Getting in the Christmas Mood at Disney: A Dec 2013 Pre-Trip Report

[DisMomJill]

Oh my, I have fallen behind. But I am all caught up now. Your fabrics look nice. I absolutely love the themed dresses you posted pics of.

I cannot wait to see the finished products!

I wish I was more crafty. But alas, I never seem to find the time. I bought a Disney Brother Embrodiery machine a few years back but I have never touched it. The best laid plans...

I have an embroidery machine too, but I still haven't had the time to figure out how to use it. It is a singer, and when I first got it almost 5 years ago I had a lot of issues getting it to work. I finally figured out how to sew with it, though. I am hoping to learn how to embroider before our trip so I can add something to some of my t-shirts. I bought a class on Craftsy about embroidering on knit. I just need to find the time to do it!

 

[DisMomJill]

This day wasn't easy to plan because of our ADRs and BBB appointment. But I think I've come up with something that will work.

We will be arriving at the park late because we will go to church in the morning. Worship services are finished at about 10, so I'm hoping to be back in our room by 10:30. I'm making it a soft goal to be at the MK entrance by 11:30. We have an LTT lunch ADR at 1:35, so we should have a couple of hours to tour before that. Then we'll have another hour or so before DD's BBB appointment. After that, we'll have a couple of hours before we have to leave for our 6:45 ADR at 1900 Park Fare. As you can see, there isn't a lot of time in there for touring. So here is the list of things I'd like to get done on this first day:

• Town Square
  [*]Meet Mickey and Minnie
  [*]Meet the Princesses​
• Adventureland
  
  [*]Jungle Cruise
  [*]Magic Carpets
  [*]Pirates of the Caribbean​
• Frontierland
  
  [*]Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  [*]Country Bear Jamboree​
• Liberty Square
  
  [*]Lunch at LTT​
• Fantasyland
  
  [*]BBB​

So the first thing on the agenda will be meeting Mickey and Minnie. The wait shouldn't be bad, but if it is, we'll go ahead and get a FP. I am really hoping that DD has the same reaction to the characters that she had on our last trip. She loved all of them, even ones she didn't "know". After that, I think we'll probably do Adventureland, starting with the jungle cruise. DD enjoyed that last time, and in fact, I think she actually remembers it a little. Recently she was talking to me about when she went to the zoo, got on a boat, and saw some hippos. That is the only thing I can think of that fits her description. I assume she said it was at a zoo because that is where you go to see hippos. After we do the rides in Adventureland, we'll head to Frontierland if there is time before lunch. If there isn't time, then we'll go to Liberty Square, and we'll do Frontierland after lunch. I am going to keep my eye on the princess meet and greet FP return time, and we'll head over and get one when the return time starts at about 4:30. We will then go to DD's BBB appointment. I'm hoping we'll be finished with that by 4:30 (gives us an hour, so that should be fine even with a wait). We'll go do the photo session so I can get some cute pictures on PP, then we'll go meet the princesses. I would love to meet the Fairy Godmother after the makeover, but I think she only has meets in the morning. If there is time before we need to leave, then we'll either take care of any rides we haven't done yet that are on the list, or we'll go to Fantasyland and ride something there.

EDIT: After thinking about this, I'm wondering if we should try Barnstormer before we try BTMR. Any thoughts/opinions?
Up Next: Epcot

 

[blfbrat]

Would like to follow your trip, we are going to be there at the same time. We are arriving on the 30th, with 2 days at Universal and then until the 9th at DW. We will have 11 of us, 7 adults and 4 sweet little ones, 8 yrs, 7 yrs, and two 6 yrs. Your DD is beautiful, I love the fabrics

 

[DisMomJill]

Would like to follow your trip, we are going to be there at the same time. We are arriving on the 30th, with 2 days at Universal and then until the 9th at DW. We will have 11 of us, 7 adults and 4 sweet little ones, 8 yrs, 7 yrs, and two 6 yrs. Your DD is beautiful, I love the fabrics

and thanks! I'm hoping to go to Universal when DD is older, assuming she enjoys roller coasters as much as I do. I'm hoping she will be my ride buddy since DH doesn't like them.

