Please help me with my December itinerary

[anneofgreengables]

Experienced Disney park veterans and Unofficial Guide readers!

Please help me pick the best itinerary for our Dec. 16 to 23 trip (Saturday to Saturday). I have two scenarios listed below.

First, some background info--I looked at the Unofficial Guide's crowd levels and events like MVMCP and the Unofficial Guide's recommendation to avoid Extra Magic Hours parks. We will be taking nap breaks at our hotel after lunch, then go back to the parks at night. We have two little girls, but we won't be concentrating as much on the Magic Kingdom, as we've been to Disneyland here in California many times.

Here are the choices:

PLAN A
Dec. 16, Saturday--Late arrival
Dec. 17, Sunday--Epcot in the morning and night
Dec. 18, Monday--Disney MGM in the morning and night
Dec. 19, Tuesday--Animal Kingdom in the morning, Mickey's Christmas Party at night
Dec. 20, Wednesday--Magic Kingdom in the morning, Disney MGM or Epcot at night
Dec. 21 to 22, Thursday to Friday--Whatever we missed at the parks and possibly Typhoon Lagoon
Dec. 23, Saturday--Early departure

or

PLAN B
Dec. 16, Saturday--Late arrival
Dec. 17, Sunday--Animal Kingdom in the morning, Mickey's Christmas Party at night
Dec. 18, Monday--Disney MGM in the morning and night
Dec. 19, Tuesday--Magic Kingdom in the morning, Epcot at night
Dec. 20, Wednesday--Epcot, morning, and night
Dec. 21 to 22 Thursday to Friday--Whatever we missed at the parks and possibly Typhoon Lagoon
Dec. 23, Saturday--Early departure

or
PLAN C
Dec. 16, Saturday--Late arrival
Dec. 17, Sunday--Epcot in the morning, Mickey's Christmas Party at night
Dec. 18, Monday--Disney MGM in the morning and night
Dec. 19, Tuesday--Animal Kingdom in the morning, Epcot at night
Dec. 20, Wednesday--Epcot or Magic Kingdom, morning and/or night
Dec. 21 to 22 Thursday to Friday--Whatever we missed at the parks and possibly Typhoon Lagoon
Dec. 23, Saturday--Early departure

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[heart4dis]

but I would say that your little girls will enjoy MK better even if they have "seen it all" at DL. Children don't tire of things as fast as adults AND they really aren't as interested in "seeing it all." The common thing I see is that parents rush their children from one attraction to the next so they don't "miss" anything. In reality, the kids are enjoying the moment and don't care if they have to "miss" something else. Your children may not be as interested in Epcot as you think, but it IS a big park so you can always move on. Also, it may be too chilly for the water parks (we found it to be the case for us but we're from Texas!).

 

[anneofgreengables]

I agree heart4dis. However, we've been to Disneyland every year, and we can continue to go back every year, and even twice a year if we wanted to, since we live in California. We will always have access to Peter Pan's Flight, Dumbo, Small World, Jungle Cruise, etc. My kids have experienced those so many times.

However, our trip to Florida (possible only because of free frequent flyer miles) may be the last Walt Disney World trip we will take ever, so we want to concentrate on the rides we can't experience in Disneyland, like those in Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Disney MGM. We may never get to go to Epcot, Animal Kingdom and MGM again.

And if you look at my itinerary above, you will see that we do include the Magic Kingdom and are planning to pay extra just to go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the Magic Kingdom.

 

[anneofgreengables]

And we don't plan to rush our kids through the attractions--as I stated we will be going back to our hotel for naps every day after lunch. It's just good to have a plan, but with little kids, flexibility is a must.

Also, Typhoon Lagoon will be included only if the weather is warm enough. I know in December, there is a possibility it will be cold all the time.

 

[LBKMAMA]

For what it's worth we've been the last two years the first week of Dec. and there was no way it was warm enough for water parks.
As for Epcot...I have boys that were 6 and 5 this year and Epcot just does not interest them. Soarin, Nemo experience were about it...my neice who was 5 also did a little more with her parents and the Kidcot Craft thing in the World showcase...but it is ALOT of walking. The princess breakfast might be fun in Norway...we enjoyed that all together.

I think girls would just love MK no matter if you've been to Disneyland....my boys just don't get tired of it...MGM is 2nd for us. Animal Kingdom we are warming up to and plan on doing a whole day this year.

Hope this helps.

 

[Tiffer]

I am a DL AP. We try to hit DL about every 2 weeks when possible. I have a 9 yr old girl and we frequent WDW too. It is a total different experience in FL.

You can see how many times I've visited WDW and we moved to CAC last year and DL is just a time occupier until we can get back to WDW!

In MK, Mikey's Philarmagic (sp?) is great. A must see. Plus, your gilrs will enjoy seeing some familiarity. Try to eat in Cinderella's castle. Something you definately can't do in Beauty's castle in DL. Even Pirates is or was now that it's being remodeled, is a bit different. Enjoy the slight and major differences.

Make sure you let them hit all of the kidcot stations in world shoecase in Epcot. My DD has done this at least 4 times and still loves. You can do it for free. You don't have to purchase the passports, just do the mask.

 

[anneofgreengables]

I agree, my kids will like MK the best. Disneyland is only a drive away for us, though, so we will always have Fantasyland.

My DH didn't want to spend the money and precious frequent flyer miles to go to WDW since we always go to Disneyland. But we are going mainly for the other parks we can't experience here in California. This will be a once in a lifetime trip for us to Orlando. (We did go to WDW when the kids were babies during DH's business trip.) However, this may be our last trip and chance to experience WDW.

