My favourite time to visit Walt Disney World is during the holiday season. The magic filling the parks seems to double, even triple, around Christmas time.

My favourite event to attend at Walt Disney World has to be Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. And if you happen to visit WDW without children like my partner and I, I can assure you that this isn’t a reason to stay away from this event! Want to know a secret? Attending MVMCP as a couple can feel like the most romantic date night ever!

The last time I attended MVMCP it was December 2010 and it was unseasonably cold in Orlando, I mean colder than it was in the UK! We knew that to be able to enjoy ourselves at the party and to stay out as late as possible we needed to wrap up warm, really warm. Just getting ready for the party, putting on our gloves, scarves and Mickey Santa hats made us giggle like excited children.

We were staying at Wilderness Lodge so we decided to take the boat over to Magic Kingdom. When we had attended the party in a previous year we had arrived at Magic Kingdom at around 4pm as we had park hopper tickets and wanted to get into the park before the crowds, you can then just pick up a wristband to show that you can stay in the park for the party. But this year we decided to arrive at Magic Kingdom at around 7pm when the party started.

The first thing I noticed on the boat over to MK was how everyone was wrapped up in warm clothes and even blankets. It gives you a sense of belonging, knowing that everyone has had the same thoughts about trying to beat the cold for a fun evening. But the second thing I noticed as the boat began to fill up was the atmosphere. Everyone was excited to be going to the party. It didn’t matter whether they were 5 years old or 50; everyone had a smile on their face and an excited glint in their eye.

As we arrived at Magic Kingdom we could see the crowds flocking in; it was very busy but again, there was that atmosphere. As it was just the two of us it was nice to stand in the queue and watch the crowds whilst waiting for our turn through the turnstiles. It was great fun to say hello to all the cast members dressed up in their special Christmas party outfits. One of the things I enjoy about visiting Walt Disney World as an adult is that the cast members take time to say hello and chat; they don’t just interact with the families.

After getting our wristbands we wandered down Main Street taking in the sights and sounds; making our way to Tomorrowland, leaving the crowds behind. As the daytime crowds had left and the families attending the party were in other parts of the park we pretty much had the Tomorrowland attractions to ourselves. Know what it feels like to run from attraction to attraction in Tomorrowland, in the dark, just the two of you? Well if you don’t you need to try it, we were big kids again!

After riding the attractions and watching the snowflake projections on the outside of Space Mountain we made our way over to Cosmic Ray’s for our first complimentary cookie and hot cocoa stop. As it was pretty busy and noisy in there with a big dance party going on we sat outside, enjoying the peace and quiet. It’s lovely to stop and look around you whenever you are in Magic Kingdom but being able to do it during a party seems extra special.

After we had been warmed by our cocoa we headed off to Fantasyland to meet the Seven Dwarfs; MVMCP is one of the few times when you can have your photos taken with all of them together and it was a must do for me.

Joining a queue to meet your favourite characters when you haven’t got a child in your party is an interesting experience. It’s something which I have always done, and it always makes me smile. There you are a grown adult standing in line between families with excited children who can hardly believe that they’re about to meet Mickey, Cinderella, Lotso or Stitch. But why shouldn’t the grownups get to meet their favourite characters too?

We ended up queuing for forty-five minutes for our turn to meet the Seven Dwarfs. This meant that we had very little time to get back to our regular parade viewing spot on Main Street before Holiday Wishes began so we decided to watch from Fantasyland. I think this was the most magical decision we had made all night. The Christmas version of Wishes is truly spectacular…just how do they get fireworks to form the shape of presents as they explode??! The fireworks lit up the sky all around us and as I looked round I could see other guests looking left then right trying to catch the next shimmering image in the sky. It doesn’t get much more romantic than standing side by side in your Santa hats watching Disney fireworks together!

After Wishes we decided to stay on that side of the park for Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime parade. We made our way to Liberty Square and easily found a space on the parade route. The parade takes place twice during MVMCP and the crowds are often smaller for the second one, mainly because it’s past lots of little people’s bedtimes!

