CarolKoster
Carol Koster
Disney EchoEar Grand Mouseter
Group: Members
Posts: 19444
Joined: April 1992 |
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Posted: Aug. 30, 2009, 9:32 am |
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Sandy, we have Existing Topics called Stickys for Candelight Processional and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Candlelight is in the Epcot Forum, Mickey's in the Magic Kingdom Forum. "Stickys" means it's permanenly affixed to Page One of that Forum's Index Page "stuck" "sticky" in order to make it easy to find. These events pretty much stay the same year to year, so use the rich archive that is there and make that work for you.  Tons of info. Also the "Search" button at the top of this page, gray oval button with a magnifying glass, is your friend.
For Candlelight Processional there are also dining+event packages sometimes connected with that event to consider doing.
In addition to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party acronym MVMCP there is Candlelight Processional at Epcot's American pavillion area in World Showcase, Osborne Family Lights at Hollywood Studios theme park (formerly known as Disney MGM Studios theme park) in the Hollywood back street section, Wishes fireworks in Magic Kingdom have a holiday theming with music.
You'll want to do a grand circle tour of each hotel resort on the property, they all decorate in very elaborate ways including with themed Christmas trees and some of them with gingerbread houses or gingerbread structures designed and built by the pastry chefs and their staffs at that hotel. Suggestion: Touring these that are along the Magic Kingdom monorail loop (Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian) are easy, just hop on and off the monorail. For the others, rent a car from the Alamo/National Car Rental center near the Polynesian Resort. The bus system at WDW goes from park to hotel and back, not to each hotel. Makes no sense to, say, visit Wilderness Lodge and go back to Magic Kingdom or Transportation Center and back, then TTC or MK to Port Orleans Riverside and back, to some other hotel and back to a theme park. I hope you see the point. Renting a car to drive directly to each resort on the property will be much more efficient use of your time and well worth the rental cost of a compact car. Additional suggestion on this: At Fort Wilderness Campground those who come in recreational vehicles, campers and trailers bring Christmas decorations with them, and some of them decorate and plug in Christmas lights to the hilt, and really get into it. It's it's own tour to drive through the camping loops to look for these, really cute to see fellow Disney fans' personalities and sense of fun come through.
At
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
is a blog by their news staff called Theme Park Rangers, and they will post news in there about any special things coming up at WDW. Good place to keep checking.
For instance, if you can go the first weekend or so of December that Friday and Saturday is when they pre-tape the annual Christmas Morning Disney theme parks Christmas show for ABC-TV. Theme Park Rangers announce where and when the tapings take place on Disney property and with which celebrities.
If you want to see the Christmas parade on Main Street USA that you see in that telecast, ironically it mostly runs during the MVMCP night event, except when they are taping for that ABC-TV show during the day.
If you want to see more of what to expect, Travel Channel annually runs a couple of WDW-related Christmas shows. A very excellent one is one Samantha Brown hosted a couple of years ago that repeats frequently but seasonally on that network. Details of it are in the Disney TV Forum, just look for Topic titles that match that. Also "Christmas" as a "Search" term (without the quotes) in our site's Search function (see oval grey button, above) I think should be able to find that for you as well as any other seasonal things.
Generally the parks and stores are very decorated, so is Downtown Disney shopping area. The shopping area also has it's own entertainment offerings seasonally, such as live performances.
The Cinderella Castle is decorated with hanging icicle-type and woven netting-type little lights. You've seen homes and shrubs at home decorated this same way by homeowners. They talk about how it's done on the Travel Channel show Samantha Brown hosts I mentioned up above. From a distance it makes the Castle look like a glowing beautiful frost palace. That's worth seeing at night, and if you're inclined to professionally taken photographs and PhotoPass consider getting a photo taken with that background of your travel party.
A few things to keep in mind, in order to wash the Pixie Dust off and have you thinking very practically about planning:
When schools are out of session = WDW is very crowded! If you're thinking of going right at Christmas-New Years that is as packed as it is on Independence Day July 4. Parks can reach capacity early and even close 'til some visitors leave in order to let more in, Fast Passes can run out early, busses are packed like sardine cans, lines to see attractions longer than other times of year, when fireworks end at night bigger crowds leaving the parks at the same time, takes longer using public transportation (busses, monorails, boats or ferries, parking lot trams) to get from Point A to Point B. Dining that relies on advance reservations book up quicker and earlier. Crowds make getting from any Point A to any Point B take longer to get there, too. And yes Disney does add extra busses, boats, monorails, etc. to the public transportation system to assist the added capacity. But it still takes "a while", longer than usual, to see and do anything at WDW or go from any Point A to any Point B.
So if you make, say, dining reservations or show reservations, you'll want to keep that in mind, book early, then take the crowdedness into account and allow 20-30 minutes more to reach a destination than you would at any other time of year. If you want to dine in Magic Kingdom during MVMCP then book early. If you want to see Candelight Processional or do dining+CP then allow for crowded transportation and crowds in the park and allow extra than normal amount of time to get there timely and take your seat, that kind of thing.
On top of that...
"Get in free on your birthday" plus "Stay four, get three free" plus "dining plan" = People more than usual taking advantage of the cost savings all or any of that represents, and the parks this year have been very crowded! Once there, however, they spend less than usual. But it's still very, very crowded anyway.
