Disney Cruise

[JMac]

My wife and I are planning on booking a cruise for the family and I was wondering if any of you have ever been on the Disney cruise before? It it worth the money?

Thanks for your input

[skinfan2k]

my family wants go on a disney crew too.. help me and the OP

[Kilmer17]

My wife and I are planning on booking a cruise for the family and I was wondering if any of you have ever been on the Disney cruise before? It it worth the money?

Thanks for your input


I did a short one just to the Bahamas. It was fun, and I hate cruises. But this isnt like most cruises.

Where are you going and for how long?

Also, note that Disney ships do NOT have casinos. A major dissapointment for me at first.

[JMac]

I did a short one just to the Bahamas. It was fun, and I hate cruises. But this isnt like most cruises.

Where are you going and for how long?

Also, note that Disney ships do NOT have casinos. A major dissapointment for me at first.

We are looking at the 3 day land(Walt Dinsey World) and 4 day Bahama cruise (Castaway Cay) or the 7 day Western Caribbean cruise. We have three kids and want to make sure they have fun.

As for the gambling, that wont be a problem since all the money is going towards the cruise. :doh:

[Kilmer17]

We are looking at the 3 day land(Walt Dinsey World) and 4 day Bahama cruise (Castaway Cay) or the 7 day Western Caribbean cruise. We have three kids and want to make sure they have fun.

As for the gambling, that wont be a problem since all the money is going towards the cruise. :doh:


I think it's expensive, but worth it. Just plan on lots of money spent on extras etc.

And make sure to make time for just the adults. The cruise ship has great kids camps. And trust me, you will want some alone time.

Also, pay for the bigger cabin. It's worth it.

[TorresA]

I saw a show on it. Said it was good nd all, but if you want a Casino on the ship don't take Disney.

[Skinsfan1311]

We've been on several cruises. Lately, we've eschewed cruising, and have opted for week long trips instead. We still cruise every other summer, instead of going "Downy Ocean" (Ocean City, MD, is a resort town on the Eastern shore of MD). Ocean City is so crowded and expensive, that you can just about cruise for the same amount of money. That being said....

....cruising is expensive,(a family of four can expect to pay anywhere from around $3K and up...the sky is the limit, depending on the line and the accomodations), but you do get a lot of bang for your buck.

We've never cruised Disney, (wife used to work for Disney and, frankly, we're just sick of the whold Disney thing) It is one of the pricier lines, when compared to the low & mid-range priced companies, (i.e. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, etc.), but I've only heard good things about them.

You did not state how old your kids are, but I'm assuming that they're younger. I've had several friends, with younger kids, who sailed and they said that the kids programs are top-notch. If you have never cruised before, and your kids are teens, I would consider a different, (and less expensive line), like Carnival or Royal Caribbean. There's plenty for teens to do on those two cruise lines. We've sailed both of those lines, (and Celebrity as well, but there didn't appear to be too much for the kids to do on Celebrity)

If you do cruise the aforementioned lines, you may want to consider booking a 7-day cruise and use the savings book a trip to Disney World later. That way, you only unpack once. Besides, three days is not nearly enough time to truly experience Disney World, and there are always tons of reasonably priced vacation packages to Disney.

Here's a couple of helpful links. The hands-down, best web resource for cruising, IMHO, is Cruise Critic.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/index.php

Here is a link, to the best web resource for Disney, IMHO, of course.

http://www.disboards.com/

I feel uniquely qualified to render those opinions, because we've got 7 or 8 Disney trips under our belt, we travel a lot, and I'm a cheap bastard! :D

Hope this helps!

[DWinzit]

My wife and I are planning on booking a cruise for the family and I was wondering if any of you have ever been on the Disney cruise before? It it worth the money?

Thanks for your input
If your kids have never been to Disney World, might I suggest you begin there.

If you have already been then go on the cruise and enjoy.

And take Kilmer17'S advice on adult time!

[RVAbrendan]

Yeah, check out CruiseCritic.com great resources, huge community always willing to help.

And how do you hate cruising, Kilmer?!

[rictus58]

You can also check out this link
http://allearsnet.com/cruise/cruise.htm

Jmac,
i've heard nothing but good things re: DCL. They offer PLENTY to do for the kids and a lot for adults to do without kids.
You need to budget extra money for excursions when your ship reached ports of call.
If you are doing the land/sea cruise,where you spend a few days in Walt Disney World, I would recommend getting the dining plan. Its $40/night for an adult and 11/night for children up to a certain age. But you could spend more money then you realize on food and this is one way to curb it.

[JMac]

Thanks everyone for your help!!

