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.

 

[SharonD]

Love your response to ROTR.

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

And yet we were pumped. It was the thrill of the unexpected Boarding Group and the chance to find out for ourselves if Rise of the Resistance was really the ultimate theme park attraction ever created.

I would be feeling like you heading into RotR. It will be exciting to experience a new EXPERIENCE at Disney! Plus, my husband will be beside himself, he loves STAR WARS.

We made it to the preshow!

I love the happy looks on your faces here!

Em said it best: “It may not be our favorite ride, but it is absolutely Disney’s BEST ride.”

A GREAT way to put it! Did you feel this way when FOP in Pandora opened?

 

[lindawdw]

OMG, Ioved all your pictures along the way to actually get to the ride! Not being a fan of Star Wars, I would have been oblivious also to what was in the cages! After your description, I hope I'm lucky enough to get a boarding group that affords me the opportunity to get to experience this attraction too!

 

[Tuvalu]

I would be feeling like you heading into RotR. It will be exciting to experience a new EXPERIENCE at Disney! Plus, my husband will be beside himself, he loves STAR WARS. I love the happy looks on your faces here!
Did you feel this way when FOP in Pandora opened?

From my June 2017 TR after riding Flight of Passage for the first time:

To say that FoP is a completely immersive experience is almost an understatement. WOW is much more accurate. The sensation of "riding a banshee" is very realistic. We were indeed soaring through a fantasy world! For the first couple of minutes I felt fine....but then the speed, screen distortion and looping took its toll and I shut my eyes. When it was over I did not feel queasy or have a headache. But I also had no strong desire to ride it again.

I do hope we get to enjoy it next trip!

I hope I'm lucky enough to get a boarding group that affords me the opportunity to get to experience this attraction too!

Allow yourselves plenty of time to get to the park so that you are tapped in at least 5 minutes before official opening time. Familiarize yourself with the process of how to join a BG (there's an entire thread on this site dedicated to BGs) before you arrive, and you should get the opportunity to RISE!

 

[93boomer]

From my June 2017 TR after riding Flight of Passage for the first time:

To say that FoP is a completely immersive experience is almost an understatement. WOW is much more accurate. The sensation of "riding a banshee" is very realistic. We were indeed soaring through a fantasy world! For the first couple of minutes I felt fine....but then the speed, screen distortion and looping took its toll and I shut my eyes. When it was over I did not feel queasy or have a headache. But I also had no strong desire to ride it again.



Allow yourselves plenty of time to get to the park so that you are tapped in at least 5 minutes before official opening time. Familiarize yourself with the process of how to join a BG (there's an entire thread on this site dedicated to BGs) before you arrive, and you should get the opportunity to RISE!

Thanks for the tip! Good to know.

 

[Tuvalu]

After our successful mission, we headed to Toy Story Land per Em’s request. She wanted to ride Slinky Dog. It began to mist somewhere along the way.

This was the end of the line. The posted wait of 45 minutes didn’t seem awful considering the park had been open 45 minutes.

The mist had turned to rain necessitating my hood!

Our actual wait was closer to an hour. But we were still chatting about our RotR experience so the time passed quickly.

Em pulled up her hood before we left the station.

Riding Slinky in the rain felt like we were being constantly hit by BB gun pellets!

As you can see, Em found it hysterical!

Toy Story Mania was 80 minutes....nope. And we didn’t feel like swimming upstream to Alien Swirling Saucers (which had a 60 minute wait) so we left the masses in hopes of finding someplace less crowded.

 

[Tuvalu]

Em finds the Peppermint Girls a tad creepy. Of course I made her pose in front of them!

However we were headed for her next request so I felt no guilt.

Her request was not stopping for PP pictures. That was me again. Still no guilt though!

Was this Em’s next request?

Observant readers will say nope and be correct. Why?
Because the above photo was taken from the queue for Rock ‘n Rollercoaster. Which her mother agreed to wait standby with her for 40 minutes, even though she does not ride. (But who TBH does enjoy the pre and post shows.)

We have a rock star!

Love the expressions on the folks behind Em! The girl’s was obviously intentional, but what about her dad’s??

While Em was otherwise engaged, I browsed the gift store at the exit.

Belle of the Ball Bronze??!! Who comes up with this stuff?

I much prefer this.

Because it IS time to remember the magic!

 

[riverside]

Because it IS time to remember the magic!

Getting everyone excited for the 50th I see. I just hope they don't resurrect that castle to the glory it had for the 25th but that shirt is making me wonder

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Getting everyone excited for the 50th I see. I just hope they don't resurrect that castle to the glory it had for the 25th but that shirt is making me wonder
[/QUOT


I am TERRIFIED they will end up with another gaudy birthday cake!! I mean, they got sooo many complaints about it then, you'd think they'd be smart to not mess with it!

As for Hollywood Studios, doesn't look like the rain bothered you too much! So glad it wasn't raining too much to slow Slinky Dog down!

 

[Tuvalu]

Getting everyone excited for the 50th I see. I just hope they don't resurrect that castle to the glory it had for the 25th but that shirt is making me wonder

From what I’ve read the Pepto Bismol pink was a one and done.
I can still hear the “Remember the Magic” parade music in my head. It was way worse than IASW.
But my family has wonderful memories of being there for the 25th, and seeing that shirt made me very nostalgic.

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

From what I’ve read the Pepto Bismol pink was a one and done.
I can still hear the “Remember the Magic” parade music in my head. It was way worse than IASW.
But my family has wonderful memories of being there for the 25th, and seeing that shirt made me very nostalgic

I am happy your family has so many wonderful memories! I hope that is the same way for my family at the 50th! Thank GOD they won't bring that pink cake back...I mean, it's cool to decorate it somehow but why mess with the Castle's perfection too much?

 

[MinnieM123]

Riding Slinky in the rain felt like we were being constantly hit by BB gun pellets!

I was surprised to read that they let that coaster run in the rain. (I don't recall any others that do that -- do you know of any, at WDW?) I wouldn't mind riding in the rain, but I think I'd draw the line at hail !!

 

[Tuvalu]

I was surprised to read that they let that coaster run in the rain. (I don't recall any others that do that -- do you know of any, at WDW?) I wouldn't mind riding in the rain, but I think I'd draw the line at hail !!

Light rain seems to be ok for operation. BTMRR also runs in the rain.
But getting pelted by raindrops hurts!

 

[MinnieM123]

Light rain seems to be ok for operation. BTMRR also runs in the rain.
But getting pelted by raindrops hurts!

I was also thinking about Test Track, with the outdoor ride. They always shut it down in even very light rain, at least that's been my experience. It made me wonder if very high speeds (Everest, Test Track) might be the deal breaker to shut down in rain? (Brakes ineffective at higher speeds?)

 

[Swissmiss]

Light rain seems to be ok for operation. BTMRR also runs in the rain.
But getting pelted by raindrops hurts!

I agree that harder rain can hurt a bit on BTMRR, but my DD and I have been known to “suffer” because often the line goes done considerably when it rains (at least at DLP this is often the case).

 

[wdwfamilynh]

Em finds the Peppermint Girls a tad creepy. Of course I made her pose in front of them!

View attachment 447590

However we were headed for her next request so I felt no guilt.

Her request was not stopping for PP pictures. That was me again. Still no guilt though!

View attachment 447591

View attachment 447592

Was this Em’s next request?

View attachment 447594

Observant readers will say nope and be correct. Why?
Because the above photo was taken from the queue for Rock ‘n Rollercoaster. Which her mother agreed to wait standby with her for 40 minutes, even though she does not ride. (But who TBH does enjoy the pre and post shows.)

View attachment 447593

We have a rock star!

View attachment 447602

View attachment 447596

Love the expressions on the folks behind Em! The girl’s was obviously intentional, but what about her dad’s??

View attachment 447597

While Em was otherwise engaged, I browsed the gift store at the exit.

View attachment 447598

Belle of the Ball Bronze??!! Who comes up with this stuff?

I much prefer this.

View attachment 447599

Because it IS time to remember the magic!

I agree with Em. Dolls like that are creepy!

 

[Tuvalu]

We were hungry. Em knew the perfect place for a snack.

A warm Num Num cookie hit the spot! We shared this gooey delight.

It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights.....

Baby Fozzie is irresistible!

Ever wondered if this sign is true?

It is!!

We entered the theater in time to watch the entire preshow.

The 3D’s segment is my favorite. Don’t you agree, @93boomer?

 

[93boomer]

We were hungry. Em knew the perfect place for a snack.

View attachment 447644

A warm Num Num cookie hit the spot! We shared this gooey delight.

View attachment 447645

It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights.....

View attachment 447646

Baby Fozzie is irresistible!

View attachment 447647

Ever wondered if this sign is true?

View attachment 447648

It is!!

View attachment 447652

We entered the theater in time to watch the entire preshow.

View attachment 447650

The 3D’s segment is my favorite. Don’t you agree, @93boomer?

View attachment 447651

Why of course!!

 

[Tuvalu]

The Num Num cookie merely tided us over for an early lunch.

We thought we’d beat the rush by dining at 11 am. Clearly we were wrong!

What a fun holiday display! (Even though it has absolutely nothing to do with Muppets. Or pizza.)

We climbed the stairs. Only one dining room would do.....the one I purposefully avoided last month because Em wasn’t with me.

The Banquet Hall! All decked out for Christmas! (And so was Em.)

We both enjoyed our pizzas, sans salads.

 

[Tuvalu]

It wasn’t raining when we left PizzeRizzo so we took a stroll around Echo Lake. We ended up near the PhotoPass spot and got in the (short) line.

When it was our turn, a miracle occurred ~ THE SUN CAME OUT!!

Sadly, the sun rays were short-lived. The folks next in line had only gray sky as their background.