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]

Em and I were pleased with our accomplishment. In less than 4 hours, on one of the busiest park days of the year, we had done 8 attractions and enjoyed a leisurely character breakfast.

And if there was ever a good time to leave MK, now would be it.

Making our way out of the park was quite the challenge as the Christmas crowds had arrived in droves. Main Street was shoulder-to-shoulder guests and “swimming upstream” was very stressful. When we reached the train tunnel, we weren’t even sure we could make it through to the exit! We held our breath and stuck to the outer edge of the tunnel, quickly inching forward any time we saw a gap. If either of us suffered from claustrophobia, this certainly would have brought on a panic attack.

I believe we high-fived when we finally cleared the exit.

Our bus was pulling in when we got to the gate and we had a warm, dry, and quiet ride back to the resort.

 

[93boomer]

Em and I were pleased with our accomplishment. In less than 4 hours, on one of the busiest park days of the year, we had done 8 attractions and enjoyed a leisurely character breakfast.

And if there was ever a good time to leave MK, now would be it.

View attachment 450963

Making our way out of the park was quite the challenge as the Christmas crowds had arrived in droves. Main Street was shoulder-to-shoulder guests and “swimming upstream” was very stressful. When we reached the train tunnel, we weren’t even sure we could make it through to the exit! We held our breath and stuck to the outer edge of the tunnel, quickly inching forward any time we saw a gap. If either of us suffered from claustrophobia, this certainly would have brought on a panic attack.

View attachment 450960

I believe we high-fived when we finally cleared the exit.

Our bus was pulling in when we got to the gate and we had a warm, dry, and quiet ride back to the resort.

View attachment 450961

That is some crowd!!

 

[Tuvalu]

A couple surprises awaited us in the lobby.

The Goofy wreath was our favorite, as he was the plush we wanted to buy....but didn’t....a couple of years ago. We still regret it!

The second surprise was a complimentary sugar cookie and lemonade stand.

Em got to have her traditional breakfast cookie a couple hours late.

The resort-themed tree and wreath made us smile as we nibbled our cookies. We were in a Christmas state of mind!

The Tragical arrived right on time.

Sad that our trip had come to an end.....

.....but happy that tomorrow was Christmas Day!

It made leaving WDW easier, that’s for sure.

 

[Tuvalu]

EPILOGUE

Our Tragical made two more stops after leaving POFQ. Road traffic was light and MCO was the emptiest we’d ever seen it. (Duh....everybody was in the MK!) There were lots of empty tables in the food court, where we sat for awhile before moving to our gate.

Boarding and the flight itself went smoothly and we landed in Atlanta a few minutes early. I texted Woody, who was already waiting in the cell lot. (He hadn’t encountered any traffic on the interstate.) All that remained was getting our luggage at Baggage Claim and we’d soon be home to a chicken chili dinner and A Christmas Story.

Wouldn’t that have been the perfect ending?

But it’s ME. And we flew. Tuvalu + flying = difficulties.

After 30 minutes at Baggage Claim....and watching all the other passengers on our flight retrieve their suitcases....it was clear Em and I had a problem. We joined the line at the lost luggage office. When it was finally our turn, there was lots of head-scratching, a phone call, a trip to the back of the office....and then the news that our bags were still in Orlando!

On any other day, this would be an inconvenience. On CHRISTMAS EVE it was a nightmare. (Okay, maybe that word is too exaggerated but it felt like a nightmare at the time.) In our bags (which we could have carried on the plane if not for my last-minute decision to check them) were our daily medications, hair appliances, make-up and Em’s eyeglasses (when she takes out her contacts.) And tomorrow was Christmas and our extended family celebration! Wouldn’t we look just lovely with unkempt hair and no make-up?!!

How did our luggage not make our flight? The Southwest agent did not know, but we suspect our bags never made the trip from POFQ to MCO. The agent who took our suitcases early that morning acted like a newbie and it’s possible she misplaced our bags. They were properly tagged for our flight so if the bags had made it to MCO, they would have made our late-afternoon flight. (And it wouldn’t have taken the Southwest agent so long to track them down.)

We were offered a $200 future flight credit if we agreed to return to the airport the next day to pick up our bags. Or we could have them delivered and get nothing.

I asked when the bags could be delivered. If it was going to take a couple days, we’d rearrange our Christmas plans and make a special trip to the airport. “You’ll get them tomorrow,” the agent answered.

