Mid January Trip Plans

largemarge

largemarge

Member
My husband and I will be traveling to Disney in January and would love any feedback or tips on our plans! We will be staying at Port Orleans FQ for the first time and are very excited (even though there will be refurbishments while we are there).

We will arrive late Wednesday night (1/17) and probably won't get to the hotel and settled until around 12:30 or 1 AM. We will have 3 full days and this is probably my 14th or 15th trip so I definitely have my 'must dos' ride-wise. Our plans as of now are as follows:

Thursday 1/18:
Sleep in (which I doubt I'll be able to do because I never sleep well at Disney due to who knows what going on with my brain wiring) and head to MK for a 12:40 lunch reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern. We'll more than likely spend the rest of the day at MK and watch Happily Every After (which I am beyond excited about). After HEA we're thinking about heading over to Epcot to take advantage of the EMH and stroll around World Showcase. I haven't done EMH since 2002 when it was an entirely different experience so I'm not really sure what to expect with that or if it will be worth it.

Friday 1/20:
We will probably do AK for most of the day and have a lunch reservation at Yak & Yeti at 12:45. I will also try my hardest not to ride Everest immediately after having a spiked Dole Whip. I don't foresee us having a very late night this night.

Saturday 1/21:
We will probably try to do HS during the morning (hopefully have a FP for RR and ToT and then do regular wait for ST) and head over to Epcot for a lunch reservation at Restaurant Marrakesh at 1:05. We'll spend the rest of the day at Epcot for the Festival of the Arts.

That's pretty much it for now. I'll be able to make FP+ reservations in less than two weeks. We have never dined at any of the restaurants we have reservations for so any feedback on those is appreciated as well!
 
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LAKid53

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
So you've learned about the adult version of Dole whips served in Africa.....

Evening EMH at Epcot usually means lots of additional drinking by guests.... It's been a while since we did evening EMH, but I remember more guests were in WS than the rest of the park. But that might be best for you if your plan is to ride some of the more popular attractions.

Yak and Yeti is great. The Korean ribs are amazing, and the portion is huge. I go with either the ribs or the noodles.

At Liberty Tree for lunch, you can order either the Pilgrims Platter or ala carte. I usually go with the kid's pot toast to save room for dessert. The pot roast is almost as good as my mother's.

Instead of Restaurant Marrakesh in Morroco, have you considered Spice Roads Table? I ate dinner there Sunday and it was very good. You can order either the small bites or a full entree. I've read mixed reviews on Marrakesh.

Have fun. The parks should be less crowded, since you are arriving after MLK holiday weekend.
 
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largemarge

largemarge

Member
Original Poster
Hooray for less crowds and thank you for the input! I did look into Spice Roads Table, but am not quite sure why I didn't go with it. The ambiance inside of Marrakesh looks really cool so I think that's why we went with that. We usually just get small plates in multiple countries when we're visiting Epcot, but decided to try an actual table service restaurant this time. We really wanted to do La Hacienda de San Angel but there were no reservations. :(
 
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LAKid53

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
largemarge said:
Hooray for less crowds and thank you for the input! I did look into Spice Roads Table, but am not quite sure why I didn't go with it. The ambiance inside of Marrakesh looks really cool so I think that's why we went with that. We usually just get small plates in multiple countries when we're visiting Epcot, but decided to try an actual table service restaurant this time. We really wanted to do La Hacienda de San Angel but there were no reservations. :(
Click to expand...

The nice thing about Spice Roads is the option for outdoors seating. On a nice, clear, crisp day, it's wonderful. But no belly dancing, like Marrakesh.
 
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C

Cameron1529

Active Member
Sounds like a great plan. I will be there around the same time.

I would take advantage of your park hopper as often as possible, so if you want to move around to different parks throughout the day you are able. And I think it is great taking advantage of the extra magic hours. I know many are against this, however if you want to maximise your time at other parks it is nearly worth skipping Hollywood Studios all together. There is currently significant construction work (as you may know), on One Mans Dream, Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land. So a significant part of the park is already cut off or under construction.

With Animal Kingdom also, with the recent construction of Avatar Land be mindful to book your FASTPASS in advance for such rides as Flight of Passage. It is crucial!! You can do that via the Disney App.

Good Luck and Enjoy.
 
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D

Driver

Well-Known Member
LAKid53 said:
So you've learned about the adult version of Dole whips served in Africa.....

Evening EMH at Epcot usually means lots of additional drinking by guests.... It's been a while since we did evening EMH, but I remember more guests were in WS than the rest of the park. But that might be best for you if your plan is to ride some of the more popular attractions.

Yak and Yeti is great. The Korean ribs are amazing, and the portion is huge. I go with either the ribs or the noodles.

At Liberty Tree for lunch, you can order either the Pilgrims Platter or ala carte. I usually go with the kid's pot toast to save room for dessert. The pot roast is almost as good as my mother's.

Instead of Restaurant Marrakesh in Morroco, have you considered Spice Roads Table? I ate dinner there Sunday and it was very good. You can order either the small bites or a full entree. I've read mixed reviews on Marrakesh.

Have fun. The parks should be less crowded, since you are arriving after MLK holiday weekend.
Click to expand...
That is a tasty treat!! Also available at Trader Sams (Poly) we enjoy them there in the evenings while we watch the fireworks.
 
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largemarge

largemarge

Member
Original Poster
Cameron1529 said:
if you want to maximise your time at other parks it is nearly worth skipping Hollywood Studios all together. There is currently significant construction work (as you may know), on One Mans Dream, Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land. So a significant part of the park is already cut off or under construction.

With Animal Kingdom also, with the recent construction of Avatar Land be mindful to book your FASTPASS in advance for such rides as Flight of Passage. It is crucial!! You can do that via the Disney App.

Good Luck and Enjoy.
Click to expand...

Thanks! We would probably skip over Hollywood Studios if not for RR, which is my favorite ride of all the parks! It was closed for refurbishments when we were there last October and I was devastated.

However, I do have very high hopes that Flight of Passage might end up surpassing RR for the top spot. Really hoping to snag a FP+ for that. I've heard it can be a tough one to get.

Driver said:
That is a tasty treat!! Also available at Trader Sams (Poly) we enjoy them there in the evenings while we watch the fireworks.
Click to expand...

Hoping to experience Trader Sams at some point as well!
 
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Horizons '83

Horizons '83

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Hey there! You are going the same exact dates as us!

We are arriving late Wednesday as well.
Thursday we will be walking to Epcot (staying at the Yacht Club for the first time!) and spending the day there including the rare Evening Magic hours on a Thursday.
Friday we will be hitting up MK Magic Hour in the AM and stay all day
Saturday is our off day, might go to the pool, relax, etc then go to Disney Springs in the evening for dinner at Paddlefish
Sunday we will go to HS for the morning hours through about lunch and then head to Animal Kingdom for the remainder of the day.

For comparisons sake I hope this helps you since we will be staying the identical dates.
 
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LAKid53

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
Driver said:
That is a tasty treat!! Also available at Trader Sams (Poly) we enjoy them there in the evenings while we watch the fireworks.
Click to expand...

I keep resisting the adult version. But one of these days, a Dole Whip with dark rum will be on my radar.
 
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DisneyFreak

DisneyFreak

Well-Known Member
LAKid53 said:
Instead of Restaurant Marrakesh in Morroco, have you considered Spice Roads Table? I ate dinner there Sunday and it was very good. You can order either the small bites or a full entree. I've read mixed reviews on Marrakesh.
Click to expand...

I agree with LAKid on this. While Restaurant Marrakesh is very good, we prefer Spice Road Table. The location right on the water is great and the food is even better. We enjoy ordering the small plates since it gives your palate more to enjoy. You can also dine inside or out and the views for Illuminations is not bad either.
 
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Horizons '83

Horizons '83

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
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Cmdr_Crimson

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
TJ Vazquez said:
Please teach how to have a 2 week trip haha. Man I am always amazed people can pull it off. Some day maybe.
Click to expand...

Simple...Buy a "room only" room a year before your trip and pay for the first nights stay....And pay it off through the year. And you can pay it off just as you arrive instead of how packages have a deadline. But, I get it done a few months before, Get your airline & park tickets when it gets closer and then you got yourself a two week stay...
 
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Horizons '83

Horizons '83

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Cmdr_Crimson said:
Simple...Buy a "room only" room a year before your trip and pay for the first nights stay....And pay it off through the year. And you can pay it off just as you arrive instead of how packages have a deadline. But, I get it done a few months before, Get your airline & park tickets when it gets closer and then you got yourself a two week stay...
Click to expand...
Very nice, that's a strategy that I use for our trips. I guess I am impressed you can get 2 weeks off of work!
 
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largemarge

largemarge

Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the tips! We will definitely check out Spice Road since that seems to be the consensus! Also happy to be dodging the NFL Pro Bowl week.
 
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