Moving a DLR Trip to Walt Disney World- Let’s Talk!

[TikiTikiFan]

Aside from ROTR, I’ve been reading on the Disney Tourist Blog that they advise not arriving at rope drop but showing up right at opening and instead using the end of the day for the high wait rides. They have itineraries for each park on their blog- worth reading! I think they make some good points about doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing.

 

[midnight star]

My friend and her cousin are at WDW now. And are staying at Caribbean beach. So far they are liking it.

They too, had to use a map, and are mostly DL goers. So be prepared to use one and look like a tourist lol

 

[crystal1313]

Re: getting to HS and avoiding the long line in the a.m. for the Skyliner at POP -
From what I've read on a thread on the Theme Parks board, the line up in the morning at the POP/AoA Skyliner station to go to HS is loooong. Like, people start to line up in the 7:30-8:00 am time frame in order to get into HS before 10 am so you can try for a ROTR boarding group.

OMG, what the heck?! It is at times like this that I really miss a DL trip where you can walk 5-8 min from your hotel on Harbor Blvd and get to the Esplanade. No having to "commute" 2 hours beforehand.

We're going to be in HS on 2 separate days. I've decided now (for the time being anyway until I change my mind again) that we're going to have breakfast at Trattoria al Forno on one morning (but only if it's still not a character meal) and on the other morning, we'll get an Uber/Lyft to drop us off at the Speedway Gas station (at 300 E. Buena Vista Dr.).

And I'm having a heck of a time deciding on an ADR for Epcot!
Does anyone have any ideas or preferences? I've narrowed it down to Chefs de France, Biergarten, or Spice Road Table, leaning toward Chefs de France or Biergarten.

Does anybody know if Voices of Liberty is doing performances yet in the American Pavilion at Epcot?
Here's a sample in case you haven't ever heard them sing!

Thanks for the address for the speedway! We are thinking of doing that too.

 

[KPeterso]

Re: getting to HS and avoiding the long line in the a.m. for the Skyliner at POP -
From what I've read on a thread on the Theme Parks board, the line up in the morning at the POP/AoA Skyliner station to go to HS is loooong. Like, people start to line up in the 7:30-8:00 am time frame in order to get into HS before 10 am so you can try for a ROTR boarding group.

OMG, what the heck?! It is at times like this that I really miss a DL trip where you can walk 5-8 min from your hotel on Harbor Blvd and get to the Esplanade. No having to "commute" 2 hours beforehand.

We're going to be in HS on 2 separate days. I've decided now (for the time being anyway until I change my mind again) that we're going to have breakfast at Trattoria al Forno on one morning (but only if it's still not a character meal) and on the other morning, we'll get an Uber/Lyft to drop us off at the Speedway Gas station (at 300 E. Buena Vista Dr.).

And I'm having a heck of a time deciding on an ADR for Epcot!
Does anyone have any ideas or preferences? I've narrowed it down to Chefs de France, Biergarten, or Spice Road Table, leaning toward Chefs de France or Biergarten.

Does anybody know if Voices of Liberty is doing performances yet in the American Pavilion at Epcot?
Here's a sample in case you haven't ever heard them sing!

for Epcot, we really enjoy chefs. We go just about every trip. Their French onion soup is the best I have ever had.. also enjoy the Mac and Cheese or the short ribs. And the creme brûlée is yummy! I have not done Biergarten in years. It used to be a favorite but we now prefer other places. Can’t comment on spice road as have never been there.

 

[tstein12]

Anyone else heading to Disney World instead this year?

Let’s share our tips with each other here!

If you’re interested in the holiday Hollywood & Vine character dining book it right at the 60 mark because it’s been selling out everyday! I’m hoping to snag a reservation but we’ll see...

I’m looking at 11/15-11/21 at Caribbean Beach Hotel but still mulling it over.

I'm not sure if someone on this thread has mentioned this already, but instead of CBR, you may want to look into either the Swan or Dolphin. While they are considered off-property, they are affordable and comparable in price to CBR. Also, you can walk to both Epcot and HS. We just recently changed our CBR reservation for the Christmas holiday to the Swan and it was about $300 cheaper. Plus, you don't have to wait for Skyliner or worry about long lines for it in the morning to try to make rope drop. While there is no Magical Express transportation included, I don't mind taking Lyft to/from aiport. Just something to think about...

 

[tstein12]

But if the churros aren’t as good.... what is the go to treat at wdw then? I know they have dole whips (and boozy ones in AK!) but what else?

We are churro crazy so it’s good to know what to expect lol! We usually eat churros for breakfast when we rope drop at DL

Avoid the churros! We end up always getting them at least once during our trips to WDW, but often times they disappoint. Lately, the ones we have gotten have been a bit stale.

At Magic Kingdom, my favorite is definitely the cheeseburger spring roll at the cart at the entrance to Adventureland! My daughter loves the Cheshire cat tail at Cheshire Cafe (basically a twisted croissant with chocolate chips inside with purple and pink icing piping on top). It's by the tea cups and across from Cosmic Rays.

At AK, I like the Pongo Lumpia (crispy egg roll/spring roll with pineapple and cream cheese filling) at Pongu Pongu that you find near the exit of Flight of Passage ride in Pandora.

At Epcot, we like a few things - caramel popcorn at Karamell-Küche in the Germany pavilion, Kakigori (shaved ice, aka Japanese snow cone) at Kabuki Cafe in the Japan pavilion, and the Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich at L’Artisan des Glaces in France.

Finally, WDW loves a special occasion cupcake, which I personally love too! So keep an eye out at the various parks...

 

[VandVsmama]

I'm not sure if someone on this thread has mentioned this already, but instead of CBR, you may want to look into either the Swan or Dolphin. While they are considered off-property, they are affordable and comparable in price to CBR. Also, you can walk to both Epcot and HS. We just recently changed our CBR reservation for the Christmas holiday to the Swan and it was about $300 cheaper. Plus, you don't have to wait for Skyliner or worry about long lines for it in the morning to try to make rope drop. While there is no Magical Express transportation included, I don't mind taking Lyft to/from aiport. Just something to think about...

Just as an fyi - Swan & Dolphin both add an extra $30/day of a resort fee on top of the regular room rate. So whatever the room rate is, add $30/day to that and that's the actual price.

 

[tstein12]

Just as an fyi - Swan & Dolphin both add an extra $30/day of a resort fee on top of the regular room rate. So whatever the room rate is, add $30/day to that and that's the actual price.

Actually, even with the resort fee, I still saved $300 switching from CBR to Swan...

 

[VandVsmama]

Actually, even with the resort fee, I still saved $300 switching from CBR to Swan...

Oh, that's great!

 

[Jaina]

Avoid the churros! We end up always getting them at least once during our trips to WDW, but often times they disappoint. Lately, the ones we have gotten have been a bit stale.

At Magic Kingdom, my favorite is definitely the cheeseburger spring roll at the cart at the entrance to Adventureland! My daughter loves the Cheshire cat tail at Cheshire Cafe (basically a twisted croissant with chocolate chips inside with purple and pink icing piping on top). It's by the tea cups and across from Cosmic Rays.

At AK, I like the Pongo Lumpia (crispy egg roll/spring roll with pineapple and cream cheese filling) at Pongu Pongu that you find near the exit of Flight of Passage ride in Pandora.

At Epcot, we like a few things - caramel popcorn at Karamell-Küche in the Germany pavilion, Kakigori (shaved ice, aka Japanese snow cone) at Kabuki Cafe in the Japan pavilion, and the Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich at L’Artisan des Glaces in France.

Finally, WDW loves a special occasion cupcake, which I personally love too! So keep an eye out at the various parks...

Thanks for the recommendations!! I'll be there in 12 days!

 

[figmentfinesse]

At Epcot, we like a few things - caramel popcorn at Karamell-Küche in the Germany pavilion, Kakigori (shaved ice, aka Japanese snow cone) at Kabuki Cafe in the Japan pavilion, and the Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich at L’Artisan des Glaces in France.

Was hoping to see L'Artisan in here! Wanted to also recommend the croque glace, its a scoop off ice cream with caramel, chocolate, or raspberry syrup inside a brioche bun that tastes very croissant like, pressed hot in a waffle iron. It's so good. The coffee ice cream is our favorite but they are all good!!

