New and needing advice!

[silverstitch]

Hello!
I'm a long time Disney fan (both parks and films!) and thought that this place would be the best place to come for some advice.

My mum and I are coming to WDW in August as a late 50th birthday present for her. We are staying in the Port Orleans Riverside, for two weeks.

For her birthday presents I am planning on taking her on the Wild Africa Trek and to see Cirque du Soleil. I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on when and where is best to book this, (considering I live in the UK). And if you can give me some more ideas that can make this trip extra special for us, such as restaurants and shows.

Thanks!

 

[wayneg]

Welcome to DISboards.

Disney tours are booked direct with Disney, phone number on their site here http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/wild-africa-trek/

Cirque, I find booking direct overpriced, first time we saw it I did not think it was worth the money ($90 each in 2004), 2nd time I found a deal($60 each in 2009) on Travelzoo. You have to search around and see if you can find any offers, I have not seen any recently.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Hi & welcome

Undercover tourist offers tickets for Cirque and if you register for mousesavers.com sometimes you can get a discount.

As for other things to do, you could book a fireworks cruise (or share one with other people as advertised on these boards).

Eating on site, there are many lovely places. One of my favourites for a special meal is the California Grill (Contemporay Hotel) - as you can time this to see the fireworks at MK while you are there.

 

[silverstitch]

Thanks for your help. We have the Disney Dining Plan, so I would like to take the opportunity to try restaurants that we normally wouldnt go to. Are there any others that you could recommend?

 

[Karenpowley]

I personally LOVED Cirque - it is expensive - but you will see things I've never seen before - its amazing! We were all mesmorised and I'd love to go again!

Also did the firework cruise which was great because your actually on the lake with a brilliant view - but usually share the boat ( and it is just a boat - nothing extravagant really) Still great though and I'm glad I did it!

Out of the 2 I personally would do Cirque - as you would still get to see the fireworks - just from a different view

 

[loobzuk]

we all loved Cirque too, despite the expense.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Thanks for your help. We have the Disney Dining Plan, so I would like to take the opportunity to try restaurants that we normally wouldnt go to. Are there any others that you could recommend?

Is there anything you particularly like to eat?

We enjoyed O'Hanas (meat cooked on skewers), Citricos at the GF and always do a character meal (normally at Crystal Palace). We also enjoyed Le Cellier and Rose and Crown at Epcot. Have you looked at the menus to see what you might fancy?

 

[starrysky]

You will love POR its a nice resort and the food court is good there. As you have easy acess to DTD there are some good options there and now that almost all of them are on the DDP you have lots of options.

DH loved fultons but I'm not a seafood fan so found it a bit limited but still good.. Raglan road was surprisingly good and the live band and dancers were fun as well. We like Paradiso 37 but we have never had main course as we normally order a variety of the starters. We were not that impressed with House of Blues not sure why it was just meh.

Park wise we loved Tusker house breakfast it was fun and the selection of food was good. Sci FI at DHS is good fun, great burgers and the milk shakes are awesome. San Angel Inn in Mexico at Epcot is good as well not your typical tex mexx and a nice atmosphere.

Resort wise apart from Cali Grill we also loved The Wave at the contemporary good food and great service and it was quiet when we were there, Good Wine flights with genrous portions.

For you CS credits Wolfgang puck in the market place at DTD is really good. Nice selection of food and they bring it to your table. Nice breakfast options.

Happy planning and if it helps allears.net has menus a large ammount have just been updated. The menus on here are pretty good.

 

[catherine]

We did the Wild Africa trek in Nov and totally loved it. I must admit I was a bit nervous before hand because I don't really do heights too well. Anyway even I loved every minute of it and can't wait to do it again next time we go!

 

[flortlebap]

POR is lovely and don't miss wishes. To me that's one if the best Disney experiences!

 

[silverstitch]

Is there anything you particularly like to eat?

We enjoyed O'Hanas (meat cooked on skewers), LÁrtista at the GF and always do a character meal (normally at Crystal Palace). We also enjoyed Le Cellier and Rose and Crown at Epcot. Have you looked at the menus to see what you might fancy?

We enjoy most things, apart from fish and things that are too spicy, we especially enjoy Italian.

I understand that I can start to book reservations 180 days in advance. I was wondering if I can do this online, and if so what information do I need, with us having the DDP? Neither of us have done this before so any advice is greatly received!!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Here is a link http://www.disneyworld.com/dining to the site. You can book online, but need to create an account first. You also need your WDW booking reference - you can book at 180 days out and as you are staying on site you can then book your next 10 days as well.

I haven't had the DDP before so am not sure of what credits you need for each meal etc. Wolgang Puck at DTD is really nice (both the cafe and the express) and you can pizza, pasta and lasagne. There is also an italian at Epcot, but we haven't tried that yet.

 

[silverstitch]

Thanks for your help, I've just found my reservation number so we are all set to book when our time slot opens up

How do I find out information about the fireworks cruise as mentioned previously? It sounds really cool!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

How do I find out information about the fireworks cruise as mentioned previously? It sounds really cool!

Here is the link to the thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2069267 where you can hopefully find a cruise to share (to spread the cost) if you don't want to book your own.

 

[silverstitch]

Thanks so much! It sounds really exciting, I'll wait till a bit closer to the time to see if we can split with anyone.

 

[casinocolin]

Hello!
I'm a long time Disney fan (both parks and films!) and thought that this place would be the best place to come for some advice.

My mum and I are coming to WDW in August as a late 50th birthday present for her. We are staying in the Port Orleans Riverside, for two weeks.

For her birthday presents I am planning on taking her on the Wild Africa Trek and to see Cirque du Soleil. I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on when and where is best to book this, (considering I live in the UK). And if you can give me some more ideas that can make this trip extra special for us, such as restaurants and shows.

Thanks!

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