Hi. Just back from 3 great days in the parks. Crowds were high but festive and we saw/did all our must do's - and then some! With so many changes at the parks, we made this trip a lot about seeing the new or seasonal stuff and saying good bye to things leaving for at least awhile.
I know this is long. Sorry! But if you're visiting over the holidays, I'd expect crowds to stay high. We saw lots of shows and you may find some tips that will work for your party
Hello's
HyperSpace Mountain - loved it, especially the end sequence! Our vehicle clapped at the end, fun! Get your FP early though if you want to ride - they were gone before noon daily.
Star Wars Launch Bay - we enjoyed this more than we expected. The displays were cool, good theming throughout with lots of picture opportunities. And the CM's really helped immerse us in the theme. There were several different Star Wars costumes in use with CM's acting out their roles as they performed their jobs (like walking the way their character would in the movie, saluting, etc.) Great touch Disney! We are not big meet-and-greeters but waited for both Chewy (10 min) and Darth (20 min.) Both were EXCELLENT!
Marvel HQ - meh. Somehow Marvel just doesn't blend into Disney the way Stars Wars does. Just my opinion, we didn't spend much time here.
Viva Navidad - This show hits all the right notes every time! While I would wait for it, it's not neccessary. Between Bayside Brews and Jellyfish is front and center viewing - there are green tape stripes on the ground and they will not allow you to line up between the green. Until the parade float comes out and turns into position that is! Then they let people fill the space - so if you stand near the taped off area (by the Jellyfish exit) just before showtime, you'll be able to move up to the front a minute in.
Viva Crafts - small craft activity in Paradise Gardens in the vein of the departed Jingle Jangle (sobs.) We colored our lanterns, then CM's added a handle to them. They also gave out Viva Navidad fans. With how generic so much of the merchandise has become, these types of things have become some of our favorite keepsakes.
Buena Vista Street Entertainment - I swear, you cannot walk into DCA this time of year without encountering a show on BVS. I love it!!! It just makes me happy With no planning, we encountered the bell ringers, carolers, trolley singers, stopped to send a letter to Santa with Molly the Messanger, met Osborne AND xmas Mickey!!! Like Viva, Disney hits all the right notes here!
WOC Winter Dreams - we saw this version last year and were meh about it. We're still just meh. If you are an Olaf fan I think you will be more enthusiatic about it.
BUT we learned something great so it was all worth it! My son talked me into into the "Splash Zone" and I'm so glad he did. We asked the CM before walking into the area, he said it's a heavy mist, you will not get drenched, probably not even wet. He was right!! We had lined up early then got seats on the rail almost at the far left end of the "wet" section - awesome view. But the smart people got the same view and only showed up 15 - 20 min. before showtime with plenty of space for more. We got misted with dew on our shirts, but nothing heavy enough to soak through so we still felt dry at the end. No one got drenched and we only saw heavy drops fall in our section once. A girl showed up late with an elderly man. She said she's seen the show about 100x, always comes to this section, never gets soaked and pointed to her companion and laughed, saying "I wouldn't bring my grandfather here if I thought he would get wet." I'm following her lead from now on - pull a yellow FP and show up no more than 30 minutes before showtime! Though I may steer clear of the rail if it's windy.
Christmas Parade - My fave daytime parade - love the music, doesn't require a ton of pre-planning. We showed up just before start and asked a CM on Main Street who let us into a viewing section (near the firehouse.) We were probably 5 people back but it wasn't packed and since we were positioned at the side rope even my 7yo got a good view of the parade as it came around the bend.
Paint the Night - PTN is just wonderful and has allowed me to let MSEP go. So many years after this parade leaving (and having seen it at both DCA and MK - not the same either place), I'm finally ok with the loss. Showed up for the 10:45 show as the parade started (could hear the music) and got curbside seats just past where the parade turns the corner from the Hub. I asked a CM and he said it's usually easy to get a great spot for the second show in this corridor (from the hub to the Alice bathrooms specifically.)
Christmas Decor - both parks are beautiful during the holidays, especially DL. But the castle disappoints. During the day at least, the Diamond decor just is not as special as the xmas overlay.
