Spur-of-the-Moment 7 Days w/Mickey for Under $4K: 7/16/06 – 7/23/06 - Complete

[jhorstma]

MK Review - Post #5
EPCOT Review - Post #9
MGM Review - Post #12
AK Review - Post #13
Water Parks & More - Post #16 on Page 2

DW on July 3 – let’s go to Disney World for our summer vacation! DS13 and DD11 – yeah Mom!!! DH (me) – um, how are we going to do that with no planning and a limited travel budget? So not 2 years after our 2005 Easter Eastern Cruise on the Magic (click for that trip report) we’re back to Florida for the Orlando Mouse experience.

Well, we just got back (yup – not even 2 weeks of planning – we rushed things so that we could meet up with DW's sister and family during their long-planned Disney trip) and believe me it can be done and done in style. We had a fantastic time, but I’m glad to be back, reunited with the dog, and no longer perpetually bathed in sweat. Lemme fill you in on the details while letting my blisters heal…

Boring Logistics – Here’s the budget: Travel (from DC): $300 (driving), Lodging for 9 nights (7 near Disney and 1 each way driving): $1100, Disney Tix (7 days Magic Your Way with hopping and water parks): $1100, Meals and Misc: $1000 (plus $300 for kenneling the dog) for a total of $3,800. A little higher than what we had in mind prior to July 3, but nothing that a little heavier emphasis on tuna helper and grilled cheese sandwich dinners for the rest of the year won’t straighten out.

We came pretty dog-on close too to hitting the numbers (final = $3,975) – driving saved us about $1,000 over flying (boring 900 miles each way in the car – but we saved on airfare and car rental, plus we schlepped down a bunch of food and stuff that wouldn’t exactly fit in the overhead bin on a plane), and staying at OLCC probably saved us at least another $500 in lodging and $500 in meals over staying on-site. We looked up timeshare rentals on TUG2.net and Redweek.com, and after comparing reviews, prices, and availability we were able to snag a 2 bedroom villa at Orange Lake for $800 for the week. In ’99 a wonderful 2BR villa at Old Key West cost us $500/night. At OLCC we had a beautiful golf course/fountain view, tons of space, separate beds for each kid, kitchen + w/d (and boy did that come in handy), and easy back-road (Sherberth Rd.) access to the AKL side of Disney for a little over $100/night. Not quite as plush or convenient as OKW, but much easier on the budget.

Boot-Camp Disney Style – Oh my aching feet. Car rides and afternoons are for sleeping – up early for Rope Drops (the D in DW stands for “Drill-instructor”) and late to bed after fireworks. I’ll spare you the chronology (I'm not sure if I could remember it even if I tried, as it all is a blur now, save for MK when we 1st got there and Illuminations the night before we left) other than to say that each day was basically spent with mornings in 1 park, back to OLCC during PM T-Storm time for lunch/nap/shower/fresh clothes, and late afternoons/evenings at another park (on Disney Quest day we actually fit in 3 “parks”, as we hit the AK rope-drop at 9am for EE/Dinoland, left at 11 for the DQ rope-drop at 11:30, and continued on to MGM in the afternoon when DQ got too crowded). Instead in another post or 4 I’ll give you the highlights, park updates, and my thoughts/tips – please forgive me if any of these have already been beaten to death elsewhere on Disboards. Hopefully this report will be helpful to anyone going in the near future with questions concerning planning, costs, and the parks.

 

[Disney owl]

Thanks for sharing

900 miles !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thats a long drive

 

[pumba]

You really did great too. thanks for taking the time for posting this.
thanks for the report

 

[Andrea34]

Did you enjoy Orange Lake? We have a timeshare at Orange Lake and go every year. I love it there. It's so nice having a kitchen, living room, washer/dryer, separate bedrooms etc. especially when traveling with little ones! It's very convenient to Disney too. I wouldn't stay anywhere else!

 

[jhorstma]

Magic Kingdom: Here’s one park where we didn’t bother trying to get to in time for the rope drop. Fast Passes – what a great concept!!! Makes everyone in the park feel like a VIP several times each day, simply by giving everyone equal opportunities to bypass long lines and walk right onto rides. After checking in at OLCC and unpacking the car we drove over to Magic Kingdom, zoomed thru CR’s Grand Concourse on the express monorail, skipped down the ramp from the monorail hand-in-hand w/DD, got our 7 day tix, entered the park and hung a right to Tomorrowland, snapped up Space Mountain fast passes, rode Buzz Lightyear a couple times (a personal favorite of mine) after brief waits in the stand-by line, walked past the dead-stopped stand-by line for Space Mountain, and had the ride of our lives! Have they changed this ride (last time I rode this was in 1999)? Seemed like a lot more fun, a bit faster. Had a fast food dinner at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café and then literally stepped outside to watch the fireworks explode over our heads – we were so close we could feel the heat! Great start to our vacation.

