Chased By a Bear and a Trip to Urgent Care - A Very Merry Dis-mas 2016 TR! **Complete 2/23**

[xlsm]

I've got a little more time today...how about another update??

I thought I would get a start on the next chapter...so let's dive right into our first early morning at the Magic Kingdom!


Chapter Six: There's Nothing Like a Homecoming

We loved our night out at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, but I was desperately wanting to have my day BEGIN at the Magic Kingdom! This was the week before Christmas, so every morning was a 7am opening. I was hoping to make rope drop so I could see the castle lights on in the morning.

How early were we up??



So early that it didn't even look like morning! We were still running a little behind schedule though, so even though the bus wait wasn't long, we didn't make it to the park until around 7:20 or so. I was excited to see a bus with a Doctor Strange wrap:



The morning was cool and misty. My perfectly flat ironed hair was growing and growing and growing in the damp air

There were not many people at the tapstiles with us, so we were able to make it through quickly. Skipping the bag and only bringing the little Vera Bradley pouch on the lanyard was saving us a lot of time at security, too!

Several characters were meeting in town square, but their lines were pretty long, so we headed down Main Street.

LOTS of castle pics coming right up...





This picture is not great, we all have weird faces, but it's all we have in front of a lit up castle!






Again, not a great picture of Partners, but I was being lazy, and it was busy up there with families having their pictures taken.

If you notice, the lights are already out! I rushed my family up to the hub to have a closer photo made with the lights on, but they were turned off right as we got there.



Ignore my multiple chins in this next one...I like it anyway because of Tinkerbell!



We usually start our MK mornings in Tomorrowland, but we decided to switch things up and head to Adventureland...our first FP was for Seven Dwarfs from 9:30 - 10:30, so we figured we'd make our way around the park toward it.

Our first stop was...



My favorite! Pirates!

Because it was early EMH, Adventureland was just opening, and it was empty



so I had to document that before we hopped aboard our pirate ship!

(Slightly off topic...I've been reading several things about Pandora at Animal Kingdom, and how the riverboat journey is going to be like the Pirates ride at Shanghai Disneyland...have you ever watched a YouTube video of Shanghai Pirates?? OMG. My new goal is to visit Shanghai Disneyland to ride it. If the river journey ride is anything like it, it's going to be incredible!)

Since we had missed it at MVMCP, we had to hit Jingle Cruise next!



Jungle all the way!! (I may or may not have overused this phrase throughout the rest of the holiday season...)



These guys reminded me of Tarzan and the song Trashin' the Camp by Nsync and Phil Collins. It's all I could think about!

And when will THESE guys ever learn??



Obviously they DIDN'T get the point in the end, because every time I travel that river, there they are again!!

And here is a terrible picture of Trader Samta:



That's as good as it gets, folks.



See? I told ya! Unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the boat to get a good look at him.

Our skipper was really fun, which makes all the difference. The ride was a sort of appetizer. Why? Because our lunch was going to be at Skipper's Canteen. How many puns could we take in one day??

We finished our tour of the world's rivers, and stopped to enjoy the beauty of an empty Adventureland for a minute



and then cut through Frontierland on our way to Liberty Square. We walked on Haunted Mansion...there were people behind us so this is all the proof I have:



I got another cake in the face from the hitchhiking ghosts, and DH got another personalized message. We promised to hurry back, and then made our way into Fantasyland.

But that's a story for another day...See you real soon!

 

[xlsm]

We did! Our photographer was kind of rude when we didn't want to do it too.

Ugh, why do they have to be rude?? He needed a handful of pixie dust to the face

So jealous that you got PP pics in front of the tree at night...there were none when we were there!

Sounds like a nice evening, glad you got to experience AK at night!

Oh no! I'm sorry there were no photographers out there when you were at AK! On our night, the lines for them were pretty long and we had to wait for several groups ahead of us.
We had a good night there, but it was pretty rushed and hectic...we were there for just under two hours, and there were a few moments that were less than magical! Mostly because we were frustrated that the QS places weren't open and we were too hungry to be pleasant, LOL!!

 

[missangelalexis]

Oh yay another update!

