Pre-Trip Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - December 2024

Hellooooo Humans!

Our clan is headed back to WDW in less than four weeks! Between work stress, daylight savings sleep deprivation, and election anxiety in the US, I could really use a pick-me-up, so let’s get this Pre-Trip report started!

Who: Me (Katie), my husband Jason, and our 3-year-old son, Lincoln.

When: Sunday, December 1st - Saturday, December 7th

Where: Pop Century! We initially wanted Caribbean Beach, but it wasn’t available with the bounceback offer we received on our last trip. So, we decided on Pop - we love the refurbished rooms, the theming is fun for Lincoln, and it’s still on the Skyliner route.

We’ll have to re-create this picture from 2021!

Why: We go to Disney the week after Thanksgiving every year- you get the full holiday experience without the insane crowds that descend on the parks closer to Christmas.

I look forward to sharing our trip with everyone!

 

[k8einwdw]

What a great year you guys had!! So nice to see Lincoln’s growth through the year in the pictures! Loved the Halloween costume and the fact that he was ready for Christmas decorations!!!
Can’t wait to hear more about your plans/trip!!

Thank you!

Love that Lincoln is getting ready for Christmas. We have seen a couple of windows in houses already decorated for Christmas.

I’ve seen a couple of homes in our neighborhood that have started decorating- I’ll be waiting until next weekend to decorate the rest of our house.

So many happy memories this year and more to be made at Disney this Christmas for you and your beautiful family!

We’re very thankful! 🩷

I love that he wanted the Christmas decorations up after Halloween! I can't believe how much he has grown.

He is becoming Christmas-obsessed just like his mama, much to his dad’s dismay. Jason is more of a put-the-tree-up-after-Thanksgiving kind of guy.

 

[k8einwdw]

Plans so far:

Sunday 12/1 - Travel Day

We will be driving down from our home in Georgia - it is a 7-8 hour drive. We try to leave around 5:00 am to put us arriving on property around lunchtime. If our room is not ready when we get there, we may just head straight to Disney Springs for lunch rather than waiting around at Pop. That night, we have a dinner reservation at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin - this is one of our favorite restaurants on property, and we weren’t able to get a reservation there last year, so we’re excited to go back!

Monday, December 2nd - Animal Kingdom Day

We always go to Animal Kingdom for our first park day. On J’s and my first WDW trip together back in 2014, we went to AK on our first day because he had never been. I don’t know why, but we’ve just stuck with doing it that way ever since then. Our priorities for our time at Animal Kingdom are of course Kilimanjaro Safaris, Na’Vi River Journey for Lincoln, maybe Flight of Passage for J and I, Expedition Everest, and maybe riding Dinosaur one final time. We definitely want to take Lincoln to the playground in DinoLand, since playgrounds are gradually disappearing from the parks (I still miss you, “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” Movie Set Adventure).

We’ll stay at AK until early-mid afternoon before heading back to Pop for a break. Then, because we have park hoppers for the first time in years, we’ll be heading to MK so that Lincoln can see Happily Ever After for the first time ever. There are four MVMCPs during our trip, so I know MK will be crowded on a non-party night. But, L really enjoyed the Epcot fireworks last year, so we’re willing to fight the crowds for him to see HEA.

---

Up next: MK and Resort Day Plans

 

[Swissmiss]

 

[k8einwdw]

View attachment 824731

 

[k8einwdw]

Tuesday, December 3rd - Magic Kingdom Day

The past two years, we’ve done Magic Kingdom on a Christmas Party day, and it’s definitely paid off. Most people aren’t willing to pay for a full day’s ticket to be booted from the park at 6:00 pm, so it tends to be less crowded, especially first thing in the morning. We’ll be doing the same thing again this year, of course.

Our #1 priority for our MK day is Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, as Lincoln is officially tall enough to ride. I’m sure we’ll end up doing his past favorites, Barnstormer and the carousel, multiple times as well. For dinner, we have a reservation at Steakhouse 71, which we’re excited to try for the first time. After dinner, we’re toying with the idea of monorailing over to Epcot to see the fireworks. If we’re not feeling up to it, we’ll head back to Pop and see the Epcot fireworks on our Epcot day.

Wednesday, December 4th - Resort Day

Since we’ve dropped down to one trip per year, we’ve added on an extra night to our trips to give us a “rest” day outside of the parks. We’re not great at the resting part, but it’s nice to have a day where we can move at a slower pace. On this day, we have a late breakfast reservation at ‘Ohana - Lincoln is very into Stitch at the moment, so he is very excited about this meal.

We will spend the rest of the day resort-hopping to check out the holiday decorations. We prioritize the deluxe resorts, but I also want to try to make it over to Coronado Springs this time around, as we have yet to see Gran Destino Tower.

Up next: HS and Epcot plans

 

[Tuvalu]

 

[k8einwdw]

 

[rshell68]

There better be pics!!!

 

[k8einwdw]

Thursday, December 5th - Hollywood Studios Day

Priorities for our Hollywood Studios day are Slinky Dog Dash (Lincoln is finally tall enough!), and Disney Junior Play and Dance and MuppetVision 3D. Since we don’t yet know where Monsters Inc. Land (Monstropolis?) is going, this trip could likely be our last chance to experience the Disney Junior dance party (if the new land takes the place of the Animation Courtyard area) or MuppetVision 3D (I don’t even want to think about it).

