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Main => Everything Else => Topic started by: Chris G on March 16, 2007, 11:40:04 am
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Anyone been to Disneyworld lately? My wife is a Disney nut and wants to go in December. I've never been there before and it's been about 10 years since she has. Basically just looking for 1st hand reviews on the Disney hotels.
Thanks,
Chris
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Just went in October. We stayed about ten minutes out of the Disney part of town. Cost a LOT less that way, lodging for maybe half what we would have paid a Disney hotel.
First thing I suggest to anyone is to check the Disney traveler's forum... can't remember the name right now but I'm sure Google will pop it right up. Those people are so hardcore they make us look casual. My wife made all the reservations over the phone and the instant she said the forum name the operators would just start busting out discounts left and right because they knew anyone from there had all the numbers lined up already.
EDIT: I think it's Disboards (http://www.disboards.com/).
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We stayed aat the BoardWalk. It was definately pricy, but we enjoyed our stay there tons. There was alot to do at night without having to drive anywhere.
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Yeah, we didn't have a night time issue. We had small kids with us, so we couldn't go out. Plus we were getting to the parks when the gates opened and leaving 12 or more hours later so we were dead by then anyway.
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I think it's Disboards (http://www.disboards.com/).
Yup, that's the one. My wife is a disney freak and she reads disboards religiously. She convinced me to buy into the Disney Vacation Club (sort of a disney time share). We're staying at the saratoga springs resort in June. Kind of looking forward to it. It's a 2 bedroom villa with 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and laundry.
Growing up my wife always stayed at the hilton just off disney grounds. It was much cheaper and the hilton had a deal with disney so hilton guests still got to enter the parks 1 hour earlier just like guests at disney hotels.
If you haven't gone before, I'd recommend staying on disney property. It's much more convenient and the kids will probably enjoy it more (I'm guessing...no kids for me).
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Well, we spent the vast majority of our time at Universal and Islands of Adventure. We liked those parks a lot better.
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I've never been to islands of adventure, but we're going during our trip in June. I'm sure I'll enjoy islands of adventure more than disney, but I'm just along for the ride, my wife and mother-in-law are planning the whole trip.
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Oh, the rides there are incredible. There wasn't a single ride at Disney that compared with many at Islands of Adventure. Plus Islands of Adventure only had a fraction of the crowd and wait times because it is so new.
The Spiderman ride alone is worth the admission cost. We ended up getting a set of four admission passes for both Universal and Islands, good for 5 days, for $200. Disboards rocks.
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Oh sure guys, just what I need... another message board. ;D
Actually, that's awesome... thanks a lot. And maybe I can get my wife hooked on it so she'll stop bitching about me being on this site all the time. ;)
Unfortunately for the pocketbook, her main requirement is to stay at a Disney property. We don't have kids yet (assuming the two of us don't count) so I have to admit the convenience to the parks AND nightlife will be nice.
The only other advice I've gotten so far is from another couple we're friends with who are absolutely insane Disney people and said to go big or don't go at all... Grand Floridian. I think that place is like a grand per night... ain't gonna happen.
:cheers:
Chris
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Yeah, don't listen to those people. You can "go big" or you can "go longer". We cut costs everyplace we could (to a reasonable point) so that we could be there a full week and a half, every day at the park, and still be able to do stuff like eat and pay our mortgage when we got back.
Another thing I'd advise is just to be friendly with the park staff. Talk to them like humans, be nice, use good manners. It sounds like a "well duh" but they're used to being abused. You engage them in a pleasant conversation and they start busting otu free stuff, Speed Passes, you can get into parts of the park that are by invitation only... I struck up a conversation with a security guard at Universal and next thing I knew we're the "Lights Motors Action Dream Family of the Day", introducing the show with the hosts, in VIP seating, and on the jumbo video screen during the show.
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Another thing I'd advise is just to be friendly with the park staff. Talk to them like humans, be nice, use good manners. It sounds like a "well duh" but they're used to being abused. You engage them in a pleasant conversation and they start busting otu free stuff, Speed Passes, you can get into parts of the park that are by invitation only... I struck up a conversation with a security guard at Universal and next thing I knew we're the "Lights Motors Action Dream Family of the Day", introducing the show with the hosts, in VIP seating, and on the jumbo video screen during the show.
Wow, that's sweet - good tip!
