In no particular order or importance, just a few observations for those nearing a trip to the World.
Crowds--The streets of every park seemed far more crowded than the rides. Especially for MVMCP. Upon enteriring, we'd take a collective gulp and prepare ourselves for living Fastpass to Fastpass. It wasn't necessary. Sure, we used fast passes but only to shrink already minimal lines. The longest line we ever waited in was ten minutes. That includes Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Typhoon Lagoon.
MVMCP--It was nice but something was missing. I think it's a central "moment." There's plenty of beautiful decorations and Christmas finery but nothing that really set off the holiday heart tugs. At Disneyland, the moment comes at the conclusion of the fireworks. The lights dim, the Christmas music started, and the snow began to fall. Now that was a moment--and that was the start of Christmas for my family. No such moment at the MVMCP. The cookies and hot chocolate were a nice touch. Lines were long early on then non-existent later. The picture line was always long and we elected to skip because the picture didn't really look like WDW to us. Sorry.
Osborne Family Lights--A little caveat here. The street where we live goes all out for Christmas. For four solid blocks, every house but two doubles their electrical bills with elaborate displays. Heck, bus loads of local groups tour the street. Based on this background, the Osborne lights were nice but just a big version of what we have at home. And the most crowded attraction we saw the entire time.
Candelight Processional--We were lucky enough to see Jim Cavizel (sp?) from the Passion of the Christ as the narrator. Now if he can't get one swept up in the story of Christmas no one can. Despite our teenage sons' rolled eyes and sighs, it was spectacular. However, do one of the dinner packages. It's worth the minimal extra expense to not wait in the FOUR HOUR line to get a seat. As great as the show was, I don't think I'd wait that long.
Dinner at Epcot--Because of the Candlelight Dinner Packages, it's nearly impossible to get Priority Seating for any of the sit-down Epcot restaurants any time between 5 and 9. We did sneak in to Biergarten at around 8 but it was more luck than planning.
Boma Buffet--Go. Go. Go. I'm not a big fan of buffets and their fourteen flavors of jello. Boma is so much more than that. Bring a big appetite and a sense of adventure and you won't be disappointed. My two boys aren't exceptionally eclectic in their eating and they still talk about it.
Mission:Space--Wow, what a ride. Take your Dramamine and, for God's sake, keep looking forward. There are a million-and-counting warnings about motion sickness before you enter the ride modules. They're there for a reason. The ride is big centrifuge that spins up to recreate the g-force of blast off. If you concentrate very hard on the monitor in front of you, you won't feel the spinning. But let that concentration wander and... Let's just say the barf bags are conveniently located in the middle of the dashboard. We didn't have any incidents but my wife and I were pretty judicious in our rides.
Illuminations--Awesome as always. We seem to find ourselves heading to Epcot most evenings to catch the show. This time we found an excellent venue. On nights when it's not too windy, they open a large patio between FutureWorld and the World Showcase. It's right to the right of the store that overlooks the lagoon. A few minutes before the fireworks, they'll drop the ropes and tell everyone they can move to the patio if they remain seated throughout the show. Wow. This is the vantage point that's so close you can barely seem all the fireworks and you feel the heat from the flames. Heck one of the fireworks rockets even blasts off from in front of the patio.
International Gateway--Our first time using this entrance. We walked from Epcot to dinner at Spoodles. Very easy and short walk. It's probably a shorter walk from the Boardwalk to France via the International Gateway than it is from the Epcot parking lot.
Off-site Lodging--We stayed in a timeshare just outside the World. It was a huge place with a master bedroom suite, a second bedroom, a living room with big-screen TV, and full kitchen--all for less than a Disney value resort. Granted, it was through a special deal not publicly available. The point is, we've stayed on-property on two previous trips (one value, one moderate) and we didn't feel like we missed out on any "magic."
Ponderosa Breakfast Buffet--We'd read about the Ponderosa Breakfast Buffet as a great place to get a lot of inexpensive breakfast food. We gave it a try on the first morning. Inexpensive? Sort of, add milk or juice and a tip, and it's nearly $30 for a family of four. A lot of food, sort of. I'm not exceptionally picky but I'm not sure some of the offerings were really food. My advice--save your money and your stomach and buy breakfast foods at one of the nearby grocery stores. It's more convenient, less costly, and a heck of a lot more appetizing.
Weather--Cloudy every day but only one day of rain. And it poured. But only for brief moments and it was easy to dart into a shop or attraction and avoid getting wet.
For those lucky enough to be heading out soon, have relax, enjoy, and have fun.
