"Coconut Water Tastes Like Drinking Someone Else's Saliva..." A 12/14 TR

[bellebookworm9]

Great pictures of the CP! I will for sure have to see it one day!

You and your mom took such cute PP pics!

Ugh, that lady at TT sounds REALLY annoying!

Sounds like it was a long night for you Probably smart that you went and got that medicine though, hopefully it helped you feel better!

Wow! I had a CP dining reservation once. But then I got a teaching contract and had to cancel the trip! So thanks for sharing about it. One day I will get there to see it myself. That lady was just a tad annoying, and it looks like she's still complaining to you in the picture! Too funny!! Sorry you were sick, that's no fun!

I totally understand having to cancel trips when a real job offer comes up. I recently accepted an externship at the local VA for next school year so my trips are going to be drastically reduced. I got approved to take a week for our cruise this fall, and a few of my friends and I are thinking about going to Disneyland in May/June of 2016 after we graduate, but that's all I've got on the horizon for now.

I thought it best to avoid telling that crazy lady at Test Track that I'm a former CM, but it might have been funny to see how she reacted to that! She hadn't been on the ride since it was refurbed, so she basically didn't believe me when I said the camera is now outside and that there's no more hidden Mickey in the photo.

 

[bellebookworm9]

Thursday morning we slept in but I woke up feeling so much better. The antibiotics definitely helped very quickly, which was fantastic because this was our night for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! I believe we just had pastries for breakfast again, so nothing too fancy there. We did have an ADR scheduled for Kona Cafe at 2:30pm, but I decided to move it up an hour. Since we had not gone to MK on Tuesday as planned, Mom still had a day's ticket available to use, and by gosh, I wanted to see Festival of Fantasy! So we headed out for lunch and did valet parking at the Poly for the evening. PB met us at the restaurant (a very last minute decision) and you can read about our lunch here.

It was towards the end of our lunch that our title quote came up. The party that had been seated next to us left, and the new party was a group of middle-aged and up gals. They were very loud and chatty, and I happened to make super awkward eye contact with one of them just as she was spouting her opinion on coconut water. Having never tried the stuff myself, I can't give an opinion, but what an odd and gross comparison!

After that, we all three boarded the monorail and headed to Magic Kingdom. I have to say, it's not my favorite park, but there's just a *feeling* there that I never get at any of the others.

I had matching shirts made through the Disney store specifically for this night!

As we entered the park, it was about 3pm. Although the parade was starting in Frontierland, the parade audience control CMs wouldn't let us cross to Town Square by the flagpole, as they insisted it was not a handicapped viewing area, despite that the map I was looking at said it was. Oh well, we found a GREAT spot in front of Tony's.

PB left us for a bit to go buy some fudge for my grandma, and in the meantime we struck up a conversation with the family next to us-who happened to live in the very same town as my mom! Cue "it's a small world..." We discussed the party and I think I gave them some useful info and tips. I think the dad actually said, "If you don't work here already, you should!" Well, I used to, close enough?

And then, the parade was upon us! I LOVED IT! Totally worth the day's admission we were using just to see it. And as usual, I took a trillion pictures.

Forget being a character performer, I want to be one of these girls in the beautiful ball gowns!

Soooo happy that my favorite princess gets to start off the fun!

The downside to our viewing location was the glare from the sun when I took pictures looking toward the train station.

I think this whole float is really cool, with all the spinning items.

Just got back a few hours ago from seeing the new live-action Cinderella and "Frozen Fever". I liked them both! The Frozen short was mostly song though, and I thought the song itself was not as great as the music from the real movie. Loved Anna and Elsa's new springtime costumes though.

Here comes the Tangled float:

All of the dancers in this parade have such amazing costumes!

The Little Mermaid:

I do think this Mermaid float (and Ariel's costume) are better than the comparable one in Soundsational at Disneyland, but the two parades as a whole are similar in their bright, colorful styles and super catchy tunes!

I actually know a guy who performs as these seahorse dudes, but he wasn't in the parade that day.

 

[bellebookworm9]

The Lost Boys & Peter Pan float:

I remember this was one of the first pieces of concept art released for this parade, so it was pretty cool to finally see it in person!

I'm told Tick-Tock is the only piece of SpectroMagic that was salvageable?

And there goes Mr. Smee:

Brave float:

Sleeping Beauty section (I don't understand why Aurora herself is nowhere to be found in this parade, by the way):

Our brave hero, Prince Philip:

And the crazy awesome Maleficent dragon:

Just missed a shot of her breathing fire!

 

[bellebookworm9]

The part that no Disney parade can do without: a classic character mish-mosh!

I just now noticed that the Mad Hatter sat down across the street for a moment!

The Pinocchio/Dumbo/Donald & Daisy float:

And our final Mickey & Minnie float:

I can't wait to see this again next weekend! When it was over, we said our good-byes to PB for this trip before he left for the day, and then Mom and I ventured deeper into the park to begin our evening!

 

[missangelalexis]

Glad those antibiotics helped. And what an interesting story behind the TR title.

I love your matching party shirts!!

Glad you got to see FOF! Great pictures.

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Happy you were starting to feel better! Great shots of the parade. I saw it in the August heat and nearly burnt my behind. It was worth it! I love how you got the Mad Hatter in there sitting down! That is so funny!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Hellllllooooooo out there! Is anybody still following? I realized I kind of abandoned this TR seven months ago before my trip in March, but I'm going to attempt to pick it back up again now that holiday season is approaching once more!

So, when we left off, we had just finished watching Festival of Fantasy and were on our way into the park to do some rides before the official start of MVMCP. Some shots of Main Street:

The new decorations just aren't as attention grabbing as the old garlands that hung over the street.

Stopped to get a couple of Photopass pics:

Our first Fastpass+ option was for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It was down when we got there, so we were given the choice to use that FP+ for another ride, but it came back up soon after.

And our on-ride video:

Mom thought it was a little wild, as you can see from her face! I will mention that as two "Pooh-sized" people, we were definitely quite cramped.

Our next Fastpass was for Enchanted Tales with Belle at 4:30, but it was a little too early, so we hopped in line for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh instead. I believe there was a 25 minute wait for that, but it's not like we had anything else to do!

Around 4:45 we entered Maurice's Cottage. I have to make a confession. For as big a Beauty and the Beast fan as I am, I had NEVER done Enchanted Tales before, in the two years it had been open. The line was always too long, or there were other things I wanted to use my Fastpasses on.

A shot of the group in the mirror:

And then, holy cow, MAGIC!

That magic mirror is THE COOLEST THING EVER! Mind. Blown.

Unfortunately, I was not chosen to play a part.

The Lumiere animatronic is a close second for "coolest thing ever".

Can I just live in this library, please?

It was a cute little show but a lot shorter than I thought it would be.

When we exited, the decision was made to forego our third Fastpass, Jingle Cruise, in lieu of getting in line for the Seven Dwarfs. I went to add a long sleeve snowflake shirt under my party shirt, as I figured it would be getting cold as the night went on.

We got in line around 5:30pm, and were the third or fourth group. The line just kept growing behind us. There was a BEAUTIFUL sunset that evening.

And eventually we saw the backside of the first castle lighting of the evening.

We chatted in line with families around us. One of them had several children of various ages, and one was a 17-18 year old girl who hoped to do the Disney College Program, and eventually become an EMT for Disney.

The Dwarfs came out around 6:50pm and we met them a few minutes before 7.

One of my friends from Epcot Main Entrance is now a character attendant and she was assigned to the Dwarfs that evening, so it was nice to say hi! And the Dwarfs were super cute...Mom said Sleepy actually "dozed off" on her shoulder...wish they'd gotten a picture of that!

Next up I got in line for Snow White & Snow Prince and Aurora & Prince Philip. That took about 20 minutes and in the meantime, I got to listen to music from one of my childhood Christmas Sing-Along videos!

Next we got in line to meet Pooh & Friends. That line was about 25 minutes, but we got lots of hugs and photos!

Adorable!

Still to come:
-A Frozen Holiday Wish (Castle Lighting)
-Dinner at Pecos Bills
-Celebrate the Magic
-Holiday Wishes
-Celebrate the Season show
-Once Upon a Christmastime Parade
-Character Meets with "Peppermint" Minnie, Santa Goofy, and Daisy, Donald & Scrooge

 

[missangelalexis]

Nice to see you back! Love your photos with the characters at MVMCP!

 

[M303871]

Yup I'm still here glad to see you back. I hope your March trip was magical also.

 

[bellebookworm9]

We made it to the hub area with just a few minutes to spare. Our spot was near the Liberty Square bridge. This was really the only time that night that things felt super crowded, even though it was a sold out party. The walkways weren't kept open enough and it was kind of a mess.

These pictures are variable in quality because we were back so far, but they give a general idea of what was happening for the Frozen Holiday Wish.

Olaf:

Anna & Elsa:

Elsa has the common sense to realize maybe they shouldn't decorate a castle in a land that doesn't belong to them, but Anna convinces her it's a holiday wish, so it's okay...or something along those lines.

We've got some magical icy lights happening!

It was cute, and of course, the castle was beautiful!

We were starting to get hungry, and as there are limited options for food during the party, we found ourselves at one of my least favorite restaurants, Pecos Bill's. On our way there, I noticed some snowflake projections on Pirates of the Caribbean.

Pecos was not at all crowded, and we got our food and a table easily. Plus, the first parade was going by, so we could hear it very well and see some of the floats!

I had the kid's grilled cheese. It came on this weird whole grain goldfish shaped bread. Nothing to write home about. Mom had a cheeseburger.

After the meal, we stopped into Tortuga Tavern to get some hot chocolate (very good) and a few cookies (meh), before making our way to the Adventureland/Hub area to stake out our spot for Celebrate the Magic & Holiday Wishes.

It wasn't centered, but we still had a great view, and weren't packed in like sardines like the people on Main Street!

Some shots from Celebrate the Magic's holiday edition:

And coming up next, the amazing Holiday Wishes!!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Here we go! Sing with me now!

"Bum bum bum bum, ba da bum bum bum bum bum bum bum
IT'S THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON, YOU CAN FEEL IT IN THE AIR!!!"

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Oh, Christmas Tree

The pinwheel fireworks!

And the amazing 360 degrees finale!

We let the crowds dissipate a bit before heading up to the castle forecourt for the 10:05 "Celebrate the Season" show!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Surprisingly, the castle forecourt area was nowhere near as crowded as I was expecting it to be. We got fairly close to the front of the stage area. I managed to take this photo that I consider one of my all time best...I actually stopped posting on my personal Instagram for awhile after this one because there was just no way to top it!

Aaaaaah!

Celebrate the Season started right on time.

I'm not sure what exactly makes me so freaked out by these horse heads, but I really don't like them!

They're right up there with "Creepy Nanny Chairs" at the Boardwalk Inn.

These reindeer, on the other hand, I love. Probably because I grew up watching them in Disney's "12 Days of Christmas" Sing-Along-Songs VHS!

Santa Goofy!

It's snowing!!

The rest of the show was heavily themed after The Nutcracker.

First up, The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy:

March of the Wooden Soldiers (?):

I cannot recall the role that Donald is playing here:

But Chip & Dale were definitely "Tea (Chinese Dance)".

Finally, Goofy partakes in the "Candy Canes (Russian Dance)"

Time for the finale!

More snow!

It was a cute show, but thinking back, I don't remember a whole lot of the very loose "plot". I don't remember any original songs, just the nutcracker music. So yeah, it's nice to see but probably not a must do.

Then it was over to Liberty Square to find a place in the handicapped section to watch the 10:30 showing of the Once Upon a Christmastime Parade!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a productive party night so far! Love the pictures of the castle show.

 

[KirbyLouWho]

This TR is helping me get even MORE excited for my first MVMCP in LESS THAN THREE WEEKS! EEK!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Sounds like a productive party night so far! Love the pictures of the castle show.

We were super productive! Only wish we'd had as much success at Disneyland's Halloween Party last month.

This TR is helping me get even MORE excited for my first MVMCP in LESS THAN THREE WEEKS! EEK!

That is exciting! Hard to believe the Christmas parties start so soon!

 

[bellebookworm9]

As we made our way to Liberty Square, it was already 10:22. The parade viewing areas were packed, which was a bit surprising since this was the later showing! Even the handicapped area was stuffed to the gills-to the point where we could not sit there. Instead of offering any assistance, the crowd control CMs simply told us we had to keep moving. This was the only frustrating part of the evening and Mom and I got a little snippy with each other because she wanted to use the restroom (and of course there aren't any in Liberty Square) and my planning had failed me.

Eventually we found an okay spot in Frontierland by the Adventureland pass-through with the big bathrooms. The view was decent but the lighting and angle for photos was not, so my pictures are not up to my personal standards.

"Once upon a Christmastime at Christmas..."

I REALLY wanted a good shot of Belle in her Christmas dress, because I adore that dress even more than her gold ballgown...but, fail.

Perhaps this is a parade that is better photographed during the day? Someday I hope to be a local who can go during that crazy time between Christmas and New Year's when it runs as the afternoon parade instead!

The parade ended at 10:55, so we had about an hour of party time left. Goal of the night was to meet Peppermint Minnie and Scrooge McDuck, and we made our way back to Storybook Circus do that!

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Wow! Such great shots. I really love your favorite of the castle! Some day, my dream will come true to see Disney at Christmas time! Since my dream came true to get there, I figure this will happen too! In the meantime, I'll keep reading your TR and enjoy that!

 

[missangelalexis]

Aww I think your photos still came out good! But I know how frustrating it can be when things don't go as planned. I also think that this parade is terrible to photograph at night, I had the same problem when I watched it. I'm sure it's definitely better during the day!!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Wow! Such great shots. I really love your favorite of the castle! Some day, my dream will come true to see Disney at Christmas time! Since my dream came true to get there, I figure this will happen too! In the meantime, I'll keep reading your TR and enjoy that!

I'm sure you'll get to experience it sometime! I like the week before Christmas, this is the second time we've gone around that week and we've had great luck. Not terribly crowded but close enough to the actual holiday that it doesn't feel like "cheating".

Aww I think your photos still came out good! But I know how frustrating it can be when things don't go as planned. I also think that this parade is terrible to photograph at night, I had the same problem when I watched it. I'm sure it's definitely better during the day!!

The problem was, I think, that I have seen some lovely shots of this parade at night on some of the photo threads here. But I believe the majority of those were taken from Main Street, where the lighting is unarguably better. And if the parade viewing is the only thing that didn't work out as planned for the night, that's nothing I really can complain about!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Back in Storybook Circus, I first hopped in line for the ducks (Daisy, Donald, and Scrooge) but after sitting for 10-15 minutes and not moving at all, I decided to try Minnie instead. Her line was not at all long, just a couple of people ahead of me.

I believe she was admiring my hat here:

I thought her Peppermint outfit was adorable!

Then I went over to the Barnstormer to get some pics with Santa Goofy. Again, almost no line for him either.

It was about 11:20 so I decided to get back in line for the ducks and stick it out. Mom got bored rolling around that area so she headed for Main Street to do some shopping, I think. The queue ended up being just over 20 minutes.

I basically went right for a hug with Scrooge so Donald and Daisy were feeling a little left out.

I cut through Tomorrowland on my way up to Main Street to catch A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas Show. I wasn't all that impressed so I only stayed for a few minutes, and I think I was eating a snack of some sort, so no pictures.

Got some nice solo shots on Main Street.

I found Mom and we took a few photos together...clearly it was cold as we had abandoned showing our shirts in favor of buttoned up jackets!

This next one was essentially a Magic shot; the "snow globe" was already added in on the website, it was not a border I added myself.

A close-up of the Town Square tree around 12:10am.

Mom wanted a sweet treat and was disappointed to find that the Confectionery closed promptly at 12am, if not a little before. So she braved the lines at the Emporium to get a quick snack while I waited outside with the scooter.

I believe it was about 12:30 when they stopped playing Christmas music and Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" began playing. It made me laugh, but we took it as our cue to leave for the evening. The resort monorail was, thankfully, almost completely empty. I took this photo of the outside tree at the Contemporary at 12:34am.

Two stops later and we were back at the Poly to get the car. There were numerous workers bringing in paintings and decorations, and much to our surprise, we later learned that the "new" lobby opened the next day!

The drive back to POFQ was short, and then it was time for bed. We had a breakfast ADR for Olivia's Cafe at Old Key West the next morning, and plans to tour a few resorts in the Epcot area to look at more decorations!