The Candlelight Processional

Another one of those "don't miss" events...

     Once the schedule of celebrity narrators was released, I looked down the list and made my decision on who I wanted to see and when pretty quickly. I passed over the A list stars since I was not looking to deal with the mass of attention they would draw and chose Chandra Wilson, an actress from one of my favorite shows, Grey's Anatomy. I got real excited when I was talking with one of my friends at work one day talking about The Candlelight Processional and the guest narrators, we hit it off when we both said we wanted to see Chandra since we were both huge fans. Right there we started planning out the day and how we would attack it from beginning to end, and right there a true friendship was created.
     When the day came, we were starting reasonably early and knew we would be going for a full day of park hopping. We started around 10 AM and kicked off at Magic Kingdom, and both started kicking ourselves when we got out of the car and it was raining and NEITHER of us had any rain gear to fend it all off, but we just did not care. This was one of those days where very little could bring us down and ruin our day so we just powered through. Kicking off our day we rolled over to Space Mountain and used our first Fastpasses, moved over to Buzz Lightyear, next headed to Fantasyland for Mickey's Philharmagic and The Little Mermaid then wrapped up with the Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. It was a little after midday at this point and we still had plans of doing EPCOT for the candlelight and then going to Hollywood Studios afterwards. So we stopped at Starbucks on our way out of MK to grab some Frappuccinos for a sugar/caffeine boost and stopped to watch the Dapper Dans on our way out.
     Got back to the car and drove to EPCOT and had lunch out in World Showcase before waiting in the single rider line for Test Track. We waited long enough for Test Track that we had a little more than an hour before the candlelight began, so we went back to the amphitheater to wait in line. In retrospect, we could have wandered around a bit more before getting in line but we were not going to put that risk in play. So we were finally allowed in to be seated and the performance was incredible. This is an event at Disney that you CAN NOT miss, no matter who you see narrate or when. We LOVED it and had a blast watching it, so you will have the same experience. Between the narration and the choirs singing, it was unbelievable especially if you enjoy and appreciate excellent choir music.

     Upon the conclusion of the candlelight, we went to the International Gateway to take the Friendship Boat to the Boardwalk Resort. We grabbed some food there before walking to Hollywood Studios to round out our day. When we got into the park we went straight for the Osbourne Lights and just took our time enjoying them since we had a lot of time until Fantasmic started, which we were planning to see as well. After we finished at the lights we went single rider for Rock N Roller Coaster and then went to see Fantasmic. I have heard a lot of mixed opinions on Fantasmic, but in my opinion it is a great nighttime show to see, although the fireworks I will admit are preferable, if you are at Studios, seeing Fantasmic at night is no pushover of a performance.
     Once Fantasmic ended, we were BEAT! Both of us were struggling to function since we had been going nonstop ALL DAY. But we had no regrets, we had the time of our lives and were ready to call it a day and headed back to Chatham.

Artist Point

Another great meal at a great resort...

     When we received our holiday celebration coupons this was another restaurant that was on my radar, eligible for the the dining discount. Once I convinced my roommate to spend a little money on the meal, I made the reservation and we made the same plans as we did for the Yachtsman Steakhouse. We arrived at Wilderness Lodge about an hour prior to our reservation to explore the resort since neither of us have seen more than their luggage room. First and foremost we were immediately blown away by the sheer size of the Christmas tree in their lobby. It rises up higher than you can imagine and is just awe inspiring. Aside from the tree, the lobby itself is incredible, its open and the ceiling rises all the way to the top floor of the resort. We wandered around for a while, headed out back to the pool area and relaxed, taking in the atmosphere until it was time for our reservation.

     The meal itself was great, the restaurant's atmosphere was wonderful. It had high ceilings, fit the theme of Wilderness Lodge perfectly and both of us nearly forgot that we were in Disney and in Florida it was so immersive. It also gave us a chance to reflect on the past 3 months we have had in Disney and everything we have done.

     When we finished eating we went off to check out the Christmas decorations at the Polynesian and Grand Floridian as well as watch Wishes from the beach at the Poly. My roommate had never seen the Christmas decorations at the resorts before so seeing his face when we got to the Grand was hilarious. Everyone is aware of the scale and class that the Grand brings, even without the massive Christmas tree and gingerbread house, but once you step foot in that lobby, see it all, hear the live band playing, it takes it to a whole new level. Even walking around exploring the stores they have inside, you just do not feel like it is Disney, it truly is something else.

