The WDW Holiday Newbie

Welcome to the first stop aboard Magical Blogorail Black. Enjoy the ride as we share our WDW holiday must-do lists.

My family is doing something crazy this year. At least, other people tell us it's crazy.

We're flying to WDW on Christmas Day. 

Yup, opening presents at home, then dashing to the airport and landing in Orlando just in time to drop our bags at the off-property hotel (the room was gifted to us by family friends with extra time-share points) and book it over to the Yachtsman Steakhouse for dinner. Then we'll stay in Orlando for two days of park hopping, followed by one almost-entire day of non-park activities before boarding a plane home. 

This trip is out of character for two reasons: 1. Christmas is an incredibly sacred time in our house, one steeped in tradition and routine, and 2. when we go to WDW, we deliberately pick the lowest-attended times of the year. But when the hotel stay was given to us for free, curiosity and the need for adventure won out, and so, my very first WDW holiday experience will start in just a few weeks. 

Truth be told, I'm already wary of the crowds and the stroller beasts and the all-gone FastPasses and the two hour queue lines. But I am very, very excited for several reasons:

New Fantasyland is open! Our last WDW trip was in September, when New Fantasyland was still under construction but open juuuust enough to let some guests sneak a peek. We got to see a preview of Enchanted Tales with Belle, which was great, and we saw Cast Members and Imagineers putting the finishing touches on the Little Mermaid area. I can't wait to see the finished product, and I'm especially excited to try Lefou's Brew. 

Test Track is back! Test Track, which was/hopefully still is one of my favorite Epcot rides, was also closed on our last trip. I'm always cautious when major changes are enforced on an attraction that was already fine (cough*JourneyIntoImagination*cough), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one. 

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights: If the photos are any indication, this is going to be the highlight of the trip. If you have any advice on the best place to stand/how early to get there, please please please share those tips in the comments or tweet me (@thedisneychick). 

Holiday Wishes: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is not offered during our trip, but I've read that Holiday Wishes is still performed until December 30. I really, really hope that's true, because I'm dying to see this. We saw Happy HalloWishes on our last trip, and haven't stopped talking about it. I have high hopes for the Christmas version. 

The Decorations: I love me some Christmas decorations, and I am fully confident Disney will not disappoint. I want to see it all - the castle, the hotels, the World Showcase, Downtown Disney. We've even booked the Yuletide Fantasy Tour so we can get a closer look. We have dinner reservations at the Yachtsman Steakhouse and Citricos, so we'll be making stops at the Yacht Club and the Grand Floridian, but what other hotels should be on our list? 

As someone who visits WDW often, it's exciting to be doing something new within the parks, but at the same time, I want to make sure we hit all the highlights. If you have advice on how to best navigate the parks during this very busy time, or if there are other must-dos I should add to my list, please share your thoughts in the comments!

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is Manda's Disney Blog.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make astop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ The Disney Chick
2nd Stop ~ Manda’s Disney Blog
3rd Stop ~ Mommy Mouseketeer
4th Stop ~ The Magical Mouse Pad
---
Related Links:
* The Coolest Queue
* Review: Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
* Pins, Planets, and Pyrotechnics