Give me your recommendations on planning a trip to Disney

[overlyverbose]

I haven't been to Disney World since I was 6 or so, and I'd like to go again. We'll be taking two kids and meeting my sister and brother-in-law there. We have about 4 nights, 5 days to do whatever we want and, after looking at the Disney website, I realized - I have no idea how to plan a trip to Disney. There are so many options! So, what are your recommendations?

I'm leaning heavily toward just booking the package through Disney and staying on a resort in the park and getting a dining package for all of us, along with tickets to the major parks. We'll probably plan to see just 3-4 areas max (maybe a day in Epcot, 1 day in the main park, split time in the Safari area, etc.). We're taking two fairly young kids (my son is 5, my daughter is 18 months), so we're working in a bit of time to relax, too. So, your thoughts? Recommendations? What did you love and what did you hate and what do you hope never to do again?

[Omar Little]

Stay on park, get the park-hopper pass, let Disney coordinate all your transportation for you. You won't regret it. The are the masters at logistics. Don't forget Downtown Disney as well.

[sachertorte]

Research, research, research!
Putting in a few hours now before the trip is a must to optimize your enjoyment of WDW.

I suggest:
allears.net for good general information.
wdwtoday.com has a good podcast, but the topics are less appropriate for a person starting from (nearly) scratch.
The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World is a good resource too (touringplans.com).

I would recommend a Disney travel agent. They are free (Disney pays them), and they can help you plan.

In terms of stuff you should know:
- Know that FastPass exists and how it works. (I can write up a summary if you like, but it is all on allears.net and I need to go soon)
- Know which attractions gather the longest lines and when during the day those long lines are shortest. For example, Toy Story Midway Mania in the Studios can have 2 hour waits, even in the low season. Get there early (at opening) to avoid crowds.
- Get there early BEFORE opening. Take advantage of the lower temperatures and lower crowds. When 1PM rolls in, LEAVE. Take a nap or a swim or both. Go back in the evening to enjoy lower temperatures and lower crowds.

I love Disneyworld. PM me if you have specific questions.

Oh. And under no circumstances whatsoever should you or your children ride "stich's great escape" That one is a stinker that usually results in crying children.

[Foxy40]

I think you have the right idea if you can afford to stay at one of the resorts and purchase the dining plan. As a local to the area, I can tell you that it is much easier to use Disney's transportation to and from the resorts to the park then trying to get around either Kissimmee or Downtown Disney independent hotels. If you want to save a bit, stay at Port Orleans or Riverside which are very nice and provide buses to and from the parks. My family and I stayed at Riverside for a couple of weeks after the hurricanes a few years ago and they were very nice and reasonable. With young children, I wouldn't plan to spend too much time at Epcot. You may want to plan to do Animal Kingdom and Epcot in one day and just skip the countries. The kids will just be bored. Plan to spend at least a day and a half at magic kindom and a day at MGM. Downtown disney is a fun place to walk around at night but keep in mind, many of those restaurants are NOT on the dining plan, even the most expensive one. Depending on how much time you have, you may want to take the kids to Seaworld for a day. I know this was my daughter's favorite place when she was five or six and we spent nearly every weekend there after purchasing an annual pass. Have a nice time. Bring sunscreen and lots or bottled water. Also fold up rain slickers as showers come late afternoon like clockwork in the summer and you dont' want to have to wait them out.

[DrDeth]

Stay on park, get the park-hopper pass, let Disney coordinate all your transportation for you. You won't regret it. The are the masters at logistics. Don't forget Downtown Disney as well.

More or less I agree. Except, don't bother with a Park-hopper at Disney World. See, the cost goes hwayyy down per day, but with PH there's a large premium. There's so much to see & do at each park, there's no reason to ever need to hit two parks in one day. I suggest
Magic Kingdom- 1-2 days (if you go to Disneyland in CA a klot, it can be done in a single day, but I think you'll need two days)
Epcot= 2 days adults, 1 day kids
Animal Kingdom- one short day (you need a short day anyway, to do Downtown Disney or sit by the pool, etc for a couple hours)
Hollywood- 1 day.

I have heard kids like Fort Wilderness.

[Dangerosa]

I think your plan is good. What time of year?

If you want a sit down meal its best (not ALWAYS necessary, but you don't want to be disappointed) to make reservations far in advance. This is especially important if you do the dining plan, as people have been known to be unable to use their dining plan credits.

For a short trip though, I'd skip the dining plan. I think you spend too much time in restaurants and not enough time touring the parks. And the parks are great. With the exception of a character meal - food isn't great, but with little kids, character meals are great.

Bring a stroller for EACH kid. Hoppers are nice (expensive, but nice) because you can limit Epcot to evenings when you pop the kids into the strollers and spend your time in World Showcase. We seldom do Epcot during the day. That will free up a second Magic Kingdom day, if you want it.

Arrive at the park of the day BEFORE OPENING (about fifteen minutes). You'll get more done in the first two hours than in the next five.

[YogSosoth]

I recommend you not go...

[Askance]

I recommend you not go...
+1

You will be disappointed. The whole place is a cheap-ass crock of hyper-safe pseudo-thrills that wouldn't excite a mouse. Oh, and between about 10am and 3pm be prepared for queues that would deter an East German.

Go to something worthwhile like the La Brea tar-pits instead.

[Little Nemo]

If you're doing the Magic Kingdom and other parks with young kids, do the other parks first. The Magic Kingdom is the park that is most oriented to kids. So if you take them to Magic Kingdom first, they'll find the other parks to be a let-down from that. Take them to Epcot and MGM first and they won't be comparing them to Magic Kingdom so they'll enjoy them on their own merits.

Go as early as you can get the kids around. You can get a lot down in the morning before the crowd grows. And if you do the animal park, you have to go early - many of the animals are active around sunrise and then sleep through the mid-day.

[kathmandu]

I would recommend skipping Epcot - it's really for older children and adults. I'd do two days at Magic Kingdom, one day at Animal Kingdom, one day at Hollywood Studios, and one day at Seaworld. I'd also skip the park hopper - with kids your age, I think one park per day is plenty.

[Bad News Baboon]

When I spoke to a Disney travel agent, they told me 2 times of year are the cheapest: January and August. August is horrible for the heat. If January is doable, the price difference in the hotel was substantial! We stayed in a nice room at the Animal Kingdom hotel because of this difference.
My daughter was 5 when I took her and in hindsite, one day at the hotel would have been good. They have animals on the grounds, a pool and a park. It would have been a nice rest day.

I also agree to skip Epcot. It was boring to her and the only reason we went was to have lunch with the Princesses in "Norway". Character meals are great - they have several different ones - but make sure you book in advance!

The last thing I would recommend is to go to travelocity or similar and look up reviews on the hotel. Originally I wanted to stay at the Polyneasean because my daughter loves Lilo and Stitch but overall, the hotel received horrible marks.

The nice thing about a Disney hotel: they pick you up at the airport free of charge. This can be quite a savings.

[Cyros]

Staying on property is nice but the last time I went it was with a lot of the family and we rented a house about 5 minutes drive from the properties. It was always a quick drive back and forth plus you have the convenience of a 5 bedroom house with full kitchen and private pool! This option worked out much cheaper than hotel rooms for the family so you may wish to give this some thought.

I also recommend the Passporter Guide to Walt Disney World! It is full of ideas and even has sample plans on how to get the most out of each park. I believe it also had suggestions as to which days to visit each park. One tip I remember is that if one of the parks is closing early that is the park to visit. Most people won't visit that park due to perceived value issues and that can really cut down on the lines.

I would also recommend keeping your eyes and ears open for special deals. Our family went during the "Year of the Voluntear" and because we made some blankets for the homeless we received special fastpasses that we could use to get onto the 5 most popular rides in each park without going through the regular fast pass process. Following the tips in the book and with the special passes I don't think we waited longer than 15-20 minutes in any line.

You may have people suggesting using the photopass system. It has its pros and cons. We did it once but will most likely not do it again. The photos were, for the most part, not any better than I could take. The lines for the photopass people were fairly daunting, especially around the characters (which is where the majority of the photopass people could be found). The biggest plus would be that you don't have to carry around your own camera but we ran into one (and heard about others) photopass person whose camera was broken and he could only take pictures with your camera.

