My whole family went to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this past Friday as part of our annual tradition. Disney is magical and I loved every fairy tale minute. Here’s my rundown of what not to miss and my favorite things.
The party officially starts at 7pm, but you can get into the
park at 4pm. We always get there early and schedule our Fast Passes for the
roller coasters. It’s rather rewarding to just walk onto Space Mountain and bypass the long line. What’s nice about attending the Christmas Party
is there are only a certain number of tickets sold, thus limiting the huge
crowds and wait times. The entire evening I think the longest we waited
was ten minutes for the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which is one of the newer
rides. It was also Cayden’s first roller coaster and he loved it!
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| This roller coaster was the only time the whole night Cayden let go of his lightsaber |
One of our favorite stops is the Jingle Cruise- the
Christmas version of the Jungle Cruise. You get all the same corny jokes from
your river guide, with a few holiday twists. Where else can you take a trip
down the Amazon, get chased by headhunters, and see ‘the back side of water’?
Impressive.
We always end up in Tomorrowland for a good part of the trip. Besides having the best Star Wars gift shop, it also has the best ride: The Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger
Spin. The boys would stay there all night, given the opportunity. The idea is to save the galaxy by using your space cannon to shoot lasers
and destroy Zurg. My personal mission is to someday score a higher number than
my husband and eldest son. Failed again this year.
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| (2015 Disney Christmas Party) |
None of my children like meeting the various Disney
characters stationed around the park, so I’ve taken to bribing Micah to be in just one picture with me. That way it's not totally weird that a grown woman wants to take a picture with Tigger or Winnie the Pooh. The best one was when 8 year old Micah got kissed by a princess. She left a perfect kiss mark on his cheek and he didn’t realize it- until people
kept smiling at him as they walked by. He made me promise that picture will never
be posted on social media…a very hard promise to keep.
What’s great about meeting Jack Sparrow or Gaston or Phineas
and Ferb is that they stay in character during the entire conversation. We
spoke to Snow White and she asked Micah if he had been trained to use a sword. He
said no, so she laughed and told him he could work in the mines with the dwarfs
instead.
Another very important aspect is the food options. There
were no less than six snack stations around the park, each with a different
option. We had pretzels, peppermint cookies, hot chocolate, snow cones, apple cider,
and more I don’t even remember. The variety was a great addition this year- in
prior years, it was snickerdoodle cookies and hot chocolate.
At 10:00pm the Holiday Wishes fireworks show starts and it’s breath taking. They’ve incorporated Cinderella’s Castle and it changes colors in time to the music and the fireworks. The entire show is timed perfectly and if you don’t have holiday cheer afterwards, you’re the Grinch.
Right afterwards is the parade which we didn't stick around to see because we're all about those rides. But I caught glimpses of Anna and Elsa shimmering in lights, followed by the big snowman, so I assume Frozen has a large part in the parade.
Finishing off the night is the snow on Main Street. Living in
Florida, the chances of seeing snow are slim to none. None of my boys have ever
seen real snow, but for that one night, they get to walk in a swirling winter
wonderland. These Disney trips are moments in their lives I hope they never
forget.
With Love,
Susanne
