mickey's very merry christmas party

After our late night at the Polynesian Resort, the kids were excited to sleep in a bit.  Once everyone was up and ready we stopped by Del Taco for a quick lunch (we really need one in NC!) and then headed to a timeshare presentation.  We told the kids that if they were on their best behavior during the presentation we would do something fun afterwards-- they were great (not hard to be well behaved when you can play Xbox the whole time) and we made our way to the Magic Kingdom!  Even in the parking lot we had them convinced that we were just going to ride the monorail around-- it wasn't until we made it to the ticket counter that they realized we were going to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

The Magic Kingdom decorated for Christmas!

The big kids with the Magic Kingdom Christmas tree.

While Jacob took the big kids on Space Mountain, Ellie and I rode the Peoplemover (my favorite ride!)

We rode the Peoplemover again once everyone was off of Space Mountain.

We surprised Lexie and Ellie with Elsa and Anna dresses before we headed into the park.  Lexie asks to wear a princess dress every single time we go to a Disney park and we've always said no because it's too hot-- November was the perfect time of year to wear a dress!  Such sweet sisters!

Cinderella Castle is one of my favorite things to photograph (or get pictures in front of!)

People always ask us why we take our kids to Disney (Land or World) before they'll remember it-- part of it is that the older ones will definitely remember it, but more importantly, you can't beat seeing Disney magic through the eyes of a child!

Elsa and the castle all lit up

The kids loved the teacups and tried to spin as fast as possible.

One of our favorite things about going to parties at WDW is the short lines for rides!

While Jacob took the big kids on the Barnstormer, Ellie and I waited in line to meet Santa Goofy.  Unfortunately, she was fast asleep by the time it was our turn.

We stopped for a cookie and cocoa break (which Ellie woke up for) and to rest our feet for a bit.  The kids definitely took advantage of the all you can eat cookies, apple slices, cocoa and apple juice and made several trips through the line.

We staked out spots for the Christmas parade in Frontierland about an hour before the parade started and then Jacob and I took turns taking the big kids on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  We found out about twenty minutes before the parade that we had to find a new spot and totally lucked out that our new spot was at the very start of the parade route and right up front.

A lot of the characters came over to say hello since we were the first group of parade viewers!

Anna and Elsa made such a big deal about Ellie and Lexie in their dresses!  As they were coming up, Anna said to Elsa, "Look!  That girl looks just like you!  And that girl looks just like me!!"  Even Kristoff commented on the girls' dresses- something about them being dresses he'd seen before. ;)

The Christmas parade is one of my all time favorite Disney parades!  I love seeing all of the characters and dancers in their Christmas apparel.

Toy soldiers

At the end of the parade, the reindeer and Santa make an appearance!

Family in front of the castle

The castle looks magical when all of the Christmas lights come on at night.  On our way out of the park (at about 12:15am) we made our traditional stop at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor to enjoy ice cream cones on an emptying Main Street.

The iconic "Partners" statue in front of Cinderella Castle.

One of the Photopass photographers on Main Street posed for my picture!  

We made our way down Main Street slowly in order to savor every bit of Disney magic.

Main Street train station.

We stopped for one last picture of the big kids before heading to the monorail.

Unfortunately, by the time we got to the monorail we found out it was closed and had to walk back over to the ferry boats.  Luckily Ellie slept through the whole thing though I have no idea how it was comfortable with that plastic piece stuck in her chin.  We did get a great view of the castle on our way to the parking lot!  We had a great time at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and can't wait to go back!