There's no place like "home" for the holidays...*updated 3/18 p. 43 and 44*

[tinkerbell87512]

Great pictures! The GF Christmas tree is beautiful.

Glad you liked the Twas the night before Christmas show. I thought it was so cute! Isn't it crazy how popular it is?! There not kidding when they say it's packed!!! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your time at MVMCP!

 

[wdwgirl03]

MVMCP looks awesome, the castle is so beautiful. I hope Disney continues that traditions for years and years....so I can see it.

haha, me too! I want to go back!

Hi Sarah! I've been reading your last few updates, and now I'm finally getting around to replying. A few points:

1. It looks like you had a good morning at the Hollywood Studios (it's so hard to get used to saying that!). I knew Emma would love Toy Story Mania It's kind of hard not to.

2. I love Fantasia Gardens. I wish we had been able to play there in May. Oh well, next time. Congrats on your hole-in-one.

3. I love your pictures from the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian. The giant gingerbread house is always so cool. And I really miss staying at the Polynesian. It's so nice being on the monorail loop, and the atmosphere of the whole resort is amazing. I want to go back.

4. You're finally getting to MVMCP!! I love all of your pictures so far, and I can't wait to hear about the rest.

I think that's all I wanted to say.

Hi Claire! Thanks for finally deciding to post again. haha I wish we could've played in May too...oh well, there's always next time! MVMCP was so fun. If only you woulda been there...

On the one hand I'm sorry I fell so far behind. On the other hand I've had a delightful time this afternoon catching up!

you really captured so many terrific photos! Especially of the Beach Club. How I love that place!

I've never seen the tree with Piglet peeking out in MK. I will have to look for that!

I haven't been on the Indy Speedway in forever... I may have to go next time!

Oh dear... SO much more I wanted to comment on and I've forgotten. Great report and great photos!

I'm glad you enjoyed catching up! And thanks for the compliment on the pictures.

The tree is right across from the Pooh ride, at that little playground area. It's not too hard to spot.

Great pictures! The GF Christmas tree is beautiful.

Glad you liked the Twas the night before Christmas show. I thought it was so cute! Isn't it crazy how popular it is?! There not kidding when they say it's packed!!! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your time at MVMCP!

I couldn't believe how crowded it was in there. And I was actually kind of mad when I found out they were doing it the Saturday before we left during regular park hours. I thought it was just for the party. Oh well! I have been slacking badly lately at updating but I promise a new update will be coming soon!

 

[Michelle_and_Aaron]

Oh wow! MVMCP looks so great I hope to be able to get there some day but right now it would be completly impossible with my job. Maybe things will change in the next few years. OMG that castle lighting video was absolutly stunning. I love love LOVE that! I can not wait to see more!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Oh wow! MVMCP looks so great I hope to be able to get there some day but right now it would be completly impossible with my job. Maybe things will change in the next few years. OMG that castle lighting video was absolutly stunning. I love love LOVE that! I can not wait to see more!

The party was really a lot of fun! I know there's a lot of people out there who say they will never do it again because it's not worth the money, but we loved all the parties! We've never had a problem with crowds and the special fireworks/parades are awesome. The castle lighting was probably one of the best things of the night.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hi everyone! I am so sorry I haven't gotten around to updating this sooner. Lots going on! Anyways, it's time for more...

Thursday, December 18, 2008 cont'd (part 7)
First off, I found a couple more videos from the show that Emma took. They're kind of short but I wanted to share.




After Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas we decided to just walk around the park for a while and enjoy the atmosphere. So we headed towards Fantasyland because we wanted to get some of those holiday treats! I can't remember the name of the place we went, but it was near Ariel's Grotto because I remember seeing the dance party (that looked like fun...the little kids were so cute, hehe). They were offering cookies, hot chocolate, apple juice, and a couple other things if you wanted something a little healthier. The best thing about these treats was that they were FREE!! Can't beat that! So once we had our treats we continued to walk around. We saw that Snow White and her prince (is he Prince Charming too?! ) were out near Peter Pan's Flight so we got in line to meet them. After all, we weren't in a rush and were trying to kill some time before the fireworks.

After we took our picture with Snow White and the prince we headed back toward Main Street to do some shopping. Well, I was going to be doing the shopping. I wanted to get a pin for the party and possibly a t-shirt. When we got to the Emporium they had a display of the party-exclusive merchandise. I picked out a pin and then saw the shirts. They were so cute but sadly it didn't look like they had any in my size. We ended up asking one of the CMs if they had any more so she went to look for me. She came out with a big armful of new shirts. YAY! It was originally something like $23 which is a lot for a shirt but I really wanted one. Well, they must have been going on sale since it was the second to last party. I ended up only paying around $7!! So both my pin and shirt cost less than the original price of the shirt. Woo hoo.

