Epic 2017 Walt Disney World Christmas Visit - Part Two

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Sunday

Today was our Magic Kingdom day. We had tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the evening giving us a bit of time to take in some Christmas around the resorts. Originally we were going to drive to the Magic Kingdom area and park at a resort (which can be tricky if you are not staying at that hotel) or the main parking area. We knew we would not be back at our hotel until around 1am and tried to determine which offered less hassle. We chose the bus system.

Another day in a row we missed rope-drop. That meant we were behind the crowds and standing in long security lines. Before entering the park we rented a locker to store blankets we appropriated from the airline (for ground cover on the parade route) and to hold purchased items for the day. Our first planned event was to watch the holiday Trolley Show on Main Street.

The 4-minute show was well themed. We grabbed breakfast from Starbucks and ate al fresco at the Casey's patio. After hitting a few shops on Main Street we exited the park so we could tour the decorations at the Monorail resorts.

A note on the weather. It sucked. At nights temperatures dipped into the 20's or 30's. These temperatures in Florida feel way colder than they do back in Illinois. We were layered up all day Saturday in Epcot. On Sunday we had pleasant temperatures (50's) in the afternoon but frigid at night during the party. The few hours after leaving the park were the only chances we had to show off our matching shirts.

Both the Contemporary and Polynesian Resorts were low-key in terms of decorations. There was a cute Cinderalla's Castle gingerbread sculpture in the Grand Canyon Concourse and the Poly's lobby had tropical themed garlands and trees. The Grand Floridian is the must-do on this route with its huge tree and large-scale gingerbread house/shop. Everything covering the small building is edible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We wanted to take the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom so we could get a boat to the Wilderness Lodge but there was a snag. The line at the Grand Floridian was backed up because they were down to one security gate. The monorails also seemed a bit delayed which allowed more people to build on the outbound platform. After a few minutes we came up with the bright idea of getting an Uber. A few minutes later we were picked up and delivered to the Wilderness Lodge. Cost $7 plus tip. Worth it. The Wilderness Lodge had an awesome tree with appropriate-themed ornaments. We lunched at the newish Geyser Point on burgers while enjoying some dark beers and cocktails. These were the only drinks of the day given we were going to be in MK the rest of the day.

Once we re-entered the park we were checked-in for the party and given our wristbands. We were directed into the Main Street bypass (area behind the hat shop they sometimes open for crowd control) for photo opportunities with props and our first cookie break. The party has several designated locations to get free pre-paid snacks and treats like cookies, candy canes, pretzels, and hot chocolate. Costs for the party vary by evening - our price was around $90 each for access to Magic Kingdom and the party from 4:00 - midnight (party starts at 7:00).

We were able to spend some time taking pictures, buying merchandise set out early, and ride a few rides. The Castle Lighting Show featuring friends from Frozen started at 6:15. Disney has updated the lighting on the castle since we last saw it a few years ago. The show was fun and the projections that aided the castle lighting were a nice touch.

 

 

 

 

 

After the lighting we split up. Holly wanted her photo with the Pooh characters, but did not want to miss out on a place to sit for the parade. Dave grabbed the airline blankets and nabbed an area near a trash can (after trying several) midway down Main Street. By the time Holly met him there was still plenty of curbside seating. When the party started there was an announcement welcoming folks and then the snow started on Main Street. People were losing their minds as soap bubbles were blasted from the rooftops!

 

 

The parade would not reach us until around 8:50. Sitting that long on the cold concrete at such and odd angle did a number on our muscles. Dinner came from Casey's: hot dogs and fries. Really haven't had a day of eating such generic food at Disney since we were kids. Dave almost had a meltdown when the pre-parade entertainment came out. There was a spotlight coming from a second floor window across the street: ruining the lighting for photos. Thankfully it was turned off for the parade.
 
This was our first time ever seeing the Christmas Parade and we were not disappointed. We actually think it is our favorite parade. It was filled with floats and characters that only come out for this parade like the wooden soldiers, gingerbread men, and reindeers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the parade we made our way up to the castle for Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration. This castle-stage style show features many characters, dancers, and two human hosts/performers (don't know how to put it - Peter Pan and Buzz are humans, but also characters. The hosts were singers in shiny outfits) singing songs, performing little skits, etc. Mickey and Minnie come out in Santa outfits at the end. The show was actually one of the better castle-shows. Once the show ended we made our way back to the Main Street bridge for the Holiday Wishes Fireworks. This show was ok, not really the best fireworks we have seen in Magic Kingdom. Maybe being frozen and wrapped in airline blankets didn't help.

 

 

 

 

Once the fireworks were over we beelined it to Tomorrowland where Cosmic Ray's was turned into Club Tinsel: a DJ dance party with polar bears and elves. They were serving cookies and hot chocolate (along with food you could buy). We watched the dance party fun while warming up. Dave felt great after 3 hot chocolates and was sad when we had to leave in the middle of the Quad City DJ's C'mon N Ride It (he claims it is his jam). But we had to leave in order to make it over to the Totally Tomorrowland Christmas Show. Luckily it was next to Joffrey's and he could get a coffee while we watched. The show featured a lead singer/host whom interacted with an onscreen Stitch. He was trying to kidnap Santa or some such nonsense. Various Tomorrowland characters had musical numbers including Buzz Lightyear, Mike Wazowski, and finally Santa Stitch. It was a bit goofy, but the performers were very good.

 

 

For our final hour in the party we hit up a few other snack stands, caught the backhalf of the second showing of the parade in Frontierland, hit some Photopass spots, and just enjoyed being in the environment. We took our second ride of the day on The Jingle Cruise, a Christmas version of the attraction. We thought it looked better in the day time.

 

 

Dave would like it to be noted his other winter hat is causing his coat to bulge out so much.

 

 

This was our favorite party experience in The Magic Kingdom. It would be fun to repeat it within the next few years. All the show performers seemed to be better than usual and the environment is festive.

Our wait for a bus back was less than ten minutes and thankfully we departed without waiting for the bus to be full. We did not forget to take everything out of of locker. We arrived in the hotel room after 1AM and were planning a Studios rope-drop the next morning.

May 2016 Walt Disney World Trip Highlights

Every few years we'll take a long trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. This was our first long trip in three years. The long trips allow us to actually take advantage of other things to do on property without feeling we are sacrificing park time. We'll just hit some highlights vs. a full blown daily report.

Logistics: We flew into Orlando early Thursday evening and rented a car for the entire trip. We spent 6 nights at Bay Lake Tower in a Magic Kingdom View room followed by 5 nights in a Boardwalk View room at The Boardwalk. We used our DVC (Disney timeshare) points for booking our rooms in the 11 month booking window. We used Uber a few times to make traveling easier, especially for dinners at other resorts or to-from Disney Springs.

Top of the World flatbreads

Magic Kingdom After Hours: WDW started a new add-on event that keeps the Magic Kingdom open for three extra hours to guests willing to pay. For $150pp guest get 3 hours more in the park with most rides open (no shows with performers) with virtually no waits. Also included were ice cream bars and bottled beverages. The event wasn't selling well at that hefty price tag so Disney has offered discounts. We took the bait at half-price. Since we booked this for the day we arrived we unpacked quickly, grabbed a beer at The Wave, ate dinner and had drinks at Top of the World Lounge, and made it in the park in time for an attraction or two and nighttime spectaculars.

At the $75pp price-point this was a worthwhile event. We believe we hit 18 rides during that time including a 2 minute wait to meet Anna and Elsa. We had our own Splash Mountain boat and were asked if we wanted to stay on for a second ride. Peter Pan, Mine Cars, Space Mountain all walk-ons. Having our own boat on Pirates allowed us to really hear the attraction without other people talking over the track. We walked out with a couple bottles of Coke to drink later in the trip and had a few ice cream bars.

Signature Dining: Usually on a long trip we'll have 14+ ADRs (dining reservations) booked. This trip we decided to scale it back to allow for more relaxed-pace grazing and impromptu moments. Our first dining event at The California Grill was a disaster. We had a horrible server - served our wine and appetizers while Holly was not at the table, all within 3 minutes of taking the order. We didn't get to test the wine first. We both ordered filets and when they came out it looked like Disney had changed the quality of meat we were used to. What we think actually happened is we were served the bison filet because the filet mignons at the pass were good looking. The menu lists traditional filet and bison on the same line so we guess she entered it wrong in the system. Even after complaining to a manager no guest recovery was attempted. The soup was good though.

