It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas at WDW (A 2018 PTR)

[MrsSaraG]

Hello! I am so excited to be here here writing this! Welcome welcome to my PTR for our next trip to the World!

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For those of you who don't know me, which is like everyone, I'm Sara! I did not have the joy of visiting Disney World as a kid but now that I have my own, I've jumped right and started sharing that magic with my daughter. I took a brief 1 day trip to MK back in 2005 when I was 18 and remember almost nothing. We took our first family trip in 2015 (with some friends) and the fire was ignited! Here I am with my family:



The little one is Taylor. She will be 5 by the time we embark on our trip. Her favorite princess is Rapunzel but her favorite movie bounces back and forth all the time. Lately it's Moana. She is also obsessed with all things Disney Junior. She loves meeting characters and thrill rides are her thing. As much thrill as they let preschoolers have anyway.

The handsome one is holding Taylor is my wonderful DH, Kenny, who puts up with me dragging him back to Disney when he'd probably rather go somewhere new but enjoys the trip all the same. (He really does love Disney, just not as much as me!)

I'm starting this trip report 328 days before our trip but now that it's officially happening I can't wait anymore! Our trip dates are November 10-18, 2018. Which means I talked DH into EIGHT nights! Andplusalso, MVMCP!!

I also talked DH into renting DVC points and staying at (drum roll please...)



Animal Kingdom Lodge! I could not be more excited.

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So all that said, we have only submitted our request into David's so there is of course a chance we won't be able to get either one of our 2 choices. If that happens, it's back to the drawing board to decide on a resort. But we will still be going and for those dates. So this PTR will still happen!

Follow along over the next year. I think I want to do Disney movie theme every week until the trip (so we can see different Disney movies and refresh with ones we haven't seen in a while) to get help build anticipation so I will write about that too. But I also want this trip to be a surprise for my daughter so that should be fun! Suggestions how to surprise a 5 year old when we leave for the trip are welcome!

See you real soon!

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[MrsSaraG]

Table of Contents

It's Official!
First Draft Trip Plans
More Questions than I have Answers
We Booked Our Flights!
MVMCP!
ADRs!

 

[MrsSaraG]

It's official!

We were able to secure a Studio - Standard View at Jambo renting DVC points! I've been pouring over the different threads researching the rooms to put in a room request. DH thinks I'm a little crazy for looking into it all this early but I know you understand.

We wanted a Value but those go so quickly and we weren't ready to book when the window opened up. So standard view it is! Totally worth it in my opinion though.

Need to go resubscribe to Touring Plans now. Don't mind me... just breaking out the Disney Vacation binder...

 

[gwynne]

It's official!

We were able to secure a Studio - Standard View at Jambo renting DVC points! I've been pouring over the different threads researching the rooms to put in a room request. DH thinks I'm a little crazy for looking into it all this early but I know you understand.

We wanted a Value but those go so quickly and we weren't ready to book when the window opened up. So standard view it is! Totally worth it in my opinion though.

Need to go resubscribe to Touring Plans now. Don't mind me... just breaking out the Disney Vacation binder...

AKL is lovely! Looking forward to following along with your PTR.

 

[MrsSaraG]

AKL is lovely! Looking forward to following along with your PTR.

Thank you! I am so glad you will be following along!

 

[MrsSaraG]

First Draft Trip Plans

So we got this in the mail today...



The hardest part is not sharing it with my daughter! I know I mentioned before that we want this to be a surprise for her so planning and counting down are hard! It will totally be worth the surprise though. (Also, she has ZERO concept of time so if we told her, she'd be asking every day for the next year if we were going yet. )

So what plans have I made? A lot actually. First, I renewed my Touring Plans subscription - worth it. And I have really gone to town. Here's what I have so far:
(This is all based on Touring Plans predicted hours, EMH, MVMCP, and crowd calendar. So as we get closer to time I will make adjustments as needed.)

Saturday, November 10: - Arrival Day!
I have been checking airfare and it's ridiculous, also I can't seem to find a decent non-stop flight. I'm waiting for Southwest's schedule to come out before any decisions are made (unless we find a steal!) I am hoping to get an earlier flight - last time we didn't land in MCO until around 2:00 PM. I love to explore the resort on arrival day so I would like more time to do so this time if possible. Depending on what time we get in, we may try to hit up AK that evening, after a quick dinner at Mara.

Sunday, November 11: EPCOT
Our first full day we are hitting up EPCOT as I'm hoping we will get there on the tail end of Food and Wine. Our last trip we were there for Food & Wine and it was awesome but we didn't take advantage of that as much as we would have liked. (First trip there, we had 2 ADRs on our full day there and wasn't really that hungry for the booths.) We also didn't explore World Showcase as much. We were rookies and spent too much time walking back and forth. Time waste! So I was thinking we could go in a little later, around 10 or so and doing a ride or two before spending the rest of the day in WS. My FP+ priority will be FEA. I have no idea what my other 2 will be yet.

