Must Try or Dine for three Disney newbies

[mersailes]

I'm planning a trip for November to celebrate my college graduation. I haven't been to the parks since 2000, and neither of my friends have ever been. What are your suggestions for 3 first timers in their twenties?

 

[BabyPiglet]

Downtown Disney has a lot of shopping and great restaurants. Sometimes House of Blues has little concerts.

At EPCOT, it's really popular for people over 21 to 'drink around the world'. As in, get a drink at every country's pavilion and see if you can still walk to the front of the park at the end.

Cirque Du Soleil - La Nouba! Oh. My. Gosh. I cannot decribe how amazing this show is. You have to see it to believe it. Seriously, GOGOGO! There is not a bad seat in the house!

Some of my favourite rides are:
- Haunted Mansion
- The 3 mountains (space, splash, and big thunder -- but space might still be down when you go)
- Test Track
- Kali River Rapids
- Expedition Everest
- Tower of Terror
- Philharmagic (unbelievably cute and the 3D is spectacular)
- Spaceship Earth (it's just really relaxing, and the bit at the end it super cute)

Also, be sure to see ALL the parades! You'll be there in November meaning Christmas parties and parades!!! GO to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, you will NOT regret it!

DO NOT MISS Wishes, Illuminations, or Fantasmic.

 

[DisKate]

I'm planning a trip for November to celebrate my college graduation. I haven't been to the parks since 2000, and neither of my friends have ever been. What are your suggestions for 3 first timers in their twenties?

Hmmm...where to start?

(These are just my personal must do's)

MK:
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of the Caribbean
Wishes!
Columbia Harbor House
SpectroMagic!


DHS:
Toy Story Midway Mania
Fantasmic!

EPCOT:
SOARIN'
Mexico (Margaritas!)

AK:
Its Tough to Be a Bug
Pizzafari!
Safari

DTD:
Earl of Sandwich

Boardwalk:
Big River Brewery

Congratulations on your graduation! And have fun trip!

 

[DarthBob_2005]

Man I hope Space Mt is up before year's end

 

[dkmulder]

I love food, and Disney has a lot of great places that serve amazing food. You must try Boma, which is an African cuisine buffett at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Amazing food, if you like seafood, you must try the coconut curried seafood stew, mmm. I also always have to eat at Coral Reef at EPCOT, love their blackened catfish with grits (trust me, it is delicious - and I've never had grits anywhere else). Also, I always eat at Pizzafari in Animal Kingdom and get the hot italian sandwich. Hmm, those are definately my favs, but also definately try out a character dinner. If you want Mickey and don't mind kids, go to Chef Mickey's, if you want princesses, try Akershus (sp?) in EPCOT (really good lamb and ribs), 1900 Park Fair is always fun with classics like Alice and the Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins and others, Crystal Palace for Pooh. Also, I highly recommend you go to a dinner show if you can afford it - Hoop Dee Doo Review or Spirits of Aloha both have great reviews, as does Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge, although that isn't quite a show. For just some great entertainment and atmosphere, try Sci Fi Theatre and Mama Melrose's at DHS.

 

[pointybubble]

Everyone here already has great suggestions! The most important thing you should know is that there is so much fun stuff to do at Disney, that you'll never get it done in one trip. That being said, don't get too caught up in trying to hit ALL the rides that you miss the magic. My friends (who either had never been ever or since childhood) decided that they could do ALL FOUR parks in ONE DAY. And yes, we did it (mostly- this is the youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHBcwR-1sCk&feature=related), but it was awful! At the end of the day we were seriously exhausted and also fighting with each other, and we spent so much time rushing we missed all the things that make Disney, well Disney. Sure, we got to ride most of the major major attractions, but we missed awesome things like PUSH (the walking, talking trash can that can be found in tomorrowland), the scenery, fireworks, parades, the awesome side shows that you run into all the time, and sooo so so much more! Needless to say, it was not a good way to experience Disney, and now none of those guys want to go back at all! I hope they change their minds one day so that they can experience the real magic!

Obviously you probably aren't planning something as punishing as all the parks in one day, but I hope you know what I'm getting at. Enjoy yourself, don't try to do everything, and leave some stuff for a trip next year!

Here's a link to some great Disney info: http://www.allears.net

P.S.: Don't forget to wear sunscreen!

 

[Dreamer0640]

Everyone has great suggestions! To go along with pointybubble, I thought I would mention some "must sees" that are a little off the beaten path.

1. The Citizens of Hollywood - HILARIOUS! Go check them out at DHS!

2. Block Party Bash - Disney/Pixar Characters get together and CMs do awesome dance breaks. My favorite "parade" by far! - DHS

3. Go on a tour! Tours can get pricey but I took my mom and sister on the Behind the Seeds tour. It wasn't too bad ($14 a person) and if you love gardening and seeing the cool stuff Disney is doing with plants then it is a must see! - Epcot

4. Relax! As people have said before me, you will not see everything. Plan on not seeing everything. Since you are going down in November you may be able to catch the holiday decorations. They are beautiful and are different at every park and Disney resort! Also check out the gingerbread house at GF! It is great!

Finally, check out www.tourguidemike.com for some awesome tips. My sister did an amazing job planning out our trip so that we barely waited in line and saw almost everything we wanted to see. He breaks everything down and makes suggestions for what to do when.

Have Fun!!

 

[bonbon]

Some stuff you should see:

1) Club Cool: Different Coke products from around the world (try Beverly, its tasty )

2) Innoventions: Sure, some of it is geared toward kids, but its a ton of fun. Besides, you can ride Segways there =D

3) Dole Whip Floats: Found in Adventureland, they are the sole reason I am returning this summer (only a slight exaggeration lol )

4) Goofy's: make your own candy-covered apple/rice krispie treat/marshmallows. SOOOOO good!

