December 2011 - Christmas with Mickey!! Who's Coming Along and Planning Help Thread!!

[aloha517]

Hi everyone...hoping I can get some advice here for our trip 12/6-12/11.First off I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT DAY TO GO TO WHAT PARK AND IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY....ahhhh that feels better...I thought i had it all figured out then I finally subscribe to touring plans and now im all confused.I was planning on doing MVMCP on Wed the 7th thinking Fri the 9th would be more crowded(we dont have park hoppers and are going to be at MK all day with a hotel rest in between)But now TP has Fri as MK best park w/1.0 .I had planned on doing HS ON sAT 12/10 ..But TP says worst park for that day.Sooooo what do you think ?should I change MK/MVMCP day to Fri ?Should I change HS for a different day(Fri is the recommended best park for HS)or stick with my original plan?Hope this makes sense..i could really use some help sorting this all out. ADR'S are slowly creeping up on me(thats a whole other story)and I really want to have this all figured out by then.Thanks

Original plan
12/7
MK MVMCP
12/8
EP
12/9
AK
12/10
HS

 

[petals]

I pick my park days based on what hours they're open and if they have extra magic hours I tend to avoid them because we don't stay on property so can't get in those days but where park hours are longer I tend to go to that park on that day. I've never noticed any major crowds that bothered me except in Peco Bills (only because there was kids running around that my food nearly landed on their heads and no parents) and Peter Pan is always a long queue

 

[Juliealto]

Hi everyone...hoping I can get some advice here for our trip 12/6-12/11.First off I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT DAY TO GO TO WHAT PARK AND IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY. . .
Original plan: 12/7 MK MVMCP; 12/8 EP; 12/9 AK; 12/10 HS

Since you asked, the week you are going is historically not crowded at all, so I don't think either way would be bad. However, if you only have 1 day/night to go to MK and you go the same day as MCMVP, then you won't get to see the MSEP and "regular" Wishes on a non-MVMCP night. I think I would swap the AK and MK days, but keep your MVMCP on the 7th. Since MVMCP is a separate ticketed event and you said you were thinking about taking a break during the day anyway, I would go to AK during the day and probably stay for the Christmassy parade mid-afternoon, then take a break before going over to MK for the party. Then, I'd choose my Epcot and HS days based on which would give me the most hours to enjoy my favorite regular attractions as well as the special Christmas events.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

The DW and I will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniverary (date actually in October, but DW wanted to repeat our 2008 Christmas decoration trip). We will be at the MVMCP on Wed Nov 30th and hopefully the CP @ EPCOT on Nov 29th.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Hi everyone...hoping I can get some advice here for our trip 12/6-12/11.First off I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT DAY TO GO TO WHAT PARK AND IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY....

First, here is my suggestion and then I'll explain why (this is based on preliminary park hours and I'm making assumptions that you do not have park hopper and are staying on-site):

1) 12/7--AK during the day, MVMCP at night
2) 12/8--HS
3) 12/9--EP
4) 12/10--MK

1) AK usually doesn't need it's own full day, so I'd recommend it as a half day on 12/7. I generally don't like to use my MK park ticket on the same day as MVMCP. MVMCP allows you to enter at 4pm, so using a park ticket that day kind of means you are only paying until 4pm, which isn't necessarily the best use of funds. However, I would keep MVMCP on the 7th because that day has a discounted price and it would generally be less crowded than Friday.

2) This is more by process of elimination because I feel the other 3 parks are best suited for the other 3 days.

3) Epcot has EMH tonight, which means if I'm staying on site, this is the day I'm choosing Epcot! I know some people avoid parks on EMH days, but I always choose them. Especially if I don't have Park Hopper, I never like to exclude myself from the opportunity of staying at a park for 3 hours after closing!

4) MK is open until 10pm this day, which is awesome. Plus, because it's a non-MVMCP night, MSEP and Wishes are showing. Finally, we always like to end our vacation at MK if we can!

 

[Juliealto]

The DW and I will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniverary (date actually in October, but DW wanted to repeat our 2008 Christmas decoration trip). We will be at the MVMCP on Wed Nov 30th and hopefully the CP @ EPCOT on Nov 29th.

Congrats on 40 years! Don't forget to wear the Anniversary buttons!

 

[Juliealto]

4) MK is open until 10pm this day, which is awesome. Plus, because it's a non-MVMCP night, MSEP and Wishes are showing. Finally, we always like to end our vacation at MK if we can!

Glad you straightened this out (much better than my attempt at it). After I posted about having a non-MVMCP night at MK I realized that just switching Weds and Friday wouldn't accomplish that.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Glad you straightened this out (much better than my attempt at it). After I posted about having a non-MVMCP night at MK I realized that just switching Weds and Friday wouldn't accomplish that.

No problem, I basically just re-iterated everything you said, but switched MK to a non-MVMCP day. We had the same train of thought!

 

[aloha517]

Thanks! I think ill take your advice!

 

[LeslieLou]

I'm SO excited that we just made our December vacation plans after closing on our very small VWL contract!

AKV - Jambo Dec. 9-13
BCV Dec 13-16


Happy Dance ...now, I just need to figure out some plans!!...MK/Epcot hours don't seem to be posted yet, unless I missed them?

Anyone have must do Christmas time activities or can you link me in to a thread you know of? (I didn't read through a ton of the thread, so if I've missed this - sorry!)

 

[steelernut]

bytheblood - Would you be so kind as to switch us from the Contemporary to POFQ from December 18-22, 2011. Had to scale back a little. Thanks so much.

 

[Vickis3js]

We decided to switch our resort up a bit. We are now doing a split stay. We will be at BWV from 12/17-12/19 and then 12/19-12/26 in the THV.

So excited I got 2 nights in a 2bd BW view!!! Now we will be doing 2 nights on the deluxe dining plan and the rest OOP with our TIW card. Now if only Dec would get here already!!!!!

 

[Vickis3js]

Count me in for December 23 - 31 at Old Key West.

This started as a Thanksgiving 2011 trip and then moved to being our Summer 2011 vacation trip, and now for health reasons is being rescheduled again. Since I am a year-round school employee , I have time off when school is closed. This year I will spend Christmas Break with Mickey instead of Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson.

You will be so happy you are staying at OKW those dates!!! We were at OKW last Christmas and on Christmas night all the buses were JAM PACKED with lines of people still waiting to get on. We not only had a seat on the bus we had a half empty bus. For some reason the buses, especially later at night, were never full.

 

[Juliealto]

You will be so happy you are staying at OKW those dates!!! We were at OKW last Christmas and on Christmas night all the buses were JAM PACKED with lines of people still waiting to get on. We not only had a seat on the bus we had a half empty bus. For some reason the buses, especially later at night, were never full.

I'm so glad to hear that! I'm looking forward to the laid back vibe we get at OKW. I was thinking it would be the perfect place to chill out after facing the holiday crowds in the parks. I've been thinking about room/door/window decorations, too! Did guests do much in the way of decorating there last year?

 

[Jen12573]

Hi everyone! DH and I are at the very beginning stages of planning for a trip with my parents and my brother, it is to celebrate my Mom's retirement (her idea, we weren't even planning to go this year)!!!

What are your thoughts on the week before Christmas? I realized that as a DC teacher, my brother has been off the week prior to Christmas, and I can get off at anytime, so can DH and well, Mom will be retired. Dad would be the only glitch, but it might work.

So I ask: How are the crowds for the week prior to Christmas? DH and I usually go in January and we love when the crowds are low.

Your advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[SRUAlmn]

bytheblood - Would you be so kind as to switch us from the Contemporary to POFQ from December 18-22, 2011. Had to scale back a little. Thanks so much.

We used to live in Pittsburgh and now live in SC too, and we'll be at POFQ during those same dates! How funny!!

 

[aggiemouse]

We will be at the Poly Dec 11-17th. So excited!

 

[Vickis3js]

I'm so glad to hear that! I'm looking forward to the laid back vibe we get at OKW. I was thinking it would be the perfect place to chill out after facing the holiday crowds in the parks. I've been thinking about room/door/window decorations, too! Did guests do much in the way of decorating there last year?

We saw a few people who decorated but not many. We were in the HH area and no one decorated around us at all.

 

[phinz]

We will be at the Poly Dec 11-17th. So excited!

Whoop! Gig 'em!

 

[bytheblood]

YAY - Got my return flight airfare this morning through Southwest. A whole $7.50 for 3 people in taxes. Thank you REWARDS!!!