"Don't catch snoap flakes on your tongue!" a December 2016 PTR/June DLR TR *updated 12/13x2

[xlsm]

Hellooooo Friends!

It's me, your friendly neighborhood pre-trip reporter, Xlsm

I've got a couple of reports under my belt here on the DIS (links in signature). If you've read along with me before, back! If you're new...well, I'm sorry. I'm weird, and I hope I don't scare you away
This will be a typical PTR I think, but with a few fun things thrown in too.

Fun Things?? What fun things? Tell me more!
Well, ok. Since you asked...

We visited the west coast and Disneyland in June, but I didn't end up doing a full report on that, so I'll probably throw some info and pictures of that in here too. It was our first time visiting there, and it was a little weird for us, but we still had fun!

I also have two more trips in the works that may spill over into this a little bit. I'll be taking my MIL to the Flower and Garden Festival in May, and taking my own mom to Food and Wine next October.

While there in December, I will be changing my ticket to an annual pass, so I hope a few good discounts come my way for those trips!

That's nice. Good for you. But I want to know about THIS trip. Who are you? Where are you staying? What are you even DOING??
That's fair! It is a December PTR after all.
First things first...

I'm the "S" of xlsm, a 30something mom of two boys. I'm a PTO mom and I coach a couple of academic teams at school. This year I'm VP of the board at my boys' middle school and the secretary for the district's executive PTO board. I'm obsessed with the movie Jaws, and am a former Disney Store CM.

My 13 year old is the "X" of our letter quartet. He's confident and funny, smarter than anyone ought to be, and oddly tolerable given his age. He enjoys public speaking, video games, 80s music,and being in charge of things. He dislikes practicing the violin and not being able to wear pajama pants in public.

My 11 year old is the "L". He's more serious than his brother, also very smart, and is a big reader. He watches way too much YouTube and has recently been binge watching The Flash on Netflix. He has just started playing the cello, so he doesn't hate it yet, but he's not a fan of lugging it back and forth to school.

My husband is the "M". He's a year and a half younger than me and likes to remind me about that frequently. He is a tech executive, is much nicer than I am, loves Star Trek, and tolerates me and all of my craziness. He's pretty much the best thing ever.

Here's me with the kids in LA in June, the Hollywood sign is back there somewhere:



And here is me with DH in Radiator Springs, also in June:



Yes, I was wearing a sweater in June in Southern California. I had to buy that in the park actually, because I didn't bring mine from the hotel room. It was under 70 degrees and overcast most of that morning. Later in the week there was a heat wave and I was wearing much less clothing!

For this trip we'll be staying at the Boardwalk, which is a first for us. I've never stayed anywhere other than the Wilderness Lodge, and then I got my family hooked on the Lodge...so this is our first time branching out. I'm very excited!!
We'll also have our first hard ticket event with Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. In fact, it will be our first time visiting Disney World outside of the summer heat! (I've had a trip in May before, which was slightly less hot. Slightly.)

So there's the basics for you! I'll be coming back later to talk about our daily plans, ADRs and all that good stuff.

 

[xlsm]

**Chapter Links**

Chapter One: Let's Get it Started
Chapter Two: California Dreamin' and Food Glorious Food (ADRs)
Chapter Three: California Here I Come (sidetrack...DLR TR, arrival day)
Chapter Four: Hurry up and Wait (tentative FP plans)
Chapter Five: Gotta get to Disneyland, on a western breeze (sidetrack...DLR TR)
Chapter Five Part Two (sidetrack...DLR TR)
Chapter Six: Back to December (the struggle is real)
Chapter Seven: Decisions, but I want it all so I get it all
Chapter Eight: Life in the Fast (Pass) Lane
Chapter Nine: Dress You Up In My (Disney) Love
Chapter Ten: Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to Socialize (Disneyland TR)
Chapter Ten Part Two (Disneyland TR - end of Disneyland day one)
Chapter Eleven: Magic (bands) in the Moonlight
Chapter Twelve: I want (California) Adventure in the great wide somewhere
Chapter Twelve Part Two (California Adventure)
Chapter Twelve Part Three
Chapter Twelve Part Four
Chapter Thirteen: (Fastpass) Times They are a changin'
Chapter Fourteen: (Mickey's Very) Merry Christmas (Party) and Happy Holidays
Chapter Fifteen: I'm Getting Closer to my Home
Chapter Sixteen: A Little Bit of Magic (Kingdom)
Chapter Seventeen Part One: (Magic) Band on the Run
Chapter Seventeen Part Two
Chapter Eighteen: It's a Music Celebration (Disneyland day 3)
Chapter Eighteen Part Two
Chapter Eighteen Part Three
Chapter Nineteen: I Would Walk 500 Miles

On the 8th day til Disney...
On the 7th day til Disney...
On the 5th day til Disney...
On the 4th day til Disney...

Chapter Twenty: It's the Whale I'd Like to Be (California)
Chapter Twenty Part Two: When Can We Do This Again? (Disneyland)
Part Two Continued...
Chapter Twenty One: One Last Time (Disneyland/California Adventure)
Chapter Twenty Two: So Long, Farewell (California)

 

[dnllmz]

Hi! Following along! Cute family!

My dh is 3 years younger than me & never lets me forget it. It's okay because people that don't know us well always think I'm younger than him. I told him "It doesn't matter who's younger. What matters is who looks younger & that's me!"

 

[missangelalexis]

Hi!! Glad to see you've started a PTR! I'm sad you never did a DL report so I hope you do include some more photos from that trip!

Very exciting that you have multiple trips in the pipeline! You are going to love holiday time at Disney! Can't wait to read more about what you have planned

 

[xlsm]

Hi! Following along! Cute family!

My dh is 3 years younger than me & never lets me forget it. It's okay because people that don't know us well always think I'm younger than him. I told him "It doesn't matter who's younger. What matters is who looks younger & that's me!"

Hey! I'm happy you're here. Thanks! If we look cute at all it's because we got lucky when the camera went off, haha!
I'm so glad you understand the younger DH issue!! I think I look younger than mine too, so you and I are clearly winning!!

Hi!! Glad to see you've started a PTR! I'm sad you never did a DL report so I hope you do include some more photos from that trip!

Very exciting that you have multiple trips in the pipeline! You are going to love holiday time at Disney! Can't wait to read more about what you have planned

Hooray! I'm glad you're following along!

I debated over and over again on the DLR trip report...I even separated the pictures out into albums by chapter to make it easier to upload to photobucket. I'm still not sure why I flaked out on it.

Having these trips on the horizon is a little overwhelming. Trying to time booking, hoping MDE doesn't mess anything up because I'm on so many reservations, etc...
On the other hand, it's super exciting! I never thought I'd have an AP!!

 

[xlsm]

Ok, so where should I start this thing, anyway??

Chapter One: Let's get it started

This trip idea came about before we'd even returned home from our last WDW trip in July 2015 (and THAT trip was decided on before we'd gotten home from our previous year's trip...a pattern emerges.) It didn't take much convincing to get DH to say yes, so not long after we were home, we started making plans. When 2016 dates opened for booking I checked over and over to see if December dates had opened up yet.

They had not.

So I waited.
and waited...
and waited...



and one day I finally got smart and did a little bit of math and determined when I could book based on the 499 days out from the last day of the trip thing. Then I got busy and forgot. In the immortal words of Alanis Morissette, "It figures."

We ended up booking at 488 days out, and it felt like an eternity away, but who cares?? We were going to Disney World in December!



We booked a water view room at the Boardwalk for December 18 - 23 to keep the kids from missing school days. Surely the school calendar would stay as it usually does, right?

Wrong. It changed. They don't get out until the Wednesday before Christmas now, which is atypical. Boo! Looks like they'd be missing two days. School would just have to get over it!!

There was nothing left to do but do some more waiting...



Then something unexpected (kind of) happened!

