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.

Hollywood Studios and Club Villain, 2016

Our final day of our October 2016 trip was spent at Hollywood Studios.  Of course, we opened the park at 9:00 and closed it down after attending Club Villain, an amazing experience that I can't wait to share with you.  But first...

9:00

When the park opened, we went straight to Pixar Place, where Toy Story Mania became attraction #1.  

When we got off the ride, we crossed the street to meet Woody and Buzz.  This character encounter always has a line and even this early after park opening was no exception.  However, this line is well thought out for a character meet and greet with several photo options.

When we finally made it to the front of the line, we met Woody and Buzz, characters 1 and 2.

After meeting these favorite friends, we made our way to the Star Wars Launch Bay.  Our next priority here, was to meet Chewbacca.  On our last trip, we decided not to take the time to meet him, as he is another character that always has a line.  I think the wait was already at least 20 minutes, but we knew it would only get worse throughout the day.  While we waited, two storm troopers came around the line and provided some interaction and entertainment.

10:00

Right at 10:00, we made it in to meet Chewbacca, character #3.  I was worried that Littlecjc might be a little frightened since Chewy is so big, but she loved him.  She called him the big dog.

Of course, you can't leave the Launch Bay without wandering around a bit to see some of the displays.  To continue the Star Wars theme, we then headed over to the Star Tours, attraction #2, where we used our first fastpass.

  Littlecjc was still too small for this ride, so we needed to swap riders which made Star Tours, attraction #3 as well.  Even with our fastpasses and rider swap passes, this attraction seemed to take a long time to get through.  Thank goodness, the shop at the exit is fun to play in.

11:00

Unfortunately, we also lost some time due to our own silliness when we went back to Pixar Place to use our next fastpass.  Since we had always planned on going straight to Toy Story Mania at park opening, I only got fastpasses for Patrick and Littlecjc to ride this.  In fact, since I knew Littlecjc was too small to ride Star Tours, I also did not get a fastpass for that attraction either, knowing that I would use the rider swap pass to get in.  I then got myself fastpasses for Rock N' Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror, since Littlecjc was too small for those ride, we would be able to use a rider swap for Patrick to ride through the fastpass line as well.  So, I was sitting out on this attraction and I wandered around a bit and didn't hear my phone as Patrick repeatedly called me.  Unfortunately, I had Littlecjc's magic band on me.  Thinking back now, I'm kind of surprised Patrick didn't just say she was 2 since she just turned 3, two weeks earlier.  (I know, unfortunate planning on our part, but this was the only week that worked for our friends.)  Anyway, after I don't know how long, I saw all the missed calls on my phone, got in touch with Patrick, and was able to hand off littlecjc's magic band.  Eventually, Toy Story Mania, became attraction #4.

12:00

When Patrick and Littlecjc finally got done with this ride, we headed to the ABC Commissary for a quick lunch.  I know there is nothing special about these cupcakes, but we always seem to get one of these during our Hollywood Studios days.

As I said, this was a quick lunch stop, because our third fastpass was for the 12:55 Voyage of the Little Mermaid, attraction #5.

1:00

Since Voyage of the Little Mermaid is 17 minutes long, it was well after 1 before we even left this theater.  When we did leave this area, we all needed to go to Rock N' Rollercoaster, so that we could get our rider swap while I used my fastpass to enter, making Rock N' Rollercoaster, attraction #6.  I thought these concert posters were so neat, since they included the actual date, but also a little scary since they included your hometown as well.

It didn't take me long to get through the line, and we quickly returned back to the Launch Bay to take advantage of our Visa Cardholders Meet and Greet, where we met Kylo Ren, character #4.

As you can see, by this point, Littlecjc had fallen asleep.  

2:00

It seems like we always slow down a bit when she crashes, but thankfully it's usually during this peak afternoon time when the parks always seem so crowded you don't get a lot done anyway.  After leaving the launch bay, we headed back to the Rock N' Rollercoaster, attraction #7, where the two guys used the rider swap pass.

