Pre-Trip A Ho Ho Ho PTR — Let’s do WDW with a toddler...at Christmas

Hey there — for those who don’t know me, my name is Diana . I’ve been a member here since 2007 and used to post TRs pretty frequently. Then, life got in the way and I kind of…stopped. Just recently, I FINALLY finished my wedding TR (from 2014!). But, if you’re a sucker for old TRs and would like to get to know me, here are some of my past TRs:

August 2011 (wow, that’s a long time ago…also, I used to host my pictures on Photobucket, so they look crummy now - sad).
Not-quite a trip TR (but actually, yes, a trip)
A 4-Day Anniversary TR (ah, to be young again)
My Disney wedding and honeymoon (yay)

My life has changed an awful lot since I first joined here 12(!) years ago. And so have my TRs Let’s get to the details:

WHO

Me: Diana, 39. Mom and stepmom, marketing consultant, and all-around nerd

DH: Todd, 45, handsome guy, super, stay-at-home dad, and late-bloomer Disney nerd (who fell in love with WDW after meeting yours truly)

DS: Brandon, 15 — the little boy from my wedding TR is growing up! He is now a high school student who is (still) obsessed with Star Wars and Spider-Man.

DD: B (now that I’m older, I’m going to skip putting her name out there, although I already posted Brandon’s for awhile, so he’s still out there!), 21 months (she’ll be 23 months by the time of our trip).

WHERE

Caribbean Beach Resort, pirate room. DH and DS really wanted to stay at a Skyliner resort and we have done POP so many times, it was time for a change. All that was left with free dining was a pirate room, so we’re going with it. Good thing we like to walk, since these are apparently the furthest rooms from anything!

WHEN

December 17 - 23, 2019

WHAT

Our first family trip with all 4 of us in WDW, and our first holiday trip since November 2016. We’ve got a few fun things planned, including:

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party: 12/22 — the last party of the year (and our last night in WDW).
Plant based exploration: My husband, myself and my daughter are all plant based, so we’re super excited to try the new plant based offerings across the resort. We have free, quick service dining, and like the flexibility it offers. Plus, for us at least, the quick service menus have gotten MUCH better in the past few years.
Oga’s Cantina: I was able to snag an ADR here (I have been checking every day since we booked the trip, with no luck, until I found a reservation for 2 while searching the other day - woot!). Brandon and I will be checking this out on 12/19 at 9:25am
Savi’s Workshop and Droid Depot: This trip (and the special stuff we’re doing) is our Christmas present, so we splurged a bit and made reservations at both Savi’s and Droid Depot for Brandon on 12/19. We’ll be chipping in a bit toward it, and he’ll be using his gift cards for the rest (we’ve let family know that we’d all like Disney gift cards for Christmas this year.)
Rose & Crown: My husband is really excited for this — they have a really delicious vegan fish and chips dish, and OUTSTANDING rice pudding, so we made a reservation here just so my husband can experience it

For visuals, here are DH and I with DD in August 2018 (don't worry, she's not burned or dehydrated -- she just gets a little pink in the heat like me! ):

And here are DH, DS and I on our last holiday trip (pre-baby weight that hasn't gone away yet, sigh!):

I can't wait to get a shot like this with all 4 of us! Also, wait until you see DS now -- he's such a handsome young man. And my baby isn't so much a baby anymore. Time goes by so quickly! I'll leave the "where are they now" pics until the actual TR, though

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Fellow WNYer following along! Have a great trip!

Yay, glad to have you aboard, Neighbor

Your daughter is so adorable! Wonderful that your husband is doing so awesome! Your fast passes sound great.

Thank you - I’m so excited!

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

We found ourselves in an interesting situation this week...

I landed two new clients from November through all of 2020 (I'm a digital marketing consultant), and I approached my husband about potentially upgrading our resort.

He doesn't know the deluxe resorts as well as I do, so we spent several hours the other night watching room tours and other videos to make our decision...

We were considering:

Yacht Club
Beach Club
Contemporary
Boardwalk

If you read my wedding TR, you may remember that we were married at BW. Todd was SUPER nostalgic about that, and leaning in that direction. Especially being able to walk to Epcot and DHS, which we LOVED doing on our wedding trip. It's just such a low-key way to start the day, rather than cramming into and probably standing on a bus (especially with B, since we don't know how she'll do).

But, he's never stayed at the Contemporary (my grandma took us for large, adult family trips in 2000 and 2003, so I am spoiled!). The idea of walking to MK and taking the monorail to Epcot was extremely tempting for him.

