Is it December yet? Pre TR 12/4-12/14- Update 7/23

[Ciciwoowoo]

This is my official first pre-trip report here! OK...Its my first official started thread, period!

Here is the cast of our upcoming vacation:
Me! (Age 35, Disney-holic)
Dear Son (Stitch) (Age 10, loves Stitch, pin trading, and his Gameboy)
Lovely Mother (Grammy) (Age 29... , celebrating a noteworthy birthday shortly after this trip)
Darling Father (Grampy) (Age 60, rather grumpy at times, but he does adore Disneyworld!)

We also have two possibilities who have not committed just yet:
Loving Brother (Ic) (Age 32, likes Disney, hates flying)
Girlfriend of LB (VeggieGirl) (Age 26, animal lover extraordinaire, vegetarian)

When: December 4-December 14

Where: 2 bedroom villas: Boardwalk Villas 12/4-12/10, Villas at Wilderness Lodge 12/10-14

Why: To celebrate Grammy's big birthday! And, of course, December is our favorite time of year to go Home!


Now, I realize we are currently staying at two different resorts during our stay. I had to do this because we have points at both the Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge. When the 7 month mark arrives, I am going to try to change things so we can spend the entire time at one resort. I am doing this for Grampy's sake, as he does not like change, and packing up and moving may be a bit much for his fragile temper! (I love Grampy to pieces, but he is grumpy!)

I can begin calling and changing things around on May 10th. I am hopeful that I will be able to change our stay to the Boardwalk the entire time. If not, I will try the entire stay at the Wilderness Lodge, and if worse comes to worse, we move and everyone will just have to be happy!

We are also still deciding if we want to go with the DDP this trip. My son is 10 now, so he will be considered an adult. I'm not sure he will enjoy ordering adult things. Also, if VeggieGirl goes, she is a vegatarian, and I'm not sure if the DDP will be good for her.

In June, I will be able to call and make all those lovely ADR's. I know we would like to do the Candlelight Processional Dinner. We are also a Hoop-Dee-Doo family! Oh yes, let's not forget Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

I look forward to sharing the planning with each of you! Its nice to know that I'm not the only person in this world who devotes so much energy to dreaming and planning a trip to WDW!

 

[disneyaddicted]

Nope, it aint Dec. yet. I wake up every morning asking that. I have booked Pop 12/5-12/11. I will join you in the count down. Are we nuts for starting to count down when it's still about 260somthing days out?
Heck no. We are excited, and we're planners and dreamers and wishers, we might be under a spell, but crazy? no way!!!
This will be my 1st time to go around the holidays. And I will celebrate my B-day there as well.
Maybe we will run into eachother, I would love to bump into a fellow diser.

I will tun in regularly to hear updates on your Pre trip report.

BTW, my DD was 12 when we went and we had the DDP, alot of the times they let her order off the kiddie menu, you just have to ask yourself do you want to pay adult prices for kiddie portions.

 

[dddisrunner]

Ahh Chrismastime @ Disney what could be better? It's never to early to plan for Disney! Besides good planning makes for great vacations! I liked your first installment looking forward to more!

 

[CantWaitToGo2007]

Can't wait to hear more.

I'm with LB....I hate to fly too. But it beats driving all the way from western Washington

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Nope, it aint Dec. yet. I wake up every morning asking that. I have booked Pop 12/5-12/11. I will join you in the count down. Are we nuts for starting to count down when it's still about 260somthing days out?
Heck no. We are excited, and we're planners and dreamers and wishers, we might be under a spell, but crazy? no way!!!
This will be my 1st time to go around the holidays. And I will celebrate my B-day there as well.
Maybe we will run into eachother, I would love to bump into a fellow diser.

I will tun in regularly to hear updates on your Pre trip report.

BTW, my DD was 12 when we went and we had the DDP, alot of the times they let her order off the kiddie menu, you just have to ask yourself do you want to pay adult prices for kiddie portions.

Yeah! Its nice to know we're not crazy, its those who just don't understand who have a few screws loose! I've never met anyone from the boards at the park, although I just joined DIS a few months ago! I'm going to have to go out and investigate those green paint chips everyone talks about!

I'm on the fence about the DDP... My main plus is the idea that food is prepaid. The negative, a lot of times my son won't eat the adult portions. One day I'm going to sit down and figure out just where we're going, and have him tell me what he will eat there. I think its going to involve a lot of math!!!

