2) We have air vouchers with AirTran. They will not post their December dates for another month or so. Would you book WDW before the airline tickets? If I have to change by a day or so...is there a penalty?
amely, I agree with exwdwcm... you'll get refunded up to 45-days before (minus vacation insurance, if you choose to get it), so I would go ahead and book nowi think most packages you can cancel up to 45 days out with no penalty too. The only concern really would be availability i think, not penalties.
Dates are December 9-14 and staying at Poly! Hoping that Disney will do Free Dining again into December but know it's probably a long shot! Already have unused tickets and want to have meal plan so free dining maximizes our savings (unless they do the $750 gift card instead-wishful thinking!)
While we have to wait to see if I get approved for SSI,the lawyer says that I'm a "poster child" for my benefits,and I plan on going December 5th-10th!!!!!! And then again in June of 2011.
the rumor i am hearing is that is they do offer free dining, it will likely be the quick service plan only? you never know though what they will throw at us! I love being DVC now, but will hate missing out on free dining!Dates are December 9-14 and staying at Poly! Hoping that Disney will do Free Dining again into December but know it's probably a long shot! Already have unused tickets and want to have meal plan so free dining maximizes our savings (unless they do the $750 gift card instead-wishful thinking!)
This looks great!! i love AKL! you are eating at a few of the same places as us too! HOw is Tony's? that one is on my to do list one day. We tend to get stuck eating the same places over and over because we love it- or like this trip- want to show someone new that is coming with us. I could totally pass on sci fi (i love it more for hte atmosphere than the food- i am a big sci fi nerd), but i think DH wants to show his mom how cool it is. so we end up at the same places. now that we are DVC, i figure i have lots of future trips though where i can try out all the restaurants eventually. lolThanks for the advice, exwdwcm! That is just what I needed to calm my nerves! How are the crowd levels typically during this time? It's my first Dec trip.........Your itinerary sounds great too! Someday I'll get to park hopping (probably when I have kids of my own), but for now we're a one park a day kinda couple. I've been wanting to try Jiko too... it's too bad you can't find time! But you're right, Jiko will be there on your next trip!
This is my itinerary as of now:
Sunday: Arrive noon-ish, Explore AKL, dinner at Boma
Monday: Arrive at RD for DHS, lunch at Backlot Express, dinner at Sci-Fi
Tuesday: Arrive at RD for MK, lunch at Cosmic Ray's, dinner at Tony's
Wednesday: Sleep-in, Breakfast at Boma, Explore Monorail resorts & DTD, lunch at EOS, dinner at Ohana
Thursday: Arrive at RD for AK, lunch at Flame Tree, dinner at Yak & Yeti
Friday: Arrive at RD for Epcot, lunch at Sunshine Seasons, dinner at Le Cellier
Saturday: Quick breakfast at Mara, Arrive at US for WWOHP, dinner at Cookes
Sunday: Sleep-in, pack, lunch at WPE, head home
I hope it'll work out the way I plan! I know we'll be tired, but oh well! lol! I'd really like to do something "special", so I'm debating whether or not I'd like to do MVMCP or the Keys to the Kingdom tour. I think the DBF would like the tour better, but I'm worried I might not get the chance to do the Xmas party again.........![]()
yeah for Vegas and then WDW! i love Vegas too (was married at Mandalay Bay almost 10 years ago). you will have a ball!Well this trip has been cancelled because me & my Mom are gonna celebrate my 21st Birthday next April in Las Vegas BUT the whole family is coming with us in June 2011 which makes that trip even more exciting!!!!!!
hope your waitlist comes through!I wish I could plan itenerary for our Dec trip but right now we are waitlisted for a 1bd conceirge at AKL if that comes through our plans will change a bit because we may be cutting one day out or doing one night at universal. I'vr decided that if it doesn't come through 2 weeks past the 7 month mark I am just going to cancel the waitlist. This way I can plan our dining and get it all set and not worry about it. Yeah right I can never not mess with my ADRs
Well, if they do only offer the QS plan, we could still upgrade to the DDP for like around $10/day, right? That's still not bad at all!the rumor i am hearing is that is they do offer free dining, it will likely be the quick service plan only?
