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Welcome Home Waitlist: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Tips
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On This Episode
In this episode of the Waitlist, Trevor gives Tom tips for enjoying Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, covering must-do attractions and strategies for navigating the holiday festivities at Disney.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Welcome Home Podcast
00:00:07
Speaker
This is Skipper Albert A. war the voice of the jungle, broadcasting on the DVC to all voice unknown. if you're within the sound of my voice, you're listening to Welcome Home Podcast on the DVC.
What are Waitlist Episodes?
00:00:31
Speaker
All right. Welcome to the waitlist, Trevor. this is We haven't done a waitlist in a while. Well, not really. Yeah. But we we we yeah you know these are our in-between shows. What? You haven't done a waitlist in a while. I did a waitlist ah not too long ago. But yeah. that's true. You did one without me, which was ah a really cool trip report. and you know But typically... I actually like that as a vehicle for our trip reports, but this is also typically the show that we do when, you know, Trevor and I are unavailable to do a regular show and they're more topic based shows and things that ah can, you know, last for a long time. So, um you know, these are these are things so you can continually hear from us, even if we're you know busy doing other things. So um what's what's our topic this week, Trevor? What are we talking about this time?
Planning a Disney Christmas Party Visit
00:01:13
Speaker
So I actually wanted to change this up a little bit. And because normally we would like talk about a specific topic or like some theory thing or like, you know, you know, building out a of theme park area or something like that. But I actually wanted to use this for some trip planning.
00:01:30
Speaker
Okay. And I actually wanted to. So you and I have talked about um you're going to the Christmas party. So I actually wanted to make this wait list. Yeah.
00:01:41
Speaker
helping you figure out, you know, things you need to know for the Christmas party. And then, you know, one, this gives you, you know, you know, you'll give you some insight and to help you with planning, but then also you can go back and listen to it. And then I figured it'd also be a good way for our listeners to kind of get involved in some of this too, because, um you know, I'll, I'll share, you know, what I've learned about, you know, going to the Christmas parties or, or you know, my experiences with it.
00:02:06
Speaker
Um, and obviously we have a lot of experts and stuff that, uh, that, you know, other people that have had different experiences with, with the Christmas party, but, and then also there'll be people that are planning as well that, you know, hopefully we'll find some value in this. So, so I thought it'd you know, i I thought we would try this and, you know, you know, kind of talk through, um, you know, things you should be aware of, or, or, you know, you know, you know, gotchas that I guess we learned about the Christmas party. Cause we went, um we went 2022. So it was, you know, it wasn't
00:02:40
Speaker
Or, you know, it was in the last couple of years. And I know you said that you, you said you'd been to a Christmas party like once, right? Like you were like. No, we haven't done any the, we haven't done the Mickey's Christmas. No, we haven't done any of the Christmas parties there. We've done like dessert parties. We've done dessert parties. right. Sorry. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. You said you did dessert parties. Okay. We've done a lot of dessert parties. Just never the Christmas party itself.
00:03:00
Speaker
So, okay. So, um so yeah, I guess let's, let's start from, or I don't remember, you you have done after hours parties, right? Yeah. Well, no, none of the actual like after hours, after hours. I've done after I've done parties where you get, where you know, where you stay late, but I never liked the official after hours parties either. Oh, okay.
00:03:20
Speaker
All right. So, okay. So, so yeah, I guess then let's, ah let's get into this because um ah yeah, I feel that, you know, if when you're doing a Christmas, Christmas holiday party, you know, after hours, whatever, know,
00:03:36
Speaker
There are some things to think about to and and and I want to preface this by saying, like, you know, you don't have to like there's no right and wrong way to do this.
00:03:48
Speaker
um And you don't have to like min max everything in the sense that like. you know, yes, it is a shorter amount of time. And honestly, it goes by way quicker than you think it does.
00:04:00
Speaker
yeah But, ah but I feel like there, you know, because a Christmas party kind of falls outside of like normal operations, you do have to approach it a little bit differently than, ah than like just a regular visit, right? Like, like you know, what a regular visit, you you are, you're kind of showing up and you're like, oh, you know, I'm, you know,
00:04:23
Speaker
i'll I'll just kind of, you know, see what happens. Right. Or like you have like, I'm going to go do like these rides and then the rest of my day is whatever and all that kind of stuff. Um, the Christmas party. Listen, and this is a blind spot for me, right? Like I, I know, I know so little about the Christmas party and that's why I want to that's why we want to talk about this because I need to know.
