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!

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

In mid-November. :hilarious:

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

Premium Member
Original Poster
Woody and I trekked over to Adventureland next.

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We had to visit the Tiki Birds. After all, I was dressed for it! (Thanks for the compliment, @Swissmiss and @PeoplemoverTTA.)

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There was no water effect during the preshow.

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After we were seated inside the CM warned us, “No flash photography....that might ruffle a few birds’ feathers.”

Woody hummed along. Tiki Birds has always been one of his faves.

Remember the FP I’d modified on the bus this morning? ‘Twas time.

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Jingle Cruise, Jingle Cruise, Jingle all the way!

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Ornaments caught in nets!
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The natives went all out!

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Hey, what’s dinner? Hope it’s not chicken.

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It’s 🦃!!! ❤️

False advertising. There was no wassail on our boat. There wasn’t a Wanda either.

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But there WAS Skipper Taylor....she was incredibly funny (punny).....one quick holiday pun followed by another. She was so fast I couldn’t even take notes!
 

MickeyCB

Well-Known Member
Monday, con’t

When we got to Pirates the line was queued outside the attraction door but we tapped in anyway since we figured we could handle a 30 minute wait. I mobile ordered lunch to pass the time.

Fifteen minutes into our wait we had not moved at all. There weren’t many people bypassing us in the FP lane so it’s possible there were ride issues inside. But we were tired of standing still so we bailed in favor of an early lunch.

I pressed I’m Here as we exited because we did not have far to go.

View attachment 434451

Pecos Bill Chicken Rice Bowl BT (before toppings)

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Woody ordered the same and was off getting his toppings when I snapped the pic.

We sat in our usual location. The lunch rush hadn’t yet begun and we liked the extra space around us. It was quieter too.

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We really enjoy the rice bowls here....even with having to pay extra for the 🥑. (And those of you who disdain it can save a little 💵.)

I checked the app after lunch and discovered the attraction we held our ME pass for had reopened.

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Yikes! 90 minutes! Good thing we have a FP!

Except this was the FP line.
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But BTMRR is worth it, amiright @Longers? :happy:

I was happy to see the cave water effect was working again!

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Woody may not be my ultimate BTMRR companion, but we had a fun ride!

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I admire your ability to take pictures on the fast moving rides. I know with 99.2% certainty that my phone would go flipping out of my hand to land either on some poor souls head behind me, or under the tracks!
(This actually happened to me once at our local amusement park, Kennywood)!
 

lindawdw

Well-Known Member
Aww you were so lucky to get a FP for Jingle Cruise! I never made it on this ride last week which is extra popular this time of year!
 

Back!Elbow!Shoulders!

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
I think this is the day where your trip starts to overlap my parents’ trip. I look forward to seeing if they end up in any photos. (And also bracing for any stories of a super chatty guy on a bus that ends up being my dad. 😂)
 
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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
I admire your ability to take pictures on the fast moving rides. I know with 99.2% certainty that my phone would go flipping out of my hand to land either on some poor souls head behind me, or under the tracks!
(This actually happened to me once at our local amusement park, Kennywood)!
Yikes!
(Actually I only take pictures during the slower-moving parts, or my phone would go flying too!)

I'm guessing yours and Frank's favorite Dinner Menu day would be... Monday! ;)
You know us both too well! :joyfull:

Aww you were so lucky to get a FP for Jingle Cruise! I never made it on this ride last week which is extra popular this time of year!
We may have ridden more than once....:cautious:

I think this is the day where your trip starts to overlap my parents’ trip. I look forward to seeing if they end up in any photos. (And also bracing for any stories of a super chatty guy on a bus that ends up being my dad. 😂)
Spoiler alert ~ don’t have any super chatty guy bus stories. But let me know if you spot your folks in any pictures!
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Monday, con’t

Park crowds had taken their toll and we were ready to head out. The challenge was beating the Festival of Fantasy parade, which had already started. (This 2 pm.....rather than 3 pm....daily parade can be hard to adjust to!)

Woody and I managed to wiggle our way through the human obstacles lining Main Street and crossed over onto the “island” in Town Square (where the flagpole is) to be held behind the rope until CMs deemed it a safe time (between floats) to allow guests access to the exit.

Only they never let us out.

Now we have witnessed this parade protocol dozens of times and figured we’d be “trapped” for just a couple minutes. When it became apparent we weren’t going anywhere, we settled in and enjoyed our practically perfect view of almost the entire parade.

I took only one picture. But it was an important one.

Happy Birthday Mickey!!

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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
The parade entrapment actually worked in our favor because the bus was waiting for us at the Pop stop. Once back in our room, Woody checked email and I began a hunt for a dinner ADR.

I snagged an early-ish reservation so our rest time was limited, but Woody was able to complete his business and I got in a phone chat with Em.

Since we had our own vehicle getting to dinner was easy and quick.

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Christmas had arrived at the Contemporary!

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This ginormous tree certainly makes a gal feel small!

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The lobby was Christmassy too!

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It may come as a surprise that we were not taking the escalator (nor boarding an elevator) to our destination.

Raise your hand if you assumed we were California Grill bound.

Rather we were dining here ~

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We had previously dined at The Wave only once ~ for lunch ten years ago. The long delay suggests a mediocre experience. But I had read recent positive reviews and the menu looked appealing, so we thought we’d give the restaurant another try.

Would we regret our decision?
 

MickeyCB

Well-Known Member
Yikes!
(Actually I only take pictures during the slower-moving parts, or my phone would go flying too!)
Yes, lesson learned. It fell out of my hand right as the ride was exiting the station and fell under the tracks. When we got off they let me crawl under the tracks and retrieve it before the next car left! o_O
Obviously security/safety/legal concerns were not as big an issue as now! Try to get away with that at Disney!🤣
 

MissViv

Well-Known Member
Just checking back in … I think you are there again now at POFQ? Looks like a rainout for yesterday and today but nice weather for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Anxiously awaiting more from your trips! Have a great trip and Christmas!!
 

wdwfamilynh

Well-Known Member
The parade entrapment actually worked in our favor because the bus was waiting for us at the Pop stop. Once back in our room, Woody checked email and I began a hunt for a dinner ADR.

I snagged an early-ish reservation so our rest time was limited, but Woody was able to complete his business and I got in a phone chat with Em.

Since we had our own vehicle getting to dinner was easy and quick.

View attachment 434753

Christmas had arrived at the Contemporary!

View attachment 434755

This ginormous tree certainly makes a gal feel small!

View attachment 434754

The lobby was Christmassy too!

View attachment 434756

It may come as a surprise that we were not taking the escalator (nor boarding an elevator) to our destination.

Raise your hand if you assumed we were California Grill bound.

Rather we were dining here ~

View attachment 434757

We had previously dined at The Wave only once ~ for lunch ten years ago. The long delay suggests a mediocre experience. But I had read recent positive reviews and the menu looked appealing, so we thought we’d give the restaurant another try.

Would we regret our decision?
The Wave is one of the few ADRs that has remained on our list each trip since 2005 😊
 

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