TLDR: Get a good guidebook (highly recommend the Passporter) and hang out at some message boards (my wife really got a lot from www.disboards.com (http://www.disboards.com/).)

Have fun and take your time. Don't knock yourself out trying to cram it all in because, unless you have 3 or 4 weeks you won't see it all.

[Dewey Finn]

Stay on park, get the park-hopper pass, let Disney coordinate all your transportation for you. You won't regret it. The are the masters at logistics. Don't forget Downtown Disney as well.
I agree with this except that Downtown Disney is basically just an outdoor theme mall. Unless you like shopping for Disney merchandise, I'd skip it.

[Omar Little]

I agree with this except that Downtown Disney is basically just an outdoor theme mall. Unless you like shopping for Disney merchandise, I'd skip it.

Don't forget about Disney Quest. A 5 story arcade, where upon admittance, all of the arcade games are open use upon admittance. Admittance is included with the Park Hopper pass.

[Dewey Finn]

The nice thing about a Disney hotel: they pick you up at the airport free of charge. This can be quite a savings.
Not only do they pick you up from the airport, but they will also collect your luggage for you and deliver it to your hotel room. So once they drop you off, you can rush right off for a dinner that you foolishly scheduled for the night you arrive. (Or at least we had to rush right out for a scheduled dinner the first night. If we had to do it again, we'd plan for a more relaxed first night. Plus that first meal was in the Mexican pavilion at Epcot, and as we already live in the US, Mexican food isn't that special or exotic.)

[Edward The Head]

If you can afford to rent a car I'd say stay off property. We did this 1.5 years ago with an almost 4 year old and 1n 18 month old. We could get to the park in 15 minutes, be home in 15 minutes, and we could make most of our meals there too.

The time that we went was the same as another friend who took her kids, they stayed on the resort and she told me it would take an hour to catch a bus sometimes, not something you really want to do with tired kids.

Depending on what time of day you want to get there and leaving, I'd get passes for every day you're there. The price goes way down after like 4 days and the extra day or two cost like $10 per person. Even if you don't use all of the days, it's still nice to be able to have them.

I second taking either a double stroller or one for each. They are expensive to rent, something like $30 a day. The kids will be tired and much easier to push then to carry. Plus it allows some place for the little one to sleep.

We had a great time, though it's very expensive, once you get past that just enjoy yourself.

[sachertorte]

With young children, I wouldn't plan to spend too much time at Epcot. You may want to plan to do Animal Kingdom and Epcot in one day and just skip the countries. The kids will just be bored.

It is possible that some children will be bored wit Epcot or Animal Kingdom, but this advice is not universal. I don't know what the target age is for Kim Possible, but my understanding is that the Kim Possible adventures in the Epcot Countries has made touring the Countries with children much better than before. (Adults like Kim Possible too).

Don't forget about Disney Quest. A 5 story arcade, where upon admittance, all of the arcade games are open use upon admittance. Admittance is included with the Park Hopper pass.

This is not correct. Disney Quest is not one of the four major parks. Admittance to DisneyQuest can be obtained with a separate ticket or by purchasing the "and more" option on the Base Ticket. "park hopping" option allows admission to more than one of {Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Studios, and Animal Kingdom} on the same day.

"and more" adds separate admission to the water parks and DisneyQuest (and Wide World of Sports, I think). These admissions are independent of the main park admissions. In other words, going to DisneyQuest on a day doesn't burn a day for admission to the main parks ad vice versa.

[Crafter_Man]

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World is a good resource too (touringplans.com).
I've never been to Disney, but I have heard this book is a must-read for anyone planning a trip there.

[control-z]

Stay on park, get the park-hopper pass, let Disney coordinate all your transportation for you.

I think I've come to the conclusion that even if you didn't have tickets you could ride around on monorails and busses and boats all day, visiting the resorts and various Disney facilities. One day we went all over the place including the Wilderness campground. A bus dropped us off at one end of the campground but we needed to be at the opposite end (up near the lake.) We saw all kinds of golf carts parked at the bus stop and considered just borrowing one, but walked instead. It was a good 30 min walk. It looked like they issue each camping spot their own cart, so it's good we didn't take someone's cart.

[Dewey Finn]

If you can afford to rent a car I'd say stay off property. We did this 1.5 years ago with an almost 4 year old and 1n 18 month old. We could get to the park in 15 minutes, be home in 15 minutes, and we could make most of our meals there too.
One reason to stay on property is because of the "magic hours" in which one of the parks is open early or late only for those staying at a Disney hotel or resort.

[control-z]

If cost isn't a big factor, sure stay on property. The resorts are great.

We however wanted to save money so wound up staying at Super 8 Kissimmee. It was a 10-15 min drive to any of the parks. IIRC it was about $60 per night through hotels.com. We also discovered Old Town Kissimmee (http://www.visitkissimmee.com/Old-Town) which was an interesting but not fancy group of shops, attractions, and rides. We had lots of fun on the go-cart tracks, they were built like roller coaster tracks.

[Poysyn]

There's a good software you can download that's not very expensive that uses historical stats and everything and tells you how to organize your visit so you can hit the best rides at the best time.

I used it for a trip to DL and it was AWESOME! we got on everything super quickly and then went on all of our second choices...

here it is: http://www.ridemax.com/

(I don't work for Ridemax or know any of their owners, I just liked the product)

[Poysyn]

Two more little bits -

Book a character breakfast. They don't roam the park anymore and if you want to meet them, this is a good way to do it and:

http://www.mousesavers.com/

great money-saving ideas

[overlyverbose]

Thanks for all the recommendations! I think we've decided to go Labor Day weekend. My sister said that they went there Labor Day and it was pretty quiet. Plus you can get a free dining pass per person for the whole trip. Still trying to decide on lodging. It turns out the my entire family now wants to go - my sister, brother-in-law, mom, and of course me, my husband and the kids.

I do expect the trip to be pricey. Definitely not going to repeat this frequently, but we've still never been on a family vacation with our kids and we'd really like to.

[Edward The Head]

One reason to stay on property is because of the "magic hours" in which one of the parks is open early or late only for those staying at a Disney hotel or resort.

This may be, but for a 5 year old the extra hour or two will not make a huge difference. I think we did about 7-8 hours the first day, then it just dropped from there. One day we ended up doing 2 hours or so. As I said, I've heard of people saying it takes a long time to get around the resort by bus.

Two more little bits -

Book a character breakfast. They don't roam the park anymore and if you want to meet them, this is a good way to do it and:


They do roam around the park, maybe not all of them, but they do. We met the Fairy Godmother out and about last month. There are some places that a character stays, but you can find a lot of them in the park itself.

[Tastes of Chocolate]

If you have a smart phone, check out some of the Disney apps.
I found a free one from Phunware called Undercover Tourist, which relies on people reporting what current wait times on rides are. So real time, right now I can see that Peter Pan's Flight has a wait time of 25 minutes and that the Enchanted Tiki Room is closed.

[perfectparanoia]

Thanks for all the recommendations! I think we've decided to go Labor Day weekend. My sister said that they went there Labor Day and it was pretty quiet. Plus you can get a free dining pass per person for the whole trip. Still trying to decide on lodging. It turns out the my entire family now wants to go - my sister, brother-in-law, mom, and of course me, my husband and the kids.

I do expect the trip to be pricey. Definitely not going to repeat this frequently, but we've still never been on a family vacation with our kids and we'd really like to.

JUst so you know free dining is usually a worse discount than getting the room-only discount and adding the dining plan.

ETA: so do the math (or PM me with your plans and I can hunt it down)

[sachertorte]

Labor Day is pretty quiet. All the kids are back in school or heading back to school.

Free Dining can be fun. Be sure to make reservations, and be aware that Free Dining is a lot of food! Probably more than you need. It has good value, but if you aren't big eaters, look into a room only discount and pay cash for your meals.

[Death of Rats]

If you are staying on property and can swing it financially, avoid the Value level hotels. The rooms are closet sized and the transportation is grouped by hotel so the Value hotels all share the same bus. The last time we went our bus to Port Orleans was often half full or less at peak times. The Value hotel bus was crammed to standing room only and still had queues that exteneed out of the round up and that was during one of the lowest attendance times of the year.

Also, if you can swing it, go in mid-January. After the Parks have ended thier X-mas/New years peak time. Great weather and very low attendance.

[dzeiger]

Another good time is the week before Thanksgiving--not many people take their kids out of school the week before a holiday week (effectively no wait for Space Mountain, and even the new Toy Story Mania ride had tolerable wait times). Disney Christmas stuff is all out, the Osbourne Family Lights at Hollywood Studios, the castle lighting at the Magic Kingdom, etc.

I was also able to catch the last day of the Epcot Food and Wine festival, though obviously that's not a great priority with 5-year-olds.

[Baracus]

This may be, but for a 5 year old the extra hour or two will not make a huge difference. I think we did about 7-8 hours the first day, then it just dropped from there. One day we ended up doing 2 hours or so. As I said, I've heard of people saying it takes a long time to get around the resort by bus.
I think the real selling point of the "magic hours" is that presumably the parks will be a little less crowded since only Disney resort guests will be there. I don't think all the attractions are open though, so I don't know if that really results in shorter lines or not.

[Cyros]

I think the real selling point of the "magic hours" is that presumably the parks will be a little less crowded since only Disney resort guests will be there. I don't think all the attractions are open though, so I don't know if that really results in shorter lines or not.

The "magic hour" park is most likely more crowded for that day as, for the most part, once you hit a park you stay all day. This means that instead of being spread throughout most of the parks, the Disney guests are concentrated in that one park.

[Autolycus]

If your kids are big Disney buffs, try to reserve a 'Keys to the Kingom' backstage tour. As it turns out, the ground level of Magic Kingdom is actually the second floor. There is a whole honeycomb of tunnels and offices underground. The tour shows you all that and gives an excellent amount of general Disney history and trivia. Highly recommended.

[dzeiger]

Keys to the Kingdom also has a minimum age, I forget exactly what it is, but late teens at a minimum.

It is an awesome tour, though. The only minor gripe I had was bad luck--I took the tour on a day the Shuttle launched, and we had a great view from one of the parking lots, but we were prohibited from using a camera backstage.

[Foxy40]

Another fun thing for the kids to do that isn't widely known is the trading of disney pins. Any guest can go up to a cast member and make a trade of one pin for another. The cast members enjoy this and so do the kids. If you PM me and are interested, I could send you several to get you started. This way you only have to purchase the lanyard. My father recently retired and he literally gave the kids hundreds of them. Many are duplicates.

[_len_]

Hey overlyverbose,

I co-author the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. Drop me a line. Happy to help.

Len

[miatachris]

Hey overlyverbose,

I co-author the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. Drop me a line. Happy to help.

Len

Double Wow!

Thank you, sir. I can't tell you how much I've gotten out of the WDW book in particular, and the "unofficial guide to ..." series in general.

miatachris, happy customer

[DrDeth]

Double Wow!

Thank you, sir. I can't tell you how much I've gotten out of the WDW book in particular, and the "unofficial guide to ..." series in general.

miatachris, happy customer

I agree. Your books are invaluable.

[kapri]

If you're going for Labor Day weekend, just be prepared for the heat.

I've lived here for about 20 years, and honestly, August and September are the hottest of the hot. It's hot now, too--89 right now, and highs between 90 and 98 for the next week.

Lots of people avoid being in the parks in the afternoon and go back to the hotel for a swim or a nap, especially people with kids, and then go back out after 6 or so, when the sun isn't quite as harsh.

[Miller]

Go to something worthwhile like the La Brea tar-pits instead.

Bit of a detour, seeing as that's on the opposite side of the continent from where they're headed.

[Askance]

Disneyland, Disneyworld, what's the difference :) OK then, Cape Canaveral.

[Gatopescado]

We just got back from a 3-dayer at Disneyland. My advice?

No more than two days! Do the "Magic Morning" the first day! Wear socks with handles, since you'll be grabbing your ankles frequently!

Seriously, by the second day you are dragging ass. The third day, you don't even want to ride the shuttle! Legs are tired, feet are sore. You have had enough of standing in line. You feel like punching the guy who is selling a frozen banana for $4.00.

Maybe its just me, however. I had fun, but the utility was maximized early on day 2. From then on, it was just trying to get through.

[Dangerosa]

We just got back from a 3-dayer at Disneyland. My advice?

No more than two days! Do the "Magic Morning" the first day! Wear socks with handles, since you'll be grabbing your ankles frequently!

Seriously, by the second day you are dragging ass. The third day, you don't even want to ride the shuttle! Legs are tired, feet are sore. You have had enough of standing in line. You feel like punching the guy who is selling a frozen banana for $4.00.

Maybe its just me, however. I had fun, but the utility was maximized early on day 2. From then on, it was just trying to get through.

Wimp. Disneyland is EASY.

But it is a good idea to "train" for any trip that will involve a lot of walking if you aren't an active person. Disney is one of those trips (so is Europe, Disney is not unique in the whole "THIS is a VACATION?"). The longer you can stay, the less "pressed" you'll feel to get everything in and the more down time you'll be willing to allow yourself. Four days, four parks is a recipe for feeling wiped at the end of four days. A ten day vacation, where you can go in and out of the parks at any given time, where you have plenty of time for the pool, where you can relax over a lazy dinner. Where you can get to the parks early most days, but sleep in a few.

And two things make Disney more exhausting - heat and little kids.

The other option is to do a short trip where you just face up to the "we aren't going to do it all" - do the research to determine what you feel you really need to do in order to feel the trip is successful - and don't push yourself too far beyond that. For some people that's simply making sure their kids ride Dumbo and meet Mickey.

[muldoonthief]

This is probably too late, but Disney just raised their park ticket prices on Sunday. Some websites (like undercovertourist) are still selling tix at the old prices until their stocks are depleted. No idea how this affects vacation package pricing.

[Fly_Sparge]

My wife and I took the kiddos (about the same ages as the OP's kids) and we spent one day at each park, saving Magic Kingdom for the last day. which I would highly recommend.

We deliberately declined to use any maps, and instead hunted down the various Hidden Mickey's around each park via iPhone app. It worked out really well as my wife and I needed something fun to do and provided us some direction instead of having the kids drag us all over the park......like so many other parents allow.

[Unauthorized Cinnamon]

We just got back. There is tons of good advice here, but here are two tidbits from our trip.

If you want a relaxed non-park morning or afternoon, Downtown Disney is nice. But remember to bring bathing suits or at least a change of clothes for the kids - by the T-shirt shop, there's a fountain built into the sidewalk and kids LOVE playing in it. Then take them to the giant toy store and tell them they can spend $15 bucks. This was a lot of fun for us, though it was Indecision City for a while!

We wound up going to Magic Kingdom around 4pm one day. It was so great - tons of people were streaming out of the park as we arrived, and many people are taking time off from rides to eat dinner then as well. We fast passed a couple high-traffic things and went on other great rides with 10-15 minute waits or less in the meantime. Pirates, teacups, Haunted Mansion - we practically walked right on to these.

[kelly5078]

I've been to Disneyland and Epcot, but not Disney World.

I don't think Disney World has the Indiana Jones ride that Disneyland has, but if it does, and you have anything like a sore back, do not go on it.

Epcot is a huge bore. The only thing I found entertaining, because I like irony, was when we were on the ride inside that big sphere, listening to a spiel about the wonders of science and technology, when the thing broke down. There were things that were utterly disgusting, like the plants with their roots exposed and flooded with nutrient-enriched water. The various villages were miserably dull, and somehow more sanitized than a Disney cartoon. It wasn't a miserable experience, but one I look back on as a wasted day.

On the other hand, Disneyland is a good time, and I imagine Disney World is about the same. It's really a pleasant and entertaining place just to walk around, and the rides are enjoyable. Also, whereas the Epcot is disturbingly sterile, Disneyland is pleasantly clean.

[Omar Little]

I've been to Disneyland and Epcot, but not Disney World.

If you've been to Epcot, then you've been to Disney World, it's one of the theme parks within Disney World.

[muldoonthief]

The various villages were miserably dull, and somehow more sanitized than a Disney cartoon.

To quote P.J. O'Rourke on his visit to Epcot:

"Seeing a Mexican marketplace portrayed as clean, quiet, safe and expensive is, somehow, as alarming as seeing a pyramid of human skulls in downtown Kansas City. A clean, quiet, safe and expensive 'Germany' is, on the other hand, soporiferously convincing."

[sachertorte]

There were things that were utterly disgusting, like the plants with their roots exposed and flooded with nutrient-enriched water.

I love that part.

[kelly5078]

If you've been to Epcot, then you've been to Disney World, it's one of the theme parks within Disney World.What I mean (obviously, I think) is that I have not been to the part of Disney World that mirrors Disneyland. I doubt that you or anyone else failed to understand this. You're being unnecessarily pedantic.

[dzeiger]

There were things that were utterly disgusting, like the plants with their roots exposed and flooded with nutrient-enriched water.

I'm curious--what is disgusting about low-water hydroponic gardening research?

[kelly5078]

I'm curious--what is disgusting about low-water hydroponic gardening research?I'm old-fashioned. I like my roots in the ground. Of course, I also eat meat, so I'm a complete hypocrite.

[Really Not All That Bright]

I live in Orlando. I go to the parks all the time, and I've worked at three of them. If you come, come in October. It's the best balance of weather and crowds.
What I mean (obviously, I think) is that I have not been to the part of Disney World that mirrors Disneyland. I doubt that you or anyone else failed to understand this. You're being unnecessarily pedantic.
Since you made the error, there's a good chance other people will too. So, for those who are confused:

Disneyland is in California. It's just one old, cramped park.

Disney World is in Florida. It's relatively shiny and new, and includes 3 theme parks and a shit ton of other attractions. The Magic Kingdom is essentially a clone of Disneyland. Epcot is pretty cool if you're an alcoholic or you really want to know what people in 1960 thought things would be like in 1990. Hollywood Studios used to be MGM Studios, and is a bit like Universal Studios (ie., built around actual, in-use TV/film sound stages) and is by far the most charming.

[Dewey Finn]

There is also Disney's Animal Kingdom, and two water parks.

[Really Not All That Bright]

I meant to exclude the water parks, since there's no particular reason to go to Disney's, and they're not theme parks per se. But yeah, total brain fart on Animal Kingdom.

And DisneyQuest, where I'd rather go than any conventional theme park.

[kelly5078]

I live in Orlando. I go to the parks all the time, and I've worked at three of them. If you come, come in October. It's the best balance of weather and crowds.

Since you made the error, there's a good chance other people will too. So, for those who are confused:

Disneyland is in California. It's just one old, cramped park.

Disney World is in Florida. It's relatively shiny and new, and includes 3 theme parks and a shit ton of other attractions. The Magic Kingdom is essentially a clone of Disneyland. Epcot is pretty cool if you're an alcoholic or you really want to know what people in 1960 thought things would be like in 1990. Hollywood Studios used to be MGM Studios, and is a bit like Universal Studios (ie., built around actual, in-use TV/film sound stages) and is by far the most charming.Okay, then, when I said Disney World, I was referring to the Magic Kingdom.
And I think Disneyland is quite nice.

[overlyverbose]

I just wanted to come in and let you all know (for what it's worth), that I'm still lurking around. I haven't had much to contribute lately, so I've been sitting back. I really appreciate all the information.

[DrDeth]

Disneyland is in California. It's just one old, cramped park.

The Magic Kingdom is essentially a clone of Disneyland. Epcot is pretty cool if you're an alcoholic or you really want to know what people in 1960 thought things would be like in 1990..

Actually, Disneyland has more rides etc than The Magic Kingdom, and is overall better. Not to mention you have that great sense of history AND California Adventure just 100 yards away (so it is fast and easy to "park hop").

I found Epcot to be the nicest of the 4 DW parks (and so did the other members of my party), and Hollywood studio the worst. One who is (like me) a regular DL goer can almost skip tMK. Animal Kingdom is nice, tho.

[Kozmik]

You will be disappointed. The whole place is a cheap-ass crock of hyper-safe pseudo-thrills that wouldn't excite a mouse. Oh, and between about 10am and 3pm be prepared for queues that would deter an East German.Obviously you haven't been to Walt Disney World after Disney's Hollywood Studios opened.