I look forward to reading about your upcoming trip too! Thanks so much!

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Ahh Chrismastime @ Disney what could be better? It's never to early to plan for Disney! Besides good planning makes for great vacations! I liked your first installment looking forward to more!

Christmas is just the best there, isn't it? Although, wouldn't it be nice to come and replicate the Osborne Christmas lights in your very own home? One can dream!

Thank you so much for reading!

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Can't wait to hear more.

I'm with LB....I hate to fly too. But it beats driving all the way from western Washington

Oh, that would be quite the drive! I suppose if you were in the family truckster, and made sure to stop and see the biggest ball of twine along the way, you'd be ok.

But...if Aunt Edna tries to hitch a ride, just say NO!!!

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Nope, it aint Dec. yet. I wake up every morning asking that. I have booked Pop 12/5-12/11. I will join you in the count down. Are we nuts for starting to count down when it's still about 260somthing days out?
Heck no. We are excited, and we're planners and dreamers and wishers, we might be under a spell, but crazy? no way!!!
This will be my 1st time to go around the holidays. And I will celebrate my B-day there as well.
Maybe we will run into eachother, I would love to bump into a fellow diser.

I will tun in regularly to hear updates on your Pre trip report.

BTW, my DD was 12 when we went and we had the DDP, alot of the times they let her order off the kiddie menu, you just have to ask yourself do you want to pay adult prices for kiddie portions.

Oh, I just read the beginning of your TR... I live in Milford, Michigan...just west of Cooley lake! In fact, I used to work at a video rental store in Union Lake during the late 80's! Such a small world! And yes, I was in that Paul Bunyan parade before!

 

[disneyaddicted]

Yes, this is an amazingly small world. My parents now live in Waterford. I attended 8th grade at Clifford H. Smart in the late 80's. This is so cool.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Oh wow...My ex hubby went there too! He grew up in Union Lake. He graduated from WLC in 89...

 

[lilianddomsmom]

i wake up everyday asking my dh if it's december yet. we are so excited that we are going to be going on our first official family trip 12/4-12/11 with dd 2 and ds 18 months and my lm ld lil sis and bil and big sis. my dh myself lm and ld have all been there before but not with the babies.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

i wake up everyday asking my dh if it's december yet. we are so excited that we are going to be going on our first official family trip 12/4-12/11 with dd 2 and ds 18 months and my lm ld lil sis and bil and big sis. my dh myself lm and ld have all been there before but not with the babies.

How fun! The little ones are always so cute when they meet the characters!

My son was 18 months the first time he went to WDW. I'm so glad we went, because it was my grandmother's last time there. She passed away 3 months after we came home from bone cancer. (She had breast cancer 3 years earlier)

Anyway...out of the sadness...Any trip to WDW is a good one, and the memories that are made are truly precious!

Thanks for reading! I'm so glad there are going to be so many wonderful people at WDW the same time we're there!

 

[disneyaddicted]

Hi Ciciwoowoo, I have gone to allears.net and looked at the menus for all the places I plan to make ADR's for. I already know what I want to order. I can't make definite plans until I have flight info, that part wreaks. I know what to do just not when to do it. Are you having those same issues?

Your hubby was out of Clifford by the time I went, he would have been a freshman by then. My sister was a junior at WLC 85/86 But I bet we know some of the same people. Ask him if he knew the Hensley brothers? Since my dad has retired from the army he works for Walled Lake Consolidated Schools.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Hi Ciciwoowoo, I have gone to allears.net and looked at the menus for all the places I plan to make ADR's for. I already know what I want to order. I can't make definite plans until I have flight info, that part wreaks. I know what to do just not when to do it. Are you having those same issues?

Your hubby was out of Clifford by the time I went, he would have been a freshman by then. My sister was a junior at WLC 85/86 But I bet we know some of the same people. Ask him if he knew the Hensley brothers? Since my dad has retired from the army he works for Walled Lake Consolidated Schools.

Ty, I do agree, waiting for the plane tickets stinks! I would like to be able to do everything in one shot, instead of having dates penciled on my calandar. Also, with plane tickets, its sort of like gambling. Do you take the first price you see, or chance it to see if they go up or down?

I love allears.net! I'm going to sit my son down and ask him, ok, what would you order? And that's going to help me make the decision about DDP. (He will probably think I'm a nut for asking him what he wants to eat 6 months out! )

I'll make sure next time I see my son's father, I'll ask him about the Hensley brothers! He was a big ole nerd back then. (Hey, I like nerds! ) He was a member of the chess club, I do recall. Ah well...the good ole days.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

An update on the status of our December trip...

Ic and VeggieGirl have signed on! They found someone to watch their herd and they are a go now! (The herd consists of Angus the English Mastiff, Nana the Newfoundland, Latte the toy poodle, and Nibblin the ugliest dog in the world! )

I tried calling to switch the resorts around so we could stay at one place the entire time, but they were all booked. I am on a waiting list for December 10-14 for the Boardwalk, but this has not come through as of yet. I am going to call on June 6th to see if I can switch because this is the day everyone can make Animal Kingdom Lodge reservations. If I can't switch, I'm going to cancel, and we'll just have to move!!!

Actually, Grammy and I don't really mind the move. It's Grumpy Grampy and Ic who are opposed.

Let's see... I have my airline reservations with NWA now. We decided we should make them early because we think the price of gas is going to cause airline tickets to shoot up. We found a decent rate and time from Detroit to Orlando and decided to go for it!

Thanks for reading this! I love to read other people's trip reports. I need to figure out a good way to add some humor. Also, I'm going to try and figure out how to post some pictures too because, I love pictures!!!

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

If this shows up, this is a pic of Stitch and Goofy from December 2004. I figure I can make an attempt at posting pics here and you will all be very nice and bear with me!

 

[CantWaitToGo2007]

your picture worked You're luck to have already found airfare. I'm still in a holding pattern for my airfare.

Can't wait to hear more about your upcoming trip

 

[ncsjodi]

We're going in early December too (Dec 7-11)! But, we're not taking the kids this time! It's our 10th anniversary and we decided to relive our honeymoon! We're DVC members as well and are currently booked two nights at BCV and two at OKW (wait-listed at BCV). We're hoping to get the two nights at AKV, but not counting on it. Last time we checked, there was availability though!

So, do you have your ADRs all figured out? We're still waiting to finalize some things, but I'll be calling as soon as I can! I think planning the vacation is almost as much fun as going (but not quite). We're doing MVMCP as well as the Candlelight Processional too. We've been to WDW right after Christmas, but never before. I can't wait to feel the Disney holiday spirit!

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

your picture worked You're luck to have already found airfare. I'm still in a holding pattern for my airfare.

Can't wait to hear more about your upcoming trip

Thank you for reading it! The one thing I hate about airfare, its kind of like gambling. Is the price going to go up or down once you purchase? I read on one of these boards about a new program that will watch your airfare for you. Sounded interesting, but I hate having to put in all my information. You hear too much about Internet fraud anymore!

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

We're going in early December too (Dec 7-11)! But, we're not taking the kids this time! It's our 10th anniversary and we decided to relive our honeymoon! We're DVC members as well and are currently booked two nights at BCV and two at OKW (wait-listed at BCV). We're hoping to get the two nights at AKV, but not counting on it. Last time we checked, there was availability though!

So, do you have your ADRs all figured out? We're still waiting to finalize some things, but I'll be calling as soon as I can! I think planning the vacation is almost as much fun as going (but not quite). We're doing MVMCP as well as the Candlelight Processional too. We've been to WDW right after Christmas, but never before. I can't wait to feel the Disney holiday spirit!

Oh fantastic! One of my favorite trips to WDW was on my honeymoon! (Not married anymore, but I really enjoyed the honeymoon, nevertheless! )

I'll keep my fingers crossed that your waitlist comes through! I have my ADR's sort of outlined. I'm trying to get the approval of everyone involved before I make them. I know we want to do O'hanas, Chef Mickeys, and Le Cellier, so I told them I need to do that right away. I think my day to call is either tomorrow or Wednesday, but I'm holding off until Wednesday because Grammy and Grampy are in Vegas at the moment!

You are so going to love all the fun stuff to do at Christmas time!!! I think my favorite is the Osborne lights. They bring me to tears! The Candlight is very special. Make sure you do the dinner package. There are lots of different Santas around World Showcase that are well worth a visit! Oh, and don't forget to allow some time to go resort-hopping. The decorations are really nice to see.

Have a wonderful time when you go!