Merry Christmas 2014

I know, it's January. However, I've had a ton of emails from the Christmas home tour asking how I decorate my Christmas trees. I didn't take any pictures of the process when I was putting UP all the trees, but I did take some last week when I was taking them DOWN...so I just reversed the process.

From what I understand, this isn’t “real” snow. Although there are persistent rumors that Disney imports real snow from the Swiss Alps, this is actually imitation snow, but it sure does look real. Children and adults alike watch in amazement as snow falls on dry pavement in Florida. This is really a special sight, and between this, the wonderful music, and the decorations, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party really does have that Christmas feeling!

This is an absolutely awesome parade. Most people I know prefer the Boo to You parade over it, but I think I’m in the minority who prefers Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade. It has marching toy soldiers, dancing reindeer and gingerbread men, and ever the big man himself, Ole Saint Nick! The floats are cool, Chip & Dale are mischievous, and Mickey & Minnie are dressed in their holiday finery. I will admit that I have a soft spot for anything related to Christmas, but c’mon, how could you not love this parade?!

This year, Ralph and Vanellope from “Wreck-It Ralph” are new to the parade, as are the procession of visitors from Arendelle with Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf from “Frozen” making their first appearance in Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade.

As far as touring goes, the second parade is usually less crowded, but we always like to watch both showings of the parade, as it’s really that good. If you watch the second showing and really enjoy it, you can’t go back in time and watch the first, so you may want to consider watching the first if you think you might want to see it twice. If you know seeing it once will be sufficient, definitely skip the first showing in favor of the second.

A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas is cute, and Stitch is not super annoying in it (actually, he’s cute and endearing), but it is no Twas. Not even close. Without regard to the ‘Twas’ show that no one can see now anyway, A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas is pretty fun. I had some of the songs stuck in my head afterwards, and the performers were fun. Make sure you at least give it a chance. We now make a point of watching A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas at least once per year.

Celebrate the Season is a really fun show, although the story is not the greatest. The main attraction here is seeing all of the characters, dressed up in interesting costumes, acting oddly, and dancing. I don’t really think the story is even of paramount importance to enjoying the show, as it’s really fun to just watch the characters play dress-up in the Christmas setting.

One of the highlights of the night is the fireworks show, Holiday Wishes. Holiday Wishes is amazing in its ability to thematically incorporate fireworks so they fit not only the name of the show, but more importantly, with the accompanying song lyrics. For those who have seen Holiday Wishes, who among you, when you first heard and saw the “O Christmas Tree” portion of the show didn’t melt a little inside? While the fireworks play an important role, the lyrics truly deserve more than just a passing mention.