 

[DisMomJill]

So the dilemma with Epcot is that I would like to spend most of the time in Future World, but DH would prefer to spend his time in World Showcase. Since DD is only 4, her preference would be for FW too, although she does love the boat ride in Mexico. So I figure we'll spend some time in FW in the morning, then move on to WS.

First up will be Soarin. DD and I will ride this, and if she enjoys it, we'll grab a couple of FPs after (assuming the return time isn't during our Akershus breakfast). We will then fit in as many of the low-wait time rides as we can before our Princess Storybook breakfast at 10:50.

Other things on my FW list of things to do are:

• Test Track
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends
• Turtle Talk
• Journey into Imagination
• Spaceship Earth
• Epcot Character Spot
• Chase Photo
• Sum of all Thrills

After breakfast, we will probably do some WS touring. DH would like to see all of the holiday storytellers, so once the schedule is released, I will plan things more specifically. For now, these are the top things that I think we'll focus on:

• Tres Reyes (Mexico storyteller)
• Gran Fiest Tour (Mexico)
• Maelstrom (Norway)
• Monkey King (China storyteller)
• Santa & Mrs Clause (America storyteller)
• Hanukkah (America storyteller)
• Father Christmas (UK Storyteller)
• Character greetings - I need to make a list of the ones we want to do

Once most of these things are done, then I think we might split up. DD and I can go back to FW, and DH can explore WS. A lot will depend on how DD handles the storytelling. I still need to figure out when we can pick up FPs for Test Track. I may do that after we finish eating breakfast.

Next posts on the agenda: MVMCP and Activities Planned for the Drive

 

[LB1122]

Your plans look so so so fun. I am glad I fund your thread 9thanks for posting on mine).

Sorry about you TA. Mine is pretty good...okay amazing, but I am biased as he is my hubby. We booked out trip before he became one but ended up deciding to make some major changes - got lucky with free dining dates, sorry you did not.

Anyhow. So love all the fabrics. I do not sew, but my Mom does and has made DD all her Halloween costumes as well as her Disney gear costumes. I love the circus top you made. Do you know the pattern number for it? I would like to have mom Mom make a shirt for my daughter like that one.

Anyhow following along now.
Never knew about the sleigh ride so asking my IPO about that is a must do. How pricy are they?

 

[DisMomJill]

Your plans look so so so fun. I am glad I fund your thread 9thanks for posting on mine).

Sorry about you TA. Mine is pretty good...okay amazing, but I am biased as he is my hubby. We booked out trip before he became one but ended up deciding to make some major changes - got lucky with free dining dates, sorry you did not.

Anyhow. So love all the fabrics. I do not sew, but my Mom does and has made DD all her Halloween costumes as well as her Disney gear costumes. I love the circus top you made. Do you know the pattern number for it? I would like to have mom Mom make a shirt for my daughter like that one.

Anyhow following along now.
Never knew about the sleigh ride so asking my IPO about that is a must do. How pricy are they?

Welcome! The circus top was done using the portrait peasant pattern by scientific seamstress. You can find her on etsy. I don't remember the exact price for the sleigh ride, but I think it was between 60 and 70. Definitely not bad. We did one here in Dallas last year, and it was a lot more than that.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using DISBoards

 

[Leleluvsdis]

We just booked the sleigh ride or December 10th an it was $68.

 

[happybelle]

What a lucky little girl to have such adorable outfits. The circus outfit is so cute. The sleigh ride sounds like fun.

 

[LB1122]

Welcome! The circus top was done using the portrait peasant pattern by scientific seamstress. You can find her on etsy. I don't remember the exact price for the sleigh ride, but I think it was between 60 and 70. Definitely not bad. We did one here in Dallas last year, and it was a lot more than that.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using DISBoards

We just booked the sleigh ride or December 10th an it was $68.

Thank you both for these answers. Hoping to find that pattern for my Mom and so thinking sleigh ride would be a fun addition to our trip. I will talk to the IPO at WL about this.

 

[DisMomJill]

We leave in 99 days!!!

Last night I finally started sewing. I am hoping to finish the first dress tonight, so maybe there will be an another update later.

I am disappointed that IASW will be closed for most of our trip. I am going to have to add it to our plan for December 1.

 

[GrammyJudy]

We will e there the same time. Your dd is adorable. Wow you really plan down to the minute...we plan what park and adds but then just go with the flow. We ride everything we want and watch the shows and take a midday break. One thing I want to mention is the height requirements on a lot of the rides. Disney is very strict. Last year my digs missed the 40" for star tours by 1/4" and they would not let him on it.

