Heading to Disney?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Just got back from a great trip to Walt Disney World. If you’re heading there soon with teens, here’s my feedback:</p>

<p>1) Get to Epcot early one morning to get a FastPass for Soarin’. The FPs for this ride go fast - they were always gone by mid-afternoon - and when it says the stand-by wait is 2 hours (or more) they’re NOT kidding. We waited 2 hours, and it was a GREAT ride - but not worth 2 hours of waiting.</p>

<p>2) I didn’t ride Mission Space - Orange (Epcot), but everyone I know who rode it had no problems. Just be sure to stare straight at your screen; don’t look left or right.</p>

<p>3) If you have teens, and can’t decide between Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon - go to Blizzard Beach. Everything there is longer/faster/taller. My daughter will be bragging about going 51 mph down Summit Plummit for years to come. We actually did BB in the morning, and Typhoon Lagoon in the late afternoon. The Crusher-Gusher water-coaster at Typhoon Lagoon is great fun, but short. </p>

<p>4) Choosing a hotel? We liked Port Orleans -Riverside. It was actually very quiet and peaceful. It has a large “feature” pool with waterslides, waterfalls, and a hot-tub. There are also “quiet” pools scattered around the grounds. My teenaged girls liked the feature pool, although they were probably 5 years older than anyone else on the waterslide. They also liked the hot tub. They also liked being the only girls at that pool over the age of 12… there were quite a few teenaged boys literally following them around. On second thought, perhaps you parents should take your teen daughters to the “quiet” pools…</p>

<p>5) Expedition Everest (animal Kingdom) was GREAT. I sometimes have problems with rollercoasters (Space Mountain gave me a migraine, and I avoided Rockin Rollercoaster altogether) but if you can handle Big Thunder Mountain Railway you can handle Expedition Everest. Don’t miss it!</p>

<p>6) If you have little kids, do NOT take them on Dinosaurs (Animal Kingdom). This is one SERIOUSLY scary ride. Dark, loud, intense and realistic. </p>

<p>If you have little kids, don’t assume all rides at Disney are ok for them. Many rides take place in the dark, and are loud and scary. Remember, when you’re dealing with Disney you’re dealing with the people who killed Bambi’s mother!</p>

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<p>Laflum, that was a great report. Thanks. I’ve only been to the Magic Kingdom myself. My tips for that are obvious: go early or stay late and ride the premium rides then. Go over the book in the morning and arrange your day so you can ride the less desired rides or see shows between your waits for your fastpass time on the premium rides. </p>

<p>Food and drink is fiendishly expensive in the park. A coke I think is $4.50. But if you bring your own water bottle, you can fill it up for free all you want from fountains. </p>

<p>If you have small children or a family member who needs supervision, ask about the tickets they have for that. I forget what it’s called, but basically it’s something so that you can ride with one child then come back and ride with another. “Switchpass” maybe.</p>

<p>If you’ve never been before, expect to spend the first couple of days looking down your nose at how fake everything is–and the next couple of days snapping your fingers and singing the “My oh my what a beautiful day” song.</p>

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<p>I recommend looking at their dine around plan, and eat at Boma in Animal Kingdom Lodge (my favorite), and Maya Grill in the Coronado Resort. </p>

<p>Our family actually prefers Typhoon Lagoon b/c at Blizzard Beach we felt that we were forever walking uphill and it is wearing after several hours. Everyone loves Typhoon’s wave pool.</p>

<p>My kids love everything at Disney. You cannot go wrong whatever you decide to do there.</p>

<p>If you have little kids, and want a night out, they have child care services so the kiddo never knows that he/she is being cared for in a child care facility (ie: Neverland theme, food, “free” videogames, animal specialist visits with animals, kiddo get club pass, sprinkled with fairdust, etc. etc.).</p>

<p>Recommend that you stay at a Disney Resort for the extended hours, if for no other reason (time open to hotel guests only).</p>

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<p>I want to add that you don’t have to stay on the Disney property to have a good time. (Though I’m sure you’ll have a better one if you do stay on the Disney grounds, since there’s a lot of perks Disney has especially for that clientele).</p>

<p>Even at the height of the season, you can get motel rooms on International Drive (or whatever it’s called) fairly cheap. I think I’ve paid 39-65 with tax, depending on whether I had a coupon or not. Most have a free shuttle to take you to the major parks.</p>

<p>A couple of cautions about the shuttle: </p>

<p>They pick up from multiple motels. Find out where you are on the route before you book your room. If you’re at the end of the route (the last stop before the park), the shuttle may fill up and pass you by. </p>

<p>The shuttle gets to the park just before it opens, but leaves a little early in the evening; to catch it for the ride back, you can’t stay for the fireworks, or at least not all of it.</p>

<p>Sometimes the shuttle picks up in the evening in a different slot from where it drops you off or at a different time. Always ask the driver in the morning.</p>

<p>If you go during the low season (school year), the shuttle hours may not be very desirable for the parks other than the Magic Kingdom. I think you can only get in a half day or so.</p>

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<p>“I want to add that you don’t have to stay on the Disney property to have a good time.”</p>

