After spending a week at Disney last week (the week before? Winter break is a blur!) you all had A LOT of questions for me on Instagram. So today I am rounding up ALL the details including where we stayed, what we ate, what worked, what didn't, etc.
If you've been following along for a while you know that we usually go to Disney every Thanksgiving. For 2019 that wasn't going to work so when I saw an advertisement for the Ultimate Disney Christmas Package in late July our family knew that the timing would be perfect and we booked it!
I'm not sure how many years Disney has offered this package but I know from reading some comments on FB that 2019 wasn't the first year. The package had set dates (December 21-26) and included A LOT for the money... here is what it included:
Ultimate Disney Christmas Package 2019
- 5 nights lodging at select Walt Disney World Resorts (we chose Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom and ended up adding one night to stay 6 nights)- 4 days of Park Hopper tickets for everyone in the family
- 4 tickets to Mickey's Very Merry party
- VIP access to afterhours at Animal Kingdom from 9pm-12am on 12/21 with access to four rides: Pandora, Na'vi River, DINOSAUR and Everest.
- Epcot reserved seating for the fireworks show on 12/24 with mini dessert party.
- $200 dining credit to be used in Epcot
- Christmas gift delivered to our room on Christmas (it was snacks, hot cocoa, mugs to take home and a Disney blanket - very cute!)
We LOVED this package! We felt like we got so much for our money and on top of taking advantage of Extra Magic Hours because we were staying onsite we were able to ride a lot of rides without waiting. For instance, during normal park hours the wait for the Pandora ride was usually 2-3 hours. We rode it twice with no wait during the VIP after-hours event at Animal Kingdom. And waits are always low at the Very Merry party too - so we took full advantage of that.
I just LOVE Disney at Christmas and honestly we really haven't been there outside of Christmas except twice. So Disney and Christmas are synonymous with one another for our family. Like I mentioned, we've been going to Disney at Thanksgiving for years and it's been getting busier and busier there. The week before Christmas and after Christmas are the two busiest weeks of the year at Disney from what I have read. But we found that with this package and some smart touring plans, the week before Disney was busy but very, very manageable. We would DEFINITELY do this package again. It was a little strange not being home for Christmas - everyone in our family agreed - but we still had so much fun!
You all had lots of questions... so let's get to those!
Q. Do you book through an agent? How do you plan meals and itinerary?
A. So we booked this package directly through Disney by calling them. Which was super easy and the cast members are all so friendly and answer all your questions! I know there are lots of good Disney-specific agents too! Many stay at home moms do this as a job - so check out that option too. Once we knew we were doing this package I took pencil to paper (literally) and mapped out our trip with the set dates/times above and then filled in the rest keeping in mind when Extra Magic Hours are - you don't want to miss those if you are staying onsite - and went from there. You can book dining reservations 180 days out and Fast Pass reservations 60 days out if you are staying on site or 30 days out if you are staying off site. We don't like to book a lot of dining at what Disney calls "table service" or sit-down restaurants because there is no flexibility with those. But we did book a few. No flexibility meaning once you book them, it's hard to change them because they get booked up and there are also strict 24 hour cancellation policies.
Q. Walt Disney World on Christmas Day? Anything special there for the day?
A. So I don't recommend WDW on Christmas Day, we stayed home that day and for good reason. The parks were PACKED. But the WEEK of Christmas there is TONS to see and enjoy in the holiday spirit. The Very Merry Mickey Party is usually where all the holiday parades, fireworks and ride overlays live for the holiday season, but after the LAST VMMP (which was on 12/22) all the special extras from the VMMP can be experienced in Magic Kingdom everyday until 12/29 (I believe). So you get all the parades, Christmasy ride overlays on select rides and fireworks. And all the Christmas decor goes up before Thanksgiving and stays up past New Year so there is A LOT of Christmas spirit in the parks!
Q. What did you wear each day and what shoes for walking all day?
A. I wore a combination of leggings, t-shirt or tank top, sweatshirt and denim jacket all week. Lots of layers because mornings and evenings can be really cool this time of year and afternoons can be warm. Also, keep in mind that you will be outside pretty much all day. 65 and sunny means something different if I am in and out of my house or my car all day versus outside walking around a park. It can get cooler than you think! Then I packed these sneakers, these sneakers and my Birkenstocks and rotated through those for the week. We walked an average of 8 miles a day. While those shoes are very comfortable, my feet STILL killed at the end of the day!
Q. Have you ever stayed off property and would you recommend?
A. So this was actually our first time staying ON property. We usually always stay off property and do 2-3 days of the parks with breaks in between. Which is a GREAT way to do the parks! Staying on property has perks like the ease of using your Magic Bands everywhere, Extra Magic Hours and free transportation but staying off is nice too. For the future I think we will continue to do a combination of both. We didn't rent a car this time and instead planned on using Disney's bus and other free transportation systems but they were SO SLOW and unreliable. Likely due to the Christmas rush, but I think that's just kind of how FREE transportation goes in general. We ended up spending more than we planned on Ubers and Minnie Vans, but it got us where we wanted to go QUICK.
Q. Best daily routine with teens/tweens?
A. It just depends on what your kids want to do and what the family wants to do. We did a few really early mornings (the parks are quite slow then!) and took naps in the afternoon and then went back for late nights. A few days we went morning to night too... it's SO much easier being there with older kids. There were zero meltdowns or frustrations over being tired. My tip is not to over schedule yourself. Leave time for breaks and down time, because a tired and worn out vacation isn't fun!
Q. Tips to deal with the chaos and crowds!?
A. I read A LOT of articles and blogs about crowds at Disney. There is TONS out there to read and research about best and worst times to go. In general depend on early mornings as much as you can - that is when all the parks are the least busy. Then make a plan and stick to it. We made Fast Pass plans, depended on Extra Magic hours and the events that were included in our package for getting in the rides we wanted. After that everything was a bonus - so we didn't feel like we HAD TO do a million things. Also, just plan on it being super busy. I had hyped myself up that it was going to be incredibly busy and then when there were pockets of calm I was pleasantly surprised.
Q. How did you get into Star Wars? I've heard it's nearly impossible.
A. So here is the deal! First, Galaxy's Edge (as Star Wars land is officially referred to) is open to everyone. It was busy but not too bad and it was really fun to see. I highly recommend it. Smugglers Run is also available with standby wait times (no Fast Passes are available) and we waited about 90 minutes for that. Which was long, but fun... in the end you are INSIDE the Millennium Falcon - so it's worth it! The best ride in Galaxy's Edge by far is Rise of the Resistance. For this ride you will have to join a virtual queue called a "boarding group" to be admitted. Here's the exact steps we took to get boarding group 17 for Rise of the Resistance - which is a GREAT boarding group! First make sure you have the My Disney Experience App on your phone (which you should be using your whole trip anyway, it's amazing!). Then make sure all of the people in your party are linked in that app. (You can tell they are linked if they populate when you go to make FP or dining reservations.) Next you will want to get to the park 1 hour before it opens. At that time make sure you turn OFF park wifi and quit your My Disney Experience App so when you open it again, it's fresh. They will open the gates 30 minutes before the park opens. Everyone in your group has to enter the gates, you can't send one person in to reserve for others. You ALL have to check in with your ticket or Magic Band at the gate to be eligible to join a boarding group. From what I have heard you also ALL need to be through the gates for at least 15 minutes before you will be able to join a boarding group - thus the getting there 1 hour early. There were HUGE lines at the gate, but it was worth it. At park opening (for us it was 7am, we had been there since 6am and through the gates at about 6:35am) they will make an announcement about boarding groups on the loud speaker. For us this announcement came at about 7:01am - longest minute ever! Then I opened my app - clicked "join boarding group" and voila! We were some of the first to enter the ride that day! You can check back on the app to see what boarding group they are currently boarding, or the app will send you a notification at the time your boarding group is called. If you have trouble, or you are nervous about the process - find a cast member with an iPad (there are tons around - but it has to be one holding an iPad) and stand near him or her. They can manually scan you in for boarding groups if you are having trouble. But they won't just scan in for you - you have to be experiencing problems. I will say that our whole process here was really easy on our first try. My husband and son went back later in the week and the My Disney Experience app was experiencing problems, the cast members were completely bogged down and they didn't get in until boarding group 65. So it's not always perfect but my husband and son still got in!
Q. Did you bother with a dining plan? Where did you eat? Did you make reservations?
A. We didn't do a dining plan - we were torn on it, but we packed lots of snacks and always ate breakfast and a few lunches at our room so we didn't think we would use the dining plan to it's fullest. And in the end, (I haven't done the exact math) I am pretty sure we made the right choice. If there is any sit down meals you will want to do you will definitely want to make those in advance. Those reservations go really quickly! Other wise we ate a lot of snacks (RX bars, nuts, dried fruit, beef jerky, etc) while waiting in lines. Also, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can order groceries and have them delivered for FREE to your Disney hotel from the local Whole Foods. We packed snacks but when we arrived we ordered fruit, milk, cereal, eggs, sandwich fixings, a case of bottled water and some other mainstays to have on hand. It was so easy!
These are the table service or sit-down meals we enjoyed this trip and in the past at Disney World:
- The Boat House (Disney Springs)
- Morimoto (Disney Springs)
- Jaleo (Disney Springs)
- Sana (Animal Kingdom, Kidani village)
- Chefs de France (Epcot)
- Jungle Navigation Co (Magic Kingdom)
- Tiffins (Animal Kingdom Park)
These are the counter service or "fast food" stops we enjoyed on this trip and in the past at Disney World:
- D-Lux Burgers (Disney Springs)
- Oga's Cantina (Hollywood Studios - this is just snacks, but a reservation is highly suggested)
- La Cantina de San Angel (Epcot - Mexico)
- Choza de Margarita (Epcot - Mexico)
- Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie (Epcot - France)
- Golden Oaks Outpost (Magic Kingdom)
Q. What should you bring along into the parks?
A. If rain is even slightly forecasted, bring ponchos! We bought some from Amazon and forget them one night and ended up having to buy them in the park (note: ponchos are available for purchase in all the gift shops but they keep them behind the counter - so you usually have to ask for them!). We used ponchos pretty much everyday! Also, bring healthy snacks! I love to grab an ice cream, popcorn or pretzel while in the parks but it's hard to find healthy snacks. We always bring RX bars, dried fruit, nuts, beef jerky and feel free to bring treats too! Some fruit snacks or candy from home is way cheaper than buying treats in the park. And always as much water as you can pack. We usually packed 3-4 bottles a day. It's heavy in the morning, but gets lighter as you drink them ;)
Q. Where did you stay on property?
A. We stayed at Kidani village at Animal Kingdom. We LOVED this resort. It's a little far from the parks which is kind of a pain, but the trade off was that it was SUPER quiet. The rooms were quiet, the lobby was quiet. It was just so peaceful. Plus, we were surrounded by nature and animals on the savanna. Even the pool felt like a million miles away. Some Disney hotels and resorts are really busy, the lobbies and pools are packed and surrounded by buildings and hustle and bustle. Kidani was not that. We loved it. We got a one bedroom villa that included a very large master suite, full kitchen, a fold away sofa and a fold away chair (so both kids got their own bed - they said the fold aways were very comfortable), an extra full bathroom (for the kids), a large balcony and washer and dryer. It was an IDEAL set up!
Q. Since your kids are teenagers now do they enjoy Disney at that age?
A. We get this question a lot - they love it! As soon as the plane landed one was sad they missed it so much and one was asking when we are going back! I mean, I love it too... but even I don't have that kind of turnaround capability. They love Disney. I think sometimes Disney gets thought of as a place for toddlers or little girls that like princesses. And it is - but it's truly fun for ALL AGES. And traveling to Disney with young kids is DIFFICULT. Traveling with teens to Disney is ideal. It's fun and exciting, there are no toddler melt downs, we are very nimble with no strollers and the kids can stand long days on their feet and don't mind all the walking. Plus there are A LOT of rides for big kids at Disney. Everest, Space Mountain, Mission Space, Pandora and Rockin' Rollercoaster are so fast and puke-worthy for me even. My kids love them and little kids could ride some of those (not all) but wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much as my thrill seeking 15 year old. We have found that we enjoy Disney as a family more and more each year!
