***Official Planning Thread -DECEMBER 2024 - Welcome all!***

[chiburple]

Looks like the 8th thru the 11th have availability but sadly nothing on the 7th.

Awe. Well thank you so much for checking for me! Appreciate it!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I was able to get a reservation for The Boathouse on Dec 6th when I searched for "The Boathouse" instead of Boathouse. Disney is very tricky like that.

 

[japanese maple]

I was able to get a reservation for The Boathouse on Dec 6th when I searched for "The Boathouse" instead of Boathouse. Disney is very tricky like that.

Awesome!

 

[Disturbia]

Oh no! Did she try Open Table? I got Boathouse last night for 12/8 for 4 people on there. A lot of dates/times available for Boathouse on Open Table for last week Nov/first week Dec.

Thanks for this. Didn’t know I could book for Dec (last week) already with open table. Boathouse was on our list as well. Grabbed our ADR.

We also got breakfast with Santa the next day although the menu and reviews don’t really justify the $375 for the 5 of us. This was going to be non park day but will probably be an extended evening at Epcot.

 

[StarCruzer]

We also got breakfast with Santa the next day although the menu and reviews don’t really justify the $375 for the 5 of us.

Santa needs to feed those reindeer I guess

 

[hsmamainva]

Not at all the same dining atmosphere, but keep your eyes open for Rainforest Cafe. They do a breakfast with Santa on certain dates.

 

[Duff7]

Hey! Just booked my ADRs this morning!
Dec 4 - arrive AKL: chef mickeys dinner
Dec 5 - MK day: story book dining dinner
Dec 6 - AK day: Texas Roadhouse dinner?
Dec 7 - rest day: TREX dinner, son’s bday
Dec 8 - HS day: 50s prime time lunch, son will build a droid, mama melrose dinner
Dec 9 - Epcot day: space 220 dinner
Dec 10 - Cinderella royal table before MVMCP
Dec 11 - kona cafe late breakfast, extra park day
I may have gone all out, but this is our kids’ first trip and the “big” one. Also found out I’ll be 20 weeks pregnant so gonna need lots of breaks lol

 

[debedo]

Can’t believe how easy it was to make all our ADRs! At all the times we wanted too. Got up at 5am selected what we wanted and re-checked at 9am out of curiosity and there were over 20 openings for Space 220!

Hopefully that means lower crowds but we all know better

 

[japanese maple]

Can’t believe how easy it was to make all our ADRs! At all the times we wanted too. Got up at 5am selected what we wanted and re-checked at 9am out of curiosity and there were over 20 openings for Space 220!

Hopefully that means lower crowds but we all know better

I'm hoping because even though it's the first week of December, technically it's still the week after Thanksgiving and usually that's slower!

 

[hsmamainva]

I'm hoping because even though it's the first week of December, technically it's still the week after Thanksgiving and usually that's slower!

Not only that, but free dining was being offered after Dec 9 to Disney Visa holders. Hoping folks would change their dates for free food & leave early December less crowded. Hope springs eternal!

 

[chiburple]

So I’m wondering what’s going on with Le Cellier - not a single opening from December 1 to 8. I wonder if they’re holding back reservations for the candlelight processional?? Or if they’re planning a not yet announced refurbishment??

 

[Wood Nymph]

So I’m wondering what’s going on with Le Cellier - not a single opening from December 1 to 8. I wonder if they’re holding back reservations for the candlelight processional?? Or if they’re planning a not yet announced refurbishment??

It's not unusual for a restaurant to hold back reservations. Just keep checking.

 

[mickey916]

Can’t believe how easy it was to make all our ADRs! At all the times we wanted too. Got up at 5am selected what we wanted and re-checked at 9am out of curiosity and there were over 20 openings for Space 220!

Hopefully that means lower crowds but we all know better

It's funny, I had no plans for Space 220 but was tempted to make an ADR just because there was actually availability....

 

[Megan138]

It's funny, I had no plans for Space 220 but was tempted to make an ADR just because there was actually availability....

We ate there on our last trip and I thought it was a one and done because of the price but my daughter wasn't with us and recently when my kids saw the new menu items they were talking it up to their sister, like how cool it was in "space" and the good food. So we might do another dinner here in December. Last time we got a reservation at park close which was nice.

 

[mickey916]

We ate there on our last trip and I thought it was a one and done because of the price but my daughter wasn't with us and recently when my kids saw the new menu items they were talking it up to their sister, like how cool it was in "space" and the good food. So we might do another dinner here in December. Last time we got a reservation at park close which was nice.

We ate there in 2022 and it was a one and done for us too but we do miss the atmosphere. We're thinking of trying the lounge during our April trip instead of this trip. DS-26 may join us for a week in late April/early May and he regretted what he ordered back in 2022. Might need to give him a chance for a do-over.

