After a nap (something even I managed to participate in…clearly I’m getting old), we got ready to really switch into Christmas mode for the rest of this trip. This started with a walk over to the lobby, because Nick was insistent I should have a birthday pin, and I’d seen online that the Port Orleans resorts had been decorated overnight.
Pictures taken and pin obtained, we headed for the bus stop outside the lobby where a bus to Animal Kingdom came along quickly. It was an uneventful ride back to Animal Kingdom where we successfully navigated security and then headed for Everest.
After single rider lining Everest, I placed a mobile order for dinner at 5:30 and then studied wait times. All of the wait times were just wrong for what I wanted to accomplish this evening, so we proceeded to do a loop around the park for some picture taking. I haven’t been in Animal Kingdom in the evening since before 2020 so it was nice to just get some pictures with different lighting.
Just before 5:30 we found ourselves near Flame Tree BBQ. At 5:30, I hit “I’m here” and the mobile order screen told me they were preparing my order. This stayed like this for at least 10, possibly 15 minutes. And then it turned to something to the effect of “you no-showed”. But I never got a notification that my order was ready.
I showed my app to the mobile order bouncer and was sent to the counter, where they quickly found my order of pulled pork fries and a giant Sprite. Nick and I then found a table down closer to the water to eat. The pulled pork fries were delicious! But, considering I’ve had issues with mobile order here before, this is the last time I will be mobile ordering at Flame Tree!
After eating and enjoying the peace of the seating area, we took in the sight of Everest at night as we left Flame Tree. This park really is beautiful (and underutilized!) at night!
From here we headed for Discovery Island were we did some picture taking and then enjoyed the real reason we came back here in the evening: Awakenings…specifically, the winter/Christmas version. This was impressive and adorable, even though the audio was messed up and didn’t turn on until a few minutes into the experience.
When Awakenings wrapped up, Nick and I headed for the front of the park for some pictures with a big Christmas tree.
And then it was off to the bus stop. We didn’t have to wait too long before a bus to Jollywood…I mean…Hollywood...Studios showed up, and we were off! It’s time for Jollywood Nights!
We rolled into Studios around 6:45. This worked out great for us. Event attendees could start entering at 5:30 and Fantasmic was around 6:30, so we were able to walk right up to the entrance, something it was clear had not been the case an hour ago. Obviously, though, we stopped for entrance pictures on our way.
We entered the park and were given our wristbands and our nourishment for the evening, a tube of mini M&Ms each. Joking aside, it’s nice that they’re giving out stuff like this. And it was real nice to have that tube of mini M&Ms in my desk drawer the week after this trip.
We were directed kinda backstage through different photo opps that we agreed we would hit later in the evening, since photopass is included for the event and re-emerged over near the Beauty and the Beast theater. We then worked our way over to the theater where the Frozen Sing-Along happens (Hyperion?), taking in the sights along the way.
Once at the theater, we went through the wristband checkpoint and joined the line for the Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along. Now, neither Nick nor I are sing-along people (ok…solo in my car…but not in public), but I’d heard that this was a pretty impressive production. And it was.
When the singing ended, we headed out of the theater and bee-lined it down Sunset to the Beauty and the Beast theater. But we weren’t here for Beauty and the Beast. We were here for Disney Holidays in Hollywood. Lots of other people were too, but thankfully we found seats without issue.
This show was excellent. It’s everything you’d expect from a Disney Holiday stage show. I even caught Nick clapping along.
Our tour of the event stage shows completed, we did some picture taking and enjoyed the projections on Tower of Terror then headed to Epic Eats to get Nick the Warm Spiced Chai Cocktail. This was very cinnamon forward, but overall pretty good.
We then worked our way back down Sunset, taking in the atmosphere. Jollywood Nights was getting thumbs up from both of us.
We got the two Muppet sundaes at the ice cream place on Sunset. One involved apple and mint, the other involved strawberry and cheesecake. Both had boba at the bottom. The apple and mint was really weird. The strawberry and cheesecake was good, but the boba made it weird. This is also where I failed. I’d been hoping to bring at least one of these cups home to my Muppets loving MIL, but they were way too messy, and I’d forgotten to throw any Ziplocs in my park bag. So, that didn’t happen.
Ice cream consumed, we headed towards Tower of Terror for the Twilight Soiree at the Tip Top Club. Here, I got a beverage (the 1923 Royale) and we both thoroughly enjoyed listening to the jazz music. Jollywood entertainment and atmosphere: 10/10.
Eventually it was time to leave the jazz music behind, and head back to the main street. We found a spot with a good view of the Chinese Theater that put us in prime position to head to Galaxy’s Edge. And then approximately 10 minutes after grabbing said spot, we watched Jingle Bell Jingle Bam, which was just fun. We both enjoyed.
And then we booked it to Rise. The posted wait time was about 15 minutes. WE WALKED STRAIGHT INTO THE FIRST PRESHOW!!! Granted, the line built behind us, but still nothing crazy. I think they increased the wait time to 20 minutes. Rise was excellent, and the lack of wait was even better!
We then moseyed a bit, and even found a droid.
Eventually we ended up in Toy Story Land. Nick decided we should go on Midway Mania, so we did. The wait time was posted at about 20 minutes, which seemed high, and honestly would have been high if the ride hadn’t gone down just as we got to the load platform. But they brought the ride back up and we were able to ride. It was fun. Nick won, as expected.
Once we made it out of Midway Mania, we started working our way out of the park, soaking it all in and taking photos along the way. As much as I don’t generally love Studios, they really are a great Christmas park, and Jollywood Nights was a fantastic event. Great atmosphere, awesome party offerings, and low crowds, even on a sold out night. Definitely had a slightly more adult vibe too, which was kinda nice. We WILL do this event again in the future.
As we exited the park, cast members were handing out this year’s party gift: a really cute photo frame ornament, so we both received one of those.
I think we managed to get on an actively loading bus back to Riverside, so we were back in the room pretty quickly. Showers were taken and then we crashed. It had been a long but wonderful day!
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