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Surprise, Santa, and a Shiny new AP Holder… A GDF Trip Report


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Well, it’s time for another GDF trip report. This trip started small and ended up much bigger. Originally, I thought Z and I might drive down for a few days before Christmas to see some Disney lights

We’ve made it to December 26th, our last day. The plan for this day was to hit Animal Kingdom for a bit and then hang at the Fort and go to the Fiend Grand Gathering at DIT’s site.   We weren’t doing

Okay so I'm about half way done with this report.  It's keeping me sane on these hard days of adjustment.  We got home from China about a week and a half ago!  Yay!   Here's the boys at the airport!  

Wow... the lines actually look pretty decent at this point!  Oh...and to be wearing shorts and tshirts again.  Man, that sounds good :)

 

Cute Christmas decorations at the Jungle Cruise :)

 

Up until here, they were fine. It was busy at this point.

 

I liked the decorations.

 

And yes, I wish I were still wearing shorts. I need to move South.

 

We had the same boat driver on our Jungle Cruise ride, but I have a different opinion than you.  I'd rather ride the Journey of the Mermaid SMB ride than Jungle Cruise, and that driver stunk for us.  I think they should bulldoze that ride and build something interesting.  

 

On the other hand, I agree with you about Disney fries....they seem to have improved them across the board.  In particular, the ones at Trails End are vastly better than they were a couple years ago.  

 

I'm not usually a Jungle Cruise fan, but I wanted to experience the Jingle Cruise. As a rule, we don't usually ride it because it's boring. I liked the overlay though.

 

There's something different about the fries, or they're cooking them long enough to be crispy. 

 

Extra FPs? Hmmm.....I wish i knew some people with APs. That's a good deal.

Improved fries are a welcome change. Well, anything improved is a welcome change.

I noticed on the splash photo screen that it said to touch your card to the reader. If you have memory maker and magic bands do you have to go through all that or do they just show up in your account?

 

The fries are better, I swear it.

 

You don't have to touch the screen, but if I could get to it, I did. 

 

Way to score extra FPs.

Fries! I love fries!

 Extra FPs are good. 

 

Fries are good.

 

Waking up early again SMB.

 

No you don't have to do anything.

Thank you sir

 

Fiends helping Fiends

 

It looks like they've added many more decorations this year to the Jingle Cruise.

 

I didn't ride last year, but from what I've heard, there are a lot more. 

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Well, I'm caught up now.

 

I read too much at one time to remember all the comments I'd like to make, but I will say that I'm glad you finally made it to the Lodge, and I am proud of you for getting the photo of the mom in the princess dress.

 

 

 

 

 

Another tip, if you are at the Lodge and want to get to the Outpost bus stop, hop on an Epcot or Studios bus, as they will both stop at the Fort and you can get off there :)

 

 

Be careful with this- there are times when the DHS bus leaves the Lodge and goes to the Grand Floridian rather than the Fort.

 

So ask the bus driver before you board if you're trying to get to the Outpost.

 

TCD

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I love all of your pixie dust!  I am secretly reliving my vacation through your trip report.  The FP, the pavement, the food, the wait times!!!  I am loving it!  

 

We had a great morning... and really a great whole trip. 

 

Well, I'm caught up now.

 

I read too much at one time to remember all the comments I'd like to make, but I will say that I'm glad you finally made it to the Lodge, and I am proud of you for getting the photo of the mom in the princess dress.

 

 

 

 

 

Be careful with this- there are times when the DHS bus leaves the Lodge and goes to the Grand Floridian rather than the Fort.

 

So ask the bus driver before you board if you're trying to get to the Outpost.

 

TCD

 

Welcome back! I think I remember you. :)

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Before too long it as time for Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. Sorry, I was too busy eating to take good people watching pictures.

 

Hopefully these will be in the correct order because both Jason and myself were taking pictures.

 

The coach for the new Cinderella movie came out before the parade. I think it’s pretty.

 

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I think that movie looks pretty good and am excited to see it.

 

Then the parade started with some characters.

 

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Then came Mickey and Minnie.

 

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And the Frozen sisters. That’s the Elsa from the parade taping who is also the Elsa we met on our last trip. Sorry, but I don’t think she looks that much like Elsa.

 

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I’m pretty sure Kristoff and Olaf were up next.

 

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Chip n Dale

 

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Gingerbread men

 

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Penelope

 

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Wreck it Ralph

 

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Goofy

 

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Dwarfs!

 

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Jason’s favorite came over for a visit.

 

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Snow was looking for Dave.

 

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Was she celebrating in that last picture? Maybe because she didn’t see him?

 

I’m not sure, but I think that’s 30 pictures, so we’ll pick up from there next. 

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LOVE the parade!! Super cute!

 

I agree on the Elsa character.  Pretty girl... but only a so-so match for Elsa.

 

Hmmm... I don't think I care for Cinderella's carriage.  Looks more like a Faberge Egg, which may have been their intent, but I prefer the original :)

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The parade looks cool!

 

It really was! 

 

I'm really enjoying your trip report! I love Wdw at Christmas time.

 

Glad you are enjoying it. Thanks for reading and commenting. We loved Christmas at Disney! 

 

Very cool!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

It's a good one! 

 

Great parade pix. I agree she doesn't look much like Elsa. We had a different Elsa and she didn't look much her either.

 

You know... I really haven't seen a great Elsa. 

 

Great parade pictures!

 

Thank you! 

 

LOVE the parade!! Super cute!

 

I agree on the Elsa character.  Pretty girl... but only a so-so match for Elsa.

