WDW christmas 04 PLEASE HELP

[danandjackie]

After a fantastic christmas at DLP last year we have decided last night after a bottle of merlot to go ahead and book for this christmas into WDW and will be visiting from the 24th to the 31st of December.. Got a great deal through Hotwire for the Holiday Inn at WDW (used to be the Marriot I think) and the best price from Manchester from Airline Network..

In Particular we want to see all WDW, Universal, and Sea World. We love eating slow food well (No burgers and no queing) and would appreciate any advice as it is a long long time since our last visit to Florida.

We love thrill rides, but also love the magic of a Disney attraction.

Any must sees, must does, advice on pre buying park tickets etc etc would be welcomed....

 

[gilld]

Sorry to sound pessimistic, but at that time of year you simply won't be able to see everything in that time frame. The queues are VAST, the theming etc is great though. I would suggest you decide on some parks you REALLY want to visit and stick to those. Even then you almost certainly won't be able to do everthing in each park.
At this time of year, it's not uncommon for the parks to reach capacity by 9am so you'll need to be up and away early and stay all day or you won't get back in.
If you want particular restaurants you'll need to make PS at the 90 day mark
We did Christmas in 1997 and although it was magical I have to say I'd NEVER do it again...far too crowded.

GOOD LUCK

 

[KayleeUK]

Hi there

Looks like you need a new countdown What a fabulous time of year to go. I haven't been at that time of year yet. But when I do I will be looking forward to it.

There are loads of new things since your last visit. To mention a few Mission Space, Test Track, Mickey's Philharmagic and Animal Kingdom.

A couple of lovely sit down restaurants in some of the WDW resorts that I love are California Grill on top of the Contemporary with a lovely view of the Magic Kingdom and on some nights WISHES fireworks. Ohana at the Polynesian resort is an all you can eat style restaurant - we love this one. Flying Fish at the Boardwalk is wonderful too. Have a look here on the DIS restaurant review's to see what you fancy.

 

[danandjackie]

what does PS at 90 day mean ????.. I intend to pre book reservations in advance as i did at DLP though without the language barrier(LOL)...I cant remember how to reset my clock Kaylee(HELP) last years christmas photos are at http://community.webshots.com/user/danny_jackie ... (youll have to go to page two) dont worry about the crowds were hardened to it and are use to getting up at 6.00am to be at the gate ready to roll...

 

[KayleeUK]

Instead of making reservations at WDW you make a PS (Priority Seating) this means that they will seat you in the next available table at that time.

You need to phone from 90 day's ahead to make these on this number 001-407-939-3463. Obviously for popular restaurants and dates you will need to book as early as you can

Hers is a link for your DIS Countdown

Lovely pictures Jackie

 

[danandjackie]

thanks....i realise the time is short due to being self employed etc and christmas being the only time we can actually shut down the business but we will pack it in so a list of absolute must sees, does and eats please and how does universals fast pass work?

 

[Miffy2003]

Hi Dan & Jackie

(Loved your TR from last Christmas at DLP by the way)

How many days do you think you will be spending at Disney vs Universal and say SeaWorld?

Was Animal Kingdom there when you last visited? If not this may be one you want to check out. Don't miss Kilimanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur and Festival of the Lion King (if you are into shows. Or actually, if you aren't!It is great)

I would say, don't miss Tower of Terror at MGM if you like rides with extensive theming / thrills. RnRC is good too (a bit different to the one at DLP).

Epcot's don't miss attractions now are Mission Space (simulator when you "fly" to the moon) and Test Track (high speed car testing thing in which you are the crash test dummy). The World Showcase is a non stop dining opportunity with oodles of really top notch restaurants. My favourites are : Le Cellier (Canada) a steakhouse; Restaurant Marrakesh (Morocco) fantastic food, Morroccan themed with cous cous, tangine, and a belly dancer)

MK - Mickey's Philharmagic is new and apparently not to be missed, as is the new fireworks show "Wishes". Illuminations at Epcot is as fantastic as ever.

Your hotel is very close to Downtown Disney which is really huge now - was it just the Marketplace when you went before? It makes Disney Village at DLP look positively minute. Lots of great restaurants here too, including Wolfgang Puck's Cafe (Californian uber trendy cuisine). There's also the usual suspects of Planet Hollywood etc.

Sorry for the long post, hope it hasn't confused you more. I would thoroughly recommend getting a copy of Simon Veness' Brit's Guide to give you a view!

Gill is right, it will be very busy but I do remember from your DLP report that you are early birds so you should have no problems as long as you're there before the parks open.

Cheers

Karen

 

[danandjackie]

Hi Miffy again....yes your right we will be early birds...the paln is 1 day at sea world probably the first day, then a split of 3 days around WDW taking advantage of the late closing nights to split Animal Kingdom and the Magic KIngdom up a bit(having quite worked out how but will prob hit Animal Kingdom very early then do Magic Kingdom)..In the Magic Kingdom we only really want to see the new stuff and the big stuff (not including SM which really is poor now compared to the French equivalent)..Things we have not seen are the Animal Kingdom (didnt exist last time)..Most of the new rides in Epcot.. MGM was as tiny as the french equivalent (I think the french have missed an oppurtunity with the back stage tour by copying the canyon in DLP couldnt they think of something more original) when we were last there but i have to see Tower of Terror and re enjoy Fantasmic which I remember from California..I had originally thought that we would only need a day at Universal as we have done the studio side in Hollywood and Florida countless times but it seems to have totally changed in Florida and 2 days now looks to be on the cards... I am just hoping we can take full advantage of the late night openings something I was a little dissapointed at in DLP which closed around 8 or 9 apart from that wonderful christmas eve when we and around a hundred other guests seemed to have the park to ourselves after a gala dinner in the castle...

One thing is worrying me(and no I am not an alchoholic LOL).. Can you seriously not eat in a nice restaurant in the MAgic KIngdom and relax over a bottle of wine without leaving the park and heading to a hotel..suppose its so busy you cant get back in????

 

[janeossie]

Hi danandjackie

We were there last xmas and we had 3 weeks.

It was the busiest time of the year and I think you will struggle to see and do everything.

To answer your question about Magic Kingdom there is no alcohol in there. And yes there is a good chance if you leave you won't get back in.

I would say under no circumstance unless you like utter madness go to Magic Kingdom on xmas Day. We didn't go there but had to go to lost and found at the ticket and transportation xmas day so went from beach club to MK to get the ferry there. Lets just say Sardines!!

Also the busses had to take different routes because the queues to the Parking lots were huge!!

Having said that if you get to the Disney Parks early hit the headliners and make good use of fast pass you should be fine don't expect to see and do anything.

Also if you would like a nice meal you will need priority seatings at the time of year you will struggle to just walk in.

And one question about Universal Studios / Islands of Adventures if you are really stuck for time and you don't mind the extra cost the VIP tours are fab. We did the US VIP tour boxing day and in five hours probably did more than if we'd have had 2 days there. You get to enter through back doors just like the celebs!

If you have any specific questions please let me know and I will try and help. Now if I could just start my trip report!!

Jane

 

[Miffy2003]

Hi Jackie (or is that Dan?!)

Jane is spot on with what she has said. I think you need to decide on your "must do's" and then whittle down from there.

Your idea about going very early to Animal Kingdom and then to Magic Kingdom is a good one...except you may find you can't get into MK at all.

The parks should all be open pretty late which is a good thing, especially as they are so pretty at night.

Feel free to ask about anything and I will do my very best to help

Karen

 

[danandjackie]

hi miffy....(or anybody out there who can help)... obviously an important issue is making sure we have the entry tickets in advance..any tips on who to use ??

 

[janeossie]

Dan and Jackie

Sorry can't help with entry ticket's I got annual passes for Disney and my US travel agent sorted US for me.

Just thought I'd bump this to the top and say If you have any other questions I'd be happy to have a go at answering.

Jane

 

[chunkster20uk]

For great advice and tips on doing everything in short period of time, read MikeJones's trip reports!!

 

[Mike Jones]

Thanks for the recommend Mark!

We loved our 9 days around WDW last Christmas, before going to the Gulf... I reckon you can get an awful lot done that week, as long as you have a sensible plan and start early each day. as signatures are disabled today, here are links to the Xmas report and the more recent whirlwind 6 day tour!

Christmas 03 report

Boys Behaving Tour, June 04

Mike

 

[vernon]

At that time of year I would usually strongly recommend that anyone consider staying a few days at one of Universals Hotels, the front of the line access this affords you for their two parks is going to be well worth the cost of the hotel, it will allow you to cover each park in just one day (each). I notice that you've already got the hotel booked, but still Universal ( and their hotels) have some great restaurants for you to think about. I would particularly recommend Emerils and Tchoup Chop.

At Disney, I'd avoid MK on Xmas day, it's going to be busy when ever you go so patience is going to be needed. Epcot has some great restaurants and if you want to spoil yourselves the GF and the Contemp both have some great places to eat.

If you want to visit a park on Xmas day I'd suggest to use a "second day free" SeaWorld pass and spend half a day there ( allowing you to get back to the hotel and have a special meal somewhere). SeaWorld deals with crowds far better than any other park and as long as you leave an extra 10 minutes or so to get seated before the shows it needn't spoil your day having to fight it out with the sweating hoards .

If you've only got 7 days you're not going to cover everything so you need to be practical as to what is possible. You need to research the parks and have lists of things you've already done, that you aren't that bothered about and those that are "must dos". In your case I would do one day each at IOA and USF, one full day at SW and use the extra day's free ticket to go on Xmas day for some of the day. That leaves you 3 days for Disney. You can combine AK with one of the other parks (on a hopper ticket) as generally you can be done on AK by mid afternoon. It's going to be "hard core" commando park visiting for you to cover a large part of the parks, good luck.

 

[danandjackie]

despite reading several books and universals own web site i dont quite understand the universal express system can somone enlighten me...Is it a machine as at disney...or is it a cm who simply dishes out a ticket at a booth at the attraction in a low tech sort of way ..Can you go around and get all your fast passes at once as Mike seems to have done?..

Need to know at this time of year as last year fast passes were our way of survival combined with early entrance, luckily (and i dont mean that in a derogatory sense) its just the two of us mad adults and no kids in tow so christmas busy peaks have never caused us a problem..Also the singles line at Uni sounds a great idea for reriding....

http://community.webshots.com/user/danny_jackie though you will have to go to page 2 now i think.

 

[IanBond]

Hi Dan and Jackie
When I was at Universal in December the Fastpass system was a little more complex than Disneys I think
I never got them there was really no need in December even busy attractions like Shrek 2 we alwways got in the next show

From what I found out too was on your way in the park go to guest relations they have a limited number of fast passes which enable you to fast pass on EVERY ride/show for the entire day and they were $15 Maybe too much to pay on top of your entrance ticket! but the fast lanes were a bit of a pain as all Universal hotel guests have front of line access..

The machines they had on the rides were just like Disneys One at a time etc!,But honestly In the entire fortnight the only time we needed fastpasses was Space Mountain,Rock N roller coaster and Peter Pan everything else was a walk on

Hope this helps a little
IAN

 

[danandjackie]

by december i mean the nightmare week of dec 24th to 31st..works for us as there are only 2 of us and we love the challenge but we have to be armed (wrong word to use probably wont get through immigration) with every bit of info and its just the universal fastpass i cant quite grasp yet...still plenty of time.. theyll probably have changed it by then again..

 

[IanBond]

Oh Sorry didnt realise that week we came home on the 20th just in time,The crowds all descend then, I would never go that week but thats just me!! Good Luck!

 

[janeossie]

Never used the Express system at US.

Our guide did warn us that over the busy periods there may still be a wait even in the express line

Don't know if you get true front of line with the US Hotels or if there is a wait in the Express line you have to join it?

Jane