My First Trip to WDW - Pre-Trip Plan

Hi, everyone! My name is Freckles.

I have been a member of WDWMagic for a couple months now, collecting as much info as I could for our trip to Disney World in December! My hubby and I usually take a trip around this time of the year to somewhere to celebrate early Christmas, our wedding anniversary, my birthday, and this year we decided to go to WDW!! It will be my first trip to WDW!!
I am SO EXCITED!!!!!! :sohappy: :sohappy:

Anyway, here is our pre-trip plan. If you have any suggestions to my plans, please let me know.

::: The Cast :::
Me, Freckles (27) - Turning 28. I have been to TDL when I was 3 or 4. I wish I can remember something that I have done there, but I can't... :dazzle:
Hubby, James (30) - He has been to WDW once or twice when he was a teen. That's back when DHS was MGM and there was no AK. He was very disappointed when he found out that "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" is now replaced with "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh." Not that he has any thing against Winnie the Pooh. He just could not believe that Mr. Toad is GONE from MK!


::: The Plan :::
Day 1 - 12/6 - Leave Atlanta, GA and drive to see James' Dad in St. Augustine, FL (about 5hr 45min drive). We haven't seen them in a while, so it will be nice

Day 2 - 12/7 - Leave St. Augustine, drive to Orlando (about 2hr drive). Check in @Coronado Springs. Chill, look around the resort, and go to MK! EMH in the PM, so we can stay there late!! Our first ride will be WDW Railroad. We are planning to get a reservation @Crystal Palace for dinner that night. Looking forward to see Pooh and Tigger! Hopefully we will not be too tired before Wishes firework @8pm...

Day 3 - 12/8 - Visiting AK! Looking forward to see some animals that wouldn't be seen in Atlanta and ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. Thinking about Picnic in the Park for lunch (free reusable bag, right?). I'm not sure what we should do for dinner that night though... Maybe head to DTD and eat @Bongos Cuban Cafe?? Did anyone had any good experience there?

Day 4 - 12/9 - Visiting EPCOT! Looking forward to ride on Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Test Track, etc, but THE main thing that I am excited about EPCOT is the World Showcase. I hope we can go through every country in one day!! We are planning to have lunch or dinner @Biergarten. My hubby will be getting some beer there. If you have any suggestions on good beer there, please let us know We will be also attending Candle Light Processional and IllumiNation at night.

Day 5 - 12/10 - Visiting DHS! Lots of attractions there. Muppet*3D Vision, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Studio Backlot Tour, Magic of Disney Animation, Toy Story Mania, Beauty and the Beast... Of course we cannot forget about Fantasmic neither! Planning to make a reservation @Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater for late lunch/early dinner, so we can try to get good seats for the show.

Day 6 - 12/11 - My 28th Birthday!!!! I am not sure which park we will be visiting this day, but I am *hoping* to get a reservation @California Grill for my birthday dinner. Looking for a cute outfit for this special night.

Day 7 - 12/12 - Going Home.... Nooooooooo!!!!!!!!
I hope I can convince my hubby to stay around until early in the PM, so we can stay a little bit longer...

Other than visiting each park, we are hoping to visit some of the Deluxe Resorts for Christmas decorations throughout the vacation :xmas: I am so excited to see lots of Christmas decoration all over the World!!

Thank you for reading my pre-trip plan

*------------------------------*
97 more days until WDW!
7 more days until Dining Reservation begins!

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Sounds great for your first trip!!!

May I suggest that you make a ADR at Brown Derby, Hollywood & Vine, or Mama Melrose so you can get the Fantasmic dinner package?
IMO, it is much easier getting this package than eating an early dinner at Sci-Fi for example and waiting in line.
Plus, it is free...you just pay for your dinner and get the package.

Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[Pluto Princess]

Sounds like you have a great plan. And you must be so excited for your first trip!! Hope you have lots of fun!!! :sohappy:

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

A good plan BUT you haven't mentioned the Christmas attractions in the Parks - aren't you taking in Wishes, Illuminations, The Osborne Lights, Candlelight Processional and even MVMCP ???

 

[Mukta]

Visiting EPCOT! Looking forward to ride on Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Test Track, etc, but THE main thing that I am excited about EPCOT is the World Showcase. I hope we can go through every country in one day!!

Your first trip to the world is so special. I'm glad to see you have a plan. Since this is important to you, I suggest going back to Epcot on your Bday. You can take the monorail to MK and enjoy California Grill for dinner.

 

[FrecklesFreeze]

Sounds great for your first trip!!!

May I suggest that you make a ADR at Brown Derby, Hollywood & Vine, or Mama Melrose so you can get the Fantasmic dinner package?
IMO, it is much easier getting this package than eating an early dinner at Sci-Fi for example and waiting in line.
Plus, it is free...you just pay for your dinner and get the package.

Have a wonderful trip!!

Thank you for your suggestion
We thought about doing Fantasmic dinner package, but from what I read on different review people without package deal also could get good seat if they are lucky... I guess it depends on what day you attend the show... Maybe it'd be difficult for us to find good seats during holiday season... Do you know if we can use Dining Plan to get this dinner package?

 

[FrecklesFreeze]

Sounds like you have a great plan. And you must be so excited for your first trip!! Hope you have lots of fun!!! :sohappy:

Thank you
Seems like you will be there from Dec 11.
I hope you will enjoy your trip too!!

 

[FrecklesFreeze]

A good plan BUT you haven't mentioned the Christmas attractions in the Parks - aren't you taking in Wishes, Illuminations, The Osborne Lights, Candlelight Processional and even MVMCP ???

Yes, of course we will be taking different Christmas attractions, including Wishes, Illuminations, The Osborne Lights, Candlelight Processional etc. I am so excited to see all the Christmas decorations all over the World! :xmas:

As for MVMCP, we are still discussing whether we should be attending... It's a bit pricey... :dazzle: We are thinking about strolling around Deluxe Resorts to feel the holidays instead...

 

[FrecklesFreeze]

Your first trip to the world is so special. I'm glad to see you have a plan. Since this is important to you, I suggest going back to Epcot on your Bday. You can take the monorail to MK and enjoy California Grill for dinner.

Thank you for the suggestion
Seems like you will be in WDW in a couple days?! Oh My!
You must be so excited!!!

 

[foreverbelle]

Well what a great trip it should be for the two of you. My husband and I go down there every year never in December though but we always have a blast as you should. I am so excited for you. You should totally be excited and dif. try to do a trip report when you come back....

 

[HollyBelle]

I'm so excited for you... my first trip to Disney was as an adult and now we go a few times a year. As for your Biergarten beer question... the bigger the beer stein... the better! Oh yeah, and make sure you get your Birthday Button and wear it. It's likely to cause all kinds of fun things to happen.

Coronado Springs is a beautiful resort... the tree they put up in the lobby for Christmas each year is breathtaking.

 

[FrecklesFreeze]

Well what a great trip it should be for the two of you. My husband and I go down there every year never in December though but we always have a blast as you should. I am so excited for you. You should totally be excited and dif. try to do a trip report when you come back....

Thank you and yes, I will try to do a trip report when I come back Planning to take lots of pictures too!

I'm so excited for you... my first trip to Disney was as an adult and now we go a few times a year. As for your Biergarten beer question... the bigger the beer stein... the better! Oh yeah, and make sure you get your Birthday Button and wear it. It's likely to cause all kinds of fun things to happen.

Coronado Springs is a beautiful resort... the tree they put up in the lobby for Christmas each year is breathtaking.

Thank you for the suggestion for beer I will make sure that my hubby doesn't get too drunk before end of the day :animwink:

 

[FrecklesFreeze]

Sounds great for your first trip!!!

May I suggest that you make a ADR at Brown Derby, Hollywood & Vine, or Mama Melrose so you can get the Fantasmic dinner package?
IMO, it is much easier getting this package than eating an early dinner at Sci-Fi for example and waiting in line.
Plus, it is free...you just pay for your dinner and get the package.

