Christmas At Disney World: Seasonal Scavenger Hunt! Part 1

Hooray Christmas!  Hooray holiday season!  Hooray Disney!  I don’t know about you, but I LOVE  Disney World around this time of year!  With decorations, special events, parades, and merchandise it is as though the North Pole set up shop at the most magical place on Earth!  Today I am bringing you a seasonal scavenger for Disney World at Christmas!  There are sights, sounds, and sensational tastes to be had by all.  This scavenger hunt will take you across all 4 parks, restaurants, through Disney resorts, and beyond!  If you are headed to the parks this holiday season, see how many you can check out and check off of this list!  There are 12 items in the scavenger hunt, today I am sharing the first six (with a few tips and tricks along the way).

1. Hear the Dapper Dans Carol

Have you ever stopped to listen to the magnificent singing barbershop quartet, the Dapper Dans?  If you haven’t, the next time you are in the Magic Kingdom, I highly encourage you to look (or bet yet) listen for the sounds of this fabulous quartet coming from Main Street USA.  They can seriously harmonize,  they are funny, they play instruments, and tap dance too! I especially love listening to the sounds of the Dapper Dans as they croon Christmas favorites.  Looking appropriately dapper for the holidays, this singing sensation will warm your heart with that Christmas feeling!

Tips:

• The Dapper Dans make for excellent entertainment while waiting for Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade!  
• The instruments played by the Dapper Dan’s are called Deagan Organ Chimes.  They were invented in 1900 and introduced to the Dapper Dan’s by former Dapper Dan member, Bub Thomas.  Throw that trivia out to your family…you’ll look like a rock star!
• Try to catch a performance from the Dapper Dans during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!  

2. Find the purple cat

I mentioned this in my last post, but if you didn’t catch  it, then here’s the story…

As technicians packed up the Osborne family’s Christmas light display from their Arkansas home, a Halloween decoration (a purple cat) was accidentally loaded up and shipped to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Now, the purple cat is hidden in each year’s display.  See if you can find the purple cat this year at the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.

Tips:

• Make it interesting-the first person in your family/party to find the purple cat gets ___________ (a cup of cocoa, a dessert of their choosing, etc.)

3. Take a picture next to each park’s Christmas Tree

There are about a bazillion Christmas trees throughout Disney World property.  I like to take a picture next to each theme park’s main Christmas tree.  It is fun to see the theme and thought that went into crafting each tree to fit the theme park it adorns.

Tips:

• See how many trees (look for trees of the light, food, and green varieties) you can find.  Take a picture with them!
• The Magic Kingdom’s tree goes up this week!  It will debut on  Tuesday, December 4th.  

4. Experience Christmas around the world

It would be impossible for anyone but Santa to experience Christmas around the world…right?  Nope!  Anyone who visits EPCOT during the holiday season can now do just that.  How, you may ask.  All you have to do is to head over to World Showcase and listen to the storytellers at each pavilion as they share about the holiday customs and traditions from their country.

Tips:

• Bring your camera and your sense of wonder.  These storytellers are AMAZING and you’ll feel like a kid again!  
• Information on story times are listed in the Times Guide (available at the entrance of the park and throughout the park).  Specific times can be seen on signs posted in each pavilion.

5.  See a celebrity

Have you ever seen anyone famous?  How about at Disney World?  I have seen a couple of celebrities myself, including Louie  Anderson (imdb him) during the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival.  It is an interesting story and I have the pictures of him (or at least the back of his head) to prove it!  So, where can you see a celebrity at Disney World during the holiday season?  Keep your eyes peeled!  Between the filming of the Christmas parade and celebs taking their families to the parks, chances are you might just see someone famous!  But, if you want a guaranteed way to see someone famous, you should check out the Candlelight Processional.  Each night a  celebrity serves as narrator for this beautiful Christmas program.  I am just putting this out there for anyone who happens to want to get me a gift…if you want to send me to the Candlelight Processional, I would really, really, really love to hear Jodi Benson (aka ARIEL) narrate December 10-13th.  Just a thought…

Tips:

• For guaranteed seating, you should check out the Candlelight Processional Dining Package!

6.  Don’t just see a parade…smell one

You read that right, I said smell a parade!  Make your nose happy by watching Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade!  You’ll smell gingerbread, pine, candy, and more as the float pass you by!  Keep your nose open for a fragrant surprise!

Tips:

• This parade can be viewed during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and during regular park hours beginning December 20th.  Tickets can be purchased ahead of time or at the gate.
• For MVMCP, be sure to check out the parade schedule listed in the event flyer.  There are typically 2 parades at each party, make sure to take advantage of this!  I found that going to the earlier parade helped me not to spend as much of my time saving a spot to watch.  Do what works for you…what the heck, watch both  parades if you want to!  Don’t forget your camera, you’ll get some lovely pictures!

I have part two of this scavenger hunt coming up in a few days.  Check back to find more items to hunt for while you are at Disney during the holiday season!

As always, thank you for reading!

For more tips and ideas, check out my blog: Disney: Done Right!

See ya real soon!

Ashley

Related articles

• Spending Christmas Day at Walt Disney World (chipandco.com)
• Snow And Fun For All At Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party! (chipandco.com)

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