*~~Official December 2016 Thread~~*
- Thread starter xlsm
- Start date
I've seen a few people mention that it was worse today since it was warmer and not a party night. I hope you get some lighter crowds! We'll be joining you on Tuesday
howedaniel
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2012
Trying to pack...the weather forecast looks good. What are the days and evenings like atm? Are people planning on pool time with the current weather?
FeaturePresentation
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2016
Just got back from a 12/1 - 12/11 trip. Had an amazing time. Time for my first trip report!
karalecia26
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
Just checked in for our flight tomorrow night and got awesome boarding positions in the A's and didn't it Early Bird either! 24 hours and we will be on our way to Disney! Just need to finish packing and make it through the morning at work tomorrow! Ahhh!!!
karalecia26
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
Just got our room ready text and I am at work and don't even got on the plane to leave until 5:40 tonight! Even got our room requests! Trip is already starting to be awesome!
vacationer1954
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2010
We are just back. I haven't said much in this thread, or really said much about this upcoming trip on the forum, except perhaps to say how uninspired we were about it. This is a sure-fire sign that Yes, Virginia, we can visit Walt Disney World "too much". I was going to do this as a trip report, but I really don't feel strongly enough about it to do that, so I thought I'd just share it here.
This was the "middle trip" of what has become our pattern over the last couple of decades or so: Three trips within 365 days, to capitalize on the advantage of annual passes; a full week to start, then a weekend in the middle, then a full week to end, generally 51 weeks after the first week, so it is effectively the "next year's" vacation. Our selection of three dates have been challenged by blackouts at times (we started out getting Florida resident passes, back when we actually were Florida residents) but childfree it has never been a major issue. It has been a long time since we have seen the parks decorated for Christmas. The last time must have been twenty years ago, when, after a wonderful meal at Artist Point and the MVMCP on Friday night, I woke up Saturday midnight convulsing from food poisoning. That was a wonderful weekend. :\ So the spouse was a little reticent to give it another shot. And it seemed like fate was trying to pull us back: We both suffered from bouts on pneumonia this past Autumn, and I contracted the flu a week before the trip, so was just barely recovered and contagion-free when we got in the car to drive down to Orlando. However, nothing but plain-ol' old age would afflict us during this trip.
We arrived just in time for dinner Friday night. We had plans to meet up with a young family from church that has been visiting WDW this past week, but they begged off an hour or so beforehand. I liked the ability to change our party size while in the car. However, I cannot say good things about our visit to Spice Road Table. Instead of seating us in the dining room we were seated on the terrace. I'm sorry: Don't take so many reservations in December, January and February if you don't have enough room to guarantee everyone a seat inside during this time of cold weather. With the wind blowing it was downright arctic. We're troopers and will put up with a lot, but this was a subtle form of disrespect for the diner, compounded by the weak efforts the eatery made to mitigate the problem. Unlike Rose & Crown, there are no clear vinyl curtains to block the wind, and the heaters are good to chase the chill away from barely a quarter of the diners on the terrace, not to mention that they don't help with the wind.
I think it would have been okay, even so, if the food was worth writing about. However, the best I can say about Spice Road Table is "forgettable". We also had a hummus platter with hummus that could have come directly from Publix. We also had a shrimp dish that was cold by the time it arrived at our table. Again: They knew that they have diners on the terrace in the cold. Even if the food was hot when it came out of the kitchen, it is still their obligation to serve it in a manner so that it is still hot when it reaches the table. There are innovative ways to do that. They didn't employ any. That's a failure. The shrimp probably would have tasted good hot. After it became clear that this restaurant offers nothing special and does nothing to show that they really respect and care for their patrons, we left - though we were basically forced to start walking out to get our server's attention. He was apparently keeping warm inside. This was the first time that I regretted the inability to lower the gratuity on Tables in Wonderland.
We spent Saturday morning at Disney Springs. I really like what they've done there. The addition of parking garages is brilliant, and will be a great boon during summertime. There was entertainment and the place was decently decorated. We walked through the Christmas tree display they have set up in the old bus terminal area, and that was very nice. The expanded World of Disney store is ridiculous in a good way. We changed our lunch reservation from Paradiso 37 to The Boathouse at the last minute, which I kind of regret: The Boathouse food was fine, and the view from our terrace table very nice (the weather cooperating - and noted that there were seats inside where we would have been seated if the weather wasn't cooperating). However, it wasn't anything different from what we once enjoyed while living up in New England.
