. It was a pretty decent walk to get all the way to the other side of Disney Springs but we made it. The Drawn to Life store was open so we browsed and bought a few things. I got a t-shirt for myself and one for DD. DD also wanted a pencil squishy toy so of course we got that too. My mom got a couple of things as well. They let us into the building around 5 although the house wasn't quite ready, so we had to wait a few more minutes to be seated.


I wish DD would not have had her squishy toy up by her face for this photo, but I still like it. While we were waiting one of the staff members (Ryan) came up and started talking to DD. They talked about how art is one of her favorite subjects and how much she loves to draw and use her imagination. Once we made it to our seats, Ryan found us and asked if DD would like to go up on stage and participate in the show. Of course, she was excited and agreed. She is a dancer and loves being on stage. My dad went to get us all drinks. My mom and I had wine in souvenir glasses and my dad had a beer in a souvenir glass. DD had Sprite. Some of the performers were out on stage entertaining us while we waited for the show to begin.



A few minutes before the show started, Ryan came and grabbed DD. He had found three other kids that were also going up on stage. He took the kiddos on stage where they were each asked to draw something. DD was very distracted by the performers doing things all around her but in the end she did great.



When the children were done drawing, they projected their drawings up on the screen for the whole audience to see. Here is DD's (it's a house):

She got to keep her drawing and they gave her a pencil that said "I drew on the Drawn to Life Stage".


Not long after the kids finished, the show started. They asked for no photos or videos during the show. I don't know that I would have taken any anyways as the show was so entertaining and my eyes were constantly on the move trying to soak everything in. It was a great show! We all really enjoyed it. The storyline, the acts, the performers, they were all phenomenal.

After the show was over, we walked to our dinner reservation which was at Terralina Crafted Italian. This was a first for us. My dad had the Artisan Pepperoni Pizza with capicola added. My mom had the house made lasagna. DD had the kid's macaroni and cheese. I had the spaghetti pomodoro with meatballs. After that we were almost too stuffed to walk but we walked back to our room at Saratoga and called it a night. A great Disney night.

 

[snikki]

How exciting for your daughter to get to go on stage. I’m really enjoying your report!

 

[Tigger's ally]

Two things.

First, when the OP (my daughter)said her daughter got to go down the slide 2 more times after we got the room ready text, I must admit I let my lil grandtinker sneak in an extra trip down that slide!
So sue me!

Secondly, I can't agree more on a perfect day. Because we go so often and usually have always been parkers, we don't tend to usually do an off park day. But, as grandparents that sometimes go by ourselves, we have been doing them more and more. Spending breakfast at Olivia's with my whole family, then spending a couple hours at the hole in the wall before being blessed with my three ladies sitting with me for a spell, then to have the Cirque and late dinner ?????? Heaven!
I will say that might have been my best disney day ever!!!!!

And after all my trips, that is saying something.

Drawn to life is sooo good!

 

[Tink0812]

That brings us to Wednesday December 8th. This was another one of those early mornings. Prior to this trip we were really hoping that BBB would be back. DD had been able to do it a couple of years ago before COVID and she really enjoyed it, so we were hoping to do it again on this trip. About the time we realized that BBB would not be back in time for our trip, I saw a post in a Facebook group that I am a part of called Ear for Each Other. It was a group that was started when Disney closed for COVID. All of the laid off cast members that started side gigs and small businesses could come to this page and display their products. It was on this page that I found Once Upon a Transformation. It was started by a Fairy Godmother in training from BBB. She provided the same services (plus a little more) at your resort. I was lucky enough to score a time for my daughter on this morning. DD knew she was having a princess makeover this morning, but I don't think she quite grasped how the whole experience would go.

Claire arrived to our villa at Saratoga Springs at 7am. She started off by calling DD a princess and complimenting her dress, so DD was sold right away. Then she got to work doing her nails, makeup, and hair. She let DD pick the nail polish color, eye shadow colors, and hair style. Claire was so kind and fun to work with. She kept DD distracted with questions and stories while she completed her masterpiece. DD was gifted with a necklace, bow, and beautiful tiara. It was so much fun and a great way to start off our day. I actually think I prefer this experience to BBB. It was so much more relaxing and personalized.





The princess makeover was complete just after 7:30 which was perfect timing for our planned departure for DHS. Rope drop was 9am so we were allowed in the park at 8:30am. The bus dropped us off right around 8am and they started letting people in as we walked up.


