****December 2020 Thread****

[EsmeCullen]

Hi all. My trip is planned for December 10-15th. So far I’m staying at All Star Movies but that could change.

 

[agamble]

Well we were going in June...but

So after much discussion with my mom on when we should reschedule our trip, we are planning December 1 to about December 15/17. If things stay similar to our June trip Mom will join us for about the first week and a half and then we'll have about a week after she leaves. My husband and I have three kids who by December will be 5, 7, and 10. Mom has to check on her timeshare to see if she can still get the same location for the first half of the trip. We know our timeshare choice is available for the second half (or all if necessary). We are bummed that only one water park will be open, as we were really looking forward to the water parks. BUT we are excited about all the Christmas decor and the cooler weather. We just hope it isn't cold. We already have tickets and received an email from Disney last night. We are hoping that when the reservation system opens we will have the opportunity to book as far as December, but who knows. Christmas won over Halloween!

 

[twinklebug]

My date for reserving dining would have been coming up soon. I can't tell you how relieved I am that they dropped it down to 60 days. It was overkill to start with, and this year my head just isn't in the game. Too many other worries in the world.

 

[dachsie]

Well we were going in June...but

So after much discussion with my mom on when we should reschedule our trip, we are planning December 1 to about December 15/17. If things stay similar to our June trip Mom will join us for about the first week and a half and then we'll have about a week after she leaves. My husband and I have three kids who by December will be 5, 7, and 10. Mom has to check on her timeshare to see if she can still get the same location for the first half of the trip. We know our timeshare choice is available for the second half (or all if necessary). We are bummed that only one water park will be open, as we were really looking forward to the water parks. BUT we are excited about all the Christmas decor and the cooler weather. We just hope it isn't cold. We already have tickets and received an email from Disney last night. We are hoping that when the reservation system opens we will have the opportunity to book as far as December, but who knows. Christmas won over Halloween!

Where did it say a waterpark was going to be opened? I have not seen that anywhere

 

[corlando60]

I too have a trip booked for December 2020 which I did in January before this all got out of hand with Covid. We are tent camping at Ft Wilderness 12/11-12/20. We have always wanted to stay in the campgrounds during Christmas. Im more excited about being at the fort for Christmas time than I am about going to a park. Meanwhile all my planning right now is for my Disney Christmas decorations at our campsite. lol.

 

[missnikki411]

We are still not 100% the trip will actually happen, but we put down our deposit for Thanksgiving through December 4!!! Black Friday, we are Disney bound

We are sticking with our favorite and staying at CSR (although we toyed with the idea of trying out Riverside). 11th trip in 11 years

Hoping by the time our trip rolls around, more things will be back to normal there. If not, we will be postponing until next year. So fingers crossed!!!

 

[agamble]

Where did it say a waterpark was going to be opened? I have not seen that anywhere

In general only one waterpark is open in December. We were going to go in the summer when both would typically be open. I didn't mean there was an announcement about water parks.

 

[BDJazz]

HI everyone - We will be there Dec 5-15. Hoping all goes well. We booked our DVC points and have an AP, so wondering how this whole park reservations system is going to work!

I wanted to throw this out there...A few years back, we ended up booking a fireworks cruise at Epcot with two other families from the boards that were traveling at the same time. Doing it this way made the cruise very affordable and we all had a great time. Obviously, we don't even know if there will be a fireworks cruise in Dec yet, but if it opens up, I thought I'd throw out an invite and see if any families would be interested in sharing a boat.

 

[twinklebug]

Was curious what Pop Warner Football was saying about operating this fall and they have the following note on a special page dedicated to COVID-19 concerns:

2020 Pop Warner National Championship Updates

Pop Warner and Walt Disney have a had a tremendous partnership going back more than 60 years, and we hope to continue that relationship for years to come.

While putting the final touches on our new agreement, COVID-19 struck. It became necessary to shift our focus to the pressing and timely issue of whether Disney could host championship week this year, considering all the uncertainty around the pandemic. At this stage, that looks unlikely.

...

Having been a football mom for years, I realize most would have this info in hand already but I thought it worthy of noting here for the few parents of children in football and cheer that may not yet be aware.

 

[emily nicole]

I had all but decided to cancel our December trip, but I'm holding on to hope. We are staying at CSR and lost our free dining but did receive 35% off the room, so we may try to go after all. Holding out hope. My work put out a policy that theme park vacations may result in a 14 day quarantine upon return, so I'll need to see if that policy is lifted later in the year. I have plenty of vacation time so that might actually be a plus. haha.

One thing that will definitely cause me to cancel is that if, with the park reservation system, I can't get into a park every day of my trip. I couldn't imagine spending all that money and not at least being able to get into a park. So, I'm anxiously awaiting how the reopening is going to go and learn from others going before me.

 

[firedust]

I know everything is rumor and speculation at this point, but I wonder how far out we will be able to make park reservations... That's kind of the deciding factor for me as to whether or not we go in December.

 

[SMRT-1]

I had all but decided to cancel our December trip, but I'm holding on to hope. We are staying at CSR and lost our free dining but did receive 35% off the room, so we may try to go after all. Holding out hope. My work put out a policy that theme park vacations may result in a 14 day quarantine upon return, so I'll need to see if that policy is lifted later in the year. I have plenty of vacation time so that might actually be a plus. haha.

One thing that will definitely cause me to cancel is that if, with the park reservation system, I can't get into a park every day of my trip. I couldn't imagine spending all that money and not at least being able to get into a park. So, I'm anxiously awaiting how the reopening is going to go and learn from others going before me.

We're in the same "wait and see" boat. Back in April, when we moved our cancelled May trip to December, it felt like safe bet that things might be (mostly) back to normal by then. But as the months passed with no opening date, and the details of the restrictions were finally released, I started to be concerned. It's still several months away, and things could change by December, so we're not cancelling yet. However, FP+, park hopping, and rope drop are key parts of our touring strategy, and my wife was really looking forward to Festival of the Holidays, so if any of those are still not available by our 60-day date in October, then we plan to move our trip again to next May.

 

[emily nicole]

Just checked Southwest fares for our December trip. Only $79 each way. Never seen prices that low. It's SO TEMPTING to buy tickets but there's so much up in the air right now. If only I knew resort guests would be guaranteed to get in a park each day...

 

[Eeyore daily]

Just checked Southwest fares for our December trip. Only $79 each way. Never seen prices that low. It's SO TEMPTING to buy tickets but there's so much up in the air right now. If only I knew resort guests would be guaranteed to get in a park each day...

Doesn’t Southwest have a great policy if you need to cancel your flights right now?

 

[emily nicole]

Doesn’t Southwest have a great policy if you need to cancel your flights right now?

I believe it is a credit that can be used up to 1 year from the purchase date. If we reschedule, it will be for December 2021, so the credits would expire before then.

 

[dachsie]

With no Pop Warner during my trip, I am leaning towards keeping my trip as scheduled now. Every day I seem to decide differently. I guess I just need to ride this out til Sept to make the decision

 

[123Dis4Me]

I have a package booked for Christmas week. I see that in a few days I should be able to make park reservations. I have no idea where to begin, any advice? I typically avoid EMH, I am not sure if they will be offering them (or even if this trip will happen). Thanks.

 

[firedust]

I have a package booked for Christmas week. I see that in a few days I should be able to make park reservations. I have no idea where to begin, any advice? I typically avoid EMH, I am not sure if they will be offering them (or even if this trip will happen). Thanks.

I think it's going to be really difficult to make plans... they haven't officially made a call on the Christmas party, or Candlelight Processional... which are important for planning MK and EP. I'm having a super hard time figuring out what to do.

 

[sparkle78]

Yep in the same boat. So interesting. We need more info

 

[Meglen]

I just did a workup on what parks to try for next week. Without any other things planned it feels really empty. I will just work around the park days I get I guess.