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

mishel635 · Jan 7, 2016

We had such a great night!!!! Lots of rides- The People Mover, IASW, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey's Philharmagic, Barnstormer and many more! The wait times were not bad at all. We also went on Carousel of Progress, which I love for sentimental reasons. One of my favorite memories from my trip in 1994 was leaving Carousel of Progress and singing "There's a great big beautiful tomorrow... Shining at the end of every daaaay!" with my parents, little brother and sister. I brought the kids on it thinking they might find it boring, but they LOVED it!!!! I catch them humming or singing "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" all the time. It makes me so happy! :happy:

Dumbo at almost midnight-

People mover selfie!!!!

We made our way out of the park a little after midnight. Still couldn't get over how gorgeous the castle was...

And Main Street all decorated too!

We stopped for a few Photopass pics under the big tree!

Arriving back at the Beach Club around 1:00 am! Claire kept nodding off on the bus but she stayed awake. My kids were troopers on this trip! They are normally on a pretty regular sleep schedule at home - in bed by 8:30 except for special occasions, and up by about 6:30-7:30- so I was a little worried they wouldn't do well with the crazy hours but they were great!

mishel635 · Jan 9, 2016

The next day was an Epcot day!!! Found this in the morning-

We ate some protein bars and lounged for an hour or two in our rooms. Then we walked through the international gateway to the World Showcase! We grabbed our passports and were on our way!!!

First stop- France!

Amy and I grabbed some Grey Goose slushies and Tony grabbed some type of French beer, and we were on our way! Not sure if you can see it well, but Tony's shirt says "Wearin' Ears and Drinkin' Beers" We got stopped so. many. times. with people asking where he bought it.

Next stop - Morocco! The kids were so excited about their passports! Got our stamps and an info card and we were on our way!

Quick stop in Japan for a stamp and then we were off to the American Adventure! The shops here that were set up out front were awesome!! I wanted to buy ALL the things!

Gingerbread Capitol Building and Washington Monument.

Love this...

PineapplePrincess · Jan 9, 2016

I'm thoroughly enjoying your TR! Your kids are super adorable! I'm not sure if you mentioned this at the beginning of your report because I've been reading it in pieces, but where did you get all of your shirts?
Also, I think I'm going to steal the letter idea. My DD will be 18 on our next trip, so she doesn't collect autographs anymore, but I think that would be a fantastic addition to our mantle. What kind of marker did you use? Thanks in advance!

myhappyplace · Jan 9, 2016

Oh. My. Goodness.

I LOVE your TR!!! I can't wait to go this December!! I love all of your shirts, and Claire's skirts! Because of them, I just said to my husband that we are getting special shirts for our MVMCP night!!

Beeeeyooootiful pics of the castle lights and Main street!!

Gah, I just can't wait to see the GF all Christmasey for the first time!!

And, yes, as Pineapple Princess said above, I think we might steal the letter idea, too!

mishel635 · Jan 9, 2016

FlaggNL said:
WoW! What a report! Great to be in the world in Christmas season! It is on our wishlist for the future! Next time will be Halloween season again, but as soon as Sacha (daugther) is finished with education in the future we will be in the world during Christmas season! Thanks for sharing and absolutely following along!

Thanks!!!! Going at Halloween is on my list of future trips as well!

LisaBelle said:
Have never been to Disney at Christmas, but hope to one day. LOVE the pictures of the parade. The Toy Soldiers looked awesome. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for following along!

ScarletBegonias said:
I am LOVING your TR!!! I love Christmas so much, and would love to come for Christmas some day when my daughter is a bit older.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for following along! I know it sounds cheesy, but it really was a dream come true combining two of my favorite things- Christmas and Disney!!!

PineapplePrincess said:
I'm thoroughly enjoying your TR! Your kids are super adorable! I'm not sure if you mentioned this at the beginning of your report because I've been reading it in pieces, but where did you get all of your shirts?
Also, I think I'm going to steal the letter idea. My DD will be 18 on our next trip, so she doesn't collect autographs anymore, but I think that would be a fantastic addition to our mantle. What kind of marker did you use? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for following along! Most of our shirts were from different shops on etsy, except for the vinyl ones. I have a local embroidery shop that made those. I just bought a silver sharpie for the letter.

myhappyplace said:
Oh. My. Goodness.

I LOVE your TR!!! I can't wait to go this December!! I love all of your shirts, and Claire's skirts! Because of them, I just said to my husband that we are getting special shirts for our MVMCP night!!

Beeeeyooootiful pics of the castle lights and Main street!!

Gah, I just can't wait to see the GF all Christmasey for the first time!!

And, yes, as Pineapple Princess said above, I think we might steal the letter idea, too!

Thanks so much! I love that I can look up all the time when I'm going about my day, and see our signature letter. Definitely worth doing!

Brian & Jill · Jan 9, 2016

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!!!!!

mishel635 · Jan 9, 2016

We had a lunch ADR at Via Napoli so we headed to Italy. I had never eaten here, and since my grandma and my mother in law both come from Italy, I was really excited for this ADR.

Got to see the flag ceremony on our way in...

We waited about 5 minutes in a line to check in, and then 5 minutes until we were seated.

My kids loved the story behind the ovens- we talk about Italy often and my mother in law used to sing Italian nursery rhymes to my kids and they know a good amount of Italian. Someday we will get there!!!

I can't say enough about this meal. Everything was delicious!!!! We split several appetizers- calamari, mozzarella caprese, and arancini- fried risotto balls with cheese and meat inside. They were all good.

Then for our entrees- I had the carciofi pizza (artichokes, fontina and truffle oil) Amy had the pepperoni pizza and Tony was daring and ordered the prosciutto and melon pizza which we all tried and it was SO good! The kids all had cheese pizza except for Claire who devoured her spaghetti and meatballs.

Making her Nonna proud!

We had to get a picture of our adorable waiter- he was great!

For dessert, I had the tiramisu which was amazing!!!!! So good!!! The kids all ordered ice cream, and they thought it was so funny when they asked for sprinkles and our waiter didn't know what we were talking about. :happy:

We made our way back to the shops in America as we all had seen something we wanted and we had hoped the line for Samta had gone down but it was still a bit longer than we wanted to wait. Since the kids were full at lunch and didn't really eat their ice cream, I gave in and let them each use a snack credit for a gingerbread man.

We skipped Germany since we were having dinner at Biergarten! Stopped in China for a stamp and some pressed pennies. We tried to see the acrobats but we were a little late and weren't able to see them. We then headed to Norway-

And with no Maelstrom to go on, and being WAY too full for school bread, we headed to Mexico!

Getting their Mexico passport stamp..

Couldn't pass up a pineapple margarita!!!

mishel635 · Jan 10, 2016

We had a FastPass for the Epcot character spot which we had never done before. The kids loved it and we had some great character interaction. The only thing that was somewhat disappointing was that they didn't have a Photopass photographer for Goofy. No big deal though- I just did my best with my iPhone.

High fives...

And fist bumps!

Mickey!!!!

Minnie!

We also had a FastPass for Test Track so we rode it again. This trip was our first time riding it and now it's definitely one of our favorites!!!!

mishel635 · Jan 10, 2016

We slowly made our way back to the World Showcase as we had a 5:00 pm ADR at Biergarten. I was really excited for this meal! I've heard such great things and I love dinner shows in general and so do my kids so I was pretty sure we would love it and we did!

We had to wait about 25 minutes to be seated and it was pretty warm where we were waiting, but we pushed through.

Checked out Germany and got our stamp-

We were called to our table and had a wonderful view of the stage! Because we were a party of 8 it was just us at our table.

The kids loved that you could see the moon!

The atmosphere in here was so fun! Loud, but fun!!

Although I figured we would all love it, I was most excited for Claire to experience Biergarten. She is my artistic one- always singing and dancing and putting on little shows. I figured she would love the band and I was right! After about two minutes of being seated, she asked if she could go down to the dance floor.

Pure joy!!!!

Such versatile entertainers!

Telling the story of how Silent Night was written

I really liked the food here and my kids are pretty adventurous eaters so they enjoyed it as well but there wasn't much for kids that are picky eaters. Just something to keep in mind if you are heading there with kids. My kids ate some different veggies and fruit, rice and sausage. The desserts here were really good as well. Amy and I got the wine flight and Tony got the beer flight and they were definitely worth it. Very good. Overall an awesome experience and I would love to go back someday!

mishel635 · Jan 10, 2016

After dinner we checked out Germany a little more and then headed to the UK and Canada for our final two stamps.... We did it!!!!
We then slowly made our way towards Future World. We had some time to kill before the Illuminations Dessert Party!!!!

We checked out MouseGears and bought a few things and then just took in the beauty around the fountains for a bit. There was only a 15 minute wait for SSE so we went on a journey through time and space again.

We then headed back towards the World Showcase to get in line for the dessert party.

The gorgeous huge tree-

We got in line and were pretty surprised to discover there were no chairs to sit in! I don't know if this is common knowledge but we had no idea and had been looking forward to the same nice relaxing evening we had at the Osborne Lights Dessert Party. But we still had amazing views and unlimited drinks and desserts so we decided to enjoy it even if we were sitting on either a concrete ledge or the pavement.

The desserts were SO good!!!!! The baklava from Morocco and the pumpkin bread pudding were definitely my favorite.

I loved the stickers we had-

We had such a great view!

I hadn't seen Illuminations since 1994 and I loved it!!!

I will never get tired of this walk at night! So gorgeous.

Got back to our room and found the kids like this-

Also apparently Stitch is the man!

Amy, Tony and I went down and soaked in the hot tub for a bit. There was always only a few people at the quiet pool at night while we were there, which was a nice relaxing way to end the day.

Next up- another DHS day and Minnie's Holiday Dine!

mishel635 · Jan 11, 2016

Woke up to a letter from Minnie!

I was so excited to experience Minnie's Holiday Dine!!!!! Got our daytime outfits laid out-

Not sure if I'm the only one, but we always bring at least another shirt if not a whole change of clothes when we are opening and closing a park, especially if it's a warm day.

We packed up and headed to the dock to catch the boat to DHS. We had a breakfast ADR at Sci Fi. The kids and I had never been there before and Amy's family had only been there for dinner.

We took advantage of a Photopass photographer with no line!

Me wearing my limited edition "Great Movie Ride" hat.

We then made our way to Sci Fi to check in. Waiting outside...

What a great experience! The kids loved it here and I booked us for dinner for our big family trip in February already!!!

I got the crab puff pastry which was really good and the kids each got a Mickey waffle.

My goofball....

Service was quick, our server was efficient and very nice, although he did give Calvin a speeding ticket as he was in the driver's seat-

He said he would let him go though since it was his first time here. :happy:

Great experience and we were ready to start our day at DHS!

We had decided to skip Jedi Training Academy this trip despite my kids (and myself

) being HUGE Star Wars fans. We are actually coming back to the World in February with my husband and kids, my in laws, and my brother in law and his wife, 8yo son and 15yo daughter. Phew. My 15yo niece has been to Disney five times with her dance studio, but my 8yo nephew has never been. So my in laws announced that they would be taking us all to Disney World over our February break!!! I was so shocked when they told us this and am SO grateful to be going back again so soon. Every two years is about all we can barely afford!

ANYWAYS, we decided to wait so my kids and nephew can experience it together.

mishel635 · Jan 11, 2016

We headed to The Muppets 3D show as there was only a five minute wait. Love this show. So cute and the 3D effects are really good. Claire kept trying to grab the little bird. :happy:

Got some pressed pennies-

I like the crank machines so much better and so do the kids. Way more fun!

Met Mater and Lightning McQueen and I'm so glad we did since they announced the end of this meet and greet right after our trip!

We then headed to our next FastPass and what Calvin had been waiting all week for- Star Tours and building his own light saber!!! (Or as Claire still calls it - lifesaver. You need one of those to defeat Dark Vader you know

)

I love this ride and I actually was bummed that we rushed through the queue. We love C3PO and R2D2!!!

We loved the Force Awakens addition to this. My kids loved that BB8 was in this. We ended up buying a BB8 spinning toy and BB8 cup this day. Funny story about the cup- they handed it to me and I said "um excuse me, this cup is filthy!" before realizing it was supposed to look that way.

Too much Florida sun for this New Yorker!!!!

We ended up in the Star Wars store and my kids and nephew all made their own light sabers. My kids did this on our trip two years ago as well but we're very excited to use one of their gift cards for another one.
Calvin wanted Kylo Ren's double light saber and once the cast member said it could be broken down to fit into our suitcase, I agreed.
I will say that when we did this experience two years ago, the area with all the parts was roped off and you waited in line for one of two cast members to help walk you through picking out parts and building it. That was much better than what was there this time- it's basically a free for all of kids rummaging and dropping the parts. If you ask for help, they will help you (which we did) but it was much more chaotic this time. Still a great experience though and would do it again in a heartbeat!

When we first started making our light sabers, there was a Photopass photographer outside the store but he was gone by the time we got out there.

mishel635 · Jan 12, 2016

After Star Tours, we had a FastPass for Toy Story which has quickly become my favorite ride at DHS. So much fun!
But first, since carrot cake is Amy's favorite dessert, and I had tried the amazingly delicious carrot cake cookie on our last trip, I decided a quick trip to the Writer's Stop was in order. Amy and I grabbed a carrot cake cookie to share later.

We then stopped at Studio Catering Company to grab lunch for the kids. We were heading to Lights Motor Action and figured the kids could eat while waiting for it to start.
I grabbed an Uncrustable meal for Claire and a Kids Power Pack for Calvin and we were on our way.

We didn't see Lights Motor Action the last time we were at the World and it's a favorite of Amy's family since her husband is a fireman/mechanic.
It was great! The kids loved it! Claire got a little spooked when the flames burst, but not too badly.

Definitely worth a stop, especially if you've never seen it!

We walked down the Streets of America just to see it in the daytime. Big difference from Friday night!

We had a Rock n Roller Coaster FastPass but still had some time to kill, and the kids had been asking to get Star Wars cupcakes so we figured we'd stop into Starring Rolls before they closed for the day. We got three to share between all of us.

BB8 Lemon Meringue and Chocolate Peanut Butter Darth Vader

Gingerbread Mickey

I was still full from my half of the carrot cake cookie, but the kids said they were all really good but the Darth Vader was the best.

Claire opted for a Mickey Bar instead-

We headed to RnR and watched the Citizens of Hollywood for a bit. They are SO funny!

SeanWM48 · Jan 12, 2016

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.

mishel635 · Jan 12, 2016

Tony, Lilly and I were the only ones brave enough for RnR, or tall enough! Claire is still too short but she wanted to go on it so badly!!! :happy:

This was my first time riding it and it was awesome! I won't lie- I was definitely glad it slowed down a little after that first few seconds, but I will definitely go on it again!

We saw that the Great Movie Ride only had a 20 minute wait so we went to get in line.

I love this ride! When we were here in February 2014 we had the cowboy guide but this time we had the gangster. Such a fun time! My Dad loves John Wayne so the kids were excited to see the Duke right away.

Our favorite part though was the Wizard of Oz!

It makes me so happy that my kids love this ride as much as I do! :happy:

We did a little shopping and Calvin found a Darth Vader popcorn bucket... Mind Blown!!!

We saved the popcorn for Fantasmic later as it was finally time for what Amy and I had been most looking forward to since Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.... Minnie's Holiday Dine!!!

We waited outside for about fifteen minutes and then it was time to meet Santa Goofy!!!!!

mishel635 · Jan 12, 2016

So much fun with Goofy!!!!

Goofy being goofy!

Fist bump!

We were seated quickly and immediately Mickey was there!

Their holiday outfits were SO cute!!

First bump!!!

No autographs but we all received one of these-

FlaggNL · Jan 13, 2016

mishel635 said:
Thanks!!!! Going at Halloween is on my list of future trips as well!

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!

FlaggNL · Jan 13, 2016

mishel635 said:
We loved the Force Awakens addition to this. My kids loved that BB8 was in this. We ended up buying a BB8 spinning toy and BB8 cup this day. Funny story about the cup- they handed it to me and I said "um excuse me, this cup is filthy!" before realizing it was supposed to look that way. Too much Florida sun for this New Yorker!!!!
View attachment 125986

Great your kids love the BB8 character as well

It is the best figure in the Force Awakens movie

We bought the little robot from Sphero

mishel635 · Jan 14, 2016

We didn't see any characters coming so we headed up to the buffet. This buffet was fantastic!!! Lots of variety and everything we tried was delicious!

Caprese salad, beef tenderloin, lobster Mac n cheese and pumpkin ravioli.

These pictures are making me want to go back! Seriously, I LOVED this dinner! The atmosphere, the characters (the interactions were great! Not rushed and very fun!) the food- everything was great. Highly recommend it!

Next up- Donald!!! He was SO funny!

Showing Donald that we had a picture of him on our shirts-

Covering up Tony's Santa Goofy.

At first, he "yelled" at Lilly for having Mickey on her shirt. But then he kissed her head and gave her a hug. Seriously, he was hilarious. One of the best character interactions we've ever had.

mishel635 · Jan 14, 2016

Next up was Daisy, and Claire could hardly contain herself. She LOVES Daisy, but we hadn't ever timed it right to meet her before. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

One last hug from Daisy!

We also asked the cast member assisting the characters if it would be okay to ask Daisy to sign Leionna's cast and our ornaments and she said it wouldn't be a problem. We thanked her and didn't ask for any other signatures. We just hadn't been able to meet up with Daisy at all during the week!

I then took a moment to go get us all some desserts. They had already brought us some type of hot chocolate pudding that was very good.

Soooooo good!!! They also had ice cream sundaes as well.

Up next was Claire's favorite- Minnie Mouse!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the entire week- :happy:

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

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