January 2009. . . Calling all Snowbirds ~ Part I !!!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January 2009. . . Anyone else going???


Hello! :wave: This will be my family's 4th trip to WDW!!! We've never been in January before and don't really know what to expect! We've been in October once and May twice, so we are looking forward to lower temperatures and lower crowds! :goodvibes

We don't have any plans set in stone yet, but I am working on it! I think I will wait for the 2009 rates to come out before I do anything. I am looking for airfare already though!

So here's our tentative plans: 7 days/6 nights, January 21 - 27, possibly getting the DDP one more time before DS9 turns 10 and would be charged as an adult!

Going in the winter will be a new experience for us!

Anyone else going in January and want to chat about our plans to make the time go faster??? :yay:


*Added 7/23/08 ~ The official - When are you going in January poll -
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1895283

[Remmy]

Hi,

My family is planning on going in January 2009 too. We are planning on staying at the Pop from January 25-February 7. We are hoping for a large family gathering but must wait to hear if all have saved enough money.

We have gone twice before, once as a couple, last time in 2006 with kids. The first time we went was at Christmas (never again, too crowded for us) and the last time in 2006 with kids in February through President's Day weekend. We found the time before the weekend good but once the holiday hit and thereafter to be crowded for us.

I hope you have a great time and I would love to hear your ideas. This is the first time at the Pop for us and the first time with the dining plan (what we hope to book). Those last two times we stayed at Fort Wilderness with extended family and ate with them at their trailers. We have only eaten at Garden Grill which is on our list this time, and Trail's End which is good but not on our list to do this time.

Remmy

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi Remmy! Glad to have you aboard!!

I am hoping for small crowds in January too. That's the main reason we are trying January! Plus we are looking forward to not dragging from the heat all day everyday. This year we went in the middle of May and it was in the mid-90's all week! :scared1: Too hot!

We didn't get the DDP the first time, but got it the on the 2nd & 3rd trip. So we have ate at a lot of the restaurants, TS and CS. As a matter of fact I just got done doing a dining report from May: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1861206

So if you have any questions on Disney restaurants I would be glad to give you my opinions and experiences!

[trixiequilts]

We're in! Our dates are January 21-28. It will be our first visit to WDW. We're staying in a studio at Animal Kingdom Villas. :cool1: We already have our airfare (actually got a price and flights I'm overjoyed about with NW) and our ressie all set. What a relief! I knew nothing about WDW when I started planning this trip, boy have I learned a lot. My DD8 and I are super excited :cheer2: about the trip, but DH and DD6 aren't into the spirit yet. :confused3 The only problem we're having right now is that we want to do everything and eat everywhere!!!:rotfl2:

Can't wait to hear about everybody else's plans!

[sixisenough]

Hello, We are going also Jan 17-24th and staying at AKL in a 2br suite. We actually have always gone that time of year. We went last year the first week in Feb and stayed at the POP, when we got back we decided to join DVC and are so excited to be going on our first trip to our home resort:)

We are using our developer points and are leaving July 24 for our first summer trip as a family and staying at Ft Wilderness. I finally have all my ADR's for this trip and now it is time to start planning the Jan vacation. We are taking the kids out of school for 4 days and celebrating my son's 10th B-day.

We LOVE that time of year, the weather is fabulous as are the crowds, this will be my first experience going on a holiday weekend, so I am sure it will be a little busier. Feel free to ask me any questions, I am getting to be a pro at this disney planning, it is my new hobby, especially the dining part. We are doing the deluxe plan on this summer trip, so we are going to some neat places. WE are also just going to do the water parks and enjoy visiting the resorts. I will enjoy talking with all of you, Evonne:wizard:

[Seahunt]

;) I'm sure you know this, but just a reminder FYI for AKL DVC Jan-April 2009:

"As the development of Kidani Village continues at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas, crews are preparing to complete the new savanna and acclimate the animals to their new habitat. To accommodate this important process, animals are not scheduled to be on Sunset Savanna from Jan. 15-April 15, 2009.

Members and Guests who reserve a savanna-view room during this time will be advised of this process, and confirmations for those bookings will include a notation to that affect. Approximately 30 days prior to arrival, the resort will determine, based on occupancy and booking date order, which Members will be assigned to a Sunset Savanna view room. Member Services will notify affected Members, who, after their stay, will receive a Vacation Point credit reflecting the difference between a savanna view and standard view. As a reminder, animals on the other savannas can be viewed from multiple public locations at the resort."

:cutie:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hello fellow January travelers! :goodvibes

Well looks like we've got a few of us going in January! :cool1: I'm getting very excited!! The best (and hardest) part is that we are not telling our kids until Christmas morning!! :santa: It will be their Christmas present! They won't suspect a thing either since we were just there in May. I keep telling them that I'm not sure if we'll even be able to make it in 2009 at all! :lmao:

So where's everyone thinking about eating at? We are thinking about these TS's: LeCellier (again), Mama Melrose (again), Tusker House Donald's Breakfast, Plaza Restaurant, 1900 Park Fare, and ??? . . . . Any suggestions for our last TS???

There are lots of rumors out there about the 2009 packages and the DDP, so we'll see! Hopefully we will get some great offers!! :wizard:

Is anyone going to try to do a photopass share? I did this in May and it worked out great!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay, let's see who we've got so far!

Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL

Now we need a name for our group (and some more people!). . . The last countdown chat I was in was for May and we called ourselves the MAYers! And this was our sign --> :snooty: ! The JANUARYers doesn't quite sound right. . . Hmm. . . We'll have to work on that one. . . Anyone got any suggestions??? Would this be our sign -->:cold: ??? HaHa :rotfl: it's not that cold in January is it Sixisenough? Please tell us all that you can about January! The weather, the crowds, everything! Is it warm enough for swimming? Do we need to bring winter coats? How long is a normal wait time for a ride/attraction? :yay:

[tinkerbelluk]

January is a good time to visit disney if you don't like crowds, the longest i waited in line for an attraction when i was playing rather than working in the parks was 15 minutes in January and that was at 10am for soaring. The longest wait time i saw on the boards was 45 mins, also for soarin' which at peak times i've seen 180 min plus on the display

[tink1978]

I am going in January as well. We are staying at POFQ from January 1-7, 2009. :cool1:

[cinderellamom123]

We went Jan 07. We had 60 degree days, we had 80 degree days. It was crazy. Check weather.com before you go and pack accordingly. I must say, I would rather have it cooler than warmer. My girls would complain all day if they were hot. No problems with ADRs or waits. It was great.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

:welcome: to our new January friends!!

Yes, we are looking forward to the cooler weather in January! I'm thinking we will be able to cover so much more ground when we are not all so hot and tired from the heat and humidity, even with the shorter park hours in January.

Are there usually a lot of rehabs/closures of major attractions in January?

[Remmy]

This is our list and not in order of preference or on which day we will be going. Even though it is to be less crowded, we hope we can get all our ADRs.

1. Boma-Supper 8. Crystal Palace-Supper
2. 'Ohana-Breakfast 9. Garden Grill-Supper
3. 'Ohana-Supper 10. Tusker House-Breakfast
4. Chef Mickey's-Supper 11. 1900 Park Fare-supper
5. Le Cellier-Supper 12. Hollywood and Vine-Fantasmic
6. Coral Reef-Supper 13. Yak and Yeti-Supper
7. Whispering Canyon-Supper 14. ???????

We have most choices picked out. As you can tell we are going for character meals and kid friendly restaurants.

How do you make your ADRs without knowing the park hours? Disney has yet to release the hours as of last time I checked. I worry that we won't be maximizing the Extra hours and miss out. (I may be over paranoid on this.) We live way up north of Disney,and it is a big expense to us and can only make a trip every 3 years or more.

As for weather, as long as we don't see snow, we are happy. That is another reason on why we have picked January. What may seem cold or chillier to some, may seem warm to us. We can't wait to go.

Any suggestions on our choices. We really liked the Garden Grill but the rest will be a new experience for us.

Thanks Remmy

[trixiequilts]

I'm planning on 7 TS meals (if we do DDP), and unfortunately I have more than 7 ideas: 1900 Park Fare (dinner), Le Cellier (dinner), Boma (breakfast AND dinner), Biergarten (lunch OR dinner), Teppan Edo (dinner), Raglan Road (dinner), O'hana (breakfast), Whispering Canyon Cafe (dinner), Tusker House (breakfast), and Mama Melrose's (dinner). Obviously, this list has to be reduced. :sad: If we don't do DDP, this list will shrink very significantly. Some of this will depend on the children's menus as well...I just printed out all of the menus for my DDs/DH to check out.

Someone told me ;) that kids don't always have to order from the children's menu on DDP at counter service. Is that pretty well known? Did you have that happen everywhere or just some places? Did anyone give you a hassle about it (because the brochure states in both the CS and TS areas that children must order from children's menu where available)?

I guess that's it for now. Have a great long weekend everybody!

[sixisenough]

Good evening~The weather can be in the 70-80's (what we had this past trip), but it can get cool in evenings, 60's, even 50's. It is is such a pleasant escape from Illinois weather. My kids always swim, the pools are heated, they like to go at night. It is too cold for me, so that is when hubby and I get some poolside drinks and watch them wear themselves out for bed.:cool1:
Even if park hours are not posted, go ahead and make your ADR's for what you think it will be, you can always change. Last year the only one we had a problem with was Garden Grille, it was supposed to be our first night and our plane was delayed due to lovely Chicago weather, so we missed it and were not able to get an ADR for the rest of the trip. My son wants to go there for his B-day this time, so I will be making right away. You can pretty much plan on Epcot being open until at least 9pm. AK will close at 5 that time of year, except for the Extra Magic hour, MK will be open till 9 or 10 on weekends, but will close between 7-8 during week. We did enjoy the Magic evening there, the park closed at 7 and stayed open until 11 for resort guests, we got Dumbo out of the way with about a 20 min wait, which is very good that late
in the day.
As far as using the kids CS meals, at Cosmic Rays, my son was able to order off the adult menu, but I believe that was the only one we tried at. They keep separate tabs on your receipts. Has anyone done the deluxe plan before??
I will give you some reviews when we get back, we leave in 3 weeks and are doing alot of the resort restraunts this trip, Park Fare, Narcosses, Citricos, HDR, Whispering Canyon (my son has requested to do this one again, he loved the skillet!!!), Beaches and Cream(which is one of our Family's favs, 3rd time here), Ohanas, Konas, Trails End, Olivias, Captain Jacks,Bomas, Jikos, ESPN Club..... You can see this trip is all about the food, I don't want to even know how much weight I am going to gain.

Some of other good experiences last trip was at Tusker House-great characters, my daughters loved it and it was great to go to AK when no one was there, so beautiful and peaceful. UK counter service, great fish and chips, great atmosphere there. Crystal Palace was fun as always, but very crazy. We did not enjoy the POP food court, not a good idea to do when your are trying to get off for the day, unless you are very early morning people. Cali Grill treated us wonderful with kids, but disappointed the fireworks had been changed, so we did not get to see those from the view.

That;s all for now, time for some sleep, I have such a hard time getting off the Dis at night. :cloud9:

[jenkh]

Hello All!

Just found the thread! Very excited for our January trip (If only the park hours were posted lol)

We'll be there for a 2 week dream vacation Jan 17-31. We took the plunge and bought DVC in '07 and have pooled the points since then (and borrowed some) to really have a fun time.

From Jan 17-24 it's me, my mom and dad staying in a 1 bedroom Boardwalk View (Boadwalk Villas) Which we've never even seen before so we're all looking forward to that. (all the pictures we've seen have been so pretty)

The following week Jan 24-31 we go back to our home at AKV. We spent one night there before our cruise this past Jan and are so happy to call it home. For this week were staying in a 2 bedroom savannah view and my aunt and uncle are coming as well.

We've got our airfare already so other then making ADR's... we just wait (197 days and counting!)

:banana:

[sixisenough]

Hello All!

Just found the thread! Very excited for our January trip (If only the park hours were posted lol)

We'll be there for a 2 week dream vacation Jan 17-31. We took the plunge and bought DVC in '07 and have pooled the points since then (and borrowed some) to really have a fun time.

From Jan 17-24 it's me, my mom and dad staying in a 1 bedroom Boardwalk View (Boadwalk Villas) Which we've never even seen before so we're all looking forward to that. (all the pictures we've seen have been so pretty)

The following week Jan 24-31 we go back to our home at AKV. We spent one night there before our cruise this past Jan and are so happy to call it home. For this week were staying in a 2 bedroom savannah view and my aunt and uncle are coming as well.

We've got our airfare already so other then making ADR's... we just wait (197 days and counting!)

:banana:

We are arriving the same day you are, but will be at AKV til the 24th in a savannah room also. We also plunged and bought AKV and are so excited. WE also bought our airline tickets and so glad we did with the way prices are heading.:yay:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

This is our list and not in order of preference or on which day we will be going. Even though it is to be less crowded, we hope we can get all our ADRs.

1. Boma-Supper 8. Crystal Palace-Supper
2. 'Ohana-Breakfast 9. Garden Grill-Supper
3. 'Ohana-Supper 10. Tusker House-Breakfast
4. Chef Mickey's-Supper 11. 1900 Park Fare-supper
5. Le Cellier-Supper 12. Hollywood and Vine-Fantasmic
6. Coral Reef-Supper 13. Yak and Yeti-Supper
7. Whispering Canyon-Supper 14. ???????

We have most choices picked out. As you can tell we are going for character meals and kid friendly restaurants.

How do you make your ADRs without knowing the park hours? Disney has yet to release the hours as of last time I checked. I worry that we won't be maximizing the Extra hours and miss out. (I may be over paranoid on this.) We live way up north of Disney,and it is a big expense to us and can only make a trip every 3 years or more.

As for weather, as long as we don't see snow, we are happy. That is another reason on why we have picked January. What may seem cold or chillier to some, may seem warm to us. We can't wait to go.

Any suggestions on our choices. We really liked the Garden Grill but the rest will be a new experience for us.

Thanks Remmy

Those look like some excellent restaurant choices! We've been to several of them. Character meals and buffets seem to be the best choices for us too!

I'm not sure how we are supposed to make our ADR's without park hours. . . I've never had this situation before, the hours have always been posted.

I'm with you on the weather. Some people keep telling me that it might be really cold in January. Being from PA I don't really think FL weather in January is going to seem cold to us! :rotfl: I'm just hoping for a few days warm enough for the boys to be able to swim.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I'm planning on 7 TS meals (if we do DDP), and unfortunately I have more than 7 ideas: 1900 Park Fare (dinner), Le Cellier (dinner), Boma (breakfast AND dinner), Biergarten (lunch OR dinner), Teppan Edo (dinner), Raglan Road (dinner), O'hana (breakfast), Whispering Canyon Cafe (dinner), Tusker House (breakfast), and Mama Melrose's (dinner). Obviously, this list has to be reduced. :sad: If we don't do DDP, this list will shrink very significantly. Some of this will depend on the children's menus as well...I just printed out all of the menus for my DDs/DH to check out.

Someone told me ;) that kids don't always have to order from the children's menu on DDP at counter service. Is that pretty well known? Did you have that happen everywhere or just some places? Did anyone give you a hassle about it (because the brochure states in both the CS and TS areas that children must order from children's menu where available)?



I guess that's it for now. Have a great long weekend everybody!

Good luck narrowing that list down!! :goodvibes

Yep, we have ordered the kids whatever they want at CS restaurants. Never been questioned once. And we only do it when there isn't anything on the kids menu that they want.(sometimes there are only 3 choices) Generally at the CS's you walk through a very crowded line and then get to a CM who takes your order. They don't know who is in your party and they really don't care! Then you move further up the line and wait for your food. Plus I don't think Disney is too worried about it because they don't differentiate CS meals on the receipt. After every meal at the bottom of the receipt it tells you how many remaining credits you have left for that type of meal. We started out with 28 TS credits and 28 CS credits. After our first TS meal at Mama Melrose our receipt says 12 Adult TS remain, 12 Child TS remain (24 total). After our first CS meal at Pepper Market it says 24 CS remain. See what I mean??? I was even told by the concierge at POFQ last year that the CS meals didn't matter!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks for all the January info Sixisenough!

January friends! :cool1:
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???

