***Official December 2017 thread!

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

HELLO!!!! Welcome everyone!!! How exciting that we can all get into the nitty gritty of planning, it's one of my favorite things to do in the whole world!! Sometimes my husband teases me that I like planning more than I like actually going on vacation!!! My trip has gotten slightly crazier now as after our Contemporary stay we were headed on the DCL and after that back to the WORLD for 1 more day and then off to St. Augustine Beach until the 22nd where we will head home and arrive on the 23rd to hop a flight on Christmas Eve (airport is over 2 hours from our home) to Mexico where we will spend Christmas into the New year and the better part of January travelling the country as well We spent 3 months in Mexico last year, so this one will be shortened. Sooo there is a lot of planning to do! HAHAHA!!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

When we came back from Disney we immediately started to talk about ADRs. And at the time I had a firm list which I'm already starting to 2nd guess. lol

Here's our list of possibilities so far
- Be Our Guest (pre park breakfast this worked really well on our trip but I know that they changed the Welcome Show so it might not work out the same)
- O'Hana - We did breakfast last time and really enjoyed it. I'd like to do dinner but not sure if my kids will like it.
- 1900 - leaning towards breakfast because of the characters
- Garden Grill breakfast
- Crystal Palace breakfast
- Yak & Yeti this is contingent on what is happening with Rivers of Lights or Pandora. If there's a dining package for ROL then I'd try to book something for that. Also Pandora might have some cool offerings.
- San Angel Inn
- Whispering Canyon dinner
- Via Napoli this is my dh's must-do. He's pizza obsessed.

Not sure about Hollywood Studios. We did Sci-Fi last time which was one of our favorite meals because of the ambiance and the kids ate so nicely there but we are trying not to do too many of the same ADRs. I also canceled Beaches and Cream last time because it just didn't fit in to our plans and I'd like to include it this time if we can.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Beaches, I find so many people skip it at the last minute which is how we can always get in without an ADR but if people try it once, they would never skip it again! LOL

Ohana dinner wins hands down for us, we did breakfast last year and were not happy at all.

1900 is a blast and it's one of the best character interactions, we are doing that again this year as well! I never find the characters as rushed there and also don't feel so crammed in there!

Be Our Guest is one of our faves for every meal, we've never had a bad time there and same with Garden Grill, though GG seems to be the reservation we always drop when looking to try something new or on a day that our day gets a bit out of control. CP we haven't done in years, we love the food and the location and the restaurant itself is so charming but we are not Pooh fans but OMG Y&Y is EXCELLENT!!!! We love that place so much although Tiffins blew us away last trip!

San Angel is a restaurant we have not done since we have little little kids, it was a great place to keep the kids occupied and we could enjoy a long and leisurely dinner with drinks, dessert and appetizers while just enjoying the peace

All good choices! Dining is so hard to finalize in our house!! LOL!!!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

FIRST 2017 update!!!

ALL ABOARD!!!

December Trip LIST ROLL CALL (Notify me of errors or changes Please)

​

Karalecia26 - 11/25 - 12/2 - All Stars - DH, DD 12, DS 10, DD7 & parents
DNllmz - 11/25 - 12/3 - POLY? - DH, DS 6, DD 4
WithASmile&ASong - 11/28 to 12/8 - BWV & WLV - DH, DS9,DS8,DD3
Sarahcgfr - 12/1 to 12/5 - Wilderness Lodge - DBF
FinleyD - 12/3 - 12/9 - Polynesian - DD, DGS 4 - Celebrating DGS FIRST TRIP!
Vrajewski10513 - 12/4 - 12/9 - POP?
DisneyMommyMichelle-12/5-12/15(DCL Dream 12/15-12/18)12/18-12/20 -Contemporary Atrium Level-DH, DD12, DS11, DS10
Hurt817 - 12/9-12/13th - BLT w/DH & DS16 DS12 Christmas@The World is my FAV!
ItsJustRyan - 12/9 - 12/16 - POP - DW, DSs 8,6,4,2 & 9 month old
Grandma4ever - 12/9-12/18 - ASM - DW,DS,DN,DNBFF*30 years together celebration*
Twix516 - 12/10 - 12/16 - Contemporary - DH, Twin 3 year olds
CrystalDawn - 12/11 - 12/17 AKV/SSR - DD 13, DD 8, DS 6 - Birthday Celebration!
Hodad - 12/16 - 12/22 -CBR
DisCookieMonsta - 12/16 - 12/28 - DH, DD 13, DD 10, DS (twins) 1
DisneyMom20 - 12/18 -12/27 - Fort Wilderness
Mbvisitor - 12/26 to 1/2 - CBR - DH, DS, DD
TeresaWen - 12/28 to 1/3 - Dolphin - DH *Over NYE @ EPCOT*
updated 1/10/2017