Small World, Jingle Cruise, Haunted Mansion Holiday - Love the overlays! But lines for these rides (ok, all rides) ran long all day. Past 10am, they ran about an hour, sometimes 90 min.
**Rope dropping was key to riding and pulling FP's from the start. We skipped mid-afternoons but stayed late after the shows for bonus, sometimes walk-on riding. With MM running every day, Fantasyland was simply packed from the get-go so if you don't have MM my only reccomendation would be to bring a lot of patience and watch the app for lulls. DCA was very manageable all days, though RSR FP's were gone early (we single rider'd) and ToT's went fast too (we skipped.) But others like Soarin', Screamin' and Goofy were easily available into the evening with decent return times.
The app was very reliable and we used it a lot to check what FP return times were being issued.
Good Bye's
Soarin' Over California- it's not gone yet, but it will be Never know which time will be the last so it's a must-do. With January refurb dates posted, I feel any refurb action is just one step closer to the movie change. While I think over the world will be cool, how I wish they'd just show both!!
BBQ - did dinner and had a great time - our table was full of worlders who were LOVING DL. So happy for them!!
Columbia, Mark Twain - enjoyed both and took in the scenes that may be displaced (disappear?) with the river reroute. I know the boats will be back though so it's just a temporary good bye
Island - Letting your kid loose on the island is just plain old fun and we had the fiddlers on the raft over to boot! They gave the kids a cute "safety tip" card waiting in line for the raft over, then a different one was issued at the canoes. We got safety tips 1 and 2, don't know how many there are.
Canoes - We think the canoes are fun but now I'm wary about their return. We were seated on the last bench with a friendly CM behind us. She said though they are stated to be back she's nervous because of the river shortening. That the canoes and boats are timed for everything to leave at a certain interval. With less river they (as in the river CM's) have been trying to work out how the canoes can operate since the boats will take less time to circumnavigate. Running fewer boats would be a way, or eliminating the canoes which she conceded aren't wildly popular. She also said there's no specific info on the train route changes. But that after they dam off the new river wall (for the shortened river), they would be using the other side of the former river (along the current train route) as a roadway of sorts for machinery and materials. She thought this would continue to be the case even after the new river reopened and had no idea how the train would come into play here. **Just the standard caveat, this is all CM speculation, not concrete news. On a good note, all river CM's are being moved to new positions, mostly in NOS, no one is being eliminated.
Railroad - Enjoyed several rides, including a full circle tour. It's sure gonna clog up the walkways being down for a year or two.
Fantasmic! - BEST SHOW EVER. We had Yellow for the first show. Lined up at 7:40, about 50 people in front of us. They let us into the loading dock staging area at 8, then led us over to the viewing area at 8:20. We got a great spot on the rail towards the far left end. There was plenty of space thoroughout the area through showtime, though we did get one of the last rail spots. The rail doesn't bother us though nor would sitting back a few spaces. The key is getting as far into the viewing area as possible for the most direct viewing spot. We stayed and enjoyed the fireworks. I'll admit though that I enjoy watching them from the esplanade just as much even though there is no snow. Small World is my favorite viewing location followed by Main Street.
Edit and OMG! I forgot our most important good bye - Aladdin! Still can't believe this is leaving (more sobs.) People have different preferences for viewing. Lower Level is easily our fave. The upper levels, mezzanine and balcony, don't do it for us, seeing the flying carpet closer to eye level doesn't make up for what isn't eye level anymore. Specifically we like the tiered seats in Lower Level - not the floor seats (our least favorite actually since the flags and puppets run behind you and you have to look straight up for the carpet.) We got awesome seats in the center, second row from the railing. Yay! We lined up 1/2 hour early and were lucky to get the seats we did. They announced the show was standing room only and CM's were having guests move to fill in single vacant seats. Most standbyers still had to break up their party if they wanted to see that showing with CM's finding seats for them. There were updated jokes since our last viewing and even with a different Aladdin and Genie than we are used to, it was a great show. The crowd was totally into it, the Genie bantered back a couple times and the applause was loud and long several times. We will miss this show A LOT!
I know this is long. Sorry! But if you're visiting over the holidays, I'd expect crowds to stay high. We saw lots of shows and you may find some tips that will work for your party
Hello's
HyperSpace Mountain - loved it, especially the end sequence! Our vehicle clapped at the end, fun! Get your FP early though if you want to ride - they were gone before noon daily.
Star Wars Launch Bay - we enjoyed this more than we expected. The displays were cool, good theming throughout with lots of picture opportunities. And the CM's really helped immerse us in the theme. There were several different Star Wars costumes in use with CM's acting out their roles as they performed their jobs (like walking the way their character would in the movie, saluting, etc.) Great touch Disney! We are not big meet-and-greeters but waited for both Chewy (10 min) and Darth (20 min.) Both were EXCELLENT!
Marvel HQ - meh. Somehow Marvel just doesn't blend into Disney the way Stars Wars does. Just my opinion, we didn't spend much time here.
Viva Navidad - This show hits all the right notes every time! While I would wait for it, it's not neccessary. Between Bayside Brews and Jellyfish is front and center viewing - there are green tape stripes on the ground and they will not allow you to line up between the green. Until the parade float comes out and turns into position that is! Then they let people fill the space - so if you stand near the taped off area (by the Jellyfish exit) just before showtime, you'll be able to move up to the front a minute in.
Viva Crafts - small craft activity in Paradise Gardens in the vein of the departed Jingle Jangle (sobs.) We colored our lanterns, then CM's added a handle to them. They also gave out Viva Navidad fans. With how generic so much of the merchandise has become, these types of things have become some of our favorite keepsakes.
Buena Vista Street Entertainment - I swear, you cannot walk into DCA this time of year without encountering a show on BVS. I love it!!! It just makes me happy
With no planning, we encountered the bell ringers, carolers, trolley singers, stopped to send a letter to Santa with Molly the Messanger, met Osborne AND xmas Mickey!!! Like Viva, Disney hits all the right notes here!WOC Winter Dreams - we saw this version last year and were meh about it. We're still just meh. If you are an Olaf fan I think you will be more enthusiatic about it.
BUT we learned something great so it was all worth it! My son talked me into into the "Splash Zone" and I'm so glad he did. We asked the CM before walking into the area, he said it's a heavy mist, you will not get drenched, probably not even wet. He was right!! We had lined up early then got seats on the rail almost at the far left end of the "wet" section - awesome view. But the smart people got the same view and only showed up 15 - 20 min. before showtime with plenty of space for more. We got misted with dew on our shirts, but nothing heavy enough to soak through so we still felt dry at the end. No one got drenched and we only saw heavy drops fall in our section once. A girl showed up late with an elderly man. She said she's seen the show about 100x, always comes to this section, never gets soaked and pointed to her companion and laughed, saying "I wouldn't bring my grandfather here if I thought he would get wet." I'm following her lead from now on - pull a yellow FP and show up no more than 30 minutes before showtime! Though I may steer clear of the rail if it's windy.
Christmas Parade - My fave daytime parade - love the music, doesn't require a ton of pre-planning. We showed up just before start and asked a CM on Main Street who let us into a viewing section (near the firehouse.) We were probably 5 people back but it wasn't packed and since we were positioned at the side rope even my 7yo got a good view of the parade as it came around the bend.
Paint the Night - PTN is just wonderful and has allowed me to let MSEP go. So many years after this parade leaving (and having seen it at both DCA and MK - not the same either place), I'm finally ok with the loss. Showed up for the 10:45 show as the parade started (could hear the music) and got curbside seats just past where the parade turns the corner from the Hub. I asked a CM and he said it's usually easy to get a great spot for the second show in this corridor (from the hub to the Alice bathrooms specifically.)
Christmas Decor - both parks are beautiful during the holidays, especially DL. But the castle disappoints. During the day at least, the Diamond decor just is not as special as the xmas overlay.
Small World, Jingle Cruise, Haunted Mansion Holiday - Love the overlays! But lines for these rides (ok, all rides) ran long all day. Past 10am, they ran about an hour, sometimes 90 min.
**Rope dropping was key to riding and pulling FP's from the start. We skipped mid-afternoons but stayed late after the shows for bonus, sometimes walk-on riding. With MM running every day, Fantasyland was simply packed from the get-go so if you don't have MM my only reccomendation would be to bring a lot of patience and watch the app for lulls. DCA was very manageable all days, though RSR FP's were gone early (we single rider'd) and ToT's went fast too (we skipped.) But others like Soarin', Screamin' and Goofy were easily available into the evening with decent return times.
The app was very reliable and we used it a lot to check what FP return times were being issued.
Good Bye's
Soarin' Over California- it's not gone yet, but it will be
Never know which time will be the last so it's a must-do. With January refurb dates posted, I feel any refurb action is just one step closer to the movie change. While I think over the world will be cool, how I wish they'd just show both!!BBQ - did dinner and had a great time - our table was full of worlders who were LOVING DL. So happy for them!!
Columbia, Mark Twain - enjoyed both and took in the scenes that may be displaced (disappear?) with the river reroute. I know the boats will be back though so it's just a temporary good bye
Island - Letting your kid loose on the island is just plain old fun and we had the fiddlers on the raft over to boot! They gave the kids a cute "safety tip" card waiting in line for the raft over, then a different one was issued at the canoes. We got safety tips 1 and 2, don't know how many there are.
Canoes - We think the canoes are fun but now I'm wary about their return. We were seated on the last bench with a friendly CM behind us. She said though they are stated to be back she's nervous because of the river shortening. That the canoes and boats are timed for everything to leave at a certain interval. With less river they (as in the river CM's) have been trying to work out how the canoes can operate since the boats will take less time to circumnavigate. Running fewer boats would be a way, or eliminating the canoes which she conceded aren't wildly popular. She also said there's no specific info on the train route changes. But that after they dam off the new river wall (for the shortened river), they would be using the other side of the former river (along the current train route) as a roadway of sorts for machinery and materials. She thought this would continue to be the case even after the new river reopened and had no idea how the train would come into play here. **Just the standard caveat, this is all CM speculation, not concrete news. On a good note, all river CM's are being moved to new positions, mostly in NOS, no one is being eliminated.
Railroad - Enjoyed several rides, including a full circle tour. It's sure gonna clog up the walkways being down for a year or two.
Fantasmic! - BEST SHOW EVER. We had Yellow for the first show. Lined up at 7:40, about 50 people in front of us. They let us into the loading dock staging area at 8, then led us over to the viewing area at 8:20. We got a great spot on the rail towards the far left end. There was plenty of space thoroughout the area through showtime, though we did get one of the last rail spots. The rail doesn't bother us though nor would sitting back a few spaces. The key is getting as far into the viewing area as possible for the most direct viewing spot. We stayed and enjoyed the fireworks. I'll admit though that I enjoy watching them from the esplanade just as much even though there is no snow. Small World is my favorite viewing location followed by Main Street.
Edit and OMG! I forgot our most important good bye - Aladdin! Still can't believe this is leaving (more sobs.) People have different preferences for viewing. Lower Level is easily our fave. The upper levels, mezzanine and balcony, don't do it for us, seeing the flying carpet closer to eye level doesn't make up for what isn't eye level anymore. Specifically we like the tiered seats in Lower Level - not the floor seats (our least favorite actually since the flags and puppets run behind you and you have to look straight up for the carpet.) We got awesome seats in the center, second row from the railing. Yay! We lined up 1/2 hour early and were lucky to get the seats we did. They announced the show was standing room only and CM's were having guests move to fill in single vacant seats. Most standbyers still had to break up their party if they wanted to see that showing with CM's finding seats for them. There were updated jokes since our last viewing and even with a different Aladdin and Genie than we are used to, it was a great show. The crowd was totally into it, the Genie bantered back a couple times and the applause was loud and long several times. We will miss this show A LOT!
Last edited:
