Trip Report COMPLETED: The “Let’s see if this dumb thing works” Treat Yo Self Christmas trip report!

All the PTR funtivities can be had here, including who we are,:
The Treat Yo Self Christmas pre-trip report

Friday the 18th 11ish o’clock
The DW and I decide to ditch work a little early and check the DD out of school early today to make sure we have plenty of time for our Star Wars showing in McDonough at 3:40. So we check the DD out and make our way for some to-go lunch. A relatively short pit at Zaxsby’s and we’re finally on the road and soon cruising down GA400 towards McDonough. Our last few trips through the ATL on the way to The Bubble have been nightmares which is why we left a little early today. Well, surprisingly, today was the exception! We cruised right through town and my worries of being late for the movie became concerns of “what are we going to do when we arrive two hours early?!” Thankfully, I guess, Henry county helped me out by having the worst traffic of the trip…FOR NO REASON AT ALL! Anyway, The delays we faced there offset the great time we made but we still had an hour to kill. This worked to our advantage as the DW forgot her sunglasses at home and we needed a few toiletries for the trip so we popped into Super Target for a bit, made our purchases and enjoyed a SB coffee before making our way to the theater.
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Finally, it was time!
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We happened to be in a theater full of some fanatics so there was much cheering and applause throughout the movie. I personally really enjoyed it despite the many similarities it had to New Hope. The movie even brought the DW and DD to tears! I won’t spoil it for anyone as to why. So with The Force Awakens under our belt we made for Tifton, about another two hours. Henry County did its best to squeeze the last bit of traffic tolerance out of us as we left town. Soon we were in Tifton checking in to the Hilton Garden Inn, great place BTW! I was immediately sent on a dinner run to try out Marcos Pizza for some subs. What was supposed to be a 10 minute drive turned into a hobbits tail of which I thought I may never return. Long story short about an hour later I’m back at the hotel with dinner for the ladies tired and ready to eat. After some discussion as to when the ladies want to arrive at the Bubble, as that will dictate when we should leave, we hit the hay with visions of Siths and BB-8s dancing through our heads…ok, my head.

Saturday the 19th 05:30
Up and at’em! Time to get our Disney on!!! We make quick work of getting to the car, hitting Starbucks again for breakfast and make for The Mouse House! A few hours later and we’re crossing the state line most uneventfully and before you know it where on the turnpike! Have I mentioned how much I love the SunPass? Seriously, if you go at least once a year it is worth not having to stop and deal with your coin tossing skills. Soon we had arrived!!
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The enjoyment was short lived, though, as it was realized the DW only packed one pair of jeans for the trip and she was worried she would need more since the temp outside was high 50’s. We look probably the longest route EVER to Walmart to pick up some emergency jeans for the trip. It was not so refreshing to see that the Walmarts of Orlando are much like the Walmarts of Dahlonega….Anyway, after that detour we were back in The Bubble ready to get our BCV on!
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It was here where we met Guard Shack Joe from New York! As we approach I’m ready with my MB and ID for him to scan and review. Joe blesses us with what might be the quote of the trip, and on the first day too!

[ThickNewYawkAccent]
Oh, you’ve got your band ready. Stupidest idea Disney ever had. Let’s see if this dumb thing works…
[/ThickNewYawkAccent]

I think Joe is awesome BTW. Wouldn’t ya know that stupid little thing did work! The light went green and we were on our way to self-parking! We grabbed our overnight bags and made for bell services as our room was not quite ready yet.
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Cape May had not yet ruined the smell of the lobby as it was still early. The beautiful gingerbread display helped too!
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So with our bags checked we were off to Epcot by foot to test out the waters for lunch!
 
