Anticipation, Another Holiday Season, And New-To-Us Experiences

We're getting set for the adventure of yet another Walt Disney World vacation.  It's our third Christmas at Walt Disney World, but definitely, not our first time traveling during the winter holidays.  Traveling at that time of year is something we have never regretted. . . it's all about anticipation and memories!

Often, I am asked about why we travel during the winter holidays.  My first response is that we can.  All three of us do not have school or work.  The other reason is I want to avoid that "let down" feeling after the presents are opened, after days, even weeks of build up and we're looking a pile of wrapping paper and a kitchen full of dishes.  Our first Christmas day spent at Magic Kingdom, I looked at the husband and said, "I haven't had that let down feeling yet."  And, I didn't. . . the entire trip.  We know our fun means that others may be missing time with family and friends and we make sure to thank them regularly.

Our 10-night stay at Pop Century this year allowed us to schedule some special tours and events: Up Close With Rhinos at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Yuletide Fantasy Tour which begins and ends at EPCOT, and UnDiscovered Future World which is also at EPCOT.

Last holiday season we took the Behind the Seeds Tour.

We're also trying four new restaurants:  California Grill located on the top floor of The Contemporary Resort, Storybook Dining at Artist Point located in Disney's Wilderness Lodge, San Angel Inn which is inside the Mexico Pavilion at EPCOT--you know the one that overlooks the volcano and is perpetually nighttime, and Enzo's Hideaway at Disney Springs.  We had a reservation for Enzo's when we first started planning our trip, then cancelled it and have made another reservation, but on a different day than originally planned.  While all of them are new and exciting to us, we are definitely looking forward to California Grill.  Our reservation is for 6:00 pm on Dec. 30, which sounds like a regular reservation.  Disney enthusiasts know that the Magic Kingdom has 4 sets of New Year's Eve fireworks.  Two on Dec. 30 and two on Dec. 31.  The first blasts are scheduled for 6:30 pm on December 30.  We'll be watching the fireworks at California Grill!  Have you ever seen fireworks that explode into the shape of a number? We have!  And, it's the "countdown" fireworks at Magic Kingdom. . . 10, 9. 8, etc.

Williams Families Dec. 2017

Something else that is new-to-us this trip, is planning with another family--a Williams Family!  We've had our MyDisneyExperience accounts linked since the summer and have discovered the trips, traps, and joys of co-planning a Walt Disney World vacation.  Our plans include Christmas Eve lunch, Candlelight Procession, and dinner, and Christmas Day lunch.

Two Williams Families--are we related?  No.  Friends who enjoy Disney, who are parenting boys, and have Todds!  Our December 2018 trip isn't the first time our visits at Disney have overlapped, but this time we're more purposeful.

With Fastpasses selected and dining reservations made all we have to do now is wait and enjoy the anticipation.  Well, pack and wait!

We Booked Walt Disney World for December and Locked In Park Tickets Before Price Increase

I love it when our travel agent calls or sends an email.  It gives me comfort knowing that she is thinking of us and our upcoming trip(s).  That was indeed the case when there was an email in my inbox asking if I was ready to book flights for our December cruise.  My response to the email was that the Kayak alerts were set for daily notification but that since we weren’t exactly sure when we could fly to Orlando, I wasn’t ready to book yet.  I, was, however, ready to do something else.

Rumor on the internet was that ticket prices for Walt Disney World would be increasing sometime in February.  If we wanted to have some park time before our cruise, I wanted to lock in the best part ticket price.  I asked if we made a reservation and paid the deposit, and then later changed the reservation, would the ticket prices change. 

Our travel agent inquired and found out that as long as we don’t change the dining plan even if we changed other parts of our package—including number of nights—then we would get the lower ticket price. 

So, we made a reservation.  I know it’s easier to shave days from a reservation than add, so we made a week-long reservation including tickets and dining plan.  We are officially booked for December!

Now, these plans are not in concrete yet, at least not until we make flight arrangements.  And at the same time, getting some park time in during the holidays is something all of us would enjoy.

Potential Hazards of Winter/Holiday Travel

Traveling anytime can be tricky, but traveling during the winter and peek holiday time can be perilous.  Still, we take our risks and have many “war” stories about cancelled flights, unplanned overnight stays, delayed flights, broken airplanes, dead car batteries, etc.  We have been mid flight before when the pilot informed us there was a hole in the windshield and we were returning to the airport only to sit on the tarmac in a bus while the airline figured out what to do with us.  Holiday travel can also mean stores, restaurants, gas stations, and other services have limited hours or are closed. Yep, we have some stories and our most recent holiday travel not only brought some of those stories back to mind, but added to our list.

I’ll start at the beginning, which is a very good place to start.  The day prior to the drive and fly portion of our journey, the husband’s van was rear-ended.  He called me to say that he and the boy were okay, but they had been involved in an accident.  I went to the scene to discover that the back end of our van was smashed and the rear tailgate would not and could not open. 

Hmmm. . . this was the car we were driving to the airport to haul our family and luggage in comfort.  The van was still drivable and safe.  We decided to load the luggage in and out of the side door.  I felt like the Beverly Hillbillies pulling up in front of the airport to drop off the boy, the husband, and the luggage.  It was a two person job to get the luggage out of the back and out the side door.  Nevertheless, it worked. 

We arrived safely at the airport in time for our flights even after a blizzard had hit our area two days prior.  The roads, highways, and interstates on our 120 mile journey to the airport were of varying conditions and we counted the number of cars and trucks off the sides of the roads.  I just kept my hands on the wheel and adjusted speed as necessary.  We had a shovel in the car with us along with a hard sided cooler with food and drinks.

Upon arrival at the airport, all went smoothly. . . checking in for our flights, checking the luggage, etc.  We went through security and on to our gate.  After a few moments, the time of the plane’s departure was pushed back an hour and ten minutes.  I had the airlines programmed on my cell phone and made a call.  Seems our connecting flight hadn’t left Chicago yet.  I waited another forty minutes and made another call.  Same story.  At this point, I left the gate with boarding pass and ID in hand and went back to the ticket counter.  I was reassured that we would arrive in Chicago in plenty of time to catch our connecting flight to Orlando.  Back through security I went to re-join my family.

Well, the flight did arrive and soon we were off.  Upon arrival in Chicago, we took a shuttle to another terminal and found the gate for our next flight.  We actually arrived in Orlando a few minutes ahead of schedule!

Since liquids are limited to 3 ounces going through security, I wait until we are at our gate and purchase a bottle of water.  We then refill the bottle regularly throughout our journey.  In O’Hare, there are water fountains with bottle refill stations—very convenient!

We had also packed a soft-sided cooler inside the husband’s carry-on bag that contained sandwiches, snacks, fruit bars, granola bars, and Clementine’s.  These made it through security with no problem and provided a juicy and nutritious treat for us throughout our journey.  Note:  Any opened items or fruits and vegetables had to be consumed prior to boarding the ship.  The unopened packaged items, such as fruit bars, granola bars, and fruit snacks were okay for us to take on the ship.

Returning was another matter, but this one was on Disney, specifically Disney’s Magical Express which offers free transportation to Walt Disney World Resort guests to and from Orlando International Airport.  Having traveled to Walt Disney World ten times, I can say that we have used Disney’s Magical Express for each of our trips, many times without incident.  It seems that when we cruise and then go to the resorts, there is a glitch in the system.

The first time we experienced the glitch was July 2011 when we took Disney Cruise Line transfers from Orlando International to Port Canaveral and from Port Canaveral to our Walt Disney World Resort and had reserved Disney’s Magical Express for our return ride to the airport.  Turns out that Magical Express didn’t have us on the “list” and we had to make some phone calls the last evening of our stay.

Having experienced this situation once already, I was determined to make sure it didn’t happen on our most recent trip.  So, when checking in for our Disney Cruise Line transfers at Orlando International Airport, which shares the counter with Disney’s Magical Express, I brought out my Magical Express documents, explained what happened last time, and asked if they needed to do anything to make sure we would receive “tickets” for the return trip back to the airport.  I was told to inform my resort when we check in.  Okay.

Fast forward to our check-in day at Coronado Springs after our cruise and once again, I’m telling the story and asking that we are for sure going to have a ride back to the airport.  Carmen was very helpful and phoned Disney’s Magical Express service while I waited to make sure everything was all right.  Our travel agent had included Magical Express reservations, so all was done well on that end.  Carmen assured me we were okay and would receive the “tickets” on our resort door the day prior to leaving.

When we returned to our resort after a long day of park touring, no Magical Express tickets were to be found.  Three phone calls later and a trip to the front desk by the husband we were set to go.  Not a very magical way to spend the last evening of our trip.  I emailed Walt Disney World guest services about this issue and have yet to hear back.  One time, I can understand, but for the same thing to happen twice, even after I took all those steps to make sure it didn’t happen tells me there is a glitch in the system.  And, we want it worked out before our next cruise and Walt Disney World stay.   

The funny thing is that each time we travel during the winter I tell myself we won’t do it again; the risks and inconveniences are too much.  And, yet, two to three years later, we find ourselves once again packing up and making travel plans over the holidays; each time attempting to plan and prepare better for a smoother journey.  The lessons we have learned from our “war” stories help us and give some perspective knowing that it could be worse and we have what we need to handle situations.  Keeping safe is the main thing.

Safe winter travels to you and yours!