The decision was a no-brainer. A $200 future flight credit (good only for 1 year) was not worth the disruption of our Christmas. We headed home.

But wait, there’s more.

“You’ll get them tomorrow” wasn’t exactly accurate.

Our suitcases weren’t placed on our doorstep until 5:45 am December 26. After a sleep-deprived night of tracking the truck, I was awake to witness their arrival.

 

[Darstarr]

Yikes!
Sounds like your bags had #shirleystatus back at your resort.
Sorry, couldn't resist. At least you and Em made it home for Christmas!

 

[Matt and Kelly]

What a horrible end to such a great trip.

 

[MickeyCB]

That's incredibly annoying! Did they offer you any sort of compensation for the late arrival of the bags to your home?

When we flew Southwest home from my daughters wedding in Sacramento in October. Our connecting flight was delayed in Baltimore and we got into Pittsburgh at 12:30 am.
I went to get the car and Gary got the suitcases and it took him forever. He came rolling (pushing) them out because both had completely smashed down handles with plastic all busted in the inner lining.
He told me when he got them off of the belt, he walked them over to the agent, she took one look and said "this happens all the time"! And asked him if he wanted to 2 flight vouchers ($100 each) or 2 new suitcases and he said, "well I can't fly anywhere without suitcases, I'll take the suitcases"!

 

[Swissmiss]

Sorry about your bag saga. Delta/KLM dealt with mine much better. One of our suitcases made it from Orlando to Atlanta, but didn’t make it across the Atlantic; I was informed by text messaging when I turned my phone on at baggage claim. It was 5 pm at the end of the school/Christmas holiday season and the baggage claim area was PACKED (no pun intended). And when I saw the line at the place to make a lost luggage claim, it was a no brainer for me... the text message said I had 2 days to make an online claim so we just collected the other bags and went home. I called the next morning and was told that it had already been put on another flight over and it would be delivered later that day. The only hiccup was that they were supposed to deliver it to my front door but the guy didn’t want to bring it inside my building ... but that’s what teenagers are for; I sent C down in the cold to get it

 

[dizfan917]

Thanks for once again sharing your adventures with us!! Hopefully one of these years we'll be able to grab a drink and hang out for more than the 5 minutes it took me to accost you and your unsuspecting daughter in The Land pavilion the last time.

How does Labor Day look?!

 

[MinnieM123]

We were offered a $200 future flight credit if we agreed to return to the airport the next day to pick up our bags.

Doesn't Christmas Day conjure up all the warm and fuzzies, like heading back to the airport to find your luggage?!

 

[MinnieM123]

The second surprise was a complimentary sugar cookie and lemonade stand.

That CM appears to have very short arms.

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

As always:

 

[MissViv]

Your such a good story teller - you should be a novelist!!!

Love how you leave us hanging at certain points. I get up in the morning looking for more. I sense there is a surprise trip to add to the end of this thread??

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

I’ve just read your whole report over the last couple of days. Love it. And love that you get to have such great mother and daughter time. Although I’m super jealous of your luck with RotR.

 

[susan lees]

EPILOGUE

Our Tragical made two more stops after leaving POFQ. Road traffic was light and MCO was the emptiest we’d ever seen it. (Duh....everybody was in the MK!) There were lots of empty tables in the food court, where we sat for awhile before moving to our gate.

Boarding and the flight itself went smoothly and we landed in Atlanta a few minutes early. I texted Woody, who was already waiting in the cell lot. (He hadn’t encountered any traffic on the interstate.) All that remained was getting our luggage at Baggage Claim and we’d soon be home to a chicken chili dinner and A Christmas Story.

Wouldn’t that have been the perfect ending?

But it’s ME. And we flew. Tuvalu + flying = difficulties.

After 30 minutes at Baggage Claim....and watching all the other passengers on our flight retrieve their suitcases....it was clear Em and I had a problem. We joined the line at the lost luggage office. When it was finally our turn, there was lots of head-scratching, a phone call, a trip to the back of the office....and then the news that our bags were still in Orlando!

On any other day, this would be an inconvenience. On CHRISTMAS EVE it was a nightmare. (Okay, maybe that word is too exaggerated but it felt like a nightmare at the time.) In our bags (which we could have carried on the plane if not for my last-minute decision to check them) were our daily medications, hair appliances, make-up and Em’s eyeglasses (when she takes out her contacts.) And tomorrow was Christmas and our extended family celebration! Wouldn’t we look just lovely with unkempt hair and no make-up?!!

