thesahlaneys
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 31, 2013
When my husband said I could plan a vacation, Disney seemed easy to me. You go to Orlando, buy tickets, explore the parks and eat at wonderful restaurants. There's tons of things to do and my husband had never been there. I decided to plan an amazing Disney trip for what I thought would be our "one and only Disney trip pre-kids". I thought- let's go all out, see what Disney is all about, never go back and check it off our list. BOY WAS I WRONG! For anyone who is a young adult (mid twenties) and traveling pre-kids, you may be weary of Disney. Trust me, everyone made comments when I told them our vacation plans, "You're going to Disney???" I'll admit, the couple weeks leading up to our trip I started worrying, what if my husband thinks it's boring? What if there are only little kids there? I started realizing that our $3000 budget (more on that later) could have bought us a trip to Vegas or an All Inclusive in the Carribean instead. Nonetheless, we drove into Disney head first and had the best vacation. Within a month of being back we are already planning a December 2014 trip, (so far away!) Honestly, it was almost better than our Honeymoon. Here's my honest review about our trip, I hope other young adults will find it useful.
Where did we stay?
We decided to stay on property-- simply for the transportation and "in the action" atmosphere. We took a trip to Universal a few years ago and stayed off property. I felt like so much of our trip was spent in a taxi back and forth that I decided it would be nice to be on property. Our airfare and 4 night trip cost us around $1000 to stay at the Dolphin at the end of April-early May. Similar price points were the POR and Carribean Beach. I chose the Dolphin because of the Epcot transportation options--and-- to be completely honest, it looked more upscale than the Disney moderate resorts. The dolphin offered down comforters and starbucks coffee, a few simple amenities that I thought would be nice. I'm glad we stayed at the dolphin for our first stay. Our room had a great view and a nice little kitchenette with a mini fridge and the starbucks coffee.
THE DISNEY MAGICAL EXPRESS ISNT INCLUDED AT THE DOLPHIN (technically not disney property) but that's OK!
We decided to get private transportation anyways because our first day at Disney we were also visiting a park, (HWS). We had RT Tours pick us up and for around $130 we had a private, round-trip SUV ready and waiting for us at the airport. Our driver took us to the grocery store (complementary) where we stocked up on some basics to take into the park for snacks-- bottled water, candy, beef jerky, lunchables, etc. We saved a ton of money doing this! We brought the snacks into the park and also ate breakfast in the room everyday or on our way to a park (granola bars, bananas, uncrustables, etc). I highly recommend getting a private transportation and having them stop at a grocery. It will get you to your hotel faster and it's more private. After being on a plane with a bunch of people it's nice to just chill for a while on your ride to the hotel.
How much did you spend?
In no way am I trying to say that other people's budgets are too high or too low, this is just an example of our budget so you have an idea what to bring with you/how much your disney trip may cost.
We got a great deal on Orbitz.com at the dolphin for 4 nights and airfare ($1000). I haven't been able to find rates this cheap for future trips. We spent another $1000 on our tickets & misc. We bought our tickets at undercovertourist.com so that we would have them upon arrival and I believe they were a few bucks cheaper. We decided to get park hoppers so they were a little more pricey. The misc. expenses were our transportation and airport parking. We also spent a few hundred on front row tickets to Nouba (Cirque du Soliel). We originally booked an Epcot segway tour and when that was canceled we used the money to buy show tickets. The last $1000 we used as a food budget. We wanted to be able to eat at nice restaurants, drink, and buy whatever treats we pleased so we budgeted $200 a day. We were there for 5 days/4 nights. Just a reference for other couples-- this was PLENTY! We ended up having more than enough money, especially because we ate breakfast in the room so we essentially only bought 2 meals a day. Each day we would only take $200 into the park.
What did you do?
Day by day- here is a rough outline of what we did.
Day 1: Arrival/Hollywood Studios
-Upon arrival at our hotel we hurried up, packed a bag for the park and headed over to HS on the boat.
-I had made an ADR at the Sci-Fi Diner. Good thing I did bc it was packed!
-SCI-FI Diner was great. Really cool atmosphere... kind of romantic actually. Would go again.
-Did all the rides, tip! use the map! Bring a pen and cross off activities after you do them, it can be overwhelming. When I wasn't sure if a ride would appeal to us or be too juvenille, I googled it! Wikipedia usually had a great ride description/pictures so I could judge if we would enjoy it or not. A lot of the descriptions on the maps are kind of vague.
-We had dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby. Honestly, not my favorite. The place lacked atmosphere to me and the food was so-so. Not many nice restaurants in HS though, so could be worth a try for others!
-At night Fantasmic was canceled because it was raining on and off throughout the day.
We left day 1 thinking, wow HS is kind of like Universal Studios. I feel like we're in Disney.. I guess.
