eiblehs
Expedition Everest Enthusiast
- Joined
- May 31, 2017
Hello, friends! I have a July 2020 trip to WDW/Universal booked that I've been planning for two years. My last trip to WDW was in 2018, and ever since then I've dreamed of going back. My upcoming trip is full of things I've never done before. My only hope is that I still get to go. I will be completely devastated if the closures extend through summer. So in order to keep my mind on a more positive note... I thought I'd share some of my plans and things that I will be doing (hopefully) for the first time!
1. Going on a friends/couples trip
This is new for me because I've never been to Disney with anyone other than family. My first trip was in 2001 when I was a child. I didn't get to return until 2017 when I came with my boyfriend. We went back the following year where he became my fiancé. (We're now married!) We are going with our friends this time, so I am looking forward to experiencing Disney with another couple.
2. Going to Universal Studios Orlando
This is probably the most exciting "new" thing for me. I have never been to Universal nor Islands of Adventure before! I don't leave the Disney bubble unless it's to go to the airport. Rather than flying in and heading straight to our Disney resort, we are actually kicking off the trip with two nights in Universal. We are staying at Loews Royal Pacific Resort for two nights. We wouldn't normally stay in a deluxe resort (another thing I've never done!) but with the Express passes included, it was actually more cost efficient than adding them on to a value resort. I am really excited to ride all of the thrill rides in these parks. I love coasters!
3. Using a travel agent
I am the first to admit that I am a bit of a control freak. For the two trips that I have gone to Disney in my adult years, I have always booked everything by myself. Of course, I actually enjoy doing research and talking to The Dis community to help aid my decisions; I find it fun! So you can imagine my surprise when the couple that I am going with wanted to use a travel agent for our trip. They swear by theirs! I decided to compromise and let my friend use hers to book our trip, and I am actually glad that I did! Universal is an unknown area to me, so it was refreshing to have someone else book everything on that end. And when the room/dining discounts were released in January, our agent was able to save us a bit of money and even upgraded us to a preferred room. (Another first: We always stay in standard rooms.) However, I will say that I asked to book all of our ADRs. The thrill of waking up on the 180 day mark and booking those places you've done research on... I love it! So that was cool having a flexible agent allowing me to do that with no issues!
4. Using the Disney Dining Plan
This decision took a lot of convincing for me. For my last two trips, my husband and I relied heavily on quick service meals and splurged on one table service per trip. We tend to take the more economical route even at Disney. And honestly, some of the QS meals we had (Tangierine Cafe, Flame Tree, Polite Pig, etc.) were better than the TS meal we had in 2017 at Sci-Fi Dine-In. The couple we are going with are huge fans of the dining plan, so that's what they wanted to use. So, I had to do some thinking. We normally don't budget a lot for food because of all of our QS dining, but I realized how many TS restaurants were in Disney that I've always wanted to try. I decided to pull the trigger and book the DDP as well. I am excited to enjoy a TS restaurant every day! And knowing alcohol is included is a huge plus for us as well. Treat yo' self!
5. Trying new restaurants
The only TS restaurants I've ever been to have been Liberty Tree Tavern (2001), Sci-Fi Dine-In (2017), and 'Ohana (2018). (Side note: We have been to Be Our Guest twice but both were for lunch QS reservations.) I am so excited to be able to add some new places to my list! For our trip, we have dining reservations at: Be Our Guest (dinner), Homecomin’, Teppan Edo, Beaches and Cream (ice cream only), Biergarten, and 'Ohana. We'll also be trying new QS restaurants like Docking Bay 7 and maybe Regal Eagle. I am stoked!
6. Staying at All Star Movies
We like to stay at value resorts to help keep cost down. We are only in our rooms to sleep, so spending more money on a moderate/deluxe resort isn't in the cards for us. Granted, when I first went to WDW as a kid in 2001, my family did stay at Coronado Springs. But in 2017 and 2018, we stayed at Pop Century. This year, we opted to stay in one of the All Stars due to price increases at Pop Century. Also, I had two issues at Pop Century on our last trip, so I wanted to stay somewhere new anyways. I am not expecting ASM to wow me but I love how the sections are more Disney-themed compared to other values. We've requested a room in the Toy Story section, so fingers crossed!
I hope you enjoyed reading about my upcoming plans! I hope that the closures don't stay extended through summer so I can make these dreams a reality.
