Here is my latest trip update. By way of background, we are DVC owners since 2021. Home resorts are GF and Riv. We own 500 points and have stayed at most of the resorts but there are a few we have not stayed at, including where we stayed this time, which was Saratoga Springs. My wife and I are also annual passholders.
My family is from Indiana and is comprised of 5. Myself, my wife, daughter 1 (15), daughter 2 (13), son (9). For this trip we were travelling with a much larger group because we were taking my mom, sister, and brother’s family to celebrate my mom’s 75th birthday. We had 13 total. My mom, sister, brother, sister-in-law, their three kids (all under 9) and my family. My brother and his family drove to Florida. The rest of us flew.
Day 1: Arrival
We arrived at Saratoga Springs on an early flight out of Indianapolis. We landed in Orlando around 8:30 a.m. and had a smooth transition to baggage claim. Our driver met us and got our bags loaded up and we headed to Saratoga Springs. I never pay attention to where I am at when I go to Disney but this time, I was surprised when I noticed the drive to Saratoga to the airport was much closer than staying at the Poly or Grand which was nice.
Our plan was to drop our bags at bell-hop, grab some breakfast and head to a water park for the day. Much to our surprise, when we arrived and checked in our room was ready! Overall, I found SS theming to just be “ok”. Being from the Midwest the whole horse stable/horse farm theming was too close to home and seemed a bid hodge podge. I felt there were buildings that were unused or that had no purpose. We stayed in a three bedroom which was very nice. The room was excellent and provided plenty of space for our large party. We were also about a 10-minute walk to Disney Springs and the LBV golf course which I felt made up for the theming which left much to be desired.
We took our luggage to the room, dropped it there, and were off to the water parks by 9:45 a.m. Blizzard Beach was closed for the season. We somehow knew this but were still disappointed because we prefer it over Typhoon Lagoon. In any event, we headed to Typhoon Lagoon via Disney Springs (no direct bus to TL must transfer at DS), and the crowds were what I considered to be low to very low. Most water slides had a 15 min or less wait time, and it was very easy to find a chair.
The wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon is always a great time but it was a bit much with some smaller kids in our party trying to keep an eye on them. The older kids were very helpful in this regard. Castaway Creek, TL’s lazy river, was enjoyable but it did not seem quite as long as Blizzard Beach’s lazy river. Around 3:30 p.m. it started to rain so we packed things up and headed back to the room.
Generally, I am not a water park guy, but on days where flights get in early and you do not have a park admission it is a great option. Even if just hopping over for a few hours, it is nice for our kids to be able to run free after being on a plane and for my wife and I to relax by the wave pool or in the shade.
That evening we had dinner at T.Rex in Disney Springs. At this point in the day I was already overstimulated and this dinner DID. NOT. HELP. With that. My son and I took a VERY quick detour to the Marvel store while my family waited to be seated. There, we located a Star-Lord mask (the VERY LAST Star-Lord mask) in the parks. It was important to acquire the mask because he planned on being Star-Lord for Halloween and during our trip to Disney in July we told our son to save his money and wait until the October trip to buy the mask. Disney delivered. Phew. Back to T. Rex to meet our family who had JUST been seated. (As an aside, Disney has always had this policy that I don’t like and that is EVERY member of your group must be present before they will seat you. We found this policy very strictly enforced on this trip which was frustrating at times because groups of 13 are NEVER at the same place at the same time.).
I have eaten almost everywhere at Disney Springs except Rainforest Café and T.Rex…for good reason. We chose to eat here because my nephew loves dinosaurs and we thought he would think it was neat on his first trip to Disney. Walking into T. Rex was a sensory overload. The mixture of screaming children, erupting volcanoes and thunderstorms, flashing lights, big laughs and shouts, birthday singing and growls of dinosaurs set the impression for the meal. Despite the atmosphere, the waitstaff was ON IT. Our waiter perhaps could sense my anxiety skyrocketing and got our order in and food out very quickly. The menu was not terribly impressive and resembled something from the Cheesecake Factory without as many options. The food, however, was actually really good.
After dinner, we walked around the Springs and then decided to head back to the room for early bed time.
Day 2: Hollywood Studios
Holly wood studios was day two. Typically, my family of 5 prefers to stay on the monorail or Skyliner (or Minnie Van) and so does my mom because of her scooter. Obviously at SS that is not an option, so we were prepared for the busses. The busses were running timely and we got to Hollywood Studios shortly after opening. The lines for security and ticketing were short so we breezed right through.
