Two of my girls want to take me

[Sarahelizabeth]

When did you stay? They built a huge apartment complex that sticks out as you cross the property to Kidani Village. The fence literay touches the picnic / sports area. They also built a strip mall, in which the back is very noticeable when you’re walking to your room. The lights from Margaittavile shine very brightly and you notice that V thing they have. All this has been built

We were there in November over thanksgiving. We were in the main building on the second floor though so maybe just didn’t see those areas.

 

[We’reAllMadHere]

LLMP & LLSP - Each park has one or two LLSP rides. LLMP and LLSP can be reserved/booked 7 days before the first day of your tickets for resort guests. Guests staying off site can book starting 3 days in advance. I found the Mammoth Club videos to be helpful.

WDW also has virtual queues for Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind at Epcot and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom. You can get a VQ at 7 am or 1 pm, but you have to be in the park to get one at 1 pm. If you’re at a deluxe resort and staying for Extra Evening Hours at Epcot (which is Mondays in March I believe) there is an additional VQ for Guardians at 6 pm.

 

[LKing]

WDW also has virtual queues for Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind at Epcot and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom.

Thanks!

 

[LKing]

We decided to make the trip in early March.

Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival starts on March 5. I've seen pictures of the topiaries, but have never seen them in person. I tried to look at a map to find out where they are located, but it isn't clear. The website says, "Check back this winter for details on the 2025 event."

There are also concerts in EPCOT during the festival. You can find the schedule here.

 

[LAS2AMS]

The lines for some of those concerts are ridiculous. When I was last there, there were more people in line than in the rest of the park - and it was several hours before the event. They do have reserved seating, but I’ve never looked into how to snag those. Much of the entertainment is formerly popular bands from my high school and college days and it makes me feel old!!!

 

[LKing]

The lines for some of those concerts are ridiculous. When I was last there, there were more people in line than in the rest of the park - and it was several hours before the event. They do have reserved seating, but I’ve never looked into how to snag those. Much of the entertainment is formerly popular bands from my high school and college days and it makes me feel old!!!

My understanding is that the festivals are more for locals than visitors. Just like at DLR, locals have time to line up early and wait for entertainment because they tend to visit the parks frequently.

When I first started planning my trip, someone shared that if there was a festival at EPCOT, try to avoid going on weekends because that is when locals visit for the food booths and entertainment.

 

[We’reAllMadHere]

My understanding is that the festivals are more for locals than visitors. Just like at DLR, locals have time to line up early and wait for entertainment because they tend to visit the parks frequently.

When I first started planning my trip, someone shared that if there was a festival at EPCOT, try to avoid going on weekends because that is when locals visit for the food booths and entertainment.

There are festivals going on at Epcot almost all year long now. Festival of the Arts, Flower and Garden, Food and Wine, Holidays. They sell a lot of merch and a lot of food at the special food stalls.

Flower and Garden is the best time of the year to visit Epcot. The park is beautifully decorated and there is a butterfly house set up. The topiaries are dispersed throughout the park (Pooh and friends in UK, pandas in China, etc.).

Special Flower and Garden menus will probably be released in mid-February or so but they are likely to be similar to those from past years. The concert schedule is on the WDW site but it’s not very impressive.

 

[LKing]

Flower and Garden is the best time of the year to visit Epcot. The park is beautifully decorated and there is a butterfly house set up. The topiaries are dispersed throughout the park (Pooh and friends in UK, pandas in China, etc.).

Thank you! That must be why I couldn't find it on the map. This is what shows up on my app.



DCA also has food festivals most of the year. Last year was Lunar New Year, Food & Wine, Pixar Festival, Halloween, and Holidays. I haven't seen announcements for DCA food booths this summer yet. The Pixar food booths were not well received last summer and this year seems to be focused on Disneyland.

 

[We’reAllMadHere]

Thank you! That must be why I couldn't find it on the map. This is what shows up on my app.

Helpful map, Disney.

I’m not sure what links we’re allowed to post. (Some message boards get cranky.) But WDW Prep School has a checklist of last year’s topiaries and locations on their website. I’m sure this year’s will probably be similar. (That site is actually really helpful in general for newbies to WDW but I’m not sure how updated it is. Sometimes it’s hard to filter through all the bloggers and whatnot to find things that are up to date.)

I’ve only been to Lunar New Year and Food and Wine at DCA. I enjoyed having the ability to buy a “ticket package” for the food booths at Food and Wine. Epcot does not have that. You used to be able to use snack credits from a Disney Dining Plan and convert QS credits to more snacks but I think the new dining programs are not as flexible.

I would say Epcot’s food is better than most of what I’ve had at DCA food booths in the past.

 

[LKing]

I would say Epcot’s food is better than most of what I’ve had at DCA food booths in the past

Better tasting? Larger portions? We won't have a dining plan so don't need to worry about that. Can you purchase all of your items at one register and bring your receipt to the different booths to pick up your food like at DCA?

 

[LAS2AMS]

Better tasting? Larger portions? We won't have a dining plan so don't need to worry about that. Can you purchase all of your items at one register and bring your receipt to the different booths to pick up your food like at DCA?

I didn’t know you could purchase all your items at one booth in DCA! At Epcot, we purchased items at different registers per respective booths. Some of the lines were very long.

I don’t find the food to be better at Epcot, although it is cheaper than DCA (that may no longer be true as WDW’s price hikes on food were much better). It’s all so similar, you wouldn’t know the difference IMO. Like DCA, some items are better values than others. For Food and Wine Festival, they had lobster tails for $13. Other items the portion size was disappointing for the price charged.

Epcot has a cult like following. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world so I find World Showcase uninteresting; it seems to have its largest appeal amongst Disney fans who aren’t particularly interested in traveling anywhere besides Disney (like the oodles of people who make their first trip to Californian, never venture beyond DLR and complain it wasn’t like WDW).

The food at WDW is good but if you’ve explored the world beyond Disney, it’s highly overrated. For example, the fish and chips in the UK pavilion are on most “must do” lists yet they don’t compare to what we can get at Californian Fish Grill.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Don’t forget that there’s a lot of free things to do at WDW on your non-park days. My favorites include:

- taking the boat from Disney Springs to the Port Orleans Resort.
- taking the Skyliner from the Caribbean Beach Resort to Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Pop Century/ Art of Animation Resort. Caribbean Beach has a restaurant called Sebastian’s. It was $34 in August, is served family style (all-you-can-eat) and includes non-alcoholic drinks plus dessert. The food is very good and even without AYCE, it’s one of the best values at WDW.
- taking the boat from the Contemporary to Fort Wilderness. In the evenings, you can roast s’mores with Chip and Dale and catch a classic Disney movie. Anyone can participate, it’s free sans the food. While at FW, check out Trail’s End, which features the same food as the adjacent Hoop De Doo Musical Revue. Or better yet, catch a show there sometime.
- ride the monorail around the MK resorts and to/ from Epcot.

BTW, in DisneyForward they proposed using the Skyliner to move people from the new DLR entrance (where they tore down the Grand Hotel) to the park entrance.

 

[brightlined]

Better tasting? Larger portions? We won't have a dining plan so don't need to worry about that. Can you purchase all of your items at one register and bring your receipt to the different booths to pick up your food like at DCA?

Not OP, but I'd agree with that assessment. For me, it's mostly the wider variety - there are so many more booths at the Epcot festivals and the booths can be vastly different in terms of tastes. Broadly speaking, I feel like the DCA booths tend to have a gently more limited palate (maybe intentionally so with LNY).

No - Epcot doesn't do the buy-at-one-place thing. Too many booths - the logistics would be tough, and it would probably make the lines a lot longer than they already are. I've usually had good luck focusing on festival food during the earlier part of the day. (And I agree with that recommendation - I usually avoid Epcot on weekends during the big festivals.)

 

[LKing]

I didn’t know you could purchase all your items at one booth in DCA!

Wow, I'm surprised you didn't know that. It saves a ton of time waiting in line. Most people line up at the first couple of registers as you enter the festival and the lines are very long We try to go to the registers near the booths at GRR or Hollywood because the lines often are shorter. Order everything you are going to want that day. You can pick up the food items at any time throughout the day. Everything is listed on one receipt and when you pick up the item(s) the CM crosses it out on your receipt. Just make sure you don't lose that receipt.

 

[brightlined]

Wow, I'm surprised you didn't know that.

I think it's as much that they don't really advertise it (that I've ever noticed, anyway). I think I only found out about it because I saw it mentioned it here. (And I remember one time panicking when I thought I'd thrown away the receipt before picking up the last couple of items.)

Honestly, I'm a little surprised they do it - one of the upsides of handling the booths separately is that it's easier to handle the logistics and pace the food prep and distribution. Anecdotally, I've seen longer lines to pick up food at DCA booths than would happen at Epcot, unless there's some kind of supply issue for a specific item at a given moment. I think if the DCA booths were more popular, it'd be harder to do.

 

[LKing]

LAS2AMS is local which is why it surprised me. Often CM at the registers will tell you that you can order items from multiple booths at once.

One festival after reopening had horrendous lines. I'm not 100% positive, but I think it was Lunar New Year in 2022. There were not enough tables to eat at so people were sitting on the ground and trash was a big issue. The next festival they added more tables and more trash cans. Each festival since then they have played around with booth locations and where dining tables (tall and short) are placed. I think it was after the festival with horrible lines that they started the option to order everything at one register.

We rarely experience much of a line to pick up food from a booth. Places like Studio Catering have a longer wait for pick up. They aren't considered a booth so you need to order at their register and then wait for your food.

 

[brightlined]

I agree - I've rarely seen major lines for pickup at the DCA booths. But there have been a handful of times (maybe one of those Avocado booths at F&W) where I waited in line to pay then waited the same amount of time to pick up. Probably just a coincidence of timing that something had sold out and the new batch was getting ready - I think I'd be gently surprised if too many people in that pickup line had purchased elsewhere and were just picking up.

I think I'm looking at it more from an Epcot perspective - just that it would be logistically challenging to have a separate line for pickup at a lot of the booths. During the busier parts of the day, some of the booths are cranking out food as quickly as they can - the cashier line limits the pace. (Btw - very very anecdotally - maybe a handful of times - I've found the Epcot booth food to be better and/or more generous on portion when the lines are lighter.)

 

[LAS2AMS]

I’ve ordered from the booths many times, including a few weeks ago in which I told the employee I was trying to hustle to get to another booth and the option to pay for both wasn’t mentioned! Great tip! The DCA booths do occasionally generate lines, so it’s super helpful.

Did they have the booths up during Halloween? I can’t recall.

 

[LKing]

So, at EPCOT, are the registers and booths not separate? Do you get in line to purchase and item at the register and stay in the same line until you pick up your item at the booth window?

It is funny, because I think I figured out the big stuff, but the little things like this are going to throw me for a loop.

Regarding timing for booking reservations. ADR are 60 days in advance and open at 6 am EST? I saw somewhere that they open at 5:45-6 am. Do some locations open earlier than others?
Are tours and experiences also booked 60 days in advance? Is this also at 6 am. I've also read midnight EST.
LLMP/LLSP are booked 7 days prior to your first ticket day for resort guests and 3 days in advance for non resort guests.
Any other timelines/dates we should be aware of?

 

[LKing]

Has anyone been to the Character Warehouses in Orlando? We used to have them in So Cal, but they closed.