A vacation to Disney is always an out-of-the-world experience. You feel as if you have entered a world beyond real – you just forget your life and end up having just 1 thing – FUN….and yes, a World of memories!
Disclaimer: I’ve been to Disney twice with my wife and daughter – once when my daughter was 4 and once when she was 5 – yeah that soon!!!!!
Now I shall try to be generic but since I may end up having a “parental perspective” and bias!
Planning:
On our first Disney trip we stayed at a Disney resort and I would recommend that to anyone going for the 1st time, purely from the convenience and experience perspective. However there might be many other factors that may need to be considered based on budget, plans to visit other Orlando or Florida attractions etc.
If you are a small family (upto 4) and plan to visit ONLY Disney parks and not Universal Studios of Seaworld or other local attractions, then staying on Disney property or outside may not make too much of a cost-wise difference. This is because if you stay outside the Disney property you would mostly end up getting a Rental car which from the airports tend to be expensive. However if you stay onsite on Disney property then you have non-stop shuttles to & from parks at your disposal.
Park Tickets
Park tickets’ rates are not too much different whether you buy from Disney website or from elsewhere like www.undercovertourist.com. There are plenty of other online sales sites too. I found that www.undercovertourist.com ended up being mostly a reasonable benchmark, but http://www.magicalgetaway.com/disney/ (you may be able to get quotes on phone only but they seems be okay to negotiate) also came close
Tip: You may find packages from your work that may prove to be cost-effective based on what you plan to do.
If this your first trip and you have more than 4 days then I would strongly recommend that you give:
1. 2 days for Magic Kingdom – if you are staying outside Disney resort, give yourself enough time to reach the park as once you park the car, you would need to take a ferryboat/bus/monorail to the actual Magic Kingdom park
2. A day each for the other 3 parks
General
1. Buy ponchos from dollar stores from your home city. In the parks they are very expensive - $15 a piece!
2. Take granola bars and whatever food you want to as everything is allowed
3. Disney parks have abundant water fountains at all places so you do not need to carry too many water bottles. You may keep refilling them
4. If you are staying in a hotel in Kissimmee then the route from Airport (Sanford or Orlando) might have tolls with manned and unmanned booths. Make sure to have at least $5 worth of coins as there are some unmanned toll booths requiring tolls in form of coins only
5. Please check the daily park hours for different days for each park. Other than probably Epcot and Animal Kingdom, other 2 parks have different opening and closing hours. Depending on that you may want to do, rework the plan
6. For FASTPASS+, I would suggest that you get them 1st thing when you get into a park. Only 1 person can go with all the tickets to get that done – of course you may take different fast passes for different people. If you are staying onsite Disney property you have an option of booking fast passes 60 days in advance. Though it is tough to decide if you are first timer, it is worth doing it based on what you know about the rides/shows. You can always change the selection anyday!
7. Also I REALLY recommend to get the fastpasses for later part in the day so that you can finish all waiting (lesser in the morning) while you are fresh
8. You can select only 3 fastpasses in a day in a park per person. If you miss a timeslot or want to change it you can do it any time depending on the availability of your new choice. If you have persons in the group that do not want to do a ride but others want to repeat, get FP for all and the ones unused can be reused by the others. The fast passes are tied to the names but it doesn't matter
9. Fast pass kiosks are at various places with a sign of FP+. You may want to inquire about its nearest location immediately on park entry
10. Download the World Disney app on phones (World Disney Experience is a free app – you do not need the paid one). It gives very accurate wait times for all rides and meet and greet options. It also lists rides and restaurants near your current spot. You may create your free account and program your fastpasses in the app so it can give you notifications too!
Tip: If with kids, keep a towel and extra pair of clothes. There are many places to get wet and kids LOVE it
Magic Kingdom
After you park your car, you may have to take tram or walk to the Transportaiton/ticket center. From there take a monorail or a ferryboat or bus to the actual Magic Kingdom park. Monorail is the fastest, but all are crowded. So try to reach well before park opening time.
Suggested Fast passes at Magic Kingdom:
1. Pirates of Carribean – It is a slow moving boat ride through the world of pirates (like in the movie). It is worth it
2. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - It is a thrilling roller coaster but doesn't go upside down. I think everyone will like it
3. Barnstormer - It is a kids roller coaster so if kids do thundermountain then you may skip this
4. Dumbo the Flying elephant (This is mainly for <10yr kids though even I enjoyed with my 5 year old). You may want to skip the fast pass on this, even though it is popular with long lines because the waiting queue for this ride has a big closed play area while you wait for your turn. So if you have kids under 10 years you sit with a pager in your hand while the kids play and when the pager buzzes, out you go for your ride.
This Dumbo ride is very similar to Magic Carpets of Aladdin and AstroOrbitter - only the shape of cart changes. So if you run out of time doing any 1 out of the 3 is fine
5. Peter Pan's Flight - this ride is usually very crowded. I’ve been to Magic Kingdom 4 times and each time I saw lines over 45 mins even at 10 in the night. So getting a fast pass is recommended
6. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - Kids will love it as it is like moving in a cart while shooting targets with laser and collecting a score. This too is popular but based on the time of the day the wait times can come down to 30 mins which is absolutely decent from Magic Kingdom standards
7. Space Mountain is another VERY popular ride. If you like the thrills of such rides, get a fast pass
Other rides of interest are:
1. Mad Tea Party – The old favourite cup and saucer spinning ride. Kids love it. No need of a fast pass as the wait times are usually under 30 mins
2. Its a Small world – It is a trademark Magic kingdom slow moving boat ride. You don’t want to miss it mainly because it is 1 of the oldest attractions
3. Under the Sea~ Journey of Little mermaid - This is a slow moving ride in a “clamshell” where you travel through the world of Ariel mermaid – basically it gives you the gist of the story in 10 mins. Must if your kid like Ariel
4. Many adventures of Winnie the Pooh – Just like the Mermaid ride takes you through world of Ariel, this ride gives you a magical tour of the Winnie the pooh’s “100 acre” woods. Next to the ride is the meet and greet spot for Winnie the pooh and Tigger
5. Tomorrowland speeday - It is something all kids would enjoy as they get a feeling to drive a race car. 48inches and above height kids can ride alone too. This ride may have wait times of over 40 mins but the line travels pretty fast. It is near the mad tea party and so you can plan both 1 after the other. I would not get fast pass for this (and wait in the line instead) if I need a fast pass for other rides
6. Smaller kids may like the Regal carousel too. It has almost 5-10 mins of wait time only throughout the day. Adults also enjoy the ride
7. Also there is Splash Mountain ride that takes you on a height in a boat like cart and then it splashes down into water. It may make soak you but it is worth it. People tend to go here more in the later part of the day since they don’t want to get wet in the beginning but I would rather do it earlier and save on fast pass. I like to get wet and if you want, put on a poncho!
8. Meeting characters is based on the time available. Meeting princesses has longer wait times. Meeting Mickey, Minnie etc. can be done at the Magic Kingdom entrance on the 1st building to your right. On the opposite side of building is where you can meet Mary Poppins. However, Mickey and gang can be met in other parks too – so if you are hard pressed on time, skip this in Magic kingdom!
9. If you decide to start from back of the park (Fantasyland or Frontierland), you can take a steam engine train. When you enter the park, immediately there are stairs that take you to the steam engine train. That way you will have a train ride and also reach the destination. I would suggest getting pictures with princess 1st thing in the morning to be done with it
10. If kids want to meet and take pictures with Toy story characters it is best to that in the morning as we saw shorter lines then
11. There is a splash and soak area for children to get wet, play and have fun..very near to the Branstormer ride (inside the Story book circus area). Save take their swim suit or extra clothes. Good place to let kids chill out especially when it is hot!
In Frontierland there is a "shooting range" where you get a feeling of firing range - $1 for 35 shots (virtual) at targets. Just in case you have time and want to do it.
Parades at MK:
There are many parades and shows during the day time. Pick the Times guide flier along with the map at entrance for the schedule. However you may not be able to do ALL. The day time parades are also mainly dance and music. The must see are the :
1. Main Street Electrical Parade at 0900pm – doesn’t happen year round. You may want to take a spot an hour early for a good view
2. Celebrate the Magic around 0930pm. This would be on the princess castle so best view would be near the roundabout in front of the castle. Watch out for the Tinker Bell – she would disappear in a second!
3. Wishes nighttime spectacular at 10:00pm. This is immediately after the “Celebrate the Magic” show. You would not enjoy it if you are too near to the castle. You may want to be farther away from the roundabout on the Main street to have a good view!
4. If you have time and want to then you may do the Dream Along with mickey show (it happens 4 or 5 times in day) which is right in the front of the castle and includes all the Disney characters in form of a story
Food and Restaurants at MK:
While there are many small ones everywhere, best option is the STARLIGHT cafe in front of the Tomorrowland speedway ride. It is extremely crowded between 1230pm to 0200pm (has sometimes lines coming out of the big restaurant), so try to avoid that during this time. Inside there is a salad bar kind of place in the center where they have lettuce, onions, tomatoes and different condiments that you may use.
Veggie burger is a decent option for vegeterians but for chicken lovers there are good options too. There is also Tortuga Tavern in Adventurland that has mexican food.
To keep budget under control, I would suggest you buy some from there and mix it with food from home!
They seem to be particular about allergies/gluten free foods. in fact if you mention allergies they also put an ALLERGY stamp on the receipt and I saw many people with that. seems they take good care that way.
Other than that there are many other choices too. Sit down (Table service) restaurants are usually pretty expensive. I have NOT used any table service restaurants so would not be able to comment on it.
EPCOT
1. The park usually opens at 9am
2. The World Showcase opens at 11am
3. Plan everything around the fact that you do not want to miss the nighttime show of Illuminations at 9pm. You may want to get a spot anywhere around the lake/pond latest before 830pm so as to be able to have a comfortable watch
Epcot Fast passes
Epcot fast passes are tricky as it has 2 levels of rides/shows. You can select 1 from Level 1 and 2 fast passes from level 2. Here too I suggest you take fast passes for later part of the day
1. When you enter if you immediately run towards the ride called SOARIN in the "Future World West" area, then you can get that done 1st thing– it is not an extreme ride but is massively popular. It has a simulation of you flying over California. It usually has massive lines later. So even if you have to wait 30 minutes you are lucky
2. Mission Space is an extreme ride but very popular. I am sure not all would want to do it. If you are skeptical then go for the Green team instead of Orange team
3. Test Track is another popular ride. Kids and adults equally like it as here you deisgn a car and then kind of test it out
4. MAELSTROM in Norway is popular and we liked it. Not something out of the world but a decent ride - not extreme at all
For <10 yr olds interest at Epcot:
1. Spaceship Earth (inside the trademark Epcot globe) is kind of an educational very slow moving ride talking about earth
2. Living with the Land and C" are right in the complex where SOARIN ride is and both are educational shows/ride
3. Journey into Imagination with Figment is also for kids and simple slow ride talking about importance of Imagination
4. Turtle Talk with Crush is funny and kids would love it. It is a show with Crush the turtle who through his live talk/question-answers makes audience laugh
I would suggest you completely avoid the "Captain EO" show
There is also a 45 mins show by Ellen DeGeneres "Ellen's energy Adventure". We missed this one but seems educational.
Most of your time would be spent "visiting" all country exhibits. I would suggest you start from the LEFT with Mexico. However if you want to do MAELSTROM ride it is in Norway just next to Mexico so finish that first and then go to Mexico and then move in a line to other countries. Mexico has a nice little boat ride too.
All countries have some kind of show/exhibit/ride which is interesting. Also there are many characters in different countries...like Donald in Mexico, Mary Poppins in England etc. You can get a “passport” (some cartoon character) that you color and decorate at each “country” and also get the country stamp on it. Some “countries” also would translate and write your names in local language – pretty neat.
As of this time, you can meet the super popular Frozen princesses – Elsa and Anna – in the Norway exhibit. This is going to be at least a 2 hour line IF you are lucky. If you REALLY want to meet them then stand in line by 9am – we had to wait 4.5 hours in line though. While I am writing this in April 2014, I am hoping that there would be better arrangement in the coming weeks.
Food & Restaurants at EPCOT
Each country has at least 1 restaurant and stall with something unique to that country. Again table service restaurants are expensive but there is a decent fast food style Chinese restaurant in China.
We also liked the Mexican food at La Cantina in Mexico showcase - there is a table service restaurant inside Mexico too and is extremely beautiful. Almost all ”countries” have beer stalls so beer lovers will have a blast
In the area where SOARIN ride (Future World West - The land) is located, there is a nice big self-service eating place that has many options including breakfast. It also has gluten free options.
There is a character meet and greet spot in Epcot behind the Spaceship Earth where lines are not long in early hours and you can easily meet Mickey, Minnie and 1 other character at 1 place only
Animal Kingdom
Plan around the fact that this park has only 1 parade at 3:45pm. Check the parade route in the map. Best areas to watch is outside the "Its tough to be a bug" show OR in the Africa area where the parade ends. Would suggest you first go to ASIA section.
Here too there are many interesting rides.
Suggested Fast Passes for AK:
1. Kilimanjaro Safari – Just get the fast pass - this is a safari ride of about 30 mins so best is to take a fast pass for later part of the day
2. Expedition Everest-Legend of Forbidden mountain - this ride is kind of roller coaster but needs minimum of 48 inches of height. If you go 1st thing in the morning then you may be able to do it without fastpass
3. Kali River Rapids - this is a fun ride that can make you very (I mean VERY) wet with splashing waters. Just outside the ride there are lockers to put your belongings and the locker is free for 1 hour. Since it makes you wet lines are short in the morning till noon. We did the ride twice in the morning though. You can wear ponchos - that way you may save the fast pass or like what we did, we took a fast pass for evening and did it the 3rd time
4. It’s Tough to be a Bug - This is a good fun show. Though it has fast pass, 20 mins waits in 1st half of the day are not bad. But don’t miss it – nice 4D experience
5. Dinoland has "Finding Nemo" musical based on the actual movie. It is a good 30 min show if you like musicals. It has fast pass but you may not need it if you go for the 12pm or 1pm shows..just reach 15-30 mins ahead of time if you can
6. Dinoland also has "Primeval Whirl" that is a spinning ride but needs 48 inches height. Very popular. May need fast pass unless you do it in the morning
7. Dinoland also has "DINOSAUR" ride which is a fun bumpy jeep kind of ride (may be just a little scary because of a many places with pitch darkness). Not an extreme ride though!
8. There is also the “Lion King” musical show. It is temporarily closed (in Spring 2014) but supposed to re-open in Summer of 2014. But we have seen it last year and it is worth it. It has fixed shows and performances so you may want to reach ahead of time to get good seats
For half of the above you may not need fast passes if you plan well.
In Dinoland there is also a play area where kids can play and have some fun – keep it for the end of the day.
Food & Restaurants at AK
1. Pizzafari near park entrance is good pace serving pizza and sandwiches
2. All areas (Asia, Africa in particular) have restaurants/stalls serving different kinds of food. I am not sure of gluten-free/allergy foods there, however there is 1 small stall in Asia where there are gluten free vegan cupcakes and granola bars.
3. Asia has an India section which has veggie Indian and Chinese kind of food
Tip: You can meet Winnie the Pooh and Tigger here and there is not too much line. So you may want to save time in Magic Kingdom by not going to meet Pooh and Tigger there and do the meet and greet here.
Hollywood Studios
This is a very perceptive park in terms of what you want to do and what to skip.
Fastpasses at Hollywood Studios
1. Toy Story Midway Mania – Just get the fast pass for this - a ride similar (but a little better than) to Buzz lightyear ride of Magic Kingdom. A must for the kids where they shoot at target and collect scores. Big lines usually
2. Rock n Roller Coaster - Extreme roller coaster. Very popular
3. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – Extremely popular and you just keep hearing the screams whenever around the attraction
4. Voyage of Little Mermaid - It is a musical based on the movie. For this if you reach early it won't have too much line and so you need not take fast passes
Right in front of this show are character meet and greet for Sophia, Jake the Pirate, Handy Manny and related characters
5. Beauty and the Beast live show – Must see. This is a very nice live musical on the story of Belle, nicely enacted. It has fast pass but if you reach 20-30 mins before time (1 person can stand in line and save space in the audience area).
6. Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow - we could not do this show so not idea what it is
7. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse – this is a stage show right across the Mermaid show. Kids LOVE it as they see their favourite Mickey Mouse clubhouse characters on stage. You may stand in line to save on fast pass as the waiting would not be too much. If you go there do NOT sit near the stage because the that area has blocked vision...try to be in the center of the area away from the stage
Most of all do not miss the "FANTASMIC" show around the closing time – check the timings as they tend to change based on the season – but mostly after 7pm. It is in the open but make sure to reach at least 30 mins in advance to get a good seat. It gets filled up fast and it may not be possible to save too many seats by 1 or 2 persons.
Apart from the fast passes there are some good shows that all may enjoy:
1. Indiana jones Epic Stunt spectacular - The evening shows are not full so you do not need fast passes
2. Muppet Vision 3D - 3D show that you may consider ONLY if you like Muppets – else avoid!
3. Lights, Camera, Action - is a nice stunt show on how stunts are shot for movies. It has just 2 shows in the day so if you plan to do it, don't miss the timings
4. Studio Backlot tour is a semi-open bus ride about how movies are shot. You would have a canyon flood experience which is kind of cool. but it is a long 30 min ride
5. There are other places like American Idol experience, Disney animation etc. that based on your preference you may want to do or skip
6. We liked a documentary about Walt Disney the person in "Walt Disney, One Man's Dream". A small exhibition on his works and a small documentary that follows it
Food at Hollywood Studios
1. Again there are stalls and restaurants spread over
2. We particularly liked the Veggie burgers at Rosie's All-American Cafe which is opposite to the Beauty and the Beast live show theater. This area has many many food places and choices
Tip: There is Honey I shrunk the kids movie set adventure which is basically a play area for kids.
Tip: Beauty and the beast, Terror tower and roller coaster are next to each other so you may plan them together. Even the nighttime FANTASMIC spectacular show is in the same vicinity.
Disney is truly a magical place – you are in an altogether different world. Yes, you make memories of a lifetime here – make lots and lots of it. You will never regret a Disney trip!
Hope this helps!
