Trip Report Completed - Shaky the Elevator, and other Disney World Tales

Disney World...

Big...Wide...and very, very cold!

Ok, so that last part might not be 100% true, but for the first couple days of our recent December trip, it certainly felt true. Here is visual evidence. Pay no attention to the sunshine, it was a very cold day.

Welcome to our latest Disney Trip report. We visited WDW from Saturday, December 9th through the 16th. It was COLD!! VERY COLD!!! . Yes we were wearing coats in Animal Kingdom (all except for my wife Sara, but that is a different story).

Our trip began on Thursday, December 7th. That afternoon Sara and I loaded up our car (with way too many things) while our daughter Makayla, who is three, took her nap. Once our son Luke, six years old, came home from school, we all jumped in the van and were on our way from our Pennsylvania home.

We quickly learned that Luke is the perfect age for asking "Are we there yet?" over and over and over. Not 30 minutes into our trip the questions started raining from the back seat. -"Are we at our hotel yet?" -"No, we're not even out of Pennsylvania yet." -"How much longer?" -"About six hours, enjoy your movie" (the kids were watching "Mickey and the Roadster Racers," a favorite of Luke's. 15 minutes pass... -"Are we there yet?" And on and on.

About two hours into our trip we made a stop at a Moe's Southwest Grill for dinner, the continued on our way. We stayed the night at a Hampton Inn south of Richmond, VA. The kids had actually fallen asleep for the last hour or so before we arrived at the hotel, but they had no problem falling back asleep once we were settled in the room. Sara and I also had no problem getting to sleep. It had been a long day.

The next morning the kids woke up and watched some cartoons while Sara and I got ready. Here they are looking super enthused...

After a quick breakfast, we were on the road. This was Friday, December 8th. Areas around Atlanta, GA will likely remember this day as the day they got several inches of snow. A cold front was pushing through, which would bring arctic air all the way down to Florida. Brrrr. Thankfully, no snow for us as we were traveling on I-95 this day, just a heavy dose of rain.

We made several cold, wet stops along the way. Lunch was at a Pizza Hut in South Carolina, and at the Georgia Welcome Center we got to meet Forrest Gump.

Makayla posed for a picture, Luke refused. In the year since our past trip to Disney, Makayla has gotten slightly more comfortable with characters. She still doesn't like them, but she doesn't necessary go running and screaming away from them anymore. Her character interactions this trip would be very hit or miss depending on what mood she happened to be in.

They did both enjoy the trolley car at the visitor center however.

Once we were south of Jacksonville the rain finally relented, and the temperature rose from about 40 to 70 degrees in the two hours between Jacksonville and Orlando, at least according to our car's gauge. We had made it in front of the approaching cold front, but a quick glance at the forecast let us know that the warm weather wouldn't last. When we arrived at our hotel, we felt the warmest temperature we would feel that week. But with the warm weather was a steady north wind that we knew was bringing the cold air.

We stayed at another Hampton Inn in Orlando for the night. Luke and Makayla had loved the suite we stayed at the year before so much that I decided to splurge and get another one for the night. This one didn't come with a separate room, just a very large room. Can't complain though. It was very nice.

The next morning we were headed to Epcot!!!

 

[Lyear]

After meeting my personal favorite, it was time to head to the other side of MK for Pirates. It was at this point that Sara started to go into the "awwww, these are our last few minutes in MK" mood. I had avoided that thought up to this point in the day. We planned out days out a little weird this trip in an attempt to avoid crowds as much as possible. The result was finishing our time at MK before we had stepped foot in Hollywood Studios. Not saying it was a bad plan, but usually the dreaded last few minutes in MK don't come as early in a vacation as it did for us this week.

As I was pushing the stroller and trying to keep track of our kids, Sara was busy taking photos as we crossed through the hub.

I had never noticed the skulls in the adventureland sign before looking at this pic. The little details...

Ah the Treehouse, such great memories of Luke enjoying going through this sooooo much.

And the Tiki statues, another waterless attraction today due to the cold weather.

 

[Lyear]

We parked our stroller and made it to the fastpass entrance directly behind a family that must have been learning about fastpass for the first time. They were engaged in conversation with the cm's there while fully blocking anyone from getting in. I believe they were being told that they didn't have a valid fastpass and would need to use the standby entrance, but I can't say for sure. After a bit a small window opened and we made it into the queue.

