I have another question.
Our children have never been to WDW...but have been to DLR many times. We have only 3 days there.....we were planning on spending one of those days at Typhoon Lagoon...should we plan on spending an entire day there? Or spend part of it at the Animal Park? And on a similar note, is the animal park worth an entire day?
This is definitely a personal preference, so you should adjust accordingly (and take my opinions with a huge grain of salt), but coming from a resident who's been going to all the parks for years here's my two cents:
I'm a huge fan of Typhoon Lagoon. I don't know how your tickets are set up, and what you can do, and what you have to pay for, but we go there all the time and can tell you that it's best first thing in the morning (they usually open around 9 in the summer, I believe, and sometimes there's Magic Hours that allow resort visitors to go in an hour earlier than everyone else) until about 1:00ish or so when the crowds come in. At this point it's usually a good time to take a break, get indoors for a bit, grab some lunch, then rest and/or explore (maybe Downtown Disney if your tickets don't cover all the parks, or Animal Kingdom if they do). Then, in the evening, the crowds thin out and we head back for a second round up through when it gets dark (which is pretty awesome in its own right).
I will say that I'm a much bigger fan of Blizzard Beach, and find it more aesthetically appealing, and what I think are the better slides and lazy river, but I know just as many people who would disagree so I'd just go with what you think sounds like fun.
As for Animal Kingdom, I've never been too enamored by it. I've never spent more than half a day there, even on my first visit. The zoo portion isn't executed as well as Busch Gardens in Tampa (in my humble opinion), and apart from a few really good rides and shows (Everest comes to mind), doesn't have much that holds my attention. That's not to say you wouldn't enjoy it, because it IS fun, especially for the first timer, but it's my least favorite of the parks, and I can easily recommend any of the other three parks before it.
I hope this helps! My wife is likely to throw in her two cents, too, if you want it. And, again, it's definitely a personal preference coming from someone who's beaten all the parks to death, and so someone who doesn't go as often will probably be able to offer better insight. However, I definitely don't think you can go wrong with (at minimum) the water parks, because they're an absolute blast for everyone in the family. If you have the gumption to hit AK while you're at it, then all the better, but the water parks will probably do you in pretty good.
What time do you arrive?
I've been through everything and can't find them. The kids have theirs, but we can't find ours. Found the empty cafe press box in the garage...
Thankfully, we live 20 minutes from the airport.
- underneath the extra set of sheets...
We do that here too, although it's the I hate clothes shopping, and opt instead for the John -picked-it-out-and-I'll-try-it-on-at-home-later method.
