10/14/22

♪ ♫ I'll Be Home for Christmas ♪ ♫

(Literally home, not WDW)

October 14, 2022

December 2020 was the first time I had ever been to Walt Disney World during the holiday season. COVID protocols were mostly still in place. Masks had to be worn pretty much everywhere. No firework shows were operating. Many restaurants, including some of my favorites, hadn’t opened yet. No Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party or even after-hour parties were being offered. Holiday storytellers had not returned, and Candlelight processionals were on hold as well. My wife and I had planned on a lot of firsts that trip.

A dessert party.

Nope.

MVMCP

Sorry ‘bout ya.

Hoop-Dee-Doo.

Negative.

‘Ohana.

Forget it.

Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam.

STILL ISN’T BACK TO THIS DAY. GRRR.

Hoping to see NPH for Candlelight Processionals.

Wrong Answer.

Seeing Happily Ever After for the first time.

No Soup.

The Christmas Tree Trail.

Scaled back to almost nothing.

That’s a lot of missing Magic. So many events and experiences were just not back yet. Staffing was at an all-time low. Even outdoor pictures required masks. Sitting in our “Park & Fly” hotel in St Louis the night before our flight, I was a little crestfallen at what the trip had become. I felt like this was the “vacation that should have been.” It was perhaps my favorite trip ever!

Maybe it was just the exhale after a nine month (that felt like a nine year) season of uncertainty, stress, quarantine, and upheaval. Maybe it was simply the fact that it was my first time back since 2016. Perhaps it was because it was an adults-only trip, and we left those ungrateful teenage children at home. Maybe it was because I had rented DVC points and we stayed in a Savanna Studio at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Or maybe it was simply that I didn’t feel like I was breathing soup because of extreme heat and humidity. There were many reasons it was great, but frankly: Disney does Christmas well.

Yes, there were a myriad of missing experiences, but the whole atmosphere on property shifts on November 1. Admittedly, I am a Christmas fanatic. I start listening to Christmas music in October (only when I’m alone though. I do respect all the humbugs around me!). I love everything about the holiday season. When you add that passion for Christmas with Walt Disney World’s ostentatious, extravagant, and detail-driven execution you get pure Magic. Main Street USA was glorious. The Jingle Cruise delighted me. The retro decorations and classic Christmas music loops at Hollywood Studios made that park my favorite of the season. Even the bare-boned Festival of the Holidays at EPCOT that year was enchanting.

I made a snap decision on day two of our trip to book the next December for the whole family. December of 2021 further solidified my love for this season at the World. That first week or ten days of December is really the sweet spot as far as I’m concerned. Great weather, the crowds aren’t “holiday insane” yet, but all the holiday offerings are on display. I feel like you need a whole day to tour the resorts and check out the decorations and trees. Jambo House, the Wilderness Lodge, and the Grand Floridian are not to be missed! Even the Animal Kingdom Lodge lobby Christmas music loop, which includes African and Indian songs, has become a standard in my Spotify holiday playlist.

A multitude of reasons (budget, vacation time, etc.) are preventing us from visiting WDW this holiday season, and I cannot express how despondent I am about it. As the holiday offerings continue to be announced, I slip further and further into a deep-seated bitterness. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I will pine for my happy place this year. In reality, this website was birthed while pouting as I booked a client for a December trip. When I’m irritated, I write. As a result, you might see an abundance of articles between now and the new year.