Trip Report * Completed* The Food and Wine Christmas Time Last Minute Trip

Hey everyone!
We have been back for almost two weeks so its time to finally start my TR!
We had a great time, but the trip went by too fast

Who?
My Mom (Mary) and I (Megan). This is our second trip together with just the two of us...we traveled to Disneyland together in August.

When?
November 14th - November 21st

Where?
Art of Animation Lion King Suite. It was OK, I'm sure if we had kids with us we would have felt differently but it wasn't our cup of tea. I only booked it because I booked this trip semi-last minute and its the only hotel they had available

Why?
I was throwing around the idea of going to Disney by myself during my vacation and when I heard the Osborne Lights were going away I knew I had to go! My Dad and I convinced my mom to go with me and she agreed so off we went !

Day One Saturday November 14th
I surprisingly slept decently well which I never do before a trip but my clinic shift the day before was pretty brutal so I was tired I guess. By sleeping decently I mean I slept like six hours instead of three haha
I always look super great on trip mornings ...

Our flight was leaving at 7:50 so we got to sleep in a bit and not leave for the airport until 6ish. My Dad laughed at us for having four suitcases total and wished us luck to navigate with those Luckily for us the Southwest Counter is close and we didn't have too much of a struggle.

Check in was painless and we were on our way! No TSA pre-check this time though
We stopped at our usual spot to get some breakfast (bagels...so exciting!)

Off to Florida we go!

We put our Magic Bands on almost right away on the flight!

We killed time on the flight by watching the Lion King (seemed appropriate since we were staying in that suite). My mom had never seen the full movie so she enjoyed it (but made me fast forward through Mufasa's death). We arrived in Florida like 30 minutes early but our gate was broken so we taxied for a bit. I spied sunshine which we barely ever see here in Buffalo past September so I was pleased

We headed straight to the Magical Express...oh wait...no we didn't first we had to take pictures haha

When we stopped to take this picture we inadvertently caused a small child to have a fit because he wanted to stop and take a picture too and his mom said no...oops!
First ride!

When we got down to DME the lines were insane! Hence my face! I seriously have never seen it so crowded before!

Nevertheless despite all my whining we really didn't wait more than 20 minutes.
Sadly we got a yellow Mears bus

First thing's first its selfie time!

On our way to Disney I was so distracted by this plane that was at a standstill in the sky...probably waiting to land

Soon enough we were on Disney property! Yay!
Worst picture ever...

I got this text on the way...gee thanks for telling me the room is NOT ready haha

Art of Animation was the first stop! Yay we were at our Disney home for the week!

Ah time to rush off to work...next post Food and Wine !

 

[Longers]

I was so sad I didn't see you guys! I showed my mom your picture and we were both on the lookout! I love the nickname haha

I really wanted to see you too and did check a few times your PTR to see if our paths would cross but it wasn't meant to be even though I bumped into some other WDW magic members (I think they just wanted to be in my live TR lol) only joking. Maybe one year our paths will cross)

 

[catmom46]

What?? How could you pass up dessert at Cali Grill?

I still dream of the banana fritters...

 

[Doc Disney]

I really wanted to see you too and did check a few times your PTR to see if our paths would cross but it wasn't meant to be even though I bumped into some other WDW magic members (I think they just wanted to be in my live TR lol) only joking. Maybe one year our paths will cross)

Hopefully! I would love to meet you guys! Do you typically go the same time each year?

What?? How could you pass up dessert at Cali Grill?

I still dream of the banana fritters...

Haha I don't know I'm not a sweets person. In fact I only took like one bite of that peanut butter cup.

 

[Doc Disney]

Day Two Epcot

We got up around 7 this morning and headed to the food court for breakfast. We both got croissants to eat. We were looking around for fruit (we usually eat bananas with our croissants) but we couldn't find any Turns out we weren't looking hard enough because I found all the fruit the next day haha

We ate, went back to the room (and watched some Stacy), dropped our cups off, and headed back to the bus stop. We got to Epcot at 8:45 am and the park was already open! JK though. I worried for a minute but it turned out there was just a rope drop. We chose the Test Track side and went along with the masses to Test Track!

We were behind an older couple who were super confused about having to share a design station so I kindly guided them to avoid the backup that was behind us haha
We made this beautiful car

We enjoyed our ride as usual!

We only got 203...not my best

After this we headed to our first fast pass...the Seas! Why not take a trip around the Seas again
I got eaten by a shark though...

