New Question! Done DL, now what do I need to know about WDW from a DLer perspective?

[ballarinamom]

Also, Sci Fi has some great appetizers. Maybe go for apps and desserts/ milk shakes. If you stay for a whole meal you will get tired of the "movie". They loop about 20 minutes of commercials and movies. Since we had three courses, we saw the same things over and over.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I am considering Sci Fi but to be perfectly honest the menu just does not entice me much. Too many sandwiches. We may have to go in and at least sit down for dessert or a shake just to see the place!
Judy from Boise, it sounds like you really should stay out of Prime Time Cafe!

Good advice I also stay out of Whispering Canyon Cafe

My favorite places to eat in Epcot area are:

Cape May cafe
Biergarten (we have had good luck with tablemates)
Tangerine Cafe
The Germany "Brats and Beer" counter service

I've got some more questions today.

Candlelight Processional? Last year's dining packages look fairly reasonable so I am considering this one. I've done the one at DL. How does the one at WDW compare? What are the chances of seeing it without purchasing a package?

I love this show. This is when I would eat at Biergarden, or the one TS that is your "must" . It is very worth the little extra money for the guaranteed seats.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party? Is it worth it? I read that they try to limit the tickets to 20,000. That's still a lot of people! However, since this is my first time at WDW I am still working on getting a mental image in my head. How does that sort of crowd spread out in WDW compare to say Main Street during parade and fireworks time? Does WDW's Main Street get as cram packed? Does the extra size of WDW help to disperse the crowd? I'd like to see the parade and fireworks but I'm just trying to decide if it's worth braving a big crowd.

I love this too! try and go on a school night to avoid the local crowds. Even at it's most "crowded" it will this out significantly after fireworks. Just plan to close the park, and you will not regret it!

Being anti social, we never watch fireworks from the "hub" area, we sit on the planter in Fantasyland. It is an amazing experience as you can really feel the shells much like if you watch from small world at DL.


Can someone tell me a little about Stitch's Great Escape? It is listed as a theater presentation but why are you strapped into your seat? Is it like a motion simulator or something?

I avoid this. It is truly awful / tasteless / mood killer

 

[sameyeyam]

I'm lucky enough to live in WA, so DL is not to far away. But even luckier to have a sister that lives in FL. So I get to enjoy WDW at least once or twice a year.

You know that feeling that you get when you go into a Disney Store at the mall? You're totally immersed in Disney. But then you walk outside the door and you're back into the rest of the mall and reality. Well that's what DL is like. But imagine walking outside of the Disney Store and everything inside the mall is Disney, and the parking lot is Disney and then you drive home and everything on the way home is Disney. Well that's what WDW is like! It's sorta like the Disney Store that never ends.

I've never really had a bad meal at any of the WDW properties. Some have been better than others. My personal favorite was Ohana, but my kids like Coral Reef at Epcot.

Some of the best advice I can offer regarding WDW is:

1. Avoid the EMH park! Why? It will be the most crowded park that day. If you like to avoid crowds go to the park that had EMH the prior day. It will be the least crowded. Don't know what park is having EMH that day? If you're staying at an on-site resort look at what line is really long for the internal busses, that will be the EMH park of the day! Run the other way.

2. Don't waste your money on park hoppers. (Yes, I know some people will disagree). But it's not like DL where you can jump back and forth all day long. Think at least 1 hour to get from park to park.

3. Some of the restaurants have lunch prices prior to 3pm. Same menu items, just lower prices. If you're from the West Coast your time is all messed up anyway, so take advantage and eat your big meal around 2pm. It's like having a big lunch on West Coast time and will save money.

4. If you will be having a character meal, etc. plan it for the park you will be to that day. There's nothing worse than spending all day at a park, going back to hotel to get freshened up for dinner, spending more time on buses to travel to a different property, etc. Kids will not be happy spending so much time on buses or in the car (I know this firsthand!). If you're going to a different hotel than where you are staying for a character meal, look at a WDW map. For instance if you will be dining at Grand Floridian, plan on spending that day at Magic Kingdom. It will save you literally hours of riding around on WDW buses or traveling in your car.

5. Don't plan a fancy meal every single day. If staying onsite, the food at the hotels is good. Even the value hotels have pretty good food courts. Plus you can even get pizza & soda delivered to your room. WDW is HUGE and you will get very tired. Give yourself a break.

6. We try to plan a major park one day, then hotel/swimming day the next, major park #2, then a water park, then major park #3, then hotel/swimming day. If you alternate a waterpark or a hang out at the hotel day with the major parks you will all be much happier and way less tired. Your feet will thank you.

7. If staying onsite do take advantage of the Early Entry into the waterparks. Even if it feels cold, the water will feel warm. Plus, there is hardly anyone there the first few hours. You can usually arrive at 9am, go on nearly every single slide and then hop into the lazy river and relax when it starts getting busy. Around 2-3pm when it gets crowded, you can leave the crowds behind, go to bed early and be ready for a major park the next day.

8. Don't be afraid of the value hotels. They are very nice. Personally I prefer the moderates, they have more lush landscaping, seem more relaxing, etc. But I usually end up at the Values because the kids like them better and honestly, you can't beat their prices.

 

[mariezp]

ballarinamom, Thanks for giving me hope that we can catch Illuminations without having to fork over money for the cruise just for a good view. The main reason I was considering the cruise is because often when I read posts it almost sounds like it would take a scientific calculation in order to find the perfect spot. I think I will just take my chances and save a few dollars where I can and find a spot along the water.

Judy from Boise, thanks for your recommendation on Candlelight. If the price stays somewhat close to last year's I am pretty sure I will opt for this show. Do they put out a list of narrators early enough for you to make choices of which night you prefer based around someone you would like to hear? When do they usually put out information on the event?
We had Andy Garcia at DL. He was an excellent narrator but honestly I didn't know who he was and could think of any number of people I would have enjoyed more. We sat front row which was just too close. I would like to try again just to get a better overall view of the stage. I am thinking I'd like a second chance to enjoy the story even more. I can think of no better way to get in the spirit of Christmas.

I think I have just about talked myself out of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. (with 7 months to go though it could change any number of times!) First off, we don't usually like to stay in the parks real late anyway... especially if we don't take a break during the day. However, I could let the guys sleep in late (they would really like that) and just hit the park later in the day.... but is it really worth $50 per person? decisions, decisions!

I had to laugh at you description of yourself as anti social! We pretty much fall under that category too! And I can think of any number of people on this board who have made themselves sound the same. I have to wonder then.... why in the world do we all head to a place where there are thousand upon thousand of people? You would think we would all go someplace quieter and less crowded! The answer for me is that no matter how crowded the park (so far all I have to go by is DL but I am certainly hoping WDW has the same effect) the Disney magic has a way of making you feel like the park is there just for you. Anybody know what I mean? Anyway, enough sappiness... I will have to check out your planter in Fantasyland..... and think of my anti social friend here on the DIS while watching those fireworks!


Well hello! sameyeyam! You ARE pretty lucky as far as the 2 parks go. I need to see if I can adopt myslef some new relatives! Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed responses.
1. I am counting on TGM to keep me out of the EMH parks!

2. The only reason I am considering park hoppers is because I am almost positive that my DD will want to have a 2nd day at AK while the menfolk will not. If we get a hopper she and I could spend part of a second day at AK and then meet up with them back in MK.

3. I like you way of thinking. I know TGM says do lunch early but we only do one meal in the park so we always eat lunch closer to 1:00 or 2:00. Whatever we eat for lunch has got to tide us over until we leave the park. We do, of course, grab a few snacks but generally wait to pick something up for supper on the way back to our room unless we are staying really late... which is usually only one night for fireworks.

4. I am planning any ADRs I make to be in the same park we are attending each day. I figure the less complicated our plans are the more we will enjoy our trip. One exception will be the HDDR and we will be going there on an evening that we will not be in the parks.

5. I honestly have only come up with a handful of dining choices that I thought we couldn't do without. With my picky bunch I think we will probably do just as well with CS vs. trying to find something off of a limited menu at a TS. I see us getting to know the food courts really well so everyone has plenty to choose from. DS has already said he will be happy eating turkey legs for 2 weeks!

6. I don't think I could bring myself to take off that many rest days! The kids and I prefer a "stay busy vacation". DH on the other hand would probably like your suggestion ... but we aren't asking him! We will have 4 days outside of the park during the course of 2 weeks so DH will just have to pull himself together on those days.

7. & 8. We are staying at a house with a private pool so we will be skipping the water parks. We will probably be having some extra "family members" for part of our stay. DS has some friends in the WDW area so we wanted them to be able to make themselves at home with us. The Disney resorts were simply out of our price range for the space we needed. If we were to ever stay onsite it would most likely be a value.

Got a new question..... I despise taking time out of the day for shopping! I am NOT planning on going to DTD. Are there several good shops inside the parks for buying just a few souvenirs?

 

[sameyeyam]

There is a Walmart not far from WDW and it has a HUGE section right up front of Disney souvies. IMO, much better quality than the usual Walmart souvie selection.

There is also a discount Disney souvie shop in a "outlet mall" shopping center not far from the Walmart. It is a rather small shop, but most of the time it has a good variety and GREAT prices. It's pretty similar to the discount Disney store in Fullerton. I don't know the exact address, but I will ask my sister. I know its across the road from the Walmart though.

If you are going to get the park hopper option you might want to check into the one that has water park option as well. Sometimes it doesn't cost that much more and even though you said you had a pool, you won't regret the water parks. They are so awesome and beyond any other water park you have ever been to. There are slides and areas for every single age group. Can you tell that I highly endorse the waterparks?

If you do decide to go to DTD (which I also recommend), much different than DL DTD. There is a store called Mickey's $10 and under. They have grab bags for $7. They contain about $20-$40 worth of goodies. We have never been disappointed in their contents. Our last ones contained set of pens, magnetic clip on Minnie & Mickey, antenna ball, key chain, tinkerbell notepad and pen, Disney Princess window sticker. Lego store has an awesome huge outside play area, free chocolate samples at Ghirardelli store, and awesome sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich.

 

[mariezp]

Cool sameyeyam! Thanks for the recommended souvenir locations! If you can find out please let me know which Walmart and the name of the discount Disney store. I'd be forever grateful!

Maybe you can hire on as a Disney spokesperson for the waterparks! If they were up our alley you would have me convinced! Unfortunately, we are not water park people. If you saw this bod in a swimsuit you would know one of the reasons why!

We might end up in DTD to go to the theater so there is a possibility I might end up doing a little shopping. Our trip might not seem complete without a run through the World of Disney store. Mickey's sounds like a cool place and I have heard many good things about Earl of Sandwich. The chocolate samples might just be enough to lure me!

