Have you thought of planning a Disney trip in 2020? Well, look no further and stay tuned. We just booked our next Walt Disney World trip! Our trip dates are November 6-13, so it’s coming up soon. We’ll share what we know so far and also what we hope to get as far as dining and park reservations.
We have booked a 7-night stay at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort-Gran Destino Tower. We recently discovered that there are no dining services open at this resort and we are not sure how we will work around that. We may end up changing resorts at some point. The attendees are my sister Tammy, my niece Tina, Taylor and myself. Tammy has an Annual Pass so we will be working our park reservations around the availability for passholders, as it is limited for many of the days.
The theme park line up is as follows. Two days will be spent at Magic Kingdom, since it is our favorite park with the most to do. Although we really love EPCOT, the limited hours and construction have put it as a one day park this trip. We plan to spend the majority of it in World Showcase, sampling food and drink at the Food & Wine Festival. With the addition of Toy Story Land, Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has a lot for guests to do. However, we are only planning one park day unless we add a day to the beginning or end of our trip. We will spend the majority of the day at Galaxy’s Edge, with a side trip to check out Toy Story Land. Last but not least, we have reserved two park days at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It may surprise most of you to hear that, but we really love this park! The slower pace, paired with a fun Safari and lots of animals, is more our style. Pandora-World of Avatar puts this park over the top for us!
A huge part of any Disney vacation is the food. So far we have booked a few dining reservations, which could change as we get closer. With park hours being shortened, we don’t want to waste precious park time on too many sit down meals. We have a Chef Mickey’s breakfast booked for one of our Magic Kingdom days. With the new social distancing and health precautions in place, there are no characters and the meal is served family style rather than as a buffet. We are going to finally try Beaches N’ Cream over at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. This gem has been on our radar for years but has never worked out. Will we try the kitchen sink? Wait and see!
One of the reservations is for Sanaa over at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village. We have never been, but have heard so many amazing reviews. We are looking forward to that bread service! However, we might cancel due to the reservation time being somewhat inconvenient. Originally, we had booked Via Napoli in Italy at Epcots World Showcase. Due to the reduced hours, a one day park itinerary and the Food & Wine Festival, we opted out for more park time. There will be plenty of good food to try.
There is plenty of good food in Disney Springs and we hope to nab a reservation at one of the many amazing locations. There is a concern that it will reach capacity that day and we will not be allowed in. Keep this is mind, especially when booking a reservation for dining on the weekend. We may try to reserve something day of once we have gained entrance. If not, Disney Springs has so many food options and many quick service meals we would love to try.
On our list of quick service meals is Satuli Canteen in Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Besides those protein bowls, we really need one of those Night Blossom beverages! We can’t visit Star Wars-Galaxy’s Edge without trying a Ronto Wrap from Ronto Roasters so on the list it goes.
Snacks are a big part of a Disney vacation and we are so grateful for that. No trip to Magic Kingdom is complete without having a Dole Whip! No one snacks like Gaston, so we will be sampling a Lefou’s Brew and perhaps the famous cinammon roll from Gaston’s Tavern. I just want to sit in his chair and see how he uses antlers in all of his decorating. We will be doing plenty of snacking at Epcots Food & Wine Festival, including the new Nitro Cake Pops. Will we be adventurous and try the Blue or Green Milk from Galaxy’s Edge? I think so! A must try for me personally this trip is the Artisan S’more from The Ganachery at Disney Springs.
If you are planning a trip to Walt Disney World in 2020, we recommend keeping it light. A trip to Disney now will look very different from trips in the past. Don’t put too many restrictions or expectations on your trip. Try to have a “we’ll see as we go” approach. These are a few tips we used in planning our trip and suggest you follow as well:
- Getting to a park at opening is a priority right now. There is a lot you can get done while other park guests sleep in. Crowds are at an all time low so it will be easy to maximize your park time, even with reduced operating hours.
- Don’t forget that Disney allows guests to meander out to the park exit and enjoy the shops for an hour after close. Use that time for shopping and avoid carrying bags around with you all day. This is also a good time for all those photo opportunities.
- When planning dining reservations or resort hopping, keep in mind that travel between parks, resorts and Disney Springs can take up large amounts of time. Don’t take away from your limited park time to go all the way to a resort for lunch or to leave Magic Kingdom mid day to do a monorail resort crawl. With earlier park closing hours, there will be time in the evenings to do some of those extra visits and outings.
- Try to avoid a park on the weekend that has a special event, such as Epcots Food & Wine Festival. The weekends are prime park time for annual passholders and Florida residents, which increases the crowds for these events.
- Fast passes are not available right now, so plan your days accordingly. To make sure you get on the in demand attractions, head to them first thing. Rides like Frozen Ever After, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Flight of Passage get super busy soon after park opening.
- Park hopping is unavailable at this time with the park reservation system. Any reservations for in park dining will need to be made on a day you hold a park reservation for that specific theme park.
This is a first draft, rough outline of how our trip is shaping up. We know there will be changes and compromises as the vacation gets closer. You can still have a great Disney vacation in 2020. It might look a little different from past years, but that’s ok. Do you agree or disagree with any of our planning so far? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us on the “Contact Us” page.