Your ULTIMATE SURVIVAL GUIDE to Disney World at Christmas Time! UPDATE x2 10/21

[JessicaFaye508]

We were in Magic Kingdom that morning too! Wow, wouldn't it have been weird if we were in each others' pictures? Haha, I was checking but didn't see me.

I agree the last day is always so sad, but it's easier knowing you'll be back! Especially when your trips are so close together. That helps!

Were you really!? LOL keep looking in the backgrounds of my pictures in the upcoming updates! That's too funny!

And yes, definitely! I was glad I was coming back so soon!

I just read your info about your May trip with Kristen and her family. I am already looking forward to duel reporting from you and Kristen! I predict there will be school bread and dear faces. Probably some muppets too. (The ultimate would be a deer muppet who enjoyed school bread).
Anyway, thanks for showing the monorail bracelet! That is tempting me. I'm not sure what stripe color I would need.
I hope your strep throat is gone and you are now healthy and happy.

Aww I'm so glad! I think it's going to be a lot of fun! And I'm sure school bread and deer faces and muppets will all be involved!

You're welcome! You should definitely get one - they're ADORABLE! I had a hard time deciding too but I ended up going with the classic red.

Thankfully I feel SO much better this week! Thank you!

Great updates! You take such beautiful pictures! I think I need to hire you to come along on our next family trip and take our pictures.

That must have been a great feeling...even though you were leaving you were heading back home in just 12 days!

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like them! Hahaha I would be more than happy to! More time in Disney yayyy!!

It really was! Ah I loved it! I wish that would happen every time lol​

 

[msmandapanda]

Would that happen to be the Twelve Days of Christmas Sing Along? Because that's the one I have and when I saw the toy soldiers and the reindeer these past 2 December trips, that's exactly what I thought of too!

Oh my gosh, Magic Kingdom! I was literally there YESTERDAY!!!! I miss it :'( They're currently working on Main Street Bakery so we didn't get to check it out but it still reminded me of your TRs.

These were also the case with my MK visit yesterday: We rode the monorail from the TTC to MK. We rode Small World and I too happened to note how I enjoy the music in the Hawaiian part! We also got FP for Peter Pan because it was crazy busy. Lastly, MK was also our last day too. It's always a last day must in our family.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Would that happen to be the Twelve Days of Christmas Sing Along? Because that's the one I have and when I saw the toy soldiers and the reindeer these past 2 December trips, that's exactly what I thought of too!

Oh my gosh, Magic Kingdom! I was literally there YESTERDAY!!!! I miss it :'( They're currently working on Main Street Bakery so we didn't get to check it out but it still reminded me of your TRs.

These were also the case with my MK visit yesterday: We rode the monorail from the TTC to MK. We rode Small World and I too happened to note how I enjoy the music in the Hawaiian part! We also got FP for Peter Pan because it was crazy busy. Lastly, MK was also our last day too. It's always a last day must in our family.

I honestly don't remember... but that is very possible! All I know is that I was in love with that video and the reindeer and the soldiers were both in that!

Awww did you guys have fun?! I hope you had a magical trip! And oh wow they're working on the Bakery!? I didn't even know that! Awesome!

LOL aww isn't it so weird to be like "yeah this happened yesterday." I hate coming home and realizing you're not there anymore! But haha it sounds like you had a solid last day! ​

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Chapter 26: Riding the Rides
December 9th, 2011

The Haunted Mansion was our next stop! We went through the interactive queue this time and looked around a little bit.

Here is the music wall - when you touch the instruments, they start to play along with the song!

Ah I'm glad I took a picture of this. Lia - this is where Master Gracey's tombstone is! It's in the middle of the queue. The bookcase is to its left, if that gives you a better visual. So don't worry - IT'S STILL THERE!

Watch out! This one squirts water!

And here are the books that like to pop out of the bookcase:

There is SO much more to this queue... and I don't even know the half of it! But at the end of the second December trip, I'll have a lot more information about the queue's backstory. So hopefully you'll all stay tuned until then to hear about it!

