PTR A Very Merry Christmas Surprise... with Scrooge McDuck Himself!

[lilmape]

Hello! I'm so bad at maintaining trips reports, but I'm determined! I'm already driving my hubby crazy with my Disney rantings so I need a safe place to write down all my thoughts and get feedback from folks that 'get it'.

Who you ask? I'm Tiffany! I'm a bit of a Disney fanatic. I honestly have a very difficult time selecting a favorite Disney movie because I have such good memories of so many of them. I am a school psychologist by trade and a mom of 2 little kiddos. My first trip to Disney was during December in 1986. We (my parents, brother, and I) visited my grandparents who often visited Florida during Ohio winters. I have been to Disney 5 times (not enough).

Jason, the DH, tolerates my Disney obsession, though he has enjoyed all 3 of his trips to the mouse. His first trip was our Disneymoon in 2007. He will watch any Disney movie and, though he wont always admit it, loves watching Tangled with his little girl . Jason is a police officer by trade and an artist, fisherman, and motorcycle enthusiast by choice.

Kaitlyn - Our darling DD has one Disney trip under her belt. She went when she was 3 in 2015 and remembers quite a bit of the trip. It was a wonderful trip, though we definitely had some meltdowns . Kaitlyn is much like her momma and LOVES Disney movies. She has been begging to return to Disney. On our last trip she LOVED FOTL.. I cried watching her little face experience it. It's so amazing to experience Disney through your child's eyes. I mean yes, we learned some lessons about pacing, but those moments made it totally worth the stress. She also LOVED the fireworks, meeting the princesses, having breakfast with Stitch, Meeting the Beast, and all the rides in Fantasyland. She plays soccer, loves to dance, and LOVES her family. Kaitlyn is also very diplomatic and rarely settles on "favorites".



Braxton - Our sweet little DS. He will be 2 during our trip. Braxton is a mover. He loves to be on the go. He is fascinated with Mickey. I can't wait to see what he thinks about Disney. He loves to color, run, and see his mamaw.

Mary - My momma! She tagged along on our last trip in 2015. She was stoked to see her granddaughter experience Disney though she said she didn't know if she would go back with us lol. We were busy and her knees/hips aren't what they used to be. Mom loves Disney. She prefers the classics like Country Bears, Tiki room, and Small World. They were some of her Dad's favorites. Mom is retired from dental assisting and working as an aide for students with special needs.

David - aka Scrooge McDuck himself! My Dad has not stepped foot on Disney property since I was 4 ... 32 years ago ! He hates crowds and wasn't much for traveling until the last few years. It started in 2014 when we asked him to go to the beach. He went... he never vacations, but he wanted to see his granddaughter experience the ocean (his favorite) for the first time. Shortly after he retired and he and my mom have been traveling like crazy. Its been so cool to watch them talk about their adventures. My dad has a special fondness for the ocean because of his many years in the Navy. Anyway... They are going with us to the beach this summer, so imagine my shock when he said 'yes' when I asked if he wanted to go to Orlando in December for 5 nights. I thought I was gonna lose it when he asked me to tell him about military discount tickets to go to Disney!!


When and Where? December 15-20, 2018. We will be off-site at Wyndham Bonnet Creek because we got an amazing deal. Dad is going to buy our Military Salute tickets which we have to use by December 19. So we are only planning on 4 park days.


We plan on surprising our kids the morning we leave. We have an Elf on the Shelf who will be hiding with mickey ears on and a handmade note that says, "We are going to Disney World". I'm so very excited, but I'm also super nervous about crowd levels... we shall see.

 

[Kathy Muniz]

So exciting!!! I love surprises We’ll be surprising our kids this December with a WDW Trip too! Looking forward to seeing how your plans come along

 

[lilmape]

Pictures!
The DH and I
Our DD - Kaitlyn
Our DS - Braxton

An update coming soon!

 

[lilmape]

There are several things we have decided not to do this trip to maximize our time in the parks. We are going to do a couple character meals to avoid standing in lines. We wont be doing the MVMCP or the new lands unless we see that the crowds aren't too bad. I'd almost rather wait until the newness dies down...We shall see.


