This was my fourth solo trip to Walt Disney World, and was the smoothest, best planned, easiest, least expensive, and with the best weather imaginable I’ve ever experienced. I arrived at the French Quarter about noon on Sunday, Dec. 9th, enjoyed six nights there, and departed on Saturday the 15th.
I planned the trip using three guides: Tour Guide Mike, Sehlinger’s Unofficial Guide book, and most helpful, my own prior experience at the World. WDW is about a four hour drive from my home and I’m retired, so I am able to plan trips to the World anytime of the year. This time I used two days for Epcot, two for the Magic Kingdom, and one each for the Studios and the Animal Kingdom. Here’s some brief notes from my trip:
DAY 1: (Sunday, 9th) Drive down, check into the French Quarter (room 3207, very nice no outside noise, short walk to everything) visited EPCOT. Did a few attractions; Spaceship Earth was closed; had dinner at Japan’s Teppanyaki (renamed Teppan Edo), ordering the Filet Mignon which was excellent (CM Momoko); great group at table, seven members of the same family which included a set of youngster triplets, lots-a-fun; got a good spot to watch IllumiNations and afterwards grabbed a taxi back to my resort. ($10.00 - including $2.50 tip.)
DAY 2: (Monday) Bus to the STUDIOS. Four for a Dollar performed before Beauty and the Beast show. This was unexpected, since they often do not perform on Mondays. Did some attractions; had a chili hot dog and a beer at Toluca Turkey Legs. Nice stop. Little Mermaid show was closed. Near the entrance to the Great Movie Ride I met a DIS moderator (Danny 1649 I believe), and we had a brief chat. Very nice guy. Later, in the afternoon, I did the Backlot Tour only to find that Catastrophe Canyon was out of order with the tour shortened to about 15 minutes. Did some other attractions. Dinner at Mama Melrose’s, with the “Vine-ripened Tomato Flatbread” and a draft Michelob hitting the spot (CM Holly). After a stroll through the Christmas Lights, I caught the bus back to the resort before the Fantasmic mob exited, which I had seen several times in the past. Very good day, with the perfect weather continuing, as it would all week.
DAY 3: (Tuesday) Bus to the MAGIC KINGDOM. Took my time all day, and enjoyed several street performers; did several attractions; had lunch at the Crystal Palace, good selection there (CM Frankie); and I enjoyed the park before dinner at Tony’s where I had no reservation, but was seated at once at about 5:30; had the Grilled Salmon and Iced Tea (CM Trish), good meal and was surprised to be seated with no reservation. But the time after dinner was pretty much wasted because of the very large crowd in the park. While I had a party ticket, I left the park at about 7:00 because of the packed walkways. Was a good day in spite of the crowds however, and I hoped to have more luck with my second party ticket coming up on Friday.
DAY 4: (Wednesday) Bus to my second day at EPCOT. Enjoyed several attractions, and had lunch at the Nine Dragons at China. While I did have a reservation, the restaurant was admitting walk-ins at noon and was not crowded at all. I enjoyed “Pork with XO Sauce,” a Tsing Tao Draft beer, and a bowl of Ginger Ice Cream. (CM Ji Hui) Very good meal. Returning to Future World, I was advised by a friendly CM to be on hand near Spaceship Earth at about 5:00 as the ride might open for a preview at that time. It was, and I enjoyed the revised version a great deal. I was not impressed, however, with the little screen with poorly done cartoon images during the ride’s decent. I was happy to get a chance to ride the attraction, and really thought the do-over was excellent, except for the decent. In the evening I returned to the World Showcase for dinner at the San Angel Cafe. The “Filete Motuleno” was not as tender as in past years, but the Dos Equis Draft was good. (CM Nemrod G) I checked out the revamped boat ride at Mexico while I was there, and thought it was a real improvement over the previous version of the ride. Having seen IllumiNations on Sunday, I returned to the French Quarter by bus. The weather once again had been unreal. PERFECT.