I just IM'd that site to my wife. She calls back 3 minutes later after having pulled it up and says, "Holy crap - where do I start?" :laugh2:
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Yeah, it's odd that you have to tell people "don't be a dick" and then tell them that they'll get cool stuff as a result, but that's just how people tend to be on vacation. This technique resulted in many free Speed Passes for us at Disney, especially at Space Mountain and the Buzz Lightyear ride.
Be sure to see Fantasmic. Wrap your schedule for the day around it. People line up for hours ahead of time for good seats.
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Don't even waste your time with some of the Disney Parks, like Animal Kingdom. Make sure you definately go to Islands of Adventure. It's the best theme park I have ever attended.
Also.. Pleasure Island is lots of fun to go to if you don't have any kids to worry about on your trip.
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I was really surprised how great Islands of Adventure was. Spider-Man was hands down the best ride I have ever been on. Good tips on treating the cast members right. I worked at Disneyland for 4 years when I was in college and I can certainly attest to the usual abuse.
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Two words. Fast Pass.
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Depends on when you go. During a peak time, absolutely. We went in October and never had to wait longer than 15 minutes for anything at Islands or Universal. Most rides were just get right on, even Spiderman.
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Anyone been to Disneyworld lately? My wife is a Disney nut and wants to go in December. I've never been there before and it's been about 10 years since she has. Basically just looking for 1st hand reviews on the Disney hotels.
Thanks,
Chris
We were just there last January. Stayed at Pop Century (about $80/night). They've got an arcade in there which I found to be pretty decent.
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Pop Century was fun. Until recently, to maintain my RCDD status, I needed to attend a conference in Orlando once a year. We'd hit a Disney something each time.
There are lower end hotels in the disney chain... and they all will bend over backwards to take care of you if you are nice. Also, if you go in the off season, prices are very reasonable.
Theres a food package that is worth it if you plan to eat at disney propertys 2 out of 3 meals a day.
One nice thing about the disney propertys... The transportation. If you aren't in a hurry, you can get almost anywhere - the boat ride from Port Orleans to (whatever they call the Buena Vista shops now...) is great at night... You get to see all kinds of neat stuff.
If you are going without kids... I recommend the backstage tour at the Magic Kindgom. It was about a hundred bucks, but was a 7 hour walking tour. You learn all the neat stuff, get into the utiladors (underground service tunnels), get lunch on the house, and ride the Haunted Mansion with the lights on.
Neat stuff.
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Considering this is an arcade website I thought for sure someone would have recommended Disney Quest in Downtown Disney.
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Considering this is an arcade website I thought for sure someone would have recommended Disney Quest in Downtown Disney.
Pretty sure that closed down. I've even saw a guy hocking parts to their machines on ebay.
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If it's closed, it was very very recently. I was there in October and have talked to people who say they were there in 2007.
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Not a chance - that place is always packed.
Disney Quest (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/entertainment/entertainmentDetail?id=DisneyQuestIndoorInteractiveThemeParkEntertainmentPage)
Considering this is an arcade website I thought for sure someone would have recommended Disney Quest in Downtown Disney.
Pretty sure that closed down. I've even saw a guy hocking parts to their machines on ebay.
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The Disney discussion boards my wife still lurks on, mostly for employees rather than travelers, do have a constant small buzz about plans to close Disney Quest down. When we went little of the equipment was in good condition and a couple of the major attractions kept breaking down over and over.
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Ack! That'd be horrible.
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Considering the condition of the stuff we saw in October it wouldn't be as bad as you'd think. Few of the classics were in full working order. The bigger attractions were filthy and falling apart. The only ones in good condition were the pirate ship, which has little direct physical contact to use, and the roller coaster sim, which obviously is very very big money and probably the newest thing there. Stuff like the headset based VR equipment was nasty dirty t to the point that I wouldn't let us use one of them when they tried to put that thing on my kids' heads.
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That's a crying shame. Things were in nice condition when I was there several years ago. The pirate ship and the raft rides were a lot of fun. I was looking forward to hitting it again . . . :(
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The raft was okay but really really showed its age. The magic carpet ride didn't work for me despite trying three headsets. The vehicle based battle thing that takes up the most space failed with us in the cars a couple of times... it was the "light saber" VR game that I told the kids they could not put on their heads. The space driving "pick up the colonists" game worked well and the pirate ship worked well.
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I skimmed the rest, but December? We were just there the beginning of February. Temps were in 50-75 range for the 9 days we were there. (75 was higher than average.) 50 was a bit cold. 60 and above were phenomenal. I can't imagine enjoying a theme park (especially any outside rides) when it's colder than 50.
