Pre-Trip My 1st Disney Christmas!! :)

Hi Friends!!

I am SO excited to be writing this PTR! I have dreamed of doing Christmas at Disney for years, and it's FINALLY happening!!! In my head it goes something like waking up at Disney on Christmas morning and opening presents in our room by the glow of our little tree. Then we head to the MK and it's empty and we frolic around the park for hours, smiling and singing carols with the CM's while sipping hot chocolate. For dinner we head over to LTT and have the perfect colonial Christmas dinner while eating by the fire.

Then I snap out of it! Especially after reading some of the comments on this site lol! I think I am prepared and know what to expect, this will be my 20th trip, but first one the week of Christmas! As of today we are 59 days out! Let's get started with some of the details!

 
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Courtney6682

Courtney6682

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
WHO- This trip will be myself, my husband Kevin and my 17 year old best gal, Brooklyn!


WHAT- Christmas at the most magical place on Earth!!!


WHERE- My favorite resort on all of property, French Quarter. This will be our 5th stay here. I love everything about this place, especially it's small size.


WHEN - December 24th -29th 2017

So I only just booked yesterday which was the 60 day mark! It happened so late because my husband couldn't decide if he wanted to come along with Brook and I. It's a long story, but this year his kids are to be with their mother the whole 10 day Christmas break. So, he just decided YESTERDAY at like 9 am that he would come( yes, that's 2 hrs into FP selection time-FOR CHRISTMAS WEEK!!!) I booked as fast as I could, and was shocked that FQ was avail. I had been thinking that if it was to be just Brook and I that we would give Pop Century a try. If Kevin decided to come, we would have to stay at a moderate resort because there is no way in h*ll that we could fit in a double bed. We're hefty people and that ain't gonna cut it! When I looked at availability last week it was between CBR and CS. If the price was right I was also looking at the Swan and Dolphin. Somehow, FQ was part of whatever room only offer I was able to get. It's not only MY fave resort, but Kevin and Brook's too!!!

Once everything was squared away I logged on to get FP's. I was really nervous with all the horror stories I heard I assumed EVERY ride on property was gonna be gone by 7:02. I was hoping to get FoP for Kevin to experience, but really I would have been happy to get any FP at all! How did I do you ask? It was like a dream! I snagged FoP TWICE and got every other big ride as well!
 
Courtney6682

Courtney6682

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yes, I'm going to be a loser and post only in red and green font!:D:p

Here's our plans...

Arrive at MCO Sunday, Dec 24th( flights not booked yet, hoping for an early departure time) Hoping we get a room text and can drop our bags at FQ and get settled before hitting ....HS!

RnRC- 2:20-3:20 PM
ToT- 3:55-4:55
No 3rd FP, because as I've mentioned before we are not show people and could leave or take Star Tours.


Christmas Eve dinner..
ADR - 750 at Liberty Tree Tavern at the MK

Monday, December 25th CHRISTMAS DAYYY!!!
Wake up early, open a few small presents and head to the MK!

Spc Mtn- 9:25-10:25
Splash- 11:15-12:15
Big Thun- 12:20-1:20

Christmas dinner ADR 6:50 at Mama Melrose

Tuesday, December 26th

ANIMAL KINGDOM DAY!! Never thought I'd be excited about going there lol..

Everest- 3:20-4:20
Dinosaur- 4:45-5:45
FoP - 6:35-7:35

Wednesday, December 27th
Epcot!

SSE- 9:05-10:05
TT- 10:40-11:40
Figment -12:15-1:15

Thursday, December 28th
AK!

FoP- 9:20-10:20
Everest- 11:30-12:30
Kali- 12:50-1:50

Friday, December 29th..Departure Day:cry:
Depending on what time we leave...We may hit up a park....Not sure yet.
 
Po'Rich

Po'Rich

Well-Known Member
Sounds like a great trip! I'm kinda jealous. I've been to Disney twice at Christmas time, and despite the crowds, it remains my favorite time to go.
I do have one question: do you have a park -hopper? I only ask because the first two days you jump from fastpasses at one park to dinner at another. These are the only two days that you seem to switch. Do you plan to jump throughout the week? If so, I want to warn you that the crowds are insane! You'll end up spending a lot of time waiting for busses.
Also, with the crowds in mind, you might consider going ahead and booking something as a fastpass for HS. Last time I was at WDW, the crowds were so bad, we even ended up using a fastpass for Small World (it was a 5th FP). The wait times were extremely long for everything.
One last thing: plan to go to Magic Kingdom early on Christmas. Both times I went, it filled to capacity.
Have a great trip!
 
75disney

75disney

Well-Known Member
I have been there at Christmas many times. Be prepared to not do as many attractions and shows as you are used to doing because lines will be very long. Get there by rope drop; even then the crowds will build earlier than in a non-holiday week. Expect gridlock as you try to move around the parks. I still have nightmares of being trapped in FL and not being able to move in any direction while people shoved their strollers into my legs. One of the things that we do when the crowds get too bad is visit the resorts. Hop on a monorail and stop at CR and the GF. Take a boat to WL. Walk to BC and YC. Their directions are so amazing! As a WDW vet you should be able to handle Christmas though. Congrats on POFQ reservations. The Christmas decorations are very nice.
 
Courtney6682

Courtney6682

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Po'Rich said:
Sounds like a great trip! I'm kinda jealous. I've been to Disney twice at Christmas time, and despite the crowds, it remains my favorite time to go.
I do have one question: do you have a park -hopper? I only ask because the first two days you jump from fastpasses at one park to dinner at another. These are the only two days that you seem to switch. Do you plan to jump throughout the week? If so, I want to warn you that the crowds are insane! You'll end up spending a lot of time waiting for busses.
Also, with the crowds in mind, you might consider going ahead and booking something as a fastpass for HS. Last time I was at WDW, the crowds were so bad, we even ended up using a fastpass for Small World (it was a 5th FP). The wait times were extremely long for everything.
One last thing: plan to go to Magic Kingdom early on Christmas. Both times I went, it filled to capacity.
Have a great trip!
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Yes, thank you for all your help! My daughter and I are passholders, and my husband has a 5 day hopper. I booked the ADR's back in the summer, weeks before I booked the actual trip lol. My thinking going in was to do HS on Christmas as it has the last going for it right now. When I logged on for FP's I was shocked to see that all the ''good rides'' had plenty of availability at the MK Christmas morning. I decided to go ahead and go there that day just to be able to say we were there!:D

We also tend to use Uber a lot, so once we check out the buses once or twice will we probably just get an Uber.
 
Courtney6682

Courtney6682

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
75disney said:
I have been there at Christmas many times. Be prepared to not do as many attractions and shows as you are used to doing because lines will be very long. Get there by rope drop; even then the crowds will build earlier than in a non-holiday week. Expect gridlock as you try to move around the parks. I still have nightmares of being trapped in FL and not being able to move in any direction while people shoved their strollers into my legs. One of the things that we do when the crowds get too bad is visit the resorts. Hop on a monorail and stop at CR and the GF. Take a boat to WL. Walk to BC and YC. Their directions are so amazing! As a WDW vet you should be able to handle Christmas though. Congrats on POFQ reservations. The Christmas decorations are very nice.
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Thank you!! I have tried to prepare my husband and daughter as best I can. I feel like I have a sense of what it will be like. We are going in with very open minds and will have no problem with resort time or people watching :)
 
LisaBelle

LisaBelle

Well-Known Member
Yay! I love the red and green font. It's perfect for setting the mood for a Christmas PTR. I dream of visiting Disney at Christmas, so I will love experiencing it via your TR. I feel like FQ will be a beautiful setting for your Christmas trip, especially since it is your favorite. Your plans sound great. Since you and Brook are AP holders and you all have numerous trips under your belt I think it will be easier to be laid back and not worry about cramming in a million things. I am impressed with how many great Fps you were able to get. Have a wonderful trip. I will be following along.
 
Courtney6682

Courtney6682

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
LisaBelle said:
Yay! I love the red and green font. It's perfect for setting the mood for a Christmas PTR. I dream of visiting Disney at Christmas, so I will love experiencing it via your TR. I feel like FQ will be a beautiful setting for your Christmas trip, especially since it is your favorite. Your plans sound great. Since you and Brook are AP holders and you all have numerous trips under your belt I think it will be easier to be laid back and not worry about cramming in a million things. I am impressed with how many great Fps you were able to get. Have a wonderful trip. I will be following along.
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Thank you! Im my mind, I keep thinking that once we do our 3 FP's, if we can't get anymore or the park that we're in is too crowded we will just move along and find something else to do. For me, it's just being in the bubble that matters!!:D
 
amjt660

amjt660

Premium Member
Courtney6682 said:
Thank you! Im my mind, I keep thinking that once we do our 3 FP's, if we can't get anymore or the park that we're in is too crowded we will just move along and find something else to do. For me, it's just being in the bubble that matters!!:D
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Your approach is perfect - just sustain it throughout the trip and you will be fine.

That 4th FP of the day is usually elusive or not very valuable ( not a headliner)

We found that going early , riding standby and saving FP+ for just before/after dinner was a good strategy for us.

Enjoy

Max
 
Courtney6682

Courtney6682

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
amjt660 said:
Your approach is perfect - just sustain it throughout the trip and you will be fine.

That 4th FP of the day is usually elusive or not very valuable ( not a headliner)

We found that going early , riding standby and saving FP+ for just before/after dinner was a good strategy for us.

Enjoy

Max
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I'm going to try Max lol...you know I'm used to being a commando. I will def keep your strategy in mind, thank you!!
 

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