Our Christmas Disneymoon 20th December-30th December 2011

sam_disney · Jan 21, 2012

So we continued to look around the rose garden etc.. and took a picture with the fountain that goes the wrong way..

We then decided to ride Journey Into Imagination with FIGMENT! lol

After figment we had a quick look in the lab attached when you exit the ride.. ! Its a shame- seems to be a lack of things in there these days!

we then headed back through the rose garden..

James had a lie down.. lol

It was nearly time for our fastpass on test track so we made our way over that way...

Another picture of the ball..

We then spotted the photopass again..

We got to test track and decided to sit on a bench waiting for our time to come up..

It was lovely seeing all the people in christmas hats - enjoying christmas day!

We sat right infront of this..

It was then time for our test track ride...

I think Test Track is one of my favourite rides at Epcot. Its sooo good! The queue was so long when we got back- so glad we got fastpasses! Sounds interesting how they are planning to redevelop it this year...

Anyway.. next we were off to the world showcase as it was nearly time for our dining reservation at the Rose and Crown...

sam_disney · Jan 21, 2012

We headed to the world showcase past the odyssey center and i went to the restroom--

james decided to snap me coming out ...

We then headed towards the UK...

Saw the lovely christmas tree..

We rushed past Canada and in to the UK area...

On the floor was this.... how lovely!!

sam_disney · Jan 21, 2012

We headed in to the shops- we always find it quite amusing going through the UK shops! They aren't anything like what we have here !! Anyway here I am..

We then met Winnie and Tigger in the shop..

We then decided to check out the little garden at the back where the band plays music. We found a maze that reminded us of a mini version of hampton court maze- where we got engaged!

To give you a flash back to this... Me and James got engaged on 19th Aug 2009 at Hampton court palace.. in the famous maze.

Here we are entering..

I was being my silly self..

So in epcot.. i decided to re- enact the moment...

Lol anyway.. I obviously said yes back in 2009... here's the pictures to finish this off..

sam_disney · Jan 21, 2012

anyway back to 2011 christmas day.. we headed to the rose and crown and checked in and were given our buzzer.. there were no seats so we sat down on the pavement...

We didn't wait very long.. and we got led to a lovely table outside overlooking the world showcase.. it was fabulous!

We chose the rose and crown to feel a little bit like we had our christmas dinner.. like we would have at home. I couldn;t believe on christmas day there were no christmas crackers though! lol Anyway.. as we were on the candleight dinner package, we got a starter, main and dessert with a non alcholoic drink.

sam_disney · Jan 21, 2012

We first got the free bread basket.. it was yummy.! We were sooo hungry!

I ordered the cheese plate to start and James ordered the trio of pasties.. ! Now Because we were soooo hungry.. I actually forgot to take a picture of them! whoops! The cheese plate was pretty good! James liked his pasties.. but he wished after that he'd had the potato and leek soup- which he'd had on previous occasions.

Anyway for main.. I had the sunday roast..

I ordered some mushy peas to go with my dinner. The roast dinner was great! Our roast dinners if you're not from the uk.. usually consists of meat ( be it lamb, beef, chicken etc) roast potatoes, new potatoes, or mash and usually peas, carrots, sprouts maybe... anyway the list is endless and of course we always have yorkshire puddings. I was pretty impressed with my sunday roast it was very good. It should have come with garden peas really.. but overlooking that I really enjoyed it! It certainly wasn't as good as my mums christmas dinner.. but it was very good substitute!

Anyway.. James ordered the steak..

James said it was very good! Steak was great and he enjoyed all the potatoes and veggies.. apart from the sprouts ( as he hates them) lol

Anyway on to pudding.. now this might be a shocker but I'd never had any type of cheesecake before. I wasn't keen on any of the other options- so I ordered the chocolate cheesecake.

Now.. I assure you I did have a longer chocolate stick thing.. but I began eating it before I'd took a picture! lol After James reminded me I put it back and took a picture! My first taste of cheese cake was great.. and I loved my dessert!

James ordered the whiskey custard caramel thing.. I cant remember the name:

He liked it... but after a while he said it got too sickly!

Anyway overall the food and dining experience was excellent!

We had a lovely server from scotland..

