Tag Archives: Christmas

Day 85- Magic Kingdom & Roaring Forks at Wilderness Lodge

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It is a pretty day and we are off to Magic Kingdom. It is really chilly, so we grab our hats and our heavier jackets before we board the tram. It has been really busy the closer we get to Christmas, and the tram is very full even now, later in the day.  The monorail is pretty busy, too!

We enter Magic Kingdom and it is lit with all of its beautiful Christmas lights and festive Christmas decorations. We walk down Main Street USA to enjoy all of the beautiful buildings and lights. Magic Kingdom is bustling with so many people. There are plans in the works to rework the “hub” to make it easier to go down Main Street USA, and I am looking forward to the new changes.

First, we are going to Adventureland to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. I love Pirates of the Caribbean; from the moment you walk up to the building, it is like you are stepping into an era that only the pirates know. As you scan your band and enter into the line, the arches on the stone structure set the stage. When you enter the building, there are chains that would hold the bridge. There are prisons where the skeletons of prisoners long ago once lived. If you like pirates and want to see how they rummaged towns back then, you will love this ride. Captain Jack Sparrow is hiding in various places as you travel through the waterways in your ship. There is even a fun waterfall drop that may get you lightly wet!

As we exit, we follow the walkway around through Frontierland to Fantasyland. A Frozen Holiday Wish is just about to begin as we come around Cinderella’s Castle. We knew there would be so many people in front of the castle, so we thought that we might watch it from the side if there were any benches still open. We walked down the path to the side of the castle and were able to sit as the lighting of Cinderella’s Castle began.

It is spectacular to see A Frozen Holiday Wish from a new angle. I love the lighting of the castle! It is so beautiful.

It is getting late and we decide that it is time for dinner. Wilderness Lodge is not far away, so we stop in to Roaring Forks quick service restaurant for roast beef sandwiches. We have experienced their amazing gluten free sandwiches. They are always amazing and delicious! The bread is perfectly toasted and the roast beef is wonderful. Yes, we have kept this on our favorite list!

It has been a wonderful day, and we must say goodbye to the fun… until tomorrow!

Day 84- Hollywood Studios & Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

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Happy Sunday Morning! We are heading for Hollywood Studios today. It was a warm afternoon, but it is cooling off really quickly as it nears 4pm. I am glad we brought warm jackets!

We have a FastPass+ for Toy Story Mania today. We arrive in plenty of time. We catch the tram as it fills up quickly and heads for the front gate. As we get close to the front gates our cast member says, “We’re taking you back to Hollywood, California!’” It is so nice to be in Hollywood, California! Yay! We are in Hollywood, California! We get our bags checked, scan our MagicBands, and step into the park.

Our first stop is the Stroller Rental to look at the pin trading board! Next is the Package Pickup pin trading board. OK, this is going to be a fun day for pin trading. Going down Hollywood Boulevard, it is very busy, but I can hear the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular as we turn towards Echo Lake. I love that show! It is great way to learn about how stunts in shows and movies work, which also makes it very educational. Plus, it’s super fun to watch!

We have fun walking and seeing the park. It is fun today. People are everywhere, but there is plenty of room to stroll. We decide we will find coffee and the Writer’s Stop is a possibility, but we decide to find a Joffrey’s Coffee Stand. So we walk down the Streets of America and around past the Frozen Sing-a-long just as they are roping it off. We just made it, and there is a coffee stand right up ahead. As Twinkie gets her coffee, I peek around the corner and see Mater and Lightning McQueen! I have to see them! I love Mater; he is my favorite.

I saw a place with hot chocolate in a Disney mug on the Streets of America, so we backtracked and Tooti and I got our hot chocolate. The cast member asked if we would like gingerbread, hazelnut, or her favorite, the toasted marshmallow. I said that I would love to have that one! Oh my goodness, it is so yummy! I suggest we find a place to sit and enjoy our hot drinks. I see a bench with a seat open and ask the ladies who were sitting on it if this spot was taken; they offered to scoot over for one of the kids. I thanked them and the kids said they were fine sitting on the curbside.

These ladies were so interesting and so much fun to visit with. I wasn’t going to sit very long, but we had a lot of fun talking and even chatted with another fun family close by. So, I sat with them for a while… suddenly, it begins to snow on the Streets of America, and then, the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights begins. This nice lady’s friend was visiting and it was her friend’s first time to ever see them. I watched her friend’s face as the lights came on and then began to dance; she was beautiful with her big eyes aglow and her mouth dropped open. Oh, yes, this is overwhelming! She commented that she thought there were going to be a few lights, and she smiled to big as she tried to comment on how beautiful they are. I love these moments.

After the lights dance, we say goodbye and head for Toy Story Mania, but the third round of music began, so we found a spot to stand and watch them. They are so amazing, so beautiful, and so massively unique. This is a definite must see if you are here anytime during the holidays. Plan to spend at least several minutes watching, though if you can stay a long while, it is so worth it. There are so many different things to see on each building, it can take a while to see everything, including the many hidden Mickeys, and the annually hidden purple cat. It’s so much fun to try finding the cat!

Now, we work our way through the crowd and back around to Toy Story Mania. I love this ride. It’s one of my favorites! Yay! The FastPass+ line is moving quickly tonight.

After we get off of Toy Story Mania, we are done for the night. We have walked around most of the park and seen the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, which is incredible. So, we head for the entrance. It is a beautiful, chilly night in Hollywood Studios. It has been a wonderful Sunday evening, and as we get to our car in the parking lot, we can see the tops of the Fantasmic fireworks. What a wonderful ending to a wonderful day! I am thankful that Walt Disney dreamed this dream of building a wonderful place like Disney World. I am forever grateful.

Day 55- The JINGLE Cruise at Magic Kingdom

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It is an absolutely beautiful day at Disney! It is cool and cloudy, and there are marathons going on at Disney today. Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K was this morning at Animal Kingdom, and tonight is the Wine and Dine Half Marathon. We were getting ready to head to Epcot when a friend let us know that Epcot was already so very full. It was so full that the Epcot parking lot was full, so they were parking people at the Transportation and Ticket Center and taking the Monorail to Epcot. With that new info, we chose to go to Magic Kingdom.

I don’t know how, but each time we get to Magic Kingdom, it looks so different and so beautiful! Today the sky is overcast and it makes Main Street USA pop! It looks so pristine and lovely. It is wonderful to be at Magic Kingdom today!

We get to meet up with some friends and they have a few moments to say hello and catch up on a few things. Then, they were off to Fantasyland and we were continuing on in Adventureland to the Jungle Cruise… I mean, the Jingle Cruise! I am so excited to see the Christmas decorations and see how it has changed for this Christmas season!

On the way, we were going to get a Dole Whip, but the lines are longer than they were in the middle of summer! Even a week ago we had a short wait, but today the lines are so long and our FastPass+ is in just 10 minutes! Oh my goodness! Look how big that Dole Whip is and the dad is carefully handing it to his little princess in her carriage! I loved getting to see her happy face.

So, we are off to the Jingle Cruise. As we go through the lines, we see all of the new Christmas decorations. As we get close to the boats, we see the little caged tarantula has a Santa hat and beard on for the holidays. Too funny!

This ride is entertaining and the interaction with the skipper is always fun! We have a great group of people on our boat and they are really getting into the jokes! It is really cute to se all of the Christmas presents and decorations sprinkled all throughout the Jingle Cruse.

Later, we are heading for the front gates and see that the line to get pictures with the toy soldiers in front of Main Street USA is very short. So, we get in line and get our picture taken with the toy soldiers! The mom in front of us is calling all of her kids, and they are gathering just in time. Our turn! Smile!

What a beautiful night! I wish you could see Cinderella’s Castle at night, it is so beautiful and it looks so icy with all of the beautiful lights for the holidays.