I could really use`some feedback from...

[Iott Family]

other parents! We are going to Disney from Dec 19-26. We are driving down from Indianapolis. We have ressies at CBR. This is our biggest Disney vacation to date so I have been soaking up all the wonderful wisdoms here and I bought the passporter and I use that as well.

Here is my rough outline of daily agendas...

Arrival on sunday the 19th
check in
visit DTD
catch fireworks at Magic Kingom
off to bed

Wake up monday
AK day...up at 6am for EE
catch mickeys jammin jungle parade
ps @ chef mickeys 6:20pm
early to bed

Tuesday
EE @ MGM
up at 6am
ps @ sci fi for 2:15
back to hotel to relax
visit disney quest
bed by 11pm

wednesday
epcot day for EE
up at 6am
ice cream social ps @3:10pm
back to room for relax/nappy
back to epcot for lluminations and touring world showcase

Thursday/Friday

magic kingdom
ps@crystal palace thursday morning
friday afternoon off to fort wilderness campground for hayride
fire/songs/buffeteria,etc

Saturday

our last full day
catch anything we have to do again or didnt get done
xmas dinner @ O'hana ps@5:40

Sunday

sleep in
pack up/ check out
visit DTD for last shopping stroll
over to MK to make our final wishes at the well and see the castle
departing by 5pm
no ps's today...going to eat on the run!

we are a family of 5
dh=38
me/dw=29
dd=81/2
ds=7
ds=10months
We are not planning on hitting every ride. We are more into catching parades/shows/ambiance
MK will be our big ride venue!
I dont want to over due....we are coming back the second week in June with extended family

all thoughts, suggestions, must add on's are appreciated....thanks to all for their magic and wisdom!

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

Ok, Here's my thoughts, off the cuff (as a mom of three - 6, 4, and 2, so my kids are younger, for what that's worth....).

What time are you arriving? How long will the kids have been in the car? DTD and MK seems like it's a lot unless you are arriving fairly early and not overly fatigued from the car ride. I would be reluctant to do both things, and alate night of fireworks, while planning on getting up at 6 am the next day. Can you take it a bit easier on your arrival day so that everyone is ready to go nice and early the next day?

Disney Quest is not a must see for me...are the 7 and 8 1/2 year olds VERY into video games, if not, I'd use that for more park time, I think.

Everything else sounds pretty good. You'll have fun no matter what!!

Hope that helps!

 

[Amirah95]

MGM, doing a PS and Disneyquest seem like a lot to do all in one day. I would do the DQ while DTD and then head over to MK for Wishes on the day of arrival if you check in early. That's the only thing I see I would change if it were my itinerary.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

Here's my 2 cents...we were there last year from 12/27 to 1/2 with our 2 little ones. We'll be heading back again this year from 12/24 to 1/1.

The single best piece of advice I can give you is to go to www.tourguidemike.com and sign up for the automated vacation planner. It is, without question, the best resource you can have for navigating WDW on the single busiest week they have all year. The advice found here on the boards and in the really good guide books like Passporter and Ultimate Guide are really geared towards non-holiday weeks. Christmas week is a whole different ball game. Mike tours the parks for a living and gives you up to date info. He has already published a "Holiday Survival Guide" including his list of recommendations for the least crowded parks for each day and evening and WHY he recommends the way he does. It's quite different from the day to day least crowded parks for general touring. He will update it as Disney makes changes to the schedule for December. This info can not be beat. We followed his advice last year and the longest line I waited in all week was to buy lunch in Epcot on New Years Day. The longest attraction wait was 20 minutes and that was for riding the AK Safari on his recommended day but not at the recommended time. When we followed his advice our wait times averaged about 10-15 minutes. I can not stress how invaluable his info was to making our vacation filled with fun rather than filled with waiting. Yes, it is spending $17 but IMHO, it is SOOOOO well worth it. Go to http://tourguidemike.com/tour/index.asp and use code HE7KD-8GA to save $3 if you sign up.

If you don't want to sign up, here's the next best piece of advice I can offer. Change your itenerary to going to non EMH parks. The parks are all going to be crowded all day, every day but the EMH park will be the MOST crowded on any given day. If you REALLY want to do EMH, plan to park hop. EMH will start at 7 am that week. To really make sure you benefit from it as much as possible you'd want to be arriving at the park gates by 6:50 am at the latest. Plan to spend from 6:50 am to no later than 9 am at the EMH park and then hop to a different park. I still think doing non EMH parks is your best bet though. Don't underestimate how tiring a seriously crowded park is the family. Plan for breaks and don't push it with late nights and then expect to be up for EMH the next morning. I still think you'll get more done, both in the morning AND the evening, if you avoid the EMH parks all together. Also, keep an eye out for updates to the schedule. They've been known to shuffle the EMH parks during the peak holiday season.

I don't mean to sound like it's too crowded to enjoy yourself. We had a FABULOUS time and are headed back for more again this year. It's just seriously, seriously crowded so expert planning is a big help. I can't recommend TourGuideMike any higher. Our trip last year (and this year) was a Christmas gift from my parents. My husband and my father are 2 of the most impatient men on earth so had I not found a way to avoid the lines, I'd have been in for lots of sighing, eye rolling and complaining all week. Instead they both said it was fantastic and they thoroughly enjoyed the time with the kids.

Hope you have a wonderful trip! I love the parks at Christmas season.

 

[Amirah95]

I think that many people expect or anticipate large amounts of crowds when they plan Disney vacations around or during the holiday seasons like Xmas and Thanksgiving so I don't think that's the main issue here. I think that since she's not going into the park "commando style" and the fact that her children are young she'll be OK with her current plans. I think that if MK will be the place where they really want to ride then she will need to choose her rides prior to getting there and hitting those first when she gets into that park.

Does tourguidemike have a trial period for prospective customers to try to see if they like it first? If so, then I just might have to check it out.

 

[disneyandme]

Seems like a long day, especially for the littlest one. Are you planning on taking any breaks or naps?

 

[swilshire]

My first reaction was that the list was making me tired. Once I saw the ages of your children, I felt even more that way.

What time will the fireworks be the first night? Staying for the fireworks, then getting up at 6 the next morning would never fly with my crew. My husband refuses to do late, followed by early. You can usually talk him into one or the other, but not both.

Animal Kingdom from EE to parade time would probably be longer than you could amuse the family. We're usually done with everything shortly after lunch.

We always hit DQ once, but wait until we see the worst weather day and pick it. Sure, everybody else goes there when it rains so it's very crowded, but it sure beats walking around in the rain all day (especially in December).

Also, why DTD first off? I couldn't quite come up with any reason for that. It's another place you can go on a marginal weather day. We've spent showery days there by ducking under awnings and spending time trading pins and buying Mr Potato in the stores.

JMHO.

Sheila

 

[lovethattink]

My baby is 6 months old, so 4 months younger than your little one. I know my baby could not handle the itinerary you have planned. It would be too much for him. If you are using Disney transportation, it may take you up to an hour to get from point A to Point B depending on how many stops the bus must make and how long it takes for the bus to arrive at stop.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

I think that many people expect or anticipate large amounts of crowds when they plan Disney vacations around or during the holiday seasons like Xmas and Thanksgiving so I don't think that's the main issue here. I think that since she's not going into the park "commando style" and the fact that her children are young she'll be OK with her current plans. I think that if MK will be the place where they really want to ride then she will need to choose her rides prior to getting there and hitting those first when she gets into that park.

I wasn't suggesting doing commando style. We certainly didn't during our Christmas trip. We had the same situation where we knew we'd be back in the Spring (and in the fall, and at Christmas again ... the joy of an AP LOL). It's just that guidebooks aren't written for what is the busiest 2 weeks all year. Not good for marketing. Normally I think the advice of "used EMH and fast pass and you'll be fine" is great but Christmas week the fast passes are GONE for the entire day before lunch, right up till the midnight park closing. We did EMH parks twice. Magic Kingdom on our first day because it was the boys very first Disney Day and we had breakfast at Crystal Palace and Epcot b/c it was at the end of our trip and the boys hadn't seen Figment yet (no one else was rushing to Figment first thing ). Both days we didn't get there for EMH time but rather at like 8:15ish for Epcot and 9:30ish for MK. I say this because the OP is planning to spend all morning and early afternoon at the EMH park. By the time we left at like 3:00 at MK and 11:00 at Epcot saw wait times of 4 hours for Mission: Space, 2 hours for Thunder Mountain, 2½ hours for Splash, 1½ for Dumbo, 1 for Peter Pan. It's insane! When you don't have a chance to grab a fast pass your choices are "skip it or wait." That adds up to either a LOT of waiting and only being able to do 3, 4 or 5 attractions all day or skipping the "best and biggest" attractions in favor of the little things. Even the little things had big waits. Over an hour for Jungle Cruise etc. Another thing to keep in mind is that the last few years they have started doing 8 am park openings rather than 9 am. That means EMH starts at 7. Getting up at 6 am and having to get 5 people ready, out the door, onto WDW transportation and to the parks from CBR won't get you there at 7 am. Is it worth getting up at 5 or 5:30 to do EMH if you are up till 11 the night before?

I can't stress what a difference it was when we followed Tour Guide Mike's advice. The day we did AK we didn't wait more than 4 minutes for anything except our 2nd ride through the safari and the group waiting for Festival of the Lion King. Doing MK on the day he recommended we had a late morning PS for Chef Mickey's. We got there for regular 8 am opening and had done all of fantasy land (except Philharmagic which we grabbed a fast pass for later in the day), Buzz, Astro Orbiter, TTA all before "brunch." We went back after we ate and saw Country Bears and Tiki Birds then during the first parade (they had the Christmas parade--which we had already seen earlier at like 1:00 and Share a Dream Come True at 3:00) we did Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Jungle Cruise and Magic Carpets. At that time, we were done with everything my kids would ride and we hadn't waited for more than 15 minutes for anything. Typically it was under 10 minutes. We didn't rush and I didn't march them commando style. No chance of that. I had an almost 2 year old and an almost 4 year old.

I know people plan for crowds but, at least in my personal experience hearing how crowded it will be and actually seeing it when you are there is totally different. You know the parks will close at capacity (although I will say that all week, the park that TGM recommended as "least crowded for this day" did not close even once) but you can't understand what it feels to be standing on main street usa when that happens. You also totally underestimate how tiring it is to be standing in lines and fighting through crowds to get anywhere.

I think you can still have a fabulous trip no matter what. It's just my opinion that it's less tiring, less stressful and more fun (especially for the kids!) to avoid the crowds as much as possible. "Avoid the crowds" being relative of course! It's still crowded...but at least you can MOVE at the least crowded park. The only thing I've ever experienced in my life where it felt as crowded as MK felt when it was totally full and we were on Main St. was being on Burbon Street during Mardi Gras!

Does tourguidemike have a trial period for prospective customers to try to see if they like it first? If so, then I just might have to check it out.

No, he doesn't offer a free trial but he does offer a money back guarantee if you aren't satisfied.

The least crowded parks info is invaluable, at least IMHO. The touring plans, parade and fireworks viewing tips are a plus but most important is the "Christmas Week Survival Guide." It's also very helpful that he updates it as they make changes to the schedule. This year's December schedule looks a lot like what last year's initial release looked like but it is nothing like what it ended up being after they are done making changes. They will likely shuffle EMH parks, openings moved to 8 am even if they don't advertise the change (last year they did), two spectros, THREE fantasmics etc. daily. He keeps the advice current through all the changes. He now has boards set up where he actually does pop in and answer questions himself. Go to www.tourguidemike.com and read about it. Read his credentials too.

Yes, it's spending another $18 or so, but consider what you are spending on the vacation as a whole. Is it worth less than the cost of a counter service meal for the family to get expert advice on how to get the most out of your stay? Everyone is different but for us, the answer was yes. I know people say you can get the same advice on the boards for free but I respectfully disagree with that ESPECIALLY during Christmas week. The best tips he offered were in direct contradiction to what is suggested on the boards for that week. I was so impressed with it I've used it for both our Spring and Fall trips. I still think it's worth the money even for regular or low season but it's not as important as it is during peak times like Christmas or Spring Break. You can find similar advice on the boards for regular or low season but honestly, his survival guide can not be beat for the holidays.

Just my opinion of course.

 

[sanilacjack]

We were at the World for Spring Break 2001. DH said Never Again, even more so after going twice since in December

But guess where we will be again this spring break????

Yes -WDW and I'm not going without Mike.


-Kim

 

[Buttercup26]

You know your own kids best, but my dd (11) still can't handle late night - early morning Disney style. We are in bed early (9:30ish) if we are getting up at 6 for EE. The nights we stay up late for fireworks, etc.. we don't get up until 7:30ish. She must have a solid 8 hours or she can't make it a whole day in the parks. If we have to do a late night followed by an early morning, we go back for nap and swim mid-day. Otherwise she is too tired to enjoy it.

And she can do late night - early morning at home, but not at Disney the extra walking, excitement, etc... still tires her out more than normal (me too I guess!!).

 

[momxx5]

From our experiences, getting up at 6:00am seems like a good idea now and even the night before, but when that morning comes it is very hard, especially after a long day.

Also, keep in mind that the parks will be extremely packed during your stay. Close friends went last year, Dec 21-23 and they could hardly do anything due to the long lines. MK often closes due to capacity on 12/25.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Lollipop Mom,
Is tourguidemike a one time only fee, or should I say, one trip only? Also, does he let you choose the attractions you want to see, then customize your itinerary for those attractions and pre-planned meals? We will be at the parks Christmas to New Year, and know exactly what we want to see. A few attractions, and mostly shows. I just don't know the best way to approach the day. Thanks for your help, and if you already answered any of these questions, I apologize. I didn't really read the posts word for word.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

Is tourguidemike a one time only fee, or should I say, one trip only? Also, does he let you choose the attractions you want to see, then customize your itinerary for those attractions and pre-planned meals?

Yes, it is for one trip. You still have access for 60 days after your return. He is just getting ready to do a release of a new version of the software so it may change then but I don't think it will be where it builds a custom itenerary for you. He has said that is what he would like to get to eventually and is working towards that now. The way it is now, you have the option of going through a list of attractions and checking off what you want to see and it will generate a list of those attractions along with the recommended best times to see them as well as any additional info on the attraction (viewing tips, inside stories etc.). He also has sample park tour plans listed. Things like "Magic Kingdom with kids" and "MK for thrill seekers" and one that is a mix. He goes through a list of what to ride when, how he recommends fast pass use etc. The thing I like best is it's not just a "ride this then that..." list. He explains WHY he recommends this method. Because of that it was very easy for us to modify to suit our family perfectly. It doesn't have you cris-crossing the park AT ALL. No "ride Splash Mountain, then cross over to Future World, get a fast pass for Space Mtn. , then back over to do Haunted mansion" sort of running around. Honestly, I didn't even need to print out the itenerary list for touring. I had read the logic he uses and had looked over the itenerary enough that I knew basically what to do. It worked beautifully every time. I still felt it was worth subscribing again for our upcoming trip to make sure we were kept up to date with the holiday survival guide!

It's not just a tour plan though. He has the best advice on getting Cindy's ressies (we had 3 to chose from on our last trip), parade viewing tips, fireworks viewing tips, inside info on some neat stuff I hadn't read anywhere else. also, since he tours the parks for a living he can give advice on how to expect young kids to react etc. I liked knowing that with one resource, not only did it help me avoid lines and find a front row spot for Spectro only about 10 minutes before the start time but also that it would tell me how to keep my 4 year old who is bothered by loud noised from getting freaked out over the noise from Goofy's Barnstormer that you hear in the line. It's also great to know that if Disney makes a change that will affect how he recommends touring the parks, he posts an update for you.

There isn't going to be one guidebook or planning method that is perfect for everyone. For that matter, there isn't one approach to the parks that's perfect for everyone.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for the help. I don't really know if this would help me or not though. Does he know the showtimes a little ahead of time. We only plan to experience a couple attractions we haven't seen yet, and see the holiday shows. Could his info. be beneficial to us? Thanks again.

 

[sydsdad]

Lollipop Mom for president!!!!


TourGuideMike absolutely the single best "tip" you
can get!!!

 

[lmhall2000]

Changes I would make....

For first day...just plan on staying at the resort pool and getting adjusted....I always like doing a nice character dinner at a resort so you don't have to waste a park ticket (Chef Mickey's at Contemporary is fun).

I kind of have a rule to avoid Early Entry whenever possible...it's actually much better to hit another park (avoiding MK on the weekends is a tip) that morning then going back to the hotel to rest/nap....and hitting the early entry park in the afternoon...it's usually much less crowded in the pm than am for those EE days.

I've been to Disney over 12 times....4 times with our children....I've never been to Downtown Disney (well, I think I went to Pleasure Island once if that's the same thing)...I just like the charm of the parks and there's plenty of shopping to be had there....not to mention a fun ride or two.

If you're doing 6am'ers then scheduling your meals at 11 am would be alot easier on you and the kids. We're early risers and eating lunch at 11am then having a snack in the afternoon carries us through until dinner...If I had a 2'ish PS for lunch...my kids would be starving. Unless you have loads of snacks and lots of water/beverages to hold them over....we just like packing light to the parks....5 cheese sticks....2 bottles of water and camera. When we went with infants...we'd carry 2 diapers and a ziploc of wipes...very light packers.

Enjoy!!!

Have a great trip!
Tara