Trip Report **COMPLETED** The Story of Two Nuts Who Decided to Go to Disney for NYE

Who?
The two nuts - my Mom (Mary) and myself (Megan)

Where?
The Contemporary - strategically picked to help us survive the New Years crowds

When?
December 28, 2018 - January 2, 2019

Why?
For New Years! We had been to Disney once before for New Years which is the reason for the title On our first time there for New Years we had no clue it would be crowded but this time we willingly went for New Years well knowing the crowds would be awful! We are NUTS!

What to expect?
Slow moving days, a lot of pictures of crowds, a LOT of phone pictures (I did not film this trip so I got lazy and most days did not even carry my good camera - helped me manage the crowds), and a pretty big purchase

Day 1 - December 28, 2018
I had to work but was able to start my day a bit earlier so that I could make it to my flight on time My parents drove me to work and picked me up so we could head right to the airport. I was stressed (especially after last trip) that the weather would be bad but it was actually 45 degrees at home - unseasonably warm! We had to take our usual date signs at the airport

As usual we made it though check in and security very quickly and we headed to get some food at Anchor Bar.

We shared a quesadilla and boneless wings. Both things were delicious!

After eating we headed to our gate

Next up: more travel randomness

 

[Doc Disney]

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hoooray!!!! beautiful home resort ! one of the few we haven't stayed in. it looks amazing. going to need a review on those studios.

what a day

Aww!! Thats the sweetest thing ever thank you for making it! I don't even know when I will be staying in them but I am hopeful to get a preview of one in Feb

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued

We headed downstairs to check in for dinner so that we could go back upstairs

We were seated right away at California Grill and we received our bread and appetizer even before our drinks

We always get the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli but it seemingly always gives us a stomachache at night so we skipped it and opted for the cheese board instead

It was good but not great. I would say I enjoyed it more than my Mom because I like any kind of cheese. Also we still got a small stomachache this night anyway so next time we will just go back to the goat cheese ravioli
We decided to get a cocktail to celebrate my DVC purchase. Maybe its the cocktails that give us the stomachache? Trying to think of something we always have there
I had a blueberry lemon drop martini

And my Mom had a side car

Next up: more California grill

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued
For entrees my Mom ordered the pepperoni pizza

And I ordered the Oak Fired Filet of Beef

The risotto was back and it was delicious as ever!
As usual both of our entrees were fantastic.
Anyway, we booked this dinner so we could watch the first showing of Fantasy in the Sky (the NYE fireworks).
I slid over to my Mom's side of the table so I could watch them

At first we weren't super impressed with the fireworks as they seemed kind of like the usual ones but in the end they proved me wrong!

They were awesome!
After dinner we wandered around a bit. We did walk over to BLT to see if we could go up to Top of the World since the fireworks were over/not happening again for hours but they were not letting anyone up there who was not actually staying there. Makes sense but I was still a bit bummed. We then decided to try and take a bus to DS but the bus for that was packed and we feared we would be stuck in traffic later because of the fireworks. Our next plan was to take the monorail to the Poly and GF to see the decor. However, when we got up there the line for the monorail was INSANE and the monorails were packed so we bailed (had to ask a CM to let us back down the escalator). So...eventually we decided to just go to the MK since we could walk there

It was obviously super crowded and I could only find FPs for much later in the evening so we decided to to Hall of Presidents since we never saw it since its update.

I thought the update was nice - the music was good!
We were exhausted at this point since we did get up early to rope drop (and we knew we had a long day ahead of us the next day) so we headed back out the park after this. One odd thing is there was no Christmas music just super loud regular/DJ music everywhere in the park. It was the same the next day when I saw actual DJs so I guess it was indeed DJ music but it was odd to hear it.
Only 360 days until Christmas

Next up: finishing up the day

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued

Somehow I was hungry so I got some popcorn

Views from our balcony

Tree with a side of electrical water pageant

I considered setting an alarm to see the fireworks again at 11:50 but I was too tired. Turns out I didn't need the alarm anyway. They were so loud they shook the entire building
View from my bed

Then from the balcony

Next up: Day 4 - NYE!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Congratulations on the DVC purchase! How exciting!!!

 

[Jedi Stitch]

Day 3 continued
The end of the line actually ended up being at the top of those stairs that go down to One Man's Dream
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Meanwhile my Mom and I went to Starbucks for breakfast.
I had my regular breakfast sandwich and my Mom had this cupcake that was peanut butter or something
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After our breakfast we stopped for some PP pictures
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Then we wandered...
This dog in a window was so cute
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Some guy laughed with us about the phones when we were taking this photo
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Then some more PP pictures
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I swear to you I have never noticed this blue building before
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We figured it must be Aerosmith (and it is) but it will come into play later.

