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Old 08-22-2016, 05:47 PM   #46
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Congrats on the savings!! We love WDW at Christmas time as well - MVMCP is a must do and we love seeing the parks & resorts all decorated for Christmas and love seeing the characters in their cute little winter outfits

We are big Universal/Harry Potter fans as well so I can't wait to hear your thoughts on all the new Harry Potter stuff. We went in March of last year and loved it!!
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Old 08-22-2016, 05:55 PM   #47
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Congrats on the savings!
Thanks, Marnie!

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Congrats on booking the resorts! And you even saved some money with the discount. AKL is such a beautiful resort, I can imagine it's even more spectacular at Christmas time.
Oh it is!!

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To answer your question, my family is great! These boys have grown up so much since my last TR. Pretty sure that by my next trip, I'll be the shortest one in the family.

I have another teenager in my hands, so that's fun. It's funny how personalities change so quickly. And he's the typical middle child... Drives me a little nuts sometimes.

My oldest is now a junior in high school. Pretty soon we'll have to start researching colleges. I'm so not ready for that.

My baby, is not that little anymore. He's a sixth grader now. At least he still lets me cuddle him.
Oh my gosh!! How is all of that possible?!?!? You take that cuddling as long as you can!

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Congrats on the savings!! We love WDW at Christmas time as well - MVMCP is a must do and we love seeing the parks & resorts all decorated for Christmas and love seeing the characters in their cute little winter outfits

We are big Universal/Harry Potter fans as well so I can't wait to hear your thoughts on all the new Harry Potter stuff. We went in March of last year and loved it!!
So are we! We haven't been there for a few years because we take Logan, who is still a little young to enjoy it all. I can't wait to see the new stuff!!
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Old 08-22-2016, 06:21 PM   #48
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So this is what we have so far for dining plans. They seem so skimpy because we are used to the dining plan, but we are looking forward to being rebels a bit!

Nothing yet for Universal or Sea World. Tips are welcome.

So far, for WDW we have Jiko booked on the first night. We love that restaurant and haven't been for awhile. We are planning on hitting a park that day and then just relaxing and enjoying AKL.

We have the LTT booked for MVMCP night. Another place I haven't been in years and Muffin isn't sure that he ever has!

We have Chefs de France booked for the CP. We originally booked Trattoria al Forno for this because we enjoyed our breakfast there last year so much but Muffin's tummy and Italian food do not mix well. : We did look at the menu and there were a few things he could order but I could tell he was just being polite.

That actually left for a fun time! We looked at all of the restaurants available and I read him the menus and he would say whether each meal was something he could eat. Surprisingly, Chefs de France had the most normal meat and potatoes kind of food and this is another place we have not been in a loooong time!

This still leaves us two nights for a couple more nice dinners. We love the idea of trying a new Disney Springs restaurant but we are very torn on what to try! They all look pretty cool in their own way.

We'd like to save the other dinner for a resort meal but we are also undecided on where to go for that!

The other meal that we have booked is Cali Grill for brunch on our last day.

So far, that's it!

Next: Our rough park schedule



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Old 08-22-2016, 07:01 PM   #49
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Some nice choices for your adrs!
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Old 08-22-2016, 07:01 PM   #50
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Dining choices look great!
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Old 08-22-2016, 07:24 PM   #51
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Your ADR choices look great!
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Old 08-22-2016, 07:25 PM   #52
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nice choices! I like the City Walk for meals at Universal, but that's just me. We've not eaten in any of the park eateries.

I'm anxious to try Morimoto Asia, myself, though it will probably be a year or so before I finally get there!

Our a few of our favorite resort restaurants are Narcoossee's, Grand Floridian Cafe, and Turf Club at SSR...it's a hidden gem and we've never had a bad meal. I love it for lunch, but they quit serving lunch there.
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Old 08-22-2016, 07:44 PM   #53
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Great dining plans!!
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Old 08-22-2016, 08:04 PM   #54
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Great dining choices!
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Old 08-23-2016, 01:54 AM   #55
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For SeaWorld, I can thoroughly recommend Sharks Underwater Grill - we had a wonderful meal there. I would suggest bookings though, as there were a lot of us with reservations when it opened, so I think it's a popular place.
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Old 08-23-2016, 07:11 AM   #56
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Some nice choices for your adrs!
Thanks, Dave!

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Dining choices look great!
Thanks, Mayra!!

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Your ADR choices look great!
Thanks, Cam!!

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nice choices! I like the City Walk for meals at Universal, but that's just me. We've not eaten in any of the park eateries.

I'm anxious to try Morimoto Asia, myself, though it will probably be a year or so before I finally get there!

Our a few of our favorite resort restaurants are Narcoossee's, Grand Floridian Cafe, and Turf Club at SSR...it's a hidden gem and we've never had a bad meal. I love it for lunch, but they quit serving lunch there.
Thanks, Stephanie!! Those are all restaurants on our list!!

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Great dining plans!!
Thanks, Marnie!!

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Great dining choices!
Thanks, Donna!

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For SeaWorld, I can thoroughly recommend Sharks Underwater Grill - we had a wonderful meal there. I would suggest bookings though, as there were a lot of us with reservations when it opened, so I think it's a popular place.
Thanks, Cheryl! I will look into that!!
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Old 08-23-2016, 07:28 AM   #57
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I always have the most difficult time planning which park for which day! I'm not sure why this is but it is a fact.

This is also something I will admit will probably change before we leave (imagine that).

We traditionally hit the MK on our first day but since we are checking in at AKL and trying our best to be chill, we will most likely go to AK, for those of you that don't know, my favorite park!!

The schedule for December does not include any late evenings but it does get dark pretty early so I am hoping to see the new nighttime stuff!

On our second day, the MK is scheduled to have evening EMH, so we are loosely planning on DHS in the morning and then MK after dinner (wherever that may be!).

Day three will probably start at Epcot. We have MVMCP scheduled for the evening so we will head over late afternoon for our ADR at LTT.

Day four we are planning to go to AK in the morning and then Epcot in the evening for our dinner at Chef's de France and the CP.

Day five is completely open and we may just visit a park on a whim and then go to Disney Springs in the evening.

Day six will be our last day here and we only have the Cali Grill booked for brunch so we will probably end in the MK.

I'll let you guys know as these plans firm up!

Next: Our list of must do's for this trip!
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Old 08-23-2016, 10:06 AM   #58
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I have the same trouble! It's HARD!!!
I like your schedule, it looks nice and chill! Can't wait to see your list of must do's!!
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Old 08-23-2016, 01:28 PM   #59
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Gosh, you changing plans? Never....
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My Countdown Counting down to: 2019
Happy New Year!
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Old 08-23-2016, 03:41 PM   #60
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Park plans look great so far - can't wait to hear more!
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