Day 2: Magic Kingdom
WOW! good morning Disney! Can I just say you haven't been to Disney until you're in the MK! As soon as we walked into MK it was like heaven. I literally was in the best mood. THIS IS DISNEY! My husband was amazed... we both were so overwhelmed and didn't know where to go first. We ended up eating a packed lunch on a shady bench this day. Surprisingly, we were able to ride everything!
-We had dinner at O'Hana. I thought it was a disappointment. I know there are rave revues but I didn't think the food was anything special
-We stopped for drinks at the BlueZoo in the Dolphin-they had so many amazing drinks and beers. I recommend the Bazooka Joe martini! So yummy. This place was def. an upscale/not family friendly bar. We did not feel like we were in Disney.
Day 3: Epcot
Our weather for Epcot was pretty rainy. We started at Tomorrowland and had lunch at the Coral Reef. We requested a table close to the fish tank and had an amazing lunch. Def. recommend.
-We headed over to the country side and had an early dinner at San Angel Inn. Really authentic mexican food. Avocado margarita was great. You feel like you're outside under the stars but you're inside (kind of the same feel as Sci-Fi Diner actually!) it was romantic and fun.
-We watched illuminations from a VIP section as a bonus for them canceling our segway tour.
-To be honest, the country side is kind of boring. There aren't many attractions besides walking from country to country. Husband thinks it may be because the weather sucked that we didn't enjoy our time here that much.
Day 4: Animal Kingdom
I wish we spent more time at AK but I got a little sick in the afternoon and we left early. This park has a totally different feel than the others. The animal attractions are really cool but there aren't a ton of rides. It's a nice relaxing park day.
-We ate at Yak & Yeti which is pretty pricey but we split a meal for a little mid-afternoon snack.
-We had tickets for La Nouba tonight so we left early to head to downtown disney. la Nouba was good, great seating being in the front row, but not as impressive as some of the Cirque Vegas shows i've seen.
I would have been comfortable paying about half of what we paid for the tickets.
-We planned a late dinner at Le Cellier after the show but because the weather was so bad we ended up eating at Shulas in our hotel. Shulas is a chain but it's a damn good steakhouse. It was nice to stay inside and dry but we did have to pay a $20 cancelation fee at Le Cellier
Our last day- day 5
We booked a late flight our last day so we could enjoy another park during the day. We went back to HS since it was the first park we went to. We only stuck around for about 1 hour before I started getting Disney panic. I DONT WANT TO GO HOME! I felt like a 5 year old but I really was having so much fun. We headed back to MK. I couldn't leave my Disney trip without going back to MK again. Since it was a Friday our last day, MK was WAY more crowded than when we originally went. That's ok though because we mostly just wanted to be *at magic kingdom* to soak in our last bit of Disney magic. We got ice cream on main street and rode the train, took the ferryboat around the park and went on one last ride (my favorite) the Haunted Mansion.
I don't know what it is about Disney but it was just SO much fun and really there is so much to do. The rides were fun, even though we are used to thrill rides at Cedar Point. Surprisingly we were not bored and had an amazing time. I can't wait to go back... it is very expensive but so worth it. I can't wait to see Disney at Christmas next year!
Where did we stay?
We decided to stay on property-- simply for the transportation and "in the action" atmosphere. We took a trip to Universal a few years ago and stayed off property. I felt like so much of our trip was spent in a taxi back and forth that I decided it would be nice to be on property. Our airfare and 4 night trip cost us around $1000 to stay at the Dolphin at the end of April-early May. Similar price points were the POR and Carribean Beach. I chose the Dolphin because of the Epcot transportation options--and-- to be completely honest, it looked more upscale than the Disney moderate resorts. The dolphin offered down comforters and starbucks coffee, a few simple amenities that I thought would be nice. I'm glad we stayed at the dolphin for our first stay. Our room had a great view and a nice little kitchenette with a mini fridge and the starbucks coffee.
THE DISNEY MAGICAL EXPRESS ISNT INCLUDED AT THE DOLPHIN (technically not disney property) but that's OK!
We decided to get private transportation anyways because our first day at Disney we were also visiting a park, (HWS). We had RT Tours pick us up and for around $130 we had a private, round-trip SUV ready and waiting for us at the airport. Our driver took us to the grocery store (complementary) where we stocked up on some basics to take into the park for snacks-- bottled water, candy, beef jerky, lunchables, etc. We saved a ton of money doing this! We brought the snacks into the park and also ate breakfast in the room everyday or on our way to a park (granola bars, bananas, uncrustables, etc). I highly recommend getting a private transportation and having them stop at a grocery. It will get you to your hotel faster and it's more private. After being on a plane with a bunch of people it's nice to just chill for a while on your ride to the hotel.
How much did you spend?
In no way am I trying to say that other people's budgets are too high or too low, this is just an example of our budget so you have an idea what to bring with you/how much your disney trip may cost.
We got a great deal on Orbitz.com at the dolphin for 4 nights and airfare ($1000). I haven't been able to find rates this cheap for future trips. We spent another $1000 on our tickets & misc. We bought our tickets at undercovertourist.com so that we would have them upon arrival and I believe they were a few bucks cheaper. We decided to get park hoppers so they were a little more pricey. The misc. expenses were our transportation and airport parking. We also spent a few hundred on front row tickets to Nouba (Cirque du Soliel). We originally booked an Epcot segway tour and when that was canceled we used the money to buy show tickets. The last $1000 we used as a food budget. We wanted to be able to eat at nice restaurants, drink, and buy whatever treats we pleased so we budgeted $200 a day. We were there for 5 days/4 nights. Just a reference for other couples-- this was PLENTY! We ended up having more than enough money, especially because we ate breakfast in the room so we essentially only bought 2 meals a day. Each day we would only take $200 into the park.
What did you do?
Day by day- here is a rough outline of what we did.
Day 1: Arrival/Hollywood Studios
-Upon arrival at our hotel we hurried up, packed a bag for the park and headed over to HS on the boat.
-I had made an ADR at the Sci-Fi Diner. Good thing I did bc it was packed!
-SCI-FI Diner was great. Really cool atmosphere... kind of romantic actually. Would go again.
-Did all the rides, tip! use the map! Bring a pen and cross off activities after you do them, it can be overwhelming. When I wasn't sure if a ride would appeal to us or be too juvenille, I googled it! Wikipedia usually had a great ride description/pictures so I could judge if we would enjoy it or not. A lot of the descriptions on the maps are kind of vague.
-We had dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby. Honestly, not my favorite. The place lacked atmosphere to me and the food was so-so. Not many nice restaurants in HS though, so could be worth a try for others!
-At night Fantasmic was canceled because it was raining on and off throughout the day.
We left day 1 thinking, wow HS is kind of like Universal Studios. I feel like we're in Disney.. I guess.
Day 2: Magic Kingdom
WOW! good morning Disney! Can I just say you haven't been to Disney until you're in the MK! As soon as we walked into MK it was like heaven. I literally was in the best mood. THIS IS DISNEY! My husband was amazed... we both were so overwhelmed and didn't know where to go first. We ended up eating a packed lunch on a shady bench this day. Surprisingly, we were able to ride everything!
-We had dinner at O'Hana. I thought it was a disappointment. I know there are rave revues but I didn't think the food was anything special
-We stopped for drinks at the BlueZoo in the Dolphin-they had so many amazing drinks and beers. I recommend the Bazooka Joe martini! So yummy. This place was def. an upscale/not family friendly bar. We did not feel like we were in Disney.
Day 3: Epcot
Our weather for Epcot was pretty rainy. We started at Tomorrowland and had lunch at the Coral Reef. We requested a table close to the fish tank and had an amazing lunch. Def. recommend.
-We headed over to the country side and had an early dinner at San Angel Inn. Really authentic mexican food. Avocado margarita was great. You feel like you're outside under the stars but you're inside (kind of the same feel as Sci-Fi Diner actually!) it was romantic and fun.
-We watched illuminations from a VIP section as a bonus for them canceling our segway tour.
-To be honest, the country side is kind of boring. There aren't many attractions besides walking from country to country. Husband thinks it may be because the weather sucked that we didn't enjoy our time here that much.
Day 4: Animal Kingdom
I wish we spent more time at AK but I got a little sick in the afternoon and we left early. This park has a totally different feel than the others. The animal attractions are really cool but there aren't a ton of rides. It's a nice relaxing park day.
-We ate at Yak & Yeti which is pretty pricey but we split a meal for a little mid-afternoon snack.
-We had tickets for La Nouba tonight so we left early to head to downtown disney. la Nouba was good, great seating being in the front row, but not as impressive as some of the Cirque Vegas shows i've seen.
I would have been comfortable paying about half of what we paid for the tickets.
-We planned a late dinner at Le Cellier after the show but because the weather was so bad we ended up eating at Shulas in our hotel. Shulas is a chain but it's a damn good steakhouse. It was nice to stay inside and dry but we did have to pay a $20 cancelation fee at Le Cellier
Our last day- day 5
We booked a late flight our last day so we could enjoy another park during the day. We went back to HS since it was the first park we went to. We only stuck around for about 1 hour before I started getting Disney panic. I DONT WANT TO GO HOME! I felt like a 5 year old but I really was having so much fun. We headed back to MK. I couldn't leave my Disney trip without going back to MK again. Since it was a Friday our last day, MK was WAY more crowded than when we originally went. That's ok though because we mostly just wanted to be *at magic kingdom* to soak in our last bit of Disney magic. We got ice cream on main street and rode the train, took the ferryboat around the park and went on one last ride (my favorite) the Haunted Mansion.
I don't know what it is about Disney but it was just SO much fun and really there is so much to do. The rides were fun, even though we are used to thrill rides at Cedar Point. Surprisingly we were not bored and had an amazing time. I can't wait to go back... it is very expensive but so worth it. I can't wait to see Disney at Christmas next year!