It's Beginning to Look Like a Disney Christmas - A Dec 2016 PTR

[Blndiebby25]

Hello all and welcome to my PTR for our December 2016 trip! Some quick details of our upcoming trip.​

Who
Me (Jennifer) - Disney trip planner. Lover of Disney. Mother of 3. I am constantly looking at Disney Parks information and love planning Disney trips (even ones I don't end up going on). I have only been to Disneyland once 10 years ago and this will be my first trip to Disney World. I have been wanting to go back to Disney since our Disneyland trip and have planned out a bunch of imaginary trips. I will be 39 in November.

John - My husband. Father of my daugher. Love of my life. He recently (less than a week ago) had his second brain surgery to remove non-cancerous tumors. He is not as big of a fan of Disney as I am but hey no one is perfect. He will be 47 in August.

Ryan - Middle child. Goofball. Stress causer. He went to Disneyland with us 10 years ago and has since gone to Disneyland Paris and Disney World with his father. He can be a handful with his ADHD and ODD. We just try to be patient and hope for the best. He will be 16 in October.

Ellie - Youngest. Our little princess. Sharp as a whip. She went to Disneyland with my parents last June for the first time and loved it so much she didn't want to come home. She has been wanting to go back to Disney ever since and is not happy she has to wait so long. lol She will be 9 in December.

Richard - My father. Loving Grandfather of 6. Tripfunder. My father has been in the Canadian military all my life. Will finally be totally retiring from the military this month. Ya I will believe it when I see it, keeps on getting put off. He put money aside for the whole family to go to Disney World a couple of years ago. Since than my brother's family, except 1, decided they didn't want to go to Disney. I know, blasphemy! Went to Disneyland with us 10 years ago and again last June with Ellie. Happy to finally have the trip booked. Will be 61 in July.

Dorine - My mother. Loving Grandmother of 6. Caregiver of my children while I work. She is an awesome mother and grandmother. She helps so much, I am not sure what I would do without her. Deserves a nice fun vacation. Went to Disneyland with us 10 years ago and again last June with Ellie. Turned 61 in April.

Evan - My nephew. New recruit to the military reserves. Quiet. He went to Disneyland with us 10 years ago and also with my parents and Ellie last year. He wasn't suppose to come with us this year as the deal was if he went to Disneyland last year there was no Disney World this year. He convinced my father to let him come on the condition that he would help pay his share. He will be 17 in June.

Michael - My oldest. Soon to be College student. Went to Disneyland with us 10 years ago and since has gone to Disneyland Paris and Disney World with his father. He will not be joining us on this trip as he will be starting College in the fall and will be doing finals the week we are gone.

What
A family Christmas Disney World vacation many years in the making. First Disney World trip for 6 out of 7 of us.

When
December 10-17, 2016

Where
Staying at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort with free dining. =)

Let the trip planning begin!...
Like it hasn't already started. rofl
​

Planning Posts
Daily Plan Take 1
Dining Possiblies
Minnie / Mickey Ears Ideas
Daily Plan Take 2
Daily Plan Take 3
Dining Hopefuls
ADRs - What I got
Updated Plans

 

[Blndiebby25]

Okay some very tentative plans since Disney hasn't put out any park hours for December yet. I am using Touring Plans as a guide for predicted park hours and projected crowd levels. This will more than likely change but it somewhere to start from.

There are 4 nights we are there that MVMCP is happening. We will not be participating so will have to schedule our park days around that.

December 10
Arrival day. Our flights gets in around 7pm so no park scheduled for this day. Plan is to get settled into our resort, pick up our refillable mugs, and grab a quick bite to eat (paying out of pocket most likely).

December 11
Magic Kingdom ~ 9am - 7pm
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 4pm
Hollywood Studios ~ after MK closes to 12am

December 12
Hollywood Studios ~ 9am - 8pm
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 4pm
Magic Kingdom ~ after HS closes until 12am

December 13
Magic Kingdom ~ 9am - 7pm
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 4pm
Maybe a Movie Under the Stars at the resort?