Our first stop was a stand-by wait for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Our family loves the ride and finds ourselves singing the theme song more often than is probably normal. The wait in the queue was interesting because we had a gentleman who was travelling alone (and clearly an influencer/Vlogger from another country) who was completely oblivious to the fact he was standing in the middle of our group of 13 splitting up our family. He did not speak English so explaining things was not an option. Aside from this weird social dynamic we managed to get together before going into the theatre room for the ride. The wait time was around 40 minutes start to finish.
Immediately following that ride, I dashed with my son and daughter to catch Tower of Terror’s 20 minute wait. We successfully rode that ride but missed the really good attendant…you know, the semi-famous cast-member who really gets into character? We weren’t sure if he even still works there. This is my daughter’s favorite ride so we were bummed to miss this added bonus.
A quick ride there and we hopped over to single rider line of Rock n’ Rollercoaster. I won’t go into too much debate here about Aerosmith vs. Muppets. I will opine that Aerosmith has to go and a new, more culturally relevant band should replace them. I do not think Muppets is the answer on this ride. Maybe its because I’m not a huge muppets fan, but I would rather have seen a Cars overlay here.
We ate lunch at ABC Commissory which was fine. Nothing too exciting. The menu wasn’t what my kids wanted so they ran to get nuggest and fries elsewhere. We headed to Toy Story land after lunch and rode Toy Story Mania where I really underperformed. Much of my family refused to ride with me for fear they would be annihilated as they typically are on this ride (and on Space Ranger Spin). I even studied YouTube videos on how to maximize my score and have been training in the gym for a year to move my arm faster. Despite this rigorous training regimen, my wife beat me fair and square by 10K. I think I was pulling too fast for it to register at times.
After Toy Story Mania! we hopped over to StarWars to walk around. My brother had never been on Rise of the Resistance, which happens to be one of my favorite rides. He was in awe. We tried not to play it up too much for fear it wouldn’t meet his expectation, but it did. He loved it and had to “process” what he’d experienced for about 45 minutes afterward. The weather was cooler this trip (October 15-22) which may be why we saw so many characters in StarWars. The storm troopers were out and highly interactive, Kyle Ren, Rey, Mandolorian and Grogu, Chewbacca, Darth Vader were all out for longer periods than I recall. We walked the market/shops, rode Star Tours (my first time on the ride despite having been to Disney 12+ times), and Millenium Falcon.
By this time, it was getting to be dinner time and we had dinner booked at Roundup Rodeo BBQ. Our large group headed to check in for dinner, grabbed some photos in front of Slinky Dog, and waited for our group to be called. During this time, my brother had taken my nephew to build a droid. The process to droid build took much longer than it should have because the droids, upon completion, did not function properly so he had to rebuild the droids twice with my nephew. This caused a delay with seating at the restaurant because we had a reservation for 13, Disney would not seat us since only 11 were present (even though the delay was caused by non-functioning droids). After a few minutes of explaining that we would be paying for 13 seats at this family style dining regardless of whether the remaining two in our party showed up late or did not show up at all, the manager agreed to seat us.
Upon seating we were met with one of the most fantastic cast-members we have encountered. Her name was Bee and she was wonderful. She had a very spirited disposition, brightened everyone’s mood, had a hilarious sense of humor, and ranked among the top cast-members we have encountered at Disney. We were so impressed we gave her a cast-member shoutout on the app and filled out a handwritten note with the manager. She definitely deserved recognition.
I will mention here that another subtle change I have noticed in our last 3 trips is an increase in cast-members asking to see our DVC card when we tell them we are AP and DVC. I have been on trips before where they ask and never bother to look at the card.
After dinner we headed over to Fantasmic. A good barometer of crowd-size I feel is always going to Fantasmic. The auditorium was about 60-70% full. When we went in July, it was at capacity. Big difference. It is very nice that Disney will seat a party as large as 13 in the handicap section so we could all sit with my mom.
Time for an unpopular opinion. Fantasmic is not better than Happily Ever After or Luminous. I do not like watching spraying water that blocks what could be a cool live-action show. My family loves it, I mean LOVES it. I am a grumpy 44-year-old man about it. I do say steamboat Mickey at the end is a nice touch. Following the show we jumped into the mass exodus of people to get to the busses. I will say, getting on a bus after HS at night has historically not had a high success rate for my family, but this time we were able to get on a bus immediately and were headed home rather quickly.
Pro Tip: Some of the busses are ABSOLUTELY freezing. The A/C game is on point. The two seats at the VERY back of the bus near the engine are almost always heated from engine heat. If you are prone to getting chilly on a bus filled with blasting A/C, try to grab one of those seats because they will keep you warm/alive in most cases.
Day 3: Epcot
Epcot. My most favorite park. We started the day arriving to the parks by bus again, a little after opening. Our whole group was not with us so I waited for part of our group to arrive while the rest of the group went to ride Nemo and explore the aquarium. Our first LL for the day was a Guardians and so we headed straight there only for the ride to go down. Confident it would come back up, we popped over to Norway to use a Frozen LL and snag an orange Cinnamon roll from Kringa Bakeri. These orange rolls are far superior to those at Gaston’s Tavern and everyone should buy one….or two.
After Frozen, Guardians was back open so we immediately headed there for the ride. We spent most of our time waiting in the LL trying to guess which of the six songs we would get. My nephew who does not love rides was a bit anxious but when he saw his cousins excitement over the ride he got excited. Turns out we ended up with our favorite song, September. Everyone in the group who rode the ride loved it. Many were first time riders.
We tried to get onto Test Track but we did not have a LL and the wait times never dropped below 120 minutes while we were there. I do not find Test Track to be a ride worth waiting 120 minutes for even though I have not seen the new refurbishment.
With Guardians complete, my brother and I paid a quick visit to La Cava de Tequila. I find this to be the best place in Epcot to get a cocktail. They are expensive, even by Disney standards, but they are the best. If you are prone to motion sickness, I don’t recommend going there before getting on Guardians.
We then headed over one of my family’s favorite restaurants, Garden Grill. There is nothing super special about the food at Garden Grill but for some reason, my kids seem to love the fried chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and mac n cheese while slowly spinning in a circle watching guests on The Land.
We wrapped up lunch and went downstairs to hop on the Land to allow our food to settle. The line for the Land was the longest I’d seen it at 20 minutes but I was willing to wait because I do like the ride. I find that I learn something new every time I ride it. This time, I was hoping to find Halloween decorations throughout the ride. Although there were a few, there were not as many as I’d hoped to see.
From there we headed to Moana’s Journey of Water. The Journey of Water is a beautiful walk but for an adult, the experience is uneventful for me. I find my joy in watching my kids (and other kids) loving the interactive nature of this “ride”.
We spent some time shopping in Connections and then our group of 13 broke up with some returning to the room with the little kids; others going to wait for Ratatouille; and myself and brother walking around the world showcase buying things like icing stuffed snickerdoodles in Germany. I left my brother to meet my two youngest kids in line for Soarin. We had a LL for Soarin and the standby line was at 40 minutes. Remarkably, I waited in a LL for 45 minutes to ride this rode (not worth it in my opinion because I’ve ridden it 500 times) but my kids wanted to ride so we stuck it out.
At this point in the day I was exhausted and the park was going to be closing soon. My brother texted and advised he’d been waiting for a bus for 45 minutes so I ordered a Minnie Van while on Soarin, and it arrived as soon as I exited the park. My brother was still waiting for the bus so he joined us. Long day but a great day.
Day 4: Magic Kingdom
We arrived at Magic Kingdom early because we expected it to be a long day and we had some early LL’s booked. Once we entered my entire party got some great group photos on Mainstreet in front of the castle and then headed to 7 Dwarfs mine train. Although we had a LL, the wait time for the ride still hovered between 30-45 minutes at opening. Although there isn’t much to the ride, and it’s very short, it is a fun ride especially for those who haven’t been on it before.
Following 7 Dwarfs we had another LL booked for Winnie the Pooh, which is a ride I think should be replaced. Disney has tried to resurrect the Pooh IP through film and it just doesn’t seem to take off. We made our way over to Dumbo for the little kiddos to ride. I happened to check the MDE App and saw the standby for Tron was 30 minutes, so my daughter and I hustled over to Tron to get through the line before our next LL expired (which was actually for Tron as well). By the time we made it to the ride the standby wait had increased to 40 minutes. In reality, the wait was still about 30 from what I timed start to finish. They were moving guests through quickly and not stopping in the room to “digitize” anyone. It was full steam ahead right on to the ride. We were able to ride Tron back to back within a timespan of 45 minutes thanks to the LL we’d booked.
After Tron it was off to Peter Pan’s flight. Now I ragged on Pooh, I actually really like Peter Pan. I believe it could use a huge refresh so we’re not just flying over cardboard cutouts of London, but the ride for me is nostalgic and charming. We had a LL for this ride, but the standby queue is one of my favorites to wait through in the MK.
Walking through Frontierland it was apparent all the walls were up. It was also apparent when the wind kicked up the amount of dust was tremendous. The dried out canal is very dusty and that’s apparent when it gets windy. At this juncture everyone from our entire party returned to the hotel (except my brother and I) to rest (remember we have 5 kids under 9) before evening fireworks.
My brother and I had a 3:00 reservation at Beak and Barrel, something I really wanted to experience. It was around 1:00 when everyone returned to the hotel to rest. We tried to see if we could get into B&B early, but that was a hard no. I did not think it was worthwhile to go back to the hotel only to have to return for a 3:00 reservation. My brother and I hung out in the DVC lounge for a bit but ultimately decided to grab a pre-cocktail cocktail at Steakhouse 71 bar. Assuming the bar would be empty was foolish of me. The bar was very busy. We were able to snag a seat after another party left. The bar tenders were busy but attentive. I ordered a Manhattan which was 99% bourbon. I appreciated the pour, but asked the drink to be rebalanced to taste like a Manhattan. The bar tender was happy to oblige.
After our wait at the bar we’d spent enough time that we could return to wait for our reservation at B&B. The B&B is nestled between the entrance/exit to Pirate of the Caribbean. I thought it was further down and spent a few minutes looking for it. There is a crowd congregating around the sign making it difficult to see. Once we checked it, we were asked to wait outside until our party of 2 was called. We waited about 15 minutes and we were called.
I will digress for just a moment here. Something that isn’t talked about often enough is the fact that you often make friends while on a trip to Disney. We ran into the nicest family (Tony, his daughter Maisha [“My-SHA”] and their families. They stayed at SS and we periodically ran into them at the parks. Maisha had made a Minnie key chain to honor her mother who loved the parks and had recently passed away from cancer. She gave one to each family in our group who were brought to tears by her story honoring her mother. What a wonderful family and great way to honor their mom. I wish I had exchanged contact information with Tony. He was a great guy who was very personable and seemed like a lot of fun. We waited with this family outside B&B and had great conversation until our party was called.
Once inside the B&B the theming was fantastic, but the space small. Perhaps Disney’s way of making this seem more like a Tavern. Our table, unfortunately, was tucked behind a wall and came with only a very small space to sit and eat. Periodically, the room would become interactive with things changing all around. Everyone seemed to get up and walk around even if you could not see things from where you were situated, like us. I won’t go into detail about what occurs during the times the room comes alive because I do not want to spoil it for anyone. Suffice it to say, it is pretty neat. The bar itself is the central focal point of the room and we could not see it at all from where we were. Beggars can’t be choosers though, we were just happy to get in and enjoy ourselves.
Time in B&B is capped at 45 minutes or 2 cocktails, whichever is longer. We made the most of our time there and ordered 2 drinks and 2 appetizers as soon as the waitress came by. She suggested this was the most efficient way to spend our time if we wanted two drinks. The on-menu drinks were just “ok” and seemed pre-mixed and a bit watered down. The appetizers, however, were delicious. The menu offerings are small. From what I recall there were 4 appetizers only. We ordered the Corn Griddle Cakes and Poblano Peppers and Chipolte braised chicken. They were both excellent and worth eating.
Once done at B&B we met up with our family to have dinner over at Skipper Canteen. I won’t go into a food review here but will mention I felt the theming in this resort was a lot of fun and our waiter loosely was in character serving our table. The food was pretty good but the kids options were just OK.
Following dinner, we hustled out to see the electrical parade over by Tianna’s Bayou. Our spot was fine to view the parade, but a LONG way back over to the castle to catch the fireworks which were scheduled to begin almost immediately following the electrical parade. I’d not seen this show but it was impressive and a lot of fun. After the parade, we hustled over to try to get a spot to see Happily Ever After. Let me tell you…it was BUSY and nearly impossible to get anywhere close to the castle. Disney cast members began routing us down an alley BEHIND Mainstreet USA because the crowds were too heavy to get a seat anywhere close to the castle. Ultimately, we got one of the few spots where you could walk/stand near the American flag on Mainstreet USA and watched from there. Terrible view of castle…great escape to the busses. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. ;0)
Day 5: Magic Kingdom Halloween Party
Day 5 for us started out as a slow day. Everyone slept in except my son and I who had a tee time at Lake Buena Vista Golf Course. (LBV). We woke up at 6:30 am and walked over to the golf course to play a 7:10 a.m. tee time. The pro shop staff there is very helpful and so are the cart attendants. For those skeptical about playing golf at Disney, the CM’s are very gracious regardless of skill level. My son, at age 9, is pretty good at golf. I, at age 44, am not. We were paired with a fellow named Paul who played at our pace and a lot of fun. We only played 9 holes which was just enough for my son. We didn’t feel pressured or out of place but we did a good job of keeping pace.
