Trip Report The Cold Never Bothered Us Anyway - December 2024

Happy New Year, WDW Magic Friends!

We have been back from our latest WDW for nearly a month, so it's high time I get started on our trip report, before I forget everything that happened. 😂

The cast of characters:

Me, Katie - thirty-something mom, wife, and Disney trip planner extraordinaire

Jason - My husband of 11 years, fellow Disney adult, happy to be along for the ride

Lincoln - Our precocious three-year-old son, Jason's twin, lover of characters and roller coasters

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Sunday, December 1st - Travel Day

I was up and at 'em shortly after 4:00 am, after a fitful nights' sleep. Between the excitement (we're going to Disney!) and the anxiety (what if all of our reservations randomly get canceled?), I can never sleep the night before a trip. I got J up around 4:30, and he and I quickly got ourselves ready to go and packed up last-minute items in our "go bag." We always get Lincoln out of bed last, hoping that he'll stay asleep while we transfer him to the car seat, but it never works out that way. The three of us were wide awake and pulling out of the driveway just after 5:00 am.

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We made our first stop of the trip at Buc-ee's, where we all had a potty break and grabbed some breakfast.

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I sat in the back with Lincoln for the next leg of the trip to try to keep the breakfast mess under control, and get him set up with a movie on his tablet.

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Don't mind my disgusting car window - Lincoln has these little suction cup car toys that constantly fall off and get re-attached, thus the million little circle marks on the window.

We stopped again for gas and another potty break shortly after crossing over into Florida. And once we hit Gainesville, this was our view for the next hour and a half.

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This was the second trip in a row that we ended up stuck in traffic for over an hour on the way down, and both times the traffic was not in Atlanta! This time around, I had considered booking a hotel room in Lake City for the night before our check-in day, so that we could drive most of the way down the night before and be on property before Noon. Plus, that would keep us from having to wake up so early to drive down. For our next trip, I'm definitely booking that hotel room for the night before.

Thankfully, Lincoln was a good sport, and kept himself entertained.

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Finally, shortly after 1:30 pm, we passed through the magical gates, and all of our troubles disappeared.

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Up next: Disney Springs
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Up Next: Epcot day

Not quite yet! As I was looking through my photos from our HS day, I remembered one more very important event that happened after we left the park. We took the Skyliner from HS to CBR, and as we were waiting in the line to transfer to Pop, I glanced behind me and noticed a kid that looked familiar. And the kid’s mom was even more familiar!

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@MickeyPretzelEnthusiast and I had been online friends for years, so it was so nice to finally meet in person! We rode back to the Pop/AoA station together, Lincoln and Nora exchanged stickers, and it was all very cute. 🥰
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, December 6th - Epcot Day

Epcot opened at 8:30 am this morning for resort guests, and with us coming in through the International Gateway, we planned to rope-drop Ratatouille. We headed out to the Skyliner shortly after 7:00, and by 8:15, we were here:

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Epcot was very crowded this day, but thankfully once the park opened, the crowd moved pretty quickly. We got on Ratatouille right at 9:00. Since we've been home from the trip, L has informed us multiple times that he does not like the Ratatouille ride, and do not take him on it again. :oops:

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Have to take a pic of this teapot every year.

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We had a few minutes to kill before our first LL, so we decided to grab some Joffrey's. Giant donut for L, and coffee for me and J.

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For our first LL, we were headed over to the other side of World Showcase to Norway. We stopped along the way to grab some pics of the Christmas tree. I have to say, this is probably my least favorite tree in the parks.

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Around 9:45, we were headed to Arendelle.

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And of course, you have to take a pic with the troll when you exit the ride. It's a rite of passage.

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Up next: Future World Fun
 

erstwo

Well-Known Member
Not quite yet! As I was looking through my photos from our HS day, I remembered one more very important event that happened after we left the park. We took the Skyliner from HS to CBR, and as we were waiting in the line to transfer to Pop, I glanced behind me and noticed a kid that looked familiar. And the kid’s mom was even more familiar!

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@MickeyPretzelEnthusiast and I had been online friends for years, so it was so nice to finally meet in person! We rode back to the Pop/AoA station together, Lincoln and Nora exchanged stickers, and it was all very cute. 🥰
Love this moment in both Trip Reports! Probably an overreach to think this might one day be ultimate meet-cute for L & N but here’s hoping y’all run into each other enough in the coming years that they can be good Disney friends! 😁💕
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, December 6th - Epcot Day - Continued

After Frozen, we headed up to the front of the park for our next LL at Spaceship Earth.

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I listened to a podcast a few years ago in which they talked about the recycled animatronics in the parks - I know the guy on the left is someone else (I want to say one of the presidents), but I can't remember for the life of me who it is.

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Good ole skinny legs

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Anytime we ride by this scene, we always check out which record they have displayed at the front of the stack. I want to say on this day it was "Jungle Book."

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In my and Lincoln's future, I won't have a face.

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For the first time ever, we stopped on the way out of SSE to let Lincoln explore. He really enjoyed this car game.

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After SSE, we split up. I headed to use my LL at Soarin', while Jason took Lincoln to ride the Seas with Nemo. Lincoln requested to have his picture taken with Pearl.

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Nice work, Pal.

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I will never not take this picture anytime I'm in the Land pavilion.

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Up next: More Epcot fun
 

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
I listened to a podcast a few years ago in which they talked about the recycled animatronics in the parks - I know the guy on the left is someone else (I want to say one of the presidents), but I can't remember for the life of me who it is.

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I did not know this! But after you telling us this and looking at the guy on the left, I would swear that looks like John Wayne. Could he be from The Great Movie Ride?!
 

Spash007

Well-Known Member
Friday, December 6th - Epcot Day

Epcot opened at 8:30 am this morning for resort guests, and with us coming in through the International Gateway, we planned to rope-drop Ratatouille. We headed out to the Skyliner shortly after 7:00, and by 8:15, we were here:

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Epcot was very crowded this day, but thankfully once the park opened, the crowd moved pretty quickly. We got on Ratatouille right at 9:00. Since we've been home from the trip, L has informed us multiple times that he does not like the Ratatouille ride, and do not take him on it again. :oops:

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Have to take a pic of this teapot every year.

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We had a few minutes to kill before our first LL, so we decided to grab some Joffrey's. Giant donut for L, and coffee for me and J.

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For our first LL, we were headed over to the other side of World Showcase to Norway. We stopped along the way to grab some pics of the Christmas tree. I have to say, this is probably my least favorite tree in the parks.

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Around 9:45, we were headed to Arendelle.

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And of course, you have to take a pic with the troll when you exit the ride. It's a rite of passage.

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Up next: Future World Fun
Liam was the exact same with Remy the first time he rode it! He would randomly tell us months later that he would NEVER go on the “fire ride” again (took us a minute the first time he said that 😂)

Luckily, by the next trip he forgot what the outside looked like and we were able to get him on without an issue
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I did not know this! But after you telling us this and looking at the guy on the left, I would swear that looks like John Wayne. Could he be from The Great Movie Ride?!
I could see that...
Liam was the exact same with Remy the first time he rode it! He would randomly tell us months later that he would NEVER go on the “fire ride” again (took us a minute the first time he said that 😂)

Luckily, by the next trip he forgot what the outside looked like and we were able to get him on without an issue
Of all the rides not to like...glad it's not just my kid!
It's SO good, and very slept on!
We usually walk right past ABC Commissary, we'll definitely make a point to go there more often now!
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, December 6th - Epcot Day - Continued

After getting off of Soarin', I met back up with the boys and took over with Lincoln while Jason took his turn on Soarin'. L and I headed over to the Journey of Water - it was significantly less crowded than it had been in 2023, so he was able to take his time playing and exploring the area.

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While we were in Journey of Water, my and J's LL for Guardians opened up, so I texted him and told him to go ahead and head straight there once he was off Soarin', and we would meet him over there. It took foreverrr for J to make it off of Soarin' - L and I eventually headed over to Mission Space so he could play in the indoor playground in the Advanced Training Lab area. We had never been over there before, and honestly, I doubt we'll return - it was so dark in there, which makes it so hard to see your kid. Thankfully, there's only one way in/out of the play area, but I was not the only parent that was stressed when they couldn't see where their kid was/what they were doing.

After letting L play for half an hour or so, J was still in line for Guardians, and it was pushing 1:00, so I mobile-ordered some lunch for L from Connections. I texted J to let him know what we were doing, and he asked me to grab him some food as well, so by the time he finally made it off of Guardians, he met up with us and he and L had lunch while I went to ride Guardians. I was nervous that they wouldn't let me in since my LL had expired 30+ minutes ago, but thankfully, there were no issues. Again, it took forever to make it on to the ride - this was by far the most crowded day of the trip.

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Once I made it off, the boys had finished their lunch and met me at the exit. I was starving, so I grabbed the empanada from the Las Posadas festival booth in the Mexico pavilion. This was delicious - I'm normally not wowed by the food at Festival of the Holidays, but this was a surprise hit.

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After I had scarfed down my "lunch," we popped in to the pyramid to ride the Three Caballeros. Again, surprisingly long wait for this one - we ended up waiting probably 20-25 minutes.

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After Mexico, we skipped over Norway, since we had been to that pavilion for our Frozen LL that morning. We headed over to China, and made it just in time to see the lion dancers.

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Selfie with mom 🥰

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Up next: More Festival of the Holidays fun
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, December 6th - Epcot Day - Continued

Moving through the World Showcase, our next stop was Germany. I considered grabbing a bite from the festival booth, but the line was crazy (that would be true of most of the festival booths for the rest of the day). Instead, we perused the glass shop for a few minutes, and let Lincoln enjoy watching the trains while we took turns using the restroom.

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We skipped over Italy, as we would be back later that night for dinner, and we don't care much for the shops in that pavilion anyway. By the time we got to the American Adventure pavilion, all three of us were ready for a break in the AC. We decided to test our luck and see if L would sit through the Voices of Liberty, as I've always loved their holiday performances. We got there 15 minutes or so before their next set, so we grabbed a bench and let L play with some of the small toys I keep in my bag to stave off boredom. A couple minutes after we sat down, a mom and her daughter, about Lincoln's age, sat next to us. The kids immediately started playing together (I wish it was that easy to make friends as an adult), and insisted on sitting next to each other during the performance. By the time the performance was over, they were hugging, and as we were leaving, poor Lincoln said "But Mama, I wanted to give her a kiss!" :oops: 😂 I'm honestly surprised he hasn't asked about his friend since we've been home.

Next up was Japan - as we were walking up, we heard the drummers performing, and since all three of us enjoy watching them, we stopped to watch for a few minutes. To our delight, Japan's holiday storyteller (the daruma doll vendor) came out immediately after their set, so we got two-for-one entertainment.

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After watching the performances, we browsed Mitsukoshi shop for a few minutes. We've started introducing L to (age-appropriate) Studio Ghibli films over the past year, so he was excited to see some of the characters he recognizes. So far, Totoro is his favorite. After Mitsukoshi, I grabbed the pastrami on rye from the L'Chaim festival booth - I've had this in years past and enjoyed it, but it was just not great this time around. It was ice cold, and the bread was rock solid to the point of being inedible.

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After strolling through the Morocco pavilion, we were back where we had started in France that morning. We still had some time to kill before our dinner reservation, so we headed back over to Future World for a bit. We passed through Communicore Hall, and I truly don't get why it took them so long to build what looks like an airport terminal. It's nice to have covered seating, but I really hope they do more with this area in the future. However, gingerbread Spaceship Earth was pretty cool.

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Our last stop before dinner was Living with the Land. I love the holiday overlay, but I was thankful I had the foresight to book us LLs, because the standby line was nuts.

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Up next: Via Napoli dinner
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Friday, December 6th - Epcot Day - Continued

We had a 6:00 dinner reservation at Via Napoli, so we headed that way after Living with the Land. The Italy pavilion was packed, and it took us a few minutes to find somewhere to park the stroller. We were seated a few minutes after arriving, next to a very loud party of six adults and six young children. The adults were all sitting on one side of the table, and the kids were all sitting on the other - well, the kids that were confined to high chairs were sitting. The rest of the kids were chasing each other around the restaurant. I wish I was kidding. I try not to judge other parents, because I think most of us are doing the best we can, but I'll admit I was judging. We've certainly been those parents with the disruptive kid in public (who hasn't?), but sitting around on your phones while your kids terrorize your fellow restaurant patrons is just lazy parenting. Also, there was food everywhere. I get that restaurants have bussers to clean up the tables, but for the love, please at least make an attempt to clean up after your kids.

Our sweet server, Isabella, made a comment that she wished all kids were as well-behaved as Lincoln. J and I were dumbfounded, because he is every bit a 3-year-old boy, so I can only imagine that the table next to us had given poor Isabella a run for her money. I hope they at least tipped well.

ANYWAY, we ordered the kids' spaghetti and meatball for L, and J and I each got a pizza - Meat Lovers for J, Quattro Formaggi for me. L's came out first, which was great, because he is the world's slowest eater.

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He absolutely inhaled that spaghetti, and had a piece of my pizza as well. J and I both loved our pizza - you just can't go wrong with Via Napoli pizza.

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For dessert, we got L the strawberry gelato, which he loved. J and I both ordered Tiramisu to-go to enjoy in the room later.

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It was about 7:30 when we left, and we were all done. It was COLD, I had a huge blister right in the middle of my right foot that I had been walking on all day, and we were all worn out, and ready to get back to the room. I normally get sad on our last park day, especially when we're leaving, but I think we were all ready for some rest. We were glad that we had decided to see the Epcot fireworks earlier in the week, because I don't think we would have made it another two hours in the park. After taking the Skyliner back to Pop, we packed up as much as we could, and J took everything to the car while I put L to bed. Poor kid fell asleep almost immediately, he was so worn out from all the fun of the past few days.

Up next: Departure Day
 

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
Friday, December 6th - Epcot Day - Continued

We had a 6:00 dinner reservation at Via Napoli, so we headed that way after Living with the Land. The Italy pavilion was packed, and it took us a few minutes to find somewhere to park the stroller. We were seated a few minutes after arriving, next to a very loud party of six adults and six young children. The adults were all sitting on one side of the table, and the kids were all sitting on the other - well, the kids that were confined to high chairs were sitting. The rest of the kids were chasing each other around the restaurant. I wish I was kidding. I try not to judge other parents, because I think most of us are doing the best we can, but I'll admit I was judging. We've certainly been those parents with the disruptive kid in public (who hasn't?), but sitting around on your phones while your kids terrorize your fellow restaurant patrons is just lazy parenting. Also, there was food everywhere. I get that restaurants have bussers to clean up the tables, but for the love, please at least make an attempt to clean up after your kids.

Our sweet server, Isabella, made a comment that she wished all kids were as well-behaved as Lincoln. J and I were dumbfounded, because he is every bit a 3-year-old boy, so I can only imagine that the table next to us had given poor Isabella a run for her money. I hope they at least tipped well.

ANYWAY, we ordered the kids' spaghetti and meatball for L, and J and I each got a pizza - Meat Lovers for J, Quattro Formaggi for me. L's came out first, which was great, because he is the world's slowest eater.

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He absolutely inhaled that spaghetti, and had a piece of my pizza as well. J and I both loved our pizza - you just can't go wrong with Via Napoli pizza.

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For dessert, we got L the strawberry gelato, which he loved. J and I both ordered Tiramisu to-go to enjoy in the room later.

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It was about 7:30 when we left, and we were all done. It was COLD, I had a huge blister right in the middle of my right foot that I had been walking on all day, and we were all worn out, and ready to get back to the room. I normally get sad on our last park day, especially when we're leaving, but I think we were all ready for some rest. We were glad that we had decided to see the Epcot fireworks earlier in the week, because I don't think we would have made it another two hours in the park. After taking the Skyliner back to Pop, we packed up as much as we could, and J took everything to the car while I put L to bed. Poor kid fell asleep almost immediately, he was so worn out from all the fun of the past few days.

Up next: Departure Day
Letting children run around in a restaurant is wrong. Period. The patrons may be out for a good time, however, that is someone's work environment; and by not keeping kids in check, you are preventing them from safely doing their jobs. Not to mention that the child themselves could get hurt, and then what? Sorry, I needed to let that out, because reading what happened really set me off. Okay, I'm good now 😆
 
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k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Letting children run around in a restaurant is wrong. Period. The patrons may be out for a good time, however, that is someone's work environment, and by not keeping kids in check, you are preventing them from safely doing their jobs. Not to mention that the child themselves could get hurt, and then what? Sorry, I needed to let that out, because reading what happened really set me off. Okay, I'm good now 😆
Yep. This situation in particular- parents letting their kids literally run around in a crowded restaurant- is one of my pet issues as a parent. Like I said, I try not to judge other parents, because I know how hard it is, and I’d like to think that most of us are doing the best we can with the resources we have. But these folks were not even making an effort to keep their kids from running wild. A crying baby is one thing - that’s their only means of communication. But kids who are old enough to know better, who are clearly not being taught better, is another thing entirely.
 

Bullseye1967

Is that who I am?
Premium Member
I've had this in years past and enjoyed it, but it was just not great this time around. It was ice cold, and the bread was rock solid to the point of being inedible.
It is a joke that they actually served that to you.
The rest of the kids were chasing each other around the restaurant. I wish I was kidding. I try not to judge other parents, because I think most of us are doing the best we can, but I'll admit I was judging. We've certainly been those parents with the disruptive kid in public (who hasn't?), but sitting around on your phones while your kids terrorize your fellow restaurant patrons is just lazy parenting
When we lived in Central FL our favorite Epcot restaurant was Tokyo Dining. I took my wife there for her birthday. Our reservation was during IROE. It was going to be a great evening. We spent about 90 minutes doing World Showcase before our reservation. It was nice. We got seated and the table next to us had 4 adults and 4 kids ages 6 to 12. Adults on the far side and kids on our side. It was the closest table to the check in. When our server came to take our drink order they threw a piece of ice which hit her in the back of her head. I started to get up and she told me "No this is fine". After she left I watched them throw ice at each other. Every group of guests that walked past the table the kids tried to snap them with their napkins. Finally 2 or 3 servers came to the table and started to do Origami for the kids and they settled down. When the food came they were still loud but a bit better. The parents had no clue. They just talked among themselves. It was chaos from start to finish but the staff was so good trying to control it. I have no Idea why they didn't asked the parents to control their kids.
so I can only imagine that the table next to us had given poor Isabella a run for her money. I hope they at least tipped well.
When they finally left we were doing deserts and I asked my server if she was glad they were gone. She just said "It is much quiet now". I told her "I hope you got a decent tip". She responded "I think they forgot". I took a fifty from my wallet and said "they didn't forget, they gave this to me to give to you" She looked at me crazy and said "arigato" and moved away quickly. Another server brought us our bill. I hope I didn't do anything wrong. Yes I did tip well on our bill also.
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
When our server came to take our drink order they threw a piece of ice which hit her in the back of her head. I started to get up and she told me "No this is fine". After she left I watched them throw ice at each other. Every group of guests that walked past the table the kids tried to snap them with their napkins.
That is insane behavior…and to not tip after the staff went above and beyond to try to keep their kids under control is just plain wrong. Thank you for your kindness and generosity toward your server. 🫶🏻
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, December 7th - Departure Day

We have a tradition on the last day of our Disney trips that we always have a table-service breakfast before we leave. We tend to cycle through the same few restaurants - Boma, Grand Flo Café, or Kona Café -this time around, we ate at Kona Café. We had an 8:00 am reservation, so we planned to be leaving Pop by 7:15 at the latest. Around 6:45, J nudged me awake and asked, "What time did you set your alarm for?" Y'all, my alarm was set for WEEKDAYS. I may have said a couple "adult words," and then we were off to the races. We got dressed as quickly as we could, threw all of our last-minute stuff into our tote bag, and we were out the door in under 30 minutes.

We made it to Poly with a few minutes to spare, checked in for our reservation, and were seated in no time. This was our first time at Kona post-renovations, and we had mixed feelings about it. Jason missed the old design, but I was really digging the new one.

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J and I split a pressed pot of Kona coffee, and the three of us also downed plenty of POG juice. For breakfast, I got the seasonal pancakes, which were chocolate peppermint for the holidays. These were definitely tasty, but I'll admit I missed my usual pineapple macadamia nut pancakes. J got the breakfast platter, which came with some miniature pineapple macadamia pancakes - thankfully, he was kind enough to share a bite with me.

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Lincoln opted for the kids' french toast. I was surprised he didn't go for the pancakes, since that's what he usually asks me to make at home. He ate some of the french toast, but mostly ate fruit and bacon, and some bites of my pancakes, of course.

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Once we had finished our breakfast and settled the bill, we all took a bathroom break, and I grabbed a coffee for the road from Kona Island. I had heard about their caramel coconut macchiato, and had to try it for myself - I didn't get any pics, but I can verify that it was delicious. After leaving the Poly, we fueled up at the Speedway over by the Car Care Center, and we were driving through the depressing side of these gates at 9:44 am.

