Help me out here with reservations! Never been to WDW.

[SilverCeladon]

I've been to Disneyland more times than I can count but will be going to WDW in March. We have never been and actually are quite overwhelmed at all there is to do there!

We'd like to go to a restaurant that is like Blue Bayou? We love that atmosphere watching the riders while we eat a good meal.

Do I even need a magic band? We will only be there for 4 days.

Can I use my Disney gift cards at WDW like I do at Disneyland? Are they good to use at Epcot too?

And the worst question...where should I stay??? I don't want to spend a fortune. I won't have a car.

I'm so lost....

Disneyland is so much easier because you only have that and California Adventure to deal with.

I appreciate the time you take to answer any of my 97 questions I have.

 

[iujen94]

I can answer a few of your questions!

For a restaurant like Blue Bayou, check out San Angel Inn in the Mexico pavilion at Epcot. It overlooks Gran Fiesta Tour. We like Blue Bayou better, but it's pretty similar in terms of atmosphere. FYI, popular restaurants at Disney book up MUCH farther in advance than they do at DL. If you think you'll want to dine somewhere, go ahead and book it now - you can book restaurant reservations ("ADRs") 180 days out - you don't even need a resort reservation yet to do so!

If you stay at a WDW resort, you'll get a magic band for free with your stay. You'll be able to pick out a color and they'll ship them to your house a few weeks or so before your stay. We love them and think they are super convenient.

Yes, you can use Disney gift cards at every Disney park, restaurant and resort. There are very few things that you CAN'T pay for with a Disney gift card!

Where to stay . . . there are soooo many choices. Check out the Resorts board to get lots of information on every resort. The Touring Plans website also has tons of great information on all of the different Disney resorts. Any Disney resort will have free transportation (bus, boat and/or monorail, depending on where you stay). IMO, the more expensive the resort, the more conveniently located it is (for example, on the monorail along with Magic Kingdom) and the more transportation options it has.

Have a wonderful trip!!! With a little research and advance planning you'll master Disney World too!

 

[mjmgsssp]

I can help with some of your questions...

Where to stay? Depends on your budget and the # of people in your party. Personally, my favorite is POFQ. If you are flying in to MCO, you can take DME from the airport to your resort, and back to the airport.

Magic bands? If you stay onsite, you will receive the bands that are used for your room key, park passes,dining plan (if you choose one), etc. If you don't stay onsite, you can purchase a magic band, but will be given a card for your ticket.

Disney gift cards? The cards are good at MK, Epcot, HS, AK, the water parks, the resorts, and most places at DS.

I've never been to Blue Bayou, so I can't help you there.

 

[Geomom]

Never been to Disneyland, so can't help with any comparisons.

As far as where to stay--honestly any Disney Resort that is in your budget. When the kids were younger, we stayed at the value resorts--All Star Movies, All Star Music, and Pop Century. They're highly themed, have food courts, multiple pools, etc. We now own a Disney Vacation Club...so we're spoiled with the Deluxe Villas. With the deluxe resorts--our favorites are the ones where we can walk to a park. We love the Boardwalk as we can walk to both Hollywood Studios and Epcot--it's great for us on travel days as we can visit a park on departure day and KNOW we'll get back to the resort in time to get our bus to the airport. Check out the various levels of accommodation, think about how much time you'd actually spend at the resort vs. in the parks, and make your decision that way.

All the Disney resorts include free Magical Express transportation from the airport (book it in advance--it's a great thing...if you put the yellow luggage tags on your checked luggage THEY will pick it up at the airport for you and it'll turn up in your room about 3 hrs later!) AND free Disney property transportation (buses/monorails/ferries) from the resorts to the parks and Disney Springs.

Magic Bands are fantastic--it's your room key, your park ticket, your fast passes, your way to charge things to your room. They can be worn in the pool--which I love!

Disney Gift Cards--they can be used just about everywhere. There may be an occasional non-Disney owned kiosk that requires cash/credit.

 

[SilverCeladon]

I can answer a few of your questions!

