Day 12: Fire & Water / H&H@TP 2017

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Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!

Experience the joy, excitement and music of the season as Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! raises holiday spirit to awe-inspiring new heights! Watch in wonder as buildings and rooftops come to life—and be immersed in beloved scenes from Mickey’s Christmas Carol, Beauty and the Beast, Pluto’s Christmas Tree, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and more. – Walt Disney World

We found a spot kind of front and center for the nighttime show. There is so much going on all around – projections, lasers, fireworks, and even “snow” that you want to be able to see as much as you can and get down as close to the Chinese Theatre as you can so you can see all of the projections which are hidden from view if you are further back down on Hollywood Boulevard you’ll miss out on those.

There is a story behind the show – Santa has gone missing. The stars of ABC’s Prep & Landing search for Santa—to rescue him and save Christmas!

Having only seen this the one time, nearly two years ago (at the time of writing) I really don’t remember much about it, so here are some of the pictures I took without much commentary I’m afraid!

Sunset Seasons Greetings

A new light show debuted in 2017 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Sunset Seasons Greetings, and to the best of my knowledge is still running at the time of writing (2019).

The Hollywood Tower Hotel comes to holly-jolly life with colorful projections. Boasting new laser effects and projected falling “snow,” this exuberant celebration also includes stories, songs and holiday cheer brought to you by Disney pals like Mickey, Minnie and Olaf. – Walt Disney World

I’m pretty sure this runs several times during the evening (from around 6pm, or whenever it gets dark) and if you are along Sunset Boulevard it is worth stopping to watch as it is so much fun!

We absolutely loved it, and it was awesome to see all the different projections on the Tower of Terror! It is amazing how they can transform it. The “snow” (often described as snoap!!) even though it isn’t real, does add such a wonderful festive touch.

Scenes include:

• Mickey and Minnie reminiscing about a hometown Christmas as the scene shifts into a romanticized, Norman Rockwell-inspired town—starting in black and white before slowly changing into color.
• The Toy Story characters guessing which new toys are coming this Christmas as the scene becomes covered in holiday wrapping paper.
• The Swedish chef from The Muppets babbling as only he can while the scene turns into giant gingerbread houses.
• And finally, Olaf pining over his holiday wish as iconic music plays and the scene freezes over into a Frozen winter wonderland—complete with dancing Aurora Borealis lights and projected falling snow.

Sunset Seasons Greetings last around 10 minutes or so, and when the show was finished we made our way out of the park as we had dinner reservations at Yachtsman Steakhouse at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.

Yachtsman Steakhouse

We have dined at Yachtsman Steakhouse, located (as the name suggests!) at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. The restaurant is classed as fine dining/signature dining, so if you are on a Disney Dining Plan it will take two table credits to dine here.

The food here is more expensive due to its signature status, so bear that in mind if you are paying out of pocket!

My son Liam who came with us on this vacation loves this restaurant, and since it was Christmas we made the Advance Dining Reservation (ADR) as a treat for us as a family. ADRs are highly recommended, even more so around the holidays.

We were shown to a table tucked out of the way, almost in a separate room to the rest of the restaurant. This was a shame as if you get a table near a window you can catch some of the fireworks from Epcot (back then it was IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, which has now ended). Oh well!

Most (again, in our experience) of the signature restaurants at Disney have a complimentary bread service, and we always look forward to this.

The basket of rolls include sourdough rolls, as well as some epic onion pull-apart rolls which are so, so good! You also receive a pat of butter topped with coarse sea salt, as well as a full bulb (in our it was actually two!) of roasted garlic.

Slather the butter on the warm bread, and schmear over some roasted garlic, and it is heavenly! If you want more, just ask as they are happy to supply more bread and accompaniments.

We are the kind of family that tends to share starters, and this evening was no exception. If calamari is on the menu, we will always order it, and the same can be said for a charcuterie board!

The portion of fried shrimp and calamari was large, and enough for all of us to share. Crispy and flavourful, we all enjoyed this.

The charcuterie was presented on a piece of slate and was very good. Our server went through each of the items but also left us with a card that gave full information about each of the selections. I’ve provided that info below, but bear in mind that things do change seasonally, so what we had, may not be what you are served.

Lomo de Bellota – Lomo Ibérico de Bellota is the dry-cured pork loin, rubbed with smoked pimentón de la Vera, olive oil, garlic, nutmeg, and oregano. Popularly known as the Pata Negra or Black Hoof, the Ibérico de Bellota feed exclusively on fallen acorns, known as Bellota, for three months prior to slaughter. The resulting meat is swirled with high levels of flavorful natural fats.

Elk Landjager – This fresh version of a traditional German sausage has been aged for 14 days and grilled to produce its complex yet subtle flavors of black pepper and coriander.

Pacific Island Pâté – Produce from suckling pig then wrapped in smoked bacon and accented with dried papaya, pineapple and espelette pepper throughout. Cooked in a rustic fashion, true to history.

Turkey Rillettes – A confit of slow cooked Turkey leg, preserved in duck fat and extra virgin olive oil. Creamy in texture with a true rich essence.

Cottage Bacon – This is the old time country bacon. Created from the center of the pork butt, where the coppa is found. It is leaner than pork belly bacon and “richer” than Candian style bacon.

For our main course, we all had the same – New York strip steak. We ordered a variety of sides to go with.

The UK equivalent of New York strip steak is sirloin – a very tasty cut of steak. Steak is one thing that Americans do very well, and we always have good steak when we visit!

You don’t really find classic steakhouses in the UK anymore, so I appreciate them when we are in the USA.

(Fun fact, my dad ran a Berni Inn in the 1980s, and I grew up living in a steakhouse. It’s in my blood to love a good steak!)

The steak came topped with a peppercorn sauce and fried onion strings. The potato gratin came served in an individual bowl and tasted delicious.

I’ve always found it weird how vegetables don’t seem to come on the side as standard in many Disney restaurants (and possibly offsite too) and so we always have to order something on the side.

The sides are a surcharge if you are on a Disney Dining Plan and as well as the ones we ordered other choices were creamed spinach, caramelized onions, beef fat potatoes, baked potato, glazed carrots, and butternut squash risotto.

I do love a Cesar Salad and will more often than not order it if it’s on the menu. The one at Yachtsman Steakhouse was slightly different, it was served wedge style on top of some cured meat, with a large parmesan crisp on the top, as well as parmesan shavings.

Macaroni Cheese is also another of my American comfort food favorites, so I will order that on the side if I can too!

We were not on a Disney Dining Plan so we paid out of pocket. We did, however, use our Tables in Wonderland card which gave us a 20% discount.

Tables in Wonderland is exclusive to Florida Residents, Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members.

After paying our bill, we headed back home to Poly for our last-but-one night at Walt Disney World for 2017. Tomorrow, our last full day was spent at Animal Kingdom!

Read about the day after:
Day 13: Disney Resort Christmas Tree Trail Part 4
Saratoga Springs / Animal Kingdom / Lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue / All Star Movies / Tree of Life Awakenings

Read about the day before:
Day 11: Easy Like Sunday Morning
Sunday Brunch at California Grill / Disney Springs / Drinks at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto / Christmas Wishes from Poly

» Read ALL the days!

I have included links to my camera equipment.
If you purchase via the links I may earn a small commission.

The camera I use for my Disney photography is a Canon EOS 70D.
The two main lenses I use: Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro and Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC Art. Both of these lenses will also fit Nikon and Sony DSLRs.
I also take some photos on my iPhone7 for sharing on social media – follow my Disney Instagram account – LoveDisneyPhotos
Pool photos are taken with: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5. A similar model is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT30EB-A
Videos are taken with Panasonic HC-V720, although the newer model is the Panasonic HC-V770.
Any photo editing is done with Photoshop or with Instagram editing features and filters.

Previous Disney Trip Reports

• WDW-40:2016
• Christmas at Disneyland Paris 2015
• Halloween in The Wilderness 2015
• Dine Around Disney 2014
• Back To The Magic 2013
• The First Time 2011
• Disneyland Paris 2010

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