just a few random questions..

marge

Member
Original Poster
hi everyone, coming from Australia to Disney in may and so excited! just have a few questions:

can you tell me how the magic express bus works? I haven't added it yet because our flights keep changing! but our 1st flight is near 16 hrs so by the end we'll be exhausted! (especially with a 4yr old + nanna)! do you have to wait long for them to arrive? If everything works out, our flight will arrive from Houston between 5-6pm. when we depart Disney, we'll be going domestically to another city. do we get to use the magic express bus then as well? is 2 hrs sufficient for a domestic flight?

is there an online timetable for transport from your hotel to each park? (we are staying at POFQ)

breakfast - we plan on rope dropping everyday and are not breakfast people, so tell me how you breakfast not doing sit down meals. can you eat on the bus? do you grab something quick from main street/starbucks or treats or takeway from your hotel?

adrs: are they very strict on time and details? for instance, if you want to go 15 mins early and they have space, can you do this, or would they charge you for changing/cancelling the original reservation? if we are a party of 4 and my husband decides he wants to stay back at the hotel, will this be ok?
 

erasure fan1

Well-Known Member
We tend to do basic breakfast in the room. We would have cereal, granola bars, toast... and while at the food court we would pick up some butter, jelly... to bring back to the room. We drive, so we bring a lot from home but a quick trip to walmart or the grocery store you can pick up what you need. We go light for breakfast because we usually eat a early lunch. I also hate spending money on Disney breakfast. It is SOOOOO over priced for the buffets, sit downs or quick sevice. We would much rather spend that money on lunch or dinner.
 

mf1972

Well-Known Member
welcome to the forums marge!

we haven’t flown down there in awhile, but there is a designated spot at MCO airport for the magical express. it wasn’t difficul to find. just follow the signs. there’ll prob be a short wait until the bus arrives. if my memory is correct, they’ll have you line up in a assigned line for it.

as far as transport from the resort to the parks, the buses run continuously. could be a short or longer wait. we stayed at POFQ 2 months ago. the bus stops does have estimated arrival times posted on a monitor.

if you’re not having breakfast at your resort, you should have no problem getting anything at the parks.

we always arrived a few minutes early for our ADR’s. on some occasions, we did get in earlier than expected. if you do have a reservation made with a credit card, i think they’ll charge you a fee for that. i think it also applies if you cancel the reservation less than 24 hours. i could be wrong.

FQ is a nice small, quiet resort. it’s pretty much a short walk to anywhere. i hope some of this helped. have a safe trip & a good time 👍
 

marge

Member
Original Poster
We tend to do basic breakfast in the room. We would have cereal, granola bars, toast... and while at the food court we would pick up some butter, jelly... to bring back to the room. We drive, so we bring a lot from home but a quick trip to walmart or the grocery store you can pick up what you need. We go light for breakfast because we usually eat a early lunch. I also hate spending money on Disney breakfast. It is SOOOOO over priced for the buffets, sit downs or quick sevice. We would much rather spend that money on lunch or dinner.
is there a store nearby or in the hotel? or do you bring break and items from home? I was thinking we could buy a few things takeaway from the hotel restaurant to eat on the bus (if allowed) or just get a snack quick when we are waiting for rope drop. but not sure how that would work time wise. we have a character breakfast booked at akershus, but i'm going to cancel because it's outrageous with the exchange rate and none of us eat meat (except chicken and fish), so a bit of a waste of money
 

marge

Member
Original Poster
welcome to the forums marge!

we haven’t flown down there in awhile, but there is a designated spot at MCO airport for the magical express. it wasn’t difficul to find. just follow the signs. there’ll prob be a short wait until the bus arrives. if my memory is correct, they’ll have you line up in a assigned line for it.

as far as transport from the resort to the parks, the buses run continuously. could be a short or longer wait. we stayed at POFQ 2 months ago. the bus stops does have estimated arrival times posted on a monitor.

if you’re not having breakfast at your resort, you should have no problem getting anything at the parks.

we always arrived a few minutes early for our ADR’s. on some occasions, we did get in earlier than expected. if you do have a reservation made with a credit card, i think they’ll charge you a fee for that. i think it also applies if you cancel the reservation less than 24 hours. i could be wrong.

FQ is a nice small, quiet resort. it’s pretty much a short walk to anywhere. i hope some of this helped. have a safe trip & a good time 👍
thanks! hopefully we find it ok and there is not a huge wait. I was hoping there would be an online schedule so I could plan ahead, but that's ok.

I will have to make sure we just stick to the reservation then, because I don't want to get charged the fee!
 

mf1972

Well-Known Member
the gift shop at FQ is small. there are some snack items & beverages you can buy there & bring to your room, but the choices are limited.
the food court does have some fruits, cereal packets & milk you can bring back to your room as well. all rooms have a mini fridge.
 

erasure fan1

Well-Known Member
is there a store nearby or in the hotel? or do you bring break and items from home? I was thinking we could buy a few things takeaway from the hotel restaurant to eat on the bus (if allowed) or just get a snack quick when we are waiting for rope drop. but not sure how that would work time wise. we have a character breakfast booked at akershus, but i'm going to cancel because it's outrageous with the exchange rate and none of us eat meat (except chicken and fish), so a bit of a waste of money
If you have car, there are a few places near by to get that kind of stuff. The resort shop you can get some as well but it is very pricey. You aren't supposed to eat on the busses but granola bars and the like you see people eating all the time. If we are needing to be out early, we just throw the stuff in our backpack and eat while we wait for the rope drop.
 

mmnw

Active Member
Magical Express - knowing you are traveling a long way, tired, hsve a young child... I would consider getting your luggage and bringing it to the Magical Express. Sometimes, it takes awhile for your luggage to reach your room. I’d think you may want it ASAP after your travel.

Breakfast - you can also consider ordering food, from a grocery store, and having it delivered to your hotel. There are lots of companies that deliver. They each have a different minumin purchase and delivery charge. So, you can decide what works best for you. One company that comes to mind is Garden Grocer. If you don’t see an item you would like, email them. They have found items, not on their list, but I’m sure they carried in their store. Some companies will shop at another store for you and place it all on that one bill. I don’t remember if you can eat on the bus. The bus could be crowded at that hour anyway. Tricky to eat with a 4 year old. You might not have a place to sit. Need to hold on.
 

tomast

Well-Known Member
Hey! Have a nice trip to WDW and I am here to help you if you need any aditional infromation I will try to help you with my expirience on wdw
 

NiarrNDisney

Well-Known Member
I also am not a breakfast person especially really early in the morning when doing something like rope drop so if I didn't have something with my coffee at the resort I will go to a coffee shop or QS place inside the parks to get a breakfast sandwich, some fruit or a pastry or whatever.


MK - Cheshire Cafe, Gaston's Tavern, Joffrey's, Liberty Square Market, Main Street Bakery, Revive, Sleepy Hollow,

Epcot - Boulangerie Patisserie les Halles, Fountain View, Joffrey's, Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe, Sunshine Seasons

DHS - Anaheim Produce, Joffrey's, Trolley Car Cafe, Tower of Terror Coffee Cart, Woody's Lunchbox

DAK - Creature Comforts, Joffrey's, Kusafiri Coffee Shop, Isle of Java, Pongu Pongu, Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes
 

JenDud

Member
POFQ is wonderful. I’m also not a huge breakfast eater. I just got pastries from the quick service area for our breakfast. Make sure one morning to get some beignets. They are delicious.
 