Disneyland however is always here for us. When you live in California, Disneyland is something you do often. Many families make it an annual trip.

 

[anneofgreengables]

I am a DL AP. We try to hit DL about every 2 weeks when possible. I have a 9 yr old girl and we frequent WDW too. It is a total different experience in FL.

You can see how many times I've visited WDW and we moved to CAC last year and DL is just a time occupier until we can get back to WDW!

In MK, Mikey's Philarmagic (sp?) is great. A must see. Plus, your gilrs will enjoy seeing some familiarity. Try to eat in Cinderella's castle. Something you definately can't do in Beauty's castle in DL. Even Pirates is or was now that it's being remodeled, is a bit different. Enjoy the slight and major differences.

Make sure you let them hit all of the kidcot stations in world shoecase in Epcot. My DD has done this at least 4 times and still loves. You can do it for free. You don't have to purchase the passports, just do the mask.

That's right, Tiffer. I have on my list for MK must-do's the stuff they don't have in Disneyland--Mickey's Philharmagic, Aladdin's Magic Carpet, Cindy's Royal Table, Cinderellabration and MVMCP. Anything else I missed? Did they add Winnie the Pooh to Disneyland yet?

 

[anneofgreengables]

Oh, other than Pirates, I think WDW has a different version of Tiki Birds as well. So we'll probably add that to our must-see list.

 

[skiingwife]

We went in 2005 at just about the same time that you are going. We were there from Friday Dec. 16 until Sunday Dec. 25. We thought the crowds were pretty low until about Thursday Dec. 22, when the crowds really picked up. We expected this, so we spent the 16-22 at the parks, and then spent the days at our resort and at downtown disney on the 23, 24, and 25th. I would recommend you do this as well.

We did not go to MVMCP. I just didn't want to spend almost $200 more for the 5 of us to go to MK for one evening. We did MK on the morning and afternoon of MVMCP and then left, which was fine for us and I don't think we missed out on anything.

We did go to the Candlelight Processional at Epcot, which we all really enjoyed. That package should go on sale in August. It was a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas. Our narrator was Jim Caviezel who was a great narrator of the Christmas story. The choir was great too. So I would highly recommend this.

We went to Epcot on Friday, MK on Saturday and Sunday, MGM on Monday, Epcot on Tuesday, MGM on Wednesday, and AK on Thursday. These were not EMH days, the parks were not that crowded and, using fastpass to it's fullest, we rarely waited in lines.

I noticed you don't have that much hopping planned. We did not buy the park hopper option, and this worked out fine for us. We usually went back to our resort for an afternoon break, and then returned to the same park in the evening. Or we stayed at a park all day long (in the case of MGM) and had plenty to do without needing to park hop.

You'll definitely want to make ADRs for every day. Even early in the week when the crowds weren't too big, people without ADRs were getting turned away from restaurants. The SciFi was taking no walkins for lunch or dinner on Monday the 19th.

I wanted to go to Typhoon Lagoon but the weather was never quite warm enough for us. We did swim at our resort pools every day though.

Have fun planning. You are going at a great time of year.

 

[anneofgreengables]

We went in 2005 at just about the same time that you are going. We were there from Friday Dec. 16 until Sunday Dec. 25. We thought the crowds were pretty low until about Thursday Dec. 22, when the crowds really picked up. We expected this, so we spent the 16-22 at the parks, and then spent the days at our resort and at downtown disney on the 23, 24, and 25th. I would recommend you do this as well.

We did not go to MVMCP but I could not see spending almost $200 more for the 5 of us to go to MK for one evening. We did MK on the morning and afternoon of MVMCP and then left, which was fine for us and I don't think we missed out on anything.

We did go to the Candlelight Processional at Epcot, which we all really enjoyed. That package should go on sale in August. It was a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas. Our narrator was Jim Caviezel who was a great narrator of the Christmas story. The choir was great too. So I would highly recommend this.

We went to Epcot on Friday, MK on Saturday and Sunday, MGM on Monday, Epcot on Tuesday, MGM on Wednesday, and AK on Thursday. These were not EMH days, the parks were not that crowded and, using fastpass to it's fullest, we rarely waited in lines.

Nice to hear from someone who went the same week. Thanks. Yes, that is what I've heard, that the closer it gets to Christmas, the more crowded it gets. So we want to get most of our touring down by Wednesday. Candlelight Processional is on our list. Would like to do MVMCP, but reports of it getting more crowded each year makes me think twice. I'm not banking on going to Typhoon Lagoon, but we'll bring our swimsuits in case the sun miraculously breaks out. Will definitely do ADRs as we have the dining plan. That's why I need to figure out an itinerary so I know which restaurants to book for which days.

 

[Tiffer]

I too went 12/18-1/3 in 2004 and am going back again this year. I noticed the samw thing that baout 2-3 days prior to C-mas, it got really packed and on the 25th MK closed by 11:00 am (ish), due to capacity.

However, before you really plan your itinerary, you should check out what the magic hours are.

I missed it..are u staying on property? If not, I guess it's irrelevant.

 

[anneofgreengables]

Yes, we're staying at ASM, but Unofficial Guide advices avoiding EMH parks because they are the most crowded. Hence, my itinerary. However, we may try it once or twice.

 

[Tiffer]

True EMH are crowded, but the are called "magic" for a reason. The countdown and the little opening ceremony with characters is wonderful. My DD and I love it. Plus you can pick one ride in that park that day and go directly to it b-4 there is a line and not having to wait for fast pass times or for an attraction that doesn't have FP. Then after the ride, go to a different park.

Also, that is the best time to get picked for a parade.