 

[basketballmom]

We went to WDW for the first time in 11 years this past August. Our DL trips have been in '94, '05, '06 and '07. Basically, last year my DH said if we "had" to do disney again, we were going to WDW. I have been reading on this thread and thinking of what to reply.....
First of all, we did a split stay at POP and the Contemporary. I debated loooong and hard about taking disney transportation or driving to the parks. Then, we decided to fly, so the car was not an option. I appreciate disney transportation for what it does. However, if I had a choice, I would drive to the parks. I agree with you on the comment you made about being ready to go and going. I am the same way. There were many times I wished I had our car!
Second, we really did not do many TS meals. We are just not that kind. We did eat at Wispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge. This was a beautiful resort! Loved walking around it. We ate lunch there, and it was not really rowdy like they say it gets at dinner. The food was good and we did have fun. A couple of our favorite CS meals were Flame Tree at Animal Kingdom and Pecos Bill's at MK. My girls LOVED the chicken wraps. We ate there more than once. And my youngest DD and I enjoyed the fish and chips at UK in Epcot. One thing my girls and I were sad about.....NO mickey shaped soft pretzels at WDW!!!
One thing that really stressed me out was all the planning! Which park to do which day, whether to do EMH or not.......We did do a couple of morning EMH and they were wall to wall people! Of course, we were there in August, but if I had it to do again, I would not be concerned with morning EMH. It was not as good (IMO) as DL. Evenings were better.
Our family really loved Hollywood Studios. My DH and 2 youngest girls saw the stunt show with the cars...DH said it was really good. I think this was his favorite thing of the whole trip. While they did that, DD17 and I wandered through Walt Disney, One Man's Dream. It was great! We also loved the Beauty and the Beast show and I liked The Great Movie Ride. I wish we had spent more time at this park.
Of course, we did not expect MK to be like DL, but it really has a different feel. I don't want to sound negative, so I won't go into detail. I will say that you should definitely see Mickey's Phillharmagic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW! Also, if you are space mountain fans, it is nothing like DL. Not smooth, not completely dark, and no music. We did love the TTA. Wish that would come back to DL.
I am glad we took our trip to WDW. I hope you enjoy yours!!!
Oh...at DTD my youngest DD loved the My Little Pony station where you stuff a box of pony accessories like the Mr. Potato Head. It was in the toy store, not World of Disney. She got lots of princess stuff for her ponies. Know you said you weren't going there. I didn't want to either. (too much bus time!) But DD9 is a die hard Pony fan.

 

[basketballmom]

YIKES! I'm a thread killer..... okay, I will go away and y'all can all come back.........
Sorry!!

 

[mariezp]

YIKES! I'm a thread killer..... okay, I will go away and y'all can all come back.........

Noooooooooo! Wait basketballmom come back!!!!!

I really did appreciate you taking the time to post here! I have just been unusually busy as of late and it seems like every chance I have been planning to respond something has pulled me away from the computer. (Generally kids, ya know what I mean?) Anyway, I wanted to be sure to respond thoughtfully and not rush through so I will just tell the kids to BUZZ OFF and take a number! UPDATE.... that actually did not work.... this message has been in progress and sitting on my computer for the last 5 hours! I have been up and down through various interruptions.... However, I did not let them wear me down since I vowed not to go to bed before I finished my response! So here it is! )

BTW, we do actually have a threadkiller thread on the Dis! I happen to be a member myself. (see my siggie) You should pop over and see us sometime!

First off, I see you are a fellow Texan.

Which part do you live in? You know with everything our wonderful state has to offer, I feel like we really got ripped off by not getting a Disney park. All we get is a stupid Six Flags. Still, at least we are pretty much smack dab in the middle of both Disney parks so either one works for me. Not only do we live in the same state, we also have kids close to the same age. My DS is 18 and DD will be 9 this month.

We went to WDW for the first time in 11 years this past August. Our DL trips have been in '94, '05, '06 and '07. Basically, last year my DH said if we "had" to do disney again, we were going to WDW.

I see you have several Disney trips in your past. So now that you have been to both parks which does your family prefer?

It sounds like your DH may be a little less than enthusiastic about going. I hope he gets into the groove when he actually gets there! So having been to DL before, was WDW a total shock, no big deal or some other response?

What did your family think?

I know you did not want to go into too much detail but maybe you can share a little more!

Of course, we did not expect MK to be like DL, but it really has a different feel. I don't want to sound negative, so I won't go into detail. I will say that you should definitely see Mickey's Phillharmagic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW! Also, if you are space mountain fans, it is nothing like DL. Not smooth, not completely dark, and no music. We did love the TTA. Wish that would come back to DL.
I am glad we took our trip to WDW. I hope you enjoy yours!!!

I am not quite sure how our first trip to WDW is going to affect our future trip making decisions. We are very attached to DL. We love the park because we know it so well and it just feels like home. While I know we will have a wonderful time at WDW I just can't imagine it feeling that way. I just hope my family is not divided on which park they like best. Either way, we will be back to one of them each year for as long as I am able to pull it off! So what do you think.... where will you be heading next time?

At MK, I can't wait to see Phillharmagic, CBJ and the TTA since there are none at DL. I am also so excited about watching Spectro since it is similar to DEP. That is our favorite parade but since it is seasonal we have only ever gotten to catch it 2 times out of 8 trips to CA. No thrill rider here so I won't miss skipping Space Mountain.

Second, we really did not do many TS meals. We are just not that kind. We did eat at Wispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge. This was a beautiful resort! Loved walking around it. We ate lunch there, and it was not really rowdy like they say it gets at dinner. The food was good and we did have fun. A couple of our favorite CS meals were Flame Tree at Animal Kingdom and Pecos Bill's at MK. My girls LOVED the chicken wraps. We ate there more than once. And my youngest DD and I enjoyed the fish and chips at UK in Epcot.

Our dining tastes sound similar. I already had marked down all of the CS places you have mentioned. The only ADRs that I know I will make are for Rainforest Cafe, Prime Time Cafe, Coral Reef, Teppan Edo, Hoop-De-Doo Revue and possibly Crystal Palace for a character meal. I am also considering Tony's and Whispering Canyon Cafe. ( thanks for the ) My DS has made it perfectly clear he would be happy dining on turkey legs the whole time... well, and one trip outside the park to Bubba Gump's.

One thing that really stressed me out was all the planning! Which park to do which day, whether to do EMH or not.......We did do a couple of morning EMH and they were wall to wall people! Of course, we were there in August, but if I had it to do again, I would not be concerned with morning EMH. It was not as good (IMO) as DL. Evenings were better.

Since we are not staying onsite at least I don't have to plan for the EMHs... I just need to plan to avoid the crowds they leave behind. We are not early risers anyway so they wouldn't have worked for us but it is good every now and again to hear from someone whose opinion helps me to feel like I won't be missing out on something. (Honestly, we don't make it for opening at DL either and have always been just fine. I know it will be totally different in WDW but I just know my family and the touring style that will work for us.)

Our family really loved Hollywood Studios. My DH and 2 youngest girls saw the stunt show with the cars...DH said it was really good. I think this was his favorite thing of the whole trip. While they did that, DD17 and I wandered through Walt Disney, One Man's Dream. It was great! We also loved the Beauty and the Beast show and I liked The Great Movie Ride. I wish we had spent more time at this park.

Uh oh.... I am not sure I wanted to hear a good review for Hollywood Studios! The majority of people seem to think one day is enough. We, for some unknown reason, tend to generally be in the minority so we will probably love it too. I know we will like the Backlot Tour and a number of the shows. The Great Movie Ride and Journey Into Narnia both sound right up our alley too. Will have to check out Little Mermaid and One Man's Dream since DL doesn't have those. And will try to get in TSMM because it is such a fun ride. I do know that I will be able to skip TOT and Rock n Roller Coaster cause I am NOT a thrill rider! I have already been wondering if we will feel like we did not have enough time in each park. I am planning on spending the most number of our days at MK. Looks like I better not make any big plans on the last few days just in case the troops have different ideas!

I appreciate disney transportation for what it does. However, if I had a choice, I would drive to the parks. I agree with you on the comment you made about being ready to go and going. I am the same way. There were many times I wished I had our car!

Yippee! So glad to hear from someone who understands our need for bringing our own transportation! My DH can be grumpy by nature

so it doesn't take much to put him in a sour mood. Patience is also NOT one of his virtues. I figure I might as well do all I can to avoid situations that could set him off. Standing around at the end of the day while he is tired, hungry and has blisters on his feet (because he always gets them) will be much easier to deal with if we can just get the heck out of dodge when we are ready to go. (He also likes to be in control of things.) Now don't get me wrong.... he has a few issues but for the most part while we are actually inside the park he is happy and having a blast along with the rest of us. However, later in the day he can be just like a little kid and completely melt down. Just gotta work around those sort of things and TRY to keep everyone happy.

Oh...at DTD my youngest DD loved the My Little Pony station where you stuff a box of pony accessories like the Mr. Potato Head. It was in the toy store, not World of Disney. She got lots of princess stuff for her ponies. Know you said you weren't going there. I didn't want to either. (too much bus time!) But DD9 is a die hard Pony fan.

I am still going to try to avoid any extra shopping. It usually isn't too hard because DD is not very good at waiting. She usually grabs the first thing that catches her eye. However, I will keep the pony accessories in mind, just in case she can't find anything in the park because she does enjoy them too. We do have to limit what we buy so we can make it back on the plane!

Thanks so much for stopping by basketballmom! If you think of ANYTHING else that might help me out please feel free to come back and share. I imagine I will have plenty more questions over the next few months but can't think of a specific one at the moment. My brain requires rest... so I am outta here cause it's time for my beddy bye!

 

[raftislander]

I just found this thread. Really interesting what happened when it took a hop to another board. Now it is back where it belongs. So here is my 2cents. I was raised in California and still live on the West Coast. I grew up going to DL and still love it. I have taken two trips to WDW -the last one was about one month ago. For my first trip, I didn't do nearly enough research; this last trip I planned for a year and we had a great trip. Let me congratulate you, on several things that you have done right so far.
1) Getting the Passporter Guide. IF you don't know the Florida resort this is the book that gives you info on everything. Their maps are great and it is portable. I love some of the resources on the web, but it helps to have a guide book that you can take around with you. This will give you a great overview of everything that is there. It is not however, very helpful for daily itinerary planning, BUT ...
2) ...Tourguide Mike is fabulous for this. So congrats on that decision as well. Be sure to join the forum group for your month/trip. I followed his advice on which parks to go to each day and it really worked. Look for a photopass share group there as well. They also have Illuminations cruise share groups , but most people who have done this would not do it again. You can see Illuminations fine without a cruise.
3) Dont underestimate the size of the World. You are used to everything being walkable. It is not at WDW. It is big and spread out. It has highways not sidewalks. I would hold off on parkhoppers. I am pretty sure that you can upgrade to add this feature if you decide that you need it -even after you have started to use your tickets. You are worried about one day that you might need to park hop. That is a pretty expensive hop as you are paying for parkhoppers for all of the days on your ticket, when you think you may need it once. I have heard very good things about MVMCP. Maybe this can be your other day at MK. Have you priced the difference in park hoppers vs the cost of these tickets? Also remember that there are places to view MK fireworks from outside the parks. Ohana's and the beach at the Poly are family friendly and have the soundtrack piped in. So you can see nighttime entertainment even on the day that you go to AK which has none.
4) Resorts - the decorations at the resorts are an attraction in themselves. I work with a woman who went in early December two years ago and she raved about the decorations at the resorts. Her pictures were wonderful. Going to WDW in December is on my bucket list. I envy you. I think that you should book a Candlelight Processional dinner package.
5) Food - If I am going to make one generalization that is going to get me hate mail, its that the WDW crowd goes a little overboard about the food & ADRS. I like to eat. I LOVE to eat. No way is my vacation dependent on getting certain ADRs. We went for a week and had four table service meals, which felt about right to me. We also had some great counter service meals. The reviews on AllEars are a good research tool. Here are my recommendations: Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD- great dinner, Earl of Sandwich also DTD- ate here more than once- a bargain and great sandwiches. While at DTD check out Goofy's Kitchen- for $3 my daughter had a custom dipped Mickey head RiceCrispy treat that literally took her a week to finish. Boma at AKL-even my picky eater DD(15) loved this meal-a highlight. Sunshine Seasons at EPCOT- there is something here for everyone and all good. The Norway Bakery EPCOT - another fantastic sandwich. Flame Tree BBQ- AK. Cinderella's Royal Table See below
5) You asked about the WDW equivalent to BB. I guess I need to know why you love BB. If it is the special atmosphere, then I would have to say that CRT is the WDW equivalent. The restaurant is beautiful and you can't eat in the castle in DL. We went for lunch, which is a character meal. I think I would stay away from the dinner which is labled a "show." The food was surprisingly good. While it is overpriced, your tip is included and you get a photo. Our end bill was not much different from our dinner bill at 1900 Park Fare. Even my ever so thrifty DH loved his lunch here and would go again in a heartbeat.
6) Stitch's Great Escape- UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE LED INTO THIS BUILDING( I refuse to call it an "ATTRACTION"). My DD loves Stitch and kept eyeing this. I told her that everyone seems to hate it, but that I couldn't really even describe what it was about. I finally succumbed as we walked by when they were just about to close the doors for the next showing. We both regret this decision. I cannot believe that this is in a Disney park.
7) DHS -this is a tricky park to plan as it has so many shows. If they are showing Lights Motor Action, I highly recommend it- your sons will love it. BatB and VotLM were fine, but the best theatrical type show in WDW is Festival of the Lion King at AK. We spent one and a half days at DHS, but DD favorite two rides are ToT and RnRCoaster. It should have the Osborne lights up while you are there.
8)I assume that you listen to the DIS podcast- it is a great source of up to date information about WDW. Things seem to change very rapidly at WDW -more so than DL

So plan plan plan. You can't do it all even in 10 days. I am sure that you will enjoy your trip to WDW and that you will still love DL.

 

[basketballmom]

Actually, we have chatted in the past..... I think your 2007 trip was around the time I took my oldest DD to DL for her 16th birthday. I live in the Amarillo area....1101 miles from DISNEYLAND!!

I am only saying this because you specifically asked..... on our trip last summer, at different times, each of my 3 girls told me privately that they missed DL!! Yes, we loved our trip. But DL is where our hearts are. I think that is why I loved the other parks (Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Animal Kingdom) the most is because they were nothing like DL. At MK, we did everything once and really didn't have the desire to repeat anything.....well, except Splash and Big Thunder....we rode those over and over. I was so excited to see country bears. and the swiss family treehouse. And the TTA... this was wonderful. we rode it at night. I really wish DL would get this back in some form!!!

Another thing we were really excited about were the characters! Jessica (DD17) finally got Daisy's autograph! the trip was worth it just for that. we also saw prince john and friar tuck, clarabelle cow and horace horsecollar....and bethany(DD9) got to meet MARIE from aristocats! she is such a cat lover, and it was her birthday on top of that! we also met pocohantas, meeko and timon at AK. So lots of new characters for us! OH and I almost forgot Mr. Smee! Jess loves him too. That was our favorite encounter with him and Captain Hook.

I have misplaced my notebook with what we did each day at WDW. But I may go back through the books and try to remember stuff from each park to tell you.

I will say this, since you are going at christmas time, you should definitely tour some of the resorts and see the decorations. it is so easy to hop on the monorail at MK and go through the contemporary, poly, and grand floridian. we had breakfast at the GF on bethany's birthday and i would LOVE to see it decked out for the holidays! we also rode the boat from MK to eat at wilderness lodge. that one is beautiful too!

Have fun planning, and thanks for the kind words

 

[mariezp]

Thanks for stopping by raftislander!

I just found this thread. Really interesting what happened when it took a hop to another board. Now it is back where it belongs. So here is my 2cents. I was raised in California and still live on the West Coast. I grew up going to DL and still love it. I have taken two trips to WDW -the last one was about one month ago. For my first trip, I didn't do nearly enough research; this last trip I planned for a year and we had a great trip. Let me congratulate you, on several things that you have done right so far.

Yep, it did get kinda "interesting" when the thread was temporarily relocated on the other board. Glad to be back among friends! While I am new at the WDW stuff, at least I do have a bit of Disney planning experience under my belt which I can hope might count for something. I DO NOT even begin to think I know it all! I sure have gathered a wealth of info so far and will continue to do so. My main goal is to have a great time on our trip.

Thank you so much for your comments and sharing your opinions. Your info is very helpful. It is also nice to get some encouragement along the way.

1) Getting the Passporter Guide. IF you don't know the Florida resort this is the book that gives you info on everything. Their maps are great and it is portable. I love some of the resources on the web, but it helps to have a guide book that you can take around with you. This will give you a great overview of everything that is there. It is not however, very helpful for daily itinerary planning, BUT ...

The Passporter looks amazing but I have to confess that I have only gotten to glance through it so far. I would love to spend days on end doing nothing but planning but until December gets here I have to keep up with my other responsibilities in the real world. After November all bets are off!

2) ...Tourguide Mike is fabulous for this. So congrats on that decision as well. Be sure to join the forum group for your month/trip. I followed his advice on which parks to go to each day and it really worked. Look for a photopass share group there as well. They also have Illuminations cruise share groups , but most people who have done this would not do it again. You can see Illuminations fine without a cruise.

I have to confess again that I have been spending the majority of my planning time on TGM. His sight is so full of great stuff! Plus there is the wonderful Express Planner that is specific for your month. The Dis is also fantastic but for some reason it seems to me the info seems scattered in more places. Sometimes it seems harder to find just what you are looking for. TGMs all seems to be together, I suppose because it is just WDW. Don't get me wrong. As soon as this trip is done I will be back on my DL forum with a vengeance!

I cannot wait for my December Express Planner to be updated for 2009. For now I can piddle around off of last year's suggested day. I am hoping it doesn't change too much so I don't have to rethink all my plans! I think I have decided against doing an Illuminations Cruise share. This entire trip is going to be so special that I don't think it will be necessary to add the extra expense just to have a good time. I might as well take advantage of the shows that can be seen for free and save where I can.

3) Dont underestimate the size of the World. You are used to everything being walkable. It is not at WDW. It is big and spread out. It has highways not sidewalks. I would hold off on parkhoppers. I am pretty sure that you can upgrade to add this feature if you decide that you need it -even after you have started to use your tickets. You are worried about one day that you might need to park hop. That is a pretty expensive hop as you are paying for parkhoppers for all of the days on your ticket, when you think you may need it once. I have heard very good things about MVMCP. Maybe this can be your other day at MK. Have you priced the difference in park hoppers vs the cost of these tickets? Also remember that there are places to view MK fireworks from outside the parks. Ohana's and the beach at the Poly are family friendly and have the soundtrack piped in. So you can see nighttime entertainment even on the day that you go to AK which has none.

I read your comparison of sidewalks to streets to my DS. His response was "That's scary". I am pretty sure that nothing will actually prepare us until we walk through the front gate. Still, I am up for the challenge!

Okay...so let me get this straight... If I don't do the park hopper option when I order all our tickets before we leave I can add the park hopper option for just our last day, right? Will it cost less or still be the same? I can't tell from looking at WDW's website. If it's the same I might as well get it in advance and then if DS or DH want to go to a different park on any other days they could.

Adding the hopper option to our tickets is $50 each. MVMCP is Adult/$55.38 w/tax and Child/$48.99 w/tax. Close in price so I might consider it. I'll have to think this one out to decide which would be better for us. We are not usually late park goers and I have heard the park can get very crowded during MVMCP .

Since we have done fireworks at DL I'd have to say that for us fireworks are just not at the top of our list. I don't think anyone else in my family really enjoys them all that much. Probably if we were to stay late it would be to watch Illuminations since we have never seen a show like that. Although, viewing from the Poly beach might be cool! Hmmm.... more to think on! I like the idea of watching them on our AK day!

4) Resorts - the decorations at the resorts are an attraction in themselves. I work with a woman who went in early December two years ago and she raved about the decorations at the resorts. Her pictures were wonderful. Going to WDW in December is on my bucket list. I envy you. I think that you should book a Candlelight Processional dinner package.

Candlelight is the one special event I am still considering. Specifically because my family will enjoy it and last years rates appeared to be a real value. I am looking forward to seeing the parks all done up for Christmas! We have been several times to DL when the park is all decked out and it is absolutely beautiful. WDW has got to be at least as good, if not even better.

5) Food - If I am going to make one generalization that is going to get me hate mail, its that the WDW crowd goes a little overboard about the food & ADRS. I like to eat. I LOVE to eat. No way is my vacation dependent on getting certain ADRs. We went for a week and had four table service meals, which felt about right to me. We also had some great counter service meals. The reviews on AllEars are a good research tool. Here are my recommendations: Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD- great dinner, Earl of Sandwich also DTD- ate here more than once- a bargain and great sandwiches. While at DTD check out Goofy's Kitchen- for $3 my daughter had a custom dipped Mickey head RiceCrispy treat that literally took her a week to finish. Boma at AKL-even my picky eater DD(15) loved this meal-a highlight. Sunshine Seasons at EPCOT- there is something here for everyone and all good. The Norway Bakery EPCOT - another fantastic sandwich. Flame Tree BBQ- AK. Cinderella's Royal Table See below
You asked about the WDW equivalent to BB. I guess I need to know why you love BB. If it is the special atmosphere, then I would have to say that CRT is the WDW equivalent. The restaurant is beautiful and you can't eat in the castle in DL. We went for lunch, which is a character meal. I think I would stay away from the dinner which is labled a "show." The food was surprisingly good. While it is overpriced, your tip is included and you get a photo. Our end bill was not much different from our dinner bill at 1900 Park Fare. Even my ever so thrifty DH loved his lunch here and would go again in a heartbeat.

I appreciate your honest opinion on the dining. Just looking at menus I would have to agree with you that while they have more choices, more may not always be better. Honestly, in our case many of the choices are not places my family would like. I am going to make a few ADRs if I can get through on the phone lines but I will not be planning every meal TS. Your recommendations at DTD are all possibilities if we venture that way. However, I have probably mentioned here somewhere that I absolutely hate wasting time shopping so I am hoping to avoid any more shopping than necessary.

We only have one day planned for sure at AK. Rainforest Cafe is our must do. If we make it back a second day we will probably hit up the Sunshine Seasons so everyone can find something they like. If we don't like the choices Flame Tree BBQ is my backup plan.

There are several reasons why we love BB. Tradition, atmosphere and food. Looks like I will just have to wait til we make it back to DL to get our fix on this one.

I have pretty much ruled out CRT. Yep, it would be very cool to eat in the castle but not I imagine our bill would top out at $200. The menu did not really appeal to me and the guys would not enjoy it. So that's at least one thing I can take off the list... and I won't have to worry about how to get in on the phone line! Still..... you sure do give it a good review......

6) Stitch's Great Escape- UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE LED INTO THIS BUILDING( I refuse to call it an "ATTRACTION"). My DD loves Stitch and kept eyeing this. I told her that everyone seems to hate it, but that I couldn't really even describe what it was about. I finally succumbed as we walked by when they were just about to close the doors for the next showing. We both regret this decision. I cannot believe that this is in a Disney park.

That is really a shame that Stitch is such a dud! I won't miss him but I am sure my DD will think she needs to see it. I'll have to mark my map with a giant X so we will be sure to avoid it. Guess even Disney makes their share of mistakes.

7) DHS -this is a tricky park to plan as it has so many shows. If they are showing Lights Motor Action, I highly recommend it- your sons will love it. BatB and VotLM were fine, but the best theatrical type show in WDW is Festival of the Lion King at AK. We spent one and a half days at DHS, but DD favorite two rides are ToT and RnRCoaster. It should have the Osborne lights up while you are there.

DHS.... yep, this is the park that is gonna give me fits. Sure as I don't think we would like it..... my guys would love. I am keeping an open opinion and an open plan for our last few days. I am thinking the guys may decide to head back there while DD and I do a second day at AK. They don't really get into the animal parks much but I am pretty sure DD is gonna have a fit to go back. (Thus the real reason I am considering park hoppers....so we can all meet up back in the same park later in the day.) Anyway, I won't miss the thrill rides at DHS but I would like to see all the shows.... and the Osborne lights.

8)I assume that you listen to the DIS podcast- it is a great source of up to date information about WDW. Things seem to change very rapidly at WDW -more so than DL

I have not had a chance to listen to the DIS podcast yet. I am having hard enough time processing all the information I am reading right now! Will definitely check it out if I run out of new information and as our travel dates get closer.

So plan plan plan. You can't do it all even in 10 days. I am sure that you will enjoy your trip to WDW and that you will still love DL.

I'll get right to work! Thanks again!

 

[mariezp]

basketballmom I hope you didn't think I snubbed you last night! We must have posted at the same time! It took me all evening to get my response to raftislander done. After I hit the post button I went straight to bed. But I'm back this morning....

.... much too early... DD could not sleep so I got volunteered to get up with her... need more coffee....

Actually, we have chatted in the past..... I think your 2007 trip was around the time I took my oldest DD to DL for her 16th birthday. I live in the Amarillo area....1101 miles from DISNEYLAND!!

Aaaah! I thought you looked familiar!

You are right! We were at DL during the same time in 2007. Man was it hot!.... I am actually 1375 miles away from DL.

I am only saying this because you specifically asked..... on our trip last summer, at different times, each of my 3 girls told me privately that they missed DL!!

That is so sweet! Maybe not exactly what you want to hear while you are actually at WDW. I am curious to see what my family will have to say. I fully expect them to be overwhelmed and ready to head back to somewhere smaller the next trip. However, I have been wrong before so they certainly may surprise me.

Yes, we loved our trip. But DL is where our hearts are. I think that is why I loved the other parks (Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Animal Kingdom) the most is because they were nothing like DL. At MK, we did everything once and really didn't have the desire to repeat anything.....well, except Splash and Big Thunder....we rode those over and over. I was so excited to see country bears. and the swiss family treehouse. And the TTA... this was wonderful. we rode it at night. I really wish DL would get this back in some form!!!

This may be what happens to us as well. I figure we will plan to focus most on the rides and attractions that are not at DL. Then, if we have any time left we can hit up whatever is left. Splash and Big Thunder are our boys favorites so I am sure they will be repeating, if they can. I'm getting a little worried with all the talk I keep hearing about how crowded the parks have been lately. I hope the crowds will be thinning out by the time December rolls around!

Another thing we were really excited about were the characters! Jessica (DD17) finally got Daisy's autograph! the trip was worth it just for that. we also saw prince john and friar tuck, clarabelle cow and horace horsecollar....and bethany(DD9) got to meet MARIE from aristocats! she is such a cat lover, and it was her birthday on top of that! we also met pocohantas, meeko and timon at AK. So lots of new characters for us! OH and I almost forgot Mr. Smee! Jess loves him too. That was our favorite encounter with him and Captain Hook.

I have not even gotten far enough in my planning to consider characters! My DD does not get overly excited about getting autographs. I actually had to bribe her last time just to finish her book that only had space for about 12 characters! I see more bribery on the horizon cause we just can't miss out on such rare opportunities! I would drawn the line at waiting for hours in a line. Thank heavens she has seen the Fairies at DL so we can skip that one!

I have misplaced my notebook with what we did each day at WDW. But I may go back through the books and try to remember stuff from each park to tell you.

OH BOY! That would be great!

I will say this, since you are going at christmas time, you should definitely tour some of the resorts and see the decorations. it is so easy to hop on the monorail at MK and go through the contemporary, poly, and grand floridian. we had breakfast at the GF on bethany's birthday and i would LOVE to see it decked out for the holidays! we also rode the boat from MK to eat at wilderness lodge. that one is beautiful too!

Not too sure anyone else would want to visit the resorts but we will be doing HDDR so I plan on looking around the Wilderness Lodge area.

Have fun planning, and thanks for the kind words

One of my favorite pastimes, planning. There is certainly enough to keep me busy right up til our trip! You are welcome and thank you too!

 

[Judy from Boise]

OK, here is the secret "best fireworks viewing spot" at MK

It is a planter in Fantasyland

The castle is to your left

Dumbo is directly in front of you

you will be surrounded by fireworks, the castle shells to your left and the large shells to your right. It is loud and close and best of all no crowds.Afterwards you want too walk directly out of Fantasyland and into the "Colonial America" section. This is just like taking the FL to frontierland path at DL. It puts you right into a complete empty part of the park.......stroll around for about 25 minutes, then head back to the hub for crowd free castle and main st strolling and pictures. You want to be sitting on Main st at one hour past official park close, and see the "goodnight kiss" this a perfect ending , and plus will let the crowds in the parking lot dissipate.

 

[mariezp]

Oh boy! Inside info! I love it! Thanks for the tip, Judy from Boise, as well as the photos and clear directions to your spot for watching fireworks. It looks and sounds great. Even I think I can find that!

I've been puttering around doing my general research today. I just found out today that after we park our car the only way into MK is via a ferry or monorail! I am still shocked by that one! It never occurred to me and I bet there are lots of other first timers that don't know that. Everything is gonna be so new! Wish I were there now!

 

[ballarinamom]

Raftislander,
so funny how different people can be! WE LOVED the Nemo show at AK so much more than Lion King. Maybe because we saw the Broadway version and the AK version was so much smaller. Still cool but we thought Nemo was better! Funny
One tip I was reminded of yesterday as DD and I watched family videos from DL and wdw. When you get to AK and if the lines to get in are super long, go through the Rainforest Cafe Gift shop. There is a turnstill and CM who can let you in. We went there for a day and a half. The second day was a non MM day and the line was horrendous. I remembered this tip I had read on the WDW threads. I told DH to follow me as I pushed DD to Rainforest. He said,"But I'm not hungry!". We bypassed a huge line and walked right on in! DH thought I was brilliant! Of course he was right!

 

[Judy from Boise]

yup, you have to chose one or the other at the TTC. Both are actually fun.

 

[minniecarousel]

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! A thread after my heart!

We just booked our first WDW trip in 6 years! We're going with our older DS & DDIL for son's 30th birthday in December. First 4 nights at Saratoga Springs & then 5 nights at Boardwalk. (We've been using our DVC at the Grand Californian.)

Our son and his wife are WDW Vets - they've gone many times in December (he proposed to her there!) I can see that we'll need to let them take the lead on ADR's & special events. I am sooo looking forward to the Osborne Lights.

I'm kinda nervous about taking 8 days off from work. I work in a school & have been accumulating vacation hours for 12 years. The School District wants us to take some and not carry so many vacation hours on the books. But I'm not so sure my site wants me to take so many at once. Going all the way to Florida from California, I'm not just going for 5 days!

We are die-hard Disneyland fans. We've been more times than we can remember. We can drive down in about 6 hours and go for 4-5 days at a time. WDW is a whole different experience. It sounds like you chose well for your family in booking the house.

I'll be keeping my eye on this thread. Our DS & DDIL aren't ready to plan for this trip yet - they're leaving for Disneyland on Thursday to celebrate their 2nd Anniversary. (lucky kids!)

 

[mariezp]

Guess it is about time I make it back to check to see what good tips the Disers have been leaving me. Sure enough.... more great comments!

Raftislander,
so funny how different people can be! WE LOVED the Nemo show at AK so much more than Lion King. Maybe because we saw the Broadway version and the AK version was so much smaller. Still cool but we thought Nemo was better! Funny
One tip I was reminded of yesterday as DD and I watched family videos from DL and wdw. When you get to AK and if the lines to get in are super long, go through the Rainforest Cafe Gift shop. There is a turnstill and CM who can let you in. We went there for a day and a half. The second day was a non MM day and the line was horrendous. I remembered this tip I had read on the WDW threads. I told DH to follow me as I pushed DD to Rainforest. He said,"But I'm not hungry!". We bypassed a huge line and walked right on in! DH thought I was brilliant! Of course he was right!

Oh so true how different folks like different things. I love pretty much any show so maybe I will just love them both!

Thanks for the shortcut! I love sneaking past crowds! I have added the tip to my ever growing list. I may have an encyclopedia set by the time we actually get there in December!

yup, you have to chose one or the other at the TTC. Both are actually fun.

Okay, Judy. I imagine both the monorail and ferry are fun BUT is one faster than the other? Also, when you arrive at the TTC do you go through the actual park entrance there?.... Or do you wait in line for transportation and then get in line again when you get off the transportation at a park entrance there? (I hope that makes sense

)

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! A thread after my heart!

We just booked our first WDW trip in 6 years! We're going with our older DS & DDIL for son's 30th birthday in December. First 4 nights at Saratoga Springs & then 5 nights at Boardwalk. (We've been using our DVC at the Grand Californian.)

Our son and his wife are WDW Vets - they've gone many times in December (he proposed to her there!) I can see that we'll need to let them take the lead on ADR's & special events. I am sooo looking forward to the Osborne Lights.

I'm kinda nervous about taking 8 days off from work. I work in a school & have been accumulating vacation hours for 12 years. The School District wants us to take some and not carry so many vacation hours on the books. But I'm not so sure my site wants me to take so many at once. Going all the way to Florida from California, I'm not just going for 5 days!

We are die-hard Disneyland fans. We've been more times than we can remember. We can drive down in about 6 hours and go for 4-5 days at a time. WDW is a whole different experience. It sounds like you chose well for your family in booking the house.

I'll be keeping my eye on this thread. Our DS & DDIL aren't ready to plan for this trip yet - they're leaving for Disneyland on Thursday to celebrate their 2nd Anniversary. (lucky kids!)

Hi! minniecarousel Looks like you will be arriving the week after we do! What dates will you be there? We will be there 2 weeks (Dec 2-16) so who knows.... we may run into each other. It must be nice to be going with someone who can help show you around. Still, it never hurts to help out with some of the planning, right? For me, that's part of the fun! If I were you I would not go all that way either without making it well worth the trip. It sounds as though you have worked hard and this will be a well deserved vacation so relax and take those 8 days. Feel the magic!

What I wouldn't give to be 6 hours away from DL! I am getting excited about our WDW trip.... only 199 days now... but I will be glad to get back to DL the next year. Did I mention DL is so much easier?




Okay, here's a question for anyone out there....
I asked DD if she had to pick one character which she would pick to seek out. Her response was Princess Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty. Should we just seek her out for an autograph and photo or do you really get any better quality time with her by doing one of the character meals? Anybody care to share their experience?

 

[Judy from Boise]

We had good luck finding Aurora every morning at the France pavillion In Epcot. She was very interactive.....could save lots of $.