Thank you! I'm thinking I might switch US to Friday since locals might still be swamping it on the weekends... I'll just have to wait and see as we get closer I guess... Yeah, I'm leaning towards the tour. We'll get a free lunch too, so I'll have an extra credit to use somewhere along the way. I haven't been to Tony's since '94, but my mom says it was good. I don't remember it much though. This trip we'd like to try new places for the most part. We've done Boma dinner (we liked it so much we're doing breakfast and dinner this trip), Sunshine Seasons (great variety and value!), Flame Tree (just can't do AK without Flame Tree!!) and Sci-Fi (the DBF doesn't want to do 50's although I tell him the food is good and the other TS don't really interest me, so we're doing Sci-Fi again; and honestly, I rather enjoyed it as did the DBFThis looks great!! i love AKL! you are eating at a few of the same places as us too! HOw is Tony's? that one is on my to do list one day. We tend to get stuck eating the same places over and over because we love it- or like this trip- want to show someone new that is coming with us. I could totally pass on sci fi (i love it more for hte atmosphere than the food- i am a big sci fi nerd), but i think DH wants to show his mom how cool it is. so we end up at the same places. now that we are DVC, i figure i have lots of future trips though where i can try out all the restaurants eventually. lol
we did hte KTTK tour in May and loved it. i spent 2 days at WDW prior to the DIS podcast cruise and it was just my parents, my cousin and I (no DH or son). We did the tour and had a ball. i do recommend it. it wasn't as much backstage/utilidors as i expected (but i had seen it all before as a CM), but still fun and i learned a lot of info and saw a lot of little things in the parks i had never noticed before!
We're definitely doing US this time but just because of Harry Potter. We're both HP NUTS. IMO, since your son is only 3 I might skip US for now. I think Disney has more to offer for little ones. And that way you'll be kept happy too. US will still be there in the future and as you said, you're DVC now so you'll be going down a lot!speaking of universal- how many of you plan to spend some time there? I am debating it. our son will be 3yo, so he is pretty little to really enjoy a lot of islands of adventure, other than Seuss landing. I've never done IOA, but have done Universal a few times here and in CA. It didn't do much for me and i even visited during a private corporate function where we basically had the park to ourselves with no lines and it still just didn't do much for me. now, i would like to check out HP, but not sure how bad the crowds could be too? plus i hate giving up a day at WDW, when i know our son will enjoy it more.
I totally understand that dilemma! The DBF is pretty much no help either... the only request he made was AKL with a Savanna view. The rest is pretty much up to me! Have you ever stayed at AKL with a Savanna view? I hear it's pretty much AMAZING! I'm so excited about it! Of course, your other options sound good too. I think BLT is gorgeous! I hope to stay there someday myself. Let me know how Mama Melrose is! I'm kinda scared to try it... We did CRT dinner last trip for my birthday and it was nice. We got a window seat over looking Fantasyland and that was perfect. See if you can request a window seat. I wasn't impressed with the Fairy Godmother-spiel, so I'm glad they changed it to another princess meal. We'll be trying Le Cellier for the first time too (hopefully)...... can't wait to try the Cheddar Cheese Soup and the Chocolate Moose!! :dRight now we are booked in a 2bd standard view at Kidani. I will probably change that to a 1bd savannah view since we could only get a lock off and I would prefer a dedicated with the 3 kids. I am also going to try for a 1bd at BLT at 7 months. I have no clue what I want to do. My DS wants to see HP at Universal so we may do one night at HRH club level. I already have 2 tickets for universal so I would only need to buy 3 more.
Oh what to do what to do. Way too many options. DH is not being very helpful at all. He just says whatever you want darling just let me know where to be and when. So thats why I love coming here other people who know what its like to drive yourself insane wiht making plans.
I did find out from the kids where they want to eat. We have decided that we want to try every restaurant in WDW so we are not going to do anything we have already done. Well I did let them go someplace they have been as long as they pick a different meal. So if we did CM for breakfast we can only do dinner.
So far we have
CRT dinner
Mama Melrose
Sci Fi
CM dinner
Tusker House breakfast
Le Cellier
Still have a few more to pick though.
This is good news! Positive reviews for Tony's is pretty hit or miss on the Dis, so I'm glad that you enjoyed it! I don't remember Tony's, so it's like going again for the first time. What did you have to eat? I'm thinking about getting spaghetti and meatballs and doing the whole "Lady and the Tramp thing"For the OP who asked about Tony's DH and I ate there last month when we went and we both really enjoyed it. We did a walk in at opening for dinner and we were seated in about 10 minutes. Staff was so nice. The only thing we did not like was the shrimp salad appie. We were so stuffed we didn't eat dessert. Our meal was so hot I actually burnt my tongue on the pasta. We have added it to our list of will return to when we have finished eating at all of the restaurants.
Hello - just joining this thread. We are going to WDW from December 4-11 staying at BCV. We've never been during December before and are very excited! Our cast at trip time will be me (42), DH (44), DD19 and her fiance (23).
I'm trying to get an itinerary in some kind of order already. Work will be hectic next month and my ADR date is 6/7!. We are pretty set on the following restaurants:
Cape May Cafe
Teppan Edo (for the kids, DH & I will go elsewhere just not sure where yet)
50's Prime Time (lunch)
1900 Park Fare
Garden Grill
Hollywood & Vine (lunch maybe - still undecided here)
and maybe Kona (not sure on this one yet)
We've been to WDW 3 times before and are trying not to duplicate any place we have been before. Well we've done a 1900 Park Fair Breakfast before but not the dinner.
