Welcome, once again, to yet another pre-trip report for our upcoming November Walt Disney World trip!
Yep, we are STILL going. It’s like…if you were to ask me to go to Target, I’d have to soak my entire body in Purell for a couple days before heading down there. But…dangle a Mickey bar in front of me and I’m all…
And guys?
Sooooo. Remember when I said these plans were super flexible and anything could change? I mean, I’ve said it like a gajillion times. Pay attention.
Anywhat. So if you recall from my earlier post, the plan was, once we get to Walt Disney World, our home for the week would be Boardwalk Villas. And I mean, that was a solid SOLID plan. Love the Boardwalk.
But…
BUT…
Plans have changed, my friends. Our DVC hookup has switched us to a 1 -bedroom at Disney’s Bay Lake Tower for the first 3 nights of the trip and then switching to a 1-bedroom Lake View at The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian for our last 2 nights!
While we have stayed at Bay Lake Tower before and loved it, it was only for one night, so it will be super exciting to stay for a longer trip. And we have NEVER done the Grand Floridian. So that’s a pretty big deal as well.
We are gonna be walking in thurr like…
I will probably get into the whole Grand Floridian thing later, but let’s talk Bay Lake Tower. Last time we were there was our 2018 Thanksgiving/Nickie’s Birthday extravaganza and we LOVED it. The location, the pool, the rooms.
And like I said, the location. Place is a WALK to Magic Kingdom.
Also, we are changing up our dining strategy too. Given where the numbers still are, we are going to focus only on eating outdoors. At least that’s the thinking for right now. So, for example, Narcoossee’s is out for Day 4 and we are opting for an outdoor location.
Like I said, this is the thinking…for now. We actually still have some indoor reservations we are having a hard time letting go so there is definitely a chance of caving.
OK…update over.
On with the day. Well the pre-day.
Day 6 – Magic Kingdom!
So on Day 6, we will wake up in our newly designated home – Bay Lake Tower. And this whole waking up thing will most likely happen at 7ish. Not sure if a run will happen or not but maybe. I do like the little running trail they have at the Contemporary.
After the run or lack thereof, it’s time to get ready for our day at the most magical kingdom of all.
…
You know. Kingdom. A magical kingdom.
…
Ugh.
The Magic Kingdom. It’s the Magic Kingdom.
Like I mentioned, there is a pathway directly to the Magic Kingdom from Bay Lake Tower. So we will head out and hit the path in an effort to probably make it to the gates by like 8:30 at the latest since the park opens at 9:00.
Once in the park, I assume we will immediately make our way to….something. Typically, on our first day at Magic Kingdom, we go right to Space Mountain but I don’t know. With no FastPasses at all, we may end up heading straight to Fantasyland to jump on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Peter Pan’s Flight. According to DisneyTouristBlog, this is the best way to start an MK day during these COVID times.
In fact, if we follow the plan laid out on DisneyTouristBlog, he says we should be able to hit Seven Dwarfs, Peter Pan, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and It’s a Small World before lunch. Which seems ambitious. But I would maybe skip Jungle Cruise this time around to ensure we have the best chance of hitting both Haunted Mansion and Small World.
Best laid plans, right?
We also have an early lunch reservation that day so that could impact things as well. Our reservation is at 11:30 AM at Tony’s Town Square and are hoping to grab a table on the patio.
Not only would that help us to keep our outdoor-eating rule, but with the character cavalcades happening throughout the day, we may also end up getting some entertainment with our meal.
Speaking of meals. And I mean, when am I NOT, right?
Pfft, did you just call me fat? Well, you’re a…
A…
…person who hurts people WITH THE TRUTH.
Count it.
But yeah, me and my belly will definitely be ready for some foodness. And I am honestly between the chicken parm and spaghetti for my main course. And I mean, I am at Tony’s so I’ll probably go for the spaghetti.
On account of I’m basic.
After lunch, it would be nice to jump on a couple more attractions depending on how the waits look. Space Mountain would be a nice one to squeeze in there. But with no FastPasses, the world is a vast unknown.
At some point soon after though, the plan is to leave the park for our midday break. It’s definitely a good time to leave Magic Kingdom, with the midday heat and crowds. Staying in Magic Kingdom? That’s straight up cuckoo bananas.
So we will walk back over to Bay Lake Tower for some much-needed pool time.
And I say much-needed not only because pool time is always needed. I think in these times pool time is especially necessary. Why? Because MASK TAN. I mean, it’s a legit concern. Walking around the park all day with the bottom half of my face covered. I know…I know. I have a beard so I shouldn’t be all that concerned but I feel like that may even look weirder? Like the top of my face say, “vacation” but the bottom of my face will say “Wooly Willy.”
But thankfully, at Disney pools, I think you can lay out mask-less, socially distanced. Crisis=averted.
After spending some quality time at the pool, and some quality time with my family, and some quality time with what I envision to be a blend of rum and fruit juice, it’ll eventually be time to head back up to the room and get ready for….dinner? Maybe?
I mean, yes…we will eat dinner at some point. But I can also see us heading back to the Magic Kingdom first. It’s not necessarily on the spreadsheet, but with the park closing at 7PM and us only having one day there, who knows? Plus, with things getting darker earlier, it would be nice to get at least a little bit of time in a darkened Magic Kingdom.
That picture was actually specifically put in there to convince Nickie to go back to the park.
So, there’s a real good chance. Like…RULL GOOD.
But at some point, dinner does indeed have to happen. And this night is one of those nights where right now we do have an indoor reservation that, in fact, is super hard to give up. We have a 6:40 PM reservation at Be Our Guest. Which would be a hard reservation to give up anyways, but with the park closing at 7, this would actually keep us there after park closing.
Plus, we haven’t been to Be Our Guest for dinner since they went prix fixe. It’s gonna be a hard one to resist.
But. Let’s assume for now we are sticking with the whole outdoor dining only thing. If that’s the case, we could end up staying at the park until close (again, 7PM) and then heading to our OUTDOOR dinner plan – Geyser Point at Wilderness Lodge.
Geyser Point is a great spot. Located directly on Bay Lake, it offers some really nice views coupled with some super good food. And while it’s technically a counter service option, there actually is wait-service so you feel like you’re totally gaming the system.
They have a ton of good options there, but I have a feeling if we end up at Geyser Point, I will go with what I’ve gone with before – the Bison Cheeseburger.
And I mean…their drinks. They’re drinks. I’ve gotten the Blueberry Lemonade before, which was good. But I think if we end up here, I may either try the Bourbon Breeze (Jim Beam Black Extra-aged Bourbon with Cranberry, Lime, and Pomegranate Juices topped with Fever Tree Ginger Beer) or if I haven’t shot past my fruity-rum quota at the pool, I may go for the Banana Cabana (Cruzan Mango Rum, Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, Bols Crème de Banana, Orange Juice, and Pineapple Juice with a float of Grenadine.)
Either way, I win.
After dinner, it might be nice to walk around Wilderness Lodge a little bit or sit by the fire. Or maybe jump on a ferry and head back to Bay Lake Tower. Maybe some post-dinner hot tubbing? A movie under the stars?
I guess you’ll just have to read the trip report to see how this all plays out.
WeHeartDisney 
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