Jeff's Trip Report - The Novel

Here you go. Apologies for the length - just wrote down everything I could think of

Day 1 - Friday, 12/3

We left Charlotte at 4:00 am and arrived at WDW at 12:30 pm. Yay!.

First order of business was to drop Gus off at Best Friends Pet Resort and Spa. Everyone was friendly and the location was super-convenient - right across from the Port Orleans Riverside and we were staying at the Port Orleans French Quarter right down the street.

More on Best Friends at the end.

When we arrived it was sunny and in the low 70's " very nice!

Since we were early (1:00 ET), our room was not ready yet, so the CM said they would text us when our room was ready.

We decided to go to the Boardwalk - always a good start to any trip. First we checked out the Gingerbread house inside. That was pretty amazing! There were 14 hidden Mickeys on the house " we found 3 before deciding we needed to move on

After that, we went to the actual boardwalk and checked out the giant Christmas tree outside. It was indeed pretty tall!

Then we hit the Yacht Club and Beach Club resorts to check out their decorations. Loved the resort theming at each.

On the way back to the Boardwalk Inn, we noticed that Kouzzina was boarded up and had a sign out front that it was closed for refurbishment. We scratched our heads about that, as it's only been open a little over a year. Anyone know the scoop?

We got the text that our room was ready, so we headed back. We were in Building 2, room 2323 (third floor). It was a great location - corner room, overlooking the Sassagoula River. We got a king bed too. This was the second time we stayed at the POFQ, and we were pleased both times.

After unpacking, we headed to DTD for shopping and dinner. Since this trip was short, we didn't plan any sit-down meals and thus no ADRs.

We decided we wanted to see Tangled 3D that night, so we stopped and picked up the tickets first, then headed to the West side for some shopping. I did some damage at World of Disney, and then we headed over to Earl of Sandwich.

I decided to try that Holiday Sandwich we discussed in another post. I have to say, it was really good! The taste was fantastic. I highly recommend, with a note that this is one of the very few acceptable exceptions to my "No Food Must Touch, let alone be mixed together" rule.

With that, we headed over to the AMC Theater for Tangled. Light crowd, and after all the typical intro hoopla, the movie started! The affect was great with the 3D. For the 3 minutes we saw BEFORE THE PROJECTOR WENT KAPUTZ! They tried to restart, but it did not work. Several minutes later, the lights came on and a staff person came through to tell us the projector would not work and all 3D showings would be cancelled that night. Boo!

They offered either a rain-check for another night or a full refund. We took the refund and decided the Disney Gods were telling us to just go to our room and get a good night's sleep. So we did.

Day 2 " Saturday, 12/4

Hollywood Studios Day! And Extra Magic Hours, so they opened at 8:00 am. We weren't in a hurry, so we took our time and got to the park around 7:45 am.

Small Rant Warning: So why is it that as a resort guest, and for EMH, they park you really far away from the park entrance? Seriously. They directed us to the back half of the lots, and we were at the next to last spot at the furthest end. I just shook my head. I did not feel all that extra special.....

We got to the park turnstyles at about 7:55 am, and there was a family of 4 in front of us waiting to get in. We could see all the other people already in the park and up to where they allow you in until the park opens, but no one else was being let in. After a few minutes, we overheard a CM telling another couple that they were having a "turnstyle malfunction" and could not let anyone else into the park.

A turnstyle malfunction? Really?? Good. Grief. At 8:00 am we watched as they let everyone that already made it through the turnstyles head off to their favorite attraction (read Toy Story Mania!) while the rest of us were trapped in the malfunction mess. After 15 minutes, another CM came by and advised the turnstyle CMs that they were switching to "manual mode" and it would take a few more minutes to get set up. As we soon discovered, manual mode = manually date-stamping each person's Key to the World! on the back.

At 8:25, we were manually process and allowed to enter the park. Boy were there some angry folk.

We made a bee-line to TSM (as did everyone else!), and of course, there was already a 30 minute wait. And like everyone else, we wanted to get a FastPass before we got in line for the ride.

