YAY! I'm going to Disney World! Advice needed.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

The wife and I actually at the end of October. And were going to Orlando, not just Disney.

I’ve booked my flight through points - business class all the way, baby! Got the hotel and the car. I’ve booked all my Disney tickets, my Universal tickets, Blue Man Group, and Cirque du Soleil. I’ve got a RIP tour to the Halloween Horrors event at Universal and am planning a day at Kennedy Space Center.

4 Disney parks, 2 Universal parks, and a Space Center all add up to 7 days. I’m there for 8 days. So, that leaves 1 day to do something else. My Disney tickets include the Disney waterparks and the Universal tickets give me access to Wet & Wild and Seaworld including Aquatica.

What should I do on my 8th day? Can I combine any of the parks into one day (eg. Disney Animal Kingdom and Hollywood studios if I go during the middle of the week) or should I skip some entirely. What other things are there to do in Orlando during the day.

The BMG, CdS, and HH are all at night. That leaves 5 nights free including Halloween itself. Most of the parks close down before 7pm if not earlier. Any suggestions for evening activities?
TIA!

2

I was there a gajillion years ago, and I was awestruck at the cleanliness of the park. I grew up going to Riverview. It looked and smelled like a carnival. Disney World is a whole 'nuther experience. I was told they have a guy who’s job is to change burned out lightbulbs. THey are very concerned with the appearance of perfection (my take, anyway).

I don’t remember many of the rides. THe park wasn’t completed yet. I think they’re better now than they were then, from a thrills-and-chills perspective.

3

WOW! That’s an ambitious several days! We live just over an hour away from the parks. October is great time of year to go generally since it’s not as hot (still warm). I can’t really speak about Universal as I haven’t been there since they added a bunch of stuff, and well we get into Disney for free since my sister works there. If you’re thinking about eating dinner at a restaurant on Disney property I’d call and make reservations now, especially if it’s a popular place. Good luck and have fun!!! :smiley:

Eating:
Seasons 52
They use fresh, in season food to create meals that are under 475 calories. You don’t get bread to munch on, but they do have some fabulous flatbreads on their menu.

Evening Entertainment:
House of Blues - Orlando at Downtown Disney

KSC could quite possibly take all day, and you might just wanna crash or do something relaxing when you get back. It’s been awhile since we’ve went but there’s a fair amount of walking/standing/picture taking. Oh, you might want to look at the KSC launch schedule and unless you have tickets you might want to avoid KSC (unless that’s in your plans ) on shuttle launch days. They actually have a shuttle on the pad right now with a planned launch of Oct. 10.

Disney parks - Epcot will probably be running their Food and Wine festival while you’re there, and that does get very busy on the weekends. IMO, it’s overpriced food, but there are some good things to be had but still I’d save my money and get a really good meal somewhere. Some of the days they have some bands come in for their Eat to the Beat series. All sorts of events, for a price of course! If things get a lil boring at Epcot you can hop on the boat and head to Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM) and ride the Tower of Terror.

Animal Kingdom - we’ve been there exactly once, in the middle of July and the animals were hard to see/find because it was SO hot. My recommendation there is go to that park first in the morning when it’s a bit cooler and go on the safari ride (I forget the exact name of it, but you save an elephant from poachers or something). To me, it just kinda reminded me of a zoo.

Magic Kingdom - I always thought this was a dorky place, but it’s not so bad after awhile. Go early, head to the back of the park for the water rides, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mt. Railroad etc. Peco’s Bills has yummy hamburgers n such with all the fixins you can imagine!

Depending if you stay at a Disney hotel or not, some of the parks open early for people staying ‘on property’ you might want to look into those.

4

i do think you could do animal kingdom in the morning and another park (mgm) in the afternoon. universal studios to me is a half day as well.

epcot and islands of adventure are full days to two day places. sea world is a full day.

the free day, you could just go around town, there are other attractions. and there are bunches of shopping opportunities.

