Ages 3 and 6. Both girls. Myself and Wife

Staying at All-Stars Movie Resort. Preferred room

4 Day Park Hopper Military Salute Rate (thank god)

Was hoping if anyone went recently can give me the dos and don'ts. Especially with little ones. There has been a lot of change at Disney recently so I'm not up to speed besides binging YouTube videos and Facebook groups.

We reserved our parks already and one dining. Things book up so fast.

Will we be okay without magic bands?

Thanks Ags

For your kids ages, your top priorities should be Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Slinky Dog Dash, and Micky and Minnie's Runaway Railroad. If you're doing rope drop for the parks, I would definitely do Seven Dwarfs and Slinky first since those are often the longest lines in those parks.

For Animal Kingdom, Flight of Passage is absolutely unmissable, and is absolutely worth getting to the park at least 45 minutes before open to get in line and go straight there. Otherwise, expect to stand in line at least 2 hours. (Still worth it.)

Try the blue milk at Galaxy's Edge, avoid the green. Rise of the Resistance is also a must.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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For your kids ages, your top priorities should be Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Slinky Dog Dash, and Micky and Minnie's Runaway Railroad. If you're doing rope drop for the parks, I would definitely do Seven Dwarfs and Slinky first since those are often the longest lines in those parks.

For Animal Kingdom, Flight of Passage is absolutely unmissable, and is absolutely worth getting to the park at least 45 minutes before open to get in line and go straight there. Otherwise, expect to stand in line at least 2 hours. (Still worth it.)

Try the blue milk at Galaxy's Edge, avoid the green. Rise of the Resistance is also a must.

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or you can just pay for the genie express pass for pretty much all those rides...... except slinky dog i think

i went in February with my kids (9 and 6), We did not do magic bands and got by ok.

i will say scanning into the genie pass rides and the gates was a little more complicated having to do it all on my phone but i did not think it was a deal breaker or anything.

MarathonAg12 said:

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Ages 3 and 6. Both girls. Myself and Wife

Staying at All-Stars Movie Resort. Preferred room

4 Day Park Hopper Military Salute Rate (thank god)

Was hoping if anyone went recently can give me the dos and don'ts. Especially with little ones. There has been a lot of change at Disney recently so I'm not up to speed besides binging YouTube videos and Facebook groups.

We reserved our parks already and one dining. Things book up so fast.

Will we be okay without magic bands?

Thanks Ags

---

We went earlier this year, I'm jealous you're going in October, this summer was not ideal. I'm not a seasoned pro by any means but I can provide some advice based on our experience.

Start figuring out what rides you want to be on and you can use the app to reserve a place in the lightning lane, it's worth it for the extra $15/ticket/day.

Are you bringing a stroller for both kids? If not there are services to rent them, and you will need one for both kids, including the six year old due to all the walking.

Don't pre-pay for your food, there's no savings. The majority of the food there is pretty bad, with the exception of the sit down restaurants that you need reservations for. Epcot has a lot more food options than the other parks do. When you're walking around one of the other parks and can't get a seat you'll wish you made a reservation pretty much anywhere. Getting food ended up being the biggest stressor for us as a family during the middle of the day. The number of times we had really subpar food due to failure to plan lunch reservations was significant. If we would have had the chance to sit down and eat and reset every day at lunch it would have been so much better than how things went for us grabbing random terrible food. If I had to do it over I would make a reservation for every lunch and dinner we were there, no question. You can even go eat at the restaurants at the other resorts if you want to make the trip.

Carry water with you for everyone, we each had water bottles with us, easy to fill up and much cheaper than buying water all day. You can bring snacks too, also cheaper than what you can get in the park. Bring a backpack. I brought a rain jacket, only ended up needing it once.

Sunscreen, early and often. I'm pretty fair so I brought a wide-brim hat with me.

It's going to be crowded and expensive, just accept it and don't let that ruin the trip. If you or the kids get tired, leave and go back to the hotel. Go back later if you want to. Not sure what the weather is like there in October, hang out at the pool if you need to kill time. The park at night is pretty cool, I preferred it.

Don't be one of those families that the rest of the park can tell is barely hanging on. Try to be as flexible and go with the flow as possible, it'll make things way easier on you. My wife and I literally had a conversation about this before we left to get on the same page. At some point the kid(s) will lose it, just try to divide and conquer with them and roll with the punches.

Some people make it sound like you need to get there when the park opens...not true, it was plenty crowded then too. I don't know that it really helps to show up early at all to be honest.

My favorite area was Star Wars, lots of fun rides in there.

Most lines have a timer at the front gate to tell you how long a wait you'll be in. But they have lines down to a science, they always seem to be moving.

We bought an Apple air tag to put on our daughter's clothes just in case.

We used magic bands, other people used phones, you can use the band for everything, I thought it was convenient.

Get there early IMO - as in they drop the ropes sometimes ~45 min before the posted opening time. Not all the rides may be available immediately, but you'll be near first in line and if you're lucky can knock out 2-3 attractions before it gets insane. We did this and were in and out of Avatar in 30 min....then had free reign at the other attractions for an hour or two as the masses rushed Avatar.

Download a wait time app...forgot the name but its good to track things at a glance without trying to navigate the overly complicated Disney app.

Not sure if they're still doing this, but booking an appt for Rise of the Resistance took accurate clocks, multiple phones/people attempting, and probably some luck. There was probably a 30 sec window of opportunity. No other ride did this, but once booked it was one of the more pleasurable line experiences. Research it beforehand in detail.

We went in May with an almost 3 year old. This was my wife's trip, she planned everything from the get go and was in charge of it, but I'll share our experience (which was really good for the most part).

We did 2 days at Magic Kingdom and a day at each of the other parks, plus went back to Magic Kingdom one night for fireworks.

We used Magic Bands.

I think we had a dining place reserved every day for at least one meal, which was good for our toddler because of the character interactions.

Like others have said, don't be afraid to leave when the kids get tired. There are things you can do to get extended hours and stuff so you can go back, stay flexible.

Paying for the Genie+ and the Lightning Lanes ensured that we almost had no wait time at all. My wife is pregnant so that meant I did some individual rider lines by myself (Falcon ride specifically), but overall we were able to book time slots and plan our day around those times which was great. It requires getting up early to book the stuff, extra money, and again, flexibility, but in my mind it's worth it.

Bring snacks and water bottles in a backpack, and pack them in a way so that if you get pulled for a search it's not a nightmare to repack.

With 2 daughters I feel like I can almost guarantee you'll want to do a Lightning Lane for the Frozen ride at Epcot.

I'll try to add other things as I think of it. Good luck.

Max Power said:

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MarathonAg12 said:

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Ages 3 and 6. Both girls. Myself and Wife

Staying at All-Stars Movie Resort. Preferred room

4 Day Park Hopper Military Salute Rate (thank god)

Was hoping if anyone went recently can give me the dos and don'ts. Especially with little ones. There has been a lot of change at Disney recently so I'm not up to speed besides binging YouTube videos and Facebook groups.

We reserved our parks already and one dining. Things book up so fast.

Will we be okay without magic bands?

Thanks Ags

---

We went earlier this year, I'm jealous you're going in October, this summer was not ideal. I'm not a seasoned pro by any means but I can provide some advice based on our experience.

Start figuring out what rides you want to be on and you can use the app to reserve a place in the lightning lane, it's worth it for the extra $15/ticket/day.

Are you bringing a stroller for both kids? If not there are services to rent them, and you will need one for both kids, including the six year old due to all the walking.

Don't pre-pay for your food, there's no savings. The majority of the food there is pretty bad, with the exception of the sit down restaurants that you need reservations for. Epcot has a lot more food options than the other parks do. When you're walking around one of the other parks and can't get a seat you'll wish you made a reservation pretty much anywhere. Getting food ended up being the biggest stressor for us as a family during the middle of the day. The number of times we had really subpar food due to failure to plan lunch reservations was significant. If we would have had the chance to sit down and eat and reset every day at lunch it would have been so much better than how things went for us grabbing random terrible food. If I had to do it over I would make a reservation for every lunch and dinner we were there, no question. You can even go eat at the restaurants at the other resorts if you want to make the trip.

Carry water with you for everyone, we each had water bottles with us, easy to fill up and much cheaper than buying water all day. You can bring snacks too, also cheaper than what you can get in the park. Bring a backpack. I brought a rain jacket, only ended up needing it once.

Sunscreen, early and often. I'm pretty fair so I brought a wide-brim hat with me.

It's going to be crowded and expensive, just accept it and don't let that ruin the trip. If you or the kids get tired, leave and go back to the hotel. Go back later if you want to. Not sure what the weather is like there in October, hang out at the pool if you need to kill time. The park at night is pretty cool, I preferred it.

Don't be one of those families that the rest of the park can tell is barely hanging on. Try to be as flexible and go with the flow as possible, it'll make things way easier on you. My wife and I literally had a conversation about this before we left to get on the same page. At some point the kid(s) will lose it, just try to divide and conquer with them and roll with the punches.

Some people make it sound like you need to get there when the park opens...not true, it was plenty crowded then too. I don't know that it really helps to show up early at all to be honest.

My favorite area was Star Wars, lots of fun rides in there.

Most lines have a timer at the front gate to tell you how long a wait you'll be in. But they have lines down to a science, they always seem to be moving.

We bought an Apple air tag to put on our daughter's clothes just in case.

We used magic bands, other people used phones, you can use the band for everything, I thought it was convenient.

---

The only thing I'd take any issue with here (as a matter of preference, your experience can very easily be different and that's ok) is to get to the park prior to rope drop. I don't believe October is considered "busy" by Disney standards (it will likely be busy, just not like it will be a month later, for instance, or during the summer of Spring Break). Getting to the park up to an hour before opening will give you quicker access to attractions that are operating at park opening (not all of them start right up).

Definitely take two strollers. Our second trip with my daughter, when she was in 2nd grade (7 years old), we still had the stroller available for her. It was handy to have especially when we stayed in the parks for ridiculous hours that trip.

With your kids' ages, I'd guess that Magic Kingdom is going to be their favorite. Understand that the lines for the great kids attractions at that park can get ridiculously long. Dumbo, Peter Pan's Flight, It's a Small World, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, etc may annoy adults but kids absolutely love them. I'd pay the extra $ for the genie thing so as to be able to ride those rides multiple times. And go to them first when the rope drops.

Girls. I'm assuming your girls love the Princesses. This may not be the case any longer, but the wait time to get photographed with the Frozen characters was stupid long even in 2019 when we last went. There are pamphlets that you can pick up at the entrance to each park that will tell you character appearance schedules. Those can help you plan your day in the parks (to know that you should be in this area of the park because Character X will be signing autograph books at Time Y).

Do you want photographs? With your entire family in them? If so, then spring for the Photopass option (I'm assuming Disney still offers this service). There are photographers all over the parks that will take your photos in front of landmark attractions and the like. Plus you'll get pics taken while y'all are on the rides.

And remember - it's Disney World. Have fun!

Also to add to that, don't panic if a ride says no more genie+ for the day or next one is a 7pm and don't want to wait and stay that late.

Keep refreshing and refreshing and eventually someone WILL drop their reservation and you can snatch it up.

Takes some work and persistence but we didn't wait in almost any line

It takes a special kinda person to do amusement parks in the summer. The last 3 times I've done em in the summer, I've exited the park by 4-5 at the latest. After a certain age (for me it was 45ish) it's really difficult to do a full day there during summer days.

Great advice so far.

My main add-on would be to try and avoid making trips back and forth across whatever park you're in. If you are done with Big Thunder Mountain in Magic Kingdom, for example, don't try and ride Space Mountain next. You can wear yourself and your kids out pretty quick criss-crossing back and forth chasing short ride times.

