All these people!! All these attitudes!! December 2017 Pre-Trip Report *Final Update 12/12*

Some Minor tweaks and updates



As our FP+ date creeps closer (I wish it would get here already):hourglass, I’ve been reading different threads on big groups and food and transportation threads. There was a poster that said she provided daily information sheets to her group. I think that’s a good idea, and will probably do something similar. On our previous family trips to Disney and Universal we did a daily itinerary sheet. During those trips we were all staying in the same room so it was helpful to know what the plan was for the day. On this trip, we’re all in different rooms, so a more detailed sheet would be awesome. The key is going to be putting enough information for them to be informed but not too much information that they don’t read it. So, if that poster is reading here (of course I can’t find the post right now), just want to say thanks.:thanks:




We came up with some FPs for Thursday 12/21. Actually, DSis did. I didn’t really have any strong opinions on FPs lol. Her suggestions are PP Flight, Splash, and Jungle Cruise. I suggested HM, because I enjoy it, and her argument is that PP Flight always has a long wait. Which is true.




We haven’t decided what to do with the little kids FPs yet. It’s looking more and more like C, DSis and I are going to have to have a pow wow to hammer this out. It also has become apparent that we need to have a discussion with our parents regarding the dining plan. They seem to be confused about credits and how they work with the restaurants we have ADRs for. Honestly, I think the daily itinerary sheet will be most helpful to them. LOL. Maybe we can make one for them that’s really, really detailed. :rolleyes1:rolleyes1:rolleyes1
 
Another minor update



I’m posting 2 updates tonight because, well…...life and a cold lol.:headache::headache: C, Dsis and I had a pow wow about FPs last weekend. We decided not to get the kids FPs for the rides they couldn’t ride, and switched some out. We decided to do the Seas with Nemo and Friends instead of Mission Space. C had some concerns about her daughter being scared. Since the standby line is normally relatively short, we’ll probably do that standby. C also decided to swap out some FPs for her and her daughter. We got the FPs hammered out and have been watching wait times religiously the last week or so. We’ve been reading the December FP thread and it’s freaking us out a bit. :faint::faint: We’ve worked out a tentative plan to reserve the FPs. I emailed it out to them this afternoon and we’ll see how it goes on Monday morning. Wish us luck!!!pixiedust:pixiedust:pixiedust: We’re gonna need a good breakfast after this lol. ::yes::::yes:::duck::duck:
 
Another minor update



I’m posting 2 updates tonight because, well…...life and a cold lol.:headache::headache: C, Dsis and I had a pow wow about FPs last weekend. We decided not to get the kids FPs for the rides they couldn’t ride, and switched some out. We decided to do the Seas with Nemo and Friends instead of Mission Space. C had some concerns about her daughter being scared. Since the standby line is normally relatively short, we’ll probably do that standby. C also decided to swap out some FPs for her and her daughter. We got the FPs hammered out and have been watching wait times religiously the last week or so. We’ve been reading the December FP thread and it’s freaking us out a bit. :faint::faint: We’ve worked out a tentative plan to reserve the FPs. I emailed it out to them this afternoon and we’ll see how it goes on Monday morning. Wish us luck!!!pixiedust:pixiedust:pixiedust: We’re gonna need a good breakfast after this lol. ::yes::::yes:::duck::duck:

Love all of your planning. We are going with an infant for the first time and I wasn't aware when I did my fastpasses this past Monday that they use of child swaps allows for more fastpasses. I went in and changed our Space Mountain and any other roller coaster type rides to less people and we will us child swap for those. This allowed us to get a couple more fastpasses for those coaster style rides. this will allow us to do more and not wait. Maybe it could work for you guys so everyone can ride the coasters and stuff the kids don't want too.
 
Love all of your planning. We are going with an infant for the first time and I wasn't aware when I did my fastpasses this past Monday that they use of child swaps allows for more fastpasses. I went in and changed our Space Mountain and any other roller coaster type rides to less people and we will us child swap for those. This allowed us to get a couple more fastpasses for those coaster style rides. this will allow us to do more and not wait. Maybe it could work for you guys so everyone can ride the coasters and stuff the kids don't want too.

We plan to use Rider Swap, the issue is that the little kids (3 & 4) are tall enough for some of the rides. We have been looking around and wouldn't find a definitive answer to whether kids that are tall enough but not riding are allowed in the FP line. We ended up getting FPs for the little kids just in case.
 


FastPasses!!!!:cloud9::cloud9:


Today was the day! After lots of stressing and having plans A, B, and C for the headliners, today was the day we booked our Fastpasses. We all were awake, coffee in hand, including C, and ready at 6 am CST. C and I have redeemed ourselves:rotfl2:. All the thread stalking and FP+ availability stalking paid off.:worship::worship: We were able to get everything we wanted, pretty much at the time we wanted. :banana::banana::banana:There is only 1 that is a bit later than we wanted, and even then, its only late by an hour or so, still very do-able. We decided to get Fastpasses for everyone (party of 11). Dsis was afraid that if we didn’t get Fastpasses for the little kids (not the babies), and they were tall enough for the ride, that they wouldn’t let them in the ride. However, we plan to use Rider Swap for several rides. Anywho, on to the important stuff. Here’s how we made out:



Saturday 12/16: Epcot


Test Track 11:10am



Spaceship Earth 12:30pm



The Seas 1:35pm



Sunday 12/17: AK


NRJ 10:00am



Safaris 12:15pm



EE 1:15pm (using Rider Swap)





Monday 12/18: DHS



TSMM 9:20am



ToT 10:55am (possible Rider Swap)



ST: 2:35pm



Mupp3D: 12:35pm (Only C and her daughter. They don’t plan to ride ST)





Tuesday 12/19: MK


BTMRR 9:25am



7DMT 10:30am



SM 2:00pm (using Rider Swap)





Wednesday 12/20: AK


KS 9:30am



FOP 10:30am (using Rider Swap)



DinoSAUR 11:40am (using Rider Swap)





Thursday 12/21: MK


Splash 10:15am



JC 11:55am



PP 1:15pm



ETWB 10:00am (Only C and her daughter. They don’t plan to ride Splash)
Now that we have Fastpasses out of the way, we can finalize our daily plans. We’re officially 60 days out!!! :dancer::dancer:party:
 
We plan to use Rider Swap, the issue is that the little kids (3 & 4) are tall enough for some of the rides. We have been looking around and wouldn't find a definitive answer to whether kids that are tall enough but not riding are allowed in the FP line. We ended up getting FPs for the little kids just in case.

From what I have heard of others experiences is that if they don't want to ride you just let the cast member know and they can bail out. I personally wouldn't waste there fast passes on something they wouldn't enjoy. From asking questions on this thread we determined that we could get fast passes for a few adults on one ride and then the other adults on another ride and do child swap for both. That way everyone gets to enjoy and it gave us additional fast passes to do. For example on our MK day we were able to get 7DMT for 2 and Big Thunder for 3 around the same time. 2 of us will do the 7DMT and then the other 3 will do it when we stay with the baby. Then we got Space Mountain for 3 and Dumbo for 2 so that someone can take the baby on Dumbo and then come pack to ride Space Mountain. So some days we ended up with extra FP which will help a lot with the baby and not having him get fussy waiting for long periods of time.
 
We’re going around the same time (Dec 18-22)! We got ‘Ohana too, but had to split our party of 4 to a party of 2 to get the ADR though. I was going to wait until we get there to ask them to push the tables together, but I saw you were going to call ahead to the restaurant to tell them. Have you already done so or are you going to wait until December?
 


From what I have heard of others experiences is that if they don't want to ride you just let the cast member know and they can bail out. I personally wouldn't waste there fast passes on something they wouldn't enjoy. From asking questions on this thread we determined that we could get fast passes for a few adults on one ride and then the other adults on another ride and do child swap for both. That way everyone gets to enjoy and it gave us additional fast passes to do. For example on our MK day we were able to get 7DMT for 2 and Big Thunder for 3 around the same time. 2 of us will do the 7DMT and then the other 3 will do it when we stay with the baby. Then we got Space Mountain for 3 and Dumbo for 2 so that someone can take the baby on Dumbo and then come pack to ride Space Mountain. So some days we ended up with extra FP which will help a lot with the baby and not having him get fussy waiting for long periods of time.

We read up on staggering the FPs, and it didn't seem to be a clear rule that child swap can be used if the child is tall enough. If they do, great, but we didn't want to bank on that since all of the adults want to ride. The good thing is that there are only a few rides the little kids (3yo & 4yo) won't ride. Plus, with all these folks, that would have added another layer of confusion. :o
 
We’re going around the same time (Dec 18-22)! We got ‘Ohana too, but had to split our party of 4 to a party of 2 to get the ADR though. I was going to wait until we get there to ask them to push the tables together, but I saw you were going to call ahead to the restaurant to tell them. Have you already done so or are you going to wait until December?

I'm planning to call each restaurant ahead to let them know that the parties are together. Most likely, I'll wait until the week before we go.
 
There was a poster that said she provided daily information sheets to her group
I think that's a great idea with a large group. Much better than having to go over the next days' plan the night before with everyone-and then again the next morning :rolleyes:

Her suggestions are PP Flight, Splash, and Jungle Cruise.
Good suggestions and I'm glad you got them! For your dates getting JC is a good idea. It'll be "Jingle Cruise" and lines tend to be a bit longer.

it didn't seem to be a clear rule that child swap can be used if the child is tall enough.
Exactly. Technically, even though the website says you can get rider swap if someone doesn't WANT to ride, it's actually up to the discretion of each CM. As you probably rad there are multiple reports of people not getting rider swap passes when their kids are tall enough but simply don't want to ride.
 
