Disneyland girl going to DW for 2 short days - help!

[briggscreek]

I posted on the DW board, but it moves so fast, I didn't get any response. I'll be in Orlando with a coworker for a conference in June. We'll have one night at Epcot after 5pm when they're open til midnight. Then, I'll be able to visit Magic Kingdom on a Wed. from about 1-10pm. I've been to DL many times, but never to DW. Does anyone have any advice on things that I need to check out?

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

You're trip is really short. I've only been to WDW once so I won't be a lot of help, but I can offer you a few suggestions.

I loved Philharmagic @ MK. Make sure you see it. The castle is HUGE! You won't believe your eyes. Space was a lot jerkier. I didn't like it as much. Pirates is really short.

In Epcot I went during the Food & Wine fest. So we just tried all the different foods. I did see Illuminations and I like it. So I'm not much help for you.

Hopefully others will be able to help you more.

 

[briggscreek]

You're trip is really short. I've only been to WDW once so I won't be a lot of help, but I can offer you a few suggestions.

I loved Philharmagic @ MK. Make sure you see it. The castle is HUGE! You won't believe your eyes. Space was a lot jerkier. I didn't like it as much. Pirates is really short.

In Epcot I went during the Food & Wine fest. So we just tried all the different foods. I did see Illuminations and I like it. So I'm not much help for you.

Hopefully others will be able to help you more.

I know, it's such a short time! Our evening at Epcot includes dessert and special viewing for Illuminations, so I'm excited about that.

 

[Eeee-va]

I went 2 full days in June 2008 and did most of Epcot and maybe 40% of Hollywood Studios in 1 day, and basically all of the Magic Kingdom in the other day.

I'd definitely focus on things that Disneyland doesn't have or that are substantially different. That's much of Epcot, which is amazing. I've heard Future World is a little less busy in the afternoon/evening, though I think it closes early, so I'd explore it as soon as you got in! And if you like shopping at all, you could have probably 2 hours of fun just hanging out in World Showcase! I wouldn't worry too much about the attractions in World Showcase. Skip Soarin' of course; it's the exact same ride as DL. We did it, but we were there in the morning and got a FP, which you won't be able to do. The Seas with Nemo and Friends is cute but OK to miss unless you adore Nemo. I would do Spaceship Earth and Journey Into Imagination for the novelty. Universe of Energy...I didn't go on it but I think that's like 45 minutes long? I might skip it if I were you. I would've done it myself but my friend only likes thrill rides... I found Mission: Space boring (would have been better if we'd done the centrifuge version, but since that has killed several people I didn't want to...next time I would ) and if Test Track is open, I'd still skip it for time. (It was not as exciting as my friend remembered! LOL) We'll be getting the same technology in CA soon anyway.

For Magic Kingdom, we managed to do all these things in 1 day (without utilizing late FPs):

*Splash Mountain
*Big Thunder Mountain
*Space Mountain
*TTA
*Carousel of Progress
*Space Mountain
*PhilharMagic
*Tom Sawyer's Island
--about 1 PM--
*Haunted Mansion
*Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (er, wouldn't do it again)
*Big Thunder Mountain
*Train
*Buzz Lightyear
*Train again
*Splash Mountain
*Snow White
*TTA
*Fireworks
*Spectromagic

Pirates was closed or we would have gone on that just to see the differences. And we were TIRED after 2 days in the parks from open until close (note the use of train), so we didn't hustle as much as we could have by the end. I'll bet you can fit a lot more than we did from 1 PM to 10 PM.

Have a great trip!

 

[ter-moo]

I'd concentrate on the things at MK that we DON'T have at DL. Be prepared for being disoriented, since the park is similar yet different! They are renovating it, (not sure when that's supposed to be done) so it may be a LOT different.

Epcot is wonderful, and I think you'll really enjoy your time there. I'd even say to spend a lot of the 2nd day there, too. It's a HUGE park that feels more like TWO parks--the front part is more futuristic and has the bulk of the rides, and the back part is the World Showcase and has more to look at.

Have fun!

 

[JAA'smom]

I go to DW alot. What questions do you have? When in June are you going? You probably already know but I beleive Test Track will be down. Ask away I'll be glad to help if I can.