Preparing to ride. Dark conditions make for tough photos.

For some reason, while we were in line our kids were convinced that there was something to see in each jail window. Spoiler alert - there wasn't. But at each window I had to pick each of them up to take a look.

As for the ride, it went well. Pirates has scared both our children in the past, which was the reason I didn't pre-select a fastpass for it on this ride, but they both did well this time. I once again found myself explaining that the fire it the ride wasn't real, but this time it seemed that my explanation assuaged their fears.

The exit for the ride is conveniently directed through the gift shop, and for some reason Luke always decides he NEEDS something in this shop. This time he wanted to get jewels.

When that didn't work he wanted a pirate sword, and we explained he already had one at home. The end result was a grumpy Luke as we walked back into adventureland. Thankfully, these grumpy spells for him don't last long.

Pirates was our last ride in MK. We started to make our way to the exit, with Sara taking a few more photos.

 

[Lyear]

And then it was time to do one of the hardest things, say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom .

For whatever reason, I find it's actually easier to get through this since coming to MK with children. The constant checking to make sure both kids are still with us takes away from the time to lament this sad occasion.

Our final stop in MK was by the front popcorn stand for a quick snack. Popcorn had become a staple food for our family this trip.

So long Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom may have been in the rear view, but our day was far from complete. As we headed to the bus stop, we got into line for Animal Kingdom. Our evening would be spent in Dinoland, followed by dinner at one of our absolute favorites - Boma!

 

[fractal]

Always hard walking out of MK. Looking forward to AK adventures!

 

[sheriffwoody]

I hate leaving MK every single time Even worse when it's the last time on the trip! So sad.

 

[Lyear]

Always hard walking out of MK. Looking forward to AK adventures!

I hate leaving MK every single time Even worse when it's the last time on the trip! So sad.

There's always the elation of seeing the castle for the first time, then the pure sadness of seeing it for the last time.

 

[Lyear]

While we exited MK, I had what I thought was a great idea. Luke had been so into Big Thunder Mountain and Seven Dwarves...why not take the next step and try Expedition Everest??? -"Luke, would you like to do Expedition Everest when we get to AK?" -"No, it goes backwards." -"That's ok, it's not scary, you'll like it," -"No, I might fall out." Luke's primary fear on new rides is that he might fall out.

I checked the MDE app, but turns out there were no more fastpasses available, and the standby wait was 50 minutes. Luke was off the hook.

As we boarded our AK bus from MK, I was bracing myself for a very long ride, but was actually surprised by how quick it seemed. Before we knew it we were off to the Animal Kingdom entrance. Which for our kids means running.

There is a bridge in Animal Kingdom that we refer to as Luke's bridge. As you're entering AK, it's just before you leave the oasis and go over the bridge into Discovery Island. We found this bridge when Luke was into the discovery aspect of AK, and every year we have to go on it. When we had visited on Sunday, the bridge had been closed , but now Luke was glad to find it open.

It was also at this time that I realize I had been dragging around a video camera all week and had yet to shoot any real video. I corrected that...at the same time our kids discovered there were ducks underneath us.



While I had the video out, our entrance into discovery island.



We decided to check out the Boneyard playground since we hadn't had time to do that when we visited a few days ago.

Luke wasted no time going up towards the giant slides. I wasted no time getting more video. Perhaps I was making up for lost time, perhaps I just didn't feel like putting the camera away.



As I watched Luke head down, the cm standing there told me I could either walk my way down to the bottom, or go down the quick way and head down the slide. It didn't take me long to decide.



Sara and Makayla had went over to the digging area. We thought Makayla would love the idea of digging for dino bones. Sara was sure to remove the Belle dress before playing in the sand .

Luke and I came over after a bit to check in. I really was going overboard with the video



Right after I ended this, Luke decided that digging was boring, and wanted to go back over to the playground. Makayla quickly decided that she wanted to go with Luke. We exited the sand pit, then did a quick sand dump out of the kids shoes . Then it was off to the slides.

I was a little surprised to see Makayla keeping right up with Luke. She showed no fear on the playground. She wasn't able to maneuver her way up some of the net climbing areas, but she quickly sought a different way and each time was able to find steps that took her up a platform to where Luke was.

