holiday dining reservations advice

[disneydad1]

We'll have a party of 6 adults and 3 kids (age 5, 4, 2) in WDW from 12/18-12/27 this year - My wife and I are bringing our 3 daughters and both sets of grandparents for our first Christmas in Disney - so excited!

We are renting vacation club points from a family friend and staying at the boardwalk villas.

As you can imagine, I don't want to screw up the dining reservations. We want to do the fantasmic dinner package, the candlelight processional dinner package at Epcot, and try to have breakfast on Christmas morning in Cindrella's Castle.

Here are questions I have:
1. Should I call to make reservations at the 180+10 day mark or do it online?

2. When will park hours, EMH's, and show times be published for December? (I'd like to know that info to plan what parks to do on which days).

3. Can I make these ADR's since the resort reservations are under my name or does my friend still have to do it since he's the DVC member I'm renting the points from? What if I have his passwords and personal ID information?

4. Do you have any other holiday dining recommendations for any meal?

thanks in advance for the help.

 

[vicki_c]

I would make your ADRs online, but practice in advance and make sure it's all working for you. Then on your 180th day, you will be able to book 10 days worth using your reservation #.

You make them in your own name - other than getting the "+10" your reservation doesn't really matter.

Fantasmic and the CP package (at least in the past) had to be booked on the phone, though, not online. But for all others I would do the online option - it's very easy and it starts an hour before the dining phone line opens.

Have fun - we did Christmas a few years ago. However, we stayed away from the parks on Christmas Day -- WAY too crowded for us. We had a big room service breakfast, opened a few gifts, and just relaxed and it was wonderful.

Park hours are usually released just about 180 days out, just like the dining windows. I think they have released up to October as of now, but I'm not sure.