Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

 

T'was the night before Christmas and A Disney Girl in Orlando is thinking of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

 
My hubby bought two tickets as a Christmas present for me.  This is an extra ticketed event and tickets can be around $54.00 per person, so I do understand that it's not for everyone, but it was a very special night for me and I was so thankful to enjoy it!

If you have never attended, I will include some notes to keep in mind if you ever do have the privelidge to participate.

First of all, there are several "Cookie and Cocoa Locations" where you get FREE Holiday Treats including:  Snickerdoodles, Sugar & Chocolate Chip Cookies.  If you don't want Hot Cocoa, you can get Apple Juice.  Just check around or check out all the spots if you want to explore your options.
In 2012, the giveaway locations were at:
-  Crystal Palace on Main Street, USA
-  Sunshine Tree Terrace, in Adventureland
-  Columbia Harbour House, in Liberty Square
-  Pinoccio Village House, in Fantasyland
-  Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, in Tomorrowland
-  Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant, in Tomorrowland
We only got cookies twice...so you may find things we didn't, or things can change from year to year.

There are several "normal" rides and attractions that are open, but in the three times that I have experienced this party, I have NEVER done the "normal" things during this SPECIAL party.

This year, hubby & I started the PARTY with "A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas Show."  It happened 5 times through the night, so plan your entire night before the start of the party so you can get in the things that YOU want to do most!  Especially if you are a fan of Buzz Lightyear, Mike Wazowski or Stitch.  We truly enjoyed this show!  Stitch was tracking Santa, but when things got a little crazy our alien friend did save the day!
 

The next thing we stumbled upon were Phineas & Ferb in Christmas attire.  Hubby & I enjoy odd "Family Photos" so we decided to do something special with them this year.

This is the special time of the year when you can COUNT on SNOW in FLORIDA...but you won't be as cold as in many other parts of the world.  It's practically a blizzard of MAGIC!

Our next stop was to stake our spot at the castle.  I do have a special spot that I like to be in, so I know that I need to be there early to get that spot.  It's worth the wait to me, but when I did not live here, I don't know that I would have spent that much time in one spot.  

"Celebrate the Magic" allows you to watch Cinderella Castle to transform from the daytime spectacular to a night-time "Ice Castle" as the amazing lights adorn the castle at night.  I do know that they start putting these lights up in SEPTEMBER because there is so much to be done in order to get ready for this "winter wonderland."

"Holiday Wishes-Celebrate the Spirit of the Season" is wonderful!  You get to watch Cinderella Castle light up with a holiday fireworks event that is spectacular!  It is NOT your normal "Wishes" fireworks show and is absolutely breathtaking!




We had a good spot that allowed us to see "Celebrate the Season" Castle Show which was full of characters and Christmas SPECIAL Characters like Frosty, the Reindeer, Toy Soldiers...it is such a sweet and special show!

Our next goal was the LAST "Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade" of the evening...Hidden tip:  The LAST parade of the night is the BEST to ENJOY!  The first show is much more crowded and you will appreciate the last show, if your party is all old enough to enjoy it.  This is my favorite parade on Disney property (according to my present experience) and I truly love the SPECIAL characters like the Reindeer, Toy Soldiers & enjoy the Snow People!  You can see the small white horses that pull Cinderella's Coach & actually see Cinderella & Prince Charming riding together in the coach - such rare and beautiful sights.  You can also catch some "characters from the past" that always bring a reminiscent smile to my face.  The floats are special, the characters are special and every piece of this parade is just MAGICAL! And Santa makes his GRAND Entrance which is wonderful!
After the parade was over, I had one final goal:  To see if Beast Castle & Prince Eric's Castle had any special lights or wonder for it's first "unofficial" season...the Official Grand Opening for those Castles was December 6, with NEW Fantasyland - but we were well into the Christmas season at that time...I didn't see anything special - but this will also be something to watch next year to see if or how they may incorporate the NEW Castles into the holiday celebrations.  At this point, the fact that there were THREE Castles in the Magic Kingdom was AMAZING enough to bring us SMILES!  Lots of characters were available for SPECIAL Meet N' Greets that you don't normally find.  So this can defnitely be a SPECIAL night!  MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!  And to all, a GOOD NIGHT!