evre13

Hi, I'm new here.
Joined
Oct 18, 2015
hi all! This is actually my second attempt at a pre-trip report (and it may include a brief readout from the trip I took in August this year, if people are interested), but I have a lot of thoughts bouncing around in my head, and I'd love for any advice and feedback.

but first, introductions!

Who? Me, your writer and planner - Biz, and my friend, Berk
What? Girls trip, wooooooo!
Why? I went this summer, and I had a great time -- so great that I made Berk really jealous. We were both going through a rough patch at work this fall, and one bottle of champagne later, we had booked a hotel room in Florida. What? That's not normal?
When? December 17 - 22, with two non-park days
Where? Port Orleans French Quarter (standard view room)

At this point, we have fast passes booked, and we have ADRs that I can't stop fiddling with, and we're almost to the month countdown mark - I can't believe its here so soon!
 


Lessons Learned

So, as I mentioned in my first post, I went in August (also on a girls trip), and as I was the primary planner for that trip, I immersed myself in it. I tried to learn strategies, I wanted to maximize fun (and minimize waits), and I wanted to hit everything on my to do list -- because at that point, I wouldn't have guessed I'd be back in 4 months!


By practice, I'm a strategic policy analyst, so when the opportunity for a second trip emerged, I made a mental list of what went well, and what could be improved upon for the December trip. These points/counterpoints informed the planning for this trip. Here are a few high-level points:

  • Early mornings/Rope Drops for the win! I am a chronic morning person, and I don't do well just twiddling my thumbs. I naturally woke up all mornings around 6:30, and I would start the days with a walk to get coffee at CBR and then around the property with a podcast. This was a nice way to ease into the day, and it may have helped acclimate me to the weather. My friends I traveled with were decidedly not morning people, and instead of waiting for them to get ready, I would head to the park for Rope Drop and then they would meet me later. This was great - I could ride the rides I wanted multiple times. It really is amazing how few people take advantage of that first hour.
  • It's okay to break off from the group! I travel a lot solo for work (in fact, I am writing this on a plane to Rome for a meeting), so I'm okay with spending time by myself. However, when on a trip with friends, it's normally friend time, 100% of the time. I am a classic introvert, and so I find that exhausting. I was able to find times where we split off, or I could sit by myself, and it was huge for my mental health. I think it ultimately kept me balanced at the parks.
  • Sometimes its worth it to pay! In August, we splurged and did the Extra Magic Morning at Magic Kingdom, and it was amazing. I think we rode Mine Train 4 times, Peter Pan 3 times, and the acid dream that is Pooh once (and never again). Beyond that, Small World, the Tea Cups, and the Carousel were open, and the breakfast was actually super tasty. We were then well positioned to mosey to Thunder Mountain when the Park opened, and I grabbed Haunted Mansion with no wait right after that. I am so sad that it isn't going to be there in December.
  • You can game the system! I was super concerned going in that August was going to be insane with crowds, and to be honest, we didn't really feel that. We were able to maximize single rider lines, never wait more than 15 - 20 minutes for anything in Magic Kingdom, and ride Expedition Everest 10 times. A lot of this was because of MDE and picking up random fast passes that were immediately available, and going the opposite way of the crowd in crowded times.
  • Coffee and snacks are key! I can go from mild-mannered, peppy bureaucrat to snarling hell-beast in about 10 minutes if I'm dehydrated, under caffeinated, or hungry. I mitigated this by always having a full bottle of water (I spent an embarrassing amount inside the parks on water), drinking coffee whenever I could, and having protein-packed snacks in my park bag. Planning does work. I'm thinking about getting the refillable mug this time.
  • Go with the flow! For as much planning as I put into the trip, it was more strategy planing -- like, what rides should be prioritized and how to structure fast passes. I didn't have a minute-by-minute plan, and on some days, we didn't even have meals planned beyond "will grab something in the park." That made it really pleasant and gave the girls I traveled with the chance to weigh in, but I still felt like I was able to maximize our time.
It really was a great trip -- looking back, the only thing that I would change is the weather (August is hot) and that my co-travelers weren't used to as much on their feet time as I am. When I started to get cranky, I would remind myself that I was in Disney World, and that really helped -- I mean, there are definitely worse places to be.


