Trip Report It’s so cold, even Elsa can’t Let it Go: Thanksgiving 2019

Hello Dreamers!
This trip took place a few months ago, in November 2019. I have been quite busy since returning home, and haven’t had time to write! With all of the current events I now have quite a lot more time on my hands, so I need a good disney distraction!

You can find my Pre-Trip Report here:

Pre-Trip - Hey Howdy Hey! Or... Hey Gobble Hey! Thanksgiving 2019

Hello! I have been reading on the forums for a WHILE now, and have always wanted to do a trip report! My family has been taking trips to Disney since I was little, so I have grown up with a love for the World. I’ve been twice this year so far (maybe I’ll get around to making a TR for those...

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Here are the quick details:

When: November 24-29, 2019
Where: Pop Century Preferred Room (so we could try out the Skyliner!) and I was able to get free dining with our package.
Who: Me (A), My sister (SB), and our cousins (P) and (S). Also, P was 22 weeks pregnant during our trip, so technically, we had a baby girl along for the ride too!

 

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Our next FP was for SE. We went there via the recently opened pathways from Nemo. I know this attraction is getting a refurb soon. It is in need of some updates, but I hope they don’t change the essence of it too much. It is just one of those “classic” Disney rides. Although, I do remember vividly getting stuck on it near the top when I was probably 5 or 6, and having to be evacuated down all of the stairs. I was afraid of heights . Thankfully, that didn’t happen again on this trip.

I picked up an FP for Buzz in MK later after we rode, and then our bellies were telling us that we should find some lunch.

On to the World Showcase! Where did we go first?

MEXICO!



Not to eat, actually. The wait for 3 Cabelleros was short so we rode that first. I like this ride and think it is very underrated, however I wouldn’t be sad about a Coco overlay.

SB and I had a GREAT meal at San Angel Inn on our June trip, but we wouldn’t be eating there today. Instead, we tried La Cantina de San Angel just outside. We all got some waters and shared a plate of nachos.

DELICIOUS. I want some now.

There weren’t any tables outside, so we were thankful that indoor seating is available for lunch.

We were still hungry of course, and continued on our food hunt. We briefly looked in the Frozen store in Norway...


But we found our meal in China at the Lotus Blossom Cafe. None of us had eaten here before. We waited in a short line and then were lucky to find a table indoors.

I got the Sichuan Spicy Chicken. It was very good. The CM at the counter told me to be prepared for spicy, but it wasn’t as spicy as I was expecting.

S got the Beef Noodle Mongolian Style.

SB and P both got the Shrimp Fried Rice.

After our meal, we wandered through the Chinese shops but didn’t buy anything. (We also *might* have played with the puppets outside ) We also walked by Mulan but didn’t stop for a picture.

My next note just says “African Outpost”, so I’m not sure what we did there, or if we just walked by, or what. Sorry, folks. Perhaps we drummed on the drums as we went by.

 

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After whatever happened in the African Outpost, we kept going through Germany. We didn’t really stop for long here, just long enough to walk through the shops. We had just eaten, so no caramel treats for us today. *sigh*

We did stop in Italy, however. We found a bench and caught the last half of one of the street performers: a miming act. He did some juggling and includes some kids from the audience. It was cute and we enjoyed the sitting break (especially P!)

America was next! I was really hoping to catch the Mixtape show (GotG) because SB and I loved it in June, but I don’t think it was running. We did get to see the Voices of Liberty and the American Adventure show though.

On we went through Japan and Morocco. We walked through both countries and their shops but didn’t buy (or eat!) anything. We did stop and spend some time in France though! We were ready for a snack. I considered Les Halles, but the line was very long. Instead, we got ice cream from L’artisan.

Hands down- best ice cream I’ve ever had. I just went with a simple chocolate, but I so wish I had gotten more. It will be a must do for me from now on!

We continued through the WS after this, briefly stopping in the UK and Canada. It was crowded and we were ready to head out to MK. On to the monorail we went!

 

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Day 4 continued

The castle just never gets old. I hope the new paint job doesn’t ruin it.

Our first goal of the evening was to do the Tiki Room because SB and I really wanted to. We were met with disappointment though because it was closed! This was quite surprising given how crowded the park was, and it wasn’t even late, only about 5:30.

Oh well. We wanted a sitting (let’s be real, NAPPING) break so we went to the Hall of Presidents instead.
All of the wait times were still very high so we went to the trusted PeopleMover. I don’t think I’ve ever ridden this and not experienced a ride stop, and this time was no different. It was for a bit longer this time, and happened 3 times during our ride around. We didn’t mind though!

P enjoyed the Laugh Floor so much the last time that we decided to do it again. It was getting a bit chilly again so we also out on our sweatshirts. We were much better prepared for the weather this evening.

Next up was our Buzz FP. No Galactic Heros this time. As soon as we scanned our bands though, I found another FP for Pooh right away. We went there next!

