Trip Report It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas! *COMPLETED*

The soothing croon of Michael Bublé kept reverberating in my mind as I pondered starting yet another trip report. Like summer, the Christmas season makes me happy. Going to WDW during the Christmas season makes me VERY HAPPY. The joy of sharing my trips with my WDWMAGIC friends makes me happier still. Thank you for the encouragement to keep on writing!

Holiday Vacation #1
When: November 16-23, 2019
Where: Disney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Who: Tuvalu and Woody

Looky! I finally got a Magic Shot!

Okay, so it’s a bit creepy. But it leaves no doubt that this was a CHRISTMAS trip.

In mid-November.

But hey, we had Halloween in August!

And yours truly was very excited to experience Christmas decor at the resorts and in 3 of the 4 parks. (Epcot was still in full “Food and Wine” mode.) It wasn’t always this festive in November. We’ve been this same week in the past and outside of MK, there was very little decorating completed. I was so disappointed the year we stayed at WL (very close to turkey day) and missed out on the holiday stuff. I was worried the same thing would happen again. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Woody, on the other hand, is a “Let’s celebrate Thanksgiving before shifting our focus to Christmas” kind of guy. Growing up, his family did not put up their tree until CHRISTMAS EVE. (Can you imagine?!!) Over the years he has mellowed, thanks to my influence, and better tolerates the Christmas creep. Yet I was concerned that his inner Scrooge might reveal itself during this vacation.

I needn’t have worried. But I’m getting ahead of myself again.

Our week consisted of some new experiences and old experiences....some frustrations....some drama (of course!)....and a very magical meet.

Stay tuned.

 

[Tuvalu]

@RememberWhen it was the perfect lunch ~ except for no dessert! This was easily remedied by retracing our steps yet again.

A very disinterested Photopass CM took our picture. And by picture I mean exactly this ONE picture.

Oh well, we were in France where service workers are known to be stand-offish....perhaps he was trying to fit in.

Paging @Longers.......

There was no one in line so we got a good look at the choices. Loved the ice cream Mickeys! Is the display always like this? We rarely frequent L’Artisan Des Glaces.

There was a table available in the courtyard which we quickly snagged!

Is the cup on the left larger than the cup on the right? Yes, yes it is.

I couldn’t decide between Dark Chocolate and Coconut. Soooo.....

Plus the flavors mixed together were

(Assuming you like coconut. Woody does not. That’s why his cup only contained chocolate!)

 

[Swissmiss]

Darn, the grocery stores just closed 15 mins ago ... that ice cream picture made me want some

 

[Nunu]

@RememberWhen it was the perfect lunch ~ except for no dessert! This was easily remedied by retracing our steps yet again.

View attachment 440615
A very disinterested Photopass CM took our picture. And by picture I mean exactly this ONE picture.

Oh well, we were in France where service workers are known to be stand-offish....perhaps he was trying to fit in.

Paging @Longers.......

View attachment 440609

There was no one in line so we got a good look at the choices. Loved the ice cream Mickeys! Is the display always like this? We rarely frequent L’Artisan Des Glaces.

View attachment 440610

There was a table available in the courtyard which we quickly snagged!

View attachment 440612

Is the cup on the left larger than the cup on the right? Yes, yes it is.

View attachment 440611

I couldn’t decide between Dark Chocolate and Coconut. Soooo.....

View attachment 440618

Plus the flavors mixed together were

View attachment 440620

(Assuming you like coconut. Woody does not. That’s why his cup only contained chocolate!)

Great choice!
It's like my Coconut Macaroon, just in ice cream form!

 

[Tuvalu]

We wanted to make the loop around World Showcase because we hadn’t done so yesterday.

Thus far we’d done:
Canada > America
America >Morocco
Morocco > France

Now:
France > Morocco (restroom stop)
Morocco > remaining countries, traveling counter clockwise

Not the most efficient touring, but more steps for the FitBit again!

We did pause in each country though I did not always take pictures. Had to get the Food & Wine Festival banners in the German village though!

When we got to China I mentioned to Woody that there would soon be a new movie in the theater.

“Are we going to have to pay a tariff to watch it?” he deadpanned.

We arrived at Norway in time to use our Tier 1 FP.

You’ll have to trust me that we rode FEA. There’s no photographic evidence.
And apparently it was our anniversary. It said so on the FP screen.

Someone special was inside. We went in for a look-see.

