1st time visit to WDW at OKW...help!

[taysmom]

All you experienced WDW people, I need suggestions/help. My DD9 and I are going to WDW for 2 full days prior to a disney cruise. I am staying at OKW. I haven't been to WDW in over 20 years. Last time I was there, pleasure island was just being built My dd has never been.
Please advise me as what you all think are the must sees/stays in WDW. We will be there for 2 full days, where should we go 1st etc. Also, where should we request to stay at OKW, anything to take advantage of at that resort? Where is the best bang for your buck dinner wise. Also, since we'll only be there 2 days, should we do the pirate and princess party or concentrate on seeing all that we can see. Anything you all can post to help us plan better would be great!
FYI, we live in cali and are regular disneyland visitors so MK can be a short visit to concentrate on other parks.

Thanks again
Steph

 

[Donald is #1]

I think that I would probably skip the Pirates and Princess Party and concentrate on the parks.

Since Hollywood studios is my least favorite park, I would probably start one day at AK and then head over to MK in the evening.

Then on my other day, I would probably go to EPCOT. If you want to try to get to the studios also, then I would head to Hollywood studios first and then head over to EPCOT at lunch time. If you get to EPCOT later in the day, then you probably won't be able to get a FP for Soaring, but I assume that you have done it in CA.

I would have both you & your DD pick out a couple of highlihets for each park that you want to visit and then go to those first. Then, hit the other attractions as you can. (This is my normal touring method.)

Have an awesome time!

 

[StormalongKay]

I would concentrate on the parks as well too and skip Pirates and Princesses. You may have a pirates dinner on your cruise (depends which one). And you will definitely see the pirate ship on Castaway Cay.

We just visited DL 3 months ago. Loved it! Having always done FL, your MK in DL was really different to us. You might find the same to be true, but with a 9yo, I suspect you'll need at least a half day in MK.

That being said, Epcot and AK are the FL parks that are most different from Ca. Other than Soarin (which is in Epcot in FL) I don't think you'll find any repeat attractions. Epcot has the World Showcase, which is very different from anything in California. Also AK is a pretty unique park. AK can be done in less than a full day. It opens early, so get there early to maximize your time.

Florida has a HUGE number of restaurants compared to DL, so you might do best checking out the Unofficial Guide for reviews. We are BCV owners, and so love to eat in Epcot's World Showcase at night because its an easy walk from the resort. However, some of the countries can be expensivefor dining. I would say check out Britain for fish and chips or the China pavilion.

OKW has Olivia's for family style dining, which is convenient to the main bus stop for the resort and not too pricey.

Have a great time!

 

[taysmom]

Thanks for all the help...and keep it coming!

 

[Caskbill]

For various attractions, here's my opinions of rides that are at both WDW and DL/CA.

1. Soarin': It's the exact same ride at both places.
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The one at DL is much better than the one at MK
3. Haunted Mansion: Basically the same ride. Very few differences
4. Tower of Terror: The WDW (at MGM) is better than the one at CA.
5. It's a Small World: Basically the same ride. The clock at DL is better than the one at WDW
6. Various Dark Rides: Basically the same
7. It's a bug's Life: Exact same at both (subtle differences as you go through the queue line)
8. Mine Train (forget the name right now (senior moment). At MK, very similar to the one at DL. The track layout is different, but same basic theming.
9. Indiana Jones ride at DL has an 'equivalent' ride at AK dinosaur area. Same technology and similar ride vehicles, but totally different theming.

There are others but that's what comes to mind right now.

Most things you'll be able to see and will be very similar, such as the boat ride around the lake, the train ride (actually I like the DL one better), and so on.

Rides unique to WDW: If you like roller coasters, the WDW and DL ones are all very different. Best at WDW are RnR coaster (Studios), Expedition Everest (AK). Space Mountain.

Epcot has some unique rides to Disney, spaceship Earth, Test Track, Mission Space. Nemo might be fun but it's very short. Nothing like the submarine Nemo ride at DL.


Shows not to miss: Finding Nemo, the Musical (at AK), Festival of the Lion King (at AK), Lights, Motors, Action (at Studios).

I would consider Finding Nemo to be on an equal scale to Aladin, at DL.

Just some thoughts.