2015 Christmas Trip Report Day 7 - Fianl Day MK

[jans2kids]

Well the end to another trip is here already. Our flight is not until 8:25pm so we will spend our final day at MK. After finishing packing we headed down to the lobby & checked our bags at the resort airline check-in service which was right by the MK bus stop. Just as we had finished with them a MK bus pulled up and off we went to the MK. It was another gorgeous day.
We headed towards Fantasyland doing Small World, Haunted Mansion & Carousel before using a FP+ on 7DMT at 10:30am. We had a lunch ADR at Be Our Guest at 11:00 and FP+ for the Christmas Parade at 12:00 so we knew we had little time to waste. Knowing this we had preordered online before the trip and when we checked in outside of BOG we got a different colored rose than those people that did not pre-order so when we got to the entrance they all had to go to the ordering room where the line was very long and we went to pay and were seated right away. We did have a hard time finding a table a people were still there finishing breakfast.
We finally found a table in the Grand Ballroom and I guess it was due to the crowd but we then waited 15 minutes until our food was delivered which was much longer than any other time we have visited here. We still had enough time that we did have to rush eating. For our FP+ for the parade we were told to be back at the area by 11:45. The FP+ parade viewing area was at the front of the park across from the train station. The area was roped off & we were able to find a spot on the curb without feeling crowded.
As we wrote a few days earlier when we saw the parade we were looking into the sun and our pictures did not turn out very good but this time we were able to get some great pictures. Our last FP+ was for the Jingle Cruise. We had a great skipper this time who was very funny. We then grabbed another FP at the kiosk taking the first one available & then changing it on our phone to Buzz as most of the other rides didn't have times until later in the evening. We were able to do this while waiting in line for POC.
This was by far the most crowded we had seen a park this trip. Lines for JC & POC were an hour and later we saw 7DMT at 120 minutes and Space Mnt at 180 mins.
The final thing I wanted to see was the Main Street Philharmonic which is a marching band that plays Disney songs but today would be playing Holiday songs. We were not sure where they would perform as there was a parade on Main St at the time they were to perform so after asking 3 cast members we finally hung out near Dumbo where the eventually showed up. This to me is one of the most underrated shows that there is in the MK. They are funny and the musicians are fantastic.
After that we used our last FP for Buzz and then it was time to go. So we headed to the bus stop to get back to ASM for our 5:30pm pickup which didn't show up until 5:45pm as the original driver had problems and they had to send another. Once at the airport we saw that our flight was delayed 20 minutes so hit the food court and had Chick Fil A for dinner. Before eating I checked the security lines and they did not look to long but when we went to get in line they had doubled. There were 2 sides so we went to the left and after 15 minutes had barely moved. So we got out of line and moved to the right which was moving a little better. You could not even get to the first TSA agent who checked your ID because
There must have been a problem with the scanners as you could not even get to the first TSA agent who checked your ID because there was no where to move once you got past them. We got in line at 7:00 and finally made it through by 8:00. Since we had the delay we were still in good shape time wise but there were many people for other flights that were not.
We had a full plane and even though we checked in for boarding passes 24 hours in advance we still had B40's so we figured we would not be sitting together. The plane was pretty full when we got on but were able to get seats together in the last row of the plane. We hit some weather during the flight and it got pretty bumpy. Just another thrill ride. Just a few hours earlier we were enjoying 85 degrees with sunshine, it was now in the 40's and raining
All in all it was a great trip, the fact that the weather was perfect made it that much more enjoyable. The crowds were much larger than we had ever seen but for the most part manageable. They definitely got progressively worse each day after Christmas. The decorations are something to see and the Christmas shows, parades and activities were top quality. Even with over 2000+ rooms we never saw a lot of people around, the bus service was good, only had to wait for a 2nd bus once and that was Christmas day. We were still able to make changes to FP+ choices once we got there with many still available except for the main ones 7DMT, TSM and Soarin. The only hard thing to get was ADR's. At 60 days out there were very few ADR's left for normal dining times at almost all the restaurants. We were able to still get some by checking a few times every day and grabbing ones as they became available from others cancellations. If you are going to go during the holidays make ADR's as soon as you can.
Well that’s it for another trip and as I am writing this we have already planned our next trip for May 2016, before our AP expires then. We are starting this trip off with a 4 day stay at Cabana Bay Resort before heading over to Disney for 7 days staying at the AS Sports. This will be the first time staying at either of these hotels. We were able to get SW flights at only $97 per person which is the lowest we have ever seen. Stay tuned for trip details in May.
If you are planning a Christmas trip for 2016 and have any questions on anything holiday please let us know and we will try to answer them for you.

[faline]

Nice last day to your trip!!

We've had similar experiences in Orlando getting through security. That airport always seems to have a terrible crush at the security gates!!