Trip Report We needed a little (Disney) Christmas, right that very minute!!!

This isn't going to be much of a trip report, but Sam (DD16) and I did spend about 3 hours on WDW property yesterday because we were in Florida, she was done with showcase play, Clearwater/St. Pete isn't too far of a drive, we weren't flying out of Tampa until 5:30am this morning, and I had some reward dollars to burn. Ya know, sometimes you just NEED some Disney style Christmas in your life.

I literally went back and forth debating with myself for several days about booking an ADR. I knew we wanted monorail loop and I was leaning towards casual because I'd have a kid covered in dirt. Yeah, I could have taken her back to our hotel to shower and clean up first, but once she gets dirty, she's just sort of done for the day until a pre-bedtime shower. I had thought about Narcoosee's (before thinking about my dirty child), but we had really good seafood in Indian Rocks Beach on Friday, so I passed. My parents had made the drive up from south FL to watch Sam play and were also staying through Monday. So, I initially decided to book a party of 4 at Steakhouse 71 for all of us thinking we all might like that, but my dad treated us to Bascom's Chop House in Clearwater on Saturday night. So, I changed gears for WDW and booked a 6:25pm spot at 'Ohana. My parents decided to back out of our WDW plans yesterday afternoon because of my dad's mobility issues. They're going in a few weeks as they still have their APs. I think they were afraid of how rushed Sam and I were going to be and just decided it best to sit this one out.

We got a little bit of time with my parents back at our hotel before it was time to head off towards Orlando. I had tried taking a pic of one of the first Disney highway signs, but see how that went...

Sam took over after that.

She initially mentioned wanting to soak in the moment and put the phone down (I left my camera gear at the hotel). She went as far as telling me that I've been here before and have plenty of pictures. I made a brief challenge, saying we hadn't been on WDW property in nearly 4 years and surely things have changed. I think my phone sat there for all of a minute at most before she just started taking pics. I also think she realized she could soak and photograph.

We were running a little early. We had a 6:25pm ADR, it was just after 5pm and I wanted to use our time wisely, because we'd definitely need a trip around the monorail. Still, I wanted to see some other spots just to make it feel like we were really there. So, I ticked off my navigation and turned from World Dr. towards the Epcot area resorts. We haven't been since February 2021, so I guess this was our first time seeing the fully completed Swan Reserve...not that she took any pictures and it was behind me by the time I stopped.

I took over my phone briefly while we were stopped at the light, getting some random pics of people playing golf at Fantasia Gardens as well as a street sign to remind myself of where I turned. Riveting stuff.

 

[cgersic]

Woohooo!!! I'll take a few hours with you lovely ladies at WDW for sure!

 

[Swissmiss]

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Sam was soaking things in again as I turned onto Epcot Resorts Blvd. So, we just chatted it up. She mentioned how the swans on the Swan look like swans, but that the Dolphin is adorned with glorified fish. I told her I thought the same thing during one of our 1980s visits when it was under construction. I remember being so confused about why they were calling it the Dolphin.

As we passed by the Yacht Club, I shared with her something that occurred to me on the drive over (while she was sleeping). Exactly 12 years ago, we were staying at YC for her 4th birthday trip. We had gone to HS that day and their time in Osborne Lights that evening had inspired the name to that TR (I think it was something like "In Search of the Purple Cat..."). It was about that time that she decided to start taking pics again. Of course, it was Beach Club, but Cape May had been our first character meal of that 2012 trip. So, it works.

I know I've shared it before (probably with the one over by the Contemporary), but I think this was the first time she paid attention to me talking about us driving "under water."

No pics of Boardwalk (the site of our last WDW trip stay), but she was having fun taking Skyliner pics...

...as well as a bunch of Swan and Dolphin ones. I love them all, but it'll just seem redundant if I share everything.

I think this was also about the time I really regretted not making this last night a full Disney night and possibly flying through MCO vs. TPA. I know one family on our team went through Orlando, but I think it was just because everything through Tampa that would work for schedules was sold out. Both of our flights were filled with softball people and the flight that got us there on Thursday night was 100% full. We flew Southwest and while I've stopped bothering with Early Bird, I checked in 24-hours on the dot... still only got B38 and B39. I had higher hopes for our 5:30am flight this morning. It was better, but still, I was hoping with such an early check in that we might manage to crack our way into group A. Nope...B2 and B3. Oh well, I saved around $550 flying out of TPA this morning and Sam arrived during 1st period at school.

 

[rshell68]

the Dolphin is adorned glorified fish

You are right! I didn't really notice until I looked at your picture. Dolphins don't have scales!!

 

[k8einwdw]

She mentioned how the swans on the Swan look like swans, but that the Dolphin is adorned glorified fish. I told her I thought the same thing during one of our 1980s visits when it was under construction. I remember being so confused about why they were calling it the Dolphin.

It’s a dolphin fish, also known as a Mahi-Mahi.

 

[rshell68]

It’s a dolphin fish, also known as a Mahi-Mahi.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

It’s a dolphin fish, also known as a Mahi-Mahi.

I can't even make that association. It looks like the koi variety with the giant scales. I just can't get Mahi/Dorado/Dolphin from their sculptural depiction. I'm trying...really trying!

 

[donaldtoo]

I can't even make that association. It looks like the koi variety with the giant scales. I just can't get Mahi/Dorado/Dolphin from their sculptural depiction. I'm trying...really trying!

View attachment 826093

Yep, same here.
To me anyway, those “dolphins” have always looked like fat carp…!!!!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

So, all of that dolphin discussion is making me want some mahi! I had a nice mahi sandwich the other day. Too bad it's not as common on menus at home. Oh well, moving on...

I was getting tired of Maps yelling at me, so I headed back to World Dr.

I know some of you followed our Disneyland TR this past summer. One of Sam's biggest complaints was the Monorail. Yes, we rode DL's twice and one of the times actually served a transportation purpose (vs. just a ride). At that point it was anything to save my poor feet and toes. Speaking of...I am FINALLY wearing shoes with backs again. I think it's been almost a month. I never want to do another Disney trip where I can't wear cushy shoes. In any event, Sam got all excited when she spotted her first WDW monorail of the trip.

This was also about the time when Sam started talking about wishing we could take a real trip to WDW. She's well aware of how much of our vacation time and budget goes into softball, so this isn't any kind of entitlement thing. If anything, she is so grateful and thanks us all the time for how much we have invested into her sports life. She, like the rest of us, miss some of these trips we had when she was younger and understands that you have to make sacrifices sometimes to do big things. If anything, she's looking forward to a time when she and Kendall are independent adults and we can travel together to WDW as a "grown up" family.

After the monorail, I said "FIGMENT BUS!!!!!" I don't think Sam shared my enthusiasm, but she did take a couple of pics.

She didn't even have to ask about the MK gate!

It's obviously been a number of years for us, but didn't they used to put up holiday decorations on the gate? I seem to remember a snowman and maybe some lit pine decor. Am I remembering correctly? Or did it go the way of things like the Dreamlights? It was a party night, so I would have expected it to be festive by this point. I think those may be wreaths on there, so semi-festive, but I just seem to remember more in the pre-Covid world.

And more monorail pics!

We still had some more time to spare (in my opinion), so I decided to skip the turn onto Seven Seas and stay on World Dr up to the Contemporary.

She also was kind enough to get several of the tree!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

So, I was starting to think we should turn around and head to the Poly (finally!). Maps was telling me to take a U-Turn at the light, but it wanted me to follow the buses in the Bus Only lane into the MK bus area. There was an Orange County officer right there, so I couldn't do that. I went straight, but it wanted me to turn into the Contemporary. I didn't want to do that either. In hindsight, I probably could have taken World up to Floridian and looped around the back of MK, but I wound up making a U-Turn right by Space Mountain. So, this was my view during the red light while I contemplated my dilemma. (turned red by the time I got up to the intersection)

Funny observation 1- Sam took A LOT of pictures of Space Mountain. Something about it having a more impressive look than Disneyland's.
Funny observation 2 - About 10 minutes after Sam took that Minnie Van pic, she had a lightbulb moment. She suddenly understood that it's Minnie vs. mini.
Funny 3 - Sam didn't realize how sensitive my phone can be and took a number of pics of her legs.

