Recently, Walt Disney World announced a progressive dinner utilizing the monorail called Highway in the Sky. This new dinner offering begins and ends at Disney’s Contemporary Resort with stops at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The price tag is a whopping $150 per person. It includes appetizers and a specialty drink at the Contemporary, island-inspired drinks and appetizers at the Polynesian, a special Chef’s main course selection followed by a champagne toast and artisanal cheese at Citricos, then assorted desserts, cordials and coffees at the Contemporary before heading out to the patio to watch Happily Ever After.

Our family has made this type of ‘monorail tour’ a first night tradition every trip. For us it immediately immerses us in the magic of Disney without blowing a day of park tickets. Our tour typically starts and ends at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. Starting and ending your ‘tour’ at the Polynesian means you not only get to watch Happily Ever After from the beach, you get to watch the Electric Water Pageant. There really is nothing like the experience of sitting in a lounge chair with your toes in the sand eating a Dole Whip as you experience the water pageant and Wishes (with the soundtrack piped in for extra magic).

Do you want to try your own “Highway in the Sky” progressive dinner? Here is a lower cost alternative and the bonus is you can include your whole family as the “Highway in the Sky” dinner does not allow guests under 21-years-old:

Stop #1 – Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

Drinks/Appetizers: Tambu Lounge

Pork Sliders                                       $9.00
Lapu Lapu                                          $14.00
$23.00 + Tip & Tax $5.00 =  $28.00

Stop #2 – Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Hors d’oeuvres: Citricos

Cheese Board                                   $13.00
Solerno Prosecco                            $11.75
$24.75 + Tip & Tax $7.00 = $31.75

Stop #3 – Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Dinner: California Grill

California Combination Roll          $24.00
Artisan Romaine Salad                   $16.00
Sake Martini                                     $11.00
$51.00 + Tip & Tax $14.00 = $65.00

Stop #4 – Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

Dessert: Pineapple Lanai

Dole Whip Soft-serve                     $4.19
$4.19 + Tax $0.29 = $4.48

Total Cost: $129.23

As you can see the cost is pretty close. Are there places to save even more money? Absolutely! You do not have to get a signature drink at every stop (the horror!). You could simply have a glass of wine, a well drink or even a soda. There will also be a huge cost savings per person by bringing the kiddos as sodas and kids drinks are typically only $4-$7. Kids’ meals are also less expensive than adult meals.

With some creative cost cutting and a little time at your computer making reservations, there is no reason you couldn’t do this tour for less than $75/person. ½ price sounds good to me.

Does your family do the monorail tour? What about a circling Crescent Lake? Let us know @MQPodcast we’d love to hear your ideas.

Sue Nowicki is an alumnae of the 2014/15 Disney Parks Moms Panel. She splits her time between planning her next Walt Disney World vacation and being team mom to ten high-energy volleyball players where she fills the roles of secretary, navigator, head cheerleader, treasurer, athletic trainer and team psychologist. You can follow her on Twitter @JazzinDisneyMom.

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