First time for December

[Catzle]

We are going Dec 13-16 and will do the Christmas party at MK, Epcot the thing with Olivia Newton John and HS - Osborne lights.

What can anyone tell me about these things as I have never been.

Thanks!!

[Strmchsr]

You'll have a great time. The Christmas party is a hard ticket event (meaning you have to have a separate ticket from your normal park admission) that starts at 7. They have "snow" (soap, actually) on Main St and give out cookies and cocoa as well as special shows, a special parade you can only see during the party, and a holiday version of Wishes. It's pretty fun.

The Epcot "thing" is the Candlelight Processional. Make sure you have a dinner package booked for that or be prepared to stand in line 2-3 hours to get a seat. It is a very low-key show featuring a mass choir singing traditional Christmas music and hymns with a celebrity narrator reading select passages from the Bible having to do with the Christmas story. There's no elaboration from the narrator - just reading of Scripture. The whole show is very simple and almost like a church service. It's not a "typical" Disney show. No characters involved, no big effects, but it's beautiful.

The Osborne Lights are a massive collection of lights that you walk through with much of the movement of the light set to music every so often. It's a neat walk-through experience. There's nothing to it other than walking around looking at the lights, but the lights are pretty spectacular and it's a lot of fun.

[faline]

Such a fun time to visit! Chris has pretty much covered what you've asked about.

While in Epcot, keep an eye out for the different Santas in each country. There is also a special holiday ending for Illuminations. If you have time (which you might not given it sounds like a short trip), try to get over to the Grand Flordian and/or Wilderness Lodge. They have decorations that are quite worth the look/see!

[Catzle]

We are staying at the WL, so have that covered. I heard a Gingerbread house at GF is worth taking a look at!

Excited to go!

[faline]

We are staying at the WL, so have that covered. I heard a Gingerbread house at GF is worth taking a look at!

Excited to go!

Both the tree and gingerbread house are worth a look at the Grand Floridian. You'll love the tree and decorations at Wilderness Lodge!!

[Darbylew]

Strmchsr gave you just about everything to do and see at WDW in December. You will have a
great time. Christmas is a wonderful time of year to be there. It is beautiful. :thumbsup: I
go to the Halloween one year and then I do
Christmas the next year. This my Halloween
year so nex year I will be back for Christmas.
I always go in the spring for the Garden and
Flower festival. :mickey:

[figgie]

In the evenings at the GF, at the main entrance(not the monorail entrance) they pass out freshly roasted chestnuts that they make in a big roaster over an open fire. These were my first taste of "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" as the song goes and they are yummy! One of my favorite holiday Disney treats...:santa3:

[azcavalier]

We love Christmas-time at WDW. The decorations are fabulous. The music is great. The weather is usually really nice. Just a great time to be there.

Honestly, we don't care for the Christmas Party at MK. We did it once...paid a lot to see a parade, fake snow, and get free cookies. Meh. I mean, it's fun, and i'm glad we did it once. But I don't think that there's any value to it.

The Osborne lights are spectacular, but that place gets PACKED. Like, "there's so many people I can hardly breathe" packed. But it's absolutely stunning, and a must do. Just don't plan on getting in and out quickly.

[Catzle]

Good tip for Hollywood Studies.

What time can we get into the MK with the ticket we are buying. I thought I had heard 4?

What time should we be at Hollywood Studies to see the lights, is it too busy to spend the day there so we can do the rides?

[faline]

Rumors to the contrary, we've always been able to enter the Magic Kingdom at 4 on our party tickets.

I found that a little later in the evening the crowds tend to be a bit better - yes, it is crowded but we found it manageable and you can always go round a second time to see what you missed the first go round.

The park didn't seem overly busy during the day - I think a lot of folks "hop" over to see the lights in the evening.

[Kplaster]

~Please keep in mind this is entirely one person's opinion.~

We did the MVMCP and it just wasn't worth it. There was still lines for all the rides and it felt like regular park hours except everyone paid more to be there. The cookies and hot chocolate were good but you can get them anytime you want. The snow and parades are cool to see but overall it just wasn't worth the extra money.

The Epcot processional thing was a waste of our time we would have preferred to have been out riding the rides or something and we honestly could have just stood back at the American Pavilion and seen the show we didn't need to get the package and have a seat.

The Osbourne lights are pretty cool and well worth seeing. However, I am a christmas lights person so the more the better HaHa.

I agree with going to the GF to see there displays. Overall no matter where you go you will see Christmas everywhere. Disney does a very good job of making it feel like the Holiday's without over doing it.

Also we ship down a cheap walmart tree to put in our resort window and decorate it while we are there it is always nice to come back to the hotel after a long day and see the tree all lit up and it tends to make other guests happy as well.

[Belle of the Ball 051411]

This will be our first holiday seasons visit as well! We plan to do and see everything everyone already mentioned. One other thing we're thinking of doing is taking a sleigh ride at/through the Wilderness Resort. I've heard it's really neat.

[Disneyglamour]

You're going to LOVE the holiday season at WDW!!
There are mixed reviews about the Very Merry Christmas Party but my personal opinion is that it is wonderful! It really puts you in the Christmas spirit with the snow, parade, holiday wishes, and of course the free hot chocolate and sugar cookies! And of course its a plus that all the popular attractions are open late.
The Candlelight Processional is AMAZING! A star narrator reads the Christmas story out of the Bible and in between verses and full orchestra and choir sing Christmas hyms. It is a fabulous experience! I would suggest doing the dinner package with this however. I have done it both ways: waited in like for over two hours and the dinner package and I must say, the dinner package is the way to go. Call disney dining and set it up as soon as you can because the packages go fast! This way you have a reserved seat for the show and don't have to wait forever.
I hope you enjoy your trip! Christmas is my favorite time of the year to visit WDW. Yes it's crowded, but nothing puts you in the holiday spirit like Disney! :santa:

[Kplaster]

This will be our first holiday seasons visit as well! We plan to do and see everything everyone already mentioned. One other thing we're thinking of doing is taking a sleigh ride at/through the Wilderness Resort. I've heard it's really neat.

The sleigh ride was pretty cool and I LOVED all the lights we actually went and walked back around after the sleigh ride to see more of the decorations. Plus the CM was pretty cute :secret:

[AgentC]

We love Christmas at WDW. We have made it an annual tradition. In fact I just booked the 14-16th at Boardwalk. :thumbsup:

I have not done the processional at Epcot yet. I am waiting until my children are a little older. Definitely make time to visit the storytellers in each country. We did not get through all of them last year, but it was a lot of fun.

I have had my best luck at the Osborne light when we have gotten there before they turned the lights on or toward the end of the evening. The area does get crowded and it is hard to move because everyone is busy looking and not walking. :) I enjoyed it the most when we got their early. We found a place in the middle of the street and waited for the lights to turn on. It was very cool seeing the whole area light up at once.Oh, and look for the cat!

We went to MVMCP for the first time last year. Even though it rained, we had a really good time.

Is it worth the money? It depends on what you want to do. We didn't spend much (if any ) time on rides. We focused on the characters. They tend to bring out special characters at the parties. The princesses were meeting with their prince. (so fun to meet Rapunzel with Flynn). We also saw Phineas & Ferb with santa hats and Belle in her Christmas dress.

My kids loved the snow (they are from FL after all. Pretty exciting to them. ;)) The parade was fun. We didn't get to see Wishes because of the rain.

Have a great trip.

[Catzle]

What time do they turn on the lights? I am all for going early and avoiding some of the crowds.

[Strmchsr]

What time do they turn on the lights? I am all for going early and avoiding some of the crowds.

Usually around 6. Sometimes it can be pretty crowded right at the moment they turn them on, though. There's a big push for the opening moment.

[Catzle]

So we should show up around 5:30 then?

Any other tips for the MK party, Epcot readings and HS?

[AgentC]

So we should show up around 5:30 then?

Any other tips for the MK party, Epcot readings and HS?

That's what we did. We got there a bit early and stood in the main area and waited for the lights turn on. I think we watched about 2 cycles of the show from there. It was crowded when we tried to leave, but not bad getting in.

[SlinkyDog]

This is the best time of the year to go. The sights and sounds are really something you will never forget and will be dying to go back and see year after year. Its hard but try not to rush around the parks, take it all in.