Trip Report The Holiday Humdinger *COMPLETED*

I can't believe the Summer of @Tuvalu is over! Is there going to be a holiday humdinger trip report?!!

I couldn’t disappoint a very expectant mama-to-be, now could I? Especially one who was kind enough to provide the title for this trip report!

So here you go, @krisri18......and anyone else who’d like to follow along on yet another Tuvalu WDW adventure, HOLIDAY STYLE.

I plan on posting live updates and will write an expanded report (“Part Tu” @Tony the Tigger ) once I return home. After all, what else will I have to do in December?

Who: Tuvalu and Woody

When: November 27 - December 3, 2018
Where: I shouldn’t even have to tell you. My go-to.

So be on the lookout for us, @DisneyShe, @slipperalwaysfits @mcstensrud. We’ve packed our sweaters and jeans for the chilly weekdays (highs only near 60, lows in the 40s ~ WTH??) and our shorts and tees for the unseasonably warm weekend (highs in the 80s). Yeah, that 30 degree temperature swing isn’t going to help the colds Woody and I are starting with.....

But we’re going to DISNEY WORLD!!!!

 

[Tiggerish]

Purge perfectly prevented problems!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love alliteration? This may be my favorite post of all time.

 

[Tuvalu]

“I hear the train a comin’
It’s rollin’ ‘round the bend....”

There was no way Woody and I would miss a final trip on the MPB! (Although it would be the coldest train ride we’d ever taken.)

We climbed the steps to the Main Street Station and took a few pics from the platform.

Hey, where’s the castle? And that flagpole is dissecting the tree!

A few steps to the left makes everything better!

Isn’t it grand that there are Christmas trees up here too?

As we were waiting to board we heard someone ask, “Does this train only go one way?”
Forward. I prefer forward.

All these riders bundled up should have clued me in that it was gonna be a cold one!

As we pulled away the lady behind me said to her companions, “Let’s get off at the Pirates station.”
Good luck with that.

Splash was closed. Not for refurb. Not for mechanical difficulties.

Wow! Look! Tron land clearing!

 

[MinnieM123]

I like how they decorated the train station, too. It looks beautiful with the trees all decked out.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Daniel, sensing that I wasn’t happy about the “long-gone” rigatoni, excitedly mentioned that the chef had “brought back” the very popular butternut squash soup.

He made a few other suggestions then said he would give us a minute to decide.

With that big muffin only a little while ago, I wasn’t overly hungry. Woody said he’d be glad to share something with me.

We went with the butternut squash soup.
View attachment 334505

I can see why this was (is?) so popular....the soup was delish! Warm and yummy on a cold day.

For our main we had the spinach ravioli with grilled chicken.
View attachment 334506
The heirloom tomatoes made this dish! The rest was tasty too.

The soup and ravioli filled us both and we did not order dessert. As I mentioned earlier, Daniel was attentive, friendly and was quick to refill and clear away (though we did not feel rushed.)

I would have given him 5/5 stars if not for the rigatoni misinformation.

While Tony’s won’t be on our regular rotation, we had a very nice lunch. (And certainly a much better experience than you had @DisneyGigi!)

Your dishes look way better than what we had. We have never had a good experience there. Service, great! Food blah! Glad your meal was better than ours- and all and all there was wine at lunch at MK! That made it all better for me (I chose the Pinot too, it was really good)

 

[Billy6]

Uhhhh....I had baked Rigatoni on my plate in February of this year. ???? I wonder if that's a stock answer! Great report!!! Making me chilly seeing Woody in full Midwest garb though!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Your dishes look way better than what we had. We have never had a good experience there. Service, great! Food blah! Glad your meal was better than ours- and all and all there was wine at lunch at MK! That made it all better for me (I chose the Pinot too, it was really good)

Based on your review our food was LOTS better.

Uhhhh....I had baked Rigatoni on my plate in February of this year. ???? I wonder if that's a stock answer! Great report!!! Making me chilly seeing Woody in full Midwest garb though!!

Yeah, I found the whole rigatoni story suspect....
It was Midwest COLD that day!

 

[Tuvalu]

@ajrwdwgirl there was a special surprise awaiting us when we disembarked at the conclusion of our grand circle tour.

The Dapper Dans’ Holiday repertoire is such fun!

Woody and I then began the daunting task of navigating the MK. I expected it would be busy (due to yesterday’s early closure for MVMCP and evening EMH tonight) but crowds were insane. If it hadn’t been for the two FPs Ryan had given us I think we would have left immediately.

Since we did not get to ride Space Mountain at the party (K is not a fan) we decided to use our first FP there. Standby wait was 95 minutes.
At 1:30 pm.
On a random Wednesday at the end of November.

The refurbished exit had opened only a few days earlier. I must say we were both impressed and didn’t miss the moving sidewalk at all....we usually walked anyway....and the steep hill has been replaced by gentle inclines.

You still end up in the gift shop of course!

 

[Tuvalu]

We pondered jumping on the Peoplemover but the queue wrapped all the way to the Tomorrowland stage.

Use our second FP on Buzz?
The END of the FP line was at Laugh Floor!

So we chose the closest non-Tomorrowland FP attraction ~ which happens to be one of my favorites.

It was a blustery day after all!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Based on your review our food was LOTS better.


Yeah, I found the whole rigatoni story suspect....
It was Midwest COLD that day!

I was just sitting here thinking- I think there have only been 2 places that I would give a bad review, here and Hollywood and Vine. We did both this trip but both because of the little Fella.

I think you were at MK the day we were at AK and I can definitely confirm it was frigid!

One quick ? I have booked the Storybook dining where Artist Point was at WL for May. I have only been to WL once and that was at Whispering Canyon Cafe on the Backstage Magic tour- where is that in relation to Whispering Canyon Cafe? We did not have time to explore. Thanks, in advance!

 

[Tuvalu]

It was time to get out of Dodge. Neither of us could think of a reason to stay.

Of course we still had to weave our way through the masses along the parade route. Festival of Fantasy hadn’t quite made it to the castle hub/Main Street area yet.

We practically breathed a sigh of relief when we were on the other side of the train tunnel. A relaxing monorail ride would perk us up! I was on a hunt for the refillable Christmas mug (WL was sold out) and I figured we could check all 3 monorail resorts (if need be).

The Contemporary was the first stop. But instead of heading towards the escalator, we were directed in the opposite direction to a door.....which opened into a stairwell.....which deposited us OUTSIDE on the 4th floor observation deck.

After taking a few pictures we walked to the other end of the observation deck and entered back into the Contemporary. Not sure of the reason for the unusual detour.

I want to like this gingerbread creation but honestly it doesn’t do a whole lot for me.

In person it looks like painted cardboard cut-outs. And there was no gingerbread smell at all.


Pixie dust at our first stop!

I bought two mugs (one for Em) but should have bought three. Once a refillable mug has been used for coffee, there’s no way to eliminate the coffee fragrance and aftertaste. I am not a coffee drinker and wanted to use the mug at home for water/soda. Lesson learned.

Mugs in hand, there was no need to get back on the monorail. There is boat service between the Contemporary and WL. Down to the dock we went.

Don’t let the smiles fool ya. It was a frigid trip back to the Lodge!

 

[Tuvalu]

One quick ? I have booked the Storybook dining where Artist Point was at WL for May. I have only been to WL once and that was at Whispering Canyon Cafe on the Backstage Magic tour- where is that in relation to Whispering Canyon Cafe? We did not have time to explore. Thanks, in advance!

Artist Point is just past Whispering Canyon on the same side. There is a little ramp for the Territory Lounge and AP.

 

[Tuvalu]

It was time for the moment of truth ~ would my band unlock our room door?

That would be a big fat NO.

I pulled out my other band from my bag.

Skunked again!