My wife is leaning towards the three days on land (Walt Dinsey World) staying at the Polynesian Resort and then going on the 4 days cruise. My kids are young and we would love to have a few times on the cruise to ourselves. While I am paying out the nose for this, I have heard nothing but great things about Disney.

Thanks again everyone for your input.

[Art Monk Fan]

I took my family on a three-day Disney cruise in 2005. The kids were 13, 3, and 18 months. First off, three days was way too little time. We just got the hang of the ship and the cruise was over. The kids loved the kids clubs (except the baby who was too young). The Mrs. and I got a couple's massage that was great. In all, we had a really good time.

Disney's cruises are more expensive than most other lines. But you get Disney characters on board and don't have to worry about getting stuck onboard with a wild group of partiers/drinkers -- it's almost all families. Their private island was beautiful and also had segregated sections: adults-only beach and age-specific kid activity groups.

One thing Disney does different is their restaurants. You rotate to a new restaurant each night so that you can try them all. But your waiter and assistant waiter rotate with you. After our first meal, our favorite drinks were waiting for us at every meal. They new what my kids liked and had it ready for us when we arrived. A really nice touch.

We're planning a seven-day cruise for July 2008, but Disney is moving their ship to California that summer, so we'll be cruising on Royal Caribbean. If Disney were offering cruises in the Caribbean in 2008, we'd be sailing with them again.

I hope this helps.

[RVAbrendan]

I took my family on a three-day Disney cruise in 2005. The kids were 13, 3, and 18 months. First off, three days was way too little time. We just got the hang of the ship and the cruise was over. The kids loved the kids clubs (except the baby who was too young). The Mrs. and I got a couple's massage that was great. In all, we had a really good time.

Disney's cruises are more expensive than most other lines. But you get Disney characters on board and don't have to worry about getting stuck onboard with a wild group of partiers/drinkers -- it's almost all families. Their private island was beautiful and also had segregated sections: adults-only beach and age-specific kid activity groups.

One thing Disney does different is their restaurants. You rotate to a new restaurant each night so that you can try them all. But your waiter and assistant waiter rotate with you. After our first meal, our favorite drinks were waiting for us at every meal. They new what my kids liked and had it ready for us when we arrived. A really nice touch.

We're planning a seven-day cruise for July 2008, but Disney is moving their ship to California that summer, so we'll be cruising on Royal Caribbean. If Disney were offering cruises in the Caribbean in 2008, we'd be sailing with them again.

I hope this helps.

Eating is definitely one of my favorite parts of cruising :thumbsup: I think you'll enjoy Royal Caribbean, what ship are you sailing on? Royal Caribbean is a little more family oriented than Carnival, so it won't be overrun with punks; the service and food are great, enjoy your cruise!

[SackMachine]

Stay away from Goofy. He has a mean right hook.

[Art Monk Fan]

Eating is definitely one of my favorite parts of cruising :thumbsup: I think you'll enjoy Royal Caribbean, what ship are you sailing on? Royal Caribbean is a little more family oriented than Carnival, so it won't be overrun with punks; the service and food are great, enjoy your cruise!
We're trying to book on the new Freedom of the Seas for July 2008, but those bookings don't open up until the spring. My parents and brother may book on the same cruise too, which would get us our own table for dining. The Freedom is the biggest cruise ship sailing (at least until her sister ship, the Liberty of the Seas, hits the water this summer).

[RVAbrendan]

The Freedom looks amazing, are you going to try that wave-rider?

And whatever you do, make sure you make it to the Love and Marriage game show as well as the adult game, QUEST. You won't be disappointed!

[mjah]

If Royal Caribbean is operated anything like the way they were in 2000, I suggest you stay away. They lost my luggage for my ENTIRE 7 day Alaska summer cruise out of Vancouver. They just left it at the airport. Didn't bother to pick it up. Then they lied to me for a week about not knowing where it was.

They finally decided to send my luggage to my ship, ONE DAY before I was due to arrive back in port. They decided to put it on a plane SOUTH to Seattle en route to Alaska, even though they had faster options at their disposal. As you might guess, my luggage missed the boat. So I arrived back in Vancouver, to discover that my luggage had been shipped YESTERDAY to freakin' Alaska.

Yeah -- my luggage was in Canada for a week while I was in Alaska... and then got shipped to Alaska the day before I arrived back in Canada!

I became a minor celebrity on the boat during the trip, because I'd give an honest answer at dinner when asked if I was enjoying the cruise: "Yeah, but I'd have a better time if I had some clothes!" People were particularly shocked to hear this on the evening before we arrived back in port to end the cruise.

Three days into the cruise, Royal Caribbean gave me a $100 certificate to the ship's gift shop. I went into the shop and noticed that the price for a pair of pants was $100. I bought underwear, socks and a jacket instead. That was the end of that Benjamin.

