A Magical Guide to Adults Disney in 3 Days

My husband and I went on an adults-only Disney trip. We are annual passholders, and have been to WDW many times prior with the kids, but this was the first time we have been just the two of us.

We left on a 6:30 am flight out of Chicago, landing us in Orlando about 9:30 am. We grabbed our checked bags, hopped in an Uber, and headed to our hotel.

We stayed at Disney’s Riviera Resort. When I tell you this hotel is amazing, I mean it! From the beauty driving up to the hotel, to the friendliness of the cast members when you walk in to the gorgeous lobby, the coffee shop in the lobby, the Voyageurs’ Lounge. We checked our bags with the bellhop as our room was not yet ready and walked around the pool/grounds area.

We spent our first day at Magic Kingdom. We were lucky enough to secure a reservation at Beak & Barrel, the new pirate-themed lounge. We had the Hibiscus Rum Punch Royale and the Salty Seas MARRRgarita. We stood at a table in the map room and had a great server who really played the part. Dinner was at the Cake Bake Resturant by Gwendolyn Roger’s where we enjoyed Gwendolyn’s Signature Chicken and Andouille Gumbo, Green Goddess Cobb Salade, and Croque-Madame.

Beak & Barrel

The Cake Bake Resturant

Our second day was at Epcot. This day, we had a few drinks at the new 21 year-old+ lounge, Geo82. Great drinks, very nice waitress. I’d recommend the Brown Butter Old-Fashioned and the High Brow Batanga. The Food and Wine Festival never disappoints. Dinner that night was back at our hotel. Topolino's has been described to me (by numerous people) as one of the best restaurants on property, and I would agree. For drinks, we had a Pomegranate Paradise and Espresso Martini. We took our drinks to the terrace and watched the fireworks, where they pipe in the music as you watch. For an appetizer, we got Escargot en Gougeres. We did not care for this dish as it had a very strong lemon taste. For our main course, we got the filet mignon and bouillabaisse, both were excellent.

GEO-82 Bar & Lounge

View from Topolino’s Terrace where we watched the fireworks

Our third day was at Hollywood Studios. We did the Fantasmic dining package at The Brown Derby. The filet mignon and grilled Ora King salmon were fantastic! Chocolate cake for dessert, and it was HUGE!! We then did the premiere lightening lane pass to be sure we had enough time to do all the rides prior to the first showing of Fantasmic.

Dining reservations open 60 days prior to your arrival date, for your entire length of stay, up to 10 nights. You must be on right at 6 am EST. I’d suggest the hardest to get reservations are scheduled further out in your stay to maximize availability. If you are doing a split stay (two different resorts), you will have two different dining windows to book for your entire stay, one at each resort.

Lightning lanes open seven days prior to your arrival date if you are staying on property, otherwise three days prior.

If you stay at Deluxe Resort, don’t miss the extended evening hours for Deluxe Guests only. Check the Disney website for parks and hours.

If you are staying at any WDW property, they offer Monday through Friday Early Entry hours. Check the Disney website for parks and hours.

At the time of writing this, Disney is offering anyone staying on property at WDW free waterpark passes on the day of your check-in. These passes will show up on the My Disney Experience App under Tickets & Passes.

For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our Orlando page.