Taking A First Timer To Walt Disney World! Dec. 29, 2017-Jan. 6, 2018! *COMPLETED 4/8/18*

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Were those toy soldiers marching with heralds? I enjoyed that video, I grew up in a family of musicians.

HoP is always great. Hopefully the new animatronic looked better in the show than it did in all those close ups that were released when it opened.

Taking a newbie to WDW had to be a lot of fun, especially to see the parks/shows/rides/parades from his perspective.
Happy New Year!

I honestly can’t tell you (I had to look it up lol), I went to school for music and learned about each type of instrument. However, I never had to play a herald trumpet. I always thought that herald trumpets don’t have valves. However, looking it up right now, I guess some do. If it is a herald trumpet, I would assume that it’s a very basic model. I’ll see if I can ask some of my “trumpet” musician friends tomorrow, and I’ll get back to you.

The animatronic definitely looked better from further back.

 

[MiracleCream]

Thank you! I have only been to MNSSHP (3 times), and I don’t even celebrate Halloween anymore lol. I really want to go to the Christmas Party for many reasons. Hopefully I will get to it within the next couple years. I think I am set for going for NYE for the rest of my life (I really want to) so it is hard for me to justify possibly going earlier in November/December as well just for the party.

Makes sense! At least you can see the Christmas parade for free this way!

 

[lucas]

Fantastic update, You really know how to pack in a whole lot of fun into 1 day! Your friend had the perfect tour guide for his first time.

I love the pic with you guys and the talking Mickey! (And, the one with the 2018 sign.)

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Fantastic update, You really know how to pack in a whole lot of fun into 1 day! Your friend had the perfect tour guide for his first time.

I love the pic with you guys and the talking Mickey! (And, the one with the 2018 sign.)

Thanks. I don’t know if I was the “perfect” one lol.

 

[Lesley Wake]

My friends first view of Cinderella’s Castle and the lights were still on.

Thats cool, and surprising! I guess because it wasn't quite sunny yet, but I wouldn't expect the lights to be on.

Space Mountain would eventually be my friends favorite ride at Walt Disney World. I still can’t understand why, but each person has a different opinion. My friend really likes thrill rides, so I figured he would gravitate more towards the thrill attractions than the classic attractions. He was really excited to ride the classic attractions as well. He just doesn’t necessarily like riding rides where the point is to look at things.

I like thrill rides a lot, but Space Mountain at WDW is just too much for me! I was terrified the last time I rode it that our whole car was going to fly off the tracks.

Something strange happened for this parade though. The parade was scheduled to step-off at 12 p.m. However, the parade started 15 minutes early at 11:45 a.m. I wasn’t necessarily complaining, because I was happy to have an extra 15 minutes to tour the park. I think anyone that was going to get a spot closer to noon might be a little upset since the parade didn’t start at the “listed” time.

Yeah, I could imagine that would be annoying to other people.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Thats cool, and surprising! I guess because it wasn't quite sunny yet, but I wouldn't expect the lights to be on.


I like thrill rides a lot, but Space Mountain at WDW is just too much for me! I was terrified the last time I rode it that our whole car was going to fly off the tracks.


Yeah, I could imagine that would be annoying to other people.

Whenever I have been in the MK the past 2 years when i went during that time of year, the lights were always still on when I entered the MK that early.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 2: Fantasy In The Sky Fireworks Spectacular!​

It was starting to get dark, and my friend and I had been waiting for a couple hours for the first Fantasy In The Sky Fireworks Spectacular of the weekend. What always has to happen as soon as it becomes dark at the Magic Kingdom during the Christmas season? Cinderella’s Castle has to light up with ice and snow!!! So, it was time for the final Frozen Holiday Wish of the year.



Cinderella’s Castle was finally lit for the evening!!!





We then had 15 minutes before the first firework show of the evening, and my friend and I took a selfie with Cinderella Castle in the background.



We then had about 10 minutes before the show and the DJ’s came out for the evening to kick off a huge dance party in the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the night.

It was time for Fantasy In The Sky!!! Enjoy the pictures.











































None of the pictures above show any part of the New Years Countdown portion of the show. Look for those pictures in another update posted further down.

This show was absolutely amazing. It was really nice to see a "classic" Disney Firework Show in the Magic Kingdom again. I really like the 360 degree fireworks finale that this show has at the end. You haven’t seen a firework show at the Magic Kingdom until you have seen Fantasy In The Sky or the 4th of July Firework Show.

My friend and I would then brave the crowd and exit the Magic Kingdom. We were going to do some resort hopping!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 2: Monorail Resort Hopping!​

It would take us about 10 minutes to exit the Magic Kingdom, and we made it to the Resort Monorail.



We would be on our way to the Polynesian Resort where we would get some dinner at Capt. Cooks.



The original plan for this evening was to resort hop and come back to the Polynesian Resort for the 2nd performance of the Fantasy In The Sky Fireworks Show. However, I saw a report earlier in the day that Disney was closing off the Polynesian Beach to anyone not staying at the Polynesian. So, I was a little upset, but it was time to improvise.

My friend and I would then play some games in the Polynesian lobby to take a longer break from the Magic Kingdom.

