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 So you want to go to Disney World. Good for you. Before we go any further, though, I must tell you: there are about one billion quality Walt Disney World vacation websites out there. However, most are concerned with the complex minutiae of planning and visiting the “Vacation Kingdom of the World,” and they're not too newbie-friendly. What I've written here is an introduction to Disney World for those who've thought about going but haven't yet pulled the trigger. This post will be light on details. I'm aiming for clear answers to broad and common questions that will give you an idea of what to expect when planning and while you’re there. I know there are other Disney World fans on these forums, so if you think I've omitted something important or got something wrong, chime in. I'll be happy to amend the OP when necessary. OK. When people think about going to Disney World for the first time, they usually think this is where they're going...  ...which is Disneyland, not Walt Disney World. Same thing, right? FALSE. Let's start things off the right way by getting our bearings. This won't take long. In 1955, Walter E. Disney opened Disneyland in southern California. He and his entertainment properties were already very well known, and the theme park opened to tremendous fanfare and was an instant hit. He and his team had essentially built the very first “theme” (as opposed to “amusement”) park, so they learned everything the hard way. Walt soon realized his vision of Disneyland was limited by simple geography. Expansion beyond the park's original boundaries was difficult if not impossible, as the property was quickly surrounded by a zillion unsightly restaurants, gas stations and cheap hotels. By 1959 he was already looking for a place to build a bigger, better park, where the real world could not encroach. I'm telling you this so you can understand what Walt Disney World is not: it's not a standalone theme park like Disneyland, but an entire city in central Florida that includes four world-class theme parks, two water parks, 26 hotels, five golf courses, nightclubs, restaurants, camping, fishing, para-sailing, and way, way too many things to list here. Here is Disneyland (the one in California), along with its sister-park Disney's California Adventure, plus all Disney-owned hotels and parking:  That’s one mile by ¾ of a mile. Shown at the same scale, here is Florida's Walt Disney World: [click for full size]  So you see we're not screwing around here. That's 47 square miles (121 square kilometers), roughly twice the size of Manhattan. You don't really drive in, park the car, ride some rides and drive home. Well, you can, but that would miss the point entirely. Walt Disney World wasn't built for a day of fun; it was designed as a vacation destination. And it is bad rear end. This guide is written for the Disney World first-timer. Some call the place intimidating for novices, but that's an undeserved bad rap. Yes, there is much to see and much to do. In fact, too much for a single visit, so don't get caught up in I-want-to-see-everything. It’s very easy to have a smooth, stress-free Disney World vacation, and still experience the things that make Disney World worth your time and money. Whatever you miss, you can do next time you visit. Oh yes, there will be a next time. First...what to do...  The bulk of what you'll do at Disney World will be at the four main theme parks. The Magic Kingdom – This is what most people think of when they think of Disney World. Cinderella's castle, Space Mountain and so on. It was patterned after Disneyland. This is the heart and soul of Disney World, and it was the first (and when it opened in 1971, the only) Disney World theme park. Epcot – Formerly EPCOT Center, this park opened in 1982. Disney refers to it internally as a “discovery park.” It's split into two distinct (but still very large) sub-parks: Future World, featuring several pavilions that explore specific fields of technology or nature. Here you'll find The Seas, Universe of Energy, Mission: Space and so on. Second, we have World Showcase: eleven pavilions, each representing a different country. All World Showcase pavilions have a signature restaurant, smaller eateries and plenty of shops. Several have rides or attractions, too. Unlike at Magic Kingdom, alcohol flows freely at Epcot. World Showcase is actually the world’s greatest bar. Hey, can I buy an enormous beer and walk around with it? Of course you can. Disney's Hollywood Studios – This movie-themed park opened in 1989. Yep, there are rides: Star Tours, Rock-N-Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror and more. Plenty of shows, and much food and drink. If you've been to Universal Studios, you'll find all of this familiar. But you'll also notice the quality is distinctly a notch above what you've experienced at other movie parks. However, it's light on rides, and isn't really a full-day park. Disney's Animal Kingdom – Half zoo, half-theme park. Think Busch Gardens or Sea World, but more high-end and with fewer coasters. Animal Kingdom opened in 1998 and is just now starting to be considered an all-day park. Just as impressive and immersive as the other three, Animal Kingdom features the largest single attraction at Disney World: the Kilimanjaro Safaris, a safari through a simulated east Africa with real animals; it's larger than the entire Magic Kingdom. I find Animal Kingdom to be the most immersive and intricately themed park at WDW. EVERYTHING ELSE Not to give the rest of Disney World short shrift, but there's way, way too much other stuff to cover here. Just understand that most of your time and fun will be at the four main parks. Everything you do outside the parks will also be really fun, but I don't have time to deal with them here and it's best you discover that stuff yourself, anyway. Some of it is dealt with piece-by-piece below. Still, here's a thumbnail sketch: • Water parks Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. • Disney Springs, a dining and entertainment complex with indoor theme park Disney Quest, its own Cirque du Soliel show, craploads of shopping, nightclubs and bars, plus more. It's a nighttime entertainment district, basically. This used to be called Downtown Disney. A massive refurb/rebuilding recently doubled the total number of shops, restaurants and attractions, and completely re-themed the district. • Amazing golf courses, all 4 or 4.5 stars • A sports complex and full-size speedway where you –yes, you– can drive a NASCAR • Dining and entertainment at a lot of the aforementioned 26 hotel/resorts • Fishing/boating/nighttime cruises on three different lakes Plus all the ancillary stuff like water parades, fireworks, horseback riding, etc. Like I said, way more than I can do justice to here, but as you spend more time at Disney World, you'll discover all kinds of stuff like this on your own.  HOW TO GET THERE AND WHERE TO STAY I'll discuss the “where to stay” part first. In some ways that will affect how you get there. ON-SITE HOTELS & RESORTS There are advantages to staying at a Walt Disney World hotel or resort. They're convenient, as they're all on-property, and have free transportation to the individual parks, Downtown Disney and the other resorts. They're high-quality, as is pretty much everything at Disney World. Great service at all the hotels, and outstanding amenities at the nicer, more expensive resorts. And they grant certain perks, like early-entry or after-hours admission to the parks. The one drawback used to be that they were all considerably more expensive than off-property non-Disney hotels, but that's no longer the case, as discussed below. Disney categorizes its hotels into three tiers. Deluxe resorts – These top tier options include everything you'd expect at a fancy resort: full-service dining, on-site recreation and entertainment, really fancy pools and/or beach access, luggage service, concierge service, child care, the whole enchilada. Three of them –the Contemporary, Polynesian and Grand Floridian– have direct monorail service to the Magic Kingdom and the Transportation and Ticket Center. But more on that later. Off-season prices are as low as $280 per night at the least expensive deluxe resort, and start at $480 a night at the most expensive. All hotels are more expensive during peak season. Moderate resorts – These are nice hotels with a number of extras. Full-service dining, food courts, nice swimming pools, luggage service, and so on. Off-season prices are as low as $165 per night. Value resorts – Amenities include food courts, hourly luggage service and swimming pools. Despite the low price and lack of luxuries, they're still very clean and well-themed, just like the moderate and deluxe joints. And you still get great service. Off-season prices are as low as $85 per night at the least expensive value resort, and start at $100 a night at the most expensive. The value resorts started appearing in the 1990s (I think), as Disney noticed many people were unwilling to pay premium prices for on-site hotel rooms, especially larger families that needed multiple rooms or a suite. Now you can get a 6-person family suite for as little as $200 a night (same room at the Grand Flo starts at $1,235 a night). The newest value resort opened in 2012. I'll say this: if you're willing to shell out the dough for one of the nicer hotels, you will know where that money went. There's a very discernible jump from each category to the next. OFF-SITE HOTELS Yeah, OK, I don't know anything about these, beyond that they range from fantastic to awful, and that you'll generally pay less for the same grade of hotel, compared to a Disney property. Many (if not all) offer complimentary shuttle service to and from locations inside Disney World. More than that, I can't tell you, so if anyone out there has some experience with off-site hotels, please post your tips and experiences. I'll add the good stuff to the OP. HOTELS SUMMARY For what it's worth, I recommend staying on-site. Assuming you fly to Orlando (rather than drive), your hotel will probably be the least expensive part of your vacation if you stay at a value resort. Seriously, you're going to spend a poo poo-ton of money on everything from park tickets to food, drinks and souvenirs. Staying on-site affords you a lot of convenience you won't otherwise get. If you're really ready to dip deep into your wallet, stay at one of the “Magic Kingdom resorts.” Those are the three I mentioned above: the Contemporary, Polynesian and Grand Floridian. All of the deluxe resorts are really great, but these three in particular have monorail stations. Transportation around the World is discussed below, but for now I'll just say that direct monorail access will have a bigger positive impact on your stay than just about anything else. Without leaving your hotel, you board a monorail that takes you directly to the Magic Kingdom or to the Ticket and Transportation Center, where you can board another monorail to Epcot, or get on a bus or boat to any other location at Disney. I cannot overstate the level of convenience this represents. Just think: it's closing time at MK or Epcot. You and about ten-bajillion other people are all leaving at the same time because everyone wants to leave right after they watch the fireworks. 9.9-bajillion will go to their cars in the parking lot, or wait in line for a bus; both of those options are lousy under the best of circumstances. Toting a couple of exhausted kids? Your long hike and long wait just got worse. But if you're staying at a Magic Kingdom hotel, it's one or two monorail rides to your hotel lobby. Not even your hotel's parking lot...the freaking lobby. There are similar advantages to staying at an Epcot-area resort, but those are dealt with below. Finally, I strongly recommend avoiding Disney World during “peak season,” as it’s called. That boils down to: mid-June through Labor Day, plus any other holiday during which kids are not in school. Peak season is the most expensive time to visit, and the most crowded. And oh my God, is it ever so hot and muggy in the summer. When the park is full, you’ll wait in line for 2 hours to ride Haunted Mansion; in January, you’ll walk on. There are many online resources detailing the best and worst times of year. For you spatial thinkers, here's a big map of the entire resort, listing all the parks, water parks and hotels. I also included the TTC and the monorail lines (marked in orange). Click for big:  Magic Kingdom Hotels C - Contemporary GF - Grand Floridian P - Polynesian WL - Wilderness Lodge The first three hotels are all connected by the Magic Kingdom Resort monorail, which runs clockwise and stops at the Magic Kingdom, Contemporary, TTC, Polynesian and Grand Floridian. (The Magic Kingdom Express monorail runs counter-clockwise and only stops at the Magic Kingdom and the TTC. The two lines are side by side: the hotel line is the inner ring and the express is the outer ring.) You can walk from the Contemporary to the MK. Wilderness Lodge is NOT on the monorail line; boats run from Wilderness lodge directly to Magic Kingdom. Take a bus from WL to the TTC. Epcot Hotels B - Boardwalk Inn SD - Swan and Dolphin (technically two separate hotels, but many people treat them as one) YB - Yacht Club and Beach Club (again, two separate hotels, but they are similarly themed and share the same space) These hotels are walking distance to Epcot (particularly the Yacht and Beach Club). They are all served by boats that run a 5-stop circuit: Epcot - Hollywood Studios - Boardwalk - Swan & Dolphin - Yacht and Beach Club. If you walk (or boat) to Epcot, you'll enter the park at World Showcase, not the main park entrance at the far end of Future World. This is especially cool if you're just hitting Epcot for dinner or fireworks. All other hotels AA - Art of Animation Resort AK - Animal Kingdom Lodge AS - All-Star Music Resort CB - Caribbean Beach Resort CS - Coronado Springs FW - Fort Wilderness (a campground) KW - Old Key West PC - Pop Century PO - Port Orleans SG - Shades of Green SS - Saratoga Springs (walking distance to Downtown Disney) TTC - Transportation and Ticket Center. The monorail lines are marked in orange: two lines ring the Magic Kingdom resorts, and the Epcot express runs back and forth between Epcot and the TTC. Downtown Disney [the map still says "Downtown Disney," but it's now officially Disney Springs.] and the two water parks are also marked. HOW TO GET THERE You have two options: drive there or fly there. We’ll start with driving. I’m the oddball in my family, as I’m the only one that hates road trips. Still, you’ll save a LOT of money by driving. And I don’t just mean the huge difference between gasoline and airfare; you can also bring a lot of stuff with you that isn’t practical to fly with, like a cooler full of food and beverages to keep in the hotel room. Having your own vehicle definitely makes mealtime less expensive. There are a lot of family-friendly dining options just off-property, and you’ll generally pay less than on-property for the same quality food. Disney hotels offer free parking for guests staying at the resort. If you plan to travel to places outside WDW –like Sea World or Universal– having your own car is the best option. If you plan to stay on Disney property, you may leave the car in the parking lot for the entire vacation, as Disney transportation is frequently the most convenient way to travel around the World (more on that below). I’d appreciate some more knowledgeable info from the other WDW vacationers out there. I don’t think my wife and I have ever left the resort during any of our stays. If you fly, you’ll arrive at Orlando International Airport (MCO). Once there, you have a number of options to get to your hotel (it’s a 30-minute drive from MCO to WDW)… • Option A: Rent a car. As mentioned above, if you’re staying at a Disney hotel, you’re unlikely to need the car once you check in; if you don’t think you’ll be driving the family off-property for meals or other entertainment, consider one of the options below. However, if you’re staying off property, a rental car is a wiser (but still optional) choice. Many hotels that border Disney World offer inexpensive or complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport, and round trip shuttles to the parks. Keep in mind that waiting for a shuttle can be tiresome, especially with kids in tow. • Option B: Pay for a shuttle bus/town car/limo. This can be arranged through your travel agent, through Disney, or on your own. A town car or limo can be pricey, but if you’re with a decent-sized group, splitting a limo makes it very affordable. Plus, a town car or limo is the quickest and most comfortable way to get to your hotel…you know, there’s a guy in a hat waiting at baggage claim, holding a sign with your name on it. Very cool. If you want a garden-variety shuttle instead of some fancy-pants limousine, Mears is probably the most-used shuttle servicing Walt Disney World. They use 10- to 12-passenger shared vans, and it’s best to book your shuttle service ahead of time. The shuttle may make multiple stops. As of this writing, a Mears shuttle van round-trip costs $36 for an adult, $27 for a child and is free for 3-and-under. • Option C: Take a taxi. This will cost you $55 to &70 one-way from the airport to a WDW hotel, but that cost is for a group up to seven, so it's less expensive than it sounds. It's likely much quicker and more convenient than almost any other option. Here's an excellent post by SA Forums user Indecisive about taking a cab to your hotel. It includes a lot of specific info for people staying on-property. • Option D: Use a hotel shuttle. It’s my understanding that many off-property hotels offer free or low-cost shuttle service to and from the airport. I’ve never used this service, so if any readers would like to contribute some more info, please do. • Option E: Disney’s Magical Express. Here’s how it works: First, you have to be staying at a Disney hotel. Doesn’t matter which one. When your plane lands, you go straight from the gate to Disney’s Magical Express area, check in, then get on a nice Disney bus which takes you to your hotel. You do not need to pick up your luggage from baggage claim. Disney will get it for you, and deliver it to your hotel room. The service costs nothing. It sounds like WDW is doing you a big favor, and they are, kind of, but the real reason they want you to use Magical Express is so you can’t hop in your rent car and drive somewhere else to spend your money. Cynical, yes, but if you don’t plan on leaving Disney property anyway, it’s a great deal. You will also have an opportunity to check your baggage and get your boarding passes at the hotel when it’s time to go home. That is freaking awesome. Anyway, you need to make sure Disney knows well ahead of time (like, at least a couple of weeks) that you want to use Magical Express, because they mail you special luggage tags that identify your bags as Magical Express luggage. It works with most airlines. Lincoln fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Nov 29, 2015 |
