Special Experiences

[Kimtober]

Hello! I'll be going to Disney World in early December with my husband, 3 kids, and grandparents. We're staying in a VRBO nearby with all of us. My husband is a big Disney fan and will be turning 40 at the end of December so I'm trying to gather ideas for a special experience for him while we're there. This will likely be for just me and him since bringing the kids and grandparents will cost a fortune and we might as well take advantage of the fact that the grandparents can babysit for us! I believe we'll have 6 day park hopper tickets.

My husband is into Star Wars and general Disney stuff. He loves Haunted Mansion and the history of Walt Disney, his vision and creativity, and the inner-workings of the park. He's an architect so generally likes design and how things work. I'd prefer to spend under $500 for both of us but I'm open to spending up to $1000 if it's really amazing. I'd rather not do something that heavily features food/drink. We don't really drink alcohol so we never get our money's worth on that and my husband is a bit of a picky eater and prefers pretty simple meals.

I'd really appreciate any reviews or ideas on some of the special experiences at the park. Here's what I've looked at and some things I've ruled out.

Obviously, for our price range, not doing the Star Wars hotel experience thing even though I'm sure he'd love it I've browsed the things where you make a light saber or a droid which he'd probably enjoy, but not sure it's exciting enough for the cost.

The last time we were there was 2018 and he was interested in one of the backstage tours but nobody else wanted to do it so we skipped it. I think this could be a good option. I see there's a 50th anniversary tour that takes pretty much the whole day. Has anyone done this tour? Any thoughts? It looks like you have to call for reservations so I'm assuming it costs a small fortune! But I could see him being pretty into this. And I know there are smaller tours as well which I'm also interested in.

I also see an after hours Christmas event in Magic Kingdom. We did the Halloween one in 2018 and loved it, so I'm curious about this Christmas one. I know he'd like the shorter lines for rides, but I'm not sure he's super concerned about Magic Kingdom rides. That would probably be more of a benefit for Star Wars rides. But this could be a good date night event for us.

Another idea I had was to do a one night stay for me and him at a nicer Disney resort since the kids could stay at the house with the grandparents. Polynesian maybe? Are there any resorts that would have some perks or some reason that staying one night would be extra beneficial beyond just the niceness of it? I know there are some things like getting into the park early that we could maybe enjoy for our one day there

If you're still reading this post, I truly appreciate it!

I'd love any thoughts or if there are things I missed that might be awesome. I would love to make this a surprise for him, but I'm not sure that will be possible since I know he's going to be planning most of our days there!

Thanks so much!

 

[Marthasor]

I think staying at a deluxe resort for a night would be beneficial if you stayed the night there were either extra evening hours at MK or EP (whichever would interest you most).

If you enjoyed the Halloween party, I think you would enjoy the Christmas party!

The private, 50th anniversary tour costs $6500. I think the Keys to the Kingdom tour might be more up your alley and in line with your budget - when I went in Feb., we took quite a long walk through the utilidoors and saw the parade staging, backstage area.

 

[NickC]

A tour sounds like a good idea. That checks off a lot of boxes on your list.

One other thing to consider is Hoop Dee Doo Revue. I know you weren't looking for food and drink, but the food is very simple for a picky eater (fried chicken, ribs, corn, mashed potatoes, strawberry shortcake). It is classic WDW, a great show and big fun. For your budget, you can even bring the whole family (unless you were looking for a date night.)

We like the Christmas party even more than the Halloween party. Snow on Main Street under the lights? Priceless.

 

[Kimtober]

Thank you so much for the input!

I guess $6500 is out of my budget But I think the Keys to the Kingdom one could be a great option!

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

I would highly, highly recommend the Keys to the Kingdom tour. Your husband sounds a lot like me and I loved it!

 

[Miffy]

I did the KTtK tour many years ago and I still remember so much. Back then--this was at least 15, maybe 20, years ago--part of the tour included HM, which was really fun.