For a restaurant like Blue Bayou, check out San Angel Inn in the Mexico pavilion at Epcot. It overlooks Gran Fiesta Tour. We like Blue Bayou better, but it's pretty similar in terms of atmosphere. FYI, popular restaurants at Disney book up MUCH farther in advance than they do at DL. If you think you'll want to dine somewhere, go ahead and book it now - you can book restaurant reservations ("ADRs") 180 days out - you don't even need a resort reservation yet to do so!

If you stay at a WDW resort, you'll get a magic band for free with your stay. You'll be able to pick out a color and they'll ship them to your house a few weeks or so before your stay. We love them and think they are super convenient.

Yes, you can use Disney gift cards at every Disney park, restaurant and resort. There are very few things that you CAN'T pay for with a Disney gift card!

Where to stay . . . there are soooo many choices. Check out the Resorts board to get lots of information on every resort. The Touring Plans website also has tons of great information on all of the different Disney resorts. Any Disney resort will have free transportation (bus, boat and/or monorail, depending on where you stay). IMO, the more expensive the resort, the more conveniently located it is (for example, on the monorail along with Magic Kingdom) and the more transportation options it has.

Have a wonderful trip!!! With a little research and advance planning you'll master Disney World too!

Thank you so much! You have no idea just how much this has helped me. I'll definitely look at the San Angel Inn. Even if the food isn't that great I'm looking for a great atmosphere!

I was trying to stay out of the Disney Resorts but I did just find out that they are actually cheaper than in CA. I'm going to look!

I appreciate your time!

 

[SilverCeladon]

I can help with some of your questions...

Where to stay? Depends on your budget and the # of people in your party. Personally, my favorite is POFQ. If you are flying in to MCO, you can take DME from the airport to your resort, and back to the airport.

Magic bands? If you stay onsite, you will receive the bands that are used for your room key, park passes,dining plan (if you choose one), etc. If you don't stay onsite, you can purchase a magic band, but will be given a card for your ticket.

Disney gift cards? The cards are good at MK, Epcot, HS, AK, the water parks, the resorts, and most places at DS.

I've never been to Blue Bayou, so I can't help you there.

Thank you! It'll just be me and my 12y/o daughter.

Thank you for your time! I have a lot do after I get off work. lol

 

[SilverCeladon]

Never been to Disneyland, so can't help with any comparisons.

As far as where to stay--honestly any Disney Resort that is in your budget. When the kids were younger, we stayed at the value resorts--All Star Movies, All Star Music, and Pop Century. They're highly themed, have food courts, multiple pools, etc. We now own a Disney Vacation Club...so we're spoiled with the Deluxe Villas. With the deluxe resorts--our favorites are the ones where we can walk to a park. We love the Boardwalk as we can walk to both Hollywood Studios and Epcot--it's great for us on travel days as we can visit a park on departure day and KNOW we'll get back to the resort in time to get our bus to the airport. Check out the various levels of accommodation, think about how much time you'd actually spend at the resort vs. in the parks, and make your decision that way.

All the Disney resorts include free Magical Express transportation from the airport (book it in advance--it's a great thing...if you put the yellow luggage tags on your checked luggage THEY will pick it up at the airport for you and it'll turn up in your room about 3 hrs later!) AND free Disney property transportation (buses/monorails/ferries) from the resorts to the parks and Disney Springs.

Magic Bands are fantastic--it's your room key, your park ticket, your fast passes, your way to charge things to your room. They can be worn in the pool--which I love!

Disney Gift Cards--they can be used just about everywhere. There may be an occasional non-Disney owned kiosk that requires cash/credit.

Awesome! I'll look at those resorts. It'll just be my daughter and I. Not sure how much we'll be at the hotel but it's good to know they have "value hotels". lol
I think I'll get a magic band weather or not we stay on property. They sound very convenient.

