A December Do-Over Trip for the Books!-Updated 12/2!

[JessM]

Oh I totally hope you get to check out JellyRolls!! I have planned to go on both of my previous trips and the first time, we got stuck in a torrential downpour in Downtown Disney, even with a poncho on I got totally soaked because the rain was hitting the ground so hard that it bounced up underneath the poncho. So I was in no mood at that point.

The second time we were just too exhausted from our long day. It was over 90 that day in March, which was a record high for Florida that day!

I hope it works out for you and then you can report back on how it went!

I hope it works out too! Spencer and I went for a little bit with one of his friends that was working at the Boardwalk at the time but we didn't get to stay long. We don't have any good dueling pianos bar around us and I know my parents will love it! I definitely report back and try to get some more pictures if we get a chance to go!

90 degrees in March?! That must have been crazy! I like to go to Disney when its a little cooler than that. My Northeast self might melt at that temperature

Holy cow, you're actually working on travel day? No way I could do that.

Haha, I love those POP pictures. I just sat here giggling at how far away you are in the pics. It does give a good perspective of the size of the icons though.

Sounds like a good first day. Admittedly, the ability to pre-book a FP for late is quite cool. I tended to do that a lot. Go to one park in the morning when the waits are low before heading to another with FP's already in hand. From that perspective I do like the FP+.

I sure do hope Spencer gets to meet you there, but I fully get not wanting to take vacation so early in a job. Still hoping it somehow works out.

Every hour of vacation is precious haha! I'm hoping to get away with only using 24 hours work of vaca for this trip so I need to make some hours up somewhere! Plus I'm just a wreck if I'm sitting at home before i leave, packing, checking, repacking, its terrible

Haha you can thank my Mom for those gems. I told her you couldn't see me but she insisted on getting the icon. Her photography skills are why we get photopass now

We did the same thing with our FP+. We normally hop so I tended to book our FP+s for our second park of the day. I'm hoping standby lines won't be too bad if we hit RD at our first park of the day. We shall see!

I hope it works out with Spencer too, he's going to have to make a decision sometime next week to get some airfare down there, we'll see!

 

[TeamMMom]

Hi from a fellow Mainer! I enjoyed your Dec 2012 TR and am looking forward to following your PTR. I'm hoping to make my DH a believer on our first family trip!

 

[JessM]

Hi from a fellow Mainer! I enjoyed your Dec 2012 TR and am looking forward to following your PTR. I'm hoping to make my DH a believer on our first family trip!

Thanks for following along! I hope you are having fun planning your first family trip!

 

[JessM]

Day 2 Plans!
Universal and MVMCP (Hopefully!)

Today will be our first full day in Florida but we aren’t starting out at Disney.

The plan is to head over to Islands of Adventure for their 9am opening.

I’m hoping it won’t be too busy today, its been a few years since we’ve been at Universal but last time we went in early December there was literally no one there. My friend and I thought we had wandered into places we weren’t supposed to be there were so few people around. I’m sure it will be busier than that but hopefully we won’t need the express pass.

The plan is to head over to HP first thing and get on the Forbidden Journey ride. It will be a first for all of us so I’m excited! After we will explore the rest HP has to offer. My Dad and I may ride the Dueling Dragons, we’ve done it before it was re-themed to HP. I definitely want to spend some time shopping and try a frozen butterbeer!

I can’t wait to see this sight!

After HP world the plan is to walk through Seussville to check out the Christmas stuff and maybe take a spin on a couple of the rides. I’m hoping to pop into the Grinch show (they are playing that again this year right?).

We also want to hit up Spiderman (family favorite) and the Hulk.

I honestly think this is all we will do at IOA. Being December I’m assuming we won’t feel like getting drenched on the water rides and we’ve done them all before anyways. No one is into straight drops so Dr Doom’s Fearfall holds little interest.

We haven’t seen Poisedons Fury is that worth a trip over to see?

We’ve seen Sindbad and have no desire to see that again.

I’m thinking it will still be relatively early when we finish up at IOA so we’ll probably upgrade to a park hopper and head over to Universal after.
At Universal I’d like to get on Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and Transformers if the waits aren’t too bad.

I love the minions

I wouldn’t mind hitting up Men in Black, ET, and Revenge of the Mummy. I’d like to think I’m brave enough to try Rip Ride Rocket but we’ll see.

None of us are into the Simpsons and I’m honestly a little scared to go on the new ride over there. It’s the same ride cars as the old Back to the Future right? That’s the only ride that has ever made me want to die haha.

We are going to aim to head out of Universal around 4pm. I honestly think this will be doable, my mom gets motion sick and doesn’t like the big coasters. She’s determined to do HP once but I’m not sure if she’ll make it on Spiderman or Transformers. Spiderman didn’t treat her too well a few years ago. We don’t want her sitting around waiting for us all day so we’ll so what she can do or what has a short wait and go from there.

Mainly we want to explore HP and get a butterbeer. Expensive but my Mom wants to go and I’m excited to do some different rides for the day, should be fun!

I’m hoping tonight I’ll be off to MVMCP!

My plan is to not buy tickets until the day of so I hope it doesn’t sell out! We may end up waiting to stay at Universal til their 8pm closing, I doubt it but maybe!

If all goes according to plan we’ll be back at Disney around 5:30pm from Universal, I’m going to change quickly and head out to MVMCP!

I’m hoping to be there by 6:15pm so I can get in line for #1 priority characters, Rapunzel and Flynn!

My must do’s for the party are meeting Rapunzel and Flynn, Mickey and Minnie, Holiday Wishes, the Parade, and see Celebrate the Season.

Rapunzel and Flynn, and whoever is with them (7pm-7:20pm). I'm honestly so excited for this, I want to meet Flynn Ryder so bad!!

Me and Rapunzel on my last trip, she's my favorite princess by far.

I want to spend 7:30pm til 9ish visiting the characters around Fantasyland. I’m hoping to find Peter Pan and Wendy, Cinderalla Crew, Pooh and Friends, and Scrooge.

If by some miracle the Dwarves have a short line I’ll hop in but I’m not counting on it!

Around 9pm I’ll head over to the hub to find a spot for Holiday Wishes!
9:30pm Holiday Wishes will start! I plan on hanging around the hub after Wishes until the Celebrate the Season Show at 10:05pm!

After the show I’m hoping to just stick around for the second parade. If I can’t find spot around the hub I’ll head over to Liberty Square.

I’m hoping somewhere around these 3 shows I’ll be able to run down and meet Mickey and Minnie, if not I’ll hit them up on the way out!

After the second parade I think I’ll head up through Adventureland possibly stopping in at the Aladdin gang or Capt Jack if the lines aren’t too long.

We’ll probably end the night with some rides on BTMRR!

I think this will be my plan for now, its hard because there’s so much I want to do but I don’t want to criss cross the park too much. That seems like it would be a waste of time.

This plan is probably a little too ambitious but we'll see how it goes!

What’s everyone else’s game plans for MVMCP?

I’m really hoping this works out because I’m a Christmas freak. I’ve been to the party once before but it was long time ago, I do remember having a lot of fun though!

It will be a long day but the next day I plan on sleeping in a bit!
​

 

[missangelalexis]

Ah that stinks you have to go to work on your travel day!

Your first day sounds fun, and great that you can use FP+ to ride the headliners so late in the day!

Your second day sounds great too! I hope you are able to attend MVMCP like you want to!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Ha, your comments about Universal pre-Potter brought make memories. I remember going there in 2006 and walking around and seeing absolutely no one! Kinda spooky.

Obviously you're gonna love the HP area and Forbidden Journey. I really wish I could see it again for the first time, it really is that good.

I've seen Poseidon's Fury and that's a tough call. If you had loads of free time I'd say maybe give it a shot. But the show times can be inconvenient and it's probably the worst queue ever made. There are some neat effects inside if they're working, but I'd never call it a must do. If you have other things to do, I'd say skip it.

Minion Mayhem is great, but it's a low capacity ride so it can get long waits. I hope you get to see it because I really loved it. The Mummy I wouldn't miss. Love that thing.

Yeah, Simpsons is similar style to Back to the Future. Still fun though, but it does take a while even with no line.

Good call on MVMCP tickets if you're not sure you'll make it. And REALLY good call to get in line for your #1 priority before the party starts. I plan to watch Holiday Wishes that night too... but from the Poly Beach, lol, after spending the day in MK.

I think most of your game plan is pretty doable. If you can get through the princess M&G not too long after 7, you should have a good amount of time to do all you mentioned, especially during the first parade. The Dwarfs will probably be tough, but the rest might be ok. I'm still curious if they'll bring out Jack and Sally since they are Christmas themed too. That could take away some of the lines for the Prince/Princesses and Dwarfs.

 

[JessM]

Ah that stinks you have to go to work on your travel day!

Your first day sounds fun, and great that you can use FP+ to ride the headliners so late in the day!

Your second day sounds great too! I hope you are able to attend MVMCP like you want to!

Working is a bit of a bummer on travel day but I'd rather save the vacation time so its all good by me!

I'm very optimistic about FP+, I like the idea of pre-booking headliners for late in the day, I'm excited to test it out!

I hope MVMCP works out too. Its such a short trip, but I want to jam it all in, who needs sleep or rest haha.

Ha, your comments about Universal pre-Potter brought make memories. I remember going there in 2006 and walking around and seeing absolutely no one! Kinda spooky.

Obviously you're gonna love the HP area and Forbidden Journey. I really wish I could see it again for the first time, it really is that good.

I've seen Poseidon's Fury and that's a tough call. If you had loads of free time I'd say maybe give it a shot. But the show times can be inconvenient and it's probably the worst queue ever made. There are some neat effects inside if they're working, but I'd never call it a must do. If you have other things to do, I'd say skip it.

Minion Mayhem is great, but it's a low capacity ride so it can get long waits. I hope you get to see it because I really loved it. The Mummy I wouldn't miss. Love that thing.

Yeah, Simpsons is similar style to Back to the Future. Still fun though, but it does take a while even with no line.

Good call on MVMCP tickets if you're not sure you'll make it. And REALLY good call to get in line for your #1 priority before the party starts. I plan to watch Holiday Wishes that night too... but from the Poly Beach, lol, after spending the day in MK.

I think most of your game plan is pretty doable. If you can get through the princess M&G not too long after 7, you should have a good amount of time to do all you mentioned, especially during the first parade. The Dwarfs will probably be tough, but the rest might be ok. I'm still curious if they'll bring out Jack and Sally since they are Christmas themed too. That could take away some of the lines for the Prince/Princesses and Dwarfs.

Universal used to be so dead and empty. No wonder they spent all that money on HP!

I'm pumped about the HP section, I love the movies and am that person who re-reads the book every couple years. I've heard its extremely well done so I'm excited.

I think we will skip Posidons Fury, its doesn't seem that worth it. I hope we can get on the Minions but I'm not going to wait in line forever for it, its not that important. I've heard the capacity is dreadful so we'll see how that goes!

I'm definitely hoping to have time for the Mummy I did that last time I was at Universal, it was great! We actually had no idea what it even was the first time we went so we were in for quite the surprise haha. It was great!

I think I'm going to steer clear of the Simpsons. I did Back to the Future with a friend of mine with a stomach of steel and we both felt queesy afterwards, I don't know what it was.

I'm hoping MVMCP won't be sold out that night. For what its worth TPs has it as one of the least crowded Friday parties but we'll see. My parents will probably think I'm nuts getting in line that early for Rapunzel but I don't want to miss too much party time waiting for her and Eugene!

The Dwarves would be cool but definitely aren't a priority so I won't be heartbroken if I miss them. The problem with bringing Jack and Sally to MVMCP is that I would want to meet them too haha!

 

[JessM]

Day 3 Plans!
Epcot and MK Day!

The plan this morning is to sleep in a little bit but we’ll probably still be up and over to Epcot near the 9am opening.

<3 Epcot

I didn’t get to spend much time here on our last trip so I’m SO excited to be back!

I didn’t book any FP+ for Epcot because I wanted to save them for the MK in the evening. Plus, we will hopefully be riding TT and Soarin on Thursday and those are the most important ones!

The plan for the morning is maybe grab FP- if any are left for Soarin and head over to Sum of All Thrills. I’ve never down this before so I’m hoping we can get over there before the line backs up. We also may try to ride TT again using the Single Rider line. After that we’ll finish up anything we may have missed in Future World Thursday night before heading over to World Showcase. I’d also like to hit the gospel show they’ve been doing in Future World the past few years.

I would like to spend the majority of the afternoon exploring WS. This is something we normally save for the evenings, but I have a confession! I feel like I can’t see anything in WS at night, I love the ambiance but its too dark for me to feel like I can see anything haha. Its like that for me not just at Disney but everywhere.

I recently decided to be Jasmine for the Enchanted 10K in February so I’d like to catch Aladdin and Jasmine meeting in WS so I can get some more ideas for my costume. I only have my bottoms picked out so far. I’d also like to try and meet Belle over in France as well.

I’d also like to take in a few Holiday Storytellers at some point. We haven’t seen any of the films in WS in a long time so I’d like to stop in to see a couple of those as well.

Must Do’s for Epcot are:
• Meet Jasmine and Aladdin
• Experience Sum of all Thrills

Holiday Must Do’s:
• See at least 2 Holiday Storytellers
• Take in the Gospel Show in Future World (I’m blanking on the name)

The plan is to head out of Epcot early afternoon and head back to POP for little break.

Around 4pm we’ll head out to the MK!

I’m assuming we’ll arrive around 5ish. The plan is to head over to BTMRR for our FP+ reservation between 6pm-7pm(my Mom’s all time favorite ride!). After BTMRR (or before) we’ll probably hit up Pirates (my Dad’s favorite, he missed it last trip!)

If we have time we’ll hit up the Jingle Cruise (yay Christmas overlay!!!)
Before switching gearing and heading over to Tomorrowland for the end of our Buzz FP+ window (7pm-8pm).

I am terrible at this ride but its still fun!

After Buzz we may do the People mover or the Laugh Floor before using our FP+ reservation for Space (8-9pm).

Anyone remember this gem from my last trip?! Haha.

I wasn’t quite sure how to book our FP+s for MK this day. I didn’t want to criss cross across the park too much and I wanted to get everyone’s favorites in on our first MK day. So I settled on BTMRR for my Mom and we’ll stop at Pirates for my Dad before or after. After finishing up in Adventureland I figured it would be easiest to head over to Tomorrowland since the Dessert Party is over there and I love SM! We probably won’t need a FP for Buzz but it will probably save us a 20min wait and I wasn’t sure what else to book, so it works! I may switch this out for the Jingle Cruise if the holiday layover is super popular.

Moving on around 9pm we’ll head over to the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party at 8pm!

OMG my Mom and I love the Dessert Party! We are total sweets people and we love the view. Hopefully it warm!

I love Wishes SO much I can’t wait to see the show again, and Celebrate the Magic!

After Wishes we’ll probably wander through Tomorrowland to Fantasyland doing whatever catches our fancy. I’m assuming Disney will add a second Main Street Electrical Parade and extended closing til 12am, so I’m hoping to catch the 2nd parade from Liberty Square, before calling it a night.

I just love the MSEP!

​

Goals for MK:
*Have Fun!
*See Wishes!

Honestly I have no expectations for what we might be able to do tonight at MK, last year it was only really busy on Main Street but we'll see! Either way I'll see my loves Celebrate the Magic and Wishes!​

 

[JessM]

MagicBands!

By the way sorry for the lack of updates everyone! Life has been extremely busy, I am so ready for vacation!

I'm officially 27 days out today and literally can not wait!

I just got back from a work trip to Bloomington IL, it was weird to fly and not be going on vacation. It made me that much more excited for vacation! Plus my hotel room smelled like cookies, like Disney bake shop cookies, it was cruel!

Anyways so when I got home from my little trip my Magic Bands had arrived!

Aren't they pretty!

I'm pretty excited about these. I'm always misplacing my ticket or room key, I can't wait to wear them on my wrist!

On another note, Disney finally got around to inviting me to test MyMagic+ last week

Twice!

Haha I thought it was too funny that I literally got two snail mail invitations 2 weeks after I'd already made my FP+ selections. Oops : )

27 Days! I can't wait!!​

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

YAY for Epcot. I think if you get to SUM early you should be fine as should TT single rider. Was for me anyway.

I know exactly what you mean about WS at night. It really is hard to take in any of the detail. It's still pretty, but so hard to see.

The Holiday storytellers is something I'm interested in as well. I've heard that Mexico and Norway have the best, but I'm sure everyone's opinion is different.

Good call on using your FP+ for MK. I think it'll be really busy that night with the late close making the desert party even better. I'm also hoping for some park hour extensions.

Hey Jess, for the orange MB in the picture, it doesn't look like it has the black border. Is that correct?

 

[JessM]

Hopefully we won't have to wait too long, but if we do all well we'll be in Disney so its ok!

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! My parents think I'm crazy haha

That's good to know, I'll have to try to stop for those two. Those are two of our favorite pavilions so we'll probably stop and see those two at least. Hopefully their appearance schedule will work out so that we can see a few!

We have gone this same weekend at least 8 times and they normally extend the hours til midnight, hopefully they will again. Its definitely busy over there that night because of the parade taping and so few nights for regular Wishes but its totally worth it! Having FP+ reservations should work out really well.

Yeah I took the gray part off the orange one. Spencer's officially not coming on the trip but they still sent his band. I'm right on the cusp of being able to wear just the color part so I wanted to try it out. It's just a little short though, so I'm keeping the gray on mine!

 

[missangelalexis]

27 days, yippie!!!

I completely agree about WS at night! While pretty, you can't really take it all in as much as in the daytime.

 

[JessM]

27 days, yippie!!!

I completely agree about WS at night! While pretty, you can't really take it all in as much as in the daytime.

The last 30 days are always the roughest lol, I'm TOO excited.

I'm glad I'm not the only one! My parents make fun of me about it all the time haha. I'm excited to do some day time exploring this trip.

 

[Suziannie]

I'm reading along because I'll be there the 5th through the 10th too! We're also at Crystal Palace the same time you'll be.

I guess it really is a small world after all!

 

[JessM]

I'm reading along because I'll be there the 5th through the 10th too! We're also at Crystal Palace the same time you'll be.

I guess it really is a small world after all!

Wow that is a small world! You'll love Crystal Palace, I had a really great time there last year and I am very excited to go back!

Hope you trip planning is going well

 

[JessM]

Day 4 Plans!
MK and Epcot!

Only 24 more days to go! Hard to believe in two weeks it will be Thanksgiving too!

Today is our Character and Food overload day. I’m really looking forward to it!

We are starting our day off with an 8:30am breakfast reservation at the CP! I can’t wait to get some nice empty Main Street pictures!

If you remember last year, I was rushed down Main St by hungry gills

My parents were supposed to have breakfast at the Crystal Palace with us last year but they had to cancel, so I’m excited to show them empty Main Street and have breakfast with the 100-acre wood gang!

Tigger’s my fav!

After breakfast we will most likely hit up some of the Fantasyland rides. I did book a PP FP+ between (10-11am). I’d like to do Little Mermaid, Pooh and IASM (missed this last year).

I also really want to meet Peter Pan and Wendy, Peter Pan is a childhood favorite of mine but somehow I’ve never met him!

After Fantasyland we will likely make our way towards Frontierland we have a BTMRR FP+ booked between (11am and 12pm), I’d also like to do Splash if its not freezing out.

We’ll have to ride Pirates again to appease my Dad, not that I’m complaining! I’d also like to hit up the Jingle Cruise sometime today.
We’ll likely round out the MK with SM FP+1pm-2pm.

I’d like to spend some time on Main Street before we rush out. I love Main Street at night but I also like to look around during the day when my poor eyes can see all the details haha!

I want to check out all the window displays this year!

Last year we were at MK this same Sunday and it was dead all day (MVMCP night) so I’m hoping for the same thing this year.

We’ll have to depart the MK around 3pm to make our next reservation over at Epcot at 4:15pm.

Must Do’s for MK:
• Eat at Crystal Palace
• Take in all the details on Main Street
• Meet Peter Pan and Wendy

Holiday Must Do’s
• The Jingle Cruise!

I just want to spend the day strolling MK, I don’t even care what we end up doing!

We have reservations at the Garden Grill! We booked this as a CP package and I’m really excited to eat here. I love Chip and Dale (any Rescue Ranger fans out there?!) and Mickey is just so cute in his overalls. We are eating at 4:15pm so we will have tickets to the 6:30pm show.

My Dad loves the Candlelight Processional so I know he’s especially excited about this night. I love it too, but I’ve never seen anyone love it like my Dad. He will likely ditch us Thursday, maybe Friday, and Monday nights to come see it again… multiple times a night. He’s crazy.

After the show we will most likely head out of Epcot. We will have already gotten quite a bit of Epcot time in this trip so we’ll most likely take the boat over to HS to see the Osborne Lights! HS has EMH until 10pm so we’ll have plenty of time.

Spencer and I did something similar last year, we saw the CP, exited through the International Gateway and took the boat to HS to tour the Osborne Lights. It worked out well and the boat ride is a nice break haha!

There’s so much magical night time entertainment in December its hard to fit it all in haha. I’m not the biggest Illuminations fan so seeing it Thursday will be enough for me. I’d rather take tonight and see the lights and spend more time at MK when its open late then see Illuminations again.

Should be a busy but fun day!

Holiday Must Do’s:
• Candlelight Processional
• Osborne Lights!
​

 

[missangelalexis]

This sounds like a great day!! Both Crystal Palace & Garden Grill are on my bucket list You definitely need to try and meet Peter & Wendy, they are so fun!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Haha, I guess if there's one good thing with Spencer not being able to come (which I am saddened to hear), it's more opportunity to enjoy empty Main Street.

Garden Grill is a lot of people's favorite (not that I've ever been), but the character outfits are adorable. Wow, lots of characters this day!

 

[JessM]

This sounds like a great day!! Both Crystal Palace & Garden Grill are on my bucket list You definitely need to try and meet Peter & Wendy, they are so fun!

I'm so excited, hopefully it will be a great day. Definitely try Crystal Palace, its so good!

I can't wait to meet Peter and Wendy, I love them so much!

Haha, I guess if there's one good thing with Spencer not being able to come (which I am saddened to hear), it's more opportunity to enjoy empty Main Street.

Garden Grill is a lot of people's favorite (not that I've ever been), but the character outfits are adorable. Wow, lots of characters this day!

Haha yeah gotta look on the brightside.

I'm excited for character overload day, it should be fun! I really enjoy meeting the characters but I don't want to hold up my parents by making them wait with me so meeting 8 at meals today will be great!

 

[JessM]

Day 5 Plans!
Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom!

I made FP+ selections at DHS before they became tiered. Thank god because I booked TSM, TOT and RNRC!

Today will be our HS morning!

That means being up early to try and get on TSM first thing : ) even though I did book a FP+ for later in the day.

Must beat my score from last year!

The plan is to hit up TSM first thing. Hopefully we’ll be able to ride without much of a wait, I love this ride and I HAVE to ride it more than once.

<3 TSM

After TSM I’d like to try to hit up one of the first Animation Academy Classes. This is on my must do list, I’ve never done one before so I’m pumped!

After the animation class we’ll stroll over to TOT FP+ (10am-11am). I’d like to catch the 11am Beauty and the Beast show before using our RNRC FP+ (11am-12pm). That way we won’t be criss crossing too much!

I have a love hate relationship with TOT. I love the theming and the story, but I hate drops haha!

After RNRC there isn’t much more we want to do besides our TSM FP+ (12pm-1pm). I’d like to ride Star Tours, see muppet vision and ride the Great Movie ride but that’s pretty much it. We’ve seen all the shows at DHS multiple times so we’ll play the afternoon by ear.

Its outdated and corny, but we still do it everytrip!

We don’t have any other plans so we’ll see what happens! This may be a great day to book an early dinner at HDDR or see some resort decorations!

Must do's at DHS:

• TSM

• Animation Class

• Cupcake from Starring Rolls for breakfast, its vacation!

We do plan on heading back to MK tonight! Wishes is scheduled for 9pm. We do have the dessert party booked for tonight as well but we will probably cancel just keep the party on Saturday night. The plan is to see Wishes… AGAIN! Yay! And maybe hit up anything we may have missed. It’s our last night in Disney : (

Must Do’s for MK:
• See Wishes for the 3rd time.
• I would like to catch the MSEP again, I’m obsessed, it’s fine : )​