I was finally headed in the right direction and I didn't get in trouble! We pulled up to the guard shack a little over an hour to ADR time and we were greeted by a wonderful CM. He told me I had up to 2 hours to park before my ADR. Now, I heard it was 3 altogether, but still...I was finally feeling good about parking. He also gave me a really solid A-LOOOOO-HAA!!!!

Now to find a place to park.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

There were a decent amount of open spaces in the Poly lot, but it's also a pretty large lot and I didn't want to park a mile away. The sun was setting and as Sam put it - really aggressive - every time I turned towards the west. At one point, it was distorting things so much that she even thought I had turned to drive down a walkway. No, it was just a one way and narrow for that reason.

We eventually found something (not that I paid any attention to where specifically after we got out and started walking) and it was time to head in...

She was pretty giddy that I was doing all of this that she was even on board for pictures!!! See...she really is dirty!

The Poly isn't my favorite resort, but it is the one she asked for because it really feels like Disney. I can't disagree. Walking into this area before entering certainly gives me an "I'm actually here!" sort of feeling.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The resort branded mat also helps...

I still have such fond memories of the old lobby water feature, but this has grown on me over the years.

We didn't want to waste a ton of time, so we dashed upstairs to catch the monorail. We'd be starting out on Coral...

Sam was content to stay on board. I was not. Maybe it's all of the traveling, maybe it's having one off at school, or maybe it's the business at work...but I just haven't been feeling excited about the holidays. I really needed to go in the GF and see the tree and the gingerbread to see if it sparked anything. So, we got ready to exit as the monorail approached the station.

I don't know why, but I looked down at the deer on the first level entry and I was a little disappointed that they weren't lit. Yes, I know the sun was just setting, but I had really wanted to see some twinkling. Oh well, the main attractions we were hoping to see were inside.

And there they are...in all of their glory!!!

I didn't feel like we had enough time to head down to the first level and be right on top of it. It's too bad because I think I would have started getting into the Christmas spirit if I smelled the gingerbread. It also might have helped if I could hear holiday music. Speaking of...the GF usually has this distinctive floral scent, but it occurred to me that I've never really smelled it (or at least not prominently) during our holiday visits. I suspect they are trying to have the gingerbread stand out.

It wasn't much of a visit, but I got to see my favorite of the trees and the gingerbread. It was time to move on. We were actually so quick inside that Monorail Coral was still loading when we got out. We unfortunately were farther back in the line, so we had to wait on the next one. A few minutes later, we were at the back of Yellow...

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I'm always one for pics of things like sunset and the moon. When you've got a kid in an outdoor sport, you get a lot of them. This was all that was really left of the sunset when we got back on the monorail.

Normally, I'd be a bit bummed that I didn't have better viewpoints and angles, but we had two great sunsets this trip. Not Disney ones, but I briefly stepped away from dinner to walk up to the beach on Friday. The only regret was sticking to my phone for the sunsets.

Sam was engrossed with fun stuff with her teammates, but we both headed out to the beach after dinner to get the last of the pretty colors.

I'm not a beach person, but I had to also get some video of the waves and colors. That's Venus in the western sky.



We were also on the 8th floor of our hotel with a western exposure. So, I got sunset on Saturday as well. This time, I probably could have taken out the real camera but I was tired and feeling lazy.

Truth be told, it would be the moon that was the "star" during our brief time at WDW...but we're not quite there yet. Still, the pics above kind of highlight where my mind was at and why some of the photos in the next few posts probably look like I'm doing all that I can to try and get sunset colors.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The reality...I wasn't really at WDW to see sunsets. Not that I wasn't going to keep trying to get sky colors into my pics when possible...as well as an awkward angle on Sam's face!

