Trip Report *COMPLETED* No bouche for you! But do you want to build a snowman?

Hello all! We've been back for almost two weeks now, and while the holidays are still winding down, I still wish I was back in Disney so I figured I'd get this TR started! First the intros -

Who: Myself (Frank), my wife K, and our 4 year old princess C. This would be our second trip as a family in just as many years. I had been many times when I was younger with my family, and K had been a few times in the past. Once we hit college years we had stopped (for some reason), but after last year we were hooked (again for me).

Also joining for the first half were my in-laws, G & P. They prefer to not have pictures on the internet, so they won’t be visibly appearing in this report.

When: December 9 - 15th 2018 (G & P were the 9th - 12th)

Where: Caribbean Beach Resort, stayed in Aruba 4626. I've always wanted to try this resort, and when I saw the concept art for the renovations I was really excited. We knew it was a risk that construction could get pushed back (and I started getting really nervous in August/September), but with a free dining promotion it was a deal I couldn't pass up! I'll give my thoughts on the resort including the renovations in the report.

Why: I detailed this more in the PTR, but long story short - we're expecting a little mouseketeer in April, and wanted one more big trip just the three of us. Plus the past year had it's ups and down and we could use a good vacation to round out the year. 65 days out G&P asked if they could join, and while it meant re-arranging a bit, we figured the more the merrier!

What this trip report has in store for you: Transportation failures, face-stuffing and imbibing, magic band failures, scooter drama, seasonal merriment, DVC dilemmas (do we join? you'll have to find out!) and of course quite a bit of magic.

 

[Spash007]

Meeting Vampirina-

I have to make a confession - and I feel like this wasn't "proper" behavior. When we were standing in line for Vampirina, I got out of line and into Pluto's line. It was getting pretty hot at this point, and with all the characters outside, there was no relief in sight. I figured that I wasn't adding any time, like if I held a spot for additional people in line for a ride, and wasn't really affecting other guests. IIRC, @wdisney9000 "discussed" this sort of behavior with another guest during one of his TR's, so don't chastise me too badly!

After missing Pluto in AK, C finally got the chance to meet him. I wasn't expecting much to be honest, but Pluto ended up being one of the more fun interactions. I don't really understand why he's at the club though, but oh well. Whatever floats his boat I guess.

I think C was super excited that this Pluto had his tongue in his mouth, as she sometimes gets freak out by the ones where it hangs out lower.

She was also showing him all the different characters on her dress.

About an hour after we first got in Sofia's line, we made it to Doc. Another one C normally doesn't care too much about, which is odd considering C tells us she wants to be an animal doctor. But it was a character, and C was in the zone.

At this point, it was almost 2 and we hadn't eaten lunch yet and each only had had a small breakfast. Our original plan was to get lunch over on Sunset Blvd and bring it to watch Beauty and the Beast but that time had passed. We found a bench in the shade, and browsed some menus before deciding to head that way any way for lunch.

 

[Songbird76]

That does sound right now that I think of it. Not really sure where I got Eric from

Eric is the name of the character....Eric and Aria are the historians. So Ben plays the role of Eric.

 

[Spash007]

Eric is the name of the character....Eric and Aria are the historians. So Ben plays the role of Eric.

I had no idea that the characters had their own names, I thought those were the actual actors' names. Go figure! (At least my memory is better than I thought)

 

[Spash007]

Going through time stamps on photos, I realize we actually didn't get the stroller before meeting the Disney Jr pals so that we wouldn't have to deal with it in the lines. After Mobile Ordering, we went back to where we left the stroller by Frozen, taking in some of the Christmas decor around Echo Lake.

I love Gertie's hat, and even more the ornament. Sadly it was closed, but I used to love going here when I was younger. They had the BEST strawberry ice pop that was coated in this crunchy glaze.

We stopped for a few PP pictures.

And went back to taking in the decorations.

