Disney Adults Need Help for XMAS-New Years

[mattnday]

My wife has never been to Disneyworld and I have not been in over a decade.
When my son was little I was a master at all things Disney.

In the last decade though I have not even thought about Disney one time.

I have the basic structure of our trip Down - Arriving 12/24 and Leaving 1/3. We are staying HGVC Tuscany which is pretty close to Disney Springs.
We will have a rental car. Based on park availability and crowd estimator we have chosen the following schedule:
Epcot 12/25 AK 12/27 MK 12/28 MK 12/30 Epcot 12/31 HS 1/2 Our passes are not hoppers and we will not have early entry.
My wife is not real big in to rides and is more interested in shows, fireworks, Anything special for Holidays. We will end up doing things moderate type rides but that's about it.

That is as far as we have gotten and we are struggling to figure out some logistics and dining suggestions. We are staying at a timeshare and will eat breakfast at the resort before heading to parks every day.

1)My recollection was that in the old days you parked at the TTC and then shuttled to what ever park you wanted to go to. Is that still the best way to get to parks? I remember this taking quite a while so split days at the park when driving was kind of difficult.

2)I need to go revisit our logic but we are slated for Epcot for New Years and XMAS Day - Should we switch this up? I think this was mostly crowd related

3)Any suggestions for dinner at Epcot on XMAS night? My understanding is we can make reservations 60 days out - At what time of day do these reservations open up?

4)We are studying websites now - Anything a must do for Adults with no kids during this time?

Thanks in advance

 

[Bete]

I'll tackle the eating first. Eating in the Disney parks or Disney resorts for table service has gotten very expensive. Also, you are competing with those who are onsite for meal table service reservations and they get to make their meal reservations much earlier. You are going at the busiest time of the year. If you absolutely don't want to leave Disney for a break for your meal and go offsite to eat then you will need to be very flexible as to where you will eat and grab whatever table service reservation will be available at each park. I strongly suggest trying for non-peak hours and doing a late lunch. Lunch is a little cheaper.

I really feel you may have to consider doing quick service meals instead at the Disney parks. You can advance order your quick service meal and that will help with the crowds. Maybe, do a combination of quick service and table service during your stay.

Another thought is to try dining at the resorts especially the deluxe resorts. Those table service reservations will be a little easier to get. I would do the monorail connected resorts. You take the monorails to get to them. These resorts go all out for Christmas decorations and that's a nice treat. Grand Floridian is one of our favorites; don't miss their gingerbread house.

There will be some special entertainment for Christmas at the parks. So, do your due diligence and learn about what will be available. For example, the Candlelight Processional in Epcot is not to be missed. Get the dinner show package for this and you will have reserved seating for the show. Again, don't be fussy on the restaurant choice; grab what you can. This is pricey but well worth it in my opinion.

The only park you need to go to the TTC is Magic Kingdom.

Even if you don't have early entry privileges; get to each park when it opens to the public. You will get more accomplished in the morning.