How the Other Half Lives ~ Updated 10/22: I Forgot Something!

[lmillercrew]

YAY!!!! An update!

 

[Dugette]

Great update! The show looks fun, I've never been to it before.

It was a decent show. Not my favorite thing, but better than I thought it would be.

Thanks for the update!
brrr, it must have been COLD

And it will get EVEN COLDER...

Hooray for an update! I've been wondering about you!

I'm here, I'm here. Just distracted by other things.

The party looks like so much fun! Was that really Raven??

Ha ha! No, we just thought she looked like Raven! Something about her made Dug want to keep saying, "That's so Raven!"

Your Stitch pic was so cute! I'll have to try out that photopass card trick.

Turned out better than the dwarf pic!

Can't wait to see what you thought of the fireworks!!

Coming up next!

Hooray, your back, was beginning to wonder if you were going to continue, have followed some in the past that just stop....thanks for the update.

Yeah, I'm here! I have read those TRs too where they just stop. This definitely won't be one of those. It will be finished. Maybe not super fast (no upcoming WDW trip to finish before, like with my others), but it will get done!

The castle looks amazing! Where the snacks free or did you have to pay extra for them? Have never been to Disney around Christmas, seems a bit chilly. I am from Canada so I go on vacation to get away from the cold, 51 is a bit cold for me but would love to go one year to see the lights.

The castle really was amazing! Yes, the snacks and drinks were included with the party tickets...and that hot chocolate sure was nice throughout the chilly evening!

YAY!!!! An update!

Glad you're still here!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

missed your last update while I was on my vaca! 51 and you were bundled up like that????? Wimps Just kidding of course! I was at WDW 2 Februarys ago and it was so cold. Not what I would consider cold at home but being outside all day combined with it feeling odd to be that chilly in FL made it feel so much colder than home.

 

[Dugette]

missed your last update while I was on my vaca! 51 and you were bundled up like that????? Wimps Just kidding of course! I was at WDW 2 Februarys ago and it was so cold. Not what I would consider cold at home but being outside all day combined with it feeling odd to be that chilly in FL made it feel so much colder than home.

Maybe I forgot, where did you go on vacation?

Yes, we were bundled. We're Minnesotans, so we're used to cold, but this was particularly bad because it was quite windy and we were stuck outside in it for a long time! At home, when it's cold, we stay inside!

 

[Dugette]

It was now time to find a good spot for Holiday Wishes. We are generally not overly picky about our fireworks-viewing spots. We’ve seen Wishes from Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, the MK Rose Garden, the Tomorrowland Terrace (at the Dessert Party), the CA Grill, etc. We are not usually the people that stake out a spot an hour ahead of time. Therefore, we had never seen MK fireworks from the straight-in-front-of-the-castle vantage point that everyone seems to love. Tonight was our night!

We arrived at the Hub and saw some space still available to sit on the edge of the planter in the middle. All the front spots were taken, but we sat on the front/left side and could see the castle quite well with our heads turned a bit to the right. The only thing that concerned us was that the person just to our right kept standing up, which completely blocked our view. (Luckily, she stayed seated during the show!)

We had awhile to wait and it was chilly and windy. Unlike our other trips, we were doing this trip mostly park-bag free, since it seldom was needed and hurt Dug’s back to lug around. However, we did bring the backpack this night…just to transport our new castle light fleece blanket! So glad we had the foresight to bring this! We shared and covered up for the wait. Because it was so windy, we had to weigh down the bottom of the blanket with the backpack and tuck the rest of it under ourselves. Although the temp may not sound terrible, sitting there in the high winds was not very Disney-like! Even with the blanket, very chilly!

Our view while we waited:

After a bit, the fireworks started. We did not have a Tinkerbell moment in our show…we’re guessing she doesn’t fly when it’s this cold and windy? However, the show was awesome! So glad that we were close enough to see the cool projections on the castle, like the soldier projections during the Nutcracker. We both LOVED when they turned the castle into a Christmas tree! And the perimeter fireworks were amazing and just surrounded us! We have a lot of pictures:

Holiday Wishes was great and worth waiting for in the cold!

