December Trip WWYD?

[stardust190]

So we planned our family's first ever Christmas trip. We usually can't go at this time of year, but we made it work. We were so excited for the castle lights, MVMCP, fireworks, Epcot storytellers, resort decorations with gingerbread houses, Christmas trees at Disney Springs. You get the idea. We've known for a while that this trip would be very different, but I was waiting for the announcement on MVMCP before deciding what to do. Well today that was cancelled. We are flying from Minnesota. We rented vacation club points and are staying at OKW. The trip is 95% still happening - unless COVID gets way worse this fall or one of us gets sick. So these were our initial plans:

Dec 4th (Friday) - Arrive, swim, Disney Springs
Dec 5th (Saturday) - DHS as my son wants RotR first thing
Dec 6th (Sunday) - Epcot
Dec 7th (Monday) - Relaxing day resort hopping looking at decorations and gingerbread houses
Dec 8th (Tuesday) - Harry Potter first time and both kids are obsessed with the books right now
Dec 9th (Wednesday) - Magic Kingdom
Dec 10th (Thursday) - Epcot
Dec 11th (Friday) - Relax, swim, Disney Springs
Dec 12th (Saturday) - Animal Kingdom
Dec 13th (Sunday) - MVMCP
Dec 14th (Monday) - afternoon flight home

Our kids are 10 (star wars loving son) and 8 (princess loving daughter). We know we won't have MVMCP. Our trips always have 2 MK days and 2 Epcot days, but I don't know if that makes sense right now. I'm leaning towards adding a day to my tickets as we have 5 park days right now, but we were going to the party. I have 3 of our tickets direct from Disney and 1 from Undercover Tourist. Can I add a day to all of them?

I'm also torn on Harry Potter. We would love to go, but I'm worried that as our first time we might be disappointed with the experience right now. Should we add 2 Disney days and skip HP for now? We'd go when things are normal again.

Should we change our park days? Spend more/less time at one of the parks. We are not sure what to do with all this. Not the trip we have been looking forward to. Getting out of my house after working remotely and teaching "distance learning" will be good for all of us though.

Any thoughts on how to re-imagine this trip would be appreciated! We have already decided on renting a car. We always use Disney transport as I hate driving on vacation, but we figure that we would do what we can to control our exposure to COVID. We know that this trip will come with risks. We are very careful here at home and will do whatever is in our control while we travel, but we likely won't overly worry if others around us aren't as cautious.

 

[LolaNJoe]

Honestly this is a great time to do HP. They are still doing the wand ceremony, except with just your group and you get to choose in advance who gets chosen. Wait times are exceptionally short (IF you go on a weekday), and all rides are open. The only thing you would miss are the castle show which is just projection, and the wizards singing which wasn't really something to wait around for anyway. I was there last week and only noticed one shop that was closed, the rest are open as usual. Dining is all still available and the butterbeer is easy to obtain. Fun house-themed masks are available and are super comfy.

 

[Orion Nebula]

Family and I are going pretty much the same dates (arrive Dec 1). But like you we are not 100% sure yet. The one thing I am waiting on is if they expand the park hours closer to normal by then. It's one thing that kind of sucks as I don't know what we will do each evening since the temps can get chilly. Otherwise we would skip a pool day and just swim each evening.

But ya we also are worried about the entire experience masks and all. It's very conflicted around here on how dampened the experience is and to what level people can deal with. Although I will say wearing a mask in December is going to be a hell of a lot easier than the summer months.

 

[Ksquared]

I assume by HP you mean going over to Universal for the day. If so, then yes, I would keep that. I think with the lower crowds, your kids would enjoy that and you can get allot done. I would replace the day you thought you were going to the party with a 2nd day at MK. If you don't want to add another ticket day, then I'd take off one Epcot day and do 2 at MK.

Also, the gingerbread houses won't be there this year, but you can still go to the resorts and look at the decorations. From what I understand, if you use Disney transportation it has not been a problem; however, if you drive yourself they may not let you in resort unless you have a dining reservation so keep that in mind.

 

[focusondisney]

I could be wrong, but some of the reports I read seem like Saturdays are usually sold out at Studios. And ROTR is still using boarding groups. I am going the week before (11/27 -12/3) & plan on doing Studios Monday & Wednesday. But for sure I will be watching for crowd reports the next few months.

Also announced yesterday- no gingerbread houses. The resorts will be decorated but I am still undecided on if trees & decor will be enough to have me resort hoping.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I could be wrong, but some of the reports I read seem like Saturdays are usually sold out at Studios. And ROTR is still using boarding groups. I am going the week before (11/27 -12/3) & plan on doing Studios Monday & Wednesday. But for sure I will be watching for crowd reports the next few months.

Also announced yesterday- no gingerbread houses. The resorts will be decorated but I am still undecided on if trees & decor will be enough to have me resort hoping.

Everyday is sold out at HS.. so I dont think it matters when you go.
We are doing 2 days at universal.. we can spend one day in just Harry Potter between the two sides its fantastic...
Because you are not doing the party you can check out Volcano bay or Aquatica water parks it's really cool going to a water park in December.
We love the December weather is Amazing and it's great fun sending pics to family and friends of us in the sun and at the pool while they are getting ready for a winter storm.
I really like you schedule having days off after two park days is a great idea.

 

[focusondisney]

Everyday is sold out at HS.. so I dont think it matters when you go.

All 3 buckets are filled every day? I didn’t know that. Thanks!

 

[LuvMyEAR]

I hope your trip will be magical, in this very different year. The list of cancelled holiday experiences pretty much covers the things we enjoy most about the season in WDW. In some ways, it is helping us cope with the disappointment of cancelling our Dec trip. Of course, part of me still desperately wants to be there anyway! I am sure there will be new high points to discover.

But with the risk of travel and likelihood of a mandatory isolation period upon returning home on Dec 12, it seems prudent to stay home. Yes, I am still trying to say/write it often enough to believe it!

Catch some “snow” flakes and pixie dust for all of us who wish we were there, please!

 

[Disneyfan754321]

All 3 buckets are filled every day? I didn’t know that. Thanks!

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/availability-calendar/?segments=tickets,resort,passholderA lot of people are last minute so you can only look a week before

 

[nherbert]

Firstly we last went pre-COVID (January), so cant speak for current experiences. But with kids that age I would suggest doing AK before second Epcot. Our son (12) loved AK due to everest, avatar zone (never seen avatar), whereas not so keen on Epcot with all the construction. Assuming you can get a park pass you could then be more flexible with which parks you visit twice towards end. When our son was little it would have been MK, but based on our last visit it was HS.
strongly recommend going to HP world but remember there are two parks with HP stuff so you will need to travel between parks. Hagrids ride is worth queuing for.

 

[stardust190]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! At this point we are going to keep the trip and hope for the best. I did switch our DHS day for mid-week. And I'm not 100% sure on Harry Potter. I decided I won't buy those tickets in advance - we'll see how it goes. I'm going to call about adding a park day to our tickets. Our kids want 2 AK days as they both love it, but it is honestly my least favorite park. I do not care for animals though so that is probably why. We always go to MK and Epcot twice as they are mine and my husbands favorites. We'll see what happens. Do you think I need to worry about anything other than DHS being booked solid?

 

[Alynw]

As far as HP, just visiting the WWHP Land is amazing, its like walking into the movie. Just walking around and checking out the land is part of the biggest experience u get with HP so dont be afraid of a lacking of experience from covid.