00:04:40
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. And that's why i figured it was a good
Maximizing Time at the Party
00:04:43
Speaker
wait list topic. So, so let's let's start from, uh, you know, so, you know, like an after hours party when you, you know, you can get into a Christmas party before it actually starts, right? Like you can,
00:04:54
Speaker
Um, so usually it's like you can get there and sorry, I can't remember what the, uh, so, so four o'clock is when you can get there and then the party starts at like seven. Yeah. yeah Okay.
00:05:07
Speaker
So, I mean, when we did the Christmas party, you know, we, we did, we did exactly that. Like we, you know, we planned our days accordingly that, um, um You know, we were arriving, we didn't arrive like exactly at four o'clock, but, you know, we got there earlier. Like, like the plan was, you know, we got there, we, we, you know, we got food in Magic Kingdom and, ah and, you know, we spent a couple of hours just like, you know, going around the park, not, not like going crazy because the thing to remember with the holiday party is that,
00:05:38
Speaker
you are going to definitely be running around the park a lot because there's a lot of different things to do. But um I will start with um the first thing that we did, or or i guess maybe this kind of depends on what on what your family prioritizes. But when we went, um we wanted to get picture with,
00:06:02
Speaker
picture with Santa for, or we want our son to get a picture with Santa yeah and Santa is um the, the meet and greet forum at the holiday party is it's on main street, like right by the yeah um guest services.
00:06:17
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. So, so the, the interesting thing is ah if you, or, you know, the party starts right at seven o'clock and Um, my opinion, or or I guess, you know, i guess depending on how much you guys want to do this as ah as a family thing, what we actually did was like, we were there a couple hours before, but then I think it was about like quarter after six, you know, you know, six 30 ish, we made our way down main street and we went and lined up for Santa before the party started.
00:06:50
Speaker
it's a good cut Because then then what we were able to do was, um you know, we waited for Santa. we I think we were like the the like fourth or fifth people in line. There was people waiting there before we got there. So, like, you know, other people had a similar idea.
00:07:04
Speaker
But then it was like, you know, we got we got in there. We went we met Santa right away, you know, you know got got the picture and all that. And then that left our time free for the rest of the ah rest of the party, right?
00:07:15
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. so um So, like I said, I do recommend that. I assume you you'll want to go with your daughter and and see Santa and all that. so I have yet to get my daughter to do a Santa picture. Oh, really? Okay. Yeah. So we've tried this before. um ah You know, maybe Disney's the place to make it happen, you know, because she just, I don't know. She's not like scared of Santa. She just is like, who's the stranger and why am I why am i sitting on his lap kind of thing. Right. You know what i mean?
00:07:41
Speaker
My daughter's very skeptical of strangers, which is not a bad thing, I guess. Yeah, that's fair. but But I guess, you know, even if you just, you know, like, and I guess the thing to keep in mind is that it's not like a normal Santa meet and greet, I guess. Yeah, yeah, Because because it is, you know, a bunch of people going through with foes. Like, they don't, like, I mean, they spend the same amount of time as, like, any other, like, character interaction.
00:08:04
Speaker
But it's not, like... i I didn't see it the same as like going to the mall to meet Santa where like my son would like have a bit of a conversation with him. It was it was a lot more like like get in, get the picture, go kind of thing. And, and you know, it what late and that wasn't like their fault, but it was like, you know,
00:08:23
Speaker
you're at You're at the party, so it was like like ah it was a time thing, right? like like Yeah, yeah, yeah. you know we We don't have a lot of time to to to talk with Santa, right? But then the thing about doing that was that then we were able to go into the party proper from Main Street, which...
00:08:41
Speaker
um And again, so keep in mind, this this may not be 100% what happens in when you guys go. But what we found was that um a lot. So they give you they actually do give you a map in when you get into the party of like, where all the different treats and stuff are going to be.
00:09:00
Speaker
That's helpful. Yeah, because because it so it's it's a little bit different than the Halloween party. Like the Halloween party has the tree trails and they're they're very obviously labeled in it, but the tree trails don't have anything unique to them.
