Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Date of Visit: December 5, 2013

Originally, I only purchased tickets for Dad and I to go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, but a few days later Mik decided he wanted to try it out since Mom was with us this trip and the ticket includes theme park admission (she does not have an annual pass like the rest of us).  He figured if he got tired of it, they could at least leave.  He also remembered enjoying the Halloween party we did a few years ago at Disneyland and thought this would be fun like that, although slightly different.

Since you can get in a few hours before the party starts, we killed some time going on Jingle Cruise and shopping in the Christmas store in Liberty Square.  We then got in line to buy the special pins only available during the party. Not as bad as shopping at D23 Expo, but poor location with the traffic flow of the pin store in Frontierland being forced in the accessible entrance and then your stuck exiting the other way, which is not entirely a big deal, but then everyone was already starting to crowd it getting ready for parade.  We decided to just quickly grab a spot one row back from the front to at least enjoy the parade.  Mom then went back and forth several times getting us all some of the free cookies and cocoa they give out during the party.

The parade was overall enjoyable, although the princess float broke down causing a long delay in the parade.  Mik was tired of everything by then, especially since it ended up being actually more crowded than when we have normally been in the Magic Kingdom.  Thus, we quickly went and got the special Sorcerer of the Magic Kingdom card for the party for each of us and then Mom took him back to the truck to wait.

Dad and I stayed to watch the show on the castle (totally awesome, especially with our Glow with the Show ears from Disneyland now working here, although we got stuck in a spot just off Main Street and it did not always sync with show).  We also saw the fireworks and the show in front of castle before quickly backtracking to Frontierland to buy a peppermint brownie before the second parade started and then grab some cookies and cocoa on our way out.

Overall the entertainment that goes with Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was an enjoyable holiday thing to experience.  However, we expected it to feel more like the Disneyland Halloween party in terms of crowds. Instead it felt very crowded and actually more so than most times we are in the park during normal hours.  I guess that could have to do with it being sold out that night and maybe the Halloween one was not when we did it, but still Disneyland seems to take less people to feel crowded.

It was worth experiencing at least once, especially since I really wanted this year's Sorcerer card with Scrooge's nephews, but not sure we would do it again and if we did we certainly would only get tickets for Dad and me.  Mom and Mik would have more fun and almost spent less money if they had instead gone to the Fork & Dine at the AMC in Downtown Disney.

Destination Info:
Magic Kingdom - Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - Jingle Cruise

Date of Visit: December 5, 2013

The Jungle Cruise is one of the wheelchair accessible rides at the Magic Kingdom.  We usually skip it because Mik is not too into it, but since they do not have our favorite holiday ride (it's a small world) or any other holiday themed ride (Haunted Mansion Holiday) like Disneyland does we decided we had to try it out as the Jingle Cruise.  Plus, this trip Mom actually came with for the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and Jungle Cruise is her favorite attraction.

Overall I was kind of disappointed in the Jingle Cruise, as I was expecting to see a lot of holiday decorations, but it mainly is just Trader Sam at the end decorated.  The main holiday theme is the corny jokes the skipper's tell, which make it a nice different experience than normal, but I am not into that thing in the first place.  Mom loved it, though.


Mik likes the way the wheelchair gets lowered onto the Jungle Cruise boat (the holiday name for the accessible one is Brrrrr Bertha).  What we did not like, though, is that the disability guide for the Magic Kingdom does not say there is a special mobility access for this ride, but when we tried to get in the regular line we were directed to get a Return Time card to come back instead of wait in the line.  Yeah, it is nice we could go do something else and the wait time ends up being the same, but we missed out on the whole queue experience, which I think also meant missing out on most of the holiday decoration aspect of the Jingle Cruise.  Also, we should have planned better and gone in the daylight, as there is not special holiday lighting (or even much regular lighting) to make the ride more interesting after dark and you can see much more of the attraction in the daylight.

Destination Info:
Magic Kingdom - Jungle/Jingle Cruise
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Disneyland: Enchanted Tiki Tiki Realms at Disney Gallery

Date of Visit: August 12, 2013

The Disney Gallery is located next to The Disneyland Story and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln exhibit/show area on Main Street. It is partly a store, as most of it is artwork for sale, but it also is a themed exhibit. The current exhibit called “Tiki Tiki Realms: Celebrating 50 Years of Enchantment,” which is about the Tiki Tiki Room attraction.

Mik enjoyed rolling around and viewing the different artwork and seeing the animatronics up close. Of course, his favorite, though, was the miniature collectibles they sell in the shop.