I wasn’t concerned based on Ryan’s comment that my bands might need to be resynched after the purge. Woody simply used his band to open our door. I was hoping to get a nap in before our evening plans but thanks to my cold that didn’t happen. It did feel good to put my feet up for awhile.

I really wanted to see Toy Story Land in the dark and had hoped to score a Slinky Dog FP, but at 61 days out that was a no-go. I settled for Alien Saucers instead. I did not book any other FPs since DHS closed at 8 pm and our Saucers time was 7-8.

We had an extraordinarily long wait for a bus and then had the extraordinarily long walk to the front entrance from the temporary bus stop location. (Glad to read the new bus depot is now open!)

Once inside the park I made a beeline into the gift store to purchase a very important item.

Em and I have been looking for the Minnie Rockette ornament for over a year! I bought two, one for her and one for me. Isn’t Rockette Minnie exquisite?

On to Toy Story Land. It is so magical at night! I wish Em had been with us to see it and to photograph it.....my phone would not do it justice so I didn’t take many pictures.

I found this “Little Person” adorable!

He was there with bells on!

A necessary stop before venturing into outer space.

Then:

The Saucers has a special soundtrack for the holidays. We swirled to Deck the Halls, with the ending sung by the aliens! (Alvin and the Chipmunks better watch out!)

Slinky Dog had an hour wait and with park closing approaching, we decided we’d rather spend our time checking out the holiday decorations in other areas of the park.

 

[susan lees]

@Rista1313 I know it’s not Friday but I had to have this guy!

View attachment 334370
Enlarge the sweater, it’s hilarious!

Love it

 

[Tuvalu]

DHS is really trying to fill the void left by the departure of the Osborne Lights. There are even more lights and decorations this year than last year. Though nothing can replace the Spectacle that was the Osborne Lights, I give props to Disney for creating a festive illuminated park at night.

We stopped to watch some projections on ToT before leaving.

Though we were tempted to stay for Jingle Bell Jingle Bam!, physically we were not up to suffering through the mass exodus when the show was over. We made it onto a bus before the hordes descended.

 

[93boomer]

It was time to get out of Dodge. Neither of us could think of a reason to stay.

Of course we still had to weave our way through the masses along the parade route. Festival of Fantasy hadn’t quite made it to the castle hub/Main Street area yet.

We practically breathed a sigh of relief when we were on the other side of the train tunnel. A relaxing monorail ride would perk us up! I was on a hunt for the refillable Christmas mug (WL was sold out) and I figured we could check all 3 monorail resorts (if need be).

The Contemporary was the first stop. But instead of heading towards the escalator, we were directed in the opposite direction to a door.....which opened into a stairwell.....which deposited us OUTSIDE on the 4th floor observation deck.

View attachment 334779

View attachment 334778

After taking a few pictures we walked to the other end of the observation deck and entered back into the Contemporary. Not sure of the reason for the unusual detour.

I want to like this gingerbread creation but honestly it doesn’t do a whole lot for me.

View attachment 334780
In person it looks like painted cardboard cut-outs. And there was no gingerbread smell at all.


Pixie dust at our first stop!
View attachment 334781

I bought two mugs (one for Em) but should have bought three. Once a refillable mug has been used for coffee, there’s no way to eliminate the coffee fragrance and aftertaste. I am not a coffee drinker and wanted to use the mug at home for water/soda. Lesson learned.

Mugs in hand, there was no need to get back on the monorail. There is boat service between the Contemporary and WL. Down to the dock we went.

View attachment 334786

View attachment 334787

Don’t let the smiles fool ya. It was a frigid trip back to the Lodge!
View attachment 334788

You even look cold with those rosy cheeks!

 

[93boomer]

It was time for the moment of truth ~ would my band unlock our room door?

That would be a big fat NO.

I pulled out my other band from my bag.

Skunked again!

I wasn’t concerned based on Ryan’s comment that my bands might need to be resynched after the purge. Woody simply used his band to open our door. I was hoping to get a nap in before our evening plans but thanks to my cold that didn’t happen. It did feel good to put my feet up for awhile.

