(Complete 4/20!) How Many Cookies Does One Couple Need? - Dec 2023 Trip Report

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We headed upstairs to the little area overlooking the lobby, and grabbed two seats and conked out. Our view:

The ability that the 2 of you have to find places to full on nap is impressive!!!

It wasn't quite as quiet as we were hoping - the lobby music was just a bit loud, and while no guests came back where we were, there were some CMs who periodically kept passing, and the chairs were not super comfy for naps

Pretty sure there is a CM break room behind those double doors. We hunted for a spot for Morgan to chill one trip when she didn't want to swim and we did. And somehow we learned that, that was a CM spot. Also, I don't think Morgan sat there because there was no outlets near the chairs... Ha

 

[Araminta18]

I like the way you think! I just love it at Christmastime. We went in 2022 because I used the excuse of having purchased an AP for our 2022 spring trips and always wanting to see the holiday decorations. Then, we went in 2023 because I used the excuse of cheap airfare...maybe this will be my excuse for 2024...

That's a bit more aggressive of a gif than I wanted but I think you should do it!

Pretty sure there is a CM break room behind those double doors. We hunted for a spot for Morgan to chill one trip when she didn't want to swim and we did. And somehow we learned that, that was a CM spot. Also, I don't think Morgan sat there because there was no outlets near the chairs... Ha

ooooh that would make sense! It was only CMs down that way. aw, poor Morgan! Though that's why we carry a bajillion charge bricks with us (not gonna lie usually two, sometimes three )

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Your meal at Ale and Compass looked pretty good - especially those rolls!

The Candlelight Processional looks SO fun… I’d love to do it one day! Based on every pictures I’ve seen of the Candle Processional entry lines it seems a dining package is always the way to go. I’m glad you enjoyed it!

 

[mickey916]

That's a bit more aggressive of a gif than I wanted but I think you should do it!

I think I should too! I just convinced my DH to get an AP (I have one already). We're going this April and next March. I think he should get the best value of his AP by also going in December, don't ya think?

 

[Araminta18]

Your meal at Ale and Compass looked pretty good - especially those rolls!

The Candlelight Processional looks SO fun… I’d love to do it one day! Based on every pictures I’ve seen of the Candle Processional entry lines it seems a dining package is always the way to go. I’m glad you enjoyed it!

Those rolls were so good. You know how folks do the bar crawls? I think they should do bread service crawls, and outline the best lounges to get rolls/bread... Apparently you can get the rolls at the lounge next to Ale & Compass..

Yea, i think the only way to guarantee a seat is the dining package! you aren't saving any time, but *shrugs* I hope you get a chance to do it one day! Maybe wait until a narrator you just have to see is announced.

I think I should too! I just convinced my DH to get an AP (I have one already). We're going this April and next March. I think he should get the best value of his AP by also going in December, don't ya think?

YES DO IT! I mean going in December basically makes the AP free, right? #disneymath

 

[mickey916]

I think they should do bread service crawls, and outline the best lounges to get rolls/bread...

You are on to something here! I'll start the list: Ale & Compass rolls, Banana Cabana rolls, Bread Service at Sanaa, Pineapple Coconut Bread at Olivia's Cafe, Boathouse rolls

 

[Araminta18]

You are on to something here! I'll start the list: Ale & Compass rolls, Banana Cabana rolls, Bread Service at Sanaa, Pineapple Coconut Bread at Olivia's Cafe, Boathouse rolls

Hmm so many on there I haven't had! But I have had the Sanaa bread service and it's AMAZING.

 

[mickey916]

Hmm so many on there I haven't had! But I have had the Sanaa bread service and it's AMAZING.

The Sanaa bread service is amazing and it really surprised me. I figured it was over-hyped but it was sooo good!

 

[Araminta18]

Brendan Fraser!!! - Thurs Dec 14, 2023 (part 14)​

Not gonna lie, one thing I really appreciate about Disney shows in the America Gardens theatre is that they start on time. So right at 8:30, the conductor came out and the show started! This was our first time at the Candlelight Processional, and we had no idea what to expect. But we were excited to see Brendan Fraser.

I didn't realize everyone had like staggered entrances - overture first with the orchestra, then the choir entered and sang a song, and then Brendan Fraser! Our seats were fantastic:

Oh wait, let's try that again:

Hi Brendan!

The music was great, though it was a bit odd for me to hear some of the religious carols and yet not be at church, since I'm used to hearing them in a church setting. But overall I enjoyed the music, and Brendan Fraser was really fun to watch - he often seemed to be singing along (or dancing/swaying in his chair) and was in many cases visibly touched. I really like him from "The Mummy" and "George of the Jungle" and it's been nice to see him back on the rise.

I also had no idea the show was basically an hour long! Definitely getting bang for your buck - but 100% do the dining package. Absolutely worth it. Though we did (as you saw) have to wait in line for a bit.

Trevor took photos and I filmed it -

I realized after the fact that Trevor got a new phone after the last time we tried to film something, and now has the phone with the better camera so we probably should have had him film it. Oh well! The pictures he took turned out great

After the show, it was time for fireworks! We didn't really have time to get to a good spot or anything, cause the processional ended like maybe 5 min before the show, so we just headed over to that pavilion/empty area in front of Italy.

Not a great spot, but not horrible for our first viewing of Luminous!

I love that you can't hardly see the barges.

I also took a couple clips, do not ask me why:

I liked it - though I think I liked Harmonious the show more, but not if it meant permanent barges. So Luminous, with no permanent barges, I like! I do feel like Disney is kind of flailing with the Epcot nighttime show - like the don't quite know what they want to do with it, or how it fits with the rest of the park, though that may be a reflection of the somewhat scattered nature of the current iteration of Epcot. But overall, an enjoyable nighttime show.

I also loved these laser lights after the show.

But after the show, it was extra hours for deluxe guests and so we were on our way to ride Guardians of the Galaxy!! We made our way around world showcase and were entering the queue at 10:05. There was basically no line, so we were in the first room in just the time it took to walk the queue. Woot! 15 minutes later we were on the ride! Which is honestly the fastest I think we've ever gotten on the ride. Extra hours for the win.

We even got our favorite row - row 9 - without having to ask for it or wait or anything! Woo hoo!

We tried really hard to be facing the camera for the picture this time -

Didn't work - we were looking too far over. I guess we just need to look forward?

For those keeping track at home, we got Everybody Wants to Rule the World - our favorite song!! We started the day with it, and then we ended the day with it - brilliant.

We got off a bit before 10:30, and so with another hour left of extra hours, we weren't quite sure what to do. We did wander into the hub to see it all lit up at night, and man it is gorgeous!

I liked these fiberoptic bush things.

And the rainbow lights! I didn't get a good shot with the lights going on Spaceship Earth, but this area is just super neat at night.

What next? Guess - something else we wanted to see how it looked at night.

 

[Araminta18]

The Sanaa bread service is amazing and it really surprised me. I figured it was over-hyped but it was sooo good!

SOOO good. The first time we ate there they were selling the recipes and the dip serving board in the gift shop, so we bought them and honestly, that's what we do for Thanksgiving now - we make all the dips and have naan and dips.

 

[Araminta18]

Great End to an Amazing Epcot Day! - Thurs Dec 14, 2023 (part 15)​

Your last hint for where we went next:

Moana the Way of Water! It was a bit chilly but not too bad, and I wanted to see how it would look at night (and also we hoped it would be less crowded. )


Hello!

It definitely was less crowded, so we had a bit more fun playing in the water and looking at all the details.

Pua!!

It's definitely worth seeing at night though - when you get to the part with Te Fiti, you can see Spaceship Earth all lit up near her.

So cool! It's a different experience at night - highly recommend. I was actually a little surprised it was still open, but definitely a pleasant surprise.

We got done at about 10:45, and since we were right there by the Land pavilion, Soarin it was!

We were really not having good luck with B1, but we got C1 this time and we were on the edge closest to B, so it worked out. And the Soarin Over California doesn't have the bendy thing as noticeable, so it worked. Who doesn't love Soarin?

We were off the ride at 11, and so we made our way to the front of the park and towards the buses. But to no one's surprise, we had to stop and take pictures. Spaceship Earth was all lit up like a candy cane!


I love the Festival display at the front too -

Seriously, all of it together - gorgeous.

Monorail!! Also I love the whole new music loop there at the front and in the hub area - so pretty.

Honestly, it was a great way to end the night - enjoying the music and the theming. So we took our time and then meandered out to the buses.

I have no shame so I plopped right down on the ground to wait for the bus. Trevor said if he sat down he wouldn't get back up, which, fair. We waited about 5 min for the bus which isn't too bad, though it does feel a bit long at the end of the day.

Overall though, we'd had an absolutely fantastic day - we rode Guardians 3x and got our favorite song twice, we'd met several characters including the one I really wanted to, we got to enjoy the new Moana attraction twice, we had a great meal, a great spot for the Candlelight Processional, and got to see the new fireworks show. Shoot I don't know that I could have planned a better day!

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 23,272 steps (10.5 miles)
Ride count: 9 (Test Track, Guardians x3, Soarin x2, Living with the Land, Moana Way of Water x2 [yes I'm counting Moana ])
Savings due to AP discount: $39.70 ($9.30 from Ale & Compass; $30.40 merch)
Cookie Count: none

 

[Araminta18]

Magic Kingdom Morning! - Friday Dec 15, 2023 (part 1)​

We tried to sleep in a bit this morning, but then we (me, let's be real) had to get up to book the Tron lightning lane at 7 and it was a bit too hard to get back to sleep, so we decided to get up and go for it. We were ready to go at about 7:40ish, and I forgot to check the bus times in the app, so we got to the stop just as the MK bus pulled away. Womp womp. Bus sign said the next MK bus would be 7:59; it actually came at 7:55. Still a 15 minute wait - moral of the story, check the bus times on the app and plan accordingly!

The one nice thing about being so far from the main building is that we were one of the first stops of the internal bus loop, so we definitely got a seat. We'd already missed the extra half hour in the morning (7:30 am was when that started), but by 8:20 we'd made it and were heading towards security there at MK. Also, anyone else love the new security where you just walk through the scanners? It goes SO MUCH faster now! A+ 10 out of 10.

And right away we were seeing decorations!

Such cute Mickey and Minnie topiaries there.

The train station! We thought about stopping but the line for pics was kind of long.

And then once inside (without much of a wait at all - love how MK does the entrance stuff), all the decorations there in the hub! The toy soldiers!

And the tree!

Though not gonna lie, it's a bit weird to have the stump so tall. I kind of wish the bottom of the tree was closer to the ground. Oh well. Still very nice.

Of course we did have to stop and get some photos with the photographers along Main Street and in the hub.


I love this magic shot with us blowing the snowflakes. Honestly I just love the whole trend of you blowing snowflakes or pixie dust or whathaveyou in magic shots.

But then it was time for our Tron boarding group! Woohoo! I should have taken a screenshot - I don't remember what group we got but must have been a really low one. Again, pro tip - have two devices and time.gov up on the other one, and then refresh right at 7 am.

Anyways, over by Tron they had the photographer out in front of the sign, so of course we stopped:


Still no idea what this magic shot is but I can be surprised with the best of them when they tell me to.

This early in the morning, there was no line - yay!

Honestly, we got in this line at 8:35, and then this next picture -

is time stamped at 8:45. 10 minutes!! Love it! And not even that, we got row 1 without even asking. The only downside is I'd gained some weight since August and while I fit, it was a tight squeeze on my calves. It legit hurt so bad lol.

 

[Araminta18]

Rides and Pictures (though let's be real that could be the title of most of my posts) - Friday Dec 15, 2023 (part 2)​

Ok, I left off with us just getting on Tron!


Trevor's eyes were closed but I was awake!

Tron is always fun, but yea I'm just on the edge of being too big for the bikes - lookit my bruise:


Anyways! Tron done, we were heading over to our Lightning Lane for the thing I was most excited for...but we got waylaid in the hub by photographers. (I know you're all shocked and no one saw that coming). We tried doing the magic zoom but it didn't turn out suuuper well.

So pretty! We got some pictures from this side too.


I love this watercolor effect/magic shot - so cool!

But then, we made it to our destination -

The Jingle Cruise!!!

We're huge Jungle Cruise fans (see Trevor's hat), so doing the Jingle Cruise? Super excited for that! I loved seeing all the decorations:



They even updated the names on the boats -Yule Log Lolly? Adorbs.

 

[Araminta18]

How Many Jingle Cruise Pictures Can I Have? - Friday, Dec 15, 2023 (part 3)​

The fastpass line was about 10 minutes, but it was kind of nice so we could look at all the theming.

I love the little hut! And the vintage little santa wall decoration!

Actually while we were waiting here we had a fun little experience. A skipper walked by and just handed Trevor a HUGE roll of the jungle cruise ziploc baggies and then walked away. And we were super confused - like should we keep them all? What was happening. And then another skipper was like "oh is Skipper [I can't remember his name] trying to get you to do his job?" and gestured at Trevor's jungle cruise hat and then we were like "oooooooh" Spoiler alert - we did not pass those out and there wasn't a convenient place to leave it, so we have a BUNCH of jungle cruise ziploc baggies now. 2nd spoiler alert - they came in really handy when we were packing up.

More pics:

Love the dinner menu.


Jungle All the Way!

In case you want to have some Christmas-flavored dad jokes.

And more pictures:




Am I the only one who wishes this was a real gift shop and a real ride photo?

It was great fun - I loved all the Christmas dad jokes and all the decorations. So fun.

And then afterwards, we decided to go ride Big Thunder! It was posting only 15 minute wait. But as we headed over there, we were a bit hungry so we stopped at the stand there (I think it's Westward Ho) and got a Crispy Chicken, Egg and Cheese biscuit. We'd gotten one of these back in August and found it surprisingly good and filling, so figured we'd do it again. And it was just as good and filling.

Forgot to take a pic before we started eating!!

The over to Big Thunder! We took a pic of the progress on Tiana's on our way -

Coming right along! I hope it opens up soon - I want to ride it! It looks awesome.

Then, Big Thunder! It was posting only a 15 minute standby still so we decided to do the standby vs immediately doing our Lightning Lane. It'd been a long time since we'd done the standby, so figured why not? And so we got to see some of the theming.

Gold!

(and that's the picture limit so I'll have to do the rest in the next post)

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Wow, you were SO CLOSE to the Candlelight Processional stage! Amazing!

You had excellent luck with Epcot EEH. I can’t believe the line for Cosmic Rewind was so short! Also, Way of Water looks AMAZING at night.

You had a great start at MK - you are the queen of boarding groups! I appreciate your tips for grabbing a boarding group or great lending lane. (Out of curiosity, do you have an iPhone or an Android? And did you use Disney Wi-Fi or data? It seems which phone and which connection seems to make a difference… I’m wondering how you made it work so well!)

I’m sorry the TRON seats were so rough on you that morning (ouch!) but glad the awesome Jingle Cruise made the morning better. I must also add that I LOVE your shirt that morning!

 

[Araminta18]

Wow, you were SO CLOSE to the Candlelight Processional stage! Amazing!

You had excellent luck with Epcot EEH. I can’t believe the line for Cosmic Rewind was so short! Also, Way of Water looks AMAZING at night.

You had a great start at MK - you are the queen of boarding groups! I appreciate your tips for grabbing a boarding group or great lending lane. (Out of curiosity, do you have an iPhone or an Android? And did you use Disney Wi-Fi or data? It seems which phone and which connection seems to make a difference… I’m wondering how you made it work so well!)

I’m sorry the TRON seats were so rough on you that morning (ouch!) but glad the awesome Jingle Cruise made the morning better. I must also add that I LOVE your shirt that morning!

Right? We got sooooo close. Super lucky. and Super lucky that night too with the lines for Cosmic Rewind. I hope you get a chance to try Way of Water at night - it is just as amazing!

With the boarding groups, we've always just used my phone which is an iphone, and we're always on data. Dunno if it makes a difference, we just always have time.gov up on one phone, make sure we've added our party, and then refresh right on the dot.

Aw thanks! I'm glad you liked the shirt - I like it a lot too, but it was SUPER hot. Much hotter than I thought it would be. I had to buy a new shirt halfway through the day cause I was just too hot during the day.

 

[Araminta18]

More Things We Don't Normally Do! - Friday, Dec 15, 2023 (part 4)​

We enjoyed more of the theming we don't usually see -

Anyone else a big fan of maps/diagrams like this? I wish we could buy stuff like this. Also, now I want an attraction that takes us through the mine.


Be aware that wounds, illnesses, or missing limbs are not acceptable excuses to miss a work shift.


We also got to play with these autocanarys a bit - some of them were not working but several were. It was a lot of fun! Made the 20 min in line go by pretty quickly. And soon we were on the ride! We waited one extra round to get the back row - worth it.

Then we used our fastpass and hopped back on!

What's better than one wildest ride in the wilderness? Two!

From there we headed over to Haunted Mansion. Standby was 30 minutes but we had a fastpass. Heading in, I noticed what looked like a wreath on the mansion front door. Is that always there?

Hard to see, but now I'm wondering if even the Mansion gets decorated a bit for Christmas!


I was super excited for this ride, so we could see the Hatbox Ghost!

Only downside is we go by so fast. I get the whole complaint about how Madame Leota hasn't summoned the spirits yet so technically we shouldn't have him there yet, but meh. It's still cool. Apparently I am not a purist.

Next up we had a Space Mountain fastpass, but we headed over there slowly by way of Fantasyland, passing the Cheshire Cat cafe, where of course we stopped and got a mid-morning snack.

Slushie with sprinkles


The seasonal Peppermint Eclair: eclair filled with white chocolate peppermint mouse, topped with peppermint mousse and chocolate pieces. Trevor was the one who really wanted this - he doesn't really like chocolate and peppermint but as this didn't really have much milk/dark chocolate (just white) and he likes peppermint, he wanted to try it. It smelled like toothpaste to me, and tasted like it too. I was not a fan. Trevor thought it was fine though.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Two rides on BTMRR sounds like a good plan to me!

I’m apparently not a HM purist either… I’m quite excited to see the hatbox ghost!

 

[Araminta18]

Where is the MRS elevator? - Friday, Dec 15, 2023 (part 5)​

Done with that gross snack, it was time for our Space Mountain Lightning Lane! Not gonna lie guys, by this time I was super hot in my shirt. It was just too hot for the weather and for the walking around we were doing. But there was no convenient gift shop to duck into and buy another one. But pro-tip for me - never wear this shirt at Disney during the day!

Anyways, the Space Mountain lightning lane wasn't bad - only took about 5 minutes or so to get on the ride. Woot!


We mostly remembered where the camera was this time! Woohoo! It's mostly the Guardians of the Galaxy ride photo that I absolutely cannot find for the life of me. Anyways.

Had a great ride on Space Mountain, but now we were about done with Magic Kingdom and ready to head over to the resorts to check out the decorations! As we headed out of Tomorrowland and into the hub, there was no line for the Magic Kingdom superzoom, so we tried that one more time and it turned out waaaaaaaaaaay better this time. Thankfully.

I love how during Christmas it ends in a Christmas snowglobe!

Anyways, we made our way out of the park and onto the monorail, which showed up right as we did, which was AWESOME. I love it when the timing works out where you arrive right as your transportation does - just awesome. And then two minutes or so later, we were at the Contemporary!

On our way we were passed by the other monorail, so that was kind of cool.

I was so excited for these monorail resorts and their decorations, but first - we had to stop at the gift shop and buy me a new shirt cause I was literally melting. I ended up getting a light blue Pixar La Luna shirt. Muuuuuuuuuuch cooler. Phew!

Then it was time to see the decorations.

Cinderella's castle! I love the Mary Blair homages too (small world clock up there for example )


Fun facts for you.

And my favorite part - 5 legged goat!

Who doesn't love the 5 legged goat?

We hopped in line to get a gingerbread shingle, and then got Frozen Hot Chocolate as well.

It wasn't bad, but not amazing either. Icy chocolate milk, basically.

Next up, back to the monorail to hop over to Grand Floridian! This was the first time I've ever had to wait in line to get on the monorail at Contemporary.

It wasn't horrible -we got on the next monorail - but still caught me slightly off guard. Christmas crowds are coming!

Also, we passed the elevator and Trevor immediately turned to me and was like "But wait, where is the MRS elevator?"

Apparently this is the "MR" level. Trevor would like you all to know how proud he was of his joke. #nerd

We had an uneventful trip over to the Grand Floridian, and were greeted with this lovely sight:

 

[Araminta18]

Grand Floridian! - Friday, Dec 15, 2023 (part 6)​

The Grand Floridian is so pretty. The only thing that took away was how CRAZY loud it was. Definitely lots of people here in the lobby.

But it's so pretty. I do appreciate that they took down the construction/refurb walls for the holidays. Gotta give us our pretty pictures!

We basically beelined for the tree and the gingerbread stand, but then I got distracted with Basin right there. Bought some more princess body scrub and shipped that home, then continued on our way to the gingerbread house. We encountered our only real line for gingerbread of all the resorts. But it was so pretty - yes I'm gonna spam you with a bunch of pictures.


I love all these decorations on the tree - just a super nice aesthetic.


And the illustrations above the windows! So cute.

Seriously, the whole thing was adorable, which was good because we waited 30 minutes in line to buy our treats. Dunno why, it didn't seem like there were that many people but the line was going sooooooooo slow, despite two registers. We had a 1:05 lunch reservation at Grand Floridian cafe but I was like we are not leaving this line until we get our treats! We finally made it (at about 1:05 ) and got our treats, and then headed over to Grand Floridian Cafe at 1:10. Not too bad!

We got checked in and they called us back 15 minutes later, so I guess everyone was just backed up today. But we were finally seated and then the food itself came pretty quickly, thankfully. We were hungry and definitely starting to flag a bit.

But first up, our drinks!

I got the Raspberry Colada (non-alcoholic). I'm not a huge coconut fan but I *love* raspberry so you know I had to get this. And it was good! Lots of raspberry.


Trevor got the Mega Berry Smoothie: raspberry puree, yogurt, blended with Simply Smoothie orchard berry. Both of these were yummy. Gotta love raspberries!

Then we got our bread service:

More citrus butter - this was orange butter. Not bad, just a bit odd. But I love biscuits! So yummy.

Then our entrees! I ordered the quiche.
This was good - nothing SUPER amazing, but yummy. I love quiches. And the fruit was good too.

Dang picture limit!