Pre-Trip Disneymoon December 2013

I have never done a trip report or pre-trip report but after reading so many wonderful reports, I thought I would give it a try.

My name is Lindsey and my "soon to be hubby" is Mike. Mike is 32 and I am 31. I am from Birmingham, Alabama and Mike is from West Palm Beach, Florida. However, Mike moved to Guntersville then to Birmingham. We met online 4 years ago as we were both looking for a friend to just hang out with. The rest is history!!

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to be honeymooning in Disney. It really is a dream come true. After many years of no vacations, we finally decided to simply check out prices for a trip back in September of 2012. The deal was no commitments just get prices. Well, after hearing about the low flight prices, Mike said "go ahead and book them." Wait.... What???? So our February 2013 trip was on. I had been to Disney with my high school dance team in 1998 and he had been once as a small child. I was ecstatic!!!! I have always been amazed by Disney and I can honestly say it is my most favorite place in the world. AS the trip neared, I was a nervous wreck but all went well and we had a blast. I am most definitely the "Disney Fanatic" but Mike is a landscaper and loves the landscaping and the sights.

We got engaged in February 2013 right before our first trip but haven't been able to decide on wedding plans until September 2013. We planned another trip in about May 2013 and had planned to go again in February 2014 but schedules are crazy and we couldn't work it out so December 2013 it is. We have decided to fly out on Monday, December 9 and return on Sunday, December 15. We will spend 6 days in the park since out flight should land about 11:45 on Monday. We always stay in a Value resort so we will have extra money for other things. We are only in the room to sleep and for 2 people it is the perfect size.

After planning this trip, Mike decided (in September) we should get married at his parent's house in Guntersville on November 9th (OMG- 2 months of planning). It is a beautiful place and I am so excited to have a low-key wedding. So our December Christmas Trip has now become the Disneymoon of a lifetime!!!

Day by Day plans coming soon... Any comments or suggestions are most welcome too!!!
 
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LindseyK

LindseyK

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I have been stressing out because I hadn't heard anything about magic bands but we were finally able to customize them this past weekend. I am so excited to try them out.

Day One...

Our flight leaves from Birmingham at 9:45, so I am estimating we will arrive at 12:15 (Florida time). We are staying at Pop Century and will be using Disney's transportation the entire trip. Our plan is to head to Magic Kingdom on day one and hopefully we will be in the park by 3:15. I completed our online checkin but wasn't sure how long it would take to checkin since I am sure our room won't be ready. Hopefully, we won't have to worry about luggage.(Any tips on this would be much helpful? How does this work?) We have FP+ for
BTMR, Splash Mountain, and Princess Fairytale Hall. We had very few pictures last year so I would love to get more pictures in general, as well as, character pictures. We are going to try to get as many shows, parades, etc. on this day. We will be back later in the week so whatever we miss, we will catch later. We also have ADR at Paradiso 37 at 10:15 in DtD. If you have never eaten here, the food is delicious. Tres Leches are my favorite here. I am not a big fan of eating that late but we didn't want to miss out on eating there. I have to go in to work around 4 AM before our flight leaves so hopefully I can hold out that long. I am sure we will just grab a quick meal either at the airport or at the resort.

Day 2 up next.
 
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ml123_9

ml123_9

Active Member
If luggage is your concern, DME will take it right to your room. It's normally there within a couple of hours after you land. If you are worried about changing clothes, then you might want to pack something in a carry on. Since you won't be arriving at PoP until probably around 1 or 1:30, there is a good chance your room will be ready. Just make sure you do the online check-in a few days before you leave.
 
LindseyK

LindseyK

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ml123_9 said:
If luggage is your concern, DME will take it right to your room. It's normally there within a couple of hours after you land. If you are worried about changing clothes, then you might want to pack something in a carry on. Since you won't be arriving at PoP until probably around 1 or 1:30, there is a good chance your room will be ready. Just make sure you do the online check-in a few days before you leave.
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Thanks!! We did online checkin so hopefully everything will fall into place for us.
 
LindseyK

LindseyK

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Day 2

We will be headed to DHS on day 2. This is my favorite park. I love Backlot Tour. I know it is kind of old and outdated but it is still one of my favs. We have FP+ for RnRC, TSMM, and StarTours. I suckered DH into riding TT with me last year and bless his heart he was TERRIFIED. He hates dark rides/rollercoasters/anything fast/ drops/etc. I am pretty sure I won't be able to talk him into that one again. He did really enjoy BTMR though. When we got off of Dinosaur on our last trip, I asked him what he thought and he said "That was almost too much" Haha. I have never ridden RnRC or Star Tours but after reading some reports, I definitely want us to check these out. We also have ADRs at 50's Prime Time at 4:20. This one is another favorite!! Hopefully, we will be able to jump right on a couple of the rides above and use our FP for another go later in the day. The park closes at 8 so not telling what we will get into. I am down for catching up on some sleep.
 
LindseyK

LindseyK

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Day 3

Our plan is to hit Animal Kingdom this day. Last trip we spent very little time at this park (not even a half day). After getting home, I realized how much we missed out on so this trip our plan is to stay all day. I am a former zookeeper so being at AK, I feel totally in my element. Not to mention... Lion King is one of my all time favorite Disney movies. We have FP+ for Kilimanjaro Safari, Dinosaur, and EE. Everyday I try to convince my sweet fiance to ride EE with me while we are there but I am pretty sure that is Not Happening!!! I have no intentions of giving up. I also want to see the parade and all the shows while we are there. Any suggestions for QS meals here??? We have ADRs at Ohana at 5:40 too. Ohana was by far the best food that we had last time and I can't wait to go again. Last trip our ADRs were at 9:30. I was so tired and didn't eat much at all so I decided to try for an earlier one this time. I am sure it will be even better this time. We will probably go check out some other resorts, DTD, or try to hit a park.


42 days until we leave!!! and 11 more until the wedding!!!
 
LindseyK

LindseyK

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Day 4

We will hit Magic Kingdom on Thursday. This will be our second day here but first full day. We have FP+ for BTMRR, Buzz Lightyear, and Jungle Cruise. I am excited to see the Jungle Cruise transformed for Christmas. We have 2 ADRs right now. One for The Crystal Palace (4:00) and Tony's (6:30). We are trying to make a final decision which one to go to. I love Italian food but wasn't overly impressed with Tony's on our last trip. The food was good but not quite what I expected. Any suggestions on QS here would be great too?? I am not impressed with too many of the dining options for dinner at MK. I tried to get into BOG but of course no luck so far. We will be attending MVMCP this evening. I love, love, love Christmas time and I am so excited to spend it with my sweetheart in Disney. We will try to catch whatever parades, meet and greets, etc. that we missed on Monday on this day.

Day 5

Epcot is on the plan for this day. We spent very little time touring the worlds last trip but we plan to really concentrate on that area. We do have FP+ for Mission: Space, Soarin', and TT. I also am totally in love with Living with the Lands. I work in the produce industry and come in contact with tons of Farmers every day and it is so interesting to me to hear them talk about their farming methods so I am very excited to see this again. I would love to do the Behinds the Seeds tour (all the other tours too- too expensive though) but the fiance says no go this time. He thinks it will take away from our time exploring the park. We also have ADR's at 6:15 at Marrakesh. The fiance picked this one. I was a bit surprised because he is pretty picky. However, the truth recently slipped out that there is a belly dancer that he is looking forward to seeing. Now it all makes sense. Whatever we miss on Friday, we are going to try to catch on Saturday. Our plan is to do park hopping on our last park day, catching anything we miss or want to redo.
 
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LindseyK

LindseyK

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Day 6

Final Park Day :O(

Our plan is to head to Epcot in the evening. Our first FP+ selection is at 3:00 for Maelstrom. We also have one for TT and Soarin'. We then have ADR's at Garden Grill at 6:05. We don't really have a plan for the morning, except catch whatever we missed along the way. Sometime during the week, we also want to hit the Poly for some Tonga Toast.

Day 7

Our flight leaves at 10:40 from Orlando, so I am thinking we won't have much time for anything since we will be using DME.

I am beyond excited and can't wait for our hopefully "stress-free" week in the World. Hope I didn't bore anyone.
 
GeekDad

GeekDad

Active Member
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

Check out Flame Tree BBQ at AK and either Columbia Harbor House or Casey's Corner in MK. All three of these were nice QS finds for my wife and I on our last trip (only my second trip so I'm still learning).

My next trip is in December as well and my wife and I are very much looking forward to the Christmas stuff including "Jingle Cruise".
 
LindseyK

LindseyK

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Original Poster
GeekDad said:
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

Check out Flame Tree BBQ at AK and either Columbia Harbor House or Casey's Corner in MK. All three of these were nice QS finds for my wife and I on our last trip (only my second trip so I'm still learning).

My next trip is in December as well and my wife and I are very much looking forward to the Christmas stuff including "Jingle Cruise".
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I have heard good things about Flame Tree so we might check that one out. When are y'all going in December? Have y'all been before during December? If so, how are the crowds?
 
GeekDad

GeekDad

Active Member
LindseyK said:
I have heard good things about Flame Tree so we might check that one out. When are y'all going in December? Have y'all been before during December? If so, how are the crowds?
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We have never been in December before but we will be done there from December 13th through the 20th. A friend of mine has been in December and said the crowds from the beginning to mid December are usually some of the slower times. Then again hearing from others it sounds like there really isn't a slow time anymore. The busiest times around that time of year are the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas so both of our trips should be OK crowd wise. Also I believe during the Christmas parties the rides are usually a very sort wait if any wait at all. Most should be walk on.
 
LindseyK

LindseyK

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GeekDad said:
We have never been in December before but we will be done there from December 13th through the 20th. A friend of mine has been in December and said the crowds from the beginning to mid December are usually some of the slower times. Then again hearing from others it sounds like there really isn't a slow time anymore. The busiest times around that time of year are the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas so both of our trips should be OK crowd wise. Also I believe during the Christmas parties the rides are usually a very sort wait if any wait at all. Most should be walk on.
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Okay cool. We will be there 9th-15th. I had heard the crowds were low during that time.
 
LindseyK

LindseyK

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Yesterday was our wedding and it turned out great. Enjoyed our day with close family and friends then came home to watch Alabama roll over LSU. Perfect day!! Now to get ready for some fun and warmer weather in Disney in 28 more days!!
 
Gojira ゴジラ

Gojira ゴジラ

Well-Known Member
LindseyK said:
We got engaged in February 2013 right before our first trip but haven't been able to decide on wedding plans until September 2013. We planned another trip in about May 2013 and had planned to go again in February 2014 but schedules are crazy and we couldn't work it out so December 2013 it is. We have decided to fly out on Monday, December 9 and return on Sunday, December 15.
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How exciting and congratulations!!
We'll be there around the same time as you but leave a day early :)
 
ginadee

ginadee

Well-Known Member
Im a little late getting on board here but what a great story. Loved reading. We have a lot of the same favorites. Congrats.
 

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