Disney World - again
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive February 2008:
Disney World - again
I know that we talk about Disney a lot here but I am bringing it up again! 
We are going to Disney World this summer with my sister and her family, there will be 9 of us in all. We are not staying on the property, we rented a house about 5 minutes from the parks.
I have been there about 4 times. 3 times before i was married, and 1 time with dh and kids. So I do know what rides and stuff to see.
These are my questions:
We want to go to a character meal. Are there any that you have been to that you thought was great? We'd love to do the Cinderella & princesses one but that is just too expensive.
Is there any Disney "best kept secrets" or tips you found out about and would like to share?
any thoughts or ideas to make our days at the park more enjoyable would be wonderfully appreciated!
I like the 1900 Park Fare dinner at The Grand Floridian. That may have Cindy, the Prince, and the stepsisters...not current on it at the moment... The Crystal Palace's lunches and dinners in the MK are always nice, too.
Utilize fast pass. This is free, which many people don't realize.
What are your dates?
June 7-14th
It's going to be crowded and hot, i know that but we just plan to do what we can and try not to get stressed about long lines, etc.
We also plan to go to Kennedy Space Center while we are down there. My Dh and kids are very into that kind of stuff.
We just went in Dec and I second 1900 Park Faire. We went at Breakfast though so it was not Princesses. It was Mary Poppin, Pooh, Tigger, Alice and the Mad Hatter. The Fairy God mother was in the waiting room. If you want Princesses. Askerush at Epcot in Norway is nice. We went for lunch and saw Belle, Aurora, Cindy, Airele and Jasmine. Get there early as possible and see things before the crowd. I seond Fast Pass. Have Fun.
We have never been, but I have heard nothing but great things about 1900 Park Faire.
The best advice I can give about going in the summer, get to the parks early! Try and get to the park you are going to about 20 minutes before it opens. You will get so much done in the first few hours before the masses start pouring in. And, yes, do Fast Pass. Also, since you are staying off property, avoid the parks that have extended hours for park guests. A lot of people on the Disney boards say they have good luck with crowds, if they go to the park that had evening extended hours the night before. So, if Magic Kingdom was open late Monday night for resort guests, Tuesday would be a good day for you to go. When we went a few years ago in August, we went early, stayed for a few hours, left for lunch, a swim and nap, and then went back at night. Because of the heat, and all the walking around, both of my kids took a nap.
Have a great time! You are going to have so much fun. We went in October with my whole family, and it was lots of fun to go with everyone.
We went to the Lilo and Stitch breakfast, I think it was in the Polynesian??? It's been a few years, so I can't remember what the name was. The kids loved it! It was one of my favorite things about the trip.
I also enjoyed dinner at the Wilderness Lodge. (again, i think that's the name. lol ) We went to the fancy rest there one night for Thanksgiving dinner and it was beautiful and great food. Then another night we went to the more casual rest. there and it was a good time. They try to embarrass you when you ask for ketchup, for example.
We enjoyed taking the boat from the Wilderness Lodge to Magic Kingdom at night.
We also enjoyed just swimming in the pool at the hotel! lol
If we ever go back- which my kids want to! I will make sure and include days at Universal Studios. Our neighbors kids love to go there.
Have fun!!!
Ditto Debbie, Fast Pass is THE way to go!!!!!!! And the hopper pass. There are a few of Disney sites, and one or more offers tips. I'll have to ask my coworker, she's a Disney FREAK and she's been a number of times and has it all figured out. What she does is:
* First, decide which park they are going to each day - sometimes they go to more than one, depending on the events.
* Once she's decided where they will go each day, she books the character meals. From what I understand you have to book well in advance because they have limited seating capacity.
* They usually stay on the grounds, so they are able to take advantage of the early hours.
* Take backpacks with water and a snack, and try to avoid eating lunch, etc. at the peak times - do it an hour or so earlier or later than the peak times. Also, people tend to eat lunch at pretty much the same time, so when a lot of people are eating, take advantage of the shorter lines.
Coworker also went back to their motel for a little down time some days, and then returned to the park and stayed until it closed at night.
You can check out the Disney sites, print a schedule of daily events, park maps & hours, and plan your days based on that. Takes a bit of concentration, time and effort, but apparently is well worth it.
Also, *if* you decide to eat dinner in one of the *sit down* restaurants in any of the parks, see if they take reservations, or try to plan it a little earlier or later than peak dinner hours.