Funny thing about the manual mode for park entry - since our cards did not scan, the FastPass system did not recognize us as park guests, so the FastPass people had to manually process FastPasses for everyone who was manually allowed into the park! This was a nightmare for them and for us.

In the end, we got out FastPass, and got to do TSM, but by the time we finished our first ride, it was 9:00 am and the park was open to everyone. So much for EMH for us.

We headed over to RNRoller Coaster (10 minute wait, AND we got the very front car!) and ToT (10 minute wait) and then just started wandering the park at our leisure.

This is where I discovered something called the Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcake at Starring Rolls Cafe. One word - holymotherofmarythiswasgood. It was everything I had heard and more.

Lunch was also at Starring Rolls, where we had the Black Forest Ham Sandwich. It was really good, but kinda on the pricey side if you ask me.

Side note: it was here that we discovered I had lost my Disney Rewards Visa card! Ack! I did call Lost & Found twice but it never showed up.

Right outside Starring Rolls at lunch time was a street show - the 12 Days of Christmas. It was the director and crew from the act that opens the park. And they added in 6 guests to the show, then did a very interesting rendition of the 12 Days. It was hilarious.

We hit our usuals after lunch - Muppets, American Idol and a few others before heading out for a break and a Gus visit.

For dinner, we hit the Contempo Cafe at the Contemporary. This is becoming a sleeper favorite of ours. We both had the cheese flatbread this time, and I have to say, it was really good. Tasted fresh - hot and crispy. I like this place as a quick service. It's just a little different fare and it's been really good both times we've been here.

After dinner, we went back to HS for the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights. Now that was amazing. I'd highly recommend that experience to everyone if you ever get the chance. Breathtaking and moving and stunning.

The park closed at 8:00, so we decided to do some more resort-hopping, and hit up the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian, then called it a night.

Day 3 - Sunday, 12/5

Magic Kingdom Day! This was the Day of Concern. The weather folks were predicting rain at some point, but when we got up at 7:30, it was sunny and bright! Those fools, they never get it right! Since it was so dang sunny by the time we got to the Transportation center, we decided to leave our sweatshirts in the car. Yes! Brilliant!

In the short time it too to get on the monorail and arrive at the MK, you will NEVER guess what happened. Never! Oh, ok, maybe you will...the clouds moved in and by the time we got off the monorail at MK, it was raining. Sideways. Cold, windy and wet. Well. That did not go as planned.

We were freezing. The rain only lasted 15 minutes, but the clouds hung around for an hour or so, so drying out took a little longer. We hit up Buzz Lightyear twice, then headed to the new Space Mountain - very cool! They have new games to play in the line wait, but since there was noone in line, we did not get the play them.

Somehow, I got the front seat, which was a tad scary. It's ok on the other coasters because there's someone next to you, but here, I was all alone out front. If we went off track and bulleted through the side of the building, I would take the brunt of it myself. Please tell me I am not the only one who thinks like that...?

The MK decorations were awesome throughout. If I had my way, I would live at MK and it would be Christmas every day.

To celebrate the fact that we were in MK during the Christmas season, I had a Mickey caramel apple. It was good. Was it $9.95 good? Not really. But it was one of those "I want to do it once" things I had to get out of my system. I would have been just as satisfied with the $2.95 wreath cupcake, except for the fact it was not a Mickey apple. I asked the CM if they might be able to quarter it for me to make it easier to eat, and they obliged without hesitation.

We also tried the Celebration Fudge, which looked like some sort of vanilla fudge with cookies and marshmallows and green & red swirls on top. Looks pretty, but tasted...odd. Kinda like bad paste (yes, I've eaten paste as a kid. And cat food. As an adult. Totally different stories that do NOT need to be shared further). Left a weird taste in your mouth.

We did the mind-numbing its a small world (yes, the song is STILL in my head.....h-e-l-p- m-e!). They changed the line queue since last year - you now cross over the water and enter the boats from the opposite side of the attraction entrance. You exit on the side where the entrance used to be.