And you know I wanted another turn.

I believe this was my last time down a slide. That thing was tight, and I had to keep pushing myself down it. For the rest of the night I would let the Boneyard be for the kids only. And boy did they have fun. This might have been the most pure joy they had during the entire week. Luke was down slides and bounding up nets, and Makayla was right on his heels. After a bit, I positioned myself in the upper levels to watch the kids as there were high, and Sara stayed at the bottom for when they came off the slides.

At one point Makayla decided to do a big slide backwards, which was a mistake. She ended up falling off at the bottom, which led to some tears. Luke kept going, and for a while we had completely lost him. Sara and I were searching for him for a good 2-3 minutes. Eventually he showed up running up a ramp towards a slide. He had no idea we had been looking for him.

I wasn't keeping a close watch on the time, but I would say we were easily here for over an hour. Eventually, we decided we had to get going to make our Boma reservation. We made our way towards the exit, and again stopped to watch just a bit of the Tree of Life Awakenings show. Sara used that time to run into a nearby store to pick up a Rivers of Light musical CD, and a CD of the band that plays in Africa. These are now in the rotation in her car.

Our plan was to take the bus back to the AS Music resort, then load into our car and drive to Boma. That way, we'd avoid the awkward trip back where we'd need to take a bus from AK to anywhere, then take another bus from there to AS Music.

We stopped by the room quickly to drop some things off. While the girls were getting ready, Luke and I went outside and kicked his new soccer ball around on the Rock Inn balcony. Once Sara and Makayla were ready, we loaded into the car and were off to Animal Kingdom Lodge.

 

[Lyear]

If you've happened to read through any of our past trip reports, you will get an understanding of how much we love Boma. We've eaten here at every single trip to WDW. We love that it has food with an African flare that you can't find too many other places, and that it's buffet style so you can pick and choose from so many options. It's also a great place to be vegetarian, though I'm sure meat eaters love it too.

We entered the hotel and then made the familiar right turn to go down the steps. We checked in, and our pager rang within 2 minutes.

The photos taken inside all seem to be a bit dark.

For my drink I ordered the African beer flight.

I remembered to take a photo of the beer, but forgot to take a photo of the menu showing what they were. I know one was a Tusker Lager, which was my favorite. There was one from Morocco, and then a Sam Adams thrown in as well, because why not.

Sara and I took turns going up to the buffet line. Luke usually went with Sara and got large helpings of their mac and cheese, as well as fruit. I managed to get one photo of a plate of food I got.

We of course made sure to make a few visits to the dessert line. By the time we had finished, I was feeling very full, and it was clear that Makayla's bedtime was near. It seems she throws a tantrum every time we eat here. Once again, great things to say about Boma. The food was absolutely delicious, and our server did a great job as well.

Once we had finished, we decided to explore the hotel lobby

a bit.

For some reason, Luke wanted to stand directly in front of the Happy Holidays sign.

We found this thing near the rear entrance to the lobby.

 

[Lyear]

For the first time, we went out the back door and saw the Savannah area. Unfortunately there were no animals nearby.

We found a group of CM's where were standing outside and talked to them just a bit about what our week had been like. We talked a lot about the weather too. It had gotten quite cold, so we didn't stay outside long. Once we were back inside, Sara continued with a few photos.

Capturing some details.

The kids had found the TV playing PJ masks, so they were content to sit on the couches and watch for a bit. Sara did a bit of exploring, and found a side door that opened onto the savannah. She quickly came back in to call us over because....Zebras!

Yes, very hard to see in the photo. There were actually 3 just outside the building chewing away at the grass. We watched them for a bit, then Luke announced that he wanted to go back to the TV to watch PJ Masks. We decided that a better option would be to go to the car and back to our hotel.

Another day was complete, capped off by a great dinner at Boma. Tomorrow would be Friday, our last full day in WDW, and a day we planned to spend at Hollywood Studios.

 

[riverside]

There's always the elation of seeing the castle for the first time, then the pure sadness of seeing it for the last time.

You hit the nail on the head....

 

[Lyear]

Friday, December 15th would be our last full day in WDW. It started off fairly normal (for WDW), with me waking up and getting ready while the rest of the family slept. Soon enough, Makayla had woken up, but this morning she was crawling around and growling. She declared that she was The Beast, from Beauty and the Beast. At least she had woken up on a good mood. Luke, on the other hand, was truly a beast when it came time to wake him up. But same as with every other day, eventually we got him up and moving.

Today was our Hollywood Studios day. It's unusual for us to wait until so late in our trip to do HS, but through our normal practice of trying to avoid EMH parks it just so happened that HS had to wait this year. Maybe the fact that half the park is currently closed had something to do with it too .

When we got to the bus stop, it looked like it was going to be a busy day at HS. The queue for the bus was overflowing. MK was too this morning. Eventually, two buses later we were able to get aboard and make it to Hollywood.

This was also the Friday that Star Wars Episode VIII was opening across America, and they were handing out these pins at the entrance.

We had early fastpasses for Star Tours, but Luke had woken up this morning declaring he didn't want to do it. I think he has seen the WDW trip planning DVD too many times and now he thinks that the ride is some type of actual Jedi battle. I had spent a good portion of my morning to this point trying to convince him he would like it.

One thing Makayla likes is dinosaurs, and she had spotted a big one.

As we were walking past, she declared -"I want to touch it." She was able to get her wish.

We saw a photopass photographer nearby taking pics in front of the tree. "We've got time," we all said.

I can't remember now exactly why Makayla was choosing to make such a sour face in all these photos. Perhaps she just didn't want to get her picture taken.

We made our way to Star Tours, and Luke made the final declaration that he didn't want to go on it. I'll have to keep working on him . So we decided that we would take in the Muppets in 3D. Makayla had started smiling again.

I was interested to see how Makayla liked this show, because she had quietly become a small fan of the Muppets over the past few months. We had some DVD's we would show her, and she has a few pieces of clothing with them on. Animal has become her favorite.

Both kids liked the show in the standby/wait area. They were both laughing at what was going on. However, when we got inside, neither one of them wanted to wear their glasses. They were both afraid of things coming out of the screen at them. Makayla then became very scared of Waldo, the 3D creation. Every time she would see him she would begin almost crying. Eventually, thankfully the show came to a close. We might wait a bit before doing it again with Luke and Makayla.

We had been in the park for less than an hour, and already it was time to leave. As part of our day, we had planned to head to the boardwalk for the Trattoria al Forno breakfast with the royal couples. Our reservation was at 10:40, and the time had already come to leave for that.

We exited the park and made our way over the the Friendship boat launch. I was surprised by how many people were here. I had figured at this time of the day we might have the boat to ourselves as not a lot of people would be leaving HS already. I was wrong.

We barely made it on the boat. Thankfully, there were seats in the back that Luke and I were able to sit in.

Makayla and Sara found a seat inside.

 

[Lyear]

As we pulled away, I came to the realization that we were likely not going to make our 10:40 reservation. It had take a lot of time to get everyone on the boat and situated, and I knew that the Boardwalk would be the last of the 3 resort stops. In this instance, it felt as if the boat was creeping along. Normally, arriving a few minutes late for a reservation wouldn't be the end of the world. In this instance, with the characters only greeting at breakfast, and breakfast ending at 11am, I was concerned.

We made our way to the Swan and Dolphin, which by the way had played host to the MLB winter meetings during the week of our visit. In my mind, it seemed like it took forever to dock, unload, then pull away. The same story repeated itself at the Beach Club, and by the time we hit the Boardwalk it was already 10:50. We rushed off the boat and onto the boardwalk, making a quick jaunt to Trattoria.

I apologized as we arrived, but the host assured me it wouldn't be a problem. We were seated almost right away. Shortly after meeting our waitress, we were met with this frying pan full of pastries

We did our part and made short work of them

Don't worry, those remaining muffins and the cookie were shortly gone after taking this photo. Sara was very happy to learn that iced coffee was included in our dining plan. When it came to ordering food, we all ordered pancakes except for Makayla, who wanted waffles.

We quickly looked around the restaurant and spotted all the characters, and before long it was time for Rapunzel to stop by and say hello. We found that Makayla, on this trip, was much more willing to say hi to characters when she could see their face. Princesses were a big hit. One small problem we had was that we were taking pictures directly into the window light, making it difficult for them to come out.