 

[DSNY4ever]

You will be hooked and you will want to go back for sure! You will only get a very tiny taste of what WDW has to offer. To be honest I would skip MK with the amount of time you have and go to AK or DHS to see something totally new...or go back to Epcot- it is the best!

Where are you staying? The hotels are definitely something to see. If you have any evening after work you can just go eat at one of them it is definitely worth it. The deluxe hotels are an attraction in themselves! Ride the monorail to get a real glimpse of everything.

Some of our favorite non DLR attractions are:
Philharmagic- MK
Rock n roller coaster-DHS
Everest- AK
Festival of the Lion King- AK
The entire world showcase!- Epcot
Test track- Epcot

I don't know what will be open yet of the new Fantasyland, so read up on that before you go. If you want to sit down to eat MAKE AN ADR!!! I cannot stress that enough. They have so many great restaurants.

Have fun!

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

I have never been to DL (planning a trip for June 2013!), but have been to WDW many times. With such a short amount of time, realize that you won't get to see near everything. Are you staying on property? If not, there will be commute time to consider. And very little at WDW is within walking distance of each other. All that said:

Epcot is one of my favorite parks! I love World Showcase. I love to look in the gift shops, catch the movies in Canada, France, and China. There are street performers in the United Kingdom that are so fun! Plus, there are bands at the UK, Canada, and Moracco. There is a ride in Norway and in Mexico. My favorite counter service restaurant in all of WDW is in France - their bakery is delish! And my one of my favorite table service restaurants is Le Cellier in Canada. The mushroom filet is wonderful! Don't miss Illuminations at night. My favorite ride at Epcot is Soarin', which I'm sure you've already seen the original. It may not be worth the lines for you. I always ride Spaceship Earth and it's rarely crowded. It's a slow-moving ride that chronicles communication. Not a headliner, but still cool to go up into the "golf ball."

I'm sure you are just as intrigued by the differences in WDW's MK as I am in Disneyland. However, if you only have time to go to two parks, I would suggest going to Animal Kingdom. It has the Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest (my FAV Disney rollercoaster), and two great shows in Nemo and the Lion King. That park does close earlier, so you might could spend 4-5 hours there and then hop to MK for the last 4-5 hours of that day. There are buses that will take you from AK to other parks. I'm not sure if the bus goes all the way to the MK bus stop or if it will take you to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) where you will then either take a ferry or monorail to the MK.

If you are planning to eat at table service restaurants on property, I would suggest you make reservations (ADR - Advanced Dining Reservations) NOW. You can make ADR up to 6 months in advance for table service restaurants. I know that seems ridiculous, but many of the popular places fill up quickly. One spring break, I saw at least 20 parties turned away at the table service in France at Epcot while I was waiting to be seated. You can make reservations by phone or online. Allears.net is a great website that has all of the restaurants at WDW and their menus listed. While I don't use that to pick out exactly what I'm going to eat in 6 months, it gives me an idea of whether or not I'll like that restaurant.

Stay hydrated. I don't know how the weather is in southern California in the summers, as I've not been there yet. However, in Florida it's hot and humid. The humidity will make you feel suffocated and have you sweating as soon as you walk out the door in the morning. Often in the summer, there isn't even a break in the humidity at night. Just be prepared and drink a lot of water.

I hope this is helpful. Enjoy your first trip to WDW! Maybe you'll see enough on this trip to make you want to come back another time!!

 

[briggscreek]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the replies! Our conference is at the Dolphin hotel, so we'll be on property. We don't get out until 6 or 7 the first two days, or I'd go to the parks then too. The Epcot evening is on Tuesday the 12th, so it looks like it'll be open til midnight. Then I'll have Wednesday afternoon free for another park. I was planning on MK because I really want to check it out and see how it compares to DL. I would love to go to Animal Kingdom though, I was just afraid that I wouldn't have enough time there in one afternoon. I'm thinking that we'll be making a family trip to DW in the next couple of years and this gives me an opportunity to scope it out and see how things work. I really wish I could afford to stay an extra day though!

 

[skiingfast]

This will sounds couter to most advice.

Go to Epcot and Animal Kingdom, skip the MK.
The reason is these two parks are most unlike DLR.

Epcot shares one attractions with DLR, Soarin. Skip it Soarin has a huge wait in Epcot.

