Suggestions/Validation - Days in Parks for Mid-December Trip (including handicapped teens)

[quincyoliver]

Looking for general guidance/validation for 1) selecting days for selected park visits and 2) suggestions for logistics or experiences that I haven't thought of. It has been about 10 years since we last visited WDW, and we will be visiting in mid-December.

We are bringing a family of 5, with 2 developmentally delayed Disney pricess loving girls. We intend to visit each park at least once. The girls would be using transport wheelchairs while in the parks. We will have our own car, and we will have 12/13 - 12/18 as days that we can spend on activities. We want to experience "some" of the special holiday features, since we have never been at this time of the year. While we might leverage extended hours to fit things into our schedule, getting to a park at rope drop and/or maximizing time inside a park with extended hours is not necessarily a priority. Our kids would tire out too easily to spend 12 hours in the parks every day.

We also want to attend the VMMCP at MK one evening.

We intend to leverage our girls' disabilities for any extra consideration Disney may offer at the parks such as access to rides.

1 - MK visit. I don't think it will matter which night we pick for the VMMCP. We will probably also pick an additional day that has the VMMCP running for a full MK visit, because every site I looked at thinks the crowds will be lower on these days.

2 - Epcot visit. I don't see any angle for "better" day to visit. I think as many encounters as possible during the holiday festival is something we'd want to prioritize. Not sure if there is a better time of day to be here (our girls may be too fatigued to last an entire day).

3 - HS, AK - There doesn't seem to be a "better" day to visit.

4 - We'd like to spend sometime in DS in the evening when things are lit up. I have read that the locals really crowd DS during the weekends in December, so maybe we'd go on a weekday. Since we are at SSR I figure we can just walk over whenever we want to break up things in our trip.

From SSR, I'm figuring on taking the bus to MK. Not opposed to using Lyft/MV. We may drive our car to the other parks, especially if the handicapped parking layout makes that more favorable (need to look into this further).

OK, that is all I could think of.

If you read this long post, thanks in advance!

 

[sponica]

If you're going to one of the Christmas parties, then I'd go to MK on a party day during the day because crowds are generally lower.

As far as Epcot, it can get busier on the weekends, you're probably better off going on a Sunday though than a Friday or Saturday.

If you really want to go to DS, I would try and go on a weeknight if at all possible. That weekend will be a heavy holiday shopping weekend....

 

[Willow Ufgood]

Looking for general guidance/validation for 1) selecting days for selected park visits and 2) suggestions for logistics or experiences that I haven't thought of. It has been about 10 years since we last visited WDW, and we will be visiting in mid-December.

We are bringing a family of 5, with 2 developmentally delayed Disney pricess loving girls. We intend to visit each park at least once. The girls would be using transport wheelchairs while in the parks. We will have our own car, and we will have 12/13 - 12/18 as days that we can spend on activities. We want to experience "some" of the special holiday features, since we have never been at this time of the year. While we might leverage extended hours to fit things into our schedule, getting to a park at rope drop and/or maximizing time inside a park with extended hours is not necessarily a priority. Our kids would tire out too easily to spend 12 hours in the parks every day.

We also want to attend the VMMCP at MK one evening.

We intend to leverage our girls' disabilities for any extra consideration Disney may offer at the parks such as access to rides.

1 - MK visit. I don't think it will matter which night we pick for the VMMCP. We will probably also pick an additional day that has the VMMCP running for a full MK visit, because every site I looked at thinks the crowds will be lower on these days.

2 - Epcot visit. I don't see any angle for "better" day to visit. I think as many encounters as possible during the holiday festival is something we'd want to prioritize. Not sure if there is a better time of day to be here (our girls may be too fatigued to last an entire day).

3 - HS, AK - There doesn't seem to be a "better" day to visit.

4 - We'd like to spend sometime in DS in the evening when things are lit up. I have read that the locals really crowd DS during the weekends in December, so maybe we'd go on a weekday. Since we are at SSR I figure we can just walk over whenever we want to break up things in our trip.

From SSR, I'm figuring on taking the bus to MK. Not opposed to using Lyft/MV. We may drive our car to the other parks, especially if the handicapped parking layout makes that more favorable (need to look into this further).

OK, that is all I could think of.

If you read this long post, thanks in advance!

I'm not sure what you mean by leveraging your daughters' disabilities for extra consideration but you should be aware that Disney has changed their DAS to basically only include children with autism and not individuals with physical challenges. The queues are (for the most part) wheelchair friendly. But I know nothing about your girls and it won't hurt to at least apply for a DAS for them. Just don't be surprised if their disability is not recognized as being in need of one.

I would avoid the MVMCP on the 13th because it's a Friday and locals tend to favor weekend nights for hard ticket events. But that might be a good day to be in the MK during the day. The 15th would be a better choice for your party night.

The Epcot storyteller schedules should be available before your trip. You can make a plan of action based on the published times. You won't need to be there at rope drop to see them. There's also the Epcot cookie stroll which the kids might enjoy.

Traditionally the best days to visit HS have been Saturdays and Sundays, with Sunday being the better of the two. But Jollywood Nights will be on Saturday the14th which could mean that people will avoid that park during the day because of the party. AK is best on any weekday.

SSR has bus and boat transportation to Disney Springs and it might be a better choice than walking if you're pushing wheelchairs. Definitely check out the Christmas Tree Stroll while you're there. I recommend a weeknight. The weekends at DS can be crazy busy.

A Lyft will drop you off at the TTC not the MK entrance. Pick up would be the same spot. This means you would have to boat or monorail to the MK just like if you drove your own car. Disney has Minnie Vans that you can order thru the Lyft app and those will drop you off at the park entrance. Just make sure that you're ordering a MV and not a regular Lyft driver. For the other parks, HC parking is relatively close to park entrances and driving will probably be more comfortable for your family.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Looking for general guidance/validation for 1) selecting days for selected park visits and 2) suggestions for logistics or experiences that I haven't thought of. It has been about 10 years since we last visited WDW, and we will be visiting in mid-December.

We are bringing a family of 5, with 2 developmentally delayed Disney pricess loving girls. We intend to visit each park at least once. The girls would be using transport wheelchairs while in the parks. We will have our own car, and we will have 12/13 - 12/18 as days that we can spend on activities. We want to experience "some" of the special holiday features, since we have never been at this time of the year. While we might leverage extended hours to fit things into our schedule, getting to a park at rope drop and/or maximizing time inside a park with extended hours is not necessarily a priority. Our kids would tire out too easily to spend 12 hours in the parks every day.

We also want to attend the VMMCP at MK one evening.

We intend to leverage our girls' disabilities for any extra consideration Disney may offer at the parks such as access to rides.

1 - MK visit. I don't think it will matter which night we pick for the VMMCP. We will probably also pick an additional day that has the VMMCP running for a full MK visit, because every site I looked at thinks the crowds will be lower on these days.

2 - Epcot visit. I don't see any angle for "better" day to visit. I think as many encounters as possible during the holiday festival is something we'd want to prioritize. Not sure if there is a better time of day to be here (our girls may be too fatigued to last an entire day).

3 - HS, AK - There doesn't seem to be a "better" day to visit.

4 - We'd like to spend sometime in DS in the evening when things are lit up. I have read that the locals really crowd DS during the weekends in December, so maybe we'd go on a weekday. Since we are at SSR I figure we can just walk over whenever we want to break up things in our trip.

From SSR, I'm figuring on taking the bus to MK. Not opposed to using Lyft/MV. We may drive our car to the other parks, especially if the handicapped parking layout makes that more favorable (need to look into this further).

OK, that is all I could think of.

If you read this long post, thanks in advance!

Make sure the chairs do not have the small wheels that most transport chairs have they do not work well at Disney

 

[CarolynFH]

For more information about DAS and help in planning your visit, be sure to read and ask questions on the disABILITIES forum, https://www.disboards.com/forums/disabilities.20/.