Disney World-- What To Do/What Not To Do

[GrantNKY]

Leaving for WDW, from Elizabethtown, three weeks from Thursday.

 

Thursday

Both the wife and I are working. Most driving we can get in will probably be 5 hours. May hit up Pigeon Forge because we can stay at Valley Forge fairly cheap and then do a quick eat at Crockett's in Gatlinburg before getting back on 75 south.

 

Friday

Planning about 8-10 hours in the car and be at All Star Sports late afternoon. Dining plan does NOT cover this night, so might hit up Disney Springs for dinner.

 

Saturday

MAGIC KINGDOM. Have 9 am breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest. Have 3 straight fast passes for Small World, Mansion and Peter Pan. Will use snack credits or QSR credits for lunch. Have no use for the 3 mountains. Both my wife and I get sick on drop rides and coasters. Planning to hit up Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Pooh, Under the Sea as well. After about those 7, we hit up whatever. Character dinner at Crystal Palace covered under dining credit. There are TWO fireworks shows, 9 and 1030, so might ignore the first one if we want to add in some rides.

 

SUNDAY

No parks or meals scheduled. Might watch princess processional at Floridian or the piano guy at Port Orleans. Will probably chill at pool some and utilize the free resort refill mug.

 

MONDAY

EPCOT. Have fast pass for Frozen and a character meet. Have reservations at Garden Grill and the japanese hibachi place. Soarin and Test Track are NOT must do's for us and everything else will take our time doing. Food festival also going on at this time, so we could go through snack credits like crazy.

 

TUESDAY

START HOME. Do not know what time we will leave and do not know how far we will get. Might hit up Atlanta on way back, Gatlinburg (we go to Smokies like 6 times a year) or Huntsville if we go back the other way.

 

WEDNESDAY

Eat breakfast and do something small in the town we stop in. Be home in Hardin Cointy by mid afternoon. I work that Thursday, she does not.

The food and wine festival at Epcot is fantastic! Sounds like you'll have a great time. I would still give Soarin a shot. I don't know if you've rode it since they changed up the ride, but it's pretty cool. Have a great time!

[Nathaniel Bryan]

So my September trip to WDW was Hurricaned out. Got complete refund. Didn't waste the time off, either, as we went to the American side of Niagara Falls. Had a good time, found a Double Tree for $100 within walking distance of the falls and the weather was in the 70s/80s the entire time we were there (this was September).

 

Trying WDW again for 5 nights from Jan. 17-22 at Pop Century. Only planning two park days (MK and Epcot). Got a great rate on a rental car, so might do some stuff in the city, go to Cape Canaveral or somewhere else (LegoLand?).

[Runcible Owl]

So my September trip to WDW was Hurricaned out. Got complete refund. Didn't waste the time off, either, as we went to the American side of Niagara Falls. Had a good time, found a Double Tree for $100 within walking distance of the falls and the weather was in the 70s/80s the entire time we were there (this was September).

 

Trying WDW again for 5 nights from Jan. 17-22 at Pop Century. Only planning two park days (MK and Epcot). Got a great rate on a rental car, so might do some stuff in the city, go to Cape Canaveral or somewhere else (LegoLand?).

 

NB, if you wind up going to Legoland, please post a review for us. If you can't make it to the park, the Discovery Centers are cool too.

 

LEGO.com LEGOLAND

[swamprat]

My son's family went to Lego Land for my grandson's 6th birthday in late August, after the hurricane. They had a wonderful time, that's all I know about that place.

 

Some other things to do...

 

My son's family are taking my son's mother-in-law to Downtown Disney for her birthday next weekend. I've never been, but according to them, it's a cool place and there is no admission fee.

 

We went with them to Universal CityWalk and the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen for my granddaugher's 10th birthday party. That was back in November. My understanding is that Universal CityWalk is pretty much the same as Downtown Disney.

 

Both of the above are secured environments, meaning you have to go through a security checkpoint to get in.

 

Church Street Station was the place to go in Orlando, back in the day. However, I don't know what it is like after the Pulse tragedy. My son doesn't do hardly any family outings in downtown Orlando, especially after dark, and they live there (Apopka).

 

There is a lot of stuff to do on International Drive. Pointe Orlando comes to mind.

[swamprat]

As far as driving. There is a SpringHill Suites just off the interstate, across from Kennesaw State University, where we stay when we traverse up that way and back. 3399 Town Point Dr NW, Kennesaw, GA. Take exit 241 off I-75 (Chastain Road exit). It's before you get to Atlanta, coming south.

 

They were remodeling when we came up there in November and were almost done. It's nice place to stay and reasonably priced. We've stated there more than 10 times and have never been disappointed.