We returned twice during the week – once in the evening (fireworks over Cinderella’s Castle from a better vantage point plus riding Big Thunder Mountain at night – really the best way to ride this coaster) and once in the morning (scored a Paint Brush on Tom Sawyer’s Island after being on the 2nd raft over and, well, you know the rest – let me just say that if they don’t ask you for the certificate at Splash Mountain or BTMR, don’t offer it up – you can ride both repeatedly on the same certificate). Speaking of TSI, if you take the path to the left as you approach Fort Langhorn you’ll come to a shady landing with 2 rocking chairs overlooking the fort, the “river” (Rivers of America?), and BTMR. Perhaps my favorite spot anywhere in WDW. Unfortunately my loving family decided I was being too boring just sitting there and insisted that I join them elsewhere on the island (kinda like when they repeatedly dragged me away from the Quiet Cove coffee shop on the Magic during our at-sea days). One other note - no more PBJs at Aunt Polly's, just ice cream desserts, drinks, and chips. mmmm - root beer floats on shaded rocking chairs!

One other Fast Pass note – if you get back a Pass without a time stamped at the bottom for when you can return for another Fast Pass, try running the same ticket back through the dispenser! This happened to us a couple times during the week (at RnR in particular) and we scored multiple valid Fast Passes for the same ride using the same ticket. Don’t know why, but it worked.

On a negative note, getting around and out of MK at night totally sucks. The fireworks and the parades basically shut down the direct routes to the front gates (and the train stops at 9pm), and afterwards the crowds for the monorail, ferry, and trams are vast. Took us over an hour to leave at 11pm on our 2nd nighttime visit. On our (Saturday) morning visit we parked at EPCOT at 8:45am (easy walking distance to the front gate and to the monorail station) and, after detouring briefly into EPCOT to walk onto Soarin’, took the monorail to TTC (bypassing the tool booth/parking lot/tram gridlock), scooted around the MK “express” monorail line and schmoozed our way onto the resort monorail (“is this the monorail to the character breakfast at the Contemporary?”), and got into the park without any delays. We returned to EPCOT mid-afternoon and missed the end-of-the-day rush.

Also on a negative note, they really need to lose the Stitch shtick – I don’t get it, if the theme this year is the 50th anniversary celebration, don’t you think they’d be pushing Mickey? And Stitch’s Great Escape in Tomorrowland is very disappointing and not worth the wait or the Fast Pass. Made very little sense, scared the bejeebers out of kids around us, and that cheese smell is pretty gross (eliminating chili cheese dogs from our dinner rotation for a long, long time).

A couple final MK thoughts – taking the train from the front gate to Frontierland and then to Mickey’s Toontown is a great way to go. In Frontierland it lets you out right by Splash Mountain and within a short walk to BTMR, TSI, and POC, and in Mickey’s Toontown it lets you out right by the Barnstormer – a great little roller coaster for all ages (although DS13 and I, sharing a car, got to know each other almost a little too well while riding it) with barely any line, even when Toontown is packed.

Next up - EPCOT review...

 

[jhorstma]

Did you enjoy Orange Lake? We have a timeshare at Orange Lake and go every year. I love it there. It's so nice having a kitchen, living room, washer/dryer, separate bedrooms etc. especially when traveling with little ones! It's very convenient to Disney too. I wouldn't stay anywhere else!

Loved it!!! We stayed in one of the oft-dissed golf villas in the West Village, and had a great time (did have a few ants come a-callin' from time to time, but didn't let it ruin our vacation). Beautiful grounds, lots of space in the condo, and easy access to Publix for reasonably-priced groceries and WDW via Black Lake and Sherberth. We never did make it to River Island or play any golf, but what wonderful amenities for those folks who aren't militant about spending every possible waking minute at the parks (cough, cough - DW - cough, cough). We were going to stay at Cypress Pointe for a few hundred dollars more, but were glad we didn't when we witnessed the traffic by Downtown Disney and 535. 192 might be cheesy, but at least it seems a lot less popular than the other side of WDW.