Crowds--The streets of every park seemed far more crowded than the rides. Especially for MVMCP. Upon enteriring, we'd take a collective gulp and prepare ourselves for living Fastpass to Fastpass. It wasn't necessary. Sure, we used fast passes but only to shrink already minimal lines. The longest line we ever waited in was ten minutes. That includes Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Typhoon Lagoon.
MVMCP--It was nice but something was missing. I think it's a central "moment." There's plenty of beautiful decorations and Christmas finery but nothing that really set off the holiday heart tugs. At Disneyland, the moment comes at the conclusion of the fireworks. The lights dim, the Christmas music started, and the snow began to fall. Now that was a moment--and that was the start of Christmas for my family. No such moment at the MVMCP. The cookies and hot chocolate were a nice touch. Lines were long early on then non-existent later. The picture line was always long and we elected to skip because the picture didn't really look like WDW to us. Sorry.
Osborne Family Lights--A little caveat here. The street where we live goes all out for Christmas. For four solid blocks, every house but two doubles their electrical bills with elaborate displays. Heck, bus loads of local groups tour the street. Based on this background, the Osborne lights were nice but just a big version of what we have at home. And the most crowded attraction we saw the entire time.
Candelight Processional--We were lucky enough to see Jim Cavizel (sp?) from the Passion of the Christ as the narrator. Now if he can't get one swept up in the story of Christmas no one can. Despite our teenage sons' rolled eyes and sighs, it was spectacular. However, do one of the dinner packages. It's worth the minimal extra expense to not wait in the FOUR HOUR line to get a seat. As great as the show was, I don't think I'd wait that long.
Dinner at Epcot--Because of the Candlelight Dinner Packages, it's nearly impossible to get Priority Seating for any of the sit-down Epcot restaurants any time between 5 and 9. We did sneak in to Biergarten at around 8 but it was more luck than planning.
Boma Buffet--Go. Go. Go. I'm not a big fan of buffets and their fourteen flavors of jello. Boma is so much more than that. Bring a big appetite and a sense of adventure and you won't be disappointed. My two boys aren't exceptionally eclectic in their eating and they still talk about it.
Mission:Space--Wow, what a ride. Take your Dramamine and, for God's sake, keep looking forward. There are a million-and-counting warnings about motion sickness before you enter the ride modules. They're there for a reason. The ride is big centrifuge that spins up to recreate the g-force of blast off. If you concentrate very hard on the monitor in front of you, you won't feel the spinning. But let that concentration wander and... Let's just say the barf bags are conveniently located in the middle of the dashboard. We didn't have any incidents but my wife and I were pretty judicious in our rides.
Illuminations--Awesome as always. We seem to find ourselves heading to Epcot most evenings to catch the show. This time we found an excellent venue. On nights when it's not too windy, they open a large patio between FutureWorld and the World Showcase. It's right to the right of the store that overlooks the lagoon. A few minutes before the fireworks, they'll drop the ropes and tell everyone they can move to the patio if they remain seated throughout the show. Wow. This is the vantage point that's so close you can barely seem all the fireworks and you feel the heat from the flames. Heck one of the fireworks rockets even blasts off from in front of the patio.
International Gateway--Our first time using this entrance. We walked from Epcot to dinner at Spoodles. Very easy and short walk. It's probably a shorter walk from the Boardwalk to France via the International Gateway than it is from the Epcot parking lot.
Off-site Lodging--We stayed in a timeshare just outside the World. It was a huge place with a master bedroom suite, a second bedroom, a living room with big-screen TV, and full kitchen--all for less than a Disney value resort. Granted, it was through a special deal not publicly available. The point is, we've stayed on-property on two previous trips (one value, one moderate) and we didn't feel like we missed out on any "magic."
Ponderosa Breakfast Buffet--We'd read about the Ponderosa Breakfast Buffet as a great place to get a lot of inexpensive breakfast food. We gave it a try on the first morning. Inexpensive? Sort of, add milk or juice and a tip, and it's nearly $30 for a family of four. A lot of food, sort of. I'm not exceptionally picky but I'm not sure some of the offerings were really food. My advice--save your money and your stomach and buy breakfast foods at one of the nearby grocery stores. It's more convenient, less costly, and a heck of a lot more appetizing.
Weather--Cloudy every day but only one day of rain. And it poured. But only for brief moments and it was easy to dart into a shop or attraction and avoid getting wet.
For those lucky enough to be heading out soon, have relax, enjoy, and have fun.