More Minor Tweaking and buying stuff for the trip….


Over the last couple of weeks, Dsis has been working to snag an earlier time for our Star Tours FP. She was able to move it to 12:05pm. Whoop Whoop! :cool1::cool1: She was worried that it would be a long day as we have an early Homecomin’ ADR (4:30pm) and are planning to RD DHS. We are also toying with the idea of going to MK in the evening on the 18th and going to AK on the evening of the 21st. But AK closes at 8:00 pm currently, so it wouldn’t be a super long day if everyone decides to head to AK after Homecomin’. We’re hoping that the extend the hours for MK and AK the week that we’re there (fingers crossed).:teeth::teeth:



Our group has begun to purchase things for the trip. I’m buying 5 different custom shirts and making Mickey/Minnie headbands for the trip. The other families are getting custom shirts too and a likely doing a family matching theme or shirt. Dsis is making ears also, and making them light up. She’s also making the kids autograph books and that has evolved into gift bags for the kids. We purchased Memory Maker so that’s another thing checked off the list. I’ve started making a list of snacks I want to try and souvenirs I plan to get. First on the list is the Starbucks You are Here mug from MK and AK. :goodvibes:goodvibes



We have signed up from DME and some of us have started online checkin. We’re planning to have one last meeting before we go in early December. We’re getting super excited!!!!!:yay::yay::yay:


47 Days to go!!!party:
 
I think that's a great idea with a large group. Much better than having to go over the next days' plan the night before with everyone-and then again the next morning :rolleyes:

Very true!!! C and I said we were having night caps involving wine lol.

Good suggestions and I'm glad you got them! For your dates getting JC is a good idea. It'll be "Jingle Cruise" and lines tend to be a bit longer.

I know!! We're super excited!!!

Exactly. Technically, even though the website says you can get rider swap if someone doesn't WANT to ride, it's actually up to the discretion of each CM. As you probably rad there are multiple reports of people not getting rider swap passes when their kids are tall enough but simply don't want to ride.

::yes::::yes::
 
We finally made it to 30 days!!:worship::worship: It feels like it has been such a long road. So much planning!!!

A couple of weeks ago I decided to share a room with my parents since I found out my DBF wouldn’t be able to make it. I called Disney to ask about it and they told me that my parents would lose their FPs when I cancelled the reservation. Of course, we panicked. I was only adding them to my room and then cancelling their reservation. I came up with the idea to add them to my room, wait a couple days, try to add the FPs back if necessary, and then cancel their reservation. So that’s what I did. They never lost their FPs. Disney IT explained it like this: The system checks to see if an MDE account with FPs is attached to a ticket every night at midnight. If there are no tickets in the system at midnight, it cancels the FPs associated with the account. Because my parents had tickets each night at midnight, they never lost anything. Talk about relieved. :woohoo::woohoo:

Now we just have last minute stuff to do like make room requests, buy Magic Band embellishments, finish up our daily sheets, etc. Magic Kingdom extended the hours for non-party days the week we’re there, so that’s a win.:teeth::teeth: Now we’re just hoping to get another hour or so at AK. Everyone received their luggage tags this week and are just waiting for our Magic Bands. We planned to have a final meeting to go over everything one last time, but it isn’t looking like our schedules will allow for a physical meeting. Maybe we’ll do a conference call instead.:idea::idea:



30 days!!!!!:yay::yay::yay::yay::tiptoe::tiptoe::tiptoe:
 
So much planning goes into a Disney trip even for 2 people not to mention a large group. My DH and I will be there in 2 weeks! I'll look for your TR so I can read about how everything turned out :thumbsup2
 
Just wanted to check in for a final update. We leave in 3 days!!!:jumping1: :jumping1:We’ve called and faxed our room requests, which were Martinique, first floor, and a murphy bed for one of the reservations.:cool2::cool2: We’ve gotten our custom gear and have started packing. Our daily planning sheets are done, and we’re just about ready to get this party started. We aren't gonna be able to have our final meeting so we all just met up and exchanged stuff for the kiddos. Fingers crossed that this will be a great trip and all goes relatively smooth. :cool1::cool1: I plan to take lots of pics, including food pics. I hope to come back and do a trip report, and we'll just how to see how my note taking and recollection goes. I’ve shared some pics below of our shirts and ears. Excuse the quality of some if the pics, I didn't crop most of them. LOL :goodvibes:goodvibes:goodvibes:goodvibes



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Good luck! We leave for WDW tomorow! Maybe we'll cross paths...:) I'll look out for your custom shirts, which are all awesome by the way! Looks like you have the planning down pat. I wish you all the best on your large family trip!
 

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