Top 10 Honeymoon Tips for Disney World
Are you honeymooning at Walt Disney World? That’s where we honeymooned, and it was a great time with delicious dining, luxurious hotel stays, late night adult entertainment, and more. This guide covers how to have an incredible “Disneymoon” with tips & tricks from our experience over a decade ago that still hold true today! (Updated July 18, 2023.)
As you probably guessed given that you’re reading our personal blog on the subject, we are diehard Disney fans. We knew exactly what we wanted to do for our honeymoon, and began planning it out shortly after we got engaged (also at Walt Disney World) over 2 years before our wedding. If you’re not as familiar with Walt Disney World, figuring out how to approach your happily ever after trip can be a bit overwhelming…and you might not do quite as much advance planning.
There are a lot of ways that you’ll want to approach your Disneymoon just like a regular trip, following the best practices laid out in our Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide. That covers the basics, like how long to visit, transportation tips, ticket types, and much more. However, there are also many ways in which your honeymoon will, presumably, be a lot different from the average family trip to Florida…
For one thing, you will presumably be doing Walt Disney World as a couple without children on your honeymoon. This is hardly a revolutionary concept–you might’ve even seen disparaging articles about “Disney Adults” on other websites–and you certainly will not be or feel out of place at Walt Disney World. It’s increasingly popular with couples.
In fact, there are tons of ways to enjoy Walt Disney World without kids–and also without being total weirdos. (We’d like to think we’re only partial weirdos.) Walt Disney World is a huge destination for conventions and conferences, anniversaries, and other more adult types of trips. And that includes honeymoons!
In no particular order, here are our top 10 tips for a Walt Disney World honeymoon…
10. Splurge On Your Hotel
First and foremost, this means staying on property. Granted, you could find a very luxurious resort off-property, but for convenience’s sake, which will be important for the other tips, stay on property.
Read our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews for a rundown of all options. If that’s overwhelming or you’re not sure where to start, we’d recommend first reading our Rankings of ALL Walt Disney World Hotels from Worst to Best. The top 10 in particular is incredibly useful, with options for all budgets and priorities.
For Walt Disney World honeymoons, we highly recommend staying at one of the Crescent Lake Resorts: BoardWalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club, or the Swan and Dolphin Resorts.
These resorts are within walking, boat, or Skyliner gondola distance of two theme parks, Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and are a walk plus a monorail ride to the Magic Kingdom. These resorts are also within walking distance of one another, and also offer exceptional dining options, including Flying Fish and Yachtsman Steakhouse, and many excellent non-Disney options in the Swan and Dolphin hotels.
Most importantly, they’re within walking distance of Epcot’s World Showcase, which is a great place to spend time on your honeymoon. There’s nothing magical about a rental car on your honeymoon, unless you share a mutual love for traffic and road rage, so avoiding conventional forms of transportation on your honeymoon can really enhance the trip.
If you check the rack rate prices on these resorts, and they seem expensive, fear not. You can frequently find rates at the Swan and Dolphin for around $175/night after all resort fees and taxes. If the BoardWalk Resort or Beach Club Resort are more to your liking, we trying renting Disney Vacation Club points, which can bring the costs of these resorts down to less than $200 per night, and which also enables you to purchase the Disney Dining Plan, which we actually recommend during your honeymoon.
9. Dine Finely
As mentioned above, we are typically somewhat skeptical of the Disney Dining Plan. However, on your honeymoon, you absolutely should purchase it. The last thing you should be worried about on your honeymoon is costs, and one of the benefits of the Dining Plan is the disconnect between meal prices and the price of the Dining Plan. Now, if you’re a really light eater or vegetarian, you might want to give this some thought, but if you love steaks and desserts, just book it.
Many of the most romantic or fun Walt Disney World restaurants are also the most popular. If staying on-site, you’re able to make dining reservations 60 (+10) days in advance of your trip, so be sure to avail yourself of this opportunity! Nothing would be worse than being stuck eating nothing but counter service pizza because you didn’t do the proper planning. I don’t know about you, but where I come from, that isn’t exactly the epitome of enjoyment.
You do a lot of planning for your wedding, so do at least a little for your honeymoon…it should easily be exponentially more important than the wedding. 😉 Since dining is an integral part of any Disney vacation, it’s an important part of your honeymoon planning! Besides romantic restaurants, some of the best restaurants for honeymooners include those with fireworks views. There are also fun restaurants like Beaches & Cream in Disney’s Beach Club Resort. See if the two of you can conquer the Kitchen Sink–we did!