We may try the Frozen sing-along as well, since Lincoln loves Frozen. And J and I are considering trying out the ROTR single-rider line, if it’s available at the time of our trip. For lunch, we have a Fantasmic dining package booked at Sci-Fi Dine In. I know the food is not the best, but it’s a safe bet with a 3yo, and we think he’ll enjoy the experience. We’re definitely excited for Lincoln to see Fantasmic for the first time!

Friday, December 6th - Epcot Day

Our last park day. We like to save Epcot for our last park day, as we feel that it is more “chill” than the other parks - fewer E-ticket attractions, and more time spent exploring/leisurely strolling. We’re hoping to rope-drop Remy’s, since we’ll be entering the park via the International Gateway.

Other priorities for the day include Spaceship Earth since it was down all day on our Epcot day last year, as well as letting Lincoln spend more time in the Moana water play area. For dinner, we have a reservation at Via Napoli.

Saturday, December 7th - Check-Out Day

We have a breakfast reservation at Kona Cafe, and then we’ll be headed home.

 

[annienevells]

We will be at HS on 12/5 too!! (we are also trying out the whole toddler at Sci Fi thing but on Saturday night!)

 

[k8einwdw]

We are less than two weeks out from the trip!

Lincoln and I put up our Christmas decorations over the weekend- we like to have it done before Thanksgiving.

Lincoln’s favorite decoration:

We have been practicing hugging characters with him - hopefully he won’t clam up around them like he did last year.

 

[k8einwdw]

It has begun.

 

[k8einwdw]

Single Digit Dance Party!

 

[LeighM]

Hellooooo Humans!

Our clan is headed back to WDW in less than four weeks! Between work stress, daylight savings sleep deprivation, and election anxiety in the US, I could really use a pick-me-up, so let’s get this Pre-Trip report started!

Who: Me (Katie), my husband Jason, and our 3-year-old son, Lincoln.

When: Sunday, December 1st - Saturday, December 7th

Where: Pop Century! We initially wanted Caribbean Beach, but it wasn’t available with the bounceback offer we received on our last trip. So, we decided on Pop - we love the refurbished rooms, the theming is fun for Lincoln, and it’s still on the Skyliner route.

We’ll have to re-create this picture from 2021!

Why: We go to Disney the week after Thanksgiving every year- you get the full holiday experience without the insane crowds that descend on the parks closer to Christmas.

I look forward to sharing our trip with everyone!

Fingers crossed we cross paths!!! We will be at AoA - post toddler bedtime Skyliner ride for us moms?!

Hopefully, I'll be able to see yall while we're there! This trip snuck up on us this year and it doesn't feel real at all. It's like one of those concept only trips that is only official in my head I tried extending our trip but no luck. Turns out that weekend is Dapper Day weekend at WDW, which I always wanted to do. Sooooo close LOL. Here is what our itinerary looks like -

Monday, Dec 2 - travel day, arrive around noon, DS for lunch, then Jollywood Nights at HS at 6PM
Tuesday, Dec 3 - lunch at Steakhouse 71, monorail hopping, then MVMCP at 4PM
Wednesday, Dec 4 - resort day and early Ohana dinner then DS
Thursday, Dec 5 - Epcot Day
Friday, Dec 6 - AK Day
Saturday, Dec 7 - return home

 

[muddyrivers]

Single Digit Dance Party!

Make sure to take L to see MuppetVision 3D for what could be the last time

 

[k8einwdw]

Hopefully, I'll be able to see yall while we're there!

We’ll be at MK on Tuesday up until MVMCP!

Make sure to take L to see MuppetVision 3D for what could be the last time

I’m so sad to see that area go. I’ve never shed tears over a Disney closure before, but this one got me. I hope they find another place for the show, even if it’s just on Disney +. We’ll definitely be visiting Muppet Courtyard one last time.

 

[k8einwdw]

Currently re-watching one of Mammoth Club’s Lightning Lane videos, studying for tomorrow morning.

I’ve checked the pricing for our trip, and again I say, it was so much cheaper traveling with a 2-year-old.

 

[k8einwdw]

Lightning Lanes are booked! I chose not to purchase LLMP for AK - the only rides we would “need” it for would be Na’Vi River Journey and Kilimanjaro Safaris. We’ll rope-drop Na’Vi during early entry, and hit up Kilimanjaro at official park opening (it doesn’t open during early entry). As for the other parks…

Magic Kingdom:
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Single Pass)
- Haunted Mansion
- Pirates
- Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (!)

Hollywood Studios:
- Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Toy Story Mania
- Tower of Terror

Epcot:
- Frozen Ever After
- Spaceship Earth
- GOTG Cosmic Rewind (Single Pass)

Living With the Land was oddly unavailable? That was the only other Tier Two we would consider booking.

 

[Tuvalu]

Lightning Lanes are booked!
Living With the Land was oddly unavailable? That was the only other Tier Two we would consider booking.

I thought the same thing. I checked different days numerous times and decided it was one of two things -
1. Disney is not issuing LL for LWTL as a pre-book

Or

2. Thanks to the internet, all LLs are gone because the holiday overlay is a “must see!”

I fear it is #2.

 

[bwr827]

We have similar plans!

• Sunday, Dec. 1 - arrive, All-Star Sports
• Monday: Animal Kingdom, hop to Epcot for Cosmic virtual queue, maybe watch MK fireworks from Poly beach
• Tuesday: Magic Kingdom, hop to HS
• Wednesday: Hollywood
• Thursday: MVMCP!
• Friday: Animal Kingdom (our #1 ride is Flight, and that evening we “hop” to Universal)

Got all the Lightning Lanes we wanted this morning. Phew!

Enjoying your trip report so far!