5

On your free day, go back to the place you went to during the week that you wanted more time in. There will be something that you didn’t get a chance to do that you can squeeze in. For me it was Epcot. I went back on my last day because there were a couple things I didn’t get to do on the first pass through.

6

Yeah, I initially only wanted to go down for a week (two days travel). But 5 days seemed rather short. So, I booked my flight and then started booking tickets. I realize after doing all the bookings that I only had a single day free!

I was initially going to book at a Disney resort, but the ones I liked weren’t available, and the cost was more than if the way I booked it by staying off site. Also, if I stayed at the resort I would have not rented a car. That would have pretty much limited us to the Disney properties. I admit it would have probably been more relaxing, though! And from what I remember of Disney World when I was in Orlando 10+ years ago (for two days) was that the food wasn’t cheap. Yeah, there is a plan you can purchase that would decrease the cost, but it was ~$1000 alone. Also, only available at ‘select’ restaurants. I envision Homer buying fun money at Itchy and Scratchy land only to find that no place takes the damn stuff.

I’m hoping that malls are open at least until 9pm like in Calgary, (or a lot later like in Dubai). Anyone know for sure?

7

Mall of Millenia
Florida Mall
Orlando Fashion Square Mall
All seem to be open till 9. There’s also some factory outlet stores along I-4 near 192/Downtown Disney.

8

We’ve got a lot of outlet stores, including Orlando Premium Outlets, which has some very nice stuff. Looking for designer handbags at lower prices? This is a good place to go. Here’s a mapthat shows you some of the outlets in the area.

Do you like gators and other “exotic” animals? Try Gatorland. If you go, have some of their alligator nuggets-- yum!

9

For God’s sake, DON’T forget your sunscreen. I know it’ll be late October, but the sun doesn’t care.

Also, if you have some free time, the beaches are worth an afternoon (or a morning.) It’s not that far a drive from Orlando.

10

There’s not a tremendous amount of non-theme-park-related stuff to do here. We’ve got museums and galleries and all that stuff, but none are particularly good. We do have some kick-ass golf courses, and some rather awesome beaches. Of course, those may or may not be up your alley.

If you want to try the nightlife, the newly renovated Church Street Station, Wall Street, and the rest of downtown, have some really good bars and clubs and such. If you want the particulars on any particular venue, just ask. I’ll also be happy to take you out for a mini-Dopefest, if you like.

They’re all open until 9. I suggest the Mall at Millenia (about a 15 minute drive from Universal) if you’re into high-end stuff (it has two wings, one of which is “normal” mall stuff like LensCrafters, Electronics Boutique, and so on, and the other is Gucci, Ferragamo, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, etc.) or the Florida Mall if you don’t.

The Florida Mall is very touristy, though, and will be chock-full of Brazilian schoolkids running around with bags full of Nike stuff, which can make it hard to get around. Actually, all of Disney will be a bit like that in October.

I suggest leaving your extra day open for some pool-lounging. It will more than likely be close to 100 degrees for much of your stay with 80-99% humidity; Orlando theme parks are tiring work.

11

With a itinerary like that, I’d have to just hang by the pool and relax on the free day. You’re going to be exhausted from the parks. Sleep in, grab a late breakfast, splash around in the pool and bit, and then hit up some outlets if you’re up to it.

12

Animal Kingdom is a waste of time and money. If you have a four park pass, go back and visit the one you liked the best of the other three again. If you don’t, really…don’t bother. I have gone three times, all with friends and relatives from out of town that insisted that needed to see it.

Not one would go back. From 5 years old thru 80. Not one thought it was worth their time.

House of blues is fun if you like bands and are prepared to stand. Downtown disney where that is located is a fun to just walk around. See Disney virtual reality “theme park” Disney Quest one night. You can experience most of it in four hours if it isn’t crowded. Build your own rollercoaster, have a sword fight or take on aliens. That is always good for a few laughs.

