Pre-trip WDW: Adults only Feb 2020!

[Mollygirl21]

A little about us: We are Cdn and we go south each winter for a week. We have a DS7 who comes with us every other year and 2020 is our adults only year after doing a cruise in 2019 with our son. For our adults only trip in 2020, my DH and I decided to go to WDW!!

Our last trip to WDW was in 2017 with our son and we plan to return for our next family trip in 2022 to celebrate my 50th and DS's 10th birthdays

DH and I last went in 2009 before we had children because he had never been and I told him I was worried taking kids would ruin Disney for me, lol.

As it turns out, taking our son in 2017 was more amazing than I could have imagined - it was the perfect age (2 weeks before he turned 5) because he was old enough to do most things and really appreciate the wonder of WDW but young enough to believe in all the magic (exiting Star Tours, he asked the CM with complete wonder in his eyes - did we really just go into outer space?!?). But I am so excited to be going back with just DH to do the adult side of Disney again!

We plan to go for 8 nights with 7 day park hoppers and stay at one of the value resorts. We will likely get the QS dining plan to allow for full flexibility while we are there.

We love Epcot and want to take lots of time to really explore it while enjoying the food and drinks there. Other plans:

• KTTK TOUR!!!! I am the most excited about this - I have always wanted to do it and this is a great chance since we won't have our son this trip
• Behind the scenes tour of some kind at AK - I am on the fence about doing the one with the elephants or if we should do the rhinos
• Dinner at the Contemporary for fireworks
• New Cirque du Soleil show (fingers crossed it will be open by then!)
• Late night park exploring and shows (hoping for some evening EMHs)

When were there last time, it was all about getting up early and hitting the parks, afternoon breaks when needed, and early to bed. This time, I expect some late mornings, good use of FP in the afternoons, and late evenings exploring the parks after dark. We love all the entertainment at Epcot and AK so we'll spend extra time in each of those parks in order to see as much as possible.

I can't talk about the trip much IRL because I don't want to be in my son's face about it and make him feel left out so here is where I will do my planning, thinking out loud, and wishful thinking along with talking through my excitement!!! I can't wait for Feb 2020!!!!!



Feb 2020: AS resort adults only! Feb 2018: one night ASMo pre-cruise Feb 2017: WL with DH & DS5 Jan 2009: CSR, last WDW trip pre-kids 2005: Pop 200x: offsite, forget the year 1991: offsite 1981: offsite family trip when I was 9 Future trip planned 2022 for my 50th!

 

[Mollygirl21]

A big update! I got the idea to check for a DVC rental through David's and I just got confirmation that we have a room at AKV for about $900 more than we would have spent on a room at the All Star resorts! I can't believe we are finally going to stay at this resort!

 

[Mollygirl21]

Not a great update, hopefully it's nothing. DH wiped out on his dirtbike over the weekend and hurt his knee. Xray shows nothing broken but the doctor suspects ligament damage which may require surgery. The MRI to diagnose is probably 1-2 months away and who knows how long the wait is for surgery if he needs it. We're 231 days out from our trip, fingers crossed all goes well and he recovers quickly!

 

[Katy G.]

We are adult only Feb 2020 for 8 nights as well! Staying at Saratoga Springs. Definitely looking for some ideas, although almost all of my trips are adult only...I'm always looking for new ideas.

We stayed at AKV in January, you're going to be over the moon. We did the Wanyama Safari at the resort with a tasting dinner at Jiko after. I can't say enough good things about this experience! Jiko is amazing, I had eaten there before....and it's really top of my list at Disney. Sanaa and Boma are both really great too. I could spend half my time at the resort, we just love it there.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for After Hours Events. We did one at Animal Kingdom last time, not a soul there and was worth every penny. We strolled right on Flight of Passage twice, everything was a walk on. So neat to have the park to yourself!!

An alternative to Contemporary for fireworks is doing your own private fireworks cruise. I did one a few years ago and it was worth every penny. You have your own Skipper who takes you out from Contemporary marina and gives you a guided tour of Bay Lake, then you dock in the water near MK for the fireworks. It's an amazing experience!! They have light snacks..but, you can have catered with more and even a bottle of wine if you like. I highly highly recommend.

I hope your husband is on the mend for this trip!!

 

[Mollygirl21]

207 days to go!

We've decided to skip any dining plan for this trip to give us the most flexibility. I did some calculations and it seems it would be about the same money but we would be buying drinks with our meals at the same place as our meal which isn't ideal since I want to try some different things. I found many quick service places only had beer, wine and one or two other drinks. No plan means we can buy the drinks when and where we want I'm really happy about this decision, DH is less so (he likes the idea of having it prepaid and not worrying/thinking about the cost once we get there) but he left it up to me

Plans made:

Arrival Day - flight arrives around 11:30am. We'll head to AKL and kill time there until the room is ready. Once we are in, unpack, rest, freshen up and then head over to the Boardwalk. If we have time, I'd like to bus it to DS and take the new Skyliner to International Gateway and then walk over from there.

We'll grab something to eat around the Boardwalk and then go to Jellyrolls! I'm so excited for this plan on our first night there!

Day 1 in the parks: our first park will be Epcot, first ride will be Soarin - DH's favourite

On Saturday (Day 4), we'll book the KTTK tour. My hope for a perfect Saturday is KTTK tour, knock out a couple of prime FPs as soon as it's done (SDMT, TMMR, Splash) then back to the resort for rest. And the ultimate way to end it will be with DAH at DS - if the stars align and they have the events once SWGE opens. I'm not too concerned with SWGE but I would love to have the DAH experience and get to ride ToT, RnR, SDD, TSM again and again (and again and again) plus see the park at night with low crowds. The reviews I've read sound amazing.

We may skip the Giants tour at AK if we do the DAH at DS.

And I've decided against dinner at the Contemporary - this will save us some money to pay for DAH. Also, I'd like to see HEA in the park for the first time.

Still hoping for some later hours in the parks while we're there - I'm impatiently waiting to see how SWGE affects plans, hours, crowds, patterns, etc. It makes it really unpredictable but whatever will be will be.

 

[Mollygirl21]

Flight home is booked! We're flying direct from Orlando to NS with Westjet and paid $243 each for the one way flight and were able to use 329 WJ dollars to cover a good part of the fare!

Just waiting for the right deal for our flight to Orlando on Feb 4 - hoping for the flight that arrives at 11:30am

 

[AnnieBearJamboree]

I love your comment in your original post about your son asking if you really went to outer space... My nephew is a little younger than your son, turning 4 in January, and he just stayed at Art of Animation with his mom and dad. Since coming home he keeps asking, "When are we going back to Radiator Springs? Can we go to Radiator Springs?"

Seeing Disney through a child's eyes is a riot, but it's great to get away by yourself too! I hope you and your husband enjoy your adults-only trip!

 

[jscunningham699]

What's the update on your DG's knee? Hope it's nothing serious. But you can still enjoy Disney just get a wheelchair!

 

[Mollygirl21]

What's the update on your DG's knee? Hope it's nothing serious. But you can still enjoy Disney just get a wheelchair!

DH had his MRI earlier this week and it was confirmed he has a complete tear of the ACL, partial tear of the meniscus, and partial tear of the MCL. He's waiting for his surgical consult. For now, he's walking ok with his knee brace and continues with his physio.

Now the good news! Today, I booked us in for Oga's Cantina! I booked two times since I'm not sure which day we'll be at DHS. For now, I've booked a dinner time on Fri Feb 7 and a dinner time on Sat Feb 8. Still hoping for an after hours event at DHS

And the best news is that I booked our KTTK tour today! I got a reservation for 8:30am on Sat Feb 8!

 

[jscunningham699]

DH had his MRI earlier this week and it was confirmed he has a complete tear of the ACL, partial tear of the meniscus, and partial tear of the MCL. He's waiting for his surgical consult. For now, he's walking ok with his knee brace and continues with his physio.

Now the good news! Today, I booked us in for Oga's Cantina! I booked two times since I'm not sure which day we'll be at DHS. For now, I've booked a dinner time on Fri Feb 7 and a dinner time on Sat Feb 8. Still hoping for an after hours event at DHS

And the best news is that I booked our KTTK tour today! I got a reservation for 8:30am on Sat Feb 8!

Oh no, I hate to hear that about DH's knee. ACL tears take a while to heal. Get him an electric scooter for your visit in Feb if you need to. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

Awesome about all of the reservations you secured. I secured reservations for the droid shop for my boys so I'm very excited about that.

 

[Mollygirl21]

Update today! Our park passes arrived from Airmiles! We used 15400 airmiles to get two 7 day park hoppers and they showed up by email today so I loaded them into MDE

The more I read about DAH, the more I want to go to one. I am really hoping they offer one for DHS while we are there - I think that park has the most attractions I would be interested in doing again and again