00:09:13
Speaker
like Like they're all the same. Whereas yeah yeah at the holiday party, there are different cookies and like some places have hot chocolate and stuff like that. So you are like, it like you do want to look at the map um and kind of figure out a plan for, for getting all whatever treats you want. Right. Like yeah I know it sounds, it sounds silly, but it like,
00:09:33
Speaker
You know, it wasn't like our big priority, but you do kind of want to, you do want to like keep that in mind as you're making your way around the park. Right. Yeah. yeah Um, the other interesting thing too, was, yeah you know how there's that side path that goes up, uh, next to main street on like on the Tomorrowland side, you know, like, like they usually have that, uh, yeah, yeah. I know what you're talking about The back, the back entryway that like, usually it's for people like draining out, like after the fireworks and stuff like that. Yeah. I've gone through there. Yeah.
00:10:04
Speaker
Yeah, they actually had that open for entry into the, or that was actually where, like, after we saw Santa, that was actually where we went in for, um like, like we we started there and there was, we got cookies there and then we actually got ah snowflake ornaments.
00:10:22
Speaker
Or like whatever the the year ornaments were for for that to oh party. so So I assume they'll probably do something similar because like the way it was kind of playing out was, you know, it was as seven o'clock was hitting, you know people were emptying out of the park and then like the Christmas party was starting. So like we were kind of like we did the Santa thing and then we went up the, you know, that that side entrance and kind of started started over in Tomorrowland, right?
00:10:48
Speaker
Yeah. So, um so yeah, like I said, keep, keep that in mind. I think it'll probably, i mean, logistically, it seems like it would still make sense for them to do that.
Prioritizing Ride Experiences
00:10:58
Speaker
um So yeah, it like, yeah, like I said, those are kind of the two big things I think is, you know, if you, if you really want to do like character meets and stuff, or like specifically Santa, plan to do that at the beginning because you you do save yourself some time in that you're not coming back and doing it when,
00:11:15
Speaker
When you're trying to do other things because Santa is really like kind of out of the way because it's like at the front of the park. That makes sense. Yeah. I mean, I don't even know if we'll prioritize doing Santa though. I feel like we're going to want to do a lot of other things. Like, yeah I mean, I know it's different get Disney, like, but I would still have that conversation because, or like, or at the very least, like, you know, I would, I would say like when we were planning it all, like I, I like, I, I went to my wife and my son, I said, Hey,
00:11:44
Speaker
These are the things we can do. What are we doing? Kind of got a consensus on... Like any other Disney planning, it was like, what is our actual priorities here? That's going to be interesting with how many people I have coming with me for this.
00:12:01
Speaker
Well, so so maybe the... yeah I guess this is a suggestion I have because like when we did it it was, it was, um, it was my family and then my parents were with us. So it wasn't just, it wasn't just us.
00:12:14
Speaker
Um, but we actually, we did break off from my parents for a little bit because like, so it was the same kind of thing where like they, they didn't want to go and line up to meet Santa or anything like that. Yeah, of course. yeah Um,
00:12:27
Speaker
So, you know, they they like we we agreed to like meet them. I think we met them at like the entrance to Tomorrowland or something. Okay. Yeah. like Sorry. it was ah It was a while ago, but I'm pretty sure like we like we kind of talked to them So like, okay, we're going to go do these things. We'll meet you here.
00:12:41
Speaker
You know, all that kind of stuff. Right. Yeah. And so, yeah, like I'm of the opinion, like, you know, for your family specifically, prioritize what you want to do. And, you know, obviously you're part of a larger group.
00:12:54
Speaker
Yeah. But I think I would make it clear to people like, you know, we're going to do these things if you decide to come with us, you know, great. But, you know, we're doing these things because, it again, it is a short amount of time. And if you're spending time in the party, like debating or like figuring out where to go next, you' you're going to you're not going to be able to necessarily get to everything that you want to do.
00:13:18
Speaker
Yeah. Right. Yeah. We need that. We we definitely need to plan this out for sure. And then um the other thing that actually, you know, I'm i'm going to say this because um ah As we're talking about this, we kind of agreed that if if we are going to – or this wait list will probably be released around the time you're there anyway. So it's not yeah it's not going to ruin you know your plan of attack on this. But um we found – so later on in the party, obviously, there there is the fireworks and there is the ah there is the parade.
00:13:52
Speaker
Um, we were less interested in the fire. So again, from, from a point of prioritizing, we, we avoided the hub for the fireworks because it, even though it is a holiday party, the hub does get very busy for the fireworks.
