Surprise Christmas trip~ Time to pull out the bucket list ~ Dec 2018 PTR: 12/5 - Changes-13 Sleeps

[Jasperann]

It truly is crazy. I won’t go near Mk on the 4th of July yet I think it’s a good idea to go in for photos at 7am and make a hasty exit 30 minutes later.

Your plan for toy story land sounds good. I suppose once we get to FP day things will become clearer. I’m hoping I can get 1 out of the 3 in the morning and I’m not fussy which one. We have another 10 days after that and if not we are back in July.

We are planning on heading to Epcot after our lunch for a stroll through (lol) to get the monorail back to the contemporary.

Have you tried doing an optimised touring plan thing for Christmas Day, it’s fun to see the short waits they are predicting for the toy story things without fastpass on a day that is a 10!!!

I haven't worked with the touring plan at all. I normally plug in my fast passes and then see what they have me doing. But we usually do not follow it very well. We are very much plan, plan, plan, only to throw it all out the window when we arrive. Although, I'm thinking this time the planning might need to be kept.

 

[Jasperann]

So, the kids are back in school and we have 104 days until we head to Disney for Christmas!!!







AND

I MADE SOME CHANGES.

Surprise.

I just booked the Early Magic Hours for Toy Story Land on the 19th. Which means we need to be at the bus stop by 6:15ish in the morning... No big deal... I'll let you know if I survive the revolt.

But it will be all worth it at the end. We will have access to SDD, A.S.S. (Is that really what it's being called?) and TSM for an hour and a half really! Exciting! That and if they want to meet Buzz, Woody, or Jessie they can do it. I wonder how many rides we can get in during that time. It is the last one that is being offered.

I am curious what the breakfast will look like. I'm sure they will have enough carbs for my carb loving children. If it is anything like the Fantasy land one then they might even have breakfast meat too.

But due to booking the EMH and having the breakfast around 9:30ish I pushed back our lunch ADR in Epcot. It is now scheduled for 2:20pm and I canceled 50s Prime time dinner. Kind of want the pizza in Italy more. That will give us time to get our FP's in at HS. I'm thinking of Tot, Star Tours, and TSM/SDD depending on what I can get for the time we want. Shouldn't be a big deal because we can ride both during the early hours.

The second thing I did today was break down and get the Dessert Party for our MK day. I went with the before the fireworks party instead of the after fireworks party. It is EMH that night and I figured that we could hang out in the garden plaza for a while after the fireworks and let it clear out as much as it can. Then those of us that want to stay for EMH can do that and those that are done can head out. (I'm expecting Eric and Kelsey to be done... the others are up in the air.)

I am thinking about canceling our ADR for 1900 Park Fare to make up some of this money that I have spent... And I'm pretty sure if I can't get another ADR for Ohana that we will be skipping that one this year too. But they won't know the difference. We will eat in a couple new to us places and then a few places that we have ate before. It will be okay.

I had been toying with trying to move to Club level at the Beach Club for our first three days but I didn't even call. I would LOVE it but I think I'm going to just save my money. Maybe next trip, whenever that is.

I can't believe that we are not even a week away from being below 100 days.


​

 

[wmoon]

Looking good. I think the early morning toy story thing will be good.

What about moving to a standard room at the beach club? With all that time your spending at Hs and Epcot it would be great.

 

[Jasperann]

Looking good. I think the early morning toy story thing will be good.

What about moving to a standard room at the beach club? With all that time your spending at Hs and Epcot it would be great.

I hadn't thought of that. LOL I was so focused on Club Level that I didn't even think of a regular room. LOL But it would be amazing!!

 

[wmoon]

I hadn't thought of that. LOL I was so focused on Club Level that I didn't even think of a regular room. LOL But it would be amazing!!

We are there from 12/29 to 1/4. The location will be awesome for you, might even give the kids a little more time in bed on the 19th.

 

[Jasperann]

Our Dalmatian Day!!!

Don't you just love when your trip starts getting closer? It feels like the planning really starts to kick in right around now. About a week ago I signed up for Tour Plans again so that I can see the crowd calendars. And yesterday I started doing a 'deep' dive into my 'plans' so far...

This is how my plans change every trip.

I think I just enjoy planning.

But this time it was a BIG mistake that I found... Normally it is planning our park days for the EMH morning hours everyday... which isn't bad at the beginning of the trip but towards the end dragging my kids out of bed is almost impossible for two of them.