I'm in favor of this rather than a one-night stay at a deluxe. I mean, you'd hardly be there, you might not get your room until late in the day, and then you have to check out by 11 a.m.

I've also done a tour of DAK. I'd thought before going that it was going to be a sort of behind-the-scenes look at the architecture, planning, and horticulture, but instead it was none of those and, frankly, the tour was rather disappointing, so I do not recommend this. Also, nix on Behind the Seeds at Epcot. I mean, it's okay, but it's nothing super special.

 

[VandyZ]

Search Celebration at the Top / Sip Savor Sparkle event at the Contemporary. If it's going on during your stay, it's a fun and magical special event.

 

[jacknsally19]

For my husband's 40th, we did Victoria & Alberts. He absolutely loved it - it was probably the nicest dinner that we have had in our entire lives. I would definitely recommend.

Another birthday - we did Waynama (sp?) Safari and that was really amazing. The food was quite good but the behind the scenes with the animals and the zoo keeper was really fascinating.

 

[OppR2nist]

If he's a Star Wars fan, just being in Galaxy's Edge is a life changing event. I speak from experience. We went through the marketplace to Ronto Roasters, and I was showing my kids how cool it was that the torture droid from Jabba's Palace was cooking meat with a podracer engine. I was geeking out pretty hard. My oldest tugged my arm, making me look up and see the Milennium Falcon. The only thing I could do in that moment was start crying. He will absolutely love it. As far as Savi's Workshop goes, it is expensive, but you're really paying for the whole experience, not just a souvenir. It is worth it.

 

[joviroxx]

Hello! I'll be going to Disney World in early December with my husband, 3 kids, and grandparents. We're staying in a VRBO nearby with all of us. My husband is a big Disney fan and will be turning 40 at the end of December so I'm trying to gather ideas for a special experience for him while we're there. This will likely be for just me and him since bringing the kids and grandparents will cost a fortune and we might as well take advantage of the fact that the grandparents can babysit for us! I believe we'll have 6 day park hopper tickets.

My husband is into Star Wars and general Disney stuff. He loves Haunted Mansion and the history of Walt Disney, his vision and creativity, and the inner-workings of the park. He's an architect so generally likes design and how things work. I'd prefer to spend under $500 for both of us but I'm open to spending up to $1000 if it's really amazing. I'd rather not do something that heavily features food/drink. We don't really drink alcohol so we never get our money's worth on that and my husband is a bit of a picky eater and prefers pretty simple meals.

I'd really appreciate any reviews or ideas on some of the special experiences at the park. Here's what I've looked at and some things I've ruled out.

Obviously, for our price range, not doing the Star Wars hotel experience thing even though I'm sure he'd love it I've browsed the things where you make a light saber or a droid which he'd probably enjoy, but not sure it's exciting enough for the cost.

The last time we were there was 2018 and he was interested in one of the backstage tours but nobody else wanted to do it so we skipped it. I think this could be a good option. I see there's a 50th anniversary tour that takes pretty much the whole day. Has anyone done this tour? Any thoughts? It looks like you have to call for reservations so I'm assuming it costs a small fortune! But I could see him being pretty into this. And I know there are smaller tours as well which I'm also interested in.

I also see an after hours Christmas event in Magic Kingdom. We did the Halloween one in 2018 and loved it, so I'm curious about this Christmas one. I know he'd like the shorter lines for rides, but I'm not sure he's super concerned about Magic Kingdom rides. That would probably be more of a benefit for Star Wars rides. But this could be a good date night event for us.

Another idea I had was to do a one night stay for me and him at a nicer Disney resort since the kids could stay at the house with the grandparents. Polynesian maybe? Are there any resorts that would have some perks or some reason that staying one night would be extra beneficial beyond just the niceness of it? I know there are some things like getting into the park early that we could maybe enjoy for our one day there

If you're still reading this post, I truly appreciate it!