We wrapped up golf and my son went back to take a nap in the room. I met my wife for brunch at Disney Springs. I grabbed some chicken biscuits at Art Smiths, which were delicious. Following lunch, we readied the crew to head to the Halloween Party around 3:30. Disney began allowing guests in at 4:00 p.m.
We arrived at the Halloween Party around 4 and it was already starting to thin out on guests. My kids and I saw Tron was down to a 20 min wait time and so we hopped on Tron a few times. As an aside, it had been since 2018 that I attended a Party of any sort at Disney and I forgot how much fun they are. The crowds are lower, you are able to ride rides more easily without the need for a LL, and they give out a TON of candy. We were able to ride Tron 4 or 5 times. Tianna’s was a walk on ride and so we rode it. Mine train maintained the longest ride wait times at 40 minutes. Candy was wildly available and it seemed different candy was handed out in different parts of the park. We found Tomorrow Land to be heavy on sour skittles and Adventure Land to have more of the chocolate candies. Between all my kids we ended the night with 30 lbs of candy. It was enough that I had to purchase a Mickey Vampire bag to hold it all. We brought it back on the plane as a “personal item” and intend on regifting the candy on Halloween to save on having to buy all new candy. The amount of candy given away at the end of the night is ridiculous. Right before closing literal handfuls of candy would be heaped into your bags.
We watched the fireworks show for the Halloween party, which is different than Happily Ever After. It was cool, but did not have the same emotional appeal as Happily Ever After. My most favorite thing of the entire night was watching the Headless Horseman ride a horse down mainstreet and the ominous sound of the CLOP CLOP CLOP when everyone would get quiet and see him coming. I talked to a cast member who told me the HH will ride almost every night before each parade but the decision is on a case by case basis. Because the HH cannot see, the horse is trained to follow the same route each time at the same pace. If it has been raining or drizzleing and the ground is at all wet, a determination will be made by the rider whether or not the HH will ride. On this night, the rider did not ride for the Boo to You parade, but he DID ride for the second parade. This was due to a light drizzle prior to the Boo to You parade.
We ended the night at 12:15 a.m. and got back to the room by 1:00 a.m. We were exhausted. I did not sleep well which significantly impacted my Day 6.
Day 6: AK
I do not have much to add here because I was EXHAUSTED and chose to return to the hotel room. We went to breakfast at O’Hana because my nieces love stitch. I find the O’hana breakfast to be one of the worst values on property. It is expensive and the food is mediocre. I recall it being far better pre-covid. I have not been to dinner here but seem to recall that was worthwhile. You get bacon, mickey waffles, and eggs for what seems like $500.00.
We hopped on a bus from here to Animal Kingdom. I stuck around Animal Kingdom long enough to take a group photo in front of the Tree of Life but did not stick around the rest of the day. I will mention the moment we rounded the corner to first see the Tree of Life we timed it perfectly with a litany of Macaws that had just been released. It was a magical moment, especially for my family who had never seen it before.
From what I was told, the wait times at AK were very low.
That night I took my son and nephew over to the main pool at SS. It was chilly out (low 70s) so I did not get in the pool. About 30 minutes of swimming passed before the lifeguard announced that due to an unforeseen circumstance the pool must be cleared immediately. I quickly learned they cleared the pool because of a live snake in the pool. I did not believe it, but walked over and sure enough…there was a snake. The life guards attempted to capture the snake but without success. They eventually lost it somewhere and assumed it had slithered away or down a drain. The chase lasted about 20 minutes and they gave the all clear to return to the pool.
Day 7: Departure
Leaving Disney is always a sad day but our flight was not until 3:30 p.m. so we decided to book a brunch at 1900 Park Fare at the GF. This brunch is one of my favorites because I feel the food is unique, high quality, and you don’t have to wait to eat. It is also fun for the kids because the characters who come out interact well with the tables.
The GF lobby renovation is coming along. The carpet looks great. The bar is still under construction but appears to be mostly complete. It seems odd and out of place in the GF lobby. I am not sure what I think about the GF having a lobby bar when there is the Enchanted Rose upstairs and Citricos as well. It seems to tarnish the family atmosphere of the GF a bit. I will wait to pass final judgment until it is complete and I have an opportunity to experience the lobby after it opens.
That is it for the trip. I will mention one final point….this entire trip, except the LL was booked through a pilot program Disney contacted us about. Essentially it is a concierge service where Disney books all dining and park passes for us if we give them dates, times, etc. They handled it well, made necessary changes for us, and we found them very easy to work with. There was no cost for this. It is not available to general public. We were randomly selected and asked if we would like to participate in this for this specific trip.