Sticking A Trip To WDW Under The Christmas Tree! A December 2012 PTR

[TinkLovinMomma]

Hello!! And welcome to my Pre-Trip Report! My name is Jess and I will be your narrator! I love details and I love exclamation points!! Hope you guys can deal with me

DH and I have been dying to get back to the World since we went on DS7's Make A Wish trip back in 2009 but life has just gotten in the way. So we decided this year we are doing it!! The best part? We are going for Christmas and.... It's going to be a surprise!



THE CAST
THE WHEN AND WHERE
THE SURPRISE PLAN
THE CHANGE OF PLANS

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

I guess we can do this in age order... oldest to youngest...

JESS

This is me! HI! I am a 28 year old mother of 2 crazy little monsters! I am a disney fanatic. My favorite characters are Alice and Tinkerbell. In this picture I am sitting in the lap of the Alice In Wonderland statue in beautiful Central Park. I am a HUGE NY Rangers fan. I work as an office manager for a busy surgeons office and I love my job! 3 things in life I am passionate about- Disney, the Rangers and FOOD! I looove food so I can not wait to set up our ADR's. I do all of the Disney planning because it is just too much for my hubby but he loves hearing the details. This will be trip number 3 for me because I am doing a weekend at WDW with my best friend in July!

JOHN

Here is DH John with a little monkey on his shoulders. He is 26 years old (will be 27 by the time we take the trip) He works as the lead psych attendant in a psych hospital near our home. He is very good at his job but it is not where he wants to spend the rest of his life. His ultimate goal is to move to Florida. He is also a huge Rangers fan but I will argue that I am a more devoted fan than him His favorite Disney character is Jack Skellington. He loves anything to do with The Nightmare Before Christmas. this will be trip number 3 for him. He went once as a child.

AJ

This is AJ. He is my 7 (and a half!) year old. He is a former wish child. He has a complex heart defect and has had 3 heart surgeries. We are currently awaiting his 4th. He is so energetic and has no problem keeping up with other kids his age. He loves skateboarding, the beach, wakeboarding, and Pokemon. I think his favorite Disney character right now is Rapunzel because he has watched Tangled about 20 times at least in the past week. In general his favorite characters are Buzz and Woody. This will be AJ's second trip.

REID

Meet Reid. He is my 5 year old. I call him my little muffin. One day he will hate me for that but I will try to get away with it for as long as possible. He is the funniest child I have ever met. He has an adult sense of humor in that it is dry and almost surprising. He is very easy going. He loves animals, drawing and anything artistic. His favorite Disney characters are anyone from Winnie the Pooh or Cars. This will be Reid's second trip to the world


Here's a picture of all of us on AJ's make a wish trip with 2 pretty awesome mice

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

I already gave you the "Who" So I guess the next part should be the "Where" and "When" huh?

Where- We aren't "Officially" booking the trip until tomorrow but I have been following the availability online and as long as everything goes as planned (please please PLEASE) We will be staying at the brand new Art Of Animation Resort!!!! I am sooo excited about this! I can not wait to experience this resort with my kiddies!

When- The dates we are booking are December 25th through December 31st. I know, I know. We are crazy going at one of the busiest times of the year but like I've stated I am an office manager and my staff needs me. going these days will make it so that even though we get a 7 day vacation I will only miss TWO tiny little days of work! So we will brave the crowds. Besides what in the world could possibly be better than Disney at Christmas? Crowds or not.

 

[BDL]

Hi Rangers fans. Subbing in from Bruins country. Great family you got there. And I'm with AJ. I'd watch Tangled non-stop if I could. But I can't wait to see what you'll have planned.

Glad to see you found the December Roll Call thread. Keep your eye out there, on my Pre-trip report, Sam33's PTR and DestructSean's PTR. We tend to smack talk about our NHL franchises. In fact, DestructSean and I have a sort of wager on the season opener.

Like I said, can't wait to read more about your plans and anything about your previous trip(s).

 

[Tangelders Ahoy]

Joining in also!! My DH and myself are die hard Sabres fans!! We are already trying to figure out where we are going to watch the games while we are in the World!! We are going to miss a couple games though while we are on the Dream....unless they have the games on the ship !! Very cute family!!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Joining in from the Dec group also

AoA looks super cute! Which area are you hoping to book?

