Personally, I love the wassail. Last Christmas I bought the hot chocolate and it was very watered down and disappointing, I did not buy it this year, however.
I haven't reviewed Christmas in Midtown yet because I haven't had time. We were at the park the weekend before Thanksgiving, and wow. I was very very impressed. I didn't notice pop music because the area was so crowded and so many people were talking and oohing/ahhing so the music kind of got drowned out. I think SDC really did a top notch job with this new addition. When you exit Midtown onto the square now though, all lights there really feel kind of dull, even the ones on the tree. I think fixing up the square with a new tree for next year's festival should be a new priority for SDC.