By time the boys were done, it was about time for my final fastpass.

3:00

We made our way over to the Hollywood Tower Hotel to get a rider swap and use my final fastpass for The Twilight Zone, Tower of Terror, attraction #8.

While I stood in line and had my frightful fall, Patrick and Littlecjc made their way back to the center of the park to watch the March of the First Order, attraction (show) #9.

Earlier, when the boys were riding Rock N' Rollercoaster, we were able to get fastpasses for everyone except me to the 4:00 Frozen Ever After show.  As soon as I scanned my magicband at the Tower of Terror, I attempted to add myself to that selection.  Honestly, I don't remember if I was successful or not, but that is what we did next and it was irrelevant whether we had fastpasses here or not.

4:00

So, the first 30 minutes of this hour was spent at  For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, attraction (show) #10.  I know many people love this show, and I did enjoy it a little more this time around, but in all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if we skip it on our next trip.  When the show ended, we made our way out of the theater, and took some time to relax with some drinks and snacks.  We didn't walk around to the front of the stage, but it was still interesting hearing and seeing the characters backstage of Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away, attraction (show) #11. 

5:00

We had gained one final fastpass for the day, and that was nearby at the movies.  We took our 22 minute journey on The Great Movie Ride, attraction #12.  Afterwards, we hung out on Hollywood Blvd while a few in the party headed to the Tower of Terror to use the rider swap.

6:00

If you have the memory maker, a few attractions not only provide on ride pictures, but also videos.  My favorite of these is the Twilight Zone, Tower of Terror, attraction #13 and you will see why if you keep your eyes on the other little girl in our party who was just tall enough to ride.

I love that we have this video, and I can't wait until it's Littlecjc making these reactions.  If you've read any of my other park review days, you will know that we usually always take a picture as we enter the park.  Although we didn't get a good picture this time, this is what we attempted to do at this time.

7:00

We were a little torn this trip on which closing show to watch.  Fantasmic started at 7:30 and I love that show, but we had yet to see Star Wars; A Galactic Spectacular which started at 8.  We had read many reviews and they all stated that there was no good way to watch both in the same night.  We also had tickets to Club Villain that started at 8:30 and we wanted to be a little early for that.  So, we decided to watch the beginning of the Star Wars fireworks, but we picked our spot on Hollywood Blvd early so that we could easily exit the crowd down Sunset Blvd toward the Sunset Showcase where Club Villain was taking place.

8:00

So with our less than stellar view, we watched Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular, attraction (show) #14.  Unfortunately, the show started a little late, so by about 8:15 it still hadn't ended, but we made the decision to leave our spot and fight the crowd rushing in from Fantasmic.  Although we missed the final projections on the Chinese Theater, we actually had a much better view of the fireworks walking down Sunset Blvd than we did when we were standing in front of the theater.  None of this mattered, though from the moment we walked into Club Villain.  We weren't really sure what to expect from this special ticketed event and were a little nervous about two things in particular.

1.) Was Littlecjc too young? It seemed like something geared more for adults.

2.) Could it possibly be worth the cost? It was pretty expensive, costing twice as much as Hoop Dee Doo, which was the closest thing I could compare it to being as they're both dinner shows.

I really should know better than to ever worry about anything dealing with Disney.  This dinner experience was so much fun.

When we first checked in, we were given our invitation.

On the inside, we were provided with special signatures.  This led me to believe that the characters would not sign anything, but I later regretted not asking when I saw some other kids getting their books signed.

The next page included the menu, and oh my goodness, this food was yummy.

The back of the card was the most important, because it included our table number and our time to meet the villains.  Everyone was given a specific time, which was nice not worrying about standing in line or not getting everyone in.

The decorations were fun, including the evil apple disco ball and the stage.

