PTR: Our Dec Dis-Trip to see the decorations w/ the rest of the World(Updated 11/4)

[DPaddock66]

Time for an update!!

This is me (with my favorite character).
Gotta love Buzz!!!

These are my boys on the very first day in Disney World (obviously we went to Magic Kingdom first!)

This is my wonderful wife (what makes her so wonderful you ask?? She puts up with me!!)

And we all love Disney!! We have never completely taken our time and strolled through the World. This is my goal this year. Just take our time and take it all in.

I will try and update with pics now that I can post.

 

[that's nice]

I'm not sure but you might be more 'jacked' than Buzz.

 

[DPaddock66]

Yeah maybe, but before this trip I lost over 100 lbs!!

I felt great and was happy to be posing with my favorite Disney character of all time!!

 

[that's nice]

Yeah maybe, but before this trip I lost over 100 lbs!!

I felt great and was happy to be posing with my favorite Disney character of all time!!

Congratulations on losing all that weight!

I wouldn't mind losing 15-20lbs. I don't eat all that bad but I do have my hangups. (AKA french fries and all things potatoes! ) I think trying to exercise and be active is the hardest part.

Your sons tie-dyed shirts are cool. Did you make them yourselves?

 

[DPaddock66]

Congratulations on losing all that weight!

Thank you. It was very hard. But the hardest part is keeping it all off!!

Your sons tie-dyed shirts are cool. Did you make them yourselves?

My wonderful wife made them. She got the instructions here on the Dis-Boards (I think). She made some great shirts last year for both the surprise trip and the MNSSHP. I will have to see if I can find pics of them.

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Nice family...can't wait for more plans!

 

[DPaddock66]

One week to go until December hours are posted. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they follow the same pattern in December they are following in November. If they are, my schedule will work out great. As soon as my 90 day window gets here, I can plan my ADR's. I just hope all the restaurants I want to try are available in the window I have to work with. Reading a few other posts about days and times unavailable is worring me a little bit. All I can do is sit back, take a few deep breaths and wait. Stressing about it now won't change anything.

Hope to hear some of your thoughts & ideas.

Dan P

 

[that's nice]

My suggestion is on your 90 day mark, be up at 6:30est and be on the ADR site. Go through your ADR's and pick the ones you think will be the hardest to fill.. and try those first. I think you should be able to get everything you want.

 

[DPaddock66]

Now that the hours and schedules have been posted.....

I will have to post my changes to our schedule!!!!!!!

Acouple of days are being switched around, but I knew this might happen.

 

[DPaddock66]

All our ARD's and schedule changes are done.
I'll have them posted soon.

 

[that's nice]

Can't wait to hear what you came up with!

 

[DPaddock66]

Sorry it’s been so long. It has been very busy at work this last month or so. I will definitely try to post sometime this week our schedule changes and ADR's. It is like 65 days until our trip so I am starting to get anxious!!!!

 

[DPaddock66]

Today is our 45 Day mark!!!!

It is getting closer, and boy do I need a vacation!!!!

I am definitly going to have to post our new schedule now!!!!

I guess I just was getting a little nervous about paying for the trip, since we swore we were going to pay cash this year and not put it on a credit card. It took almost until the 45 day window for me to make enough money playing poker to pay for this trip, but here we are and it is paid off!!!!

And yes, I had to supplement a little with my September bonus check, but here we are. All paid off. Now I am gong to have to start making money for tips and gifts. I figure I need about $800 cash for the trip. That gives us $100 cash for each day of our trip. I hope it will be enough.

Until next time.

 

[KatMark]

I've just stumbled upon your report and am joining in. We love LeCellier, and we did Boma for the first time last month for breakfast and it was out of this world.

You will LOVE the new beds at the CSR. We've stayed eight times so we are a little biased (it truly is our home away from home), but it is a beautiful resort. Be sure to take an evening to stroll around the resort at night when the sun has gone down and the lights have been turned on...especially around the Casitas section through the courtyards and the fountains.

 

[DPaddock66]

Ok, here are the final plans I have come up with.
Saturday Dec. 12:
Work 8-5 while my DW packs. Hopefully I will be able to leave as early as possible. I would like to hit the road to Indianapolis before too late. It is a three hour drive and we have a 7 AM flight. Since we have planned for a trip to the parks Sunday, I would like to get as much rest as possible. If I don't get much sleep now, I know how grumpy I can be (even in the happiest place in the World). I have booked a Park, Stay, & Fly package at the Comfort Inn & Suites. This package allows us to stay the night and a ride to and from the airport. The best part is the free parking spot for a week. We get all this, for less than $100, which is than what it would cost to leave the car at the airport all week.
Sunday Dec. 13:
Get up early enough to get to airport by 5 AM. We have a direct flight planned allowing us to arrive at MCO by 9:10 AM Florida time. After arrival, we can go directly to ME and hopefully arrive by 11 AM at CSR. Since we have the Free Dining Plan and we have an extra day, we will have a few out of pocket meals planned. The first is lunch. We will either eat at the airport or get something to eat at the Pepper Market. Our plans are to arrive at DHS hopefully before 1 PM. By design, we try not to plan out minute by minute where we are supposed to be in each park. The only thing we follow is our ADRs. There are a few things we have never done in DHS, but all the attractions have been completed and hopefully we will be able to ride TSM (but we WILL NOT wait more than 20 minutes). Since we have another day planned at the Studios, there is no reason to wait for anything. The kids love Pizza Planet, so the plan is to use our first Counter Service meal there for dinner. The only other thing on the day we would like to see is the Osborne Lights. Since this is the first Christmas we are attending, we have never had the joy seeing all the lights. We have been the last two Septembers and seen all the lights on the buildings. I would be the first to admit that there were a lot of lights and I love Christmas and everything that comes with it.
Monday Dec. 14:
We plan on using snack credits for breakfast most days. We will probably get milk and keep it in the fridge. Since this is the first time we will have a fridge, we plan on taking full advantage of it. Cereal and donuts will work for the boys. Since they are VERY picky eaters, breakfast will probably be their best meal of the day. Today we will go to the Magic Kingdom. We would like to get there by rope drop. We usually go to the MK on the day we arrive and by the end of the week when we go again we are so tired we have never seen the official rope drop ceremony. Monday is probably the longest day we have planned and since we are not doing the Park Hopper option this year, we are going to take it easy. Lunch and Dinner are going to be Counter Services. Lunch is planned for the Pinocchio Village Haus. After reading quite a few trip reports, we have heard a few good things about this place. Dinner is planned for Cosmic Rays. I can get a turkey leg outside if I feel the need. We have never seen SpectroMagic and would like to see it this year. And what day to the MK would be complete without Wishes. Since there will be evening EMH this day, we may go back to the resort sometime during the day to rest.

Well, there are the first three days planned out for you. I will release the next six days throughout the week. Six weeks to go until we will arrive and it can't come fast enough. I hope to read a few of your thoughts on my plans. My wife is leaving everything up to me. I don't want to screw it up.

STAY TUNED!!!

Up next: Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday!!!

 

[DPaddock66]

bump

 

[KatMark]

Love the plans so far. We did Pinocchio three years ago. We didn't go back the last two years because they changed the menu and we don't do Disney (or Florida for that matter) pizza...not when we have great pizza in Chicago. And chicken nuggets and salad don't cut it for me and that's all that is on the menu. But with picky eaters...your choice is probably good. We love Cosmic Rays.

FYI...the gift shop at the Coronado, Panchitos, sells boxes of donuts and milk.

 

[DPaddock66]

Ok, here are the next three days of our trip…
Tuesday Dec. 15:
This day I have planned for us to experience Epcot. Since there are morning EMH, the kids can do their favorite rides. Mission Space & Test Track are on their list of must do’s. We will probably do Test Track more than once, as this is DS9’s favorite ride in all of WDW. When the World Showcase opens, I plan on spending most of the day visiting each country. We have never really spent much time in Epcot. Each of our two trips we have done the Park Hopper option. Unfortunately, Epcot is always a short day. We will either spend the morning at Epcot and evenings elsewhere, or the morning at Magic Kingdom and the evening at Epcot. As a family, I think it would be nice to see how each country celebrates Christmas. While we are traveling around the WS, we can get counter service meals for lunch. My plans for dinner will be to my favorite place in all of Disney to eat. We will take a boat from the back of WS to the Boardwalk and go to the ESPNZone. I love eating here, it is always fun. When you go during the week when there aren’t any games, there are always open tables and they play sports trivia. The kids like it because they actually get to play video games too. Also, since Tuesday is an Illuminations day, we will go back to Epcot and find a seat for this great show.

Does anyone have any must do’s for the WS?? Any favorite counter services we must try?? I will tell you my wife and I do not like beer, but mixed drinks are not out of the picture if there are any favorites out there. I think we have got the try the Kim-Possible missions, since my boys are at the age I feel they will enjoy it most. 10 & 9 years old boys like to do things on their own without each other. I will probably take the 10 year old and my DW the 9 year old.

Wednesday Dec. 16:
This is the day we will have the most to eat. I plan on visiting Boma at AKL for breakfast. It is my first ADR. It is reserved for 7:35 AM. We will have to get up and get moving for this one. I planned for an early breakfast so we can see AKL after we eat. Then it is off to Animal Kingdom. We never spend more than one day at AK which is why we have to squeeze so much into this day. We always say we will spend more days here but it never works out. I have lunch planned with another ADR. Tusker House for 1:30 sounds like a great idea. We have never eaten at Boma or Tusker House so this should be a day of different experiences. Also, we will get reserved seating for the Finding Nemo Show. This is another new thing for us. Hopefully it will allow us to rest for the remainder of the day. Since this is an evening EMH day for AK, we will be able to get a few things knocked out we have never done. For example, we would like to go and take a few paths to see some of the animals. My wife said we have to do the Christmas Parade here, I think it’s called the Jingle Jungle Parade. For dinner, I will enjoy the Flametree BBQ, while the wife and kids will eat at the Restaurantosaurus.

Does anyone have any favorite things that they like to do at AK?? We will obviously do all the big attractions, but I am talking about obscure things that most people overlook.

Thursday Dec. 17:
This is a day I have planned for us to sleep in. Since we will be pretty much going non-stop for four straight days, I feel we will need one day for us to take it easy early. Again, breakfast will be a donut or cereal thing. Then we are off the DTD to do some window shopping. If we find some deals we can not pass up, we will have to see what happens. I plan on the boys having the option to design their own t-shirts. We have never done this, but again, I have seen quite a few trip reports and it seems all the younger boys love it. Lunch will be out of pocket. I am thinking T-Rex would be a great place to try. I hear it is just like Rainforest Café, but we have never eaten their either. Since neither is on the DDP, we will have to see what the budget looks like come December. Sometime in the afternoon, we will head over to DHS. We will try and knock out anything we were unable to do Sunday. Also since Thursday is a Fantasmic day, I have planned for us to do another ADR at Mama Melrose’s and the Fantasmic Dinner Package. My family really loves this great show and it is a must do for us. After looking at the menu, I feel MM’s is a good choice for us (I hope we like it, my wife has her doubts after last years meal at Tony’s in the MK.

Does anyone have any ideas to fill in the time?? Is there anything a family of four can do at DTD?? We did Disney Quest last year and loved it. But this year we are not Park Hopping or doing the WP&M package. Maybe next year we can try it again.

Well, there are the next three days planned out for you. I will release the last three days throughout the week. Six weeks to go until we will arrive and it can't come fast enough. Please help with some ideas. Since this trip is up to me, I want to show her I can handle such a feat.

STAY TUNED!!!

Up next: Friday, Saturday, & Sunday!!! And my birthday!! And how will we end this year’s trip?? You will have to wait and see!!

 

[KatMark]

We have done the Fantasmic Package at Mama Melrose three times and we have always had a good meal and good service. And if you've not done TSM at the Studios...it is a MUST! We waited 50 minutes and it was well worth it.

 

[that's nice]

Saturday- Stay & flies are awesome. Luckily we are close to a few airports but have done this flying out of Newark before. You can't beat the price and you get to sleep later then if you left from home.

Sunday- I think you aren't going to find TSM with a wait of 20 minutes. If you do it will be a score! Maybe you can get a FP (if they are available). I'd say if the wait was under 40 minutes I'd still get in line. You know your family though... maybe you can ride later in the week. We never seen the Osbourn lights... hopefully someday.

Monday- We always talk about taking a rest.. but it never happens! LOL Cosmic Rays has a good chicken meal. Also you can get the basic burgers here too.

Tuesday- I know you said you wanted to eat in the WS but Sunshine Seasons has so many choices. You can keep everyone happy here. We haven't really eaten CS in WS but in Mexico you can get so decent food. Also in Mexico, you can get a frozen margarita! In France, the grey good slushy... ummmm.

Wednesday- You might want to take a cab to AKL to make your early ADR. It shouldn't cost you too much. Then you can get over to AK very easy. We saw the Nemo show in March it was great!

Thursday- Besides DTD how about doing some resort hopping? Check out the decorations a the resorts along the monorail. I heard Wilderness Lodge looks awesome at Christmas!!!