Penny's First Trip to Disney World - PreTrip Report

At 50 days out it is about that time to start a PreTrip report! I've been meaning to do it since we made our FastPass+ reservations but made a promise to myself that I would catch up on everyone else's trip reports first

THE CHARACTERS

First up is myself and my husband Jon who you may have "met" in our previous trip reports. We are both huge Disney fanatics and LOVE food, characters, and rides so Disney World is pretty much heaven on earth for us.

We will also be dragging my in-laws along on this trip. Karen and Jimm (MIL & FIL) as well as Tom (BIL) will be joining us this time. They have all been to Disney World once before when Jon and Tom were teenagers, but they didn't go on ANY rides because they aren't big ride fans to begin with and they didn't realize how many tame rides there are to experience. Hopefully this will be a much different trip for them this time around! All of Jon's family are super picky eaters too so, while our dining has been tamed down a bit, I'm also hoping to expand their horizons somewhat.

Most importantly however, the lead character this trip is my two year old daughter Penny who we will be taking on her first ever trip to Disney World!!!!! I cannot express how thrilled I am and I tear up pretty much every time I think about it. She LOVES all things Disney Princess, especially Ariel, Rapunzel, Anna & Elsa, and Tiana. She's also a Disney Jr fan and has a big soft spot for Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Sophia, Jake, and Doc McStuffins. I have no idea how she will react to the rides or meeting characters (she's normally pretty shy around people she doesn't know), so this trip will totally have to be a "go with the flow", wing it trip. Which is TOTALLY not my style. We're going in with a plan but know that Penny will be dictating most of the trip.

THE SCENE

We'll be on property from December 4th - December 11th. We'll be staying at our first DVC resort and first Deluxe this trip with 6 nights in a 2-bedroom suite at Saratoga Springs. I have a request set up to be sent in a few days prior to our arrival requesting Congress Park with a Disney Springs view but we shall see. Our arrival night our flight lands after 7pm so we will just be staying at All Star Sports. So far I have not done online check-in as we've never found this super beneficial in the past, but who knows I might change my mind last second

We do have Memory Maker for the first time this trip since we'll be a slightly larger group then I'm used to and it will be Penny's first trip. Big priorities include character meet and greets, food, and getting Jon's family on some rides that they'll be able to handle! This is our first ever trip during the holiday season and Karen is a huge Christmas nut so we will be focusing on hitting up a lot of the Christmas festivities, as well.

THE ITINERARY

Friday, December 4th - This was an added day for us since December 5th was supposed to be our arrival day. I knew I wanted to hit the parks on the 5th though, so rather then going for a super early flight that would wear us all out and potentially get Penny super crabby, I opted instead to arrive the night before and stay at All-Star Sports. Our flight lands at 7:40pm so we'll be grabbing our luggage and heading straight to the resort via Magical Express. I've heard that if you let ME take your luggage in the evening, they will just hold it at the front desk for you instead of trying to deliver to your room late at night. Can anyone confirm that? If that's the case we will probably tag all of our luggage to get taken except Penny's pack & play and one suitcase with the stuff we'll need that night/the next morning. That way everything will just be at the front desk for us the next morning when we need to transfer hotels. Jon and Tom and I might go out at some point this night depending on when we get in and how we're feeling....maybe Trader Sams?

Saturday, December 5th - We'll probably sleep in a bit this morning, maybe hit up the food court for breakfast, and then check out at our own pace. Luggage will get transferred to Saratoga Springs and we will be headed to Epcot (see, now I'm rethinking the online check in thing again so that we don't need to worry about getting to the check in desk at some point during the day....) I'm thinking maybe the Three Caballeros boat ride as Penny's first ride just because it is super tame and easy and I'm worried about scaring her off. Fastpass reservations for this day include Seas with Nemo and Friends, Turtle Talk with Crush, and Soarin' (during Penny's nap time that she will take in her stroller). Lunch will probably be at either the Mexico, UK, or American counter service depending on what I can talk everyone into. Dinner reservations that night are at Turf Club at Saratoga and then Jon, Tom, and I will be heading out to the DISUnplugged special event at Diagon Alley! Jon and I have been to Hogsmeade and Tom has never been to WWOHP at all and we're all Harry Potter geeks so I'm super excited! Short ride lines and alll you can drink butterbeer? Yes please!

Sunday, December 6th - Magic Kingdom day! We'll be getting up when Penny decides it is time to get up and then will be heading to the Magic Kingdom. I'm hoping to get Penny's first haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop first thing this morning, but when I called today to make a reservation they were booked up so we'll just have to attempt a walk-up. Fastpass reservations today are for Cinderella & Rapunzel Meet & Greet, Ariel Meet & Greet, and Peter Pan's Flight. I'm expecting lunch to be at either Cosmic Rays or Pecos Bill (dying to try their new menu!) and dinner reservations are at 6:30 at Tony's Town Square. It is a MVMCP night which we do not have tickets for so I'm hoping that we'll have a slooooow meal and will be able to catch some of the snow on Main Street on our way out. We'll probably head to DHS after dinner to check out Osbourne Lights and then Grandma and Grandpa will take Penny back to the hotel while Jon, Tom, and I stay for some EMH.

Monday, December 7th - Again, Penny will be dictating the schedule so when she says it is time to get up, we will head to Animal Kingdom. We're planning on starting out with exploring the trails and taking the Wildlife Train back to Rafiki's Planet Watch before the 10:45am Flights of Wonder show and then our Fastpass for the 11:45 FOLK. Lunch will probably be at Flame Tree (though it is painful to not be eating at Yak & Yeti table service) and then we have a Kilimanjaro and Finding Nemo Fastpass. I'm hoping Penny will nap through Nemo and maybe some after (while Daddy and Mommy ride EE and Dinosaur) and then we'll head out. If we have time, we might stop by Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the Christmas decorations before going to Epcot for our 6:30pm Akershus reservation. After dinner we'll either explore the World Showcase or explore the Epcot area resorts to see their decor. This night or the next night MIGHT have to be a Disney Springs night for Jon, Tom, and I.

Tuesday, December 8th - I'm hoping to get out the door early today to make it in time for our Disney Jr live Fastpass first thing in the morning. With all of the shows we need to hit in DHS, this is probably our most scheduled out day so I'm once again that Penny is in a cooperative and patient mood! After Disney Jr we'll hit the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show and the Sophia and Jake meet & greet before our TSMM Fastpasses. Not sure I'll be able to convince Karen and Jimm to do this one. We'll hopefully then make it to the 12pm Beauty & the Beast show before lunch. I really want to try the new menu at Studio Catering but if the in-laws can't find anything that appeals to them there we might be meeting up at Pizza Planet. After lunch and before her nap, we HAVE to find time for the Mike & Sulley meet and greet because I will have Penny disneybounding as Boo this day. We'll hit up Muppetvision next (if Penny's ready for naptime I'll stay out with her but I'm hoping she'll make it because she adores Kermit) and then Jon and his family will do Indiana Jones and Lights Motors Action while I supervise naptime in the stroller ( ). When Penny wakes up we'll let her play for a bit on the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playset, maybe squeeze in the Great Movie Ride, and then our Fastpass for the Frozen Singalong should be open. Penny should DIE over this attraction so I'm excited for that. Dinner is at 50's Prime Time and then we'll be keeping Penny up a bit past her bedtime for Fantasmic as I think she'll really like that show.

Wednesday, December 9th - Another bright and early morning to get to the Beach Club in time for our Minnie, Donald, and Goofy breakfast at Cape May at 9:15am. Today is another Epcot day with Fastpasses for Imagination, Spaceship Earth, and Test Track (during Penny's nap). We have a late lunch/early dinner at Coral Reef scheduled at 3:45pm for the Candlelight Processional package. They haven't announced who the celebrity narrator is yet for this night so I'm crossing my fingers for someone good, otherwise we'll have to rework our plans a bit to hit up Whoopie Goldberg on one of our first couple of nights instead. Hopefully Illuminations will be in the cards for us tonight, as well, but I might cut out with Penny before that depending on how she's holding up.

Thursday, December 10th - Our last day at the parks so it pretty much has to be at Magic Kingdom, right? Fastpass reservations today include Winnie the Pooh (another favorite of Penny's), Anna & Elsa Meet & Greet, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We have BOG lunch reservations (which Jon and I LOVED on our last trip so I'm hoping it holds up) and Ohana dinner reservations at 6:45pm. We also have a potential WDWFG meet up this night at the Top of the World lounge to catch the Holiday Wishes fireworks.

Friday, December 11th - Departure day Hopefully we'll be sleeping in and then going over to Disney Springs after checkout. No real concrete plans other then we must do Wolfgang Puck Express for lunch. I've been wanting to try this place FOREVER and it was the one request that Jimm made based on a recommendation from a co-worker so this is a must. Our flight leaves at 7:20pm so we'll probably need to leave Disney Springs by around 2:30 to make the Tragical Express.

And yes, I might be crazy trying to pack so much in. With a two year old. But it's just my nature. Hopefully I'm able to Let It Go (I know, I'm sorry. Terrible, overused pun) once I'm down there and not get too stressed about sticking to the plan because I just know that it will get turned upside down. Hoping this will be a super magical vacation for everyone involved, though! Wish me luck!