I hope to get to know y'all. Anyone else going during our time? Is there a list in this thread? I haven't read it all yet....
hey there- i started a PTR- see my sig for the link! We never miss flame tree barbeque at AK either! too funny!Well, if they do only offer the QS plan, we could still upgrade to the DDP for like around $10/day, right? That's still not bad at all!
Thank you! I'm thinking I might switch US to Friday since locals might still be swamping it on the weekends... I'll just have to wait and see as we get closer I guess... Yeah, I'm leaning towards the tour. We'll get a free lunch too, so I'll have an extra credit to use somewhere along the way. I haven't been to Tony's since '94, but my mom says it was good. I don't remember it much though. This trip we'd like to try new places for the most part. We've done Boma dinner (we liked it so much we're doing breakfast and dinner this trip), Sunshine Seasons (great variety and value!), Flame Tree (just can't do AK without Flame Tree!!) and Sci-Fi (the DBF doesn't want to do 50's although I tell him the food is good and the other TS don't really interest me, so we're doing Sci-Fi again; and honestly, I rather enjoyed it as did the DBFlol)
We're definitely doing US this time but just because of Harry Potter. We're both HP NUTS. IMO, since your son is only 3 I might skip US for now. I think Disney has more to offer for little ones. And that way you'll be kept happy too. US will still be there in the future and as you said, you're DVC now so you'll be going down a lot!
Has anyone started a PTR???
Hi Vicki! my DH lets me do all the planning too- although this time i am asking about where he wants to eat and he said Le Cellier and Ohana are musts. the rest he leaves up to me, which is fun, but yeah, can be frustrating too. so are these all new places you are trying then? you will love Le Cellier! i'd like to eventually try each place too, and we keep getting stuck at the same ones. i think the only new place we are doing this time is Teppan Edo.Right now we are booked in a 2bd standard view at Kidani. I will probably change that to a 1bd savannah view since we could only get a lock off and I would prefer a dedicated with the 3 kids. I am also going to try for a 1bd at BLT at 7 months. I have no clue what I want to do. My DS wants to see HP at Universal so we may do one night at HRH club level. I already have 2 tickets for universal so I would only need to buy 3 more.
Oh what to do what to do. Way too many options. DH is not being very helpful at all. He just says whatever you want darling just let me know where to be and when. So thats why I love coming here other people who know what its like to drive yourself insane wiht making plans.
I did find out from the kids where they want to eat. We have decided that we want to try every restaurant in WDW so we are not going to do anything we have already done. Well I did let them go someplace they have been as long as they pick a different meal. So if we did CM for breakfast we can only do dinner.
So far we have
CRT dinner
Mama Melrose
Sci Fi
CM dinner
Tusker House breakfast
Le Cellier
Still have a few more to pick though.
thanks Vicki- i'll definitely have to add it on the list for next time then!For the OP who asked about Tony's DH and I ate there last month when we went and we both really enjoyed it. We did a walk in at opening for dinner and we were seated in about 10 minutes. Staff was so nice. The only thing we did not like was the shrimp salad appie. We were so stuffed we didn't eat dessert. Our meal was so hot I actually burnt my tongue on the pasta. We have added it to our list of will return to when we have finished eating at all of the restaurants.
We are there at the EXACT same time- Dec 4-11th!!!! yeah for travel buddies! we should start a list of travel dates if there isn't one. i'll check.Hello - just joining this thread. We are going to WDW from December 4-11 staying at BCV. We've never been during December before and are very excited! Our cast at trip time will be me (42), DH (44), DD19 and her fiance (23).I'm trying to get an itinerary in some kind of order already. Work will be hectic next month and my ADR date is 6/7!. We are pretty set on the following restaurants:
Cape May Cafe
Teppan Edo (for the kids, DH & I will go elsewhere just not sure where yet)
50's Prime Time (lunch)
1900 Park Fare
Garden Grill
Hollywood & Vine (lunch maybe - still undecided here)
and maybe Kona (not sure on this one yet)
We've been to WDW 3 times before and are trying not to duplicate any place we have been before. Well we've done a 1900 Park Fair Breakfast before but not the dinner.
