Friday, December 26, 2014

Our Trip Review - Day 1


Main Street, USA
Back in November, we traveled down to the World to enjoy some of the Christmas festivities.  This trip was special, not only because it would be our first time ever at the World during the holiday season, but also because my 11-year-old niece, my 8-year-old nephew, and my sister were traveling with us.  My sister has been to the World a couple of times, many years ago, but this was my niece and nephew's first trip ever - and, hopefully, not their last!  

We arrived in Orlando at around 12:00 p.m.  By the time we arrived at our resort, Coronado Springs, checked in, took care of some odds and ends, had lunch, and checked out our rooms, it was almost 4pm, which meant we were running late for entry into Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.  Although the Party officially begins at 7pm, ticket holders for the event are allowed early entry at 4pm.  The party runs until midnight.  

The Haunted Mansion
The Magic Kingdom was very crowded, and we decided to try to do a couple of rides if possible.  First stop - my favorite ride, The Haunted Mansion.  Fastpasses (FPs) are not given out during the Party, but we were able to get into The Haunted Mansion on a 20-minute standby line, which I got to enjoy for the first time since they put in the new queue.  I really liked it and found it very interesting. As I had hoped, my niece and nephew loved this ride, and we got to ride it again a few days later.  

Cinderella's Castle 
Around 6:00 p.m., we made our way over to Cinderella's Castle for the Frozen Holiday Wish show when Queen Elsa (from the movie Frozen) transforms the Castle to look like it's covered in icicles.  It was a really fun show featuring the Frozen characters, and the transformation is breathtaking. Absolutely beautiful (see my post dated November 30, 2014 for full details).

We had a quick bite over at Peco's Bill Tall Tale Cafe and then found a spot in Frontier Land to watch Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade.  It was awesome!  Mother Nature really wanted us to be in the moment, so she made sure that the night became progressively colder. It worked...  


Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade 

Anna and Elsa

Olaf made an appearance

The Seven Dwarfs



Cinderella and Her Prince

The Marching Soldiers
Once the parade was over, we walked over towards Main Street to catch Holiday Wishes, a light show on the Castle which was truly amazing.  The Castle was transformed from candy canes to the 25th anniversary cake to everything in between and then melded into the fireworks show.  I've watched the Wishes fireworks quite a few times, but this show was Wishes on steroids and absolutely amazing!  And then, as the show ended and the fireworks began to die out, it began snowing on Main Street.  Yup, you read it correctly.  It was snowing.  It was incredible!


It's Snowing On Main Street



After the fireworks show, a lot of people started to leave the park.  We decided to head the other way and see if we could jump on any of the rides or catch some shows.  We walked onto It's A Small World and into Mickey's Philharmagic without a wait.  We passed by Princess Fairytale Hall to see if we could see meet Anna and Elsa... Not so much!  Every time we stopped by, it was such a long wait that it just wasn't in the cards for that night.  

We didn't close the party down at midnight, but we managed to do some shopping - mostly because it kept getting colder and colder.  Hoodies were definite necessities that night, and I ended up buying a blanket to wrap around me!  I couldn't believe I was in Florida with that weather!  

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was a great experience and a lot of fun.  My favorite part of the night was the snow on Main Street.  In fact, I wrote a blog entitled It's Snowing on Main Street USA? over at www.themouseforless.com, if you want to take a quick peek.  

I'm hoping to go back for the Christmas Party at some point down the road - hopefully on a much warmer night!...

I hope all of you get the opportunity to experience the Christmas festivities down at the World someday.  It's truly not to be missed.

Until next time, remember to keep the Mouse in your house...

~ Monica







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