     Once we finished up at Grand we walked back to the Poly to watch the fireworks at the end of the evening, Being able to see them from so far out really gives you a great perspective of them rather than straining your neck standing in front of the castle to see them. It is also great since they stream the music onto the beach as well, so you do not miss the storytelling aspect of the fireworks at all. That essentially wrapped up our night, although not as exciting as a marathon through the parks, these easier going, relaxing nights are a nice change of pace every now and then.

Yachtsman Steakhouse

One of best meals in Disney...

     If you do your DCP during the holidays, you get the added benefit of the extra merchandise discount (40% off) and the holiday celebration coupons. Included in these coupons are a 30%, 40% and 50% discount to select restaurants on property. A significant number of restrictions apply to where you can use these, but for me, I was lucky that we could use them at the Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club Resort.

     My roommate who worked Bell Services at the Yacht and Beach Club had heard nothing but great things about the restaurant (other than the prices but that's we use that 50%!!!). Both of us were big time carnivores so you throw 50% off and steakhouse in the same sentence, sign us up and that's what we did. Once we made the reservation our excitement for the day to come grew larger and larger.

     The day arrived and we agreed to take a similar approach to our Cali Grill reservation and arrive to the resort early to explore the Yacht and Beach Club. Even though he worked there he wanted to show me his resorts as well as see all the Christmas decorations they had up which were incredible. We roamed around for about an hour looking at the decorations and walking through the shops finally making our way to the Yatchsman.

     As we were seated and began reading the menu, we both struggled to decide what we were going to order since we basically wanted the menu. But besides our steaks being DEEELICIOUS, the bread they serve you to start, my goodness! It's warm, it's soft and they serve it alongside a sea salt butter and a head of roasted garlic that you essentially use as butter and was absolutely perfect. We polished off our steaks, didn't finish our sides and brought those home, it was one of the best meals I had in a long time, made better by the discount we got. If you get the chance and love steak, find your way to the Yachtsman especially if you get those coupons, this was one of the best places to use it at.

My Thanksgiving Extravaganza

10 days, 5 parks...

     It only took mere hours after telling my family and friends I got accepted to my DCP for the plans to visit to start forming. Within days my family decided they were coming down for Thanksgiving and before we knew it we were getting everyone plane tickets and booked our reservation at Tusker House for Thanksgiving dinner. I was beyond excited when all of this started coming together and I was planning the days with my family out in my head for months.

     Next was friends, and one of my best friends knew she was not gonna not find a way to visit me no matter the cost. All summer she kept asking around for people to come with her so they could split a hotel room together and she managed to find two friends and before we knew it, it was time to book a room. Once I got to Disney and could book discounted rooms, I gave them the call and made sure we were all set and it all started coming together. 
     It was set, my friends were coming from November 20th to the 25th and my family from the 25th to the 29th. 10 straight days of fun and as you can imagine my immediate concern was getting the days off from work, so I put in the requests to work and prayed.

     A few days prior during a training class at Disney University during one of our breaks I went on over to Company D to purchase all the passes for my family and friends. 12 in total, a mix of park hoppers and single park passes, all for a variety of different days and then linked everything to My Disney Experience account to book everyone's Fastpasses. Contrary to popular belief, getting Fastpasses for most rides on short notice isn't that difficult, the only rides you will struggle for are Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Toy Story Midway Mania and Soarin. Other than those three rides I was usually all set for most other rides, whether it was for myself or in this case my friends and family.

     My schedules came out for the days of everyone visiting. I got scheduled for a few days during that time, but managed to switch shifts around with fellow cast members to only need to work twice throughout their visit and it worked out perfectly. So I was all set, they'd be arriving soon and my excitement just kept growing and growing.

     My friends and I were staying at Coronado Springs for the duration of their visit, so they were able to take the Disney Magical Express (DME) bus from the airport to the resort. They were arriving late at night so I was able to prepare for their arrival all day and meet them at Coronado as they got off the bus. I couldn't have been happier to see familiar faces from back home, as much as I love all my friends I was living with at Disney, seeing those who matter from home and being able to share the Disney experience with them is the best feeling in the world. I brought them back to the room and called it a night, the following day we had no plans of going the parks.

     We woke up and I took them to Walmart to get food for breakfast and other various items so they wouldn't have to eat every meal at the parks and could save money on that front. It worked out beautifully, so I brought them back to Coronado to settle back in and I'd meet them at the pool a little later after I went back to my apartment for a bit. On my way back to Coronado I ended up getting a flat tire which really got me going but took a breath, threw on my spare and kept rolling along, there was no way anything in the world was stopping me from enjoying these upcoming days.