The best restaurants in Walt Disney World are all good, fun options. The #1 restaurant on that list, and one of the best restaurants in all of Florida, is Victoria & Albert’s. This is a great place for your honeymoon. With that said, Victoria & Albert’s is also insanely expensive and has literally doubled in price since our honeymoon. You can read me gush about it at length in our full review, but suffice to say, it’s arguably worth a splurge on your honeymoon.
Since we did Victoria & Albert’s, plus a few other restaurants that were objectively poor uses of Disney Dining Plan credits, we actually did a split stay (our first ever!) during our Disneymoon. We’ve since become huge advocates of Split Stays at Walt Disney World, including for honeymoons. This is both a great option for accommodations and eating at Walt Disney World.
As a general matter, we highly recommend a mixture of fun and fine dining on your honeymoon. Not every restaurant needs to be romantic. Not only is doing that exclusively expensive, but those marathon meals are also exhausting. And over a decade later, some of our fondest memories are of the silly and themed meals we did during our honeymoon. For more practical recommendations see this list of our favorite restaurants at Walt Disney World by category.
8. Buy A Custom Souvenir
Walt Disney World sells a lot of generic souvenirs that will end up on eBay or in your garage sale in a couple of years. Instead, we recommend buying something that you’ll keep a lifetime, and will be an omnipresent reminder of your honeymoon. If your budget is large and you’re crazy about Disney, stop in the Art of Disney and buy some framed art. This will probably set you back at least $400.
Alternatively, if you only want to spend $30 or less, get a custom-painted Mickey-Mouse head Christmas ornament. Now, this won’t exactly serve as a constant reminder of your honeymoon unless you defy social custom and leave up your tree year ’round, but it’s cheap, unique, and something you’ll cherish for a lifetime. After Sarah and I got engaged on the beach of Disney’s Polynesian Resort, we purchased one of these hand-personalized ornaments the next day to commemorate the occasion. It’s without question our most prized Christmas ornament!
7. Do A Photoshoot
Although we don’t usually recommend purchasing Disney’s Memory Maker, it can be a good purchase for your honeymoon. Regardless, the PhotoPass photographers can take photos of you with your own camera, so don’t feel uncomfortable asking. We prefer this approach over buying Memory Maker, but that can be worth a splurge on your honeymoon.
For what it’s worth, all of the photos of us in this post are technically “selfies” (although I don’t think that term existed back in the day of our Disneymoon!), taken with either a tripod or a camera perched on a trashcan. While you probably do not want to lug around a tripod all day, your phone on the self-timer propped up on a trash can or sitting on the ground can capture some great memories!
Additionally, there are photographers in some of the Deluxe Resorts that seem to be the upper echelon of PhotoPass photographers. While I would still be reluctant to use one of these pricier photographers without seeing some samples (taken by the actual photographer you’d be using), they seem to be at least a better option than the in-park photographers.
If you’re willing to have photos taken at the resorts, consider hiring Orlando area photographers who do not work for Disney. They’re typically better and often less costly.
6. Drink (Or Snack!) Around World Showcase
Here is why that Crescent Lake Area Resort will be important. In Epcot’s World Showcase, each of the countries have desserts and adult beverages that are unique to that country. While a lot of these purportedly unique beverages are things you could find in your local supermarket, the desserts are generally really good, and there are a few standout drinks worth trying.
Enjoy the slower pace of your honeymoon and spend an afternoon in Epcot soaking up the exquisite details of the World Showcase, and drinking and eating “around the world.” Check out our Drinking Around the World Showcase at Epcot Tips for our drink recommendations and other strategy for this fun activity. If drinking isn’t your thing, or you want some food to soak up the alcohol, we also have Tips for Snacking Around the World Showcase at Epcot that will help.
With this, we again want to stress the importance of slowing down and enjoying yourself. In the theme parks, there is the temptation to go at breakneck speed to accomplish as much as possible. For some trips, this is fine. Your honeymoon should be about enjoying the company of one another and relaxing. While I couldn’t tell you how many times we rode Space Mountain, Soarin’, Maelstrom (Frozen Ever After didn’t exist back then!) or any other attraction on our honeymoon, I can recite even the most inconsequential details of our afternoon drinking around the world.
We had a great time with one another, and once we had a couple of drinks in us, it became an amazing adventure where we met some very interesting people. I *think* we still may own a donkey in Spain somewhere. Like I said, it was a real adventure! Staying in an Epcot Area Resort is nice for this, as it’s a short stumble (kidding–drink responsibly) back to your resort when you’re done.
5. Get “Happily Ever After” Buttons
Bride and groom mouse-ears are another cute option here that make for fun photos. We opted for the more discreet (and free!) “Just Married” buttons, which are now “Happily Ever After” buttons. We were inundated with “congratulations” as a result, and also received some special treatment from some Cast Members who went above and beyond, which really made our day.
