Just booked BC for August 15th!!

[buzzrelly]

I Just booked an adults only trip for next month! Crazy, I know! My Ex is taking my kids to Hawaii and me and my DH were planning on driving up to VT and Canada for the week. But last week, I was checking around on the WDW website and the 30% off deal starts 8/15. I kind of half-heartedly threw it out to DH, telling him it's about $2000.00 for the two of us, including the PH tickets and DDP. I am absolutely shocked that he agreed! He is not a Disney person by any stretch of the imagination and he doesn't fly. I think when I said we could drive down, he felt like he couldn't say no! So as excited as I am, I have a few questions. The last few trips I've been on have been carefully planned out over at least 10 months to a year, with every last detail researched thoroughly. This trip is going to be the trip of a lot of firsts...my first booked at the last minute trip, my first adults only trip, first time driving, first time staying at BC. So here are my questions...

1. I'm super excited to stay at the BC! I've been reading through all of the BC threads and looking at the pics. I am so excited to stay here! We booked a Garden View room and did online check-in already (first time using on-line check-in also!). I could choose 2 room requests, so I picked full balcony and upper floor. Good choices? Should I request anything else? Will DH and I feel funny swimming at SAB since we aren't with the kids? I read something about the new RFID Refillable mugs...they come with the DDP...will they be switched over by 8/15? I kind of hope they are since we just got back from an April trip (Me, Mom, DD and DS) so I have 4 of the old mugs already.

2. Driving...I'm kind of dreading this part, but the good thing is that this will be the first time I've had a car. So aside from EPCOT, which I know we will walk to, do you typically drive to the other parks if you have a car? Is that the best way to get around to MK, DD, AK and DHS? Is parking free for hotel guests?

3. I've already made ADRs...Rose and Crown on our first night at 6:40 pm (will request outside seating and hope to see Illuminations from here!), The Plaza at MK the next night (will pay OOP for this to save the credit for a signature), Yachtsman's Steakhouse the next night (Is this a good choice for a Signature?), and our last night we have the F! package at MM. How do these look? I was actually surprised there was so many choices available at this late date!

4. Please tell me that FP+ will not affect us this time around...ugh...totally dreading that and I didn't think I had to worry about it until next year!

5. Any other advice or tips would be welcome!

Happy to be planning again so soon, but Thanks!!

 

[jimandami]

Congrats! DH and I love adults only trips to the World, and especially love both the BC and BW..the whole Epcot resort area is great. As far as driving, I know some people like to drive but we really just prefer Disney transportation, especially when it's just us and we aren't on a "schedule." Having said that, if do choose to drive, I would only drive to Animal Kingdom or other resorts. DHS is a short boat ride or 10 minute walk from BC so no reason to drive. As far as MK, even though the bus ride can take a bit of time, especially if you share with a couple resorts, if you drive, you still have to park, take the tram or walk a long way, and then take the monorail or ferry. That takes just a long as the bus ride.

SAB is fantastic and I don't think you will feel odd at all. If there are tons of kids, you can always visit one of the quiet pools for a bit of relaxation.

As far as your ADRs, I have only been to Rose & Crown, and we didn't love it. However, many people on the Dis rave about it so maybe we just didn't choose wisely.

FP+ may be offered to you to test, but its unlikely it would be rolled out completely.


As far as tips, just enjoy yourselves and relax. On our last 7 night trip, we literally experienced less than 10 rides/attractions! We wandered around the resorts, did a monorail "pub crawl," and just hung out...it was fabulous!

 

[buzzrelly]

Congrats! DH and I love adults only trips to the World, and especially love both the BC and BW..the whole Epcot resort area is great. As far as driving, I know some people like to drive but we really just prefer Disney transportation, especially when it's just us and we aren't on a "schedule." Having said that, if do choose to drive, I would only drive to Animal Kingdom or other resorts. DHS is a short boat ride or 10 minute walk from BC so no reason to drive. As far as MK, even though the bus ride can take a bit of time, especially if you share with a couple resorts, if you drive, you still have to park, take the tram or walk a long way, and then take the monorail or ferry. That takes just a long as the bus ride.

SAB is fantastic and I don't think you will feel odd at all. If there are tons of kids, you can always visit one of the quiet pools for a bit of relaxation.

As far as your ADRs, I have only been to Rose & Crown, and we didn't love it. However, many people on the Dis rave about it so maybe we just didn't choose wisely.

FP+ may be offered to you to test, but its unlikely it would be rolled out completely.


As far as tips, just enjoy yourselves and relax. On our last 7 night trip, we literally experienced less than 10 rides/attractions! We wandered around the resorts, did a monorail "pub crawl," and just hung out...it was fabulous!

