Fest 2 of 4 done! A Salute to All Holidays but Mostly Christmas, Days 5 & 6

[BriarRose0708]

Sorry about the incorrect thread title for the previous day, in case any of the 10 people reading got confused, LOL.

Day 4 ended with Mickey's Very Merry. On Day 5 I was up and at it before 7 a.m. again to get in the Guardians VQ and buy the LL. It was resort transfer and EPCOT day, as well as my last full day of the trip. I very reluctantly packed up my Owner's Locker and suitcase and called Bell Services to help me transfer them to All Star Music. The resort transfer process was very easy and smooth, and my things were delivered to my room at ASM when I arrived later that night. I was so sad to say good-bye to AKL, I was getting a little teary. I loved it so much and it was worth every dollar and I wish I could stay there every trip. I resolved that whenever I take a Christmastime trip, this is where I will stay from now on for the lobby decor and homey and cozy feeling when I walk through the doors. After visiting nearly all the other deluxe resorts this trip, none of them made me feel the way AKL did (granted I didn't visit its "sister" resort, Wilderness Lodge, which is similarly decorated). Needless to say, I am completely hooked and will be back as often as possible. Anyway, onto the rest of my very packed last full day!

At 10 I hopped an EPCOT bus and arrived through the main entrance but stopped in at Joffrey's first. I checked out the new World Celebration gardens, and they are so lovely. Lots of seating, little areas for character meets (Pluto and Daisy were out roaming), tons of places to relax and charge your devices, and a gorgeous view of Spaceship Earth. It's so nice to walk out of the Creations Shop or Connections Cafe and not walk into construction walls. EPCOT is coming back and she's almost done, and I am here for it.

I had plans to meet up with a local FL Friend at 1ish so I spent some time back in France at the festival kitchen booth and listened to the Pere Noel story. I strolled to Canada and got a beer at the popcorn cart and went back toward SE to meet up with Friend. It was so good to see him after several years. We got caught up and went to ride Guardians, but it was announced as being down when we were in the queue. We decided to give it 30 minutes and if it wasn't back up we'd go do something else. Luckily it came back up! It was his first time riding it and my first time getting Conga as our song. I was so happy to finally get it! We had about an hour before our next Guardians reservation. We got a drink at Holiday Hearth (AKA the old Odyssey building), rode Figment only to see him in his charming little EPCOT sweater, crossed back over to Guardians for round 2 (Conga again!) and then back to The LAND for Soarin.' We criss-crossed a few times but a good way to get our steps in and work off our beers, haha! We had booked a Candlelight Processional package and had a 5 p.m. dinner at Garden Grill. It had been since 2017 that I'd eaten here and the menu is mostly the same except this time I can eat the dessert! I have a strawberry allergy so I had to settle for a rice crispie treat and ice cream in the past, but now that it's an apple pie a la mode I could have it. The dessert was outstanding and the best part of the meal. Fully stuffed, we went downstairs to do Glimmering Greenhouse at Living with the Land. We shopped for some souvenirs on our way back to World Showcase, and since I didn't get anything at the Party I decided to get a Festival of the Holidays mug and Corkcicle tumbler plus a couple of Christmas gifts for family.

Our CP was the 8:30 showing and it was the second night of Brendan Fraser as the narrator. I am so glad we booked the dining package because the standby line stretched to Norway. We were still pretty far back ourselves on the dining package side, I think we were by Japan at 7:30. Not to worry though, because once we were in the theatre we got a great seat just to the left of the center section on the aisle about six rows back. I had never seen this show before and wow was it exquisite. Brendan Fraser was fantastic, I know he's so popular in the zeitgeist right now but he delivered the Christmas story with humility and didn't distract from the incredible artists performing in the orchestra and choir. It was a very moving show, but I was NOT prepared for the last hymn, Let Peace Begin With Me, which was my Nana's favorite hymn. The tears came out with a few sobs. I never got to go to WDW with my Nana, but it was one of her favorite places to visit, and I always feel her with me when I'm there. I also get little signs from her when I am there, and the day before was the anniversary of her passing so having this hymn as part of the CP was her way of saying hello to me.

I thought about staying with Friend and seeing Luminous again, but by this time I was beat and needed to get to my new room and reorganized for the night. I also intended to do some laundry to leave clean clothes in my Owner's Locker for next trip. So we said our good-byes and he texted me some updates from Luminous since it was his first time seeing it as I made the looooong walk from the America pavilion out the front of the park. I am really looking forward to staying at POP next trip for Skyliner access out of EPCOT. That walk to the front gates is brutal!

I expected a really long walk and irritating wait for the ASM bus after being spoiled by the close proximity and availability of AKL buses, but to my pleasant surprise the walk wasn't all that far and an empty bus was parked and waiting! I got to the resort and went into the food court to fill my water bottle and grab a snack. It turns out I didn't need to do laundry after all, and I spent the rest of the evening eating cake in bed.

Day 6 was really just a morning at ASM and uber ride to MCO. I didn't have to get up super early or rush, which was nice, but my flight was at 11:30 a.m. so it left no time to squeeze in an hour or two of park time unless I went to AK at 7:30. I didn't want to rush it, plus I'm going back in February so I didn't see a reason to push it. Once I got to MCO I finished setting up my Clear account and breezed through security. I made it back to central NY with no problems and made it home in time to make dinner for my family.

Final thoughts
Why have I never been at Christmastime before now??? I am never skipping holidays at Disney ever again. Even if that means exchanging my usual fall trip for December. This was one of the most memorable trips ever, and I was really missing the fact that Husband wasn't with me. I love my solo trips, but I really missed him this time because I wanted him to enjoy the holiday factor with me. Maybe some year when he's not teaching snowboarding anymore we can go together.

I've already sung AKL's praises enough this report, so I'll just leave it at this - that is my new home. If I ever buy DVC you can find me at Kidani Village. Whenever I can, I will be staying there. I am renting points at Boardwalk in April, which I am very fortunate to have the chance to do, but I can't change that reservation and I'm kicking myself about it.

Special holiday events and overlays, decor, etc. I'm glad I did the Party to experience it once, but I won't do it again for a while, unlike NSSHP, which I will continue to do annually. I may consider Jollywood next year if that event aligns with my dates and they make some changes to make the event better than this inaugural year. Festival of the Holidays in EPCOT is so special and I needed another entire day to experience all the pavilions had on offer. I'll take note of that for next year! I loved the decor in Hollywood Studios, if you recall from my October report I loved eating at 50's Prime Time because of the antique kitsch, and the vintage decorations for Christmas are right up my alley. The merry menagerie at AK is adorable and a hidden gem in an often overlooked park.

Thanks for reading along! Next up, February for Festival of the Arts. Expect a PTR update soon.

[PopPhan]

Thanks for all your great reports! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on FotA next month.

[faline]

The Candlelight Processional is a great way to end your Christmastime trip!!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

What a great trip ... I've always thought that we needed to add a Disney at Christmas trip into your plans, and I'm even more convinced after reading your report. I'm so glad to hear the positive reviews of Epcot, it was still a wall of walls when we were there in the summer.