 

[dnllmz]

HELLO!!!! Welcome everyone!!! How exciting that we can all get into the nitty gritty of planning, it's one of my favorite things to do in the whole world!! Sometimes my husband teases me that I like planning more than I like actually going on vacation!!! My trip has gotten slightly crazier now as after our Contemporary stay we were headed on the DCL and after that back to the WORLD for 1 more day and then off to St. Augustine Beach until the 22nd where we will head home and arrive on the 23rd to hop a flight on Christmas Eve (airport is over 2 hours from our home) to Mexico where we will spend Christmas into the New year and the better part of January travelling the country as well We spent 3 months in Mexico last year, so this one will be shortened. Sooo there is a lot of planning to do! HAHAHA!!

Wow 3 months in Mexico sounds amazing! So does your upcoming long trip.

Thanks for the dining feedback. For 1900 did you do breakfast or dinner? I keep going back and forth on this. I hear the stepsisters are hysterical but I think my kids might like the breakfast characters better. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your Ohana breakfast. That might have been our favorite. Our server was really good and i think that makes a big difference. I think we should do breakfast and dinner at Ohana so I don't have to choose. I hate making decisions! I want to do everything!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Alright, we have finally put together our list and now let's see how close it stays like this because it has already changed from my quoted post below! LOL!!

1. Be Our Guest Breakfast
2. 1900 Park Faire
3. Highway In The Sky Dine Around
4. California Grill
5. Spice Road Table
6. Sci-Fi Dine In
7. Skipper's Canteen
8. Sanaa
9. Ohana dinner
10. Tiffins
11. Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show

Upon disembarking from the DCL we head to the world for breakfast at Chef Mickey's and a round of mini golf with the evening spent at Epcot or MK, we can't decide!!! Then we head to the beach! <3

Okay, I think we have our first round of restaurants that we want to eat at! We gave our MUST do list to the concierge already and told them that we will add on our others once we can all decided! LOL!
Must Do:
BOG (breakfast before the park opens)
CRT (Daughter requested a princess meal and as much as we aren't impressed with the food, we just did Akershus this month)
California Grill
Spice Road Table (So delicious and the best place to watch Illuminations)
Sci-Fi
Others:
Skipper's Canteen (want to try this new one)
Boma (only would be our second time, so we are thinking this one may just stay)
Yachtsman (Since we are not going during F&W this is a favorite of ours & then we walk over to Epcot for fireworks)
Ohana Dinner
Garden Grill

On the day we return from our cruise:
Chef Mickey's Breakfast

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Wow 3 months in Mexico sounds amazing! So does your upcoming long trip.

Thanks for the dining feedback. For 1900 did you do breakfast or dinner? I keep going back and forth on this. I hear the stepsisters are hysterical but I think my kids might like the breakfast characters better. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your Ohana breakfast. That might have been our favorite. Our server was really good and i think that makes a big difference. I think we should do breakfast and dinner at Ohana so I don't have to choose. I hate making decisions! I want to do everything!

Isn't that the worst?!?! I seriously think that it's the restaurants that keep having us extend our vacations longer and longer! LOL!!! The service could be it exactly with Ohana, our server was terrible, but I think it was because they seemed short staffed (during a hurricane) and they were just trying tooooo hard to keep everyone calm and happy Hahaha.

1900 we have done both breakfast and dinner and it was 100% the stepsisters that made it for me, even my husband loved it!!!! I like both and hate to choose, we are doing dinner this time because it fits our schedule better to what we have going on but character interaction at both is great as is the food.

Our trip last year was pretty epic! We travelled throughout the country by bus and just picked up and moved to another city when we were ready! Since we also had WDW booked for a couple weeks, my husband could only join us for 3 weeks in Mexico, so he met us twice on the trip. We are homeschoolers so we like to do crazy things This year we were supposed to be on the MED cruise and Transatlantic after touring Europe but last year we hit Disney during a hurricane and a lot of stuff got screwed up and the stuff they offered us had to be used this year....sooo we had to move stuff around! LOL!! Oh well, we are flexible and heck it's WDW!!

 

[shairpdrh]

Joining in! Just confirmed our December 2017 stay! We will be doing a split stay 12/1-12/8 at BWV and VGF. I am traveling with my DH, DD1 (first trip), one set of grandparents, and a friend. I am getting excited reading everyone's plans. I have some dining thoughts and will have to post them when I have access to my spreadsheet.

 

[neitzelt]

I am joining in as well! My family and I are going to be at WDW in mid-December for my 40th birthday - UGH! What better place to be, right? Not sure if we are doing Wed-Sun or Thurs-Mon - we have to decide before this Friday as we book through DVC as that is the 11 month out date for the 13th. I just wish flights were released on Southwest so we knew what was more economical...anyways, can't wait to start planning!!!!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Favorite Breakfast food?​

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

I have just updated the list with color on the resorts, each resort has it's own color so you can easily look at the list and see who is staying at your same resort and then possibly staying there at the same time you are! Hope this helps other people find what they are looking for!

ALL ABOARD!!!

December Trip LIST ROLL CALL (Notify me of errors or changes Please)

​

Karalecia26 - 11/25 - 12/2 - All Stars - DH, DD 12, DS 10, DD7 & parents
DNllmz - 11/25 - 12/3 - POLY? - DH, DS 6, DD 4
WithASmile&ASong - 11/28 to 12/8 - BWV & WLV - DH, DS9,DS8,DD3
Sarahcgfr - 12/1 to 12/5 - Wilderness Lodge - DBF
Shairpdrh - 12/1 - 12/8 - BWV & VGF - DH, DD1, grandparents, Friend
FinleyD - 12/3 - 12/9 - Polynesian - DD, DGS 4 - Celebrating DGS FIRST TRIP!
Vrajewski10513 - 12/4 - 12/9 - Polynesian
DisneyMommyMichelle-12/5-12/15(DCL 12/15-12/18)12/18-12/20 -Contemporary Atrium Level - DH, DD12, DS11, DS10
Hurt817 - 12/9-12/13th - BLT - DH & DS16 DS12 Christmas@The World!
ItsJustRyan - 12/9 - 12/16 - POP - DW, DSs 8,6,4,2 & 9 month old
Grandma4ever - 12/9-12/18 - ASM - DW,DS,DN,DNBFF*30 years together celebration*
Twix516 - 12/10 - 12/16 - Contemporary - DH, Twin 3 year olds
CrystalDawn - 12/11 - 12/17 AKV/SSR - DD 13, DD 8, DS 6 - Birthday Celebration!
Hodad - 12/16 - 12/22 -CBR
DisCookieMonsta - 12/16 - 12/28- ? - DH, DD 13, DD 10, DS (twins) 1
DisneyMom20 - 12/18 -12/27 - Fort Wilderness
Mbvisitor - 12/26 to 1/2 - CBR - DH, DS, DD
TeresaWen - 12/28 to 1/3 - Dolphin - DH *Over NYE @ EPCOT*
updated 1/11/2017

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

So let's take a survey! Today's Question of the Day is:

Which park is your favorite and why?


Mine is Epcot, because I love the World Showcase! I could and usually do close out every evening of my vacation there!!!

 

[dnllmz]

My favorite is MK. I can get around easily & there's so much for my kids to do. Plus the castle is there.

 

[shairpdrh]

I have to say MK as it always makes me get the feeling I had when I visited as a kid and I love dark rides.

 

[mbvisitor]

MK for me too! Walking into Main St and seeing the castle, watching Wishes and riding the mountains with my kiddos can't be beat!

 

[rasadkowski]

Hi Everyone!
We have just booked our second trip to wdw! We just got back from our first trip this December. I recognize you @dnllmz from the official dec 2016 thread!! And we decided to return for the same reasons. We also have a 4 and 6 year old! (7 and 5 at time of trip. so sad!!)
We will be staying at the Polynesian from 12/2-12/10, and we really hope to enjoy the resort more this time.
Looking at your dining ideas, I'm getting so excited again!!
I really am excited for anything new at Animal Kingdom! I was so surprised by how much we loved it!!
I'm also hoping they offer EMM again, and Id like to try the MVMCP once more. @dnllmz do you mind me asking what you had experienced at the party? We didn't see many things since we waited awhile for the parade.
Nice to join the group!!

 

[vrajewski10513]

Can you please update my hotel to the Poly?! So excited! First deluxe stay!

 

[vrajewski10513]

Favorite Breakfast food?View attachment 214537​

Banana bread French toast from Olivia's Cafe at OKW

So let's take a survey! Today's Question of the Day is:

Which park is your favorite and why?
View attachment 214540

Animal Kingdom! There so many things to do there that a lot of people don't take advantage of. It really baffles me that people say this is a half day park!

 

[dnllmz]

Hi Everyone!
We have just booked our second trip to wdw! We just got back from our first trip this December. I recognize you @dnllmz from the official dec 2016 thread!! And we decided to return for the same reasons. We also have a 4 and 6 year old! (7 and 5 at time of trip. so sad!!)
We will be staying at the Polynesian from 12/2-12/10, and we really hope to enjoy the resort more this time.
Looking at your dining ideas, I'm getting so excited again!!
I really am excited for anything new at Animal Kingdom! I was so surprised by how much we loved it!!
I'm also hoping they offer EMM again, and Id like to try the MVMCP once more. @dnllmz do you mind me asking what you had experienced at the party? We didn't see many things since we waited awhile for the parade.
Nice to join the group!!

Hi! Let me begin start by saying that the day we did MVMCP my kids were having an off day. We didn't do the parks that day but did go to Disney Springs for a little bit. They were pretty grumpy. We got into the parks around 4 and did some rides until 5:30. Then we got in line to see Nick and Judy. They came out pretty early so we waited maybe 45 minutes total. We took turns getting out of line to take the kids to the bathroom. After meeting Nick and Judy, we stopped for Cocoa and cookies then headed towards the castle to see the shows or look for a fireworks spot. It was packed. The kids watched the shows and then we went to look for a spot for the parade. Probably around 7. This is where we had the issues. We disagreed about where to go for the parade. On Main Street, it was already packed for people waiting for the parade. I wanted to walk to less crowded spots that I had read about either where the parade started (Frontierland) or towards the end near the flagpole. DH thought it was going to bad wherever we started and at that point we decided to stay put on Main Street and just try our best to see the parade. DD had fallen asleep by 7. I did see the parade okay but I really thought if i was in the other spots I would of had a much better seat. I guess I wasn't expecting it to be 4 rows deep on Main Street by 7pm for the 8:30 parade. After the parade, we went to Caseys to eat and ended up staying to watch the fireworks there. We left after the parade. DD slept through almost the entire party. DS didn't seem to be into it. I feel like I did all of this research but then freaked out when I saw how crowded it was. Like a deer in headlights moment. I heard from some other people that went the same night as us (12/13) and they had a great time. They all watched the 2nd parade instead of the 1st. We are going to skip it this year and do a couple of extras again. When the kids are a little older and can stay up a little later then I'd like to try it again.

I see that you went too. What did you guys do? I see that you did EMM, how did that go and which park? I was thinking about doing it in MK if it's still available.

I'm really looking forward to the new stuff in AK (Pandora World and Rivers of Lights). I've never seen Avatar but the new rides sound really cool and I'm sure the land would be really cool looking. I also just read about the Star Wars Nights and that would be so fun to go to. I know right now it's just one night announced but if they have anything like that when we go I'd love to do that.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Banana bread French toast from Olivia's Cafe at OKW


Animal Kingdom! There so many things to do there that a lot of people don't take advantage of. It really baffles me that people say this is a half day park!

I don't think it's a half day park either and with the late night hours?! OMG it's so awesome!! We are not avatar fans but are looking forward to the new land just for more rides and the awesome eye to detail that Disney has!!!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

You know what's funny is that my husband always tells everyone that Epcot is his favorite park but whenever we are planning on what park to go to first when we arrive in WDW, he chooses MK! He says it's something about the castle that really makes the 'start' and the 'end' of his vacation perfect

My favorite is MK. I can get around easily & there's so much for my kids to do. Plus the castle is there.

I have to say MK as it always makes me get the feeling I had when I visited as a kid and I love dark rides.

MK for me too! Walking into Main St and seeing the castle, watching Wishes and riding the mountains with my kiddos can't be beat!