Monday, November 12: Hollywood Studios
I've already accepted that HS will be a madhouse no matter when we go thanks to Toy Story Land opening up. Our biggest FP+ priority will be for Slinky Dog Dash of course. Our DD will be tall enough this trip to ride most things as she will reach the 40" mark. She loves thrill rides and is so disappointed when she's not big enough for adult rides. This time she will be able to ride ToT and Star Tours. So those will be our other two FP+. But I also want to hit up some of the shows that we missed last time (Beauty and the Beast, Disney Jr) so looking forward to that. And I think we are going to eat at Hollywood & Vine Minnie's Dine. I know the food sucks but we are going for the character interaction.

Tuesday, November 13: Magic Kingdom & MVMCP
I want to make an ADR for BoG for lunch today. We had dinner here last time and I loved it but I would prefer to use a QS credit here. If I change my mind, I also really want to try Skipper Canteen. So we'll see. For our FP+ I am looking at BTMM, HM, and Jingle Cruise. We tend to stay in one area for the whole day (and split the park up into 2 days). Then for MVMCP - I have no plan yet. Obviously I can't really make one until all the information has been announced next spring/summer. But you can get a general idea based on past years. We want to be on Main St for the shows, parade, and fireworks. And I really want to meet some of the princes/get some yummy holiday snacks.

Wednesday, November 14: Free Day
We like to have a free day since we are usually park open-close kind of people. Our DD is a trooper (and will sleep in her stroller if she's tired). So we like to have a day off. If some of our family members decide to join us, the guys will use this day to golf. If not, my plan is breakfast at Trattoria al Forno for the Rapunzel breakfast. This is my DD's FAVORITE princess. Then explore the Boardwalk (we've never been) and head over to Disney Springs to check it out since it's been redone. Then back to AKL for some pool time if it's warm enough. Or just enjoying the animals. I want to do dinner at Boma. And MK might have EMH until 2:00 so we might head over there for fireworks (it will be our only chance to see HEA) and a few rides.

Thursday, November 15: EPCOT
Back to EPCOT today to really hit up Future World. I want to FP+ Soarin and Test Track. Not sure what I will do here as they are both Tier 1 and can't do RS anymore since DD will be tall enough (she will be happy!) I'm not a fan of Test Track and DH is not a fan of Soarin' but DD will want to ride both... Decisions decisions. We will also take either today (or possibly our first day) to meet a bunch of the princesses at WS and we will probably hit the Character Spot. This is where I'm having the biggest problem deciding on where to eat. I would kind of like to try Biergarten but not sure my DD will eat anything there. I think Garden Grill could be a good choice but not sure we want ANOTHER character meal. We've eaten at Teppan Edo and Coral Reef (my DH loved both and would happily eat there again) and my DD and I did Akershus but I definitely don't want to that one again. (Not a fan of the food and no need to meet the princesses AGAIN). Suggestions?!

Friday, November 16: Magic Kingdom
Today we will head back to MK for Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. MK should have morning EMH which I want to take advantage of. I want to schedule an appointment at BBB for my daughter and have a late lunch at CRT. She's such a girly girl so she's going to LOVE this. I will FP+ 7DMT, PP, and Space Mt. That one we will be able to use a RS for so I might make a FP+ for me and her to go meet a princess while dad rides and then I can ride after he does. It's another MVMCP night but we won't be attending so we will have a free night! I haven't decided if we should do another park (maybe HS?) or check out another resort (I'd love to eat O'Hana).

Saturday, November 17: Animal Kingdom
Full day at AK. Our biggest priority is going to be Pandora (in terms of our Tier 1 FP+). This day is going to be tricky though. I wanted to FP+ FOP as it is the hardest FP+ to get and seems to have a longer wait than Na'vi, buuuuut DD isn't tall enough for FOP. So I'm thinking using 1 FP+ for that and using RS. While one of us rides FOP, the other one will take DD to meet Mickey & Minnie (FP+) or something. Then FP+ EE and using RS while the other one takes DD on something. Then we can use our last FP+ for all 3 of us to do the Safari. I think that's how it's going to work. Last trip this was the park we spent the least amount of time in so I'll be happy to explore it some more. I'm looking to make an ADR at Yak and Yeti. The food looks delicious.

Sunday, November 18: Departure Day
I have nothing planned and we most likely won't go to a park. Since we don't have a flight booked to go home, I have no idea what we will do if anything. At the most, we will probably spend some time at the resort.

And that's what I've been working on the last couple of weeks! Whew.

