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!!!!

 

[Songbird76]

Friday, con’t

AK closed at 8 pm and we ended up exiting with the masses. We had a very long wait for a bus which surprised me since the last time we’d left AK at park closing there were buses at every stop waiting for guests, with additional buses waiting to pull in after buses filled.

Upon boarding our bus we were met with strobe lighting ~ constant flickering off and on of the interior lights. It was awful and would certainly have triggered a migraine or seizure for anyone prone. We sat near the front and the bus filled to capacity. Before departing the driver was able to turn off the strobe.

But the “fun” didn’t stop. Standing in the aisle was mom, dad and 4-year-old Elliott who has likely never been told No. Ever. Elliott was not restrained by either of his parents and kept bumping into us, stepping on our feet and at one point sat down on Woody’s feet and proceeded to hit him in the leg ~ all the while whining at a volume passengers in the back of the bus could hear.

We said nothing, but at one point I glanced at mom who then loudly remarked, “Well if he had a seat he wouldn’t be bothering you.”

Honey, something tells me Elliott would still be bothering people even if he had a seat.

Thankfully WL was the first stop. As I stood up to leave, mom again insinuated that Elliott’s behavior was our fault: “I was taught that a man should always give up his seat.”

I looked her firmly in the eyes and said, “Well if he wasn’t a grandfather suffering with chronic back pain he WOULD have.”

There might have been steam coming from my ears when I rejoined Woody and Em.

We found a small surprise in our room.
View attachment 340532
(Perhaps because Mark heard the incessant drill noise when he let us into our old room?)

It was warm enough to stand on the balcony tonight....
View attachment 340528

....and enjoy Holiday Wishes.
View attachment 340529

View attachment 340531

View attachment 340530

Wow.....how entitled is that mom/Elliot? I think if she'd made the comment to me, or my husband about a "man" giving up his seat, I'd have said "And I was always taught that 'Parent' was a verb and the word 'no' wouldn't kill you."

Nice surprise, though, when you got back!

 

[Rista1313]

Thankfully WL was the first stop. As I stood up to leave, mom again insinuated that Elliott’s behavior was our fault: “I was taught that a man should always give up his seat.”

I would have said, "He does for elderly and handicap, of which you and your son are neither!"

 

[Tuvalu]

WOW--some people never cease to amaze me. How rude. Imagine what that kid is going to grow up to be like.....

Just like his momma.....

I've never seemed to really like other people's children, and this is why. I don't understand a lot of parents version of parenting.
I feel like that was horrible to say, I'm not horrible

You’re not horrible at all. She wasn’t parenting.

What the......
I would never question anyone who did not give up a seat! You never know what people are going through! That one time I got a concussion at Disney I distinctly remember being on a full bus but so dizzy that I was incapable of offering my seat to anyone even though I'm sure I look as healthy as can be. But also there is no rule that says you have to give up your seat. Sometimes a long day in the park makes you not want to. I'm glad you said something - good for you.

Thanks for the support.

I think if she'd made the comment to me, or my husband about a "man" giving up his seat, I'd have said "And I was always taught that 'Parent' was a verb and the word 'no' wouldn't kill you."

I this!

I would have said, "He does for elderly and handicap, of which you and your son are neither!"

Wish I had thought of that! Good one.

 

[Tuvalu]

The treat bucket was a nice touch, and probably especially nice to come back to after a long day and a trying bus ride.

Nice little treat bucket waiting for you in your room. But looking at it made me want Cheetos now...thanks.

The treat pail (there was a shovel too!) was very thoughtful.
And Cheetos will factor into this TR later!

 

[Tuvalu]

Saturday, December 1

Though I had started to feel better my cold came back fighting this morning. I woke up congested with a sore throat shortly after 5 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. I read until Woody got up and he offered to get breakfast for us.

It was a Muffin Morning.

We weren’t in a hurry to make rope drop but despite lingering in the room and stopping to do this....

....we were through the turnstiles at 9:15 am. Isn’t that the way things work when you aren’t in a hurry?! (This was also the day when Woody got pulled aside for turning Mickey’s head blue.)

 

[Tuvalu]

Though the sky was dreary all day, the wind gusts were warm which made park touring pleasant. Woody and I were glad the bitter cold from earlier in the week was gone!

We were headed to our first FP when I noticed there was no line for SSE.

Naturally we had to take advantage of that!

Then we made it to our original destination.

My “little” aviator is ready for take-off!

Front and center, no bendy monuments!

 

[Tuvalu]

We had front and center seats on the Holiday Farm Ride too.

 

[Tuvalu]

Where’s Nemo? We’d better find out!

