Trip Report #
And finally, the last in a trio of trips. Between March and December of 2023, we were lucky enough to go to Disney three times. This was the last in the roster.
I had very high expectations for this trip. Having lived in FL for a time a decade earlier, I knew just how magical Disney could be at Christmas. At Christmas, as locals, we were always at Disney: resort hopping to experience the decorations, waiting in line all night to get in to watch The Candlelight Processional with Neil Patrick Harris, attending Mickey’s Christmas Party and getting to see it snow on Main Street, going to see the Osborn Lights (RIP! Still not over it!) at what was then called MGM, in the vernacular employed by the locals if not in true name. Not to mention, this trip was explicitly created to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Needless to say, expectations were high.
But… Nothing rang quite as magical as I had expected it to. Despite our reservations from Not-So-Scary from the previous trip, we did commit to doing Mickey’s Christmas Party, as I had such fond memories of it from a decade earlier. And frankly, after the unmitigated disaster that was Not-So-Scary, we wanted to experience it by ourselves first before making the kids endure it; we needed to make sure it would be worth taking them, especially given how expensive it is.
It was not nearly as magical as I remembered it being from when I lived in FL, and when we returned home and watched some of our favorite vloggers experience the event, we realized ours had been lacking. It didn’t even snow on Main Street, so something had clearly been off about the whole event. I have a vague memory that when there is a threat of rain, they don’t allow it to snow on Main Street, as to preserve the chance of the parade stepping off, but perhaps I’m deluding myself. Regardless, this cemented the fact that separate ticketed events just aren’t for us… Not for a while, anyway.
We also found that we just…didn’t like being at Disney at Christmas. It was hotter than I expected it to be. I seemed to remember it being temperate in December; I either misremembered or the weather was having an off weekend when we were there.
As my husband so eloquently phrased it, “it made both things worse.” Being at Disney at Christmas… I felt like I just wanted to be at home in front of the tree with my kids. I always find something to love about a trip, but this one is one of the hardest to find that one thing.
In Review #
Food #
We stuck mostly to Epcot for the food, but more on that later. (Comment from Mitch: Steakhouse 71's Lounge always the MVP!)
Highlights #
The gingerbread house at the Grand Flo (although, this was a highlight and a drawback. I found myself snootily thinking who are all these people in my house?!) and the cookie crawl at Epcot. In general, we had a better time at Epcot celebrating the holidays than we did at MK. I loved Candlelight Processional with John Stamos, even if Neil Patrick Harris will always hold a special place in my heart. It was a lovely blast from the past from my time spent living in FL.
Lessions learned #
Separate ticketed events aren’t for us. Yet. Also, the Not-So-Scary parade is superior to the Christmas parade.