Tips for those going to Disney....

[texhanddoc]

My family and I just got back from a great week at Disney World. I thought I would start this thread and see if it gets any legs. My intent on this thread is to give some advice to those planning on going or about to go to Disney World. I would love some feedback and also, I invite others to post their tips.

So Ill get it going...

1. This has been said by many people and I really wanted this post to be more about things you may not know, but it is SO important, it bears being repeated: GO EARLY. Be there when the rope drops. Yesterday was busy in the parks with wait times 70-80 mins at times at Splash and Space. The only ride that had any wait before 10:30 or so was Dumbo. GO EARLY. GO EARLY. GO EARLY.

2. DONT rely on Disney transportation if its not the monorail. We found the buses and boats to be extremely unreliable. Just 2 examples: Last week during the week it took us 75 mins to get from the Polynesian to Fort Wilderness for Hoop Dee Doo by boat and about an hour to get from DT Disney to Polynesian by bus. My advice, if you HAVE to get anywhere within 30 mins and you cant take monorail, GET A CAB. Also, this brings up the resort question. If you are trying to decide between resorts and you can afford it... STAY ON THE MONORAIL. Worth its weight in gold.

3. FASTPASS. Become a fastpass jugglin' fool. If you wait in a standby line for more than 15 mins, you have done something wrong or are visiting during a very busy time of year. I dont want to discuss specific strategies for fastpasses, but they are out there and Ill refer you to Tour Guide Mike's website. Thats where I got mine. I rode every ride I could dream of and didnt wait in line from Oct 1st through last night for more than 10 minutes due to judicious use of fastpasses.

4. Lastly, STAY AWAY from Ariel's Grotto at all costs. Similarly, stay away from Mickey's Toontown Fair unless it is very slow or you get there right when the area opens. They are amazing time sucks and you only get a couple of signatures out of it. Of course, if you are a signature hound, then have at it. Doing a character dinner/breakfast is a much better way to get signatures and the characters COME TO YOU.

5. P.S. MNSSHP is so absolutely cool. If you are going to be near central FL during Oct. you owe it to you and your family to GO. DO IT ! That is by far the best parade disney has going.

discuss...

 

[jwfla422]

We just got back Wed. and didn't experience long waits BUT keep in mind it's Columbus Day weekend right now and this week many schools in the south have a fall break. It always starts to get busy about this time. Even last weekend was busy because many FL schools had off on Monday but Tue. and Wed. were not terribly busy.

I agree, when transferring buses allow LOTS of time! We actually really LUCKED out this past week, we were amazed how great the transportation was but I really think it was DEFINITELY LUCK!! as that never happens or just once in a while. If you go to another resort try to drive if you have a car.

I do agree the monorail resorts are great access but we spend lots of time in MGM and EPCOT and the S/D resorts are in a great location to access these parks...so it's all "relative" as to where you plan to stay. (decide which parks you'll spend the most time in).

Also agreed, FP is a great friend!! We often wonder why people stand in the regular lines and wait 50 minutes, but hey if everyone got an FP, there wouldn't be enough to go around!! LOL!!

Mickey's Toontown is not usually bad in the morning. My dd was a character fanatic when she was younger and didn't like the rides so this was a must-do for her. This past trip we skipped it and she tried some rides, (yippee), so it's all the matter of what you're kids like on what to see and not to...but a MUST-SEE is "Crush" at EPCOT. I think the adults enjoy it more than the kids, if you need a laugh you MUST see this show. The crowds in the lobby waiting look intimidating but it's not terrible because it's in a small theatre.

 

[dreamergirl78]

I think this is a great idea for a thread, however it can lead people in a bad direction. For example, we had great luck with the transportation system. There were a few times that the wait was a bit long, but the overall experience we had, was that it was not bad at all.
The ONLY time we got up early was go to to a first seating at Donald's Breakfastosaurus. The rest of the days we slept in. Sometimes not arriving to the parks until 10 or later. For us it was not a huge deal. We rode and saw everything we wanted, sometimes 3 and 4 times. My son rode Star Tours 12 times for example. 4 of those they didn't even make him get off of the ride! Rode EE 3 times in one morning with little wait. I think 10 minutes tops. We saw what we wanted and park hopped to revisit favorites.
My tip is this: be prepared for your luggage to arrive late when using the ME. In our info it told us up to 3 hours to get our luggage in our room. Needless to say it didn't show up until 12 hours AFTER we arrived in Orlando. Next time I will at least bring PJ's with us. I could understand it being late, but not having clean pj's to sleep in, and not getting to bed until almost 3 am was hard and a bad way to start our vacation.
We too went to MNSSHP and thought it was ok. Fireworks and parade and VMM were good, but other than that we thought it was so-so.
Anyway, good ideas from everyone. Just keep in mind all of these are subject to personal opinions and experiences. The same 2 people visiting the same park on the same day will more than likely come back with completely different view points.

 

[Bowlly]

My tip... Go in December. This is trip number 15 in December. No lines, no crowds, no heat, no bus wait, everything is great.

 

[Bowlly]

Go the first two weeks in December!