Starting this trip report off with a quote from "Adventure Time"....
For me, as a Zootopia fan, having learned that (finally) Nick and Judy were meeting guests during the event, I knew I couldn’t resist going! On the other, when I was 6 me and my mom and dad took a cruise on the Disney Wonder, and I had an accidental run in with Captain Hook and Smee. Top this off with the fact that I had, and still have, Asperger's Syndrome, and that caused me to have a fear of doing character meet and greets, meaning I had a double-edged sword to deal with. I started to become fine from afar in 2008, then with the parades (particularly with Soundsational, Festival of Fantasy, and Move It Shake It Dance & Play It) in March 2014, and ultimately I had decided at that point to, during MVMCP, face that fear of character meet and greets once and for all!
Fast forward to November, during my Thanksgiving Break. Me and Alex talked it out and we decided that me, him, and a friend of ours would go to MVMCP on December 16, 2016. We purchased our tickets on November 28, 2016, and decided we would go to Epcot for a bit of the afternoon and then hop on over to MK at around 3:00 PM or so. We had a trip to MK planned with our college (we both attend Beacon College in Leesburg, FL and me and Alex are both WDW APs) on December 10, 2016, 6 days before this trip occurred (and I park hopped to Epcot that day as well), but that's another story.
Fast forward to December 16, 2016...
We got to Epcot around 12:30 ish or so, and we have a FP for Soarin’. We also had 2 more FPs (one for Mission Space, the other for Spaceship Earth). However, because stand-by wait times at Epcot weren't too too bad, we decided to cancel our Mission Space and Spaceship Earth FPs and swap them with ones for Space Ranger Spin and POTC. We had no problems doing Test Track (Single Riders Line), Mission Space, or Spaceship Earth in standby at all. In between doing Test Track and Mission Space we grabbed a bag of chips and drinks for “lunch” because we were in a time crunch.
Once we did all those, we headed for the monorail to the TTC. The monorails all ran like clockwork today, no holding for clearance!
Lucky us! My friend had to resolve a discrepancy because a friend of his who planned on going said he couldn’t, luckily the CM at the TTC was soooo polite and helpful enough to resolve it!
So we got to MK just as Festival of Fantasy was ending, good timing! We head on over to Buzz Lightyear, and as we do we noticed the wristband station and we get a head start and got our wristbands before we got on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin! I mentioned to the CM who distributed my wristband that "this is our first time doing the Christmas Party.." and she said "wow, have fun!" We did Space Ranger Spin, and then decided to do BTMRR which had a 35-minute wait. While in Epcot, we decided to share each other numbers in case “something happens” during the party, while walking to BTMRR we decided that we would reunite at Village Haus at 9:00 PM that night.
After doing BTMRR we did POTC with our FPs. At this point, me and Alex went our own ways and here I go from Adventureland BACK to Tomorrowland. From this point forward I then decided to do what I wanted to do, face my phobia of doing character meet and greets and meet my two new favs, Nick & Judy! At this point I started to feel pretty anxious/nervous, but at the same time excited too! My heart was pounding, I was a bit shaky, and I was stuttering a bit too!
I got over to Tomorrowland, and the blueberry told me that they would be coming out at 6:15 PM, and to show my wristband (which is what I did). She then went through a short spiel informing me that "Nick & Judy do not sign" and handed me their autograph card.
I was pretty much nervous and shaking for about a half hour, so I practiced a few mindful calming techniques (in this instance, taking a few deep breaths (in through nose, hold for 3 seconds (I counted "one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand"), out through mouth) and counting to 10 ("one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi......ten Mississippi") and that seemed to help a lot! Mind you I’ve had this fear since I was 6, roughly about 14 years had passed since I had an “accidental run-in” with Captain Hook & Smee on Castaway Cay that triggered this so-called "fear", add on to the fact that I have Autism/Aspergers. And while I was waiting some guys on the TTA shouted “dab”, and I did just that and their reaction was “F(bleep)k, he dabbed!”
I was watching the time very closely on my phone and my watch, waiting for 6:15 to come... And surely enough, 45 minutes after getting into the line they came out at 6:15. I remember them being very energetic and enthusiastic that night. At this point I was like "there's no turning back!" and then continue with my calming techniques. At this rate I only had a short amount of time to prepare myself mentally (5 minutes).
