Advice for a Couple's WDW Vacation

[Tetanus Shot Ty]

BACKGROUND: My live in girlfriend and I(late 20s no kids) are arriving in early Febuary for 4 nights at Port Orleans French Quarter followed immediately by a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas(Carnival).
At the moment it seems like we will have an evening open upon arrival and 3 days for the parks. We are considering individual park tickets as opposed to park hoppers.

I just wanted to get the boards oppinions on
*the above mentioned base plans
*pairing a cruise with a WDW. vacation
*tips for first time cruisers
*experiences and ideas for a more adult and ,dare I say it , romantic visit to WDW.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

DH and I have been to WDW once without the kid and it was perhaps one of our BEST trips, Disney is NOT just for kids.

POFQ- great small resort, awesome boat transportation to Downt, errr, Disney Springs. If you can afford to spare an hour or so one evening , be sure to get over to POR and enjoy a couple of songs with YeeHaw Bob-lots of fun at no additional cost.

Park Hopper vs. Non PH- Pros and Cons to having it either way. We like PH's but we are usually there for 7-10 days and like to dine at Epcot a lot so we need them and the cost is worth it for us over that many days. It's perfectly doable to not have PH's with the right planning. We will be there in late January and have some 1 day passes that we have gathered over the years and are not going to use PH's because we will only be there a few days.

Cruise and WDW- We will be on a Carnival cruise in January and are putting 1 day before and 3 days after at WDW. I would have preferred to have all of the days before the cruise like you, but I'm going to take what I can get, lol. For us we know we are going to have some great food/meals on the ship so aside from Crystal Palace and Biergarten, we will not be making ADRs this trip-a first for us.

First time cruiser-all I got for that one is to head over to Cruisecritic.com, sorry mods if I'm not allowed to post that. Very similar forums as you have here, but I think Dis'ers are way nicer, lol. Lots of tips found there and I'm learning myself as I haven't been on a cruise in 14 years.

WDW Romantic style-For us it was just being able to hold hands and be together and take our time doing what we wanted to do. It's ok to be adult but don't forget to be young at heart. Boardwalk, Grand Floridian are great places to take a stroll in the evening after a nice dinner. Disney Springs really impressed me when we went in September, there were several live musicians/bands in the evening. Boathouse is AMAZING, expensive though. Just being together in that magical place is awesome. There are also carriage rides around POR, might be something nice to do.

I hope you have a wonderful time

 

[ckrisie]

We did our honeymoon at disney, we enjoyed going to the parks with just us, I would do what you love to do, For us it was meeting characters and being silly. We had the memory maker so we rode Buzz a million times and did different poses each time. We had Dinner in the castle during Wishes which was very cool and romantic. We also enjoyed walking the path from the Poly to the GF we were the only ones on the path and it was nice to stroll the beach.
We had PH but I think for a short trip it is not necessary even if it means you don't get to go to all four parks.
Do what you want to do

 

[Tetanus Shot Ty]

Thank you both for taking the time to respond.. we are both former castmembers but these jaded eyes tend to restrict or narrow our approach to WDW. She has made a point of saying she doesn't want to "attack" the parks. If you wanted to dassle that certain someone with a suprise evening how might you approach it (no ring is involved).

 

[soccer mom]

Maybe stroll the Boardwalk, a nice dinner (Shulas, Flying Fish, or Yachtsman Steak House???), Illuminations, and finish the evening at Jelly Rolls. Or an evening downtown; or California Grill and fireworks. Rent a pontoon for either wishes or illuminations. Just some thoughts.

 

[Tetanus Shot Ty]

Let's just say, for giggles, u wanted to enjoy a deluxe(I don't know if that's the terminology anymore) resort dining experience which one would you choose. Keep in mind bus transportation is a big fat NO. I want us to arrive in style

 

[CarolynFH]

Well I think many people would agree that V&A is the ultimate deluxe resort dining experience! And if NO busses, there are taxis and limousines for hire.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Take a surrey ride at sunset at your resort. Lovely and romantic. Goes along the river and as it gets dark, lights come on!

