Little known fun things to do?!!

[Tommys Mommy]

My DD8 will love this! we've never done it either! 2 q's for you.... where is the Animation building? and do they do this like every hour, or what?

Here is my long-winded reply.......

Regarding this Animation Class: walk straight into DHS toward the Sorcerer's Hat, turn right into the Animation Courtyard; it is to the right of Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The building is called the Magic of Animation, the specific area inside has a sign overhead that says "Animation Academy."

If you go in the building's main entrance, you will watch a short presentation (film) about Disney animation, then proceed down into an area with interactive computers for kids to play on. This is also where you can see Sorcerer Mickey & get his autograph. There is actually a small, non-descript area with a few benches outside of the Animation Academy; it is somewhat roped-off and if no one is sitting there you could easily overlook it. -- If you don't want to sit through the presentation, you can enter through a shop (again, to the right of the main entrance - sorry, don't remember the name of it!) and walk through this shop to get to the Animation Academy. It sounds difficult to find, but once you know it's there, it's easy!!

According to the website, the classes begin at 10:30 AM daily (double check, though - I thought ours started at 10 AM) and continue on the half hour until 5:00 PM. Each class is taught by an animator, the classroom holds about 40 people and each class lasts about 20 minutes.

Here are two awesome tips I read here on the DIS. First, bring from home a paper towel tube. When you're done with your class, roll up your drawings and store in the tube - no paper creases/folds that way. Worked great & the tube weighs almost nothing in your backpack. Second, send your child up to the animator after the class and have them ask for the animator's drawing. The animator will sign it & you will have a wonderful souvenir to go along with your drawings!

Can you tell that we loved this class?? Last time, we did it 3 times in one day and have fun drawings of Mickey, Tigger & Pooh!!!

 

[Mammaz]

One thing I haven't seen posted is being the guest family at the American Pavillon in Epcot. We did this last year. A cast member asked us if we want to and of course said yes. We were taken upstairs and had seats on the balcony to watch the Voices of America sing. Then we were taken downstairs for the show and were allowed to chose our seats and announced as the family of the day. We were given a nice certificate and was a special time.

 

[hilsommer]

I just love the little and less well known things at WDW! Some of these have been mentioned but here is my list:

-walk the path between Downtown Disney and Saratoga Springs; it is a nice walk and usually quiet
-Behind the Seeds tour at EPCOT in the Land pavilion; this is inexpensive compared to other tours and it very interesting
-spend some time at Animal Kingdom Lodge; we love to watch the animals and Victoria Falls Lounge is really nice for a late afternoon or early evening break
-take the boat from Wilderness Lodge or Ft. Wilderness to the Magic Kingdom
-talk to the cast members at World Showcase in EPCOT; especially during slow times it can be a lot of fun to learn about their home countries (and practice your French, German, etc.)
-have a drink at Dawa Bar at Animal Kingdom while listening to the sounds of Harambe Village
-climb the Swiss Family Treehouse in Magic Kingdom for great views of the park
-take in karaoke at Kimono's at the Swan -- such fun!
-Yeehaw Bob at River Roost Lounge at Port-Orleans Riverside
-swing in a hammock at the Polynesian or at Coronado Springs
-Rafiki's Planet Watch at Animal Kingdom; go early in the morning for a chance to set the vets at work
-Belle Vue Lounge at Boardwalk Inn; the old radio shows are a hoot and they have board games

I could go on and on but you get the idea! WDW has so much to discover!

 

[Sco]

-Wishes Dessert Party- so nice to enjoy a little dessert and not be shoved or squished during the fireworks (tables are assigned so no fighting over spots) You make an ADR like any other restaurant. However, these times only open up about 60 days ahead of time. There is a watch thread on the restaurant board for dates opening. The sooner you book your table after they open the closer to the front your table will be. However, once the fireworks start most everyone walks up to the railing to see the show anyway. Tinkerbell flies right over your head! Very neat experience.

