On the first day of Christmas, here's what we ate at Disney 🎶

hereforthechurros

Here for the spring rolls too
Joined
Dec 26, 2017
Hello fellow food friends!

We are the people who swore we would never visit during the holidays. Crowds are not our thing. But with our APs expiring in January and time off school an issue with the kid, we decided to take the risk. We did two nights at ASMovies, two nights at Wilderness Lodge, and three nights at POR from 12/22-12/29. We are weirdos who absolutely love split stays and being that we booked this Christmas trip sort of last minute, we pieced together what we could. We've been lucky enough to do 5 trips in 2019 (six for me with one more quick adults trip this month) but don't see the need to renew our passes... there's too many other awesome vacation spots in the world. Anywho - onto the good stuff!

My husband and I love drinking, and food, and all things hot (as a wise snowman once said) and often share items to try as much as we can. Since we had a few shorter stays stacked up we decided to do the deluxe dining plan for the Wilderness Lodge stay just to see how the other half lives. This was before the credit differential so we were able to get a whole lot of bang for our buck. OOP the rest of the time. Believe me when I am saying to this day we are still eating Chip & Dale snack mix thanks to our snack credits. I have to admit I wish I was better at food pics but when you're with a six year old most of the meal is spent with the attention on them. I'll post what I have though. Thanks for following along! Here's us waiting in line for for AS2 in summer 2018:


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Sunday 12/22 - arrival night / ASMovies

Dinner was airport food before our evening flight. Luckily we have a few good local restaurants to pick from so we shared some fries topped with pulled pork, cheese, and jalapeños from Bar Symon. Vacation starts at the airport right? We figured we could always grab something at the food court if were were hungry later.

Flight was quick, we landed around 9:30 pm, but the taxi and luggage and ME wait/drive took FOREVER. We didn't get to our room until after midnight and it was a mad dash to get to sleep. So much for checking out the food court. ASMovies normally wouldn't be our first choice, we booked for super cheap on Priceline as somewhere to sleep and it was completely sufficient for a place to stay.

Monday 12/23
Christmas Eve Eve and our first park - Magic Kingdom!

First stop, Main Street Bakery. After a super late night, sugar and caffeine was needed. Being the week of Christmas the line here was no joke. It was a 40 minute wait between the line and until we had food/drinks in hand. I ordered my holiday guilty pleasure, a peppermint mocha, and we all three shared the vanilla glazed Mickey donut.

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Frankly, I can take or leave most donuts, but this one was pretty good. Very soft, light icing, perfect to share. We hit some rides, did some SOTMK (nerdy but cute) and before we knew it it was 11:30 am. We wanted to get a good spot for the Christmas parade and happened upon a table on the patio of Pecos Bills. Guess that solves our lunch for the day as well! We mobile ordered which was such a lifesaver because the lines were insane. I had the kid's veggie bowl which was a little bit of letdown. Over the summer the adult bowl was rice, beans, and grilled squash which was great but now it's rice, beans, and onions/peppers. Not sure I consider that a veggie bowl but whatever, cover it with enough lettuce, jalapeños, cheese and sour cream and just about anything tastes good. Kid wasn't super hungry as he ate most of that nutritious donut, but he snacked on an uncrustable and sliced tomatoes. Husband had the chicken rice bowl and seemed pleased, or if nothing else, full.

The Christmas parade came and went and was super adorable. View of the parade from Pecos Bills was decent and we were happy to have a table during. I am not super into parades, but this one is legit with the scents and sounds and horses... so cool! After lunch it was more attractions, some Christmas store shopping, Muppets in Liberty Square (yay, at least we caught it once more) then picking up the super cute Christmas tree popcorn bucket. Getting this baby home would prove to be a pain but I love it and we ate ourselves sick with popcorn all week. I'm good forever on Pop Secret thanks for asking. Picture from DisneyFoodBlog:
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By 2 pm we'd had enough of the MK crowds and lines so we hopped on the monorail to Polynesian. Ahhh Poly, why must you torture me so? Whenever we stay there I'm always a little less impressed than I want to be, but whenever we don't stay there I miss it like crazy. FWP for sure. Anyway we were here for one reason in particular: Trader Sam's. We hadn't been to the WDW one in well over a year, with our last visit being at the DL location in spring 2019. While the DL location was fun, it left us missing the WDW location. I lined up at 2:20 pm, at 2:40 pm a CM came out and took names down, and at 3:02 pm we were called inside. I've never been there right at opening but it takes a while for things to get going. I don't think we had our drinks until 3:30 pm or so.

My son ordered the Polynesian Punch (Sam’s Gorilla Grog and Hibiscus Grenadine. served in a Souvenir Sipper) while husband and I shared the Uh-Oa which is Plantation Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, Orange, Passion Fruit, Guava, Pineapple, and Grapefruit Juices, Falernum, Cinnamon, and fresh Lime Juice.