Adding Disney's promotions now going on, which are designed to bring 'em in despite recessionary times, to Christmas season when it's also crowded as all get out, it merely piles on.
So you want to think about all this. Others have gone at Christmas, squeezed through the crowds, lived to tell the tale, and have loved it.
But you'll also want to have a tour plan or "plan of attack" very much in place in your mind if not also on paper, stay focused.
A suggestion: You tend to visit WDW frequently, can see the attractions there any time. Consider for Christmas seeing or planning for the main Christmas holiday-seasonal things at WDW and then seeing the usual and customary attractions as a supplement. Considering the particular crowdedness that time of year, and the level of decoration and festivity is only once a year, it's more rare to see Christmasy things than it is to do the parks. If it's open year 'round anyway, but there is something to see that is Christmas seasonal-only that is concurrent, err more on the seasonal once a year stuff than the open year 'round anyway stuff. Once you've crossed the seasonal once a year stuff off your list as you experience those, then supplement with the best of the best of the attractions and shows that are open year 'round anyway.
If your main goal is seeing Disney World at Christmas then plan for the packed nature of it all but also hone in on how to see these events and places despite those crowds as a top priority, then you'll have a very magical Christmas there.
Weather:
We've been in early December some years. It's either been mild or frigid or raining or all three! We went one year that time of year and it was absolutely bone-penetrating cold. Another year it rained nearly constantly for days, straight. We live only a little north of where that geocoordinate is for Orlando, in New Orleans area. Some New Year's days I've worn a T-shirt to go outside. Others it's collllllddddddddd.... Others it's raining.
Weather can be all over the place, it can be the "norm" for what Disney guide books have for average temps that time of year. Or it can literally be extreme (such as the O rings on the space shuttle Challenger freezing and national news is how Florida citrus crops are at risk for freezing), it can even some years be a few flakes of real snow, or it can be unseasonably warm.
Plan and pack for "the norm" described in WDW guide books. But dress in layers that if too hot you can take it off and carry it or stuff it in a backpack, but if too cold you put it on. Bring warm lined gloves, just in case (knit gloves are not enough). And definitely bring rain gear, such as cheap rain ponchos, or lined raincoats that also keep you warm with a pullover for your head and collapseable umbrellas.
Before you leave home, check Orlando news media such as their local TV station websites or Orlando Sentinel website (bookmark these in advance ) , and check the long range weather forecast. Check the estimated highs and lows and chances of rain daily. Pack according to what the weather forecasts tell you just before you leave for the airport.
Also: Pack a few extra pairs of socks and an extra pair of shoes. The year we went one time, it rained constantly, and we only brought a pair of shoes, each. We had to turn our soaked sneakers upside down over the heater vent in our hotel room to dry them out so we could walk next day and get them soaked again. Wet inner shoes and wet socks can contribute to blisters. Extra socks, if it turns out to be very cold, keep your feet warm.
Christmas Catholic and non-denominational Protestant religious services on-site:
The Fantasia Ballroom at the Contemporary Resort does have two Christmas Day Masses and a Protestant service. You can ask Guest Services when these are Christmas Day. Again, everything takes longer to get to due to crowds, so plan a little extra time to reach these services if you'd like to plan to attend them (and if you do not plan to attend them, just move on to the next thing to do instead). Usually religious services are no longer offered routinely on WDW property when they used to be many years ago, now it's mainly only at Christmas does Disney offer that aspect of hospitality to it's church-going guests.
Christmas Eve Disney parks do close very early:
So Disney employees can have time with their own families. Not open late Christmas Eve, we're talking 6 pm or so. Ask Guest Services. Plan ahead for this. I don't know about the resort hotels and restaurants and Downtown Disney. I have simply heard they do pretty much shut down so Disney staffers may enjoy time with their families at home.
Services:
Disney (always for a price  ) can arrange to have a decorated tree in your hotel room, or gifts delivered to your hotel room, whatever. Ask Guest Services where you'll be staying.
Decorations:
At the All-Star Resorts one year we saw guest brought their own decorations and put lights in their hotel room windows and put figures like Disney character dolls and decorations in the windows, make it seem homey. And they decorate the campsites and RV/camper places too, at Fort Wilderness Campground. If you have the luggage space for it, why not?
Hours:
Open and close pretty much at peak season operating hours, except as noted for Christmas Eve. Between the end of Thanksgiving weekend and the weekend or so just before Christmas they are open at more restricted hours. Peak season hours usually continue through New Year's Day or a day or two afterward, then the hours start being more restricted. Christmas Day and New Year's Eve will be ultra packed especially for fireworks and very especially for New Year's Eve fireworks and midnight fireworks to ring in the new year. Do not be surprised if you hear the parks close due to capacity being reached. Very sardine can-like. Make "seasonal I can't normally see any other time of year" your planning priority and back time for that in order to be there despite crowds for 'el primo' viewing spots or to be seated at shows, whatever.
Very pretty that time of year, but that time of year presents unique planning considerations, too. Early birds and early focused planning catch the worms! Have fun then! 
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Are any of those separate ticket items when the park closes? 
