"You'd Never Let the Darkness Get the Best of You. I'm Sure of That," a Christmas 2023 Disney Trip Report from an Old Friend. - UPDATE April 26, 2024

[MeghanEmily]

I was always a little kid until about 10th grade… but I was quick and willing to try anything.

This sounds right!

Wow! Beautiful shot.

Thanks! I didn't take as many photos as usual, or as many I was happy with, but a few ended up being really nice

Interesting. Usually people say it’s either one particular park… or it’s between MK and another park.

Right? I know, strange. There's just something about these two parks for me, and they're both so different than I don't know how I'd pick a favourite! I think part of it is probably that between my motion sickness and just my personal preference, I tend to go for the more chill (...chiller?) rides, and I like parks that give me lots of opportunity to wander and take in the sights? I love the theming and the animal attractions at AK. I love all the different locations and innovation represented at EPCOT, while still giving a taste of whimsy and some characters. And maybe part of it is that both parks, though different, are very travel-focused? It's like you're on an adventure seeing different parts of the world, even if it's all manufactured? I haven't really given it much thought before, but that sounds kinda right.

What would you have done?

And yes it is weird that Figment is so close.

I'm thinking I might have gone for a face more like....








...one of these?

 

[pkondz]

Thanks! I didn't take as many photos as usual, or as many I was happy with, but a few ended up being really nice

A few is all you need.

I like parks that give me lots of opportunity to wander and take in the sights?

That makes total sense. For me… my first pick is for nostalgia.

And maybe part of it is that both parks, though different, are very travel-focused?

Yes!!

I'm thinking I might have gone for a face more like....

Any of those!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Dec. 21 — Part 3

When I last left off...*scrolls up*...we were about to be joined on our first park day at EPCOT by the rest of our family. Mom S, step-sister G, and niece B were on their way to find us. They may have done some things on their own after arriving in the park, not 100% sure, but I have a feeling they came straight to us as soon as they breezed into the park. Everyone was feeling excited to see each other. B had never park-toured with her auntie and uncle before, and was just bouncing to be able to tell us about some of her adventures thus far.

I'll pause here for a side note about B: Some of you may remember from my previous reports that I used to occasionally share photos of sweet B when she was a wee smol bean.





The funny thing about getting away from the DIS for a few years is that wee smol beans grow up! At least a bit! B turned 6 a couple of months before our trip and is probably now nearly unrecognizable to my DIS friends! Now she's the perfect age to enjoy a Disney trip, and it was so fun to be able to start sharing some of our Disney favourites with her. She loves the parks, and has yet to find a ride that she deems too fast. (She hasn't done Guardians or RnRC yet, so we'll see if that holds as she gets older.) I've suggested to S that their next trip should include a day or two at Universal, and S says I'll need to come and bring N along so B will have a ride buddy to take her on all the coasters that S can't handle anymore. And B's mom, G, also ended up being a pretty solid ride buddy, so B will have some options.

When the crew arrived, we caught up on our travel stories, and started walking toward our first attraction. On the way, we noticed a photopass photographer and decided to stop. I wanted to make sure we came away from this trip with a least a couple of photos where everyone was in the picture.





Our photopass photographer was animated, and they got us to try a couple of cute family poses. B was suffering from Direct Sunshine Squint Syndrome, but I still think these are cute. First day family fun!

I'm pretty sure at this point B also requested a snack, and I vaguely remember everyone getting frozen treats and me splitting a Mickey bar with N. My memory is triggered solely because I think that's the blurry semblance of a wrapper in the bottom of my photo of the Christmas tree...





Our first attraction as a party of 5 was Frozen Ever After, and since N and I weren't yet old news, we were B's requested ride buddies.



These movie-themed dark rides are still fun for me as a grown-up regardless, but extra fun when you can ride them with a kiddo. B's excitement, and her taunting about the scary drop and my wet tush, made it all the more amusing for us.

Another note: I was very impressed the two days we all travelled together at how well B held up and what a good touring buddy she was. The grown-ups set her up for success, making sure she was fed and reasonably well-rested, with lots of breaks/downtime for swimming at their resort and eating dinner in, etc. But she really managed to stay positive and relatively well-regulated. I don't remember any meltdowns on those two days, and even standard six-year-old whining was kept fairly to a minimum. She was in her element at WDW, and the moment she got home two days later she was already asking to go back. And, I mean, same, girl. Same.

Next, we took a walk over toward The Seas. B and G rode Nemo with a....oh. When I used to write these reports, it was a "FP." Weird. Times change, I guess. Maybe I can abbreviate Genie+ (lightning lane) to GP? So it almost feels the same? I'm gonna do it! ....They rode with their GP....nah. Sounds like I'm talking about their family doctor. Okay. LL it is. ANYWAY. They went on the ride. S hung back with me and N to sit in the sun and chat.



The park was feeling busy enough, but not crazy. The holiday crowds were starting to grow, but we'd certainly feel it more within a couple of days. While we were waiting, a cast member with a dolphin skull (model? likely? real? maybe?) came over to chat with us for a bit. I asked some questions about the info she was sharing. (I remember none of it, but she was nice. ) Then she went on her way to entertain others with fishy facts, and we waited for the girls to return. After a while, we realized that sending the 6 year old into the giant aquarium with her mother for the first time shortly before a lunch reservation might not have been the smartest idea. Just when S was contemplating going in to try to track them down, they emerged, and we walked the short distance to The Land for our lunch at Garden Grill!

I didn't take any food pics there, but the meal was fine. I seem to remember the beef being especially good, but everything was yummy and perfectly satisfactory. I had been starting to feel a little icky by the time lunch rolled around, but getting some sustenance and some shade worked well to perk me up a bit. I did end up taking selfies with all of our character meets—shocker—so I'll drop them here for proof of our lunch.









B got a kick out of telling Chip that he was my favourite, but that he shouldn't tell Dale. ​

 

[MeghanEmily]

Dec. 21 — Part 4

After our lunch, the group split so everyone could do their own thing. I still wasn’t feeling 100%, so I didn’t feel like hitting any more rides right away. N had an ILL for Guardians (on a full stomach! He’s crazy!) and the rest of the crew….did….something. They used Genie+ most days, so they probably had a ride reservation to get to.

While N was on Guardians, I sought out a photopass opportunity I was looking forward to. I liked the new “Walt the Dreamer” statue at EPCOT and wanted this shot:



I was happy to get this taken, but didn’t love the bright-sunny/splotchy-shady lighting. I figured we could try again in the evening. When N returned from the ride, we decided to head out of the park for a break. While we were walking out…



…N recounted the magical adventure that was his ride on Guardians. He absolutely loved it. Even just now, as I’m writing this, I just asked him what the best ride in all the parks is and, after some deliberation, he said “Guardians.” (With the caveat, however, that his favourite nostalgic ride is still Haunted Mansion, but that Guardians is his favourite thrill.) He didn’t experience any motion sickness—not that he often does, but a few rides bother him a little now that he’s getting old—and he said the whole length of the ride was just wildly fun and joyful. I think a smile was plastered on his face the entire time. Don’t ask me what song he got. No notes.



While we took a break at the timeshare, I rested, took some meds, and debated returning to the parks for the evening. It was our first day, and I was feeling yucky and a little tired. But I really wanted to get back for our dinner reservation that evening—especially for N’s benefit as it was one of his priorities—and for what would be a new nighttime show for us. Eventually we made the decision to return, after stopping in to visit S, B and G for a bit on the other side of the timeshare and pick up a gift B had found for me earlier in their trip in the parks. (She’d picked out a little wearable giraffe backpack since she knows that giraffes are my favourite animal. It’s an impractically small bag, but cute, and very thoughtful.)

By the time we walked back into the park, Spaceship Earth was dressed in her evening best.



I got another attempt at my statue photos, and while I still didn’t love the harsh glow of the underlighting up my nose, it would have to do for this trip. (The lighting was flattering on Walt, of course, but he looks good in anything.)





I know that we rode Soarin’ Over California on this trip, but I can’t remember whether it was on this day or our second EPCOT day. I’ll save my thoughts on it for then in case it shows up in my photos or I remember. (Can’t be bothered to look ahead and check now.) That also may mean that I’ll forget to come back to it. Oh well.

We DID, however, return to the Land next. Of that I’m sure, because the next photos in my phone are from the holiday overlay of Living with the Land.







I love this ride, and I especially love it in the evening with the magical holiday lights.​

 

[MeghanEmily]

Dec. 21 — Part 5

After our ride, we wandered toward the World Showcase for a stroll toward the Japan pavilion. We had a new-to-us dinner reservation at Shiki Sai, and N and I were both anxious to try it. I like sushi, and had been interested in some of the gluten free offerings at this restaurant when I was doing my dining research. Plus I always just like when we get to have new experiences at Disney. N was especially excited to try Shiki Sai as he’s really interested in all things Japan: food, culture, language, anime/media, etc. He can be a little picky about certain food things sometimes, like spicy food, but I’m pretty sure if I told him something was a Japanese delicacy, he’d eat it no matter what it was and say it was pretty cool.

We were seated in good time and had an attentive server who didn’t hover but made sure we had what we needed. Of the two of us, I generally have more social anxiety, but N has his particular hang-ups. One thing that’s hard for him is not getting shy, uncomfortable, or indecisive ordering something new at a restaurant, or looking like he doesn’t know what he’s doing or what to order. Because I know this, and because I knew he was really invested in this restaurant experience, I asked our server for some recommendations for him from the menu. (And N appreciated this.) She made a few suggestions and gave a variety of options depending on his tastes and what he was feeling like eating. N ended up ordering Grilled Wagyu Gyoza (3 pc, Pan fried dumplings filled with smoky A5 Japanese wagyu beef,) and something else recommended by our server that I believe was quite possibly Kaisen Don (chef's choice fish served over rice):



He loved this meal and is already thinking about going back on a future trip to try other things. He thought the fish, and the food in general, was some of the best he’s had, but without feeling pretentious or unrelaxed due to the gastropub atmosphere.

I ordered the Japanese Potato Salad (with crispy bacon, smoked daikon and sweet red bean paste,) and went simple, as I often do, with a Snow Crab California Roll.



Both were delicious, and I was happy with my order. The potato salad with the sweet bean paste was really unique, but without being too adventurous for me. While simple, it’s a treat when I can have a California roll since they’re often made with [gluten-containing] imitation crab at a lot of our sushi places around home, and the real snow crab was delish. Eating something also had me feeling a bit better again, and gave me the confidence to get through our nighttime show plans. As a part of my mysterious medical symptoms leading up to the trip, I’d been having some difficulty with swallowing. Feeling like rice was stuck in my throat was a small price to pay to have tried this meal. Along with enjoying our food, I also thought the theming of the restaurant was really neat with the animated “window” scenes.



On our way out of the restaurant, I asked the hostess about their stamp card as we hadn’t been provided with one. She got one and stamped the winter season for us. I doubt we’ll ever get all four seasons stamped, especially since my school breaks don’t allow for travel in the autumn, and we rarely travel in the spring anymore. I don’t even know what the prize is for dining all four seasons, but it was a nice souvenir nonetheless.

After our dinner there was still lots of time before Luminous: The Symphony of Us. I’m gonna guess that it was a little over an hour away? (I could try to look it up and estimate, but I’m not going to.) I was starting to feel the fatigue of our first full touring day after a long and late travel day, so N and I decided to just find a place to park ourselves and wait for the show. We wandered for a bit, and noticed that the longer we wandered the more people were starting to claim front-row viewing. To be expected, I guess. We eventually found a secluded little place with a decent view of the lagoon tucked back along a wall that hadn’t started filling up yet. I’m trying to picture exactly where we were, and blanking. I want to say maybe it was tucked behind the Yorkshire County Fish Shop/Rose and Crown area before the International Gateway, but I can’t seem to remember whether a little wall-nook exists there or not. (You’d think I’d know the park inside and out with all the times we’ve visited, but apparently not.) And, ya know, no notes.

Wherever it was, it was a great spot for ground-sitting and back-again-wall-resting, and aside from the occasional butt-falling-asleep situation, we were quite comfortable there for the remainder of our wait.



I watched The Santa Clause 2 on my phone, and N scrolled social media and maybe worked on editing a video reel to upload to one of his artist social media pages.

Finally, Luminous began. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise, so I hadn’t watched any recordings and didn’t know what to expect.







And the verdict? We liked it!

I quiiite liked it. While it relied on a bit more recycled Disney music than I might typically like, I thought their choices of songs were good, and I really liked a lot of the new songs/soundtrack. I also didn’t realize that “You’ll Be In My Heart” would be in the soundtrack, and N and I felt as if this was a special little moment just for us when it came up. This was the first real night of our trip, in EPCOT together, and it was the song I walked down the aisle to years ago at our EPCOT wedding. And while I still hold on to the nostalgic feelings I have for past Disney nighttime shows, Illuminations included, overall I felt Luminous was a win in my book.

Feet dragging, eyelids drooping, we shuffled out of the park and across the parking lot. N drove us back to the timeshare, and it was time to turn in. We had a busy day planned for tomorrow, and it would be our last opportunity to tour with the full crew before S, B, and G flew back to be home for Christmas.

I suspect there were other rides we did this day, and likely lots of shopping, but since I have no notes, this is what you get! Tune in next time for another questionably-accurate, likely-incomplete day of trip reporting where I’ll detail (hah!) our visit to the Magic Kingdom!​

 

[jrmint427]

Maybe I can abbreviate Genie+ (lightning lane) to GP? So it almost feels the same? I'm gonna do it! ....They rode with their GP....nah. Sounds like I'm talking about their family doctor.

Too funny, I was following along with you and had the same thought as I got to GP! Not quite the same ring as FP.

Eventually we made the decision to return, after stopping in to visit S, B and G for a bit on the other side of the timeshare and pick up a gift B had found for me earlier in their trip in the parks. (She’d picked out a little wearable giraffe backpack since she knows that giraffes are my favourite animal. It’s an impractically small bag, but cute, and very thoughtful.)

I'm sorry you weren't feeling well. That was so sweet of B to think of you!

I also didn’t realize that “You’ll Be In My Heart” would be in the soundtrack, and N and I felt as if this was a special little moment just for us when it came up. This was the first real night of our trip, in EPCOT together, and it was the song I walked down the aisle to years ago at our EPCOT wedding.

That is such a good song to walk to! I love that and how special it was also in the soundtrack.

 

[DVCjj]

I don't think I've read your reports before but I'm very happy to be following along with you now and looking forward to each entry.

I'm old now but when I was your age (and traveling to Disney a lot as like now), I had so many problems and maladies that it was so easy to get depressed. Others in my age group seemed totally fine (yes, I was jealous) and I was the one with numerous doctors on speed dial. It was frustrating and upsetting and I'm so sorry for you.

I found that when I found the right specialist (sometimes by chance), it made a huge different in diagnosis and plan of action. I also research extensively. Though now that I have 'old-age' problems, I have an easier time accepting them and it's more logical and 'fair'. Your age isn't 'fair'..... very little is in this world is.

Stay strong. Know that others are thinking of you and are hoping you solve the problems and feel better.
I still am going to Disney 50 years later (when it opened) and my suitcase is loaded with tons of 'medical problem solvers' but I truly feel the sunshine, blue sky and yes, seeing the palm trees, is so good for mental health in order to deal with the other crapola.

I haven't gotten to the end of P. 3 yet but I so hope you had some pleasure on this trip. Many thoughts to you...
PS: LOVE your sweet animals.

 

[vamassey1]

I know you weren't feeling your best but you really had a great first day. I have yet to see Luminous, but your give me hope I will like it.

 

[pkondz]

Everyone was feeling excited to see each other.

Always a plus.

B turned 6 a couple of months before our trip

Already???? Whaaaa???

I wanted to make sure we came away from this trip with a least a couple of photos where everyone was in the picture.

Nice shot of everyone.

B was suffering from Direct Sunshine Squint Syndrome

B's excitement, and her taunting about the scary drop and my wet tush, made it all the more amusing for us.

The grown-ups set her up for success, making sure she was fed and reasonably well-rested, with lots of breaks/downtime for swimming at their resort and eating dinner in, etc

Good job. Some parents forget why they brought their kids in the first place.

I don't remember any meltdowns on those two days

the moment she got home two days later she was already asking to go back. And, I mean, same, girl. Same.

Me too!

Maybe I can abbreviate Genie+ (lightning lane) to GP?

ILL$

Then she went on her way to entertain others with fishy facts,

That sounds a little fishy.

After a while, we realized that sending the 6 year old into the giant aquarium with her mother for the first time shortly before a lunch reservation might not have been the smartest idea.

Whoops! But… fun memories.

the meal was fine. I seem to remember the beef being especially good, but everything was yummy and perfectly satisfactory.

Good enough.

I still wasn’t feeling 100%, so I didn’t feel like hitting any more rides right away.

Sorry to hear that.

N had an ILL for Guardians (on a full stomach!

Brave lad!

I liked the new “Walt the Dreamer” statue at EPCOT and wanted this shot:

I’m hoping to get this shot too

N recounted the magical adventure that was his ride on Guardians. He absolutely loved it.

Great!!

With the caveat, however, that his favourite nostalgic ride is still Haunted Mansion, but that Guardians is his favourite thrill.

I accept

I like this pose.

We had a new-to-us dinner reservation at Shiki Sai

Never even heard of it.

N has his particular hang-ups. One thing that’s hard for him is not getting shy, uncomfortable, or indecisive ordering something new at a restaurant, or looking like he doesn’t know what he’s doing or what to order. Because I know this, and because I knew he was really invested in this restaurant experience, I asked our server for some recommendations for him from the menu. (And N appreciated this.)

Nice of you to suggest that.

Finally, Luminous began. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise, so I hadn’t watched any recordings and didn’t know what to expect

Haven’t seen it. Glad you linked it.