Dream Disney World Vacation for Lottery Winners
Like anyone, I daydream about what I’d do with my fortune if I won the lottery. Namely, what Walt Disney World splurges would I make with my winnings in between collecting exotic automobiles and animals. (In my mind, the throne of every mega-millionaire has a Siberian Tigers on each side.)
It has come to my attention that this blog is doing a poor job of servicing the important demographic of lottery winners looking for new and exciting ways to blow their newfound millions, so this post is here to help with that. In it, we cover everything we’d do at Walt Disney World if we suddenly had a few hundred million dollars to spare. In reality, all of this presents a significant challenge…since I don’t play the lottery. Still, my chances of winning are roughly equivalent to anyone else’s, so why not dream?
There are several hotel suites, special experiences, restaurants, and other things at Walt Disney World we’d love to do if money were no issue. Even if you haven’t won the lottery (yet), you can still borrow some of these ideas for splurges or ideas for your WDW bucket list. It’d be pretty embarrassing if you won the lottery and didn’t have a list like this ready to go! It’s better to be over-prepared than under-prepared… 😉
Also in reality, we probably wouldn’t do much that’s wild and extravagant, if against all odds, we somehow won the lottery. They say money changes people, but I don’t think that’s always true. Personality and values are pretty hard-wired by a certain point, and I’m still tediously and unnecessarily frugal in a number of ways. I’ve eased up on that a bit and probably would further do so with a few hundred million dollars, but I still wouldn’t charter a yacht to cruise the Seven Seas Lagoon.
To be honest, this is just my dream splurge Walt Disney World vacation. It’s tailored more to our personal tastes and interests than it is offering the finest in luxury. My apologies if you’re an actual lotto winner or just an ordinary super yacht owner coming here for the epitome of elite ways to experience Walt Disney World.
Anyway, here’s my daydreaming way of having the perfect Walt Disney World vacation…
Hotel Room #1: Yellowstone Suite at Wilderness Lodge — This is one we’d absolutely love to do–even if we somehow never win the lottery. I’ve dreamed of staying in this suite or the smaller Yosemite Suite for a while, and might cringe at the price, but would nonetheless splurge on it. Little info exists online about these suites, but from what I’ve seen, they look like the perfect marriage of two of my favorite things: U.S. National Parks and Disney.
The Yellowstone Suite features an elk-horn chandelier, hardwood flooring, four balconies offering panoramic views of Bay Lake, and leather chairs; this room would make Teddy Roosevelt proud. (My only hope is that it still looks like this, and hasn’t been “re-imagined” in a way to make it bland.) All of that, plus Club Level access to the Old Faithful Lounge makes this my dream room at Walt Disney World. The Yosemite Suite would be a perfectly “satisfactory” alternative, as it looks equally impressive, just smaller.
Our thinking here is that we’d do change resorts halfway through our trip (see our How to Do a Split Stay at Walt Disney World for more on that), moving from the Magic Kingdom area to Crescent Lake for the second half of the trip. For our transfer, we’d go “all out” and use a Minnie Van. Additionally, we’d go from having alone time with just the two of us to a larger trip with family joining…
Hotel Room #2: BoardWalk Inn Sonora Suite or Grand Villa – My favorite Crescent Lake resort is Beach Club, but in perusing images of the Newport and Nantucket Suites, neither of those are to my tastes. Unfortunately, there are no Grand Villas at the Beach Club Villas.
This leaves us with BoardWalk Inn as a “consolation” prize, which is probably the better option, anyway, as having a balcony overlooking the BoardWalk is another bucket list dream. Here, the Steeplechase Suite is the peak of luxury, but from the photos I’ve seen, I actually prefer the look of the Sonora Suite.
Depending upon how many of our family members could make the trip, we might just jump to a Grand Villa instead. Presumably, we could make this more economical by renting Disney Vacation Club points, too. (Even lotto winners need to save–you don’t stay wealthy by wasting money!)
Dining: Eating is an integral part of any Walt Disney World vacation for us, and that’d be no different here. These are splurges we’d absolutely would do, and restaurants at which we’d dine with regularity if I could ignore the total on the bill at the end of each meal.
Here’s a partial list of where I’d want to dine for the first half of the trip:
- Victoria & Albert’s Chef Table
- Monsieur Paul
- California Grill
- STK
- Capa
…and for the second half:
- 50’s Prime Time Cafe
- The Boathouse
- Hoop Dee Doo Revue
- Biergarten
- Sci Fi Dine-In Theater
- Be Our Guest Restaurant
- Whispering Canyon Cafe
The first half of the list should be pretty self-explanatory, as it’s mostly romantic, fine dining. We’d probably round out our dining with restaurants we did during our honeymoon and for which we have nostalgia, like ‘Ohana, Beaches & Cream, Kona, and maybe even Le Cellier.
The second half is less about the food, and more about fun group experiences or things we did with our families growing up that they’d enjoy. The Boathouse is the one exception to this; it toes the line between fine dining and fun, with a wide-ranging menu that would appeal to everyone.
Even if you’re not planning on winning the lotto, you could probably draw some ‘inspiration’ from this mix of good and fun restaurants. Balance is one of the keys to great dining experiences at Walt Disney World.
Touring: We wouldn’t do the $12,000 World of Dreams VIP Tour…or any VIP tour, for that matter. It seems like everyone raves about VIP tours, but the notion of them makes me uncomfortable. For one thing, we aren’t even remotely concerned with getting as many attractions done as possible on either half of the trip.
For another, we’re pretty savvy when it comes to using FastPass+ and planning efficient itineraries. Most importantly, this is about enjoying time with one another and it seems like a tour guide would be an unnecessary third wheel to that. I could be totally wrong, but I’ll never find out.
Also, if I were going to drop a few grand on a tour guide, it would absolutely be one of the Country Bears. This is where celebrities have it all wrong. Sure, it’s “cool” to walk around with a plaid and feel importance and exclusivity, but I already know I’m not cool. Plus, I own plenty of plaid shirts and hang out with humans all the time; I never hang out with bears. Finally, what better way to exact revenge on all of your family members who have wronged you than by having Liver Lips McGrowl stalk them around all day, stealing their hats?!
In reality, we’d do regular ole FastPass+ coupled with the Early Morning Magic and Disney After Hours events a couple of times. Those seem like something our families would enjoy, and would be a much more approachable splurge than a VIP tour guide. Additionally, this would open up the daytime hours for all of those ambitious restaurant plans above.
If you’re like us, we’d recommend a similar approach, and splurging on the early/late park access–or even the niche interest tours, which are mostly excellent!
For the ‘just us’ portion of the trip, we’d focus on the dorky and unpopular stuff we enjoy, like Impressions de France, Carousel of Progress, Country Bear Jamboree, TTA PeopleMover, etc., and also round out our days with non-VIP tours. Things like Behind the Seeds, Caring for Giants, DiveQuest, and maybe Wild Africa Trek.
That’s really about it. Not exactly a thrilling or grandiose vision of how we’d spend our lottery winnings, but we think this would be an incredibly satisfying trip that we would remember for the rest of our lives. Even this “modest” dream WDW vacation would require a mega jackpot, as my ballpark estimate puts the budget for this north of $30,000. Perhaps higher if Walt Disney World would actually let me do a VIB (Very Important Bear) tour.
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
What would your dream Walt Disney World vacation entail? Do you have grander visions of how to spend your lottery winnings? Any huge splurges you’d make? Other thoughts? Any questions we can help you answer…aside from the winning numbers? 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!
Tom,
I find that you made a bit of a start on this, but never really got there with this article. With that in mind, I managed to get a consultant to set the proper mood and attitude for this article. Consultant, take it away:
Ferris Bueller: The question isn’t what are we going to do. The question is what aren’t we going to do.
And there’s the attitude you need to go into this. So,
Day Cruise Around the World.
Grand 1 Yacht for Dinner and Fireworks Cruise.
Wait I think I still need to get in the right mental attitude….Okay, trying again:
Grand 1 Yacht for Dinner and Fireworks Cruise. Jodi Benson is at the bow, singing “Part of Your World.” In full mermaid costume, naturally.
Spend a year alternating between Disney Parks and Disney Cruises, which can be combined with,
Spending a week or more at the best accommodations at each Disney Deluxe/DVC resort around the planet for rating fun.
Go golfing at WDW the best way: Your threesome is you, Tiger Woods and Tigger. Keep getting their names mixed up. Adult beverages are a must.
Do all the pirate cruises, say to heck with PC concerns and have as your Captain and first mate Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush. In full character, of course.
Buy a boatload of Disney stock. Go to annual shareholders meeting and ask Bob Iger, “How much for the redhead?”
Buy 2,500 of DVC points (you never know when you’ll want a room) at every DVC property so that when they ask you which is your home resort you get to say, “All of them!”
Buy a house (okay, mega-mansion) at Golden Oaks. Equip it with Pineapple Dole Whip, Dole Orange Whip, and Vanilla Soft Serve ice cream machines.
Have to stop there, because after that, the list really goes off the rails. ^_~
If I won the lottery, I would do whatever it took to get a night at Cinderella’s castle. Beyond that, having V & A several times on a visit (have only been there once and it was wonderful), I would do private VIP tours and if I won a gazillion dollars, I would find a way to get Tony to give me a walk thru tour of the Haunted Mansion after hours, even if it took $100,000. I would then visit every Disney park with the best food, the best rooms, the best VIP tours and do every single thing. You only live once!
I consider the lottery a tax on stupidity and admit I’m stupid to the point of about $10 a year. While the VIP rooms would probably happen if I should win I mostly think I’d be happy with a large DVC membership, a cruise that isn’t the 3 or 4 day that My wife and I have already and a trip or two to Disney parks that aren’t in Florida
a week long cruise followed by a week exploring the parks and maybe a tour or two would be the way to go. but yeah, definitely go all out on the most expensive suite you can find on the cruise!
I would buy a Guaranteed Week 2-BR Preferred View at Riviera (since that’s the only one you could do that with right now – probably try to find a way to do it at a different resort) – except I’d buy the Guaranteed Week (“GW”) for every week of the year. With the 10% premium for the GW, you’d ONLY need 25,341 points. At $188/pt, for just under $5 million, you could literally live in a Disney World resort.
Now I know there are limitations on how many points you can own, but with a few hundred million dollars, there’s got to be a way to get around that. I also know that most would say they’d just buy at Golden Oak. While also more realistic, and I know you could hire whatever help you want with that kind of money, having your own room that no one else ever stays in at a Disney World resort, where you could just get up and go downstairs to a restaurant, pool, all the other amenities, and see fireworks from your bedroom every night – might as well flaunt that $$! Also would only run you about $210,000 per year in dues – that’s nothing.
Personally I would pay Tom B to give me a tour and put him up in the next room from me!
Yes since I was little I wanted to go to Walt Disney World. It would be one major thing in my life to come true. I would appreciate it if I got to visit Florida. I would love to go to Hawaii to visit the park in where it is at. I would love to visit all the parks in the world. If that was possible my heart would be a blessing in disguise. I put my faith on things that I see and my heart for the prize of many prizes. I pray that one day would be in my sight. In Jesus nighty name I pray Amen and Amen.
Pfft … dude. I already have my WDW plans mapped out for when I win the big lottery.
1. Buy home in Golden Oaks
2. Buy lifetime annual passes to all parks.
3. Travel around the world with many Disney pit stops
I would stay in a magic kingdom view room (club level) at the contemporary. It is my favorite resort especially for convenience. Have a private guide for each park and do the tours. Also have a private chauffeur to take me where the monorail does not go. Then to Disneyland with a stay at grand Californian, and yes another private guide. Then off to aulalni in Hawaii. Aloha
I would actually love to hear what you would do if you weren’t frugal – or what one *can* do with a ton of money that someone wouldn’t expect.
If I couldn’t get a bear-led VIP tour I would go for a country-bears themed party complete with meet and greet. For the right price you can hold your party after-hours in MK at Country Bear Jamboree and finish the night with a private fireworks display.
I always say, if I won the lottery you would never find me!
But actually my family and friends know I would be at WDW or DLR really.
I’d do that $12,00 tour all by myself, at least twice, and have my minions bring me endless Dole Whip, Peter Pan floats and Cheshire Cat Tails.
And surely I would have enough money to buy a night or two in the Castle?
And seeing as I no longer need to work (therefore I don’t have to leave to pay for my next trip), I would spend 5 nights in the best rooms in GF, Poly, AKL and just keep going round and round. Until I get bored and move into the Waldorf Astoria over at Bonnet Creek.
Excuse me while I just head out for a lottery ticket…
How can you not stay at Cinderella’s castle on your dream vacation? Just saying
I like the idea of splitting a trip between a romantic portion and a group portion. I would need to do some research before deciding on where to stay for the first part, but the second is easy; a Grand Villa at Kidani Village with the two-storey savannah view.
I have a ton of ideas for dining. One I would want to do during the family portion is The Spirit of Aloha show. It sounds similar to the old show at the Tahitian Terrace and would hit a special note for my family. Victoria and Albert’s would be a must-do for the first part of the trip. Several of the special tours at AK and AKL like Wild Africa Trek and the Wanyama Safari. Maybe Keys to the Kingdom. And definitely I would splurge on Disney After Hours.
Ok, I have narrowed down the choices for where to stay during the romantic portion of the trip. It’s between a 1Bdr Villa at Grand Floridian or the Honeymoon Suite at the Polynesian. The villa has a lot more space and easier access to some of the most romantic restaurants at WDW. But that bed in the Honeymoon Suite at the Poly is VERY tempting.
Private character dinners with rare park characters such as Country Bears, Orange Bird, Figment, Dreamfinder, Duffy, and Brers.
Lots of fun stuff to check out! Plus I giggled more than a few times while reading, so. Not suggesting that it’s easy to come up with these unique ways to create fun, informative posts, that so delightfully celebrate this Disney Niche of geek, just saying that these are my favorite!
With unlimited money, Is the Cinderella suite available?
I heard a rumor that Tom Cruise once paid big bucks to stay there.
Thanks for another fun post, Tom!
To me the ultimate splurge would be the luxury of time… lots of it. I would love to spend a whole month with maybe a week each at my fave resorts: POR, AKL, WL, BC or YC. Have lots of days filled with just eating and drinking. Maybe spending a few hours at a park then going to a different resort for dinner or something. Lots of time to just BE. That would be awesome!
How about buying a home in Golden Oaks? Is that even still possible?
I have dreamed about it
Grand Villa with extended family some of whom have not yet been to Disney. I would be torn between boardwalk and animal kingdom lodge. Would take them to some nicer places we like and POSSIBLY the 6 adults going on our own to V&A or somewhere. And I like the early and late access.
I’m not familiar with the fancy rooms/ suites listed here so can’t comment with just us 2 or 4. We don’t spend tons of time in the room so we like our 1 or 2 bedroom at Beach club or other and are happy.
So you would not do the non VIP Keys to the Kingdom tour. My mom and me took it on Oct 29th of last year the 10 am tour. We found out that Main Street USA going toward Cinderella’s Castle is built going uphill for safety.