Your ULTIMATE SURVIVAL GUIDE to Disney World at Christmas Time! UPDATE x2 10/21

[hollisterluva92]

Good luck! I hope you get the job!

-Thanks! I'll know for sure by tomorrow, and I'll let you know

Sometimes I do have problems with characters which is REALLY weird because I'm not an awkward person when it comes to character interaction. I don't know. They just kinda pose in their own way without putting their arm around me or something. I don't know. It's always the short ones too. Maybe I'm just weird.

-Hm, that's interesting! It might just be the "friends" of the characters! I do know that I've had problems with posing with the "fur" characters but not face characters.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

OMG...love, love, the pic of M&M nose to nose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super adorable!

I hope the rest of your HH trip is great!

Aww thank you! I know, that's one of my favorite pictures!
Thank you!

-Thanks! I'll know for sure by tomorrow, and I'll let you know


-Hm, that's interesting! It might just be the "friends" of the characters! I do know that I've had problems with posing with the "fur" characters but not face characters.

Awesome!
If someone is "friends" with a character, that just means they play the character, whether it's face or mask. I never have had a problem with the face characters. The mask characters are always the awkward ones because they can't talk.​

 

[Aussiesalad]

I KNOW. It's so annoying! Like... they just stand there. It's like... we're in Disney. Put your arm around me! I am not a scary looking person.

Exactly!!! I mean is it that hard to just pose and be playful rather than awkward. Who knows, maybe we are scarier than we think?

Hope the rest of your holiday there is wonderful!!

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Exactly!!! I mean is it that hard to just pose and be playful rather than awkward. Who knows, maybe we are scarier than we think?

Hope the rest of your holiday there is wonderful!!

Bahaha maybe we are!
Thank you so much! ​

 

[__disneygirl]

Yessss! I've been missing your updates and also the Frumpdates from you and Kristen. But I've been loving the tweets of course! And obviously we've been in touch but still I can't wait to hear even more about Hilton Head so I hope you do a TR.

AHH I am so familiar with that "cram cram cram" feeling at the end of your trip. I always get such "MUST DO EVERYTHING" anxiety. But of course... you're never gonna get to do everything. So I have to try really hard to just relax and enjoy the rest of the trip and not be too upset about leaving! Which is so not easy.

OMG... I am picturing an entire boat of confused Brazilians not understanding the skipper. That is too funny.

"The environment in which your eating can really make all the difference" - so true! I had pizza at AKL that was really bad... but I was at AKL, so I didn't even really mind. I mean, how can you be annoyed while you're there? Seriously.

AHH I hate when the characters act really awkward. It makes me feel so weird and I don't know what to do. Especially when it's not a face character, cause it's not like you can start a convo or something to end the awkwardness. ahh. But that kissing picture is SO CUTE!!! I just had to post it on my Tumblr. <3 Gave you credit though, of course!

 

[sue_88]

I wish that everything that came out of my kitchen would be "Made Fresh with Magic!".
That really is a good sign!

 

[LifeIsDis]

I have been loving your pictures and tweets from Hilton Head. It seems like such an amazing resort!

OMG those bears do look like they are from Brave! So adorable.

I have always wanted to do the carriage ride.
Those decorations people put up are crazy!

WOW! It seems like it was your lucky night at HS! Good thing TSM made up for the bus situation.

We just went to the Top of the World Lounge last week since it was open to DVC members and it was AMAZING! Watching wishes from there is incredible.


That is so cool that you got a little VIP Jungle Cruise with Ryan!

I have to agree with you and say that sometimes the pictures the photopass people take are awful. That has happened to me a few times. I’m like, I can take better pictures than that!

 

[nfggirl5454]

I discovered your TR after I did a search for the Ft. Wilderness carriage rides yesterday, and I then proceeded to spend too many hours yesterday and this morning reading about your trip! I'm slightly obsessed with Toy Story Mania too, but my score's never that high. I just subscribed and I'm looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip. I'm especially interested in hearing about your NYE experience as I'm planning to spend mine at Disney this year for the first time.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Yessss! I've been missing your updates and also the Frumpdates from you and Kristen. But I've been loving the tweets of course! And obviously we've been in touch but still I can't wait to hear even more about Hilton Head so I hope you do a TR.

