PlutoTheDog89
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2011
January 1st is always the toughest day of the year. Its the day we leave Disney after our Christmas vacation and head home to cold New York. As I write this, theres sun glaring through the windows, reflecting off of the bright white snow. The snow accumulation was around 10 inches last night, a perfect welcome home from mother nature after experiencing near-perfect weather the past 8 days.
We started the tradition of going to Disney for Christmas back in 2009. My dad had overcome cancer and completed his chemo treatment in the summer of 2009. We wanted to find a way to celebrate his treatment being done, and the start of remission. I returned to college for my sophomore year and was there maybe a week when my mom called me. Were going to Disney for Christmas! she exclaimed. What a better way to celebrate the happy news than in the happiest place during the happiest time.
My family had booked Coronado Springs, and were deciding between driving or flying down. It was then that we had the idea to take Amtrak down. I had taken Amtrak between New York and Pennsylvania many times to visit my family during my dads treatment. My mom had a sixth sense that it would snow around Christmas and that we would face a flight delay or not be able to drive. She was right. It started snowing December 23rd into the 24th. It resulted in flight delays, bad roads, and even the risk of our Amtrak train being delayed. The train only wind up being delayed by about a half an hour, so my mom proved right.
It was this trip that I made my first mistake. Upon hearing that we would be going to Disney, I was particularly excited about the prospect of spending Christmas and New Years Eve in a warm climate. It was Florida, so it was going to be warm! The only other time I had traveled to Florida during a non-summer month was during April or May. As a result, I ignorantly packed jeans, short-sleeve shirts, a couple long-sleeve shirts, and shorts. I even packed my bathing suit! The only cold-weather item I had was the one on my back - my winter coat that I wore on the train ride down. I was fortunate to have the winter coat that I reluctantly wore, as Florida saw unseasonably cold temperatures that year. I remember getting down to Florida and immediately feeling the warm breeze. It was 70 degrees and sunny. It would not go above 65 degrees the rest of the trip, and the sun rarely shone. As a result, we encountered brisk nights in the low 40s, and I suffered a bad cold. The next year would be different, I would pack hats, gloves, handwarmers, and heavier clothes. I would put myself on a strict regimen of vitamins and Airborne. We decided to drive down in 2010, as Amtrak proved was not cost efficient and took just as long as driving. Then it happened. The week of finals I took one wrong step resulting in a broken foot and sprained ankle. I would be in a walking boot for 16-18 weeks. My mom went into panic mode and nearly canceled the trip. Fortunately the good people at Disney calmed her nerves and set me up with an ECV. It changed the entire dynamic of the trip. It was another cold year and sitting sedentary on an ECV did not help. I also caught a cold.
It was bittersweet when we decided to skip our trip in 2011. We were invited to a wedding by another fellow Disney fanatic. The wedding would be in Disney at the Grand Floridian chapel. The date was in April, so we would not have to worry about the warm temperature. It was a short and unconventional trip, so we flew down on a Thursday and returned home that Sunday. The trip was too short. We were bit by the Disney bug when we were down there, and quickly decided to return for another Christmas. Months later, we were hit by Sandy and our trip was called into question. Our house would need substantial repairs, and we were not sure that we would have the money or resources to to take the trip. We were booked to fly down, and Disney was willing to refund us. All we would lose would be the security deposit.
A month into cleaning and repairs, we all looked at each other and decided to go to Disney come hell or high water (no pun intended). We left our bare house, filled with tar and concrete floors and rooms separated by studs to drive to the airport early in the morning. We had packed correctly, and were ready to clear our minds and boost our morale at the happiest place on Earth. Weather-wise, we had a few really nice days. Christmas Eve was mild, Christmas Day was t-shirt weather, and we were comfortable with a light sweater on New Years Eve. We did experience two cooler days. Temperatures dropped into the high 50s right around the middle of our trip, resulting in cold nights. I had come down with a cold, so we decided to skip one of the nights and avoid getting any more sick.
It was tough going home last year. We knew we had a lot of work in the house to look forward to, and that it would be a tough road to recovery. By June or July, the house was done. The house had taken up so much of our attention and funds that we had put off scheduling our trip. I had also decided to leave my job to pursue a career in copywriting. Being unemployed, I was worried. At my last job, we had off the entire week of Christmas. While I would be happy just to be employed, I was hoping that my new job would not conflict with our trip.
In my free time I started writing a guide to Christmas in Disney. I started posting it on Disboards and started a Tumblr blog. I photoshopped a weekly countdown, and offered tips and strategies to tackle the park and deal with the crowds. It was a successful way to keep writing, while putting my excitement to good use.
It was not until August that we begun planning our trip. By then, it was well into the 180-day window for booking Advance Dining Reservations. As a result, we were unable to get our preferences, such as Narcoossees for Christmas dinner. Fortunately, California Grill was undergoing renovations and the date for re-opening had not yet been announced. I kept a keen eye on the restaurants progress. When they began taking reservations for dates after October, we jumped on it. We now had Naroossees booked for the 28th of December, and Cali Grill booked for Christmas night. Everything was falling into place, except my employment. I finally found a job as a freelance copywriter. They were open to my vacation during Christmas week, which was awesome to hear.
I continued writing in my free time. The countdown to Christmas quickly diminished and it was soon December. Knowing the unreliability of an Orlando weather forecast, I decided to pack the Saturday and Sunday before the trip. I knew the essentials - I would need several long sleeve shirts, some khakis for our dinners at California Grill and Narcoosees, as well as layers. I was disheartened to see that Disneys forecast called for rain the entire week. I knew that the forecast could quickly change, but wanted nice weather. Ironically, on the days that it called for rain we were greeted with sunshine and warm temperatures. We did not experience bad weather once. We did experience a passing shower or two. For the most part, though, the weather was gorgeous. It was easily our best trip yet. We even broke out our shorts twice! To add to the gorgeous weather, I managed to stay healthy. THAT was easily the best part!
There were a lot of new things to experience in Disney. Fantasyland continues to grow, the addition of FP+ and Magic Bands, the new Starbucks in both EPCOT and Magic Kingdom, as well as the culmination launch of construction at Downtown Disney. I learned a lot of new tips, took a lot of pictures, and have a lot of feedback regarding Magic Bands, MDE and more. Join me, if you will, on my Disney Trip Report!
We started the tradition of going to Disney for Christmas back in 2009. My dad had overcome cancer and completed his chemo treatment in the summer of 2009. We wanted to find a way to celebrate his treatment being done, and the start of remission. I returned to college for my sophomore year and was there maybe a week when my mom called me. Were going to Disney for Christmas! she exclaimed. What a better way to celebrate the happy news than in the happiest place during the happiest time.
My family had booked Coronado Springs, and were deciding between driving or flying down. It was then that we had the idea to take Amtrak down. I had taken Amtrak between New York and Pennsylvania many times to visit my family during my dads treatment. My mom had a sixth sense that it would snow around Christmas and that we would face a flight delay or not be able to drive. She was right. It started snowing December 23rd into the 24th. It resulted in flight delays, bad roads, and even the risk of our Amtrak train being delayed. The train only wind up being delayed by about a half an hour, so my mom proved right.
It was this trip that I made my first mistake. Upon hearing that we would be going to Disney, I was particularly excited about the prospect of spending Christmas and New Years Eve in a warm climate. It was Florida, so it was going to be warm! The only other time I had traveled to Florida during a non-summer month was during April or May. As a result, I ignorantly packed jeans, short-sleeve shirts, a couple long-sleeve shirts, and shorts. I even packed my bathing suit! The only cold-weather item I had was the one on my back - my winter coat that I wore on the train ride down. I was fortunate to have the winter coat that I reluctantly wore, as Florida saw unseasonably cold temperatures that year. I remember getting down to Florida and immediately feeling the warm breeze. It was 70 degrees and sunny. It would not go above 65 degrees the rest of the trip, and the sun rarely shone. As a result, we encountered brisk nights in the low 40s, and I suffered a bad cold. The next year would be different, I would pack hats, gloves, handwarmers, and heavier clothes. I would put myself on a strict regimen of vitamins and Airborne. We decided to drive down in 2010, as Amtrak proved was not cost efficient and took just as long as driving. Then it happened. The week of finals I took one wrong step resulting in a broken foot and sprained ankle. I would be in a walking boot for 16-18 weeks. My mom went into panic mode and nearly canceled the trip. Fortunately the good people at Disney calmed her nerves and set me up with an ECV. It changed the entire dynamic of the trip. It was another cold year and sitting sedentary on an ECV did not help. I also caught a cold.
It was bittersweet when we decided to skip our trip in 2011. We were invited to a wedding by another fellow Disney fanatic. The wedding would be in Disney at the Grand Floridian chapel. The date was in April, so we would not have to worry about the warm temperature. It was a short and unconventional trip, so we flew down on a Thursday and returned home that Sunday. The trip was too short. We were bit by the Disney bug when we were down there, and quickly decided to return for another Christmas. Months later, we were hit by Sandy and our trip was called into question. Our house would need substantial repairs, and we were not sure that we would have the money or resources to to take the trip. We were booked to fly down, and Disney was willing to refund us. All we would lose would be the security deposit.
A month into cleaning and repairs, we all looked at each other and decided to go to Disney come hell or high water (no pun intended). We left our bare house, filled with tar and concrete floors and rooms separated by studs to drive to the airport early in the morning. We had packed correctly, and were ready to clear our minds and boost our morale at the happiest place on Earth. Weather-wise, we had a few really nice days. Christmas Eve was mild, Christmas Day was t-shirt weather, and we were comfortable with a light sweater on New Years Eve. We did experience two cooler days. Temperatures dropped into the high 50s right around the middle of our trip, resulting in cold nights. I had come down with a cold, so we decided to skip one of the nights and avoid getting any more sick.
It was tough going home last year. We knew we had a lot of work in the house to look forward to, and that it would be a tough road to recovery. By June or July, the house was done. The house had taken up so much of our attention and funds that we had put off scheduling our trip. I had also decided to leave my job to pursue a career in copywriting. Being unemployed, I was worried. At my last job, we had off the entire week of Christmas. While I would be happy just to be employed, I was hoping that my new job would not conflict with our trip.
In my free time I started writing a guide to Christmas in Disney. I started posting it on Disboards and started a Tumblr blog. I photoshopped a weekly countdown, and offered tips and strategies to tackle the park and deal with the crowds. It was a successful way to keep writing, while putting my excitement to good use.
It was not until August that we begun planning our trip. By then, it was well into the 180-day window for booking Advance Dining Reservations. As a result, we were unable to get our preferences, such as Narcoossees for Christmas dinner. Fortunately, California Grill was undergoing renovations and the date for re-opening had not yet been announced. I kept a keen eye on the restaurants progress. When they began taking reservations for dates after October, we jumped on it. We now had Naroossees booked for the 28th of December, and Cali Grill booked for Christmas night. Everything was falling into place, except my employment. I finally found a job as a freelance copywriter. They were open to my vacation during Christmas week, which was awesome to hear.
I continued writing in my free time. The countdown to Christmas quickly diminished and it was soon December. Knowing the unreliability of an Orlando weather forecast, I decided to pack the Saturday and Sunday before the trip. I knew the essentials - I would need several long sleeve shirts, some khakis for our dinners at California Grill and Narcoosees, as well as layers. I was disheartened to see that Disneys forecast called for rain the entire week. I knew that the forecast could quickly change, but wanted nice weather. Ironically, on the days that it called for rain we were greeted with sunshine and warm temperatures. We did not experience bad weather once. We did experience a passing shower or two. For the most part, though, the weather was gorgeous. It was easily our best trip yet. We even broke out our shorts twice! To add to the gorgeous weather, I managed to stay healthy. THAT was easily the best part!
There were a lot of new things to experience in Disney. Fantasyland continues to grow, the addition of FP+ and Magic Bands, the new Starbucks in both EPCOT and Magic Kingdom, as well as the culmination launch of construction at Downtown Disney. I learned a lot of new tips, took a lot of pictures, and have a lot of feedback regarding Magic Bands, MDE and more. Join me, if you will, on my Disney Trip Report!