A Jolly Holiday with Masseys: THE TRIP REPORT - WDW Dec2019

That's ok, I'm not a big fan of okra in my gumbo. I can take it or leave it.
Okay. Winnipeg has some of the best okra-less gumbo in the world. We're renowned for it. Surely you've heard that?
There've been a few worldwide competitions and we've consistently ranked in the top three for the last 20 years running.







I totally made all of that up. You can't find gumbo up here.
At least not easily. (There's a French restaurant that supposedly has/had one.)
Did you check? It should have been extended.
I just did. (Thanks for the reminder)
My AP is back and says it expires August 25th.

Not that it matters. The border is closed until at least late July and will probably get extended at that time anyway.
You're missing out.
yes... and no.
I have had a few breakfasts at Disney and love them. But often when I'm alone, I move quickly in the morning. No time for breakfast. I usually don't eat three meals in a day, so saving that time for later works for me.
 


Joining in! You have such a beautiful family. I'm sorry your daughter's CP was derailed and sorry for your husband's health troubles. Hopeful we can all emerge on the other side of this soon!
 


Princess Jasmine is adorable!!! But what really drew my attention in this picture.... is that glue in JP's cupholder? Lol

no!!!! But it is slime from the Elmer company. I HATE SLIME and gia brought this home from a day with meme.It’s now successfully thrown away behind their backs. Shhhh.

And thank you for the birthday wishes. Can’t wait to tell y’all about our party after this weekend.
 
I totally made all of that up. You can't find gumbo up here.
At least not easily. (There's a French restaurant that supposedly has/had one.)

I thought a smelled something funny.

I just did. (Thanks for the reminder)
My AP is back and says it expires August 25th.

Every little bit helps.

Not that it matters. The border is closed until at least late July and will probably get extended at that time anyway.

You're probably right. You can ask for a refund.

yes... and no.
I have had a few breakfasts at Disney and love them. But often when I'm alone, I move quickly in the morning. No time for breakfast. I usually don't eat three meals in a day, so saving that time for later works for me.

That makes sense, but even a quick breakfast is good too.

Joining in! You have such a beautiful family. I'm sorry your daughter's CP was derailed and sorry for your husband's health troubles. Hopeful we can all emerge on the other side of this soon!

:welcome: And Thank you! We have certainly had our ups and downs in the last few months, but so has everyone else. I'm hoping this will end soon too, but it is what it is. We're just all making the best of it we can. Remembering past trips helps.
 
Thought of you the other day. I took a different route to work the other day. It was a gorgeous day and I took my bike for an extra long commute. Not far from home, their building a new Popeye's. :)

Sounds like it was a nice day for a drive. Is Popeye's popular there?


Popping into say hello, Vanessa and HBD to all the birthday girls!!!

Hi Leisa! I was just catching up on your reports. I know you've been real busy.
 
Sorry we've been lax on the report again. The week leading up to the Birthday Party was rough. I spent every lunch hour and after work running around to finish up details for the party. I'm going to let Michelle do the update on the party since it was her brain child. She is currently doing her last week of classes for her teacher certification so hopefully she'll have some more time. She will be going straight into studying for her test later this month.

Danielle and I are still planning our short weekend trip in October. The party has been cancelled but we still want to go. We had to make some changes to our plans. Originally we wanted to do the party our first night which is Thursday. We planned to sleep in a little then go to Epcot for Food & Wine and them back to the Magic Kingdom on Saturday. Our flight home is late Sunday so we planned to hit DS or a late breakfast/early lunch before catching the Tragical Express. Since we don't have a party on Thursday and our plane lands around 8:30 am we're now planning on going to Epcot. It doesn't open until 11 so that works out perfect. Friday is now going to be Magic Kingdom and Saturday we'll hit DHS. We did debate going to MK on Friday and Saturday since it's our favorite park but some time in DHS will be nice too. I spent 2 hours on the computer the day the Park Reservations opened but finally got what we wanted. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to make the 3rd day reservation for Danielle. We had a resort reservation and I have an annual pass, so I was covered. I had assigned Danielle the 2 one day passes I had but she still needed 1 more day of tickets. She still has a sticky ticket that was given when she was hired at Disney and a pass she earned after working 150 hours. She can't technically use these unless she gets hired back on before they expire in 2022 but they do show up in MDE so I was able to make her 3 days of park reservations. We still need to purchase her a one day ticket but tickets for 2020 aren't being sold. I did speak to a CM who advised that tickets for 2020 should go on sale in late August or September. Fingers crossed this is true. We're thinking about making at least 1 ADR when it opens for us at 60 days out. I really want to do something I've never done. If the MK does close @ 7 we were thinking of going to Beaches & Cream or going somewhere for a late breakfast/early lunch on Sunday. Danielle did get the news that LSU was cancelling Fall Break but we're going to still go to Disney. They can't make the students go to class due to Covid, so the classes are also going to be broadcast or taped. She has been a really good student and has only missed classes in the past if she had to due to finishing a paper for another class or being really sick. We may have to make some plans for online classes while in Disney. I have a reservation for All Star Movies but everything I have read states that it shouldn't be open when we go. I have read about people calling with reservations for the All Stars and given a little choice on where they want to stay. I've thought about calling but I really want to be surprised. Where ever we end up will be a step up for Movies. I'm fine with staying at any of the options. The only values open will be Pop and Art of Animation, either one will put us on the Skyliner which we love. Maybe will will get lucky and get a Moderate or Deluxe. I haven't added our information to Magical Express yet. I'm going to wait until August to see if we get moved.