Oh, and it was the cutest thing. Right as we were getting ready to pull away from the GF station and the standard monorail spiel played, one of the little girls in those strollers started to repeat the spiel to her parents. She couldn't have been more than 3. The dad was so moved by it (clearly a Disney fan) that he was begging her to repeat it for the camera. Almost like a child's first steps!!!

I was really about the next couple of stops on the monorail. Not the greatest pics, but I was just so happy to see it. It's also the first time I've seen any of it decked out for Christmas since I ran into MK during the 2020 half marathon.

While MK isn't my favorite park to visit (it's #2), it is my favorite to see. I'm sure many of us feel the same way. Seeing the castle is EVERYTHING! It hit even a bit harder after being around Disneyland's castle this summer (sorry DLR fans). We had gotten some glimpses of it when we were approaching the Contemporary while we were driving and I could hear the train whistle as we were walking into the Poly, but this was the closest we'd get all visit and it really hit all of the Disney magic receptors in the brain. We also slowed a bit before the Contemporary, so I was able to get a bit more of the area as well as some Tomorrowland.

Oh, and the monorail was now also PACKED! It was a MVMCP night, we were approaching 6pm, and all of those tired people leaving MK that weren't staying for the party had loaded onto the monorail. I saw a younger version of me in the exhausted faces of all of those parents.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

As some of you may recall, the Contemporary is my favorite resort. So, we had to get out...even if it was just another quick little run through.

See, here I go again with trying to get sunset colors!

I will say that I miss the big Mickey ear wreath structure they used to mount on the side. 2010 may be the last year I remember seeing it. It still doesn't hit as hard as the losses of Osborne Lights and the castle Dreamlights. In fact, I'm blaming the lack of Dreamlights for me not getting as many holiday warm fuzzies as I was hoping to experience.

We didn't have a ton of time, but we did walk around really quickly to use the restrooms and I got a couple of pics along the way...ya know, because I needed a Mary Blair fix!

I was kind of nervous about the wait since the monorail line was LONG. So, we headed back up as quickly as possible. I was a bit bummed that there were no characters in view at Chef Mickey's.

Yeah...more sunset...

While the star is clear in this pic, I also noticed that there appears to have been what I think was a hawk on the star when we drove by earlier. It was definitely a larger bird, not eagle looking, and similar to some of the hawks we've seen hanging out in the TTC. Which reminds me, at some point in this mini report, I'll have to share the pics of the ospreys that were nesting at the softball fields.

And more Mary...

I also see that the Contemporary's gingerbread is now waaaaaaaaay down on the end. I guess it's easier not having it right in the middle of everything with the monorail and dining entrances. Never one of my faves, so I was fine with only getting this mini view. I will say it would have looked really neat to have the gingerbread in this spot with that Mickey wreath overhead. Hey, a girl can keep hoping that maybe one day they'll bring these things back, right?

 

[cgersic]

I too miss the Dreamlights and the Osborne Lights.

Loving the pictures as usual!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

While it was standing room only, Sam and I managed to get onto the next monorail. This time, we were on Monorail Blue. I know the guy whose head made it into this pic thought I was photographing him, but clearly...I was trying to cut him out as much as possible.

This is also where I stopped really trying for the pretty colors. The pinks and oranges in the sky around the illuminated GF were stunning, but the monorail jerked a little which caused my hand to move. So, this is what I got. Beautiful, right?

We stopped at the TTC and as I expected, most of the people got off.

Next stop...the Poly! When we'd walked through earlier, there was a massive line to check in for 'Ohana, but it was down to nothing when we came in. Considering how well the app works for check in, I have no idea why so many people were lined up. I guess maybe it was people trying for walk ups or that new sort of standby feature? Either way, we had an ADR and still had about 7 minutes until I'd be eligible for check in. So, we browsed the merch...

I actually sent David a pic of that coat because he loves Stitch and it comes in adult sizes.