Our afternoon at the Magic Kingdom was nice, but the decorations were not as much of the feature we had remembered them once being. We spent most of the afternoon in the Adventureland/Liberty Square area. It was our first time ever on the Jingle Cruise (which seems remarkable, but back in the day we perhaps just missed this attraction, or perhaps it hasn't been all that many decades that they've Christmas-themed the Jungle Cruise). We had dinner at Skipper Canteen. The food was a little iffy. The falafel were light and tasty, but the vegetable stew was dry and a little harsh. For the price, even with Tables in Wonderland, I came out of this meal with a burgeoning feel that Disney is charging too much for many things. I don't mean it is too expensive. It's always been expensive. Rather, I mean this in terms of comparing different experiences in the park. And the Magic Kingdom specifically seems to be a place where a lot of the experiences are just more expensive or more of a hassle than they should be and as compared to comparable experiences in other parks.
We spent Sunday at Animal Kingdom. We were very disappointed that there was no evening show. This is something that we have been looking forward to for years, and now it seems like we won't get it until after our March visit, so in other words, we won't see Animal Kingdom come alive at night until 2019 perhaps, when we made another one of these three-trips-in-365-days arrangements, assuming we decide to do so. We did catch an evening safari, and while we appreciated the experience, it should be very clear: You will see a very small number of animals on the safari, as compared to what you'll see during daytime. No one should think of the safari at night as a suitable substitute for doing the safari during the day.
We had two superlative dining experiences at Animal Kingdom. We didn't make plans for lunch so by 2pm we were looking for a rest and a snack. The Nomad Lounge was incredible. As much as Spice Road Table and Skipper Cafe were less than what they should have been, Nomad Lounge is one of those opportunities we have right now to take advantage of an offering that you know - you absolutely know - won't be a remarkably great a year from now (once Pandora opens and the secret gets out). We're getting a big bonus for having discovered this place tucked away on what is now, but will not always be, a dead end. The cheese plate was wonderful, but sitting on the terrace overlooking the (Sunday quiet) of the forest around Pandora was so restful and relaxing. We were made to feel truly welcome.
We returned just a few minutes before park closing to have dinner at Tiffins. On paper, comparing menus, I had originally been disappointed by how it seemed that Disney had opened two restaurants, Skipper Canteen and Tiffins, with what seemed to be the same menu, more or less. Perhaps I was distracted by the fact that they both had a kind of vegetable curry on the menu, they both had "sustainable" fish, they both had whole fried fish, etc. Whatever it was, it was wrong. Two restaurants could not have been any different from each other. Tiffins was excellent in every way. The dining rooms were comfy and refined enough for the menu prices; the service was impeccable; and the food was incredible. Like Nomad Lounge, I expect this silver to get tarnished as soon as the path outside becomes a busy thoroughfare, but for as long as it remains this hidden jewel we will take advantage.
I made the point, above, that it doesn't matter what room you're seated in at Tiffins, as opposed to what I noted about Skipper Canteen and Spice Road Table: It was while having dinner at Skipper Canteen that it struck me just how much the quality of the dining experience at these remarkably expensive restaurants was left up to chance. At Skipper Canteen we were seated in one of the back rooms instead of in the front room which, to me, would have felt like counter service with people to carry your order up to the cashier and carry your food to your table. In the back room, it felt like a real restaurant (despite my concerns about it, which I outlined earlier). I know why the restaurant is designed that way (flexibility), but in our currently jaded condition, it is not a happy realization. This, along with our Spice Road Table (inside vs. outside) experience also should be a warning to all of us that we need to start protecting and advocating aggressively for our vacation experience. We should have insisted on being seated inside at Spice Road Table. If we were to be seated in the main room at Skipper Canteen, we should have been ready to walk out if not seated in a back room. And to advocating aggressively for our vacation experience we need to know about these differences, know which ones would make a difference to us and which wouldn't, and know what to ask for when we check in; as well as being ready to walk out and do without whenever Disney, protecting its operations, disappoints us and refuses to accommodate our requests.
This was perhaps our fifteenth visit to the BoardWalk. I think it was our last. Yes, we're a lot older than we used to be, but the walk (this time to to 4130) is just too abusively long. It isn't just getting to the room, but then going back to the ice dispenser for ice, grabbing the morning cups of coffee and bringing them back to the room, and making a trip down to the lobby to deal with the fact that our credit card was blocked due to a fraud protection alert - back and forth and back and forth. We are prepared to walk a lot at WDW, but the needless extra steps wore on us a lot this time. The new decor is nicer, but also make clear something we felt as soon as VWL was launched: We had climbed on board the Disney timeshare train about two years too soon, buying into a timeshare that had pretty weak theming (by comparison), and we were going to WDW for theming. Now, with the new, nicer decor, there's little to distinguish the studio we were in this time from a small hotel room at some nondescript hotel off-property.