It is SO awesome that you got to see the dream lights on in the morning! Looks so beautiful, totally jealous!

Sounds like a productive morning so far!!

 

[ariane37]

The morning was cool and misty. My perfectly flat ironed hair was growing and growing and growing in the damp air

I hear you, sista

Our skipper was really fun, which makes all the difference

Doesn't it?? When Chris and I rode Jingle Cruise our first day, our Skipper was kind of lame. Then when the 4 of us rode it later in the week she was fantastic and it made it so much better!

I got another cake in the face from the hitchhiking ghosts, and DH got another personalized message. We promised to hurry back, and then made our way into Fantasyland.

SO many times we've ridden this since they added that feature, and we've never seen it

 

[MummyButterfly]

I have teen boys, so I love reading TRs with teens! I am all caught up after lurking and binge-reading and I have to find those adorable bears from Japan next time I am in Epcot!

Looking forward to reading updates!

 

[xlsm]

Oh yay another update!

It is SO awesome that you got to see the dream lights on in the morning! Looks so beautiful, totally jealous!

Sounds like a productive morning so far!!

I loved the lights in the morning...they were so different from nighttime, it really made the castle look glittery in such a pretty way.

I hear you, sista


Doesn't it?? When Chris and I rode Jingle Cruise our first day, our Skipper was kind of lame. Then when the 4 of us rode it later in the week she was fantastic and it made it so much better!


SO many times we've ridden this since they added that feature, and we've never seen it

I have to find some kind of serum or something to help with the humidity, because I hate feeling like a troll for the entire vacation. In the summer, I get hot so my hair goes up and I don't care as much, but I would love to be able to go to dinner and have some pictures taken with nice hair! I see all these women and girls walking around looking normal and I wonder what the heck is wrong with me?? How am I the only person there with insane hair? It's so frustrating. I always feel so sloppy and gross when we're at WDW.

Before we went, I had steeled myself for the personalized greetings on rides to not work...it seemed like a lot of reports were coming back without it working. I was so excited when it worked for us twice.

I have teen boys, so I love reading TRs with teens! I am all caught up after lurking and binge-reading and I have to find those adorable bears from Japan next time I am in Epcot!

Looking forward to reading updates!

I'm so glad you're here!! I like reading reports with older kids too! I'm so grateful that my boys enjoy going to Disney and get into the spirit of things. They aren't embarrassed by much of anything and they have fun with characters and interactive elements, so it makes it a good time usually. Not to say they don't annoy me sometimes, though!! The 13 year old in particular can be a challenge sometimes!

 

[Raeven]

We watched a couple of cycles of it...it was beautiful! If you're wondering whether or not nighttime at Animal Kingdom is worth it, the answer is a resounding YES! Even if it's just to see this!

I want to see this so badly! We missed it in September because of the rain.

 

[mkate9]

Following along! I loved reading about Animal Kingdom at night. I can't wait to experience it for the first time!

 

[ariane37]

I see all these women and girls walking around looking normal and I wonder what the heck is wrong with me?? How am I the only person there with insane hair? It's so frustrating. I always feel so sloppy and gross when we're at WDW.

I feel the same way; maybe this is another reason we should do a trip at the same time, so we can bond over our gross hair lol
Have you tried Wen? My hair isn't perfect but it has made a HUGE difference. Totally worth the price!

 

[petals]

Great updates. The Tree of Life looks fabulous lit up at night.

 

[xlsm]

I want to see this so badly! We missed it in September because of the rain.

Oh, it's so beautiful! You have to see it in May, you'll love it. It's true Disney magic

Following along! I loved reading about Animal Kingdom at night. I can't wait to experience it for the first time!

Animal Kingdom is really special at night! If you are Everest riders, it is an absolute MUST after dark!!

I feel the same way; maybe this is another reason we should do a trip at the same time, so we can bond over our gross hair lol
Have you tried Wen? My hair isn't perfect but it has made a HUGE difference. Totally worth the price!

Haha, we should!! I'd say we could cry together to commiserate, but our tears would just make our hair even larger, LOL!!
I have not tried Wen! I know what it is, but haven't done much research on it. I will look into it!