Even though we didn’t Arty Pooh, () I’m glad we were able to ride it! This isn’t one we would have wanted to wait for in the crowds.

We were hungry now for dinner. Cosmic Rays would not have been my first choice, but the only other option people wanted was Pecos Bills. Unpopular opinion here- I REALLY don’t like Pecos Bills. It is definitely my least favorite QS in all of Disney. Sorry to those of you who love it.
At Cosmic Rays, P and SB waited in like and S and I went to find a table. We got one with a castle view. I got the special Mickey burger and fries. I don’t remember what everyone else got and we were starving and forgot to take pictures.

(this is NOT my picture, but it was delicious so I wanted to share it. I hope they keep this as a permanent menu item, because it is a keeper in my book!)

It was dark now, and we headed into Adventureland to try something that I hadn’t done since I was a kid: Magic Carpets! We did stand-by since it was only 20 minutes. This was super fun. You can really get those carpets moving!

(Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post. We were tired and forgot about pictures on this evening. )

 

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Day 4 Continued... (again, this was a super long day)

After Aladdin, it was time for our JC FP! We were ready for some Christmas jokes! We ended up with a really good skipper and really enjoyed the niles, and niles, and niles of Christmas jokes. If you don’t believe me, you’re in...













AFRICA.

(or deNILE. I was certainly in deNILE that the Tiki Room was still closed. )

We decided to view HEA another time. It was very close to show time so the hub was full, but we actually found a great spot near the side where we got to sit down and watch. It was a bit of an obstructed view (tree) but it was fine for us!

I had picked up another FP after JC, so we headed there next. Where exactly??

We couldn’t miss this classic. There was literally nobody in line but us so we each got our own elephant. It was a relaxing flight.

Since we were in the neighborhood we couldn’t pass up some Big Top Souvenir exploring. I have found some good stuff here in the past, including some cook books. Today we didn’t get any “stuff”, but we couldn’t pass up some M&M Rice Krispie treats. SB and S shopped around some more while they ate theirs, but P and I found a spot on a bench outside and just enjoyed the atmosphere.

Our treat made us thirsty. Where should we go next?

Under the Sea, of course.

(Afterwards, we really did get some waters ) We also used the Tangled restrooms.

 

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The crowds were *finally* lower. It had been EMH for a little while now and was getting late. We couldn’t leave though without doing 3 more MUST-DOs.

1. BTMRR: P waited for us at the end. This is probably my favorite ride of them all. We requested the back, of course.
2. HM: I think doing this one at night makes it 100% better.
PotC: We were dragging at this point, but we couldn’t resist since it was a walk on.


After our Must-Do extravaganza, the Kiss Goodnight was happening so naturally we stopped and watched that in full.

We left and dragged ourselves to the bus stop (Pop is ALWAYS last) and fell into bed as soon as we got back. It was a great day!

If you’ve been keeping count, including what we did today in both Epcot and MK, we did a total of 25 attractions/shows (yes, I am including the Skyliner and Monorail ) We were EXHAUSTED, especially P, so we set our alarms for later the next morning.
We left and dragged ourselves to the bus stop (Pop is ALWAYS last) and fell into bed as soon as we got back. It was a great day! If you’ve been keeping count, including what we did today in both Epcot and MK, we did a total of 25 attractions/shows (yes, I am including the Skyliner and Monorail ) We were EXHAUSTED, especially P, so we set our alarms for later the next morning.

 

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Day 5: AK & MK- Thanksgiving Day

Our alarms went off later this morning. Actually, I didn’t even set one because I was so tired. Everyone else’s went off at 9:00. It was Thanksgiving Day, so we turned on the tv and watched the Macy’s parade while we got ready and had some quick breakfast in the room. It didn’t take us long, today we were all matching in our Hakuna Matata shirts. Soon, we were headed to the bus stop!

The bus came pretty quickly. I had originally hoped to get there early enough to ride NRJ before the line got too long. This is not a ride I am willing to wait very long for, but P hadn’t ridden it so we wanted her to see it. Unfortunately, the wait was already 70 minutes. NOPE.

We enjoyed the AK Christmas tree! The decorations were very cute.

Of course we got some Tree of Life pics going in...

And we got to see some puppets! These were very cool. I think the polar bear was my favorite.

I really wanted to see FotLK. It is my favorite day-time show at Disney. We headed that way first. There was just enough time to watch the show before our Thanksgiving lunch ADR at Tusker House. I hopped in the stand-by line but P, S, and SB left to use the restroom. They were taking a *long* time to return, and it turns out they had stopped for Mickey bars on the way back. They had to eat them quickly, because by the time they returned it was nearly showtime!

After the show, we went next door and checked in for our lunch. Our wait was pretty short, and soon we were filling up on some GOOD food. They had some special offerings for Thanksgiving. Here are some pictures of plates that I think SB took.

Salad

Mains & Sides

Dessert

I really like Tusker House. It has some of the best food at any character meal, in my opinion, and you get to see Mickey and friends in their best safari gear!

