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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!  

Love your update and hate that you had boat trouble.  We were on the beach the night the downpour began and witnessed the mass of people waiting dockside for a boat.  That was the night that the yellow line never showed up but 2 Lodge buses did...back to back.  So it was just as terrible Fort side as it was MK side.  

 

That fire pit is awesome!  I am definitely putting that on my list.  

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Ah... boat stories.  We've had a few of those as well, always a bummer :(   Why is that they always seem to happen when it's late and (9 out of 10 times) you're tired and/or soaking wet?  Never had a boat issues on the afternoon where we're just out looking around and the sun is shining.  

 

Fire pit is cute.  Question...is a pain to pack up once you've used it and it's dirty?

 

GAG... one of these trips we really need to get one of those :)

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Sorry to hear you had such a hard time getting back to the fort.

 

I'm surprised that Crockett's posted prices on the sign.  Last time we were there, the bartender didn't even know the price of a drink.  She had to ring it up on the register to find out.

 

It was a pain, but you know what? If I could repeat that day tomorrow, including the boat drama, I would! 

 

Love your update and hate that you had boat trouble.  We were on the beach the night the downpour began and witnessed the mass of people waiting dockside for a boat.  That was the night that the yellow line never showed up but 2 Lodge buses did...back to back.  So it was just as terrible Fort side as it was MK side.  

 

That fire pit is awesome!  I am definitely putting that on my list.  

 

I highly recommend the fire pit. 

 

Ah... boat stories.  We've had a few of those as well, always a bummer :(   Why is that they always seem to happen when it's late and (9 out of 10 times) you're tired and/or soaking wet?  Never had a boat issues on the afternoon where we're just out looking around and the sun is shining.  

 

Fire pit is cute.  Question...is a pain to pack up once you've used it and it's dirty?

 

GAG... one of these trips we really need to get one of those :)

 

As far as packing up a fire pit... That's what my husband is for. LOL. I'm actually not sure how he did it. At the Fort, you could put the ashes in the grill, I suppose. 

 

You've never had a GAG? It's the best deal in Disney! You need to change that on the next trip. Now I'm hungry. 

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Love your update and hate that you had boat trouble.  We were on the beach the night the downpour began and witnessed the mass of people waiting dockside for a boat.  That was the night that the yellow line never showed up but 2 Lodge buses did...back to back.  So it was just as terrible Fort side as it was MK side.  

 

That fire pit is awesome!  I am definitely putting that on my list.  

The Lodge bus and the Yellow bus are one in the same, perhaps the sign hadn't changed over yet?

 

Which reminds me..... If the boat line looks super long, run over to the bus stops and get on a Wilderness Lodge bus, then transfer to a Fort Wilderness bus, especially if it's cold, or raining. It will be much dryer and possibly faster!

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Could you use the fire pit when you go tailgating?

We aquired our fire pit from tailgaters at the Independence Bowl awhile back. They left it in the parking lot and well...we just helped to make sure the area got cleaned up.

 

You know what, we totally could. I'm sure I would have thought of that come football season. LOL!

 

Great MM pix.

Time for a little hijack.

I don't know if I or anyone else has ever mentioned this but are Anna and Elsa the new Ginger and Maryann?

How do you like best, Ginger or Maryann?

How do you like best Anna or Elsa?

Me I'm a Maryann and Anna guy.

 

You might be right about that. One thing I will say is that the CMs playing Anna always have excellent interaction, but the CMs playing Elsa don't have much personality. 

 

Will do!

 

Kelly, great MM pictures. Love your shirt!

 

Thanks! I love it too... so true for me. :) 

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LOVE these two pics!  SUPER cute :)

 

Great MM pix.

Time for a little hijack.

I don't know if I or anyone else has ever mentioned this but are Anna and Elsa the new Ginger and Maryann?

How do you like best, Ginger or Maryann?

How do you like best Anna or Elsa?

Me I'm a Maryann and Anna guy.

 

Haha... funny comparision.  But interesting as I always thought Maryann was the better character and I too prefer Anna... Elsa always looks angry to me.  Of course, if I was always freezing, I might be pretty angry too :)

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Okay, I got waaaaaay behind but am all caught up now!  Too many entries for me to be able to remember everything I wanted to comment about, but I do remember that I love all the Olaf inflatables.  I'm going to have to look for one for us.  (For our house - we're that family in the neighborhood.)  

 

We just got back on Tuesday from an impromptu New Years trip and had the same experience it looks like y'all had - early mornings were easy - no crowds!  They definitely picked up as the day wore on, but it was totally worth it for us to get up and out early, even with teenagers.   :o

 

That was one scary Bo Peep!  Almost as bad as TCD's big paper mache (sp?) head people in DL.

 

Y'all are such a cute family, as always!  Looking forward to more of your trip!

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LOVE these two pics!  SUPER cute :)

 

 

Haha... funny comparision.  But interesting as I always thought Maryann was the better character and I too prefer Anna... Elsa always looks angry to me.  Of course, if I was always freezing, I might be pretty angry too :)

 

I love those pictures too. 

 

And you're right about Elsa. 

 

Okay, I got waaaaaay behind but am all caught up now!  Too many entries for me to be able to remember everything I wanted to comment about, but I do remember that I love all the Olaf inflatables.  I'm going to have to look for one for us.  (For our house - we're that family in the neighborhood.)  

 

We just got back on Tuesday from an impromptu New Years trip and had the same experience it looks like y'all had - early mornings were easy - no crowds!  They definitely picked up as the day wore on, but it was totally worth it for us to get up and out early, even with teenagers.   :o

 

That was one scary Bo Peep!  Almost as bad as TCD's big paper mache (sp?) head people in DL.

 

Y'all are such a cute family, as always!  Looking forward to more of your trip!

 

Welcome back! I have a feeling those Olafs are hard to come by... maybe ebay? 

 

Early mornings during crowded times are essential. 

 

And thank you! 

 

Page 9 bragging rights!!  :rofl2:

 

Awesomesauce all around.  Love that you got some fantastic pixie dust and some not-too-crazybusy mornings.

 

And yes, I'm proud of your spontanteity!  B)

 

So many good photos, but I think this is my favorite so far...

 

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Welcome aboard!!! I knew you'd love that picture! 

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Monday, December 22nd

 

When this was originally going to be a short hotel trip, this would have been our last park day. I’m really glad we got into the Fort and extended the stay!

 

The plan for the day was to go to Epcot late morning, ride some rides, visit La Cava, meet the DIT family at Biergarten, see the Candlelight Processionak, and then hop to DHS to see the Osborne Lights. And we got all that accomplished! It was a long day.

 

We drove the cart to the Outpost.

 

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It was a pretty day!

 

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The parking lot was pretty full.

 

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Bag check… yikes!

 

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And the usual fun getting through the Mickey readers

 

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We’re in!

 

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I don’t like the ride, but the Stitch character has grown on me.

 

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DJD was down.

 

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We had FP+ for the Character Spot, so we headed there.

 

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Goofy loved and he and Z had the same teeth! He was cracking us up.

 

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Minnie has a crush on my boys. I need to watch her.

 

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We had some time to kill before our Soarin FP+, so we decided to go to our favorite place in all of Epcot… La Cava!

 

Not too crowded on the way.

 

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The Epcot tree

 

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We arrived in Mexico.

 

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There was entertainment outside.

 

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But it was a little too early for La Cava. Personally, I think they should open at 11:00, not 12:00. This is vacation after all.

 

Decorations

 

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But that was OK because Z wanted to ride the Three Caballeros, or whatever it’s called. Now, I’m about to show you something you’ve never seen before, are you ready???

 

The whole queue is FULL!

 

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What the Fort?

 

It was still only about a 5-10 minute wait though.

 

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Viva Donald!

 

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Z also wanted to color one of those Agent P things. But the table was crowded.

 

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So he used the area near the big Mayan Calendar as his table.

 

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Before long, it was time for La Cava rope drop. We got in line at about 11:55, and there was one group in front of us. About 3 minutes later, there was a big line.

 

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Cheers!

 

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We had to get them to go because it was almost time for our Soarin FP+. That’s all you get for now. I need to get ready for date night! 

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Alcohol rope drops! This report is the bomb-diggity.

 

That's how we roll! LOL! In all seriousness though, during busy times, if you want a La Cava Margarita, it's important to go early. The line gets crazy long. 

 

Goofy and Z's matching teeth! :rofl:

11:00 am is not an appropriate time for a Mexican bar to open. It should be open at 9:00 am so I can get a caesar to drink, for my hangover. Lol.

 

Hmmm.... you make a good point. 

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We headed out from Mexico to cash in our Soarin FP+. Along the way, we stopped for this guy.

 

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He’s pretty cute in his Christmas outfit.

 

Epcot was looking festive.

 

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We arrived at the Land Pavilion. Usually, there are seats at Sunshine Season no matter how crowded it is. I’m not sure about this day though. And do you see that line for Living with the Land???

 

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50 minutes! And people are actually waiting in line. What is wrong with them?

 

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Soarin had an even longer line (of course).

 

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But we had fastpasses!

 

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And they needed a party of 3, so we were here faster than I think I’ve ever been.

 

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We had a good time riding. It’s Z’s favorite ride at Epcot, probably mine too.

 

We had to use the restroom. Look, a line here too!

 

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The companion restroom was my friend. No wait.

 

After that, we headed back to the World Showcase (yes, we were walking a lot) to kill some time before our ADR.

 

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It had gotten cloudy.

 

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Z always loves playing on the drums.

 

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We stopped at the glass blower that was there for the holidays. To say Z was mesmerized would be an understatement. I think he would have stayed there all afternoon.

 

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This is one of his finished products. I could kick myself for not buying one. I didn’t want to carry it around during the day. I should have had them deliver it to the Fort for me, although that doesn’t go well later in the trip. I think I thought I might go back at some point, but I never did.

 

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We left that area because it was almost time for our Biergarten ADR, and we were meeting the DIT family there! We’re going to Germany in the next update. 

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