I hope to get to know y'all. Anyone else going during our time? Is there a list in this thread? I haven't read it all yet....
hi there! so we have lots of Le Cellier newbies! i love the cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread. The entire meal is just fantastic and we had the BEST service ever there. In fact we stopped at the front and asked for a manager so we could let them know how great our server was! i forget his name. The tonga toast is fantastic, actually Kona cafe in general is great. i need to get over there more often!I totally understand that dilemma! The DBF is pretty much no help either... the only request he made was AKL with a Savanna view. The rest is pretty much up to me! Have you ever stayed at AKL with a Savanna view? I hear it's pretty much AMAZING! I'm so excited about it! Of course, your other options sound good too. I think BLT is gorgeous! I hope to stay there someday myself. Let me know how Mama Melrose is! I'm kinda scared to try it... We'll be trying Le Cellier for the first time too (hopefully)...... can't wait to try the Cheddar Cheese Soup and the Chocolate Moose!! :d
YES! The DBF and I will be there Dec 5-12! Maybe we'll see you around! The only place I've been to on your list is 50's PT for dinner and I thought it was delicious! OMG, the pot roast was to die for! So tender..... I'd love to try Kona (I really want to try TONGA TOAST but I don't think we'll get there this trip).... what other restaurant are you considering while your DD and her fiance go to Teppan Edo?
France actually has a great lunch option and for a while they were bringing around REMY from Ratatouille- a little animontronic version on a rolling cart and he is under a dish and talks to you. only at lunch apparently- not sure if they still have him or not. The french onion soup was good as were the sandwiches. We've done dinner there as well and it was good. had a great window seat. We also love Le Cellier- it is a must to try at least once. My family loves San Angel Inn for the atmosphere, but i don't care for the food much. I am anxious to see what this new outdoor eatery will bring. apparently they will serve quick service lunch, but sit down dinner, so it might be worth trying the next rennovated outside eatery (especially for a spot for illuminations!).We haven't decided yet. We have eaten a lot of places on the FW side but have only eaten at Italy and Norway on the WS side. I think France is the closest country to Japan. We could also do Le Cellier or Rose & Crown. Decisions decisions. Any recommendations?
yeah, another 4-11th!! me too! CBR is nice and they just redid the pool area, so you will enjoy it! the osborne lights are amazing! be sure to avoid them on the weekends though, the locals come in and it is more crowded. it is really crowded also when they first turn them on (dusk). we prefer to wait until near park closing time to visit them. the crowds are much less then and you can really move around easier and take more pics.Hello all!!Hope you don't mind me joining this thread!!
After much back and forth, we have settled on December 4th-11th, 2010.
We actually booked a bounceback when we were there in February for 35% off of our CBR room! I have wanted to stay there for a long time, and finally just went for it!!!
We have been to WDW in December before (2006), but missed lots of cool things (Osborne Lights, resort decorations).
Anyone else think it seems like soooo far away?????? (That's the reason for all the back and forth in our dates)
First stay at CBR, First time seeing Osborne Lights and all those great resort decorations!! I'm super excited!!![]()
Hi Vicki! my DH lets me do all the planning too- although this time i am asking about where he wants to eat and he said Le Cellier and Ohana are musts. the rest he leaves up to me, which is fun, but yeah, can be frustrating too. so are these all new places you are trying then? you will love Le Cellier! i'd like to eventually try each place too, and we keep getting stuck at the same ones. i think the only new place we are doing this time is Teppan Edo.
sure, i'd be happy to share mine- it is actually in word, but could easily be done in excel too. i just like word better, lol. Here is what it looks like. if you shoot me a PM with your email, i can send it over.Hello!
We booked (with a PIN...could not believe that we got one after hearing about them on the DIS boards) for Dec 1-8! We are so excited, and are going to surprise our DD(5) with this trip shortly before we leave.
Does anyone have a planning spreadsheet that they would be willing to share? Or are they posted and I am missing them?
TIA!
Amanda
I totally understand that dilemma! The DBF is pretty much no help either... the only request he made was AKL with a Savanna view. The rest is pretty much up to me! Have you ever stayed at AKL with a Savanna view? I hear it's pretty much AMAZING! I'm so excited about it! Of course, your other options sound good too. I think BLT is gorgeous! I hope to stay there someday myself. Let me know how Mama Melrose is! I'm kinda scared to try it... We did CRT dinner last trip for my birthday and it was nice. We got a window seat over looking Fantasyland and that was perfect. See if you can request a window seat. I wasn't impressed with the Fairy Godmother-spiel, so I'm glad they changed it to another princess meal. We'll be trying Le Cellier for the first time too (hopefully)...... can't wait to try the Cheddar Cheese Soup and the Chocolate Moose!! :d
LOL!!! This sounds like my b-day trip last year!!! All he said was 'eh, zebras!' so AKL Savanna view it was (which btw is amazing!! There's so much to see when you come 'home' from the parks and there's nothing like waking up in Disney to zebras!). I was left to by Disneyzilla and plan and plan and plan (not like there was anything wrong with dreaming about Disney every day while at work)