 

Hmmm... I don't think I care for Cinderella's carriage.  Looks more like a Faberge Egg, which may have been their intent, but I prefer the original :)

 

Like I said above, I haven't seen a great Elsa. Maybe her face is hard to match? They get Anna right; Elsa, not so much. 

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OK, let’s finish up the parade.

 

Some dancing people

 

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A gigantic princess float. Now, this float kind of SMB because it’s huge and has a lot of princes and princesses on it, but you only see the ones on your side.

 

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Cinderella is too high.

 

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And so is the Fairy Godmother, IMO.

 

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This guy has lost his man card.

 

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Bo Peep with no sheep?

 

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Teddy Bears

 

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Toy Story float

 

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These guys were super cool! I love how many of them there were and the marching sounds they made.

 

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Then came the reindeer.

 

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And the big man

 

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And there ends the Christmas parade. We really enjoyed it.

 

With that, it was time to bail on the MK and head back to the Fort to relax for the afternoon.

 

Heading out! It’s definitely more crowded back here, but not too bad.

 

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Down near the exit is a different story… Chaos!

 

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We were really glad we were heading out and not in at that point. Remember all the pavement from the morning? That’s totally gone.

 

But that’s OK because the peacefulness of the Fort awaits! 

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Crowds!!!

Welcome to Disney at Christmas!

 

Big crowd, but hey, we had a good morning. 

 

You did great with the Christmas parade photos. It looks like they are in the correct order to me.

 

You're right about the Princess float.  The twins were mad when they found out that Flynn and Rapunzel were on the other side.  They kept on seeing Aladdin and Jasmine.

 

TCD

 

That float just has way too much going on and is too big. I wonder who else was on the other side too. They could have stair-stepped it or something. 

 

I thought the Main Street re-painting was done for awhile? Da*n scrims.

 

That was Aloha Isle, I believe. 

 

I thought the same thing and looked again. That is the Dole Whip place over in Adventureland

 

Yes, that place!

 

 

I really liked the Toy Story float....very cute.

 

Oh my gosh... all. the. people.   Yuck.  Glad you made it in/out early.  You played it right! :)

 

It was cute! And yes we did! 

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Still Sunday, December 21st

 

After leaving the insanity of the MK, we crossed the water bridge.

 

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Much more peaceful, right?

 

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And arrived back at the Fort where things were much calmer.

 

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That’s one of my favorite things about the Fort. It’s a sanctuary from the craziness of the holidays, well most of the time.

 

A couple people were playing tether ball.

 

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We headed down the path. You can see our neighbors’ path decorations. We loved being this close to the Settlement.

 

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After arriving back at the site, we put Z down for a nap. He doesn’t nap much at home, but he needed to catch up on some sleep. I did some of this.

 

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Ahhhhhhhhh…. I wish I could be outside with bare feet now.

 

I stared up at the trees and could listen to the Settlement Christmas music playing.

 

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That was pretty much a slice of heaven.

 

I took this picture to remember to talk about our new Fort approved fire pit.

 

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Now, I don’t know about you guys, but we love having a fire while camping. When we rented a PUP from Curt, he was nice enough to lend us his fire pit. We really enjoyed it. But like most RVers, space can be an issue. Where could we fit a fire pit with a solid top? Then I found this guy! The sides fold down and fit inside with the legs. It’s super small when broken down.

 

Here’s where I got it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-GMFP20-Grizzly-Portable-Fireplace/dp/B000FF8PQ6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420641117&sr=8-2&keywords=fire+pit+cub

 

You can also use it as a grill if you’re so inclined. There’s just a grate you add that’s included.

 

Jason did some shopping, and guess what Mr. I Don’t Like Disney put on our golf cart?

 

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Yep! Mickey ears, right on the front. I guess we’ll let him keep pretending.

 

After our rest, it was time to head back to the MK. The plan was to watch Elsa freeze the castle, grab a QS dinner, and cash in more FP+.

 

But it looked like rain.

 

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We went ahead and prepped Z that things might not go according to plan because of weather.

 

I would like to point out that Jason is rocking both a Mickey sticker and a Fort shirt.

 

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Ominous foreshadowing

 

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The boat arrived, and we headed to the MK.

 

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Guess who we ran into on the boat? The Timsmith7 family! I forgot to mention that I’d also run into his wife at the hot tub the day before. She started chatting with me because I had my Fort Fiends coozie. Their whole family is awesome!

 

 Back at the MK, things weren’t quite as busy as before. The smart people were probably heading out due to the forecast.

 

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I love this picture.

 

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Z wanted a snack, and I saw that a Christmas show was going to be starting at the castle, so we decided to head that way and snack while we watched.

 

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Family selfie

 

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Don’t worry; the ipads were out!

 

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The show was pretty cute.

 

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And then it started to rain… a little…. Then harder…. I knew what this meant, but confirmed with a CM just for Z. Elsa would be freezing the castle from inside. Ugh. He took it pretty well though.

 

We decided to go cash in some Buzz FP+.

 

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I still can’t get 999,999.

 

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At the point it was POURING. People wouldn’t leave the store at the exit of Buzz. People were getting packed in, and no one was forcing people to leave. It was a mess.

We finally got out of there, and guess who we ran into again? The Timsmith7 family! I swear we weren’t stalking them.

 

It was then that I realized our next FP+ wasn’t for an hour. Jason wanted to head back to the Fort. I’m a throw on a poncho and go kind of girl, but he’s a miserable in the rain kind of guy. We’d already had a great day too, so I was fine with that.

 

I did get a pretty picture of the castle dream lights though!

 

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So we headed back to the boat… We’ll pick up there, and you’ll get to hear about our worst experience with boat transportation EVER. 

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