Thanksgiving AKL Kidani TR Updated COMPELETED

[DisneyMountainWoman]

The rain is done!! Yeah!
We cross the hub to get to the next cookie stop over in Columbia Harbour House and they have this cookie: Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookie & Hot Cocoa.
This cookie is really good.

We then rush to the castle to watch the Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration. We walk in right when the music starts. I think yeah we made it!


And I notice it is different than what I saw on utube. And it was only one song. I find out later this is there short rain version.... bah...

Then we discuss next moves... soon the fireworks will start so do we want to just camp out a spot and everyone said yes. My son wanted to be as close as possible to the front... I mentioned the fireworks are big and most people say to move back a bit but nope... my son wants to be close.

We get a place right up front against the wall. We put down our jackets to sit down and we eat some cookies while we wait for fireworks. Also we packed sandwiches and ate our dinner. Best part about having Boma for brunch was we were not super hungry. So sandwiches and cookies hit the spot. It was nice to have a wall to lean up against..

The fireworks are about to start... and no one stand infront of us. So we literally got to sit and watch the disney works! The fireworks view was cool. Yes a little blocked by the castle but soo cool. The fireworks were going off everywhere! Also got the best view of tinkerbell and best view of projections too. I got a video of tink... but videos dont post well here. My son still talks about how much he loved these fireworks and how close we were.

Also remember to bring sound muffling headphones for your sensitive kids. My son loves them. Esp for things like fireworks.


Okay here is are the way to many fireworks pics from me and my husband...








Continue on to next post... and yes I will be done with fireworks pics

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

My mom is done now. So she heads out back to the hotel. We stick it out.
Now when fireworks are done we place ourselves in spot to watch the parade and watch the Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration instead of going for the town square spot since we did not see the show yet. We get a great spot on the curb for the parade... that is also still infront of the castle to watch the show that is suppose to happen before the parade. While waiting we give my son his tablet to keep him happy.


While we wait we here to show is being delayed. we wait some more and they said they are doing the rain short version again...bah. It has not been raining for over an hour now... so we see the short version again...


Still cute but was hoping to see the full one.

Next the parade starts!!


My son loves the parade and saying hello to everyone.








The music is great and I love how some floats have smells.

Continue to the next post...

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

More parade pics!!! Cause I cannot help myself.











This parade is soo nice and surprisingly long.... I did not realize how long it will last.

Continue on to the next post.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

What did you want more of... more parade pics of course!!





and Santa!!


By the 2nd parade is done the party is about to close... and we still have one more cookie stop! Need to have all cookies! So we go quickly over to the last place: Tortuga Tavern
Red Velvet Cake Cookie & Apple Cider. We loved this cookie. But did not get a chance to try it till later.. also just fyi... if u are a very big group and you are waiting for some slower people in your group... dont yell at us for listening to the cms telling us to keep moving. So I moved around them as they stopped. The cookie lines are all about keeping the lines moving. I just kept our head down and kept moving instead of engaging with them .


We got of our cookies! I asked if anyone wanted to do anything else... and everyone was tired so no more extra rides even though the lines are super short or characters. But they all agreed to the Xmas tree pic. So we start heading out.

Just a cool pic.


Man the area is soo pretty.




Continue on to the next post.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

More fun selfie pics while walking out.

Then we get in line for the xmas tree photo.
It is a little long but really cool because they have this present that glows! To bad it is blocking my sons faces a bit... the photographer did tell my son to bring it down a bit but my son was not listening at this point so we just said take it. Lol. At the end of the night your just happy he is not melting down.



While waiting in line his necklace broke since he was fidgeting(stemming) with it a lot.
Good news while walking out I saw them selling it. I asked if it is okay we trade in our broken one. We just bought it today and they said yes no problem. Yeah!! New necklace that works that is not broken.

There is a bit of a line for the busses since the party just ended. AKV bus arrives and they fill it up all the way and we just miss out. Just when my son starts getting sad... another bus comes right after!! Score!! We get sit down on the bus and it was much less crowded!

We went back to the room and fell asleep really quickly.

Overall we had a great time at the party. I think the parties are worth it once and a while... we would not do it every year but every couple of years are great. We also loved timing it on a black out day so it felt more worth it. Also we loved eating a big lunch for party day. That way we don't waste our time with a meal during the party. Also having a nap before the party is a must to make sure u can last all night. Pick your must do because you cannot fit it all in. We really loved our schedule... we fit in a little bit of everything. Some rides, special photopass experiences, shows, parade, fireworks, character meet and greets, cookies, merch, and dance experiences. We did not buy any exclusive food... I watched many utube reviews and none of them see worth the price and trouble. Esp when we get free desserts already included. The rain put a bit of damper on a part of it but we made the best of it. We had a wonderful time and my son still talks about it.

Continue on to the next post.

