A Blog About Disney Stuff

Our cheerful celebration of the holiday season continues with a whimsical wonderland of Disney DIY ornaments and how-to decorations for everyone to unwrap at home!

Whether it’s a perfectly personalizable Mickey-inspired ornament or a creative character centerpiece, our step-by-step instructions will help add a special touch of Disney magic to your day. So, especially for the season, we’ve rounded up some favorite DIY projects, special holiday ornaments from our friends at shopDisney.com and more.  

Our selection of happy holiday DIY projects begins with a tutorial on how to make adorable Mickey-inspired marble glass ornaments. The ornaments can be personalized in a variety of ways with family or friend’s names and favorite Disney memories or with different colors, words or quotes. 

Download all the instructions here and templates.

Please read our terms of use before downloading.

Another festive and fun project for the holiday season is creating your own Mickey-inspired centerpiece. To create your own, just grab the following items and check out the instructions below:

• 10” foam ring
• two 5 ⅞ foam circles
• half a 6” foam sphere
• 80 ct. 1″ ornaments
• 50 ct. 40mm ornaments
• 1-½” ribbon
• glue gun and glue sticks
• tacky glue
• paint brush/foam brush
• 3/16 dowel rod
• glitter

Download instructions here.

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There are many other Disney DIY ornaments to create this season, including a Cinderella Castle decoration and a festive Ariel ornament, which uses green paint and purple sequins to evoke the “Little Mermaid‘s” timeless look.  Visit the Disney Family ornaments page for more. 

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And along with our DIY projects, there’s an assortment of ornaments now available from the popular Disney Sketchbook Ornament Collection.  All of these heartwarming holiday ornaments can be found at shopDisney.com.

We hope you enjoyed our special look at creating some over-the-top ornaments and Disney decorations at home for the holidays!  Be sure to check back for more of these types of stories on our “Everything Holidays” section on the Disney Parks Blog.  

From our friends at disneyparks.disney.go.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized, DIY, Holidays

This year has certainly had lots of rough moments to say the least. But one highlight this year are the Christmas character cavalcades now appearing at Magic Kingdom. Normally these festive floats and characters in cheerful apparel would be reserved for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and the two weeks of Christmas itself. But with this year’s party being cancelled, guests get to enjoy these joyful processions throughout the day.

We’re very excited to see these characters, floats, and enjoy the festive music in Magic Kingdom. If you have not had the chance to see some of these holiday floats and costumes, and you feel comfortable visiting Walt Disney World, now is a great time to visit so you can enjoy these extra touches that are normally reserved for special occasions.

Here’s why we love the Christmas character cavalcades at Magic Kingdom

1. Festive costumes
2. Holiday decorated floats
3. Cheerful music
4. Sights and scents
5. SANTA CLAUS

Many of the characters at Magic Kingdom, both at physically distant greeting locations and in the cavalcades, don their gay apparel. The Disney Princesses are one of my favorites because many have winter wear, and Belle wears her festive dress. The princess float itself, which has been running through Magic Kingdom for decades, is decorated with little Christmas trees, garland, and ornaments.

Much of the music that plays during the character cavalcades during the holiday season are songs that would normally only be heard during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Hearing this music gives me goosebumps and makes me chuckle with glee. As the cavalcade passes by you may smell something delightful. The gingerbread floats featuring Clarabelle, Goofy, and Max leave the scrumptious scent of gingerbread on the air.

The big blockbuster moment this year is Santa Claus himself making the rounds through Magic Kingdom. His spectacular rooftop float parades through the park throughout the day and into the early evening, led by his eight jolly reindeer. It is a moment that puts a big smile on everyone’s face.

Before you head to Magic Kingdom, check out our tips for viewing the character cavalcades.

Have you had the chance to see these Christmas character cavalcades? Do you have a favorite?

The post Five Reasons We Love the Christmas Character Cavalcades at Magic Kingdom appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Christmas, In the Parks, Magic Kingdom, Trip Planning, Disney Characters, disney christmas, disney christmas parade, magic kingdom christmas, magic kingdom santa claus

If you’re a Starbucks fan you absolutely must visit the Trolley Car Café at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. For many Disney and Starbucks fans it is their favorite café at Walt Disney World. Each year this Starbucks location offers seasonal treats for the holiday season, in addition to the classic holiday coffee creations.

Indulge your sweet tooth with a Red Velvet Whoopie Pie. The classic Red Velvet flavor, with a hint of chocolate, is great. The filling is not as thick as traditional cream cheese, so that may throw off Red Velvet traditionalists. The festive sprinkles are a great touch.

The Chocolate Chestnut Pinecone is a returning favorite for the holidays. We wish the chestnut flavor was just a little more pronounced to set this treat apart, and that may be because we secretly miss the roasted chestnuts they use to give out at Disney’s Grand Floridian (sigh). Overall the chocolate flavor and the texture are fantastic. Both treats are picture-worthy and sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Have you tried either of these seasonal sweet treats yet? What’s your favorite thing to order at Trolley Car Café? 

The post REVIEW – Perk Up Your Holidays with Seasonal Treats and Drinks at Trolley Car Café appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Christmas, Hollywood Studios, Snacks, disney christmas, disney desserts, disney starbucks, hollywood studios christmas

Crowds returned to Walt Disney World today after a couple days of rain and before Eta heads over Florida on Thursday.  Happy Veterans Day, everyone!  We’re also testing new infographics for individual park attractions – leave a comment below with your thoughts on this new format.  Now let’s do the numbers!

Hollywood Studios Wait Times

Today was the second-busiest day of the past month at Hollywood Studios! Here are the wait times:

If you’re planning on visiting Walt Disney World this holiday season, you’ll need a special tool at your side. Subscribe today and get our Lines app too.

Rise of the Resistance is having a very good day of operations, too!  Only one minor delay in calling boarding groups, about 30 minutes just before 3 p.m.  Other than that, a solid day’s work at Rise.

Magic Kingdom Wait Times

Magic Kingdom wasn’t as busy, relatively speaking, as the Studios.  And compared to historical averages, the park’s average posted wait times ranked as the 129th-highest of the past year.

Animal Kingdom Wait Times

Animal Kingdom was also busy today, no doubt people wanting to see TriceraTop Spin one more time.

EPCOT Wait Times

And EPCOT had its second-busiest day of the month, opening to high wait times that subsided later in the day.

The post Crowds Return! – Walt Disney World Wait Times for Wednesday, November 11, 2020 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Trip Planning, Walt Disney World (FL), disney wait times, walt disney world crowds

I’m not one to care much about souvenir popcorn buckets, but when it comes to Halloween and Christmas holiday editions, I make an exception. We shared pics of these two popcorn buckets on our social media channels recently and there was such a reaction we thought we’d share a little more info, in case you missed it.

Last year a green Christmas tree popcorn bucket was released at Walt Disney World. It features Mickey Mouse holding a present wrapped in yellow with a red bow. The tree is adorned with translucent colored ornaments and bulbs, and a yellow star sits on top. Inside the bucket is a button to turn the bucket’s light on which lights up the star and shines down into the bucket to illuminate the ornaments. Last year’s green Christmas Tree bucket was found just a few days ago at the Canada Pavilion at EPCOT. The best part about getting a popcorn bucket at the Canada Pavilion? It’s the only place where you can get maple popcorn!

This year’s bucket is very similar, but is a white base instead of green. And it features Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse in red and white attire, each holding a candy cane.  Both buckets are $25.00, and includes a serving of popcorn which is normally $6.25. You can get refills of popcorn in any souvenir bucket for $2.00.

This year’s white Christmas tree bucket was spotted at Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. If you’re visiting Walt Disney World this holiday season, make sure you have holiday magic at your fingertips. Become a TouringPlans Subscriber and gain access to our Lines app. Our Lines app users save 2-3 hours on average per day in the parks, so you’ll have more time to savor the magic of this festive season.

Which design do you like better?

The post Comparing Souvenir Christmas Tree Buckets at Walt Disney World appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Snacks, popcorn buckets