December 14
Epcot ~ 9am - 9:30am
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 4pm
Magic Kingdom ~ after Epcot closes until 2am (most likely won't be there until 2am but will see how it goes)

December 15
Animal Kingdom ~ 9am - ? (hoping they will still be open late for the nighttime shows)
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 4pm

December 16
Magic Kingdom ~ 8am - 7pm
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 4pm
Hollywood Studios ~ after MK closes until 11pm

December 17
Departure day. Our flight doesn't leave until 9pm with Tragical Express picking us up approx. 6pm? Will have a relaxing day, sleep in a bit. Thinking a character breakfast at Ohana or Chef Mickey's. Maybe check out mini golf or Disney Springs.

 

[Blndiebby25]

Restaurant Possibilites

I need to run some of these menus by the kids to make sure there is something they will eat. I will edit the list as restaurants are eliminated by the kids.

Magic Kingdom
Quick Service (Lunch)

• Be Our Guest
• Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
• Casey's Corner
• Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
• Tomorowland Terrace Restaurant
• Pinocchio Village Haus

Table Service (Dinner)

• Be Our Guest
• Liberty Tree Tavern
• The Crystal Palace
• Jungle Navigation Skipper Canteen
• The Plaza Restaurant
• Tony's Town Square Restaurant

Epcot
Quick Service (Lunch)

• Sunshine Seasons
• La Cantina de San Angel
• Liberty Inn
• Electric Umbrella

Table Service (Dinner)

• The Garden Grill
• Coral Reef Restaurant
• Rose and Crown Dining Room
• Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
• Tutto Italia Ristorante
• La Hacienda de San Angel

Hollywood Studios
Quick Service (Lunch)

• Starring Rolls Cafe
• Backlot Express
• ABC Commissary

Table Service (Dinner)

• Mama Melrose Ristorante Italiano
• Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant
• 50's Prime Time Cafe
• Hollywood & Vine

Animal Kingdom
Quick Service (Lunch)

• Yaki and Yeti Local Food Cafe
• Restaurantosaurus
• Pizzafari

Table Service (Dinner)

• Tusker House Restaurant
• Tiffins
• Rainforest Cafe

So many yummy looking restaurants. My kids are picky so should be somewhat narrowed down quickly.

 

[Blndiebby25]

Arts & Crafts!

I found a couple of Youtube videos on how to make your own Mickey/Minnie Ears. I am seriously thinking of doing this. It looks relatively easy and if it is and I get adventurous I might just make a set for each day we are there.

I am thinking of making some of them Christmasy themed since we are going so close to Christmas.

 

[T00dles]

We are also going that week. Our first time at Disney for Christmas!

Have you thought about Mickeys very merry Christmas party or the Candlelight processional? I know you can use 2 table service credits (not the best deal but...) to reserve a meal and a seat for the cp instead of waiting standby

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I am thinking of planning a Christmas trip in 2017! I am hoping to follow along and learn some tips!

 

[cblgirl2001]

I will be there from the 9th-16th with my 2 daughters! Getting so anxious! Have you been during this time in the past? I am reading that the crowds may be high even though the kids are in school.

 

[T00dles]

I will be there from the 9th-16th with my 2 daughters! Getting so anxious! Have you been during this time in the past? I am reading that the crowds may be high even though the kids are in school.

Where did you read this? I know Pop warner will be there the week ending the 10th, but what else is going on?

 

[ariane37]

Joining! We're going a couple weeks before you, for Thanksgiving. It'll be our 2nd Thanksgiving and 3rd time seeing the Christmas decorations which I love I know it's your first time to WDW (which is SO exciting) but if you can, you should try to visit a couple deluxe resorts to check out their holiday decorations. Many of them are absolutely stunning!
Look forward to hearing more about your planning and especially about where you end up eating - we love our Disney food lol!

 

[cblgirl2001]

Where did you read this? I know Pop warner will be there the week ending the 10th, but what else is going on?

I was looking at the threads from last year - same week and they were saying it was busy. I am a bit paranoid - I took my girls for the first time 2 years ago - the last week of July and the entire trip was a disaster. It was a million degrees and so crowded you couldn't move! I had a business trip down there which is the only reason I would have gone during that time. This is a "redo" and I have been down during pop warner week and while it did not effect the crowds it was a royal pain at the hotel. I was hoping people would answer my thread and tell me I was nuts - that it will not be crazy

 

[Blndiebby25]

Welcome everyone! =)

We are also going that week. Our first time at Disney for Christmas!

Have you thought about Mickeys very merry Christmas party or the Candlelight processional? I know you can use 2 table service credits (not the best deal but...) to reserve a meal and a seat for the cp instead of waiting standby

I was looking at going to MVMCP but with the price increase, my nephew now coming, and the Canadian dollar we decided it was just to much. I am not sure if we will be able to fit the Candlelight Processional into our trip.

Joining! We're going a couple weeks before you, for Thanksgiving. It'll be our 2nd Thanksgiving and 3rd time seeing the Christmas decorations which I love I know it's your first time to WDW (which is SO exciting) but if you can, you should try to visit a couple deluxe resorts to check out their holiday decorations. Many of them are absolutely stunning!
Look forward to hearing more about your planning and especially about where you end up eating - we love our Disney food lol!

Hoping we can take some time to visit some of the deluxe resorts to see the decorations. I have heard about the giant gingerbread house and such.

 

[Raeven]

We're going to be in Disney the 9th-14th before moving to Universal till the 17th. I think we'll be in Magic Kingdom on one of the same days as you! We're going to one MVMCP but it was a pain to plan around them and we ended up adding a few hours at MK here and there to, to make up for it.

As for the food we weren't a big fan of BoG lunch, but it might just be what we ordered. We loved the dinner and I want to do it in December. I think it'll look so Christmassy in there. Skipper Canteen is on our list to, and we liked The Plaza and Crystal Palace (we did breakfast here though). Loved the nachos at La Cantina de San Angel.

I can't wait to try the cupcakes at Starring Rolls! We liked Sci fi a lot last time, but I want to do Hollywood and Vine for the Christmas character meal. Since you're not doing the party this would be a good way to meet them.

My boyfriend and I have talked about making ears too (even though I buy them from etsy all the time) but I'm not crafty enough so it would be up to him.

 

[Blndiebby25]

199 Days to Go
9 Days until Park Hours start to come out for our trip
19 Days until ADRs
139 Days until FP+

Woohoo! Happy to see that we are now under 200 days until our trip. Was also excited to see that the Disney World site is now starting to come out with December hours. =) It is still showing AK is closing "early" but I have been keeping an eye on this and it seems they are slowly coming out with later hours and are showing it open late until the beginning of September at the moment.

Hoping to sit down with my kids to go over some menus this weekend so we can narrow down the list of possible restaurants. The adults aren't really picky so just need to make sure the kids will eat something at the restaurants.

 

[Blndiebby25]

Taking another look at our daily plan. Keep on coming up with different plans and this is my current one. This plan doesn't use any park hopping and avoids MK on days with MVMCP.

December 10
Arrival day. Our flights gets in around 7pm so no park scheduled for this day. Plan is to get settled into our resort, pick up our refillable mugs, and grab a quick bite to eat (paying out of pocket most likely).

December 11
Epcot ~ 9am - 9:30pm (Sticking with Future World attractions for the most part)
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 4pm

December 12
Magic Kingdom ~ 8am - 12am (not sure how late we will go)
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 4pm

December 13
Animal Kingdom ~ 9am - ? (unsure of how late it will be open)
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 4pm

December 14
Magic Kingdom~ 8am - 12am (EMH 12am - 2am, not sure how late we will stay)
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 4pm

December 15
Epcot ~ 9am - 9:30pm (EMH 9:30pm - 11:30pm) - Use this day to see most or all of the storytellers in World Showcase
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 5pm
Candlelight Processional maybe?

