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

[Disturbia]

We are back from a very fun trip. My sister-in-law already wants to plan two more trips - one in August and one in November. She wants to make good use of her brand-new annual pass. I was able to book a bounce back trip for August online and without having to call Disney to book it. That was super easy.

Do you have to call while at WDW to book the bounce back?

 

[Artygal90]

It’s our last day! Normally I would be sad but I get to rope drop Animal Kingdom solo, which is probably my favorite thing to do at the parks so I’m pretty happy. I’ve been very glad I brought layers because it has been chilly these early mornings and late nights. I have found crowds Thursday - Saturday not to be too bad except for Epcot on Saturday evening, which is to be expected.

We did end up canceling both of the ADRs I made because it was just too hard to make them work with the rest of the party’s must-dos. We had a Candlelight Processional dining package originally but canceled it because 3 of 4 of us didn’t care about seeing the whole show. However for future trips I definitely will be doing the package. I was in standing room and had a good view, but the people talking around me were very distracting.

Overall a fun trip and I’m really excited to go ride Everest!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Do you have to call while at WDW to book the bounce back?

You have seven days after you check out to make the BB reservation. And you can make it on the regular resort booking section of the WDW website. Just look for the special offer button. It will be in the list of resort discounts. It is called special offer instead of future stay or bounce back.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We booked for end of October! Fantastic discount at Boardwalk Inn!

The end of October is our favorite time to go to WDW.

We aren't going back in December 2025, either. I knew it would be crowded, but I felt that it was a lot more crowded than in prior years. The one bright spot was that MK was very empty on a party morning.

 

[Wood Nymph]

When did you get email with link to make reservations? Arrived yesterday but haven’t seen anything with email link.

I didn't get an email, at least, not yet. I just went to the Disney website, and it was one of the discount options in the resort reservation section.

I'm sorry to hear about the mess with SWA.

 

[cattycat2]

Arrived yesterday after a terrible experience with SWA. Ended up landing almost 3 hrs late but minutes before SWA would be required to compensate. Very interesting how that worked out for them but basically ruined the day for us…we expected to arrive at resort by 10:30 am and have lunch at Homecoming. Didn’t arrive at resort until almost 2.

I'm flying out SWA in the morning? What was the cause of the delay?

 

[pixiedust2u]

Our last morning waking up in WDW as we head home today.

Overall fantastic trip! We loved the Happily Ever After fireworks cruise! MVMCP was excellent, got a great spot for parade and fireworks, got on all the rides we wanted (except Tiana’s by choice because it was too cold!), and enjoyed cookies and cocoa. We did not visit characters.

Rope dropped Epcot Th, got the rides out of the way using rope drop and LLMP. In afternoon did AK, AK was busier than I had expected it to be, but we still enjoyed and got on everything except Na’Vi (LLMP was being super glitchy with this), had an amazing later afternoon safari! We needed the day with dinner at Tiffins (phenomenal!) and loved the show on the Tree of Life!

Friday rope dropped HS and used LLMP, got on all rides with no waits. Did not have pass for ToT and was able to ride around 1pm with a 20 minute wait while rest of family did Indiana Jones. We hopped to Epcot at about 3? Spent evening at Epcot in World Showcase, however lines were just so long at festival booths it was hard to enjoy. They also sold out of the gluten free coffee cookie we had all wanted to try and it was only like 5pm??? Rose GoG with LLSP, did Living of the Land around 7pm with our LLMP (booked earlier in the day!) glad we had a pas since standby was 60 minutes!!!!! Rode Soarin. Checked out the light show on Spaceship Earth, then walked around a bit more before grabbing coffees and hot cocoas and setting up a spot in Mexico for Luminous at about 9:10? Crazy 14 hour park day and walked 30k steps! Only in Disney!

Yesterday, we slept in, had a 10:45 breakfast at Topolinos. Our parents and my brother headed for home, we said our goodbyes then spent some time relaxing in the room with the kids as we had a late night at JN ahead of us. Headed to JN and got in at 5:45. We all enjoyed JN and surprisingly my kids lasted until the end!

Takeaways & Tips: Mornings and Evenings were COLD! And we are northerners. Some 45/50 degree nights felt like 30! Pack layers!! Packable down jackets are great for this! Weather can also change quickly, we had one day that felt warmer and humid, we came out of lunch and it was like someone blasted the AC outside!

Yea, it’s December so it’s crowded. Rope Drop, LLMP helps! Epcot was the worst offender, it really makes it hard to enjoy WS and festival booths unfortunately.

Our first 3 days at Contemporary we found monorail very finicky and unreliable. A lot of delays and stops. Took 30 minutes to go from Poly to GF!

If you want any party exclusive merch go early. JN was sold out of pins and DD was so disappointed.

 

[Disturbia]

You have seven days after you check out to make the BB reservation. And you can make it on the regular resort booking section of the WDW website. Just look for the special offer button. It will be in the list of resort discounts. It is called special offer instead of future stay or bounce back.

Can you book 2 rooms if you’re planning to bring extended family?

We thought we would never be back for Dec but those are the only days that work for one of my cousins who wants to go with us (I warned them it’s stressful and overcrowded). They don’t have any holidays in Nov.

Also can you book 2 reservations? We have 2 nights after our April cruise that we could stay. Right now the cruise payment and WDW payment were both due (18k+11k!) so we can’t book flights/transportation etc for
the cruise (need to book LLMP/SP 12/14 and Port adventures 12/29 as well).