The one thing with HS that I enjoy, while also really not enjoying, is how disjointed some of the areas feel. The angular walkways, going around buildings that feel like you're on a city street is quaint and charming, but also inefficient. I wonder if Echo Lake will get a makeover to make it flow better, like they did to World of Disney.

 

[Spash007]

We soon crossed over Hollywood Blvd, and I took in one of my favorite sights

And stopped for a few more PP pictures.

And made our way down Sunset Blvd.

We tapped that we were here for our food, and I went in search of it as K and C found a table. We ended up ordering from two different places - K got a hot dog and C a pizza from Catalina Eddie's, and I got perhaps the worst titled meal - a garden salad from Fairfax Fare. I almost scrolled past it, assuming it was just lettuce and tomatoes and maybe some other veggies. Instead it had corn, tortilla chips and was essentially a taco salad without the meat. The problem was, I couldn't find Fairfax Fare. I kept going in circles and somehow finally found it.

Since it was pretty regular food I didn't get pictures, but this salad was an unsung hero of the trip. It was so good! Here's a picture thanks to DFB of the version with the pork on top.

While we were sitting here, we played a somewhat mean trick on G. K called her to check in, and told G that I was taking C on Tower of Terror. Her reaction was pretty priceless: "No. No. No. Go stop them. No." K filled her in that she was joking and C still has a few years before she goes on.

The odd thing was that we noticed at this time we never saw the doors opening, and didn't hear the screams. But the app says it was working, so who knows!

At this point there was still a lot at HS that I would've liked to do, but we wanted to get back to use the pool for a bit, so we slowly made our way out. We stopped for some pictures on Sunset Blvd, but they were probably the worst of the trip so I'm going to skip those.

When we were eating, we started talking about Star Wars and C mentioned she wanted to see it. Again, completely out of the blue but I guess some kids in her class talk about it. The stage show was going to begin so we told her we could watch on our way out.

C really enjoyed Chewy, especially his noise. Now we can just ask her to sound like Chewy, and she goes right into it. She did not like when he "shot" his gun though and the firework came out. Overall this show was just kind of weird? Like an overview of all the characters but not much more.

 

[Spash007]

If you can't already tell, I really enjoyed the original vision for HS. As such, I really enjoyed some of the original pieces like this one:

K and I stopped for PP picture, and C was just not having it. She was exhausted and wanted to stay in the stroller.

This photographer was obsessed with my shirt and kept talking to me about it

I was enjoying the details as we were walking out.

Another detail I love - the wagging tail Pluto!

I can't wait for this to be running, and this path to be finished.

We didn't end up leaving HS until about 3:30, and so we didn't get back until well after 4. Our plan was to head over to Epcot that night for Illuminations (RIP), and eating around the world. But first we wanted to get some more pool time in. K wasn't feeling great, and since it was late, C and I decided to go to the Jamaica pool.

As you can tell, someone was very excited.

Sadly, this is the end of this day though as we ended up in the tough predicament of discipline vs Disney. We knew C was exhausted, and I could tell by the time we were in the pool this was going to be a rough night. Long story short, rather than throwing tantrums when she's tired, she argues. At first this night it was small, like telling her to get out of the pool, and I was hoping she would re-set. But it became clear she was going to argue and fight about everything. We made the decision then to scrap our plans of going back to Epcot, and stay in the room. Partially because we didn't want to reward bad behavior, but also just because we knew she needed sleep. This was only proven by the fact that at 7 pm when we told her to relax in bed, she quickly fell asleep.

With only 1 night left, we figured we would skip going back to Disney Springs, and head to Epcot the next night. K had said I could go this night to Epcot since I was the one who wanted to see Illuminations the most and eat all the bouches around the world, but it felt odd. It may have been fun looking back, but we decided to just get a bite to eat at Centertown Market and eat in the room.

I ended up getting a burger and a beer (or 2), but K didn't see anything that looked appetizing so she just ate some of the stuff we had in the room.

And with that, day 5 is in the books!

Coming up: Final full day, aka Princess day. And will I finally get my bouches??

