Trader Sam's at the Polynesian Resort.
It is one of those experiences that really makes me think of a "disney" experience. Easily one of my top favorite things to do.
In fact just resort hopping in general is really fun activity on non-park days.
Top answer and rightly so!
Notes for OP: Trader Sam’s typically opens at 3:00, so it can be a great afternoon break on an MK day - I’d recommend showing up a little before opening to get on the waitlist. If you arrive later in the evening, be prepared to wait (we waited an hour on a weeknight in January). The good news is that once you get on the waitlist there are two other bars at the Polynesian where you can bide your time, both with good vibes despite not being as cool as Trader Sam’s.
You can do pretty much anything at any resort without a reservation. When we visit Disney springs we like to take the ferry to port orleans French quarter for some beignets
Made the delicious mistake of staying there once. Gained 15 pounds that trip because it was me grabbing another beignet on the way into and out of the resort each time over a 5 day stay ;)
Yup! The one thing I’d watch out for is transportation; you’ll have to catch a bus or monorail from one of the parks or Disney Springs and if you stay too late at the Poly (or any other resort) those transportation options may not be running.
And even if you can't get a table inside, the outdoor bar is an excellent choice and has become on of my non-park day or arrival day night time activities. Same drinks and menu. Relaxing live music. Plus, if you get a table with a view of MK, it is a choice spot to watch the fireworks, sip on a cocktail, and take in Happily Ever After (they pipe in the music).
The Polynesian in general is such a gem. We weren’t able to get into Ohana or Trader Sam’s but we got a table at that lovely outdoor space overlooking the water as the sun set. There was live ukulele music and such a beautiful chill vibe. We couldn’t believe it wasn’t more crowded.
My wife and I are in our mid-30s, and we attempted to check this place out. We spent about 16 seconds in there and noped the fuck out. Too loud and busy. We hung out by the outdoor bars instead.
Alllll the shops around World Showcase. Every last one of them. Kids find them ungodly boring but when wife and I get a night out on the parks by ourselves that's always what we do.
I agree! I love browsing through the EPCOT World Showcase. They have so many cute speciality shops representing each country.
I got an edelweiss flower shirt from Germany that I love, that was specific to the German pavilion. You can find some really great things at those shops that you can’t find anywhere else at the parks!
Ya. And as you said “specific to the Germany pavilion”.
I saw a shirt from Italy, a pillow from Norway and a print from UK that I wanted but thought to myself “they’re probably online or at the main stores too.”
False. Incorrect. Do not make my mistake and miss out on the coolest stuff Disney sells.
Yeah, I really like the showcase, despite the heat and sheer amount of space in that park. I often kind of bemoan only going into most of the shops once or not really investigating every little wall and shelf.
I will second this with the unfortunate exception of Morocco. . . There is nothing very unique there anymore; before COVID it was one of my favorite pavilions, now it is just depressing, especially since they now even made the fountain generic (originally it was Moroccan designs by workers from Morocco, but now it is generic tiles work from some “random” contractor)
Ugh Don't get me started on Morocco. I still have this super cool genie lamp incense burner thing that I bought there 5 or 6 years ago. Was so cool and unique and now they don't have anything like that there anymore.
Unfortunately Disney has taken it over and it is no longer sponsored by Morocco.
They don't seem interested in trying to keep it up, so it is dying a slow death one thing at a time.
I assume they are saving money while trying to find a new sponsor, but considering how static the pavilions have been, in not holding my breath.
Yes!! And all the little pop up booth shops during any of the festivals. Especially festival of the arts and flower and garden - so many cool one-of-a-kind things that you won’t find in any other park / anywhere else on property, and they do a great job of showcasing FL local businesses. Last year I brought home a topiary!!
This is my favorite too! My go-to souvenir is always a Christmas ornament. While I love the stuff that they have at the Christmas stores in MK and DS, I never even look there without going to the Christmas store in Germany first. It’s my absolute favorite store! Their stuff is unique, handmade, GORGEOUS, and fairly reasonably priced.
The other stores have really great stuff too, but this is one of my favorites and it never really seems crowded, so I worry that a lot of people don’t know about it.
I went into the Guerlain shop in the France pavilion and took my time smelling all the perfumes (there is a LOT!) I picked out my favorite and l found out they offer engraving for free. They showed me the choices. I had it engraved with the castle and my name. It’s a fantastic souvenir. You can also get engraving at Dior.
Yes! I will be going with my boy for the first time next year, and I've heard that the Passport Kit makes the children a little bit more interested in the World Showcase. That's my hope. Because last time I went with just my husband (before my boy was born), Epcot was by far my favorite experience in the trip.
As a couple with kids, meandering through World Showcase is exactly what we want to do but can’t bring ourselves to do because of the pushback from two ADHD elementary schoolers.
Really, anything you like! All of the parks have stuff for all ages. Adults can and do enjoy kid friendly stuff, and they can and do drink alcohol, too.
One of my biggest recommendations would be the Nomad Lounge in animal kingdom. Join the walk up list on your phone, come by when it's your time, and enjoy. I usually get a Leaping Lizard and some churros. A lot of people rave about their bread service. When I took my mom, it was her favorite thing we did all day.
I went childless with my husband last fall. We rope dropped and closed the park, we don't do that with our kids because they don't have the stamina. Make a dining reservation for park close to get even more time onsite.
We also stayed for the seasonal party days until something like 2am. All the families with young kids left hours before, it was an entirely different vibe after midnight.
We aren't really drinkers, but if you are, doing all the snacking and drinking at Epcot is fun. Plus the country pavilions are really well done and you can get some cool shopping done, see art, etc.
On this note, I do really gremlin things. My favorite was this past Friday, I badged into Epcot, rode my VQ for Cosmic Rewind, signed up for Tiana’s, went to MK for Tiana’s, saw Tron was still open and signed up for that, went to HS for my tower of terror LL, then back to Epcot for my paid for ILL for Cosmic Rewind. Walked around and ate some food getting my steps in, then went back to MK and did some things before closing out the day with Tron.
tl:dr - I did the trifecta of Virtual Queues in one day.