We headed to Figment after this...I don't exactly remember the old version of this ride but I was watching home movies recently and saw a video of it and it looked really cool! Oh well, guess we are stuck with this version for now

We had a Fast Pass for Spaceship Earth after this but had a little bit of time to kill so we got some pictures taken

We saw Pluto on the side and there was barely any wait so we hopped in line to see him!

I thought this picture was so cute!

We took some selfies while waiting for our Fast Pass

I love Spaceship Earth...I feel like its one of the most underrated rides
Thanks to the Phoenicians

I think the part with the Earth and the Stars is very cool and relaxing

Next up : back to Food and Wine

 

[Longers]

Hopefully! I would love to meet you guys! Do you typically go the same time each year?

Yes we have gone every year in November. We normally leave the UK around 5th(ish) I can't see that changing unless we move dates to take my nephews but that's quite a few years off.

 

[Doc Disney]

@Longers We usually do not go the same time each year but we really enjoyed that time and will probably go back in two years at the same time !

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 2 continued:

After Spaceship Earth it was time to head back to the Food and Wine Festival ! First we stopped to check out the cranberry bog and to see if per chance they had any more passports (which they did not).

Our first stop was Canada. I have always wanted to eat at Le Cellier Steakhouse so I figured this would be my one chance since no one else seems to want to haha
We both got the Le Cellier” wild mushroom beef filet mignon (with truffle butter sauce) and the Canadian cheddar cheese soup

I was very proud of my mom for eating both of these as she usually doesn't eat cream soup or steak and she ate both (we should have shared but yet again we did not haha). I really enjoyed both! My mom said the soup was OK and the steak was good. I know some people complain about the steak being cooked too well because its outside but I would say ours were medium which was good with me.
Its funny the things you notice that you have never noticed before...like this fountain in the UK

Our next stop was France...but first up photopass pictures

It was at this time that we decided to start sharing things (which didn't last long as you will see haha)
We had the Boeuf bourguignon (Braised short ribs in cabernet with mashed potatoes)

We both really enjoyed this...especially the mashed potatoes
I wanted to get the Grey Goose Slushy but the price was way up from last time I had one (probably for the Food and Wine festival) so I wasn't willing to spend $15 and we moved on
We hit up Brazil (for me) and Belgium (for my mom) next. There was a very nice eating area between the two so we sat there. I had the Pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread)

It was OK...it was a but mushy for me but it wasn't terrible either.
My mom had the Belgium waffle with berry compote and whipped cream

My mom adores Belgium waffles and its her go to breakfast option so she really enjoyed this!
After this we walked around a bit in search of a cocktail
We were going to eat at Italy but we were feeling a little full so skipped it

We headed to Germany next and my mom got a salted caramel to eat (from the store...not a booth)

I was thinking about trying the Schinkennudeln (Pasta gratin with ham and cheese) but I actually hate ham so I decided against it haha
We decided to just go back to America to get a drink because my mom really enjoyed her Frozen Strawberry-Lemon Sunset from before so she got that. I ended up just going to the Fife & Drum Tavern and getting a Pinot Grigio. When I ordered it the CM asked me what that was....hahaha until another CM told her it was wine.

We sat at the American Pavilion and watched the American Music Machine which is an a cappella band that performed during the day.
They were great we ended up staying for the whole show!

After the show we were feeling like it was time for a break but I had my sights set on one more booth.
Crowds were starting to pick up but still not terrible

On my way to my next stop we ran into Mexican Donald!
Some little girl in front of us was dressed in an Anna Summer dress and the woman behind me asked her husband which princess dress that was and I told her. She was impressed with my princess knowledge haha

I told Donald Duck I saw Daisy earlier and she was with another man! He was mad...haha

After Donald we finally made our way to the Cheese Studio
This place was so cool I kind of wish they kept it up all year round or that it was there for the Flower and Garden Festival too

There was a centerpiece of wine bottles that was cool

I got the trio of artisan cheeses: Karst cave-aged cheese served with honey, La Bonne Vie goat cheese served with Craisin bread and
Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue Cheese with berry port compote

This was amazing! I would have eaten it more than once if I had the time

Next up: finishing up morning Epcot and hotel break

 

[catmom46]

I love the 2nd pic with Donald - it looks like your mom is checking out his butt.