While we were meeting Rapunzel, Flynn came by, and noted that "Blondie" was already here and that he would come back.

Shortly after Rapunzel had left, he returned.

He wanted to see how good Luke's smolder was.

 

[Lyear]

Flynn was easily the most talkative of the characters we met at this breakfast. He seemed to spend a good bit of time at each table. As he was leaving, we asked if we could see what was in his satchel. He told us we had to be quiet and not bring a lot of attention, because he had the most valuable treasure in the kingdom.

Luke even got to touch it.

Then it was time for another smolder lesson.

Luke still needs a bit of practice.

Prince Eric was next to arrive. He was very willing to talk to Luke and Makayla about his dog Max while he signed their autograph books. Apparently he had thought about bringing Max along this day, but decided not to at the last minute.

Ariel was the last to arrive. Honestly, she seemed very rushed throughout. Luke noted that she called us "humans" throughout, but it was more of a sign, pose, and move on.

 

[Lyear]

Shortly after Ariel had left us, a character helper cm made his way over to the table to make sure we had seen all the characters, and then shortly after we saw them disappear in the the kitchen. Their breakfast time had come to an end. Shortly after, the true star of our breakfast appeared, the food.

The level of detail in the presentation of the food was amazing. Here is a picture of the pancakes Sara and I ordered.

And Makayla's waffles.

Both kids agreed the food was delicious.

The food was great. The Pancakes were very well done, and they had a layer of caramel apple in them that was delicious. But with all the pastries we had eaten earlier, we quickly got full. There was such a great quantity of food, unfortunately we could not finish it all.

After our most valiant effort, we called it quits and left the restaurant. But this was a great experience, definitely one we would consider again. Luke and Makayla really enjoyed meeting the characters this morning.

Once we had finished, I took the kids into the boardwalk bakery. I had heard such good things about their cupcakes that I had to order one, even if I was too stuffed to eat it right away. While in line, there was a couple in front of me that just seemed wholly confused about what they wanted. I think they had a few food allergies they were watching out for, but where the confusion came in was what sides came with what meal they were ordering. In short it seemed they were trying to get as much food as they could for a little price. I had to feel for the cm who was trying to explain to them what options they had for side dishes and reiterating to them over and over what they had ordered. Eventually they got it figured out and paid for. Then I came through with my chocolate cupcake and peanut butter chocolate bar (yum yum), and hoped it was a simple order for the cm.

Once we got outside, we enjoyed the sunlight for a bit. Sara and I both got phone calls around the same time from our school district in PA. Turns out, they were having an early dismissal due to snow. We laughed as here in Florida for the first time all week we were having temperatures in the 70's.

We saw the friendship boat coming as we waited, so we headed back to the dock. This time, Luke, Makayla, and I were all able to find outside seats as we made our way back to HS.

 

[Rista1313]

I keep wondering if this is the same Ariel that I've heard others complain about in their TR's. Not at the same restaurant, so I'm not certain, but you are the 3rd person I've heard say that Ariel was just meh!

 

[krause]

Finally caught up! I’m really enjoying your report! We did a lot of child swap passes on our trip and 7DMT is the only place they were weird about it too! My husband had a baby sleeping in the carrier so they didn’t make him walk the queue but they did make him scan his band I guess to void his FP so he couldn’t double dip or magicband swap with someone? They made a big ordeal out of it and it was just strange.

We also had meh Ariels both at TaF and at the Grotto.

 

[Lyear]

I keep wondering if this is the same Ariel that I've heard others complain about in their TR's. Not at the same restaurant, so I'm not certain, but you are the 3rd person I've heard say that Ariel was just meh!

I'm chalking this up to it being the end of the breakfast time and she had another engagement to get to. Perhaps I'm being naive, but I'm okay with that. We ate at Akershus on our last day and that Ariel was more sociable.

Finally caught up! I’m really enjoying your report! We did a lot of child swap passes on our trip and 7DMT is the only place they were weird about it too! My husband had a baby sleeping in the carrier so they didn’t make him walk the queue but they did make him scan his band I guess to void his FP so he couldn’t double dip or magicband swap with someone? They made a big ordeal out of it and it was just strange.

We also had meh Ariels both at TaF and at the Grotto.

