Our 2020 Disney World New Year’s Resolutions
I’m not particularly keen on New Year’s Resolutions. If you have a goal, waiting for the changing of a calendar seems silly, and the common knowledge that most resolutions fail provides justification when giving up on that goal since “everyone else did too.”
While reviewing posts to update for 2020, I stumbled upon this one. In typical New Year’s resolution fashion, I realized that we didn’t end up doing over half of these things when we originally set the goals–and they’re still things that we should do.
Accordingly, we’ve refreshed this with some new goals for 2020 at Walt Disney World, deleting old resolutions that we either accomplished (hooray!), adding new ones that we now should do, and editing others to so that we might actually accomplish them this go-round…
For this list of Walt Disney World New Year’s Resolutions, we tried to come up with things that are actual long-term goals that will require some degree of discipline to achieve. Even though a couple entries are things we know we’ll accomplish simply by virtue of the trip we’ve already booked, we didn’t want this to devolve into a checklist of one-and-done things. After all, these are resolutions, not our Disney bucket list.
With that said, here are our Walt Disney World goals for 2020…
10. More Off-Site Hotel Stays – The last two years have been filled with a lot of on-site hotel stays, either to take advantage of perks like Extra, Extra Magic Hours or to check out room renovations.
The latter have mostly slowed down, with the only “new” rooms we need to check out this year being at Saratoga Springs (that’ll happen the first week of January), the All Stars (again), and maybe Wilderness Lodge later in the year. Aside from those, we are entirely caught up on hotel review updates thanks to a ton of on-site hotel stays last year.
Now, it’s time to go into “expansion” mode with more off-site stays for the sake of more comprehensive coverage on the blog. Many readers have indicated that Walt Disney World rack rates have priced them out, which means we’ll focus more attention on off-site deals.
9. Less DHS – We had such high expectations for Christmas. We thought we’d have plenty of time to see the new holiday entertainment at Anima Kingdom, ride Living with the Land dozens of times, and so on. Instead, we spent over half of our total park time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
The constant changes to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opening protocol caught us by surprise, and we were in DHS before sunrise more in December than we were all other parks combined for the entire rest of the year. This is a resolution that’s sort of outside our control, because who knows what changes are on the horizon for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. And then there’s the opening of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, too…
8. More Disney Springs Dining – Even though our amount of time spent at Disney Springs has increased each of the last several years, we still want to spend more time there this year–and eat there more.
Even more new restaurants have opened at Disney Springs that we have to try for the sake of “research,” and we’d love to revisit some of our new-ish favorites like the Boathouse and Morimoto Asia. It also doesn’t hurt that many of these third party restaurants offer far superior value for money than in-park options.
7. More Resort Counter Service – Due to menu simplification and price increases, in-park counter service restaurants are becoming less attractive to us. At Magic Kingdom in particular, mealtime is met with ambivalence. We aren’t really wild about many of the counter service restaurants there, and the ones we do enjoy can be a hassle.
Fortunately, the Skyliner now makes it easier to leave Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot to dine at resorts, with the monorail and boats offering the same convenience from Magic Kingdom. In addition to opening up better dining options to us, this also means we can update some restaurant reviews from venues outside the parks. (We made an effort to do this with in-park restaurants last year, and that task is mostly complete.)
6. More Table Service – We also need to do more table service, especially (again) in the resort hotels around Walt Disney World for the sake of reviews. We also want to do more table service restaurants, as we’ve found the cuisine is generally better, as is the value proposition.
Despite counter service prices increasing dramatically over the last few years, most table service restaurants still have some <$20 entrees, which puts the price gap at only a few dollars in some cases. That far superior experience is well worth the price difference, and that’s especially true if we save money by doing large breakfasts at the hotel.
5. Closing Out the Parks – We did way more rope drop than ever before last year (satisfying one of our New Year’s Resolutions!), but this came at the expense of late nights in the parks, particularly Magic Kingdom. It’s also tougher to justify staying around until the bitter end because many other guests are doing the same.
While it’s great that word has gotten out about the greatness of late nights and post-closing strolls in the parks, it’s put a damper on our own experiences. Nevertheless, we’re going to make more of an effort to stay late and enjoy the wonderful ambiance, moody lighting, and all of the little details that just pop a bit more as the parks are clearing out.
4. More Tripod Time – This sort of goes hand in hand with more night hours in the parks. Part of the reason we probably didn’t stay late as often is because I frequently left the tripod behind (I’m getting old and my back is less keen on lugging around ~25 pounds of camera gear all day).
Even if it means getting a locker, going back to the room, etc., one goal for this year is carrying the tripod more–not just to capture crisp nighttime photos, but also to get more creative with photos during the daytime. The caliber of photography I’ve posted on here has waned over the last couple years, and I want to correct that in 2020.
3. Less Phone Time – We’d like to use our phones even less in 2020 (except when it comes to goat selfies–we need more of those, proving there’s an exception to every rule). This is something we’re both already pretty good about, but there’s always room for improvement. We spend so much time staring at screens in our day-to-day lives that traveling provides a much-needed opportunity to get away from that.
Sharing what we’re doing in real time via social media means we’re less present in the moment, and it equals less real engagement while we’re there. I don’t really like Facebook and I’ve lost interest in Instagram, but kicking my Twitter addiction would be a huge accomplishment for 2020!
2. Try New Things – This is such a basic, generic one that I’m a bit embarrassed to include it so high up the list. First, we want to try more dining we’ve never done in third party hotels that are on-site (Swan & Dolphin, Four Seasons, and Disney Springs Resorts being the big ones that come to mind).
Second, we want to try new things without thinking so much about the price. We are pretty open-minded, and willing to try new things we might not enjoy without second thought. When it comes to trying new things, the barrier for us is almost always the price. We are suckers for a good deal, and hesitate when it comes to anything that even might fall short on the value front.
The problem with this approach is that, with few exceptions, you truly don’t know whether something is worth the money until you give it a try. We’ve wanted to do things like Wild Africa Trek, Dolphins in Depth, and other tours for a while but have hesitated due to value concerns.
1. Give Thanks More – We wrote an entire post thanking Cast Members and reminding others of how important they are to the Disney experience and what they sacrifice to bring magic to guests. That’s nice and all, but it’s abstract and has no tangible benefit for actual Cast Members.
By contrast, going to Guest Services and taking the time to leave ‘Cast Compliments’ for those who leave a memorable impact on our trips actually does make a difference. These accolades are delivered to Cast Members (and their leaders), and beyond making an individual feel appreciated, they can help with promotions and career advancement.
Given that this can also be accomplished by simply tweeting @WDWGuestService with #castcompliment, there’s no excuse for us not to do more of this. (Even if it does ‘break’ our next resolution a bit…)
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
Do you have any Disney-related 2020 New Year’s Resolutions? Do you like our ideas, or ‘disagree’ with any of the resolutions we’ve chosen? Any questions? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We pretty much avoid taking our phones with us to the parks, period. It’s so freeing to take no bags and phones, just tickets! We’ve been heckled many times (lovingly) by security at Universal when we go through the metal detectors without carrying anything and they say “wait, that’s it?!” 🙂
We did the Wild Africa Trek in September 2017, just a few days after Irma. It was amazing and worth every penny! I know they sometimes offer a discounted rate on afternoon treks, but taking the first tour in the morning is so awesome.
I love the idea of (Disney resolutions), forget the “usual” ones!
Our trips are approx once a year, occasionally twice if I push it. So, everyone likes their favorites, but we definitely try a few new restaurants each time on property.
I am a ridiculous commando type visitor, and this year for the first time will be sans kids for the first 4 days of our trip. I have promised my husband (age 68, I am 58) that we will slow down, probably ride less rides, but hopefully absorb a little more of the ambiance this trip.
