Just returned, tips

[suzannedid]

I just returned from 8 days at Disney World. Trip was great, but wanted to share tips/bad experiences to help your trip be the best it can be.

1. Plan 45-60 minutes for bus/boat transportation each way. (We stayed at WLodge and thought the transportation would be quick 15-20 minutes. It never turned out that way. The boat always went to Fort Wilderness on the way to Magic Kingdom. When we took the boat to contemporary and then took the monorail to MK, it stopped at Polynesian and Flordian before arriving at MK.) My daughter stayed at Carribean Beach and she said it took 45-60 mintues for her to get to most destinations with all the stops at other resorts. By mid week, we were driving most of the time. It was quicker.

2. Don't take too many clothes. Take half of what you need and wash clothes mid-week. We overpacked.

3. Sit down Table Services were very slow. We sat 2 hours+ at the following restaurants..Whispering Canyon, Concourse, Lecellier, Liberty Tree, Cinderella's Royal Table.(We had a 15 month old and and 5 year old with us. Tuff!) The buffets were much quicker, more like 1 hour. (Crystal Palace, Hollywood and Vine.) If you are in a hurry to see a lot of the park, limit your sit down table service restaurants.

4. Do not order the pasta dish at CRT. I could not eat it. It was not chewable. My husband orderd the lamb. It was good. My daughter ordered the chicken and she liked it. My Son N Law order the prime rib and he said it was good. The pasta was the worst I have ever had. Chef Boyardee would have been much better. I would have eaten it if it was CHef Boyardee.

5. Rest on day 3 if you are staying for a week or longer. We waited to rest on day 4 and could hardly walk. We hurt all over. Plan an easy day on day 3 We pushed our selves to hard on Day 1, 2 and 3 (full days).

6. Plan. Plan. Plan. My husband made fun of me for studying Disney and planning so much.But when we arrived, everyone in our family was looking to me for answers. All of our dinner reservations had been made, plus which parks we were going to each day were scheduled. It saved a lot of time. Instead of debating on what to do and where to eat etc. Also, because we had a plan, we got to see a lot more than if we did not have a plan.

7. Arrive early for the parks.


There were many things that were great at Disney. I do not want to be negative, but I wanted to share some of my bad experiences and tips to help each of you make wise decisions that will make your trip more enjoyable.

 

[lynetteSC]

thanks for sharing - dh always teases me too ... until we get there and he wants to know the answer to something.

glad you had a good time!

 

[LoveWDW]

Thanks for the tips.

My husband does the same thing. "Let's just play it by ear when we get there." But he is glad that the reservations have been made and which park to go to when. At night or in the morning there is no scrambling around about where to go or where to eat. Besides, if there is a place we want to try for a meal, it is best to make reservations so that you can eat there. While we were waiting at Le Cellier there were a good number of people who came in and were turned away.

 

[trivial]

Thanks for the tips! I was dismayed when I read that bus transportation took 45-60 minutes for you, and to a lesser extent that table service was so slow. But then I realized that you were probably at Disney over the Christmas holidays; the busiest time of the year. So I'm hoping 45-60 minutes is a worst-case scenario, and that it won't be quite so bad when we visit 10 days from now. I'd rather rent a car than spend so much time waiting, but we'll see how it goes when the parks aren't nearly as crowded.

 

[snowgooseltd]

trivial.....you hit the nail on the head!! The long wait times are equal to holiday time. We always spend the week after Thanksgiving and walk on everything. We'll be there next week and expect to do the same. Most children are back to school and it should be much easier. Can't wait to get there......

 

[NikP]

Thanks for the tips! I was dismayed when I read that bus transportation took 45-60 minutes for you, and to a lesser extent that table service was so slow. But then I realized that you were probably at Disney over the Christmas holidays; the busiest time of the year. So I'm hoping 45-60 minutes is a worst-case scenario, and that it won't be quite so bad when we visit 10 days from now. I'd rather rent a car than spend so much time waiting, but we'll see how it goes when the parks aren't nearly as crowded.

