Anyone else Doing December 2007 into the NEw Year?? ARE YOU ON THE LIST? Join us!!

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Oh & ... Where do you suggest character dining? Chef Mickey's is a given, but I don't want character dining (for my daughter who will be 16 months) to consume our whole trip!

we are pros at this! WHY you ask? well we went in October 2006 and i had a 10month old and a 21 month old. We had made all our PS AHEAD of time! YUP! and were ready to go...wellllll...we ended up MISERABLE at alof of the TS restaurants if they were NOT character dining. Now PLEASe keep in mind my kids are VERY well behaved EVERYWHERE...but after a full day in the parks and strollers...well they just wanted to have fun, NOT sit for another hour...

SOOO we had to change everything to character dining!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

WE LOVED LOVED LOVED: playhouse Disney!!! It's at hollywood and VIne in Epcot and it's FABULOUS! MY DD only knew the Little Einsteins, and none of the others, but she STILL had the GREATEST time! and DS was dancing! every 15minutes or so the kids get to get up and dance with the characters! it was FABULOUS!
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Chef Mickeys was AWESOME but you know that already!
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we did NOT like the Pricness Dinner at Akershus in Norway. The princesses were rushed, barely took time for pictures and there was no real entertainment for little ones. we eneded up leaving before Dessert..
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Garden Grill was soo NEAT! the restaurant slooooooowllllyyy revolves..i never even realzied it until near the end of lunch! hahah! and the characters come around bunches of times and stay sooo long!!!
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Donalds is OKAY food but the characters are fun and if you get an EARLY seating you can get into the AK before the others and get close to some of the big rides!!
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Crystal PAlace is alotof fun and GREAT food and GREAT character interaction!!

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i will have to think of where else we tried, but those stood out alot alot!

 

[KristineN]

Just curious, where did you stay? and what did you think of the crowds overall? We were there Nov. 30- Dec. 10. The next time will be Dec. 16-26...I am little worried about crowds and such

Us too. Except, everytime we go we end up going to the same places ! This time we tried the Flying Fish and Chef Mickey's and the HDDR. Next time I really want to try Ohana's. We've never done it. I'd like to also try the Coral Reef and maybe Beaches and Cream. Oh, and Garden Grill. My oldest DD loves Chip and Dale ~

Hoping to go back again soon but I don't know when we'll return.

We spent 10 fabulous days this past Christmas and it was wonderful. I would love to go over Christmas again but I think my Mom would freak.

 

[KristineN]

It's funny how the same places get so many different reviews. We absolutely HATED Hollywood and Vine. By far it was the worst food and service we encountered.

CRT for us was one of our favorites.

Garden Grill character wise was fun...food for us was so-so

Crystal Palace was only so-so as well (we won't go back)

Liberty Tree was good.

1900 PF was good

Ohannas was great

Askerhaus was pretty good.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

The next time will be Dec. 16-26...I am little worried about crowds and such

we've heard it's some of the WORT crowds imagineable! that's why we decided to cruise over Christmas and then spend the second week of vacay shopping and doing the one hour before close on the parks and resort hopping checking out the decor..

THEN on the 3rd week when we hit VALUE season in Janauary is when we will hit the parks for real

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

It's funny how the same places get so many different reviews. We absolutely HATED Hollywood and Vine. By far it was the worst food and service we encountered.

haha! we loved the service..we too hated the food, but we figured that's not what we were there for.

CRT for us was one of our favorites.

we liked it a lot here for just the food and the ambiance and the time spent with us!

Garden Grill character wise was fun...food for us was so-so

YUP that's what we loved about it! characters..we are of the belief that character meal food isn't that great haha!

Crystal Palace was only so-so as well (we won't go back)

Liberty Tree was good.

We keep wanting to try LTT and it keeps getting put aside!

1900 PF was good

Ohannas was great

Askerhaus was pretty good
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LOVED OHANA, but really didn't get to enjoy it as we were seated behind hte fire pit and couldn't get the entertainment as best as the others.

 

[KristineN]

I think we will do less buffets this trip. I think that was one of the problems...buffet food is just not as good (IMHO) as regular TS food.

I am hoping the crowds won't be terrible Dec. 16-21. My thought is to hit the parks hard then.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

you can check tourguidemike i believe for a record of past crowds at that time.

I ttoally agree about the difference in buffet and TS foods

 

[ALittleDisneyFan]

we've heard it's some of the WORT crowds imagineable! that's why we decided to cruise over Christmas and then spend the second week of vacay shopping and doing the one hour before close on the parks and resort hopping checking out the decor..

THEN on the 3rd week when we hit VALUE season in Janauary is when we will hit the parks for real

How are the crowds on a cruise ship?? You have peaked my interest! I've been on a RC cruise... never a disney. HMM...

 

[momma leaps]

Just curious, where did you stay? and what did you think of the crowds overall? We were there Nov. 30- Dec. 10. The next time will be Dec. 16-26...I am little worried about crowds and such

We stayed at Windsor Hills. But we always got to the parks early. By noon we were done with all our rides. Never ever waited in line more than 20 minutes. In the afternoon we would either stroll around and shop and relax or go back and swim at WH. I was expecting alot worse.

I have to say if it's your first time then it would be difficult to manuever. But we've been there a few times already and we have our definite favorite rides and such.

Don't worry. I did plan according to which best park to visit and all that. The Thursday BEFORE Xmas was the nicest time we've had at the MK. I believe it was a 4 or 6. Can't remember but the crowds were low. Or it seemed very empty to me. We went in March of 2005, the week before Easter and it just felt so crowded to me.

HTH

 

[KristineN]

I am glad to hear that...I was starting to get paranoid. We tend to go early..so I hope we will be ok.

We stayed at Windsor Hills. But we always got to the parks early. By noon we were done with all our rides. Never ever waited in line more than 20 minutes. In the afternoon we would either stroll around and shop and relax or go back and swim at WH. I was expecting alot worse.

 

[sydally9367]

Oh goodness, I'm not sure if I can think of all the restaurants we've ever eaten at I'll do my best, but I might be missing some! I'll add my eating wish list after that

We've eaten at :

CRT (Didn't especially like the food, but my girls loved the Princesses!)
Columbia Harbour House (One of my faves and a must stop each time we go)
Crystal Palace (meh, the food is alright, but once again, my kids just LOVE the interaction)
Ohana (MMMM MMM GOOD!!!)
Kona Cafe ( a definite favorite of mine, even for just a cup of java and some Tonga Toast!!)
Brown Derby (I loved it here, I had a great salad with seared tuna and it was FABOO, plus they make a darned good appletini)
California Grill (Another favorite, never taken the kids, but I LOVED IT)
Boma ( I hated it and I think my family did too. I did manage to survive on the Zebra Domes, but everything else just wasn't my taste. Not that the food was awful, just not my personal taste.)
50's Prime Time Cafe (The food is alright, but we come back for the entertainment..even if it makes me nervous LOL)
Coral Reef ( I enjoyed it but both my DH and my sister got violently ill the night we ate there, not sure if it was food related but they won't ever eat there again LOL. I just love it because my kids like to watch the fish and when we were there, my Mom and her DH were scuba diving in the tank..SO COOL)
Akershus (Mom and her DH love it, I hate it, bleah)
Biergarten (One of our favorites, we love the food and we love the show, always a stop on our trips!)
Le Cellier (One of my favorites, yummy yum yum!)
Matsunoma Lounge (Always one of our stops because we LOVE Sushi and they have absolutely amazing food!! Nice choices for the kids that don't eat sushi also)
Rose and Crown (ALWAYS a stop to pick up fish and chips and BEER before watching Offkilter!!)
Cape May (We've only eaten here once for breakfast but it was really good)
Spoodles ( I adore it here, the portions are good and I like being on the Boardwalk)
ESPN Club (Always a stop for DH so he can catch up on the sports, they have pretty decent grub too!)
Chef Mickey's (The food was just OK, I've only been here once without the kids, so it may be a difference experience w/ them)
Kimono's (At the Swan and always a stop for us, GREAT sushi and karaoke!!..they also make some delicious drinks!)
Artist Point (Only had breakfast here but it was very, very good)
Whispering Canyon ( I don't care for the food but it's worth the time for the entertainment)

We've also eaten at quite a few quick service places, but I didn't include those LOL.

Places I want to try :
Victoria and Alberts.. just once!!
Citrico's
Wolfgang Puck's
1900 Park Fare
LTT

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Got this from another thread!!!

Dec 26 - 30? JMO, I think it's fun but outrageously crowded AND expensive those dates - for the (relatively) good resort rates you usually have to check in by 12/23 or so or you'll be stuck with the holiday rates ...

Here's what the DIS showed this year for 12/29/06:

From www.wdwinfo.com

Huge Disney Crowds Force Site To Temporarily Close
By
Dec 29, 2006

Orlando, FL (AHN) - Three parks at Walt Disney World in Florida were forced to temporarily shut down after it received a swarm of visitors during the Christmas holidays.

Many who hoped to have a meet and greet with Mickey and Minnie at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom or MGM Studios on Wednesday and Thursday were denied entrance to the place where all your dreams come true.

Park officials had no choice but to close down the Florida attractions at different times in order to control the overwhelming flow of people. Eager guests who could not get into the park were left outside with crying babies and upset children. Many families were angry and outraged that their mini-vacation days had been ruined.

While some waited outside and complained, others headed over to the world culture theme park, Epcot, which is the least popular Disney attraction in Florida. Epcot was the only site that remained up and running on both days.

According to The Orlando Sentinel, it was understandable why the huge crowds at Magic Kingdom forced the Cinderella Castle park to be shut down. On December 25, it was closed for almost an hour.

It is not certain if and when was the last time three Walt Disney World sites had to deny entrance to visitors on the same day.

and this:

For the second straight day and third time this week Walt Disney World had to temporarily shut down access to its parks today after they reached capacity.

Just like on Wedneday, for short periods, Disney closed the entrances to Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom because they had absorbed all the visitors they could, and diverted DIsney-MGM Studios car traffic to the Epcot parking lots because the MGM lots were full, said spokesman Jacob DiPietre.
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[DisneyMommyMichelle]

How are the crowds on a cruise ship?? You have peaked my interest! I've been on a RC cruise... never a disney. HMM...
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we love it love it love it! you really do feel like there are only a few other people on the ship!! haha!! it was just amazing! we've only done DIsney, and we are going to stick with them This will be our childrens' first cruise!!!!

 

[bayknox]

WE will be at Pop from 12/19/07-12/26/07 See you there hopefully. We are from South Elgin IL.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

heyyyy!!!! welcome kinda far but still close enough Neighbor!! are you all driving or flying?

 

[tinknme]

We will be staying at Pop Dec. 19th - 28th. I already have an itinerary made, though I am sure this will change Still need to decide on restaurants. I think we might do the dining plan, which I love.

Hi Kristine!

 

[KristineN]

Howdy Janet...

I was talking to that Len guy (one of the authors of the "unofficial guide to wdw) Anyway, he says the days up until the 21st should be fine. Not very bad crowds at all...after that is when it gets crazy. My plan is to hit the parks hard from the 16-21...then just hang loose.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

hahah! go figure right when I arrive oh well we are only there for 2 nights before our cruise and decided to just do DTD

 

[d4est]

Hey... count us in! I am in the beginning stages of planning a trip for 12/12-12/16/07! It seems forever away. Just now kinda laying out a budget & figuring out where we want to stay. This is a split trip between Disney & UO. Can't wait!