A 2009 Magical Christmas Anniversary Pre-Trip Report

[raider97]

Thanks! I'll try tomorrow!!!

Any luck?

 

[raider97]

Oh! I wanted to go there on my honeymoon, but it was under construction or something... It looked really fun though. Congrats on your ADR!

I think the kids will love it. Especially my son, he is very into dinosaurs right now. I am thinking about buying ticket to the Walking with the Dinosaurs this fall to take him. I think the kids would also like the Build a Dinosaur.

 

[raider97]

Nope, no bad location, and with all of the different bus stops, there isn't a bus stop too far away. In June, we'd get on the bus in the am at South Depot, which is close to the front. I can see how you could take your own strollers for a calm ride in the morning. In the afternoon, we took the bus to the West Depot, which was real close to the room--about 1-2 minute walk.

We didn't do the carriage rides. Frankly, being originally from Charleston, SC, I have always been disappointed with carriage rides that were not of Charleston. . .



That is great!



By my calculations, Animal Kingdom's hours for taht day will be 8am-6pm. HTH. TRex looks like it would be cool.

We have never been on a carriage ride, so I think we might try them. Have you guys tried T-Rex before?

 

[raider97]

I am have been debating the whole grand gathering dining thing. I think it would be nice to have the whole group sitting together at meals, but when I talked to the gg CM they told me they book the restaurant for a certain number of people... let's say 20.. and then the restaurant divides the people up among the tables they have. With us traveling with 9 children 7 and under I think this could wind up being a mess.

Plus I was burned by disney dining on our last trip. My parents were scheduled to come with us putting our party at 8, but my mom found out she would have to have emergency bypass surgery about three weeks before out trip. When I tried to call disney dining back to reduce the number on the reservations from 8 to 6 they wanted to cancel my reservations since they didn't have tables to fit the new party size. I had to talk to a manager about our LTT reservation. I had killed myself to get it since we booked 3 months before we were to go and they didn't have another table available our whole trip. I explained that I was calling to be nice, and I didn't think it was fair to punish me for it. They finally figured something out, but I would hate to be put through the wringer again if something should happen.

Plus two of the families have little guys (18 months or so at travel time) so if they need to re-arrange their schedules for some reason I would like them to have the freedom to do so.

So I called back T-Rex and made three individual reservations instead of one large one and canceled my other. I think this is going to be my plan for the rest of the ADRs too. The only problem is we have different check-in days so it could make it really fun come September.

 

[raider97]

I think I have narrowed the list some. We have 10 TS meals with the dining plan. I know we will have some out of pocket, which will probably be Sci-Fi and Plaza based on their menu prices.

These are the ones I am hoping for:
Teppan Edo
Le Cellier
Cinderella's Royal Table (dinner)
Princess Storybook Breakfast
Teppan Edo/Le Cellier (Candelight Processional Dinner Pkg)
Crystal Palace
Sci-Fi
Plaza
LTT
Ohana

We already have T-Rex booked which will be out of pocket.

And I'm trying to decide between these...
Chef Mickey's Breakfast (This one because it has the fab 5)

Donald's Safari Breakfast (I've heard this one is good and it is in the park)

Ohana Breakfast (I really want to try this one, but not sure about a resort breakfast and a park day. How much time will this take up?)

Yak and Yet (Goodness, those dessert wontons look yummy!!)

So, what do you guys think... any suggestions/comments?

 

[happenin2you]

And I'm trying to decide between these...
Chef Mickey's Breakfast (This one because it has the fab 5)

Donald's Safari Breakfast (I've heard this one is good and it is in the park)

Ohana Breakfast (I really want to try this one, but not sure about a resort breakfast and a park day. How much time will this take up?)

Yak and Yet (Goodness, those dessert wontons look yummy!!)

So, what do you guys think... any suggestions/comments?

Donald's had Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy when we went, so you'd only be missing Pluto. I think the food was better here than at Chef Mickey's, there's more fruity stuff and exotic food as well as the regular stufff you'd find at Chef Mickey's... plus the Jungle juice, best stuff ever!!

and yak and yeti is sooo good!!

hope that helps

 

[DWGal210]

Hi! I just wanted to come over and say hi! I am page 4 of your PTR so I will go back and read the rest of the pages.

