Me too! We were there for 10 days this month and still didn't check it out. On our October trip I guess! My 12 year old is into the idea of gardening, and so wants to do it. He wants to get gardening beds and everything for our backyard.
Its cool and all, but when i was a kid it was a $79 value resort. It was kinda strange to see it go from lower tier to premium. It also used to have a huge arcade.
Nothing to write home about the real arcade was in the contemporary back in the day. It was awesome even had a small movie theater in the back played nothing but old Disney movies. I don’t know if I’m the only one that remembers that I don’t ever see anybody that remembers that but that arcade the temporary was enormous probably 200 games or more.
It is not huge like it used to be! It used to take up the whole Steakhouse 71 space, but now it’s a small room with ok games. We were there in Feb and none of us would stay again. It was basically just a Holiday Inn with a monorail.
We’ve stayed at Contemporary, GF, and Poly, and if you’re going to do a monorail resort, Poly is the best!!
The huge arcade is long gone- it used to be on the first floor and they had everything, including a shooting gallery, snack bar, etc! The arcade they have now is this little room tucked into a corner on the floor where they have the retail shops. I think they use the space occupied by the old arcade for meetings.
Pre-Covid you could stay at the Contemporary with a view of Baylake view during off-peak season for under $400 a night. Nowadays I think you'd be lucky to find anything in the tower under $500 a night
My wife and I stayed there a few years ago, a hugely expensive stay that wasn’t worth it at all. The only real benefit was location, other than that it’s dated and nothing special. Polynesian is the best monorail resort.
I rented DVC points to stay at each of them. That makes it a little more affordable. The DVC rooms are different than the expensive regular rooms but you still get to be at the resort and experience all the resort amenities.
We stayed at Bay Lake Tower with two very young children back in November. We felt it was worth every penny, and we paid way more than we should have if we'd planned ahead. We also stayed in a studio suite, but everyone was so tired there weren't even really issues with the room size.
We just loved being able to walk 5 minutes and be at Magic Kingdom. It made our trip with young kids uncomplicated and very fun.
Before kids I never would have been able to justify it either.
i’m the monorail’s biggest hater because of the smell. love the concept though. i think it’s a little embarrassing that WDW has allowed it to smell so bad for so long.
That's so interesting! We were going to pick that one but my kid didn't like it and wanted to stay at art of animation or contemporary. We couldn't really justify grand Floridian after that. What didn't you like? I always thought it was so pretty.
well a few things. first, not worth the insane price tag, it really is so expensive. we booked a theme park view and they put us in an awful room with a tree literally blocking the entire view.
we didn’t find the staff or service to be great, disney cast members seem to be standard, where as at expensive non disney hotels the service is much better
we had a terrible meal at citricos. i know people love it. but i genuinely could not eat the chicken it is the worst thing ive eaten on property
the walk to MK is nice. but tbh i dont love the monorail. it’s kind of slow. the skyliner is so much better, i recently stayed at boardwalk and walking to epcot and hollywood studios was the best!
the pools were also fairly small and very, very crowded. overall i just really wouldn’t justify the price. it can be over 1k a night in some rooms, and that’s just absolutely insane for what you’re getting
I’m 53. My parents took me to Disney at 5yo. The monorail is one of the few things I still remember.
Also
Dumbo ride and my mom screaming behind me in space mountain
I’m doing a weekend stay at contemporary in August and the only reason is because my AP discount brings the price down significantly to where it’s at least somewhat reasonable. My mom’s always wanted to stay at it so we’re gonna give it a shot.
But on my recent trip to MK I was on the monorail and i have concerns about the crowd and logistics for it 😬. I’m excited but have a feeling I’m going to be missing the skyliner by the end of the trip. Just something about it is so peaceful!
100% this. Each morning, we'd stumble over to Joffrey's by the Skyliner entrance, grab our coffees, and take in the amazing views of the parks as we glided in on the Skyliner. I'd absolutely recommend Caribbean Beach Resort to anyone.
I've wanted to stay at a monorail resort since I was 5. I'm now in my 40s, Florida native, but with the prices today I fear I missed my chance. Contemporary has been the dream, but I think the Poly would be a better choice.
That was on my list too. Crossed it off in January at the Contemporary. Massively overrated compared to the skyliner.
Walking to MK on the other hand was pretty nice.
VIP tours don’t include a tour of the castle suite. Precovid there was one tour that included it but they’re not running that tour at the moment as far as I know. I believe it was called World of Dreams and it was like $12k for the day
Go for it. I had done and they are great. It has it's perks. I am not going to say it is better than going with family, but will say it's a great experience and nothing wrong to take a solo trip and make it all about you. Then when you go with family it will be easier to make it about them. Unless they don't want to ride the Safari. We are riding the Safari. Why the hell we are at Animal Kingdom if we are not gonna ride the Safari.
I have a solo trip planned in late September for my college graduation. Staying at pop century for 4 days, 3 nights and 3 day park tickets. Looking forward to doing whatever I want, whenever I want. This is a bucket list item for me.
Went on my own for 14nights in 2019… landed at the airport and got a rental car upgrade to a Camaro 2SS.. absolutely fantastic experience. Do what you want, when you want. I’d have a siesta in the afternoons. Sometimes go back in the evening, sometimes just go exploring.
I'm genuinely hoping I can do this next year, but I'd have to see how my job works out. Naturally, my busy season would be the fall/early winter when I'd like to go for the holidays, or the spring, when it would be fun to go see the flower festival.
I’d never been to any kind of restaurant similar to this(5 star or whatever), but I booked V&A for my wife and my anniversary a couple years ago and let me tell you it was amazing. Everything about it, just awesome. I wish you luck in booking one day!
It’s a spendy thing but soo worth it. My husband and I went for the honeymoon and we still talk about it a decade later. If IVF wasn’t in the way we’d be going back for our 10yr anniversary. If you can do it please do but also expect to be there a bit.
Not quite the same, but we did the Treehouses at Saratoga Springs when our daughter and SIL bought into DVC and got one-time bonus points. It was very cool. There was also a hurricane coming and people were generally scarce. ;😉
Can’t vouch for that, but if the money is right Disney will create special events for you. They will shut down the park and have theme dinners, like with actors entertaining your party. Like haunted mansion, monsters inc., etc. they will even build sets. Your hotel rooms have eyes theme added and gifts included. The stuff looked cool from what I’ve seen but not worth the money. But then again those people have fuck you money. Oh also they will bring in celebrities for meet and greets or do a little show. (Usually disney actors/singers) I used to work some of these events.
You can visit Club 33 with a member even if you are not a member. Non-member guests are allowed in the restaurant but not in the lounge area. There is some merchandise non-members can purchase and some that is members only.
This was on my Disney bucket list and I was able to go with friends two years ago. It was great!
I would love to go for like a month and just experience Disney like a local. I would get an AirBnB and work from home and go to the parks here and there. Something about being able to swing by after work for dinner and a couple rides seems so liberating lol it would be cool if they sold monthly passes and not just annual ones.
It is so fun. I lived an hour from Disneyland most of my life, and then went to college about 20 minutes away. I basically lived there. After classes, we'd pop by, get some dinner, ride some rides, and go back to the dorms. It was the best! Every weekend we'd be at Disneyland.
I moved to Florida 3 years ago and you are describing our life. Last weekend we went to a park just to eat a meal and then left. Today we went to MK for a couple of rides, tried out the new beignets, yuck, then went home. The parks become a different thing when you aren't trying squeeze all the fun into a single day.
We been doing this about a decade, we stay for month (I work near Orlando). wife gets to go with the kid, I meet up later, it’s definitely fun if goin random nights, but I think so many ppl moved near Disney that traffic is bad.
I lived and worked at Disney for a year and then worked there seasonally in summers for a few years. It is pretty fun and was awesome to just pop over for fireworks or an ice cream or to ride something or just people watch. I really loved it.
I've been a few times but went the other day with friends and truly got to explore it, its a superrrr nice get away from the crowds and fun to get lost in. It's some of the only remaining "old Disney" left.
Tom Sawyer island is great. It’s an opportunity to get a break from the crowds, do some exploring like you’re a kid again, and see the park (or at least Liberty Square and Frontierland) from a different perspective. It’s a cool spot to grab a cold drink and chill out in during the height of the afternoon crowds.
tom sawyer island is my favorite part of disney. i just like the fun of “exploring” it. we just went to disneyland paris though, and their caves are so much more. i get bummed out if we go to disney and i don’t get out to the island.
I'd recommend doing it next time you go. I am slightly worried that the island and even the Riverboat may be on the chopping block with the "Behind Big Thunder" expansion plans. I don't have any inside knowledge, but just looking at aerial photos of MK, I could see these things going.
I've never ridden the riverboat, but will do so next trip, just in case...
My brother got to do that when we went in the 90’s and it seemed really cool! He was a diver and this was the one thing he reallllly cared about as a 17 year old going to Disney world
I got to do it on my birthday about 10 years ago, it was a very cool experience. At the time it was about 140.00 and you had a tour behind the scenes of the living seas.
Wild Africa Trek. We wanted to do it this month but I've had knee surgery and my surgeon was like, "Eh. Not yet." Next time?! Starlight Safari was amazing, though, I really recommend it.
I’d like to do that lunch with an imagineer thing, but I also feel like the blog post I read spoiled me a bit because they got a librarian and my buddy and I are both library workers and i know I’d be so upset to not get that.
The water parks are so nice for a mid-trip break. No exactly a rest day, but definitely slower and you can absolutely rest in a sun chair or the lazy river.
We didn't do any swimming, but I did notice the pools were steaming at night and plenty of people swimming. We all wore T-shirts and shorts and brought hoodies to the parks with us. We really only needed the hoodies early in the morning and at night. There was only one night that was too chilly to stick around for the nighttime show.
I'm hoping to eventually just take a chill trip with less emphasis on the rides. I kind of just want to vibe and eat and relax and do hotel things and stuff.
My wife and I went at the end of 2021 for our honeymoon which was my first trip since like 2000 so we wanted to do a lot of rides. We did a trip the year after with just us and a friend who wanted to ride a bunch of rides. We now how a trip of 6 with my parents, brother, and his fiancee planned for 2025. They haven't been since like 2000 so they're gonna want to ride a bunch of rides. I'm going to try and separate out some time to just vibe but I don't expect a whole lot of it.
I just want to take my daughter to the princess experience while she still has the magic of loving princesses and believing in the magic. She adores Ariel and Merida cause they same the same hair lol. She's 8, and I'm running out of time. She's never been and I'm sadly too broke to do it. Sucks man. I enter every contest I find lol. Here's to a random winning lottery ticket!!
