PART THREE! *December 2012 Roll Call* Holidays, FLE & MVMCP!! A very, merry thread!

[QueenElinor]

Kathy--Love the ornaments!! Glad you gave into the peer pressure and got more frames.

I was reading easywdw and AK has extended hours, open till 6 or 7 now. I have never seen that park in the dark, so will be adjusting the plan a bit. Yay! A reason to tweak.

What do you tweak? I have never been when it's dark so I don't know how to adjust it.

I agree that the customized plan works best if you've been before, or at least if you've read their book.

But in fairness to them, most people do think 15 minutes is sufficient to tour a country. Most people just don't take the time to really explore. That's why so many people think AK is a half day park.

When you're late to an ADR, doesn't it give you that green warning on top of the page? Right now Im getting that warning on everything even when I have plenty of time. Not sure what's up with that.

LOL, I don't know, either! Sometimes I can't figure out what I've done to make it give me the "green alert". I know I'm overscheduling everything, though. When it says 5489 minutes until the next attraction, I know I've really blown it!

We've really never toured AK with a good plan so I'm looking forward to it. Personally, we haven't gotten as much out of it as we should have in the past. So I was really happy to find out AK is open later but now I'm becoming a bit alarmed. If it's dark AND crowded I might accidentally fall into the tiger habitat!

And you are so right about World Showcase. My family has always loved it, but I know many people think it's boring. We're that weird kind of family that loves EPCOT the most, and we're finally getting to stay at an EPCOT resort this time! Very excited for that.

 

[Valgoof]

Booooo! We have a DTD evening of dinner, La Nouba & shopping so I scheduled that for an AK day as it shuts so early .... now I wanna see it in the dark but I can't adjust times that day because of our ADR.

Noticed DHS is also open later and they've added a second Fantasmic soooooo so I stick with my original plan of F! then dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby at 7.50pm (which is late) OR do I have an earlier dinner ... but then I have to look at our lunch ressie because if lunch is late, we won't be hungry for an early dinner.

I had everything sorted

They dont show the second Fantasmic yet for my week. I am sure there will be more changes in mid-November.
As soon as I read about AK, I told DH we need to change the plan and he said, lets do it this way. And it fit perfectly with no major juggling. Nights in the park are our priority this year since we didnt stay past 7 any night last year.

What are your lunch plans for DHS day? And can you still get Brown Derby for an earlier time? You could leave plans alone and have a snack at Fantasmic so you can wait for the late dinner.

 

[WedgieSock]

They dont show the second Fantasmic yet for my week. I am sure there will be more changes in mid-November.
As soon as I read about AK, I told DH we need to change the plan and he said, lets do it this way. And it fit perfectly with no major juggling. Nights in the park are our priority this year since we didnt stay past 7 any night last year.

What are your lunch plans for DHS day? And can you still get Brown Derby for an earlier time? You could leave plans alone and have a snack at Fantasmic so you can wait for the late dinner.

It said at the beginning of the article they have added a second one (EDIT; not have, will add a second one & close later) - came across as for December in general. So, does that mean the second one will be shown in EMH (my night closes at 8pm but its extra hours) or will the park now stay open later so the EMH will start later??

Questions, questions.

Thanks for the advice to leave my plans alone Valgoof .... pot .... kettle

But you're probably right.

 

[Valgoof]

What do you tweak? I have never been when it's dark so I don't know how to adjust it.

I just meant tweaking my schedule so we can be in AK later. Normally we would leave before 5 to go to dinner or a different park. I have heard riding EE is awesome in the dark.

 

[Valgoof]

It said at the beginning of the article they have added a second one - came across as for December in general. So, does that mean the second one will be shown in EMH (my night closes at 8pm but its extra hours) or will the park now stay open later so the EMH will start later??

Questions, questions.

Thanks for the advice to leave my plans alone Valgoof .... pot .... kettle

But you're probably right.

I didnt read an article, just looked at the calendar.

I am perfectly willing to help you or anyone else make changes.

 

[ksromack]

This is confusing!! It's also a lot of food at ddp, I at first figure, it's perfect for my kids who don't eat a lot and get hungry at many hours of the day , but now it saves way too much ,. Anyone else doing dining plans? Ddp or plus ?

We have DDP free for our stay and we're upgrading to DxDDP. It IS a lot of food but I don't care. We're doing a lot of signature restaurants/packages so those eat up 2 ts a piece.......we were going to end up paying about $20 shy of what we would pay to upgrade. For me it was a no brainer. We get an extra snack a day which will enable us to get a fancy coffee along with our breakfast snack credit meals. We'll head out to DDT on our last day to use up the rest of our snack credits and
Goofy's Candy Co. We'll probably never do this again (deluxe dining) and it's just me and hubby.......I plan to total up all my receipts at the end and see how much we really saved by upgrading. I'm happy with the decision now.......I'll let you know when I weigh in when we get back from vacation.

 

[ksromack]

My mom has a great pie crust recipe, too. It involves beer. Usually it works out great every time, and if it doesn't- I still have the beer!

And those were really lovely ornaments, ksromack.

