Today we headed to Magic Kingdom for New Years Eve. We knew it would likely be crazy crowded, but we had a few things planned to avoid the crowds, and had no plans t for specific rides, so we weren’t too concerned.
The bus took forever to arrive (there’s been a few occasions where the bus must have filled at Kidani meaning it never got to us at Jambo House) but we still made it to the park for early entry. It was surprisingly quiet (the one day where park reservations actually work in your favour I guess) and we managed to do Dumbo, Seven Dwarves and grab a Starbucks for a leisurely stroll around the park before the girls’ Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique appointment.
As always, we took our own dresses and got the cheapest package. You still get to go into the changing rooms and so they don’t miss out on anything.
I knew the girls’ special fairy godmothers were going to be looking after them today (they shouldn’t have been working but switched shifts just to see the girls…how magical is that?) but the girls had no idea so they were so excited when they saw them. The makeover was lovely and the girls chatted constantly to their lovely Fairy Godmothers.
Time went so fast and before we knew it we were saying goodbye and heading to watch the 12pm parade. Now, we’d clearly planned the outfits badly as Bell & The Beast were on complete opposite sides of the parade, so we decided to try for Belle’s side this time and the Beast at 3pm. Daisy, Donald and Minnie all recognised the girls from being Donald & Daisy for previous parades, so they got lots of hugs again, Woody loved their outfits and asked if I sewed them and all the characters were so much fun. I think with it being the last day of the Christmas parade they were making the absolute most of it.
Once it got to the princesses Belle saw the girls and actually managed to get the Beast’s attention too, which was lovely (although Winnie decided she still wanted to do the 3pm parade anyway!!)
After the parade we headed straight for photos at Sir Mickeys, and then to meet Belle who just happened to be in her Christmas dress, which was perfect.
We grabbed a couple of quick service children’s meals for lunch then headed to Pirates which had a really short wait time, catching the 50th cavalcade and Country Bears on the way.
As we came off the ride it was raining slightly, so we went into the foyer of Hall of Presidents for a short while before heading out to grab a spot for the parade.
It kept raining but was so light it was hardly noticeable, and it kept the temperature to a lovely level. The parade was just as good as the last with the sand characters again recognising the girls, and both Belle & Beast seeing them.
Once we’d finished we headed for our NYE meal at Be Our Guest.
We’ve avoided it the past few trips with Polly being a Disney adult, but the girls really wanted to go, and we’ve always enjoyed it in the past, so decided to splash out. We had to wait a long time for our table (so long that we almost left as we knew it might affect our dessert party) but once we were in the meal and service were great. I still don’t quite understand why they haven’t bought the Beast meet back at the end of the meal as if he’s there anyway, it surely wouldn’t be hard to set up?
Anyway, by the time we’d finished eating we had to head straight to check in for the dessert party. We’ve never done the after party before, but you basically get your band, head straight over to Plaza Gardens for the fireworks, then go and eat afterwards. The area was already pretty full when we arrived but we still got a decent spot, and it was definitely nice to have a bit of space. I think the New Years fireworks definitely lend themselves to the plaza view better than the regular fireworks as there are fewer castle projections, so you get a great view from anywhere. We loved the Mickey countdown to new year which was *almost* at UK midnight. We then headed for a drink and a few desserts at the party before setting off back to the hotel.
One of the reasons we chose the after party was to let the crowd clear. However, when we got to the bus stop we discovered no bus had arrived since the fireworks had finished. The queue was huge and there were a lot of angry people. We waited a good 25 minutes before a bus turned up, and there was no way we were all going to fit on it. One lady was really shouting at the driver, which wasn’t nice as it wasn’t the driver’s fault. Two other CMs turned up to try and help with crowd control, and one said a bus would be right behind. And it literally was. We easily got onto it along with everyone else in the queue, and we’re back in our room before 8pm.
The girls were utterly exhausted so while we got ready for tomorrow, they watched Encanto live at the Hollywood Bowl before falling asleep seconds after it was turned off.
Tomorrow we’re hoping to rope drop Hollywood Studios for a few hours as I think it will be pretty quiet, but the rest of the day is completely unplanned, so we shall see what happens.
Happy New Year everyone. If 2023 is half as magical as 2022 with my loves, then I’m in for a treat.
Doodle & Peg Do Disney 