Trip Report *Completed* It took 10 years, but we finally had our Disney Christmas!!! ☀️☃☀️

Hello everyone! Just got back from the world last week after an absolutely magical six nights at the Beach Club!!!! This is only my second trip report but I loved writing the first one so much,
(http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...tsburgh-were-going-to-disney-world-tr.880815/ ) and I don't want to forget anything about our very Merry Christmas trip!

A little background info on this trip- first of all, I'm Michelle and a lover of all things Disney! Our last full trip to Disney was February 2014 ( we did Ohana and Mickey's Backyard BBQ while in Florida in March 2015 but never went to the parks)

My husband Kevin stayed home this time ( he's a teacher and didn't feel right asking for extra time off ) so I brought my two kids Calvin, 7, and Claire, 5. We went with my best friend Amy, her husband Tony, and their three kids, Lilly 17, Leionna 12, and Landon 8.

The planning for this trip actually started 10 years ago. When we were 25 years old, Amy and I took Lilly, who was seven, to Disney World for the first time. While at the Christmas store at downtown Disney, we vowed to come back in a few years at Christmas time since Disney and Christmas are two of our favorite things!

Well, fast-forward 10 years, and weddings and more kids, and surgeries and other trips had taken precedence over our Disney Christmas trip. We realized that Lilly was going to be a senior in high school and it was now or never if we were going to bring all of our kids! So this past spring we took the plunge and booked our trip for six nights at the Beach Club, complete with tickets to MVMCP, the Osborne Lights Dessert Party, Minnie's Holiday Dine, and a Candlelight Processional package with Neil Patrick Harris as the narrator! We were not messing around!

Here's a photo from our trip in 2005-

And here's all of our kids, ready for our Disney Christmas trip!!!!

Leionna had broken her foot during dance class about three weeks before our trip so we were going to be wheeling her around for the next week! We decorated her wheelchair with her name and Christmas lights and got a bunch of characters to sign her cast though, so we made the best of it!

 

[mishel635]

We then headed to the Streets of America to check out the Osborne Lights one last time. Even though this trip was our first time seeing them, it makes me really sad that they won't be there anymore. It's hard to explain how I felt when I was walking down that street, but I think the best way to describe it would be awe, wonder, pure joy experiencing them with my kids. Just such a unique experience and even though it really stinks that we won't get to enjoy them anymore, I'm extremely grateful we were able to see them for the first time before Disney ended it all.

A "hidden" Mickey!

Scrooge McDuck!

Aaaaaaand....... We found the elusive purple cat!!! My niece had a book on Hidden Mickeys, and when I told her about the Halloween cat, she was so excited to find it. He was towards the back where the Dessert Party had been but off to the side.

Farewell Osborne's Spectacle of Dancing Lights!!

 

[mishel635]

We came upon this awesome dance party!! Busting a move with Sebastian and Genie!!!

What a great idea!!!! Amy's family decided they wanted to skip Fantasmic and gave away their dinner package tickets but my kids really wanted to see it for the first time so we headed down towards Fantasmic!

We headed to the Jafar section I believe but stayed towards the back. For one, I was a little worried about the flames from the fire scaring Claire and for two, I wanted to head out quickly afterwards to get to the boat back to the Beach Club.

Before it started we had several sing a longs and also several rounds of "the wave". Such a fun crowd!!!!



It was all of ours' first time for Fantasmic and we LOVED it!!!! The kids got a little nervous in the middle of the show when it's the nightmare part, but I just reminded them it was just Mickey's dream and they were fine.

Beauty and the Beast!

Ariel and Prince Eric!

Snow White and her Prince!

Evil Queen!

 

[mishel635]

I loved the ending of this show!!!

Gorgeous tree on our way to the boat.

Gorgeous view on the boat ride to the Beach Club...

 

[HouCuseChickie]

WOW! I don't even know where to start! First off...even though I had my own holiday Disney trip, I'm so envious to see all of the WDW holiday decor. Just something about seeing your pics of the castle and Osborne Lights. Great that you guys were also able to swim. I remember staying at YC and it was in the 40s & 50s (cold to us), so we did not swim in Stormalong Love all of the little notes and outfits. Sooooooooooo cute! Can't wait to read more!