After our lunch, we wandered further into Harambe. We looked in a few of the little shops and the treat store (of course ) but soon it was time for our first FP: KS. P did not ride this with us. We found some conflicting reports of whether or not it was safe for her and baby, so she played it safe.

 

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Day 5: AK & MK- Thanksgiving Day

Our alarms went off later this morning. Actually, I didn’t even set one because I was so tired. Everyone else’s went off at 9:00. It was Thanksgiving Day, so we turned on the tv and watched the Macy’s parade while we got ready and had some quick breakfast in the room. It didn’t take us long, today we were all matching in our Hakuna Matata shirts. Soon, we were headed to the bus stop!

The bus came pretty quickly. I had originally hoped to get there early enough to ride NRJ before the line got too long. This is not a ride I am willing to wait very long for, but P hadn’t ridden it so we wanted her to see it. Unfortunately, the wait was already 70 minutes. NOPE.

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We enjoyed the AK Christmas tree! The decorations were very cute.

Of course we got some Tree of Life pics going in...

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And we got to see some puppets! These were very cool. I think the polar bear was my favorite.

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I really wanted to see FotLK. It is my favorite day-time show at Disney. We headed that way first. There was just enough time to watch the show before our Thanksgiving lunch ADR at Tusker House. I hopped in the stand-by line but P, S, and SB left to use the restroom. They were taking a *long* time to return, and it turns out they had stopped for Mickey bars on the way back. They had to eat them quickly, because by the time they returned it was nearly showtime!


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After the show, we went next door and checked in for our lunch. Our wait was pretty short, and soon we were filling up on some GOOD food. They had some special offerings for Thanksgiving. Here are some pictures of plates that I think SB took.

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Salad


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Mains & Sides


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Dessert

I really like Tusker House. It has some of the best food at any character meal, in my opinion, and you get to see Mickey and friends in their best safari gear!

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After our lunch, we wandered further into Harambe. We looked in a few of the little shops and the treat store (of course ) but soon it was time for our first FP: KS. P did not ride this with us. We found some conflicting reports of whether or not it was safe for her and baby, so she played it safe.

I was at AK on Thanksgiving too! I am looking for myself in your pictures

 

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P had gone to the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail while we rode KS. We met her there after our Safari. SB and I got to see the new baby gorilla in June, so we were hoping to catch another glimpse! Did we? Nope. But, we did catch a glimpse of another wild animal on the way to our next FP...

KEVIN!!!

SB, S, and I rode EE with our FP next. I always forget our great a ride this is. There is one part though that always has me seeing stars! I miss the pre-disco yeti.
Our timing was great, because after EE we walked right over to Finding Nemo: The Musical and they had just opened the doors. Like FotLK, we enjoy this show too. My only complaint this time was that I really wanted to sit down low, I think the show is better from there because I love to see them sing, but the rest of my group wanted to be up high. oh well. We all still enjoyed it.

It was getting close to our last FP after the show, but since we were in Dinoland, we wanted to bring back a Dino first. On to Dinosaur! P went to get a drink while we rode. Unfortunately, we walked up there and the wait was longer than posted in the app. I talked to the CM to ask which time was accurate and she asked why we were in a hurry. I told her about our FP- for FoP, and she was super nice! She said she didn’t think we had time to ride but she gave us paper FP’s to return to Dinosaur after FoP. Disney Magic! We found P and headed to Pandora.

We all went through the queue for FoP, including P. She wanted to see as much of it as she could, even though she couldn’t actually ride. There was..uh...a bit..uh of uh a...delay ...um ...uh in the pre-show room, so we got to..uh um see the “uh” guy for a little while. We seem to get delayed in this area quite a lot. FoP was wonderful as usual though! Also, I forgot to mention that right after we scanned our bands for FoP, I snagged another FP for Space Mtn a little later, since we had planned to end our last night at MK.
There was a bit of disagreement about what to do next. Some of our group wanted to ride NRJ, and some didn’t. I was in the “didn’t” category. I think NRJ is a great ride, don’t get me wrong, but it is SO not worth longer than about a 25 minute wait. What was the wait now, you ask? 70! AND, it was broken down at the time so the line wasn’t even moving. I knew we had plans for MK shortly approaching, and we still needed to use our paper FP for Dinosaur and eat dinner. Being the primary planner for this trip, I felt the pressure to stay on schedule. Looking back, I wish I had just let it go and not let myself get stressed, but in the moment, in my favorite place, where I had planned everything weeks in advance, I just wanted everything to be magical and on track.

Others in the group though had other opinions though... so 70+ minutes for NRJ, here we come.


Eventually we made it to the front and rode. I was a little irritated at this point, so we stopped by the restroom and grabbed some dinner at Flame Tree on the way back to Dinosaur. I honestly don’t remember what any of us got, and have no pictures.

After dinner we rode Dinosaur and that put an end to our time at AK. I took a quick picture of the Tree of Life on the way out, and we caught a bus to MK relatively quickly, thankfully.