Disney

[Bonegavel]

Going to Disney this summer and I think we are staying at the Coronado. Anyone stay here? Is it nice? Worth it? What to do? It's me, the wife, and our 8 yearl old daughter.

Going through AAA and they recommended some book to help with planning (the wife is HUGE on itineraries).

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

1. Coronado is a nice place. You'll enjoy it.

2. Use the park transportation to go everywhere within the Magic Kingdom. Even if you have a rental, don't bother driving.

3. They have a lot of kid-oriented programs at the hotel. Don't be afraid to drop your child off for a couple of hours and eat a nice meal on your own. Honestly, your kid will likely end up having more fun than you do during that time.

4. Get a Park Hopper Plus pass assuming you are staying at least 4 days. It allows you to enter all of the parks anytime you want during the day. The 'Plus' part also allows you to go to a water park for one day. I'd highly recommend Blizzard Beach. It's an amazing waterpark experience that your 8 year old will love. They even have a ski lift that you can ride to the top of the mountain when your child gets tired of walking up the hill.

5. As far as eating, there's several things I'd recommend. Definitely attend one of the 'Character Breakfasts'. There's several held throughout the park each morning. They have a nice buffet and the different Disney characters roam around the restaurant. Great chance for your kid to take pictures with some of the characters without fighting crowds. A great lunch place is the Sci-Fi theater in MGM Studios. It's an enormous warehouse that is set up like a drive-in theater. You sit in the cars to eat and watch 1950s-era Sci-fi movies on a huge drive-in screen. Lots of great shakes and sundaes for dessert too. Great kids place. My favorite dinner place with kids is the German beer garden in Epcot. They serve a large variety of German food (there's kids food for the picky eaters). In addition, they have a live polka band and they have lots of audience participation. Lots of clapping to the music, singing the songs, dancing the 'chicken dance' on stage with the band, etc. Kids love it for all the stuff they can do, while the parents can enjoy a large brew and ride back on public transportation.

6. Tower of Terror, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, and the Yetti roller coaster are all must ride.

7. At night, the Fantasia show at MGM Studios and the World Showcase fireworks show at Epcot are both great shows for kids. If you go to the Epcot fireworks, make sure to get on the side of the lagoon with the wind to your back so the smoke from the fireworks doesn't blow at you and restrict viewing of the show.

That should be a good start for you.

[evil homer]

we just got back from a week at Pop Century (me, wife, 8 yr old son and 4 year old daughter). couple of suggestions:

1) figure out what rides you really want to do and make use of the FastPass system. this allows you to come back to a ride at a certain time and go right to the front of the line. you can only have one at a time, so use them wisely. we never waited on a line longer than 30 minutes.

2) i disagree on the rental car. we always get one and use it every day. we take the bus to the parks in the morning and back in the afternoon, but when we go back to the parks in the evenings, we drove and by that time, a lot of people who had driven in the morning had left, and there were spots at the front of the lots. getting to the car and driving off is a lot better than waiting for a bus with 2 kids who are wiped out after a long day.

3) use the Dining Plan. i thought this would not be a good deal, but it was great. kids 9 and under are only $10/day (adults $37), but you get a sit down dinner at just about any restaurant, a counter service meal (burger, chicken fingers, etc) and a snack (just about anything under $4). if you are going to eat at nice restaurants every day, this is a must.

4) as for dining recommendations, the steakhouse in Canada in Epcot is my favorite. the mushroom fillet mingon melts in your mouth. also, on the boardwalk is the big river grille, which is a brewery that makes their own beer. you order a sampler and they bring out a shotglass of their 6 brews and you can choose after sampling each.

any other questions, fire away.

[JonInMiddleGA]

After 17 (or is it 18?) trips to WDW, I think I can probably come up with a few tips ;)

-- Put me in your wife's column on the advance planning thing. There are a couple of books that aren't bad (names escaping me at the moment), also several independent websites that are good (disboards.com is one). Consider your priorities & your likes (sit-down meals vs counter service for example) and then make sure you accomodate those first, then plan everything else around that. Some people want to max out their ride count, other prefer a more relaxed pace with some pool time at the hotel. That's probably the one thing the books won't help with - personalization. It's your trip (and your daughter's) so plan according to your own desires, not anyone's conventional wisdom.

-- Coronado can be a little hit or miss. The resort itself is above average as on-site goes but the service (housekeeping, maintenance) has been spotty at best, to the extent that we finally struck it off our list of places to stay. One of the best on-site food courts, The Pepper Market" of any of the properties, several notches above the average in both variety & quality. Other thing to be aware of with Coronado is how it sprawls & how that affects the time it takes to get to/from the resort buses. If there's no other higher priorities in terms of your room location, work with the cast member at check-in to try to get as close to the bus stop as you can. No sense walking more than you have to (you'll do plenty of that at the parks).

-- I'll echo Mizzou quite a bit on the food stuff. With an 8 y/o (which I gather from your phrasing is a first-timer), at least one character meal is a must. Breakfasts are good choices, we like Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary best of those (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pluto is the usual roster). If dinner is more your thing, consider the family style meal at Magic Kingdom's Liberty Tree Taven (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Chip & Dale, in a 1776 theme).
And lunch or dinner at Cinderella's Castle at MK is also a real experience, although reservations in peak season are tough (as in it might be booked up already). For more adult pleasing fare (although with kid options), Le Cellier Canadian Steakhouse at Epcot is good (more reasonably priced at lunch) as well as Rose & Crown Pub (killer spot for watching the nightly fireworks from their patio if you can get the timing right). The aforementioned Sci-Fi is the #1 choice at MGM on every trip for us. And the most underrated sit-down is the Plaza Restaurant on Main Street at MK, an absolute oasis amidst the chaos with lighter fare akin to counter service but in an infinitely more enjoyable atmosphere. I think we've eaten at virtually every restaurant in every park (and more than half the resorts), so any specific questions just let me know. Heck, I can even critique the different counter service stops.

-- Ditto Mizzou's advice on the Park Hopper option. With or without the water park option included, it gives you much needed flexibility to maximize your trip.

-- Also agree on the Fantasia show at MGM (if you see one sit-down show, that's the one) and on the dodging the smoke for Illuminations at Epcot.

-- I'm more mixed in my advice on transportation. In peak season, the bus service can be a huge downer. Let your personal tolerance for waiting in lines when you're exhausted be your guide on that IMO. Over the course of our trips we went from driving to using the Disney transportation back to driving (and picking resorts that gave us some water transport options).

That's at least two cents worth, but if you've got specific questions or would like input on anything else WDW either post it here or shoot me a PM, I'm happy to help. No sense reinventing the wheel IMO, so you're welcome to take advantage of the mistakes we made on our first few trips ;)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

as for dining recommendations, the steakhouse in Canada in Epcot is my favorite.

Yeah, for fine dining, the Italian restaurant and French restaurant at Epcot are also excellent. I'd vouch for the Canadian place as well.