Let me know if you have any suggestions or tips to help me with some of my new adventures, especially if you have Universal/IOA advice! And if you enjoyed this, I have two trip reports (with lots of pictures) from my 2017 and 2018 trips. 
1. Going on a friends/couples trip
This is new for me because I've never been to Disney with anyone other than family. My first trip was in 2001 when I was a child. I didn't get to return until 2017 when I came with my boyfriend. We went back the following year where he became my fiancé. (We're now married!) We are going with our friends this time, so I am looking forward to experiencing Disney with another couple.
2. Going to Universal Studios Orlando
This is probably the most exciting "new" thing for me. I have never been to Universal nor Islands of Adventure before! I don't leave the Disney bubble unless it's to go to the airport. Rather than flying in and heading straight to our Disney resort, we are actually kicking off the trip with two nights in Universal. We are staying at Loews Royal Pacific Resort for two nights. We wouldn't normally stay in a deluxe resort (another thing I've never done!) but with the Express passes included, it was actually more cost efficient than adding them on to a value resort. I am really excited to ride all of the thrill rides in these parks. I love coasters!
3. Using a travel agent
I am the first to admit that I am a bit of a control freak. For the two trips that I have gone to Disney in my adult years, I have always booked everything by myself. Of course, I actually enjoy doing research and talking to The Dis community to help aid my decisions; I find it fun! So you can imagine my surprise when the couple that I am going with wanted to use a travel agent for our trip. They swear by theirs! I decided to compromise and let my friend use hers to book our trip, and I am actually glad that I did! Universal is an unknown area to me, so it was refreshing to have someone else book everything on that end. And when the room/dining discounts were released in January, our agent was able to save us a bit of money and even upgraded us to a preferred room. (Another first: We always stay in standard rooms.) However, I will say that I asked to book all of our ADRs. The thrill of waking up on the 180 day mark and booking those places you've done research on... I love it! So that was cool having a flexible agent allowing me to do that with no issues!
4. Using the Disney Dining Plan
This decision took a lot of convincing for me. For my last two trips, my husband and I relied heavily on quick service meals and splurged on one table service per trip. We tend to take the more economical route even at Disney. And honestly, some of the QS meals we had (Tangierine Cafe, Flame Tree, Polite Pig, etc.) were better than the TS meal we had in 2017 at Sci-Fi Dine-In. The couple we are going with are huge fans of the dining plan, so that's what they wanted to use. So, I had to do some thinking. We normally don't budget a lot for food because of all of our QS dining, but I realized how many TS restaurants were in Disney that I've always wanted to try. I decided to pull the trigger and book the DDP as well. I am excited to enjoy a TS restaurant every day! And knowing alcohol is included is a huge plus for us as well. Treat yo' self!
5. Trying new restaurants
The only TS restaurants I've ever been to have been Liberty Tree Tavern (2001), Sci-Fi Dine-In (2017), and 'Ohana (2018). (Side note: We have been to Be Our Guest twice but both were for lunch QS reservations.) I am so excited to be able to add some new places to my list! For our trip, we have dining reservations at: Be Our Guest (dinner), Homecomin’, Teppan Edo, Beaches and Cream (ice cream only), Biergarten, and 'Ohana. We'll also be trying new QS restaurants like Docking Bay 7 and maybe Regal Eagle. I am stoked!
6. Staying at All Star Movies
We like to stay at value resorts to help keep cost down. We are only in our rooms to sleep, so spending more money on a moderate/deluxe resort isn't in the cards for us. Granted, when I first went to WDW as a kid in 2001, my family did stay at Coronado Springs. But in 2017 and 2018, we stayed at Pop Century. This year, we opted to stay in one of the All Stars due to price increases at Pop Century. Also, I had two issues at Pop Century on our last trip, so I wanted to stay somewhere new anyways. I am not expecting ASM to wow me but I love how the sections are more Disney-themed compared to other values. We've requested a room in the Toy Story section, so fingers crossed!
I hope you enjoyed reading about my upcoming plans! I hope that the closures don't stay extended through summer so I can make these dreams a reality.
Let me know if you have any suggestions or tips to help me with some of my new adventures, especially if you have Universal/IOA advice! And if you enjoyed this, I have two trip reports (with lots of pictures) from my 2017 and 2018 trips.
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I've toured all the Uni resorts but the only premier I've stayed at is Hard Rock, but honestly I think my favorite of those 3 is Royal Pacific.
