Baby It's Cold Outside - a 1/2-1/9 trip report

Welcome all to my trip report! This trip included a large cast and even a few first-timers. The cast includes: myself, my fiance, Jordan, Disneybird (my mother), my dad, Larry, my sister, Amanda, my brother-in-law, John, my nephew, Victor, my grandmother, 'Mamaw', my uncle, Norman, my aunt, Pam, my cousin, Jennifer, and her boyfriend, Jamie. Yeah, a lot of people. This was the first trip for Jordan, Victor, and Jamie. We started planning this trip a year ago after our first trip to Disneyland. So, we spent the past year brainwashing Victor and annoying Jordan with our incessant talk of all things WDW.

My trip actually started a few days earlier on 12/28 when I flew from Nashville to Baltimore to spend New Year's with Jordan's family. Jordan spent Christmas there with his family and this would be the last time that I would see my future in-laws before our wedding. Before he left we purchased a new camera, a Canon SX200 IS. He took the camera with him, and I kept the camera book with me to study up on our new camera. I was so excited to get to try out the functions on our trip. While we were in Maryland we stopped in H&M to do some shopping. I absolutely love H&M, and the closest one to me is 2.5 hours away. I made an incredibly smart purchase in buying 2 pairs of gloves for $4 (gotta love H&M) conisdering that freezing temperatures awaited us in Florida.

We left Baltimore on New Year's and breezed through security. I was so surprised at how quickly we got through. I expected tight security since it was New Year's and we would fly close to D.C. However, we were met with no lines and no problems, even though Jordan was tested for explosives after he accidentally left a Gatorade bottle in his backpack. We flew Southwest and found out that our flight had 75 empty seats on it. It was a nice and quiet 2 hour flight.

We landed in Orlando around 9:00 P.M. and went down to baggage claim. We had Magical Express reservations and got lost from baggage claim to ME. After we found ME, we checked in and got in line for Pop Century. Our bus ride was uneventful, and I couldn't see any excitement building on Jordan's face. It was for me, though. My parents met us at the ME drop off for Pop. Our room was in the 50's. Jordan and I headed down to the food court for a snack. I got a piece of the tye-dye cheesecake. It was wonderful! I was afraid of how the cheesecake red velvet combination would taste, but the red velvet had just enough of a subtle flavor against the cheesecake. We headed to bed after our snacks. The next morning we had to wake up really early. Jordan and I planned on going to Universal for the day. My dad was going to drop us off on his way to play poker in Tampa. He informed us that we would be leaving at 6:45. yay...

So, after this long introduction on with the trip and pictures!
 

popsicletrees

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
1/3 - DHS, Epcot, and back to DHS

Today was another early morning. We were switching over to the Polynesian for the rest of our stay, and finally Jordan and I were going to a park. We hadn't bought our tickets yet, so as soon as we were ready we headed down to the lobby of the Pop. While in line for the concierge, a couple walked up to us and asked if we were checking in. Thinking that they were looking for the check-in line I told them that we were in line for our tickets and the check-in line was a little further down. They told us that they were leaving and wanted to give away their resort mugs and if we wanted them. Umm, sweet! We very gratefully took them, bought our tickets, then headed to the food court to wash them out. With our new mugs in tote, we headed out to the bus stop for DHS.

We arrived at DHS at opening time, but we ended up waiting at the entrance for my uncle and his family. Some pictures while we waited.

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So, thirty minutes later the whole group was together. Our first stop was Midway Mania. Jordan is definitely a recreational gamer, and I'm competitive enough to play games with him. Well, I really couldn't wait to get him on Midway Mania to see if I could beat him. At 9:30 the wait time was already at 45 minutes. We got in the standby line anyways.

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Our wait time actually went by quickly. Finally we were in and ready to go. Well, despite all of my best efforts Jordan won. In fact, he beat all of us.

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popsicletrees

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
From Pixar Place we headed over to RnRC to grab fastpasses and went to ToT. Our fastpasses were for about 30 min from the current time. So, by the time we went to ToT, it would be time for our fastpasses.