 

[OhMari]

Great tips, especially the one about being in Epcot and going to MK and back to Epcot.

It would be great if there would be a different exit at nite for people that don't want to watch the parade or fireworks.

 

[jhorstma]

.

Lomira huh? DW is from just outside of Marshfield, a bit to the northwest of you.

 

[jhorstma]

EPCOT – To recap our park planning strategy, we had 7 days with approximately 13 hours (9am to 10pm, some days 11pm) each to split among the 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, Disney Quest, and Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island. In the summer heat we placed a premium on getting up early and staying out late, so to make up for the 6 hours or so of sleep each night we had to carve out daily 3 hour siestas for lunch and naps. (For guests staying on-site this is probably even more important, given the potential for 8am to 1am EMH windows.) This left us with 14 five-hour blocks (1 each on our arrival/departure Sundays, 2 each on the days in between) to divide up amongst the 8 attractions, less if we wanted to take in a dinner show or off-site attraction (which we ended up not doing, as we were gung-ho on milking every last iota of value out of our souped-up Magic Your Way tix). This is my long-winded way of saying that even with 10 hours allocated to EPCOT (by far may favorite park) we barely saw half of the attractions (same for the other parks too). It’s pretty unbelievable just how vast, unique, and wonderfully detailed WDW is.

We rope-dropped EPCOT twice – once to walk on to Test Track and the other to walk on to Soarin’ (obviously since we weren’t resort guests we didn’t do EPCOT on EMH days). We also spent our last evening there for Illuminations – a perfect ending to our vacation. As a general rule we found that AK (for EE) and EPCOT (Soarin’, in particular) were parks you wanted to rope-drop, while MK and MGM were pretty wide open throughout the day (assuming you had a good Fast Pass gameplan). Unfortunately every day was an EMH day at the water parks, so we couldn’t beat the crowds there (oh well, next time we’ll splurge and stay on-site).

Here are my thoughts/observations/tips on the major attractions we did see:

Illuminations – I live just outside of DC, so I know fireworks (4th of July, Lincoln Memorial/Washington Monument/Capital, National Symphony Orchestra playing Sousa, etc.). Having been spoiled at home it’s wonderful to come down to Disney and enjoy their pyrotechnics mastery – MK fireworks with Tinkerbell flying away from Cinderella’s Castle is an absolute joy, but to me the sublime integration of the World Showcase into the Illumination spectacle is the absolute best (I particularly like it when they “blow out the candles” to start the show). Here’s a tip – 45 minutes before the show started on Saturday night we found an empty ring-side park bench between the Outpost and the Germany pavilion. We had a good view (not optimum, but good) of the show, had the place to ourselves, and were conveniently close to the German beer tap kiosk. While DW and DS camped out, DD and I went hunting and gathering to bring back dinner – a lovely “picnic” to end our Disney vacation. To me it was the highlight of our trip.

Mission Space – If Illuminations was the highlight to our trip for me, Mission Space was my favorite ride (w/Soarin’, EE, RnR, and Space Mountain rounding out my top 5). This might be the most misunderstood ride in WDW, especially with the changes Disney’s apparently made. First, the less-intense Green side (same ride but no spinning) is the same simulator-type ride as Body Wars (which was closed during our stay) and Star Tours, with the caveat that MS-Green (and Orange) is more claustrophobic (in a fun way – you’re strapped in astronaut-style and you’ve got a semi-working instrument panel right in front of you) and you’re rolled onto your back for lift-off. Second, you really don’t need a Fast Pass to ride MS-Green – we were able to walk onto the ride even when MS-Orange had a 50 minute stand-by line. Third, on MS-Orange you don’t feel the spinning so much as the resulting G forces (lots of fun trying to reach up to hit the stage release buttons on command when your arm weighs a ton) – you can’t simply close your eyes if you don’t feel good, you have to exhale to equalize pressure (laugh, holler, etc. especially on lift-off) and you have to keep focus on your view screen directly in front of you. That said, what a fantastic ride! DS and I went on it as often as we could just to play astronaut with that realistic blast-off feel. And be sure to spend some time participating in the multi-player “Mission Control” training center game after the ride – it’s a bit complicated the first time thru but then it’s a lot of fun, especially with the rapid-fire CM commentary.

Soarin’ – What a fantastic ride! IMAX combined with suspended porch swings, complete with ocean breezes, pleasant orange grove scents, and an uplifting musical score. We rode this first thing at rope-drop and again with Fast Passes (after a 5 hour wait – we got the Fast Passes before siesta and returned to EPCOT in the evening for Soarin’, Innoventions, O Canada, Norway, and finally Illuminations) – over 2 hour waits otherwise. A tremendous family ride, although I can’t imagine being in the stand-by line for this (air-conditioned but fairly boring compared to other Disney stand-by line experiences).

Test Track – Another ride that requires Fast Passes or hitting at rope-drop, although the single riders line may be sparsely populated at times. For all the build-up and obvious investment made on this ride, to me it’s not much more than a sophisticated GM advertisement (leading to a round of jokes between DW and I concerning what would happen if you tried to take a real GM car through any of these “tests”). Fun to do once for the experience.

Spaceship Earth – As dated and cheesy as this ride is, I still love it (what’s a trip to WDW without going up inside the giant golf ball?) – but why do people actually wait in any line over 5 minutes for this? If the line loops at all outside the door come back later and it’s guaranteed to be shorter. Actually Disney should reach out to the La-Z-Boy Corporation for sponsorship the next time they rehab it – they should replace the cars with a chain of comfy padded Barcaloungers with head phones (w/music and narration options) so that you can enjoy the ride “your way” – either by admiring the animatronic scenes or by simply taking a wonderfully relaxing 15 minute nap during the heat of the day. They could charge real money for this on top of the park admission.

Innoventions – DS13 and DD11 really enjoyed this – the group interactive games on both sides were quite engaging and worth devoting an hour or so. Even during peak times the waits if any were short, and again you can’t beat a chance to get out of the heat and sun mid-day. DS participated in the build- and race-your-own virtual robot game in Inn-East while DD was Goofy in the Mickey/Minnie/Goofy/Donald electronic tag game across the way. Later all 4 of us, split into teams pitting DW/DS against DD/me, battled it out in the fire hazard detection game in Inn-West (the folks waiting in line while we played got a kick out of me flashing the forehead “L” sign to DW/DS after we emerged victorious). The Segways looked like fun there too, but riding them definitely isn’t free and besides the kids were too young to ride them.

O Canada – That song! The trainride across the plains and through the Canadian Rockies! The Maritime and tobogganing/ice skating in frozen (Ottawa? Montreal? Quebec City?)! DW complained about feeling dizzy coming out of the ride (fair warning), but this movie still gives me chills up the spine everytime I see it. I hope Disney never changes this show, even if the haircuts are a bit dated.

 

[OhMari]

Lomira huh? DW is from just outside of Marshfield, a bit to the northwest of you.

Is Marshfield up by Steven's Point? I live 10 miles south of Fond du Lac, on HWY 41 where there is a ton of road construction.

 

[jhorstma]

Is Marshfield up by Steven's Point? I live 10 miles south of Fond du Lac, on HWY 41 where there is a ton of road construction.

Sure is - about 30 miles to the west of the Point.

 

[jhorstma]

MGM – We visited MGM twice during our stay, both times in the late afternoons. I love MGM, but interestingly we found that while our planning helped us maximize the attractions/shows we could take in (again during peak times), it also seriously hindered our ability to just step back and enjoy the overall atmosphere that Disney has gone to great lengths to create. Basically we were running back and forth between the RnR/TT side of the park and the rest of MGM in order to get/use Fast Passes and to go to other rides/shows in the interim. This really is a park where you want to slow down and take it all in (street performers, shops, façades, character appearances, etc.), but it’s just tough to do so while juggling show times, Fast Pass windows, and any ressies you may have. Here’s where a co-located hotel would be a fantastic addition (if they had the space, which I don’t think they have) – maybe really build a Hollywood Tower Hotel and share the lobby with the ride entrance – separate elevators: ride on one side, hotel rooms on the other – tell me that wouldn’t be an immediate hit!!!