 

[larryz]

Let's just say, for giggles, u wanted to enjoy a deluxe(I don't know if that's the terminology anymore) resort dining experience which one would you choose. Keep in mind bus transportation is a big fat NO. I want us to arrive in style

Artist Point , at the WL, or Yachtsman Steakhouse at YC...

 

[Mcbruns]

Well I think many people would agree that V&A is the ultimate deluxe resort dining experience! And if NO busses, there are taxis and limousines for hire.

This is exactly what I was going to post. Best dinner ever ! My husband and I still talk about it (6 years later)

 

[Tetanus Shot Ty]

I'm nervous that POFQ, or Port Orleans as a whole, won't feature the little extras like musicians and other entertainment in the "off season"

Take a surrey ride at sunset at your resort. Lovely and romantic. Goes along the river and as it gets dark, lights come on!

What is a surrey?

 

[jmkjr72]

Well we got engaged in front of Mickey back in may
A nice romantic dinner at calafornia grill timed so that you get dessert right at wishes
We also found coral reef very romantic for dinner too
It was by luck and going over early to frontier land that we got a log to ourselves on splash mountain
My fiance says the most romantic thing we did on our trip was when we rented the Boston whaler and rode around seven seas and bay lake by ourselfs

 

[Tetanus Shot Ty]

Well we got engaged in front of Mickey back in may
A nice romantic dinner at calafornia grill timed so that you get dessert right at wishes
We also found coral reef very romantic for dinner too
It was by luck and going over early to frontier land that we got a log to ourselves on splash mountain
My fiance says the most romantic thing we did on our trip was when we rented the Boston whaler and rode around seven seas and bay lake by ourselfs

We booked coral reef together, what she doesn't know is I've been stashing disney gift cards away to suprise her with on Christmas (they will be in a box on top hiding a Disney Pandora charm) I just want to have recommendations to go with the cards. I don't want the lion's share of it going to souvenirs.

 

[scottmik2]

If you did get the extra day, my fiancé and I like to walk around sampling the different drinks in Epcot. If not. We enjoyed YeeHaw Bob just about every night but he does have a few nights off.

 

[ckrisie]

Pick a pearl? Have her pick two and maybe do earing? or pick her favorite setting?

 

[Angel Ariel]

BACKGROUND: My live in girlfriend and I(late 20s no kids) are arriving in early Febuary for 4 nights at Port Orleans French Quarter followed immediately by a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas(Carnival).
At the moment it seems like we will have an evening open upon arrival and 3 days for the parks. We are considering individual park tickets as opposed to park hoppers.

I just wanted to get the boards oppinions on
*the above mentioned base plans
*pairing a cruise with a WDW. vacation
*tips for first time cruisers
*experiences and ideas for a more adult and ,dare I say it , romantic visit to WDW.

Sounds similar to DH and I's honeymoon...spent the first 3 days at WDW, then took a Carnival cruise to the Caribbean It worked out very well for us. The WDW part of the vacation was a bit go-go-go (just b/c we had 3 days and 4 parks to see! Neither of us had ever seen AK before, or been to WDW in at least 10 years at that point). But it worked out OK, because then we had the cruise where we could relax more and recover.

As for adult, romantic things to do at WDW...

I don't know about romantic, but Trader Sam's is definitely an adult experience at the Poly. DH and I closed out our recent Disneyland vacation with a trip to Trader Sam's there, and it was well worth it. Definitely check it out

There are carriage rides at Fort Wilderness and Port Orleans - Riverside. Way back in 2007, DH and I did one of the holiday sleigh rides at Wilderness Lodge and it was very romantic. We ended up seeing some of the Wishes fireworks over the trees. It was a wonderful (and romantic) experience that I'd definitely do again,though I think I'd try Port Orleans this time just to see the grounds there

If you're celebrating something, you could surprise her with a cake. There's all kinds of suggestions on the Cake Thread here on the restaurants board for how to make that happen. DH got me one of the mini cakes at a BOG dinner in 2013...it was chocolate cake with a Bailley's mousse filling. Yuuuuuum. Absolutely delicious! @lurkyloo , who runs that cake thread, is an absolute wealth of knowledge!

A dinner at California Grill during Wishes is very romantic (a dinner there at any time is romantic!). If you can't get a reservation for during the show, know that if you eat at CA Grill *at all* that day,if you save your receipt, you can go up to the Observation Deck outside the restaurant on the top floor and watch Wishes from there. The music from the show is piped in, the lights in the restaurant are dimmed for the show. The food, at least the last time we ate there (prior to their recent renovation) is fantastic.

As someone else mentioned, the "pick a pearl" experience in Japan makes for a very nice souvenir. I still love the pearl necklace I got there on our anniversary trip

Something adult, but not necessarily romantic...taking a monorail tour of the resorts (could include visiting restaurants/lounges at the various hotels for drinks/dessert as well). All of the monorail resorts are beautiful, and definitely worth the time to visit!

Watching Wishes from the Polynesian or Grand Floridian beach...I'm not sure which would be better these days...not sure how much the Poly DVC villas get in the way But whichever has a nicer view, it's a very nice experience to watch them in a much less crowded setting than the parks. Maybe something good for your arrival night? They pipe the music onto the beach as well.

I have to run for now, but hopefully some of these ideas might work for you!

 

[Angel Ariel]

Maybe stroll the Boardwalk, a nice dinner (Shulas, Flying Fish, or Yachtsman Steak House???), Illuminations, and finish the evening at Jelly Rolls. Or an evening downtown; or California Grill and fireworks. Rent a pontoon for either wishes or illuminations. Just some thoughts.

FLying Fish, if it's open (I thought I heard recently it was closing for renovations soon?) has *fantastic* food. Seriously. Rivals the CA Grill, if not beats it. A night on the boardwalk would be a lot of fun!

 

[elphie101]

DH and I have clocked in a number of trips now, including our wedding at WDW and subsequent honeymoon! Some of our favorite things:

We're big social drinkers on vacation, so a lot of our activities revolve around adult beverages - drinking around the world (share drinks to help your body and your budget!), drinking around the monorail (end with a dinner at Be Our Guest as a bonus if you want to complete the loop!) and of course Trader Sam's - we loooooved it! Other romantic things including strolling the Boardwalk resort area in the evening (or a dinner there, we love Yachtsman Steakhouse/Captain's Grille depending on your budget) and honestly, a mid-day pool break. We stayed at POFQ for the first time our last trip and my favorite day was the one where we left the park early, came back and enjoyed the pool, took the boat to Disney Springs and had dinner at The Boathouse

What about ordering a specialty cake for your dinner at Coral Reef? They're actually not too expensive and quite delicious. This cake below was our first anniversary cake (almond cake with amaretto filling), and it only cost $23. Mini cakes are also available that can be more elaborate (and therefore a little more expensive) but you'll definitely finish it - this one took us 3 days to eat! The DIS' Cake Chatter Thread has all the ordering information as well as inspiration photos if you like the idea - you could have a cake delivered to your room or a restaurant post-meal.

 

[jpeden]

My wife and I just got back from a trip in November. We were able to get dinner at La Hacienda De San Angel in EPCOT at the Mexico Pavilion and timed it to see illuminations. We had a show-view table and it was quite romantic to be able to watch the fireworks right after dinner. I know there have been reports about them not taking these requests at the podium but we had no issue with requesting a show-view table and getting it. They even sat us a bit early (we were willing to wait past our ADR time for the table). We also had dinner at Narcoossee's earlier this year and then watched the fireworks from the boat dock at the GF - that was also quite romantic. My favorite thing however is simply holding my wife's hand strolling down main street in the morning or late at night and just spending time with her at the parks. We always have a blast - I'm sure you will too!

 

[Tetanus Shot Ty]

Thanks for the input I'm considering poly at this point. Maybe the beach in the evening.