Free dining was released! So we called and added a day to our trip and applied the free dining promo to our reservation. We've never used the dining plan before, because it doesn't quite suit our dining style, but what the heck, right? We were prepared to pay rack rate if we couldn't get a discount, because we were determined to take this trip no matter what, and some food added to the equation sure wouldn't hurt anything.



A few days later, something ACTUALLY unexpected happened...

I got a unique offer code in my email for 30% off a room only reservation. So...we called again, added ANOTHER day, and used the code.
No more free dining, but it turned out to be a great deal anyway! We added two days and it ended up being less expensive. We had already budgeted for food before the dining promo, so no loss either way. Woohoo! If the kids were already going to miss two days, what big deal is missing one more??


So that's how this whole shebang happened! A little wordy I know...but hopefully this report will get more fun soon!!


Up next...a little more about us, our Disney likes, and *drumroll*........ADRs!

 

[Rickat96]

Keep 'em coming

 

[Princess Leia]

I'm here! Just about to leave for work but I'll come back later to comment. I'm looking forward to hearing your plans.

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

I'm in!! I think we talked foreverrrrrrrr ago about our Dec WDW plans and the trips were like 156418845462 years away

Now my FP+ reservations and online check in day is this SATURDAY ...holy cow! Time sure flies!

I am excited to read along and hear more about ya'lls trip!

 

[xlsm]

Keep 'em coming

Hello December Friend!! I'm glad you're here!!

I'm here! Just about to leave for work but I'll come back later to comment. I'm looking forward to hearing your plans.

Woohoo!! A familiar face!! Welcome aboard this crazy train, lol!

I'm in!! I think we talked foreverrrrrrrr ago about our Dec WDW plans and the trips were like 156418845462 years away

Now my FP+ reservations and online check in day is this SATURDAY ...holy cow! Time sure flies!

I am excited to read along and hear more about ya'lls trip!

Yes! You and I were like, the first early planners I think! It's always nice to be in good company! It was literally 5 million years away from trip time

I can't wait to hear how your FPs go!

 

[missangelalexis]

That's awesome that you were able to add on days and get such a great discount! Woo hoo!

 

[SEASONK]

I'm here from the December board! My son will be missing a day and half of school, but it's Disney!!

 

[xlsm]

Good morninnngggg!!!!
​

I have time for a little bitty update and California detour this morning before my Day-O-Meetings gets rolling. The meetings will be fun



(it will not actually be fun)

Chapter Two: California Dreamin' and Food Glorious Food

Ok, so back a million years ago...or 5 million years ago...when I booked and began planning this trip, we were also considering a trip to California and Disneyland. At first, it started out as a two week long road trip to see the Grand Canyon and the mountains and as many National Parks as we could cram in...but that quickly changed to a plain ol' flight to California and a week skipping between Disneyland, the beach, and LA.

I carefully crafted a plan to do our 5 park days, a beach day, a whale watching day, and a day in LA with my sister-in-law (she lives and works there). Then my SIL got some great news...her short film had been chosen for the Cannes Film Festival AND the Edinburgh Film Festival, and she would be gone while we were in town.

Ok. Plans altered.

THEN...

(why is there always a THEN??)

She didn't have the money to go. Working in LA and making short films and music videos and movie trailers does not always lead to a life of riches, folks.

So I worked her back into the plans.

THEN...

(OMG, seriously??)

Her agent paid for her to go to Edinburgh. She would miss Cannes, but she would take what she could get.

So I worked her BACK into the plans for the one day she'd be available.

One thing I did not pay attention to during all of this back and forth was that our ADR for this December trip was happening while we were in California. That was poor planning on my part.

But we didn't care about that when we landed on the west coast!!



That's a little collage from our arrival day

Once I realized that I'd be making our dining reservations for December while we were in California, I finally got serious about making our list. We decided to branch out this time, and everything is new for us (or at least for DH and the kids, I've been to a few of these) this year. That meant I also had to be pretty set on which parks would be on which days. I looked at Josh from EasyWDW's calendar from last year and combined that with my own preferences, and came up with our final choices.

