Via Napoli
This is a must do every trip, usually at least twice. The pizza is SO GOOD!
Also don't forget the Tiramisu, best I've ever had.
This is a half white half margharita pizza
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Sunshine Seasons
The salmon at sunshine seasons is one of the best on property. I usually get the kids salmon because it comes with 2 sides and a drink, great value, and just enough to tide us over for other eats at Epcot. This time I had the adults salmon but it wasnt much bigger then the kids salmon to be honest.
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Sleepy Hallow
My favorite snack on Disney property, bar none.
The Fruit Waffle (has nutella in it). SO GOOD!
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Sanaa
So we got the salmon here and the bread service. The bread service was so good and lived up to the hype. The salmon was good not great. My brother had the buttered chicken. He enjoyed that but we all agreed we should come here on future trips and just get the bread service.
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Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom
Suprise hiit of the trip. We ended up eating here twice.
This was THE BEST SALMON ON PROPERTY!
It had this sweet teriyaki like sauce (i think it was considered a plum sauce) on it, it was heavenly! The salmon was cooked so well too.
From the reviews you'de think this place isnt that great but we were blown away. And we LOVED the ambiance. So beautiful inside. A MUST DO
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Ogas Canitina
I was very luck to get a reservation here. The Fuzzy Tauntaun was so good, worth the pricey $16. Unlike any drink Ive had with the lip tingleing sensation. My family deeclared this the best part of Galaxys Edge and they arent even drinkers.
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Earth Eats
The impossible slider was good but the meatball was AMAZING! got that twice.
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Thanks for sharing! Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences. DH and I will hopefully be there in mid November. With a split stay at SS or in Riviera..
We are driving From NJ, so no worries about planes and airports. We are excited to get away and experience Riviera.

I’ve only seen videos recently of all the DVC Resorts, but I could tell that the Polynesian seem to be very lively and the Grand Floridian look like a dud.

OK, thanks again for sharing.😎👍🏻
 
You’re making me very hungry with all these fantastic photos! That’s the other thing we excited about, eating! We have never been to Food and Wine,. But we are still looking forward to a taste for food and wine.
 


On a side note regarding the park hours, for Epcot, the issue was even though they closed at 9, the restaurants closed earlier. Specifically Via Napoli had a last seating at 7:45. I don't know whats happening with the restaurants there when Epcot is closing at 7. will last seating be at 5:45? I hope not. Otherwise we were really glad Epcot was open until 9 and gave us somewhere to visit at night.

Magic Kingdom was difficult because we like the nightime lights there, couldn't see that. And if a ride went down , say at 5 due to weather or technical difficulties, it wouldnt come back up because the parks were going to close soon. And we really missed the plaza ice cream parlor, which wasnt open at all.

Animal Kingdom was a huuuuge blow to us because we LOVE Pandora at night. It also caused the rainforest cafe thats outside of the park, to close at the same closing time (6pm). We love it there for dinner.

Hollywood Studios, again it was open until 8 which is better then 6 however we still didnt see much lit up.

The main issue is when visiting for vacation, especially onsite, the best thing is going to a park in the day, pool and rest in the afternoon at the resort, bavk to the park in the evening for dinner. We could barely do that this trip. We will be able to do that AT ALL with the extra short hours.

Another HUGE issue was and will be even more so the transportation. Because the boats, skyliner, and monorail and busses are only open usually for an hour after a park closes, we couldnt take them at night to visit different places, resorts, or just take them to experience the beauty.
 
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We are going in September, October, and December. This is my fear with the shorter hours. A lot of Disney Beauty and charm will be missed with no night time views or transportation.... Add to that we can't hop between parks. Hoping there is enough to keep us occupied. Big Sigh!
 
We are going in September, October, and December. This is my fear with the shorter hours. A lot of Disney Beauty and charm will be missed with no night time views or transportation.... Add to that we can't hop between parks. Hoping there is enough to keep us occupied. Big Sigh!
Yea. You will still have a great time and hopefully as they are seemingly are getting busier now, they'll consider extending the hours.
 


Excellent trip report! I felt like I was there with you. Did not realize the hours would be shortened in Fall. Thanks for posting. :tigger:
 
Thanks for the awesome trip report! I really like that you reported on both the good and the not so good.

I'm researching my first DVC purchase and I love your report on the different resorts. I want to buy resale VGF or BCV, but I'll probably buy SSR for the same reasons as you did. Maybe add on later.

Can I ask how many points you bought/used for the trip?
 
Thanks for the awesome trip report! I really like that you reported on both the good and the not so good.

I'm researching my first DVC purchase and I love your report on the different resorts. I want to buy resale VGF or BCV, but I'll probably buy SSR for the same reasons as you did. Maybe add on later.

Can I ask how many points you bought/used for the trip?
Sure! I bought 200 points at Saratoga but it was a loaded contract so it had banked points from last year too. The trip costed me a total of 262 points (51 at Copper Creek, 12 Animal Kingdom, 27 Grand Floridian, 172 at the Polynesian)
 
Thank you so much for your report! I loved all your details, and photos, and the food looked fabulous. When we were at WDW in July we reluctantly ate at Tony's in the MK, and it turned out to be one of the best meals of our trip! We're booked to stay in a standard studio at the Poly in January. Haven't stayed at this resort since 1990, but have always wanted to go back. I'm torn about whether I really want to stay here. My first love is BRV, and my second love is AKL Jambo House, but we were in a 1BR at BR in July, and will be back in a 1BR at BR in October, so I'm thinking maybe overkill to stay again in January? Right now there isn't a full week availability at either BRV or CCV, but I check several times daily, and I'm pretty sure one of them will open up before January. Just don't know if I want to make the switch if it does. I'm not sure we'll be getting park tickets for the January trip. It may be resort only. I had fully intended to upgrade my 7 day park pass to an AP on our July trip, but as we all know, APs aren't being sold right now. If I can't upgrade to an AP on the October trip, I'm pretty sure I won't want to shell out the money for another 7 day park pass in January for my husband and I. So my dilemma is, if January is a resort only trip, will I be happier at one of the DVC resorts at Wilderness Lodge, or at the Polynesian?
 
We could see the castle and lake from our room and that hands down beat the view we got in the Grand

I have stayed at the Polynesian for multiple vacations, mostly Standard.

But my first stay was a third floor lake view.

Every time I walked in the room and saw the view I gasped. Every time, like I had some sort of weird state of amnesia. :laughing:
 
Another HUGE issue was and will be even more so the transportation. Because the boats, skyliner, and monorail and busses are only open usually for an hour after a park closes, we couldnt take them at night to visit different places, resorts, or just take them to experience the beauty.

I am so late night Disney, that would be beyond frustrating.
 
Sure! I bought 200 points at Saratoga but it was a loaded contract so it had banked points from last year too. The trip costed me a total of 262 points (51 at Copper Creek, 12 Animal Kingdom, 27 Grand Floridian, 172 at the Polynesian)

Thanks for the info! I'm looking at 150 - 200 points and looking forward to some split stays as well.

I have a non-DVC trip planned in November, but your trip report makes me want to go now!
 
We own most of our points at Boulder Ridge Villas(we are old school, so we still call it Villas at Wilderness Lodge :goodvibes )and stayed one night at CCV in a Grand Villa, along with countless other stays at VWL. It was lovely for sure and great views of the lake. Im glad you enjoyed your stay there and knowing you want to return there tells me you get it, the vibe of the whole place. Most beautiful resort on property IMO!!

Give AKL one more try but stay in a Savannah view. That will make a difference.

Following along with the remainder of your TR

Edited: As I read your trip report, I read you bought SSR but never intend to stay there. Dont sell yourself short on it. Many years ago, within a year or 2 of its opening, SSR didn't have a lot to offer. We stayed there and vowed never again. FF to a few years ago, we stayed for 2-3 nights to begin a longer stay at another DVC Resort. We fell in love with SSR at that point. Great proximity to DS(we were never fans of the old DTD)via boat or walking, best resort QS food at Artists Pallete IMO. Cool little lounge area just outside The Turf Club with a free pool table. Please give it a try at some point as an owner. Its big, no doubt so you lose that vibe that Wilderness Lodge puts off, but its got its own merits to stand on.
 
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Thanks for the great pics and information! Really helpful. We're heading to Copper Creek later this month and I was curious if you did any resort hopping without a dinner reservation? I know early on dinner reservations were required but I've recently seen some posts where people resort hopped without reservations. We like to go to other hotels to enjoy quick service, especially with the parks closing early. Thanks in advance for any insight!
 
Thanks for the great pics and information! Really helpful. We're heading to Copper Creek later this month and I was curious if you did any resort hopping without a dinner reservation? I know early on dinner reservations were required but I've recently seen some posts where people resort hopped without reservations. We like to go to other hotels to enjoy quick service, especially with the parks closing early. Thanks in advance for any insight!
Sorry for the late reply I just saw this post. Yes you can resort hop when using Disney transportation. If you are driving yourself you need reservations unless you park at Disney springs and then use Disney transportation to the resorts.
 
Just an update on our next trips thoughts, We are booked at the poly dec 6-16 but I’m thinking of cancelling now. when we went in August with all the adjustments , although we had a wonderful time, I don’t think I’d want to experience Disney like that more than once. The even Shorter hours, no snacking while walking, masks, no live entertainment, can’t see the parks at night, no lit up castle. I mean I’d love to go and would still enjoy it but it really does diminish the HOLIDAY experience. Alot of the holiday decor is at its peak in the nighttime and we won’t beable to see much of that with the short hours as much as we’d like to. And I feel like not too much later then December we will have a lot of that back including park hopping. I love the holiday feeling at Disney but I wonder if I’d feel that with these restrictions...
 

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