Trip Report It’s broken. A Loco Christmas TR!

Hello everyone!

We just got back yesterday from our weeklong stay at WDW and as promised, I am here to deliver a full blown loco_driver TR. I have about a million pictures to sort through still, but we have enough to get started. Let’s do this!

When: December 4-11

Who: Me and the wife A, or Mrs. Loco if you will. Pickle the dog would not be making the trip.

Where: Split stay between OKW and Riviera.

With all the formalities out of the way, let’s do it to it!

 

[MickeyCB]

Here’s me catching A taking a selfie.

Me taking a picture of you taking a picture of me.....

 

[Loco_driver]

Day 4 continued.

Getting closer to the exit. All of these people in front of us were in the same family. They were having some very interesting(and loud) conversations.

There’s no telling what I was saying to her.

You can tell from my shirt that it was a very warm evening.

We were really digging being in a mostly empty MK.

This woman decided she needed to lay down on the ground for her instagram picture. More power to her I guess.

We finally left the park and got on a monorail. A wanted to get a better look at the grand Floridian without all the people, so we got off there.

It certainly was very quiet just after midnight.

We ended walking back to our car at the poly and driving back to riviera. We made it to bed at around 1:30 AM

 

[Nunu]

Day 4 continued.

After our dessert we decided to watch it’s tough to be a bug. We walked directly into the theater without stopping. This picture thing was near the exit.
View attachment 611256

We cut over to the otter grotto. They weren’t doing much while we were there.
View attachment 611257

It was getting pretty hot and crowded by this point, so we headed for the exit. Devine was out.
View attachment 611258

We drove to riviera. I did in-person check in. It went smoothly. Our room wasn’t ready yet so we hung out in le petit cafe for a bit to cool off and relax. This peppermint reindeer was quite tasty.
View attachment 611259

We hung out outside for a little while. I know much has been made about how small the lobby is of riviera, but that is true for pretty much every DVC only resort. I really like the outdoor area of the resort with all the activities and pool area. It has a nice energy.
View attachment 611273

We got our room ready text while we were outside. We grabbed our luggage and hauled it up to our room. I did remember to take pictures for @Nunu this time!
View attachment 611260
View attachment 611261
View attachment 611262
View attachment 611263

Very nice room!
Thank you for the pictures, friend!

 

[Swissmiss]

You can’t tell us the family was having a ”loud and interesting” conversation without dishing out more … that’s just mean

 

[Loco_driver]

The second one looks a little tweaked out or like it has a spasm in the one eye. I'm going to say that one is yours.

So you’re suggesting life imitates art? Because that is true!

It took me, like, three hours to finish shading the upper lip. It’s probably the best drawing I’ve ever done.

 

[Loco_driver]

You can’t tell us the family was having a ”loud and interesting” conversation without dishing out more … that’s just mean

Well there was a son discussing with his father his uhhh….”body count”. Then they thankfully changed the subject to how drunk they were going to get after they left the park, so the father was giving the son tips on how to get drunk. I had no idea there was an art to it. Anyways, let’s just say this family had no filter at all!

 

[Swissmiss]

Well there was a son discussing with his father his uhhh….”body count”. Then they thankfully changed the subject to how drunk they were going to get after they left the park, so the father was giving the son tips on how to get drunk. I had no idea there was an art to it. Anyways, let’s just say this family had no filter at all!

Yes, it always amazes me that people don’t realize what they say outside of their home can be easily heard by others.

 

[donaldtoo]

Yes, it always amazes me that people don’t realize what they say outside of their home can be easily heard by others.

And, another option is, maybe they planned it on purpose…some are whacky that way…!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Day “0” - Travel/Arrival day.

We have tried many ways to make the journey down to Orlando. None have been particularly fun or efficient. We live too far from the airport, and the airlines are still too unreliable for us to go that route right now, so our only option is to drive like crazy people!

We left our home in the woods of Texas at around 6 pm local time. The halfway point of buc-cees was a beautiful sight at 2 am!

View attachment 607071

As a fellow Texan, I can attest that Buc-ee’s is a B-E-A-U-tiful thing, indeed…!!!!!!!

 

[amjt660]

A made friends with this pig.

not sure if you had the right picture for this comment


Max

 

[Loco_driver]

not sure if you had the right picture for this comment


Max

Is this one better?

 

[Darstarr]

not sure if you had the right picture for this comment

 

[Loco_driver]

Day 5. Thursday December 9, 2021

After our late night the night before we were glad to “sleep in” since Epcot didn’t open until 11 this morning. We didn’t get in much of a hurry and made it to the skyliner station at 10:20.

The line looked long but we probably only waited 5-10 minutes.

We still managed to make it into the park in time for one ride during morning magic. We chose the closest one because we’re lazy. Figment had a holiday sweater.

You guys remember last year when Eric Idle got in a twitter war with some crazed Disney fans when he didn’t recognize figment because he’s never actually seen this attraction? Good times.

We were hoping for a short wait for soarin right at park opening. That wasn’t happening. Here’s the line. Not sure what the issue was.

We “settled” for the always excellent living with the land. The farm house was now scrim free.

We really wanted to do the Olaf holiday scavenger hunt, and to see what they would pull out of the prize closest for us. We grabbed a board at port of entry.

A gets a little grumpy if she doesn’t get a proper amount of caffeine, which apparently she did not get this morning. She stopped at Joffrey’s for this frozen concoction to address the situation.

I had a taste, wasn’t bad.

Still can’t pass the tree without taking pics. Also check out the sweet hat in the bottom right corner!

