Thursday December 19th 2024

With Christmas getting closer it is time to stay away from the theme parks until after the holidays. This is the worst time of year for crowds. On Monday I made my last visit until January 6th or so. My mission was to see the holiday decorations at the resorts along the Walt Disney World Monorail. Once I saw how bad the parking was at the Ticket and Transportation Center, I decided to add in a visit to the Fort Wilderness campground so I wouldn’t have to return later in the week.

My first stop was Disney’s Polynesian Resort hotel. It doesn’t decorate a lot. To keep with the south seas theme the Christmas decorations are subtle. There are twinkle lights and bows around the lobby, and one Christmas tree about twelve feet tall.

The Christmas tree at the Grand Floridian Resort is huge. It occupies the center of the lobby atrium and is several floors high. Not to be outdone size wise, a large ornate gingerbread house occupies the end of the lobby. Everyone comes to the Grand Floridian to see the gingerbread house and listen to Christmas carols being played on the grand piano.

The third stop on my monorail resort hopping was the Contemporary Hotel. In an attempt to compete with the Grand Floridian, they have a gingerbread mural of Cinderella’s castle. It is colorful, but not as ornate or technically challenging as the Grand Floridians ginerbread house. The contemporaries primary Christmas tree is outside the building along the drive way approach to the main entrance. It is the most colorful of the trees I saw on Monday.

From the Contemporary, I took a boat ride to Fort Wilderness. Most of the decorations at the campground are put up by the campers. Many campers return every year and attempt to outdo their previous year’s efforts. The 16th of December is a little early to get the full display. Many of the Christmas campers don’t arrive until closer to the holiday. There were still a lot of dark campsites and a few empty ones as well. I walked around five of the camping loops near the boat docks at the settlement and enjoyed the efforts that the campers put up.