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 GETTING AROUND THE WORLD Remember that Walt Disney World is large. With only a couple of exceptions, you’re not really going to walk between hotels and parks. So they’ve built a network of boats, buses and monorails (and formerly steam trains!) to get you from A to B as quickly and comfortably as possible, at no charge. We will start with the most-frequently used type of transport in the parks: You can take a bus from virtually any hotel or park to any other on Disney property. I say “virtually,” but that may be literally true. If you need to know the quickest or easiest route from A to B, your best option is to simply call or visit the front desk if you're staying on-property. If you're staying off-property, Then you're probably parking your car at a park, the TTC* or a hotel, in which case a cast member will be able to help you. In some cases you will not be able to take a direct route, and will have to change buses, most likely at the TTC*... *The Transportation and Ticket Center. This serves as WDW’s primary transportation hub. It is in close proximity to the Magic Kingdom, and the TTC parking lot also serves as the Magic Kingdom parking lot. You park your car at the TTC, then take a monorail or boat to the Magic Kingdom. Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom each have their own parking lots, so you can drive straight to those parks, or park at the TTC and take a bus/monorail. Speaking of monorails. They are the iconic mode of transportation at Disney World. The smaller monorail at Disneyland in California was built as a simple attraction, but the WDW monorail was purpose-built from the ground up as a legitimate mass-transit system. The monorail can take you from the TTC to the Magic Kingdom, to Epcot, and the three Magic Kingdom hotels. And back, of course. Boats, boat, boats. There are many different kinds of water transportation at Walt Disney World, and like the monorail, they ain’t just for show. The two most frequently used are: 1) the ferryboats that run between the TTC and the Magic Kingdom, and 2) the boats that run a circuit through Epcot, the Epcot-area resorts, and Hollywood Studios. Your own car. Staying at a monorail or waterfront hotel is nice, but if you're not staying at a deluxe resort, you'll have to take some more mundane transport to the parks. Disney buses can be a nightmare, especially late at night when need overwhelms capacity. A lot of people love the freedom of using their own vehicle, and if you're staying at a Disney resort hotel, parking is free at the parks; just remember to put your parking pass in the car. Otherwise, it's $15/day, but that pass lets you park-hop without having to pay again. Taking all this into account, you’ll see there are two clusters of hotels that really have excellent transportation options: the Magic Kingdom resorts and the Epcot resorts. Both have multiple ground and water transports, and the MK resorts even have direct monorail service. Not surprisingly, these hotels cost more.  HOW DO I BOOK MY TRIP? I’d recommend you either book through a reputable travel agency that specializes in Disney World vacations, or you book directly with Walt Disney World itself. You’ll find that identical vacations booked through Disney and through a travel agency cost almost exactly the same, though agencies do sometimes offer deals. There's at least one Disney-specialist travel agent that contributes regularly to this thread, so ask for advice and use her to book your trip if you like. Just sayin'. A third party agency can book any non-Disney hotel, of course. Disney, meanwhile, will only book its own hotels and (I think) a very small number of “partner” hotels just off property. Both Disney and an agency will sell you park tickets at the same price. Never, ever buy “discounted” tickets via eBay or wherever. Chances are high that you will get ripped off. Again, there really is no such thing as a legitimate “discounted” WDW ticket. People will buy used multi-day tickets with some days remaining…only to find when they arrive at the park that Junior’s ticket actually has zero days remaining. Vacation: ruined. Is there an advantage to booking your trip directly through Disney? Kind of. If you do that, then Walt Disney World is considered to be your travel agency. That’s a good thing. They will be responsible for fixing any problems, answering any questions, or doing whatever it is you need your travel agent to do leading up to a vacation. In the past, my wife and I have run into problems, and Disney has always bent over backwards to help. In fact, our first ever trip there was in September 1999. Hurricane Floyd hit Florida the day we were supposed to fly out there. The Orlando airport shut down, and Disney World closed that day for the first time in its history. Disney helped us re-book the entire vacation, moving everything back one day…air travel, hotel reservations, transfers, everything…and did not charge one penny more. Plus, Disney is always very up front with exactly how much you will pay. Nothing is ever hidden, and you will never be surprised by some little charge. Disney offers a variety of promotional discounts scattered throughout the year. Even if I’m already taking advantage of a particular deal, I’ve got into the habit of asking the WDW Reservations person if there are any others available. Quick story: two years ago, I had booked a trip that included a free dining plan (see “Eating” below). A few days later, I learned that our hotel had a 30%-off deal that same week. We could only take advantage of one or the other, but the 30% room discount was worth quite a bit more than the dining plan would have cost, so I switched discounts, and then paid for the dining plan. Ended up paying less for the same package, and I accomplished all of it with a single 10-minute phone call. True Story. HOW DO I BUY PARK TICKETS? You have a number of ticket options. The least-expensive route is what’s called the “Magic Your Way” option. That means one park per day for the length of your stay. The other option is the “Park Hopper.” It lets you jump from park to park as many times as you like throughout each day. It’s more expensive than Magic Your Way. In both cases, the more days you stay, the less each day costs. Consider that a 1-day, single-park ticket is about $95. Your fifth day costs like an extra 10 bucks, and the cost of additional days beyond that is negligible. You can add the water parks to your ticket for…wait for it…an additional charge. I’ve always purchased my tickets at the same time I booked my trip, but you have the option of purchasing them at the TTC, at your Disney hotel or any "Guest Relations" location.  AND LET’S NOT FORGET ABOUT FEEDING OUR FAT FACES There are way, way too many dining options to discuss here. So much so, that I will not bother to name one single eating establishment. Suffice it to say that you cannot swing a dead cat in the air at Disney World without hitting something edible. I am not exaggerating when I say there is probably not one single place you can stand in any of the theme parks where you cannot directly see a vendor, fast food joint or restaurant. Snack carts are about as common as trash cans. My wife and I watch what we eat back home in Texas, but not on vacation. You walk so much at WDW, you can probably eat whatever the hell you want and not gain any weight. We're a fit couple, and we both exercise six days a week, but at WDW, we eat as much as we want and don't even think about a gym while we're there. I will not go into much detail about this, but WDW offers something called the Disney Dining Plan. For a charge, you get a certain number of meals and snacks each day, and the higher tier you purchase, the fancier the meals get. For example, the standard plan –the one in the middle– gives you one snack, one counter service (fast food) meal and one table service (sit-down restaurant) meal each day. I think now they also give you a refillable souvenir mug. Since the U.S. economy has been in the shitter for some time now, WDW has been offering the dining plan free of charge during certain times of the year. The last couple of times we’ve gone, my wife and I have received the dining plan for free. I love it, she hates it. We definitely eat more when we have the dining plan, and if you know what you’re doing, you can save money by using your credits at the most expensive restaurants. I guess that’s what it boils down to: the plan is worth it if you use it properly. I think families with kids will get a lot more mileage out of the dining plan than anyone else. If you’d like advice on gaming the DDP system, ask away. There are several online resources that will help you use the Disney Dining Plan as efficiently as possible.  OK, you're asking, so what's all this going to cost me? There are four variables to consider: travel, hotel, park tickets and food. I'll break down three real-world sample trips, booked through the actual WDW website. And I'll calculate each vacation twice, once for a family of four (including one child 9 or younger), and then again for an adult couple. The examples below do NOT include your travel expenses to the WDW/Kissimmee/Orlando area. I'll let you figure that on your own. Also, I show the cost of the "regular" Disney Dining Plan at the end of each entry, but it's not calculated into the "TOTAL" price. And these prices assume you're traveling during the Value season; specifically, mid-January of 2016. NOT the first three or so days of the year, and NOT during marathon week. You want to take your kids to Disney World in July? Hey, it's your funeral, but I'm not gonna help you into the casket. OPTION A, THE BUDGET TRIP For the family of four: Five nights in a standard double-queen at the All-Star Music Resort (a value resort), plus four 6-day park tickets with the park-hopper option.** TOTAL: $2,190 To include the Basic Dining Plan (1 table service, 1 counter service, 1 snack, 1 refillable mug per person, per night) for all four people, add $1,015. For the adult couple: $1,380. Add the Dining Plan for both people for $610. **Note that all of these vacations include the Park Hopper option. It adds $63 per ticket for the entire stay. Not per day; that's for all six days combined. Trust me, best 63 bucks you'll ever spend. You do not want to be restricted to one park per day. OPTION B, MIDDLE OF THE ROAD For the family of four: Five nights in a standard-view double-queen at Caribbean Beach Resort (a moderate resort), plus four Park Hopper park tickets (jump from park to park as much as you want) TOTAL: $2,608 Add the Dining Plan for $1,015 For the adult couple: $1,798 Add the Dining Plan for $610. OPTION C, DADDY WARBUCKS For the family of four: Five nights in a garden view double-queen at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (a deluxe resort), plus four Park Hopper park tickets (jump from park to park as much as you want). TOTAL: $4,945 Add the Dining Plan for $1,015. For the adult couple: $4,135 Add the Dining Plan for $610. NOTE: None of the above plans factor in any sort of promotional deals, like free dining plans or discounted room rates, which have become common during non-peak season. We have a couple of Disney-specialist travel agents cruising this thread, and they're always up on that sort of thing, so ask around. Also, any time you call Disney reservations, ask. Incidentally, the day you check in is what determines whether you get one of these special deals, regardless of how long you stay, so you may want to see if moving your arrival date up or down a day or two will help. And finally, here's a 2012 video that kinda does the same thing I just did: shows you three different families' trips to WDW, each working with a $1,600 budget: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvnhMusUxxo Lincoln fucked around with this message at 13:57 on Oct 7, 2016 |
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Apr 18, 2013 17:15
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 WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU GET THERE At the top of the OP, I say Walt Disney World has an undeserved bad rap for intimidating first-timers. I concede, it’s a little deserved. Thing is, the place is so big and there are so many things to do, you feel there’s no possible way to do everything. Well, unless you’re staying for weeks instead of days, there isn’t. So here’s what I’ll do: offer up a guide of sorts that will point you in the direction of all the BIG stuff…the things you definitely want to do, as they encapsulate a typical Disney World vacation. Because I know that along the way you’ll discover all of the little things that really make the trip memorable. Those little things are different for everyone, and their discovery is what makes them such fond memories. But I’ll try to give you a taste here and there. We’ll start with the “big 4,” Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Unless you’re planning the strangest Disney World vacation of all time, you’ll spend a lot of time in them. A QUICK NOTE BEFORE WE GET STARTED How many days you’re staying will affect how you tour the parks. I think the absolute minimum required to see all four parks for a decent amount of time (and this assumes you’re NOT visiting during peak season, when the lines are long) is 2-and-two-half days. Meaning, a half-day when you get there, two full days, then a half-day on the day you leave. But that's really pushing it. Regardless of how long we’re staying, my wife and I always book flights to take advantage of the two half-days. Our flight lands at MCO about 11:30 AM, we’re checking into our hotel an hour later, and then it’s straight off to Magic Kingdom via monorail. We usually schedule our return flight to leave late afternoon; that gives us until at least lunch to keep having fun on our final day. If you’ve purchased a length-of-stay pass, it’s good for the day you arrive and the day you depart. Magic Kingdom and Epcot are definitely all-day parks. Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom can be done in half a day each, but that assumes you’re rushing between attractions simply to cram everything in. And you have to be willing to miss some stuff. Ideally, you want to give yourself at least four full, non-travel days. And to take full advantage of your time, purchase the Park Hopper option on your tickets. We spend most evenings at Epcot, regardless of where we had spent the rest of the day (for reasons explained below).  park map If you’ve seen the TV commercials, you’ve seen a lot of the Magic Kingdom. It’s where you find the big castle, It’s a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean and so on. Many people who’ve never been to Disney World think the Magic Kingdom is Disney World. Probably because that’s what Disneyland in California is (or was for a long time): a single theme park. The MK was modeled after the original in most respects, though 15 years had allowed Walt and his engineers to correct and perfect a lot of things. Like I said above, you can easily commit an entire day to the Magic Kingdom, even during the off-season when the lines are short. If you show up a few minutes before it opens, you can watch the opening ceremony with the steam locomotive and Mickey and Minnie and the “good morning” song and all that jazz. If you have little kids, it’s a must-see. Once inside the park, a number of goofballs always make a dash for the “mountains,” which are Space, Splash and Big Thunder Mountain, three of the MK’s most popular rides. They’re hurrying to get their FastPasses** for one of the mountains, then get in line for another. **NOTE: Disney has a new system called MyMagic+ ("My Magic Plus"), which replaced most of the old FastPass system. Long story short: your park ticket, hotel room key, dining plan (if applicable) and credit card will all be merged into a single RFID bracelet called a Magic Band. You schedule Fast Passes online before your trip or at Fast Pass kiosks in the park while you're there. More details to come. Magic Kingdom must-dos: Jungle Cruise Pirates of the Caribbean Splash Mountain Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Haunted Mansion It’s a Small World (you’re going to go all the way to Disney World and not ride It’s a Small World?) Mickey’s Philharmagic Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Space Mountain Magic Kingdom probably-ought-to-dos: Enchanted Tiki Room (some hate; I love) Country Bear Jamboree Liberty Belle Riverboat Peter Pan’s Flight Journey of the Little Mermaid Enchanted Tales with Belle (especially if you have kids) Carousel of Progress Peoplemover Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor  park map Epcot is two gigantic theme parks in one… The first half is called Future World, and it’s a “discovery park,” with seven large pavilions that each showcase a specific technology or resource: energy, space, communication, the seas, agriculture, automobiles, and for some reason, imagination. The big golf ball in the middle is actually a ride. It’s called Spaceship Earth, and it takes you through time to witness the history of human communication, from cavemen to the near future. I’d recommend you visit all the pavilions, because I enjoy almost all of them, but I’m a huge nerd. The weakest is the “imagination” pavilion, but go ahead and check it out. Future World “big ticket attractions”: Mission: Space – insane the first time you do it; may make you hurl Test Track – car-test simulator Soarin’ – hang glider simulation; really, really, really fun Spaceship Earth – the disembodied voice of Dame Judy Dench Universe of Energy/ Ellen’s Energy Adventure – Bill Nye & Ellen DeGeneres; wait, what year is it? Future World “lesser attractions”: Living with the Land – boat ride through agriculture/aquaculture tour Circle of Life – preachy Lion King stage show Turtle Talk with Crush – animated Crush interacts live with kids; pretty entertaining, actually The Seas with Nemo & Friends – two words: clam mobiles Captain Eo – 3-D movie starring the still-revenue-generating corpse of Michael Jackson Journey Into Imagination – wait what I don’t even World Showcase is the other half of Epcot, and me likey. Eleven pavilions, each representing a nation. Most are recreations of what a plaza or street from that country would look like. Every pavilion has multiple shops, a signature restaurant, a smaller eatery, and sometimes an attraction like a ride or Circlevision film. But World Showcase isn’t really focused on attractions; instead, it’s mostly about the restaurants, bars and shops. The pavilions are arranged around an artificial lake: the World Showcase Lagoon. Moving clockwise around the lake, the countries represented include: Mexico Norway China Germany Italy U.S.A. Japan Morocco France U.K. Canada Here’s a picture that gives you a good idea of the size of the pavilions; this is Germany, Italy and part of the U.S.A. (obscured by trees):  The photo was taken from clear across the lagoon, and those buildings are pretty large. So you can see that each pavilion gets plenty of real estate. You can spend quite a bit of time touring each one. Epcot is my favorite park at Walt Disney World. Kids tend not to get a rise out of it, and I understand why, but they’ve recently added more youngster-friendly activities, including a Phineas and Ferb-themed scavenger hunt that sends them to all the different countries. So grab another drink, mom and dad. Your kids are in no hurry to leave. And one of the early “laws” of Epcot has been rescinded: Disney characters now inhabit the park. When EPCOT Center opened, Mickey and Donald were verboten. Now characters are all over the place. The Living Seas was rebranded The Seas with Nemo and Friends. The boat ride at the Mexico pavilion is now a Three Caballeros adventure, and Frozen has been shoehorned into Norway, even though the movie takes place in an imaginary dontgetmestarted. I even saw a giant white cat signing autographs in the France pavilion last year; I had no idea who it was supposed to be. Later found out it was Marie from The Aristocats. Way to pull out the obscure characters, Epcot! TRIVIA: One lap around World Showcase is exactly one mile. I accidentally discovered that while mapping the length of the main walkway in Google Earth. I am such a massive nerd. Between Future World and World Showcase, you will do a lot of walking at Epcot. The place is just enormous. In fact, the entirety of the Magic Kingdom will fit inside Epcot’s parking lot. Each day ends with Illuminations, Epcot’s fireworks show. Actually, it’s way more than fireworks. The show is centered in the World Showcase lagoon (if you scroll up to the shot of Germany & Italy, you’ll see some of the barges that hold the fireworks). There are lasers and fire effects, and even the pavilions themselves get in on the act. I highly recommend you stick around for it. It starts each night at 9:00, and if you plan far enough ahead, you can swing dinner reservations with a view. There are several Epcot restaurants that offer a great view of the show. Since we always have the Park Hopper option added to our tickets, we find ourselves ending a lot of our days at Epcot. It’s a great place to eat dinner, and Illuminations itself is worth the trip there.  