Disney World Trip Tips

[zrinkill]

Me and my family are flying to Disney World for two weeks in December.

Never been, so I am asking for hints and tips from people who regularly go.

We are staying at the Disney Grand Floridian.

We have a 5 year old and my grown son and his girlfriend are going with us. Thanks in advance.
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[YosemiteSam]

Sorry z, I've never been there. I know many people that have and the only thing I can offer is be prepared for a serious commercial attack on your wallet.

At every turn they try to milk you for every penny you have. (like rides always exiting into places trying to sell you one thing or another.)

I went to Disney Land when I was a kid, but I couldn't have been older than 3-4. I remember entering the place and that is about it.

 

[The30YardSlant]

It's a lot of fun, my favorite park is EPCOT. The different world pavilions are awesome. If you want/need to skip a park, Animal Kingdom is kind of "blah".

 

[zrinkill]

Sorry z, I've never been there. I know many people that have and the only thing I can offer is be prepared for a serious commercial attack on your wallet.

At every turn they try to milk you for every penny you have. (like rides always exiting into places trying to sell you one thing or another.)

I went to Disney Land when I was a kid, but I couldn't have been older than 3-4. I remember entering the place and that is about it.

Yea ..... the trip (plane tickets, meal plan, and resort for two weeks) are already paid for ........ It cost more than the first new car I bought :.

 

[zrinkill]

It's a lot of fun, my favorite park is EPCOT. The different world pavilions are awesome. If you want/need to skip a park, Animal Kingdom is kind of "blah".

Well we are gonna be there two weeks, so I do not see us skipping anything.

I am also looking forward to Epcot.

 

[TNCowboy]

Just got back a few weeks ago.

Ride the star wars 3d ride at Hollywood studios. Evidently, they upgraded it from what it used to be. I enjoyed it and so did my 5 year old. Of all the "good" rides, its line seems to be among the most manageable. We must've road it half a dozen times, and its different almost ever time. The rotate the planets you visit on the ride.

If your little one is a boy and is into star wars, let him make his own lightsaber. You go through a store after the star wars ride (unfortunately, many rides exit through a store of the same theme), and you can go in there and assemble a lightsaber from the parts your kid chooses. We made one for our nephews and they loved it.

I can't recall where, but I got some Beignets that were fantastic. As a big fan of most foods that are bad for me, I also tried a funnel cake, but it was dreadfully overcooked.

The Lion King show at animal kingdom is awesome. Full of talented singers and acrobats. A must see.

I ate in a restaurant at Norway in epcot that was really good, but mostly we ate the fast food types. The restaurant at Mexico was ok. Nothing special otherwise, except one cafe we ate in Hollywood was very good.

Download an app that gives wait times. It's invaluable. The one I used was almost always close, and it allows you to properly manage use of the fast pass. You can get the fast ticket for a long wait, do a few things with little wait time, then it'll be ready for the fast ticket.

There's also late opening an late closing times some days for guests that stay at their resorts, only on certain days. You could benefit from planning for those times (like getting to the park early so the line is short for the toy story thing that usually had a 2 hour wait).

If your 5 year old is a girl, and she's into princesses, get seeing them out of the way as soon as you can. A few of them, like Rapunzel, are scarce and will require waiting a long time in line, while others aren't too bad.

If you want to see one of the parades, stake out your spot at least an hour before. If you show up 10 minutes before the parade, your little one won't get to see much.

If you want to do the safari at animal kingdom, go early. I'm told the animals are out in the morning a lot more, and we saw pretty much everything.

If the educational aspect of epcot is important to you, then you'll love it. If you want to cater to a 5 year old, there isn't a ton of stuff there for little ones. During "spaceship earth", my little girl blurted out "Booooorrrr-riiiiing!".

Ride Soarin at epcot. Relaxing, cool, and it likely won't scare any little ones.

Don't put your little one on the more intense mission space ride. Do the gentler one.

Ride Expedition everest and tower of terror. Loved both of them. Probably won't (or can't) put your little one on those.

If you must buy toys and what not, go to downtown disney. However, best to wait til you get home. You can buy them from disney online far cheaper. We bribed my daughter by telling her we'd buy an extra toy if she'd wait. She wanted some toy from the upcoming Brave movie, and we bought it online after we got home for about 1/3rd of what it costs at the park.

There's a bunch of new stuff, like an Avatar attraction and a whole new area in the magic kingdom that weren't open yet that might be when you go.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

We go every other year and the family loves it. Here are a few tips.

Since this is your first time you should read through this website regularly. When we went the first time it was a MAJOR benefit.

www.disboards.com You will thank me every step of the way if you do.

Also, since it is your first time, and you will be there for a long time, don't spend the money on the park hopper option. you will have plenty of time to see and do most everything you want.

My favorite place to eat in DW is at Teppan Edo in Epcot, Japan. Great Filet Mignon. Trust me, it is fabulous.

Also don't stress out trying to see everything in one day. You have 14 day tickets so take it slow and don't kill yourself. It is easy to do there.

Also, Animal Kingdom is a cool place but it will not be an all day long/ all night long thing. If you get there at the Rope Drop you will see everything by 4 or 5 pm.

Take advantage of the "Extra Magic Hours" for resort guests. It is extra hours for the parks just for their resort patrons. Also, I'm not sure if they still have it but if you belong to AAA they have or did have a special place where you could go and get free drinks and snacks. We didn't do that but was told it was available.

Another thing to remember is use the Fast Pass system. It will save you a bunch of time waiting for rides.

If you have a smart phone through Verizon you can also download a parks app that will tell you what the wait times are for rides and places to eat. Also it will tell you when and where the characters are going to be for photos.