Haha I'm glad you're happy I updated and you've been following along on twitter. So many good things. But yes, I think I will be doing a trip report! ​

AHH I am so familiar with that "cram cram cram" feeling at the end of your trip. I always get such "MUST DO EVERYTHING" anxiety. But of course... you're never gonna get to do everything. So I have to try really hard to just relax and enjoy the rest of the trip and not be too upset about leaving! Which is so not easy.

Hahaha it's true. That's why you gotta prioritize and write a list, and then just do your best on all of the other stuff!​

OMG... I am picturing an entire boat of confused Brazilians not understanding the skipper. That is too funny.

Hahaha so fart shoes.​

"The environment in which your eating can really make all the difference" - so true! I had pizza at AKL that was really bad... but I was at AKL, so I didn't even really mind. I mean, how can you be annoyed while you're there? Seriously.

Exactly! I knew you'd understand.​

AHH I hate when the characters act really awkward. It makes me feel so weird and I don't know what to do. Especially when it's not a face character, cause it's not like you can start a convo or something to end the awkwardness. ahh. But that kissing picture is SO CUTE!!! I just had to post it on my Tumblr. <3 Gave you credit though, of course!

I know!! The face characters rarely give me a problem, it's the short masked ones It's because I'm an awkward length relative to them so they are like scared to put their arm around me lol. And AWW yay I'm so honored! I'm glad you love the picture! It was my first facebook cover photo once I got switched to timeline

I wish that everything that came out of my kitchen would be "Made Fresh with Magic!".
That really is a good sign!

I know, right!? I agree.

I have been loving your pictures and tweets from Hilton Head. It seems like such an amazing resort!

OMG those bears do look like they are from Brave! So adorable.

I have always wanted to do the carriage ride.
Those decorations people put up are crazy!

WOW! It seems like it was your lucky night at HS! Good thing TSM made up for the bus situation.

We just went to the Top of the World Lounge last week since it was open to DVC members and it was AMAZING! Watching wishes from there is incredible.


That is so cool that you got a little VIP Jungle Cruise with Ryan!

I have to agree with you and say that sometimes the pictures the photopass people take are awful. That has happened to me a few times. I’m like, I can take better pictures than that!

Thank you! I've been posting a lot It really is wonderful down here!
It was really cool seeing those decorations because the FW Campgrounds are a whole other world/style of going to Disney.
I think it's always open to DVC members, right? That's why we went anyway lol. But yes, I could imagine!! I'll have to do that next time.
Yeah, it really is annoying. I just don't bother with the Photopass anymore. The price is OUTRAGEOUS nowadays.

I discovered your TR after I did a search for the Ft. Wilderness carriage rides yesterday, and I then proceeded to spend too many hours yesterday and this morning reading about your trip! I'm slightly obsessed with Toy Story Mania too, but my score's never that high. I just subscribed and I'm looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip. I'm especially interested in hearing about your NYE experience as I'm planning to spend mine at Disney this year for the first time.

Hahaha well I'm so glad that the search led you here! It is a pleasure to have you reading along and thank you so much for your time and compliments! I'm glad you understand the TSM obsession - one day you'll get that high score! I never thought I'd make so much progress in such a short amount of time! Ahh thank you! We went all out for New Year's but it's a pretty awesome night. I can't wait to post those updates! I hope you have a magical trip!​

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Hello everyone! Tonight is my last night at Disney's Hilton Head Resort. ): It has been rainy all day so we've just been chilling out a lot. We just got back from dinner so I thought I'd so a little dis-ing to pass some time/avoid packing. Enjoy the updates! I can't wait to tell you guys all about this trip!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 87: Cram, Cram, Cram! So Much to See, So Little Time.
December 30th, 2011

We went into that one store on the right side of Main Street that sells lots of Tren-D esque merchandise. We ran into the family we sat with at Teppan Edo! How funny! The Mom recognized us and we chatted for a little bit. We wished them a wonderful rest of their trip and a happy new year!