park map NOTE: As of early 2016, the info below on DHS is somewhat out of date. They're ripping up huge sections of the park for a massive expansion...mostly for Star Wars Land, but other stuff, too. Even by this park's low standards, it's a half-day park, max. It's down to 5 or 6 attractions, one of which sucks, and two of which aren't for small children. You’ll sometimes hear people refer to this park as “MGM.” When it opened in 1989, it was called, “Disney-MGM Studios.” The park was hastily slapped together by Michael Eisner when Universal announced it was going to build a park in the Orlando area. Disney beat Universal to the punch, but the park sucked balls. It opened with a grand total of four attractions. Four. That’s only four more than I have at my house, and I don’t have an amusement park at my house. But now it’s way better. The entire park is very well themed, stuffed with attractions and quite immersive. It’s my brother-in-law’s favorite WDW park, and I didn’t think this was anyone’s favorite. But he says he loves that it all seems so authentic. And he’s right. If you’re really into themed design (and who isn’t), this place is fascinating. Like most Disney parks, it’s divided up into zones: Hollywood Boulevard – This is DHS’s “Main Street.” It’s where the parades take place, and it’s lined with shops. You have a fantastic view of Grauman’s Chinese Theater at the end of the street. The theater itself houses The Great Movie Ride, in which you ride through many famous movie scenes. Sunset Boulevard – Here you’ll find a pair of thrill rides —Rock-N-Roller Coaster and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror— plus a Beauty and the Beast stage show and Fantasmic!, a nighttime water/stage/fireworks show that’s really entertaining and a total bitch to get into. If you want to see Fantasmic! (you do), I suggest you buy the “Fantasmic Dining Experience” package, which gets you reservations at one of DHS’s better sit-down restaurants, then reserved seating at Fantasmic! The best part is, you don’t have to wait in line for the show, which would normally be like a 90-minute bullshit ordeal. Echo Lake – This is basically where all your (former) George Lucas properties are: Star Tours, the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, and the Jedi Training Academy, all of which are worth your time. The first is a simulator ride, the second is a live stunt show, and the third is an audience-participation show where little kids all learn to become Jedi. That last one is a hoot to watch, even if you don’t have any kids participating. If I had to guess, I’d bet Disney plans to morph this area fully into Star Wars Land, now that they own the franchise. But who knows. (Note: confirmed, details to come) There’s also a large Star Wars-themed gift shop called Tattooine Traders. I bought a Yoda backpack there…it looks like Yoda is “riding” you like when he was training Luke on Dagobah. Very clever. Anyway, I’m ringing up at the register, and the lady clerk says, “Would you like me to send this to your room, Lincoln?” “No,” I say, “I’ll be wearing it.” She kind of stops for a second, then looks at my mortified wife (not a Star Wars fan), and gives me her employee discount because she feels sorry for my spouse. JACKPOT. Streets of America – This area is kind of scattershot, as it’s home to the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, which I find that men love and women hate; and Muppet Vision 3D, a Muppet movie that’s very funny (the pre-show waiting area has about a million sight gags). Pixar Place – The newest area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, it only has one attraction: Toy Story Midway Mania. You’re shrunk down to toy size, and you zoom through a series of 3-D carnival games. More fun than I’ve made it sound. This is an extremely popular ride, and FastPasses run out quickly during busier times of the year. It’s great, but you don’t want to get stuck waiting two hours to ride it. No sir. Animation Courtyard – One live stage show and several (three, I think) walkthrough attractions. The show is Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The walkthroughs are semi-interactive museums and movie scenes. I don’t want to give DHS a bad rap, because it doesn’t deserve one. Not anymore, anyway. They’ve clearly worked hard to add a large number of quality attractions over the last several years. In fact, I didn’t realize quite how much stuff there was to do until I typed all this up, and I didn’t list everything. Another thing DHS has going for it is that it’s home to some of the most beloved sit-down restaurants in Walt Disney World: The 50’s Prime Time Café: comfort food served in your own kitschy kitchen. Brown Derby: a replica of the Hollywood original (not the one shaped like a hat). Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater: Your table is a car, and you get to watch cheesy 50’s sci-fi movies at a “drive-in” while you eat. Mama Melrose’s: Italian food. Never been there, but it’s gets consistently good reviews. Highly recommended: Rock-N-Roller Coaster Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Star Tours Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular Muppet Vision 3-D Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show Toy Story Midway Mania If you have time: The Great Movie Ride Beauty and the Beast – Live Jedi Training Academy The Magic of Disney Animation  park map Animal Kingdom is essentially an animal-themed amusement park with a lot of live zoo exhibits. It’s not entirely an amusement park, and it’s not entirely a zoo. It’s an effective blend of both. As I wrote above, it’s the most immersive and highly-themed park at Walt Disney World. The first zone you enter at AK is Discovery Island, the visual centerpiece of which is the Tree of Life. Inside the tree is the 4-D film/stage show “It’s Tough to be a Bug.” Discovery Island is also sprinkled with small animal exhibits. This zone serves as the “hub” of Animal Kingdom, and leads to its three other main lands: Africa – This is where you’ll find Kilimanjaro Safaris, a safari through “east Africa.” If you ride this attraction early in the day, you’ll see more animals, so while everyone else is running off to Expedition Everest when the park opens, go do the safari instead. In fact, most of the animals across the entire park (not just in the safari) are more active during the first half of the day, before it gets too drat hot. So if you plan to check out the animal exhibits, you’ll see better stuff if you do that early, then start riding rides later in the day. Africa is also where you'll find the stage show, "Festival of the Lion King." Africa’s animal exhibits are collectively called the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Asia – Asia’s anchor attraction is Expedition Everest, a roller coaster that takes you through the “forbidden mountain” to find the yeti. Quite possibly the best-themed queue (line) at Walt Disney World. Go out of your way to ride this one. There’s also the Kali River Rapids, a white-water raft ride. Just like the warning signs say: you will get wet; you may get soaked. If it’s chilly outside, avoid this one. If it’s warm and really humid, you’ll take forever to dry off. It’s a really fun ride, but you have to consider when you want to ride it. Asia’s animal exhibits are collectively called the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Dinoland, U.S.A. – Dinosaur is this area’s anchor. You travel back in time to capture a dinosaur. I love this ride, but it’s dark, loud and scary, so it’s not good for little ones. Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama is a mini-park inside Dinoland that is like a little traveling carnival. It has a mouse coaster and a Dumbo-type spinner and traditional carnival games. It’s kid-friendly. Finding Nemo - the Musical is a stage show featuring large-scale puppetry. I went into this reluctantly and came out a huge fan. Very entertaining and the puppetry is amazing to watch. Why is a Nemo show in Dinoland? I guess because they had nowhere else to put it. Rafiki’s Planet Watch – events and live animal displays for children. Avatar Land – Construction on this new land began in earnest in January of 2014. They announced the new land back in 2011, but barely talked about it until they broke ground. According to Disney, "Guests will experience the wonders of Pandora when they fly with banshees and explore a rich natural environment with mountains that float and interactive plants that glow at night." I think it’s an awful idea, because a) Avatar sucked terribly, and b) it doesn’t belong in Animal Kingdom. poo poo, put it in Hollywood Studios, if you insist on cashing in on a short-term movie property you don’t even own. No list of suggested attractions here, because I recommend everything mentioned above, more or less. Animal Kingdom has a small handful of average-to-good table-service restaurants. The Dawa bar in Africa comes highly recommended. Apparently it’s become a very popular place to sit and get blotto while soaking in the sights. I really enjoy spending time at Animal Kingdom. If you take your time and want to see all of the animal exhibits, it’s a full-day park. If you’re just there to ride the rides, then get there when it opens, ride everything, then hop to another park. But really, AK is designed to reward visitors who are willing to slow down and look at everything it has to offer, much more so than any other park in the Disney family. TA-DAA! In the future, I’ll go over FastPass+ and MyMagic+ in more detail. And I hope to add good tips for doing Disney on a budget. If any other WDW aficionados out there think I neglected something or got something wrong, please contribute. I’ll try to keep the OP fresh. Lincoln fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Jan 19, 2016 |
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Apr 18, 2013 17:15
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Nathilus posted:The absolute best time to go in my opinion is during the food and wine festival. <snip> I wrote a ton of stuff for parts 2 & 3 of the OP yesterday, and even I'm amazed how much I end up writing about food. My wife & I aren't even foodies! I never realized how much of our trip revolves around eating. It's amazing that the first big crisis WDW ran into when they opened was that they has so woefully underestimated the amount of food they would need to sell. Expect major additions to the OP next week.