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lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So after a brief nap it was time to get our EC on again! We had a dinner ADR at TE, a Christmas Eve tradition for us when we are in the World. So onward!
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Soon enough we were there and ready to get our hibachi on!
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Well fed, I snapped one more pic before we made for the America pavilion for a funnel cake dessert
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Someone say funnel cake!?!?
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lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We took in a few sites at the America pavilion while finishing the funnel cake.
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Next we made our way to The Seas to hang with Nemo and his pals
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This guy here spent at least 5 minutes just running laps in his tank! It was kinda funny just seeing him go around and around.
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Cuttlefish living large!
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lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After The Seas we made for Soarin the LWTL
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After we had our fill of The Land pavilion we made for the Baymax M&G. This was a fun interaction!
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Finally we took a trip through time before making our way to HS for the Star Wars FW show.
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We hopped on the bus to HS and were there in two shakes! The crowd was ok and the music was pumping getting folks ready for the FW. We found a spot to make camp on the boulevard and I set out for some Trios Pistiolies for the DW and I and a hot chocolate for the DD. While in line at SB I noticed the new ornaments they had, very cute and very tempting to get a set of these!
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Still to come: Christmas morning, B&C lunch, and more HS!
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!
Well we were out late last night but up kinda early today because who can sleep when you’re at Disney AND it is Christmas!?!? Here is our “travel tree” we’ve been using for a few years while away on Christmas
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Another tradition is watching A Christmas Story during Christmas morning.
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And just to clarify that I am no fair-weather ACS fan, I’m old school
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I have a few of the DW too but Im pretty sure if I want to see another Christmas I better not post them…

Turns out we were not the only ones up early celebrating, a corps of giraffe were out to wish us a Happy Christmas!
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This reminds me, Disney has new conservation pins! A few bucks for this collectable is a no-brainer!
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After a lite breakfast, some more rest, and animal watching it was already lunch time!! We made the short drive over to BC and checked in to B&C, love this place! We all shared a burger and a Rueben
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And finally, the REAL reason we come here
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Done!
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While we were there a Kitchen Sink got ordered, I don’t think it got finished either…
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Thoroughly stuffed, we made for AKL to rest a bit before going to HS again. The Christmas Giraffe were still out there waiting on us!
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Still to come: HS, BATB, and Christmas dinner at R&C
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So after some rest we made for HS again. We walked around for a bit taking in some of the park before our ST FP was due.
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Finally it was ST time where the DD had a seat all to herself…
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Once again we had the same sequence that we’ve had the entire trip; Jakku then Coruscant. BUT, this time the DD made her papa proud. Upon exiting the ride she pointed something out that I hadn’t even bothered to think about. The beginning of each ST tour we took this week involved Vader trying to stop us before we made the jump to Jakku and receiving instructions from Finn. The DD pointed out that it was impossible for Vader and the Finn/Jakku sequence to exist at the same time since Vader had long been dead. BOOM!! Mind blown by an unsuspecting teen daughter!

After ST we decided to check out BATB. The line was pretty long and growing so we hopped in. I decided to duck out and grab a beer for the show. While I was out for the beer I could see the BATB line extending all the way back to the BLVD. Then it started moving! I wasn’t back with the beer yet and there was this huge stampeded heading for the theater. When I finally got to my seat with the ladies I was amazed to see so many empty seats considering the large crowd outside and made rush to get in.
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After BATB we made for RNR and was not very happy to see the size of the FP+ line… We waited the wait and had a fun ride anyway.
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After RNR we waited in another long FP+ for HToT, 30 minutes! After HToT we hit the restrooms before making the walk to EC for dinner. It was here where most unfortunately I experienced another Disney first, really a life time first. Lets just say a #2 where a #1 is supposed to go and leave it at that…

Still to come: Christmas dinner at R&C, a fun morning at EC, and more Sanaa!
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Wow--Christmas Day at WDW! Oh, I chuckled when I saw your "travel" Christmas tree! HA! What a cute idea! (I'm telling you, those big ol' trees at the GF and MK don't hold a candle to your exquisite tree!) :p

You have a lovely family and you're all creating your own holiday memories together, by spending Christmas in a non-traditional setting, such as WDW. Christmas is where you find it, and that can be different for all of us.

I've also read that people can attend Christmas morning religious services (if that is what they would normally do at home, for example) at the Contemporary--I think they still have service on Christmas there. Then after church services, people could go back to their hotel rooms, and open up their family's presents (just like you had in your picture--by the way--that was a lot of presents)! :joyfull:
 

RebeccaMcK

Member
Great posts! Long lines at DHS, though. I've been debating whether we'll bring a small Christmas tree to keep in our room for our trip this December, with soft/unbreakable ornaments, but the kiddo says there are so many trees around WDW we could just enjoy them and not need our own. The 10 year old has spoken so we'll see. I don't plan to bring a lot of gifts...we figure the big gift is the trip and whatever we spend money on there. The Christmas morning religious services that Minnie mentioned above - we plan to attend the Catholic one and then maybe have the Ohana breakfast afterwards if possible (if I can book it successfully). We'd probably hit Epcot that day if we go into any park (so far we just plan to tour the monorail resorts and see their decorations, take it easy that day). The decorations in the Seas pavilion (aquariums) are fun. Looking forward to seeing how your Christmas Dinner at R&C went....it would be great if they bring back stuff like "Sunday Roast Beef Dinner" for holiday meals (we miss that particular menu entree, with the Yorkshire Pudding). I've heard there are various restaurants at WDW that serve special Christmas meals and we're sure to book one of them.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Looking forward to seeing how your Christmas Dinner at R&C went.....
Here ya go!

So, I'm a little embarrassed to say I really don’t recall how we got from HS to EC. I know during this trip we walked at least twice, took the boat at least once, maybe twice, and took the bus once but for the life of me I have no recollection. Part of my problem might be that once we got to R&C we had a small wait so by know you probably know small waits mean grab a beer…. One Golden please!
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Once we got inside I was a little confused as to why we had any wait as, surprisingly, it was pretty dead inside!
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No matter, we were seated and promptly greeted with the Holiday menus
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With the Golden a distant memory, I went with a Black and Tan while the DW had a Golden Fox
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For dinner the DD went with the kids steak, DW went with the traditional roast dinner which included a dessert, and I had the fish and chips. The food was all great as was the service. In truth, we’ve never had a bad meal here but sometimes the portions can be suspect. Today was real good though.
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Still to come: AM visit to EC, Sanaa again, and watching unsuspecting guests get a wet surprise.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday December 26

So bright and early we opt to take the car to EC. No fastpasses this morning, just winging it. We immediately make for Soarin for a quick flight.
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After our flight we made for TT where standby was a posted 60 minutes but in actuality took us 36 minutes.
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On our way to SOAT we decided for a little morning snack, chocolate muffin and Joffrey’s style.
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The wait for SOAT was a remarkable 10 minutes so why not!?!?
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So after our virtual coaster ride we decided to head back to AKL to rest for a bit. Before we left the DW had to use the restroom and while the DD and I waited a CM approached us and made us honorary custodians!! Another first!!
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So with that we were saying bye to EC until dinner time. This did not end the fun, however, as on the way back to the car we passed a gentleman in his car, AT 10:20AM, hammering a few beers!!!! I knew this kind of thing happened, I guess I was just more surprised that dudeman couldn’t wait until lunch! Anyway, after that it was an uneventful trip back to AKL

Still to come: Sanaa again, Fun at the pool, and San Angel Inn.
 

imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
The roast dinner at R&C was ok. I got it because it looked like something they don't normally offer. I prefer the corned beef as an entree.
Bottom line - I would not get the roast dinner again. I like small portions, but these were a bit too small for the price. The flavor was fine, nothing special.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So after returning we decided to make for Sanaa for lunch. We figured while at Kidani we’d just hang out at their pool for a bit too so we packed a pool bag and grabbed a resort van over to Kidani. The DD decided she wanted to rent a few movies and head back to the room after lunch rather than hang out with the old fogies, more parent time! So we quickly arrived at Sanaa which was far from busy. We were greeted and seated very quickly. I went with the Sanaa burger and chips, DD had the kids shrimp, and the DW had the Tandoori Shrimp.
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Lunch was very good but I had mild regrets that I didn’t get the butter chicken again. No worries though in less than 40 days and I can have it again!! With that we put the DD on the resort van back to Jambo with instructions to call when she got to the room, which she did. The DW and I made for Samawati pool. On a previous trip we discovered that Maji severed a beer we never had before but quickly became one of our favorites, Golden Monkey.But on this trip we learned we could get a pitcher, so we did!!! Soooo much Golden Monkey and soooo good.
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So with that we just chilled for a while by the pool when we noticed something, these two masks were randomly squirting water on people! Well, we thought it was random until we noticed as soon as folks walked by the sensor near the entrance the masks would be triggered. This provided a lot of entertainment for us as the genuine reactions from folks walking buy was hilarious! I highly recommend this attraction as it is currently free and could see Disney charging admission for it soon!
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So after a few hours of random hilarity and a pitcher or GM we made back for the room. We were, of course, greeted by more nature…
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Still to come: Disney Visa Photo, San Angel Inn, and MK is PACKED!!
 

RebeccaMcK

Member
Looks like Epcot was a nice low-crowd place to be on Boxing Day (day after Christmas)! I didn't notice those spitting masks at the pool before, but I think all the times we went in Kidani's pool area were at night. Maybe they're turned off at night or we just didn't see them. I forgot to comment earlier on your "A Christmas Story" viewing tradition on Christmas morning - I LOVE that movie and watch it every year, too, some time during the Christmas season if not on THE day. This past Christmas we even had a short string of lights in the front window that had little leg lamps on it. If I've said this before (I just had a deja vu), please never mind my saying it again. I wish my kiddo liked the movie but alas she doesn't. Anyway, looking forward to more of your report.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So after some pool time and some rest we grabbed a bus to EC, which I believe was a brand new bus. We somehow managed to miss the visa picture all week and figured we better get one in while we can so we made right for the character spot. Below is a comparison of the DD’s Polaroid, apparently these are popular with the kids again, and the CM’s picture

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For years I’ve toyed with San Angel Inn. I’ve frequently made ADR’s here only to cancel them before our trip out of concern we wouldn’t like the menu. The atmosphere there is so epic, in my opinion, but the food was always suspect looking. Anyway, for the first time ever I followed through on the ADR and we committed to SAI. Lets see how things went!
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Firstly, NOT a fan of the salsas they provided. They were both very bitter and lacked flavor. The DW went with the Chile Relleno and a Blood Orange Margarita, food was so-so and the drink was good. DD went with the Mole Chicken which she described as I wouldn’t get it again I went with the Lomo de Puerco and a Dos XX the food was just ok and I was surprised how limited the beer menu was. Unless a major menu overhaul takes place, we won’t be back. It really stinks too because the ambiance here is amazing! I just wish the food was half as good as the atmosphere. Another thing we noticed here was that a couple got seated shortly after us and indicated that they were on the DDP. We had the same waiter but you could see a difference in how they were treated versus how we were treated. They were very rushed, quickly served and out the door before we finished our dinner. It was interesting to see.

Still to come: MK madness, Victoria Falls, and some pictures from our photo shoot.
 

imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
This is definitely on my list of ‘never eat here again.’ As Sean said, the ambiance is amazing. That’s about it. The food was just short of terrible and that salsa, IMO, was terrible.

The tables are way to close together. If you’re thinking about having any kind of private conversation, think again. You will come to know everything about your fellow diners. To follow up on Sean’s comment about a menu overhaul…I honestly don’t think it’s the menu, I think it’s the quality of food.

I honestly felt bad for the folks on the DDP. They’re were not really given any time to enjoy their meal. There was a definite difference in the way non-DDP was treated vs guests with the DDP. Of course, there are factors that could have influenced this. It could have just been the waiter, or the time of day, etc.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Last night! We made for MK and were immediately surprised by the chaos there. This would be the busiest we’ve seen it here all week. We had a couple of FPs so we took advantage of those before making our way out again. We ended up ridding SM, SDMT, people mover and BTM before leaving the chaos behind us.
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It had bee a long day and the DD was ready to relax so she went to the room while the DW and I headed to VF for a few drinks to unwind on our last night. Sangria for my lady and a Racer 5 for me.
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With that, we ended our final night. The next morning was most uneventful with our traditional visit to AK for a few rides before heading home. As promised, here are a select few shots from our photo shoot that the DW picked out. I really don’t like getting my picture taken and feel like a dork just looking at these but they made the ladies happy!
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Like I’ve mentioned before, I really need to get this TR done because we will be embarking on a land & sea trip real soon! Less than 36 days real soon!!! So until we meet again I’ll leave you with this:

 

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