What better way to enjoy dinner than with panoramic views of the Seven Seas lagoon, Cinderella Castle and Space Mountain? That’s what you’ll get when you dine at the Grand Floridian’s Narcoossee’s restaurant, a steak and seafood spot located on the water.
What we like:
Narcoossee’s is a small restaurant on the water, but that’s what keeps it so intimate and cozy. This spot is perfect for a special occasion or date night; it’s on the pricier side but worth the splurge. Everything about this restaurant is exceptional – the food, the service, the waterfront views – you can’t beat it. Their wine list includes some Disney-owned brands, which were really neat to try. If you’re looking for a white tablecloth, upscale spot in Disney World, this is it!
Disney dates are the best dates!
Things to note:
As mentioned, this spot is on the pricier side, so there are not as many young kids and families dining here. Most places in Disney World are kid-friendly, so this is no exception, but it was mostly adult couples while we had dinner. We were seated at a table next to a family with one baby, but we also ate on the earlier side so we could head to Magic Kingdom afterwards.
WDW Park Planners Tip:
There are two tiers to the restaurant, so if you want to sit at the window, don’t be afraid to request it. Both tiers have breathtaking views (we were not on the window directly, and we still had great views), but if this is important to you, make sure you ask upon arrival 🙂
Also, if you dine on the later side, you may get to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks and Electrical Water Pageant!
Experience the history and culture of 11 countries as you travel the world on the World Showcase: DestiNations Discovered Tour. Explore some of the backstage magic and learn the secrets of World Showcase!
Event Details:
4.5 hour walking tour through the 11 countries of World Showcase
$79/person (APs, DVCs & Disney Chase Visa Cardmembers get 15% off)
Park admission required for tour
Tour available on select dates
Snack provided, no meal
For adults and teens (I wouldn’t recommend this for kids!)
Our Experience:
We arrived to Epcot a little before 8am through the main entrance. For the tour, check in is near the Spaceship Earth pin trader shop, so we headed straight there and were greeted by our two tour guides. One of the guides was newer, so she was paired with a more experienced guide. We met the rest of our group (there were 10 of us total) and then we were off to World Showcase! We started in Mexico and then made our way around the lagoon.
#DiscoverEpcot
The guides tag-teamed the tour by alternating countries, which was great to mix it up. The newer guide was really nervous during the tour, so a lot of it felt like she was reading a script. I felt badly because she was great! The experienced guide was very comfortable talking through everything (it’s a ton of information, so very impressive!) but the two of them were a little awkward…and we had an awkward group.
Despite this, we really enjoyed learning about each country! We heard about everything from the design of the pavilion to the operations behind it to trivia about the culture. One of the coolest parts was going “backstage” in several of the countries (no pictures allowed!). I was worried that this might take away from the magic of World Showcase, but this was not the case. It actually made me appreciate it even more – the attention to detail and amount of effort put into creating the magical illusions is UNREAL. Disney never ceases to amaze me.
My favorite part of the tour was going backstage and hearing about Illuminations, while my husband’s favorite was going backstage to the Festival kitchens. Chef Mike, the head chef of Epcot, spent a half hour telling us about the backstage operations for all of the huge festivals Epcot offers (Food & Wine and the Flower and Garden, to name a few). He was awesome – such a nice, down to earth guy, and full of great stories!
Since the tour starts at 8:15am and World Showcase doesn’t open until 11am, we had the park to ourselves for over half the tour. It was so magical walking through World Showcase while it was empty – I just LOVE taking in all the details of the countries. It was extremely hot on our tour and you’re outside for most of the tour, but it was still the best day!!
What We Liked:
If you love World Showcase, this tour is definitely for you! World Showcase is one of our all-time favorite places at Disney, so being able to experience it in an entirely new way was magical. This was the first tour we did at Disney World, and we would love to try some of the others that are offered!
Things to Note:
While we were on the tour, the guides let us know that we had access to a private viewing of Illuminations for that night. We did the tour on Monday morning and were flying home that afternoon, so we were pretty disappointed that we couldn’t take advantage of that perk. Even if we were staying, we likely would have had plans made for the night already (I am a planner, after all!). So keep this in mind if you’re doing the tour!
Disney After Hours is a late night ticketed event with certain attractions and character meet-and-greets available – all with little to no wait!
Event Details:
Select nights at Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom (not Epcot)
$125/person, $95 with Annual Passholder discount
3 hour window after park closes (i.e. 9:30pm-12:30am)
Can arrive starting at 7pm at the park for the event (without a regular park ticket)
Limited restaurants open, no stores open
Some snacks and drinks included with price of ticket
Our Experience at Hollywood Studios:
My husband and I attended the event at Hollywood Studios on a Friday night and had a blast! We arrived at the park around 7pm and just enjoyed walking around until the event started. We had dinner and drinks at the Brown Derby Lounge (our favorite!) while we waited for the crowds to leave.
We walked around and started to notice the park slowly getting quieter. By the time the Star Wars Galactic Spectacular fireworks show rolled around at 9:30pm, the park was already cleared out! We walked up as the show started and got a viewing spot front and center – even though the park was still open to the general public.
As soon as the fireworks ended, we headed straight to meet the Star Wars characters. We had never met them before and were so excited we were able to walk right up and meet BB-8, Chewbacca and Kylo Ren.
Meet and greet with BB-8!!
From there, we were able to hit all of the rides once through. We rode Rock and Roller Coaster (front row, of course), Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers (first time ever!), Toy Story Mania (I won) and Star Tours! Tower of Terror was closed, which was a huge bummer for us.
The only ride we waited significantly for was Slinky Dog Dash, which took 25 minutes. Honestly, I was a little surprised we had to wait that long, based on what I had heard from people. It’s hard when you have such a limited amount of time to spend that long on one ride, but it was still worth it.
During the night, we enjoyed our Mickey ice cream bars and strolling around the near empty park. That’s one of my favorite things to do at Disney – just enjoy the parks while they’re peaceful and quiet. And that’s exactly what we did!
Overall, we give this event a two thumbs up! Worth the extra money for just the two of us (we also have the AP discount). We would love to try it at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom!
