A Weekend Full of Holidays at Walt Disney World

Tiffini Hensley5.5.19Walt Disney World is the “most magical place on earth” any given day of the week. However, during certain times of the year, Walt Disney World can seem extra magical. In my opinion, one of these times is during the winter holidays, when the parks are decked out in holiday décor and it might even snow on Main Street! It’s because of this, and many more fun extras, that my son and I traveled to Walt Disney World this past December to try to fit as much Disney holiday fun as we could into 3 days!We started our weekend by choosing a resort that exemplified holiday magic at Walt Disney World, the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. During the holidays this resort is home to a life size fully operational gingerbread house! There is nothing better than walking into their lobby and smelling the gingerbread. The house even doubles as a storefront, where you can purchase different gingerbread delicacies.For our holiday weekend we chose specific activities at three of Walt Disney World’s parks, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and Epcot.On our arrival day we headed to Hollywood Studios to take in the sights before checking in for the Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam Dessert Party. This separately ticketed event includes access to many delicious treats, appetizers and beverages for an hour before the Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam show was to start. My favorite treat was the Liquid Nitrogen Freeze-fried Milk Chocolate Mousse and the Gingerbread Martini, while my son loved the warm soft pretzels and Elf Juice. In addition to the yummy treats, we were each given a souvenir ornament, a pair of fun glasses to view the show with extra magic and a meet n’ greet with Santa Goofy. The finale of the dessert party was special VIP seating for Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam. Since the show is watched in front of the Chinese Theater, party guests could sit and watch on the ground in front of the theater.The next day we had even more holiday magic to look forward to at Magic Kingdom.   We chose to spend the morning at the park riding a few attractions, before heading back to the resort to swim and relax before the festivities started. That evening we went back to Magic Kingdom to enjoy Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party! The party is a separately ticketed event and includes complimentary holiday treats, entertainment, special meet n’ greets and merchandise, all while still allowing access to most of the park’s attractions. Because there is so much to see and do, we knew going in that we would need a game plan to see the things we wanted to. Since the wait times for the unique character meet n’ greets can be quite long, we only chose two; the 7 Dwarfs and Winnie the Pooh with his pals. For the complimentary treat stops, these were set up very similar to those found at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, however instead of wrapped candy, at this party you receive cookies, beverages and other goodies! My favorites were the ginger molasses cookie, the peppermint crunch cookie and the hot chocolate. My son’s favorites were the snowman soft pretzel, snickerdoodle cookie and the egg nog. In addition to the complimentary goodies, there were other specialty food items that could be purchased. For attractions, we wanted to be sure to ride the Jingle Jungle Cruise, which is the same voyage that can normally be seen throughout the year, but with a holiday flair. My favorite part of the party was the entertainment! Since we didn’t have time to see all of the special shows, parades and dance parties, we chose three, and timed them to be able to watch them back to back at the end of the evening. First up was Holiday Wishes, the gorgeous holiday fireworks display. Although my favorite fireworks show that Magic Kingdom puts on is Hallowishes during the Halloween season, Holiday Wishes is still a show not to be missed. We chose our spot in front of the castle to watch, so that after the fireworks ended, we could move up a few feet to watch Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration in front of the castle. This show was cute, festive and fun! As soon as the show ended, all we needed to do was turn around, so we had a perfect view of Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. Where the Halloween party has my favorite fireworks, the Christmas party has my favorite parade. Seeing those Toy Tin Soldiers that are iconic to Disney makes me cry every time!Our last day in the parks was spent at Epcot, so we could make our way around the World Showcase and see how each country celebrates the holiday season. I always love to see the unique traditions and fun ways that people around the world celebrate. As part of our day, we chose to add on a Candlelight Processional Dining Package, so that we would have a late lunch at Garden Grill (a family favorite), and later have VIP tickets to view that evening’s show at 6:45 pm. The Candlelight Processional is an honored tradition that dates back to the first holiday season at Disneyland in 1955. At Walt Disney World the beautiful and inspiring Nativity story is narrated each evening by a special guest. For the evening of our show, the guest narrator was Neil Patrick Harris! The show is made up of multiple choral groups (Epcot’s Voices of Liberty, Cast Members and additional invited guest choirs from around the country), as well as a live orchestra. To say my own little drummer boy was on cloud nine would be an understatement! This show was truly one of the most beautiful that I have ever encountered and was the perfect way to end our holiday filled weekend at the “Most Magical Place on Earth”!If you’d like to see additional pictures and videos from my visits to Walt Disney World, please check out my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/thensley.wft. If you’d like more information, or to start planning your next vacation, please contact Tiffini@wishesfamilytravel.com