The Mostly Very Merry Holiday/Bday Grand Gathering Update 4/6 Calf Grill

[janloz]

After the lighting, the kids were saying that they were hungry so we decided to try to find something quick so we could make it to Mickey's Twas the night before Christmas Show. Well, trying to find something to eat was a challenge, I knew from Dis that many of the CS and Ts places were closed during the MVMCP so we decided to try the Main St bakery but all they had were cookies, etc. so then I suggested Casey's but that didn't seem to thrill the group. Ok, how about Plaza, sorry closed. So we look at the map and see that Cosmic Ray's is near where we have to go for the show so off we go. We had never eaten here before so we weren't sure where it was or the selection and finally make it there and realize that we have to split up to get meals since some want burgers, other chicken. Also, the sandwich selection was closed since they were setting up for the free cookies/drinks for MVMCP. We finally got our food and headed to the lower level where there were hardly anyone. The food was ok but nothing special. (I have misplaced my receipts so I can't tell you what we had.) While we were eating, the MVMCP Goofy's dance party started in area we were sitting, it was alot of fun but REALLY loud.

Sarah refused to go up front and dance but would at the table. By the time we left, the place was packed. We got out and realized that the Mickey TNBC had already started so we decided to skip it and ride some rides. We headed for Buzz Lightyear and it was walk on. Only Dave and Mark rode this last time so we were really looking forward to it. It did not disappoint but we still liked TSM better. Then we went over to Monsters Inc Laugh Factory, 5 minute wait. Last time it wasn't open yet so this was a must do. While we were waiting, both Dave and I texted jokes which hopefully they would use in the show. His (as Mark from CT): "Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide!" Mine (sent at Sarah from CT) (thanks to Dis): "How much does it cost for a pirate to get an earring? A buck an ear!" Since Granny had her scooter again, we were brought through that entrance when the doors opened and we were in the front rows. Once the show started, the Monster (forgot which one) says "Oh, I see one of our humans has her seatbelt on" and on the screen is my Mom. He asked her some questions and she gave him a hard time, her 1 minute of fame. We were on the floor laughing at her. So then it is time for audience jokes and they say, "Oh, here is one from Sarah in CT"....NO WAY!! She was in her seat. Her 1 minute of fame. So on this trip, she was included in Turtle Talk with Crush and now Monsters.

After Monsters, Dave, Susie and Mark decided to ride Space Mountain. Sarah wasn't interested so I told Dave we would meet them at Cinderella's Carousel and split up. We took our time walking over to the Carousel and enjoyed the Christmas Music, we saw the Stitch Dance party area along the way. In front of Pooh's shop, they had some game set up so we tried them too. We finally made it to the carousel just as it started so we were first in line for the next ride. So I was trying to figure out which horse is Cinderella's and finally spotted it. If you don't know, it is a white horse with a golden ribbon on it's tail. So I am talking to CM and tell her Sarah would like to ride Cinderella's horse so when it stops, she escorts her to the horse.

Notice how her hair still looked really good, too.

By the time we finished our ride on Cindy's horse, Dave, Susie and Mark were there waiting for us. Space Mountain was walk on too. Mark had never ridden it and loved it. After the carousel, Sarah wanted to ride Small World again but Mark wanted no part of it so Dave stayed out with him while the rest of us rode. During the ride, we hear the announcement "The ride will restart shortly, please stay in your seats" and the regular lights came coming on but the weird thing was that the ride never stopped. When we came out, Dave was in line for the Snow White photo op and right near the front so Sarah ran over there and got some princess time.

By now, it was about 30 minutes until Holiday Wishes would start so we decided to make our way around to the front of the castle via the liberty sq bridge and Dave took the most beautiful pics of the castle.

and then staked out our spot with the crowds.

 

[janloz]

While we were waiting, the kids of course decided that they were hungry so I took Sarah with me to Crystal Palace to get some free cookies and hot chocolate. There was only about 5 people in line in front of us and we asked CMs if we could take extras for our whole group and she said to take as much as we wanted and even gave us a trays to hold cups & cookies. So we got 8 hot chocolates and 2 apple juice and about 15 sugar cookies and head back to our group. Boy, were they yummy!! About the time we finished our snack, Holiday Wishes started.

 

[janloz]

I our new camera!!

After the fireworks, we headed back over the bridge to get our spot for MVMCP parade. Dave actually put Sarah up on his shoulders on the way over due to the crush of the crowds on bridge we were afraid she would get hurt. People were pushing and shoving and not being patient, not very Disney like. We decided to watch the parade across the path from Hall of Presidents. Since we had 30+ mins until the parade started, we were going to ride Haunted Mansion before it but sarah decided that she didn't want to ride so my mom and I waited with her in our area for the parade while other rode. About 10 minutes later, Dave sends me a text that they are stuck in Haunted Mansion since it broke down.......Will they make it in time to see the parade?????

 

[k_reile]

ok...since you love your new camera....which one do you have?? I want to get a new slim camera for Disney next year. Our old camera is too big and heavy. I was really suprised Sarahs hair held up after swimming....after your last post...I was like they went to BBB and then she went swimming?? But glad it held up. Must be the 10 bottles of hairspray they put on.

 

[janloz]

ok...since you love your new camera....which one do you have?? I want to get a new slim camera for Disney next year. Our old camera is too big and heavy. I was really suprised Sarahs hair held up after swimming....after your last post...I was like they went to BBB and then she went swimming?? But glad it held up. Must be the 10 bottles of hairspray they put on.

Most of the pics were taken with Canon Rebel XSI which come with built in stablizer in the lens but is a bigger camera. We recently also got the Sony Cybershot 8.1 which takes incredible pics too. Here is one I took on my trip to San Fran in January with it:

I was glad to see her hair held up too especially after spending $50 on the do. We have actually done her hair up several times witht he hair piece since we got home. They used 1/2 bottle of hair gel to get it all up in the bun. I had to wash it 3 times the next day to get all the gel and glitter out of it.

 

[janloz]

Finally, it is time for the MVMCP parade. When I left off, most of our group was stuck on the Haunted Mansion and because we were sitting in the handicap area without a scooter person, we were starting to get dirty looks. Luckily, the people next to us were wonderful and understood. With about 3 minutes to spare the rest came around the corner and got into the remaining space and it was time. Here is our spot.

And then it was time for the 10pm MVMCP parade (sorry if some of the pics are blurry, the camera had some issues with dark plus movement of the floats and performers)

 

[janloz]

When the parade was over, we made our way over to Pirates since Susie hadn't ridden it since the renovation. i never thought to ride BTMR when it was dark until we were back at the hotel. When we got to Pirates, it was walk on. and when we got the bottom of the ramp, the CM had all 8 of us squish into the back 2 seats. when there was no one in the next 3 boats. Everytime we went around a corner or down a hill, we bottomed out the boat. After pirates, we made our way back to Main St and had our Photopass pic taken in front of the castle.

 

[janloz]

Then we made our way down Main St after saying good bye to the Castle and enjoyed watching the snow and listening to the christmas songs. We turned for one last look at one of our favorite places and then made our way to the bus stop and to Pop.

We really enjoyed the MVMCP but wished we had been able to see more of the shows. Would we do it again? Probably not since for the 8 of us it was over $400 but it was definitely worth doing once if you have the money and the time.

Up next, our last full day at WDW

 

[mybabesuz]

WOW...Great Pictures

I am very surprised that you said you wouldn't do it again.

I guess we felt the same way about spending that much on MNSSHP.
Mostly because my kids are so young.
I guess your GROUP kind of made it into more of a regular MK visit
by not seeing any of the shows...
Why didn't you see any shows? You missed CP too
I guess it depends on the ages in your group.
We can't wait to go next year.

The parade surprised me though...
Being at night, I thought it would be more like Spectro.
Is that the same parade they do during the day in December?
Was it snowing on Main Street? Do they do that during the day too?
What was different than a regular day or night?
Is the Castle Lit up the same on other nights?
The Castle was lit up different colors on regular nights when we went in September.
Now you have me second guessing our decision to go.