We spent literally hours considering this...and decided upon the Contemporary. There is still a holiday discount out there, but not as good as the one we got at CBR. So the difference in price for our vacation was...

$2,500

We could technically afford it, but I could see the look on Todd's face and knew he was thinking the same thing --

Was it really going to bring us $2,500 MORE JOY in our trip? I mean we can take the Skyliner (God willing! ) to two parks, and our room is a moderate, so not too cramped.

So after all that deliberation...we decided to keep our reservation at CBR and skip the Contemporary for now. Maybe next time.

What would you have done? Do you think we made the right decision?

 

[LindsayLoves]

I think you made the right call. I am not about tell anyone how to spend their money but you could almost book another trip for that amount, or extend your trip, etc.. You could also have some cool experiences, maybe a dinner at Victoria and Albert's (hire a babysitter to stay with your little one).

As for standing on buses, feel free to guilt the heck out of the able bodied people who don't let you and your toddler sit. I am from NYC and I am very happy to ask people to get up to let my kid sit on public transportation.

 

[Swissmiss]

I think you made the right call too.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

I think you made the right call. I am not about tell anyone how to spend their money but you could almost book another trip for that amount, or extend your trip, etc.. You could also have some cool experiences, maybe a dinner at Victoria and Albert's (hire a babysitter to stay with your little one).

As for standing on buses, feel free to guilt the heck out of the able bodied people who don't let you and your toddler sit. I am from NYC and I am very happy to ask people to get up to let my kid sit on public transportation.

Thank you! And haha, when we were younger, my siblings and I always gave up our seats. We still do! Last year when B was 7 months, we spent 9 days in WDW and I had to stand and hold her often. It scared me! I know I shouldn’t expect it, and if I don’t want to stand I should rent a car, but I was honestly surprised.

I think you made the right call too.

Thanks! I know we’d enjoy the Contemporary, but we can do some fun extra things and spend less than half the difference!

 

[meggo819]

Last year when B was 7 months, we spent 9 days in WDW and I had to stand and hold her often.

Wow, that's disappointing! I went about a year ago with my 15 month old. I put her in a baby carrier for buses, so I probably would've been fine standing, but someone always offered me a seat!

 

[youngdeb]

I think you made the right call. We were booked at WL for our 10 day trip coming up in January. When the discounts came out, as usual they were very thin for WL and after a recent rack rate increase, any discount we could have gotten wouldn't have affected our cost much at all. We looked at the price of a room at AKL and we would be saving almost $1000 USD, which is huge for us considering we are Canadian so that ends up being $1300 CAD. There's a lot of extra stuff we can do with that $$!

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Wow, that's disappointing! I went about a year ago with my 15 month old. I put her in a baby carrier for buses, so I probably would've been fine standing, but someone always offered me a seat!

I was so surprised. It was hot — August — maybe people were just overheated and fried!

I think you made the right call. We were booked at WL for our 10 day trip coming up in January. When the discounts came out, as usual they were very thin for WL and after a recent rack rate increase, any discount we could have gotten wouldn't have affected our cost much at all. We looked at the price of a room at AKL and we would be saving almost $1000 USD, which is huge for us considering we are Canadian so that ends up being $1300 CAD. There's a lot of extra stuff we can do with that $$!

Absolutely! I used to be a passholder for years, and was reminiscing with my husband about when I paid $179 for Yacht Club and $249 for Poly in the mid- to late-2010s (my brother and I paid $149 last minute for OKW too). We’ve been considering trying the Four Seasons too, but I think there are things we’d miss. I am hoping we have a good experience at CBR (I am pretty sure we will!).

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Yay - we bought some gift cards at BJ's today to start paying off our balance. You save $20 on a $500 gift card there. For the balance of our trip, that's about $160 -- or about what we'll be spending on our Crystal Palace meal (which is ridiculous but such is life...$60 for one meal?!).

When I was doing that, I figured it's time to order the Magic Bands -- whatever the selection is (or isn't), we'll make the best of it.

And I ended up scoring the Limited Release Galaxy's Edge Magic Band for Brandon He's with us this weekend, so he was super excited to hear I was able to score one!

I also got B a Minnie Mouse silhouette band. She loves Minnie SO much, as I think I've mentioned. And she loves wearing Brandon's old Magic Bands. This way, she'll have something to wear. I know there's a high chance it gets lost, but I'll survive. It was $10 and it'll make her happy.