Great updates. The Tree of Life looks fabulous lit up at night.

Thank you! The tree is gorgeous at night, I love it so much!!

 

[xlsm]

I hate Sundays.

It's just masquerading as a pleasant weekend day. It's really just a pre-Monday and the whole thing is a waste after 3pm in my opinion. Yuck.

But one good thing about it is...I can get another update in!

Chapter Six Part Two

When I left you last, we were heading into Fantasyland.

One of my most favorite rides was up first...



There's your hint! (or dead giveaway, really!)



I love It's a Small World so much!

Something odd on this ride...the sound was off. I couldn't hear the words of the song clearly. It was very muffled. For some guests, this might be a plus, but for weirdos like me, it's a definite downer. I enjoy hearing the song in the different languages, and it's emotional to me when you enter the last room to hear all the voices joined together in English. It was our only trip on the happiest cruise that ever sailed around the world, so I didn't get a chance to see if it was a one off thing.

It was still fairly uncrowded this morning, so I had to see the wait time for Peter Pan...over an hour. Of course. No Peter Pan for us! We kept moving...



We were getting hungry, but we didn't want anything too big since we had a FP coming up and a fairly early lunch planned. So...where do you go in that situation??



Gaston's Tavern.

Because noooo onnneeee....serves cinnamon rolls like Gaston, and cheese stuffed pretzels like Gaston. And as drinks go no one serves LeFou's Brew like Gaston! (sing it to the tune of the song, it enhances the experience! )



Well...I just gave away what we ordered!

DH and L got cinnamon rolls, and I ate what L left over.



This was realllly good. All nice and warmed up, which was nice because it was pretty cool outside!

L also had a LeFou's Brew, but I guess I didn't photograph it. I had coffee, X had lemonade, and I can't remember what DH had to drink!

X ate the ham and cheese stuffed pretzel (and again, I ate what was left over. I wasn't hungry enough to get my own food, but was happy to play clean up for the kids.)



This doesn't look like much, and I kind of balked at the $7+ price tag, but it was really good! Coming from a loud and proud not-a-ham-fan, that's high praise. I would order this again for myself, and plan to!

We sat near Gaston's chair and antler wall



which was uncharacteristically devoid of small children climbing all over it and dad's posing in it for photos.

Maybe they were afraid that the big red shirted guy would be angry??



Because, after all, no one fights like Gaston or takes cheap shots like Gaston!

We took a restroom break and left Belle's village, took a glance at Prince Eric's castle



and headed toward the Dwarf's mine for our first fast pass of the day.

I wonder if all the princesses know they live so close to one another??

DH sat this out because he hates how his knees jam into the seat back...although I swear the seats have changed since the ride opened. Because I was uncomfortable in the seats myself the first time we rode in 2014, but since then I've been fine. And it isn't a weight thing, because I was thinner back then. It was my long legs that were the problem, I had bruised knees after the first ride. And I haven't shrunk! (Plus, the guy sitting next to me was tall and big, and he seemed to fit fine.)

Speaking of the guy next to me, he sat SO FAR away from me the whole time, practically hanging off the side of the car. Am I that disgusting?? It was kind of funny!



This is as close to me as he ever got.

(You'll notice my hair went up into a ball because it was a disaster down.)

We watched the dwarfs dance the day away with Snow while the old hag looked on



met back up with DH, and started off on our next adventure!

On the way back to old Fantasyland, I did stop to photograph this



detail on the castle-y things along the way...because it's the same as the pillars outside of Snow White's Scary Adventure at Disneyland.

I had never noticed that before! (mainly because we'd just been to Disneyland in June and I took 900 pictures of those squirrels at SWSA because I thought they were so cute!)

We were really excited to get to a family favorite:





To me, this is a perfect Disney classic. I never, ever get tired of Mickey's Philharmagic. It's always entertaining, the songs are wonderful, and it's just a feel good time!

I was riding high on Disney magic after helping Donald find that pesky hat, and was ready to take a spin. Literally.