00:14:05
Speaker
So we, um, we found, um, just across the bridge into, uh, Liberty square. there, there's like a little, um, there, there's like that section behind the, uh, the, um,
00:14:17
Speaker
the Christmas shop. Like, you know, you know what I'm talking about, right? Like i do yeah if there's like a little empty section there. Yeah. Yeah. But, but ah up like by next to the bridge, there's a, there's a spot where like we, we were able to stand for the, uh, the fireworks, which you don't get like, obviously all of the projections on the castle because you're kind of like looking at the castle from the side, but you know, we were able to watch the fireworks from there, but it was also a very great, um, it was a very great position for the, uh, the parade.
00:14:47
Speaker
which okay you are going to want to do the parade. um Yeah. I mean, I think our priorities are definitely going to be rides, parades, fireworks. Like that's, I mean, i think that's what they will be in and maybe some characters mixed in there and then treats, of course. I mean, I think rides will actually be you know like our lower priority, you know?
00:15:05
Speaker
Yeah. And I mean, in terms of the rides, like like honestly, the the only rides that I would say, or my again, this is my opinion, you you know, take this with a grain of salt you know, whatever you guys do, you do.
00:15:18
Speaker
Um, I think, I mean, the ones with the overlays are the priority, which would be, uh, I definitely want to do Space Mountain. definitely space Space Mountain is crazy.
00:15:28
Speaker
um it like i I was seeing dots in front of my eyes for about 10 minutes after I got off that ride. That's not really a ringing endorsement. that's ah That's like I couldn't, my back hurt after. not No, that that's how crazy it is. No, I know. I'm just kidding. As my son would describe it, it was like getting hit by like a flashbang.
00:15:50
Speaker
Okay. But, but it's funny because like, it it was so like, like the experience of it was like, we were having fun or whatever. And like, I was just enjoying it, but they're like, it's so weird because it's, you're used to space mountain being just like dark, dark. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And you can see like the lights are on, like, like there's all kinds of lights going and they've got the music going and everything. And it was, it was a wonderful experience. But then, like I said, when I got off, it was like,
00:16:18
Speaker
I was temporarily blind for a bit because you like, you know, by that point, you know, it's dark out. You've been doing everything in the dark and then all of a sudden you get on this ride and it's just like bright lights everywhere. Right. Really selling it. Yeah. It's but light like, says just it's just that dark and light thing. Yeah. But yeah but it like, it was fine. Like it wasn't, I wasn't like, Oh my gosh, I can't see. It was like, I was like laughing because it was like,
00:16:44
Speaker
Like that was, it was, it was a crazy experience. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so, so yeah, definitely. Yeah. You know, prioritize space mountain, but, and, um, make sure you do get on the, uh, Tomorrowland speedway as well.
00:17:00
Speaker
That's definitely a lot more my daughter's speed. Yeah. and And because, again, the holiday overlay for the Speedway is very cool. Like, it's... Yeah. Yeah.
00:17:10
Speaker
so So, do those. And then um the only other one that could be a little bit tricky for you guys is the Jingle Cruise. That's always he's a tough one, right? Yeah. Like, I love the Jingle Cruise. I did last time I was there for the holidays. We did the Jingle Cruise and it's it's just like one of my favorite things. But i i'm sure it'll ah I'm sure that'll be a popular option.
00:17:31
Speaker
Yeah. the So, and yeah, this is, this is where it might be a hard one for you. For us, it was, you know, we were, we were able to go like to the end of the party. So like we actually left the jingle cruise, um, like after the parade and after the fireworks and everything, when it started to quiet down a little bit more. Yeah. Um, because yeah, you know, it it was hitting that point where like, like, I think the wait times are down to like 15 minutes or something like that. So, yeah yeah um So, yeah, but but like said, the problem is like Jingle Cruise and Space Mountain, kind like they do at the beginning of the party, they do fill up quickly. And and so I think this, you know, if if you're deciding not to the...
00:18:13
Speaker
to do the um the Santa meet and greet, you may want to go and like, like, yeah so this is where you may want to prioritize one of those rides and, you know, get, get it out of the way as the party is starting kind of thing. Yeah. Because, because yeah, you know, at the start of the party, like they have that point where, they you know, they cut off, um,
00:18:33
Speaker
or I was saying this about like, you know, we talked on a previous episode about the after hours parties and, ah um you know, there there is that cutoff point where it's like once the party starts, they stop letting people in. Like there' there'll still be a queue, right? But you can kind of hit that sweet spot where it's like, you know, there's there's not a ton of people coming in that are regular visitors and just people from the party.
