Strongly Considering a Trip to WDW: Please Help me plan or talk me out of it

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Honestly I think you can fit a sit down meal and the must do attractions

Garden Grill is a character meal and it’s open. It’s also one of the more unique atmospheres at Epcot. Here’s a review I found about it during current COVID restrictions https://www.kennythepirate.com/2020...taurant-with-physically-distanced-characters/


Thanks I’ll check it out! Plus why am I acting like I can’t cancel these reservations 24 hours before? I should just make as many as possible
 

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Haha I think others did that and they actually made a rule so you can’t do that where you can only make one reservation during a certain time window.

Lol oh I know. I meant like one lunch and one dinner reservation per day.

Is there any good counter service at MK? ( is it called counter service or quick service?) Doesn’t look we ‘ll be doing any table service (except for mayyyybe either BOG or skipper canteen ) and we have 2 days there.

For Epcot I kind of like the idea of snacking my through the world showcase.
 
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Little Green Men

Well-Known Member
Lol oh I know. I meant like one lunch and one dinner reservation per day.

Is there any good counter service at MK? ( is it called counter service or quick service?) Doesn’t look we ‘ll be doing any table service (except for mayyyybe either BOG or skipper canteen ) and we have 2 days there.

For Epcot I kind of like the idea of snacking my through the world showcase.
Yes counter service. Pecos bills at MK has decent Mexican food, Columbia House is great but currently closed with Covid, some of their food options are at Tomorrowland Terrace atm though like lobster rolls, fried shrimp, fried fish, etc. Sleepy Hollow is great they have corndogs, waffle sandwiches, etc. Cant go wrong with Aloha Isle where they have dole whips including a pineapple upside-down cake ala mode. Sunshine Tree Terrace is similar but with more citrusy drinks.

Snacking through World showcase is very viable, you can sample different countries that way. They might have a festival going on then too.
 
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PiratesMansion

Well-Known Member
Ok so far we have two dining reservations in. Sci Fi Dine in for lunch on my full park day at DHS and Sanaa for lunch on my half day park day at AK.

Some other possibilities in the running are lunch at Biergarten or the aquarium or San Angel on my Epcot day although I’m leaning towards no sit down as I only have 1 day at Epcot. I don’t need a reservation for the French pastry place do I?

Be our guest or Skipper canteen at MK but I’m not in love with either so ill probably pass and keep it casual at Mk.

California Grill for a down day dinner is looking good.

Also a lunch or dinner at Whispering Canyon At the Wilderness Lodge is looking good.

Anywhere good at the Poly that isn’t closed?
You do not need a reservation for the French pastries.

I liked Liberty Tree Tavern for MK if you want a table service that's serviceable-menu is basically Thanksgiving and I enjoyed the atmosphere, though Skipper Canteen is probably the more interesting place to eat if you want something adventurous. I was not impressed by Pecos Bill's in the slightest, and honestly, given your Mexican food options in CA, I doubt you will be either (trouble is, that's one of your more interesting counter service options at MK); I have yet to find decent counter service at MK and have been let down by each place that I've tried.

Although I have not eaten there, I have not heard much positive about the food at San Angel Inn, though I'm sure that atmosphere is nice, as it's basically WDW's Blue Bayou equivalent.
 

Trust2deal

Member
My recommendations:

Since you are traveling with little ones - you need to take time out of each day to allow them to rest. They - and you - will need downtime. - and - I recommend taking a break every 2-3 hours.

Don't cram your day with events - meaning don't over plan. You kids will not survive the push or rush

Try to pick a place in the parks close to the magic kingdom - spend the extra $$ to do that - with little kids - the magic kingdom is the place to be - even shorten your trip to accommodate the extra cost in room stay

Go at a slow pace - don't rush - not with little kids. You will have plenty of time in the future years as they get older - to experience the entire park.

Downtime should include pool - and naps. So maybe you can stay up a little late and experience the parks at night.

You don't need a harper pass - pick a park to go to for the day.

Be flexible.

I am 60 now - and I was in your shoes. My kids are now 23 and 25 - and we all love Disney - we try to go every year -

Good luck
 

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Watched a WDW vlog last night and seeing everyone walk around the MK in masks and seeing socially distant Dapper Dans made me feel kind of silly to be honest. Just not sure it’s worth the hassle of doing this all with young kids. Then I get an email from Disney telling me all the stuff I can’t do like have room service or take my mask off when I’m riding the skyliner with my family (not sure how this would be enforced) and it all just makes you wonder if is this worth the few measley bucks I’m saving? It’s really all going to come down to wait times. If I’m seeing Super low wait times in February then it’s a GO. If it’s not, I dunno.
 
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mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You do not need a reservation for the French pastries.

I liked Liberty Tree Tavern for MK if you want a table service that's serviceable-menu is basically Thanksgiving and I enjoyed the atmosphere, though Skipper Canteen is probably the more interesting place to eat if you want something adventurous. I was not impressed by Pecos Bill's in the slightest, and honestly, given your Mexican food options in CA, I doubt you will be either (trouble is, that's one of your more interesting counter service options at MK); I have yet to find decent counter service at MK and have been let down by each place that I've tried.

Although I have not eaten there, I have not heard much positive about the food at San Angel Inn, though I'm sure that atmosphere is nice, as it's basically WDW's Blue Bayou equivalent.

Yeah we have a lot of good Mexican here. With that said, I enjoy Rancho Del Zocalo at Disneyland for what it is. I don’t eat there as often as say Plaza Inn but I think it’s decent. When I’m in the parks I tend to take my “food critic hat” off and just enjoy myself.

I think we ve decided against a sit down meal at Epcot. We only have one 8 hour day there and a long list of attractions we want to see. Unless someone has a strong opinion about doing a second day at Epcot instead of a second at DHS, AK or MK. Their just seems to be a lot more must Do’s for us at those parks and I know I’ll probably fall in love with AK.
 

rreading

Well-Known Member
You're worrying too much about the lines. I would never go to WDW this time of year in any year. I would dream about going in mid-Feb but my kids are always in school. Lines really should not be an issue.

The sun will be setting as the parks close, so if you get in line for Splash at park closing, you're going to be able to see MK at dark. Same thing with a safari at AK just before close. Alternately, you can schedule a restaurant reservation just before park closing and the parks will be vacant when you're leaving.

My young kids would miss the meet-and-greets at this age, so that's a consideration, but you can do that in CA.

In Epcot - take time to explore the countries. They are really well designed. And we didn't do Mission:Space for years, but it quickly became a favorite for my 6 and 10yo. Might be too much for a 5yo but you will probably enjoy it (unless you're claustrophobic/easily nauseated).

Check the thread for Rise of the Resistance, but I believe that you should be able to get a reservation from your room. When we were there in October, you couldn't so the park was uber crowded at rope-drop so we did MMRR as soon as we got there, but then took the skyliner back to our resort to avoid the crowds. We returned for our 1PM Brown Derby reservation and after a nice relaxing lunch and their margaritas, it was an amazing afternoon. I don't know how the crowds will be at HS these days but don't fight them. If it's crowded, give it some time and try again later.

WDW is not really best if you try and rush it. Take your time and enjoy the vacation!
 

rreading

Well-Known Member
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mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You're worrying too much about the lines. I would never go to WDW this time of year in any year. I would dream about going in mid-Feb but my kids are always in school. Lines really should not be an issue.

The sun will be setting as the parks close, so if you get in line for Splash at park closing, you're going to be able to see MK at dark. Same thing with a safari at AK just before close. Alternately, you can schedule a restaurant reservation just before park closing and the parks will be vacant when you're leaving.

My young kids would miss the meet-and-greets at this age, so that's a consideration, but you can do that in CA.

In Epcot - take time to explore the countries. They are really well designed. And we didn't do Mission:Space for years, but it quickly became a favorite for my 6 and 10yo. Might be too much for a 5yo but you will probably enjoy it (unless you're claustrophobic/easily nauseated).

Check the thread for Rise of the Resistance, but I believe that you should be able to get a reservation from your room. When we were there in October, you couldn't so the park was uber crowded at rope-drop so we did MMRR as soon as we got there, but then took the skyliner back to our resort to avoid the crowds. We returned for our 1PM Brown Derby reservation and after a nice relaxing lunch and their margaritas, it was an amazing afternoon. I don't know how the crowds will be at HS these days but don't fight them. If it's crowded, give it some time and try again later.

WDW is not really best if you try and rush it. Take your time and enjoy the vacation!


Me neither. I avoid this week at Disneyland like the plague. With that said, it seems that wait times have steadily been increasing the last couple months. Or maybe they just increased one time when capacity increased to 35% and have stabilized since... until the holidays. I’m sure we’ll see a drop off in January and February. The question is how much? Were the WDW parks in Florida hovering around 35% in February anyway in the past? If so, 35% with Covid restrictions and more things closed may make it feel more full. As a first timer that doesn’t matter so much to me but to make this trip worth it, I’d like to see pretty low to decent wait times for everything except new headliners like FOP, MMRR, ROTR and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train which I know are always busy anyway.

Getting a boarding pass for ROTR from my room would be amazing. I’m hoping that’s true. I’ll look into it. Thanks!
 

rreading

Well-Known Member
Yeah we have a lot of good Mexican here. With that said, I enjoy Rancho Del Zocalo at Disneyland for what it is. I don’t eat there as often as say Plaza Inn but I think it’s decent. When I’m in the parks I tend to take my “food critic hat” off and just enjoy myself.

I think we ve decided against a sit down meal at Epcot. We only have one 8 hour day there and a long list of attractions we want to see. Unless someone has a strong opinion about doing a second day at Epcot instead of a second at DHS, AK or MK. Their just seems to be a lot more must Do’s for us at those parks and I know I’ll probably fall in love with AK.

One lingering consideration is that as you've spent a few days at the parks is that you may want to add park hopper onto your ticket towards the end of your trip (they'll be happy to take your money!) to skyliner over to the international gateway and have dinner in Epcot one or two nights. Chefs de France would be easy and is always a favorite with my kids.
 

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
One lingering consideration is that as you've spent a few days at the parks is that you may want to add park hopper onto your ticket towards the end of your trip (they'll be happy to take your money!) to skyliner over to the international gateway and have dinner in Epcot one or two nights. Chefs de France would be easy and is always a favorite with my kids.

Would they pro rate the cost of the park hoppers for the days you have left or would they charge for the entirety of your stay/ park days? I’m not seeing the value in park hoppers when the parks are closing so early and I have a 7 day parks ticket with intention of only having 5 full park days.
 

rreading

Well-Known Member
Me neither. I avoid this week at Disneyland like the plague. With that said, it seems that wait times have steadily been increasing the last couple months. Or maybe they just increased one time when capacity increased to 35% and have stabilized since... until the holidays. I’m sure we’ll see a drop off in January and February. The question is how much? Were the WDW parks in Florida hovering around 35% in February anyway in the past? If so, 35% with Covid restrictions and more things closed may make it feel more full. As a first timer that doesn’t matter so much to me but to make this trip worth it for me I’d like to see pretty low to decent wait times for everything except new headliners like FOP, MMRR, ROTR and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train which I know are always busy anyway.

Getting a boarding pass for ROTR from the my room would be amazing. I’m hoping that’s true. I’ll look into it. Thanks!

Another consideration is that the wait times were way inflated in October. 45min for BTMRR when it was essentially a walk-on. 60min Splash took 40min. Space at 60 took 30. Would definitely take them with a grain of salt.

It will be really nice that you're going to be able to walk the queue of FoP. It really enhances the ride experience
 

Texas84

Well-Known Member
Watched a WDW vlog last night and seeing everyone walk around the MK in masks and seeing socially distant Dapper Dans made me feel kind of silly to be honest. Just not sure it’s worth the hassle of doing this all with young kids. Then I get an email from Disney telling me all the stuff I can’t do like have room service or take my mask off when I’m riding the skyliner with my family (not sure how this would be enforced) and it all just makes you wonder if is this worth the few measley bucks I’m saving? It’s really all going to come down to wait times. If I’m seeing Super low wait times in February then it’s a GO. If it’s not, I dunno.
I took a solo trip in the fall to burn some DVC points and scope it out. The highlight of my trip was anytime I could get the stupid mask off. But I kept thinking this wouldn't have been so bad if I was sharing the experience. I'm taking my GF either Feb or March.

I did kind of like the line distancing because the typical WDW guest doesn't understand the concept of personal space. But once you empty an attraction, no distancing. And no distancing in restaurants or walking outdoors. Not that I care. It's all theatre.

Also, the park hours were every short back then but I was able to do everything I wanted multiple times. Hopefully February will be the same.
 

rreading

Well-Known Member
Would they pro rate the cost of the park hoppers for the days you have left or would they charge for the entirety of your stay/ park days? I’m not seeing the value I’m hoppers when the parks are closing so early and I have a 7 day parks ticket with intention of only having 5 full park days.

My understanding is that they should add the price to simply the days remaining. If it didn't work that way, then wouldn't worry about it.
 

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Another consideration is that the wait times were way inflated in October. 45min for BTMRR when it was essentially a walk-on. 60min Splash took 40min. Space at 60 took 30. Would definitely take them with a grain of salt.

It will be really nice that you're going to be able to walk the queue of FoP. It really enhances the ride experience


That’s good to know. It’s also a major perk that fastpasses aren’t going on right now considering how many attractions we’ll need to ride switch. Now the second party of the child switch will be able to walk right on... unless I’m missing something?

Or maybe it’s a wash? Considering I won’t get to fast pass rides like FOP and 7 Dwarfs.
 

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I took a solo trip in the fall to burn some DVC points and scope it out. The highlight of my trip was anytime I could get the stupid mask off. But I kept thinking this wouldn't have been so bad if I was sharing the experience. I'm taking my GF either Feb or March.

I did kind of like the line distancing because the typical WDW guest doesn't understand the concept of personal space. But once you empty an attraction, no distancing. And no distancing in restaurants or walking outdoors. Not that I care. It's all theatre.

Also, the park hours were every short back then but I was able to do everything I wanted multiple times. Hopefully February will be the same.

The highlight was when you could take your mask off? Oh no. I worry that I’m going to be so damn annoyed trying to enjoy myself in those masks while dealing with a crying baby or random tantrum that I’ll regret it. It’s one thing for two adults going around the parks in masks at their own pace. It’s Another when things that test you patience start piling up.

One positive is that it shouldn’t be too humid or too hot in late Feb making the masks less annoying.
 

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