Feel free to stop by my PTR if you want

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

Hi Rangers fans. Subbing in from Bruins country. Great family you got there. And I'm with AJ. I'd watch Tangled non-stop if I could. But I can't wait to see what you'll have planned.

Glad to see you found the December Roll Call thread. Keep your eye out there, on my Pre-trip report, Sam33's PTR and DestructSean's PTR. We tend to smack talk about our NHL franchises. In fact, DestructSean and I have a sort of wager on the season opener.

Like I said, can't wait to read more about your plans and anything about your previous trip(s).

Hello Bruins fan! Did you guys pick up anyone interesting off the FA list? I am certainly going to be stopping by all of the PTR's that you mentioned! I'm happy to have you aboard and cant wait to read all about your plans! Let's Go RANGERS!!

Joining in also!! My DH and myself are die hard Sabres fans!! We are already trying to figure out where we are going to watch the games while we are in the World!! We are going to miss a couple games though while we are on the Dream....unless they have the games on the ship !! Very cute family!!

Welcome Sabres fan! There is an ESPN Zone on the Boardwalk which will probably (hopefully) have the games you are looking for. Luckily for me, my Rangers are playing Tampa while we are down there so we are taking a short Disney break on Dec 29th and heading down to Tampa for the game! I am so excited for this! We can sit in the 100 seats in Tampa for cheaper than we could sit in the 400's at MSG I am so jealous that you are going on the cruise! I want to do that in the next couple years! Happy to have you following along!

Joining in from the Dec group also

AoA looks super cute! Which area are you hoping to book?

Feel free to stop by my PTR if you want

Welcome!!! We are staying in a standard Little Mermaid room. Just finally booked it on Tuesday!! I will stop by your PTR for sure! I am so excited to see what everyone has planned for December! Thanks for joining in!

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

So we did it! We are officially booked! Art Of Animation Little Mermaid room- checking in December 25 and checking out December 31. So excited!!!

So since this is all a surprise for my kids I have been thinking about exactly how to go about surprising them. So here's what I'm thinking:

Christmas Eve dinner always takes place at my house with some close family and friends. We typically eat between 7 & 8 and then the boys read their Christmas story and head to bed. Ideally I would like for them to go to sleep around 10. As soon as they pass out DH and I will play santa and set the presents under the tree. Their presents will be brand new kid's sized rolling luggage for each of them, already filled with new clothes to go to Disney with. They will also each have a new drawstring knapsack inside of which they will find traveling essentials (ie- doodle pads, a movie for their dvd player, a new ds game, maybe a neck pillow) I am also thinking of buying Disney themed balloons earlier in the day and decorating the room with it. We will then wake them up around 1130-12 announcing that Santa already came!! I want to do this in hopes that they will be really tired when we get in the car around 1230 and sleep a good portion of the ride. I can only imagine how cranky they are going to be after only getting an hour and a half of sleep before we wake them up. This plan may or may not change by the time December rolls around. Any alternate ideas are very welcome!!

 

[BDL]

So we did it! We are officially booked! Art Of Animation Little Mermaid room- checking in December 25 and checking out December 31. So excited!!!

So since this is all a surprise for my kids I have been thinking about exactly how to go about surprising them. So here's what I'm thinking:

Christmas Eve dinner always takes place at my house with some close family and friends. We typically eat between 7 & 8 and then the boys read their Christmas story and head to bed. Ideally I would like for them to go to sleep around 10. As soon as they pass out DH and I will play santa and set the presents under the tree. Their presents will be brand new kid's sized rolling luggage for each of them, already filled with new clothes to go to Disney with. They will also each have a new drawstring knapsack inside of which they will find traveling essentials (ie- doodle pads, a movie for their dvd player, a new ds game, maybe a neck pillow) I am also thinking of buying Disney themed balloons earlier in the day and decorating the room with it. We will then wake them up around 1130-12 announcing that Santa already came!! I want to do this in hopes that they will be really tired when we get in the car around 1230 and sleep a good portion of the ride. I can only imagine how cranky they are going to be after only getting an hour and a half of sleep before we wake them up. This plan may or may not change by the time December rolls around. Any alternate ideas are very welcome!!