It sounds like you guys are going to have a GREAT time! We're getting into MCO on the 26th, but we don't arrive until about 2:30. Looks like we'll cross each other in the sky. I'll wave to you!

Here is my 2 cents about touring on Christmas. We plan to take it slow, knowing full well that crowds are going to be heavier. More than likely, we'll hit the parks first thing in the AM, tour for a few hours, have lunch and then go back to the hotel and lounge around. Since we'll be there New Years Eve and New Years Day, and the parks will be insane, we'll probably end up staying at the hotel, going to the pool, going to DTD, etc. I don't mind crowds, but no sense standing shoulder-to-shoulder with people when you could be relaxing at the pool, enjoying a tropical beverage!

Have a great day!
Katie

 

[raider97]

Donald's had Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy when we went, so you'd only be missing Pluto. I think the food was better here than at Chef Mickey's, there's more fruity stuff and exotic food as well as the regular stufff you'd find at Chef Mickey's... plus the Jungle juice, best stuff ever!!

and yak and yeti is sooo good!!

hope that helps

I didn't know that Minnie was at Tusker House too. Hmmmmmm... that may tip the scales. I like that Tusker House is in the park, but I really want to do the Lilo and Stitch one. I just can't bring myself to add another opp meal.

Thanks for the help!

 

[raider97]

Hi! I just wanted to come over and say hi! I am page 4 of your PTR so I will go back and read the rest of the pages.

It sounds like you guys are going to have a GREAT time! We're getting into MCO on the 26th, but we don't arrive until about 2:30. Looks like we'll cross each other in the sky. I'll wave to you!

Here is my 2 cents about touring on Christmas. We plan to take it slow, knowing full well that crowds are going to be heavier. More than likely, we'll hit the parks first thing in the AM, tour for a few hours, have lunch and then go back to the hotel and lounge around. Since we'll be there New Years Eve and New Years Day, and the parks will be insane, we'll probably end up staying at the hotel, going to the pool, going to DTD, etc. I don't mind crowds, but no sense standing shoulder-to-shoulder with people when you could be relaxing at the pool, enjoying a tropical beverage!

Have a great day!
Katie

Hi! Thanks for stopping by. How is the pin hunting going? I have been enjoying your tripv report. I need to stop by and catch up.

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Any luck?

I actually kept the number, but am still trying to decide when we will go to DTD. So, I didn't call yet...

I think I have narrowed the list some. We have 10 TS meals with the dining plan. I know we will have some out of pocket, which will probably be Sci-Fi and Plaza based on their menu prices.

These are the ones I am hoping for:
Teppan Edo
Le Cellier
Cinderella's Royal Table (dinner)
Princess Storybook Breakfast
Teppan Edo/Le Cellier (Candelight Processional Dinner Pkg)
Crystal Palace
Sci-Fi
Plaza
LTT
Ohana

We already have T-Rex booked which will be out of pocket.

And I'm trying to decide between these...
Chef Mickey's Breakfast (This one because it has the fab 5)

Donald's Safari Breakfast (I've heard this one is good and it is in the park)

Ohana Breakfast (I really want to try this one, but not sure about a resort breakfast and a park day. How much time will this take up?)

Yak and Yet (Goodness, those dessert wontons look yummy!!)

So, what do you guys think... any suggestions/comments?

The ones that you are trying to decide between are all ones that we are doing!! LOL Ohana, CM and Donald's are all great! Y & Y is a first for us this trip!

 

[pixidustmom]

Just found your thread. I too am planning a Dec. trip but earlier in the month. I am your second Vegas thread visitor too. But I don't have anything written in stone yet.
What will most likely be may change so I am giving the others to figure it out as I am somewhat flexible. The options I am dealing with are this.
I was planning a trip for Feb. but then gave up as I just didn't think that was the best time as I will be going back to work after maternity leave. So we gave up the idea of going to FL and figured we would head to Cal. but then they opened up free dinning for Dec. and well that was a enough of a nudge for me. So then I was planning on it being me, my DD (she is turning 20 on Christmas morning), other DD 18 and DGS 15 months. DH wasn't really feeling it. But now he is hearing all the talk and is all about joining the fun, great. So we were first thinking POFQ but he loves POR and well so do we so we chose to go there instead. Now DD 20 wants her BF to join us, but he isn't the only one wanting to join now but DD 18's BF wants to go too. I honestly don't know if either will as I am not sure they will swing the cost and I am not doing it So if they make up their minds in the next few weeks, giving them until early Sept. Then we will go for FW.
I have checked out flights and well I live the hours Delta has right now. I first was going to use SW but we get there late and leave early so taking away 2 days from our trip. So if we go with Delta we would be on property about 1 and leave property about 3. So will see. I am also pretty sure which dates but if when I go to book and have issues I can go any 6 days in the beginning of Dec. But I hope to go from the 10-15. Not too many days but more than past trips.
I also can't figure out which days to do what and where to eat.I need to try to get everyone to get their act together and give me a hand in this. If they don't soon then well they better not complain.
I see some of you have mentioned going to the pools. Have you had luck with this in the past Dec. trips? I would love to do this too but kind of thought we may just hit up the hot tubs. I know we need to plan for any kind of weather but hope to get lucky.
Since we will have my grandson I want to do a CM breakfast and a CM dinner but we don't need to get too many with most being adults ( but we still can't wait to see my DGS reaction) Also eating at the parks isn't a huge deal if we are doing dinners but but for convince it would be nice. I think that most nights the parks may close early so going to a hotel to eat may be fun to see new places.
By the way are the hours up yet? I can't seem to remember where I found them I guess on the parks sight huh?
I am looking forward to reading your report and getting some ideas that I may have not thought of.

 

[raider97]

I actually kept the number, but am still trying to decide when we will go to DTD. So, I didn't call yet...



The ones that you are trying to decide between are all ones that we are doing!! LOL Ohana, CM and Donald's are all great! Y & Y is a first for us this trip!

I think they all sound great and would love to try them all one day. I would love to try Yak and Yeti this time, but I think with the Christmas crowds it might be advantageous to get in as many of the Fab 5 at a character meal as possible.

I really want to do the Lilo and Stitch one. I asked DH what he thought last night and he said the kids would probably prefer Donald and Daisy. I think he is right... I think they would be much more interested in Tusker House so right now that is the plan. Did you guys have Minnie at Tusker House too?

Congrats on the deluxe dining!!

Stephanie

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

I think they all sound great and would love to try them all one day. I would love to try Yak and Yeti this time, but I think with the Christmas crowds it might be advantageous to get in as many of the Fab 5 at a character meal as possible.

I really want to do the Lilo and Stitch one. I asked DH what he thought last night and he said the kids would probably prefer Donald and Daisy. I think he is right... I think they would be much more interested in Tusker House so right now that is the plan. Did you guys have Minnie at Tusker House too?

Congrats on the deluxe dining!!

Stephanie

No...Minnie wasn't there. When we went it was Mickey, Donald, Daisy and Goofy. The food was great though!

 

[creativeamanda]

Ya know, the best Minnie Mouse meal interaction for me was always at LTT. Bummer they are no longer there. But at the same time, I am not a big character dining fan.

You might want to just suck it up and do the Epcot Character Spot to get in the fab 5. In June (July 4th week) it took us a little over an hour to get through that one.

 

[raider97]

