Hear all about Kim's family's December Disney World trip which included a stay at Copper Creek, attending the Star Wars Dessert Party, use of Minnie Vans, plus more.
You'll hear what didn't work and what ultimately did end up working for their family.
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These are notes from this episode. There's much more info included in the audio so be sure to listen to the episode for a better explanation.
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Links to things mentioned
Quick tip of the day
Listener Melissa emailed this tip:
"We are traveling to Disney in March and staying at Bay Lake Tower. We are going with another family, but are arriving on two separate days (we check in Saturday, they check in Sunday). This trip each family decided to splurge and get the Deluxe Dining Plan. We made reservations for 14 character meals, plus Be Our Guest breakfast, Tony’s and T Rex. Our friends are arriving a day after us but we are meeting them for dinner at 1900 Park Fare the first day we check in. Since they won’t have their meal plan activated until the following day when they check in, we are going to use the credits from our plan to pay for their meal. Then once their plan is activated they can pay for one of our meals later in the trip. This saves them paying out of pocket and maximizes the credit use."
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Just found this podcast and its turning out to be a huge help so far! I think it was this one that there was a Chip and Dale Christmas Tree Spree mentioned? I haven’t been able to find anything about that anywhere. Could you explain a bit more? We are going in December and my five year old loves those chipmunks!
Hi, Lauren –
Here’s info about it from last year that should help – https://wdwprepschool.com/holiday-christmas-season-at-disney-world/#Chip_and_Dales_Christmas_Tree_Spree
Awesome, thanks! My son will love this when we go this December. Hopefully, they do it again this year!
Both you, and Kim mentioned subscribing for an alert when a particular restaurant has a reservation open up. Would you share with me (or remind me) of how to do this? Thanks!
Hi, Melissa – that site is MouseDining.com. Should’ve mentioned that in the podcast. Will try to remember that next time.
I really enjoyed Kim’s trip report. I, like Kim, travel with an ECV and a double stroller at WDW. My mom who gets around fine at home would not be able to do the parks without an ECV. It is just too much walking. Then we have three kids. The struggle is real but so is the magic. Even though it isn’t always easy, we go almost every year. I wanted to know if you or Kim could divulge the special Minnie Van phone number to call when you have an ECV. We are thinking of using the Minnie Van for a few breakfast reservations on our upcoming trip.
I have a very similar itinerary to Kim’s coming up. It was so helpful for me to hear her story – as I am struggle with the push and pull of scheduling and trying so hard NOT to overschedule. Hearing her story helped confirm for me that I am doing the right thing! I booked tons of ADRS immediately on the Deluxe Dining plan and pretty quickly realized we’d be eating all the time — downgraded the dining plan — and I still find myself poking around looking for better reservations!! Was also great to hear confirmation on the fireworks party, which is a splurge for us, and something we kept on the plan. Great also to hear glowing comments about the CCVs… we haven’t been to WDW since 2006, and back then it was just us adults, so this is a BIG cross-country trip for us. First time with all 5 of us on a plane together, first time to Disney, and hopefully I will keep my cool!! Kudos to Kim for taking it all in stride and adjusting on the fly to create magic for her little guy. Jealous I’m not 3 hours away though!!
I really loved Kim’s report! I loved hearing how she had challenges and overcame them. Sometimes I feel like the trip reports are always of easy peasy trips! And when you have kids, that’s never the case. We had a similar experience as Kim with our 6 year old daughter. We found out that she hates being hot and sweaty and being in the sun. Our first day we were late and rushed and stressed and she refused to ride anything and we just kept getting angry with each other. But once we went inside to Belle, the entire day changed. Then we learned to keep her as cool and as indoors as much as possible. We threw in a few water sprinklers and she was a happy camper. And the thing about everything taking longer than expected…that is no joke. We also had a double stroller and older parents. My husband was “this close” to pulling the trigger on the ECV, but decided to tough it out. I couldn’t imagine doing it with a double stroller AND an ECV. So Kim…I applaud you! Your trip report was funny and informative. I know you probably didn’t feel that way at the time…but you expressed yourself beautifully. I think of a trip to Disney World with kids like childbirth. It’s difficult at the time…but then you forget all the bad stuff and do it all over again!!! Kudos to you!
Great trip report! So glad Kim was able to adjust and just go with the flow. There is so much more to Disney World than rides. My kids favorite things at Disney are pools, mini golf, arcades, and Happily Ever After.
I kept hoping they would discover Sorcerer’s of the Kingdom. Her son is old enough for it, and would love it since he loves characters so much.