**Official December 2010 Thread!!**

[beck0321]

Do you know what dates FD was offered in Dec. last year?

We got a promotional mailing (in snail mail) last year around the end of summer for free dining in Fall/Winter...I'm pretty sure it was good for the first two weeks of December. Don't know what the dates were before Dec., but our time to go is the first week in December and I remember it was offered for those dates. We couldn't go last year though...I was so upset we couldn't take advantage of it

Don't know if that helps any...

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

I looked it up online. The free dining days were September 29th through December 17th, 2009 of last year.

 

[exwdwcm]

I KNOW! Has anyone said when they might be releasing the December hours? Since November was this month, can we assume December will be at the beginning/middle of May?

i am guessing mid May/June 1st. I know June 1st is the official day they are supposed to do it, but since November was released a little early, i am hoping for mid May. not sure they will release in early May, but we can hope, right?

This is a great thread! It's taking me a while to catch up on all the posts.

We've never been anywhere at Christmas. DH finds it hard to get away at that time of year.

I find myself wanting to do EVERYTHING!

Will my children (8 & 10) enjoy the Candlelight Processional? and the Osbourne lights at DHS?

My DS, 2 at the time LOVED Osborne Lights. We went to see them twice in fact. He loved the 'snow' more than anything. We didn't do the CP, since i was fearful he wouldn't sit still through it, although we may try it this year. It is so beautiful. Your kids might enjoy it at that age.

here's a few pics of how much my son enjoyed the lights. We find that if you go right at dusk when they start, it is SUPER crowded. We waited until closer to closing time and headed back then and had almost the place to ourselves. also, avoid the weekends (fri/sat) if you can, the locals come in and it is even more crowded than normal. my son still flips through our photo album and when he comes to this photo, he stands there and poses just like it, with his mouth open and hand up. he had a blast. we can't wait to take him back.

see how light the crowds are!!!

We are purchasing tickets for MVMCP for Tues, Dec 7. I am also hoping that since Thursday night is cheaper, that more people will go that night instead.

i am betting Tuesday will be less crowded as well- we've gone on tuesdays in the past and had a fantastic time. thursday just fits our schedule better this time around.

Do you know what dates FD was offered in Dec. last year?

yep, dec 17 was the last day. We had it on our trip- and it is good throughout your trip. we checked in dec 10th and out on dec 20th, but got the FD through the 20th.

 

[taylor3297]

i am betting Tuesday will be less crowded as well- we've gone on tuesdays in the past and had a fantastic time. thursday just fits our schedule better this time around.

We don't have a schedule yet, so I figured by buying Tuesday night MVMCP tha will help us start our schedule. Without knowing which night DHS will be closed for the Pop Warner groups and other park hours for December, I figured just go ahead and start somewhere.

 

[exwdwcm]

We don't have a schedule yet, so I figured by buying Tuesday night MVMCP tha will help us start our schedule. Without knowing which night DHS will be closed for the Pop Warner groups and other park hours for December, I figured just go ahead and start somewhere.

i took a stab at the hours based on last year's hours and looking at the non holiday hours so far for sept/oct/nov.

here's what i came up with- it's a guess! lol, but last year, my guess was pretty dead on. i think the POP night at HS is usually a wednesday if i remember right- anyone confirm that?


again- all 'guessing' based on historical and current info available/patterns etc.

Saturday, 12/4
MK 9am-1am (parade filming day), Epcot 9am-9:30pm, HS 9am-8pm (AM EMH at 8am), AK 9am-6pm

Sunday, 12/5
MK 9am-7pm (MVMCP), Epcot 9am-9:30pm, HS 9am-8pm (PM EMH til 11pm), AK 9am-7pm

Monday, 12/6
MK 9am-9pm (PM EMH til 12am), Epcot 9am-9:30pm, HS 9am-7pm, AK 9am-6pm (AM EMH at 8am)

Tuesday, 12/7
MK 9am-7pm (MVMCP), Epcot 9am-9:30pm (AM EMH at 8am), HS 9am-8pm, AK 9am-6pm

Wednesday, 12/8
MK 9am-8pm, Epcot 9am-9:30pm (PM EMH til 12:30am), HS 9am-7pm (POP night??), AK 9am-6pm

Thursday, 12/9
MK 9am-7pm (AM EMH at 8am- MVMCP), Epcot 9am-9:30pm, HS 9am-8pm, AK 9am-6pm

Friday, 12/10
MK 9am-7pm (MVMCP), Epcot 9am-9:30pm, HS 9am-8pm, AK 9am-6pm (PM EMH til 9pm)

Saturday, 12/11
MK 9am-1am (late hours to make up for MVMCP shorter hours), Epcot 9am-9:30pm, HS 9am-8pm (AM EMH at 8am), AK 9am-6pm

 

[disneybarbie]

ATTENTION ALL

I have updated the DEC Trippers list on page 17. I've added a link in my signature to it as well, so you can find it easily. I've also added the MVMCP dates at the end of each line - so if you going to MVMCP, post up your date and I'll add that too. I know I am already planning to meet up with two other families from my DISboards moms thread that are going on 12/9 too!!

Let me know if I missed anyone and be sure to check out everyone's PRE TRIP REPORTS too!!

Thank you for doing this!
Once we all start booking ADRs - I'll try do an ADR list if people post their ressies! I did it last year on the December'09 thread and it was fun to see if/when DISers would be dining at the same places on the same day/time!

I saw yesterday that free dining is being offered august til early october.. but counter service plan only - I'd imagine this might be all that is offered for December, I've heard that Disney will be trimming down the discounts and offers from now on, as the economy is picking up? not sure though.. i'll keep my fingers crossed for people to get some magic pins & pixie dust for December!!

Tomorrow is May!! another month closer!!

Emma xx

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

A couple of people have been mentioning free dining, to which I kept wondering, "Who, What, Where"??? Here is what I found in case anyone else was just as clueless:

Disney Rewards Visa FREE Dining Package

Disney Rewards Visa cardholders can get FREE dining when you book a full price Walt Disney World vacation package for check-ins most nights 8/15/10-10/2/10. To qualify, you must use your Disney Rewards Visa card to reserve and pay for a vacation package that includes at least 3 consecutive hotel nights at an official Walt Disney World resort, plus at least a 2-day theme park ticket.

If you don't have a Disney Rewards Visa card, an identical offer is expected for the general public on 5/3/10 -- check back on that date for details.

 

[taylor3297]

ATTENTION ALL

I have updated the DEC Trippers list on page 17. I've added a link in my signature to it as well, so you can find it easily. I've also added the MVMCP dates at the end of each line - so if you going to MVMCP, post up your date and I'll add that too. I know I am already planning to meet up with two other families from my DISboards moms thread that are going on 12/9 too!!

Let me know if I missed anyone and be sure to check out everyone's PRE TRIP REPORTS too!!

THanks for all of you hard work, but my dates have changed just a little, we are going Dec 4-12, and will be doing MVMCP on Dec 7, still staying at the Poly.

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Question for those who have been at the world while the Christmas parade was being taped. I know everyone has advised that we avoid MK that weekend because of taping, but is that all day...or does the park perhaps empty out at some point? Roughly when do they stop taping?

Also, is there ever a discount on MVMCP, other than buying early and the DVC or AP people? I would love to go but just not share where to come up with more than $200 for us to go...and we have young kids (3 and 4) so I am worried about spending the money and then having to leave early because they are tired and cranky.

Thanks everyone!

 

[beck0321]

Question for those who have been at the world while the Christmas parade was being taped. I know everyone has advised that we avoid MK that weekend because of taping, but is that all day...or does the park perhaps empty out at some point? Roughly when do they stop taping?

Also, is there ever a discount on MVMCP, other than buying early and the DVC or AP people? I would love to go but just not share where to come up with more than $200 for us to go...and we have young kids (3 and 4) so I am worried about spending the money and then having to leave early because they are tired and cranky.

Thanks everyone!

Both times we went in December they were filming the parade. And both times we were in MK that day. The first time it was right after it finished and it did seem busy but we didn't have to wait long for any of the rides or anything. The second time, we got there right as it was coming down Main Street and we weren't allowed to walk down there to get to the other parts of the park. No problem, we took the train over to Frontierland. We did have to wait like 30 minutes or something for the train but it wasn't a big deal. And it wasn't SO crazy busy...of course that was four years ago

Oh I forgot to say that I think they tape it in the morning and it's done by lunch if I remember correctly. I'm sure someone will correct me if that's not the case though.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Also, is there ever a discount on MVMCP, other than buying early and the DVC or AP people?

No, I'm not aware of any other discounts. Since it's a hard ticket event, they don't really slash the price closer to the date or offer special deals with the tickets.

We've brought our girls every year at varying ages (when they were 4 and under), and always stay til midnight. They are usually passed out in the stroller by then. But I totally understand about possibly needing or wanting to leave when little ones have reached their limit. Although the party is fun, if you will already be visiting Magic Kingdom, then I think it's fine to save your money. For us, we save our money by not buying a park ticket that day and using the MVMCP at night instead.

 

[siskaren]

I saw yesterday that free dining is being offered august til early october.. but counter service plan only

QSDP is being offered for the value resorts; DDP is being offered for the moderates and deluxes.

 

[disneybarbie]

QSDP is being offered for the value resorts; DDP is being offered for the moderates and deluxes.

Oh I see - didn't hear that bit!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

If you go to a park's webpage online (like Magic Kingdom), and visit the Calendar section, December 2010 is currently listed in the drop down menu. But the calendar is blank. Why do they tease us so??

I know this generally happens when a new month arrives. It seems it automatically adds a new month, even if it's not populated with data yet. Grrrr.....

 

[katybugsmom]

Hello! We are booking our WDW December trip this week! We will be staying at ASMO's December 17-21. We will kick off our arrival with MVMCP on the
17th! We can't wait! On the 21st we will move over to UO to stay a couple of nights and visit the Grinch! We'll get home on Christmas Eve just in time for HoHo!!!!! This will be our best Christmas ever!!!!! See ya there!!!!!!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Hello! We are booking our WDW December trip this week! We will be staying at ASMO's December 17-21. We will kick off our arrival with MVMCP on the
17th! We can't wait! On the 21st we will move over to UO to stay a couple of nights and visit the Grinch! We'll get home on Christmas Eve just in time for HoHo!!!!! This will be our best Christmas ever!!!!! See ya there!!!!!!

Sounds like fun! We always kick off our arrival with MVMCP and it makes for such a great start to a great vacation!

We did UO for the first time last year (one day because we had a free ticket). We did the Christmas parade and Grinch stuff over there and it was neat. Although I will say that NOTHING beats Disney (and my DH had to listen to me saying that over and over the whole time we were at UO)!!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

We will be staying at ASMO's December 17-21.

By the way, I love ASMO! When we made our first family vacation on resort, it was the only place I wanted to stay. It has some of the best and most recognizable characters around the buildings, and our daughter loved them. We have some of the neatest photos standing next to the huge Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story props!

 

[katybugsmom]

By the way, I love ASMO! When we made our first family vacation on resort, it was the only place I wanted to stay. It has some of the best and most recognizable characters around the buildings, and our daughter loved them. We have some of the neatest photos standing next to the huge Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story props!

We love ASMO's too! I have back issues and love the close proximity of everything! Our DS 5 loves Toy Story! We have some great pictures too! We had planned on taking Amtrak down from Florence, SC, but decided against it since we are traveling to UO too. Too many tranfers!
I see you're from NC-which part? My sister and her husband live in Franklin. We live close to the top of SC-10 miles from the NC border!

 

[katybugsmom]

No, I'm not aware of any other discounts. Since it's a hard ticket event, they don't really slash the price closer to the date or offer special deals with the tickets.

We've brought our girls every year at varying ages (when they were 4 and under), and always stay til midnight. They are usually passed out in the stroller by then. But I totally understand about possibly needing or wanting to leave when little ones have reached their limit. Although the party is fun, if you will already be visiting Magic Kingdom, then I think it's fine to save your money. For us, we save our money by not buying a park ticket that day and using the MVMCP at night instead.

We'll be doing the samething on the 17th! We will arrive around mid-day on the 17th,so we'll be ready to enter the MK around 4:00pm for MVMCP! No need to waste a ticket that day! Great minds think a like!

 

[danny1649]

This December we have been first part of December each year since 1991.