Christmas Trip - Where Have I Gone Wrong?

[lincdax]

Besides the obvious of being at Disneyland during Christmas Break, does the rest of this trip have any great flaws?:

Dec 19th - Fly into San Diego (Knott's & Medieval Times Dinner)
Dec 20th - Disneyland/CA (Lilo & Stitch Breakfast)
Dec 21st - Disneyland/CA (Blue Bayou for lunch)
Dec 22nd - Disnelyand/CA (Goofy's Kitchen - Lunch?)
Dec 23rd - Carnival Cruise (Paradise) \
Dec 24th - Carnival Cruise (Paradise) -- THE PURPOSE OF OUR TRIP
Dec 25th - Carnival Cruise (Paradise) /
Dec 26th - Legoland
Dec 27th - Seaworld (Breakfast w/Shamu)
Dec 28th - Wild Animal Park (Rest, Rest, Rest)
Dec 29th - Fly home to Portland

Am I going to overextend the entire family (DH, DD12, DD7, DS5, Myself) with this much stuff, or should I try and scale back a bit??

Also, if we do BB for lunch, is there a better time than others, and if we do GK is there a time where we have a better chance of character interaction?

My DS says this trip will probably be the death of our family vacations, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Roxko]

DL is not that busy before Christmas - you'll be fine!
I prefer some quiet time to stare at the tourists too.
You will need to have some strong legs for this trip.

Bring foot powder and very comfortable shoes.

Rocko

 

[lap3]

It definitely looks a like a busy vacation but a fun one, too! Bring some comfortable walking/running shoes because you'll need it. Have a great trip!

 

[eduk8r26]

Unless you fly into San Diego early in the morning, it might be a long day for Knott's and Medieval Times the same day. It's a 2 hour drive at least from San Diego to Knott's. It may also be somewhat busy at Knott's because of the Christmas Crafts Festival they have every year at that time. Disneyland also tends to start getting busy because winter break starts around that time. While it sounds like fun, the younger ones may want some down time somewhere along the way.

 

[Eeyorecln]

just wanted to say hi. We're from Portland as well and going that week,too. We plan on using ridemax to help avoid as much crowds as possible. It worked great when we used it this summer. For BB I would recomend 11:30 (first seating) there are only 2 tables by the water where they can sit large groups/families so by getting there early hopefully you can get 1.(This worked for us in August) We went to GK around 1 and had great interaction with characters as well as the brunch food. My kids loved the Goofy mac-n-cheese and Mickey nuggets. Have a great vacation.

 

[Tink33]

I have a lot of energy but I would not be able to keep up with this schedule.
My honest opinion is that you are trying to pack too much into your trip. All of the parks you are visiting will be very busy.

 

[lincdax]

just wanted to say hi. We're from Portland as well and going that week,too. We plan on using ridemax to help avoid as much crowds as possible. It worked great when we used it this summer. For BB I would recomend 11:30 (first seating) there are only 2 tables by the water where they can sit large groups/families so by getting there early hopefully you can get 1.(This worked for us in August) We went to GK around 1 and had great interaction with characters as well as the brunch food. My kids loved the Goofy mac-n-cheese and Mickey nuggets. Have a great vacation.

Thanks for the advice on when to make a reservation. My family is actually from Eastern Washington, but we fly out of PDX so my parents can drop us off (and it is usually cheaper than SEA for Southwest Airlines).

 

[lincdax]

I have a lot of energy but I would not be able to keep up with this schedule.
My honest opinion is that you are trying to pack too much into your trip. All of the parks you are visiting will be very busy.

My DH says it may be packing too much in. Actually Knott's and the Animal Park are two places we don't "need" to do, but since the CityPass has them, we thought they may be worth a visit if time and enthusiasm allowed.

 

[atakaratemom]

My DH says it may be packing too much in. Actually Knott's and the Animal Park are two places we don't "need" to do, but since the CityPass has them, we thought they may be worth a visit if time and enthusiasm allowed.

My advice having been to all of the places you plan to visit would be to skip Knott's this trip. You will be going on lots of rides at DL, CA and Legoland, so you really won't be missing out if you don't go. I would save your energy for DL and CA. I think the poster who said you might not have enough time to do both Knotts and Medieval Times was quite correct. I would just plan for Medieval Times as it is very entertaining and different then your other activities. Since you have only one day at Sea World I would skip the rides, (there are only a few) and focus on the shows. I am sure you will have had your fill of rides at this point and the shows are the real attraction there. If you aren't too tired I would keep the Animal Park on the agenda as it is a wonderful place. Have a great trip!

 

[yeartolate]

I would dump Knotts and go to Legoland that day (seeing as you are already flying into San DIego)

Now, if your kids are not REALLLLLY lego fans, Legoland may be skip-able. If they are lego fans - it becomes a must do (parents and DD12 may be bored). My legomaniac son was satisfied with about 5 hours inside Legoland.

That would leave a "free day" on the 26th. If you had bounding energy you could try San Diego Zoo. Or just relax. By the way, Balboa Park is right next to San Diego Zoo (very walkable). A quick diversion for your son would be to go to the Model Railroad museum. It is just a couple bucks and is a really neat maybe one hour diversion...pretty cool for a youngin' that age.

If you decide to go to The Wild ANimal Park and SD Zoo, Think about a membership - Zoo/Wild Animal Park Membership We have found it to be a great deal.

 

[Tink33]

Here's another idea.

The day you land in San Diego, you can visit the Wild Animal Park. Take the 163 to I 15 and in about one hour you will be at the Wild Animal Park. (You will be going the opposite way of traffic) Try to leave the Wild Animal Park by 3:00 pm. You can then drive up to Buena Park to visit Medieval Times and arrive in about 90 minutes.

This plan will divide your driving and still get you to the Wild Animal Park. (Unless you want to see the Holiday Lights at WAP and then this plan won't work)

 

[disney-super-mom]

Actually, I think it looks pretty good and like a lot of fun. Just remember to pace yourselves a little on that first day and go to Knotts with the idea that you probably won't be able to do and see everything you want to there, but you'll still have a terrific time. Then you can relax at dinner for a couple of hours and enjoy the show. The rest of your vacation looks great, and the cruise in the middle of your vacation is great timing because it gives you three days to rest and recharge for the last three or four days of your vacation.

I say great planning and have lots and lots of fun!!!

By the way, we're from Eastern Washington too, and we're heading down to Disneyland the first week of December.