I have stayed at POFQ in October and the end of April. We always allowed 45 minutes travel time by bus. By the time you get to the bus stop, wait for the next bus, make all the stops and arrive at the park, the time really adds up. It seemed to be better in April than October because it was busier. The buses would fill up and go direct to the Theme park. A first we were not happy that the bus rides took so long. Then we realized we are on holidays, sit back and relax! Enjoying doing nothing!

 

[JeanfromBNA]

Wilderness Lodge is beautiful, but the bus service drove us crazy, and we went in September, 2005.

As you've said, if you plan for it, it's not a problem.

 

[ZoZo]

Thanks for the tips! I was dismayed when I read that bus transportation took 45-60 minutes for you, and to a lesser extent that table service was so slow. But then I realized that you were probably at Disney over the Christmas holidays; the busiest time of the year. So I'm hoping 45-60 minutes is a worst-case scenario, and that it won't be quite so bad when we visit 10 days from now. I'd rather rent a car than spend so much time waiting, but we'll see how it goes when the parks aren't nearly as crowded.

I also think that the 45-60 minute timeframe was because it was such a busy time of year. We always go in October and never had to wait that long. And our table service meals were fine, too. It all depends on the time of year that you go.

I second the motion for packing half the clothes you think you'll need and doing laundry mid-week. It's my #1 tip (since I'm a compulsive over-packer).

 

[JCA1970]

Thank you for the " to the point" tips. I think everyone appreciates the advice. Esp. the transportation times. If we know what to expect and the time is less we will be pleasantly surprised instead of mad that it itakes more than 10 minutes.

 

[Fionasmommy]

My husband made fun of me for studying Disney and planning so much.But when we arrived, everyone in our family was looking to me for answers.

That's exactly what happens to me! Everyone laughs at my obsessive planning, but when we get there they look to me for answers and expect everything to fall into place. Heeellllllllooooooo, people! This is serious stuff! This vacation isn't going to plan itself!

 

[Tasmen]

That's exactly what happens to me! Everyone laughs at my obsessive planning, but when we get there they look to me for answers and expect everything to fall into place. Heeellllllllooooooo, people! This is serious stuff! This vacation isn't going to plan itself!

That sounds oh so familiar! Uber planning is often mocked and taken for granted at the same time!

 

[CampbellScot]

Wow, those are long wait times. We stayed at POFQ last summer and the bus times were way shorter. We thought the bus service was great...it must be the holiday times. I guess when there are fewer people it just takes less time.

One year when we at GF, we thought all would be well b/c of the monorail...every time we got on the dang monorail it would stop and sit and sit and sit for whatever technical reason...MK just inches away...and we were trapped on the monorail!

we're doing Beach Club this year...I hoping that hurricane season will continue to bless us with short travel and wait times!!!

 

[maddhatir]

I just returned from 8 days at Disney World. Trip was great, but wanted to share tips/bad experiences to help your trip be the best it can be.

1. Plan 45-60 minutes for bus/boat transportation each way. (We stayed at WLodge and thought the transportation would be quick 15-20 minutes. It never turned out that way. The boat always went to Fort Wilderness on the way to Magic Kingdom. When we took the boat to contemporary and then took the monorail to MK, it stopped at Polynesian and Flordian before arriving at MK.) My daughter stayed at Carribean Beach and she said it took 45-60 mintues for her to get to most destinations with all the stops at other resorts. By mid week, we were driving most of the time. It was quicker.

2. Don't take too many clothes. Take half of what you need and wash clothes mid-week. We overpacked.

3. Sit down Table Services were very slow. We sat 2 hours+ at the following restaurants..Whispering Canyon, Concourse, Lecellier, Liberty Tree, Cinderella's Royal Table.(We had a 15 month old and and 5 year old with us. Tuff!) The buffets were much quicker, more like 1 hour. (Crystal Palace, Hollywood and Vine.) If you are in a hurry to see a lot of the park, limit your sit down table service restaurants.

4. Do not order the pasta dish at CRT. I could not eat it. It was not chewable. My husband orderd the lamb. It was good. My daughter ordered the chicken and she liked it. My Son N Law order the prime rib and he said it was good. The pasta was the worst I have ever had. Chef Boyardee would have been much better. I would have eaten it if it was CHef Boyardee.

5. Rest on day 3 if you are staying for a week or longer. We waited to rest on day 4 and could hardly walk. We hurt all over. Plan an easy day on day 3 We pushed our selves to hard on Day 1, 2 and 3 (full days).

6. Plan. Plan. Plan. My husband made fun of me for studying Disney and planning so much.But when we arrived, everyone in our family was looking to me for answers. All of our dinner reservations had been made, plus which parks we were going to each day were scheduled. It saved a lot of time. Instead of debating on what to do and where to eat etc. Also, because we had a plan, we got to see a lot more than if we did not have a plan.

7. Arrive early for the parks.


There were many things that were great at Disney. I do not want to be negative, but I wanted to share some of my bad experiences and tips to help each of you make wise decisions that will make your trip more enjoyable.

~OMG! I cant believe how much time we have to take into consideration when taking Disney transportation! It has gotten so bad- DH doesnt even want to use the bus anymore! I like to visit other resorts and he has now refused to do so b/c of how long it takes to travel on the bus!! Its sad!- When in Disney in Sept- we were meeting friends at the Poly for dinner- it took so long to get there from POFQ our friend called us and asked where we were- we WERE on the bus but DH told DF that he had no idea how long it would take us to get to dinner b/c he believes the bus has taken us to Iraq!

~ I agree about TS meals! UGH! I felt like I wasted so much time when we had TS dinner ressies- I love going to the parks at night- but we were stuck in a restaurant every night!- I told DH I would be happy doing just a CS and a snack and be in the parks more- especially at night! or maybe a TS lunch

~Our trip in Sept we rested- rested everyday! We would wake up whenever- go to a park, go back to the hotel, swim or take a nap and then out we go for the rest of the night. very relaxing!

~the part about planning-- I would say yes, if you have kids- or have not been to Disney enough times and need to see everything (well, thats impossible, but you know what I mean!) I subscribed to TGM for our last 3 trips and planned- DH hated it! He is used to winging it. But we were on the dining plan so you have to do some planning!- you cant just walk up and expect to get seated anymore for dinner!

BUT with that said- I told DH our next trip- no planning- NO ADRS! if we are on the dining plan- I told him we will be doing TS EARLY LUNCHES and then CS later in the night while walking through the parks-

The only planning I will do- Is use TGMs suggestion on which park to do each day- everything else- winging it again, like the old days!

 

[blsx3]

Thanks for the tips! I was dismayed when I read that bus transportation took 45-60 minutes for you, and to a lesser extent that table service was so slow. But then I realized that you were probably at Disney over the Christmas holidays; the busiest time of the year. So I'm hoping 45-60 minutes is a worst-case scenario, and that it won't be quite so bad when we visit 10 days from now. I'd rather rent a car than spend so much time waiting, but we'll see how it goes when the parks aren't nearly as crowded.

i beleive that you are correct,,,the busiest times seem to be the scariest times to go with the crowds....my wife and i, no children, first time we went was week of labor day,,,transportation was awesome, no waiting, walked onto major attractions, didn't need any reservations. October 2005 halloween,,crowds weren't to bad except for halloween,,,we went to MNSSHP in magic kingdom,,,,we needed to make reservations, but never had to wait more than 5mins. 16 days away,,,value season,,,very low crowds,,,,i expect we'll be fine and not have to make reservations....

when you go durring the crowded times, you have to be patient,,,

 

[TammyC]

When we stayed at the WL in May, we used the bus service (instead of boat) to the MK and it was very quick.

 

[theblondebee]

We were at CS from 12-23 to 1-2 and we thought the busses were great. We rented a car as usual but barely used it. It seemed like the only times the wait was longer was when we were on our way to an ADR but it probabally only seemed that way because we were on a schedule.

 

[byoung]

Thanks for your tips.