Christmas With The Mouse

Visits with Santa at resort facilities, shopping at the Market Place, and the Festival of Lights at MGM Studios. Enjoying the decorations at various resorts and theme parks, New Years Eve!!!

Quick Tips:

Make reservations early. Resorts and special events fill up months before the holiday. Buy tickets ahead of time. A season pass without water parks is the most economical for any visit of 10 days or more. Just do the math! Stay away from length of stay passes. Do not go into the parks on Christmas day. You can see the parade another day. Take advantage of early entry days, use WDW transportation.

Stay on property. We've used timeshares, hotels, and campgrounds. The benefits outweigh the costs. Don't try to do it all. Read the event schedules,pick what you want, relax, and have fun.

Best Way To Get Around:

Don't drive unless you have to. WDW transportation is un-surpassed. Mears shuttle from airport is quick and reasonable.

Adventurers can walk safely and easily from MGM to Epcot, Magic Kingdom to Contemporary, and Marketplace to Crossroads. Shuttles and buses travel to other Orlando venues.

A delightful full service campground with accommadations for group tenting to full hookup with cable TV. Sites are spacious, clean, and have large restrooms with laundry. Internal bus transportation is convenient and frequent. Two camp stores, a large waterfront area, restaurant and lounge, swimming pool, recreation area, petting zoo, and hiking trails. Boat and bus transportation to theme parks and other resort areas. Fees vary by location, ammenities, and calendar, and can be less than $50, but I had to pick something! Great for large families.

A must stop for us whenever we visit. Except during very busy periods you can usually be accommadated in the restaurant with a short wait. However, for a true pub experience, stand at the bar, order fish and chips and a pint, join in the conversations, meet great people, and ENJOY. There are a few tables and occaisional entertainment.

Wolfgang Pucks on Downtown Disney Westside has three dining experiences to offer. A casual take out menu with salads, sandwiches, pizza, and such; a cafe offering luncheon specials, sushi bar, and full service bar; and upstairs an exclusive gourmet facility.

We chose the cafe for luncheon. Our finicky eater devoured the hamburger (no american cheese available), my husband enjoyed a flavorful turkey club, and my melted brie with ham was exquisite. At $9.95 these luncheon specials came with tasty fries or green salad with house dressing. Soups, various appetizers, and extensive dessert menu are also available. The proprietary fruity iced tea was cold and refreshing and comes with free refills. Our family highly reccommends this restaurant for a tasty change from the ordinary.

On various nights Mystery Dinner Theater is presented at six and nine PM. Check schedules, we attended a Sat 6PM performance. The $38.00 includes an all-you-can-eat buffet with beer, wine, and soft drinks included. The food was well prepared, abundant, tasty, and the dessert bar extensive.

The mystery show is an interactive spoof. Audience participation is ENCOURAGED, and one lucky detective will walk away with fun prizes. This is a fun experience for the whole family.

It's what you make it. Cast members are all friendly and eager to talk about themselves and their country. Usually a quiet oasis from the other three parks. Definitely more adult oriented. Country presentations are well-done. The specialty merchandise is of high quality. Ethnic restaurants are excellent.

When staying anywhere on Disney property you have access to the entire transportation system. The monorail tour at night is a favorite family activity. Each resort is theme decorated. Begin at Epcot.

Board the monorail and enjoy the ride. Transfer to the resort monorail at the ticket and transportation center. Stop at Polynesian resort, then Grand Floridian, and finally The Contemporary. Enjoy the ambiance of each resort. Spend time in the lobby areas and stroll a bit through the grounds,but be considerate please and don't infringe upon the more private guest areas. Though all the Disney "stuff" is pretty much the same, each resort has some unique items in the shops, and specialized dining.

Be sure to see the large ginger bread cottage and massive tree at the Grand Floridian, and spend some time to enjoy the band should they be playing during your visit.

Children enjoy seeing the fish in the lobby entry at the Polynesian. At the Contemporary, tour the shopping and dining floor, then go down one flight. Good place to get a snack and let the youngsters play in the huge game room. If you time it right then go out to the waterfront and view the water pageant. From here you can finish up just about anywhere.

Return to epcot via the monorail at the TTC; walk or monorail back to the Magic Kingdom and catch a resort bus. Cost? Only what you choose to spend. Enjoyment five star.