UPDATE HERE!!
Hunker down... it's a long one!
Tuesday, Nov 27 ~ Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party!
We got back from DTD and tried to take it easy and relax. Yeah, right! We were too excited!
Abby and I got busy on her hair and make-up! She looked so pretty
but then, shes pretty to start with!
Here is a picture of her that I took later at the party but Ill show you now so you can see how we did.
We all donned our matching shirts that I made and left the condo at 4:15. The party officially starts at 7:00 but you can get in as early as 4:00 with just your
MVMCP ticket ~ no park ticket required to do so.
We got parked at the MK lot and hopped on a tram for the TTC. There were a lot of people doing the same thing and I started to worry that the party was going to be packed. While we were on the tram this woman complimented us on our shirts. Then she asked if we were going to the party. I said yes. Then she started asking me about it. What was it? What was special about it? How much? That kind of thing. I thought it was strange that they (she was with 2 young children and her husband) were headed into the MK 1 ½ hours before it was closing because they obviously didnt have tickets to the party. We told her all about the shows, the hot chocolate, the special parade, etc. until we parted ways at the TTC.
After the short monorail ride we were finally headed through the gates and got our hunter orange bracelets. I tried to get a photopass picture but all the photographers out front were only in training and couldnt take our picture. Um, okay, never mind.
We quick got a locker up front for our sweatshirts and then finally we went under this!
I had very high expectations going into this party. I had been building it up my mind as the absolute highlight of this vacation. You see, I love Christmas
I mean REALLY love it. And I REALLY love the Magic Kingdom. Putting the two together is just over the top fabulous for me! I cannot even tell you how excited I was to go to MVMCP. We all were grinning from ear to ear!
There were A LOT of people just inside the Town Square. Again I was starting to worry about crowd level but I was determined that this night would be fabulous no matter what! Just then I noticed that family from the tram. The mom was holding a times guide for the party and they were all wearing the orange bracelets! Hey
I talked her into it!
We leisurely strolled down Main Street and just soaked up the holiday atmosphere. The CMs were all wearing red and green costumes and there were peppered along the street welcoming everyone to the party.
We knew we wanted to head to Toon Town first because we hadnt gotten over there on Sunday. On our way over the bridge we stopped for a photopass picture. The sky was looking very ominous and I thought wed better get one before we got rained on. So, here is that shot.
This is the picture that was originally missing but after I e-mailed them about it they found it! I was planning on using it on our Christmas card this year ~hence the border ~ but I did not get the CD in time. Oh well, its still a nice memento.
We continued on to Toon Town. The decorations here were a little more animated. See the wreaths that were on the lamp posts. Very cute.
We visited Minnies house first. Look at Abby and Owen! I didnt have to say look like you love each other! Aw.
Then here is Evan making himself at home.
From there we went to Mickeys house. See how Mickey decorated the front of his house with lights?
Here is Tom and the kids with Mickeys tree.
And the stockings were hung
And whats this? It seems Mickey is having a kitchen remodel.
Next we headed to Goofys Barnstormer. I thought wed all ride it but Abby said she didnt want to. After unsuccessfully trying to get her to do it, Tom rode it with the boys while I waited with her.
I was trying not to be mad at her but I just couldnt understand why she was being so stubborn!
She finally told me she just didnt want anybody seeing her riding a little kid ride. Like the park is filled with people who know her, right?
Oh the joys of having an 11 year old girl! I asked if that is why she wouldnt go on the race cars the other day. Yep
that was it.
Well, at least the boys had a great time on the ride! They sat in the front row and loved it!
Okay
what to do next? It was about 5:30 I think. It was still very crowded in the park and we started looking to see how many people were wandering around without bracelets. There were quite a few
that was encouraging.
We decided we would go ahead and get dinner out of the way before the party started. We walked into Rays and read the choices to the kids. Nope, nothing they wanted. How about pizza? A unanimous yes followed. Pizza it is! Out of Rays and off to Pinnochios. It was practically deserted in there and I wondered why.
We get up to the counter to order and Owen says he doesnt want pizza.
Tom: You just said you wanted pizza.
Owen: Well, I changed my mind. I want fries.
Tom let out a heavy sigh and looked at me as if to say he is YOUR kid and it is YOUR fault!