Again, even with 10 hours it’s just impossible during the peak times to see anywhere near everything MGM has to offer – things we wanted to see but missed included Indiana Jones (seen it before, would’ve been nice to see the updates plus it’s just plain fun regardless, but not an absolute necessity), Who Wants to Be A Millionaire (never hit the show times), Great Movie Ride (well, I wanted to see it but my loving family did not), 50s Prime Time Café, and the Sci-Fi Drive-In. We also decided to miss Fantasmic, which we had originally hoped to see, after viewing the hoards lining up for it and reading the somewhat mixed reviews – we decided to shoot for extra fireworks at MK and EPCOT instead (or extra sleep on days when our legs were giving out). Here are my thoughts on the things we did see:

RnR – Wow!!! Now that’s one awesome coaster! Space Mountain on steroids! Definitely not for the faint of heart, this coaster boasts a linear induction 0-to-60 mph in under 3 second launch that’s got a loop and a corkscrew, all in the dark with a booming soundtrack. We lucked out big time with Fast Passes on this very popular ride – one day as we entered the park some nice people gave us some unused Fast Passes as they were leaving, and on another day we chanced upon a malfunctioning Fast Pass machine that allowed us to get a couple extra Fast Passes on the same park ticket at one time (see my note under the Magic Kingdom entry). All told we rode RnR five or six times over 2 days without ever having to wait in the stand-by line. Note that contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, there is no single riders line.

One cautionary note to what I’m sure is a very small percentage of the population (those that like extreme rides but not hard rock songs with suggestive lyrics) - note that the entire area surrounding RnR, including the approach to TT, is bathed in Aerosmith music at a reasonably high decibel level. While this is obviously a major component of the overall experience, lyrics to songs like “Rag Doll” and “Walk This Way” may offend some people, and aren’t exactly in line with the wholesome family values Disney strives to attain (though for that matter the violence in Indiana Jones and the LAM stunt shows, though cartoonish and clearly pretend, may also offend some folks). I’m not complaining mind you (not with me humming along to Rag Doll, my personal favorite Aerosmith song), but it did get me to thinking about what other adult-themed rides Disney may be cooking up – maybe another “Mountain” ride, this time Brokeback Mountain where riders are on horseback and the theme is Mickey and Donald as cowboys who discover their true feelings for each other.

TT – Another Disney over-the-top exclusive that puts a huge grin on your face and leaves you pestering your task-master spouse with eager child-like outbursts of “AGAIN?!?” We Fast Passed this ride several times, but the stand-by line never appeared that long and frankly the pre-ride experience is perhaps the best in all of WDW (and that’s saying something). The hotel lobby ambiance, the Twilight Zone theme, the “oh-my-God-what-am-I-getting-myself-into” feeling for first time riders, the random yo-yoing of the “elevator” car (and the resulting weightless moments at the top of each bounce – thanks in part to no shoulder restraints or lap bars, just seat belts), etc. make this a great ride for any fun-loving family. This ride is also perhaps the best ride to get an action picture of a large group, since so many folks share one car.

Back Lot Tour – This ride has been scaled back from the last time we rode it, as they cut out a significant amount of the back lot (both the tram portion as well as the semi-post-ride walking portion) to make room for the Lights Motors Action Stunt Show. Catastrophe Canyon is still as wild, hot, loud and wet as ever, so plan your seating chart accordingly (the left hand side of the tram is ringside for this one). A fun ride but again it can be intense during the special effects portion (propane explosions that are loud, hot, and sudden – stand in the elevated back row if you or your kids don’t like this sort of thing). The mid-show line that snakes thru the props warehouse is particularly interesting (and this too is where you can find bathrooms before boarding the trams).

Lights Motors Action Stunt Show – Where else but Disney would you expect to see not 1 (Indiana Jones), not 2 (Catastrophe Canyon and the special effects water tank), but 3 completely over-the-top blow-out special effects attractions? This is the sh.., er, stuff! Held in a whompingly large 2-tiered stadium (complete with rest rooms and a jumbotron) that probably gobbles up a good 10 to 20 percent of the park attendance during each of 3 daily shows, this show is loud, action-packed, full of explosions and fire, and fun. We hadn’t planned on carving out over an hour for this (and that’s with us just walking up as they opened the gates), but after getting a couple peaks of the drivers rehearsing from the Back Lot Tour we were hooked. Lining up for seats is kinda Southwest Airlines style – they’ve got 3 assembly areas similar to the SWA boarding area cattle chutes, with Fast Pass ticket holders in the first “boarding” area and then the other 2 filled on a stand-by basis. People lined up prior to CM’s opening these boarding areas, but you really don’t need to do this. Fast Pass ticket holders are let in first and obviously have the pick of the stadium, and generally take the bottom center seats. We sat in the upper deck and actually felt we had a much better view of the wide set layout. When you do pick a seat the most important thing is to make sure that you have a clear view of the jumbotron – be aware that if there are empty spaces to your side (to the right in our case) you will be asked to move over to allow them to squeeze in more people; factor this in strategically when you pick a row so that you’re not scooted over behind a pole. Also, the show is a major commitment of time (waiting, seating, show, and exiting) and has some fidgety moments for small and not-so-small kids when the show slows down to some somewhat boring dialog/explanations. Still this is absolutely in the not-to-be-missed category.

