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Holidays at Walt Disney World Guide

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I know it seems early, but the holidays at Walt Disney World start early! In fact, the first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is on Friday! So, I thought I would do a little guide to the Christmas season at the resort!

Holidays at Walt Disney World

Holidays at Walt Disney World

I’ve been lucky enough to visit the resort during the Christmas season multiple times. There’s so much to do here that I never feel like I have enough time to see everything. That being said, I will try to highlight what you can expect to see at each of the four theme parks, Disney Springs, and the resorts! Disney has said that the holiday season officially kicks-off on November 12th in 2024. So, you can expect to see special decor and entertainment after that date.

Christmas in the Magic Kingdom

I figure I’ll start with the one that kicks off the holiday season the earliest: Magic Kingdom. The park begins changing out the decor as soon as the Halloween party is over! You can enjoy the decor from early November until early/mid-January with a regular park ticket. However, if you want the full experience prior to December 21st, you will need to purchase a ticket to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party! I linked to my review of the party above. It’s a good time with a festive parade and fireworks! In fact, I even did the Mickey’s Very Merry Dessert Party last year.

If you are visiting after the 21st, you should be able to see the parade and fireworks during the regular park hours. However, you won’t get free cookies or see the special characters. Plus, the park will be even more crowded.

Christmas at Animal Kingdom

Next up is the other kingdom, Animal Kingdom! I got to experience some of this for the first time last year and loved it! The Merry Menagerie is awesome! My mom really enjoyed interacting with the animal puppets! They are gorgeous and fun to watch. The Tree of Life gets a special holiday light show, which I’ve never seen but it sounds cool. Also, you can meet Mickey and Minnie in some special holiday clothing at Adventures Outpost.

Christmas at Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios has some fantastic retro decor for the holidays that’s fun to look at. There’s also the great Sunset Seasons Greetings nighttime projection show at the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Toy Story Land gets a few additional decor pieces as do the characters. You can also eat at the only seasonal character dining experience on property at Hollywood & Vine here. I haven’t done it since before the pandemic, but it was a fun time.

Additionally, there’s also Jollywood Nights at Hollywood Studios. I attended the first year of it last year and enjoyed myself. I think they are even adding an ice skating show in 2024, so that should be fun!

Epcot Festival of the Holidays

Christmastime brings another fun festival to Epcot, the Festival of the Holidays. For whatever reason though, it doesn’t begin until after Thanksgiving. Beginning November 29th in 2024, it’s a fun festival filled with holiday traditions from the represented countries with Holiday Storytellers. There’s also the festival food booths! You also can’t forget the fan favorite Candlelight Processional show with celebrity narrators. I was lucky enough to do the Candlelight Processional Dining Package last year with John Stamos.

Disney Springs Christmas

Disney Springs is the separate shopping and dining destination at Disney World. It, of course, gets its own decor for the holidays. However, there’s also the Christmas Tree Stroll! They used to have the themed trees all in one spot but it was really crowded. So, now they are spread out across Disney Springs.

Christmas at the Resorts

As you would expect, each of the resorts gets specially themed decor matching each resorts theme. However, some of the resorts have gingerbread displays too! The Grand Floridian gets a huge gingerbread house that’s worth the trip over to see. Plus, it smells amazing and you can purchase little goodies. The Contemporary usually gets a gingerbread display as well. The Beach Club typically has a gingerbread carousel with a new theme each year. The Yacht Club has gotten a gingerbread lighthouse in recent years as well. Last year, Animal Kingdom Lodge even got some huge gingerbread animals!

Holidays at Walt Disney World: So much to see!

Shew! That’s a lot! Now, you understand why I have taken multiple trips and still haven’t seen everything. So, have you ever visited Disney World during the holidays? If so, what is your favorite thing to experience?

Universal Studios Hollywood VIP Tour Review

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Last month, I was fortunate enough to do the Universal Studios Hollywood VIP Tour when I visited the park for the first time. Given that it’s an expensive day, I thought I would write an overview of the day and a list of pros/cons to help anyone deciding if this tour is worth the high price tag.

