Despite what many would call “good judgement” we plan to visit Disney over Christmas week.  Based on great advice (read: horror stories) we have a strategy that I’ll have to review after I learn from experience.

1. Don’t surprise the kids and walk out the door to a parked car on Christmas morning.  Christmas is a special day and in our house, Advent is a season. We are working on seeing Advent as a journey, instead of a race to  the finish line that is Christmas (which we cross exhausted).  I want my kids to focus on giving gifts, being kind, and singing cute songs.  If I tell them Disney is coming up, I worry they will focus on Star Tours instead a star in Bethlehem. I’ll tell them after we open our gifts that one more gift is coming, and in 2 days, we’ll leave for Florida.  This will give them 48 hours to wrap their heads around it, and won’t result in vomiting on the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. I hope.
2. We are planning a resort-heavy touring plan. We’ll stop by lobbies of places like the Grand Floridian to see gingerbread houses, Beach Club to see trains, and the Villas at Wilderness Lodge to see a HUGE tree.  No fast passes.  No bag checks.  No reservations needed.
3. We are checking the weather. While we usually try to schedule swimming time after a few hours of parks, or after dinner, a friend who went one January told me her girls swam every night, and she had pictures of lifeguards in ski coats watching them.  Our plans include a short amount of pool time at the hottest part of the day.
4. We have reservations that are linked to preferred seating. The Fantasmic Dinner Package, the Candlelight Processional meals-never a better idea than when the crowd levels are at 10/10. If you have a reservation like this, you can grab a fast pass before eating (if any are left) and then dine with your group. Afterwards, get a ride or two in, and then see  the show, or shows.  That might just be enough for wearing travelers. 
5. Epcot on New Years Eve is a great place to drink, and many take it as a personal challenge to have a cocktail at each country. New Years is also a day when people treat their liver like they rented it. Bad combo.  Magic Kingdom is dry, but being in that park when the clock strikes midnight (insert your own Cinderella reference here) is romantic. Expect a lot of proposals, tears, and announcements.  Choose wisely.  We are choosing Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, which is the closest to a rocking New Years Party we’ve attended since we entered car seat territory. To be honest, a few years before, as well.  I like a place with Sangria, ice cream, and a set end time.
6. We have one early morning reservation at an “inside the park restaurant”.  Another friend told me she took one son to the Magic Kingdom on a special Christmas trip but the park hit capacity before they got through the turnstile.  When you have an ADR, your name is on a clipboard, at a special turnstile.  Not sure how long we’ll stay in the park, but when we have done this on level 4 days, Daddy ran for fast passes while Mommy calculated the tip. (Marry a runner, if you can.)
7. Use the counter service meals liberally.  While sit down meals are a great break from waiting in line, several “keep your germs off me” themed blogs recommend avoiding a buffet line, no matter how clean the sneeze guard appears.  Wash those hands, and store  the left over brownies, bags of grapes, and bottles of water for later in the day.  When parks are busy, more stands are open, so keep an eye out for places you couldn’t try in October, especially around Epcot and the Studios.
8. Remember that this is A trip, not THE trip.  Our hit list for rides is shorter and we are remembering (I hope) the fact that a day Disney is better than a day anywhere else (to us) so even if we don’t do Space Mountain or catch the parade, we still will enjoy the room, the atmosphere, and each other’s company.