Happy Trip Report Tuesday, friends! Today I'm looking forward to sharing a magnificent morning at Disney Springs which included a stroll down Disney's Christmas Tree Trail, shopping, and delicious parent/daughter lunch dates! We follow that up with a quick trip to Epcot and then enjoy a fantastic finale of the day at Magic Kingdom! So excited to share the full scoop of day 14 with you today!
Day 14 - Thursday, December 6, 2017
I have a thing for Disney topiaries and when they are combined with my favorite club, I swoon! This cute Mickey was along the pathway to the Disney buses.
Disney Springs
We arrived at Disney Springs for some shopping, followed by the main attraction of the day, a stroll down the Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail.
Uniqlo was new to us this trip. It reminded me of a Disney-ified version of Old Navy. I wanted to buy just about everything, but managed to resist all the things!
The cool creations at the Lego Store are always super cute to see!
Princess creating her own DIY Mouse Ears for our shadow selfie
Like father, like daughter
Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail
My friend Chrissy had visited WDW just a few weeks prior to our trip and filled me in on how amazing this trail was. We knew we had to make it there and this was to be the fun day we would!
Hidden Mickey!
Mickey & Minnie
Hooray for PhotoPass photographers along in the trail!
Pluto
Sleeping Beauty
Beauty and the Beast
The Little Mermaid
The Princess & The Frog
Frozen
Snow White
Cinderella
Pinocchio
101 Dalmatians
Fantasia
Villains
Robin Hood
Dumbo
Tangled
Peter Pan
Lilo & Stitch
The Jungle Book
The Muppets
Mulan
Mary Poppins
Alice in Wonderland
Following our fun family walk down the festive trail, we decided to part ways for parent/child afternoon dates that would include more fun and a lovely lunch each!
It was blazing hot that day so I took my girlie over to Joffrey's Handcrafted Smoothies shop where we'd each order a refreshing sip in equally sweet cups!
Next stop, Basin! Oh, friends! I seriously wanted every soap I laid eyes on! All oh so cute! We originally popped in here thinking we'd buy bath bombs to use in the awesome jacuzzi in our villa's master bath, but then I thought about the fact we'd be heading straight back to the parks from there and wasn't sure I wanted to lug around bath goodies for the next several hours, so instead we window shopped, swooned, and sniffed our way through this fun shop.
Time to visit the ever adorable Lego store.
How could she possibly resist creating a lego person in her own likeness? :)
She created a lego likeness of herself.
Mommy/Daughter Lunch Date at The Polite Pig
Each trip Little One and I have a meal for two at the Yorkshire County Fish Shop in the U.K. pavilion at Epcot. That was the plan for this day until we walked past The Polite Pig! We decided we must give this new restaurant a try! (Knowing that we'd still make time for our beloved fish and chips another day, of course! ;))
We decided to order food to share which was so much fun! We ordered Polite Rub Chicken Wings, a Smoked & Fried Chicken Sandwich, BBQ Waffle Fries with Polite Rub, and Mac and Cheese. It was all SO yummy! I'd reorder it all in a heartbeat, maybe skipping the mac and cheese next time. There's only so much you can eat in one sitting after all. ;)
We sat at a table with a window that ran alongside it where we could watch the talented kitchen staff at work. I will say, this place isn't called "polite" for nothing! Multiple staff members visited our table asking how everything was and offered to get us anything we'd need. The manager came over and struck up a conversation with us as we finished our meal asking where we were from which lead to more conversation. Both the fantastic food and sweet staff made our meal here one to remember! We will certainly be back!
Meanwhile Jason and Princess returned to the place where we'd enjoyed our Thanksgiving feast on the first evening of this trip, Raglan Road! During their lunch there was no entertainment (dancers or live band), but they still very much enjoyed their food. Princess got the Burger 'R' Way that I found to be so delicious during my meal there. Jason ordered the Keen Eye for Shepherd's Pie. He liked it, but preferred the It's Not Bleedin' Chowder (available on the dinner menu). All in all, this place is a new favorite for my family. We'll be returning for a special celebration during our next trip!
After lunch Jason and Princess headed over to The Polite Pig to meet up with us and we decided to make our way to Disney's Beach Club resort to actually see their gingerbread display. If you missed last week's post you can read about my adventures in attempting to see this display the day before and mistakenly visited its neighboring resort here.
Disney's Beach Club Gingerbread Carousel
Each year the gingerbread carousel here has a different theme. This year they went with Lilo and Stitch. This is Little One's all-time favorite Disney movie. What a perfect Christmas to visit!
Gingerbread Carousel Ingredients:
36 pounds of honey
96 pounds of bread flour
100 pints of eggs
10 pounds of spices
10 quarts of simple syrup
150 pounds of icing
50 pound of dark chocolate
50 pounds of modeling chocolate
200 gum paste flowers
Lots of enthusiasm and talent!
Aren't those chocolate curls incredible? Also, they're completely edible! If only they sold these horses in their gift shop! ;)
I spy a hidden Mickey!
I love that each resort has carpet in its theming complete with hidden Mickeys!
Entering Epcot through the International Gateway Gate is always fun (and much less crowded). During Christmastime the decor makes it even better!
Jason and Princess made their way to the Disney Vacation Club Members Lounge for a complimentary beverage while Little One and I headed to MouseGear for a bit of shopping.
We couldn't resist pausing our stroll to admire some Disney ducks along the way.
Disney shopping at its finest!
While browsing I found a hand sanitizer that matched my new Christmas Disney Dooney and Bourke bag perfectly! How could I possibly resist?! Go ahead, Disney, take all my money already! Ha!
Perfection!
Reunited once again on this lovely evening we made our way to a Magic Kingdom bound ferry boat.
Cruising into Magic Kingdom provides such a beautiful view!
Hidden Mickey made of rope tied up on the dock
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love being able to use the WDW Annual Passholder Entrance line!
Toy soldiers and a lit Main Street welcomed us for another magical evening!
Tomorrowland is so much fun at night! When the "palm trees" are aglow and neon lights shine all around through the darkness of night, the energy here is electric!
We tried to do the same thing but some of us didn't realize exactly where the camera was on the track! Ha! Every time I see this pic it makes me want to sing, "We're soarin', flying. There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach!" (Breaking Free from High School Musical)
Evening rides on the Seven Dwarf Mine Train are so much fun! As you can see it brought out everyone's silly side!
Time to visit the prettiest restrooms in the history of the world, the Tangled bathrooms!
Princess and I thought it'd be funny to "hide" behind my Minnie ears during the big splash!
Dinner at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
Dining here and watching the show from our friend, Sonny Eclipse, is a tradition we'll never let a trip be without. Jason likes the toppings bar where he can pile complimentary yumminess upon his burger and all of us our fond for Sonny "the biggest little star in the galaxy"!
A seasonal sip for each of the girls with a Mickey straw, and the Christmas cup that still makes my heart skip a beat
We found our spot among the crowd for the Happily Ever After fireworks show. Be sure to check out next week's Eat, Sleep, Dis, Repeat video for fantastic footage of this evening spectacular!
Back to Tomorrowland with my people for a ride on one of our favorites, the Peoplemover!
As we exited the ride we joined in on a fun dance party!
I knew that I wanted to linger at Magic Kingdom one evening a bit longer than the rest of the family to take my time taking pictures of the castle in all its ice laden beauty. This would be that night. Little One asked if she could stay and join me. I happily agreed to this request and we made our way to the castle for some photos.
I have a thing for water reflection. So beautiful!
To help Little One with patience as I took a gazillion pics I bought her a strawberry popsicle.
The above photo was taken during Magic Kingdom's "Kiss Goodnight"! Such a treat to catch!
Little One mentioned wanting to ride Cinderella's horse on Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. If you're looking for an extra special pony to ride find the tail adorned with a golden ribbon. It actually took us three times around on the carrousel to get that pretty pony, but we made her dream come true that night! See that smile? So worth it!
A few minutes before the park closed we decided to hit one final attraction, Mickey's PhilharMagic!
There were so few guests in that final showing of the night that we were told we were welcome to sit anywhere in the theater we'd like. We decided to go for a completely different viewing experience than we'd had there before and sat in the front row, center.
Goodnight, Cinderella Castle!
See that clock? It was just before 1:30am when we closed down the park. What a fun (late) night out with my youngest sweetie pie!
P for "Platt", of course!
Even though it was half past one in the morning at this point, with the park closing at 1:00 I thought we may have to wait for a spot on the boat back to Wilderness Lodge. However that was not the case! Only a few other people joined us on that late and quiet cruise back "home"!
She is serious about fun!
Arriving back at Wilderness Lodge we took in the beauty that surrounded us.
These awesome guests brought an inflatable lit Buddy the Elf to display on their balcony along with Christmas lights. It put a smile on my face each time we saw him!
Thanks for joining me for another pixie dusted post! Hope to see you again same time, same place next week for another dose of Disney magic!
Also, don't forget to check out the video footage from this day at my family's YouTube Channel,
Direct Links to Previous Trip Report Tuesday Blog Posts:WDW Day 1 | Thanksgiving Day Arrival + a Disney Dream Come True!
WDW Day 2
WDW Day 3 Part 1 | Our 1st Visit to Pandora
WDW Day 3 Part 2
WDW Day 4 Part 1
WDW Day 8 | A Polynesian Resort Dream Come True!
WDW Day 9 Part 1
WDW Day 9 Part 2 | Monorail Loop Christmas and Gingerbread Displays
WDW Day 10 | A Closer Look at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort & My 1st Solo Trip to Magic Kingdom!
WDW Day 11 | Checking into Disney Vacation Club's NEW Copper Creek Villas + Magic Kingdom Fun!
WDW Day 12 Part 1
WDW Day 12 Part 2 | Disney Vacation Club Moonlight Magic Party at Epcot! {BEST Night of the Trip!}
You can check out previous years of my Disney World and Disneyland Trip Report HERE.
I appreciate each comment, & "like"! They let me know that you enjoyed what you read, which makes it worth sharing! ;)
Wow! So much Disney fun. When we were there in December, I wanted to see that Muppets tree! We did do the trail, but it was night time so harder to see all of those details.
ReplyDeleteThanks for another sweet comment, Dara! I'm so glad that your family was able to do the trail too! I can completely understand how it'd be harder to see the details at nighttime. Glad I could share the Muppets tree with you here. It was a super cute one! :)
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