Christmas in Walt Disney World

Sticking with our Christmas theme from last post, I almost went to Florida this year for the Holiday party at Disney World. This blog wasn't around last year, and I did indeed attend the festivities at WDW and Epcot, and a great time was had.

Last year, my trip began with winning a very, very nice gift because of the Year of a Million Dreams. Without going into details, the gift was expensive, and nice, and made my trip easier, and placed Disney World on the top of my list of very best friends.

That said, Disney is a class act, and puts on one heck of a party. If you haven't attended a Disney Party, I can say that the Halloween and Christmas Parties at WDW in Florida are well worth the extra cost. The extra cost is a small fee for tickets to the park at night, and the park is only open to those ticketholders, so is relatively less crowded than on a normal day. The party consists of a special parade and fireworks exclusive to the party, and of course the place is decorated to the hilt. I'll cover the Halloween party at a later date, but the Christmas party has hot cocoa and cookies at different areas of the park, and other freebies I can't remember right now. There is artificial snow falling in Main Street, and Disney Characters available for meet and greets, and Belle telling a Christmas story behind the castle, and the castle? Wow!



The castle is covered with lights that change color slowly, and truly makes the place look magical. The lights are practically invisible during the daytime, unless you get up real close to the castle, and look for them. At night, though, the lights are hard to take your eyes away from.



At the larger hotels, the chefs create special edible holiday displays thta must be seen to be believed. At the Beach Club in 2007, a gingerbread carousel smelled and looked wonderful. At Epcot there is a candlelight procession, Santa's from around the world, Holiday foods and music, and more. The Cast Members are very helpful, and enjoy talking about their Holiday traditions. At MGM, or Holiday Studios, (whatever they're calling it this year) there is a beautiful display of Christmas lights set up that again must be seen to be believed. Each of the parks also has their own giant Christmas tree, decorated to match the parks theme, such as the tree at Animal Kingdom being covered with animals.



Altogether, Christmas at Disney is a wonderful experience. Sure, the snow isn't real, and the swimming pools are full of bathers, but the Christmas magic is there, and the Holiday is very enjoyable, even to someone who is used to cold and snow at Christmas. :0)



And here's a Disney secret! Book yourself for an early morning event, like breakfast with the Princesses, or special offers that give you early access to the parks. It's amazing to walk through the gates and seeing Main Street Disney, with the castle looming behind it, all sparkling clean, and free from the crowds. Very nice!

Cheers, JOHN :0)