Trip Report The "Who Only Wants ONE Disney Christmas trip?!? Let's Do It Again!! Trip Report

Hello everyone!!!!

My name's Michelle and I love Disney! My last trip was in February 2016. (Hiiiiii Michelle!)

Isn't that how these addiction groups work????

In all seriousness though, I just got back from our fourth trip in the last two and a half years! And it's been a great two and a half years!!!!!

Here's the deets-

When- 11/12 - 11/22

Where- 7 nights at Bay Lake Tower in a 2 bedroom theme park view villa (still can't believe that actually happened by the way. Never in a million years did I think I would have a room with a theme park view!) And then 3 nights at Wilderness Lodge in adjoining rooms.

What- 10 day park hoppers, deluxe dining plan, 3 Very Merry Christmas parties, 1 Jingle Bell Jingle Bam Dessert Party, 1 Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage.... we were not messing around this trip!!!

Who- My best friend Amy (who is actually a DVC member and loves Disney just as much as I do!) and I decided to take my two kids Calvin (age 8) and Claire (age 6) and her two youngest kids Leionna (age 12) and Landon (age 9).
Amy's husband is a firefighter and due to an awesome promotion to lieutenant, he unfortunately had to go away for two months for training. We were looking for a reason to go back at Christmas time and this was perfect! Our trip was right in the middle of his training. My husband is a teacher and can only go during school breaks so this was a perfect time for us to take a trip together without the husbands!!!

Why? Because we like you! No seriously though if you are on this website reading trip reports, I think you know the why!

We also decided to surprise the kids the day before we left which was so much fun-

https://www.facebook.com/michelle.w.salisbury/posts/10154188354405668

We had a 7:00 am flight so we had to be up bright and early at 3:30. We didn't mind though- WE WERE GOING TO DISNEY FOR 11 DAYS!!!!! Mine and my kids longest trip yet! (Amy's family has gone for two weeks at Easter before)

FULL DISCLOSURE- We wear a lot of matching shirts!

Everything went off without a hitch at the airport and before we knew it we were on a jet plane to Orlando!!!!

We are ready!!!!

Two and half short hours later, we had left the frigid 30- 40 degree weather of Buffalo behind for 75 degrees and sunny Orlando!!!! Woohoo!!!!!

The sign that brings happiness to millions!

We lucked out and got to stop at Wilderness Lodge to drop people off before arriving at Bay Lake Tower and were able at least show the kids the front of it and the grounds. None of us had ever stayed at either resort so we were pretty excited!

We were dropped off at Bay Lake Tower and quickly let the front desk know that we were there. That lobby smells amazing by the way! Amy thought it was a little too "perfumey" but I loved it. Not as much as the Beach Club lobby, but it was still pretty good!!!!

We took an elevator to the 5th floor walkway to the Contemporary - we had a lunch date with the Big Cheese himself at Chef Mickey's!!!!!

Admiring the awesome view!

Pre- stuffing our faces Photopass shot-

More on our first Chef Mickey's lunch later today!!! Thanks for reading along!!!

 

[mishel635]

Next up- Toyland!

And now for my favorite part of the parade.... the toy soldiers!!!! They are so awesome and I can't imagine the amount of work and dedication that they put in.

Love them!!!!


Santa's reindeer - you know what that means!

The big guy himself is coming!

And now, I know a lot of people feel very strongly against these, but this is the exact reason why I rented a stroller for my six year old who hasn't used one at home since she was four (we don't own one anymore)

I looked away for two seconds to throw some garbage away and discuss our plan for the rest of the night and found this! Even though she LOVED the parade and was having a blast, she needed a break! And because I had this, she snoozed while we got some snacks and Amy and the kids rode a few rides while I sat with Claire and called my husband to check in and see how he was doing.

After they grabbed some hot cocoa and white chocolate peppermint cookies in Tomorrowland, we headed back to the castle to catch Holiday Wishes and Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration.

Tink flew right over us! We had never seen her from this view before since we are almost always in front of the castle.

 

[mishel635]

We then starting heading over to the front of the castle to check out the brand new holiday castle show - Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration! I was a little skeptical about this because I really liked the old holiday castle show that we had seen for the first time the year before.

Close up of the castle-

Claire was awake again and ready for the show by this point.

Clarabelle!!!

Up next- Jessie and Woody!

 

[Courtney6682]

Awesome start! Love all your shirts, they are too cute. Following...

 

[mishel635]

Up next- the Three Caballeros!!!!! A nice surprise!






This show was excellent! Wonderful music and SO many characters. Definitely worth checking it out!

So. Many. Characters.

 

[mishel635]

https://www.facebook.com/michelle.w.salisbury/posts/10154272897095668


Final verdict........ We LOVED it! Just as good as last years castle show and with way more characters!

 

[mishel635]

Day 3 - EPCOT!!!!! Magic Kingdom is my happy place, but Epcot comes in at a close second for my favorite park!

We grabbed a quick breakfast in the room, splashed some Baileys in our coffee, and we were ready to go!

On today's agenda was running to Soarin' and Test track and try to meet Joy and Sadness. Lunch at San Angel Inn in Mexico, the last day of the Food and Wine festival, and then Amy and I had made a reservation for the kids at Lilo's Playhouse at the Polynesian for the first time. We were planning on taking them there and then heading back to Epcot to enjoy snacking and drinking around the World Showcase. Both Amy and I, and the kids were excited about it!

Took the monorail from the Contemporary to the TTC to switch to the Epcot monorail-

We, of course had to grab a few Photopass shots at the entrance-

We went in and went straight to Soarin'. It was our first time riding the new Soarin' and we LOVED it! I will admit I missed the pine trees and the orange groves, but the new ride is amazing too!

We stopped at the Joy and Sadness meet and greet but it was already up to 30 minutes so we decided to skip it and try on our next Epcot day.

We headed over to Test Track which is one of our kids' favorite rides.

Designing our car!

We still had some time to kill before our lunch reservation so we ran to one of my favorites- Spaceship Earth!

I really love this ride!!!!

 

[mishel635]

That's my girl! (I really just love her outfit! )

My favorite part of this ride is actually at the end where you're in space looking at the Earth- and we got stuck in there for a few minutes! I was never so happy for a ride to stop!

What can I say??? We like to party....

We headed back towards the Seas for our next fastpass - Nemo!

In a big blue world.....

 

[mishel635]

It was time for our lunch reservation at San Angel Inn so we headed over to Mexico. I was really excited to try this restaurant.

The atmosphere was fantastic!!

But not as fantastic as this avocado margarita!!!!! Oh. My. Goodness. Soooooo good!!!!!!

I have had the classic margarita and the pineapple margarita from La Cava de Tequila but I've always wanted to try this one and it was by far the best margarita I've ever had! Highly recommended!!


Oh yeah, we had food there too.

Sorry, no food pics. It was pretty dark in there and I forgot to take any.

For appetizers, we got the queso fundido and the tacos de vegetables. Both were very good. They also brought out chips and salsa and the kids got fruit salad.

For entrees we got the beef tacos and the chicken enchiladas. The boys got the New York strip steak and the girls got the cheese quesadillas. Everything was really good and our server was great. I would definitely recommend this restaurant.

After lunch we rode the Three Caballeros boat ride. My kids and I love this ride but it was the first time for Amy and the kids.

I really love the fireworks on this ride.

It was then time for our Frozen fastpass. We were all really looking forward to our first time riding this.

I really love all the details of the queue.
We really felt like we were outside.

 

[bebert]

Heading to Bay Lake on Sunday and eating at Wave sometime next week.
Did you like Wave?
Are the pools heated?

 

[sheriffwoody]

Loving your report! The Pirates and Pals fireworks thing sounds so fun to me. So does a pitcher of mimosas at the pool!

 

[mishel635]

Heading to Bay Lake on Sunday and eating at Wave sometime next week.
Did you like Wave?
Are the pools heated?

We really did like the Wave. Service was great and the atmosphere is pretty neat. We all liked our meals. And since you're staying at Bay Lake it's just a quick walk over there.
The pool was heated when we were there but I did think it was a little on the cool side (not too bad, but it did take me a few minutes to ease in. ) They have a splash pad and big and little kid water slides that the kids loved. Hope you have a great trip!!

Loving your report! The Pirates and Pals fireworks thing sounds so fun to me. So does a pitcher of mimosas at the pool!

Pirates and Pals was definitely worth it!!! And so were the mimosas!!!!! Thanks for following along!

 

[mishel635]

Overall, I think this is a great ride and the kids loved it! (Although I definitely will miss Maelstrom!)

We had to pop in and see our favorite troll!

From Norway, we started heading around the world. We didn't really stop in china at all this trip. We had told the kids about Pick a Pearl in Japan and they were very excited to try it!

Made a quick pit stop in Germany for a sea salt caramel from Karmell Kuche (my favorite place to grab snacks! It smells like heaven in there!!!)

Made our way to Japan and got in line for the Pick a Pearl experience! I had never done this before either so I was pretty excited!

The kids were playing close attention as she explained what to do. Leionna and Landon picked theirs and then Calvin was up and picked his pearl. She said it was a bigger sized white pearl. (7 and 3/4 I think?)

Next up was Claire and she picked...... TWINS!
She was so excited!

We bought the kids pearl cage necklaces before we left and gave them to them that day and they were so excited to put their pearls in them!

Calvin and Landon's were Mickey -

And Claire and Leionna's were Cinderella's carriage-

And then it was time to hop on the monorail to the Polynesian! Amy and I had decided that we wanted to be able to take our time, kid-free, and enjoy the Food and Wine Festival. We had never used any of the kids' services at Disney, but once I showed the kids a video of Lilo's Playhouse, they couldn't wait to check it out!

We booked it way ahead of time, and signed them in when we got there, and were able to pick their dinner from basic kids meal choices. They did tons of crafts, sang songs, did a science experiment, and played video games. The girls working there were great! It was technically from 4:00 - 12:00 but we told the kids we would pick them up around 9:30-10:00. We didn't really want them there that late, and by 10:00 they are all usually ready for bed it we aren't running around at one of the parks. We got there at 9:30 and the girls working said "you have to let them stay for ten more minutes. The big surprise is coming now!" And in walks Chip and Dale! They stayed for about fifteen minutes, dancing and playing with them. It was fantastic!!!! They loved it and said they would love to go back!

I couldn't take pics once the kids were signed in, but they let me take a pic before any kids were there-

Up next- our night at Epcot for the last night of Food and Wine!!!

 

[PacNWTigger]

I love the pearl cages! Such a cute idea. I'll have to check that out on my next trip.

 

[PrincessL]

Looks like you had a great trip!! Love all the shirts and I'll be trying the avocado marg Mind if I ask what time the pirate cruise started?

 

[DimpledDevil18]

I love all your shirts so cute! I also love the pearl cages, especially the Cinderella carriage. I would like to do Pick a Pearl some day. I did it at Seaworld awhile back and got my pearl attached to a dolphin pendant. I'd love something Disney related though!

 

[blreinsel]

If you don't mind my asking, how much does pick a pearl cost and how much more are the carriage pendants? I've been wanting to do one on my last couple of trips but just haven't gotten around to it! Hoping to fit it in this time.

 

[mishel635]

I love the pearl cages! Such a cute idea. I'll have to check that out on my next trip.

Thanks! There are lots to choose from on Etsy!

Looks like you had a great trip!! Love all the shirts and I'll be trying the avocado marg Mind if I ask what time the pirate cruise started?

Thanks! The start time changes every night based on what time Wishes is scheduled for.

I love all your shirts so cute! I also love the pearl cages, especially the Cinderella carriage. I would like to do Pick a Pearl some day. I did it at Seaworld awhile back and got my pearl attached to a dolphin pendant. I'd love something Disney related though!

Thanks for following along! There are tons to choose from on Etsy!

If you don't mind my asking, how much does pick a pearl cost and how much more are the carriage pendants? I've been wanting to do one on my last couple of trips but just haven't gotten around to it! Hoping to fit it in this time.

Pick a Pearl was $18 I believe. The carriage pendant was $12 plus shipping. It was fun!

 

[mishel635]

Sorry for the long break! Work unfortunately got really busy in the last couple weeks and with Christmas and New Years, I just haven't had much time to be online!

So we dropped the kids off at Lilo's Playhouse- here's another pic-

And then we hopped on the monorail back to Bay Lake Tower to freshen up and change, fill our refillable mugs with Moscow Mules and head on our way to our first time at the Food and Wine Festival!!!!

I was so excited to skip the bag check line! We had our mugs in hand and our ID's and passholder card in our pockets...... aaaaaaand we got picked for extra security!

It was quick and painless though and before we knew it we were in!

Once our Photopass photographer saw the backs of our shirts she made us take another pic-

We made our way in and headed towards the World Showcase...

We grabbed a rum Dole whip to split and were unimpressed. They basically just poured a shot of rum over a Dole Whip. We tried mixing it in but it didn't really work. Not worth it in my opinion.

However the food from the Greek booth WAS worth it! So good!!!! We split a spanakopita and quickly got back in line so we could each have one.

We then headed to France to grab Grey Goose slushies.... yum!!!!! We poured them into our refillable mugs and were on our way! We love our kids, but it was SO nice to leisurely stroll through Epcot at night without them!

By the way- two slushies fit perfectly in a refillable mug!

We stopped at the Japan booth and split an order of garlic shrimp which was good -

We stopped for a minute and listened to some music by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy- they were good but I was pretty bummed we missed Boyz II Men by two days!!!

We then had the only thing we didn't like that night-

Amy and I both love Sanaa so I thought we would like both of these. We each got an order of both but they were so spicy!!!!! Even Amy who likes spicy food couldn't eat the beef tips. Someone must have put a few too many jalapeños in there!!!!

After throwing away our beef tips
we were able to see fireworks from Hollywood Studios-

 

[blreinsel]

Your evening in Epcot sounds like so much fun! I love the idea of pouring the slushy into your mug.. Never would have thought of it! The glasses they come in are impossible to carry around without spilling!

 

[DimpledDevil18]

Your evening in Epcot sounds like so much fun! I love the idea of pouring the slushy into your mug.. Never would have thought of it! The glasses they come in are impossible to carry around without spilling!

I second this. They are fine if you are going to sit and sip, but if you are on the run you have to drink almost half before you start moving. I may have to try this too... Although I do always feel fancy with the glasses they come in.