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Apr 20, 2013 14:06
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Added "What to do" section (part 3) with MK, Epcot, DHS and AK info.
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Apr 23, 2013 03:32
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Nathilus posted:kid dumps... Ha! Three things I have little to no experience with! We don't have kids (we never even visited WDW when we were kids), we've never eaten at Flame Tree (I think we ate once at Yak & Yeti, and that's it for Animal Kingdom), and we don't shop much (the Yoda backpack I mentioned is probably the most expensive souvenir I've ever bought at WDW). Really, I'm 0-fer on everything you mentioned. However, I'm working on a "restaurants" section, so everybody please keep it coming with the dining suggestions/advice. And, of course, anything specific to people with kids. Hell, anything, really. I'm making this up as I go. Oh, and I'll start adding links to external sites for newbies who want more detail.
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Apr 24, 2013 01:54
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Ockhams Crowbar posted:That is a fantastic OP. Absolutely amazing. If you want to stay at a WDW hotel, I think the largest single rooms available are the "treehouse villas" at Saratoga Springs Resort, which have 3 bedrooms and accommodate up to 9 people. (link) Check out the photo gallery...they're really nice and have a full kitchen, etc. Off-site, I'm not sure. I'll leave that to the other readers. WDW resorts that hold up to 8 guests per room: Animal Kingdom Villas, Beach Club Villas, Wilderness Lodge Villas, Boardwalk Villas, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Contemporary Resort. Note that some of those are the "Villas" section of a resort, and some are part of the normal hotel room blocks. Call WDW Reservations if you want to stay on-site, and tell them you have a large group. They'll tell you pretty much anything you want to know about all of the hotels, even if you're not planning to book through WDW. Or, you can find a Disney-specialist travel agency to do the same thing.
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May 1, 2013 14:04
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Seconding (thirding?) that sentiment. Taking a toddler is inviting disaster. Seven or eight is a perfect starting age. I told my wife after our first couple of visits: Disney World isn't made for kids. It's made for adults; it just accommodates kids very well. Little kids can certainly have fun, but they won't remember the trip. I read some WDW planning book many years ago, and the author said that the strongest memory most little kids have of their Disney World vacation is the swimming pool at the hotel. The pool. I tell people my first trip to WDW was when I was 29, but that's not true. My dad took me when I was four, but I remember nothing. Regardless of age, I think the most important variable is whether or not the child is old/big enough to do a lot of walking. Even so, I still see 8- and 9-year-olds in strollers. Strollers! Oh my God! This may be unfair for me to say, since we don't have kids, but poo poo man. The Magic Kingdom needs family-sized nap rooms, I think. Maybe that's why Universe of Energy is still open and unchanged: it's like 45 minutes in the dark. Great place for the kids (and the Lincolns) to recharge the batteries. So, to sum up: my wife and I have two catchphrases in the parks that will never go out of style: "Another satisfied customer," (for meltdowns) and, "That kid's too big for a stroller." Don't make my wife and I turn your vacation into a catchphrase for our own amusement. OK, amazing coincidence: I'm in Terminal C at DFW Airport right now. A family of five just walked past me, and they obviously just got back from WDW. Or maybe they're headed to, but anyway, they're all decked out in park shirts and mouse ears. So jealous. v v v v e: HPanda, duly noted. You're right, of course, families with young kids have a great time at the parks. I just re-read my own post and realized it came off as a little snarky. It sounds like you guys are more prepared for and much more realistic about a Disney trip with a toddler than most. Lincoln fucked around with this message at 12:11 on May 3, 2013 |
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May 2, 2013 15:54
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Ockhams Crowbar posted:Destination restaurants? I think somebody's already mentioned O'hana at the Polynesian. We go literally every time we visit, and since it's always been just the two of us, it's easier to get a window seat during the Magic Kingdom fireworks. And we love Biergarten in Epcot. That place is super fun when it's crowded for dinner and everyone is drinking and singing. Consider the Coral Reef at Epcot, and request a table right next to the aquarium. The food is mediocre at best (at least, it was the two times we went), but you go there for the atmosphere and "wow" factor. And I haven't been since it opened, but Be Our Guest at the Magic Kingdom is supposed to be really keen. It's fast food for lunch, but a full sit-down restaurant experience at dinner. Our most recent visit was the first time we ate at Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian and we loved it. Don't bring the kids - they'll hate it. And it's pretty expensive; two credits on the Dining Plan.
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May 6, 2013 12:26
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I put together a big map of the entire resort, listing all the parks, water parks and hotels. I also included the TTC and the two monorail lines. I did it because this is exactly the sort of thing I would have loved to see when I was still a newbie and trying to figure out where everything was in relation to everything else. And I think it drives home the convenience being close to Epcot or the MK. I may have missed a hotel or two. If you see something I left out, tell me & I'll fix it. Oh, I included Downtown Disney, too. Once it's good I'll add it to the OP. Click for big: Magic Kingdom Hotels C - Contemporary GF - Grand Floridian P - Polynesian WL - Wilderness Lodge The first three hotels are all connected by the Magic Kingdom Resort monorail, which runs clockwise and stops at the Magic Kingdom, Contemporary, TTC, Polynesian and Grand Floridian. (The Magic Kingdom Express monorail runs counter-clockwise and only stops at the Magic Kingdom and the TTC. The two lines are side by side: the hotel line is the inner ring and the express is the outer ring.) Wilderness Lodge is NOT on the monorail line; boats run from Wilderness lodge directly to Magic Kingdom. Take a bus from WL to the TTC. Epcot Hotels B - Boardwalk Inn SD - Swan and Dolphin (technically two separate hotels, but many people treat them as one) YB - Yacht Club and Beach Club (again, two separate hotels, but they are similarly themed and share the same space) These hotels are walking distance to Epcot (particularly the Yacht and Beach Club). They are all served by boats that run a 5-stop circuit: Epcot - Hollywood Studios - Boardwalk - Swan & Dolphin - Yacht and Beach Club. If you walk (or boat) to Epcot, you'll enter the park at World Showcase, not the main park entrance at the far end of Future World. This is especially cool if you're just hitting Epcot for dinner or Illuminations. All other hotels AA - Art of Animation Resort AK - Animal Kingdom Lodge AS - All-Star Music Resort CB - Caribbean Beach Resort CS - Coronado Springs FW - Fort Wilderness (a campground) KW - Old Key West PC - Pop Century PO - Port Orleans SG - Shades of Green SS - Saratoga Springs TTC - Transportation and Ticket Center. The monorail lines are marked in orange: two lines ring the Magic Kingdom resorts, and the Epcot express runs back and forth between Epcot and the TTC. Downtown Disney and the two water parks are also marked. Lincoln fucked around with this message at 21:36 on May 15, 2013 |
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May 12, 2013 23:41
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TheBigBudgetSequel posted:The last trip I took was fustrating as hell because my family didn't want to wait in any lines, yet they chose to go during Spring Break, so we sat around looking at things we could be doing, rather than doing things. 
