Going at Christmas and nothing booked!!

[bigmac5]

I just found out that my friend is planning to go with her DH ans DD15 to disney between Christmas and Newyears. They haven't booked anything--know nothing about it either. I think they are planning on staying 3 days(I think they think they will see it all)


My questions are--Is it too late to be booking?? Would they do better if they went after New Years(daughter doesn't go back to school until Jan. 9) They were thinking about staying off site, but my DH is trying to talk them into the dining plan in which they would have to be on site.

Thanks so much for your help

 

[tjmouse]

You know, truthfully, I would tell them not to go! I know, that's a terrible thing to say, but with nothing booked, they will be lucky if they can get a room onsite anyway and only 3 days? See, this is why people come back from Disney and tell everyone it's "terrible, don't go there"!

My friend just came to me last week and said her dh just booked a week at the Amerihost Main Gate. OK, so they aren't staying onsite, but I can work with that. I gave her my Official Guide, the Disney planning DVD and printed a ton of stuff off the net for her. She cannot believe how much there is to it! She is now freaking out because she thinks they won't get to do anything they want. Luckily she has me and I can make everything go smoothly since I'll be there at the same time. I already made her an AR at Crystal Palace for her dd's 5th birthday. I gave her a tenative itinerary, but told her they were just suggestions and that they should do what they want. They were planning on going to MK on 12/3 and I told her about the taping of the parade, so they are going to Universal that day instead. See what I mean? If you don't research, you will just have problems and end up hating it!

 

[Hugpug]

I totally agree with TJMOUSE tell them not to go. There is no way they can see much of anything yet get a room on site at this late date. 3 days for first time is just plain nuts. Set them aside and show them this web site and let them read what it takes to have a half way decent vacation. I am sure they will agree.

 

[cleo]

If they have the option of going after Jan 2 or 3, I'd tell them to wait until then. Crowds will thin out appreciably by that time and they will be able to get a decent overview of what's on offer (at 3 parks, anyway).

I would definitely discourage them from going between the holidays, even if they CAN find a place to stay (not likely, but cancellations do happen all the time and it's possible they'll get lucky). It's just WAY to crowded to do much of anything in 3 days (literally). They will be much better off going just before their daughter goes back to school. The later the better.

 

[legendsguy]

I find it scary that several have said don't go. We just made our reservations last Wednesday. I booked two adjoining rooms at Port Orleans-Riverside. We are also staying three days. Dec. 30-Jan 2. I know it's the worst time of year but it's the only time we can go and about as long as we can afford. The rest of vacation will be spent at my Dad's place on the coast. It is my partner and our 3 kids first time. I know it will be crazy busy and we have to limit what we can see but in this case, we don't have any other option.

I booked through AAA travel for the disney package.

If anybody has any advice (besides don't go) please send it my way. In the meantime I will be pouring over this site and a couple of books to make it as enjoyable as we can during the three days.

 

[disneydiz]

The week between Xmas and NYE is incredibly busy! The parks will have 2-3 hour lines, the MK will probably close daily to off-site people, and NYE is just wall to wall people. Fastpasses will be gone by 1-2 pm. If you are planning on going at that time, I suggest you join TourGuideMIke and get some help.
Most people will recommend just going and enjoying the parks and NOT going on rides, since it is so crowded. To get dining reservations on NYE we called at 7:00 AM at the first available day -- weeks ago. At EPCOT last year, the lines were 45-min just to get a coke! I suggest you do a search on this board -- there have been a lot of threads about this time period. In three days you will not be able to do much each day and it might take you 2-days to see each park.

 

[Cinderella94]

Yeah, Id tell them to either A) Don't go at all, or B) wait until AFTER NYE

 

[legendsguy]

I'm sorry, really new here. What is TourGuideMIke ?

 

[SqueakyMouse]

We booked our Christmas week trip just two weeks ago and had no trouble getting rooms or ADR's. We were even able to book LTT for Christmas Eve and both CM's for breakfast and WCC for dinner on Christmas Day. I say, get on the phone and call. You and your friend may be pleasantly surprised. As far as the crowds go, every trip we've taken this year has been crowded (4 so far). I'm sure Christmas will be the worst, but we're expecting it. The good thing about the Christmas season is that most everyone is in a festive mood. This can't be said during the middle of the summer in 100 degree and 100% humidity weather!