I'm trying to keep up with all the news coming out about the openings of the parks and everything that keeps getting changed around. I'm really sad that so many things we love won't be happening while we're there but I'm also excited about smaller crowds. When we go to Disney we make so many plans of all the things we want to do or see and never really make a dent in it all. I'm okay with there being some limits, since you can't do it all anyway especially on such a short trip. If this was my first trip or my first trip in years I would not want to go during this time.

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.
 
Park Day 2-Epcot 1st day- Sunday, December 15th - Touring the World

After finishing our Fast Passes for the day I was able to grab a 4th FP for Living with the Land later that night so we could see it lit up. It was now time to start Touring the World with hopes of seeing more Christmas Decorations and Christmas Entertainment. Which way did we go? Canada or Mexico?

Mexico won.

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Do you see Dennis, Danielle & John Paul? I'm once again lagging behind them.

Coco is a family favorite for us so we had to check out the "Remember Me" exhibit. The first time I saw the movie I was surprised with how much I really enjoyed it.
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A stop in Mexico isn't complete without a ride on
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The line was actually kind of long so when we got in front of the temple as seen from the restaurant I snapped a photo. We haven't eaten here since 2004, but Dennis keeps asking to go back.
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John Paul really enjoyed the ride. It was great fun to try and find Donald. I think this is a must for all little kids.

We quickly passed through Norway since we had already spent some time here.

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I thought the grass roof looked really green for December.

This poinsettia tree was very lovely.


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Another brief stop in China.
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It was a beautiful day and getting pretty warm. John Paul had his shorts on by this time.

We were making our way around the world but had not caught any of the Christmas Entertainment yet. It wasn't looking good for me seeing any so far.

We stopped for frozen drinks at the African Outpost and John Paul had fun making some music.
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Continued in next post.
 
Park Day 2-Epcot 1st day- Sunday, December 15th - Touring the World continued.

Grumpy also enjoyed making music.
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I don't have any photos in Germany but we did stop. There was a German band playing which was very festive. It was around 2 and we hadn't had lunch yet but we still weren't terribly hungry, just snack hungry. I jumped in line for the Bavaria Holiday stand while Dennis and Danielle took John Paul to find a place to sit down. The line was pretty long but kept moving. I got the Fondue Cheese, Pork Schnitzel and Potato Dumpling for us to share. While they were waiting for me to get the food John Paul was entertaining them. He was really tired by this point and was trying to rock himself to sleep in the stroller. The movement of the stroller gave them the giggles. We enjoyed our snack and all agreed the Fondue Cheese was the best. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures. It was all gobbled up pretty fast.

When we made it to Italy I finally caught a Christmas Storyteller -La Befana. She was very entertaining but I was pretty far back and it was really hot with the sun blazing down on us. I did not make it through the whole story.
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We timed our arrival in the American Adventure just right. There was no way I was going to miss seeing Voices of Liberty. It was great just like always and moved me to tears. I can never get enough of listening to VOL. I've seen several shows and have heard some songs more that once but their overall shows are always different. John Paul sat through the show and really seemed to enjoy it too. He insisted in sitting in Danielle's lap.


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I love that they usually stay after their performance to visit with people.
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It was time for a bathroom break with John Paul after the performance. I took John Paul and had Dennis take some pictures for me. I wanted some of the gingerbread houses. I didn't actually get to see them in person so I'm thankful the pictures. The first picture is the Liberty Tree.
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The details are just amazing!

One more Christmas tree before we move along.

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It wasn't too long after this the John Paul finally gave in and fell asleep. Please don't think that we didn't feed him. He's more of a grazer. Michelle had prepared a bag of snack for every day. He pretty much grazed on this on and off all day. His favorites ended up being the Nutragrain bars, apple sauce and yogurt squeeze packets.

Up next the rest of Touring the World.
 
We love the Mexico pavilion and it’s thanks to Michelle that I watched Coco after one if her fabulously themed parties! I loved the movie and I love The 3 Cs. Definitely a must for little kids 😊
I love to snack around the world at EPCOT. No better way to spend the day. Glad you got to see some Christmas stuff. The VOL look so Dickenson to me in their beautiful outfits and always sound great. The gingerbread displays are amazing! I’m betting things look even more festive after dark 🎄

ETA I like the sound of your plans for your trip with Daniella and I'm glad you managed to get your park days reserved. Think a lot of people had a nightmare of a time sorting those out so well done to you!:thumbsup2
 
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Sounds like it was a nice day for a drive.
It was! :)
Is Popeye's popular there?
Nope!
It's too new. Not many people have been yet. When I went that last time to try the spicy chicken, there was a fairly steady stream, but due to the virus and due to it's relative newness, the place was far from "busy".
The week leading up to the Birthday Party was rough. I spent every lunch hour and after work running around to finish up details for the party.
:hug:
I know how those are. Hope you're getting some rest now.
Danielle and I are still planning our short weekend trip in October.
:thumbsup2
I spent 2 hours on the computer the day the Park Reservations opened but finally got what we wanted.
2 hours... that's good, actually. I've been reading so many horror stories.
We may have to make some plans for online classes while in Disney.
Ugh. I hate it when anything takes me out of the bubble.
I'm really sad that so many things we love won't be happening while we're there
:hug:
 

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