Brown Derby

Jiko did not disappoint. We both knew what we were ordering before arriving: wild boar appetizer and the filet mignon with the "secret" Mac and cheese side. Our sever was great and dinner was well-paced.

We had a lunch at Brown Derby mainly so we could have the seasonal soup. Zellwood corn is seasonal and usually available in May at Disney restaurants as ingredients. Brown Derby makes an incredible triple corn bisque with shrimp fritters. Our entrees were the Cobb Salad and Andouille-Crusted Chicken Sandwich.

In Disney Springs we experienced the new Morimoto Asia. The restaurant is beautiful and modern - has that big city dining feel. We got a great table and tasty meal. We shared baos and the hoisin rib appetizer. Entrees were Chicken Pad Thai and Ramen. All that and a beer each kept the bill pretty reasonable. Only complaint about the place is they have giant Connect 4 board games around the restaurant and it creates a bunch of noise that detracts from the atmosphere.

Other Dining: We have a ton of food photos we won't post. With Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot several lunches or dinners were provided by the food booths. At Disney Springs we had a fun lunch with friends at The Boat House (great food and atmosphere), sushi at Splitsville, and drinks at Jock Lindsey's. Of course we got a pie and calamari at Via Napoli in Epcot and had a some wines and light snack at Tutto Gusto a couple nights. We tried lunch at Magic Kingdom's Skipper's Cantina - worth the visit for the food and the amount of detail in the restaurant. We had appetizers for dinner one night at The Territory Lounge for dinner one night (Wilderness Lodge), another night we had mussels at Narcoosee's and then other appetizers at Trader Sam's (Grand Floridian/Polynesian). We split a sandwich at ESPN Grill at the Boardwalk, got a free preview of the new ice cream shop (Ample Hills), and did a character breakfast at Garden Grill in Epcot. Animal Kingdom lunches came from the Yak and Yeti counter service. On two occasions we split a sandwich in France for dinner.

As much as we love sitting down and having a great meal in a fantastic environment we actually enjoyed the pace of our dining this trip. It was a bit spontaneous and keeping to smaller meals allowed us to experience more options.

Entertainment: Epcot's Flower and Gardent Festival has headliner concerts on weekend evenings. The first weekend we watched a set from The Gin Blossoms - who we liked in the 90's - just forgot every song was slow except for "Hey Jealousy". The next weekend we watched Darlene Love. We did not know too much about her other than "(Christmas) Baby Please Come Home", and ended up enjoying her show. Great performer and easily wins the crowd over. Epcot ditched the Lumberjacks and has been adding temporary bands in Canada. We saw a set from Alberta Bound, and enjoyed their show. We went another day at a different time and found it was the same set - ok, they must rotate them per day and we'll get a new set in an hour for the next show. Nope - same set each show. This was disappointing, but we think it's by design so they don't recreate the fan frenzy that existed for Off-Kilter. While in Animal Kingdom we enjoyed many sets from the Harambe-based band Buradika (on Spotify as Wassalou) They vary their sets per day but always end with "Waka Waka". We watched Finding Nemo the Musical (still enjoy it) and Festival of the Lion King (still hate it).

Activities: We tried a few new things this trip. After a lunch from Captain Cook's at the Polynesian we each rented a water sprite. The little boats don't go too fast but they are a fun way to tool around the lakes. With our discount (annual pass or DVC) we paid around $55 for two boats for 35 minutes. Dave got his haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop in the Magic Kingdom, including Rip Taylor levels of glitter. In the Land Pavilion of Epcot we took the Behind the Seeds tour of the green house. Well worth the ~$18pp price except for the fact that Dave now wants a backyard hydroponics kit. We visited Typhoon Lagoon one day for a few hours. In our two visits to Animal Kingdom we completed the Wilderness Explorer badge game. Players perform tasks or answer questions to earn stickers. We got them all.

Photopass: Our Annual Pass included Memory Maker/Photopass. The photos taken by in-park photographers would be available to us almost immediately online. When we got home we could edit them and add special borders and stickers. This saved Dave the frustration of getting pictures with our own camera.

Overall, another great trip. A good mix of park time and relaxation.