[Remmy]

Has anyone heard of any rumors of any goodies that may be offered to us that want to go in January? I know in the last few years in my area that they offered (starting in November I think is when the incentive came out) free upgrade to Water Parks and More pass. Our travel agent has told us that even if we book early she will get us any deals that may be announced for our travel dates.

I wondered with soaring fuel prices and the slight downturn in economy if Disney might be offering us anything. I wish they add back onto the dining plan what they took off (gratuities and appetizer). I also wonder what next years theme will be. I can't wait.

[Remmy]

Thank you Shelly for starting this thread and all of the positive encouragement you have given to me. I am sorry I am not very creative to think of a catchy name for our group as of yet. I do find your last group name very humorous.

Thank you sixisenough for your input. I am looking forward to your reviews of those resort restaurants, especially Kona. We were thinking of that one too. One good thing about Disney, is that it has many restaurant choices, one bad thing is we never have enough time to discover them all on one trip.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi Remmy! :goodvibes

Last year on Oct 30th (2007) I got an offer for Chase Disney Visa cardholders, here it is: Good most nights 1/1/08 - 3/15/08 5nights/6days Free ticket upgrades & room discounts, $385 Adults, $192 Kids for a Value resort. Other lengths of stay and moderate rates too. . . So that's what I'm holding out for this year! I have also read on other threads to expect other great offers in 2009 because of the poor economy. Free dining would be awesome!! :wizard: Disney will do what they have to in order to get you to stay on-site and keep their hotels full. But I have also read that Disney is thinking about closing AK one day a week and DHS another day a week to help fill up the other parks if things get that bad. I personally don't think it will ever come to that, but what do I know! I also just read this morning on another thread that we won't be able to make our 2009 ADR's until 90 days out, instead of the 180 days, and that Disney is possibly not going to publish their park hours until 90 days out either. :confused3

Who knows what this crazy economy is going to bring us. Let's just hope we come out on the winning end of the Disney deals!! Has everyone but me booked their airfare??? :confused: I just don't know what to do. AirTran has the flights I want, at $109 each way. I've never paid more than $79 each way (and usually only $69). Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy them now ??? :eek: I don't know. We don't want to fly Southwest again, we flew with them last year and we ended up with delays and destroyed luggage! :mad:

Okay, so no one wants to come up with a name for our awesome little group! I'm at a loss too. But I think this is our symbol -->:cool1: Because we will be "cool" in January, not cold!! :lmao:

Have a great 4th of July everyone!!Just remember the next time you see fireworks you will be seeing them over Cinderella castle and a little tune will be playing in your ear - When you wish upon a star :rolleyes1 . . . You all know what I'm talking about!!! :yay:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Forgot to mention, I heard that next year's theme is going to remain the Year of a Million Dreams, but on a smaller scale.

We'll see. . . .

[jenkh]

Forgot to mention, I heard that next year's theme is going to remain the Year of a Million Dreams, but on a smaller scale.

We'll see. . . .

Really? Still? I was kind of hoping that I'd finally get to see something different. All i know is this "year" has been going on forever!!

:cool1: <----- Love the symbol... No idea on a name though

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Yes, it seems that the Year of a Million Dreams is turning into the YearS of a Million Dreams! :lmao: I was hoping for something different too. But I suppose if I had won a wonderful prize in one of the last 2 trips I wouldn't feel that way! :rotfl: We have gotten a few little surprises. In 2007 we were family of the day at the Garden Grill for lunch. We got a certificate and a"free" appetizer (we were already on the DDP) and 1 fastpass good for 4 people for that day. Not a Dream Fastpass, just good for one attraction. This year DS9 got chosen to do the Jedi Training Academy and got a year of a million dreams certificate for that. He was thrilled, it was a dream come true for him!! DS6 was very disappointed that he didn't get chosen. So I am hoping that they continue to do that so that DS6 will maybe get a chance. So, anyone with little Star Wars fans should check that out if it's still there!

[kiteri]

Hello All!!!

Count me in! I am arriving late January 16 through January 24 right now, but hoping to extend that to January 25 if I can ever snag an extra day at Fort Wilderness!

I will have to give our name some thought!!!


When I get more time, I will be back!

[maplemouse]

Hello
Yes, we are planning a trip to WDW for Jan. 1-5. We have gone for the past several years for a short second trip around the end of December or first of January and have always enjoyed that time of year. We always go in June, for about ten days. Last January was the coldest Jan. they had in years. We almost froze to death!! Not much fun. But, at least we were there!
I want to book my Jan. trip and it is hard to when the 2009 rates are not out. I want to compare several resorts, CR, AKL, PORR. I asked for a 2009 quote from Dreams Unlimited, but it sure didn't sound like they quoted prices for value season. Do you think there will be some discounts later for Jan.? I've never used a code before. Don't know anything about them.:confused3

[Momof2Disneyboys]

:welcome: to Kiteri and Maplemouse!

I am excited, we are getting quite the little group going here!! I wasn't sure how many people would respond to this thread.

Maplemouse - I am expecting some great offers for 2009! :wizard: They probably won't be out for at least a few more months though. . . :hourglass

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January friends! :cool1: (that's what I'll call us until we come up with a better name!)
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???

[SplashMtnCrew]

Hello All!
Yep, we are planning our annual January trip too :banana: We are planning on Jan 18-24 have to call by the end of next week to make our ressies! When the 2009 rates come out we will make it a package! What a fun thread this will be, I'll post more info when I can! January is our #1 favorite time to go....the weather is terrific and the crowds are easily managable!

Momof2Disneyboys thanks for doing this!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

:wave: Hi Splashmtncrew! Welcome to our group!!

Glad to hear that you have had good weather and low crowds in January! :goodvibes

I can't wait until we can all list our ADR's and park days and so on!! It will be so much fun! :yay:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January friends! :cool1:

Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???

[kaos928]

Hey guys!

Just bought plane tickets for me and BF for Jan 6th - 12! We got Airtran for $89 each way. They've already gone up since I started looking so I wanted to buy them now before it got any worse. I think I saw some for $79 but we got awesome times, no 6am departures or 12am arrivals for us. (I wanted to get there early enough to get to MK, have dinner, and watch the fireworks for arrival night!) :goodvibes

I though January was the best time to go for us, we are both college students so we have a whole month off between semesters. Plus less crowds and cooler weather (my boyfriend overheats rather quickly) Also, it's his first trip and he's a little skeptical and I'm a little nervous!

I haven't had a dining plan before but I love the idea. My sister did it for her Disneymoon and it will be awesome to not have to worry about food while we're there, for the most part anyway (I worry a lot). The less worry, the better the vacation will be!

Also I don't know where we will stay! I'm hoping that when the prices come out I'll have a better idea of our finances and if we can afford moderate or if we should just stick to value. We will probably wind up at POP.

PS Any truth to rumors that Space Mt is closing in January for the refurb????
I will be so sad. :sad:

PPS What about the Snowbirds? Just throwing it out there :confused3

[emh1129]

We can't wait for January! We are planning Jan.5-16th right now, and we will be staying at ASMo.
Right now we have room-only booked, but we might switch to a package when they are released. I'm hoping for some amazing offers, because we are pinching pennies to be able to take this trip!

We went in January 2007 and it was AWESOME weather and crowds, especially after marathon weekend.

Airfare is a bit scary right now, and I don't think I can handle driving, so there is a slight chance that we will have to scrap the whole idea and wait another year, but I'm REALLY hoping that we can get some good deals!

[emh1129]

Anyone know when park hours will be released for Jan? I have to call for ADRs in a few days and I don't want to schedule things randomly..

[kaos928]

Anyone know when park hours will be released for Jan? I have to call for ADRs in a few days and I don't want to schedule things randomly..

I'm worried about that too, I don't want to be flying blind here!

[kiteri]

I called Disney asking about the hours, because I need to make my 180 ADR's in two weeks, and the CM told me that the only reservations they are taking for after January 2009 are for Chef Mickey's and CRT.

I guess they are updating their computers or something. I am so upset!

[Towers5]

We are there from Dec 28th thru Jan 9th :cool1:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good morning Snowbirds!! (Love it! :thumbsup2 ) I was trying to come up with something that had "snow" in it since most of us will be leaving from snowy locations in January!

How was the weekend? We took the kids to our town's fireworks Friday night and about 15 minutes into it they asked if we could go! :confused3 They said they were bored and the fireworks weren't good since there was no castle and no music! :lmao: DH said - Look what you've done!! :rotfl:

:welcome: to all of our new January Snowbirds!! :goodvibes

Kiteri - I recently heard the same thing about the ADR's. . . Only CRT & Chef Mickey's 180 days out and everything else is going to be 90 days for 2009. :confused: I also heard that they aren't going to publish park hours until 90 days prior instead of 180 days. Looks like we may be waiting for October to make any definite plans. . . :hourglass

Kaos928 - How did you get AirTran for $89???!!! My dates are still at $109 with AirTran. So I wait. . . We really prefer to fly with them. Last time we went with SW because they were cheaper and had a not so great experience. :sad2: I know I should just buy them now because they will probably only go up, but that's so high compared to what I normally pay. But I suppose the days of $69 flights are probably over.

As far as the Space Mtn. closure, I haven't heard that one lately. I actually heard it last year, that they would be doing it this year (2008), but we were just there in May and it is open. So maybe the refurb will be this coming year (2009). I heard that when they do refurb it it will be closed for 12-18 months. :scared1:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Where are all the January Snowbirds today??? :confused3


If this helps with starting to make your plans. . . These were the hours for the end of January 2008:

MK 9-8 Sun-Fri / 9-7 Sat / EMH Sun & Thur / Dreams Parade 3:00 Daily / Spectro 7:00 3 Nights a week (don't have written down which ones) / Wishes 8:00 Sun-Fri & 7:00 Sat
Epcot 9-9 Daily / EMH Tue & Fri / IllumiNations 9:00 Daily
DHS 9-7 Daily / EMH Mon & Sat / Parade 3:00 Daily / Fantasmic 7:00 Daily & 8:30 also on EMH days
AK 9-5 Daily / EMH Mon & Wed / Jammin Jungle Parade 4:00 Daily


This is what I'm basing my plans on for now. I like to avoid EMH's if I can since those are the busiest days for each park. But who knows what we are going to end up with next year! Waiting for October to make plans is TOO long!!

[miabellarose]

HI. I will be traveling with some of my family and staying at All-Stars Music from January 3rd to January 11th. My DSIL and I are running in the 1/2 marathon-our 1st time running-we'll see how it all goes ;) Yesterday we made our ADR's and even though it took awhile, we got all the restaurants we wanted :woohoo: I was wondering, is the January weather too cold for the water parks? And do any of you know if there will be any Pirates and Princess Party in January? or when the dates for that will be posted?

[SplashMtnCrew]

I'm here today :banana:
What is this about changing ADR's to 90 days instead of 180??? :eek:
My DH hates having to book room ressies with the one night deposit of peak season b/c the rates for 2009 aren't out yet! DH believes that if he's promising WDW that we will be there on certain dates then WDW should honor the price of room at the current year's rates....not make people pay more when WDW finally gets around to updating their systems. DH also believes that if you can book ADR's 180 days in advance then the WDW website should always be able to book rooms/adr's 180 days in advance.

My...where did all that come from? :lmao: Must have needed to do a little Disney venting :)

Let's get some snowbird opinions on something....DH plans on staying at WL club level. However DS and I were hoping to stay at a different resort. We had DH convinced of CSR until he found out that the only transportation they have is by bus and that mod's don't have any signature dining....well, since then we've decided to do the ddp and not do any signature restaurants or character meals at other resorts, we are planning to have the club level snacks and etc. and the ddp. DH says that by going to WL and staying cl we are doing something different. Here's the question: should DS and I try to change DH's mind about going to CSR or should we say nothing and go club level at WL?

BTW....I LOVE the thought of WL club level...I'm not complaining at all :thumbsup2

[SplashMtnCrew]

HI. I will be traveling with some of my family and staying at All-Stars Music from January 3rd to January 11th. My DSIL and I are running in the 1/2 marathon-our 1st time running-we'll see how it all goes ;) Yesterday we made our ADR's and even though it took awhile, we got all the restaurants we wanted :woohoo: I was wondering, is the January weather too cold for the water parks? And do any of you know if there will be any Pirates and Princess Party in January? or when the dates for that will be posted?

We went to a water park this Jan and it was COLD...we won't be doing that this time, everyone came home very sick :sick: As far a P&PP :confused3 We went to the P&PP that was on MLK day this year. That was the first P&PP for 2008, Jan 21.
Good Luck in the marathon!:yay:

[ccfmioa]

We will be staying at All-Stars Movies Dec 30th to Jan 8th, Yes I am crazy, but had to fit it into school/work schedules. Already have our ADR's and now planning the daily itineraries.

Will also be visiting USF since I need get my coaster fix, Missing being a cast member at Universal and riding them 9 times non-stop.

We got all of our 1st prefrences for our ADR's and are skipping the waterparks since the weather can be so random in January.

This will be DW and kids first trip to WDW, I lived in Orlando in the late 90's and got to visit the parks often.

Hope to possibly meet some DISer's when were there.

[MickeyNicki]

Count me in, DH and I are taking our 2 nieces to the Poly Jan 22-26, it will be their second trip (we took them on their first one Oct 06) and this is their Xmas gift

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Welcome Miabellarose! :goodvibes

SplashMtn - Apparently if you are going before Jan 15 you can make your ADR's 180 days, if Jan 16 or after they are going to a new computer system and it's 90 days. :confused3 Yes, this is driving me nuts!! I like to have things taken care of well in advance!

As far as CSR, I wouldn't recommend it. Sorry, we did not have the best experience there. If your DH wants cl I say go for it!! :rotfl: But I totally understand wanting to try something different. We have tried different resorts every time. And the only one we would go back to is CBR! :lovestruc Loved that one! But we are trying ASMo this time and getting 2 connecting rooms so we can have 2 tvs, 2 bathrooms, and 4 beds! Hope we are not disappointed in the values.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???

[SplashMtnCrew]

Connecting rooms??.....What a super idea! We only have one child, but for people with a couple of kids (or more) that is a fantastic idea!

I know, never look a gift horse in the mouth....I should just let DH have his way this once and take us cl at WL :rotfl2:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

WOW that list of Snowbirds is really growing!!

:welcome: to today's new Snowbirds!

MickeyNicki - That's so nice that you take your nieces. I am so jealous that you are staying at the Poly!! Someday I will stay there! It is so beautiful! :goodvibes

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Connecting rooms??.....What a super idea! We only have one child, but for people with a couple of kids (or more) that is a fantastic idea!

I know, never look a gift horse in the mouth....I should just let DH have his way this once and take us cl at WL :rotfl2:

Yes, we are getting cramped in one room at a moderate. And we are a family that does not open and close a park in the same day. We are more of open-4 or 5ish, or noon-close. So we spend a good amount of time at the resort, so we need space! I know the kids will be disappointed with not having a pool slide like the mods have, but they are pretty excited about having their own tv and bed!

Yes, if my DH was insisting on cl I would have to agree! :rotfl: I've never been to WL. The pictures look so nice though. I will have to try to see it in January. We like to try to visit at least a few resorts each trip to get a feel for what we might like to try in the future!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

We will be staying at All-Stars Movies Dec 30th to Jan 8th, Yes I am crazy, but had to fit it into school/work schedules. Already have our ADR's and now planning the daily itineraries.

Will also be visiting USF since I need get my coaster fix, Missing being a cast member at Universal and riding them 9 times non-stop.

We got all of our 1st prefrences for our ADR's and are skipping the waterparks since the weather can be so random in January.

This will be DW and kids first trip to WDW, I lived in Orlando in the late 90's and got to visit the parks often.

Hope to possibly meet some DISer's when were there.

Congrats on getting all your ADR's! Looks like we are going to have to wait til October to make ours. :sad2:

[ppan77]

We are in the process of planning our Jan 09 trip. Stayed at CR in 08 and loved the monorail. It was quite cold that week and rained on our p&pparty night but we still had a blast. No lines and p&pparty was the highlight of our trip. Debating between Poly and BCV but Poly is winning right now. We will have our ds3 and dd9 months.