I do feel like I need to go to some self help group first with a “Hi i’m Cindy, i’m an insane Disney speed walker and could use some help to make good on my promise”, though!
Another resolution is to watch (on your recommendation Tom), what we have never seen
before, is the country bear jamboree and the tiki bird show.
And, we have nothing but positive comments on our experience with the Wild Africa Trek. The guides are amazing, you do not feel rushed, they give you little ear pieces so if you fall behind a little you can still hear the guide perfectly fine. Walking on the “broken down” bridges over the crocodiles was amazing and they take a very cool photo for you at the end of the bridge. The snack you stop to eat on the savanna is tasty and well presented. I do believe that the Trek was worth the money we spent. And, interestingly I work with a lady who has done the Wild Africa trek and has gone to Africa for a real safari and she said she thought this is well done and of a good value.
Happy New Year to you and Sarah and I hope you have great fun on your 2018 trips!
Nice Top 10 post Tom. It made me create my own resolutions in no particular order:
1. Change my attitude on “lets just skip it, we will see it next trip” to minor attractions or diversions since they could be gone by my next trip. I loved interacting with the Mayor of Main Street in past trips but I was too busy in a recent trip to stop to see him. I found out he passed away around this past Christmas.
2. Do not speed walk to any attractions because it will make my legs and/or feet sore by the end of trips.
3. Slow down and enjoy the atmosphere of the parks.
4. Slow down in the FastPass queues and enjoy the details of the queues.
5. Resist the urge to go on super fast rollercoasters (example Expedition Everest) even though I love the theming since I cannot handle the rollercoasters like I did in my teens or my 20s.
6. Continue to explore another Disney resort that I have never been to
7. I love your number 2 of giving more thanks to cast members. I didnt realize there was “cast compliments” at guest services because I usually want to give out a bunch of shout-outs on my trips.
8. Try a new experience or something I have not done in ages (I did Hoop-De-Doo for first time in 2017 since I was kid and I enjoyed it).
9. If I see any relatively inexpensive merchandise from classic Magic Kingdom/Disneyland attractions or vintage EPCOT Center (pins, t-shirts), I will buy it since Disney does not sell them for long.
10. Cut down on my bellyaching during trips about annoying guests behavior, Disney’s overuse of modern IP (Frozen, Star Wars), or how a new attraction pales in comparison to the former attraction it replaced (my girlfriend must be tired of hearing Epcot was so much better during EPCOT Center era haha).
We resolve, with each visit, to try new foods. Naturally, we have favorite eateries, but even if we order the same entree (because we are creatures of habit), we’ll try a new appetizer (like the pork lollipops at The Turf Club) or a smashingly good looking dessert.
On our next trip in April, we will dine at Via Napoli for the first time. Have read your reviews (as well as others), and decided to give it a try. However, we steer clear of Tony’s. Never had a good meal there. We ate at The Electric Umbrella in November and were pleasantly surprised. Haven’t been there in decades. Will definitely go back.
Being older, we do more sitting and people watching. It is a learned discipline though. We actually have to force ourselves. I know what you mean about ‘lethargic daze’. Too tired to stay, too tired to leave.
I think this list of resolutions is a good idea for repeat visitors to Disney. It keeps things fresh and new. I like to call it new choreography set to old music.
As I sit her in my living room looking out the window at the results of Winter Storm Grayson (three to four foot snowdrifts, wicked wind gusts and single digit temperatures), I find myself eagerly anticipating my April Disney trip. (Snow will probably still be here). Happy New Year to you and Sarah, Tom.
Going in 3 weeks (ahhhh – I can’t wait!!!!!!) So this was really timely.
