Travel dates: 12/20/12 arrive, 12/27/12 depart
Travel method: air and Magical Express
Resort: Contemporary (1st time- wanted to try a MK monorail resort and ruled out the GF due to kids)
Ages Represented in Group: 3 adults in our 30's, 1 4yr old, 1 2yr old
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: a mix (see below)
The Cast:
-Skippydoo (Me) 4th WDW trip
-Mad(DM) 5th WDW trip
-Mad's Hubby (DJ) 5th WDW trip
-R 4yr old boy (Kid 1) 2nd WDW trip
-H 2yr old girl (Kid 2) 1st WDW trip
Introductions:
Let me introduce us. I'm Skippydoo and my friends M and J and I have been close friends since J and I met in middle school and then met M in college. DM and DJ got married and added Kid 1 and Kid 2. We've been taking WDW trips together many times (January 2010 for my birthday being the last one). When DM and DJ said let's do Christmas at WDW I thought that's a bit crazy. It'll be crazy crowded and insane... and it'll be WDW so it will still be fun.
Planning:
DM got us a planning, we had a scare that they wouldn't get the dates off from work, but then it all came together and DM made the reservations just shy of an entire year in advance. We wanted to have the convenience of the Monorail this trip so Contemporary Resort was the pick plus Deluxe Dining Plan (it's so convenient-it's a ton of food but we really prefer table service and we're foodies who love fancy dinners so it ends up paying for itself). We Skype'd a planning meeting in January set out our park schedule, special events schedule, and a rough plan of what we wanted for ADR's (which would have to wait until 180 days from date of trip to make). Then I started looking around to see what had changed since our 2010 trip. And of course the Disney bug had bitten me with news of Star Tours updates, new MK stuff, and a few other things that had jumped out from other holiday trip reports. The one big planning thing I wanted to do for this trip is to get myself in shape, so that the massive walking and standing in line thing that almost kills me every trip doesn't happen to nearly the same degree. So, taking the miles walked from a Steve Russo report (love his reports) I set out to get myself in shape to a point where 5-8 miles a day of fast walking was no big deal. Sigh... it's easier said than done.
The Plan so far:
This plan has gone through numerous changes as we learned new info.
- 12/20/2012 arrive
- 12/21/2012 EPCOT Morning: can sleep in if needed and head to Epcot, Morning stuff in the front (Soarin, test track, etc.) L=Le Cellier, the world showcase in afternoon, Land Pavilion Garden Grill for dinner
- 12/22/2012 DHS Morning: Need to be at park at opening; DJ and Kid 1 to sign up for Jedi training, the girls to get fastpasses for Toy Story Mania, then ride Star Tours, and Muppetvision, Hollywood &Vine for lunch, Disney Jr stuff in afternoon, Osbourne Lights, then boat to Boardwalk and dinner at Kouzzina
- 12/23/2012 rest Relax in morning Chef Mickey's for Breakfast,maybe visit resorts to see Christmas decor,Lunch counter service in DTD (Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express), shopping @ DTD in afternoon, then Hoop De Doo Review show in the evening,
- 12/24/2012 MK 7am EMH: Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion, the 8am Adventure land come back to Crystal Palace for mid morning breakfast ADR, meander through park, Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch, 3pm Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade, and new Be Our Guest in the evening (1900 Park Fare as backup in case Be Our Guest isn't open or taking ADR's)
- 12/25/2012 MK Merry Christmas! 7am EMH: Pooh and Small World then 8.30 Cinderella's Castle Breakfast, 10am Family Magic Tour, Lunch ADR at Plaza, then MK to try and do what we couldn't day before, and California Grill for dinner'
- 12/26/2012 AK Tusker House for breakfast ADR, safari then other AK stuff, Flametree BBQ for lunch, then park hop to Epcot for dinner @ Tutto Italia
- 12/27/2012 fly out Kona Cafe Breakfast Take ME to airport and fly away home...
So that's the plan (as of today) so any hints and tips are greatly appreciated.
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