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And that about wraps up our trip. I'll give my final thoughts in a separate post, but thank you to everyone who has been so patient as it's taken me forever to wrap up this TR!
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Final Thoughts

Hotel: We love Pop Century - we're rope-drop to park-closing people, so value resorts work perfectly for our family, and you just can't beat the convenience of the Skyliner. Lincoln especially loved "the purple hotel" (our room was in the 50s section, so our building was purple) - one night when we were walking back to our room, he said "This hotel is a great place to live."

Crowds: We always go the week after Thanksgiving, because you can experience all of the holiday offerings without the insane Christmas break crowds - this time was mostly the same, with a couple exceptions. Disney Springs that first night was more crowded than I've ever seen it. J and I were just talking about this the other day - next time around, we plan on hitting Disney Springs earlier in the day, because it is just too dang crowded at night anymore. Our Epcot day was also crazy - rider-swapping Soarin' and GOTG literally took up nearly THREE HOURS of our day, and all of the festival booths had crazy lines as well. We're toying with the idea of putting Epcot on a different day of our trip, I just need to figure out what makes the most sense.

Weather: It was COLD, y'all. I know people joke about thin-blooded Southerners, but I swear cold in Central Florida feels colder than cold in other places. I had been influenced by the cute TikTok and Instagram girlies and wore tennis skirts a couple of our park days, and my legs were freezing. I may still pack the tennis skirts next time around, but I'm also packing more than enough leggings and jeans.

Overall: The older Lincoln gets, the more fun/easier our trips get. We definitely had a couple of rough days on the front end of the trip - toddlers gonna toddler - but overall, it's been so fun to see him try new things and develop new favorites. I just measured him the other day, as he's been going through quite the growth spurt lately, and he is now 41" tall, which means 1) he's grown 2 inches in the last four months, and 2) he'll be tall enough for lots more rides when we go back later this year. I'm bummed that Big Thunder will still be down for refurbishment - I'm so excited to share my favorite ride with him. We had a great trip - we got to try some new things, which is always a treat, as seasoned Disney veterans. We also got to meet up with some forum friends, which is always fun.

We'll be back again the week after Thanksgiving this year! We did get a bounceback offer, and I let L pick our hotel for the next trip. Spoiler alert...

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I was really hoping for Coronado Springs, which was somehow only $400 more for the entire week, but we don't mind the All Stars, and we certainly don't mind saving money.

Until then, I'll be on the forums as often as I can, living vicariously through all of your trip reports. Thank you all again for reading!
 

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
Saturday, December 7th - Departure Day

We have a tradition on the last day of our Disney trips that we always have a table-service breakfast before we leave. We tend to cycle through the same few restaurants - Boma, Grand Flo Café, or Kona Café -this time around, we ate at Kona Café. We had an 8:00 am reservation, so we planned to be leaving Pop by 7:15 at the latest. Around 6:45, J nudged me awake and asked, "What time did you set your alarm for?" Y'all, my alarm was set for WEEKDAYS. I may have said a couple "adult words," and then we were off to the races. We got dressed as quickly as we could, threw all of our last-minute stuff into our tote bag, and we were out the door in under 30 minutes.

We made it to Poly with a few minutes to spare, checked in for our reservation, and were seated in no time. This was our first time at Kona post-renovations, and we had mixed feelings about it. Jason missed the old design, but I was really digging the new one.

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J and I split a pressed pot of Kona coffee, and the three of us also downed plenty of POG juice. For breakfast, I got the seasonal pancakes, which were chocolate peppermint for the holidays. These were definitely tasty, but I'll admit I missed my usual pineapple macadamia nut pancakes. J got the breakfast platter, which came with some miniature pineapple macadamia pancakes - thankfully, he was kind enough to share a bite with me.

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Lincoln opted for the kids' french toast. I was surprised he didn't go for the pancakes, since that's what he usually asks me to make at home. He ate some of the french toast, but mostly ate fruit and bacon, and some bites of my pancakes, of course.

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Once we had finished our breakfast and settled the bill, we all took a bathroom break, and I grabbed a coffee for the road from Kona Island. I had heard about their caramel coconut macchiato, and had to try it for myself - I didn't get any pics, but I can verify that it was delicious. After leaving the Poly, we fueled up at the Speedway over by the Car Care Center, and we were driving through the depressing side of these gates at 9:44 am.

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And that about wraps up our trip. I'll give my final thoughts in a separate post, but thank you to everyone who has been so patient as it's taken me forever to wrap up this TR!
Another great TR; thanks for sharing!
 

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