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We skipped the adult souvenir mug as we were super tight on luggage space but we enjoyed the cinnamon burning experience to appease the Gods! The drink itself was sweet, and we don't really love sweet. I'm a team player so I wound up drinking most of it. We then switched over to beer, both getting the Hanalei IPA from Kona which is a fave of ours while at WDW. We may have had shared one more from the Kona lobby beer stand later that afternoon as a reward for saving our son from the tiki totems!

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A little more shopping at Poly then we boarded the bus to Disney Springs for our dinner reservation at a returning fave: Homecomin.

It took a while to be seated as would be the theme all week but we were happy to be out of the misting rain that seemed to plague the entire trip, order some drinks, and relax. My husband ordered the thigh high chicken biscuits with a side of Mac and cheese, son ordered the fried chicken with peas & carrots, and fries. For weeks I had been dreaming about my order but when it came time to actually order I froze! WTH? Too much Uh Oa perhaps. Fried chicken dinner + sides would be WAY too much food. Salad seemed like sacrilege despite my love of salad. Short ribs caught my eyes for a minute but I knew more roasted beef and mashed potatoes were ahead for the week so I settled on a Cuban. I love cubans, I make a killer one, why not? Well why not is because what Homecomin does best is chicken and this was not chicken. It wasn't bad but very large and very dry. Kinda bland too. Bread was dry, pork was dry, there was little mustard and the pickles didn't add much. I only ate half but did get a couple bites of chicken biscuits too. As always the star of the show was the Mac and cheese. Le sigh. Probably for the best that this dish is 1000 miles away given my unnatural attraction to it and *attempts* at eating healthy while not at Disney.

We hit the LEGO store, then World of Disney, and we were ready to head back to the resort and sleep after a long day and two late nights in a row. On the way out we passed Amorette's Patisserie. I wasn't in love with this place the last time we stopped in, but I wanted to scope out their Christmas treats. We settled on a pistachio eclair and creme brûlée to go to eat later in the room. Last time I had their creme brûlée it was over-baked and eggy and this time was no different. Only the very center had any creaminess to it. Live and learn, I won't be trying it for a third time. The eclair though was out of this world however. The pastry was light and the pastry cream was lighter. It has pronounced pistachio flavor and thin while chocolate wafer across the top. Seriously so good. So I guess eclairs are the way to go here from now on. Picture from Pinterest:
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Full tummies and tired bodies, we packed up to check out in the morning then crashed out to dreams of Wilderness Lodge.
 
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Tuesday 12/24
Start of the DELUXE DINING PLAN + Christmas Eve + checking into WL. Best day ever?

Yes is the answer! I have such ridiculously fond memories of this day.

We Lyfted from ASMovies to WL around 8:30 am to store our bags with bell services, check in to start the DxDP and then hop on a bus to Epcot. Much to our surprise they had a room ready for us. And it had a view of the castle. Thanks Santa! We dropped our bags and decorated the room which was fun. Guys there really is no place like the Lodge for Christmas. I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. Considering it for 2020 as well.

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After decorating we Lyfted to Epcot and Holy mother of god that security line. Bag check took almost an hour and was backed up like noting I had ever seen. People coming off the monorail were stopping to take pictures ad film because the lines were THAT crazy. Once through we had to haul to our first FP in the Land. We quickly hit Sunshine Seasons where husband and I shared a bagel and a banana and our son had a croissant and then stole our banana. Twas okay with me, we had a hearty lunch ahead. We paid OOP for this breakfast.

Crowds were reasonable and after our FPs we bought a Chip & Dale scavenger hunt map and a stopped at Three Kings for a passport for the cookie stroll and what would be the only cookie stroll purchase of the trip - the chocolate crinkle cookie. This was large and very fudgey. Sadly we just never mustered enough energy to finish the stroll as there was so much else to do and see. But still, this one was decent. Next stop was a white ale from the Norway beer cart, a fave for us. We sipped this while searching for Chip & Dale wreaths - our son LOVED this by the way, great for kids.

After a busy morning it was time for our lunch reservation at a new to us place: Biergarten. I read a lot of reviews on this place, and even ditched a reservation at Chefs de France in favor of it since it seemed like such a festive place to be on Christmas Eve. The food was exactly as advertised - heavy German fare. So many cold salads, cold cuts, different types of sausages, potatoes, salmon, chicken schnitzel, etc. My favorites were the meatballs, the sauerbraten with red cabbage, and the nudelgratin. It's hard to eat a lot here but we each had two plates and left stuffed. I didn't even bother with dessert. Don't tell anyone. But I did enjoy the 1/2 litre of Shofferhoffer grapefruit beer. My husband splurged for the whole litre of Becks and polished it off like a champ. Note the look from our table mate.

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Pro tip: they will give you a plastic glass to go if you're struggling to finish your 1/2 or full litre. This restaurant is most likely one and done for us. Nothing bad about it just not our favorite. Fun to try once though! And a decent value on the dining plan. We used 3 credits and would have paid about $150 OOP.

