Trip Report Another Jolly Holiday ~ JOY From the World ! *COMPLETED*

At the conclusion of my last trip report
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/a-jingle-bam-birthday-completed.922901/
I ended with To be continued....

Well, here's the continuation. Though to be fair, the trips were totally different and not connected in any way except they both included Me (yep, a humble one I am!) And for the second time in a year, I left WDW only to return a week later. I am very grateful that I can visit my favorite place as often as I do and am honored that y'all follow along.

I booked this trip on a bounce back offer while vacationing last year:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/its-a-jolly-holiday-completed.909445/

And this year I may have booked a bounce back offer for December 2017. Okay, I did book. But my love/hate relationship with traveling in December and a few unknowns for the fall may cause me to cancel. Time will tell.

Ready to read about our latest adventures? There's DRAMA . And ELEVATOR COOKIES . And maybe even a RED CARD .

Dates: December 10-15, 2016
Resort: Disney's Wilderness Lodge (duh....it's Christmas!)
Cast: Tuvalu and Woody

Who's in?

 

[Tuvalu]

I just thought of something. Call me crazy, but wondering where they were staying. I can understand if they were staying off site. Which I hope they were. As if they were staying on site, I would hope for sure someone would have picked up on this and start working on correcting the matter.

You aren't crazy, I thought the same thing...how did the family get there?

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday (con't)

I saw a lovely sight in front of the train station ~ the train!!!! For the first time this trip, the train was working WOOT WOOT!! I told Woody I wanted to ride the MPB first. We emerged from the tunnel just as the Flag Retreat Ceremony was beginning. We climbed the steps and stood silently to watch this reverent ritual.

While we have watched this ceremony before from ground level, we really enjoyed the better view from the top of the train station. Seeing the care taken with our flag is a great reminder that we citizens are all part of the United States of America, even though we have our differences. And we should never take our freedom for granted. To all active or retired military....THANK YOU.

Finally aboard the MPB.

Love ridin' the rails!

 

[Tuvalu]

Woody and I did the grand circle tour and then took pleasure in the festive Main Street atmosphere as we walked to dinner. The sun was setting and the lights were twinkling on. Just writing about it makes me happy!

We decided on Columbia Harbor House for dinner and both ordered chicken nuggets and fries. Which ended up being A LOT of food! (It could easily have been our main meal of the day, @MinnieM123 .)

This is the BEFORE picture of my dinner:

And here's the AFTER:

These six nuggets were hidden under the fries in the top pic. I ate six nuggets, which meant my plate had 12 nuggets! Woody had two or three nuggets leftover (he can't remember how many he ate) and some fries. Had we known how generous the portions would be, we would have shared!

We sat at a window table overlooking the Tangled restrooms and It's A Small World ~ but since it was dark, the view was no good, haha.

I had purposefully made our FPs for the nighttime experience. First up?

Sure, we'll bypass the 40 minute wait!

Oh @Longers.........

The only thing better than a BTMRR ride is a BTMRR ride at night!!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

We missed the Frozen "lighting of the castle" show. On purpose. I am very annoyed that Cinderella has no part in this show, nor is her name even mentioned. Sorry Elsa, but it is Cinderella Castle. At least ask her permission before waving your arms and freezing the turrets.

Once the show is over though........I could gaze upon this beauty for a LONG time.

Woody and I lingered in this area for quite awhile. And took lots of pictures....even though we already have lots of pictures from previous visits!

I requested a spin on the MPB 2.0. Off to Tomorrowland!

The moon was big and bright tonight.

Feels good to sit down!

The young adult males in the car ahead of us shone a flashlight during our entire time inside Space Mountain. They were trying to be funny and attempted to "scare" the passengers onboard the rockets. News flash ~ that's not funny, that's RUDE!

 

[Pirate Magic]

Wednesday (con't)

Refreshed from the nap, we were ready to take on the MK ~ hooray, it was not a party night! I thought we should continue with today's theme of creative transportation and ride the boat to the Contemporary and then take the monorail to the MK. (I know, Tuvalu + monorail = issues, but I was willing to gamble! )

Plus, we got to take advantage of this photo op:
View attachment 188745
The Mickey sculpture has been here for ages. In one of our photo albums (not digital, actual prints ) we have a picture of Em and her brothers as children sitting in the ears. I'm too lazy to 1) find it and 2) scan it.

I am happy to report there was no brawl on the monorail platform tonight. No drama of any kind and no waiting ~ the way monorail transport is supposed to be.

A birds eye view of the lodge and cabins.
View attachment 188746

If any of you watch The Middle, or at least saw the episode when the Heck family goes to WDW, you will appreciate the next story.

Woody and I arrived to large crowds at the turnstiles (tapstiles?) There was an Asian family ~ dad, mom and school-aged daughter ~ in line ahead of us. Woody heard them conversing in Japanese and the parents were doing a lot of pointing ~ at the computer printouts in dad's hands, at the tapstiles and at their wrists (which did not have MagicBands). When it was their turn at the tapstiles, dad handed the computer printouts to the CM and the family stared at her.

CM: "These tickets are for Disneyland "
Blank stare from dad, who pointed at the papers.
CM: "This is the Magic Kingdom."
Blank stare.
CM: "You are at Disney World "
Dad points at the papers again.
CM, pointing: "You need to take these over there to Guest Relations." She handed him the papers and desperately looked for another CM who could help the family get the ticket situation resolved.

Proof that TV plot lines are not as far-fetched as they may seem!!!

I feel sorry for the family!!! I hope everything turned out well for them..... As far as The Middle that is my favorite episode!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

I thought I was being so sly when I took the next picture, carefully positioning the lens between the fake plant barriers. But now that the Tomorrowland cabanas are no more, my paparazzi skill is of no value!

