Winter Wonderland in Sunny Orlando Dec 2009 PTR~NEW 12/18 We're Back! TR Link Posted!

[stacikristine]

Great update! It looks like you all had a blast at DHS (well...MGM back then)! The picture of you and the Incredibles is just adorable!! So fun! And that's hilarious that your DH was chosen to get soaked I could definitely go for some Planet Hollywood right now

 

[khertz]

Since park hours should hopefully come out sometime next week and ADR time will be coming up, I'm going to post our preliminary itinerary that we discussed during our planning meeting. Hopefully I won't have to change too many things around when the hours are posted, but we'll have to be dodging EMH since we are staying offsite which we've never had to worry about before. Most of this is based off of the projected best/worst days listed on touringplans.com.


FRIDAY DECEMBER 4th
· Airport at 6 am
· Fly out from New Orleans at 8:00 am
· Arrive at Orlando International at 10:40 am
· Cab to Wyndham Bonnet Creek – check bags
· Resort hopping to see decorations (Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, Beach/Yacht Club, Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge), Ride Monorail loop
· Lunch at CS at resort
· Downtown Disney – shopping, dinner, Characters in Flight balloon ride
· Miniature Golf at Winter Summerland

SATURDAY DECEMBER 5th (ABC Christmas Parade Taping at MK)
· Epcot Future World
· Lunch at Biergarten (Candlelight Dining Package - we changed this from Le Cellier because of the set menus. We expected a price increase, but none of us want to spend that much for so few menu options.)
· World Showcase
· Candlelight Processional at 5 pm (Steven Curtis Chapman)
· Illuminations 9:30 pm
· Magic Kingdom for late hours?

SUNDAY DECEMBER 6TH
· Animal Kingdom
· Lunch at Pizzafari/Flame Tree BBQ
· Camp Minnie-Mickey – character greeting trails, character trees
· Jingle Jungle Parade?
· Rest at resort
· Church at 6 pm at Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine
· Boardwalk? Ice Cream at Beaches & Cream?

MONDAY DECEMBER 7TH
· Hollywood Studios Rope Drop
· Lunch at Pizza Planet
· Park of choice in evening
· Magic Kingdom for SpectroMagic/Wishes? (Hopefully they will be having them this night, because it'll probably be our only chance to see them!)

TUESDAY DECEMBER 8TH
· Church at 9:30 am at Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine
· Lunch at hotel
· Park of choice before party
· Magic Kingdom at 4 pm
· Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 7pm-12am

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 9TH
· Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure
· Dinner at The Melting Pot

THURSDAY DECEMBER 10TH
· Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure
· Lunch at City Walk
· La Nouba at Downtown Disney 9 pm

FRIDAY DECEMBER 11TH (Last night with our parents)
· Early breakfast at Chef Mickey’s
· Monorail to Magic Kingdom
· DHS/Park of choice in afternoon
· Osbourne Lights at DHS in evening

SATURDAY DECEMBER 12TH
· Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure
· Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf?

SUNDAY DECEMBER 13TH
· Keys to the Kingdom Tour – MK early entry
· MK or other park in afternoon

MONDAY DECEMBER 14TH
· Breakfast at Tusker House?
· Park(s) of choice, favorite rides
· Depart Orlando at 7:10 pm
· Arrive in New Orleans at 8:00 pm

What do you think?? Any suggestions are welcome! But who knows, this whole thing may be drastically different when I have the official park hours.

 

[stacikristine]

Your plans sound great! I think it's awesome that you're going to Universal inbetween Disney Days. I'm sure you're really going to like this. Oh--I'm SOOO wishing I could be there at Christmastime!!

 

[khertz]

Your plans sound great! I think it's awesome that you're going to Universal inbetween Disney Days. I'm sure you're really going to like this. Oh--I'm SOOO wishing I could be there at Christmastime!!

Thanks for the feedback on the plan. I'm sure it'll change a lot though. Gotta love Disney for keeping us waiting!

Doing Universal in the middle is something we've never done before, but it just kind of worked out that way. Usually we'd do two Universal days at the beginning and spend the rest at Disney. But this time, we couldn't do that because our Universal passes are 1 week passes, and DH and I wanted to go a third day after our parents left. So if we used them at the beginning of the trip, we'd run out of days before we could go again. And of course, our parents wanted their last day of vacation to be in Disney!

 

[khertz]

Our new camera came in the other day!! Y'all might remember that we had tried ordering a new digital camera before our Hawaii trip that never came, so we cancelled the order. We took my dad's DSLR Canon on our trip instead (our point & shoot is awesome, but there is a smudge on the lens that sometimes shows up on the pictures...annoying!), and we loved it! We were worried about it being too bulky to carry around all day, but we found it worked great. We took it hiking, sightseeing, everything!

So we decided that we'd go ahead and buy ourselves one. We bought the updated version of my dad's camera, a Canon Rebel XSi 18-55. DH found it online as a bundle, so we got the camera, plus a second (zoom, I think) lens for only $849. Separately, they would have cost over $1,000! So I am excited about it, and DH is already looking up different cool effects and stuff to try using this camera.

We also know which camera bag we want, and we found it at Best Buy, but it is a little expensive, so we'll try to find it cheaper online. It fits the camera and all the accessories, plus there is a pouch for all the stuff we'd need to carry with us in the parks, since we don't carry much. And it's all smaller than a standard backpack. It also has a water resistant cover that pulls out from the bottom and covers the bag for if it starts raining! It's just what we need.

I also think I may have SOLVED our transportation issues!! Since we are flying in, we'll be arriving several hours earlier than our parents, who are driving to meet us in the rental car we'll use for the week. When they left, we were thinking we'd have to rent our own car for those last three day. But there were still a lot of logistical issues with that. For one, we'd have to get a cab from the airport to the hotel, which would be about $50. We'd have to find a way to get to the rental office to pick up the car, so that would probably be another cab fare, plus we'd have to drop the rental off on our last morning, meaning we'd have to get another cab back to the airport anyway. Round trip to the airport in a cab would probably cost us $100+ alone. It was looking expensive.

So I started thinking maybe we can just rely on Bonnet Creek shuttles the last few days and forget the rental. We want to go to Universal one day, but that's fine because BC has a pretty cheap shuttle to and from Universal. But there was still the issue of getting to and from the airport that was making the whole thing so expensive and frustrating. Then I started poking around online last night...

MEARS SHUTTLE! Round trip to/from the airport for 2 adults is only $66. That kicks out the much expensive cab fare. We can do the Bonnet Creek shuttles to and from Disney parks (free), and to/from Universal the day we want to go out there ($28 round trip for both of us). We may have to take a cab the morning we want to go to MK for our KTTK just to be sure we are there on time and not waiting on the shuttle. But even all of that combined is still WAY cheaper than cab fare between the airport and our hotel and a rental car for 3 days. I can't believe I never even thought to look into Mears! This is one of the things that has been driving me CRAZY recently trying to figure it out, so to finally have it under control is such a relief!!

Park hours are hopefully coming out this week, and then it will be time to make ADRs!!

 

[MyMuse]

I'm going the same time you are! Dec 4-13th, with the last few days near the Tampa area. I'm also staying off-site at my timeshare as well.

Your park plans look pretty cool and hours are definitely out. YAY!

 

[khertz]

I'm going the same time you are! Dec 4-13th, with the last few days near the Tampa area. I'm also staying off-site at my timeshare as well.

Your park plans look pretty cool and hours are definitely out. YAY!

Awesome!! Which timeshare do you have??

 

[khertz]

So I found out the park hours were posted while I was at work on Tuesday (I know, I know, bad nurse creeping on the dis while at work!). Only the computers at work wouldn't open the Disney Travel Agents pdf file with the hours and EMH! I immediately called DH at home and had him print them for me so that I could be ready with my red pen at home and start mutilating my itinerary based on avoiding EMH...

Only I didn't have to change a thing!! I was very surprised to find that the plans I had set up worked out perfectly. The only day we will be in a park coinciding with EMH is our very last morning when DH and I wanted to do breakfast at Tusker House, and Animal Kingdom is having am EMH. But by that point, I don't think we'll mind, and we can hop somewhere else after our breakfast and a few rides.

We have made a couple significant changes that have nothing to do with the hours, though. DH and I have decided to skip out on La Nouba. Our parents are still doing it because it is the one thing my MIL really wanted to do. So instead of going to the later show on one of our Universal nights, I think our parents will be going to a show the night they arrive. DH and I will probably play mini-golf at Winter Summerland and explore DTD while they see the show.

The other change is that since the set menu issue seems to have been a rumor, DH and I and his parents are going to still try for Le Cellier lunch for our CP dining package. My parents still would rather spend less and eat at Biergarten since they are doing La Nouba, but we don't mind spending the money for a great meal since we are saving about $200+ by not seeing La Nouba. If we aren't able to get 4 packages for Le Cellier, Biergarten is our backup choice anyway, so we'll all be able to eat together. I'm really hoping we luck out though and get Le Cellier... I've had my heart set on eating there since last trip!

And as a little aside, we finally got our plane tickets for our flight to Orlando!! Over the past few months, we have watched the flight we wanted (8:00 am out of New Orleans to arrive in Orlando at 10:40 am) creep up in price to the highest of $123...but our patience paid off and we got them for $91. So we got both flights for less than their original posted price of $96! Pretty good!!

And completely unrelated to Disney, I'm PSYCHED that my favorite band in the world Hanson (yes, of Mmmbop fame!) added a New Orleans date to their upcoming tour, so I'll be seeing them on October 30th at the New Orleans House of Blues!! SO EXCITED!! I'm hoping to get a picture with them again this time, but I won't be too upset if I don't because at their last show, I not only got a picture with them and an autograph, I got to interview them for about 25 minutes. It was amazing!! (End dorkfest ).

 

[stacikristine]

Wow! You've had quite a few updates! YAY for park hours being released and you not having to change a thing!!!! That's so perfect! And GOOD LUCK on getting LeCellier!! Get online 20 minutes before 6 (FL time) and then you can "check out" right at 6!! Hopefully they'll have somehthing then! That's so funny about Hanson! I didn't even know they were still singing

 

[skier_pete]

Hi Khertz!

I figured since you were reading my PTR, I would hop over here and check out yours...love that your PTR is doubling as a TR - for your Disneymoon.

First thing I noticed...we appear to be ships passing in the night. We LEFT WDW the same day that you arrived for your Honeymoon! Even though my Signature says the 29th, we actually were there 1/2 a day on the 30th, back when they had the Little Ones program for little kids, we saw a concert at DHS that morning before we had to leave for the airport. We were even at POFQ! I know you didn't get our room though...we didn't have the King Bed.

Now this trip, we are arriving on the 12th of December, with you leaving the 14th. Doesn't seem like we will be overlapping plans on the 13th or 14th, but if your plans end up sending you to MK on the 14th, maybe we will see you and you can wish me happy birthday! (I am perfectly willing to give out my cell phone via PM if you would like - I love to meet fellow DISers.)

Anyways, enough about me...I have to comment that you and DH look so happy in your Disneymoon pictures...it's wonderful seeing two people in love.

A little sad for you staying off-site...on-site is better - but with a bigger group off-site often makes more financial sense...and that is no reason not to have a good time. We wanted to get a family trip, but couldn't convince my parents to go. ("Disney is for kids!" they say, just like DBIL...how little they know.)

Good luck with ADRs...you 90 days are around the bend!

SkierPete

 

[khertz]

Wow! You've had quite a few updates! YAY for park hours being released and you not having to change a thing!!!! That's so perfect! And GOOD LUCK on getting LeCellier!! Get online 20 minutes before 6 (FL time) and then you can "check out" right at 6!! Hopefully they'll have somehthing then! That's so funny about Hanson! I didn't even know they were still singing

I have been busy, finally things are starting to happen! That is a good tip about using the online system...hopefully that will work for Chef Mickey's! I think I still have to call to book the CP Package. I don't think you can book packages online yet.

Yes, they are still singing! I have loved them since I was 12 years old. Luckily, DH tolerates my affection for them. Their new stuff is really great, you should give it a try sometime. I am always up to converting new fans!

 

[khertz]

Hi Khertz!

I figured since you were reading my PTR, I would hop over here and check out yours...love that your PTR is doubling as a TR - for your Disneymoon.

First thing I noticed...we appear to be ships passing in the night. We LEFT WDW the same day that you arrived for your Honeymoon! Even though my Signature says the 29th, we actually were there 1/2 a day on the 30th, back when they had the Little Ones program for little kids, we saw a concert at DHS that morning before we had to leave for the airport. We were even at POFQ! I know you didn't get our room though...we didn't have the King Bed.

Now this trip, we are arriving on the 12th of December, with you leaving the 14th. Doesn't seem like we will be overlapping plans on the 13th or 14th, but if your plans end up sending you to MK on the 14th, maybe we will see you and you can wish me happy birthday! (I am perfectly willing to give out my cell phone via PM if you would like - I love to meet fellow DISers.)

Anyways, enough about me...I have to comment that you and DH look so happy in your Disneymoon pictures...it's wonderful seeing two people in love.

A little sad for you staying off-site...on-site is better - but with a bigger group off-site often makes more financial sense...and that is no reason not to have a good time. We wanted to get a family trip, but couldn't convince my parents to go. ("Disney is for kids!" they say, just like DBIL...how little they know.)

Good luck with ADRs...you 90 days are around the bend!

SkierPete

Wow, that is too crazy that we were in the same place on the same day!! How funny would it be if we had passed in the lobby or something? DH and I will for sure have our LGMH's on, so if you see us, definitely come say hi!

Trust me, I am sad that we are staying offsite too, even though it is our timeshare and basically free lodging (we are still paying it off, so not totally free!). We actually bought at Bonnet Creek while on our honeymoon, and we figured being very close to on-property was at least second best. I will miss being able to take advantage of EMH, but we will have plenty to keep us busy outside of the parks!!

Thank you for the compliment on our disneymoon pictures. That was an amazing trip, and we could not have been happier to spend such a special time in our lives at Disney!

I will be calling to get the CP Package soon, so I will definitely take some well wishes! Good luck with yours as well!!

 

[skier_pete]

Wow, that is too crazy that we were in the same place on the same day!! How funny would it be if we had passed in the lobby or something? DH and I will for sure have our LGMH's on, so if you see us, definitely come say hi!

I will be calling to get the CP Package soon, so I will definitely take some well wishes! Good luck with yours as well!!

I always have a LGMH on my camel-back (water backpack), which is dark rust orange in color. Last trip met only two DIS'ers on the trip - one "If_You_Had_Wings" will be there at the same time as you are this year. (Gonna miss seeing her too.) Always looking to meet more, it's fun to chat with other DIS'ers...even at Disney World, not everyone is as crazed about it as we are!

Make sure to post your luck with the CP package for Le Cellier...we have not tried this restaurant before, as I am usually not impressed with specialty Steak Houses. I love steak, but no place have ever beaten our local Outback in terms of quality. But, we decided if we could get in this trip we would give it a try....so we are going to try for it with the CP package on Dec 17th. If you can get it, it will give me hope that maybe I can too!

SkierPete

 

[khertz]

I had my very first foray into ADR making this morning, and it was quite interesting! I worked at the hospital this weekend, and I normally wake up at 6, but I woke up about 20 minutes earlier so I could get ready for work first before trying to call to book our CP Package. Since I'm staying offisite, I have the "pleasure" of doing this about 2 or 3 more times as my 90 days rolls around for each one.

So anyway, I was ready at 6:00:01 (central) to call and book the CP Package. I was hoping but not counting on 4 spots at Le Cellier for DH, myself, and my in-laws. My parents were fine with getting Biergarten. It was kind of amusing, because I was sitting on hold on DH's cell (I was using his so that when it was time for me to leave for work, I could pass the phone on to him if I was still on hold). But he got up to see what was going on (bless his heart, he wasn't working today!), and decided to call on my phone. So we are both sitting there on each other's phones comparing waiting music!

I ended up having to leave for work and left my phone with DH, so when I left for work, he had both phones on speaker in front of him waiting for someone to answer!

Needless to say, we were unsuccessful in getting Le Cellier for lunch OR dinner. So we have instead a reservation for all 6 of us at Biergarten for a late lunch (I think around 2:45?). Not bad, I'll take it. At least we won't have to 1) brave the standby line or 2) run the risk of the meal taking FOREVER and making us late to get in line. Better than nothing!

I get to try again tomorrow for a breakfast at Tusker House, and on Saturday for breakfast at Chef Mickey's. Hopefully I'm able to get something decent!! I have my fingers & toes crossed tight.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

[MyMuse]

Aww. sorry about the CP package is not what you want. You never know if a space opens u later.

I am doing the same since I'm staying off-site. I own at Westgate to answer a previous post.

A friend of mine is staying on-site and she booked me in with her CP packge with her mom. She also tried for Le Cellier but did not get it. So, we ar going to Garden Grll instead. I kinda wanted Teppan Edo, but since she is the one booking it, I'll go with it.

I just got up...again today and got another day of reservation. I'm a little like and heading back to bed until the sun fully rises!!

Here's for ADR Good Luck

 

[skier_pete]

We went to Beirgarten 3 years ago and was pleasantly surprised. The food was a decent simulation of German fare. (My Dad is Austrian, so I have had the "real" stuff...this isn't it, but it's close.) The entertainment is a fun show too, and if you have the daring, you can get up and dance. WE won't be going this trip, since we went there with DMIL, and are trying to get to restaurants that are all new to her.

SkierPete

 

[khertz]

Aww. sorry about the CP package is not what you want. You never know if a space opens u later.

I am doing the same since I'm staying off-site. I own at Westgate to answer a previous post.

A friend of mine is staying on-site and she booked me in with her CP packge with her mom. She also tried for Le Cellier but did not get it. So, we ar going to Garden Grll instead. I kinda wanted Teppan Edo, but since she is the one booking it, I'll go with it.

I just got up...again today and got another day of reservation. I'm a little like and heading back to bed until the sun fully rises!!

Here's for ADR Good Luck

I was interested in trying Garden Grill as well, but we all decided we'd rather do the lunch price and save a little $$ where we could. Bummer they stopped doing lunch there!

I didn't have high hopes for actually being able to get Le Cellier, so I wasn't all that disappointed really. It would have been a nice surprise, but I'm looking forward to Biergarten also. I'm just excited that we were at least able to get our 2nd choice, and we won't have to brave the standby line!

Thanks for reading!

We went to Beirgarten 3 years ago and was pleasantly surprised. The food was a decent simulation of German fare. (My Dad is Austrian, so I have had the "real" stuff...this isn't it, but it's close.) The entertainment is a fun show too, and if you have the daring, you can get up and dance. WE won't be going this trip, since we went there with DMIL, and are trying to get to restaurants that are all new to her.

SkierPete

My parents have been to Biergarten, and told us it's pluses, so DH and I are still excited about it. Le Cellier just would have been a really great surprise to be able to book it! I highly doubt I'll be doing any dancing, but hey, you never know!!

Good luck with your ADR's, I hope you get everything you want!!

 

[stacikristine]

Sorry you didn't get LeCellier, but that's great that you were able to get in at Beirgarten! I've heard it's awesome! That really stinks that you have to wait to make all of your ADRs...I was completely stressed before we made ours. Good luck!

 

[khertz]

Sorry you didn't get LeCellier, but that's great that you were able to get in at Beirgarten! I've heard it's awesome! That really stinks that you have to wait to make all of your ADRs...I was completely stressed before we made ours. Good luck!

It's okay that we didn't get Le Cellier. As much as I wanted to eat there, I'm actually a little relieved that we are going to be able to save some money on the package by going with Biergarten. And I expect that the meal will move faster since it is a buffet so we don't have to worry about hurrying to get into line for the show! So it really all worked out for the best.

I really only have one more ADR to worry about but it's a big one. So I'll be up at 4:30 am on Saturday scared1 hoping to score breakfast for 6 at Chef Mickey's! We have a backup character breakfast scheduled just in case, but we all really want to eat at CM!!

 

[khertz]

I think I am done making ADR's! I already posted that we were able to reserve our CP packages for lunch at Biergarten at 2:10 pm on Saturday December 5th. The only other ADR I really really wanted was Chef Mickey's on the last morning our parents will be with us, which is on Friday December 11th.

Since I knew that CM reservations may be difficult to come by, I got up at 5 am on Monday morning to try for a Tusker House breakfast on Sunday December 6th which is our AK day. I figured that if we at least had that to fall back on, we would be able to have a character breakfast even if it couldn't be at Chef Mickey's. I managed to get us a reservation for a late breakfast at 10:25 am. So far so good!!

Last night I had trouble sleeping, as did DH. He has unfortunately broken out with a poison ivy rash that is mostly concentrated on his face, so he was up and down all night. At 2 am, I decided to check online and see if the next day had opened up on the booking calendar, which would be December 11th, the day we needed. It was! So I checked for a party of 6 at Chef Mickey's. They had one! And it let me book it! I don't understand the hours of the online system so I have no idea if it was a fluke or not, but I got us Chef Mickey's for 8:15 am!! I'm so excited! Mostly because I was so worried we wouldn't get it at all. We won't make it to MK for rope drop, but that's okay. I may still keep searching for an earlier time, but if nothing comes available, I'm still happy with what we have.

So my ADR week is officially over. It's been a little crazy and tiring being up at all hours of the night to make them, but it was worth it to get the few ADRs we really wanted. The only thing I think I have left to call and book is the KTTK tour for DH and I, which I'll be doing on the 15th.

Have a great weekend everyone!