Have a wonderful trip!!

DisneyPrincess5,

I re-read the Fantasmic Dinner Package on AllEars.net Web page, and found out that we are able to use Disney Dining Plans (2 Table Seating for Brown Derby's and 1 Table Seating for Mama Melrose and Hollywood & Vine's). I thought ALL of these restaurants for the Fantasmic Dinner Package requires 2 Table Seating Tickets or about $100 per person. I think I read this wrong info some other Web site... :brick:

Anyway, after discussing with my husband about this, we decided to get a dinner reservation @Mama Melrose instead.

We kinda wanted to go dine @Sci-Fi Dine-In for an experience. It look different and we love movies!! Maybe for next trip :slurp:

Thank you so much for bringing this up!

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

DisneyPrincess5,

I re-read the Fantasmic Dinner Package on AllEars.net Web page, and found out that we are able to use Disney Dining Plans (2 Table Seating for Brown Derby's and 1 Table Seating for Mama Melrose and Hollywood & Vine's). I thought ALL of these restaurants for the Fantasmic Dinner Package requires 2 Table Seating Tickets or about $100 per person. I think I read this wrong info some other Web site... :brick:

Anyway, after discussing with my husband about this, we decided to get a dinner reservation @Mama Melrose instead.

We kinda wanted to go dine @Sci-Fi Dine-In for an experience. It look different and we love movies!! Maybe for next trip :slurp:

Thank you so much for bringing this up!

Ooh great, you are very welcome!
I'm glad you're going for this...it'll make it a more enjoyable experience.
Enjoy!

 

[heartodisney]

:wave: Just take one day at a time! Enjoy, pace yourself...ok, ok...even I could not do that! :lol: JUST HAVE FUN! Post your pics! God Bless ya! :sohappy:

 

[FrecklesFreeze]

:wave: Just take one day at a time! Enjoy, pace yourself...ok, ok...even I could not do that! :lol: JUST HAVE FUN! Post your pics! God Bless ya! :sohappy:

Thank you
I will try to take lots of pics and post some here when I come back!!

 

[harveyt0206]

Sounds perfect. Hope you and hubby have a great trip. :wave:

 

[FrecklesFreeze]

Sounds perfect. Hope you and hubby have a great trip. :wave:

Thank you We sure will~!!

 

[PryncessLace]

Sounds like a great trip you have planned!

As far as MVMCP, if cost is a concern then I would say skip it. We had a very bad experience last year with it. We went on Tuesday or a Wednesday night two weeks before Christmas and it was so crowded you literally couldn't even move. It was like being in the park during peak season on a full capacity day. We were not able to enjoy any of the special activities besides the parade b/c we couldn't get anywhere. By the time we would get to the shows they were at max. capacity & the dance parties were so packed too. Maybe we just went on a really bad night, but we really felt ripped off.


Fantasmic is awesome! You will love it!!

 

[FrecklesFreeze]

Sounds like a great trip you have planned!

As far as MVMCP, if cost is a concern then I would say skip it. We had a very bad experience last year with it. We went on Tuesday or a Wednesday night two weeks before Christmas and it was so crowded you literally couldn't even move. It was like being in the park during peak season on a full capacity day. We were not able to enjoy any of the special activities besides the parade b/c we couldn't get anywhere. By the time we would get to the shows they were at max. capacity & the dance parties were so packed too. Maybe we just went on a really bad night, but we really felt ripped off.

Fantasmic is awesome! You will love it!!

Thank you for the input, PryncessLace
I'm sorry that you had a bad experience @MVMCP last year... I discussed w/ my hubby about this again after posted this pre-trip report, but we agreed that we are not going to the party this time... Since it will be our first WDW together, we are just going to take it easy and enjoy the World. I think we will still have a great time just looking around the parks and resorts with X'mas decorations :xmas: I'm looking forward to see the HUGE gingerbread house @Grand Floridian!
I will probably talk my hubby into going MVMCP or MNSSHP for our NEXT trip after this one though