Christmas at Disney

Last week Chris and I spent six days at the happiest place on Earth.  We left on Thanksgiving and made the 13 hour trek down to sunny and somewhat warm Florida.  We had spent last Thanksgiving at Disney and loved it so much that we decided to do it again this year.  And since we weren’t able to do Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party last year, we were really excited to be able to do it this year.

Since Chris had a paper due for one of his classes on the 5th of December, he spent a good portion of the trip working on it.  When he wasn’t working on it, he was following me around each park letting me experiment with my new camera and trying my hardest to take the “perfect” shot.

One of the best things we did at Disney this year was Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.  The cast members were located in different areas of the park handing out free hot chocolate and cookies while we (the guests) wandered around taking pictures with characters, watched the shows/fireworks, and rode some of the rides.

One new thing they had this year was an overlay of the Jungle Cruise called the Jingle Cruise.  Chris and I thought that meant the ride was going to be decked out for Christmas, but it wasn’t.  There were a lot of Christmas jokes being told by our “captain” but the ride itself wasn’t very different from the Jungle Cruise we ride throughout the year (we were a bit disappointed).

We also stopped to watch the Tomorrowland Christmas show which featured Stitch trying to “capture” Santa and bring him to the party.  There were a lot of fun songs and dancing, and a few of our favorite characters came out to join in the fun.

After the Tomorrowland show we went and got seats for the fireworks and the parade on top of the train station.  When people said the Christmas fireworks show was something you had to see, I didn’t really understand their enthusiasm.  But, now I do.  The fireworks were breathtaking, and the musical score they were set to was amazing as well.  I think it’s my favorite fireworks show of the year!  The parade was a lot of fun to watch too, but I didn’t get one good picture out of it.  I’m still not sure what settings I need to use to get good pictures for that.  If you go to the Disney Parks any time after December 20th, you will be able to see the Christmas parade and fireworks without attending MVMCP, both of which we highly recommend!

On another day, we headed over to Hollywood Studios so we could watch the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.  That is one of my favorite things to do at Christmastime because they light an entire street with Christmas lights, have Christmas music playing in the background, and a character (dressed as Santa!) out to take pictures with you.  It is truly a breathtaking site.  And it will surely get you in the Christmas spirit!

Our other days were spent wandering the parks, riding rides, and taking pictures.  I had a great time experimenting with my camera and getting a reprieve from the cold weather in Virginia!  We were both sad to leave the sun and warmth of Florida and are already counting down the days until we can go back.

Below is a gallery of all the images from our trip.  I took about 1,200 pictures, but don’t worry, I narrowed them down to an acceptable amount to put on the blog!

What is your favorite time of year to visit the Disney Parks?  Is there a time of year you’ve always wanted to go but have never gotten the chance?