WALT DISNEY WORLD TRIP HIGHLIGHTS
As a former Walt Disney World cast member, going back to Orlando felt like going home! Here are the highlights of my recent trip, including my favourite places to eat, drink, and explore at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Eats
I'll one hundred percent admit to being biased here: I used to work at Le Cellier, Epcot's ultra popular Canadian steakhouse. This steakhouse is one of the best places to eat at Disney World, and as such, it can be tricky to get a reservation, but with a little planning you can find yourself in the cozy cellar, dipping your pretzel bread in cheese soup and indulging in a tender filet on a bed of wild mushroom risotto and topped off with white truffle butter sauce-- mmmm. Divine. Don't forget to grab a chocolate moose for dessert to round off the Canadian experience, and be kind to your authentic Canadian server, they are far from home on the Cultural Representative Program, and possibly a friend of mine!
No matter which season you visit, there is always something happening at Epcot. From the Festival of the Arts to the Flower & Garden Festival to the Candlelight Processional, Epcot almost always has extra food booths, performances, and more to make your day magical. My favourite of these is the Food & Wine Festival, which is held every Fall. During this festival, the World Showcase, usually home to 11 themed country pavilions representing Canada, the UK, France, Morocco, America, Italy, Japan, Germany, China, Norway, and Mexico, adds on a bunch of extra food booths that let you try a taste (and a sip!) of even more cuisines. Come hungry and try as many as you can!
Bars
I'm not overstating it when I say that Jellyrolls on Disney's Boardwalk is my favourite bar in the entire world. The drinks are nothing fancy, the space is fairly unremarkable, but the energy in this duelling piano bar is unmatched. For those unfamiliar with the concept (it's not something we really have here in Toronto, though it does seem more common in other places!), a duelling piano bar is an all-request piano bar where the players play modern music and singing along is encouraged. Jellyrolls features talented performers singing everything from Sir Mixalot to Beyonce to Elton John to Lady Gaga on piano, plus the occasional Disney medley or Muppet song for good measure and to remind you you're at Disney World. The crowd is always an eclectic mix of post-park goers, plus conference attendees and cast members. It's 21+ and always fun and I miss it when I'm home in Canada!
Monorail Crawl
Since we were in Orlando for a friend's wedding, we had lots of other pals in town, too. We left the Magic Kingdom after the afternoon parade for a monorail crawl, a tradition dating back to my first of-age contract back in 2011. A Monorail Crawl, also known as Drinking around the Monorail, is a bar crawl of the three resorts that are connected to the monorail. There are several bars and restaurants in each of the three resorts (plus you can add on the boat extension and also visit Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness, but that's what we would call an advanced move and we didn't have the time this trip!) and each is themed differently. It used to be that they also let you take to-go cups on the monorail, since they were all on the same liquor license, but they've stopped that now. On this trip, we tried the new-to-me Enchanted Rose at the Grand Floridian, which is Beauty and the Beast themed and gorgeous, Steakhouse 71 at the Contemporary, and my favourite, Trader Sam's, at the Polynesian. Trader Sam's is a super popular (and tiny!) tiki bar with impeccable theming and fun drinks, but it's first come, first served, and fills up fast-- we put our name on the list before starting our crawl and then went to our other two stops while waiting to get in there. Then we hopped back on the monorail and were back at the Magic Kingdom in time for the fireworks and a few more (tipsy!) rides!
Drinking around the World
The original Disney bar crawl, Drinking around the World (showcase) is exactly what it sounds like. You visit each of the eleven countries around the World Showcase Lagoon and try a drink. I always say the best way to do this is to either share or make sure you try snacks alongside your drinks, and pace yourselves! Also nothing gets you cut off faster than acting obnoxious while wearing matching t-shirts announcing you are Drinking around the World, so I recommend against that. I usually do two laps and drink at every second country on the first and then the ones I missed on the second. Sprinkle in some rides and shows and make a day of it, it's delicious and fun! I especially love Italy's Rose Regale sparkling rosé and the Grand Marnier Slush in France, but everyone has their own go-tos!
I grew up on Star Wars and was SO excited to explore Galaxy's Edge. We managed to grab a reservation at Oga's, which was the perfect way to end a long day in the park. Our reservation was after the park closed, but we didn't feel rushed or anything, last call was a full hour and a half after we sat down, and as one of the last tables to sit, the place emptied out around us, letting us to fully soak in all the details in this immersive bar. It reminded me a lot of a Trader Sam's and other tiki bars but with a definite sci-fi twist. The playfulness of the drink names and of the servers add to the immersive nature of the bar, and the cutest droid plays DJ-- including the classic cantina song we all know and love. The cocktails were tasty and inventive, if a bit sweet, and walking through the empty park after we left was incredible. Strongly recommend, it was all definitely a highlight!
Adventures
Hidden Gems
One of my favourite things about Walt Disney World is that it's a THEME park, not to be confused with an amusement park. If you just go for the rides, you are missing most of what makes Disney World magical! A lot of my favourite things to do are the extras-- the 'streetmosphere' that immerses you into the story world. While a lot of this was on hiatus this post-covid trip, one of my favourite experiences was still there: a horse drawn trolley ride with the Dapper Dans from the train station to the castle. I've been lucky enough to time my entrance to the park with this magical moment a few times now, as far as I can tell it's just twice each morning, right around rope drop. There's never a line, in fact we were practically the only ones on the trolley, and the Dapper Dans serenade you all the way down Main Street. Magical!
Rides & Shows
I love a show, especially if there is singing and dancing involved! We squeezed in a few this trip, including Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Hollywood Studios and fireworks at Epcot and the Magic Kingdom, and my favourite: the Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom. We also rode most rides, including the soon-to-close Splash Mountain and the spectacular new-to-me Guardians of the Galaxy and Rise of the Resistance, which are definitely new favourites. Guardians really blew my mind, unreal!
Resorts
We started our stay at the Swan hotel before moving over to Coronado Springs, where we attended a pal's wedding in the new tower. I always enjoy time spent at the resorts, exploring and enjoying the many amenities. I was pleasantly surprised by how awesome the pool at the Swan was, I had never stayed there before and the Grotto was gorgeous and expansive, nearly as nice as my personal favourite WDW resort pool over at the Yacht & Beach Club. I love the location of the Swan as well, walking distance to the Boardwalk, which is home to Jellyrolls and other great bars and restaurants, and also an easy walk to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. I also love exploring resorts I'm not staying at: on this trip, we also visited the new Riviera resort for a snack and a drink as an excuse to ride the new Skyliner gondola, as well as drinking around the resorts connected to the monorail.