Now on to my changes... for now... lol


Our arrival day is the same 'for now'. But I am debating adding a day and going to MK for a couple hours. Kelsey my 14 year old mentioned the other day that it is a tradition for them to get Casey's on arrival day. We were talking about a future trip in like 2020 or something and making a list of must dos so that we do not 'forget' anything before then and that was one of her top three things. So we will see, it may be a day of decision. Knowing my kids they will be really wanting to go to the park for a while. But then Kelsey also said she would like a go. go. go. trip rather than a go go go go trip... So I may have planned enough for her to feel like it is to much already. Although the majority of us like the go go go go trips more...


Wednesday the 19th is the same with the EMM hours for Toy Story land followed by some time in Epcot and IF we can make it over to MK for the EMH evening and fireworks. We will be exhausted I'm sure but it is the only day we can see the Happily Ever After Fireworks... So fingers crossed.

Thursday the 20th - Still our Christmas Party night! And planning on seeing the monorail resorts before it. So a complete sleep in day. Which after the prior day will be wanted.

Friday the 21st - Check out day for CBR and going to Epcot for the day. We do not have a 'must' be there by time. Eric will arrive around 3 or 4. I can't remember when his flight lands and he will be meeting us at the park. I may save our FPs for the afternoon... but not sure.

Saturday the 22nd - This was originally planned as a AK day because of Pandora land and Eric being excited for it, but it is an EMH morning... I know that Eric would be awake for it but considering the very next day is also an EMH morning at MK we needed to change it. So we have swapped to HS for at least the start of the day so we can do what we didn't do the previous day and Eric can see Toy Story Land. We might hop to a different park, but maybe not because I want to see the nighttime stuff at HS and it would be a good night to see it all.

Sunday the 23rd - MK still... EMH morning. We will be hanging out at MK all day. If we want a break we will head back to the resort or find a bench. We have the dessert party this evening so we will end the night there.

Monday the 24th - Epcot - no changes.

Tuesday the 25th - Me and the girls MK in the morning til around 10ish and then we will head back to the resort and do presents/brunch and then go to AK for the day OR some where else... no solid plans for this day.

Wednesday the 26th - AK all day, might hop to a different park if we have most of what we wanted done. I still have that Ohana dinner that I've held on to that we might do... not positive yet. We will need to pack at some point today though.

Thursday the 27th - It is a 10 day... so our normal all parks in one day will probably not really work out well. We will most likely start in MK and go over to Epcot for lunch. May make it to HS but I doubt we will make it to AK before we need to be back at the resort for 4pm.

It feels like the trip is so long in this planning stage but I know once we are there it will be so short.

Now besides the day plans I was toying with moving to BC for the first three nights. I actually go to the 'change reservation' screen before I chickened out... it is 800.00 more for the three nights and for that I could really take Uber to the parks if we wanted. LOL And add in a meal or two really... So I decided with great sadness NOT to book it. It will be magical either way.

I also want to do Amazon Prime Pantry for our stay, but I am not sure if I should have it delivered the day we arrive at CBR or SSR. On one hand my kids might eat some of it before SSR but on the other hand that means we have to transfer the bulk of it to SSR which might be painful. So I might just put some breakfast foods in one of the suit cases to take with us and do the main order for SSR.

I just need to narrow down what we really want while we are there. I don't want to get too much food. But then I could also pack a few thin duffel bags in our luggage and use them on the way home since we each can have two checked bags and they will take them to the airport for us. Which is a bonus!! And we can take home food if we have room. Then again the kids might fill it with stuff they buy.

What are some things that you guys have as 'must' have food items? Right now our top ones are Water (cause the water in Disney taste like words I can't say on here), Gatorade, Cheese-Itz (my kids will spend a fortune on them if I don't), and some pop tarts or breakfast type on the go foods.
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[Jasperann]

Is there such a thing as too many extra's?

So far this trip I've booked:

Toy Story Land Extra Magic Mornings for the 19th-- SO excited for this!!!

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party for the 20th -- How can anyone NOT be excited for their favorite holiday at their favorite place ever!!!

Magic Kingdom Dessert Party for the 23rd -- First time, hoping for HEA Fireworks but right now it is saying Holiday Wishes. We will love both I'm sure.

Candle Light Processional for the 24th -- Perfect plan for Christmas Eve, I'm so excited to see this show and the added lunch at Coral Reef is going to be amazing.