Like clockwork, I was allowed to check in exactly 15 minutes before ADR time. I was also able to shift my party size at this point and add in a little something special. Sam had to check out the pins as we approached the area. I reminded her that she had nothing to trade, but she still wanted to look. Oh, and there was absolutely no line at this point! Crazy how it went from being backed up to the 2nd floor monorail entrance to nothing.

I also started taking pics of holiday decor in hopes that it would start getting me in a festive mood.

We then took a couple of seats to begin the wait while I reminisced about times when we waited 40+ minutes to be seated for 'Ohana. Ahhhhh...the olden days!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I too miss the Dreamlights and the Osborne Lights.

Loving the pictures as usual!

I am not very optimistic about them ever coming back. I think the work was so manual and people found the crane to be too intrusive that I can see them relying strictly on projection and basic illumination for the future. It's really too bad because it's just not nearly as good.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

So, all of that talk about our long waits at 'Ohana had us a little worried. There weren't a ton of people in the sitting area. Although, there was a pretty substantial crown in Tambu. Still, up until our 2017 visit, we ALWAYS had long waits to be seated for dinner. Dinner in 2017, we checked in early, were seated early, and were also "treated" to a speed dining experience. In fact, it's that meal that had me worried we'd be in for an instant replay of the quickest meal ever at 'Ohana. We'd soon find out, because after about 5 minutes of sitting...our table was ready.

So, I may have had a little trouble finding the second podium! We did eventually find it and we were greeted by a super upbeat CM. I hadn't told Sam, but I added her birthday to the reservation at check in. Needless to say, she was startled when the CM asked whose birthday we were celebrating. I know Disney is good with celebrating 365 days a year, but I always feel bad if we're not even close or if it's not something where we delayed a celebration to do things at Disney. I reminded myself that we were there for these exact dates in 2012 and she did bday stuff the entire time. Her actual bday was about a week and a half before this visit, she turned 16, she passed her test for her license on her actual bday, got her physical license a week later, and got her official school parking spot the day we left for FL. In fact, one of our "cousins" was strolling around on his ukulele and serenading all of those celebrating birthdays right as she was leading us to our table. So, it felt right.

Where we were seated was also a bit of a trip down memory lane. We were in that area on the righthand side (if facing MK). I don't always love sitting over here, but it sort of got more memories going. In addition to our 2017 dinner visit, we had breakfast here with my family. We were a party of 10 and the 2-top Sam and I were seated at was the very end of the table we set up we had for that 2017 family breakfast. We were also sitting diagonally across from the table we were at for the girls' very first visit to 'Ohana in 2011.

It was around 6:20pm (about 5 minutes before our actual ADR time) and we were ready for some food!!!

Seriously, we were starving. I had a couple of linzer torte cookies around 8am and Sam had a couple of Fiber One brownies around the same time. That was all we'd eaten for the day. Sam "may" have had a couple more when we popped into the room, but I certainly didn't have anything else. Normally she'd eat again after play, but we were in such a rush that we both decided to wait. So, bring on the food!!!

I let Sam have at it with the bread while I helped myself to salad. She did share a little of the bread, but she is the one that practiced and played for nearly 5 hours that morning/afternoon. The bread was so good! The salad was pretty nice too. Next round!!!

I don't do chicken wings, so those all went to Sam. She devoured them. I was expecting her to order more, but she had a few dumplings and was hooked on those! She's not normally a dumpling person, but she loved these. I've always been a fan, so we both agreed we'd be ordering more. She didn't want to waste food though, so we both split the pasta and veggies. I got a real kick out of her excitement over the baby corn!

They were also pretty quick with our next batch of dumplings.

I felt kind of bad because the women who were eventually seated next to us asked at least twice for more veggies and they never got them.

This is going to sound ridiculous, but when they put down the towels, I had no memory of this. I took a pic of the towels because I was having an "Oh, this must be new! How nice!" sort of moment. Yeah...I went back through all of my 'Ohana dinner pics from the past and I can see the towels. Disney amnesia!