Recommendations for Disney World or other nearby FLA attractions?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Honestly, everything you’re mentioning is pointing towards either Magic Kingdom or Seaworld. I’m also going to disagree with everyone on Animal Kingdom.

Before I rant: Feel free to PM if you want more info or have specific questions. I’m no Len, but I do live in Orlando, have annual passes to all the parks and go, quite literally, every weekend. So I would say I’m about as close to an expert as you can get. Just sayin’ =).

MK: This will have the rides that your wife is most tolerant of. Thrill rides are basically just Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain (basically avoid mountains!) and Mine Train. Other than that, there isn’t anything that isn’t just a light and easy ride. Haunted Mansion and Little Mermaid use the same basic ride structure (a 3 person, slow moving tram on a track), Peter Pan uses the aerial boats (but heights definitely isn’t a factor), Small World is a “boat on a rubber track” ride. People Mover, the actual train, Laugh Factory…all of these are easy-peasy “look at what’s around me and not the actual ride” rides.

Animal Kingdom is fine and all, but if she’s weird towards animals, there isn’t anything else to do. She won’t go on the river rapids ride nor Everest, nor Dinosaur. The safari will be fine, but the rest of it is a typical (if not good) zoo. The shows aren’t even anything to be proud of.

Epcot would be OK, but again, boring. Nemo is easy tio ride (it’s set up like Little Mermaid), so is the Donald Mexico ride and the Frozen ride (both are on a boat, but are more akin to Small World). Soarin is a maybe, Test Track is a no. Other than that it’s just circling the countries and…well…that’s about it.

Seaworld is good because I still enjoy the shows and like the animals. They aren’t getting rid of the Killer Whale show for another few years and the Dolphin show, the Sea Lion show and the pet show (my fave!) aren’t going anywhere. They have a cute little penguin ride that she could do and at the end you get hella close to penguins. Skip the coasters. They do have a log flume ride too, but it’s short. Feeding a sealion is pretty fun for 5 bucks and they have a dolphin encounter for, I think, 15. You can pet it and feed it and tell it to do tricks and stuff.

Completely skip Universal. Citywalk has good food, but the park is a no-go.

TL;DR: Magic Kingdom is your best bet, followed by Seaworld.

22

Can you go to WDW without park tickets and eat at most of the restaurants? The ones I remember were inside the park. Perhaps they have tickets that would let you into the park but not on any of the rides?

23

Nope. You need a full ticket to get into the park.

24

I think some of the higher-end restaurants are in the hotels, like the Grand Floridian. So perhaps you could go to dinner there without needing a park pass?

25

I very much appreciate the suggestions and commentary. We’ll go to the Magic Kingdom for sure. She can handle “slow-moving boat/car on a track” type rides (but no haunted mansion!). A number of y’all have mentioned “shopping” areas, which will definitely take up a good amount of time.

I’ll give my wife some things to google (like Epcot) and see what else might tickle her fancy. I know she won’t be interested in a real animal-based viewing experience (like a zoo). She does find penguins fascinating, so I might be able to talk her into SeaWorld, since there seem to be shows where the animals do stuff.

Did someone mention Cirque de Soliel (sp?). Is that an ongoing show or just an annual tour stop? As long as it is not too intense (she doesn’t like anything that “makes her heart go pounding,” but can handle awe-inspiring spectacle I think), I might angle for that as well.

Does the Magic Kingdom do anything special for Christmas? We’ve gone to the Busch Gardens (VA) “Christmas Village” set-up and she LOVES seeing the lights and decorated trees and carols and such. She also liked the various Christmas-based live shows (singing, dancing about, Wise Man and Jesus in the manger). I’m assuming the MK has a good selection of shows, though I imagine most are character-based. Any show suggestions? I’m not sure she’d be interested in wacky Donald v. Mickey adventures, but you never know.

I know I can google some of this, but I’ve really appreciated the feedback here to get me pointed in the right direction. I want this to be a nice trip.

26

This is possible. Both WDW and Universal hotels have restaurants that anyone can eat at.

But if you were going to have a Disney dinner, I would say just go to Disney Springs and eat at Marimoto, Bongos, House of Blues etc.

27

Well, you should at least buy me dinner first.

28

EPCOT has a Christmas Processional that I enjoyed. It’s narrated by various celebrities - I think a different one every day it’s performed. Some of the singers are Disney folks and a large part of the choir will be high school choruses who are selected and invited to perform. (My daughter was in the show twice with high school and again as a part-time Disney cast member.)

I can’t speak to any of the other parks, but the show at EPCOT is a good one.

29

Cirque du Soleil has a permanent show at Disney Springs called La Nouba. Disney Springs is the shopping area, which does not require a park ticket to get into. The Cirque du Soleil show, however, does require a separate admission ticket, which runs around $60 or so. I’ve never actually seen the show itself.