I definitely agree that making sit-down reservations for at least one meal a day is worth it, even though it's expensive. There are lots of places the little ones will enjoy (or at least tolerate!).

Finally, if a cast member tells you not to park your strollers somewhere, don't give them any guff. They hate telling you and they hate it even more when people throw a fit about it (my kid had that job once and had plenty of stories).

Ride the Safari at AK with kids that age they will love it.

Yak and Yeti does not take reservations but stop by at 11am and get on the list.
Their food is good.

Akershus at Epcot is next to the Frozen ride at Epcot, it has all the princesses. Frozen ride is fun if your kids are into Frozen.

I hate the new system, having to do the song and dance to get a ticket for Rise of the Resistance is a major PITA and if the ride was not worth it I'd say skip it but the ride is AWESOME. Maybe you can ride it w/o the family they won't appreciate it yet.

Ride Flight of the Banshee w/o the family as well if you can. So good.

Don't forget your pronouns, I kid....but not really.

MarathonAg12 said:

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Ages 3 and 6. Both girls. Myself and Wife

Staying at All-Stars Movie Resort. Preferred room

4 Day Park Hopper Military Salute Rate (thank god)

Was hoping if anyone went recently can give me the dos and don'ts. Especially with little ones. There has been a lot of change at Disney recently so I'm not up to speed besides binging YouTube videos and Facebook groups.

We reserved our parks already and one dining. Things book up so fast.

Will we be okay without magic bands?

Thanks Ags

---

Are you trying to go before school starts? If not my suggestion is to wait until school starts and then take the kids out of school and go mid-week. Life saving tip to avoud crowds. If you are very flexible on schedule one year we left Thanksgiving days d stayed the following week. Crowds were insanely low, and Thanksgiving is when they light the park for the Christmas Holidays and have lots of cool events. Restaurants, you will want to get reservations well in advance.

Edit: Just saw the part where you already have booked dates, so never mind.

Sorry, we are staying there September 29 through October 3rd

All Star resorts suck. Pay a little extra and upgrade to a moderate resort (Port Orleans). You'll be glad you did.

Whachutalnbout Willys said:

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All Star resorts suck. Pay a little extra and upgrade to a moderate resort (Port Orleans). You'll be glad you did.

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I did Port Orleans and Coronado Springs last two times…..trying something new for the kiddos

MarathonAg12 said:

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Whachutalnbout Willys said:

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All Star resorts suck. Pay a little extra and upgrade to a moderate resort (Port Orleans). You'll be glad you did.

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I did Port Orleans and Coronado Springs last two times…..trying something new for the kiddos

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Never stayed there so can't comment on those properties. For my first two adult trips, we stayed at All-Star Sports and All-Star Movies. They were fine for what they were, but I told my wife not again at those properties. Last two trips we stayed at Pop Century, which I thought to be little different than the All-Stars, and then Art of Animation in one of the Cars themed suites. That one was great for our kids.

MarathonAg12 said:

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Whachutalnbout Willys said:

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All Star resorts suck. Pay a little extra and upgrade to a moderate resort (Port Orleans). You'll be glad you did.

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I did Port Orleans and Coronado Springs last two times…..trying something new for the kiddos

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All star resorts are fine as they have some cool amenities but also if you have kids and are spending most of your time at the hotel to matter then you're doing Disney wrong anyways IMO

213 Grove said:

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MarathonAg12 said:

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Whachutalnbout Willys said:

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All Star resorts suck. Pay a little extra and upgrade to a moderate resort (Port Orleans). You'll be glad you did.

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I did Port Orleans and Coronado Springs last two times…..trying something new for the kiddos

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All star resorts are fine as they have some cool amenities but also if you have kids and are spending most of your time at the hotel to matter then you're doing Disney wrong anyways IMO

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Oh yeah. We even let my daughters look at YouTube videos of the all star movies and they were blown away by all the characters and movie references. I asked if it it looked cooler than the Coronado Springs and she said yes.

But obviously, I'd find the moderate results more to my liking. But your right, wear the kids down at the park all day, hit the resort pool, hang out then crash out.