 

[gatorlisa]

If you will not have a car, I would highly recommend staying on Disney property. If you plan to be busy in the parks, a value resort should be fine for you and the rates are usually fairly reasonable. Walt Disney World is MUCH more spread out than Disneyland. There are no off-site hotels within walking distance of a park like you have at Disneyland, and off-site places that have shuttles are usually not on a very convenient schedule. While off-site is my first choice for Disneyland, if I was not planning to have or rent a car, I would not stay off-site at WDW.

 

[Gehrig1B]

Disney World is a massive resort area that is unlike Disneyland in so many ways. There are 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, and a number of Disney resorts as well as Disney Springs hotels, pretty much almost all on Disney property.

Transportation is provided to and from all of these areas by Disney and it is part of the cost of staying at Disney.

Disney Springs is not connected to the parks as Downtown Disney is. DS is huge, much larger than DD. You can take bus or, in some cases, boat to DS.

You will not be able to see everything in only 4 days so you have to ask yourself if you want a more relaxed visit or if you plan to visit commando style, seeing and doing as much as possible, then returning home to relax.

There really is no restaurant like Blue Bayou, although the San Angel previously mentioned is within a building (Mexico pavilion in Epcot) and has a water ride running through it. Not a favorite of ours. The cuisine is obviously Mexican. You are already within the booking window so please research restaurants that interest you and book now. You can always try and modify later or cancel (before 12:00 midnight) day before. All of this can be done on the My Disney Experience website or smartphone app.

Visiting Disney World efficiently revolves around using your smartphone and the My Disney Experience App. All your tickets, fastpasses, dining reservations, etc. can be accessed through the app. Wait times, show times, and fireworks times can all be found there. Once you have used your 3 fastpasses for any given day you can use the app to make more, one at a time.

If you book onsite with Disney or at certain Disney Springs hotels you will get Magic Bands. The Magic band acts as a park ticket with your FP+, as well as your hotel key. You can also use it to make charges back to your room.

Disney Hotels are of 4 types: Disney Springs hotels (similar to Good Neighbor hotels but not exactly), Value resorts (longest trip to parks and fewest amenities), Moderate resorts (closer to parks, rooms open to outside, a food court and usually a restaurant and bar/lounge), Deluxe resorts ( on the monorail or boat access to some parks) with interior rooms and multiple higher end amenities to include restaurants, bars, and quick service eteries as well as food courts. Some include spas, outdoor activities, etc. A value can cost as little as $100/night and a Deluxe can easily go for $500 or more per night.

Where you stay will most likely depend on your budget. Of course you can always stay off property as a few hotels have shuttles to the parks (or you can use uber/Lyft/taxi or rent car)

Disney hotels receive special perks including free transportation from the airport, free luggage delivery to your resort, Extra Magic Hours at the parks, a 60 day advance booking window for fastpasses, Magic Bands, package delivery from the parks to your hotel, and others I can't remember just now.

Because you are visiting during Spring Break crowds it is best to make as many preparations/reservations as early as possible.

For a first visit I would consider Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter. These are moderate resorts with bus transportation to all the parks and boat transportation to Disney Springs. If you choose a value resort, many avoid All-Stars because they are used often to house large teenage groups (especially during Spring Break). Pop and Art of Animation are considered by many the best value resorts.

If you splurge for a Deluxe do your due diligence as you will be spending a lot of money. Our favorite is Wilderness Lodge but any and all have their own special feel. Animal Kingdom comes to mind as most unique!

Good luck deciding!

 

[elgerber]

I can answer a few of your questions!

For a restaurant like Blue Bayou, check out San Angel Inn in the Mexico pavilion at Epcot. It overlooks Gran Fiesta Tour. We like Blue Bayou better, but it's pretty similar in terms of atmosphere. !

I second this. San Angel is the only place I can think of with a similar atmosphere to Blue Bayou. Food is marginal, but it's beautiful (but very very dark) inside.

 

[North of Mouse]

Thank you so much! You have no idea just how much this has helped me. I'll definitely look at the San Angel Inn. Even if the food isn't that great I'm looking for a great atmosphere!

Have never been to Blue Bayou, but if you're looking to see riders of the Mexico ride while dining, you may be disappointed. It is fairly dark, and unless you happen to be seated right next to the railing, you will be unlikely to see much action. The food is pretty bleh, average/below average Mexican.

 

[TinkSassy]

Definitely stay on property - there are economical options and the advantages (especially if you don't rent a car) are immense compared to DL. I usually stay at a value property (whatever is cheapest) as I've never found the prices off-site to save me enough to make up for the car rental, gas, parking, not to mention the loss of extra hours and pre-booking time. The values are decent hotels with good pools.

Windows for Fast Pass booking in March will open very soon - so I would keep that in mind. Unlike DL, you can book your FP reservations 60 days prior to arrival (if you stay on property) and the hard to get passes go very quickly.

On restaurants, you like Blue Bayou so for atmosphere I would second San Angel. However, the WDW restaurants that have great atmosphere far outnumber those at DL. Be Our Guest, Cinderella's Royal Table, Ohana, Coral Reef, etc. there are sooo many great places to eat here that I'd recommend some research.

The big difference here is pre-booking and research - everything needs to be booked in advance at WDW where DL you can get things pretty close to if not day of. I would really start looking at booking ASAP especially your restaurants.

 

[BrianL]

Thank you so much! You have no idea just how much this has helped me. I'll definitely look at the San Angel Inn. Even if the food isn't that great I'm looking for a great atmosphere!

I was trying to stay out of the Disney Resorts but I did just find out that they are actually cheaper than in CA. I'm going to look!

I appreciate your time!

I've only eaten at San Angel once, but it was much better to me than many people are indicating here. It was a few years ago. I had rib-eye tacos and they were pretty great. It might be a tad pricey for what you get, but I have no complaints. It's no Blue Bayou in terms of price though.

I also recommend staying on property, and they have many resorts that are much cheaper than the DLR ones. Pop Century is always a good choice in my book. It's inexpensive, centrally located, and doesn't share buses. Yeah, it's not the most relaxing atmosphere in the world (over-the-top int hat Disney way), but I've always had good experiences there.

 

[leahlefler]

I'm a California native and now live on the East Coast so we have done both coasts in terms of Disney. WDW is a lot different from Disneyland, but I love them both!

With regard to the Magic Band, we really like them. We stay onsite at WDW (we do not do this at Disneyland) and the Magic Band is included if you stay onsite. Your pre-booked fast-passes (you can book 60 days in advance if you stay onsite) are loaded on the magic band and you just tap it when the time is right (they don't do paper fast-passes like Disneyland does). You don't have to have a magic band, but we really liked the convenience.

Disney gift cards can be used at EPCOT. My boys used theirs entirely in the Japan store in EPCOT last time we went (Pokemon heaven).

We always stay onsite at WDW because we like the benefits of booking restaurants and fast passes early, and I really, really like staying in the Disney "bubble." We like using Disney transportation. If you don't have a car, staying onsite is probably your best bet. If you stay off-site, I would recommend a car. The Disney property in Florida is HUGE.

With regard to restaurants, there are SO SO MANY cool ones in WDW. The sit-down options are SO wonderful there. Our favorites for the cool atmosphere are:

Magic Kingdom:
Be Our Guest - eating inside the Beast's castle.

EPCOT:
San Angel Inn (closest to Blue Bayou atmosphere) - eating inside the Mexican pyramid by the boat ride
Coral Reef - eating inside the aquarium where the windows are all to the sea turtles/sharks/fish swimming. Cool.

Hollywood Studios:

Sci Fi Dine In Theater - this place is SO fun. You sit in cars and it looks like you're at an outdoor drive-in theater. My kids' favorite (my boy is 12).
50's Prime Time - 50's themed and funny. We enjoy this one a lot.

Animal Kingdom:

We like Yak and Yeti for the food a lot. Haven't been to Pandora yet so can't comment (hurry up, FEBRUARY)!

Disney Springs:
T-Rex cafe is neat. Our boys love it. The food is meh but the atmosphere is cool.

 

[disneycountrygirl]

You have gotten some spot on advice here so far.

Definitely stay on property, and if you can swing a moderate or a deluxe definitely do it. The busses are packed to swarming always for the value resorts, and you just get so much less. Rooms are tiny, the resorts are so far away from everything. Our fav moderate is Port Orleans - either of them. And we LOVED Old Key West. The resorts are often so huge that it can be very long walks to the lobby and pool. If you want to be close, you can sign up with Touring Plans to have them fax your room request 5 days before arrival, and you can see on their site pics of every room too. We did that, and will never leave it up to random chance again. We got our exact room request. Research the buses before choosing a resort. Saratoga Springs is notorious for their crappy bus system. Some resorts share busses. It's nice to get a dedicated bus system (like OKW).

For restaurants, I commented to my hubby this last trip when we went into Mexico and saw the San Angel Inn, "Oh wow, it's the Blue Bayou in DL!"

Our must-dos no matter how hard we have to work to score an ADR: Teppan Edo and Ohana
Loved: Le Cellier, Crystal Palace, California Grill, Chefs de France, Hollywood Brown Derby
Really liked a lot: Marrakesh, Liberty Tree Tavern, Garden Grill (ask for a booth on first level to see the ride)
Once was probably enough: Boma, Jiko
Best counter service hands down: Satuli Canteen. YUM
We used Touring Plans Reservation Finder to score the ADRs we wanted.

Get the Unoffical Guide. It will help you a lot. The library usually has it. Especially since you are only going 4 days, you definitely will not be able to see everything. The guide will help you find your must-dos.

Lastly, just try to see WDW as a whole nother animal and expect it to be nothing like DL. People tend to like the one they are familiar with (since we are from the west coast, that's usually DL), and then they go to the other one and walk away somewhat disappointed and vow to only stick to their fav. We have been 4X to each and live WAY closer to DL so that should "feel like home", but our whole family actually vastly prefers WDW to DL for the better "everything": customer service, the rides (FOP!!!), the parks (both the number of them and the experience), the food, the Disney hotels that are actually worth springing for in WDW, even the FP+ system and the magic bands which simplify the whole trip and don't cost money like Max Pass does. Try to keep an open mind and adjust expectations so that when it isn't like DL at all, you aren't disappointed.

 

[Micca]

If you love Disney you'll love WDW. It's awesome in a totally different way than DLR is awesome. Two distinct flavors of awesome and it's ALL Disney. What's not to like?
I'll toss in a couple of opinions: Stay on-site, it will cost a fortune but there are varying degrees of "fortune." Get the magic band because it's that damn cool.

 

[holden]

If you’ve never been to wDW before, keep in mind that it is huge. Allow 1.5 hours to get to your destination. It might not take that long, but if you are relying on Disney buses it’s a good idea.

 

[LSUmiss]

I agree with most ppl’s recommendations of restaurants. While San Angel is the only restaurant inside a ride like Blue Bayou, I find WDW has way more themed restaurants.

I also find WDW to be overall cheaper than DLR.

 

[tommygunn]

Enjoy brother. You will have a great time.

Restaurant: If you feel like splurging, the California grill is really amazing. Imo the best on property. Just a wonderful, unique experience. Love the crystal palace too. Ohana is fun. San angel inn looks cool but food is so so. I’d say maybe just grab some appies in there for lunch to get the experience. But spend your dinner $$ elsewhere.

Hotel: Disney property is a must. If you can swing a monorail hotel go for it for a special experience. If not, by far the best deal going is either the Port Orleans riverside (first choice) or the French quarter. If you do the riverside request the mansion side. They are both awesome resorts with great theming.

But man there are a lot of other great experiences. Happy to answer private messages too. Have fun!!!!

 

[justcin711]

I visit WDW frequently but I have been to Disneyland as well. When we went to Disneyland we purposely booked different experiences than we had had at DL like Blue Bayou. There are so many theme restaurants at DW so I suggest you look at the different menus and experiences offered and choose from there