What I learned today!

[TinkOhio]

Well, it really isn't anything like SpectroMagic. More like giant Lite-Brites on boats. With a soundtrack performed on the Casio keyboard I had in second grade.

Which is not to say that it isn't worth seeing, just don't expect anything spectacular.

This descrition is SO funny and SO true!

 

[semo233]

Your tips are great! How about a tip on how to stay off the DIS boards!! I can't keep away. I am on them everynight on my laptop (and I am trying to keep a secret from my kids!)

WHAT?!?! You might miss a tip that was posted 10 seconds ago!!!

I can't seem to keep away either!

 

[RooRach0906]

I love these tips, there are a few good ones for me and DH, and than the ones that are for families with kids, I tell my sister about and she get excited... they are going two weeks after us... she hasnt got into the site yet... but she will

 

[jamieguffey]

What I have for you today is a great article(blog actually) I read.

The article is a bunch of whining about all the problems encountered on a trip to WDW. The great part are all the real Disney Vets killing the guy for not doing his homework. Funny stuff and educational also.

http://allenontravel.blogspot.com/2006/12/walt-dismal-world-part-1-orlando.html

Of particular interest to me was the list of attractions open during EMH since apparently just because the park is open does not mean all the rides are?

 

[jamieguffey]

Well, it really isn't anything like SpectroMagic. More like giant Lite-Brites on boats. With a soundtrack performed on the Casio keyboard I had in second grade.

Which is not to say that it isn't worth seeing, just don't expect anything spectacular.

I did say spectromagic'ish meaning it is at night and there are lights. But your description has created a visual that I can't wait to confirm!

 

[disneybliss2]

LOVE how you've compiled your info into a tip of the day. I look forward to reading your post each day. I know all the planning and research will make for a wonderful vacation for your family. Thanks for letting us all share in some of the fun beforehand.

 

[jamieguffey]

If you subscribe to the touring plans philosophy you know that there are a couple of keys to effective touring.

1. Be there at rope drop. You get on the most popular rides as quickly as possible with minimal wait time early in the day.
2. Move as quickly as comfortable from attraction to attraction. Just like #1 the idea here is to get as many rides in as you can as early as possible.

With that said there is one thing that you must do in order to facilitate this. Know where you are going. Since we have never been there this worries me a bit. Luckily there are more maps available for WDW than probably any location on the planet.

The customized maps I got from disney are well done but are more of a keepsake rather than an a useful map. An artists rendition of the parks is cool but there are some other excellent places to get a more realistic viewpoint.

Google Earth is really neat and they have a cool tour of Disney World. (Although I am still trying to get it to work right on my computer.)
There are some really practical ones at stitchkingdom.com. There is a bar across the top, one of the selections is tools. In the drop down list it has maps by robo. I am not sure if it is my computer or not but once I click on it it looks like nothing happens. But if I scroll down there are more drop down lists. Category and Subcategory. Here is a link to one of the maps

http://www.stitchkingdom.com/maps/index.php?showmap=18

This is an actual satelite photo from above with the route to Toy Story Mania in DHS superimposed. They have 30 or so different maps that show a clear perspective of what you will be doing.

I also really like to play with the maps of the parks at

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/

You can zoom way in and then click and drag your way around to get used to what landmarks you are going to be seeing. I think the scale is way off on these maps though because based on what I have read and heard I think the Epcot map just does not show the size very well. Like I said though these maps really point out landmarks very well.

So my tip for anyone like me is to get your touring plan out and find a really good map and walk through your routes in your mind. Actually you might want to write them out it might look like this.

When we get to AK on Wednesday we are going to go in and walk straight towards the tree of life. After we get across the bridge on the other side of the oasis we are going to go left and follow that around the side of the tree. We are going to see another bridge that we will cross. As soon as we cross it we will take another left and go around the back of the building to the Tusker House for the Safari Breakfast with Donald.

 

[mrstomrice]

Another great suggestion...you sure are learning a lot! Along with rope drop, early emh is so valuable if you are on site. On a MK day, head right to DUmbo to avoid long lines that build across the day. We can typically do all of Fantasyland in the first hour of the day! Great with the young ones!

 

[jamieguffey]

Apparently I didn't post yesterday?

More from stitchkingdom, If you plan to take advantage of the Disney Photopass CD remember you get ALL of your photos and as best I can tell it is unlimited on the number.

So stitch says take more than one photo of each pose. The photopass photographers are skilled but they are not professionals in most cases. Not to mention they are human and as such subject to mistakes. Don't find out when you get home that everyone blinked in the one photo you had taken in front of the Big Mickey Hat at DHS.

They have a good "guide" to the photopass here: http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disneysphotopass/

 

[jamieguffey]

You know if you spend enough time looking around you will find EVERYTHING you need.

I have been looking for a good guide to the transportation system. One that would tell me exactly what the best routes to take are and things like that. Well here is the best I have found.

http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.aspx

You put in your starting position and your finishing position and it calculates the best route and an alternate route with the probable travel times.

Here is an example:

Disney's All-Star Movies Resort -to- Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

* Add 5-10 minutes at each segment wait time for transportation.
Driving Time (car or taxi) is : 16 mins.
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort Magic Kingdom® Park Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa : 50 mins.

Disney's All-Star Movies Resort Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa : 43 mins

(NOTE THERE ARE SYMBOLS THAT SHOW WHAT TYPE OF TRANSPORTATION YOU ARE ON TO DO EACH LEG BUT THEY DON'T COPY AND PASTE WELL.)

The most important thing this tip taught me is that according to the travel whiz the BLIZZARD BEACH WATER PARK Should be the hub for those of us out in the value resorts. If we are planning on going from resort to resort.

 

[Alesia]

You know if you spend enough time looking around you will find EVERYTHING you need.

I have been looking for a good guide to the transportation system. One that would tell me exactly what the best routes to take are and things like that. Well here is the best I have found.

http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.aspx

You put in your starting position and your finishing position and it calculates the best route and an alternate route with the probable travel times.

Here is an example:

Disney's All-Star Movies Resort -to- Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

* Add 5-10 minutes at each segment wait time for transportation.
Driving Time (car or taxi) is : 16 mins.
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort Magic Kingdom® Park Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa : 50 mins.

Disney's All-Star Movies Resort Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa : 43 mins

(NOTE THERE ARE SYMBOLS THAT SHOW WHAT TYPE OF TRANSPORTATION YOU ARE ON TO DO EACH LEG BUT THEY DON'T COPY AND PASTE WELL.)

The most important thing this tip taught me is that according to the travel whiz the BLIZZARD BEACH WATER PARK Should be the hub for those of us out in the value resorts. If we are planning on going from resort to resort.

Be careful. I used to recommend this a lot, but then I realized that some of the routes it suggests don't actually exist.

 

[jamieguffey]

So the best thing to do is get the route and its alternate and then ask when we get there to make sure it is real?

 

[Alesia]

So the best thing to do is get the route and its alternate and then ask when we get there to make sure it is real?

I would just double check on the transportation board before you leave.

Most of it is really just common sense, though. Once you get there you will realize how easy it is to navigate.

 

[JeNScHuB]

Wow this is great. Thanks for the tips! I will be leaving a week before you so this is helping me greatly. I haven't followed a thread like this since the food pic one!!!! LoLoLoLoL

 

[HerdOHuds]

Apparently I didn't post yesterday?

More from stitchkingdom, If you plan to take advantage of the Disney Photopass CD remember you get ALL of your photos and as best I can tell it is unlimited on the number.

So stitch says take more than one photo of each pose. The photopass photographers are skilled but they are not professionals in most cases. Not to mention they are human and as such subject to mistakes. Don't find out when you get home that everyone blinked in the one photo you had taken in front of the Big Mickey Hat at DHS.

They have a good "guide" to the photopass here: http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disneysphotopass/

I was reading around stitchkingdom and found that they have a list of the 'magic shots' that can be taken. Where, you take the photo, say in front of the castle with your hands cupped and when you go to see the picture on your computer, Tinkerbell magically appears. There were many more than I knew about just from reading around the Dis.

Stitchkingdom listed where and when you can find a photographer who does these shots. We had a few done on our last trip and they were pretty cool!
Not as cheesy as they might sound. And knowing where you can find the photographers is very handy!

 

[DISDANCEMOM]

Apparently I didn't post yesterday?

More from stitchkingdom, If you plan to take advantage of the Disney Photopass CD remember you get ALL of your photos and as best I can tell it is unlimited on the number.

So stitch says take more than one photo of each pose. The photopass photographers are skilled but they are not professionals in most cases. Not to mention they are human and as such subject to mistakes. Don't find out when you get home that everyone blinked in the one photo you had taken in front of the Big Mickey Hat at DHS.

They have a good "guide" to the photopass here: http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disneysphotopass/

Another great Photopass tip is to prepurchase your CD before you leave. You will save at least $50 if you only buy the CD. If you do the CD/Photo book combo you will save even more.

Also, another perk of prepurchasing is that people have been reporting that they are still getting the coupon on their receipt for a discounted Family Portrait Session at the Grand Floridian. This is a great opportunity to have some really nice family photos done while in Disney. The way it works is you have approximately 1/2 hour with a photographer at the GF. They will take many many pics during the 1/2hr and you get them all on CD to bring home and print. We did this at the Poly last year and got beautiful family photos which have been enlarged and hung in our livingroom!!!

Here is the link to prepurchase:

http://www.disneyphotopass.com/previsitcdplan.aspx?CMP=EMC-PASOWphs

 

[DISDANCEMOM]

You know if you spend enough time looking around you will find EVERYTHING you need.

I have been looking for a good guide to the transportation system. One that would tell me exactly what the best routes to take are and things like that. Well here is the best I have found.

http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.aspx

You put in your starting position and your finishing position and it calculates the best route and an alternate route with the probable travel times.

Here is an example:

Disney's All-Star Movies Resort -to- Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

* Add 5-10 minutes at each segment wait time for transportation.
Driving Time (car or taxi) is : 16 mins.
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort Magic Kingdom® Park Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa : 50 mins.

Disney's All-Star Movies Resort Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa : 43 mins

(NOTE THERE ARE SYMBOLS THAT SHOW WHAT TYPE OF TRANSPORTATION YOU ARE ON TO DO EACH LEG BUT THEY DON'T COPY AND PASTE WELL.)

The most important thing this tip taught me is that according to the travel whiz the BLIZZARD BEACH WATER PARK Should be the hub for those of us out in the value resorts. If we are planning on going from resort to resort.

One thing that you have to take into consideration though is the time of day. If you are travelling before or after BB park hours then this will not work as the buses only run during park hours (plus 1hr b/f and 1hr after).

Also, if you are going to an early morning character breakfast there are special buses for that (at least during peak season). You get on the bus marked Character Breakfast and tell the driver which breakfast you are going to and they will usually take you right there (with possible stops for other guests along the way)

 

[jamieguffey]

Also, if you are going to an early morning character breakfast there are special buses for that (at least during peak season). You get on the bus marked Character Breakfast and tell the driver which breakfast you are going to and they will usually take you right there (with possible stops for other guests along the way)

Great tip. We have an 8:00 breakfast at Animal Kingdom one day so this would be of particular interest for that!

 

[jamieguffey]

Another link to Stitchkingdom. They don't have the quantity of stuff some of the other sites do but the detail is amazing.

When we put together our itenarary (sp?) we planned on doing Epcot one day. The kids are borderline on the Headliner thrill rides so it started out as Go late, eat lunch, see Nemo and Crush and then mill around until Illuminations. Well since I found this area of stitchkingdom:

http://www.stitchkingdom.com/kidcot/

We now have way more to do than we could possibly fit in in one day. What once was a chance to sleep in and take a break for a day with little to do is quickly becoming one of our more anticipated days. Damn you stitchkingdom!


Of course Epcot is the one park that people say to avoid if you have small children but that site and this one:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/Just_for_kids/epcotkids.htm

have changed all that. Can't wait to go to Epcot. Illuminations, Nemo and Crush are still top priority but we won't be at a loss for things to keep us busy.

 

[Alesia]

Another link to Stitchkingdom. They don't have the quantity of stuff some of the other sites do but the detail is amazing.

When we put together our itenarary (sp?) we planned on doing Epcot one day. The kids are borderline on the Headliner thrill rides so it started out as Go late, eat lunch, see Nemo and Crush and then mill around until Illuminations. Well since I found this area of stitchkingdom:

http://www.stitchkingdom.com/kidcot/

We now have way more to do than we could possibly fit in in one day. What once was a chance to sleep in and take a break for a day with little to do is quickly becoming one of our more anticipated days. Damn you stitchkingdom!


Of course Epcot is the one park that people say to avoid if you have small children but that site and this one:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/Just_for_kids/epcotkids.htm

have changed all that. Can't wait to go to Epcot. Illuminations, Nemo and Crush are still top priority but we won't be at a loss for things to keep us busy.

I completely disagree with people who say Epcot is not for kids.

My 8 year old daughter loved it! We spent over 2 hours in China alone! We had 2 full days there, but I wish we could have added a third.