 

[mishel635]

Hello fellow Western New Yorker!!!!!(Lockport to be exact) My wife and I are loving your trip report. We haven't been down there for the holidays in a couple of years,but we love reminiscing through your pics. We love all of your ideas as far as getting ornaments signed and and also having your family letter signed. That shows how into Disney you guys really are......don't worry we are also!!!!!! Next thing you guys need to put on your bucket list is a Disney Cruise. They are a blast and fun for the hole family. We are probably doing the parks for Halloween and do the Not so scary Halloween party....always fun. If you haven't done that I highly recommend doing it. I know it's kinda hard with the kiddos in school. Looking forward to reading more of your report!!!!!

Thanks for following along!!!! I'm up in Buffalo pretty often as one of my good friends lives downtown near Allentown. A Disney Cruise and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party are on my vacation bucket list! Can't wait til I can experience them!

Thanks for sharing, @mishel635 ! We finally get to see WDW at Christmas **THIS** year. Seeing your pics has got me so excited - I cannot wait!!!

Glad to help!!! I'm so glad we did it and cannot wait to go again at Christmastime!

the whole thing with the cards/notes every morning is great. what a good idea. i assume that cost a bit but totally worth it for kids.

Thanks!!! They actually were only about $1 apiece.... Not too bad and the kids LOVED them!

When looking at your TR the wish for being there at Christmas season is getting bigger and bigger And Halloween is as great! Can't wait for next October! We passed the 275 days mark yesterday!

How exciting to go at Halloween!! Can't wait til we can do it!

WOW! I don't even know where to start! First off...even though I had my own holiday Disney trip, I'm so envious to see all of the WDW holiday decor. Just something about seeing your pics of the castle and Osborne Lights. Great that you guys were also able to swim. I remember staying at YC and it was in the 40s & 50s (cold to us), so we did not swim in Stormalong Love all of the little notes and outfits. Sooooooooooo cute! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks so much! We lucked out with weather- the high was 75-80 the whole week we were there. And I can't wait to check out your Disneyland trip report. I'm pretty sure I have my husband convinced to go to California next spring break and spend a couple of days at Disneyland!!!

 

[mishel635]

I couldn't believe I already had to get the last letter out....

We packed up all of our stuff. We had a full day planned as our flight wasn't until 9pm. We dropped everything off with bell services and got our boarding passes. We had a breakfast ADR at Cape May Cafe. Watching Mickey cartoons while we wait-

Claire still mesmerized by the carousel...

Cape May Cafe breakfast is one of our favorites! Minnie, Goofy and Donald all decked out in their beach attire, and the food is great! We especially loved the made to order crepes- the banana Nutella one was delicious!!!!

Donald!

Goofy!!!

Calvin said he was going to grab "one last thing" and came back with a plate full of bacon. He kills me!

We were all done eating and didn't see Minnie anywhere in sight so we decided to get on with our last day plans- one last day at Magic Kingdom!!!! Walked in to see this sign-

I guess we picked a good day to leave!

 

[mishel635]

First FastPass was my favorite ride....

Splash Mountain!!!!!! When we had come the last time, Splash had been closed for a refurb so this was the first time I got to experience it with my kids.

Calvin wasn't too thrilled about the idea of getting soaked, which a little boy in front of us kept saying would happen.

I figured at least we would have all day to dry off!

I love this ride so much... The theming, the story, the songs, love it!

Can just see the top of the castle!

Soooo we got a liiiittle wet! Not too bad though.

 

[mishel635]

Claire loved it and declared it her new favorite ride (she'd done that a lot during the week )
Calvin liked it but said it would be better if we didn't get wet at all.

We made our way over to Fantasyland with a stop at Sir Mickey's to find a hoodie that Leionna wanted.

Claire loved that Minnie was dressed up as Elsa!