Thank for the reply! I forgot to ask about Jellyrolls...is that place still open? I've always wanted to go here. What other kinds of nightlife things are close by on the Boardwalk? And is that really just a short walk from the BC?

 

[jimandami]

You're welcome!! Yes, Jellyrolls is still open and a lot of fun! It's a very short walk from BC (less than 10 minutes). Not a ton of nightlife, but we like to kinda bar hop around the restaurants in the Swan/Dolphin/Boardwalk area. Another tip, if you guys like beer, the Hole in Wall bar (between Raglan Road and Cookes of Dublin at DTD) has 1/2 price drafts every day from like 3-6 every day. It's one of our favorite places in the World....we have met some very interesting people there!

 

[wiigirl]

Congrats!

 

[buzzrelly]

You're welcome!! Yes, Jellyrolls is still open and a lot of fun! It's a very short walk from BC (less than 10 minutes). Not a ton of nightlife, but we like to kinda bar hop around the restaurants in the Swan/Dolphin/Boardwalk area. Another tip, if you guys like beer, the Hole in Wall bar (between Raglan Road and Cookes of Dublin at DTD) has 1/2 price drafts every day from like 3-6 every day. It's one of our favorite places in the World....we have met some very interesting people there!

That sounds fun! So would you also recommend taking the bus to DTD or driving? Jeez...having this car adds a whole new level of confusion for me!!

 

[buzzrelly]

Congrats!

Thank you!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I Just booked an adults only trip for next month! Crazy, I know! My Ex is taking my kids to Hawaii and me and my DH were planning on driving up to VT and Canada for the week. But last week, I was checking around on the WDW website and the 30% off deal starts 8/15. I kind of half-heartedly threw it out to DH, telling him it's about $2000.00 for the two of us, including the PH tickets and DDP. I am absolutely shocked that he agreed! He is not a Disney person by any stretch of the imagination and he doesn't fly. I think when I said we could drive down, he felt like he couldn't say no! So as excited as I am, I have a few questions. The last few trips I've been on have been carefully planned out over at least 10 months to a year, with every last detail researched thoroughly. This trip is going to be the trip of a lot of firsts...my first booked at the last minute trip, my first adults only trip, first time driving, first time staying at BC. So here are my questions...

1. I'm super excited to stay at the BC! I've been reading through all of the BC threads and looking at the pics. I am so excited to stay here! We booked a Garden View room and did online check-in already (first time using on-line check-in also!). I could choose 2 room requests, so I picked full balcony and upper floor. Good choices? Should I request anything else? Will DH and I feel funny swimming at SAB since we aren't with the kids? I read something about the new RFID Refillable mugs...they come with the DDP...will they be switched over by 8/15? I kind of hope they are since we just got back from an April trip (Me, Mom, DD and DS) so I have 4 of the old mugs already.

2. Driving...I'm kind of dreading this part, but the good thing is that this will be the first time I've had a car. So aside from EPCOT, which I know we will walk to, do you typically drive to the other parks if you have a car? Is that the best way to get around to MK, DD, AK and DHS? Is parking free for hotel guests?

3. I've already made ADRs...Rose and Crown on our first night at 6:40 pm (will request outside seating and hope to see Illuminations from here!), The Plaza at MK the next night (will pay OOP for this to save the credit for a signature), Yachtsman's Steakhouse the next night (Is this a good choice for a Signature?), and our last night we have the F! package at MM. How do these look? I was actually surprised there was so many choices available at this late date!

4. Please tell me that FP+ will not affect us this time around...ugh...totally dreading that and I didn't think I had to worry about it until next year!

5. Any other advice or tips would be welcome!

Happy to be planning again so soon, but Thanks!!

Adult trips are so fun! When we go down without our kids we try to do all the things our kids don't like. We spend a majority of our time at Epcot... Places like La Cava and Tutto Gusto are fun to hang in. Also we like listening to the live bands in Canada and the UK. We find ourselves just walking around and soaking up the atmosphere, it's really nice not to feel rushed. Sometimes a bench in the World Showcase can be really entertaining! LOL

For meals we usually stick to the signature dining (two credit) places because they always seem more romantic and less loud and chaotic. When I'm not with my kids I don't want to be with other people's kids! When we aren't eating sitdown meals we usually just snack. I am never happier than when I can have Karamel Kuche as a meal!

As for SAB there are lots of little tucked away places around the pool for more privacy. And when you get in the water go over by where the slide dumps out and to the back... there's a quieter area there. Also the hot tub is private and usually quiet.

We typically take the bus to MK, AK, and DTD, we don't like driving to the parks. Of course you'll walk to Epcot and boat or walk to the Studios. You really don't need to use your car unless you might do a dinner at Jiko or something like that.

Other fun places for adults at night: Jellyrolls, ESPN Club, Kimonos in the Swan (sushi and karaoke!), don't forget DTD has some nice spots too. Wolfgang Puck, Paradiso, etc, etc. DH and I did a little "bar crawl" around DTD last time and then ended with a movie at the AMC. That was fun!

Looking at your ADRs I think Rose & Crown and Yachtsman are good choices. Mama Melrose can be hit or miss but if you are doing it for the Fantasmic package then I guess it's worth it. We've seen Fantasmic hundreds of times so when we are alone we don't do it.

You are going to have a great time!

 

[buzzrelly]

Adult trips are so fun! When we go down without our kids we try to do all the things our kids don't like. We spend a majority of our time at Epcot... Places like La Cava and Tutto Gusto are fun to hang in. Also we like listening to the live bands in Canada and the UK. We find ourselves just walking around and soaking up the atmosphere, it's really nice not to feel rushed. Sometimes a bench in the World Showcase can be really entertaining! LOL

For meals we usually stick to the signature dining (two credit) places because they always seem more romantic and less loud and chaotic. When I'm not with my kids I don't want to be with other people's kids! When we aren't eating sitdown meals we usually just snack. I am never happier than when I can have Karamel Kuche as a meal!

As for SAB there are lots of little tucked away places around the pool for more privacy. And when you get in the water go over by where the slide dumps out and to the back... there's a quieter area there. Also the hot tub is private and usually quiet.

We typically take the bus to MK, AK, and DTD, we don't like driving to the parks. Of course you'll walk to Epcot and boat or walk to the Studios. You really don't need to use your car unless you might do a dinner at Jiko or something like that.

Other fun places for adults at night: Jellyrolls, ESPN Club, Kimonos in the Swan (sushi and karaoke!), don't forget DTD has some nice spots too. Wolfgang Puck, Paradiso, etc, etc. DH and I did a little "bar crawl" around DTD last time and then ended with a movie at the AMC. That was fun!

Looking at your ADRs I think Rose & Crown and Yachtsman are good choices. Mama Melrose can be hit or miss but if you are doing it for the Fantasmic package then I guess it's worth it. We've seen Fantasmic hundreds of times so when we are alone we don't do it.

You are going to have a great time!

Thank you for all this info! This is really going to be a different kind of trip than I've done in the past. I'm looking forward to walking around EPCOT at a leisurely pace. I was there in April and they had a stand with Pineapple Dole Whips with Rum in them...I didn't try them because I was with my kids, but if that stand is still there, I may need to try one!

I've seen Fantasmic a few times but DH never has...I'm not super excited about MM as our adults only dinner, but I've eaten there before and it wasn't bad, and I kind of like getting the special seating. I may ask DH if he would rather just g back to EPCOT and skip F! altogether. I guess I'll have to see how strongly he feels about it. Thanks again!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Thank you for all this info! This is really going to be a different kind of trip than I've done in the past. I'm looking forward to walking around EPCOT at a leisurely pace. I was there in April and they had a stand with Pineapple Dole Whips with Rum in them...I didn't try them because I was with my kids, but if that stand is still there, I may need to try one!

I've seen Fantasmic a few times but DH never has...I'm not super excited about MM as our adults only dinner, but I've eaten there before and it wasn't bad, and I kind of like getting the special seating. I may ask DH if he would rather just g back to EPCOT and skip F! altogether. I guess I'll have to see how strongly he feels about it. Thanks again!

Honestly, I would skip it. If you total up the amount of time it takes to go to MM, eat, get to the seating, wait for it to start, and watch the show, then that crowd afterwards, you are losing so many hours of valuable vacation time.

 

[buzzrelly]

Honestly, I would skip it. If you total up the amount of time it takes to go to MM, eat, get to the seating, wait for it to start, and watch the show, then that crowd afterwards, you are losing so many hours of valuable vacation time.

I took your advice and I booked Teppan Edo for that night instead. That gets us to EPCOT again which I think will make DH happy, plus he loves that kind of food and based on the reviews here, a lot of people love this place!

I haven't cancelled MM yet, but when DH gets home today, I'll discuss it with him. I'm pretty sure he'd rather skip F! though...he doesn't get too excited about fireworks and shows. I like the idea of now just going to DHS for a half day then back to the resort, changing, and back to EPCOT. Thanks for the tip!