DAY 5: (Thursday) Bus to the ANIMAL KINGDOM. The Nemo Musical is excellent, Expedition Everest is a hoot, and I also enjoyed several other attractions during another beautiful day. Lunch at Yak & Yeti was good. I had the “Tempura Shrimp” along with a Bud Light draft beer and enjoyed the new restaurant a great deal (CM: Dawn). Even tho I had a reservation, they were taking walk-ins when I was there at 2:00 in the afternoon. I left the park at about 5:00, took the bus back to the resort, and later on took the boat to Downtown for dinner. Did not enjoy dinner at Raglan Road. There wasn’t anything that sounded good to me on the menu. I ended up ordering “Tender Chicken Sage Sausage Banger.” The sausage was served on a mound of cold mashed potatoes, and was not good at all in my opinion. The meal came with no bread, and the server didn’t even bother to bring a glass for my bottle of beer. (CM Phillip S) But I enjoyed walking through some of the shops and watching the kids play with the Legos. And a high school “swing” orchestra from a Florida school (from Ocala I believe), was doing a good job of playing like the old time big bands. Enjoyable evening all-in-all. I’ve eaten at several restaurants at Disney Downtown and have only found one to be worthwhile. (The House of Blues).
DAY 6: (Friday) Bus to the MAGIC KINGDOM for my final day this trip. Enjoyed the day, doing several attractions. I was disappointed however with the new “Monster Laugh Floor” as I found it not funny, poorly done, and not nearly as much fun as “Turtle Talk” over at Epcot. I took some time in the afternoon to visit the three monorail resorts to see the decorations. Stopped first at the Contemporary for lunch at the Concourse Steakhouse. Was seated right away without a reservation, and ordered the “Bluecheese Steakburger.” While it took some time to arrive at my table, it was really good when it got there. (CM: Staci). Of the resorts, the prize for best decorations in my opinion has to go to the Grand Floridian. Outstanding. I did use my party ticket on this final evening, and enjoyed “Mickey’s Night Before Christmas” show a great deal. But again the crowds were really heavy, as both parties I attended were sold out. It is my humble opinion that WDW sells way too many tickets to these events, and if I repeat my solo trip next season, I won’t be buying party tickets.
But, wonderful trip overall. Really enjoyed it.
Karnak
I planned the trip using three guides: Tour Guide Mike, Sehlinger’s Unofficial Guide book, and most helpful, my own prior experience at the World. WDW is about a four hour drive from my home and I’m retired, so I am able to plan trips to the World anytime of the year. This time I used two days for Epcot, two for the Magic Kingdom, and one each for the Studios and the Animal Kingdom. Here’s some brief notes from my trip:
DAY 1: (Sunday, 9th) Drive down, check into the French Quarter (room 3207, very nice no outside noise, short walk to everything) visited EPCOT. Did a few attractions; Spaceship Earth was closed; had dinner at Japan’s Teppanyaki (renamed Teppan Edo), ordering the Filet Mignon which was excellent (CM Momoko); great group at table, seven members of the same family which included a set of youngster triplets, lots-a-fun; got a good spot to watch IllumiNations and afterwards grabbed a taxi back to my resort. ($10.00 - including $2.50 tip.)
DAY 2: (Monday) Bus to the STUDIOS. Four for a Dollar performed before Beauty and the Beast show. This was unexpected, since they often do not perform on Mondays. Did some attractions; had a chili hot dog and a beer at Toluca Turkey Legs. Nice stop. Little Mermaid show was closed. Near the entrance to the Great Movie Ride I met a DIS moderator (Danny 1649 I believe), and we had a brief chat. Very nice guy. Later, in the afternoon, I did the Backlot Tour only to find that Catastrophe Canyon was out of order with the tour shortened to about 15 minutes. Did some other attractions. Dinner at Mama Melrose’s, with the “Vine-ripened Tomato Flatbread” and a draft Michelob hitting the spot (CM Holly). After a stroll through the Christmas Lights, I caught the bus back to the resort before the Fantasmic mob exited, which I had seen several times in the past. Very good day, with the perfect weather continuing, as it would all week.
DAY 3: (Tuesday) Bus to the MAGIC KINGDOM. Took my time all day, and enjoyed several street performers; did several attractions; had lunch at the Crystal Palace, good selection there (CM Frankie); and I enjoyed the park before dinner at Tony’s where I had no reservation, but was seated at once at about 5:30; had the Grilled Salmon and Iced Tea (CM Trish), good meal and was surprised to be seated with no reservation. But the time after dinner was pretty much wasted because of the very large crowd in the park. While I had a party ticket, I left the park at about 7:00 because of the packed walkways. Was a good day in spite of the crowds however, and I hoped to have more luck with my second party ticket coming up on Friday.
DAY 4: (Wednesday) Bus to my second day at EPCOT. Enjoyed several attractions, and had lunch at the Nine Dragons at China. While I did have a reservation, the restaurant was admitting walk-ins at noon and was not crowded at all. I enjoyed “Pork with XO Sauce,” a Tsing Tao Draft beer, and a bowl of Ginger Ice Cream. (CM Ji Hui) Very good meal. Returning to Future World, I was advised by a friendly CM to be on hand near Spaceship Earth at about 5:00 as the ride might open for a preview at that time. It was, and I enjoyed the revised version a great deal. I was not impressed, however, with the little screen with poorly done cartoon images during the ride’s decent. I was happy to get a chance to ride the attraction, and really thought the do-over was excellent, except for the decent. In the evening I returned to the World Showcase for dinner at the San Angel Cafe. The “Filete Motuleno” was not as tender as in past years, but the Dos Equis Draft was good. (CM Nemrod G) I checked out the revamped boat ride at Mexico while I was there, and thought it was a real improvement over the previous version of the ride. Having seen IllumiNations on Sunday, I returned to the French Quarter by bus. The weather once again had been unreal. PERFECT.
DAY 5: (Thursday) Bus to the ANIMAL KINGDOM. The Nemo Musical is excellent, Expedition Everest is a hoot, and I also enjoyed several other attractions during another beautiful day. Lunch at Yak & Yeti was good. I had the “Tempura Shrimp” along with a Bud Light draft beer and enjoyed the new restaurant a great deal (CM: Dawn). Even tho I had a reservation, they were taking walk-ins when I was there at 2:00 in the afternoon. I left the park at about 5:00, took the bus back to the resort, and later on took the boat to Downtown for dinner. Did not enjoy dinner at Raglan Road. There wasn’t anything that sounded good to me on the menu. I ended up ordering “Tender Chicken Sage Sausage Banger.” The sausage was served on a mound of cold mashed potatoes, and was not good at all in my opinion. The meal came with no bread, and the server didn’t even bother to bring a glass for my bottle of beer. (CM Phillip S) But I enjoyed walking through some of the shops and watching the kids play with the Legos. And a high school “swing” orchestra from a Florida school (from Ocala I believe), was doing a good job of playing like the old time big bands. Enjoyable evening all-in-all. I’ve eaten at several restaurants at Disney Downtown and have only found one to be worthwhile. (The House of Blues).
DAY 6: (Friday) Bus to the MAGIC KINGDOM for my final day this trip. Enjoyed the day, doing several attractions. I was disappointed however with the new “Monster Laugh Floor” as I found it not funny, poorly done, and not nearly as much fun as “Turtle Talk” over at Epcot. I took some time in the afternoon to visit the three monorail resorts to see the decorations. Stopped first at the Contemporary for lunch at the Concourse Steakhouse. Was seated right away without a reservation, and ordered the “Bluecheese Steakburger.” While it took some time to arrive at my table, it was really good when it got there. (CM: Staci). Of the resorts, the prize for best decorations in my opinion has to go to the Grand Floridian. Outstanding. I did use my party ticket on this final evening, and enjoyed “Mickey’s Night Before Christmas” show a great deal. But again the crowds were really heavy, as both parties I attended were sold out. It is my humble opinion that WDW sells way too many tickets to these events, and if I repeat my solo trip next season, I won’t be buying party tickets.
But, wonderful trip overall. Really enjoyed it.
Karnak
