***Official December 2017 thread!

[shanew21]

Our first park is Hollywood Studios since it's the easiest to tackle on arrival day. Last time we tried to tackle Magic Kingdom day 1 and we couldn't even make it to Wishes. We were exhausted.

 

[FinnsMom7]

I tend to like Epcot day 1 - Spaceship Earth some starbucks and then into the countries for some leisurely food drink and fun. My last day is always MK one last look/photo at the castle then onto the Monorail to Epcot for one last German beer and views of the countries

 

[jeremeyp]

Our trip is planned for Dec. 21 - 26. I'll be traveling with my wife, Katie, and our 2 kids. Calvin, 11 years old, is a Disney veteran, and his sister, Adia, who will be 11 months old when we travel. This will be our first time at Disney with a baby, and Calvin happens to be diagnosed with Down syndrome. He doesn't always do well with change, so it should be an adventure.

We are booked at SSR, but I am going to try to get us into either BLT, WL, or AKL. My wife is a nurse instructor, so as soon as she is done with the pinning ceremony on the 19th, we hit the road. We are driving halfway and staying in GA, and then finishing up with the drive to Orlando on the 20th. We'll be staying off-property on the 20th and starting at the parks on the 21st.

So, here's the plan:
Dec. 21 - MK
Dec. 22 - AK
Dec. 23 - EP
Dec. 24 - HS
Dec. 25 - AK (you couldn't pay me to go to MK on Christmas day)
Dec. 26 - MK

We will have a lot of flexibility in our planning since we've never done this with a baby. We get a special needs stroller for our son, and he'll literally go all day. One year he went from rope drop until MVMCP closed at midnight with no stop for a rest. Mom and Dad were exhausted! We know the baby is not going to be able to do that.

We know there are going to be some heavy crowds, so we are trying to keep our expectations of things realistic.

 

[jeremeyp]

Guys! I'm in the THICK of planning (12/21-28). Our my parents, DH, DD1, DD3. Hubby joining us on 12/22 night. Want recs on planning, have touring plans subscriptions, but still can't wrap my head around what I want to do.

What would everyone do for Christmas Day,BOG for early dinner and MK for at least nighttime. GO!

I would recommend staying away from MK on Christmas Day. It is ridiculously busy. Every year it goes through staged closings due to the crowd size. If you must go to MK on Christmas Day, try to have realistic expectations because there will be waits for everything. We are doing AK on Christmas Day, our second favorite park.

 

[Dizney73]

Hi all! DH, DD 12, DS 8 and myself are staying at the AKV Jambo House for 5 nights , December 27 through January 1! We are surprising our kids with this trip on Christmas morning and looking to create the perfect plan for this crazy and exciting time of the year at The World!
Looking for any planning ideas you have to offer! I also need gifting the trip ideas for the kids!
My favorite park used to be Epcot but I really have fallen in love with Animal Kingdom lately!
I just found this thread and am up to page 8... but have a lot to catch up on!

 

[Disneylover99]

Guys! I'm in the THICK of planning (12/21-28). Our my parents, DH, DD1, DD3. Hubby joining us on 12/22 night. Want recs on planning, have touring plans subscriptions, but still can't wrap my head around what I want to do.

What would everyone do for Christmas Day,BOG for early dinner and MK for at least nighttime. GO!

Our plan is to rope drop MK Christmas Day, do a bunch of rides and eat an early lunch at LTT. Then we'll head back to our resort, open stockings, relax and call extended family, before heading back to the MK for fireworks. That's what we did a few years back and it worked out great!

Dinner at BOG sounds good too though.

 

[Disneylover99]

Since we are waiting to be able to make our dining reservations (38 more days for me!), let's spend this time chatting about plans or what we like to do. What is the first park that you go when you get to Disney?

We always have to go to MK when we get there...it somehow solidifies that we are actually AT Disney.

I usually just look at a crowd calendar to determine which park to go to on arrival day, but since we are not arriving til Dec. 23rd, we are going to MK, then Epcot on the 24th and back to MK on the 25th, cause those two parks just scream Christmas to me. We'll get to HS and AK after Christmas.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Hi!

Finally made it through all 20 pages. We're planning on being at Wilderness Lodge 12/16-12/26, although I'm trying to convince my DH to add an extra day into the front of trip to go to Universal. We have never been to WDW over the holidays so I'm not sure what to expect at all and how to plan for the crowds. Anyone have any suggestions for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

 

[jstouder]

This is our first time going the week of Christmas. Staying at Port Orleans Riverside 12/23 - 12/31. I know it will be crazy busy but can't wait to experience Christmas at WDW. It will be me, DH and DS.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Since we are waiting to be able to make our dining reservations (38 more days for me!), let's spend this time chatting about plans or what we like to do. What is the first park that you go when you get to Disney?

We always have to go to MK when we get there...it somehow solidifies that we are actually AT Disney.

MK for us. We actually had a discussion a few days ago about maybe going to a different park to change things up, or even to Disney Springs for the first day. Then we looked at each other like, 'who are we kidding?' We *HAVE* to go to the Magic Kingdom. Have to take that first walk up Main Street to the Castle! So MK it is. Everything else plans-wise is up in the air. Right now we're waiting (semi)patiently for December hours to be posted somewhere so we can finalize our plans. We're hoping that the travel agent calendar hours are posted soon.

 

[attain]

Hi, everyone! We are finally (hopefully) going back to Disney since DH's doctor gave the okay! We have lots of what if's at this point (financial, DH's health, and getting days off work), but booked the trip in case everything works out. DH is recovering from a bone marrow transplant he received in March 2016 to cure his leukemia. We promised the kids we would go when the doctor said Daddy could go. On the way to his doctor's appointment on Monday, I saw a Pop Century room on the free dining plan available and went ahead and took it! We can always cancel, if we have to. We won't tell the kids until we know for certain that we are going and when we are about a month out from the trip. We usually do a 30 day countdown with them. So, here are our stats:

Dec 16-22 - Celebrating Daddy being cancer free!
me, DH, DS8, DD5
Pop Century

The only thing the kids have asked to do on our next trip is to eat at CRT, so I'm hoping to catch that on our 180 day (June 19th). Otherwise, I haven't done any other planning. I'm hoping a crowd calendar is released soon so I can work on that and start planning more.

I know MVMCP tickets were released today. Since we are on a tight budget, it isn't looking like we will be able to go. Is anyone else planning to attend?

 

[nancy155]

My first park is usually Epcot, however with Pandora's debut that is where I am headed the first day. I would like to see it both in daylight as well as night. Looking forward to that. We are a way's out, but the planning, the anticipation is almost as much fun as the trip itself!

I do have one question for those who have participated in MVMCP, in your honest opinion is it worth the extra dollars? Thanks!

 

[finleyd]

The price of the MVMCP has gone up considerably since we went but we really did enjoy it

 

[nancy155]

The price of the MVMCP has gone up considerably since we went but we really did enjoy it

Thank you for your response. I am torn between taking the Marceline tour or MVMCP. Thank goodness I have some time to further explore and make a decision.

 

[shanew21]

Alright everybody, what's the verdict on MVMCP? We'll be there the 19th-23rd, so we could catch the parades on the 23rd, but would it be a better idea to do a different park that day due to crowds and get a Christmas Party ticket for the 21st or so?

I guess the real question is: is it worth spending $200 to get a night parade over the day parade on the 23rd? And what will the crowd difference be between a party day and a non-party day with Christmas festivities?

If we go, we're thinking the 21st. Crowds only projected at a 4!

 

[Miniature Tim]

MVMCP tickets bought for the 7th of December!!! I figured we'd avoid the weekend crowds on a Thursday hopefully. With that done, we've planned out which parks we want to go to on which days. The only thing that should change that for the most part would be if we can get the dining reservations we're wanting for each park.

We aren't doing a lot of table service this this time around, and trying to keep it only at the park we'll be at for that day. Last year we did a lunch at Sanaa during the day we went to AK, and it tore nearly 3 hours out of our day. NOT doing that again. We're still going to do Sanaa for lunch, but on the day of our MVMCP, and take that first half of the day nice and easy before the party.

26 more days until our ADRs open up!!!

 

[MamaCoop]

We are not doing MVMCP. Too many little ones in our group that wouldn't make it and I cant justify the pricing. We will be planning around it that's for sure!

23 days until ADRs but I am having wayyy too much trouble narrowing it down!

 

[Aidan's Mommy]

My first park is usually Epcot, however with Pandora's debut that is where I am headed the first day. I would like to see it both in daylight as well as night. Looking forward to that. We are a way's out, but the planning, the anticipation is almost as much fun as the trip itself!

I do have one question for those who have participated in MVMCP, in your honest opinion is it worth the extra dollars? Thanks!

We did it last time we went and we are glad we did....however, not sure if I want to spend the extra money doing it this time. It was neat and fun but we were exhausted by the time we got to the party. Part of it was our fault because we didn't go back to rest during the day. My kids loved that it snowed on Main St. and my daughter loved meeting the Prince's with the Princesses meet and greets. Honestly though, they loved the Osborne Lights more. Still wish they hadn't gotten rid of that.

 

[Disneylover99]

Alright everybody, what's the verdict on MVMCP? We'll be there the 19th-23rd, so we could catch the parades on the 23rd, but would it be a better idea to do a different park that day due to crowds and get a Christmas Party ticket for the 21st or so?

I guess the real question is: is it worth spending $200 to get a night parade over the day parade on the 23rd? And what will the crowd difference be between a party day and a non-party day with Christmas festivities?

If we go, we're thinking the 21st. Crowds only projected at a 4!

I've never been to MVMCP but if you can see the same parade on the 23rd, I'd save my money and go then.

 

[WAHkoMom]

I talked to my family about MVMCP now that the prices are out and thankfully they all agree with me; the price tag isn't worth it. Phew! I was worried they'd be disappointed.