akirk Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 Well, I am finally going to break down this summer and do the Walt Disney World trip thing with my wife and two kids (ages 11 and 8). I have been to WDW once BK (Before Kids) but it has been awhile. I was wondering if anyone had any words of advice, tips, tricks, etc. to make our stay more enjoyable?? Thanks in advance for your insights and help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 depending on how good of shape you're in, start a walking regimine NOW! Get good shoes, drink plenty of water, take snacks for the kids. Don't plan on two days in a row if you can help it. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 hmmmm....I have thoughts but not real sure what your preferences are... What time of year are you going? How long will you be there? I'm assuming cost cutting is a big deal but you may be the type that is looking for all out fun at whatever cost. I live an hour and a half from Disney so when I go, I go with different intentions. If you've got kids who have never been and are old enough to hold up to the walking traffic, you'll want to spend every minute there for their sake! If it's in the summer...it's hotter than blue-blazes and there's no breeze.....July - September are the worst for temperature. Also....if it's Florida between July - September, IT WILL RAIN every day around 3:30pm....PLAN ON IT! Once the rain has 20 or 30 minutes to steam up the already sultry-ness of the day, it will stop and let you get back out and enjoy it! Stay on Disney property if you can afford it. You get free access to the Disney transportation system (bus, monorail and boat). You might even consider taking a shuttle from Orlando airport (30 minutes away) and not even rent a car. You can't imagine how nice it is to be at your hotel in your bed within 15 minutes of the end of the looooooong day. It's great and worth a little extra $$$. Your kids will outlast you! Their are cheaper hotels on Disney property if you want to save some money. They used to be in the Disney sports area. They have less amenities but it's TOTALLY Disney quality and you still get all the "on-site" transportation stuff I told you about. Disney's new thing is the ability to reserve a place in line so you don't have to stand in line for an hour and a half(literally). Use that service every chance you get!!!!! If you plan it correctly, you can see almost twice as much as if you didn't get the service. "Why doesn't everyone do that" you ask? Becuase you can only reserve one ride at a time. You can't call up and reserve one ride for 10am and another ride for 10:30 and another at 11. They tell you what time to be there (whithin a short time window) and you plan around it. You cannot reserve another ride UNTIL that reservation time has passed. Did I mention it's hot in the Summer there? Disney is around $58+ each for a one day ticket. You will NOT be able to see it all in one day. Consider multiple day passes and/or multiple park passes. Your other options are to priceline.com motels in the Orlando area and stay off site and enjoy some of the other things Orlando has to offer. Also....make sure the hotel you stay at has a pool! Your kids will shoot you if you don't!!!! ...by the way....it's worth the heat and walking and standing in line and where else are you going to be able to keep your kids busy for days on end like that! (When I was younger, you used to be able to go into the "Hall of Presidents" attraction and sit in the air conditioning and take a snooze during the show....sorry 'bout that you history buffs.....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Amy Posted May 2, 2005 Moderators Share Posted May 2, 2005 Wow, I haven't been to Disney World since the pre-Epcot days... Early 80's? I don't think I'll be much help to ya! Ah, the simpler days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokem Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 I was there last March. The weather was great. There was 5 of us myself, wife and 3 kids (ages 5,7,10) We did all 4 parks in 5 days. Yes the days were long 10 hour days minimum. And YES we were all tired at the end of the day. My brother lives 25 min from Disney so we stayed with him. I carried a back pack with food, drinks and snacks for all of us. Use the "e-pass" as much as you can it is well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 We do the Disney LAND thing here in So. Cal. Much the same though, cept for the weather, hotels Do get a multi day pass, Do take at least 1 more day than you were planning on, it is really nice to just go back to the room or do something else when you get tired and you WILL get tired. My family has Annual passes. We have gone for all day or just for dinner and everything between. We will be going on the 5th of this month, all day. It will be the opening day of the 50th anaversery celebration. We will also go on the day of the 50th, though both days will be a zoo. It is an entirely different experence when you are not trying to rush to get everything done in a day or two and can walk away from a long line and go to that attraction later. If there is bad weather, that is a good thing! The crowds are smaller, my family is sweet but we won't melt in the rain! Nothing like just walking from ride to ride and walking right in with no line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 I would say "shoot yourself" but if you haven't already done so by now, you're probably immune. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 https://secure.disney.go.com/wdw/myVacation/vpk?id=VPKPage We live in Indiana, have annual passes.... You figure it out. LOL We love Disney World.. IM Me for any questions. Those out in CA always love to brag but the truth is you can put all of Disney CA in the epcot parking lot in FL. Size wise... NO comparrison. Florida is the grand daddy by far! For books: The Burnums (SP) Walt Disney World guide is excellent too. At your bookstore. =========================================== Disney has week packages for the 50th anniversary at REALLY great pricing so your going to see a lot and experience Disney at a great time!! By all means, stay on Disney property! Much better free transportation, and as a resort guest, get treated better, including later hours or earlier admisssion to the parks too. Disney has all types of hotels from delux Grand Floridian, to mid priced Port Orleans to value based Sports or Music hotels. All good.... for different reasons. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirk Posted May 2, 2005 Author Share Posted May 2, 2005 Thanks for the info guys. We are going at the end of this month and beginning of June. I didn't realize until after I had booked the package that we would be getting there on Memorial Day weekend. It will probably be pretty crowded there Sunday and Monday but hopefully will calm down after that. I hope by going a little early in the summer that we will beat the vast horde of tourists that will be heading that way as soon as school lets out. Perhaps the weather will be reasonably mild also. I realize that many miles will be walked and quite a few lines will be stood in, but hopefully a good time will be had by all. Funny - when I was younger I used to think that amusement parks were a blast. Now all I see is the crowds, the heat, the lines, and all the money spent - when did I become such an old fart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 OK my advice is stay in one of the Disney resorts, you may pay a little more but the convenience is worth it IMO. We stayed at the Coronado Resort. When you stay on Disney property you never have to use your car until you leave, i.e. if you are there for 3 days you park your car on the first and the drive away on the third day. Disney transportation is free and very well organized. Essentially there is a bus or tram leaving every 15 minutes. If you buy souvenir in the park you do not have to carry it around you can ask the clerk to have ready for pick up at your hotel when you get back. If you eat on Disney do it in the restaurants not the concessions. If you eat at the concessions you get amusement park food if you make reservation and eat in one of the theme restaurants you get good quality restaurant food. You can have breakfast/lunch/dinner with the characters, which your kids should get a kick out of. Multi-day park hopper passes are a must. You can just go from park to park that way. Say you want to do breakfast with the Pooh characters and then see the Wild Animal Park, no problem if you have a park hopper pass. You use the pass to go in the Magic Kingdom do your meal thing then leave the park and go to the park of your choice and use Disney transportation the entire time. Disney is truly built around convenience. If you want to eat in the restaurants you do need to make reservations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 If you're taking kids and plan on eating in the parks, plan on emptying your 401 before you go. just kidding. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelerFan Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 ---------------- On 5/2/2005 1:16:11 PM Amy Unger wrote: Wow, I haven't been to Disney World since the pre-Epcot days... Early 80's? I don't think I'll be much help to ya! Ah, the simpler days ---------------- Last time I was there was just after Epcot opened and I'm only about 1.5 hours or so west on I-4. Jiminy, I never do anything anymore... My advice would be to wear comfortable shoes and don't forget the sunscreen (especially on the kids) otherwise any skin uncovered will be fried! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Klipsch Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 Go to the Brown Derby at Disney\MGM absolutely great food but $$$. We stayed at the Grand Floridian but there are cheaper places to stay on the property. Highly advise to stay there as it will take a lot off of the travel time to and fro. They also have breakfast with the Disney characters for the kiddies that is a treat. Plus as mentioned the transportation to get around the parks. The Tower of Terror-Great Ride, get a reservation for that one. Stay away from the Mexican restaurant as it is not to authentic. The British restaurant has great Trifle's- very sweet. Hope you have a good time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 Coulter's NOT kidding. I'm a bit of an amusement park junkie, and we call that place in Orlando "The Rat" for a reason. Pricing is one reason why....lack of thrill substance is the other. Epcot's pretty interesting, but the rest is just so-so to me. And I grew up watching mouseketeer reruns. We go for two reasons: Thrills, and quality time and relaxation. We find that all of the parks we attend have something we enjoy - and BOTH criteria must be filled. We are demanding here, just as we are with our speakers....maximum benefit for the input dollar. Whenever the subject of Disney world comes up in our group, I quickly turn their attention to the midwest parks - Cedar Point for Big (and I'm not kidding - like 300 and 420 foot BIG) roller coasters, plus 70 other rides, plus a waterpark, plus three hotels, well, you get it)....Holiday World in Santa Claus Indiana for charm and hospitality (and bang for the buck, I might add), and Kings Island near Cincinnati for just a li'l bit of everything for young and old. I would rather take a week and tour these parks than go to DW for a week. DW LOOKS fun, has lots of simulators and kid stuff, but little REAL gutsy thrills (Florida coaster/ride height restrictions doesn't help). DW is crowded as can be, a place like Holiday World will actually GREET you and make sure you have a good time (most hospitable people in the amusement park business - bar NONE)....Cedar Point will just SHOCK you with their collection of first class thrill rides (do front seat on Millennium Force - you will NEVER forget this - ever ridden on the nose of a rocket?).....Kings Island has The Beast....an all time classic wood coaster, plus all kinds of enticements for all ages.....and if you want more, there's Knoebels in Elysburg, PA (another "must see" old school park with super people running this place)......so many parks that offer more for what I go for than Disney. I consider Disney "Bose" compared to these other parks. As someone who has seen amusement parks nationwide, Florida as a state sure is weak in the amusement park biz considering the location and weather. They have lots of parks, but not nearly the substance within those parks in terms of AMUSEMENT/THRILLS per acre. Like Universal Orlando: they have three good coasters and a few nice simulators - Cedar Point has 16 roller coasters, 6 of those are WORLD CLASS (Millennium Force, Top Thrill dragster, Raptor, and Magnum make this trip worth it alone, and Mantis and Mean Streak aren't exactly slouches, either). The state of Florida doesn't have 6 coasters that good in THE WHOLE STATE. Anything I want to do at Disney I can do in these above parks....easier, and better. Maybe I'm less charmed by DW's window dressing, and that's just my taste, but DW does much less for us than many of the "traditional" parks do.....and for MUCH LESS $$$$$. Just my opinion, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 "Disney World...bullsh*t. Mickey Mouse to a four-year old is a six-foot f**king rat!" - Robin Williams and there's this one... "Hope you remembered where you parked your car today. If not, we have ten-thousand to choose from." - Voice of the suttle driver driving to the monorail into the park. c.1978 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibby214 Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 I thought MGM sucked except the finale after dark. "Fantasmic" is a big show of lights, sounds, effects, huge rear projected images on a mist of water. Go early and get good seats. I'd go to it again if I had a park hopper pass that day to go see animal kingdom or something during the day. Have fun. Gib Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 Don't go during the summer. Miserable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 I agree with Audible Nectar wholeheartedly. Kings Island has all the amusement and charm as a place needs, and it's much closer for the midwest set. The only redeeming feature I've found in FL is Epcot center, but it's more for the baby boomers who lived through the hype of 'experimental prototype community of tomorrow' and never saw it come to fruition. So I like Epcot as a history lesson about the future, hardly the place for kiddies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.cherry Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 take LOTS of $$$$$$$$$$ and good shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 At Pleasure Island, its New Year's eve every night. Wow, kill me now, kill me now. Just be sure to be out of there before 11:30pm. Have fun, don't forget the sun screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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