Found him! Now let’s check on another friend.

We entered via the no-line entrance on the left.

 

[Tuvalu]

The muffins were not tiding us over and we were ready for an early lunch. As we walked towards World Showcase, we passed a group of four women wearing matching red tees inscribed with:
All I Want for Christmas is
John Stamos

That’s right, tonight was the first of two nights that John Stamos was hosting the Candlelight Processional. These gals were ready! (Who am I kidding, most women in Epcot that day were ready! )

Speaking of clever tees, two others we saw today:
I’m Working on My Santa Body
My Favorite Color is Christmas Lights

We did not have to venture far into WS.

These flowers were gorgeous!

Lunch was at La Cantina.

Em had a margarita.

Eating was a bit of a challenge due to the wind gusts, which blew our napkins off the table and almost took our food with it!

 

[MinnieM123]

We said nothing, but at one point I glanced at mom who then loudly remarked, “Well if he had a seat he wouldn’t be bothering you.”

And this is why Elliott is the little monster that he is . . .

 

[93boomer]

Friday, con’t

AK closed at 8 pm and we ended up exiting with the masses. We had a very long wait for a bus which surprised me since the last time we’d left AK at park closing there were buses at every stop waiting for guests, with additional buses waiting to pull in after buses filled.

Upon boarding our bus we were met with strobe lighting ~ constant flickering off and on of the interior lights. It was awful and would certainly have triggered a migraine or seizure for anyone prone. We sat near the front and the bus filled to capacity. Before departing the driver was able to turn off the strobe.

But the “fun” didn’t stop. Standing in the aisle was mom, dad and 4-year-old Elliott who has likely never been told No. Ever. Elliott was not restrained by either of his parents and kept bumping into us, stepping on our feet and at one point sat down on Woody’s feet and proceeded to hit him in the leg ~ all the while whining at a volume passengers in the back of the bus could hear.

We said nothing, but at one point I glanced at mom who then loudly remarked, “Well if he had a seat he wouldn’t be bothering you.”

Honey, something tells me Elliott would still be bothering people even if he had a seat.

Thankfully WL was the first stop. As I stood up to leave, mom again insinuated that Elliott’s behavior was our fault: “I was taught that a man should always give up his seat.”

I looked her firmly in the eyes and said, “Well if he wasn’t a grandfather suffering with chronic back pain he WOULD have.”

There might have been steam coming from my ears when I rejoined Woody and Em.

We found a small surprise in our room.
View attachment 340532
(Perhaps because Mark heard the incessant drill noise when he let us into our old room?)

It was warm enough to stand on the balcony tonight....
View attachment 340528

....and enjoy Holiday Wishes.
View attachment 340529

View attachment 340531

View attachment 340530

Bravo!!! Well said!

 

[93boomer]

The muffins were not tiding us over and we were ready for an early lunch. As we walked towards World Showcase, we passed a group of four women wearing matching red tees inscribed with:
All I Want for Christmas is
John Stamos

That’s right, tonight was the first of two nights that John Stamos was hosting the Candlelight Processional. These gals were ready! (Who am I kidding, most women in Epcot that day were ready! )

Speaking of clever tees, two others we saw today:
I’m Working on My Santa Body
My Favorite Color is Christmas Lights

We did not have to venture far into WS.

View attachment 340654

These flowers were gorgeous!
View attachment 340655

View attachment 340657

Lunch was at La Cantina.

View attachment 340656

Em had a margarita.
View attachment 340653

Eating was a bit of a challenge due to the wind gusts, which blew our napkins off the table and almost took our food with it!

I love their tacos!!! We eat here at least 2-3 times each trip! Yummy

 

[DisSplash]

Finally made it to the end, and cannot wait to read more! Sorry to hear that you were battling a cold the whole time, but it’s pretty clear you did not let it stop you!

Loved the business cards,
Loved the extra FP’s,
Love the Mickey Waffles made to order,
Love the WL tree, and the Tree Trail pics,
Loved the WL customer service - finally fixing bands, getting a new room, AND a bucket of candy to boot,
Loved the interaction with a bonafide Imagineer!!!
And loved to see that you don’t take crap from no one! .

Looking forward to hearing more about your Jolly Holiday!

 

[Tuvalu]

Finally made it to the end, and cannot wait to read more! Sorry to hear that you were battling a cold the whole time, but it’s pretty clear you did not let it stop you!

Loved the business cards,
Loved the extra FP’s,
Love the Mickey Waffles made to order,
Love the WL tree, and the Tree Trail pics,
Loved the WL customer service - finally fixing bands, getting a new room, AND a bucket of candy to boot,
Loved the interaction with a bonafide Imagineer!!!
And loved to see that you don’t take crap from no one! .