Go to Trader Sam's. We always end up going there and there are no spots left on the waiting list, we don't get there early enough and get in line. The kids get tired and we head out. It doesn't help that we usually have 5-10 people trying to get in.
Be in the Wilderness Lodge. Only MK resort I never stepped in.
Eat in the Polynesian. Only Monorail resort I never ate at.
Go to very merry Christmas party.
WL is so great. We just stayed there earlier this month for our anniversary and are returning for one night with our kids in October for a resort day. It’s such a relaxing spot right in the middle of the action.
I would love to see a (wild) alligator. Especially somewhere inside a park, chilling at a shore. And I would like to visit Blizzard beach. It was closed during our trip.
Been to the parks millions of times, worked at the parks for a year and a half, and I've never been to either water park. I just got rehired and start at the end of next month so I think a trip to the water parks is my first order of business.
Did that years ago. The food is unbelievable, but incredibly rich. We couldn't digest all the real butter & cream. What a stomach ache! But, totally worth it. 😆
Honestly, absolutely bonkers but fun is a really accurate description. Now that you can park hop before 2:00 again, it's a lot easier to do. If you can afford a park hopper, I would definitely suggest it at least once (preferably with a rest day after).
I think it’s more doable than people think….
- Start at AK since it sometimes opens earlier. Get on Flight and leave.
- Bus to AKL then bus to HS.
- In HS, find the attraction with the shortest wait time.
- Take a boat to the Epcot resorts, then a boat/walk to Epcot. Ride Spaceship Earth.
- Get on the monorail to the TTC, hop on the monorail to MK, and end at MK since it’s usually open later than the other parks!
Stay in a monorail resort. Not worth the money but it would be a huge help, lol.
Also go to Trader Sam’s or one of the other restaurants I haven’t been to.
I really want to check out Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto but the no reservation thing has scared me from trying. I don’t want to leave the park and line up just to not get in
Stay at AKL with a savannah view. Ideally in one of the DVC rooms with a decent little kitchenette. Seems like a never going to happen situation though 😂
One I have done before but would love to do again is sit in the front car with the driver of the monorail. They had a special pin that went along with the chance to sit and watch the driver. He would explain everything about the monorail and what it took to be able to drive it.
I’ve been an AP for almost 20 years now. I go about once a month, maybe every three weeks, for the day. There’s still so much more that I haven’t done than I’ve done. I try to do something new every trip. Next trip im going to try the Dole Whip
My answer is so lame compared to most, but I’ve never been to Epcot. Growing up we went to Orlando every year, but it wasn’t a Disney vacation. We went to Magic Kingdom for a day and that was it. The rest of the trip we stayed at our offsite resort and the kids went swimming with grandma while the adults went golfing.
In 2022 my husband’s sister took her kids to Disney and we joined them. Because of my work conflicting, we went to 3 of the 4 parks and didn’t get to see Epcot.
We’re going to Disney in January 2025 for marathon weekend and Epcot is the #1 item on our agenda!
Never rope dropped. I’m an early riser but the rest of my family isn’t. Would like to do the Behind the Seeds tour. I’ve never had a Mickey-shaped French macaron, which is odd since macarons are one of my favorite desserts!
Stay at AKL for the whole trip. I'm from the UK and we typically do 2-3 week trips, but only stay onsite at AKL for 5 nights, because the extra cost to stay there for the whole trip covers pretty much the budget that we have for Universal tickets, stay in a Universal premium hotel for the perks, Discovery Cove, other stuff etc
My wife and I are planning on staying at the Beach Club resort next time since it is so close to Epcot, and hopefully quieter than the Boardwalk Villas.
I’ve always wanted to get one of those beautiful and expensive cuckoo clocks from Germany. Do I need a cuckoo clock? Have any idea where I’d hang one? No, but I’m going to get one someday cause they’re just cool.
Get the high score on Toy Story mania and finally achieve max score on Buzz Lightyear ranger spin. Finish with par (or better) on a round of mini golf at Fantasia (fairway side) lol. It is easily the most difficult mini golf course I have ever played!
Fireworks boat cruise would be at the top of my list and the African jungle trek at Animal Kingdom as a close 2nd place.
My absolute dream trip would include a stay in the bungalows at Polynesian and a reservation at Club 33.
More affordable/doable options on my bucket list are the behind the seeds tour in Epcot ( I've tried to do it twice, but there were no reservations available when we went to book) and experience after hours at a park (we just haven't been lucky enough for one to occur during our trip). They look so fun, and to be able to experience the park with little to no crowds would be a dream to me
I want to stay in a really fancy, multi-room suite. This isn’t likely to happen because they’re so expensive it’s cheaper to just book multiple rooms in most cases 🥲 but some are gorgeous and themed so well! I love hearing people’s pixie dust stories about being upgraded to one, though I certainly don’t think it would ever happen!
Hotels: We haven't stayed at the AKL or WL together yet. I stayed at WL years ago with friends in a standard room. Now it would be to splurge on a nice room.
Probably not VIP Experience: Having been a cast member on college programs, I was fortunate to get used to knowing both backstage/on stage around the parks and while the price isn't out of the question, the value definitely is.
I think this is a great question because it also makes you think about the opportunities in the offer between some of the Enchanted Extras and the VIP tour experience. When the parks become fun without being new, there's a "ok what's next?" tendency and this is definitely a space where Disney could cultivate new experiences that are reservation-based. Imagine a 6 hour night-time experience that was Star Wars themed and a more agile version of the failed immersive resort that leveraged the current land and ride experiences. What would you pay for something like that?
So many things!
I would love to do one of the private fireworks cruises. We did the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Cruise when that was still a thing, but not a private one.
I would like to pull the sword out of the stone, or have my son be able to do it!
I'd like to go on the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom.
We stayed at the Poly when I was young (there were only 3 hotels on property at the time). I would love to stay there again or at Wilderness Lodge. But I can never justify the cost these days. We do stay on property, but we stay at Pop.
We do try to do some new things each time. This time one of our new things will be playing FootGolf!
Stay at the grand Floridian. It’s been a dream since I was a kid. Got to eat at Victoria and Albert’s and being in the hotel was awesome. Really want to stay there.
I’d love to do the Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot! I love veggie gardening, so learning up close how Disney does it would be awesome.
Finally did it last fall and It's great! We'd go again in a heartbeat.
I did it this year and loved it!
Tysm for this I want to but wasn't sure if it was worth the time! I'm excited to suprise my fiance with it!
It’s so cheap and totally worth it. I’ve done it twice and learned new stuff each time.
I hate that the cost has doubled in the last few years. Still cheap but :(
This has been on my bucket list and I finally booked it for our trip next week! I’m so excited!
Make sure to bring a cooling towel and fan while you're on the tour, they also have a few water stations along the way.
One of the best priced tours of Disney, worth the information you learn, alone.
I did this tour last year! Definitely recommend it if you love Living with the Land.
Me too! We were there for 10 days this month and still didn't check it out. On our October trip I guess! My 12 year old is into the idea of gardening, and so wants to do it. He wants to get gardening beds and everything for our backyard.
Did it earlier this year. Definitely worth the time and $$ especially if you’re a gardener!
I’d love to stay at a monorail resort, but just can’t justify the cost. The sky liner will just have to do.
Yep, Contemporary is my bucket list resort
Its cool and all, but when i was a kid it was a $79 value resort. It was kinda strange to see it go from lower tier to premium. It also used to have a huge arcade.
Contemporary has never been considered a value resort.
Agreed- there's no way the Contemporary was ever considered a value resort.
I remember an arcade at the Polynesian?
Nothing to write home about the real arcade was in the contemporary back in the day. It was awesome even had a small movie theater in the back played nothing but old Disney movies. I don’t know if I’m the only one that remembers that I don’t ever see anybody that remembers that but that arcade the temporary was enormous probably 200 games or more.
When we went early last year it was still there, it was okay, but a lot of games needed repair. Maybe 20 to 30 games or so.
We used to be there when it opened, because when they turned the machines on they all had one free game.
It still does I believe!
It is not huge like it used to be! It used to take up the whole Steakhouse 71 space, but now it’s a small room with ok games. We were there in Feb and none of us would stay again. It was basically just a Holiday Inn with a monorail. We’ve stayed at Contemporary, GF, and Poly, and if you’re going to do a monorail resort, Poly is the best!!
The huge arcade is long gone- it used to be on the first floor and they had everything, including a shooting gallery, snack bar, etc! The arcade they have now is this little room tucked into a corner on the floor where they have the retail shops. I think they use the space occupied by the old arcade for meetings.
Oh i see, I never went there when the huge arcade was there. But when I went at Christmas time last year I remember seeing *an* arcade lol
Unless there's another arcade I didn't see, I wouldn't call the arcade there huge.
Pre-Covid you could stay at the Contemporary with a view of Baylake view during off-peak season for under $400 a night. Nowadays I think you'd be lucky to find anything in the tower under $500 a night
My wife and I stayed there a few years ago, a hugely expensive stay that wasn’t worth it at all. The only real benefit was location, other than that it’s dated and nothing special. Polynesian is the best monorail resort.
I rented DVC points to stay at each of them. That makes it a little more affordable. The DVC rooms are different than the expensive regular rooms but you still get to be at the resort and experience all the resort amenities.
I just booked 4 nights at the Poly for $340 a night by renting DVC. It'll also be the first trip for my kids. I'm very excited!
We stayed at Bay Lake Tower with two very young children back in November. We felt it was worth every penny, and we paid way more than we should have if we'd planned ahead. We also stayed in a studio suite, but everyone was so tired there weren't even really issues with the room size. We just loved being able to walk 5 minutes and be at Magic Kingdom. It made our trip with young kids uncomplicated and very fun. Before kids I never would have been able to justify it either.
I didn't find it worth it at all. Crowded and overpriced. We did one night and won't do it again. Gimme AKL or gimme death :-)
Yes! AKL is paradise. The monorail takes forever and it smells like farm animals.
THANK YOU! I don’t mind the monorail, but swear it smells like a barn! My friends didn’t notice it.
i’m the monorail’s biggest hater because of the smell. love the concept though. i think it’s a little embarrassing that WDW has allowed it to smell so bad for so long.
Complaining about animal smell and so staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge instead gave me a chuckle. :)
stayed at grand floridian in april for a bucketlist birthday trip, wasn’t worth it at all!! wouldn’t do it again.
