***1st Week of December Thread ADR Plans, Park Hours, and dealing with Pop Warner***

[Mintycake]

Okay it's time to start planning our FP and touring plans (around ADRs of course!) Who's got the best maps of the park? I've been using Josh's at easy WDW but I noticed he's missing stuff like character meets.

 

[Candycane83]

Okay it's time to start planning our FP and touring plans (around ADRs of course!) Who's got the best maps of the park? I've been using Josh's at easy WDW but I noticed he's missing stuff like character meets.

I use a mix of the one on Disney site itself and Kenny the pirate for characters. This is on a PC though. On my phone I would use easywdw and KTP.

 

[Talby]

Okay it's time to start planning our FP and touring plans (around ADRs of course!) Who's got the best maps of the park? I've been using Josh's at easy WDW but I noticed he's missing stuff like character meets.

What I would really like are actual park maps that I can literally put my hands on. I know there are printable ones, but I just have an interest in having the actual park maps. I wonder if those can be mailed if requested? I'm going to be calling sometime this weekend for a couple of things and I'll ask. I'll report back if anyone is interested.

 

[Iowamomof4]

What I would really like are actual park maps that I can literally put my hands on. I know there are printable ones, but I just have an interest in having the actual park maps. I wonder if those can be mailed if requested? I'm going to be calling sometime this weekend for a couple of things and I'll ask. I'll report back if anyone is interested.

Officially, no, they won't mail park maps anymore. However, I sent an email to guest.services@disneyworld.com and explained how excited we were to come and visit Mickey in a few months and how much it would help my planning if I could possibly have copies of all the park maps plus Disney Springs. I basically gushed a bit and told them to have a magical day and included my name and mailing address in the email and received all the park maps about a week later. I pretty much asked while making it clear that it was a request not a demand, kwim? Also, a key is including your name and mailing address. They won't go look it up just based on your email or something.

 

[Wood Nymph]

My best ever "it's a small world story" is from the summer I hitch-hiked to Alaska when I was 20 (my poor parents!) We were in the small little town of Valdez and I waitressing. I ended up waiting on some of my grandparents' very best friends from their small town called Hartford, MI. It was so bizarre!! I don't think anyone else here is from Michigan?

The odds against that happening have got to be astronomical! We've run into one set of neighbors in the lobby of the Contemporary and another set of neighbors at a hotel pool in Springfield, but your story beats them all.

I was born in Detroit and lived in Dearborn until I was three years old. My dad's side of the family is from that area. We are in the Chicago suburbs now.

sorry to go off topic

 

[TiggerManiac]

Okay it's time to start planning our FP and touring plans (around ADRs of course!) Who's got the best maps of the park? I've been using Josh's at easy WDW but I noticed he's missing stuff like character meets.

Here's another good site for characters and entertainment: http://wdwent.com

 

[Talby]

Officially, no, they won't mail park maps anymore. However, I sent an email to guest.services@disneyworld.com and explained how excited we were to come and visit Mickey in a few months and how much it would help my planning if I could possibly have copies of all the park maps plus Disney Springs. I basically gushed a bit and told them to have a magical day and included my name and mailing address in the email and received all the park maps about a week later. I pretty much asked while making it clear that it was a request not a demand, kwim? Also, a key is including your name and mailing address. They won't go look it up just based on your email or something.

I can gush!! lol Oh excellent, thanks a million for that!! I'll send a gushy and enthusiastic yet humble email and cross my fingers!!

The odds against that happening have got to be astronomical! We've run into one set of neighbors in the lobby of the Contemporary and another set of neighbors at a hotel pool in Springfield, but your story beats them all.

I was born in Detroit and lived in Dearborn until I was three years old. My dad's side of the family is from that area. We are in the Chicago suburbs now.

sorry to go off topic

I adore off topic topics very much! Such a pleasure to learn more about everyone here. I do remember now that you are in the Chicago suburbs because I love Chicago so much. Yes, the odds of that particular run-in are rather astonishing! My grandpa loved to share that story over and over again. Speaking of off topic, "Talby" was my grandpa's nickname in high school and a couple of generations later became my nickname in junior high/high school. (A shortening/alteration of our last name). Another story he liked to tell! lol

 

[Wood Nymph]

I adore off topic topics very much!

We have a lot of time to kill before December.

 

[Minjewmulloy]

Hi all! I have been following the board a little but haven't posted much! I was hoping you guys could look over my plans and let me know what you think i'm missing or should change! We had to change the week we are going, so I just scratched all my previous plans and started over last week! Yall are so knowledgeable I thought I would pick your brains

This will be our third trip. The other two trips were the previous 2 Decembers, but were only weekend trips to tag along with my husband after a conference. We have only really explored the Magic Kingdom with a couple hours in HS and AK. Never been to Epcot.