We strolled through the rest of the WS, finding Chip & Dale in every land, and decide to head back to WL around 3 pm. But our day was far from over! We all had one thing on our mind and that was relaxing poolside. Much needed and always a highlight for me. By evening they were setting up a pajama & hot chocolate party around the campfire as well as Christmas movies playing. This scene was just so great but we couldn't stay long as it was time to get ready for our late dinner reservation at California Grill.

Around 8:30 pm we jumped on the resort boat to Contemporary and were there in about five minutes. We checked in WAY early for our 9:35 pm reservation. We were seated at 9:55 pm. Luckily we were brought to our table just in time for the fireworks to begin. Not luckily, it was the worst table in the place for a firework view. And it was raining outside. So we sort of hovered in the middle of the restaurant to catch the fireworks. Then we got down to business.

I ordered a glass of Pinot Noir and the A Selection of Farmhouse and Artisanal Cheeses (Five Unique Cheeses with Accompaniments.) My husband ordered the Sonoma Maple Bourbon Old Fashioned (Sonoma Brothers Bourbon, Vanilla Maple Syrup, Angostura Bitters, and Luxardo Cherries with an Orange Twist.) We are both bourbons lovers and really enjoyed all the balance in this one. For his app he ordered the Braised Beef Short Rib Wontons (Doenjang Miso-Cola-Onion Sauce, Crispy Garlic-Chili Oil, Radish, Pickled Lotus Root.) Hot damn, both apps were fantastic, just lights out. I totally failed and forgot to take a picture of the cheese descriptions as a few of them were super impressive. The truffled brie was the best cheese I've ever had. And that sesame brittle! And the Pt. Reyes blue. Ahhh take me back...

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And if you've had the wontons I don't need to tell you how flawless these are. I could have made a meal out of them. They come overflowing with tender short rib and have perfect heat from the chili oil. Drinks and apps came out quickly which was great because we were starving by this point. We also ordered a cheese flatbread for the kid and he ate every bite. He then ate the entire basket of bread they brought out. Such a good little carb baby.

We also loved watching the electric water pageant cruise the lake from way up high, such a cool view. From here things slowed way down. I ordered the Jumbo Scallops (Lump Crab in Yuzu Vinaigrette, Carolina Gold Rice, Glazed Dragon Carrots, Shishito Beurre Blanc) and husband ordered Oak-fired Filet of Beef (Aged Gouda Macaroni and Cheese, Grilled Sweet Onions, Sautéed Ice Spinach, 27 Steak Sauce). It took about an hour for the entrees come out. Everyone in the restaurant waited until after fireworks to order entrees it seems and the kitchen was slammed. Every server was standing around the pass just waiting for their food. At 11 pm the restaurant was still completely full and bustling. We finally got our entrees around 11:30 pm (our server made a comment about how she had to fight for them) and we had to scarf them down. Hence the blurry photo!
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Which is such a shame because they were SO good. The scallops were the most quality, perfect seared and perfectly tender. I would order these every time. The citrusy crab vinaigrette and the smoky rice were such a great mix. Husband's filet was a little overcooked but had great oak flavor. He ate this and the spinach. Much to my chagrin we were both too full to eat the Mac and cheese but we each had a bite and you really get the aged gouda. I look forward to trying this again in the future when I'm not so full! In the middle of the entrees we placed our dessert order. Peppermint creme brûlée for me and Cheesecake, No Sugar Added Dessert (Sunflower Seed Crunch, Raspberry Gelée, Popcorn Shoots) for the man. Both were once again, scarfed down, with neither of us finishing them. Great end to a delicious meal which OOP would have been well over $200. We paid OOP for the kid because two credits for an $8 pizza is just bad business.

By now it was after midnight so we had to arrange transportation back to WL and quickly get to sleep so Santa could come. I wish dinner hadn't been SO late, our son fell asleep in my arms before we were even out of the Contemporary, but I really can't think of a better way to spend a Christmas Eve meal <3
 




12/25 Christmas Day! And Deluxe Dining Plan continued.

By some miracle we all slept in until 8:30 am, then jumped right into our little makeshift Christmas.
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We took it easy all morning. Kid played with a few smaller things we brought him, we FaceTimed family back home, then it was time to get ready for breakfast.

Another new to us restaurant, we figured Whispering Canyon was a good place to spend Christmas breakfast since it was on-site. This place was a zoo, naturally. Huge parties coming and going. It took about 20 minutes to be seated and our server was in a huge rush. We tried to match his pace and quickly ordered a mimosa for me while Rich ordered the Bourbon Sweet Tea (Maker's Mark Bourbon, House-brewed Sweet Tea.) For meals I decided on the The Lighter Side Skillet Bircher Muesli (Swiss Oatmeal), Fresh Fruit, and Yogurt with Egg White-Spinach Frittata, Turkey Bacon, Turkey Sausage, Country Potatoes, Mickey Waffles which Rich opted for the The Heritage Skillet House-made Buttermilk-Cheddar Biscuits and Sausage Gravy with Mickey Waffles, Scrambled Eggs, Country Potatoes, Hickory-smoked Bacon, Pork Sausage Links.