 

[Doc Disney]

I love the 2nd pic with Donald - it looks like your mom is checking out his butt.

hahahaha you are so right thats so funny

 

[Doc Disney]

Day Two continued

We found this cool photopass photographer with a Food and Wine frame so we stopped for a picture

We had to make an obligatory stop at Club Cool after this. On our way in we finally noticed the Chase Visa lounge but we were on our way out of the park anyway so no need to stop
We took some fake pictures of us trying Beverly to send to my sister because she loves it...our cups were empty though haha

bahahha such a terrible picture

We were planning on stopping to get our Visa picture after this but it was so crowded we just headed out!
Back at the hotel we took some pictures of our Lion King section

The foliage is so cool in this area

We headed to the pool after this but the water was freezing so we just relaxed for a bit and watched everyone playing the pool games/ dancing at the dance party
I apparently was half asleep there haha

We decided at the pool to make a dining reservation at Epcot for dinner. We were planning on eating dinner at the Food and Wine festival but we were worried it was going to be packed because it was the last night of it and a Sunday. We did have a few foods we wanted to try still but we figured it would be a reason to go back to the festival again someday
So, we got ready to head back to Epcot and enjoyed the sunshine at the bus stop

In Epcot we had a little bit of time before our reservation so we headed back to The Seas. After riding through Nemo we walked around the aquarium and the dolphins were out again so we watched them for a few minutes. Then we wanted to see Crush again so we went in. I love when he comes out with the bathing suit

The kids this time didn't ask as high quality of questions haha In fact one little girl made a statement "Turtles can swim." Crush said "the answer to your question is yes." It was really funny. Then Crush asked for more questions...or statements since thats what he kept getting . Something new I saw in Turtle Talk was Crush bringing out a Buzz action figure and asking what it was haha

Next Up: Dinner in Epcot

On a side note some of (actually all of) the stock pictures that come with the Memory Maker are amazing

 

[Doc Disney]

Day Two continued:

We relaxed around Epcot until it was time for our dinner. Where was it? GARDEN GRILL! I spent quite a bit of time convincing my mom we should go there. It is a place I always wanted to try but my mom wasn't too sure of the menu. Finally, she agreed to try it! When we checked in it was packed but there are also bathrooms there so it was hard to say who was waiting for the restaurant. Our pager actually died while we were waiting so there was a small mix up when it was time for our table but they eventually figured it out!
We sat in the upper section of the restaurant
Mickey plates

Turned into Minnie plates by our waitress

Dale actually came by before our waitress did

The characters came by so fast!!
The little kid at the table next to us was petrified of all the characters, but especially Pluto. This restaurant isn't huge so the characters come by a lot and the poor kiddo lost it every time Pluto came by haha

The restaurant moves so slowly that you can't tell its moving but it is cool to see the scenes change
We started our meal off with bread and Orange Blossom Honey Butter

Then came the Farmers Salad from Living with the Land

You get so much food with this meal and it was all so good!
Filet of Beef and Mashed Potatoes

Italian Sausage, Bacon and Leek stuffing and Turkey with a side of Cranberry Sauce

Tilapia...which stayed right there as neither one of us eats fish haha..it is cool it comes from The Land though

And, mac and cheese with goldfish, sweet potato fries and broccoli

This house that you see from the ride is decorated so you can see the inside from the restaurant

And for dessert :
Short Cake yum!

We really enjoyed this meal and plan to go back next trip with my Dad because he will really enjoy this too!

Next up short post to finish off the day!

 

[Doc Disney]

Day Two continued:

Since we can't sit still and we were too full to not keep walking we decided to make a stop at Disney Springs. We did wander around a bit first
The Imagination Pavilion is underrated in my opinion; its so cool looking!

I wanted to make my way over to see France lit up in the colors of the flag so we walked over there. We had originally planned on seeing Chaka Kahn but didn't make it over. We did, however, listen to her from across the World Showcase for a few minutes haha
France looked beautiful lit up

These Mickeys with the flags on their faces are kind of cool

Anyway we headed to the Boardwalk after this so we could catch a bus to Disney Springs
I had a quick laugh over all the Dads outside ESPN watching the football game

Then, I realized that it was the Pats playing and there was a chance they may lose so I started to walk over to watch too but my mom told me no haha. Sadly, they didn't lose (sorry Pats fans...I will always root against you haha)

It was at the Boardwalk that we first saw the fancy bus times board

The Disney Springs bus time changed like 10 times haha
We sat next to a lovely family who was staying at the Hilton. They were saying they wanted to go to the Food and Wine Festival the next day (which was the last day) but had to first sit through a 2 hour time share presentation an hour outside of Orlando. Then she told me it was nice the food was free at the Food and Wine and that you only had to pay for wine...
It amazes me the things that come out of peoples mouths haha. I corrected her just so she would bring enough money haha
The bus ride to Disney Springs was pretty long because we stopped at the Dolphin and the Swan and one family got on and off the bus three times because they weren't paying attention to the stops haha
We only stopped at Disney Springs briefly and saw these tall guys walking around

It was packed at Disney Springs so we quickly popped in the World of Disney and made a pit stop at the dance party and went home
The bus line was crazy so we ended up standing for a long ride home. Oh well..