Anyone know if Super Bowl in Tampa will affect the crowds at WDW in late Jan? We are still trying to pick our dates too. I know we dont want MLK weekend or marathon.:confused3

[kaos928]

How did you get AirTran for $89???!!! My dates are still at $109 with AirTran. So I wait. . . We really prefer to fly with them. Last time we went with SW because they were cheaper and had a not so great experience. :sad2: I know I should just buy them now because they will probably only go up, but that's so high compared to what I normally pay. But I suppose the days of $69 flights are probably over.

As far as the Space Mtn. closure, I haven't heard that one lately. I actually heard it last year, that they would be doing it this year (2008), but we were just there in May and it is open. So maybe the refurb will be this coming year (2009). I heard that when they do refurb it it will be closed for 12-18 months. :scared1:

We are fortunate enough that are dates are very flexible so I searched +/- 3 days and got the times I wanted for a decent price :) I haven't been in 2 years now but I remember my DM getting $69 tickets but I agree, those days maybe over. Thanks for last January's hours also that will definitely help me plan! I read about Space Mt here http://www.screamscape.com/html/wdw_-_magic_kingdom.htm you have to scroll way down and it's listed as "rumor" from back in February. Hopefully they pushed it back again.

I think I decided to stay at POP our first 4 nights and then move over to POR for the last 2 :goodvibes Who has been during the marathon weekend? Is it a lot busier?? I guess it doesn't matter much, no changing dates now but I wish I knew about it before I bought the tickets. :confused3

[Remmy]

I too am worried about Super Bowl. I do believe on one podcast I heard them putting the park crowds at a 9 out of 10. Even the Monday after; I believe they thought the parks would be really busy. We were just trying to plan our vacation in a less crowded time between the two holidays and ran face first into Super Bowl now. Too late, as that is when we have decided to go for so many reasons. We just hope the dining plan isn't being hiked $10.00 more per person per day as some rumors out there have it to be and for them to take more off, including snacks. If it does, we may cut down our vacationing time.

We also found out some bad news, that our grand gathering is getting smaller as the days go by. Our aunt's dog requires surgery at a price of $2800.00. That takes them(aunt and uncle), and her son and his fiance out of the vacation planning.:sad1:

I too am very upset at not being able to book my dining reservations 180 days out. I do wish they would release their hours and rates so us preplanners could make the most out of the information.

Thank you all, for all your great information, as I was thinking of booking the package as per our travel agent's suggestion. Now without all the exact information not available we will be booking as room only and upgrading to the package if it is reasonable and worthwhile. It also doesn't seem as such a rush to book as we could wait for the package pricing and the details of them come out, since we have to wait to book dining until the end of October for us. We are driving down (very long for us) but we want to bring our own fridge, and much souvenirs home that flying is out of the question this time around.

P.S. I like the new group name. Very creative.

[sixisenough]

I love the Snowbirds name:lovestruc !! We have lots of people joining us, that is great. I am really disappointed about this new ADR plan, my call in date is supposed to be July 21st, does anyone know why the changes, or why they don't go to online reservations??:confused3

We did the connecting rooms at POP last year, and it worked out well, I am glad you are staying at All Stars, because their bus lines were so much better than ours. I know there are many POP lovers out there, but it did not work out for us.

WL is a fabulous choice, we visited there and just had friends stay, it would probably be my first choice. The pool area looks fabulous.

We have a little over 2 weeks till our summer trip at the Fort, anyone stay there before?? I am getting very excited, and just ordered a few things from Wegoshop to have delivered when we get there. Anyone have any must sees or restraunts they just have to go to other than in the parks?? Would love any last minute suggestions. I just booked a pirate cruise for my daughters bday at the YC, it is a 2 hour adventure for just the kids, so my husband and I can relax a little, only $30 a child and they feed them lunch. I have not told my daughter yet, I think we will let it be a surprise and that evening we are going to 1900 PF for dinner with Cinderella and stepsisters.

Well good night, talk to you all soon:cloud9:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Yes, I believe that they are expecting crowds on Superbowl weekend. That's why we moved up our trip. We were originally planning on Jan 28-Feb 3, but then were warned about about the Superbowl, that's why we moved it up a week. Now our trip falls between MLK and the Superbowl. Hopefully that will be a slow time! :wizard:

Sorry your group is getting smaller Remmy. That's too bad. I'm sure you will still have fun though! I hadn't heard the $10 DDP price increase rumor yet. :sad2: We will probably skip it if it goes up that much.

Six - Glad to hear that the connecting rooms worked out good for you. Also glad to hear that the bus service appeared to be good at the All Stars. Sorry it was not so good at POP. I know a lot of people love POP, but we just don't think it is for us. Hopefully we will have a good experience at ASMo! The pirate cruise sounds like so much fun for your DD! In May we took the kids to the Sandcastle Kids club at the BC for a few hours. We always said that we would never do that, but ended up giving it a try! They absolutely loved it and we were very comfortable leaving them there. And this is coming from a mother who very rarely leaves her kids anywhere!!

Welcome to our group Ppan77! :yay:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???

[miabellarose]

We went to a water park this Jan and it was COLD...we won't be doing that this time, everyone came home very sick :sick: As far a P&PP :confused3 We went to the P&PP that was on MLK day this year. That was the first P&PP for 2008, Jan 21.
Good Luck in the marathon!:yay:

Hmmm, now I wonder if I should not do the Water Parks and More option--I've never been to a water park and thought this might be really fun. I guess we'll have to wait for the weather report closer to the time. Thanks for replying and for wishing us luck, we'll need it :thumbsup2

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Yes, I'm sure it will be too cold for water parks or swimming for us adults! Now the kids on the other hand will probably be just fine!

Miabella - Good Luck with the marathon! pixiedust:

[4girls2sets]

We're January 2009ers also! The big girls have been there twice; this will be the little girls' first trip to Disney, and my DH and I are really looking forward to it! He was surprised at how much fun he had the first time we visited Disney--he truly dreaded it--but he enjoyed it so much that he wanted to return the following year!

We're staying at SOG from 2 January through 9 January--and we managed to make all the ADR's we were after yesterday (on your 7 July)! I think the CM with whom I spoke felt sorry for me since I was 1. calling from Singapore and 2. had two sets of twins, so after I got my 180-day-out ressie at CRT at 8:10 on 3 January, she let me reserve Chef Mickey's on the 5th (8:15), Wonderland Tea on the 6th, and Crystal Palace on the 8th (late lunch). We weren't able to get the Fantasmic Dinner Package since none of those ressies had been released yet.

We're not doing more TS meals than that since the five-year-olds really don't like sitting around waiting to eat, and the big girls just graze anyway! I need to figure out what we're going to do food-wise when we visit Epcot . . .

Looking foward to chatting with you!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

WOW look at us, already up to 5 pages of January Snowbird chatter!! :hyper2:

So for you experienced Snowbird's, do I need to pack a lot of jeans and winter coats and gloves??? I am really dreading all the extra packing. I was thinking that just a heavy sweatshirt type jacket would be good, but I hear some people say that they needed their winter coats! :eek: I sure don't want to pack and haul all that bulky stuff if I don't have to! What about capri's? Would they be good for most days?

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Welcome 4girls2sets!! :goodvibes Wow you are so blessed to have 4 beautiful little girls! How exciting for the little ones first trip! I'm sure it will be truly magical. Glad you got to make some ADR's.

If you are looking for a good CS meal at Epcot, Electric Umbrella is nice and fast and simple. If you decide to go TS, LeCellier is the best!

Look forward to chatting with you!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Just read this on another thread. Someone e-mailed WDW to ask about the 2009 rates and the DDP:

"Each year, our Product Development Department reviews all components
offered under each package name. This determines the packages and
components included for the following year. At this time, room rates
and packages for 2009 have not been announced. Please check back in
mid-August for updated information."

So there you have it, mid-August for 2009 rates and no response about the DDP. :confused3

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
4girls2sets ~ Jan 2-9 SOG
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???

[sixisenough]

Hi Shelly,
You will be fine with just sweatshirts, and wearing capris. Wintercoats will not be necessary unless they get some really bad weather. Trust me coming from the north, it will feel fabulous!! You can always buy some Mickey gear if needed. You may even get lucky enought and get some 80's and get to wear shorts, our last trip that is all I wore.

For the poster that wanted to do the water parks, usually only 1 park is open at that time of year and times are limited to about 9-5. There was one day in early Feb last year that my kids really wanted to go, it was mid 80's, but we decided against it. We will be going here in 2 weeks, so I will report back what they are like.

Take care, Evie

[ppan77]

Alright need some advice with planning. Since the rates for 09 arent out yet and we cant even book for adr's until 90 days out should I just wait until mid August to make my reservations at the Poly?? Or should I go ahead and put down a deposit for our room and make it a package later??

Also which week would you do in January for least crowds?

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi Shelly,
You will be fine with just sweatshirts, and wearing capris. Wintercoats will not be necessary unless they get some really bad weather. Trust me coming from the north, it will feel fabulous!! You can always buy some Mickey gear if needed. You may even get lucky enought and get some 80's and get to wear shorts, our last trip that is all I wore.


Take care, Evie

Thanks Evie! Good to hear. I agree, it should feel pretty darn good coming from the north!

Do you know if any of the Pop Warner, cheerleading, or football stuff is going on in January? I was thinking that stuff happens in either Dec or Jan. . .

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Alright need some advice with planning. Since the rates for 09 arent out yet and we cant even book for adr's until 90 days out should I just wait until mid August to make my reservations at the Poly?? Or should I go ahead and put down a deposit for our room and make it a package later??

Also which week would you do in January for least crowds?

I am not making my reservations yet. . . My feeling is that the less reservations they have the better of a deal they might offer!! :wizard:

I'm not sure when will be the least busiest time in Jan. I'd say either the second week or the time in-between MLK and the Superbowl. :confused3

[trixiequilts]

Can I just take a moment to say how disappointed I am about both the hours not being available and ADR's changing to 90 days? I was really hoping to have most of my major planning done (round one at least) before my 180 day mark. :mad: And now knowing that we all have to wait more than a month to hear officially about the new DDP! There sure are a bunch of rumors about that, aren't there? Now at least most of us will know about the
DDP before our 90 day mark.

I do have the hours from last year, but it doesn't seem as fun drawing up "maybe" plans:laughing: .

Here's a question for you all: it's our first trip (me, DH, DD8, DD6), we have 6 full and 2 half days available for the parks. Based on timing and the ages of the girls, would you try to do all four major parks? And how would you divide your time? Thanks for the advice!!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Oh my it is really hot here today! Nearing 90! :eek: So I have been sitting inside in the air conditioning and working on my scrapbook from my May trip. Can you believe that I took over 600 pictures??? Plus all the photopass CD pics! :faint:

Yes Trixie, we all feel your pain and frustration! :headache: Feel free to vent!! That's what we're here for!

I think you can definitely do all 4 parks plus DTD in that amount of time. Do you plan to do full days in the parks or half days? We usually leave 2 days open for MK. One day we go at opening and stay until after the 3:00 parade. The other day we go sometime in the mid-afternoon and stay until closing and watch Wishes. Epcot we go for most of the day, but not all day. Either open until after dinner (6 or 7ish) or we go at lunchtime and stay until close. DHS can be done in a half day. And there really isn't much for us at AK, so we usually only go there for about 3-4 hours. If there is one thing I must say - Don't miss DTD!!!!! It is a destination all in it's own. As a matter of fact we usually end up there 2-3 times each trip! It is just a lot of fun and we really enjoy the atmosphere. The kids love to stop and play in the sprinklers at the entrance to Marketplace. And there are so many fun shops and restaurants. Not to mention Goofy's Candy Co! :goofy:

Doing the parks in half days also give us time to enjoy our resort. Just time to relax and swim or do whatever. I know a lot of people go from open to close in the parks everyday they are there to get the most for their money! While I could do that, the rest of my family could not! My boys will be 9 & 7 on this next trip and I know they still won't be able to do it. Although I'm hoping to get a little more cooperation out of them this time since it won't be so dang hot!

I'm not sure how we are going to fit everything in this time with just 5 days plus maybe a few hours the day we depart for home, depending on the flight time I get. But DH only wants to take 4 vacation days from work this time. So we will probably only go to MK one day and maybe skip AK. . . We'll see. . . Some park hours sure would help!! :lmao:

[Laumau]

I'm a January DIS'er too! It's our family's first trip to Disney ever and we're so excited. January seems ages away to the kids but not to me- I'm really enjoying the planning- it's appealing to the type A side of me. :rotfl:

I am anxiously awaiting the hours coming out too! I have my ADR's made already and an itinerary of which park and which day and so forth. We're planning on doing all four parks and DTD during our 7 day stay.

Looking forward to discussing plans with all of you! :thumbsup2

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I'm a January DIS'er too! It's our family's first trip to Disney ever and we're so excited. January seems ages away to the kids but not to me- I'm really enjoying the planning- it's appealing to the type A side of me. :rotfl:

I am anxiously awaiting the hours coming out too! I have my ADR's made already and an itinerary of which park and which day and so forth. We're planning on doing all four parks and DTD during our 7 day stay.

Looking forward to discussing plans with all of you! :thumbsup2

Welcome Laumau! Congrats on your first WDW trip!! :woohoo:

Glad you got to make your ADR's!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Laumau ~ Jan 1-7 WL
4girls2sets ~ Jan 2-9 SOG
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???

[dinah439]

Going in January also! We'll be there January 4-17 staying at POR. It's our first time staying onsite and we can't wait!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Congrats on your first onsite trip Dinah439! :goodvibes WOW 14 days will be awesome! :yay:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Laumau ~ Jan 1-7 WL
4girls2sets ~ Jan 2-9 SOG
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Dinah439 ~ Jan 4-17 POR
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???

[Laumau]

Do you think going to DTD to shop on New Year's Eve would be absolute madness?

[trixiequilts]

Do you know if any of the Pop Warner, cheerleading, or football stuff is going on in January? I was thinking that stuff happens in either Dec or Jan. . . [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

I know that Pop Warner is the beginning of December, don't know about the others.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Do you think going to DTD to shop on New Year's Eve would be absolute madness?

Oh boy, I don't know! Maybe not, if you stay out of Pleasure Island. A lot of people will probably be going to the night clubs. Wait, when are those supposed to be closing? I forget if it's this fall or the beginning of 2009. Either way, being at DTD when it is crowded is better than being at a park when it is crowded!

I know that Pop Warner is the beginning of December, don't know about the others.

I sure hope there aren't crowds of rowdy teenagers at the All Stars! :rotfl:

[SplashMtnCrew]

Do you know if any of the Pop Warner, cheerleading, or football stuff is going on in January? I was thinking that stuff happens in either Dec or Jan. . .

I got this info from the the cheerleading/dance link about a month ago...

1/16-1/18= Cheer/Dance
1/30-2/1= Dance competition
2/7-2/8= cheerleading
2/13-2/16= cheerleading
2/28-3/1= cheerleading
3/6-3/8= cheerleading
3/14-3/15= cheerleading
and of course there's marathon weekend and MLK holiday in Jan and the super bowl and Mardi Gras in Feb

I can't find the link to the website :mad: I got it from a different thread on the DIS though and wrote it all down and put it in my trusty WDW tote bag:laughing:

[SplashMtnCrew]

Shelly..

Are there any Dis meets in the makings? I've never done that, always thought it would be fun though. I do look for LGMH while were at WDW :rotfl: Anyone actually done one?

[kaos928]

Oh boy, I don't know! Maybe not, if you stay out of Pleasure Island. A lot of people will probably be going to the night clubs. Wait, when are those supposed to be closing? I forget if it's this fall or the beginning of 2009. Either way, being at DTD when it is crowded is better than being at a park when it is crowded!

Yeah I believe they are closing 9/27

[jnykly]

We plan on taking a January trip too. Possibly the last week in Jan. (1/24-1/30). :cheer2:

We are a little worried as to when the Superbowl crowds might appear. :confused:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I got this info from the the cheerleading/dance link about a month ago...

1/16-1/18= Cheer/Dance
1/30-2/1= Dance competition
2/7-2/8= cheerleading
2/13-2/16= cheerleading
2/28-3/1= cheerleading
3/6-3/8= cheerleading
3/14-3/15= cheerleading
and of course there's marathon weekend and MLK holiday in Jan and the super bowl and Mardi Gras in Feb

I can't find the link to the website :mad: I got it from a different thread on the DIS though and wrote it all down and put it in my trusty WDW tote bag:laughing:


Thanks for posting that! Looks like I will miss those dates! I'm glad because I know groups like that usually stay at the values.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Shelly..

Are there any Dis meets in the makings? I've never done that, always thought it would be fun though. I do look for LGMH while were at WDW :rotfl: Anyone actually done one?

I don't know. . . I've never actually done a big DIS meet. But in May I met up with 2 other DISers for lunch, there were 9 of us, 3 DISers and their families! It was pretty neat to finally meet people that you had been chatting with for over a year!

I have never seen a LGMH at WDW! :confused3

I am up for a Snowbird meet in January if anyone is interested during my dates! In May we all had TS ADR's for the same time, but then decided to cancel and just meet up at a CS, so we met at WPE at DTD. It worked out well! We all posted pictures before we left so that we'd recognize each other.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

We plan on taking a January trip too. Possibly the last week in Jan. (1/24-1/30). :cheer2:

We are a little worried as to when the Superbowl crowds might appear. :confused:


Welcome!

I think they are only expecting SB crowds over the weekend, Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Laumau ~ Jan 1-7 WL
4girls2sets ~ Jan 2-9 SOG
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Jnykly ~ Jan 24-30 ???
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???

[mommy2emmamaddie]

Hi
We are coming back to the greatest place on earth January 16-25! I am trying to determine the hotel soon! We are thinking Pop or maybe try a moderate and go with POR ??? We usually stay at the All Stars. I know last January I received an email for AP rates at $49 for the values. That is hard to pass up!!
Just finishing up our dining schedule, it would be easier if the January park hours were out!!

[Laumau]

[QUOTE=Momof2Disneyboys;26107752]Oh boy, I don't know! Maybe not, if you stay out of Pleasure Island. A lot of people will probably be going to the night clubs. Wait, when are those supposed to be closing? I forget if it's this fall or the beginning of 2009. Either way, being at DTD when it is crowded is better than being at a park when it is crowded!


We would just stay in the shopping part- no interest in the clubs or shows. We're staying in a hotel on Parkway Blvd that night.

[lovemy2boys]

Just booked today! 10 nights at AKL in January. We just got back from our very first Disney trip last month and had such a great time that we booked again!

[Laumau]

Just booked today! 10 nights at AKL in January. We just got back from our very first Disney trip last month and had such a great time that we booked again!

Your boys are adorable- I guess you'll have #3 with you when you go again.

Glad to hear you had such a good time!

[Laumau]

Here are our plans for our trip:

We're driving from home, leaving on Dec. 29, so we'll have our own car, then DH and the "baby" (who turns 4 in Oct) will drive home and I'll fly with the older ones so they can get back to school by Jan. 8.

Leave on Dec. 29 and drive to Pensacola. Spend Dec. 30 (my birthday) in Pensacola. Leave Dec. 31 and drive to Orlando and stay in hotel in Kissimmee.

Arrive on Jan. 1- drive straight to Epcot from hotel outside Orlando. Do Future World, eat lunch, then check in to Wilderness Lodge. Take boat to Contemporary- dinner at Chef Mickey's at 5:45, perhaps take monorail to Magic Kingdom- maybe see Wishes if not too crowded and late?

Jan 2- Animal Kingdom, early dinner at Boma, 4pm, then drive to DTD for shopping. *and ice cream at Ghiradelli's!* :laughing:

Jan. 3- Sleep in and spend morning at resort. Go to Epcot at lunchtime, do World Showcase, dinner at Askershus, 4:55pm, maybe see IllumiNations if not too late.

Jan. 4- Go to Studios, dinner at Mama Melrose, Fantasmic package.

Jan 5- Magic Kingdom, dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern (no more character dinners! :sad1: ) might cancel this one if we're too tired.

Jan 6- Magic Kingdom, back to resort early-ish, kids to Cubs Den so we can have adult night at Artist Point, 6:30.

Jan 7- Check out of WL, load car, Breakfast at Crystal Palace, 9:30, spend some time in MK, leave by 1pm, flight leaves at 3pm.

We've never been there before so I don't know how much endurance we'll have in the parks and so forth- so all is subject to change depending on mood, etc. We also may end up splitting the family if the older ones want some extra time in the Studios, for example, if they had late EMH's one night.

Right now I'm anxiously awaiting Disney's putting the packages up for sale for 2009 so we can buy our park hoppers and dining plan. Also looking forward to the park hours coming out. We may or may not take advantage of the EMH's.

What do you experience DIS'ers think of these?

[lovemy2boys]

Your boys are adorable- I guess you'll have #3 with you when you go again.

Glad to hear you had such a good time!

thanks! Yes our newest little guy will be just 6 weeks when we go. He'll be strapped to me most of the time :)

[Laumau]

thanks! Yes our newest little guy will be just 6 weeks when we go. He'll be strapped to me most of the time :)

That's actually a pretty easy age- have baby, will travel- especially when it's your third one. I'd take that age over 18 months old any day of the week! :lmao:

[lovemy2boys]

Here are our plans for our trip:

We're driving from home, leaving on Dec. 29, so we'll have our own car, then DH and the "baby" (who turns 4 in Oct) will drive home and I'll fly with the older ones so they can get back to school by Jan. 8.

Leave on Dec. 29 and drive to Pensacola. Spend Dec. 30 (my birthday) in Pensacola. Leave Dec. 31 and drive to Orlando and stay in hotel in Kissimmee.

Arrive on Jan. 1- drive straight to Epcot from hotel outside Orlando. Do Future World, eat lunch, then check in to Wilderness Lodge. Take boat to Contemporary- dinner at Chef Mickey's at 5:45, perhaps take monorail to Magic Kingdom- maybe see Wishes if not too crowded and late?

Jan 2- Animal Kingdom, early dinner at Boma, 4pm, then drive to DTD for shopping. *and ice cream at Ghiradelli's!* :laughing:

Jan. 3- Sleep in and spend morning at resort. Go to Epcot at lunchtime, do World Showcase, dinner at Askershus, 4:55pm, maybe see IllumiNations if not too late.

Jan. 4- Go to Studios, dinner at Mama Melrose, Fantasmic package.

Jan 5- Magic Kingdom, dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern (no more character dinners! :sad1: ) might cancel this one if we're too tired.

Jan 6- Magic Kingdom, back to resort early-ish, kids to Cubs Den so we can have adult night at Artist Point, 6:30.

Jan 7- Check out of WL, load car, Breakfast at Crystal Palace, 9:30, spend some time in MK, leave by 1pm, flight leaves at 3pm.

We've never been there before so I don't know how much endurance we'll have in the parks and so forth- so all is subject to change depending on mood, etc. We also may end up splitting the family if the older ones want some extra time in the Studios, for example, if they had late EMH's one night.

Right now I'm anxiously awaiting Disney's putting the packages up for sale for 2009 so we can buy our park hoppers and dining plan. Also looking forward to the park hours coming out. We may or may not take advantage of the EMH's.

What do you experience DIS'ers think of these?

I just want to say that we loved Liberty Tree Tavern and breakfast at Crystal Palace. Both really great!

[Remmy]

I too am having second thoughts on booking early. I too wonder if more deals will come our way if the majority of the people wait. I received an email from our travel agent with the advice found here on the DIS and she agrees to book room only then upgrade to the package of our choice later if they are of good value.

I am also wondering if there will be a Pirate and Princess party this coming January or February when we are there. We have seen some pictures and web video on it and it looks like a blast. I especially like how they have sold it this year, as only being offered at specific times, so you keep coming back at different seasons to experience all sides of Disney.

To Shelly, Thank you so much for keeping us all motivated and keeping a running total on who is all coming and when.

To Laumau and your dinner reservations on the 5 of January. If you are wanting to see the characters, then I would book elsewhere and maybe a breakfast, or at another park-Epcot (if you have a park hoper-Garden Grill is excellent in my opinion), or at 1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian. If it is for the food your are booking, or since you will be at Magic Kingdom and don't wish to go elsewhere, then I suggest keeping it the way you have it.

To sixisenough-you asked about the Fort. If you mean Fort Wilderness, we stayed there with extended family in February 2006. It was kept very clean and well laid out. We were in loop 1400 and very convenient to everything. If possible stay in that loop as it is very close to where the campfire with Chip and Dale and movie night is and Meadow Trading Post. In my opinion that was the better of the two there at that time. We also could walk up to the boat launch for Magic Kingdom, we loved that option.

You also mentioned bad bus service at the Pop. May I please inquire what your problems were. In the many guide books and on various sites, it should have been the best of all values for the buses as they don't share. That is one of the major reasons we were considering it. We have heard from friends who have been at All Stars and the above, there is much wait time to go to the other resorts to load up and drop off. I am not saying that is always the case, but just from what I have read and heard. I am curious at your reasons, if you don't mind sharing as I have time to change.

Thanks Remmy

[drakes]

We are going Jan 16 to the 26th 2009!!!
Me,DH, DD and DM/Dnana will be going and we have reserved ASMo again! We really enjoyed it here in Jan 2007!
We have our flight booked and we get in early on the 16th! WooHoo - we can hit a park!
We have our plan, which seems to change when we hear rumours!

We would like to do the DlxDP as there are so many TS restaurants we want to try, when we did the basic DDP we did find we were paying OOP, which I want to avoid. I also found our TS ADR allowed us to the table quickly and we got pout in good time, just as quick as a CS. With a bonus of better food and down time to enjoy what we have just experienced.(maybe I am just trying to convince myself, DH and DM are convinced)

We booked the time as it is the same (only extended) stay of our 2007 trip. MLK was fine, no true difference in crowd levels. There was a Cheerleader competition there that weekend as well at the ASSp. We only saw these girls at the airport! We did find the food court at the all stars busy this time of year with tour groups during breakfast hours (never ate lunch or dinner there). So we are hoping to use our DlxDP to move out of the food court breakfast.

So I look forward to other plans and ideas!

[Laumau]

To Laumau and your dinner reservations on the 5 of January. If you are wanting to see the characters, then I would book elsewhere and maybe a breakfast, or at another park-Epcot (if you have a park hoper-Garden Grill is excellent in my opinion), or at 1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian. If it is for the food your are booking, or since you will be at Magic Kingdom and don't wish to go elsewhere, then I suggest keeping it the way you have it.




Thanks for the advice! It's funny because when I originally thought to book LTT I was doing so on the advice of my neighbor and didn't even know it was a character dinner then was excited when I found out it was, then disappointed when I found out it wasn't. :rotfl:

1900 Park Fare is a good idea- I'll think about that since it's close to MK and our resort, WL. We will be the MK that day, so might just keep LTT anyways. It sounds like kind of a neat restaurant, and we'll be having other character meals. The last day of characters there is actually Jan. 4- don't know if I feel like switching days- really wanted to be in MK on the presumably less busy day of Jan. 5.

[sixisenough]

To Shelly, Thank you so much for keeping us all motivated and keeping a running total on who is all coming and when.
:) I agree Thank you Shelly for having so much fun with this, it is nice to have others to share our planning and excitement with.


To sixisenough-you asked about the Fort. If you mean Fort Wilderness, we stayed there with extended family in February 2006. It was kept very clean and well laid out. We were in loop 1400 and very convenient to everything. If possible stay in that loop as it is very close to where the campfire with Chip and Dale and movie night is and Meadow Trading Post. In my opinion that was the better of the two there at that time. We also could walk up to the boat launch for Magic Kingdom, we loved that option.

Thank you Remmy, We have rented a golf cart for our trip also, so that will make getting around easier. Do you know did they have any crafts/activities for the kids? How spacious were the cabins??

You also mentioned bad bus service at the Pop. May I please inquire what your problems were. In the many guide books and on various sites, it should have been the best of all values for the buses as they don't share. That is one of the major reasons we were considering it. We have heard from friends who have been at All Stars and the above, there is much wait time to go to the other resorts to load up and drop off. I am not saying that is always the case, but just from what I have read and heard. I am curious at your reasons, if you don't mind sharing as I have time to change.

I think the POP has gotten so popular and I saw that it is the 10th biggest hotel in world. We went the first week in Feb last year, and we had very bad waits for the buses, especially at MK. We stayed til after fireworks, and waited over an hour in line with 2 kids asleep. Feel free to PM me if you need more details. The all stars did not have the lines the POP did, and it is the furthest to walk to.

Last year at that time also, there were cheer groups, along with huge tour groups from Europe. They did lots of chanting in the parks. I think anymore there are so many groups throughout the year that travel to Disney.

I am so bummed about this ADR situation, my call in date was supposed to be July 21st. Have any of you done CRT and do you recommend, I may still try to reserve that and Chef Mickeys?:yay:

Also, can anyone tell me how to post pictures on the DIS? Thanks!

[sixisenough]

Sorry I tried to post reply using the quotes and I don't think I did right.

[kiteri]

I am SO bummed about the ADR thing!

I am ready for the park hours to start my OCD planning too!!!

Can I take a tantrum?

[hrsmom]

We'll be there January 17-24!:thumbsup2 We're staying at BWV. This will be our first time staying there!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good morning Snowbirds! :cool1:

You are all very welcome for this thread! :goodvibes I am glad to do it, I mean it, Disney has taken over my life! :rotfl:

As for the bus service at POP and the All Stars, I'm sure it's hit or miss at both, as it is at many of the resorts. All we can do is hope for the best!! :wizard: I know in May we were at AK and wanted to go to ASMo to check it out so we went to the bus stop and a bus pulled right up. The bus was probably 3/4 full and that was for all 3 All Stars. From there we took a bus to DHS, after about a 5 minute wait. It was about half full and it had already stopped at the other 2 All Stars. Not bad, especially in May! I've never had any experience with the POP buses. And we have had good and bad with all the Moderates.

Six - We've never been to CRT. Chef Mickey's is awesome! To post a picture you need to upload your photo's to a photo site, I use Photobucket. Then copy and paste the link to the pic to your post here. Let me know if you need any help!

Speaking of pictures. . . If anyone want to see a picture of anything at WDW let me know and I probably have it! :rotfl: Remember the 600+ pics I took in May?

Laumau - Your plans look great! Mama Melrose food is great, just make sure that you leave at least 2 hours open to go there, the service is VERY slow.

:welcome: to our new Snowbirds! That list is sure growing!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Can I take a tantrum?


::yes::

[Momof2Disneyboys]

We are going Jan 16 to the 26th 2009!!!
Me,DH, DD and DM/Dnana will be going and we have reserved ASMo again! We really enjoyed it here in Jan 2007!



Looks like we will be at ASMovies at the same time!! :yay: My dates are Jan 21-27!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi
We are coming back to the greatest place on earth January 16-25! I am trying to determine the hotel soon! We are thinking Pop or maybe try a moderate and go with POR ??? We usually stay at the All Stars. I know last January I received an email for AP rates at $49 for the values. That is hard to pass up!!
Just finishing up our dining schedule, it would be easier if the January park hours were out!!

WOW $49 at a Value is an awesome deal!! I'm hoping to come across a great deal like that this year, we are planning on getting 2 rooms at a Value instead of 1 room at a Moderate like we normally do.

[GPA1015]

We are going too- 4th year in a row- and this time I will not be pregnant!!! We are going Jan 18-30. I think staying at POP even though with five of us (one in a crib) it is getting a tad small. Love the value and POP but we may have outgrown the room :sad2: Any suggestions??

Here is hoping for some good deals!

Stacy

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Laumau ~ Jan 1-7 WL
4girls2sets ~ Jan 2-9 SOG
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Aussieangel ~ Jan 8-20 WL
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Mommy2emmamaddie ~ Jan 16-25 ???
Drakes ~ Jan 16-26 ASMo
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Hrsmom ~ Jan 17-24 BWV
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
GPA1015 ~ Jan 18-30 POP
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Jnykly ~ Jan 24-30 ???
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???
Lovemy2boys ~ Jan ??? AKL

[AussieAngel]

Yahoooooo!!! :banana:

(Just found this thread... sorry I'm a bit late to the party!)

DH and I are going in January too! We're staying at Wilderness Lodge from January 8th til the 20th. So excited!! :yay:

Waiting and waiting for these hours to appear... :confused3

We can make our ADR's this Saturday, except I'm all confused if I'll just be able to make half of them or all of them!? I've had them all planned out for months (even though I'm guessing the park hours), and I'm so ready to book 'em in!! We shall wait and see what happens, I guess...

