It's Beginning to Look Like a Disney Christmas - A Dec 2016 PTR

[Blndiebby25]

Of course after I think I have all my dining choices figured out Disney decides to throw a wrench into my plans. They announced a new Dining Package for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Since there is only 2 nights during my trip that seeing this might be possible because of MVMCP I want to make sure I get a good spot. Back to the drawing board.

Edit: Or maybe not. There seems to be a whole bunch of bad reviews for this restaurant.

 

[ariane37]

Of course after I think I have all my dining choices figured out Disney decides to throw a wrench into my plans. They announced a new Dining Package for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Since there is only 2 nights during my trip that seeing this might be possible because of MVMCP I want to make sure I get a good spot. Back to the drawing board.

Edit: Or maybe not. There seems to be a whole bunch of bad reviews for this restaurant.

First, your ADR choices look good! BOG dinner is one of our favorite TS restaurants Second, I'll give you my opinion on Tony's and this new package even though you didn't ask We've eaten there twice. I admit, I HAVE commented on threads asking about Tony's and why all the negative reviews. I think this is the deal: if you are Italian, used to Italian cooking, or live in an area with extremely good, authentic Italian restaurants, Tony's will be a big disappointment. If on the other hand you are NOT Italian, don't cook good Italian, and the best Italian restaurant in your area is an Olive Garden, you'll be OK there. And I mean no disrespect with that comment. There was a thread on the Restaurant board recently where someone asked where in WDW you can get authentic Mexican food - "you know, tacos?" and people chimed in immediately how tacos aren't authentic Mexican, most people in the states are used to tex-mex unless you're in say, New Mexico, etc. And I freely admit while I know the difference between tex-mex and Mexican I just lump it all together. On the other hand, being Italian and living in NY I am very picky with my Italian food lol................so anyway, we aren't huge fans of Tony's. Much prefer other Italian restuarants in WDW.

BUT!

MSEP is my favorite parade outside of Boo To You, and we catch it multiple times each trip. So would I do this new package to get a prime spot for it? I just might, if it wasn't taking the place of another restaurant we were dying to eat in. Since you've never been and want to see parade I say go for the package and judge for yourself. I mean really you're going on 2nd hand opinions for all your ADR's......and if you do go to Tony's and hate it, you can come back here and yell at me

 

[Raeven]

We're doing Skippers Canteen and Be Our Guest too! We we're actually doing them on the same days as you, but I switched them because we have a split stay and I wanted to make sure to get Be Our Guest.

I think the parade package sounds cool, but Tony's isn't really at the top of our list. I like the Lady and the Tramp themeing though so maybe someday.

 

[Blndiebby25]

Well my ADR day is not going as planned so far. The website won't show me days past December 10th. Tried signing out and in but still not working. Disney just make a working website already! I hate that I am going to have to call long distance to do something I should be able to do online.

Edit: Well I have now been on hold for 53 mins can only wait until 10 min or so as I need to get ready for work. Might just have to get this fix after work which means I will most likely not get the reservations I want today. Guess I will be getting Touringplans.com to help me look for ADRs.

 

[Blndiebby25]

180 Days to Go
120 Days Until FP+

Whew what a morning. I didn't sleep well last night as I was stressing about my ADR day today. I was having bad dreams about things going wrong. Turns out it might have been somewhat of a premonition as this morning didn't really go as planned. I woke up at 3:30 am as I was having bad dreams, decided to stay up as I was suppose to be able to start booking ADRs online at 4 am my time. 4 am came around and even after refreshing, signing in and out, it wasn't giving me the ability to book ADRs past December 10th. I called at 5 am my time and was on hold for about an hour. I managed to get 5 out of 7 of the ADRs that I wanted. Not to bad. This is what I got:

• Dec 11 - The Garden Grill @ 4:45pm
• Dec 12 - The Jungle Navigation Co. @ 4:10pm - This is the one that is a bit earlier than I wanted. Was hoping for somewhere between 5pm and 6pm. Will keep on looking for one around this time.
• Dec 13 - Be Our Guest @ 6:45pm - Will keep on checking to see if I can get one closer to 5pm but I am just happy to get a reservation at this point.
• Dec 14 - Crystal Palace @ 6pm
• Dec 15 - Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom @ 4:30pm
• Dec 16 - Be Our Guest (Lunch) @ 11:55am
• Dec 16 - Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater @ 4:35pm
• Dec 17 - 'Ohana @ 9:50am

As you can see I didn't get my Dec 11 & 13 reservations. Dec 11 is suppose to be Garden Grill and Dec 13 is suppose to be Be Our Guest (Dinner). Will keep on checking on these plus a later time for the Dec 12 ADR.

Overall I am happy. I just wish they would fix their website.

Edit: June 15 Update - Snagged a BOG reservation for Dec 13 this morning.

Edit: June 21 Update - Booked a La Hacienda de San Angel reservation for Dec 11. Will still be on the look out for a Garden Grill reservation closer to 4:30pm

Edit: July 5 Update - Got the Garden Grill ADR that I have been searching for the other day.

 

[ariane37]

Ugh, sorry you had problems this morning! Especially being on the West coast and having to get up earlier than those of us over here in the East. In the end it seems to have worked out mostly in your favor though BOG dinner is a tough one as I'm sure you knew going in, and I guess GG has gotten more popular. Definitely try the TouringPlans reservation finder! It's worked for me many times. Even if you do that keep checking yourself; it's a pain but more often than not it pays off.

 

[Blndiebby25]

Woohoo was able to snag a BOG dinner reservation for Dec 13. Not sure if they opened up more reservations or if people are moving things around/cancelling but there seemed to be a decent amount of BOG reservations available for Dec 11-17 this morning.

 

[Blndiebby25]

Decided to make a reservation for December 11th. I am still hoping for a Garden Grill reservation but was worried that if I waited to long I wouldn't get any reservation. I decided to book a 6:15 reservation at La hacienda de San Angel. I will continue to keep my eye out for a Garden Grill reservation closer to 4:30.

 

[Blndiebby25]

My ADRs are coming together. I managed to get the Garden Grill ADR I have been watching out for the other day. Now I am just looking for slightly better times for my Skipper Canteen and Be Our Guest ADRs. If I don't I will live with it but we have plenty of time to hopefully get slightly better times for us.

 

[Raeven]

Awesome that you got all your adrs!

I've had the adr system be glitchy when I try to use my phone, but not computer. I did have to call for one of my adr days this year but luckily I wasn't on hold that long. (I did call around 10 am though because I almost forgot, it was a 2nd date for a split stay and we only had 1 to make).

53 minutes yikes!

 

[kclark9830]

Arts & Crafts!

I found a couple of Youtube videos on how to make your own Mickey/Minnie Ears. I am seriously thinking of doing this. It looks relatively easy and if it is and I get adventurous I might just make a set for each day we are there.

I am thinking of making some of them Christmasy themed since we are going so close to Christmas.

What fantastic tutorials! Thank you for sharing them. I'm going to give this a try .

 

[Dormouse.]

I'm visiting in December this year, too! I'm so happy that you're getting all the ADR's you want! That was the most stressful part about my trip planning. I feel like dining is such an important part of the Disney experience.

I can't wait to see your ears, if you make them!

 

[Blndiebby25]

138 Days to Go
78 Days Until FP+

So not much to report. I have been checking regularly to see if I can get better times for a couple of my ADRs but no luck so far. It is pretty much waiting until the FP+ window opens for now.

My nephew was over for supper yesterday so I showed him the plans so far. Wanted to double check that the restaurants would be okay. He was fine with them all. Yay!

My family keeps on thanking me for my "Disney World Planning OCD" They don't understand it but seem to appreciate it.

 

[Blndiebby25]

62 Days to Go
2 Days Until FP+

So it has been a long while since I did an update. I have been super busy with a new job and don't have as much time to research Disney things. We have finally bought our MVMCP tickets a few weeks ago and will be going on Dec 13th. We can't wait!

Fastpass day is coming up quick. I get to book FPs on Tuesday so have been scrambling the last couple of days to solidify some plans.

These are the plans I have so at the moment for each day.

Saturday - December 10th
Arrival Day

Sunday - December 11th
Hollywood Studios: 8am - 12:45pm
Toy Story Mania
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Tower of Terror
Great Movie Ride
One Man's Dream
Muppet*Vision 3D
Lunch at Backlot Express
Frozen Sing-Along

Break back at Resort: 12:45pm - 3:45pm

Epcot: 3:45pm - 9:30pm
The Circle of Life
Living with the Land
Dinner at Garden Grill @ 4:45pm
Agent P's World Showcase Adventure
Meet Anna and Elsa
Frozen Ever After (Fastpass?)
IllumiNations

Monday - December 12th
Animal Kingdom: 8am - 2pm
Dinosaur
Kilimanjaro Safari (Fastpass?)
Kali River Rapids (Fastpass?)
Lunch at Restaurantosaurus
Expedition Everest (Fastpass?)
Rafiki's Planet Watch
Festival of the Lion King

Break back at Resort: 2pm - 4pm

Magic Kingdom: 4pm - 10pm
Dinner at Skipper Canteen @ 4:10pm
Tiki Room
Aladdin's Magic Carpets
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Wishes Fireworks

Tuesday - December 13th
Magic Kingdom: 9am - 1pm
Big Thunder Mountain (Fastpass?)
Country Bear Jamoree
Lunch at Pecos Bill
Splash Mountain (Fastpass?)
Hall of Presidents
Haunted Mansion (Fastpass?)

Break back at Resort: 1pm - 4pm

Magic Kingdom (MVMCP): 4pm - 12am
Dinner at Be Our Guest @ 6:45pm
A Frozen Holiday Wish
A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas Show
Holiday Wishes
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade
(In general just hit the major shows and enjoy the night)

Wednesday - December 14th
Epcot: 9am - 3pm
Wonder around Future World
Lunch at Sunshine Seasons
Wonder around World Showcase

Break back at Resort: 3pm - 6pm

Magic Kingdom: 6pm - 12am
Dinner at Crystal Palace @ 6pm
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (Fastpass?)
Tomorrowland Speedway
Space Mountain (Fastpass?)
Carousel of Progress
Peoplemover
Buzz Lightyear (Fastpass?)
Wishes Fireworks

Thursday - December 15th
Epcot: 8am 0 12:45pm
Seas with Nemo and Friends
Soarin'
Lunch at Sunshine Seasons
Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
Journey Into Imagination

Break back at Resort: 12:45pm - 3:45pm

Epcot: 3:45pm - 9:30pm
Innoventions (West & East)
Supper somewhere (Need to book something originally planned to do Animal Kingdom after our break but it won't be open as late as I thought)
Mission: Space (Fastpass?)
Test Track (Fastpass?)
IllumiNations

Friday - December 16th
Magic Kingdom: 8am - 1:30pm
Winnie the Pooh
Mad Tea Party
Dumbo
Enchanted Tales with Belle
Little Mermaid
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Fastpass?)
Mickey's PhilarMagic
it's a small world
Lunch at Pinoccio's Village Haus
Peter Pan's Flight (Fastpass?)

Break back at the Resort: 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Hollywood Studios: 4:30pm - 10pm
Dinner at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater @ 4:35pm
Star Wars: Path of the Jedi
Jedi Training
Star Tours
Fantasmic!
Star Wars Launch Bay

Saturday - December 17th
Departure Day
Brunch at Ohana @ 9:50am

We'll see how it all works out!