One of the best and worst parts of travel is that it begets more travel.  That’s mostly good news, as we think vacationing and seeing new places is an important part of life.  The bad part is that it costs money.  While we certainly have travel goals outside of Disney, traveling more and more to the parks has only brought more of a desire to see and do more.  Now, the only problem is with money.

Anyone who has been to Disney World, Disneyland or any other Disney Resort knows that it is basically impossible to do everything.  There are more resorts to stay at, more attractions to do, more places to eat and more parks to go to.  That is even true for me, the weird Disney fan who goes to different Disney resorts at least once a year.  That leads Melissa and I to keeping lists of what we want to do next in terms of Disney Parks.

I don’t love the term ‘bucket list’ as it mainly leads me to thinking about dying or Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in a below-average movie.  Alas, here I am writing a post about it.  Maybe it should be titled ‘Disney things I want to do in the next decade or two’ but that’s way too long and gets confusing on what to capitalize.  So, we’ll just go with this and we can get to this list of Disney stuff I want to do!

Visit all of the Disney Parks worldwide

This is one of my main goals but also one I’m not in a hurry to complete.  As I covered earlier this week, both Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Paris have a number of projects going on right now and I’d rather wait (especially for the latter) to see these parks.  Having been to the American Parks and Tokyo Disney Resort has a complicated effect on these goals.  Where we once planned on going to Europe in the years after visiting Japan, we’re now in the process of planning multiple trips back to Japan instead because we loved it so much.  That makes visiting the other Asian Parks, notably Hong Kong, very realistic while Europe will be a long ways down the road unless our jobs change or we win the lottery.

If you love the American Parks but also think it’s not worth visiting foreign parks because they’re all the same I’d encourage you to rethink that position.  While I know traveling internationally isn’t realistic for everyone, the foreign parks do have different characteristics and feel to them.  These parks help understand the country and culture that you’re in as well as being boatloads of fun.

Stay at Hotel MiraCosta

Speaking of the foreign parks, this Tokyo Disney Resort hotel is on the top of my list of places that I want to stay.  MiraCosta sits inside of the beautiful DisneySea.  The hotel has a Mediterranean theme, as that’s the land it sits in.  Compared to a few other items on this list, staying here is fairly attainable albeit with a high price tag.  This may be one of those stays that will be best spent with another couple to split the price.

Go to Aulani and on a Disney Cruise

For proof that this list isn’t in any order, this would rank pretty low.  Both of these items are things I want to do but only when the time is right.  We’ve kicked around the idea of a Disney Cruise in the next year but other travel is going to keep us away from that for now.  While some prices are decent, ultimately they keep us away as Melissa and I just aren’t as interested in cruises right now as other vacations.

As for Aulani, the drawback is getting there.  We will likely tack on a stop in Hawaii on our way back from Asia at some point but, again, it’s not a huge priority.  Don’t get me wrong, the resort looks incredible, as does a Disney Cruise, but it comes down to saving money for other trips that are higher on our list and a better value at this point in our lives.

California Grill brunch

We’ve had dinner at California Grill before but the brunch experience sounds delightful.  A nice buffet offering along with an entrée, live music, an incredible view and sushi puts this on the top of my list of places to eat in WDW.  This one should be easily attainable and may be a good excuse for the deluxe dining plan for a couple of nights.

“Walk in Walt Disney’s Disneyland Footsteps” Tour

This list is surprisingly lacking in Disneyland topics, as there aren’t many goals, events or places to stay on my Disney bucket list.  Honestly, I have my doubts about this tour being worth the money as I ended up mostly unimpressed with its Magic Kingdom counterpart – Keys to the Kingdom.  With this one being more Walt Disney specific, I’d hope that the stories are a little more in-depth and the backstage areas might be of note.

The Walt Disney family museum in San Francisco

I’m actually going to be completing this one in early December as we head to San Francisco for a weekend.  This museum draws rave reviews and I’m eager to see the exhibits and models of the parks.

Stay at all of the Disney World Hotels

This is a lofty goal and more of a “it’d be cool to say I’ve done this” item than anything else on the list.  It will obviously take a while to complete as we’ve stayed at roughly half the resorts.  The next few I want to visit most are Boardwalk (which will happen in the next year), Port Orleans – French Quarter, and the Polynesian.  Having a DVC Membership and being open to split-stays make this bucket list item more attainable.

See the Cinderella Castle Suite 

Staying in the famed Magic Kingdom castle suite is too much to ask, as it is mostly used for charity at this point and rightfully so.  There aren’t any tours that give guests the chance to see the suite either but if someone wants to sneak me up there to take a look and maybe a quick nap then I wouldn’t object.  The photos of the suite that I have seen are stunning.  Club 33 could fit into this category too, as I’d love to see the club and the history that goes with it.  It didn’t get its own heading because I think Club 33 has lost some of its allure since the remodel and opening of these clubs elsewhere.

Be at the opening of a new land or park

Here’s another entry that I want to complete but… Openings involve huge crowds and that can get frustrating.  Melissa and I plan to be at Disneyland around Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opening but may not be there on the exact day.  Weighing the excitement of opening against the headache of crowds is a tough task.  Ideally, I’d rather do this for an entire park opening but, with no new Disney Parks on the immediate horizon, this may end up being very difficult.

That is my bucket list so far.  I’m sure it will change and evolve in the coming years and we will try to keep it updated when that time comes.  My list is, unsurprisingly, lacking attractions as they aren’t my favorite aspect of the Disney Parks.  While I think doing all of the attractions in Disneyland in one day is a fun and worthy challenge, I’m just not that interested in it.  Having said that, riding Pooh’s Hunny Hut, Mystic Manor, Disneyland Paris’ Space Mountain and Shanghai’s Pirates of the Caribbean are all on my bucket list but I just went with visiting all of the Disney Parks instead.

What is on your Disney Bucket List and have you experienced anything on mine?  Let us know in the comments as well as any questions you might have.  Thank you for reading Wandering in Disney.  If you enjoy what you’re reading please subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email and like our social media pages.  You can do both of those things on the right side of this page.  Have a great day!

– Andrew