Anyway, just thought I'd pop in and say hi to some other January goers! :wave:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

We are going too- 4th year in a row- and this time I will not be pregnant!!! We are going Jan 18-30. I think staying at POP even though with five of us (one in a crib) it is getting a tad small. Love the value and POP but we may have outgrown the room :sad2: Any suggestions??

Here is hoping for some good deals!

Stacy


Hi Stacy! :goodvibes Welcome!

My family is getting crowded in a Moderate room. So we are trying 2 connecting rooms at a Value this time. 4 beds, 2 baths, 2 tv's. Hopefully it works out good for us. Maybe you could try that. I'm hoping for some great deals! Also, if you go with a Moderate, CBR's rooms are slightly larger than the other Moderates.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Yahoooooo!!! :banana:

(Just found this thread... sorry I'm a bit late to the party!)

DH and I are going in January too! We're staying at Wilderness Lodge from January 8th til the 20th. So excited!! :yay:

Waiting and waiting for these hours to appear... :confused3

We can make our ADR's this Saturday, except I'm all confused if I'll just be able to make half of them or all of them!? I've had them all planned out for months (even though I'm guessing the park hours), and I'm so ready to book 'em in!! We shall wait and see what happens, I guess...

Anyway, just thought I'd pop in and say hi to some other January goers! :wave:


Hello and Welcome!! :goodvibes

The party's just getting started!! :cool1:

Let us know if you are able to make all of your ADR's! That is confusing when your dates fall right when they are changing everything. Good luck!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Just read on another thread that someone called WDW yesterday and was told that the 2009 rates & packages wouldn't be out until the END of August. :mad:

Last year they came out the first week of August.

[trixiequilts]

Just read on another thread that someone called WDW yesterday and was told that the 2009 rates & packages wouldn't be out until the END of August. :mad:

Last year they came out the first week of August.

:sad1: :confused: :sad1: :confused: :sad1: :confused: :sad1:

[snykymom]

OK, add me to the list! Staying at CSR from Jan. 4 - 11.:yay: First time at a moderate; previous stays were at ASMo and POP. Sorry I can't say much about the busses; we've always had a car. Except to MK - I hate their parking lot, unless they've changed it. The only problem we had with POP is that its bus stop was always the furthest away from the gate! We'll see where CSR's busses fall, since we're not renting a car this time.

Just made some ADRs yesterday and today - they're still doing 180 days out. I've got Jiko's, Boma (we'll probably cancel one, but don't know which), Le Cellier, Chefs de France, and for the first time, we're doing Victoria & Albert's. No kids with us - d's coming, but she's an adult now. :scared1:

We'll figure out if a DDR is worth it, and see what to do about a package. Decisions, decisions!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

:sad1: :confused: :sad1: :confused: :sad1: :confused: :sad1:


:lmao:

I have to laugh, or else I'll cry! :sad:

[billysmommy]

We're going Jan 24th-31st and staying at BWV.

we're so excited and I have our tentative schedules but am really waiting for the hours and EMH to come out so we can decide which day for which.

Our boys are super early risers (6:00am is late for us :eek: ) so we're planning on hitting the am EMH at the parks, stay until 1:00 or so, back to the hotel for a nap/rest and then back to the parks and maybe hit some pm EMH ~ we'll see.

[Laumau]

Yahoooooo!!! :banana:

(Just found this thread... sorry I'm a bit late to the party!)

DH and I are going in January too! We're staying at Wilderness Lodge from January 8th til the 20th. So excited!! :yay:

Waiting and waiting for these hours to appear... :confused3

We can make our ADR's this Saturday, except I'm all confused if I'll just be able to make half of them or all of them!? I've had them all planned out for months (even though I'm guessing the park hours), and I'm so ready to book 'em in!! We shall wait and see what happens, I guess...

Anyway, just thought I'd pop in and say hi to some other January goers! :wave:

You'll be coming to WL just as we're departing. We got our ADR's in just under the wire. I'm glad too because this is my (our ;) ) first time to Disney so I'm glad to have at least that part taken care of. Still waiting for hours here too. Welcome to the Snowbirds! :woohoo:

[Laumau]

we've always had a car. Except to MK - I hate their parking lot, unless they've changed it.

I'm glad we're driving but the MK parking lot does sound relatively inconvenient. Fortunately we're staying at WL and so can take a boat and skip the lot. I didn't even realize that when we booked it- just first timer's dumb luck! :thumbsup2

[Laumau]

Just read on another thread that someone called WDW yesterday and was told that the 2009 rates & packages wouldn't be out until the END of August. :mad:

Last year they came out the first week of August.


Rats! :mad:

[ginaluvsdisney]

We are going for the first time in Jan. most likely the 10th-18th. Is this a good week do you think for those Jan vets out there? We think we might stay at POFQ and try the DDP for the first time. We will have our brand new baby with us, our son:cloud9: is due in mid Nov. so we are very excited! I have been to WDW every year for the past 19 years sometimes twice and it is definately better when you have your own kids!:grouphug:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Laumau ~ Jan 1-7 WL
4girls2sets ~ Jan 2-9 SOG
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Snykymom ~ Jan 4-11 CSR
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Aussieangel ~ Jan 8-20 WL
Ginaluvsdisney ~ Jan 10-18 POFQ
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Mommy2emmamaddie ~ Jan 16-25 ???
Drakes ~ Jan 16-26 ASMo
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Hrsmom ~ Jan 17-24 BWV
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
GPA1015 ~ Jan 18-30 POP
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Jnykly ~ Jan 24-30 ???
Billysmommy ~ Jan 24-31 BWV
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???
Lovemy2boys ~ Jan ??? AKL

[AussieAngel]

Hmm, just reading through this thread... We were planning on going to both water parks during our trip. Now I feel a bit silly!! :rolleyes: I knew it wouldn't be boiling hot, but I thought it would still be warm enough to wear shorts and go swimming!

So... maybe not then!? :confused3

Nobody can predict the weather 6 months in advance, so we'll just have to wait and see, I guess!

We'll be coming from Australia, where it will be summer in January, so I'm sure we'll feel the cold in Orlando! Hehee. Maybe we could plan another day at Universal, since we were going to squeeze both parks into one day...

Food for thought!! popcorn::

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Welcome Snykymom, Billysmom, and Ginaluvsdisney!!

Snykymom - Looks like some great dining you have picked out! The only one I've been to on your list is LeCellier, it was great!

Billysmom - Looks like a good plan you've got for conquering the parks! I have to drag my boys out of bed at 7am! :rotfl:

Gina - Congrats on your new addition! I'm sure it will be a magical trip for all of you!

[kiteri]

Just read on another thread that someone called WDW yesterday and was told that the 2009 rates & packages wouldn't be out until the END of August. :mad:

Last year they came out the first week of August.

Okay.... where is the tantrum smiley?????

:headache: :mad: :sad1: :sad: :furious: :(

This inconvenience of waiting so much longer than I planned might be paying it forward and we will have BEAUTIFUL weather in January instead of...:cold:

Let's hope!

[sixisenough]

Hmm, just reading through this thread... We were planning on going to both water parks during our trip. Now I feel a bit silly!! :rolleyes: I knew it wouldn't be boiling hot, but I thought it would still be warm enough to wear shorts and go swimming!

So... maybe not then!? :confused3

Nobody can predict the weather 6 months in advance, so we'll just have to wait and see, I guess!



Last year, you could have went, there were people going, but usually only 1 park is open at that time and opening hours are limited. Where are you staying? The pools are heated and my kids loved swimming there after the parks. For me, it's a little too chilly, but I am also a baby when it comes to being cold in the water. Good luck with your plans:goodvibes

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hmm, just reading through this thread... We were planning on going to both water parks during our trip. Now I feel a bit silly!! :rolleyes: I knew it wouldn't be boiling hot, but I thought it would still be warm enough to wear shorts and go swimming!

So... maybe not then!? :confused3

Nobody can predict the weather 6 months in advance, so we'll just have to wait and see, I guess!

We'll be coming from Australia, where it will be summer in January, so I'm sure we'll feel the cold in Orlando! Hehee. Maybe we could plan another day at Universal, since we were going to squeeze both parks into one day...

Food for thought!! popcorn::

Yes, only one water park will be open. We've never been to either, even with free water parks & more passes the last 2 May's. :confused3 There just doesn't seem to ever be enough time! I've never been to Florida in January either, so I don't know what we'll get for weather. Sounds like it's hit or miss. I hope you will be able to enjoy a day in the water!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay.... where is the tantrum smiley?????

:headache: :mad: :sad1: :sad: :furious: :(

This inconvenience of waiting so much longer than I planned might be paying it forward and we will have BEAUTIFUL weather in January instead of...:cold:

Let's hope!


HAHA :lmao:

Yes, I think this one is tantrum --> :furious:
Or maybe this is what we look like when we log on and see park hours "unavailable" --> :badpc:

I sure hope you're right about the paying it forward thing!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Here are some pictures to brighten everyone's day! :goodvibes


http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3703.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3749.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3751.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s95/Momof2Disneyboys/100_3718.jpg

[trixiequilts]

Maybe this needs to be our new sign: :furious: or :crazy: because most of us are seeming a might bit frustrated!:rotfl:

[trixiequilts]

Thanks for the photos...all the waiting will be worth it in the end!!!

[SplashMtnCrew]

I cannot believe how fast this thread is growing....9 pages already?:cool1:
I told DH that it appears as if we won't be able to book our ADR's until Oct and he was glad, he said that means he won't have to think about it :lmao: The DH hates the planning part and leaves most of it up to me, that way I guess if everyone has a horrible time they can all blame me :rotfl2:

Okay so here's a question about the 90 day ADR thing.....if you are staying cl the IPO will be booking all of your ADR's for you, so..........what do you think the chances are that IPO will still book ADR's at 180 days or before for people staying cl?

I'm hoping this may be our way around the 90 day thing that may happen :yay: I have no idea if it will work though, I'll keep my fingers crossed!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

:lmao: I know, I don't want us to turn into this ~ January Snowbirds :furious: ! That's why I posted some "Happy Pics" to make everybody cheer up, including myself! :rotfl:

I want us to stay cool --> :cool1:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

That's a good question SplashMtn, maybe you'll luck out and get your ADR's soon! :wizard:

I know, my DH leaves ALL of the planning up to me. That's really the way I prefer it though! :rotfl: I might be just a bit controlling or OCD! :confused3

Yep, this thread is growing quick! I didn't expect this many responses for January! But I'm glad I did, we will have so much fun helping each other pass the time for the next 6 months!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay, why doesn't my ticker show half the time??? :mad: It's really making me mad. This is the first one I've had from magicalkingdoms and I'm about to change back to the tickerfactory!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

:woohoo: We've hit 10 pages already!! :woohoo:

[miabellarose]

Are the EMH worth it in January? Or is it too crowded still? I've read that the evening EMH are still too busy, but wasn't sure if that still applied to January crowds. Also, in January, I understand the morning EMH is an hour earlier, but is the evening EMH still three hours later or just an hour after closing?

[trixiequilts]

Are the EMH worth it in January? Or is it too crowded still? I've read that the evening EMH are still too busy, but wasn't sure if that still applied to January crowds. Also, in January, I understand the morning EMH is an hour earlier, but is the evening EMH still three hours later or just an hour after closing?

Great questions, I'd been wondering about that as well!

[snykymom]

About the water parks -
Last time, we went in August and it was HOT. We did the Water Parks & More option, and even then didn't really have time for it. Unless you're going to go at least twice, it's cheaper just to pay the daily rate at the water park.

[drakes]

We used EMH for the pm in Epcot one evening. They handed out the wristbands after Illuminations. It was cold that late so we did leave. It was busy, but then again Illuminations just ended !

That's my only experience :goodvibes

[kaos928]

Just read on another thread that someone called WDW yesterday and was told that the 2009 rates & packages wouldn't be out until the END of August. :mad:

Last year they came out the first week of August.

That's what I was told by a CM via online chat a few weeks ago.

So I finally finished planning our schedule today! Here's what it looks like:
Tue- Arrive 3pm, Check-in @ POP, pick up tickets, Trail's End Buffeteria for dinner and maybe catch fireworks from the beach.
Wed- Magic Kingdom Day!! Dinner at Big River Grille & Brewing Works at the BoardWalk... anyone been?
Thurs- DHS in the AM, lunch at Sci-Fi, EPCOT Future World in the afternoon
Fri- Animal Kingdom in the morning, lunch at Tusker House. Back to Magic Kingdom for the evening
Sat- Move to POR, Park to be determined, dinner at Boatwrights
Sun- late start EPCOT World Showcase (Drink Around the World!!), dinner at LeCellier

I haven't been to Big River, Tusker House?, Boatwright OR LeCellier!! My family usually ate CS besides Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's since we don't have kids we won't be doing character dining.

Since this is my first trip as a grown up :scared1: I'm hoping I can count on some of the Snowbird veterans for some help :goodvibes I guess since we'll be there before the 15th we can make our ADRs 180 days out. So how does that work? I mean is it 180 days prior to arrival or from the date of the ADR? And what are the cancellation policies like? (Since there are no park hours or EMHs to help with my scheduling!)

Thanks everyone!

[ppan77]

Any idea on how crowded WDW is over MLK weekend? That might be when we go...anyone been in the past?

[Laumau]

That's a good question SplashMtn, maybe you'll luck out and get your ADR's soon! :wizard:

I know, my DH leaves ALL of the planning up to me. That's really the way I prefer it though! :rotfl: I might be just a bit controlling or OCD! :confused3

Yep, this thread is growing quick! I didn't expect this many responses for January! But I'm glad I did, we will have so much fun helping each other pass the time for the next 6 months!

I don't know if I want my DH to help plan or not- I keep going back and forth. Sometimes it's just easier if one person makes the decisions, especially since we really don't know what to expect at all!

Are your little cuties wearing lanyards in your avatar? Do they enjoy trading pins? I ordered lanyards from Disney shopping- one for me, and two for my older girls. They were half price- under five dollars each and came with two pins. I think the pin trading might be fun! I think/hope the lanyards are a convenient way to carry the tickets.

[Remmy]

We received very bad news yesterday. Our Grand Gathering has gone down to just our family. Too many of them just can't go due to financial reasons or others only want to go if it is the larger family going. They now want to go another time. Since they were sketchy on when they wanted to go, I then stated we are still going in January. As well, our daughter would be turning the magical age of 10 by the time they may wish to visit. I am now suggesting September (free dining hopefully) and a hopefully my family could use a possible bounce back offer since we went in January.

I emailed them all and put a positive spin on them not going and we will be the guinea pigs. This will be our first trip without trailers and not at Fort Wilderness, so all will be new for us.

My positive spin is that it I am a compulsive planner and they are more whimsical . Now I can plan the details out of our trip (just tweak the plan I already have done) and not feel like I may offend anyone. We need to do a few changes as some places we were eating there due to all of them wanting to eat there, but all is well after the initial shock.

I too am interested to know about the EMH and the after hours. I remember when we went in Feb 2006 that Magic Kingdom was open until 11pm but I believe that was right around President's Day.

[SplashMtnCrew]

Any idea on how crowded WDW is over MLK weekend? That might be when we go...anyone been in the past?

We arrived the day before MLK this year, and went to MK on MLK day and it really wasn't crowded and the P&PP was that night as well. By the end of the week as the weekend approached we noticed more people but nothing we would consider crowded. There were a lot of people visiting WDW from Brazil that week as well. We've done WDW in August before and we would choose January w/ cooler days and way less crowds hands down.

That is when we are going this time as well Jan 18-24. We were going to go the last week of Jan 2009 but with the superbowl and cheerleading we opted not to.

