I know it’s still Summer, but this is actually the PERFECT time to start planning your Holiday Season trip to Disney World! If you’ve never been to Disney World at all and you plan to make your first visit during the holidays, then I feel you’ll be both amazed and overwhelmed at the same time! If you’ve been to WDW before, but just not during the holidays (like me!) then I feel you’ll also be both amazed and overwhelmed at the same time! 🙂 There’s just so much more to do and see during the holidays at WDW!

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) at Magic Kingdom is one of the popular events during the Christmas season. I highly recommend you go to this party if at all possible! It’s on my Disney Bucket List! Go HERE to see Disney’s own description of the party and to purchase tickets!

The Candlelight Processional at Epcot is another popular event that doesn’t require a separate ticket but if you don’t have a Candlelight Processional Dinner Package, admission is first come, first served and it fills up quickly! There are even celebrity narrators! Check HERE to visit Disney’s website for more info about dates, times and scheduled celebrity narrators for the Candlelight Processional.

Aside from these special events, the entire resort is decorated for the holidays! I have yet to see it in person, but the photos and videos I’ve seen look amazing!!

Sadly, I’m pretty sure I won’t be making my first December trip to The Most Magical Place on Earth this year, but I enlisted the help of my awesome Disney friend Tina Machacek-Angelo to give me some Do’s and Don’ts for visiting Walt Disney World during the Holidays! She’s visited WDW 23 times and has been during Easter, Halloween, Christmas and New Year’s! Here are Tina’s tips for MVMCP:

•  DO get your tickets for the party at the Magic Kingdom early when they start sales. DON’T count on there being any left when you arrive, you may be disappointed!

•  DO arrive early. The party starts at 7pm, but there is so much going on once it starts you won’t really have time for rides. Enjoy part of the day at Magic Kingdom and then head back to the main gate at 7pm with your ticket for your wristband. DON’T forget to get your wristband, they will turn you away at rides without it.

•  DO make sure you get a park map. It shows special character meet and greets, dance parties, etc.

• DO make sure you get a good spot for the parade. Main Street is typically the most crowded but the parade follows the normal route, so head back towards Frontierland for better viewing. DON’T wait until the last second to find a spot. If it’s 30 minutes until the parade and you see an open spot, snag it or you will be behind hundreds of people and miss it all!

• DO partake in the “free cookies and hot chocolate” during the party itself. Since Disney never gives anything for free, it makes them taste that much better! There are locations all over the park.

• DO make sure you check with a Cast Member what time the Castle lights are turned on. It is beautiful and an absolute must see! DON’T assume it’s a normal castle lighting and skip this. It’s spectacular!

• DO make sure you take in the snow falling on Main Street! And since it’s all lit up, DON’T use the flash on your camera and you will catch the snow in the pictures!

Yes, you read that right! There is SNOW falling at the Magic Kingdom during MVMCP! I can’t wait to experience that for myself!! Here are more of Tina’s holiday tips:

• DO take a trip over to Hollywood Studios. The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights on the Streets of America are breathtaking. DON’T forget to watch for possible closings. At least twice during the season the lights are not turned on so they can check them all. It would be a shame if you planned on going on a certain day only to realize it was closed that evening.

(Please note: With the possible expansion planned/rumored for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights may end up being moved elsewhere in the next couple of years!)

• Do look for the black cat. When they packed up the lights from the Osborne family, one of the Halloween decorations accidentally was included, Disney still puts it up every year in a different spot.

• DO take video. When the light show starts you will be amazed. DON’T worry that it’s too crowded on the street. Once the show starts, everyone just stops in place and watches. Yes, it’s really that amazing!

• DO make sure you pack for both cold and heat. It’s not unusual to be able to wear shorts during the day and then need to wear pants and jackets at night.

• DO wear something for the holiday, green and red, holiday Mickey ears, anything along that line. DON’T forget, it may be Florida but it’s still the holiday season and makes for much better pictures when you are viewing all the holiday decorations!

• DO bring holiday decorations if you’d like to decorate your room or balcony. Disney offers little trees that can be sent to the room for a festive look as well.

• Absolutely DO make time to ride the monorail and check out the Grand Floridian Gingerbread House display. The attention to detail considering the size of the house is amazing!

• When at Epcot, DO take a quick walk through the back entrance and check out the Beach Club and the Yacht Club decorations!

When I was asking my Disney friends for advice on visiting during the holidays, my friend Kristi had this to say:

“All I know is that it is crazy crowded…so rope drop is a must if you want to get into MK (will hit capacity around 10/11ish til 5/6ish) the weather is unpredictable, decorations are AMAZING, ADR’s, ADR’s, ADR’s!!!!!, Make a custom touring plan or you will be in lines forever, and it’s the most expensive time of the year!!!!”

Yep, that sounds about like what I’m expecting when I finally get to go to Disney World one of these Decembers! I’ll have a holiday video on my All Day Disney YouTube channel in a few weeks, especially if things pan out and by some miracle I get to make my trip this December! Well, all this talk of holidays at WDW has me in the mood to read some trip reports on DISboards.com! Off I go! 🙂

See Ya Real Soon!