Destination Info:

Disney Gallery at Disneyland
1313 South Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92802

Hilton Anaheim Convention Center

Date of Visit: August 7-13, 2013

We had booked a King bed accessible room with a roll in shower, but ended up with one with just a accessible bathroom with tub because I agreed to them moving us to the theme park view without realizing it was not with a roll in shower. While the roll in shower makes bathing easier, for this trip sacrificing it for the theme park view ended up being great. This was because the room offered a nice way to view the nightly Disneyland fireworks, which Mik enjoys watching, but hates the noise of.

Overall we enjoyed staying at the Hilton, especially since we could get to the D23 Expo without crossing any streets and they even have automatic doors by the exit to the convention center. Mik disliked that the elevators are so slow and crowded even though they have 2 sets of 6 right next to each other. It was not just the D23 Expo crowd, as it was more crowded after the D23 Expo and there was another convention going on in the hotel.

Bottom line was it was a good use of Mom’s Hilton Honors points, especially since we got the free theme park view upgrade. If we have to pay for a hotel, though, we would much rather go with one of the areas Best Western hotels for cheaper plus the benefits of a fridge, microwave, and breakfast. I did like the Hilton internet speed and quality was better than the Best Western’s inconsistent quality, but it was only free because of the D23 Expo.

Destination Info:

Hilton Anaheim Convention Center
777 West Convention Way
Anaheim, CA

Disney’ California Adventure: Blue Sky Cellar – Fantasy Faire

Date of Visit: August 10, 2013

Mik and I always enjoy seeing the Blue Sky Cellar exhibits about what is being planned or what is new in the park. During our D23 Expo trip, the exhibit was about the new Fantasy Faire area in front of the castle at Disneyland. Mik enjoyed seeing the model of the area in the Blue Sky Cellar more than when we had visited Fantasy Faire in person the day before, although he does like the cheesy garlic twists from Maurice’s Treats there.

Destination Info:

Blue Sky Cellar At Disney's California Adventure 
1313 South Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92802

Disneyland: Mickey’s Magical Map

 

Date of Visit: August 9, 2013

 

Mickey’s Magical Map is a musical show performed in the Fantasyland Theatre.  We arrived about 30 minutes before the show and were directed to wait at the bottom of the ramp that leads up to the restrooms by the theater.

 

About 20 minutes before the show they led us up to the top of the theater near the train station. This was kind of a hassle, since it leads through the area barely large enough for people to be waiting for their party using the restrooms.  I don’t get why they don’t juts direct you around the other way like when you go to the train station, as that area is much wider and is only crowded when the train just unloaded.

 

We were led down a ramp to select a spot in the flat bottom area of the theater right before they let everyone else into the theater.  Since it is not stadium style, we decided to take the last of the two spots in the front for wheelchairs, so our view would not end up blocked by someone in front of us.

I enjoyed the show, as it was a kind of interesting musical adventure featuring Apprentice Mickey and songs from a variety of Disney movies.  Being in front was good for the view, but Mik absolutely hated the loudness of the show, which did seem to partially have to do with them trumpeting right in front of us in parts and the speakers being right there for everything.  He did not really want to see it in the first place, so was quite annoyed with it in the end because besides fireworks it is the only thing we have done in a long time that has bothered him.

Destination Info:
Disneyland
1313 South Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92802

D23 Expo 2013: Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives

Date of Visit: August 10, 2013

Just like in 2011, the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives was the most spacious and least crowded exhibit to visit, although again we did it right after it opened at 10 a.m.  We enjoyed seeing the items on display, although I did not like the thick carpeting they used in this area, as it made it harder to push Mik's wheelchair around.

The items on display this time included some props from the new Disney Channel movie, Teen Beach Movie, and from the Once Upon a Time show.

The most interesting area was probably the Oz props.  It is was not about the recent Oz movie, although it may have had stuff from it, but rather it was about older Disney Oz projects including how Walt Disney tried to get the rights from MGM and concepts for Oz project such as having Oz in the Storybookland Canal Boats scenery.  There was also stuff from the 1980s Return to Oz movie.



Of course, my favorite part of the exhibit was the Mary Poppins props, photos, and fan art.  This area had costumes and props from the movie including Mary's carpetbag and a carousel horse.  I think my favorite was the storyboard for the Jolly Holiday sequence.  There was also some interesting photos from the set when they were making the movie.  The last part featured fan art from a contest in honor of the 50th anniversary of the movie.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA