Just Back (March 4-9)

[odd man out]

Had a great trip. First time without kids. Intentionally made it more laid back and deluxe (not up for rope drop, ate at signature restaurants, took breaks when we wanted, didn't schedule every minute, wasn't pressured to "do it all"). This was a great way to see WDW if you can. My wife doesn't do thrill rides which makes planning easier, although I did arrange to ride Space Mountain with a FP+ while my wife saw the Carousel of Progress. Plus I also was able to score a last minute FP+ for Expedition Everest while we were waiting for Rivers of Light.

We made good use of FP+. I scheduled 3 months out for the attractions we wanted to try that tend to have long lines (Frozen, Spaceship Earth, Na'vi River Journey, Kilo Safari, Peter Pan, Tales with Belle, Buzz, Haunted Mansion). I then used the Disney phone app just after we scanned our third FP+ of the day to schedule whatever was available and we were interested in. In MK and AK were able to use 4 or 5 FP+ each day doing this and never waited in a long line. The app, Magic Bands, and FP+ all worked flawlessly for us. We focused on trying new attractions we had not seen before (we only go to WDW about once every 7 years) and moldy-oldies we have previously enjoyed. We also tried made a point to try attractions that are not so highly rated, going in with an open mind to decide for ourselves.

This is a great time to visit as spring break crowds (and prices) are not yet in full force, and the weather is not yet oppressively hot. We had 5 full days to enjoy as our flight home wasn't until 8:30 PM. We devoted one full day for EPCOT, AK, and MK (in that order). Skipped the Movie Studios as there doesn't seem to be anything left there to see. We then had two days to go back and pick up the things we missed. Our AK day was pretty much an all day affair so we used day 4 to "finish" the MK and day 5 to wrap up EPCOT.

 

[davale4]

We’ve been going to WDW for the past 10 years with the kids. One year we took a second trip in October just DH and I and we had a great time. We enjoyed Disney from a different perspective. We also did not feel guilty one bit. When we go with the kids is mostly about them. We said we were going to it more often....but the second trip has not happened yet...

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Sounds fun!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thanks for the report, glad you had a good trip.

“Moldy-oldies”....

 

[mamamelody2]

Glad you had a great trip!
DH and I took our first no-kids trip last November. It was awesome!

 

[odd man out]

Thanks for the report, glad you had a good trip.

“Moldy-oldies”....

Who knows when or if we would make a return trip, so I insisted on seeing Small World. And in three previous trips we had always missed the Tiki Birds, so I told my wife we absolutely had to do that one. What a hoot. I think my wife's comment was "Well that was interesting". Unfortunately I never got to see Ellen's Energy Adventure before it closed.

 

[odd man out]

One other comment I was going to make, having not been to WDW since 2009, it was interesting to see some of the most recent animatronic technology updates. I think I was most impressed with Lumiere at Enchanted Tales With Belle. The mirror effect was also very cool.

 

[tinkerjo]

My DH and o did a no kids trip 5 years ago (and yes I felt guilty. How do you leave a 5 yo at home?? Even though we took the kids 5 months later) but we had fun. We still did rope drop because We get up early every morning anyway, but took everything much slower with a lot of people watching. It’s amazing how many people were miserable trying to have fun

 

[Davey Jones II]

One other comment I was going to make, having not been to WDW since 2009, it was interesting to see some of the most recent animatronic technology updates. I think I was most impressed with Lumiere at Enchanted Tales With Belle. The mirror effect was also very cool.

Animatronics technology keeps advancing, even since 2009. Yes, every time I see Lumiere, I have to remember to pick my jaw up off the floor.

 

[disneyvoice]

So glad you had such a great trip! My husband and I have also embraced more relaxed trips as most of them are without our teenage son now. I only go back to mega-touring if we are taking newbies who want to do it all!

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Glad you had such a great time!
Sparkle on!

 

[gumbypee]

awww, you should have gone to Hollywood Studios still!! Especially if doing a relaxed vacay!! But glad you had a great time! I too love Enchanted Tales with Belle

 

[Karen46]

My husband and I did our adults only trip in January and are returning. We enjoyed seeing Disney in a whole new light. Glad you enjoyed your trip.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Had a great trip. First time without kids. Intentionally made it more laid back and deluxe (not up for rope drop, ate at signature restaurants, took breaks when we wanted, didn't schedule every minute, wasn't pressured to "do it all"). This was a great way to see WDW if you can. My wife doesn't do thrill rides which makes planning easier, although I did arrange to ride Space Mountain with a FP+ while my wife saw the Carousel of Progress. Plus I also was able to score a last minute FP+ for Expedition Everest while we were waiting for Rivers of Light.

We made good use of FP+. I scheduled 3 months out for the attractions we wanted to try that tend to have long lines (Frozen, Spaceship Earth, Na'vi River Journey, Kilo Safari, Peter Pan, Tales with Belle, Buzz, Haunted Mansion). I then used the Disney phone app just after we scanned our third FP+ of the day to schedule whatever was available and we were interested in. In MK and AK were able to use 4 or 5 FP+ each day doing this and never waited in a long line. The app, Magic Bands, and FP+ all worked flawlessly for us. We focused on trying new attractions we had not seen before (we only go to WDW about once every 7 years) and moldy-oldies we have previously enjoyed. We also tried made a point to try attractions that are not so highly rated, going in with an open mind to decide for ourselves.

This is a great time to visit as spring break crowds (and prices) are not yet in full force, and the weather is not yet oppressively hot. We had 5 full days to enjoy as our flight home wasn't until 8:30 PM. We devoted one full day for EPCOT, AK, and MK (in that order). Skipped the Movie Studios as there doesn't seem to be anything left there to see. We then had two days to go back and pick up the things we missed. Our AK day was pretty much an all day affair so we used day 4 to "finish" the MK and day 5 to wrap up EPCOT.

Sounds like a great trip! Looking forward to an adults only WDW visit....someday! Curious what day were you in MK? We were there for a quick weekend visit and did MK on Sat. 3/10 (against our better judgement) and it was awful. We usually do MK on a Wednesday or Thursday.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Had a great trip. First time without kids. Intentionally made it more laid back and deluxe (not up for rope drop, ate at signature restaurants, took breaks when we wanted, didn't schedule every minute, wasn't pressured to "do it all"). This was a great way to see WDW if you can. My wife doesn't do thrill rides which makes planning easier, although I did arrange to ride Space Mountain with a FP+ while my wife saw the Carousel of Progress. Plus I also was able to score a last minute FP+ for Expedition Everest while we were waiting for Rivers of Light.

We made good use of FP+. I scheduled 3 months out for the attractions we wanted to try that tend to have long lines (Frozen, Spaceship Earth, Na'vi River Journey, Kilo Safari, Peter Pan, Tales with Belle, Buzz, Haunted Mansion). I then used the Disney phone app just after we scanned our third FP+ of the day to schedule whatever was available and we were interested in. In MK and AK were able to use 4 or 5 FP+ each day doing this and never waited in a long line. The app, Magic Bands, and FP+ all worked flawlessly for us. We focused on trying new attractions we had not seen before (we only go to WDW about once every 7 years) and moldy-oldies we have previously enjoyed. We also tried made a point to try attractions that are not so highly rated, going in with an open mind to decide for ourselves.

This is a great time to visit as spring break crowds (and prices) are not yet in full force, and the weather is not yet oppressively hot. We had 5 full days to enjoy as our flight home wasn't until 8:30 PM. We devoted one full day for EPCOT, AK, and MK (in that order). Skipped the Movie Studios as there doesn't seem to be anything left there to see. We then had two days to go back and pick up the things we missed. Our AK day was pretty much an all day affair so we used day 4 to "finish" the MK and day 5 to wrap up EPCOT.

Where did you stay and was the resort full/busy?

 

[odd man out]

Sounds like a great trip! Looking forward to an adults only WDW visit....someday! Curious what day were you in MK? We were there for a quick weekend visit and did MK on Sat. 3/10 (against our better judgement) and it was awful. We usually do MK on a Wednesday or Thursday.

Yes we did MK on Wednesday and Thursday because the crowd predictions were higher for early and late in the week. I asked at the front desk (AKL) how busy they were and they said they were expecting a big influx on Fri (the day we left). I looked at the historical crowd ratings and it seems there is a narrow window of opportunity in late Feb/early March with not so many crowds that ends abruptly on the end of that first full week in March. On our first MK day, they were predicting early morning rain so we scheduled a 9:20 breakfast at Kona and didn't get to the park until probably 10:30 (as it turns out, it didn't rain, oh well). We toured until about 2 PM, went back to the lodge for a short break, and returned for our 5:30 ADR at BoG and stayed for the fireworks. On our second MK day, we probably arrived around 9:30 and left around 12:30 PM. We were going to go shopping as DS but found that bus doesn't run until 4 PM so we went back to the AKL for a break before our Wanyama Safari at 3:30. So we really just had two partial days at MK, but that was enough to see pretty much all the attractions we wanted to see.

 

[odd man out]

Where did you stay and was the resort full/busy?

We stayed at AKL. It didn't seem too busy, but it's so big I'm not sure if it ever feels crowded.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

We stayed at AKL. It didn't seem too busy, but it's so big I'm not sure if it ever feels crowded.

Oh...I love that resort!