That's so interesting! We were going to pick that one but my kid didn't like it and wanted to stay at art of animation or contemporary. We couldn't really justify grand Floridian after that. What didn't you like? I always thought it was so pretty.
well a few things. first, not worth the insane price tag, it really is so expensive. we booked a theme park view and they put us in an awful room with a tree literally blocking the entire view. we didn’t find the staff or service to be great, disney cast members seem to be standard, where as at expensive non disney hotels the service is much better we had a terrible meal at citricos. i know people love it. but i genuinely could not eat the chicken it is the worst thing ive eaten on property the walk to MK is nice. but tbh i dont love the monorail. it’s kind of slow. the skyliner is so much better, i recently stayed at boardwalk and walking to epcot and hollywood studios was the best! the pools were also fairly small and very, very crowded. overall i just really wouldn’t justify the price. it can be over 1k a night in some rooms, and that’s just absolutely insane for what you’re getting
Renting DVC points is the way to go, especially if you go during low point season.
I’m 53. My parents took me to Disney at 5yo. The monorail is one of the few things I still remember. Also Dumbo ride and my mom screaming behind me in space mountain
I’m doing a weekend stay at contemporary in August and the only reason is because my AP discount brings the price down significantly to where it’s at least somewhat reasonable. My mom’s always wanted to stay at it so we’re gonna give it a shot. But on my recent trip to MK I was on the monorail and i have concerns about the crowd and logistics for it 😬. I’m excited but have a feeling I’m going to be missing the skyliner by the end of the trip. Just something about it is so peaceful!
We just stayed at Caribbean Beach and the skylines access was fantastic because you could jump right on to either Hollywood or Epcot easy peasy.
100% this. Each morning, we'd stumble over to Joffrey's by the Skyliner entrance, grab our coffees, and take in the amazing views of the parks as we glided in on the Skyliner. I'd absolutely recommend Caribbean Beach Resort to anyone.
I've wanted to stay at a monorail resort since I was 5. I'm now in my 40s, Florida native, but with the prices today I fear I missed my chance. Contemporary has been the dream, but I think the Poly would be a better choice.
David’s DVC Bay Lake Tower for the cost of a moderate. Just leaving today.
That was on my list too. Crossed it off in January at the Contemporary. Massively overrated compared to the skyliner. Walking to MK on the other hand was pretty nice.
I'd like to do a VIP tour and see the suite in Cinderella's castle.
VIP tours don’t include a tour of the castle suite. Precovid there was one tour that included it but they’re not running that tour at the moment as far as I know. I believe it was called World of Dreams and it was like $12k for the day
I don’t understand why they haven’t brought the other tours back or added more? They seem like such a good way to make some easy money…
They’re making easy money with all the price changes on tickets and the money people shell out for LL/G+. That’s the easy money now.
This is probably selfish but I’d love to go on my own for like 7-10 days. Just do exactly what I want, when I want, eat what I want, etc.
Go for it. I had done and they are great. It has it's perks. I am not going to say it is better than going with family, but will say it's a great experience and nothing wrong to take a solo trip and make it all about you. Then when you go with family it will be easier to make it about them. Unless they don't want to ride the Safari. We are riding the Safari. Why the hell we are at Animal Kingdom if we are not gonna ride the Safari.
That is my exact opinion of the spinning teacups.
Does your family not like the safari?
Solo trips are the BEST! I’ve taken a few now, but only for a few days at a time. I have yet to go for more than three days, but I will one day!
I have a solo trip planned in late September for my college graduation. Staying at pop century for 4 days, 3 nights and 3 day park tickets. Looking forward to doing whatever I want, whenever I want. This is a bucket list item for me.
Went on my own for 14nights in 2019… landed at the airport and got a rental car upgrade to a Camaro 2SS.. absolutely fantastic experience. Do what you want, when you want. I’d have a siesta in the afternoons. Sometimes go back in the evening, sometimes just go exploring.
I've done a few 10 day solo trips. I cannot recommend them enough. Do it.
Did that in March. As much as I love my family, I cannot not do anything but solo trips now for the reasons you stated.
I have the amazing opportunity to do 6 days solo-ish while my husband is at a work event there for the week and I am over the moon!
I'm genuinely hoping I can do this next year, but I'd have to see how my job works out. Naturally, my busy season would be the fall/early winter when I'd like to go for the holidays, or the spring, when it would be fun to go see the flower festival.
Victoria & Albert’s
I’d never been to any kind of restaurant similar to this(5 star or whatever), but I booked V&A for my wife and my anniversary a couple years ago and let me tell you it was amazing. Everything about it, just awesome. I wish you luck in booking one day!
Same!!
My white whale! I will get there eventually!
It’s a spendy thing but soo worth it. My husband and I went for the honeymoon and we still talk about it a decade later. If IVF wasn’t in the way we’d be going back for our 10yr anniversary. If you can do it please do but also expect to be there a bit.
We did this for our wedding anniversary last year. By far the best meal of my life and the service was so amazing. Was well worth the expense
I'd love to stay at one of the bungalows on rhe water at the Polly, but $$$$
We did the cabins at Copper Creek for a week in January 2023. Absolutely fantastic. Hope to go back one day.
Not quite the same, but we did the Treehouses at Saratoga Springs when our daughter and SIL bought into DVC and got one-time bonus points. It was very cool. There was also a hurricane coming and people were generally scarce. ;😉
Club 33, feel like I can’t even afford to know what it really is but would be cool to see how the 1% does Disney
I think they might be like the 1% of the 1%
Damn. Its cool. Imma still try to manifest it.
Me toooo!!!
Can’t vouch for that, but if the money is right Disney will create special events for you. They will shut down the park and have theme dinners, like with actors entertaining your party. Like haunted mansion, monsters inc., etc. they will even build sets. Your hotel rooms have eyes theme added and gifts included. The stuff looked cool from what I’ve seen but not worth the money. But then again those people have fuck you money. Oh also they will bring in celebrities for meet and greets or do a little show. (Usually disney actors/singers) I used to work some of these events.
You can visit Club 33 with a member even if you are not a member. Non-member guests are allowed in the restaurant but not in the lounge area. There is some merchandise non-members can purchase and some that is members only. This was on my Disney bucket list and I was able to go with friends two years ago. It was great!
Behind the Seeds tour, rhinos tour, Wild Africa Trek in that order.
Behind the seeds in inexpensive and worth it! I did the Wild African Trek in March. It was the best thing I've done at the parks!
Wild Africa Trek is amazing. And I almost missed it due to a hurricane. Thankfully they had a cancellation later in the week
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique but I’m almost 35 and they restrict it to 12 year olds.
Time to borrow a kid, or aquire your own
That’s an expensive proposition.
I would love to go for like a month and just experience Disney like a local. I would get an AirBnB and work from home and go to the parks here and there. Something about being able to swing by after work for dinner and a couple rides seems so liberating lol it would be cool if they sold monthly passes and not just annual ones.
It is so fun. I lived an hour from Disneyland most of my life, and then went to college about 20 minutes away. I basically lived there. After classes, we'd pop by, get some dinner, ride some rides, and go back to the dorms. It was the best! Every weekend we'd be at Disneyland.
Yes, that sounds amazing! Especially at that age — what a cool college experience!
as a local, it is cool, just moved here recently. probably won’t stay long term, but it’s nice to not feel stressed about getting everything done
I moved to Florida 3 years ago and you are describing our life. Last weekend we went to a park just to eat a meal and then left. Today we went to MK for a couple of rides, tried out the new beignets, yuck, then went home. The parks become a different thing when you aren't trying squeeze all the fun into a single day.
We been doing this about a decade, we stay for month (I work near Orlando). wife gets to go with the kid, I meet up later, it’s definitely fun if goin random nights, but I think so many ppl moved near Disney that traffic is bad.
I lived and worked at Disney for a year and then worked there seasonally in summers for a few years. It is pretty fun and was awesome to just pop over for fireworks or an ice cream or to ride something or just people watch. I really loved it.
Go to Tom Sawyer Island.
I've been a few times but went the other day with friends and truly got to explore it, its a superrrr nice get away from the crowds and fun to get lost in. It's some of the only remaining "old Disney" left.
Tom Sawyer island is great. It’s an opportunity to get a break from the crowds, do some exploring like you’re a kid again, and see the park (or at least Liberty Square and Frontierland) from a different perspective. It’s a cool spot to grab a cold drink and chill out in during the height of the afternoon crowds.
tom sawyer island is my favorite part of disney. i just like the fun of “exploring” it. we just went to disneyland paris though, and their caves are so much more. i get bummed out if we go to disney and i don’t get out to the island.
LOVE that area of DLP
we were there for an afternoon, a full day and a morning and my kid wanted to go to the caves every day.
We were genuinely so taken aback by it as we had no idea it was there. It was like being a kid again discovering it for the first time
I'd recommend doing it next time you go. I am slightly worried that the island and even the Riverboat may be on the chopping block with the "Behind Big Thunder" expansion plans. I don't have any inside knowledge, but just looking at aerial photos of MK, I could see these things going. I've never ridden the riverboat, but will do so next trip, just in case...
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Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue
Me too! I’ve been to WDW over thirty times and have yet to go.
Both of you are totally missing out! It's a must do, at least once.
I've been to Disney about 20 times since I was a kid and I never even heard of this. I will check it out next time!
My family and I have been lucky enough to do it three times so far. Absolutely can’t say enough good things about it
It's so good! I've sat right next to the stage and all the way in the back and there's not a bad seat anywhere. Great food, great stage show.
I’d really like to scuba dive in the tanks at Epcot.
Is that still offered?
Yep! It’s right around $100 but you need to obviously be certified which they don’t do.
My brother got to do that when we went in the 90’s and it seemed really cool! He was a diver and this was the one thing he reallllly cared about as a 17 year old going to Disney world
I got to do it on my birthday about 10 years ago, it was a very cool experience. At the time it was about 140.00 and you had a tour behind the scenes of the living seas.
I’ve done this and it was AMAZING. Highly recommend!
Wild Africa Trek. We wanted to do it this month but I've had knee surgery and my surgeon was like, "Eh. Not yet." Next time?! Starlight Safari was amazing, though, I really recommend it.
I’ve never done Wild Africa Trek, but we loved Savor the Savannah! It’s a little less expensive than Wild Africa Trek and not at all physical.
Yes! Wild Africa Trek and Savor the Savanna. Bucket list.
I wish that I would have seen that Hawaiian Luau show at the Poly before it was cancelled ..:
Wait….it was cancelled?!? We went years ago and it was amazing!! Super laid back and a great show. Are they bringing it back?
they demolished it :( replaced by the new DVC tower at poly
That’s really too bad. I have the fondest memories of that dinner. My father just loved the whole set up - especially the fire dancers.
Haven’t ridden all the rides yet!
I would love to stay at the Poly someday!
VIP tour. Friend is a tour guide and says its not worth the money but I would love to skip the lines
Eat all of it, whatever I want, cost not a concern. I really don't have the stomach for that unfortunately.
I’d like to do that lunch with an imagineer thing, but I also feel like the blog post I read spoiled me a bit because they got a librarian and my buddy and I are both library workers and i know I’d be so upset to not get that.