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We usually do our theme park runs in October. That includes NH and MA parks where it is in the 50s in October. Doesn't bother us a bit, just wear a coat and suck it up. Tiny price to pay for having the park to yourself.
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I skimmed the rest, but December? We were just there the beginning of February. Temps were in 50-75 range for the 9 days we were there. (75 was higher than average.) 50 was a bit cold. 60 and above were phenomenal. I can't imagine enjoying a theme park (especially any outside rides) when it's colder than 50.
Indeed. And this problem is especially poignant to me since my top priorities are golf and the water parks. The timing was due to my wife's desire to be there at the same time as her cousin. Lord knows why THEY picked December...
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Bad weather is a *great* time to be at the parks. Bunch of people leave. As long as they're not shutting down rides. Get a nice mid-dayshower, kicks a bunch of folks out, 45 minutes later it dries up, and lines are much shorter (those you haven't fast-passed already).
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Plus a lot of parks don't have a fast pass.
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Should have mentioned another important point... we're not just going in December, we're going at the tail-end of December through beginning of January. I'm guessing DW manages to concoct some worthy New Year's festivities, so perhaps that offsets the weather.
And, because I know you've all been on pins and needles waiting... the wife chose the Port Orleans Riverside.
Thanks again for the help... I'm sure I'll be back asking about meal plans, rides, transportation, cleanest bathrooms, ... ;)
Chris
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Lord knows why THEY picked December...
I'm from PA. It gets cold enough here in the winter.
January in FL, one warm day, it hit 70 degrees, we were in the hotel pool.
My wife, my son, me, and a few Canucks.
The locals were still wearing parkas. It was kinda funny.
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My freshamn year in highschool, we went to Canada's Wonderland in Toronto in April IIRC. The day started cold, then it started raining...then sleeting...then snowing and got really cold after we were good and soaked.
The good news, we got to run back and forth with zero lines between Top Gun and the Days of Thunder indoor thing (to get warm of course). To top things off, our lunch was a picnic! The food was cold by the time we made it from the bufett to the table. :laugh2:
The weirdest thing was that those crazy Canadians were ACTUALLY USING THE WATER RIDES ON SMALL RAFTS!!!!!
FRIKKIN NUTCASES!!!
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Once you get to planning your parks out, let me know. I've been to the parks probably around 50-60 times (no, I was not an employee). I grew up an hour away, and even after moving away, all my family is still in FL, so my kids get to see the rat once a year.
I've just about perfected the 1 day park hopping experience (which you can't purchase a ticket for, unfortunately. You need to know someone). My patented 1 day hopper was developed mostly because I didn't necessarily need to spend the night, but still wanted to see everything.
I have actually stayed at many of the resorts, the Contemporary, the Polonesian, Grand Floridian, etc. Most recently, I've been staying at the All Star resorts (sports, music, movies) since they can get pretty cheap. They also run FL resisdent specials where we'd get the rooms for $50 or so. The rooms are all pretty similar, it just depends on how important you want to feel when you tell someone where you are staying (my opinion only). My idea is to stay in the parks for as longs as possible, so you only need a bed somewhere. I've had trips to disney that were equally as enjoyable staying at the $29 Day's Inn (which gives you a free breakfast buffet coupon for the 50's Diner next door) (discaimer, prices and availability subject to change).
Another suggestion I can make is to leave a day or so "open" during your trip (i.e. don't fill every day with paid parks). There is plenty to see for free on the Disney grounds.
Also, if you're up for some mild torture, you can dedicate your first morning to listening to sales pitches and get some free Disney Dollars. I've gone a day early before, listened to a 2 hour pitch about a time-share or some garbage, and ended up getting most of my meals for the vacation for free.
Again, let me know if you have any questions. I won't call myself an expert, but I am definately well versed in the Disney / Kissimee area.
(Bonus advice: The Orlando Ale House is well worth a visit. Its about 1/3 mile outside the "Lake Buena Vista" gates, and the food is great. Go for the "Big Red" if you like buffalo chicken sandwiches!
-Stobe
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The best place we ate was definitely the Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney. Cheap food, fantastic sammiches. We ended up altering our plans so we could go there a couple more times.
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I loves me a good sammich! :cheers:
Thanks for the offer, Stobe. I'll definitely hit you up.
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Hi,
I've been to Orlando 5 times now. Each time for at least 7 days (but I am by no means an expert).
We have never stayed at a Disney Resort (and to be honest don't plan on). There is a ton of stuff to do in Orlando. And I think that if you stay at a Disney Resort you may not see the other things there are.
The last couple of times we bought 2 day park hopper tickets. We spent one day at Disneyworld, and the other day Park hopping. (Animal Kingdom can easily be seen in 1/2 a day and MGM can easily be seen in 1/2 a day)
Daytona, Kokomo, Clearwater are a couple of hours drive and we usually spend one day at the beach. Not to mention Cape Canaveral(kennedy Space Center)
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(Animal Kingdom can easily be seen in 1/2 a day and MGM can easily be seen in 1/2 a day)
Highly dependent on time of year. Peak times you can't even consider covering all of MGM in a full day.
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Our family is staying at the 'all star music' resort in June. We got the meal plan. I'll let you know if it was worth it.
We did book thru AAA. Saved about 300 bux off of Disney's price.
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Daytona, Kokomo, Clearwater are a couple of hours drive and we usually spend one day at the beach. Not to mention Cape Canaveral(kennedy Space Center)
If we have time we're going to try and hit the Kennedy Center at least.
Our family is staying at the 'all star music' resort in June. We got the meal plan. I'll let you know if it was worth it.
We did book thru AAA. Saved about 300 bux off of Disney's price.
Ya we're thinking about doing the meal plan too so do let me know - thanks.
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We avoided the meal plan and loaded up on the breakfast that came with our hotel room. Then we brought snacks and water bottles to the parks with us so that we only needed to buy one meal a day at the park, then had a late dinner back at the hotel, often of PB+J.
Yeah, we cut a lot of corners, but we were able to stay a couple extra days because of it.
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The 'catch' with the meal plan as I see...
You have to buy at least a 1 day park pass to get the meal plan. We've got passes from last time down there (~2 years ago...) that have 3 days left on each. My wife and I will still have to buy 1 day park passes to get the 3 days worth of meal plans we wanted to buy.
Each day, you get (1) Counter Service Meal, (1) Snack, and (1) Table Service Meal. You can burn 'em all as you want - no restrictions on how many you can use a day. Character meals will burn (2) table service meals.
Chad, if I'm on vacation, I'm relaxing. I don't want to have to make PB&J sandwiches. I work hard, I figure I deserve to blow some cash eating every meal where someone else has to clean up.
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The 'catch' with the meal plan as I see...
You have to buy at least a 1 day park pass to get the meal plan. We've got passes from last time down there (~2 years ago...) that have 3 days left on each. My wife and I will still have to buy 1 day park passes to get the 3 days worth of meal plans we wanted to buy.
Each day, you get (1) Counter Service Meal, (1) Snack, and (1) Table Service Meal. You can burn 'em all as you want - no restrictions on how many you can use a day. Character meals will burn (2) table service meals.
Chad, if I'm on vacation, I'm relaxing. I don't want to have to make PB&J sandwiches. I work hard, I figure I deserve to blow some cash eating every meal where someone else has to clean up.
must resist the quote mangle.......
;)
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Chad, if I'm on vacation, I'm relaxing. I don't want to have to make PB&J sandwiches. I work hard, I figure I deserve to blow some cash eating every meal where someone else has to clean up.
Try relaxing now and understand I was just telling you what we did. I don't consider it work to make a sandwich and it dramatically reduced food costs for four people. Plus I like PB+J.
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I loves me a good sammich! :cheers:
... but some of the restaurants look pretty damn good too.
My wife got a vacation planning DVD in the mail from Disney yesterday so guess what I got to do last night... happy-happy-joy-joy!
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Boykster, go away.
Chad, relax, they aren't all personal attacks. I was simply stating that while on vacation I do not care to have to prepare food. If it means I get to eat out for all meals, I'll save an extra $20 a week for the year.
That said, I prefer the fluffernutter.
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Local FL resident here that has the FL resident annual pass.
The prices for food at Disney are a bit inflated. If you can get stuff off site they have no problem with you bringing some stuff into the park. I don't think you can get away with carrying a full Pizza Hut pizza box in but me and the wife had Chick-fil-a cups when we went this last Tuesday and had water bottles in your backpack and they didn't bat an eye at us.
Also, as an FYI, Disney doesn't have Sweet n low (the pink stuff) any more. They do still have Spenda(yellow) and Nutrasweet(blue.) Found that as being really strange, but the guy who was filling the condiment island told us, the pink stuff didn't move.