Looking forward to hearing more about your Jolly Holiday!

Such kind comments

 

[Tuvalu]

Saturday, con’t

I neglected to mention that before leaving Future World Em asked if we could pick up a map for Chip and Dale’s ornament hunt. She and I had Amazing Race fun last year trying to find Chip and/or Dale hidden with an “ornament” in each country of World Showcase. The challenge at first was not knowing what, exactly, we were looking for. We began by looking for actual ornaments (since it was called an “ornament hunt”) and eventually discovered the chipmunks were in a wreath holding each ornament.

Em and I had begun in Canada and never found that one (but I did a couple weeks later when I returned with Woody), so we’d kinda cheated when we placed the final sticker on our map.

Today, however, we vowed not to turn in our map until we’d discovered ALL the wreaths. And now that we had Woody with us, we had an extra set of eyes!

Since we were already in Mexico that’s where our hunt began.

Last year we had the most difficulty (after Canada) finding those chipmunks in Mexico. Em and I decided that must have been intentional ~ guests would start their hunt in either Mexico or Canada so why make the beginning easy?

I must boast that I found the wreath in less than a minute.

Woody was impressed, but I figured it would be up high like last year (though in a different spot.) We celebrated by searching for Donald.

Moving onto Arendelle Norway.

Em discovered this one.

(Did you notice it when C was perusing the Helly Hansen merch, @wdisney9000?)

 

[Tuvalu]

China was challenging.

We spent a lot of time in the gift store, then checked the Shanghai exhibit and waiting area for Reflections of China. Nada.

Before giving up we scanned the outdoor courtyard.
Em found it!

Thus far our “extra set of eyes” hadn’t been much help!

 

[Tuvalu]

As we were walking out of China, I noticed an unattended black rolling carry-on bag in front of the stage. The stage was being used for performances of the Chinese New Year Lion Dance. The next show wasn’t for awhile and there weren’t any cast members around....in fact the area around the stage was void of any people, which really made the suitcase placement odd.

None of us wanted to get close to it (you can’t be too careful nowadays) so we stood at a distance watching to see if anyone came to claim the bag. No one did.

I was just about to alert a cast member when I saw a security guard approach the bag. He did a quick scan of the area before picking up the suitcase and carrying it off.

Whatever happened next remains a mystery.

Excitement over, we carried on to Germany where we found a bit of China...

Teen boys. ‘Nuff said.

Em didn’t find the wreath straight away as something else captured her attention:

Sorry Em, that’s not in the Christmas budget this year!

The task of locating the wreath was mine.
Found it!

Is it possible to pass by the train display and not stop to look?

 

[Tuvalu]

Poinsettia tree (bush?) in Italy.

We checked the interior of the gift shops to no avail. But Woody finally came through for us!

This was above a little-used exit door.

Em couldn’t resist the Mickey Santa topiary.....

....or the plaza of poinsettias.

I used “Woody smarts” to find the wreath in ‘MERICA.

And after much hunting in Mitsukoshi (gosh that store is huge!) we were able to place our sticker on Japan.

Do you think she’s thumbing her nose at the pseudo man-bun?

 

[Tuvalu]

We were on the homeward stretch, having pasted 7 of the 11 stickers on our map. But we were growing weary, not due to the hunt itself but due to the massive crowds clogging not only the Promenade but the shops.

We needed a few minutes to rest. The quiet courtyard in Morocco was the perfect spot.

And we were able to spot the wreath from the comfort of our bench.

The wreath in France was easy to find.

Though it was tempting to go inside Les Halles for a tasty treat, I had my heart set on something else. Em and Woody were game, so we went here:

We shared two Yule Logs ~ chocolate cake with dark chocolate caramel ganache.

Three thumbs up!

 

[Tuvalu]

Time to cross over the bridge.

Wonder if Guardians of the Galaxy will be the same “go away gray” as Test Track?

I do know that whoever found the U.K. wreath was of the female persuasion.

We’d made it to our former nemesis ~ Canada. (No offense meant to @amjt660 or @Matt and Kelly .) Em and I were determined to win this time!

I’m happy to report it did not take long....but embarrassed to say I don’t remember who spotted it!

An honest completion....of the Christmas Tree Spree? (Apparently I didn’t notice the name change this year! )

But in my defense, this name makes as much sense as ornament hunt!

Em showed her map to a CM inside and received her Major Award.

A cute set of 5 Minnie Christmas cards.