[NKYFootballer]

My wife's grandparents live in Ocala, which is an hour and a half from Orlando. I went to Disney for the first time on Thursday. We were there when when the park opened at 8 and there till it closed at Midnight. We hit all 4 parks and rode a decent amount of rides. It amazed me the amount if wait times some rides have. Overall it was a great experience and would like to go back again for multiple days so I can take in a little more. On the plus side we got over 30K steps!

[GrantNKY]

My wife's grandparents live in Ocala, which is an hour and a half from Orlando. I went to Disney for the first time on Thursday. We were there when when the park opened at 8 and there till it closed at Midnight. We hit all 4 parks and rode a decent amount of rides. It amazed me the amount if wait times some rides have. Overall it was a great experience and would like to go back again for multiple days so I can take in a little more. On the plus side we got over 30K steps!

You went at the busiest time of year. The week between Christmas and New Years is the worst time to be at Disney.

[Randy Parker]

IF you can get the free dining plan and stay on Disney properties that is the by far the best way to go.

 

I wholeheartedly agree. Meals are fantastic, lodging is really good, & the bus travel to and from makes it beyond convenient.

 

My wife, daughter, and I went back in Spring of 2015 for six nights and it cost about $2,800 for everything. We only did two parks--Magic Kingdom & Hollywood Studios--and then went to Universal Studios for a day. We went to parks every other day and it worked out well for us.

[hoops5]

You went at the busiest time of year. The week between Christmas and New Years is the worst time to be at Disney.

We were there this time last year. It was crowded. But staying on the grounds and using daily fast pass options allowed us to see and do so much. It was beautiful and magical. Disney just does that, even with peak crowds.

[GrantNKY]

We were there this time last year. It was crowded. But staying on the grounds and using daily fast pass options allowed us to see and do so much. It was beautiful and magical. Disney just does that, even with peak crowds.

Disney does everything they can to make it a perfect experience every time. That's what they do best and that's why they are so successful. This time of year is so beautiful but man it's packed. I know they had to shut down the entrance to MK on Christmas Day for a few hours because it had reached capacity.

[Randy Parker]

Disney does everything they can to make it a perfect experience every time. That's what they do best and that's why they are so successful.

 

Convenience was my major takeaway. We're not the biggest Disney fans, but when you do the whole vacation through them--meals, lodging, snacks, etc.--literally all you have to do is get your wrist thing scanned for however long you're there.

[John Anthony]

Going this summer with our 5 year old I have never been so I’m hoping the Polynesian lives up to it. Great tips Grant, thanks!

[00Rocket28]

So my September trip to WDW was Hurricaned out. Got complete refund. Didn't waste the time off, either, as we went to the American side of Niagara Falls. Had a good time, found a Double Tree for $100 within walking distance of the falls and the weather was in the 70s/80s the entire time we were there (this was September).

 

Trying WDW again for 5 nights from Jan. 17-22 at Pop Century. Only planning two park days (MK and Epcot). Got a great rate on a rental car, so might do some stuff in the city, go to Cape Canaveral or somewhere else (LegoLand?).

 

We were there then, had to leave that Wednesday night with the whole evacuation. My 3 year old got to meet Mickey and we did Magic Kingdom and he had a ball so not all was lost.

[00Rocket28]

I wish I had seen this thread months ago. We went in September. Stayed at a Westgate resort. Our kid was about to turn 3 and it was a last minute kinda vacation and only wanted to do Magic Kingdom, which we got in before being evacuated. We kinda winged the trip as it was a decided trip like a month ahead of time after we sold our 2nd home after our most recent flip. Took us about 20 minutes to figure out the fast pass, but after that it was smooth sailing.

 

We will probably go again when he’s 4-5 years old, and try and go to Mk, Epcot and maybe something else. We’ll definitely do all the planning for next time. I think it’s all overpriced but I never got to do stuff like that when I was a kid, so I’m gonna make sure mine gets all the experiences I didn’t.

[Nathaniel Bryan]

Found out that "Disney After Hours" will be happening the night we planned on going to Magic Kingdom. We splurged.

 

It's NOT cheap ($254 combined for me and my wife), but you get three hours with only 2,000 (max) people in the park. Includes grab-and-go bottled water (including Coke), popcorn, a collective lanyard and ice cream treats (six different kinds).

 

If you watch the videos on youtube, the park will be EMPTY. Several different videos show folks literally walking right on Space, Big Thunder and Seven Dwarfs.

 

So we are mulling over two options:

 

1) Go to Animal Kingdom or Hollywood until about 5 pm or so, get dinner and then go to MK for the three hours. We have a rental car, so we won't have to wait on monorail/bus to get us back to Pop. Plus, we are going at one of the lowest-expected crowd times of the year, so it would be easy to get things done.

 

2) Spend all day at MK and not worry about trying to get things in. Will make for a long day, but we should be able to ride everything we want to ride and wouldn't have to worry about dining reservations taking time. We could watch the opening show, parade and fireworks and enjoy them instead of having to rush around.