Artist Larry Dotson was signing his prints. Larry has a lot of wall real estate in our home. We did not make a purchase today but still enjoyed browsing.

Feliz Navidad!

The evening-themed courtyard is even prettier during the holiday season.

Naturally we went for a boat ride because.....

FIREWORKS!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Next we popped into the newly-spiffed-up Odyssey (aka the eyesore that got a paint job) to check out:

While we entered to “Come See the Future” the first thing we noticed were poster tributes to the past.

I know there’s a lot of Horizons love on these boards, but World of Motion will always be #1 in my heart.

We had to go into a circular room to fully experience the future.

Not gonna lie.....the 360 degree video presentation with special effects on the giant model is very cool. It plays continuously, so if you don’t arrive at the beginning (we didn’t) you can just stay until the show cycles through (which we did).

These pictures will likely be meaningless if you haven’t seen the show, but I adore how colorful they are.

I am excited to see the “new Epcot” but wish we could time-travel past THE WALLS.

There are a few photo ops in the Odyssey and once again Woody was a good sport.

What are we afraid of?

No idea. But this is what changed Woody from being a good sport into “I’M DONE.”

 

[Nunu]

What are we afraid of?

No idea.

You are afraid of the EPCOT Walls, caving in!

 

[RememberWhen]

Next we popped into the newly-spiffed-up Odyssey (aka the eyesore that got a paint job) to check out:

View attachment 440637

While we entered to “Come See the Future” the first thing we noticed were poster tributes to the past.

View attachment 440644

View attachment 440643

I know there’s a lot of Horizons love on these boards, but World of Motion will always be #1 in my heart.

We had to go into a circular room to fully experience the future.

View attachment 440638

Not gonna lie.....the 360 degree video presentation with special effects on the giant model is very cool. It plays continuously, so if you don’t arrive at the beginning (we didn’t) you can just stay until the show cycles through (which we did).

These pictures will likely be meaningless if you haven’t seen the show, but I adore how colorful they are.

View attachment 440639

View attachment 440640

View attachment 440641

View attachment 440642

I am excited to see the “new Epcot” but wish we could time-travel past THE WALLS.

There are a few photo ops in the Odyssey and once again Woody was a good sport.

View attachment 440645

What are we afraid of?
View attachment 440646

No idea. But this is what changed Woody from being a good sport into “I’M DONE.”

Woody’s face is exactly how I always feel when the photopass photographer says “act surprised!”

 

[MickeyCB]

Feliz Navidad!

The evening-themed courtyard is even prettier during the holiday season.

I love how you framed the posts/ garland and the courtyard! So pretty!

 

[SharonD]

Woody cracks me up. It looks like he is thinking, “get me outta here, NOW”

 

[Darstarr]

Callan strikes again???

 

[Tiggerish]

Random comments....

So excited to see a meetup between you and @93boomer! Aren't we fortunate to have tolerant husbands who then turn out to get along with the other halves of our "internet friends"? I will continue to hope that our paths will cross at WDW, because I know you ain't getting on a DCL ship.

McKenzie's all the way, although I, unlike you and my hubby, prefer the Green Apple to the Black Cherry. So you and my sweetie can be drinking buddies.

While you and my guy are enjoying your black cherry ciders, Woody and I can photograph the Canada pavilion to our heart's content. Totally agree with him, I love that pavilion.

I don't hate coconut, but am not overly fond of it either. I applaud your combination of glacees.

Love your photos from the Odyssey, but I feel like the presentation has to be seen in person for full impact.

Maybe you should have been facing the other way, and fearing the giant trout??

 

[DisneyGigi]

Sorry for the likes notification bombs. I have had few and far between moments to trip report read lately.

Great pics of you and Woody.

I can’t believe you are not a Maple Syrup fan. (real maple syrup not Ms. Butterworth)

I guess it is okay since I don’t do ice cream, unless it has Maple syrup on it. jk

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

LOL, I'm with Woody on photos! I don't like to have photos taken, but I like to take them
I can't wait to see what is in store for Epcot at the pavilion! Looks amazing.

 

[tiggerlvr]

Astute readers might have noticed the booklet in my hand in a previous post. This was the Food and Wine Festival guide. I was doing a once-over to affirm there wasn’t anything I’d regret not eating, if we chose to eat lunch at a restaurant rather than graze at the food booths.

However there was one item I’d regret not drinking, something that is only offered during Festivals. I decided I could pair that beverage with the QS food I’d been craving for a spectacular meal!