A week after I flew home, the luggage finally showed up on my home doorstep in Boston. It had a huge rip down the side. The bag was almost completely ruined.

Royal Caribbean offered almost nothing for the trouble: No discount, no apology. After I called and asked what the hell their problem was for about 7 straight days, they eventually sent me a "discount coupon" for another cruise, but it expired 12 months after I received it. I wasn't exactly itching for another RC cruise anyway, and I don't think it was transferable. So it was basically worthless.

Royal Caribbean sucks the big green donkey gonad. Just terrible.

[DWinzit]

Royal Caribbean sucks the big green donkey gonad. Just terrible.Please don't hold back. Let us know how you really feel! :laugh:

[Larry]

Can't give you advice about the cruise, but I will advise you:

If you decide to punt on the cruise and spend a week at WDW, you'll be deluged with advice. (Including from me.)

(One of the fun things about anticipating a Disney vacation is getting all the great advice from people who've been. And once you go, then you'll officially be an expert, and you'll be expected to tell other folks about it, too.)

Heck, talking about a Disney vacation is almost as fun as having one.

[Seabee1973]

just keep your kids away from pluto

[JMac]

Can't give you advice about the cruise, but I will advise you:

If you decide to punt on the cruise and spend a week at WDW, you'll be deluged with advice. (Including from me.)

(One of the fun things about anticipating a Disney vacation is getting all the great advice from people who've been. And once you go, then you'll officially be an expert, and you'll be expected to tell other folks about it, too.)

Heck, talking about a Disney vacation is almost as fun as having one.

Larry,

We booked the trip already and will have 3 1/2 days at the Polynesian Resort. So far the must do's are Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I know from advice that its impossible to get it all in, but I will have hopper passes to Magic Kingdon, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and MGM.

If you had 3 1/2 days what would be a must DO for you?

[Larry]

Larry,

We booked the trip already and will have 3 1/2 days at the Polynesian Resort. So far the must do's are Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I know from advice that its impossible to get it all in, but I will have hopper passes to Magic Kingdon, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and MGM.

If you had 3 1/2 days what would be a must DO for you?

Re: Polynesian.

Really great hotel. Stayed there for a week a year ago. The rooms come in different grades. One of the rooms is what they call "Magic Kingdom View". There's only about 50 rooms (out of like 400) that fit this bill, but from those rooms, you can look out your patio doors, across the lake, and watch the fireworks over Cinderella's Castle from your room. (If you're not in one of those rooms, it's not that big a deal: I'm told the view is just fine from the beach behind the hotel, too. Either way, it means that after the fireworks, instead of joining the teaming herd trying to all leave at once, you just turn around and walk to your hotel room.)

One of my biggies at Disney is eating. The hotel (like many Disney hotels) has three restaurants: Fast food, a rather fancy sit-down place, and an intermediate place. The intermediate place is a kind-of buffet: They bring several things to your table, and you can order more of anything you like. The intermediate place has characters: Lilo, Stitch, and Pluto circulate through the dining room. Every so often they'll ask all of the kids to join in a "parade" around the dining room. At breakfast time, Mickey is also in the dining room. He doesn't circulate, you're just welcome, whenever you feel like it, to get up and go meet him. I have a picture of my brother and his five-year old with Mickey, and there was only one person in line in front of him to wait through. (Note: The character lines don't always move fast. When it's your turn with the character, they don't rush people. However, this is the only time I've seen Mickey where the line wasn't two hours long.)

OTOH, all of the food (except the fast food stuff) is polynesian style, which wasn't really what we wanted. (They also have a luau on the beach, which we never tried.) Mostly, we wound up eating in the fancy sit-down place. (And the waiters was perfectly happy to run down to the fast food place and get Mickey Mouse waffles (breakfast) and cheese pizza (dinner) for the five-year-old.)

One other note about dining: People who are staying in the Disney hotels are allowed to make dining reservations something like six months in advance. (Other folks can only make reservations one day in advance.) It's not a bad idea to make reservations early, because a lot of places fill up. (You can always cancel the reservations is it turns out you guessed wrong and the time or place you reserved is wrong.) I'd particularly recommend you reserve the Breakfast with Mickey at least once during your stay, since it's either make reservations or wait two hours for a table.

At the parks:

Another favorite for me is a restaurant called The Crystal Palace. (Officially open for lunch and dinner, but it's sometimes open for breakfast, too). It's at the "north" end of Main Street, across a pond from the castle. The place is built like a greenhouse, with glass front and roof, and a really great view of the castle. (Really good at night.) Food is a buffet, but it's not school lunch cafeteria food, you can tell they've got chefs there. (They've also got kid foods, like hot dogs and pizza.) The Pooh characters circulate through the dining room, so in the course of your meal, Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eyeore will all come to your table for pictures and autographs.

