Christmas at the Happiest Place on Earth 2015: Day 4

Day 4: A Disney Legend

Today was my last day, and I decided to spend it at my favorite park: Hollywood Studios. I know many people think this is a half day park with not much to do, and well, I guess it sort of was for me because I had to catch a flight, but I wanted to stay all day with plenty to do!

I was up pretty early (for me) and packed. I had hoped to put my luggage in my car and leave for the airport from the park, but it was getting pretty hot, plus I had no trunk to speak of in the rental, so I stored my luggage and took off.

Christmas at the Happiest Place on Earth 2015: Day 3

Day 3: Eating in Beast’s Castle and Beasts in the Test Track Line

Prior to this trip, I had made several reservations for Be Our Guest. Early breakfast. Late breakfast. Middle breakfast. I couldn’t decide when I wanted to go. The night before I left, an early lunch reservation opened up, so I grabbed it. I would not have chosen this day for the Magic Kingdom (Monday, November 16)–it was an Extra Magic Hour day, and Mondays are generally busy MK days already. But, it’s the only day I could work in Be Our Guest, so I sucked it up and went on a busy day.

Having not gone to bed until after 2:00 a.m. following the Christmas party the night before, I contemplated going to the EMH, but went back to sleep. As it was, I didn’t even make it for park opening, but I was OK with that because I had done just about everything I wanted to the night before.

Since I had dropped my breakfast reservation, but I didn’t want to fill up before my early lunch,  I snacked on a Pop-Tart in the empty train station (the train wasn’t running, so no one was up there) before making my way to my first Fast Pass ride. 

Christmas at the Happiest Place on Earth 2015: Day 2

Day 2: Irish Lads and Magic

My main goal for this trip was to absorb as much Christmas atmosphere as possible, so I of course bought a ticket to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP). I decided to forego other parks on the party day and opted to sleep a little late and go to brunch at Raglan Road at Disney Springs.

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.)

Halloween Time at Disneyland 2014

The only holiday I have experienced at any Disney park is Halloween. I have to say that Disneyland has the edge over Disney World on its offerings in that it transforms two rides for Halloween and doesn’t charge extra for these attractions.

I love the Haunted Mansion, so I was a little iffy at first on it being transformed to Haunted Mansion Holiday with the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. After riding it six times over four days, I have to say that it grew on me. I had never seen the movie until a few weeks before my trip, and (confession time) I fell asleep and still don’t know how it ended. But, I love that little ghost dog and what they did with the stretching room, so yeah, this was cool. However, I still wanted to see the original Haunted Mansion and actually think it is more fitting for Halloween since Nightmare Before Christmas is about, well, Christmas.

Disneyland Revisited

I hadn’t planned to visit Disneyland again so soon, but when your job sends you to Anaheim, whaddya gonna do?

The trip had an exciting start as a Jim Gaffigan lookalike immediately reclined his seat all the way into my lap and stayed there for almost four hours. Good times!

The Happiest Place in Anaheim, Probably

At the end of our long cross-country road trip in July 2013 awaited shiny, happy Disneyland Resort. Everyone but my parents bought five-day park hopper passes. My niece and I weren’t going to be there five full days, but we had a few evenings where we were able to spend about five or six hours in the parks, thanks to Disneyland being open until midnight throughout our stay.

From what I read, I was expecting overwhelming crowds since we were there at the height of the summer season. Also, from what I read, I expected extremely hot weather. I guess the lesson is that you really need to decide for yourself what constitutes “crowded” and “hot.” We had to wait in a few long lines, and if standing directly in the sun for hours, yes, it got hot. But, compared to Disney World, this place was a glorious, humidity-free breezefest! I loved a lot of things about the original Mouse House, and the weather was at the top of the list. Also, except the last day we were there (a Friday), it didn’t seem that busy. I mean, there were people, and they came out of the woodwork for the evening shows, but let’s just say that I was not bumped in the ankles by one stroller.

Instead of giving a blow-by-blow recount of what we did, I will just comment on the highlights for me.