**Official December 2010 Thread!!**

[Tinkermom76]

That is funny!!! Fortunately, neither of my DD's are smitten with the Jo Bros!!

So what would you do? Would you leave all your plans in place or should I consider rethinking that Friday night? At this point, we wouldn't be able to get another CRT which we have that evening...

if you are going to the MVMCP that night I would keep the plan. They will not interrupt the party for the performances, they will have them during the day. If you still wanna go during the day, I hear as long as you avoid the performance area (main St last year) then the rest of the park should be ok. We had an early breakfast at CP that day so after the Jonas Bros left so did everyone else, the rain might have helped too

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I think in the past most of the parade taping is done really early on Friday and Saturday morning and only Sunday if needed, however I know there were some issues because of the rain.

Regular day guests will be taken through a backstage area and escourted to the area of the park that isn't full of parade participants, from what I have read from others here in the last couple of years.

Suzanne

 

[snykymom]

Today I am doing the Happy Dance! I just put the deposit down on an unexpected, but oh so exciting first Christmastime trip to WDW.

I just happened to get a notice that my frequent flyer miles were going to expire. So I checked out how many miles flights would be to Orlando during my daughter's birthday on Dec 11. I didn't have very high expectations as the amount of miles needed for round trip flights has gone up exponentially. To my surprise I was going to be able to get 2 round trip tickets for the amount of miles that I had saved. Woohoo!

So needless to say, I booked them and then purchased two more.

Now we are planning a quick trip to WDW from Dec 10 - 14 - just enough days to satisfy any Disney cravings before we make a regular length trip next May.

Sshhh... though....to make it more fun we haven't told our kids as it is going to be a complete surprise for my DD's 6th birthday. I am open to any and all suggestions about how to reveal the surprise.

We are staying at POR and cannot wait for all the surprises to come out and the celebrations to begin!

I don't know if you already have them, but if you're going for 4 days in December and then a longer trip in May, you may want to consider getting APs. Then you can get the Tables in Wonderland card ($75) for 20% off most table service and some quick service places, including appetizers & adult beverages. I found that worked better for us than the DP. And there are sometimes great AP discounts on rooms.

What a great trip for your daughter! As a December baby, I know how often a December birthday gets lost in the holiday rush. This one won't!

 

[TruBlu]

None for me

Just checked each night of my trip 12/15 - 12/19 and nothing. Still holding out hope I snag one.

I just sent you a PM.

 

[exwdwcm]

I doubt that a 15 yr and 18 yr old boys are going to be intertested in dumbo, peter pan and pooh anyhow. I was going to instruct them to do things like Buzz, HM, Pirates, JC in the morning and collect FP to use later in the afternoon. Is it going to be a big problem getting from one side of the park to the other? Will this all have to be done behind the castle to avoid all of main st and the hub? I am not sure if toon town will even be there at that point, but I figure at that age they could care less about anything back there anyhow. If they can get FP in the am for SM, SpM and BTMRR then they should be all set and use them in the afternoon. Any thoughts on this? They will be leaving around 2:00 and going to DTD for a late lunch early dinner at the House of Blues, so they probably won't be returning until around 5:00 or 6:00. They want to catch Spectro and Wishes that night.

they should be able to cross the park just fine- they just won't be able to go through the hub in front of the castle or on main street. they will have to cross back in fantasyland to get over to frontierland/adventureland areas or TL. Toon town is schedule to still be open and operating at that point, so we hear. BUT, it could close anytime this winter----although word is it won't be until early 2011. not sure if the train runs either while the parade is filming (guessing not, since they probably use the platform for filming or the hosts). they should be good to tackle the mtns and everything else they want if they are there at RD. hope they have fun!!

So has anyone else heard any word on when the Hacienda will start accepting ADRs?

 

[TruBlu]

So has anyone else heard any word on when the Hacienda will start accepting ADRs?

Are there any copies of the menu out yet? I'm anxious to see it.

 

[Tink Mick Koda Miles]

I doubt that a 15 yr and 18 yr old boys are going to be intertested in dumbo, peter pan and pooh anyhow. I was going to instruct them to do things like Buzz, HM, Pirates, JC in the morning and collect FP to use later in the afternoon. Is it going to be a big problem getting from one side of the park to the other? Will this all have to be done behind the castle to avoid all of main st and the hub? I am not sure if toon town will even be there at that point, but I figure at that age they could care less about anything back there anyhow. If they can get FP in the am for SM, SpM and BTMRR then they should be all set and use them in the afternoon. Any thoughts on this? They will be leaving around 2:00 and going to DTD for a late lunch early dinner at the House of Blues, so they probably won't be returning until around 5:00 or 6:00. They want to catch Spectro and Wishes that night.

No Spectro for now they extended Main Street Electrical!

 

[kimis]

We are taking our first Christmas trip and we are soooo excited. However I am worried about the crowds with the free dining. Any ideas on how bad it will be? Also how do you go about watching the Christmas Parade filming? THank you!

