Party report from 12/4
Arrived at 3:45 and was inside the park with our bands by 4. Super quick and efficient
. Walked the passage way by Tony’s to get our Mickey cookie and into the park.
Weather - absolutely perfect. We were lucky, clear skies and temp around 70.
Characters - we only wanted Donald and Scrooge. Got there at 6:30 - 5th group in line. Started at 7:02 and we were done at 7:25. They spend A LOT of time with the groups. So much so I think it was a little too much. It is a fun interaction but the two women in front of us had multiple things to sign, took a video, performed a skit with them and had gifts they brought from Japan to give Donald and Scrooge. It was cute, but only because we were next in line. People further back were getting really annoyed. The line was very long and it was going to be at least an hour or so. I think it would be great if the cast members moved the line a little quicker, but that is tough to do.
Before the fireworks started we saw Santa with no wait - that was fantastic. He actually had no one in line right before the fireworks
. That was a bonus meet and greet.
Food - we ate at Skipper Canteen before the party at 5 and it was fantastic. Good food and they give Disney Chase visa members 10% off.
We hit up every free holiday treat station. Total time spent maybe 20 minutes, many had no wait, some a few minutes - lines move super quick. Pretzel excellent. Other cookies we saved as we were full from dinner. Egg nog great.
Rides - wait times looked decent, but this wasn’t a priority for us - only did people mover which we did three times with no wait
Fireworks - amazing. Not a huge fan in general, but these were great with the castle projections. Plenty of space on Main Street - we went there right after seeing Santa and could not believe all the space on Main Street availabe to watch the parade.
Castle show - stood back in the hub behind one of the little fenced in areas. Loved the show. Lots of people that put kids on shoulders and block views, but after some moving around had a relatively good view. We were pretty far back for the first show, but the third show had a much smaller crowd and we could basically be up front.
Parade - went to liberty square area and there about fifteen minutes before parade - crowded for first parade - about three rows back but could see well. Second parade maybe 1/4 the crowd and had front row on Main Street five minutes before the parade. Amazing. So easy to get good views for the second parade.
Miscellaneous- crowds did not seem that bad but we did not do many rides or characters - focused on parade, fireworks and shows. Tomorrowland stage show looked fun from our view on the people mover
The dancing with the polar bears was virtually empty in Cosmic Rays.
Snow - after the fireworks when walking back (against the flow of the mass exiters) it snowed heavily on Main Street which was very magical.
Overall - the party may have been the best one we ever attended.