 

[DisMomJill]

We will e there the same time. Your dd is adorable. Wow you really plan down to the minute...we plan what park and adds but then just go with the flow. We ride everything we want and watch the shows and take a midday break. One thing I want to mention is the height requirements on a lot of the rides. Disney is very strict. Last year my digs missed the 40" for star tours by 1/4" and they would not let him on it.

Thanks! My plan may look pretty detailed, but it is more just listing all of the things we really want to do. We will let DD set the pace, and I'm sure the plan will go by the wayside almost immediately when she wants to ride something just "one more time". (I have a story about that from our last trip that I plan to share when I write about our AK day.)

DD was just over 42" in April, and I know she has grown since then because her clothes are too short. So she won't have any issue with the 40" rides. I'm hoping she'll be over 44" before we leave so we can ride Everest. I need to measure her so I can see if that hope is at all realistic.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

We share some days, I'll be at Epcot that Mon, MK Thurs, and AK Fri also.

I went through the same planning buzz you did, making reservations, changing reservations, discount hunting, etc... now that it's all booked it's kind of anticlimactic to just wait and count days.

I am a first timer and booked Dec 1st - 7th thinking that would be a long time in a "theme park", now I wish I had more time for things like horse drawn carriages, exploring DTD, and extra time at the parks. I had no idea how massive WDW was and how much there was to do. Rookie mistake but a built in excuse to go again.

 

[DisMomJill]

We share some days, I'll be at Epcot that Mon, MK Thurs, and AK Fri also.

I went through the same planning buzz you did, making reservations, changing reservations, discount hunting, etc... now that it's all booked it's kind of anticlimactic to just wait and count days.

I am a first timer and booked Dec 1st - 7th thinking that would be a long time in a "theme park", now I wish I had more time for things like horse drawn carriages, exploring DTD, and extra time at the parks. I had no idea how massive WDW was and how much there was to do. Rookie mistake but a built in excuse to go again.

It is kind of a let-down once everything is in place, isn't it. I guess that is part of the reason I spend the time planning each day and making clothes for DD. I really wish we could manage a longer trip, but there is no way. I also know that DD would be absolutely exhausted if we stretched it our more, even if we planned rest days. So, yes, we will just have to plan on going back at least one more time. Just hope we can afford to do it

 

[DisMomJill]

Last night I managed to finish DD's Wilderness Lodge dress. Well, actually it still needs a button. I just have to find a cute one. I'm thinking of getting a bear, cabin, evergreen tree, or something similar. I chose dots for the accent fabric because DD is crazy about dots. I had another fabric that I considered that had thin chevron stripes, but I figured DD would like the dots better. She still claimed she didn't like the dress (mainly because it is a dress), so hopefully I won't have any issues with getting her to wear it. Anyway, enough about that and on to the picture because I know that is what most people care about. Please ignore the hair... it hasn't even been combed yet

 

[mckelvey72]

Since I can't get in the mood to sew after DD goes to bed, I have been doing a little bit of planning for our trip. I'll start off with our arrival day.

I think I have decided to go the conservative route for our second day of driving to WDW. That means we'll have about 6 hours of driving on our arrival day. I'll probably estimate 8 hours to allow for stops, just to be on the safe side. So if we get on the road by 7, we should be arriving at WL by 3.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I actually managed to score a RO discount for a CV BB room. The only problem with this is that I really don't want to have bunk beds. I called and added a "no bunk bed" request to my ressie, which probably sounds very weird since we are specifically booked in that room type. But it was the only thing available, and booking a lower room category at full prices is more expensive. So I'm hoping that our request is granted. If not, then I may have to deal with some anxiety from DH about DD getting on the top bunk (yes, she is 4 and fully-capable... but DH is on the over-protective side).

OK, back to the plans. We have a holiday sleigh ride booked at FW for 6:00. I figure we'll try to catch a boat NLT 5:15, just in case we have to wait for a boat and it is heading to the CR first. I think that will give us enough time to get there. I am going to tell DH we are going there for dinner so the light tour will be a surpirse. After that is over, we will head over to Trail's End for a 7:00 dinner ADR. I'm hoping we will be seated quickly, even if we check in early (since the sleigh ride will be over by 6:30).

