Papa Deuce
<font color="red">BBQ loving, fantasy football pla
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2003
- Messages
- 17,794
All real, some serious, some funny.
1. NEVER, EVER, include an in-law you don't like, and doesn't like you, to stay with you no matter how much your spouse wants to.... Seriosuly don't do it. I did and it mostly ruined my stay.
2. When it is hot --- over 90 --- like it was when I was there last week, realize that if you have kids under 5, they will be wiped out from the heat. Count on short days at the park, or at best, 2 short sessions daily. My kids were 3 and really did not do well at Disney on most days, primarily due to heat.
3. Yes, you will buy Disney souveineers, but realize that you pay a whole heck of a lot more for them on a Disney property, than you will off Disney property. For example, a cashier told me that the Alladin DVD was $24.99 at Disney. I paid $15.99 at Best Buy.
4. Don't do too many character meals IMO. Overpriced, and the kids start to take them for granted.
5. I, personally, hated the Hoop De Doo thing, but my kids absolutley loved it. A true highlight for them. However, be aware that the menu was VERY limited --- fried chicken, ribs, salad, baked beans ( terrible IMO ), and beverages. Only beer was Bud. Not vey much for real little ones to eat. In fact my kids don't eat ANY of what they served. Fortunately our waiter went to the buffet next door and got them some french fries.
6. Sometimes your kids surprise you. My kids went to Blizzard Beach and rode the water slides all by themselves. I never thought that at age 3 they could handle that, but they handled it extremely well.
7. Stay away from the supermarket at "The Marketplace" on 192, just below rt. 545. They were about 50% more expensive than they should have been. I went just a little further west on 192 and found a Publix ( brand new, it seems ) with normal prices.
8. If you want Pizza, I would try Giordanno's at the marketplace. We tried their famous stuffed pizza..... but be aware that it take 40 minutes to cook one. YIKES!
9. You can never be sure what will upset you little ones. We went to "It's Tough to be a Bug" and it freaked both of my kids out. But we went to Mickey's Philharmagic and they both loved it. Similar style shows.
10. Here is a cool way to see fireworks. We ate dinner at the Grand Floridian and then just rode the boat all night that boarded from down at Nicosee's.
11. Not all "buffets" are created equal. The Disney Princess breakfast at EPCOT was really just unlimited amounts of potatoes, eggs, sausage and bacon, served in a huge frying pan. On the other hand, the dinner at Crystal Palace, with all the Pooh characters, had a true buffet, with tons of choices. BTW the meal with Pooh was a lot of fun. All the kids had a parade with Pooh, Eyore, Piglet.... after dinner and it was really fun to watch.
12. Take as much video and as many photos as you want to, but don't let it get in the way of having fun.
13. I don't care what Disney says about Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party having a limited number of tickets sold..... this place was JAM PACKED! By far and away the busiest of any park we visited during our 10 day trip. I was really looking forward to this but the crowded conditions took away a lot of the fun. And even my wife, who really enjoyed almost the entire trip, thought that the parade was a weak effort.
14. Disney has some great employees. ( and some not so great ). But when one of the ladies giving out candy at MNSSHP found out that my one daughter doesn't like chocolate, she went and found something at another ladies area and brought it back to my daughter. Very nice, and very appreicated by me.
15. At EPCOT, the only things my daughters really enjoyed was the boat ride Mexico, and making the masks at the different countries.
16. I am certainly glad we rented a house rather than staying on site. It was great to get into your own pool at midnight after the kids went to bed. Plus it was FAR CHEAPER. $775 a week. And only 9 minutes to Disney if traffic was light. And because you can eat some home cooked meals that saved a lot of money too.
17. They say October is a "slow" season..... you can't prove it by me! Most rides had 25 minute waits without fast pass. I saw some with a 40 minute wait.
18. The Dumbo ride is the biggest waste of time.... My wife waited for 25 - 30 minutes and I think the ride lasted less than 2 minutes. Still, my kids loved it. Yours probably will too.
19. If you can, disregard thinking about finances. What I mean is, with little ones, like my 3 year old twins, you can't expect to get "value" from the cost of your tickets. You won't be able to do everything you want them to do, let alone anything you think you might enjoy ( from an adult's perspective ). For instance, I hardly did anything at EPCOT, including Mission Space, one of the things I really wanted to do. We didn't do Tower of Terror at MGM. No Space Mountain...... we focused on trying to let the kids have fun at the expense of our doing what we wanted. At the end of the day you realize that you didn't do very much considering the price of admission.
20. Please, I beg of you, with all my heart..... re-read point number 1!
Overall we had a good time. My kids definitely enjoyed much of DW. And I don't think that they will be forgetting it any time soon. But from a "bang for buck" perspective, Disney with real young kids is very disappointing.
1. NEVER, EVER, include an in-law you don't like, and doesn't like you, to stay with you no matter how much your spouse wants to.... Seriosuly don't do it. I did and it mostly ruined my stay.
2. When it is hot --- over 90 --- like it was when I was there last week, realize that if you have kids under 5, they will be wiped out from the heat. Count on short days at the park, or at best, 2 short sessions daily. My kids were 3 and really did not do well at Disney on most days, primarily due to heat.
3. Yes, you will buy Disney souveineers, but realize that you pay a whole heck of a lot more for them on a Disney property, than you will off Disney property. For example, a cashier told me that the Alladin DVD was $24.99 at Disney. I paid $15.99 at Best Buy.
4. Don't do too many character meals IMO. Overpriced, and the kids start to take them for granted.
5. I, personally, hated the Hoop De Doo thing, but my kids absolutley loved it. A true highlight for them. However, be aware that the menu was VERY limited --- fried chicken, ribs, salad, baked beans ( terrible IMO ), and beverages. Only beer was Bud. Not vey much for real little ones to eat. In fact my kids don't eat ANY of what they served. Fortunately our waiter went to the buffet next door and got them some french fries.
6. Sometimes your kids surprise you. My kids went to Blizzard Beach and rode the water slides all by themselves. I never thought that at age 3 they could handle that, but they handled it extremely well.
7. Stay away from the supermarket at "The Marketplace" on 192, just below rt. 545. They were about 50% more expensive than they should have been. I went just a little further west on 192 and found a Publix ( brand new, it seems ) with normal prices.
8. If you want Pizza, I would try Giordanno's at the marketplace. We tried their famous stuffed pizza..... but be aware that it take 40 minutes to cook one. YIKES!
9. You can never be sure what will upset you little ones. We went to "It's Tough to be a Bug" and it freaked both of my kids out. But we went to Mickey's Philharmagic and they both loved it. Similar style shows.
10. Here is a cool way to see fireworks. We ate dinner at the Grand Floridian and then just rode the boat all night that boarded from down at Nicosee's.
11. Not all "buffets" are created equal. The Disney Princess breakfast at EPCOT was really just unlimited amounts of potatoes, eggs, sausage and bacon, served in a huge frying pan. On the other hand, the dinner at Crystal Palace, with all the Pooh characters, had a true buffet, with tons of choices. BTW the meal with Pooh was a lot of fun. All the kids had a parade with Pooh, Eyore, Piglet.... after dinner and it was really fun to watch.
12. Take as much video and as many photos as you want to, but don't let it get in the way of having fun.
13. I don't care what Disney says about Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party having a limited number of tickets sold..... this place was JAM PACKED! By far and away the busiest of any park we visited during our 10 day trip. I was really looking forward to this but the crowded conditions took away a lot of the fun. And even my wife, who really enjoyed almost the entire trip, thought that the parade was a weak effort.
14. Disney has some great employees. ( and some not so great ). But when one of the ladies giving out candy at MNSSHP found out that my one daughter doesn't like chocolate, she went and found something at another ladies area and brought it back to my daughter. Very nice, and very appreicated by me.
15. At EPCOT, the only things my daughters really enjoyed was the boat ride Mexico, and making the masks at the different countries.
16. I am certainly glad we rented a house rather than staying on site. It was great to get into your own pool at midnight after the kids went to bed. Plus it was FAR CHEAPER. $775 a week. And only 9 minutes to Disney if traffic was light. And because you can eat some home cooked meals that saved a lot of money too.
17. They say October is a "slow" season..... you can't prove it by me! Most rides had 25 minute waits without fast pass. I saw some with a 40 minute wait.
18. The Dumbo ride is the biggest waste of time.... My wife waited for 25 - 30 minutes and I think the ride lasted less than 2 minutes. Still, my kids loved it. Yours probably will too.
19. If you can, disregard thinking about finances. What I mean is, with little ones, like my 3 year old twins, you can't expect to get "value" from the cost of your tickets. You won't be able to do everything you want them to do, let alone anything you think you might enjoy ( from an adult's perspective ). For instance, I hardly did anything at EPCOT, including Mission Space, one of the things I really wanted to do. We didn't do Tower of Terror at MGM. No Space Mountain...... we focused on trying to let the kids have fun at the expense of our doing what we wanted. At the end of the day you realize that you didn't do very much considering the price of admission.
20. Please, I beg of you, with all my heart..... re-read point number 1!
Overall we had a good time. My kids definitely enjoyed much of DW. And I don't think that they will be forgetting it any time soon. But from a "bang for buck" perspective, Disney with real young kids is very disappointing.
Woohoo! Look out for Mama!