Universal Studios Hollywood VIP

Universal Studios Hollywood VIP

Given that I had only one day to experience this park, I decided to splurge and try the VIP tour experience. On the day I took it, a random Tuesday in September, this tour cost $379! Unfortunately, that is one of the cheaper days! Although, that price includes your park ticket, a light breakfast, lunch, and more!

Check-in and Breakfast

When you book this experience online, you don’t receive an email with park tickets. Instead, you check in to the right of the regular park entrance at the VIP entrance. At check-in they give you a special lanyard to wear for the day. Then, you are allowed to head upstairs to the VIP lounge to relax and enjoy a light breakfast. I was impressed with the food spread for the breakfast. I enjoyed a croissant sandwich and a guava cheese pastry with some water. You are free to relax in the lounge until your tour time, however I headed out into the park for the Super Nintendo World Early Access. Then, I returned to the lounge afterwards for my tour.

Park Tour

For my tour, we started with the park portion of the day. Over the course of about 3 hours, we hit all of the major attractions found at the park! The lanyards allow you to skip the ride lines all day long, since it acts as a Universal Express pass. However, the tour guide is able to take you in the back way to some rides and skip even some of those lines! Plus, the tour guide holds all of your bags so you don’t have to deal with lockers! Our tour guide was even able to fit in the Waterworld show for us! I was pleased with how much we were able to accomplish in three hours!

Lunch

About 3 hours after the scheduled tour time is lunch. My tour time was 10:45 AM and my lunch time was 1:40 PM. USH calls it a “gourmet meal” but it’s really an elevated buffet lunch, similar to a nice wedding meal. There were some characters roaming around the dining room. Unfortunately, they all skipped my solo adult table and I didn’t get to see any of them. They mostly focused on the tables with children. I suppose that’s why it’s not advertised as a character meal. The food was pretty good, but nothing stood out as particularly amazing to me personally. Also, there’s only two bathrooms for the whole restaurant. So, don’t wait to use the restroom here.

Studio Tour

After lunch, we had the studio portion of the tour. This was the main reason I booked the Universal Studios Hollywood VIP Tour. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see the lot where Back to the Future was filmed as it was closed for filming. Some additional areas were closed for Halloween Horror Nights and some of the other areas were closed off for filming and/or refurbishment. I understand that’s the nature of these things, but it was disappointing nonetheless. I enjoyed the brisk walk around the props department.

Pros

  • Skip lines – The longest lines I waited in were for check-in, Early Access entry, and lunch.
  • No lockers – It was so useful to have our tour guide take our stuff before we got on rides and to be waiting outside the ride with our stuff. It was great to not have to deal with lockers.
  • Backstage lot – We got to see where they filmed “The Good Place” and some other places that the regular tram tour doesn’t take you.
  • Tour guide – Navigating a new park can be confusing, so having a knowledgeable tour guide is useful.
  • Includes park admission and Express Pass – On the cheapest days, it’s a little over $100 more than a regular park ticket with Express. So, that probably makes it worth it on those days.

Cons

  • Expensive – $369 is the cheapest this tour gets. Around the holidays, it’s $499!
  • No guarantees – Since Universal can’t predict when something will be filming on the lot, they can’t guarantee which lots you will get to see.
  • Fast paced – I don’t recommend this tour for those who tire quickly. It’s a fast paced day.
  • Not exactly personalized – They try to please a group, so there’s no guarantee will you have time to hit up a certain ride.

Tips

  • Consult park hours – If you want to do both the Early Access Hour and the VIP tour, I recommend booking a tour 30-40 minutes after the park opens. I had a 10:45 tour with a park opening of 10:00 AM. I did the Early Access Hour from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM and then casually walked back up to the upper lot with time to spare for my tour. They ask you to return to the lounge 15 minutes before your tour time.
  • Not ideal for sightseeing or pictures – This was a fast-paced tour. Some people grabbed some Butterbeer and then basically had to chug it. I would suggest taking pictures and being leisurely outside the tour as you should have extra time before/after the tour to explore.
  • Wear comfortable shoes – It’s a lot of walking.

