Pre-Trip Those Crazy People Who Go To Disney In July...

Hi everyone, this is my first time posting and I must say I am excited to receive some feedback! I have been reading other Trip Reports, and it influenced me to share my own. This is my first time as an adult traveling and planning a Disney trip, and somehow roped my poor boyfriend into joining me. So let's start with some minor details...

WHO?: My boyfriend and I are in our mid-twenties and we're looking for a vacation this summer. I have traveled to Disney over ten times since I was a little kid, and my boyfriend (Stephen) has never been! So why not test our relationship and travel all the way to Disney together?! (Lots of sarcasm to come)

WHEN?: July 6-July 12 2016...I am a teacher, so the only realistic travel option is during the summer unfortunately. We have already gone into this trip knowing we are going at the busiest time and we are going to sweat our butts off.

RESORT?: Port Orleans French Quarter...We did our research and found this as the most "adult friendly" resort in our price range.

FOOD?: We are on the regular Disney Dining Plan ( 1 snack, 1 QS, 1 TS)

Wednesday 7/6 (TRAVEL)
We are planning on flying out of Chicago VERY early, and should be at our resort no later than noon. We are going to check in online before the trip and take any necessary items in our carry ons because we are just guessing we won't get into our room right away and won't have our luggage either. Our plan is to just head over to Magic Kingdom right away. We aren't expecting to ride any rides, but to just enjoy the "Disney Experience". Stephen really wants to see the castle and we just want to browse Main Street. After, we plan on taking the Monorail to just look around the MK resorts. We have a dinner reservation at 'Ohana around 6:40pm, then we want to enjoy some Dole Whip and watch the fireworks at the Polynesian Resort.

Thursday 7/7 (EPCOT)
Since it is Stephen's first trip, we are going to try and designate one park for each day. Once we visit more frequently and become veterans I would LOVE to park hop more often. We do plan to spend a majority of our day at Epcot. I want to make FP reservations for Soarin' (if it is open) and Test Track. We also have dinner reservations at San Angel Inn. I have eaten here before and the food is just average, but Stephen really liked the atmosphere he saw in pictures! Does anyone have a quick service lunch option they recommend?

Friday 7/8 (MK)
We plan on staying at MK the entire day. We will probably show up for the rope drop, then if we are exhausted head back to the resort mid day to recuperate and head back. I want to go on Peter Pan when we get there right in the morning, then make FP for 7DMT, Space Mountain and Big thunder Mountain throughout the day. I was very persistent on making ADR 180 days out and got us a 6:25pm dinner reservation at Be Our a Guest! Is it worth it eating our quick service lunch here or should we head to French Quarter or another resort for this meal?

Saturday 7/9 (AK, Disney Springs)
My entire extended family lives in Celebration, so my aunt, uncle and cousins are meeting us at Tusker House for breakfast around 9am. We really don't see ourselves spending the entire time at AK, unless the new rumored light show actually happens. We want to spend the evening at Disney Springs and utilize the boats at our resort for transportation. Even though we are on the dining plan, we are treating ourselves out of pocket and made a dinner reservation at Morimoto Asia around 8pm. We both love Asian Cuisine and have heard pretty positive reviews.

Sunday 7/10 (Hollywood Studios)
Just like everyone else, I find HS so disappointing recently due to renovation. I really want to see Fantasmic at night and we also have a dinner reservation at Sci-Fi Dine In around 4:30pm. Should this be a day we sort of take our time heading to the park? We definitely want to ride the popular rides with FP and check out the Star Wars attractions, but is it worth it to show up at rope drop if we have dinner reservations and want to see more of the night attractions?

Monday 7/11 (Free Day)
We are definitely heading back to MK for our designated "free day". We also wanted to designate today to go visit another resort for dinner. We have chosen Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness since it is somewhat close to Magic Kingdom. I have heard there is construction here though and we were looking for a resort to kind of explore after dinner. Any other suggestions for resort/dinner?

Tuesday 7/12 (Travel)
We don't plan on really leaving our resort this day since we have to head back to the airport in the afternoon. We will probably just walk around and eat at the quick service option.

I really would love some input from some of you experts, as I know you can't fit everything Disney into one trip! We want to try and visit Disney every 1-2 years in the future so convincing my boyfriend on the first trip is a plus!
Thanks for reading!

 

[WDWDarling]

Great pre-trip! Your trip reminds me a lot of my trip last August. It was my DH's first time at WDW and we knew going the first week of August we were heading straight into crowds and heat but it was the only time we had open to go so we made the most of it! I'd rather be dealing with those issues and be in Disney than at home! And I think as long as you know going in it's peak summer season, you can prepare against the crowds & weather. Just make sure you are drinking a lot of water and I would highly recommend getting to the parks by rope drop and taking an afternoon break to avoid the busiest crowd time and hottest part of the day if you can. If you don't want to leave the park, try finding some inside rides/shows during that time that will at least get you out of the heat a bit. I'm definitely not an expert but I thought I'd throw in my two cents .

For your Epcot day, Sunshine Seasons in the Land pavilion is a good QS option with lots of different bays/food options to try. My husband and I also like Tangierine Cafe in the Moroccan section of the World Showcase if you're looking for something a little more adventurous. For your fast passes on the that day, keep in mind that Epcot has a tiered system so you have to pick between Test Track & Soarin' which won't be hard if Soarin' isn't open yet (but hopefully it is!). Definitely utilize rope drop for one of them and fast pass the other if they are both open.

MK looks good! Love Be Our Guest for dinner. Columbia Harbor House is a great QS option at the park. They have seating upstairs that typically isn't as crowded as the main dining area. If you are planning on going back to the hotel POFQ only has a QS option which could be fine for a relaxing lunch in your room or you can stop by POR to take advantage of their table service option.

Hollywood Studios is a little tricky for planning. If you need a sleep in day (and in Disney that can be necessary!) this could be a good option as many people are considering it a "half day" with all the closures/additions going on but again you're dealing with tiered fast passes so you'll need to think about what rides you really want to do. The rides this will impact are Toy Story Midway Mania, Rock N Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. If you want to ride TSMM, you'll either want to do it at rope drop or have a fast pass because that line gets INSANE. TSMM and RNR are both tier one and you can only pick 1 or the other so if you want to sleep in and do both I would get a fast pass for TSMM and ride RNR in the single rider line as that one usually moves quicker although you may not be in the same car together. Your other two FPs can be for Star Tours & ToT which are both Tier 2.

Since you've been before you probably have a good idea of what you and your boyfriend will want to ride which definitely makes picking the FPs a lot easier.

Whispering Canyon Cafe is a lot of fun and I think that Wilderness Lodge is still a beautiful place to explore even with the construction going on. If being close to MK is your main concern you might also want to try The Wave at the Contempory (or California Grill but it's 2 TS credits). If you don't mind venturing further out though I would recommend Sanaa at Animal Kindgom Lodge in Kidini Village because the food is awesome and that is a beautiful & fun resort to visit.

Sorry for a super long and rambling response but hopefully some of it is helpful/useful! I hope this trip helps your boyfriend get the Disney bug . My DH acts like he doesn't have it but actually suggested going to the World for a MK day when we're in Daytona in July and we are planning a land & sea trip for May 2017 for our 5 year wedding anniversary so I don't think he's fooling anyone .

Happy Planning!

 

[blreinsel]

I was going to mention the tiered FP+ system at HS and Epcot, but @WDWDarling beat me to it. I always get a FP+ for Toy Story because that line never goes down once it starts. RnRC will sometimes go down wait-time wise and if you're lucky (and diligent in checking the app) you can catch it and ride at that time. That's been our peak season experience at least!

I really like Katsura Grill in the World Showcase (Japan). The food is fantastic and the restaurant is really nice, though small so you have to get lucky with seating inside. If you love Asian, this is a must try!

You'll love BOG.. It's my favorite restaurant on property! I've done both lunch and dinner here in the past, and have reservations to do both again on my next trip. We like to eat at Cosmic Ray's when we're looking for a MK QS option.

I'll be trying Whispering Canyon for the firs time on my upcoming trip, too! I'm really excited for this one because the experience part sounds awesome!

Enjoy your pre-feelings!

 

[ZaddieMois]

Great pre-trip! Your trip reminds me a lot of my trip last August. It was my DH's first time at WDW and we knew going the first week of August we were heading straight into crowds and heat but it was the only time we had open to go so we made the most of it! I'd rather be dealing with those issues and be in Disney than at home! And I think as long as you know going in it's peak summer season, you can prepare against the crowds & weather. Just make sure you are drinking a lot of water and I would highly recommend getting to the parks by rope drop and taking an afternoon break to avoid the busiest crowd time and hottest part of the day if you can. If you don't want to leave the park, try finding some inside rides/shows during that time that will at least get you out of the heat a bit. I'm definitely not an expert but I thought I'd throw in my two cents .

For your Epcot day, Sunshine Seasons in the Land pavilion is a good QS option with lots of different bays/food options to try. My husband and I also like Tangierine Cafe in the Moroccan section of the World Showcase if you're looking for something a little more adventurous. For your fast passes on the that day, keep in mind that Epcot has a tiered system so you have to pick between Test Track & Soarin' which won't be hard if Soarin' isn't open yet (but hopefully it is!). Definitely utilize rope drop for one of them and fast pass the other if they are both open.

MK looks good! Love Be Our Guest for dinner. Columbia Harbor House is a great QS option at the park. They have seating upstairs that typically isn't as crowded as the main dining area. If you are planning on going back to the hotel POFQ only has a QS option which could be fine for a relaxing lunch in your room or you can stop by POR to take advantage of their table service option.

Hollywood Studios is a little tricky for planning. If you need a sleep in day (and in Disney that can be necessary!) this could be a good option as many people are considering it a "half day" with all the closures/additions going on but again you're dealing with tiered fast passes so you'll need to think about what rides you really want to do. The rides this will impact are Toy Story Midway Mania, Rock N Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. If you want to ride TSMM, you'll either want to do it at rope drop or have a fast pass because that line gets INSANE. TSMM and RNR are both tier one and you can only pick 1 or the other so if you want to sleep in and do both I would get a fast pass for TSMM and ride RNR in the single rider line as that one usually moves quicker although you may not be in the same car together. Your other two FPs can be for Star Tours & ToT which are both Tier 2.

Since you've been before you probably have a good idea of what you and your boyfriend will want to ride which definitely makes picking the FPs a lot easier.

Whispering Canyon Cafe is a lot of fun and I think that Wilderness Lodge is still a beautiful place to explore even with the construction going on. If being close to MK is your main concern you might also want to try The Wave at the Contempory (or California Grill but it's 2 TS credits). If you don't mind venturing further out though I would recommend Sanaa at Animal Kindgom Lodge in Kidini Village because the food is awesome and that is a beautiful & fun resort to visit.

Sorry for a super long and rambling response but hopefully some of it is helpful/useful! I hope this trip helps your boyfriend get the Disney bug . My DH acts like he doesn't have it but actually suggested going to the World for a MK day when we're in Daytona in July and we are planning a land & sea trip for May 2017 for our 5 year wedding anniversary so I don't think he's fooling anyone .

Happy Planning!

Thank you so much for your input, don't worry about the long response it is super helpful! I forgot about the whole tier system when it comes to Fast Pass, I am a newbie! I might plan on heading to HS at rope drop, then maybe take a break in the afternoon before we head back for dinner. Toy Story Mania is a definite FP, then we will probably go run over and ride Aerosmith when the park opens!

 

[ZaddieMois]

I was going to mention the tiered FP+ system at HS and Epcot, but @WDWDarling beat me to it. I always get a FP+ for Toy Story because that line never goes down once it starts. RnRC will sometimes go down wait-time wise and if you're lucky (and diligent in checking the app) you can catch it and ride at that time. That's been our peak season experience at least!

I really like Katsura Grill in the World Showcase (Japan). The food is fantastic and the restaurant is really nice, though small so you have to get lucky with seating inside. If you love Asian, this is a must try!

You'll love BOG.. It's my favorite restaurant on property! I've done both lunch and dinner here in the past, and have reservations to do both again on my next trip. We like to eat at Cosmic Ray's when we're looking for a MK QS option.

I'll be trying Whispering Canyon for the firs time on my upcoming trip, too! I'm really excited for this one because the experience part sounds awesome!

Enjoy your pre-feelings!

Let me know if you enjoy Whispering Canyon! Katsura Grill sounds good, so I might try convincing my boyfriend to try that for lunch!

 

[Jamie J]

Hi - just a thought, maybe try to book a reservation at California Grill rather than BOG. We tried BOG and were not impressed at all (although I know some people love it) and I would say to maybe do a QS lunch just to get to see the inside. California Grill has amazing food and then book late enough to stay around for the fireworks!

 

[ZaddieMois]

Hi - just a thought, maybe try to book a reservation at California Grill rather than BOG. We tried BOG and were not impressed at all (although I know some people love it) and I would say to maybe do a QS lunch just to get to see the inside. California Grill has amazing food and then book late enough to stay around for the fireworks!

California Grill was on our list at the beginning of planning. Unforutnately, it is work 2 TS Credits on our meal plan . We are trying to spread out our TS credits per one a day, so it is difficult to pick one that is worth double! Next time we visit though, I really want to visit!