Christmas to New Years visit. Need planning helpm

[Spoiledraf]

A friend asked me this week to help plan a visit over Christmas. Somebody very nice gave him and his family a week in a condo he says is on property. Maybe DVC but he doesn't know.
His kids are girls, 6 and 3 and he says he wants to do all the princess activities so I assume he wants a meal at Cinderellas Castle and BBB. Soooo.....
Can I give him any hope of scheduling either of these? How soon can he schedule these?
I'm not sure if he is offsite so I need both dining and BBB limits for onsite and off site.
Can DVC guests get the same dining package?
I've never been during the Christmas so any advice will be appreciated. I already told him plan on arriving to the parks early to accomplish anything. I'm hoping this first timer can have a great visit. Can you help me?

 

[Alesia]

First of all, you need to find out exactly where they're staying. It's going to make a huge difference.

ADR and BBB booking opened for them a month ago. Both of those will be difficult to get at this point. They need to get on it.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Hey there...

I can help with the Christmas planning, however, my sister and I are older so I don't know much about the princess stuff. I will say this - plan ASAP. I'd look into your reservations NOW.

I'm 99.999% sure that DVC members have the same access to the meal plan as those staying at a normal on-site resort. This means that you can select a meal plan and you can book your reservations up to 180 days out (your window is open.)

Being on-site during Christmas is a huge advantage. Christmas is the most crowded time of the year at Disney. Who wouldn't want to spend the happiest time of the year at the happiest place on earth? IMO, NYE is much more crowded than Christmas. On NYE, Disney isn't "Disney" - it's the spot to go for fireworks. You don't have to be a Disney fan to enjoy Disney on NYE. There's drinks and fireworks, which draws a lot of locals. Think of Times Square during NYE! The advantage from staying on-site is that because of the crowds, Disney often sees a lot of Phased closures. The worst i've ever seen is a Phase 3, but I've heard of Phase 4's in the past. It would have to be a Phase 4 for on-site guests to be turned away. We often head to the parks late on NYE and have never had a problem - not to jinx it.

Being on-site allows you to rest during the afternoon. We always leave the parks around 1 or 2pm, as that's when the crowds get unbearable. We'll rest and wash up before dinner and return to the parks at night for EMH (another perk of staying on-site.) Being on-site also allows you to book your FP+ 60 days out, as opposed to the 30-day window that off-site guests have. The rides are hard enough to get during the 60-day window, so having a 30-day leg up on the off-site guests us a huge advantage.

I would find out if it's on-site if I were you. There are condos and plenty of vacation rentals and time shares around Disney that aren't associated with Disney. That would make you "off-site" guests and no, you wouldn't have access to the meal plan. It would also change the entire planning process. If you are on-site, I would go ahead and start planning and making your reservations. Many have already been booked! Everything is very time sensitive during that time of the year. Don't let me steer you wrong - it's an amazing time to go. My family will be going for our 6th time in 7 years. With the proper planning, you'll have a blast - but trust me when I say - you need to plan your days!

Check out my site and free guide at survivedisxmas.com. I'd love to help you out with planning your vacation!

 

[sheila <3 WDW]

I will be there 12/20-12/27. I made my dining reservations weeks ago. If they want CRT they need to start checking now and book out when they find it available. ADRs can be booked at 180 days.

If it's DVC, they can pay full price for the dining plan. The DVC owner will have to add it though. DVC member services will only speak with the DVC owner.

 

[sharonabe]

The problem with the DDP for them is that this was a gift. With DVC, only the owners can make the DDP purchase for them. He would have to ask the person who gifted it to them to make that reservation. He will then just pay that person the total.

If they can't get CRT, there's always Akershus and 1900 Park Fare for dinner as alternatives.

I would go ahead and give them a heads up that MK will be open at 7 am almost every if not all days they are there. Those will be some early mornings, but if they are onsite, they will be worth it. Just plan an early evening the night before.

 

[Spoiledraf]

I told him he is at peak peak season and dining and princess reservations were going to be extremely difficult to get at the very least. I didn't know the MK opened so early. Don't know if he can take advantage of that.
I have trouble getting my own family to sit down and plan. It's even harder with a newbee who has no idea of what it takes to plan a Disney vacation. Especially at Christmas.
I can see it now. "So where are the best places to eat?"
Ahh....anywhere you can get a reservation... If you can get one.
Oh well I'll be back with more questions