Pre-Trip Who needs Christmas presents, let's go to Disney

Hellllllo Humans!!!

Some of you might know me from my previous half written trip reports. I get so much joy out of reading all of your lovely folks reports that I am going to try my best to complete this pre-trip and trip report.

Let's dive right in shall we?

My name is Alisa, a certified Disney nut. My parents first took me to the world when I was 2 and in doing so created the disney monster I am today.

Here I am at 2 years old in Magic Kingdom back where the whole obsession started

I wasn't the only Disney crazed person though my mom,dad, and sister were just as obsessed as I was and the 25 trips we have under our belt as a family proves it. Every year on our last day I would cry and make my dad promise to take me back. It started to become a joke as I got older but we always returned the next year. Here is a photo of ME, MOM, DAD, AND SISTER JILLIAN way back in 2012 at the opening of New Fantasyland.

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Fast Forward 2 years and I start dating my very own prince charming who had NEVER been to Disney. Well me and my wonderful family couldn't let that continue so my parents took us all on an incredible week long vacation in the summer of 2015

Since then me and my prince charming have returned twice on solo trips (he has totally caught the Disney Bug as well). Most recently a week long trip this past October for my Birthday which started off with the most magical moment of my life at midnight on my birthday

I mean is this not right out of a fairytale? When I think about it I don't even remember being there. It was the most perfect proposal with Walt and Mickey watching over us. The night started at California Grill with a table right next to the window overlooking my favorite place in the entire world sitting across from my favorite person in the entire world. He had a bottle of wine waiting for me at the table and surprised me with a white chocolate cinderella slipper for desert. After Dinner we walked over to MK to watch Wishes and then hang out for EMH. He was so persistent about going back to the front of the park around midnight and thats when he did it. Dropped down to one knee and had a photographer on hand to capture the whole moment. After that 2 guys came out of the Plaza and said Mickey wanted to congratulate us and had 3 sundaes and told us to pick our favorite.

I could go on and on about that night but I will digress. We returned home from that trip and have pretty much talked nonstop about Disney since.

Fast forward to Father's Day and we were BBQ at my parents house and I casually said do you want to go to Disney and forgo presents this year. It was a quick YES from my mom, dad, and sister.

Two seconds later my fiance called his parents and asked if they would like to go to Disney World in December. We were fully expecting them to laugh at us since neither of his parents ever go on vacation but they also agreed. This will be their first time to Disney and on a plane together after 25 years of marriage. I am sooooo excited to show them Disney. His parents are AHHHHmazing and when both families get together we ALWAYS have a blast so this should be a good one.

Which bring me to the details:

When: December 7-14 ***Me and Prince Charming are leaving our return date open ended at the moment**** more on that later

Where: Port Orleans French Quarter

What: 7 Day Park Hoppers with DDP

I will follow up with our plans in the next post but will leave you with a photo of the traveling party from our engagement party this past February.

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Our trips overlap, we're there the 6-16. I can't think of anything better than to be in Disney during the holidays.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Aww this is so fun. I'm loving the family love and camaraderie. Also, so cool that your end date is open. What a way to do things!

 

[dclfan]

Our trips overlap, we're there the 6-16. I can't think of anything better than to be in Disney during the holidays.

Yay!!! Hopefully we cross paths while in the world. I am so excited to be in Disney for the holidays, last time we were there for Christmas I was 12 so another Christmas filled celebration is LOOOONG overdue. Are you guys doing the MVMCP? I wish they would release firework schedules for AK and DHS so I can plan our days accordingly.

 

[dclfan]

Aww this is so fun. I'm loving the family love and camaraderie. Also, so cool that your end date is open. What a way to do things!

I am very blessed that my parents and in-laws get along great. They frequently plan trips to see each other so this will be a very fun trip. My fiance is a super star wars fanatic so with the new movie opening on December 15th we wanted to stick around and see if Disney is offering any special offerings for the premiere. Im really hoping for some kind of extra hours in DHS type of deal but we shall see.

 

[Logan]

awesome...we will be at Port Orleans Riverside Dec 8th-16th!

October and December are hands down the best time to go!

 

[Zipadeelady]

So exciting!! I'd take Disney over presents any day!!

 

[dclfan]

awesome...we will be at Port Orleans Riverside Dec 8th-16th!

October and December are hands down the best time to go!

Yay another potential WDWMagic meet-up. I am sure we will cross paths being so close to one another. I totally agree I've probably gone in October on 80% of my trips and it is always the perfect weather and crow levels. I'm hoping December won't be to cold. Last time I was there in December we had to buy scarves and gloves . I'm hoping that was just an off year.

 

[dclfan]

So exciting!! I'd take Disney over presents any day!!

Agreed Disney is the greatest present of all. After adding up what me and my fiance spent on Christmas last year I think Disney is only going to be like $500 ish more so I'm thinking this should be a tradition.

 

[dclfan]

My mother is an excellent planner and loves nothing better then getting on the phone to plan a Disney vacation so I was VERY surprised when she turned over all planning responsibilities to me on this trip. She is excellent on the phone but I think she still struggles with the whole my disney experience APP as she is still used to waking up at 7:00 AM to call someone on the phone.

Unfortunately when we decide to book this trip we were already within our 180 day dining window so that combined with needing a table for 7 people every night means I still have some work to do on the dining front.

Our Plans

December 7th - Fly to Disney World.

Originally we were supposed to arrive on the 8th but my fiance and I decided we liked our last trip when we flew in a day early and had a no parks day to just relax and take it easy. Once my parents found out about this plan they also jumped on the December 7th bandwagon. My parents still live in NYC so they will be flying out of LGA while my fiance and I live on the seacoast of NH and will be flying out of Logan in Boston. We will most likely meet at the hotel and then go over to the Poly for some drinks at Trader Sams. Hopefully we can snag a reservation for California Grill this night as well. My parents have never been and since I talked it up so much after our trip last year they would like to try it.

December 8th - In Laws arrive. I have an 8:00 reservation at Spice Road Table so we can be WINEing and Dining outside while watching Illuminations for the first time of the trip.

December 9th - I have a 4:55 reservation at Tiffins with hopes to switch this to the Rivers of Light dining package if that should ever be released. If not we will probably still keep this reservation as I've been dying to try Tiffins especially after our excellent experience at Nomad Lounge in October.

December 10th - This is my baby sister's 23rd birthday and she has requested Coral Reef. I have a reservation at 6:55 and maybe a trip over to abracadabra bar at the Boardwalk after.

December 11th - Currently have a 4:50 reservation at Chefs de France but if I can score Ohana's tonight I will switch it. I also have us going to MK for our first ever viewing of Happily Ever After this evening.

December 12th - Currently have a 5:20 reservation at Tony's Town Square followed by the MVMCP.

December 13th - I have both a Rose and Crown Reservation and a Via Napoli Reservation tonight. Rose and Crown is at 5:00 and Via is at 9:05. Depending on if we want to see any night time fireworks over at DHS will determine what time dinner we will have this evening.

December 14th - Both my parents and my in-laws depart today so no set plans. We are waiting to hear if there is any special events for the opening of Star Wars on the 15th and are leaving are departure day open for this reason.

That's it for now. I'm sure there will be changes to dining as we get closer and they update the night time entrainment schedule a little bit more. I am trying for a Be Our Guest Breakfast one of these days as well. Once our FP+ reservation gets closer I will nail down a park plan as well.

 

[blreinsel]

Yay! So excited for you!!!

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Yay!!! Hopefully we cross paths while in the world. I am so excited to be in Disney for the holidays, last time we were there for Christmas I was 12 so another Christmas filled celebration is LOOOONG overdue. Are you guys doing the MVMCP? I wish they would release firework schedules for AK and DHS so I can plan our days accordingly.

We are going to the party on the 12th. We have reservations at ohana that night at 5.
We were trying to get California Grill as well but was not successful.

 

[dclfan]

We are going to the party on the 12th. We have reservations at ohana that night at 5.
We were trying to get California Grill as well but was not successful.

Yes we're going to the party on the 12th as well, hopefully we cross paths.