#1 for sure! While I am not a facebook or twitter girl, seeing Disney from behind a lens (or phone) does take you out of the moment. I have memory maker for my characters(which I love – I am such a kid about them) but otherwise I am going to try and really limit myself and to take more ‘off-beat things’ some of the great details in the queues for example, I want to watch the parade & fireworks, not just record them 🙂
I really want to try hard on #2 – I think I do just take for granted how wonderful the Disney cast members are and how many of them contribute to the magic. I am going to make sure that at least once on my trip take the time to leave a cast compliment.
I also am a fan of Tony’s 🙂 go there every trip and yet to have a bad experiance, but perhaps my expectations are low – LOL. Certainly better than most quick serve at MK & not expensive.
I like to do at least one table service a day if possible. While it is easy to get caught up in the ‘this is wasting time’ mindset. I find that I am much more relaxed and recharged so I enjoy my day more. I do a couple of pre-opening breakfasts (BoG at 8, being in the back of the park with rope drop at 9- wonderful!) a couple of lunches & dinners, depending on what my park ‘schedule’ is.
Rope drop almost everyday – it makes such a huge differance to the park experiance -and then either leave for an afternoon break or stay in the afternon, but leave before dinner. I am fortunate to be taking a longer trip than I have in the past, so I am able to take a bit more time with some things and since the parks close earlier I am able to be in the parks at closing, but still get a good night’s sleep for rope drop – well that is the plan anyway! LOL
5,4,3, and 1! I don’t know about anyone else, but I can’t do #4 without #5. Just not possible. I think it evens out the day nicely, when you can get a ton of stuff done in the AM at rope drop before crowds arrive, and then saunter through the parks in the evening at a more leisurely pace. In regards to #3-new experiences, there is no shortage of new things to see and do at Disney. As someone who took many many trips to Disney as a kid with their parents, I enjoy experiencing things that have always been there, but that my family just deemed skippable. And as far as #1 goes, I challenged myself on our last Disney trip, to not post any photos on social media while we were there, with the intent that we would “stay in the moment.” It was a success!! I think we sometimes forget that the world is not going to stop turning if all of Facebook doesn’t know what we are up to every second of every day. Great post! Loved it!
My main resolution with respect to Disney trips is to let us take it easier. Since we typically only do a three or four day trip every year or two, I usually run us ragged, going to two parks a day, and rope dropping every morning for maximum efficiency. While I am not sure if I can stop myself from going crazy inside the parks, I’m going to try to schedule less park time. Have at least one day of the trip where I can sleep in a little and have a non-rushed dinner at a resort hotel or Disney Springs.
I’ve been trying to follow “#3 Try New Things” in spirit on my last few visits. I’m not as frequent a visitor as Tom, so a lot of my new things are just park attractions I’ve overlooked in the past. I haven’t discovered any new must-do-every-trip experiences yet, but I have enjoyed most of them even if they were one-and-dones (or once-in-a-whiles) for me like “Turtle Talk”.
You could always consider ‘taking it easier’ a form of trying a new thing, since that’s not how you normally approach the parks. 😉
Table service dining takes a LOT of time, including travel, so, my 2018 resoulition is to forgo the table services, and instead, dine at the lounges on apps and cocktails! O’Hana and Yak & Yeti being exempt, of course.
Not a bad idea, especially if you’re short on time and want to do as much (outside the restaurants) as you can!
I made a short solo-trip to WDW in October. I got to Rope Drop every morning and then spend the afternoons in the “boring” air conditioned attractions without complaint. (It was a crazy hot and crowded couple of days.) I also made a promise to myself to not eat anything I’d ever eaten before. And if at all possible, not repeat any restaurants. This wasn’t hard, as I only had four previous trips under my belt. But it meant no Mickey Ice Cream bar, which I almost caved and at one hot afternoon. That was tough.
It was magnificent. I tried so many new and wonderful foods (Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake at Liberty Tree, School Bread at Kringla Bakeri). Some were mediocre, but the restaurant was a new experience (Sci Fi Dine In Theater, Be Our Guest). And some became new must-dos (Homecomin’ Kitchen, the Fruit/Nutella Waffle at Sleepy Hollow) Half of a Disney trip for me is about the food. It was nice to really focus on that. Then zip around the park to work off the calories.