Animal Kingdom shares one attraction with DLR, ITTAB. Do ride Expedition Everest, Kilamajaro Safari, Kali River Rapids, and Dinosaur. See Festival of the Lion King, the Maharaja Jungle Trek, Pangani Forest Trail. Anything else is extra.


At MK it is similiar to DL, and will have longer hours, but do you really want to see The Country Bear Jamboree Monster's In Laugh Floor or Aladdin Flying Carpets over the attractions in AK above?

 

[Eeee-va]

If you are huge on big coasters (or possibly shows, though MK has a couple I think) then I think the Animal Kingdom advice is pretty solid. (It looks like AK probably closes at 8 during your trip, so I think you'd at best get a couple hours in MK after that.) I don't know the wait time on Expedition Everest upon arrival, though, or if you can even get a FP at your arrival time.

But I enjoyed the appeal of visiting the weird parallel universe of Disneyland known as Magic Kingdom. It also has PhilharMagic, Carousel of Progress (pretty classic; my dad rode that at Disneyland in what must've been the late 60s I think?) and the TTA (basically the dearly departed PeopleMover but not quite as cool). Plus the Hall of Presidents and Stitch's Great Escape (and the aforementioned Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Country Bears, and the carpets).

As far as the raw number of attractions that the Disneyland Resort doesn't have, I think Magic Kingdom compares favorably to AK. As to the quality...well, I'm not vouching for that. I don't regret choosing MK over AK, but I hadn't been to Disneyland in a couple years, we did have a full day, and I take an unnatural interest in comparing what's different between parks. And I'm not sure if Expedition Everest would be too intense for me. (Plus my friend who took me hates zoos, isn't particularly big on shows--we went before the Nemo show, too--and dislikes exhibits in general, so I'm not sure how many things we actually would have been able to do, or if she'd consider the bigger habitats OK.)

 

[KCmike]

Definitely do what you have planned. Do epcot for the evening and then do the magic kingdom from 1-close. I'm sorry but Animal Kingdom doesn't do anything for me. It's basically a zoo with Everest and a few other attractions. It is definitely a half day park for me. While Magic Kingdom doesn't have the heart, soul, and enough attractions as Disneyland its still a great park. Splash is so much better than Disneyland and its my favorite ride of all parks. Big Thunder I believe is better at WDW as well. I don't care for Pirates there as it is much smaller in length. I don't think the Seven Dwarfs Mine ride is suppose to be done until late 2013 though. Most of the other new fantasyland stuff should be done though. You also have a very good Haunted Mansion, Hall of Pres, Carousel of Progress, Peoplemover aka Tommorowland Transit Authority, a longer Jungle Cruise, and a better dark ride in Winnie the pooh. Too bad you will miss Snow white as I like it better in WDW. I also agree that Philharmagic is an attraction not to miss.

Definitely hit MK and Epcot as those are the two best parks. I've been to WDW more than 7 times for long lengths of stays. I will now have as many or more Disneyland trips after this year!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

was there over the holidays and I would say def. do BTM...way cooler than at DL....do HM...love the queue....
make sure to see fireworks...the castle is HUGE...

at Epcot...I would do test track but I personally would stick around more on the world showcase side than Future World....

oh and the food there is amazing....you already know Im sure that there are slim pickins at DL..once you go to wdw you will see how bad it really is

 

[Angel Ariel]

Hydroguy made a thread for DLR vets visiting WDW - I recommend checking it out!

 

[Minuet888]

I was going to also say skip MK because it is very similiar to DL.
Try AK, it is the one park I didn't get to go to the one time I was at WDW and I regret it.
At Epcot, I liked the different lands, (my choir performed at Epcot in the middle of the day so I lost a lot of time too)
I loved test track but I hear the Cars Land e ticket ride is basically going to be the same thing.
There was also this boat ride in the Germany land that went backwards for a little while that was cool, but htey hold you hostage after you get off the ride...you can't just leave, there is actually a line to get out, LOL.

 

[Angel Ariel]

There was also this boat ride in the Germany land that went backwards for a little while that was cool, but htey hold you hostage after you get off the ride...you can't just leave, there is actually a line to get out, LOL.

That's actually in Norway, and the ride is called Maelstrom. Sometimes there is a backup to get out, if the doors to enter the post-ride movie aren't open. If the doors are open, though, you can walk through without having to stop to watch the movie.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Moving this over to the DL Community Board.