We’re coming up on one of the busiest times for Walt Disney World, Christmas and New Year’s! Disney World can be notorious for its crowds at different times throughout the year, but these times often have special events that make braving the crowds worth it. If you are visiting during a busy time, take a look at some of these tips for planning daily itineraries to deal with high crowds. Read more
So we had a wonderful time on our Disney vacation. 🙂
We tried new things, were blessed with amazing weather, and had the chance to share precious family time. We laughed, we sang, we clapped, we ate, we walked (and walked and walked), we were moved, we were silly, we learned new things and met new people….
In short, we started 2011 off in the most magical way.
As I have thought about doing a trip report for you, I realized quickly that I can’t do ONE because it would be a book! So instead, over the coming weeks, I’ll share different aspects of our trip that will hopefully help you in planning your next Disney vacation.
Today, I want to share a few highlights, along with some new things that this veteran Disney vacationer experienced on our trip to Walt Disney World:
First, we found a few “non-obvious” places for fireworks and parades. I have heard this recommended before but somehow we never actually did it. On this trip we did. We watched the Christmas parade over in Frontierland, right in front of Pecos Bill’s (having just finished lunch there) and had no problem finding a front row space to watch…on the day before New Year’s Eve. Likewise, we watched Holiday Wishes on one of the pathways that lead to the Tomorrowland bridge….it winds down below The Plaza Restaurant and there was literally no one there. Great view, and Tinkerbell flew right over us.
We went to Epcot for New Year’s Eve prepared to stay the entire day…which we did. While we might have been able to leave for a break and then return, based on the perfect weather and corresponding crowds, we decided not to chance it. We knew what to expect and took it very easy, keeping things low key and relaxed. Our daughter decided to try out the Kim Possible phones and had a blast (more on this in a coming article). I took advantage of places to relax when available. We found a place for the NYE fireworks EARLY, took turns blanket sitting, made friends with people from Brazil who were right next to us….and celebrated with them when it was the New Year in Brazil (which was before us). In fact, welcoming a New Year with people who were literally from around the world seemed like the best possible way to celebrate…and we think that Walt Disney would have approved. 🙂
We were a bit lazy on New Year’s Day. We started with a late breakfast at Cape May buffet and then DD and I enjoyed a VERY special belated Christmas present from Santa: we went to the Grand Floridian spa. 🙂 If you ever have the chance to splurge on one thing for yourself….do this. You deserve it.
DD then joined DH at Magic Kingdom where they pretty much walked onto every ride there. Surprise for us: crowds practically disappeared starting on New Year’s Day, so it ended up being a very productive attraction day. After spending the afternoon taking pictures, I joined them for dinner at ‘Ohana, and then we returned to Magic Kingdom for the evening. Main Street Electrical Parade, Holiday Wishes….and riding Big Thunder Mountain in the dark all were perfect ways to end the perfect Disney day.
On Sunday we went to Hollywood Studios and those of you who were following along on our Facebook page know that we had a 5 minute wait for Toy Story Mania! We were there before park opening, and at rope drop, our DD went to Tower of Terror and apparently got the first FastPasses of the day there while DH and I went to get in line at Toy Story. We were entering the building as she arrived. Everyone else apparently went to get FastPasses for this ride, so the FastPass return time for TSM grew rapidly…while the stand-by line grew much more slowly. This strategy allowed us to ride/see everything we wanted to see before lunch. In the afternoon, we headed to ESPN Zone on the Boardwalk to cheer on our Steelers…and meet some really fun folks while there. 🙂
And I changed one of our ADRs again! At the last minute! Seeing that we were likely to be at ESPN Zone all afternoon, and then heading back to Hollywood Studios for the Osborne Lights in the evening, I decided to change dinner to the Captain’s Grill at Yacht Club since it was nearby, and I’m so glad that I did….it was amazing, in fact probably my favorite dinner! Once again, proving my motto for this trip: “Change is Good”. 🙂
Oh….and pictures of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights truly do NOT do them justice. If you love Disney World, put this on your bucket list!
