Home for the Holidays: Seven Takeaways from Our Visit to Walt Disney World

The Whimsical Wishes team just returned from a holiday trip to our favorite place on Earth: Walt Disney World! 

This was our first time back together since we launched the agency. It was long overdue and we had so much fun.

The holidays is one of our favorite times to visit Walt Disney World! The magic is alive all around you - in the parks, at the hotels - no detail is missed.

Every trip, we dedicate time to researching new things so we wrote a list of our key trip takeaways to not only share our personal experience with you, but show that the magic is alive and well in Walt Disney World for all to enjoy.

#1. Unique Opportunities to See Characters

This is one of our favorite pictures from our trip! We were talking towards Adventureland when we stumbled across Eeyore and Rabbit on the porch of Crystal Palace.

​We loved seeing characters pop up all around the parks like this! Whenever the music played, we knew we were in for a treat. Characters made their way around the parks on decorated boats, tricked out cars and holiday themed floats.

We really enjoyed the characters waving from the Main Street USA Railroad platform; we loved being able to spontaneously walk up and chat or selfie with our friends from a distance.

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#2. The Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays

Our first taste of the Festival was from one of our favorite booths, Las Posadas, in Mexico. We loved sharing this tostada and these holiday flavored margaritas. We could have spent a whole week tasting our way around the Festival!

We played along with Olaf's Holiday Tradition Expedition as we traveled around the World Showcase. Kiddos would love finding him in his sleigh in each pavilion, probably as much as we did!

The highlight was the Voices of Liberty; we were missing Candlelight Processional this year but this brought us a beautiful touch of one of our favorite live performances. We can't wait to see what live performances return in the New Year.

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#3. Experiencing our Favorite Ride Queues
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We're all used to FastPass+ helping us skip to the front of the line but while this service is suspended, it was nice to take in the magical details of our favorite ride queues. The queue from Peter Pan's Flight takes you into the Darling home to play with Tinkerbell before you board the attraction. While the lines appear long because of physical distancing measures, we found they moved at a great pace and we were never bored or wishing for something to see.

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#4. New Dining Experiences

It had been a long since we'd experienced dinner at Hollywood & Vine in Disney's Hollywood Studios. We were excited to try Minnie's Holiday Dine with the new a la carté menu.

We were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed every element of the experience. The character interaction was a lot of fun; the characters were dressed in their holiday best as they danced around our table. All of the food was great, too!

While not all of our go-to restaurants are open, it was a treat to have some new experiences this trip including Rose & Crown, Trattoria al Forno and the new prix-fix lunch at Be Our Guest.

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#5. Castle Projections and Fireworks

It was nice to see a hint of Minnie's Holiday Christmastime spectacular this holiday season. The details and the movements within the projections were captivating and festive. 

We were treated to a burst of fireworks every time the castle projections changed; it was amazing to see the sky light up over Cinderella's Castle again.

We spent the better part of our evening soaking in the magic and we can't wait until we're watching fireworks show on Main Street again.

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#6. The Magic of Magic Shots

We will never stop singing the praises of Memory Maker and PhotoPass photographers. It's always nice to get pictures of the three of us together but the Magic Shots this trip were extra special. This is our favorite Magic Shot from this trip; the photographer who took these photos could not have been sweeter. Always ask your Photopass photographers if they have any Magic Shots they can take for you and your family.

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#7. Enjoying the Small Moments

We always encourage our clients to slow down and take the time to soak in the magic. We are guilty of not always doing that for ourselves but after being apart for the last 9 months, we made a point to relax, enjoy each other and appreciate the every minute. We spent time hanging out on the curb in Hollywood Studios; we drank our coffee and enjoyed a holiday treat while multiple character cavalcades passed us by. We sought out new photo ops (#prettyinpinkwall) and sampled colorful milks on Batuu (#teamblue). Even though it was chilly, we paid a visit to Stormalong Bay and enjoyed a drink by the pool. We enjoyed every second on Main Street, whether we were photographing characters or buying gifts for our families at the Emporium and Confectionary. 

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More than ever before, we were so grateful for the opportunity to visit Walt Disney World together. We were also reminded how lucky we are to have job and that allows us to be a part of something so special for our clients. We know our families are ready for their next vacation, and we're excited to be a part of whatever vacation your family has been wishing for.