We would strongly caution against getting these buttons with the expectation of receiving special treatment or “free stuff.” That’s setting yourself up for disappointment, especially in today’s social media era when stuff like this has become a TikTok hack for special treatment.
Instead, wear these accessories because you want to share with the world that you just got married! You’ll be amazed at how many random people will strike up conversation with you because of the buttons (so if you’re shy, they might be a bad idea). On our honeymoon, we spoke with a couple celebrating their 40th anniversary, and many other couples who shared stories of their long and happy marriages. Some even gave us recommendations! For us, this was a great experience and it was wonderful seeing other Guests and Cast Members so willing to “make the magic” for us.
4. Slooooow Doooown!
Have I made it clear-enough yet that this trip is not like your typical Disney trip? This is an especially important tip for Disney vets, and one that we didn’t always follow. If you’re tired, don’t get up for Early Entry or rope drop.
Leave the park during the hottest and busiest part of the day to relax by the pool. Go back to your hotel and go to bed–and also get some sleep–during the middle of the day. Rest and relax when the weather and crowds are worst, so you can stay out late, the times when the parks are least busy and most pleasant.
Stop and get ice cream–a lot of ice cream–and eat it in out of the way places like the Tomorrowland Terrace with a view of Cinderella Castle and the water. Spend some time animal–or people–watching. Buy the wonder Hidden Mickeys book and spend some time tracking down the most elusive Mickeys!
3. Relax On The Beach
Due to rabid man-eating bacteria in Walt Disney World’s bodies of water, you can’t exactly swim in the water (unless you want to die a grim death by having your flesh eaten…or something like that). However, that’s not the suggestion. Instead, we suggest that you head out to one of the beaches at the Magic Kingdom resorts after an early dinner one night, relax in a hammock, enjoy the sunset, and watch the Electric Water Pageant and Happily Ever After from the beach before heading to the Magic Kingdom for a peaceful night.
Bonus points if you do this on an night with Extended Evening Hours. With those late hours, you get a quasi-VIP experience at EPCOT or Magic Kingdom and can enjoy attractions with minimal waits since most of the kids are in bed. Standing in line to pilot Dumbo the Flying Elephant may not be fun in the midday heat with hundreds of screaming tots all around (although it may reinforce the notion that you need to “be careful!”), but you’d be surprised how fun it is to fly high late at night when few others are around!
2. Party Like It’s 1995!!!
Luckily, at the Atlantic Dance Hall, which is perpetually stuck in the 1990s, you can do exactly that. On second thought, maybe you ought to avoid that train-wreck at all costs. Instead, head to its neighbor on Disney’s BoardWalk Jellyrolls.
Jellyrolls features awesome dueling pianos, and has a great atmosphere. If you want to visit on a less crowded night, try Tuesday or Wednesday. If you think more people add better energy and a palpable level of excitement (we do), visit Jellyrolls on a Thursday or the weekend. Other great locations for late night entertainment include Kimonos and Crew’s Cup Lounge. All four of the lounges/bars mentioned here are located in the Epcot resort area, giving you yet another reason to stay in one of these hotels!
Disney Springs also offers some good nightlife. Our favorite locations here include Raglan Road, the Edison, Boathouse, Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar, Homecomin’, and Morimoto Asia. Raglan Road is a longtime favorite and a real crowd-pleaser. It has great Irish food, and excellent entertainment.
1. Be Imaginative & Have Fun!
Walt Disney World is one of the few places where it’s okay for 20, 30, 40, 50, and even 90 year olds (but not 51-89 year olds!) to act like they’re 6 years old. Never forget this. Let loose. Nothing is too silly or juvenile at Walt Disney World. If you think it might be fun to race around the Tomorrowland Speedway with the tykes, or fly high in Dumbo, don’t have reservations because those attractions are “for the kids.” You won’t be the first adult to goof around with Goofy.
If you see a silly Pluto hat that you think would be fun to wear for some photos, buy it. Likewise, you’re never too old for customized Mickey Mouse ears. Make crazy monster faces when you meet your favorite characters! Don’t be dismissive of something that you think might otherwise be fun because you’re embarrassed that you’re “too old” for it.
Walt Disney World is the perfect place to let loose, and have fun. Walt Disney built Disneyland for the young and the “young at heart.” The same philosophy was carried over to Walt Disney World. Embrace the young at heart within yourself. Capture those fun and silly moments with photos that’ll crack your future kids up in a decade…and will embarrass them in 15 years!
If you need help booking and planning your dream honeymoon at Walt Disney World and would like the assistance from a professional, click here to get a quote from a recommended, no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. They get their commission from Disney, so there is no charge to you for them to book your trip and help you plan!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts…
If you’ve honeymooned at Walt Disney World, what do you recommend to others that made your trip special? Planning on something not on the list that you think others might want to try? Any restaurants, add-ons, events, tours, or anything else that made your Disneymoon even better? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
My soon-to-be wife and I will be honeymooning at WDW in October and want to have one really special dinner. We have it narrowed down to California Grill or Monsieur Paul. We don’t want Victoria & Albert’s-level fancy, just a great meal in a great restaurant.
We seriously have been scouring the menus and can’t decide between the two. Any suggestions?
I’d do California Grill, without a doubt. Ambiance at restaurants outside the parks is typically more romantic, plus they have a better menu. Have fun!
We are going to have our honeymoon not until next year in Dec I’m slowly planning it already .I like so much Disneyland.
I actually enjoyed reading this until I got to number 3 and read your first sentence, which now makes me think you are an insensitive prick. First off, it’s not a bacteria. It’s an amoeba. And my cousin who lived in Florida, died from this. Maybe before you poke fun at this problem in Florida, you might want to think that there are families who have been greatly affected by this. Until then I’m done reading your tips.
Going on a honeymoon especially during the touristy season can get really annoying sometimes, especially when you have to rush around with the other tourists, and not be able to get any quiet time with your partner. So on your honeymoon, I would suggest you to take it is a slow and relaxed pace. On my honeymoon with my husband, we want to Rome and Florence. We did all the regular sight seeing but it was getting quite tiring after a while. So one of the days we just spend the day strolling by the parks in Rome, and had a bike tour with one of the locals in Rome. She then suggested us to try out dining with BonAppetour.
Is end of march beginning april good to go there, and do you know anything about the Fastpass Plus or the magic bands?
This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks http://www.disneytouristblog.com!
Hi,
LOVE your blog! my husband to be and I are going on our Disneymoon next October, and I was wondering about the “Just Married” pins – do we simply get them at the hotel? I read somewhere that you can get diffrent ones for each park, but if so, does that mean waiting in line at every park entrance?
To my knowledge, there are *NOT* different ones for each park. You can pick up the buttons at either your hotel or guest relations in the parks.
We cannot wait for our Disney Honeymoon in March 2015…we live in London, England, and find it hard to slow down…even when on holiday! The rest of your tips will be put to good use though!
We received free dining with our booking but are tempted to upgrade to deluxe dining as most of the restaurants we want to visit are signature restaurants…do you think it’s worth it?
Sophie,
Congrats on your wedding and upcoming honeymoon! My wife and i became married in may this year and are going to WDW in the first week of December for our honeymoon!
I hope this helps you with your decision. We had origionally reserved the regular dining plan, but we felt it wasnt enough bang for our buck (we reserved Le Celier and other 2 meal options). If we would have stayed with our origional meal plan it would have only paid for a portion of our meals and we would still have to worry about where we would eat and what we should budget for the days we did not have a reservation. Now we have more than enough meals (we made more 2-meal reservations) and we do not have to worry about bringing money (or not bringing enough!).
We are getting married next week and going to Disney for our honeymoon! We got engaged in Disney so it will be special to go to Disney exactly a year later. Unfortunatly I tore my mcl last week so we will be a lot slower then normal but that may be good for us! We have the Disney dining plan and have all the meals planned but I thinking about canceling lunches and just do quick service just in case we want to go to the hotel for the afternoon. Last yeAr we stayed half hour away and stayed at the park all day and were exhausted but now that were on property were able to come and go more freely. Were stayig at pop century. I wanted to stay at yacht and beach club but it was out of budget and this way we could do the fishing excursion and Disney dining plan. As far as carriage rides are they worth it around the properties?
We are going to have our Disneymoon not until next year in Dec I’m slowly planning it already . It’s never to early to start to plan it..
My fiance and I are honeymooning in Disney in October; I’ve been many times, he’s never been at all! What are your suggestions for one thing in each of the 4 parks that he absolutely must do? We don’t want to go crazy packing in a ton of stuff each day!
My husband and I did the Land and Sea package for our honeymoon almost 6 yrs ago. It was amazing! I would definitely recommend wearing the just married buttons as they get you perks besides just congrats. We stayed at a Disney resort and took advantage of the extra magic hours. We are night owls by nature, so it was awesome to go through the parks in the wee hours of the morning and feel like you had the park all to yourself. We are planning on going back this year for our anniversary. Any advice on things that have changed since we were there 6 yrs ago?
With the exception of new attractions (like New Fantasyland), the big difference is probably going to be the price increases and lowered value of the Disney Dining Plan (if you used it last time). It’s not a great value like it once was.
This all places are very romantic & beautiful.
As for doing a photoshoot… Contact Disney event photography. They’re the pros that do the fairy tale weddings but they offer all kinds of photography. Also there are local photographers who are allowed to do photo sessions on property but not the parks, like the boardwalk and downtown Disney. Check out Regina Hymen’s work, she used to be a Disney event photographer but now she’s private. The pictures will be a million times better than a photopasstographer!
I absolutely love your blog! I admit I have been to Disney every year since I have been four, but to go for my honeymoon will truly be something unique and extra special. Your blog offered so many new ideas that I would have never even considered! We definitely want to stay at a Disney resort, but we just can’t choose which one. We also want to get on the dining plan. We will be staying for five nights and then spending a week at another destination. Which plan would be best to purchase, in your opinion? Is it worth it to get the premium package that offers the tours? I had always been curious about those…
I also noticed that you said that by mentioning it’s your honeymoon you can get some special treatment. Do the resorts do anything special for you? Or the parks? I have added a pair of mouse-ears to our disney registry (which is another good tip I learned about through my research)! Thanks again – any and all info is much appreciated!
I think it depends (that’s always the safe answer, ha!). Are you planning on doing Victoria & Albert’s? If not, do you want to do other Signature Dining? I probably wouldn’t recommend the packages that include tours unless you have a really high budget, but ultimately that’s up to you. As far as treatment goes, that varies really widely (it’s case by case), just make sure you let the hotel and restaurants know you’re celebrating your honeymoon when you make the reservations.
If you need some additional personalized advice or have questions, please email my wife, Sarah: [email protected].
Thank you for your quick response! I agree with you about the tour package – we certainly are on a budget, but also want to “go big” for our honeymoon. We could always add those things on later, instead. In terms of signature dining, I think we are going to make a reservation at ‘ohana. We are leaning more toward staying the Polynesian resort – thoughts? I’ve heard good things about the Epcot resorts too though. Too many options! We are going in July after our wedding. What is the best site to purchase the package through? Do you recommend AAA or going through Disney themselves?
I’ll email your wife for my millions of other questions! I’m Sarah, too! 🙂
Fantastic honeymoon blog.Packages And activities are really awesome.
Such adorable pics! I’m headed back next week. Can’t wait!
Fantastic honeymoon packages and popular honeymoon treats are awesome.
My fiance and I are possibly planning on doing our honeymoon at Disney. I am an avid Disney lover and I think he is going along with it for me. Our compromise is that we will not spend every day in the parks…my question for anyone is this. Has anyone gotten the Premium Dining Plan that includes the recreation and Cirque du Soleil? I am thinking that it would be worth it to just have other things to do besides go to the parks all day, but not sure if anyone has insight on this. We are also planning on visiting in October so we will go to the Food and Wine Festival which we have been to together before and had a blast, but I don’t want my fiance to be bored and annoyed of standing in lines for rides…golf and boats may be the perfect thing to add to our trip 🙂
Jessica,
I am a vacation planner and I specialize in Disney travel. I would recommend AGAINST that plan. You would be better off to have the regular Dining Plan and then purchase the Cirque du Soleil tickets separately. Disney also has a honeymoon registry, so you can select items for your wedding guests to contribute to for your honeymoon and Disney will deposit the money into your bank account at specific intervals.
Jessica-
I agree with Lynne. My fiance and I are having our Disneymoon in October as well. We thought about doing it on our own but after looking further into it… you WILL WANT a travel agent! We are going through AAA. Our agent is amazing and she even haggled some prices for us with our flight and room! We are staying at the Caribbean Resort. You will save a lot of money with bundling certain events. We got the small dining plan and we are bringing some snacks. Also we are only staying for a week. We are spending Mon-Thur at the parks. Then we will spend the other days trying out all the cool misc. stuff at the Resorts. Our resort has a bass fishing excursion (we love to fish) and it doesnt cost that much!
The We also did a honeymoon registry through AAA. We sent out registry cards with our save-a-dates and our guests would call her and put money towards our Disneymoon! So far so good, as we have received $350.
The more money you save, the better time you will have!! 🙂 Congrats on the nuputals and have a MAGICAL TIME on your Disneymoon!
This was a great read. My fiancé and I are planning our wedding for the end of next year, and when we were discussing our Honeymoon Destination it was a no-brainer, Disney World was our first choice. Neither of us has visited the park (only Disneyland) and never together, so we want to make this trip the most wonderful way to start our marriage.
Love your blog!