Very Merry Trip Report 12/7/2006 - 12/18/2006 - Updated 6/14/07 - Complete!!!

disneyfav4ever

No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep
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My pre-trip, and trip reports have been merged into one. My pre-trip report, A Very Merry Trip Report, is posts 1 - 21, and my actual trip report, which the title changed to the Twelve Days of Christmas at Disney, starts on post number 22. That should clear up any confusion.

Day One - Post #23

Pre Trip Report

I started planning this trip this past Feb, four months after coming home from my first solo trip. I had known I wanted to go back to Disney as soon as possible, and a trip for the 2006 F&W Festival was my first idea, but then, as I thought about it a little more, I realized that if I went in that break between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then for the 2007 F&W Festival, I could get an AP and save a few hundred dollars. Besides, I had never been to Disney in Dec, and the idea of seeing all the X-mas decorations, especially the life-size gingerbread house, was quite appealing.

The first thing I wanted to take care of was booking my room. I knew that a value resort was my best option, since it was the cheapest, and the way I see it, I can either spend more money on a room, or on food. And the food is a lot more important to me then the hotel, and last year I spent $77 a day on a room, and an average of $70 a day on food. To be fair though that was during the F&W Festival, and that includes things like Party for the Senses, so there's more then $100 there. But this isn't about last year's trip, this is about this years.

So I wanted to stay at a value resort.

My choices were either one of the All Stars, or Pop Century. I had already stayed at AS Music, and decided to give Pop a chance. Then next Oct, I can just stay at which ever one I preferred. (BTW - I'm also staying at AS Movies in Feb for a mini-trip, see report "Self-Obsessive Princess-Birthday Trip.)

So I booked a room at Pop for 12 days, and 11 nights, which is one more day then last year. I had decided I needed ten full days in the park, and apparently nine and a half just isn't enough. (In the next twelve months, I'll be spending 28 days in Disney, in case anyone cares.) This is sounded like a tag for a reality show - 28 days, 52 restaurants, 3 trips, 1 person. (The 52 restaurants is considering I make as many ADR's next Oct as I did for Dec, this may be slightly higher or lower.)

My room, for the whole eleven nights, was just under $1,000, and apparently, (according to my parents,) it's sickening that I can spend that much money, not once, but twice in the course of a year on a trip.

I then booked an 8:00 AM flight, that arrives at MCO at 10:30, and then a 2:30 flight back home. Flights are boring, there is nothing Disney or magical about them. . . at least not until I get to Orlando, and then there's DME.

And in case anyone's interested in dates, I booked my room at the end of Feb, and the flight at the begining of April. (I'm into really early planning, I like to be prepared.)

I would also like to take this time to say that when, if I ever do go with my BF, that I'll make it much slower paced, less comando then when I go solo. While I enjoy, and am able, to go from park opening, to park closing, that wouldn't be for BF. I would do early mornings, then an afternoon break, and then the nightly entertainment, with a TS lunch and dinner every day. Okay, so that would be almost the same thing, except I rarely take breaks.

I bought my AP, and got the voucher, which I will be using in a few days when I order my DDE, and the only reason I haven't ordered my DDE yet is because I want it to be good through Oct 07, so I'm waiting until Oct to order it. But still early for my trip, so it has plenty of time to arrive.

Even though MVMCP tickets were available in May, I didn't buy them until June, 174 days before my trip. The reason I did this, was so that I could make my ADR's first, and in case I didn't get a date or time I wanted, I wouldn't be stuck with MVMCP tickets for a certain date, and it would be easier to fix any problems with that.

Except I wasn't going for any extremely hard-to-get ADR's, and I was calling exactly 180-days out, and I had that 10-day+ rule, so I got everything I wanted, for the almost exact times I wanted. (See day-to-day plan for ADR selections below.)

Packing

Yes, it's only Sep, and I already started packing. But, I had to move around my clothes anyway, and pack away my summery clothes, so I figured, why not just pack them for Disney while I'm at it?

Included in my Disney wardrobe - Bambi tee, Tinker Bell tee, Pirates tee, Tink hoodie, Daisy and Donald tee, Eeyore tee. . . do you see where this is going? I'm also going to take several nicer skirts / capris, and tops for the signature restaurants. (I have six signature dinners planned.) I'm planning on packing this one light weight skirt and top that I know I can take to the parks in my day bag, and change before dinner. Or is that tacky?

So I'm going to have to take my big suitcase, as well as what used to be my carry-on bag is going to be checked, (but not with the DME tags so I can pick it up right away,) with more clothes, and my soaps and lotions. So I'll have enough clothes for about a month. LOL. I also want to buy one of those Tide to go pens, and try and avoid doing laundry there.

I also have three landyards full of trader pins.

Day to Day Intenirary

Notes on the day to day plan - I have several days where I'm more specific then others, like on my MK days, I have a different "land" or two planned each morning, while the other days I've just listed the park I'm going to be at.

Arrival Day / Day 1

Early flight at 8:00 AM, (same as every year,) that arrives at MCO at 10:30, so hopefully, will be at Pop and checked in by noon, and at AK by 1:00, (I always run straight to the parks.)

Lunch ADR, (which may or may not be cancelled,) at Rainforest Cafe, at 1:45. Depending on if everything else is on time, or if I'm super early to AK, will decide what I do for lunch. (This may also be for an appetizer and / or dessert only.)

AK until park closing, at 5:00.

Dinner at Boma at 6:00, so lunch four hours earlier may not be the greatest idea.

I have several options that night 1) DTD 2) Epcot's open till 9:30, so I could go over and see Illuminations, or 3) go back to Pop.

Day 2

Wake up early, so I can get to MK at park opening, (9:00 AM,) then tour Frontier / Adventureland in the morning. (Collect FP's) Lunch at LTT at 11:30. Continue touring MK. See afternoon parade. Dinner at CA Grill at 5:40, so I want to leave MK no later then 5:00, probably closer to 4/4:30ish so I have some time to tour the Contemporary.

MK closes at 7:00, with Wishes at 6:00, so I may be able to view them during dinner. (I actually had no intention of planning it this way, but I like to eat early, and 5:40 was the earliest time they had available, so I lucked out.)

So since MK closes at 7:00, I won't be going back there after dinner. I have the same options as the night before, except Epcot has EMH that night, and I don't know weather or not that's a good thing, since I want to take advantage of MGM's EMH the next morning, so staying at Epcot really late, may not be the best idea. And there's a Mouse Fest meet at DTD that I could go to, that starts at 7:30, so I could always go to that.

Day 3

Busy day!

There's MGM EMH that morning, so I'll either go there, and do the ToT and Rock n' Roller Coaster, and then head to Epcot, or, I'll bypass MGM, and just go to Epcot.

I do have a lunch ADR at Nine Dragons, at noon. And then that afternoon, I'll either stay at Epcot, or go to the Mega Mouse Meet. Anyone else planning on going?

I have a dinner ADR at 5:50, (for the record, I have at least two ADR's every day, and one day with three,) at Citrico's. So I want to leave Epcot by 5:00 or the MMM is over at 3:30, so I could go to the GF from there, since that is definatly a resort I want to tour - (life-size gingerbread house!)

After dinner, I could go to MK, which is open until 10:00, and see Spectro, (two showings, so could go to the second one - less crowds,) and Wishes.

Day 4

Sleep in, I have no parks planned for this morning. I do, however, have a lunch ADR at 11:30 at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe, but I won't have to be at a park for opening. (Only day I'm planning on not being at a park at opening.) Like I said, I'm comando.

That afternoon, tour DTD or AK.

Dinner at Jiko at 6:00. MK has EMH in the evening, and Mouse Fest is at MK that day, so I think I'll go there after dinner, or I could always go to Epcot, if I haven't seen Illuminations by then.

Day 5

Be at Epcot at park opening, (9:00,) and ride Soarin, and Turtle Talk with Crush. (Soarin is my favorite ride in all of Disney, so I'll be riding it as many times as possible.) Hopefully, since it'll be more then a year old by then, the lines will have slimmed down a bit.

Continue touring Future World until noon, which is when I have a lunch ADR for Chefs de France.

Tour Epcot WS for the remainder of the afternoon, until 4:00 PM, then go over to the Dolphin resort for my dinner ADR at Blue Zoo at 5:00.

Go to MGM that night for EMH. Tour the Osborne lights, I have a Fantasmic dinner package later in the week, so I won't worry about seeing the show. This way, I'll have one night for the lights, and one for the show.

MGM's open until 10:00, so depending on the crowds, I could get a few attractions in. Also, Mouse Fest has this listed as the MGM day, but there are no events scheduled yet, so we'll see if I want to do anything they come up with.

I could also always go over to the Boardwalk, and tour there.

Day 6

Another busy day! Though this one is more because of an early start, and late night, then park-hopping like day three is.

Day six starts with breakfast at 8:05 at CP, I had the same ADR time last year, and was out by the castle at 8:45, so I like that time.

Tour Fantasyland in the morning, then Toontown.

At 11:30, or earlier, I'll head over to the GF for lunch at the GF Cafe, (11:50,) this will be a light meal, appetizer and / or dessert.

Then that afternoon, either MK, or, a break, (may be a good idea, but I always tend to get to my room, try to shut my eyes, and head back to the park less then an hour later,) but I still may take that break.

Dinner at Ohana at 5:00, (so a really light lunch,) then MVMCP that night. Which I won't be using so much for the attractions, that I will for character greetings, the parade, and the fireworks.

OT a bit, but last year, when I went to two MNSSHP, I spent the first one doing very few of the Halloween things, I did see the fireworks, and the late parade, but other then that, just rode rides. Then the second party I went to, I saw the parade twice, and the fireworks, and met a bunch of characters. I enjoyed the second party more.

Day 7

Either go to MGM or Epcot at park opening. Neither has EMH, so both open at 9:00. I do have a lunch ADR at Teppanyaki, but I may cancel it.

I wouldn't even have to be at a park until 5:00 for my CP dinner package at Le Cellier. But I'm not going to sit around Pop all day waiting for it to be 5:00. This may actually also be a good morning for another visit to DTD. I wonder if I could get an ADR anywhere there? But with the CRO being so strict now, (that's what I heard anyway,) I don't think I want to mess with my ADR's. Which reminds me, I still have a regular non-CP dinner ADR for Le Cellier on 12/13 at 4:50 if anyone wants it. It's for one person, but I'm sure it could be for two.

Day 8

MK EMH in the morning, which I'll be touring Tomorrowland during, and then Frontierland as soon as the park actually opens. I'll stay at MK until 11:00, and then I have a lunch ADR at Kona at noon.

Then that afternoon, either a break, or back to MK, (though I think I'll go for a break this day.) The "break" may possibly be taken at DTD, for shopping purposes. I'm doing all of my Christmas shopping at Disney, so I'll need a little extra shopping time this year.

Dinner at Artist Point at 5:30, which unfortunatly, the don't have the pear tart on the menu anymore, and I wanted to try that. (Hopefully there'll be some seasonal desserts - pumpkin and eggnog etc, when I'm there.)

I have a ticket for MVMCP again that night. Which may be a little close, with only a day inbetween the two, but that's what fit my schedule best.

Day 9

Try, (after a late night the night before, "try" is the main word,) to be at AK at opening, (9:00 AM,) and ride EE before my Donald's breakfast ADR at 10:00.

After breakfast, either stay at AK for a few more hours, or go to MGM. (This will depend on what I already have and / or haven't done at either of the parks.) But I don't have many "must-dos" at AK, so will probably be on my way to MGM by noon.

The Stars and Cars parade is scheduled for 3:00 that day, so I could see that, and then get to my 4:15 Fantasmic dinner in plenty of time for my ADR.

Obviously, Fantasmic that night, and then the park closes at 7:00, immediatly after the show.

I could either go back to Pop, or DTD, or Epcot has EMH that night again, and is open until 12:30, so my plans will be decided by how tired I am that night.

Day 10

Epcot all day, (there's a reason not to go to Epcot the day before,) with FW in the morning, and WS in the afternoon and evening.

I have a 11:00 lunch ADR at Garden Grill, so maybe I'll go and get FP's for Soarin first thing in the morning, so I can use them immediatly after lunch.

Then at 4:50 I have a dinner ADR at Rose and Crown, which will probably be another light appetizer and / or dessert meal. (I want to try the sticky toffee pudding.)

I may go to the CP that night, since that's one of the narrators I want to see, and then Illuminations. This will be the last time I'm at Epcot this trip, so I want to make the most of that night.

Day 11

Be at MGM at park opening, 9:00 AM, and ride all my favorites. (ToT, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and B&tB.)

I have a lunch ADR at Mama Melrose's at 12:00.

After lunch, maybe see B&tB, since that usually doesn't show in the early morning, and see the afternoon parade, (3:00,) if I haven't seen it yet.

Leave MGM around 4:00, (maybe right after the parade,) and go to the Boardwalk. I have a 5:30 dinner ADR at Flying Fish.

After dinenr, (7ish?) MK has EMH that night and is open until 1:00 AM, and since I have nothing to do the next day except go home, :sad2: I'm going to try and stay as late as possible. There's two showings of Spectro that night, so if by some chance I haven't seen it yet, I have no reason to miss it that night.

Day 12

How sad - I'll have to go home. But, knowing I have another trip in 55 days, (less time then I have to go until Dec now,) will help me get through it.

I'm going to have to be out of my room by 11:00. My flight's at 2:30, so my DME pick-up should be by noon at the latest.

I arrive back home at 5:00, and then in the days after that I'll be posting a full trip report, food reviews and pictures, and go into over-drive for my Feb birthday trip.
 
I love your report! 28 days, 52 restaurants, 3 trips, 1 person...great line! By the way we stayed at ASMo last year and we really loved it, but we also want to try music next time we stay at a value, but just wanted to let you know the theming at ASMo for your next trip is great, and the food court has delicious chocolate chip pancakes. yummm! I'm excited to see how you're going to like some of your restaurant choices also! you must do a dining report when you finish!
 
Wow. :cloud9: <----- that would be me if I could go and spend 11-12 days at the World. Here's hoping you have enough fun for both of us! What are your dates (if I may ask)? We are going Dec. 25-30. I love the way you have everything planned out. This may be a "duh" :teacher: question, but what is Mouse Fest? (sorry, I haven't been able to explore the board as much lately)
 
My trip is the 7th to the 18th, (in Dec.) Mousefest ( http://www.mousefest.org/ ) is a gathering of Disney die-hards, (like ourselves,) and they arrange all these meets. It happens every Dec.

And, Serendipity, I had those chocolate chip pancakes last year when I was at Music, (I'm assuming that Movies and Music have the same pancakes,) and you're right. They are awesome. :goodvibes
 

oh my god I want them now, as I read that I was eating my slim fast bar breakfast and got very annoyed at my current breakfast selection! :p . Be sure to try the french toast, also very good!
 
serendipity said:
oh my god I want them now, as I read that I was eating my slim fast bar breakfast and got very annoyed at my current breakfast selection! :p . Be sure to try the french toast, also very good!

Yeah, a slim-fast just doesn't compare. I eat whatever I want in Disney without worrying about calories / fat, and then when I'm home I pretty much live on lean cuisine and diet coke.
 
haha I'm of the slim fast bar/100 calorie snack pack/diet coke kind. But same as you when I'm at disney I eat WHAT EVER I WANT.
 
I wonder if I could get an ADR anywhere there? But with the CRO being so strict now, (that's what I heard anyway,) I don't think I want to mess with my ADR's.

What have you heard. I have called twice now and didn't have any problems.
Great itinerary. Have a great vacation.
 
OhMari said:
What have you heard. I have called twice now and didn't have any problems.
Great itinerary. Have a great vacation.

That people were calling, and were being told they already had a lunch ADR that day already, and they couldn't book two lunches that day or whatever. This was during free dining though, so I think it may of just been trying to limit the number of ADRs that were being made.
 
Sounds like you are going to have a great time...11 days...jealous!
 
I ordered my DDE last week, and now I just want it to come in the mail. I know the lady said four to six weeks, but that doesn't mean it couldn't come early. Could it? And also, have read that other Dec trippers have started recieving their DME tags in the mail. Still waiting on those to. Though last year I didn't get my DME tags until three weeks before, and I still have a little less then seven weeks to go. (47 days as of right now.) Waiting may be the hardest part, it wasn't so bad when I had something to plan, or ADR's to make, or something to order.

But now, all I have to do is wait. And pack, and I actually already packed all of my summer clothes into a bag. I'm taking two smaller carry-on size bags, and a suitcase. The suitcase and one of the carry-on type bags will be checked, but only the suitcase will have a DME tag, since I plan on getting the checked carry-on bag as soon as I get to MCO, which will contain things I need as soon as I get to MCO, which have been banned from carry-ons. I'm very pale, so I need sunscreen, and I don't want to pay a high price at the resort, which may not even carry the 60 SPF brand I use.

Besides, with three bags, I'll have enough room, for all my clothes, and all of the stuff I buy in Disney. Which last year, my spendings totaled around $700.
 
disneyfav4ever said:
I ordered my DDE last week, and now I just want it to come in the mail. I know the lady said four to six weeks, but that doesn't mean it couldn't come early. Could it?

Not a chance. Sorry. I'm still waiting for mine and I ordered it over 5 weeks ago! I just hope it gets here by next week!!!

Well, 28 days in WDW... you beat us by a week! We're only going to get 21 days between our October & December trips! I hope you have a wonderful time! :sunny:

-Michelle
 
I better call and order my DDE card on Monday. I got one for a trip last Aug. I planned the trip less than a month out and called and ordered the card about 4 weeks out and it came the day before I left. I had thought they were a bit quicker but I better call and order now for my Dec 14th trip.

Sounds like you've got a trip planned! My quick 3 night Dec trip will make 21 days on my AP and it doesn't expire until May 1st. What is the 2nd night for your MVMCP? I plan on going Dec 15th (you're probably going the 14th) as I didn't want to do it on arrival day.
 
I got my DME information with the luggage tags in the mail yesterday. I was a little upset though that last year with the DME things they sent a voucher for a pin and landyard, and this year, there wasn't one. I was kind of hoping for a free pin. Oh well, this means that now my trip is even closer. Only 38 days to go. :goodvibes
 
You know what else I ordered? The customized Disney park maps. Though I have no idea what to expect with them, especially since I included almost everything, except for a few things I know I have no interest in - the Kidcot stops, though I think they're great for kids, do nothing for me, Tom Saywer Island, and other things like that. I probably won't take them to Florida with me, they'll probably end up being used like the plannind dvd's, and while I look at them a thousand times, they'll never actually leave my house.
 
When I ordered the DDE, they said four to six weeks for delivery, and tomorrow it will be four weeks since I've ordered it. So, technically, I could get it tomorrow. I know, don't get my hopes up, but I really want it, and my personalized maps, and the new dvd. . .
 
I'm waiting for all 3 of those items too. I just ordered my DDE card yesterday. The CM told me 3-4 weeks and she was sure I would get it in time. I waited til yesterday to get a 12/07 expire date-a good excuse to go again next December!

I also ordered the custome maps. I tried printing them on my home printer but they were kind of funky. Not all the items were on the maps and #'s in the wrong place. Hope the real things are a bit better.

I got my DME tags yesterday. Makes the trip seem close now. :cool1:
 
I got my DDE card in the mail today. :goodvibes That went straight in my wallet. But, for some reason, I have yet to attach the DME luggage tags tp my suitcase, even though I'm pretty much packed. The DME stuff is, and has been for like two weeks, laying on my counter. I should probaby go file it.
 
A friend of mine died. :guilty: My trip is now just 10 days away, and usually I'd be all excited and happy, but all I can think of is my friend. And how the last time we spoke, we argued. I wasn't even that mad at him, just annoyed mostly, and as it turns out, that argument was pretty pointless anyway.

So, I have a million things to do, but, can't seem to concentrate. On a scale of one to ten, my mood is zero, and I'm hoping while I'm in Disney, that is rises to a one or two. Usually, I'm a pretty optimistic person, and I almost never get depressed. But, considering the circumstances.

Ten days to go - and I can't get excited about my trip. That's the bottom line. Luckily, I think I already have most-everything I need. The only thing I need to do is to go to the bank and make a transfer from savings to checking, and go to a coin star / penny arcade, and get some change turned into spending money.

I also tend to go into shopping frenzies when I'm depressed, and since my friend died, have made three decent-sized purchases from Disneyshopping.com. 1) Pins, (like I'm not going to buy a bunch in Disney,) 2) clothes, (like I need more,) and 3) ornaments, (which I don't have a lot of, and they were on sale, but I know there are several X-mas shops at Disney that I'll end up spending a fortune on if I'm not careful.
 
So I leave tomorrow. I'm still very upset about my friend, but not in the "that's all I can think about, I can't function right now, how am I ever going to get through anything," mood I was in a week ago. And, while I'm not as excited as I was a month ago, I back to being ready to go. To tell the truth, I'm glad I'm going to be able to get away from reality for the next two weeks. I'll be posting a full trip report when I return, but it may not get posted until after Christmas.
 












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