"MVMCP" - My Very Merry Christmas Plan

[clajgray]

I have been struggling with whether or not to do a pre-trip report, and when to do it if I was going to. First it was at the 90 day mark, and then the 60. Well, I settled on today - the 84 day mark! So I thought I'd divide it up a bit and let you see what is planned in our lives. I so love reading about everyone else's trips. I hope you enjoy this one!

Our dates are:
Grand Gathering ...12/6/08 - 12/10/08
Family Time ...12/11/08 - 12/13/08

CAST OF CHARACTERS

This first set of characters is my family...

Prince Charming - 40 yo The God given, heaven sent Love of My life for 13.5 years now. It's amazing how he puts up with my crazy planning!

Cinderella - 38 yo If he's PC, then of course I'm Cindy! I love to organize and plan, and well, this has been quite the challenge!!!!

Tinkerbell - 11 yo She's little in stature, big in personality, and loves lime green! This will be her 3rd trip to the World, though she was 18 mo and 3 yo the other two times!

Mickey - 9 yo He's an original. He's quiet and he's a sweetheart! This will be his 2nd trip, but really the first he will remember, he was one last time!

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The next set of characters is a family who we are pretty close with. None of them has ever been to Disney, and the kiddos have never flown...

Aladdin - 40 yo A man who will do whatever it takes for his princess!!!

Jasmine - 37 yo Intelligent, strong, independent, fiery, charitable just like in the movie!

Ariel - 14 yo Princess, Adventurous, Curious, Birthday-girl

Buzz Lightyear - 10 yo A real leader, but can really go at it with Woody...just like in the movie!!!

Woody - 9 yo Always has an idea, but can get frustrated with Buzz!!!

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These extra characters just happen to be my mom and sister, who live about an hour from the World, and will hopefully be joining us at the end of the week for a day or two...

Snow White - (34) A crazy WDW fanatic! Forever a Princess!

Minnie - (57) A crazier WDW fanatic...the original in our family, just like Minnie!

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BACKGROUND

This will be our first trip since 2000. Our third trip as a family. Back in 2000, July 4th weekend to be exact, my mom - Minnie - took the entire family to the World and we stayed in the Villas. My kiddos were 3 and 1 at the time. Given that fact, we ended up schlepping 2 toddlers, 2 strollers, and a diaper bag around the World for a week. Ugghhhh! Prince Charming and I vowed to each other that we wouldn't dare step foot at the World until the day when the two of them could walk and schlep their own stuff. I think the ages 9 and 11 were even mentioned specifically.

Fast forward to 2008....Tinkerbell and Pluto are 11 and 9 respectively. It's time. Dontcha think?!?! With this knowledge, we began about a year ago planning and figuring out how we could afford such a trip. We haven't really had a family vacation in several years, so it was time.

In February, Valentine's Day, we gave the kiddos a copy of Birnbaum's book, and a pack of Post it flags and asked them to mark the book up with things they would like to do at WDW. Boy did they....especially Tinkerbell. The book has a crazy looking fringe!

Move forward again to May 2008. Because we weren't sure when and how we were going to pull off this trip, we didn't mention it to anyone. A very good friend of mine, Jasmine pulled me aside one day and asked me, "What do you think about Disney in December?" I burst out laughing - which is what we do together...alot!!!! Then after the laughter died down, I explained that we were actually thinking about going at that time. More laughing!!!

Before I knew it, we were in front of a computer, with the WDW website in front of us and her cell phone at her ear, making reservations for both of our families. What?!?!?! It's funny really. I got home and casually mentioned to Prince Charming that Jasmine had made reservations and that we were going to be vacationing with their family at WDW in December. His reaction was priceless..."Ok." Then a few minutes later, he asked, "Are we really going with them?" I said, "Yep." He said, "Cool."

More posts you can expect:
ADRs and Ressies
Packing
And well, more laughter

Blessings to you!!!!

 

[sharonW]

So excited for you. Dec is the most fabulous time to visit
the world. The decos are awesome. Love Love, love MVMCP
Christmastime is so festive at Disney and puts you in an imediate
holiday mood. Must sees......Holiday illuminations
Holiday Wishes
Carriage ride at Fort Wilderness
Can't wait to hear all the plans!!!

 

[clajgray]

Shortly after we made our commitment to this adventure, being the super-planner I am, I threw myself into its planning. Having been to the World previously (albeit 8 years ago, it still counts), I knew how ginormous it is, and I wanted to be sure we got our monies worth so to speak. I also knew from reading these incredibly informative boards that the all-important 180 day mark was fast approaching!!!

