WDW December 2018

For this trip, we decided to rent DVC points from a third party broker. No, we are NOT DVC members, nor do we have any interest in becoming DVC members – but there's a Disney blog I follow and the authors suggested renting points to get rooms at a very good price and we thought we'd give it a try. You provide your travel dates and select between one and four resorts for the broker to search. If there's a match, you pay for the entire stay upfront, which is definitely different than booking in the usual fashion through Disney, and that's about it! You can still use Magical Express, you still get Magic Bands, you still get to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours – essentially everything is exactly the same as every other trip, but we paid less for the room than if we'd booked it directly, even with our annual pass discount.

We were initially a little suspicious of the whole thing, but are so pleased with the entire process that we've already booked another trip using this service! Our Magic Bands for the trip were Ellie and Carl, even though we've used these names before because it was kind of a special trip to celebrate us being together for 30 years!

Saturday, December 15

We flew on Southwest to Orlando and were lucky enough to have an empty middle seat between us because the flight wasn't full. While I maybe don't love the no-assigned-seats aspect of Southwest, I do seriously love the orderly boarding with Southwest. With other airlines, there's always a lot of craziness and jockeying for position, but Southwest is always such a calm process! I am also convinced that their free checked bags policy contributes to a smooth and efficient boarding experience because people aren’t fighting for overhead bin space with bags that are clearly not carry-on size. We did take advantage of the free checked luggage policy and checked two suitcases, which is extremely rare for us on any trip, but especially when we go to WDW, we each try to only ever take a backpack.

After landing in Orlando, we took the Magical Express to Saratoga Springs and despite the 10:30 arrival time, our room was ready! It had been ten years since the last time we stayed at this resort! We were very happy with our room, and our luggage arrived shortly after we did, so I've got to say that I was pretty impressed with the Magical Express service. After getting things settled in our room, we grabbed a quick snack in the food court and then took the bus to Magic Kingdom.

Well, the crowds were insane. Yes, it was a Saturday. Yes, it was ten days before Christmas. But still! It was very clear that we would not be accomplishing much! We wandered around a little on Main Street and then went to Casey's for lunch. On our last couple of trips, we've used the Mobile Ordering option to not have to wait in line and we've gotten our food very quickly. Well I guess everyone else decided to do this, too, because the mobile order pick-up area was crazy and manned by two cast members who did their best to manage the crowd. It took about 35 minutes just to get our food! At a counter service restaurant where we ordered the food ahead of time! Yikes!

We had fast passes for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Peter Pan's Flight, so we rode those, and then I was on a mission to find the Tinker Bell pixie-dusted cone at Storybook Treats, which was adorable and delicious! We walked over to Tomorrowland because I'd read that there was a new vegetarian option at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café. Not only did we want to try it for ourselves, we kind of feel that we need to show our support for these items so that WDW realizes there is definitely a market for vegetarian options. They have gotten much better about this is in the past year or so – the sit down restaurants have always been fairly accommodating, but quick service has been another story. So we are pretty pleased with the efforts they are making!

Although we really wanted to leave because we don't like crowds, we decided to wait for the Dream Lights on Cinderella Castle because I didn't get to see them in November, and in a case of being in the right place at the right time, we saw them go on from the PeopleMover, which was a perfect view! We waited to let the crowds dissipate from in front of the castle, and then I took some photos before we made our way to the exit. Despite MK being open until midnight, we left at 7 pm!

We took the boat over to Wilderness Lodge and spent a few hours at Territory Lounge, which is a great place to relax, and then took a Lyft back to Saratoga Springs.

Sunday, December 16

We walked over to Disney Springs, which was less than ten minutes thanks to the location of our room. We ate breakfast at Earl of Sandwich and walked around the marketplace shops before returning to SSR to take the bus to Epcot. We had a fast pass for Spaceship Earth (so ridiculous and indicative of how crazy things have become at WDW), and then we walked around Future World until it was time for our fast pass to Frozen Ever After. However, when we arrived at the Norway Pavilion, Frozen Ever After was not operating. We had to decide whether to wait it out, without knowing how long it might take, or abandon the chance to ride it because we didn't have plans to return to that section of the park. We decided to wait to out for a little while, and thankfully it was up and running within about half an hour. It really is a beautiful attraction and I'm so glad we were able to ride it!

We had lunch at Via Napoli, stopped for ice cream at the France Pavilion, and then walked over to Beach Club, Yacht Club, and Boardwalk to look at the Christmas decorations, which did not disappoint! We also stopped at the wedding gazebo where we got married, resulting in a flood a happy memories!

From Boardwalk, we took a Lyft to Celebration, which is a little town established by Disney in the 1990s. We'd heard there was an impressive light display on one of the streets and our Lfyt driver informed us that several Imagineers live on that particular street, which is why the lights are so amazing. Well, we were thoroughly blown away! Several houses had snoap machines, there were projections of Disney and Christmas movies on garages and sides of houses, and the lights of many houses were all synchronized together! We just stood there in awe. It was not a particularly long street, and people do live there and on neighboring streets, so there is regular traffic, although there were police officers to assist with all of the visitors and their cars because it seems like it has become quite the tourist attraction. I wish I could post all of the videos I took!

After admiring the fabulous light display, we walked to the town center area where a Christmas celebration was happening with a variety of performances and an artificial skating rink. So fun! We went to Wonderland Cookie Dough Company and Starbucks, where an a cappella group dressed in Victorian outfits performed holiday songs! Impossible not to be in the holiday spirit!

Monday, December 17

On December 17, 1988, I called C and we talked for ten hours. No joke! Ten hours! This is what we consider our "once upon a time" moment, so we've now been together thirty years. How this is possible, I will never know…apparently time really does fly when you're having fun!

In the morning, I had my hair and makeup done because we were having some photos taken later that day. This is not something I ever do myself because 1) I never wear makeup and pretty much live with my hair in a messy bun, and 2) I am terrible at both applying makeup and styling my hair! The awesome girl who came to our room to make me feel fancy was so fun and lovely and if I lived in Florida, I'm sure we'd be friends! It's funny how you can meet someone and instantly click with them. I will never be able to replicate what she did, but I loved it!

Once that was done, we walked to Disney Springs for lunch at Blaze Pizza and then took a Lyft from Saratoga Springs to Port Orleans French Quarter where we met our photographer, who was absolutely delightful. Let's face facts: both of us are very awkward and we were worried the pictures would capture that! However, the photographer had us laughing the entire time and put us completely at ease. Such a fun experience!

After the photos, we wanted to see the Christmas decorations at the monorail resorts, so we took a Lyft to Polynesian. We got a drink and relaxed at Trader Sam's Tiki Terrace and then got Dole Whip Floats before taking the monorail to Grand Floridian. Of course the lobby is always stunning, but the enormous tree and life-size gingerbread house definitely add a layer of beauty. There was also a chorus performing holiday songs, so the sights, sounds, and smells combined to what I can only describe as Christmas Magic.

After soaking up that ambiance for a while, we took the monorail to Contemporary because we had dinner reservations. After checking in at California Grill, we watched the Happily Ever After fireworks from the observation deck, and when the show ended, our table was ready. Perfect timing! Dinner was phenomenal – California Grill has an extensive menu of vegan and vegetarian options and the service is top notch. Since we were celebrating the beginning of our story that day, we shared a bottle of champagne and toasted to our next thirty years together! We were among the very last people to leave the restaurant and took a Lyft back to Saratoga Springs, grateful for a fantastic day.

Tuesday, December 18

When we visited Disney's Hollywood Studios in November, it was later in the afternoon and already getting dark, so I wanted to get some pictures of the Christmas decorations with better light. We took a bus to DHS, stopped at Starbucks for iced coffee and a carrot cake cookie (breakfast of champions!) and then spent a little time wandering around the park. It was extremely crowded, particularly Toy Story Land, as you can see from the photo below, so we went to One Man's Dream, which is not as extensive as it used to be, but still one of our favorite attractions at DHS. We then took a bus to Pop Century and walked over to Art of Animation to see the Christmas decorations at both of those resorts.

From AoA, we took a Lyft to Beach Club for lunch at Beaches and Cream – a reservation I was able to snag just the day before! After lunch, we took a Lyft back to Saratoga Springs and then walked over to Disney Springs for our last evening. We grabbed dinner at Earl of Sandwich before heading back to our room and then we watched Muppet Christmas Carol while we packed.

Wednesday, December 19

We dropped off our luggage at the Bell Services/Airline Check In desk, which was a first for us, and hoped our bags made it onto our flight before boarding the Magical (aka Tragical) Express to Orlando airport. We scored an empty middle seat again, so it was a great flight home, and our bags arrived as expected! Magical Express worked beautifully on this trip!

Happy Tails to you!