Apart from being decorated, the main thing is “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party,” which takes place in the evenings on selected days in November and December. This also requires a separate admission ticket in addition to the regular park ticket, probably even more expensive than Cirque du Soleil! :slight_smile: It’s largely geared toward kids, but I suppose adults might enjoy it if they’re in the right frame of mind. I’m not sure I would want to pay the additional expense for it, unless you’re really looking to splurge.

As FairyChatMom mentioned, Epcot has the Candlelight Processional with choir and celebrity narrators. It’s good, and does not require a special admission ticket (although you do, of course, need an admission to Epcot itself).

Apart from the fact that it will be crowded, I actually think the holidays are a great time to go to Disney World. All the parks will be beautifully decorated, Magic Kingdom especially.

30

Ok, then WDW. First stay at the park, in a Disney hotel. Stay for 5 days. Get a moderate or better resort.

Epcot will be your best stop. The World pavilion will thrill her with unique and fun shopping and great food (get reservations), the attractions are mostly fun films/shows about the host nation: O Canada! (circlevision film with Martin Short), The American Adventure (animatronics), Impressions de France a panoramic movie , and so forth.

Future World- stay out of Mission: Space & Test Track.

Ellens energy Adv is great is you like Ellen DeGeneres. Soarin’ Around the World is fantastic, you are in a simulated hang-glider. It can be a tiny bit scary as it lifts off, but once the film starts you’ll love it.
Here’s a great site for food:

Here’s one for planning and crowds:

Get Len’s book, the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. He’s a SDMB member, too, so …

Magic Kingdom also has nice food and plenty of non-thrill rides.

Animal Kingdom had live animals, very educational, but two thrill rides to skip.

31

Since you’ll be in the area, you can check out International Drive, known as I-Drive by the locals. I-Drive 360 has shops and the Orlando Eye.

There’s more to Orlando than just the attractions.

32

International Drive is the greatest thing in the world. I just like to walk from Universal Studios to Sea World sometimes.

33

Not sure I would necessarily second these recommendations. One of the big advantages of staying at a WDW resort is the transportation from/to the airport. Works great if you’re only doing Disney but the OP will most likely need a rental car anyway for the non-Disney stuff they want to do. Many of the non-WDW hotels also offer park shuttles and once the OP is at a park they can use the WDW transport to go to another park or to Disney Springs or a WDW resort to dine.
If they do stay at a WDW resort, IMHO the Moderate tier offers few advantages over Value. The pools are bigger and might be have more exciting themes but that is mostly geared toward kids. The rooms are pretty much the same size and layout, but like the pools, the decor is a bit more “magical.” An advantage of the Moderate rooms is the option to sleep up to 5 compared to 4 so that’s good for families but doesn’t matter to an adult couple, and depending on availability they might even get stuck in a room with an unneeded fold-out bed that just takes up space. Moderates have a sit-down restaurant option in addition to quick-service dining, but there are better dining options in the parks, the Deluxe resorts, and Disney Springs. The Moderates might have better transportation options and be a bit closer to the parks, but of course it depends on where you stay and where you want to go.

34

I found that using the DTS made staying at the parks stress free.

Ok, but a vacation is more than a bed. For example, we usually stay at Caribbean. It’s laid back, roomy and relaxing. Not crowded. Coming back from a hectic day at the parks, it is *so *nice.

35

Cirque is a standing show, and its targeted to families - so it isn’t as “exciting” as say Ka. Its easy to spend a full day at Downtown Disney if you are a shopper - there is no admission charge to shop.

You need park admission for restaurants inside the park. You can go to restaurants inside the resorts. Jiko at Animal Kingdom lodge is wonderful, and the lodge itself is a treat. If you eat at one of the MK resorts, you can watch the fireworks from the beach. Artist’s Point at Wilderness Lodge is good and we had a great meal at BlueZoo this last trip. Boardwalk has entertainment on the Boardwalk after dark - so you can eat at Flying Fish and then go see magic shows and jugglers.

Haunted Mansion is hokey, not scary - as are most Magic Kingdom rides - in fact most rides at Disney are done so your six year old can ride without causing emotional trauma. You can usually find YouTube previews (at least, you could last I looked) to get a feel for it.

If you are thinking about Christmas - its REALLY REALLY crowded. I wouldn’t go within 30 miles of Disney within two weeks of Christmas (or Thanksgiving or Easter).

36

You WALK from Universal to Seaworld? Good Lord that has to be a multi-hour walk.

How do you even do it? Go across I-4 from what? Sand Lake? Kirkman?

37

We’ve actually got accommodations set up. My wife’s friend lives about an hour from Orlando.

The Haunted Mansion will terrify my wife. I know this. But we can stick to the other hokey rides that don’t involve ghosts. She might even tolerate Pirates.

Downtown Disney and International Drive sound promising.

Family-oriented Cirque show also sounds really promising.

38

I totally agree. Just pointing out that there are other factors involved in the OP’s trip that may make an off-park hotel a better option. I’ve done it both ways and there are +/-s for both.

39

Pirates is the best, but does have a small waterfall drop. Maybe 20’. Just warn her. Sometime there is a little spray.

40

It’s a little over six miles according to Google.