Would you do this quickie trip?

megankj

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 4, 2017
I'm 35, single, and had a 10-day non-expiring pass from back when they sold those, that has now dwindled down to two days. I love Disney for the design/immersion, etc, and do love the headliner rides- but at this point in my life, I appreciate it more in small doses rather than extended trips (especially with limited vacation time and competing priorities). Thankfully, I live about 7 hours away, so driving down for a few days is doable.

Those last two days are burning a hole in my pocket, but I don’t think the approach I’ve taken in the past (a whirlwind 4-parks in 2-days crazy trip) sounds particularly appealing this time around. The more I think about it, I might want to do a slower-paced trip focused on just my favorite things (I’d probably skip MK unless I happen to time a trip during one of the after-hours events) that make sense to do in 2020 (I’m excited to see Galaxy’s Edge, but may skip Epcot for now and come back when the transformation is done)- and work in some downtime.

I have a friend I frequently travel with, who’s a big Star Wars fan and who had a lot of fun when we did both CA parks a few years ago. I could probably convince him to join me and split the hotel cost. If I can, here’s what I’m thinking:

I’d like to stay in central Florida for 4 nights, with 3 of those being onsite. rent DVC points and stay at AKL. It’s the place I’ve always wanted to stay since they opened, and based on the parks we plan to visit even makes a bit of geographic sense. My friend is a big cruise person, so I think he’d appreciate a resort with so much “wow” factor, great food/wine, and so much to see and do.
  • Day 0- Drive down after work, stay either with my friend’s relatives in Ormond Beach, or an inexpensive motel
  • Day 1- Check in at AKL, explore the resort, possibly have dinner at California Grill lounge and watch fireworks, and/or visit Trader Sam’s.
  • Day 2 or 3 (depending on park hours/expected crowds)- Animal Kingdom, probably all day but I’d be open to a mid-day hotel break since it’s so close. This is by far my favorite park and we’d take time for a couple hours relaxing on the porch at Nomad Lounge, watching shows/live performances, etc- in addition to Pandora (day and evening) and the major attractions.
  • Day 2 or 3 (depending on park hours/expected crowds)- Hollywood Studios, including Star Wars, ToT, RnRC, etc. Guessing there would be enough time today to head back to the hotel at some point and do an early dinner at Jiko or Boma before returning for evening events. Or, given that we’ve seen Fantasmic (both in CA, me in FL as well) maybe it’s better to just stay until we’re done and do a later dinner?
  • Day 4- Relaxed morning, maybe breakfast at Boma or Sanaa and/or possible visit to Downtown Disney and then head home by early afternoon.
Would you do a trip like this if you’ve visited recently and didn’t feel the need to be comprehensive? Honestly I’m so used to trying to maximize every minute that I worry about this being a less efficient style of touring, but it also sounds a lot more fun this time around!
 
Sounds like a great trip! We live close, too, so we've done many quickie trips like this. AKL is my favorite resort!
 


Heck yeah I'd do this trip! You've got a great itinerary planned here, and it's almost as if the shorter trip is really forcing you to prioritize and relax because you really cannot do it all in such a short time frame. I went a few years ago on a pair of half-day tickets during a conference. We went to DAK one evening and EP the second. The hotel was off-site so I didn't even bother with FP+ etc... and I actually had a really nice time just enjoying the atmosphere and food :)
 
I don't understand how anyone can set foot on WDW property and not go to MK....but otherwise Go For It!;)

Honestly, I love MK, but growing up visiting family in CA and going to Disneyland on a pretty much yearly basis, it almost has a feeling of "not quite it" to me. My last trip, I did a morning in MK and then headed over to AK for the afternoon and evening, which was just about right (I did the same with DHS and Epcot on the second day, before Galaxy's Edge had opened). I was alone and moved fast, and did everything on my "must do" list, pretty much all the headliners, by 11. It was awesome, but I was exhausted after that day- and I know my friend would kill me if I subjected him to that pace!
 
You bet ya I'd do it. I get not going to MK too, it's actually just a half day park for us and I could see skipping it with such a short time. Of course, I'd have a problem skipping Epcot since our favorite park but I get your thinking. Go, have fun. Oh, and we go often, for the last 5 or so years at least once a year, some years I go twice and I'll admit to even going 3 times a year a few times. Before that we went every other year for over 30 years. We don't concentrate on rides, we ride them if we want to but for us it's just about going there and enjoying the place. We are going next week and I haven't made a single FP, I've made 3 ADRs - tea at the GF because I must, drinks at Ogas just for the experience and dinner at the new restaurant at the Riveria. We will knosh at booths at Epcot for most of the rest of our meals and pick up same day ADRs for the rest.
 


Sounds like a great trip focusing on what you want to get out of it. I say book it!
 
When I was in college, I took advantage of a crazy last minute flight deal to spend one day/night at Disney. So yeah, I’d go for it!
 
Sounds like a great plan. With staying at AKL - just spending time watching the savanna is great. If you can snag/afford a savanna view room, I'd do that. They also have some good experiences at the resort.

If you haven't been to HS in a bit - it can be a full day park if you want to go to the Indy stunt show and the Beauty and the Beast show. If your friend is a big SW fan - decide about a lightsaber or droid build in advance. And either pre-book Oga's - or go first thing in the morning.
 
In the 90s on the way home from europe to Australia I once landed in LA at 7am and flew out 11pm that same night and spent the day in disneyland . I payed a hotel $10 to hold my bag for me across the road from disneyland . about one year later with 2 mates on a similar trip we flew in again at 7am but out 11pm the next night and did , disneyland , hockey game and universal studios . always worth the effort to slip a bit of disney theme park in
 
I've flown to Orlando for a day to go to Disney, so this plan sounds great to me!
 
I don't understand how anyone can set foot on WDW property and not go to MK....but otherwise Go For It!;)

We are doing a quick trip in a few weeks. Taking a late flight down, arriving at the airport around 11, going to Epcot the next day, and then checking out of the hotel and flying home the next morning. We will be there for less than 36 hours. Insane? Yes but cheap flights and two cheap nights in a value hotel will make it worth it. I feel weird not going to MK but as just two adults we really enjoy Epcot sans kids.
 
Heck yeah I'd do this trip! You've got a great itinerary planned here, and it's almost as if the shorter trip is really forcing you to prioritize and relax because you really cannot do it all in such a short time frame. I went a few years ago on a pair of half-day tickets during a conference. We went to DAK one evening and EP the second. The hotel was off-site so I didn't even bother with FP+ etc... and I actually had a really nice time just enjoying the atmosphere and food :)

Honestly I've done a lot of short trips (the 8 days I've used so far have been split over 3 trips- this would be the 4th) and always been pretty good at focusing within the parks, only hitting the most important things to me in each of the 4. What's different this time is accepting that it's ok on a short trip not to pack every second to "justify" the short trip!

Last time, on the MK/AK split day, I got through most of my "musts" so that what I had left felt manageable by dinner time- and the last few hours of the day, where I had more time to slow down (before jumping in line for FoP at closing of course) were some of my favorites. I had a cocktail and an appetizer at Nomad Lounge on the porch while the rain fell on the river beside me, then when it cleared I snagged a FP for Na'vi River Journey, watched the drummers, and wandered through Pandora as it got dark. It was lovely!
 
My Disney trips are even shorter than that, with half a day at AK or HS on arrival day, then a full day at either MK or Epcot, then a whatever half day before driving home.
So, I say go for it.
 
We just did what I thought was a quick trip before Christmas. 4 days at the parks. Flew in on a red eye. Did MK the first day, EPCOT day 2, AK day 3 and HS day 4. We’ve been many times before, and have AP at Disneyland. So we usually skip the things we like better here. Anyway, it was a wonderful trip. The cast members this time were exceptional. I say do it. And enjoy the slower pace. Walt and Roy would be so happy to know you did.
 
I'm 35, single, and had a 10-day non-expiring pass from back when they sold those, that has now dwindled down to two days. I love Disney for the design/immersion, etc, and do love the headliner rides- but at this point in my life, I appreciate it more in small doses rather than extended trips (especially with limited vacation time and competing priorities). Thankfully, I live about 7 hours away, so driving down for a few days is doable.

Those last two days are burning a hole in my pocket, but I don’t think the approach I’ve taken in the past (a whirlwind 4-parks in 2-days crazy trip) sounds particularly appealing this time around. The more I think about it, I might want to do a slower-paced trip focused on just my favorite things (I’d probably skip MK unless I happen to time a trip during one of the after-hours events) that make sense to do in 2020 (I’m excited to see Galaxy’s Edge, but may skip Epcot for now and come back when the transformation is done)- and work in some downtime.

I have a friend I frequently travel with, who’s a big Star Wars fan and who had a lot of fun when we did both CA parks a few years ago. I could probably convince him to join me and split the hotel cost. If I can, here’s what I’m thinking:

I’d like to stay in central Florida for 4 nights, with 3 of those being onsite. rent DVC points and stay at AKL. It’s the place I’ve always wanted to stay since they opened, and based on the parks we plan to visit even makes a bit of geographic sense. My friend is a big cruise person, so I think he’d appreciate a resort with so much “wow” factor, great food/wine, and so much to see and do.

You might check the price for DVC points v. a hotel room. I own at AKV. Depending on your relationship status (er, um the number of beds you want) the sleeper sofas in the studios aren't all that great. So if a hotel room was a similar price, you might want to do that. Plus, the studios at Jambo are less plentiful than Kidani. Now I love my Kidani and think it's the best place in the world. But for your trip, you may prefer Jambo.
  • Day 0- Drive down after work, stay either with my friend’s relatives in Ormond Beach, or an inexpensive motel
  • Day 1- Check in at AKL, explore the resort, possibly have dinner at California Grill lounge and watch fireworks, and/or visit Trader Sam’s.
I would need a little more to do that day. Not that I'd need to plan it, because you can always find stuff at Disney, but that just seems a little light.
  • Day 2 or 3 (depending on park hours/expected crowds)- Animal Kingdom, probably all day but I’d be open to a mid-day hotel break since it’s so close. This is by far my favorite park and we’d take time for a couple hours relaxing on the porch at Nomad Lounge, watching shows/live performances, etc- in addition to Pandora (day and evening) and the major attractions.
If your friend really is a Star Wars fan, he might want to go with a hopper (sounds like you have one) and do the early morning trudge to DHS and try for a boarding group for RotR before going to AK. My friend just went today way before park opening, and got group 9, so they were on and off early. They have hoppers, so I'll be at least part of their group will try again on one of their days. Other than that - a Kungaloosh at Nomad is my happy place. pluto:
  • Day 2 or 3 (depending on park hours/expected crowds)- Hollywood Studios, including Star Wars, ToT, RnRC, etc. Guessing there would be enough time today to head back to the hotel at some point and do an early dinner at Jiko or Boma before returning for evening events. Or, given that we’ve seen Fantasmic (both in CA, me in FL as well) maybe it’s better to just stay until we’re done and do a later dinner?
Again, with hoppers, you could plan for a dinner at Epcot and watching their new evening show if it's running when you go.
  • Day 4- Relaxed morning, maybe breakfast at Boma or Sanaa and/or possible visit to Downtown Disney and then head home by early afternoon.
BOMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Would you do a trip like this if you’ve visited recently and didn’t feel the need to be comprehensive? Honestly I’m so used to trying to maximize every minute that I worry about this being a less efficient style of touring, but it also sounds a lot more fun this time around!

See my comments in red above.

I've done a couple of trips like this, now that my dd has 'aged out' of both Disney and going with me. (We did go for a week with her best friend after they turned 21 to do drinks around the world. It was fun, but I actually realized that I prefer the shorter more relaxed trips now.) So I totally get you. Sounds like a perfect trip to me.
 
Heck yeah. Back when EMH would last until 3 am my daughter and I spent 36 hours in the parks (minus traveling between parks) in two days. That was after a 16 hour/1000 mile drive to get there. We got up the day after and left Orlando at 7 am and drove 16 hours/ 1000 miles back home. I know it sounds crazy, but it's one of our fondest Disney memories. I think your plan sounds awesome and very relaxing :)
 

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