Surprise! Christmas with BroganMC Family

Nice on the upgrade.....those are the best surprises!!!

See you Saturday!

Enjoy!

Guys I haven't forgotten you. This is the last day of my trip. I've had a blast with my family. I'll be home tomorrow resting from the adventure so I'll post the notes I've been making.

And Mother Nature was kind. We're flying home to Maryland with snow on the ground. A light snow clinging to trees and grass not roads. A pretty winter wonderland.

Jollywood Nights

We experienced a number of glitches trying to get into the party on Wednesday night. I had bought tickets through DVC for my nephew S and I before our accounts were linked so I had a will call number. I stopped at guest services in the afternoon and had them link the tickets to our accounts. My other nephew M bought tickets for himself and his fiance S with his father (Who is also a DVC member on our contract, You know him as brohawk). This was all done over the phone. Should have been easy right? Wrong.


Nephew M and his fiance S had been in the park all day and chose to stay while I and my brother went back to our respective rooms to change and get something to eat. They tried to check in for the party at 7:00 and their tickets were not coming up. My brother had no confirmation email for their tickets. But there was a transaction on my nephew's credit card for that exact amount. So they got on the phone with DVC member services and tried to figure it out. The whole thing was lost in the ether. An hour and a half later with DVC supposedly looking for the transaction, they hung up on him. My nephew was so angry at that point.

Meanwhile I met up with my other nephew S and after we got something to eat at the club we went off to the ferry. I was going to send a quick text to let everyone know where we were when it occurred to me I didn't have my phone. I left it in the room on the charger.

So I ran back to the room while Nephew S stayed to wait for the ferry. He only has a 6-day ticket and this was a non-park day for him. I didn't want him to miss anything because of my carelessness.

Anyway pop back to my room and got my phone and then ran to the skyliner. I honestly don't know which is the faster route but I waited a good 20 minutes for the ferry to pick me up at Hollywood earlier in the afternoon. And I knew I would miss the next one or be sitting in the cold for another 20 minutes.

And yes I know there is a walkway but I had already run down my chair quite a bit earlier in the day. I didn't want to put another 1.5 mi on it.

Skyliner did move very fast. There was a vehicle waiting for me when I got there. I did have to change a Caribbean Beach but again I had no wait. It was just the travel time it takes for a skyliner to get from Epcot to Caribbean Beach and then to Hollywood. I do like that it lets you off right at security. It's even closer than the bus stops. On par with handicap parking.

While I was on the skyliner, I was communicating with my brother and nephew M about the ticket situation. I suggested they just go to the guest relations in the park and get them to straighten it out. And that's exactly what nephew M did after DVC hung up on him.

Even though it was just my nephew in the park and not my brother or me who are the official DBC members, a wonderful cast member took pity on him and pulled some magic strings to get him his party tickets. He met me at the gates to go in.

It was 8:00 p.m. Nephew S was already in the park waiting for us. I figured we had just enough time to get in the gates and get in the queue for the brown derby. That drops at 8:15 so I hear.

But when I tried to scan my ticket it wouldn't work! Cast member kept struggling with her iPad and told me it was pulling up as my photo pass. I don't understand it but she sent me over to the ticket counter to explain. That cast member issued me a hard ticket which I took back and again it didn't scan. So the cast member with the iPad went over the ticket booth, commandeered the computer and proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes trying to rectify it. She had to recreate me as a managed guest under my own account. And then assign the ticket there.

By the time all of that was straightened out and we were inside the park gates it was 8:50 p.m.

No Brown Derby. Then we tried to get into the shows. We figured we'd go to the nightmare before Christmas sing-along but they had just filled up. So we went over to the Muppets or rather Hollywood holidays show. And they didn't have any more room for wheelies.

At that point I and nephew M were so disgusted we threw up our hands and said let's find the nearest bar and get drunk.

The tip top club was nearby so we went there. The ghost band was playing when we arrived but we got in line for drinks. It was a long line but moved fairly quickly. Two of us got the very sweet daiquiris which was just right for our sweet tooths, and the others got the fifth dimension. But by the time we had our drinks, the band had gone in for a break. Just our luck right?

One of the bright spots of the night is that everybody came dressed up and ready to party. There were so many people in fancy outfits it felt like New Year's. I was wearing a velvet get up with a very fancy red velvet and white furlined Princess Belle cloak. Something I made a few years ago for Christmas. Kept me nice and warm.

My brother surprised me by dressing up for the occasion in an embroidered red smoking jacket and his embroidered velvet smoking cap. The whole outfit just worked perfectly. Especially for pictures in front of Tower of terror. As soon as I'm able to upload some I'll share them with you. He really did well this time. Our dad (Grandpa Mohawk) would be very proud of him.

My DAS worked just fine on my app. So I booked a return for Slinky Dog. And then we went over and caught the nightmare before Christmas show. The second one of the night at 9:30.

I have to compliment the way cast members handled things especially disabled guests and those with DAS. At the Muppet Holiday show they just sent me away. But at nightmare, they took down my name and the number of guests I had with me to ensure I had a spot. So I went into the theater while my gang was getting the second round of drinks. They really were helpful and accommodating there. And the manager was making sure the cast members were doing it just right.

Oh and the drink I had was a sugar cookie margarita. Again I have another picture of that. It was very very sweet and delicious.

No we did not get drunk at all that night. I think we had about three drinks total and they were very light pours on the alcohol. (Don't worry the heavy drinking came later in the week. Just wait until you hear that story.)

We decided to go on a couple rides before taking in the last Hollywood Holiday show of the night. And that meant a ride on Slinky Dog and Toy Story mania. Quite fun. We competed in teams and I had fiance S with me. She got to use the easy button and I coached her on all the high target tricks. We did very well unfortunately the guys were just a little bit better. They have far too much video gaming experience.

We split up for about half an hour. I was sent off to get a spot at the Hollywood Holiday show. It was a 11: 15 and the show was at 11:45. Unfortunately that meant I didn't have enough time to wait in line and take a picture with Santa Duffy. One of my goals for the night.

And that is my biggest gripe about the party. It officially begins at 8:30 and ends at 12:30. They're simply isn't enough time to do all the things you want to do. This party needs to start at 7:30 or 7:00. The Magic Kingdom Christmas party last 5 hours and cost the same amount. But we only get 4 hours at Jollywood.

Also those with just party tickets can only get in the park at 7:00 p.m. while Magic Kingdom you can get in at 4pm. That gives you three whole hours to go on rides versus 1.5 hours at Hollywood. And let's face it there are plenty of things to do at Hollywood. Guests should be allowed to go on at least two or three things before the party. Not one.

Of course we never did get into Brown Derby. I kept checking to see if the virtual queue would open but it never did when I was looking. I wanted to start my night doing that. Or at least do it right after I saw the first nightmare show. Oh well.

And I did not get a Gertie cookie. Honestly I think these things should be free as you enter the park. It's just a sugar cookie guys. You can afford to give one to each guest.

The drinks were good and the prices were very reasonable. Well under $10 each. I didn't buy one because the guys were treating all night but I think they were around $6. And again as I said light pours on the alcohol. I don't think they want you to get drunk at the party. This is not Epcot food and wine festival.

Now the shows were fantastic. Nightmare before Christmas has mime actors on the stage. They don't say anything but they react to everything that's going on around them. They have that super big Jack skellington character they bring out for the Halloween fireworks. And he's telling the story or rather introducing it of The nightmare before Christmas. It's much like the frozen show in that scenes are played on the big screen behind the stage. And the actors are playing out and reacting to the story. I think I liked it better than Hollywood Holiday. But that's just my personal opinion.

Now the Hollywood holiday show was like a variety show. You are the studio audience and you're watching the live filming of this stage spectacle. Yes Kermit and Miss Piggy are host of the show but they only come out for a few bits. This is not a Muppet Show. You also have Tiana who does a musical number on stage. And Christmas Belle Who sings her song about hope and love at Christmas time. It's a very well done show capturing the holiday season of 1940s Hollywood. I don't know why I prefer nightmare more. So don't take anything away from Hollywood Holiday.

Now by midnight, my brother, nephew M and fiance S were feeling really tired. We had all been in the park more or less all day. And they were staying off site so they left instead of staying for fireworks. Nephew S and I stayed of course. It was jingle Bell jingle jam in its finest. Disney used to do the show in 2019 for every guest. Or at least during the Christmas week. Not much has changed. Maybe a few more fireworks. But it was still good. And a nice way to end the night.

Now people often ask me if I thought the party was worth $160 cost. And my answer was no. My reasoning is it was too short, we had ticketing issues, and there were really no freebies. But it's a good start. I hope Disney brings it back next year and listens to the guest to give us more improvements. Make it longer. Allow guests to get in earlier. Just give people time to do things. And for God's sake, give us a damn cookie!

Well Magic Kingdom gives you a parade and fireworks, Hollywood Studios gives you two really good stage shows and fireworks. Those things are definitely worth it. Disney just needs to build on it.

And that is my Jollywood Nights story.

Keep mind for 10 years, my dad and I would travel to Disney every New Year's. And we spent every New Year's Eve at Hollywood Studios. We loved the way that park decorated and celebrated. It was not as crowded as Epcot and still a lot of fun for adults. We absolutely adored Osborne lights. And I cried when they ended. There's a video of it on YouTube If you don't believe me. So Disney is right to make a party here. They just need to improve it