On this day, we had decided to rope drop Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad. We weren't able to do it on our previous DHS day and it is one of DD's favorites. Thank goodness we did it at rope drop though because it broke down not soon after. After we got off of the ride, we stopped by a little stand to get some "breakfast". My mom and dad shared a Mickey pretzel while DD and I got churros.

Next, we went to Toy Story Mania. On our way there we stopped by Joffrey's for some yummy coffee. TSM is another favorite of DD's that she requested to do again. This time she wanted to ride with pawpaw so she could try to beat him. She reported that she did beat him; however, I cannot verify the truth in that.


We had planned for DD to ride Alien Swirling Saucers after Toy Story Mania, but she wasn't interested. It was nearing time for the first showing of the Frozen Ever After show, so we decided to head that way. My dad wasn't really interested in this one, so he went over to Baseline Tap House to enjoy a beer. DD has no problem just sitting down wherever she has to wait. The show was set to start at 10:30am but they let us in the doors at 10am. They filled the entire theatre up.


DD and I have seen this show before, albeit 2 years ago pre-COVID and not the Christmas version. We still enjoyed it just as much, if not more, than the first time we saw it. My mom enjoyed it too!

After Frozen Ever After, we went to find my dad and the plans were to do Muppet Vision 3D, but DD declared that she was not interested in watching that show. I guess we have reached the age where she has developed opinions about everything. There weren't really any other things that we had our minds set on doing at DHS, so we decided to head on out of the park, stopping at a few shops on the way out. As we were getting ready to leave, we ran into Santa's cavalcade.

 

[snikki]

I've done BBB a few times for my DD when she was younger and I remember the chaos of it all. It's fun but trying to get there on time and we did times before RD. It can be nerve wracking. I'm sure it was much more relaxed doing it in your room. She looks amazing!

 

[Tink0812]

We left off with us leaving Hollywood Studios on Wednesday December 8th feeling as though we had accomplished everything that we had wanted to accomplish in that park on this trip. Now we were off in search of lunch. We had been unable to secure the dining reservation that we had wanted for lunch on this day, Sci-Fi and had just planned on doing quick service at Hollywood Studios. Earlier on in the day we had decided that none of the quick service options in DHS really sounded good. My dad brought up the possibility of returning to Disney Springs to have Polite Pig for lunch. My parents had eaten here a few times before, but this would be a first for me. Since we were at DHS, we decided to take the Skyliner to Riviera and hop on a Disney Springs bus there. We love the Skyliner, and we stayed at the Riviera on our last trip and kind of wanted to see it decorated for Christmas again.

We got on the Skyliner okay; however, when we arrived at the transfer station at CBR, we found out that the Epcot and Riviera lines were down. They did not have an estimate of when they would return so we walked to the nearest bus stop. Thank goodness they had one right next to the Skyliner station. We were starving by the time we arrived at Polite Pig, so we were happy to see that it wasn't too busy. My mom had the Southern Pig sandwich. DD had the chicken strips (of course). My dad and I both had the brisket. I was impressed! I loved it and will definitely return.

After we finished our meal, my mom wanted to go to the Vera Bradley store. My dad went with her while DD and I went to go get a nice cold beverage before heading back to SSR. On our way to get our drinks, we had to stop and take her picture with this statue. I believe her exact words were "Mama, take my picture with this princess because I'm a princess now".


We stopped at Dockside Margaritas for our cold beverages. DD had a virgin strawberry daiquiri, and I had a rum runner.

Once back at SSR, we laid down for a little bit. It wasn't too long before my parents returned and decided to rest as well. About an hour and a half later, we were all up and getting ready to head out to Epcot for the evening. Once we arrived at Epcot, we immediately noticed the crowds were much more tolerable than they were on Sunday evening. Of course, DD had to snap a few photos.



Since we were right there, we hopped on Spaceship Earth. The wait was posted at 5 minutes, but we only waited 2. After Spaceship Earth, we went over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends. DD just adores this ride. Then we browsed the fish tanks for a while before heading to Soarin'. Since DD had loved it so much earlier in the week, we just had to do it again. This time we got to sit in the top row which was a first for all of us. It is so much better not having people's feet dangling over you.

