Overwhelmed

[SMsRC]

We will be first timers visiting WDW from Dec 12-Dec 16 this 2013 year. Will be staying on-site at the Pop Century Resort and we will also have a minivan/suv rental. After doing months of research and tweaking I have finally settled on a semi-flexible itinerary. But every time I feel like I am finally done I find out yet another thing that's a "must-see"! We are not sure if we will ever go again, and while I have scheduled 2-3 hour breaks in our day to "take it easy" I want to experience all the "must-see-good-stuff". I want to list what we have planned and get some feedback on things that we should hit/would be fun that aren't on the list.

This whole trip is for my 4 year old son turning 5 the week we go to WDW. So the trip is mostly about things he would enjoy. So here is my must see schedule:
Dec 12 (Thursday): Epcot day (had to be dec 12 or dec 13 because husband wanted Dennis Haysbert at the processional, Fri was way more crowded at Epcot, so thursday it had to be), Akershus breakfast, candlelight processional package w/Chef De France, illuminations.
Dec 13 (Friday): Hollywood Studios (couldn't do this one on sat/mon-will explain below and crowds were predicted to be much higher on sun, so had to be on Fri) Debating between 1900 Park Fare, Ohana and Hollywood & Vine for breakfast (at the moment hold a 1900 Park Fare reservation for 8:00AM), Fanstasmic show, Osborne Spectacle of Lights.
Dec 14 (Saturday): Magic Kingdom first day (had to do MK this day because this was the only day in our 5 day trip where we could catch the Main St Electrical Parade) Breakfast at Chef Mickey's (@7:15am), Dream Come True Parade, Be our Guest Dinner Reservation at 4pm, Lighting of Cinderella's castle and the show at ~ 6pm, Main St parade @ 9pm, Wishes @ 10pm, Electrical Water Pageant @ 10:35pm
Dec 15 (Sunday): Magic Kingdom second day (had to do it on Sun because out of Thurs, Fri, Sun MVMCP would be least crowded on Thurs (but had to do Epcot that day), so this was second least crowded. Plus Mon is a short day so can't do MVMCP then) Breakfast at The Crystal Palace, Cinderella's Royal Table Reservation at 4pm, then at MVMCP getting the autographs of Seven Dwarfs (5:45pm get in line), watch Cinderella's castle lighting ceremony, more autographs- Captain jack Sparrow, Peter Pan+ Wendy, Aladdin+Jasmine+Genie+Abu (might not all be there), head to Tinkerbell's nook-winter style to check it out(get autograph if line is small). Both Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime parades, totally tomorrowland christmas show, celebrate the season stage show, wishes, experience snow on Main St (pref during parade but I hear these spots are gone 2 hours in advance)
Dec 16 (Monday): Animal Kingdom (has to be AK since we are leaving for the airport at 3pm and this is the only park that can be "experienced" in this short amount of time). Breakfast at Tusker's, Mickey's Jingle Parade.

I based these park visits based on the reasons listed above but mostly after consulting the touringplans crowd calender as well as the easy-wdw suggestions. They both matched. I enlisted the advise of Doug-the-master-planner on the Disney Mom's Panel. He suggested Dec 12: MK day 1+ MVMCP, Dec 13: Epcot, Dec 14: MK day 2, Dec 15: Hollywood, Dec 16: AK, this conflicted with the two websites so I stuck with what the two websites suggested.

Ok so if you couldn't already tell, we love love love parades and things like cinderella's castle lighting. So wanted to make sure we could catch all of that. We will definitely be experiencing the different attractions in each park. We got the Unofficial WDW guides 2013 and 2014, husband and I have been circling the ones will def hit, ones we will hit if we have time etc. Other than the things mentioned above, noteworthy Christmast "must-see" things I have heard about are visiting the different resorts, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge and the Beach/Yatch club resorts in specific to view their gingerbread houses. While no one in our family is a fan of gingerbread houses, we all love looking at Christmas decorations and lights. I have also heard about the Sleigh Ride at the wilderness lodge and the Hoop Dee Doo Musical revue show. The only night we could do any of the above would be on Dec 13 since that will be our earliest night, I project we could leave Hollywood Studios around 9pm. So we would have time to do ONE of the three things mentioned above. I looked at the Hoop Dee Doo and while there are rave reviews about it, the latest show they have is at 8:30pm which means we would have to cut our Osborne lights viewing short (since we are planning on viewing the lights after Fantasmic), plus slapstick comedy isn't really our thing. The sleigh rides go all the way till 10:30 so that's definitely do-able and sounds like it would be so fun. We will have our own car rental and will be staying at the Pop Century for our entire stay. Will also be on the Deluxe Dining plan.

Everyday between noon and 3:30 is when our "rest time" and downtime is scheduled and this downtime really extends to 5 or 6pm since we will go from our naps/swims to a sit-down dinner that will last an hour-ish. So should I give ourselves a break on the night of the 13th or catch either the sleigh ride or tour the resorts?

As I said it's really about making our little one happy, he is a five year old that loves Walle-E, Cars, "Up" characters, and Mickey. Would really appreciate it, if I have missed something major and will make sure it work it into our short visit.

 

[SMsRC]

you should see my Disney Vacation spreadsheet.

AHA! I KNEW I wasn't the only one! I have 2 spreadsheets. One at work, one at home that I keep sending via email back and forth lol.

I am one of those people that definitely belives in "stop, breathe and take it all in". I agree 100% that we definitely have to make time for those moments, in WDW and out. I will confess it will be hard to do that on a $5000+ vacay but I will try my very best!

As for # of table service meals, you are right, I currently have ADRs for two each day. Breakfast everyday so we can all have a hearty meal (I believe in the inverted pyramid, eat biggest meal for breakfast, lunch is smaller, dinner is smallest), Samuel can also meet his characters and less lines to stand in for that in the parks. As for the second meal we'll be having around 4 everyday, they are all a mix of necessity and part of experience. For instance on the Epcot and DHS days our meals are for the candlelight processional package and fantasmic package respectively, so those are necessities. Both MK days our 4pm meals are Be our Guest and Cinderella's Royal Table, I will admit those are both for me, more than my son (although he loves princesses too, especially Merida but don't believe she will be there /sadface) then on AK day we are having a lunch out of necessity to fill our stomachs before we head to the airport. I will admit Be Our Guest and Cinderella's table will take out huge chunks of our time but I am ok with that as I really want to check out the Beauty&Beast castle (if I don't die of excitement when I enter the castle that is! It looks SO MUCH like the actual one, it is amazing to me, guess there is a kid trapped in my body lol. Grown woman being amazed by a disney castle and all, but I can't help it!), same with CRT, it's more for the experience of actually being inside Cinderella's castle than for the food. I do feel semi-guilty about stealing a couple hours on these two days just so I can see the castles, but isn't that part of the Disney experience too?

 

[Susan Savia]

We've been visiting WDW once a year, for the past 30 years. We are always at the park of choice at rope drop and we tour the park, left to right. You waste time zig zagging from one side of the park to another to hit an attrraction. We take them as we come to them. We've seen the parades many times and so we just keep touring the park and if we happen to be passing by when the parade is coming we might stand and catch it, otherwise we just go on. Its a good time to duck into a store if you have shopping on your list. Don't wait til the evening to
shop. Everyone else is doing that, to pick up that one last item to take home. Our family, even when the children were little, never wanted to give up, so we never bothered with breaks, but took time to relax on a bench in the shade with an ice cream or snack.

 

[SMsRC]

As long as you keep in mind that you can't do it all you'll be fine you have a decent plan so far. I would say do NOT cut your Osborne Lights time short it is really cool and I think a 5yr old would like watching the lights dance. The 1900 Park Fare ADR scares me a little since you are going to the studios that day, and with a 5yr old you will want to do Toy Story a couple times. It just seems out of the way to go from Pop Century to the Grand Floridian then to the Studios. I know a lot of people don't like Hollywood and Vine but if you want to be at the Studios early and do a charcter meal that might be your best bet. If you can get in early there is a character breakfast at the Beach Club (Cape May) that would be closer. Otherwise maybe skip the breakfast, go to the Studios early fast pass Toy Story and ride it as well and get some breakfast at Starring Rolls Bakery in the park.

Ohana has super early reservations as well 7:30AM, and that one has such awesome reviews. Since we have our own transportation, that should be a safe bet.

To be at ropedrop, how early does one need to be at the park? 20 min prior to park opening time or...?

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I like to be places early so I would be getting to the park at least about 20 minutes before park opening, then you can get parked and into the park and join the herd traveling to Toy Story.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Be mindful that just because you have a reservation doesn't mean you won't have to wait. So you should always give yourself extra time. And I wouldn't try to rush your meals, 45 minutes is a little short, I would estimate about an hour to an hour and a half on every meal. If you are willing to try other non-character meals. Sci-fi Dine In in Hollywood Studio might be exciting for your little one. No characters but the atmosphere is really great! And yes you will be free to roam but some sections will be blocked off until official opening times.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Ohana has super early reservations as well 7:30AM, and that one has such awesome reviews. Since we have our own transportation, that should be a safe bet.

To be at ropedrop, how early does one need to be at the park? 20 min prior to park opening time or...?

I second Cape May. Going to Ohana or 1900 Park Fare, both are just so out of the way.

 

[SMsRC]

I like to be early too, so figured on 20 min as well, so that's what we'll attempt to do.

I thought having a reservation meant we showed up and got seated, granted we arrived 15 min prior or 15 min after the reservation time, what is the line we would be waiting in for? If it's for people walking up I would think they would seat the people with reservations, if it is people with reservations they would already be seated. I guess I don't understand why people with reservations would be waiting in a line. Do you mean just for a few minutes until seated or a line-line?

Three of our breakfasts are scheduled at the parks we will visit prior to park opening so glad to have that cleared up. We will definitely avoid the blocked sections. I do hope the huge white golf ball globe thing in epcot and cinderella's castle in MK aren't blocked, as I am hoping to get pictures there with no one in the background. Key word is hoping!

 

[SMsRC]

I second Cape May. Going to Ohana or 1900 Park Fare, both are just so out of the way.

They both have 7:30am reservations available. Is travel time really that big of a factor? I figured by car it wouldn't be. If we were depending on the Disney's express/monorail it could be.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

They both have 7:30am reservations available. Is travel time really that big of a factor? I figured by car it wouldn't be. If we were depending on the Disney's express/monorail it could be.

Well its not just travel time. You have to estimate atleast an hour for breakfast. It could very well be more than that if you have to wait. Then factor in the time it takes to get back to your car, wait in line for parking, park, then take the tram or walk to the front gate. When planning disney trips it is much better to over estimate than under estimate.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I like to be early too, so figured on 20 min as well, so that's what we'll attempt to do.

I thought having a reservation meant we showed up and got seated, granted we arrived 15 min prior or 15 min after the reservation time, what is the line we would be waiting in for? If it's for people walking up I would think they would seat the people with reservations, if it is people with reservations they would already be seated. I guess I don't understand why people with reservations would be waiting in a line. Do you mean just for a few minutes until seated or a line-line?

Three of our breakfasts are scheduled at the parks we will visit prior to park opening so glad to have that cleared up. We will definitely avoid the blocked sections. I do hope the huge white golf ball globe thing in epcot and cinderella's castle in MK aren't blocked, as I am hoping to get pictures there with no one in the background. Key word is hoping!

Even with reservation. restaurants can't control how quickly people stay so sometimes they do get backed up. you may only wait 5 minutes but I've heard some people waiting 30+ minutes during busier times.

 

[pixiesteno]

I would also highly recommend the character breakfast at Cape May Café at the Beach Club resort.
Just a note for packing, it can be quite mild and warm during the day in December but it can cool off quite a bit after the sun goes down. Our first trip in Dec we found ourselves purchasing light gloves in the MK as it was pretty cold at night. Usually, you can get the light gloves at Walmart, ect. for about a 1.00; we paid over $8.00 a pair in the parks. So pack for layering. Above all, "stop and smell the roses" when you are there. You will be amazed at the level of decorations you will see. Have a wonderful time.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

If 1900 Park Fare is a must do, then do it. Don't let us confuse or change whatyou know will work for your family. You may miss rope drop, but if you can get there with in an hour of rope drop you may still score fast passes for later in the day.

 

[SMsRC]

You're not a loony, but you definitely need to breathe! You have so many awesome questions, but you're so worried.

I have a few tips for you. Now, note that I'm a huge planner (like you), I always want to see everything, I have no kids (but all my trips have been as a family, so there has always been a littler one), etc. Also, I've been to Disney around the time you're going - the crowds are not near as bad as the tour planning predicts. The processional and MK will probably have the worst crowds, but that will be manageable.

Day 1: I think you said you just have a little boy, correct? Akershus is all princesses. If he loves them, awesome, but if not - there may be a different character breakfast that is up his ally. I'd recommend Chef Mickey's here for two reasons: 1)First character being Mickey/Minnie/Donald/Goofy/etc - that's a fantastic experience. 2)It's not hard at all to bus from POP to Contemporary and monorail to Epcot.

A couple of Epcot recommendations: Do KIDCOT. Oh my, at 5, he is going to LOVE that. I still have my Kidcot mask from when I was 13. It's just my favorite. This is also a great park for the first day because you don't have to (and shouldn't) rush it. With a 5 year old - spend time with Nemo and his friends, enjoy showing him "around" the world, etc.

Day 2: Based on your "musts" HS fits great here for you! Go with it. I have a feeling your little one will really like Voyage of the Little Mermaid here, along with the incorporation of Cars into the Lights Motor Action show. I also agree with hitting up the play area, that's a hoot.

Day 3: Now I would put 1900 Park Fare here for breakfast over the HS day. On the HS day, I'd do H&V, just for locations sake. 1900 will be easier to jump to the MK from (as is Chef Mickey obviously, but this is based on my suggestion to put it earlier in the trip). My only other thing here is it may be hard to get from Wishes to the Water Pageant that fast. With the park flow of traffic it just doesn't happen. My suggestion is to really take in Wishes and the MSEP and worry less about the pageant. It's cool, but it's not as awe inspiring as Wishes.

Day 4: I recommend slowing down a bit during your MVMCP. These get crowded and there just won't be enough time for each set of characters and rides. Pick which ones you think the little guy will like most and hit those up (although all seven dwarves? go for that!!). Also, both parades, both shows, and Wishes? Whoosh. Feasibly, you can get in one parade, one show, and Wishes. Leave some time to do some attractions - Dumbo is very, very cool at night.

Day 5: This one looks great!

A few overall suggestions (sorry for the novel). I wouldn't worrying about I'M PAYING XXXXXXX I MUST GET THE MOST OUT OF. You said you are on the Deluxe Dining Plan, yet it looks like you don't have near that number of TS (that would be 2 per day, correct?). If so, to be honest, that's too much TS. If you're finding that you're consistently budgeting time around eating, then eating is taking too long. If you're only doing the upcharged plan to get the CRT - I'd downgrade the plan and pay the difference. It will be less than letting TS go to waste. Also, there is plenty of good CS around. The big thing with TS is with a little one who wants to be doing something ALL THE TIME, it's likely going to be hard to contain him for more than one truly sit down meal a day.

One of my favorite things to see little ones do is Meet Mickey in each park. There's something about seeing him change outfits to fit his area that gives them the most adorable high.

Don't be too set in on your rest time. Sometimes when you're in the park, even though you are walking a ton and being active, it will be more of a fight to get him to leave the park than to just tucker out. Many kids will nap in a stroller, which is better than the tantrum of not being ready to leave.

Overall, again, sorry for the novel. Remember to have tons of fun!

I love the novel! Lot of great points. Chef Mickey's is definitely going to be my son's favorite breakfast so I didn't want to do it first. He doesn't LOVE princessces (other than Merida) but he likes them and will be enthralled to meet them. I asked him if he wanted to meet them and he said yes so I do want to take him to Akershus, but you had a valid point and I thank you for pointing it out. I guess ours isn't a normal boy, he loves My Little Pony and Tinkerbell etc lol. Husband tries to make him watch ME-SMASH cartoons instead like Avengers, X-men but it hasn't worked out yet. Maybe I should just do Chef Mickey's on Friday too, since I know he would love that one and have him be able to experience that twice. Will have to hunt that one down since it's not available atm.

The Little Mermaid's voyage, Cars and Nemo were ones my husband and I agreed he would enjoy so those are on the to-do list.

As for the dining plan we're on the deluxe one and that one is 3 ts per day + 2 snacks. Instead of picking the dining plan first, what my husband and I did was pick out places we wanted to eat at/experience first, then picked the plan that would fit that the best. I picked Be Our Guest dinner (so I could try the grey stuff lol) and Cinderella's Royal Table for myself and the character breakfasts for my son. Husband picked Le Cellier. At the end when all was said and done the Deluxe plan gave us exactly the number of points needed. We only get points for 4 days worth (since we have a 4 night stay) but we'll be at the park for 5 days. Then we have several like CRT, Candlelight dinner package and Le Cellier that require 2 per person. So given all these, no TS should go to waste if we make it to all our reservations and while I haven't done the math on the meals it comes out to cheaper using the DP since we got in on the free dining and had to upgrade 2x. So about $60 a day per adult versus those meals priced separately.

I was worried about making it to the water pageant after Wishes since I figured it would be super crowded, so I welcome that tip, we will try to enjoy Wishes more than trying to get over to a spot where we can watch the water pageant. Also noteworthy tips are taking my son to see Mickey at the different parks, I hadn't thought of that. My son loves Mickey so that would be super fun for him I'll bet, so we'll have to do that and we'll also consider what to do if my son doesn't want to leave. He is that kid that refuses to leave playgrounds, zoos, parks, pools no matter how long we've been there. We take him somewhere different every week but the way he hangs on and refuses to leave you would think he has never been taken out in his life. So that's a very valid point as well!

 

[SMsRC]

I agree I would rather over estimate than under estimate myself. My son hasn't watched Lilo and Stitch or Alice in the Wonderland, I figured I would get him to watch whichever of those we would go to, to get him hyped for it. I know Mickey is an all-time favorite of his so I will stick with trying to get another day at Chef Mickey's as a primary and Cape May as the secondary, since this one has goofy, minnie and donald and he does like those guys.

Thanks for the tips on packing cold weather clothing, I hear it also has a possibility of rain so ponchos just in case.

Yes I have been meaning to get Disney themed things now to hype it up for him. Actually been shopping around for a huge Mickey Mouse stuffed animal that I can sneak into his room before he comes in, he would love that. I read that on a post somewhere and want to steal that idea. Have had no luck finding a truly big Mickey Mouse for a reasonable price (less than $100).

If are able to catch the water pageant will definitely catch the ferry for that one. I also read that taking the ferry out and watching the Wishes fireworks from there is the best way to view it.

 

[tare]

You will love the pop. Keep in mind at the holiday season you will not be able to do everything. But the crowd levels will be lower when you go!!!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I haven't ever watched Wishes from the ferry, but I wouldn't want to watch it that way especially for my first time. I don't think the ferry pipes in the music and you wouldn't be able to see the castle effects. Watch wishes from the end of Main Street by Casey's and the ice cream parlor, that is my favorite area.

 

[SMsRC]

That was going to be my other go-to spot. I have heard a spot on the main street facing the castle cannot be beat. I have read how people camp out those spots over 2 hours before a parade though. Not certain if I want to do that since our time in the parks are limited as is, unless we are super tired, I don't see us just sitting at a spot in Main street for 2 hours waiting for the parade when there are so many things my son would rather do. But, I love the parades and fireworks enough to want to do it...we'll just have to see.

So just found out about the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party. The bad reviews I read for it were people who got blocked by people at the railing. My husband is super tall so as long as my son is on his shoulders he will get to see Wishes and I have always been able to wiggle my way to the front. I won't be shoving kids out of my way or anything LOL but I'm so short, I won't be obstructing the view of any adults. But is it a good un-impeded view from the railings if we are the people in the front/don't have adult heads blocking the view? I have read in multiple posts Tinkerbell flies right over that spot, and I'm guessing it's a joke since she's not real... The only thing that really concerns me is the time constraint. The Main St. Parade is at 9pm and then Wishes at 10pm. I believe reservations to this place are at 9pm and it supposedly gets very crowded (not that I won't expect it to be crowded everywhere else too) so we would be expected to show up at 8:30-8:45pm but does that mean we'll have to miss the Main St. Parade?

This is why I feel so overwhelmed. While I stand by the fact that I don't wish to do/experience it all, I also don't want to walk right by something just because I didn't know about it. Just when I think I've finally discovered all there is to do, there's more and more and more...maybe therein lies the attraction.

I read a post on these forums where a visitor didn't know about Fantasmic and a few other things their first time there and was bummed that they missed those things, but they are visiting again and will catch it this time. That's what I'm trying to avoid and I'm sure other first-timers such as myself would agree. It would be nice to have a page that states "on your first visit to WDW don't miss these things if you can help it" and the reasons why those things are awesome, maybe I'll do that after my visit I have scoured through yourfirstvisist, disneytouristblog, disneyfoodblog, allears, mousesavers, easy wdw, the Unofficial Guide to WDW 2013 and 2014, disboards forums, forums on here and lots of questions asked on the Disney mom's panel. So if there was a page such as that then I missed it. I will admit the Unofficial guides do that for the attractions (for example they will say "Soarin' is a super headliner ride, not to be missed, because blah blah" and lists every attraction and regular shows like Monsters laugh floor like that (which I really really appreciate). But doesn't do that for parades, fireworks, candlelight, or Be Our Guest Restaurant (not the food but getting to see the castle and the three different rooms) and Mickey's Party which to me are super headliners that should be tried at least once. Then again like one poster here pointed out, everyone's must-see lists are different. But I would imagine 99% of first time visitors are enthralled by the parades, the fireworks, the lighting of the castle at dusk, going inside the Cinderella Castle in MK, etc, so it's not that different must-see lists after all. And I would love to hear what people considered their own super headliners (excluding rides or things like Enchanted tales with Belle which are regular nonseasonal shows) when they first visited or even when they repeatedly visit and allot time for/prioritize. I don't even know if I am conveying what's in my brain properly at this point. Probably a minor side effect of a 3:40 AM post.

 

[JillC LI]

I considering swapping the MK to thursday and doing Epcot on Sunday but I didn't want to start with a bang and have the rest of the trip be meh.
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The 1900 Park Fare reservation before DHS might be problematic indeed since my son would want to ride TSM probably a few times. I figured since we have our own car rental we could show up for the reservation around 8:00AM and be done eating by 8:45 and at DHS for rope drop, I would prob be better off changing to Hollywood&Vine since that's on-site. For breakfast reservations at parks prior to rope drop, I know they let you in early if you show them the reservation, but then when you're done eating do you just walk into the park wherever you want to go? Or do you have to go back to the front gate and wait with the people or something? Don't want to be doing anything unlawful and get thrown in Disney jail lol.

We actually chose not to go to the MK first on our family's first trip as well for the same reason, and it worked out great.

I HIGHLY doubt you will be able to get in and out of 1900 Park Fare in 45 minutes unless you plan to forego the character interaction, which would be a shame. (Btw, don't miss the strawberry soup at the buffet if you do go there - it is legendary!) If you want to make sure to get to DHS before rope drop, I would plan on having breakfast either earlier at 1900 Park Fare or in DHS as you suggested. You probably won't be done eating much before 9, and then you can run straight to TSMM to ride it and also get FPs to ride it again later.

 

[JillC LI]

I have read in multiple posts Tinkerbell flies right over that spot, and I'm guessing it's a joke since she's not real... The only thing that really concerns me is the time constraint. The Main St. Parade is at 9pm and then Wishes at 10pm. I believe reservations to this place are at 9pm and it supposedly gets very crowded (not that I won't expect it to be crowded everywhere else too) so we would be expected to show up at 8:30-8:45pm but does that mean we'll have to miss the Main St. Parade?

Skip the Dessert Party on your first visit. Get a spot for the Parade about a half hour beforehand, and watch the fireworks afterwards. As for Tinkerbell, she is most certainly real and does indeed fly from the castle. I am NOT joking. You will all see her.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I usually walk about abou 20 minutes or less on Main Street before Wishes and can find a place to stand to watch Wishes. If there are 2 showings of the night time parade go to the second it is usually easier to get a spot. Getting a spot on Main Street 2 hours in advance for a parade isn't necessary, maybe 45 minutes to an hour depending on the spot you want (I always am early for things though). You can always plan on the wait time be a snack break too and enjoy a snack while you wait.