Arrival Day:
Nothing. No things. Zero. (it will probably be a snack grabbed at the airport before getting on the Magical Express, and then a QS dinner at the Boardwalk)

Park Day One:
This will be an AK morning with EMH. I usually skip EMH, but we're going for it this time. We have one ADR this day, and it is the one I think I'm most excited about...

Sanaa lunch at noon

Evening will be at DHS, and I am waiting impatiently for the Star Wars Dessert Party booking to open up for this date.

Park Day Two:
This is our MVMCP day, and we'll be resort hopping in the morning to look at decorations!

9am breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe
4:40pm dinner at Skipper's Canteen

Park Day Three:
No ADRs this day. We plan to have a lazy start to the morning after the late night before. I imagine we'll grab something quick for breakfast in France before hanging around Epcot for awhile. That evening we'll head to AK, and I *might* look for some kind of Rivers of Light dining package if it materializes. (more likely I'll just try to grab a Fast Pass for it)

Park Day Four:
Rope drop morning at MK for us!

11am lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern

4:55pm dinner at Homecoming by Chef Art Smith in Disney Springs - this might be tied with Sanaa as far as excitement level

Park Day Five:
Pre-park opening 8am breakfast at Garden Grill
5pm dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse

This will be the day I pick FPs for first...in an effort to have the best chance at Frozen Ever After

Park Day Six:
Last park day

MK rope drop again, then moving on to Epcot for...

2pm "lunch" at San Angel Inn for the Candlelight Processional Package.


So there you have it...the road to our dining plans!

​

 

[xlsm]

That's awesome that you were able to add on days and get such a great discount! Woo hoo!

I was REALLY EXCITED to get such a good discount on week-before-Christmas prices!!

I'm here from the December board! My son will be missing a day and half of school, but it's Disney!!

Welcome, welcome! I'm happy to have you!!

And school can just get the heck over it, LOL!! Disney beats math class any day of the week!

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

Yes! You and I were like, the first early planners I think! It's always nice to be in good company! It was literally 5 million years away from trip time

I can't wait to hear how your FPs go!

I can't wait either although I will be totally honest...I haven't even sat down to plan what FP's I want on which days! I am finally sitting down today to make a plan so I am not totally overwhelmed on Saturday morning

Love your Cali pics! I went back in 2008 to DL/SoCal before I had my son...it was so beautiful out there! I'd love to go back...I am a WDW girl at heart but there is something very special about DL and seeing the "original" park that Walt created

Your ADR's for your Dec trip sound great! I was going to do Skipper's Canteen as well but ultimately I didn't think anything on the menu would appeal to Jacob or my BF who are much pickier eaters than I am.

We are doing Garden Grill too but for dinner! I am excited about that one, haven't been there in years!

I am still on the fence about MVMCP...I wanted to do it with my son but it is so crazy expensive! It would be almost $200 just for the two of us and I am finding it hard to shell the money out for it on top of all the other expenses at WDW. I may give in at some point but who knows!

 

[ariane37]

OMG I am ashamed to be 2 days late to your PTR but at least I'm still on the first page. And you even have my boy Dean on here!! Have to run but I'll be back asap to read up! Glad you finally started this!

 

[ariane37]

Alright, caught up! The boys got big Sad, isn't it? Ricky started high school this year and it's just.....I don't like it!
I really do hope you throw in some DL fun while you're writing this, even though I know you prefer WDW I'd like to see how your trip went and hear just a few thoughts!
OK your park plans/ADR's look good, I'm excited you guys are trying Sanaa because we LOVE it! And Yachtsman too. And I know I said this before but make sure when you're resort hopping to check out the decorations you don't miss the Swan & Dolphin, they were absolutely gorgeous last year

 

[missangelalexis]

Loved seeing your collage of pics, so fun!

Your plans sound so great, I'm excited for you!

 

[Jasmine81]

Following along from the December board. I read your trip report about phoebe and loved it. Maybe I'll try to write one after our December trip. Got any tips??

 

[Jasmine81]

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