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Old 04-04-2017, 07:05 PM   #1
DMA
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Christmas at BLT...or is it? PTR

Well, it might not be an official PTR yet, but we are planning a trip and I do have some fun things to tell...so yeah, I guess it is a PTR.

I'll start off by saying the PTR, as well as the eventual TR, is going to be pretty informal. I'm not sure I'm going to bother taking notes on the trip. I might just jot down the attractions we rode and use my pictures and Photo Pass pics to tell the story.

The reason is we (myself- Donna and DH -Jeff) are taking our granddaughter Cora with us this time! We've been planning this in our heads since she was born over 2 years ago and are so excited to finally be in the planning stages.

Our daughter Liz is going as well. We invited her husband too, but he decided he'd rather not. So, that's ok, it will be the four of us.

When? Jeff and I visited once in early December and loved it! The Christmas decorations were so beautiful and we really enjoyed all the Christmas music and costumes...everything! We decided someday we'd like to go again at Christmas.

And when we looked at dates for our 2017 trip, and decided this was the year of Cora, it was clear early December would be a perfect time. Cora will be almost 3, so we won't have to pay for park admission or meals for her. And it is less crowded and much cooler than when we normally go in September...both pluses for an almost 3 year old's first trip to Disney.

Where? We are DVC owners at BLT but have only stayed there once. Again, we decided this would be a perfect place for our trip with Cora since we will be focused on MK and it's an easy walk from BLT.

So, in early January I made our reservations for a 1 bedroom lake view villa at BLT. We decided 5 nights/6 days was a good trip length for a toddler, so we booked from Sunday, December 3 to Friday, December 8.

Tentative plans include the Fort Wilderness sleigh ride, something i've read about but never done.

We plan on taking it easy because i've seen too many little ones, exhausted to the point of tears at the end of a long day in the park. Plans are to eat breakfast in the room, go to MK most mornings, then back to the room for lunch and a rest. Then spend the afternoon in one of the other parks, dinner at a TS and back to BLT. Maybe watch fireworks from the balcony, but for the most part, make it an early night.

Up next: thoughts on dining
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Old 04-04-2017, 07:52 PM   #2
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Sounds like a terrific trip!

Sure hope introducing Cora to WDW is as magical as you dream.
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Old 04-04-2017, 08:27 PM   #3
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Sounds like a great trip!


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Old 04-04-2017, 08:48 PM   #4
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Sounds like the perfect first trip for Cora!
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Old 04-04-2017, 09:04 PM   #5
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Sounds like a terrific trip!

Sure hope introducing Cora to WDW is as magical as you dream.
Me too Dot! She is a good girl most times, but I babysit enough to have seen the temper tantrums she can throw. I hope we can avoid those...at least in public. We will have some diversionary tactics ready for any meltdowns though.
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Old 04-04-2017, 09:05 PM   #6
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Sounds like a great trip!


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Old 04-04-2017, 09:06 PM   #7
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Sounds like the perfect first trip for Cora!
I'm so excited about her first trip!
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Old 04-05-2017, 02:30 AM   #8
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Oh wow, this sounds like it will be a truly magical trip!
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Old 04-05-2017, 06:20 AM   #9
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Oh wow, this sounds like it will be a truly magical trip!
we are so happy to share our love of Disney World with Cora.
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Old 04-05-2017, 08:50 AM   #10
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Great start Donna! What a fun trip to take your granddaughter!
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Old 04-05-2017, 11:50 AM   #11
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How exciting you get to take Cora for her 1st trip!!!
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Old 04-05-2017, 06:20 PM   #12
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How exciting! So fun to see it through your grandchild's eyes...a totally different experience! Your plan for mornings at MK then back for a rest...perfect!
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Old 04-05-2017, 06:20 PM   #13
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Great start Donna! What a fun trip to take your granddaughter!
I know! It's so exciting!

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How exciting you get to take Cora for her 1st trip!!!
We are really looking forward to it!
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Old 04-05-2017, 07:24 PM   #14
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Our thoughts on dining...

As I had mentioned earlier, we will be eating in the room quite a bit...mostly breakfasts and lunches, with a few exceptions.
I was thinking about 1 TS meal each day, and character buffets were a good choice for a few reasons...lots of kid friendly choices, no waiting for food to arrive, and of course characters!

Cora has loved Winnie the Pooh and his friends since she was a baby. Her favorite video is "The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" and she just loves all the characters! So of course we will have to eat at Crystal Palace. At this point I'm thinking breakfast.

Cora also loves Mickey and Minnie Mouse. So, I put Chef Mickey's on the list as well. I know this gets good and bad reviews, with lots of folks saying the food is just okay, but I think we'll give it a go anyway. First of all it's close. Secondly, I'd like to try the new(ish) brunch. And third, it's got Mickey!

Some others on the list are Garden Grill and Hollywood and Vine for Minnie's holiday dinner.

And lastly, since I want to see Rivers of Light, I think we'll do a dining package at Tusker House.

We've done character meals in the past, but never 5 in one trip! Hoping it won't be character overload!

I've already started a few little things to get Cora used to the idea of the characters. I made a little photo album for her with pics of grandma and grandpa with all the characters so she can see that they are as tall as we are. I also have a page from one of our old Disney calendars with Jeff, me and Tigger that I hung on the fridge. She likes to see us with her pal Tigger.

I think we'll get Tables in Wonderland again. It may not pay for itself in this trip, but with our meals for our 2018 trip added in it will be worth it.

So far, that's what we're planning for dining.
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Old 04-05-2017, 07:36 PM   #15
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Sounds like a great trip and I'm sure you'll give Cora a great introduction to all the Magic in WDW!
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