Looks good to me. The only thing I'd ask, is if you could get the kids up an hour or 2 later and then leave. that way Santa would have had time to make some Mickey shaped pancakes (or even easier, store bought Mickey shaped waffles) as a thank you for the milk and cookies.

And make sure you set up a recording nanny-cam to get their reactions. Because, I know as a kid, if I got luggage for Christmas, I'd be a bit miffed. Then to find out I would be going to WDW, that would be a 1st gear to 5th gear reaction.

 

[Leger13]

Joining in! I like the idea of surprising your sons. Best parents EVER!!! What a great Christmas this is going to be We are also going to the world and staying in a LM room in December but a week before you for my DS's bday. Christmas time at the World is one of my favorites!

 

[DsnyMama]

I'm in!!! You have a beautiful family! Love that you are staying at AoA! We had booked AoA LM room but when I found out that they were excluded from free dining and we could move to a moderate for CHEAPER, I jumped on it! There's always next time for AoA!

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

Looks good to me. The only thing I'd ask, is if you could get the kids up an hour or 2 later and then leave. that way Santa would have had time to make some Mickey shaped pancakes (or even easier, store bought Mickey shaped waffles) as a thank you for the milk and cookies.

And make sure you set up a recording nanny-cam to get their reactions. Because, I know as a kid, if I got luggage for Christmas, I'd be a bit miffed. Then to find out I would be going to WDW, that would be a 1st gear to 5th gear reaction.

Some of our plans have changed so I think I am going to take your advice and do some mickey waffles as part of their surprise... Wait for my update!!

Joining in! I like the idea of surprising your sons. Best parents EVER!!! What a great Christmas this is going to be We are also going to the world and staying in a LM room in December but a week before you for my DS's bday. Christmas time at the World is one of my favorites!

Thanks for joinging in!!Disney for your DS's birthday? Sounds like he's got some of the best arents ever too! We had a change of plans so our dates have changed! I will tell all about it in my update!

I'm in!!! You have a beautiful family! Love that you are staying at AoA! We had booked AoA LM room but when I found out that they were excluded from free dining and we could move to a moderate for CHEAPER, I jumped on it! There's always next time for AoA!

Happy to have you aboard!! We are no longer staying at AoA (I'll tell all about it in my update) but I am pretty excited about the new plans we've made I totally agree- there is always time for AoA!

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

Hey guys! Sorry for the long hiatus! I have just had soo much going on! My DH, my DS5 and myself are all in a wedding in September and all the festivities have begun. I had the bridal shower the past weekend. Boy was that a lot of work! But its over and done with. the next thing I have to worry about is the Bachelorette party next month in VEGAS Its going to be interesting I'm sure. 20 girls all flying from NY to Vegas and then 4 days there...

So I got tired of looking at myself last week and cut off my hair... Here's my obligitory facebook picture lol I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

When I head down to WDW next weekend, one day I am going to wear a red bow in my hair and and a yellow skirt with a blue top. Snow White anyone?

Okay Okay- enough of the boring stuff. So as I'm sure you guys know- the free dining offer for December went public not to long ago. When I saw it the wheels started turning in my head. I talked to my DH going over and over the pros and cons about changing the trip to take advantage of the deal.

Pros- save money, not losing any park days, get to see the candlelight processional, will not be in WDW for the busiest time of the year, save money, perhaps get some ADRs at restaurants that were booked the week of Christmas, get to spend more Christmas time with our families, oh yea and we will save a ton of money!

Cons- Wont be in WDW for New Years Eve, No Christmas morning surprise, No Art of Animation, No Rangers/Tampa game, shorter stay (by 1 day).

Since we were going to have to leave directly after midnight on New Years Eve, The kids will still be getting a Christmas TIME surprise, The AoA resort isnt going anywhere and we can go to a Rangers game at MSG anytime, we decided that the Pros outweighed the Cons.

SO here goes!!! New plan...
Check in: December 13th- POP Century Resort
We will arrive early in the morning and be able to spend the whole day in WDW
Check out: December 17th but will not be actually leaving until late that night.

And... wait for it.... We have upgarded to the Deluxe Dining Plan! So excited about this! Remember how I told you I LOVE food?!? I wasnt kidding. My DH calls me a "Foodie" to his friends lol so the DxDP is right up my alley!

Even with the upgrade to DxDP and keeping our 5 day park tickets, we are saving over $1300!!!!

I have made lots of ADR's and have our itinerary set. I cant wait to share them with you guys.

But for now- I will leave you with the reason why I ADORE Alice. Cats.

 

[BDL]

Hey guys! Sorry for the long hiatus! I have just had soo much going on! My DH, my DS5 and myself are all in a wedding in September and all the festivities have begun. I had the bridal shower the past weekend. Boy was that a lot of work! But its over and done with. the next thing I have to worry about is the Bachelorette party next month in VEGAS Its going to be interesting I'm sure. 20 girls all flying from NY to Vegas and then 4 days there...

So I got tired of looking at myself last week and cut off my hair... Here's my obligitory facebook picture lol I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

When I head down to WDW next weekend, one day I am going to wear a red bow in my hair and and a yellow skirt with a blue top. Snow White anyone?

Okay Okay- enough of the boring stuff. So as I'm sure you guys know- the free dining offer for December went public not to long ago. When I saw it the wheels started turning in my head. I talked to my DH going over and over the pros and cons about changing the trip to take advantage of the deal.

Pros- save money, not losing any park days, get to see the candlelight processional, will not be in WDW for the busiest time of the year, save money, perhaps get some ADRs at restaurants that were booked the week of Christmas, get to spend more Christmas time with our families, oh yea and we will save a ton of money!

Cons- Wont be in WDW for New Years Eve, No Christmas morning surprise, No Art of Animation, No Rangers/Tampa game, shorter stay (by 1 day).

Since we were going to have to leave directly after midnight on New Years Eve, The kids will still be getting a Christmas TIME surprise, The AoA resort isnt going anywhere and we can go to a Rangers game at MSG anytime, we decided that the Pros outweighed the Cons.

SO here goes!!! New plan...
Check in: December 13th- POP Century Resort
We will arrive early in the morning and be able to spend the whole day in WDW
Check out: December 17th but will not be actually leaving until late that night.

And... wait for it.... We have upgarded to the Deluxe Dining Plan! So excited about this! Remember how I told you I LOVE food?!? I wasnt kidding. My DH calls me a "Foodie" to his friends lol so the DxDP is right up my alley!

Even with the upgrade to DxDP and keeping our 5 day park tickets, we are saving over $1300!!!!

I have made lots of ADR's and have our itinerary set. I cant wait to share them with you guys.

Congrats on the change of plans for free dining. And then upgrading to the deluxe plan. That will actually come in handy. This way you won't stress about the 2x meal plan points if you decide to do signature dining. Or, if you decide to do the Candlelight Processional/dining combo or the Fantasmic!/dining combo.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Congrats on scoring free dining!! Always nice to be able to save money for sure

Cant wait to hear what ADRs you were able to get by changing to an earlier time in Dec. We are doing DxDP too, and while I know its a lot of food, I cant wait for some of the places we (err...I) chose for us.

 

[levenhopper]

Awesome PRT! I can't wait to hear more updates as we get closer. I'm booked at AoA Little Mermaid right now, but with the new extension in the free dining promo, I'm debating a resort switch of my own!

As others said, be sure to get a video of your kids' reactions when you tell them about the trip

 

[momsavealot]

Hi! Subbing here too! Actually I'm sad you changed your plans. I was getting all excited b/c we were going to be there at the same time. Right now, we're planning Pop Century from dec. 25th to the 30th. It's a surprise also for my kids so I don't have a ticker (my oldest follows the disboards a little). I like your idea for surprising them but since we're leaving on the 21st to go down to Florida (driving down), I'll have to think of something other than Santa. We're driving down to Ft. Lauderdale to stay with my brother and stopping at Legoland on the way. Then, after celebrating Christmas morn, we're heading up to Pop. I have to admit though that I'm terrified of how bad the crowds are going to be. Looking forward to the rest of your report!!