I really wanted to see Toy Story Land in the dark and had hoped to score a Slinky Dog FP, but at 61 days out that was a no-go. I settled for Alien Saucers instead. I did not book any other FPs since DHS closed at 8 pm and our Saucers time was 7-8.

We had an extraordinarily long wait for a bus and then had the extraordinarily long walk to the front entrance from the temporary bus stop location. (Glad to read the new bus depot is now open!)

View attachment 334792

Once inside the park I made a beeline into the gift store to purchase a very important item.

View attachment 334793

Em and I have been looking for the Minnie Rockette ornament for over a year! I bought two, one for her and one for me. Isn’t Rockette Minnie exquisite?

On to Toy Story Land. It is so magical at night! I wish Em had been with us to see it and to photograph it.....my phone would not do it justice so I didn’t take many pictures.

I found this “Little Person” adorable!
View attachment 334794
He was there with bells on!

A necessary stop before venturing into outer space.
View attachment 334797

Then:
View attachment 334796

View attachment 334795

The Saucers has a special soundtrack for the holidays. We swirled to Deck the Halls, with the ending sung by the aliens! (Alvin and the Chipmunks better watch out!)

View attachment 334798

Slinky Dog had an hour wait and with park closing approaching, we decided we’d rather spend our time checking out the holiday decorations in other areas of the park.

I love Rockette Minnie! I wish we had made it back over to TSL at night

 

[meggo819]

Em and I have been looking for the Minnie Rockette ornament for over a year! I bought two, one for her and one for me. Isn’t Rockette Minnie exquisite?

Just curious, what is the red string/green ball between her feet?

 

[Tuvalu]

Back at the Lodge, a visit to the Front Desk was the first order of business. Cast Member Mark went to work recoding my bands. He saw a note left by Ryan regarding the purging of my MDE account.

“Wow, sounds like you’ve had a bad time with technology,” commented Mark.

“You have no idea!” I replied.

He offered to add a couple fastpasses to my account. I said that wasn’t necessary, since we were only going to Epcot tomorrow and I already had our 3 FPs booked.

“Where are you going Friday?” Mark asked. I told him we were going to MK but that our daughter would be joining us.

“No problem, I can add fastpasses for her too.”

Well THANK YOU Mark!!!

I went to join Woody at Roaring Fork for a late dinner.

Woody had the House-Smoked Turkey Sandwich.

I was looking forward to the grilled chicken sandwich with roasted red pepper and arugula which had been a menu staple for awhile.

NO MORE CHICKEN SANDWICH....OF ANY KIND!

I settled for the Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich. It was fine but I’d had my heart set on the chicken.

We managed to be back in our room in time to watch Happily Ever After.

(Photo taken through the sliding glass door. There was no way we’d be standing outside on the balcony tonight!)

 

[Tuvalu]

Just curious, what is the red string/green ball between her feet?

Pull the string and she can dance!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

@ajrwdwgirl there was a special surprise awaiting us when we disembarked at the conclusion of our grand circle tour.

View attachment 334768
The Dapper Dans’ Holiday repertoire is such fun!

Woody and I then began the daunting task of navigating the MK. I expected it would be busy (due to yesterday’s early closure for MVMCP and evening EMH tonight) but crowds were insane. If it hadn’t been for the two FPs Ryan had given us I think we would have left immediately.

Since we did not get to ride Space Mountain at the party (K is not a fan) we decided to use our first FP there. Standby wait was 95 minutes.
At 1:30 pm.
On a random Wednesday at the end of November.

View attachment 334771

The refurbished exit had opened only a few days earlier. I must say we were both impressed and didn’t miss the moving sidewalk at all....we usually walked anyway....and the steep hill has been replaced by gentle inclines.

View attachment 334770

View attachment 334769

You still end up in the gift shop of course!

Love the Dans picture. That is a good foursome there too! And that picture is just what I needed to see this evening...these middle schoolers before Christmas break is driving this teacher nuts!