(For the summary of this itinerary, see this. For a 90 day calendar, see this.)
Your To-Do list for the Walt Disney World basic December itinerary follows.
A. MORE THAN 90 DAYS BEFORE YOUR PLANNED ARRIVAL DATE
(See this for 90 day calendars)
1. Confirm your budget, planned dates, kids’ development paths and heights, and your transportation choice and its availability for your planned dates.
2. Make your plane reservations, if flying. Make any other needed transportation arrangements.
3. Go to the Disney Resort Overview page and set up your reservation
- Pick your resort from the menu
- Choose the “Vacation Package” option
- Enter your dates
- When your room comes back, unclick the higher priced options (great for trips after your first, unimportant on your first visit) and click on the least expensive room option. Click update
- When your room comes back with the correct updated price, find the “tickets” section and sign up for 7-day “Magic Your Way” tickets. Unclick any added options, and do not add any options–no park hopper, no waterparks, no “no-expiration.”
- Find the dining option and sign up for the Magic Your Way Package Plus Dining (skip the wine option—not enough of the table service restaurants you are going to serve wine to make the wine option worth it. Get your drinks a la carte.)
- Sign up for the Disney Magical Express
- In the box labeled “Would you like to tell us anything else,” if a Polynesian guest, ask for a room on the third floor (quieter) in Rapa Nui or Tahiti. (These are 2 of the only three buildings with both the largest rooms and balconies on all floors, and are the 2 buildings closest to the Epcot monorail. You are in fact so close to TTC that you can take the express monorail home from the Magic Kingdom–much faster than the resort monorail.) If a Pop Century Guest, write here requesting a room on the 4th floor (quieter) in the 1970s area. (This is the only building group at Pop Century that does not surround a pool, so it will be quieter at night.)
- Click the button to request a refrigerator
- Complete the transaction with your credit card.
B. 91 DAYS BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL DATE
Return to this site and re-check this page, as Disney changes things around, especially MVMCP dates and Extra Magic Hours. This changing of things around may send you to different parks on different days, and so may result in changes to where and when you dine on which days. So recheck!
C. EXACTLY 7AM EST EXACTLY 90 DAYS BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL DATE
Call (407) WDW-DINE (939-3463) exactly at 7a Eastern time to make your Cinderella’s Royal Table Lunch reservations for the Wednesday of your trip (cash, not dining plan). The exact time during that Wednesday when you eat is not critical, but a later lunch is better than earlier, as dinner that day is at 8p.
D. STILL EXACTLY 90 DAYS BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL DATE
ITINERARY LINKS
- For itinerary design goals and the basic December Itinerary, see this
- For shorter and longer itineraries targeted at the same December week, see this
- For itineraries covering all the other parts of the year, see this
- To design your own itinerary, see this
- For rides that might be skipped, see this
- For a comprehensive guide to rides and attractions, see this
LINKS FOR WHEN TO GO
- For when to go, see this
- For next best dates, see this
- For 2009 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
- For weeks to visit in future years, see this
- For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
- For 2009 price seasons, see this
- For projected price seasons in future years, see this
- For weather at Walt Disney World, see this
