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!!!!

 

[LisaBelle]

I can hear it now:

“I need a Fractal card to finish my set!!!!!”

Max

 

[krisri18]

Maybe all the most famous Trip Reporters should have cards made, and then the rest of us can collect them!

They'll be more popular than the wizard cards in a chocolate frog !

 

[Tuvalu]

WOW - where did you ever find the Miser Brothers??? Julia adores them. We were so excited to see that Hulu ran "The Miser Brothers Christmas" this year.

I’ve had Miser ornaments for several years, they were a gift.

April 5-12?

Better not tell you now.

 

[Tuvalu]

Friday, November 30

As usual I was the first one to awaken. I noticed the message light was blinking on our room phone. I decided to shower and dress before retrieving the voicemail.

The message was asking for confirmation that we wanted to change rooms today. I thought the issue had been settled.....yes, we definitely wanted to change rooms.....but I thought I’d better visit the Front Desk in case there was a problem. Then I could stop by Roaring Fork and pick up breakfast.

Cora was the Front Desk CM who greeted me. I adore Cora ~ she has worked at the WL since shortly after the resort opened. I confirmed that we were prepared to move to a new room, and that the manager was allowing us to keep our belongings in our current room until the new room was ready. (We didn’t want to store our luggage with Bell Services as a direct room-to-room move was easier; besides, would the Lodge really put our noisy room back into inventory today?)

At Roaring Fork I got a bagel egg sandwich for Woody....

....and “specialty” Mickey waffles for Em. (And by “specialty” I mean having to modify the “Loaded” waffles.)

Look how excited she was to be here with us!

Since I did not photograph my breakfast I cannot say for certain what I had. I think it was a muffin?

Woody had a couple things to do so Em and I told him we would meet him in the lobby. I wanted to get our picture in front of the tree to use as the “reveal” in the LIVE part.

 

[Tuvalu]

Today’s forecast called for warmer temperatures and we were glad not to have to bundle up. Em put on her ears in celebration!

(They didn’t stay on long, as Em said they weren’t very comfortable.)

We arrived at the MK a little past 9 am and headed for the Passholder entrance.

First stop......

....gotta get our pic by the countdown!

 

[Tuvalu]

Since our trip had now changed from “Tuvalu and Woody’s Holiday” to “Em’s Birthday Weekend”, Em was in charge of calling the shots. She’d picked our ADRs and FPs and we yielded to whatever she wanted to do. This morning she wanted to “bask in the ambiance of Main Street” (her words) for a bit before hurrying off to our first attraction.

And she wanted to take a picture of her ‘rents with the Christmas tree.

Oh goody! We lingered long enough to catch @TrolleyFollower91 ’s favorite show!!

What a great way to start her day at MK.

 

[Tuvalu]

“I want to get a closer look at the castle,” Em said.

Translated: “I want to take some castle pics.”

But this is the only one she gave me.

I had no complaints with the first attraction she picked.

(There was fresh sod in the pet cemetery. No more overgrown Mr. Toad!)

CM’s seemed to be doing a better job of “pacing” guests from the outside into the parlor and then into the stretching room....there wasn’t the huge backlog of guests waiting in the doom buggy area (as is typical.) Woody and Em rode together and I sat solo. Three adults in a doom buggy is a little too cozy.

Afterward we went into Memento Mori and Em immediately spied this:

If we’d only known someone with a baby boy! (Elias missed his chance, @krisri18 .)

 

[Tuvalu]

The standby wait for It’s a Small World was reasonable so we entered the queue. There was a man in front of us who turned around and said, “The entrance to this ride is so much better at Disneyland. It’s all outside, you know.”

“Yes we know,” Em muttered to me under her breath. “We’ve been there.” I could tell she was not in the mood to engage with a potential Know-it-all.

“There are also Disney character dolls in the different countries,” the man continued. At this point Em began to talk to Woody, leaving me as the only listener.

“I’m a cast member. Disneyland is my home base, but I come here for two weeks every year.”

Now my interest was piqued. “What’s your job?” I asked.

Turns out he was an Imagineer who has worked for Disney for many years. Now before any of you skeptics cry “poser”, during our brief conversation he shared some interesting tidbits and had extensive knowledge of Disney Park history (and knew the answers to a couple questions I asked ). He wasn’t loud or pompous...in fact Em and Woody couldn’t even hear our discussion. The man was genuinely sincere and I wished there had been more time to talk with him.