[Ksyrup]

You know what the best part about not living in Florida is? By the time we make it back to Disney or any of the other Orlando parks, they might not have the exact same rides/attractions we saw visit after visit while we lived there. That would be refreshing! I've heard rumors that the Epcot "Technology of the Future" exhibit was redone to remove microwave ovens and cordless phones. Woo-hoo!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Yeah, for fine dining, the Italian restaurant and French restaurant at Epcot are also excellent. I'd vouch for the Canadian place as well.

Alas, the magnificent Alfredo DiRoma Italian restaurant at Epcot is no more :(

It had become our regular last-night-of-the-trip spot but the licensing agreement expired & was replaced by a reportedly lackluster in-house attempt.
Reviews on it have been fair at best, to downright awful. The revamped Chinese restaurant is getting pretty good buzz though but we haven't been since it was redone.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

-- I'm more mixed in my advice on transportation. In peak season, the bus service can be a huge downer. Let your personal tolerance for waiting in lines when you're exhausted be your guide on that IMO. Over the course of our trips we went from driving to using the Disney transportation back to driving (and picking resorts that gave us some water transport options).

I should mention that we usually go in the off-peak times, so this advice may be of more help since you're going during a peak time. In off-peak times, buses are often sitting there waiting for passengers. Probably different during peak times.

[Hammer755]

My wife planned our last Disney trip hardcore. I would definitely buy The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470089636). They analyze statistical data (attendance, wait times, park activities) to plan the most efficient itinerary. The authors of the book also have a website - touringplans.com (http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=0) - that can help you plan your days (subscription required for personalized plans).

Another site that my wife subscribed to was Tour Guide Mike's (http://www.tourguidemike.com/). You can put in the specific days you are going and the kinds of things you're interested in and they will build your itinerary for you (again, using some pretty advanced statistical algorhythms). There were 2 very big tips that we got from these resources.

1 - Use the FastPass as much as possible. Most people don't use it because there's a not-so-obvious caveat. I'm not sure how much you know about the system, but for most of the big rides there is a special FastPass line that has a much, much, (about 10 more muches) shorter wait than the regular line. The catch is that the FastPass is timed, meaning if you pick up a ticket at 9 am, it will tell you a window when you can return to ride, in this case likely to be 10-11 am. You can't get another FastPass for any ride until the first time in your window passes (10 am in my example). What they don't tell you is that the later time of the window is not enforced at all, and I can verify this with experience. If you have a FastPass that 'expired' at 11 am, and show up to the ride at 6 pm, they will not even blink at you. So, I would stock up on as many FastPasses as you can throughout the day.

2. Do not go to the Parks on Extra Magic Hours days, because EVERYBODY ELSE does. On certain days one of the parks will open an hour or two earlier or close an hour or two later, and they advertise it as a perk, but really it should be avoided at all costs.

I personally would advise against the Park Hopper. Yes, it is a nice convenience to have, but there was more than enough stuff at each individual park to keep us busy all day long without wanting to visit multiple parks in a given day.

My wife and I debated whether to get the Disney meal plan or not but ultimately decided against it. We didn't want to feel compelled to stop and eat 2-3 times a day because we already paid for it. Financially, it is kind of expensive, but probably worth it if you like the convenience of having everything prepaid. We went to a grocery store and made sandwiches and snacks to carry with us and eat quickly so we wouldn't lose any time. For my wife, it was about the efficiency of getting our kids as much fun stuff as we could, and sit-down meals cut into that. Although, as noted earlier, we did do a couple of Character Meals that were definitely worth it.

I would also second the advise of using Disney transportation, and the fireworks shows are must-see.

[gstelmack]

Planning a Disney trip? Ugh!

You want to make reservations for a dinner and a show or two, but seriously, especially with kids, just go at your own pace and enjoy what you can. People rushing from place to place to make an appointment just tire out the kids and are squabbling by the end of the day.

Go with the flow, dude.

I think a group of adults can handle it fine, but you have NO CLUE what your kids are going to decide is fun day to day. Heck, this last time we spent 75% of the time hunting down characters, and the rest was eating or going on rides.

[gstelmack]

Oh, and with kids, don't forget the "back to the hotel for a nap and some pool time to cool off" early afternoon block.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Oh, and with kids, don't forget the "back to the hotel for a nap and some pool time to cool off" early afternoon block.

Now that I have a kid, I'm going to have to add things like this to the plan. I've been to the parks with kids before, but they were other people's kids, so I didn't care how tired they got because I didn't have to deal with the after-effects. :)

[Hammer755]

Planning a Disney trip? Ugh!

You want to make reservations for a dinner and a show or two, but seriously, especially with kids, just go at your own pace and enjoy what you can. People rushing from place to place to make an appointment just tire out the kids and are squabbling by the end of the day.

Go with the flow, dude.

I think a group of adults can handle it fine, but you have NO CLUE what your kids are going to decide is fun day to day. Heck, this last time we spent 75% of the time hunting down characters, and the rest was eating or going on rides.

I disagree. Going at your own pace and enjoying what you can is what leads to waiting in line for hours in a day. I'm not saying that you have to push everyone to the brink of exhaustion, but I think going in without a plan can turn out even worse.

Oh, and with kids, don't forget the "back to the hotel for a nap and some pool time to cool off" early afternoon block.

Certainly not picking on you, gstemack, but this didn't work for us either. The hassle of loading everyone up onto the bus/car to go back to the hotel, trying to get the kids to take a nap (key word is trying - yes they were tired, but they're still hyped up about Disney), then re-loading everyone up to go back to the park was just not worth it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oh, and with kids, don't forget the "back to the hotel for a nap and some pool time to cool off" early afternoon block.

+1 to infinity and beyond

Unless you've got an early-to-bed child, finish lunch, knock off one more ride on the way out of the park & leave the heat of the day (and one of the peak crowd times) to the amateurs.

Unless you have enormous crowd/waiting tolerance, the mid-afternoon is a gigantic circle jerk during peak season and the combined stress/strain/exertion has a bad payoff - 2-3 hours that has the worse ratio of waiting:doing than pretty much any other time period.

And re: gstelmack
You want to make reservations for a dinner and a show or two, but seriously, especially with kids, just go at your own pace and enjoy what you can. People rushing from place to place to make an appointment just tire out the kids and are squabbling by the end of the day.

There's a balance that pretty much everybody has to find that works for them. We overplanned on a couple of trips, underplanned at least once. But finding the comfort zone makes the absolute most of the trip in our experience. Plus, there's the issue of differing priorities. For some people it's maxxing out rides, and there are strategies for that. For others it's about covering the key attractions and letting the rest flow as it may. And for others, it's about the overall experience, rides+shows+dining+etc.

Arguably, dining preferences -- all counter service, all sit-downs, a mix -- could very well be the single biggest thing that impacts the optimal style of "doing Disney". With sitdown meals in the picture, there's some advance planning required in most cases, and those plans will influence the timing & sequencing of everything else you do.

