12 days and counting until CP and I take on WDW for a pre-Christmas trip that will hopefully fill us with enough Christmas spirit to make it through family holiday celebrations later this month.

I’ve really been too busy with work to do a proper job of planning for this trip, so for that reason the trip feels different. But there’s another thing that’s different about this trip – a real curiosity about what we’ll find when we get there.

I know I’ve mentioned previously that I was one of those kids who grew up on Disney. My grandparents were some of the first DVC owners, and my Disney exposure only intensified after that. Then there was the College Program. Together, CP and I have visited WDW (so far) on eight trips for a total of 54 days, and we’re going for five days next month and for three in January – and then who knows.

All of this is to say…I’ve been around the Disney block, such that I visit with feelings of fondness each and every time, but not often with feelings of curiosity or anticipation of the unknown.  WDW has been familiar and comforting, but not always new and exciting. In fact, usually not new and exciting.

And that’s where this trip feels a bit different – not earth-shatteringly so, but enough to make me anticipate it in a different way.  While I was lucky enough to tour New Fantasyland last month while killing time on a trip for work, CP hasn’t seen it yet. Test Track re-opens this week, and the buzz on Twitter has me looking forward to riding it. Splitsville at Downtown Disney might be open, and yes, I’m even looking forward to that. Bistro de Paris at Epcot may be reopened by the time our trip rolls around (albeit with a new name), and I still haven’t visited Tutto Gusto, the new wine bar in Epcot’s Italy. Nor have I yet had a margarita at La Cava del Tequila in Epcot’s Mexico.

So, for the first time that I can remember in many years, we’ll be experiencing a lot of new things in a place that is typically full of old, familiar rituals. And as cynical as I can sometimes get about the all-too-frequent missteps of a company that has been my backdrop since childhood, I can honestly say I’m really looking forward to this trip and seeing the old and familiar with a shine of the new.

So, the plans:

• Six nights and five days, spent in a courtyard view room at the Wilderness Lodge. We visited the Lodge last year for dinner at Artist Point, and I instantly couldn’t imagine staying anywhere else at the holidays:

Seriously – how can you *not* stay here at Christmastime?

Like I said…no better place to stay on a holiday trip.

• No big meals planned for this trip, but we’ll visit some old favorites: The Plaza for lunch, Kona for breakfast, and Earl of Sandwich at least seventeen times for the holiday sandwich. (Okay, maybe twice for the holiday sandwich.) We mostly plan to graze and do a lot of snacking, especially since I need to indoctrinate CP with exposure to the Nutella and fruit waffle sandwich at the Magic Kingdom. We are having at least one table service meal (Via Napoli), and might make it two if Bistro de Paris is open.
• We’ll be doing the Christmas party again, seeing the Osborne lights at least twice, and trying to fit in stops at the Deluxe resorts to see the decorations.

Seeing the Osborne Lights for the first time last year was one of the happiest moments of my life, and sadly I’m serious about that. It takes a lot to shock me, but this is one tremendous display of holiday spirit – I love it.

• Rope drop at Epcot to catch Test Track at least once.
• Rope drop at the Studios for Toy Story Mania at least once.
• Rope drop at the Magic Kingdom to see new Fantasyland and pin trade.
• Animal Kingdom, meh.
• The main goals of this trip are to relax, find some holiday spirit, eat some good food and do a boatload of pin trading, since we’ve become those uber nerds who really enjoy the hobby.

Since a lack of thorough planning is making me a little twitchy, I might try and put together a real plan in the next few days. In any case, expect lots of updates on our holiday merriment!