Is it too late to plan a Dec. trip? *UPDATED after I took your advice!

[wendybeth75]

I wish there was a prize for indecision--I'd win!

First we were going (bought tickets), then we weren't, now I think we should.

Our son plays with his marching band at the Citrus parade (Dec. 30) and at Magic Kingdom (Jan. 1).

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Here is the thing. 10 years from now you won't remember the crowds or how much your room cost. You will remember that you watched your son at the place where dreams come true! I say go for it! You are making memories. Go in knowing that it is going to be crazy and crowded. Don't make a final judgement on the Disney experience by this trip if you haven't been before. Not all times of the year will be like that! Congrats to your son, what an awesome accomplishment!

 

[Narnia_girl]

Here is the thing. 10 years from now you won't remember the crowds or how much your room cost. You will remember that you watched your son at the place where dreams come true! I say go for it! You are making memories. Go in knowing that it is going to be crazy and crowded. Don't make a final judgement on the Disney experience by this trip if you haven't been before. Not all times of the year will be like that! Congrats to your son, what an awesome accomplishment!

Thank you for putting it into perspective!

 

[MouseLover24]

I played in the Citrus Bowl parade parade 25 years ago. My most memorable part of the trip: My parents were there. Go, go go.

 

[johde]

Thanks for your input. It's very helpful.



I think you have me convinced! Guess I better read up about Fastpass Plus. I didn't realized resort guests had any advantage.

Eventually FP+ is supposed to be available to all WDW guest. Right not though officially, FP+ is in testing at most all on site resorts but could change at any time. You may want to look at what resorts are testing and not before making your final decision on resort.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Just to add to the argument to not stay at HI on points - points in Orlando are crazy expensive. DH and I have "don't use points in Orlando ever" policy, because we can get soooo much more bang for our points anywhere else. Cash prices are very good in Orlando, points prices are inflated - much better to pay cash and save those points for weekend getaways or for spending the night on the way to or going home from Disney.

 

[Narnia_girl]

Well, I did it--booked four nights at Port Orleans French Quarter. Thanks so much for all the help and encouragement!!!

I played in the Citrus Bowl parade parade 25 years ago. My most memorable part of the trip: My parents were there. Go, go go.

Eventually FP+ is supposed to be available to all WDW guest. Right not though officially, FP+ is in testing at most all on site resorts but could change at any time. You may want to look at what resorts are testing and not before making your final decision on resort.

I booked before I read this, so I'll have to check about FQPO

Just to add to the argument to not stay at HI on points - points in Orlando are crazy expensive. DH and I have "don't use points in Orlando ever" policy, because we can get soooo much more bang for our points anywhere else. Cash prices are very good in Orlando, points prices are inflated - much better to pay cash and save those points for weekend getaways or for spending the night on the way to or going home from Disney.

You are right--we'll use points for our drive down and back. Thanks!

 

[njmom47]

I'm so glad you booked! We were there during Christmas and New Year's Day. It was crowded but we had a great time (our ds played in a baseball tournament and we added extra days so we could have "just park days"). I do think we figured MK was going to close on New Year's Day so we went to Epcot. (I could be wrong, it might've been New Year's Eve). Have fun and I agree with a pp that you will forget how the crowds were, etc, and you will remember watching your son!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I'm so glad you booked! Who cares if the park is crowded? You will get to see your son at two really memorable points in his life and you will get to have some magic at New Year's!

 

[johde]

Congratulation on booking the trip. While I won't go far as to say you'll forget how crowded it was, I will agree that when you watch your child in the parade, the crowds won't matter.

That being said, since you talked about wanting to make ADR's you now need to think about what park you want to do what day. Obviously, you'll be doing MK on New Years Day. For the rest of the trip, you'll need to decide if you want to focus more or rides or special holiday activities. www.easywdw.com gives decent crowd information and park suggestions if your primary interest is rides. If you want to do both, you may want to consider splurging on park hopper tickets.

 

[sarahk0204]

Glad you are going! For the person who expressed concern about driving from the Midwest in winter, just build a little extra time into your travel plans. We usually drive from Illinois, and we have driven twice in December. The first time, we chose to leave half a day early so we could get ahead of an ice storm. The second time, the weather was more favorable, so we actually made it to WDW a day early. I called the reservations line while I was on the road and booked an AllStars stay for that evening. I just told the reservations person "give me a room in whatever Value resort is available". We already had our overnight bags packed for an on-the-road hotel stay, so we just checked in to ASMo for the night, then moved the majority of our stuff to SSR the next day. Easy peasy!

 

[Narnia_girl]

Thanks so much for all the good ideas!

 

[tzeitel]

So glad you had a great time

 

[Sandy61]

My DS23 did this when he was in high school and my husband and I tagged along. I will never forget the thrill I got when I saw him marching down the street with the castle in the background. I have many good memories of that trip and now DS15 has just been told they will be going next Christmas to do the Citrus parade and MK parade. It is very expensive for just him to go so we are saving up and he is earning money where he can. We know it will be expensive for us to go also but we want to. We also live in the midwest!

 

[Narnia_girl]

So glad you had a great time

thanks

My DS23 did this when he was in high school and my husband and I tagged along. I will never forget the thrill I got when I saw him marching down the street with the castle in the background. I have many good memories of that trip and now DS15 has just been told they will be going next Christmas to do the Citrus parade and MK parade. It is very expensive for just him to go so we are saving up and he is earning money where he can. We know it will be expensive for us to go also but we want to. We also live in the midwest!

It's great that you already know that and can start saving/earning. It was a wonderful experience and we're so glad we went. We did drive from Illinois and the traffic was crazy busy!