WDWCP: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

My mom and her friend Rexie came to visit me for a week. We had done Disneyland together many times, so it was fun to check out the World together. My mom and I still quote Rexie when she said, after walking around Epcot, that her feet felt like bloody stumps! Ha, I totally understand, but it is still funny. On December 8th we did something a little extra special... Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

Held at the Magic Kingdom, Very Merry is an after hours party you must buy a special ticket for. I highly recommend doing this if you are in Walt Disney World during the holiday season! It will assure you smaller crowds, free cookies, free drinks, special holiday shows, special fireworks, the Christmas parade and SNOW on Main Street USA!!

Upon entering the Magic Kingdom you couldn't even miss the gigantic Christmas tree right at the hub of Main Street if you wanted to. It towers over the nearby buildings!

The whole park had Christmas flair! Even the Mile Long Bar was in on the action. The photo below is of our three guys that would sing Come on in and Sit a Spell to guests every time they exited the Country Bear Jamboree into our restaurant. I loved it when they got decked out with hats, a red nose and twinkle lights!

Since we were in Frontierland, we had a chance to see a Christmas show at the Diamond Horseshoe. We sat upstairs, looking down on the stage. I had been off that day so I was refreshed, but Vinny had to work that day. (And he had to be harassed by his girlfriend, her mom and her mom's friend.) If I remember right, he was pretty tired by the time we watched this show, and may have rested his head down a little bit for a mini snooze before or during the show.

I'm slipping in these next two photos just because! We 3 ladies had spent our day at Magic Kingdom prior to the party, and these photos are the result of coming down the big drop at Splash Mountain! We did go take a little nap at their hotel prior to the party, so it wasn't like one huge, ridiculously long day. Only partially ridiculous!

Back to the party!

Rides are what people think of with theme parks. After hours parties are an excellent way to get in the good rides with minimal wait times! Part of our ride list that night included the Mad Tea Party. I had a blast, because I pretty much love every ride except stupid Primeval Whirl in Disney's Animal Kingdom. Seriously, a waste of space that isn't fun and always breaks down. Anyway!!! I was loving the Tea Cups and getting photos of my fellow passengers. My mom had fun. Rexie tolerated it. And Vinny?

Well, I think this photo summarizes Vinny's feelings about the Mad Tea Party!! Poor guy. But seriously, you were such a good sport, Vinny!

Oh my gosh, side Vinny story from this trip - another thing my mom and I still quote to this day. We were getting ready to leave their hotel I think?? My mom and Rexie had fanny packs. Yeah, I know, right?!? And he told them not to forget their BUCKETS. We had no idea what he was talking about and then we realized he was calling their fanny packs "buckets". It was cute, but he was super cute, so I am probably biased. Anyway....

In Tomorrowland they had a free gift ... a family photo! You can see ours up above at the top of this post. My gosh we were so young. Below you can see us in Tomorrowland, this time on the TTA - Tomorrowland Transit Authority, otherwise known as the People Movers. I LOVE this ride soooo so so much. It is like a moving bench! You can kick up your feet, have some popcorn, maybe even see Space Mountain with the lights on if you're lucky! My mom and I have been on this too many times to count, and clearly we always enjoy it.

Aside from the fireworks, probably the big highlight of the Very Merry Christmas Party is ... Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade! Remember back in the Day (prior to Frozen taking over and the whole show turning to nauseating schmaltz) when Disney actually showed the PARADE on Christmas morning during the Christmas special? This is the parade you see!

It was a long day, but an incredibly fun night! Had we been paying more attention we could have enjoyed some free hot cocoa or apple cider and some delicious free Christmas cookies. I can attest to them being delicious because we had them backstage at Pecos Bill Cafe and it is possible some of them ended up in the mouths of some tired, hungry College Program kids busy working late into the night!

See ya real soon!  °o°