What I would do next time at Walt Disney World

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Top tips for that next ‘once in a lifetime’ vacation!

What I would do next time at Walt Disney World is a question I ponder often.

When it comes to Disney Holidays there is always a next time. If you don’t know what I mean then you haven’t experienced the Disney Bubble. Even if you aren’t a Disney fan (why??) once you have experienced the holiday feeling of a Disney Bubble you will be back for more. 

After my recent (2018) trip I have taken time to consider what I would do differently and share these thoughts with you now so when you plan your next trip here are some things to take into consideration…

What I would do next time at Walt Disney World

Next time I would want to take more time to relax, we rushed around from reservation to reservation and also off property to meet people. We had a blast but we totally missed out on spending time in the hotels which are worth seeing themselves. I wish we had taken even just an afternoon ‘off’ to wander around, check out the different pools etc.  

I also loved having the dining plan so would look for this offer again! However we had a split hotel stay and the dining plan was on the first one so we panic bought snacks at the end of that stay which was quite silly and stressful. Next time I would still like to do a split stay but have the dining plan on the second booking (it has to be linked to your tickets) and the fun (cheap) hotel as the first.

A potential itinerary for next time at Walt Disney World

A potential itinerary to encompass this could be…

Day 1 Arrival for 4 nights in a fun Disney hotel such as Art of Animation or one of the All stars

Day 2 Resort Hopping around the local area

Day 3 A full day of shopping at the Outlet Mall to stock up at Disney’s Character Warehouse (an outlet store full of Disney goodies)

Day 4 A long day at Universal with a park hopper ticket doing both parks

Day 5 Check out of “fun” hotel and into a different Deluxe or moderate hotel with a suite (there are 3 adults in my holiday group). I would like to stay in the Beach Club because

• A) it is beautiful
• B) it has an amazing beach and pool
• C) it has great access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios
• D) it has some great restaurants and access to more.

First day of 14 day Disney Pass, first day of Dining Plan which we would definitely use on buffet meals and exciting treats!

Day 6-18 13 days of hitting the parks, Disney Springs, Resort Hopping and few chill days round the pool!

Day 19 Fly home, even holidays of dreams must end!

What I missed last time

Things I would like to do but didn’t have a chance to last time…

Imagination with figment

Finding Nemo Musical

Getting up for ‘rope drop’ at the park!

Visit Fort Wilderness and go for a ride!

Beaches and Cream

I would definitively go for more breakfast buffets especially to get into parks before they open or explore other resorts.

Play mini golf again-perfect fix of Disney away from the parks

I would also consider more tours as Keys to the Kingdom was amazing!!

I would also consider another dessert party!

Update

We headed back to sunny Florida in November 2022 and achieved some of the above.

We definitely had more time to relax, whilst we were in Florida for less time we still had plenty of time to slow down. We went offsite twice via Uber-to the outlet mall at the beginning and Florida Mall on the way to the airport. But we skipped Universal this time. However we still didn’t go in the hotel pool (November is a little chilly for evening swims!). We did however go around all the resorts (that we hadn’t been to previously) and have a really good nose around!

We didn’t have the dining plan on this trip as it was on hiatus after the pandemic. However we did make it to Beaches and Cream which was delicious. A firm favourite, we went 3 times in the end! We stayed in Art of Animation again instead of Beach Club without the benefit of a dining plan it just made more sense.

We saw the Finding Nemo musical and experienced Imagination with Figment. We also rope dropped…for the first and last time! It just wasn’t worth it for us! We would rather relax in the morning and then stay until the ‘kiss goodnight’. Whilst we didn’t attend any dessert parties this time we did have a delicious birthday dinner at Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I would recommend this for sure!

We also timed the trip to coincide with two separate Epcot festivals. This way we got to see and Experience the International Food Festival, then Epcot and then the Festival of the Holidays and whilst we were stuffed full it was a really interesting experience. Especially for an adult-only group.

Till next time

No matter how much you try you can’t do everything or plan for every occasion. But sometimes just trying something different is part of the fun. Planning is great but sometimes you just have to go with it! And remember there is always next time!

What is your top Walt Disney World tip? Share with us in the comments!