Christmas at the Happiest Place on Earth 2015: Day 1

I have always wanted to visit Disney World when it is decorated for Christmas. BUT…I have never wanted to visit Disney World when it is packed to the gills at actual Christmas time. So, I planned a long weekend in mid-November when crowds were supposed to be lower but the décor would be in place. I got a decent deal on the All Star Music resort, a flight paid for partially with miles, and I was all set! (Well, after I shelled out for the most costly part of the trip–park tickets.)

Day 1: A fish, a tower, and so many lights.

I arrived in Orlando before noon on November 14 after a hassle-free flight from Delta! I know, right? I made it through the Dollar Rental line reasonably fast (they applied some random $20 coupon to my bill without even having to ask them), and hit the road in my itty bitty Toyota Yaris (not a fan, but it was OK except for the lack of luggage space), reaching All Star Music before 2:00 pm. Not bad at all. I completed my bed bug check, wiped the joint down with Purell wipes, and was sitting in the Finding Nemo–the Musical theater at Animal Kingdom for the 3:00 show.

Animal Kingdom was crawling with people. Like, everywhere. There was a sign out front when I entered that the park hours had been extended to 7:30. What? I thought no one ever even went to this park! The weird thing was that there were swarms of people, but it didn’t seem like the attractions were all that crowded. What were they doing?

After Nemo was safely back on the reef, I hopped in the single rider line for Expedition Everest and waited about 10 minutes for a ride. I truly love the part that goes backwards.

I hadn’t eaten anything since some Chik-fil-a breakfast potatoes at the airport that morning, so I was ready for food. I hit up the Yak and Yeti counter service for some honey chicken and watched this guy play for a while.

He was having a blast.

I had some Fast Passes for Hollywood Studios burning a hole in my Magic Band, so I left Animal Kingdom, first stopping to check out the Christmas tree there.

It looks like I’m stalking the tree from the veldt.

When I arrived at the Studios, traffic to get in the parking lot was pretty backed up. It took about 20 minutes to get in and get a spot, another 10 or so to get the tram and go through bag check. I was a little surprised security wasn’t stepped up since this was the day after the Paris attacks, but it was the same cursory groping of the bags that Disney usually does. Not sure what I expected, but I do wonder why they don’t have metal detectors, or if they would even be worth it.

Once inside, the place was really packed. I went to use my first Fast Pass at my all-time favorite Disney ride, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The standby line showed 60 minutes (!), but I went right in with my Fast Pass. I have to say that I had my misgivings about the newish Fast Pass Plus system now in use at Disney World. It seemed kind of crazy to anticipate what you might want to do 60 days in advance, but having been there during a crowded time, I’m a believer now. No way I could have gotten a ToT Fast Pass upon arrival under the old system, and I would have been in that 60 minute standby line. Not fun!

Know what was fun? My ToT ride. It never gets old. Upon exiting the ride, I skidded to a complete stop when I spotted these guys in the gift shop (this photo was taken somewhere else, though).

Guess what is now sitting on my mantel as I type this???

By now the crowds were pretty squeezy. I used my Fantasmic! Fast Pass to go in and get a decent seat and to just sit down and rest. Also, this seemed the perfect time to eat a churro (it was). It had been a while since I’d seen this show. Yep, it’s still really dark (not absent of light, but thematically), and I would totally skip this with kids. As it was, I totally skipped out on the ending and made a beeline for the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights, hoping to beat the crowds. But, the crowds never really showed up. It was so odd. There were plenty of people there, but it was quite manageable. Where were all the people whose cars were clogging up the parking lot??? It is still a mystery to me what everyone was doing at the parks the whole time I was there.

The lights were indeed worth the trip. I love–I mean absolutely love–Christmas decorations, especially lights. And I was not one bit disappointed. The lights covered just about every surface on the Streets of America. They were choreographed to music. I was in my element. The only thing that I would love to see disappear is the fake snow. I think it’s some sort of soap. My hair was really gross every time I spent any time in Disney snow.

I’ll let the lights speak for themselves:

I also liked the decorations in the rest of the park:

Somewhere in between viewing the lights (I came and went several times), I used my Fast Pass for Star Tours.

Here’s a little secret about the Osborne Lights: it seems that they are left on for about an hour after the “official” park closing. An even bigger secret: other attractions apparently stay open for that hour, too. I was starting to leave at around 8:30 (the posted park closing time) and was passing by Toy Story Midway Mania. It looked like people were still getting in line. The wait time said 30 minutes. I asked the cast member at the door how late they were open. He just grinned and said, “Oh, we’ll be here for a while.” So, I got in line, but the wait was nothing, just walking through the queue. Score! After my ride, I did a little shopping (I wanted–and purchased–a Starbucks “You Are Here” mug for Hollywood Studios–the Starbucks line was the longest of the night. I used a $10 gift card someone at work gave me, so this was the best $5 souvenir ever!)

I rushed to the ToT for another ride, and was on the last elevator of the night, again with no wait at all. Because I was there an hour past park closing, there was no traffic getting out. After stopping at the Speedway across the street for some soda and water to keep in my fridge back in the room, I called it a night. I feel like I was able to do and see a lot in two parks in about 6 and half hours with heavy crowds. A great first day!

(As an aside, if you crank the hotel fridge temp just right, your sodas will reach optimum slushiness. I enjoyed those slushies every night!)