CHRISTMAS WITH MICKEY

So, I didn't want to turn 40, but alas there was no stopping it. I told my mom that I would like to be on a cruise on my birthday and I didn't think she would find any good deals, but she did. It meant that we would be on the water for Thanksgiving as well and I was into that. Ashley didn't have the kids so she couldn't come but Tyler and Courtney were on board. I was pretty excited.

About a week before our trip I was thinking about maybe heading to Disney one of the days that we were in Florida. Mom has a season pass this year so I was toying with that idea and then I realized that the day we would want to go was the day of a Mickey Christmas Party. We went back and forth on if it was worth it to attend the party, but in the end we all decided to go for it. It was a wise decision, a decision I mostly made because I wanted to wear my Christmas ears, but still a wise decision. The parties cut down on the crowds immensely, also everything feels fun and festive. When we first were coming over the water on the boat I thought I wouldn't be that excited because we had just done Disney for Halloween, but I was STILL just as excited. We got into the park and took a few pictures at the entrance.  I usually make it clear to everyone why I think it is important to take our time getting into the park and getting pictures all taken and such, but I had forgotten to tell Tyler. And Tyler turned into teenage Tyler and he was ready to get into the park and ride rides. So was we were getting settled and entering the park, we did lose track of those guys as they walked ahead, but we reunited over at Winnie the Pooh and all was well.

Poor Porter wasn't feeling that great. It made him really mellow which was easier, but it also made him not that excited for anything. Lottie however, was thrilled with all the excitement. One of my favorite memories of the day was watching her head pop up from her honey pot ahead of us on Winnie the Pooh and smile so big at us because she LOVED it. We then did the teacups. They are much more strict about how many can be in a cup than they are at Disneyland so we had to split up. Then we headed to Little Mermaid. We were definitely making some good time since the party had not even started yet.

Porter wasn't showing much interest in rides, but he did express that he wanted to ride the carousel, which was broken. Thankfully it started back up fast and we were able to ride it. Then we went over to small world, which Lottie LOVED, followed by dinner at our usual spot the Harbor House. Tyler expected no less than reliving all of his childhood Disney memories so of course we ate there. At some point in the middle of all of this the party had officially begun. It meant that now there were treat stations throughout the park and the lines were short. Also there were festive snowy lights projected all over. It was pretty cute.

We made our way to Pirates of the Caribbean and then went over for our snowman pretzel and snow cone. It WAS NOT that warm, so a snow cone didn't sound all that great but the kids all loved it anyway. And that snowman pretzel was adorable.

We walked across the park to Tomorrow Land and we hit up Buzz, the People Mover and Space Mountain. Riding Space Mountain with Tyler was one of the highlights of the whole night. He was SO excited and the whole time we were riding it I was dying with laughter hearing his constant excited commentary as we made our way through space. I've been trying to pin down why I love Disney so much and definitely one of the reasons is that I feel like such a kid while I'm there. And having my little brother yelling in my ear while on that ride totally brought me back to my kid days.

Our time had flown by as it does and it was time for the firework show. We found a good spot and hunkered down. The firework show was perhaps the best one I had ever seen. I cried through the whole thing. How can you beat a 180 degree firework spectacular set to Christmas music? It was so great. I couldn't stop talking about how much I loved it and I think it got on everyone's nerves just a bit. My love of Disney fireworks knows no end.

We headed over the The Haunted Mansion and when we got in line Vivi told me she had to go to the bathroom. So she and I took off. I knew she didn't want to go on that ride anyway so it worked out. We had a little break and we made it to the cookie station with the hot chocolate which was all I was trying to do the whole party. They had this photo op spot by the Haunted Mansion that we had passed a few times and I REALLY wanted a picture there. Vivi and I were able to wait in that line while everyone met up with us after their spooky ride and I got my picture! Hot Chocolate and my picture! Success!

We then watched the parade while Tyler and Courtney went over and rode Splash Mountain. The parade was pretty cute. As soon as it passed us we rushed over to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train so we could ride it without waiting for two hours. It is such an adorable ride and it was a great finish to our rides. We had to wait for a while, but it wasn't too bad.

We took our time heading out of the park and got a few more pictures and we enjoyed the holiday vibe. Got some dancing videos in etc. Of course we couldn't leave without some drama and my mom realized she had left her purse in a bathroom inside the park after we had already left the park. They let her back in just as Tyler came running up because he found it in Vivi's stoller. So I had to do some sweet talking to get in myself. I didn't get why they didn't want to let me back in...I was obviously trying to leave the park, not go back in the closed park and hang out. But eventually they let me in so I could find her and let her know we had her purse. We made our exhausted way back to our car, and it was unanimous...we all were thrilled that we went to Mickey's Christmas Party. It was a great time full of great memories and money well spent.