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This was obviously Jordan's first time on the ride, and it was also my cousin's boyfriend, Jamie's first time. I love being on this ride with first-timers. I asked Jordan when we got on if he was nervous. Of course Mr. Tough Guy said that he wasn't. Well, after the elevator stopped the first time where you see the ghosts and as we were heading up, I felt a squeeze on my hand. Afterwards, Jamie apologized to all of us for cursing during the ride. :lol: We didn't hear him, but we could hear him screaming. From there it was time to redeem our fps for RnRC. Everyone came off loving this one too, but Jamie lost his voice at this point from screaming so much.

The whole group hit up the GMR next. Then, mom, dad, and Mamaw went to Epcot for their lunch reservations at Biergarten. The rest of us went to Hollywood Blvd to grab something quickly. I had a personal pizza, which was really good.

We continued on our way through DHS and made it to Star Tours. Star Tours had a 50 minute wait posted. I have never seen such a high wait for this attraction. Well, fastpass was only about 15 minutes from the current time. So we grabbed some fastpasses and headed to Muppet Vision 3D - one of my favorites.

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We went back to Star Tours for our fps. Jordan and I are huge Star Wars fans, and he was so excited to find out that there was a Star Wars based attraction. He was also really interested in the Jedi Training Academy, but the whole height and age requirement but a damper on that.

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ksr99

Active Member
Awesome!!

Great Trip Report, dont you hate that it takes forever for a vacation to arrive, but seconds for it to be over!!!!
 

ksr99

Active Member
Fun Times!

Great Trip Report, sorry it was cold for you guys. Whenever I think of going to "the world" I never want to have to wear a jacket!!!
 

Disneybird

Member
On our boat trip to EPCOT from DHS, the assistant on the boat played a game with all the passengers. She divided the boat in half, and began to play music. The first person to name the song title won a point for their side of the boat. I surprised myself in this game. Both sides tied with 9 points, and I got 7 of ours. :sohappy: My mother and husband were both laughing at me because I got so into this.

We then went to eat at Biergarten for the first time, and I have to say that I was surprised. I'm not sure what I expected (maybe lots of kraut and wieners), but there was plenty for a picky eater like me. This is a definite must do next time.

From there we left to check into the Polynesian. Our room was ready, our luggage had arrived, and my daughter, her husband and my grandson were walking down the sidewalk just a few minutes later.

After going to the MK for the first time this trip, my husband and I took Victor to Chef Mickeys. I have to say as much as Victor enjoyed the characters, nothing thrilled him as much as watching the Monorail go by.

Amanda and John went to a late dinner at Victoria and Albert's which they both declared one of the best 2 dining experiences they had ever had. The other was in NY, and cost about twice what V & A's cost.
 

popsicletrees

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Great Trip Report, dont you hate that it takes forever for a vacation to arrive, but seconds for it to be over!!!!

Yes! I thought that since we had 6 and 1/2 days in the parks that we would have plenty of time to do everything, but the time just flew by! Thank you for reading!

Great Trip Report, sorry it was cold for you guys. Whenever I think of going to "the world" I never want to have to wear a jacket!!!

Thank you! I wouldn't have minded a light jacket, but the gloves were pushing it. Then, I had to pull out my winter coat! We still had a great time, though

Yay! :sohappy:

You guys are adorable! Love it.

And love the title...so fitting, huh? Gosh it was cold that week. :lol:

So very cold and thank you! We were able to get some hammock pictures too, but no younger siblings came out to ruin our time together. :lol:

Loving the update! Keep it coming... Sure love Disney all decked out for the holidays!

Thank you! I loved seeing all the Christmas decorations. I didn't mind seeing the decorations throughout our entire stay, but they kept playing Christmas music in the parks, which was a little disappointing because I was looking forward to hearing a lot of the park loops.
 

popsicletrees

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Jordan and I took a bus from DHS and arrived at the Poly right at 2. We met my mom in the lobby, and she went to go check us in. Our room was in the Tokelau long house. This was a great location! It was almost perfectly centered between the Great Ceremonial House and the TTC.

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We spent close to two hours resting in the room, unpacking, and warming up. Jordan and I headed to the TTC around 4:15 to head to Epcot for our 4:45 reservations at Coral Reef. This was my first time dining here. When Jordan and I were making our reservation list after I told him that we ate in an aquarium, he was sold.

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For our entrees, I ordered the tile fish, but they told me that they only had red snapper, and Jordan had the Mahi Mahi. The snapper was ok, but Jordan's Mahi Mahi was really delicious. If we go back, I will definitely be ordering the Mahi Mahi. For dessert, Jordan had the Chocolate Wave and I had the no sugar added cheesecake.

