Disney World - Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

The day didn’t start too well for me. I awoke with my stomach punishing me for the enormous amount I ate at Boma last night. Bill and Mandy headed over to Hollywood Studios, and I went back to bed. They had lunch at the Sci-Fi Drive In and got home about 1:30. I felt much better by the time they got home. We hung out around the RV, napped, and had a light dinner.

At 5:30 we headed over to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. This is a special charge ticket, and the park is open from 7-midnight for those who have purchased this ticket. The first thing we did was find a good spot for the castle lighting ceremony at 6:30. They had characters on a stage in front of the castle, and finally the fairy godmother lights the castle with the special icicle lighting.

We stopped to share a funnel cake, went on the Haunted Mansion ride, and then Thunder Mountain. There really weren’t any lines for the rides. We basically walked right on most of the rides. After that, we walked to Pirates of the Caribbean to look at a small display of items that are only for sale during the party. I got a sweatshirt, and Mandy got a T-shirt and Santa mouse ears hat. We then walked right on the Pirates ride. Then it was time for the special parade. Some nice older ladies let Mandy and I squeeze in beside them next to the ropes, so we had a pretty good view. The parade really was neat with lots of huge floats with a Christmas theme. I will post some of those photos tomorrow.

We walked over to smoking area so Bill could have a cigar, and Mandy and I could stake out a place to watch the fireworks. There were tables and chairs in this area so we grabbed a table and waited for the special fireworks at 9:30. Christmas music played as the fireworks went off over the castle. It was an impressive show. Finally we went to see the half hour show, Mickey’s Night Before Christmas. There was singing and dancing by life performers. It wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t go back. And to top off the night, we spent the last hour riding some rides: the People Mover, Small World, Peter Pan, Snow White, and the Tea Cups. At midnight we headed for the entrance and caught the boat back to Ft Wilderness. It was rather cold tonight – down in the 40s, but we stayed warm and enjoyed the party!