 

[Happy Elf]

Great pictures and your photopass pictures are awesome! I would love to go to MVMCP sometime.

 

[janloz]

WOW...Great Pictures

I am very surprised that you said you wouldn't do it again.

I guess we felt the same way about spending that much on MNSSHP.
Mostly because my kids are so young.
I guess your GROUP kind of made it into more of a regular MK visit
by not seeing any of the shows...
Why didn't you see any shows? You missed CP too
I guess it depends on the ages in your group.
We can't wait to go next year.

The parade surprised me though...
Being at night, I thought it would be more like Spectro.
Is that the same parade they do during the day in December?
Was it snowing on Main Street? Do they do that during the day too?
What was different than a regular day or night?
Is the Castle Lit up the same on other nights?
The Castle was lit up different colors on regular nights when we went in September.
Now you have me second guessing our decision to go.

DH get the credit for the pics.

I wouldn't do it again based more on price then what is offered. I would go back to see the shows but only if we would again stay until close to midnight. One thing to consider when decided if you will go this time is the ages of your kids and whether or not they would be able to stay up past 10pm. If they won't, it is a lot of money to spend on 2-3 hours at MK, IMHO. If this is the only time you would go at holiday times, then go for it.

Here are the times and what you get at MVMCP:

Parade: 8:15pm and 10:30pm
Holiday Wishes - Fireworks 9:30pm
Mickey's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas - Tomorrowland's Galaxy Palace Theatre. 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:15 and 11:15. This tends to fill up, so get there at least 15 minutes early to get a good spot.

Celebrate the Season Show - Castle Forecourt 7:45, 10:05 and 11:20
**Belle's Enchanted Christmas Stoytelling 7:15, 8:10, 10:00 and 11:15
**Character Dance Parties - Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland and Ariel's Grotto in Fantasyland
**Tree Lightning Ceremony - (Thursday, Friday Saturday)
**Meet Donald and Scrooge - Next to City Hall in Town Square
Unlimited use of Magic Kingdom Attractions - Most attractions are open and available during the party. If crowds are heavy, try to plan to hit the more popular attractions during the fireworks and parades
Holiday Cookies and Cocoa
Carolers on Main Street
Save 40% on Disney PhotoPass photos (5x7 photos)

So if you plan to attend the early parade and leave right after Wishes then you probably would only get to see the castle lighting then 1 or 2 of the shows.

Now to your specific questions:

We didn't get to see any of the show except a small bit of the castle show since we were never in the right place at the right time. We still had a great time.

I read that the parade is the same they show during Christmas week but I am not sure if it is during the day or at night. One cool thing I forgot to mention was that some of the floats are scented. They add the scent to air cannons, yummy! They only run Spectro a few nights during the holiday time, it does not run on MVMCP nights neither does regular Wishes.

They did have snow on Main St but it was just a light flurry not heavy snow but still really cool. Again, this is only during the MVMCP not during the day. I am not sure if during regular night hours at MK since we didn't go then. They do have it during Christmas week.

After they do the icicle castle lighting, it stays that way for a while then they change to colored lights then back. We watched it from Narcoossees and Calf Grill. They do the castle lighting every night, I think at 5:30 or 6pm.

Another thing to consider is if you will be staying at MVMCP until midnight and have young kids, don't book an early ADR the next day for breakfast. DH had me cancel our ADR for Ohana the next day so we could sleep in a little bit.

Hope it helps.

 

[janloz]

Great pictures and your photopass pictures are awesome! I would love to go to MVMCP sometime.

Thanks, again DH gets the credit for the pics. Holiday time is so magical at WDW and I would go back every year if we could.

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

The castle reflecting in the water pics are amazing.

Your DH takes the best pics! He get's my for an outstanding job.

I just have to say your DD looked so pretty at the party with her fancy hair and her Xmas sweater.

You have the best luck with Photopass pics, those ones turned out so nice.

I love the festive boarders you chose for them.

One day I'll get to see the holiday dec's and the parades.

Oh no, not the last day....I have enjoyed your TR so much I don't want it to end.

 

[janloz]

The castle reflecting in the water pics are amazing.

