The Most Magical Time of Year! December 2018 TR Completed 5/8 New TR link!

I've read a couple of your trip reports, but never commented. I have to for this one because I was there the same exact dates!

I flew in the 14th out of Chicago and spent the day at Disney Springs. My husband stayed home this trip. My daughter and 9 year old granddaughter and 7 year old grandson arrived that evening from Indianapolis. Ironically, we had reservations at POFQ for three nights, but changed them to All Star Movies to stay a fourth night. I'm so interested to hear which parks you were in each day. We did a lot of EMH and had a fantastic time.

Looking forward to reading more!
 
(She's a bit of a Houdini at times!)


Aw, she's so cute! She looks so sad that you're leaving :dog::sad1:

Well, it was :rotfl: a random woman basically fell out of the sky and stumbled to the seat after aggressively throwing her carry on into the overhead bin and arguing with the flight attendant. She was drunk.

Good lord, so gross. I'm glad she didn't cause any more trouble on your flight :crazy2:

I really loved how they updated the rooms! I know some people aren’t a fan of the hardwood floors but to me they just seem cleaner and more modern and I love it!




I even loved the hidden Mickey in our room!



So cute! Can't wait to be there in April :goodvibes

We took some time to freshen up and feel a little more alive before heading out for the night. While we were getting ready I called down to Bell Services to have our Amazon Prime Now Order brought up. I had placed the order the night before so I wouldn’t forget and just set the delivery time for 6-8PM. Worked out perfectly!

I love that Amazon Prime grocery delivery ::yes::
 
Hahaha of course! It drives me bonkers when my DH saves packing until the last minute so I can't imagine having him do it while I'm right there trying to work!

It was definitely frustrating!! lol I knew it would probably happen this way so I probably should have forced him to do it the night before :rotfl:

Aww that's so precious!

She is the sweetest! It would be even harder to leave her if my Mom didn't watch her! At least I know she'll have a great time with her!!


That was basically my face! haha I literally don't even know where she came from!!

Hold up. Their what now??

Yes! If you download their SW app you can get free wifi messaging and a pretty great selection of movies for free! You still have to pay for actual wifi but the messaging part is free! Its amazing!

Yesss well done!

I was so happy! haha

Off to a great start! Woo hoo for not being charged for parking!!

It was definitely amazing to not get charged for parking!!

Oh My!!! I guess you can fly drunk... Oye, glad to hear she kept to herself.

She was definitely pushing her luck and about to get kicked off the flight. She tried to talk to me when she sat down but I really was not having it lol like lady you are not bringing me down with you! The worst part was that the row across from us had an empty seat too and she chose ours!

OOHHH I forgot all about that? Who did you get the movies? We are flying Southwest on Friday!

Make sure you have the SW app downloaded on whatever device you are using! It was super easy to use and they had quite a bit to choose from!

Ha! Sounds like they have some serious computer issues.

It sure seemed like it! lol

I don't know if that is true or not. Maybe.... I feel like the text alert have been very spotty as to who gets them and when. Strange.

I've never had any issues before! So that was the only thing that I could think of because as soon as my brother scanned in to the ME on his January trip he got his text. But I'm sure it can still be spotty beyond that!! I just found it interesting that even in the app I couldn't see any room assigned!

Really. I hope Disney somehow gets there act together on this or drops it. It seems so hard to really keep track of.

Yeah its so strange!!

I love POFQ. I love the size, how everything is so close, no matter where your room is and the decor. It’s soooo cute. Glad you made it safely and I can’t wsit to hear about your first evening in DS...

I really loved the size!! We've done POR a few times more recently and the thing that always kills me is how far away everything is! I definitely think it wins as my favorite moderate right now!

Joy is so cute! I’m glad she was having fun at her grandparents, haha!

I really liked the POFQ floors and the ability to put your suitcase under the bed!

Yay for no parking charge and no added charges to your rental bill!

She really has a great time there! And they love having her so it really works out!

