It has been a short while since I posted as we were away in Disney World! I have never been at Christmas time and it was just as magical as I had imagined! This time hubby and I were able to take a somewhat slower pace and spend some time enjoying the special holiday festivals, decorations, and food, along with all the other amazing Disney attractions! I'm paying the price by being way behind on everything at home, including all the baking and shopping that go along with this time of year, but it was so worth it.
There were hundreds of absolutely huge, gorgeous, and elaborate Christmas trees around the parks and resorts making for beautiful backdrops to the fun. We participated in the Holiday Cookie Stroll in Epcot where you pick up cookies around the entire World Showcase, getting proof of purchase with a stamp in the Festival Passport. It was a lot of fun to try all the different holiday cookies (Red & Green Chocolate Chip, Peppermint Sugar, Green & White Sugar, Black & White cookie, and Gold Chocolate Chip cookie) and then get a complimentary Red & Green Mickey Sugar completer cookie and a glass of milk at the end. To be honest, I couldn't make it to the grand finale, having eaten far too much cookie for one day! You actually don't have to do the stroll in one visit but since I was late to the game, it was our only chance. While I didn't like the Black & White cookie as much as I thought I would, the sugar cookies were definitely tasty!
Keeping with the cookie theme, a highlight of the visit to the Grand Floridian resort was seeing the enormous and fantastic Gingerbread House in the centre of the lobby. This spectacular sight takes more than 2 months and 840 hours of labour to produce, requiring a staggering list of ingredients! From 1,050 pounds of honey to 35 pounds of spices, there are 5,089 gingerbread shingles alone! There is even a SHOP inside the house and of course I bought a shingle and a bag of various gingerbread treats. These are not crispy gingerbread men cookies but more like German gingerbread - soft and with a hint of cherry (to my tastebuds, anyway!). I didn't eat any until I got home but needless to say, it is all gone now!
It was so much fun to indulge in these special festive treats and I loved it. I will be sharing some more of our trip in future posts, including the exclusive Pandora charms I bought to add to my Disney collection and my thoughts on the new Toy Story land and rides!
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