 

[Spash007]

Ok, let's get back at it shall we?

Friday, December 14th: Day 6

After the night before, we were a bit wary going into this day. We had some big surprises coming up, and I was getting pretty anxious really hoping that when it came to it, C would be good and well deserving. Luckily she slept solid the night before and actually out-slept both of us that morning, so I was hoping that was a good sign.

Because I gave up our 7DMT FP so we could have a rest day on Wednesday, the only chance we would have to get on would be if we rope-dropped. This morning there were EMH, so we were hoping to get there right at 8. We ended up though moving a little slower than we wanted, and got there around 8:15 and made our way right back to Fantasyland.

MDE said the wait was 50 minutes, but TP said 25, so I was hopeful. The line wrapped around the fence outside, but I've never been inside so I didn't know how bad it could be. I was REALLY hoping this was a similar situation to SDD from the day before. C and I got in line while K went to sit and wait for us. But the line wasn't moving at all. Finally it started to move, but very slowly. It was clear that the line actually came out this far, and we were moving as they loaded each train. Maybe they were skipping switchbacks inside, but I started losing hope. The people in line behind us actually started talking about the TP estimate, with the dad saying "they've never failed me!" This got me to thinking of the other times they've been wrong this trip, and I very begrudgingly asked C if she would rather wait in the line for a roller coaster, or go do a few other rides in the same amount of time. She chose to get off the line, and try our luck on Winnie the Pooh. K is not a fan of this one, so she decided to sit it out.

Not going to lie, I was disappointed, but really didn't want to spend 50 minutes in line. Sure enough, as I got off, the TP estimate started going up. I believe in the next 20 minutes the wait (both MDE and TP) both ended up in the 75 - 90 minutes range. Good decision by C on this one.

This line actually ended up fairly long, I believe we waited around 20 minutes. C though got a chance to enjoy the queue a bit more, and I think K enjoyed the time resting.

By the time we got off EMH were winding down, so we decided to head over to Fairytale Hall next. This was never part of the plan until C decided two days earlier she HAD to meet Tiana. Last time we FP'd these, so we never went in the standby queue. It's really pretty! I miss Snow White, but know first hand how much kids like these character M&Gs and I enjoy being in the A/C!

First up was Rapunzel.

Followed by Tiana. I'm always amazed by the size of her dress and how much it sticks out.

Continuing with the princess theme, the window opened up for one of C's favorite's - Merida. It's interesting, because while C's favorite colors are pink and purple, and she usually only likes movies with songs (she asks when there aren't songs in movies), she watched Brave once and loved it.

One our way over it started drizzling slightly, but just enough to take some ponchos out. I always was hitting my "need coffee" point (if I don't have coffee by 9 am I usually get a headache that will last through the entire day), and C said she was hungry. We stopped at Cheshire Cat to get some iced coffees and get C a cat tail. With the rain and trying to carry everything while not getting it wet I didn't take a picture, but the coffee hit the spot. I tried the tail, and was not a fan. It was sugar so I'll eat it, but not my cup of tea. C loved it though.

While we were waiting, Merida had to go get a break so we enjoyed the drizzle some more. Just kidding, I chugged my coffee and felt 10x better by the time we got to Merida. C was beyond excited.

When we got a glimpse of Merida, I sent this picture to my friend because this was her doppelganger. Not just the red hair, but if she ever needed a back up career, I think we found it for her.

Even now when I look at that picture, I can picture her voice and personality.

When it was our turn, the only way to describe it is that C bum rushed her. And would not let go. It was adorable for us, but I think Merida was a bit suprised.

 

[Spash007]

For some reason I can't get my photopass pictures to come through. I have them downloaded on a different computer and can't get them to send over so I just have the pictures we took (which aren't the greatest). I'll see if I can add them later.

Merida was great - the line was slow because she spends her time with each kid and was definitely worth it.

After this, our FP window for Buzz opened so we headed over to Tomorrowland.

With the rain, my normal picture taking extravaganza was subdued, and we got right inside.