Yes! The rooms are so nice now!

:cheer2::banana:

We were there in October and on the last day the greeter was talking to our son who is 5. We were talking about how we were about to leave etc...he gave my son 3 colored coins as a special way to remember our trip and he invited us to come back in the future. It was a special moment.

I think I saw some in the food court area at the check out counters! Thats great that they still give them out to kids!! They were always so special to me!

The room looks nice. We have never been to FQ, but we always liked POR.

They are definitely both amazing!! The one thing thats nice about FQ is just how much smaller it is. But they are definitely both beautiful!

Awww, she is so cute!

Shes the sweetest!

How is flying out of Buffalo? I am flying out of there for the first time for my March Break trip. So much cheaper than flying out of Toronto!

Definitely a much smaller airport compared to Toronto! One terminal, security is usually pretty tame, parking right there. We usually park in long term preferred parking which is like $12 a night? There are spots in this lot that are right in front of the covered, expensive parking that are just a short walk to the terminal. (Basically park in the lot across from MCDs and take the walking path to the terminal!)

That looks yummy!

It was! The Anchor Bar is definitely a great place to grab a drink and a snack if you need to!

I love the hardwood floors too.....so much cleaner than the carpets!

Thats how I feel! Plus I feel like the carpets just LOOK so dirty and dated. I much prefer the hardwood floors!!
 
I've read a couple of your trip reports, but never commented. I have to for this one because I was there the same exact dates!

I flew in the 14th out of Chicago and spent the day at Disney Springs. My husband stayed home this trip. My daughter and 9 year old granddaughter and 7 year old grandson arrived that evening from Indianapolis. Ironically, we had reservations at POFQ for three nights, but changed them to All Star Movies to stay a fourth night. I'm so interested to hear which parks you were in each day. We did a lot of EMH and had a fantastic time.

Looking forward to reading more!

Thanks for commenting!! That is awesome! It really was a great weekend to be in Disney! You'll have to let me know if any of our park days overlapped!

Aw, she's so cute! She looks so sad that you're leaving :dog::sad1:

She is definitely NOT a fan when the suitcases come rolling out! lol

Good lord, so gross. I'm glad she didn't cause any more trouble on your flight :crazy2:

Of course there was an empty seat across from us and she couldn't have picked that one :sad2: I was definitely happy to get away from her once we got off of the flight!! She even tried to yell at the flight attendant as we walked off of the plane! Like lady just go!

So cute! Can't wait to be there in April :goodvibes

More pics of the resort to come!!

I love that Amazon Prime grocery delivery ::yes::

Its the best! I already added my groceries for my March trip to my cart so I can just click purchase when I need to!
 


Joy is the cutest! My pug loves my mom so much that she's never sad when I leave. I loved the refurb at POFQ too.

Thank you! Once she gets with my Mom shes loves being there and when we go to visit she like bolts into their house because shes so excited! I wish she could just be less sad when we leave! haha
 


This is my DH, Dan, who is really starting to come around to loving Disney. He had never been to Disney until my family took him on his first trip with us and he still talks about how cool it was seeing everything for the first time. Over the years he tried to fight liking Disney but he is FINALLY coming around! He enjoys watching Disney vlogs with me and misses Disney almost as much as I do sometimes. The key to him having a good time is definitely a more relaxed pace and finding the good spots for beer so I always try to keep that in mind! And I think I do a pretty good job of it!
So, in prep for our trip last September I started watching a couple Disney vlogs (Tim Tracker and WDW Couple mostly), and I was surprised how much my husband got into them! We still watch Tim Tracker most every day, and when I was out of town last week he watched Tim Tracker without me! Gotta love it when you've converted your significant other, at least to some extent! :)

Since we were all packed and pretty much ready to go by 1 we decided to head to Panera Bread to get lunch. I was officially on vacation and a Panera lunch seemed like the perfect way to kick it off! DH disagreed about already being on vacation since we were still in cold Niagara Falls but there was no telling me we weren’t! I was officially done with work and therefore, vacation time!!
You're right, Dan's wrong. Work is done, therefore vacation time. Exactly. :)

But we made it through security in about 20 minutes which was not bad at all! I did realize while in line though that I was wearing a slightly sparkly tank top that had set off the machines on my October trip. Thankfully, right before our turn the TSA agent had a few of us use the old fashion metal detectors that you just walk through so I didn’t have to get a full pat down in front of everyone lol
I had no idea that sparkly/glittery stuff will set off the machines, and on this most recent trip I had to get a full pat down 'cause my jeans had sparkly stuff on the pockets. Lame. Glad you got lucky and got to use the old fashioned ones!

I did start to panic towards the end of our meal that we would miss the boarding for our flight because at like 3:40 the Southwest app pushed out an alert that they were beginning to board and we weren’t supposed to until 3:55. We were flying Southwest so I did not want to lose out on our prime A boarding position! We didn’t pay for early bird (because its $25 a person now each way – crazy!). I actually had Dan and me both trying to check in for our flight the day before because I got stuck in a meeting in a room with terrible service during the time I needed to check in. Thankfully, whichever of us got through managed to score A58 and A59 so we were super happy but definitely didn't want to lose out on that position! Anyway, Dan calmed me down and he finished his beer, we paid and we still made it to the gate before they began boarding. (Why they felt the need to send out that alert WAY before they were beginning boarding is beyond me!!)
Southwest! Why you make us anxious? I'm the same way about being there in time for boarding and getting anxious, and my husband does the same thing--totally calms me down. Also, $25 for early bird check in is crazy!! I ended up paying the ridiculous fee for my Mom's return flight this time 'cause she had a short connection, but then it turns out that she was on the same plane for both legs, and so didn't need to run to make a connection. $25 down the drain. Oh well! *shrugs*

I was pretty excited when I heard them say that they had closed the door to the plane and that there would be no further boarding and I realized that Dan and I had lucked out with an empty aisle seat. Which I of course immediately pointed out to him and he told me I had jinxed it. I mean how can that be a jinx if everyone was already on the plane? Well, it was :rotfl: a random woman basically fell out of the sky and stumbled to the seat after aggressively throwing her carry on into the overhead bin and arguing with the flight attendant. She was drunk. So I really jinxed us lolol thankfully she kept mostly to herself the rest of the flight!
Ha! I do the jinx thing too--Dan is definitely right this time! Bummer you jinxed yourself though. At least she was mostly good the rest of the time!
 
The one question I found weird was that she asked if it was a rental or our car :confused3 so I’m not even sure what the point of the questions were!

What? Why? I see no reason they'd need to know this!
think they also used to give out colorful coins too which I loved getting!
Yes! We started there with the boys in 2013 and 2014 and they got tons and tons of coins. As in if they were real coins we'd be millionaires :laughing: And we HAD to bring each one home!
 
Following along. So funny you mentioned that....we just checked out of PO Riverside on Friday and when I asked for a printout of my bill, I noticed that I wasn't charged for parking either. My husband said that he's sure it's gonna pop up sometime this week as an additional charge. We'll see.
 
Grats on the parking!

It certainly was a win!

So, in prep for our trip last September I started watching a couple Disney vlogs (Tim Tracker and WDW Couple mostly), and I was surprised how much my husband got into them! We still watch Tim Tracker most every day, and when I was out of town last week he watched Tim Tracker without me! Gotta love it when you've converted your significant other, at least to some extent! :)

Yeah my DH loves Tim Tracker!! They are definitely our favorites to watch together. It really has made him more into the planning and wishing for trips which I of course love! And its nice that he knows what I'm talking about when I mention something thats being built or added to the parks!

You're right, Dan's wrong. Work is done, therefore vacation time. Exactly. :)

Exactly!! If I'm done with work then I am on vacation!!