J_Krafty24

Active Member
What we did for breakfast was to have an Amazon Prime Now delivery with cereal, milk, granola bars, apple sauce pouches and some other various snacks. It was delivered to bell services and all we needed to do was pick it up. Bell services will even keep the cold items cold for you. Currently there is no fee from Disney to have groceries delivered to bell services at your resort (USPS, ups, FedEx and DHL do have a per package fee). There are several different options for grocery delivery (garden grocer is also popular). This would probably be your cheapest option as even though the prices are higher and/or there is a delivery fee it is still cheaper than renting a car for a day to go to the grocery store, especially if you just need a few items, and wayyyyyy cheaper than buying from the gift shop or food court every morning.
 

graphite1326

Well-Known Member
hi everyone, coming from Australia to Disney in may and so excited! just have a few questions:

can you tell me how the magic express bus works? I haven't added it yet because our flights keep changing! but our 1st flight is near 16 hrs so by the end we'll be exhausted! (especially with a 4yr old + nanna)! do you have to wait long for them to arrive? If everything works out, our flight will arrive from Houston between 5-6pm. when we depart Disney, we'll be going domestically to another city. do we get to use the magic express bus then as well? is 2 hrs sufficient for a domestic flight?

is there an online timetable for transport from your hotel to each park? (we are staying at POFQ)

breakfast - we plan on rope dropping everyday and are not breakfast people, so tell me how you breakfast not doing sit down meals. can you eat on the bus? do you grab something quick from main street/starbucks or treats or takeway from your hotel?

adrs: are they very strict on time and details? for instance, if you want to go 15 mins early and they have space, can you do this, or would they charge you for changing/cancelling the original reservation? if we are a party of 4 and my husband decides he wants to stay back at the hotel, will this be ok?
I would go ahead and book Magic Express. If your flights change all you have to do is let them know. When you arrive at the airport take shuttle B and ME is on the 1st floor all the way to the right when facing out toward the transportation area.

The park bus schedule is posted at the waiting area.

We always bring cereal for breakfast and eat in the room before we go. Cheaper and faster.

They tell you to arrive 15 minutes early for ADRS. I have arrived even sooner. Sometimes you get in early and sometimes not. Also, they are usually ok with you being a few minutes late. I am not sure how it works if someone in your part cancels
 

tomast

Well-Known Member
You can call them and tell them the number of flight and the airline and with that they can track you flight. And when you arribe to the Magic express you have to show them your reservtion or scan your magic band and you are ready to go.

There is nothing less magical in disney than the Magic Express. For me its a regular old bus with no Disney on it but its included on the hotel and its a nice way to get from the airport
 

Qscout

Active Member
For what its worth.
Magical Express is by far the simplest way from airport to hotel, they have you on an assigned bus queue, and buses are constant so shouldnt be too long a wait.

We travel from uk so once there, like yourselves food is limited to Disney, however, on our first night we got a taxi to nearist wal-mart / Target, and bought cereal, milk, bread, crisps etc. These did us for breakfast and snacks for our whole stay.

We did character breakfast one day and was well worth it, the charcaters were fab, and being vegetarian there was a lot more available than at other places. Since then however we have come across vegandisneyworld.com. Well worth looking at for non meet dining which isnt always clear in the parks.
 

Shouldigo12

Well-Known Member
hi everyone, coming from Australia to Disney in may and so excited! just have a few questions:

can you tell me how the magic express bus works? I haven't added it yet because our flights keep changing! but our 1st flight is near 16 hrs so by the end we'll be exhausted! (especially with a 4yr old + nanna)! do you have to wait long for them to arrive? If everything works out, our flight will arrive from Houston between 5-6pm. when we depart Disney, we'll be going domestically to another city. do we get to use the magic express bus then as well? is 2 hrs sufficient for a domestic flight?

is there an online timetable for transport from your hotel to each park? (we are staying at POFQ)

breakfast - we plan on rope dropping everyday and are not breakfast people, so tell me how you breakfast not doing sit down meals. can you eat on the bus? do you grab something quick from main street/starbucks or treats or takeway from your hotel?