After spending about an hour in the lobby, we would make our way to the Grand Floridian. I had one goal in mind and that was to see the Gingerbread House in the lobby of the Grand Floridian. I have never seen it before.















Sadly, I would not purchase any gingerbread at the gingerbread house.

The Christmas tree in the lobby was really nice.



My friend and I would then head back to the Resort Monorail and make our way back to the Magic Kingdom.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 2: Day Before New Years Eve! - Part 3!​

When we arrived back at the Magic Kingdom, I noticed that Disney was setting up a lot of barriers in front of the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. I wonder if this was for crowd control the next day.





We would arrive back in the Magic Kingdom.



There was a party happening on Main Street!!!



Cinderella’s Castle is really beautiful during this time of the year.





It was time for our 5th fastpass of the day, and it was time for my friend to get the song stuck in his head that we all love! That is It’s A Small World!!!







For some reason, my friend would always get his name on any magic band scanner screen on this trip, and I never got one!



We would then make our way to Mickey’s Philharmagic after riding the cruise that will never end.



Next, it was time to get dizzy at the Mad Tea Party!



Our final ride of the evening was on the PeopleMover!!!





We then had 45 minutes until the clock would strike midnight so we made our way to the hub to get our spot for the 2nd Fantasy In The Sky Fireworks Show of the evening!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Great photos of the fireworks!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 2: Fantasy In The Sky New Years Countdown!​

My friend and I would find another great spot for the firework show.



The DJ’s were still going strong so I would join in with some cast members and fellow Magic Kingdom guests in dancing along.

It was time for the 2nd showing of Fantasy In The Sky. If you would like to see photos of the first part of the show, check my update above.

It was time for the moment we have all waited for! It was time to countdown to New Years Eve!!!



Eventually Mickey would let us know that the countdown was starting so my friend and I would join in with everyone in the Magic Kingdom in the countdown!

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!!!

Enjoy the pictures!























It was time for what I have now started to call the “Wall of Fireworks Finale!”









It was now officially New Years Eve!!!

That New Years Countdown is just…Wow! That is literally what my friend and I could only say after experiencing it both times. If you are brave enough to ever experience Walt Disney World on December 30th and 31st, I highly recommend it. There is nothing like experiencing that 360-degree firework finale.

So, the party would continue on into the night, but my friend and I were on our way out of the Magic Kingdom.



It was time to head back to All-Star Music where we would head to bed, because we had an early wake up ahead of us the next morning.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Great photos of the fireworks!

Thanks! Fantasy In The Sky is an amazing show!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

That finale looks incredible! Truly a wall of fireworks! I don't know if I could ever brave those crowds, but wow! It must be incredible to see in person!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

That finale looks incredible! Truly a wall of fireworks! I don't know if I could ever brave those crowds, but wow! It must be incredible to see in person!

Yep. It is incredible. I first went for New Years Eve in 2016, and I said then that I want to go every year from now on. So, I have been two years in a row for New Years Eve.

You should go!!!

 

[lucas]

Beautiful photos!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Beautiful photos!

Thank you!

 

[Capang]

What a great way to spend New Years! Fireworks look spectacular!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

What a great way to spend New Years! Fireworks look spectacular!

That was a really amazing show. I might like countdown at EPCOT better, and I'll be posting those updates shortly.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 3: New Years Eve!!!​

It was finally New Years Eve!!! This is arguably the busiest day at Walt Disney World, and my friend and I were ready to tackle the crowds so we could ring in 2018 at Walt Disney World!

Our day would start really early. I convinced my friend to wake up early, because Animal Kingdom had Extra Magic Hours. So, we were on our way to Animal Kingdom very early in the morning to get on Flight of Passage.

We would arrive at Animal Kingdom and head straight for Pandora. The floating mountains never get old.



We would finally ride Flight of Passage. My friend enjoyed the ride, but he doesn’t understand the hype around it. He wishes that he could have controlled the banshee, but I think all of us think that.

We would then leave Animal Kingdom, because we needed to get to EPCOT! We would be spending the rest of the day in EPCOT, and we had some fastpasses coming up.

So, we made our way to the bus stop at Animal Kingdom where a charter bus pulled up. My friend and I were the only people sitting on the bus until the last second when another family came on the bus. So, we were very close to having a private charter bus.



The next attraction of our day would be traffic. Walt Disney World is known to have traffic on busy holidays, and this was my first time experiencing it.

Here is the traffic for the Magic Kingdom, and at this point we had not even passed Hollywood Studios yet.



Here is a little further down just past Hollywood Studios.



I was happy that we were going to EPCOT…



Until I saw this…Thank goodness for a bus lane!



It took us about 25 minutes to get to EPCOT from Animal Kingdom, but it was nice to relax a bit before a long day in EPCOT (Every Person Comes Out Tired).





Our first fastpass of the day was for Mission Space. I am one person that has said that I would never ride the Orange Side again. However, I would do it for my friend. It was nice to see the Mars Mission again. It didn’t affect me as much as it had in the past. So, I might give it a try again at some point, but I might just stick with the green mission still.