How did our luggage not make our flight? The Southwest agent did not know, but we suspect our bags never made the trip from POFQ to MCO. The agent who took our suitcases early that morning acted like a newbie and it’s possible she misplaced our bags. They were properly tagged for our flight so if the bags had made it to MCO, they would have made our late-afternoon flight. (And it wouldn’t have taken the Southwest agent so long to track them down.)

We were offered a $200 future flight credit if we agreed to return to the airport the next day to pick up our bags. Or we could have them delivered and get nothing.

I asked when the bags could be delivered. If it was going to take a couple days, we’d rearrange our Christmas plans and make a special trip to the airport. “You’ll get them tomorrow,” the agent answered.

The decision was a no-brainer. A $200 future flight credit (good only for 1 year) was not worth the disruption of our Christmas. We headed home.

But wait, there’s more.

“You’ll get them tomorrow” wasn’t exactly accurate.

Our suitcases weren’t placed on our doorstep until 5:45 am December 26. After a sleep-deprived night of tracking the truck, I was awake to witness their arrival.

My bag was 'lost' by British Airways for 5 days of our 8 day stay in November. We leave on Monday to come back over, to say I'm nervous is an understatement lol.

 

[krisri18]

As always, a delightful report! But remind me not to fly with you. Lol

 

[Tuvalu]

Yikes!
Sounds like your bags had #shirleystatus back at your resort.
Sorry, couldn't resist. At least you and Em made it home for Christmas!

I would have preferred #shirleystatus for our bags on SW flight 1987.
But yes, Em and I were very glad we made it home for Christmas.

What a horrible end to such a great trip.

But it made for a great story!
(I can laugh about it now.)

Doesn't Christmas Day conjure up all the warm and fuzzies, like heading back to the airport to find your luggage?!

That CM appears to have very short arms.

Both of your comments made me laugh out loud, Minnie!
(And I had to take a second look at the CM's arms. )

As always:

View attachment 451050

Thank you!

 

[Sabrina1705]

As always top notch!

 

[Tuvalu]

That's incredibly annoying! Did they offer you any sort of compensation for the late arrival of the bags to your home?

When we flew Southwest home from my daughters wedding in Sacramento in October. Our connecting flight was delayed in Baltimore and we got into Pittsburgh at 12:30 am.
I went to get the car and Gary got the suitcases and it took him forever. He came rolling (pushing) them out because both had completely smashed down handles with plastic all busted in the inner lining.
He told me when he got them off of the belt, he walked them over to the agent, she took one look and said "this happens all the time"! And asked him if he wanted to 2 flight vouchers ($100 each) or 2 new suitcases and he said, "well I can't fly anywhere without suitcases, I'll take the suitcases"!

Your Southwest experience gets a great big WOW! But your husband's reply was hysterical. Suitcases > flight vouchers!

The baggage delivery was contracted out to a vendor. SW's obligation to us ceased once our suitcases were aboard the truck (that was clearly spelled out in the informational email I received from SW.) So no compensation.

What really irritated me was the delivery "arrival window" was 3:30-5:30 pm. Then it was pushed to 5:30-7:30 pm. I checked the truck's route at 7 pm and it was less than 20 minutes from our house. When the bags hadn't arrived at 8 pm, the GPS tracking revealed the truck had headed in the opposite direction of our county! Before midnight, the truck was nearly 2.5 hours from our home.

 

[Tuvalu]

Sorry about your bag saga. Delta/KLM dealt with mine much better. One of our suitcases made it from Orlando to Atlanta, but didn’t make it across the Atlantic; I was informed by text messaging when I turned my phone on at baggage claim. It was 5 pm at the end of the school/Christmas holiday season and the baggage claim area was PACKED (no pun intended). And when I saw the line at the place to make a lost luggage claim, it was a no brainer for me... the text message said I had 2 days to make an online claim so we just collected the other bags and went home. I called the next morning and was told that it had already been put on another flight over and it would be delivered later that day. The only hiccup was that they were supposed to deliver it to my front door but the guy didn’t want to bring it inside my building ... but that’s what teenagers are for; I sent C down in the cold to get it

Woody reminds me each time I/we fly how much better Delta's bag tracking and handling is than Southwest's.