Regarding the desert party, while you are assigned a table, most people go up to the rail in front of the balcony before the show starts blocking the view of the front tables.

We had a table up front and had a number of people standing in front of us by the time the it started and could not see the castle show. I had to stand for he fireworks just to see over them all with my son on my shoulders. I was most disappointed in the whole thing considering the money we spent. Don't expect to just sit down during wishes and be able to see without people in front of you; especially if you have a table at the front. Unless of course you go stand at the railing before the show starts! I really wish they would have told us that when seating us, or ask people to sit at their table. IMO, it defeated the whole purpose of paying to have a nice seat for the show.

 

[familyfirsttimer]

. IMO, it defeated the whole purpose of paying to have a nice seat for the show.

Thanks for this info, I completely assumed that they would not allow that to happen. We ate at Tony's and the servers there were EXCELLENT about not letting people come outside and stand there. Hmmm...we will have to be aware when we get there since we are going for my DD10 bday celebration and I don't want the mood ruined.

 

[abcangie87]

thanks tommysmommy for the great info on the Animation thing. We are soooo all over this when we go!

 

[Babbletrish]

A friend of mine on Facebook asked what my three favorite things to do in WDW were earlier this week. My response, since I mentioned so many of my favorite hidden things:

"Oh jeez, only three? (not in any particular order):

1) Watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks from outside Magic Kingdom. Bay Lake Tower's Top of the World Bar is best for this but you have to be a Vacation Club member, and you may even have to be staying at the Tower depending on how chill the security guard is that night. Try the beach outside Polynesian, the little outdoor area near the monorails at Contemporary, or even the Transportation and Ticket Center! (Of course that reminds me that just riding the monorail and resort-bar-hopping is wikkid fun and that EPCOT has the best fireworks -- but I can only mention three things!)

2) The Flower and Garden Festival in EPCOT. If you're going in the next few weeks, this will be in full swing. World Showcase is the prettiest park anyway, but it's absolutely beautiful this time of year. Plus I have a nostalgic soft spot for topiaries.

3) Hmm... you may have prompted one of next week's blog posts. I can't limit myself to three. There's the Pangani Forest and Maharaja's Jungle in Animal Kingdom, Raglan Road, Soarin', they just opened part of the Fantasyland Expansion, Star Tours, Captain EO, Muppet Vision 3D, Philharmagic, Dole Whips, Crescent Lake Resort/bar hopping, guided tours, peoplewatching, pin trading, Glow-tinis..."

To elaborate on a few of these: The trails in Animal Kingdom are beautiful and every time I go I tend to have them almost to myself. My dad and sister and I discovered the fun of resort bar-hopping on the Monorail last Christmastime and we went on a similar adventure around the Crescent Lake resorts more recently. Disney hardly advertises their guided tours but we went on Keys to the Kingdom on this last trip and it was amazing and worth every penny.

 

[Babbletrish]

My DD8 will love this! we've never done it either! 2 q's for you.... where is the Animation building? and do they do this like every hour, or what?

Here is my long-winded reply.......

Regarding this Animation Class: walk straight into DHS toward the Sorcerer's Hat, turn right into the Animation Courtyard; it is to the right of Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The building is called the Magic of Animation, the specific area inside has a sign overhead that says "Animation Academy."

If you go in the building's main entrance, you will watch a short presentation (film) about Disney animation, then proceed down into an area with interactive computers for kids to play on. This is also where you can see Sorcerer Mickey & get his autograph. There is actually a small, non-descript area with a few benches outside of the Animation Academy; it is somewhat roped-off and if no one is sitting there you could easily overlook it. -- If you don't want to sit through the presentation, you can enter through a shop (again, to the right of the main entrance - sorry, don't remember the name of it!) and walk through this shop to get to the Animation Academy. It sounds difficult to find, but once you know it's there, it's easy!!

According to the website, the classes begin at 10:30 AM daily (double check, though - I thought ours started at 10 AM) and continue on the half hour until 5:00 PM. Each class is taught by an animator, the classroom holds about 40 people and each class lasts about 20 minutes.

Here are two awesome tips I read here on the DIS. First, bring from home a paper towel tube. When you're done with your class, roll up your drawings and store in the tube - no paper creases/folds that way. Worked great & the tube weighs almost nothing in your backpack. Second, send your child up to the animator after the class and have them ask for the animator's drawing. The animator will sign it & you will have a wonderful souvenir to go along with your drawings!

Can you tell that we loved this class?? Last time, we did it 3 times in one day and have fun drawings of Mickey, Tigger & Pooh!!!

Ah, I forgot about the Animation building. A few more interesting things about it:

1) During much of the 1990's and up until very recently, Disney's Hollywood Studio was exactly that: an actual studio. They mostly filmed television series and specials there as well as a few full-length films (notably "Newsies" and "Earnest Saves Christmas"). And they had a working animation studio. The animation building is that former studio, so while you're waiting in line for your picture with Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey, you're standing right where Disney animators used to work.

I'm sad now...

2) While we're on a down note, since it can't just be me who feels this way. The film with Mushu interacting with a live actor is just like a not-satirical real-life version of the "Mr. DNA" scene in "Jurassic Park".

But let's stop talking about how the animation building used to be cool, since there are still some pretty awesome things to see in there. Such as:

3) Concept art galore! There's a huge outdoor gallery of concept art along a path that snakes around outside the building and rather suspiciously resembles a queue line. You'll see art from almost every Disney film that has animation in it, including the unpopular ones, which I find awesome.

There's another, much smaller gallery of art in the area you are herded into after the Mushu Mr DNA show. This has things like model sheets, three-dimensional figurines, life studies and other drawings done for research, all from whatever animated feature Disney plans on releasing next. Currently, the exhibits are full of art from "Brave", and I think they might still have the initial posters for "Tangled" back when it was still titled "Rapunzel".

4) Running along the inside walls of the building is a huge mural made up of animation art mostly of all the characters from all the films the Florida studio had a hand in.

5) The wonderful small museum/film presentation "Walt Disney: One Man's Dream" is tucked away near the square where the animation building is situated. It's one of my favorite things in the whole park, and you can spend as long as you like marveling at Disney's inventions.

 

[tripletots]

We haven't been into the parks since 2008. In MK outside of Tony's Town Square there was a bench with Goofy sitting on it. Is it still there? My kids loved that bench and I have some awesome pictures of them sitting beside Goofy.

After doing some more research I found another awesome thread of more secrets and tips.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2162490

 

[bkoehl]

-Watching Wishes from the Poly beach, probably my favorite place to see them

-Listening to British Revolution at UK in Epcot while having a Guinness and eating fish and chips. They kids love to run around in the maze while the adults relax

-Pirate cruises at various resorts for the kids

-Segway tour at FW. There is a WS one too but FW is much better IMHO

-Passport books at the Kidcot stops in WS

-Riding BTMRR during Wishes

-Richard Petty Driving Experience at the Speedway. Expensive but oh so fun! Can't wait to try out the new exotic car experience.

-Behind the Seeds tour in the Land, short, cheap and fun

-Hair coloring at MK Barbershop-kids love to get crazy colors and lots of glitter in their hair and reasonably priced. Can get haircut too!

 

[World Showcaser]

At AK Lodge they have a story teller that tells story by the big fire pit outside and you can view animals using the night vision googles. It is fun to do if you are eating dinner or staying there.

This was really fun. They also have a parade that the children go on through the AKL lobby.

 

[summermac]

The street players or whatever they're called in the UK at World Showcase are great!!

 

[MickeyWatcher]

Answer the phones in the red booths in England...

Stand across from the red phone booths and call them from your cell phone. Watch how they react! When they do answer, pretend you are calling from another part of the country or world. Play with their minds by trying to order a pizza to be delivered, ask about them where they are from, speak in a foreign language ( or speak broken English) insist that you want to talk to you brother/sister etc. Hilarious to watch.