We are DVC members and our ownership interest is at the BoardWalk, but we've typically had no trouble switching to other resorts, given the time of year we visit, especially since our preferences (Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge) are apparently less popular. I suppose if that changes, and we face a trip during which we have to return to the BoardWalk, it may prompt us to sell our timeshare. However, here were are in early December, just three months from our next visit, and we had no problem switching into a savanna view room at Kidani Village. On the drive home we discussed whether we could see ourselves staying at Kidani Village, just enjoying the accommodations of the resort, taking driving trips to local attractions, perhaps even in Tampa. The advantage DVC gave us is quite nice, so much so that even if not visiting the parks it might still be a great option for us. Maybe. Or maybe we'll plan another set of three visits, to see Pandora, Star Wars Land, and Toy Story Land, and then put our points up for sale, resigning ourselves to paying through the nose for the one or two more visits we would make to WDW in our life. Time will tell.
This was the "middle trip" of what has become our pattern over the last couple of decades or so: Three trips within 365 days, to capitalize on the advantage of annual passes; a full week to start, then a weekend in the middle, then a full week to end, generally 51 weeks after the first week, so it is effectively the "next year's" vacation. Our selection of three dates have been challenged by blackouts at times (we started out getting Florida resident passes, back when we actually were Florida residents) but childfree it has never been a major issue. It has been a long time since we have seen the parks decorated for Christmas. The last time must have been twenty years ago, when, after a wonderful meal at Artist Point and the MVMCP on Friday night, I woke up Saturday midnight convulsing from food poisoning. That was a wonderful weekend. :\ So the spouse was a little reticent to give it another shot. And it seemed like fate was trying to pull us back: We both suffered from bouts on pneumonia this past Autumn, and I contracted the flu a week before the trip, so was just barely recovered and contagion-free when we got in the car to drive down to Orlando. However, nothing but plain-ol' old age would afflict us during this trip.
We arrived just in time for dinner Friday night. We had plans to meet up with a young family from church that has been visiting WDW this past week, but they begged off an hour or so beforehand. I liked the ability to change our party size while in the car. However, I cannot say good things about our visit to Spice Road Table. Instead of seating us in the dining room we were seated on the terrace. I'm sorry: Don't take so many reservations in December, January and February if you don't have enough room to guarantee everyone a seat inside during this time of cold weather. With the wind blowing it was downright arctic. We're troopers and will put up with a lot, but this was a subtle form of disrespect for the diner, compounded by the weak efforts the eatery made to mitigate the problem. Unlike Rose & Crown, there are no clear vinyl curtains to block the wind, and the heaters are good to chase the chill away from barely a quarter of the diners on the terrace, not to mention that they don't help with the wind.
I think it would have been okay, even so, if the food was worth writing about. However, the best I can say about Spice Road Table is "forgettable". We also had a hummus platter with hummus that could have come directly from Publix. We also had a shrimp dish that was cold by the time it arrived at our table. Again: They knew that they have diners on the terrace in the cold. Even if the food was hot when it came out of the kitchen, it is still their obligation to serve it in a manner so that it is still hot when it reaches the table. There are innovative ways to do that. They didn't employ any. That's a failure. The shrimp probably would have tasted good hot. After it became clear that this restaurant offers nothing special and does nothing to show that they really respect and care for their patrons, we left - though we were basically forced to start walking out to get our server's attention. He was apparently keeping warm inside. This was the first time that I regretted the inability to lower the gratuity on Tables in Wonderland.
We spent Saturday morning at Disney Springs. I really like what they've done there. The addition of parking garages is brilliant, and will be a great boon during summertime. There was entertainment and the place was decently decorated. We walked through the Christmas tree display they have set up in the old bus terminal area, and that was very nice. The expanded World of Disney store is ridiculous in a good way. We changed our lunch reservation from Paradiso 37 to The Boathouse at the last minute, which I kind of regret: The Boathouse food was fine, and the view from our terrace table very nice (the weather cooperating - and noted that there were seats inside where we would have been seated if the weather wasn't cooperating). However, it wasn't anything different from what we once enjoyed while living up in New England.