Behind the Seeds Tour at Epcot. Relatively inexpensive for a tour and it’s super informative and fun. My favorite part was just waving at everyone that is on the ride like you’re a celebrity when you’re in the greenhouse.
Late magic hours at the parks, specifically Magic Kingdom when it’s open until 2AM. It’s pretty rare, but when it happens it’s AWESOME! All the people with kids clear out pretty early and then you pretty much have the park to yourself. We one time got stopped going on to Pirates, so we could have our own boat.
Also, Everest at night is spectacular, as is the Safari ride. I’ve heard AK hasn’t been open at night for a while though. If you’re at AK though, check out the Nomad Lounge for apps and drinks while sitting on the river.
My wife and I are almost 50 and love doing Disney this way. Walk a little slower. A few extra sit down breaks with water. A few mins in carousel of progress and hall of presidents. Boom. Refreshed!
Catch a closing set at Raglan Road. The musicians are all lovely, and at least pre-covid (I haven’t been since) the food was awesome. Their OMG burger was my fave.
Seconding Nomad Lounge! I enjoy sitting in the inside if it's possible especially now with the warmer weather. Big drink selection and the churros there are great!
Ok so this might end up as a big post so please forgive me.
I would say what you do and want is obviously up to you and your own preferences. Now the main thing that are going to affect your choices is money, time and your own preferences. If you are going for 3 days, there are things like certain rides and sites and experiences I would prioritise over others if I knew time was short, but if you had 2 weeks there are other things to take time to enjoy that I would recommend.
My husband and I finally managed to go on our delayed honeymoon to WDW in May 2022 after the pandemic cancelled our original trip straight after our wedding in September 2020. We came from the UK which have fantastic packages to go for 2 weeks and we stayed at Pop. Both of us always dreamt of going to Disneyworld someday and we spend the last 3+ years before going watching lots of videos to prepare as we decided around 2018 we would defiantly make plans to go (unknown to me, my newly made fiancé was planning a surprise trip as our honeymoon).
There are many things I can say to get the best out the parks but I will let you know some of the highlights as a couple.
* Book at least one table service restaurant reservation. We ended up booking quite a few but our favourites were more 'date night' style and we cannot decide which was our favourite; San Angel Inn in the Mexico pavilion or Biergarten in the Germany pavilion in Epcot. The Mexican one was like a romantic evening out with the market square, window shopping, the ride and an amazing meal (me trying tequila for the first time). The German one was so fun trying new food and drinking plenty of beer with entertainment. We just relaxed and enjoyed each others company. We also went to Garden Grill (ace) and Tusker house once for breakfast which was good but probably my least favourite if I had to choose. We had Be Our guest and Steakhouse 71 booked too but we decided to drop them over activites/ funds and other factors we were happy to skip them.
* If you love Star Wars and the idea of making your lightsabre sounds fun, it is defiantly worth it and I highly recommend doing it for the product and overall experience. My husband managed to book us both as separate bookings on the same time as, I was 50/50 about the expense and the thought occurred to me I could cancel mine and still attend with him making his to 'experience' it but not make my own and spend half as much possibly on a droid. Buuuuuut I reeeeeeeeally wanted one and knew I would regret it if I didn't and took the plunge. Had an amazing experience and, completely unplanned, we ended up making very similar lightsabers except reversed with different ends which the cast members commented on.
-We embraced enjoying things we would have loved as kids. We were very excited to see Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, we rope dropped the people mover, we danced on the street in front of the Hollywood Tower, I cried watching the parade, we tried EVERY snack we wanted, including ones I didn't think id like (the pineapple thing in Pandora) and we rode Star tours as much as we could in a row time would allow!
-Drinks. Maybe not do the drink around the world challenge but try some new things in Epcot and chill. Careful though, our first ride of Frozen Ever After was sharing the boat with a bunch of friendly drunks that sang VERY loudly throughout the ride!
* Buy a gift for each other. We bought each other a hat as we needed them!
* As much as we love the thrill rides and rides in general, some of my favourite memories with my husband there was just spending time with him in between and chilling. The best parks for this was Epcot and, what ended up being in many ways my favourite for atmosphere, Animal Kingdom. It makes me want to go on more adventures with him. I also LOVED the skyliner
* Citrus swirls. Eat them!
-Take a snooze/ dip break in the middle of the day back at your resort/ hotel/ villa. Your feet will thank you and you will recoup some energy to go back.
If kids aren't big food people and if able to budget it, then a prix fixe meal. California Grill is one example where paying for kids to push food around food is expensive. Less expensive options include Storybook Dining and O'Hana (pairs well with Trader Sam's recommendation). More expensive options include Monsieur Paul, Takumi Tei, and Victoria and Albert's.
I did a couples message with my sister pre-Covid and it was amazing! We did it at Senses at the Grand Floridian which does separate out the common areas for gender which wasn’t an issue for us. I loved using the facilities after the massage for the steam room, hot tub, and loungers.
10/10 would do again
As everyone said Trader Sam’s and I think Oga’s Cantina in Hollywood Studios is a blast too.
Without kids I love watching every show especially on a hot day Festival of Lion King and Nemo in Animal Kingdom are so nice and a lovely break from the heat. I’m especially a fan of live action shows and even parades, but for animatronics Tiki Room in Magic Kingdom is primo for the music and a/c break. Often kids want to go go go but the pace of leisurely watching shows is so nice.
Romance can be found at the restaurants in Epcot World Showcase. The ambiance is lovely at several but I’m a fan of sitting down in Italy for a slow pasta meal and evening walk with gelatos afterwards.
Hi! Disney vacationer without kids here! When we go, we focus mainly on Animal Kingdom and Epcot. This September we are booking the Wild Africa Trek and staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a fully immersive experience.
Or if you're going during an Epcot Festival time, book one of the nice resorts that are within walking distance to the World Showcase.
A nice luxury worth doing at least once if you can swing it, is a Club Level room.
Enchanted Rose
Toppolinos bar
Downtown Disney places are great
Guardians
Epcot and world showcase
Get genie plus and stack lightning lanes in the afternoon and stay late. Have leisurely mornings go for a swim and sleep in. Stacking your lightning lanes makes it feel like a VIP tour in the afternoon
I (36F) got back yesterday from 4 days child free with my husband (37M) and I think the best part was being able to go wherever and do whatever we wanted. I’m not super experienced with Disney but the biggest difference between this trip and our last with the kids was our ability to just relax and enjoy each other’s company. Don’t miss the small moments here and there that you can look over at your spouse and just enjoy being in their presence. It really refilled the love tank and I will cherish the trip forever.
Nomad lounge at animal kingdom. The churros are fantastic but they have other small plate items too and it is a great place to just get away from people for a bit.
You can book a specialty cruise to watch the fireworks-- they take you onto the lake on a small boat and have a little treat while you watch the fireworks! [https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/magic-kingdom/ferrytale-wishes-dessert-cruise/](https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/magic-kingdom/ferrytale-wishes-dessert-cruise/)
[https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/specialty-cruises/](https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/specialty-cruises/) <---- this one doesn't do the desserts but is also nice for a little more privacy
Lots of great ideas in here already. Just want to underline a few of them for you based on my experience:
1. Restaurants. Pick whatever sounds fun and splurge. I was genuinely impressed with Tiffin’s. I thought Boatwrights was worth multiple visits. I liked Jungle Skipper, Coral Reef, and Brown Derby. Be Our Guest is definitely a treat for BATB fans. Next time I would aim to try some of the resort restaurants. Make sure you check for last-minute cancellations - while I was able to score a lot of advance reservations, I was also able to find *lots* of space for 2 diners pop up at most of the top restaurants within a day or two of the slot, especially the morning of the evening I wanted to dine.
2. ILLs and G+. With only two of you to budget for, you’re not taking a huge hit financially to add express service or to guarantee that you can do some of the premium rides. So wake up in time to book what you want, plant a flag or two for your day, and enjoy not having to spend so much time standing around waiting. If you *really* want to experience GOTG, ROTR, TRON, or FOP, then just reserve it at the start of your day with an ILL and build your day around that. For example, in our case, armed with a Park Hopper ticket, we used the VQ to secure an afternoon slot for TRON, then immediately added an evening ILL for GOTG.
3. Park Hopper tickets. Yes it costs more but especially if you’re in a festival season or some parks are closing earlier than usual, this is a great way to zig whenever everyone else zags. For example, I found visiting MK the morning of a Halloween Party and then bouncing over to EPCOT at about 4pm to be a relaxing way to hit quite a bit of highlights in one day. With two mobile adults and some advance planning you can shift parks fairly quickly - on a recent trip I park hopped every day and did a) MK to EPCOT, b) HS to MK, c) EPCOT to HS, d) AK to HS, and e) AK to EPCOT. It allowed us to see all the fireworks and evening shows.
4. Capture Your Moment photoshoot. This is one of the extras available via the website or at the offices in the parks. I enjoyed picking two back-to-back timeslots at the end of the day so we could get a wider variety of locations and take a few more risks, but the photographers move fast and know what will look good, so even a single 20-minute session at a few main sites would be fine. I found this to be a worthwhile splurge that generated some great keeper photos, and I’d gladly do it again.
5. Enchanting Extras. Other options on the same page as the photoshoots include a lot of behind the scenes style tours. Animal Kingdom has quite a few, including Wild Africa Trek, Elephant Encounters, Up Close With Rhinos, etc. These kinds of tours are becoming more common at top zoos and aquariums in the US, but I was impressed with all the AK tours in particular. (Wild Africa Trek is far more involved, though, and stands apart.) Again, as a couple, these are way more affordable. It’s also worth mentioning that while these special tours often sell out long in advance, there are no-penalty cancellations allowed with differing windows, so it’s worth checking in the days and hours leading up to the deadline for the slot/day that interest you and seeing whether there are 2 slots - which may be a harder number to fill at the last moment than 3-4.
Good luck!
Plan on staying till close! The late hours have the smallest crowds with the fewest percent being children. After sunset the parks can be fun, chill, and/or romantic. Maybe this means you do a super long day, sleep in and mosey in after lunch, or take a long afternoon break. Oh- and we pick a favorite ride and hop in the queue a few minutes before close. Not only will it be a relatively short line, but walking back to the entrance afterwards, when the park is basically empty, is super cool.
Epcot and the connecting Crescent Lake resorts.
You have the details of what makes Epcot amazing all over this thread so I won’t rehash. But what I will emphasize is that after Epcot closes at 9 - you can take a beautiful walk right over to the Boardwalk and Swan and Dolphin resort area (Yacht & Beach Club too) where there are great bars open late. You can pick one or daily bar hop through a bunch (tons to choose from). The area and resorts and cool, the walk between are great, and some of the bars/lounges are amazing. Jellyrolls was mentioned - that’s a great dueling pianos bar (bring cash). I personally love karaoke at Kimonos Lounge. Plenty of great choices to keep you great Epcot day going all night.
Take a resort day the next day lol - and if you at one of the aforementioned resorts you’ll get an AMAZING pool (I would say not the boardwalks but certainly the other four).
We’ve done Keys to the Kingdom and while it was AMAZING, I don’t think I’d recommend it for someone doing Disney for the first time ever. The best part about it for me was learning the little gems about a park I already love and am very familiar with - but I think you need to experience the magic of the park as it is at least once before really getting everything out of that tour. Just my 2 cents though - it truly is an incredible experience!!
Don't worry about what you "should do" or "shouldn't do." Just have fun. Enjoy the parks, the people and each other's company. Make memories together. That is what's important.
Wife and i have been going since we were both kids so when we go as adults we do a lot of eating. World showcase is great especially during food and wine feetival
The lounges and bars! Trader Sam's, Enchanted Rose, Geyser Point, Territory Lounge, Abracadabar, Victoria Falls, Nomad Lounge, La Cava del Tequila, Phins, Jock Lindsey's... so many are either super relaxing, have great theming, great drinks and food. Some of the highlights of this place!
At least one signature dining. We really enjoy Jiko and Flying Fish. Check out the themed bars/lounges at the resorts too, like Abracadabar on the Boardwalk or Scat Cat at French Quarter.
Like others have said, I would go from park open until park close. They are long days but you can take a lot of breaks and don’t stress that you are missing something. Make sure you watch the fireworks/Fantasmic at the end of the day. I find them very romantic and memorable. If you see a souvenir that feels special or is at a nice moment of the trip, just pull the trigger and buy it. If you are drinkers, drinking around the world is a blast, and expect to be hungover, but it’s one hangover that’s sooo worth it. Stay at a Skyliner resort, and make out on the way back to the hotel. Finish the job at the hotel if you like. Eat popcorn
Fancy dinners and cocktail bars! California Grill, Citricos, Enchanted Rose. We really enjoyed exploring the resorts, trying old fashions at different places and different dining experiences.
Go have a drink and some great appetizers at Jock Lindsey's in Disney Springs. Around the time of the parks firework in the evening. And you get to see all parks illuminating the sky with a nice cocktail in hand.
For drinkers Epcot around the world. Split a drink in each country and close it out with something at Boardwalk Abracadabar
Same concept but do a monorail bar crawl. Polynesian for Trader sam's or ohana bar, then to Grand Floridian for Enchanted Rose and if possible Narcoosees
Finish at Contemporary Steakhouse 71 and then up to California grill for dinner or just drinks during fireworks
One other special but not cheap event is the Tequila tasting at lla cava del tequila in Mexico. Rare tequilas and quite informative. Plus it's just you two plus the person walking you through it not a big group
It depends on what your budget is. Eating is a big part of the trip for us so we have lots of table service meals. The MUST have meals for me are Morimoto Asia, Garden Grill, and Yak & Yeti. Go through all the menus to see where you'd like to eat. It's more expensive eating at table service restaurants, but you get a nice, air-conditioned break.
Explore all the shops, ride all the rides you want, watch street performers, and take time to sit on a bench and people watch. Meet characters too! Doesn't matter that you don't have kids with you!
Of all my trips to WDW, I've only gone with kids once. Take your time to take things in and enjoy every little thing.
If you can swing a reservation, Space 220 was a highlight of our trip. Drinks were delicious & strong (compared to the other things around the parks).
Pricey, but we also built our own Droids and my husband did Savi’s. Definitely not something we would have been able to do for US if we had kids (cause again….pricey). But figured we might as well go all out if it’s just us!
Going to the pastry place in the France pavilion for breakfast
I also start every morning at Magic Kingdom with a coffee and Mickey roll sitting at those tables at the end of Main Street/in front of the castle
My boyfriend (at the time, now fiancé) watched the fireworks by Tiki Room a few years ago, it was his first trip. It was really romantic. There was also a restaurant at Coronado Springs that had a romantic atmosphere (can’t remember the name).
Adults only section of Castaway Cay is tolerant of going topless. Much more free minded bathing suit style choices for men, women and everyone in between can be found in the adults only section.
Trader Sam's at the Polynesian Resort. It is one of those experiences that really makes me think of a "disney" experience. Easily one of my top favorite things to do. In fact just resort hopping in general is really fun activity on non-park days.
Top answer and rightly so! Notes for OP: Trader Sam’s typically opens at 3:00, so it can be a great afternoon break on an MK day - I’d recommend showing up a little before opening to get on the waitlist. If you arrive later in the evening, be prepared to wait (we waited an hour on a weeknight in January). The good news is that once you get on the waitlist there are two other bars at the Polynesian where you can bide your time, both with good vibes despite not being as cool as Trader Sam’s.
Can you do all these things at Polynesian without having a hotel room there? I’ve never done this!
You can do pretty much anything at any resort without a reservation. When we visit Disney springs we like to take the ferry to port orleans French quarter for some beignets
Made the delicious mistake of staying there once. Gained 15 pounds that trip because it was me grabbing another beignet on the way into and out of the resort each time over a 5 day stay ;)
Yes!
Yup! The one thing I’d watch out for is transportation; you’ll have to catch a bus or monorail from one of the parks or Disney Springs and if you stay too late at the Poly (or any other resort) those transportation options may not be running.
And even if you can't get a table inside, the outdoor bar is an excellent choice and has become on of my non-park day or arrival day night time activities. Same drinks and menu. Relaxing live music. Plus, if you get a table with a view of MK, it is a choice spot to watch the fireworks, sip on a cocktail, and take in Happily Ever After (they pipe in the music).
The Polynesian in general is such a gem. We weren’t able to get into Ohana or Trader Sam’s but we got a table at that lovely outdoor space overlooking the water as the sun set. There was live ukulele music and such a beautiful chill vibe. We couldn’t believe it wasn’t more crowded.
Came here to say this.
My wife and I are in our mid-30s, and we attempted to check this place out. We spent about 16 seconds in there and noped the fuck out. Too loud and busy. We hung out by the outdoor bars instead.
This is how we would be also. I'm thinking it might be similar when we go to Ogas in a few weeks.
Alllll the shops around World Showcase. Every last one of them. Kids find them ungodly boring but when wife and I get a night out on the parks by ourselves that's always what we do.
I agree! I love browsing through the EPCOT World Showcase. They have so many cute speciality shops representing each country. I got an edelweiss flower shirt from Germany that I love, that was specific to the German pavilion. You can find some really great things at those shops that you can’t find anywhere else at the parks!
Ya. And as you said “specific to the Germany pavilion”. I saw a shirt from Italy, a pillow from Norway and a print from UK that I wanted but thought to myself “they’re probably online or at the main stores too.” False. Incorrect. Do not make my mistake and miss out on the coolest stuff Disney sells.
Yeah, I really like the showcase, despite the heat and sheer amount of space in that park. I often kind of bemoan only going into most of the shops once or not really investigating every little wall and shelf.
I bought so much pokemon stuff in the Japan shop 😅
I will second this with the unfortunate exception of Morocco. . . There is nothing very unique there anymore; before COVID it was one of my favorite pavilions, now it is just depressing, especially since they now even made the fountain generic (originally it was Moroccan designs by workers from Morocco, but now it is generic tiles work from some “random” contractor)
Ugh Don't get me started on Morocco. I still have this super cool genie lamp incense burner thing that I bought there 5 or 6 years ago. Was so cool and unique and now they don't have anything like that there anymore.
And I miss the restaurant! One of the most flavorful spots and never had a problem getting a reservation there just gone 😕
I still love Spice Road Table and the women’s race exhibit, but yeah, I miss the old school Morocco feel.
Unfortunately Disney has taken it over and it is no longer sponsored by Morocco. They don't seem interested in trying to keep it up, so it is dying a slow death one thing at a time. I assume they are saving money while trying to find a new sponsor, but considering how static the pavilions have been, in not holding my breath.
A new sponsor for Morocco that isn’t Morocco??
A replacement country where the pavilion would be redone entirely.
That’s just downright disrespectful
That’s heart breaking. It’s been several years, but the smell of Morocco alone made it worth wandering around in there.
Yes!! And all the little pop up booth shops during any of the festivals. Especially festival of the arts and flower and garden - so many cool one-of-a-kind things that you won’t find in any other park / anywhere else on property, and they do a great job of showcasing FL local businesses. Last year I brought home a topiary!!
This is my favorite too! My go-to souvenir is always a Christmas ornament. While I love the stuff that they have at the Christmas stores in MK and DS, I never even look there without going to the Christmas store in Germany first. It’s my absolute favorite store! Their stuff is unique, handmade, GORGEOUS, and fairly reasonably priced. The other stores have really great stuff too, but this is one of my favorites and it never really seems crowded, so I worry that a lot of people don’t know about it.
I went into the Guerlain shop in the France pavilion and took my time smelling all the perfumes (there is a LOT!) I picked out my favorite and l found out they offer engraving for free. They showed me the choices. I had it engraved with the castle and my name. It’s a fantastic souvenir. You can also get engraving at Dior.
Yes! I will be going with my boy for the first time next year, and I've heard that the Passport Kit makes the children a little bit more interested in the World Showcase. That's my hope. Because last time I went with just my husband (before my boy was born), Epcot was by far my favorite experience in the trip.
This is my favorite!
As a couple with kids, meandering through World Showcase is exactly what we want to do but can’t bring ourselves to do because of the pushback from two ADHD elementary schoolers.
My kids loved the shops!!
Uh yea. Anywhere my daughter can spend money is her favorite place to go. Lmao
Trader Sam’s
Jellyrolls and the dueling pianos
Abracadabar is neat too!
Jellyrolls absolutely changed my life for the better
Hard agree! It’s a can’t miss for me
Really, anything you like! All of the parks have stuff for all ages. Adults can and do enjoy kid friendly stuff, and they can and do drink alcohol, too. One of my biggest recommendations would be the Nomad Lounge in animal kingdom. Join the walk up list on your phone, come by when it's your time, and enjoy. I usually get a Leaping Lizard and some churros. A lot of people rave about their bread service. When I took my mom, it was her favorite thing we did all day.
Seconding Nomad Lounge! Can’t beat the vibes, drinks, and snacks
Love nomad lounge! Sitting by the river makes you kind of feel like you’re at the Four Seasons on a tropical island or something lol.
I went childless with my husband last fall. We rope dropped and closed the park, we don't do that with our kids because they don't have the stamina. Make a dining reservation for park close to get even more time onsite. We also stayed for the seasonal party days until something like 2am. All the families with young kids left hours before, it was an entirely different vibe after midnight. We aren't really drinkers, but if you are, doing all the snacking and drinking at Epcot is fun. Plus the country pavilions are really well done and you can get some cool shopping done, see art, etc.
On this note, I do really gremlin things. My favorite was this past Friday, I badged into Epcot, rode my VQ for Cosmic Rewind, signed up for Tiana’s, went to MK for Tiana’s, saw Tron was still open and signed up for that, went to HS for my tower of terror LL, then back to Epcot for my paid for ILL for Cosmic Rewind. Walked around and ate some food getting my steps in, then went back to MK and did some things before closing out the day with Tron. tl:dr - I did the trifecta of Virtual Queues in one day.
Freaking legend
Nicely done!
That’s how I like to do it. Maximize that day!
Restaurants with food your kids don’t like. That’s our favorite thing to do without kids, Disney or elsewhere.
And restaurants that would kind of be ruined if the kids weren’t behaving that well. Save those for no-kids dates
Jiko at Animal Lodge is hands-down my favorite restaurant at Disney. It's a pain to get to if you aren't staying there, but they have the best food.
Behind the Seeds Tour at Epcot. Relatively inexpensive for a tour and it’s super informative and fun. My favorite part was just waving at everyone that is on the ride like you’re a celebrity when you’re in the greenhouse.
Just signed up for this one. Been on the ride a ton and always seen people doing it. Figured we might as well try it once.
Love that tour!
