Happy Friday friends! The Weiss fam is in FULL HOLIDAY MODE with Christmas coming up so quickly (like, how?!) and we’re so lucky to live in a place where the holiday cheer can be seen everywhere- Orlando really shows off! It’s no surprise that Walt Disney World goes all out with their decorations both in the parks and all throughout the property, so yesterday evening we checked out the Christmas Tree Trail at Disney Springs and checked it off our holiday bucket list. And y’all, it was absolutely incredible!
The Christmas Tree Trail is a festive walk through with twenty two decorated Christmas trees with Disney character themes like Dumbo, Mulan, Star Wars, Frozen, Aladdin, and many more. There is festive music playing all around, and it “snows” as you walk through! Walter and Eloise love the “snowflakes” (soap snow, but it’s just as enchanting) and ended up playing under the snow machines for a good while. At the end of the Tree Trail is Santa’s Chalet where families can meet Santa and have their photos taken. I knew this was a must-do for us, so I planned out our trip with our holiday clothes and scooped up the kids from school at 2pm to go straight to Disney Springs. When we parked in the Disney Springs garage, we walked straight to the Tree Trail to check in for the virtual queue to meet Santa.
After checking in, we were given a pager for our return time to meet Santa and let the kids play around in the Tree Trail and under the “snow”. We didn’t change Walter and Eloise into their darling (read: DARLINGGG) holiday outfits until closer to our time because we didn’t want their outfits to get soiled; if I’m going to be a stickler about one thing, it’s keeping these perfectly coordinating outfits from The Smocked Kids nice and clean for this special photo! 🙂
Speaking of darling holiday outfits, the Khloe dress and Keaton two-piece set from The Smocked Kids is honestly my favorite holiday clothing collection I’ve ever seen! The fabric colors are that beautiful Christmas red (which is so hard to find), and the smocking is very tasteful and elegant. The fabric is so soft and not stiff, but still holds its shape beautifully. Walter loved his holiday outfit so much that he didn’t want to take it off and requested to wear it the entire evening- I couldn’t believe it! Eloise felt the same way about her dress, and with a scalloped hem with the perfectly placed pleats, this dress was (and is) the best dress for twirling! When I say these two holiday outfits from The Smocked Kids are perfect, I absolutely mean it. I might cry when they can’t wear them any longer!
As the kids played in the Tree Trail and looked at all of the themed trees and ornaments, we had something magical happen: two castmembers had seen us playing and taking photos and came up to ask if we would like to see Santa! They had no idea we were already in the online queue, but offered us access to the short actual line (maybe 10 minutes long) to see Santa early. Walter and Eloise were thrilled! Peter and I were shocked! We were all so excited to meet Santa.
Eloise ran to Santa, and Walter gave him the biggest hug. There were smiles all around, our little ones were so happy and Peter and I were living for every moment. Santa was so kind with them, and the PhotoPass photographer let me take as many photos as I wanted (which we all know is basically unheard of seeing Santa anywhere else). It was just so incredibly special. There were so many wonderful photos that I took, but these three below are my absolute favorites with Santa.
After we said our goodbyes to Santa, Eloise was on Cloud 9 and Walter might as well have been floating. They saw Santa! The “snow” started falling again, and the kids played and danced in it and didn’t want to leave. We saw the castmembers who let us into the Santa Chalet line earlier to say thank you for the magical moment, and then they trumped trumped their own magical moment. Ellie and Bridget came up to Walter and Eloise with two Mickey and Minnie plushes as gifts and I started tearing up. This is what Disney is all about, the magic! The magical moments that castmembers make are moments that I’ll never forget and will cherish forever. We are so grateful to have met Ellie and Bridget and cannot wait to see them in the Parks soon!
Yesterday at Disney Springs was incredible, and I don’t know how we’ll ever top an afternoon like this with Santa ever! If you’re in the Orlando area or plan to visit Walt Disney World between now and Christmas, please put the Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail on your list of to-do’s! It was absolutely magical, and we can’t wait to go back! I have a feeling we’ll be in the Tree Trail again this weekend for the snow and the pretty trees 🙂
If you’re still on the lookout for a holiday outfit or a set for siblings, look no further than The Smocked Kids! We were graciously gifted this holiday set by a dear friend of mine (another Ole Miss Rebel!) who is the owner of The Smocked Kids, and her smocked collections are always darling but she outdid herself with this holiday collection! Take a peek at her designs, I’m sure you’ll fall in love with everything just like I did! You can order from her website at www.thesmockedkids.com, and you can see more of her collections on Facebook and on Instagram. Please note: Walter’s and Eloise’s outfits were gifted.
Have a wonderful weekend friends!
xo Faison
