Dear Santa, I'd like a double-deluxe Disney Xmas!! Dec'12 PTR! Upd 1/20 TR & DR links

[DizNee Luver]

You do book everything separate. As far as your other question about conflicts...not 100% sure on that one. Last time we went in 2008, you had to call Disney Dining and werent able to do anything online. We could probably find out on one of the Dining type forums.

That is a huge difference with DL dining. Having to call for each day?? What a pain!!

One more thing, the Dining website will allow you to start booking at 6am EST for your 180+10, whereas if you call, you have to wait until 7am EST. Didnt know if you knew about that or not Also, I have read that you need to clear your cookies from your computer before booking any ADR's, otherwise you may have problems.

Thanx for the info....I know I still have time to get that all figured out....guess I need to spend some time on the dining thread!! I almost think calling would be easier.....but I also like the idea of doing it online.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Thanx for the info....I know I still have time to get that all figured out....guess I need to spend some time on the dining thread!! I almost think calling would be easier.....but I also like the idea of doing it online.

I like the idea of doing it online b/c you can see all the time choices avail...and not just what the CM tells you is avail

 

[pinkxray]

I'm joining in and can't wait to hear all about your plans. I can't wait to go back but it won't happen for awhile (DH wants a break from anything that it is FL for a few years)

The plans I have for our next trip include a Dec. trip 2013 at the Boardwalk and a possible Oct. 2014 for our DD's 10th bday hopefully at CR or Poly, so I am extremely happy (yet very jealous) to see your resort/ date picks.

Your ADR choices look great! I love, love, love the dxdp so that we can do a character breakfast each morning and then still have credits for dinner. I know that some people say it is too much but I always love it because you get to try out more restaurants that way. I have never done 3 TS restaurants in one day though (DH dislikes that I schedule 2, so I don't push it). I can't wait to see how that goes. Plus CL

I am going to head over and check out your CR/OCT pre TR.

 

[newtexan]

I've always wanted to stay at the Contemporary!
Off to read that pt!

 

[newtexan]

ooops double post

 

[debrapagliasotti]

I'm joining in and can't wait to hear all about your plans. I can't wait to go back but it won't happen for awhile (DH wants a break from anything that it is FL for a few years)

The plans I have for our next trip include a Dec. trip 2013 at the Boardwalk and a possible Oct. 2014 for our DD's 10th bday hopefully at CR or Poly, so I am extremely happy (yet very jealous) to see your resort/ date picks.

Your ADR choices look great! I love, love, love the dxdp so that we can do a character breakfast each morning and then still have credits for dinner. I know that some people say it is too much but I always love it because you get to try out more restaurants that way. I have never done 3 TS restaurants in one day though (DH dislikes that I schedule 2, so I don't push it). I can't wait to see how that goes. Plus CL

I am going to head over and check out your CR/OCT pre TR.

Welcome! Glad to have you follow along for both PTR I am super excited about our ADR hopefuls. June cant get here quick enough so I can know if we get them all. We have never done DxDP, so we shall see how it all goes.

I've always wanted to stay at the Contemporary!
Off to read that pt!

My oldest calls it "the one with the monorail". DH wasnt terribly excited about the idea at first for CR, but once he realized how easy the transportation would be...he was all for it. Hope you enjoy that PTR.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Ok, I'm so torn. I really want to take the kids to MVMCP, BUT I know it wont be going on anymore by the time we arrive the 20th. So, I'm toying with the idea of adding 2 days at the beginning of the trip, arriving on the 18th, heading to the party on the night of the 18th and then adding 1 more park day (probably Epcot or HS out of convenience...I'd lean more towards Epcot mainly for food choices). This would give us 1 day out of the parks to relax. I know we would be able to see the Christmas parade and fireworks after the last party date, but it would also give us a chance to see a few of the rare characters AND DH was at a meeting earlier this month and one of the women was just going on and on about us NEEDING to go to MVMCP if we had a chance b/c its just amazing. My only issue is that I dont know the kids school schedule yet for next year...and I wont know until late March. I dont want them to miss to many days, but I'm afraid to wait that long to make the change and then it possibly not be avail if the dates work out. So, I'm thinking of calling and having them go ahead and add the 2 extra nights and 1 additional day for our park tickets, then if I need to change it, we can later, but then at least I know it would be booked. I suppose I could get the kids school work and have them do it once we get back from the trip...ugh, decisions, decisions!! I'll keep you posted with what I decide.

 

[taaren]

Hi! Came over from the Dec 2012 thread. We'll be at BW half of our trip too! And we're also currently thinking about T-Rex cafe as our first night's dinner (our party has a 5 & 6 year old boy plus a 7 year old girl.

Man you have everything planned out and paid for already! We have reservations (DVC), money set aside for park tickets, airline reward points for the flights, and Reward Disney dollars set aside for food so far ... still have only vague ideas on restaurants/which parks we're going to.

What's your favorite character meal? Are there character dinners at WDW? How did you pick your parks already? We're still waiting for the EMH's to come out so that we know when we want to stay late to use the time change to our advantage ... despite staying at BLT, probably focusing on Epcot/DHS (and a little bit of AK) more since MK is a lot like DLR.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Ok, I'm so torn. I really want to take the kids to MVMCP, BUT I know it wont be going on anymore by the time we arrive the 20th. So, I'm toying with the idea of adding 2 days at the beginning of the trip, arriving on the 18th, heading to the party on the night of the 18th and then adding 1 more park day (probably Epcot or HS out of convenience...I'd lean more towards Epcot mainly for food choices). This would give us 1 day out of the parks to relax. I know we would be able to see the Christmas parade and fireworks after the last party date, but it would also give us a chance to see a few of the rare characters AND DH was at a meeting earlier this month and one of the women was just going on and on about us NEEDING to go to MVMCP if we had a chance b/c its just amazing. My only issue is that I dont know the kids school schedule yet for next year...and I wont know until late March. I dont want them to miss to many days, but I'm afraid to wait that long to make the change and then it possibly not be avail if the dates work out. So, I'm thinking of calling and having them go ahead and add the 2 extra nights and 1 additional day for our park tickets, then if I need to change it, we can later, but then at least I know it would be booked. I suppose I could get the kids school work and have them do it once we get back from the trip...ugh, decisions, decisions!! I'll keep you posted with what I decide.

I say go for it!! Getting it booked will at least guarantee you a room & you can adjust later on if need be. As for the kids missing school.....I don't know about where you're from, but the last week (maybe 2) before Christmas break seems more like a free for all vs actual learning. The kids are too excited & it seems like they do a lot of crafts, movie watching, caroling thru the halls, etc. My kids will most likely be missing an entire week (probably a total of 7 days)....usually not a fan of them missing that kind of time....but considering when they'll be missing....not too worried about it.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Hi! Came over from the Dec 2012 thread. We'll be at BW half of our trip too! And we're also currently thinking about T-Rex cafe as our first night's dinner (our party has a 5 & 6 year old boy plus a 7 year old girl.

Man you have everything planned out and paid for already! We have reservations (DVC), money set aside for park tickets, airline reward points for the flights, and Reward Disney dollars set aside for food so far ... still have only vague ideas on restaurants/which parks we're going to.

What's your favorite character meal? Are there character dinners at WDW? How did you pick your parks already? We're still waiting for the EMH's to come out so that we know when we want to stay late to use the time change to our advantage ... despite staying at BLT, probably focusing on Epcot/DHS (and a little bit of AK) more since MK is a lot like DLR.

Welcome!! T Rex looks super fun and I just know my oldest son will enjoy it. So excited about BW!!

Our fave character meal is Cape May bkfst @ BC. The characters were great and the food was one of the better bkfsts we had. 1900 PF dinner is fun too. The Stepsisters/Stepmother are HILARIOUS! We enjoyed ourselves there and thought the food was good. We are going back to both character meals.

I use Touring Plans for picking out parks. They use statistics to give you an idea of the least/most crowded parks. To see more than 30 days out, you have to purchase a subscription, but its very reasonable in cost. They also have projected park hours/show times/EMH/EEMH based on past schedules and they are usually pretty accurate.

Look forward to having you follow along for this Christmas trip

I say go for it!! Getting it booked will at least guarantee you a room & you can adjust later on if need be. As for the kids missing school.....I don't know about where you're from, but the last week (maybe 2) before Christmas break seems more like a free for all vs actual learning. The kids are too excited & it seems like they do a lot of crafts, movie watching, caroling thru the halls, etc. My kids will most likely be missing an entire week (probably a total of 7 days)....usually not a fan of them missing that kind of time....but considering when they'll be missing....not too worried about it.

I was having a hard time sleeping last night b/c I kept thinking about it and running everything through my head. I think I am going to call tomorrow morning and add the days and we will just take it from there. The kids really dont do much here the last week of school, so I dont think they will miss much.

 

[newtexan]

Add the days now, and then be flexible if something really pressing comes up at school.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Add the days now, and then be flexible if something really pressing comes up at school.

I am taking everyones advice and calling to try and get the days added tomorrow morning. I'm just hoping they are available. I just checked WDW website and they still had rooms for those dates, so I am hopeful.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

So, I called this morning to WDW Travel Co...went through the 500 prompts and finally got through to a woman named Cindy. I immeadiately thought, hmm...Cindy, possibly short for Cinderella, hopefully she can give me some Pixie Dust and grant me my wish for 2 more days. I can hear her typing away on the keyboard, and then she comes back with this...

Cindy...YES, WE DO HAVE THE DATES AVAILABLE FOR THE ROOM TYPE YOU WANT. DO YOU WANT ME TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE THE CHANGE AND CONFIRM IT??

Me...YES PLEASE!!

Cindy...OK, LET ME MAKE THE CHANGE AND GET THE CONFIRMATION FOR YOU.

PAUSE...PAUSE...PAUSE...PAUSE...

Cindy...I'M STILL WAITING ON IT TO CONFIRM.

PAUSE...PAUSE...PAUSE...PAUSE...

(literally, this pause feels like an ETERNITY!!)

Cindy...OK, WE HAVE IT CONFIRMED FOR YOU FOR THE NEW DATES, CHECKING IN DEC 18, CHECKING OUT DEC 27.



Can you tell I'm happy? What I didnt mention here is that I checked availability this morning before I called and the dates WERE NOT available , so I didnt know if I would get good news or not.

So...the new dates are Tues Dec 18-Thurs Dec 27, 9 nts. I also added 1 more park ticket day, so we will now have 7 days in the parks, plus we will have 1 "down time" day. This also means 27 dining credits and 18 snack credits. I have already been coming up with more ADRs I want and have come up with a new schedule.

I'm not terribly worried about the kids school schedule, if they miss, they miss.

I will post the new tentative itinerary and ADR additions in a little bit.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

As promised, he is our new tentative itinerary & ADR list.

Tues 12/18 - early arrival flight. MVMCP.
Wed 12/19 - Epcot. Candlelight Processional.
Thurs 12/20 - HS
Fri 12/21 - rest day/DTD
Sat 12/22 - MK
Sun 12/23 - AK
Mon 12/24 - MK
Tues 12/25 - Epcot
Wed 12/26 - AK
Thurs 12/27 - departure day

ADR's based on new itinerary

12/18 late lunch before MVMCP @ ESPN Club @ BW

12/19 bkfst Club level
lunch Via Napoli
dinner Garden Grill

12/20 bkfst H&V
lunch Sci Fi
dinner 50's PT

12/21 bkfst Club Level
lunch T Rex
dinner Cape May Clam Bake

12/22 bkfst CP
lunch Tony's
dinner 1900 PF

12/23 bkfst Cape May
lunch Tusker House
dinner Whispering Canyon

12/24 bkfst CRT
lunch LTT
dinner Ohana

12/25 bkfst Akershus
lunch Coral Reef
dinner Tutto Italia

12/26 bkfst Tusker House
lunch Yak & Yeti
dinner Spirit of Aloha

12/27 bkfst CL
lunch Big River Grille @ BW

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Only bad thing about changing dates...changing my ticker. Now Mickey is back at the very beginning. Oh well, small price to pay for 2 more days at Disney.

So...the new number is...

322 days!!

 

[francis6306]

Christmas with the Mouse is AWESOME! We had a great time there last year! We stayed earlier in the month and it was my husband's first trip. My daughter was 2.5 and had a GREAT time! We did the party and we enjoyed it- I just wish that we had been able to get my DD to nap that day. The night ended early, for several reasons- but the biggest being she was overtired and needed to go to bed!

Have you considered the Plaza for a meal at MK? It was a really good light meal- we had that for a late lunch/early dinner on our first day. We loved it. You get a beautiful view of the castle, but no characters.

TWO trips back to back is AWESOME!!!! Totally jealous!

 

[newtexan]

hooray for the extra days!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Christmas with the Mouse is AWESOME! We had a great time there last year! We stayed earlier in the month and it was my husband's first trip. My daughter was 2.5 and had a GREAT time! We did the party and we enjoyed it- I just wish that we had been able to get my DD to nap that day. The night ended early, for several reasons- but the biggest being she was overtired and needed to go to bed!

Have you considered the Plaza for a meal at MK? It was a really good light meal- we had that for a late lunch/early dinner on our first day. We loved it. You get a beautiful view of the castle, but no characters.

TWO trips back to back is AWESOME!!!! Totally jealous!

Hello!

We cant wait for this trip. Super-dooper-beyond-excited!! I am really hoping for naps on the arrival/travel day.

I honestly dont know if I have ever looked at The Plaza. I will check that out in a minute and see. Thanks for the advice!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

YAY!!! I know you'll be happy with this decision!!!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

YAY!!! I know you'll be happy with this decision!!!

I agree!!