If You Only Had ONE Visit to WDW, What Would You Do?

[lessleyxip]

There's a ton of stuff to do in The Seas pavillion, there's the Land Pavillion

 

[shadeauxe]

I'd be very sad.

 

[Spork24]

If you are on a budget (which it sounds like you are) I would definitely not waste any money on the luau. We did it in January and did not think we got much bang for our buck. The food was mediocre, and despite paying for tier one seats, half of our family had a pole between them and the fire dancer at the end (which is the main event).

 

[SueDonym3]

I have decided 7 days is perfect for WDW. Keeping in mind your limitations-here are my tips

If you are going Sun. to Sat-start and end with AK. It is never crowded those days. You can skip the thrill rides, but the shows, including the Bird show are not to be missed.
Focus on Epcot-I like to go Food and Wine time-so I leave 3 days for it. There is a lot to see and do. And as someone who once had to wheel someone around it-it is a big park, so take your time and see it slowly over the course of those days. Do not miss-the performers! Voices of Liberty, the French waiters/acrobats, Off Kilter...each country has a special show/street performers that are unique and fun to watch. Different times of year-there may be concerts in America Gardens, I have seen Sugar Ray, Starship, Go-gos...some great performances and it is a neat setting.
DHS-one day is sufficient. Great Movie Ride and Toy Story Mania are fun and toddler friendly, so you may enjoy along with the shows. I love the night time Fantasmic show.
MK-Cinderella's Royal Table is the restaurant in the castle. Once in a lifetime trip-definitely eat there!
Have a magical trip

 

[ktlm]

For your questions on Small World and Dumbo compared to DL:

1. Small World is better at DL. I would ride it at WDW, but I wouldn't worry about making it a priority

2. Ride Dumbo in the MK at night after dark. It is beautiful. With the new Fantasyland, we now have double Dumbo, which means basically 2 rides side by side. Initially, I was sad that it moved out of Fantasyland right behind the castle, as there would no longer be that close view of the castle, but then I rode it at night in the new Fantasyland. The lighting is gorgeous at night. The view is pretty good too, and I'm guessing it is now even better with the 7 Dwarves coaster opening.

As far as the restaurant in the castle, it is Cinderella's Royal Table. It is a Princess meal like Ariel's Grotto at DL. Cinderella does the initial meet and greet and then you meet 4 Princesses during your meal. Girls get wands, and boys get swords. (Our last trip, our server brought DH and I a sword and wand just for a fun surprise, so I'm sure if an adult really wants one, they will bring you one if you asked). It really is special eating in the castle, and they do pre-park breakfasts there. Crystal Palace is very similar to the Plaza at DL in style and feel, but it is a Pooh meal. In our opinion the character meals at DL are better than the ones at WDW. Unlike at Minnie's and Goofy's at DL where you can see a large number of characters and a variety as to who you might run into on any day, the WDW meals are pretty much all a standardized 5 character meal. The only time you have any variety in who you might meet these days is if a chararacter has an issue, and they need a replacement. Something you might think about at MK is BOG (Be our guest). It is a quick service at lunch with no characters and a TS at dinner with the Beast, and the place is something to see. I would at least try to get in there for a QS lunch if you can to look around it. The line at lunch may look huge, but as a CM in the area what the wait is- that line moves fast. The first time we ate there, DH was going to refuse to get in line because he thought it would be an hour or more, and then CM standing there told us it was only 20 minutes- it turned out to only be 15 minutes. We think dinner there is fantastic. The place is beautiful on the inside, the food is good in our opinion, and the Beast is there for a formal photo. It isn't a character meal, other than the photo with the beast. Dinner can be hard to get an ADR for, but if you keep trying online, people seem to have a lot of luck picking up cancellations.


As far as fireworks from the Poly beach, you might want to keep an eye on the construction and construction issues. Another good place you can watch is from the Grand Floridian boat dock. They pipe in the music there The Grand Floridian is a nice hotel to visit in the evening. They have live music which alternates throughout the evening from a single piano player in the lobby, to a band (think big band type music) that plays from a landing overlooking the lobby. If you have Cinderella fans, they actually have a character dinner at 1900 Park Fare that has Cinderella, Prince Charming, Anastasia, Drizella, and Lady Tremaine. It is a buffet and it is pretty loud and hectic in there, but DD is a HUGE Cinderella fan, so we have done that one a lot. They do tend to get behind on seating people though, and we have had to wait quite a while after our ADR on more than one occasion.

Another place to watch fireworks if you just need to get out of the MK because of the noise is the ferry boat dock at the TTC. When we have stayed at the Poly, we would walk to our resort from the TTC after getting off the monorail from EPCOT. We have stopped at the ferry dock before and watched the fireworks and we enjoyed it. Again, the music is piped in there.


As far as EPCOT, it is a 2 full day park for us. It is the one thing we really miss when we are at DL. One thing you need to realize in your planning is that the World Showcase side of EPCOT does not open until 11:00 a.m. That is the side we always spend the most time in. It is the side with the Countries, all the good food, a ton of characters, the Donald Duck ride inside mexico (which would be a good one for you to ride), movies about the different countries, jugglers, bands, acrobats, drummers, shopping etc. If you are looking for a special souvenir, the Pick a Pearl in Japan is great. They do a little ceremony with you as you pick and they open the Oyster etc. Also if you happen to go during Food and Wine, while it is fun, it gets pretty crowded at night. To try the Food and Wine Kiosks and enjoy world showcase, if you don't want to do a full day, you might think about planning a WS day where you get a late start, and just get there when WS opens at 11:00. I don't know if you have anyone who likes Phineas and Ferb, but they have a bunch of Agent P missions throughout WS that are really fun and have some cute special effects.

 

[Escape2Disney]

For your questions on Small World and Dumbo compared to DL:

1. Small World is better at DL. I would ride it at WDW, but I wouldn't worry about making it a priority

Good to know! I like Small World, but if it's between that and something I've never seen before, I'd be okay with skipping it since it isn't as good as DL.

2. Ride Dumbo in the MK at night after dark. It is beautiful. With the new Fantasyland, we now have double Dumbo, which means basically 2 rides side by side. Initially, I was sad that it moved out of Fantasyland right behind the castle, as there would no longer be that close view of the castle, but then I rode it at night in the new Fantasyland. The lighting is gorgeous at night. The view is pretty good too, and I'm guessing it is now even better with the 7 Dwarves coaster opening.

Nice! Thanks for the tip! Is the queue all outdoors like it is at DL? It's one of my least favorite places to be because it's all in direct sun (I get very sick with too much sun)

As far as the restaurant in the castle, it is Cinderella's Royal Table. It is a Princess meal like Ariel's Grotto at DL. Cinderella does the initial meet and greet and then you meet 4 Princesses during your meal. Girls get wands, and boys get swords. (Our last trip, our server brought DH and I a sword and wand just for a fun surprise, so I'm sure if an adult really wants one, they will bring you one if you asked). It really is special eating in the castle, and they do pre-park breakfasts there.

It sounds like fun, but it'd be a tough sell to DD. She's not into princesses, unless it's Mulan, Merida, or Pocahontas. She likes her princesses to be tough and independent ;-)

Crystal Palace is very similar to the Plaza at DL in style and feel, but it is a Pooh meal. In our opinion the character meals at DL are better than the ones at WDW. Unlike at Minnie's and Goofy's at DL where you can see a large number of characters and a variety as to who you might run into on any day, the WDW meals are pretty much all a standardized 5 character meal. The only time you have any variety in who you might meet these days is if a chararacter has an issue, and they need a replacement. Something you might think about at MK is BOG (Be our guest). It is a quick service at lunch with no characters and a TS at dinner with the Beast, and the place is something to see. I would at least try to get in there for a QS lunch if you can to look around it. The line at lunch may look huge, but as a CM in the area what the wait is- that line moves fast. The first time we ate there, DH was going to refuse to get in line because he thought it would be an hour or more, and then CM standing there told us it was only 20 minutes- it turned out to only be 15 minutes. We think dinner there is fantastic. The place is beautiful on the inside, the food is good in our opinion, and the Beast is there for a formal photo. It isn't a character meal, other than the photo with the beast. Dinner can be hard to get an ADR for, but if you keep trying online, people seem to have a lot of luck picking up cancellations.

Interesting. We'll probably do a lunch at BOG since I'm must interested in seeing the decor. We'll probably skip the others you described since we do so many character meals at DL.

As far as fireworks from the Poly beach, you might want to keep an eye on the construction and construction issues. Another good place you can watch is from the Grand Floridian boat dock. They pipe in the music there The Grand Floridian is a nice hotel to visit in the evening. They have live music which alternates throughout the evening from a single piano player in the lobby, to a band (think big band type music) that plays from a landing overlooking the lobby. If you have Cinderella fans, they actually have a character dinner at 1900 Park Fare that has Cinderella, Prince Charming, Anastasia, Drizella, and Lady Tremaine. It is a buffet and it is pretty loud and hectic in there, but DD is a HUGE Cinderella fan, so we have done that one a lot. They do tend to get behind on seating people though, and we have had to wait quite a while after our ADR on more than one occasion.

Nice! It's good to have options! I might be able to talk her into the one at GF though because of the step sisters

Another place to watch fireworks if you just need to get out of the MK because of the noise is the ferry boat dock at the TTC. When we have stayed at the Poly, we would walk to our resort from the TTC after getting off the monorail from EPCOT. We have stopped at the ferry dock before and watched the fireworks and we enjoyed it. Again, the music is piped in there.

What's TTC?

