Disney World Magic Kingdom at Christmastime - 2021/12/03

I'm playing catchup on some older trips. Here's one from early December. 

Merry Christmas! We just got back from Colorado for Thanksgiving and this is our first visit back to Disney World! It's also a big for us because the kids are now fully vaccinated, and so we are going to do a few more things we wouldn't have done before. Like some rides!

The Beast is pretty big. I either have to park on the end, or take up a double wide spot. And it's so long that no one can park behind me either. Yikes!

Our first trip on the monorail since we've been here. Waving at the monorail driver. Hopefully one of these days we can ride up there with them again. 

What a beautiful sight!

Goodbye monorail! Thank you!

As we were walking in, Mickey, Minnie, and a whole host of other characters were waving and greeting us from above the Main Street Railroad station. 

Doesn't look too crazy crowded today. What should we do first? 

Snack? 

Okay sure. We've got this popcorn bucket, and refills are only $2. Instead of refilling your actual bucket, they just want to see that you have one, then they give you these two containers filled with popcorn, which I guess is an equivalent amount. 

Let's go ride on the Tomorrowland Speedway!

Ian can finally reach the peddles by himself if he stretches a little bit. We were only going about half-speed though, so I helped to push it all the way to the floor. 

Theresa and Alli were following behind us. 

Can't reach the peddles, but working on it. 

Ian is working on his steering. I pushed the peddle, and he tried to keep us going straight. 

I love that the kids still like going on the Carousel of Progress. They both sing along with the song as the show transitions to each scene. And they both think they're seeing something sneaky when they can see the scenes change/rotate behind the scrims on either side of the stage. 

It's been a long time since we've been on a roller coaster! I wasn't sure if Alli was going to like it or not. Back in California, she was a little nervous going on rides like Guardians of the Galaxy and Big Thunder. She'd do them, but it wasn't always her favorite. What did she think about this crazy coaster in the dark? 

She loved it! Totally loved it! 

Next we wandered over to the Mad Tea Party. Alli knows which teacup she wants. She's poised so as soon as the cast member opens that gate, she can get to it. 

And we did! Pink teacup for the three of us! Theresa always sits these out. 

I don't know why she thinks she won't like it? 

But she does like to go on it's a small world. 

We just wish it had the Christmas overlay like the one back in California has. 

Alli, you get to pick next. Ariel? Okay!

I'm seeing so many of these queues for the first time. In previous years, I was really good at getting Fastpasses for all the rides we wanted to go on. I'd never stood in the regular queue before. This whole Genie+ thing though, I don't see us using it much. At $15/person per day, that's quite a bit to add on to each daily visit. 

It's cute. I like the one back home that only has a 5 minute wait. 

Dinnertime! We bring our meals to the park and find a table that's out of the way to eat at. The tables in the back of the Storybook Circus are pretty empty since there's no food stalls nearby. There's a few hot meals we've found that work really well in the park. Tonight we had chili dogs, all kept warm in thermoses until it was time to eat dinner. 

Before it gets too dark, I have to get some photos for our yearly Christmas card. The castle will be perfect. 

Photos of the kids.

And photos of us. 

We've got 2 more hours before fireworks tonight. Let's see what all we can ride. How about another spin on the teacups. 

We even got Theresa on the Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster! It's not too crazy and it's over pretty quick. 

Space Mountain was showing a really short wait. It's the kids' favorite coaster in this park so they definitely wanted to ride again. 

We rode with Alli in the middle. 

And on our next trip, Alli got to ride in the front!

The Peoplemover is a favorite, and something I wish Disneyland would bring back. 

With just a few minutes to spare before the 8pm fireworks, we grabbed a popcorn refill and found a place to watch. 

Awesome! I took a couple pictures, but then just picked up Ian and enjoyed the rest of the show and enjoyed the moments being with family.  

What was crazy though was the mad rush to leave after the fireworks. There's a Disney Christmas Party here tonight starting at 9pm, so it's nuts with a bunch of people trying to get in, and a lot more trying to get out. 

Instead of waiting in a long line for the Monorail or Ferry, at this point we still needed to get more walking miles in. The weather is pleasant, though starting to turn a little cool. We walked around the Seven Seas Lagoon and back to the truck. 

As part of the Disney Christmas Party, I told the kids that party-goers get free cookies and hot cocoa with their ticket. Alli asked if we could have hot chocolate when we got home, so of course we made some. As she was finishing hers up, she excitedly showed me the "Mickey" that formed in her cup from the marshmallows.

It's been a fun day back in the parks! We're excited to be back!