Need help planning December trip

[Tiana4]

Hi there!

We have a trip planned for December 9-13. Staying at POR. We are driving down from SC and plan to arrive Friday evening around 7pm(ish). I'm thinking we'll want to lay low that evening and have dinner at hotel and hang out.

Saturday I am planning an Epcot day. Lunch at Via Napoli and dinner at Garden Grill. We haven't been to Epcot since 2013 and are very excited to get back!

Sunday we are attending MVMCP, first time ever! Super excited. Any recommendations of what we can do until party time? My children are 9 and 6 and I plan on it being a late night so I don't want a super busy AM, but would like to do something before party time, perhaps something holiday related? I've heard WL is very pretty, along with Grand Floridian at Christmastime. Is it worth a visit?

Monday - my birthday! I was originally planning to do Epcot this day, but with the late party the night before, I moved it to Saturday. While I would love a park day, I'm trying to keep the budget in check. What fun activities or meals can we do to make my birthday special without going into a park?

Any and all ideas/recommendations are much appreciated! Thanks

 

[wdwrich]

Definitely take some time to visit other resorts to check out the decorations. WL, GF and YC were particularly interesting this past December.

 

[SoCalMike44]

Echoing the suggestion to leisurely visit the other resorts and seeing their decorations. GF and I will be down there around same time and we're planning to do the same on our party day.

 

[Mal6586]

The Disney Tourist Blog has a neat guide to touring the resort hotels for Christmas decorations:

http://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-christmas-decorations-tour/

 

[SaintsManiac]

We went the same time last year. On party day we slept in until about 10:30am, hung around the hotel, grabbed a late lunch and went to see the decorations at the Contemporary. By the time we did all of that it was 3:30, so we rode the monorail loop and then headed to the gates. It worked out perfectly. We used 3 FP from 4:30-6:30 and then enjoyed the party.

Have fun!

ETA: it was me, DH and DD5. We all really enjoyed the party

 

[Chant124]

Hi there!

We have a trip planned for December 9-13. Staying at POR. We are driving down from SC and plan to arrive Friday evening around 7pm(ish). I'm thinking we'll want to lay low that evening and have dinner at hotel and hang out.

Saturday I am planning an Epcot day. Lunch at Via Napoli and dinner at Garden Grill. We haven't been to Epcot since 2013 and are very excited to get back!

Sunday we are attending MVMCP, first time ever! Super excited. Any recommendations of what we can do until party time? My children are 9 and 6 and I plan on it being a late night so I don't want a super busy AM, but would like to do something before party time, perhaps something holiday related? I've heard WL is very pretty, along with Grand Floridian at Christmastime. Is it worth a visit?

Monday - my birthday! I was originally planning to do Epcot this day, but with the late party the night before, I moved it to Saturday. While I would love a park day, I'm trying to keep the budget in check. What fun activities or meals can we do to make my birthday special without going into a park?

Any and all ideas/recommendations are much appreciated! Thanks

Hang out at Disney Springs its almost a whole park by itself now.

 

[Tiana4]

The Disney Tourist Blog has a neat guide to touring the resort hotels for Christmas decorations:

http://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-christmas-decorations-tour/

This is brilliant! Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[cassie58]

In Epcot, each country has holiday storytellers you can visit. The Grand Floridian has the giant gingerbread house which is cool to see, and buy a shingle to taste! The Beach Club near Epcot has a life size chocolate carousel. The projection show on the castle at night is amazing, and they add a Christmas portion which I love! (I am not sure if they have a special version during MVMCP, but be sure to check it out either way - usually shown before Wishes.) WL and AKL our both decorated beautifully. We also like to buy an ornament to bring home for our tree to commemorate our trip. It is my favorite time of year at WDW!Enjoy!

 

[DVC Jen]

Winter Summerland mini golf is lots of fun. Disney Springs would be a great place to spend some time as well.