Sounds Dangerous – If you’re a Drew Carey fan then you’ll really like this sound show – we are (we love ABC-Family channel reruns of Who’s Line Is It?) and we were glad to again beat the heat to take in this show. This replaces the old sound effects show that featured audience participation; however the old sound effects stations are still there post-show. Be aware that you’ll be sitting in the pitch black with headphones on that feature a very vivid (and at times loud) soundtrack – this upset a couple small children while we were there.

Muppets 3D/Star Tours - Oldies but goodies, these rides are the complete package – nifty pre-shows, well-packaged excitement during the “ride”, and again the overwhelming desire to enjoy it again once you leave. Muppets 3D in particular offers an entertaining way to get out of the heat for about 20 minutes or so, first with the pre-show video clips and then with the main event. No one does silly quite the way the Muppets do silly.

Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground – Yes our kids are way too old for this, but a stop here was required in order to add to our collection of photo updates – we made it a point to retake pictures of the kids at the same places where we took pictures in 1994 and 1999 (here and also at Tom Sawyers Island, Cindy’s Castle, on the Land Speeder outside of Star Tours, at the AK Bone Yard playground, to name a few). Quite fun with a shaggy-haired 13 year old who for once didn’t mind playing along and actually smiling in the same spots where he had his picture taken 11 years ago.

 

[jhorstma]

Animal Kingdom – Ah, Animal Kingdom, Disney’s entrée into the zoo business. After our last visit in 1999 I would have suggested skipping this if pressed for time (it’s hot, tiring, doesn’t have nearly enough animals, and lacks the bang for the buck the other parks pack). But then came Expedition Everest.

Quite simply, EE makes AK a destination worth investing at least 1 time block out of the week’s 14. The coaster is the first at WDW with an actual outdoor climb (combining the delicious fear/anticipation of an intense ride with a great view of central Florida – riders ahead of us actually saw the Space Shuttle on its final landing approach the day we were there; we had to settle to hear/feel the twin sonic booms) and features signature Disney ride theming (that Yeti really doesn’t want you up on his mountain – and what a mountain it is!) coupled with starts/stops/backwards in the dark pulling Gs and the steepest drop this side of Splash Mountain (though not nearly as long or steep as coasters at other theme parks). If you like roller coasters you’ll love EE, although it’s not nearly as wild as RnR or other non-Disney rides. If you’re not a roller coaster fan, or if you’re not sure, ride Splash Mountain at MK first – if you can stomach the Splash Mountain drop you can handle EE. It is a bit scarier, but mainly that’s due to the initial climb.

EE is also a very “approachable” attraction in that you can employ different strategies to enjoy multiple rides without having to stand in the 60+ minute line (although the preride is worth viewing at least once while in queue). Following the masses over at rope drop ensures walking right onto the ride, but make sure you follow the CMs leading you through Asia, as the group going via Dinoland will have you go to the Fast Pass machines first – go this way and you’ll be behind the Asia group but will still have just a very short wait (the CMs form a moving barrier that shepherds the first visitors of the day to the key attractions both here and at the other parks). Fast Passes are the way to go to if you have a group that wants to ride together later in the day (especially if you want a group picture, since Disney’s web site occasionally promotes a free EE picture), but they tend to “sell”-out by noon or 1pm and the wait to the Fast Pass window is usually 3 to 4 hours or more. The third option, which will net you multiple rides with short waits during peak hours, is to take advantage of the single rider line tucked away next to the gift shop at the ride’s exit. Unlike the single rider line at Test Track, which may or may not move quickly, the EE line reliably inches forward at the rate of about 1 rider per train (or about 15 minutes per back and forth loop in the line) due to the 2 across seating – every odd-numbered group generally creates an opening for a single.

The rest of AK is fun but ultimately optionable if other venues are competing for your time. Dinoland is a pleasantly odd combination of a typically Disney over-the-top attraction (Dinosaur – guaranteed to scare the kids in a herky-jerky migraine-inducing funhouse) and a county fair midway. I’d actually recommend getting Fast Passes to Primeval Whirl (a really cool ricochet-style coaster) and then take in TriceraTop Spin (Dumbo without the line) and perhaps wait in the shady, partially air-conditioned line for Dinosaur in the interim. The Boneyard is a fun playground for the young kids, although it can get quite hot during the heat of the day. Kilamanjaro (but why? why would you want to kill a poor little manjaro? and what’s a manjaro anyway? It was the running joke of the day) Safari was ok but not really worth the wait; Rafiki’s Planet Watch could’ve been a whole lot better (great design by Disney in the train and the station, but then all you saw were bushes next to the rails and a couple sheds on the train ride, and an ok exhibit hall/petting zoo once there); and Kali River Rapids is fun if you get Fast Passes but really isn’t worth the long wait otherwise (probabilities are 25% you’ll get splashed on, 25% you’ll get wet, and 50% you’ll get soaked – geeks/old folks wear ponchos, smart cool folks bring a change of shorts). The various trails and animal displays would be neat to explore if it was in the 70s and not the 90s; we chanced down one on Discovery Island thinking we were smartly avoiding the crowds when Whammo! the semi-hidden exits to It’s Tough to be a Bug sprung open and we were suddenly engulfed by the hoards leaving the show. Another time we were eating chicken strips at a water side table tucked away across the path from Flights of Wonder and looked down to see a small alligator hanging out with a school of fish – apparently he’s a very well-fed alligator as he didn’t move nearly as fast as the fish in going after tidbits that “accidentally” fell from our trays.

One last note – lunch at Rainforest Café, though expensive (what a shock), was a delightfully cool and dark (with flashing drink glasses for the kids and the kids-at-heart – e.g., me) respite from the afternoon heat. The food was good, portions were huge, and the atmosphere was perfect for families (we loved the really big freeform fish tank). When we arrived on the morning of our AK day I was able to get reservations for 9 people (my family and my sister-in-law’s family) for that afternoon, and somewhat surprisingly they were able to accommodate us all at one table.

 

[MomofCKJ]

What fantastic reviews, thank you for sharing them! I like your style of writing and just telling it like it is. Very helpful in planning our upcoming trip, thank you!

Allyson

 

[jhorstma]

What fantastic reviews, thank you for sharing them! I like your style of writing and just telling it like it is. Very helpful in planning our upcoming trip, thank you!

Allyson

You're welcome! Have a great trip. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[jhorstma]

As the trip report title indicates, we spent very little time planning our trip – or more accurately we spent a lot of time planning (literally hours researching lodging options, plus more hours reading the Birnbaum guide and the PassPorter) but very little time going back over our plans in search of better options. Thankfully Disney’s vast array of attractions rewards you for merely showing up, but in retrospect we wish we could have done a couple things differently, particularly with our tickets. We purchased 7 day Magic Your Way tickets complete with park hopping (good, since we went to 2 parks every full day we were there) and water park fun & more – in hindsight for a week’s stay with us driving it would have been worth it to spend the extra $3/ticket for the 8th day but not get hung up over trying to maximize usage of our six “minor park” options. Since DQ and the water parks cost $36 for each use, we easily paid for the options after the first use. And after seeing the crowds hitting Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, especially with resort guests enjoying EMHs every morning, we probably should have high-tailed it to Wet n’ Wild instead of pressing our luck with the over-crowded Disney water parks.

Typhoon Lagoon – Sand, big waves, snorkeling, and a new water roller coaster – pretty good for the older of Disney’s 2 water parks. Unfortunately the crowds simply overwhelm this park by lunch time, leaving you to fight for space in the lazy river or in the lagoon when you’re not in the long lines (well over an hour for Crush n’ Gusher by the time we got to it – we never did it as a result). We did get to the Shark Reef early enough to have a leisurely pass through it, but unfortunately after doing so well snorkeling in the relatively rough waters off of St. Maarten DD11 totally freaked out midway through when spying the small sharks at the bottom of the pool. Put a damper on what would have otherwise been a really cool experience (and the water is pretty cool – a solid 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the fresh water elsewhere in the park) – one thing to bear in mind is that even sinkers like me float freely in the salt water, so you don’t need a life jacket to make it across (but you do need to know how to swim).

Blizzard Beach – Summit Plummet is the destination ride for this water park, with Slusher Gusher for the more timid (but still a really fun water slide). DS13 waited in the hour-long line for Summit Plummet and emerged at the end of it giggling uncontrollably. Here’s a ride that physically hurts you at the bottom when you hit the water at 60 mph, and yet virtually everyone exited with the same silly look that DS had on his face. Simply put, it’s Disney’s wildest ride. But again, the crowds at mid-day suck the fun out of the park, and there just aren’t enough other good slides to make the waits worth it. Ski Patrol Training Camp is fun for the kids, but it’s absolutely imperative that they know how to swim before they go down the zip line.

One note for resort guests – if you plan to go to BB plan on arriving right at park opening on an EMH day (which was everyday when we were there) and immediately swing on over to the lazy river, where there are a few semi-private alcoves that you can claim for the day. Scoring one of these shady lounging areas for your family will make spending the entire day there much more palatable.

Disney Quest – Disney Quest was a neat place to spend a hot afternoon after a morning at AK. When we were there it opened at 11:30, allowing us to take in most of what we wanted to see at AK and still giving us enough time to get to DQ for rope-drop. It fills relatively quickly, but there are enough different attractions to keep your interest piqued for at least 3 to 4 hours. CyberSpace Mountain was by far our favorite (“dead red” baby!); if ever you wondered what it would be like to be in your washing machine during the spin cycle here’s your chance to find out. We also enjoyed the Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam (though it’s a bit tough to get a good feel for the game, even after several attempts), the Virtual Jungle Cruise (a great family team-building experience; communication and coordinated paddling, both forward and backward, are essential to maximize the distance you travel in your allotted time), and playing all the games we grew up with for free. Less enjoyable were the Ride the Comix, Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters and Invasion! attractions, as they were very difficult to get the hang of and, in the case of the Buzz Lightyear bumper cars, not working properly. We would have liked to have done the Pirates of the Caribbean, but the line was way to long and slow all day. Good pizza and interesting desserts highlight the food offerings; eating next to the table versions of Ms. Pacman and Asteroids was a lot of fun, but the game/internet terminals in the booths were too ancient to be enjoyable.

Downtown Disney – Outside of DQ, the rest of Downtown Disney is a pretty neat collection of over-the-top shops, restaurants, and entertainment options, anchored at one end by DQ and Cirque de Soleil (“Circus of the Exorbitant Ticket Prices”) and by the world’s largest Disney store at the other, bisected by Pleasure Island. Magic Masters is our personal favorite, but beware going there with a teen or preteen, or you might help subsidize their ongoing magic shows (let’s just say that DS had plenty to keep him busy during the 17 hour car ride home). If you do buy anything there I suggest you avoid the card tricks and opt for the disappearing scarf – reasonably simple to master but a real stunner for a kid to pull off.

Regrettably PI was getting a complete overhaul; the clubs are all open but construction has pretty completely eliminated the exterior ambiance. When completed it’ll be easier to get into and through to the East Side (free chocolate samples at Ghirardelli’s!!!), but for now PI is a pretty dumpy place. Also a bummer is the traffic in the area; in general traffic in this part of WDW, along Hotel Plaza Blvd, and out to 535 is much heavier than by the entrances off of Osceola Parkway and 192. Something to keep in mind if you’re planning to stay at a Downtown Disney area hotel or timeshare.

 

[heaven2dc]

Loved the way you catagorized your report - lots of helpful hints that I've never read before. I have a 13 yr old son who will be going for the first time this fall and am curious if he will still have enough "child" in his nature to enjoy the small stuff. I've always been curious about renting a home offsite but older kids loved the Boardwalk on our last trip & don't want to stay anywhere else.

 

[jhorstma]

Loved the way you catagorized your report - lots of helpful hints that I've never read before. I have a 13 yr old son who will be going for the first time this fall and am curious if he will still have enough "child" in his nature to enjoy the small stuff. I've always been curious about renting a home offsite but older kids loved the Boardwalk on our last trip & don't want to stay anywhere else.

DS13 will have a great time! If he's like my DS13, he'll try to act cool and aloof but it will be absolutely impossible! For me the best moment was seeing him climb out of the exit chute on Summit Plummet laughing uncontrollably - the grin stayed on his face for the next hour, all while complaining about his sore butt! We also had a great time playing astronaut on Mission Space. You'll have so many special moments with your son, moments that you'll remember fondly forever. Be sure to take a lot of pictures...

Where are you in VA? I'm in Aldie, in Loudoun County, outside of DC.