01Sweetpea
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2003
- Messages
- 1,607
I appreciate all the help I got when planning this trip, that I wanted to share my experience. The trip was hubby & me, early 50s, from Wed 5/25 – Mon 5/30 (Memorial Day). We were part of a large group that stayed off site (The Grove Resort) but I booked 1 night at All-Star Sports (Thurs) for the 2 days of on-site benefits. Knowing we were going to be here for Memorial Day weekend, I was worried about crowds, wait times & heat. Hubby wanted to do as much of Galaxy’s Edge as we could and RoTR was on top of the list. I went back and forth trying to decide if paying for the 1 night would be worth it (we wound up splitting the cost with another couple) or if Genie+ would be a better option, but I knew if we didn’t have on-site benefits we wouldn’t have the option of a possible 7am $ILL, and we’d be behind the pack when the park opened up. Yes, I was taking a gamble doing rope drop for RoTR, but it worked out in our favor. I monitored the wait times for the 5 hours we were in the park, and they hovered around 2 hours all day for RoTR. So, FOR US, the extra $ was worth it.
We did 3 park days, Thursday – HS, Friday – Magic Kingdom, Saturday – Epcot. We don’t like the big roller coasters, so we weren’t looking to do RnR, ToT, SDD, any of the “mountains”, TT or try for GoTG. The game plan was get to the parks early, and get out before it got too hot. Most days the high temps were in the 90s.
Wednesday we arrived at the resort @ 3pm, checked in and headed to Disney Springs for our 6:50pm The Edison reservations. The food was good, the server gave some great suggestions, and it was nice to be in the air conditioning. After walking around we went to Swirls on the Water for a Dole Whip float, and called it a night.
Thursday – HS Day. Up early and parked on the side of the road for 10 minutes before being waived on to line up at the parking lot entrance at 7am. We were the first car pulling into the parking lot. By the time we parked and walked to the turnstiles, we were 15th in line in our lane. We were let in at 7:45am, and we walked at a good pace to RoTR (all the while silently praying that the ride wasn’t down ). Walked the que and was off the ride by 8:15am. Headed straight to MFSR and was off the ride by 8:40. Grabbed a bite to eat and headed to MMRR, and was off that by 9:45. We should have rode MMRR before we ate, as that was our longest wait of the entire trip with 40 +/- minutes, but it wasn’t too bad. Walked around the park until our 10:50 Oga reservation. Did a little shopping and was headed out of the park by 12:30. Back to the resort for a nap, then dinner at Bahama Breeze.
Friday – Magic Kingdom Day. Another early morning, drove to the park, caught the 7:30am ferry, and let into the park at 8am. Was able to get a picture of the castle with no-one in it! Headed towards Tomorrowland to wait until the park opened. At 8:30, when everyone headed to Space, we headed to Buzz, and were the second people on the ride. From there we headed over to wait for Adventureland to open, and then rode Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, IASW & Little Mermaid, and grabbed a few things to eat In between rides. Walked around the entire park and were headed out by 1:30. Back to the resort for a nap, and then we were able to get a last minute dinner reservation for 7pm at Trattoria al Forno at Boardwalk. This was probably the BEST meal we had the entire trip! Everything was delicious.
After dinner, we walked the entire Boardwalk and decided when we come back to Disney, if its just the 2 of us, we’ll stay at The Boardwalk resort. The closeness to Epcot & HS, the esthetic of the boardwalk, the shops & restaurants, etc.
Saturday – Epcot Day. Originally We had decided we were going to head over around 4pm to see the Flower & Garden festival and try different food at the kitchens, however we got impatient, and were walking into Epcot around 2:45. This was a mistake. We rode Soarin’ (the only ride we were looking to do) then met up with friends and headed to the countries to start eating/drinking. Food in Canada, drinks at the Rose & Crown, food & drinks in France, water in between the countries, but the heat got to me. Stopped for more food in Morocco, and by now I’m dragging. Hubby wants me to leave, but we stuck it out, had a sprite (for the sugar) and I felt better. Unfortunately, by the time I felt better, the heat got to hubby and we picked up a few things at the Creations Shop, walked by GoTG just to look, and were headed to the car by 8pm. I had printed out the list of food we had wanted to try at the different kitchens, so we missed a lot (Italy, Germany, Norway & Mexico), and I was hoping to see Harmonious, but the heat was too much. Had we stuck to our original plan, we would have made it.
Sunday – We stayed at the resort and then had a group dinner at Pirate Adventures in Orlando. Cute interactive show for the kids…think Medieval Times but with Pirates.
Monday – early morning with a 7am flight out of Orlando to home.
All in all, it was a good trip. One thing I learned from these boards is if you want a specific reservation keep checking, different days, different times of the day. I tried to book Oga for lunch on day 61 and nothing available. About 30 days out I was able to book a 9:45am for 1 person and took it figuring hubby could go. Kept checking and a 10:50 for 2 people opened 10 days out. Same thing with Friday dinner. Nothing caught our eye at 2pm, but checked again at 4pm and was able to get the 7pm at Boardwalk. So keep checking!!! Crowds were manageable, wait times for what we wanted to do weren’t too bad in the mornings, but it was HOT. When we come back, it will be in the Spring or Fall.
We did 3 park days, Thursday – HS, Friday – Magic Kingdom, Saturday – Epcot. We don’t like the big roller coasters, so we weren’t looking to do RnR, ToT, SDD, any of the “mountains”, TT or try for GoTG. The game plan was get to the parks early, and get out before it got too hot. Most days the high temps were in the 90s.
Wednesday we arrived at the resort @ 3pm, checked in and headed to Disney Springs for our 6:50pm The Edison reservations. The food was good, the server gave some great suggestions, and it was nice to be in the air conditioning. After walking around we went to Swirls on the Water for a Dole Whip float, and called it a night.
Thursday – HS Day. Up early and parked on the side of the road for 10 minutes before being waived on to line up at the parking lot entrance at 7am. We were the first car pulling into the parking lot. By the time we parked and walked to the turnstiles, we were 15th in line in our lane. We were let in at 7:45am, and we walked at a good pace to RoTR (all the while silently praying that the ride wasn’t down ). Walked the que and was off the ride by 8:15am. Headed straight to MFSR and was off the ride by 8:40. Grabbed a bite to eat and headed to MMRR, and was off that by 9:45. We should have rode MMRR before we ate, as that was our longest wait of the entire trip with 40 +/- minutes, but it wasn’t too bad. Walked around the park until our 10:50 Oga reservation. Did a little shopping and was headed out of the park by 12:30. Back to the resort for a nap, then dinner at Bahama Breeze.
Friday – Magic Kingdom Day. Another early morning, drove to the park, caught the 7:30am ferry, and let into the park at 8am. Was able to get a picture of the castle with no-one in it! Headed towards Tomorrowland to wait until the park opened. At 8:30, when everyone headed to Space, we headed to Buzz, and were the second people on the ride. From there we headed over to wait for Adventureland to open, and then rode Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, IASW & Little Mermaid, and grabbed a few things to eat In between rides. Walked around the entire park and were headed out by 1:30. Back to the resort for a nap, and then we were able to get a last minute dinner reservation for 7pm at Trattoria al Forno at Boardwalk. This was probably the BEST meal we had the entire trip! Everything was delicious.
After dinner, we walked the entire Boardwalk and decided when we come back to Disney, if its just the 2 of us, we’ll stay at The Boardwalk resort. The closeness to Epcot & HS, the esthetic of the boardwalk, the shops & restaurants, etc.
Saturday – Epcot Day. Originally We had decided we were going to head over around 4pm to see the Flower & Garden festival and try different food at the kitchens, however we got impatient, and were walking into Epcot around 2:45. This was a mistake. We rode Soarin’ (the only ride we were looking to do) then met up with friends and headed to the countries to start eating/drinking. Food in Canada, drinks at the Rose & Crown, food & drinks in France, water in between the countries, but the heat got to me. Stopped for more food in Morocco, and by now I’m dragging. Hubby wants me to leave, but we stuck it out, had a sprite (for the sugar) and I felt better. Unfortunately, by the time I felt better, the heat got to hubby and we picked up a few things at the Creations Shop, walked by GoTG just to look, and were headed to the car by 8pm. I had printed out the list of food we had wanted to try at the different kitchens, so we missed a lot (Italy, Germany, Norway & Mexico), and I was hoping to see Harmonious, but the heat was too much. Had we stuck to our original plan, we would have made it.
Sunday – We stayed at the resort and then had a group dinner at Pirate Adventures in Orlando. Cute interactive show for the kids…think Medieval Times but with Pirates.
Monday – early morning with a 7am flight out of Orlando to home.
All in all, it was a good trip. One thing I learned from these boards is if you want a specific reservation keep checking, different days, different times of the day. I tried to book Oga for lunch on day 61 and nothing available. About 30 days out I was able to book a 9:45am for 1 person and took it figuring hubby could go. Kept checking and a 10:50 for 2 people opened 10 days out. Same thing with Friday dinner. Nothing caught our eye at 2pm, but checked again at 4pm and was able to get the 7pm at Boardwalk. So keep checking!!! Crowds were manageable, wait times for what we wanted to do weren’t too bad in the mornings, but it was HOT. When we come back, it will be in the Spring or Fall.