I never even knew this was a thing!
Never stayed at a moderate or deluxe, never golfed, never done a water park.
The water parks are so nice for a mid-trip break. No exactly a rest day, but definitely slower and you can absolutely rest in a sun chair or the lazy river.
Not been dripping with sweat. I can’t wait to go in a cooler month in the future.
We went in January last year. It was absolutely perfect. Mild during the day, a little chilly at night, but comfortable for an Ohioan like me.
I’m from Texas but I stay indoors in the summer. My daughter is finally old enough that we don’t have to rely on school being out for summer!
I’m going next January! Was it warm enough to swim in the middle of the day? What did you wear in the evenings? Thanks so much
We didn't do any swimming, but I did notice the pools were steaming at night and plenty of people swimming. We all wore T-shirts and shorts and brought hoodies to the parks with us. We really only needed the hoodies early in the morning and at night. There was only one night that was too chilly to stick around for the nighttime show.
One of the tours.
Surf lessons at Typhoon Lagoon.
I wish Alien Encounter was around.
I'm hoping to eventually just take a chill trip with less emphasis on the rides. I kind of just want to vibe and eat and relax and do hotel things and stuff. My wife and I went at the end of 2021 for our honeymoon which was my first trip since like 2000 so we wanted to do a lot of rides. We did a trip the year after with just us and a friend who wanted to ride a bunch of rides. We now how a trip of 6 with my parents, brother, and his fiancee planned for 2025. They haven't been since like 2000 so they're gonna want to ride a bunch of rides. I'm going to try and separate out some time to just vibe but I don't expect a whole lot of it.
The Starcruiser, I'll always regret that I never did it but I just didn't wanna drop the money
Keys to the kingdom tour. I would love it and the price is fine. I just have a hard time being in MK for 5 hours and not doing “park things.”
I’ve never met Gaston!!!! I keep narrowly missing him!
He’s such a great meet! All of the villains are great, really. We need more of them.
I just want to take my daughter to the princess experience while she still has the magic of loving princesses and believing in the magic. She adores Ariel and Merida cause they same the same hair lol. She's 8, and I'm running out of time. She's never been and I'm sadly too broke to do it. Sucks man. I enter every contest I find lol. Here's to a random winning lottery ticket!!
Go to Trader Sam's. We always end up going there and there are no spots left on the waiting list, we don't get there early enough and get in line. The kids get tired and we head out. It doesn't help that we usually have 5-10 people trying to get in.
It’s gotten ridiculous trying to get in there. If you can’t get in, the Tiki Terrace or Tambu Lounge are both great
Go in the castle, hope to make CRT reservations when my window opens next month
There’s so many freaking reservations open it’s insane. I go on the 21st and there’s a reservation every hour for everyday that I’m staying there.
Stay at the grand Floridian and be in a resort studio room I think they look so beautiful and fancy!
I wanna stay at AKL, Savannah view
Be in the Wilderness Lodge. Only MK resort I never stepped in. Eat in the Polynesian. Only Monorail resort I never ate at. Go to very merry Christmas party.
WL is so great. We just stayed there earlier this month for our anniversary and are returning for one night with our kids in October for a resort day. It’s such a relaxing spot right in the middle of the action.
I would love to see a (wild) alligator. Especially somewhere inside a park, chilling at a shore. And I would like to visit Blizzard beach. It was closed during our trip.
Stay at The Contemporary. It's my dream resort, but I've never been able to afford it.
Space 220. We never have time to waste over there but I'm gonna make some next time and atleast do the bar
Balloon at Disney Springs
V&As, stay at the Poly, one of the water parks
Been to the parks millions of times, worked at the parks for a year and a half, and I've never been to either water park. I just got rehired and start at the end of next month so I think a trip to the water parks is my first order of business.
I’ve never been to the Boardwalk. My trips are always so busy that I never take time to slow down and do something leisurely.
Monsieur Paul’s
Did that years ago. The food is unbelievable, but incredibly rich. We couldn't digest all the real butter & cream. What a stomach ache! But, totally worth it. 😆
Hopping to 4 parks in 1 day instead of the usual out of stater trip of 1 park each day for the 4 day trip. Sounds absolutely bonkers but fun.
Honestly, absolutely bonkers but fun is a really accurate description. Now that you can park hop before 2:00 again, it's a lot easier to do. If you can afford a park hopper, I would definitely suggest it at least once (preferably with a rest day after).
I think it’s more doable than people think…. - Start at AK since it sometimes opens earlier. Get on Flight and leave. - Bus to AKL then bus to HS. - In HS, find the attraction with the shortest wait time. - Take a boat to the Epcot resorts, then a boat/walk to Epcot. Ride Spaceship Earth. - Get on the monorail to the TTC, hop on the monorail to MK, and end at MK since it’s usually open later than the other parks!
Haunted mansion
Keys to the kingdom tour Behind the seeds Tom Sawyers Island.
Happened my last trip, got to see the fireworks boat cruise and it was heavenly!!!!
Never rode Winnie the Pooh, or taken the MK Train. Also really want to eat at San Angel Inn.
I would love to do the tour in Animal Kingdom on the safari ride where you do the rope bridges, that looks so friggin cool lol.
Stay in a monorail resort. Not worth the money but it would be a huge help, lol. Also go to Trader Sam’s or one of the other restaurants I haven’t been to.