(There's a similar setup (buffet and characters) in the Grand Floridian hotel, (dinner only, I think), where the characters are Snow White, Cinderella, and Prince Charming (who my brother kept referring to as the Shah of Iran). The Grand is just one stop away from Polynesian on the monorail, so if you don't like Polynesian food and you want to eat American, that works, too.)

Places I've eaten at EPCOT:

Pretty much every nation's exhibit has a restaurant inside, and many have two.

Mexico has a fast food place out front and a sit down place inside. Neither are Taco Bell. I suspect they're probably authentic Mexican, but that's a bit different from what I was expecting. However, if you go to the Mexican fast food place about an hour before the fireworks, you can camp out at a table and it's a great place to watch the fireworks (over the central lake).

Germany has Oktoberfest. It's a buffet. Again, it's probably authentic, but not what I was expecting. However, one plus I've found about the place is the atmosphere. They sit you at these big picnic-table tables, with other people, and I've met some very interesting people there.

Canada has a French (Canadian) restaurant in the basement called Le Cellier, where I've never had a meal I didn't like.

I've heard great things about the French and Italian restaurants, but I've never eaten there. I've eaten in Japan's sushi place. I didn't expect to like sushi, and I didn't, but my brother, who does like it, says it was great.

The worst restaurant at EPCOT is the American one.

About the money:

You can go through serious money eating at Disney, especially if you like the fancier places, which I do.

I've never used their full dining plan, because it seemed too limiting to me. (You must eat one fast-food meal per day, one sit-down meal, and one snack). (And, they won't sell it to you unless you do it for every day you're there including the arrival and departure days.) (And every time we've gone, we've done one day at Sea World, which means we would have been paying for three days we didn't use.)

However, they have another deal you can get, called the Disney Dining Experience. You can't get it when you're there, you have to download the form, fax it to Disney, and wait a month for them to send you the card. (There supposedly are ways to fax them the form and have the card waiting for you at the park, but I've never tried it.)

I think, if you're not a Florida resident, it's $75 for a year. But the card gives 20% off the bill for everyone at your table at any "participating" Disney restaurant. (The restaurants seem to be every restaurant at any Disney hotel, and every sit-down restaurant in the parks.) Depending on the size of your group, it could be a good investment. (I don't know where on the Disney web page the application is for non-residents.)

One other "dining" recommendation:

Get everybody a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar. (Ice cream in the shape of Mickey, dipped in a chocolate shell, on a popsickle stick.) They're a lot easier to eat without wearing them than they sound, and they're cheap (for Disney). Take pictures of your family members eating them. At least in our family, they're one of the little things about the trip that sticks in your memory.

[Larry]

What kinds of things are you interested in at the parks? How old are the kids?

[Reic]

I have only been on Royal Carribean cruises and I had a blast, givin I was 19 at the time and it was just me and another friend.


IMO any cruise could be fun but I love the ocean and love just having fun with as many people as possible :)

I would say go for it and enjoy!

[Larry]

Some "insider" tips about Disney:

Fastpass.

The rides that have the biggest waiting lines have a reservation system called Fastpass.

You go there, and the signs will tell you that you can get in line, and the waiting time will be, say, an hour. Or you can get a Fastpass, go someplace else, come back in an hour and a half, and (mostly) skip the line. The whole group doesn't need to go to get the passes, but the person who gets the passes does need everybody's park tickets, because the limitation on Fastpass is that one person can only have one Fastpass at a time. (If you go to Space Mountain and get a Fastpass for Noon, then that ticket can't get a Fastpass for Splash Mountain (or anywhere else) until after Noon.)

The Fastpass system also allows you to tell which rides are the most popular. If it's got a Fastpass, then it's popular.

Special Hours.

Disney usually has some kind of special park hours for people who are staying in the hotels, but which special hours they offer varies seasonally.

One thing they often do is that, officially, the parks open at 9:00, but every day they'll open one park one hour early. If you're in the hotel, they'll tell you which one.

Another thing they'll do is if you're in, say, the Magic Kingdom, you can take your room keys to a check-in desk, and they'll give you wrist bands. These wrist bands allow you to stay in the park two hours after "closing". (They close most of the park, but keep the most popular rides going. Friend of mine and his teenager rode Space Mountain 20 times in one evening doing that.)

Your room keys, which are also your park tickets, are usefull for other things, too. Buy something in one of the shops in the park, and give them your room key, and they'll deliver your purchase to your hotel. (They won't deliver it to your room, they'll deliver it to the gift shop in your hotel, which does mean you can only pick it up when the gift shop is open.) But it is really useful, for example, if you decide you need to buy a four-foot-tall stuffed Mickey, and don't want to carry it around all day. Or, in my brother's case, if you want a picture of yourself at Splash Mountain, but you don't want to wait around for them to print it.

If you go when it's hot, a lot of the parks have a "squirty place". In MK, it's called Ariel's Grotto. (Go through the castle, past the merry-go-round). It's a play area where they have fountains that "fire" at random intervals. The "floor" is made of rubber pellets glued together. Water goes right through it, and it's relatively soft and has good traction even when wet. Lots of kids running around getting squirted, good for cooling off (or for washing off the remains of the Mickey Mouse ice cream bars.) My brother always took his kids swim trunks, and changed the kid's clothes, but I think if it'd been my kid I'd have just let him get his clothes wet. (If you get in line, you can meet Ariel, and get her autograph. The kid even got kissed and got lipstick on his face. We intend to kid him about it for years.)

There's a similar place in EPCOT, I think it's in front of The Living Seas. In Animal Kingdom, there's a playland in, I think it's called Dinoland. Lots of things to climb over and through, with a squirty place inside.

[Larry]

Places in the parks I've really enjoyed:

Magic Kingdom:

The Buzz Lightyear ride was a big hit for grownups and kids. Two people sit in a "pod", which you can turn to face any direction you want, and you fire "lasers" at targets for score. (You can shoot each other, too. You don't get points, but you can have a lot of fun.) Stitch's Great Escape is fun, too.

(They have great roller coasters all over the place, but they're too scary for the five-year-old, and I'm not really into them any more, but a lot of folks are.)

Splash Mountain is a lot of fun, and a way to cool off, and the kid was willing to ride it twice before he decided it was too scary.

The kid is a big fan of It's a Small World.

Watch the fireworks. (They have fireworks that make smiley faces.)

Animal Kingdom:

The Kilimanjaro Safari is a ride through a zoo. Yeah, it's got Lions, Zebras, and so forth. But it's really well done. The tour guides do a really good job.

The Festival of the Lion King is a musical show. They have Lion King characters, "tumble monkeys" (dancers and acrobats). Singing, audience participation. I think it'll be a hit with just about any age.

Every park has at least one 3-D movie with enhancements. The one in AK is "It's Tough to be a Bug". (It's located under the Tree of Life.)

Bring your walking shoes. Animal Kingdom is a lot more spread out than the other parks. It's also the only one that closes early. (I don't remember if it opens early, too.) Every time I've gone there, I'm convinced they intentionally didn't leave any shady spots for people. (I haven't decided if that's to give it an "Africa hot" flavor, or to get people to go into the gift shops, which are air conditioned.)

[RVAbrendan]

I went on a Florida/Disney band trip when I was a freshman in highschool, and I had an absolute blast. The Fantasmic show (sp?) at Magic Kingdom was amazing; just an overall fun time. Universal also has some wild rides/exhibits. The Twister one is awesome!

[JMac]

Larry,

Thank you so much for your help!

I have three kids. (4, 12, 14).

The first thing I will try to get is a room at the Polynesian that has the MK view. If not I will take your advice and go sit on the beach. We know that we dont want to be in the park during the show because of the masses.

I will definitely send in for that 20% discount card. 5 people eating for 3 1/2 days will be well worth the 75.00 or so.

Its funny you mention the Mickey Ice creams. EVERYONE in my office who has been there told me that was their favorite thing.

Question for you. You mentioned the Crystal Palace, can you make reservations there?

If you had your choice to do Epcot or Animal Kingdom, which would you do? I am leaning towards AK because of the little one, but I hate to miss out on something better for the whole family.

Agian, thank you for all your advice and help! I cant wait forthis trip to get here.

[RVAbrendan]

Larry,

Thank you so much for your help!

I have three kids. (4, 12, 14).

The first thing I will try to get is a room at the Polynesian that has the MK view. If not I will take your advice and go sit on the beach. We know that we dont want to be in the park during the show because of the masses.

I will definitely send in for that 20% discount card. 5 people eating for 3 1/2 days will be well worth the 75.00 or so.

Its funny you mention the Mickey Ice creams. EVERYONE in my office who has been there told me that was their favorite thing.

Question for you. You mentioned the Crystal Palace, can you make reservations there?

If you had your choice to do Epcot or Animal Kingdom, which would you do? I am leaning towards AK because of the little one, but I hate to miss out on something better for the whole family.

Agian, thank you for all your advice and help! I cant wait forthis trip to get here.

