Pre-Trip no boys allowed!

I wasn't going to start this quite yet, but I've reached a point in my planning that I need a bit of advice from the experts. So here I am. By experts, I mean people who go more often than once every 3-5 years and know shortcuts and tricks. @Tuvalu @Darstarr @ajrwdwgirl @riverside I know there are many of you, so I apologize for not naming all of you, but these were the names that came to me off the top of my head because I'm reading your TRs often.

The basics:
Who: My daughter (E) and me. My husband isn't a Disney fan and would rather spend the money on a gaming computer, which he did last Summer and told me I should take E on a trip with just the 2 of us because we have a similar travel style and both LOVE Disney and will get a lot more out of it than he or our son would. So...no boys on this trip. Just us girls. There may be appearances from a few other players, but we're not sure yet. My best friend Shasta might join us for a few days, my cousin C and her daughter L might pop in as well, and we'll be staying a couple nights with my friend D.

When: July27 - July 29th at Universal's Endless Summer Dockside Inn and suites
July 29th and 30th with my friend at her home in Kissimmee
July 31-August 14th at Disney's All-Star Music resort

Why?: Because that was the deal. My husband and A both got gaming computers so E and I get a Disney trip. And E is going to be a senior next year, but didn't want to do a graduation trip because she didn't want to be trying to do her senior projects while also planning a Disney trip, because she's a perfectionist and wants to focus on school. So we're doing a trip to celebrate her senior year!!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I’m here!

 

[riverside]

Here!!

 

[Songbird76]

So I combed through menus for pretty much every single restaurant on property to decide on ADRs, plus looking up things that are close by. My husband refuses to use ride shares like Uber or Lyft, but he won't be on this trip, so he doesn't get a vote and I'm totally ok with using them. It's cheaper than renting a car, and I HATE driving. I also refuse to drive in a city the size of Orlando.

The only must do for us at Universal is Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and we aren't married to eating a full meal there. None of the others have menus appealing enough that we HAVE to try them. But I did look up some of our favorite chains or types of food to see what's close to our resort. KFC is within walking distance, as is I believe Perkins? And there were several Indian places just a few minutes away. There's also an applebees, and I'd LOVE to hit Saltgrass steakhouse, but that might be one to do with my friend while we're staying with her. She won't eat poultry and that's a huge staple in my daughter's and my diet.

For Disney, I have:
Via napoli, Yak and Yeti, Sanaa, Liberty Tree Tavern, Sci-fi dine in (probably not a full meal), 50s Prime Time, San Angel, Boma (both breakfast and dinner), Beaches and Cream, Ohana, Artist's point, Le Cellier. Possibly 1900 park fare if it reopens. So I usually try to fit things in according to which park we'll be in. So if we're going to Epcot, that's when we'd do San Angel. And for the ones in resorts, I try to do them when we're at the park where it's easiest to get there....this is where I need help.

Obviously, Beaches and Cream is easiest to get to just by walking from Epcot. Epcot is our favorite park, so we have more reservations there than HS or AK, and based on feedback in other TRs, HS is not a great place right now. I already have 2 restaurants planned there for our 2 park reservations there, so Beaches and Cream will be on an Epcot day. But what about Ohana? You can get to the Poly by monorail from either MK or Epcot, right? And also by boat from MK. So should I put that on an MK or an Epcot day? I did park reservations based on the crowd calendar from touringplans and I have 2 AK days, 2 HS days, and the rest are Epcot or MK. Our tickets are European and are parkhoppers and also include water parks. We plan to do Blizzard Beach one day, but don't have a day set aside yet. We could do a resort meal on whatever day we go to BB. So, Sanaa, Artist's Point, Boma, or Ohana. I prefer to do Boma breakfast on an AK day...do early entry at AK and make a later morning breakfast ADR at boma after we've done a couple of things. Is that a solid plan, or should I rethink that? Artists Point is probably most accessible by boat from MK?? And 1900 park fare, if it's open by then, is on the monorail resort loop, OR by boat from MK. I don't remember...does the resort loop go to Epcot? I know I got in trouble with this in 2019. We had gone to BB in the morning, and sent my brother and his husband on a date night for my BIL's birthday and their anniversary and we took my niece with us to 1900 park fare that night for dinner. I allowed almost 2 hours travel time from our resort to GF and we were still late because I had planned to take the monorail from Epcot and we waited over an hour for an Epcot bus. I remembered later that we COULD have taken an MK bus and gotten the monorail there. And I remember we had to transfer from the monorail at the TTC. So is it better to do monorail resorts on a MK day? Or does it matter? Are any of those accessible by boat from Epcot?

For QS, I have:

In MK: Caseys, Pecos Bill, Sleepy Hollow refreshments, Friars nook
In Epcot: Les Halles That's it...I'm not impressed by the QS in Epcot.
In AK: Satuli Canteen, Yak and Yeti QS, or maybe Harambe fruit market for a breakfast sandwich on one of the days.
In HS: Woody's lunchbox
In DS: Chicken Guy, Polite Pig
And resorts: Capt Cook's, because I neeeeeed the nachos.

I do not have a day set aside for DS nor for BB...but we plan to do a day for each somewhere.

I have our first HS day on a Saturday...is that realistic or will it be a zoo? Touring plans seemed to indicate that was one of the best days to visit, but I haven't looked for several months, so maybe I should check again. The good thing is that Tron should be open in MK before we visit, and neither of us plan on riding it, probably. I certainly won't. So if crowds are drawn to MK, they may be lighter elsewhere?

 

[Songbird76]

I’m here!

Here!!

Thank you thank you thank you!! Your advice will be extremely valuable!! And very much appreciated!

 

[Tuvalu]

Beaches and Cream will be on an Epcot day.

Good choice since you can walk to Beaches and Cream from the IG at Epcot.

But what about Ohana? You can get to the Poly by monorail from either MK or Epcot, right? And also by boat from MK. So should I put that on an MK or an Epcot day?

'Ohana is a difficult ADR to get, so I would plan it for the end of your trip (and make it the first ADR you book on dining day.) As for what park (MK or Epcot) MK would be most convenient for transportation purposes.

We plan to do Blizzard Beach one day, but don't have a day set aside yet.

BB is closing on March 19 and there is no reopening date yet, so you may have to visit Typhoon Lagoon instead. Staff shortages means Disney can only have one water park open at a time. Hopefully this will change by summer!

I prefer to do Boma breakfast on an AK day...do early entry at AK and make a later morning breakfast ADR at boma after we've done a couple of things. Is that a solid plan, or should I rethink that?

Good plan.

Artists Point is probably most accessible by boat from MK??

There is also a bus from MK to WL.. The gate is very close to MK entrance. This is helpful should it be raining when you need to get to Artist Point and you won't have to walk outside (bus station and walkway are covered into the Lodge. The boat dock and paths are not!)

I don't remember...does the resort loop go to Epcot?

No. You must disembark at the TTC and walk down and back up another ramp to get to the Epcot monorail line.

So is it better to do monorail resorts on a MK day?

Yes.

Are any of those accessible by boat from Epcot?

Not sure what you mean? None of the MK resorts are accessible by boat from Epcot. Boardwalk, Y&B, Swan & Dolphin and DHS are accessible by Friendship boats than run from Epcot.

I have our first HS day on a Saturday...is that realistic or will it be a zoo?

DHS is always a zoo. Saturday should be fine.

So if crowds are drawn to MK, they may be lighter elsewhere?

Trying to predict crowds in summer (or any time really) is just a guessing game. "Lighter" crowds are relative. TRON will bring in extra people, but Rise and Guardians continue to do so even after having been open awhile. Make a schedule you and your daughter are happy with and then don't worry about it. Second guessing yourself adds stress you don't need. It's a vacation, after all!

 

[fractal]

Great that you are going back!

QS for EPCOT that is often overlooked is Sunshine Season. Lots of variety and really good food - at least when we've eaten there.

 

[Songbird76]

Good choice since you can walk to Beaches and Cream from the IG at Epcot.


'Ohana is a difficult ADR to get, so I would plan it for the end of your trip (and make it the first ADR you book on dining day.) As for what park (MK or Epcot) MK would be most convenient for transportation purposes.


BB is closing on March 19 and there is no reopening date yet, so you may have to visit Typhoon Lagoon instead. Staff shortages means Disney can only have one water park open at a time. Hopefully this will change by summer!


Good plan.


There is also a bus from MK to WL.. The gate is very close to MK entrance. This is helpful should it be raining when you need to get to Artist Point and you won't have to walk outside (bus station and walkway are covered into the Lodge. The boat dock and paths are not!)



No. You must disembark at the TTC and walk down and back up another ramp to get to the Epcot monorail line.


Yes.


Not sure what you mean? None of the MK resorts are accessible by boat from Epcot. Boardwalk, Y&B, Swan & Dolphin and DHS are accessible by Friendship boats than run from Epcot.


DHS is always a zoo. Saturday should be fine.


Trying to predict crowds in summer (or any time really) is just a guessing game. "Lighter" crowds are relative. TRON will bring in extra people, but Rise and Guardians continue to do so even after having been open awhile. Make a schedule you and your daughter are happy with and then don't worry about it. Second guessing yourself adds stress you don't need. It's a vacation, after all!

I already have Ohana planned for our 11th day for that very reason. I do all my harder to get ones in the 2nd week.

I saw that BB was closing soon, and I thought that was weird because they just recently reopened! But if it's a staffing shortage, that makes more sense. I talked to E and we decided to just skip the waterparks this time. We had a bad experience when we tried Typhoon Lagoon, and we aren't really water park people. We can cool off in the resort pools. The main reason she wanted to do BB was to get a bacon mac n cheese hotdog, but we can get that at Friar's Nook....I just checked. So that takes care of that. Thank you for the heads up!

So the resort loop...does it go to MK? Or do we need to transfer at TTC for that as well?

I was asking if the resort restaurants, like Ohana, 1900 Park Fare, Artist Point, etc would be accessible by boat from Epcot, but I kind of figured they weren't. So then those are for MK days for sure.

Thank you so much!!

My next question is, should I book a lunch or dinner ADR for Liberty Tree? Last time, we booked lunch because at the time, they had both the all you could eat AND the a la carte option at lunch so my son could get fries, whereas the dinner didn't offer a la carte. But we just looked at the menu and it doesn't look like the a la carte is offered at all. E and I would be ordering the all you can eat option anyway, and the boys aren't with us, so it doesn't matter. But if it's busier at lunch, I'd rather do dinner, and if it's busier during dinner, I'd rather do lunch. I am also going to make ADRs for 4 people in case Shasta and her daughter, or Cate and her daughter Lola are with us. That should theoretically also fix the issue of getting stuck at a crappy 2-top?

 

[Songbird76]

Great that you are going back!

QS for EPCOT that is often overlooked is Sunshine Season. Lots of variety and really good food - at least when we've eaten there.

Sunshine seasons has been hit or miss for us. We went there in 2016 and didn't find anything that looked appetizing. In 2019, they had mongolian beef that was good, and I see that's still on the menu, along with a vegetable korma, so it might be worth a try. Thanks!

 

[Darstarr]

I’m here.
I will be missing you, actually, you will be missing me by a few days

As for lunch or dinner ADR in the park. I usually prefer lunch to escape the summer heat for a bit. Just my two cents.

 

[Tuvalu]

So the resort loop...does it go to MK? Or do we need to transfer at TTC for that as well?

The Resort loop:
MK>Contemporary>TTC>Polynesian>Grand Floridian>MK

The Express loop:
TTC>MK>TTC

Epcot:
TTC>Epcot>TTC

should I book a lunch or dinner ADR for Liberty Tree?

Either, since menu is the same. Busyness is irrelevant.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Looking forward to your thoughts on the parks as you go before us and we haven’t been for 15 years.

 

[rshell68]

I love your title!! You and E will have the best time ever!!!

 

[Songbird76]

Looking forward to your thoughts on the parks as you go before us and we haven’t been for 15 years.

15 years is a LONG time!!! When do you go? I'm happy to give any advice you might want, but I'll admit there are others here MUCH better equipt to give it than I. I have only been there a handful of times, and always several years apart, so some memories fade a bit. Like, I remember being late to 1900 park fare because we waited too long for an Epcot bus, but couldn't have told you whether or not the Magic Kingdom is on the monorail resort loop. There are some true experts here, but I am not one of them!! But I'm sure I'll make many mistakes that you can learn from!

 

[Songbird76]

I’m here.
I will be missing you, actually, you will be missing me by a few days

As for lunch or dinner ADR in the park. I usually prefer lunch to escape the summer heat for a bit. Just my two cents.

That's a very good point. When we went the last couple of times, we've taken a break in the afternoon and gone back to the resort for a nap or some pool time, but without the boys, we might not need to do that every day. The boys get really cranky at Disney and need the time out. E and I might not need that all the time. I'll ponder this. Thank you!!

 

[Songbird76]

I love your title!! You and E will have the best time ever!!!

I'm sure we will! We were just thinking about how much more time we'll have to do things without the boys. We won't have to do certain rides over and over and over for A, and we won't have to go to a QS place to get fries for A either before or after we eat, so we won't need nearly as much time for food breaks. We won't have to take time out to take A back to the resort because he doesn't want to be in the parks anymore. It's going to free up a LOT of time for us....how WILL we spend all that time??

 

[Songbird76]

So after looking up menus to make sure they hadn't changed, I looked up LeCellier for the first time, because we love steak. And WOW, those are some prices. We decided to skip that one.

 

[Swissmiss]

 

[MinnieM123]

Hi @Songbird76 ! I'm here, too!!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

You might be at Disney when Food and Wine starts at Epcot. I think it started in August last year. And didn’t Halloween parties start in August too? Are you thinking of doing a Halloween party if it is going on while you are there?

QS at Epcot can be a little off but Regal Eagle is good for BBQ, Mexico has some good empanadas. And while it isn’t quick service Spice Road table has some good stuff, I enjoyed a chicken thing there and the hummus fries are tasty.