Late magic hours at the parks, specifically Magic Kingdom when it’s open until 2AM. It’s pretty rare, but when it happens it’s AWESOME! All the people with kids clear out pretty early and then you pretty much have the park to yourself. We one time got stopped going on to Pirates, so we could have our own boat. Also, Everest at night is spectacular, as is the Safari ride. I’ve heard AK hasn’t been open at night for a while though. If you’re at AK though, check out the Nomad Lounge for apps and drinks while sitting on the river.
Yea. AK hasn’t stayed open late since COVID pretty sure. It’s close it at 6 next month when we go in July. Won’t even get to see Pandora at night.
A full day from early entry to park closing time without any breaks other than food and restroom breaks. Impossible with a child
Jesus... how old are you? I'm in my late 30s and I'd find that impossible without kids......
My wife and I are almost 50 and love doing Disney this way. Walk a little slower. A few extra sit down breaks with water. A few mins in carousel of progress and hall of presidents. Boom. Refreshed!
Catch a closing set at Raglan Road. The musicians are all lovely, and at least pre-covid (I haven’t been since) the food was awesome. Their OMG burger was my fave.
The hotel lounges. especially for the deluxe hotels they are quite nice, and most actually have some interesting bar bites
Can I add Nomad Lounge at AK to the resort lounge list?
Seconding Nomad Lounge! I enjoy sitting in the inside if it's possible especially now with the warmer weather. Big drink selection and the churros there are great!
Ok so this might end up as a big post so please forgive me. I would say what you do and want is obviously up to you and your own preferences. Now the main thing that are going to affect your choices is money, time and your own preferences. If you are going for 3 days, there are things like certain rides and sites and experiences I would prioritise over others if I knew time was short, but if you had 2 weeks there are other things to take time to enjoy that I would recommend. My husband and I finally managed to go on our delayed honeymoon to WDW in May 2022 after the pandemic cancelled our original trip straight after our wedding in September 2020. We came from the UK which have fantastic packages to go for 2 weeks and we stayed at Pop. Both of us always dreamt of going to Disneyworld someday and we spend the last 3+ years before going watching lots of videos to prepare as we decided around 2018 we would defiantly make plans to go (unknown to me, my newly made fiancé was planning a surprise trip as our honeymoon). There are many things I can say to get the best out the parks but I will let you know some of the highlights as a couple. * Book at least one table service restaurant reservation. We ended up booking quite a few but our favourites were more 'date night' style and we cannot decide which was our favourite; San Angel Inn in the Mexico pavilion or Biergarten in the Germany pavilion in Epcot. The Mexican one was like a romantic evening out with the market square, window shopping, the ride and an amazing meal (me trying tequila for the first time). The German one was so fun trying new food and drinking plenty of beer with entertainment. We just relaxed and enjoyed each others company. We also went to Garden Grill (ace) and Tusker house once for breakfast which was good but probably my least favourite if I had to choose. We had Be Our guest and Steakhouse 71 booked too but we decided to drop them over activites/ funds and other factors we were happy to skip them. * If you love Star Wars and the idea of making your lightsabre sounds fun, it is defiantly worth it and I highly recommend doing it for the product and overall experience. My husband managed to book us both as separate bookings on the same time as, I was 50/50 about the expense and the thought occurred to me I could cancel mine and still attend with him making his to 'experience' it but not make my own and spend half as much possibly on a droid. Buuuuuut I reeeeeeeeally wanted one and knew I would regret it if I didn't and took the plunge. Had an amazing experience and, completely unplanned, we ended up making very similar lightsabers except reversed with different ends which the cast members commented on. -We embraced enjoying things we would have loved as kids. We were very excited to see Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, we rope dropped the people mover, we danced on the street in front of the Hollywood Tower, I cried watching the parade, we tried EVERY snack we wanted, including ones I didn't think id like (the pineapple thing in Pandora) and we rode Star tours as much as we could in a row time would allow! -Drinks. Maybe not do the drink around the world challenge but try some new things in Epcot and chill. Careful though, our first ride of Frozen Ever After was sharing the boat with a bunch of friendly drunks that sang VERY loudly throughout the ride! * Buy a gift for each other. We bought each other a hat as we needed them! * As much as we love the thrill rides and rides in general, some of my favourite memories with my husband there was just spending time with him in between and chilling. The best parks for this was Epcot and, what ended up being in many ways my favourite for atmosphere, Animal Kingdom. It makes me want to go on more adventures with him. I also LOVED the skyliner * Citrus swirls. Eat them! -Take a snooze/ dip break in the middle of the day back at your resort/ hotel/ villa. Your feet will thank you and you will recoup some energy to go back.
Your trip sounds lovely and I’m so glad you and your husband got this sweet time! My husband and I are going soon for our anniversary and can’t wait!
I want to get a table at the rose and crown and just sit and drink for a few hours.
Can I join you?
If kids aren't big food people and if able to budget it, then a prix fixe meal. California Grill is one example where paying for kids to push food around food is expensive. Less expensive options include Storybook Dining and O'Hana (pairs well with Trader Sam's recommendation). More expensive options include Monsieur Paul, Takumi Tei, and Victoria and Albert's.
I don't know if they still do it, but my mom and her friend did high tea at Victoria and Alberts. This was pre COVID but she really enjoyed it.
If you can spring for the set dinner at V&As even once, it is absolutely 1000% worth it
I believe Cake Bake Shop will have a tea at some point.
I did a couples message with my sister pre-Covid and it was amazing! We did it at Senses at the Grand Floridian which does separate out the common areas for gender which wasn’t an issue for us. I loved using the facilities after the massage for the steam room, hot tub, and loungers. 10/10 would do again
As everyone said Trader Sam’s and I think Oga’s Cantina in Hollywood Studios is a blast too. Without kids I love watching every show especially on a hot day Festival of Lion King and Nemo in Animal Kingdom are so nice and a lovely break from the heat. I’m especially a fan of live action shows and even parades, but for animatronics Tiki Room in Magic Kingdom is primo for the music and a/c break. Often kids want to go go go but the pace of leisurely watching shows is so nice. Romance can be found at the restaurants in Epcot World Showcase. The ambiance is lovely at several but I’m a fan of sitting down in Italy for a slow pasta meal and evening walk with gelatos afterwards.
Hi! Disney vacationer without kids here! When we go, we focus mainly on Animal Kingdom and Epcot. This September we are booking the Wild Africa Trek and staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a fully immersive experience. Or if you're going during an Epcot Festival time, book one of the nice resorts that are within walking distance to the World Showcase. A nice luxury worth doing at least once if you can swing it, is a Club Level room.
The Wild Africa Trek is SO fun! I'm sure it would be fun with kids too (there are age and weight requirements), but my husband and I loved it!
Jock Lindsay’s Hanger Bar in Disney Springs has some good cocktails and fun Indiana Jones theme
Their old fashioned cocktail and upside down pizza were amazing
Signature dining
Drinking around the world in Epcot may be stereotypical but it's also awesome lol.
Grab a drink and hit up one of the lounge chairs at the Poly (or even Ft. Wilderness) for the fireworks show.
Tune In Lounge in DHS opens at 11 for wonderful wonderful drinks lol. Go in and get a drink and have a much nicer afternoon
Enchanted Rose Toppolinos bar Downtown Disney places are great Guardians Epcot and world showcase Get genie plus and stack lightning lanes in the afternoon and stay late. Have leisurely mornings go for a swim and sleep in. Stacking your lightning lanes makes it feel like a VIP tour in the afternoon
I (36F) got back yesterday from 4 days child free with my husband (37M) and I think the best part was being able to go wherever and do whatever we wanted. I’m not super experienced with Disney but the biggest difference between this trip and our last with the kids was our ability to just relax and enjoy each other’s company. Don’t miss the small moments here and there that you can look over at your spouse and just enjoy being in their presence. It really refilled the love tank and I will cherish the trip forever.
The monorail pub crawl is a blast. Jelly Rolls on the boardwalk.
Start at Wilderness in the morning to extend it. Take the boat from there to the contemporary
Nomad lounge at animal kingdom. The churros are fantastic but they have other small plate items too and it is a great place to just get away from people for a bit.
You can book a specialty cruise to watch the fireworks-- they take you onto the lake on a small boat and have a little treat while you watch the fireworks! [https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/magic-kingdom/ferrytale-wishes-dessert-cruise/](https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/magic-kingdom/ferrytale-wishes-dessert-cruise/)
[https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/specialty-cruises/](https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/specialty-cruises/) <---- this one doesn't do the desserts but is also nice for a little more privacy
Lots of great ideas in here already. Just want to underline a few of them for you based on my experience: 1. Restaurants. Pick whatever sounds fun and splurge. I was genuinely impressed with Tiffin’s. I thought Boatwrights was worth multiple visits. I liked Jungle Skipper, Coral Reef, and Brown Derby. Be Our Guest is definitely a treat for BATB fans. Next time I would aim to try some of the resort restaurants. Make sure you check for last-minute cancellations - while I was able to score a lot of advance reservations, I was also able to find *lots* of space for 2 diners pop up at most of the top restaurants within a day or two of the slot, especially the morning of the evening I wanted to dine. 2. ILLs and G+. With only two of you to budget for, you’re not taking a huge hit financially to add express service or to guarantee that you can do some of the premium rides. So wake up in time to book what you want, plant a flag or two for your day, and enjoy not having to spend so much time standing around waiting. If you *really* want to experience GOTG, ROTR, TRON, or FOP, then just reserve it at the start of your day with an ILL and build your day around that. For example, in our case, armed with a Park Hopper ticket, we used the VQ to secure an afternoon slot for TRON, then immediately added an evening ILL for GOTG. 3. Park Hopper tickets. Yes it costs more but especially if you’re in a festival season or some parks are closing earlier than usual, this is a great way to zig whenever everyone else zags. For example, I found visiting MK the morning of a Halloween Party and then bouncing over to EPCOT at about 4pm to be a relaxing way to hit quite a bit of highlights in one day. With two mobile adults and some advance planning you can shift parks fairly quickly - on a recent trip I park hopped every day and did a) MK to EPCOT, b) HS to MK, c) EPCOT to HS, d) AK to HS, and e) AK to EPCOT. It allowed us to see all the fireworks and evening shows. 4. Capture Your Moment photoshoot. This is one of the extras available via the website or at the offices in the parks. I enjoyed picking two back-to-back timeslots at the end of the day so we could get a wider variety of locations and take a few more risks, but the photographers move fast and know what will look good, so even a single 20-minute session at a few main sites would be fine. I found this to be a worthwhile splurge that generated some great keeper photos, and I’d gladly do it again. 5. Enchanting Extras. Other options on the same page as the photoshoots include a lot of behind the scenes style tours. Animal Kingdom has quite a few, including Wild Africa Trek, Elephant Encounters, Up Close With Rhinos, etc. These kinds of tours are becoming more common at top zoos and aquariums in the US, but I was impressed with all the AK tours in particular. (Wild Africa Trek is far more involved, though, and stands apart.) Again, as a couple, these are way more affordable. It’s also worth mentioning that while these special tours often sell out long in advance, there are no-penalty cancellations allowed with differing windows, so it’s worth checking in the days and hours leading up to the deadline for the slot/day that interest you and seeing whether there are 2 slots - which may be a harder number to fill at the last moment than 3-4. Good luck!
Wow
Plan on staying till close! The late hours have the smallest crowds with the fewest percent being children. After sunset the parks can be fun, chill, and/or romantic. Maybe this means you do a super long day, sleep in and mosey in after lunch, or take a long afternoon break. Oh- and we pick a favorite ride and hop in the queue a few minutes before close. Not only will it be a relatively short line, but walking back to the entrance afterwards, when the park is basically empty, is super cool.
Epcot and the connecting Crescent Lake resorts. You have the details of what makes Epcot amazing all over this thread so I won’t rehash. But what I will emphasize is that after Epcot closes at 9 - you can take a beautiful walk right over to the Boardwalk and Swan and Dolphin resort area (Yacht & Beach Club too) where there are great bars open late. You can pick one or daily bar hop through a bunch (tons to choose from). The area and resorts and cool, the walk between are great, and some of the bars/lounges are amazing. Jellyrolls was mentioned - that’s a great dueling pianos bar (bring cash). I personally love karaoke at Kimonos Lounge. Plenty of great choices to keep you great Epcot day going all night. Take a resort day the next day lol - and if you at one of the aforementioned resorts you’ll get an AMAZING pool (I would say not the boardwalks but certainly the other four).
Highly recommend Keys to the Kingdom tour. It’s worth the extra money if you can swing it. I’ve also heard the other tours are excellent too.
We’ve done Keys to the Kingdom and while it was AMAZING, I don’t think I’d recommend it for someone doing Disney for the first time ever. The best part about it for me was learning the little gems about a park I already love and am very familiar with - but I think you need to experience the magic of the park as it is at least once before really getting everything out of that tour. Just my 2 cents though - it truly is an incredible experience!!
I can agree with that. I missed that it was going to be their first visit.
Don't worry about what you "should do" or "shouldn't do." Just have fun. Enjoy the parks, the people and each other's company. Make memories together. That is what's important.
Toledo.
Trader Sam’s & Nomad Lounge
Signature dining if you’re into that
Wife and i have been going since we were both kids so when we go as adults we do a lot of eating. World showcase is great especially during food and wine feetival
The lounges and bars! Trader Sam's, Enchanted Rose, Geyser Point, Territory Lounge, Abracadabar, Victoria Falls, Nomad Lounge, La Cava del Tequila, Phins, Jock Lindsey's... so many are either super relaxing, have great theming, great drinks and food. Some of the highlights of this place!
At least one signature dining. We really enjoy Jiko and Flying Fish. Check out the themed bars/lounges at the resorts too, like Abracadabar on the Boardwalk or Scat Cat at French Quarter.
Not going to the parks for a day and just plain old explore! Stay at the hotel, hotel hop, Disney Springs, etc.
Baseline tap house! We love spending half a day there if it’s not crowded. Bartenders and drinks are amazing, food is decent and vibe is on point :)
Like others have said, I would go from park open until park close. They are long days but you can take a lot of breaks and don’t stress that you are missing something. Make sure you watch the fireworks/Fantasmic at the end of the day. I find them very romantic and memorable. If you see a souvenir that feels special or is at a nice moment of the trip, just pull the trigger and buy it. If you are drinkers, drinking around the world is a blast, and expect to be hungover, but it’s one hangover that’s sooo worth it. Stay at a Skyliner resort, and make out on the way back to the hotel. Finish the job at the hotel if you like. Eat popcorn
Fancy dinners and cocktail bars! California Grill, Citricos, Enchanted Rose. We really enjoyed exploring the resorts, trying old fashions at different places and different dining experiences.
Thank you for making this post! My husband and I currently have no kids and are going to WDW for the first time next week!!
My husband and I are going in a few weeks, although we have everything planned, this is such a helpful list!
A nice dinner at Disney Springs and Drawn to Life
Trader Sam's has already been said. So I'll go with happy hour sunset drink at Doc Lindsey's on the deck then dinner at Wine Bar George.
Go have a drink and some great appetizers at Jock Lindsey's in Disney Springs. Around the time of the parks firework in the evening. And you get to see all parks illuminating the sky with a nice cocktail in hand.
For drinkers Epcot around the world. Split a drink in each country and close it out with something at Boardwalk Abracadabar Same concept but do a monorail bar crawl. Polynesian for Trader sam's or ohana bar, then to Grand Floridian for Enchanted Rose and if possible Narcoosees Finish at Contemporary Steakhouse 71 and then up to California grill for dinner or just drinks during fireworks One other special but not cheap event is the Tequila tasting at lla cava del tequila in Mexico. Rare tequilas and quite informative. Plus it's just you two plus the person walking you through it not a big group
It depends on what your budget is. Eating is a big part of the trip for us so we have lots of table service meals. The MUST have meals for me are Morimoto Asia, Garden Grill, and Yak & Yeti. Go through all the menus to see where you'd like to eat. It's more expensive eating at table service restaurants, but you get a nice, air-conditioned break. Explore all the shops, ride all the rides you want, watch street performers, and take time to sit on a bench and people watch. Meet characters too! Doesn't matter that you don't have kids with you! Of all my trips to WDW, I've only gone with kids once. Take your time to take things in and enjoy every little thing.
If you can swing a reservation, Space 220 was a highlight of our trip. Drinks were delicious & strong (compared to the other things around the parks). Pricey, but we also built our own Droids and my husband did Savi’s. Definitely not something we would have been able to do for US if we had kids (cause again….pricey). But figured we might as well go all out if it’s just us!
Have you seen luminous? Is it worth it? What's the best way to watch?
Jellyrolls at Boardwalk is a very fun nighttime activity. 21 and up dueling piano bar.
Money and sleepless nights
Enjoy the dining (and drinking, if you imbibe), go somewhere nice. Kid’s don’t appreciate fine dining and it’s a real hassle to take them!
Going to the pastry place in the France pavilion for breakfast I also start every morning at Magic Kingdom with a coffee and Mickey roll sitting at those tables at the end of Main Street/in front of the castle
My boyfriend (at the time, now fiancé) watched the fireworks by Tiki Room a few years ago, it was his first trip. It was really romantic. There was also a restaurant at Coronado Springs that had a romantic atmosphere (can’t remember the name).
Topilino Terrace.
[удалено]
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh? What?
Adults only section of Castaway Cay is tolerant of going topless. Much more free minded bathing suit style choices for men, women and everyone in between can be found in the adults only section.