Keep trying for California Grill. Last trip it opened up for me about a week before we left. The day your FP+ window opens and then a week out are good times when people tend to cancel a lot of their reservations.

 

[dclfan]

Wow guys I have been seriously neglecting my pre- trip report duties but sometimes I get so caught up reading all of you lovely peoples reports I forget to report on my own.

Since my last update so much has changed. Sometimes I feel like I change reservations not because I want too but because I want to spend more times on the Disney experience website.... Is that the sign of an addict?!?

Anyway December 8th reservation has been changed to Mama Melroses. I know DHS doesn't get much love these days but my family loves it. Plus we all wanted to try out the new Baseline Tap Room and see all of the new Christmas festivities. So excited to have my mom along on this trip as she is my wine partner and it will be fun to stop here for a midday break and drinks.

The family has decided against Tiffins on the 9th, Blasphemous I know. So I moved Tiffins to the 13th for just me and J. Dinner will
Most likely be at Disney Springs tonight. Any suggestions on where? I'm leaning towards Chef Arts but there are just so many new restaurants we haven't tried I don't know which to choose.

For December 12th on one of my random refreshes I happened to score a 6:20 reservation at Be Our Guest during MVMCP so I cancelled Tony's and booked be our guest.

Eeeeek I'm sure this will still change a million more times. I swear this is all I can think about sometimes. My fiancé is on tour so I'm letting Disney fill up all of my free time.

Promise I will be better on updating. Xoxo

 

[Matt and Kelly]

We are doing chef art smiths. We have never been but have only read good things, so thought we would give it a try.
That's awesome that you Be Our Guest. We have been checking everyday for 1900 park fare and no luck.

 

[dclfan]

We are doing chef art smiths. We have never been but have only read good things, so thought we would give it a try.
That's awesome that you Be Our Guest. We have been checking everyday for 1900 park fare and no luck.

You've convinced me. I've only heard going things about Chef Art Smiths as well. Plus the chicken and doughnuts? I need to experience that. Keep trying for 1900's I know you'll get it. I was calling Disney about something different a few days ago and happened to get a reservation for Ohanas on the 7th that wasn't on the website. I'm not sure if it was timing but maybe try calling as well?

 

[Lyssa]

We are doing chef art smiths. We have never been but have only read good things, so thought we would give it a try.
That's awesome that you Be Our Guest. We have been checking everyday for 1900 park fare and no luck.

Keep trying! I wanted ADRs for Beaches and Cream on NYE and also for Ohana, any time, and I checked every single day, from when we booked our trip in mid July to mid September, when I got both the ADRs I wanted and they hadn't been there before

 

[dclfan]

Some VERY exciting news to share. For the last couple of months my fiance and I have been thinking about making the move down to Florida. I absolutely HATE the cold and I'm so sick of living in the obnoxiously overpriced Northeast. We currently live on the seacoast of New Hampshire which is great for like 3 months and then I hate it again. Plus the idea of being an AP holder doesn't sound too horrible either.

Anyway finally last week we finally pulled the trigger and I flew down to Florida to scope out a few area we were interested in and schedule some house showings. We didn't end up putting in an offers but we thankfully settled on a location on the Indian Rocks Beach area on the West Coast of Florida. Naturally after my last showing of the trip I flew up I-4 to treat myself to a night at Disney before heading to MCO the next morning.

I kept going back and forth between booking a reservation at one of the hotels and going to Disney Springs but in the end Disney Springs won out because it seemed more natural for me to be there along as opposed to a nice restaurant in a hotel ( I don't know why). I literally drove under the sign and started crying that I was home and the immediately called my parents in NYC and started screaming I'm in Disney and blubbering. Needless to say they were hysterically laughing at me. I quickly parked my car in the Orange Garage since I wanted to check out the new parking structure with the screens telling you how many spots were available, very high tech disney, and literally skipped all the way down to Disney Springs. I think I was seriously the most excited person there that evening. I was shocked to see how busy it was on a Wednesday night. The walkways were literally jammed and their was live music taking place everywhere, it was awesome. Of course my first stop was for a drink while I wandered around soaking in the magic. The closest was Bongos Cuban Cafe and I ordered a Sauvignon Blanc to go. I stopped a listened to a guitar player for a little while before making my way along the river watching all of the boats come and go. I kept telling myself it was only 2 months until that boat would take me back to my room at French Quarter.

I noticed after finishing my wine that it was almost 9:00 and the wine was the first thing I had all day besides my morning coffee (I left at 9:00 for showings). Needless to say I was pleasantly buzzed and in my happy place. I decided food was next and since I was by myself decided on a quick service. I was torn between asian and a burger but ultimately decided on the burger. at DeLuxe Burger I ordered the DIABLO BURGER (YUM). I love all things spicy and this didn't disappoint and really anything with chorizo is amazing in my book Plus I had the most perfect table outside right next to the Springs. The lights were twinkling and I never wanted to leave. Eventually I did get up and made my way over to World of Disney to see if I could get my hands on some rose gold ears for my December trip. Well the nice salesman basically told me girls are CRA and they can't keep them stocked. As soon as they get a shipment he said words gets out on the internet and they don't even make it to the shelves. He asked me why girls love rose gold so much and I said "because it matches our wine". I don't think he found me amusing but like I said I was buzzed. After taking mental notes of everything else I wanted to buy in December I made my way to the ice cream cart to have one of all times favs, the Mickey Ice Scream Sandwich. I sent a photo to my dad and he said "he missed seeing my chocolate covered smile when I was a little girl eating it". Way to pull at the heart strings dad. I ate my ice cream while watching the rest of Mighty Swell Band and then continued my shopping trip. Eventually they started closing all of the stores and I realized the inevitable has happened. I had to leave Disney :-(. I walked as slowly as possible back to my car trying to soak in every last piece of magic and promised to see Mickey real soon. I had the best night ever in Disney Springs. Usually when my fiance is on tour I get bored really easily being out and about by myself but that totally did not happen here. Walt was definitely keeping me company this evening.

 

[dclfan]

Shortly after I returned from my solo Disney Springs visit it was time to book our FP+. Like I mentioned earlier Me and J along with my parents and sister are all flying in on the 7th while my in-laws are flying in on the 8th. That means I would have to book their FP+ a day later. Will I be able to get us all FoP Fastpasses? Stay tuned......

 

[dclfan]

We are officially less then 60 days out people. I cannot believe it everyone is soooo excited and the trip pretty much consumes all of our conversations now. I was face timing with my sister today and she held up a list of all of her outfits for the week. So at least I am not the only crazy one in the family. My mom was also having wine time with the dog so crazy seems to run through my veins haha.

Anyway Fastpass selections are done and they look a little something like this.

Friday, December 8th (DHS all day)
Star Tours, TOT, Toy Story Midway Mania

Saturday, December 9th (AK all day)
Expedition Everest, Flight of Passage, Rivers of Light

Sunday, December 10th (MK morning) My not so little sister's birthday
Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Mine Train

Monday, December 11th (Epcot morning)
Mission Space, Spaceship Earth, Frozen

Tuesday, December 12th (DHS morning most likely just ride rock n roller coaster and then Epcot Drink around the world in celebration of my sister's first time back to Disney since she turned 21. She will turn 23 on this trip)
Rock n Roller Coaster, TOT, Star Tours

Wednesday, December 13th (AK morning. Both sets of parents fly out this evening and me and J are treating ourselves to a fancy dinner at Tiffins)
Flight of Passage, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur

Thursday, December 14th ( Epcot)
Soarin is the only FP I have today. It's only the two of us so I figure we will hang out an Epcot and take it slow.

Even though my in-laws had a FP selection time a day after ours I was able to get the same time fastpasses for everything except FoP on the 9th. I woke up at 6:45 and at 7:00 on the nose all of the FP+ were already gone for FoP on the 9th errrrrr. I am going to keep trying like a crazy person to get them one with us but if all else fails all 7 of us have a FP for it on the 13th.

My fiance wants to stay on property to see Star Wars so we will probably end up adding a night or two. We are most likely going to rent a car after our trip and look at houses again as well. EEEK

I wish I could close my eyes and have it be the 7TH.