December 16
Hollywood Studios ~ 9am - 11pm
Lunch around 11am
Break back at resort for swimming and relaxing approx 12pm - 3pm
Supper around 4pm

December 17
Departure day. Our flight doesn't leave until 9pm with Tragical Express picking us up approx. 6pm? Will have a relaxing day, sleep in a bit. Thinking a character breakfast at Ohana or Chef Mickey's. Maybe check out mini golf or Disney Springs.

 

[Blndiebby25]

Okay the Travel Agent December 2016 calendar is out so I have a better idea what the park hours will be as well as when EMH are. You know what that means... Yup a new plan. Good thing I like making up these plans. Here is what I am thinking as of now. Any tips / suggestions would be awesome!

December 11

• HS: 8am - 12:45pm
• Lunch around 11am
• Break: 12:45 - 3:45 (go to resort, rest and pool)
• Epcot: 3:45pm - 9:30pm
• Supper around 4:30pm

December 12

• AK: 9am - 2pm
• Lunch around 11am
• Break: 2pm - 5pm (go to resort, rest and pool)
• MK: 5pm - 10pm
• Supper around 5pm

December 13

• MK: 9am - 1pm
• Lunch around 11am
• Break: 1pm - 4pm
• MK: 4pm - 12am (We may have changed our minds and decided to go to MVMCP)
• Supper around 4pm

December 14

• Epcot: 9am - 3pm
• Lunch around 11am
• Break: 3pm - 6pm
• MK: 6pm - 12am
• Supper around 6pm

December 15

• Epcot: 8am - 1:30pm
• Lunch around 11am
• Break: 1:30pm - 4:30pm
• AK: 4:30pm - 10pm (Calendar says it closes at 5pm but hoping it will be extended)
• Supper around 4:30pm

December 16

• MK: 8am - 1:30pm
• Lunch around 11am
• Break: 1:30pm - 4:30pm
• HS: 4:30pm - 10pm
• Supper around 4:30pm

What do you think?

Edit: Made a slight mistake on one of the parks EMH. Fixed and moved around a couple of days to make it correct.

 

[Raeven]

Looks good! We're actually doing AK and MK on the 12th too and MK and thr party the 13th.

 

[ariane37]

Pretty exciting that you're attending MVMCP We've done it twice and while MNSSHP is my preference, we enjoyed both Christmas parties we've attended.

I think your plan looks good! One thing: You do have a decent amount of time in Epcot so I think you'll manage seeing all the storytellers just fine, but as an FYI remember WS doesn't open until 11am (except Norway) and the storytellers don't start until then, and the times of all of them are staggered. Some of them do go until 7-8pm but it's kind of difficult to see all of them in one day even without a break in the middle

 

[Blndiebby25]

Pretty exciting that you're attending MVMCP We've done it twice and while MNSSHP is my preference, we enjoyed both Christmas parties we've attended.

I think your plan looks good! One thing: You do have a decent amount of time in Epcot so I think you'll manage seeing all the storytellers just fine, but as an FYI remember WS doesn't open until 11am (except Norway) and the storytellers don't start until then, and the times of all of them are staggered. Some of them do go until 7-8pm but it's kind of difficult to see all of them in one day even without a break in the middle

Thanks for the Epcot tip. I was going to do a bit of the storytellers each day we go to hopefully fit them all in. =)

 

[Blndiebby25]

187 Days to Go
7 Days Until ADRs
127 Days Until FP+

Okay I have my list of ADR hopefuls. Turns out either Disney is good at putting items on the menu for picky eaters or my kids aren't as picky as I thought.

Dec 11 --> Garden Grill (Dinner)
Dec 12 --> Jungle Navigation Co (Dinner)
Dec 13 --> Be Our Guest (Dinner)
Dec 14 --> Crystal Palace
Dec 15 --> Rainforest Cafe
Dec 16 --> Be Our Guest (Lunch), Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (Dinner)

Now to keep my fingers crossed and wait until next week to book them.

 

[Claireywalsh]

Following this!! We will be there from the 22nd of December!! First Christmas not at home and first Christmas at Disney!!! 198 sleeps to go