It’s beginning to look a lot like (time to plan a trip for) Christmas

[snuggly duckling]

Woo hoo! Dessert Party!!!

I check the boards for updates on the Dessert Party every day before I even get out of bed. This morning I checked around 6 am (still not open) and then got ready for work. My kids were extra pokey this morning so while I was waiting for them to finish getting dressed, I checked again, and it was open!!!

I was able to book the party on Christmas Eve by 6:30 this morning.

But the best news is, we are going to do it a second night too - on 12/28 - the last night of our trip. As of last week, we had a 1 pm ADR at Tony's and a 7:20 pm ADR at 'Ohana that day. I was able to scootch them a bit and scored Tony's at 11:30 am and 'Ohana at 4:40 pm, clearing the way for a second Dessert Party!!

 

[mchelle77]

Congrats on the dessert parties! Same here, I got the date I wanted (12/2) at 8pm. I happened to jump on here while waiting to do online check-in at a little after 7am (it was my 60 days) and saw someone post that it was open. I was so surprised! Glad my husband was still asleep because he doesn't know I was booking it. (He doesn't even know it's a "thing"!)

 

[pigletto]

Congrats on getting the dessert parties you wanted!! Especially the Christmas eve!!! It's a great way to beat the crowds.
We got ours too, probably 3 minutes after it opened. That's probably the first time I've been thankful that our puppy gets me up at 5 am to go outside. I can never get back to sleep afterwards so I was already wide awake with my coffee in hand when the reservations opened.
We are going December 15th which is the night of our MVMCP.
We have never stayed in the park and watched Wishes because we hate fighting the crowds after. So I am really looking forward to the dessert party and seeing the second parade after!

 

[livingthedream]

Aww, thank you! We can't wait!!!

I think I have no choice but to get the DS for DS6... he was trying to convince me that the tooth fairy should bring him one. I told him that's out of the tooth fairy's price range, but perhaps Santa might be able to swing it.

Hello to a fellow planner! It looks like you think like I do when it comes to planning for a trip to the World! I, too, have had to re-think things several times for our upcoming Dec trip, and then try to go back and juggle things to fit into the new schedule!!

And as for the DS for your DS6, here's what I found when I went with my two sons the first time 8 years ago. Portable gaming platforms are a great way for smaller ones to pass the time in lines. Its hard for the young ones to be patient and wait, and portable gaming consoles give them something they like to do, so it passes the time quickly for them.

I would suggest making a rule that says something like while at Disneyworld, it can only be playing while waiting in lines. This worked like a charm for us.

 

[snuggly duckling]

Hello to a fellow planner! It looks like you think like I do when it comes to planning for a trip to the World! I, too, have had to re-think things several times for our upcoming Dec trip, and then try to go back and juggle things to fit into the new schedule!!

And as for the DS for your DS6, here's what I found when I went with my two sons the first time 8 years ago. Portable gaming platforms are a great way for smaller ones to pass the time in lines. Its hard for the young ones to be patient and wait, and portable gaming consoles give them something they like to do, so it passes the time quickly for them.

I would suggest making a rule that says something like while at Disneyworld, it can only be playing while waiting in lines. This worked like a charm for us.

Welcome! I think the DS is the right choice. Plus that means that extended family can get him games for Christmas instead of more toys!

 

[snuggly duckling]

Right at midnight on our 60 day mark we were able to make FP+ selections. It was somewhat frustrating as has come to be expected from MDE. But I stayed up until 2 am and powered through. Here's what I have set up:

12/19: Arrival day / Epcot
-ADR at Coral Reef 2:30 pm
-Soarin' 4-5 pm
-Test Track 5:05-6:05 pm
-Maelstrom 6:55-7:55 pm
-ADR at Akershus 8:10 pm

12/20: Magic Kingdom / MVMCP
-ADR at CRT 10:20 am
-ETWB 12:20-1:20 pm
-Tomorrowland Speedway 1:20-2:20 pm
-BTM 2:20-3:30 pm
-ADR at BOG 4:55 pm

12/21: Animal Kingdom
-ADR at Tusker House 8:00 am
-FOTLK 12:05-12:25 pm
-ADR at Yak & Yeti at 1:30 pm
-Kilimanjaro Safaris 3:30-4:30 pm
-Finding Nemo the Musical 4:40-4:55 pm
-ADR at Boma at 7:55 pm

12/22: Hollywood Studios
-TOT 9-10 am
-ADR at H&V 10:10 am
-Lights Motors Action 12:50-1:10 pm
-TSM 4-5 pm
-ADR at HBD at 5:05 pm

12/23: Animal Kingdom / Epcot
-ADR at Rainforest Cafe 9:45 am
-ADR at Tusker House 2:20 pm
-Test Track 5-6 pm
-Soarin' 6-7 pm
-ADR at Tutto Italia 7:30 pm
-Maelstrom 8:25-9:25 pm

12/24: Magic Kingdom
-BBB at 8 am
-Meet Cinderella 9-10 (girls only)
-ADR at Crystal Place 10:20 am
-Jungle Cruise 12:20-1:20 pm
-Meet Rapunzel 3-4 pm (girls only)
-Tomorrowland Speedway 3-4 pm (boys only)
-Buzz Lightyear 4-5 pm (boys only)
-ADR at CRT 5:15 pm
-Wishes Dessert Party

12/25: Magic Kingdom / Epcot
-ADR at 'Ohana 7:30 am
-Test Track 10:15-11:15 am
-Maelstrom 11:15-12:15 pm
-ADR at San Angel Inn (CP package) 12:50 pm
-Soarin' 2:50-3:50 pm
-Candlelight Processional 5 pm
-ADR at Le Cellier 7:15 pm
-Reserved seating for Illuminations

12/26: Magic Kingdom
-ADR at 1900 PF 8:00 am
-Jungle Cruise 10-11 am
-Tomorrowland Speedway 11-12 pm
-ETWB 12-1 pm
-ADR at LTT 1:30 pm
-ADR at 1900 PF 7:30 pm

12/27: Epcot
-ADR at Akershus 8:00 am
-Soarin' 12-1 pm
-ADR at Marrakesh 1:30 pm
-Maelstrom 4-5 pm
-Test Track 5:55-6:55 pm
-ADR at Biergarten 7:30 pm

12/28: Magic Kingdom
-Buzz Lightyear 10-11 am
-ADR at Tony's 11:30 am
-Jungle Cruise 1:25-2:25 pm
-BTM 2:50-3:50 pm
-ADR at 'Ohand 4:40 pm
-Wishes Dessert Party

 

[pigletto]

Just popped and to see your updates! Your plans look great. We're getting so close now. I think we're at 48 days to go!

I've also made all of our fastpass+ selections. I'll agree with MDE being frustrating though. I've tried several times to switch one day to another park tonight and though it lets me do it all, when I am done it still has all my old selections at DHS showing under my plans. I've given up for the night and hopefully it's magically fixed in the morning.
Are you getting worried about crowds yet?
I am a little but honestly, I knew from the day I started planning what I was getting into and I think my attitude is in the right place. Fastpass+ is actually a good thing for those heavy crowd days as at least we can be assured of actually getting on our 3 favorite rides.

It's almost time for me to start the packing lists. I am trying to get all of our Christmas shopping done by December 1st though so I am not rushing around like a madman on the days leading up to the trip. We'll see how that goes.

 

[snuggly duckling]

Oh my poor, neglected trip report. The past few months have been so busy. And now here we are, 17 days before our trip, and I still have a zillion things to do. But none of it will matter in 17 days because we will be at DISNEY WORLD!

We are polishing up our daily plans of attack. These are not meant to be prescriptive. If it's not working we will flex and change. But at least it will give us an initial plan to shoot for. We are also trying to front-load as much of the big stuff early in the trip while the crowds are lighter. We anticipate it will get harder and harder as the week progresses. The first day of the trip is a crowd level 5, the next day is a 6, then a 9, and 10s for the remainder of our stay.

Here is our day #1 plan as it stands now:

After packing the suitcases in the car and laying out the clothes the night before, we will get up around 5 am on 12/19. Seems early, but in reality it is only 30 minutes earlier than our usual wake up time. The grown-ups will get everything situated and let the kids sleep as long as possible. We will be out the door by 6 for the roughly 45-minute drive to the airport. We will grab some breakfast somewhere along the way to New Castle, DE since I don't expect much in the way of food options at such a tiny airport.

We've allotted plenty of extra time to park the car, check in, and get through security. Our flight is scheduled to take off at 8:50 am and land at MCO at 11:10 am. We will hop the Magical Express to Coronado Springs.

If possible, we will check in. If not, we will ditch carry-on items at the front desk and head off to Epcot.

I am estimating that we will need to head straight to Coral Reef for our 2:30 pm ADR. If stars align and we get there earlier, we can hop on Spaceship Earth and/or Nemo before lunch.

After lunch, we will do Nemo, Turtle Talk, and the Living Seas since we will be right there. Then we will head over to Soarin' for our 4:00-5:00 pm FP+.

After Soarin', we will ride Spaceship Earth and pick up our Photo Pass+ if we haven't gotten it yet. We will pop in the the Disney Visa meet and greet and then head to Test Track for our 5:05-6:05 pm FP+. Time permitting, we will try to meet Mulan and/or Anna and Elsa before our 6:55-7:55 FP+ on Maelstrom.

Then it's on to our 8:10 pm ADR at Akershus for a late dinner. We should wrap up dinner in time to catch Illuminations but no real sense of urgency since we will have reserved viewing on our Candlelight Processional night later in the trip.

Then back to the resort to settle in. I expect the kids to crash, giving me time to stealthily set up the mini tree and decorations I will be sending down to the resort ahead of time. And of course, our Elf on the Shelf "Berry" will be there to surprise the kids in the morning.

Next day... Magic Kingdom and MVMCP!

 

[snuggly duckling]

Our first full day at WDW and we will be in the MK from rope drop through the end of MVMCP!

Based on last year's schedule I was expecting the MK to open at 8:00 am, however it remains at 9:00 am thus far. Still have my fingers crossed for the earlier open. This plan also relies on the ability to use both FP- and FP+ so that may have to change as well. But either way, here's the basic plan...

We will be up and at rope drop no matter the park open time. We have a later brunch ADR so we will have a quick breakfast in the room before we leave. We will do as many of these as possible before brunch:

Pull FP‐ for Peter Pan
Ride Journey of the Little Mermaid
Meet Ariel
Ride Dumbo and/or Barnstormer (time permitting)
Pull FP‐ for Dumbo (disconnected, if return time works)
Pull FP‐ for Barnstormer (disconnected, if return time works)
Ride Peter Pan (with FP‐)
Pull FP‐ for Winnie the Pooh (if return time works)
Ride Tea Cups
Meet Alice & White Rabbit
Ride Buzz Lightyear

The off to our 10:20 am ADR at CRT. Yay princesses!

After brunch we continue hitting the kids' favorites:

Pull FP‐ for Buzz Lightyear
Ride Dumbo (with FP‐)
Ride Barnstormer (with FP‐)
Enchanted Tales with Belle (FP+ 12:20-1:20 pm)
Ride Winnie the Pooh (with FP‐)
Ride Tea Cups
Do Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
Ride Buzz Lightyear (with FP‐)
Pull FP‐ for Space Mountain (if return time works)
Meet Stitch
Ride Tomorrowland Speedway (FP+ 1:20-2:20 pm)
Do Mickey's PhilharMagic
Ride it's a small world
Ride Haunted Mansion
Ride Big Thunder Mountain (FP+ 2:20-3:20 pm)
Find a spot to watch Celebrate a Dream Come True parade

Watching the parade is probably one of our top priorities, since this is the last day the regular parade will run.

After the parade, we will explore more on the other side of the park:

Ride Splash Mountain
Ride Pirates of the Caribbean
Ride Magic Carpets
Meet Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu, and/or Genie (if out)
Ride Space Mountain (with FP‐)
Meet Gaston

Then off to an early 4:55 pm dinner at BOG. We theoretically can wrap up dinner in time to see the Castle Dream Lights and then we will get in line to meet the 7 Dwarfs at MVMCP.

Our party plan focuses on meeting as many unique characters and doing as many of the other party-only experiences as possible:

Meet 7 Dwarfs
Meet Princesses / Princes
Meet Captain Jack Sparrow
Meet Aladdin/Abu or Jasmine/Genie (Agrabah, if needed)
Meet Big Al, Liverlips, Wendell, and Shaker
Go to Diamond Horseshoe Dance Party
Watch Holiday Wishes at 9:30 pm
Watch Once Upon a Christmastime Parade at 10:30 pm
Meet Scrooge McDuck, Daisy, and Donald
Go to Cosmic Ray's Dance Party (Tomorrowland)
See Totally Tomorrowland Christmas Show at 10:50 pm
Meet Phineas and Ferb
See Celebrate the Season Show at 11:20 pm
Meet Mary Poppins and Bert

Back to the resort to crash. Tomorrow... a full day at AK!