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I didn't try his dessert because I don't care for chocolate, but I liked the cheesecake.

After dinner we planned on catching a bus to DHS to see the Osbourne Festival of Lights, but not without a spin on SSE first.

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Originally, we planned on walking the distance to DHS, but it was just too cold. Now, I know that we planned on being outside at DHS, but we needed to thaw out for a bit first.
 

popsicletrees

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I will also add that we planned on making this a long night and go to MK so I could see the castle lit before the lights started to come down, but as many of you know, we had no problem getting plenty of time looking at the Christmas decorations throughout the rest of our trip.

We arrived at DHS and headed straight to the Osbourne Festival of Lights.

It looked crowded, but it wasn't at all. Everyone seemed to congregate and stay in this entrance area.

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I told him that this could be our Christmas card next year :lol:

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popsicletrees

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
1/4 Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and dinner at Le Cellier

I guess before I start I should add that my sister, brother-in-law, and newphew arrived at WDW the previous day. So, we all decided to head over the MK for a little while. Our first stop was of course:

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My brother-in-law, John:

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I know some people complain about the refurb, but I am so glad that Space Mountain did not change. I rode DL's version last year, and IMO it wasn't nearly as fun. I'm also glad that it is darker in there too. It's one of my favorites, and it turned out to be Jordan's favorite of the entire trip.

Afterwards, it was time to take this little guy to Fantasyland.

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Our first stop was:

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popsicletrees

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Despite the concerned look, Victor really likes Jordan:

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Then, we had a character siting. Two of Victor's favorites.
"Who do you see?"
"Tigger and Pooh!"

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I think they just came out because there was a really short line for them. This was the first character siting for Jordan and me. While I am not as avid of a character hunter as some on these boards, I did want Jordan to be able to see a few characters on our trip.

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As soon as Victor pulled away from his hug, his hair stood on end. It was so funny watching Tigger and Pooh play with his staticy hair.

You can see it a little in this picture:

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Jordan and I went up next to get our picture taken. I went towards Tigger and he leaned over and planted one on me. Jordan looked at me and said, "Hey! Did he, did he just kiss you?" "Yep."

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popsicletrees

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After meeting Tigger and Pooh, we jumped in our very own honeypot.

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A blurred image of the rest of my family (disneybird is in the back left of the photo):

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While I was sad to see Mr. Toad go, I love that the heffalumps & woozles are in this ride.

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Next up was Peter Pan:

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Afterwards we went on Jordan's 2nd favorite ride of the trip:

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Only kidding. As soon as we sat down he grabbed my camera and started snapping away. I told him that he was missing the ride. He said, "I just thought that you might want this one documented." Yeah, right.

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popsicletrees

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We grabbed lunch at Pecos Bill's. Then, Amanda, John, Jordan, and I headed off to the Haunted Mansion. Apparently Victor didn't like it too much the night before. So, my parents took him off to do something else. I just realized that the pictures that I took at HM didn't upload. So, I will get those up here after I get home. From here, Jordan and I went back to Space Mountain to use or fastpasses. We decided to take a boat back to the Poly for some r&r before going to Epcot that night. Even though it was a little chilly, it was still a nice day for a boat ride.

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Our captain was super nice and took our picture before we got off. I don't know his name, but thanks anyways!

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The beach was empty, so we grabbed a hammock for about 20 minutes.

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harveyt0206

Well-Known Member
Thanks so much! I've never seen Gilmore Girls, but I take that as a compliment. :lol:

LOL, yes, please take it as a compliment. I think she is lovely so it was certainly meant as a compliment. I always forget that just because you think a comparison is favorable, the person receiving the comparison may not appreciate it. :lol:

Still loving the report. Can't wait for the Mansion pics.
 

Disneyfalcon

Well-Known Member
Great report so far!! You guys are so incredibly adorable!!

I love the Hogwarts pictures!!

I love that you and your mom are both giving us reports!!:sohappy:
 

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
You are just the cutest couple, and your pictures are great! I can get the feel of being there for the holidays, so thank you for that. :wave:
 

lisak09

Well-Known Member
Great report, really loved looking at al your photo's keep them coming:). Can't wait until its my turn to be there:)
 

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