List of overlooked or low key experiences during Christmas... - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Location: A little over 1000 miles from my happy place!
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List of overlooked or low key experiences during Christmas...
Hi! We are a little over two weeks out now from our magical vacation , and I was just wondering if anyone knows of any little known/less crowded/holiday not-to-be-missed gems in the parks that may be overlooked when visiting during less crowded times. For instance, last christmas we discovered the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor (which we had skipped during previous visits) as it had the shortest line in MK and ended up LOVING it. We've been quite a few times now and with FP+ should be able to hit the popular attractions pretty quickly so will probably spend the rest of the time trying to outmaneuver the crowds! Any "magical" spots we should hit? We will be doing all 4 parks. Thanks!
Don't miss the Jungle Cruise - it's not a big deal, but they have changed it to have a Christmas theme and now it's called the Jingle Cruise. We thought it was fun!
If you have the time, try and visit all the Holiday Storytellers in EPCOT. I really enjoyed hearing how the holidays are celebrated in other lands.
Also don't forget to visit the giant gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian. There's a piano player in the afternoons playing holiday toons, and you can buy all kinds of gingerbread cookies. I don't know if they still do it, but there was a gentleman roasting chestnuts near the front doors. I had never had a roasted chestnut before!
Seeking out and trying any attractions you may have skipped in the past, have opened since your last visit, etc. is a great way to add even more fun to your upcoming trip -- like you needed more! But to see what may be new to your family, I would suggest heading over to the Disney website and taking a pre-vacation virtual tour around the parks to get a better idea of what's in and around the parks this time around. Doing this will also allow you to see what each park has planned for celebrating the holidays -- and there's tons!
However, some events are particularly great for getting into the holiday spirit, like the Osborne Lights at DHS or maybe attending a Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at MK? If you weren't planning on going to this party, I have to suggest reconsidering. It really is a great party that everyone should experience at least once even though it can be a little pricey, but if you buy your tickets in advance (i.e. up to at least the day before), on select nights, you can purchase your tickets at a discounted rate. You can save even more if you're also an AP, DVC member, or military personnel. (Just make sure you click on the "Check for more special products and prices" link prior to purchasing (if you decide to buy them online) to select the appropriate discount type!)
There's also the Jingle Cruise, as Cheryl suggested, which is "new" this year in that it's the Jungle Cruise's first ever Christmas makeover -- so, I'm thinking, it may be a good idea to make one of your FP+ choices for this as it will probably be more popular than usual!
Now if you're looking for some non-park activities, there are quite a few that are fun in and of themselves, especially touring the resorts -- which is a must if you love seeing Disney decorated for the season! Many of the resorts have their own theme and/or special displays that makes the time you're taking out of hitting the (super busy!) parks worth it, especially over at:
The Epcot area resorts:
The Boardwalk Resort has a Holiday Gazebo, as well as a Stitch's Bakery, a "Stitch-sized replica of the BoardWalk Bakery’s store front," set-up in the lobby; and
The Yacht and Beach Club Resorts have a Holiday Carousel and Holiday Village.
Over at the monorail resorts:
The Gingerbread Holiday Tree on the Grand Canyon Concourse at Disney's Contemporary Resort is up; and
The Gingerbread House, as poohmaine mentioned, is celebrating its 15th anniversary in the lobby of the Grand Floridian. This, particularly, is a sight to see and you can even buy stollen bread, gingerbread shingles, and chocolate-peppermint bark out of the shop lacated in the display itself.
And if that wasn't enough to try to pack into a holiday-time trip, you can always head over to Downtown Disney for its Festival of the Seasons. You can do your holiday shopping, enjoy live entertainment, and, yes, even meet Santa all in one day!
Hope this helps and that you have a wonderful trip!
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Thanks for all of your wonderful answers!!!. I will be sure to check some of these out. We do love seeing all of the holiday decorations, so will really try to check out the Grand Floridian this time (mmm, I can hear the gingerbread calling my name already!). Saw the carousel at the BC last year and it was truly amazing. Jingle Cruise is now on the list too!
My best suggestion is to take your time walking around the World Showcase at Epcot. There are lots of performances which vary seasonally. We happened upon a theater group performing a funny version of A Christmas Carol on our recent trip.
If you need a break you can usually walk right on to Carousel of Progress or Tomorrowland Transit Authority. We love both! Another great getaway from the crowds if you need a snack or lunch is Columbia Harbour House in MK - check upstairs for tables and great people watching from the windows. I also second the gingerbread house at Grand Floridian! It's wonderful. In fact, visiting all of the monorail resorts during the holidays is fabulous!
Since you enjoyed Laugh Floor, I'd suggest Turtle Talk With Crush in Epcot, also an interactive show. There weren't many young kids in the audience when we saw Crush, so the poor turtle was really struggling at times to keep a conversation going, but it was a cute show anyway.
You might also enjoy Muppet Vision 3D in Hollywood Studios. We do it every time even though it's not interactive. A great reminder of how fun the Muppets' tv show was.
If you go to Hollywood Studios, be sure to pull the rope in the well next to the Indiana Jones entrance. A voice comes out of the well when you do, saying some amusing things. We almost enjoyed that more than anything else we did in HS!
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this idea isn't free, but it was wonderful, relaxing and so much fun--we did the sleigh ride and saw all the decorations people put on their campsites. it was incredible and just us, the horse and driver!
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It really is a great party that everyone should experience at least once even though it can be a little pricey, but if you 
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