We were all standing in front of the store near the carousel when we had the most wonderful cast member interaction!

First a cast member named Bill came up to us and starting talking to us about where we are from and how long we are here for.

Then, who we later found out to be Sir Sterling and Lady Llewellyn came up and starting talking to us. They were so funny!

Then Bill gave us a FastPass for all eight of us for any ride in the park!!! I couldn't believe it!!!

Making our fiercest dragon fighting faces-

Talking with Claire

Calvin asked if he could see his sword and he replied "I don't know if I can do that. I need it you see. Look around! Do you see any dragons here?" To which Calvin replied "No". He yelled out "That's right! Because of me!" So funny!

Right after knighting "Sir Calvin" he let him try out his dragon fighting sword!

It was such a great interaction! Definitely felt the "Disney Magic and pixie dust" on our last day!

 

[mishel635]

Forgot to post this before. Calvin's face is hysterical to me. He would say he really liked these rides during and after them, but his faces look like he's being tortured!

Our next FastPass was for another round on one of our new favorite rides- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!

This one of Tony is hilarious!

We saw that there was only a 10 minute wait for Stitch's Escape and Monsters Laugh Floor and the kids and I had never done either of them, so we headed over there.

Well helloooooo Pooh and Tigger! We will see you in a little bit at lunch!

My kids are big Lilo and Stitch fans so they were pretty excited about this ride...

I know a lot of people don't care for it, but we liked it! I could have done without Stitch burping in my face but we still enjoyed it!

We still had time to kill before our Buzz Lightyear FastPass so we headed over to Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.

This was such a great experience! We all thought it was hysterical! The kids thought it was so cool that we could try to text in a joke so I sent the only cheesy Disney joke I could remember and they ended up reading it. The kids were SO excited! It was "why shouldn't you give your balloon to Elsa?" Because she'll let it go!

We had a lunch ADR at Crystal Palace at 2pm so we headed over there....

 

[mishel635]

Waiting for our table... I love how they had a blast all week whether they were on rides, swimming or just hanging out... I was NOT ready for this week to end!

I loved the Christmas touches in the Crystal Palace.

Friendship Day!!!!!

Up first... Eeyore!!!!

Winnie the Pooh!!!!

Piglet!!!!

TIGGER!!!!

This was my first time having lunch at Crystal Palace, and while the food was good, and it was a great mid-day break, that breakfast lasagna alone is worth going for breakfast instead!!!!! I have dreams about it.

Overall though, the food was very good for a buffet, (definitely try the flan!) and the character interaction was top notch!

 

[mishel635]

After lunch, we had our Buzz Fastpass and we still hadn't used our bonus FastPass either.

A quick picture of the castle on our way to Tomorrowland.

We headed over to Buzz Lightyear. The kids still love this ride and were excited to get to go on it one more time.

Star Command! Do you read me???

The kids and I all ride together this time.

We headed over to the Storybook Circus store to get a hoodie that I had wanted for Calvin and to use up some of our leftover snack credits.
YUM!!!!!

I also had three leftover meals but I was told that I could get three snacks for each one. I decided to save those and take the monorail to Epcot for a stop at Karmel Kuche in Germany before our flight home that night.

Everyone voted to use our fast pass for Peter Pan's flight. The wait was up to 60 minutes.

This ride never gets old! I tried taking some indoor pics over London and Neverland but they did not turn out.

We also did not time leaving the park very well... The upside was we got to catch some of the Festival of Fantasy Parade on our way out.

Farewell Mickey and Minnie!!! Luckily, we will be seeing you again in February due to my amazing in laws!!!!

 

[mishel635]

We stopped for one last picture in front of the tree...

Amy and her family wanted to head back to the Beach Club and hang out there for a bit before our Magical Express pickup at 6:15. My kids and I decided to take the monorail to Epcot and walk to the Beach Club...

I love the Monorail!! My dream is to one day stay at Bay Lake or the Polynesian with the kids or the Grand Floridian for an adults only trip...

Made it to Epcot!

As we were walking past the Fountains, I had one of those perfect moments. The sun was shining, there was Christmas music playing, I could see palm trees, and the big Epcot Christmas tree. I took a deep breath and I told the kids "Soak this all in kids. Who knows if we will ever get to come back here at Christmastime again". Apparently I should have thought about how emotional my kids can be because Claire got sad and Calvin started crying actual tears. I know kids. I know.

We made our way through Canada to grab some maple pecan bark for my Gram. She loves anything maple. We then made our way to Germany for some delicious caramel treats!

Seriously, this place owns me. My sweet tooth (or as Calvin says, his mouth full of sweet teeth ) LOVES that this place exists. We got two caramel covered apples, sliced to go to share and also some caramel cookies and my favorite- sea salt caramels. I also got a bacon caramel to take home to Kevin. He said it was pretty good!

Ahhhh Germany! Between Biergarten, Karamell-Kuche, and Proust, it has become my favorite country at Epcot!

We got to see the Candlelight Processional during the day...

 

[mishel635]

Some more pics I took on our walk through Epcot-

We were going over the bridge after France, and there was a Photopass photographer with no line.

Chip!!!! The kids were so excited to see that he was who was in Claire's hand. They both thought it would be Tink.

When we were leaving, the photographer told us to have a great day and Calvin looked at him, with a completely serious look on his face and said "I don't think I can! We're leaving Disney World today!!" It was funny but heartbreaking at the same time.
I told him that he needs to remember we get to come back in February with his cousins and Nana and Grandpa but he just looked at me with tears in his eyes and said "But not to the Beach Club! I love it here." Now the entitlement is not lost on me, but he's seven and was just sad to leave a place that he loves so much. Since we got home, he's beyond excited to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge for the first time.

They asked to play on the beach one last time-

Such a beautiful area. I can't wait to come back again someday. The Beach Club owns my heart...

 

[mishel635]

Back at the Beach Club!

Amy, Tony and the kids were hanging out at the DVC lounge (they are DVC members) and that's the part we stayed in last time and I wanted to check out my favorite room-


I don't know if it's the seating, the floors, the high ceilings or what but I LOVE this room!

Visiting Ariel-

We sloooooowly made our way to the Magical Express area...

We got on and within five minutes I looked across the aisle to see this-

She does some of her best napping on Disney's Magical Express

When we got to the airport, we found that our 9:00 pm flight got bumped to 9:30.
Stopped to see Mickey one last time.

We found the food court and grabbed some fast food. Claire loved the aquarium in the middle of the food court.

Waited around for our flight for a bit and then we were on our way back to the cold and snow of western New York.

Even our flight home had the holiday spirit going on!

We refused to take our Magic Bands off and wore them until we got home.

 

[mishel635]

So that's it! It truly felt more magical and more special being there at the holidays. I can't wait to go back again!

And since a few people asked- here's my Autograph ornaments-

Thanks for following along!!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

LOVE the ornaments! The pics of the kids on the beach are great too! Jealous that your SWA flight was so festive. We flew on Christmas, but I'm guessing since it was daytime, they couldn't illuminate the cabin like that. All in all - looks like you had a great trip!

 

[mishel635]

LOVE the ornaments! The pics of the kids on the beach are great too! Jealous that your SWA flight was so festive. We flew on Christmas, but I'm guessing since it was daytime, they couldn't illuminate the cabin like that. All in all - looks like you had a great trip!

Thanks! We had such an amazing time! Yes our flight was at 9:30 so they kept the lights dim the whole time. I'm waiting til after our WDW trip next week to start reading your California trip report. That way I can focus on our trip to Cali we are planning for 2017!!!! Can't wait to start it!

 

[LisaBelle]

Finally got caught up on your TR. I loved it all. So jealous that you got to go at Christmas and were able to see the Osborne lights. A Disney Christmas is on my Disney Bucket list. Loved all the special touches with the notes and t-shirts. I especially liked the "Just one more day, please!" shirts. What are your February dates? My sister and I will be there February 17-22. We are running the in the Princess 5K.