And finally, I canceled our Crystal Palace breakfast and instead booked lunch. I'm just too nervous flying out of Buffalo in December, and any potential weather delays. We should be arriving around 9, but to get to our hotel, then hop on a bus to MK and catch our meal would be cutting it close -- especially with an (almost) 2 year-old. So, instead we're doing a 1:20pm lunch. I have heard mixed reviews about their plant based options for lunch, but I'm not worried about it. This really is for B (and for us to see B). Brandon will find plenty to eat, and we're not picky

Quick question:

Are we allowed to feed B off our plates at the buffet? Since she'll still be 1 when we go, we can, right? I think it's 3 when you have to order a separate meal?

 

[krisri18]

Yay - we bought some gift cards at BJ's today to start paying off our balance. You save $20 on a $500 gift card there. For the balance of our trip, that's about $160 -- or about what we'll be spending on our Crystal Palace meal (which is ridiculous but such is life...$60 for one meal?!).

When I was doing that, I figured it's time to order the Magic Bands -- whatever the selection is (or isn't), we'll make the best of it.

And I ended up scoring the Limited Release Galaxy's Edge Magic Band for Brandon He's with us this weekend, so he was super excited to hear I was able to score one!

I also got B a Minnie Mouse silhouette band. She loves Minnie SO much, as I think I've mentioned. And she loves wearing Brandon's old Magic Bands. This way, she'll have something to wear. I know there's a high chance it gets lost, but I'll survive. It was $10 and it'll make her happy.

And finally, I canceled our Crystal Palace breakfast and instead booked lunch. I'm just too nervous flying out of Buffalo in December, and any potential weather delays. We should be arriving around 9, but to get to our hotel, then hop on a bus to MK and catch our meal would be cutting it close -- especially with an (almost) 2 year-old. So, instead we're doing a 1:20pm lunch. I have heard mixed reviews about their plant based options for lunch, but I'm not worried about it. This really is for B (and for us to see B). Brandon will find plenty to eat, and we're not picky

Quick question:

Are we allowed to feed B off our plates at the buffet? Since she'll still be 1 when we go, we can, right? I think it's 3 when you have to order a separate meal?

Yup, she can eat off your plates!

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Yup, she can eat off your plates!

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Shouldigo12]

Sounds like a really fun trip, and I can't wait to read about it! Ad for the ADR for Crystal's Palace- it's a little close, but not impossible. I've always heard that you should put a three hour gap between when you should be landing and the first scheduled activity because of things like delays, waiting on your transportation, checking in, etc. However, since you're fairly confident there'll be no delays, you're planning on getting a rental car and driving yourself, and from what I understand you won't be stopping by the hotel, I'm pretty sure you'll be fine. If push comes to shove and it turns out you won't be able to make it, you can always try calling the restaurant and explaining what happened. From what I've heard they're pretty nice about cancelling the no show charge.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Sounds like a really fun trip, and I can't wait to read about it! Ad for the ADR for Crystal's Palace- it's a little close, but not impossible. I've always heard that you should put a three hour gap between when you should be landing and the first scheduled activity because of things like delays, waiting on your transportation, checking in, etc. However, since you're fairly confident there'll be no delays, you're planning on getting a rental car and driving yourself, and from what I understand you won't be stopping by the hotel, I'm pretty sure you'll be fine. If push comes to shove and it turns out you won't be able to make it, you can always try calling the restaurant and explaining what happened. From what I've heard they're pretty nice about cancelling the no show charge.

Yeah, I got too nervous, so we changed it to lunch at 1:20 instead. I feel much better about it. Thanks!!

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Yay, Magic Bands and luggage tags have arrived. We are getting close!!

 

[Loco_driver]

Looks like it’s shaping up to be a great trip! Also good call I think I’m not changing to the contemporary. Skyliner transportation to two parks is awesome!

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Looks like it’s shaping up to be a great trip! Also good call I think I’m not changing to the contemporary. Skyliner transportation to two parks is awesome!

Right?! I’m getting more and more excited about it!!

 

[Loco_driver]

Right?! I’m getting more and more excited about it!!

We tried it for the first time last weekend. It was awesome! On average it took us less than 15 minutes from the time we walked to the station, to the time we were back at pop, from both HS, and Epcot. That included the transfer at CBR! Epcot took a bit longer, but it was a more scenic trip. The lines never stopped moving, so even the longest line only took a few minutes.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Two good things happened yesterday for our trip planning:

1) We paid off the trip -- woo hoo!
2) I came to a realization....

We have been ordering groceries from, first, Garden Grocer (for our wedding trip in 2014), then Instacart, then Amazon Prime. We order water and usually some breakfast food, as well as some snacks. It saves us some $$ for sure.

But for some reason, I just don't feel like dealing with the bottles of water clogging up the room (especially now with my daughter and a stroller, etc), and I don't feel like the hassle of calling for the groceries to be delivered, etc.

So I turned to my husband after paying off the trip and blurted out, "I don't want to deal with groceries. You good with that?" Thankfully, he agreed. Honestly, it's not summer, so it's not going to be 100 degrees and we each need 7 or 8 bottles of water per day. We 'll have our mugs and will get drinks with our dining plan. So will we really be spending that much more? Eh.

We'll pack some toddler fruit and veggie pouches for my daughter to snack on, and a few other healthy snacks. They sell soy milk throughout WDW, so she'll have access to plant based milks. I just feel like this will be one less hassle to deal with. I know it sounds weird, but it's kinda nice Yet another reason why I like Memory Maker.

Yes, it's a bit of a ripoff, but I have found in recent trips that I really enjoy actually being IN the moment, rather than experiencing things while looking through my phone.

One less thing to worry about!

How do you guys and gals feel about grocery delivery? I mean I still LOVE it, and we'll definitely do it every time we go in the summer or hotter months, but I just know it's gonna be busy and crazy the week before Christmas, and there's something about being able to scan that lil ole Magic Band and worry about it later

 

[MinnieM123]

Two good things happened yesterday for our trip planning:

1) We paid off the trip -- woo hoo!
2) I came to a realization....

We have been ordering groceries from, first, Garden Grocer (for our wedding trip in 2014), then Instacart, then Amazon Prime. We order water and usually some breakfast food, as well as some snacks. It saves us some $$ for sure.

But for some reason, I just don't feel like dealing with the bottles of water clogging up the room (especially now with my daughter and a stroller, etc), and I don't feel like the hassle of calling for the groceries to be delivered, etc.

So I turned to my husband after paying off the trip and blurted out, "I don't want to deal with groceries. You good with that?" Thankfully, he agreed. Honestly, it's not summer, so it's not going to be 100 degrees and we each need 7 or 8 bottles of water per day. We 'll have our mugs and will get drinks with our dining plan. So will we really be spending that much more? Eh.

We'll pack some toddler fruit and veggie pouches for my daughter to snack on, and a few other healthy snacks. They sell soy milk throughout WDW, so she'll have access to plant based milks. I just feel like this will be one less hassle to deal with. I know it sounds weird, but it's kinda nice Yet another reason why I like Memory Maker.

Yes, it's a bit of a ripoff, but I have found in recent trips that I really enjoy actually being IN the moment, rather than experiencing things while looking through my phone.

One less thing to worry about!

How do you guys and gals feel about grocery delivery? I mean I still LOVE it, and we'll definitely do it every time we go in the summer or hotter months, but I just know it's gonna be busy and crazy the week before Christmas, and there's something about being able to scan that lil ole Magic Band and worry about it later

The times I've visited WDW, it was only for a maximum of 4 days each. So the grocery thing really didn't fit in with my plans of eating "on the go"! But I completely get it for families, especially those with longer length vacations.

That being said, time and convenience (of a Disney dining plan) may make sense on specific trips. What you've outlined above for your Christmas time trip, seems to be the way to go. I think it will be a nice treat.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

We're getting down to the wire now, it feels. Once Thanksgiving hits, it's only like 2 weeks away. And Thanksgiving is two weeks away.

So after showers and meals, it's really only like 15 minutes (anyone get that reference? )

Now that all you awesome folks on the TR board have introduced me to GIFs in threads, I feel that I cannot be stopped Two weeks ago I had food poisoning, then last week I had a stomach bug (and horrible insomnia), so that I have literally ready about a dozen old and new TRs. You are all getting me SO excited!

So, some updates...

We decided to upgrade to the full dining plan. Since quick serve was free, it’s only around $400 to upgrade. We were going to pay that amount anyway for the two “extra” meals we booked anyway - might as well get some more for “free!”

I can call and upgrade the dining as long as it’s a few days in advance right?

In the meantime, we booked some additional restaurants. The toddler effect really plays into this, since we're trying to maximize character interaction:

Arrival Day - December 17
Crystal Palace for lunch (this was the one we already booked).

My daughter was Pooh for Halloween, and she just adores him, so we're excited for this one. She has also been loving her Eeyore stuffed animal (it was my grandmother's who passed away in 2013, so I feel really nostalgic that B loves it so much) too.

She keeps pulling it out of her closet and asking to wear it again

This is getting long, so I'll continue in another post...