But seriously, forget animal kingdom. If you want to see a nice zoo, take the hour trip to Tampa Busch Gardens for a day and see the park and their animal resort. At least you’ll get a free beer!

Have fun and don’t lay by a pool without sunscreen or your trip will be ruined.

13

Yeah, but we are both fit. I’m worried about the 100 degree temperatures that Really Not All That Bright mentioned. Not for me as I work in the middle east and am somewhat used to it, but my for wife. According to the Wikipedia page it should be cooler than that.

Foxy40, I’m inclined to believe you on this and will probably leave that to last as that was my plan, in any case. I’d prefer a water park than looking at animals considering Calgary has an excellent zoo itself.

14

Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite parks…and I could easily spend two days there. On the other hand, I never need to go into the Studios again.

Which is the thing about Disney and the Orlando area - some people LOVE Universal. Others delight in the kitsch of the Magic Kingdom. Some can spend hours in Epcot’s innovations. Some like to eat their way through Epcot’s Food and Wine. Some just want to hit the biggest roller coasters in every Orlando park. Some find their trip incomplete without snapping a picture of themselves with the Mouse…others can’t imagine why anyone would spend 40 minutes in line to get a picture of some short chick in a mousesuit. Someone with a five year old daughter may simply go in order to have a Princess meal - everything else is secondary to their own Princess hobnobbing with the celebrities.

My 63 year old mother in law spent her time with her 68 year old sister poking through shops in Epcot’s World Showcase. When my kids were toddlers, we spent HOURS in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom. I’ve known teens who want to spend five days at the waterparks and not go near the themeparks. We may spend little time in the parks, but spend a lot of time in the pool before dropping $300-$500 on dinner for a family of four.

15

Water park! I almost forgot. Seaworld has a brand new water park called Aquatica. I haven’t been there yet but my husband and kids liked it so much they bought season passes.

16

Depending on the time in October you may actually need a sweater at night. It is a nice time of year. Days in the upper 70s and nights down to low 50s at times. Don’t worry about 100 degree weather but DO wear sunscreen even if it doesn’t feel that hot. (we don’t get many hundred degree days in the summer even) The tropical sun is a killer.

17

I also think that you should combine the Studios and Animal Kingdom into one day. Maybe spend the morning at AK (I’ve read that the animals are more lively then, plus it closes early) and the evening at the Studios. There’s a really good fireworks show and I love the 50’s Prime Time Cafe!

18

Sorry, I meant the highs will be close to 100 (and certainly not over- I can count the number of 100+ days I can remember on one hand). Mostly it will be cooler than that, though still hot enough to make you and your wife very sweaty and very tired very quickly.

I totally disagree with the anti-Animal Kingdom sentiment; I mean, there are much better zoos, but it isn’t a zoo, exactly. It’s my favorite of the Disney parks after Epcot… and I only love Epcot because of the awesome “tradition” of [del]Drinking Around the World[/del] The International Food & Wine Festival.

My second favorite park overall is Islands of Adventure (@ Universal)- it has, like, six of the top eight rides in the area.

19

I am tickled by this animal kingdom sentiment that has appeared twice since I commented. Funny how I always thought it was a know thing. Animal Kingdom Sucks.

So I spent some time asking my employees and customers what they thought of Animal Kingdom. All said their least favorite of the parks. Some said too expensive but they would go back if someone else paid. Basically the opinion was if you have the time and money, do it but put it at the way bottom of the list. However, if you DO go, I would love to hear your personal opinion. It may just be my picky circle of friends that find it very dull.

I am wondering if those of us that live and work here are missing something. Or maybe our expectations are too great because we DO live and work here and have so many other options.

20

Animal Kingdom is definitely my least favorite of the four, but I still think it warrants a morning or so. I like the safari, Dinosaur, Expedition Everest, and It’s Tough to be a Bug! but could take or leave the rest. We also usually do Animal Kingdom in the morning and Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM) in the afternoon.