 

[Miffy]

@DisneyMountainWoman: This trip report is the cure for the dreaded I'm Home Now and Won't Be Back for a While syndrome, which I am currently suffering from.

Thank you so much for the great report and happy pictures.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

@DisneyMountainWoman: This trip report is the cure for the dreaded I'm Home Now and Won't Be Back for a While syndrome, which I am currently suffering from.

Thank you so much for the great report and happy pictures.

Yeah glad u have been enjoying it.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Saturday

Today we leave... we mostly pack the day before.
But we finish up.
I notice we still have a zebra dome left in the fridge... I help solve that huge oversight..lol.



We then leave our home....it is always hard to leave but at least we know we will be coming back.

We drive and drop of our rental and the toll pass. No issues at checking in and no issues through security. We do have tsa priority check in so that helps.

Then we go to United Club.

Not much food was here but we got a comfy place to sit and I got a mimosas.



Then we head to our plane. Again nothing special happened. We had a lot of cookies left from the party so we eat them as a yummy snack on the airplane. Yum!


And we made it home.

Overall we loved our Thanksgiving trip. We are soo happy we bought into AKV. We loove our resort, with the best food, best theme and one of the best pools in all of WDW. The rooms do need a little loving... happy the renovations are scheduled but hopefully they do not gut its heart and soul. We were wondering if we could do Thanksgiving week with just the Sorcerer Pass... since we had to deal with black out days during our trip but it worked out well. So yeah saving money and still having a great time.

Tips for parents: My son did really well on this trip. If u are traveling with a person on the spectrum, things that helped us are; us watched everything and I mean everything a head of time. I then made the game plan while talking through everything with my son. We planned out everything and he approved it all. Also we had chill breaks throughout. Also we packed noise canceling headphones, tablet with his fav shows, fidgets, wand with bubbles, safe food and snacks to help. It also helps that WDW had many of his hyperfocuses. Hopefully that helps give some good tips.

Next trip... coming up in 2 weeks! My first try at Dopey during WDW marathon weekend in 2025. I will do another trip report. We will be staying in the Cabins at Copper Creek, so look for that soon!

Let me know if u have any comments or questions on!

 

[Ellester]

Sounds like an amazing trip! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Counting Stars]

As always your trip reports are great! Thanks for taking the time to share. I really enjoy your Run Disney trips reports too! It is so amazing that you have accomplished this level of fitness and commitment cause to us non-running folk it just flat out sounds impossible Looking forward to hearing about Copper Creek cabins and the marathon.

 

[Rochester Disney Fan]

@DisneyMountainWoman , this was a great trip report. We stay out late but don't get up early like you did so it's amazing to see what you can actually accomplish when you do. I'll try to get at least some of my party motivated to start early a couple of days next trip. We have been coming to WDW since 2006 and I have a son ( one of our twins) who is on the spectrum. We used the old paper DAS when we first started then gradually switched to fast pass and now lighting lane. He's now 21 and still loves Disney . He wears the headphones every trip but now they connect to his phone. Thanks again for taking all those pics and sharing your experience.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Sounds like an amazing trip! Thanks for sharing!

You welcome!

As always your trip reports are great! Thanks for taking the time to share. I really enjoy your Run Disney trips reports too! It is so amazing that you have accomplished this level of fitness and commitment cause to us non-running folk it just flat out sounds impossible Looking forward to hearing about Copper Creek cabins and the marathon.

Ahh thanks about the running. Anyone can do the running... I am still just a plus sized 40 year old mom who always hated running growing up. I just take it slow and follow the run/walk/run method that Jeff Galloway does and rundisney promotes. It is the only way I could run. I am soo excited about staying in the Cabins for my first try at Dopey. Those private hot tubs are going to come in handy!

@DisneyMountainWoman , this was a great trip report. We stay out late but don't get up early like you did so it's amazing to see what you can actually accomplish when you do. I'll try to get at least some of my party motivated to start early a couple of days next trip. We have been coming to WDW since 2006 and I have a son ( one of our twins) who is on the spectrum. We used the old paper DAS when we first started then gradually switched to fast pass and now lighting lane. He's now 21 and still loves Disney . He wears the headphones every trip but now they connect to his phone. Thanks again for taking all those pics and sharing your experience.

Yeah glad u enjoyed it. But yeah... mornings are the best. Also my son is best in the mornings... so works well for everyone. We get so much in before the crowds and then leave when he is done. Then afternoons and evenings are decompression times. Works well for us.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Thank you for sharing! Your itinerary sounds identical to what I have planned for Thanksgiving in 2025 and the Sorcerer blackout dates and MMVMCP, so it was super helpful to see it IRL!

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Thank you for sharing! Your itinerary sounds identical to what I have planned for Thanksgiving in 2025 and the Sorcerer blackout dates and MMVMCP, so it was super helpful to see it IRL!

Yes it worked well. We did not feel like we were missing out on anything and still quite a saving compared to the full pass. So worth it.