I'm not sure I can wait! Dec 2010!

[stephielela]

I booked CRT for the 10th in hopes we are going.. I figure I can cancel if we don't and it will be snatched right up. I wanted 5 too, but I got 4:15. That was fine for me. I figure we'll do MVMCP too that night if we go...and I am think MK in the day as well, as it's DD's b-day and I will try to make her a BBB apointment as well.
Now to just get DH to agree to go.

Good luck convincing DH! It took a bit for me to convince my family, but not much. We enjoy going in December because we do that rather than have a big Christmas. This year we won't really do presents, except for DS, and his presents will probably all be souvenirs from our trip We will probably just have family over for dinner and that's it. My mom has decreed that we can only get a small tree this year, since we will be gone for the week, (and since our 12 foot tree was a fiasco last year). I'll probably just let DS pick out what he wants from the trip, and then when we get home, re-wrap it.

 

[stephielela]

It's mostly the same, just with more detail!!

12/16~ Arrival Day
*Our flight leaves MCI at 10:30 am
I had wanted to leave earlier, but the earilest flight only gets in 5 minutes earlier and is more $$
*Arrive at beautiful MCO at 2:15 pm
At least this way I can be pretty confident our room will be ready when we get to...
*Check in at Contemporary Resort
Odds are we will look around at some stores, swim (if weather permits) and then at the very least DS and I will take a nap. It's possible that some of us might head to DD to shop before coming back and getting ready for our...
*7:45 ADR at California Grill
I'm hoping that napping late will help DS behave, and usually he's not too terrible when there is food involved. I'm also assuming that by then we will have reached a better stage in the "terrible two's" cuz let me tell you, these past few weeks have not been extremely pleasant. However, when he feels like being good, he's an angel! We plan on eating at a pace that will allow us to finish up right around 9:30 when Wishes starts (its a MVMCP night). That way after Wishes we can crawl back to our rooms and get some quality deluxe resort sleep

12/17~ Resort Move/Epcot Day
*I'm hoping to sleep in a bit this day if DS allows.

*11 am Check in at CBR
Two of us will head over to CBR to "check in" and get our park tickets etc. We have been told that they will move our stuff to our new resort for us, so the others will kill time at CR and then we will all rendevouz at Epcot's WS entrance at 12 pm so we can be in time for...
*12:30 ADR at Biergarten
I really think DS will like this restaurant. We recently went to a German restaurant for a rehearsal dinner and he loved his food, and it reminded me how much I like German food too.
*After lunch we will tour the world showcase. We might send someone over to try and get fastpasses for Soarin' or something. Plus we will commence our "drinking around the world". This will be the first trip my sister will be 21 for, and the last time we went I was pregnant, so this time will be way more interesting. I've heard it can get pretty intense though, so we plan on splitting the "world" in half since we will have 2 evenings there.
* 7:45pm ADR at Le Cellier
We are really looking forward to this one! Especially with the buzz that it might become a signature restaurant next year, I figure it must be good!
*After dinner it's possible we will watch Illuminations, but if not, it's ok because we are planning on seeing it on our next Epcot night. We will probably just go back to the hotel and sleep!

12/19~ Animal Kingdom Day
*8:00 ADR at Tusker House!
I am really excited about our before-the-park-opens ADRs (we have 2). I never realized they did this until i started here on DIS! We plan on being done in time to wait for rope drop between the restaurant and Kilimanjaro Safaris. There aren't a whole lot of rides DS can ride at this park, so it will be nice that we are starting with one he can.
*We will knock out all our big rides first, and then try the shows. We aren't huge animal people, though I know DS will enjoy seeing some of them up close, but this park is usually a half day for us.
*1 pm ADR at Yak and Yeti
We ate here on our last trip, and it was great! My dad likes it since he has been to Nepal or Kathmandu or wherever and stayed at the Yak and Yeti hotel there. I'm interested to try the pineapple dessert!
*After lunch we will finish up anything we missed and then head back to CBR to change and get ready for church
*We go to church at Mary Queen of the Universe when we are in Orlando (Catholic), and since we are not renting a car, we will be taking a cab there and back.
*8 pm ADR at 'Ohana
We are hoping to get finished in time to see Wishes from the beach at Poly, or maybe if we get a window table we will drag it out till Wishes is over

12/19~ Magic Kingdom Day
*8:05 ADR at Crystal Palace
*Park touring till lunchtime, then back to the resort for rest, change and beautification!
*Photo Session at Grand Floridian (not booked yet)
We are hoping to book for 3pm. It's too bad these can only be booked 30 days out. I wonder what the thinking is behind that...
*Dinner at CRT 4:15pm
I just thought that dinner at the castle would be a great way to kick off our MVMCP!
*MVMCP
Hoping to stay late enough to catch the second parade, but since we will have gotten an early start, I'm not sure DS will be up for that. Of course, he will be in a stroller, so I guess he could fall asleep...

12/20~ DHS Day
* We are rope drop people, so we will be there at 8:30!
I'm sure we will hit TSM first, followed by RnRC and ToT. After that it's whatever makes sense.
*Lunch at Pizza Planet
It's a tradition. I actually don't mind their pizza, though I have heard a lot of bad reviews. I will admit, I'm not a huge pizza fan in general though.
*Back to CBR for break
This park is also usually a half day park, but we want to see the lights, so we are taking a break for a few hours in the middle.
*5:20 ADR 50's PTC
Yum!
*Osborne lights!
I loved these the last time, and my mom did too. We are hoping to get some better pictures this time around

12/21~ Full Epcot Day
*Rope Drop
*Future World
Our family loves Soarin'. We lived in California longer than we have lived anywhere else, so this is like going home for us. We have all morning to conquer future world, and we might even explore innoventions, which is something we normally avoid, due to time constraints.
*2:20 pm ADR Les Chefs de France
We are hoping to convert this into a Candlelight Processional package lunch once those are open for booking
*Candlelight Processional
I'm hoping DS will sit through it!
*8pm ADR at Rose and Crown
I am requesting a terrace seat so that we can watch Illuminations from here!

12/22~Departure Day, Magic Kingdom
*We will check our luggage etc at the resort before heading to MK for rope drop
*I'm sure there will be things we missed on our first day, so we will knock thos out before
* 11:30 ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern
We've never eaten here, but it sounds great
*Our flight leaves at 5:30 pm, so we will head back to CBR after lunch and kill time till our ME arrives!

12/23
The depression sets in... luckily we have Christmas around the corner to keep it from getting too bad!

 

[jenseib]

Sounds good. Looks like alot of eating. LOL! I would like to try delux someday, but DH is always overstuffed with just the regular plan. Plus I have read with delux alot of your day is around eating and you don't get to do as much park stuff. I think it depends on the family though and what they like to do as well. But someday I hope to try it.

 

[stephielela]

Yeah, back in the days of our first few trips, we NEVER would have had 2 sit down meals a day. These days though, we've already done everything and we have gotten to the point where we aren't trying to fit it all in. We will ride our favorites, and as much as we have time for, but if we miss something, it's not the end of the world. DS is too young/short to ride a lot of things, so that shortens the list, plus with baby swap, it serves as a fastpass of sorts, so that will cut down on wait times. After the last December trip when I was pregnant, I really got to be ok with doing less and experiencing more. On our next trip, which likely won't be until DS turns 5 (2.5 years after our December trip ) we will probably be back to crammign everything in (at least DS and I will) Luckily he is young enough now not to care if he doesn't see everything. And after seeing TS3 today, (and the 25 viewings EACH of TS1 and 2 he's had) I think all he cares about is seeing Buzz Lightyear!

 

[stephielela]

Whew! CRT ressie made! It's not the time I wanted, I was hoping for 5 pm and all I could get was 4:15pm, but that's ok, I will probably keep my eye out for openings. Plus I had a total brainfart and forgot that my 180 days is from my day at CR, which does NOT have a dining plan attached, so for now I just put it on the credit card ($258!!! ) and I will call back and change it later. I am so blonde sometimes, but I am glad I went ahead and booked it anyways since the time was already so limited. I was on the phone at exactly 6 am and didn't even wait 10 seconds, so that was nice, but I am sure that all those people who were able to get online to book got my 5pm I wish my work wasn't so silly. If they could have just upgraded our internet explorer... I love that I expect my job to be a place where I can plan my vacations without problems. Anywho, tonight was my last night on the overnights, so in 30 minutes I get to start my life as a person who sleeps at night! It's the small things in life I guess!

 

[jenseib]

YAY! I tried for 5 too. Must be really popular time. I got 4:15 as well.

 

[mom2rtk]

And after seeing TS3 today, (and the 25 viewings EACH of TS1 and 2 he's had) I think all he cares about is seeing Buzz Lightyear!

If I were you, I'd talk up the Buzz Lightyear ride as he gets older as opposed to Toy Story Mania. It's SO much easier to ride Buzz lots of times without all the TSM hassles!

Whew! CRT ressie made! It's not the time I wanted, I was hoping for 5 pm and all I could get was 4:15pm, but that's ok, I will probably keep my eye out for openings. Plus I had a total brainfart and forgot that my 180 days is from my day at CR, which does NOT have a dining plan attached, so for now I just put it on the credit card ($258!!! ) and I will call back and change it later. I am so blonde sometimes, but I am glad I went ahead and booked it anyways since the time was already so limited. I was on the phone at exactly 6 am and didn't even wait 10 seconds, so that was nice, but I am sure that all those people who were able to get online to book got my 5pm I wish my work wasn't so silly. If they could have just upgraded our internet explorer... I love that I expect my job to be a place where I can plan my vacations without problems. Anywho, tonight was my last night on the overnights, so in 30 minutes I get to start my life as a person who sleeps at night! It's the small things in life I guess!

It might be that there just WERE no openings at 5 for your party size. I have found that they seat the restaurant in waves, and only have so many openings for that particular "seating".

I think they open earlier for dinner now that they added princesses. I know last year we did the first seating and it was 4:45. I scheduled for 4:15 this trip too, which seemed SO early, and means we'll have to eat lunch WAY early too. But to be honest, it's so much better to be in the first seating and not get in a bottlenecked line waiting for your Cinderella picture on the way in!

 

[mom2rtk]

YAY! I tried for 5 too. Must be really popular time. I got 4:15 as well.

See my previous post Jen. I don't think some times are EVER available for a certain party size. I figured this out last year when I was trying to get an Akershus ADR for a certain time. I was using the new online system that was just around a week old at the time, and had an hour's head start on anyone calling. And I was trying at 90 + the full 10 days out.

And I think they try to seat the restaurant full, then empty it, the seat the entire thing again. Makes no sense to me, but I think they do. Probably to make touring the princesses through easier.

 

[BippityBoo]

Wow!!! Your plans look awesome! I tried to get Le Cellier, but they were all booked up. I am hoping to secure it when the CP dinner packages come out. I am so happy you were able to get an ADR!!!

 

[stephielela]

If I were you, I'd talk up the Buzz Lightyear ride as he gets older as opposed to Toy Story Mania. It's SO much easier to ride Buzz lots of times without all the TSM hassles!



It might be that there just WERE no openings at 5 for your party size. I have found that they seat the restaurant in waves, and only have so many openings for that particular "seating".

I think they open earlier for dinner now that they added princesses. I know last year we did the first seating and it was 4:45. I scheduled for 4:15 this trip too, which seemed SO early, and means we'll have to eat lunch WAY early too. But to be honest, it's so much better to be in the first seating and not get in a bottlenecked line waiting for your Cinderella picture on the way in!

Yeah the Buzz ride definitely seems to be easier to get on, probably since TSM is so new.

That's interesing about CRT ressies. I think you might be right, since several of us have had that problem. I will keep looking, but i'm just happy to have it!

 

[stephielela]

Wow!!! Your plans look awesome! I tried to get Le Cellier, but they were all booked up. I am hoping to secure it when the CP dinner packages come out. I am so happy you were able to get an ADR!!!

When I talked to the CM's about booking the CP package they said they are holiding back reservations specifically for CPP so I'm sure that will help.

 

[stephielela]

YAY! I tried for 5 too. Must be really popular time. I got 4:15 as well.

Yeah I just thought 5 would be better so we could have more rest time int eh afternoon, but I guess in the grand scheme of things 45 minutes doesn't make a difference...

 

[jenseib]

That could be. I tried a few dates just to see if 5 was open and it always gave me 4:15.
I'm a little bummed myself. DH had a hip replacement last Oct and we didn;t go this year. And we (DD and I) were hoping to go in Dec, instead of next March. Well DH's hip is not right, basically they put to large of a peice in. He's been tolerating it, but over the last few days he can barely walk. So bad now ,that he went back to using a cane. Which means they may have to re do it over again. which means there's a good chance no Disney again. I love my DH dearly, don't get me wrong, but I have no desire to sit with a baby (and yes he is a big baby healing. LOL) again and then missing going to a fun spot on top of that. Time will tell, and he is going to try and get in to the Dr again this week, but I have a bad feeling about it.

 

[stephielela]

That could be. I tried a few dates just to see if 5 was open and it always gave me 4:15.
I'm a little bummed myself. DH had a hip replacement last Oct and we didn;t go this year. And we (DD and I) were hoping to go in Dec, instead of next March. Well DH's hip is not right, basically they put to large of a peice in. He's been tolerating it, but over the last few days he can barely walk. So bad now ,that he went back to using a cane. Which means they may have to re do it over again. which means there's a good chance no Disney again. I love my DH dearly, don't get me wrong, but I have no desire to sit with a baby (and yes he is a big baby healing. LOL) again and then missing going to a fun spot on top of that. Time will tell, and he is going to try and get in to the Dr again this week, but I have a bad feeling about it.

That's not fun!!! My dad had a hip replacement 2 years ago when he was 46. He recovered pretty quickly. but it still bothers him from time to time, and he's not allowed to run or play tennis or anything like that. I wasn't working at the time, so for the first couple weeks I helped take care of him, and while I love my dad, it was a bit much at times I kept thinking he should recover from that as fast as I recovered from my C section I hope it all works out! I will keep my fingers crossed!

 

[stephielela]

Not much to report, though we are planning our next Disney movie theme night for tomorrow night! We are doing Finding Nemo this time, and we are having Tuna sandwiches, blue jello with gummy fish in it, and anemone (macaroni) and cheese (macaroni and cheese with colored goldfish sprinkled on top. I got some construction paper for DS and I to make fish out of tomorrow since it's my day off. I'm super excited, I LOVE Nemo! I even have a clear plastic bag that I am going to put water and a fish bath toy in as a centerpiece (like when Nemo rolled around the dentists office!). I will take pictures and post them hopefully afterwards, along with the ones from our Ratatouille night!

 

[stephielela]

I called today and got a 5:15 CRT!!! I tried to book online and it wouldn't give me the option to use credits, so I had to call. Lucky I did since I found out they had charged our visa for BOTH of the other CRT ressies rather than just holding it on there. I'm much happier with the 5:15 time though because I know it's going to be a late night so DS is going to need a nap duriing the day for sure before our photo shoot! So now they are crediting back the two CRT charges and I have a better time for our ADR!

P.S. The way I found it was by putting in a request for 5:30. I am not sure why the CM's couldn't find it... but whatever!

 

[jenseib]

Yeah, CRT always charges your card IMMEDIATELY. It's not a hold at all. Did you have 2 ADR's there then? I wonder if I looke at 5:30 if I will find anything closer to 5?

 

[mom2rtk]

Yeah, CRT always charges your card IMMEDIATELY. It's not a hold at all. Did you have 2 ADR's there then? I wonder if I looke at 5:30 if I will find anything closer to 5?

It actually does not charge your card if you have the dining plan. They then just use it as a guarantee. I just made our ADR's and did this. To verify the card, they actually placed a $1 charge on the card. To do this though, you need to retrieve your resort reservation to associate it with your dining reservations, then the online system should know not to charge you yet, since it recognizes the dining plan in your confirmation number.

 

[jenseib]

It actually does not charge your card if you have the dining plan. They then just use it as a guarantee. I just made our ADR's and did this. To verify the card, they actually placed a $1 charge on the card. To do this though, you need to retrieve your resort reservation to associate it with your dining reservations, then the online system should know not to charge you yet, since it recognizes the dining plan in your confirmation number.

Right, but I'm not sure she did it with the dining plan/reservation with it. I thought I read...and could be wrong...that she couldn't or soemthing like that.

 

[stephielela]

The first one I knew they were charging me because I wasn't using credits. The second one I explicitly told her I wanted to use my dining plan, and she evidently charged me anyways! When I called for the 5:15 is when she told me I'd been charged twice! She canceled both of those and released the charges, and my mom says once we have the credits back on her Visa, we can book our MVMCP tickets!!

I would check for a later time and see what you get, that's how I found my 5:15!