[SplashMtnCrew]

Well, I just called Disney and asked about a PIN code and nothing :sad1:
I've never called about a PIN before and wanted to at least try before I call the TA at AAA today and book the room. I'll still be happy with the AAA discount though :thumbsup2 I just hate having to book a room at peak season prices for one night, pay that deposit and then wait till next year's value season prices come out and change it all to a pkg., apply the AAA discount and then have the actual price and then subtract the overpriced deposit I paid, etc, etc. etc. :headache:

[trixiequilts]

Well, I just called Disney and asked about a PIN code and nothing :sad1:
I've never called about a PIN before and wanted to at least try before I call the TA at AAA today and book the room. I'll still be happy with the AAA discount though :thumbsup2 I just hate having to book a room at peak season prices for one night, pay that deposit and then wait till next year's value season prices come out and change it all to a pkg., apply the AAA discount and then have the actual price and then subtract the overpriced deposit I paid, etc, etc. etc. :headache:

Sometimes I think Disney just likes making us jump through hoops so that we feel more committed to our plans!:laughing:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good morning Snowbirds! :goodvibes

[AussieAngel]

Good morning!!! :yay:

Actually, it's 11.44pm here in Australia, but I guess that's close enough to the morning!

Still no hours... :sad2:

But on the bright side... we're all going to Disney World in January!!! :banana:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Are your little cuties wearing lanyards in your avatar? Do they enjoy trading pins? I ordered lanyards from Disney shopping- one for me, and two for my older girls. They were half price- under five dollars each and came with two pins. I think the pin trading might be fun! I think/hope the lanyards are a convenient way to carry the tickets.

Yep! They decided they wanted to do the pin thing on this last trip. So I got the lanyards and a few pins each before we left. They had so much fun trading with the cast members! :goodvibes

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good morning!!! :yay:

Actually, it's 11.44pm here in Australia, but I guess that's close enough to the morning!

Still no hours... :sad2:

But on the bright side... we're all going to Disney World in January!!! :banana:


Good morning Aussie! Or should I say goodnight??? :lmao:

Yep, only 6 months to go until we are all in the Happiest Place on Earth!!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

About the water parks -
Last time, we went in August and it was HOT. We did the Water Parks & More option, and even then didn't really have time for it. Unless you're going to go at least twice, it's cheaper just to pay the daily rate at the water park.

Yeah, we only get the Park Hoppers and Water Park tickets if they come free with the pacakge now. We paid for all that stuff on the fist trip and never used it.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Are the EMH worth it in January? Or is it too crowded still? I've read that the evening EMH are still too busy, but wasn't sure if that still applied to January crowds. Also, in January, I understand the morning EMH is an hour earlier, but is the evening EMH still three hours later or just an hour after closing?


That's a good question. On our first trip we took advantage of a lot of EMH's and it was so crowded that we've never done it again. We avoid whichever park has them now. But I'm not sure how that plays out in January. I think whatever park has them will still be the busiest park that day, I just don't know how busy. :confused3

[EVE700]

I love going in January. I have a January trip planned for 2009. And I'm a big fan of EMH, especially mornings. The thing about the mornings is that you have to get there early enough to be in front at rope drop. Do all the attractions you want, then as soon as the park officially opens, head to another park!

[lukenick1]

Considering a trip in early January, so just subscribing!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I love going in January. I have a January trip planned for 2009. And I'm a big fan of EMH, especially mornings. The thing about the mornings is that you have to get there early enough to be in front at rope drop. Do all the attractions you want, then as soon as the park officially opens, head to another park!

Welcome EVE! :goodvibes That's a great idea to go to the EMH park and then leave and go to another park! Unfortunately I know my family doesn't have that kind of energy when we are on vacation!! :rotfl:

What are your January dates?

[Laumau]

I love going in January. I have a January trip planned for 2009. And I'm a big fan of EMH, especially mornings. The thing about the mornings is that you have to get there early enough to be in front at rope drop. Do all the attractions you want, then as soon as the park officially opens, head to another park!

Considering a trip in early January, so just subscribing!

Welcome!! :cool1: :cheer2: :woohoo:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Considering a trip in early January, so just subscribing!


:welcome: Let us know when you decide! We'll be here if you want to chat!

[SplashMtnCrew]

:woohoo: :banana: :cool1: :cheer2: :cool1: :banana: :woohoo:

I just booked and paid the deposit on our WL club level stay Jan18-24:love:
That means it's official!

I just had to share that with my Snowbird friends :grouphug:

Now what about those ADR's at 90 days instead of 180? :confused:

And:welcome: to all the new January Snowbirds :wave2:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Congrats on booking SplashMtn! :woohoo: :yay: :banana: :cool1: :goodvibes


Did you happen to ask about the ADR thing when you were talking to them???

[EVE700]

Thank you for the welcomes! :wave2:

I'm going the week of January 12. Leaving before MLK weekend. I'm hoping for cool weather and minimal crowds.

Somehow I wind up with super-human energy when I'm at WDW. I constantly park-hop, often visiting several parks in one day. I'm crazy, I know. LOL :banana:

[meggybear17]

Hello all! DH and I are booked for Orlando from Jan 25th to Feb 3rd. The first 2 nights will be at Universal Studios (the horror!) and for now we are booked at POP. If a great deal comes out we would like to try for CS or AKL.

We've never been before in January either! We won't be getting the water parks and more option (especially since pleasure island will be non existant) but would like park hoppers.

We want the deluxe dining plan (if offered) and since this trip is a reschedule (we were supposed to go in Sept) I already know where we want to eat!

1. mama melrose lunch
2. CA Grill dinner
3. Liberty Tree lunch
4. Jikos dinner
5. Tutto Italia Lunch
6. Hoope De Doo Review dinner
7. Yak/Yeti lunch
8. raglan rd dinner
9. brown derby lunch
10. la cellier dinner
11. o'hana breakfast
12. narcoosees dinner
13. chefs de france lunch
14. artist point dinner

[sixisenough]

That's a good question. On our first trip we took advantage of a lot of EMH's and it was so crowded that we've never done it again. We avoid whichever park has them now. But I'm not sure how that plays out in January. I think whatever park has them will still be the busiest park that day, I just don't know how busy. :confused3


Good morning Snowbirds!!! Our first night last year, we had to alter our plans due to our plane being delayed from icy Illinois, so we ended up going to MK late for evening EMH's that were starting at 7pm. We got bracelets and ended up surpirsingly having a great night (open till 11pm that night). We grabbed some counter service at Cosmic Rays (dining plan), which was good amount of food, and our first stop was to Dumbo , and amazingly we waited 20 min, so we got that out of the way first thing:goodvibes It was my MIL's first trip, so we headed to Small World, since that seems to be the icon of MK. They have updated, but you have had enough of the song by the time you get out. We rode a few more rides and then watched the amazing fireworks:wizard: My girls were going crazy over Tinkerbell!! And we were all wearing T-shirts still, such a great change from winter in Illinois. We then headed to bus stop to Pop. It was the only downfall of night, it is the farthest stop, and we had a 18 month old and 3 year old to carry:headache: , and we waited nearly an hour. Our plan was to use strollers in park and avoid lugging our stroller on and off the busses, but that really wore my husband and I out. Needless to say we all slept very well that night and could not wait for our next magical day:yay:

We used EMH at AK (my fav park:lovestruc ) one morning, and waited for opening at Epcot one morning which was cool and took advantage of evening hours at Epcot. The kids got to ride Test Track 3 X's!! Be prepared to go and get your fast pass for Soarin right away, by afternoon they are sold out even in slow months due to popularity. We only got to ride once, but I can't wait to go back. It is incredible!!

Sorry, I wrote so much, it got me excited again reliving the memories!!!:wizard:

Can anyone tell me how to post a picture? I would love to show you some pictures from last winter. It seems difficult to do.

Time to go work, Have a great day snowbirds

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks for sharing your story Six! :goodvibes

I agree about Soarin! That has to be the most awesome ride ever!! We always head straight there when we open Epcot! Then run the whole way across Future World to Test Track! :car:

To post pictures you need to open an account on a photo website ( I use photobucket - it's free!) and then upload your pics to there. Then you can copy and paste the link for the picture you want to post to your post here. Can't wait to see your pics!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hello all! DH and I are booked for Orlando from Jan 25th to Feb 3rd. The first 2 nights will be at Universal Studios (the horror!) and for now we are booked at POP. If a great deal comes out we would like to try for CS or AKL.

We've never been before in January either! We won't be getting the water parks and more option (especially since pleasure island will be non existant) but would like park hoppers.

We want the deluxe dining plan (if offered) and since this trip is a reschedule (we were supposed to go in Sept) I already know where we want to eat!

1. mama melrose lunch
2. CA Grill dinner
3. Liberty Tree lunch
4. Jikos dinner
5. Tutto Italia Lunch
6. Hoope De Doo Review dinner
7. Yak/Yeti lunch
8. raglan rd dinner
9. brown derby lunch
10. la cellier dinner
11. o'hana breakfast
12. narcoosees dinner
13. chefs de france lunch
14. artist point dinner

Welcome Meggybear17!! :goodvibes WOW that's a lot of great restaurants on your list! Out of those we have only been to Mama Melrose, LeCellier, and Ohana. They were all very good. We are planning to do Mama's and LeCellier again in January!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Laumau ~ Jan 1-7 WL
4girls2sets ~ Jan 2-9 SOG
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Snykymom ~ Jan 4-11 CSR
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Aussieangel ~ Jan 8-20 WL
Ginaluvsdisney ~ Jan 10-18 POFQ
Eve700 ~ Jan 12-???
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Mommy2emmamaddie ~ Jan 16-25 ???
Drakes ~ Jan 16-26 ASMo
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Hrsmom ~ Jan 17-24 BWV
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
GPA1015 ~ Jan 18-30 POP
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Petuniamilz ~ Jan 23-30 Offsite
Jnykly ~ Jan 24-30 ???
Billysmommy ~ Jan 24-31 BWV
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???
Lovemy2boys ~ Jan ??? AKL
Lukenick1 ~ Jan ???
Echo29 ~ Jan ??? CSR

[Momof2Disneyboys]

So I finally finished planning our schedule today! Here's what it looks like:
Tue- Arrive 3pm, Check-in @ POP, pick up tickets, Trail's End Buffeteria for dinner and maybe catch fireworks from the beach.
Wed- Magic Kingdom Day!! Dinner at Big River Grille & Brewing Works at the BoardWalk... anyone been?
Thurs- DHS in the AM, lunch at Sci-Fi, EPCOT Future World in the afternoon
Fri- Animal Kingdom in the morning, lunch at Tusker House. Back to Magic Kingdom for the evening
Sat- Move to POR, Park to be determined, dinner at Boatwrights
Sun- late start EPCOT World Showcase (Drink Around the World!!), dinner at LeCellier

I haven't been to Big River, Tusker House?, Boatwright OR LeCellier!! My family usually ate CS besides Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's since we don't have kids we won't be doing character dining.



Looks like a great trip you have planned!

Nope, haven't been to Big River or Tusker House yet. We are thinking about doing the Donald's breakfast at Tusker in January!

I see you have Sci-Fi scheduled for lunch one day. Have you been there before? We went to lunch there in May and it was great! A very cool place. Make sure you get a milkshake there, they are the best! (and they are included as your drink on the DDP!)

[petuniamilz]

We're going in January too! The 23rd to the 30th, staying off-site.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Welcome Petuniamilz! :goodvibes

We look forward to chatting with you!

[SplashMtnCrew]

Okay, so I just sent an email to the itinerary planning office for WL and I will wait to hear back from them.:rolleyes1

The DH seems to think that IPO will still make ADR's at 180 days for cl guests, I think it's just wishful thinking on his part! BTW what guidebook(s) if any do all of you Snowbirds use? I used the passporter this year, I really liked it, I wonder when the new edition will be out? We are not commandos at WDW anymore. We were the first couple of times, but now we love wandering around, going on our favorite rides and of course, eating :banana: We just take our time, sleep in, and stroll around. What about all of you? Commandos or wanderers?

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Oh, Commandos! :rotfl: The first trip we didn't have much of a plan and we didn't know what to do or where to go. Now we plan out almost everything! But we also plan out time for eating, resting, and sleeping in!

[echo29]

We'll be at out favorite resort in Jan! We love CSR!! Can't wait to return.

[Lilolvr]

We'll be at out favorite resort in Jan! We love CSR!! Can't wait to return.Have a great time!! It's our favorite too! We'll be there in Sept! Can't wait to get back to the Pepper Market for some great meals! I love this place!!

[ginaluvsdisney]

This will be our first time doing the DDP and I know I can't book that until Aug right? But can I book any ADR's before I book a package or do I wait and do it all at once? My 180 days hits very shortly here and I want to get into a couple of places I have never been before, how should I do things? I never plan very much, we are play it by ear kind of people!:confused3

[Momof2Disneyboys]

We'll be at out favorite resort in Jan! We love CSR!! Can't wait to return.

Welcome! :goodvibes What are your dates?

[Momof2Disneyboys]

This will be our first time doing the DDP and I know I can't book that until Aug right? But can I book any ADR's before I book a package or do I wait and do it all at once? My 180 days hits very shortly here and I want to get into a couple of places I have never been before, how should I do things? I never plan very much, we are play it by ear kind of people!:confused3


Normally you can book ADR's 180 days in advance, which for January would be this month. But word is now that anyone travelling Jan 16 or after can only book ADR's 90 days in advance, which would then be October. Looks like your trip falls right in the middle of all that. You might want to call and find out.

You can book your ADR's without a package. You just have to be past the 180 days (or 90 now) for each day you are booking. If you have a package you can call and make all of your ADR's exactly 180 (90) days from the first day of your package. Make sense?

[ginaluvsdisney]

Yep I think I've got it. Thanks!:thumbsup2

[Buzz2001]

We'll be at out favorite resort in Jan! We love CSR!! Can't wait to return.Have a great trip! Check out my CSR website below for pics and updated info.

[Laumau]

Okay, so I just sent an email to the itinerary planning office for WL and I will wait to hear back from them.:rolleyes1

The DH seems to think that IPO will still make ADR's at 180 days for cl guests, I think it's just wishful thinking on his part! BTW what guidebook(s) if any do all of you Snowbirds use? I used the passporter this year, I really liked it, I wonder when the new edition will be out? We are not commandos at WDW anymore. We were the first couple of times, but now we love wandering around, going on our favorite rides and of course, eating :banana: We just take our time, sleep in, and stroll around. What about all of you? Commandos or wanderers?

I've never been to Disney world before, but my neighbor gave me the Unofficial Guide 2007 and that's what we're using. Updates are posted on their website, so even tho the book is outdated it's still sufficient. I think we'll be more commando-like this time because it's our first- we'll see!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

We've never used a guide book. I get most of my info from All Ears and here.

I've heard the Unofficial Guide Book is good and a lot of people like Tour Guide Mike!

[msn4693]

I've never been to Disney world before, but my neighbor gave me the Unofficial Guide 2007 and that's what we're using. Updates are posted on their website, so even tho the book is outdated it's still sufficient. I think we'll be more commando-like this time because it's our first- we'll see!I'm typically not impressed with guide books. Old info for a high price. You best info is here on the DIS. Even allears is behind.

[Lilolvr]

I'm typically not impressed with guide books. Old info for a high price. You best info is here on the DIS. Even allears is behind.I agree. Much better info on these type of Disney sites.

[Buzz2001]

I've never been to Disney world before, but my neighbor gave me the Unofficial Guide 2007 and that's what we're using. Updates are posted on their website, so even tho the book is outdated it's still sufficient. I think we'll be more commando-like this time because it's our first- we'll see!It's better that way when it's your first trip.

[adais]

hi
well i'm doing a trip with my mother from the 13 to the 21 to celebrate her getting early retirement and i pushed my birthday celebration so we could go together. she couldn't makeup her mind so that lead to changing hotels more times than i can think of . so since i'm in charge of planning i went behind her back and got a room in the AKL concierge as a treat for her( i'm in :cloud9: ) got a call last night from ipo but had to play it cool since she was with me . so i have to take care of that tonight doing a little research :surfweb: as to what adr we want. so far i got the air tix for 170 per person including tax :banana: . if there is a way to make time fly by as quickly as possible please let me know.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Welcome Adais! :goodvibes Sounds like a great trip you have planned! That is so great of you to do AKL concierge for your mom!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Laumau ~ Jan 1-7 WL
4girls2sets ~ Jan 2-9 SOG
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Snykymom ~ Jan 4-11 CSR
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Aussieangel ~ Jan 8-20 WL
Rockonthemoon ~ Jan 8-18 ???
Ginaluvsdisney ~ Jan 10-18 POFQ
Eve700 ~ Jan 12-???
Adais ~ Jan 13-21 AKL
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Mommy2emmamaddie ~ Jan 16-25 ???
Drakes ~ Jan 16-26 ASMo
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Hrsmom ~ Jan 17-24 BWV
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
GPA1015 ~ Jan 18-30 POP
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Petuniamilz ~ Jan 23-30 Offsite
Jnykly ~ Jan 24-30 ???
Billysmommy ~ Jan 24-31 BWV
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???
Lovemy2boys ~ Jan ??? AKL
Lukenick1 ~ Jan ???
Echo29 ~ Jan ??? CSR

[rockonthemoon]

My DB and I are going for our second solo trip Jan 8 - 18. We went last year Jan 1-8 07, and had a horrible time finding prices and making dining reservations before hand. This time I know what I'm doing.:cool1:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

My DB and I are going for our second solo trip Jan 8 - 18. We went last year Jan 1-8 07, and had a horrible time finding prices and making dining reservations before hand. This time I know what I'm doing.:cool1:


Hi Rockonthemoon and Welcome!!