For us, we found the comfort level was one sit down per day, so those are picked in advance. Then it's reservation time (407-WDW-DINE, one of the few numbers I have committed to memory). Since we're two park per day people, our lunch/dinner & restaurant preferences and availabilities fill in the half the slots on the trip (broken into morning session & evening session). Once those are done, knowing our park priorities & favorites pretty much lets us rotate the parks based on the dining, avoidance of early entry days, taking advantage of Extra Magic Hours, etc. It's both an art & a science.

And in spite of those plans, we've learned how to build in enough flexibility to minimize the stress & insanity. It's neither planned to the minute nor entirely free form, it's a mix of the two. And for us, it works.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Ooh, in the category of "little things" ... try to get to ride with the driver on the monorail. It's pretty much a first-ask, first-served thing, and if the "engine" compartment is empty at your stop then you can ride up front. Kids get a cute little honorary driver's license at the end of the ride, it's really a cool thing to do that doesn't cost a dime extra.

Also, since you've got a daughter, if you happen to be at MK very early and get to the gift shop behind the castle first, be sure to ask at the register whether Tinkerbell has woke up yet. It's explained better than I can as one of the tips in this thread (http://www.wdwinfo.com/best-kept-secrets_MK.htm).

And do a little advance research about "hidden Mickeys" which are a fun thing to look for throughout the trip.

[gstelmack]

Ooh, in the category of "little things" ... try to get to ride with the driver on the monorail. It's pretty much a first-ask, first-served thing, and if the "engine" compartment is empty at your stop then you can ride up front. Kids get a cute little honorary driver's license at the end of the ride, it's really a cool thing to do that doesn't cost a dime extra.

Yes, do this! Just get to the monorail and find an employee fast.

Also, since you've got a daughter, if you happen to be at MK very early and get to the gift shop behind the castle first, be sure to ask at the register whether Tinkerbell has woke up yet. It's explained better than I can as one of the tips in this thread (http://www.wdwinfo.com/best-kept-secrets_MK.htm).

Thanks for the tip! I'll keep this one in mind next trip. My daughter would LOVE this.

[BrianD]

The Unofficial Guide to WDW was a great suggestion. We did this before our last trip (no kids though) and planned everything out. The planning stage helped to add extra excitement and it gave us a good chance to see what was available so we could choose our must-see events as well as those we didn't care about. Once we got to the parks the plans went right out the window. We were in a low peak time and didn't need to do everything so carefully, but having planned everything out allowed us to improvise intelligently.

One big suggestion would be to try to plan meals outside of the main dining times. If you can avoid the 11-1 lunch times and the 4-6 dinner times, you won't be waiting as long in food lines. Also, see if you can plan on grabbing a fast pass to a ride you really want to go on just before heading to a meal. The built-in hour delay will correspond to your meal time and you'll be able to jump to the front of the line after eating. Of course this means you should also be smart about the ride you go on right after eating. The Tower of Terror or the Aerosmith rollercoaster probably isn't the best choice right after food.

Second recommendation is to go on the Tower of Terror. I normally hate free-fall rides, but loved this one.

Avoiding rentals is something that I will always do at Disney. You can have a Disney bus pick you up at the airport, take you to all of the parks, and bring you back to the airport. Your luggage will be delivered to your hotel, and you can check your luggage at the hotel. I have to believe that it is much easier dealing with a kid if you don't have your own luggage.

Meal plans are probably worthwhile. We didn't do this on our last trip and we regretted it. Even though they seem expensive, they still save you money.

See the end-of-day special event at every park you go to. Kids will love the character parade at WDW. The fireworks show at Epcot is nice. The Fantasia show at MGM is probably the best of the bunch. The character parade at the Animal Kingdom is probably the worst of the bunch, but still fun.

Plan carefully if you go to the Animal Kingdom. There are lots of kid activities there and the park doesn't stay open as late as the others.

Plan to do rides in the morning and evening and shows during mid-day. This is probably what everybody does, but waiting outside in the sun for a ride during the busiest part of the day will be painful.

[JonInMiddleGA]

My wife just added that the Mayan ruins swimming pool at Coronado (it has two) is my son's favorite of all the resort pools.

[Bonegavel]

Great advice everyone! This is the kind of shit you can't get from a book.

yes, first trip for the daughter.

[Capital]

I haven't done character breakfasts in a while but well worth it if you have children.

If you go to Animal Kingdom, I have heard from a number of park workers to see the safari before noon. There's more animals walking around. Also, Exhibition Everest, Dinosaur (although may be too scary for children) and the Finding Nemo stage show are a must.

I tried to eat at the Canadian steakhouse at Epcot but was sold out. So, consider reservations. I will when I take my next trip.

I like the park hopper option because I tend to go in off peak times so we can see the majority of each park fairly quickly when the parks are empty.

We did not use the food option on our last trip but I may reconsider. While it seems expensive upfront, after I started doing the math, I believe we would have come out ahead had we bought the food plan.

[JonInMiddleGA]

yes, first trip for the daughter.

Have you settled on how many days you'll be there yet?
And on the exact dates? (Every weekend in June is Star Wars Weekend)

[Capital]

If you do go to Epcot, make sure you absolutely take in Test Track and Soarin. Soarin gives you a very experience and creates the impression you are on a hanglider. Fast passes are a must for this ride and they sell out rather quickly. It would be nice, however, if the movie used a DLP projector ;)

[MrBug708]

Speaking of Disney and hotel, someone decided to jump out of the 13/14 floor window yesterday

[Bonegavel]

Have you settled on how many days you'll be there yet?
And on the exact dates? (Every weekend in June is Star Wars Weekend)

we booked july 21st through the 26th. Damn on the Star Wars in June, would have been nice.

[Buccaneer]

Not an experienced WDW traveler, but I do follow a Disney blog site as I have been for over 10 years now. I would also add the Unofficial Guide as being great, sometimes I would pick one just for the fun of reading it. Also from what I have read from many, go rental, Disney transportation can be convenience at times or a nightmare. I think Kevin Yee has yet another book out on WDW dining but have not read any of them.

[OldGiants]

My daughter works for Disney, the past three years in Guest Relations in the Magic Kingdom. In April, she started her new job in Imagineering, so she won't be in the park any more. However, her boyfriend (and many other friends) is still in Guest Relations and does many of the tours. His 'Family Magic' Tour costs extra, but he does an excellent job and it is very kid oriented.

Also, if you win the night in the suite in Cinderella's castle, you may meet him because he is often the concierge on the late shift. Her long time friend and suite-mate is manager of the Liberty Tree restaurant and she has managed many of the other ones, too.

Coronado Springs is a nice place to go when you have kids. We stayed there right after it opened and some glitches (like the hot water not running one morning) but otherwise it is fine. The buses will be crowded, particularly coming back from the Magic Kingdom when its closing. As to Extra Magic, yes stay away from that park that day, but do go to the Extra Magic hours that they charge for. I don't know if that's the same name or not. But when they sell extra tickets, fewer folks are in the park and you can do things like ride Buzz Light Year continuously for an hour, like I did.