We rode the Haunted Mansion and then made our way to Adventureland! I had to take Mom on the Enchanted Tiki Room, since she hadn't see the new-old version yet. I just love that the original is back in action!

TIKI.

Then we went on Pirates, which is another one of my favorites. It just frustrates me that my pictures never come out in there! Argh.

The Cannonballs splashed us when we passed by! They are highly explosive apparently. I find myself getting splashed more in this ride than on Splash Mountain lately!

We crossed through Main Street USA and had another photo frenzy!

This is my Mom and my favorite picture I have EVER taken. I can not describe to you in words how perfect it is to me. The angle just captures the scene and transports me right there every time I look at it. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. ♥

Here's my Mom!

And me!

Another angle of my favorite statue!

Main Street USA - The Christmas Edition.

And this is my favorite little statue - It's Pluto!

Another Castle Picture with the poinsettias. The park just looks that much better with these beautiful red flowers, I'm tellin' ya.

Then we kept walking and went over to Tomorrowland!

And here's the view behind me:

My Mom and I decided to ride the PeopleMover! I wanted to use my iPhone and listen to the recording of the old voiceover at the same time... but sadly my little phone was just too quiet. *sigh* The new voiceover breaks my heart every time.

I snapped this picture of this Toontown sign that was still up on that back pathway. This is probably the last time I would see one of these signs ever!

Now Arriving at Space Mountain - Tomorrowland's Gateway to the Galaxy.

- Que Star Tunnel Music -

What a wonderful view:

Continued in Next Post​

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Chapter 27: The Post Full of (MORE) Magic Kingdom Photos
December 9th, 2011

After riding the People Mover, we went back to Main Street USA! I snapped some pictures of the Disney Balloons.

I swear I'm 18 years old... but I seriously want one of these balloons. IS THAT SO WRONG!?

I'm obsessed with how great all of the Main Street Buildings look now that they got their face lifts. Especially the Confectionary. AH they just look so GOOD!

Yay for a Mickey Wreath!

Speaking of Mickey, guess where we were heading...?

TO GO MEET MICKEY MOUSE!

We got in line and I was the first one at the door in that "in between room" waiting to go in. The cast member was talking to us when, all of the sudden, Mickey burst through the doors! He took me by the arm and we lead everyone into the character greeting room!

"Mickey..... Mickey's my boy."

We got our picture taken! Hooray!

The only thing about that room is that the pictures all have this yellow-ish glare on them. At least when I take the pictures on my camera. It's probably just the way the lights are shining or something.

Well, that was lots of fun! We went back outside and continued venturing forward!

I was in SUCH a picture taking mode today. Seriously. So, I hope you guys don't mind the endless amount of photos!

Christmas Tree Photo Shoot time!

It's SO amazing. Especially in person. I wish I could capture it more accurately!

Here are the giant presents!

I wish one of them were for me!

And then we walked back down Main Street! These wreaths are so pretty!

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of My Mom and me. Of all time. I just love it.

And some castle photos!

Continued in Next Post​

 

[kansasdisneygal]

This picture is soooo precious. You should seriously frame it! Also, the picture from behing the Walt and Mickey statue is amazing!!

I'm excited to go through the queue at the Haunted Mansion!! It looks so cool!!

 

[marDgreen88]

WHAT IS WITH THE CANNONS ON PIRATES? Hahaha ridiculous.

Wow, I totally agree. That photo is awesome! You can picture yourself just turning around and seeing the castle and taking it all in. AHHH GLORIOUS!

Uhhhh nope. I want all the balloons all the time. I would let it deflate and put it on my wall. We need a catchphrase around here. "YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD."

That's so awesome!!!!!!! That photo with you and Mickey arm in arm is one of the cutest pictures I've ever seen!

I agree about the Main Street tree! Goodness, there's so much stuff at Disney at Christmas (or let's face it, year old) that you can take picture after picture of, but you just can't beat seeing it in person!

 

[sue_88]

I'm glad you were in a picture taking mood. Nice updates.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

This picture is soooo precious. You should seriously frame it! Also, the picture from behing the Walt and Mickey statue is amazing!!

I'm excited to go through the queue at the Haunted Mansion!! It looks so cool!!

Aww thank you! I'm glad you like the photos!

It is REALLY awesome! You should definitely take the time to really look through it because there are some amazing details to take note of!

WHAT IS WITH THE CANNONS ON PIRATES? Hahaha ridiculous.

Wow, I totally agree. That photo is awesome! You can picture yourself just turning around and seeing the castle and taking it all in. AHHH GLORIOUS!

Uhhhh nope. I want all the balloons all the time. I would let it deflate and put it on my wall. We need a catchphrase around here. "YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD."

That's so awesome!!!!!!! That photo with you and Mickey arm in arm is one of the cutest pictures I've ever seen!

I agree about the Main Street tree! Goodness, there's so much stuff at Disney at Christmas (or let's face it, year old) that you can take picture after picture of, but you just can't beat seeing it in person!

I think that they refurbished them so the splashes would be bigger. That's the only thing I can think of to explain it!

Aww thank you! I'm glad you appreciate it!

Omg I would love to have those deflated balloons on my wall. What if you had a bunch of them and like... mounted them on a canvas and framed them? THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!

Thank you!

Oh, I completely agree with that!

I'm glad you were in a picture taking mood. Nice updates.

Thank you very much!​

 

[Caretames1]

I just love the editing on the last 2 Castle pictures, awesome job!



I just can't get over how awesome Disney looks with Christmas decor! Thanks for all the amazing pictures. Looks like you had an great MK day!

 

[katt789]

Yay!! I definitely saved some of those pics to my computer! Hahah.

That Mickey meet & greet is awesome!! Talk about VIP!! Love it!

 

[__disneygirl]

HAHAHAHA YES, thank you for the picture of Master Gracey's grave that I completely missed. In my defense, I was high because of food at 'Ohana. My drug of choice!!!

OMG you are right, that picture is amazing. I saved it. And it feels even more special knowing I was there that day!

Oh man... your pics are making me SO nostalgic! AHH it's all so beautiful! I got so used to the red everywhere, it's going to be weird next time I'm in the MK and it's not all decorated. I WANT TO GO THIS CHRISTMAS!! It's funny how I never thought we'd go to Disney during the holidays and now that we did I can't imagine the holidays WITHOUT Disney! Sigh...

 

[JessicaFaye508]

I just love the editing on the last 2 Castle pictures, awesome job!



I just can't get over how awesome Disney looks with Christmas decor! Thanks for all the amazing pictures. Looks like you had an great MK day!

Thank you so much!

Ah I know, right? It's so beautiful! We had a wonderful last day, for sure!

Yay!! I definitely saved some of those pics to my computer! Hahah.

That Mickey meet & greet is awesome!! Talk about VIP!! Love it!

Haha feel free! I'm glad you like them so much!

It was really cute! What a great experience!

HAHAHAHA YES, thank you for the picture of Master Gracey's grave that I completely missed. In my defense, I was high because of food at 'Ohana. My drug of choice!!!

OMG you are right, that picture is amazing. I saved it. And it feels even more special knowing I was there that day!

Oh man... your pics are making me SO nostalgic! AHH it's all so beautiful! I got so used to the red everywhere, it's going to be weird next time I'm in the MK and it's not all decorated. I WANT TO GO THIS CHRISTMAS!! It's funny how I never thought we'd go to Disney during the holidays and now that we did I can't imagine the holidays WITHOUT Disney! Sigh...

Haha no problem! I'm glad I could help. And don't worry, I'm not conscious of life after I eat Ohana either. It clearly explains why I went insane on New Year's Eve.

And aww yay that's awesome! Thank you! And oh, I completely agree! The Christmas decorations just complete Disney World for me. And I know, I want to go too! I think I'm going for NYE again, so maybe I'll get a day or two of decorations. This past trip, though, was so magical. It was like the epitome of all things perfect and Christmas.​

 

[librarymouse]

Wow, Jess- your pictures are fantastic!! I especially like the one of you with the Pluto statue and the one of you and your Mom in front of the castle! The artistic shots you got of the castle are awesome too!

It is so cute that you got to lead the line with Mickey! I haven't seen him in the new place yet.

It is so funny that you mentioned the cannons and getting splashed on Pirates. When my hubby and I were there in January, we sat in the back of the boat. One of the funniest quotes of our trip happened when the cannon went off- it was so close that it blew my minnie mouse ears headband off, LOL and of course I said "That almost blew my ears off!!" HAHA I was definitely channeling my inner frump!

Also, I can't believe the April Fool's joke you played on Kristen, telling her you couldn't go on your trip anymore! I kind of freaked out too when I read it before I read that you were kidding, haha! Can't wait to read more about your Christmas trip and then of course your frump trip!

 

[Kelliroo3]

I love the HM queue. Can't wait to hear some more about it!

Loved all your pictures; especially the Mickey one with him bringing you into the room. So sweet. Didn't see me or my family in any of the pictures though haha. But I'm sure we crossed paths without even knowing!

 

[ditsypixie]

LOVE the picture of you and Mickey together!!

 

[DirtyDiana]

Thank you! Yeah, I figured that since I didn't get very far in the process that it would be okay to post about here.

Aww that's awesome! You're going to have so much fun! I know this one kid who is down there right now and he's had attractions and was working at Figment/Captain EO. And yeah I'm excited for her! She works in the costume shop here at school so it'll be fun for her to work on Disney costumes for once! I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun - the costume department is unbelievable in Disney! I went on a tour and saw it once lol

Lol I'm glad you understand! Ah it just is so complicated. If I do the DCP I'm going to be stuck here an extra semester... which I wouldn't mind... I just don't want all of my advisors and everything to freak out. It's SO difficult to figure this out. UGH. I just have to see what life brings me. It's too hard to plan it out right now. Going with the flow is definitely the way to be!

And hahaha it would be worth it SUCH a good restaurant!
​

No way!!! Captain Eo is seriously like.. my dream attraction. I would love to see Michael's face all day everyday. Lmao. And the cool Captain Eo shirts. I'm honestly in love with MJ more than anyone on this earth and would love to be placed there. But there are so many attractions in Disney, what are the chances of me being put there? I can still dream! Even if I don't get it though, I hope I get another awesome attraction! Tell your friend I envy him That would be kinda fun to work with all the different costumes! I was telling my mom about all the roles and she got all excited about that one since she's quite the sewer/costume maker. But then I told her they don't actually make the costumes and she got sad. Lol.

Ah, I know what you mean. I think my advisor hates me because I've done such weird scheduling with my classes. I've already taken a semester off, and had a semester of classes that didn't go towards my major, and now I'm changing my major and taking another semester off for Disney... I'm never going to finish school by this point.. or it will just take 10 years But hey, I'm letting life take me where ever it points me, so even if school does take forever, as long as I'm happy, I'm not too worried. Sorry for the run on sentence But if you really didn't want to be stuck there for another semester, just apply to go after you graduate! I heard taking online classes while one the program is just too hard/time consuming.

​

And this is my favorite picture ever. Soooo pretty!

I agree, the poinsettas make the park so gorgeous!

 

[therussells08]

Ok here are my comments to these posts in a nutshell: basically, you take the most amazing pictures I've ever seen. They are absolutely gorgeous, and you capture the spirit of Disney perfectly. No joke, Disney needs to hire you as a photographer/princess.

Also, the picture of you and Mickey arm in arm is my all time favorite picture EVER. Hands down. Cutest thing I've ever seen.

 

[POLY1985]

Jess,

You seriously take some of the best pictures of Disney that I've ever seen. What kind of camera do you use? Is it just a point and shoot or do you manually have to focus it?

Loved the pic of you and Mickey walking - so sweet! The sky in all the outside pictures was especially pretty - very blue with white puffy clouds.

 

[basketkat]

Gorgeous pictures as usual!!!

Arm and arm with Mickey??? That is amazingly adorable!!! I love it!