 

[tjmouse]

I'm sorry, really new here. What is TourGuideMIke ?

Just Google the website. You have to pay to subscribe, but for newbie's, it's a money well spent, especially during the holidays. It seems as though you read the site quite a bit, so you are much further ahead then these people who have no clue. You can still have a good time, you just have to consider this trip a "preview" of sorts. You honestly won't see half of what there is to see so try to make plans to go back during a less crowded time in the next year or two and that way it won't be too disappointing. Once you are there with those kids and see their faces light up every 5 minutes, you will find a way to make it back, trust me!

 

[legendsguy]

Hey TJmouse,

Our kids are 12, 13 and 14...I'm really not sure their face light up anymore! LOL

 

[tjmouse]

Hey TJmouse,

Our kids are 12, 13 and 14...I'm really not sure their face light up anymore! LOL

You might be surprised

 

[legendsguy]

Oh. from your fingertips to God's ears! I hope so. It would be nice to see them having fun and not so immersed into themselves for awhile. That's why I'm trying to plan but not overplan for them. I want to give them some free time to roam the park.

 

[SueM in MN]

I find it scary that several have said don't go. We just made our reservations last Wednesday. I booked two adjoining rooms at Port Orleans-Riverside. We are also staying three days. Dec. 30-Jan 2. I know it's the worst time of year but it's the only time we can go and about as long as we can afford. The rest of vacation will be spent at my Dad's place on the coast. It is my partner and our 3 kids first time. I know it will be crazy busy and we have to limit what we can see but in this case, we don't have any other option.

I booked through AAA travel for the disney package.

If anybody has any advice (besides don't go) please send it my way. In the meantime I will be pouring over this site and a couple of books to make it as enjoyable as we can during the three days.

First, if you want rooms that are next to each other and are connected by a door inside, you want to check that you are booked for connecting rooms. Adjoining rooms are just ones that are next to each other.

I have been to WDW 3 times in the time period you are planning to go. My suggestions would be to get as familiar as possible with the park maps before you go. It gets busy enough that it's hard to get around in the parks, so the better you know where you are going, the easier a time you will have getting around. Also, you are not going to be able to see everything because of the crowds - the more you know about the different attractions, the better choices you can make regarding what you are willing to wait for or whether your group might like something if you walk by and see an attraction with a short wait.
Even in the busy times, the earlier you can get to the parks, the less people will be there. For New Years Eve, we went to Epcot last year and left the park by mid afternoon because it was so busy and hard to get around. We planned to go back later, but ended up staying at our resort (Boardwalk) for the whole evening. They had a DJ and it was a very nice place to spend NYE.

I don't know how old your kids are, but if they are little, strollers will help you keep track of them in the crowds.

 

[legendsguy]

Thanks Sue. The kids are teenagers. In a way, I'm starting to dread it but the kids are excited. The travel agent told me they had a door between the rooms but the kids are old enough even if they are next to each other, that would be ok.

My biggest issue right now is to do the meal plan or not. The kids don't seem excited about sitting down for a meal but I don't want to be handing out money all day for food either. It seems so much easier to have a coupons. It seems with each question answered, another two questions form.

 

[bigmac5]

Thanks Sue. The kids are teenagers. In a way, I'm starting to dread it but the kids are excited. The travel agent told me they had a door between the rooms but the kids are old enough even if they are next to each other, that would be ok.

My biggest issue right now is to do the meal plan or not. The kids don't seem excited about sitting down for a meal but I don't want to be handing out money all day for food either. It seems so much easier to have a coupons. It seems with each question answered, another two questions form.

We did the meal plan inAug/Sept. with DS 11,13 and 14. At first they weren't to excited about it, but that ended up being the hightlight of the trip. They enjoyed it so much. My DH before the trip kept saying that he didn't want to spend a lot of time etaing and going to and from restaurants. He is now one of the dining plan's biggest fans and tell all our friends to do it.

