Please Help-Adding to Our "To Do" List...

[DisneyDad413]

Thanks to all the vets for your help-your insights have made this trip planning fun.

Facts: Staying at ASMovies for 4 nights first w of Sept.
Surprise Celebrating Son's 4th B-and DW\My 5th Anniv
Also Taking DS 1

Need:
-Advice on good Misc activities besides rides-
Examples-I have wriiten down include character Meal-cookie baking-birthday button-Pirate Cruise-campfire-movie

Any other activities??
I am guessing the park hours will be until 6pm. I assume this means no fireworks-but what about parades??

Tickets-we are going to spend 80% of the time at MK-but would like to try other places-how can I accomplish this if I am only going for 3 days-buy a 1 day PHopper on ebay? Thoughts?

Meals-If you could suggest one place for great atmosphere\food for adults and kids(not character)-what would it be??

MANY MANY MANY Thanks!!!!

 

[billybaruch1]

You, my friend, are one lucky guy. Ask yourself what you remember from when you were age 4. Just BE WITH your family and I think it won't matter much in the long run what you did or where you did it at Disney in 2003. That's just my opinion.

I believe there are afternoon parades.

Both the Birnbaum's and the Unoffical Guide mention nothing about a "1 day PHopper." You may want to steer clear of that "deal." There is a 1-day / one-park only with "bounce-back." The details of this require an advanced degree to figure out and are best left to the experts. (It's basically a discount for the extra days as long as you buy it the same day you buy the original pass, according to the Unofficial Guide.) Of course, you can buy the 4-day Park-Hopper and just save the extra day for another time. When your children are older you can use it up and then just get Ultimate Park Hopper Passes and enjoy anything and everything.

 

[Otimon]

Hope you have a wonderful time.

The choice is yours, but I would not buy any deal on park tickets from anyone on the internet. You can look up the Disney website for information or call Disney directly to find out what would be the best option for your family's needs.

One place I would suggest for atmosphere for dinner would be the Rainforest Cafe - one of which is located at the Animal Kingdom(you don't need to go into the park to enter) and the other at Downtown Disney. No Disney characters there but plenty of animated wild animals, huge tanks of real fish, rain storms, and lush tropical greenery. The food is not spectacular but I've always found it to be tasty and good.

Have a safe journey to Orlando.

 

[kilee]

Don't forget, you can let the restuarant know it's your son's b-day and they will usually sing happy birthday or something along those lines. I don't understand the 1 day ticket either. If you are going to be there for 3 days, you will need a 3 day ticket. Which Disney doesn't sell a 3day park hopper. However, some of the other ticket agents in that area do. If you buy the one day tickets you'll only be able to get into one park on that day. They don't support hopping from park to park.

 

[missypie]

Rainforest Cafe scared my kids until they were 3 or 4. ..dark, thunder, lightning, gorillas, elephants ... pretty intense for the tiny ones. You might want to stop in there and take a peek before you commit to a meal there.

 

[dgaston]

Alamo is offering a 3 day park hopper with one option. You don't have to rent from Alamo to get this. I would strongly suggest visiting Mary's www.mousesavers.com and looking at ticket info there. I have ordered from both Ticketmania and Florida Orlando Tickets and been very happy.

 

[snowsdad]

Here's a misc idea my DD4 loves...

Pony rides ($3) and petting farm ($0) at Fort Wilderness. Maybe you could do this before attending the campfire/movie (also at FW).

Have fun!

 

[DisneyDad413]

Thanks for the replies so far

Sorry about an ticket confusion. Our plans call for 2 days of Disney Parks and 1 day of resorts\DTD. Our thought is to buy one day of 1-Park only-since we know we will be in MK all day. And then buy 1 Day-PHopper off EBAY. I know alot of people are agst it-but you just need to be careful-my car even came off Ebay. That would gives us access on 1 day to every park.

Where do I find parade lists??
Any other activities for 4 yr olds??

Thanks for RForest tip

 

[tjkraz]

Parade details and times will be posted on disneyworld.com about 45 days before the first of the month, along with all of the park operating hours. The hours and scheduled events are subject to change, so check back a few days before your trip, and check again when you arrive. Most likely to change are nightime activities at the Magic Kingdom. Closing times and activities at the other 3 parks are fairly static.

Regarding the eBay approach to buying tickets, count me as another that would discourage it. I've bought and sold many an item on eBay, but would never consider WDW tickets. The main reason is that you will never know what you hold in your hands until you actually arrive at the gate. You would be buying somebody's partially-used hopper ticket. You have to take their word for the fact that the number of days they claim to have left is correct. The only way to actually verify the data you are given is at Disney World itself. You can't do it over the phone and you can't do it at the Disney Store.

I know all about buying from those with good feedback, getting references, etc. But this is a case where you could legitimately complete an auction purchase and not know for weeks whether the item you've purchased is valid. Even if the seller has 1000+ positive feedback, what will you do if he makes a mistake in sending you the wrong ticket? You're standing at the ticket window with no other alternative other than to pay out of pocket for a non-hopper ticket.

Days on Hopper passes do not expire, so if you can afford it, I'd get a 4 day park hopper, and pocket the extra days for a future trip.

 

[tc]

Why not just buy an Ultimate Park Hopper and not include your departure day. Just a thought.

As for a fun family place to eat that's not character, my vote is Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge. They have all sorts of stuff going on for the kids and great servers. Don't ask for ketchup (or have your son ask, it's a hoot.) We also like Ohana's, another fun atmosphere.

Have fun.

 

[karebear1]

When you're at FW, don't forget to watch the Electrical Water Pageant- it's a little 'hokey', but you're little ones will love the lights and music. It's free!

 

[DisneyDad413]

Thoughts about the Family Magic Tour???

 

[DisneyDad413]

bump up-

Tomorrow is reservation day-need any last minute ideas!!

Thanks and a Great\Safe 4th to everyone!!!

 

[helenm29]

:Been to WDW 6 times, have LOVED everywhere we stayed. Most of the time we got our packages from American Express Travel - they were great with everything we needed and any changes were good. Off property we stayed at the Buena Vista Palace for our Honeymoon in 1980 - in 2000 we stayed at Dixie Landing (Which is now port orleans riverside) with our 3 kids. In December we are staying at The Yacht Club so where ever you end up I'm sure you will have a great time!

I would recommend two places for food with kids - The Hoop-dee-doo- review is a fun filled place to have a messy, fun, noisy dinner where there is a live comedy stage show all decked out in old west type style! you sit down and they serve you Fried chicken, Ribs, Corn on the Cob, Beans (I believe) and Corn bread which is all you can eat - for Desert you have Strawberry Shortcake. The show is really fun and can involve people from the audience so be ware. Also, this can be a little PRICY! We are paying $200.00 for the 5 of us!
The second place I would recommend is the California Grill - for the adults they have all of the favorites like steak and other meat dishes along with a lot of other varied foods. For the kids they have burgers, dogs and fun things like "Kids Sushi" which is a rice crispy cake done up like a sushi roll with Gummy fish etc. My kids all had a good time there once they figured out what there was to eat. it's nice and you can see the fireworks over wdw from the Balcony at the restaurant.
Where ever and what ever you decide to do, remember to just have fun!

 

[ListenToCKY]

I highly recommend lunch from the fish place in Liberty Square. It rules the school.

Make sure you go on The Haunted Mansion and Tower Of Terror. Also be sure and watch Fantasmic and the show is the America part of EPCOT's World Showcase.

 

[pennylynn]

If you get park hopper tickets then plan on visiting Epcot one night after the other parks are closed. Epcot has a laser light show and fireworks everynight around the World Showcase Lagoon.