Surely enough I was next up, I was basically like "well, here goes nothing..."
The guy right in front of me (he is on Instagram - @idreamofdisneyworld) bought along his Rodger Rabbit plush and he gave it to Judy and their reaction was priceless (especially Nick's, he even blew it a kiss!)
Then after the guy in front of me went, Nick turned towards me, and as I began to walk up to him, he opened up his arms! I came up to him saying "Hey Nick HOWS IT GOIN MAN?!" (I remember being excited I actually said that loudly) and he gave me a big hug (mind you Nick is an amazing hugger, believe me!) He rocked me from side to side and rubbed my back! I also remember saying when I hugged him "Oh my god so good to see you!"
Then once Nick let me go I turned to Judy, and she opened her arms! I said "Judy! How are you?!" and then hugged her as well. And when I did I also said "Oh my god how's my favorite girl doing?!"
But just as she was about to let go, something I never expected happened... I heard a "smooch" sound come from Judy Hopps, as a matter of fact she kissed me on the cheek! Mind you, I never have heard that sound come from the fur characters before and I had thought that the "characters" weren't allowed to make a single sound! I thought they couldn't make any sounds, but boy was I wrong! Hearing that sound also sent a tingle down my spine & brain as well!
At this point I became very euphoric and said "Why Judy, thank you very much!" which may have made her "blush." Next thing I say to her is "Oh, and how's Clawhauser doing?!" When I said that, I also heard her gasp in shock! (Never heard that sound either from the characters!) She said (actually mimed) that "Clawhauser's doing great!" I also mentioned "Lovin' those donuts I bet? Heh heh. You should really bring him some one day!"
I then decided to take a selfie with them, and just I was trying to get the camera app on my iPhone up, I accidentally unlocked the phone and I said "hang on having a bit of trouble here" and Nick was like "oh brother." (He put one paw to his face and shoke his head)
In the end, Nick & Judy were amazing! I might have the chance to meet them again once they become regulars at WDW! I should've also shown Nick my phone case (it has Finnick on it)! Their character attendant was also nice enough to snap two photos on my phone!
Afterwords, I went over to Launching Pad, which was closed at the moment, and I felt victorious and proud and I was like "I did it. I did it! I faced my fears! Woo-hoo!"
However, this whole meet and greet, especially the kiss from Judy, left me blushing for the rest of the night and pretty much all day the next day! I had finally overcame my phobia and was so proud of myself, and embarrassed at the same time, I was grinning, laughing a bit, and I was humming/singing the song "Attitude of Gratitude" from Spongebob Squarepants, in particular this part...
Oh, I’ve got a whole new, attitude,
A lifetime subscription to, gratitude,
Friend you’ve got to change your latitude,
Livin' attitude of, gratitude,
...for the rest of the night and most of the following day!
I’m sure this will be the beginning of a new adventure for me! (Wonder what the words "a new adventure" mean? Meeting more characters on future trips? If so, I better know who I plan to meet!)
After doing that I grabbed a snow cone and some cookies at Friar’s Nook, which was close by. Pretty good, not too bad! I was still laughing, probably was so happy, or even embarrassed, at the same time a bit jealous because of the meet and greet.
Then took on Splash Mountain, which was a WALK-ON, perfect timing! I was still laughing and grinning even when I got off... Also saw the Country Bears, but didn't meet them!
Then made a dash from Splash to the hub to see the Castle Lighting. That show was not the best, but it was ok. There is a version with Olaf, Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff in it, but this version just had Elsa in it. Could’ve been better though. The castle lights looked beautiful!
But, one downfall though. The hub was a madhouse though, like a MOSH PIT! Went all the way from the hub back to Peter Pan’s Flight via Liberty Square because the shortcut behind the castle was blocked off, grrr!
The wait for Peter Pan’s Flight wasn’t too bad, posted at 30 mins, actually felt like 25 mins! Did that and then went to Village Haus to dinner. My friend said he was running late because he ran into the parade crowds! So we had dinner together and I mentioned to him that I faced my fears. We saw Holiday Wishes from Fantasyland because we had no time to get from Fantasyland to the hub, the view was good though!