After the show, we walked through Liberty Square on our way to Frontierland:

We spotted Donald and considered getting a pic with him, but while we were debating, a bunch of people got in line, so we moved on with just a pic of him:

Dug had read that the Country Bear Jamboree does something different during MVMCP, so we went over there. Dug asked the CM working there and was told that the show was exactly the same—nothing special for the party. Oh, well.

Our plan was to watch the parade from in front of the shooting gallery, as we’d heard it was a good vantage point. We grabbed seats on a platform in front of the gallery. We were there around 10pm and the parade wouldn’t start until 10:30pm.

Some of the country bears were running around, entertaining the crowd and playing with the kids. We also got bear hugs:

We covered up with our blanket again for the wait. Watched the random stuff. Saw a family grab a park bench from way back somewhere and drag it right up to the parade rope and take a seat! Kinda clever, but doubtful that it was allowed. The whole family sat on the bench like it was nothing. Shortly later, they got in “trouble” and a CM made them put the bench back!

A musical group with lights on their instruments came by playing Christmas music too.

The wait wasn’t too bad and soon it was time for the Once Upon a Christmastime parade!

Up next: Lots and lots of parade photos!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Maybe I forgot, where did you go on vacation?

Yes, we were bundled. We're Minnesotans, so we're used to cold, but this was particularly bad because it was quite windy and we were stuck outside in it for a long time! At home, when it's cold, we stay inside!

I went on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was time to get out of this cold for awhile!

It Saw a family grab a park bench from way back somewhere and drag it right up to the parade rope and take a seat! Kinda clever, but doubtful that it was allowed. The whole family sat on the bench like it was nothing. Shortly later, they got in “trouble” and a CM made them put the bench back!

The "entitlement" of some people just cracks me up! Really folks? (although as an aside, I wasn't aware that the benches moved!)

 

[jc040404]

Yay for a "first time watching fireworks in front of the castle" experience! You should've gotten a button. The castle looks so neat with stuff projected on it. Love your pics! The green castle is my favorite. Your story is making me freeeeeze though! Glad you brought that blanket along!

I'm pretty certain my children would run from that country bear. He's kinda creepy looking.

The bench thing is just wild. I think I would've enjoyed watching that one. Maybe they thought they were the only smart ones on the parade route? That was hilarious!

Can't wait to see parade pics!!

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

Yeah! Thanks for the update and vowing to finish! When I read a TR that was never finished I always wonder...'how did it end'?????

I have to agree that was clever to move the bench...LOL

 

[norybell]

Holiday Wishes looks amazing -- and what a great spot!

I've only been to WDW once in cold weather (this past Jan), and I agree that it detracts from the Disney experience some! It's so hard to really appreciate everything when you're shivering!

 

[TheDreamsComeTrue]

Loving the castle and fireworks pictures! but I cannot wait for the parade pics!

 

[Dugette]

I went on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was time to get out of this cold for awhile!

That sounds SOOOOOOOO nice! I have really been dying to go on a cruise lately (I think I'm reading too many Disney Dream trip reports!) And it would be nice to get out of the cold...we thought it was spring here, then it snowed again yesterday! (mostly melted now, though, but still too chilly out)

The "entitlement" of some people just cracks me up! Really folks? (although as an aside, I wasn't aware that the benches moved!)

I had no idea the benches moved either, until I saw them dragging it up!

Yay for a "first time watching fireworks in front of the castle" experience! You should've gotten a button. The castle looks so neat with stuff projected on it. Love your pics! The green castle is my favorite. Your story is making me freeeeeze though! Glad you brought that blanket along!

The green castle with "Oh, Christmas Tree" playing was pretty awesome!

I'm pretty certain my children would run from that country bear. He's kinda creepy looking.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds him creepy! Those pics kinda frighten me...it looks like Dug's being attacked! But, with the cold, you take all the bear hugs you can get!

The bench thing is just wild. I think I would've enjoyed watching that one. Maybe they thought they were the only smart ones on the parade route? That was hilarious!

I must say it was pretty clever. If there are no seats available, provide your own!

Can't wait to see parade pics!!

Coming up soon!

Yeah! Thanks for the update and vowing to finish! When I read a TR that was never finished I always wonder...'how did it end'?????

I agree. (And, speaking of, A&Bmama--where are you?!?! I want to read your TR!)

I have to agree that was clever to move the bench...LOL

Indeed it was!

Holiday Wishes looks amazing -- and what a great spot!

It really was a good show. I don't think the pictures really capture all the cool stuff we saw.

I've only been to WDW once in cold weather (this past Jan), and I agree that it detracts from the Disney experience some! It's so hard to really appreciate everything when you're shivering!

Exactly! And it makes it hard to do things like Splash Mountain. And the cool mist stations just seem ridiculous!

Loving the castle and fireworks pictures! but I cannot wait for the parade pics!

Thanks. I'll start working on the parade right now!

 

[Dugette]

One more Country Bear photo…this one's attacking a baby :

Or playing with a baby. Or something.

Anyway, the parade soon started:

I’ll let the pictures tell the story:

We totally didn’t get these cow floats!

I guess we don’t have a picture, but Chip & Dale were pretty cute, scampering around and pretending to throw snowballs at each other.

Continued in next post…

 

[Dugette]

The rest of the parade:

These guys were one of our favorite parts:

I thought these guys were pretty cute:

And the Big Guy was at the end of the parade (no, not Mickey…):

After enjoying the parade, Dug wanted to check out the Country Bear Jamboree again, just to make sure there wasn’t anything special they were doing. However, they assured us it was the same and the wait for the show to start was longer than we were willing to endure, so we gave up on that.

Instead, we headed over to Adventureland to get some more hot chocolate near the Flying Carpets. Turns out that they were already shutting down that station at only 11pm. So, we grabbed treats at the other station, in the building where we had met Lilo and Stitch, instead.

Thanks to JC040404 going to Columbia Harbor House pretty much every single day of her two Years of Disney , we wanted to stop by there and maybe grab a tuna sandwich or something to check it out. Well, when we got over there, the whole place had been converted to a MVMCP treat station instead…no normal food! (So, we never did get to eat at CHH on any of our trips…guess we’ll have to go back someday!)

We just sat down at a table and checked out our MVMCP brochure while we warmed up in there. However, we soon realized that the brochure said that the last stage show in front of the castle was at 11:20pm, not 11:30pm, as we’d thought, so we had to leave the warmth sooner than we had hoped.

I was enjoying clutching my toasty warm hot chocolate—it was almost nicer to have it to hold than to drink:

In case you didn’t notice, I was camoflauged with the castle:

So, so gorgeous :

On the way to the show, we passed by Sleepy Hollow and noticed that they had Chicken & Wild Rice Soup. I love this kind of soup, especially outdoors in the cold! We grabbed a bowl to share:

Almost nobody was in the Castle Forecourt for the Celebrate the Season show, so we sat down on the ground right in the very front. Perhaps too close. Oh, well. We covered up with the blanket and enjoyed our hot chocolate and soup while we waited.

That sounds so funny! Being bundled up in Florida with a blanket, hot chocolate, and soup. Disney sure knows how to make the holiday season authentic…maybe they won’t even need fake snow!

Up next: the Celebrate the Season show!

 

[jc040404]

The parade looks sooo different at night! Love it!

I NEED one of these!

In case you didn’t notice, I was camoflauged with the castle:

What?? Where are you? Yeah, I'm dumb.. But that looks awesome!

That sounds so funny! Being bundled up in Florida with a blanket, hot chocolate, and soup. Disney sure knows how to make the holiday season authentic…maybe they won’t even need fake snow!

C'mon, it gets cold here in the winter, too! That is hilarious though! Glad you brought the blanket along.

Up next: the Celebrate the Season show!

Can't wait! This is one we stumbled into seeing last year. Didn't even know they did it!

 

[norybell]

What a neat parade! I'm not usually too into parades, but I do love the MNSSHP one, and the AK afternoon one, so maybe I'd like this one, too?

 

[Dugette]

The parade looks sooo different at night! Love it!

When do you see it during the day? Is it not only at the MVMCP? Do they do it during the day over Christmas week or something? Ah, maybe that's what the big televised parade (that I've never watched) is...

I NEED one of these!

It's even smaller than a "Smart" car!

What?? Where are you? Yeah, I'm dumb.. But that looks awesome!

C'mon, it gets cold here in the winter, too! That is hilarious though! Glad you brought the blanket along.

We were sure glad we had the blanket!

