Easy-going at the World

[phinz]

I'm traveling back to The World in January. I'm interested in peoples' thoughts on an easy-going, mellow tour.

Here are the specifics -

Me - 37 years old
Mizzphinz - 42 years old
Her best friend - 47ish years old
My best friend - 35 years old
His wife - 28ish years old

Me - visited 4 times in the past 15 years already
Mizzphinz - old veteran from years past. Knows MK like the back of her hand.
Her best friend - been once since the park opened
My best friend - been several times
His wife - been at least once

None of us is into crowds. That's why we chose the January time for travel. I know that the parks have truncated hours at this time. What I'm interested in is what people would recommend as an itinerary to make sure we really get the most enjoyment without killing ourselves. We have no kids (none of us do) so aren't interested in kid-specific rides. We do enjoy thrills and chills. We love international foods and have done Illuminations while eating dinner at the pub. I have never seen the fireworks at MK, Fantasmic or any parades.

We're staying off-campus this time, at Worldmark's resort on I-Drive. We'll be getting 4-day park hopper passes.

Any tips, ideas or favorites that are a must-see for our group would be appreciated. I've gleaned a lot already from this site and others, and have an advance recon party going there next week who will be bringing back info for me. Mizzphinz and best friend's wife are already planning a dolphin adventure at either Epcot or Sea World, but aren't sure which they would prefer to do. I'm thinking about the Segway tour while the girls are playing with water mammals.

Anyway, sorry for the length of this post. This is an *incredible* resource!

 

[LISAMWDW]

I'd start looking at the attractions at each park on Disney's website. Epcot and Animal Kingdom would be a great parks for your group. You'd want a full days there. From there, you could pick and chose attractions/chunks of your day at MK and MGM. Then park hop back to Epcot as it is such a large park with plenty for adults to enjoy. You could park hop back to enjoy MGM's and MK's night time shows. In Epcot, you'd be hard pressed to do everything in one day without rushing. BTW, Epcot doesn't have a dolphin encounter. That's at Sea World.

Enjoy!

 

[phinz]

Do they not still do Dolphins In Depth at Epcot?

 

[LISAMWDW]

Oh, yes they do, I was assuming you were talking about the Sea World one as I hear great reviews on that! Sorry!

 

[ukwildcat]

Slow and relaxed is all DW and I do at WDW. We have been so many times that we just know what we like to do.

For example, last weekend we ate way too much and only went on EE.

For you and your family I think it depends on what you want to do. I would make some ADRs, CG is great during the fireworks. I also like Le Cellier.

I would also plan on doing some of the big rides. EE was great, don't miss it.

Good luck, and have a fun and relaxing time.

 

[phinz]

This is where we are right now. I definitely want to have sushi at Mitsukoshi as an appetizer, then the Rose and Crown for dinner on at least one evening.

I plan on taking it nice and easy, not worrying about hurrying (ha! worrying... hurrying... I'm a poet and didn't know it) to do everything. I definitely want to things that tend to appeal more to adults. Sometimes the cheesy stuff can be a lot of fun as well.

ADRs will definitely be made for the pub. I've not eaten at any of the other sit-down restaurants except for The Living Seas, which was great. We actually spotted Orson while we were there. I'm going to insist that we stay for the fireworks at MK and Fantasmic at DS.

I'll keep surfing here and compiling my list of must-do, wanna-do, maybe-do, if-i-have-time-to-do items.

Thanks again.

 

[Eljay]

You must plan to get Fast Passes for Soarin' at Epcot's Land pavilion. Not a scary or jarring ride at all. It's fairly new and hugely popular with loooong lines.

When you are at MGM, be sure to go to a Who Want's To Be A Millionaire? show. Even if you aren't a trivia buff, it's big fun to watch!

The new Lights-Action-Motors stunt show at MGM is fun.

Indiana Jones stunt show is great. Actually, you probably should try to see it, since rumor has it that it won't be around for long.

I highly recommend the Around The World On A Segway tour!

These are all low key, adult attractions. If you get Fast Passes for them, you shouldn't have to deal with too much waiting in lines.

Are you sure you want to stay way up on I-Drive? It's a bit of a hike to WDW.

 

[phinz]

We're 9 miles from Epcot on I-Drive. For the price (free) I can't beat it.

I definitely want to check out Soarin'. Thanks for the advice on the Fast Pass. We'll get a Fast Pass there first, then get one for Test Track. My interest is piqued in DS, but not sure...

I did WWTBAM three times when I was there in January '03, and the first two times, when the show ended I was #1 on the list and would have gotten to participate next. Kinda dissapointing the show ended, but the third time we saw a guy win 1,000,000 points, so it was worth it.

LAM at MGM looks *awesome* and I'm putting it on the list right now. I did Indiana in '93 and loved it. Great show, and I'll definitely go again this time.

The last time I was there they had the Alien show at Tomorrowland. They've changed it to the Stitch show. Is the Stitch show any good? We loved the Alien show.