Tis the Season to be Freezin': A December 2010 Trip Report

Suede and Rain, doesn't sound nice. Are you still complaining about the nice warm weather we had? :animwink: Sure I was swimming!!

Pluto Princess said:

Yay, I love HollyBelle trip reports! Can't wait for more!

We made quick trip up for MVMCP and Universal/IOA the weekend after you guys got there, so we had been watching the weather pretty closley the whole week before... if I remember correctly, the title of your TR does not lie, it was going to be down right freezing! Hope you all stayed warm!

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Hi, Pluto Princess. :wave: Ooh, I hope you had good weather that weekend. I know on Friday morning 12/17, it started to really warm up. It was gorgeous the day we left, so hopefully that held out for you guys.

BlizzardPoke said:

Yippie, a HollyBelle trip report! I'm anxiously awaiting more!

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Barring any issues with Petunia (my computer) I should have it posted within a week. The text is fully written! Yay!

Brett said:

Awwwww yeah!

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It really is a beautiful thing!

DisneyRed95 said:

Hi Holly!

I'm joining in! Congrats on your engagement!!! My husband and I had a Disney Honeymoon a year ago and it was fabulous! Good luck with the rest of your planning.

As you can see, I'm very new to the boards, but am an old Disney pro. I love your pictures of Kidani. The room sounds amazing!

Oh and I love your purple flip flops!

Can't wait to read more!


- Krista

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Thanks, Krista. And welcome!! Is there anything in particular you would recommend to make a honeymoon trip different than any other trip? As for the flops... I was so excited to find them for $6. The fact that they were cute was just a bonus! :lol:

Septemberman said:

Welcome Back Holly and Brett...............

I love when I see that you have started a new trip report. I hope that you and your family had an AWESOME holiday and can't wait to read more.

Thanks for taking the time out of your super busy schedule to keep us entertained with your reports.

Michael

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Hi, Michael! We had a great Christmas season filled with lots of quality time with each of our families. I hope yours was just as fulfilling.

I look forward to writing the trip reports, and they do take up a lot of time, but I can honestly say that my schedule isn't super busy right now, which is a good thing! Thanks for joining in again.

HouCuseChickie said:

Loving the TR! I totally understand everything with the boots (cute boots btw). When we left WL to head to MK on Dec 12th- DH asked if I'd be wearing my boots since it would be cold after the front came through... the answer was a big fat NO! Suede and rain just dont mix! Can't wait to read more!

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I know, I've gotta admit, it was a disappointment having to take them off! I'll even admit that I was a little excited about the slightly cold weather for this trip because it would give me an opportunity to wear them. :lol: I got more than I bargained for with the weather! It ended up being too cold to wear my leggings, which ruled out the boots too.

harveyt0206 said:

Hi Holly! I'm here following along with your most excellent trip report. Can't wait to read more. Also, I'm sure you've mentioned it before, but when in March is your wedding?? I will be at Disney the first week of March with my mom.

Also, I love that you were more willing to freeze your poor little piggies off rather than get your favorite boots wet. That's a beautiful thing. :ROFLOL:

Lookikng forward to the rest.
~Tracy

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Hi, Tracy! I contemplated not even writing about the boot/flop swap but I see that my fellow ladies can totally relate! I didn't even question personal comfort... it was all about saving my babies. :lol: In fact, by the time we got back to the AKL, the flops were rubbing some blisters due to the rubber/rain combo. Do you think I cared? Of course not, my boots were safe!

We're checking in March 17 and the wedding is on March 18!!! It looks like we'll just miss you again.

wvdisneyfamily said:

Your pix are absolutely wonderful! I'm enjoying the TR.

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Thanks! I enjoyed yours as well. It looks like you experienced the same cold weather following Christmas as we did before.

LisaG23 said:

We were at WDW at the same time......we were at the Poly from dec10-16. I dont know about yall...but we nearly froze during that week long cold snap...lol. we were celebrating our daughter's 4th bday/first trip....all she saw was the indoor rides at MK with the exception of a few places we had ADRs at at the other parks......she loved it anyway......her favs were haunted mansion and pirates.....which she rode dressed as a princess (she went to the BBB) with her sweatsuit under her dress....lol

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Oh yeah... we were freezing, and some of us didn't exactly pack for that. I'm happy to hear your little girl was still able to enjoy her birthday celebration. I'm impressed with her faves being the Haunted Mansion and Pirates... no wussy stuff for her! :sohappy:

mickey2008.1 said:

Glad to see someone else down there with us in the cold weather making the best of it. So far so good! great pics. It stink so many of us had crappy weather. But its what you make of it! Keep reporting.