I guess the idea of double dipping fastpass and child swap makes sense. I would have to think the percentage of people who would try it would be so small though. Maybe Disney has been burned before. It was just confusing. Glad we're not the only ones with a strange experience there.

I'd have to say a meh experience at the Grotto would probably be the most disappointing. At that point you're there, waiting in line, just to see her. You'd want that experience to count. Thanks for following along.

 

[Lyear]

Back at Hollywood Studios, the sun was out and the Christmas decorations were up.

I've said it before, but I just love this look. Christmas decorations or no, it's just so well themed. The giant palm trees are such a crucial piece to the whole design. My first MGM/HS experience came with the Giant Hat, so I was sad when they announced it was going away. But the sight line definitely is enhanced without it.

Our destination was Toy Story Midway Mania. As we approached the central hub, stage area, Storm troopers were out and about.

Luke wanted nothing to do with them. He was still freaked out from their march last year. Something about this kid and Star Wars...smh .

Makayla was willing to at least pose for a picture, from a distance.

We made it to Toy Story and got into the fastpass line without any problems. I rode with Makayla, and Sara rode with Luke. Makayla didn't want to wear her 3D glasses. Apparently the thought of things coming out at you is scary for a 3 year old. Makayla thought it was okay, but Luke loved the ride. He really wanted to do it again, but the wait was over an hour long. We convinced him otherwise.

Once we exited, Sara wanted to get a picture of some Walt Disney quotes on the construction wall for Toy Story Land. She tried to get them while we were walking to TSMM, but said some person was standing there for what was an awkwardly long time reading the quotes.

Meanwhile, Luke, Makayla, and I found ways to have fun.

We found a calm place near the construction wall, near the bathroom area, and both kids wanted upside down and tickled.

Once the necessary photos were taken, we were on our way to see Beauty and the Beast on stage. Another first for us.

Balloons were being sold on Sunset Boulevard. Another great view.

The Streetmosphere actors were out while we were walking past. Sara thought it was best to keep going as the B&B show started soon .

 

[Lyear]

Before this day, Sara and I had never made time for B&B at HS. Since we were staying in HS for the entire day, without returning to our room to take a nap, we decided to put this show on our must do list.

The seats were filling up quickly, but we were in plenty of time to get some. It was a full house by the time the show started.

Some silliness ensued before the show.

Sometimes I think Sara questions if she is really related to us

Once the show started, both Luke and Makayla were captivated. I had been wondering how they were going to fit the entire story into a show about 45 minutes long. My question was answered when the narrator explaned that "through a series of events" Belle ended up at the Beast's castle. I thought it was funny. Overall, really enjoyed the show. I was very impressed by the dance scenes. I don't think I'll ever stop being amazed at women dancing so well in high heels.

This is a small sampling of the photos we came away with.

A Lumiere and Cogsworth meet and greet might be a fun idea.

 

[Lyear]

When the show had ended, we decided to hurry to make it to Disney Jr Live on Stage. We had about 10 minutes to get there. What was funny is that there were several families with small children around us all going to the same place. Once we arrived, Sara took photos of some Disney Jr characters coming out for their meet and greets. Taking photos of characters as they walk is a fascination of Sara's .

We made it into the theater for the show, and were seated near the back left, real close to where you enter. This is a cute show, and both Luke and Makayla seem to enjoy it, but wow does sitting on the floor for that long in close quarters get uncomfortable. Both my feet were asleep by about 5 minutes in, and by the end I was so thankful to be able to stand up and stretch.

The kids brought streamers with them out of the theater.

We made our way to the Frozen sing along show, and noticed once again, families were walking with us from Disney Jr to Frozen. I guess we all had the same touring plan this day.

We were fortunate to be some of the last people to get into the theater for this show. As we entered, cm's took us around the back and over to the left side to fill in the seats where the first ones in had not moved all the way over. This was another full show. Makayla really liked it since she's so into Elsa. Luke thought it was pretty boring.

We had seen this show twice before. In an effort, I guess, to keep it fresh, they included some songs from the Frozen holiday short, which was a little awkward just because no one knew them.

And in the most disappointing part of the show, when Elsa made it snow for the finale, we learned that the snow doesn't make it all the way over to the left side of the stage. We looked on as the rest of the theater watched the snow come down on them, with Luke declaring that the whole thing was "not fair."