Me: Alright kid
whatever
you can have fries for dinner!
Evan: I want chicken.
Abby: I want fries!
More huffing and puffing from Tom
More Whatever! from me.
Seriously folks, this is what it is like to be in our family!
So we ordered an assortment of pizza, fries and chicken strips. The kids and I went to find a place to sit while Tom waited for our food. We didnt have any trouble since the place was empty but I just thought Tom could use a moment after that stressful encounter.
I sit the kids down and send Abby over to get ketchup from the condiment bar. She comes back empty handed. She says there isnt any ketchup. I go over and look and sure enough
no ketchup. There is a girl CM wiping the bar down. I ask her if there is more ketchup.
She said: Im sorry. I just closed this counter.
Me: Okay. Is there somewhere else I can get ketchup?
She said~ and I am not kidding ~ Ummm. I dont know.
And thats it. She just stared at me like she had no idea what I could possibly want her to do about my need for ketchup.
Me: Okaaaay.
All I can do is walk away. Believe me, it was the best thing I could do at that moment.
Tom gets to the table with the food and I tell him what just transpired. He goes looking and finds another condiment bar across the restaurant and it is completely stocked full of ketchup! Now dont you think that CM couldve told me that? We just shook our heads and went about eating our dinner.
I can honestly tell you though, that was our worst customer service event of the entire trip. Not bad if you ask me!
While we were eating we heard a HUGE bang and the whole building shook! Oh yeah
Wishes! That is why there was no one in Pinnochios! No worries
more fireworks for us later.
When we came out of the restaurant, Wishes was over and the party was starting! I dont know how to explain it but it just felt different in the park. I think everyone was just feeling what I was feeling
that what we were about to experience was special.
The first showing of Mickeys Twas the Night Before Christmas was going to start at 7:00. Our plan was to see that first so we headed back to Tomorrowland. It felt very crowded. We walked up to the theater at 6:30 and it was already standing room only. This ankle and me
we dont do standing room only. Tom asked me what I wanted to do and I must have had a look of defeat and disappointment because before I could say anything he suggested we go ride some rides and come back even earlier for the 8:00 show.
Umm
okay.
The kids wanted to ride Buzz again. We found a 5 minute wait! Cool! Maybe this isnt so bad. Tom was pretty excited that I told him where to shoot the robot in the first room to get a whole bunch of points! I remind him that I know that because I am a DISER baby!
Then we rode the TTA and finished just in time to get in the holding area for seats for the next show. We stood there for 15 minutes or so
maybe longer. Finally we were let into the theater. We decided to sit toward the back so we could make a quick get away after the show. I think I really just needed to sit as soon as I could after standing still for so long because my ankle was killing me.
I gave the camera to Tom for the show because there was little girl in mouse ears in my line of sight who was standing on her chair
through the whole show. Oh well
she probably couldnt see otherwise.
The show was great! We loved it and it really got us even more into the Christmas spirit.
Here is one pic from the show
sorry, very bad.
During the show it started to sprinkle. Uh-oh. And if that wasn't bad enough... when it was over the guy next to me said to his wife, Are you kidding me? She shot him a look that said very clearly SHUT UP. He didn't get that though. Then he said even more loudly, Fourteen minutes! That was exactly 14 minutes long! We waited in line for all that time for a 14 minute show!!! We veered away from them as soon as possible! I didnt want him bringing me down!
Now what?
Stitch!
Walked right on! Never done this before
and the kids
. HATED IT! Tom and I didnt care for it either. Yuck, what an awful ride ~ if you can even call it that. Never again.
Glad to be out of there and we feel it.
The need.
The need
.. for SPEED!
Abby assumed her spot in the bleachers and the rest of us got in line. And there was one. But not long. Maybe 5 minutes of actual waiting. I made sure I got in the line that would allow me to sit on the left of Evan so that I could use my left (good) foot on the gas pedal if he needed help. Much better.
After that we walked into Fantasyland to get hot cocoa and cookies. Tasty!
It started sprinkling a little harder while we walked toward IASW. Go figure
Abby will ride IASW but not little kid rides. But Im not going to say that out loud! The boys decide its their turn to complain. They didnt want to ride a girly ride! Too bad
youll ride it and youll like it!