Now I'm thinking about adding on Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam Firework Dessert Party.... You know to stay away from the majority of the crowds. Is that crazy? Is it too much? We would add it for the 22nd (a Saturday) or the 25th (Christmas Day... perfect?!?). What do you all think???

Would you book it?​

 

[wmoon]

We booked Jingle Bell Jingle Bam Dessert party for that very reason.
Although we are not going until 12/29 as this is our first night at the BC.
We’ve done the Star Wars dessert party before and really liked the viewing area and no need to stand for ages to get a spot.

 

[Jasperann]

74 days left!

That means I have two weeks until Fast Pass day (#1)

Since Eric arrives three days after us I am not sure what I'm going to do about Fast Passes for that part of the trip. I wish we could make them all at the same time, but I know that they are not going to let us. I am thinking about making ours in two weeks and trying to 'add' him to our attractions. I know that it might not work, but I thought it might be worth the shot.

After talking with my oldest (21 DD soon to be 22) I think we have decided that we are going to add on a day at Magic Kingdom on our arrival day. So I'm going to book our Fast passes for that day instead of our Friday Epcot day and then just book what we can for Friday after we add on our day. I was toying around with Touring Plans and what we really want to do on the MK day is:

Eat at Casey's -- Because TRADITION...lol
Watch the parade (may not be possible because it starts at 2pm and we land at 11:40 -- It arrives up front by 2:20)
Ride Buzz
Ride Space Mountain
Ride Seven Dwarfs
Ride Pirates
Ride Jungle Cruise

We will only be there from 2ish - 6pm when the park closes. When I plugged this plan into Touring plans it said that without Fast Passes we are arriving at Jungle Cruise @ 6:03. So I will need to book FP for a few of the rides to make it to all of them. Maybe Space, Seven Dwarfs, and Jungle Cruise/Pirates, then we could hop on a few of the other rides with shorter waits. If we did 2:30-3:30 at Space, 3:30-4:30 Seven Dwarfs, and 4:30-5:30 Jungle Cruise/Pirates then we would have time for another shorter wait ride (or twice on Buzz... ) If we skip the parade then we would have 'more' time, but I'm not sure we would make it to Casey's with the parade in our way anyways.

After 6pm we will head back to the resort and let my crazy son swim in the I'm sure freezing cold... while I huddle on the side of the pool in my coat or sit on the side of the hot tub.

The next morning is the EMM at Toy Storyland. I've heard that they let you in at 7am and you can go grab something to eat and then head over to TSL. I am thinking we are going to arrive a little earlier than 7am and go over to grab a quick little danish or something and then ride all the rides in TSL as many times as we can before going over and hopping on ToT or Rock n Roller coaster before our 'real' breakfast. I'm aiming for 9:30 for breakfast so we may even just do a character greet instead to save some walking. I want to start our FP's at 9:30 this day and do 9:30-10:30 Star Tours, 10:30-11:30 ToT/RnR (either works), 11:30 (think it is actually 11:40) Beauty and the Beast FP, then head out of the park and take the boat to Epcot.

I'll grab an Epcot FP on the boat over. We have an ADR for lunch at 2:10 in Italy so we will head over there for lunch (probably just relax in that court yard if it isn't our ADR time yet) and then do our FP afterwards. Then I will grab a FP for MK later that evening and probably head back to the resort for a little rest before going to MK for the fireworks and the crazy EMH...lol LONG, LONG Day. We may not make it. But because it is the ONLY day on our entire trip we can see the Happily ever After Fireworks we are going to try to make it for them. The calendar still shows Holiday wishes the week of Christmas so it really is the only day to see them and we have not seen them, they started the day after we left on our last trip.

I haven't planned out the next day, which is our Christmas Party. I am still not sure if they are going to let DVC members in at 2pm or not. I hope they do. That would be awesome. But if they don't we will just check out the gingerbread house in the Grand. I do kind of want to wait for Eric to be there for that though.

Then our Epcot day that I will need to make our FP's for like three days before we go, so what ever we can get we will take. We are thinking about having Eric surprise the kids at the Figment ride so hopefully get a FP for around the time he should be in the park for that one. Or he could even surprise them at the Pixar movie too. Just need to play it by ear that day I think. But FP's are not important on this day because we will spend a lot of time in the WS watching the storytellers. At least some of them.

Then we come to the day that I've been changing over and over again... thankfully I didn't make an update each time I've changed our plans this day.