Your DH takes the best pics! He get's my for an outstanding job.

I just have to say your DD looked so pretty at the party with her fancy hair and her Xmas sweater.

You have the best luck with Photopass pics, those ones turned out so nice.

I love the festive boarders you chose for them.

One day I'll get to see the holiday dec's and the parades.

Oh no, not the last day....I have enjoyed your TR so much I don't want it to end.

Thanks so much for the kind comments. We were so happy with the pics from the new camera, luckily her took so many (2800+) that I had a lot to share with my DIS friends.

Sarah looked beautiful and much older then 7. she really enjoyed BBB, it was her special time during Mark's bday trip.

We did luck out with Photopass this time especially with a big group. We ended up with 600+ pics with the added borders and signatures. Well worth the $99 I prepaid for the CD. They had such a wonderful variety of borders that we could add.

If you can get to WDW at the holiday time, I highly recommend it.

I wish my TR wasn't almost over either but we still have alot of full thing to share on the last day. And a LOT of pics. Plus hopefully I will get to start a PTR soon.

 

[janloz]

More coming this week......

 

[janloz]

Friday, Dec 5th: Sadly, this was our last full day at WDW.

Since we were up so late at MVMCP, we decided to cancel ADR at Lilo & Stitch breakfast since it was at 7:50am and sleep in a little bit. We went to POP food court for breakfast, we the Mickey waffles and then took a cab over to Poly since I had booked a Photopass shoot for the family. I was able to pre purchase the Photopass CD for $99 and qualify for $25 Resort Photopass photo shoot. We arrived at Poly and had to go upstairs to the Photopass desk and check in, we were told it would be a few minutes so we checked out the shopping in the area and 2nd floor of Poly.

About 10 minutes later, our Photopass photographer Taisia came over and apologized for the wait, she was waiting for other photographer to return. Here is a pic we took after the shoot.

She was wonderful, very patient with us and had a great personality.

She took us to the main floor for some pics near the waterfall.

With all the traffic in the lobby, it was difficult to take the pics though. So we moved outside to the spot outside where they have the weddings.

Some pics along the way:

 

[janloz]

Then Taisia started with the kids first:

Then the group:

Then she moved us to the beach and we were looking directly INTO the Sun (not the best pics):

Then to the hammock (my favorite):

Some more scenery while waiting:

Since the kids were getting upset with looking into the sun, we asked Taisia if there was another location we could go to and not be looking into the sun so she moved us over near the pool. Much better.

We started with the 4 of us:

Then added my mom:

 

[janloz]

Took out DH and Me: About this time, Mark started complaining about having his pics done and refused to smile. So I finally got the idea to bribe him and told him if he cooperated, then I would get him Pokeman cards he wanted when we went to Epcot for lunch. Notice the great smile from here on:

Other grandparents:

And the cutie:

Taisia took about an hour with us (it was supposed to be 20 minutes) and as you can see got some great shots. She told us to come inside and wait about 20 minutes and she would give us the CDs with the pics. So we went in and used the facilities and waited, some patiently, some not.

Some more pics inside Poly;

After about 20 minutes, I went upstairs and Taisia reviewed the pics with me and gave me a copy on CD and also on Photopass card. Since we had an ADR at Tutto Italia at 11;30am we decided to head over to Epcot. We walked over to the Poly bus stop only to realize that there is NO bus to Epcot from Poly so it was back inside and upstair to take to Monorail to TTC and then to Epcot.

Up next....Afternoon in Epcot.

 

[Happy Elf]

Awesome family pictures! Seeing yours makes me think about doing a photo shoot...just don't know if the baby would cooperate. I like your shirts. Where did you get them?

 

[janloz]

Awesome family pictures! Seeing yours makes me think about doing a photo shoot...just don't know if the baby would cooperate. I like your shirts. Where did you get them?

Thanks, I am really glad we did it especially since we might not get to go back with the whole crew again.

I ordered them on the Disneyshopping.com under their personalized section. I waited until they went on sale and I had code for discount and free shipping. I wanted to get them all from the same place so the color would be the same for all 8. I didn't think to coordinate the shorts.