Here's a funny, yet embarrassing story. C got on with K, and I was in my own vehicle. I think because we rode TSM the day before, where the car turns itself, I didn't realize you have to move the car So I'm sitting there and end up facing the car behind me, and am thinking "WTH?" At one point I end close enough to K to say "My car is broken - it's not turning!" Luckily she saved some embarrassment of mine and told me to move it, and once I moved the joystick, well, it worked. Oops! needless to say, my score was terrible.

After this we had some time before our ADR so we headed to a favorite - the Peoplemover!

There was pretty much no wait.

While I was on there, I noticed this new sign.

So what did I do, I immediately got on the News board to see if anyone posted that it was up yet. They did, but it seemed like thsi was the first day of it. It's the little things that make me happy

I just love the vantage point from up here, but always do forget about when the speed kicks up.

Again, I got giddy seeing the construction for Tron. Not because I'm overly excited for it (I think it will be fun, but worry about the sightlines), but because it's construction and something "new" I got to see happening.

As you can tell, it was wet and dreary at this point.

 

[aliceismad]

Awww. Little C with Merida is so cute!

 

[Spash007]

Awww. Little C with Merida is so cute!

Thank you! She was so excited!

 

[Spash007]

With the drizzle turning into that really annoying steady mist that is too light to warrant an umbrella, yet still irritating when it hits your face, we made our way across the hub to our ADR at Crystal Palace. We gave our name and sat on the patio for a bit.

I was really intrigued to go in, as I went every year when I was younger. What kind of feeling would this give, compared to returning to HS for the first time?

I have to say it was much better! The atrium, the plants everything were exactly as I remembered it, except for one large difference - my 10 year old self thought there were more seats in the back! Not just the two "wings" on each end. Oops!

The Christmas decor didn't hurt either!

We were quickly led to our table, and noticed the restaurant was fairly empty. We got one of the last breakfast ADRs (10:35) since we had an early dinner planned, and I also was hoping to sample both breakfast and lunch (more on that to come).

We had a nice window seat with a view of the Castle and the Adventureland bridge. With this view and how quiet it was inside, this was probably one of the most relaxing meals we had!

Literally seconds after seating, Tigger walked up! I know some other TRs mention this, but getting the signatures and pictures done before eating make the meal so much less stressful.

First thing he did was grab C's ears, which I believe she had taken off and had put on the table.

I also like when the characters sign first, and then do pictures. This way kids don't get all hyped up and then just wait.

Pretty much as soon as Tigger left, Piglet followed.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but K made a bunch of ornaments for each of the characters to sign. Piglet's for example was striped pink on one side. Some of the characters had great reactions seeing them.

 

[Spash007]

I think because it was pretty empty, the characters took a ton of time at our table playing around. By far the best was Piglet though. He (or she? I still don't know) and C became quick friends and were playing around.

By the time Piglet was done, Pooh was right there! I think K and I might have been more excited than C since we were getting all of them done right away! There's nothing worse than worrying about missing a character when you bring a kid to a buffet (I know there is a lot worse, but you get my drift)

Side note - I wish I could find the picture, but when I was around C's age, we were at Crystal Palace and Pooh became my buddy. The costume back then though was very different, and his snout was brown. Apparently I referred to him as cantaloupe nose, and for years CP became the breakfast to meet "Cantaloupe nose".

Anyway, Pooh leaves and there's Eeyore (my personal favorite. I think Eeyore in Christopher Robin pretty much sums up being an adult).

Apparently he was also a great hugger/cuddler.

With all of the characters done, we made our way to the buffet. I thought I took food pictures, but apparently not.

Two things I remember were the breakfast lasagna, and the ambrosia salad. I was seriously looking forward to the breakfast lasagna and it did not disappoint! Yes Disney World is where dreams come true for me for that dish alone!

Look at this thing - I just had lunch but now I'm hungry again!