Our afternoon at the Magic Kingdom was nice, but the decorations were not as much of the feature we had remembered them once being. We spent most of the afternoon in the Adventureland/Liberty Square area. It was our first time ever on the Jingle Cruise (which seems remarkable, but back in the day we perhaps just missed this attraction, or perhaps it hasn't been all that many decades that they've Christmas-themed the Jungle Cruise). We had dinner at Skipper Canteen. The food was a little iffy. The falafel were light and tasty, but the vegetable stew was dry and a little harsh. For the price, even with Tables in Wonderland, I came out of this meal with a burgeoning feel that Disney is charging too much for many things. I don't mean it is too expensive. It's always been expensive. Rather, I mean this in terms of comparing different experiences in the park. And the Magic Kingdom specifically seems to be a place where a lot of the experiences are just more expensive or more of a hassle than they should be and as compared to comparable experiences in other parks.
We spent Sunday at Animal Kingdom. We were very disappointed that there was no evening show. This is something that we have been looking forward to for years, and now it seems like we won't get it until after our March visit, so in other words, we won't see Animal Kingdom come alive at night until 2019 perhaps, when we made another one of these three-trips-in-365-days arrangements, assuming we decide to do so. We did catch an evening safari, and while we appreciated the experience, it should be very clear: You will see a very small number of animals on the safari, as compared to what you'll see during daytime. No one should think of the safari at night as a suitable substitute for doing the safari during the day.
We had two superlative dining experiences at Animal Kingdom. We didn't make plans for lunch so by 2pm we were looking for a rest and a snack. The Nomad Lounge was incredible. As much as Spice Road Table and Skipper Cafe were less than what they should have been, Nomad Lounge is one of those opportunities we have right now to take advantage of an offering that you know - you absolutely know - won't be a remarkably great a year from now (once Pandora opens and the secret gets out). We're getting a big bonus for having discovered this place tucked away on what is now, but will not always be, a dead end. The cheese plate was wonderful, but sitting on the terrace overlooking the (Sunday quiet) of the forest around Pandora was so restful and relaxing. We were made to feel truly welcome.
We returned just a few minutes before park closing to have dinner at Tiffins. On paper, comparing menus, I had originally been disappointed by how it seemed that Disney had opened two restaurants, Skipper Canteen and Tiffins, with what seemed to be the same menu, more or less. Perhaps I was distracted by the fact that they both had a kind of vegetable curry on the menu, they both had "sustainable" fish, they both had whole fried fish, etc. Whatever it was, it was wrong. Two restaurants could not have been any different from each other. Tiffins was excellent in every way. The dining rooms were comfy and refined enough for the menu prices; the service was impeccable; and the food was incredible. Like Nomad Lounge, I expect this silver to get tarnished as soon as the path outside becomes a busy thoroughfare, but for as long as it remains this hidden jewel we will take advantage.
I made the point, above, that it doesn't matter what room you're seated in at Tiffins, as opposed to what I noted about Skipper Canteen and Spice Road Table: It was while having dinner at Skipper Canteen that it struck me just how much the quality of the dining experience at these remarkably expensive restaurants was left up to chance. At Skipper Canteen we were seated in one of the back rooms instead of in the front room which, to me, would have felt like counter service with people to carry your order up to the cashier and carry your food to your table. In the back room, it felt like a real restaurant (despite my concerns about it, which I outlined earlier). I know why the restaurant is designed that way (flexibility), but in our currently jaded condition, it is not a happy realization. This, along with our Spice Road Table (inside vs. outside) experience also should be a warning to all of us that we need to start protecting and advocating aggressively for our vacation experience. We should have insisted on being seated inside at Spice Road Table. If we were to be seated in the main room at Skipper Canteen, we should have been ready to walk out if not seated in a back room. And to advocating aggressively for our vacation experience we need to know about these differences, know which ones would make a difference to us and which wouldn't, and know what to ask for when we check in; as well as being ready to walk out and do without whenever Disney, protecting its operations, disappoints us and refuses to accommodate our requests.
This was perhaps our fifteenth visit to the BoardWalk. I think it was our last. Yes, we're a lot older than we used to be, but the walk (this time to to 4130) is just too abusively long. It isn't just getting to the room, but then going back to the ice dispenser for ice, grabbing the morning cups of coffee and bringing them back to the room, and making a trip down to the lobby to deal with the fact that our credit card was blocked due to a fraud protection alert - back and forth and back and forth. We are prepared to walk a lot at WDW, but the needless extra steps wore on us a lot this time. The new decor is nicer, but also make clear something we felt as soon as VWL was launched: We had climbed on board the Disney timeshare train about two years too soon, buying into a timeshare that had pretty weak theming (by comparison), and we were going to WDW for theming. Now, with the new, nicer decor, there's little to distinguish the studio we were in this time from a small hotel room at some nondescript hotel off-property.
