Christmastime at Walt Disney World

There is nothing like Christmastime at the Walt Disney World Resort, and luckily, Christmas started early enough for us to enjoy all of the festivities. We spent our last full day of this trip at the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.



Here are a few of the day's highlights:

Meeting Marie from The Aristocats

As we entered Main Street USA, I spotted my favorite fluffy white kitty: Marie! My sister and BIL were kind enough to wait in line with me to get a photo with her. Meow!

Lunch at Be Our Guest
My sister somehow got us Fastpasses for lunch at Be Our Guest. Yes, they have Fastpasses for a restaurant. It is just that popular! Disney did a beautiful job bringing the Beast's Castle to life.

We pre-ordered our meals prior to our trip, so we just needed to confirm that we did not have any changes before we headed inside to find a place to sit. 

Finding a place to sit actually takes some decision-making skills because there are three distinct dining rooms within the restaurant. We took time exploring each one. 

The Grand Ballroom

The first room you entered after you have put your order in is the Grand Ballroom. It is also the largest of the three dining rooms. 

The ballroom was decorated in its Christmas-best with adorable Beauty and the Beast themed ornaments on the tree and wreaths. 

We thought the room was a bit too noisy, so we headed to one of the two side rooms. 

The Rose Gallery

We decided to enjoy our meal in the gorgeous Rose Gallery. The room was filled with tapestries and paintings of the characters from Beauty and the Beast. 

But the centerpiece of the room was a huge music box in the center of the dining room.

Our meal arrived a few minutes later via this rolling cart. 

We shared a potato leek soup, which was rich and creamy. 

 

 I had the roast beef sandwich with pomme frites and was quite happy with my choice. My dining mates had the croque monsieur and were not impressed.
 

For dessert, we spilt three cupcakes: Triple Chocolate Cupcake (chocolate sponge cake, chocolate mouse filling and chocolate ganache), The Master's Cupcake (chocolate sponge cake topped with Lumiere's special "Grey Stuff") and Lemon Meringue Cupcake (vanilla sponge cake, lemon custard filling and flamed meringue icing). Yum!

 

 The West Wing

The final room is The West Wing. It was entirely too dark in that room for us to be able to eat our meal, but it was so cool to walk into. I watched Beauty and the Beast 900 times when I was in elementary school, and loved seeing this room in "real life."

I highly recommend Be Our Guest for a unique dining experience while you are at the Magic Kingdom!

Hollywood Studios

We spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening at Hollywood Studios. We got to ride on my three favorite rides: Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror and Aerosmith's Rock N Roller Coaster. 

I also got to meet another one of my favorite characters! James P. Sullivan/Sulley!! I love him. 

I also got to show Sulley his minature self, which he was very interested in.

Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

Although we ran through the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights on the Wine & Dine Half Marathon course, it was very different seeing them during park hours. First of all, during the half marathon, the lights were not synced to music, thus they were not dancing. 

Second of all, it was raining during the race instead of (fake) snowing! Whee!

Stockings with the Osborne Family's names on them

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

We headed back to the Magic Kingdom after dinner to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. On those nights, visitors need a separate ticket to attend the Christmas party. We arrived too late to see Elsa from Frozen light up Cinderella's Castle, but it was still a sight to behold. So sparkly!

The Christmas Parade was underway just as we got there. We saw all of our favorite characters dressed in their winter best. Of course, there were some Frozen characters making their first appearance this year.

Along with the parade, there was also a fireworks show.

Since the park was not as crowded as a normal night, it was the perfect opportunity to hop in some shorter than usual lines. We rode on the Seven Dwarves' Mine Train for the first time, and also rode the Jingle Cruise.

Christmas Party guests also had unlimited access to hot chocolate and cookies. Once we were cookie-ed out, we asked for the "healthy" alternative, which were apple slices. Perfect!

Well, that marks the end of my recent journey through Walt Disney World. As always it was a lot of fun for this kid at heart!

Thank you, Walt and Mickey!

I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving! I will be spending the weekend here in Albuquerque with friends and family. I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday!