12/27-1/5 Christmas Vacation at the World! 8/27 Dining/Itinerary is all set!

[devonsmommy]

Hi everyone!
I hope you'll join me in this pretrip report. I'm a planning freak, and have really been getting things organized the past week or so. I figured it would help to bounce ideas off of people here as well.

When: December 27-January 5
Where: Contemporary/Pop
Who:
This is my family. We consist of me (34), dh (38), dd1 (4), dd2 (2).

We will also be traveling with my MIL, FIL, SIL, her dh, and 2 children, BIL and his new wife.

 

[devonsmommy]

Incidentally, I just looked at our picture again...it's from my dd's dance recital last weekend and her class did their dance to the Mickey Mouse song!

About a year ago, my MIL decided that she wanted to go visit the World during Christmas. Dh and I were very hesitant because of the expense. We have gone the past 2 years during Free Dining and have vowed to never go during any other time again!!! So we tried to talk them into going at a different time, but with SIL/BIL's work schedules (she's a teacher), they couldn't really take off any other time. And we did not want to go during the sweltering heat in the summertime.

But alas, it was not meant to be, so we are all going right after xmas.

In the very beginning, it was decided we would go from Dec. 27th (that way our little kids could celebrate xmas at home) and we'd come home Jan. 2nd. It was also decided we were going to stay at the Contemporary (WOO HOO!!! I've never stayed in a deluxe!). After I did some research on flights, we decided to extend our trip till Jan. 5th. It will save us over $1200.00 in airfare alone. Everyone else decided to extend their trip as well! (I was actually just contemplating yesterday if we should stay until Friday...maybe do Sea World one day, etc...)

 

[mom2l&t]

Subscribing! We are heading to Disney in December, too.

We have only been once before and that was in Sept for Free Dining so we are really excited to be there for the holiday fun.

Looking forward to reading your report.

 

[devonsmommy]

Thanks for joining me!

Here's the rough plan for the time being...

Dec. 27th
*Arrival day, hopefully by afternoon.
*Check into Contemporary.
*Hoop Dee Doo Dinner

Dec. 28th
*Chef Mickey's Breakfast
*Animal Kingdom
*Rent out the Grand Yacht 1 to watch Wishes

Dec. 29th
*Epcot
*Chefs de France Lunch
*Biergarten Dinner

Dec. 30th
*Magic Kingdom

Dec. 31st
*DHS
*The Wave Dinner

January 1st
*Universal

January 2nd
*Kona Cafe Breakfast
*Check out different resorts and their decorations.
*DTD

January 3rd
*Magic Kingdom???
*Boardwalk/Beach Club/Yacht Club
*Beaches and Cream Dinner

January 4th
*Magic Kingdom???
*DTD

January 5th
*Depart--boo hoo!

The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th are REALLY tentative. I have no idea what we will really do on those days. We'll have to see what our girls have really enjoyed the most and revisit those things. That's why I was thinking MK for the most part. Although I would also like to stroll through Epcot's countries one more time, but that isn't very exciting for them.

 

[marvali]

Joining in on your PTR. Wow, a lot of our plans are definitely similar (imagine that). We plan to spend a good bit of time touring the resorts and taking in the decorations also. It should be very interesting passing the time together until our trips. It seems so far away right now.

 

[Belle2007]

Joining in!!! I LOVE disney at Christmas time.

Your itinerary looks great. Cinderella's Castle is also a great place and I bet that the girls would love seeing the Princesses.

 

[devonsmommy]

Joining in on your PTR. Wow, a lot of our plans are definitely similar (imagine that). We plan to spend a good bit of time touring the resorts and taking in the decorations also. It should be very interesting passing the time together until our trips. It seems so far away right now.

Hooray! I'm glad you found me!

Joining in!!! I LOVE disney at Christmas time.

Your itinerary looks great. Cinderella's Castle is also a great place and I bet that the girls would love seeing the Princesses.

Thanks! Yes, we've thought about it. I took my 4 year old last year during free dining and we did have lunch in the castle. I also anticipate another trip late next year, hopefully during free dining again. I think I will be earning a free trip for 4 through my Thirty-One Gifts business! I figured the little one will be a little older by that time and appreciate it more!

 

[devonsmommy]

Possibly the most exciting part of this whole thing for me is deciding where we want to eat! I am a total foodie, and love pretty much everything except seafood. I LOVE dessert! This trip is a little different for me because it's not just my little family, but it's a lot more people. So we had to compromise some of what we wanted. After having a pow wow with the entire group, here is what was decided:

December 27th:
*Breakfast at home/on plane
*Quick snack/lite lunch at Contempo Cafe
*Dinner at Hoop Dee Doo--hopefully the earliest show possible so we can get back and get to bed for an early morning!

December 28th:
*Breakfast at Chef Mickey's (this is our first choice, however we are going to be prepared to have another date/time at the ready)
*Lunch--counter service at AK somewhere. I'm thinking Pizzafari at this point. I don't care for the sides offered at Flame Tree, although it gets good reviews. Nothing appealed to me at Yak and Yeti (plus we ate at the table service last year and it was SO YUMMMM!).
*Dinner on the Grand 1 Yacht--I'm hoping we can book it for this night! This is our first choice, however I will be prepared for another night as well. We are going full out...getting the private butler and some food.

December 29th:
*Breakfast at Contempo Cafe
*Lunch at Chefs de France
*Dinner at Biergarten

December 30th:
*Breakfast at Contempo Cafe
*Lunch at Columbia Harbor House
*Dinner at Pecos Bill

December 31st:
*Breakfast at Contempo Cafe
*Lunch-????????????? We are at DHS this day and will have some kind of counter service here. Just not sure where... Haven't heard good reviews about any of the cs places!
*Dinner at The Wave??? We ate here last year and it was my favorite meal of the trip. We may try it again this year because we will be back at the Contemporary for a nap today.

January 1st:
*Universal!
If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know! We will be here all day.

January 2nd:
*Breakfast at Kona Cafe (I have been wanting to do this now for the past 2 years!)
*Lunch--?????????????????
*Dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express

January 3rd:
*Breakfast at Main Street Bakery
*Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern
*Dinner at Beaches and Cream

January 4th:
*Breakfast at Contempo Cafe
*Lunch at Casey's
*Dinner at Earl of Sandwich

I would love to hear any opinions!

 

[marvali]

Are you doing the DDP for your trip? We have never done it but I'm thinking strongly about it for this trip. We are staying in Studios at Kidani and this being a shorter trip, and no full kitchen, it may be the way to go. I'm sure you probably know, but just in case the buffets (Chef Mickeys, etc.) are $4 more per adult ($2 or $3 per child) during the holidays.

We love Chef Mickeys but this time around I am going to shoot for ADRs in some of the resorts (GF, Poly, Contemporary, BW or BC) to view the decorations while we are there for our meals. We will probably use CS credits at breakfast for combo meals, and TS at dinner to get our money's worth on the DDP. I'm sure we will use a lot of snack credits at the MS Bakery. Maybe even cinnamon rolls for breakfast and CS for lunch. We love Flame Tree in AK, but the boys will probably go for Pizzafari if they aren't with DW and I at meal time.

Guess I better start firming up our plans. Only a couple more weeks before our ADR window opens.

 

[devonsmommy]

Are you doing the DDP for your trip? We have never done it but I'm thinking strongly about it for this trip. We are staying in Studios at Kidani and this being a shorter trip, and no full kitchen, it may be the way to go. I'm sure you probably know, but just in case the buffets (Chef Mickeys, etc.) are $4 more per adult ($2 or $3 per child) during the holidays.

We love Chef Mickeys but this time around I am going to shoot for ADRs in some of the resorts (GF, Poly, Contemporary, BW or BC) to view the decorations while we are there for our meals. We will probably use CS credits at breakfast for combo meals, and TS at dinner to get our money's worth on the DDP. I'm sure we will use a lot of snack credits at the MS Bakery. Maybe even cinnamon rolls for breakfast and CS for lunch. We love Flame Tree in AK, but the boys will probably go for Pizzafari if they aren't with DW and I at meal time.

Guess I better start firming up our plans. Only a couple more weeks before our ADR window opens.

Yes we are. We are actually staying at the Contemporary from Dec. 27th-Jan. 2nd, and then moving onto POP (I think). At least that's where I have us booked. So the first part of the trip is with the dining plan, but the second part we will not do the DDP.

We have gone during Free Dining for the past 2 years, and we really LOVED it! It was nice not to have to worry about paying or looking at prices (which I normally would do). With the dining plan, I don't think the increased price during the holidays matters. It still counts as 1 or 2 TS credits.

We have eaten at several resort restaurants and they were mostly REALLY GOOD! At the Grand Floridian we did 1900 PF for breakfast and it was very good. The character interaction was fantastic! I got some of our greatest pictures there!

At the Poly, we have eaten at Kona, and LOVED it! For dinner. I want to try breakfast there this time, but not for the Tonga Toast! Those pineapple macadamia pancakes look so YUMMY! We also have eaten and Ohana for dinner and it was also very good.

At the Main Street Bakery for breakfast last year, we were able to get a croissant sandwich, cinnamon roll, and 2 drinks as 1 counter service credit. I want to do this again!

 

[devonsmommy]

Well, thanks to the "glitch" we've been able to make some of our dining reservations already. What we wanted is in black, what we got so far is in red:

December 27th:
*Breakfast at home/on plane
*Quick snack/lite lunch at Contempo Cafe
*Dinner at Hoop Dee Doo--hopefully the earliest show possible so we can get back and get to bed for an early morning! Can only book this at exactly 180 days, so we have to wait until June 30th.

December 28th:
*Breakfast at Chef Mickey's (this is our first choice, however we are going to be prepared to have another date/time at the ready) Scored a 7 a.m. breakfast here for all 12 of us!
*Lunch--counter service at AK somewhere. I'm thinking Pizzafari at this point. I don't care for the sides offered at Flame Tree, although it gets good reviews. Nothing appealed to me at Yak and Yeti (plus we ate at the table service last year and it was SO YUMMMM!).
*Dinner on the Grand 1 Yacht--I'm hoping we can book it for this night! This is our first choice, however I will be prepared for another night as well. We are going full out...getting the private butler and some food. Also have to wait until 180 days for this.

December 29th:
*Breakfast at Contempo Cafe
*Lunch at Chefs de France--scored a 12 noon ADR here
*Dinner at Biergarten--7 p.m. ADR

December 30th:
*Breakfast at Contempo Cafe
*Lunch at Columbia Harbor House--us
*Lunch at Tony's--everyone else--couldn't get it! I think they haven't been loaded into the system though because I was up at 7 a.m. So instead I booked Crystal Palace for them for now.
*Dinner at Pecos Bill--Also got Ohana at 5 in case they decide they don't want Crystal Palace and want to dinner with us. Then we can all go here before heading back to the MK.

 

[marvali]

I guess my suggestion yesterday didn't get you anywhere. Still looks like you've got some really good places to eat.

 

[devonsmommy]

I guess my suggestion yesterday didn't get you anywhere. Still looks like you've got some really good places to eat.

Well, I took the Crystal Palace because they will be in the Magic Kingdom. Then when I went in this morning, I was able to get Tony's! I think they just didn't have them loaded into the system yet.

Up early this morning and got 50s PTC for NYE.

 

[devonsmommy]

I can't believe it's been 2 months since I've updated! A LOT has happened since then. Besides all of our fabulous summer vacations, I've done a lot with our Disney planning. This summer really flew by and I can't believe the kids are soon heading back to school!

Here is what our itinerary/dining info looks like now:

12/27/10
*Arrival around noon at MCO
*5:00 p.m. ADR at Hoop Dee Doo--This is a family tradition with my in laws. They always kick off their vacation here! I went once before and really enjoyed the food and the show. Now that we have kids, I think they will love the entertainment.
*Then just head back to the resort so we can get a good night's sleep!
(Although I must say I will be very tempted to hit MK. There's something about being that close and not going in the park!)

12/28/10
*7:05 a.m. Chef Mickey's ADR--so happy to have scored this! My dd's only request was to eat with Pluto. And since we are staying at CR it won't be THAT terrible getting up so early.
*I really want to hit RD at AK (which is the park we are going to today).
*Head back to resort for afternoon naps.
*7:00 p.m. Ohana ADR

12/29/10
*RD at Epcot
*12 noon ADR at Chefs de France
*Back to resort for afternoon naps
*7:05 p.m. ADR at Biergarten
*Not sure if we will stay for Illuminations.

12/30/10
*RD at MK
*No dining plans set for today! I really want to try some new counter service that I haven't had before. Either Casey's or Pecos Bill.
*Back to resort for afternoon naps.
*MK fireworks

12/31/10
*RD at DHS
*Back to resort for naps
*7:10 p.m. ADR at 50s PTC.
Very nervous here about going back for naps. I'm hoping the park won't close because it's at capacity!

1/1/11
*Universal today for the adults minus grandma and grandpa who have graciously offered to watch all of the kids. Just hang out at the resort or hit the MK if they are up to it. Maybe ride around the monorail and see the different resorts?

1/2/11
*9:00 a.m. ADR at Kona Cafe--I've wanted to try this my past few trips and haven't been able to squeeze it in! Luckily we extended our trip this time!
*This is a day off for us. We'll be touring around some of the different resorts so we can see the decorations before they take them all down!
*Also might hit DTD for dinner at WPE.
*We are checking out of CR and heading to POP this day with a room only discount.

1/3/11
*This is an exciting day for us!
*We currently have an ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch, but I am going to have to cancel it.
*2:00 p.m.--The two girls in our group will be attending the Wonderland Tea at the Grand Floridian with Alice and the Mad Hatter! I tried to get this last week and they told me there was no availability. I couldn't believe it! So I called again today and she searched for it a different way. Somehow she found it now. I am sooooo happy! So while the 2 younger ones are at the kid tea, the mom's will be going to tea at the Grand Floridian Tea Room. (or whatever the technical name is...)
*7:00 p.m.--We rented the Grand 1 Yacht for an hour and a half and we will be having private dining on there from the GF. This is a complete surprise for my in laws from all of the kids. I can't wait to see their faces! They have no idea. We also will be getting a special cake to help celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

1/4/11
*I have nothing on the agenda for this day. I guess it will depend on what park the girls really want to revisit.

1/5/11
*Boo hoo! It's our check out day. But first! We have an ADR at CRT for lunch. I purposely booked our flight home for 5:45 p.m. so we could squeeze in another day.

 

[jenseib]

I'm signing on! Just have to go back and read now! LOL!

 

[jenseib]

My DD did the wonderland tea party last trip and LOVED it. The girls will have a ball.