<p>Absolutely. You might also want to head to Universal, Seaworld, etc. If you are looking for a Disney vacation, IMO, if you can afford $99/night, you are better off staying on site in one of the value hotels. They have buses from the hotel, to get you to any of their Disney parks (you won’t be on the monorail, but that is just fine). Hotels on the monorail are Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and the Polynesian (they are pretty expensive). BTW, the Grand Floridian offers a very nice buffet character dinner in their Park Fare restaurant. The Polynesian offered a dinner show last I checked, but if you are not with small kids I would not recommend it, JMO.</p>

<p>The value hotels entitle you to those extra hours for Disney guests.</p>

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<p>I agree with conyat regarding places to stay. My family rented a house right near Disney 5 years ago or so, there were a lot of us (including grandparents) so it was a great option.</p>

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<p>I’ve always wanted to camp at Fort Wilderness too. I think it’s $40 or so a night to tent camp, more for an RV, and if you don’t have one of your own, they’ll rent you an RV or a rustic cabin.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, if I get to Florida, D. has no interest in going anywhere but the beach. (I’ve only been to WDW for professional obligations, not family vacations). But it just looks like so much fun in the brochures. I always imagine that if you camp at Disney, there are NO mosquitos, no inconvenient rocks or twigs that you don’t discover till they’re in the middle of your back in the middle of the night, and that the Disney folks arrange for the cartoon bluebirds from Cinderella to perch in the trees and sing to you in the morning.</p>

<p>Hmm…maybe it’s better that I haven’t been.</p>

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<p>We never stayed there, but we have visited. At some point I remember taking a hayride type of transportation into the Fort Wilderness area. We ate at one of the restaurants there (don’t recall the name off hand). It was okay, and a bit different, but there is better food, IMO, at other restaurants at Disney. I think that camping there would be a lot of fun.</p>

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<p>Disney has to shutdown each ride or attraction at one point or another during the year for preventative maintenance; the bigger things can be shut down for weeks. They publish the schedule ahead of time, so if there’s one thing you’ve always dreamed of seeing, make sure to check that it will be open while you’re there.</p>

<p>I saw a TV show about Disney World at Christmas. If you can go before the 18th or so (when it starts getting crowded), the lines aren’t long and all the decorations are up. It looked fabulous.</p>

<p>I think you can get a discount on tickets if you buy them through AAA, but you have to order them pretty far in advance (probably too far to check on the maintenance schedule).</p>

<p>Also, if your trip is short, 3-4 days, and you haven’t been to the Magic Kingdom before, I think it’s definitely worth getting a guidebook and mapping out your strategy at least for the first day. If the park is crowded, logistics makes a huge difference in how much you can see and do. </p>

<p>During the summer, you’ll want to ride Splash Mountain to beat the heat at least once in the afternoon if you can take the climb, and twice if you can swing it, so I try to plan my day to maximize that.</p>

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<p>My family and I have been to Disney three different times – I’d really recommend avoiding the key seasons (Spring Break, Summer, and Christmas). They best time we have ever gone was in October. The weather was fabulous and the parks were all manageable; the lines were never long even on the most popular rides.</p>

<p>My sister and I might be in college now, but I know we’ve talked about going again before we graduate… I don’t think Disney is something I will ever outgrow :)</p>

<p>For all ages, I like the theme dinners that Disney offers as well – the Luau at the Polynesian resort is fun – and I’d recommend those type of dinners over the breakfast with the characters. </p>

<p>I’m not a big Magic Kingdom fan; its definitely geared more towards the younger children. I adore MGM and Animal Kingdom, and they appeal to all ages.</p>

<p>Before any trip to Disney, I’d pick up the latest copy of Birnbaum’s Guide to Disney World – or head to the bookstore and pick out the one that best fits what you need to know about Disney. It will give you the dish about everything Disney you should know before and while visiting.</p>

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<p>This is the best site for Disney info: <a href=“http://www.allearsnet.com/[/url]”>http://www.allearsnet.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I use it all the time.</p>

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<p>There’s a lot to do at Disneyworld for people of all ages – and it’s all expensive. I was at Disney THREE times last year (spring training in March, trade show in September, and family outing New Years weekend). </p>

<p>I particularly like staying on site – for the convenience. I like staying off site for the price. Disney’s Magical Express which whisks you from the airport to your resort on their bus (and they take care of the luggage which magically appears in your room) is just one of the advantages on staying on site.</p>

<p>I really don’t have a favorite park – although I thought that Animal Kingdom was interesting it was hard to navigate and a lot of walking for not a lot of stuff to see and do. Just MHO – I had to see it as I am an animal professional. I particularly enjoyed Conservation Station which offered a lot of info on how Disney operates their “zoo” and it’s a glimpse behind the scenes.</p>

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<p>I have used a different site, and have gotten good discount info there. It is mousesavers dot com.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://www.wdwinfo.com%5B/url%5D”>www.wdwinfo.com</a> and <a href=“http://www.disboards.com%5B/url%5D”>www.disboards.com</a> were my first message boards ever (back in '99). They are a great source of Disney info.</p>

<p>Through them I learned about <a href=“http://www.tugbbs.com/forums[/url]”>www.tugbbs.com/forums</a> which led us to wonderful timeshare vacations (and there are tons of good timeshares in Orlando – but you must buy resale).</p>

<p>Through the timeshare site, I learned about College Confidential!!</p>

<p>My Disney advice to parents with young children: go to the parks every other day. On the off days, hang out at the hotel pool and rest. Don’t do “Disney or die” day after day.</p>

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<p>Now that is funny! Nice story!</p>

<p>My tip on how to see parks-Go early (if on site get there during their early hour for hotel guests only, or stay late after the park closes for non- Disney hotel guests). Leave, enjoy the pool and even nap midday when it is too hot and too crowded.</p>

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<p>dont forget to take two different pair of shoes so that if one pair gets wet or sweaty you can have a dry pair for the next day or later in the afternoon. i really do suggest taking you afternoon meals back at your hotel if staying on property we did this and went swimming then went back to the park in the evening when most people were eating or starting to leave so we did not have to wait in lines. The best vacation we took. Have fun and enjoy.</p>

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<p>flounderingfree, yep, this is the way to see Disney!</p>

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<p>Here are a few more Disney “tips”. If you are military, military dependent, gov’t employee (DOD, etc) you may qualify to stay at “Shades of Green”, a Disney property and is very inexpensive. Check here <a href=“http://www.shadesofgreen.org/home.html[/url]”>http://www.shadesofgreen.org/home.html&lt;/a&gt; to see of you qualify to stay there. We haven’t stayed there but know people who have, and enjoyed the benefits of being at a Disney property/resort as a very low cost. Its right on the golf courses, for any of you into golf.</p>

<p>I’m with Conyat re: staying off property to save $$$. We usually stayed on or near International Drive as well, as there are many inexpensive places with breakfast included. We usually picked a suite-type hotel with kitchen so we could make our own snacks, etc. Also, there is plenty to do at night on International Drive. We’ve also done the “stay here free and tour our condo” bit at one point. Once was enough, but the facility was very nice, with beautiful condos, pool, exercise/workout areas, etc.</p>

<p>The best trick for Epcot requires a car to make it easiest (but you can do it without a car as well, using the water taxis). You park at the Swan or the Dolphin and then walk around the Boardwalk <a href=“http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/moreMagic/moreMagicLanding?id=BoardwalkLandingPage&bhcp=1[/url]”>http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/moreMagic/moreMagicLanding?id=BoardwalkLandingPage&bhcp=1&lt;/a&gt; .There are great things to do on the Boardwalk, and you walk right into the back end of the park, around the lake (by England, I believe). Then at the end of the night, you stay around the lagoon to watch the fireworks, and when it is over and the throngs of people are walking towards the front of the park, you are walking out of the back of the park, to your car. You can also ride the water taxis that are in the Boardwalk area to the other Disney properties, if you don’t have a car. </p>

<p>There is also a trick with riding the monorail, if I remember this correctly. If you are with the throngs of people riding the monorail at the end of the night, don’t get into the long line for the parking lot (transportation/ticket center). Get into the much shorter “hotel” line. The thing is a circle and will take you to the parking lot anyway.
One more tip- definitely learn about, and follow the “hidden mickeys”. Its a lot of fun and keeps teens entertained while standing on long lines. The staff will tell you about them in each ride as well. Its a whole “underground” thing . I’ll pull a few links and start another post with the info.</p>

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<p>Here are several links to the world of “Hidden Mickeys”. It is a lot of fun to try to find them, and definitely helps to pass the time. Here’s one hint:
Take your map of the MGM theme park and turn it upside down. Then look at the area in front of the Graumanns Chinese theater (I am doing this from memory- I believe thats the right area). Anyone have a map available to check? that area is designed in the shape of a Mickey mouse head!</p>

<p>Here are several sites to read:
<a href=“http://www.allearsnet.com/btp/hiddenm.htm[/url]”>http://www.allearsnet.com/btp/hiddenm.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Mickey[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Mickey&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Slot25 : Situs Slot Deposit Dana Paling Gacor Gampang Maxwin”>Slot25 : Situs Slot Deposit Dana Paling Gacor Gampang Maxwin;

<p><a href=“http://www.hiddenmickeysguide.com/[/url]”>http://www.hiddenmickeysguide.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>here’s a stellite view of MGM’s overall shape- one giant hidden Mickey <a href=“Slot25 : Situs Slot Deposit Dana Paling Gacor Gampang Maxwin”>Slot25 : Situs Slot Deposit Dana Paling Gacor Gampang Maxwin; THIS is a better shot (be sure to scroll down to the second picture)</p>

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<p>Just a note-- I replaced the photo of the arial Hidden mickey in the post above. Click on it now and be sure to scroll down toteh second photo of the park under constuction. This is the link <a href=“Slot25 : Situs Slot Deposit Dana Paling Gacor Gampang Maxwin”>Slot25 : Situs Slot Deposit Dana Paling Gacor Gampang Maxwin;

<p>Also, I just found this :

on wikipedia. So you cant see the hidden Mickey in the map anymore.</p>