Today we are doing something we have never done before at Disney World. We are going to Mickey’s Merry Christmas Party. We are all very excited and really look forward to seeing all the Christmas decorations at the Magic Kingdom. The Christmas party is a special ticketed event that occurs after the normal day guests leave. The party begins at 7pm and continues until 12am. You can however enter the park as early as 4pm to really maximize you time. We made Fast Pass reservations for a couple of our favorite rides to ensure we got to ride them.
We spent the morning and early afternoon relaxing at the campsite and the girls made sure to take a nap to be better prepared to stay up late. My son and I spent some time outside under the awning enjoying the great weather. We made sure to have something to eat prior to heading to the park since we didn’t want to waste time in line for food.
Finally it was time to go and we walked down to the marina to board the boat to Magic Kingdom. This is really a great benefit to Fort Wilderness, the boat takes you directly to Magic Kingdom and later will return you to the marina.
The boat ride over took a little time due to some traffic on the water. But it wasn’t too long before we were able to see the great iconic Magic Kingdom attractions like Space Mountain, and the Castle.
We exited the boat and made our way through security to wait in the already forming line. I neglected to bring any water and the wait really took it’s toll on my wife. She was really getting overheated. Luckily the started letting us in a little early. Once we got through the turnstiles we were given a special wrist band indicating we were there for the Christmas party.
As we walked through the tunnel we got our first look at Main Street USA and all the glorious Christmas decorations.
Since it was only 4pm the normal day guests we still in the park, which made it very busy. We made our way over to our first Fast Pass which was for Pirates of the Caribbean. We had plenty of time for the Fast Pass so we thought we would try and ride the Jingle Cruise (Jungle Cruise). The wait was approximately 30 minutes but since we have to enter the wheelchair line we thought we could get it done before our Fast Pass time ran out. When we approached the Cast Member he immediately gave us a return time for between 5-6pm. This wasn’t what we were hoping for but it would certainly work for us.
Off we went to POC. This was the first time we have ridden this ride since my wife began using the Wheelchair so we didn’t know exactly what to expect. They had us go through the regular Fast Pass line and then enter the boat. I made sure to tell them we didn’t want to get wet so we were placed in the middle part of the boat. My wife and I sat next to each other while the kids sat behind us. POC is definitely one of my favorite rides at Disney World. We really enjoyed it and my wife was fine on the ride.
After POC the kids had a Fast Pass for Big Thunder Mountain and my wife and I had a Fast Pass for The Little Mermaid so we split up and would meet back up for Jingle Cruise when we were finished.
My wife and I high tailed it over to Little Mermaid stopping to see if Gaston was the fun Gaston on not. Unfortunately he wasn’t so we continued on to Little Mermaid. The Fast Pass line was not very busy and in no time we were waiting for my wife’s special ride vehicle. They loaded us in and we were off under the sea. This really is a great ride and we both enjoy it a lot.
Once we were finished it was time to hike all the way back to the Jingle Cruise. This wasn’t very good planning on our part. I decided to cut along the Castle to shorten the distance, this worked well except the path is only single file and with so many people it took a while. The kids texted saying they were at Jingle Cruise waiting for us.
After a few minutes we arrived at Jingle Cruise and we were placed next in line for the wheelchair vehicle. This ride is very unique in how they load a wheelchair. They actually have a seat built into the middle of the boat that raises up and turns to the opening for the boat. The wheelchair just rolls in and they lock it down so it can’t move. We then pile into the boat and we are off for our month long trip.
The Jingle Cruise is a lot of fun, I always find it interesting how Disney can change an attraction by adding a few decorations. The skipper we had was great and the jokes were very punny. In no time we were back at the dock and they were unloading my wife. We all agreed we needed to ride this again after dark.
By now it was getting close to the Castle lighting ceremony performed by Elsa and Anna. We made our way over the hub, and tried to find a decent spot to watch the ceremony. My son and I ran over to one of the counter service restaurants to get some waters for us all. When we returned the girls were a little stressed due to the crowd making it difficult for my wife to see from her wheelchair. Disney should provide a viewing area for wheelchair users. They do this for a lot of the parades and shows but not all of them.
The castle lighting was enjoyable but the crowd was intense. I got some decent video since I can reach above most of the people. The girls didn’t get to see much and we all agreed the crowd really effect our enjoyment. Of course this was still the lighting ceremony for the day users, there would be second one for the party guests, but we wanted to use this time for riding rides.
After the show we made our way through the crowd to begin enjoying the party. We made our way over to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. My wife hasn’t ridden this ride yet and we were worried how she would do, but she had a good time and decided once was enough for now.
We spent the rest of the night walking around to the different snack locations enjoying the free drinks and cookies. The peppermint bark cookies were great.
To end the party we watched the parade from Main Street. They made it snow around us which was really cool.
After the parade we made our way back to the boat and returned to the RV exhausted, but glad we attended the party.