last minute planning...help!

[DYOBL0305]

We were originally planning to take our little ones next December for dd2's birthday, but looks like we may be able to take them this year instead and we would love to be able to make it happen, even with such a short window of time to plan it. The biggest problem we have is we won't be able to book everything (or a lot of it) until end of Nov/early Dec and I don't even know how realistic that will be with our trip being either the week of Christmas or the week right before (yeah we're still trying to figure that out )....advice?

We don't plan on staying on site, we're assuming most rooms will be booked by then and since there are 6 of us we can't just go with any onsite resort, so off site makes more sense this time. We are also planning on only going to MK during our short stay (4 nights) since our kids had the most fun there the last time we visited. I figure 4 days at MK gives us enough time to see everything they want to see or ride, crowds and all.

Other than not getting the chance to set up our fast passes for rides months/weeks ahead of time or setting up reservations for breakfast/lunch/dinner at MK, we are not missing out on too much by booking late, right?

This will be our first time at DW with our little ones during the holiday season and I'm a planner by nature (our last trip took me months to plan and set up) so this is doing WONDERS for my anxiety (LOL) but I'm hopeful it will be a fun trip for everyone anyway.

Anyone else doing or done this before? any tips or advice are GREATLY appreciated!!

 

[Accident]

So your thinking christmas or the week before. Well that's more than 60 days from now so fastpass wise you haven't missed anything. ADRs are complicated even if you plan 180 days away so it'll be some checking a lot up until you get there for the places you really want.. Also don't give up and check near midnight the day before you want to eat somewhere as people cancel to avoid fees the night before so even when your there, there is still a chance to get your first picks.

other than that, what's the issue here? last minute planning to me means your heading to the airport in the morning(yes I've done it more than once).. over 60 days is very doable with some flexibility on where you want to eat. Not getting a specific fastpass just means you have to get in the other line if it's important.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

What time of the year will you be able to go next year? I would personally not do a rushed Christmas season trip with young children. It is very stressful even in the best of circumstances. Your kids didn't enjoy Animal Kingdom? Usually little ones have a great time there.

Edit: I see you would go next December. I'd wait until then and take your time planning.

 

[Dizjunkieee]

We were originally planning to take our little ones next December for dd2's birthday, but looks like we may be able to take them this year instead and we would love to be able to make it happen, even with such a short window of time to plan it. The biggest problem we have is we won't be able to book everything (or a lot of it) until end of Nov/early Dec and I don't even know how realistic that will be with our trip being either the week of Christmas or the week right before (yeah we're still trying to figure that out )....advice?

• If you can do the week BEFORE Christmas I would HIGHLY recommend that as opposed to Christmas week itself. Crowds will be more manageable!

We don't plan on staying on site, we're assuming most rooms will be booked by then and since there are 6 of us we can't just go with any onsite resort, so off site makes more sense this time. We are also planning on only going to MK during our short stay (4 nights) since our kids had the most fun there the last time we visited. I figure 4 days at MK gives us enough time to see everything they want to see or ride, crowds and all.

• I LOVE the MK & do spend lots of time there on my trips, but I feel like 4 full days is a LOT. Would your kiddos enjoy Animal Kingdom perhaps? There is a petting zoo at Rafiki's Planet watch that might be fun for them there too. Just a thought.

Other than not getting the chance to set up our fast passes for rides months/weeks ahead of time or setting up reservations for breakfast/lunch/dinner at MK, we are not missing out on too much by booking late, right?


This will be our first time at DW with our little ones during the holiday season and I'm a planner by nature (our last trip took me months to plan and set up) so this is doing WONDERS for my anxiety (LOL) but I'm hopeful it will be a fun trip for everyone anyway.

Anyone else doing or done this before? any tips or advice are GREATLY appreciated!!

• I am like you - a PLANNER, BUT I think it is all about expectation management - As long as you all go into your trip knowing what your must do's are, how long you are willing to wait for things, etc. It will still be a wonderful time.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

Haven't traveled with little kids for a long time so I can't help with wait times on Fantasyland rides but that wouldn't stop me from going. If you go before Christmas look into the party at MK because the lines aren't as long, think the last party is around 22nd. Maybe schedule time for non ride activities like the MK card search game or extra time over on TS island. My husband surprised me for our anniversary and said let's go to Disney so started planning our trip 53 days out. He doesn't like most rides so we do other things. You can keep trying for you favorite dining reservations, people cancel all the time. Good luck

 

[DYOBL0305]

I normally wouldn't consider a trip this big with little ones but we have had a very trying year and our kids have been beyond wonderful in spite of it all, my dh and I would love nothing more than to do this for them I guess I'm a little concerned since we won't be able to finalize anything until just a few weeks before our arrival date, and with it being such a busy season I feel like I need to prepare for anything that could go wrong lol

I'll look into some of this, thanks for the input everyone!

 

[DYOBL0305]

Sargeant Tibbs, the plan was to take them NEXT December but we want to surprise them and take them THIS December instead

 

[hakepb]

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