Guess what?

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

After much alcohol hahaha and many promises we all know I probably won't keep, DH has given me the go ahead to start tentatively planning a Dec 2011 trip.

WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Like I wasn't already doing that anyway, hahaha.

Anyway, I'm very very excited. All I need to do to convince him is that I can easily come up with the money which is no probs. Now I need your help:-

It's time to start planning the nitty grittys I would say. I'm not going this December but am hoping to go next December so to keep myself "interested" I am going to pretend like I am going this year and start looking into park hours, EMH, MVMCP, what park to do what day, ADR's etc.

So for all you lucky ducks going this year:-

1. What dates are you going?

2. What parks do you plan on visiting on what days?

3. Why did you choose that park for that day?

4. How many days at each park?

5. Are you going to take advantage of EMH am & pm?

6. Do you have to decide what park you will visit each day before making ADR's to minimise travel times between parks?

7. Are you going to plan a Water park day or is it just going to be too cold to go?

8. Are the show times for parades and shows out early enough so you can plan your ADR's 180 days out without there being a clash that makes you miss something?

9. Is anyone staying at WL? How are the buses

10. What are your thoughts on the Wishes Dessert Party?

11. What about MVMCP? Is it worth the money? I kind of felt the Halloween party at DL was fun but a little expensive, am wondering if this would be similar?

12. Am I being annoying asking all of these questions ?

This is such exciting news for me and I am so proud of my husband for agreeing to go back. And when I started talking days, he was more than happy with 11 in WDW and when I said 5 in NY he said, he could spend double that time and for me to just decide. I am very excited. It may seem a long time away but for me "the obsessive planner" it is just enough time to learn enough about WDW to be comfortable that I won't miss a thing LOL.

I look forward to your input.

 

[Kalice]

Hi,
I'm not sure if you've been to NY before? We had our first visit this year, eight nights total in NY and two in DC. I felt that that we barely scratched the surface and could easily spend a month (or even year) there. There was soo much too see. We had eight nights in WDW and that was perfect.

 

[queenie82]

I'm not going this December but I have been to WDW 3 Decembers over the past 7 years including last December.
So thought I would comment on a few questions if that's ok and might help.....

You are very wise starting to plan now because there are a LOT of nitty grittys that you should be aware of.

It's time to start planning the nitty grittys I would say. I'm not going this December but am hoping to go next December so to keep myself "interested" I am going to pretend like I am going this year and start looking into park hours, EMH, MVMCP, what park to do what day, ADR's etc.

So for all you lucky ducks going this year:-

1. What dates are you going?
We have always gone from just after thanksgiving until the 22nd dec at the latest. It gets CRAZY busy as you get closer

2. What parks do you plan on visiting on what days?
Look at the touring plans guide

3. Why did you choose that park for that day?
crowd levels and emh determine when we do what

4. How many days at each park?
We get the 10 day ticket and will park hop many of those days. The least days go to AK - typically 2 am emh days where we typically finish before the end of the day. [I love it but this is just the reality of this park as nothing much has changed over the years really. ON a first visit though you would probably use 2 full days]

5. Are you going to take advantage of EMH am & pm?
This past december was the first time onsite...so the first time we had access to emh. We thought we would use both but seriously I was pooped by 9pm that I couldn't really use the Epcot pm emh.
The KEY!!! is the AM emh. They are crucial. You must drag yourself out of bed to use them. Especially for Toy Story Mania at DHS. Of course by 2011 it won't be so new. But the same number of people will be coming

6. Do you have to decide what park you will visit each day before making ADR's to minimise travel times between parks?Sort of...well...yes really.
It can take nearly an hour to get from one park to another. ESPECIALLY if you depend on Disney transport
You don't want to waste time travelling JUST to go to an ADR. If you are planning to hop that day then make the lunch reservation at the first park, then shift after that.


7. Are you going to plan a Water park day or is it just going to be too cold to go?
ALL the water is heated so yes...we go. Blizzard beach is the park that has been open the past few Decembers. This is my favourite which is lucky
The first week of dec 09 was GLORIOUS warm weather and BB was pretty busy. Sunscreen was crucial. It was TOO hot for my liking actually
Now I will say that in the 2nd week BB was closed for 2 days in a row last trip because it was too cold in the early hours of the morning. The resort pool slides would also be closed until about 11am-12pm when the water warmed up.
The issue is the SLIDES...not the pools.

8. Are the show times for parades and shows out early enough so you can plan your ADR's 180 days out without there being a clash that makes you miss something?
They are both released at the 180 day mark. This is why the whole 90 day debacle happened. People whinging because they are incapable of planning ahead.
This does make it a bit tricky. Parade times CAN change but year to year indicative times are pretty accurate. Typically a change ADDS a time not changes or removes.

9. Is anyone staying at WL? How are the buses
Nope...don't do Disney buses

10. What are your thoughts on the Wishes Dessert Party?
Waste of money. Saw the spot it takes place as we went to get a spot ourselves and I don't get it.

11. What about MVMCP? Is it worth the money? I kind of felt the Halloween party at DL was fun but a little expensive, am wondering if this would be similar?
Again I don't get it. Each year it gets MORE and MORE expensive. I truly don't understand. It is a LOT of money for a parade and fireworks...oh...and a hot chocolate.
Now the Christmas parade (which the 'public' get to see once the parties are over) are far superior to a standard parade. But I can't justify the cost. The fireworks themselves are no better. The soundtrack is a bit nicer though.

12. Am I being annoying asking all of these questions ?
NO!!!
You are Normal!!!
You are a Disney nut!!!


This is such exciting news for me and I am so proud of my husband for agreeing to go back. Just keep him sloshed

And when I started talking days, he was more than happy with 11 in WDW WELL DONE!!! (so long as that is ALL WDW time...not incl Universal) and when I said 5 in NY he said, he could spend double that time and for me to just decide. I am very excited. It may seem a long time away but for me "the obsessive planner" it is just enough time to learn enough about WDW to be comfortable that I won't miss a thing LOL.

I look forward to your input.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Yes Kalice, we went to NY for 5 days Oct last year but we all feel it was no where near enough. When I suggested Washington/Canada/Hawaii for after NY my hubby said, well couldn't we just stay longer in NY . I kind of agree, there is so much more to see, we'd like to get out to other areas of NY more this time, but I would love to see Washington and or Canada and Hawaii for a few days on the way back would be heaven.

Queenie - thanks for the replies. I really appreciate it. We are totally early risers so the am EMH's would work best for us. DH and the kids go to bed early so pm EMH's will probably not be an option.

Blizzard Beach definitely looks like the pick of the 2 water parks so we would definitely love to visit if weather permitted.

Will have a play around with dates/show and parade times/ADRs this year as a prelude to next year.

I am inclined to agree about the Christmas party. I felt the same way about MNSSHP.

The 11 days would include 1 day at Kennedy Space Centre and one day at WWHP (can't wait to see that). I guess we could add more if need be but I feel like that isn't a bad start.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Shuttergirl - I'm so happy for you.

WRT EMH - Remember you get 1 hour extra in the morning and 3 hours extra in the evening. We are early risers; but because I was sick, we didn't make a single am EMH much less rope drop! Also, because we were out and about and doing lots of exercise/walking, DS slept in most of the time and it was hard to get him out of bed.

We didn't plan on taking advantage of the pm EMH - our plan was for am EMH as well - but found that pm EMH worked well for us and found this particularly useful for AK. Remember that AK closes at 5 pm; so the pm EMH makes perfect sense here. We were walking on to rides that normally had over 55 minutes standby e.g., Kali and Everest. In the afternoon, Kali and Everest wait times were over 90 minutes. Fast passes were usually all gone by 1 pm. With the pm EMH, we did Everest 3 times in a row and Kali twice - all walk on with no wait time.

We also took advantage of the pm EMH at MK. Again, it was the same scenario where we had walk-on compared to 40 minute stand-by (with the exception of some of the Fantasyland rides).

We made it to the parks at about 9.30 am and the wait times for all the rides were about 10 minutes. We would get as many fast passes as possible, do as many of the big rides using stand-by and save the fast passes for later; when the wait times were out to over 40 mins. For MK where we knew we were going to take advantage of pm EMH, we picked up fast passes for some of the rides as well. I'm particularly talking about the Peter Pan ride here - even at pm EMH, wait times were over 40 minutes.