We left the park for a few hours, and arrived back at MK around 5:30 for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. And hit Cosmic Ray's for dinner. I know, but I just love that place. It's a must-do any time we go to MK for me. Gimme a bacon double cheeseburger and fries and I am happy.

Seeing the castle come to life with the night Christmas lights was just incredible. That itself was worth the entire trip. The pictures don't do justice.

We caught the night time parade, and the Totally Tomorrowland Christmas show, did some final shopping, and enjoyed the free hot chocolate and sugar cookies at the various stations throughout the park (one station was one of the order bays at Cosmic Ray's). The hot chocolate was ok (tasted like water-based Swiss Miss to me), but the sugar cookies were great! It was a very festive atmosphere!

The fireworks were at 10:30, so around 10:15 we headed towards the main entrance and decided to watch from there so we could make a quick escape. It was perfectly fine from a view perspective and the show was spectacular! Very Christmas-y colorful, and some really cool fireworks (one exploded in the shape of a present; another in a Mickey shape, etc.). It was a fantastic way to end the trip.

The strategy to watch from the entrance paid off " we were one of the first ones to the monorail and they departed before the crowd swelled.

So all in all, it was a great trip! Crowds were on the lightly moderate side " wait times were rarely over 10-15 minutes for anything except TSM, Dumbo, Peter Pan and a few other key ones. The day we left, the high was not going to get much past the mid-50's so our luck was really good weather-wise.

About Best Friends Pet Resort

Overall, it was really good. The staff was great, and the facility was clean and well-maintained from what we could tell. We booked Gus in a Vacation Villa, which runs $53 a night. A lot, I know, but I am glad we spent the extra money. The standard kennels are more like you would expect for boarding, and were very loud with barking dogs. The Vacation Villas were much quieter which I think helped Gus.

While they take him out for walks once or twice a day, his villa has a doggie doorway that opens up several times a day for him to go to another enclosed area to do his business. It's a great idea, but the area is concrete. Not a whole lot of dogs I know that know how to go on concrete. In other places we've boarded him with similar set-ups, the area to go to the bathroom as gravel, and Gus got that. This concrete, he was not getting.

We called the first night to see how he was doing, and they told us he was shy around them (normal), and had not gone to the bathroom at all since 3:00, which is when we last left him.

When we called the next day, he still had not gone, so that's when we decided we just needed to go over and visit him. As soon as we got him and took him outside, he peed. A lot. If you've seen the first Austin Powers movie, after he's initially un-frozen, you get the idea!

In the end, we set our schedule so that we would go visit Gus 3 times a day " once in the morning, again in mid-afternoon, and finally on our way back to the resort. This way we knew he was going, and he really seemed to settle in once he realized we were coming back regularly. This worked well since the POFQ was right down the street, but if we were at any other resort, it would have been more of an effort.

The off-leash play area outside is half artificial turn, and half real grass, with a patch of gravel to one side. Gus would go on either the real grass or the gravel, but not the artificial grass.

The walking path is really short, with very little grass. It was more productive for us to take Gus for a walk outside the front of the pet place along Bonnet Creek Parkway.

The last thing is regarding the playgroups. Gus hasn't spent a lot of time in doggie playgroups, but he does like to play with other dogs his size. Unfortunately, they don't have separate play groups for small dogs and large dogs " it's all one playgroup. After watching the play group for a few minutes, it was clear it was just too many big dogs playing too rough for us to feel comfortable leaving Gus there in one. Most places will have separate groups, so that surprised us.

We were very excited to get an e-mail from Gus while we were at the parks on Sunday - picture included! That was a nice little perk they did. We also got a hand-written report from the staff at the end of his stay telling us how he did, what he liked and didn't like, etc. It was cute!

Again, the staff was fantastic and they treated Gus really well. I wouldn't hesitate to take him there again, but now that I know what I know, I'd make sure I could visit a few times during the trip. And keep in mind this is our dog " he's not been boarded much. There were plenty of other dogs that seemed to have no problem figuring out the concrete thing.