The kid got the kid's meal eggs and we opted to pay OOP since its was like $9. Everything came out quickly which was nice but the cold items of my skillet didn't come out so I had to flag down the server for that. The egg white frittata was surprisingly delicious. The turkey bacon was nowhere close to bacon or really edible so I skipped that and stole my husband's real bacon. My body was especially thankful for the oatmeal and fruit. I tried a few items off the other skillet and the biscuits & gravy were really good. Wanted to note we were not involved in any antics, even though we were open to it of my son's sake. He asked for ketchup and the server brought him ketchup. I did hear some other fun going on in the other rooms but we were sat in the very end of the restaurant, more near Territory Lounge than anything, where things were very quiet. Our server said they did 700 covers just at breakfast so I think things were just too crazy for any extras. We paid up and that was that. Also probably a one and done for us. We used 2 credits and it would have been about $70 OOP.

We stopped by the Mercantile to stock up on snacks then it was down to the pool to swim. 70 and sunny on Christmas was both odd and awesome. The pool was practically empty which would be in complete contrast to the crowds that awaited us at MK. Around 2 pm, we headed out for our FPs at MK. We took the boat over which is just always the best way to travel. It was a perfectly sunny day with big puffy clouds and a cool breeze. Just too perfect. Then, we entered the fray.

We made the mistake of entering right as the 2 pm parade (which was 3 pm every other day) was wrapping up and it was pure melee. We quickly snuck into the firehouse to pick up another pack of SOTMK cards and the CMs let us watch the parade from inside which was such an awesome view! We then fought our way into Adventureland and like a beacon of light, we spotted the relocated spring roll cart WITH NO LINE. We quickly had ourselves an order of cheeseburger rolls and pepperoni pizza rolls with marinara. Kid got a bottle of water and Olaf bar. Such a great snack and what timing as every other line was just insane from here on out. As in the FP line for Splash Mountain was backed up onto the bridge where you watch people come down Splash Mountain. NO JOKE. You know there will be crowds but still, not much can really prepare you.

We finished our FPs then slowly made our way to Big Top Souvenirs to use some snack credits. However pickins were slim so we only wound up with one caramel nut apple. Might I add no one actually ate this. It just moved around with us for the next two days because the DxDP is just SO MUCH FOOD. By now it was evening so we checked in for dinner reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern as their AYCTE platter seemed like a great idea for a Christmas Dinner. After another 30 minute wait we were seated. Husband and I both ordered some wine while the kid ordered some sort of patriotic slushy thing that he loved. Bread and salad came out first. I just love their salad dressing here. We took it easy on the bread in preparation to eat all we cared to enjoy and the platters of food came out fairly quickly which was nice. Roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted pork with a creamy mushroom gravy and green beans, turkey breast with stuffing and cranberry sauce. Did I miss anything? I did, the Mac and cheese which wound up being my favorite item! This is far from the stouffers that once was and was actually homemade and ridiculously creamy. We feasted and it was all really good. Then came dessert which was a MASSIVE plate of their ooey gooey toffee cake with three giant scoops of ice cream. The best part of the meal for sure and never a letdown. I know reviews of LTT are mixed but we've always enjoy our meals here. We used three credits and it would have been roughly $140 OOP.

Full and happy we escaped the crowds via boat back to WL. We were beat but wanted to just soak up the atmosphere. The lobby, which was insane on Christmas Eve, was empty and calm which allowed for us to sit by the fireplace for the first time. We scoped out the gingerbread house one last time.
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Note: nothing at the gingerbread stand could be purchased for snack credits. This was the same at Contemporary. However I did note that Beach Club (which we visited later in the trip) did have some items for snack credits.

Christmas music played around the resort. We caught the electric water pageant from Geyser Point. We then stopped in Territory Lounge for a nightcap and what would be the best drink of the trip - a Christmas special called a Jolly Old Fashioned.
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The bartender spent a good 5-10 minutes lovingly making this drink which included cranberry and orange and served with a whole cinnamon stick which served as an awesome straw. I wish we could have each ordered one instead of sharing. Actually If we are wishing for things I wish I was drinking one right now. By now it was almost 10 pm so we went back up to the room to catch the Christmas fireworks from our balcony and finish our drink as the most magical Christmas came to a close.
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Following! Wow! Crazy crowds by the sound of it but not to be deterred we’re headed this year from 22-28! Lol! It’ll be me and DH and DS5, will be 6 too! Food sounds lovely only if you didn’t have to wait at every turn! Can’t wait to read more!
 
Following! Wow! Crazy crowds by the sound of it but not to be deterred we’re headed this year from 22-28! Lol! It’ll be me and DH and DS5, will be 6 too! Food sounds lovely only if you didn’t have to wait at every turn! Can’t wait to read more!
Don’t be deterred, it really is wonderful that time of year and besides Christmas Day at MK we found crowds very manageable. FPs and ADRs are 100% mandatory but barely get you a leg up if that makes sense. You will wait but at least eventually you will get through. Crowds start to get even more crazy after 12/26 so getting out of there by 12/28 is perfect timing. Happy planning!
 
Don’t be deterred, it really is wonderful that time of year and besides Christmas Day at MK we found crowds very manageable. FPs and ADRs are 100% mandatory but barely get you a leg up if that makes sense. You will wait but at least eventually you will get through. Crowds start to get even more crazy after 12/26 so getting out of there by 12/28 is perfect timing. Happy planning!
Great to know! I guess it’s not really a good time to plan QS for a lot of things. Lol! I was thinking of doing universal at the end instead of in front. Universal Studios during Christmas Day last year was actually very manageable but something unreasonable in me wants to be at Disney this Christmas :).
 
Thursday 12/26
Goodbye to WL and last day on the Deluxe Dining Plan

After another slow morning, we packed up and took our bags down to bell services as our dreamy WL stay had come to an end. But we would be checking into another favorite of ours later in the day. After hopping on the bus we were at AK in no time. With barely any time to kill we headed straight for our 11 am reservation at Tusker House. We were here two years ago and enjoyed the food offerings, but we did NOT enjoy the bill so we figured perhaps it was a better value on the DxDP. We were called within 10 minutes then seated the back of the restaurant. The characters were already coming around so we saw Daisy and Goofy before ordering drinks. They're just the cutest.
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Speaking of drinks, mama was ready for a cocktail and went with the jungle juice option which was POG juice with vodka and peach schnapps. This was actually strong and super refreshing. Husband went with the XO iced coffee which has XO tequila, a fave of ours. This was strong too but very sweet. Definitely a sipper. Then it was time to buffet. I started with salmon + sweet and spicy mustard, mealie pap, white cheddar Mac and cheese, chicken curry with rice, some green beans, sweet plantains, and beet salad. The salmon was pretty oily with a lot of pin bones which I didn't love, but man the mustard sauce is the best thing ever. As was the mealie pap. For my next plate I did the carved pork shoulder + more mustard sauce, more mealie pap and more beet salad. I really don't care for many of the breakfast offerings but may have snuck a few slices of bacon for good measure. During the meal we saw Mickey and Donald and had some laughs wth them. For dessert we tried the seven layer bars (great) and the bread pudding (amazing!) and were ready to head out and get on with our day. We used 3 credits and would have paid $175 OOP.

Kali River Rapids FP, a complete empty and calm walk along the Tree of Life Trails, a Safari beer, and trek over to Rafiki's Planet Watch followed. A head's up, didn't know this was possible, the train broke down while we were stuck at the Planet Watch and it took almost 30 minutes to get another one. We almost missed our next FP! These two weren't pleased with the delay.
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After rushing to Safari we just made it and it was the best one we've seen thanks to lots the cooler weather. The hippos and giraffes were super active. Best attraction in the parks, just so impressive. Last was our FP for FOP. I am not a huge FOP person so I opted for a FP of my own and headed for Nomads while the dudes hit Pandora. Even though it was the day after Christmas, the park was very chill and Nomads was practically empty. I grabbed a small table by the water and ordered an Annapurna Zing!
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I mostly ordered this so my son could have the lotus cube. I don't love gin but I've seen this drink talked about a ton and wanted a try. The server brought it out, then let me know that their supplier changed the price on the lotus cubes and they wouldn't have them until after the new year if not longer. Something they may want to mention before they bring it out as they are still charging full price and haven't updated the menus. I thought that was pretty lame. Drink was okay, smooth and quality for sure. I wouldn't get it again but definitely look forward to trying more drinks on their menu. Great spot all around.

The sun was starting to set and we were all happy to head out and check into our next resort, Port Orleans Riverside. We wanted to use a few snack credits before leaving AK so we stopped by Creature Comforts. Peppermint mocha for me, Irish cold brew for the husband and three cake pops for the kid. These cake pops would be spread over the next three days, a great use of the snack credit.

Quick bus ride and we were to POR. We really love the Deep South charm and calm vibes of POR. We had dinner booked at Wolfgang Puck's Bar & Grill that evening but we were beat. Staying close sounded so much more appealing. I was able to cancel WPBG and grab a 7 pm for Boatwright's. So after some pool time we headed into Boatwright's. We've been here before and found it to be a great resort restaurant for a mod. Last meal of the DXDP so we did it up right. I was hoping to get the Abita flight for $10.25 but was told it's not allowed on the dining plan. But the $14 Manhattan I ordered was. Whatever. Flat out, every cocktail I have had at both Port Orleans resorts is awful. This one was no different. I hardly drank any of it. Skip it and get some beer. The frozen frose at the bar is goos too. Service both times at Boatwright's has been pretty inattentive as they seem understaffed server wise. I made note of this on a survey and someone from POR actually followed up about it. I had to laugh because it wasn't really complaint and I still gave them a high rating. Anyway...

