The restaurant is still there - and they still serve the clam chowder - just no longer in a bread bowl.
When we went on the safari (back in August of '05), the rhino had a baby! The driver said that Momma Rhino usually kept the baby hidden, and this was only about the fourth time he had seen the baby rhino himself. And, they were only a few feet away, close enough for great pictures without the zoom.
Wow. Seriously, I never dreamed I would get so much wonderful advice – I posted a similar question to another board that I post to and received perhaps 3 answers worth reading!
Since Shades of Green is on Disney property, we would not have to pay for parking, I assumed that using park transportation would be faster – I am wrong? It always seems like driving/parking for most theme parks is more time-consuming.
I would love to say hi if I get a chance! Always nice knowing an “insider.” This was actually my first choice for the dinner & a show night, but it doesn’t seem to be running while we are there (March 15-18). Please let me know if I am wrong.
My son is kind of odd – it’s hard to know if he would be into seeing the characters. I want to do the whole autograph/photo-op thing though, so he has that memory even if he thinks it is corny now. If you want to email me the information on where/when is best to see them, that would totally rock.
To everyone else (especially len , thanks for the great advice. We will be poring over maps of the parks to maximise our time. We know we will not see everything, and may not get to see some of the things that we really want. This will be a practice run. Now that we know the kind of rates we can get at SoG, we are more realistic in our thoughts of going back. Most likely, if nothing else, we will be back in 2 years (daughter’s band goes every other year).
Just to go back to the food issue – I had weight loss surgery, so I am a cheap date. Even at almost 2 years post-op, if I am busy, I will forget to eat. Crotum(hubby) and the boy will be happy munching on chips and peanut butter sammiches (if we can pack them in a backpack) – that’s the question, I guess – can we bring a backpack/cooler with us for lunch/snacks? I know years ago, many parks would not allow this, but at least at Six Flags, they have done away with their arcane rules. I definitely will be packing frozen waters, as I drink around 100 oz/day even when I am just sitting here at the computer all day at work.
Sounds like we may skip Animal Kingdom altogether. Epcot is a definite must for us, we are a geeky family and will love the (even if it is getting a bit quaint) technology part.
Ever since my daughter and I got to be in a (ever so silly) commercial on Cartoon Network – just happened to be filming them while we were at Six Flags last year – my son is convinced he should be on tv, so we will do MGM just on the off-chance he gets to be audience or something. You know how kids are.
Keep the advice coming. I will be printing this whole thing out, so I can use it to help my planning.
You can certainly bring food in.
I don’t think MGM is doing studio production anymore. Its mostly just attractions. They can be cool for a TV/Movie buff though.
I didn’t think this was a problem. Guests of the Boardwalk hotel park in a lot that has security gates and staff that checks to make sure you are a registered guest.
Visitors have to park in a serperate lot.
I wouldn’t do it just because the walk is so long.
You can certainly bring food in the parks.
And you wouldn’t be the first to trade a walkthrough of the Animal Kingdom for more time in Epcot. Biergarten in Germany has been getting rave reviews from our readers over the past year, and it’s relatively inexpensive as far as Disney dining goes.
Len
Yep. You can’t bring a cooler-on-wheels, or anything big enough to require a wagon, because for safety/liability reasons they don’t allow guests to pull anything behind them. But a picnic lunch in a hand-held cooler or backpack is fine. Be prepared to let the guards inspect the contents at the park gate.
Litoris, I must have missed your trip dates somehow. And you’re right, the Pirate and Princess Party ends a week before you get there, but you all can still see Jack Sparrow at his “Pirate Tutorial” outside of the PotC ride.
Using the buses is a great way to get to the park, but it will be the most beneficial to you if you’re early risers. If you get to the buses early enough to get to the park a few minutes before opening, they won’t be as packed as if you wait until awhile after the park opens. I’ve never stayed at the hotel you’re staying at, so that’s just a general rule based on the fact that most people don’t get to the park until an hour or more after it opens.
I will e-mail you about general character locations, but here’s the best way to see the classics (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, etc.): Mickey’s Toontown Fair. Go to the big red and white tent-shaped store called the County Bounty and you will find nine or more characters. The way it works is that there are three lines to choose from, which will take you to three different rooms. Each room has three or four different characters in it, that are listed at the top of the line entrances.
Mickey is in the Toontown Fair section as well, but he is not in that particular building. For Mickey you have to go through his house to the building behind it. Lots of people miss that on the map, so it’s worth making a mental note of.
You can park in the guest lot if you tell the security guard you want to see the resort - or are checking in. A lot of people do it and it causes problems.
The Boardwalk restaurants and shops have a visitor area across the way - but its really common for those guests to tell the security guard they are checking in to avoid the walk. Add in the Epcot guests avoiding parking fees, and its a problem.
Interesting update – I just got an email from the school. Meal vouchers are available for $11.70/each. These include an entree, side item, drink and dessert from specific places – is it worth it? I think I would like to get some for my daughter who will not be with us the whole time, to ensure that she eats at least 1 meal per day, but don’t know if it is a great deal for all of us. Any ideas on this before I drop the cash (payment is due by Friday)?