More about December up next.
 


Sorry for the lack of posts — I was on a work trip and then traveling back home for Thanksgiving, but I’m back and not jet lagged, so here we go. I’m typing this on my iPad so no pictures, but i did want to share our general itinerary (see if it’s feasible) today, and I’ll go into day to day plans in the next few weeks.

General Plans
Sunday, 12/17
We are flying down Southwest on the first flight of the day, and so we land at MCO at like 830 or so. We’ll be taking DME to Port Orleans, and since we don’t think our room will be ready, the plan is to throw down bags, grab coffee, and head to Disney Springs late morning.

We will eat lunch in Disney Springs, wander around, eat lunch, and then when we get a room text or can’t walk anymore, head back to our hotel.

Plan for the evening is to Boardwalk hop! Go see the decorations in all the hotels in that area and get snacks and drinks along the way.

Other potential options: take the DVC tour to get some extra fast passes — has anyone done this? Is it worth it?

Monday, 12/18

Magic Kingdom!
Fast passes: Space Mountain, Buzz, Jingle Cruise
ADR: Dinner at Tony’s because it’s Berk’s fave, and I have no strong feelings about it

Tuesday, 12/19

Morning at Hollywood Studios, rest afternoon, and Disney Springs for dinner.
FP: Star Tours, Toy Story, and Tower of Terror
ADR: Brown Derby — I’ve never been here, but Berk is excited!

After we wrap up lunch, we’ll head back to POFQ for a quiet afternoon of napping, swimming, exploring, and I may go for a run...

Boat to Disney Springs for Dinner at Homecomin’ and maybe drinks somewhere beforehand?

Wednesday, 12/20

Animal Kingdom!
FP: Festival of the Lion King, Kilimanjaro Safari, and Flight of Passage
ADR: Dinner at Yak and Yeti

Still on the fence about Rivers of Light — is it worth it? I didn’t see it this summer because it was like 9000 degrees and we were so tired on our last day.

Thursday, 12/21

EPCOT
Epcot is one of my favorites, so I’m excited we’ll be ending our trip there. Right now, the plan is to ride in the morning, and snack/drink our way around World Showcase that afternoon/evening at a leisurely pace
FP: Living with the Land, Mission: Space, and Frozen Ever After
ADR: Dinner at Via Napoli

Friday, 12/22

We both thought we’d be flying out early, but it turns out that the easiest flights were late in the day (I’m at 530, she’s at 545). So, with an unexpected day and no park tickets, we’re going to Christmas decoration resort hop. W currently have two breakfast reservations — one at Grand Floridian Cafe and one at Trail’s End. I’m leaning more towards Trails End right now. Then after breakfast, we’ll go see the decorations at Wilderness Lodge, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Polynesian, and just soak up the time in the Disney Bubble.

We are currently signed up to take DME to the airport, but if they are making you leave 4 hours in advance, I’m thinking it may be worth it to take an Uber or Lyft. That seems like such a waste of Disney time.

So...what do you think? I’ve never been at Christmas, and neither has she, so we want to take advantage of holiday offerings (while respecting our budget)— am I missing anything?
 
I did the DVC tour last year and for 90 min of our time, could have been less if I wasn't asking questions, we got $50 gift card and 3 fast passes (exclusions like no toy story or 7DMT back in 2016) totally thought it was worth it if you have the time to kill, and they picked us up at Disney springs and brought us to one of the parks after a quick stop at the hotel to drop off our info packet so saved transportation time I thought
 
I'll get better at fully reading before I respond.... ROL- i thought it was beautiful and totally worth it! My husband, not so much. I really do think that you get the best view from the reserved/ FP seats as we tried to watch from outside Everest another night and it was not as good. Its very illuminations like, I think my husband expected fireworks which they cant do with the animals. Never been at the holiday time, we are going in 2018 same time in December you are this trip, so cant wait to see how your trip goes!
 