Here's me really enjoying our christmas dinner! P.S check out the guy's shirt behind me.. it was a magic kingdom one.. very good! lol

Our server took our picture..

Then gave us our stickers/ passes to have seating for the candlelight processional..

It was now about 5:30ish , so we didn't have too long till we needed to start queuing for the candlelight.. so we headed up to France on our way...

sam_disney · Jan 21, 2012

Over the bridge to France..

It was time for another fastpass opportunity..

France looked so pretty in the dark..

I was really enjoying walking around the world showcase- I love the whole atmosphere!!

We looked in the shops and passed the patisserie.. a usual stop on our trip ( but not this year).

I was filming away.. and we decided to carry on up and then we realised we had found the queue for the candlelight.. it was massive, so after trekking back we found the end of the queue in Japan and waited till we were let in.

Across the lake- spaceship earth and the christmas tree looked gorgeous..

and finally we starting moving and we reached America..

sam_disney · Jan 21, 2012

We finally got into the theatre. and grabbed a seat..

and then the candelight began..

We have seen it before, but not with seating! Back in 2008 we sat right at the back near the ropes and enjoyed it free from there. But having a seat- it was a lot nicer!

I was very excited as our guest narrator was Blair Underwood- I knew of him as the sexy doctor in ______ and the City

Here's a very quick video..

We filmed it all on camcorder.. but this is from my digital..

Now.. I think the candleight processional was very good. Blair was a great narrator.. but for me.. I thought it changed each year- but it doesn't. The cd recording is exactly what you get. I felt personally a little cheated. Why don't they change it each year? Surely that would be great to watch different hymns etc each year? anyway..

overall.. the dinner package we booked I felt was defintely worth it at this point- after the candle light finished.. we took a picture of us..

We then headed around the rest of the world showcase, fast paced to get to our special viewing area for illuminations.

We had a quick look in belgium and bought a lovely glass bauble for our xmas tree and a lovely little figurine of a bride and groom for our house..

We then needed to get round quite quick, as it was getting to 8:30pm and illuminations began in an hour..

We found the viewing area.. it was directly behind..

We grabbed a spot near to the front..

and we waited for illuminations to begin..

As the fireworks got closer... people began to stand.. so we did too! There was a lady in a wheel chair next to us and we made sure we moved far enough over so that she could see. There was a cast member infront of us controlling the crowds and this young girl, pushed through and said to James i'm just asking her something- she asked her question and then just stopped where she was. She was right infront of the lady and I wanted to smack her. It was sooo rude and cheeky! We had been waiting an hour and she just pushed in! Grrrr! Anyway, I angled myself so that I 'accidentally' got in her way a few times.. i was really mad about this as you can probably tell!

After this.. a voice behind started yelling.. 'can i have your attention please', so everyone turned to look at this random guy.. and he was asking if all of us at the front could sit down - so that all the people behind could see.

Now- I chuckled at this, because 1. we had waited all that time- we certainly weren't going to sit down. and 2. We couldn't sit down because infront of us was a bush, so we wouldnt have been able to see anything. It was hilarious! Nobody listened to him....People started shouting back- you should have got here earlier then!!

Anyway.. then illuminations began...

sam_disney · Jan 21, 2012

Illuminations is my all time favourite firework show at disney world.

I love the whole concept of it, with the music, the globe and the song at the end.. 'we go on' I always get soo emotional!

This was our view..

The view was AMAZING! definitely the best view of illuminations I have ever seen!!

Here's a quick video.. click the photo and you will watch it... just to give you an idea of how amazing it truely was..

It was a fabulous christmas day!! It was wonderful... another great end to another great day!!!!

Next up- Boxing Day at Universal Islands...

sam_disney · Jan 21, 2012

foreverbelle said:
OK so this may be long...fyi..

I love the whole Beauty and the Beast, obviously it is my favorite of all time, and every year I make my husband sit through it. Thankfully I sit there in silence with a smile on my face and manage not to sing (LOL) I know its cheesy and there are things that could be better. But I still have to see it anyway.

And the Christmas lights look fantabulous. Amazing....you guys look like you had so much fun. And you seem to have run into some fantastic people to take pics of you throughout your trip. How nice is it to have pics that aren't at arm lengths all the time.

I haven't seen Fantasmic in awhile. I need to add that to my list of things I want to do again on the next trip. Yes I do.

Your thoughts on your family had me tearing up. Really, because your right I can't imagine being away-especially that far-from my family over the holidays. And while I sit here and read this, I almost forgot you were away and on your honeymoon, and that it was in fact the holidays. But how nice was it that you guys got to sit there and open cards on Christmas day in the middle of the park.

Holy cow, that line for non-resort guest is incredibly. Don't think I will be staying off property during the holidays for that reason shall I ever get the chance to go down during the holidays.

Still loving the report!

Thanks for your comments- really lovely!

The osbourne lights I have to say are sooo breathtaking. In Blackpool where we live in the UK we have whats called the Blackpool Illuminations..

to give you an idea... http://www.visitblackpool.com/illuminations

The osbourne lights beats ours hands down in my opinion!! lol The snow coming down and the lights dancing to christmas songs.. it truely is amazing.

We did meet some lovely people who would just offer to take our picture for us- it was very very nice. Later on in the trip when we went back to epcot- this lady appeard and asked us and we got 2 lovely photos that she took. Also at MK in our first day - we were crossing the bridge from tomorrowland onto main street near to the castle and this guy appeared randomly, took our picture and disappeared. Truely magical!

The family thing- I really did have a cry! Its my first christmas that I have ever spent without my family, let alone being away. I rung them when we were in mouse gears and I could tell they were missing us also and I could tell in the tone of their voices. Alot of big changes have happned this year for me and I really did get emotional at that moment. Overall I did pretty well.. I only cried at fantasmic and on christmas morning. lol

and yes- if you're going to the world at christmas I would def recommend staying onsite. Definitely helped us get the most of our day!! From now on though the crowds were ridiculous.. for the first 5 days we did very well.. from boxing day onward... it got very hectic! x

THANKS FOR READING!!! xxxx

enchanted_belle · Jan 23, 2012

Ahhh Illuminations! My favorite

I'm really jealous of the Procession... though, I think I would want to see it with Neil Patrick Harris out of all the celebs they had this year.

Can't wait for an update... and I love love LOVE your red dress!

sam_disney · Jan 23, 2012

enchanted_belle said:
Ahhh Illuminations! My favorite

I'm really jealous of the Procession... though, I think I would want to see it with Neil Patrick Harris out of all the celebs they had this year.

Can't wait for an update... and I love love LOVE your red dress!

Lol yeah I bet he is a good narrator!! I'd love to see Whoopi Goldberg I think.. but she cancelled this year didn't she?

Thanks- my red dress was bought for me by my mum, especially to wear on christmas day! She called it a minnie dress!

xx

Going to start Boxing Day now..

sam_disney · Jan 23, 2012

So because the weather had been so great so far- James suggested that on Boxing Day instead of going to Islands.. we should go to Blizzard Beach.

I agreed with this! I thought it would be a fab idea to be lazying around! The weather was set for high 70's, so we thought it still should have been ok. When we woke.. I couldn't see any sky.. it was just cloud everywhere! After.. getting my bikini on and heading towards the buses, we both decided it would be silly, It was quite breezy and we both decided against it.

So.. we headed back to the room.. I grabbed a shower and we chilled out for a little while- deciding what we wanted to do that day.

We decided on heading to downtown for dinner and then grabbing a taxi up to Islands...

We went firstly to grab one of the boats from the resort.. I took a few pics while we waited...

Here's James waiting for the boat..

Now the boat generally is pretty good.. but today it seemed to be forever and when it got to us we weren't let on, even though there was plenty of room. I know they leave room for french quarter, but seriously there was room! Anyway, we decided to go get the bus instead. We were starting to get very hungry at this point!

We got to Downtown around 12ish..

Another tree...

We walked up to cookes of dublin, grabbed a table outside and shared the chicken platter. We did well, because James had ordered me peas again and I didnt really want peas, so he went back to change them for extra chips. The server said thats ok, gave us the extra chips free and we still had the peas... great stuff!
I enjoyed just snapping away at everything..

I went on this back in 2009 with my family.. its a very good view up there!