 

[LBollengier]

if you are going to the MVMCP that night I would keep the plan. They will not interrupt the party for the performances, they will have them during the day. If you still wanna go during the day, I hear as long as you avoid the performance area (main St last year) then the rest of the park should be ok. We had an early breakfast at CP that day so after the Jonas Bros left so did everyone else, the rain might have helped too

Well, we have a res for Tony's for lunch that day... Around 11:50. We'll definitely stay away except for that...

JW - How can they do that anyway - have a special ticketed area for the parade which consists of Main Street?? Everyone has to go in that way...
I'm picturing CMs running people away from the crowds & special ticket holders wearing armbands?? Just curious....

 

[gumby013]

Just posting an update on the secret December Disney trip with my GF. I am telling her she is tagging along on a business trip to Gainesville. She has started looking into what kinds of things there are to do in Gainesville and isn't all that excited. My plot is working perfectly so far! bwahahahahahahahahah!

 

[utkscvol1]

just wondering. we have been traveling in september with free dining and crowds have not been bad to us. how does september free dining stand up to dec. free dining? we are going 12-12 thru 12-17.

 

[sophie832]

Just posting an update on the secret December Disney trip with my GF. I am telling her she is tagging along on a business trip to Gainesville. She has started looking into what kinds of things there are to do in Gainesville and isn't all that excited. My plot is working perfectly so far! bwahahahahahahahahah!

Been reading your posts, and what you are doing is so sweet!

I don't think this will ever happen with my DH, but that's because he's terrible at keeping secrets, and I'm really hard to surprise Besides, I am the obsessive planner, not him.

Can't wait for you to report back after your trip

 

[rabbitthecat]

Hi all,

Sadly, due to work conflicts I had to reschedule my December trip for October (on the upside, October! So soon!). I already posted this on the Dining boards, but wanted to let you all know that at 10pm tonight I'm going to cancel the following ADRs. Hope some of you might be able to enjoy! There are lots of Boma breakfasts and 3 California Grill reservations, including a prime fireworks time ressie on the 18th:

12/10 7:40pm California Grill
12/10 7:45pm Boma

12/11 7:45 am Boma
12/11 5:40pm California Grill

12/12 7:30 am Boma
12/12 7:20 pm Rose and Crown

12/13 7:30am Boma

12/14 1:10pm Hollywood Brown Derby
12/14 7:30pm Jiko

12/15 10:45 am Kona
12/15 6:55 pm Kouzzina

12/16 8:30 am Boma
12/16 7:30 pm Artist Point

12/17 7:40 am Boma

12/18 7:35 am Boma
12/18 7:55 pm California Grill

Enjoy!

 

[MyCathryn]

After trying to book DD's flight at a reasonable price for months, we decided yesterday to extend 1 day. Yay!! We are going for 9 days now. OMG never been at WDW for so long! It is also my 10th trip!!! DD has her flight booked. Moved around a ton of dinner reservations. Just planned out our days activities. Waiting to hear who is doing the CP on the unknown days and we will be all set. What a productive week!!!!!

 

[*Meagan*]

Hi all,

Sadly, due to work conflicts I had to reschedule my December trip for October (on the upside, October! So soon!). I already posted this on the Dining boards, but wanted to let you all know that at 10pm tonight I'm going to cancel the following ADRs. Hope some of you might be able to enjoy! There are lots of Boma breakfasts and 3 California Grill reservations, including a prime fireworks time ressie on the 18th:

12/10 7:40pm California Grill
12/10 7:45pm Boma

12/11 7:45 am Boma
12/11 5:40pm California Grill

12/12 7:30 am Boma
12/12 7:20 pm Rose and Crown

12/13 7:30am Boma

12/14 1:10pm Hollywood Brown Derby
12/14 7:30pm Jiko

12/15 10:45 am Kona
12/15 6:55 pm Kouzzina

12/16 8:30 am Boma
12/16 7:30 pm Artist Point

12/17 7:40 am Boma

12/18 7:35 am Boma
12/18 7:55 pm California Grill

Enjoy!

Is Boma one of your faves? LoL. You had so many ressies for it! Or is this a method Im missing out on?

Thanks for letting us know!

 

[Kathy Z]

Rabbitthecat was staying at AKL. Boma is in the AKL. I'm guessing they were on the deluxe dining plan as they also had 5 signature dinners booked. So Boma breakfast on most days would make a lot of sense. We are doing a similar plan to use our credits in December. 3 large meals a day is too much food for us.

 

[TruBlu]

It looks like a great way to use the plan to me! We've never considered deluxe with kids, but if it was just DH and me we'd probably have the exact same ADRs.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

We may get the Deluxe or Premium plan for our Dec 2011 trip, since it is for our 10th Anniversary. Actually, I think we might split the ressie and have the first few nights on the Premuim Plan so we can do alot of the activities, then settle down a bit for the last few days with either the regular or Deluxe dining plan over the actual Christmas Holiday.

