DISNEY--Day 6: Mickey's Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom

If you thought our previous Disney posts has a ton of pictures, just you wait...

This was our BIG Disney day. During the Christmas season, they have certain days set aside each week for Mickey's Christmas Party. It starts at 6 p.m. and lasts until midnight. The downside is that it costs extra (about $90/person), but on the plus side, since everyone without a special pass has to leave the park at 6, a lot of people skip this day since it isn't worth their time. It made for smaller lines and less crowds. I was a bit salty about paying extra to stay, but after seeing how short the lines were, it was definitely worth it.

Grandma came to play too! She truly made the vacation so much better! She was so helpful and fun and made it possible for me and George to ride big rides with the older kids. Thanks, Mom!

The kids wanted to ride the ferry over to the Magic Kingdom. Next time, I think we'll take the monorail. The ferry was fun, but took forever.

Finally made it!

We planned ahead this day after our FastPass fails on our previous adventures, and were able to select some decent rides. We divided and conquered so we could get some good rides out of the way while the lines were short.

Thunder Mountain!

Splash Mountain

The boys caught a little lizard after the ride and had a good time passing him around.

Love these boys of mine!

Space Mountain

Already passed out!

Rockets. These are so super fun! Its on top of a building, so it really feels like you're flying.

The Speedway

Dumbo

Cole really liked this train. It would spit out water occasionally and the kids thought it was super fun, until they were wet and cold.

Lexi LOVED Goofy's Barnstormer, this cute little rollercoaster just her size. She was thrilled she got to ride a "big" ride like her siblings.

Teacups!

Carousel 

Dinner time with Grandma while the big boys caught some rides. Everyone was grumpy at this point, but the fun was just starting!

We each had to get these special bands before 6--if you weren't wearing a band, you had to leave the park. It was AWESOME how it changed the dynamics. There were stations all over the park that had "free" cookies, hot chocolate, and other treats; there were dance parties in various places; and a special light show at the castle.

Lily REALLY wanted to ride the Dwarf ride, but the line was still super long. George *might* have gamed the system by sending Lance in line with Lily until they reached the person scanning bands for parent swap. George got his and Lily's bands scanned and recieved a time to come back to do the swap. Lance and Lily waited a few more minutes in line, then skipped out and rejoined our group. Boom! Basically a FastPass! They were able to go back an hour or so later and hop right on. Was it the most ethical thing to do? Probably not, but whatever.

Getting ready for the Christmas parade at the castle!

It's Santa!

Cookies, anyone?

We managed to get up really close for the special Christmas program/fireworks display as well:

Jude and Lance took off and ran around riding ALL the rides. We took the little kids to a dance party in Tomorrow Land that turned out to be so so so fun! The kids LOVED it! Dasher and Dancer showed up with their "handlers" and we danced for a good half hour while enjoying hot chocolate.

Cole was super excited about it and kept trying to get close to the reindeer.

We finally were able to get a photo with them!

Poor Lily was super shy, but wanted a picture, too, but by the time she warmed up enough, they were on their way out the door. She may have shed a few tears, but got over it pretty quick.

Catching a few last-minute rides on our way out of the park!

Main Street even had "snow"! I'll be honest, it was pretty magical.

Cole had to visit the train one more time:

It was late. We were exhausted. The trek to the car was long. But we were happy.

Best. Day. Ever.