Just found your thread. I too am planning a Dec. trip but earlier in the month. I am your second Vegas thread visitor too. But I don't have anything written in stone yet.
What will most likely be may change so I am giving the others to figure it out as I am somewhat flexible. The options I am dealing with are this.
I was planning a trip for Feb. but then gave up as I just didn't think that was the best time as I will be going back to work after maternity leave. So we gave up the idea of going to FL and figured we would head to Cal. but then they opened up free dinning for Dec. and well that was a enough of a nudge for me. So then I was planning on it being me, my DD (she is turning 20 on Christmas morning), other DD 18 and DGS 15 months. DH wasn't really feeling it. But now he is hearing all the talk and is all about joining the fun, great. So we were first thinking POFQ but he loves POR and well so do we so we chose to go there instead. Now DD 20 wants her BF to join us, but he isn't the only one wanting to join now but DD 18's BF wants to go too. I honestly don't know if either will as I am not sure they will swing the cost and I am not doing it So if they make up their minds in the next few weeks, giving them until early Sept. Then we will go for FW.
I have checked out flights and well I live the hours Delta has right now. I first was going to use SW but we get there late and leave early so taking away 2 days from our trip. So if we go with Delta we would be on property about 1 and leave property about 3. So will see. I am also pretty sure which dates but if when I go to book and have issues I can go any 6 days in the beginning of Dec. But I hope to go from the 10-15. Not too many days but more than past trips.
I also can't figure out which days to do what and where to eat.I need to try to get everyone to get their act together and give me a hand in this. If they don't soon then well they better not complain.
I see some of you have mentioned going to the pools. Have you had luck with this in the past Dec. trips? I would love to do this too but kind of thought we may just hit up the hot tubs. I know we need to plan for any kind of weather but hope to get lucky.
Since we will have my grandson I want to do a CM breakfast and a CM dinner but we don't need to get too many with most being adults ( but we still can't wait to see my DGS reaction) Also eating at the parks isn't a huge deal if we are doing dinners but but for convince it would be nice. I think that most nights the parks may close early so going to a hotel to eat may be fun to see new places.
By the way are the hours up yet? I can't seem to remember where I found them I guess on the parks sight huh?
I am looking forward to reading your report and getting some ideas that I may have not thought of.

Hi! Thanks for stopping by. You should do a trip report. It is a nice way to plan and get feedback on your ideas. I am excited to hear more about your planning.

BTW I wanted to tell you that I think it is such marvelous thing you are doing! Being a surrogate is such a wonderful thing to do for someone else.

Stephanie

 

[raider97]

Ya know, the best Minnie Mouse meal interaction for me was always at LTT. Bummer they are no longer there. But at the same time, I am not a big character dining fan.

You might want to just suck it up and do the Epcot Character Spot to get in the fab 5. In June (July 4th week) it took us a little over an hour to get through that one.

Amanda - What a great idea!! I had been planning to go to the character connection... why o why had I forgotten that I would get the fab 5 there.

Where are you favorite places to eat? I also loved the interaction of LTT with the characters, but also think it will make a nice quiet traditional Christmas Eve dinner without them.

Stephanie

 

[raider97]

A ton of t-shirts.

I got an email from Hanes that kids t-shirts were on sale for $2.99 so I picked up a ton last night. I am hoping to get some made for our trip.

So if you need any check out www.hanes.com. The kids beefy t-shirts will be discounted to $2.99 when you add them to your cart.

Happy shopping!!

Stephanie

 

[creativeamanda]

Amanda - What a great idea!! I had been planning to go to the character connection... why o why had I forgotten that I would get the fab 5 there.

Where are you favorite places to eat? I also loved the interaction of LTT with the characters, but also think it will make a nice quiet traditional Christmas Eve dinner without them.

Stephanie

LTT is great without the characters--much more relaxing!

 

[jenn-]

Can't wait to see what you create with those t-shirts!

 

[pixidustmom]

Stephanie, your right I should give my hand at doing a my own pre trip report but I feel so foolish as things keep changing over and over and I don't want people to think gosh how is she gonna get this together.
Such as well it looks like the kids may not come after all. The boyfriends may have issues with time off work and paying their share on time. So I made the offer to rent them all a car and get them a room and send them to Cali were they will then go to Magic Mtn. My DH and I would still go to WDW with our grandson. They think this is better for all of them and so do my DH and I but don't tell them. So I went to get to get online to find out pricing for us and well wouldn't you know it it's down for construction or something. Geesh I want to know now not later.
My DH and I took our GS to our Disney outlet. My DH is going to be spoiling him for sure. He kept finding some really cute outfits and adding them to our purchase.
Oh and thanks for the comment about me being a surrogate. It's such a wonderful experience. I have nicked named the baby Thumper and his mommy loves it. They are planning to decorate his nursery with a Disney theme too. How cool is that?