We went to Disney World in December. It was for Maggie’s high school graduation but we had to put it off because we couldn’t go in May or June due to other plans. Nobody likes going to Orlando in July or August if they can avoid it and since I’m a giant baby about being in the heat we put it off longer. Then Maggie and Ryan had to be in their respective schools so Christmas time was the next available break.
Going in December is fine with me because I love Disney World at Christmas. All of the characters have special outfits and the decorations in all of the parks and hotels are just gorgeous.
As soon as we decided on a date which was back in May if I remember correctly, I knew I wanted a Disney wardrobe. I’ll have to go into detail about my wardrobe in another post because I have too many other things to talk about here.
I want to talk about a few of my favorite things from this trip as well as a few complaints or things I wish were different.
Let’s start with the complaints so I can end this post on a happy note, k?
- Lousmith pointed this out and then I started noticing. Disney does everything top notch….except toilet paper. Everywhere is the cheapest, thinnest, most papery tp. I can see this in the parks because of the shear number of people using those restrooms but for crying out loud, we were staying at the Wilderness Lodge! They couldn’t upgrade in the hotel rooms?
- The parks are crowded but while we were there they weren’t nearly as crowded as they would be the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. That’s not my complaint though. I was super annoyed by the people with double wide strollers who let their young children (12 and under) push those strollers through the crowds. Those kids don’t have enough driving experience and to have your heel run into or to be sideswiped by those transports is very uncomfortable. Please, parents, push that stroller yourself.
- And one last thing, if you are there with other people and you need to chat about what you are going to do next or if you think you might be headed in the wrong direction or if you suddenly get confused for any reason, the middle of the walkways, in doorways or the aisles of shops are not the places to suddenly stop and have a family meeting. There are 50 people who now are bumping into each other like a freeway pileup in the fog.
(Notice I only had one complaint about Disney in particular? LOL}
Now for the good and happy.
- I love parades and I particularly love Disney parades. The music is awesome and you haven’t lived until you think you see Tiana or Cinderella look you right in the eye and smile and wave. I’m not kidding when I say I get teary eyed at every Disney Parade.
- I love shows. The Festival of the Lion King, Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire, Frozen Sing a Long. I cried in every one of them. The messages are always about friendship and kindness and love with a lot of great music thrown in and it even snows INSIDE THE THEATER! at the end of the Frozen show.
- Star Wars Land at Hollywood Studios exceeded my expectations and it wasn’t even the part I was looking forward to. The theming and immersion is amazing! Ryan and I did build a droid and that was a really fun experience too.
- I’ve noticed this before but it never hot me as hard as it did this last trip. The families. You will see a giant man who might look a little intimidating in other situations who is wearing a Stitch T-shirt and Mickey ears and doing the parade around the room with his little 2 year old daughter during lunch while some costumed character leads the way. It’s a beautiful sight.
I’m not kidding about the crying and I got choked up even more than usual on this trip. I don’t know if it’s old age or if I’m just getting more tender and sensitive but it’s nice to have those feelings that are so happy that the emotion can’t stay in and leaks out through my eyeballs.
I’ve put all of the stories that I did while I was at Disney in the highlights on Instagram. There are some parade bits and fireworks and lots of fun stuff going on if you want to watch them.
One final note. I love talking about Disney so if you are planning a trip and need some input or recommendations, I’m your girl!