Two fun tidbits: In order to build Star Wars Land in California, two small, adjacent land parcels had to be purchased by Disney. The cost to purchase these tiny parcels was more than the cost to build MK and Epcot....combined. And when Disney was planning the working animation studio in Florida (formerly Disney-MGM Studios) they failed to take into consideration the effects the humid climate would have on animation cels. Cels are delicate and do not fare well in high heat/humidity. The design and storage areas had to be kept COLD to counteract any negative effects. Ultimately this became a problem and one of the many reasons the FL animation department was relocated back to California.

He and his wife got into the next boat and wished me a happy vacation.

“What was he talking about?” Em asked as we boarded our boat. I sensed a little regret in her voice that she’d written him off too quickly.

“I’ll share the stories at lunch,” I promised.

Meanwhile it was time to cruise.

I made Em take the next picture. You’ll appreciate the reason why, @Figment Forever....

....the two dolls that sit on either side of the elephant’s tusk are MIA!!

Our names appeared on the screens at the end. Some find it creepy, but we find it fun.

Time to visit the Dwarfs.

 

[Figment Forever]

The standby wait for It’s a Small World was reasonable so we entered the queue. There was a man in front of us who turned around and said, “The entrance to this ride is so much better at Disneyland. It’s all outside, you know.”

“Yes we know,” Em muttered to me under her breath. “We’ve been there,” I could tell she was not in the mood to engage with a potential Know-it-all.

“There are also Disney character dolls in the different countries,” the man continued. At this point Em began to talk to Woody, leaving me as the only listener.

“I’m a cast member. Disneyland is my home base, but I come here for two weeks every year.”

Now my interest was piqued. “What’s your job?” I asked.

Turns out he was an Imagineer who has worked for Disney for many years. Now before any of you skeptics cry “poser”, during our brief conversation he shared some interesting tidbits and had extensive knowledge of Disney Park history (and knew the answers to a couple questions I asked ). He wasn’t loud or pompous...in fact Em and Woody couldn’t even hear our discussion. The man was genuinely sincere and I wished there had been more time to talk with him.

Two fun tidbits: In order to build Star Wars Land in California, two small, adjacent land parcels had to be purchased by Disney. The cost to purchase these tiny parcels was more than the cost to build MK and Epcot....combined. And when Disney was planning the working animation studio in Florida (formerly Disney-MGM Studios) they failed to take into consideration the effects the humid climate would have on animation cels. Cels are delicate and do not fare well in high heat/humidity. The design and storage areas had to be kept COLD to counteract any negative effects. Ultimately this became a problem and one of the many reasons the FL animation department was relocated back to California.

He and his wife got into the next boat and wished me a happy vacation.

“What was he talking about?” Em asked as we boarded our boat. I sensed a little regret in her voice that she’d written him off too quickly.

“I’ll share the stories at lunch,” I promised.

Meanwhile it was time to cruise.
View attachment 339770

I made Em take the next picture. You’ll appreciate the reason why, @Figment Forever....
View attachment 339769
....the two dolls that sit on either side of the elephant’s tusk are MIA!!

Our names appeared on the screens at the end. Some find it creepy, but we find it fun.

Time to visit the Dwarfs. FP window had opened.
View attachment 339771

I called Hope over to look at your picture and asked her what it was a picture of. She responded "The elephant in Small World". I asked her if the picture was correct and she said, "Two dolls are missing." When I ask her where, sure enough, she pointed to both sides of the elephants tusks. So much for me doubting her!

 

[Tuvalu]

I called Hope over to look at your picture and asked her what it was a picture of. She responded "The elephant in Small World". I asked her if the picture was correct and she said, "Two dolls are missing." When I ask her where, sure enough, she pointed to both sides of the elephants tusks. So much for me doubting her!

I knew it!

 

[krisri18]

“I want to get a closer look at the castle,” Em said.

Translated: “I want to take some castle pics.”

But this is the only one she gave me.
View attachment 339759

I had no complaints with the first attraction she picked.

View attachment 339760
(There was fresh sod in the pet cemetery. No more overgrown Mr. Toad!)

View attachment 339763

CM’s seemed to be doing a better job of “pacing” guests from the outside into the parlor and then into the stretching room....there wasn’t the huge backlog of guests waiting in the doom buggy area (as is typical.) Woody and Em rode together and I sat solo. Three adults in a doom buggy is a little too cozy.

Afterward we went into Memento Mori and Em immediately spied this:
View attachment 339761

View attachment 339762

If we’d only known someone with a baby boy! (Elias missed his chance, @krisri18 .)

He'd make an adorable Haunted Mansion ambassador!

 

[Tuvalu]

He'd make an adorable Haunted Mansion ambassador!

I have no doubt!

 

[Tuvalu]

Upon reviewing my notes I remembered that the FPs we used today at MK were the bonus FPs CM Mark had given me. So immediately after riding 7DMT we went to use our second bonus pass at Space Mountain.

