Should I skip the rides that I've been on at DLR for our first WDW trip?

[Sdobek]

I agree with this and pretty much all the advice everyone has given you here so far.

And make sure to put some effort into dining reservations. Have a great trip!

HydroGuy raises a great point. One of the big differences to me between the two parks is how fast dinning reservations fill up in FL vs how last minute you can make them in CA.

I'd 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) not skipping the haunted mansion if the lines aren't too bad - it looks great after the last big refurb. Pirates also has a great queue and would be worth checking out if you can catch it with a short line. Granted that doesn't seem to be easy any more with the FP+ line added...

 

[chalee94]

The resorts, too.

yep - definitely try a meal at the grand floridian and animal kingdom lodge, among others...

 

[SplashMo]

Besides what you wrote, I liked it, especially because of your Screename....It's My absolute Fav. ride of any here or anywhere...It epitomizes all that Disney is..

Splash is the best!

 

[SplashMo]

I would still try test track...

Dinosaur is a ride to skip based on rides you might not like.

 

[lugnut33]

If you ride them all you'll be able to see how much less maintenance the ones at WDW get.

 

[SFMommy]

My first question to the Original Poster would be this? For How long are you going for ? Park days ? & will you be having park hoppers....

Then I'll be able to give you my lil bit of advice..

I am thinking that we will have 6 or 7 park days. And because I am hoping to stay at BC or YC, I would like to get hoppers so that we can walk into Epcot for dinner some nights and maybe go into MK for a BOG or CRT dinner one night.

 

[SFMommy]

A side note - Downtown Disney is SO MUCH BETTER in FL. Like, it doesn't even compare. The resorts, too. And the water parks are also a lot of fun.

I have not even started looking into DTD because to be honest, just researching the parks and resorts at WDW is overwhelming! I sort of thought we could skip DTD all together. But maybe that is something that I will tackle later on in the planning, once I get a grasp on our park plans. How much time is enough in DTD? Would dinner there one night and walking around a bit be enough?

 

[SFMommy]

HydroGuy raises a great point. One of the big differences to me between the two parks is how fast dinning reservations fill up in FL vs how last minute you can make them in CA.

That is why I am starting my research now! My DH has no idea that I am trying to plan park days for Easter 2016. He would laugh his head off.

But if I need to be ready to make ADRs in September, then I had better know what I'm doing! At least planning is half the fun for me!

 

[disneycat321]

I have not even started looking into DTD because to be honest, just researching the parks and resorts at WDW is overwhelming! I sort of thought we could skip DTD all together. But maybe that is something that I will tackle later on in the planning, once I get a grasp on our park plans. How much time is enough in DTD? Would dinner there one night and walking around a bit be enough?

On our two trips, we stayed at POR, so we took the boat to DTD on our first night and walked around then. That's about the only time we went, though. We also did Disney Quest (because we had water parks + more on the tickets), which we loved. On our first trip, we went a second time later on.

But it really depends on the length of your trip. Our trips have been 7 and 10 days. Traveling to and from CA eats a LOT of time. We have always tended to get to the resort at around 6-7, which is why we did DTD that night. If it's a choice between park time and DTD, then park time would win. (The boardwalk area is also AMAZING, and that'll be a lot easier to access if you're staying over there!)

 

[DizDaD7]

I am thinking that we will have 6 or 7 park days. And because I am hoping to stay at BC or YC, I would like to get hoppers so that we can walk into Epcot for dinner some nights and maybe go into MK for a BOG or CRT dinner one night.

I am thinking that we will have 6 or 7 park days. And because I am hoping to stay at BC or YC, I would like to get hoppers so that we can walk into Epcot for dinner some nights and maybe go into MK for a BOG or CRT dinner one night.

Ok, so you'll have a full week.....Honestly DTD is still a mess, and I'm guessing would be underwhelming... Not to mention worse bus service to and from it..

With 6 or 7 days you'll have plenty of time to do everything.... I wouldn't suggest missing a thing.

As a pp stated, 2 days for MK & Epcot, & 1 day each at AK, & HS....You could probably finish those mid afternoon, and hop on over to 1 of the other parks as well for 2 1/2 days there as you stated for dinner ressies at Epcot.

Yes some rides are similar, but have subtle differences that you'll never get to experience. Just walking through queue lines you'll see plenty of things & get immersed into the story too. Take for instance The Little Mermaid ride in CA. Yes its the same ride ,but in WDW the walk up is definitely part of the attraction, along with Winnie the pooh, & now Peter Pan has an Amazing queue line too. True POC is better/ longer at DLR, but once again the walk through the dungeons & castle make it fun... Same w/ Haunted Mansion, through the graveyard and stuff. ToT too is a lil different. Splash was down when we went to DLR, but from what I've gathered it's a lil different in WDW, & the seating is as well. Same with SM...
1 key thing to do is make use of the FP+, and Rope Drop, and you shouldn't have any problems at all...You'll be going on some rides multpile times too.

 

[mom2rtk]

6 or 7 days sounds like a lot, but if you are visiting during peak season it will be harder than you think to "do it all". I would make full use of the extra long park hours in peak season to maximize what you can get done.

My biggest suggestion to people coming from DL to WDW for the first time is to be careful planning too much hopping (especially just for dining). It's not even remotely close to hopping at DLR and can easily eat up lots of your time.

Definitely prioritize the attractions that are unique to WDW, and fit the others in from there.

We have done both coasts a number of times but have been concentrating on DLR lately. We're considering a brief stop in the MK when we're in FL this summer. So we were just making a list today of what our priorities would be in that park. They centered on things we haven't been able to do in DLR and lined up like this:

1) 7DMT
2) Festival of Fantasy Parade
3) People Mover (DUH according to my daughter )
4) Carousel of Progress
5) Philharmagic
6) Enchanted Tales with Belle
7) Lunch in the castle
8) Haunted Mansion (We have been traveling when it's HMH at DL so haven't seen traditional HM in over 2 years).

 

[SplashMo]

FP+ is going to get you on the major rides. MK is the exception so rope drop for two hours and then start using FP+.

 

[bumbershoot]

I have not even started looking into DTD because to be honest, just researching the parks and resorts at WDW is overwhelming! I sort of thought we could skip DTD all together. But maybe that is something that I will tackle later on in the planning, once I get a grasp on our park plans. How much time is enough in DTD? Would dinner there one night and walking around a bit be enough?

DTD is an outdoor mall. There's no reason to go there unless you're dying for some of the food there or there's must-do shopping. Don't even bother with Lego Store if your child is into it. There's nothing unique there and the prices are just the same as they are at home or online.

You'll be going on some rides multpile times too.

Over Easter?

 

[bytheblood]

No, they are different. Especially Pirates.

 

[MillauFr]

Yes Pirates is different but the ride at Disneyworld was a disappointment. I don't understand why the rides in Florida aren't better. They had more money, more space, more time to figure out what was good and what needed improvement. The only things that make sense is that the weather in Florida is worse and necessitates having the queues under cover.

 

[SplashMo]

Yes Pirates is different but the ride at Disneyworld was a disappointment. I don't understand why the rides in Florida aren't better. They had more money, more space, more time to figure out what was good and what needed improvement. The only things that make sense is that the weather in Florida is worse and necessitates having the queues under cover.

I love the covered queues. DL has very few and even the restaurants are often outdoor seating... A bit spoiled by that part of WDW...

 

[Anal Annie]

We just visited DL for the 2nd time last summer (stayed at VGC villas). Really enjoyed the convenience of the 2 parks being RIGHT THERE next to each other. As another poster mentioned, you will lose a lot more time park hopping at WDW. 6 or 7 days of park time would be enough if you weren't going over Easter. If you go then the MK WILL reach capacity by about 10:00 AM for a few days and you WILL have to make hard choices between rides. We always take advantage of any EMH's that are available but we "get in & get out" in the mornings. We use the train at MK a lot to get from one side of the park to the other when it's crowded. We also like to stay at a monorail resort if we can to avoid some of the buses. Next best plan is as you say, stay at BC so you can walk to Epcot and have access to boats. I would still have to try to ride as many of the rides as possible. They all have subtle differences from DL to WDW. If possible I would try to go for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. Our spring break is not a set date - it follows Easter and for the past several years it has been BEFORE Easter and the last day has been Easter Monday. THIS YEAR tho it starts on Good Friday and ends the following weekend. The DVC point charts always go up a few days before Easter so in the past we've always tried to head down the last night of our school week before the break and stay about 6 nights and then LEAVE a few days before Easter. We could always see the parks getting busier and busier by the day and by the time we leave it was just claustrophobic and we were glad to be heading home. My advice is to try to go for as long as possible as far away from Easter as possible for the lowest crowds. If you absolutely have to be there on the days surrounding Easter then be sure to pack your patience.

I also refer to the crowd calendars provided by easywdw.com. I just use them as a general guide. We don't follow them religiously as we DO take advantage of the EMH's. We do a lot of park hopping and try to plan our ADR's around where we think we'll be in the evenings. You can take a look at them for this year and get an idea of how to plan for next year.

(PS) If you only have 6 or 7 days I wouldn't worry about squeezing in DTD because unlike in CA you have to go out of your way to get there... Some trips we go and some we don't. Sometimes it depends on if we have driven or where we're staying. But we never lose sleep over it one way or the other. FP+ is a joke and you won't be able to get nearly as much done at WDW as you would with the old legacy FP system. Use your time in the parks.

 

[DizDaD7]

Over Easter?

Uhm, Sure Why not? With a possible 2 1/2 days at MK & Epcot, this is easily in the cards.

Also utilizing FP+ & EMH( RD ) will achieve this too..

 

[Anal Annie]

Uhm, Sure Why not? With a possible 2 1/2 days at MK & Epcot, this is easily in the cards.

Also utilizing FP+ & EMH( RD ) will achieve this too..

Over Easter with the limitations of the new FP+ system unless you are willing to do stand-by in the same line for 2-3 hours each time then I also don't see doing that many rides multiple times. FP+ is practically worthless at Epcot. Personally, I am only willing to do that for a couple of things. Once I've spent 2 or 3 hours of my day in one queue I'm done and ready for a change of scenery. My DH and DS will do it for Splash & BTM & SM at MK & for TOT but after I do it once I'm done. Wish MK had some single rider lines…that's how we ride TT and RNR… Easter week is a whole animal of it's own. You are just lucky to get to do something once.

 

[JRawkSteady]

I am of the opinion that our Splash Mountain is better in WDW, (as well as Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror), but I wouldn't skip any of it if you actually have the time. I suggest checking out a touring plan to see how much you can get done...you may be able to fit in rides you thought were going to be identical into your plan. I personally wouldn't nix them outright.