The best, though was the areas reserved for the villains meet and greets.  Before the event actually started, Photopass photographers were already at each throne seat so that you could get your picture taken at each area as if you were the villain.  We only stopped at Maleficent's throne, since she was our clothing choice for the evening.

The food was already set up buffet style when we entered.  You can see from the invitation card, that there were three stations set up: sauteed station, carving station, and the cast iron station.  We're still working on taking more and better photos with each trip, but here's the few we have.  The food was so delicious.  We had all the following: vegetarian dirty rice; Cajun chicken thigh gumbo; bourbon bread pudding "beignet;" shrimp sauteed with spicy andouille sausage, tomato, okra and onions; herbes de provence rubbed striploin of beef carved on aromatic black iron; and our favorites creamy polenta with fire kissed corn; and voodoo sticky pig wings with citrus gremolata.

I'm pretty sure the food was left out during most of the party, but let's be honest, there were also desserts to move on to.  Unfortunately, I missed taking pictures of any of the desserts.  I guess they were too delicious to stop for photos.  However, each villain had two different desserts themed around them.  They were also different desserts set up on both sides of the room, so make sure you look at every table so that you can try them all.  Maleficent's choices were red wine cheesecake pushups and cupcakes that were topped with chocolate horns.  Cruella's choices were delicious, a white chocolate panna cotta and a chocolate tart both topped with paw prints and little bones.  Queen of Hearts was also yummy with a red velvet cupcake and red macaroons.  The evil queen had a green apple mousse, and possibly the best of all, green and red chocolate truffles.

Each villain also had a signature drink.  I don't think either of us tried Maleficent's drink, the Cursed Violet, but it included citrus vodka, creme de casis and blackcurrent syrup.  We did, however, try the other three.  The Queen of Hearts had a Bleeding Heart Sangria, that I honestly don't really remember, but I also don't remember don't liking any of them so I'm sure it was good.

Cruella had the most fun-looking drink, called The Devious Dalmatian, made with Godiva white chocolate liqueur, coconut milk with boba pearls.  This was yummy, but for me, the pearls just got in the way, even though they looked great.

Our personal favorite, was the Evil Queen's Poisoned Cinnamon Apple, made of Fireball and hard apple cider.   

From the very beginning, there was music playing and little dancers out on the floor, and our Littlecjc was not to be left out here.

When the show actually started,we were introduced to our host for the evening.  This guy was amazing!  As someone with a music degree, I think I can say with confidence that this was the best vocal performance I've ever heard at Disney.

There were also two dancers that performed while he was singing, and together the three of them then introduced Dr. Facilier.

After another song, we were ready to meet the villains.

From here out, the night was broken into 15 minute intervals divided up by another song from the amazing singer.  So, you were either meeting 2 of the villains if it was your time, or you were able to get dessert, drinks, or dance.  These villains were amazing, and I have to admit, my favorite activity when not visiting them personally, was simply watching them interact with other people.  We were sitting close to Cruella, and I think I now have a new favorite villain thanks to this lady.

The next lady we met was the Queen of Hearts.  I'm so glad they let her true face shine.  I mean, check out these amazing faces.

She was trying to get Littlecjc to speak loudly to take the place of her white rabbit, but Littlecjc just kind of starred at her.  They were all so great with my little one.

After another song, it was time to meet the last two villains.  The Evil Queen had an amazing mirror in her set area, where a face magically appeared.  When Littlecjc wouldn't talk to the Queen, she decided that her beauty had stunned her silent.

Our final villain was Maleficent, who took extra time with Littlecjc for a special little photo shoot that I will always remember.

This entire evening was perfect, and something I will never forget.  I highly recommend this event for anyone and everyone.  I know I was a little concerned about Littlecjc being too young, but she had an amazing time and I will never forget these interactions that these villains gave her.  She danced the night away, and we all enjoyed the entertainment.  I know it was a little pricey, but with all the food and drinks and of course, the villains, it was definitely worth it.  This was the perfect way to end our Halloween vacation.