Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from The One and Only Genuine Family Blog! We have spent two different New Years at Disney but for 2018/2019 we are sitting it out safe, warm, and at home. 

December 31. 2017 Contemporary Resort lobby display

Back when 2000 turned into 2001 we spent most of the evening sitting on the Disneyland hub in front of the castle waiting for the countdown...eventually it became standing room only.

Disneyland, December 31, 2000

It was so packed and we spent so much time just waiting that we have never tried to experience NYE from inside a park again! The New Year's crowds are insane inside and out of the parks. 

Walt Disney World Contemporary Resort December 31, 2017

We were at Walt Disney World to see 2017 turn into 2018 last year and and it was quite the experience. Our vantage point for the New Year's eve fireworks was from an exterior staircase balcony landing at the Contemporary Resort Hotel. The three videos below give a taste of what it is like looking at the New Year's revelry across Tomorrowland to Cinderella Castle from the Contemporary Resort. The perimeter bursts (seen in the second video) are spectacular and the entire show was amazing. It was unseasonably cold last year, we had a great time, but we did not try to go back this year.

January 1, 2018 Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World

January 1, 2018, Overlooking WDW,s Magic Kingdom

Gingerbread display at Contemporary Resort, WDW January 1, 2018

  Happy New Year to all! Here's hoping 2019 is a great year!

Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail at Walt Disney World

The Disney Springs shopping district at Walt Disney World has a Christmas Tree Trail setup and it is a beautiful holiday display! There is no admission charge for Disney Springs or the Christmas Tree Display and parking at Disney Springs is complimentary.  This year the highlight was the Haunted Mansion themed tree complete with “ghost bride”, it was very striking!

We also particularly enjoyed the Cinderella, Mickey/Minnie, and Mary Poppins trees.

The kite at the center of the Mary Poppins tree is a very nice touch. There were Muppets, Jungle Book & Star Wars trees that caught our eyes.

Sam The Eagle is always watching out for America!

The Monorail Tree was Toddler Sons favorite (as you can see in the first picture of this post), it had wonderful references to the four parks of Walt Disney World.  Several Monorail Toys were encircling the trees to the delight of the boys. We have two sets at home...a Walt Disney World version & a Disneyland version.

"Please stand clear of the doors...por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas"

Teenage Son is always the biggest EPCOT fan in the family. There were many other themes as well, but these were our personal favorites. This was the first year we managed to see the tree display. It is located in the old bus terminal area of the Marketplace section of Disney Springs. There is also a Santa Claus meet and greet but when we were there it was a 2 hour wait so we did not visit with Ol' Saint Nick. They will give you a return time if you desire so that you do not have to stand in line the whole time. This was really one of those neat things to do at Walt Disney World that doesn't require you to enter the theme parks, in fact we find there are many things to see and do without setting foot into one of the theme parks. 

Sketch: Christmas Castles at Disneyland & Walt Disney World

The Christmas lights on Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland are an enchanting holiday spectacle that inspired this sketch. It has been nearly 10 years since we have seen Disneyland in it’s Holiday decorations.

We have been fortunate enough to be able to visit Walt Disney World during the holidays the last 4 years. At Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Cinderella Castle is adorned in the “Dreamlights” and at nearly 200’ tall the castle decked out head to toe in lights is a remarkable sight and inspired the following sketch.

Sketch of Cinderella Castle in dreamlights

Meeting Mickey down an alley at EPCOT Center

On our last trip to EPCOT Center we saw a small group of people quite a ways down an alley between  the American Pavilion and the Italian Pavilion. To our surprise the big cheese dressed smartly in his classic tuxedo was holding court with anyone who cared to meet him! We joined a brief line and had a charming visit with Mickey Mouse himself! There was no fanfare or signage...just 2 cast member handlers (no photopass photographer). We love meet & greets and recall fondly the less structured versions you typically find at Disneyland in California. But we have gotten used to the longer lines and more formal backgrounds you find at Walt Disney World. So we were really surprised to find the legendary mouse halfway down an empty alley(albeit a lavishly landscaped and clean alley) and with essentially no wait! It was the sort of impromptu visit we remembered from Disneyland. Mickey was of course a gracious gentleman and we were thrilled to meet him.

UPDATE: after receiving social media feedback we have been informed that we stumbled on to a character training session! There are several Out of the way locations where this happens, but this was a first for us! We will keep our eyes posted for these in the future!