Post # 1
Member
154 posts
Blushing bee
My faincé and I recently decided on an Orlando honeymoon!! I am so excited, I may die a little bit.
I had a few questions and ideas, and wanted to get input from regular visitors, or fellow Disney honeymooners, or brides…
1. Staying on/off property. We are very interested in staying at the Four Seasons. We like the idea of a less kid-oriented resort, a hotel with a spa, spacious rooms, and paying more for the luxury details, not just the convenince of being in a disney hotel. Nothing against Disney properties! I think they are magnificent!! But I also feel that a huge part of what you pay for are details that don’t matter to us very much (theming, disney transportation acess, etc).
The one thing I do care about, however, would be the extra magic hours – in particular, I love the Magic Kingdom at night. Once many sleepy kiddies have gone to bed, when the glowing balloons come out, and the rides have a totally different feel. I wanted to hear people’s thoughts.. is this alone worth staying on property? Has anyone ever stayed off property, but conjunctively booked one night at a disney bargain/value hotel, in order to access extra magic hours for a day? Is this even possible?
2. My next question is, if we WERE to stay on property, where would you recommend? I have always wanted to stay at the Polynesian or Animal Kingdom. Are these good choices for a honeymoon? (our personal priorities: relaxing, being close to parks, a nice pool area, good food)
3. Random, I know, but where would you say is the best breakfast in Disney (park or hotel)? I would love somewhere with Mickey waffles and an omlette station.
4. Any wisdom or advice OR PICTURES you have to share??? We will be going in early December, just the two of us, staying for 7 to 10 days 🙂
Thanks so much!!!
Post # 2
Member
9519 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
I’m a bit biased to Animal Kingdom. Sitting on the balcony at night, glass of wine in hand and watching gazelles was pretty freakin cool. So peaceful. The pool was nice, not many kids running around. But, then it was January. Jiko was an amazing dinner.
Not sure about breakfast, we ate a few but nothing really was memerable.
Post # 3
Member
1143 posts
Bumble bee
cantwaittobeemarried: How exciting! We’re going for our honeymoon in early March, not long to go now!
We’re staying at the Contemporary because it’s only a 10 minute walk to Magic Kingdom, and it’s been a dream of mine since I went to WDW as a child to stay at the A frame building with the monorail.
We looked into the Polynesian but it was much more expensive than the Contemporary.
A lot of people suggest staying on property for many other reasons besides the EMH, especially on your honeymoon… the theming, the short distance to the parrks… and you don’t need EMH to enjoy the park at night.
No pictures from me, but I can certainly post some in March.
I can’t tell you how obsessed I am with all things Disney right now!
Post # 4
Member
1143 posts
Bumble bee
cantwaittobeemarried: Oh, just seen your breakfast question. Here is what I have from my expensive research:
Be our Guest – we have reservations for breakfast because it’s so hard to get dinner ones. Our reservations are at 8AM on a day when the park opens at 9AM, so looking forward to seeing an empty park!
Chef Mickey – it will be loud and full of kids, but then there’s Mickey and his friends to take pictures with! Plus it’s in the Contemporary, where we’re staying, so we have to try it.
Captain Cook (Polynesian)- because a million people say that the Tonga Toast is the absolute best thing they ever ate, and I don’t want to miss it.
Starring Rolls (Hollywood Studios) – we’re having one of their famous butterfinger cupcakes for breakfast
Post # 5
Member
881 posts
Busy bee
cantwaittobeemarried: I am strongly in favor of the Tusker House in Animal Kingdom for breakfast. It’s a character breakfast like Chef Mickey or Cinderella’s Castle, but I find that a lot less kids are there because while they serve things like Mickey Waffles and Omlettes, they also have African inspired dishes.
On sunny Florida days the buffet area is beautiful with scarves hanging from the ceiling. Try for an 8am reservation on a non Early Magic Hours day to get access to great people-free pictures in front of the Tree of Life — and while you may be sick of wildlife at that point if you stay at The Animal Kingdom Lodge, it means you can get first on the Safari ride while the animals are still up and about.
Post # 6
Member
320 posts
Helper bee
cantwaittobeemarried: We ae leaving for our Disney World honeymoon in 15 days!! we are staying on Disney property at Port Orleans French Quarter resort although the Animal Kingdom resort sounds really awesome. Last time we went to Disney it was during Christmas and we had a miserable time with how busy it was. Fiance has been to Disney so many times, but this will be my 2nd time going and he really wants me to have the Disney Experience. From what he’s told me, staying on Disney property making transportation between resort and parks so much easier. Our resort also has a ferry that will take us to Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Diseny). We just recieved our MagicBands a few days ago and we did the Dining Plan. I’ve read many people didn’t think it was worth it, but we felt that this allowed us to order the $40 meal option as opposed to the $20 meal option if we wanted and not worry about costs.
We have just about every dining reservation picked out, but we plan to do breakfast at the resort before we leave. We have 1 Breakfast reservation, but I can’t remember which part it is at.
I hope I remember to post back and let you know how it was!
Post # 7
Member
154 posts
Blushing bee
MarmotaLinda: me too! I don’t know about you, but although I enjoyed Disney as a child, I never realized it is this whole world unto itself. Guidebooks, blogs, websites, etc. devoted to everything from packing, to hidden Mickey’s, to crowd levels. Now, that I am getting into it, I can’t help but be totally obsessed!!
Thank you for your tips. Definitely share pictures when you come back!! I may look into the contemporary. It is just SO close to the Magic Kingdom, and having monorail in the building seems so conveninet.
Post # 8
Member
154 posts
Blushing bee
anguyen15: happy wedding month!! I have heard January is one of the BEST times to go, because of the low crowds. I’m so excited FOR you haha
I certainly like the idea of being able to order what you want, with no worries about costs. You can just enjoy the moment. Thank you for the tips! Have fun!!
Post # 9
Member
213 posts
Helper bee
Stay on site for sure. I didn’t realise how huge WDW was until we got there and staying on site was one of the best decisions we made. I also vote for Animal Kingdom Lodge. We only visited for Boma, but it is an amazing looking hotel. Just wow. They did an amazing job on the theming!
I can’t remember exactly, but I think AK has dedicated buses that go to/from resorts and make no stops in between. That makes things faster as the buses, while convenient, can take a while to get you from your resort to the parks.
My best piece of advice is to download the Disney World app! You can book fast passes, see your photos (awesome if you have a photo pass!), see wait times, book/change dining reservations/etc. It’s awesome AND the parks have free wifi 🙂
Post # 10
Member
154 posts
Blushing bee
peaseblossoms: the app looks enormously helpful. thank you!!
I agree – the AK Lodge looks amazing!
Post # 11
Member
899 posts
Busy bee
“We like the idea of….paying more for luxury details.” I don’t know exactly how much you are willingly to pay or what your overall budget is. But if money for the most part is a non-issue, have you thought about the Swan and Dolphin? They aren’t Disney owned hotels but they are still on the Disney property…like right next to epcot/the boardwalk/downtown disney. And you take a boat to these places.
I think the Swan and Dolphin are usedmostly for conferences so there wouldn’t be too many kids, no cheesy theme-ing, the hotel is BEAUTIFUL (I haven’t stayed there but I wandered inside and on the grounds on my last trip). It’s definitely a bit pricey though.
Post # 12
Member
154 posts
Blushing bee
letterstolove: I had pretty much written off the Dophin and Swan because when I last stayed there, I felt they were outdated. But you are right about the location, so I gave them another look. Looks like the rooms have been updated! And better yet – the prices are amazing (comparatively sepaking, in WDW haha)! Thanks for the tip!!