I know this is for Larry, but I would do Epcot. Animals get a little boring after a while, and Epcot has a lot of culture and a great fireworks show at the end of the day. There's plenty to do and it's fun just taking in all the sights.

[rictus58]

I know this is for Larry, but I would do Epcot. Animals get a little boring after a while, and Epcot has a lot of culture and a great fireworks show at the end of the day. There's plenty to do and it's fun just taking in all the sights.

I agree with Epcot. But, if you have park hopper tickets, get to AK EARLY. ride 5 of the rides, then leave. There isn't a whole lot there yet that is really worth seeing. The can't miss at AK are:
Dinosaur, Kilamanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest, Its tough to be a bug.
I used to like Kali River Rapids ride but the last time I went on it I realized how short and bland the ride actually is.
You could be in an out of AK by noon if you plan properly.

Jmac,
Check out this site. They can help you out a lot with questions and such..
allearsnet.com.

[Kilmer17]

My .02-

Skip Animal Kingdom altogether, but take the fam over to Animal Kingdom lodge for dessert one night. They have a nightly bonfire with African Storytelling and nightvision goggle viewing of the savanah.

You can, and almost HAVE to make reservations for Crystal Palace, but it's worth it. Take your time there, dont feel rushed and enjoy great food and Pooh and friends.

Im not a Mickey Ice Cream fan, but I NEVER go to MK without getting a DoleWhip pineapple float in Adventureland. Right in front of Swiss Family Robinson tree house.

Larry is right, trust those who have spent lots of time there (I average about 25 days a year in the parks). Even on the busiest days, you can avoid long lines if you plan it right.

A few other things not to miss. The Magic shop in Downtown Disney Westside. Your teenagers will love it. Rent Watermice (little boats) if you are staying at Poly. Go to the Ice Cream social at the Land in Epcot. A Snakbite in the pub in England and walk to the back to watch the British Invasion Beatles tribute band.

There is PLENTY for the 4 year old to do in Epcot. Innovations has lots of games etc geared towards that age. Plus every pavillion has a KidCot station where they get a mask and stamps like a passport.

I can go on for days. Dont hesitate to ask specifics.

[JMac]

My .02-
Larry is right, trust those who have spent lots of time there (I average about 25 days a year in the parks). Even on the busiest days, you can avoid long lines if you plan it right.
I can go on for days. Dont hesitate to ask specifics.

Thanks Kilmer! So, please tell me what did you specifcally do to avoid long lines on the busiest days?


I agree with Epcot. But, if you have park hopper tickets, get to AK EARLY. ride 5 of the rides, then leave. There isn't a whole lot there yet that is really worth seeing. The can't miss at AK are:
Dinosaur, Kilamanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest, Its tough to be a bug.
I used to like Kali River Rapids ride but the last time I went on it I realized how short and bland the ride actually is.
You could be in an out of AK by noon if you plan properly.


Jmac,
Check out this site. They can help you out a lot with questions and such..
allearsnet.com.

Do you really think we could be out of AK by noon?

Thanks for the website. There is a ton of advice there. I much rather get it from you guys. Redskins fans must know the right things to do. :D

[Art Monk Fan]

Do you really think we could be out of AK by noon?
If you plan your morning right, you can ride everything in AK and see every show by lunch -- I've done it. AK gets very hot in the afternoon (not enough tree cover?) so it's a perfect morning park, before hopping over to MGM or Epcot for the afternoon.

In addition to AllEars.net and DISBoards.com, you might consider signing up for Tour Guide Mike's service at TourGuideMike.com -- there's a fee. You have to dig through all his writings, but he can help you put a plan together to really maximize your short stay. I used his info to plan our last trip and we did all of AK before lunch and got on every ride in the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland in 45 minutes (including Dumbo). And this was a trip in the peak July season. MIke used to work for Disney guiding VIP tours -- he really knows his way around the parks.

[Kilmer17]

Jmac, PM me your dates in Disney and I'll work up a trip guide for you that will help miss the crowds. Most of it is just understanding how the flow works and when most people want to do most things, and then YOU do the opposite. But there are some subtle tricks as well (ie, always stay on the RIGHT side of the que when it diverges at Pirates of the Carribean. It's 5 minutes faster.).

Also, this is my favorite Disney site-

http://www.disboards.com/

Also look at mousesavers.com for deals.

[rictus58]

Thanks Kilmer! So, please tell me what did you specifcally do to avoid long lines on the busiest days?

Do you really think we could be out of AK by noon?



You could be yes. If you utilize the fast pass system. You won't have to wait long for It's tough to be a bug. The longest line would probably be for expidition everest. The line for the Safari can be long but it does move pretty quickly.
Assuming you aren't going between May and Labor day, 1/2 a day to do a few things worth doing at AK is not out of the question.
Get a book out of the library about disney world. They have itineraries that can' help you get the most out of your days. they also have hints that you can use to plan that you may not have thought about. like when entering the Magic Kingdom, go to Adventure Land first since most people go to Tomorrow land first.


If you plan your morning right, you can ride everything in AK and see every show by lunch -- I've done it. AK gets very hot in the afternoon (not enough tree cover?) so it's a perfect morning park.

The animals on the Safari are also A LOT more active in the morning than Afternoon. I've always heard the park is at least 5 degrees warmer than the other parks because of the humidity needed for the vegitation.

[JMac]

You could be yes. If you utilize the fast pass system. You won't have to wait long for It's tough to be a bug. The longest line would probably be for expidition everest. The line for the Safari can be long but it does move pretty quickly.
Assuming you aren't going between May and Labor day, 1/2 a day to do a few things worth doing at AK is not out of the question.
Get a book out of the library about disney world. They have itineraries that can' help you get the most out of your days. they also have hints that you can use to plan that you may not have thought about. like when entering the Magic Kingdom, go to Adventure Land first since most people go to Tomorrow land first.

We are going in July and obviously that is their peak season.

If we could do all those things at AK and be out at noon or close to, that allows us to jump over to do something else. I know we wont get through it all, but we will try and do everything possible.

What does the MGM have for kids?

[rictus58]

We are going in July and obviously that is their peak season.

If we could do all those things at AK and be out at noon or close to, that allows us to jump over to do something else. I know we wont get through it all, but we will try and do everything possible.

What does the MGM have for kids?

Most of the things at MGM would be suitable for kids. The only exceptions would be Tower of Terror and Rockn' Roller Coaster. Although, my 10year old neice loves the Coaster.

They'd probably LOVE the Muppets 4-d.

http://allearsnet.com/tp/mgm/m_attr.htm

Do what you can to get a seat for Fantasmic.

Since you will be there in July, it might be harder to get it all done by noon, but I think AK is also the park that closes the earliest so you'd have more time in the evening to spend at epcot.

To be honest, AK is MY least favorite of the parks. Depending on the age of your kids, they might enjoy it more than Epcot. Just accept the fact that you CANNOT do it all in just a few days. So plan to hit the things you want to do most. Anything else would just be an added bonus.

[Larry]

My brother read a tip in a book about Disney that seems to work really well for his visits with the 5-year-old.

What the book suggested was that, at 3 in the afternoon, the park's are at their hottest, and the lines are the longest. So, they suggest, go back to the hotel and spend an hour or so in the pool. The reasoning was that if you're gone for two hours, all you would have done anyway was to ride one ride. And at least in the summer time, the kid really got tired and cranky if we didn't cool him off. (The squirty places I mentioned were good for that, too.)

(One other tip, for the monorail. The driver is allowed, at his discretion, to invite up to 4 guests to ride up front with him. When you're waiting for the monorail to arrive, just ask one of the staff. There's no guarantees (for example, when the train arrives, it may already be occupied). But if you ask 4 or 5 times, odds are you'll hit the right one.)

Yes, AK is a much more pleasant park in the mornings. It gets hot out there. It's certainly possible to spend a day there, but I don't think I ever have. My biggies are the safari, It's Tough to be a Bug, and the Festival of the Lion King sing-along. (Air conditioned.) The kid really liked the playland (and squirty place). I really liked the Rainforest Cafe (located at the entrance). Good food, perhaps too much atmosphere, really good air conditioning.

One of the things the five-year-old never got tired of was "the Dumbo ride". (Kind of a merry-go-round, but each "car" seats two in front and two in back. The one in front has a controll that raises and lowers the car, and control in back causes nose-up or nose-down. There's one in every park. (I think MK has Dumbo and an Alladin ride. AK has flying dinosaurs. Don't know if MGM has one.)

Star Tours at MGM is a virtual roller coaster. It's Star Wars themed, and it doesn't really move anywhere, but you'll think it does. May not be appropriate for the youngest. There's also an Aerosmith multimedia coaster, and the Tower of Terror.

The Living Seas has a walk-through aquarium, exhibits, and some food places. Same thing for The Land.

Yes, the fireworks (it's more a case of "pyrotechnics") at EPCOT are really good. Every "country" has at least one ride and one restaurant. (They used to have a really good parade, too, but they seem to have eliminated it.)

And there's nothing wrong with watching the MK fireworks from the MK. They're designed to be watched from Main Street, and the crowds aren't bad. It's crowded, but it's a really pleasant, happy crowd. And they're real good at getting people out quick, afterwards. The beach is just a different option. (They also have a "boat parade" that makes the rounds of the MK hotels. They have billboard-sized arrays of LEDs on barges, which they tow from hotel to hotel.

You're perfectly free to go from one hotel to another to do things like their entertainment or their restaurants. One restaurant that's nice (but expensive) is the California Grill, located atop the Contemporary. They actually have a dress code, but it's "business casual", which, as near as I can tell, means no swimsuits, but anything else is fine. It's American food. Among other things they make hand-tossed pizzas, although it's not fast food pizza. (They have things like spinach.) The restaurant has observation decks you can walk out on, and you can see all four parks from there. (Not necessarily a lot: You can see The Golf Ball from EPCOT, The "Earfull Tower" from MGM, and the Tree of Life). If you get there at the right time, you can no doubt see fireworks over the other parks. (Reservations absolutely required, or no way you're getting in.)

(The monorail that serves Polynesian goes to Grand Floridian, the MK, Contemporary, TTC (the MK parking lot), then back to Polynesian. So getting to one of those hotels is simple.)

Never seen Fantasmic (at MGM), but I've heard good things.

[Larry]

The phone number to make Disney dining reservations is 407-WDW-DINE.

Program it into your cell phone. If you're in the park and you want reservations at Crystal Palace for an hour from now, or whatever, you can call and ask.

Often they won't have any reservations available, which doesn't mean you can't go there, get a pager, and wait a while. But the phone number gives you the option of trying to call.

(And, that's the same number you use if you want to make reservations, right now. Since you're staying "on property", you're allowed to make reservations a long ways in advance.)

[RVAbrendan]

Never seen Fantasmic (at MGM), but I've heard good things.

It's amazing.

[JMac]

Update: Most incredible vacation ever!!

I want to thank everyone who helped me with the tips for our vacation. I followed these tips exactly and there is no other way to do the parks than what you said.

Highlights: and must do's for anyone going to WDW

We stayed at the Polynesian resort which was awesome! I recommend the building we were in. Request the Tuvalu if you can. We were on the 3rd floor and watched the fireworks from our balcony 3 of the 4 nights. I actually think they were better than when we were on main street in MK. Awesome resort!


MGM -

Tower of Terror - great ride especially at night.
Aerosmith coaster - WOW! holy crap that thing takes off fast!
Indiana Jones stunt show - great show!
Stunt car show - Awesome cars and drivers!
Star Tours - great simulator ride of star wars.

Epcot -

Mission Space (extreme level)- What a rush. simulator ride into space. The force of the takeoff was insane! Must ride!
Soarin - Awesome simulated ride of California. Just like being on a hang glider
Test Drive - Very cool test dummy ride.
World visits - incredible places to eat (Akershus - Norway was my favorite)

Magic Kingdom
Space Mountain - fun ride but not as good as Disneyland's updated space mountain ride. (MK scheduled to update their's next summer)
Pirates of the Carribean - Still the best ride ever at Disney.
Mickey mouse shaped ice cream ( yes it is possible to spend over $50.00 a day on ice cream)

Animal Kingdom- we spent only the morning there since we left for the disney cruise at noon. We only had time for 2 rides and breakfast with Donald Duck and Mickey. Fast Passes are a must for these two.

Expedition Everest - Roller coaster is awesome. Especially when it goes backwards in the dark.

Dinosaur - Great ride in a jeep into the pre historic times. ( its the same setup as Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland)


We were there for 3 1/2 days but tried to do as much as possible. The best advice I got was to not try and do everything because its not possible. We are definitely going to go back there next year and try and do the things we were unable to do this trip.

Disney Cruise:

The most incredible cruise I have ever been on. The activites for the kids and adults was awesome! Castaway Cay (Disney's private island is INCREDIBLE!)

If you have kids and need a great vacation idea, you cannot do anything better than the vacation we were just on. It was the most amazing trip I have ever been on. From the planning of the trip to the actual trip itself was amazing.

I highly recommend WDW and the Disney Cruise for anyone who has kids!

Thanks again to everyone who helped my since February. You guys are awesome!!

[Larry]

You are now hereby appointed as a Disney Ambassador. Henceforth, you are not permitted to allow any person to mention Disney, anywhere in your hearing, without immediately giving him tips for what he should do.

It's part of the rules.

[JMac]

You are now hereby appointed as a Disney Ambassador. Henceforth, you are not permitted to allow any person to mention Disney, anywhere in your hearing, without immediately giving him tips for what he should do.

It's part of the rules.

No problem and I will give help wherever I can. If I had gone and done the same trip w/o any advice it would have been a miserable trip.

Everyone needs to go to WDW and the cruise sometime in their life!