When we got to the kiosk it was closed!! All the other booths we’d passed along the way were open. I was determined to wait, so we sat on a picnic bench with my eyes focused here:

View attachment 440460

I saw a CM enter through that door and open the shutters, but when I went to the front to order it looked like this:

View attachment 440461

The CM finally appeared and took her time wiping things down, messing with the taps, etc. Meanwhile I was drooling in anticipation of the nectar I’d been waiting so long to enjoy again.

@Tiggerish and @krisri18 know what it was......

View attachment 440462

McKenzie’s Black Cherry Hard Cider.

My husband just went to Buffalo on Tap yesterday, a beer tasting event here in Buffalo, NY and had this! He came home raving about it. After some detective work he found out it's actually made in West Seneca, NY right near us! When I told him he can get it while we're in WDW next month he was ridiculously excited...lol.

 

[Tuvalu]

You are afraid of the EPCOT Walls, caving in!

Callan strikes again???

You gals made me LOL! Perfect photo captions!

Woody’s face is exactly how I always feel when the photopass photographer says “act surprised!”

Woody cracks me up. It looks like he is thinking, “get me outta here, NOW”

Yeah, he doesn't like fake posing......at all.

 

[Tuvalu]

Sorry for the likes notification bombs. I have had few and far between moments to trip report read lately.
Great pics of you and Woody.
I can’t believe you are not a Maple Syrup fan. (real maple syrup not Ms. Butterworth)
I guess it is okay since I don’t do ice cream, unless it has Maple syrup on it. jk

I'm glad we can agree to disagree on maple syrup.
Congrats on the upcoming grand. Remember being a young grandma can be AWESOME.
I believe you'll be arriving the day we're departing in May.

I can't wait to see what is in store for Epcot at the pavilion! Looks amazing.

Definitely remember to pop inside on your next trip!

My husband just went to Buffalo on Tap yesterday, a beer tasting event here in Buffalo, NY and had this! He came home raving about it. After some detective work he found out it's actually made in West Seneca, NY right near us! When I told him he can get it while we're in WDW next month he was ridiculously excited...lol.

I hope it's available for him! When I was back at Epcot again last month (after Food & Wine was over) McKenzie's was no longer offered. I have my fingers crossed it will return for Flower and Garden!

 

[Tuvalu]

@Tiggerish

I will continue to hope that our paths will cross at WDW, because I know you ain't getting on a DCL ship.

No way, no how!
I would be delighted to have a land meet, however. Someday!

McKenzie's all the way, although I, unlike you and my hubby, prefer the Green Apple to the Black Cherry. So you and my sweetie can be drinking buddies.

I would love to be a McK BC drinking buddy with YourBob. You and Em can drink the Green Apple. Then you can go take pics in Cananada with Woody.

I don't hate coconut, but am not overly fond of it either. I applaud your combination of glacees.

It wasn't my first time.

Love your photos from the Odyssey, but I feel like the presentation has to be seen in person for full impact.

TRUTH!!

Maybe you should have been facing the other way, and fearing the giant trout??

I thought it was going to be some sort of Magic shot. The backdrop was from Ratatouille, so maybe we were supposed to be rat-size and afraid of the trout? I dunno. Maybe the PP guy was messing with us!

 

[Tuvalu]

I love how you framed the posts/ garland and the courtyard! So pretty!

Thanks. I was hoping the picture would turn out to be as pretty as it was in real life!

 

[DisneyGigi]

I'm glad we can agree to disagree on maple syrup.
Congrats on the upcoming grand. Remember being a young grandma can be AWESOME.
I believe you'll be arriving the day we're departing in May.

Aww, that stinks but it probably won’t be our only 2020 trip now. Maybe another fall trip with Stinker. I am hoping with their hands full with the baby they will let me sneak him away for a few days. He is big enough for so many rides now! And thank you I am excited, just don’t want my baby to be jealous either lol.

 

[lindawdw]

France's L'Artisan Des Glaces is our "go to place" for a dessert on every trip to Epcot and the mint chocolate chip is my favorite! You were so lucky to get a table outside to enjoy your treat as it's so rare to come upon an empty one! The little F&W Festival banner signs in the Germany train village are just so adorable! We enjoyed the Epcot presentation in The Odyssey also and although I'm still kind of sad about so many changes, I do look forward to seeing what's ahead for us in Epcot! Woody was a good sport with all the PP pictures!