We are DVC members and our ownership interest is at the BoardWalk, but we've typically had no trouble switching to other resorts, given the time of year we visit, especially since our preferences (Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge) are apparently less popular. I suppose if that changes, and we face a trip during which we have to return to the BoardWalk, it may prompt us to sell our timeshare. However, here were are in early December, just three months from our next visit, and we had no problem switching into a savanna view room at Kidani Village. On the drive home we discussed whether we could see ourselves staying at Kidani Village, just enjoying the accommodations of the resort, taking driving trips to local attractions, perhaps even in Tampa. The advantage DVC gave us is quite nice, so much so that even if not visiting the parks it might still be a great option for us. Maybe. Or maybe we'll plan another set of three visits, to see Pandora, Star Wars Land, and Toy Story Land, and then put our points up for sale, resigning ourselves to paying through the nose for the one or two more visits we would make to WDW in our life. Time will tell.
j2thomason
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2013
To those of you who have already had your December trips and have been to Animal Kingdom, did you notice if the Tree of Life was coming to life with projections as it did this summer??
howedaniel
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2012
Anyone know how much the christmas light necklaces are in the parks?
Corsetopia
Churro Princess
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2012
I want to say they're around $20 each in the parks, or were in 2014 when we were there last. I found some at the local Hallmark store for $9 (not Disney, but a good alternative) and am going to bring those along to try and save a bit of money.
Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2016
$15.02+tax
vacationer1954
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2010
We found much more affordable versions at Disney Springs. They had much smaller LEDs (which we feel are better for our purposes). I think they were around $6 each (?).
BaxterSaysMeoww
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2014
I only have one more sleep til I'm in Disney! Well technically two but I'm not really counting Thursday night since we have to wake up at like 4 am because have a early flight, plus I don't think I'll be doing much sleeping, too excited!
I'm a bit worried though at the moment because we have a winter storm watch happening from tonight through early Friday morning. Their calling for a foot of snow but saying those amounts may hit the eastern part more. We had a storm last weekend and they said a foot of snow is coming and more towards the lake they did get a foot of snow but around here we had nothing, so I'm really hoping for the same outcome!
The weather in Disney looks great, get me out of this snow and into a pair of shorts already!
I'm a bit worried though at the moment because we have a winter storm watch happening from tonight through early Friday morning. Their calling for a foot of snow but saying those amounts may hit the eastern part more. We had a storm last weekend and they said a foot of snow is coming and more towards the lake they did get a foot of snow but around here we had nothing, so I'm really hoping for the same outcome!
The weather in Disney looks great, get me out of this snow and into a pair of shorts already!
karalecia26
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
We are having an amazing first day at Magic Kingdom! We have early ADR at Crystal Palace and then was able to walk onto Jingle Cruise, Pirates, BTMRR, and Splash Mountain (which we got soaked on!) we even got my DS son a hair cut walk up at Harmony! DS has found SOTMK and has played 2 full sets of challenges too! My AP has also been bought and now just chilling at Dumbo waiting for our 7DMT FP to start and dessert party tonight! The park is busy but no where as busy as this past summer!
Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2016
We were at Crystal Palace for an 8:05 ADR yesterday too. As far as breakfast buffets go, I feel this is one of the better ones. Met Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, and Eyore all in under an hour. Rode Pirates, Jingle Cruise,
Magic Carpetsx2, met Jasmine and Alladin, BTMRx2, Splashx2, all before 10:30!!!!
Splash was temporarily closed which caused us to back-track a little but it was a very brief closure. PPO ADRs are a thing of beauty!!!!
Attending MVMCP tonight and temps are supposed to be a little chilly compared to the past few days. (Nothing like the 20 degrees back home though) Perfect party weather IMHO.
karalecia26
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
toonaspie
Just a poser
- Joined
- May 30, 2010
Plane leaves for FL in about 12 hrs. I'm having severe travel anxiety for some reason even though I already did some travel earlier this year. This will be my very first time flying to Disney World and managing a vacation for myself and my friend.
I'm not very good with planes.
I'm not very good with planes.
karalecia26
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
On the Magical Express heading back to the airport getting notifications that our flight is now an hour and a half delayed which puts us arriving at our gate when our other plane is taking off! Ahhh! Hopefully we can get on a different flight so we can get home tonight!
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