Thursday December 12th 2024

I am trying to get my Walt Disney World Christmas viewing in before the blackout period on my annual pass kicks in the middle of next week. Only the most expensive annual pass isn’t blacked out during the Christmas holiday period. The crowds are already terrible and will only get worst. On this evening’s visit to EPCOT I parked in a part of the parking lot that I have never parked in before. Inside the park it didn’t seem excessive, but wait times were long.

My first visit to Disney this week was on Tuesday. I went to Hollywood Studios for the first time in a long time. It is my least favorite park of the four. I kept my focus on enjoying the holiday experience. In addition to checking out all the decorations, I attended the Christmas version of the Frozen Ever After sing alone. The addition of holiday songs to the Frozen sing alone adds a festive atmosphere. Wait times on Tuesday evening were horrible. At 6PM the wait time for Rise of the Resistance was 230 minutes. The park was only open for another 3 hours (180 minutes). I didn’t ride any of the attractions and departed long before the park closed.

Today I made my second visit of the week to Walt Disney World. This visit had two objectives. The first was to see the Christmas version of Living with the Land called Glimmering Greenhouses. All of the twinkling lights added to the plants in the greenhouses make a beautiful display.

The other objective was to checkout the decorations at the EPCOT area resorts. I left EPCOT via the back International Gateway Entrance and walked to each resort. Each hotel lobby had a version of their usual decorations. The gingerbread carousel at the Beach Club resort remains the most intriguing decoration, but the Santa Claus display made out of chocolate at the Dolphin hotel gives it a run for its money. The Boardwalk hotel also has a beautiful Christmas tree outside.