Is the Universal Studios Hollywood VIP Tour worth it?

I think the value of this experience depends heavily on the day you visit and what you value. I think most people will do fine with a regular park ticket and Express Pass. However, it was nice to splurge and enjoy this experience. I don’t know that I would do it again, but it was neat to do once.

Have you ever done it?

Walt’s Main Street Story Tour at Disneyland Review

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While at Disneyland last month, I finally did Walt’s Main Street Story Tour! So, I thought I would do a review on the experience to help others decide if it’s worth the expensive price tag!

Walt's Main Street Story Tour

Walt’s Main Street Story Tour

This is an add-on walking tour that I have been wanting to take for years! However, the price and tour length kept me away until this trip. I decided that there was room in my schedule and it was the perfect way to end this trip.

You can book this tour online ahead of time, but I didn’t do that. Instead, I waited until the day of to see how I felt. Thankfully, they still had slots available for me to do the tour. I don’t think I’d recommend that approach to larger groups or if this is something you really want to do. Thankfully, it worked out for me though. This tour costs $160/person and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

Upon checking in, they ask for your drink preference since a bottled water or soda is included in the tour. They also give you a special pin with your name on it (seen in the image above) for the tour. You are also given an ear piece to better hear your guide on Main Street, U.S.A.

Main Street Facts

The tour begins with a walking tour of Main Street, U.S.A. Our tour guide pointed out neat little things about how the street was built. Unfortunately, I feel like social media had spoiled most of what he had to tell us. I did enjoy learning about the street lamps and what our tour guide believes is the smallest hidden Mickey on property. No, I won’t spoil the tour by sharing the facts here. Sorry.

Walt’s Apartment

Following the discussion of the park’s beginnings, the group is led up to Walt Disney’s apartment over the firehouse. This is the real reason for the tour and why I had been wanting to take the tour ever since I learned it was a thing. I know I took a picture of the lamp in the window on my first trip to Disneyland 10 years ago. So, it was surreal to finally be in the apartment.

Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos in the apartment. Disney did coordinate for one of their photographers to take some pictures of us in front of Walt’s couch/bed as well as in front of the lamp and window. The photos were uploaded to our accounts with free downloads.

Relaxing on the Patio

After taking in the apartment, the tour heads out to the private patio. Again, no photos were allowed here. Disney gave each guest a cookie (lemon shortbread, I think) decorated specially for the tour. My cookie is shown in the Instagram post above. There were even a few gluten free ones for the guests who needed them. They also gave us the beverages we previously chose. I got a bottle of water. Then, we proceeded to sit and enjoy the refreshments on the patio. It was a nice, relaxing moment.

Is Walt’s Main Street Story Tour worth it?

As I said above, it’s $160/person and it takes approximately 90 minutes to do this tour. I think it’s probably too expensive or time consuming for the average theme park goer. However, it’s the ultimate treat for any Disney parks fan to see Walt’s apartment. It was probably a one and done experience for me, given the high price. I’m glad I did it though. I’m also glad that I did this on a solo trip, so I could geek out by myself.

So, have you taken this tour?

Hilton LA/Universal City Hotel Review

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Last week, I posted my Super Nintendo World Early Access Review. Today, I want to tell you about the Hilton LA/Universal City Hotel I stayed at while visiting the Burbank area.

Hilton LA/Universal City

Hilton LA/Universal City

Given that I had plans to attend the early access at Universal, I knew that I wanted to stay close to the park. That quickly narrowed down my choices. I was concerned that a shuttle would get to the park later than I wanted and I didn’t want to deal with taking a Lyft. I decided on the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City due to its walkability to the park and its nice accommodations!

King Room

Typically, I book a standard room with two queen sized beds. However, since I was traveling alone, I went for the one king size bed this time. It was so luxurious to have such a large bed all to myself! The room itself was nicely furnished. The bed was very comfortable! Everything looked modern and felt very high quality. I was impressed with the number of outlets available given the lamp and clock had additional plugins.

My only complaints about the room are very small. I noticed a distinct lack of towel holders, however that is not uncommon for hotels. I also realized that the mini refrigerator ran a little warm and didn’t keep my water very cool.