After riding the orange side, the green side was pretty much a walk-on so we went back in line to experience both missions.

Our next fastpass was for Spaceship Earth.



At this point it was almost 11 a.m, so we made our way to the Land Pavilion where we would grab some lunch at Sunshine Seasons.

Afterwards, we would make our way to the American Adventure Pavilion where I would finally get to see the Voices of Liberty. For those of you who haven’t read any of my trip reports, the Voices of Liberty are my favorite thing at Walt Disney World. I will sit in there for hours listening to them any day that I am in EPCOT.



The Voices of Liberty started a little earlier than normal on this day. So, I didn’t get to see many performances, but I was able to catch 3-4 performances. My friend was just happy to sit in the corner and relax for a bit. I did make him sit under the rotunda for one set though.



We would then make our way into the American Adventure Show.



I really like all of the flags as you go upstairs.





This is the fullest I had ever seen the theater. This theater sits 2,000 people if I remember correctly, and there were only about 250 open seats.





It was now getting close to 4 p.m. so my friend and I made our way over by the Imagination Pavilion where we would pick up our New Years Eve hats and noise makers.



Next, it was off to Canada!



I really like the waterfall in Canada.



We would then see my favorite film around World Showcase which is O’ Canada!



Our 3rd fastpass of the day was next and that fastpass was for Test Track. If you want to know what the fastpass line looks like at 5 p.m, here you go.



The fastpass line was a 40 minute wait, but that is a lot better than a 300 minute wait.



My friend and I would each make our own separate cars.

Here is my car:



Here is my friends car:



It was now close to 6 p.m, and my friend and I would then make our way to World Showcase for the night. We would stand right by one of the buildings and wait for Cast Members to clear what is usually the fastpass area for Illuminations. That is because there was a performance of Illuminations at around 6:30 p.m. with the holiday tag. They do not have fastpasses for any of the Illuminations shows on New Years Eve, so it is first-come first-serve.









That show would finally get over, and the waiting would continue for about another 45 minutes until Cast Members were ready to open up the area.

This is where I begin to get cranky and complain. That is because several of us had formed a line (like good Disney guests), but for about an hour, people were just starting to mob the area. We were told that people along the rope were going to get to go in first. That was not the case. Disney decided to let the people standing toward the top of the area to go which caused mass chaos. Everyone (including my friend and I) literally took down the rope in front of us and ran to our spot since about 30 people got in ahead of us that should not have. I was still able to get a great spot, but it wasn’t the exact spot I wanted.

So, let the 5 hours of waiting begin!

My friend and I were ready to countdown to 2018!!!



Eventually we would both take turns walking around and enjoying the atmosphere.

There was a party going on in China.



There was a party going on in Italy.



There was also a party going on in England.

At this point, I would experience something at Walt Disney World for the first time. Each food location was an hour wait just to get food. So, I decided to try out mobile ordering for the first time. This was literally the only way my friend and I were going to eat, because I wasn’t waiting an hour for food.

So, I would order on my phone for Electric Umbrella. I would make my way there, and I got to walk in when everyone was still waiting outside in the line. Our food was ready in 20 minutes, and I walked back to where we were sitting with our food. So, we would enjoy our food, but my meal wasn’t that good. I still ate it though.

We were finally 2 hours away from 2018!



My friend and I would spend most of our time playing games. It really made the time go by fast.

We were getting closer!



We were now almost one hour away! There was also a huge party going on in the center of Future World.



My friend and I were starting to get really excited!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 3: The Countdown to 2018 (Illuminations)!!!​

As we were getting closer, I found myself looking at Spaceship Earth more and more. That is because they were projecting a clock on Spaceship Earth.



Less than an hour away from 2018!!!



Eventually everyone was asked to stand, and the second showing of Illuminations would begin at about 11:40 p.m.



The normal part of Illuminations would end and then it was time for the New Years Tag! This tag is really cool, because fireworks are shot off from each country that has already celebrated the New Year, and you know it’s almost time when they get to England.

It was finally time for us to start counting down to 2018 at EPCOT!!!



So, everyone would get their noise makers ready, and we all were eventually cued to start counting down to 2018!!!

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Enjoy the pictures!



























It was then time for the finale that I have nicknamed “the fireworks finale that will kill me.” This finale is jaw dropping.







Well, after experiencing a fireworks finale that consists of fireworks falling on everyone, we would all make our way toward the exit of the area. There are only 2 ways out so it could take a few minutes.



It would take my friend and I about 10 minutes to exit the viewing area, and we would make our way towards the exit.

It would take my friend and I about 15 minutes to exit EPCOT.



We would make our way to the bus stop where I was surprised to find out that there was no line for All-Star Music. We would easily get on the next bus.

So, we were on a bus by 12:30 a.m. Our bus would leave, and we would get to experience some more traffic while leaving EPCOT. We would finally make it back to our resort at 1:10 a.m, and it was then time to get some rest. We would sleep in the next day, so we were happy about that.

If you are ever brave enough to attend New Years Eve at Walt Disney World, I highly recommend it!!! Yes it is crowded, but it is totally worth it!

Happy 2018 everyone!!!