So the beer goes in the pie crust recipe or you drink it?

Thank you regarding the compliment on the ornaments.

 

[PrincessAurora27]

We have DDP free for our stay and we're upgrading to DxDDP. It IS a lot of food but I don't care. We're doing a lot of signature restaurants/packages so those eat up 2 ts a piece.......we were going to end up paying about $20 shy of what we would pay to upgrade. For me it was a no brainer. We get an extra snack a day which will enable us to get a fancy coffee along with our breakfast snack credit meals. We'll head out to DDT on our last day to use up the rest of our snack credits and
Goofy's Candy Co. We'll probably never do this again (deluxe dining) and it's just me and hubby.......I plan to total up all my receipts at the end and see how much we really saved by upgrading. I'm happy with the decision now.......I'll let you know when I weigh in when we get back from vacation.

We went with the DxDP as well. When I did estimates of what we'd pay OOP for the meals it was almost what we paid for the DxDP. We'll keep our receipts for the week and see if it was really worth it or not. I think I may go buy a bunch of stretch pants for the week.


Can anyone tell me is the $11.95/year for touringplans worth it?

 

[taaren]

I know that if you drop the dining plan now, you can still add it back on, but it has to be a few days before arriving at Disney. You can't add it once you are there. I can't remember how many days before hand though Does anyone here know? At least that way you would pay less for your vacation package now and will have more time to decide about the dining package.

I know for DVC, you have to have the dining plan added at least 48 hours before scheduled check in. Not sure for non-DVC reservations.

Thanks for all the advice here is what I have for now for ddp

Qs at hotel at check in
Chef Mickey dinner

Hollywood vine breakfast
Scifi
Cape may

CRT
Bog
Qs

Tusker house
Qs r crystal palace

Trex
Depart

Now if I would do plus dining
I'd probably pay for CRT now and still be saving ? I'd cut down too

Qs at hotel or if we're not hungry a snack at check in
Dinner at Chef Mickey

Qs at hotel or pay for Hollywood n vine?
Scifi- ( just for milkshakes just so my son can experience Scifi)
Cape may after fantasmic

CRT
Be our guest

Tusker house
Qs before mvmcp

Then pay again for trex cafe at depart day

I might downgrade and still think about it and whether or not to pay for CRT now or use credits,
I'm also upset I cancel chef mickey for breakfast I have been trying to get one and no luck I will be at disneg dec 13-17

This is confusing!! It's also a lot of food at ddp, I at first figure, it's perfect for my kids who don't eat a lot and get hungry at many hours of the day , but now it saves way too much ,. Anyone else doing dining plans? Ddp or plus ?

Wow, with that many character meals/buffets it does seem like the numbers work in favor for DDP ... not sure which though, definitely plug in a spreadsheet and see which works. Disney math is the best kind.

I just came up with another brilliant idea for our trip (thankfully this one doesn't involve my CC )

So, I thought how fun it would be for my oldest DD and I to wake up early a few mornings and head out to a park (with AM EMH) to spend the morning at the park, just the two of us. Either my Dh and youngest DD can meet up with us at the park or we can just meet them back at the resort.

By the way, for our last two park days (24th and 26th) I am telling my Dh far in advance that on those days we all have to be ready early to be at the park before rope drop!!!

Divide and conquer, absolutely. I love travelling with others for this reason, as the kids will be up early my girlfriend and I will head into the parks whenever we're up, then the menfolk that want to sleep in can join us later.

I noticed that too. Kind of worries me, as they usually are only going to do that if they are going to have higher than initially expected crowds

Oh dear, that didn't occur to me either. I hope it won't be too crazy ... I know there's the FLE and BOG and Test Track, but still this is early December, most families should still have their kids in school right?

 

[BDL]

I think she means the Coca-Cola cans that have Santa on them.

That's right. I saw them on an 8 pk of 10 oz cans. I was excited cuz for some reason, Coke decided NOT to do Santa packs last year.

Ohhh... and BDL is a he.

 

[Tltorrez]

http://www.easywdw.com/news/9600/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=9600

Final hours will come out mid Nov. and there is no way this AK stuff is based on crowds. There's got to be something else going on.

 

[Tltorrez]

And you are so right about World Showcase. My family has always loved it, but I know many people think it's boring. We're that weird kind of family that loves EPCOT the most, and we're finally getting to stay at an EPCOT resort this time! Very excited for that.

That's totally us too. We're staying at BWV again and for Plan B (without the inlaws), I have us going back to Epcot for Illuminations 10 of 12 nights.

 

[Tltorrez]

It said at the beginning of the article they have added a second one (EDIT; not have, will add a second one & close later) - came across as for December in general. So, does that mean the second one will be shown in EMH (my night closes at 8pm but its extra hours) or will the park now stay open later so the EMH will start later??

Questions, questions.

Thanks for the advice to leave my plans alone Valgoof .... pot .... kettle

But you're probably right.

They never show Fantasmic during EMH. When they add Fantasmic, they extend close time which means EMH is later.

 

[Tltorrez]

We went with the DxDP as well. When I did estimates of what we'd pay OOP for the meals it was almost what we paid for the DxDP. We'll keep our receipts for the week and see if it was really worth it or not. I think I may go buy a bunch of stretch pants for the week.

Can anyone tell me is the $11.95/year for touringplans worth it?

I couldn't live without it. I use the crowd Calendar, personalized touring pans and the Lines app. But it totally depends on what you would use it for.

 

[Disneyalltheway]

I'm not sure whether my kids would get Disney out of landing in Orlando unless someone else was saying something on the plane. Only my oldest has ever been there and she was 3 at the time. Maybe though to be safe I may have to have something under the tree before we go that will let them know!

 

[QueenElinor]

I just meant tweaking my schedule so we can be in AK later. Normally we would leave before 5 to go to dinner or a different park. I have heard riding EE is awesome in the dark.

Got it!

Luckily, my dinner plans are already absurdly late (for me), at 8:30. : I'm very excited to be there at night.

So the beer goes in the pie crust recipe or you drink it?

Both! Fortunately, pie crusts don't take a lot of liquid to make.

We went with the DxDP as well. When I did estimates of what we'd pay OOP for the meals it was almost what we paid for the DxDP. We'll keep our receipts for the week and see if it was really worth it or not. I think I may go buy a bunch of stretch pants for the week.


Can anyone tell me is the $11.95/year for touringplans worth it?

I think it's fun to play with now, though I haven't actually used it in the parks yet. I can't ride all the rides, and it really helps me time things with the rest of my family who will ride anything & everything. The lines app looks awesome. So for me I think it's worth it.

I especially feel good about my park choices for the day when I see that easywdw and touringplans agree- it's like the stars being in alignment, or something!

 

[WedgieSock]

They never show Fantasmic during EMH. When they add Fantasmic, they extend close time which means EMH is later.

Thank you for the info! This makes me happy - we love DHS so an extra hour is very welcome

I'm not sure whether my kids would get Disney out of landing in Orlando unless someone else was saying something on the plane. Only my oldest has ever been there and she was 3 at the time. Maybe though to be safe I may have to have something under the tree before we go that will let them know!

Yes!!! How about a card from Mickey or their fav character with a 'magic invite' inside to Disney .... or Mickey saying he can't wait to see them?

 

[DisneyDreamerMN]

Happy Sunday all!
This is a shopping update...
So a couple of weeks ago I ordered two fleece pull overs, one for me and one for DH. We got them personalized with our names. They arrived a few days ago and they fit, but mine is short I should have known, so mad at myself. I am tall and should have figured I needed to order a men's. Oh well. I guess I will just be wearing longer shirts with it.

Today we went to the Mall of America which we rarely do because it is always so busy and we have other smaller malls that I can get to just as easy. Anyway, we went to the Disney Store and ended up getting two t-shirts (2 for $15) the Woody one is mine and the other is DH's.

Super cute!

I also bought a pair of tall black boots. This is a big deal for me. Since I have always been plus size, I have always had a hard time finding boots that fit over my calves. Since losing some weight this year I was able to find a pair that work! That's it for now. Needed to balance the checkbook

 

[DisneyDreamerMN]

Happy Sunday all!
This is a shopping update...
So a couple of weeks ago I ordered two fleece pull overs, one for me and one for DH. We got them personalized with our names. They arrived a few days ago and they fit, but mine is short I should have known, so mad at myself. I am tall and should have figured I needed to order a men's. Oh well. I guess I will just be wearing longer shirts with it.

Today we went to the Mall of America which we rarely do because it is always so busy and we have other smaller malls that I can get to just as easy. Anyway, we went to the Disney Store and ended up getting two t-shirts (2 for $15) the Woody one is mine and the other is DH's.

Apparently I am having photo posting issues. Sorry.
My shirt is green and have Woody and Jessie on it and says "Plays well with Cowboys" DH's shirt is grey with a picture of Zurg on it and it says "I am not your father!"

 

[QueenElinor]

Happy Sunday all!
This is a shopping update...
So a couple of weeks ago I ordered two fleece pull overs, one for me and one for DH. We got them personalized with our names. They arrived a few days ago and they fit, but mine is short I should have known, so mad at myself. I am tall and should have figured I needed to order a men's. Oh well. I guess I will just be wearing longer shirts with it.

Today we went to the Mall of America which we rarely do because it is always so busy and we have other smaller malls that I can get to just as easy. Anyway, we went to the Disney Store and ended up getting two t-shirts (2 for $15) the Woody one is mine and the other is DH's.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A5wQq2DCUAEatGE.jpg:large
Super cute!

I also bought a pair of tall black boots. This is a big deal for me. Since I have always been plus size, I have always had a hard time finding boots that fit over my calves. Since losing some weight this year I was able to find a pair that work! That's it for now. Needed to balance the checkbook

Cute! Love the Toy Story shirt.
I sympathize with you about the tall thing. I never buy any clothes in stores because of it, everything is online. Even my jammies!

And I have fond memories of the Mall of America. A few years back I left my purse sitting on a bench. Believe it or not, someone turned it in at lost & found with every single thing in it.