Disney at Christmas Day 5: Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom

Happy Wednesday! The week is halfway over and we are already on our way to another weekend! Can't wait! :)

Today, I'm continuing with the "Disney Wednesday" theme I've had going for a while - this is the remaining parts of our last full day at WDW from our December 2015 trip. We started the day at Animal Kingdom, then ended it at Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom. 

If you're interested in the other aspects of our trip, here's previous recaps:

• Exploring Orlando Area/Grand Floridian Gingerbread House
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
• The Osborne Lights 
• Epcot  
• Animal Kingdom
• Hollywood Studios & Magic Kingdom at night
• Beignets at Port Orleans French Quarter

After dinner at Trails End, we took a bus from Fort Wilderness Campgrounds to Hollywood Studios. Although we'd seen the lights once already, we wanted to say our final goodbye!

First, we stopped in One Man's Dream - my favorite Hollywood Studios attraction. This is also where I've taken a picture with "Mousketeer Karen" ever since our Honeymoon in 2007. I was sadly disappointed in 2014 to see that Mousketeer Karen had been replaced by Mousketeer Cubby.

Boy was I in for a surprise! I'm sorry for anyone I scared by jumping up and down in excitement when I realized they replaced Cubby and returned Karen to her proper location. Yes, that really did happen. Sorry...

After a quick walk through of One Man's Dream, we meandered over to the Streets of America.

In all, we spent about an hour looking through all the details one last time. It was sad to say goodbye...I've had so many wonderful memories here!

We left Hollywood Studios and caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom. They had extra magic hours until 2 a.m. (although we didn't plan on staying that late) but we definitely wanted to catch Wishes at 10 p.m. and the Main Street Electrical Parade at 10:45 p.m.

Although the street was crowded, Wishes was amazing as always!

After Wishes, we walked over to the castle hub and found a spot along the curb to wait on the parade.

The castle is so gorgeous at Christmas!

This parade is one of the memories I have from visiting Walt Disney World as a kid. My family and I sat on a curb much like this one and as Goofy drove by in the train, my dad and brother would say "No Goofy don't hit us..." They got suck a kick out of it as they laughed and giggled while the float passed by. It kinda became a little joke that carries on today! It's memories like that which make our WDW trips so special!

We hadn't seen this parade in ages, so it was nice to experience it once again!

After the parade, we walked around a bit, rode pirates and haunted mansion, then decided to call it a night!

What a day!

Goodbye Magic Kingdom! Next time I see you, I'll have a little one in tow! :)

Are you a fan of Disney parades? What's your favorite parade to see at WDW?

Disney at Christmas Part 3: Osborne Lights!

Next up on our Disney Christmas trip was the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. With 2015 being its 20th and final year, we knew that seeing these again was a must!

• Exploring Orlando Area/Grand Floridian Gingerbread House
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
• The Osborne Lights 
• Epcot  
• Animal Kingdom
• Hollywood Studios & Magic Kingdom at night
• Beignets at Port Orleans French Quarter

Before Hollywood Studios, our friends stopped by Port Orleans Riverside so we could unload our luggage. Here's where the "extended" version of our trip came into play. When we found out that our Princess 2016 trip was going to have to be deferred due to pregnancy, we tacked on a few extra days to our December trip and stayed at Riverside!

After attempting to drive to Hollywood Studios (it was MADNESS, y'all), we were redirected to the Epcot parking lot where we would then board a bus to Hollywood Studios. Instead, we decided to park at Riverside and take bus to HS from there.

Vacation mode!

We finally made it!

I loved all of the Christmas decorations! After riding a few rides (the boys headed for the roller coasters while we stuck with the Great Movie Ride and Little Mermaid), we ate dinner then set out for the Streets of America!

20th and final year. Sad times.

The display was breathtaking as always!!

Stitch!

The crowd was MADNESS!

I just couldn't get enough! We spent a majority of the night trying to find that silly black cat.

After a few hours, we sat down on the backside of the display to rest and I noticed a hidden Mickey. All of a sudden, Jason said "KITTY" and pointed up towards the lights! Yep, there he was! Good eye, Jason!

Towards the end of the evening, the crowd began to thin out significantly. Even thought the park closed at a specific time, the Osborne Lights continued to run for an additional hour after park closing.

I actually managed a shot without a person in it!

Our tradition is to eat a gingerbread cookie while exploring the lights, so we did just that! It was delicious, too!

After saying goodbye, we left and headed back to our resort. It was Randy's birthday that day and a little celebrating was called for! Our poor wrapped gift for Randy didn't make it over so well - TSA decided to open it to inspect the roux that was inside. (Roux is what we use for a gumbo base and apparently our roux looked suspicious.)

Ah well, we made the most of it and enjoyed celebrating his birthday!

What is your take on the Osborne Lights? Sad/happy they are going?

Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

Have no clue what I’m talking about? Well, if you keep scrolling down, you soon will! The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights is hands down one of my favorite parts of Walt Disney World during the Christmas season! I love to look close at the smaller picture, capture details in the lighting, and find hidden Mickeys throughout the display! Can you guess my absolute favorite part of the Wine & Dine Half Marathon course? Yep, our short run through the Osborne Lights in Hollywood Studios!

These are a must-do for anyone visiting Hollywood Studios during the Holidays. This year, the dates range from November 7 2014 to January 4 2015 and the lights are displayed nightly at 6 p.m.

A few fun facts about the Osborne Lights:

• 5 million lights
• 20 snow machines
• 2,000 gallons of snow fluid a night
• 43 hidden Mickeys

Today’s post IS a Wordless Wednesday (well, almost)…and is hosted by: Focused on the Magic!
Theme: This Is Really Good!

According to Disney Tourist Blog - In 2011, Jennings Osborne, the creator behind the original light display passed away. In the years since, Walt Disney World has added a nice tribute to him in the form of a lone white angel amongst the angels that circle the globe. A fitting nod to the man who created that shine so brightly on the ‘World. What a special tribute!

Do you like to search for Hidden Mickeys throughout the parks? Have you seen the Osborne Lights in the past?  I hear there’s also a black cat in this display that moves every year, but I’ve only found him one time (several years ago) and didn’t realize he was on the move from year to year!

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