Everywhere we went people were wearing those Mickey santa hats which were also really cute. I knew I probably would never wear it so Emma and I just took pictures in the Minnie hats.

When we were done in the Emporium we went into a couple other stores before finding a spot on Main Street for Holiday Wishes. It was just a really festive atmosphere on Main Street with the lights and garlands and of course the castle.

Then it was time for the fireworks to start!

The fireworks were so amazing. There were some really neat colors and also some unusual shapes! Like at one point there were some that looked like boxes or presents. They also did some cute things with the castle...when they were playing "O Christmas Tree" the lighting on the castle was green and they had fireworks kind of framing it. Then at the end there was a star-shaped firework right above the castle. I wish I had a picture of it!

Here's a video I took. Part of the fun is also hearing the soundtrack to it.

Of course a lot of the music was Christmas songs and I think this was my favorite part. I love how you can see how the fireworks are synchronized to the music!

Maybe it's because I like Christmas so much but I have to say this was by far my favorite version of Wishes. They are all great but I loved this one! And as you can tell from the reactions of people in the video I wasn't the only one. Even if you don't go to one of the parties but go around the holidays I'd definitely see it. It was an awesome show.

up next: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party finale

 

[Michelle_and_Aaron]

Wow that sounds amazing! Thank you so much for sharing these great memories with us!

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Sarah,

Loved the updates and all the photos and video clips!!

The castle lights are absolutely breathtaking! we were really lucky to see them towards the end of our holiday. I tried to describe them to friends, but you just can't describe them!

Di x

 

[xoktenox]

Wow more great pictures and videos! I really love the ones of holiday Wishes! I never knew that the music and the fireworks were sychronized to one another, its so amazing. Seriously one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Congrats on the great deal on the shirt and the pin too!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow that sounds amazing! Thank you so much for sharing these great memories with us!

You're welcome. I am enjoying sharing everything with you guys!

Hi Sarah,

Loved the updates and all the photos and video clips!!

The castle lights are absolutely breathtaking! we were really lucky to see them towards the end of our holiday. I tried to describe them to friends, but you just can't describe them!

Di x

Glad you liked the updates. The lights are so amazing. But it is sort of funny, I think that night as we were walking around I noticed that they are only on the front of the castle! It looked kind of funny on the back with no lights. haha

Wow more great pictures and videos! I really love the ones of holiday Wishes! I never knew that the music and the fireworks were sychronized to one another, its so amazing. Seriously one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Congrats on the great deal on the shirt and the pin too!

Yeah, Holiday Wishes was so cool...I had to take a couple videos. I knew the music and fireworks were synchronized but I guess I never really paid that much attention to it. But it is pretty neat how they do that!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hey everybody!

Guess where I am going tonight with my sister? We're going to Disney on Ice! I had been wanting to go and was finally able to convince someone to go with me. hehe I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited to see it. The show looks really cool! I'm planning on taking my camera so hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures from it.

Have a great weekend!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Have fun at Disney on Ice!! Just catching up on your last update. You got some great photos of the fireworks. And those Minnie Santa hats were too cute. But you were smart to resist. There is something about WDW that makes the goofiest (pun intended) stuff seem like a good idea and something that you'd wear in the "real world." But once home you never do!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Where did ya'll stand for the fireworks? All of us were out in the middle of Main Street in line with Casey's. I loved that Xmas show but I didn't see it 'til our last night.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Have fun at Disney on Ice!! Just catching up on your last update. You got some great photos of the fireworks. And those Minnie Santa hats were too cute. But you were smart to resist. There is something about WDW that makes the goofiest (pun intended) stuff seem like a good idea and something that you'd wear in the "real world." But once home you never do!

The show was so much fun last night! I will have to post pictures later. Those hats were even more tempting to get because they were 50% off but I knew it would end up being a waste of money. I spent enough money on souvenirs as it is.

Where did ya'll stand for the fireworks? All of us were out in the middle of Main Street in line with Casey's. I loved that Xmas show but I didn't see it 'til our last night.

Hmm, I can't remember exactly where we stood but we must've been pretty close to where you were!

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

What Disney on Ice was it? We've been to 2 - Incredibles and HSM - they were both fab!

Di x

 

[wdwgirl03]

What Disney on Ice was it? We've been to 2 - Incredibles and HSM - they were both fab!