Line length was beginning to creep up, but the Mad Tea Party was still manageable. I think it was posted at 15 or 20 minutes. We noticed Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum out meeting as we got in line (Alice was on the other side, with a separate line).



I've never seen them out meeting before, and as you can see, they drew quite a crowd! We were already committed to the line at that point, with several people behind us, so we didn't go over there. It was just as well, because they left just a couple minutes later.

I think this ride is so cute!



I rode with X and DH rode with L...DH likes to torture the kids by spinning really fast, but I didn't think that was a great idea with X's ear situation, so that's why we divided up that way!





Our faces. Seriously.

We wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get across the park for our lunch reservation, so after spinning around on the tea cups, we staggered off the ride on our way back across the park.

We saw a few royal subjects out milling around...



They were HILARIOUS.

We shouted a far off hello up to Rapunzel...



and kept moving toward Adventureland and lunchtime!!

Enjoy what's left of your weekend, and next time I update, it will be our lunch at Skipper's Canteen!

 

[Raeven]

We went to Gaston's Tavern one morning and it was empty when we went too. We had Gaston's chair all to ourselves

 

[missangelalexis]

What a fun time in Fantasyland! Both your snacks at Gaston's look tasty, I've yet to get anything from there!

Philharmagic is one of my favorites too

 

[xlsm]

We went to Gaston's Tavern one morning and it was empty when we went too. We had Gaston's chair all to ourselves

It was so surreal to have the chair empty! Normally it's like a barroom brawl in there to get near it, lol!!

What a fun time in Fantasyland! Both your snacks at Gaston's look tasty, I've yet to get anything from there!

Philharmagic is one of my favorites too

Ooh, if you're ever there and hungry for something sweet, the cinnamon roll is REALLY good. Or maybe I was exceptionally hungry and delirious?? Either way, I could have eaten a bowl of the frosting with a spoon - there was two types on it: a kind of maple-y frosting, and a more traditional frosting. So good!

And for us, LeFou's Brew is a must!

 

[ariane37]

OMG an empty Gastons chair??? That's like hitting the lottery lol!!! You hit the nail on the head, not only are there ALWAYS kids in the chair but there's ALWAYS a dad taking pictures When we were in there in Nov. 2015 Imswear the. I'm was trying to hold a professional photo shoot with her kids in the chair and her DH taking the pics It was going on when we first sat down and was still going on when we left!
Yours is the 2nd review I've seen of the ham and cheese pretzel and I think I need to try it. I can't give up my cinnamon roll so I guess the pretzel in March and the cinnamon roll in May? Good thing I'm going twice

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I've just finished reading your trip report and I'm loving it! I've never been in December but have been several times for Thanksgiving and it's just so special seeing Disney with all the Christmas decorations up. My favorite time for sure.

So sorry X was having issues with his ear. Hopefully all the meds have kicked in by this point and he can enjoy the rest of the trip pain free.

I hope this doesn't sound too weird but do you mind me asking what kind of lipstick you use? In all your pictures it looks like you just applied it. I want my pics to look like that too.

Looking forward to the next update as I'm really enjoying reading along. We go next month so I'm waiting patiently and living through all the trip reports.

 

[xlsm]

OMG an empty Gastons chair??? That's like hitting the lottery lol!!! You hit the nail on the head, not only are there ALWAYS kids in the chair but there's ALWAYS a dad taking pictures When we were in there in Nov. 2015 Imswear the. I'm was trying to hold a professional photo shoot with her kids in the chair and her DH taking the pics It was going on when we first sat down and was still going on when we left!
Yours is the 2nd review I've seen of the ham and cheese pretzel and I think I need to try it. I can't give up my cinnamon roll so I guess the pretzel in March and the cinnamon roll in May? Good thing I'm going twice

I'm really glad I could document the empty chair because who knows when it will ever happen again??

I can't even roll my eyes hard enough at the chair photoshoot people. I get frustrated with people who won't hurry up with their pictures. I understand about wanting to get special or certain shots while at WDW, but I also try to be considerate of others. At the Boardwalk when I was trying to take pictures of the Christmas stuff in the lobby, and same at the Yacht Club and in the American pavilion at Epcot, people would just step right in front of me. Like, give me two seconds to get one shot people, I'm not staying here any longer than that! Relax! It drives me crazy.