Day 1: Sunday, December 17

DISNEY DAY!

IMG_5572.JPG
I will be this excited to land at Disney.

Enjoy some gratuitous pictures to break up the wall o’text.

IMG_5975.JPG
Here's Berk and me, touring around DC.

Now that we are officially almost two weeks from leaving, it’s time to get these daily plans down – and maybe an outfit post? I have some pretty awesome themed shirts – so we’ll start with arrival day!

Remember that this is a budget-friendly trip (you should see our spreadsheet!), which is why we have four day tickets, non-hoppers. However, to stretch the budget further, we are taking odd timed flights, which gives us two free days. Arrival Day and Departure Day are those free days.

Here’s the “plan” –

Screen Shot 2017-12-02 at 5.28.30 PM.png

We fly down Southwest at 6 AM from DCA, and our direct flight lands at 8:20 AM! We’re planning on taking DME to the hotel, so with that timing, I feel like we’ll get to Port Orleans – French Quarter around 9:30 or so? There’s absolutely no chance our room will be ready then, but we both plan to buy the reusable mugs, so we’ll do that, fill up with caffeine and a quick breakfast, and then take the boat to Disney Springs!

IMG_5491.JPG

Berk has only spent a little bit of time in Disney Springs, and I had some time to wander around in August before I went to dinner, but that’s it. We will be back on Tuesday night for Homecomin’, so we will also have time to eat and drink then.

You’ll notice that eating and drinking is a key component of the trip.

For food, we’re throwing around several QS restaurants – Blaze Pizza, D’Luxe Burger, the Poutine cart – and maybe drinks at Jock Lindsays and a few other bars. Any suggestions for must eat and drinks?

I don’t have a lot of shopping that I want and/or need to do, but I do like to browse. I think I could spend hours in Basin, exfoliating my hands.

I’m not sure if there are specific Christmas decorations during the day at Disney Springs, but I’m all about being festive, so we’ll see what’s there. We’ve also thrown around the idea of doing a DVC tour if time allows on Sunday to maybe get some fastpasses and/or a gift card. I think we can sign up for that at Disney Springs? That’s a TBD afternoon plan, but I love not waiting in line and not paying for things, so I wouldn’t be opposed to it.

When we get the room text and/or can’t walk anymore, we’ll take the boat back to POFQ, go to our room, and maybe take a disco nap. Around 5 PM, after showers and an afternoon cup of coffee, we’ll head to the Boardwalk!

I absolutely adore the Boardwalk area, and if money were no object, I would have pushed to stay there on this trip. We were talking about things to do on Sunday night, and both of us were like, “let’s go to the Boardwalk!” The hotels all have amazing Christmas decorations, and there are a ton of fun places to bop into, so instead of booking a big Signature dinner, we decided to bop around the whole place.

53214074367__05369D8A-1BFD-494D-BB91-11DBBB34A0BD.JPG

I haven’t seen a lot of information about an explicit Boardwalk Bar Hop, so just consider this trademark pending. ;)

As you’ll see from the list, we have found something we like…pretty much everywhere. Right now, the rough plan is to hit the absolute must-dos: Ale and Compass, Abracadabar, and Jellyrolls. Maybe a drink to go while looking at decorations? Can you do that in Disney?

The others seem to have the Standard Disney Drink Menu, but some interesting snacks, so we’ll see if we end up there.

I imagine after 3-4 adult bevs, some heavy snacks, and some dueling pianos, we’ll be ready to go back to the hotel and PTFO around 9 or 10 – especially after the early morning. So we’ll head back to POFQ and get some beauty sleep.


Magic Kingdom day is next!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top