     After spending most of the day relaxing by the pool allowing them to recuperate from a long day of flying the day prior, we went to Downtown Disney for dinner and to walk around. We were downtown for probably 3 hours having dinner then going through all the stores letting them get immersed in everything Disney and get them all jazzed up for the days to come. It was nice to finally have the opportunity to share what I've been enjoying for the past two and a half months with the people who haven't had the same privilege as me and watching them enjoy it so much was awesome. The next day we were starting the marathon of getting little sleep and going hard at the parks, so we got back to Coronado reasonably early in the evening so we could all get a decent nights sleep before going to Universal the next day.

     I slept back at my apartment that evening so I could pack a bag with all the clothes I need for the next couple days to stay at Coronado, grabbed coffee on my way to pick them up and we were off. I couldn't wait to see how they'd react to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and they were just as excited. We only got the one park pass to Universal for financial reasons and general lack of energy/interest to do both parks. Once we got in the park we hit the ground running with the Hollywood Rip Ride Rock It, moved on to The Return of The Mummy and Transformers before ending up at The Simpsons Ride. At this point we had made it to the back of the park near Diagon Alley, we rode Men in Black and then finally made it to Diagon Alley and it was great to see the look on their faces. We spent plenty of time exploring the various stores they have, grabbed some Butterbeer and eventually went to ride Escape from Gringotts.

     By now we were all feeling pretty burnt out and hangry. So we finally departed Diagon Alley and headed back toward the entrance of the park to grab something to eat. Now that we were satisfied and feeling slightly re-energized we walked to ET for an easy, relaxing ride to keep us going then finished off our day with Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. This was hands down the longest, fullest day I had ever done at Universal, we left with the sun down, physically drained but ready for day 2 which would be even longer...Magic Kingdom.

     We all basically passed out once returning to Coronado, I woke up extra early to go out and grab coffee for us all, returning to everyone getting ready to head out for the day. We left Coronado as early as was humanly possible for everyone to wake up and be fully functioning since we knew MK would be packed...and it was. We got there about 30 min after opening and just the lines for the bag check were unreal, but regardless we made it in and I immediately let them know just pick what ya wanna ride and regardless of what it is we are probably gonna have to wait a decent line. Throughout their time with me I kept telling them it's your vacation I'm here to do whatever you guys want, I can do it all whenever I want.

     We immediately started with our castle Photopass picture with our ears and moved over to Tomorrowland to use our Space Mountain Fastpass, rode The People Mover and did Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. We moved on to Journey Under the Sea with The Little Mermaid and Mickey's Philharmagic then moved over to Haunted Mansion, we unintentionally timed it perfectly to catch the Festival of Fantasy Parade at 3 while eating turkey legs for lunch. We watched the whole parade from the nearby Hall of Presidents and by this point it was time for our Splash Mountain Fastpass. We hit that and then headed out to go back to Coronado to recuperate before heading to Hollywood Studios at night.

     After an hour or so at the room, we went to Studios so they could see the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights, since all three of them LOVE Christmas and I can say I'm no different. But seeing the look on people's face when they saw these lights for the first time was the best, just pure joy and awe...I remember the first time I saw them and felt the same way. They are so overwhelming in the best way.

     That was all we did at Studios though since wait times for everything were so long and I wanted to make sure we caught Wishes. As we were parking at MK walking toward the TTC I heard fireworks begin going off, it was only 9 pm and couldn't figure out why. But it was Wishes going off an hour earlier than I was accustom to, so rather than watch them on Main Street we saw them from the TTC which was just as magical for them having never seen them before. Once they wrapped up though we took the monorail back into MK to catch some more rides before they closed and all passed out from exhaustion. We managed to ride Buzz Lightyear, Big Thunder Mountain  Winnie the Pooh and Pirates of the Caribbean before calling it a night. All of us were ready to pass out by the time we finally made it back to Coronado. Everyone passed out once we got back and the next day we had Animal Kingdom and EPCOT to attack.

     I woke up extra early again to get coffee for all of us, returning to the room with all them just about ready to leave. Once we were ready to go we headed to Animal Kingdom arriving just after park open and having a great day ahead with Fastpasses for the major attractions. We started off big with Expedition Everest, one of my favorites, and then went straight to Dinosaur hitting them back to back. We moved on from Dinoland, trekking across the park to Africa to watch The Festival of the Lion King and then ride Kiliminjaro Safaris. We had hit everything major at this point and we were ready to head out, but snapped some obligatory pics in front of The Tree of Life first.

     This was a crazier day for me than the others since I was spending the first half with my friends, then dropping them at EPCOT so I could meet up with my family who landed that morning and then I had to work that night from 3:30 to midnight. I was up at 6 and in bed at 1, needless to say it was a long day for me but well worth it.

     The next morning my friends were taking the DME from Coronado back to the airport at 7 AM, so I woke up early again to get them coffee for their ride back as well as see them off. I gave them all a hug and told them how great a time I had with them during their visit, and went straight from Coronado to Magic Kingdom where I would be meeting my family. The park opened at 8 and I got to the main entrance just before they opened and FINALLY got to see the opening ceremony before entering the park. My family wasn't arriving for another hour or so, therefore I had a decent amount of time to myself to catch a few rides, as well as just have some alone time which was much needed. And by happenstance a previous co-worker and DCP alum was at Disney for Thanksgiving as well with her family, so I planned on meeting up with her at MK too. Being at MK so early I was able to ride Space Mountain twice in a row and then Buzz Lightyear once before walking back to the main entrance to stand atop The Main Street Train Station watching for them to enter. Just standing up there getting to look out over Main Street and see everyone entering was awesome, and finally my family came in and we were ready to get the day started. We kicked off with Buzz Lightyear, still had a short wait time as it was still early and as we got off I met up with my friend who I hadn't seen in over a year.

     At this point I split off with her and told my family to go do whatever they wished and my friend and I headed off on our own. Having the chance to do MK with another Disney fan who knows the park just as well is a blast. Both of us were smiling with elation and headed to Mickey's Philharmagic, a personal favorite of mine and hers as well. Next we hit Haunted Mansion then the Little Mermaid. My family was on there way to sit down and get lunch where I'd meet them shortly. But first we were stopped by a Photopass Photographer who snapped a great photo of us. We had to make a pit stop at Main Street to get the photos moved over to my account to download. At this point she went back to her parents and I met up with my family at Liberty Tree Tavern to eat.

It was a much needed break in the day and a great time for my family to ask me all about my time doing the program so far. I mainly had to explain what Magic Bands were and how they worked to them since I had mine on, and also got my cousin hooked on pin trading which was great. When we finished eating it was time for our Splash Mountain Fastpass and we managed to pull of a killer ride photo. Following this we watched The Hall of Presidents where I promptly took a much needed nap and then got positioned for the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Once the parade ended we hustled across the park to Space Mountain for our last Fastpasses of the day. On our way out we stopped for some pictures in front of the castle and finally departed for EPCOT to have dinner and round out the day.

     As we got to EPCOT we took some more photos and went directly to Mouse Gear so everyone could do a little shopping. Once everyone was geared up we headed to World Showcase for dinner, we decided on Morocco since it is my favorite place to eat in EPCOT and no one argued against it. I got my usual plate of lamb schwarma and devoured it as fast as I could. Once I finished eating I had to leave to pick up my cousin and his girlfriend from he airport since they were flying in that evening. I left my family to enjoy EPCOT the remainder of the evening and would meet them back at the hotel.

     The next day was Thanksgiving and we were doing Animal Kingdom...all day. Another early rise as we were getting to AK right around park open. A nice advantage to AK is it was much less crowded than the other parks on the holiday, so although wait times were long, none were astronomical and we had Fastpasses for the big rides. We kicked off the day with Killiminjaro Safaris and afterwards did the Pangani Forest Trail. Our grandparents were arriving a little later than us, so we headed to the entrance to meet them before going to ride Everest. Next up was Festival of the Lion King, followed by It's Tough to be a Bug and then Dinosaur. At this point we still had a few hours until our dinner reservations at Tusker House, so after we saw Finding Nemo The Musical some of us did Everest again while others went to watch Flights of Wonder. We eventually met up again at the Maharaja Jungle Trek before going to Tusker House to eat.

     Once dinner ended we made it back to the front of the park for everyone to browse some of the shops and make a few more purchases. And, since this was the final year for the Osborne Lights and no one in my family had ever seen them before, we chose to end our day at Studios. Upon arrival we immediately went to the lights and took them in, enjoying the sights and sounds. Since it wasn't too too late, we had time to catch some rides so we went and rode Tower of Terror twice and then ended with Star Tours. At this point everyone was pretty wiped out and ready to head back to the hotel. I, on the other hand, would be going to MK to meet with my friend again since I have no issue losing sleep to hit the parks. So I drove over, met my friend and managed to hit some rides; Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and Jingle Cruise and at this point we were both dead and needed sleep. We walked back out of the park, said our farewells and returned to our respective places of sleep.