Check the menus at www.allearsnet.com (click on the dining link). The convention vouchers are a great deal at some spots, not a great deal at others. It will guarentee you a fixed price, however.
They used to be sortof available to the public, and a lot of people liked them for exactly the purpose you are discribing - giving them to teenagers so they didn’t need to be handed cash they would blow on something stupid and not manage to eat all day.
I find that, outside of the formal sit-down restaurants, I’ll usually grab an entree, side-item (like fries or something), and a reasonably large soda for roughly $9. If your daughter likes to get dessert as well, it’ll be cost effective. If not, I’ve found that it’s probably cheaper than $11.70 per meal.
Listen to len, Litoris, he really knows what he’s talking about.
And check out the WDW Today podcast (which len is a part of); it’s a great planning tool (don’t let them scare you away from Narcoossee’s ;)).
Depends on where you go. heh. On our last night there (with our meal plan), we went to Fulton’s Crab House in Downtown Disney. The total price of the meal, which included appetizer, non-alcoholic drink, entree, and dessert, for my wife and myself, was $184. But, we just signed for it, and off we went. I’d wager Fulton’s isn’t on the voucher list, though…
Incidentally, since Litoris mentioned that the son was a geek and computer buff, one thing that may be worth a look is DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney. It’s a five-story complex of unique and high-tech video games. I understand you can even “build” your own virtual roller coaster and ride it! And, if you were going to La Nouba, the theater is right near there.
I’ve been to DisneyWorld more times than I can count. Someone once told me it is the only trap built by a mouse to catch humans.
One time at MGM I made sure I was as obvious as possible (wore the loudest Hawaiian shirt I had and waved my arms around) and got pulled on stage for the Indiana Jones show. I also hammed it up with the characters, much to my son’s embarrassment (Hey, isn’t that what being a dad is all about?). Definitely eat at the 50’s diner. You will not regret it. My kids loved Tower of Terror and the Rock and Rollercoaster.
Fireworks at Epcot are not to be missed but get there early before all the prime spaces are taken. We found a good spot near Canada (the park location, not the real country). Mission Space was a blast (sorry) but might not be good if you don’t like high g forces. I know they’ve tamed it a little but you could wind up with a headache that will ruin the rest of your day.
MK is ok for 7 year olds, especially the Buzz Lightyear ride and Space Mountain. Also Philharmagic should not be missed. I’m disappointed that they got rid of the ExtraTerrorestrial ride/show in Tomorrowland. It scared the crap out of my wife and MIL!
You mentioned that you had surgery in the past. When we went my wife had recently had abdominal surgery (about 3 months before) and was still a little tender. When we drove into the parking lots we would go up to the attendants and explain about the surgery. We wound up parking right by the entrances to the parks, so close that we didn’t have to take trams!
Total agreement on the Fastpass. We got into MGM right when it opened, ran to Tower of Terror. I ran to Rock and Rollercoaster (they are right next to each other) and got Fastpass tickets. We went on Tower, walked over to the coaster, walked on that and then went on to enjoy the rest in leisure.
My son and I are trivia nuts so we looked for the “hidden Mickeys”, arrangements of plants, flowers or decorations in the shape of the iconic ears. Names on Main Street stores came from Disney Imagineers.
My daughter was a princess fanatic so we made sure she met every one (MGM lined them up in front of Graumann’s theater) and even took her to the Cinderella Dinner.
You will be able to do so much but not do it all. Most important is to have fun. Look at it through the eyes of your children and act like a child yourself. Dance with Aladdin, let your hubby get a kiss on the cheek from Snow White. Run through the dancing waters in Epcot. Sing along with Small World. It really is a Magic Kingdom.
That show was so great.
“Profit is merely a byproduct of our efforts to help Earth” (horribly paraphrased)
Abolished? Say it ain’t so! I agree, that was a great show. I still sometimes go “Bon Voyaaaaage” to friends and grin evilly (nobody understands me, though).
They probably had to abolish it, though, because stupid parents kept dragging their kids into it - the howling sounds could be heard throughout the park. What about the huge “VERY SCARY DON’T TAKE LITTLE CHILDREN” sign was so hard to understand? Even worse: Father to screaming little kid in line: “Don’t be a wuss, I’ve seen it and it’s not scary at all.” … yeah right, an 8 foot monster in total darkness would NEVER scare children.
erie774: Speaking of Imagineers, a fun fact about EPCOT World Showcase they told us is that the ground in the individual countries is designed differently, so that by walking alone you can tell you’ve entered a different “world” (so to speak). Also, I agree that Canada is the best spot for the EPCOT fireworks.
It became “Stitch’s Great Escape” - same concept - only when Stitch escapes its not nearly as scary. There is a little spook, but mostly its played for laughs. There is still the occationally little kid who freaks over the dark, but its much more rare.
Its still an improvement over Mission to Mars - and a great use of the space that Mission to Mars had. I liked Extraterrorestial better (Brainiac4 really did).