So we started out as going to AK. I didn't make an ADR because we were planning on going to Yak and Yeti and we have the card that gives VIP seating. Which is great when you aren't sure when you'll be near the restaurant. But then I noticed that AK is like a 9 or something that day (as well as the rest of the week) and it is an EMH in the morning. I have no doubt Eric will be able to be up that early, but this is morning number 4 for the kids... AND we are doing an early morning the next morning for MK. I don't want to push it and if we can't make it for park opening then going doesn't make sense. So I switched it to HS. I figured it would be a pretty relaxed day for the majority of us that had been there already and rode the TSL rides multiple times... then maybe a mid-day break and maybe go to a different park in the afternoon. Maybe AK... Or maybe just head back to HS so we can see the night time shows. I don't know, but I feel like this day will be up in the air until we are there.

I will make FP for early at HS that day though.

Then our MK day with our 1ish Plaza ADR and our Dessert Party. We will probably be in the park from open to close. Which means we will need to have a place to relax and just chill in the park. I'm sure the crowds will be more than too much for Eric and Kelsey. I would say we could ride the People Mover over and over again, but I'm pretty sure that there is a continuous wait for it when the park is super busy.

For FP, I know we will want Seven Dwarfs, Peter Pan, and Big Thunder Mountain or one of the other Mountains. Although if we start in Adventure land for our day then we could knock out a lot of the mountains and pirates/jungle cruise early in the day. Then join the masses in Fantasy land armed with our Fast Passes. LOL

If it is warm out then we will take a break near Casey Jr. So that Xander can get wet and we can just rest. Then he can stand in line for Goofy's ride and we can rest...lol I have a foot issue that makes my arch/heels hurt really bad when I'm just standing. I could probably walk a lot more than I can just stand... so I'm thinking by this point sitting will be high on my list if we are not walking.

I still have 4 more days to plan out, but I haven't sat down and done that yet. SO in the next two weeks I need to get too it.

Oh and I think we decided against the Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam. I have spent a lot on extra's this trip that I hadn't planned and I just can't do it again. lol We will enjoy what we have and the kids won't even know what is missing. ​

 

[Jasperann]

A few updates!

Update #1 -

I caved with all of these most recent price increases (with rumors of more to come for Quick Service as well as Dining prices going up tomorrow for the plans) and booked the Quick Service Dining plan for the second half of our trip. So for 6 nights of our trip we now have QSDP. It was 315.00 per person and really it is spread across 7 full days of food... We do have three TS meals planned for that time (and one that might be canceled) and the Dessert party.

I think we might end up bringing snacks home. BUT with my girls 'dating' they might like having a special treat to bring to their boyfriends. We are not getting the Dining plan for the first three nights because it doesn't make sense. Our first full day we have the TSL EMM with breakfast and then a late lunch planned for 2:20 so we wouldn't really use any credits on that day. Then we would end up with extra going into Friday and possibly lose them if they take them when you check into the next resort.

Update #2 -

Due to a family 'surprise' outing yesterday I have kind of come up with the PERFECT way to surprise my kids with the trip. Eeeek!

Okay, so we surprised our kids with a trip the a local Corn Maze that we hadn't gone to before on Sunday and leading up to the day trip the kids were trying to guess where we were going. One guess from Kelsey (I swear she is psychic or someone has told her something...) was that we were driving to the airport and going to Disney world.

You can't tell that they've been surprised with Disney before can you?

Anyways, on the way to the corn maze (it is about an hour away) we have to pass the airport that we fly out of in December. And my daughter was convinced we were going to the airport. So I was playing off of that and I said to Eric that on our next 'Family fun day' that we had to go to the airport and hang out for the day.

With Eric dropping us off and then meeting us a few days later I started to think that it would be a great plan. So I think that the way that we will surprise them is we will tell them that we are having a family fun day on the Tuesday that we are actually leaving. That way they won't wonder why we are going way out of the way for doughnuts AND we can keep it a 100% surprise until we arrive at the airport AND they will already know about missing at least one day of school (making the other three days easier to swallow for Kelsey ). In all the other possible surprises I couldn't figure out HOW to get everyone to the airport without knowing. But this way Eric can drive as if we are going to a family fun day and then he can take the turn for the airport and we can play off of each other, referring back to yesterday and him taking us to the airport for our next family fun day. Then when he pulls up at the curb he can say, okay get out, I need to go home and sleep for work tonight. We are a sarcastic family so it wouldn't come off as 'real'. But I'll jump out and then surprise them.