Di x

It was the 100 Years of Magic show...it was really neat because they had stuff from a lot of different movies. So much fun! I'm glad I went.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Happy Sunday!

Before I write another update I just thought I'd share some pictures from the Disney on Ice show. The show that came here was the 100 Years of Magic show and it was really fun! They had stuff from a ton of different movies and a couple other surprises along the way. I have to say it was really funny because as soon as we walked into the arena it was like a giant gift shop! They had everything from programs (which I got) to stuffed animals to light up toys and even a spot where you could get your picture taken with this Mickey cut-out. Even the popcorn came in Disney on Ice boxes. Almost made me feel like I was in Disney World. haha Anyways, here's some of my pictures:

There were some "technical difficulties" with the zamboni right before the show started...but Mickey and the gang were ready to fix that!

MICKEY!!!

Stitch out to cause trouble

Beauty and the Beast

Mickey's going to take us to Disneyland for a special treat...

It's a Small World! This part of the show was probably one of my favorites. It was so neat.

Does this look familiar?!

This picture is not very good but then "Tinkerbell" flew down from the castle and it was nighttime. At Disneyland IASW really is all lit up at night. I loved this!

continued in next post...

 

[wdwgirl03]

more pictures from Disney on Ice...

It looks like they took stuff right out of the ride!

Stitch is back again!

The Blue Fairy

Mulan

The Incredibles

Lion King

Then at the end all of the characters came out.

So overall it was a great show! Definitely worth going to see and it gave me a little Disney fix.

 

[tinkerbell87512]

I couldn't believe how crowded it was in there. And I was actually kind of mad when I found out they were doing it the Saturday before we left during regular park hours. I thought it was just for the party. Oh well! I have been slacking badly lately at updating but I promise a new update will be coming soon!

Wow I didn't realize that they showed it during park hours later in the season.

Love your Wishes videos. I've seen all the party variations and this one is tied with regular Wishes for me. It's awesome! Oh and that's a great deal you got on the tee shirt. I passed on it because of the price and you can only really wear it in Dec and late Nov.

Looks like you had a blast at Disney on ice!!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow I didn't realize that they showed it during park hours later in the season.

Love your Wishes videos. I've seen all the party variations and this one is tied with regular Wishes for me. It's awesome! Oh and that's a great deal you got on the tee shirt. I passed on it because of the price and you can only really wear it in Dec and late Nov.

Looks like you had a blast at Disney on ice!!! Thanks for sharing!

Yeah, I've seen them all too now and while they are all amazing I just loved the Christmas one!

The Disney On Ice show was a lot of fun. I may have to go next year now! haha

 

[wdwgirl03]

Thursday, December 18, 2008 cont'd (part 8)

After Holiday Wishes we pretty much just hung out on Main Street until the parade.

I think there was only 45 minutes in between the two of them. So we found a spot to watch the parade and just kind of soaked in the atmosphere. It was so neat with the lights, the "snow," and all the Christmas music playing. Everyone was having such a good time...you'd be surprised how many people were singing along to the songs. One of the songs they played was "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and we tried to sing along to that but once it got to the ninth day of Christmas I think we failed miserably. But it was still fun trying!


It was just a festive environment and we couldn't wait for the parade to start! We saw the parade last year when we were there too but it was going to be a different experience at night.

As you can see we went to get some more of the free treats (the apple slices were one of the healthy choices). I think I may have mentioned the cute outfits the cast members were wearing...here's a picture of a couple of them selling balloons. Very Christmasy. hehe

Then we could see the parade making its way around the hub and the music filled the air! Now I'll just let the pictures take over...

Here come the characters!

I love how you can kind of see the snow in this picture.

The princesses...

The second half of the parade was like Santa's Workshop to make way for the big guy himself. While there were a few Disney characters, there weren't as many as the first part.

One of the best parts of the parade is the wooden soldiers. They're so cool! And that song was so catchy...I had it stuck in my head for quite a while! (sorry the video ends sort of abruptly...but the people next to us decided to leave early...ugh).



Then of course it ended with the reindeer and Santa Claus.

When the parade was over it was getting late so we decided to head out. I was kind of sad it was over already but we were getting tired.

Luckily we didn't have to wait long for a bus and we were on our way back to the Beach Club to get some rest. It was a really fun evening and it was probably my favorite party out of the three of them. Like I said, I love Christmas and we have always wanted to go to one of the parties. We didn't do as many rides as we have in the past but that was OK. I enjoyed taking in the atmosphere and seeing the special shows. We also lucked out because the weather was pretty nice even into the evening...I know I've read a couple reports where people have said it got really cold. So now all I need to do is figure out how to get to another one in the future!