When I rode Flight of Passage my 3D glasses couldn't fit my big head right and so most of the effects were just slightly out of focus enough to really take me out of the ride. The tech that goes into that ride is incredible, though.

MarathonAg12 said:

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Sorry, we are staying there September 29 through October 3rd

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Food and Wine Festival will still be in full swing at EPCOT then, so expect EPCOT to be busy and crowded. There are plenty of fun kid friendly options, mostly closer to the entrance to World Showcase and near Test Track. If your family loves to be a little adventurous and try different foods, you'll have a great time just getting some small plates and sharing. (This can get expensive fast. Fair warning!) Watch DFBGuide on YT to get a preview of the best bets this year.



Other EPCOT tips:

• There is an indoor pavilion between Canada and UK that is dark, quiet, and cool with huge restrooms. Great place to get away from the crowds and relax for a bit out of the sun and heat.
• The nighttime light and fireworks show at World Showcase is fantastic. Best seating to view it is at the Cantina in Mexico or the Rose & Crown in UK.
• The fish and chips walk up stand in UK serves the same fish and chips that Rose & Crown does.

I disagree. They have a nice big pool there and that's about all my kids cared about after a long day.

We typically go out early, hit everything hard, come back around 1 and swim at the pool. Then back to DW from 3 to close.

All Star was fine. Spent the difference on other stuff.

Southlake said:

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All Star was fine. Spent the difference on other stuff.

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I agree.

Over the years, I've stayed at the Contemporary, the Polynesian, Old Key West, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans, Pop Century and All-Star.

On recent trips, however, we've opted for Pop Century or All-Star, because the cost for the moderate and deluxe resorts has gotten outrageous. And we've used the money we saved to splurge on dining reservations.

Last year, our room at Pop was just a short walk from the Skyliner ... very convenient.

G Martin 87 said:

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MarathonAg12 said:

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Sorry, we are staying there September 29 through October 3rd

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Food and Wine Festival will still be in full swing at EPCOT then, so expect EPCOT to be busy and crowded.

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We had a fantastic time at Food and Wine last year. Food was decent and interesting and we split plates so everyone got a taste of everything.

My favorite restaurant at EPCOT is San Angel Inn, not so much because of the food but because of the atmosphere. Plus it's kind of a tradition.

I thought of another tip for OP.

If you want to splurge a bit, take your kids to the Hoop-de-Doo Review. It's a family tradition with us; I first went nearly 40 years ago before my kids were born. And now my kids are grown and still love it.

Get an early seating if possible, so your little one won't fall asleep!

And the Enchanted TikiRoom!


( We were DW nerds. Out kids absolutely loved it. Stayed at those places too back when they were affordable!)

Bunch of things I think could be helpful from someone who goes multiple times a year with my wife (thank you various discounts I luckily have).

Disney World is in the middle of its 50th anniversary celebration, so there is a lot of merch and food that will only be there for this. We have seen some items only show up for a couple of weeks and then never come back. So, if there is a 50th centric item you like, I'd grab it.

Someone mentioned bringing your own water bottle and snacks. Definitely do that! We like to fill our water bottles (we usually take an insulated one) about 1/4 to 1/2 with water, lay it on its side and freeze it overnight. In the morning we fill it with water and have ice-cold water for a good chunk of the day. The Corkcicle brand one we took back in July was amazing as a side note. If you need a refill on ice, you can ask at any counter service or snack station that serves soda and ask for a cup of ice water and they'll give it to you for free.

Park hopping has changed during the COVID times. You probably already know, but just in case. Whatever park you pick your reservation for whatever day, you are there until 2p. After 2p, you can bounce around. It's a little annoying if you want to check out a couple of different things in a day, but still doable.

If you are wanting to catch the fireworks at Magic Kingdom and want a good seat/view, be prepared to claim a spot kind of early. I've seen people camped for 2+ hours. If you don't care to watch the fireworks, that is a good time to ride some of the rides that are busier during the day since so many people will be watching them. Typically they start around 9 or so. You'll see cast members taping/roping off areas well before show time, so you'll know what's happening. People can get a little pushy around better viewing areas and will try to move into your spot if they have a bigger group.

EPCOT should be in their International Food & Wine Festival. They will have lots of great food and drinks for this. Tangierine Caf has a great Fig Cocktail that is on my must get list when we go back in November. https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2022-epcot-food-and-wine-festival-booths-menus-and-food-photos/

EPCOT just opened up the Guardians of the Galaxy ride and it is a lot of fun. If your kids liked Ratatouille, that ride in the France pavilion is a lot of fun too. There is also the fireworks/watershow Harmonious. Also, stop by the Club Cool that is sponsored by Coca-Cola. It has a bunch of sodas from around the world. Some are not great just fyi. Oddly enough mixing all the flavors together ended up tasting good. It's free so that's kinda cool.

This ended up being pretty long and I didn't even really get into a lot of things. If you want some more info, shoot a message and I'll happily give you some tips/tricks/ideas and what not that I've picked up.

Thanks for all the info so far.

Just ordered the OG magic bands. $10 each

Arrive Thursday morning at 11:30. Need to book MEARS to get to resort. Reserved Animal Kingdom for the afternoon.

Friday we are going to Hollywood Studios and Reserved a droid build for two. Dinner at Epcot at the Coral Reef.

Saturday, No Park. Friends are getting married at Grand Floridian Wedding Pavilion. All sorts of receptions and cocktail hours

Sunday, All day at Magic Kingdom and probably relax at the resort later.

Monday, late flight so going to hit up one more park for a few hours before we split.

It sounds like Genie Plus is a must at this point!

Hit up lilchris he can help you out

https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/2942846/last#last

MarathonAg12 said:

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Thanks for all the info so far.

Just ordered the OG magic bands. $10 each

Arrive Thursday morning at 11:30. Need to book MEARS to get to resort. Reserved Animal Kingdom for the afternoon.

Friday we are going to Hollywood Studios and Reserved a droid build for two. Dinner at Epcot at the Coral Reef.

Saturday, No Park. Friends are getting married at Grand Floridian Wedding Pavilion. All sorts of receptions and cocktail hours

Sunday, All day at Magic Kingdom and probably relax at the resort later.

Monday, late flight so going to hit up one more park for a few hours before we split.

It sounds like Genie Plus is a must at this point!

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If you'll be spending time in Star Wars, do not miss Oga's Cantina. You'll need a reservation to get a table, but it's worth waiting to get in anyway. Other than the Nomad Lounge at AK, Oga's has the next best cocktails (and mocktails for the kids; the Hyperdrive and Jabba Juice are safe) of any of the parks. Can't beat the atmosphere either. The Fuzzy Tauntaun is famous for the numbing foam on top.

G Martin 87 said:

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MarathonAg12 said:

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Thanks for all the info so far.

Just ordered the OG magic bands. $10 each

Arrive Thursday morning at 11:30. Need to book MEARS to get to resort. Reserved Animal Kingdom for the afternoon.

Friday we are going to Hollywood Studios and Reserved a droid build for two. Dinner at Epcot at the Coral Reef.

Saturday, No Park. Friends are getting married at Grand Floridian Wedding Pavilion. All sorts of receptions and cocktail hours

Sunday, All day at Magic Kingdom and probably relax at the resort later.

Monday, late flight so going to hit up one more park for a few hours before we split.

It sounds like Genie Plus is a must at this point!

---

If you'll be spending time in Star Wars, do not miss Oga's Cantina. You'll need a reservation to get a table, but it's worth waiting to get in anyway. Outside of the Nomad Lounge at AK, Oga's has the best cocktails (and mocktails for the kids; the Hyperdrive and Jabba Juice are safe) of any of the parks. Can't beat the atmosphere either. The Fuzzy Tauntaun is famous for the numbing foam on top.

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Big time Star Wars nerd. Did sabers last time.

Unfortunately, they are booked at Ogas but I keep checking for more availability