My only concern about this day is that it will be long. If we are seated for dinner by 7 and take an hour to eat, it might be 8:30 by the time we get back in our room. DD needs lots of wind-down time before she falls asleep, so it might be 10:00 before she is finally out. That means we might be starting our vacation on not-enough-sleep, unless DD acutally naps on the drive down. I guess if she appears to be very tired after the sleigh ride, we can just skip eating at TE (although I know DH would really enjoy the ribs there). TE doesn't require a credit card guarantee, so we wouldn't be out any money. I guess we'll play that one by ear.

I am not sure how long they do take out, but Trails End has takeout and from what I am hearing, the fried chicken is really really good and then you could just take it back to the room instead of sitting down to eat. We are arriving 11/30 as well and are renting a golf cart for the day/evening instead of doing the sleigh ride. I intend to do the take out chicken/sides and eat at a picnic bench or something if the weather is nice. I have a boy and 13 year old non-Disney princess girl...so my itinary is a little different from yours but we are there the same time!! I can' wait either!!!

 

[DisMomJill]

I am not sure how long they do take out, but Trails End has takeout and from what I am hearing, the fried chicken is really really good and then you could just take it back to the room instead of sitting down to eat. We are arriving 11/30 as well and are renting a golf cart for the day/evening instead of doing the sleigh ride. I intend to do the take out chicken/sides and eat at a picnic bench or something if the weather is nice. I have a boy and 13 year old non-Disney princess girl...so my itinary is a little different from yours but we are there the same time!! I can' wait either!!!

I'll have to look into that. If it looks like DD is too tired, then that might be an option. I know DH would enjoy the ribs, but fried chicken is one of his faves too.

 

[DisMomJill]

My trip report has been so neglected once again. Since my last update, DD has started back to pre-school. Plus DH and I did a school tour of a private school that we had been considering for next year (and we are now in the process of applying). I haven't really done a lot of planning, that is until today. Today I decided to work on our driving itinerary. I am pretty sure I want to attempt to make it to Tallahassee on Friday. That would mean we'd only have about 4 hours of driving on Saturday, and so there would be no issue with getting there in time for our sleigh ride reservation. I have two separate routes mapped out right now. I'm pretty sure DH and I will prefer different ones. I'm hoping to convince him to my way of thinking since it would mean an indoor pool being available on our first night. It might not be necessary for DD to burn off energy that night since the drive will only be 4 hours or so, but an indoor pool would be very beneficial if she has some built-up energy.

I have started thinking some about FP+. At first I didn't like the idea due to the 3 per day limit and no duplicates, but there are two days that it will really come in handy. We will be arriving at MK late on our first park day, and FP+ would allow me to schedule our desired rides around our ADRs. And we will only be at DHS for the evening, mainly to see the lights. With FP+, we'll be able to ride TSMM! I'm kind of excited about that

On the sewing front, I was able to finish the skort for my DD to wear on her first day back to preschool. The top I made just didn't work very well, so she ended up wearing a shirt she already had that matched the skort.

I have almost finished DD's reversible princess A-Line dress. I just needs buttonholes and buttons. And I have started on her Minnie inspired dress. I'm hoping to finish that tonight or tomorrow. So hopefully I will be adding more pictures over the weekend.

 

[janeyb]

Hi from the UK!

I have just come across your pre-trip report and am loving it! We too are off this Christmas, our first 3 week holiday and I'm so excited. We fly on Dec 10th and leave Dec 31st. I have made ADR's so far, booked a sleigh ride at FW and carriage ride at Port Orleans for Christmas Eve following our ADR at Park Fayre but have now come to a bit of a standstill, however reading your report has really encouraged me to continue planning. My eldest two daughters are HUGE Sofia fans and I hadn't realised that they did a BBB Sofia makeover so thank you so much for that, your report will now make two little girls VERY happy - That's what I love about Dis!

Can I ask, the picture that you posted of your beautiful daughter (with a beautiful wardrobe to match!) sitting with Santa on the sleigh, was that during the Christmas Party or is he at the MK everyday? I am thinking it's probably during the Christmas party. was that taken in Town Square?

Can't wait to read more, now I'm off to try and make those BBB reservations!!!