And the ham and cheese pretzel is so good! And I don't like ham 99% of the time. More trips mean more snacks...therefore I am PRO MORE TRIPS!!

I've just finished reading your trip report and I'm loving it! I've never been in December but have been several times for Thanksgiving and it's just so special seeing Disney with all the Christmas decorations up. My favorite time for sure.

So sorry X was having issues with his ear. Hopefully all the meds have kicked in by this point and he can enjoy the rest of the trip pain free.

I hope this doesn't sound too weird but do you mind me asking what kind of lipstick you use? In all your pictures it looks like you just applied it. I want my pics to look like that too.

Looking forward to the next update as I'm really enjoying reading along. We go next month so I'm waiting patiently and living through all the trip reports.

Hello!! I'm glad you're here!!

I just loved all of the decorations!! It made the parks look so special, and I was thrilled to finally see it in person and not just in photos.

It's not weird at all! It's Too Faced Matte Liquid Lipstick in the holiday exclusive shade Candy Cane. It's incredibly pigmented and lasts all day. But, it will smear and stain, so you have to be really careful when applying it. I recommend using a nude lip liner with any of the shades. I usually wear a lot of eyeliner and no lipstick, but decided to try something new and bought that on a whim. It's very bold, which is WAAAYY outside of my comfort zone, but I ended up really liking it. It does transfer onto things, but I've never found anything else that lasts as long. I have a friend who sells LipSense, and I have a few colors of it, but it's incredibly drying - I don't like it at all. The best thing about the Too Faced is that it doesn't make my lips feel to dry. You can kind of tap on a lip balm over it if you need to, and it doesn't affect how long it lasts (but will up the transfer factor a bit).

 

[xlsm]

Hello everyone!!

I have a free morning! Hooray!! It makes up for tomorrow, which will be crazy. Today is for laundry and laziness, and binge watching Face Off before the new season starts tonight.

I forgot to mention this, but last week I got some really fun Mickey Mail:



My AP magnet!! It makes me feel fancy, I admit it. It will live on the refrigerator, because I've heard too many stories of people having them stolen off of cars.

I hope everyone is having a great start to the week so far!!

Let's get moving on this report!!

Chapter Six Part Three

We arrived in Adventureland with a little time to spare, so we milled around in the shops a bit. I considered buying a pair of sunglasses I've been wanting for the last year or so...and the salespeople in the sunglasses store were REALLY in selling mode. I ultimately decided to wait in case I found something else I'd rather spend money on, and we ended up finding a little seating nook in one of the other stores...I have no idea what it's called



but it's the one with the Indiana Jones stuff



and next to a Sorcerer's of the MK portal.

We hung out there for a couple of minutes killing time (and probably playing Pokemon Go).
Our reservation for Skipper's Canteen was for 11:35, but we decided to go try to check in early. We checked in, got a buzzer, and were seated fairly quickly.



As you can see, it wasn't busy yet. I thought it was so beautiful in there! The person taking us to our seat told us the "history" of the restaurant, and how it came to be, and led us into the room where we would be seated:



We looked over our menus while we waited for our Skipper server




She showed up right away, took our drink orders and brought us bread.




I think we all ordered the melon frosty soda (which you can find at Club Cool in Epcot, too!)
We all enjoyed this, although I do think I like it better in small doses at Club Cool.
The bread was not my favorite thing...it seemed kind of dry. It is served with honey, which I only like occasionally and in very specific situations, so this just wasn't my kind of bread service. DH and L liked it though! X could take it or leave it.

I knew what I wanted to eat right away, and so did X. L settled pretty quickly, and DH was struggling a little with what to choose.

I got two apps for my meal, the falafel and the cachapas.




The falafel was just ok, but the cachapas... Be still my heart! This was basically a few corn cakes with pulled pork on top, and it was delicious!! I want to go back and have this again...if it sticks around! Prior to this, they had arepas on the menu that I wanted after reading a dining report by @ariane37 . I was so sad when they took them away, but once again, dining report to the rescue. @Lisa F reviewed these favorably, and I had to try them. I was so glad I did!

