Taking my friends to Disney for the first time! January-February 2023

ajollyholidaywithjo

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 10, 2021
So I usually travel to Disney with family, and this trip was originally meant to be a solo trip, but then my friends asked to come along, so why not! This will be a super short trip, since I already had a lot of stuff booked solo, but there's so much fun stuff I have planned. :teeth:

Even though this is my friend's first time, I have a bunch of new things planned for myself too! I've been going for 20+ years, and there's always something new to do and see! Our current schedule is as follows:

Day 1: Arrival Day/Disney Springs
I'm super happy because for the first time ever, I was able to find a nonstop flight to Orlando from my city, which never happens! So we can get to the airport later and get to Disney sooner! We'll be staying at Pop this time, and I always love staying at a Skyliner resort. It'll be a pretty chill evening, hanging out at Springs and grabbing dinner at the Boathouse. I've actually never been, so I'm excited to try it for the first time after hearing all the good things.

Day 2: Magic Kingdom
My plan is to rope drop every park (that's just how I roll), and I already told my friends they can sleep in if they don't want to get up that early. :rotfl: I don't really have a plan for rides yet; I may try to hit Seven Dwarves first this time, just to get it out of the way, and hopefully some more Fantasyland attractions. I made lunch reservations at Steakhouse 71, so we could take the monorail and see some of the resorts! I'm always ready to leave the parks to take a break around lunch, since that's when crowds seem to really pick up. I had drinks at the lounge at Steakhouse 71 earlier this year, so I'm really excited to try the restaurant! After a midday break, we'll head back to MK, ride some rides, see some shows, and then it will be time for dinner at Skipper! I don't really like any of the quick service options in MK, and it's been awhile since I've been there, so I'm excited to go back! I haven't seen the new fireworks show for the 50th, so I'm curious to see that as well. I plan to stay until parks close, and we'll see if my friends can hang that long. :rolleyes1

Day 3: Hollywood Studios
My favorite park! We'll take the Skyliner over for rope drop, and hopefully be able to rope drop Rise! I know sometimes it can be down in the morning, so hopefully we don't have that problem. I also hope we can ride the Millennium Falcon in the time too, then head over to Toy Story Land and see what we can ride there. Stopping for Woody's Lunchbox for breakfast is a must do for me every time I'm there. Breakfast Totchos are life changing! No other big plans before lunch, just doing rides and shows. I'm not sure which quick service to try for lunch; Backlot is usually always solid, but I'm kind of interested in going to ABC Commissary. Depending on how were all feeling after lunch, we may take a midday break and go back to the hotel, or ride around on the Skyliner. We have a dinner reservation at 50's Prime Time; it's been about 5 years since I've been, and I've heard they have gluten free fried chicken, so I'm pumped for that! I'm so happy Fantasmic has returned, it's always been my favorite nighttime show. After that, we have reservations at Oga's, after park close. To me personally, this is the best time to do Oga's, since you get to see Galaxy's Edge completely empty when you leave!

Day 4: Epcot
It's Festival of the Arts day! I am so so so happy to be able to attend this Festival; I've done all these others and after doing this one, I'll have done them all! I'm looking forward to the fact that the Skyliner drops of right by Remy, so hopefully we can rope drop that, then head over to Frozen. I'm also hoping we get a boarding group for Guardians, since it's the one ride at Disney I haven't done yet. The plan for this day is to just take it slow, drink and eat around the World, and see the Festival. Epcot just always feels so relaxing, so I'm really looking forward to this day. I'm not a huge fan of Harmonious (#Justicefor Illuminations :sad1:), so I'll probably get some rides in while my friends watch.

Day 5: Animal Kingdom/Departure Day
I don't love doing a park on a departure day, but I really didn't want to miss out on Animal Kingdom and there's a late flight out, so I figured why not. I think this is the only day I'm going to purchase Genie+, just so we can maximize our time. I'm hoping to rope drop Flight of Passage, and maybe Na'Vi river, and get LL's for Safari, Everest, and Dinosaur. We'll see how that goes. I think we'll do lunch at Satuli, it's one of my favorite quick services in Disney! I hope we have time to see the Lion King show, and the revamped Nemo show! That one was always my favorite. We have a good amount of time before our flight, so I think we'll be able to do almost everything. Then we head back to the resort, grab our luggage, and head to the airport!


I am so so excited for this trip and I can't wait to see my friends experience Disney! I do want to preface in saying that this plan is not overwhelming for me, but it may be for them, so they can pick and choose what parts they want to do. We all vacation differently and that's okay!

If there's anything else I should add as a must do for a first timer, I'd love to hear suggestions!
 
Great plans so far! I feel the same way when I go with my family, if they don't want to get up early or stay late....you do you! I have zero issues tooling around the parks on my own.
 
I don’t know how you did that but your trip sounds perfect and relaxing and fun !
 


Being on the Skyliner surprised you'd go DS over Boardwalk, but all together it sounds like you and your crew are going to have a great time!
 
Don't stress too much about getting a boarding group for Guardians, the groups getting called go way faster than Rise. I bought a LL to make sure I got on during my last trip and didn't really need it. I had a Park Hopper that trip and made a stop at Epcot 3 days out of the 4 I was there since I love the Festival booths and Epcot is my favorite. I got a boarding group every day, even when I didn't tap in until 5 pm. Just a matter of if the group call time ends up working for you.
 
Being on the Skyliner surprised you'd go DS over Boardwalk, but all together it sounds like you and your crew are going to have a great time!
There’s not much to do at the Boardwalk (in my opinion), other than some restaurants and Jellyrolls. I go to Springs for shopping, and I think the restaurants are just better quality!
 



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