My friend said he didn’t know they were offering free cookies, he must’ve been surprised! He also mentioned a ton of attractions he did were walk-ons that night too! Did 7DMT a second time, not bad for me because I’m a one and done sorta guy. We decided to see if we could grab any treats, then do Jingle Cruise, see the parade, and then do Space Mountain. We headed straight for Jingle Cruise, 15 minute wait felt like 10. We then called an audible and decided to dash for Main St’s train depot to see the parade! The Once Upon A Christmastime Parade was amazing, though we had to make a mad dash for the Station. Come the end of the parade, we called an audible and decided to not do Space Mountain because of parade crowds. Took the monorail over the Contemporary, grabbed some hot cocoa at Contempo Cafe, and we took Uber back to our apartments in Leesburg, FL and we both went home for Winter Break the next day! But by the time I got back, I broke out into full blown laughter and smiling, I also noticed I was VERY red in the face!
Overall, MVMCP was amazing! My friend was surprised that they had free cookies and hot cocoa during the party, it is worth the money! Nick and Judy are so awesome, I’ve seen them TWICE during Move It Shake It, and now I faced my fears and meet them! When Nick & Judy do start doing regular M&Gs at Epcot, I will go back and meet them again! We took Uber down from Leesburg, FL to Epcot, and from the Contemporary back to our apartments, but if it was just me going I would take Uber to one of the SunRail stations in Seminole County (closest one would be Altamonte Springs) and go from there. Epcot wasn’t too busy, neither was the party with the exception of the moshpit like experience with the castle lighting!
Would I do MVMCP again this year? Yes! Would I be ready in case the date I want to do it gets sold out? Yes! Would I go twice? Maybe (especially if Nick & Judy are meeting during MVMCP this year).
And now, a full YouTube video encompassing the trip - more like a 2 hour Holiday special! Yes I am a YouTuber as well.
The title says it all folks! Me and my friend, Alex, went to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party for the first time on December 16, 2016! We wanted to end our fall semester with a bang, and boy did we do just that! Mind you, I never went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party before, neither had Alex, but my grandparents have. With that said, it all began in October....
For me, as a Zootopia fan, having learned that (finally) Nick and Judy were meeting guests during the event, I knew I couldn’t resist going! On the other, when I was 6 me and my mom and dad took a cruise on the Disney Wonder, and I had an accidental run in with Captain Hook and Smee. Top this off with the fact that I had, and still have, Asperger's Syndrome, and that caused me to have a fear of doing character meet and greets, meaning I had a double-edged sword to deal with. I started to become fine from afar in 2008, then with the parades (particularly with Soundsational, Festival of Fantasy, and Move It Shake It Dance & Play It) in March 2014, and ultimately I had decided at that point to, during MVMCP, face that fear of character meet and greets once and for all!
Fast forward to November, during my Thanksgiving Break. Me and Alex talked it out and we decided that me, him, and a friend of ours would go to MVMCP on December 16, 2016. We purchased our tickets on November 28, 2016, and decided we would go to Epcot for a bit of the afternoon and then hop on over to MK at around 3:00 PM or so. We had a trip to MK planned with our college (we both attend Beacon College in Leesburg, FL and me and Alex are both WDW APs) on December 10, 2016, 6 days before this trip occurred (and I park hopped to Epcot that day as well), but that's another story.
Fast forward to December 16, 2016...
We got to Epcot around 12:30 ish or so, and we have a FP for Soarin’. We also had 2 more FPs (one for Mission Space, the other for Spaceship Earth). However, because stand-by wait times at Epcot weren't too too bad, we decided to cancel our Mission Space and Spaceship Earth FPs and swap them with ones for Space Ranger Spin and POTC. We had no problems doing Test Track (Single Riders Line), Mission Space, or Spaceship Earth in standby at all. In between doing Test Track and Mission Space we grabbed a bag of chips and drinks for “lunch” because we were in a time crunch.
Once we did all those, we headed for the monorail to the TTC. The monorails all ran like clockwork today, no holding for clearance!