Oh I LOVE, LOVE Disney ...We were there mid June last year. It was hot and crowded, but so much fun. We love Chef Mickey..
ANother option to a character meal is a doing a character ice cream social with them. these are usually cheaper and occur mid-afternnon. We just ate a later and bigger breakfast and then had ice cream for lunch. It was at Magic Kingdom, I belieive.
You will be there numerous days. Watch the parade once and then use that time the other days to ride rides or look for characters.
Go first thing each morning and get your fast pass.
Sleep in one morning, do the pool at your house, relax and head to a park later in the afternoon. It will make the kids much easier to deal with.
thank you all for your ideas
Thanks for the tip about not going to the park that has the early admission on those days etc.
We decided on Chef Mickeys for breakfast on a day that we are not going to the parks. This way we don't miss the morning time at the park and we still get to do something Disney on our rest day.
I'm going to print all this out and keep it on hand!
A lot of people start the park as they come in. We walk to the back and work our way forward. This really helps with lines.
We did Chef Mickey's for breakfast when we went back in '02. We loved it! I think you will be happy with that choice.
okay what is the weather like in March? lol = )
Brandy, the weather is beautiful, usually 80's during the day. But, it does get really crowded if you go around Spring Break or Easter.
*Any* holiday where kids are off school is very crowded @ Disney - some more than others.
Patti (and others), also read on some of the Disney boards - apparently there is some great information there, tips, dos, don'ts, etc.:
Disboards
Talk Disney
Disney Zone
Passporter
The Disboards are my favorite .... There is a whole big community over there. Anything you have a question about, somebody has the answer.
okay i guess it's april now lol = )
Brandy, we went the end of April when the kids were small. It was great weather. mid 80's during the day, and 60's at night. The crowds weren't bad either. We had a wonderful time.
we are going over spring break, which happens to coincide with easter, oh well. But really we don't want to pull the kids out of school, so it was then or summer, both busy times, but maybe less hot in march!
oh my boys aren't going lol = )
thanks Karen, i'll check out those links!
Here's another question for you avid Disney-ers.
We are going in the first week of June. How soon should I make reservations for Chef Mickey's? I was thinking about calling today, is that way too early??
No its not too early. Actually people make the reservations as early as 6 months ahead of time. Sometimes its hard to get the specfic time you want.
There's a specific date you can begin calling...for Chef Mickey's it's possibly 90 days in advance. You can try calling today and they will tell you whether or not you can make the 'advance dining reservation' and if you can't they will be able to tell you what date you may call back.
Jackie, how can you make ressies six months ahead of time?? Hoop De Doo Revue is the only place I know of that takes ressies so far in advance (like two years!!) Even Cindy's Castle is only 90 days out. HOTEL reservations, yes, you can make them way in advance....dining, no.
Thought I read that on the Disney board...could be wrong. Ive never done it, never tried.
Oh, okay then...I thought you had done it recently Jackie, and it had changed. The last time I did it was for an August '06 trip. Bellajoe, I am assuming it is still 90 days beforehand though, but it sure doesn't hurt to call anyway and get an official answer! Then come back and tell us, please!
Kate, I think they changed it recently, and now it is 180 days out that you can make a reservation. They also have park hours out 6 months in advance now.
I made the reservations this morning for Breakfast at Chef Mickeys. It does have to be 180 days in advance.
I've never even heard of the Hoop De Doo Revue. I"ll have to look that up, i'm curious now.
Also, does anyone know anything about the Year of a Million Dreams thing that is going on? Do you have to sign up for it, or enter a drawing, or do you just have to be present in the park to win?
Ok, so I am not crazy then. I "thought" I had read people were calling 6 months in advanced which would be 180 days
You just have to be present. When we went we walked into the Figment ride in Epcot and were awarded with Mouse Ears. Then at the Haunted Mansion merchandise cart my DD was asked a trivia question and given a certificate for getting it right. These were both 'year of a million dreams' prizes. Better luck to you guys in getting a good prize!! If you win, you'll just be approached or tapped on the shoulder. :o)
Cool, thank you Kate.
Co-worker loves Hoop-de-doo, they've done that a number of times. She did it for her anniversary last year, either before or after their Disney cruise. They've gone to Disney more times than I can remember, and have done the Disney cruise 2 or 3 times now.
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