I highly recommend both solo trips and trying new foods at Disney World. It’s marvelous. I’m hoping to do it again soon!
I’d definitely second the point about trying new foods. A lot of people (including us until we started this blog) go with familiar favorites when revisiting Walt Disney World. That’s fine to an extent, but trying new places is how you gain more ‘familiar favorites.’
As for the solo trip, I think that depends upon the person. I also think there’s a diminishing returns component. I did a couple of solo trips a few years ago that I loved, but now if Sarah and I split up even for the day, I’m wishing we had just done the same thing by the end of it.
I was unexpectedly solo at DW MK on a rainy day abandoned by my step daughter and her friend. I spent about 20 minutes sulking and charging my phone battery at the counter service restaurant in Libert square when I realized – forget this – I got busy and park hopped and ended up tryin Greg bar at Yak and Yeti in AK and the rose single rider like 3x at HS rock n roll coaster. I really enjoyed my alone time and even with one other person, you’re truly appreciate the efficiency of a small group. I just got back from NYE in Epcot (etc) and I have no idea how these groups of 6+ accomplish ANYTHING – especially with a scooter or wheel chair. AnyWHO, beside the stares I “felt” from families and kids (why is the single weird lady here without children) I enjoyed the time and highly recommend DISNEY solo.
I felt Wild Africa Trek was worth it as an animal lover. We did it on an afternoon in September with a 25% discount, and we had the 12-16 person tour to ourselves! So decreased price (because of the hot time of year), AND a private tour! It was amazing and we got to ask a lot of questions, take our time, and personalize the tour with what we wanted to see most. My husband had the same experience with DiveQuest that week — very small tour group. So weekdays in September could be a great “tour hack” to get the most for your money.
Thanks for the tip!
Wild Africa a trek is totally worth it. We did it a year or so ago and while we were eating lunch at the little camp in the savannah, there was an issue with a Jeep at the beginning of the ride so we had the savannah to ourselves. There was no one else’ out there for about half an hour. Only our tour group of about ten and the animals. It was glorious.
I love these resolutions! While we are definitely on-site folks, I’m all for changing things up, however that might look for each person.
I’m definitely adding #1 and #2 to my list of Disney resolutions, which now means I have 2 Disney resolutions lol. But seriously, they’re spot on for me, and I am going to work on them.
As for #3, we are a family who thrives on doing new things, whether it be a restaurant, hotel, ride, or experience. We try to change things up as much as we can each time we go to Disney. So I can let you know that in our opinion, (I’m 46, hubby is 49, and son is 10) we thoroughly enjoyed Wild Africa Trek when we did it in October 2016. Totally worth it to us. Of course, it’s not the same as the “real thing” on another continent, but for the price, we felt like we got our monies worth and made a great memory for a lifetime.
Your blog and FB are my favorite. Thank you and Sarah for all the hard work you do on it. Very much appreciated.
We’ve mentioned wanting to do Wild Africa Trek a few times, and I think I’ve yet to see a negative comment about it from readers in response. Thanks for adding to the chorus of positive reviews!
My wife has told me that my birthday gift this year will be Wild Africa Trek. I’m super excited! I too have heard nothing but positive reviews.
Never really understood all the hate for Tony’s. While it isn’t a Michelin Star eatery it is certainly a fine option at the MK and the prices are pretty reasonable. It is also a good spot to watch a parade from if you sit on the patio. Just my two cents.
Thanks for the feedback on Tony’s. There seem to be some people who enjoy it, but the negative reviews have kept us away. I think it’s just time to bite the bullet.
Get a Sony A7RIII 😉
Given that most of the weight I carry is in lenses–and the Sony lenses are heavier than their Nikon counterparts–this actually wouldn’t help much.
Finding a smaller camera system is definitely something that’s on my radar, though.
I really love the photos on the website, I like the evening shots, the monorail pics and the wide angle interiors shots – all very creative.
I have a selection of prime sizes for my A7ii but am thinking about getting the new 24-105mm for upcoming Disney Trip. It might just be a good all in one walk around lens without having to fumble for different focal lengths.
The D850 is a beast of a camera though.
If you are looking for a smaller system to compliment your Nikon equipment, I can’t say enough good about Fuji. Light and amazing IQ. No it isn’t full-frame, but the lenses are incredible with more 3rd-party options becoming available all the time. (I just got the Rokinon 12/2 delivered today, my first new lens ever, and it’s fantastic)
I definitely suggest renting before jumping all-in like you did with Sony and see how you like it. It’s worked out great for me.
Wait, you’ve never eaten at Tony’s Town Square? I’ve come across your occasional aside about it on the blog and always assumed that was because you had a bad experience there. What’s the cause of the dislike, if you haven’t?
For what it’s worth, I like Tony’s a lot, and it’s my go-to arrival-day restaurant at WDW. After traveling I don’t tend to feel like packing the rest of the day full, so I don’t generally take red-eye flights; I arrive in mid to late afternoon and decompress for a while at the resort. Tony’s, just inside the Magic Kingdom, makes a nice “Go get a look at Cinderella’s castle at sunset, sigh in happiness that I’m back, have dinner and go to bed” ending to a travel day.
I’ve eaten there, but so long ago that I couldn’t even tell you if the meal was good or bad.
The jokes come from it being an easy target. Most people I know who have dined there strongly dislike it, and it’s developed a reputation over the years. Interestingly, Electric Umbrella has this same reputation, and I actually like that and think it’s unfair. So perhaps we should eat there soon and withhold further comment until then.
I think the reputation has become a thing unto itself on the internet. I think it’s an easy target because nearly any locality int he country has decent American-Italian restaurants serving the same quality of food at 1/2-2/3 the price of Tony’s. But if the standard is a value comparison to “real world” restaurants, then most Disney restaurants wouldn’t hold up.
Love your resolutions! They’re all really awesome (and tangible!). We are huge rope drop/afternoon nap fans, with 3 little kids in tow it’s for everyone’s sanity. Even I can’t handle multiple full days at that parks, it’s overstimulating! So we usually leave around lunchtime and eat somewhere else (we’ve discovered that our kids don’t eat very much when we are at the parks, there are so many other things they’d rather do) and then take a good rest time, then hit the parks back up for some evening magic!
I tweeted @WDWToday with a cast compliment and not only did they respond thanking me, the next day they tweeted at me again with a picture of the cast member holding a print out of my tweet. It was so cool to see it delivered!
I think that’s their standard practice if they can track down the CM. It’s actually more gratifying than just going to City Hall, as you actually see the follow-through!
Might be worth doing some more write ups on Universal. Seems to be somewhat of an untapped market. Just a thought.
Our plan for the upcoming trip was to do Volcano Bay, but that’s looking increasingly unlikely due to weather. We’ll likely do stays at all of the Universal hotels by the end of the year.
Your #10 is the opposite of mine – I’ve only ever stayed off site and I’m dying to stay on site one day. To make up for it, I routinely visit the deluxe resorts to hang out and gawk at their lobbies, as well as go to the restaurants. I just got back from WDW and we visited AKL, Beach/Yacht club, and Boardwalk resorts.
Yes – I love number 1! So important. Last year I took over 600 pictures during our trip and regret not “living in the moment” more. We are 3 weeks out from our next stay, and my resolution is to not over-plan our trip. A little planning is good (fast passes, table service reservations, etc), but last time we did the touring plans and I felt our days were so over scheduled that we did not slow down and take things in more. We also are doing one table service reservation for dinner, and eating a large, healthy breakfast in our room before hitting the parks. Last year we did table service lunch and dinner reservations and I felt like we spent 4 hours a day in restaurants.