     So I finally got back to my apartment, got a few hours of sleep and the next day was Universal with my family. We arrived shortly after park open, got the two park passes since we are all major Harry Potter fans and got to having fun. We started with Rip Ride Rock Rt, moved over to Transformers then headed to Springfield so I could fan girl over it with my brother while we also grabbed a bite to eat. Unfortunately the wait for The Simpsons Ride was super long so we skipped it and just made a few merchandise purchases. Then we finally dove into Diagon Alley and I just sat back and allowed them all to explore. We checked out Ollivanders, hit Escape from Gringotts and then took the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade. We arrived and started with Dragon Challenge, afterwards grabbed the obligatory Butterbeer and our final ride was The Forbidden Journey. We exited the park around mid afternoon and it was much needed since I got back to the hotel and took a MUCH needed nap before dinner.

     That night was my farewell to most of my family except my one cousin and his girlfriend who arrived a day after everyone else. Therefore, they were going to EPCOT and then Magic Kingdom and I met them at MK when I was finished with work at 5. I changed and drove straight over and met up with them and we had dinner at Casey's Corner, each taking down a pulled pork hot dog. Then we finished off their evening with Mickey's Philharmagic, Splash Mountain and Wishes, concluding their vacation and mine. I brought them back to the hotel, finally returned to my apartment and with a day off the next day, I happily slept and recovered from the marathon of fun I just endured.

     At the end of all of that, it was some of the best time I had during my DCP. It was one thing getting to experience it all, day in and day out with your friends who are doing the DCP with you, but getting to see the joy and happiness it brings those who are not as fortunate is amazing. I loved having the opportunity to share it with the people who mattered most to me and had the time of my life with them!

Transition from Halloween to Christmas (What's Thanksgiving?)

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

     As October ends and November begins in Disney, the atmosphere stays magical but you'll begin seeing less orange and more green and red. Although gradual over a week or two, the transition to Christmas seems like it happens overnight. And being there to see it all happen is something else.

     First off are the resorts, and from my personal experience, at Port Orleans. Now, being a moderate our decorations are not quite as hardcore as the deluxe resorts but they do their job of setting the resort in the Christmas spirit. It was fun getting to close on the night they brought in all the Christmas decorations and watch the beginning of the transformation. Big wreaths and all sorts of Christmas decorations to transform our hotel. And overnight our hotel goes from standard Port Orleans and jumps into the Christmas spirit.

     The parks of course get the royal treatment and imagining the crew of people that decorate each of the parks overnight is mind blowing. One day Magic Kingdom is full of Mickey Pumpkins, the next it's full of wreaths and lights. Each park gets its own massive Christmas tree decorated in theme with the park. The Dapper Dans and Main Street performers' outfits change from their fall colors to Christmas colors and start jamming out with Christmas songs. Best of all the castle goes from getting just the spotlights at night to drowning I'm Christmas lights, it's incredible when you see it for the first time, and seeing it for 2 months on repeat...it's just amazing and hard to imagine it without them. Let us not forgot the merchandise, you'll be swimming in it. Christmas essentially pukes all over Disney property and it was wonderful, I personally loved every second of it and as long as you aren't the grinch, you will too!!

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

You're Gonna Have A Good Time...

     If you do the fall or fall advantage program, you HAVE to do the Halloween and Christmas parties! I didn't know if or when I may get another opportunity to go to these events at the cast member price and I wasn't going to miss out. So even though I ended up at the Christmas party alone, I had a great time regardless.

     After doing the Halloween party, I realized that as much as I know all the rides have no waits, that's not why I'm at the party. Take advantage of all the party exclusive things, character meet and greats, free cookies and hot chocolate, exclusive merchandise and ride some rides in between, don't make them your priority. Also, plan your night around the parade, stage show and fireworks. That way you won't miss any of the fun!

     I initially planned to meet up with my roommate around 4:30-5 when the party was supposed to start because I was at MK around 2. But his phone died so I didn't see him the entire night, upsetting at first but I got over pretty quickly. I got my party map with all the character locations and show times and began planning my night.

     The exclusive characters I made it a point to meet were The Seven Dwarfs and it was the first thing I did that night. I got in line for them about half an hour before the party even started because their line gets long very quickly. Once I finished there I found my friend working who had the guide to where each character actually was rather than the map guests have that has locations but not who is there. I met Mickey all decked out for Christmas as well as Pooh and Friends and caught the parade and the fireworks. In between it all taking major advantage of the free cookies and hot chocolate because why not, sugar kept me going throughout the night.
     All in all I had a great time, even though I was on my own, it gave me the freedom to do what I wanted with no one arguing about who to meet or what to ride. So it had its perks for sure and I made the most of the night!