If you’re considering staying at off property at Walt Disney World, the Champions Gate area is a prime destination.
Home to the Omni Resort, the area is also chock full of potential rentals, including apartments and single family homes (usually with caged-in pools).
Here’s a few things to know about Champions Gate located southwest of Walt Disney World, straddling Osceola and Polk Counties.
PRO:
It’s just about 15 minutes to Walt Disney World, barring any traffic on Interstate 4.
CON:
There’s almost always traffic on I-4, so realistically you’re looking at about 30 minutes to WDW. Exit 62 is the most convenient while coming from Championsgate.
PRO:
The area has become saturated with a variety of restaurants, mostly of the chain persuasion, meaning you won’t lack for places to eat. In recent years, Ford’s Garage, The Olive Garden, Miller’s Ale House, Panera Bread, Red Robin, Tijuana Flats, First Watch, Huey McGoo’s, have all sprung up on and around Champion’s Gate Boulevard/
CON:
The area is saturated. Traffic is heavy (it can be a nightmare getting down Champion’s Gate Boulevard alone, especially during peak periods). Restaurants are crowded! Kind of goes with the territory.
When it comes to the parks, nothing can spoil your day quite like a Florida thunderstorm. While you can go months with very little rain, in the summer the storm chances are usually 50/50, making it impossible to know if it’s going to rain or not on your visit to the parks.
Fortunately, there are ways to ensure you get the most out of your visit, no matter what the weather is like.
And the key is to have a plan. Just have a plan please! That means, if it’s going to rain, try to hit the indoor attractions or perhaps snag a last-minute dining reservation.
For instance, if you’re at Epcot, head to the Land, where you can ride two attractions (Soarin and Living with the Land), eat at the Garden Grill, and even watch Awesome Planet, a short film about global climate concerns. Next thing you know, three hours has gone by and voila, the storm is history.
If you’re at the Magic Kingdom, you can always snag a dining reservation, or enjoy one of the many indoor shows such as Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, the Hall of Presidents, Tiki Room, etc.
The important thing is to have a plan! And your umbrella handy too, Ponchos are helpful as well. Don’t buy at Disney world where you’ll pay about 5x the price. And consider wearing sandals. It’s no fun walking a mile to your car at the end of the evening with soaking wet sneakers.
And finally, a word about fireworks. They will go forward unless there’s lightning in the area.
If you stay outside of Walt Disney World property, chances are you may have to take I-4, which is currently one of the top ten highways in the nation for heavy traffic, right up there with roads in LA and New York City. Yes, even at 11pm at night you will likely encounter traffic.
As of now, the big bottlenecks heading westbound are usually from around Exit 75 for Universal to about Exit 67 for Epcot. Then you get a couple miles of smooth sailing. However, around Exit 62 the traffic almost always builds again. Florida 417 and World Drive spill onto I-4 west at this exit, and create a traffic headache. Once you merge, the traffic will still be heavy, but usually lightens up as you head past the ChampionsGate exit (Poinciana, Kissimmee, exit 58).
Going eastbound from Tampa, you’ll notice the traffic is heavy from about Exit 55 to Exit 60. The reason: you lose a lane for exit only for Florida 429 north. After Exit 60, there’s a bit more traffic until you clear Exit 62. Then as westbound, you get a couple miles of smooth sailing, before you guessed it, more traffic. From right before Exit 68 to about Exit 72 it almost always jams.
The moral of the story, and the reason for writing this, is to beware that I-4 is a traffic nightmare. Now state and local government have made improvements, such as the diverging diamond at Championsgate and the exit only lane for Exit 58. And they’ve promised express lanes in about a decade, just like the express lanes that rumble through downtown Orlando. However, in the meantime, just be safe on the road, have patience, and know that you’ll likely have a ton of company no matter what time you travel.
The Runaway Railway is a great ride in the Chinese Theater in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Guests see a brief cartoon featuring Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy, and then board the train for a fun spin around several scenes, including a canyon, carnival, ocean, and dance studio. It’s a great ride, especially for kids, with a catchy tune that will have you looking for the song on YouTube as soon as you get home.
A View of the Chinese Theater and Ride at Night
Here’s a tip: I’ve been on Runaway Railway dozens of times and have never used a lightning lane to get on. Instead of looking at Disney’s official wait times (which can be inflated or deflated to control guest flow), I look to see if the line is outside the building. If it’s NOT outside, head in, because the wait won’t be very long. Even if it’s a lane or two outside, it still shouldn’t be that long.
It gets long when it’s numerous outside lanes filled to capacity, and you’re baking in the hot Florida sun. Skip the ride then, and come back later. Trust me, this is a time saver that won’t cost anything. I however, am not responsible for sending you to the Railway if the ride breaks down. That has happened to me too! Enjoy!
When I do restaurant reviews I try to make them short and snappy. There’s no reason to be fully detailed on every angle. We’re going to rate them like we’re in school on an A-F scale.
So let’s blast off into Space 220, located at the Mission Space pavilion at Epcot.
Atmosphere: A
Food: A-
Service: A-
Cost: D
Worth It: Yes
Atmosphere:
One of the coolest restaurants in a world full of cool restaurants, Space 220 grabs you from the get go. You feel instantly transported into a new realm as you are sent from the check-in desk, into a room with a blue motif and space pictures. From there you are given a ticket for your elevator ride into space. The graphics are realistic and it looks like you’re blasting off from Florida, 220 miles (hence the name) to a space station where your table awaits.
You walk through some corridors that give the illusion that you are in space. You even see some spinning vegetables!
From there you head into the restaurant. We were fortunate to have a nice table for six, with a good view of the screen, making it appear as if we were orbiting the earth. We saw astronauts, meteors, and satellites fly by during the course of our dinner.
Food:
For dinner, Space 220 offers a three course prix fix meal, which includes appetizer, main course, and dessert. It’s a pricey meal at $79 per adult and $35 per child.
I can’t comment on all the dishes, but I had the scallop risotto for an appetizer, which was OK. They only gave one scallop. I would get a different appetizer next time. Others had the fried cauliflower which was excellent and the shrimp tacos which were also pretty good. The calamari had a good aioli sauce. The children had mac and cheese for the appetizer and both approved!
(l to r: Space 220 Scallop Risotto, Starry Calamari, Shrimp Tacos)
For the main course, the filet mignon made the grade. It was cooked to perfection with mashed potatoes. The slow-rotation Zero-G short rib dish was ok. I liked it but it was not my favorite and I would opt for the filet mignon next time. The carrots that accompanied both dishes were tasty! The children had the beef tenderloin and liked it.
(l to r: Space 220 Filet Mignon and Slow Rotation Zero-G Short Rib)
For dessert, we had the Pina Nova, the Astra, the Blue Planet, and Gelato. And the kids the Milky Meltaway.
First off: the Milky Meltaway is a must do if you have children. Liquid is poured through chocolate into a glass of ice cream and the chocolate then melts providing a unique twist on a hot fudge sundae.
For the adult desserts: the Pina Nova was passable, nothing amazing. The plating is actually quite small. The Astra was pretty good, especially with the honeycomb cookie. The Blue Planet cheesecake was also a solid choice and cool to look at. Gelato is gelato.
(l to r: Space 220 Pina Nova, The Astra, The Blue Planet)
One more note: standard drinks are available but at a significant price. There are also collectible space cups that you can buy, filled with lemonade-like non-alchoholic drinks and souvenir light-up glow cubes The drinks come with a collectible pack of cards. The Moon Rocks drink even includes a pack of pop rocks candy. Price is $13 to $16.
Space 220 Collectible Cup
Finally a note on service and price:
The service was fine. The server was friendly. It was a bit long for the food to come out but nothing too dramatic. It gave up more time to enjoy the dinner. The server also washed out our collectible cups and glow cubes.
Space 220 is very expensive. I understand it’s Disney but the dinner price is even higher for an adult than most character meals. I would like to see a slightly lower price or at least include soft drinks/coffee. Also, the WDW Annual Pass is not accepted at dinner, only at lunch. DVC is accepted however.
Space 220’s overall grade is an A-. Go there at least once for the experience. If you’re rolling in the dough, it’s a fine place to return to, otherwise I might seek other options after your initial visit.
If you’re visiting Walt Disney World in the summer, chances are you’re going to experience a central Florida thunderstorm. Such storms often fire up in the late afternoon and evening, and the lightning and rain can be overwhelming. Plus, don’t always believe the rumor that it rains everyday in Florida in the summer for an hour. Some days it doesn’t rain at all and some days it can rain for hours.
Since there’s nearly always a 40-60% chance of rain in the summer, it’s impossible to go to the parks without the threat of rain hanging literally over your head (aka. umbrellas and ponchos essential). That’s why it’s important to have a plan of action in the event of inclement weather.
When at Epcot, the Land Pavilion is the place to go, especially if you have to hunker down for several hours. When in the Land, you have your choice of Soarin’ and the Living with the Land boat ride. Both are excellent options and Soarin’ is one of the more popular rides in Epcot. There’s always the Awesome Planet video, which looks at the impact of climate change around the world.
An empty Land Pavilion about 90 minutes after park close
One tip to be aware of however: if you’re riding Living with the Land in a heavy thunderstorm, there’s a chance some of the water can leak through the greenhouse and onto your boat!
If you want to eat and kill time, there’s the Garden Grill. In my opinion, the GG is the top character meal at Walt Disney World. More to come on that in a following post.
Plus, there’s the Seasons quick service/snacks restaurant.
After an exciting yet long and sometimes exhausting day at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, getting back to your car in the world’s fourth largest parking lot can seem like a daunting challenge. After all, the line for the express monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) can seemingly extend for hours.
But there are several options for you to consider to shorten your wait:
1. Consider taking the resort monorail back to the TTC. Yes, it will require a pit stop in the Contemporary Resort, but it could turn out to be much faster than the express monorail. Maybe you’ll get on after one or two monorails, instead of three or four. Plus, you get the added benefit of looking inside the Contemporary and getting a good look at Chef Mickey’s, one of Disney’s premier character meals.
2. If the main ferry boat looks daunting, consider taking the resort boat the Polynesian Village Resort. The boat, which stops briefly at the Grand Floridian Resort first, will let you off by the Polynesian’s main pool the Lava Pool. From there, it’s about a ten minute walk back to the trams at the TTC. Plus, you get to end the night with some tiki torches and some Polynesian themed music.
Remember, seek adventure and not just seek the status quo. You never know what riches you may find.