 

[Megan138]

Does anyone have recommendations for park days for Epcot and Hollywood Studios? I have Thursday, December 19th and Saturday, December 21st to plan and am not sure what days to do HS vs. Epcot. I see the pros of doing Epcot on Thursday in avoiding the weekend crowd but that means HS on Saturday when it closes at 7pm (Jollywood nights party that day). We also have park hoppers and are staying at Yacht Club so we can head to Epcot in the evenings on our other park days. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Artygal90]

Add me to the list! I woke up on Wednesday and decided just to see what hotel prices were for the first weekend in December, December 5-8. Disney didn't have anything, but I found 3 nights at the Hilton Vacation Club Cypress Pointe for less than 1 night at the rack rate for All-Star Sports, and went ahead and booked it! This will be my first trip to WDW since early 2020, my first trip at the holidays, and my first trip staying offsite. I'm going with my dad, who hasn't been since 2018 and is really looking forward to being at Disney again. Our priorities are 1) Star Wars, 2) rollercoasters (especially the Guardians ride), and 3) holiday-specific things.

I don't have much planning to do because we won't have party tickets, ADRs, early entry, dining packages, Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, or our own car. I do need advice on what park to go to when so I don't get overwhelmed when I'm there. Right now I'm thinking we'll start each morning at the following parks, but I'll happily take other suggestions:

Friday - MK @ 9 a.m. - Epcot OR HS in PM
Saturday - HS @ 9 a.m. (thinking this day is best because of the "party effect" from Jollywood Nights?) - Epcot OR MK in PM
Sunday - AK @ 8 a.m. ( need to leave parks by 6 p.m. for the airport) - hop wherever we want to wrap up in the PM

Here are my questions for the more advanced Disney-goers at the holidays:

- You have a Friday and a Saturday evening free at WDW during party season. Which park do you go to at night? You don't care about seeing the MK fireworks.

- Is there a way to experience the Candlelight Processional without paying $$$ for the dining package or waiting hours in standby? I don't even have to watch it, I just want to hear the music. I love choral music at Christmas!

- Are Christmas lights at Magic Kingdom all lit up at night worth dealing with the hassle of fireworks crowds on a non-party Saturday night?

- What are your best 2 quick service locations in each park that can't be missed?

I'm so happy I found this thread! My husband is sick of me running park strategies past him so now I get to share my excitement with you all

 

[chiburple]

It's not unusual for a restaurant to hold back reservations. Just keep checking.

Fingers crossed!! I created a mouse dining alert. This is literally the only thing my father asked for when we started planning this trip so I really hope I can make it happen

 

[japanese maple]

Add me to the list! I woke up on Wednesday and decided just to see what hotel prices were for the first weekend in December, December 5-8. Disney didn't have anything, but I found 3 nights at the Hilton Vacation Club Cypress Pointe for less than 1 night at the rack rate for All-Star Sports, and went ahead and booked it! This will be my first trip to WDW since early 2020, my first trip at the holidays, and my first trip staying offsite. I'm going with my dad, who hasn't been since 2018 and is really looking forward to being at Disney again. Our priorities are 1) Star Wars, 2) rollercoasters (especially the Guardians ride), and 3) holiday-specific things.

I don't have much planning to do because we won't have party tickets, ADRs, early entry, dining packages, Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, or our own car. I do need advice on what park to go to when so I don't get overwhelmed when I'm there. Right now I'm thinking we'll start each morning at the following parks, but I'll happily take other suggestions:

Friday - MK @ 9 a.m. - Epcot OR HS in PM
Saturday - HS @ 9 a.m. (thinking this day is best because of the "party effect" from Jollywood Nights?) - Epcot OR MK in PM
Sunday - AK @ 8 a.m. ( need to leave parks by 6 p.m. for the airport) - hop wherever we want to wrap up in the PM

Here are my questions for the more advanced Disney-goers at the holidays:

- You have a Friday and a Saturday evening free at WDW during party season. Which park do you go to at night? You don't care about seeing the MK fireworks.

- Is there a way to experience the Candlelight Processional without paying $$$ for the dining package or waiting hours in standby? I don't even have to watch it, I just want to hear the music. I love choral music at Christmas!

- Are Christmas lights at Magic Kingdom all lit up at night worth dealing with the hassle of fireworks crowds on a non-party Saturday night?

- What are your best 2 quick service locations in each park that can't be missed?

I'm so happy I found this thread! My husband is sick of me running park strategies past him so now I get to share my excitement with you all

Welcome! You are on the list.

This is our first holiday visit, so I'll defer to the experts for your questions!

 

[debedo]

We ate there in 2022 and it was a one and done for us too but we do miss the atmosphere. We're thinking of trying the lounge during our April trip instead of this trip. DS-26 may join us for a week in late April/early May and he regretted what he ordered back in 2022. Might need to give him a chance for a do-over.

I hear you on this one for sure!! But hubby loved the atmosphere and we are taking his sister and she loved the pics of the food . The only thing is I think they changed the menu up a bit and the same dessert is no longer in the menu. But we had the filet and is was delicious and we didn’t need a knife to cut it. Hoping for the same but we all know the changes are not always for the better