Location

I was pleased with the location of the hotel. In fact, it’s currently the closest hotel to Universal Studios Hollywood! There’s a shuttle that runs between the park and the hotel. Unfortunately, it never showed up when I was ready to go. So, I always just walked over to Universal. I will say that the first time I walked over, I got a little confused. I think the walk could use more signage. However, it was very convenient to be able to walk over and back whenever I wanted to.

Pros

  • Location – It’s the perfect location for walking over to the park for early access.
  • Comfortable bed – The bed slept great!
  • Luxe feel – Everything about the room was modern and sleek.
  • Views – I had a fantastic view of the city and Super Nintendo World! I enjoyed watching sunsets/sunrises from my room.
  • Modern – It’s obvious the rooms have been updated recently as it looks good and there’s additional plugins in the clock and lamps.
  • On-site restaurants – I didn’t have time to try them, but it was nice to know they were there if I needed them.
  • Gift shop – I actually lost an earring this trip. Thankfully, the gift shop here had an assortment of earrings and I was able to get a pair that worked for me without spending too much.

Cons

  • Pricey – It can be a little pricey to stay here. I managed to get a good deal (Hilton Honors member) of $282 and $288 on a Monday and Tuesday in September. I know I saw higher rates for HHN nights and weekends though.
  • Could use more signs – There needs to be additional signage to help guests navigate their way to the park and back.
  • Heard some noise – I heard some children running/yelling one night. Thankfully, they went to bed at a reasonable hour. Also, the more I travel, the more I realize how common it is to hear things. So, this one wasn’t bad compared to other places.

Is the Hilton LA/Universal City worth it?

I really enjoyed my stay here. It was perfect for my short visit to the area and park. I would definitely stay here again, but I might also consider another (cheaper) place with a shuttle if I wasn’t doing the early access again.

Have you ever stayed here?

Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Brunch at Disneyland Review

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Last month, I was able to experience the limited time Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Brunch character meal at Disneyland Hotel! Here’s a review of that experience to help others decide if this meal is worth the high cost.

Goofy's Kitchen Halloween Brunch

Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Brunch

Last year, I was lucky enough to visit this character buffet meal at Disneyland Hotel on two occasions. I first visited last year for breakfast and then again in the fall last year for dinner. You can click those links to see what the restaurant is like for regular dining. One of my complaints about last year’s fall trip to Disneyland was that they announced things too late and we missed doing any seasonal special dining. Thankfully, this year my trip was later and I was able to enjoy this one.

The Characters

This is the second year that Disneyland has hosted a special Halloween overlay at this restaurant. Last year, the characters wore their costumes from the previous year (2022). This year they are wearing last year’s (2023) costumes. I don’t know if they plan to continue rotating in the previous year’s costumes or not, but I like that I could finally get a photo with the characters with their special costumes. Last year, I managed to meet only Minnie in her costume. So, I was tickled to meet Chip, Dale, Goofy, Pluto, and Minnie in last year’s costumes!

I only wish they included Donald Duck at Disneyland character meals! Nonetheless, I enjoyed meeting the characters in their special Halloween costumes! They were adorable!

The Food

Having previously enjoyed breakfast here, I was excited to sample the brunch this time. I was happy to find a selection of typical breakfast foods (like Mickey waffles) as well as some more lunch time items. I was very happy to find some butternut squash ravioli! That’s the kind of food I was hoping to have over at Mickey’s Autumn Adventures Brunch. I was equally happy to see a selection of pumpkin and apple desserts here. I wish they had shared some of those treats with the other meal though. Also, many of the desserts had an artificial flavor to them. So, that was a tad disappointing but not overly surprising.

I have to say I was pretty impressed with the overall selection and quality of food available here. There’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Is Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Brunch worth it?

Priced at $65/adult and $36/child, this is a pricey meal. Plus, they automatically added gratuity to my meal here. So, it’s definitely not a cheap experience. However, it was nice to get some seasonal foods and meet the characters in their Halloween costumes. I think it’s worth it if you have the budget for it and enjoy Halloween.