Next up: Hollywood Studios

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3: Hollywood Studios!

We got up and went to Landscapes of Flavors for breakfast
I finally found the fruit and went for the apple slices and the breakfast sandwich

It had Mickey shaped eggs!

This Sandwich was just OK..I think it was the toast that ruined it for me so I only ate like half.
My mom got character waffles...she said they were good just not very hot
Lion King this day

We headed over to Hollywood Studios and again encountered a soft opening. We decided to head to Aerosmith so waited there.
The tree was up outside the park

The park fully opened a few minutes early and soon enough we were on our way to Aerosmith (after getting hit in the face quite a few times by a woman's backpack in front of me haha)
I took this picture of Tower of Terror from the queue

We were actually able to get on the ride twice in a row!

Somehow we managed to get backstage passes and a limo both times
LOL to the guy in front of us

We looked around Sunset Boulevard after this in an attempt to avoid Tower of Terror...haha
The weather was amazing!

It was finally time for our Fast Pass for Tower of Terror and I was freaking out a bit...I am not sure why. In my mind I know that its not a bad ride but I don't like scary things and its the ghost part that freaks me out haha. Well, there was a small child in front of us so my mom and I decided that we could do it.
We are partially covered...OK by me!

This was supposed to be a thumbs up thumbs down picture (to represent my feelings of the ride) haha my thumbs down didn't work so well.

We decided to head over to the Muppets after this but first walked past a nice view of the theatre with nothing blocking it!

So sunny!

We watch the new Muppets show which a lot of people don't like but I think its hilarious so I had a renewed sense of enjoyment for the Muppets but it definitely does need an upgrade haha
We walked around the streets of America after this and it was cool to see all the Osborne lights before they were lit up
Oh and Mr. Golds! Such a neat shout out to Once Upon a Time

We were on our way to our Toy Story Fast Pass when we ran into none other than Santa Goofy!
Its funny it took us a little bit of time to notice the meet and greet was where the Backlot Tour was...may it rest in peace

He was quite the gentleman dog!

Next up finishing the morning at HS and pool time

 

[LisaBelle]

I am finally getting caught up on trip report reading! We sold my mom & dad's house and my sister and I had to clean it all out. It took much longer than we anticipated. Neither of us has done much training. Planning to get back in the swing again tomorrow. Loving your report! You and your mom always have so much fun on your trips! The food at Garden Grill looked delicious. I love the Living with the Land ride so it would be fun to see it from the restaurant and taste the food grown there!

 

[Doc Disney]

I am finally getting caught up on trip report reading! We sold my mom & dad's house and my sister and I had to clean it all out. It took much longer than we anticipated. Neither of us has done much training. Planning to get back in the swing again tomorrow. Loving your report! You and your mom always have so much fun on your trips! The food at Garden Grill looked delicious. I love the Living with the Land ride so it would be fun to see it from the restaurant and taste the food grown there!

Yikes that sounds like a lot of work! Glad you are starting to get back in the swing of things! Thanks for reading The Garden Grill restaurant was amazing ! I would highly recommend it. Especially if you like Living with the Land which I love too!

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued:

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

After Santa Goofy we headed to Toy Story Mania!

I somehow managed to get the best score in the car...which sadly wasn't great at all. I can't remember what it was but I know it wasn't super high!
They were decorated inside for Christmas too

We went on Star Tours after this and I was the rebel spy again! I wish I could have taken a picture!
We wanted to get a snack but also add on a Fast Pass for later so my Mom and I split up. I walked to the Tower of Terror Fast Pass kiosk and there was no one there so I quickly added a Fast Pass for the Great Movie Ride and met up with my mom for a snack. We got popcorn! My favorite! (I accidentally had my camera on the vivid setting still haha)

We stopped and looked at the tree again (although these pictures were from the morning truth be told haha)

And then we went back to the hotel after this. We were still hungry so we decided to get lunch at Landscapes of Flavor
My mom got a personal pizza

She said it was pretty good!
And I got a Create Your Own Pasta (after debating for literally 10 minutes what I wanted)

I had bowtie pasta, brocoli, olives and parmesan cheese with Alfredo sauce. It was AMAZING! I am still thinking about this. I would highly recommend it if you ever stay there. Its so nice that its fresh and warm
We wanted to head to the pool after this but first took a trip to the bar - its called The Drop Off haha
View from the bar

I had the white sangria

and my mom had the pina colava

We spent time soaking in the sunshine and enjoying our drinks. We actually almost forgot to pay the bartender before we left the bar sad to say haha
I like to take pictures to make everyone at home jealous!

I heard a rumor that the heater for the pool was fixed (not sure if a heater even exists) so we thought we would brave the hopefully warmer water today
I wore the same bathing suit/shirt combo every day....don't judge me haha

I'm glad I kept the shirt on actually because the water was still freezing. Nevertheless I was determined to go underwater to hear the music so I finally did and it was so cool! Its all adult music which was something I wasn't expecting at all! I finally convinced my mom to go under water too so she could hear it. Come to find out later its the same music that plays at the pool too haha oh well.
Anyway at this time my mom made up a pretend checklist (i.e. going under water to hear the music) and we made it a game the rest of the time !

Next up back to HS!

 

[Doc Disney]

Day three continued

We headed back to HS after a quick outfit change.

Upon walking into the park we noticed the Citizens of Hollywood were out and were pretending to make a commercial so we followed them and found ourself in a dance party!
Then Chip and Dale came out and joined the dance party! I wish I had pictures but I only have videos
It was time for our Fast Pass after this so we headed to the Great Movie Ride

My mom pointed out this doctor/dentist building! I never noticed it before

For those of you who read my previous TRs you may recall I actually hate this ride but I felt the need to go on it to see the upgrades. The new narration is odd but OK and the new movies in the waiting area are pretty cool!
This area after the ride is cute and completely overlooked. When I went over a bunch of people followed me and thought it was cool!

There was quite a bit of time between this and and the start of the Osborne Lights but I really wanted to make sure we saw them turn on so we went over to the Streets and waited. We met a very nice older couple from Illinois who lived in Florida now. They were checking out the lights to see if it was worth bringing their grandkids there when they came down to visit. I shared with them my random facts about Disney and the Osborne lights and they eventually dubbed me "Disney girl." While we were waiting we witnessed a guy in a scooter run over his wife's foot and he couldn't stop laughing and she was so mad. It was actually pretty funny especially since the woman wasn't hurt.
It started to get dark and you could see that the fake Empire State Building was lit up for France...I though that was a nice touch.

I will post a separate post for Osborne pictures! The lights turned on and it was amazing. We only stayed for a short time because we had dining reservations. When we were leaving I felt so sad that we didn't have a lot of time with the lights but knew we had to get to our reservation. We headed over to 50's Prime Time for dinner. When I checked in I asked the girl if it was OK if we just watched everyone else have fun and didn't participate ourselves. She looked at me so confused and I explained to her a few times what I meant (I read online you could ask this). She was actually kind of rude about it but said she would "make a note on our reservation." Anyway the place was packed so we headed to wait in the living room.

I was still so apprehensive about leaving the lights and I said to my mom that I kind of wanted to leave and she said she did too...so we left! This was our second attempt at eating here but I just couldn't bring myself to do it haha. I don't know why but the atmosphere there that day seemed off and all the other people waiting seemed cranky too.
We actually ended up grabbing some food at Backlot Express (which I have never seen before in my life) and it was pretty empty so we enjoyed it!
We both got Buffalo Chicken Nuggets *which actually looks like its off the menu now

These were super good...kind of sad they are off the menu!
After this we went back to the lights and enjoyed ourselves and then headed home. I felt like we made the right decision leaving Prime Time...maybe someday we will try it haha. On the bus a little girl next to my mom was wearing Maleficent Ears and they kept hitting my mom but it took her awhile to figure out what was hitting her haha

Next up: Osborne Lights picture

 

[Doc Disney]

Oh forgot to post this picture

Osborne Lights!

Next up: Finally Magic Kingdom!

 

[LisaBelle]

I think it worked out well for you to leave Prime Time and spend more time at the Osborne Lights! You'll have other opportunities to try Prime Time and you wouldn't have fun there if you tried to force it . It was your last chance to see the lights so you definitely made the right choice. So sad I never got to see them. I am really hoping they will find a way to incorporate them in the new vision for DHS and I will still have a chance to see them! Looking forward to reading more!

 

[Tuvalu]

The Christmas light strands are always at Toy Story Midway Mania...not just at the holidays .