Suzanne

 

[Vickis3js]

My DH could eat at Boma every single morning if I let him LOL. When we did the DxDDP for our 10th anniversary we would do a breakfast and then a signature dining place at night. We hit up Boma twice on our trip but I can say if we planned on hanging out at the resort more we would have done it twice that.

I know we actually used one of our credits at a CS place and we brought home all of our snacks for the kids and wihtout counting them we saved over $400! And we refused dessert a few times! We thoiught about doing the deluxe plan with the kids but I didn't want to do any signature meals because that requires too much packing and too many wardrobe changes.

 

[exwdwcm]

Are there any copies of the menu out yet? I'm anxious to see it.

i haven't seen any, but dying too!!

We are taking our first Christmas trip and we are soooo excited. However I am worried about the crowds with the free dining. Any ideas on how bad it will be? Also how do you go about watching the Christmas Parade filming? THank you!

FD does make it crowded, but really more so the restaurants than anything else. a lot of these folks were planning to go to Disney anyway, FD just might have affected 'when'. Your chances of getting a walk up for a restaurant with no ADR is pretty slim unless in a really off time. Plus, you have to consider there are still a TON Of guests that don't know what the dining plan is or that there is free dining or that they need to make ADRs, so a lot of folks would walk up and be shot down and get mad. especially folks that were on free dining that had failed to make ADRs. so just as long as you have ADRs, you are fine. You might have to wait 10-20 minutes at some restaurants, even with an ADR due to the crowds in the restaurants. but otherwise, it isn't too bad in my eyes. with proper planning, FP etc. it isn't bad in the parks in early December. more crowded than it used to be- definitely, but still a good time and better than summer or holidays!

Well, we have a res for Tony's for lunch that day... Around 11:50. We'll definitely stay away except for that...

JW - How can they do that anyway - have a special ticketed area for the parade which consists of Main Street?? Everyone has to go in that way...
I'm picturing CMs running people away from the crowds & special ticket holders wearing armbands?? Just curious....

well here is what i read on last year's taping. I am guessing they actually cordon off the area of main street so that you simply can't get into that area without a 'ticket' or wristband (or however they control it), but i have to believe they do 'control' the traffic and once you are in (registered to be there), you can't leave. but again, not from personal experience, just from what i have read here.

in late october of last year, i think they opened up the registration for the 'tickets' to be part of the parade audience and i think it fills up fast. here is info from 2009:

UPDATE: Pre-registration for tickets to be in the audience for the 2009 Walt Disney World Christmas Parade taping closed within hours of it being publicized Friday. (Read More)
You can pre-register now for tickets to be in the audience for the 2009 Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade taping in the Magic Kingdom. Production is the first weekend of December as it has been in the past, but this year a third day has been added. Concert performances on the Cinderella Castle Forecourt Stage will be filmed on Thursday, Dec. 3 and Friday, Dec. 4. The parade itself will be taped on Saturday, Dec. 5.
To pre-register, click here. Participants will be selected from this group and notified in a separate email how to obtain their actual tickets. Tickets include free parking and admission into the Magic Kingdom for the day; participants are asked to commit to a four-hour shift in the audience. Families may request up to 8 tickets. Registration ends at 12 a.m. Pacific Time on Dec. 2, but tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
A word of warning: This is an actual television production, which means that songs are sung multiple times and individual floats are sent down Main Street over and over again to get the correct camera angle. That means you most likely will spend more time waiting than viewing the events, and you shouldn’t expect to see a seamless concert or parade. Still, it can be an interesting experience.
link is here for this story

You can also read here about someone's experience in 2008 (without tickets).

Just posting an update on the secret December Disney trip with my GF. I am telling her she is tagging along on a business trip to Gainesville. She has started looking into what kinds of things there are to do in Gainesville and isn't all that excited. My plot is working perfectly so far! bwahahahahahahahahah!

Hi all,

Sadly, due to work conflicts I had to reschedule my December trip for October (on the upside, October! So soon!). I already posted this on the Dining boards, but wanted to let you all know that at 10pm tonight I'm going to cancel the following ADRs. Hope some of you might be able to enjoy! There are lots of Boma breakfasts and 3 California Grill reservations, including a prime fireworks time ressie on the 18th:

Enjoy!

sorry to hear it- very kind of you to post your ADRs!

After trying to book DD's flight at a reasonable price for months, we decided yesterday to extend 1 day. Yay!! We are going for 9 days now. OMG never been at WDW for so long! It is also my 10th trip!!! DD has her flight booked. Moved around a ton of dinner reservations. Just planned out our days activities. Waiting to hear who is doing the CP on the unknown days and we will be all set. What a productive week!!!!!

woo hoo- always LOVE extending! we almost always do, this trip will be hte first one we won't. which makes me sad, but our flight was booked early and AA isn't flexible on changing (without completely ripping you off anyhow!) We were there for 10 nights/10 days last Dec and it was great, however, i hate to say it, by the end, i was ready to go home, although a lot of us got sick (sinus infections). you will have a BLAST!!!!!! and now you can do and see more! congrats!