Seeing as it's a month to Mousefest, we thought we'd go ahead & start a pre-trip report. We covered most of this info in episode 8 of The Disney, Indiana Podcast, but I wanted to share it here as well.
This will be our 4th visit to WDW at Christmastime and our third Mousefest, so we know pretty much what to expect; however, this will be our first experience with the Disney Dining Plan (thanks to the Disney Visa offer - w00t!) - so any comments or suggestions are appreciated.
We'll be heading to Indianapolis the evening of Wed 12/10 (after getting the dogs to Tracey's parents earlier in the week) & staying the night at the LaQuinta Inn on Southern Ave - they have a Stay, Park & Fly program with a 24-hr shuttle & yummy breakfast starting at 4:30 am - which we'll need, as our flight is at 7:20 (so far) the next morning. We'll probably have dinner with a Disney pal who's on the same flight.
Flying out on AirTran # 418 - nonstop to Orlando! Barring weather issues (::fingers crossed::) we'll arrive in Florida around 9:30 - pick up our car rental from Alamo and hopefully be on the road close to 10:30. Not sure if we'll make a grocery stop or not - we're supposed to be in a fridge swap that starts 12/12, but the fridge has currently gone missing. We do have a WDW fridge reserved, just in case.
Will check in at Pop Century and probably have to head right over to the Mousefest Kick-Off at the Contemporary. We registered for Mousefest the day signup opened - gotta support the good folks who get this massive event going every year! Will make a beeline to Casey's in the MK afterwards for lunch - our traditional first stop on every WDW trip. According to the unofficial Walt Disney World Entertainment site, there's usually a Ragtime Piano set at 2:20, so we may do some recording for the show. Next stop is the Comedy4Cast Monster Laughs meet, then hopefully over to Columbia Harbor house to say howdy to the PassPorter folks before our 4:35 ADR at Tony's Town Square.
We've got tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party this evening - not sure what meets we'll attend other than the PassPorter Parade Mingle - that was a lot of fun last year! Would like to make it to the end of the night, not sure if we'll make it, since it will have been a VERY long day!
Current plans are to meet with some pals from the Backstage Magic tour we took last April at Crystal Palace for breakfast at 9:20 - so won't be in on the Animal Kingdom Mousefest activities, unfortunately. We may get an attraction or two in before leaving MK for the Studios around noon.
The meets we've got planned for this afternoon include the StudiosCentral Star Tours Meet, Muppets Take Mousefest and Podfest 2008 - squeezing lunch in somewhere between. Back to the room for a rest & possible grocery run, then out to POR to spend the evening with Yehaa Bob Jackson - a FANTASTIC piano sing-along performer! The show starts at 8:30 & will probably last til at least midnight.
We originally signed up for the Picture This! Photowalk meet, but I think we'll need the extra sleep... may try for morning Extra Magic Hours at the Studios for our first trip on Toy Story Midway Mania. Will head over to the Y&BC for the MegaMouseMeet in late morning, and probably grab some lunch during or right after the meet.
We've been invited to participate in Let's Talk About Disney's Eat & Drink Around the World Meet - Tracey's taking a quick detour to check out David Koenig's Epcot Neverlands tour first. Would like to attend the Magic in Pixels' Epcot Night Photo Meet before our ADR at Rose & Crown at 8:40. Hopefully we'll get a good seat for Illuminations. We'll finish up another late night with the All About the Mouse Jellyrolls meet.
Might get to sleep in a bit - tho we will probably have to switch rooms - had to split our ressie to take advantage of the free dining & one of the resv's has us in a preferred room, while the other is standard. We might hit the DPN Goat, Goat Goat! meet, and the RADP Haunted Mansion meet. Tracey still needs to make (or buy) ornament for the PassPorter Ornament Exchange, so that's just a maybe.
We do want to try Kevin Yee's Photo Frenzy Scavenger Hunt, and Inside the Magic is looking at a meet sometime this afternoon as well. We plan on using one of our DDP CS meals for lunch & saving the TS for later in the trip. We definitely want to do the MouseStation Hustle-Tini meet this evening & will probably grab some pizza afterwards, and quite possibly collapse exhausted into bed!
Mousefest will be winding down - so our plans will be a lot more fluid from here on. We may head to AK for the morning Extra Magic Hours or the Studios again for TSMM. We have an ADR at the Sci Fi Dine In at 11a & will probably head to Epcot after that. The MousePlanet folks have talked about a Soarin' or KimPossible World Showcase Adventure meet - another option is the holiday storytellers & other live entertainment.
We may head back to the Studios around 6 for the PassPorter Farewell to Friends meet, then check out the Winter Summerland mini golf RADP meet. I imagine this will be another relatively early night for us - tho we might check out evening Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom (open til 11).
Our day of rest! Well, at least the day we're staying out of the parks. Will sleep in some, heading over to our ADR at 'Ohana at 10:20. Will probably look around the Poly for a bit before going off property for the morning/afternoon. We're considering visiting MouseSurplus and/or the Disney Wilderness Preserve. We hope to get back to WDW around 3 or 4, stopping by Earl of Sandwich for a late lunch, then getting some laundry done before checking out the Monorail resorts this evening.
Can sleep in a bit - no morning Extra Magic Hours today. Will probably start in the Studios, as we have a lunch ADR at 50's Prime Time Cafe. We may go back to the room & rest before going over to AK in time for the Jingle Jungle parade - we'll stay through evening Extra Magic Hours & then make an early night, as the MK has morning Extra Magic Hours the next morning.
Up & at 'em for the MK morning Extra Magic Hours - character breakfast ADR at Chef Mickey's later in the morning. Rest & relax afterwards, heading to the Studios in the afternoon. Will get CS dinner before Fantasmic! (either 6:30 or 8) and possibly head back over to POR for another good time with Yehaa Bob.
Will probably spend most of the day at Epcot - we have a lunchtime ADR at Le Cellier. We plan on trying the KimPossible World Showcase Adventure, seeing whatever storytellers we've missed and check out the other live entertainment & whatever catches our fancy. We've got an early ADR the next morning, so will not stay out late tonight.
Up early for a 8:10 ADR at Donald's Safari Breakfast - will do the headliner rides at least once more before leaving around noon. Rest & relax in the room with lunch at the resort, then back out the MK for the evening - plan on catching Wishes and Spectromagic. Will see if we want to stay out late (MK open til 11) or get up early the next morning instead - based on crowd levels.
Our last day at the parks... not sure if we'll head to Epcot or MK first - we have a lunch ADR at Crystal Palace. We also have a dinner ADR at Coral Reef, as part of the Candlelight Processional Package. The crowds will probably be a bit nuts - so we may spend most of the day just soaking in the Disney Christmas feeling. Will need to make an early night of it, probably - as we have to be at the airport around 8a the next morning.