Christmas Tips 2014

Ho! Ho! Ho! It's that time of year! Halloween is over and that means one thing at Disney: it's time for Christmas!

Every year, Walt Disney World transforms into a Winter Wonderland. This year, there are some new changes to look out for. This is a long one, so grab some cocoa and snuggle down by the fireplace.

Without further ado, let's get to the festive fun!

Without a doubt, the most exciting part of the holiday season at Disney is Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! Unlimited cookies and cocoa, Christmas music, a parade and fantastic Fireworks display all go into this night. MVMCP is a separate, hard ticketed event, but it's well worth it. The park is less crowded, and the night really is wonderful.

 There are two shows to watch: A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas! and Celebrate the Season. The former is (obviously) in Tomorrowland, and features Buzz Lightyear, Mike Wazowski, and Stitch. The latter stars Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald getting ready for Christmas.

NEW this year is a Frozen Holiday Wish. In years past, Cinderella's fairy godmother was called upon to make the castle sparkle with ice and lights. This year, everyone's favorite ice queen will takeover, along with Kristoff, Anna and Olaf. This is sure to be impressive! Note: This can actually be seen at 6:15 with regular admission, and then again at 8:00, during the party.

It wouldn't be a Disney party without characters! All the favorites make appearances in the Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, as well as gingerbread men, toy soldiers, and of course, Santa. NEW this year to the parade will be a Frozen processional, as well as Ralph and Vanellope from Wreck it Ralph.

NEW this year characters can be found in dance parties. The Holiday Hootenanny! in Liberty Square will feature the Country Bears and Clarabel, Horace and Clara. At Club Tinsel in tomorrowland, Phineas and Ferb will be dancing the night away.

NEW this year guests will be able to meet Sandy Claws aka the Pumpkin King himself, Jack Skellington, in his Christmas gear! The seven dwarves, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy are also available to meet in their winter clothes, too!

Finally, snow on Main Street! While this is just a little thing, kids especially (or native Floridians :-p) will be amazed to see snow, especially at the Happiest Place on Earth.

While it's certainly amazing, not all fun at Magic Kingdom is at the Christmas Party! Many things are available with a general admission ticket.

Holiday decorations, for example, are up all day. On main street you can meet Santa, or even just take a beautiful Christmas themed Disney picture of your family.

Gift shops are all decked out too! You might even find a few things to add to your Christmas list.

NEW (from last year) is the Jungle Jingle Cruise! The ordinary boat ride is given a makeover, completely with holiday decorations, yuletide skipper nicknames, and of course, corny Christmas jokes.

 

Be Our Guest restaurant, as well all the other restaurants, also gets in the spirit. Featuring the tree and angel from Beauty and the Beast: An Enchanted Christmas. 

 

Liberty Tree Inn is all dressed up.

Finally at Magic Kingdom, keep your eyes open! You may come across the Citizens of Main Street dancing to Christmas songs, or the Dapper Dans singing your favorite carols.

Pop Century Christmas Tree

Of course, there's more to WDW then the Magic Kingdom. The Resorts go all out too, and they're definitely worth seeing. Grand Floridian builds a life sized gingerbread house! Even the Values have gorgeous trees. Drive, hop on bus or monorail, and check it out!

Pere Noel in the UK at Epcot.

Holidays Around the World at Epcot are a fun way experience how different cultures celebrate. Also at Epcot is the Candlelight Processional, featuring Disney Cast Members, student choirs, and celebrity hosts telling the Christmas story. Candelight Processional dinner packages can be purchased for an additional fee, which includes a reserved dinner, priority seating for the show, and a reserved area for that evening's Illuminations!

Rumor: ENDING this year is the Hollywood Studios Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights. The Streets of America is covered with Christmas lights, which are set to music. For this year, a Frozen premium package will be available for purchase. With the package, you'll get preferred seating to a performance of the For the First Time in Forever sing-a-long show, as well as a dessert party during the Osborne lights, and a collectable pin and lithograph. Todd and I have done many of these premium packages, and they are well worth it.

Well, that about wraps about this post! There is so much to see and do this Christmas at Disney, so look out for some reviews!

Until then, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Review

This time last week Todd and I were at New Fantasyland, excitedly awaiting our reservation for that evening at the Be Our Guest Restaurant.

Right inside the entrance at Be Our Guest restaurant.

     But more on that later. The next evening, we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. And I must say, in all honesty, it was one of the most fun trips we've ever had. Just before the party starts, there is a castle lighting ceremony where Cinderella's Fairy Godmother waves her magic wand to cover castle in the icicle lights. While the castle's holiday decor is beautiful on it's own, the extra touch really makes it a celebration.

 

The castle in all it's festive glory.

     Next it was time for some cocoa and cookies! There were six locations all around the park giving out as much cookies, cocoa, apple slices and apple juice as you could carry. The cookies were a choice of snickerdoodles or chocolate, I opted for the former to offset the sugary cocoa. While the lines were long, it was never a long wait because every place was well staffed and stocked. Todd opted for four chocolate chip cookies, which were devoured in a matter of seconds. Tip: eat an early lunch and then an early dinner right before the event. Your stomach will handle the intense amount of sugar better. We learned this the hard way.

Mmmm.

       For the rest of the night, we actually opted to skip most of the rides in the park and simply enjoy the atmosphere. "A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas" was an awesome musical show, featuring Buzz Lightyear battling the Evil Emperor Zurg to his own version of "Jingle Bells" and Mike Wazowski telling jokes while singing along to "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer". The hostess, Haley Comet, could have toned down her super high pitched sing-song voice a bit, but she carried the show well nonetheless.

The stage in Tomorrowland set up for A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas.

     
      The best event of the night was undoubtedly the Holiday Wishes: Celebrate the Spirit of the Season Fireworks Spectacular. Now, I love fireworks in general (who doesn't?), and I try to catch Wishes at least once every time we visit. This show, however, blew every other firework display I ever seen out of the water. The Fourth of July should be very, very envious. The fireworks were orchestrated along with classic Christmas tunes, such as "I'll be home for Christmas" and "Trepak (Cossack Dance)" from the Nutcracker Suite, they even shot fireworks diagonally to form a Christmas tree shape during "O' Christmas Tree". At the beginning of the spectacular, Tinkerbell flies over the audience, and in the finale the fireworks are so bright the sky appears to switch back to daylight. This alone was worth the price of admission.

We didn't get pictures of the fireworks, but we did get this shot down Main Street right before.

     In addition the main events, there so many little details throughout the night that made it so special. For instance, dancing in Cosmic Rays turned "Club Tinsel" with Santa Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale was a blast! You haven't danced to the Cupid Shuffle until you've done it at Disney.

The DJ and crowd at Club Tinsel.

     One of my favorite things throughout the evening was sitting outside with our Christmas treats and keeping an eye out for rare characters. There are a ton to see!

Lady Tremaine, Drusilla and Anastasia.

Scrooge McDuck.

Alice in her winter gear.

     In conclusion, to anyone debating whether or not MVMCP is worth the extra cost, the answer is absolutely yes. Todd and I had such a great time we bought two more tickets and went back the next night. Tip: They will let you into the park 3 hours before the event starts. I highly recommend doing this if you can't make it to the Magic Kingdom on another day or any earlier the day of. Like I wrote earlier, during the event, you'll want to take in the atmosphere. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is an event that you and yours will remember forever.

Until next time!
- Chelsea