Happy planning! Where are you staying?

[ppan77]

Do we have any info if they are going to have P&P Parties again? Which days did they typically fall on?:) We would love to go to one again!!

[SplashMtnCrew]

:rolleyes1

Waiting for Jan park hours, waiting for Disney to tell us all about what's going on with the dp for 2009, waiting for IPO to email back, waiting for DH to get home so I can tell him I booked the trip, waiting for news about P&PP, waiting for 2009 prices, waiting waiting waiting....but I'm still very excited :woohoo: and Shelly's Snowbirds list is growing and growing :cheer2:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Do we have any info if they are going to have P&P Parties again? Which days did they typically fall on?:) We would love to go to one again!!

I don't know about that. I haven't heard anything yet. . . Maybe they will have them in January to try to bring more people in!
:rolleyes1

Waiting for Jan park hours, waiting for Disney to tell us all about what's going on with the dp for 2009, waiting for IPO to email back, waiting for DH to get home so I can tell him I booked the trip, waiting for news about P&PP, waiting for 2009 prices, waiting waiting waiting....but I'm still very excited :woohoo: and Shelly's Snowbirds list is growing and growing :cheer2:

I know. . . :hourglass

Yes, that list keeps growing and growing. . . :scared1: And I thought January was a slow time! :lmao:

[Laumau]

I know. . . :hourglass

Yes, that list keeps growing and growing. . . :scared1: And I thought January was a slow time! :lmao:

Yes, maybe it won't be as crowd-free as we think! :scared1:

[SplashMtnCrew]

:banana: :woohoo: :banana:

Well one part of the waiting is over....I just got an email from the WL itinerary planning office :cool1:

[trixiequilts]

Holy Cow! So many January Snowbirds today! Hi everybody:wave2:.

I'm planning on doing more of a commando style, as it's our first trip and want to fit in as much as possible, at least during the first day in each park. Been using Unofficial Guide and subscribed to touringplans. I've learned so much and anticipate using their plans. I also have the Complete Walt Disney World and have enjoyed that more for background on rides, etc. The only thing :rotfl2: I can't decide is if we should go to the park with EMHs or avoid the park with EMHs.

The 2009 edition of Unofficial Guide is printed in September, I believe. You can already pre-order it on Amazon.

Has anyone confirmed this whole 90 vs 180 day ADR thing with Disney? I've read many different scenerios on the DIS and wonder what is actually true. Maybe I'll give dining a ring...

Be right back!

[trixiequilts]

Hey rockonthemoon, I live on the edge of a mitten, too!

[trixiequilts]

Well, I just called and the CM said I could make my dining ressies on July 25, which is 180 days out! I called back again to see if the next CM would say the same thing, and I got the first CM again!!! What are the chances of that. I'm gonna keep trying a few more times and see what different CMs say.

[trixiequilts]

This time I specifically asked about ADRs going to 90 days and she still said my date would be July 25. I will be really upset if I can't do them then, now that 2 CM have told me that I can!!!

[kaos928]

Looks like a great trip you have planned!

Nope, haven't been to Big River or Tusker House yet. We are thinking about doing the Donald's breakfast at Tusker in January!

I see you have Sci-Fi scheduled for lunch one day. Have you been there before? We went to lunch there in May and it was great! A very cool place. Make sure you get a milkshake there, they are the best! (and they are included as your drink on the DDP!)

I absolutely love Sci-Fi! It was always a staple for my yearly family trips so I wouldn't dream of missing it this time. Great atmosphere great food, just totally awesome :yay: Plus one time my mom and I saw Demi Moore and Bruce Willis there!!! I was obviously pretty young so I hardly remember but she was wearing sunglasses... And you know how dark it is in there! So that was exciting. I'll make sure to get a milkshake this time :)

[kiteri]

Do we have any info if they are going to have P&P Parties again? Which days did they typically fall on?:) We would love to go to one again!!

Well they have done P&P Parties on January 22, 26 and 29 2007 AND on January 21, 26 29 2008.

I am REALLY hoping for a P&P again around the 21st or 22nd of January 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SplashMtnCrew]

Good Morning Snowbirds!

Now we are trying to decide between basic and deluxe dp. DH says dxdp and I say basic b/c of the continental breakfasts, snacks and etc that is served club level, I just think that's enough food. So to appease the DH I put this together for the dxdp, what do you all think?

Artist Point -dinner
Park Fare - dinner
Chef Mickey's -breakfast
Le Cellier -dinner
Hoop-dee-doo
Whispering Canyon -breakfast
Sci-Fi -dinner
California Grill

Then there would be a couple of room serv. and a counter serv. or two thrown in as well. I can only come w/ 17 TS and we each would get 18 :headache:

[SplashMtnCrew]

Okay to be fair, here's one for basic dp:

Park Fare -dinner
Tony's -dinner
Chef Mickey's -breakfast
Le Cellier -dinner
HDDR (oop :confused3 )
Sci-Fi -dinner
Biergarten -dinner

Of course there would be cs as well, but I can only come up w/5 cs uses and that leaves one left over :confused:

[Laumau]

I don't have any advice for you because I've never been but just wanted to say that we're staying at WL too- club level- and I was planning on just doing the basic dp. Any extra meals we'll just pay for out of pocket because my MIL is paying for our trip. Lucky us! :lovestruc I'm happy that we'll get breakfast and snacks at club level. I didn't even know that when we booked it, just got it by default since our largish family requires a deluxe room.

We're planning on going to Artist Point our last night while the kids spend a couple of hours at Cub's Den. I've heard it's good!

[AussieAngel]

We're planning on doing the Deluxe Dining Plan. I know it's heaps of food and I'm sure we won't eat everything on the plates in front of us, but... we want to try as many restaurants as we can! I like the idea of getting an appetizer, entree and dessert. Even if I only eat half of the meal! At least I get a taste of lots of different things!!

DH and I figure... we travel a long, long way to get to Disney World (from Australia!), so why not make the most of it and splurge a bit extra!? :yay:

(That being said, remember dining options haven't been released yet. There may be major or minor changed to the dining plans - who knows!?)

I can book my ADR's tomorrow!!!!! So excited!!! :banana:

[Laumau]

We're planning on doing the Deluxe Dining Plan. I know it's heaps of food and I'm sure we won't eat everything on the plates in front of us, but... we want to try as many restaurants as we can! I like the idea of getting an appetizer, entree and dessert. Even if I only eat half of the meal! At least I get a taste of lots of different things!!

DH and I figure... we travel a long, long way to get to Disney World (from Australia!), so why not make the most of it and splurge a bit extra!? :yay:

(That being said, remember dining options haven't been released yet. There may be major or minor changed to the dining plans - who knows!?)

I can book my ADR's tomorrow!!!!! So excited!!! :banana:

I read your trip report a few weeks ago. You had quite the adventure! :thumbsup2

[AussieAngel]

Oooh! Hehee! Thanks for reading my old trip report! :)

We did have an adventure! Looking forward to our next adventure now! We're heading to New York for New Years Eve, then down to Miami for a few nights, followed by Key West, and then to Disney World. Yahoooo!

[Laumau]

Oooh! Hehee! Thanks for reading my old trip report! :)

We did have an adventure! Looking forward to our next adventure now! We're heading to New York for New Years Eve, then down to Miami for a few nights, followed by Key West, and then to Disney World. Yahoooo!

I remember you loved NYC. I'd love to go there someday- never been!

My DH spent the first few years of his life in Australia and has never been back since- we'd love to go there too.

Too many places, too little time, and far too little $$ of course! ;)

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good afternoon Snowbirds! :goodvibes

Trixie - Great news on the ADR's! Hope it's true! Did they happen to say when they were going to release park hours then?

SplahMtn - Both lists look great! I personally think the basic DDP is too much food! I couldn't imagine how much food you must get with the deluxe! Most places give you very generous servings. And I just pack cereal bars and granola bars and things like that for breakfast so we don't have to waste our credits on breakfast, unless we are doing a character breakfast.

In May on our last day we had 3 CS and 21 snack credits left! We did make sure to use them all (mostly candy and stuff we could bring home) so we got our moneys worth!!!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Anyone been to 1900 Park Fare???

[Momof2Disneyboys]

We did have an adventure! Looking forward to our next adventure now! We're heading to New York for New Years Eve, then down to Miami for a few nights, followed by Key West, and then to Disney World. Yahoooo!


WOW that sounds like an awesome trip! :goodvibes We'd like to go to NYC when they boys get a little older. It's a about a 6 hour drive from here. Never been there.

[trixiequilts]

Anyone been to 1900 Park Fare???

No, but we're thinking of going there the day we arrive for dinner. Thought it would be a fun way to start. I heard the step-sisters are hilarious!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

No, but we're thinking of going there the day we arrive for dinner. Thought it would be a fun way to start. I heard the step-sisters are hilarious!

I heard that too! I thought I might make an ADR there and not tell the boys until we get there, since they are so anti-princess!! :laughing: I think they would get a kick out of the step-sisters!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Laumau ~ Jan 1-7 WL
4girls2sets ~ Jan 2-9 SOG
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Snykymom ~ Jan 4-11 CSR
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Aussieangel ~ Jan 8-20 WL
Rockonthemoon ~ Jan 8-18 ???
Ginaluvsdisney ~ Jan 10-18 POFQ
Lovemy2boys ~ Jan 11-21 AKL
Eve700 ~ Jan 12-???
Adais ~ Jan 13-21 AKL
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Mommy2emmamaddie ~ Jan 16-25 ???
Drakes ~ Jan 16-26 ASMo
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Hrsmom ~ Jan 17-24 BWV
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
GPA1015 ~ Jan 18-30 POP
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Petuniamilz ~ Jan 23-30 Offsite
Jnykly ~ Jan 24-30 ???
Billysmommy ~ Jan 24-31 BWV
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???
Lukenick1 ~ Jan ???
Echo29 ~ Jan ??? CSR
Amreli ~ Jan ??? ASMu

[lovemy2boys]

Thanks for putting together the list! we are Jan 11th - 21st at AKL!

[amreli]

Anyone been to 1900 Park Fare???

I haven't been myself, but my FIL and his fiance went last year for breakfast and loved it. He's not a big disney guy, but even now he talks about how he loved the breakfast (specifically the bacon :laughing:). We have ADR's there for both breakfast (at the FIL and fiance's request) and dinner in January (different days though :) ).

[Remmy]

Has anyone played miniature golf at Fantasia or Winter Summerland? We have a couple of down days built into our vacation and were thinking of going to one of these. Any suggestions on which one?

Thanks Remmy

[KatMark]

Has anyone played miniature golf at Fantasia or Winter Summerland? We have a couple of down days built into our vacation and were thinking of going to one of these. Any suggestions on which one?

Thanks Remmy

We have done both. We prefer Fantasia just because of the landscaping, etc. Winter Summerland on the winter side ends up with Santa Claus at the end and a lot of Christmas themed things along the way. On the Fantasia side there is one hole where something spits at you.

[AussieAngel]

Morning snowbirds!! :yay:

Guess what! I just made my ADRs!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:

Today is 180 days from our trip - and the friendly CM on the phone let me make all my ADRs with the 180 + 10 policy. So obviously the 90 days change hasn't taken effect yet! It's rumoured to not happen until August, so it seems all of us going in January are safe. Phew!! :thumbsup2

I got all my first choice restaurants!! Even the tricky ones, like Cinderella's Royal Table, Le Cellier, California Grill... everything! :woohoo:

The only interesting timing issues happened at the Magic Kingdom restaurants. On January 8th, I wanted to make a reservation at The Plaza for 6pm, but she said the latest time available was 4.50pm. I wonder if that means the park is closing early on that day!? Or I wonder if they just don't know the hours yet?

Similarly, we wanted CRT at around 7pm on 16th January, but the latest she could get us in was 5.40pm. That's the Friday night of the MLK weekend, so maybe CRT was just booked out, or maybe they're closing early!? Who knows... I'm going to wait until park hours are released, and if MK is open late, I'll try to change the reservation to a later time.

Also, I couldn't make a reservation for either Raglan Road or Yak & Yeti, because they don't take part in the 180 + 10 rule. I have to call on exactly 180 days for each of those restaurants.

Anyway, hope that info was helpful!? I'm so excited!! :cheer2:

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I haven't been myself, but my FIL and his fiance went last year for breakfast and loved it. He's not a big disney guy, but even now he talks about how he loved the breakfast (specifically the bacon :laughing:). We have ADR's there for both breakfast (at the FIL and fiance's request) and dinner in January (different days though :) ).

Thanks! :thumbsup2 Good to hear!

Has anyone played miniature golf at Fantasia or Winter Summerland? We have a couple of down days built into our vacation and were thinking of going to one of these. Any suggestions on which one?

Thanks Remmy

Sorry, never been to either. We have passed them on the buses though and they look like a lot of fun!
Morning snowbirds!! :yay:

Guess what! I just made my ADRs!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:

Today is 180 days from our trip - and the friendly CM on the phone let me make all my ADRs with the 180 + 10 policy. So obviously the 90 days change hasn't taken effect yet! It's rumoured to not happen until August, so it seems all of us going in January are safe. Phew!! :thumbsup2

I got all my first choice restaurants!! Even the tricky ones, like Cinderella's Royal Table, Le Cellier, California Grill... everything! :woohoo:

The only interesting timing issues happened at the Magic Kingdom restaurants. On January 8th, I wanted to make a reservation at The Plaza for 6pm, but she said the latest time available was 4.50pm. I wonder if that means the park is closing early on that day!? Or I wonder if they just don't know the hours yet?

Similarly, we wanted CRT at around 7pm on 16th January, but the latest she could get us in was 5.40pm. That's the Friday night of the MLK weekend, so maybe CRT was just booked out, or maybe they're closing early!? Who knows... I'm going to wait until park hours are released, and if MK is open late, I'll try to change the reservation to a later time.

Also, I couldn't make a reservation for either Raglan Road or Yak & Yeti, because they don't take part in the 180 + 10 rule. I have to call on exactly 180 days for each of those restaurants.

Anyway, hope that info was helpful!? I'm so excited!! :cheer2:

That is great!! :goodvibes I'm so happy for you! Hopefully the rest of us will be able to make our ADR's too! :wizard:

Yeah, just keep checking back for the ones you want to change, something might become avaiable, you never know!

I don't think I can do the 180 days + 10 thing since I don't actually have reservation yet. . . I'll just have to call at 180 days and see. . .

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks for putting together the list! we are Jan 11th - 21st at AKL!

No problem, I will add your dates to the list! :cool1:

[peach3es]

Well, looks like I'm 15 pages late for the party! Hope there is still some fun to be had!:rotfl:

We are going January 8-16. We have our ADRs, but chose to wait for the room reservation until the package price comes out. My TA told me we shouldn't have any trouble. Looks like we'll be staying at POP Century.

This is the first time I've been to Disney in 17 years! And that was a high school band trip! Our kids have never been, and we are all super excited!

We live in Jerusalem and work in the West Bank. We left the US 4 years ago and haven't been back. We'll be traveling home for 7 months starting in December. My mom promised my kids a trip to Disney, and they don't have to begin school until 3rd marking period, so we thought January was a good time for us to go.