Next up: more HS

The Tower of Terror is my daughters favorite ride. She love the scary/thrill vibe of the Twilight Zone. She has decided that DCA Mission Break out is a Close second, to the Tower. I myself am a StarWars fan so I am hoping for a great ride when the lands open up.

 

[Jedi Stitch]

Day 2 continued
**warning super wordy post **

So we headed to meet up with our good friend Kyle and he took us backstage to get to our van. He confirmed our suspicion about the blue building being Aerosmith and showed us the tunnel where you take off! Kyle told us that just a few days before he saw Luke Bryan backstage There were a lot of people back there but no one famous that I could see - just those VIP tour people eating snacks
Our van driver's name was George and he was negative Nelly about everything. He was non stop complaining about everything that used to be at the parks but isn't anymore
We got dropped off by Mr. Pleasant at the DVC part of Polynesian and we were greeted by someone else who brought us to a room (aka a hotel room made into an office) to meet with a DVC representative. It was a little awkward at first but Marcel (the DVC guy) was really nice. They essentially ask you a bunch of questions to see if you would even benefit from DVC. It was super low pressure and very informative.
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I texted @sheriffwoody before I even went on the tour to say I was scared I would buy it and she told me to stay strong
Anyway, after the whole presentation Marcel showed us a Poly studio to get an idea, showed us the price for points and left so we could discuss it. I went into the presentation already knowing I wanted DVC so this kind of confirmed it for me. I was suprised when my Mom said she thought it was a good idea too and she thought things would work out for me this day. I called my sister Betta - who is the most financially savvy (besides my Dad) and doesn't spend money on everything like I do - and she said I should do it and said she feels like she should look into it now too.
So that was it....they were offering full contracts only for Copper Creek and Aluani so I chose Copper Creek (obviously ... not even manageable to go to Hawaii more than once in my life ). Before we even got in there and knew the choices we talked about how we would like Bay Lake Tower or Wilderness Lodge so that was perfect! They could offer me a BLT contract but it would have been a shorter one and they couldn't give me the end of year discount that they were offering for Copper Creek. Not like we can't stay at BLT or add points there
Anyway like I said they were super non pushy and even when I agreed they were super supportive about it - giving all sorts of payment options and suggesting the amount of points I should start with.
I signed a bunch of paperwork and soon enough we were on our way! It was nuts. I felt bad because we were inside on a beautiful day for almost 3 hours but my Mom promised me she did not mind - especially since it will benefit her too
My Mom took this picture and pretended it was Mickey saying he took all my money
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My Mom is making a zero sign since she did not buy anything
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I still can not believe I did it! I dont think it has hit me yet
Our van eventually showed up to take us back to the Contemporary
This van driver was no more pleasant than George - weird .
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Next up: more randomness

Ok, now I am jealous.

 

[aliceismad]

Congrats on your purchase!

 

[LeighM]

Congrats on the DVC purchase! I regret not buying several years ago when I had the chance - stars haven't aligned since LOL.

 

[Pardonmypixiedust]

my favorite view @ WDW is SM at night from bay lake. that blue & green at night is just...magical

excellent pic!

 

[PacNWTigger]

Congrats on the DVC purchase! Looking forward to some pics from your new place.

 

[Doc Disney]

Congratulations on the DVC purchase! How exciting!!!

Thank you!!!

The Tower of Terror is my daughters favorite ride. She love the scary/thrill vibe of the Twilight Zone. She has decided that DCA Mission Break out is a Close second, to the Tower. I myself am a StarWars fan so I am hoping for a great ride when the lands open up.

Ok, now I am jealous.

I like Mission Breakout but I think Tower of Terror is still better I can't wait for the Star Wars attractions

 

[Doc Disney]

Congrats on your purchase!

Thank you

Congrats on the DVC purchase! I regret not buying several years ago when I had the chance - stars haven't aligned since LOL.

Thank you! Thats why I bought it when I did I was nervous it wouldn't work out ever again - I hope it works out for you.

 

[Doc Disney]

my favorite view @ WDW is SM at night from bay lake. that blue & green at night is just...magical

excellent pic!

I agree I love that view! Thank you!

Congrats on the DVC purchase! Looking forward to some pics from your new place.

Thank you It will be a bit before I stay there though (well on the DVC side anyway)

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 4 December 31, 2018
We had every intention on sleeping in so naturally we got up at 7 am
We popped down to Contempo Cafe for some breakfast. We both had a Mickey waffle with bacon

Then we finally went to see the Gingerbread display

We decided to take a walk over to MK and use one of our DVC bonus FPs
We chose BTMR for our FP

Next up: more MK

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 4 continued
After our ride we stopped for a few PP pictures before heading out

P.S. We got a lot of compliments on our shirts but we hated them and how they looked We are NOT t-shirt people
Here is a picture of the crowds on our way out - at like 9:30 am

Next up: some more wandering

 

[DisSplash]

I like the T-shirts! I think both you and your mom rocked them! And are those your new purple ears? They look blue in all of your pictures ... but still really cool!

 

[Doc Disney]

I like the T-shirts! I think both you and your mom rocked them! And are those your new purple ears? They look blue in all of your pictures ... but still really cool!

Thank you!
They are the new ears! They are indeed purple I think the way the bow photographs I can see how you think they look blue

 

[BrerWayne]

Day 2 continued
**warning super wordy post **

So we headed to meet up with our good friend Kyle and he took us backstage to get to our van. He confirmed our suspicion about the blue building being Aerosmith and showed us the tunnel where you take off! Kyle told us that just a few days before he saw Luke Bryan backstage There were a lot of people back there but no one famous that I could see - just those VIP tour people eating snacks
Our van driver's name was George and he was negative Nelly about everything. He was non stop complaining about everything that used to be at the parks but isn't anymore
We got dropped off by Mr. Pleasant at the DVC part of Polynesian and we were greeted by someone else who brought us to a room (aka a hotel room made into an office) to meet with a DVC representative. It was a little awkward at first but Marcel (the DVC guy) was really nice. They essentially ask you a bunch of questions to see if you would even benefit from DVC. It was super low pressure and very informative.
View attachment 340562
View attachment 340563
View attachment 340564
I texted @sheriffwoody before I even went on the tour to say I was scared I would buy it and she told me to stay strong
Anyway, after the whole presentation Marcel showed us a Poly studio to get an idea, showed us the price for points and left so we could discuss it. I went into the presentation already knowing I wanted DVC so this kind of confirmed it for me. I was suprised when my Mom said she thought it was a good idea too and she thought things would work out for me this day. I called my sister Betta - who is the most financially savvy (besides my Dad) and doesn't spend money on everything like I do - and she said I should do it and said she feels like she should look into it now too.
So that was it....they were offering full contracts only for Copper Creek and Aluani so I chose Copper Creek (obviously ... not even manageable to go to Hawaii more than once in my life ). Before we even got in there and knew the choices we talked about how we would like Bay Lake Tower or Wilderness Lodge so that was perfect! They could offer me a BLT contract but it would have been a shorter one and they couldn't give me the end of year discount that they were offering for Copper Creek. Not like we can't stay at BLT or add points there
Anyway like I said they were super non pushy and even when I agreed they were super supportive about it - giving all sorts of payment options and suggesting the amount of points I should start with.
I signed a bunch of paperwork and soon enough we were on our way! It was nuts. I felt bad because we were inside on a beautiful day for almost 3 hours but my Mom promised me she did not mind - especially since it will benefit her too
My Mom took this picture and pretended it was Mickey saying he took all my money
View attachment 340565

View attachment 340566
My Mom is making a zero sign since she did not buy anything
View attachment 340567
View attachment 340568
View attachment 340569
I still can not believe I did it! I dont think it has hit me yet
Our van eventually showed up to take us back to the Contemporary
This van driver was no more pleasant than George - weird .
View attachment 340570

Next up: more randomness

Congrats on the purchase! I guess we can look forward to many more trip reports in the future! Quick question. You trip reports are really well done, and its obvious that you put a lot off effort into them. Is you mom a member of WDWmagic also? Does she check out you trip reports and critique them? You and your Mom look super close. I hope my children and I have the same type of relationship when they are grown.

 

[Doc Disney]

Congrats on the purchase! I guess we can look forward to many more trip reports in the future! Quick question. You trip reports are really well done, and its obvious that you put a lot off effort into them. Is you mom a member of WDWmagic also? Does she check out you trip reports and critique them? You and your Mom look super close. I hope my children and I have the same type of relationship when they are grown.

Thank you! She is not a member - I don't think she would even know where to start if she was one She is not very tech savvy. I do read them to her just as a way to remember our trips - its something we look forward to after the trip! We are close - just as she is close with my sisters as well - they just don't go to Disney as much (or not with us anyway - my one sister goes often with my nephew but we can never seem to overlap times)