Lucky us! My friend had to resolve a discrepancy because a friend of his who planned on going said he couldn’t, luckily the CM at the TTC was soooo polite and helpful enough to resolve it!So we got to MK just as Festival of Fantasy was ending, good timing! We head on over to Buzz Lightyear, and as we do we noticed the wristband station and we get a head start and got our wristbands before we got on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin! I mentioned to the CM who distributed my wristband that "this is our first time doing the Christmas Party.." and she said "wow, have fun!" We did Space Ranger Spin, and then decided to do BTMRR which had a 35-minute wait. While in Epcot, we decided to share each other numbers in case “something happens” during the party, while walking to BTMRR we decided that we would reunite at Village Haus at 9:00 PM that night.
After doing BTMRR we did POTC with our FPs. At this point, me and Alex went our own ways and here I go from Adventureland BACK to Tomorrowland. From this point forward I then decided to do what I wanted to do, face my phobia of doing character meet and greets and meet my two new favs, Nick & Judy! At this point I started to feel pretty anxious/nervous, but at the same time excited too! My heart was pounding, I was a bit shaky, and I was stuttering a bit too!
I got over to Tomorrowland, and the blueberry told me that they would be coming out at 6:15 PM, and to show my wristband (which is what I did). She then went through a short spiel informing me that "Nick & Judy do not sign" and handed me their autograph card.
I was pretty much nervous and shaking for about a half hour, so I practiced a few mindful calming techniques (in this instance, taking a few deep breaths (in through nose, hold for 3 seconds (I counted "one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand"), out through mouth) and counting to 10 ("one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi......ten Mississippi") and that seemed to help a lot! Mind you I’ve had this fear since I was 6, roughly about 14 years had passed since I had an “accidental run-in” with Captain Hook & Smee on Castaway Cay that triggered this so-called "fear", add on to the fact that I have Autism/Aspergers. And while I was waiting some guys on the TTA shouted “dab”, and I did just that and their reaction was “F(bleep)k, he dabbed!”
I was watching the time very closely on my phone and my watch, waiting for 6:15 to come... And surely enough, 45 minutes after getting into the line they came out at 6:15. I remember them being very energetic and enthusiastic that night. At this point I was like "there's no turning back!" and then continue with my calming techniques. At this rate I only had a short amount of time to prepare myself mentally (5 minutes).
Surely enough I was next up, I was basically like "well, here goes nothing..."
The guy right in front of me (he is on Instagram - @idreamofdisneyworld) bought along his Rodger Rabbit plush and he gave it to Judy and their reaction was priceless (especially Nick's, he even blew it a kiss!)
Then after the guy in front of me went, Nick turned towards me, and as I began to walk up to him, he opened up his arms! I came up to him saying "Hey Nick HOWS IT GOIN MAN?!" (I remember being excited I actually said that loudly) and he gave me a big hug (mind you Nick is an amazing hugger, believe me!) He rocked me from side to side and rubbed my back! I also remember saying when I hugged him "Oh my god so good to see you!"
Then once Nick let me go I turned to Judy, and she opened her arms! I said "Judy! How are you?!" and then hugged her as well. And when I did I also said "Oh my god how's my favorite girl doing?!"
But just as she was about to let go, something I never expected happened... I heard a "smooch" sound come from Judy Hopps, as a matter of fact she kissed me on the cheek! Mind you, I never have heard that sound come from the fur characters before and I had thought that the "characters" weren't allowed to make a single sound! I thought they couldn't make any sounds, but boy was I wrong! Hearing that sound also sent a tingle down my spine & brain as well!
At this point I became very euphoric and said "Why Judy, thank you very much!" which may have made her "blush." Next thing I say to her is "Oh, and how's Clawhauser doing?!" When I said that, I also heard her gasp in shock! (Never heard that sound either from the characters!) She said (actually mimed) that "Clawhauser's doing great!" I also mentioned "Lovin' those donuts I bet? Heh heh. You should really bring him some one day!"
I then decided to take a selfie with them, and just I was trying to get the camera app on my iPhone up, I accidentally unlocked the phone and I said "hang on having a bit of trouble here" and Nick was like "oh brother." (He put one paw to his face and shoke his head)
In the end, Nick & Judy were amazing! I might have the chance to meet them again once they become regulars at WDW! I should've also shown Nick my phone case (it has Finnick on it)! Their character attendant was also nice enough to snap two photos on my phone!