DH and X both had Niles and Niles of Rice Noodles (actually called Nile Nellie's bowl of noodles or something, but I can never remember that). Once again we are reminded why I don't do dining reviews, because I have no pics. I know DH has some, and maybe I thought I would just get the pictures from him?? I should know better by now.

L had Skip's Beefy Baked Pasta:



This was the most iffy dish of them all. I liked the beef parts but not the plain bechamel parts, and he liked the plain bechamel parts but not the beef parts. Overall, it was kind of bland and heavy, and I wouldn't recommend it...unless someone in your party likes heavy bland things. Those people exist, believe it or not! I have several in my extended family.

The rice noodles were a hit with X...and that thrilled DH. Why?? Because DH looooves pho. It's one of his favorite foods in the whole universe. The Niles and Niles of Rice Noodles is pretty much a weak pho, and X liked it, which means X will now agree to go have pho with DH.
DH enjoyed this, but did say it is not as flavorful as traditional pho, although still decent.

We considered this meal a win. Our server was wonderful. She was engaging and on top of things...notsomuch over the top in terms of Jungle Skipper mode, but X asked if we could keep her, so I'd say she did her job well. She really talked with the kids, and asked about our plans...talked about what her daughter liked to do, and where the two of them liked to eat. Things like that. It made the meal even better.

So, do I recommend Skipper's Canteen?? YES! It is a true Disney meal experience with the theming, and the food is interesting and fresh. It's on the list for future trips. It is not inexpensive, so keep that in mind if you are watching your budget.

We were full and stuffed, so after leaving, we took the tunnel to Frontierland to hang out with some old friends.





You all know by now how I feel about these Country Bears. I would run away and join them if I could.

It was almost time to head out of the parks, but I had one more must do item on the agenda for the day, so we headed back to Liberty Square. We shopped in the Christmas store, and the kids went off on their own to find a restroom (I do love that they have their phones and are old enough for a little more freedom...because I didn't want to haul myself off to a restroom with them. They are more than capable!)

I staked out a spot for us to wait for...

Great Moments in History (but just the American parts), presented by my FAAAAVORITE friends, the Muppets.

The one we saw was the Declaration of Independence one. Here are several pictures of it, probably out of order. Enjoy.



(they drew quite a crowd!! and it just kept building.)















You still with me?? I know that was a lot of Muppet action. But guys! It was so cute and funny!! I am a huge Muppets fan. When I was a child, The Muppet Show was the only show my mom let me stay up late to watch. I have the dvds of the seasons. Fozzie is my imaginary boyfriend. Was, I mean. Was...not is. Because that would be crazy...

As we left Liberty Square and made our way toward the hub, I heard the sound of a Spanish guitar...



Cinderella was welcoming Elena of Avalor to the kingdom, so we stopped to watch for awhile.





Elena's dress is just gorgeous. I hate that the princess lines are so long, because I would have loved to have met her.

On our way down Main Street, we noticed this sign:



On our last visit in July 2015, we met Larry Dotson at Epcot on DH's birthday. He signed a print of the Wilderness Lodge than hangs in our living room. We thought it was so cool that our trip lined up with his appearance, so we went in to see him again. We got a print of Wishes over Cinderella Castle this time, and DH picked up one of Everest for his office. We had them signed, and talked with Larry Dotson for awhile, and then DH went over to have the pictures shipped home so we didn't have to haul them on the plane. He also picked up something for me...one of the purchase-with-purchase items was a fleece throw with Cinderella Castle on it, and I'd been wanting it. I'm actually covered up with it right now! I love it.

When he was finished, we said TTFN to the Magic Kingdom



and exited toward the resort ferry.

Wait...resort ferry?? Where the heck were we going??

Find out next time!!

Bye for now, Friends!!

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm glad you guys enjoyed your meal at Skipper Canteen! It doesn't sound like something up my alley, but it looks like a really nicely themed restaurant!

Yay for seeing the Muppets!

Ohh how lucky to see Larry Dotson again and get some more prints!