From Soarin', we headed to Norway. Our intentions were to stop at the Figment ride because I hadn't done it since I was very young and DD had yet to experience it; however, we had been watching the wait times for the Frozen ride all day, and it was finally down to 70 minutes (the shortest we saw it for our whole trip). We made bathroom stops along the way and geared DD up for the wait. My dad chose to sit this one out. Instead, he had his mind set on picking up a Christmas present for my mom in the Norway store (she loves their perfume) and grabbing a beer to enjoy while he waited on us. About 45 minutes into the wait, the ride broke down. They initially told us it would be back up and running soon; however, 10 minutes later they said it was going to be down for the remainder of the night and would be evacuating the building. They let us out some back way and we eventually met up with my dad. DD was sad that she wouldn't get to ride that ride; however, she was kind of tired of waiting at that point, so she didn't protest too much.

From Norway, we went on to Germany for some caramel. We got a bag of caramel popcorn (my favorite) to take back to the room. DD got a caramel square. My dad and I both had turtles and I can't remember what my mom had. We found a bench to sit down and enjoy our treats on. Well, what we could eat of them. They are super delicious but also super sweet so we each ate about half and took the rest back to our resort with us. The sweets made us thirsty, so we set off to continue our journey around the World Showcase in hopes of finding a drink along the way; however, the crowds were picking up, partially due to the candlelight processional and partially due to the impending Harmonious show. When we saw the lines at some of the booths, we decided to just forget about it, and we made our exit via the International Gateway. We took the Skyliner back to Hollywood Studios to catch our bus back to Saratoga Springs. Like I said earlier, we enjoy the Skyliner, and it was probably faster than walking all the way to the front of Epcot and taking a bus from Epcot back to Saratoga Springs. Here is DD, still perfecting her art of sleeping anywhere:


We had originally planned to park hop again after Epcot as it was a late night for deluxe resort guests at Magic Kingdom; however, DD was clearly tired, and we had an entire day planned at MK the following day, so we decided to just call it a night. We had some packing to do too as we had a surprise for DD.

 

[Tigger's ally]

She is a princess!

 

[Tink0812]

Welcome back! Thursday December 9th was another early morning. We got up, packed our stuff and my mom and I headed to the bus stop. My dad stayed in our room with our luggage to await bell services. He planned to catch the next bus and meet us at MK. By this point, DD knew we were changing resorts again but still hadn't figured out the surprise. Bell services was super quick, and my dad was able to meet us at the bus stop.

Magic Kingdom opened at 9am on this day, so as resort guests we got in at 8:30am. The bus picked us up at Saratoga Springs around 7:30am. Once we arrived to MK, my dad walked over to our next resort. Well, you can probably guess which resort it was by now. He just wanted to let them know we were there. While he was waiting in line at the counter, he got the room ready text. Of course, he went up to check it out. Meanwhile, us girls made it through the gates of MK at 8:10 and they were herding people in two different areas. You could either line up to the right of the castle to enter Fantasyland or you could line up on the bridge to Tomorrowland. We joined the large group at the Fantasyland entrance. We knew most of them were headed towards 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. DD rode it twice on our previous trip and declared that she wasn't a fan so we would not be joining that crowd. While we were waiting, we received the text from my dad with the view from our new balcony.

He let us know that he was leaving CTR now and headed over to MK. We were let into Fantasyland right at 8:30am. While the majority of the crowd went to 7 Dwarfs mine train, we walked on to Peter Pan's Flight. There was a decent amount of people that joined us, but we were still on within ten minutes. When we got off of that ride, there was still no sign of my dad, so we jumped on It's a Small World. There was zero line for that. We walked right on. My dad met up with us after we got off of that ride. Next up was Prince Charming's Regal Carousel. I rode it with DD. My dad watched and my mom hit up a couple of shops.


By this time our tummies were growling as we hadn't made time for breakfast. While we had been waiting to get into Fantasyland earlier in the morning, I spotted the Chesire Cat Cafe. It reminded me that I really wanted to try the cat tails so that is what I had in mind for breakfast. We walked back over there. My parents shared a cat tail, and my mom had a cold brew coffee. DD and I each had our own cat tail and we shared one of the specialty slushies they had for the 50th anniversary. All were delicious!

