flying christmas day 08 for 2 weeks help needed

[cornish pixie]

Hello,
We will be flying to Orlando on Christmas day for a fortnights holiday
We have had several trips to the world but never at this time of year.
Anyway I have a few questions that you all might be able to help me with?

I think Boxing day as we call it (the day after christmas day) will just be spent chilling, food shoping if that is the supermarkets are open??
We are staying at a villa near Davenport and generally use the local Publix but Im having trouble finding if it is open.
I know the parks are going to be manic, we were there in August are we talking those crowd levels or worse !!!

Can you take in Packed lunches to the park? it;s just that I have read that due to the crowds the dining is also manic and having 2 not so little children 11 and 12 they do get hungry and it seems to be instantly do you know what I mean!!
New years eve I think we are going to plump for Animal Kingdom and then come back to our villa to c the new year in, I just don't think we will all make it from such an early start say 6 .am to probably 2.am by the time we get back from the parks, does this sound a good option?
When do the parks actually take the decs down?
As you can see I have loads of questions..... would really appreciate anyones advice, experiences, general knowledge to help us prepare and have a fun christmas trip ( we are under no illusions that this trip will be very different but want to get the most out of it the less stressful way as poss.
Many thanks
Cornish Pixie

 

[dougsmom98]

Stores should definitely be open the day after Christmas. We do not celebrate boxing day here in the U.S. so you shouldn't have any problems. The crowds will be busy that time of year, but the parks open early and close late. When we went the week after Christmas, the parks opened at 8 am. We got there at opening every morning and we got a ton done in the first 3-4 hours. By midday the crowds were pretty tough to deal with. I think we ate around 11-11:30 am because we had been up since 6. Eating at that time, we usually didn't have a difficult time getting our food. Any later than that and the food places will be mobbed. You can bring some food in the parks, but not big coolers. We usually bring a small soft sided cooler with drinks and then some snacks. I think your plan for New Years Eve is a good one. That is exactly what we did on that day and the crowds were very manageable at Animal Kingdom. Enjoy your trip.

 

[cornish pixie]

Thanks Amy for your reply, we are always up early and in the parks generally for rope drops , and I generally take a small bag with some snacks for the girls but I think I'm just getting a little worried reading all the posts about not getting into parks,etc.... I think taking your advice if we can get the rides done in the morning and then soak up the atmosphere in the afternoons.
I think another reason for getting a tad stressed is that we now have my mum,dad,brother and aunt & uncle with there3 & 4 year olds going
So it's not just us to think about.
I'm sure we are all going to have a blast and I think I need to chill a little, my golly I've got another 11 months of this!!
Once again many thanks and any other ideas will be gratfully recieved
cornish Pixie

 

[MattJL]

They start taking down decorations on the 2nd or 3rd of January. After that the parks should have less people in them.
This year we went to the Magic Kingdom for new years. We drove up there late and it was super packed. There was 30 minute lines just for SNACKS at some places. We waited about 30 minutes for a decent-ish spot for the last show. 15 minutes after that, the fireworks began. I have NEVER seen a better fireworks show, EVER! We rang in the new year and then again, the sky was lit up like it was the afternoon. It was so amazing I think I actually screamed out.
After that the park emptied out even though they had dancing and other activities until 2am.