As far as EPCOT, it is a 2 full day park for us. It is the one thing we really miss when we are at DL. One thing you need to realize in your planning is that the World Showcase side of EPCOT does not open until 11:00 a.m. That is the side we always spend the most time in. It is the side with the Countries, all the good food, a ton of characters, the Donald Duck ride inside mexico (which would be a good one for you to ride), movies about the different countries, jugglers, bands, acrobats, drummers, shopping etc. If you are looking for a special souvenir, the Pick a Pearl in Japan is great. They do a little ceremony with you as you pick and they open the Oyster etc. Also if you happen to go during Food and Wine, while it is fun, it gets pretty crowded at night. To try the Food and Wine Kiosks and enjoy world showcase, if you don't want to do a full day, you might think about planning a WS day where you get a late start, and just get there when WS opens at 11:00. I don't know if you have anyone who likes Phineas and Ferb, but they have a bunch of Agent P missions throughout WS that are really fun and have some cute special effects.

I can see us spending 2 days in the WS alone! We won't be there for Food and Wine, though might be there for Flower and Garden if it's the same time every year. We both want to do the Pick a Pearl, and want to see the Taiko Drummers. Are they still there? We read about them a few years ago.

Thanks!

 

[dachsie]

The most important thing to remember is not to try to do it all. Do what you can and appreciate what you do and you will have a great time.

EPCOT - WOrld showcase is awesome. You will enjoy going around that. There are some fairly mild rides there like SPacehip Eath, Nemo, Living with the Land, etc. You may even try Maelstrom. You have Soaring at DL so you may skip that one if you wish.

HS - there are some really great shows here lie the Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast (my fav) and if you can ride Toy Story Mania you will want to FP+ it. Go to the Backlot tour and Great Movie ride and take a class at the animation academy.

AK - Love this park. See the Nemo and Festival of the Lion King shows for sure. Lots of places to walk and wander. Definitely do the safari. Lots of shade in this park so you may find places to rest and make it longer.

MK - Like others have said, do the things that you cant do at DL. Try for lunch at Be Our Guest.

for Character meals I would see which characters you want to see and then go for it. Breakfasts will be less expensive generally.

Cinderella Royal table is in the castle. Chef Mickey's has the Fab 5. Crystal Palace has the Pooh gang. Akershaus in Epcot is another princess meal so you may consider that if you dont get CRT. CHeck AllEars for the different ones.

Most of all - have a wonderful magical time!

 

[ktlm]

The line for Dumbo is mostly indoors or covered now. Also, because it is now a double ride, there isn't much of a line a lot of the time. We have walked on it many times, both in the late mornings and at night. Another benefit we have found at night when I think it is at its best, is that in our experience there is virtually no line. Last fall I think we rode it 5 or 6 times in a row because DD wanted to keep riding it and there was no wait at all. Also, just FYI- unlike at DL, at WDW the Small World line is inside.

TTC is the Travel and Transportation Center. At WDW, if you drive your own car to MK you don't just park and walk into MK like you would at DL. You park in the lot, and then you must take a ferry boat or monorail from the TTC over to MK. The TTC also is a stop on the resort monorail line where if you are going to EPCOT from a monorail resort, you get off one Monorail and transfer to the EPCOT monorail. If you are taking a bus from your resort to the MK, you will go directly to MK as there are bus stops by the gate. If you drive your car to MK, you must park in the lot and then go to the TTC to get to MK.

The drummers are still there. Occasionally WDW will cancell or non-renew the contract of EPCOT entertainers so there is no guarantee by the time of your trip, but they have been there for years.

Flower and Garden is approximately the same time every year. I hear that this year they have added some Food and Wine type booths, so that should be fun if they keep those for future years.


If you find yourself still really wanting to do a character meal, one you might consider is Tusker House at AK. They do a character breakfast and lunch, and the characters will be dressed in Safari clothes. That is something you don't have at DL/CA. Also the food is a little bit different. Breakfast has a big variety- way more than you find at Minnie's at the plaza. It has a lot of standard stuff, but it also will have some different dishes. Lunch has some entrees with a little bit of an Indian food flair (although pretty mild and tamed down if you are an Indian food fan), it also has enough "regular" stuff to keep the less adventurous people happy. There, you will take a photo outside with Donald Duck in his Safari clothes. Inside you will see Daisy, Mickey, and Goofy in their Safari clothes. That is a character meal that we do find enjoyable.

If you like Goofy's Kitchen, I would not recommend Chef Mickey's for you. People who go in thinking they are the same are usually disapointed. As I said before, WDW has very limited characters at character meals. Chef Mickey's, you will meet Mickey in his chef gear, and Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy. They will all be in chef's gear except Minnie who will be in her red polka dot dress with a white half apron. There are not as many food choices as you will find at DL at Goofy's and it our experience the food is not that good. We initially were skeptical of Goofy's kitchen at DL because we had been to Chef Mickey's, but we were very happily surprised at Goofy's. I love Minnie's at DL the best, but we do enjoy Goofy's also.