panama chief
Member
But it's fun for kids
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I'm Goin to Disney World!
- Thread starter Ivan A Nguyen
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But it's fun for kids
I went to dw for the first time in 25 years a year ago. As soon as i left I wanted to go back.
I also spent all my merchandise money before I got to the japan pavilion in epcot where they have all sorts of stuff ranging from ghibli to nintendo to final fantasy to gundam stuff. When I go back i'm saving a lot of money for that area.
I also spent all my merchandise money before I got to the japan pavilion in epcot where they have all sorts of stuff ranging from ghibli to nintendo to final fantasy to gundam stuff. When I go back i'm saving a lot of money for that area.
I can't speak for the card game, but I think pin trading is cool. Plus, the kid's gonna ask for souvenirs anyway. Is it better to buy a $30 stuffed animal and lug it around the park all day, or a pack of 4-5 pins attached to a lanyard around his neck and he can trade away the ones he doesn't like?
KeyBladerXIII
Member
He has a 5 year old and not one of you mentioned PIN TRADING? shame.
Or Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom? Cmon GAF...
I've never heard of the Sorcerers game but that keyhole card makes me wish Kingdom Hearts had a bigger merch presence in the parks.
For pins, just get a standard pack of 4 or 5 and then let him ask the cast members to trade for ones he likes, they usually have a lanyard full of pins just for that reason.
panama chief
Member
There was a time where the secret/bagged pins were keys. All i could think of was KH and felt the same. At least some acknowledgement that Sora and the crew exist. I guess Heartless have no place in the Magic Kingdom.
Yeah the kiddos do love the pins. I decided to get mine interested in the pressed coins instead though....waaaay cheaper. They love getting new ones and there are hundreds of those machines all over the parks, the hotels, at Disney Springs, etc. etc.
http://www.themouseforless.com/disney-downloads/pocket-guides/pressed-coins-checklists/
panama chief
Member
How could I forget those? There's ever a book to store them all in. I love that Disney has these things. It can make a mundane walk from Ride A to B feel interesting as you look for things to trade and collect.
I read on a disney group for cast members and fans in general on facebook that an agreement between square enix and disney keeps disney from putting a lot of kh merch in the parks.
Dunno how true it is but it sounds logical as to why there isn't much kh stuff in the parks. It's illogical in other areas but eh.
Dunno how true it is but it sounds logical as to why there isn't much kh stuff in the parks. It's illogical in other areas but eh.
LucidMomentum
Member
SillyEskimo
Member
For pin trading, we spent $35 on Ebay and got 100 Chinese knockoff versions, put them on $5 princess themed lanyards from Amazon, and it was game on.
My kids loved the trading.
My kids loved the trading.
SillyEskimo
Member
Search the Disney stores within the park and buy all the crap your kids might want in advance from amazon. Hand them out during your stay. We saved a ton of money doing that.
panama chief
Member
Wow. I remember my first single dad Disney trip. Son was 5 and my daughter 12. Caribbean resort is where we stayed too. Enjoy!!
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
I'll be probably starting up a "Been to Disney World all my life, but never to Disneyland; what do I need to know?" thread soon since the girlfriend and I are likely taking a trip to California on our Honeymoon next year.
Went down in January. We found that the app was pretty useful for getting line times, and I believe they've just started letting you book fast passes through it (you can book one more after using your first 3, previously you had to use a kiosk, but I think now you can use the phone app).
The most important thing that I've found for rides is to get there at opening. It's amazing how much stuff you can get done in the first hour or so of the park being open. This sounds obvious, but it's amazing how many people don't do it.
KeyBladerXIII
Member
If your girls are princess fans, check with guest relations at Magic Kingdom and they'll let you know when and where specific princesses will show for pictures. After that, head straight to Fantasyland to Princess Fairytale Hall to get Anna/Elsa out of the way, that line gets long QUICK.
When i was a kid i went to a private school. All my rich schoolmates would go to disney all the time. My parents couldn't afford it.
It felt good when i finallt got to visit disney... at the age of 35.
That was 2 years ago. Had a lot of fun even if thrill rides are not abundant there.
Epcot was the less fun park. But it was raining a lot that day.
Loved the space mission simulator.
It felt good when i finallt got to visit disney... at the age of 35.
That was 2 years ago. Had a lot of fun even if thrill rides are not abundant there.