In other news, our fast pass day is Friday (for most of us). I think I'm booking the whole trip on Friday and then trying to add Eric to each day. We may need to change some things but one person being added might not be the hardest thing to do. I'm hoping for and very good luck when I do his on Sunday.


I did end up canceling the Plaza Breakfast ADR I booked for Christmas (not sure if I mentioned that here). And I also am thinking that Ohana is going to be canceled. Not sure it is worth the 400.00+ it now is for our family of 6. We could do a lot with that 400.00 some place else.

As of right now I have our one ADR on Wednesday for Italy, The Plaza lunch on the 23rd, Coral Reef for CP on the 24th, and 50s Prime Time on the 25th. I'm keeping those ones because I'm sure the breaks on each of those days will be needed. We do also plan to eat at Yak and Yeti on the 26th. Which will get us out of the crowds a bit as well. But the Ohana on the 26th will probably be canceled. I can not believe that we are 64 more sleeps. That is going to go so fast.

I finally uploaded some pictures too so I am going to share those of my family.

All of us in one picture!! Even with Memory maker this rarely happens because either Brittany, Alex, or Kelsey are in a mood and don't want to be in a picture.

Eric and me

Four of us on RnRC... this is the first ride for both Emily and Alex. I hate this ride... it seems Emily next to me also hates this ride. Alex told me that it is his favorite ride... his face does not scream favorite. And of course my hubby (Eric) he is in love with this ride.

One of my most favorite pictures. This happened when Kelsey and me were re-riding TSMM because her gun didn't work. I do love this picture. The Photopass person actually took so many great pictures that morning. LOVE IT!!

Alex is so much taller now!! He is just about as tall as Emily and he is taller than both Brittany and Kelsey now. This picture will be completely different.

This is a great picture of Kelsey. I love when she gives real smiles in pictures.

And I need to share one last picture of Brittany. We call her the elusive BB... she disappears when photos happen and hates having them done and BB is because Alex when he was little couldn't say Brittany and that is what he called her, it stuck.

So family pictures!! Late... but better than never!! ​

 

[Jasperann]

FAST PASS DAY!!!!

Oh my gosh!! Fast pass day!! Do you know how close our trip is now?!?! Oh my.

Okay so it did not go smoothly.

I was up and ready at 6:30 (gotta get the kids up anyway). I had the page loaded to the Fast Pass Screen, all I needed to do at 7am is press the make Fast Pass selection and I would be on my way to a magical Disney trip!!!

I tried to come onto the Disboards to pass the time only it wasn't loading for me. Sad.

Then 7:00am came and I pressed that button and I got a white screen. Not even Stitch eating the screen... Nope... just a white screen.

How was I going to get OUR Flight of Passage?!?! Or our Slinky Dog for my hubby to ride?!

I spent about 25 mins refreshing the Disney site and the app and sighing in frustration to the point my DD Emily asked me if everything was okay. Of course I hold in my frustration and just nod... but inside I was completely freaking out. I was between refreshing and following my Facebook post in the group I'm in to see if anyone else was having luck. No one else was.



By 7:25 I had put off taking my son to school long enough and I said.... Oh well. We will have a magical trip either way. And I left to take him. After dropping him off I pulled over to check the app again. No go.

Then I got to Tim Hortons and checked again (because no coffee today would have been bad...) Again, nothing.

Not off to a good start.

I drive the 2 miles back home and check the app again sitting in my car. And it loaded!!!

I was so excited that I went for Flight of Passage first!!! Then after it was booked realized it was the wrong day...



Okay... so hold onto that one and go for the day I wanted... Or, err thought I wanted... Christmas day! Uh, I got it!! Yay... Right?!

Then I realized we have an ADR at 50s Prime time at 1:20pm that day. Um, Okay... So I have two FOP booked and neither are on days I actually planned for AK.

So I go back in and I book it for the actual day I wanted and got it. FOP isn't as hard to get as they say you know.

So now I have three days in a row with FOP. We will not be in AK for three days in a row... however our last day (which was the first day I booked) we 'are' park hopping to all the parks we can get too. Yeah I know it will be very busy... but maybe I'll just leave the FOP for that day and we can hit AK first and bus to HS after... just work backwards or something.

That means that I have to make a decision about AK on Christmas or AK on the day after Christmas. I mean on one hand I don't want to wait until the second to last day to make it to AK, but then I wasn't planning on AK on Christmas. I wanted to do MK in the morning and then HS. So I may cancel the Christmas FOP and move our Fast Passes to HS for the day. We do have HS on Saturday as well... so I would probably do Toy Story Mania for our FP at HS on Christmas.

So really, Christmas is the day that is not set in stone at this point.

As for the rest of the trip. I think I have things set for now!!

I did not book any FP for Tuesday on our Arrival day... If we go to the park it will be MK and it will only be for a few hours and it is a Party day so really I'm not worried.

Wednesday the 19th -

EMM at TSL
Lunch at Via Napoli at 2:20
FP Big Thunder - 4:25-5:25
FP Pirates - 5:45 - 6:45
FP Peter Pan's Flight - 645 - 7:45

Thursday the 20th -

MVMCP -- DVC can get in at 2pm
FP Buzz - 2:35 - 3:35
FP Jungle Cruise - 3:50 - 4:50
FP Pirates - 4:50 - 5:50

Friday the 21st -

FP Spaceship Earth - 10:55 - 11:55
FP Figment - 12:15 - 1:15
FP Frozen - 5:10 - 6:10 (I made this one in hopes my hubby will be in the park by then and we can surprise the girls)

Saturday the 22nd -

FP ToT - 9:15-10:15
FP RnR - 10:35 - 11:35
FP - Slinky - 4:30 - 5:30

Sunday the 23rd -

FP Space - 9:35 - 10:35
FP Buzz - 10:35 - 11:35
FP 7DMT - 11:55 - 12:55
ADR Plaza 12:55
Dessert Party 8:30

Monday the 24th -

FP Test Track - 9:20 - 10:20
FP Figment - 10:25 - 11:25
Nemo - 11:30 - 12:30
Candlelight Processional Lunch Coral Reef 11:55
Candlelight Processional 5:00

And then the 25th-27th all have AK Fast Passes right now... So I need to figure this out.

If I want to start in MK on Christmas the FP's I have right now for FOP would not work... it starts at 10:05 and I'm pretty sure traffic will be horrible coming or going to MK... so I would think I would need one to start at 12:00 if we were doing that one.

The FP's on the 26th actually start early so we could take a break in the afternoon or hop to a different park... Most of our trips we do the Fast Passes early and then hop to a different park... this trip my FP's are crazy and hopping might be harder. Right now we are hopping on the 19th and probably the 25th for most of my party and the 27th. The other days I am not sure we will hop.

I know we will not be hopping on the 23rd or the 24th... we may take a break on the 23rd. The 24th we will just rest in the park. Lunch will help and then we will just explore the World showcase and the Santa stories.

The 21st I am planning a late start. Between the late night and needing to get our stuff over to bell services to move resorts I don't think we will make it to Epcot until the later part of our first Fast Pass. Which will work out well.

On, Christmas a few of the parks are open pretty late if we do have a rest during the day. I know we need to plan some time for Disney springs but I feel like with us being right next to it starting on the 21st that we will have no problem making it over there more than we plan anyway...

I feel like I need to celebrate making it through this day!! And the fact they let me book FP's for Eric and he arrives three days after us.









I can't wait!! 60 more sleeps!!! Eeek!!




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[Jasperann]

Bet you didn't think I'd update again so quickly...

Well it turns out that Disney is an expert at making me change my 'set' plans...

Imagine that.

So what did they do to make me change my plans SO completely after making the perfect Fast Passes?

They did one little itty bitty tiny thing.

They added EMM for Toy Story Land on December 24th. If you recall I had EMM TSL booked for the 19th for my kids and me. My hubby was missing out because he arrives on the 21st. Which means that he was missing out on TSL EMM and the MVMCP. I was feeling bad about that but there was nothing I could do about it. There was nothing offered that he could do.

Well them offering this TSL EMM on a day that he was there really set in the guilt. He would love it. There would be six of us... no one would have to ride alone. There would have been bickering between all four of my kids about who got to ride with Mom... which would have left one of them riding by themselves each ride. So I was dreading that. Do anyone else's kids bicker like that? I hope it's normal.

The problem with the new date for the EMM was bigger than I first realized. First, we have Candlelight Processional lunch at 11:55 at Epcot on the 24th and doing the CP on Christmas Eve is definitely something I still really want to do. I feel like it would be the perfect thing for that evening. Second, we have a very late night the night before with the MK Dessert Party and the park closing at midnight. I know a few of us wanted to stay till midnight. There is no possible way we could stay till midnight and then get back to the room around one in the morning and be awake at by five in the morning. Although we could probably push it to six in the morning. My kids are quick getting up and out of the room on vacation. Helps to take showers at night. But that would also put us to bed later than one in the morning.

So I was like... I can't do it. There are no other times for the lunch and if we eat breakfast at 9:30 in the morning we are not going to be hungry at noon. So the ONLY option to make it work is either finding a new time for the CP package and not doing the dessert party or moving more than that around. I also toyed with making the CP package for Saturday because there was lots of times open for then. But it just didn't feel right.

I stressed about this for like 4 hours last night before pulling my husband from the room and talking it over with him in private. Obviously he said, 'well, it is a busy time and I would really like to have the extra time for the newer rides (insert puppy dog eyes).'

So I get back on the Disney site and I look over our plans...

And then I realized that I 'could' see if there is a Dessert party for Saturday night available and then that could be our late MK day. I checked and there WAS some left!!

It was going to work!! We could make an early night on Sunday to make sure everyone is rested for Christmas Eve at EMM TSL!! I then booked the dessert party and hopped over and booked the EMM TSL for 12/24. I left our CP package for 11:55 and we are going to aim at eating prior to going into TSL and then if we are a little hungry after we will just pop in to the ABC and grab a danish or something. I also canceled our EMM TSL for the 19th and the dessert party for the 23rd. Then I looked at Fast passes...

After all that stressing yesterday morning I was seriously thinking of moving around my fast passes. I had lost my mind.

I changed somethings...

Wednesday the 19th no longer had the early morning attached to it... SO I had to figure out how we are doing this. I'm still not 100% sure as you will see in a minute.

I moved our FP's to the morning at MK in hopes of getting a couple more later. MK has EMH at night and we had always planned to do them... now it is more likely that we will stay the whole time.

FP - Jungle Cruise 9:55-10:55
FP - Haunted Mansion 10:55-11:55
FP - Pirates 11:55-12:55

We are starting in Frontier land this morning so we will do what we can before our FP at 9:55. If we get on Pirates before Jungle Cruise then we will change that Pirates for something in Fantasy Land for around the same time (if available) and move that way. We still have an ADR for 2:20 in Epcot that I'm not sure I'm going to keep. I want to eat there but if we leave the park this day it will probably be for a resort break not to go to Epcot and then come back...

Thursday and Friday did not change. Thank goodness.

Saturday now has our Dessert Party at MK. I didn't change much. But I did exchange the Slinky dog FP for TSMM instead. It will get us out of HS by around 1pm if we wanted a little break before a late night at MK.

I did not really change anything at MK on Sunday either. I figure that we can at least do our FP's and then maybe just make an in the moment call of if we want to hop or just hang out at the resort for the remainder of the day. Or even Disney Springs for a while. Maybe catch a movie or something relaxing.

For Christmas Eve, I of course added on the EMM and I moved our Test track FP to right after our ADR for Coral Reef. I am thinking of seeing if there is an earlier time. I'm not sure if we will want a break from the parks this day or if we will just do the relaxing Epcot day that we normally do in the WS until our CP and then find dinner afterwards and a spot to just chill out in until Illuminations. I know we want to watch Illuminations for sure because it will probably be the last time we see it. I think it is at 10pm that night though. SO... that is a long day without a break, unless we just do the people watching thing in the park or something.

Then the rest of my trip ... Well I canceled our FOP for Christmas day because the plan all along was for HS for Christmas day with 50s for lunch. I was able to grab a Slinky Dog FP and the other normal FP's at HS. I have our first one starting at 10:40 so that I can still go to MK in the morning...lol Then we can take a break after our lunch 'if' we really want too... most of my family will be sleeping in so they probably will be ready to stay all day.

I did keep our FOP for the 26th and the 27th. I think that depending on crowds we may spend most of our last day at AK. We really enjoy that park and don't spend a lot of time at it. And by that point the kids and me will have been at MK a few times and Epcot a few times and HS a few times...and my DH will have no issues with more AK time. It's the one thing he says he doesn't get enough of.

Lots of Changes!! I'm hoping that I do not have any more. But knowing me I may.

Do you guys make this many changes last minute?

​

 

[wmoon]

Wow, you like to create some stress for yourself, lol.

I would be the same, we don't arrive till late afternoon on the 24th or I'd have been all for sacking my plans and doing HS EMM that morning.

Glad you got your fast passes eventually. Ours are due on Thursday so fingers crossed.