I can't remember if I found these in that store or the Emporium across the street, but DisneyArb/arbolita tweeted me a picture of these and I was on the lookout for them! They are a charm necklace with different FOODS. Like... hello, that's beautiful. I didn't end up buying it, but I snapped a picture for you all. I thought they were adorable.

At 1:20 pm we had to catch the holiday version of the Dapper Dans! They sang all of their Christmas songs. I absolutely love their holiday outfits. They had great corny Christmas jokes that I found very amusing. They had the same structure as their normal show, but it had a great holiday twist! I LOVED it!

Christmas Tip #48: Whether it is Christmas season or regular season, MAKE SURE YOU SEE THE DAPPER DANS! They are phenomenal and their angelic barber shop quartet singing and funny jokes will immediately put you in a great mood!

Once we finished watching them, we walked back to the room and freshened up. I had some of my Ghiradelli cookie. YUMMY YUM YUM!

Mom and I were determined to get a lot accomplished, so we had some serious park hopping coming up on this afternoon/night. Once we left the room, we caught the bus to Animal Kingdom!

We got there and went to the shops. I got my friend Ellen a towel with cheetah print Mickey heads on it for Christmas!

We cashed out and I traded for the Toy Story Mania deer pin. (perfect, right!?)

Then we went to find a spot for the Jingle Jungle Parade! WOOHOO! We sat directly across from Island Mercantile.

These little 3 year old girls sitting in front of us became best friends. If you have ever listened to kids this age talk to each other, you will know what I mean when I say it absolutely MELTS your heart. Oh my God. Most precious thing I have ever seen. They were telling each other how excited they were to see Mickey!

I posted on twitter:
I can hear it off in the distance... "so sing it out, and bark and growl and screech and roar, and dance along..."

The parade started! I love the way they transform it to be Christmassy. They even change the words of the song, which throws me off when I’m singing along! But that’s okay, it was still beautiful.

The parade was really short – it was only about 15 minutes! However, I loved it. The bright colors were awesome. It really made this regular season parade come alive for the holidays!

Minnie is perfect. The back of her float smelled like Hot Cocoa!

Here comes the Goof!

He was carrying a ton of stuff on the back of his float!

Donald!

ITSA MICKEY MOUSE!

Christmas Tip #49: Don’t forget to see Mickey’s Jingle Jungle parade at Disney’s Animal Kingdom! Disney gives the regular season parade a holiday twist!

After that, I had to make a little trip to Camp Minnie-Mickey to see the character inspired Christmas trees. I didn’t really do much here except photograph them. They just looked SO cute! They’re a little hidden gem because they’re at the back of the park and people could easily miss them! I’m glad I got to take a look!

Christmas Tip #50: If you’re in the area, check out the Disney character inspired Christmas trees in Camp Minnie-Mickey!

The Lion King tree:

Chip and Dale:

PLUTO ♥

The Finding Nemo Tree:

Mickey Mouse Tree:

Minnie Mouse Tree:

Continued in Next Post​

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Chapter 88: I'm on a Mission to See it All!
December 30th, 2011

Let's continue on with the Camp Minnie-Mickey Christmas trees! Here is the Goofy themed tree:

Donald:

Stitch:

I'm not exactly sure what the theme of this tree is. It looks a little bit Country Bears/Fort Wilderness-esque to me!

I really enjoyed looking at these trees! I think that all of the details were pieced together perfectly to truly display each character! They were very creative.

Overall, though, there really isn’t much to do in Animal Kingdom for the holidays. I only went here twice throughout my 12 night, 13 day trip and each visit was for a very short increment of time. It’s nice to see the park all decorated but I wish they did a few more special things. Ah well. Maybe in the future.

Before we left, we had to grab some pictures of the HUGE Animal Kingdom tree that is located in the entrance area before you go through the turnstiles. I thought that this tree was AMAZING.

Look at those details:

Some cute little extras:

Mom and I wanted to grab a couple pictures with the tree:

One more:

We hopped on our Contemporary/Polynesian bus and it was was PACKED. We were SO squished!! Then on top of that, we stopped at Blizzard Beach and picked up even MORE people! I honestly don't know how we all fit.

I posted on twitter:
PLEASE HOLD ON TO THE HANDRAILS SO YOU DON'T FALL ON ME.

When we pulled into the Contemporary, this little boy said, “Daddy, why did they just say ‘Welcome Home?’” hahaha oh little boy. You have so much to learn.

We went back to the room, freshened up again, I had a little bit of my Magic Cookie Bar, and we admired the (once again) gorgeous sunset.

Then we walked over to the Magic Kingdom! We took lots of pictures on the way. First off, I wanted my picture with these two wonderful, perfect, extraordinary, and contemporary resorts.

I'm in love.

Then I had to snap a picture of Monorail Black since it was passing through. Look at those lovely cotton candy clouds above it! They look edible - they're so pink and fluffy!

Seriously, the clouds were SO COOL that night!

This photo captures the sunset, the monorail, and the pathway we take from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom. How could you even ask for more?!

A FLYNN RIDER BUS! PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU!!!!!

Complete serenity.

Ahh here we go. We're getting closer to the gate now...

Gotta take this classic picture ESPECIALLY when it's all decorated for Christmas!

I posted on twitter:
Main Street USA at dusk is one of my favorite simple joys in life

Mommy and Me:

So what were we doing at Magic Kingdom on this night? Well, there was something EXTREMELY important that I had to see that I almost forgot about.

We walked right up to the front so we would have a prime viewing location!

Continued in Next Post​

 

[Disneydude97]

At 1:20 pm we had to catch the holiday version of the Dapper Dans! They sang all of their Christmas songs. I absolutely love their holiday outfits. They had great corny Christmas jokes that I found very amusing. They had the same structure as their normal show, but it had a great holiday twist! I LOVED it!

Christmas Tip #48: Whether it is Christmas season or regular season, MAKE SURE YOU SEE THE DAPPER DANS! They are phenomenal and their angelic barber shop quartet singing and funny jokes will immediately put you in a great mood!

I was thinking about seeing the 4 dapper fellows myself! I really like the joke they do at the end:

"If you enjoyed our show today, then we are the Dapper Dans of the Magic Kingdom."
"If you didn't enjoy our show then we are the cast of Glee."

 

[LifeIsDis]

The Jingle Jungle parade looks adorable!
I love Minnie’s float. And the hot cocoa makes it even better!
I also love the back of Goofy’s float with all of the character stocking. So cute!

I have never heard about the character Christmas trees and thank you for taking pictures of all of them. Definitely something I will have to see!

THOSE SUNSETS. <3

Ohmygoodness, where you there to see the castle lighting?!

 

[onelilspark]

I love the AK parade. My friend did the CP and she was assigned to AK. She knows the entire dance.

 

[MissPrice]

Hi Jess. Aww you're leaving Hilton Head already??I forgot to tell you where to get amazing cupcakes and whoopie pies at Coligny Plaza. There is also an Earl of Sandwich there, I think. Hopefully you found it on your own. Maybe you can stop there before you leave. Great updates by the way. I really like your pictures of the CR and sunset. Those trees in AK are awesome too. I like the Country Bear one with the little jugs of moonshine. lol. Its all in the details. Wishing you a safe trip home from SC and can't wait to read the TR. -Amanda

 

[MissPrice]

Cupcake place :

Sweet Carolina Cupcakes
www.sweetcarolinacupcakes.com
843-342-2611

 

[marDgreen88]

Have a wonderful last night at Hilton Head!

HAHAH the Dapper Dans tell the BEST JOKES at Christmas. They crack me up! I'm easily amused.

