I Think We're Making This a Habit: The Tale of a Family that Loves Disney in December

[Ageout96]

We're going again ...! To Disney World that is, and did I mention that it's in December. Who couldn't possibly love Disney at Christmas.

This is our second December vacay. We went last year too - the same week. I loved it so much (as did everyone else) that it didn't take one bit of arm twisting to decide that we were definitely doing it again.

Oh, who are we? We're the most fun people you've ever met, of course! Here's a formal introduction ...

DH - Don ... former Disney CM. He had awesome parents that brought him to Disney as a child. He visited many many times prior to working in the park. He's the Product Manager for a major drumstick manufacturer. He is a wonderful planner - he plans the parks/meals and I figure out how to pay for it. He loves everything Disney and knows all the interesting things about the tunnels and other "secret" info! He's fun to go to the parks with

Me - Stephanie ... We never went on vacations when I was little, so I'd sell blood everyday for 6 months to be able to come to Disney. Luckily, it's Value Season, so I haven't had to resort to that I work as a writer and editor at a mega-church. I love all the Disney details. Oh, and the Princesses, and Mary Poppins, and the rides ... and, you get the idea!

DS - Avery (age 5). Avery is a huge Disney and Pixar fan. He loved every minute of our trip last year. He was in such amazement the entire time. He showed no character anxiety at all. He was a living Disney commercial. Such a cute kid to watch.

DD - Piper (age 4). Piper is a complete girly-girl. She was a little skeptical of the characters at first, but finally came around. She is a fan of the parades and just taking it all in. I think she'll be much more interactive this year. Overwhelmed would be a good adjective to describe her last year. However, she was the first to say "Let's go back!"

 

[Ageout96]

When are we going? We'll arrive joyously on Saturday, December 6 and depart (in tears) on Sunday, December 14. We are staying at POP Century because we heard the Food Court was good and the shop was amazing. Really ... that's why.

Oh, and did I mention that we invited family to come too? Ok, see if you can keep up ...

Don's mom - Nonna; step-dad - G-Dad; dad - Granddaddy; step-mom - Grandmother Sue; brothers Michael and David. (Yes, you are reading correctly. Don's parents and their new spouses. I'm an editor. I assure you it isn't a misprint.)

Not everyone is there the whole time. Nonna and G-Dad are there the same duration as us, but everyone else is in and out on different days.

I've got a whole list of stuff to do and make and buy before this trip arrives in 25 days. YIKES!!!! I better get to work

 

[prettyflower]

You will love the food court. My bf and I stayed there almost two years ago and we both said how great it is. The menu there is very kid friendly. Enjoy the family trip!! I'll be going down for Christmas too but not till later in the month.

 

[Ageout96]

Here's what we've got planned thus far:

Arrive on Saturday, December 6 - Check into the hotel; eat dinner at Chef Mickey's (our traditional first night dinner); then head to MK in time for SpectroMagic parade.

Sunday - Animal Kingdom. Whispering Canyon for dinner.

Monday - Hollywood Studios. O'Hana for breakfast.

Tuesday - Magic Kingdom. Royal Table for lunch. BBB for Piper and Avery.

Wednesday - Epcot.

Thursday - Pirate Cruise for the kids. (Shhhh, it's a secret!) Then, Epcot. Coral Reef for dinner.

Friday - MK. The Wave for dinner.

Saturday - MK. Crystal Palace for breakfast.

Sunday - Shopping at DTD, then depart for airport around 4PM.

 

[rcymrcym]

I am a church nerd too, taking the whole gang to Disney in December. We won't be there at the same time, but looking forward to seeing how you are going to work out things.

 

[Ageout96]

So much to do the next 24 days. Please, everyone else, tell me that it will be ok.

(1) Shirts - I need to make shirts for each child regarding the Pirate Cruise, their favorite character, and a general "Family Vacation" shirt.

(2) Pre-pay for PhotoPass. Fo the number of days that we'll be there, I think it's a good deal. Once we're 10 years into this process - I might think differently, but right now, we're still good with it. Last year, we did the PhotoSession at the Grand Floridan and BBB. The ticket definitely is to get a picture taken everytime you see a photographer. We had about 400 photopass pics. It works for us.

(3) Search the boards for the latest/greatest ideas! There seems to always be posts that contain something that will make our lives easier at the parks. I need to spend some QUALITY time crusing the posts for the newest life savings tip!

(4) Make a stroller tag. After the stroller rental doubled, we opted to buy a new stroller. It was cheaper for us to do that then to pay to rent a double while we are there. We saw a family last year that had a double stroller that folded up to the size of a pencil! Luckily, we found that same stroller (a Maclaran) on Craigslist We got a steal ... I'm embarrassed to tell you how much we paid.


I have purchased a Baggelini. I haven't used it yet. I've been waiting to break it in!!! I'm so excited to use it. I have a couple of old trip reports bookmarked with tips on how they packed it. I'll add that to my QUALITY reading time this weekend.

What have I forgotten???? I'm sure it will come to me tomorrow!

 

[jensen]

Stephanie, it sounds like it's going to be great... I cannot wait to hear more.

 

[Melissa79]

Just wanted to say Hi! We are going the 6-14 also...and we went the same week last year too! Disney in December is great. It is almost here