Steve (DOS) and I had a wonderful five night stay-cation last week at Walt Disney World. It was the week of December 15th, which was the busy week before Christmas. We are both annual Disney Pass-holders (Pixie Pass) and our holiday black-out dates started on Thursday Dec 19th, so we went to the theme parks on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (Dec 16th – 18th), and wondered around the resort hotels, Boardwalk, and Disney Springs on Sunday and Thursday for a bit of pre-Christmas cheer. We are going away again for Christmas week to Jekyll Island, but wanted to be at Disney the week of Dec 16th as one, our passes are not valid the week of Christmas, but more importantly Christmas is one of if not the busiest weeks of the year at Disney World.
We purchased the Pixie Pass earlier this year, which includes parking (now at $30 a day!), park hopping to all 4 parks Monday thru Friday (still requires a reservation until 2pm) and a 20% discount at most shops, and 10% off at some of the sit-down restaurants (not including alcohol.) The Pixie Pass is really a good deal for retirees such as us, and the parks are generally less busy during the weekdays, so we’re happy with that schedule, and the holiday black-out dates as well.
We stayed at the Hyatt Grand Cypress adjacent (but not walking distance) to Disney Springs, which is our hotel of choice when staying down by Disney World. As a Hyatt Globalist we got a complimentary suite upgrade, full breakfast each morning, as well as the resort fee waived; quite nice perks.
I’m attaching a series of galleries below; some for theme parks, and others for some Resort Hotels and the Boardwalk and Disney Springs area. I’m (Steve UNO) having knee replacement surgery in April so I did have my wheelchair with me, which Steve (DOS) lovingly pushed me around the parks or areas where there would be lots of walking. Short distances I’m ok walking around but I’m not good on stairs and long distances, so I walked some, and got pushed some. I hope after the surgery in April and a couple months recovery I’ll be able to walk thru the parks again on my own power!
Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!
Magic Kingdom Gallery:
EPCOT Gallery:
Disney Springs:
Disney Resort Hotels:
Here are some of our favorite resort hotels at Walt Disney World to tour during the Christmas Holidays. These include the Beach Club on the Disney Boardwalk, the Dolphin also on the Boardwalk, The Grand Floridian Resort and the Polynesian Resort, both located along the Magic Kingdom Monorail line, and the Caribbean Beach and the Riviera Resorts located off of the Skyliner Cable Car.
