Last year, right around this time, we went to Magic Kingdom with Nisheet’s parents. We had an epic time exploring the happiest place on earth with all the rides, attractions, parades, and fireworks. Disney certainly knows how to celebrate Christmas. Everything was decked out to the “t”. So, while we wanted to experience a Disney Christmas again, we didn’t necessarily want to go back to Magic Kingdom. Then I saw it. I was watching the news, and they were discussing Disney Spring’s Christmas drone show. It looked amazing. The same night, Nisheet came home talking about gingerbread houses at Disney’s resorts. Yep. We knew we had a plan.
Parking
We started the day at Disney Springs because we knew we could park (for FREE) and then just take the buses (for FREE) to the resorts we wanted to check out. You can also try your luck and park at the resorts, but we didn’t want the hassle of driving around trying to find parking everywhere. I recommend parking in the Orange Garage because it is the closest to the transportation center with all of the buses, and it is in a good central area of Disney Springs. If it is full, the Lime Garage is another good option.
Disney Springs for Lunch
We had originally planned on heading straight to the resorts after parking, but since it was lunchtime, we were hungry. So, we made a quick pit-stop to grab some food. We didn’t want a sit-down restaurant, and we didn’t want to waste time walking all over Disney Springs looking for something, so we went to one of the closest food stalls, Yesake. Neither of us had ever heard of it, but the fresh salmon wrap looked good, so we figured we would give it a go. Simply Delicious! The salmon and veggies (we got lettuce, carrots, and onions) were super fresh, and the sesame ginger dressing was the perfect accompaniment. [Fresh Salmon Wrap = $9.99]
Transportation Center
After our quick lunch, we headed over to the transportation center. It’s right beside the Orange Garage and behind the Coca-Cola store. We were headed to the Grand Floridian Resort to see the famous gingerbread house, so we jumped in line at gate 9. (There is a bus directory in case you don’t know where you are going). There will probably be a line, and there might be a short wait, but the buses come quite often, so I wouldn’t worry about trying to time everything out. Some of the resorts are close by, but the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary are about 20-30 minutes away, so try to grab a seat.
Disney Christmas at Disney’s Polynesian Resort
The Polynesian Resort was the first stop on our bus. We weren’t planning on getting off and exploring this resort, but I overheard someone else say that you could take the monorail (for FREE) to the Grand Floridian from here. So, why not?
You first walk through a lush garden with ponds, streams, and waterfalls, and then you enter the lobby. Those lucky enough to check in will be greeted with a lei and a friendly Aloha! For the rest of us, just keep walking into the lobby and take a look around. It isn’t overwhelmingly decorated for Christmas, but you will see some decor here and there and some poinsettias scattered about. However, you will feel like you just stepped off the bus and onto Hawaii.
We walked out the back doors of the lobby, and I knew why people stayed here. If the lobby hadn’t already won me over, the outside grounds sure did. There are little cafes, restaurants, a pool, a beach, and perfectly manicured gardens. In the background you are even treated to a view of Cinderella’s castle (it’s hard to see in the pictures).
While we were here, we had to stop at the Pineapple Lanai and try the Dole Whip swirl, a mix of pineapple and vanilla soft serve. I hadn’t actually seen it at Disney before, but a copycat recipe always pops up on my pinterest board, so I knew it had to be good. And, it was. The creamy vanilla is perfect with the sweet buy slightly tangy pineapple. Yummm!!!
When we finished taking in the sights at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, we hopped on the monorail and headed to Disney’s Grand Floridian. The monorail just goes in a circle and stops at the Polynesian Resort, Grand Floridan, Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary Resort, and parking. So as a side note, you can actually get to Magic Kingdom for free and avoid all parking costs by simply parking at Disney Springs and then taking the bus and monorail…. but that would take a long time and may not be worth it.
Disney Christmas at Disney’s Grand Floridian
Disney’s Grand Floridian is the iconic resort that everyone thinks of when they think of Disney resorts. It is every bit as classic and grand as the name implies. Just look at the picture below. Who wouldn’t want to stay there?
(The picture was taken from the Polynesian Resort looking across the lake.)
There are 2 main Disney Christmas attractions here. First up is the gigantic Christmas tree in the lobby that is several stories tall. It isn’t decorated with the traditional red and gold balls, but instead, it has birds, bows, and cages in a more subtle pink, white, and blue. It made me think of classy old-timey Florida.
The second attraction was what we were most excited about. The humongous gingerbread house! It took 800 lbs of flour, 600 lbs of sugar, 1050 lbs of honey, 140 pints of egg whites, 35 lbs of spices, and 700 lbs of chocolate to create this epic house. I was a little disappointed to find out they just frosted the gingerbread to a wooden structure… but I guess that is necessary because of the size. Still cool though. And, it was so large that there is a shop inside where you can buy all sorts of Disney Christmas goodies. We couldn’t resist a treat and bought a gingerbread mickey ears dipped in dark chocolate. The recipe that they use is supposedly from Austria and tastes every bit authentic. It reminded me of the gingerbread you can buy at a German Christmas Market. Soft and full of spices.
Disney Christmas at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
After the Grand Floridian, we got back on the monorail and took it to the Contemporary Resort. I’m not going to lie. This resort looks a bit dated. However, it is pretty awesome that the monorail goes right through the hotel! When you exit the monorail, you are already in the lobby.
The Disney Christmas theme for this resort was Frozen, and the kids were going nuts over the Frozen gingerbread castle. It’s also interactive with 16 hidden Olafs to find on the castle. Some of them are pretty tough to find! We had to ask one of the employees for help. Those kids who insisted they found all 16 while standing in one spot were lying!!
We then wandered to the side balcony for some pretty views of Magic Kingdom, and it was cool to see the monorail trams wiz past the park and into the Contemporary resort. Also, I imagine the views of Magic Kingdom’s firework shows are spectacular from here!
Disney Christmas at Disney Springs
There were a couple more resorts we wanted to check out, but it was getting close to 6pm and we didn’t want to take any chances missing the 7pm drone show. (There was another one at 8:30pm too, but we were worried it was going to get windy later and they would have to cancel). So, we headed back to Disney Springs.
Since we still had a bit of time before the drone show, we headed to the Coca-cola store. I wasn’t very interested in shopping, so we skipped the first 2 floors and headed to the 3rd. That’s where the Coke bar is. You can buy tasting flights from Coca-Cola products around the world or alcoholic Coke drinks. We ordered an Indian take on Coke called Thumbs Up and took in the views.
Then it was time for what we had been waiting for. The drone show! Disney collaborated with Intel to make 300 drones light up in the sky and dance around to classic holiday songs. All the lights at Disney Springs go dim and out of nowhere you see little colorful dots light up instantly in the sky. The drones move around synchronously to form various shapes. My favorite part was when they made a Christmas tree and all the outer drones started spinning around giving the effect of a rotating tree in the sky. The dove (below) was also really cool. The whole show is very short, maybe 5 minutes, but it is incredible. A must see and one of a kind. For the best view, I recommend standing behind Bongos Cuban Cafe and situating yourself as close to the water as possible and mid-way between the light poles.
We wandered around after the drone show looking for somewhere to eat dinner, but everywhere had ridiculously long waits. Ugh! Disney Springs was absolutely packed to the gills. We ended up back near where we watched the drone show at Bongos Cuban Cafe. They have a take out counter which had a surprisingly short line. I guess it is just hidden and most people don’t know about it because the food was excellent. We had a potato ball filled with meat and a flatbread smothered in cheese, pulled pork, plantains, and honey. Both were scrumptious. [Stuffed Potatoes = $2/each, Lechon Flatbread = $12]
After dinner, we had an hour or so to wander around and look at the Christmas decorations before meeting up with friends for drinks. In a true Disney Christmas style, everything was magical. There were decorations galore, beautiful Christmas trees, giant toys that had come to life, and even a Christmas tree lane with the tree decorations themed around Disney movies.
We spent the rest of the night chatting with our friends and drinking margaritas at Dockside Margaritas. We had a lot of fun, but if you like to stay out late, Disney Springs probably isn’t for you. The last call for drinks was around 11 pm, and when we headed to the parking garage shortly after midnight, there were only a few other people walking about. And, I think most of those were coming from the movie theater. For us, calling it a night at midnight was a good thing. We still had a 2 hour drive home.