 

[Lsdolphin]

I'm flying out SWA in the morning? What was the cause of the delay?

The Capt came on after we had been sitting on plane for awhile and said it was due to problem with cockpit not being able to communicate with ground crew and they were working to fix it. We were eventually taken off plane and had to go to a different gate and board a new plane.

 

[Disturbia]

So if park hours get added do LLMPs time slots get added?

 

[Disturbia]

Family is now realizing how little time we will have to ride rides with ADRs, mid day breaks etc and want to add an Epcot day.

I’m slowly calculating how much LLMP is going to cost and it’s adding up quick for a long trip. Free dining and park hopping are sucking up time and work in Disney’s favor.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Can you book 2 rooms if you’re planning to bring extended family?

We thought we would never be back for Dec but those are the only days that work for one of my cousins who wants to go with us (I warned them it’s stressful and overcrowded). They don’t have any holidays in Nov.

Also can you book 2 reservations? We have 2 nights after our April cruise that we could stay. Right now the cruise payment and WDW payment were both due (18k+11k!) so we can’t book flights/transportation etc for
the cruise (need to book LLMP/SP 12/14 and Port adventures 12/29 as well).

You can book up to three rooms for yourself and friends or family who are traveling with you. And you can book as many separate trips as you want. We plan to return in both August and in November so we can book two trips.

There is a space on the reservation form to mark if you are traveling with someone else and want either a nearby room or connecting rooms. That is a nice new option that I haven't seen before.

 

[Disturbia]

The end of October is our favorite time to go to WDW.

We aren't going back in December 2025, either. I knew it would be crowded, but I felt that it was a lot more crowded than in prior years. The one bright spot was that MK was very empty on a party morning.

We only have the option to go during Aug or Dec. Are there blackout days?

Edit: Never mind. Found the bounce back offer details. I can take 4 extended family members to AKL (2 bedroom savanna) for the same price/less than a week at the Poly in Dec. Aug is really hot though.

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/2025-bounceback-deal-dates-disney-world/

Ps. I do like the way you think (already booking 2 more trips).

 

[Disturbia]

I added one more park day to our tickets (family suddenly wants another Epcot day!). We had the free dining package originally and easily modified from a 4 to 6 day package about a month ago (before final payment).

I couldn’t modify my package online today possibly due to the parks selling out. Now I’m worried we will be flagged again (like when we added a grandparent to our free dining resort package and spent 2 hours before entering Epcot and 1.5 hr again on MNSSHP!). We always do a front desk check in to make sure MBs are working but even that didn’t help.

 

[japanese maple]

We are back from a very fun trip. My sister-in-law already wants to plan two more trips - one in August and one in November. She wants to make good use of her brand-new annual pass. I was able to book a bounce back trip for August online and without having to call Disney to book it. That was super easy.

When in November? We booked 10/28 to 11/6.

 

[Artygal90]

I added one more park day to our tickets (family suddenly wants another Epcot day!).

No plan survives first contact with the enemy (i.e. our loved ones). I originally only wanted to do QS this trip, but was talked into making ADRs for 50s Prime Time and Candlelight Processional. They were hard-won and I was looking forward to them after waking up at 6 a.m. to book everything. We get to the park this past weekend and suddenly everyone is too tired, wants to shop or do more rides rather than have a sit-down meal, doesn't care about seeing the show, etc....oh well. Next time!

I will say we really wished we had two Epcot days this trip. We could have spent a full day doing Festival of the Holidays stuff in World Showcase and another full day doing rides in Future World, with a healthy midday break both days. We tried to cram it all into two half-days and it just wasn't enough time to do everything without running ourselves totally ragged.

 

[Disturbia]

No plan survives first contact with the enemy (i.e. our loved ones). I originally only wanted to do QS this trip, but was talked into making ADRs for 50s Prime Time and Candlelight Processional. They were hard-won and I was looking forward to them after waking up at 6 a.m. to book everything. We get to the park this past weekend and suddenly everyone is too tired, wants to shop or do more rides rather than have a sit-down meal, doesn't care about seeing the show, etc....oh well. Next time!

I will say we really wished we had two Epcot days this trip. We could have spent a full day doing Festival of the Holidays stuff in World Showcase and another full day doing rides in Future World, with a healthy midday break both days. We tried to cram it all into two half-days and it just wasn't enough time to do everything without running ourselves totally ragged.

Glad I’m not alone. Honestly since Genie+ we had reduced ADRs and prefer QS even with allergy orders. We are doing some signature dining so we it would free up time for QS some days. I’m hearing long lines for the holiday booths from multiple recent reports so will keep expectations low.

Getting to and from resorts is also challenging (monorail delays reported).

This week’s moment: why don’t you book that restaurant that goes up in the sky on our second day. Ugh!

 

[Wood Nymph]

When in November? We booked 10/28 to 11/6.

We are looking at going Nov 16 - 20. I haven't been to WDW during that time of year, so I don't know what it will be like.

 

[japanese maple]

We are looking at going Nov 16 - 20. I haven't been to WDW during that time of year, so I don't know what it will be like.

We want a Halloween party. So we will be here to changeover to Christmas!

Still here and as I feared, I am very over Christmas!

 

[Disturbia]

As I’m looking over our plans and runaround (+expected delays) I’m cancelling extra activities as well. The sleigh ride and horseback riding might be on the chopping block.

A bunch of Tusker house dinner ADRs dropped for Christmas (a week or so ago they added an hour to the park). There shouldn’t be a single day that parks close before 10 pm for the prices paid.