adrs: are they very strict on time and details? for instance, if you want to go 15 mins early and they have space, can you do this, or would they charge you for changing/cancelling the original reservation? if we are a party of 4 and my husband decides he wants to stay back at the hotel, will this be ok?
Magical express is a bus that will take you to the parks from the airport or vice verse. You can ask directions on how to get there from your gate. The person working there will ask to scan your magic band and then tell you which line to stand in. Wait times vary, but it shouldn't take too long. Your flight changing doesn't matter too much. Remember, these are shared buses that come to the airport fairly frequently. If your flight times change it just means you'll be getting on an earlier orblater bus. By domestic flight tk another city, I take it you mean you'll be flying to another U.S. city and then from there to Australia? As long as your first flight is from MCO you can still use ME. ME will pick you up three houra from when your flight leaves (or two, I've heard different thinga lately, but mine was three). Can you clarify on that last question about two hours? I forget the ecact details on ADRs, but I know if you want to sit down a bit earlier you can go up and ask to the hostess if they're ready for your reservation yet. They may ask you to wait longer or they may tell you a seat is ready, it just depends on how busy the restaurant is and how strictly they adhere to rules. Of course you can't show up 2 hours early and try this, but 15 minutes is fine. You will not be charged for sitting early.
 

MickeyLuv'r

Well-Known Member
hi everyone, coming from Australia to Disney in may and so excited! just have a few questions:

  1. can you tell me how the magic express bus works?
  2. do you have to wait long for them to arrive?
  3. do we get to use the magic express bus then as well? is 2 hrs sufficient for a domestic flight?

4. is there an online timetable for transport from your hotel to each park? (we are staying at POFQ)

  1. breakfast - we plan on rope dropping everyday and are not breakfast people, so tell me how you breakfast not doing sit down meals.
  2. can you eat on the bus?
  3. do you grab something quick from main street/starbucks or treats or takeway from your hotel?

  1. adrs: are they very strict on time and details? for instance, if you want to go 15 mins early and they have space, can you do this, or would they charge you for changing/cancelling the original reservation?
  2. if we are a party of 4 and my husband decides he wants to stay back at the hotel, will this be ok?

1. ME is a shuttle bus system that takes you from the airport to your WDW hotel. You have to find the Magic Express area, and the airport is symmetrical. Disney's Magical Express is in the Main Terminal Building on Side B, Level 1 in the Ground Transportation area. So make sure you keep that info handy to find the correct area. After you get off your plane, you first take a an airport monorail to the main terminal.
When you find the ME area, You'll need to have your magic bands handy, and/or ID. (I prefer to have both, but I think just ID or a magic band will work.) Staff sends you into the proper queue for the shuttle bus that goes to your resort. You may wait a bit. Staff then directs you to board a bus. You may then wait a little more for the bus to fill. The timing varies, but it often takes about 2 hours from the time your plane lands until you are at your hotel. Also, Disney will also transfer your checked luggage IF you use the yellow stickers they provide, BUT there are rules, and it takes time. Personally, we pick up our own luggage before going to ME (When we use ME: often we prefer to have our own rental car for transportation.) ME is free, but it takes a little time. Last time I used the luggage delivery, our bags arrived very late.
  1. Usually the whole process takes about 2 hours, but it varies. IF you pick up your checked luggage that would take longer. Delayed flights are also fairly common.
  2. Magic Express is ONLY at the Orlando International Airport, code MCO. At other airports, you'll on your own for transportation. most airports have taxis if you need transportation. Some US airport have mass transit options. If you need to get around within a US airport (gate to terminal) there will be a mass transit option, like a shuttle or buses.
  3. Not that know, but I'm sure others will give you more info about timing. With WDW buses, timing is variable. At POFQ, you can walk to Port Orleans Riverside. You can take a bot to get to Disney Springs, and buses are provided to get to the parks. If you goto the front desk, they will give you a resort map, and explain it all to you.
  4. POFQ has a food court. that is typically our preferred option in the morning. There are also some QS options in every park, but they tend to be less efficient than the POFQ food court. Another option is to eat breakfast in your room. Some folks use a grocery delivery service, but those can be a bit of a pain, IMO. I think you are allowed to bring some packaged foods internationally, if you really wish, but make sure you know the restrictions on what you can bring internationally. Your hotel room will have a coffeemaker. POFQ also sells some food in their gift shop. So you can - at gift shop/food court prices- buy some items and have them on hand in your room. Some nights we buy items on our way out of the park, when lines are short, to eat the next morning. You hotel also sells a refillable mug. You buy the mug at the start of your stay, and get to use it all week. the downside though is that you have to wash it yourself and carry it around. The upside is that you get to keep it.
  5. NO, you are not supposed eat on the bus, shuttle boats, etc. You CAN eat while you wait for the bus, and right after you exit the bus. In that situation, something like granola bars is handy. Always, the downside of carrying snacks is that you have to carry them. If you have a backpack, you also have to have it searched every time you enter the parks- and that takes extra time - especially in the morning! Sometimes, we do bring a bag into the parks, often we don't. If it is VERY hot though, we DO bring water bottles, especially when temps are going to go over 75 degrees Fahrenheit. We also bring a bag if the weather forecast calls for intermittent rain or cold. We typically don't want to wear rain jackets all day. so days we bring jackets, we also bring snacks.
  6. See number 5. In the morning, the starbucks (in the park) line can be LONG. I also prefer to have my coffee first thing in the morning. You can't take coffee on rides, so haing it in the parks just slows us down. We try to finish our morning beverages before we board the shuttle bus/boats.
  7. Kinda. If you arrive early that's fine; they will try to seat you early, but no promises. If you arrive late or not at all they can charge you a no show fee - $10 per person! If you are 3 of 4 people, they generally don't charge, though I have never personally tested that. If you wish to change/cancel, you should do it 24 hours in advance to avoid the no show fee. Otherwise, you are at the mercy of WDW. Personally, I avoid arrival day ADR's because delays are common and I don't want to get charged. I also stick to no more than ONE ADR per day. First, I don't want to spend all day eating- ADR meals often take 90-120 minutes! Second, many places are buffets, and I can only stomach one buffet per day.

Have fun!
 

Shouldigo12

Well-Known Member
1. ME is a shuttle bus system that takes you from the airport to your WDW hotel. You have to find the Magic Express area, and the airport is symmetrical. Disney's Magical Express is in the Main Terminal Building on Side B, Level 1 in the Ground Transportation area. So make sure you keep that info handy to find the correct area. After you get off your plane, you first take a an airport monorail to the main terminal.
When you find the ME area, You'll need to have your magic bands handy, and/or ID. (I prefer to have both, but I think just ID or a magic band will work.) Staff sends you into the proper queue for the shuttle bus that goes to your resort. You may wait a bit. Staff then directs you to board a bus. You may then wait a little more for the bus to fill. The timing varies, but it often takes about 2 hours from the time your plane lands until you are at your hotel. Also, Disney will also transfer your checked luggage IF you use the yellow stickers they provide, BUT there are rules, and it takes time. Personally, we pick up our own luggage before going to ME (When we use ME: often we prefer to have our own rental car for transportation.) ME is free, but it takes a little time. Last time I used the luggage delivery, our bags arrived very late.
  1. Usually the whole process takes about 2 hours, but it varies. IF you pick up your checked luggage that would take longer. Delayed flights are also fairly common.
  2. Magic Express is ONLY at the Orlando International Airport, code MCO. At other airports, you'll on your own for transportation. most airports have taxis if you need transportation. Some US airport have mass transit options. If you need to get around within a US airport (gate to terminal) there will be a mass transit option, like a shuttle or buses.
  3. Not that know, but I'm sure others will give you more info about timing. With WDW buses, timing is variable. At POFQ, you can walk to Port Orleans Riverside. You can take a bot to get to Disney Springs, and buses are provided to get to the parks. If you goto the front desk, they will give you a resort map, and explain it all to you.
  4. POFQ has a food court. that is typically our preferred option in the morning. There are also some QS options in every park, but they tend to be less efficient than the POFQ food court. Another option is to eat breakfast in your room. Some folks use a grocery delivery service, but those can be a bit of a pain, IMO. I think you are allowed to bring some packaged foods internationally, if you really wish, but make sure you know the restrictions on what you can bring internationally. Your hotel room will have a coffeemaker. POFQ also sells some food in their gift shop. So you can - at gift shop/food court prices- buy some items and have them on hand in your room. Some nights we buy items on our way out of the park, when lines are short, to eat the next morning. You hotel also sells a refillable mug. You buy the mug at the start of your stay, and get to use it all week. the downside though is that you have to wash it yourself and carry it around. The upside is that you get to keep it.
  5. NO, you are not supposed eat on the bus, shuttle boats, etc. You CAN eat while you wait for the bus, and right after you exit the bus. In that situation, something like granola bars is handy. Always, the downside of carrying snacks is that you have to carry them. If you have a backpack, you also have to have it searched every time you enter the parks- and that takes extra time - especially in the morning! Sometimes, we do bring a bag into the parks, often we don't. If it is VERY hot though, we DO bring water bottles, especially when temps are going to go over 75 degrees Fahrenheit. We also bring a bag if the weather forecast calls for intermittent rain or cold. We typically don't want to wear rain jackets all day. so days we bring jackets, we also bring snacks.
  6. See number 5. In the morning, the starbucks (in the park) line can be LONG. I also prefer to have my coffee first thing in the morning. You can't take coffee on rides, so haing it in the parks just slows us down. We try to finish our morning beverages before we board the shuttle bus/boats.
  7. Kinda. If you arrive early that's fine; they will try to seat you early, but no promises. If you arrive late or not at all they can charge you a no show fee - $10 per person! If you are 3 of 4 people, they generally don't charge, though I have never personally tested that. If you wish to change/cancel, you should do it 24 hours in advance to avoid the no show fee. Otherwise, you are at the mercy of WDW. Personally, I avoid arrival day ADR's because delays are common and I don't want to get charged. I also stick to no more than ONE ADR per day. First, I don't want to spend all day eating- ADR meals often take 90-120 minutes! Second, many places are buffets, and I can only stomach one buffet per day.

Have fun!
Agreed. The general rule of thumb is don't schedule anything less than three hours from your landing time. I scheduled something three and a half hours after I was supposed to land and still had my plans blow up due to a delay that was announced the night before. I missed and ADR and a pass for a show that came with it. Disney was nice about it and cancelled my fee, but it still sucked.

Quick question Mickey- I've heard that if you have ME take your bags using the magical tags, it 1. Makes it easier to track the bags if they get lost and 2. Means Disney will take over tracking the bags for you so you don't have to deal with calling the airline. Do you know if that's true?
 

Roakor

Well-Known Member
is there an online timetable for transport from your hotel to each park? (we are staying at POFQ)

There is no timetable, usually there is a buss to and from each park about every 20 min. Some of the buss stops for some resorts can get very full during peak hours (opening and closing). if your going to a rope drop plan to be at the buss stop atleast 30min before you actually want to get on the buss. Its better to be early then a few min late and have to wait for the next one. Also if you are leaving after a fireworks show don't be in any hurry to get tot he buss, especially at MK. The buss lines will be overcrowded with cranky, crying tired kids and even crankier tired yelling adults. Much better to just take a walk through the park, stop for a snack, browse the shops. The buses will still be running later and you won't be wedged into them like sardines with a bunch of whining, crying, tired people with sleeping kids on their laps.

Fortunately POFQ is a smaller resort and so is not as prone to the above issues as much, you choose wisely.

breakfast - we plan on rope dropping everyday and are not breakfast people, so tell me how you breakfast not doing sit down meals. can you eat on the bus? do you grab something quick from main street/starbucks or treats or takeway from your hotel?

We usually take a box of muffins or something with us and a bottle of juice. I understand you can order things like that on-line and have them delivered to your room. Most rooms have a fridge. You can eat them while waiting for the buss but they wont' say anything if you take them with you.

adrs: are they very strict on time and details? for instance, if you want to go 15 mins early and they have space, can you do this, or would they charge you for changing/cancelling the original reservation? if we are a party of 4 and my husband decides he wants to stay back at the hotel, will this be ok?

I have never had an issue showing up early for an ADR. I don't always get seated early but sometimes you can. Just show up and let them know if they can get you in early that would be great. Just don't expect/demand to be seated early. From my experience the nicer more friendly you are with the host/hostess the better chance you will have your request granted. Which is usually true for everything but even more so at WDW. the cast members have to deal with alot of very unpleasant people all day long. when confronted with a friendly and accommodating person I find they usually are more likely to go above and beyond to help you out.
 

MickeyLuv'r

Well-Known Member
is there a store nearby or in the hotel? or do you bring break and items from home? I was thinking we could buy a few things takeaway from the hotel restaurant to eat on the bus (if allowed) or just get a snack quick when we are waiting for rope drop. but not sure how that would work time wise. we have a character breakfast booked at akershus, but i'm going to cancel because it's outrageous with the exchange rate and none of us eat meat (except chicken and fish), so a bit of a waste of money
They do sell some items in the hotel gift shop and food court, but like at what I call convenience store prices. If you look online, you can find WDW menus with prices. the WDW website itself now has some menus.
When we want to be efficient, as I said, we get items the night before we want to eat them.
The food courts though are pretty efficient, especially if you like a hot breakfast. (eggs, Mickey waffles)
the food courts have, what we call, a breakfast 'rush hour," Many folks aim to be at rope drop, few succeed, but many folks arrive at the food court about 8:20am (aiming to be at the parks for 9am). We often find, if we arrive JSUT A FEW MINUTES ahead of rush hour- say, 8:10am- then the food court is nearly empty! (on days when there's an 8am morning EMH, there will also be a mini-rush hour 7:30-7:45am. Many folks also run a few minutes behind....so the food courts stay fairly busy until 10am. It depends a little on the season. If it is a major holiday week - like Easter- the food courts will be extra busy.

Another option we use with great success; we send one person ahead. Whoever is first to be ready goes to the food court ahead of everyone else. They can either bring food back to the room (handy with young kids), or just send them 5 minutes ahead of everyone else to simply order/gather food for the group.

Still one more option is to make a grocery store run. For us, we only do this if we have a car. If you really wanted, you could take a taxi, but I'm not sure it is worth the time+cost, unless someone in your group has special dietary needs. WDW is pretty good helping with special needs dining, but if someone in your family is vegan, kosher, an infant, or has severe food allergies, then a grocery store run can be a lifesaver. There are a number of grocery store located very close to WDW- BUT- it still takes time. If you are going for more than 9 days, it might also be worth the time/effort/cost. You don't have to ALL go shopping.

A bonus of a grocery store run is that you can ALSO buy toiletries, sunscreen, diapers, and adult beverages (generally only beer and wine at US grocery stores). In some cases, if you would have to pay luggage fees, then a grocery run becomes more attractive.

Still one more option is to pay for a grocery delivery service. I'm not sure about POFQ, but some WDW resorts charge fees. the last time I had a package delivered, the fee 9and added costs) made it not worthwhile, but some folks love these services. Another downside is that you sometimes have to wait for them to arrive.

Still one more factor is that the room will only have a tiny dorm fridge. They aren't very cold, aren't very big, and don't hold big bottles. The hotels do have ice, but icing foods is a royal pain (been there).

For milk for my coffee, I have tried every option: powdered milk (yuck!), and even shelf stable milk boxes (don't have to be kept cold until they are opened). probably in most cases though, you might as well just buy milk in the food court.

The character meals can be fun. It might be worth doing just one. Yes, they are expensive, but also can be pretty neat. Truly, WDW takes special dietary needs very seriously. If you have it noted on your ADR, WDw will often have a chef talk to you personally to make sure your dietary needs are met- even at buffets! I've only ben to Akershus once; it was okay. Lots of princesses. If you are vegetarian, then Boma and Sanaa are very good (just takes a while to get there and back, and they are not character meals). Another good option is the 1900 Park Fare character meal (easy monorail ride from MK) is very good for dinner (vegetarian).
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom