Planning a trip to Disney World, Advice?

[Artemicon]

So yeah I'm planning on taking my girlfriend to Disney World, also planning on ending my life there proposing to her during the trip. She loves Disney characters, movies, etc. and really wants to go so I figure might as well kill two birds with one stone.

So what I'm curious about is, are there any just super awesome things I should be checking out when going, things to remember, money saving tips or any other general advices that I should know about when going to Disney World? I have been to DW 15 years ago and loved it so I'm also really excited myself. I don't have this thing planned yet and time of the year is no real big deal, I know Disney has various special events throughout the year like Halloween, Christmas events and food and wine fest, etc. So any thing involving those would be appreciated too. The meal plans Disney offers caught my eye and I've read a bit about them and they can be good deals depending on where you eat and if you call ahead long enough to make a reservation at them , I hear they book quickly, sometimes months in advance. So if I should consider one of those, maybe some advice on what places to eat at.

That's pretty much it really, any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Seraph]

Two pairs of earplugs, and a water bottle.

[Salodin]

How long are you going for? If not for long, at least try to do magic kingdom (this is where you're proposing, there is a picture spot in front of the castle, its so cheesy and predictable but women love it), and epcot (freaking fun walking the world). I'm working so ill post more later, but I love me some disney world lol.

[Seraph]

For a serious reply, I've been there twice and I didn't care for it either time, but I am more into roller coasters and such even when I was younger. Magic Kingdom is nice for children. Epcot and "Hollywood Studios" are nice for older kids and adults. I went a second time when the Animal Kingdom was very new, and I do remember specifically not hating that section. It was like a zoo on steroids, with some additional good attractions and rides.

You can potentially spend an entire day in one of the parks. Epcot is possibly the exception, unless you really want to explore all of the 'country' stations they have. Take that into consideration when buying passes so you don't spend more money than you have to.

As for proposing, I think doing it near the Magic Kingdom Castle is probably the way to go if you want her to enjoy it. If you are a baller though, do it on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Or Splash Mountain. Bitches love Splash Mountain.

[Tyche]

Rent a villa in Kissimmee. It's about 10 minutes from Disney and will cost abut $600 for a week for a king sized bed, inground pool, full kitchen, etc. saves on food and lodging. Don't get park hopper passes, you likely won't visit multiple parks in a day (not really enough time). Just get passes for 1 park per day. Make sure to stay for the fireworks at magic kingdom. Animal kingdom is my favorite. I wouldn't propose in front of the castle, it's incredibly crowded and loud. Then again, so is everywhere. Cinderellas royal table would be a good place and if you tip off the staff in advance, they'll get into it. If you want to drop some serious Benjamins, Disney has services for the occasion and will cater to your every whimsical need for the right amount.

[Melena]

With the halloween party's, there's a separate ticket you have to purchase, otherwise you have to leave the park when the party starts around 6-7. They give you a wrist band so once the party starts no wrist band no shopping, rides, etc, so keep that in mind. At disneyland the price varies from like 45-60 depending on if you pre purchase and if your an AP holder. Christmas if it's anything like Disneyland (only been to DW once, and i got the flu the morning after we arrived -_-) it really does feel like a brand new park. Took the wife to Disneyland in the middle of december last year and we had a blast.

Another forum you can check out is www.disboards.com Go to the WDW section and you can ask again there. I post a bit under the disneyland section as does the wife, but there is a ton of information and facts there that I never knew about.

[Salodin]

Yea really, if you're proposing to some one in disney world, you can't do it any where except in front of the castle. Anything else is just a disappointment and you're getting divorced in 72 days. It makes for great photos, and women love the attention and applause as every one sees you get on a knee and she's all like "ohhh ahhh omg smother me in attention I SAY YES!".

Animal kingdom is a very fun park, with rides and animals, if you're into that kinda stuff. Epcot is the more mature park, not as many rides but a lot of cool shops with themes from their country, and a lot of those "walking tour" type "rides". I'm into that kinda stuff, so I find that fun. Mgm is good too, but I never feel like I get my moneys worth when I go there, but I haven't been in about 4 years so it might have changed. Its mainly shows with a few rides for the hardcore, but id check it out online before you committed to it.

For the best experience, if you can afford it, stay in one of the on site hotels. A lot of them have monorails near or through them that give you easy access to all the parks w/o hassling with driving, and most of the time just staying at the hotels gives you those fast pass passes that let you go on the express lines so you're not waiting so long in line for attractions (I recommend getting this if you're both big ride people, the lines can get a little obnoxious depending on the time of year). Obviously, not doing that will save you more money, staying away from hotels very close from disney or universal (stay 20-30min away from either) will net you the biggest savings.

[Melena]

Oh yea, another thing about fast passes, unlike disneyland, disneyworld enforces the time window on it, so when you use em and they say between 10:15 and 11:15 if you show up at 11:30 they won't let you use it.

[ArchDizzle]

Not true have been to DW 20+ times in the last few years never had an issue going in past the fast pass time, unless this just started in the last in 6 months.

[Melena]

Arch, they just changed it this year in may. They actually had news agencies covering it. Disneyworld can't cheat the fastpass system anymore

And a source http://www.insidethemagic.net/2012/0...vation-system/

[blindSharingan]

As far as advice about the park itself I definitely recommend staying in one of the on site hotels if you can afford it. I've taken my girlfriend there before and one of the best things about Disney is how much of the planning/worrying they take out of the trip. Also get a schedule and look when parks are having "Extra magic hours". Basically specific parks stay open later than normal to guests of the Disney resorts. What we kind of did was plan on which parks were going to be open later and go there stay up late than sleep in the next day and by doing that we pretty successfully avoided most major crowds/children. I also recommend park hopper passes even though I saw some above advised against it. I think it really depends on how energetic you are and how long you can last through the day. We would typically go to one park for a few hours go back to the hotel and rest/swim a bit than go to another park later.

We went around Halloween and it was pretty great. The weather was really nice the whole time and they decorate most of the magic kingdom (light up the Haunted mansion and Castle) and the parade at night is pretty cool. Also there didn't seem to be an extreme amount of people there as there can be at other times of the year. If you choose to go around this time avoid Columbus day weekend as it was the only time we experienced excessive crowds. Epcot also has the Food thing going on which is pretty cool. Even if it wasn't a whole day Epcot excursion we would usually stop there for lunch.

If I think of any other tips I'll post em but I think that's about it. I don't really have any advice as far proposing goes but good luck! ^^;

[ArchDizzle]

Arch, they just changed it this year in may. They actually had news agencies covering it. Disneyworld can't cheat the fastpass system anymore

And a source http://www.insidethemagic.net/2012/0...vation-system/

Well that is fucking balls, glad were trying Disneyland this year, that kills my whole DW gameplan which was pretty much me running to all the big fast pass rides as soon as we entered and just hitting them throughout our day as we came to them. (for some reason if i left the tickets in my wallet with my credit cards for an extended period of time the fast pass machines would reject them and the attendants would just manually print them for me so I was able to get fast passes for all the rides at the same time.)
Either way thanks for the heads up on that Melana

[Ksandra]

oh god. I could type forever. my parents have a timeshare in orlando and I've been to disney almost every year of my life.

First off: hotels

there are two ways to go about this. If you stay at a disney hotel you don't need a car as all have transportation to and from disney (as well as to and from orlando airport). As well you get an extra hour at the parks. this however will be more expensive. If you do rent a car you don't have to pay for parking at the parks. there are three hotels that have monorail access: the grand floridian, the contemporary, and the polynesian. The rest have bus access (some also have ferry access)

if you stay at a hotel outside the park it'll be cheaper but you'll need to rent a car. I would honestly compare pricings and see what's the best fit for you. A good advantage of this one is if you want to save money, because you'll have a car you can find a hotel with a kitchen and buy groceries at the local publix. This is where a good money saving tip comes in. Our rule of thumb has been to make our lunches for when we go to the parks (there are lockers you can rent to put a small cooler in), then go to one of the restaurants for dinner. Plus if you do a couple days at the water parks you will probably not stay the whole day (easy to get worn out by 2~) so you could relax back at the hotel for dinner.


Good restaurants in the parks:

Magic Kingdom: If you can get in, the Crystal Palace is a nice place to eat. It has characters walking around and it's a buffet, so you can really fill up there. It's usually packed though so you might need to make reservations first thing in the morning.

turkey leg carts: iirc there's one in frontierland and one south of the castle. the turkey leg is fucking huge and delicious

nothing much else that's special unless you want to get reservations to do cinderella's castle, but that's really kid-oriented.

epcot:

the garden grill restaurant. expensive, but has chip n' dale running around, and the restaurant rotates to see inside a few of the rides (space mountain, the land, and the people mover). It's got things like stakes and ribs n' such

on the world showcase basically every country has a restaurant so you can kinda pick what you want to try/are in the mood for.

My personal favorites are:

The San Angel Inn at Mexico. There are two restaurants, one outside the temple which is basically fastfood, and one inside (the san angel inn) which is sit-down dining. They made the inside of the temple look like you're outside at night in Mexico, and the restaurant sits next to the mexican ride by the water. It's really picturesque.

The Marrakesh in Morocco. Moroccan food rocks, and more people need to try it. They have a guy inside playing music and a belly dancer comes out once in awhile. If you are adventurous, try it (it is expensive though).

Warning on the Chinese restaurant. Over the years we learned that place is really hit or miss. Chinese food is pretty various depending on what part of China someone comes from, and they rotate cooks at that place like no tomorrow. One year I got a duck dish that was the best thing I ever tasted in my whole life. Went back the next year to get it again and it was utter shit.

All the other pavilions have great food for their country (well Brit food sucks, but there's a pub there), so try any of them.


Animal Kingdom:

Nothing major outside the Rainforest Cafe, but those are everywhere now so you've probably been to one already.


Hollywood studios:

There are two REALLY CUTE restaurants that I strongly recommend going to (if you get a park hopper pass you can go to one the day you go to animal kingdom)

1. The 50s Prime Time Cafe. If you don't go to this one, you should be shot. Really gets you that "disney experience". Everything looks like the 50s and you sit at an area that looks like you're in a 50s kitchen. You waiter/waitress is either your older brother or aunt (mom is cooking in the kitchen) and treats you like you're right at home. They'll make you set the table and yell at you if you put your elbows on the table n' such. It's funny as shit and the food is good.


2. Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre. They have tables set up like they are cars at a drive in theatre. You sit there and eat while watching clips and trailers for old 50s scary movies. Great atmosphere. It's just like burgers and hotdogs though.


Note on waterparks:

There are two: Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. Blizzard Beach is a little more kid-themed with the layout, but for the most part they both have the same attractions. The big difference between the two are the wave pools. BB has a pool that just has nice gentle waves in it. TL has gentle waves but every 30 minutes puts out these huge ass waves that you can ride. Lots of fun, but be warned, part of the ground is textured and if you don't do it right you can skin your knees...@.@; I'd recommend at least going to one of them during one of your days if possible though they are a lot of fun. You really need to go first thing in the morning though or you won't be able to get a spot in the sand w/ chairs.


hmmm what else...

Oh, bring ponchos and learn to love the rain. This is something a lot of people don't catch on to. Florida rains a lot but it's often for only like 30 minutes. This is the best time to go to a ride that normally has a long wait. Last year we were at epcot and wanted to go to mission space, but the wait was 2 hours. We decided to take a break for lunch. While we were eating it started to rain. All the people were hiding in the restaurants and stores. We finished our food and went back to mission space and the wait was 5 minutes lol.



Oh DO NOT GO TO THE CASPIAN ATTRACTION AT HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS UNLESS YOU WANT TO FIND A PERSONAL REASON TO FIND EISNER TO SHOOT HIM IN THE THROAT. They basically throw you into a room with no seats and have you watch clips of the whole damn movie for 20 minutes with a narrator filling in the parts you don't see. And that's it....waste of my life, seriously.


Ok I'll most more later when I think of things.

[Melena]

Well that is fucking balls, glad were trying Disneyland this year, that kills my whole DW gameplan which was pretty much me running to all the big fast pass rides as soon as we entered and just hitting them throughout our day as we came to them. (for some reason if i left the tickets in my wallet with my credit cards for an extended period of time the fast pass machines would reject them and the attendants would just manually print them for me so I was able to get fast passes for all the rides at the same time.)
Either way thanks for the heads up on that Melana

Yea, our June trip to Disneyland was our first time "abusing" the fast pass system and that's exactly what we did. We pretty much had to avoid carsland though due to RSR breaking down constantly to go along with all fast passes being gone by 9:30 and 3+ hour waits for the ride. Hopefully in December since we are going to stay for 5 days at the park + a day at Universal will fix that. The joys of being an annual pass holder.

[Headspace]

Eat at a restaurant in the world showcase in Epcot

[Tagus]

Keep your eyes open for hidden mickeys! Also, I'd recommend buying one of those re-fillable cups early on if they still have those at the vendors... I think they're like 14 bucks, but they pay for themselves over the course of your vacation. As far as rides go, be sure to catch the Aerosmith rock n' roll rollercoaster in... hollywood studios I believe? It's like the greatest rollercoaster of all time.

[ArchDizzle]

To OP, we always stay at one of the disney hotels its just part of the expierence, hotels are really nice (depending which tier you get) the staff is fantastic and the two bonuses from staying in a Disney hotel are that you can access to magic hours (after park closes or before it opens only disney hotel guests have access to the park and room delivery so when you buy all the stuffed animals/etc you can have it delivered to your room instead of lugging it around all day. Things to prepare for, it's going to be super crowded/busy except for a fee certain times of the year so prepare for that and get your fast pass for rides that are popular as they will run out quick. If its during summer months bring water and comfortable walking shoes. If you are going to propose in front of the castle do it during magic hours at night, it will be way less crowded and the castle is just amazing at night. There is also a place we like to watch the fireworks from at night called Sleepy Hollow that is right next to the castle that serves stuff like funnel cakes and mickey shaped waffles with strawberries etc that is a nice place to sit and enjoy them.

Epcot is great for drinking/eating general looking around stuff.

Hollywood studios has some good rides, tower of terror, stunt show, etc.

Animal kingdom is huge and has a lot of cool stuff in it

Magic Kingdom has the disney factor and just feels like you have entered into a whole new era/world, the atmosphere there is just great.

[ArchDizzle]

Forgot to mention Downtown disney, we love going there. Lots of entertainment options and places to eat, movie theater, places to get a drink. There is alos a neverland balloon ride there that is pretty cool, and fuck ya Ghiradellis(sp) great place to get a sundae.

[Salodin]

Keep your eyes open for hidden mickeys! Also, I'd recommend buying one of those re-fillable cups early on if they still have those at the vendors... I think they're like 14 bucks, but they pay for themselves over the course of your vacation. As far as rides go, be sure to catch the Aerosmith rock n' roll rollercoaster in... hollywood studios I believe? It's like the greatest rollercoaster of all time.

Be weary though! They save you money, but then you gotta carry that damn cup all day. I did this a few times, but then decided id save sanity and patience and just spend an extra 5 bucks a day buying drinks when we wanted them cause its annoying going around holding a cup all day.

[Ksandra]

Be weary though! They save you money, but then you gotta carry that damn cup all day. I did this a few times, but then decided id save sanity and patience and just spend an extra 5 bucks a day buying drinks when we wanted them cause its annoying going around holding a cup all day.

I didn't post it yet 'cause I gotta ask the husband, but there are a few restaurants that still have a fountain station. WE were able to find them last year and kept refilling our water bottles with them. I can't remember the spots though so I have to ask him.