Disney World Tips

[jcgoble3]

OK, this is my final tips thread for my big trip. Following the Universal/SeaWorld parks, I will be transferring to a Disney resort (specifically the All-Star Sports Resort) on Labor Day and the spending the next week at Disney World. The plan is as follows:

Monday (Labor Day): Animal Kingdom in the morning and afternoon, then meet my mother somewhere for dinner (probably Downtown Disney) and then spend a few hours in a park with her (probably Hollywood Studios since they have the late Extra Magic Hours benefit that night)

Tuesday: One of the waterparks, dinner reservation at Jiko - The Cooking Place that evening

Wednesday: Magic Kingdom, including breakfast and lunch reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table and The Crystal Palace respectively

Thursday: The other waterpark, dinner reservation at the California Grill early evening, then something (maybe ESPN Wide World of Sports) later

Friday: Epcot, which has the late Extra Magic Hours benefit that night

Saturday: Hollywood Studios (which has the morning Extra Magic Hour that day), including lunch and dinner reservations at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater and the Hollywood Brown Derby respectively

Sunday: A chance to go back to any park(s) I want to see more of before I leave on Monday

This will be my first time at any of these parks except Hollywood Studios, which I couldn't get the "full experience" at because it was a private event for which many attractions were closed.

All tips are welcome, but answers to the following specific questions would be very helpful:

1. I am driving to Florida and thus will have the option of using my own car available to me. Is it worth leaving my car at the resort and only using Disney's transportation system, considering that resort guests get free parking at all theme parks? How long does it typically take to get from the resort to a park, or vice versa? I'm not interested in spending close to an hour to get from point A to point B when I can probably do it in much less with my own car. I also have a tight turnaround on Thursday, with the waterpark closing at 5:00 and my dinner reservation at 5:35 (a case where I'll probably leave the waterpark a little early and go from there directly to the restaurant).

2. What's the best strategy on fastpasses? Keep in mind that I'm visiting at a time when kids have just returned to school, and so I suspect the parks will not be nearly as busy as they were today. I've never dealt with the fastpass system before. Also, do the waterparks have the fastpass system (I suspect not)?

3. ...I actually don't have a third question.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

[jdawg1998]

1. Transportation doesn't really take that long. But I can't really answer this question because I don't know how far your resort is from the parks; but my Hilton hotel was about 10 minutes from Magic Kingdom and the shuttle only took about 15, with several stops in between. There's a lot of traffic and then you have to pay for parking, also, you have to walk the long walk to the entrance from your car, so I would use the shuttles and if you want to, use the monorail from Magic Kingdom to Epcot (or vice versa) because it's very fast.

2. I would get a FastPass for that ride you really want to ride first thing in the morning. I got one for Space Mountain right as it opened and only waited 10 minutes for it, compared to the 70 minute. At Magic Kingdom, get a Fast Pass for both major coasters and if you want to ride a dark ride like Peter Pan, get one for that as well. Remember, you can only get one FastPass at a time, so use them wisely. At Epcot, get. a. FastPass. for Soarin'. I learned the hard way about not getting one last time. 120+ minute wait. Yikes! Use a FastPass for that right as you get there, and nothing else at Epcot is worth the FastPass. At Hollywood Studios, what I did was got a fast pass for Rock n Roller Coaster, then waited in line for Tower of Terror; by the time I finished that, my window was open for RNRC. I also used one for Star Tours because it gets very crowded and I waited 20 minutes opposed to 90. At Animal Kingdom, get one for Kiliminjaro Safaris, and that's about it. I like waiting in line for Everest, and Dinosaur never gets 30+ minute waits.

Sorry for the confusing details there; if you have any questions about FastPass still, ask me. We used a lot of them on our trip!

Edit: Actually, get a FastPass for Toy Story Mania. When I went, they were out by 1:00.

[BB1]

I would recomend getting reservations to the restaurant at DTD, also get fastpasses ASAP.

[The Interpreter]

You will use far less time using Disney's transportation system than driving park to park. You could easily waste hours and hours driving and walking/waiting.

[KIfan1980]

A few Disney tips from my perspective.

- Seriously consider spending the $20 or so at tourguidemike.com for the knowledge you can gain from the site (best data for me is their info on what parks will be most crowded when)

- GET UP EARLY. To maximize the enjoyment of Disney, be at the parks and at the rope for rope drop. Lines only grow as the day goes along and I'd much rather take a 60 min nap in the afternoon (avoiding one line) than sleep that extra 60 minutes in the morning (and miss 4 rides).