Our current plan is to arrive on Saturday, December 15. This will be dependent on flight schedules when they are released in May. I may need to add a day depending on costs, etc.

SO I have not made plans for arrival day yet. If we arrive early enough we may just take in Disney Springs.

December 16 is a party day at MK. We plan to do MK that day but we will not be attending the party. The kids are not the type that can stay up late and be ready to go the next day. They also get fairly grumpy when tired. So.... We will do as much of MK as we can that day. If we need to take breaks for naps that's fine. I don't plan on making any ADRs this day.. yet

Dec 17 will be Epcot. I'm hoping for an early ADR for Akershus breakfast. We will take a mid day break and come back for the fireworks. Possibly a Via Napoli dinner. Its a favorite of ours. That Quattro Formaggi pizza... I'm drooling thinking about it. We will not be doing the Candlelight Processional, though I think my parents would enjoy it... so I'll need to think about it.

Dec 18. This will be a split AK/HS day. AK in the morning, a mid-day break, and HS in the evening. We hope to see Jingle Bam if it is happening this year. I'd also love to see Fantasmic so I'm hoping the have a second showing.

Dec 19 will be a MK day. I'm hoping to do a Firework Dessert Party as a special treat since we are not doing the party and this would allow us guaranteed good seats for the Happily Ever After fireworks.

Dec 20 - Currently departure day. I'm thinking a resort character meal. Probably 'Ohana (my daughter LOVES that one), Chef Mickey, or Bon Voyage.

This may changed some depending on the flights we book. I definitely need to fine tune it... so exciting!

 

[missangelalexis]

Joining in! Your plans sound really fun so far!!

 

[KailaH]

My family is going in December as well. Some of our dates overlap.

 

[lilmape]

Joining in! Your plans sound really fun so far!!

Welcome! I’m glad you’re here. I can’t wait to surprise our daughter. She has been begging to go back and believes we “may” go next year. I can’t wait for my dad to go with us! I think he’s actually looking forward to it lol.

My family is going in December as well. Some of our dates overlap.

It’s so exciting! I haven’t been in December for so long. Are you doing a PTR? Please share any planning ideas lol. I need all the help I can get!

 

[lilmape]

So, I’m second guessing all planning... that’s the problem with booking so far out! Kenny and Touring plans have updated and They have me nervous. I’m now thinking that MVMCP is t such a bad idea. If we go, it would be our first night with a late breakfast the next day. What are your thoughts? Christmas party with a 6 and 2 year old? I know our DD could do it. If my DS gets a late nap he would be fine. I just think the parade and fireworks would be so nice. Special for Christmas.

 

[missangelalexis]

I loved MVMCP and it really is so special! If you think you can get your DS to take a nap prior, you should go for it! Especially if you have a late morning planned the next day.

 

[KailaH]

It’s so exciting! I haven’t been in December for so long. Are you doing a PTR? Please share any planning ideas lol. I need all the help I can get!

I am doing a PTR! Planning is defiantly hard to do this far out. We went last year the same week as your dates, and the crowds, in my opinion, were not as bad as everyone makes them out to be. First, I usually decide how many days I want to go to each park. After this, I make a list of the rides I want to get fast passes for and the rides I want to ride regardless of having a fast pass. I also write out what meals or snacks I would want to try in each park/day. I wrote about it in my PTR if you want to see how I laid it out. Personally, My mom and I liked MVMCP; however, the rest of family would not do it again.

 

[lilmape]

I’m horrible at keeping up with PTRs, but a lot has changed in the last few weeks. Flights were released May 31 and I looked at them in the morning, but it was my DD’s last day of school and I had work to do so I didn’t get to book. Checked in the evening and prices had went up quite a bit. I checked allegiant over and over and then called my dad. I told him that if we shifted our days it would be cheaper and he agreed. I rebooked our hotel at WBC and booked our flights. Dad and mom get free luggage through allegiant so we will just pack with them. So for all 6 of us our flight was under $1000. AND I shimmied in an extra day!!! We will have 5 parks days instead of 4!

Here’s a rough itinerary:

Dec 13 - get up early and drive to airport (DD will think we are headed to school!) Arrive and ?
Dec 14 - MK (Crystal Palace Breakfast)
Dec 15 - HS
Dec 16 - Epcot (Garden Grill Breakfast)
Dec 17 - MK (Dessert Party)
Dec 18 - AK (Tusker Breakfast)
Dec 19 - Early flight home...

We are big breakfast smaller lunch/dinner types. I’m hoping this goes well.

I’m nervous about MK on a Monday but we want to see HEA and I’d rather do Monday than Saturday. Local schools won’t be out yet so local crowds shouldn’t be crazy yet. We book ADRs next weekend. Staying offsite makes me nervous but we did the same last time and got everything we hoped for...

Fingers crossed and pixie dust!

 

[amberdc1987]

I absolutely love surprises. I cannot wait to hear more.

 

[lilmape]

Holy cow! It’s been a while since I posted. We had a busy summer break, a “regular” vacation, and back to school. We went to Fort Myers Beach in Florida with my parents. How heart breaking. If you don’t know what’s going on with red tide, please take a moment to learn about it. The number of sea creatures washing up on shore was so incredibly sad. The vacation itself was wonderful, but we were unable to use the beach. My prayers are with those in florida and their leadership. I hope they can make the changes needed to protect the water. Anyway, My little lady started 1st grade and I’ve been so busy with counseling and evaluations that I haven’t had time to post. When I last left off I was preparing to make ADRs .... so here’s what we have:

Dec 13 (Arrival day) - Dinner at 1900 PF
Dec 14 - MK Breakfast at Crystal Palace
Dec 15 - Morning BBB at DS and HS in the afternoon/Evening
Dec 16 - EP Garden Grill Breakfast (candlelight processional package)/ Via Napoli dinner
Dec 17 - BOG Lunch/ HEA garden view fireworks dessert party
Dec 18 - AK Tusker House breakfast

I was trying hard to find 1900 PF on arrival day and we did not originally plan for BBB, but we decided it would be a fun surprise for our Girl. May as well capitalize on the magic while she’s little. Anyway, the day I called about scheduling BBB the magical CM asked if there was anything she could look for and I said, “unless you can magically make a 1900 PF dinner reservation appear on our arrival day, I’m good”... and guess what? SHE DID. It’s a touch later than I wanted but I don’t care. I have alerts set to hopefully grab an earlier one, but if it doesn’t happen I’ll be happy. We will eat snacks or quick service the rest of the meals unless we grab something available when we are there. I’ve contemplated changing Tusker to. Lunch or dinner but we love breakfast and I know my daughter will eat breakfast. My son still has swallowing issues and I’m praying hard that he will begin eating more by then.

I hope you are all well and I’ll be back soon!

 

[missangelalexis]

Great ADR plans! I'm glad you were able to snag 1900 PF!

 

[lilmape]

It’s update time!! We are at 60 days and it’s still a secret! Our daughter still has no idea we are going. Today my little lady and I attended a “bibbidi bobbidi Pink” event where little girls could have princess makeovers, make a craft, have a snack, have empowerment training, and walk a runway. It was so cute and she had an absolute blast... making me more excited to surprise her with a makeover at the real BBB. Plans have changed again but this time I think we are happy with them:

Dec 13 (Arrival day) - Dinner at 1900 PF
Dec 14 - MK Breakfast at Crystal Palace
Dec 15 - Morning BBB at DS; brunch at Chef Mickey (my son is going to love this!)and HS in the afternoon/Evening
Dec 16 - EP Garden Grill Breakfast (candlelight processional package)/ Via Napoli dinner
Dec 17 - BOG Lunch/ HEA garden view fireworks dessert party
Dec 18 - Artist Point Snow White Dinner


I’m so very excited! We haven’t decided how we are going to tell her... we leave a bit earlier than we normally would for school (on school day) so we thought we would say “we need to apologize because you’re going to miss your school Christmas party... because we are going on vacation”. Leaving at that until we go to dinner that night. She’s been talking about Disney A LOT lately and what she would love to do when we actually get to go again.

 

[missangelalexis]

Plans sounds great and it's awesome that it's still a secret!!