For our last day, we returned to our favorite park, Epcot, and took the “Undiscovered Future World” tour. I cannot recommend this tour enough! Interesting, and fun, we were able to see some “behind the scenes” places, and ride Soarin’ again. And we learned a lot of fascinating details, not the least of which was to always “remember to look up and look down” because there are a lot of cool things to see that most of us normally miss because we’re so busy running to the next ride/attraction.
And then we left to return home. 🙁
Any Disney vacation goes so quickly, doesn’t it? It seems like you plan for an eternity (and for many of us that planning does last months or years even!) and then it finally arrives…..and in the blink of an eye, it’s over. But the memories remain, and that of course, is the true magic of Disney.
Then the planning starts all over again!
I am a planner by nature….and I love planning a Disney World vacation more than just about anything.
So planning a Disney trip 7-12 months in advance provides plenty to think about prior to the trip, and for the most part, this is a good thing. For example, having the chance to pour over menus, researching various accommodation options, finding fun, new, interesting things to see and do…. all make the time spent while waiting to leave fun…and it goes faster that way too.
The downside of this is when things change. Sometimes they change in minor ways that simply involve changing things like an advanced dining reservation time. On the other hand, sometimes a lot of things end up changing…and changing plans make us planners…well….a little uncomfortable.
Unless you learn, as I am learning on this trip, to just go with the flow. 🙂
Back in May I started documenting my vacation planning for our New Years trip to Walt Disney World. Since that time, there have been a few minor changes to our trip. We have changed:
And we haven’t left yet.
But it’s all good, because it has been a great lesson in flexibility for me. 🙂 I am adjusting as we go, learning to be ok with change, and trying to focus on what really matters: spending a few days with my family in a happy, carefree place.
So, here is what I know about our trip at this moment, 3 days before we leave:
This is, of course, all subject to change….which at this point, I am fully expecting it to. 🙂
Beyond this, we will see how things go, which usually works best during this very busy season anyway.
As to my preparations for leaving, seeing that we depart in 3 days? Well, we had that little Holiday over the weekend, so there is a lot left for me to do this week. But I have done our online check-in, ordered our Dining Plans, and cancelled our papers and mail. And I have our DME luggage tags, and Park Hopper passes in hand, so that’s kind of important.
So with daily checks of the weather forecast, we’re in the homestretch and planning for packing has begun. It’s definitely been a “different” kind of trip for me so far…..and to be honest, the planning changes have been kind of fun!
(But shhhhhhh don’t tell anyone, I don’t want to lose my membership in Planners Anonymous! 🙂 )
Want to follow along on our trip? I’ll be posting periodic updates and pictures on our Facebook Page.
In ten days we will be at Walt Disney World, getting ready to ring in the New Year at 
the Happiest Place on Earth. We will, of course, have a lot of company, and I have written in the past about what the parks are like during this busiest week of the year. Yes, we know what to expect….and still we choose to go then, even though things would be much calmer, less crowded, and we would see/do a great deal more if we went at another time.
So if we know all this, why are we making a conscious decision to visit at this time anyway?
Well there are a couple of reasons. Partly it is because if we want to experience the wonderful Holiday atmosphere at Disney World as a family, this week is our best chance to do that, due to our daughter’s college schedule. And while we don’t go at Christmas every year, we try to visit at this time of year every few years if we can….and we miss Disney World a lot on the years that we don’t.
But there is more to it than that.
Honestly, to me, there is just no better place to say good-bye to one year and welcome a new one. There is something inherently hopeful about Disney World that makes people, no matter their age, believe in that happily-ever-after that seems so elusive in real life. And when that is combined with the hopes and dreams that everyone has when a new year begins, well it makes Walt Disney World a very special (and yes, magical) place to ring in that New Year…despite the crowds, and the noise, and the lines…..
And I have to say that my feeling about this somewhat stems from personal experience.
In 2003, just a few days after Christmas, my wonderful father was diagnosed with leukemia. He ultimately passed away just a few weeks later. During those weeks, as we struggled to comprehend and deal with this tragedy, we also struggled to provide care for my mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease. My dad had been her primary caregiver, and the loss of my dad took its toll on her health as well.
Not to overly dramatize the situation…I’ll just say that the New Year’s Eve that we observed that year was heartbreaking.
As the end of 2004 approached then, we were prepared for our Christmas season to be a difficult one, filled with some very sad memories. But we didn’t want to focus on the sad, we wanted to say good bye to that horrible year, and bring in the new one, in a way that focused instead on looking forward. We wanted to create new, happier memories…and we realized that for New Years, it was important for us to be someplace other than home.
The one place that we knew would help us create happy memories was at Walt Disney World.
So that year, New Year’s Eve 2004/5, we celebrated the holiday at Disney: we watched that terrible year end, and welcomed the start of a new one in a way that truly honored my parents, who always believed in the importance of faith, and belief, and hope, and optimism.
Always at its best when helping to create happiness, Walt Disney World remains for us, a place to focus on the joyful, the special, the hopeful, and the promise of something better. And that is why we are looking forward to ringing in the start of this next year in the best place we know to do so.
Wishing you and yours the most wonderful, magical, and hope-filled Christmas and New Year!
While our friend Brenda is enjoying her vacation in Walt Disney World, I thought I’d take today to 
provide a quick update to our Disney vacation planning. We leave for Disney World in 36 days, on December 30…and as always happens when you start planning so far in advance….I can’t believe that we’re about a month away!
I can’t believe it because I have quite a bit to do in the next month for this trip.
Oh yeah. And we’ve got a few holidays sprinkled in there as well. 🙂
First let’s start with an update to some previous plans: Instead of 4 going, there are now just 3, myself, my DH and our DD. So I have had a few changes to make in the past month or so, namely to all of our ADRs, and Candlelight Processional reservations.
I also have been regularly in touch with Disney Vacation Club (meaning *daily*), in the attempt to reduce the size of our accommodations from a 2 BR to a Studio or 1 BR. Knowing how crazy busy this week is at Disney, I’m not holding my breath, but it’s worth the try, so that we can save the points for another trip. (And isn’t that always the case: you start planning your next one before you leave on the current one? Or is that just me…. 🙂 ) In any event, currently we still have a 2 BR at Old Key West for the first two nights, and now have a 1 BR at Wilderness Lodge for the 2nd 2 nights. In addition to calling DVC, I’m also on the waitlist for something smaller, so we shall see what happens.
Now what is done so far?
And what needs to be done in the next few weeks?
This is, of course, in addition to getting ready for Christmas. Yeah, it’s gonna be a fun month! 🙂
Now you may notice that I don’t really have any itinerary planning on here, and I will say that is a benefit of many trips: for us at this point, we don’t worry about this as much as we would if we were still fairly new to Walt Disney World. Plus, and this is a biggie: there will be lots of crowds, and so we have learned that flexibility will be key during our time there over New Years. We have a few favorites at each park, and certainly know where we will be each evening (we decided that when making our ADRs). Beyond that, once I see the hours for each park, and see when the Holiday events will be ending, then we will narrow it down to which park we’ll go to each morning, and we’ll chat about if there are any Must-Sees for anyone on this trip. That will be about it for itinerary planning for this Disney vacation for us. (Note: it really helps here that we are 3 adults, so no little one meltdowns if we just can’t see something…..)
This weekend, DD will be home from college 🙂 so we’ll have a chance to talk a bit about if there are any extra things anyone wants to do, like doing a tour or something like that. We also need to decide if we want to get Park Hoppers for 4 days or 5, so I can order them from Undercover Tourist. And then I need to call Disney to arrange for Magical Express.
Oh, and before Black Friday, I’ll be looking at our suitcase situation, and my shoe situation, both of which are apparently necessary purchases….
And that will be it then, for a few weeks, as I get ready for Christmas………
…….until I start obsessing about the weather forecast. 🙂