It's a sickness.....really

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

Our trip is at the end of the year and I already have our itinerary about 90% complete.

2008 Pre-Holiday Season Vacation at WDW

12/09 Board the babies!
Load the Car

12/10 Drive to WDW
Check into ASMo
Dinner at ASMo
Buy Refillable Mugs!

12/11 Breakfast at ASMo
Epcot
Santa’s and Storyteller’s
Lunch at Biergarten
Dinner at Sunshine Seasons
Candlelight Processional (?)
IllumiNations! (?)

12/12 Breakfast at ASMo
Animal Kingdom
Lunch Yak & Yeti
Dinner at ASMo
Night OFF

12/13 Breakfast at ASMo
Epcot
Lunch at Kringla Bakeri og Cafe
Santa’s and Storyteller’s
Dinner at Rose & Crown
Candlelight Processional (?)
IllumiNations! (?)

12/14 Morning OFF
Breakfast at ASMo
Lunch at ASMo
4:00pm MK
Dinner at Cosmic Rays
MVMCP

12/15 Day OFF
Breakfast at ASMo
Afternoon Tea at GF
Shopping at DTD
Dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express

12/16 Breakfast at ASMo
Disney Hollywood Studios
Lunch at Backlot Express
Osborne Lights
Dinner at Mama Melrose

12/17 Breakfast Kona Cafe
Magic Kingdom
Lunch at Pecos Bill’s
Dinner at The Plaza
Wishes!

12/18 Breakfast at ASMo
Epcot
Lunch at Le Cellier
Santa’s and Storyteller’s
Dinner at Sunshine Seasons
Candlelight Processional (?)

12/19 Check out
Drive home​

I would schedule us to do more, but with Corey's mom coming along with us, it's going to be a much slower paced trip. I am excited that we should have a chance to see one of three different CP narrators, yes, I am so geeky that I looked at how the dates ran last year to see that this should be the way our Epcot dates fall.

Is anyone else this nuts?

 

[MassJester]

This looks great, although I noticed that after dinner at Wolfgang Puck's there appears to be an opportunity to wander down the street and catch Cirque du Soliel

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I think you are extremely organized and that is a good thing..

Myself, I am all over the place, and making plans like that make me feel a little shaky... intense. I prefer to let the day just take me.. I never know what I really want to do when I wake up there..

But, with that, there is a price, you do not always get to do what you want....so you are doing a good thing.. Bravo!!!!

 

[ConcKahuna]

No Ohana?!?

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

I am totally in awe of your level of organization! And I might steal an idea or two from you.

My DGD's Princess Dress is still mostly in pieces on the dining table. I haven't sealed the seams to the tent yet. I have only one ADR (breakfast with Cindy for the girlie-girls). I think I am going to try to make a dinner ADR at Ohanas for the boys(Thank you, Mr. Conck for the reminder) and maybe Cirque for the son who is graduating (anticipated major in college -- drama). I still need to go to the Unofficial Guide's website and print touring plans. Unlike some folks, clearly I have been asleep at the wheel.

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

This looks great, although I noticed that after dinner at Wolfgang Puck's there appears to be an opportunity to wander down the street and catch Cirque du Soliel

Along with having to take things at a slower pace in having Corey's mom with us, we also have to adhere more to a less outrageous budget. We saw Cirque back in 2001. We loved it and while I am finally getting to the point where I would like to see it again, this is just not the trip for it.

I think you are extremely organized and that is a good thing..

Myself, I am all over the place, and making plans like that make me feel a little shaky... intense. I prefer to let the day just take me.. I never know what I really want to do when I wake up there..

But, with that, there is a price, you do not always get to do what you want....so you are doing a good thing.. Bravo!!!!

The most planned out days of this trip will be the Epcot days. Since Corey's mom just loves Epcot, we are going to take it slow and do one or two FW attractions and then spend the rest of the day seeing the WS and really taking our time. I will wait until closer to time and use http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/christmas.htm website to work out which Santa's and Storytellers to see on which day and at what times. This will make it much easier to catch them and some of the regular entertainment without running around like crazy people and will allow us to enjoy much more of it than usual.

Corey's mom wants to see almost every stage production, so I will have to make those a priority, which is going to make for a bit of a more structured day for us too. I am more concerned that Corey's mom has a good time than anything else. Keep the MIL happy and that keeps the honey happy!

No Ohana?!?

We have only done the character breakfast at Ohana. We liked it just fine, but we are Kona girls. We eventually do want to try dinner there, but it really doesn't work into this trip very well....it's a bit of a budget thing too. Staying at ASMo and having Corey's mom on a scooter has it's challenges. We want this to stay as hassle free as possible.

I am totally in awe of your level of organization! And I might steal an idea or two from you. (snipped a bit)
Unlike some folks, clearly I have been asleep at the wheel.

Oh, if you could only see how detailed some of my plans have been, this is just a bare bones skeleton compared to the usual.

 

[PghLybrt]

Oh, if you could only see how detailed some of my plans have been, this is just a bare bones skeleton compared to the usual.

I think it is great!! I also tell my friends and family that I have a sickness (for planning Disney trips, others not so much ). I would love to see the detail!! I am one of those people that map out the attendance form the past 5 years on each given day of our trip for each park. I figure that way I can best figure out which park would be the slowest! So far so good.

( I also started planning our trip with a.....friend in 2009. It is her 1st time and I want it to be great!)

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

A day at AK Plan from 2006

Arrive at 8:20am
See Wes Palm at 8:30am
See Characters at 8:45am
Park Opens at 9:00am
Head to EE - Get FP & Ride it Now
Go Ride Primeval Whirl
See Smear, Splat & Dip at 10:00am
Come Back down to Discovery Island
Grab FP for ITTBaB
INKAS WASI: Music And Dance Of The Andes at 10:30am
Lunch at Pizzafari 11:00am
Go get a FP for Kali 11:25am
See Flights of Wonder at 11:30am
See Devine between 12:00 and 12:45pm in Asia
Go Ride EE w/FP 12:15pm
Go get FP for KS 12:45pm
See MOR THIAM: African drummer at Mombassa/Tamu Tamu Courtyard 1:00pm
See KARUKA ACROBATS: Kenyan acrobats perform in Harambe 1:45pm
Go Ride KS w/FP
Check for FP availablity at EE
Go Ride Kali w/FP
Ride EE with or without FP
Go to Discovery Island
Go see ITTBaB w/FP
TROPICALS: Caribbean steel drum band at 4:45pm
Leave AK

It worked out pretty well for the most part. We had a blast!

 

[PghLybrt]

A day at AK Plan from 2006

Arrive at 8:20am
See Wes Palm at 8:30am
See Characters at 8:45am
Park Opens at 9:00am
Head to EE - Get FP & Ride it Now
Go Ride Primeval Whirl
See Smear, Splat & Dip at 10:00am
Come Back down to Discovery Island
Grab FP for ITTBaB
INKAS WASI: Music And Dance Of The Andes at 10:30am
Lunch at Pizzafari 11:00am
Go get a FP for Kali 11:25am
See Flights of Wonder at 11:30am
See Devine between 12:00 and 12:45pm in Asia
Go Ride EE w/FP 12:15pm
Go get FP for KS 12:45pm
See MOR THIAM: African drummer at Mombassa/Tamu Tamu Courtyard 1:00pm
See KARUKA ACROBATS: Kenyan acrobats perform in Harambe 1:45pm
Go Ride KS w/FP
Check for FP availablity at EE
Go Ride Kali w/FP
Ride EE with or without FP
Go to Discovery Island
Go see ITTBaB w/FP
TROPICALS: Caribbean steel drum band at 4:45pm
Leave AK

It worked out pretty well for the most part. We had a blast!

I Love it! I only figure out what days for what parks, meals and a general idea of how we are going to walk around. But I love what you did, i would remember to get and use fastpasses with that!

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

The key is to use a combo of Touring Plans and http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/ without the combo, we would not get half of the cool stuff done.

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

I also started planning our trip with a.....friend in 2009. It is her 1st time and I want it to be great!

If you haven't already passed the time of your upcoming trip, go ahead and save as much of the info off of Steve's site for the time that you will be there. Schedules don't vary that much from year to year for the same time period. That will help you frame out a plan like that well in advance!

 

[rpmdfw]

I am totally in awe of your level of organization! And I might steal an idea or two from you.

My DGD's Princess Dress is still mostly in pieces on the dining table. I haven't sealed the seams to the tent yet. I have only one ADR (breakfast with Cindy for the girlie-girls). I think I am going to try to make a dinner ADR at Ohanas for the boys(Thank you, Mr. Conck for the reminder) and maybe Cirque for the son who is graduating (anticipated major in college -- drama). I still need to go to the Unofficial Guide's website and print touring plans. Unlike some folks, clearly I have been asleep at the wheel.

If your son enjoys theatrical type things, might I suggest a trip to the Adventurers Club? My partner and I are both former Theatre Majors, and it's our favorite place in all of WDW.

It's free of charge until 9pm so the whole family could go, see a couple of their shows, and see how the interactive theatre components work and it wouldn't cost much (just whatever beverages you enjoy).

Also, the actors work to keep the material "Kid friendly" until that free preview ends at 9pm, so you wouldn't have to worry about having to do like Auntie Mame did and hand them a pad and pencil for them to write down any words they don't understand to be discussed later.

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

If your son enjoys theatrical type things, might I suggest a trip to the Adventurers Club? My partner and I are both former Theatre Majors, and it's our favorite place in all of WDW.

It's free of charge until 9pm so the whole family could go, see a couple of their shows, and see how the interactive theatre components work and it wouldn't cost much (just whatever beverages you enjoy).

Also, the actors work to keep the material "Kid friendly" until that free preview ends at 9pm, so you wouldn't have to worry about having to do like Auntie Mame did and hand them a pad and pencil for them to write down any words they don't understand to be discussed later.

Woo-Hoo! We are SO gonna do this -- Thanks for the suggestion! (I have always wanted to go to the AC but just have never found time)

 

[rpmdfw]

Woo-Hoo! We are SO gonna do this -- Thanks for the suggestion! (I have always wanted to go to the AC but just have never found time)

You're quite welcome for the suggestion! I'm always happy to introduce new people to the AC!

 

[Wit]

I am just as crazy! I have been planning my butt off. DP is about to wring my neck.

 

[NHdisneylover]

So nice to see other planners around! By the time the kids were 4 & 6 (did not go much when they were really little or it would have been sooner) both could easily recite the Magic Kingdom Morning loop (yes you can ride every ride in fantasy land plus HM, TTA, Indy speedway and Buzz before lunch if you know what you are doing!) or the AK loop, or tell you which days Off Kilter plays

I also want to second the recomendation to head into Adventurers Club. It is so much fun and a real favourite of my entire family. We also enjoy how completely unique it is

 

[StormTigger]

And I thought I was bad w/ the planning!

Actually I use to be just as bad, and still am when I take new people. I do have one comment on your schedule. Have you eaten at Wolfgang Puck's before? Are you a fan of Wolfies? If the answer is "yes" to either of these.. I've got no comment. If the answer is "no" I'd skip WPE and eat at "The Earl of Sandwich" at DTD. Food is better and the prices are too. I've tried WPE 2x's and the full service resturant once, and I've walked away more then just a little disappointed each time.

Others may disagree, as this is jsut MHO but for me it's now on my "avoid at all cost" list.

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

Wow, that is a really bad review of Wolfgang Puck's. Maybe I should look into other options......dangit.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Wow, that is a really bad review of Wolfgang Puck's. Maybe I should look into other options......dangit.

We liked WPC last August. We liked it well enough to go back this year in August, so hopefully we will like it again!

I had the pork chops, DH had something (maybe mahi mahi?), and DS had the macadamia chicken. The problem was that we were on DDP and we were full when we walked into the place. DS had a bowl of soup big enough to swim in for his appetizer, so of course he didn't want the chicken. DH had a BBQ chicken flatbread thing (that he finished) and I had a spinach salad that was HUGE. We took dessert back to the hotel and put it in the fridge. No DDP for us this year!

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

Don't know nuthin' bout Wolfgang Puck (except I love his name & his frozen pizzas are pretty tasty) BUT seconding ST's comment, Earl of Sandwich is pretty dang awesome. My daughter is still talking about the sandwich she ate there two years ago and the prices are pretty good too.