Hanging with Earl the Squirrel and The Grinch. A Christmas TR! PTR info 2/21*

[disneyAndi14]

I love this idea!

The scavenger hunts at USO are really fun because you have to actually solve something

Yep, I wish I had bailed on one of my rides on my last day too. UGH.

I hate when the ride goes down when I am in line, I have been one of those people walking against the crowd flow saying excuse me, leaving the ride!

I had a friend in high school whose family also hung their trees. They were Italian and said it was a tradition there?

It it interesting. I have never seen it at anyone’s home just in pictures! I figured it was squirrel way

 

[disneyAndi14]

That was one of the very few resorts I didn't make it to. I'll bet it was lovely!

The tower is beautiful and I love the decorations. Our room view was amazing. It is definitely a deluxe feel for a moderate price

LOL!!! As long as they're delicious, why not?!

I really enjoyed my kid meals!

I loved this little addition too. In fact, I think I have a photo of this same puppeteer; she's so cute!

It has become one of my favorite things to experience at AK at Christmas time. It very magical to see these puppets come to life!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I stayed at Coronado Springs back in 2013 - I liked the rooms and our stay (and the cinnamon coffees) but was a bit put off by the size of the resort. It felt huge! That said, the Grand Destino Tower looks beautiful and the rooms look so nice.

Same with Andi and I, we stayed 2x before the tower and the size of the resort was a little too much for us! When the tower was built it was a game changer for us, we love staying here! I think I have stayed here at least 5-6x now!

You had such a nice transition day! Some time at Disney Springs, some time at Animal Kingdom (I love that park!), and some time to relax in the room… perfection. I need more stomachs at Disney World to fit in things like that dole whip sundae - it looks so tasty!

It really was, I knew Susan and I would have early days and late nights so I wanted a more relaxing day and this was just perfect! The sundae was delicious and on vacation dessert for dinner AOK!

And I’m glad (but not at all shocked) that you spent some time in DinoLand. I will miss seeing that big green dinosaur at the Dino-Rama entrance - I once spent downtime at AK eating delicious Disney popcorn and people watching while sitting underneath him. It’s a nice Disney memory!

Andi and I did that often, years ago AK actually had magic hours in the evening for resort guests and talk about completely dead, we loved it. The only portions open were Dinoland and EE, haha We spent so much time hanging out in Dinoland. I have said it here a few times but one evening we rode Dinosaur 11x in a row!

Thanks for this portion of your trip report - I’ll catch you on the Disney portion once that kicks off!

Thank you so much for joining in and commenting! The next portion is up now, we hope to see you over there!

 

[eliseisawkward]

I finally caught up here, so now I’m bouncing over to the other part of this trip report! See you over there!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I finally caught up here, so now I’m bouncing over to the other part of this trip report! See you over there!

Yay Thank you so much for joining in and heading to the second portion of the trip!

 

[schumigirl]

I missed the end!!! Well, this part.

I`m not getting notifications on your thread for some reason so I keep missing updates, but I did want to say albeit a little late, I genuinely enjoyed your report.

Your pictures are lovely and I always enjoy seeing Universal and all it offers when we`re not there lol......they do such a good job with the parade and the Red and Green Coconut Club is always a treat!!!

So, thank you for taking the time to do it!!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Your pictures are lovely and I always enjoy seeing Universal and all it offers when we`re not there lol......they do such a good job with the parade and the Red and Green Coconut Club is always a treat!!!

So, thank you for taking the time to do it!!

Thank you Carole! I’m glad you joined in and enjoyed the report. Universal at Christmas time is lovely. I really had a good time solo checking everything out!
I’m excited to head back soon and enjoy Mardi Gras at Universal!

 

[vamassey1]

I'm sorry I missed the end of this report. I really enjoyed getting caught up.

I'm going to have to venture into Universal at Christmas someday.

We stayed in the Tower once and enjoyed it. The room was great except we could hear the family next door too much.

Love the AK Christmas vibes. This was the only park I got to spend any time in before Christmas. I'm putting that apple sundae on my list for the future.

I'm signed onto the new report but need to get caught up.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I'm sorry I missed the end of this report. I really enjoyed getting caught up.

Thanks for coming back to read the rest!

I'm going to have to venture into Universal at Christmas someday.

I highly recommend a little Universal at Christmas

We stayed in the Tower once and enjoyed it. The room was great except we could hear the family next door too much.