For apps I had the Mardi Gras fritters House-made Pimiento Cheese Fritters with Pepper Jelly while Rich ordered the Fried green tomatoes Served with Arugula and Spicy Crawfish RĂ©moulade. The fritters are basically fried pimento cheese balls. So good, super gooey, but so heavy. Definitely meant to be shared. The Fried green tomatoes and crawfish remoulade were good too, but also heavy. By this point we are almost sick of food. Almost!

For entrees I went with Deep South Shrimp and Grits Sustainable Shrimp and Andouille Sausage served with Red Eye Gravy over our Creamy Charleston-style Grits. I had this same dish the first time and knew they were tasty. This time was no different. Perfectly cooked shrimp and grits with tons of favor. I doused mine up with tabasco. The portion is small and a little spendy though .Husband did the platter with Ribs, Nashville Hot Chicken, Smoked Sausage, Barbecued Beef Brisket with Mashed Potatoes, Macaroni and Cheese, Street Corn, and Green Beans as nothing else was really calling to him. I cannot remember anything about what I tasted from this plate other than the Nashville chicken wasn't actually hot, the corn on the cob was huge, and the brisket was weird.

Time for dessert but we were way too full. We ordered the Pecan Pie Cheesecake Creamy Cheesecake with a Pecan Pie filling topped with Vanilla Chantilly Cream and Spiced Candied Pecans and Lemon Chess Bar Centuries old recipe made with Cornmeal and Buttermilk served with a Strawberry-Basil Sauce and Crispy Cake Croutons to go. My husband housed the cheesecake later that night without offering to share it so it must have been good. The lemon chess bar I am sad to say was forgotten about. It looked good is that's any consolation.

We swung by the lobby store to use the rest of our snack credits (recap in next post) and it was off to bed. POR at night is the best.
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DXDP recap
2 adults, one child, two nights
$551.98
18 meal credits
12 snack credits

Meals
Biergarten: 3 credits ($145 OOP price)
California Grill: 4 credits ($220 OOP price)
Whispering Canyon: 2 credits ($70 OOP price)
Liberty Tree Tavern: 3 credits ($140 OOP price)
Tusker House: 3 credits ($175 OOP price)
Boatwright's: 3 credits ($140 OOP price)

Snacks
Smart water $5.50
Olaf bar snack credit $5.99
Caramel apple & nuts $6.99
Box of popcorn $5.25
Chip & Dale Spicy snack mix $6.99
Chip & Dale nut mix $6.99
Chip & Dale trail mix $6.99
Chip & Dale Mickey cheese crackers $3.99
Waffle cone caramel chocolate bar $4.99
venti peppermint mocha $6
Venti Irish cream cold brew $5
3 birthday cake pops $6

Roughly $950 for $551. Not bad! Tips may have hurt a bit though. Boatwright's is the only miss because swapping it in place of Wolfgang Puck's Bar & Grill decreased the value by quite a bit, but sometimes convenience wins out. All in all, only doing it for a couple nights and spreading out the credits is the way to go. Otherwise it's an insane amount of food and not typically how we like to eat at WDW. People who do it for a week... how!? But it was fun for two nights and I would do another short stay with the DxDP in the future.
 
Friday 12/27 (1/2)
Hollywood Studios

Alarm was set for 4:30 am to get to the HS by 5:30 am for the 6 am opening, but I hardly slept, and with long day ahead, I pulled the plug on the ROTR plan. Instead we slept in and even skipped our first FP. After arriving at HS we went straight to our reservation at Oga's Cantina. After a 15 minute wait, we were in!
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Nothing like starting the day with some galactic tunes and booze! Having been before and not in love with the cocktails, we opted for beer. I went with the Gold Squadron because I love the lavender notes. Husband has the Bad Motivator IPA because he's an IPA fanatic and how cool are galaxy hops?! Kid had the Oga's obsession which is a fun shareable item with pop rocks and cotton candy. We hadn't eaten yet so we ordered the Batuu bits to share. Such a fun snack with all the different crunchy snacks and the super garlicky salsa verde dipping sauce. Great with the beer especially. Our son was antsy to get going so we only did the one drink then hopped over to the Droid Depot, then grabbed some food at Ronto Roasters. We had a 50s Prime Time lunch res but after nothing but TS for three days we decided to cancel it and just snack instead. Ronto's pork wrap is decent so I was excited to try the new Endorian Chicken wrap offering which is Marinated Chicken, Cucumber Relish, Yogurt and Feta Pesto Sauce. It's chopped chicken thighs which have great flavor with the feta pesto. It was stuffed full of chicken so we shared it. Definitely grabbing this again on a future trip. Kid wanted a corn dog so we obliged. Wish he liked cool food but c'est la vie.

Muppets and SDD FPs and next stop was Market for something I had come across online and wanted to try.
This is Olaf's Snow Flurry! DisneyFoodBlog pic:
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This is a creamsicle slushy with a ton of whipped cream, sprinkles and the cutest little glowing Olaf. Despite not loving super sweet stuff I *almost* finished the entire thing. It's that good! I also grabbed a little pack of super adorable decorated gingerbread cookies that were soft and delicious. Quick Visa cardholder meet & greet date with Darth Vader at Launch Bay and we were ready to head out. We had a kid free date night at Epcot in our future!
 
Friday 12/27 (2/2)
World Showcase!

After a few hours of downtime it was time to drop the kid off for the Captain Hook Pirate Cruise at Beach Club. He absolutely loved Pixar Play Zone on a past trip so we knew he would be excited for another kid's only adventure. From here the husband and I walked over to Epcot to dig into some World Showcase favorites. This is the first time we've ever been to Epcot on our own and it was such a blast.

First stop: The Pub at Rose and Crown. I had a Bass while the dude opted for a Smithwicks. We just love having a pint here any chance we can. We were also starving so we kept moving clockwise right into Mexico (sorry Canada!). Despite it being Christmas/NYE season we were able to get a table at La Cava without issue, a first for us! I ordered a mezcal which was supposed to come with orange slice and grasshoppers but sadly did not. We also ordered some chips & queso.
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I expected a bit more from the queso but we were too hungry to care at this point. The mezcal was smoky and smooth which I appreciate so much more than tequila. Then it was onto Norway where the dude grabbed his favorite white ale from the beer cart. Being a Friday night in Epcot this was my first experience with drunken crowds. I find them hilarious but also kind of sucks when one person is in line ordering for 10 other people who appear out of nowhere. Boo urns!

Beer in hand we strolled into China. I hit the Shanghai Holiday booth for some Chengdu Spicy Street fries. Crispy crinkle cut fries topped with a spicy asian sauce, chopped peanuts and cilantro. These were killer! So much heat and flavor. I love spice and these were one of the few WDW items I've had that had actual heat. Picture from DisneyFoodBlog:
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Husband grabbed an order of chicken curry pockets from Joy of Tea. These are always the best. Super crispy puff pastry wrapped around spicy chicken curry. One of the better Epcot snacks for sure.

Starvation was satiated so we stopped in America to take in some Candlelight Processional but first we cruised by by the American Holiday Table to try their 81Bay Brewing Company Cinnamon Cranberry Orange Wheat Ale and Playalinda Brewing Co. Peppermint Chocolate Porter, Titusville, FL brews. You guys, these were both phenomenal! Flavored beer can be so artificial but these were both just perfectly balanced. The 81Bay is my new favorite holiday beer. In a world bogged down by heavily spiced Christmas ales this was a dream. Also, CP is so beautiful in person and made it feel so Christmasy. Could have been the beer talking though...

A quick stop in Morocco at Spice Road Table for some shopping and a shared Casa Beer...
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Then onto our final country, France. First stop was Les Halles Boulangerie to grab some breakfast items for the next day. We chose the seasonal Bûche de Noël au Chocolat: Chocolate Christmas Log with Chocolate Orange Cream Mousse and Chocolate Crunch Biscuit and the chocolat palmier, which was calling my name. Next stop was L'artisan Glaces for dessert. We just love the croque glace with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Sharing this was a perfect end to the night in World Showcase.

We were early getting back to BC so we grabbed one more drink at Martha's Vineyard before picking up the little man and heading back to POR to catch Yehaa Bob. Despite eating at the Captain Hook whatnot the kid was hungry so we grabbed him spaghetti from Riverside Mill to eat while we enjoyed Bob. Always a great time. He had every guy in the place running laps to the tune of 12 days of Christmas. By the time he wrapped it was 11 pm and we were hungry again. Oops. Sometimes sharing everything does not pay off so we shared one more thing (ha), a prime rib dip with au jus from the food court. This tasted exactly how you would expect it to taste from a food court late night.

Lights out, see you tomorrow!
 
Saturday 12/28

Last full day. Back to Magic Kingdom and Disney Springs
ALT title: Crowds, crowds and more crowds.

By this time we were a little over buses, and just missing them, and standing in them because they were full. We had just missed another one despite timing it to the bus times on the app, so we hopped in an Uber to Contemporary and walked over to MK. I cannot express what a great way this was to save a little time during the crazy holiday season.

7DMT & PP FPs to start the day. We then grabbed some Joffrey's from Gaston's Tavern and shared the chocolat palmier we purchased the day before. Even being a day old it was delightfully crispy and delicious. Under the Sea with Ariel was next as crowds were heavy and it one of the few lines under 40 minutes. In search of a snack afterwards, we grabbed a Dole Whip float and popcorn refill then popped in Tiki Room for some Enchanted birds and Flowers. How cute is the half eaten Daisy waffle cone piece?!

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After that is was shooting gallery time and we caught one of the last Christmas parade runs from Frontierland. Goofy and his candy bike float is food related right?

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Pirates was a low-ish wait so we toughed that out next. By now we needed a little more sustenance and headed back to old reliable, Pecos Bills. I had the kid's beef nachos, husband has the kid's chicken bowl, and kid wanted another Uncrustable. Once again mobile ordered saved the day because this place was the most crowded I've ever seen it. Out of forks, napkins, trash and lines everywhere. A "service dog" was going crazy barking by our table. Not fun. We were in and out ASAP and then over to our BTMR FP. We were able to get a 4th for Small World next where even the Small World FP line was about a 25 minute wait. Cute kid braves the holidays at WDW:

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By this time we'd had enough of people and headed out. We hopped off the bus at POFQ to share one of our fave snacks, Mickey beignets. The set up now with Scat Cat's coffee and lounge is a little odd. I'm sure there's a purpose for it, especially if you're staying there, but wonder if it's actually bringing in more visitors and making them more money.

The stroll along the river back to POR was nice. We once again spent some time at the pool to unwind. I noticed many people talking about Disney Springs and going over there for the night. That was our plan too, so I should have know what was to come. At 7 pm we went down to the marina area for the Winter Wonderland festival but unfortunately it was completely lame. There were small two tables set up, one was a coloring station and one had hot chocolate. Hardly a festival. Then we saw the boat line. We had to wait for three boats, about an hour, just to get over to DS. Yipes!

Typically we like to hop around and snack at DS, but this would quickly prove to be a mistake this time. I mean, it's the Saturday between Christmas Eve and NYE... tourists and locals were out in full force. Totally our fault for not planning accordingly. The little man wanted fish and chips and by now it was almost 8:30 pm and he was hangry so we made that top priority by going straight to Cookes of Dublin. Wait wasn't awful, but finding somewhere to eat this food, in the rain, was a challenge. And one we mostly gave up on. Soggy fish & chips anyone? By this time an adult beverage were necessary so we joined yet another line at Hole in the Wall. Love the charm of this little nook.

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20 minutes later, we had beers, hurrah!

We continued on to Morimoto Asia Street Food which is normally a fave of ours and you guessed it, another 30 minute line. And they were out of pretty much everything but I was able to get some egg rolls and ribs. Their ribs were always a highlight of the WDW food scene however I feel like they're now smaller and just weren't as good. Almost $20 for two small snacks we will most likely skip this one moving forward.

DS was just a sea of people at this point. We very slowly made our way over to Jaleo to see if we could get into the lounge, but we were now wet from the rain and the little man was tired and I just couldn't imagine trying to enjoy Jaleo in this state. So we walked clear back across DS and found our savior, Wolfgang Puck's Express. No line! Chilled white wine! Calm/quiet atmosphere and A+ service! I ordered the Barbecue Chicken Salad (Romaine, Cucumbers, Onions, Tomatoes, Corn, Crispy Tortilla Strips, Poblano Peppers, Black Beans and Ranch Dressing), husband had the Caesar salad, we each had a glass of Pinot Grigio and little man had the kid's spaghetti & tomato sauce since he was hungry again. We also threw on a side of mashed potatoes for good measure. Salads were solid, but OMG the mashed potatoes were heavenly. The gravy was more like a luscious butter sauce. Call me crazy but the whole thing tasted like king crab. Just so buttery and rich. I still can't get over it.

Uneventful boat ride back to POR and another holiday lesson learned: Avoid DS on a Saturday night unless you have a dedicated ADR. We then drifted off to sleep for our last night at WDW <3
 
Sunday 12/29

Last day of our trip, and last visit with our APs... or was it?

For reasons I don't quite remember now, we decided to go back to MK for our final morning. Pretty sure my husband was in charge of FPs and had booked what he deemed to be the best compilation of them at MK. Fine with me, we could visit MK every day and we'd all be happy. We packed up, had bell services pick up our bags and hopped on the bus to Magic Kingdom around 9:30 am. First stop was food. We shared a slow roasted ham and Swiss egg sandwich from Main Street Bakery. I also had my last peppermint mocha of the season. I miss it already! Croissant and orange juice for the little man. We headed to our first two FPs, some more SOTMK, then we were in need of another snack. We had yet to hit our beloved Sleepy Hollow so now was the time. I had my heart set on the Nutella & Fruit waffle but at the last minute we changed it up to share a sweet & spicy chicken waffle. This wasn't as good as in the past :( I remember a crispy,malty waffle and super light/tender chicken breast with a flavorful sauce. This time the waffle was soggy, and the chicken was heavy and way too thick for the application. Child ordered a massive corn dog.

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Four more Fastpasses and the day was winding down. Despite my username I had yet to have a churro on this trip. The humanity! I grabbed one outside of Storybook Cicurs and we continued on to our last FP of the day at Tomorrowland Speedway. Sadly, it was time to head back to the hotel where we grabbed the last snack of the trip, Mickey Ice Cream bars. Can't think of a better way to end the trip other than not leaving. Uber to the airport and our Christmas trip was complete. We are already planning 2020 Christmas trip so while crowds were completely staggering at times, clearly it didn't deter us enough to never return during Christmas. And we also fit in one last AP trip last month, just me and my husband, which was AWESOME. Highly recommend an adults only trip here and there.

Thanks for following along. I need to be better at taking pictures and using PhotoPass but I'm glad to have a few fun shots

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