I'll admit I didn't know exactly what was in it, but I decided to look up a recipe for it so I could consider it for Christmas morning. Two things I learned - it is extremely complicated, and if I ate any more of it I would have gone into sugar shock.

As for the ambrosia salad - it was one step above disgusting. This was the first place I ever had it, and it became a staple for my family during the summer. What was here was a watery mess of oranges and soggy marshmallows. Oh well - more room for the lasagna!

While we were eating, they started the parade around the restaurant. At first C really didn't want to join, but hopped in for the last few minutes.

BTW, I love that lost boys' outfit.

After eating our breakfast, I decided to see if they put out lunch. And they did! Some of it was ok, but overall, it was just a bit disappointing and plain. There were a lot of salads, but even those didn't have a ton of taste. I'm glad we went for breakfast instead.

However, with lunch came dessert! So many good things were out there. I need to see if my phone didn't upload all of my pictures to Google, because I swore I had some of the cupcakes and Rabbit's garden (I believe it was a mousse with chocolate crumbs). I do have a picture though of some of the best, and cutest peppermint bark I've ever had!

 

[Spash007]

As we were finishing up dessert, guess who showed back up - Tigger! Since we already met him, and there was next to no one in the restaurant, he just plopped down next to us and was fooling around.

He started playing a game with C where he would pretend to eat the left over cereal, and when she said she was done with that, he went for the cookies. She was cracking up because he was being so silly (as only Tigger can be).

After he left, Piglet came back for a second round. And so began one of the best memories of this trip. First Piglet came over and got a nice big hug.

Then there was a dance.

And more hugs before leaving.

But then, a few minutes after they made the announcement that the parade was going to start again. Who should show up again, but Piglet! He put his hand out to C, and she took it and off they went!

They made some more friends along the way.

And then had a blast going around the restaurant. The whole time C had the biggest smile on her face, and could not stop giggling when came back to the table.

After this, we had our fill and decided to head out. As the girls took a break I took some pictures in the lobby/atrium.

 

[John Dulmage]

Wow! What a great experience you had at CP. That's what it's all about!!

 

[KellBelle]

I love the pure joy on C's face! So awesome that they all came back around again!

 

[aliceismad]

Oh so cute! Sounds like great timing on the meal. Do you recall about how long it took? I have a similar ADR time planned.

 

[Spash007]

Wow! What a great experience you had at CP. That's what it's all about!!

Absolutely!

I love the pure joy on C's face! So awesome that they all came back around again!

It was so unexpected, but really made the meal (even though at that point is already really good!)

Oh so cute! Sounds like great timing on the meal. Do you recall about how long it took? I have a similar ADR time planned.

Thanks! I believe our ADR was for 10:35 am, and it looks like we got seated around 10:45 am. Looking at the time stamp, I was in the atrium done with the meal at 11:50.

 

[aliceismad]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Spash007]

Something funny happened this afternoon that I think the members here might appreciate. A house around the corner just had a for sale sign put up, and C asked what it meant. When I told her that they were moving, this conversation happened:

C: Are we ever going to move?
Me: I think we might some day. Do you want to, or do you want to stay in this house?
C: I think I want to move
Me: Oh yeah? To where? Near G&P?
C: Nope, somewhere new
Me: Like where?
C: Disney World!
Me: Oh really? That would be a lot of fun!
C: Yeah! The Tiki Room! IN the tiki room. (Breaks out into song) In the tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room.
Me: Yep, I don’t know if we can, but if we can that sounds great
C: Well yeah, the flowers bloom!

This kid cracks me up sometimes

 

[Spash007]

Finally got the PP issue worked out last night! Woohoo!

Not many great ones that were missed, but you know how I said C bum rushed Merida? Here's the proof:

C would NOT let go, it started getting awkward for a bit before she finally walked to the M&G spot with Merida.

Also, here's a better shot of the ornament for Merida to sign that K had made:

I think we have like 35-40 of these now for our Christmas tree. It's funny thinking how only a few years ago we had a "themed" tree of all red and silver.