Afterwords, I went over to Launching Pad, which was closed at the moment, and I felt victorious and proud and I was like "I did it. I did it! I faced my fears! Woo-hoo!"
However, this whole meet and greet, especially the kiss from Judy, left me blushing for the rest of the night and pretty much all day the next day! I had finally overcame my phobia and was so proud of myself, and embarrassed at the same time, I was grinning, laughing a bit, and I was humming/singing the song "Attitude of Gratitude" from Spongebob Squarepants, in particular this part...
Oh, I’ve got a whole new, attitude,
A lifetime subscription to, gratitude,
Friend you’ve got to change your latitude,
Livin' attitude of, gratitude,
...for the rest of the night and most of the following day!
I’m sure this will be the beginning of a new adventure for me! (Wonder what the words "a new adventure" mean? Meeting more characters on future trips? If so, I better know who I plan to meet!)
My next move was to take on the 7DMT, which had a 45-60 minute wait, not bad! However, there were these girls who supposedly play for "Northport Basketball", who were singing songs from the High School Musical franchise, bit loudly but not as annoying as the South American Tour Groups though, but still...
After doing that I grabbed a snow cone and some cookies at Friar’s Nook, which was close by. Pretty good, not too bad! I was still laughing, probably was so happy, or even embarrassed, at the same time a bit jealous because of the meet and greet.
Then took on Splash Mountain, which was a WALK-ON, perfect timing! I was still laughing and grinning even when I got off... Also saw the Country Bears, but didn't meet them!
Then made a dash from Splash to the hub to see the Castle Lighting. That show was not the best, but it was ok. There is a version with Olaf, Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff in it, but this version just had Elsa in it. Could’ve been better though. The castle lights looked beautiful!
But, one downfall though. The hub was a madhouse though, like a MOSH PIT! Went all the way from the hub back to Peter Pan’s Flight via Liberty Square because the shortcut behind the castle was blocked off, grrr!
The wait for Peter Pan’s Flight wasn’t too bad, posted at 30 mins, actually felt like 25 mins! Did that and then went to Village Haus to dinner. My friend said he was running late because he ran into the parade crowds! So we had dinner together and I mentioned to him that I faced my fears. We saw Holiday Wishes from Fantasyland because we had no time to get from Fantasyland to the hub, the view was good though!
My friend said he didn’t know they were offering free cookies, he must’ve been surprised! He also mentioned a ton of attractions he did were walk-ons that night too! Did 7DMT a second time, not bad for me because I’m a one and done sorta guy. We decided to see if we could grab any treats, then do Jingle Cruise, see the parade, and then do Space Mountain. We headed straight for Jingle Cruise, 15 minute wait felt like 10. We then called an audible and decided to dash for Main St’s train depot to see the parade! The Once Upon A Christmastime Parade was amazing, though we had to make a mad dash for the Station. Come the end of the parade, we called an audible and decided to not do Space Mountain because of parade crowds. Took the monorail over the Contemporary, grabbed some hot cocoa at Contempo Cafe, and we took Uber back to our apartments in Leesburg, FL and we both went home for Winter Break the next day! But by the time I got back, I broke out into full blown laughter and smiling, I also noticed I was VERY red in the face!
Overall, MVMCP was amazing! My friend was surprised that they had free cookies and hot cocoa during the party, it is worth the money! Nick and Judy are so awesome, I’ve seen them TWICE during Move It Shake It, and now I faced my fears and meet them! When Nick & Judy do start doing regular M&Gs at Epcot, I will go back and meet them again! We took Uber down from Leesburg, FL to Epcot, and from the Contemporary back to our apartments, but if it was just me going I would take Uber to one of the SunRail stations in Seminole County (closest one would be Altamonte Springs) and go from there. Epcot wasn’t too busy, neither was the party with the exception of the moshpit like experience with the castle lighting!
Would I do MVMCP again this year? Yes! Would I be ready in case the date I want to do it gets sold out? Yes! Would I go twice? Maybe (especially if Nick & Judy are meeting during MVMCP this year).
And now, a full YouTube video encompassing the trip - more like a 2 hour Holiday special! Yes I am a YouTuber as well.
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