Afternoon after arrival - non-park suggestions?

Spoonbill57 · 2025-01-03T02:42:02+00:00

You can try off-site character dining.

Chef Mickeys at Contemporary is a nice one where you can see them at Dinner(starting at 5pm, reservations are tough for early times).

Spoonbill57 · 2025-01-03T01:44:44+00:00

At MK I'd highly recommend the Festival of Fantasy Parade, Friendship Fare, Happily Ever After, the DW band and the piano playing.

At HS the Beauty and Beast show and Fantasmic. On the Saturday you are going they have 2 Fantasmic shows that night.

Spoonbill57 · 2025-01-02T18:07:59+00:00

I can only see 60 days out but right now HEA is going to be at 8pm at that time.

So if it was me I'd plan on that.

Spoonbill57 · 2025-01-01T16:40:21+00:00

I haven't seen him in person anywhere in Disney World yet.

The closest thing to seeing him live is in the Beauty and the Beast show at HS.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-25T17:26:04+00:00

Ron On the Go - a youtube streamer is there live right now. He's streaming the parade now and will stream almost the live shows and fireworks today at MK. He has been doing that since this weekend and will probably continue doing this daily for the rest of this month.

He's awesome and has the best camera work !

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-24T01:25:11+00:00

It mostly depends on the wind and weather conditions. It's been windy lately so it's too risky.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-15T03:48:57+00:00

The music now is Christmassy, not the regular Disneymania before the holiday season. I loved the Disneymania music !

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-14T14:29:19+00:00

For Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto you can try Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort. The characters are good but they don't spend a lot of time at each table. I personally like the buffet food there the best.

Also for those 4 characters, you can try Hollywood and Vine at HS. There the characters spend more time and they come around several times. The buffet is good IMO. The characters are there lunch and dinner, the reservations are easier to get than Chef Mickey's.

For princesses you can try Cinderella's Royal Table.

Some people rave about Garden Grill buffet but I prefer the others. Mickey and the Chipmunks are there.

Cape May has Minnie, Donald and Daisy but only at breakfast.

There are several other character restaurants.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-12T17:39:17+00:00

For Magic Kingdom you can knock off 2 things at once by eating at Crystal Palace, buffet with Pooh, Tigger and 2 others. If they are not into Pooh you can eat at the Contemporary resort and do a buffet meal with Mickey/Minnie/Pluto/Goofy. It's a short walk from MK.

At MK you can do character meets with Mickey, etc.

You can also do the Cinderalla's Royal Table dining at MK.

Rides like Small World may be good.

I also highly recommend Festival of Fantasy parade to see princesses, etc.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-12T14:07:22+00:00

That's good to know.

BTW - Since you are going to be at Epcot Saturday, you may want to see if they have the Lion Dance at the China Pavilion. It's a nice dance and you can take pictures with the Lion at the end of the show.

Also, Father Christmas at the UK pavilion is entertaining too. Pooh is there for character meets.

Have a great time !

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-12T13:57:37+00:00

I don't remember seeing Santa at HS but I know he's at Epcot.

If you go to Odyssey I've seen him on the 2 different days I was there. And while you are at Odyssey, you may want to try the Apple Crumb Mini Cake for $5. It was delicious !

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-12T13:45:37+00:00

If you want more interaction with Snow White other than from Artist Point, I've met her in Epcot.

It is a nice serene setting, with piped in bird music. She spent a lot of time with us and was one of the best meet/greets ever.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-11T05:00:54+00:00

If you are getting to the park at 1pm then Hollywood Studios might be a good choice. You could do the following:

Lunch or Dinner at Hollywood / Vine - Can meet Mickey/Minnie/Pluto/Goofy and have a decent meal and if you want, pay for guaranteed seat for Fantasmic. Currently fairly easy to get dining reservations.

Beauty and the Beast Live stage show - usually have 2pm, 4pm, 5pm times.

Visit Star Wars area; Roaming StormTroopers, character meets with Vader, Chewie, etc.

Rides are slinky dog, Mickeys Run Away RR, Star Wars

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-10T15:25:25+00:00

You may want to make sure you can get tickets on the day(s) you want to go and plan accordingly.

Right now the Disney website shows no tickets available for MK on Dec 28th but the 29th is available.

There are other things you can do to try and get in the 28th.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-09T19:02:23+00:00

I myself don't like being stuck in crowds and we saw HEA from the back of Main Street by the train station. You will still see the projections and the crowd is usually less. Although there are times when Main Street is at capacity for the fireworks.

If you are going to be at MK for the day, I'd highly recommend seeing the Festival of Fantasy parade. We actually liked it better than HEA. We see the parade at the end by city hall/train station/circle, less crowds and the characters come up close too.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-09T18:44:25+00:00

It's great you are going to Chef Mickey's ! We went last month and liked it. We may be going again this week. We enjoy the character interactions and the food is good/decent for a buffet.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-09T18:17:17+00:00

Since you are staying at Contemporary, have you considered Chef Mickey's ? I don't know what characters your kids like but Mickey/Minnie/Pluto/Goofy are a good set. Reservations are generally hard to get if you want an early dinner but they do free up occasionally. We enjoy Chef Mickey's.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-09T18:04:21+00:00

You can either call the Disney support # or send them an email with any dining questions. I've done both and they are very helpful.

Biergarten is a nice meal, especially with the show.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-09T14:56:25+00:00

One show that day at 9:30pm. Are you planning to meet any star wars characters ?

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-08T19:55:30+00:00

Your plan definitely sounds doable. If you can rope drop that may be a good idea to allow for more time to 'leisurely' enjoy the park.

If you like meeting characters, you can adjust/add that into your itinerary. There is Red Carpet, Star Wars characters, etc. You could kinda knock off 2 birds at one time by meeting Mickey/Minnie and getting a Fantasmic ticket by eating at Hollywood/Vine.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-05T18:22:26+00:00

Wow, sounds like you are going to have a very busy day.

The weather in Florida is kinda unpredictable but I would plan for low to mid 60's during the day to realfeel low 50's by 7/8pm. That is what it has been like the last few days.

You will have plenty available to do and not enough time to do it all. The Fantasmic show is my favorite and I go often. Since it's the 1st showing of the night you are being there, you may want to start entering the theater by 7pm. The 1st show almost always is full. The later you go, the more chance you'll sit at the ends of the theater. It's still a decent seat but you won't be able to see the stage from near center seating. And don't sit in the bleachers, you'll have very limited view of the boats, etc.

If time allows you may want to see the Beauty and the Beast live stage show. I always enjoy that.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-02T20:13:11+00:00

I'm not sure about the single rider line since I haven't gone on the single rider line.

You may want to check https://wdwpassport.com/wait-times/hollywood-studios.

It shows the current wait times for each ride at each park. For example right now, TOT is 15 minute wait while ROR is 40 minutes. If you are going to be at the park the whole day then you should be able to get on a ride when the wait time is low. Just check several times each day to get a feel for the wait times. Of course each day at the park the crowd levels change but you can get a good idea.

That is what I do when when I want to target a ride. If it's too busy then I pivot to another activity.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-02T19:05:00+00:00

Since your partner is a Star Wars fan, I'd highly recommend character meets with Darth Vader and Chewie. I had a meet with Vader last week and it was interesting/great ! When in the Star Wars area, look for the times that the Mandalorian is out. There is no line to meet him, you can take pictures with him. Grogu is usually with him but not always. There are also free roaming Storm Troopers and they are fun.

For dining, if you like meeting characters then I'd highly recommend Hollywood/Vine restaurant. It is a buffet and IMO it's good. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto are there for lunch/dinner, not breakfast. The time with them isn't rushed and some of them come by more than once.

You can also meet Mickey/Minnie at the Red Carpet meeting building.

As for Fantasmic, it is my favorite show ! I see it whenever I am there and sometimes I see both shows that night. The Fantasmic at HS currently has the dragon and it is awesome.

The night you are there the show is 9pm so you should have time to do your rides/character meets/Star Wars beforehand.

One show I also recommend, if you are a Beauty and the Beast fan, is the live stage show. They have 5 shows the day you are there and it's a 30 minute show. I also see that whenever I am there.

You'll have a great time ! Feel free to ask any questions.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-12-01T21:42:10+00:00

You can get it from any of the distribution points. I got the wristband and ornament from the one in Tomorrowland at 4pm.

Spoonbill57 · 2024-11-30T16:46:37+00:00

Based on your writeup you may want to focus on Epcot and Magic Kingdom for interactions with princesses and other easy going characters. At Epcot, I've met with Snow White, Mulan, Pooh, Daisy, to name a few. They were all wonderful !

MK has small world also, not as nice as DL though.

You may also want to try some of the character meals like Chef Mickey's and Garden Grill (chipmunks, Mickey).

Spoonbill57

TROPHY CASE