Apparently Em did not get the memo to “Do the Tuvalu!”

Em thought the new exit was nice although we all agree we miss the moving sidewalk.

At least the ramp up to the PeopleMover still works!

There’ll be no cars on the Speedway when we pass by here on our next vacay.

Used our last bonus pass here:

These two were serious shooters!

Me? Not so much.

It may have been my worst score ever. I was a “Space Scout”....somewhere between 1k-10k. Was it my gun? Aim? Both? Neither?

I hung my head in shame and let Em and Woody gloat.

 

[Tuvalu]

Regular readers of my TRs may recall that The Plaza was one of our go-to restaurants. Rarely did we skip it, and there was a trip or two when we actually went twice.

The food was good and very reasonably priced ~ only a few dollars more than a counter service restaurant.

The shakes were phenomenal.

We knew the servers by name (and a few recognized us.)

And we always looked forward to a visit by Mayor Christopher George Weaver who would enter the restaurant with a flourish and choose a child (the “100th” guest of the day) as the “Junior Mayor of the Day.” (Smokey Miller the Fire Chief would do the honors on the Mayor’s day off.). The ceremony was one of those special touches that made Disney, “Disney”.

A couple years ago The Plaza began to lose its luster. The crispy signature fat fries were replaced by generic shoestrings. Entree prices increased by $3-4. Worst of all, the $5 shake was replaced with an all-you-can-drink shake for nine dollars....a single serving was no longer allowed, nor was “sharing” the all-you-can-drink.

Then the Mayor died.

Dining there lost its value to us. But as I mentioned earlier, Em got to choose the restaurants and she wanted to give The Plaza another try.

We did not know any of the servers. The one assigned to us did not show up for a LONG time. She was a bit scattered and did not refill our water glasses. Em and Woody ordered shakes which took FOREVER and when she delivered them this was all they got:

Usually the stainless steel container (that the shake was mixed in) with the remaining shake was brought to the table as well. Em thought perhaps this had changed too, until she noticed that every other table that had shakes also had the stainless steel containers.

Still there were smiles on their faces.

I am happy to report the food was good.
Cheesesteak for Em.

Club sandwich for Woody.

Gourmet chicken sandwich for me.

While we were eating a Main Street Suffragette entered and (with a little less flourish than the Mayor) presented the 100th guest of the day with a chocolate covered gold Mickey bar. We were too far away to see if the gold Mickey bar was candy or ice cream.

It was nice to see that this “special touch” continues.

When our server brought the check she asked Woody and Em if they wanted to-go refills of their shakes. Woody declined, but Em said yes “because I feel like I never got a full shake to begin with!”

Lunch came to $82....about $30 higher than it used to be. Sigh.

 

[Tiggerish]

Regular readers of my TRs may recall that The Plaza was one of our go-to restaurants. Rarely did we skip it, and there was a trip or two when we actually went twice.

The food was good and very reasonably priced ~ only a few dollars more than a counter service restaurant.

The shakes were phenomenal.

We knew the servers by name (and a few recognized us.)

And we always looked forward to a visit by Mayor Christopher George Weaver who would enter the restaurant with a flourish and choose a child (the “100th” guest of the day) as the “Junior Mayor of the Day.” (Smokey Miller the Fire Chief would do the honors on the Mayor’s day off.). The ceremony was one of those special touches that made Disney, “Disney”.

A couple years ago The Plaza began to lose its luster. The crispy signature fat fries were replaced by generic shoestrings. Entree prices increased by $3-4. Worst of all, the $5 shake was replaced with an all-you-can-drink shake for nine dollars....a single serving was no longer allowed, nor was “sharing” the all-you-can-drink.

Then the Mayor died.

Dining there lost its value to us. But as I mentioned earlier, Em got to choose the restaurants and she wanted to give The Plaza another try.

View attachment 339844

View attachment 339845

We did not know any of the servers. The one assigned to us did not show up for a LONG time. She was a bit scattered and did not refill our water glasses. Em and Woody ordered shakes which took FOREVER and when she delivered them this was all they got:
View attachment 339849
Usually the stainless steel container (that the shake was mixed in) with the remaining shake was brought to the table as well. Em thought perhaps this had changed too, until she noticed that every other table that had shakes also had the stainless steel containers.

Still there were smiles on their faces.

View attachment 339848

View attachment 339846

I am happy to report the food was good.
Cheesesteak for Em.
View attachment 339850

Club sandwich for Woody.
View attachment 339852

Gourmet chicken sandwich for me.
View attachment 339851

While we were eating a Main Street Suffragette entered and (with a little less flourish than the Mayor) presented the 100th guest of the day with a chocolate covered gold Mickey bar. We were too far away to see if the gold Mickey bar was candy or ice cream.

It was nice to see that this “special touch” continues.

When our server brought the check she asked Woody and Em if they wanted to-go refills of their shakes. Woody declined, but Em said yes “because I feel like I never got a full shake to begin with!”

View attachment 339853

Lunch came to $82....about $30 higher than it used to be. Sigh.

Goodness gracious, it was hard to <like> that post!

 

[MinnieM123]

Lunch came to $82....about $30 higher than it used to be. Sigh.

 

[Rista1313]

Regular readers of my TRs may recall that The Plaza was one of our go-to restaurants. Rarely did we skip it, and there was a trip or two when we actually went twice.

The food was good and very reasonably priced ~ only a few dollars more than a counter service restaurant.

The shakes were phenomenal.

We knew the servers by name (and a few recognized us.)

And we always looked forward to a visit by Mayor Christopher George Weaver who would enter the restaurant with a flourish and choose a child (the “100th” guest of the day) as the “Junior Mayor of the Day.” (Smokey Miller the Fire Chief would do the honors on the Mayor’s day off.). The ceremony was one of those special touches that made Disney, “Disney”.

A couple years ago The Plaza began to lose its luster. The crispy signature fat fries were replaced by generic shoestrings. Entree prices increased by $3-4. Worst of all, the $5 shake was replaced with an all-you-can-drink shake for nine dollars....a single serving was no longer allowed, nor was “sharing” the all-you-can-drink.

Then the Mayor died.

Dining there lost its value to us. But as I mentioned earlier, Em got to choose the restaurants and she wanted to give The Plaza another try.

View attachment 339844

View attachment 339845

We did not know any of the servers. The one assigned to us did not show up for a LONG time. She was a bit scattered and did not refill our water glasses. Em and Woody ordered shakes which took FOREVER and when she delivered them this was all they got:
View attachment 339849
Usually the stainless steel container (that the shake was mixed in) with the remaining shake was brought to the table as well. Em thought perhaps this had changed too, until she noticed that every other table that had shakes also had the stainless steel containers.

Still there were smiles on their faces.

View attachment 339848

View attachment 339846

I am happy to report the food was good.
Cheesesteak for Em.
View attachment 339850

Club sandwich for Woody.
View attachment 339852

Gourmet chicken sandwich for me.
View attachment 339851

While we were eating a Main Street Suffragette entered and (with a little less flourish than the Mayor) presented the 100th guest of the day with a chocolate covered gold Mickey bar. We were too far away to see if the gold Mickey bar was candy or ice cream.

It was nice to see that this “special touch” continues.

When our server brought the check she asked Woody and Em if they wanted to-go refills of their shakes. Woody declined, but Em said yes “because I feel like I never got a full shake to begin with!”

View attachment 339853

Lunch came to $82....about $30 higher than it used to be. Sigh.

I've been looking at this place only because I want that fried green tomato sandwich, but I never see open ADRs for it. For $82 I can go to Homecoming!

 

[Zipadeelady]

I've suddenly become very depressed. Apparently the truth hurts. Anxiously awaiting a happier post, although that chicken sandwich look delicious. Is that arugula?

 

[sheriffwoody]

When our server brought the check she asked Woody and Em if they wanted to-go refills of their shakes. Woody declined, but Em said yes “because I feel like I never got a full shake to begin with!”

I so wish we'd asked for another shake when we went. I'm still bitter that we never got a refill...I need to speak up more.

 

[Tuvalu]

I've been looking at this place only because I want that fried green tomato sandwich, but I never see open ADRs for it. For $82 I can go to Homecoming!

The Plaza holds back reservations for same-day and during less busy periods accommodates walk-ups. It's tiny inside, hence the difficulty with ADRs.
OOP that sandwich would cost you $22 after tax/tip. Add in a beverage and/or dessert and you're easily between $30-35 for lunch at a sandwich shop. The DDP has especially hurt the value of The Plaza for cash diners.

I've suddenly become very depressed. Apparently the truth hurts. Anxiously awaiting a happier post, although that chicken sandwich look delicious. Is that arugula?

The sandwich was delicious and made this arugula-lover very happy. It was a bright spot in the dining experience. Happier posts will come.

I so wish we'd asked for another shake when we went. I'm still bitter that we never got a refill...I need to speak up more.

I definitely feel that the shakes are now designed as a cash-grab, based on our experience and yours. Plaza shakes have always been a favorite of mine but I refused to order one this visit because I felt fleeced.