On average, we were waiting about 10 - 20 minutes for the Disney bus to take us to the right park. At POR, there were heaps of buses but they always seem to go to the other parks rather than the one we wanted to go to. At BCV, we could control our time better as we could walk, boat or monorail to 3 of the 4 parks. We ended up extending our car hire for the entire time that we were on-site and I'm pretty thankful that we did have the car as an option to the buses.

Definitely get the park hopper ticket - you will park hop and I think there was even one day where we visited all 4 parks in the same day. And keep things really flexible so that you have the freedom to come and go as you please. Using the Disney buses, hopping from one park to the other took an average of about 45 minutes.

I enjoyed the Dessert Party. Remember it is about the Dessert first and foremost. The spot to view Wishes isn't as good as being outside because it doesn't have the quintessential front-on view of the castle, but it isn't bad. If you are going to eat lots of Dessert and don't want to guard a prime spot for an hour or two beforehand, then I would consider doing the Dessert Party. MK was BUSY when we were there - touringguide Mike was wrong - and there were heaps of people everywhere. With kids and elderly parents, it was kinda nice to walk into the Terrace at 8 pm, enjoy dessert (some were good, others not so good) a hot drink and then find ourselves with a bit of space to see the fireworks at 9 pm. Just remember - you need to eat a lot of dessert for this to work out from the $ perspective.

Enjoy your planning!

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Thanks Princess in Oz. I know it's ages away but that suits me just fine. I almost like the planning as much as the trip

I was considering the Dessert Party because my husband would not be keen to sit waiting for it for up to 2 hours, just wouldn't happen. DH and the kids love love love desserts so I have no doubt they'll eat their fair share and I thought it would be something a bit different. My son is also a little wary of the loud noise of fireworks. I think being in this environment would really help him feel safer.

We can totally play the am versus pm EMH by ear when we are there. We really are crazy early risers so mostly I would say AM would work but I'm happy to try both.

We won't be hiring a car while at WDW, however I am happy to use taxis if need be to make it to ADR's on time. Otherwise we plan on using the buses and or boat from WL.

My DH's father is very ill so things are a little up in the air for next December as to when we could go. If his father is still with us (fingers crossed he is) we wouldn't go to the US until just after Christmas. Maybe 28th Dec or something. Whilst I know that week at WDW is the worst crowd wise, I'd be willing to put up with a few crowded days at the start so that we can be with FIL for Christmas.

If he was to no longer be with us, we would go around 9 December.

Either option would be fine, I will just feel blessed to be going.

 

[lovintheland]

Ms Shuttergirl Iam so excited for you! I remember last time when you got the go ahead from hubby

Have fun planning now that you can seriously plan. We are buying our tickets this week for September WOOHOO

 

[aussiegirls]

Didn't take you long to get that ticker up Shuttergirl

Congrats

xxx

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

hahahaha Aussiegirls, well I figure he can't change his mind in the light of morning if the Disboards ticker is up. It's locked in .

Gosh I love love planning

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Ms Shuttergirl Iam so excited for you! I remember last time when you got the go ahead from hubby

Have fun planning now that you can seriously plan. We are buying our tickets this week for September WOOHOO

And if you remember, there was alcohol and promises involved in that "go ahead" also, hahaha. Oh and a Bruce Springsteen concert. He is keen for me to find another concert for this trip and I'm like, no problems babe, anything to get you back to the US.

 

[aussietravellers]

How Exciting Ms.Shuttergirl

I agree, the planning is almost as fun as the holiday

That is such a cute ticker. I must have another look at the Disboards tickers, I didn't have much of a look because I already had both for NY and WDW already.

 

[lovintheland]

Whatever favours it takes Ms Shuttergirl I say

 

[queenie82]

I was considering the Dessert Party because my husband would not be keen to sit waiting for it for up to 2 hours, just wouldn't happen. DH and the kids love love love desserts so I have no doubt they'll eat their fair share and I thought it would be something a bit different. My son is also a little wary of the loud noise of fireworks. I think being in this environment would really help him feel safer.

We can totally play the am versus pm EMH by ear when we are there. We really are crazy early risers so mostly I would say AM would work but I'm happy to try both.

We never ever waited 2 hours for Wishes.
We waited maybe 30-45mins? and had great spots.

I would never wait that long for any Disney fireworks. The less you wait the better it is....

We strolled up to a spot for Illuminations about 20mins before and really enjoyed it. Previous times we did wait longer and it was so much hassle which made it less enjoyable.


As for evening EMH at Animal Kingdom...that doesn't make sense to me.
Sure Everest is fun as is Kali but the prospect of doing Kali river rapids after the sun has gone down You get SOAKED on that ride. And if it was a cool night (as it most likely would be) I wouldn't advise it.
And you can't do the Safari after sunset so you really are only left with Everest. And when we took advantage of morning EMH we did 2 safaris and 2 Everests really quickly.
Like with going to TSM at DHS you grab a fastpass for the safari and then get on.
Everest we never waited more than 20mins.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

We never ever waited 2 hours for Wishes.
We waited maybe 30-45mins? and had great spots.

I would never wait that long for any Disney fireworks. The less you wait the better it is....

We strolled up to a spot for Illuminations about 20mins before and really enjoyed it. Previous times we did wait longer and it was so much hassle which made it less enjoyable.


As for evening EMH at Animal Kingdom...that doesn't make sense to me.
Sure Everest is fun as is Kali but the prospect of doing Kali river rapids after the sun has gone down You get SOAKED on that ride. And if it was a cool night (as it most likely would be) I wouldn't advise it.
And you can't do the Safari after sunset so you really are only left with Everest. And when we took advantage of morning EMH we did 2 safaris and 2 Everests really quickly.
Like with going to TSM at DHS you grab a fastpass for the safari and then get on.
Everest we never waited more than 20mins.

I'll keep this in mind Queenie. I haven't even looked at the cost of the Dessert Party as yet so will wait and see.

I agree that for us PM EMH at Animal Kingdom wouldn't probably appeal. We won't ride Everest, we are a kind of "fraidy" family , although maybe. I'm going to try and push myself out of my comfort zone this time LOL. And getting wet after the sun goes down doesn't appeal but who knows, I guess it is an option should we wish to use it.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Whatever favours it takes Ms Shuttergirl I say

hahahahahahaha

 

[PrincessInOz]

We never ever waited 2 hours for Wishes.
We waited maybe 30-45mins? and had great spots.

I would never wait that long for any Disney fireworks. The less you wait the better it is....

We strolled up to a spot for Illuminations about 20mins before and really enjoyed it. Previous times we did wait longer and it was so much hassle which made it less enjoyable.


As for evening EMH at Animal Kingdom...that doesn't make sense to me.
Sure Everest is fun as is Kali but the prospect of doing Kali river rapids after the sun has gone down You get SOAKED on that ride. And if it was a cool night (as it most likely would be) I wouldn't advise it.
And you can't do the Safari after sunset so you really are only left with Everest. And when we took advantage of morning EMH we did 2 safaris and 2 Everests really quickly.
Like with going to TSM at DHS you grab a fastpass for the safari and then get on.
Everest we never waited more than 20mins.

You're right! I wouldn't want to get wet after dark either and was only providing a perspective from a May/June visit date. We hit Kali at about 5.30 pm on a day that was still 93 F and we came prepared. We had spare clothes for EVERYTHING in the car and brought them down with us. We did get changed into the clothes but it took us about 10 minutes to dry off anyway.

And queueing for 20 minutes in December is a lot different to queueing for 20 minutes in May/June when it is sunny, hot and humid.

 

[queenie82]

You're right! I wouldn't want to get wet after dark either and was only providing a perspective from a May/June visit date. We hit Kali at about 5.30 pm on a day that was still 93 F and we came prepared. We had spare clothes for EVERYTHING in the car and brought them down with us. We did get changed into the clothes but it took us about 10 minutes to dry off anyway.

And queueing for 20 minutes in December is a lot different to queueing for 20 minutes in May/June when it is sunny, hot and humid.

An here in lies why we don't go in summer
I'd almost jump into the river with those temps...

It is why it makes such a difference the time of year.

 

[shushh]

Ms Shuttergirl that is great news!! I'm very excited for you! I've put my answers in a different colour, hope they'll help!

After much alcohol hahaha and many promises we all know I probably won't keep, DH has given me the go ahead to start tentatively planning a Dec 2011 trip.

WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Like I wasn't already doing that anyway, hahaha.

Anyway, I'm very very excited. All I need to do to convince him is that I can easily come up with the money which is no probs. Now I need your help:-

It's time to start planning the nitty grittys I would say. I'm not going this December but am hoping to go next December so to keep myself "interested" I am going to pretend like I am going this year and start looking into park hours, EMH, MVMCP, what park to do what day, ADR's etc.

So for all you lucky ducks going this year:-

1. What dates are you going? Dec 9-21

2. What parks do you plan on visiting on what days? We have a dedicated "theme-park strategist" and "dining colonel". Between them they've drawn up a table of when we're going and where we're going, including dining and rest afternoons/days. There are 7 adults and 7 children going. They based their plan on the unofficial guide as well as information from a statistician, taking into consideration travel times, crowd levels, likely EMH etc. For once, I will just follow....Can forward you the table when they finalise it!

3. Why did you choose that park for that day? As above

4. How many days at each park? From memory 1 at AK, 2 at Epcot, 2 DHS and 3 MK.

5. Are you going to take advantage of EMH am & pm? Yes, apparently, the parks which have am EMH get really crowded quickly, so the trick is to move on to another park by about 11am.

6. Do you have to decide what park you will visit each day before making ADR's to minimise travel times between parks? Yes, if relying on Disney transport (like us), travel from resort to resort or park to park takes a long time. Resort to park/park to resort is ok. I've got a table of average travel times from various places by car and by Disney transport.

7. Are you going to plan a Water park day or is it just going to be too cold to go? We are planning to play it by ear because of the age of the children. We worked out that it was cheaper to buy the tickets for the water park just for one day rather than adding the "water park" package to the base tickets.

8. Are the show times for parades and shows out early enough so you can plan your ADR's 180 days out without there being a clash that makes you miss something?

9. Is anyone staying at WL? How are the buses Staying at POR

10. What are your thoughts on the Wishes Dessert Party? Don't know much about it to be honest.

11. What about MVMCP? Is it worth the money? I kind of felt the Halloween party at DL was fun but a little expensive, am wondering if this would be similar? We've decided to go. For us, it's a rare chance to experience something special as a group. As to whether or it'll be worth the money, time will tell I suppose!

12. Am I being annoying asking all of these questions ? No, not at all!!!! Its by people like you asking questions and others answering them that I've learnt so much!

This is such exciting news for me and I am so proud of my husband for agreeing to go back. And when I started talking days, he was more than happy with 11 in WDW and when I said 5 in NY he said, he could spend double that time and for me to just decide. I am very excited. It may seem a long time away but for me "the obsessive planner" it is just enough time to learn enough about WDW to be comfortable that I won't miss a thing LOL.

I look forward to your input. We're heading to NYC for 1 week after WDW so will hopefully pick your brain!

 

[queenie82]

We won't ride Everest, we are a kind of "fraidy" family , although maybe. I'm going to try and push myself out of my comfort zone this time LOL.

I would truely highly recommend Expedition Everest. It is such a fun coaster. It doesn't go upside down and moves so smoothly it really is fun.
Even my mum has been on it!

Have you been on Space Mountain at Disneyland? I would equate the fun factor as being the same. Sure it is a thrill ride but it is one of 3 coasters I truly love and enjoy for the fun factor.
It has the smoothness of Space with the 'wildness' of thunder

I wanna be at Disney on a Disney coaster

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Hiya Shushh,

Your dates for WDW are pretty much the same as what we would be considering for next year.

What love to see that crazy detailed table once it's done

Thanks for the heads up re the water park ticket pricing. We certainly wouldn't be going more than one day and so will just decide once there.

I look forward to hearing your feedback on MVMCP.

I would love to see the travel times table if you are happy to share.

I'm happy to tell you more about our previous 5 days in NYC. It was amazing and we saw lots of the "main tourist things" but we are now keen to do some other stuff.

Thanks for all of the answers.