November 2016

After having so much fun during the Halloween party, we decided to head back to Disney for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party as well, just a few short weeks later.  Thankfully, we have some amazing friends that live in the area and work for the mouse.  They graciously allowed us to stay with them this week and they got us into the park both days.  Because of this, our touring style was completely different for this trip.  It was after 10:00 that we entered the park both days, and we had no pre-planned fastpasses.  Therefore, we knew there were many attractions that we just weren't going to see this trip, so we really took our time and let Littlecjc dictate where to go a lot more than usual.  This meant we mostly stayed in Fantasyland the entire time.

Day 1
After first entering Magic Kingdom, we made our way to the fastpass kiosk in Fantasyland and were able to snag fastpasses for Barnstormer (10:25-11:25), Dumbo (11:25-12:25), and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (2:20-3:20).  Eager to get on any ride at this point, we headed to the Mad Tea Party

With still a little time before being able to use our fastpass for Barnstormer, we went to Pete's Silly Side Show to visit with Daisy and Minnie.

It was then time for us to use our fastpasses at The Barnstormer, where we saw our friend working the main board.

Again, we had a little time left before we could use our fastpasses at Dumbo, so we went back to Pete's Silly Side Show to see the boys, Goofy and Donald.

This worked out perfectly, and when we finished we went straight to Dumbo.

Since we have our normal touring style figured out, we are spoiled by usually standing in line for a maximum of about 30 mins.  I have to admit, that made these two days a little difficult for us.  However, we used the app and watched the wait times, helping us determine where we should go next.  This time, it was Mickey's Philharmagic.

Of course, this exits right into the Carousel, which became our next stop.

Our final ride before lunch was The Little Mermaid.

I always tell people to keep searching for dining when they don't get what they want.  Today was no exception, as we were able to get into Be Our Guest with a 1:40 lunch reservation.  Unfortunately, we didn't place our food order before arriving, and it seemed to take forever to get through the line.  Once we made it inside, though, we saw that Belle had decorated for Christmas.

After lunch, we used our final fastpass for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin.

When we were done defending the galaxy, we took off for the hundred acre woods to ride the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  By now, party guest had started arriving and we were able to get our party wristbands and shop for some party merchandise.  We really wanted to get some shirts so that we could take pictures for our Christmas cards.  Here's some of the fun pictures we were able to capture during the party.

As you can see, unfortunately Littlecjc slept through a lot of this Christmas party.  With our late start, this day wasn't busy enough for her to crash for a nap, so when she finally crashed it was during the party and she was out for the night.  Thankfully, she was awake to see some decorations and watch the castle light up.

Littlecjc really wanted to ride the "rocketship," so we went to Astro Orbitor, and I'm so glad we did.  It was really neat being so high and looking down on the castle and space mountain all lit up.

We knew Littlecjc was getting tired, and we wanted to make sure she saw the snow, so we then headed to Main St. to play in snow.  This view was beautiful with the snow falling and Littlecjc had so much fun running around trying to catch the falling snow.

 We also really wanted to make sure we rode Jungle Cruise during the party so that we could see the Christmas overlay where it becomes the Jingle Cruise.

Next on our list was the parade, Mickey's Christmas stage show, and the Holiday Wishes.  It was during this time that Littlecjc finally gave in.  After the fireworks, we made sure to hit up any of the treat locations that we hadn't yet walked by.  I have to admit, that after Littlecjc fell asleep, we lost our momentum as well.  By 11:00 we had made our way to the front of the park and found a spot on the curb to watch the parade again before calling it a night.

As we left, we took some time for a few more pictures.

Day 2

Our second day was even more casual than the first.  Again, we entered the park later than usual for us at almost noon.  We took our castle pictures and headed to the fastpass kiosk where we got Barnstormer (12:15-1:15), The Little Mermaid Journey Under the Sea (1:20-2:20), and Dumbo (2:20-1:20).

We were so pleased, that our friend, Ruth was able to stay with us for our first two rides the Carousel and Barnstormer.

Littlecjc of course had to ride both rides with Miss Ruth!  At this point, Miss Ruth had to leave to get ready for work, and we decided to bite the bullet and stand in line for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  

Thankfully, there are fun activities for little ones to keep occupied in line.  Littlecjc amazed me.  She knew she loved this ride and that it would be a long wait to get on, but she didn't really complain at all.  It was her choice to wait and that is what we did.  I also took this cute video of her taking it all in.

At this point, it was time to use our fastpasses for The Little Mermaid, after which, we headed to Gaston's Tavern to snack on the largest cinnamon roll ever.

When we finished our snack, it was time for our final fastpass at Dumbo.

No trip to the Magic Kingdom is complete, without a tour of Tomorrowland via the Transit Authority People Mover.

We then cut across the park to Frontierland where we had some Dole Whip and took another journey on the Jingle Cruise.

Since there was another Christmas party this evening, the park was closing to the general public at 7.  So, after our Jingle Cruise, we made our way back to Main St. for a few final pictures before leaving.