00:18:58
Speaker
so yeah So you'll still wait, but it's not like, yeah, it's, um like I said, really, really I guess, yeah you know, what I'm getting at is have that conversation with your family and kind of figure out, like, you don't have to have, like, everything, like, checkboxed, but definitely figure out the priority things and, you know, make your way to those things first and kind of get them out of the way. And then ah that gives you more time that, like,
00:19:21
Speaker
you can You can stop and enjoy the treats. You can make your way around the park a little bit slower. And then also like give yourself time to fine find the position you want for for watching the fireworks and the parade.
00:19:35
Speaker
Because those, I think, are the biggest things that people kind of overlook. And and we kind of learned that the first when we did the our first Halloween party. like We were very overwhelmed because it was like...
00:19:46
Speaker
oh, you can do this, we can do this. And and we didn't really know what to do. And we ended up like missing out ah or not missing out, but like, you know, we didn't get like a great place for the the the parade.
00:19:58
Speaker
we We missed like half the fireworks because we didn't even realize what time they were starting. Like we didn't, We weren't paying attention to all that kind of stuff. And we had learned like by the time we we did this this last Christmas party that we did that, you know, at least understanding, yeah you know, that
Making the Most of Party Treats
00:20:14
Speaker
they are very good about it. Like i said, they gave us, ah you know, a pamphlet with like, here's all the treats. Here's the time for the fireworks and the parade and everything. And we we we've made sure that we gave ourselves time to get to the things that we wanted to do. Because, yeah, it's... So what I'm hearing planning is key.
00:20:32
Speaker
It is. And I mean... Because have such a limited time, so... Yeah. Yeah, because because, yeah, that's exactly it, is that, you you know, you don't have a lot of time and you're going to be enjoying yourself so much that it's not going to feel like it was, you know, three or four hours that went by. Yeah, it' it'll go by fast. Yeah. that No, I mean, I'm sure it will.
00:20:52
Speaker
Yeah. So, um and yeah, I'm trying to think if there's anything else that... really, ah I think those were the, like i said, those those were the big things is that like we, we made sure, you know, we, we, we had gotten food before the party. Like we, we didn't eat like a ton of food because we knew that like,
00:21:11
Speaker
I mean, really, you're just getting a ton of sugar the party anyway. but Oh, I mean, that's that's my plan to keep my daughter up is just to sugar her up as much as possible. Yeah. and And I mean, like i said, the the cookies, like so so the thing was is that the cookies, like it wasn't just like the same cookie we were getting everywhere. It was, you know, they they had like gingerbread cookies and...
00:21:30
Speaker
You shortbread and all this stuff. And so like that, it that was part of it, too, is that, you know, we it wasn't just like like we have like the big rides and the big things that we wanted to do, like the parade and everything.
00:21:44
Speaker
But then it was like that in between was like, oh, you know, we had to go over to like Golden Horseshoe because they had the gingerbread and and hot chocolate there. kind of thing and And it was never, um we never experienced like huge, huge lines for those things. or Or I mean, like there was lines, but it was like they moved quick enough, right? Like it was never, I wasn't ever like waiting 20 minutes to get a cookie or anything like that.
00:22:08
Speaker
Okay. so because i Yeah, I don't i'm I'm not waiting that long for a cookie. That's for sure. Yeah, no. Like I said, it was usually like five minutes or whatever. But again, it was still worth your time. but Like the the thing to be careful of is, you know, make use of the map and and like, you know, pay attention to where things are, because like even um even going to Golden Horseshoe, it was like.
00:22:28
Speaker
You had to like walk in Golden Horseshoe and it was like further inside where the cookie thing like they had signs outside, but it wasn't it wasn't as obvious as the tree trails is the thing. Because because when you are and maybe they change this, I don't I don't know. But when we were there, um so like the tree trails had like these big inflatable things that were like it was clear, like markers where the tree trails were.
00:22:52
Speaker
the cookie handouts were like they had signs and whatnot, but if you weren't paying attention, you could walk by and miss them very easily. So pay attention more is what you're saying.
00:23:04
Speaker
Yeah. Well, like I said, use the map. Like, like really what we found was like, you know, you know, using the map and like, you know we did check everyone. So I was like, Oh, you know, there's, you know, we were heading our way through fantasy land. was like on our way. i was like, Oh, we can stop here and grab a cookie kind of thing. So, you know, don't, uh, don't underestimate that because, and I know it's not like, it's not the main selling point of the, the, the whole thing, but,
00:23:29
Speaker
It does play into it, honestly, because, yeah, like you said, you one, you you're giving your yourself and your your family sugar energy, but also, you know, it's it's part of the enjoyment of the whole thing.
00:23:41
Speaker
Okay. yeah Yeah. I mean, listen, I'm going to fully take advantage of the included treats and also probably some non-included treats. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Cause yeah, that's the other thing too, is that they do have the, uh, you can buy stuff when you're there as well. Now I know I just kind of like info dumped a whole bunch of stuff that I remembered from my last trip.
00:24:03
Speaker
Um, now I guess I should ask you what, is there anything specifically that you're wondering about or that I didn't cover? I mean, my biggest worries are not the party itself. It's more just how long my daughter's going to last, you know?
00:24:17
Speaker
Right. Yeah, that's fair. I mean, it's... And, you know, when when my son was younger, like, we we did do the, you know, go back and nap in the afternoon kind of thing just to make sure that he had enough energy to, like, get...
00:24:30
Speaker
Well, and we're not even going to stay for the whole day. Right. So like we're we're going to we're not coming in till four. Right. Unless we we end up getting a room like we, you know, we're trying to get. But even then, we're not going to go to the park before then. So we'll try to do a nap thing. But she doesn't really an nap anymore. You know, it's. Yeah. I mean, ah you say that, but I like I told my 17 year old to go have a nap.
00:24:54
Speaker
the other day he did Like he was tired and he like, he was being cranky. So I was like, just go have a nap. And he did. and So, I mean, it's, or I guess, does does your daughter nap in the car at all? No, she'll fall asleep sometimes. Yeah, I mean, depends. I mean it's going to be it's going to be interesting to kind of see that part of it and and and see how she lasts and and how she enjoys things and, you know.
00:25:18
Speaker
ah you know, how she reacts the firework shows and the parades and all that stuff. I mean, the funny thing is my daughter has watched videos of pretty much all the stuff that happens at the Christmas party, right? So she's not unfamiliar with it. She she is she knows that it exists. She knows, you know, she's seen the parades many times.
00:25:34
Speaker
I don't think we've ever actually watched that particular firework show that they do. But, um you know, she's seen a lot of the stuff there. I think, you know, the the the frozen stuff they do on stage, we're definitely going to you know make a point to see that stuff. That's what I'm saying. Like, I don't know how many.
00:25:50
Speaker
We're definitely do some rides. I have a feeling we're going to end up on the barnstormer just because my daughter loves the barnstormer. But, we you know, we might try to push her to do some other stuff. Um, we'll see. i don't think, don't, I don't think space mountains happening, but you never know her, my, her, my, uh, my sister and brother-in-law. She's tall enough for space mountain, right?
00:26:09
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. Um, but I just don't, she's not, I don't know. It's that, that'll be an interesting one because ah you know, she'll, if I'm asking her to do it, she'd probably say no.
00:26:21
Speaker
Uh, but you know, if her aunt and uncle are asking her she might, you know, Has, or I guess, has she seen videos of the holiday overlay for it or no? Probably not. Because that that might help your situation if you if you want to try and get her on it, is that, you know, you know helping her understand, that you know, this isn't like normal Space Mountain. It's a, you know, it's a Christmassy...
00:26:46
Speaker
version of space mountain right yeah oh yeah um i i don't know we'll we'll see she's weird about roller coasters right so like i have i've tried to get her to ride fun big thunder uh before you know when we were there in may before it closed uh and couldn't get her to do it i'm sorry it wasn't not this past may the two days ago um but ah because it was already closed when were there but i it i tried to get her to do it and she was all about it and then as we walked over she was like she you know kind of was like no don't want to do it And I mean, but, you know, I talked a lot about this year. I talked about our you know trips to Carowinds locally, and they have a kiddie wooden roller coaster there.
00:27:24
Speaker
And, you know, a fair bit, you know, it's it's a wooden roller coaster. It's it's not um a Disney coaster in that it's they're not smooth as as a steel coaster. it's a little more It's a little more intense. And that ended up being like her favorite ride at the park. So it's like, I don't know. i mean, try to maybe push her a little more and see if she'll do it. We'll see.
00:27:43
Speaker
Yeah, maybe maybe she's kind of hit that turning point. Because you're right, you know, but kids kids are, you know, they start off like very, you know, unsure about things. And my son was the same way, like, know, I guess, you know, he was more gung-ho for roller coasters right off the bat. But there was also a point where, like, he was just unsure about everything. And then all of a sudden it was like, once he experienced it, he was like, oh, yeah, I'm down for, like, all of this, right? so Yeah, that's always the thing, right? Once you get him to try it, then it's like...
00:28:11
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So go from there. Yeah. I mean, and, you know, even if you don't do all the, the overlay rides, like, you know, that you're, you're still going to have, you know, a great time there regardless. Like like you say, you know, that there's, there is honestly the thing about holiday parties is that there is way more to do.
00:28:31
Speaker
Like, he I don't, if somebody figured out how to do everything you can do at a holiday party in a single one, I mean, that that is like very hardcore, like min-maxing of your time. don't anticipate us doing everything. It's actually to your point, like like, you know, the thing that we missed out on was the stage shows. and And again, that was a choice. like Like we talked about it ahead of time. And we were like, okay, what do we want to do? And it was like, yeah, we want to go meet and greet Santa.
00:29:00
Speaker
We want to get on these rides. We want to do cookies. We want fireworks. And, and because of that, we're like, well, there's this stage show at this time. And we're like, yeah, we're not getting over to that. That's fine. Like, yeah we'll just, we'll just miss that. Right.
00:29:13
Speaker
Um, but yeah, it's, like I said, it it is very much, um, you know, you know, knowing, knowing what all of these things are. And like I said, I, I feel, um or like said, our experience was, you know kind of starting from the the front of the park worked out just because it was like, we, we, we got the ornaments, which like, I feel like you want to get the ornaments from the, yeah i i want an ornament and and I don't, but I mean, honestly, it was like a, like you could, you could get them later in the party or like, as you're leaving, I'm pretty sure they were still handing them out. I wasn't honestly paying attention because it was like, once we had them, it was like, got that moving on to other things. Right. So, yeah.
00:29:53
Speaker
Again, you know, it comes comes down to priorities, right? or Or, you know, what your family wants to to get done first. And because technically you could start the party like you could, know, put Jingle Cruise as your first thing you want to do.
00:30:06
Speaker
And you could start over in Adventureland, right? the The other part of it, though, too, is, you know, we're going to show up at four. Party starts at seven. So i I think what our initial thought was is that we were going to try to do rides, you know, then because the party doesn't really start till seven. So, You know, the problem is we're going the week of Thanksgiving, so it's going to be busy. Right. So like how much we can actually get done is probably limited.
00:30:28
Speaker
Here's the thing, though. so So Jingle Cruise, you can do outside of the party. Yeah. um But you can't. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. the the So Space Mountain and the Tomorrowland Speedway, they're not running until the party starts. I guess I just mean all the other stuff that's not, you know, holiday themed. you know Yeah. Yeah, true. I mean, i mean that that's the thing is that you can, like, and and yeah, to be fair, the you know, the rides we did during the party were specifically those, like, overlay rides, right? like Yeah. And I think we did we did get on Big Thunder only because, again, it was, like, we were still kind of, like, prioritizing Big Thunder. In the last couple of years, we we kind of got to a point where, like, Big Thunder's not
00:31:11
Speaker
not a big deal anymore. How dare you? How dare you? Or sorry, not, I'm sorry. i didn't mean big thunder, seven dwarfs mine train. Oh yeah, that's, that's fine. You can, sorry. I, I, I switched that around in my head. I, I, it was another like mine cart.
00:31:26
Speaker
ride but seven but seven dwarfs is so we used to prioritize seven dwarfs as like we would get on it during a during a holiday party or after hours but we kind of started moving away from that because like seven dwarfs is great and all but yeah it's you don't need to get on seven dwarfs i Yeah. Seven dwarves is one of those things where it's it's it's fun and all, but like the the wait is not worth the amount of time that you're on it for. yeah but no But that's why that's why going during a holiday party or an after hours party is attractive because you like it'll be like at most a 20 minute wait. Yeah. Then it makes it worth it to do.
00:32:05
Speaker
Yeah. but But for a holiday party, though, I would say like I would not prioritize that because there are There is way more to do than riding seven doors. Right. Yeah. No, for sure. For sure.
00:32:21
Speaker
I, I totally agree with that. Yeah. So, yeah, it so it sounds like, like I said, I'll see if I can find... um I'm going to dig through my stuff after we we're done this waitlist. And I'll see if I can find... Because I'm pretty sure we kept the the brochure from the treat trail.
00:32:40
Speaker
Or not treat... Where the cookies were and everything. So you at least could get like an idea of... like Again, that it was years ago. But... You know, you'll it'll give you an idea of kind of what you're looking at or how they map out the party, which I think will help you guys with, like I said, you know, because of, you know, you're showing up, you're you're specifically going to the party.
