Trip Report ‘Tis The Season For More Disney! *COMPLETED*

Fa la la la la
la la la LA

But let’s be honest.
Which season isn’t the season for more Disney?
In 2017 I have been fortunate to experience winter, spring and summer in the world.
And now the holidays!
Since December is such a festive time of year at the parks, I think two trips are in order....don’t you?

Trip #1
Cast: Tuvalu and Em
When: December 1-4, 2017
Where: Port Orleans Riverside
Why: A Jingle BAM Birthday 2.0

Join us as we attend our first MVMCP, wander around World Showcase like a couple of newbies, meet a forum friend and intentionally watch LOTS of fireworks....did we get to Illuminations this year?

You’ll have to wait and see.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Before leaving for dinner, Woody and I popped into our room to get our jackets.
We also stepped outside to take in the sunset view.

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Shirley had called ahead for a private bus ride.
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If it hadn’t been so stinkin’ cold, we would have taken a boat to our destination. But we’ve been on those small boats traversing Bay Lake when the wind chill dips to freezing and it is NOT FUN!

Who’s up for a little Hoop Dee Do?
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Not us....at least not tonight.

Here?
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Only if we were staying at the campground, since this quick serve is take-out only.
(I took the above pics during a reconnaissance mission for @dryerlintfan )

Tonight we were dining at:
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Woody and I were meeting our friends M and K who live locally. They were waiting on the porch for us when we arrived. After quick hello hugs, I checked us in.

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We always enjoy our meals at Trail’s End, which features a buffet of home-style comfort food. And although the price has creeped up in recent years, it is still the cheapest buffet on Disney property. We only waited a couple minutes before our pager buzzed.

This is the bar.
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And this is the dining room.
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Simple, no-frills, come-as-you-are vibe. The servers are friendly and quick to refill beverages and take away dirty plates. I don’t understand the logic of tipping less at a restaurant because it’s “a buffet.” The servers work just as hard and frequent a table as much (if not more) than a non-buffet restaurant.

More pics to follow!

It wasn't for nothing!!! At least, probably not!! We've been talking about buying a camper for a while now and recently priced out camping at Disney with it. We might be buying annual passes later this year and making a trip or two a year!

 

[Longers]

Make your own sundae?! Sounds like heaven

 

[Tuvalu]

Woody and I toured the Lodge upon our return.

These next pictures are ones I promised @LisaBelle.

 

[myhappyplace]

I will have to try Trail's End sometime! Everything on your plate looked so good, and I like the idea of a baked potato bar!

 

[LisaBelle]

Woody and I toured the Lodge upon our return.

These next pictures are ones I promised @LisaBelle.

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Thanks for the pictures of the WL with the beautiful holiday decorations. Simply gorgeous! It is my favorite resort and I absolutely must see it during the holidays! Every time I see Trail’s End mentioned in a TR it looks awesome. I always forget about it when I make my ADRs. I need a better ADR wish list system, lol!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Mousekeeping provided turn-down service while we were away.

The Ghirardelli chocolates were so much better than the chocolate from The Ganachery. Over our stay the mousekeeper was generous and I brought a handful home with us.

Are you still out there castle?

Phew!

Tonight was a MVMCP night....that’s why Space Mountain is red!

Just before 10 pm I cued up the soundtrack to Holiday Wishes and we enjoyed the show from the privacy of our balcony.

And so ends our first magical day!

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Your view is amazing. It would be hard to even leave the balcony when you can stare at that all day.

 

[MinnieM123]

You had the best (Shirley) view in the house!

The Christmas decorations inside the lodge were beautiful.

I can't recall how many years ago it was, that I ate lunch at Trails End. Unfortunately, they stopped serving the luncheon buffet maybe a year or two after that. The luncheon buffet wasn't as plentiful as the evening buffet, but the price was cheaper, and there were certainly enough choices. Also, the luncheon crowd was much lighter, as the campground was removed enough from the parks, that not many people would venture out there, just for lunch (except for maybe the people actually staying at the campground).

 

[LadyBelle]

Secondly, I do not get the obsession of rose gold anything. As a color I find it resembles beige more than “rose” or “gold.” It looks dull. Sedated. As if a child had mixed several colors together while fingerpainting and mom, wanting to praise the work (while thinking “Ewww”), declares: “What a beautiful color! Let’s call it rose gold!”

I’ve always thought that rose gold always looked like it was tarnished. But, as you said, people have different views and that’s okay.

And I say this as someone who owns the rose gold iPhone. Because I didn’t want the grey one (and it’s covered by a phone cover).

 

[Zipadeelady]

Glad to see the love for Trails End. We've enjoyed it, although it was a few years ago. Maybe with your high praise more will try it.

 

[amjt660]

I love the rose gold ears but I just see pink. I don't get the gold portion. It's just a shiny pink to me My husband had to have the rose gold iPhone when they came out. I still tease him about his pink phone. But in his defense I think he thought it would be more gold and less pink. But how I love asking him if I can use his pink phone

True story
1.5 years ago my company finally switched from blackberry to iphone
So they ordered a large sum of iphone7’s all at once
When asked about colour they said to apple they did not care
So we ended up with almost 75% in - yup you guessed it - rose gold
Now realize that I work for an automotive plant
To say the least the manly men around here were none too please when they walked into the training session to be handed a pink phone!!!

PS - I got a black one

Max

 

[Gabe1]

True story
1.5 years ago my company finally switched from blackberry to iphone
So they ordered a large sum of iphone7’s all at once
When asked about colour they said to apple they did not care
So we ended up with almost 75% in - yup you guessed it - rose gold
Now realize that I work for an automotive plant
To say the least the manly men around here were none too please when they walked into the training session to be handed a pink phone!!!