Honestly, I'm so excited I'm nearly bursting! :banana:

The ADRs we made are:

O'Hana for our first night...sounds like so much fun!
Crystal Palace
1900 Park Fare
Boma
50's Prime Time
Princess dinner in Norway
Liberty Tree Tavern

I'm thrilled to be joining the Snowbirds!!!:lovestruc

~~Carrie

[Momof2Disneyboys]

YAY Welcome to the Snowbirds Peach3es! Yes, there is plenty of fun to come! :cool1:

Sounds like an awesome trip you have planned! And your kids first time, that is the best! :hug:

ADR's look great! :thumbsup2

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Laumau ~ Jan 1-7 WL
4girls2sets ~ Jan 2-9 SOG
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Peanut1 ~ Jan 4-10 AKL
Snykymom ~ Jan 4-11 CSR
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Peach3es ~ Jan 8-16 POP
Aussieangel ~ Jan 8-20 WL
Rockonthemoon ~ Jan 8-18 ???
Ginaluvsdisney ~ Jan 10-18 POFQ
Lovemy2boys ~ Jan 11-21 AKL
Eve700 ~ Jan 12-???
Adais ~ Jan 13-21 AKL
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Mommy2emmamaddie ~ Jan 16-25 ???
Drakes ~ Jan 16-26 ASMo
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Hrsmom ~ Jan 17-24 BWV
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
GPA1015 ~ Jan 18-30 POP
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Petuniamilz ~ Jan 23-30 Offsite
Jnykly ~ Jan 24-30 ???
Billysmommy ~ Jan 24-31 BWV
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???
Lukenick1 ~ Jan ???
Echo29 ~ Jan ??? CSR
Amreli ~ Jan ??? ASMu

[Laumau]

Well, looks like I'm 15 pages late for the party! Hope there is still some fun to be had!:rotfl:

We are going January 8-16. We have our ADRs, but chose to wait for the room reservation until the package price comes out. My TA told me we shouldn't have any trouble. Looks like we'll be staying at POP Century.

This is the first time I've been to Disney in 17 years! And that was a high school band trip! Our kids have never been, and we are all super excited!

We live in Jerusalem and work in the West Bank. We left the US 4 years ago and haven't been back. We'll be traveling home for 7 months starting in December. My mom promised my kids a trip to Disney, and they don't have to begin school until 3rd marking period, so we thought January was a good time for us to go.

Honestly, I'm so excited I'm nearly bursting! :banana:

The ADRs we made are:

O'Hana for our first night...sounds like so much fun!
Crystal Palace
1900 Park Fare
Boma
50's Prime Time
Princess dinner in Norway
Liberty Tree Tavern

I'm thrilled to be joining the Snowbirds!!!:lovestruc

~~Carrie

Hi there! :) Welcome- this is a very friendly bunch! :flower3:

We're leaving the day before you're arriving! It's our first trip to Disney ever. We have a lot of the same ADR's you have- but a few different too. Hopefully this won't be our last WDW vacation so we can try some of the other restaurants next time we go! :thumbsup2

[PEANUT1]

We are heading to the world in January too!! We are going Jan 4-10 and staying at Animal Kingdom Villas in a 1 BR.

We have been once in January and it was COLD (30's at night). I am hoping it is in the 50-60's range.

We are doing a laid back trip with only a couple of plans. We made ressies for CP for breakfast at 8am before the park opens and Jiko for an adult only dinner. The big thing we are deciding on is how to get there. My husband really wants to try the AutoTrain. I am not sure about it. Anyone else ever do it?

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Welcome Peanut1! :goodvibes

Boy I hope it is warmer than the 30's at night in January too! :wizard:

Nope, never taken the AutoTrain. Always been curious about traveling by train though. Let us know what you decide!

[emh1129]

Yep! They decided they wanted to do the pin thing on this last trip. So I got the lanyards and a few pins each before we left. They had so much fun trading with the cast members! :goodvibes

How many pins did you get them to start with? I think my two older ones might enjoy starting this. With my daughter especially, though, I think I should start with pins she's not thrilled with (not her favorite characters, for example) so she doesn't have a hard time with the 'trading' concept :laughing:
Where did you buy yours?

[emh1129]

Well they have done P&P Parties on January 22, 26 and 29 2007 AND on January 21, 26 29 2008.

I am REALLY hoping for a P&P again around the 21st or 22nd of January 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ohh.. I was hoping they might have on a bit earlier. We have to leave on the 16th, so DH can be home to work the holiday weekend. Darn.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

How many pins did you get them to start with? I think my two older ones might enjoy starting this. With my daughter especially, though, I think I should start with pins she's not thrilled with (not her favorite characters, for example) so she doesn't have a hard time with the 'trading' concept :laughing:
Where did you buy yours?

I think they started with 4 pins each. I got a few of them online from Disney Shopping (on sale!) and the others we got at our local outlet mall when one of those AMS Disney Warehouse stores happened to come in right before our trip! The pins we got there were the cheapest ones they had, so they could trade them. I got one of their lanyards on Ebay and the other from Disney Shopping.

My kids aren't shy, so they had no trouble going up to the CM's and asking them to trade! They had a great time doing this!

[emh1129]

Anyone been to 1900 Park Fare???

We went there for dinner. I loved the step-sisters. They were hilarious!
Food was so-so.

[Laumau]

I think they started with 4 pins each. I got a few of them online from Disney Shopping (on sale!) and the others we got at our local outlet mall when one of those AMS Disney Warehouse stores happened to come in right before our trip! The pins we got there were the cheapest ones they had, so they could trade them. I got one of their lanyards on Ebay and the other from Disney Shopping.

My kids aren't shy, so they had no trouble going up to the CM's and asking them to trade! They had a great time doing this!

I got my lanyards at Disney shopping too- they were on sale 1/2 off and came with 2 pins each- so we have a total of 6 pins. If my daughters don't want to trade them I will! It sounds like fun to me.

[emh1129]

Thanks for the tips on pins. I'll have to keep a lookout for a good sale!

[Laumau]

Thanks for the tips on pins. I'll have to keep a lookout for a good sale!

The lanyards are still on sale. :thumbsup2

[emh1129]

The lanyards are still on sale. :thumbsup2

But when you click on it, it says 'this item is unavailable' :confused3
So.. I'm guessing it's sold out? Those would have been perfect, too.

[Laumau]

But when you click on it, it says 'this item is unavailable' :confused3
So.. I'm guessing it's sold out? Those would have been perfect, too.

Oh what a bummer. Sorry 'bout that. :sad2:

I just tried it- got the same message.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Oh that's a bummer they are out of stock. :sad2: I hate when that happens to me on Disney Shopping. I wish they just wouldn't list the items that aren't available!

Keep watching though, I'm sure they will be on sale again before January! :goodvibes

[emh1129]

Oh what a bummer. Sorry 'bout that. :sad2:

I just tried it- got the same message.

Oh that's a bummer they are out of stock. :sad2: I hate when that happens to me on Disney Shopping. I wish they just wouldn't list the items that aren't available!

Keep watching though, I'm sure they will be on sale again before January! :goodvibes

Thanks, guys. Yeah I will keep watching & hope that they have another sale!:)

[sharadoc]

Count us in! Just got off the phone after switching from FW Cabins to ASMusic Family Suite. Can't wait!!! We'll be there January 19 - 30, both first time for our kids, so we're getting the most out of it!

We LOVE January and early Feb. (see my sig) for the weather and the crowds. It's easy to dress in layers. The most we ever needed was sweatshirts over a t-shirt and button shirt, then peel them off one at a time if necessary. Nights can be cold if you want to go swimming or a hot tub or sit around waiting for parades or Fireworks, but the good news is that you usually have decent spots to pick from almost every night!

I feel like part of the family already!

[peach3es]

I'm so excited to read what you all have to say about weather and crowds in January!:woohoo: It's exactly what I want for a Disney vacation!

I'm sure my kids will jump into the swimming pool, even if it turns their lips blue! I'll be happy just to not have to stand out in the hot sun for hours. Me and heat are not the best of friends!

Right now it's the heat of summer in Jerusalem. Ugh. Where is my melting little smiley face? :lmao:
~~Carrie

[Laumau]

I'm so excited to read what you all have to say about weather and crowds in January!:woohoo: It's exactly what I want for a Disney vacation!

I'm sure my kids will jump into the swimming pool, even if it turns their lips blue! I'll be happy just to not have to stand out in the hot sun for hours. We and heat are not the best of friends!

Right now it's the heat of summer in Jerusalem. Ugh. Where is my melting little smiley face? :lmao:
~~Carrie

We're in Texas- hot, hot, hot! It's not terribly humid this summer though. Our weather is similar to Florida's in the winter so I have a pretty good idea of what it'll be like. My kids will probably want to swim too. I won't, even it it's warm, but you never know so I'll be bringing my suit just in case.

[Laumau]

Count us in! Just got off the phone after switching from FW Cabins to ASMusic Family Suite. Can't wait!!! We'll be there January 19 - 30, both first time for our kids, so we're getting the most out of it!

We LOVE January and early Feb. (see my sig) for the weather and the crowds. It's easy to dress in layers. The most we ever needed was sweatshirts over a t-shirt and button shirt, then peel them off one at a time if necessary. Nights can be cold if you want to go swimming or a hot tub or sit around waiting for parades or Fireworks, but the good news is that you usually have decent spots to pick from almost every night!

I feel like part of the family already!

Welcome! Good to hear that it's nice at WDW in January. :goodvibes

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Count us in! Just got off the phone after switching from FW Cabins to ASMusic Family Suite. Can't wait!!! We'll be there January 19 - 30, both first time for our kids, so we're getting the most out of it!

We LOVE January and early Feb. (see my sig) for the weather and the crowds. It's easy to dress in layers. The most we ever needed was sweatshirts over a t-shirt and button shirt, then peel them off one at a time if necessary. Nights can be cold if you want to go swimming or a hot tub or sit around waiting for parades or Fireworks, but the good news is that you usually have decent spots to pick from almost every night!

I feel like part of the family already!

Welcome Sharadoc! :goodvibes You are officially a Snowbird now! :cool1: Looks like you are an experienced Snowbird! This will be our first January trip. Where is Limerick PA? We live near Pittsburgh.

[Momof2Disneyboys]

January Snowbirds! :cool1:

Towers5 ~ Dec 28-Jan 9 ???
Ccfmioa ~ Dec 30-Jan 8 ASMo
Maplemouse ~ Jan 1-5 ???
Tink1978 ~ Jan 1-7 POFQ
Laumau ~ Jan 1-7 WL
4girls2sets ~ Jan 2-9 SOG
Miabellarose ~ Jan 3-11 ASMu
Peanut1 ~ Jan 4-10 AKL
Snykymom ~ Jan 4-11 CSR
Ehm1129 ~ Jan 5-16 ASMo
Kaos928 ~ Jan 6-12 POP/POR
Peach3es ~ Jan 8-16 POP
Aussieangel ~ Jan 8-20 WL
Rockonthemoon ~ Jan 8-18 ???
Ginaluvsdisney ~ Jan 10-18 POFQ
Lovemy2boys ~ Jan 11-21 AKL
Eve700 ~ Jan 12-???
Adais ~ Jan 13-21 AKL
Kiteri ~ Jan 16-24 FW
Mommy2emmamaddie ~ Jan 16-25 ???
Drakes ~ Jan 16-26 ASMo
Sixisenough ~ Jan 17-24 AKL
Hrsmom ~ Jan 17-24 BWV
Jenkh ~ Jan 17-31 BWV/AKV
Splashmtncrew ~ Jan 18-24 WL
GPA1015 ~ Jan 18-30 POP
Sharadoc ~ Jan 19-30 ASMu
Momof2disneyboys ~ Jan 21-27 ASMo
Trixiequilts ~ Jan 21-28 AKL
MickeyNicki ~ Jan 22-26 Poly
Petuniamilz ~ Jan 23-30 Offsite
Jnykly ~ Jan 24-30 ???
Billysmommy ~ Jan 24-31 BWV
Remmy ~ Jan 25-Feb 7 POP
Cinderellamom123 ~ Jan ???
Tinkerbelluk ~ Jan ???
Ppan77 ~ Jan ???
Lukenick1 ~ Jan ???
Echo29 ~ Jan ??? CSR
Amreli ~ Jan ??? ASMu
Jaksil ~ Feb ??? WL/AKL

[jaksil]

Hello,

Joining the thread. This is my first post in the DIS forums. We are going the first week of Feb. Even though I have been married 5 years, this is sort of our honeymoon since we never had one(although our 2 year old will be with us). This will be our first time at WDW. I just read the unofficial guide and it made me excited. We plan to stay at both WL and AKL. Unfortunately, we can not make reservations until Jan as I will be deployed to Afghanistan until Jan and we are afraid that if I get extended, we will lose money. I know this will confine us to mostly CS meals, but do you think I will have a problem getting a room on that short of notice? Thanks.

[Laumau]

Hello,

Joining the thread. This is my first post in the DIS forums. We are going the first week of Feb. Even though I have been married 5 years, this is sort of our honeymoon since we never had one(although our 2 year old will be with us). This will be our first time at WDW. I just read the unofficial guide and it made me excited. We plan to stay at both WL and AKL. Unfortunately, we can not make reservations until Jan as I will be deployed to Afghanistan until Jan and we are afraid that if I get extended, we will lose money. I know this will confine us to mostly CS meals, but do you think I will have a problem getting a room on that short of notice? Thanks.

Hi! It's our first trip too and I got really excited- after getting over being overwhelmed- when I read the Unofficial Guide. I don't know about getting a room on short notice but I do know that you're not going at a peak time so that should definitely improve your odds! As far as the meals go- I wouldn't count out full service. I think you'd have a chance there as well. :goodvibes

[jaksil]

Well, hopefully you are right, because, of course, we would love to try out some of the TS places. (especially in the world showcase).

[sharadoc]

Welcome Sharadoc! :goodvibes You are officially a Snowbird now! :cool1: Looks like you are an experienced Snowbird! This will be our first January trip. Where is Limerick PA? We live near Pittsburgh.

Thanks for the welcome! I'm so happy to be a Snowbird!!! We used to feel VERY experienced, but things have changed a LOT since we were there last, so a lot of it will be new. We're really excited to show our kids everything we love (and getting a Dole Whip!)

Limerick is east of Lancaster, south of Reading, west of Philadelphia. We were once a big farming community that has been attacked by suburban sprawl! But I can still see cornfields and cows when I'm driving to work or shopping. Other than the large nuclear plant nearby :scared: , it's a wonderful place to live!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hello,

Joining the thread. This is my first post in the DIS forums. We are going the first week of Feb. Even though I have been married 5 years, this is sort of our honeymoon since we never had one(although our 2 year old will be with us). This will be our first time at WDW. I just read the unofficial guide and it made me excited. We plan to stay at both WL and AKL. Unfortunately, we can not make reservations until Jan as I will be deployed to Afghanistan until Jan and we are afraid that if I get extended, we will lose money. I know this will confine us to mostly CS meals, but do you think I will have a problem getting a room on that short of notice? Thanks.

Hello! Welcome to the Snowbirds :cool1: and to the DIS! :disrocks:

How exciting for your first trip and fifth anniversary!! We just went for our 10th anniversary and took the kids! We don't go much of anywhere without them!

I don't think you will have trouble getting a room on short notice, you just might have to be open to what's available! I'm sure you can get some ADR's too. Even if there aren't any available when you call, go up and ask right at the restaurant. I've heard people say that they were told nothing was open from the dining line, but then walked right up to the restaurant and were able to get in!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks for the welcome! I'm so happy to be a Snowbird!!! We used to feel VERY experienced, but things have changed a LOT since we were there last, so a lot of it will be new. We're really excited to show our kids everything we love (and getting a Dole Whip!)

Limerick is east of Lancaster, south of Reading, west of Philadelphia. We were once a big farming community that has been attacked by suburban sprawl! But I can still see cornfields and cows when I'm driving to work or shopping. Other than the large nuclear plant nearby :scared: , it's a wonderful place to live!

Wow you're clear on the other side of the state aren't you??? :rotfl: We go out to Hershey at least once a year (were just there in June), and have been through Lancaster on the way to Nottingham a couple of times! It is beautiful country out there!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great news Snowbirds ~ I think I just talked DH into adding an extra day to the January trip!!! :woohoo: