I just got back from my sister's Disney bachelorette party last weekend, which I planned for my sister and her bridemaids/friends, all mid-20s. I think your version 3 itinerary looks great! Is that what you are going with? We ended up staying at a Hilton Vacation Club property off site (my parents gifted us with points for the hotel stay), but I have also stayed at the Hilton Bonnet Creek before and could see that being perfect for a bachelorette party. Much more grown up vibe if that is what you are going for.
I just wanted to share a few of my thoughts post-trip. Jellyrolls is definitely a must! We did it our first night and it was just perfect a perfect way to start. I would try to get there a little before 8 and try to get a table up front, especially on a weekend night. By around 8:30 it was already pretty packed. We even brought a bride banner that we taped to the fronts of the two tables we pushed together. Bride will get lots of fun attention at Jellyrolls, plus the music is excellent! Bring small bills for song requests, which you submit with your tip on a napkin. Note that they don't serve food here, just popcorn and drinks. We left around 11 PM to head back to the hotel, and a couple of the girls and I were hungry so we stopped at the pizza window on the boardwalk (which is open until midnight) and got a couple personal pizzas (about $11 each). Excellent thin crust, Neapolitan-style pizza and definitely split-able.
I had hoped that we would make it to Trader Sam's after our Magic Kingdom day, but that just didn't happen. I've been there myself before so I'll admit it is a fun atmosphere but it is crowded and sometimes has long waits. Looking back, I don't regret that we missed it. Jellyrolls was definitely the better choice out of the two if you are just going to do one. My original schedule had involved a lot more bar hopping than we actually did, mostly because the park days ended up being pretty long and tiring. So we ended up adjusting.
For Epcot and drinking around the world, I was actually surprised that we didn't drink as much as I thought we would. I think it was because of the price of the drinks. They did have some fun ones at the food booths for the
Festival of the Arts, and some girls did share drinks to try different things. It was really rainy and a bit cold when we were at Epcot, so the girls were just exhausted. We went back to the hotel, opened a couple of bottles of wine and went to the hot tub. At that point it was probably just as fun as going to another bar.
For planning fast passes I asked the Bride's preference, but I also polled the girls about their must-does. I planned our schedule for the day around rides and experiences people said were most important. I am a big planner and communicator and was very open with them throughout the process about all of this. And darn-it if we aren't half way around the world our first day in Epcot when some girls start asking, can we meet some characters? Never in any communications had any of them mentioned wanting to meet characters. All of this is to say, you can plan and plan, and still people will decide they want to do something else, or that they just have to do something that they've never mentioned. There were 7 of us, and we did split up more than I thought we would. But all in all it was an awesome experience for my sister and her friends, and I'm so glad that we did it!
I hope you ladies have a wonderful time for your friend's Bachelorette Party. It will definitely be an experience you won't ever forget!
