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Going to Disney World - Anyone have any must see/do things?

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Cheech

Member
World of Cool in Epcot. All the free cokes that you can drink, from around the world.

Drink the Beverly. It is a fine Italian seltzer.
 

RubxQub

φίλω ἐξεχέγλουτον καί ψευδολόγον οὖκ εἰπόν
Epcot is a great place when you're a chill adult who can appreciate a slower paced and culture filled world. The people that work in each country actually come from those countries (at least the few I struck up a conversation with claimed as much...said Disney recruits pretty heavily out there) and the food in each area rules.

We went to Epcot probably 3-4 nights during the week just to walk around and eat at the cool places.

Le Cellier is an expensive restaurant at Epcot in the Canadian area...but you get pretzel breadsticks and they are worth murdering people for. The food is insanely good as well.
 

tekumseh

a mass of phermones, hormones and adrenaline just waiting to explode
If you intend to do the Safari Ride in the Animal Kingdom, do it first, because the hotter it gets, the more likely the animals are to find a place to hide in the shade.

Oh, and drink a beer from every country at Epcot. Except for Mexico. There, drink a beer AND a margarita...
 
They're just making you show up at every ride twice (once for the pass, once to actually ride it).

It sounds like it'd get pretty dicey trying to fit into a half hour arrival window. You're talking about coordinating arrival times in between multiple rides with varying wait times.....kids/friends wanting to stop for food and photos and souvenirs....girlfriend/wife wanting to go to the bathroom or sit down or rest....and just generally not knowing how long it will take you to get around the park. There's generally a lot of weird tension and pressure and rushing on family vacations, the FastPass just compounds it.

I'd think that at the very least they could just issue you FastPasses at the gate, rather than making you walk to a ride, get a pass, then walk back to it hours later.
You are over complicating it not Disney. Stopping by a ride on the way to another ride is not going out of the way. In fact one of the best things to do is go on the the most popular ride first thing and get a fastpass for it. I do that with Toy Story Mania. Also you should be sending one person to the fastpass with all your tickets. No point having your whole party there. They should be in line for something.

You are right that they should have a centralized location for fastpass.

And the last time I went to Disney was the week between Christmas and New Years. My wife and I had no problems at the park and fastpass was a big reason why (also single rider). Getting to the parks well before opening was another reason. Having at least some semblance of a strategy is also important. Also, every time I've gone to Disney someone random has always given me a Fastpass. People can be really nice there.

I didn't use the fastpass system at Universal, but they have a lot of single rider there.
 

Mr. Hyde

Member
Hollywood Studios is the best park imo. Tower of Terror, Rock'n'roller coaster, Indiana Jones stunt show.
Magic Kingdom is good but more dependant on tastes.

Animal Kingdom was miserable, everything had 3Xs the wait(none worth it imo), also food/drinks seemed alot more expensive.


If you can also try to get to Universal Studios.


I never have that problem at Animal Kingdom. I usually only have to wait ten or so minutes for everest and the ride 'Dinosaur' is one of my favorite rides at the Disney parks.

I never bother going on weekends, though. I am sure it can be a lot crazier then. I should check my phone app that shows wait times on the weekend.
 

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Lilly Belle? It's a passenger car and it is in operation at Disneyland. There is a Lilly Belle locomotive and that may be the one at the museum.
http://www.ratcage.com/disneylands-lilly-belle-presidential-train-car/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World_Railroad

He used the word 'locomotive', though.

This is what I meant...
http://www.disneydigitalfiles.com/2011/05/walt-disneys-real-life-lilly-belle.html

This is where that train is now...
http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/
 

Jeramii

Banned
It's cheaper to book everything yourself. MUCH cheaper. Disney Travel Agents, well, ANY travel agents, as only in it to make a profit and you can book everything online these days MUCH cheaper yourself.


I assure you this wasn't the case for our trip. We only booked our flight separate, but the costs for the park it was MUCH cheaper in the end.

We ended up getting the third most expensive meal plan for the price of the cheapest, got all the water parks for free, got discounted rooms all because of the agent and the time of year we went. The first agents we were attempting to book through were quite a bit more expensive. But the last one we went to knew all the deals he could possibly get us.

Our one week trip EVERYTHING paid for (food, hotel, transport, snacks, park tickets, etc. everything except the flight) the cost was about $1350.

Booking the flights on our own saved us about $150 per person.

Most the deals we got were related to the time of year because we went in September (Hurricane season + school in session). So the parks were mostly empty. On the first few days we were there we got to walk onto every ride. The longest wait time on average was 12 minutes on busy days.

The meals we ate at the sit down restaurants would have cost us $60+ per person on average based off the cost of everything we got combined.
 

spootime

Member
Universal Derail here:

Has anyone eaten at Mythos in Islands of Adventure? I went there last time with my family, and while the food is great, the atmosphere is amazing. Definitely the coolest theme park restaurant I've been in before.
 

matt360

Member
Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but a large chunk of Fantasy Land in WDW is closed... Thunder Mountain, Dumbo and everything past the carousel north of Cinderella's Castle.
http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/files/dsc_0294_10.jpg
They are rebuilding that whole area.

Just got back around 3 weeks ago from there. Had an awesome time with the kids.

Staying at a resort, thanks to some really good deals and free meal plan upgrades, is the way to go. So much easier than doing everything on your own. Just set up your character meals in advance. It takes a lot of stress out of it, and I find that you spend more time at the parks doing stuff in my experience.

My sister is one of the project managers for the expansion, and it looks like it will be an incredible addition. The Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs Mine Cart Coaster looks like a lot of fun.

Another thing is, Disney has great policies with letting their staff get family and friends in for free. If you know anyone working at Disney, take advantage!!!! You can take them out to dinner later and it will still be cheaper. If you follow them into the parks while they go to work, they can even get you free parking.

For me, the difference in the attitudes of the staff with Disney workers compared to Universal makes a big difference. Nobody at either park has ever been outright rude in my experience, but Disney workers for some reason just seem so much more into their jobs. I wonder how they motivate them to be like that.
 

way more

Member
I hear Future World is nice this time of year. Oh, and I know this little place, it's off the path a little but it's practically undiscovered by the tourists. They make a great pulled pork.
 
I'm taking my father and my sister to Disney this summer. Can anyone offer any advice on possible deals? Good times to book things? Should I go through an agent?
 

Dachande

Member
World of Cool in Epcot. All the free cokes that you can drink, from around the world.

Drink the Beverly. It is a fine Italian seltzer.

Also drink VegetaBeta! It's a Japanese vegetable juice and it's absolutely delicious. And I can't find anything about it online at all. World of Cool is the only place I've ever seen or heard of it, and I have to go there to drink as much as possible every time I go to Epcot.
 

TaeOH

Member
As a Disney veteran going way back. I highly recommend the planner in your family to create an account here http://www.disboards.com/ and try to at least create a general daily itinerary. Disney World is HUGE. With only 5 days, don't expect to see it all.

Staying on site is best, this way you can take advantage of Magic Hours. If you are off site, knowing what parks have the magic hours is important because they will be the busiest parks that day and you will want to avoid them if off site.

A typical plan we would have on a park hopper would be to get to the Early magic hour park as soon as transportation will take you, go through the park with some kind of plan to hit the must see rides until lunch. Eat lunch in the park and then head back to the hotel for rest in the heat of the afternoon. Then get dinner and head to the late magic hour park or Epcot to finish the day.

Whatever you do, if you wake late and cannot get to a park at opening, DO NOT GO TO THE EARLY MAGIC HOUR PARK. That park will be packed by the time you get there and the ability to get through lines will be severely hampered.

Disney is a great trip, but it is expensive and the parks are crazy busy even in supposed off peak days. So planning is how you get the most out of the trip and your money. Just don't be a literary Nazi on the trip. Have a plan, but adjust and go with the flow as the day and week progresses.

Good luck, it is a great trip.
 
Le Cellier is an expensive restaurant at Epcot in the Canadian area...but you get pretzel breadsticks and they are worth murdering people for. The food is insanely good as well.

Le Cellier is amazing the Cheddar and bacon soup with that pretzel bread followed by a fillet steak with a side of macaroni cheese - Godly

Also make sure you get a Dole Whip in the Magic Kingdom, also Godly.

I'm 27 but WDW is still my favourite place in the world near enough we went there 3 years ago for our honeymoon and then again the year after, now I really cant wait to take our son when he's old enough for the 9 hour flight but he's only 9 months now but I am planning it in my head already :)

Wishes - the firework show is special to me, cheesey as it is I was stood there watching it with my new wife watching these amazing fireworks perfectly synched to songs of my childhood and just remember feeling ridiculously happy. Also Fantasmic is spectacular.

Finding hidden Mickeys is good fun for kids as well as things like trying to be the first to find the paintbrushes on Tom Sawyer island.

It saddens me that someone said avoid Splash Mountain, that along with Pirates and Haunted Mansion are bonafide classics
 
The girlfriend and I are going at the end of April. Very excited. We only have 5 days of tickets without park hopping and are staying on site. I'm trying to not become super obsessed with planning everything but it's hard. It's strange that this started out as a gift for her and I've become excited as well. For someone who considers himself a cynical realist, maybe there IS some Disney magic.
 

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
I'm taking my father and my sister to Disney this summer. Can anyone offer any advice on possible deals? Good times to book things? Should I go through an agent?

Summer at Disney is hot and insane crowds. It might be the only time you can go, but I'm telling you if you can go during an off time it's SOOOO much better.
 

tekumseh

a mass of phermones, hormones and adrenaline just waiting to explode
Summer at Disney is hot and insane crowds. It might be the only time you can go, but I'm telling you if you can go during an off time it's SOOOO much better.

My wife and I have found the best time to go is during the last couple of weeks of August. In state schools are back in session, schools generally around the country are back in session, and while, yes, it's hot, if you dress appropriately and hydrate yourself, you should have it pretty good. Last time we went was about 6 years ago, 3rd week in August, and in the Disney parks, the longest time we waited for any attraction was maybe 25 minutes. At Universal, we went on a Saturday, so it was more crowded, but we also got the quick pass thing and, again, didn't have a wait more than 20 minutes or so...
 
Summer at Disney is hot and insane crowds. It might be the only time you can go, but I'm telling you if you can go during an off time it's SOOOO much better.

Thanks, I do plan on setting the trip up for the last week of August or early Sept. Anyone have any experience going through a travel agent to handle all of the dinner reservations and possibly getting some nice deals?
 

TDLink

Member
Thanks, I do plan on setting the trip up for the last week of August or early Sept. Anyone have any experience going through a travel agent to handle all of the dinner reservations and possibly getting some nice deals?

Hopefully you get lucky and some of the new stuff is open in time for your trip.
 

TDLink

Member
Which new stuff?

All of the new storybook circus section will 100% be open by time you go and the Thunder Mountain refurb will be done also. Additionally, rumour right now is the new Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast areas could also be open as early as late August.
 

Sarcasm

Member
Stay in a hotel located on park and look for deals like but 3 day pass get 2 free.

I miss Disney world since moving to Taiwan. I use to get a lot but most memorable was with my gg (now wife) and we were like early twenties, went in December.

Have to say we did all there is to do there, universal, animal and so on.

Money well spent.
 
Here's a link letting you know what dates attractions will down. It's impossible to go there and not miss a ride, but it's better that you know beforehand so the disappointment is lessened.
 

JGS

Banned
Going again this summer after going a couple of years ago and I must say I'm most excited for the Fireworks show. It blew me away last time. Amazing stuff.

Go to all parks if it's economically possible since they all have great things to offer. However, I would probably stick with Magic Kingdom & Epcot in terms of bang for buck.
 
As an amusement park, Universal Islands of Adventure kills any Disney park IMO.

If you have an overwhelming Disney connection (I don't) then it may be worth it, but I had way more fun at Universal.
 

JGS

Banned
Yeah, we're spending half the time at Universal and will probably skip Hollywood section altogether and replace Animal Kingdom with Sea World.

The first time is an experience thing. If one has never been to Disney and they are in the same town, they really need to go once just for the experience.
 
Yeah, we're spending half the time at Universal and will probably skip Hollywood section altogether and replace Animal Kingdom with Sea World.

The first time is an experience thing. If one has never been to Disney and they are in the same town, they really need to go once just for the experience.

You're skipping Hollywood Studios at Disney and Animal Kingdom? Too many great rides. You probably didn't ride the new Star Tours and Toy Story Mania is an all time great. Everest is my favorite ride at Disney, probably any park actually.

As an amusement park, Universal Islands of Adventure kills any Disney park IMO.

If you have an overwhelming Disney connection (I don't) then it may be worth it, but I had way more fun at Universal.

It's all opinion but I don't really see it at all. Harry Potter makes IoA worth the price of admission, but without Universal Studios it's a half day affair. I'd say Harry Potter turned Universal from a 1 day visit to a 2-3 day vacation.

My first Disney memories are from when I was 5 it would be another 15 years until I returned. Then I finally went to Disneyland when I was 23 and back to WDW and finally Universal when I was 25. I guess I have a Disney connection but Universal as a whole isn't nearly as impressive.

The circular design of IoA is terrible. I hate having to walk through a few lands just to get to Harry Potter. Hub and spoke people! And because of how tight space is there they bleed into each other too much. The approach to Hogwarts was tainted by the fact that the theme of Jurassic Park was blaring. It's just details like that that make Universal feel a cut under Disney. That's a shame because if the care that went into Harry Potter went into the rest of Universal it would at least be as good as Disney if not better. I don't just go to these parks because the rides are fun but because the experience is like nowhere else.
 

NekoFever

Member
I'm looking at going in September because my aunt lives in Florida and I haven't seen her since she emigrated. Means I won't have to pay for accommodation, which will make it more affordable, and I haven't been since 1999, so there should be tons of new stuff.

Inside The Magic is a good resource for information about the Disney and Orlando parks. There's loads of video, tips and news, and the podcast is excellent.
 

Tinabina

Member
I'm going down in late August, I have the quick service meal plan, is a sit down really worth it? I am planning one sit down at Cinderellas Royal Table for my daughters bday.
 

TDLink

Member
I'm going down in late August, I have the quick service meal plan, is a sit down really worth it? I am planning one sit down at Cinderellas Royal Table for my daughters bday.

A lot of the food in Disney World is pretty terrible. That includes both the quick service and sit down restaurants. The big exception is Epcot. Most of both types in the world showcase are pretty good and it is definitely worth it there. There is also a fairly good food court type of place in Future World in the building where Soarin' is.
 

Jme

Member
You mentioned you are going for 5 days and have park hopper - so yes, you can go to all 4 of the theme parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom)

Are you staying on property at one of the Disney World resorts? If YES make sure you take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours (a certain park will open a few hours early or stay a few hours late most days for resort guests)

Do you have the Dining Plan? If you don't (and are staying on property) get it. It will cost you WAY less in the long run vs. paying out of pocket for meals.

Here are my list of do-not-miss attractions for each park:

MK:
Big Thunder Mountain
Splash Mountain
Space Mountain
Pirates of the Caribbean
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan's Flight
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor
Tomorrowland Travel Authority (this is an awesome chill out ride, never a wait you just hop on and it gives you a relaxing tour and some cool views then you hop off, a great way to take a break from walking)
Snow Whites Scary Adventures (kind of sucks but its being closed down on May 31 forever so this'll be your last chance to ride it - it's being replaced with Seven Dwarf's Mine Coaster)
(Things to AVOID - Swiss Family Treehouse and Tom Sawyer Island... trust me)

EPCOT:
Mission Space
Test Track
Soarin
Turtle Talk w/ Crush (your kid will love it)
The Sum of All Thrills (Located inside of Innoventions EAST - this is an awesome design your own coaster then ride it on a robotic arm simulator that is often overlooked)
Club Cool (This is not a ride, it's a FREE soda sampling shop, lets you taste different sodas from all over the world and it's amazingly awesome! It's kind of on the side of Innoventions WEST, or just ask a Cast Member)
Space Ship Earth (aka the giant golf ball)
World Showcase is awesome and I love walking through the different countries and just taking my time and paying attention to detail. This is also where you will get the BEST food in all of the parks, so choose wisely :p Every country has it's own food and its all amazing. Also booze. There are two rides here, one in Norway and one in Mexico, they are both chill out sit on a boat type of rides and are a good break from walking around the world, but neither are worth a long wait.

Hollywood Studios:
Rock n Roller Coaster
Tower of Terror
Toy Story Midway Mania (SERIOUSLY GET HERE WHEN THE PARK OPENS AND BASICALLY RUN TO THIS RIDE OTHERWISE YOU WILL HAVE A 75+ MINUTE WAIT AND FAST PASSES WILL BE SOLD OUT)
Star Tours - this was recently upgraded to better motion simulation, 3D film, and a randomized course (beginning middle end are randomized for a different ride every time)
There's also a LOT of shows, and a lot of them are really cool so enjoy them at your leisure. I'm partial to Indiana Jones Stunt Show, Lights Motor Action, and Backlot Tour (which includes a water/explosion show and is not just a boring tour I promise it's really awesome)

Animal Kingdom:
Kilimanjaro Safari is awesome - go earlier for more active animals
Kali River Rapids (possible to get soaked or be bone dry, ride last just in case you dont want to walk around dripping wet all day)
Dinosaur (can be VERY loud but is otherwise awesome and shouldn't be missed)
Expedition Everest of course
AVOID - Rafiki's Planet Watch (super boring, nothing to do, only way in or out is a train ride and you're kind of stuck there until the next train)


Now for my FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS assuming you have the dining plan.
Almost any park: TURKEY LEG (so good and ungodly huge)
Polynesian Resort (on MK monorail): Ohana's Dinner Buffet - omg soooo good, come starving.
Polynesian Resort: Kona Cafe - awesome for lunch or dinner, also great sushi at their sushi bar
Magic Kingdom: Dole Whip - this is amazing pineapple soft serve you can't get anywhere else in the world
Contemporary Resort (on MK monorail): California Grill - Come here for a nice, fancy dinner with amazing views assuming your kids old enough to go out for a fancy dinner. Semi formal dress suggested.
Epcot Morocco: Tangerine Cafe - Schwarma Platter
Epcot Italy: Via Napoli - Seriously only worth it on the dining plan otherwise its like crazy expensive but this pizza is sooooo good. They import the water and flour from italy just to make the dough
Epcot Canada: Le Celier - The BEST steaks you'll ever have
Epcot The Seas: Coral Reef - Entire wall is an aquarium and they serve awesome seafood.
Animal Kingdom: Yak & Yeti - Amazing asian food, and you MUST try the mango pie (from the restaurant not from the take away stand next door)
Hollywood Studios: Sci Fi Dine In Theatre.


Other general tips: Parades can take a long time (from waiting for them with a good spot, to finish, plus the huge rush of crowd afterward) I definitely recommend watching a couple but do not try to catch every parade. It's a great time to enjoy decreased wait times on other rides.
Fireworks show at Magic Kingdom is awesome, so is the "pre show" where they do some really awesome projections on the castle.Get a good spot and enjoy at least once. I recommend the balcony area of the tomorrowland terrace. Another good spot is the MAIN STREET train station. Directly in front of the castle at the opening gates, and you can be up on a platform above the rest of the crowd.

If you can, rent a car it's much better to get around on property with your own vehicle rather than need to rely on the bus's schedule (eats up time waiting for the bus, and the other stops etc) especially if you are trying to meet any kind of reservations.

Make sure you utilize your fast pass, you can get one for each ticket once per hour OR after you've used your open fast pass whichever comes first So, for example if you get one at noon, and use it at 12:30 you can grab another one with no wait. Or if you grab one at noon but you can't use it until 6pm, you can get another one at 1PM.

If you have any specific questions, I'll try to answer them for you. Have a great trip!
 
I'm glad Magic Kingdom has Dole Whips. Those are my favorite snack at Disneyland. Is Magic Kingdom's Tiki Room still "Under New Management" or did they bring back the classic show?
 
In any case I would skip "Toy Story mania" its basically just staring at 3D video screens and shooting targets with a wiimote thing. You can do that shit at home. LITERALLY:

5152R5EPIKL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


I'm glad Magic Kingdom has Dole Whips. Those are my favorite snack at Disneyland. Is Magic Kingdom's Tiki Room still "Under New Management" or did they bring back the classic show?

under new management is gone (It actually burned down) and has been replaced with a cliff notes version of the classic show. Which I guess is an improvement at this point.
 

Jangocube

Banned
I went with my fiancee two summers ago, was a fun trip.

I thought the Animal Kingdom was pretty damn sweet. Also, try to stay late in the night and catch all the firework/night shows that each park has. All of them are different and each one is something you won't see anywhere else.
 
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