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

Hello, again! :wave: I’m back with yet another holiday trip report, and I just realized this was my and Brett’s sixth consecutive trip to Disney World for the Christmas season! We really are so lucky. It was just us for the first two, but since 2007 we’ve been enjoying annual December trips with Brett’s family. Hopefully the tradition will continue in years to come.

With every new trip report, I struggle to come up with a creative way to introduce ourselves. I mean, really, there are only so many ways to say it. Especially when I feel like I already know so many of you, and you us. So let’s be brief... the cast of characters include myself, Holly, and my fiancé, Brett. Yep, we’re all engaged and in love (for all the ooey gooey details, check out the engagement trip report). As with all my previous December reports, along with us are some familiar faces: Brett’s parents, Kathy and Danny, and his brother, Derek.

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For this trip we had the pleasure of staying at AKL’s Kidani Village in a two bedroom dedicated DVC unit with a savannah view for five nights, Sunday, 12/12 – Friday 12/17. Bring on the giraffes and zebras!

Many of you know that we got engaged just this past August and we’re planning our Disney wedding for March 2011. Yes, yes, I know, I still owe you all a pre-trip/planning report. As you can probably guess, we’ve been planning (and I’ve been stressing over) our March trip for the last couple months and nary a thought has been given to the December trip. Once we returned from our August trip and started saving every penny for March, we took a look at our ADRs for December and slashed and burned some reservations. RIP: Bluezoo, Bistro de Paris, Boma, and the Brown Derby. Look at that alliteration! And we nixed the usual character breakfast we do once a trip (I think it was 1900 Park Fare). Since then, we hadn’t thought much about it. Seriously, the week before we left Brett said something to me along the lines of “Our dining is going to be a fun surprise; I’ve entirely forgotten what we booked.”

In a money saving effort, Brett and I also tried to slash our plans for Universal/Islands of Adventure, but his parents were having none of it. They purchased everyone's Universal/IOA park tickets as a family Christmas present. Best future in-laws ever! Ever, ever. So I'll be reporting on the Wizarding World and other such things in this report as well.

Time to get started...

 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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. :D

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:

Oooh, I remember December 2007. It's funny you mention it because it's the only other time I can remember it being that cold at Disney, but for some reason I'm thinking we really only froze on one day. It's also the only other time I've worn gloves at Disney. :lol: Speaking of gloves, I'm so glad to see that someone else appreciates the versatility (and stylishness) of fingerless gloves! Yay for us. :D I was just glad to have brought multiple scarfs along to mix up my look a bit.
 

DisneyRed95

New Member
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. :D

The Poly will be a great place to stay for your honeymoon! And the Wilderness Lodge is wonderful as well (we'll be staying there in May!) I can't wait for your wedding/honeymoon pre-trip report! :)

I'm sorry it was a cold and windy day at Hollywood Studios, but it sounds like you guys made the most of it.

And I LOVE your "Plush" Christmas Tree! What a cute idea. :xmas:
 

tiaragirl

Well-Known Member
Kenzie (tiaragirl) and Siobhan (Tiggerish) are going to be so disappointed with me for wearing the same thing three days in a row!



Oh you (L). How could I be disappointed when your "ninja clothes" are so flyyy, those boots are amazing - I can't get suede anything because of the snow and salt, so I feel ya with the rain.

Great TR so far, your tree (and you/Brett and his rents) are absolutely adorable as alwaysss. I'm supposed to be at Lauren's right now but told her I'd be there late so I could read this.

Dedication to your TRs, girl. Dedication. Keep it up!
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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!

Thanks, Corey! I'm rather fond of it. Plus we just have so much fun picking out the plush each trip.

The Poly will be a great place to stay for your honeymoon! And the Wilderness Lodge is wonderful as well (we'll be staying there in May!) I can't wait for your wedding/honeymoon pre-trip report! :)

I'm sorry it was a cold and windy day at Hollywood Studios, but it sounds like you guys made the most of it.

And I LOVE your "Plush" Christmas Tree! What a cute idea. :xmas:

We stayed at the Poly for the first time this past August, Brett surprised me with reservations there, in addition to the proposal!! There's just something so magical about the place. And I have every intention of starting that pre-trip report as soon as I wrap this one up.

It was definitely cold and windy, but it also happened to be my favorite day of the trip, so I can't complain.

Oh you (L). How could I be disappointed when your "ninja clothes" are so flyyy, those boots are amazing - I can't get suede anything because of the snow and salt, so I feel ya with the rain.

Great TR so far, your tree (and you/Brett and his rents) are absolutely adorable as alwaysss. I'm supposed to be at Lauren's right now but told her I'd be there late so I could read this.

Dedication to your TRs, girl. Dedication. Keep it up!

This is true. Ninjas really are so fly, aren't they? I should go for this look more often... maybe it will cause my perceived coolness level to increase drastically. :lol:

I appreciate your loyalty and dedication, Kenzie. It doesn't go unnoticed. :D Speaking of Lauren, when's the next trip with the girls?!
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Back on track...

We browsed around It's A Wonderful Shop for a while. This is actually the first time I can really recall spending any time in there. Although, it’s not like the merch is any different than it is anywhere else, so I guess I haven’t been missing much.

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Brett found a Duffy bear, but I’ll share more of my thoughts on Duffy in a future post.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
It was getting close to 11:30 am, our fastpass return time at TSMM, so we wandered on back to Pixar Place.

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As per usual, Brett had the highest score in our car. I don’t even remember what it was, but the rest of us weren’t even close.

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Brett and I were getting hungry and wanted to sink our teeth into some artisan Portobello meatballs. I think Danny and Kathy were a little intrigued by all our talk of the deliciousness of the meatball so they decided to forego their original plans and join us for lunch. We meandered out of the park and waited for the next tram to take us back to the car.

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Deceptive picture isn’t it? But don’t let those palms fool you... the temps still hadn’t even reached that high of 45’ for the day.
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Deciding to have lunch at the Portobello meatball bar was a no brainer for us on this trip. Not only are the meatballs super delicious, but they’re also super cheap. Really, again I have to say it... only $5 for three meatball sliders. You just can’t beat that. And now that Portobello is participating in Tables in Wonderland, it makes even more sense. Kathy and Danny were pleasantly surprised that the meatballs lived up to all the hype we'd been spouting. We'll definitely be back, that's for sure. In fact, the quality of the meatballs has me wanting to put Portobello on the must-do list for a legitimate dinner.

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After lunch we made the rounds through all the shops. For the most part, Brett and I just browse when we’re at Downtown Disney. We don’t make a lot of actual purchases. However, on this trip I discovered my love of Basin. Did you know AAA members get 10% off at Basin, even though AP holders don’t? I thought that was kind of weird.

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Florida Sunshine?! We could’ve used some of its warmth, that’s for sure.

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Oh yes, and FYI, if you're not already aware... bath bombs = awesomeness!!!

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We were back in our villa at Kidani around 2:30 pm or so... perfect timing for an afternoon nap. And OMG, it was the best nap ever. I woke up around 4 pm and rolled over to see a giraffe running at what appeared to be a full out sprint to get to some food that was just put out. He sure was hungry. :lol:

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Initially the plan was to spend the evening at Epcot, but after missing out on the Osborne Lights the night before, we decided to plan on checking in early for our dinner reservations in Epcot and then head over to the Studios to get our fix of dancing lights and chaos.

I’d say we were in the Epcot parking lot and on the tram around 4:30 pm. Brett and I each added another layer before heading out for the evening; we were now wearing hoodies beneath our fleeces. As you can tell in the pictures below… it wasn’t helping all too much!

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Oh the tram… the tram, the tram, the tram. I’m shivering just thinking of that particular ride to the park. We vowed from that point forward to avoid cold-weather tram rides at all costs. Walking at a nice clip is much preferable to sitting still as the wind swirls around you. At least you can get your blood pumping that way. I’ve always kind of thought that being a parking lot attendant would be one of the more boring and annoying jobs at the parks, and you know what… now I’m thinking that the absolute worst job ever has to be the person riding along on the back of that tram making announcements. They deserve hazard pay once the temperature drops to a certain point. :eek:
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Spaceship Earth was looking better and better as we pushed through the turnstiles… WARMTH! We’ve done our fair share of silly faces for the SSE cameras, but this time around I was caught completely off guard when the offspring of Emperor Palpatine popped up on my video screen when we started our descent. Really?! Am I really going to marry that?! :lol:

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We got to laughing so hard at this image of Brett’s face as he made his way through the healthy lifestyle I chose for us. And by the time he started eating lettuce with his hands, I’d nearly lost it… there were even tears streaking down my face I was laughing so hard.

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It was definitely one of those “you had to be there” moments. Even Kathy and Danny, who were sitting behind us, caught a glimpse of our screen and busted up laughing. Throughout the trip we’d look back at these two images and hysterical laughter was quick to follow. Initially, Brett was all “you can’t post that.” But I think he’s rather proud of his Sith lineage.

Alright then, moving on… we hopped a clamshell and I simply rode along until we got to my favorite part of the ride: Peach! I heart Peach. I can’t see or hear her without mental images of CJ Craig spouting off all this nonsense to Josh Lyman and the rest of the White House staff.

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Back out in the cold, we decided to check out some of the Christmas topiaries. Yeah, not so much. :lol:

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I’m still miffed at the fact that they took the Lights of Winter down, but c’mon did they have to take all the international presents out from under the tree, too? I know it was set up as a stage before, but you’d think they could’ve found a way to keep them anyhow. Now they just have a bunch of trees under the tree… lame.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We rounded the corner towards Mexico and saw Duffy trotting across the pathway to his “gazebo.” His line was non-existent so I guess this was as good of a time as any to get a picture. We’re not fans, so we weren’t all too excited, but we figured we should go ahead and meet him anyway. Here’s the thing, my dislike of Duffy doesn’t so much have anything to do with Duffy himself, and everything to do with Disney marketing. I refuse to take the bait on this one, even if his hidden Mickey face does make him kinda sorta cute and adorable. :lookaroun :lol:

As we’re all probably aware by now, the Duffy craze was born out of the Tokyo parks. And he’s a huge hit over there. It’s my understanding that there are even spots throughout the Tokyo parks where you can sit your Duffy bear to get pictures of him with different landmarks in the background (akin to the Kodak picture spots). So Disney thought, hey, let’s try to recreate this phenomenon at our US parks. Only, it just feels like they’re trying so hard to make him popular instead of letting him gain popularity on his own.

Alright, enough of that, it’s time to hop in line and meet him now! There were a couple of guys (probably college age) in front of us and they were speaking Japanese. Not that I knew what they were saying, but from their tone, they sounded excited. Even though I didn’t want to assume too much I figured they’d been to the Tokyo parks. So after they met Duffy and were headed off in the other direction we heard one of them declare quite loudly and excitedly “I just hugged Duffy!” as the others cheered. We, along with the couple behind us in line got the biggest kick out of this. I guess Duffy is much more popular than I realized.

So we met the bear...

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And as we were walking out of the other side of the gazebo, a CM handed us each a sticker. Wanna guess what those stickers said? Yep, you guessed it… "I just hugged Duffy." :ROFLOL: Turns out the guy in front of us wasn’t necessarily declaring his undying love for the teddy bear. See, I’m thinking the stickers are just one sign that they’re trying way too hard to make him grow in popularity. Now what I want to know is... where is my “I just hugged Pluto” sticker? Why aren’t they giving those out?

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We caught back up with Brett’s parents in Mexico at about 6:00 pm and moved along to China to see if we could check in super duper early for our 7:30 pm reservations. I didn’t expect it to be a problem because Nine Dragons is one of those places that has always taken us as walk-ins. While it wasn’t a problem and we were seated right away, I was shocked that the place was nearly packed.

Brett ordered the kung pao chicken, his dad had the honey sesame chicken if I recall, and Kathy and I had the Nine Dragons fried rice of deliciousness. As always it was really good. Nine Dragons continues to be a standby favorite of ours for good reason. No foodie pictures tonight because I’ve taken pictures of these exact same entrees on multiple occasions. In fact, I’m certain they’ve all appeared in past trip reports. Instead, all I’ve got for you is this lovely light fixture.

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From China we stepped it in high gear and walked all the way back to the car, laughing at the poor tram riders as they went past. We made it to DHS by probably 7:30 pm.

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HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I love the Osborne Lights! Of all the things at Disney during the holidays I think, for me, they are most representative of “Christmas.” It never fails, the Osborne Lights always remind me of my childhood. So, it’s inevitable that I always think of my parents when we’re back there and I can’t wait for them to experience the lights one day.

We oohed and aahed until our noses were numb and then we called it a night.

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Up next... the Magic Kingdom!!
 

Thumbelina

Active Member
I love your plush Christmas tree! Its adorable!
I cant wait to finish reading the tr. The trip sounds very cold so far!
I was glad to be back in Tampa while it was so cold up in Orlando.
 

Brett

Well-Known Member

I tried to get Holly to buy a Duffy for the Christmas Tree, but alas, she did not oblige. Oh well... we still got hugs from the guy!

I actually thought he had one of the better meet and greet "backdrops" that they keep popping up to block the beautiful Disney landscaping.
 

jhoff3405

Active Member
Love the pic of the both of you kissing in front of the Osborne Lights. That one should have been your Christmas card!

Looking forward to more.....
 

Disneyfalcon

Well-Known Member
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.


Right now I just have two. A big ugly Lowepro that holds it all and a little one from Disney with Mickey on it that will hold the camera with one lens on it. I use the Lowepro when I'm doing family shoots or senior portraits. It usually ends up laying on the ground half the time. I do like that shootsac to carry lenses! That is a good idea.

When I'm touring, I usually just carry the camera around my neck. I don't want to have to dig it out. I also have one lens in a lens pouch in the family backpack we are usually carrying. On wet rides i used to stick the camera in the backpack but that drove stephen crazy. I bought the small Disney camera holder basically to put in the backpack. Now I stick my camera in the Disney bag, in the backpack.

I also use the small Disney bag on the cruise sometimes. It's nice to be able to put my camera away while we are eating rather than leave my camera in it's normal dangerous place - in the middle of the table.:lol:

You know we didn't get refillable mugs this time and we did have our own drinks and we only ate at Mara twice. I guess it's just the idea that there's no quick sevice at Kidani that bothers me!:lol:

Your pictures of the Osborne lights were awesome! You must have figured out that external flash!
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Catching up is such an undertaking when you're this far behind!

Just from your title I think you also have a whole new understanding and appreciation for the frigid trip we had last January. It's a whole new perspective, huh? I hope it wasn't as miserable for y'all. From the pics I've seen it looks like you handled it waaaaay better than I did. I don't do cold.

Okay. We chose poorly at the AKL. Seriously. I think I would've liked that resort a lot more had I had that big cushy king bed & great big shower to wander around in. I don't envy being at Kidani vs. Jambo. I've never even been to Kidani but from the pics and information I've read about it a lot of the things you pointed out have perplexed me as well. No QS eatery? Why not? Before reading what you had to say I don't think I was even aware that there was a shop of any size over there at all. All the pics I've seen of the lobby seemed tiny & understated in contrast to the grandeur of Jambo House. Why such a contrast? Is there a difference in story to account for it?


Awwwww yeah!

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What is that guy doing? Is that the way he caught the ball? Like a miracle snag? Or is that him show-boating into the endzone? If it's the latter then he totally deserves to trip over himself and drop that ball. You know, counting your chickens before they hatch & all. Sorry. I know it's unrelated but I had to ask. LOL!




I don't remember seeing presents under the Contemporary's gingerbread tree when we were there. I got the feeling that it was still a work-in-progress, tho, so that might explain it. Or I'm just that absent-minded. It's probably just me. Either way, I wonder what Donald got for Daisy?!?! Don't you?!?! Hhmmm...I'm thinking there's some killer suede boots in that box!


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!

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It sounds like Brett could've used me & my killer competitiveness to mow down the masses to get those TSMM FP's fast. LOL! Seriously. This bothers me about myself. I think TSMM FP runs bring out the worst in me so I'm thinking maybe I'll just have to start doing the standby punishment or give up that attraction altoghether.

And, 'Munks RULE!!!!


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

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As tacky as Goofy's outfit is (you totally nailed the description, BTW), all I could think when I saw this pic was: "Thank God he doesn't have a sag going on - yet." I totally draw the line when the Big G's drawers head south & his belt buckle goes all bling. I wonder, would his exposed boxers have Mickey on 'em???

Agreed on the pic of Kathy & Danny. That's a total "awwww" moment. Good capture!
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Brett, with his two favorite muppets:

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OMG! Brett totally reminds me! One of my mystery WDW Christmas gifts from Brian was a Muppets Vinylmation. When I opened it I found me a Swedish Chef!!! Score!!!!


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.

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The fabled Plush Tree!!! I get it now and adore this! Fully awesome is the best way to describe it! Oooh...I wonder if Tracey would let me do a 2nd Christmas tree upstairs on the landing?!?!


We browsed around It's A Wonderful Shop for a while. This is actually the first time I can really recall spending any time in there. Although, it’s not like the merch is any different than it is anywhere else, so I guess I haven’t been missing much.

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Brett found a Duffy bear, but I’ll share more of my thoughts on Duffy in a future post.

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It's a Wonderful Shop. Your comments. Yes. That's the problem. So many of the shops around Disney are the same stuff arranged differently. No fun.

Duffy! You know I totally "buy" the Duffy thing so I'm curious to see your impressions....




Camera strap! Talk to me, girl! Where did that come from?! Is that eBay? I think I've seen some like that but thought they were more for the little point & shoots. I'm thinking they're far less expensive than the crazy asking prices of some of the vintage Disney ones. Yes?


Spaceship Earth was looking better and better as we pushed through the turnstiles… WARMTH! We’ve done our fair share of silly faces for the SSE cameras, but this time around I was caught completely off guard when the offspring of Emperor Palpatine popped up on my video screen when we started our descent. Really?! Am I really going to marry that?! :lol:

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I’m still miffed at the fact that they took the Lights of Winter down, but c’mon did they have to take all the international presents out from under the tree, too? I know it was set up as a stage before, but you’d think they could’ve found a way to keep them anyhow. Now they just have a bunch of trees under the tree… lame.

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Yes! This is **just** the man you want to marry! When Tracey asked me if I'd really marry him all I could think is that at the very least I knew that every day for the rest of my life would have at least one laugh. Brett rocks! You'll laugh and have fun forever. What more could a girl ask for? Seriously. Even Jessica Rabbit understood the absolute appeal in a bunny who made her laugh.

Agreed on the removal of the presents from beneath Epcot's tree. The absence of the presents has robbed that tree of it's color and charm. Trees under a tree. How un-creative is that?! Lame-O w/a capital "O" for OMFG!!! The very least they could do is some peaking characters sorta like your plush tree.


We rounded the corner towards Mexico and saw Duffy trotting across the pathway to his “gazebo.” His line was non-existent so I guess this was as good of a time as any to get a picture. We’re not fans, so we weren’t all too excited, but we figured we should go ahead and meet him anyway. Here’s the thing, my dislike of Duffy doesn’t so much have anything to do with Duffy himself, and everything to do with Disney marketing. I refuse to take the bait on this one, even if his hidden Mickey face does make him kinda sorta cute and adorable.

As we’re all probably aware by now, the Duffy craze was born out of the Tokyo parks. And he’s a huge hit over there. It’s my understanding that there are even spots throughout the Tokyo parks where you can sit your Duffy bear to get pictures of him with different landmarks in the background (akin to the Kodak picture spots). So Disney thought, hey, let’s try to recreate this phenomenon at our US parks. Only, it just feels like they’re trying so hard to make him popular instead of letting him gain popularity on his own.

Alright, enough of that, it’s time to hop in line and meet him now! There were a couple of guys (probably college age) in front of us and they were speaking Japanese. Not that I knew what they were saying, but from their tone, they sounded excited. Even though I didn’t want to assume too much I figured they’d been to the Tokyo parks. So after they met Duffy and were headed off in the other direction we heard one of them declare quite loudly and excitedly “I just hugged Duffy!” as the others cheered. We, along with the couple behind us in line got the biggest kick out of this. I guess Duffy is much more popular than I realized.

So we met the bear...

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And as we were walking out of the other side of the gazebo, a CM handed us each a sticker. Wanna guess what those stickers said? Yep, you guessed it… "I just hugged Duffy." Turns out the guy in front of us wasn’t necessarily declaring his undying love for the teddy bear. See, I’m thinking the stickers are just one sign that they’re trying way too hard to make him grow in popularity. Now what I want to know is... where is my “I just hugged Pluto” sticker? Why aren’t they giving those out?

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Duffy. I agree with your perspective. The problem isn't with the bear himself so much as the blatant marketing pimping of the poor little guy. I see that and agree.

I loved Duffy looooong before he made his US parks' debut. I saw Duffy in a Tokyo Disney blog and all the fuss the Japanese make over him. I adored the whole concept and fell madly in love with the bear. I wanted my own Duffy bear so badly but couldn't afford a trip to Tokyo Disney to get one and wouldn't spend the $250+ on eBay to get one that came from Japan. Soooo, my blinders are on towards marketing's tackiness. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have not 1 but 3 Duffy's. The fact that I got to meet Duffy, too, was the icing on the cake! Just like the guy you saw, I was jumping all around giddy & stuff singing out, "I met Duffy! I met Duffy!" THEN the CM handed me the sticker and I went all squealing bananas all over again. This is why I reeeeaaallly think I would like to ditch WDW for a couple years in the hopes of going to Tokyo Disney. The Japanese "get" Disney more on the level I do. They embrace the Kawaii which is something I long for. Everything I've read says the theming, story, quality, etc. over there is leaps & bounds above & beyond the US parks. This is something I want to see for myself. The fact that I can dress in crazy fun themed outfits every day and carry around a cuddly teddy bear that's dressed to match makes it even better. I need to go be with these people! LOL


Looooving the TR, Holly! I'll catch up more later! Ugh! I hate getting torn away....
 

Ariel484

Well-Known Member
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:

You are right that the rooms at Kidani are amazing. Your view looks incredible too!

Thanks for the camera bag info...I have a Lowepro and it definitely"screams 'camera bag!'", as you say. It has good padding though so I guess it will be okay.
Thanks for the luck! Is it weird that I am more nervous about waking up at 3 AM on race day than acually running the race itself? :lookaroun
 

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