Cast of Characters:

Myself and husband- both 30 year old CPA's

5 year old DS - This child has some sensory issues, mostly around food. He only eats breakfast food and crackers. He had an epic meltdown last year when we went to The Festival of the Lion King and we ended up having to leave the park. He will do fine if I prep him, but I did not know the show was so loud and did not prep him accurately. He does fine during fireworks as long as we have his headphones. Oh and he does not sleep much.

3 (almost 4) year old DS – easy going loves everything child. Loves all food, all rides, and will fall asleep anywhere.

2 year old DS- very active 2 year old! Great eater and will have no problem falling asleep in a stroller.

So hard to plan with so many young children, but I am going to give it my best shot! I had only three requests from the peanut gallery for this trip: ride the mine train lots of times, meet Olaf, and have dinner at Be Our Guest. Here is our itinerary so far with the ADR’s I have been able to snag the past few days.

Saturday- Early flight, arrive mid morning at Wilderness Lodge. Swim and rest. Mickey’s BBQ for dinner

Sunday- Roaring Fork Breakfast. AM- Magic Kingdom; Afternoon- Rest; PM- MVMCP and quick service before party.

Monday- Sleep in and have breakfast in room. Hollywood Studios mid morning; Lunch at Sci Fi. I had originally planned to do Star Wars fireworks and dessert party, but I was able to snag BOG for dinner this night (thanks to Tinker06!) I’ll keep this BOG unless I can get an early dinner on Sunday or Tuesday.

Tuesday- Magic Kingdom for EMM. Afternoon- rest. Not sure what to do this night? Stay at hotel or go to Animal Kingdom for possible ROL?

Wednesday- Epcot with Garden Grill PPO breakfast. Dinner??

Thursday- Whispering Canyon breakfast before departing for airport.

Do you think this is too ambitious? Should I add more ADR’s? Also, any rides I should skip or discuss with my sensory child beforehand for Epcot or Hollywood Studios? If he knows what to expect he will normally do fine!

 

[Talby]

We have a lot of time to kill before December.

Hahaha...Indeed we do! I've gotta say, the sense of humor on this thread is outstanding! I just love it!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi all! I have been following the board a little but haven't posted much! I was hoping you guys could look over my plans and let me know what you think i'm missing or should change! We had to change the week we are going, so I just scratched all my previous plans and started over last week! Yall are so knowledgeable I thought I would pick your brains

I'm not an expert at all on sensory issues but my granddaughter has had some epic meltdowns at Disney so I know how hard that can be to deal with and how much you want to avoid triggering one of those.

The Wilderness Lodge is a wonderful choice. The lodge is very relaxing, especially with the woodsy atmosphere. Make sure you take some time to see the ponies at Fort Wilderness when you are there for dinner.

The boat to MK is also very relaxing - so much better than the bus.

Roaring Forks and Whispering Canyon Cafe are both good places to eat.

I don't have much to add about the restaurants or the rides. There are probably you tube videos of all of them, so you could check them out.

 

[LBlovesM&WDW]

@Minjewmulloy I don't think your schedule is too much, but I was wondering what your son was going to eat at lunch and dinner (especially knowing you have Mickey's BBQ which is pre-paid/AYCTE). Have you contacted special diets?
As for the rides, I think you may have to look at some videos to see what may or may not be acceptable to your child. I would say no to Dinosaur and Stitch, but not sure about the others since every child is different.

 

[Minjewmulloy]

I'm not an expert at all on sensory issues but my granddaughter has had some epic meltdowns at Disney so I know how hard that can be to deal with and how much you want to avoid triggering one of those.

The Wilderness Lodge is a wonderful choice. The lodge is very relaxing, especially with the woodsy atmosphere. Make sure you take some time to see the ponies at Fort Wilderness when you are there for dinner.

The boat to MK is also very relaxing - so much better than the bus.

Roaring Forks and Whispering Canyon Cafe are both good places to eat.

I don't have much to add about the restaurants or the rides. There are probably you tube videos of all of them, so you could check them out.

Great tips! We were hoping for the relaxing stay, so maybe my 5 year old will feel a little more relaxed and less anxious. We will definitely check out the ponies! They will love them!

 

[Lisa F]

Hi all! I have been following the board a little but haven't posted much! I was hoping you guys could look over my plans and let me know what you think i'm missing or should change! We had to change the week we are going, so I just scratched all my previous plans and started over last week! Yall are so knowledgeable I thought I would pick your brains

This will be our third trip. The other two trips were the previous 2 Decembers, but were only weekend trips to tag along with my husband after a conference. We have only really explored the Magic Kingdom with a couple hours in HS and AK. Never been to Epcot.

Cast of Characters:

Myself and husband- both 30 year old CPA's

5 year old DS - This child has some sensory issues, mostly around food. He only eats breakfast food and crackers. He had an epic meltdown last year when we went to The Festival of the Lion King and we ended up having to leave the park. He will do fine if I prep him, but I did not know the show was so loud and did not prep him accurately. He does fine during fireworks as long as we have his headphones. Oh and he does not sleep much.

3 (almost 4) year old DS – easy going loves everything child. Loves all food, all rides, and will fall asleep anywhere.

2 year old DS- very active 2 year old! Great eater and will have no problem falling asleep in a stroller.

So hard to plan with so many young children, but I am going to give it my best shot! I had only three requests from the peanut gallery for this trip: ride the mine train lots of times, meet Olaf, and have dinner at Be Our Guest. Here is our itinerary so far with the ADR’s I have been able to snag the past few days.

Saturday- Early flight, arrive mid morning at Wilderness Lodge. Swim and rest. Mickey’s BBQ for dinner

Sunday- Roaring Fork Breakfast. AM- Magic Kingdom; Afternoon- Rest; PM- MVMCP and quick service before party.

Monday- Sleep in and have breakfast in room. Hollywood Studios mid morning; Lunch at Sci Fi. I had originally planned to do Star Wars fireworks and dessert party, but I was able to snag BOG for dinner this night (thanks to Tinker06!) I’ll keep this BOG unless I can get an early dinner on Sunday or Tuesday.

Tuesday- Magic Kingdom for EMM. Afternoon- rest. Not sure what to do this night? Stay at hotel or go to Animal Kingdom for possible ROL?

Wednesday- Epcot with Garden Grill PPO breakfast. Dinner??

Thursday- Whispering Canyon breakfast before departing for airport.

Do you think this is too ambitious? Should I add more ADR’s? Also, any rides I should skip or discuss with my sensory child beforehand for Epcot or Hollywood Studios? If he knows what to expect he will normally do fine!

My son is on the spectrum and has sensory (and other issues) and I have previewed a bunch of stuff with him already to see if he'd be interested in doing it. All I need is to book some big expensive thing and have him decide 5 minutes in he is not into it. On youtube you can find videos of almost every ride and attraction at WDW. I showed him clips of Hoop Dee Doo and Candlelight Processional to see if he'd be into it and he was into both but we sometimes watch ride videos just for fun and because he is excited about the trip. For a kid like him, surprises are not a good thing usually so I don't worry about spoilers with him.

For Epcot most of the rides are pretty tame except mission space which is very claustrophobic and a bit scary even on the "tame" version. Soarin' is pure joy so hopefully he would like that (if you go on it with him) and of course test track is very fast but if he likes coasters he should be fine.

In AK dinosaur is very intense and even tough to be a bug can be intense for little ones. Nemo is a pretty tame show, it is less "immersive" where all of the action occurs on a stage rather than all around you and he'd probably enjoy that more than festival of the lion king. Mine liked it but I couldn't tell if he did or didn't, he did seem a bit overwhelmed by it all but was quiet throughout and requested to see it again on this trip.

in HS, I would preview star tours with him. we are planning to do indiana jones stunt spectacular which is loud and has explosions, if you plan on that be ready for it. Also I have heard of some kids having trouble with the muppets with some 3d effects and explosions there too. of course the thrill rides like ToT and RnR but I assume you know what to expect of those.

Wednesday I think is another possible night for star wars fireworks if you can't shift other stuff around and it is easy to go between epcot and HS. are you planning to do illuminations?

 

[Lisa F]

We have a lot of time to kill before December.

I can't think of a group I'd rather kill it with!

 

[Talby]

Hi @Minjewmulloy and welcome to the thread! That must have been challenging to have had to start all over, but I think you've got great meals and I'm a little jealous of your Mickey's BBQ! Couldn't quite fit that in this trip but it's on our next time list. Great that you've got EMM--that'll cover the lots of mine train rides as requested by your peanut gallery! I have no idea, but I'm wondering if FP is an option for Olaf? I might look at that if it was specifically requested (if that's even an option??) Are you aware of the December cancellation thread? That might be helpful if you want to change the BOG day.

 

[TiggerManiac]

5 year old DS - This child has some sensory issues, mostly around food. He only eats breakfast food and crackers.

Nothing on plans yet, but have you ruled out any food allergies for your son?

My sister was a very picky eater growing up. She pretty much survived on milk, powdered sugar doughnuts, cereal, cheese, bread, and vitamins. She was finally allergy tested about the age of 18. Turns out she was highly deathly allergic to a number of foods. The only one we had known about was her peanut allergy. If she had actually eaten anything on her long list of contraband food, she likely would have died without having an Epi-Pen handy.

I am a firm believer that children are able to listen to their instincts more closely, and that my sister just knew she had to avoid certain foods. To do this day, most of her allergens smell disgusting to her, which I believe is another self-protection mechanism.

I know allergies don't explain all food issues, but I do think they are something that should be explored. Drawing blood for the allergy test is fairly non-invasive.

 

[Minjewmulloy]

@Minjewmulloy I don't think your schedule is too much, but I was wondering what your son was going to eat at lunch and dinner (especially knowing you have Mickey's BBQ which is pre-paid/AYCTE). Have you contacted special diets?
As for the rides, I think you may have to look at some videos to see what may or may not be acceptable to your child. I would say no to Dinosaur and Stitch, but not sure about the others since every child is different.

I didn't know there was a specia diets contact! I will definitely contact them! Thanks for that tip!

I am a little worried about my five year old at the lunch and two dinners. The last two years we have made breakfast reservations only and the rest of the family ate a snack for lunch and an early dinner at the art of animation food court (where we stayed). But my husband really wants to branch out, so we tried to make all reservations that were experiences so he would not feel as anxious (BOG, Sci fi and mickey's BBQ) He drinks milk and we have supplements that go in his milk that I keep in my purse. I was hoping to take in crackers in my purse too, but I probably need to call about that too I assume? The two year old is a big eater, so I was just going to give him the five year olds plate since we don't pay for the two year old anyway

The five year old has been working with an occupational therapist for years, but we are now working with a new one that specializes in food therapy, so hopefully we add a few things that he will eat!!

Thanks for listening, it helps to talk out the planning with someone!!

 

[Minjewmulloy]

Hi @Minjewmulloy and welcome to the thread! That must have been challenging to have had to start all over, but I think you've got great meals and I'm a little jealous of your Mickey's BBQ! Couldn't quite fit that in this trip but it's on our next time list. Great that you've got EMM--that'll cover the lots of mine train rides as requested by your peanut gallery! I have no idea, but I'm wondering if FP is an option for Olaf? I might look at that if it was specifically requested (if that's even an option??) Are you aware of the December cancellation thread? That might be helpful if you want to change the BOG day.

Thanks! Yes, I recently discovered the cancellation thread! It's so helpful!! Unfortunately, I don't think Olaf is a fastpass option, but it will be our first stop at Hollywood studios. I'm also secretly hoping they add him to the Christmas party as a meet and greet. He goes perfectly with the theme!!

 

[Lisa F]

Catching up a bit...

Our daughter really likes Coral Reef in Epcot for dinner for her two kids. It is a very calm and peaceful environment with the huge aquarium. It isn't noisy either. But it is a very hard ADR to get. Most of the restaurants inside the parks can be very busy.

I love coral reef, but it always gets mixed reviews. Some people say it is loud but I have never found it that loud (a lot of hard surfaces). I agree that it is serene. It has always been one of my favorites to be honest.

I didn't know there was a specia diets contact! I will definitely contact them! Thanks for that tip!

I am a little worried about my five year old at the lunch and two dinners. The last two years we have made breakfast reservations only and the rest of the family ate a snack for lunch and an early dinner at the art of animation food court (where we stayed). But my husband really wants to branch out, so we tried to make all reservations that were experiences so he would not feel as anxious (BOG, Sci fi and mickey's BBQ) He drinks milk and we have supplements that go in his milk that I keep in my purse. I was hoping to take in crackers in my purse too, but I probably need to call about that too I assume? The two year old is a big eater, so I was just going to give him the five year olds plate since we don't pay for the two year old anyway

The five year old has been working with an occupational therapist for years, but we are now working with a new one that specializes in food therapy, so hopefully we add a few things that he will eat!!

Thanks for listening, it helps to talk out the planning with someone!!

you don't have to call about crackers. Just bring them. What kind of breakfast foods does he like? my friend's son only eats french fries and waffles. It's rough on her, a lot of other people are judgmental, but at disney she has no problem (she only goes to places that serve fries though. BoG does luckily). will he eat bread/rolls? most sit down places have them. Have you ever tried fries with him? Just trying to think of things that he could at at other times than breakfast at restaurants... and as I'm sure you know, with a kid who has sensory issues around food, even trying a french fry can be a huge leap forward!