The full trip report is over, but the details still need filling in. Read on for more May 2021 WDW fun!
WE’ HAVE A 2319!!!!!!!
Twelve of them, actually.
Okay, so, one of the items I picked up at Cast Connection was a sort of sock advent calendar, which offered twelve pairs of socks behind little cardboard doors. I figured it’d be fun to open a door each day after I got home from my trip.
ADVENT CALENDAR SOCKS BOX ON THE OUTSIDE
Normally advent calendars have 24 doors for December 1 – 24, so I suppose you’d start this one on December 12? I guess nobody needs 24 pairs of socks, even if they are half crew socks and half low cut.
The box doesn’t make any promises, but based on the illustrations we might be led to believe the following socks live behind those doors:
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Big Thunder Mountain
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Space Mountain
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Fantasmic
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Dumbo
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Star Wars TIE Fighters
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Mickey with Dole Whip
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Pirates of the Caribbean
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DAK’s Tree of Life
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Splash Mountain
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Minnie with Cotton Candy
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The Haunted Mansion
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Goofy as a detective or something…?
The perforations on the doors weren’t very good; initially I scored over them with scissors, but wound up just pulling them from whatever hole was closest. There was also some shifting, both before I opened the box and as other socks were removed. In fact, I wound up opening 12 on the second day because I could already see it when I opened 1 and didn’t want to end on a spoiler. After that I just made sure to squint as I opened each door, just in case I needed to shove somebody back in their proper spot.
ADVENT CALENDAR SOCKS BOX ON THE INSIDE
All right, so, we know what was advertised. What did I actually get?
In numbered door order (click for an enlarged view):
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Sleeping Beauty Castle (low cut)
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Cinderella Castle (low cut)
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TIE Fighters (low cut)
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Space Mountain (low cut)
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Goofy in Epcot (crew cut)
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Mickey & Minnie at the Mad Tea Party (low cut)
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Generic Pirate Imagery (crew cut)
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Chip & Dale with the Tree of Life (crew cut)
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Mickey’s Fun Wheel (crew cut)
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Mickey & Minnie Heads (crew cut) (these match the Dole Whip/Cotton Candy graphics)
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The Haunted Mansion (crew cut)
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it’s a small world (low cut)
Honestly the way the socks fit in with the packaging seems almost randomized. Some of them were exactly behind the door you would expect them to be. Some were pictured on the box but didn’t show up behind the corresponding door. Some designs weren’t on the box at all, and a handful (most disappointingly Splash Mountain) were on the box but there were no matching socks. I almost wonder if each box had a different assortment?
All the same, it was awesome to wind up with so many socks based on attractions, and bicoastal ones at that. While I’m a low cut sock girl in normal life, I find myself wishing they were all crew socks – many of these deserve to be seen!
SOCKS BOX SPECS
The box claims the socks fit adult feet size four to ten, but it doesn’t specify gender. I wear a size 7 to 7.5 street shoe, or an 8 to 8.5 running shoe. Both sock types fit me well enough, erring on the side of a skosh too big with minimal fabric stretch required. Since there’s plenty of spandex I think larger feet would be accommodated very easily, but if your feet are more than a half size smaller than mine these might be too big for you.
Ultimately I thought the sock advent calendar was a fun souvenir, a decent value at the $35 full price and a steal at the $14.99 outlet price I bought it for. The socks are fun and a great way to inject a little Disney into an otherwise humdrum day. Some of the crew socks are even detailed enough to build an entire park outfit around – which I will definitely be doing in a subsequent blog post!
I also loved having a cheerful WDW moment every day for those not-quite-two-weeks post-trip. Even if Disney isn’t accommodating your calendar-packaged gift needs when you’re there, I think it would be fun to pick up some mystery souvenirs to open after you get back. If you’re there with a buddy, you could each pick up something(s) for each other, but in a pinch I bet a store Cast Member would get a kick out of selecting a surprise gift or two for you. Or some of those collectibles with blind packaging would work – anything to keep the Disney magic going a little longer, y’know?
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!