We walked out by the amc dine in theater.. really wanted to try that! lol

We grabbed a cab and headed to Islands...

enchanted_belle · Jan 23, 2012

sam_disney said:
Lol yeah I bet he is a good narrator!! I'd love to see Whoopi Goldberg I think.. but she cancelled this year didn't she?

Thanks- my red dress was bought for me by my mum, especially to wear on christmas day! She called it a minnie dress! xx

Going to start Boxing Day now..

You know... I'm not sure if she cancelled or not, I'll have to look that up. It sounds familiar, but I can't remember lol.

I just ordered a red dress the other day for my trip (so I have something to wear on Valentines

), so when I saw yours I got really excited! It took me ages to find a dress, especially because everything is sweater-ed here right now.

oooh Boxing Day, can't wait!!! xx

sam_disney · Jan 23, 2012

We got to Islands around 1:30ish...

I love the walk up at Universal with music playing all the way..

The park was MEGA crowded..

We have both been to Islands plenty of times before.. but we had never see the new Harry area.. and thats why we really decided to go and check it out.
I've ridden everything in their.. including Hulk, dueling dragons (dragons challenge now) etc.. James hates rollercoasters.. so tbh on this day we were happy just to enjoy the park and walk around it- so the crowds didn't really bother us as such.

We decided to nip in to one of the shops on the way in..

We love christmas.. so we had to go in here! We picked up an ornament that said I believe..

Next we walked through to where there were some yummy things..

and there it is the amazing Hulk!

I do love the Hulk.. its a fantastic rollercoaster. I've ridden this at the front and back! Its ace! I knew I wouldn't be riding it today, because I didnt really want to leave James...

We then went right up into Seuss Landing.. as I really wanted to see the Grinchmas show...

sam_disney · Jan 23, 2012

When we got to ..

We got a sense of how busy it really was...

It was nearly time for the next Grinchmas show, so we headed that way..

We waited a while, and then we were lead through a gap in the fence to a stage in Universal Studios...

Here's the stage set up for Grinchmas...

I love the original Grinch,.. not so keen on the Jim Carrey Version.. but the cartoon is iconic. So I was looking forward to the show..

Most of the theatre was full.. here's some pictures..

Overall.. the show was pretty good! I enjoyed it! Not on the same class as a disney show.. but still pretty good all the same.

sam_disney · Jan 23, 2012

When we came out of Grinchmas and walked back over to the studios... some of the who's from whoeville came out and had pictures with people...

Next we headed towards Potter...

Going through and we're in... my gosh it was CRAZY BUSY!

Grabbed a picture with the train..

Now this is where I have to admit.. I' not particularly a Harry fan! I've not read the books! I've seen most of the movies..but yeah its ok. James on the other hand loves the Harry Books.. so he liked it.. but again hes not mad on it either.

sam_disney · Jan 23, 2012

Although I'm not a mega fan of Harry.. I did appreciate the area.. it was very good!

We enjoyed looking at everything, even with the crowd..

I was completely just snapping away...

The famous butter beer?

Grabbed a quick arms length...

sam_disney · Jan 23, 2012

We spent quite a while in the Harry area... just mooching around

Then we saw it.. the castle..

I have to admit.. it was pretty impressive! As you can see the queue for the ride was very very long- 3 hours long in fact!

Then we found the snowman...

We must have liked him because we took quite a few of him..

A quick look back..

The queue for the butter beer was ridiculous.. we didn't care that much about trying it...

We then headed out of the harry area...

sam_disney · Jan 23, 2012

As we headed out... the staff were actually extending the queue for the Harry ride.. eeeek!

I took a picture of James with the castle...

And then again.. a lovely employee asked if we wanted one together.. and we ended up with this lovely picture ( one of my faves)

Anyway we moved on to...

I love Jurassic Park... the film is again sooo iconic! The music is awesome.... I found it a little odd to have stepped into Jurassic Park though and I could still see the castle from the Harry area...

Anyway .. O MY! THERE'S A DINO!

eeeeek

Then guess what happend.. a lovely lady asked if we wanted one together... Thank you lovely people!!!

The queue for the river adventure was again.. very long.. we have done it a million times ( maybe an over exaggeration) so again.. we continued to the cartoon area...

enchanted_belle · Jan 23, 2012

I think I lucked out when I went to WWoHP... We got in there early, so we got to see what it was like empty. :lol: