Christmas and New Year, '21/'22

[IndianaMac]

So I've been back a few days, thought I'd pop a little (or not so...) post up on our first experience of Disney over the silly-season. Some of this may be a bit copy-pasta from various posts in other sections of the forum, so apologies if there's a little deja-vu in here.

Had three elements to the hols, first I-Drive, then Universal, and finally a week in Disney. Our planned Merrytime Cruise fell foul to vaccine requirements for minors (tyke currently only single-jabbed). Party was MrsMac, 15y/o daughter and I... this being our fifth trip (daughter's fourth). All TA arranged, no DIY accommodation bookings (more on this later).

Friday lunchtime Breathe Assured video supervised call for the LFTs was very professional and well done, with certificates issued and checked during the call - happily recommend them to those due to fly under the current arrangements.

Flight out...

Flew out on the 18th Dec, VS75 MAN - MCO, after a night in the Radisson Blu. Flight was two hours late departing, but that's no biggie in the grand scheme of things. In Flight Entertainment being broken for a nine hour+ journey? Well, that's something else. Crew did their utmost, generally very good, with one outstanding member of crew (whom we met again on the way home - more later) to make the trip as good as possible in the circumstance.

Homewood Suites, I-Drive, 18th - 22nd

Checked in to the hotel to find our room wasn't paid for. Bear in mind, it's now gone five pm local (so midnight UK), and the hotel can't give us a room without payment. No way are the travel agents answering phones or emails at this time, so we had no option but to pay for the room ourselves... so with the flight, and now having to pay for something we'd already paid for, or face a night without a roof over our heads, a somewhat less than auspicious start to the holiday. Now, putting Homewood on our card is one thing, but the prospect of Royal Pacific and Disney not being paid? Let's say that would be a dent that would hurt.

With that less that stellar start, and a scathing email to the Agents fired off, a pick-me-up was required, and a five-minute stroll to Bahama Breeze was just the ticket. We've not eaten here for a few years now (2014 our last), and it was just what we needed. Atmosphere, outside seating (27 Celsius at six pm?!?), ambiance, cocktails (for she), Aruba Red (yay), food and service were fantastic. None of us finished our meals (just too big!), so we boxed up what remained, and left more than satisfied.

Sunday, 19th December, I-Drive

Nice lazy day... Breakfast at Denny's, then took the five/ten minute wander to Icon Park. Bit of golf at Pirates Cove, rode the StarFlyer (well, me and Rollercoaster Buddy - the missus ain't one for thrill rides, though I think she'd have enjoyed it). Temperature in the mid-twenties, so a few degrees higher than Google had told me. Snacks and beer at Icon Park, tea at Hooters, then a second go on StarFlyer after dark. The slingshot was, unfortunately, not scheduled to open until after we left I-Drive, but we'll get that this August.

Monday, 20th December, I-Drive

Breakfast in the hotel (not bad), then early to SeaWorld. Bit meh to be honest, but tyke got her first experience of Manta (too small on our last SW visit). Ice Breaker not operational yet (might be now?), and Kraken was down for maintenance.
Evening meal at Kobe was brilliant (it's a go-to on every visit), if a little pricier than I recall from our last trip in '18.

Tuesday, 21st December, I-Drive

Hotel breakfast again and then the I-Trolley to the outlets. Levi's store not the offers they used to have (buy one, get one half-price... basically got two pairs of 501s for a little more than what I would have paid for three in prior visits).

Evening was Uber-ing off to Magic Kingdom for the last Very Merriest After Hours Party of the year. This was sold out, but being "After Hours", obviously not as many tickets sold as for the full Christmas or Halloween Parties I've attended in the past. The fireworks show from the standard park access had daughter in tears - it's been a cack couple of years with cancellations, re-bookings, and more cancellations (and I know plenty of fellow-Dibbers have been in the same boat), but that was instantly wiped out with a crescendo of light and bangs.

Wednesday, 22nd December, Universal

Check-out I-Drive, check-in Loews Royal Pacific. This one's been paid for (hooray!... though we're not yet refunded for Homewood, and have yet to receive an actual sight of the word "sorry" in the TA's mails to us). Down to 23deg, which the locals thought "cold", but I'm still in shorts and a tee. Coldest day of the hols, only got higher from here.
Universal was utterly rammed, and didn't have a mask mandate at this point. Genuinely felt more than a little uncomfortable at times, especially on the Hogwarts Express with unmasked parties. We bailed early, and seeing 2+ hour waits for walk-ins on CityWalk, went back to have an evening meal at Jake's in Royal Pacific. Lovely meal, massive portions (pizza was fantastic), but a little pricey to be honest.

Thursday, 23rd December, Universal

Missed early access to the parks (we're properly on US time by now), but the park seemed a little quieter than yesterday - got the VelociCoaster, which has supplanted the Hulk as our favourite 'coaster... genuinely, it's awesome, some negative g pushovers, just hangin' moments, fantastic high g turns and loops, and the final corkscrew... wow! Express passes used for a few rides, but no way we were waiting for 150 minutes for Hagrid's

Early evening meal at NBC Bar and Grill (which I'd booked on the 'net the previous day). It was okay, but nothing special.

Friday, 24th December, Universal

Mask mandate back at Universal, and instantly felt more comfortable. Crowds up from Thursday, but not as chocka as the Weds when we first got there. Wonderfully acerbic/sarcastic announcer in the VelociCoaster (for which we fluked front-row... awesome) queue ("just because you're carrying your drink, doesn't mean you're actually drinking. Keep those masks covering your mouth and nose... you breathe through your nose!"... made me and tyke laugh at least). Mandate is mask on from the moment you enter a queue 'til the moment you leave the exit of the attraction, and all indoor areas. Near as dammit universally adhered to.

Bit of pool time, nice beer and cocktail in the sun on Christmas eve

Evening meal at Margaritaville. Now, I've recommended this place and waxed lyrical about it before on these boards, but I have to say it left me a little cold this time. From my post in the food forum: whilst we enjoyed the food, (the experience) left us unsatisfied. Our booking was at seven pm, and when we landed, we were told to go wander and await a text... which didn't come.
Went back to the front of house (we'd spent our time in the gift shop) half an hour after our reservation, to be ushered hurriedly to a barely cleared table. Felt very much like "just seat the folks we've missed, anywhere, quick". Honestly, felt a little forgotten and hurriedly squeezed in when they realised it.

Saturday, 25th December, Universal

Token present opening (one la'al gift each brought from the UK), and more parks, but not rushing for rides.
Christmas Dinner (not a special menu) at Toothesome Chocolate Emporium. Beastie loved it for the SteamPunk vibes, and the meal was better than nice, but not stellar.

Then on to the VIP tour, sorry, copypasta from the Christmas thread on the planning forum:
Five pm check-in (though we got on line a good half-hour early), exiting the park about eleven forty-ish.
Our group was seventeen to the guide, guessing others were in the high teens too.
It's very Grinch-heavy, so if you're not a fan of that (and I must admit, I'm a bit "meh" on it), it does somewhat drag.
Basically, it's the parade (sponsored by Macy's, dontcha know...) which is fun but not Disney fun.
There followed a Whoville show, which was okay, but fans would, I'm sure love it. The star for me was the dog 😂
Bit of a break to shop in the store by Jimmy Fallon, followed by some back-lot walking, some guided history of the park and studio.
Santa meet after a spell on the VIP balcony overlooking the faux-grass area near Rip Ride Rockit, more walking back-lot, more Whoville (a Q&A with cast... again, if you're a fan, groovy, if not, a wee bit meh).
Cookies and hot chocolate at a restaurant in Seuss land (or whatever it's called... can you tell I'm (not) a Seuss sort of bloke?). Grinch makes a show here for photos, and is admittedly really fun.
Finally, as the park's kicking out regular day guests, we go over to Hogsmeade... No rides open, but shops are, with a bit of time spare before an exclusive Hogwarts castle light show. Now this was just a bit special - the same show does run through regular park hours, but we got it obviously without crowds and bustle, and, frankly, this was the reason for us getting tickets.
Fantastic way to end our Christmas Day.

Sunday, 26th December, Universal

Early access to the parks for tyke and I, and a beeline straight to Hagrid's. 30 minute queue even on early access, but really enjoyed it - well themed, obviously not as fast as Hulk or VelociCoaster... probably on par with Everest for thrills (bit of backwards, for example)? Learned why VelociCoaster occasionally goes down for random ten minute spells... as we were pulling into the staging area from our ride, the one in front was stationary and unloaded while a couple of crew members were busying themselves with copious sprays and what must have been a full roll of kitchen towel on a clean-up. So there you go - empty train running the tracks? It's drying from a Chunk in the cinema event clean-up!

Evening meal at Hard Rock Cafe. Again, this is a go-to each visit, and as such I thought would be the safe but not stellar option. Wrong. Utterly brilliant this trip. I mean, anywhere can do a mac and cheese with chicken breast atop, but it was fantastic. Service, in particular (from a burly looking ZZ Top/biker dude called "Bull") was brilliant. Excellent meal, ambiance, and still decent value.

Back to the park for a nighttime VelociCoaster where we requested front row (just meant a few minutes longer), and it's truly epic in the dark at the front...

Monday, 27th December, Universal/Disney

Early access for coasters (Hagrid's, VelociCoaster twice, and a fifteen minute hat-trick on the Hulk to break our record on our previous favourite), then check-out and Uber XL to Disney. Again, it's paid for, but only half a refund from Homewood, and still an absence of any actual apology.

First time at All Stars Music (we usually do CBR or POR), and I was a bit anxious about it coming over a little Santa Fe at DLP, but really pleasantly surprised. We were on the Broadway block, which pleased tyke for all the musical posters and lights theming.

Now our usual Disney visits are planned with three-off FP+ booked each day, and knowledge of where we'll be when and targets for what we want to do. This time, although we'd done our Park Passes, without plumping for Genie +, we were pretty much resigned to this being a sights and sounds and new park (GE) exploring.

We had a park pass for Epcot, which has huge areas of boarding, then on to Springs for my obligatory visit to my favourite haunt, Jock Lindsey's Hangar bar. Cocktail, beer-flight and nibbles equals a happy IndianaMac

Tuesday, 28th December, Disney

Magic Kingdom for a Casey's Corner fix, PotC, and generally just enjoying the MK atmosphere.

Wednesday, 29th December, Disney

Animal Kingdom, again, light on rides without Genie +, but really enjoyed the Kite show... just nice Disney values, rather than the convoluted, hyped mess that was Rivers of Light.

Thursday, 30th December, Disney

Honestly, a massive highlight. First time in Galaxy's Edge, and the theming and realisation is marvellous for a couple of Star Wars geeks.
Logged into MDE at 07:00 on the dot to do our only Lightning Lane purchase, got Rise of the Resistance for 7:55... that evening!
First of three () ADRs at Oga's Cantina at 09:45, and we're propping up the bar. The bar crew/cast were so much fun ("I got the best job in the place, Off-Worlder... it's a great place, and people are drinking before noon! Would you like a picture with your Youngling at a bar?!?"). Cocktails and fancy non-alcoholic concoctions for the Missus and daughter, and I got myself a souvenir Rancor Beer Flight to bring home. Atmosphere and theming, and the crew, made for a most excellent time.

So, we leave Oga's a couple of drinks down each (and a third in a takeaway cup!), then off to Savi's for building a couple of lightsabres, which is pricey, but great fun (and the sabre's quality, too).

Dropped the sabres and souvenir flight back at the hotel, swim and chill, then back to HS/GE for the evening.

More beer and cocktails/mocktails at Oga's, and our LL Rise of the Resistance, which is really cool, to end what is probably my highlight day.

Friday, 31st December, Disney

Bit of resort-hopping on the Skyliner, CBR to see how it's changed since our last visit there in '16, and Art of Animation (which we did have booked for this coming summer before our "home" of POR came up again and we changed to that), then on to MK for NYE.
MK was utterly rammed - got a nice spot by the seats/corner where the bins are for Casey's Corner to watch the half-six fireworks, then skirted Main Street as best we could for our Be Our Guest ADR. Lovely meal, and back out into MK, which is a great atmosphere, but just far too crowded and open-air maskless (we were masked, and a good portion of others, but not enough to stand shoulder to shoulder). We left before midnight to bring in the New Year back at the resort, just the three of us.

Saturday, 1st January, Disney

Back to HS/GE. Did Tower of Terror, and this is where my mind is on tomorrow's LFTs and fit to fly, and general Covid viral load, and I'm not enjoying that staging room at all... over to GE, a liquid lunch (nibbles as well as alcohol ) at our last Oga visit.

Sunday, 2nd January, Disney

Lateral Flows complete (thankfully negative) and photos uploaded to C19 Testing - I'd recommend them, with certificates back within a couple of hours, but with changes likely coming in for returning to the UK, it's a bit moot now.

Park pass for Epcot, and a final night meal at Space 220. $79 a head, drinks additional (BoG gives a soft drink included in their Prix Fixe menu... not here). So for the price, I'm wanting special... and it delivers. The introductory "elevator ride" sets you up, and the ambiance inside is brilliant. Appetisers ("Lift-Offs") are lovely (missus had the Blue Moon Cauliflower, which she enjoyed, I had the Big Bang Burrata. Only tyke's was less than stellar, the Centauri Caesar salad. She's an adventurous eater, but the starters didn't inspire her).
We were really predictable and all had the Filet Mignon for mains, which was beautifully cooked and presented - best steak I'd had this holiday, was gorgeous.
Puds were Chocolate Cheesecake, Carrot Cake (the best SWMBO has had, apparently... I'll take her word, I'm not a fan), and Sticky Toffee Pud.
We couldn't have ended the holiday on a higher (no pun intended) plane, absolutely loved it.

Monday, 3rd January, Disney/MCO

So, home

MrsIndiana had a cheeky upgrade bid in for Upper, which we'd got, and, remember that Virgin crew member from before? We're glad we got it!

VS76 was almost three hours on the tarmac at MCO as the fuelling crew's and pilot's numbers for fuel delivery didn't tally! After a couple of hours back and forth trying to get numbers to add up, the Captain insisted they just brim the tanks, and then, we're finally away.

So that Stewardess, who was on the nine hour flight without IFE on the way out, was now on our delayed do we/don't we put a bit more avgas in the tanks to get home flight. Again, she was brilliant (my missus ain't the best flyer, so she chatted with her a good while both flights). As we de-planed in Manchester, both joked they never want to see each other again Virgin, Branson may get a bit of a kick on here at times, but their cabin crew were brilliant.

And that's that I guess... usually for a couple of years, but not this time - we're back in August!

So, would I do Christmas/NY again? Probably not, we'll stick to August just for the crowd levels. Though I do not regret for one moment this getaway, we've loved every bit of it.

Homewood Suites? It was alright - we got a suite for a decent price that might only get a room elsewhere. Okay, it's a little tired, no way was it going to compete with Disney or Royal Pacific, but it was, I think, better than Rosen Inn at Pointe from our last I-Drive holiday in '14.

[Goldia]

Lovely to read your trip report IndianaMac. A few pain in the backside moments, not least paying for a hotel you've already paid for and the lack of IFE on the outbound flight. Other than that though it sounded like you had a good time. Really lovely to see your
Christmas Eve pool photos and that you enjoyed Velocicoaster and Hagrids. Also, seems like you enjoyed Oga's Cantina, I'm glad you made it in there.

Great to see you are headed back home this summer too

[IndianaMac]

Thanks Goldia. Really enjoyed the hols, Oga's and Space 220 definite highlights of the Disney leg of our trip.

For our forthcoming August hol we've got Genie + rolled into our Disney ticket (reduced rate for buying in advance). It's still not FP+, but gotta work with what we've got I guess. No Universal this summer, but a cruise (third time lucky...?) and then a road-trip to the Keys followed by a final few nights on I-Drive.