I'd love any thoughts or if there are things I missed that might be awesome. I would love to make this a surprise for him, but I'm not sure that will be possible since I know he's going to be planning most of our days there!

Thanks so much!

If you can cut it a tour is great. The Keys to the Kingdom is one I really enjoyed and if he is a Disney fan, he will love it.

 

[butterscotchcollins]

If he’s a huge Star Wars fan the lightsaber experience is definitely worth it, it’s VERY cool and gets me a little emotional (and I’m not even a big fan!)

Idk if this sounds silly but a couples massage might also be a relaxing, romantic way to spend an evening. I had a great experience at the Grand Floridian spa on my last trip.

We also LOVED the Christmas party, and felt we got our money’s worth much more so than Halloween, so that gets a vote from me too.

 

[john7994]

Keys to the Kingdom $114/person (plus park admission) is pretty amazing and it does not allow kids under 16 to participate - so definitely something that you and the husband can do alone (I am assuming your kids are younger) - You could also do Savi's which allows one person to manufacture and guest that can watch - so essentially - you don't need to book the entire family at $219 a pop.

 

[marthachick]

Keys to the Kingdom is a great tour. We did 3 rides on our tour. Some only do 2. We did Haunted Mansion, Pirates and Jungle Cruise. Our guide was wonderful.

We’ve also done to Magic Behind Our Steam Trains and it was great too. Our son is a huge train fan.

 

[john7994]

We were on the 9:30A tour group, our guide "Darlene" from Anaheim - interacted with Walt and Roy as a child, and her father was an imagineer with Disney - She did indicate the tours at 8:00, 8:30 and 9:30 all had different features depending on the timing. We only did Jungle and Haunted Mansion, but we also got to watch the setup of the parade as they were assembling the characters and floats - pretty amazing actually to watch Maleficent the Dragon being run through its "fire" test. We then flipped to the park with the parade in progress and since we were wearing our lanyards and buttons - one of the characters (Daisy Duck) actually motioned to my lanyard and pointed and waived at all of us acknowledging seeing us backstage.

 

[Timbud2]

I think he would love the light saber experience. My husband is a huge fan and wants to make one.

 

[tetera]

Not the OP but have a really similar situation with similar interests coming up a few months later; these are some great ideas- would love to hear more special experiences ideas from people!

 

[randumb0]

I love the Epcot Behind the Seeds your. It lasts about an hour

 

[Kimtober]

You guys, this is all so helpful!

My husband is now digging into all the Disney details and just told me he would like the Keys to the Kingdom tour so we'll see if he books it for himself. I played it cool and acted like we shouldn't spend the money

I will definitely look into the light saber thing--it sounds like it might be worth it even though the last thing I need is more Star Wars memorabilia laying around my house.

Thank you everyone!!

 

[john7994]

You guys, this is all so helpful!

My husband is now digging into all the Disney details and just told me he would like the Keys to the Kingdom tour so we'll see if he books it for himself. I played it cool and acted like we shouldn't spend the money

I will definitely look into the light saber thing--it sounds like it might be worth it even though the last thing I need is more Star Wars memorabilia laying around my house.

Thank you everyone!!

Both will be enjoyable for sure - have fun and safe travels!

 

[RoseGold]

I'd consider staying a night at the Swan/Dolphin to get the extended late night hours. Those are THE BEST experience hands down and you can put the others on the room and pay for them. This would be totally worth it IMO.

Right now, the late night hours are Monday Epcot, Weds MK. The Weds MK is what I planned all my trips around.

Swolphin swings wildly in price, like no hotel I've ever seen, so I'd set up an alert for Dolphin if your dates are too expensive right now.

Another option would be to rent (any) DVC points for the new wing of the VGF tower, which still has some availability. Staying at the Grand Floridian with extra late hours would be really special IMO. The VGF rooms sleep 5, so you could put everyone on the list and get the extra hours. This could also work for Riviera if DVC releases more Riviera timeshare inventory, which is possible over the summer. You'd have to really be watching and plan for that.