- Have a plan. You don't need to schedule your day to the last detail, but a plan will help you make the most of it

- Fastpasses (leverage the system as best you can recognizing that Disney has gotten strict about return times - unfortunately). A couple of key FP points:

> Rides to get a FP for as early in the day as possible (Epcot-Soarin, Studios-Toy Story Midway Mania)

> Make sure you get your next FP as soon as it is available. For example - you have a FP return time of 12:40pm-1:40pm for Tower of Terror and it is now 12:40pm. You can either immediately go ride ToT or you can get your next set of fast passes first. Gettin the passes then riding is better than riding and then getting your next passes.

- Have fun, recognize you can't see/do everything

- take in the atmosphere (including shows, displays, and events), don't just go from ride to ride. Disney is about more than the rides

- Transport, use the Disney system but recognize it will take longer than you expect (but driving would be even worse)

[MarketingExpress]

You will use far less time using Disney's transportation system than driving park to park. You could easily waste hours and hours driving and walking/waiting.

Plue the the savings on parking cost and gas...

[RailRider]

I have learned most of my Disney tips from the master (Avatar), but have developed some on my own.

TourGuideMike is an ok site, but he is slow to update and is rarely on the site. I think it has been since May. The forums are very helpful though. Also consider the undercover tourist website and touringplans website for info on how to tour the parks and least crowded days. A green day is a huge difference than a red day.

EMH (Extra Magic Hours) days can be very busy because you have the few thousand extra resort guests taking advantage of those hours that may have not visited that park that day without them. I tend to avoid parks during EMH mornings or evenings. Once again here is where the least crowded park charts comes in handy.

Disney park transportation is nice, but I always have my own vehicle and avoid it for the most part. Here is why. The Disney value resorts will have a few bus stops at the resort and usually one bus route will service a couple value resorts and the park. So there is not always a guarantee of direct service to the park, but you may make multiple stops before reaching the park. My strategy has always been rope drop at the park, drive myself. Car is parked at the front of the lot. Take the bus back to my resort for our afternoon break and then bus back to park. When we leave the park in the evening the car is waiting for us at the front of the parking lot and we not waiting in the huge line for the bus. Also your own car is very helpful in getting to other resorts for dinning like Jiko or Cali Grill. (Hope you got a Cali Grill ADR for a night that Wishes is going on, best seat in the Kingdom)

I could go on and on with Disney info, PM if you have more specific questions.

Have fun.

[thekidd33]

- Have fun, recognize you can't see/do everything...

I think that right there is the best advice anyone can give about Disney World. Go in knowing that there are things you won't get to and be ok with that ahead of time. Can you hit the all the big rides in a day if you rush around at each park? Yes. Is that the best way to get the most out of a trip to Disney? Probably not.

On my first visit there my plan, that had literally been a year in the making, was shot in about 15 minutes. There is simply too much to take in to stick to any plan you have made, especially for a first time vistor. I would pick out no more than three 'absolutely must rides' in each park and then let the rest of the day come to you. There were a million things that while I planning my first Disney trip I thought for sure I would have no problem skipping...but once you are there everything changes. Take time to relax and take as much of it in as you can. It isn't a place that you can even come close to fully experiencing in week. Hope you have a great time and look forward to your TR when you get back!

[Voicetek]

Question 1: I would definitely use Disney's transportation service. I went down in 2004 and stayed at one of the All-Star resorts (mine was the movies one) and I used their bus system. I was very handy and didn't take too long. You might just want to find out when the last bus will be at the park to pick you up. If you're staying extra late at a particular park, make sure you can still get transportation back to your resort. Also, there is transportation to and from all the different parks so it's easy to get from one park to the other if you plan on doing multiple parks in one day. I've been to Disney 4 times now, but 2004 was the first and only time I used the transportation provided and I loved it!

Question 2: Fast Pass is a gift from God! There are "must do" rides at all of the Disney parks, so I would recommend figuring out which rides you absolutely must do and then try to Fast Pass those. Space Mountain is a good one to Fast Pass at Magic Kingdom, as well as Splash Mountain. Whenever I went down there I would Fast Pass a ride with a crazy long line, then go and check out some shops or catch a ride with a shorter wait and then come back and use my Fast Pass. It works great! Oh, and try to stay around the area that your Fast Pass ride is in. The Disney Parks are huge and you want to make sure you have enough time to make it back to your ride.

Final Tip - The Magic Kingdom is probably one of my favorite parks because they have so many cool rides and attractions. Some things I would definitely recommend checking out are:

1. Splash Mountain. Easily one of my favorite rides in the park! This is a dark ride/log flume with some amazing theming and animatronics, plus an awesome drop!

2. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This is an awesome interactive dark ride. You get lazer guns and get to shoot targets (like Boo Blasters but only a million times better). They have some pretty amazing theming and animatronics as well.

3. Mickey's Philharmagic. This is my favorite non-ride attractions in Magic Kingdom. This is a 4D show that includs revamped computer animated scenes from many of Disney's best animated movies! It's complete with lights, sounds, smells and things you can feel. I went back and saw this show multiple times and left completely amazed each time. There are specific showtimes throughout the day, so check the schedule and try to take in a showing!

4. Pirates of the Caribbean. Need I say more? This is a class Disney ride! They've also re-themed this ride and added some new elements from the movies. I rode this last year and it's even more fun than I remembered.

Well that's about it. Have a great trip and remember that you can't do/see everything, it's just too big! Get some maps and try to plan out exactly what you want to see then try to Fast Pass those things so you're sure to get those in. Other than that, just enjoy the Disney atmosphere...there really is no other place like it!

[Gabe]

Disney Transport busses run until 1 hour after park closing. If you want to go from hotel to hotel, you must either transfer at DTD or at the TTC next to the Polynesian. I would allow for 45 min-hr from the time you board your bus to the time you get dropped off at the park. I believe with the reopening of Big Thunder at the MK Tom Sawyer's island paintbrushes game is back. Basically at the rope drop take the first raft over to TSI on which are hidden 5-6 paintbrushes (not too hard to find). Find one (one only), return it to the CM as you reboard the raft and in exchange, you will get a free fp for either splash or BTM with no time restrictions on it. Also, remember that Disney now enforces the FP return time, except in case of weather or a ride breakdown, in which case, you can come back later. Have fun!

[KIfan1980]

TourGuideMike is an ok site, but he is slow to update and is rarely on the site. I think it has been since May. The forums are very helpful though. Also consider the undercover tourist website and touringplans website for info on how to tour the parks and least crowded days. A green day is a huge difference than a red day.

Disney park transportation is nice, but I always have my own vehicle and avoid it for the most part. Here is why. The Disney value resorts will have a few bus stops at the resort and usually one bus route will service a couple value resorts and the park. So there is not always a guarantee of direct service to the park, but you may make multiple stops before reaching the park. Also your own car is very helpful in getting to other resorts for dinning like Jiko or Cali Grill. (Hope you got a Cali Grill ADR for a night that Wishes is going on, best seat in the Kingdom)

Even though I reco'd Tourguidemike earlier, It sounds like RailRider has more current data. I noticed on our last (spring 2011) trip that the site wasn't as updated as prior and it sounds like its only gotten worse which is really too bad.

Also great points on transport - it can be very resort specific. I've typically been at the vacation club resorts where the crowds to number of buses/options is better, although getting to other properties for dinner is often best via car unless you have a simple/direct service option.

[medford]

I can't add much that is new.

No one mentioned Expedition Everest at Wild Kingdom. Definently worth a fastpass when you first get there. Not the most thrilling coaster in the world, but terrifically themed and a couple of surprises in the course. A lot of fun.

The Bugs Life show in the Tree of life was a solid 4d show. I'm not sure what's going on w/ that w/ the avatar land stuff I've read about.

Overall, animal kingdom was just OK. Everest was a ton of fun, the safari ride was ok, but mostly just riding around watching animals sit in place. It was pretty cool seeing lions, tigers, hippos, etc... 20 years ago, now you can catch them on TV any day, kind of losses its charm.

I didn't make hollywood studios.

I know you've mentioned your budget in the past. If you can catch the Cirque show in Downtown Disney, its one of the better ones I've seen and full of the acrobatics that make Cirque shows famous. IIRC its not exactly cheap, but its not overly expensive either compared to the prices I've paid for some of the touring shows or Cirque shows out in Vegas. Depending on your mother's appetite for rides and what not, it may be a more enjoyable evening chilling around downtown disney and catching that show.

Take everyone's advice on the fast passes, its a terrific way to squeeze stuff in. Get them for the things you want to ride for sure, then squeeze in the secondary stuff b/w wait times.

At Epcot, I was kind of limited due to it just being my wife and 1 year old (at the time) child. We all went on the norwegian area log flume type ride. Can't remember the name, but its pretty fun, even got my son to throw his hands up on one of the hills.

Enjoy your trip. Remember its not so much about doing everything, but making sure that each thing you do is well remembered. Don't rush thru things just to experience everything the park has to offer, nor should you grind yourself to much by missing out on sleep. Catch a few well timed naps while the florida sun is beating you down.

[TheCrypt]

^Although, the yeti is broken. I was lucky enough to have experienced the yeti before they made the switch to the sillouhete (sp?) projection, which looks flat out cheap and not-Disney in my opinion.

Haunted Mansion is terrific, as is Space Moutain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. If you don't mind the crazy song stuck in your head all day, It's a Small World is worth a go, too.

I also reccommend riding Tower of Terror (which I believe also has tiered seating), Rockin' Roller Coaster (though I find Flight of Fear to be far superior in terms of ride experience), the log flume found in Norway, Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, and, if open, Test Track.

I'm sorry I can't be of much help in other regards, but I didn't really pay too much attention to where we ate and other things of the like.

Hope you have a great day!

[jcgoble3]

OK, let me see if I can go through all this:

Transportation: A lot of people have recommended using Disney's system, while at least one has suggested using my own car. One reason several people in the former camp have made the suggestion they did is parking costs. It was in the OP, but I'll make the point again in bold so people don't miss it this time: resort guests like me get free parking at all of the theme parks. So parking costs are NOT an issue. Also, I don't mind a long walk to the car. The only thing I'm concerned about when making this choice is speed. All other factors being equal, I would prefer to use Disney's system simply to save on gas, but if I would have to spend 30 to 60 minutes getting from point A to point B using Disney's system when I can do it in 10 to 15 with my own car, then I'll spend the extra money on gas to do that.

Crowd calendars: Undercover Tourist's calendar is available free, so I've bookmarked it. May switch my Epcot and Animal Kingdom days based on that; fortunately, neither is attached to dining reservations like the other two theme parks are.

Skipping things: Rock 'n Roller Coaster is one I can skip if need be; I already have the credit and didn't care for it two years ago. Otherwise, I want to try to do as much as I can, but I recognize that may not be possible.

Fastpass musts: Toy Story, Soarin', Kilimanjaro Safaris, MK coasters, Expedition Everest; any others that I missed?

Cirque: Unfortunately, there's no show on Monday, which is the only day available to me to meet her (she'll be busy with a conference at the Contemporary the rest of the week). She does enjoy some rides (I know she'll want to do Star Tours at least, as she's a Star Wars fan like me), but isn't likely to do the big, aggressive rides (e.g. Rock 'n Roller Coaster). She also enjoys walking around parks and just taking in the atmosphere, so that, Star Tours, and the EMH are why we're thinking DHS for that evening.

DTD dining reservation: Not gonna get one. She's on a budget like me, but unlike me, she does not have a dining plan. So we're probably going to stick with a quick-service place to save her money.

Thanks for the tips so far! Keep 'em coming!

[Gabe]

as far as transportation goes, may I suggest a hybrid plan? You can park at any disney resort for free as well as at the parks. So, for MK, I would park at either the contemporary or the grand floridian, go inside and get on the monorail to the MK (from the cont. MK is the last stop, from GF its first). Then you can ride the monorail to epcot. Or, if you want to begin your day at epcot, park at the swan or dolphin and either take the boat to epcot or there is a footpath in the back that connects to the world showcase around england and france. For the studios, you are close to there at the all stars, so just take the bus from there, or, drive to dtd, park there and ride the bus to the studios. At the resorts, simply show your room key and parking pass from the all stars to the guard. At the Mk toll plaza, do the same.

Also, there are multiple ride wait time apps..disneys is free, but clunky. I suggest a third party app. some are even free. otherwise, each park has an updated wait board at the front of the park (at MK its at the end of Main St on the left as you head to AL; at epcot, its by mission space; at the studios, its near the front gate. not sure where at ak since ive only been to that park a few times and dont really care for it outside of dinos and expd everest.)

[jcgoble3]

Thanks, but that plan sounds a little complicated for me, plus it means I would be both spending money on gas AND potentially waiting for a bus/boat/train, meaning I would get the disadvantages of both plans without the advantages of either (saving money on gas or potentially quicker service). I prefer to keep it simple.

As for an app, I do not have a smartphone and thus cannot use apps, but thanks for the suggestion anyway.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

To the person who told you you can't do everything, I couldn't agree more. I lived at Disney World for 9 months and still didn't get to do everything.

Just remember a slow day at the Disney parks equals a holiday at Kings Island or a Saturday Haunt night.

[RailRider]

For simplistic and quickest travel and since you are I resort guest use your own car. It is quicker and less hassle in my opinion than Disney transportation. My upcoming trip in September we will use our own car every trip.

Also to get an idea of touring plans on how to tackle each park I would browse through the easywdw site.

Just so you know some of the dinning places you suggested are very expensive if you are not on the dinning plan. Thinking of your friend. My family of 3 last year left Cali Grill with a bill around $250, but thankfully for the dinning plan we paid nothing but tip.

[jcgoble3]

For simplistic and quickest travel and since you are I resort guest use your own car. It is quicker and less hassle in my opinion than Disney transportation. My upcoming trip in September we will use our own car every trip.

Also to get an idea of touring plans on how to tackle each park I would browse through the easywdw site.

Just so you know some of the dinning places you suggested are very expensive if you are not on the dinning plan. Thinking of your friend. My family of 3 last year left Cali Grill with a bill around $250, but thankfully for the dinning plan we paid nothing but tip.

Thanks for the tips. Anyone else want to chime in on the subject of car vs. Disney transportation? The more opinions I get, the better I can decide.

I'll look into easywdw.

I am on the dining plan, so the restaurants I listed are not a problem. My mother is not, which is why I said we would stick to someplace relatively cheap Monday night, which is the only night I'm meeting her. The rest of the week I'm on my own.

[beastrider97]

The transportation out of Boardwalk Resort is very well done, we never felt like our own car was a better alternative. The buses are comfortable and rarely full, plus the ride time isn't too bad. Personally, I would recommend sticking with the bus to save gas.

Also, if you have a little free time, the Boardwalk is a nice place to relax with really great food. There are multiple delicious restaurants, and a fantastic bakery! I remember the bakery had all its items under the meal plan. The coffee cake is simply awesome!

[jcgoble3]

The transportation out of Boardwalk Resort is very well done, we never felt like our own car was a better alternative. The buses are comfortable and rarely full, plus the ride time isn't too bad. Personally, I would recommend sticking with the bus to save gas.

Also, if you have a little free time, the Boardwalk is a nice place to relax with really great food. There are multiple delicious restaurants, and a fantastic bakery! I remember the bakery had all its items under the meal plan. The coffee cake is simply awesome!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into the Boardwalk.

[Gabe]

At least use the hybrid plan for the MK..trust me, the monorails run every 5-7 minutes and have huge capacity, so it shouldnt be an issue. The MK parking lot is huge. As the others on here who are college program alumns like me (and who visit 2-3x a year) can recite, the MK parking lot is big enough to fit all of Disneyland park inside of it and still be able to park 500 cars! also, even if you park your car in the MK parking lot, you must still either take a tram or a boat to the park entrance..or walk quite a ways.

[Titan]

I'll try to throw in some suggestions, but the last time I went was 2004, so things have probably changed a lot. Me and my family stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. We had flown down there so we didn't have a car. We relied all on Disney transportation and if I remember correctly it was really good. We used the ferries a lot when we went to different places nearby. Although they weren't the fastest, I enjoyed the rides a lot. All the other times we either used the buses or monorail. The buses were never really crowded and most of the times I was busy trading pins (I still have the lanyard somewhere around my house.) We only used the monorail a couple times. One time was when we went to the character breakfast at the Contemporary. We were on the monorail for a pretty long time, but I can't remember where we were going. But we only used Disney's transportation, so I'm not a big help on this one.

I don't remember all the places we ate, but I know we ate at a place in the Lodge, the character's breakfast, the castle, and a place where they had country shows. The building was off that movie with the bears and the music hall I believe? We stayed in Disney for 4 days and went on a Disney cruise for 3. So we didn't have near enough time to do everything and like everyone else said you won't be able to.

I hope this helps out a little. I'm starting to save up my money for another trip, but that will take a while

[Gabe]

I'll try to throw in some suggestions, but the last time I went was 2004, so things have probably changed a lot. Me and my family stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. We had flown down there so we didn't have a car. We relied all on Disney transportation and if I remember correctly it was really good. We used the ferries a lot when we went to different places nearby. Although they weren't the fastest, I enjoyed the rides a lot. All the other times we either used the buses or monorail. The buses were never really crowded and most of the times I was busy trading pins (I still have the lanyard somewhere around my house.) We only used the monorail a couple times. One time was when we went to the character breakfast at the Contemporary. We were on the monorail for a pretty long time, but I can't remember where we were going. But we only used Disney's transportation, so I'm not a big help on this one. I don't remember all the places we ate, but I know we ate at a place in the Lodge, the character's breakfast, the castle, and a place where they had country shows. The building was off that movie with the bears and the music hall I believe? We stayed in Disney for 4 days and went on a Disney cruise for 3. So we didn't have near enough time to do everything and like everyone else said you won't be able to. I hope this helps out a little. I'm starting to save up my money for another trip, but that will take a while

You are probably referring to the Diamond Horseshoe located in Liberty Square. They used to have a full service lunch and dinner along with a country show, but the shows have been discontinued. Food is still offered, though.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

Diamond Horseshoe is also open on select days of the year.

O the stories I have of that building.