The newest ride is a Toy Story based ride like Buzz Light Year. It should be good. Not sure when it opens, other than soon.

Remember to ask for ice water from the concession stands on hot days. The will give you a large cup filled with water and ice. No need to spend lots of money on soda. Or buy the big mugs that can be refilled. You will have to lug those around, however.

The shows are great places to rest and recuperate. Nemo, Lion King and Bugs Life are must see for kids at the Animal Kingdom.

The Living Seas restaurant in EPCOT is expensive, but has the fish tank to look at. The character breakfast in the Grand Floridian is the next best to the Princess one in the castle, IMO. Lots of one-on-one time with the characters there.

Be sure to check out the Disney site for what rides may be down for maintenance when you are there, too. And remember, Space Mountain is frequently (like every other week) knocked out by a lightning hit, so it will be down for extended periods in the summer.

Any way, if anyone has anything specific to ask about, I can usual hunt down the answer from the person in charge.

[JonInMiddleGA]

As to Extra Magic, yes stay away from that park that day, but do go to the Extra Magic hours that they charge for. I don't know if that's the same name or not.

Unfortunately, unless they reversed course in the past few months, they did away with the old Extra Magic program which allowed a limited number of tickets to be sold for the additional late night hours. Instead, it's limited only to guests staying at any on-site resort, who now get it as a "free" perk. The change really reduced the effectiveness of the benefit, not enough that it isn't worth doing but still nowhere near as good as it used to be.

[OldGiants]

Unfortunately, unless they reversed course in the past few months, they did away with the old Extra Magic program which allowed a limited number of tickets to be sold for the additional late night hours. Instead, it's limited only to guests staying at any on-site resort, who now get it as a "free" perk. The change really reduced the effectiveness of the benefit, not enough that it isn't worth doing but still nowhere near as good as it used to be.

Yes, now that you mention it, they did make that change.

[OldGiants]

My daughter says this is the best site for information because many of the those who post are cast members or long time Disney goers and fans:

http://wdwmagic.com/

[Bonegavel]

Thanks to everyone that posted here as it came in handy over the last few months. We leave tomorrow morning @ 7am from Phila International. Have to leave home around 3:45 (yummy).

Gonna be nice and hot but looks like the tropical storms are passing on by.

w00t!

[mauchow]

Yeeee....Have fun.

[Lathum]

enjoy!

[Bonegavel]

Holy jeebus it is hot down here! You get used to the sweat dripping from every pore after a while.

Cordoba Springs is a nice enough place to stay. Everything is pretty much standard fare. Nothing special, but still nice.

The bus scheme they have is wonderful. Didn't rent a car and don't need to. Takes a lot of stress out of the equation. Disney does everything right. Can't think of a complaint (beyond the weather - and Disney hasn't figured out how to harness that yet) to this point and that is rare for me. Well, one complaint. It's after 12am and I wanted a water. Found the vending machine and it won't accept my $5's! Damnit.

Monday, we hit EPCOT. Today we hit The Animal Kingdom and tomorrow it's the Magic Kingdom. Great time so far!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Woot, wish we were there too.

[fflix]

Is there a good place to buy discounted park entrance passes from? If we get a rental car, is there a parking fee at each of the different parks? Will be making a trip to WDW in early September.

[OldGiants]

Is there a good place to buy discounted park entrance passes from? If we get a rental car, is there a parking fee at each of the different parks? Will be making a trip to WDW in early September.

No discounts anywhere that I know of.

If you get the park hopper ticket, then there are no parking fees at all.

If you stay at a Disney hotel, the bus is best. Don't forget Mickey's Magical Express will take you from the airport to the hotel for free, so having a car at the resort is a bit pointless.

[OldGiants]

The best pass discount is to have a daughter with a silver pass so you can get in free every day.

That, however, was a bit expensive on the child rearing side. ;)

[Bonegavel]

Is there a good place to buy discounted park entrance passes from? If we get a rental car, is there a parking fee at each of the different parks? Will be making a trip to WDW in early September.

Can't recommend staying at the park hotels and using the bus system enough. Not having to worry about a car has been ultra super duper supremely awesomely dawsomly greaty great great.

We did Hollywood studios today and the following pic wasn't my wife's or daughter's favorite part, but it was mine!

[Bonegavel]

Oops, I don't know what I did wrong to that post, but I uploaded a pic and then linked to it.

(well, I went back into the post and just deleted the original pic and it only kept the attached. Hoped this is right)

damn, I should be in bed. Early character breakfast tomorrow at EPCOT.

[Izulde]

EPCOT's my favorite of the parks down there.

[JonInMiddleGA]

We did Hollywood studios today and the following pic wasn't my wife's or daughter's favorite part, but it was mine!

What? No picture of you on the the speeder bike?

[Bonegavel]

What? No picture of you on the the speeder bike?

hehe, no but I did get my daughter on there. There was a huge group of people around it and we were in a rush so I just snapped a pic of the little ball of estrogen. My wife isn't too good with my Nikon D70s.

[Buccaneer]

I just read something that's both sad and predictable. Disney's City Hall at the parks have stopped taking positive and negative suggestions and compliments/complaints in written form. The reason is that Disney's legal wants to protect the company from liability lawsuits concerning suggestions from customers. In other words, let's say a customer complains that there are too many popcorn carts blocking the parade viewing areas. When Disney decides to move to the popcorn carts, the customer can sue the company for not compensating them for their idea. Another example is the addition of a popular Anaheim ride in WDW. A customer could sue claiming it was his/her idea to add Soarin'... (for example) to WDW based on a written comment. So, to prevent such lawsuits, all comments are banned. If you write a letter to Disney and it mentions something in the park, they will return it to you with a form letter stating that such unsolicited communication is prohibitive. That's what we get when we let lawyers run everything.

[MizzouRah]

We are planning a WDW trip in May.. this thread is GOLD!!!

[SportsDino]

That comment thing is the stupidest thing I ever heard.

Its good customer service to take suggestions and implement what you can. Lawyering up over something you could never sell (your whiny letters) is just abuse of the legal system.

[gstelmack]

That comment thing is the stupidest thing I ever heard.

Its good customer service to take suggestions and implement what you can. Lawyering up over something you could never sell (your whiny letters) is just abuse of the legal system.

Blame the lawyers. It's the same reason game/movie/music companies won't listen to ideas: even if you're almost ready to release, if you have something that someone suggests at the last second, you open yourself up to a suit. Look at all the suits about "that was my song" or "that was my script". You just cut it off at the knees. It would not surprise me if this was a reaction to suits Disney has already faced.

[SportsDino]

I do not doubt they have been sued... how this can be considered law though is just nuts. I'm all for the ability to protect your own content, I don't even fault the recording industry despite how unpopular such a position may be... but the notions of ownership are FUBAR in this country.