 

[Jasperann]

Wow, you like to create some stress for yourself, lol.

I would be the same, we don't arrive till late afternoon on the 24th or I'd have been all for sacking my plans and doing HS EMM that morning.

Glad you got your fast passes eventually. Ours are due on Thursday so fingers crossed.

Yes... that is a good way to put it. I do create stress for myself. lol Fast pass was so stressful and I couldn't believe that I actually went and changed it after all of that.

Good luck on Thursday!!! Hope you get everything you are looking for!!

 

[Jasperann]

Hey everyone!! It's been a while. No changes since last time. We went through a few ideas for the surprise and I really want to do a scavenger hunt so I will be doing that on Sunday the 16th (2 sleeps before we leave). We are going over to Nana's house for our 'Christmas Eve' dinner on Sunday and I don't want to have Nana and Pawpaw lie about why we are doing it early, so we are going to start the scavenger hunt at our house and end up at Nana's where they will find out the surprise. I found some clues on pintrest and came up with a few that worked for us.

We have 13 more sleeps until we go to the airport to get to Disney. I'm so excited!!

I found some Christmas shirts at Walmart that have made the girls matching and my son sort of matching. They don't have real matching shirts for the whole family and I was trying to budget. I didn't find anything for me because I do not fit into Juniors. But I did find a cute shirt that sort of matches on Etsy. It has the same colors and all of the shirts have Christmas lights on them. Mine reads 'My favorite color is Christmas Lights.' So it goes with the others in a round about way.

Here are the clues that I have:


It’s on! It’s here! It’s scavenger hunt time! If there’s a show on, please pause it.


Go find the next clue hidden inside a ___________.





Rudolph was called upon to lead Santa’s sleigh. Thankfully, he was willing & able.


For your next clue, don’t look high look low. It’s under the kitchen ____________.





Santa’s trip around the world each year always makes the news.


Now go look for a clue hidden where you keep your boots and _____.





To stay on Santa’s nice list, you cannot be a grouch.


The next clue is under a cushion on your comfy _____.




“Jingle Bells” and “Frosty the Snowman” are favorite holiday tunes.


The next clue is hiding among the knives, forks, and ______.





You’re not done yet! Keep going, still a few clues more.


The next place to look is by your back ____________.





Phew! So much running around, take a break and enjoy a couple bananas.


Ask Dad to take you over to _____________.





The elves’ workshop at the North Pole when full of toys is a treasure trove.


It’s much warmer, though, at Nana’s in her kitchen near the oven or __________.





You’ve looked here and there, all over the place. Where could your present be?

Of course, it’s where most gifts are found, around the Christmas ____.

The only one that I might need to change a little bit is the first one. We really don't have a closet. I need to print them out and paste them onto the little cards I'm going to be using for it. I'm excited to see their reaction. They will sort of know something is up with just doing the scavenger hunt, but I think going to Nana's may make them question what it is exactly.

Oh I did cancel our Ohana dinner. I just can't spend over 400.00 on one meal right now. I mean I will be doing that for the Candlelight processional but that is different.

Now onto the things I'm looking forward too!! All this planning has been so worth it.

The first thing is that they have the cookie stroll at Epcot. My son is super picky and rarely tries anything at the festivals but the cookies will make him feel like he is participating. I've watched a bunch of vlogs reviewing it and of course they all say it is better for kids. So he will love it!

Between those cookies and this:

My son will be quite busy while we walk around the world showcase. And of course that doesn't even include the story tellers.

Then of course my hubby is really looking forward to all of these beer flights, I am wanting to try that hot coco flight in Hollywood studios.

I really want to add this pin to my collection. There are a few pins that I plan on picking up but this is one of the main ones.

All the shows!! Especially Illuminations. It will be our last time to see it before it goes away.

A lot of the things I'm really looking forward to are actually in Epcot... I mean with the exception of the Christmas Party and EMM at Toy Story Land and Pandora...

We did buy a mini tree with mini bulbs to put in our resort room for our Christmas Morning presents. I still have tons of packing to do and wrapping of presents for other family members. Our trip is going to be here before I know it. I want to try to do a trip report as well. It will depend on my note taking ability while we are there. We will see.​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I hope the big reveal goes well! It sounds like a good plan.

 

[NSDisneyGirl]

Enjoyed reading your PTR - hoping you'll be posting a TR or even just an update on how the scavenger hunt went Hope you had a great trip!