Balancing Fun and Planning
00:33:01
Speaker
um Yeah, you know you know, obviously, you know, ahead of time, I would say even like, you know, if you're getting there at four, um you know,
00:33:09
Speaker
you don't have to run around like you can, you could go and, you know, just find somewhere to sit, you know, have dinner and just chill before the party, like kind of save your energy a bit.
00:33:21
Speaker
i don't know. Yeah. I kind of, I kind of got to see what that's going to look like. You know, I think, uh, I have, we haven't really discussed it at all yet. You know, there's been, a you know, a little bit of discussion, but not a lot.
00:33:32
Speaker
Right. So we, there's still a lot of planning that needs to take place. We, we are, you know, we were we're still, it's not here yet. So we got a little bit of time, but, but But this is why we're we're talking about it now because you know you'll you'll be far more prepared than I was, which I feel – or you know being being prepared for the holiday parties, they're definitely – they're a lot of fun.
00:33:56
Speaker
But like I said, the the very first one we did, it was super overwhelming. Yeah. Like I was, I was not prepared for how much stuff there was to do and like kind of figuring out what it was I wanted to do during the that makes sense. Yeah. So, yeah.
00:34:12
Speaker
That makes sense. Yeah, no, I appreciate all these tips. And I, you know, I i hope ah anybody else that listens to this can also provide some tips. ah But, you know, this is I appreciate this because I'm going in fairly. I mean, i obviously know some details, but, um you know, this is this is a like I said, it's a it's kind of a blind spot for me. So, yeah, I hope that I've given you at least a leg up on this. And, you know, it's This goes back to again to previous discussions that we've had is, you know, I'm I'm in that position of, you know, I'm giving advice on the trip and I really hope that it goes well because it's.
Anticipation and Final Thoughts on the Christmas Party
00:34:49
Speaker
it's It's a bit of a reflection on my ability to give Disney advice. and Yeah, true. And, you know, but but no, seriously, though, i you know, I want you guys to to have a great time because, you know, the the holiday parties are awesome. And, yeah, i hope you I hope you guys are able to do everything that you want to do.
00:35:09
Speaker
the party Honestly, this is something we have been waiting to do for a very long time. So ah even if it's not ah what completely what – even if we don't get to do everything, it's we're just excited to do it. It's still – it's going to be magical either way. like like Absolutely.
00:35:25
Speaker
I will admit, like, even – like, being there during the decorations is one thing, but the party adds an extra layer to it. Yeah, yeah. It has, like – I've been there in November and had like that, this is this is Christmas feeling going on, which like it is a weird like it's weird to describe where it's like, you you know, like when you were a kid, like having that like high of like Christmas is coming and like all the stuff surrounding Christmas. Yeah.
00:35:59
Speaker
The first time we did the the Christmas party, it was like I had that like high of like, oh, my gosh, it was this Christmas. This was amazing. And then we left and I came back home and it was like Christmas hasn't happened yet. And then Christmas happened again. And and it was it was like a roller coaster. Yeah, it's a roller coaster of emotions. Yeah. Yeah. that makes sense So, yeah. Like said, i I feel like, you know, i know you guys will have a a great time with it.
00:36:24
Speaker
The magic is what you make it. It is. It is at the end of the day. And, and you know, it's ah as much as you you can absolutely go in and wing it. that If that's how you choose to do it, that I'm not saying that's wrong. You know me. I'm not going to wing it. And I'm the same way. as you know you know I don't want to wing something like that either because it is it is a special thing. And I feel like, you know, because it is a special thing, it does deserve more attention than a normal park day. So, yeah make feel you know, hopefully you guys are able to, you know, get in and figure out a, you know, you know, a plan for it that, you know, at the very least, you you know, you know, you know, having the the only thing that that you haven't experienced is the parade live because it's.
00:37:14
Speaker
Watching videos of it does not. No, it's it's different. Yeah, no, it's different. it's it It is very different. And it like we were we were so blown away a while when we when we saw it live. I'm excited for you. I'm definitely looking forward to that.
00:37:31
Speaker
Yeah. so Well, thank you, Trevor, for going through this with me. And I'm sure I will have more questions. But yeah, absolutely. But yeah, thank you. This has been ah this has been the waitlist. So thanks for joining us. Skipper Albert A. Wall, the voice of the jungle, signing off from Welcome Home Podcast on the DVC.
00:38:09
Speaker
The End