After breakfast, we rode the Winnie the Pooh Ride then walked over to do Under the Sea with the Little Mermaid. My dad chose to sit out the Little Mermaid ride and, instead, went to get himself a La Fou's Brew from Gaston's. Us girls walked right on the Little Mermaid ride. As per usual, we enjoyed it. Then we walked over to Dumbo. My mom and dad sat out for Dumbo and my daughter, and I were on within 2 minutes. Once we were done with Dumbo, DD decided that she was pretty much done with Fantasyland. Thankfully I dodged the teacups on this trip. We tried to talk her into doing the Indy Speedway because she loved it on our last trip, but she was totally against it on this trip for some reason. Instead, she really wanted to do Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. The park had opened to non-resort guests by this time and the crowds were really picking up. The wait for Buzz was 45 minutes but we got in line anyways. We really only waited about 30 minutes.

The whole time that we were in line for Buzz, DD could not stop talking about riding the PeopleMover. So, naturally that is where we went next. There was a 25-minute wait posted but we were on in about 15. We enjoyed getting to see the new Tron ride up close. After the PeopleMover, we decided to move on over to Adventureland. DD wanted to ride the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. The wait was only 15 minutes which was the shortest we had seen it all week. That posted wait time was accurate. While DD and I were doing that, my mom and dad headed over to ride my mom's favorite ride, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. As we were walking over to Adventureland, the posted wait for BTMRR was 60 minutes. We had agreed to each do our respective rides and then meet at Pecos Bills. By the time my parents made it to BTMRR, the wait had gone up to 90 minutes. They decided against it and instead, went to Pecos Bills to find a table and put in a mobile order. We didn't want a huge lunch as we had a nice dinner planned but our cat tails didn't keep us full too long. My mom got an order of chicken nachos. My dad and I both got beef nachos. DD had, you guessed it, chicken strips.

By this time, the wait for Jungle Cruise was 90 minutes and Pirates of the Caribbean was 70 minutes, so we decided to skip them. Country Bear Jamboree had posted 5 minutes until their next show, so we decided to do that. No matter how many times we watch that show, we still love it! DD was not interested in riding Splash Mountain again. The wait for Haunted Mansion was up to 90 minutes. Even though my mom loves this ride, even she was not willing to wait that long for it. Happy with everything that we were able to accomplish, we decided it was time to head on out of the park. We needed to stop by the Emporium along the way. Of course, we still had some gift card money to burn so several purchases were made.

DD was itching to know which resort we were staying at. We hadn't shown her the balcony picture that my dad sent just so we could drag the surprise out a little longer. Since we hadn't ridden the monorail yet on this trip, we decided to take the monorail around the resort loop before getting off at the Contemporary. Of course, from MK, the Contemporary was the first stop. We stayed on the first time, but DD was able to see the Incredibles decor. She was like "mama, some time we need to stay here". My was she surprised when we told her to get off the monorail once we made it back to the Contemporary. See the next post for pictures and a room review for the Contemporary!

 

[Tink0812]

As some of you know, one of my bucket list items is to stay at each and every WDW resort at least once. When my dad called me one day to ask if I would mind another resort change for our last night if that resort was the Contemporary, I didn't hesitate to agree. He had been able to find a great deal on a theme park view room for our last night of the trip. I will admit, I was a little skeptical of the Incredibles theming but, honestly, once we got there, I loved it. It was super subtle and did seem to fit in with the resort better than I thought it would.

We were on the 7th floor in a theme park view room at the very end of the resort nearest to Magic Kingdom. Here is the view from our balcony again for those who need a reminder! The balcony itself had two chairs and a little table.


Here are the bathroom pics:





We really enjoyed having two sinks and the having the large tub. It was also helpful to have the toilet in its own separate closet. The wall to the tub is kind of high so just be cautious entering/exiting.

This was the closet that could be found right when walking in the door to the room. When you open the doors, the lights automatically come on inside which was kind of cool. There were plenty of hangers in here. There is a small dresser with a couple of drawers in this closet along with an iron and a steamer.


Next to the closet area....

The tall area stored the extra pillows and blankets as well as the safe. The cabinet under the coffee maker has the mini fridge.

Here is the sleeping area. We loved that the beds were high enough to store our luggage underneath. They really need to start doing this in all of the WDW resorts.

There were also some really cute lights around the beds too. And we liked having areas on both sides of the beds to lay our devices on and plug in all of the chargers.

The TV is directly across the room from the beds. There is a sofa under the TV; however, I did not get a picture of the sofa before my dad and DD had it made out into the daybed. DD was excited to have her own little bed again.

When the bed is made out, you can see a portion of the sofa remains intact for use with the table. On the other end, you can see there is a stool that pulls out of another little table area.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Was trying to think of anything that they missed in the re-do and couldn't really think of anything. I too was leary of the room, but it really was quite seamless and the Incredibles theming was almost non existent. I liked the little platform on my side of the bed for my phone, the bed lights were neat and the bathroom was great. And , the View.....it was great!

 

[Tink0812]

Hello friends! I can't believe it's almost Christmas! We left off with my mom, dad, and I surprising DD with our room at the Contemporary with the most perfect view of Magic Kingdom. My dad called down to bell services to see if our luggage had made the trip over from Saratoga Springs yet. Luckily, it had. To move from SSR to CTR we basically just shoved everything in our suitcases, there really was no rhyme or reason to it but since we were flying home the following morning, my mom and I really wanted to get everything organized a little better. While we were doing that, my dad decided to take DD swimming. A new resort means a new pool to check out. Of course, DD loved this one too!



She really enjoyed the splash pad and the big slide. After my mom and I got the luggage organized, we browsed the couple of stores located in the Contemporary. At 4:30pm I went down to the pool to let DD and my dad know that it was time to get out and get ready for dinner. Dinner on this evening was at 5:40pm at Steakhouse 71. This was a new one for us and we really enjoyed the fact that it was within our resort, and we didn't have to go anywhere.

My dad was ready first, so he went to go enjoy a drink at the lounge within Steakhouse 71 while us girls got ready. We met him down there and checked in. DD loved the little chairs in the lobby although she was quite tired and used them as a bed instead.

Thankfully we only had to wait 5 minutes for our table, or I think she would have been asleep. Once we were seated at our table, it took our waiter a few minutes to arrive. We noticed that there seemed to be very few wait staff in the restaurant and the manager (dressed in his suit) was having to assist quite a few of them, ours included. We decided that either everyone was new, or this was not their primary serving location. Our waiter certainly did not know the menu. My dad had carried his beer over from the bar and my mom and I both ordered drinks. They were good, but very strong. DD got the kids specialty drink and substituted Sprite for the lemonade.

When booking this restaurant for dinner, we were a little skeptical of the kid's menu. As you all know by now, DD is quite the picky eater. A couple months prior to the trip though, she developed a love for Buffalo Wild Wings boneless BBQ wings so we thought she might enjoy the PB & J wings on the kids' menu at Steakhouse 71. Grape jelly is used as a base when creating homemade BBQ sauce sometimes so we imagined that these wings would be very similar to BBQ wings. The only problem was that the menu didn't clarify if the wings were bone-in or boneless. We assumed boneless because they were on the kid's menu and surely people wouldn't want their kids to have wings with little bones in them. Well, we assumed wrong. Our waiter didn't know when we asked him, but he clarified with the manager who said they were bone-in. My dad and I wished we would have an ordered an appetizer of them just to see what they looked and tasted like though. Thankfully DD agreed to try the fish. She likes fish sticks, but I don't eat seafood, so she had never had just a piece of baked fish before. She ate about half of it. She ordered green beans as one of her sides and didn't care for them. I don't like green beans, but my mom tried them and agreed that they weren't very good. Her other side though, was an ice cream sundae and she devoured that.


My mom had an appetizer of French Onion Soup along with 8-oz beef tenderloin medallions with Au Gratin Potatoes and the Wild Mushroom Sauce. My dad had the New York Strip with the Signature Steakhouse 71 sauce, and Au Gratin Potatoes. I had the New York Strip as well with the wild mushroom sauce and asparagus. That mushroom sauce was delicious. I normally don't like sauces with my steak, I just like a well-seasoned steak. This steak was seasoned, and the sauce was great. I would have it again in a heartbeat.

After dinner, we headed back up to the room to relax a little before the fireworks. We were excited to watch them from the balcony without having to deal with the crowds. Enchantment was set to go off at 8pm. We turned our TV to the channel to hear the music/narration for Enchantment; however, we could also hear it from the park. I think we would have been able to do without the TV. The view was perfect. I took a few pictures but tried to just watch.