This was our last night of vacation and it occurred to me I hadn't yet fulfilled my promise to one of my forum friends. A stop in Auntie Gravity's would fix that.

Ice Cream for you, @Longers!!

Take your pick ~ Root Beer Float or Hot Fudge Sundae?

We found a table to sit at while consuming our treats. This was our view:

Moon over mountain!

Time for our final FP ~ Jingle Cruise. The line was long, rendering it more of a "medium" than a "fast" pass.

MK was crazy packed. Not only was it a non-MVMCP night, it was an EMH night AND the last night before the blackout for seasonal passholders. I checked the app for a 4th FP and nothing was available ~ the first time that has ever happened to me.

We opted not to stay for 10 pm Wishes ~ after all, we had a private window at the lodge for our viewing pleasure. With no MSEP anymore, getting down Main Street to leave was a breeze.

Goodbye, castle!

Our bus luck continued ~ not only was a WL bus waiting for us, we had a private ride back to the lodge.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

That hot fudge sundae from Auntie Gravities looks so good. I think we should stop in there again next trip. I have a soft spot for that place, the first time we went in there it was because my husband wanted something to drink, so he ordered a Coke. As the cast member was getting his Coke and taking his money another cast member looked at us and then went to the soft serve machine and put some ice cream in two dishes and then walked over to us and said, "I accidentally made up an extra order of ice cream, would you like them." We were like "yes!". It was just a fun moment.

 

[Tuvalu]

That hot fudge sundae from Auntie Gravities looks so good. I think we should stop in there again next trip. I have a soft spot for that place, the first time we went in there it was because my husband wanted something to drink, so he ordered a Coke. As the cast member was getting his Coke and taking his money another cast member looked at us and then went to the soft serve machine and put some ice cream in two dishes and then walked over to us and said, "I accidentally made up an extra order of ice cream, would you like them." We were like "yes!". It was just a fun moment.

Great pixie dust story! Woody and I were in Auntie Gravity's one time (probably ordered what is pictured above ) and after I told the cashier what we wanted she handed me a receipt and said, "It's on Mickey, have a magical day."

 

[amjt660]

Tuvalu
I completely agree with you on the Elsa castle show.
It is Cindy's castle- stop squatting and get your own

Max

 

[MinnieM123]

Tuvalu
I completely agree with you on the Elsa castle show.
It is Cindy's castle- stop squatting and get your own

Max

OMG!! This is so true!!! Bout time someone spoke up about this travesty! I think I'll have a breakdown if they ever rename it!

 

[MinnieM123]

Tuvalu, your photos of the Flag Retreat Ceremony were absolutely gorgeous. With the giant tree and the colors of the cast uniforms, these photos really captured the moments of this wonderful ceremony that MK puts on each day.

I've seen it before, but only in May; so although it was very moving to watch, it lacked the color that was evident in your photos.

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuvalu, your photos of the Flag Retreat Ceremony were absolutely gorgeous. With the giant tree and the colors of the cast uniforms, these photos really captured the moments of this wonderful ceremony that MK puts on each day.

I've seen it before, but only in May; so although it was very moving to watch, it lacked the color that was evident in your photos.

Thank you. It wasn't until I posted the photos that I realized just how colorful the event was.

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

You aren't crazy, I thought the same thing...how did the family get there?

Probably by plane

 

[amjt660]

Probably by plane

Could have been by boat

 

[Longers]

Ah, thank you for thinking of me I am Craving ice cream now and dreaming of all my options in 265 days (not that I'm counting!) and we just added an additional day to our trip so we'll have 17 days of ice cream to look forward to. Loving following along

 

[geebee721]

Great trip report! I love Disney during the holidays...there is nothing like the castle all lit up!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Ah, thank you for thinking of me I am Craving ice cream now and dreaming of all my options in 265 days (not that I'm counting!) and we just added an additional day to our trip so we'll have 17 days of ice cream to look forward to. Loving following along

Congrats on the extra day....that's a lot of ice cream!

Great trip report! I love Disney during the holidays...there is nothing like the castle all lit up!!

Thanks for following. The castle at the holidays is breathtaking.

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, December 15

Typically the last day of vacation is melancholy for me, but not today. We'd soon be celebrating Tuvalette's first Christmas and visits from out-of-town family....there was much to look forward to!

And gone would be the stress of wondering if the broken elevator was fixed....our slow last ride down was confirmation that the other elevator was still not operating. (7 days!! And no notification or apology from a WL manager to all resort guests....just a couple days of elevator operators and cookies....poor form, Disney!)

Woody and I dropped off our luggage at the resort airline check in desk and made the quick walk to the bus stop. Just like last night, our bus was waiting for us AND we had another private ride!

But where were we going?

Here:

 

[Tuvalu]

Well I know y'all must be shocked, because I have made it known that AK is not my favorite park...or my second favorite...or my third. I want to love it (and there are many things I like about it) and each visit I hope to kindle a love for it, but sparks never fly. The optimist in me thinks the addition of Pandora and (finally!) Rivers of Light may change my heart ~ but the realist in me believes AK will probably remain my fourth favorite.

I was delighted, however, to notice this as we entered the Oasis.

Whatcha talkin' bout Tuvalu?

Look closely...

She's DEVINE!

 

[Tuvalu]

There was a lonely Photopass photographer on the bridge to Discovery Island.

Lonely no more.

Yay! Another magic shot that worked!

We turned around in time to see the macaws fly over to open the park. Then they returned to their perch.

Such colorful creatures!