fletcherkane Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 One thing that we found to be totally worth it, was Cirque du Soleil. It is located in Downtown Disney, just outside the parks. They have a dedicated theater just for this show. I had seen parts of it on TV, and was not happy that my wife talked me into $50 a seat for a glorified circus. Boy was I wrong. This was the absolute highlight of my trip there last year. I'm with others who say that the thrill factor of the rides at Disney is sorely lacking. The kids loved it though. (Give me Cedar Point any day...) If you plan on going to Cirque, get your tickets early, as they sell out several days in advance. Have a great time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 FL is wonderful right now, but will be hot by June, bring water, start at the back of the park, get there early, bring books and juicy snacks and lots of film! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 ---------------- On 5/2/2005 3:30:37 PM IndyKlipschFan wrote: 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! ---------------- That is because DW is 90% WATER! It TAKES that much space to put a theme park in a swamp There is the origional and there are the wanna bees and we know which is best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 Mickey is a very greedy, little mouse. Take lots of dough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 I have to admit, Circ de Solei (however you spell it) was incredible for us adults! I would do it again if I was going to get to see a different show. For this though...I can't fault Disney for asking $60 per person for a full day of activities at the WDW theme park when the de Solei show wants $70 per person for a 1.5 hour show...... Disney becomes pretty inexpensive entertainment at that point. I would agree with you guys that there are better parks out there for THRILL rides but all the kids know is Mickey Mouse, Micky Mouse, Mickey Mouse and they won't be satisfied until they come to his park! It's all about the kids(unless they are teenagers and then I'm sure they'd rather go to the scarier of the two!!!! (That's the difference between a THEME park and a THRILL park). Universal Studio's Orlando is a great THRILL park and WDW Orlando is a great THEME park. okay....that's my 4 cents now..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 None of you have mentioned Universal also in Orlando home of the thrill rides.. If that is all your interested in go there. Disney is Disney, it also has some thrill rides at each of the four parks... Every cent paid to go to Disney/ experience Disney is worth it IMO. IF your not a Disney fan, then I guess you just do not get/ appreciate it. If you are... It is a special place for kids of all ages.. Enough said.. BTW to CA people... The Swamp RULES!!! Your going at a great time... Get up early, run hard, take a breather in the late afternoon.. The parade is at 5-6 ish, little kids leave worn out with their parents afterwards, so run till you drop.. have a blast.. "Fastpass" works...enjoy!!! We all have our favorites, the Italian restraunt just to the right at Disney World on mainstreet USA is inside, air conditioned, and very nice yummy too!!! And not too $$$. Just get reservatons early. Go to the Disney site I posted for Info. Spend some time there for sure!! Sign up for the DVD.... This 50 year celebration is going to be great!! If your longer than 4-5 days use one as a rest/pool day (3rd day) and go to "downtown disney" etc etc. (not first day) Your kids will love the shopping at Virgin Music..(largest record store in the USA) hard rock, house of blues, Cirque, etc., etc. If I can brag on my Father here, in 1992 he and another friend thought about where we would love to be with our families for the millineum. (New years eve going into 2000.) We chose Disney World, and almost everyone we talked about this quest, wanted to join in. We bought rooms for everyone who wanted to go had a annual party for those that wanted to be part of our idea...We got all we could by 1997 they were sold out of rooms. Without going into everything. we had 1,008 people.. Two charted planes from Indy, Family Friends and business clients all found there way to our private party called Mickey's Magical Millenium. We had all three ballrooms at the Grand Floridian. We had a Band, DJ, food was just amazing!!!!! To pull off such a party was just amazing. I will remember it till I die and was truely incredible.. I love ya dad!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 My dollar-two-ninety-eight on Disney World. But first.. Some of you guys amaze me. The dude books a package to take his family to Disney World and all you can say is how lousy it is or he should go some place else. Shut the hell up. Disney is Disney. Universal Studios is Universal Studios. Each park has its own uniqueness and purpose. And therein lies the beauty. Hes taking his family to a place that he feels will be best FOR THEM! Sheesh..back on track. Restaurants I will agree with the post that some of the concession type restaurants arent all that. What we generally do is eat a decent breakfast and either bring snacks into the park or buy some. Then we plan our dinner meal a bit early. This not only makes up for eating only two meals, but it allows us to get into some of the higher demand restaurants. If theres a particular restaurant that suits your fancy, dont be afraid to call now and make a reservation. Some of the restaurants in EPCOT can fill up quickly. Im not suggesting you plan your day around a restaurant. Just suggesting that if you know youre going to be at a certain theme park and want to eat at some place popular, make the commitment now. At the very least, make your reservation the minute you get to that park. And if you ever hope to get the Once Upon A Time breakfast with Cinderella or the character breakfast at Akershus for your kids DO IT NOW!!!! Its awesome and youll have some treasured memories. Some favs of mine: Brown Derby & Sci-Fi Dine In Theater at MGM Studios. Coral Reef, Bistro de Paris, LOriginale Alfredo di Roma, Les Chefs de France, Tempura Kiku, Restaurant Marrakesh, at EPCOT. My least favorite theme park is Disneys Animal Kingdom. I didnt particularly care for it the first time I went (which was the first year it was open) and my experience two years ago wasnt much better. Dont get me wrong its nice, but I guess I expected Disney to really throw down with the animal experience. The park has some nice attractions, but its one you can cover easily in one day. EPCOT To do it right (especially with a family), you should plan two days. Get there early and make a bee-line for the Mission:Space FastPass machine and then jump in line for Test track or vice versa. Time it right and you can ride both 2 times each before 10:00am! Do the walking tour at The Land. Its cool seeing some behind the scenes greenhouse stuff. But make your reservation early. They only take 10 people at a time and they only do so many tours a day. Theres plenty of things for kids to stay entertained in the Innoventions portion of EPCOT. Kids under 7 or so might be bored a bit with the various countries in the other portion of EPCOT. MGM This park can be done in a day, but with kids, itll be a push. I think its a day & a half park myself. Tower Of Terror is pretty cool. The kids will love Beauty & The Beast. Id try to do that show very early or later in the day since its outside (under cover) and can be a bit warm during the middle of the day. Ill wrap it up now, but a couple more thoughts. If possible, after entering a park go to the very back and work your way forward. People generally do the opposite so the lines will be shorter. Another tip is to do a park counter clockwise. Not sure why, but most people tend to go in a clockwise direction. If youre staying in a Disney hotel, you may want to consider taking a mid-day break, head back to your hotel, and give the kids a rest for a couple of hours. Theyre less cranky which translates into a better experience for all. Maybe consider dropping the kids off with the Disney staff and you guys go our for some fun at Pleasure Island. Another thing weve done is break up the theme park blitz by hitting one of the water parks lets say on day three. That way you can do two parks, then have a day to relax a bit while the kids are still entertained. But whatever you do, R-E-L-A-X..be patient, have fun, be courteous when others arent, have fun, take your time, have fun, look for cool things to do, have fun, make up your own games like finding Mickey Mouse Ear shapes, HAVE FUN! Remember.your kids are watching you. Set the tone for their perspective of having fun and dealing with crowds. Hey can I go with you???? Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 Good points all Tom. Thanks for being so positive. I guess it's in my nature to be the pessimist. Yes it is expensive, but name a family vacation that isn't. After all, these are memories that will be treasured a lifetime, that is what we work so hard for, so to heck with the lines and costs- FULL SPEED AHEAD. You'll never be sorry you gathered up the forces and took your family on this trip. Go for it and don't look back. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 Tom I can already tell your a true fan of Disney, our families would have a blast together at Disney!!! GMTA Great Minds Think Alike!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 That's funny Indy, just got off the phone with ya and we both headed to the Forum! GMTA indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirk Posted May 3, 2005 Author Share Posted May 3, 2005 What's the deal with Downtown Disney? Do you have to pay to get into the area or do you just go there and shop, dine, etc.? Is it worth going to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 In Ca, downtown Disney is a free entrey shopping/dining area. I would guess that it is the same in the other parks. Side note, I like Disney, the thrill rides are ok and there is Six flags magic mountian and there is also Universal Studios and Knotts Berry farm to choose from. We chose to get season tickets for Disney because that is what we like. Knotts is nice also and less expensive but is another 10 minutes in the car, not a big thing really but they are different places. We have been to Disneyland 8 times this year and it is a totaly different experence compaired to that of a family vacation. If we only want to stay for 1 ride, or only go for dinner, or go hang out at Downtown Disney, that is what we do. If the lines are too long, we just walk by and go to that ride another time. We will be spending the full day there Thurs, 5th as it is the first day of the Anav. party. I expect many people to be there also but you never know. It should be fun. Take it easy, Fastpass is great, use it and you will maximise your time there. ENJOY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 Here are a couple of pics to get you in the mood. These were taken 3 weeks ago, in, yep Toon Town. Enyoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 ---------------- On 5/3/2005 12:23:07 PM akirk wrote: What's the deal with Downtown Disney? Do you have to pay to get into the area or do you just go there and shop, dine, etc.? Is it worth going to? ---------------- Downtown Disney (DD) is free access all day. There's restaurants and mucho stores containing....yep - Disney products. Some Disney items are unique to DD just as some items are unique to a theme park. IOW's if you see an item at a theme park and really want it, buy it. Personally, I think a couple of stores at DD have some very nice stuff at relatively decent prices. Lego World at DD is pretty cool. There's a portion of DD called Pleasure Island that is open only in the evening hours. You can walk around the premises during the day, but after a certain time, they start checking ID's and charging a minor cover charge for a wrist band if you want to drink. The night clubs don't open until 7:00 or so and they have their own cover charges. Your best bet is to buy a "one price admits all" kinda ticket that gets you into all the clubs all night. That way you can bar hop and it's cheaper. I've heard some pretty decent bands there and danced my *** off. LOL....I even remember leaving there - once! LOL. Can I go with you guys???? Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 1. prepare to sweat 2. tell the kids no whining about heat and humidity 3.heavy sunscreen; wear white t shirts over bathing suits when swimming; sunburn ruins vacation 4. very good shoes, well broken in 5. go like heck every day until the afternoon thunderstorm and then stop for lunch; my favorite Living Seas for late lunch about 3:00 PM 6. rent a car; shuttle buses from offsite hotels and condos are a waste of vacation time. 7. nice full amenities in 2 bedroom condos can be had for a nice price on www.expedia.com ++++++++ Been 6 times in last 23 years vetran and my Aunt worked at Disney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 Look no further Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grateful11 Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 We love Disney and I think you'll have a blast. We like it so much we actually bought into DVC(Disney Vacation Club) a points based timeshare run by Disney. Gives a week or more anytime of the year in their Home Away From Home accommodations. Our points are attached to The Boardwalk resort but we can stay at any resort. We prefer Old Key West resort over the others. It's the only timeshare I've ever seen that you can actually get your money back and possibly make a little off of it if want to sell. When we bought in '98 the price per point was pretty low. About $9K for the points and $600 per year of fees gets us exactly what we want. How else can you get a room that goes for $400-$500 per night for that kind of money. When our teens get older we want spend some time at Disney's Hilton Head and Vero Beach resorts. As you can tell we're Disney fans. I'm not trying to sell anyone on this I'm just saying there are those of us on here that enjoy Disney. Grateful11 PS: Be sure the kids see the Haunted Mansion in MK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 Where is Toontown? I must've missed that when I was there last November. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 When you're walking down Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom, stop on over to the Silhouette Cart and get your children's silhouettes cut out! It's cheap and fast, and in less than 10 minutes you can have a framed memento of your children's shadow profiles...these keepsakes will last a lifetime (and you'll regret it later if you never have it done). And tell the artists there that "Jim" sent you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibby214 Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 Anyone else see "fantasmic" at MGM studios? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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