I despise noisy neighbors! We had a quiet room this time but I definitely know what you mean!

Love the AK Christmas vibes. This was the only park I got to spend any time in before Christmas. I'm putting that apple sundae on my list for the future.

AK is my favorite park all year long but Christmas gives even more of an edge! The pineapple sundae is a must do!

I'm signed onto the new report but need to get caught up.

Thanks you! We have been a little slow updating the new one! I am going to post soon!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hello Everyone!

Here is my studious look preparing for my FP for cash day tomorrow!



I will be computer ready to book some FP$$ at 0600!
I can hardly believe it is only a week from tomorrow and I will be back in my happy place for 10 glorious night! I can’t wait! It is bitterly cold here! We have been below zero for almost 2 weeks and I am tired of it!
We arrive in Florida 2/27 in the late evening and I can’t wait!
My plans are DHS on 2/28 with Epcot in the evening!
3/1 AK with Epcot in the evening!
3/2 MK, this is my sister’s Birthday and my son Jack’s Birthday! We have Cakebake restaurant booked this evening for a $22.00 piece of cake! I think Donna deserves that!
3/3 DHS with Epcot extra hours in the PM
3/4 AK and DS in the evening!
3/5 Epcot for the first day of F&G, Behind the Seeds tour at LwtL and MK for extra evening hours!
3/6 Epcot in the morning before moving to Universal. A few more F&G treats before we say goodbye to Epcot!
3/6&3/7 Universal Studios/IOA, we are staying at the beautiful Portofino Bay with unlimited express pass yay! We will be enjoying Mardi Gras booths and parade at Universal!
3/8 more of the same at Universal with a dinner at Strong Waters Tavern. We move to Adventura for our last night because we do leave at an ungodly hour Sunday morning to head back to reality! I’m excited to stay here one night. Our flight leaves Orlando at 6:15am, ugh Oh well at least we will have had 10 glorious days and nights in Orlando before heading home!
Stay tuned for my FP$$ line up tomorrow………

 

[Wood Nymph]

Which Disney resort are you staying at?

It is bitterly cold here! We have been below zero for almost 2 weeks and I am tired of it!

It has been colder than normal here in the Chicago area, too. In fact, it is 7 degrees right now.
It looks like you have the right sweater for the weather.

Epcot for the first day of F&G

The Festival food is usually very good on opening days. The food bloggers are everywhere, judging the food.

We will be enjoying Mardi Gras booths and parade at Universal!

That sounds like lots of fun. We are arriving on March 9th for four nights, so we will miss Mardi Gras.

Our flight leaves Orlando at 6:15am, ugh

That doesn't sound fun at all.

 

[pkondz]

Here is my studious look preparing for my FP for cash day tomorrow!

She’s in the zone, folks!

I can hardly believe it is only a week from tomorrow and I will be back in my happy place for 10 glorious night!

Coming up quick!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Which Disney resort are you staying at?

We will be at Boardwalk Inn

It has been colder than normal here in the Chicago area, too. In fact, it is 7 degrees right now.
It looks like you have the right sweater for the weather.

Very cold here! It is finally going to to be above freezing tomorrow

The Festival food is usually very good on opening days. The food bloggers are everywhere, judging the food.

I’m sure it will be really busy! I didn’t realize it was starting at the end of our trip this time! Oh well we will get a little taste of F&G

That sounds like lots of fun. We are arriving on March 9th for four nights, so we will miss Mardi Gras.

The Mardi Gras festival goes until 3/30 so if you are going to Universal it will still be on!

That doesn't sound fun at all.

I know, yuck. I added an extra day since Sunday doesn’t count at all! This allows us to fly in and out of our city’s airport which we really like in the winter!

She’s in the zone, folks!

All set!

Coming up quick!

It sure is. I’m getting excited for warmer weather!

 

[pkondz]

It sure is. I’m getting excited for warmer weather!

Ours is actually finally going up. Even above freezing!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hello Everyone!

Thursday was my FP for cash day!
We get in later on 2/27 so we will not be going to a park this day.
I was able to get all the FP$$ I wanted.
2/28 for DHS was the hardest for morning ones. I was able to fiddle faddle enough to get the times I wanted. I did give up a SDD for MMRR because the SDD was for 8pm and we have a Via Napoli ADR at 8:20pm.
Here is my line up!
2/28 MMRR, ToT, and TSM with Via Napoli ADR (DHS&Epcot)
3/1 Dinosaur, Safari, Navi with Rose and Crown ADR (AK&Epcot)
3/2 HM, Pirates, Tiana with Cakebake ADR, (MK&DHS)
3/3 SDD, ToT, TSM, lounge dinner at Crew Cup, Epcot extra hours.
3/4 Dino, Safari, Navi, DS for lounge dinner
3/5 Remy, SE, LWTL Behind the Seeds tour, New Poly lounge for dinner and MK for extra hours.
3/6 No FP$$ today, we will just spend a few hours at Epcot for F&G before heading to Universal!
We will do both Universal Parks for 2.5 days with the unlimited Express Pass. I haven’t made dinner reservations for Universal yet. We go with the flow! I did make one for Strong Waters lounge for Saturday night!
The average cost of the FP$$ was $30 a day per person.
I don’t know if I will do a regular trip report this time around. I will do a highlight report.
Thanks everyone for following along! I can’t wait to get to the Disney Bubble!

I forgot to add I canceled Coral Reef and San Angel Inn

 

[pkondz]

I was able to get all the FP$$ I wanted.

Yay!

3/1 Dinosaur,

Glad you're getting at least one more ride on your fave.

3/4 Dino,

Okay... two last rides.

Rose and Crown ADR (AK&Epcot)

Interested to get your take on this. Been a long time since I've heard anyone go there.

Cakebake ADR,

New to me. Interested in hearing about this one too.

Behind the Seeds tour,

Nice! Heard good things.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Thursday was my FP for cash day!

Wow, your trip is really close now.

I bought MPLL for AK and Epcot during our trip earlier this month. One of the things I loved about it was being able to sleep in on the AK day because I had the LL for safari. I also liked having a LL for Remy. But our March trip includes our sisters, and they don't want to get MPLLs for any of the parks.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Great FP for cash selections. Your trip is so soon! Knowing what the temps have been in Minnesota, I bet you can't wait!!

 

[mckelvey72]

Hello Everyone!

Thursday was my FP for cash day!
We get in later on 2/27 so we will not be going to a park this day.
I was able to get all the FP$$ I wanted.
2/28 for DHS was the hardest for morning ones. I was able to fiddle faddle enough to get the times I wanted. I did give up a SDD for MMRR because the SDD was for 8pm and we have a Via Napoli ADR at 8:20pm.
Here is my line up!
2/28 MMRR, ToT, and TSM with Via Napoli ADR (DHS&Epcot)
3/1 Dinosaur, Safari, Navi with Rose and Crown ADR (AK&Epcot)
3/2 HM, Pirates, Tiana with Cakebake ADR, (MK&DHS)
3/3 SDD, ToT, TSM, lounge dinner at Crew Cup, Epcot extra hours.
3/4 Dino, Safari, Navi, DS for lounge dinner
3/5 Remy, SE, LWTL Behind the Seeds tour, New Poly lounge for dinner and MK for extra hours.
3/6 No FP$$ today, we will just spend a few hours at Epcot for F&G before heading to Universal!
We will do both Universal Parks for 2.5 days with the unlimited Express Pass. I haven’t made dinner reservations for Universal yet. We go with the flow! I did make one for Strong Waters lounge for Saturday night!
The average cost of the FP$$ was $30 a day per person.
I don’t know if I will do a regular trip report this time around. I will do a highlight report.
Thanks everyone for following along! I can’t wait to get to the Disney Bubble!
View attachment 940635

I have lurked and read all yours and others trip reports and never responded lol. But we arrive on 3/3 so if I see you at some point I will stop and say Hi!! Our park days seem to be different. I am splurging and buying premier pass as this is my grandson's first trip and I just want to soak it all in and enjoy the days. Have a great trip!!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Ours is actually finally going up. Even above freezing!

Same here! Today was 28 degrees and the next few days high 30s, yay!

Glad you're getting at least one more ride on your fave.

I plan to get a least 5-10 more rides, lol if my back can take it!

Interested to get your take on this. Been a long time since I've heard anyone go there.

It has been ages for me also. We are hoping to have a firework view table!

New to me. Interested in hearing about this one too.

I have really good things about the food, and also how pricey it is! This is why I picked as a special treat for my sister’s Birthday!

Nice! Heard good things.

I have always wanted to do this tour and I’m excited to check it out! I will be the lady following the rules while eating my cucumbers off the boat