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Yeah, while I was incredibly cold and admittedly whiny at times, the weather didn't have an affect on our personal enjoyment of the trip. You are so right in that it's what you make of it.

LeafsFanNL said:

Suede and Rain, doesn't sound nice. Are you still complaining about the nice warm weather we had? :animwink: Sure I was swimming!!

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I'm totally a warm weather girl. Like you, Brett spent much of the trip hoping for a chance to get in the pool. We were sad that we had to rule out the poolside trivia, as we were so looking forward to it this trip.

I'm loving your TR and can't wait for the rest, the room is beautiful. Hope you guys had a great Christmas!

Thanks, Krista. And welcome!! Is there anything in particular you would recommend to make a honeymoon trip different than any other trip? As for the flops... I was so excited to find them for $6. The fact that they were cute was just a bonus! :lol:

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We had a blast on our honeymoon. I think we just took it easy (for once!) and realized we didn't need to hit every ride. We tried new places to eat and took a few tours that we'd never done (Behind the Seeds and Around the World at Epcot). We travel with our extended family a lot, so it was nice just being the two of us.

Where are you guys staying? We were at Boardwalk and loved it!

Just enjoy yourselves, which I know you will! Can't wait to hear about your wedding plans. If I were to do it over again, I would definitely have gotten married at Disney! So you are making the right choice! :sohappy:

I don't usually comment on trip reports, but yours are always a fun read!

Also, the Nemo show question... those are probably secondary (backup) mics. Not at all uncommon.

corey154 said:

I'm loving your TR and can't wait for the rest, the room is beautiful. Hope you guys had a great Christmas!

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Thanks, Corey. I have something coming up in the next installment that I believe you were curious about!

DisneyRed95 said:

We had a blast on our honeymoon. I think we just took it easy (for once!) and realized we didn't need to hit every ride. We tried new places to eat and took a few tours that we'd never done (Behind the Seeds and Around the World at Epcot). We travel with our extended family a lot, so it was nice just being the two of us.

Where are you guys staying? We were at Boardwalk and loved it!

Just enjoy yourselves, which I know you will! Can't wait to hear about your wedding plans. If I were to do it over again, I would definitely have gotten married at Disney! So you are making the right choice! :sohappy:

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We've done the segway tour at Epcot... so fun! And I think we'll be taking your advice on relaxing. We do that a little more with each trip, but our whole plan for the honeymoon portion of our next trip is to relax and eat good food!

We'll be staying at the Polynesian for the first part of our trip. We considered the Boardwalk for the second part but ended up going with the Wilderness Lodge so we can stay nearer to all our dining reservations and save a little money. I'm going to start a pre-trip report for March when I finish this one. Thanks for the reassurance on choosing Disney; I've got to say I don't think I'd want it any other way.

greebomusic said:

I don't usually comment on trip reports, but yours are always a fun read!

Also, the Nemo show question... those are probably secondary (backup) mics. Not at all uncommon.

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I thought they looked like mics! And thank you for taking the time to read and post.

Day 2 – Monday, December 13: DHS/Epcot

Initially the plan was to hit up Universal/IOA on Monday and spend the rest of the trip basking in the glory of all things Disney, which was a great idea I picked up from Rachel (popsicletrees) after reading one of her reports. However, Derek didn’t want to miss out on Universal/IOA so we pushed it off to another day later in the week and opted to go to the Studios that morning instead. But not before breakfast!

We hopped in the car and took off for the Contemporary and our 7:30 am breakfast reservations at the Wave... of American flavors!



I had my favorite scrambled eggs with tomatoes, feta, and spinach. And Brett had the multi-grain French toast.





Kathy indulged in some Mickey waffles. Just in case anyone else is considering ordering them at the Wave... they're whole grain, unless you specify otherwise.



After breakfast, Kathy wanted to see the gingerbread tree on the concourse so we headed up the escalators. As it rose upwards, the temperature dropped and dropped. Seriously, it was absolutely freezing on the concourse. I know it’s open to the outside because of the monorail, but it was still shocking how cold it was in there. I was just glad we weren’t one of the freezing families over at Chef Mickey’s. We wandered around looking at this and that. Brett and I were doing our best not to try and hurry Kathy along, but at the same time we really wanted to make rope drop at the Studios. I entertained myself with the camera while we waited.





Arr! Thar be a hook-handed man ‘bout to capture me!

Brett forgot his sunglasses yet again this trip. But it makes sense this time, seeing as how he always leaves them in his car and we didn’t drive his car. Plus, you don’t think about them when you’re leaving in the middle of the night and don’t need them. So we made a quick stop at the Hess station for a new pair. I swear more of his sunglasses have come from the Hess stations on property than anywhere else.

