1st Trip Ever In December

[CRMOM]

Our family of 4 (boys 6 and 11) are going on our 1st trip to WDW in Dec. 9-15th. We have our ADR's made. I have a few questions. #1 Has anyone used the touring plans for the rides etc. in the Unofficial Guide or any other guide book and do they really work? #2 How do you find out show times etc. before you get to WDW or do you just plan those into your schedule when you pick up the Times Guide in the parks? #3 Is the time we are going in Dec. a really busy time? I have seen a # of posts of people going at the around the same time. #4 We are staying at the Contemporary Garden View room and I wonder what people thought of that resort. Thanks in advance for all your help. I know our trip will be a magical one with all the advice I have gotten from these boards. Any other info. you would like to give I would welcome. THANK YOU!!!!!!

 

[dburg30]

#2 http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/ is the place most people suggest.

#3 It's supposed to be a lower crowed time, but it appears it's getting busier as the unnoficial guide had a couple of days ranked as '3' before (pretty much the lowest they give) and those are gone now. But still, should be pretty nice crowd wise.

Oh, we'll be there 12/8-15 so we'll be there with ya

 

[Enchanted]

I don't have any real answers to your questions except for maybe number four - we've stopped at the Contemporary while resort hopping, and we thought it was really nice. The monorail running right through the tower is just so cool. I bet your boys are gonna love it. Plus, the pictures of the refurbished rooms look faaaaaabulous. One piece of advice I've heard is that there since there isn't very much storage space in the bathroom (the sinks are ridiculously small, and there's really no where to put your toiletries because there isn't a vanity), you might want to plan on bringing one of those shoe holders that hangs on the back of a closet door with all the little plastic compartments. That way you'll have somewhere to store your stuff. We've been pondering a stay at the CR on our next trip but haven't decided on anything yet. I'm sure you'll love it there!

As for a bit of advice for a first-timer, the best advice I can give you is this: take your time and remember to stop and smell the roses! Some of my family's most special memories have occurred between the rides and attractions. Have a general plan of how you want to conquer the parks, but remember to stay flexible in case something throws a wrench in said plans. And of course, don't be disappointed when you don't get to see everything. The parks are so big that it's just plain impossible. But that just means that you'll have to plan another trip! And after all, what's wrong with that?

Anyway, I just wanted to wish you well on your first trip to the World! There's nothing like experiencing the magic and pixie dust for the first time! Have fun and say hi to Mickey for me!

 

[DisneyNotes]

#1 Has anyone used the touring plans for the rides etc. in the Unofficial Guide or any other guide book and do they really work?

You bet! The touring plans website (.com). It's sound advice that works for us.

#2 How do you find out show times etc. before you get to WDW or do you just plan those into your schedule when you pick up the Times Guide in the parks?

I look on disneyworld.com for parade and firework times

#3 Is the time we are going in Dec. a really busy time? I have seen a # of posts of people going at the around the same time.

December is a good time to go.

#4 We are staying at the Contemporary Garden View room and I wonder what people thought of that resort. Thanks in advance for all your help. I know our trip will be a magical one with all the advice I have gotten from these boards. Any other info. you would like to give I would welcome. THANK YOU!!!!!!

Contemporary? It's great to have the monorail access. Very speedy for getting around.

 

[Cee]

Maybe we'll see you there! We stayed at the Contemporary our first trip and
loved it. It's one of our favorites. Your boys will love the big arcade.

Believe me, this will not be your only trip, so just enjoy yourself at a leisurely
pace, and know that anything you don't get to you'll see "next time". One
day you won't even go for the attractions so much as the ambiance. It's just
a wonderful feeling place. You'll see what I mean.

We'll be staying at OKW so perhaps we'll bump into you at DTD. Enjoy!

 

[always_learning]

Our first Christmas trip also Dec 9-15th! We will be at POR though. My children loved the Contemporary when we went to check it out in March. They loved watching the monorail and it's so close to MK. How can you go wrong! Are you going to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas?

 

[Terk-1]

#1 Has anyone used the touring plans for the rides etc. in the Unofficial Guide or any other guide book and do they really work? I don't care for the touring plans with the Unofficial. We usually sit down and have each child make a list of the attractions/shows that they want to see and how bad they want to see it (1 is a must, 3 is a no big deal if missed). This way we can put the lists together and mark all the musts to do so we don't miss any. We then will plan our tour depending on the park. At the Magic Kingdom, we will usually get through Fantasyland first thing in the morning on an EMH morning. This way it's done before the park opens to everyone else. We then usually head to Liberty Square (Haunted Mansion), then to Frontierland (BTMRR), then over to Adventureland (PotC, JC, Aladdin), then finish off at Tomorrowland (Buzz, TTA, CoP). We swear by the AM EMH. We find we get a ton done during that time, especially when the kids were smaller.

#2 How do you find out show times etc. before you get to WDW or do you just plan those into your schedule when you pick up the Times Guide in the parks? You can find show times, park hours, etc. on disneyworld.com, as well as the Extra Magic Hour schedule. We plan our days according to that schedule. There is a lot going on during that time of year (Candlight Processional, Osborne Lights, MVMCP, Lights of Winter @ EPCOT, etc.) Some events require ticketed admission.


#3 Is the time we are going in Dec. a really busy time? I've gone down the day after Thanksgiving through the following week several times. I've found the parks to be very manageable, with the exception of Thanksgiving weekend and Saturdays at the Magic Kingdom (lots of locals). During the week, the parks were not that bad. I would check to see when the Pop Warner football & cheerleaders are scheduled to be there. This may increase the attendance during the weekends. Other than that, you should be fine. Keep in mind that some of the big ticket items in the parks, may still run out of fast passes. We found on several days during the week that the fast pass machines were not being used, since the wait times were really low.

 

[tzuhouse]

Our family of 4 (boys 6 and 11) are going on our 1st trip to WDW in Dec. 9-15th.

Have a great time! We were there 12/4-12/14 of 2005 and had a great time!

#1 Has anyone used the touring plans for the rides etc. in the Unofficial Guide or any other guide book and do they really work?

We toured using Tour Guide Mike and if it was crowded somewhere, we didn't see it.

Mary

 

[CRMOM]

Thank you so much for all the great advice. We aren't going to MVMCP this year. We thought we have so much other adventures to under take we would skip that this year. Again many thanks to all of you and I hope you all have wonderful trips too.