Countdown to ADRs: 135 days to go
Countdown to FP+: 255 days to go
Countdown to AKL: 315 days to go

 

[gwynne]

Great plans! You've been busy. I love wandering around the WS, too. I can easily spend an hour in the Japanese department store. There is so much to see and do at Epcot.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Following along! You've got a lot of great plans already--I'm super jealous that you're staying at AKL!

 

[MrsSaraG]

Great plans! You've been busy. I love wandering around the WS, too. I can easily spend an hour in the Japanese department store. There is so much to see and do at Epcot.

I have been busy - over Christmas break I didn't do much else (when I was home). Lots of disboards and Touring Plans!

Following along! You've got a lot of great plans already--I'm super jealous that you're staying at AKL!

Thanks! I'm so flipping excited! I can't believe I talked DH into it. HAHA

 

[balty74]

Looking forward to planning along with you! We're going the week right before you and overlap with you during your first weekend. We're also renting points - we're doing Boulder Ridge at Wilderness Lodge. We're also looking forward to our first MVMCP! Just today I starting thinking about mapping out our days a bit so I dusted off the old planning spreadsheet and also renewed touring plans - so helpful for choosing park days and hasn't steered us wrong on 3 past visits!

 

[MrsSaraG]

Looking forward to planning along with you! We're going the week right before you and overlap with you during your first weekend. We're also renting points - we're doing Boulder Ridge at Wilderness Lodge. We're also looking forward to our first MVMCP! Just today I starting thinking about mapping out our days a bit so I dusted off the old planning spreadsheet and also renewed touring plans - so helpful for choosing park days and hasn't steered us wrong on 3 past visits!

Thanks for joining in on the fun! Will you be doing a PTR as well? I'd love to read it! And I love Touring Plans. I used it on our trip in 2015 and I think it helped a ton.

 

[teetee830]

Hi! You plans sound great! We’re going at the end of November. It seams sooooo long away!

We ate at Skippers on our March trip in 2017 and was very disappointed. The atmosphere and waiter was great but the food was disappointing. My son and I enjoy unique food and liked the flavors but the quality was not there. We both got the Char Siu Pork and had more fat and gristle than meat, I’m guessing we each ended up with 1/3 of it being eatable, not appetizing at all.

 

[MrsSaraG]

Mores Questions than I have Answers

I haven't updated in 2 months because there's been no updates! I'm at that point where it's just a waiting game. We have been watching lots of Disney movies to prepare. Like Mary Poppins! Taylor hadn't seen that one before. I had forgotten how long it was! Taylor didn't seem too interested in most of it but now she sings "Supercalifragilisticsexpealidocious" all the time! Or however you spell that.

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I have also been doing a lot of research of course and planning! Which also means I have a lot of questions! So don't mind me if I put them all down here. If you have answers (or experience) to any of them, let me know!

Things to know:
We do not yet have flights booked because we are waiting for Southwest to release their schedule. But we are hoping for early flight for arrival day and late afternoon/evening for departure day.

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Questions:
- Considering Mickey's Backyard BBQ. Either arrival night or on our day off, which is tentatively a Wed. I don't even know if they do it every night. I think I will pay OOP for this (vs. dining plan). How is the food? Is the show fun for 5 year olds or interactive? What do they even do in the show? I haven't found a ton of luck finding that info. Which night would be better?

- For CRT, I also want to do BBB. I'm thinking of trying for an 8:00 appt at BBB (which is hopefully PPO) and then a lunch time reservation for CRT. The downside to this plan, my DH says he will skip the BBB appt and meet up with us after. I'm not wanting to do this on a party day so I know MK is supposed to be much busier. Any reason this would be better on a party day? We plan on doing open to close at MK on party day, including the party. We did it for MNSSHP and it was fine so we will do it again.

- We are struggling with how many park days to do. My husband's vote is to hang out at the resort on arrival day (I'm not against this idea.) He also wants 1 day off from the parks mid trip. (We did this last trip and it was enjoyable.) And he would prefer not to go into a park on our day off unless our flight is really late. I'm wanting to do park days every day but on arrival day and day off only go in for a few hours. DH thinks it's a waste of money/park ticket to only go in for a few hours. I don't agree with that. In fact, on our last trip for our day off, we ended up going into Epcot for dinner and staying for fireworks. That's what I had in mind this time. I can bring him around to that (he's already coming around) if I choose to do that. Regardless if we do that, I'm not sure where to eat! I have extra TS credits to use and want to use one for dinner on our day off. I can't decide if we should hit up another resort or go into a park (or Mickey's Backyard BBQ). I realize this is not something anyone can choose for me but writing it out helps.

- Boma. I can't decide if we should eat here (this could solve the aforementioned problem). I have heard great things about it and since we will be staying at AKL, it seems like a no brainer. However, I was not really a fan of Tusker House because I didn't like the food. I'm an adventurous eater and love trying new things and eating different cuisines, but this one didn't do it for me. So I'm afraid I won't like Boma - thoughts? For those that have eaten at both, what would you do?

ETA: Is November still warm enough for the pool? Or does it tend to be hit or miss?

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Days Until ADRs: 73
Days Until FP+: 193
Days Until WDW: 253

 

[catfan98]

We ate breakfast at Boma during our last trip - took an Uber from BCV to AKL to eat and then took a bus to AK for the day. It. Was. Awesome!!! Seriously the best breakfast we had our entire trip. We are going again this December and plan to do the same thing - take an Uber from BWV to AKL and then bus to AK for the day. We are also thinking about having dinner there that night - bus to AKL to eat then back to AK for the rest of the night. Might be a bit of a pain and take a little time for us, but it was that dang good and we want to try dinner. I say try it!!

Also, I am jealous of you staying at AKL. I really wanted to, but the hubs and kids vetoed it in favor of BWV. They love the Epcot resort area and being able to walk to HS and EP. And I get it, especially at Christmas time, and yes, I love it too...but...but...AKL...I mean....AKL...animals! Oh well, maybe next time, lol.

 

[MrsSaraG]

We ate breakfast at Boma during our last trip - took an Uber from BCV to AKL to eat and then took a bus to AK for the day. It. Was. Awesome!!! Seriously the best breakfast we had our entire trip. We are going again this December and plan to do the same thing - take an Uber from BWV to AKL and then bus to AK for the day. We are also thinking about having dinner there that night - bus to AKL to eat then back to AK for the rest of the night. Might be a bit of a pain and take a little time for us, but it was that dang good and we want to try dinner. I say try it!!

Also, I am jealous of you staying at AKL. I really wanted to, but the hubs and kids vetoed it in favor of BWV. They love the Epcot resort area and being able to walk to HS and EP. And I get it, especially at Christmas time, and yes, I love it too...but...but...AKL...I mean....AKL...animals! Oh well, maybe next time, lol.

A few others have strongly recommended Boma as well, saying it's different from Tusker House so I think we will give it a shot! Thanks for sharing your experience! I hope you get to stay at AKL on your next trip. It looks amazing!

 

[Teneale Williams]

I am going to be there the same time and trying to make the trip as Christmassy as possible! We are playing on going to the MVMCP on Thursday 15th, I was planning on not going to a park in through the day to make the most of the party hours. I had read somewhere that people like the resort hop to look at the Christmas theme foyers, I am not sure they will be decorated in mid-November.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Following along! You are going to love AKL! I hope it is all decked out for Christmas while you are there, soooo pretty! We stayed there December 2015 and it was perfect. There is a photopass photographer at the lobby tree so we dressed up and had family portraits done "for free".

Boma, only done breakfast here but it was delicious!

I am with your hubby and vote for a day off/no parks day. However, the cost of an 8 day vs a 7day ticket is minimal so you could always plan for a day off and if you end up in the parks no big deal.

 

[MrsSaraG]

I am going to be there the same time and trying to make the trip as Christmassy as possible! We are playing on going to the MVMCP on Thursday 15th, I was planning on not going to a park in through the day to make the most of the party hours. I had read somewhere that people like the resort hop to look at the Christmas theme foyers, I am not sure they will be decorated in mid-November.

I don't think the resorts will be decorated yet unfortunately. I was bummed to hear this as I'm also trying to make this as Christmassy as possible!

Following along! You are going to love AKL! I hope it is all decked out for Christmas while you are there, soooo pretty! We stayed there December 2015 and it was perfect. There is a photopass photographer at the lobby tree so we dressed up and had family portraits done "for free".

Boma, only done breakfast here but it was delicious!

I am with your hubby and vote for a day off/no parks day. However, the cost of an 8 day vs a 7day ticket is minimal so you could always plan for a day off and if you end up in the parks no big deal.

I don't think the tree will be up yet but fingers are crossed! I think we are going to do Boma, for dinner though. And we will do a day off from the parks. Though I would still like to see the fireworks at MK so maybe we will go to the Poly beach or TTC or something. Thanks!

 

[Laura Adams]

So I have to know, is anyone else here listen to the theme park music while they work? I fly Soarin at least 4 times everyday LOL! August can't get here soon enough! You guys have it all figured out and i am over here just trying to figure out where to stay! LOL!

 

[gacallaghan]

I've just posted my video from MVMCP 2017 - it shows bits of the shows, parade, character meet and greets, snacks and how quiet the park gets particularly after the second showing of the parade. Hope it helps with your planning. It was the highlight of my holiday!