 

[henrylovespooh]

legendsguy -

my advice on the dining plan is to skip it for this trip unless you can get ADRs at places that make the plan worthwhile. If you can't get ADR's and have to eat sit down meals at places like the Plaza, you will lose money. And if you can't get into the places on the plan, you will also lose money. You might want more flexibility than the plan might allow for a holiday season trip.

I also second those who suggest the family mentioned in the first post not go between Christmas and NYE. My neighbor went last year, arriving the day after Christmas and staying until NYE, and she was miserable. She actually went to guest relations at MK and complained that she thought the park was a fire hazard! (She didn't have hopper passes so the CM gave her free tickets to go to MGM, which pacified her a bit.) She doesn't do research before her trips and had nothing planned for the stay and didn't know to get to the parks at opening to avoid crowds.

WDW pros can probably plan and work their way through WDW during a peak time like Christmas week, but for novices, they will likely end up hating it and come back telling everyone it's awful.

Tell the people to wait until after Jan 1.

 

[bigmac5]

I just found out that my friend is planning to go with her DH ans DD15 to disney between Christmas and Newyears. They haven't booked anything--know nothing about it either. I think they are planning on staying 3 days(I think they think they will see it all)


My questions are--Is it too late to be booking?? Would they do better if they went after New Years(daughter doesn't go back to school until Jan. 9) They were thinking about staying off site, but my DH is trying to talk them into the dining plan in which they would have to be on site.

Thanks so much for your help

When I found out they were going my thought was "why?". I think her husband doesn't really want to go so I think he hopes that everything is booked. I think he just wants to go south. My feeling is that they would probably be better just relaxing in the sun, since he is not the most patient person. I will have a better chance to talk with her tomorrow. I would just feel bad for them to spend all that money and not see anything. We went in Aug/Sept and had a blast, but I have a lot of people here to thank. Since she is my best friend, I want her to have a great time like we did.

 

[Nancyg56]

When I found out they were going my thought was "why?". I think her husband doesn't really want to go so I think he hopes that everything is booked. I think he just wants to go south. My feeling is that they would probably be better just relaxing in the sun, since he is not the most patient person. I will have a better chance to talk with her tomorrow. I would just feel bad for them to spend all that money and not see anything. We went in Aug/Sept and had a blast, but I have a lot of people here to thank. Since she is my best friend, I want her to have a great time like we did.

A little OT, but if the DH does not really want to go, and is not patient...this may be asking for trouble. Disney should be fun, and if lines and crowds will freak the DH out, what will the stress do to his family? Just something to think about. Maybe you are right in suggesting a relaxing vacation elsewhere.

 

[michellex2]

It's good that I was so uninformed that I didn't know about Disboards or anything else when I did my first Disney trip last year --- if I had, many probably would have told me not to go and then I wouldn't have had such a good time that I'm going back this December for a week. I booked my first trip a week or two before Thanksgiving 2004, flew in on Thanksgiving day, and stayed through Thanksgiving weekend. I did buy a guide book, but didn't read it until on the plane (ooops, looks like there was a thing or two I should have done...) and hadn't booked ADRs or anything. (In my defense I'd been to Disney once as a kid in 1972 and it wasn't very complicated at that time. Who would have thunk that things would change so much?!) I had bought MVMCP tickets and 3 day hopper tickets on Ebay and the only reservation I had was for Cirque du Soleil (wonderful!) and I lucked into wonderful seats (someone must have just cancelled when I called.) So we didn't see everything, did mainly Epcot, Future World and AK, the only MK night we did was MVMCP which was also wonderful, but had a great time. I called from the hotel and managed ADRs at Le Cellier, and a CP at Marrakesh. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Pepper Market which was actually wonderful (and cheap -- I'd gotten a Quick and Easy Meal Coupon with my Ebay tickets for $10 which covered the meal and was plenty to share for 2 people.)

So I would say go, and enjoy. Part of beginners luck is that you don't feel bad about missing stuff because you don't even know it exists.

And maybe you'll like it enough to come back and find out even more about WDW like I'm doing for my next trip (Dec. 7th through the 14th at AKL ). And yes, I made all my ADRs 90 days out this time like a respectable Diser...