Luckily we were quick and made it over to the Studios and through the gates just as the morning show was wrapping up. The usual occurred... Brett took all our tickets and made off for the Toy Story Midway Mania fastpass queue. I somehow lost Danny and Kathy in the take-off; I think they dipped into Mickey’s of Hollywood or something. The more likely scenario is that I got wrapped up in taking a picture of something and didn’t pay attention when they told me where they were going. :lookaroun







I envied this citizen's warmth!



Let's talk about that crisp breeze in the air. I’m sorry, did I say breeze? I believe what I meant to say was gale force wind. I think the high for the day was supposed to be 45’ or something, but it was expected to feel like 30’ with the wind factored in. Oh joy! Lucky for Brett, who didn’t pack all so wisely, I bought a new pair of gloves during an impromptu stop at Target on our way to his parents’ house the night before we left, so I had an extra pair that he wore. It was his first foray into cross dressing (that we know of)! But hey, at least they weren’t pink! Stupid weather… it also kept me from wearing all my carefully chosen outfits. Kenzie (tiaragirl) and Siobhan (Tiggerish) are going to be so disappointed with me for wearing the same thing three days in a row! :lol:

We had plans to meet back up at the Hat, so I went there. Immediately the characters started to appear in their Hollywood finest... it took everything I had to be a sweet fiancée and wait on Brett before hopping in one of their lines. He was taking forever though, so I couldn’t resist a quick picture with one particularly blue puppy while I waited!



It was taking so long for Brett to return that I started wondering if he’d just said the heck with it and hopped on the ride. Or maybe we were supposed to meet somewhere else. Soon enough though (like 10-12 minutes later) he showed up and we got in line to meet Chip and Dale before the first set of the day was cut off.

Only ‘munks can look this good in a fedora!

We ran back into Kathy and Danny and set off for Sunset Boulevard. I’m not sure what’s going on with Danny in this next picture, but the Tower was for sure getting a face lift!





We were headed for the RNR single rider line when the CM told us that the standby queue was actually walk-on and not the posted 15 minutes. I really can’t remember the last time we rode this standby. Maybe I should put one of my old trip reports to use and look it up. Such a great ride!







We decided to pass on the Tower to ensure that we’d have time to catch all the characters during the next set. Of course on our way back to Hollywood Boulevard we just had to stop in the Apothecary for a picture! Check out my new fingerless gloves. I LOVE them. Brett and his family made fun of me all week, but they were absolutely perfect. They made it especially easy to deal with all the controls on my camera. And Brett should be thankful; it’s because of them that he even had a pair to wear! :lol:

Back to business... earlier that morning I noticed that the characters came out at slight intervals. Knowing the order made it possible for us to end up at the front of each line. Just before it was time, we wandered over and hung out by the railing to the left of the Hat. Soon enough, the cutest ducks ever graced us with their presence.



We high tailed it over to the corner by the Brown Derby and watched as Goofy and Pluto approached. Tell me, who dressed Goofy? I think he just may resemble a pimp or gigolo... from the 1980’s. Really, a wallet chain? And a jacket in highlighter yellow? C’mon, I know Goofy has more style than that.





From there... we were off to meet Minnie. We arrived just as she came out from around the side of the Hat. She’s made of pure adorableness in that star-studded pink dress. So cute!



To give you an idea of how well we did with our plan of attack... Kathy and Danny got in the back of Donald and Daisy’s line just as we were about to meet them. And after our picture with Minnie Mouse, we wandered over there to find that they were just approaching the front of the line.



We headed down Commissary Lane, taking some pictures along the way.





I think this picture of Kathy and Danny is just so darn cute:

Soon enough we found ourselves in the courtyard for Muppetvision 3D and decided to head on in for the show, even though the next one wouldn’t start for another 10 minutes or so... just getting out of the cold was a treat in and of itself!



Brett, with his two favorite muppets:







Okay, so I’ve seen this show quite a few times, and yet I think this is the first time that I kept my eyes on Beaker throughout the whole scene he is in with Bunsen Honeydew. HILARIOUS! Forget the Spirit of 3D trying to get your attention up front, Beaker is much, much more entertaining in the background!

In the Stage One Company Store we had a decision to make... we’d already picked up the majority of the muppets collection for our tree and it was down to two final muppets: Piggy and Gonzo. I chose Piggy... because she’s a star!!







Some of you have inquired about our plush Christmas tree throughout past trip reports when I mention the purchases, so I guess I should post a few pictures. I got the idea for this tree three years ago, and ever since, we’ve been collecting plush to go on it. We made a rule, allowing ourselves to pick out three plush per trip. It’s been great because I adore plush and the tree has been my excuse to keep buying them up! They’re really the only “souvenirs” we purchase in a trip... so I’d say that’s not too bad.







Some close-ups:









We move the characters around every year, but the yeti has become the official “protector” of the tree and sits atop it with the bow, always. It’s super quick and easy to put up and we never have to worry about breaking the “ornaments!” We officially ran out of room this year, so I guess that means it’s time to look for a bigger and better tree for the next holiday season!

Up next... more DHS

Lol...nope no wussy stuff for her at all!!!!!! she is a tough cookie. She told me on our first nigth there after we got on the only things at Epcot that she got to do before the cold snap hit SSE and Nemo....."momma, i need rides with more ACTION!!!!!":ROFLOL:i cant wait til next time when it hopefully wont be so cold and she can ride BTMR and the other "big girl rides" as she calls them. she said next time too, no BBB, she wants pirates league!!!!!!!!

Woohoo! So glad your report is going up! :sohappy:

Love the boots conversation...that was the first thing I noticed in your "ninja outfit" picture. I hope they will make an appearance again!

Thanks for the review on Kidani. I love those Lion King tiles along the bath tub. We're staying there in June (in a studio, renting points) as part of a split stay...I too am miffed that there's no counter service option there. Boo!

Thanks for the pics of your plush Christmas tree! It's so cute!

Quick camera question for you...it looks like you carry it in some sort of messenger bag? Do you just try your best to secure it in the bag tightly on rides (i.e. Rock 'n' Rollercoaster)? I am taking a D-SLR on our Princess Half trip (our first time with it at Disney) and I've been wondering how people store them...and speaking of cameras, fabulous pictures as usual!

LisaG23 said:

Lol...nope no wussy stuff for her at all!!!!!! she is a tough cookie. She told me on our first nigth there after we got on the only things at Epcot that she got to do before the cold snap hit SSE and Nemo....."momma, i need rides with more ACTION!!!!!":ROFLOL:i cant wait til next time when it hopefully wont be so cold and she can ride BTMR and the other "big girl rides" as she calls them. she said next time too, no BBB, she wants pirates league!!!!!!!!

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That is too cute! I can only imagine the fun pirate names they give out to little girls at the Pirate's League!

Ariel484 said:

Woohoo! So glad your report is going up! :sohappy:

Love the boots conversation...that was the first thing I noticed in your "ninja outfit" picture. I hope they will make an appearance again!

Thanks for the review on Kidani. I love those Lion King tiles along the bath tub. We're staying there in June (in a studio, renting points) as part of a split stay...I too am miffed that there's no counter service option there. Boo!

Thanks for the pics of your plush Christmas tree! It's so cute!

Quick camera question for you...it looks like you carry it in some sort of messenger bag? Do you just try your best to secure it in the bag tightly on rides (i.e. Rock 'n' Rollercoaster)? I am taking a D-SLR on our Princess Half trip (our first time with it at Disney) and I've been wondering how people store them...and speaking of cameras, fabulous pictures as usual!

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Hi Shannon! The boots may be back. :animwink: I can't say enough good things about the room decor at Kidani... it's simply amazing. While they don't have a counter service option, they were at least smart enough to put a beverage station in Johari for folks who buy refillable mugs. Hopefully that'll help.

The bag I'm carrying is actually a camera bag made by Crumpler; it's from their Million Dollar Home line, and I like it because it doesn't scream "camera bag!" :lol: Mine is the 4 million and I wouldn't suggest going any smaller than that because it's not very big. The camera loads into the bag with the lens pointing downward, and the bag protects the gear on all the rides. An additional lens will fit, but it has to be rather small. This time around I had an external flash with me and it was possible to carry both the camera and flash, but it was a tight fit. Usually the camera is on me so it's not a problem, but I can definitely say I'm looking for one that's slightly larger so I can carry more. I'm considering the 6 million in a different color. I'll continue to use this one too though.

Good luck on the Princess!!! :sohappy:

A Holly trip report!! Excellent!!:sohappy:

I am so with you on the boots. I was very concerned about them when you said it was raining. :lol:

I love your crumpler! I need a new bag and just can't decide. I need many different bags to suit all my needs actually!

The rooms at Jambo and Kidani both are my favorite on property. The theming is completely immersive and perfect. Having said that, I am with you on Kidani. I can not understand for the life of me why they didn't put a quick service place there. If you are on the near side of Kidani it's not a bad walk, but for everyone else it's way too far to go refill mugs or grab a snack. That was one of the main reasons we picked Jambo for our last stay. Well that and the master bath in Jambo.

But the rooms, hands down, are amazing. And yes, I would stay at either one and be beyond thrilled.

Keep it coming!

YAY!!! I been waiting for your TR!!! We stayed at AKL Jambo House the week before, matter to fact you were checking in the day we checked out!!! I can not say enough positive things about AKL! Rooms were beautiful and the view was amazing! Can't wait to go back there soon!!!

Any way, great start to the report! It was cold as all heck when we were there, I can't believe I am saying this, but I think I like being in Disney when it's HOT as opposed to cold! We were so unprepared for the cold!

It's funny, since Jambo House and Kindani share the bus system, when I saw the parking garage at Kindani, I though how convenient is that??? :ROFLOL:

Oh, and your tree is adorable!!!

PS, why did I not know you were getting married this March and it's in Disney?!?!?! How lucky are you!!! Can not wait for that PTR and TR!!! :sohappy:

Disneyfalcon said:

A Holly trip report!! Excellent!!:sohappy:

I am so with you on the boots. I was very concerned about them when you said it was raining. :lol:

I love your crumpler! I need a new bag and just can't decide. I need many different bags to suit all my needs actually!

The rooms at Jambo and Kidani both are my favorite on property. The theming is completely immersive and perfect. Having said that, I am with you on Kidani. I can not understand for the life of me why they didn't put a quick service place there. If you are on the near side of Kidani it's not a bad walk, but for everyone else it's way too far to go refill mugs or grab a snack. That was one of the main reasons we picked Jambo for our last stay. Well that and the master bath in Jambo.

But the rooms, hands down, are amazing. And yes, I would stay at either one and be beyond thrilled.

Keep it coming!

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Hi, Tammy! It was most definitely a close call on the boots. I should've been watching the weather reports more closely. :lol:

What kind of camera bags do you currently use? I never realized I would need multiple bags, but you're right, they really are necessary for different situations. I'm currently obsessed with the shootsac bags; if they had a place for the camera I'd cave on the exorbitant price. In fact, you've been doing portraits a lot lately haven't you? This would be great for that because it provides such a quick and easy way to change lenses. Probably not so great for touring parks, though.

Good choice on going with the grand villa at Jambo instead! We very rarely utilize quick service in the resorts, and we've never gotten the refillable mugs because we take our own drinks for the room so it didn't really have an effect on us, but I still couldn't help but think of what an inconvenience it is for most people.

disneygirl1 said:

YAY!!! I been waiting for your TR!!! We stayed at AKL Jambo House the week before, matter to fact you were checking in the day we checked out!!! I can not say enough positive things about AKL! Rooms were beautiful and the view was amazing! Can't wait to go back there soon!!!

Any way, great start to the report! It was cold as all heck when we were there, I can't believe I am saying this, but I think I like being in Disney when it's HOT as opposed to cold! We were so unprepared for the cold!

It's funny, since Jambo House and Kindani share the bus system, when I saw the parking garage at Kindani, I though how convenient is that??? :ROFLOL:

Oh, and your tree is adorable!!!

PS, why did I not know you were getting married this March and it's in Disney?!?!?! How lucky are you!!! Can not wait for that PTR and TR!!! :sohappy:

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Hi, Reese! I actually thought about you and your little man as we were checking in, because I recalled we were both staying at AKL and our trips just barely overlapped. In fact, I was thinking how sad you probably were and I knew that it'd be me in just five short days.

I think I'm with you on hot over cold... since we've become more used to taking a somewhat slower approach with recent trips, I don't mind the heat. Especially because afternoons at the pool are perfection!

I'm not sure how you missed the March wedding trip conversations because they're scattered all throughout my engagement report. But that's okay, because now you know!

Hooray for a Holly report! :sohappy:

It's a shame about the cold being -- well, that cold. We went for those same dates back in '07 and it was chilly in the mornings but very very pleasant during the day.

Fingerless gloves are FANTASTIC! I got a pair for Christmas and absolutely love them, especially if I have to fiddle with my phone or even a camera.

But I digress...

AKL pics are amazing as always and I love the character shots at DHS! Can't wait to read more.

P.S. I am such a stickler for outfits as well and I would have done the exact same thing you did if my prized boots were in jeopardy! :lol:

YEAH!!!! :sohappy:A picture of the tree! Now I have to go read your report again, as soon as you said there's something I may be interested in and I seen you were in Hollywood studios it reminded me of your tree so I scanned through the rest!

And I love the tree by the way, it's so cute!