Omg, I didn't even know about the themed character Christmas trees... and I actually met characters over there! What on earth. I swear, I can be the most observant person in the world and yet I miss so much sometimes! Sighhhh.

These Contemporary pics are literally killing me. AHHHHH. What a beautiful wonderful perfect place. That looks like it was such a perfect night! Oddly enough, I don't think I saw monorail black ONCE on my trip! WEIRD. How nice to see it again! It's like a reunion. confused3 I don't know why I say things sometimes.)

 

[JessicaFaye508]

I was thinking about seeing the 4 dapper fellows myself! I really like the joke they do at the end:

"If you enjoyed our show today, then we are the Dapper Dans of the Magic Kingdom."
"If you didn't enjoy our show then we are the cast of Glee."

Hahahaha one time when I was there they were like "and if you didn't enjoy the show, we are the Mormon Tabernacle Clan!"

The Jingle Jungle parade looks adorable!
I love Minnie’s float. And the hot cocoa makes it even better!
I also love the back of Goofy’s float with all of the character stocking. So cute!

I have never heard about the character Christmas trees and thank you for taking pictures of all of them. Definitely something I will have to see!

THOSE SUNSETS. <3

Ohmygoodness, where you there to see the castle lighting?!

It was! I loved all of the floats - they were so well themed!

You're welcome! They're definitely worth checking out!

SO BEAUTIFUL!

Perhaps I was....

I love the AK parade. My friend did the CP and she was assigned to AK. She knows the entire dance.

Aww really!? That's awesome!

Hi Jess. Aww you're leaving Hilton Head already??I forgot to tell you where to get amazing cupcakes and whoopie pies at Coligny Plaza. There is also an Earl of Sandwich there, I think. Hopefully you found it on your own. Maybe you can stop there before you leave. Great updates by the way. I really like your pictures of the CR and sunset. Those trees in AK are awesome too. I like the Country Bear one with the little jugs of moonshine. lol. Its all in the details. Wishing you a safe trip home from SC and can't wait to read the TR. -Amanda

Cupcake place :

Sweet Carolina Cupcakes
www.sweetcarolinacupcakes.com
843-342-2611

AHHH I wish I would have known about that sooner! I definitely would have gone there! Maybe I can try and convince my family to go there tomorrow but I don't know if it will work because we already have potential plans. Wahh I want to go to Earl of Sandwich!!!! And a cupcake!!! Maybe maybe!

Thank you so much! I agree! And thank you - I hope the drive goes fast!

Have a wonderful last night at Hilton Head!

HAHAH the Dapper Dans tell the BEST JOKES at Christmas. They crack me up! I'm easily amused.

Omg, I didn't even know about the themed character Christmas trees... and I actually met characters over there! What on earth. I swear, I can be the most observant person in the world and yet I miss so much sometimes! Sighhhh.

These Contemporary pics are literally killing me. AHHHHH. What a beautiful wonderful perfect place. That looks like it was such a perfect night! Oddly enough, I don't think I saw monorail black ONCE on my trip! WEIRD. How nice to see it again! It's like a reunion. confused3 I don't know why I say things sometimes.)

Thank you! It was very relaxed. I literally just hung out in the room all night and caught up on some DIS stuff/organized my pictures from this trip. I couldn't do much because it was raining, but I'm not mad!

They really do! I love corny jokes too!

LOL I completely understand, girl! Ah well, you'll just have to go back I suppose!

Haha I know, looking at them just makes me want to go back SO BAD. Yeah, I never see monorail black! It's a rare one for some reason. ​

 

[LumosQ102]

I do love this trip report - makes me want to go to Disney for Christmas. And as for the tales of the Bay Lake Tower? We may now be looking at possibly DVC - ing and making that our home. How beautiful is that view?

THanks so much for your detailed trip reports, they really are beyond helpful.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Prior to this TR, all I thought about Disney at Xmas was huge, miserable crowds. Maybe it isn't do bad after all.