After Enchantment was over, DD was ready for bed. My mom retreated to the room as well. My dad and I hung out on the balcony for a while. It was a beautiful night and we got to watch some of the Electrical Water Pageant. We eventually decided to go to bed too. We set an alarm for 10:55pm so we could go back out to the balcony to watch the Christmas fireworks. This night was a Christmas party night, and the fireworks were set to go off at 11pm. When the alarm went off, my dad and I were the only ones to drag ourselves out of bed to watch them. DD and my mom both said they weren't interested in watching them. The Christmas fireworks were also very good, and we could hear the music loud and clear from our balcony without the TV turned to the station. They didn't do any of the perimeter fireworks that usually accompany the Christmas fireworks which was a little disappointing, but we enjoyed them anyways. What a perfect end to another great trip!

 

[Tink0812]

We woke up on Friday December 10th to the most beautiful view of Cinderella's castle.

Once we were up and dressed, we finished packing and headed off to our 8:15 breakfast reservation. We had previously tried to get a breakfast reservation for Chef Mickey's on this morning but were unsuccessful. This was the first trip that we really struggled to get dining reservations. When we realized that Chef Mickey's wasn't going to happen, we made an ADR at Steakhouse 71 for breakfast. On our travel days we like to have a good breakfast. My mom and dad both had the American. Dad ordered a fruit plate for the table. I had Walt's Prime Rib Hash (it was so yummy). DD had Mickey waffles.

After breakfast, we ran back to the room, grabbed our luggage, and went to the DME stop. DME was set to pick us up at 9:15am for our 12:35 pm flight home. We were on the bus right on time and the first stop on his route. After the Contemporary, the bus went on to pick people up at Wilderness Lodge, the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian, and Animal Kingdom Lodge. It amazed me at how many people the bus driver turned away because they were trying to get on the bus when it wasn't their scheduled time. The bus was scheduled to be completely full so he couldn't take any extras.


I was happy to get a real Magical Express trip on our final ride on DME. We made it to MCO around 10:45am and were able to get our boarding passes and get our bags checked with minimal issues. Well, the only real issue was the large crowd at the Southwest counter and staff members that were obviously over it. Then it was on to security. We made it through security in 10 minutes which I think is a record for me. MCO security is usually atrocious, and I hate it, but this time wasn't so bad. Once we were through security and found our gate, I went to Starbucks to get drinks for my mom, DD, and I while my dad got a sweet tea from McDonald's. We passed the time by helping DD get caught up on her homework. We had been really bad at working on it throughout the week. Our flight left on time, and we had no issues throughout the flight or landing in Indy. Once off the plane in Indy we found our luggage then took the shuttle back to FastPark to get our vehicle.

The weather in Indiana/Illinois was cold (although not as cold as it usually is in December) and rainy. We found ourselves immediately wanting to head back to Florida. The drive home was uneventful. We did stop at a McDonald's for a late lunch/early dinner and battled some hard rain. Thankfully we made it home around 6pm because around 8pm that night, our area began a long night with severe storms and tornados.

What a great trip, full of so many wonderful memories! Thank you all for joining me as I relived all of the fun!

 

[Tigger's ally]

Chiming in with my top 5 for this trip!

Top 5 meals
1. Steakhouse 71 Dinner
2. Raglan Road table at the dance podium
3. Olivia's breakfast
4. 50's
5. Steakhouse 71 breakfast

Top 5 moments
1. Drawn to Life- Exceptional with an extra special touch!
2. Fireworks from the back porch (TPV)
3. All 7 of us in a one boat on Splash
4. Raglan dance podium
5. Watching the grandtinker ride "big kids" rides like Soarin, ToT and Splash.

Was really a great trip. Because we all have gone so often, we set up our days for early mornings, lazy afternoons and nice relaxed dinners. Went the same week last year and it wasn't busy at all. This year was really busy but we still had a great time! Will be back soon.

 

[CruellaNY]

Joining in! I'm part way through and enjoying so far First, what you do part time now I do full time for the last almost 6 years and I LOVE it! Different agency though but I hope you love it as much as I do! Second, we were down in Disney Dec. 3-7th, one night at ASMovies and then at BWI. I'm trying to remember if we were in the same park as you at all but all my trips blend together lol!

Our first onsite stay with our youngest boys was at OKW so it holds a special place in my heart although we haven't stayed again since, but I think it's a lovely and relaxing resort. Wilderness Lodge has my ❤!!

Ugh I'm not a fan of Harmonious although I do feel that where you view it from makes a huge difference, which stinks since you had a great view of Illuminations from just about anywhere. First I saw it from Spice Road Table on 10/2, we did the dining package, and the view stunk; it was like a side view. But in Nov. during our "work" conference lol I was one of 20 agents asked to take part in a special dinner that included a private viewing of Harmonious at the Italy Isola, and that view was probably the best spot you could have. Direct, head-on, it was so different than the first time I saw it! I liked it better but still don't think it fits Epcot well and didn't like it enough to watch in December.

I look forward to reading more!

 

[Tigger's ally]

Joining in! I'm part way through and enjoying so far First, what you do part time now I do full time for the last almost 6 years and I LOVE it! Different agency though but I hope you love it as much as I do! Second, we were down in Disney Dec. 3-7th, one night at ASMovies and then at BWI. I'm trying to remember if we were in the same park as you at all but all my trips blend together lol!

Our first onsite stay with our youngest boys was at OKW so it holds a special place in my heart although we haven't stayed again since, but I think it's a lovely and relaxing resort. Wilderness Lodge has my ❤!!

Ugh I'm not a fan of Harmonious although I do feel that where you view it from makes a huge difference, which stinks since you had a great view of Illuminations from just about anywhere. First I saw it from Spice Road Table on 10/2, we did the dining package, and the view stunk; it was like a side view. But in Nov. during our "work" conference lol I was one of 20 agents asked to take part in a special dinner that included a private viewing of Harmonious at the Italy Isola, and that view was probably the best spot you could have. Direct, head-on, it was so different than the first time I saw it! I liked it better but still don't think it fits Epcot well and didn't like it enough to watch in December.

I look forward to reading more!

We saw Harmonious from Mexico so it was pretty straight on view. Illuminations was always my fave too, but the story was probably the best part then fireworks. I think whoever came up with Harmonious is trying to tell a story very similar to Illuminations, it just isn't told with the same grace. I told the OP (my daughter) after we saw it that I do think it will grow on people with each viewing and if it lasts 10 years then we probably will hate to see it go when it goes. The fireworks and video are both really good (probably better than Illuminations, IMO) but it doesn't touch the heart.........yet. Hopefully it will!

 

[CruellaNY]

We saw Harmonious from Mexico so it was pretty straight on view. Illuminations was always my fave too, but the story was probably the best part then fireworks. I think whoever came up with Harmonious is trying to tell a story very similar to Illuminations, it just isn't told with the same grace. I told the OP (my daughter) after we saw it that I do think it will grow on people with each viewing and if it lasts 10 years then we probably will hate to see it go when it goes. The fireworks and video are both really good (probably better IMO) but it doesn't touch the heart.........yet. Hopefully it will!

You're probably right about it growing on people! ALl these shows usually do. It won't grow on me, I know that much lol. But it definitely had a different feel, a better feel, from Italy vs. Morocco.

 

[purpliequeen]

Thank you for the fantastic trip report. You all have madae me excited for our upcoming trip in less than two months. So glad to hear that you & your house was spared the crazy weather upon your return. Here in CO, we are all doing the snow dance. It's been a strange weather year for us as well. Hope you all had a fantastic holiday season. Happy New Year!

 

[Joy70]

Hi! Just found your trip report and loved it! I am also from central Illinois. We prefer to fly out of Indy too. It's much easier to get to and I prefer to avoid the traffic in St. Louis or Chicago. We are heading back in June to watch my daughters high school band march at MK. I am a little concerned with the crowds and genie +, but we have been multiple times so I am just getting myself in the mindset to go with the flow and enjoy just being at Disney and doing our most favorite things. If we do more than that it will just be a bonus! I am going to check out your FB group. Thanks again for a great trip report!

 

[Tink0812]

Hi! Just found your trip report and loved it! I am also from central Illinois. We prefer to fly out of Indy too. It's much easier to get to and I prefer to avoid the traffic in St. Louis or Chicago. We are heading back in June to watch my daughters high school band march at MK. I am a little concerned with the crowds and genie +, but we have been multiple times so I am just getting myself in the mindset to go with the flow and enjoy just being at Disney and doing our most favorite things. If we do more than that it will just be a bonus! I am going to check out your FB group. Thanks again for a great trip report!

That is so awesome that your daughter gets to march at MK! What wonderful memories you will have.

That is the perfect mindset to have for a June Disney trip! Have so much fun!