Trip Report It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas! *COMPLETED*

The soothing croon of Michael Bublé kept reverberating in my mind as I pondered starting yet another trip report. Like summer, the Christmas season makes me happy. Going to WDW during the Christmas season makes me VERY HAPPY. The joy of sharing my trips with my WDWMAGIC friends makes me happier still. Thank you for the encouragement to keep on writing!

Holiday Vacation #1
When: November 16-23, 2019
Where: Disney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Who: Tuvalu and Woody

Looky! I finally got a Magic Shot!

Okay, so it’s a bit creepy. But it leaves no doubt that this was a CHRISTMAS trip.

In mid-November.

But hey, we had Halloween in August!

And yours truly was very excited to experience Christmas decor at the resorts and in 3 of the 4 parks. (Epcot was still in full “Food and Wine” mode.) It wasn’t always this festive in November. We’ve been this same week in the past and outside of MK, there was very little decorating completed. I was so disappointed the year we stayed at WL (very close to turkey day) and missed out on the holiday stuff. I was worried the same thing would happen again. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Woody, on the other hand, is a “Let’s celebrate Thanksgiving before shifting our focus to Christmas” kind of guy. Growing up, his family did not put up their tree until CHRISTMAS EVE. (Can you imagine?!!) Over the years he has mellowed, thanks to my influence, and better tolerates the Christmas creep. Yet I was concerned that his inner Scrooge might reveal itself during this vacation.

I needn’t have worried. But I’m getting ahead of myself again.

Our week consisted of some new experiences and old experiences....some frustrations....some drama (of course!)....and a very magical meet.

Stay tuned.

 

[lindawdw]

You both amaze me at the energy level that you have!!! I love that you were able to get so much done before the park opened to non-resort guests! Breakfast at the Crystal Palace sounds like the perfect reward for getting up so early on your last day! Love your pictures with Piglet!

 

[Matt and Kelly]

The highlight (which I’ve highlighted) being Pooh’s Puffed Toast. (@Matt and Kelly can vouch for it!)

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SO dang good!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Love those castle leggings and the castle is so pretty in the morning and illuminated.

 

[Mickey Waffles]

Since we were alternating, ride #4 was my choice.

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#ShirleyStatus (someone must have known we were coming!)

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Em zipped up for our blustery Peoplemover ride!

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We wished we’d had a blanket for our legs!

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We could have remained on for another loop around the galaxy, but we had someplace else to be.

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What an awesome Christmas Eve morning!! You guys really know how to squeeze the most Disney magic out of every day!! (And I love your leggings!! Soo cute!!)

 

[Swissmiss]

Hats off to Em for waiting three hours for her coffee! As my DD knows, I’m a bit grumpy when I have to wait for coffee

 

[Sabrina1705]

Love the photo’s with Pooh and friends ! The last 5 visits I haven‘t been there but for sure Crystal palace is coming back on my to do list for September!

 

[MinnieM123]

Our waiter was a little too chummy and made odd comments throughout the course of our breakfast which made us uncomfortable. We tried to be polite with his “boundaries breach” but it made our meal awkward. (It was especially awkward when I tried to hand him my Tables in Wonderland card and he shooed it away with a condescending tone, “No discounts today.”)

Sorry, I had to giggle about Mr. Chummy. Having read multiple TRs you've posted in the past, this is not the first time that there has been a "boundaries breach"! My guess is that there must be something extra special about you and Em, that makes the waitstaff go all out to engage with you two?! (That aside, no discounts for you!)

 

[Dory71]

So...no discounts because it was Christmas Eve???? What a bummer! We had the same thing happen to us at dinner at Boma on New Year's Day. Our waitress was able to sneak it in somehow.

 

[Tuvalu]

Ohhh those are sooo cute!!! I love Piglet!

You both amaze me at the energy level that you have!!! I love that you were able to get so much done before the park opened to non-resort guests! Breakfast at the Crystal Palace sounds like the perfect reward for getting up so early on your last day! Love your pictures with Piglet!

Love the photo’s with Pooh and friends ! The last 5 visits I haven‘t been there but for sure Crystal palace is coming back on my to do list for September!

How can anyone not love Piglet?

Crystal Palace is pricey but the food was some of the best Disney food we’ve had in awhile. And Em and I aren’t really breakfast people!

 

[Tuvalu]

SO dang good!

Preach it!

Hats off to Em for waiting three hours for her coffee! As my DD knows, I’m a bit grumpy when I have to wait for coffee

It wouldn’t be the first time she’d wait that long for coffee! < drops hint for next TR >

 

[Tuvalu]

Love those castle leggings.

(And I love your leggings!! Soo cute!!)

They are not only cute, but very comfy!! Disney’s leggings are very good quality.

Sorry, I had to giggle about Mr. Chummy. Having read multiple TRs you've posted in the past, this is not the first time that there has been a "boundaries breach"! My guess is that there must be something extra special about you and Em, that makes the waitstaff go all out to engage with you two?! (That aside, no discounts for you!)

Em and I have commented that we do seem to be magnets.
And I heard the Soup Nazi’s voice in your no discounts for you! comment.

So...no discounts because it was Christmas Eve???? What a bummer! We had the same thing happen to us at dinner at Boma on New Year's Day. Our waitress was able to sneak it in somehow.

Apparently it was one of the TiW blackout dates. You’re lucky you had a sneaky server!

 

[PacNWTigger]

I love all of the campsite pics! I'll have to remember to check that out if I'm ever there around the holidays.

 

[Tuvalu]

Christmas Eve, con’t

While Em and I were still at breakfast I received notification that our first FP had become a Multiple Experience pass. This was incredibly good news, as our original FP pick was “meh” anyway. Now we’d be able to ride something that I was unable to book for this morning!

Rain had resumed as we left Crystal Palace. We pulled up our hoods and trekked into Adventureland. The window for FP #2 had just opened.

Pirates can be somewhat stressful for us, as we always fear getting water-blasted by one of the cannons. We joked about riding anxiety-free today since we’d be protected by our rain jackets!

Turns out the big cannons were turned off after all.

The gift of a ME pass was fully appreciated here.

Em and I prepared for a potential pelting of raindrops.

It wasn’t as painful as our Slinky Dog ride.

 

[annienevells]

Funny that you had an ... interesting server at CP! Last time we went my server would not stop picking on me and calling me a baby for drinking milk.

 

[k8einwdw]

Too cute for words!

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Those topiaries are SO cute! They make me think of “Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too!”

 

[susan lees]

Sunday, con’t

We opted to tour World Showcase counter-clockwise. Made a right turn on the bridge towards France.

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Hey now, why are you giving us the side-eye? You’re the ones wearing pajamas in a theme park.

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Was it really that hard to put on clothes?

The Cinema was closed for refurbishment.

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The Promenade was much less busy than it had been last month during Food and Wine.

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Em and I admired the holiday decor in each country that was decorated. Of course we were partial to the tree in America.

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Heritage Manor Gifts has been transformed into an Art of Disney store. I hope this is temporary; I liked the distinct Americana merchandise that was available here.

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Now it is strictly Disney art. (At least the sign above the door gives warning!)

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We used to pop into Karamell Küche. No more. The prices have become crazy.

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And the line at karamell kuche is always crazy long now too

 

[Tuvalu]

Funny that you had an ... interesting server at CP! Last time we went my server would not stop picking on me and calling me a baby for drinking milk.

Could have been the same guy......

 

[Tuvalu]

Since we were already wet......

 

[KBLovedDisney]

I noticed two tees that made me LOL so I thought I’d share them.

I just did a week’s worth of cardio by walking into a spider web

My spirit animal is a Hammer

I told Woody that #2 was perfect for him and he looked at me with a furrowed brow. I then had to explain what a “spirit animal” is.

He just isn’t hip (with it? trendy? cool?) like me.

My spirit animal is:

*cough

Carry on.

 

[Tuvalu]

Our unplanned excursion on Splash Mountain filled the remaining time until we could tap in for our final FP. Jingle Cruise is fun, but not 105 minutes standby fun!

Our female skipper (I neglected to note her name) told a few jokes that were new to me.

“On our Thanksgiving Cruise this year we went to Turkey....(pause)....it was delectable.”
“Last year we went to Hungary....(pause)....it was grossly disappointing.”

“What’s the difference between an in-law and an outlaw? Outlaws are wanted.”

“The world famous BACKSIDE OF WATER!!”

The poncho people were prepared!

Before we entered Santa’s Cave of Wonders.

And the Big Finale.