There was a line but it moved quickly and pretty soon we were in our boat ready to set sail. Sing it with me now, Its a small world afterall
(HAHAHA now that will be in your head all day!!!)
The boys actually really liked it! They couldnt remember it from our first trip. I told Evan that he cried through it because it was dark and we had just come from riding Pooh and that had scared the snot out of him! He couldnt believe he had cried on IASW! He thought that was funny.
When we came back outside it was starting to really rain. People were pulling out their ponchos and trying to avoid the many puddles that were beginning to form on the ground. We decided wed go straight across and ride Peter Pan even though there was a pretty long line. This was the longest we stood in line all night. I think because it was starting to rain everyone headed to the nearest inside thing to escape it.
The line moved pretty quickly though. While we waited someone asked Tom where we got our shirts. I stood up a little taller when he said that I made them and the guy thought they were cool!
This was our first time on Peter Pan and I loved it! But then I love the story and the movie. Abby liked it more than she thought she would which was a refreshing change!
When we emerged from Neverland the fireworks were starting again. Instead of fighting the crowd to get back toward the castle we walked away from it toward Liberty Square. Great plan! There was no one over there! That whole half of the park was empty compared to Tomorrowland, Fantasyland and Toon Town. We found a place to stop and watch and get our ponchos on. It was really starting to come down hard! You will notice a serious lack of pictures for a bit. It was raining too hard to have my camera out.
After the finale we went to ride BTMRR. We walked right on. We sat down in the train car and Abby, feeling uncomfortably wet, ripped the crown and the fake hair thingy out of her hair and shoved it into my backpack. Well, arent I glad I didnt pay $44.95 for that?!? On with the ride!
Let me tell you something. If you think this ride is fun during the day, you should try it in the dark. And if you like it in the dark, you should try it in the rain! There was no way to keep the hoods of our ponchos on so we got sprayed in the face with rain through the entire ride and were sopping wet by the time it was over. It was a blast and we laughed so hard it hurt! We walked off with another family that was laughing just as much as we were. So much fun!
We had promised the boys wed get back to the POTC gift shop since we hadnt on Sunday. Evan wanted a sword and Owen wanted a hook. I tried to get them on the ride again but none of them would do it! Evan picked out his sword and Owen grabbed a hook. Since they really arent that much, Tom and I encouraged them to each get both a sword and a hook! You shouldve seen their faces! They were amazed at our generosity like it was Christmas morning! So sweet.
While they hi-yad and en guarded with their new weaponry, we made our way back toward the castle. I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing the castle was all lit up. I tried to get a picture and it turned out crappy. Tom played with the settings on the camera and he managed to get this shot:
Pretty? Yes
but a picture cannot even begin to convey how breathtaking beautiful it was.
We decided to get a photopass picture in front of the castle. Sort of an after the rain shot to compliment the before the rain shot from earlier. After waiting and waiting while the photographers struggled to take pictures in the rain they took this picture of us in our lovely, colorful ponchos. They suggested Evan and Owen hold their swords up like that. Cute, huh?
By now, Main Street was crowded with folks lining up for the parade. We headed up the street toward the Town Square. WAIT! I didnt have a cookie from the bakery!!! I NEED a cookie!
Into the bakery we go. We found a table to sit and eat our cookies. As I was munching on my to-die-for-chocolate-chip-cookie Tom starts smiling at me. Then he starts giggling. I look down to make sure I havent made a mess of myself again! I hadnt so I asked him what is so funny! He said, You are sooooo wet! We all started giggling and silly pictures ensued.
You know what? I was so worried about the possibility of rain. I thought it would just ruin everything if it rained! But it did rain
buckets! And we had a blast anyway
maybe even more so because of it! The moral of my story is
dont let a little rain ruin your vacation! Get some cheap ponchos before you go and just be prepared for it!
Up next
A really festive Parade!
It was so sweet and even though Owen is a big boy now, he loved it! Afterward Tom was disappointed he didnt get a picture but sometimes you just have to put the camera down and enjoy the moment! 
When ever I try to describe 
I love the boy's shorts! DD looks great, you did a really good job! Love the shirts, you all look so good and happy~esp. in the pic with the border~it's great!!! Hot chocolate and cookies sound wonderful and the castle looks unreal!
Hope you come out good as new! 
and 
party going on while you are there?
Sharky says I rock! 