Found Olaf in Mexico.

It was time far an AC break.

 

[LeighM]

And, another option is, maybe they planned it on purpose…some are whacky that way…!!!!!

Reminds me of a roommate in college that was on the phone sharing all the details of her drunken extracurricular activities while I was working on a paper. I mean this chick went into all the detail. When she got off the phone, I was like who in the world were you sharing all that stuff with?! I about died when she told me she had been talking to her father bc he liked to hear all the juicy details It's been almost 20 years and I still haven't fully recovered LOL. And I sure as heck won't ever be forgetting it. I just wish someone was there to get a picture of my face but I'm sure it was much like this

 

[Loco_driver]

Day 5 continued.

We continued our hunt for Olaf in Norway. We struggled to find him.

Turns out he was in a closed off area that had been blocked by people.

I found him pretty quick in China.

We took in a showing of reflections of China while we were in the area.

Germany was next. A was on the hunt. I see him in the picture.

Look! Taco free view!

We saw La Befana agin. She remembered us from a few days earlier!

Olaf was binding up here.

There were two to be found in USA.

 

[Loco_driver]

Day 5 continued.

Matching shirts for @Laurenciaa

Near the water in Japan.

We saw Jasmine in Morocco.

We like to explore the back of the Morocco pavilion. There was a PPP near the entrance.

We accidentally found Olaf after forgetting to look for him here!

Belle was out near France.

Anyone who got the black and white cookie knows where this Olaf is.

I like the decorations in France but it’s always very crowded here and hard to get a good picture.

Luckily the snowman was easy to find since the France pavilion is so ginormous now!

Almost done with our scavenger hunt.

 

[Loco_driver]

Day 5 continued.

Uk was next.

So it turns out lunch was 15 minutes earlier than what I thought it was, so we were actually about to be running late! We hustled back over to Germany and checked in a little after our reservation time. Thankfully we were seated pretty quickly.

This was a first for us. Biergarten had always been a place we were interested in, but never got around to going. The ambience inside is pretty spectacular!

It took a little while for the band to come out. We were fittingly seated close to the tuba player.

I couldn’t help but think of the old Ricola cough drops commercial!

This guy was really awesome!

We were both really pleased with the meal here. It is back to a full buffet which felt weird after going so long without them. Highlights included the pretzel rolls, nudle gratin and anything else with tons of carbs. I don’t remember our servers name, but I thought she did a very good job.

After lunch we saw Sergio performing in Italy. We never seemed to be in the area at the right time to see him in the past, so it was a nice surprise.

American adventure was about to start as we walked by, so we decided it would be a nice break(it was very warm that day). I didn’t get any pictures from the show, probably because I looked like this guy for a portion of it.

 

[Loco_driver]

Day 5 continued.

There was still well over an hour until our candlelight processional time so we continued on to Japan. There were a few people already lined up for the show. They had all baught dining packages and had guaranteed seating so I’m not sure why they wanted to sit in line for over an hour also, but it none of my business I suppose.

We saw the drummers perform in Japan.

We spent a lot of time in Mitsukoshi. I FaceTimed our niece and nephew to see what they thought about some of the different candies and things. We would end up going back toward the end of the night and grabbing a few things for them.

The big man himself had only a few people lined up to meet him.

After asking Santa for a few mortgage payments for Christmas it was time to grab our seats for the processional. We were seated on the exact same row as the people who had been standing out in the queue for over an hour.

The star of the show might have been the sign language interpreter.

The host was Bart Millard. He is the lead singer of Christian band MercyMe and wrote the song I Can Only Imagine. A song which I can not listen to without openly weeping.

Bart did a great job of narrating. I found him to be much more into it and preferred him to our last narrator, Whoopi Goldberg. In his little speech at the end of the show he mentions how “lightning fast” life moves sometimes and how it’s good to slow down and enjoy things in life without burying our noses in our phone. Subtle digs at Disney? Maybe.

We are big fans of candlelight processional and consider it a must do for our holiday trips. I know some people don’t care for it and that’s fine, I’m just glad Disney still puts on this show every year.

We ran back by mitsukoshi to grab some snacks after the show then finished our night with a ride on living with the land holiday.

We left Epcot before fireworks time and made it back to riviera in no time. We ended the evening back at the quiet pool hot tub where we made friends with another couple from Texas before calling it a night.

 

[Swissmiss]

We too love the Candlelight Processional and booked our last trip to be able to make it to the last night.

As for thinking of the “Ricolaaaa” commercial when seeing the Alpine horns, I completely understand why you would but feel it is my duty to point out that it comes from a small country south of Germany

 

[Laurenciaa]

Day 5 continued.

Matching shirts for @Laurenciaa
View attachment 612142

Near the water in Japan.
View attachment 612143

We saw Jasmine in Morocco.
View attachment 612144

We like to explore the back of the Morocco pavilion. There was a PPP near the entrance.
View attachment 612145

We accidentally found Olaf after forgetting to look for him here!
View attachment 612146

Belle was out near France.
View attachment 612147

Anyone who got the black and white cookie knows where this Olaf is.
View attachment 612148

I like the decorations in France but it’s always very crowded here and hard to get a good picture.
View attachment 612151

Luckily the snowman was easy to find since the France pavilion is so ginormous now!
View attachment 612149

Almost done with our scavenger hunt.
View attachment 612150

HAHA OH YESSSS!!! I was waiting for this! Now not to bash on your other shirt choices but maychy matchy does it for mee!
Thank you for sharing again and lovely pictures of EPCOT!