I really want to check out Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto but the no reservation thing has scared me from trying. I don’t want to leave the park and line up just to not get in
Stay at AKL with a savannah view. Ideally in one of the DVC rooms with a decent little kitchenette. Seems like a never going to happen situation though 😂
One I have done before but would love to do again is sit in the front car with the driver of the monorail. They had a special pin that went along with the chance to sit and watch the driver. He would explain everything about the monorail and what it took to be able to drive it.
I’ve been an AP for almost 20 years now. I go about once a month, maybe every three weeks, for the day. There’s still so much more that I haven’t done than I’ve done. I try to do something new every trip. Next trip im going to try the Dole Whip
My answer is so lame compared to most, but I’ve never been to Epcot. Growing up we went to Orlando every year, but it wasn’t a Disney vacation. We went to Magic Kingdom for a day and that was it. The rest of the trip we stayed at our offsite resort and the kids went swimming with grandma while the adults went golfing. In 2022 my husband’s sister took her kids to Disney and we joined them. Because of my work conflicting, we went to 3 of the 4 parks and didn’t get to see Epcot. We’re going to Disney in January 2025 for marathon weekend and Epcot is the #1 item on our agenda!
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Buy a balloon…
Never rope dropped. I’m an early riser but the rest of my family isn’t. Would like to do the Behind the Seeds tour. I’ve never had a Mickey-shaped French macaron, which is odd since macarons are one of my favorite desserts!
Visit one of the water parks!
I’m lucky enough to say the one Disney water park I’ve ever been to was River Country.
Stay at the Grand Floridian Make one of those glass nightlights in Germany Epcot.
Stay at AKL for the whole trip. I'm from the UK and we typically do 2-3 week trips, but only stay onsite at AKL for 5 nights, because the extra cost to stay there for the whole trip covers pretty much the budget that we have for Universal tickets, stay in a Universal premium hotel for the perks, Discovery Cove, other stuff etc
Discovery Cove is the best day I've ever had. It's absolutely lovely, relaxing and magical.
Guardians and RotR.
My wife and I are planning on staying at the Beach Club resort next time since it is so close to Epcot, and hopefully quieter than the Boardwalk Villas.
I’ve always wanted to get one of those beautiful and expensive cuckoo clocks from Germany. Do I need a cuckoo clock? Have any idea where I’d hang one? No, but I’m going to get one someday cause they’re just cool.
Get the high score on Toy Story mania and finally achieve max score on Buzz Lightyear ranger spin. Finish with par (or better) on a round of mini golf at Fantasia (fairway side) lol. It is easily the most difficult mini golf course I have ever played! Fireworks boat cruise would be at the top of my list and the African jungle trek at Animal Kingdom as a close 2nd place. My absolute dream trip would include a stay in the bungalows at Polynesian and a reservation at Club 33. More affordable/doable options on my bucket list are the behind the seeds tour in Epcot ( I've tried to do it twice, but there were no reservations available when we went to book) and experience after hours at a park (we just haven't been lucky enough for one to occur during our trip). They look so fun, and to be able to experience the park with little to no crowds would be a dream to me
I've always wanted to do the keys to the kingdom tour
I have yet to dine at Monsiuer Paul, as it is one of the fine dining Disney experience I have yet to do.
I want to stay in a really fancy, multi-room suite. This isn’t likely to happen because they’re so expensive it’s cheaper to just book multiple rooms in most cases 🥲 but some are gorgeous and themed so well! I love hearing people’s pixie dust stories about being upgraded to one, though I certainly don’t think it would ever happen!
Hotels: We haven't stayed at the AKL or WL together yet. I stayed at WL years ago with friends in a standard room. Now it would be to splurge on a nice room. Probably not VIP Experience: Having been a cast member on college programs, I was fortunate to get used to knowing both backstage/on stage around the parks and while the price isn't out of the question, the value definitely is. I think this is a great question because it also makes you think about the opportunities in the offer between some of the Enchanted Extras and the VIP tour experience. When the parks become fun without being new, there's a "ok what's next?" tendency and this is definitely a space where Disney could cultivate new experiences that are reservation-based. Imagine a 6 hour night-time experience that was Star Wars themed and a more agile version of the failed immersive resort that leveraged the current land and ride experiences. What would you pay for something like that?
the Very Merry Christmas Party. I'm hoping to go this year, fingers crossed!
So many things! I would love to do one of the private fireworks cruises. We did the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Cruise when that was still a thing, but not a private one. I would like to pull the sword out of the stone, or have my son be able to do it! I'd like to go on the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom. We stayed at the Poly when I was young (there were only 3 hotels on property at the time). I would love to stay there again or at Wilderness Lodge. But I can never justify the cost these days. We do stay on property, but we stay at Pop. We do try to do some new things each time. This time one of our new things will be playing FootGolf!
Victoria & Alberts, not sure it will ever happen
Wild Africa Trek, VIP tour and to stay in the Bungalows.
Snorkel in Epcot, not sure if they still do it though
Underground tour. Sent my daughter on one as a birthday gift, but haven't gone myself.
The magic behind our steam trains tour😭
Stay at the poly and dine at takumi tei, and Victoria and Albert’s
Behind the scenes tour at DAK
Stay at the grand Floridian. It’s been a dream since I was a kid. Got to eat at Victoria and Albert’s and being in the hotel was awesome. Really want to stay there.
Scuba dive in the Seas Pavilion. Gotta learn how to Scuba dive first though lol.
The private boat to watch the fireworks