(Continuation from
Part 1 of Kristy's husband's post)
So, after having gained roughly 2 pounds each just from inhaling
the air surrounding the gingerbread exhibits...
...we had to move on.
We had lunch reservations and tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry
Christmas Party. The Christmas Party, for those unfamiliar with it, is an
after-hours event inside the Magic Kingdom, available for a not quite
seizure-inducing fee, should you discover you haven’t maxed out your credit yet.
Lunch reservations, for those unfamiliar with them, are a kind of appointment
you make at nicer restaurants to come by, have a chat with some of the staff,
try out the lobby chairs, then after a while stagger away in search of food.
At least that’s what seems likely to happen when you first
check in at a popular Disney restaurant. They are generally swarming whatever
time you go, including four hours after closing.
Here we are waiting to enter ours.
If you are trying to plan ahead and are unsure whether the establishment
you are considering qualifies as a popular Disney restaurant, there is a simple
two-step test. Step 1: before you enter, check whether the building is located
anywhere within 10 miles of the Walt Disney World border. Step 2: after you
enter, check whether anyone is eating. If the answer to both questions is yes,
it is a popular Disney restaurant.
However, as you veteran Mousekovites know, Disney usually
manages to pull off the surprising, and, in our case, we were seated in less
than 15 minutes. We were eating at Sanaa, a delightful, African-theme
restaurant inside the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Disney bills it as “African cooking
with Indian flavors.” Maybe they also have an Indian-themed diner somewhere
that serves antelope burgers. I’ll let you know when I find it.
The atmosphere at Sanaa is top-notch. In a helpful example
of the always-clever Disney effects department, some of the menu items actually
appear outside the windows to assist in making your selections. African
Chicken, for example.
If you are fortunate enough to enjoy a meal at Sanaa, you can’t
really do better than to order the Indian-Style Bread Service. The bread itself
is called naan. I do not know what ‘naan’ means, nor do I care. It
might simply mean ‘bread,’ so that the title is redundant, like how some
restaurants serve torte cake. Or it might mean something wholly unrelated to
food. If I found out tomorrow, while on my way there for lunch, that naan is Swahili for “rolled out hunk of
tree bark often given as a prank to Westerners overeager to part with their
money,” I would still order it right after greeting the waiter.
At Sanaa, naan is
a circular, flat loaf served with nine different dipping sauces, each very
unique and very delicious.
For some reason, this comes, as you can see, on a long
wooden board instead of anything resembling traditional serving ware. This could
simply be a continuation of the African theme, or it could be that the last
joke about what naan means has more plausibility than I am comfortable exploring. So, moving on.
Lunch was our last major event before heading to Mickey’s
Very Merry Christmas Party. One of the selling points of the party is the
non-stop hot chocolate, hot cider, candy canes, cookies of various kinds, etc.,
served all over the park. While nice, this presented a dilemma for my family.
At the time of our trip, we were battling several food allergies, the total
list of which meant we as a group were allergic to roughly 85% of any given
grocery store. This meant two things: 1) the plumbing in my house was seriously
earning its keep in those days, and 2) three of us couldn’t eat a single thing
served at the party.
Enter the head chef of Sanaa; a fine gentleman by the name
of Eddie, pictured here.
(As a side note, the little one in the bottom of the picture
is not scowling because of Eddie. He’s a big fan of Eddie’s work. I
don’t remember precisely, but I think he was mad because we had cut him off
after his fourth serving of Butter Chicken.)
Anyway, my blogette had gotten to know Chef Eddie a little
on a previous trip, so she contacted him in advance of this one to see if he
knew any chefs working in the Magic Kingdom that we could ask about special ordering
allergy-friendly snacks. Eddie did us one better. He insisted on making
something himself. That was surprising enough, but even more surprising was the
bulging bag he brought out that contained a thermos of hot chocolate, brownies,
chocolate covered strawberries, and an assortment of various other treats, all
completely allergy-friendly. He made each one himself, from scratch, for not
one dime, just because we had taken the time to get to know him and he wanted
to make sure our time was memorable and easy. Since our trip, Eddie has moved
to Jiko, an even more upscale restaurant in the same resort. Apart from his
culinary skill, which is formidable, it’s clear to me why he was promoted.
[LEGAL DISCLAIMER
SENSIBLE PEOPLE DO NOT NEED: We did not ask Eddie to do this and Eddie is
not required to do it for you. Nor is any other Disney chef. We had simply been
nice to him in the past and he chose to be nice in return. We have witnessed a surprising
number of Cast Members respond with over-and-above generosity and gratitude when
shown a little kindness and interest in them as people. To me, this suggests
those are things they don’t get much of. END
LEGAL DISCLAIMER]
Onward to the Magic Kingdom and Mickey’s Christmas Party.
So, having already donated bone marrow to purchase your park
admission tickets, you now more or less agree to let the Walt Disney Company sell
up to two of your non-essential organs. In exchange for this, they give each
member of your party a small, green wrist band that looks a little too much
like a hospital admission bracelet. This is an important item it turns out, because
at some point during the early evening, the Cast Members start kicking out anyone
who doesn’t have a one. Suddenly all these dedicated Disney-goers find
themselves badly wishing they too looked like recently recovered medical
patients.
Inside the park there are snack stations, as mentioned, each
one helpfully marked by a large, inflatable bathroom scale.
Kidding. They look big peppermint sticks, like this:
Each one has a different variety of snacks and drinks, all
available in unlimited quantities for nothing but the paltry entry fee we
already discussed.
There are other unique aspects, too. There is the Once Upon
A Christmas Time parade that you can only see during the Party. It features a
lot of familiar and expected Disney faces, but also a few things you don’t often
see. Clarabelle the Cow baking Christmas cookies, for example.
I am not sure why, but for some reason Disney seems to be
trying to orchestrate a Clarabelle Comeback. Maybe I’m just not the visionary
type, but I don’t see it happening.
There were also some very fun Christmas Dancers I did not get
any good pictures of, so here’s a passable one.
Our favorite was the marching toy soldier band. They played
their own music, including actual brass instruments. Give it a watch:
There were several unique floats we hadn’t seen during any
other parade. And of course, the Big Guy.
There wasn’t anything wrong with my camera. It turns out
Santa is actually a little out of focus in real life. It’s his age, I think.
Have you ever noticed how really old photographs never look all that sharp?
Apparently, it was the subjects’ fault, not the equipment.
Who knew?
Anyway, there are of course also several character
meet-and-greet stations. These are always a hit with the kiddos. They are also a hit with adults who,
for reasons that are absolutely, totally fine, like to join in pretending the 20-yr-old
actors signing an endless stream of autograph books actually are corporeal manifestations of cartoon
characters.
We met Rapunzel and Flynn. Both were very sweet and very
fun. The Little Guy got tips on The Smolder.
He’ll get there.
The Castle Lighting was a sight to behold. It begins with a
show on the Castle steps starring the Frozen characters. It culminates with Elsa,
as the name suggests, lighting up the Castle. I will grant you that doesn’t sound
terribly exciting. I get it. But bear something in mind; we are experienced,
hard-bitten, grizzled Disney veterans. We are not easily impressed. We have been
to Disneyland and Disney World. We have been on two Disney cruises. We have seen
all the fireworks. We were at Epcot during
its anniversary month, we have talked to Mickey, been the Grand Marshalls of
the Festival of Fantasy Parade, I’ve been the Veteran of the Day (invited twice), we’ve been onstage at the start of the Indiana Jones show, we have
Bob Iger on speed dial, etc.
The point is, we have seen it and done it, whatever it is. And yet this was an absolutely
stunning light show. Truly. We were very impressed.
I have many pictures and even a video. They won’t do it
justice, so instead here’s a nice shot my daughter took during the fireworks
finale, which was also truly excellent. As for the rest, you’ll just have to
take my word for it until you’re ready to put some of your own organs up for
sale. We can’t spare anymore of ours.