Remember to make your dining reservations on the very first day you are eligible. I think it is 90 days from the first day of your stay. Really important to do that as soon as their lines are open at 6 AM (I think) CT to make sure you can get your first choice of restaurants and times.

When going to the parks, and you are there for the rope drop when you enter the park, go towards the left, most people are trained to go to the right and things get backed up. Going to the left (Which is the only time I ever do ) gives you less traffic and shorter lines at some of the attractions.

Don't miss list...

Test Track
Star Wars
Dino Tracks
Soarin'
Expedition Everest
Splash Mountain
Fantasia (at Hollywood Studios)

If you have questions just give me a pm. But make sure you check out the Disboards.

Oh one more thing... If you aren't a fan of paying 5x the cost of something, get small rain ponchos from Walmart before you go. They are packaged small enough so you can keep them in a backpack and not be too heavy. We didn't do that last time and spent 35.00 on four ponchos that were glorified garbage bags.

 

[DragonCowboy]

Honestly, Animal Kingdom is awesome. Last year, we went on the safari right as it started drizzling on the last trip, so we basically had a private safari ride, and all the animals came out because it was raining. We even got to see some elephant taking a bath, which was cool.

When you go to Magic Kingdom, if you're a donald duck fan, watch Mickey's Philharmagic, it's pretty awesome.

Epcot was also really cool with all the different countries. I honestly think for the workers they bring in the cutest looking girls from each country, so that part is, well, awesome.

You're gonna have a lot of fun, and if you're there for 2 weeks, I'd suggest maybe going to Gatorland in Orlando -- it's a lot of fun, and the Gator nuggets are pretty awesome.

 

[Kangaroo]

When you stay at the resort you get what is called extended hours at parks where they stay open late at night.

The best tip there is find out the schedule and break up your day especially with the younger kids. So in the morning you go to a park come back around lunch relax and then go back to the park with the extended hours the 2nd half of the day. With a 5 year old they will be less cranky because they get a break and can watch some TV. Plus gives you a break.

If they still have them buying the free refill cups for when you are back at the Hotel are worth the purchase.

The place is first class in the way they treat you enjoy yourself.

Also the fast passes get their early and grab them right away for the rides you really want to go on. In Hollywood studios the Kids love the Toy Story ride (3d) and you get to shoot virtual darts and score points kids love it and it gets very crowded.

For the Big Kid (you) if you like Roller coasters Hollywood studio Rock N Roll and animal kingdom Everest are must does

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

It's a lot of fun, my favorite park is EPCOT. The different world pavilions are awesome. If you want/need to skip a park, Animal Kingdom is kind of "blah".

I like the Animal Kingdom. Im staying at the AK Lodge in two weeks.

Epcot is cool.

 

[TNCowboy]

The best tip there is find out the schedule and break up your day especially with the younger kids. So in the morning you go to a park come back around lunch relax and then go back to the park with the extended hours the 2nd half of the day. With a 5 year old they will be less cranky because they get a break and can watch some TV. Plus gives you a break.

Great tip. We did that almost every day. Got there at open, then went back to the hotel around 2, went back around 5 or 6. She even took naps a few times.

I would also add that if anyone wanted to bring a stroller, better to rent one outside of disney if you can't bring your own. The disney ones are convenient, but they can't be comfortable for little kids.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Great tip. We did that almost every day. Got there at open, then went back to the hotel around 2, went back around 5 or 6. She even took naps a few times.

I would also add that if anyone wanted to bring a stroller, better to rent one outside of disney if you can't bring your own. The disney ones are convenient, but they can't be comfortable for little kids.

the Florida ones are not as comfortable as the California ones.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

I like the Animal Kingdom. Im staying at the AK Lodge in two weeks.

Epcot is cool.

We stayed at AK once and wasn't that impressed with it. It was Nice and all but we didn't like the proximity to the other parks. It just seemed too far from the other three.

Our favorite resorts are the Poly, GF, and Caribbean Beach.

My kids loved the CB pool best of all of them.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Kick Mickey in the bells for me :laugh1:

 

[zrinkill]

Thanks guys for all the tips.

As I get closer I will probably bump this thread.

Thanks for the link Cajun ....... I will definitely PM you.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

We stayed at AK once and wasn't that impressed with it. It was Nice and all but we didn't like the proximity to the other parks. It just seemed too far from the other three.

Our favorite resorts are the Poly, GF, and Caribbean Beach.

My kids loved the CB pool best of all of them.

It is far but the bus takes you there so no worries. My son loves the savannah rooms as he can see the wild life walking outside the room.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Thanks guys for all the tips.

As I get closer I will probably bump this thread.

Thanks for the link Cajun ....... I will definitely PM you.

go to a character breakfast or two

 

[Cajuncowboy]

It is far but the bus takes you there so no worries. My son loves the savannah rooms as he can see the wild life walking outside the room.

Yeah, no doubt they are cool rooms. We stayed in one of them a few years back. That's the cool thing about WDW, there is something for everyone's taste. I will say that Boma was a great place to eat.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

Thanks guys for all the tips.

As I get closer I will probably bump this thread.

Thanks for the link Cajun ....... I will definitely PM you.

No problem. This is our "Off" year but I would go back every year if it were up to me. This year is family and friends year. One week in PA and another week in Louisiana.

 

[Vintage]

If you sit in the splash zone at sea world be careful with your electronics. My parents had to deal with very excited young kids (my sisters and I)... And didn't get the camera put away in time before the big splash... Their camera was ruined.

Then later in the trip.... My youngest sister was throwing a tantrum, not wanting to go in her car seat. My dad set his wallet on the car to get her in, forgot to retrieve it, and drive off. Some couple from tennessee found it later, and when we got home days later, there was a vm with them offering to mail it back. Back when people were honest...