While we were waiting for the parade to start a nearby cast member started chatting to us. Whilst still remaining ‘part of the show’ she seemed very interested in talking to us about where we came from, how much a WDW vacation cost from the UK and then told us some very fun stories about her work; conversations that may not have been quite so appropriate if we had had youngsters with us!

The Christmastime parade is just wonderful and fills you with so much holiday cheer. You find yourself totally immersed in the moment, waving at characters and dancers as they pass you by. The music, the lights, the costumes….you start to feel like that child on Christmas morning again.

After the parade was over the crowds started to head out of Magic Kingdom. We walked slowly around Frontierland, stopping to look at what was left of the party merchandise and making the most of quiet time in the park before making our way to Adventureland and then onto Main Street; back into the hustle and bustle of guests full of Christmas cheer.

It was nice to end the evening in the shops along Main Street, after all every good date night deserves at least one Christmas gift! Then it was time for one last look back at the Castle Dream Lights before heading out of MK and sleepily looking for the bus back to our resort.

Visiting Walt Disney World as an adult gives you the chance to believe in your imagination; attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party makes you believe that Christmas wishes can come true…even for grownups!! It’s certainly a different experience attending without children but if you fancy a Christmassy date night during your vacation then this is one I would highly recommend! Merry Christmas xx

Have you ever attended MVMCP as an adult–without children?  What did you think?  Share your memories below!

The post Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party–Not Just for Kids! appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Happy holidays! Okay, so I might be 174 days early, but “Christmas in July” is close enough for me! One of my favorite Disney moments was flying down to Disney World in early December of 2008. The decorations were up and I was going to the Very Merry Christmas Party! There are tons of things that orchestrated together create the greatest party on the planet, so let me break it down. First there is…

Timing
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas parties usually last from an early park closing to around midnight.  I thought this was cool because it was just like extra magic hours but with benefits! Not to mention, the darkness of the sky at midnight complements the lights scattered around the park. Plus, the castle looks even brighter! But also keep in mind the…

Weather
Living in the Northeast, I was looking forward to being out in the December air at midnight without a jacket or even a sweatshirt on. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as warm as we expected it to be. We had to buy a sweatshirt with the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) logo on it for my brother and me to keep us at a comfortable temperature. Weather is important, but something even more important comes in the form of…

Characters
When children come to the Walt Disney World resort, they are more excited for Mickey Mouse than Space Mountain. Characters are a big deal to them. But some people never grow out of that stage, like me (I really hope Merida is on the Disney Dream in November!) The Characters at MVMCP are dressed in the best holiday attire I have ever seen and LOVE to take pictures. During this special celebration is the only time that I have seen ALL seven dwarfs (not just Dopey) out as a group for pictures! There are also character dance parties that I unfortunately didn’t attend, but I heard that they are fun and take a lot of energy out of you! Of course, there is also…

Food
When you think of Christmas time, what treats do you think of? Some people like me think about hot chocolate and warm sugar cookies. Well, during the Christmas Parties, Disney has carts set up with complimentary hot cocoa and cookies! Yes, it is really free! What could be better? The Hot chocolate was one of the best cups I have ever had and the sugar cookies tasted just like those that you find in the bake shop: scrumptious! Why not eat your cookies and drink your hot cocoa while watching…

Wishes
Wishes is my favorite firework show on Disney property. I love the music and the message it teaches everybody watching. It makes me cry every time! But hearing the sound of a sleigh bell while the castle was getting “de-icicled” from top to bottom made me cry right then! The music used really puts you in the holiday mood and the fireworks themselves are bigger, better and louder! Jiminy Cricket still narrates this show in his charming way and Tinkerbell still flies out to Tomorrowland. The storyline is a little different from the standard Wishes show, but I would prefer Holiday Wishes over regular Wishes any day! Who could celebrate the holidays without a…

Parade
From the first float to the last, this show by itself was worth the extra money to go to the party. The parade had numerous floats between the big snowflake that had blue letters that spelled “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade and Santa Claus himself. My favorite float is Clarabelle Cows’ Gingerbread house. When it goes by, it seems like Main Street smells like Gingerbread! (hmmm…) I loved the horses in the parade. One horse even pulled Donald and Daisy! How cute! All the residents from the Hundred Acre Wood were there, including Christopher Robin. Before the parade, I had never seen him in real life! This really excited me. Another little detail I love is that they took characters like Peter Pan and Alice and added scarfs that matched their outfits. Even though it was a little thing that some people don’t notice, I thought it was very thoughtful considering they are in Florida when the temperature never drops under 50 degrees. I would rather watch this parade on Christmas every year than the one on ABC! The parade was astonishing, but the most shocking party of the party was…

Snow?
Floridians rarely see snow like we in the Northeast do! So when I heard it was going to snow on Main Street, I was confused. Was Disney going to get a big Air conditioner and make rain clouds that will turn into snow? (Hey, if anybody could do it, Disney could!) Or would they cut out a bunch of snowflakes and drop them from the sky? Both of those ideas were wrong, and what actually happened was ten times better than having paper rain from the sky. Snow actually fell! Well, something like soap fell. That’s the next best thing, right? It’s as close as Disney is going to get now! Maybe someday Disney can make snow fall on command and chill the ground enough for it to accumulate. Another notable party of MVMCP was…

Merchandise
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party has special merchandise that you can only get during the celebration. As mentioned before, my brother and I both got sweatshirts that showed that we were at the Very Merry Christmas party. I still have this sweatshirt and it still fits! On it is a picture of Mickey, Goofy and Donald as snowman looking over Magic Kingdom with the words “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party” printed at the bottom in red and green. We also got pins because we are pin collectors. Mine was Tinkerbell on top of a red holiday bell and Austin’s was Chip and Dale building a snowman. Overall, the merchandise was gorgeous not matter what design you bought. But my absolute favorite part of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party was…

Attractions
Of course, attractions aren’t specific to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party: they are always there! Regardless, it is a whole different experience during MVMCP. Not as many people are in the park which makes for shorter lines. To me, the Cast Members also seemed happier. The only downside to this is that not all attractions are open. When I went in 2008, these were the attractions that were open: Pirates of the Caribbean, the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Swiss Family Treehouse, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan’s Flight, Dumbo, Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel, PhilharMagic, Snow White’s Scary Adventures (R.I.P), The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh, Mad Tea Party, It’s a Small World, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, Space Mountain, Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Stitch’s Great Escape, the Peoplemover, the Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor and all of Toontown (it was still there in 2008). My favorite ride experience during this time was Big Thunder Mountain. My family and I have to hop on the “wildest ride in the wilderness” at least once whenever we visit the Magic Kingdom. As luck would have it, we have never had to wait over 20 minutes to board. The shortest time we waited was during the Very Merry Christmas party. We literally walked down the ramps and right into the front seat of the mine train! How many times does that happen? Well, during MVMCP we took the loop from te exit, up the ramp and back into the mine car four times in a row! The cherry on the ice cream (or 21 cherries on a “kitchen sink”) is that when you are slowly climbing up that hill, you get an amazing few of the castle. And just like I mentioned before, if you ride it very late at night the castle looks even brighter.

This is what Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party was like in December of 2008. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays! Things might have changed since then (actually, I’m sure things have changed). Sadly, this holiday season I won’t’ be able to make it to “The Merriest Party on Earth” so I won’t be able to see what is new and exciting. I’d love to hear your favorite MVMCP memory! Leave a comment below!

This Week’s “Where in the World?” is inspired by Christmas in July. It is also a very detailed picture and it’s going to be hard to figure out.

See ya REAL soon!
Makena

The post Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party … In July! appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

by Don Myers

There’s a lot of exciting things going on at The Florida Project right now, so let’s waste no time and dive right into the latest edition of the WDW Radio Newswire…..

Fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean films are going to rejoice over this first bit of news, as Disney has just announced that a brand-new attraction entitled The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow will be debuting at Disney’s Hollywood Studios this Fall! The attraction will make its home in the location formerly occupied by Journey Into Narnia: Prince Caspian. The space has been dark since the Narnia attraction closed up shop on September 10th 2011, which means that about one year will have passed between the last chronicle in Narnia and the first spoils for ol’ Captain Jack. Details are still a bit sketchy right now, but this should be quite a different experience compared to the old Narnia attraction, which was actually more like an exhibit than an attraction. This new attraction won’t be a simple walk-through featuring some movie props, as all indications point to this experience being a completely immersive/interactive journey into Captain Jack’s world from a “first-person” point of view. No official opening date has been confirmed, as Disney has simply said that the attraction will be opening up in the “Fall of 2012.” So as soon as a solid opening date is in place, I’ll be sure to post it here in the Newswire.

For more news out of Hollywood Studios, let’s venture over to the set of Lights, Motors, Action, where a brief closure put the excitement on hold for a few days last week. Minor refurb work took place at the site from Sunday April 29th to Wednesday May 2nd. But the popular stunt show is burning up the pavement once again, as normal operations resumed as of Thursday May 3rd.

Now it’s time to Park-Hop over to Epcot, where the Italy pavilion just saw the Grand Opening of the Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar, as well as the re-opening of the Tutto Italia Ristorante. The wine cellar adds a completely new element to the pavilion’s dining experience, which now offers up three delicious choices (Via Napoli rounds out the trio). Work had been ongoing at the site since the first week of January, so the total refurb/construction time was just about four months.

Unfortunately for World Showcase diners, the openings in Italy are accompanied by news of an upcoming closure in France. A three month refurb has been scheduled for Bistro de Paris, with construction slated to begin on Sunday July 1st. This means that if plans stay on track, the restaurant will be back in business on WDW’s 41st Birthday: Monday October 1st.

The weather is just starting to heat up around most of the Country, but it’s never too early to start thinking about the Holidays! Relax, I’m not talking about shopping, I’m talking about Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! The “Hard-Ticket” Events have been a staple at Magic Kingdom for quite some time now, and the 2012 dates have just been officially announced. Let’s first take a look at the Halloween Party, which kicks off on September 11th and wraps up on November 2nd. Here’s a complete look at the dates:

September: 11th (Tues), 14th (Fri), 18th (Tues), 21st (Fri), 25th (Tues), 28th (Fri), and 30th (Sun).

October: 4th (Thurs), 5th (Fri), 8th (Mon), 11th (Thurs), 12th (Fri), 14th (Sun) 16th (Tues), 18th (Thurs), 21st (Sun) 23th (Tues), 25th (Thurs) 26th (Fri) 28th (Sun), 30th (Tues), 31st (Wed) and November 2nd (Fri).

Tickets are on sale now, and as in year’s past, advance purchase discounts are available. Select discounts are also available for Annual Passholders, as well as for members of the Disney Vacation Club. Certain dates are blacked out as far as advance purchase and Passholder/DVC discounts go, as has been the case in years past as well. For more info (including complete pricing details and a full list of blackout dates for discounts), or to purchase tickets, visit:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/magic-kingdom/special-events/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party/

Now let’s shift our attention over to the Christmas Party dates, which begin on Friday November 9th and conclude on Friday December 21st. Here is a list of the complete dates:

November: 9th (Fri), 12th (Mon), 15th (Thurs), 16th (Fri),  25th (Sun), 27th (Tues), 29th (Thurs), 30th (Fri).

December: 2nd (Sun), 4th (Tues), 6th (Thurs), 7th (Fri), 9th (Sun), 11th (Tues), 13th (Thurs), 14th (Fri), 16th (Sun), 18th (Tues), 20th (Thurs) and 21st (Fri).

Tickets are on sale now, and just like the Halloween Party, advance purchase discounts are available for select dates. Discounts are also available for Annual Passholders and/or DVC members, although certain dates are blacked out here as well. For more info on the Christmas Party festivities (including complete pricing details and a full list of blackout dates for discounts), or to purchase tickets, visit:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/magic-kingdom/special-events/mickeys-very-merry-christmas-party/

Well, that’s gonna do it for today’s update, but I’ll be back again soon with another edition of the WDW Radio Newswire…..

Don Myers covers news and recent events in Walt Disney World.  He has been enamored with the World of Disney since his first trip to WDW in 1986. As they say, the rest is history!  Don also has been a contributing writer for Celebrations magazine since 2009.

The post WDW Radio Newswire: The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow Officially On Tap For an Autumn Debut at The Studios appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.