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Boykster, go away.
How should I go away Oh Lord?
:angel:
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If it means I get to eat out for all meals, I'll save an extra $20 a week for the year.
That said, I prefer the fluffernutter.
Fair enough. Difference of preference. I rarely find eating out all that relaxing. I'd rather just get the meal done with and move on. It worked out perfectly for us that way, too, since after 10+ hours of wandering around the parks, we had no patience left for waiting in a restaurant. We just wanted to chow and crash.
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Boykster, go away.
How should I go away Oh Lord?
:angel:
Oh, don't grovel!
One thing I can't stand, it's people groveling.
And don't avert your eyes. It's like those miserable Psalms-- they're so depressing.
Now, knock it off!
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Ya we're thinking about doing the meal plan too so do let me know - thanks.
I survived the mouse.
Meal plan - DO IT. I gotta get the exact price off of my wife, (think it was $30/adult/day) and less for the 3YO.
Heres the skinny:
FOr your $30(ish), you get (1) Counter meal, (1) Snack, and (1) Sit down meal.
Typical day, 1 person.
COunter meal - Entree, beverage, desert: $20
Table Service meal - we used ours for the character dinners. Most char meals were only one meal on the plan. $40-50
Snack - $3-5.
Basically, for 5 days, we spent about $350-$400 in meal plan. When I asked the front desk for a totalized usage, the total we would have spent came to over $600.
Its probably the only place you can beat the mouse.
Best Disney moment that'll never make TV.
We go to the new "Monsters Inc" show. SOme kind of CG interactive thing. Its dark, the CG Emcee comes on and starts interacting with people in the audience. THey get flashed up on the big screens. A guy jams a mic in their face and they get asked questions.
Heres the kicker: My wife decides to take advantage of the dark and starts feeding our 8 month old. 2 minutes in, shes blinded by a spotlight, and is on the big screen in front of 300+ people yanking a kid out from under her shirt. SHe did manage not to flash anyone, but I don't think I've ever seen her blush that hard.
Priceless.
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:laugh2: Nice story. Sounds like an asshat was involved. ;D
Thanks for following up about the meal plan. We had decided to do it, so I'm glad to know we made the right choice.
Chris
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this subject is worthless without pics ;)
glad you saved some $$ with the meal plans, sounds like a dealio.
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What an idiot. I completely forgot to reread this thread before we left, so we didn't make it to Islands of Adventure, didn't make it to the Earl of Sandwich (or make PB&J's!), and didn't check out the arcade. :dizzy:
We ended up going December 30th through January 8th. At the beginning, it seemed like it was going to be way too much time, but it moved along nicely after that. Even with that many days, we still didn't end up doing everything we wanted, though that had a lot to do with sleeping in late and general slackitude. By staying at a Disney property, we were able to take advantage of the extended park hours, which was nice.
Day 1: Magic Kingdom; Downtown Disney at night
Day 2: Magic Kingdom; Epcot for New Year's Eve
Day 3: Epcot
Day 4: MGM (sucked)
Day 5: Animal Kingdom
Day 6: Downtown Disney; Magic Kingdom
Day 7: Magic Kingdom; watched football
Day 8: Kennedy Space Center
Day 9: Typhoon Lagoon; boardwalk at night
Day 10: Animal Kingdom
My favorite ride: Buzz Lightyear. It's basically a giant video game.
Wife's favorite rides: Everest and Aerosmith rollercoasters
The weather was 50-50. First day was nice, then it rained for a couple of days, then it was freezing, then it warmed up the last 3 days. Definitely didn't pack enough warm clothes.
The fireworks show at Epcot on New Year's Eve was incredible.
Food prices were ridiculous, so I'm very glad we bought the dining plan. I think it cost around $700 (hard to tell since it was all part of a package), and we ate well over $1000 worth. The only problem is that it was actually too much food, especially the desserts. You got one with every meal. Quality was mixed.
Transportation was good. The buses ran often, but I was surprised how far away from everything we were, even while staying at a Disney hotel. We rode the boat a couple times too, which was pretty cool.
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Picture of the Port Orleans Riverside where we stayed.
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Inside the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where I would like to have stayed. Pricey!
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Lights at MGM.
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Snow White's castle lit up. Very cool.
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One of my favorites. The Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom. 145 feet tall, 325 animals "carved" into the trunk, 3D movie theater inside.
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Dude! Islands of Adventure is the best park there! :-\