I had no idea that sparkly/glittery stuff will set off the machines, and on this most recent trip I had to get a full pat down 'cause my jeans had sparkly stuff on the pockets. Lame. Glad you got lucky and got to use the old fashioned ones!

Haha I knew it only because my Mom got stopped once and then I got stopped another time. You don't realize how awkward getting checked is until you are being groped in the middle of an airport! lol

Southwest! Why you make us anxious? I'm the same way about being there in time for boarding and getting anxious, and my husband does the same thing--totally calms me down. Also, $25 for early bird check in is crazy!! I ended up paying the ridiculous fee for my Mom's return flight this time 'cause she had a short connection, but then it turns out that she was on the same plane for both legs, and so didn't need to run to make a connection. $25 down the drain. Oh well! *shrugs*

It was so annoying!! I should have just known better but I thought maybe for some reason they were boarding early :confused3 I feel like that only happens when you pay the extra money! haha

Ha! I do the jinx thing too--Dan is definitely right this time! Bummer you jinxed yourself though. At least she was mostly good the rest of the time!

Yeah I couldn't believe it when she sat down next to us! And there was an open seat across from us she could have sat in. Totally jinxed us!

Following along on this TR as well!

:welcome:

Following along, I love your reports! Can't wait to hear all about your trip :)

:welcome: Thanks for joining in!

What? Why? I see no reason they'd need to know this!

Thats what I was wondering! Like how does that make any difference? Unless it was just for their own knowledge to know how many people still rent a car for Disney? Thats the only thing I could come up with!

Yes! We started there with the boys in 2013 and 2014 and they got tons and tons of coins. As in if they were real coins we'd be millionaires :laughing: And we HAD to bring each one home!

Haha of course! They were super fun!!

Following along. So funny you mentioned that....we just checked out of PO Riverside on Friday and when I asked for a printout of my bill, I noticed that I wasn't charged for parking either. My husband said that he's sure it's gonna pop up sometime this week as an additional charge. We'll see.

I don't know that it can after the fact especially because they charge your cc on check out day. I know mine didn't!
 
Hi everyone, sorry to just start this report and then disappear for a while. My grandfather passed away last week and I have been spending a lot of time with my family and honoring his memory.

Ironically, he is one of the reasons that I love Christmas so much. When I was younger we would go to this fun little place called Santa Village and every year Grandpa would be with us. We would write letters to Santa, take a sleigh ride to the "North Pole", get to meet Santa and sing lots of Christmas carols. As my cousins and I grew older we stopped going (I actually think they stopped doing it) and then we would go every year to cut down a Christmas tree. It was so much fun and even though we're down to getting one tree now I think ten of us still go every year!

Every Christmas Eve, Grandpa would have us all over to his house to get presents from Santa. He would read us all Twas the Night Before Christmas and make us all to sing all of his favorite Christmas carols, his favorite being Silent Night. (We are not a family of singers so he would sometimes have us sing songs twice if they weren't up to his standards and Rudolph could not have the funny extras! :rotfl:)



Most of the time we were all just itching to rip open the presents but looking back nothing I ever got sticks out but singing those Christmas Carols and all of the wonderful Christmas memories definitely does!

I am so thankful that I was able to know my Grandpa for 27 years of my life and that he lived an amazing life of his own. I will miss him but I know that he is in a much better place.


Christmas 2018

I'll be back with an update soon! Thanks for all of your patience :butterfly
 
Aw, I'm so sorry for your loss--even knowing he's in a better place, it's still hard for those left behind. Your Christmas memories of him are lovely. *hugs*
 
I'm so sorry for the loss of your grandfather, love your memories of him at Christmas.

I'm so sorry to hear about your grandfather

Aw, I'm so sorry for your loss--even knowing he's in a better place, it's still hard for those left behind. Your Christmas memories of him are lovely. *hugs*

I'm so sorry about your grandpa, he sounds like he was a wonderful man. <3

Thank you everyone for your kind words :hug:
 

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