Can't wait! This is one we stumbled into seeing last year. Didn't even know they did it!

Cool, coming up next!

What a neat parade! I'm not usually too into parades, but I do love the MNSSHP one, and the AK afternoon one, so maybe I'd like this one, too?

I bet you would. I hear the MNSSHP is cool too, but haven't seen it. I'm not very into parades either, but there is some unique stuff in this one.

 

[Dugette]

After we’d enjoyed our hot chocolate and soup, the show got started. We were very close to the stage and thought we might get up to see better once the show started, but we ended up staying seated on the ground, under our blanket. We’d warmed the spot up, after all! Here is the show in pictures:

The show was cute.

Well, that was an easy update to write! I think I’ll do another!

 

[Dugette]

One last shot from our too-close vantage point:

The last thing on our list was to see the snow on Main Street. When we’d walked by earlier, en route to the Crystal Palace area, we’d asked a CM when the snow would fall. They told us that it just happened every so often. So, we decided to get some Photopass pics while we waited for it to snow.

Photopass picture:

The one they took with our camera:

Nice pic Dug took:

Another Photopass pic:

And then, probably cause it was so darn cold , it started to snow:

Even though we knew the “snow” was actually soap bubbles, we were impressed that it really did look like snow. Very similar texture.

We were still a little bit hungry, so we headed into Casey’s Corner to grab a snack:

We took our yummy corn dog nuggets and water over to the bleachers and enjoyed them while watching cartoons.

After our pleasant stop in Casey’s we grabbed another Photopass pic on Main Street:

Enjoyed the snow a bit more, as we wandered down the street (apparently at midnight):

Such cute windows :

Speaking of cute windows, on the way into the party, we’d noticed windows depicting Mickey’s Christmas Carol. We’d been in too much of a hurry to enjoy them then, but we had time to stop and take photos now. These were pretty cool moving scenes:

Overall, we really enjoyed MVMCP and would do it again. I think it would have been a bit more enjoyable if it had been warmer, but I guess the chill kept the crowds down. Thank goodness for all the free hot chocolate!

Up next: Leaving MVMCP and going back to the Poly. (I’ll try to get that one up tonight too!)

 

[Dugette]

We continued to make our way out of the park. We approached the big Christmas tree:

And got a Photopass picture with it:

Some of the stuff under the tree:

And a few more along the way out:

As we left the park, they were handing out ABC ad-wrapped air fresheners. Odd, but okay.

We decided to take the monorail back to the Poly. On the way, we enjoyed the giant Mickey wreath on the Contemporary:

Soon, we were stepping off, back into the Poly. As we made our way to our longhouse, we found it funny that, in this cold, there was flowing lava :

I had to document this irony:

When we made it back to the room, I decided to try out one of the robes that was hanging in our concierge room closet:

You can also see here that we found a home for the freebie air freshener on the bathroom door…handy!

Earlier that evening, we’d received an update on our dog’s snowy day (sent in response to our pictures of the castle lighting ceremony):

Looks wonderful.

Bailey is kinda tired, too much snow and lots of watching us shovel. Snow plow has been by and now Bailey can easily walk in the street to sniff and do important puppy things.

She hopes you are having a good time.

Love that she’s surrounded by all kinds of good puppy things: "Mr. Owl" (the stuffed animal that she claimed as her own on her first visit with my dad and step-mom), her “sleepy goose" (the toy she always grabs when she’s tired), and a chew stick. Glad she was having a good time at “camp”.

Up next: Looks like we’re going to have to make another trailer video! One for each day, right?

 

[jc040404]

When do you see it during the day? Is it not only at the MVMCP? Do they do it during the day over Christmas week or something? Ah, maybe that's what the big televised parade (that I've never watched) is...

After the last MVMCP, they start doing most of the party stuff everyday. This takes the place of the 3pm parade. You don't get the free cookies or all the fun character meets, but we were able to see the parade, this stage show, snow, and Holiday Wishes without paying for more tickets this way. They do the televised parade earlier in the month.


Great update! Love the pic of you together on Main Street. The window display pics are great, too. I never thought to try to take them at night. All my daytime pics look terrible with the glare from the sun. Yours' are MUCH better! The lava/freezing weather one was too funny.