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May 17, 2013 00:48
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Hadn't been here in a couple of weeks, so I was re-reading the OP to see if there was some glaring omission I needed to address, and I started thinking that one of the big questions my wife and I always get is, why do you guys go to Disney World all the time? Well, we don't go all the time. We've averaged about once every two years since our first visit in 1999. But I usually do the regular song-and-dance routine: great service, attention to detail, etc. I think some sort of explanation belongs in the OP: what makes WDW so special that we always feel the need to return? I've been lots of places (lived and vacationed all over the world, in fact), but none pull me back like Disney World. I frequently struggle to explain it properly without sounding like a cult member. The best thing I've come up with: aside from all the fun and food and service, you always have the knowledge that you're wrapped in an envelope of vacation security. Nothing bad will happen while you're there, and your hosts will always take care of you. You'll never get conned by some trinket-selling local, and you'll never have to take the "scenic route" in a smelly cab. Try getting that at some all-inclusive in St. Thomas. Or wherever. You guys have anything better? How do you convince people it's the place to go? Remember, this thread is intended for first-timers. Lincoln fucked around with this message at 20:02 on May 25, 2013 |
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May 25, 2013 19:57
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Roar posted:This is mostly true, as long as you stay ON Disney property. A lot of people that come to Disney get cheaper rooms on I-drive or 192, and some pockets of those places are just as dirty and full of con artists as anywhere else. Just do some research if you decide to stay off-property and you should be fine. This is a really good point (one that others here have made), and one that I keep overlooking as I contribute to this thread. Not everybody stays on-property. Still, now that people can choose between $99/night on-property and $79 off, I feel good about pushing the former.
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May 26, 2013 14:55
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skipdogg posted:We're planning our first WDW Vacation in roughly 2 years. I have some questions if you folks wouldn't mind answering. 1. That's one of the best times to go to avoid crowds. Late February to mid-March is when crowd sizes start to very slowly creep up. Just try to avoid a holiday weekend if you can. Otherwise, you're golden. 5-minute wait times as far as the eye can see. 2. Yeah, we had this conversation in this same thread. Verdict: depends on the kids. Disclaimer: I do not have kids. Scroll up for more. 3. A family suite at Art of Animation has 3 beds, sleeps six. One bed is a pull-out sofa type thing. Sounds like it's right up your alley. 4. I couldn't look up room rates that far in advance, so I entered dates for mid-October, which would be about the same rate. A family suite (Art of Animation) for 5 nights, plus 6-day park hoppers for everybody totals $3,327. Add the quick-service dining plan, and it's $4,154. The standard dining plan makes it $4,453. Those numbers could be off based on the actual room rates for the week you stay. HOWEVER...Disney has been running one of two (sometimes both) deals every offseason for the last several years: either 15-30% off your room rate, or free edit: Oh hey also, the most expensive package at Bibbity-Boppity Boutique is $190 +tax. That's for the full costume & everything. Looks like $6,000 will be more than enough, food & extras included. You'll also want to get a Yoda backpack for yourself and a Snow White costume for the wife. Lincoln fucked around with this message at 12:17 on Jul 11, 2013 |
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Jun 6, 2013 00:09
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Paul Allen posted:1 year anniversary... Any couple-y secrets around WDW? If you know you're going to 'Ohana, book your reservation as soon as possible (like, even before you've booked your trip, if you know when you're going). Be sure to tell them it's your anniversary, and try to get a reservation for 15-30 minutes prior to the Magic Kingdom fireworks. And don't tell your wife about the fireworks. When you check in 20 or 30 minutes prior to your reservation time, request a window table with a view of the Magic Kingdom. They may be able to accommodate you. Anyway, they'll dim the lights when the fireworks begin and pipe in the music, so everyone in the restaurant gets to watch the show. Oh, and I'm sure you can arrange to have an anniversary cake or something delivered to your table for dessert. Same thing goes for California Grill at the Contemporary and Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian. But the window seats aren't necessarily the best thing at Narcoossee's, since people hang out on the deck right outside the restaurant, and they block the view of the fireworks. Learned this one the hard way. If you're farther away from the windows, you'll be fine. Here's what I'm talking about :  If you want to go completely bonkers, you can rent a pontoon boat for $300 and have your own private view of either the MK fireworks or Illuminations at Epcot. That includes pilot, drinks and snacks. The luxury yacht is $500. If you don't want to spend all that money on dinner or a boat just to watch the fireworks, take a stroll on the beach at the Polynesian or Grand Floridian. When the fireworks begin, the music from the park is piped in, so you can enjoy the show while relaxing in the sand. The Port Orleans and Fort Wilderness resorts have horse-drawn carriage rides: $45 for 25 minutes. You can rent a surrey bike at several different resorts. $20 per 30 minutes. It's really fun. This is a surrey bike at the Polynesian:  And be sure to wear these while you're there: 
Lincoln fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Jun 20, 2013 |
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Jun 20, 2013 00:28
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FWIW, my wife & I have eaten at Victoria & Albert's twice: our wedding night and our tenth anniversary. Now we're not foodies, so it wasn't some sort of existential experience or anything, and our opinions of the two evenings were obviously clouded by the reason we were there. But I remember both of us saying, "That was the best meal I've ever had," after our first visit. The food was just as great ten years later, but that time we made the mistake of getting wine pairings with each course. We were well in the bag before dessert. Also, I've added the detailed resort map to the OP. If anybody knows of any "You can walk to X from Y" facts about the specific hotels, please fill me in & I'll add it. Like, can you walk from Saratoga Springs to Downtown Disney? I don't know. I'm a caveman.
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Jul 4, 2013 15:53
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The OP notes that it's best to avoid peak season and holidays. Here's a great example of why: Yesterday was American Independence Day. At about 11:00 AM, Magic Kingdom hit phase 2 capacity closing. By 4:00 PM, the park enacted a phase 3 capacity closing. We've been at the Magic Kingdom when crowds were large enough to force 90-minute waits for many rides, and the park wasn't anywhere close to even phase 1 capacity closing. At noon the temperature was 89 degrees (32 Celsius) with 88% relative humidity and near full sun. Good night Irene.
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Jul 5, 2013 18:00
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demonR6 posted:...the back exit behind Main Street that dumps you at the train station... Wow I was about to ask you what in the world you were talking about and then you posted the diagrammed space photo from space. Is this route only available after fireworks? I knew nothing about it until now.
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Jul 7, 2013 17:32
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I don't know if this is World or Land, but that kid's too big for a stroller.
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Jul 10, 2013 22:16
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So I hear the final retail store at Downtown Disney closed today (Apricot Springs). What's the state of Downtown Disney now? Is it completely shut down, or are parts still open for business?
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Jul 16, 2013 00:47
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Just added a "Paying For It" section to the OP, listing a number of sample vacations and their costs. And I clarified/updated some other bits of info sprinkled throughout the OP.
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Aug 10, 2013 04:19
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I can't imagine you'd even come close to being able to touch the structure just by raising/waving your arms in the air, even if you tried to. Standing up is a completely different deal, and is actively circumventing the ride's safety systems (regardless of what coaster we're talking about). Coasters are designed to simulate danger without actually putting the passengers at risk. So you think you might smash you head into an i-beam, but you clear it by several feet. I think the guy that died a few years ago on BTMRR was standing up, wasn't he? I don't remember if it was the passenger's fault or a ride failure. (Maybe I'm thinking about the Splash Mountain guy.) I'd think if it was Disney's fault I would have heard more about it. And welcome to the happy Walt Disney World For First-Timer's thread, everybody! Honestly, the only thing I don't like about Space Mountain is that it's a pretty rough ride in an uncomfortably small car. I always feel like I'm coming out of there with bruised ribs. edit: Thanks, Wikipedia! The BTMRR incident was at Disneyland, and was Disney's fault. The Splash Mountain incident was at WDW and was the guest's fault. Lincoln fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Aug 11, 2013 |
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Aug 11, 2013 14:47
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What do you tell them?
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Aug 16, 2013 02:36
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MrMoo posted:Disney does not have single sign on with disneyworld.disney.go.com and disneyphotopass.com. With the photo pass system they have achieved pure excellence, try entering your photo pass ID in upper case letters as printed: invalid ID, enter in lower case to proceed. 
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Aug 25, 2013 15:38
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I had the NY Strip at Narcoosie's last time I went, and it was cooked perfectly. They know what medium-rare means! I think that's the only steak I've ever eaten at WDW. I'm from Texas, so steak isn't really much of a vacation food for me. But it was great. 2 dining credits, but worth it! Everything at Narcoosie's is great except for some sort of deep-fried red snapper that I had one time...head, tail, bones and all. I'm sure it would have been delicious if it had been fileted.
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Sep 1, 2013 16:21
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Ooo, September is one of the best times to go, as far as crowds are concerned. (Check to make sure the 17th isn't a holiday.) You'll walk onto pretty much everything. If you're arriving mid- to late-morning, you should have enough time for all of Epcot or almost all of Magic Kingdom. And honestly, there's a good chance you'd be able to finish the MK. They're two very different parks, but you'll have a great time, regardless. Whichever you go to, be sure to catch the fireworks.
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Sep 3, 2013 23:27
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Here's a good general guide to crowd levels during certain times of the year. And there are much more specific calendars, too, even giving you predicted crowd levels at specific parks on specific days.
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Sep 6, 2013 01:15
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Never been to Food & Wine Festival. How does it affect crowd sizes at Epcot?
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Sep 9, 2013 12:43
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So everyone can get a better idea of the crowd density in your photos, I took the liberty of brightening the shadows in one of your DHS pictures: I don't know why this is, but you sometimes have to click these giant images a few times before you get to see the full-size version.
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Sep 15, 2013 19:44
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Also, Biergarten in Germany at Epcot seats everyone in mixed groups at long tables. Every time we eat there we chat it up with other friendlies. And inevitably, at least a few people at the table are drinking beer, so...
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Sep 19, 2013 11:45
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Since someone just brought up both the Beach Club & Yacht Club, I want to ask: In the OP I say that the Beach/Yacht Club are for practical purposes the same hotel...location, theming, price, amenities, etc. Ditto with the Swan and Dolphin. This is just what I've been told. Is it true? Are there meaningful differences between the S & D or the BC & YC? (Meaningful to someone who's never been to WDW before)
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Sep 23, 2013 12:19
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I vote for the Grand Floridian. Full disclosure: it's the only one of those three that I've stayed at. If you're only considering the room and hotel amenities, yes, it's overpriced for what you're getting. Outside the boundaries of WDW, $500/night will get you a much nicer hotel. That said, the convenience of the three monorail hotels is impossible to overstate. And if you're going to be with a large group, that's an even bigger deal. There's a reason why the GF, Contemporary and Poly cost way more than other WDW hotels that in many respects are as nice or nicer: people who've stayed at them once are willing to pay those jacked up prices to come back. Quoting myself from the OP like an idiot: "...direct monorail access will have a bigger positive impact on your stay than just about anything else. Without leaving your hotel, you board a monorail that takes you directly to the Magic Kingdom or to the Ticket and Transportation Center, where you can board another monorail to Epcot, or get on a bus or boat to any other location at Disney. I cannot overstate the level of convenience this represents. Just think: it's closing time at MK or Epcot. You and about ten-bajillion other people are all leaving at the same time because everyone wants to leave right after they watch the fireworks. 9.9-bajillion will go to their cars in the parking lot, or wait in line for a bus; both of those options are lousy under the best of circumstances. Toting a couple of exhausted kids? Your long hike and long wait just got worse. But if you're staying at a Magic Kingdom hotel, it's one or two monorail rides to your hotel lobby. Not even your hotel's parking lot...the freaking lobby."
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Sep 29, 2013 01:07
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Yeah the Polynesian is hands-down my favorite place to stay. And if you're really looking to game the whole convenience aspect of staying at a monorail hotel, it's hard to do better. Not only do you have the monorail station in the lobby building, you're right next to the TTC. If you're in one of the easternmost buildings, it's a pleasant 2-minute walk. Schweet.
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Sep 29, 2013 22:22
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ExplodingChef posted:1) What are the must-do rides? I'll ride whatever, my wife won't ride much of anything, but she's willing to wait in line with me. 1) Check the third section of the OP ("WHAT TO DO") for a good rundown. Your wife should be fine riding anything at Magic Kingdom...it's all "family friendly" (tame). 2) dunno. 3) Yeah, definitely get buttons. But you're right, it's a YMMV thing. It seem these days almost everyone in the park gets a button for something or another, so it's not quite as useful for trolling for special treatment. Buy the bride-and-groom mickey ears...that'll get you a lot farther.
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Oct 22, 2013 00:54
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morcant posted:I was really excited to see that Food & Wine has a good amount of vegetarian cuisine, but wanted to ask - is anyone a vegetarian (or has traveled with one to the parks) that can recommend some restaurants with a decent variety of non-meat fare? Disney Food Blog is a good resource: Vegetarian Dining in WDW, Tips From a Vegetarian Expert and Best WDW Restaurants for Vegetarians. And the Eating (and Drinking) Around the World Blog is a fun read if you like eating and drinking around the World.
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Oct 28, 2013 23:58
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VeggieSmuggler posted:I'm an Annual Passholder at Disneyland, and I was thinking of visiting Disney World soon. What are the subtle differences in the attractions in the Magic Kingdom compared to Disneyland, and how are the two parks compared to each other? There are entire websites dedicated to answering that single question. The differences in the attractions are mostly superficial, and Disney's been working hard to close the gap as much as possible, mostly by retrofitting Disneyland one piece at a time. Thing is, DL was built by Walt Disney and some of his friends. WDW was built in large part by Corporate Disney, so they're built on two totally different operating models. Ever since, they've been tweaking DL to fit the WDW model, and that work continues to this day. Still, there are some things about DL that just can't change, mostly because of geography. The first thing you'll notice when you walk into WDW is that it's very broad and spread out. There's no need for a berm, since there's nothing outside the park boundaries to visually block out. I spent plenty of time at DL as a kid, since my family lived in Huntington Beach. Then we moved to Texas when I was young, and I grew up. My wife and I went to WDW several times starting when we were about 30. Then we went back to DL when I was almost 40, and it was my first visit since I was like 12 or so. Since I had become accustomed to WDW, and had only fuzzy memories of DL, I thought it felt really small and canyon-like. The biggest differences aren't in the attractions, but in the way the parks were built, and the way they feel. DL fans say it's more "intimate," and I get what they're saying. DL also tends to use more genuine materials like real wood and stone, where WDW uses a lot of fiberglass and other engineered materials (though I hear the new Storybook Circus breaks that trend, and uses a lot of genuine materials, and has a really nice visual texture). This is Disneyland's Fantasyland:  This is Walt Disney World's Fantasyland:  WDW's "New Fantasyland" will shake things up quite a bit, but the general rule still stands.
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Oct 29, 2013 13:01
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Wylie posted:One thing that I would change about the OP (which is otherwise fantastic) is the recommendation about taking Disney transportation everywhere. Well spoken. Added "Your Own Car" to the Getting Around section. And I just checked the official website: parking is now $15 for a car. Zoinks.
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Nov 14, 2013 00:51
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demonR6 posted:That is why I added the "How to get around the $15 parking conundrum." 
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Nov 16, 2013 00:53
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Cuatal posted:How far will those bride and groom ears get you? Worth the price of looking ridiculous? You can get a lot of mileage out of those bride-and-groom ears, since they really stand out, as opposed to the "it's my birthday" buttons, or whatever they say. Everybody has an "I'm special" button these days. We got married at the Polynesian, and the next day were at Epcot making a dinner reservation (with the hats on). They guy congratulated us and asked us if we were on our honeymoon. When we told him we got married there at WDW the day before, he gave us water-side seating for Illuminations that night. A little bistro table for 2 with nothing blocking our view. It was awesome. SPEAKING OF WHICH...this is where we got married:  ...Sunset Pointe. It's a little hilltop on the water at the Poly, and its where they do their outdoor weddings. This is what it looks like as of two weeks ago:  Ugh. They leveled it to make room for a DVC building. Every time we've gone back since our wedding, we've walked up to Sunset Pointe to take a picture. I guess we'll have to buy into the DVC if we want to do that again. Lincoln fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Nov 30, 2013 |
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Nov 30, 2013 16:30
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mr_cardholder posted:Question regarding the non-peak timing: I would love to take my parents on a really nice Disney world vacation next year just because we all like Disney parks. They're a little on the older side so I know they would enjoy being able to take the monorail to our hotel. I've been looking at schedules and the best time for me to pull this off would be in late April/early May. Would this be too late to take advantage of the off peak discounts at the luxury resorts or would they still likely be around at that time? I know the OP said that peak is from June to Labor day but it seems like a lot of kids are getting out of school in May now. Heres a link to WDWINFO's room rates page. Basically, March 7 through April 26 is "Peak season," and "Regular season" runs April 27 through May 29. "Value season" ends February 12 and doesn't come back until mid-July.
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Nov 30, 2013 16:37
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