PS - I got a black one

Max

Too Funny!!! An Apple employee with a sense of humor. Gamble with an order that large for a new customer. Lesson Learned by Customer or a one time only customer. Risky little haha there.

 

[need2go2wdw]

All caught up!! Woo hoo! I love the Wilderness Lodge !

 

[Tuvalu]

It wasn't for nothing!!! At least, probably not!! We've been talking about buying a camper for a while now and recently priced out camping at Disney with it. We might be buying annual passes later this year and making a trip or two a year!

So excited to hear you drank the Kool-Aid!
And to think it may have all started with me tasting dryer lint for you.....

Make your own sundae?! Sounds like heaven

Thinking you may want to book an ADR for November!

 

[DryerLintFan]

So excited to hear you drank the Kool-Aid!
And to think it may have all started with me tasting dryer lint for you.....


Thinking you may want to book an ADR for November!

Maybe when we go back, the crowds will be low enough for us to actually see dryer lint being sold!

 

[LeighM]

True story
1.5 years ago my company finally switched from blackberry to iphone
So they ordered a large sum of iphone7’s all at once
When asked about colour they said to apple they did not care
So we ended up with almost 75% in - yup you guessed it - rose gold
Now realize that I work for an automotive plant
To say the least the manly men around here were none too please when they walked into the training session to be handed a pink phone!!!

PS - I got a black one

Max

That is hilarious I can imagine the look on their faces because I saw that same expression on my husband's face when he finally saw his phone! He just didn't want to admit that I was right But I can say he didn't waste any time in putting a phone cover on it LOL.

 

[Tuvalu]

I will have to try Trail's End sometime! Everything on your plate looked so good, and I like the idea of a baked potato bar!

Every time I see Trail’s End mentioned in a TR it looks awesome. I always forget about it when I make my ADRs. I need a better ADR wish list system, lol!!

I can't recall how many years ago it was, that I ate lunch at Trails End. Unfortunately, they stopped serving the luncheon buffet maybe a year or two after that. The luncheon buffet wasn't as plentiful as the evening buffet, but the price was cheaper, and there were certainly enough choices. Also, the luncheon crowd was much lighter, as the campground was removed enough from the parks, that not many people would venture out there, just for lunch (except for maybe the people actually staying at the campground).

Glad to see the love for Trails End. We've enjoyed it, although it was a few years ago. Maybe with your high praise more will try it.

I encourage my friends to try Trail’s End. But not to sing its praise too highly lest it become too popular!

 

[Gurt]

All caught up WL looks so beautiful with all the decorations

 

[Songbird76]

Before leaving for dinner, Woody and I popped into our room to get our jackets.
We also stepped outside to take in the sunset view.

View attachment 260453

Shirley had called ahead for a private bus ride.
View attachment 260454

If it hadn’t been so stinkin’ cold, we would have taken a boat to our destination. But we’ve been on those small boats traversing Bay Lake when the wind chill dips to freezing and it is NOT FUN!

Who’s up for a little Hoop Dee Do?
View attachment 260455

Not us....at least not tonight.

Here?
View attachment 260456

View attachment 260457
Only if we were staying at the campground, since this quick serve is take-out only.
(I took the above pics during a reconnaissance mission for @dryerlintfan )

Tonight we were dining at:
View attachment 260466

Woody and I were meeting our friends M and K who live locally. They were waiting on the porch for us when we arrived. After quick hello hugs, I checked us in.

View attachment 260458

We always enjoy our meals at Trail’s End, which features a buffet of home-style comfort food. And although the price has creeped up in recent years, it is still the cheapest buffet on Disney property. We only waited a couple minutes before our pager buzzed.

This is the bar.
View attachment 260459

And this is the dining room.
View attachment 260460

Simple, no-frills, come-as-you-are vibe. The servers are friendly and quick to refill beverages and take away dirty plates. I don’t understand the logic of tipping less at a restaurant because it’s “a buffet.” The servers work just as hard and frequent a table as much (if not more) than a non-buffet restaurant.

More pics to follow!

Probably a stupid question, but are the buses heated in the winter? They are always FREEZING in the Summer and I had to bring my sweatshirt everywhere we went even though it was in the 90s temp-wise. The restaurants and buses were always sooooo cold.

I so want to do Hoop-dee-doo on our next trip! We've never done it before because I wasn't sure that it would be worth it since DS won't eat any of the food and I wasn't sure either of my kids were strong enough English speakers to get the jokes, but now they are and I really want to try it.

Another stupid question....in that last picture....pretty much right in the center, right behind the woman walking with a plate of food...is someone seated back there wearing a stormtrooper mask?

 

[DryerLintFan]

Probably a stupid question, but are the buses heated in the winter? They are always FREEZING in the Summer and I had to bring my sweatshirt everywhere we went even though it was in the 90s temp-wise. The restaurants and buses were always sooooo cold.

I so want to do Hoop-dee-doo on our next trip! We've never done it before because I wasn't sure that it would be worth it since DS won't eat any of the food and I wasn't sure either of my kids were strong enough English speakers to get the jokes, but now they are and I really want to try it.

Another stupid question....in that last picture....pretty much right in the center, right behind the woman walking with a plate of food...is someone seated back there wearing a stormtrooper mask?

The buses were a very comfortable when we were there in December. They felt cooler than the outside world (which was welcome because we were sweaty) but definitely not cold. Just... comfortable.