[Dangerosa]

Actually, Disneyland has more rides etc than The Magic Kingdom, and is overall better. Not to mention you have that great sense of history AND California Adventure just 100 yards away (so it is fast and easy to "park hop").

I found Epcot to be the nicest of the 4 DW parks (and so did the other members of my party), and Hollywood studio the worst. One who is (like me) a regular DL goer can almost skip tMK. Animal Kingdom is nice, tho.

I suspect better is subjective, but I think you are right - with the exception of the castle, which looks rather wimpy in comparison. Disneyland has more stuff in a smaller space. Its more charming (IMHO). The paths are more confusing, but I'm a long time MK guest. They still have the OLD tiki birds.

The best part of Disneyland for the normal MK guest (and I suspect it works the same way in reverse) is its so much alike and yet so different - "hey what are the Tiki birds doing on that side of the road?" "If I turn here I will get to...whoa - what is that" - its like stepping through the looking glass.

As to WDW parks - it really is a "to each his own" thing. We like Epcot best as well, and I think Epcot (and Animal Kingdom) appeal most to "learners" - people who like to soak in information and details (even if they are some fantasy of what Germany looks like in miniature). DHS and MK appeal more to "enjoyers" - people who want to be entertained and not think about the details. To me MK really hits the sentimentalists. Sometime I can indulge in for a morning or so, but I'm not one to wallow.

[Dangerosa]

overlyverbose.

What I would do is start getting everyone's priorities for what they want to do. That will mean everyone who is old enough to have an opinion will need to do a little research. The can use a guidebook, spend a day in a library, use Disney's web site, or any one of a dozen other web sites.

You aren't going to get everything done. And you don't want to discover by watching TV in your room on your third day that you can swim with sharks at Typhoon Lagoon, think that's the coolest thing ever, but miss out because you haven't gotten to the MK yet. (By the way, I don't like the 'put off the MK until last' plan - if you end up with a downpour, or its really crowded, or someone gets sick, you'll miss out on the thing you brought the kids for. Get it done first - and if you have hoppers, if you discover the other parks are not to your taste, you can go back. When our kids were little we spent several mornings in MK each trip (three or so), and afternoons in Epcot or DHS - with one morning in AK. We like Epcot, and with the kids in strollers, we'd just wander through, letting the kids take it easy.

The other thing is that a lot of people will arrive with no idea what they want to do. So they work the park, following the crowds, and end up spending at lot of time doing attractions that they would have put on a "maybe" list because its there. They end up running out of time and have a hour long wait for Dumbo. You have to do two things - manage the amount of time you wait in line by understanding the lines and fastpass system (Len has made his career here, but with little kids, there is one sentence to remember - get there when gates open, Dumbo first, then Peter Pan, then Pooh - then you can do whatever you want.), and don't spend time doing things that aren't priorities for your group until you've decided "we are done with all the have tos....you know, Hall of Presidents has always been sort of vaguely interesting to me."

[Really Not All That Bright]

Actually, Disneyland has more rides etc than The Magic Kingdom, and is overall better. Not to mention you have that great sense of history AND California Adventure just 100 yards away (so it is fast and easy to "park hop").

The only feature ride that Disneyland has that the Magic Kingdom doesn't is Indiana Jones Adventure. As far as Disneyland being "better", I think we can agree that this is a subject for another thread.

I didn't know they'd put another park by Disneyland, though.

For the record, Epcot is also my favorite park, other than DisneyQuest, but only because of the unbeatable entertainment that is Drinking Around The World* during the International Food and Wine Festival**.

*this is not an official event, but it's the only reason locals go to Epcot. You're going to throw up if you go there anyway, thanks to Mission: Space, so you might as well be drunk.

**this http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/special-events/epcot-international-food-and-wine-festival/, and falls in October, which is the best time to be at Disney.

ETA: Dangerosa makes an excellent point: you can do almost anything you want to between 8 am and about 10:30 am. After that, the crowds show up, and your 10 minute waits become an hour. I can't stress enough how much more pleasant it is to be in the parks in the morning (not least because it isn't as hot), even if you're (like me) not a morning person.