Oh yeah, we decided to splurge get the Dining Plan. Whether or not it’s worth it remains to be seen. What I do know is that we are not the type of people to spend $60 a piece on a meal. Ever. So this was a way that mentally we could somehow be okay with it. I know we are technically still spending it, it just isn’t in “here’s you ginormous bill” form. Know what I mean? Yes, pretzel logic maybe, but it works for us.

You will notice in the plan below, that they are all mostly buffets. That was a strategic move on my part. Here’s why. I have Mickey, who at age 9 can eat with the big boys if you know what I mean, as well as Buzz and Woody who mostly pick at their food. Buffets just seemed the least stressful to me. Oh yeah, Prince Charming is also known to take a very long time ordering from a menu, so buffets help there too. (I do have all of the menus printed though, so he will be looking at them…at the very least the one for Sci Fi.)

In my Dis-board travels, I found that Grand Gatherings had a few perks that went along with the status. So I looked into them a little more, and found that the Animal Kingdom Grand Safari (with dinner following at Tusker House) and the Grand Gathering Breakfast at Tony’s were a good matches for our group. And given the schedule of these events, our “itinerary” kind of took on a life of its own. Here’s a glimpse into what our week will be like – parks and food anyways.

Saturday – afternoon arrival. I kind of have it in mind to eat a CS at the Earl of Sandwich in DTD since I’ve heard so many good things about it, and let’s just say I’ve seen the pictures!!! And maybe since we won’t be heading to any parks, maybe we’ll just ride the monorail, or wander around DTD. Who knows?!?!

Sunday – Animal Kingdom, since the GG Safari only happens on Sunday and Thursday and well, family #2 leaves on Thursday. And since the Safari starts at 4:15, I am figuring a CS at the FlameTree is probably a good idea.

Monday – DHS, no real reason really, but since each of the other parks happened for various reasons on the other days, this was the DHS day. We have a dinner ADR at the Sci-Fi. Given the ages of the kiddos (and the atmosphere of Sci-Fi) and the fact that we all love burgers, I went out on a limb and decided to try this one.

Tuesday – Epcot. This day is actually the Ariel’s birthday, and her request was to see princesses on her birthday so where else would we go? Akershus of course. But I do have to admit that I am praying fervently that Ariel shows up (as I’ve read she can be iffy) b/c both girls just love her and that would be so special for our Ariel.
I don’t know yet if we’ll stay for Illuminations or not. But another cool option I have on the table is “The Kitchen Sink” at the Beach Club. Gross looking? Yes. Gluttony? Yes. Cool experience? YES!!!! We’ll see.

Wednesday – Magic Kingdom. This will be family #2’s last day, so it is fitting that MK is last. Not to mention that the other GG event, the breakfast at Tony’s (with seating at Philharmagic) is only on Wednesday, so that is the plan. I am really hoping to see the parades and fireworks and everything that evening as well, since it is a non-MVMCP day that week.

Thursday – Family #2 leaves very early, so I think we will be sleeping in a bit. Our tentative plan is to Snack Around the World at Epcot WS. This just sounds like fun and since we are all somewhat adventurous food lovers (to differing degrees maybe), it sounded like a fun day. Not to mention that I don’t think we will get to spend a lot of time wandering around WS with family #2 – we’ll probably hit the highlights…drummers, etc., b/c they are way more into the rides.

For dinner, we have an ADR at Cape May for the clam bake. And since Cape May is a “short” walk, we are thinking maybe we’ll mosey back over for Illuminations after dinner.

Friday – As the Master Planner, this is the day that is wreaking havoc with my mind. We have no schedule, no ADR, no nothing!!!! Minnie and Snow White may come over at some point – they live in FL, so that would probably be after work. Maybe we’ll do Animal Kingdom again, as there are a few things that Tinkerbell wants to do (jungle trek, and jingle jungle parade) which we will likely be unable to do on Sunday. So who knows.

If it’s nice (by which I mean 80 degrees by some immense blessing of God) maybe we’ll hit the pool some on Thursday and or Friday. Who knows!?!?!?

Saturday – This is our check out day. But we also have a very early ADR at Chef Mickey’s for breakfast (another wish of Tinkerbell and Mickey). So hopefully Minnie and Snow White will be able to join us for breakfast as they both love it there. Then since we will be so close, Prince Charming was thinking maybe we’d head into MK for a few rides or whatever before we head back to catch ME for the ride to the airport at 3pm. There is always last minute shopping at DTD as well. So we have options my friends….lots of options. If WDW has anything, it’s options!!!

What do you think? So sorry this is so long. It’s hard to make this kind of thing concise. Especially when the one typing is so blasted excited!!!!