5) Be an extra in the Backlot tour at DHS

6) Go to the petting zoo in AK: Im 22 and I loved it.

7) Try the hot wine in Germany: sure, there's beer, but the hot wine is really good.

DO NOT: Drink around the world then ride Mission: SPACE. Every person thinks they can handle it. No they cannot. Not even the green side.

 

[BabyPiglet]

Oh, I forgot about restaurants!

Here's my favourites;

MK -- Pecos Bills and Columbia Harbour House. There are only a few TS restaurants, and we were always too busy to try them. Caseys also has the best hotdogs ever!

EPCOT -- Ohohoh, where do I begin? (CS) Tangierine Cafe (Morrocco); Yorkshire County Fish Shop (United Kingdom); Cantina De San Angel (Mexico). Now, for TS. Tutto Italia (Italy) has AMAZING rich, decadent, food. Le Cellier (Canada) and Biergarten (Germany) are great. Also, go get a drink at the Joy of Tea stand or Le Vins De Chefs De France stand.

AK -- Pizzafari and Flame Tree are pretty darn good for a CS. The italian sandwich at Pizzafari got me addicted to ceasar salad.

DHS -- If you're tired of 'Disney burgers' and want a slightly different type of CS burger, Go to ABC Comissary. They also have pretty good chocolate mousse. 50's Prime Time is a good TS for comfort food and some laughs. It's highly themed.

DTD -- Wolfgang Puck Express is technically at CS, but you get served and their food is deliciousss. The BBQ Chicken Salad and Meatball Pizza are out of this world. AND they have the best creme brulee I've ever tasted. Go to Goofy's Candy Co. if you're craving something sweet. You can make your own chocolate dipped (marshmallow, pretzels, etc) there and they are yummy. If you just want a taste of something sweet though, go over to the Ghiradelli's shop and they are always handing out sample squares.

ESPN Club at the Boardwalk; Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge; Kona Cafe and Ohana's at the Polynesian -- they are all so yummy.

 

[MarinaAndCharlie]

I definitely agree with everyone else here when they say you can't do it all in one trip. Believe me, I read threads just like this before my first trip after high school graduation and I didn't listen and I wish I would have. I have a long long list of what all we got done, but we hardly spent any time just hanging out. We spent almost every afternoon sleeping because we rushed around too much, instead of taking the entire day to see things at a slower pace.

1) FASTPASS! Its free and its at almost every major attraction. You put your park ticket into a machine in the front of a ride que and it'll spit out a coupon that says a time frame on it (ie 10:30-11:30) and what it does is it saves your spot in line electronically, so you can go ride other rides or get something to eat or just relax instead of standing in line for hours. You then come back to this attraction after the first time (10:30) and you go in a special fastpass line where you get directly on the attraction without waiting. You can also save these fastpasses for later in the day, the only restriction is that its after the first time on your fastpass(10:30), but it doesnt have to be before the second time (11:30), just in the same day.

2) Definitely stay and see parades and shows. We were there for 9 days and we only saw Spectromagic (AMAZING!) and Fantasmic (also amazing haha) because we were too tired to go back to the parks in the afternoon/evening. Its the number one thing I regret because I dont have that special memory of standing in front of the castle with hundreds of people watching wishes. I'll get there this December though!

3) Go back to your hotel mid-day and rest, then return to the parks in the evening for entertainment. Most people think they can handle being at the parks all day and all night but you'll be less cranky and more willing to do more (after your second wind) if you rest at the hotel and then return to the parks.

A Short List of my must dos:
1) Meet the princesses. You can meet them individually in most parks (Jasmine in Morroco in Epcot as well as by Magic Carpets ride in MK, Snow White in Germany in Epcot... they can be found together three at a time in toon town in MK but get there at 10 when they open because lines can be hours long!). Do exactly what you imagine when you think of Disney World, especially if your friends have never been, despite how 'childish' it may seem. I literally teared up when I met Belle.
2) Go in every little nook in Epcot. We were in Morocco just walking around and taking pictures and they're hung on our living room wall now and our friends are always like "what! you went to africa?!'. Its themed so incredibly authentic, it still amazes me. haha.
3) Wear a cute dress one day, its makes all the difference in pictures as opposed to the normal 'six flags look'. haha.
4) See Turtle Talk With Crush at the Seas with Nemo and Friends in Epcot. Its awesome and blows my mind. haha.

5) Just let loose and have fun!! Don't worry about what you get to do and what you dont get to do. You WILL be back. haha.

 

[MaryPoppins86]

i haven't been to any of the water parks yet but here are some of the things i liked from each of the theme parks.

MK~ splash moutain, philharmagic, main street bakery, cosmic rays, cinderella's royal table, and it's a small world (yes, i love that ride).

EPCOT~ walking around the pavilions, coral reef restaurant, the garden grill restaurant, and club cool.

AK~ tusker house restaurant, kilimanjaro safaris, kali river rapids, primeval whirl, and the tree of life.

DHS~ hollywood and vine and rock 'n' roller coaster. i didn't much at this park when i last went. i spent most of my time at animal kingdom and magic kingdom.

also some other few things that i liked was meet and greets with the characters, character dining, watching the fireworks, and staying in one of the resort hotels. and for some reason i never liked the resort buses but liked taking the monorail whenever i could. at DTD all liked was going to the christmas shoppe.
there are so much to do and things to try. my advice is to try a little bit of everything. you never know what you might end up liking. when i went i thought that i might like the thrill rides more than anything. but that ended up not being the case. hope you have a magical trip. let us know how it goes when you come back.