You have people actively stealing artistic content (music and movies) with lame excuses as to why its legal, or at least ethical, or payback... when the real reason everyone knows is its the practicality of theft (can't compete with free) that is driving them. Then you have others suing over the slightest shred of a thought that vaguely resembles the work of another to try and get fame or money (this policy by Disney, or the lady who sued over Harry Potter, etc...).

Maybe we should come up with some sort of system for registering concepts for legal rights in a sane and efficient manner. Like patents, but actually functional enough to be used by most people (I'm going through the patent process and no doubt will again and again, it seems more geared towards big businesses than protecting innovation though).

Have an idea, register it along with a plan of how to use it, get a window of time where you get the right to protect it, and if that window passes it is open for anyone with the means to implement it. Or maybe some automatic auction system with/without a time limit. Anything better than silly lawsuits that drown out protection of real ideas.

[JPhillips]

Consider it karma. Nobody harasses people about copyright claims like Disney. They sent a cease and desist letter to the hospital in my wife's hometown because they had painted Disney characters in the children's wing.

[JonInMiddleGA]

They sent a cease and desist letter to the hospital in my wife's hometown because they had painted Disney characters in the children's wing.

As they should, since they have zero right to use the characters without proper license. And there's definitely no shortage of access to the characters through licensed merchandise/materials.

[JPhillips]

Just as every individual has a right to sue Disney over comment cards. Karma's a bitch.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Just as every individual has a right to sue Disney over comment cards. Karma's a bitch.

FTR, you didn't see me complain about the policy change, it's a smart call. As for the suits filed against companies like Disney most often those will turn out to be fraudulent (unlike the quite legitimate complaint that Disney had with the hospital) but that's how it goes, I expect it enough that I largely just shrug it off as one of those things.

[MizzouRah]

Well, I found a nice package and I'm about to pull the trigger. VERY EXCITED to finally take my family on a trip other than our annual camping trip. My 6 year old is excited most that she and her sister have their own beds and bedroom in this 2 bedroom villa we will be staying in. :)

[JetsIn06]

I'm a big fan of the mexican restuarant at epcot. awesome atmosphere and amazing food.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Well, I found a nice package and I'm about to pull the trigger. VERY EXCITED to finally take my family on a trip other than our annual camping trip. My 6 year old is excited most that she and her sister have their own beds and bedroom in this 2 bedroom villa we will be staying in. :)

The prices in Orlando right now for flight/room/park tickets are insanely good right now. If you're on a shoestring budget and want to go on a great family vacation, a trip to WDW isn't going to be any cheaper than what it is right now. I'll probably book a vacation down there relatively soon.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'm a big fan of the mexican restuarant at epcot. awesome atmosphere and amazing food.

I'll agree on the atmosphere, but have always thought the food was extremely bland & bordering on mediocre. I guess that's one of the things about places you don't get to eat very often, it could easily cycle from bad when I go to very good when you go and back to bad by the time I go again.

[MizzouRah]

The prices in Orlando right now for flight/room/park tickets are insanely good right now. If you're on a shoestring budget and want to go on a great family vacation, a trip to WDW isn't going to be any cheaper than what it is right now. I'll probably book a vacation down there relatively soon.

Yes they are and the biggest reason we are going to do it now.

[gstelmack]

We'll be there in April, staying on property.

[OldGiants]

Consider it karma. Nobody harasses people about copyright claims like Disney. They sent a cease and desist letter to the hospital in my wife's hometown because they had painted Disney characters in the children's wing.

As did the estate of Dr. Seuss send such a letter to my wife's school because they had painted the cafeteria with his characters.

They weren't even good likenesses. They were 'free' from a PTA committee.

[OldGiants]

We'll be there in April, staying on property.

I'll be at Dixie Landing in early April visiting our daughter.

If you live in Halifax, you might have seen this:

http://www.cbc.ca/<wbr>stevenandchris/fullvideo.html?<wbr>id=971455507&playlist=<wbr>2f848d279048f710ba3c6dceb0f6d8<wbr>2ff4814a1c (http://www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris/fullvideo.html?id=971455507&playlist=2f848d279048f710ba3c6dceb0f6d82ff4814a1c)

It features my prospective son-in-law giving a tour of Cinderella's suite. It also ran as part of the Disney Christmas parade in Canada. They don't have as many commercial minutes up there, and needed to fill out the two hours.

His piece starts about 28.5 minutes in.

[Draft Dodger]

I'll agree on the atmosphere, but have always thought the food was extremely bland & bordering on mediocre. I guess that's one of the things about places you don't get to eat very often, it could easily cycle from bad when I go to very good when you go and back to bad by the time I go again.

no, I agree. I only went once (and that was years ago), but I still recall how disappointed I was.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'll be at Dixie Landing in early April visiting our daughter.

Unless I've totally gone bonkers, it's now called Port Orleans-Riverside (or P.O.-French Quarter, I can't remember which was which) after a remodel/renovation a few years ago.

[gstelmack]

Port Orleans has been there a LONG time, broken into Riverside and French Quarter. We stayed there a couple of times in the 2000/2002 timeframe.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Port Orleans has been there a LONG time, broken into Riverside and French Quarter. We stayed there a couple of times in the 2000/2002 timeframe.

I had to go look this up to make sure of the details.
Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney%27s_Port_Orleans_Resort)

FQ opened in 91, Dixie Landings in '92. They made some changes to PO:FQ and rebranded DL as PO:Riverside at the same time, April 2001.

[gstelmack]

Ahhh. We must have stayed in the French Quarter in 2000, then did the Riverside thing in May 2002.

[Butter]

I'm really trying to resist going again this spring, you guys are making it hard.

Must. Not. Click on the link again...... aaaaarrrrrrghhhhh!

[Capital]

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside last October and found it very enjoyable. It was a nice location for a "reasonable" (land of Disney) price and was relatively quiet. I would recommend it again.

As for the food plan, while I have been a WDW many times, this was the first time we ever used the food plan. I found it to be useful and would use it again. As for Table Service, we went to Yachtsman Steakhouse (great food), Teppan Edo at Epcot, and one other at the studios. We just made a decision ahead of time that we wanted to eat well and this was the way to do it.

The best part for me was that I didn't have to worry about price. I didn't do the math, but I figure I came out ahead - maybe not the 30% Disney advertises, but I estimate 10-15% ahead. After all...I was on vacation...

[gstelmack]

Yeah, the food plan worked out pretty good for us last time, and we're going to use it again this time.

[OldGiants]

Unless I've totally gone bonkers, it's now called Port Orleans-Riverside (or P.O.-French Quarter, I can't remember which was which) after a remodel/renovation a few years ago.

All of you are correct about no more Dixie Landing--except my wife and I still use our Dixie Landing mugs to get drinks in the food court at Riverside.

[OldGiants]

Yeah, the food plan worked out pretty good for us last time, and we're going to use it again this time.

The food plan is a good deal, I'm told. I've never used it because we like to eat at places that aren't on the plan and just nibble between those meals. But for families, it works out very well if you plan ahead and follow the advice on the various Disney fan boards.

[MizzouRah]

Should I get Disney tickets before we go, or is it just as easy to get them once we are there?

It was actually cheaper to book the flight and hotel separate.. we are not staying at a Disney resort, but a resort really close by.

[gstelmack]

I dunno, I always buy ahead of time so you don't have to wait in line. Also make sure you buy the multi-day passes; after about day 3 additional days become free (and when we went two years ago, we actually saved a couple of bucks by buying 7 day passes instead of 6 days).

[Butter]

Should I get Disney tickets before we go, or is it just as easy to get them once we are there?

It was actually cheaper to book the flight and hotel separate.. we are not staying at a Disney resort, but a resort really close by.

I always buy ahead of time, BUT there is pretty much no discount for doing so, so if you don't mind waiting in line 5-10 minutes once you get there, buying there works just as well.

[MizzouRah]

We are only going to get a 2 day pass since we are going to spend a day at seaworld and the rest of the time at my wife's Uncle's house.

Looks like the place we are staying at has some decent discounted tickets.. probably the best option since I could purchase them and have them waiting for us when we checked in.

[MizzouRah]

Leaving tomorrow at 0700!!!

It's 54 degress here right now and 74 in Florida.. yeah baby!!!

[spleen1015]

We'll be hitting Disney this year, the first full week in June right after school gets out.

[MizzouRah]

This is a PERFECT time to be here. Magic Kingdom was awesome!!! The longest line we waited in was about 30 mins. Tomorrow we are heading to Animal Kingdom, I can't wait!!!

Seaworld also has another park called Aquatica, I think we are going to do that as well as Seaworld.. the consierge told us it's a "must do" park.

Weather is perfect and the kids have told us it's the best vacation evah.. :)

[JeeberD]

This is a PERFECT time to be here. Magic Kingdom was awesome!!! The longest line we waited in was about 30 mins. Tomorrow we are heading to Animal Kingdom, I can't wait!!!

Seaworld also has another park called Aquatica, I think we are going to do that as well as Seaworld.. the consierge told us it's a "must do" park.

Weather is perfect and the kids have told us it's the best vacation evah.. :)


Must remember for future reference once we have kids...early May is the time to go to D-World.

[MizzouRah]

Must remember for future reference once we have kids...early May is the time to go to D-World.

Yes it is.. at least so far. We'll see how busy animal kingdom is today. The lady at the magic kingdom told us to go to the back of the park once it opens and do the safari first, then work our way back.

We got to the magic kingdom at 9:00 when it opened yesterday and had the whole park finished around 4:30.

Sea World Aquatia lets the kids swim with dolphins and has a bunch of water stuff to do.

Oh.. the new Manta ride at Sea World opens tomorrow, so we are really excited to ride that!

[Bonegavel]

Whatever you do... do not go in July/August. It was so frickin' hot when we went it was almost unbearable.

[Butter]

Yeah, I'm going at the end of July. I don't know whether to look forward to it or not. I'm a little frightened of the heat.

[gstelmack]

Avoid April. Spring Break KILLED us on waits. We have to figure out how to go in January / February or in May next time around now that the kids are in school.

[Butter]

October/November is also awesome.

[cuervo72]

Avoid April. Spring Break KILLED us on waits. We have to figure out how to go in January / February or in May next time around now that the kids are in school.

Heh. We went to Animal Kingdom for a day last month, and it was indeed pretty crowded. My wife's aunt, cousin and cousin's daughter went to the Magic Kingdom on the same day and said it was absolutely horrid. We had planned of going there originally too but thought better of it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Avoid April. Spring Break KILLED us on waits. We have to figure out how to go in January / February or in May next time around now that the kids are in school.

Without question, the best times to go are.........

Late January/Early February
Early May
Early September
Early December (between Thanksgiving and Christmas)

If you go during those times, you'll have minimal crowds since kids are generally in school during that period. Early December is a great time because you get all the Christmas stuff while having small crowds. Also, you'll rarely have to wait more than 10 minutes for a ride in Early December and Late January. Most of the time you'll just walk on the ride or they'll even let you stay on the ride for another trip. It's great.

[Ksyrup]

Late January/Early February
Early May
Early September
Early December (between Thanksgiving and Christmas)

That's basically when we would hit the Orlando parks as Florida residents. I'm still burnt out on Disney, and I haven't lived in Florida for 3 years.

[MizzouRah]

We are VERY happy we pulled the kids out of school and went early May. This fastpass system they have in place for the rides is also one cool deal.

Two parks down, Sea World and Discovery Cove to go!

[spleen1015]

I don't think I could pull my kids out of school for a vacation. I also think it is illegal in Indiana.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I don't think I could pull my kids out of school for a vacation. I also think it is illegal in Indiana.

Lots of parents being charged with keeping their kids out of school, are there?

[spleen1015]

I remember the principal talking about it when we went to kindergarten night before my daughter started school.

They also have a certain number of unexcused absences before they automatically fail the grade.

[Ksyrup]

We drive to Texas every Thanksgiving to visit my parents, so we pull the kids out of school for the Monday and Tuesday (only days school is in that week) before Thanksgiving. But I'm not sure I'd pull them for an entire week. We just go on vacation in June or July.

[Ksyrup]

Here, you get 10 absences, regardless of whether they are legit or not, before you fail. But that's just to make it to the next grade, I don't know if they would (or could) do something if they knew why a kid was out (sickness vs. European vacation).

[JonInMiddleGA]

Talking about absences reminds me of the good ol' days. My senior year of high school we were allowed 10 absences per class per grading period, 30 per year. It became an art form to make sure you used all 10 days in each class, so there were several days where (because you'd used middays for a dentist appointment or something) we would miss the morning classes, show up for the midday, and then find an excuse to check out & be gone again by afternoon.

Good times.

[MizzouRah]

The kids took their homework with them.. but they haven't missed but a day or two all year up to this point.. we did have to meet with the teachers though before we left.

It wasn't like we have those rules here, but they are both straight A students.

[cuervo72]

Here, you get 10 absences, regardless of whether they are legit or not, before you fail. But that's just to make it to the next grade, I don't know if they would (or could) do something if they knew why a kid was out (sickness vs. European vacation).

Hmm, my daughter has already gone over 10 in 1st grade. A couple of these were leading into/out of breaks, some were medical visits, a few were "sick" days where she buffaloed my wife. Luckily she's a good student, so the absences shouldn't be an issue in moving on to 2nd grade.

We were asked by a group of neighbors to go on a cruise this coming October, smack in the middle of school (we reserved, but will probably back out). I know a couple of families have had trips like this in the past. Not sure how they've explained the time off to the schools.

[OldGiants]

Next time you go to Disney World be sure to check out the new 'Join The Crew' area of the Pirates ride. It is in the shop at the exit of the ride.

My daughter designed it :)

Pirate+League+015.JPG (image) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bNgSFr4TleI/SkWQDJV0chI/AAAAAAAAC6M/EPgjVnB4yoU/s1600-h/Pirate+League+015.JPG)

signed,

A Proud Dad

[LoneStarGirl]

I went to Disney World when I was 8 as well. I still have memories from spending time with my dad there. Great choice

[JonInMiddleGA]

Cool stuff OldGiants.

[sterlingice]

Not that I have any eminent plans to go visit Disney (tho I'd like to some day)- very cool, OldGiants

SI

[BishopMVP]

We were asked by a group of neighbors to go on a cruise this coming October, smack in the middle of school (we reserved, but will probably back out). I know a couple of families have had trips like this in the past. Not sure how they've explained the time off to the schools.As someone who worked at a HS this spring and had a little sister who was a senior already accepted to college, I can guarantee you it's not an issue. :) As long as a parent confirms the absence and the student is in good standing, there is nothing a school will do, particularly if you tell them ahead of time and talk to teachers. I mean, you can be devious and just call in every day and claim your kid is home sick, but it really isn't necessary.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I am going to Orlando for work next month, and my wife is tagging along to vacation at Disney World. Neither one of us has ever been there before, so when my work commitment is done, I will stick around a few extra days. Being from New Orleans, I'm not worried about the heat. I remember what heat and humidity are like, even though I've been away from the south for five years. I'm pretty excited about it, especially since my employer is paying for most of my airfare, and my client is paying for part of my hotel stay. Ahoy!!!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Pumpy, of all the people who I know that might really enjoy WDW as an adult, I think you're high on the list.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Pumpy, of all the people who I know that might really enjoy WDW as an adult, I think you're high on the list.
This is probably the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. Thanks. :)

[OldGiants]

Cool stuff OldGiants.

Thanks, Jon

[OldGiants]

Not that I have any eminent plans to go visit Disney (tho I'd like to some day)- very cool, OldGiants

SI

thanks, Sterlingice.

[Gary Gorski]

Next time you go to Disney World be sure to check out the new 'Join The Crew' area of the Pirates ride. It is in the shop at the exit of the ride.

My daughter designed it :)

Pirate+League+015.JPG (image) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bNgSFr4TleI/SkWQDJV0chI/AAAAAAAAC6M/EPgjVnB4yoU/s1600-h/Pirate+League+015.JPG)

signed,

A Proud Dad

Very cool - we were just there in May. We love the place. We'll have to look for this if we go back next year.

[OldGiants]

Very cool - we were just there in May. We love the place. We'll have to look for this if we go back next year.

Thanks, Gary.

Since she joined the Global Retail Interior Design group, she's redone Sir Mickey's next to the castle, Mickey's Ts in downtown Disney, the Photopass kiosks in many of the hotels, and mirrors in the stores in Animal Kingdom, amongst other projects.

[Gary Gorski]

What a cool job - I think that it would be really fun to work at Disney (well other than being a character - I don't think that job would be so fun in the 100 degree heat)

[Butter]

Next time you go to Disney World be sure to check out the new 'Join The Crew' area of the Pirates ride. It is in the shop at the exit of the ride.

My daughter designed it :)

Pirate+League+015.JPG (image) (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bNgSFr4TleI/SkWQDJV0chI/AAAAAAAAC6M/EPgjVnB4yoU/s1600-h/Pirate+League+015.JPG)

signed,

A Proud Dad

We are going in July, I will be sure to look out for this! Looks cool.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'm heading down to Disney next week. We've been several times before, but this is the first time for our three year old daughter. She's over the moon about the character breakfast we're going to where she gets to meet and get autographs from all of the princesses. FWIW......I'm pretty excited to meet the princesses as well. :)

Anyway, I happened to find some fantastic iPhone apps for the trip. There's three of them, all created by VistaEdge. One is a dining application that has all menus at the resorts and parks. Another app has opening/closing times in addition to schedules for all the events and parades. The third app gives real time wait times at all rides in the park, often that are more accurate than the Disney-posted times. All of the apps also have a 'Near Me' button that locates you via GPS and shows you the closest attractions, restaurants, etc. If you buy all three apps, it totals $3.97. Not bad at all to have all that info available while in the parks.

[OldGiants]

I hope your daughter has a great time. I can remember the first time we took our little girl to Disneyland and then Disney World. At the time, neither my wife nor I had any idea she would wind up in the Imagineering Department.

Last month, she got married at the Boardwalk Hotel. We had the reception in the Living Seas restaurant (in the conference room in back), and finally a dessert reception at the British Pub (outside on the terrace). Absolutely the best time I've ever had.

If your daughter would like to see a few pictures of the wedding of a real, live Disney Princess, here are links to the photographer's websites:

http://www.<wbr>studio222photography.com/blog/<wbr>2010/03/disney-wedding-at-the-<wbr>croquet-lawn-becky-jeff/ (http://www.studio222photography.com/blog/2010/03/disney-wedding-at-the-croquet-lawn-becky-jeff/)


http://www.brendasweddingblog.<wbr>com/blogs/2010/3/17/the-bride-<wbr>and-grooms-first-look-with-a-<wbr>little-bit-of-green.html (http://www.brendasweddingblog.com/blogs/2010/3/17/the-bride-and-grooms-first-look-with-a-little-bit-of-green.html)

http://www.disneyweddingblog.<wbr>com/2010/03/first-look-<wbr>spotlight-becky-jeff.html (http://www.disneyweddingblog.com/2010/03/first-look-spotlight-becky-jeff.html)

[JonInMiddleGA]

MBBF - how odd to see you mention those apps less than an hour after my wife & son mentioned them to me for the first time.

And that's actually twice in the last 24 hours or so that something pretty random has been mentioned here at home & then I find it mentioned in my online world as well a very short while later (i.e. it wasn't coming from reading the same major story online or something, it was just something random that popped up).

If I didn't know better I'd say that's pretty ironic, like rain on your wedding day or something ;)

[lighthousekeeper]

more coincidence: i'll be at disney next week too

[MrBug708]

I was gonna head down today but got sidetracked. My sister has a placard so we don't have to wait long. If you are spending more then one day, hit california adventures first thing for the toy story ride. After the first 20 minutes of opening, the line is an hour plus the whole time

[cuervo72]

And that's actually twice in the last 24 hours or so that something pretty random has been mentioned here at home & then I find it mentioned in my online world as well a very short while later (i.e. it wasn't coming from reading the same major story online or something, it was just something random that popped up).

I've had stretches of these - random things that I hadn't thought of in ages that happen to pop up twice on the same day from different sources.

[PilotMan]

We will be heading to Disneyworld and Seaworld the week after next.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

If your daughter would like to see a few pictures of the wedding of a real, live Disney Princess, here are links to the photographer's websites:

http://www.<wbr>studio222photography.com/blog/<wbr>2010/03/disney-wedding-at-the-<wbr>croquet-lawn-becky-jeff/ (http://www.studio222photography.com/blog/2010/03/disney-wedding-at-the-croquet-lawn-becky-jeff/)


http://www.brendasweddingblog.<wbr>com/blogs/2010/3/17/the-bride-<wbr>and-grooms-first-look-with-a-<wbr>little-bit-of-green.html (http://www.brendasweddingblog.com/blogs/2010/3/17/the-bride-and-grooms-first-look-with-a-little-bit-of-green.html)

http://www.disneyweddingblog.<wbr>com/2010/03/first-look-<wbr>spotlight-becky-jeff.html (http://www.disneyweddingblog.com/2010/03/first-look-spotlight-becky-jeff.html)

Very cool. Thanks for sharing. I actually just got another bride to sign on this morning for a wedding at our winery next year. So I've got wedding on the mind right now. :)

[PilotMan]

hxxp://www.textsfromlastnight.com/Text-Replies-2566.html

(407):

i went to disney world today with my friends, met snow white, then saw her later at a bar. she is naked next to me in her bed, passwed out. when you wish upon a star...

[ColtCrazy]

We are going down to Disney this summer, either the week before or the week after my job in England. We got our tickets through undercovertourist and got a pretty good deal on them.

[lighthousekeeper]

any suggestions on what to do in the orlando area that is inexpensive and not disney? we have 2 extra days in orlando and i'm looking for something to do that won't cost us the $300 it would cost to do a theme park. on one of the days we are going to Cocoa Beach. Any other suggestions?

[sterlingice]

Cape Canaveral is about an hour's drive east of Orlando. But it's still fairly expensive (about $40 for an adult unless you can find a discount)


SI

[Ksyrup]

We went to Disney for a day last week. First time back since we moved from Florida. Four years inflation + non-Florida resident = 1-day-pass sticker shock.

Even using the fast pass system, we barely got on many rides - and that's including the rides just the kids went on. At least it was open until 1am. We left at 5 to have dinner outside the park with an old friend of mine and went back for a couple hours later.

If you're not staying at a Disney resort and you stay late and hit the mad rush of people all leaving at the same time and trying to get on the monorails/ferry to get to the parking lot, here's a tip - you can use the resort monorail to get to the parking lot. They have separate monorails for resort guests and the rest, but they don't check and they both get you to the parking lot. There must have been 5000 people waiting for the regular monorail when we left at midnight and maybe 100 at the resort monorail. We chose wisely.

[gstelmack]

any suggestions on what to do in the orlando area that is inexpensive and not disney? we have 2 extra days in orlando and i'm looking for something to do that won't cost us the $300 it would cost to do a theme park. on one of the days we are going to Cocoa Beach. Any other suggestions?

There are miniature golf courses galore. Plenty of touristy-trap stuff down near the Disney area that aren't as expensive. It's been a while since I lived there so I'm not up-to-date, but there is a fair amount of typical city stuff beyond the theme parks, along with other entertainment bits that aren't theme park expensive.

[OldGiants]

We went to Disney for a day last week. First time back since we moved from Florida. Four years inflation + non-Florida resident = 1-day-pass sticker shock.

Even using the fast pass system, we barely got on many rides - and that's including the rides just the kids went on. At least it was open until 1am. We left at 5 to have dinner outside the park with an old friend of mine and went back for a couple hours later.

If you're not staying at a Disney resort and you stay late and hit the mad rush of people all leaving at the same time and trying to get on the monorails/ferry to get to the parking lot, here's a tip - you can use the resort monorail to get to the parking lot. They have separate monorails for resort guests and the rest, but they don't check and they both get you to the parking lot. There must have been 5000 people waiting for the regular monorail when we left at midnight and maybe 100 at the resort monorail. We chose wisely.

Another tip at rush time is take the bus to Downtown Disney and then get your resort bus from there. We've saved at least a half hour doing this several times. This is particularly useful if you are staying at the least expensive Disney hotels like the All-star series or Caribbean Beach.

[OldGiants]

any suggestions on what to do in the orlando area that is inexpensive and not disney? we have 2 extra days in orlando and i'm looking for something to do that won't cost us the $300 it would cost to do a theme park. on one of the days we are going to Cocoa Beach. Any other suggestions?

If you want to have a good time at a pool, here's a way. It is Disney, but free. Go to downtown Disney. Take the Port Orleans boat to the French Quarter. There is a pool with a dragon slide right there. It is a hotel pool, but no one will hassle you. If you get bored there, get back on the boat to Dixie Landing where there is bigger pool but the slide is ordinary.

They expect folks to hang around the pool on getaway days, so you will fit right in.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Had a great time at the parks. Daughter got to meet all the princesses and several of the characters and get their autographs. She loved the teacups, the Goofy rollercoaster, and the ride that bears her name (Kali River Rapids). Everyone had a great time and no terrible issues with crowds.

[JonInMiddleGA]

She loved the teacups, the Goofy rollercoaster, and the ride that bears her name (Kali River Rapids).

You named your daughter Rapids?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

You named your daughter Rapids?

I'm not good with decisions under pressure.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/v3c-W3xRFbXQsTf3hmF6kwhX7kC2n27HxabBQP59gVc?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/S8fag3npGlI/AAAAAAAAN10/_6-Jv7ad31A/s800/027.JPG" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NGviQsbXQgIrjX96A_1CTAhX7kC2n27HxabBQP59gVc?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/S8fah8gVPQI/AAAAAAAAN2E/oATDCw5drpI/s800/029.JPG" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UerhXPDRNVV0G2AlDBE_rghX7kC2n27HxabBQP59gVc?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/S8fai19irII/AAAAAAAAN2U/_Bwaj_nkNfg/s800/031.JPG" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gJ7opwoBSpnghhUyTS2LRQhX7kC2n27HxabBQP59gVc?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/S8fajsKRsaI/AAAAAAAAN2k/yM2ySROSIzU/s800/034.JPG" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6gd54x5bIXe76Ydoo8b6kghX7kC2n27HxabBQP59gVc?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/S8fakBgiyAI/AAAAAAAAN2s/CbnWSxSF0aE/s800/035.JPG" /></a>

[Izulde]

Great pictures, MBBF. :)

[Butter]

Smile, girl, it's Disney World!!!!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Smile, girl, it's Disney World!!!!

I think she was caught off-guard a bit by the fact that the characters that she idolizes were strolling right into the room to talk to her. She was thrilled after meeting them, but very reserved when meeting them. Royalty has that effect I suppose.

[OldGiants]

Great pictures, thanks for posting them.

When I look back at pictures of my daughter's first trips to the Disney parks, I see the same kind of joy and awe in her face. The pleasant surprise is that I still see that look in her eyes when I walk around the park with her now.

[Ksyrup]

My 10 year old decided to announce right before we went to DW that she's always been scared of Goofy. So we spent the entire time pointing out Goofy pictures and tracking the live Goofy around the park to mess with her. She said his laugh gives her the creeps.