Late November/Early December FIRST TIME Trip to the World! Help??

[disneydreaminA115]

Hello Everyone!
My name is Ashley, I'm from upstate NY, Mom to twin princesses and wife to a sweet husband. I'm a lover of all things Christmas and Disney, and after 24 years of waiting I am FINALLY going to The World!! We'll be there from November 28th - December 2nd, staying in POFQ, on the DDP with NO kids (Thank you, Grandma!)

I've had my ADR's ready to go for weeks and am counting down the days until they open for me (32!) but I've only just started to put together the rest of our itinerary. I knew that I wanted to do as many of the "extras" as I could - Candlelight Processional, Mickey's Christmas Party, the Wishes Dessert Party, La Nouba, see the Osbourne lights, etc - But I realized that I didn't know as much as I needed to in order to make this really work, and I just couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, so I'm asking for help on a few things:

1 - Mickey's Christmas Party -- What do you see here? Are you able to watch the Castle lighting? The Osbourne lights? Do those two things begin at the same time (what time this time of year do they usually happen?)?

2 - Candlelight Processional -- Does it include viewing to IllumiNations? If so, is the reserved viewing section actually good or would it be better to just try and get there on our own?

3 - This time of year, what time do Wishes, IllumiNations, and Fantasmic! Start?

4 - Finally, what are your favorite/worthwhile live shows?

Thanks in advance for sharing any wisdom! I can't wait to start pulling this all together!

 

[deakam]

The Christmas party is a blast. We danced with Mickey and Pluto at Cosmic Ray's. It was freezing so the Hot chocolate was much appreciated but the cookies were not so good. The lighting of the castle was beautiful. They announce everything. The parade was ok but nothing spectacular. The best part was walking on space mountain 4 times with no wait. The kids loved the entire evening.

The osbourne lights are really something. You MUST be there when they turn them on. It is spectacular. If I remember right it was about 9pm. But as with all lighting displays it depends on dusk. We were there the week before Christmas so it was seriously crowded. You are going earlier so it should be not so bad.

 

[disneydreaminA115]

Thanks! Do you know if the Osbourne light show and the Castle lighting start at the same time?

 

[beebeeryan]

Those baby girls are adorable! Lucky Lucky that Grandma is letting you get away, I'm jealous, although at their ages my boys would revolt if we tried to go to Disney without them.

Sorry, I have no answers to your questions, but it's a great time of year to go, so many things going on.

I can say we stayed at POFQ on our Honeymoon and it's a lovely resort, nice and small so easy to get around and they recently refurbed it so all queen beds now. The boat to DTD is fabulous, relaxing and convenient.

 

[disneydreaminA115]

Thank you!

And I'm really excited for it!

Can anyone else help me out?

 

[BerrysGirl]

See my answers in orange. Hope I help as much as possible! And sorry if I "spell it out too much" just want to make sure we're on the same page!

Hello Everyone!
My name is Ashley, I'm from upstate NY, Mom to twin princesses and wife to a sweet husband. I'm a lover of all things Christmas and Disney, and after 24 years of waiting I am FINALLY going to The World!! We'll be there from November 28th - December 2nd, staying in POFQ, on the DDP with NO kids (Thank you, Grandma!)

I've had my ADR's ready to go for weeks and am counting down the days until they open for me (32!) but I've only just started to put together the rest of our itinerary. I knew that I wanted to do as many of the "extras" as I could - Candlelight Processional, Mickey's Christmas Party, the Wishes Dessert Party, La Nouba, see the Osbourne lights, etc - But I realized that I didn't know as much as I needed to in order to make this really work, and I just couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, so I'm asking for help on a few things:

1 - Mickey's Christmas Party -- What do you see here? Are you able to watch the Castle lighting?Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (or MVMCP as you'll see it referred to on these boards) is a separately ticketed event that takes place in the Magic Kingdom. After the park closes to normal guests, you get to enjoy a holiday-themed parade, firework show, character meet-n-greet, and holiday munchies like hot chocolate and cookies.

The Osbourne lights? Do those two things begin at the same time (what time this time of year do they usually happen?)? The Osbourne lights takes place over at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The area of the park known as the Streets of America are completely covered in Christmas Lights. Definitely worth seeing! The lights go on as soon as it gets dark and stay on until Park Closing. You should definitely be there to see them turned on because they do a little "pre-show" that's really cute.

2 - Candlelight Processional -- Does it include viewing to IllumiNations? If so, is the reserved viewing section actually good or would it be better to just try and get there on our own? You cannot see IllumiNations from the Candlelight Processional It's housed in an amphitheater right outside of the American Adventure and the stage blocks the lagoon where IllumiNations takes place. The reserved seating, however, might be worth your time (and money) because the Candlelight Processional fills up fast and the wait times can be astronomical to ensure yourself a seat.

3 - This time of year, what time do Wishes, IllumiNations, and Fantasmic! Start?
Most of the time these shows take place a few hours before park closing, once it gets dark. Wishes, for example tends to start around 10. IllumiNations starts at 9. Disney is of course entitled to change these times whenever they choose so your best bet to keep your eye on the event times and look for any changes. And more or less plan broadly. If you noticed I left Fantasmic out of this. That's because this show tends to only happen a few times a week. Now you'll be there during a VERY busy time, so the number of showtimes will likely increase. But that's another one that you'll just have to keep your eye on the schedules as your trip gets closer. Fantasmic also generally has two showings a night. One at like 8 and another at 11. The later showing is normally less crowded but people will line up for this show almost an hour in advance. Your other option is to do a Fantasmic Dinning package and eat dinner that night at one of the restaurants in DHS that offers this deal. Then you'll get to sit in a reserved section of the amphitheater (much like the Candlelight Processional)

4 - Finally, what are your favorite/worthwhile live shows?
This answer is of course highly subjective and probably every single person you asked on these boards would give you a different answer. But personally, here are my picks for the worthwhile (and my favorite of course!) shows:
Magic Kingdom:
the parades! They have an afternoon parade that is cute with lots of characters and you can't go wrong with the night time parade (Right now it's the Main Street Electrical Parade).
Disney Hollywood Studios:
I really enjoy Lights, Motor, Action which is a live action Stunt Car Show. I know others would disagree but you have to see it once.
The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is not to be missed!
Epcot:
There use to be a band in the United Kingdom Pavilion called British Invasion but they recently left. However, by the time you get there there will be a replacement band. British Invasion was a Beatles cover band which was just awesome. And hopefully their replacement will be just as good.
Another good live band in Epcot is named Off Kilter over in the Canada Pavilion.
Animal Kingdom:
(These two are non-negotionale. You HAVE to see them!)
Find Nemo the Musical
Festival of the Lion King

Thanks in advance for sharing any wisdom! I can't wait to start pulling this all together!

Hope I helped. Don't hesitate to send me a PM with any other questions you have. And be sure to keep us updated. I can't wait to hear how the rest of your trip planning goes!