 

[midnight star]

Not sure if anyone is subscribed to Serena Lyn’s newsletter, but she said in her letter today that even if reservations aren’t available, walk ins can be easy. So if you don’t get the reservations you’re wanting don’t give up and try walking in!

 

[abent]

I can’t believe I am on the thread....my trip this weekend is obviously cancelled for Disneyland and we are so nervous about our December trip...we are seriously considering DISNEY WORLD!!! So freaking excited, and overwhelmed. Not a clue where to start planning. Girls trip of 4......all advise welcome!,

 

[bassgirl]

I can’t believe I am on the thread....my trip this weekend is obviously cancelled for Disneyland and we are so nervous about our December trip...we are seriously considering DISNEY WORLD!!! So freaking excited, and overwhelmed. Not a clue where to start planning. Girls trip of 4......all advise welcome!,

We are really back and forth about the whole thing. We want to go to Disneyland because we are so familiar with it. BUT, this waiting thing is getting old. We haven't been to Disney World either. We would make it a short 4 day trip taking one land at a time. Skip Epcot, MK twice, AK 1, HS 1. We will have to make a decision "soon" as we are supposed to go in November. Anyhoo, just know there is someone else on here trying to make up there mind.

 

[runjulesrun]

I can’t believe I am on the thread....my trip this weekend is obviously cancelled for Disneyland and we are so nervous about our December trip...we are seriously considering DISNEY WORLD!!! So freaking excited, and overwhelmed. Not a clue where to start planning. Girls trip of 4......all advise welcome!,

Reading through all of the information here can make it feel overwhelming. Read through and then ask specific questions. Steps 1 & 2 would be decide where you want to stay and which parks you want to visit.

 

[midnight star]

I can’t believe I am on the thread....my trip this weekend is obviously cancelled for Disneyland and we are so nervous about our December trip...we are seriously considering DISNEY WORLD!!! So freaking excited, and overwhelmed. Not a clue where to start planning. Girls trip of 4......all advise welcome!,

Start with the basics
Step #1: Determine your budget. Longer trip=more expensive; Shorter trip= Less expensive
Step #2: Figure out how many days you will be there.
Step #3: Figure out how you will get there and if there are restrictions. With the pandemic, some states have quarantine rules. Make sure to look that up. Also make sure when booking flights and hotels, to understand the cancellation policies !
Step #4: Determine if you want to stay onsite or off. WDW has more onsite hotels, which are more expensive. Offsite are cheaper. For WDW I personally would recommend onsite. The bubble factor is great there.

Then moved on to the extras:
-Fasptass + *not currently available at WDW, but there are speculations on when it will return and what it will look like*
- Determining what parks you're going to do on certain days
- Dining reservations
-Rides

For Fun:
I watched WDW vlogs, and followed a few bloggers just to learn a few ins and outs. Ride videos also helped, as I went with my friend who doesn't like being surprised, and wanted to know EXACTLY how the rides were going to be.

 

[amyg1975]

We are really back and forth about the whole thing. We want to go to Disneyland because we are so familiar with it. BUT, this waiting this is getting old. We haven't been to Disney World either. We would make it a short 4 day trip taking one land at a time. Skip Epcot, MK twice, AK 1, HS 1. We will have to make a decision "soon" as we are supposed to go in November. Anyhoo, just know there is someone else on here trying to make up there mind.

We are in the same boat. After hearing about Newsom sending people out to investigate the parks I got my hopes up for opening up for Disneyland. However, now I feel like it won’t happen soon. WDW is overwhelming, and such a long flight during peak flu season ... Right now we are one the side of not going.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

I felt really overwhelmed and panicked at the idea of going to WDW when I first booked. But after a week of research, I feel pretty good about it and I am so happy we switched. Research can be half the fun! Once you read up on it you’ll feel more prepared.

 

[crystal1313]

I felt really overwhelmed and panicked at the idea of going to WDW when I first booked. But after a week of research, I feel pretty good about it and I am so happy we switched. Research can be half the fun! Once you read up on it you’ll feel more prepared.

Starting to feel that way too!

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Phew, we had a scary fire day here in Colorado and missed being evacuated by less than 10 miles. Huge fire very close to our home and the stress was wild. First wildfire ‘up close’ experience for me and I’m not a fan.

I’m feeling better about this trip every day- we need it so bad! Mickey here we come. ❤