Epcot was the less fun park. But it was raining a lot that day.
Loved the space mission simulator.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
I know it doesn't do any good to say this now, but Epcot was amazing in the mid-90s. These days it's basically fallen into disepair.
Unfortunately attractions that aren't thrill rides aren't popular and Disney doesn't seem to know what to do with the park these days.
Yeah, it is just kinda...dated...I guess these days. I loved the park as a kid. But we've planned to skip it when we go this fall with toddlers. Unless you are going for the food or drink (or Anna and Elsa soon), I don't really see the point these days...
I'm glad your kids had fun but this kinda thing has ruined pin trading for a lot of people. Haven't done official pin trading myself in at least 5 years because of all the junk pins cluttering up CM lanyards.
cyborgnumberblue
Member
Agreed. They used to have a cool Sega partnership at Innoventions and you could play Sega Saturn games at kiosks. Also, the first place I encountered Shenmue, as they had the Japanese demo that just had a small section of Dobuita.
The world showcase is still great, but the rest of it needs a serious makeover. And the OP is correct for not taking a 5-year-old there.
I miss Maelstrom...
Test Track, Soarin, and Mission Mars are pretty awesome. Removing the Maelstrom for Frozen is a crime, though.
Food and Wine was both an awesome and horrible experience depending on the time you go. Weeknights are awesome, weekends are a crowded hell.
Fleet_of_Foot
Member
We went to Disney last spring and the day we spent at Epcot was one of the best days of the year in my opinion. I still think about it a year later. Went with my wife and 9-year-old daughter. There was surprisingly plenty for her to do and see.
First off, the weather. It was late March, and the temp was about 75 without a cloud in the sky. No humidity. I was really eager to drink around the world and it didn't disappoint.
I probably spent $80-90 on beer that day and while that's crazy, it was so fun. I was never completely drunk but close. And there were so many interesting things to see. That's the best kind of day - go into it with low expectations and have them blown out of the water.
It's the kind of experience I could never repeat because now I would have expectations, and it could never be that perfect again.
Then there was the next day. At Magic Kingdom, somewhat hungover, capacity crowd, and the temp had jumped at least 10 degrees and the humidity had arrived. Not as fun (but still great).
First off, the weather. It was late March, and the temp was about 75 without a cloud in the sky. No humidity. I was really eager to drink around the world and it didn't disappoint.
I probably spent $80-90 on beer that day and while that's crazy, it was so fun. I was never completely drunk but close. And there were so many interesting things to see. That's the best kind of day - go into it with low expectations and have them blown out of the water.
It's the kind of experience I could never repeat because now I would have expectations, and it could never be that perfect again.
Then there was the next day. At Magic Kingdom, somewhat hungover, capacity crowd, and the temp had jumped at least 10 degrees and the humidity had arrived. Not as fun (but still great).
SillyEskimo
Member
Filthy casuals ruin everything for the hardcore.
11 days in the park and I can assure you that no one cares. At all. They traded with mostly cast members and a handful of times with other kids. Perhaps 50ish trades total? We didn't run across any of the crazy uber collectors, thank god.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
The 2012 Test Track refresh completely ruined the attraction, IIRC. Now it's basically Tron light and there's no real cohesion or plot to the damn thing anymore. The original attraction was better. (And arguably World of Motion better than that, but I'm kind of hipster like that.)
Mission: Space and Soarin' are both okay, but they're both the sort of attraction that you only need to experience one or twice before you've seen all there is to see. Nothing will ever replace Horizon as far as Epcot attractions go, however, so Mission:Space automatically has that strike against it.
I just noticed his post and your response and yeah, I couldn't agree more with you on this one, whoa. Trading fake pins is pretty reprehensible as far as I'm concerned.
Either do pin trading properly at don't do it at all.
Ah, the go-to absurd dichotomy. Has nothing to do with casual traders, it has to do with cheapskates peddling counterfeit goods. I'm hardly hardcore, my whole collection from 10 years of trading and collecting numbers about the same as what you took for your kids in one trip.
Actual Disney pins are nicely made. Chinese knock-offs are just that - poorly made pieces of junk. Official Pin Trading (trading with Cast Members) started for people to trade actual Disney pins. Does every single cast member with a lanyard care? Of course not. But even the ones that do literally can't say anything for customer relations issues. The people in charge of pins and trading programs certainly do care but again - not much they can do. The guests who were around before the Chinese knock offs and factory seconds care, and when you trade with cast members you are essentially trading with other guests by proxy.
It's a massive crime, but nowhere near as bad as the GotG Tower of Terror that's on the verge of happening...
Velcro Fly
Member
I was on Maelstrom once and basically got crammed in with a couple other people. Ended up fucking up my hip really bad from just getting squished into the inside of the boat. It was not a pleasant experience 
The_White_Rose
Member
How was your trip OP?
Bear Force One
Banned
It's unfortunately not a baseless rumour since the guy who is reporting it is incredibly reliable.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/marvel-coming-to-wdw.911512/page-3#post-7136764
FO-totality
Poet Centuriate
Get one of these buttons. They're free and you can ask for one at a Disney hotel's front desk (and I think Guest Services at the parks)
Slap it on your son. Staff will treat him like a god.
I can kinda concur with that. If you make it visible that your visit is a special occasion, you'll get some extra treatment and maybe some freebies. I went with my grandparents to celebrate their 50th anniversary as an extended family and we all wore homemade Disney theme shirts. Staff actually flagged us down when they saw us and gave my grandparents stuff like free food vouchers and stuff like that.
aHebrewMenagerie
Member
Club Cool is a pretty neat place tucked away and EPCOT, it has about all the soda from around the world you can drink.
Japan is awesome, I also enjoy Norway, though it is a bit more small scale.
Japan is awesome, I also enjoy Norway, though it is a bit more small scale.
Christopher
BDE (Big Dad Energy)
Maelstorm was one of if not the WORST ride in Epcot...
Rapscallion
Member
Congrats! Are you staying on property at one of the hotels?
Disneyland is arguably the best singular park. It's obviously a lot like Magic Kingdom, but it encompasses more into its limited property than any other park.
California Adventure is great too. It has a unique vibe to it and often feels a lot more leisurely than any other Disney Park.
Maelstrom was a classic. A quaint little ride in a place that doesn't have many to give you an amusing look at Norway's past and present.
The Frozen stuff there is tacky. When I'm at the Norway pavilion I want to ride Maelstrom, state in disbelief over the price of those sweaters in the gift shop, eat school bread, and blush and stammer awkwardly when the beautiful Scandinavian girl that sells me my school bread tells me to have a nice day.
Nah that's Mission Space or current Imagination.
Yup.
We just got back a few days ago from a week down there. My tastes have changed with time but I still love going.
Rapscallion
Member
I agree. As much as movie themed rides are fun enough, I think Disney park are at their best when they're offering unique experiences outside of a film or property. I'll take the Maelstorm over rides like The Sea with Nemo and friends any day.
The Albatross
Member
Maelstrom was terrible, but terribly amazing. It was a great ride for escaping the heat for 10 minutes and riding a boat. As a kid, I was legitimately afraid the boat was going to go out the window. When I was like 5.
This is why the Peoplemover/TTA is one of the secret best rides at Magic Kingdom.
The Albatross
Member
Love Peoplemover.
I also have a fondness for THE CAROUSEL OF PROGRESS and that horrible goddam song
If they let me I'd just kick my feet up on the seat across from me and ride the Peoplemover for an hour.
Oh, yeah. There's usually not much of a line anyway. Just let me hang a "repeat rider" sign from the side of the car and let me drift.
It's my favorite ride. I think the two minutes when you travel through Space Mountain make for the best experience in all the parks. It's spooky (dark and tons of screaming in the distance) and noisy, and yet relaxing and ambient. I love the way it sounds. It's hard to explain why it's so perfect, but it is.
I always liked Maelstrom for being the best bad ride. In fact, I used to love both the crappy rides in World Showcase. I enjoyed the Gran Fiesta Tour for being a boring but relaxing ride -- which has been ruined by the Three Caballeros. At least the first minute hasn't changed, when you're flanked by the volcano and the restaurant.
Epcot (at least WC) just shouldn't have the same kind of branding as the rest of the parks. It was clearly Disney, even without such attempts at synergy. That was what made it cool.
Sometimes, if nobody's at the park, they'll let you. It's great.
That's why I always do Peoplemover right before I got on Space Mountain. Whets the appetite nicely.
Indeed.
Pumping IP into Epcot (or more specifically WC as you said) is a massive shame.
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