Disney World Hints and Tips

Hi guys!

Okay, this is WAY off my usual topic, but since we just got back from Disney World, I thought I'd share some of our experience, in case it can help make someone else's trip more enjoyable. We stayed at the Beach Club Resort, which was wonderful because we could walk to Epcot in about 5 minutes.

So, here goes:

MAGIC KINGDOM:
We didn't get to spend as much time there this year as last year due to a huge rainstorm that came through, but here's my take. If it’s not on here, we didn’t do it:

Rides:
Space Mountain - a great ride, but it's not as smooth as newer coasters. It's a 1-person to a row ride, so you won't be able to sit with smaller kids, and they could get scared since it's an inside ride that is in the dark much of the time. I got a headache from this ride, but my daughter loved it.

Splash Mountain - fun ride, and it takes you through an inside cave with water, so it's a good way to cool off if it's a really hot day. The big hill at the end is really fun, and you do get wet, so that helps cool you off, too.

Tom Sawyers Island - you walk around and look at stuff. It was okay. There are extremely dark caves you can walk through, but my littlest got scared in them.

Swiss Family Tree house – you just walk up the stairs and look at stuff. Nothing to do, but the view from the top is pretty good.

Jungle Cruise – we didn’t go on this one this year, but the animals are pretend and it was quite cheesy.

Mickey’s Philharmagic – This is a 3D movie and it’s fantastic!

Cinderella’s Golden Carousel – This is a fun ride, and last year my daughter rode on a horse right next to Mary Poppins (a live actress), who talked to her throughout the ride.

Ariel’s Grotto – your kids can meet and get a picture with Ariel (a live actress). Sometimes there is a long wait.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant – My kids went on this and enjoyed it.

Toontown – we didn’t go there this year at all, but we went last year. It’s for the really small kids. Not a lot to do, but there’s a lot to look at for the little ones. And, you can meet and get a picture with Mickey Mouse after you go through his house.

Tomorrowland Indy Speedway – My husband and my youngest went on this. Kids love to drive!

Restaurants:
Crystal Palace – We went to the buffet character breakfast. The food was good, and the kids enjoyed seeing the characters who come to your table and will give autographs and let you take pictures.

Columbia Harbor House – decent food, nothing really special.

Pinocchio Village House – Pizza and other stuff. Pretty good pizza.

Plaza Restaurant – We didn’t like this restaurant too much.

EPCOT
Rides/Attractions:
Turtle Talk with Crush – this is GREAT! Very entertaining.

Living with the Land – good attraction. Educational

Soarin’ – FANTASTIC! A Must-Do!

Circle of Life – Excellent little movie about taking care of the Earth.

Test Track – great ride – very fast.

In the World sections of Epcot, I recommend going into the Mexico attraction, the Canada attraction, China (they had ongoing shows of Chinese acrobats when we were there in July). Most of the countries have little things to do, and all have stores.

Innoventions – it was okay. We went last year, but not this year.

Restaurants:
Le Cellier Steakhouse in Canada – very, very good steak.

Tutto Italia in Italy – good Italian food, and a lot of it.

Akershus Royal Banquet – We had dinner there last year so we could see all the princesses. They do a great job with the princesses and their costumes, and you can get a portrait with Belle from Beauty & the Beast (NOT free!). However, the food last year was not very good. Norwegian food is a bit too “different” for us, I guess. They may have updated the food since last year.

Food Court inside The Land – lots of different types of food if you have people with different wants. The food was pretty good quality, too.

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Rides/Attractions:
Rock n’ Roller Coaster – This was one of the best roller coasters I’ve ever been on. Very, very smooth ride. Loops, corkscrews, and all inside a building!

Tower of Terror – I liked this, but my 7-year-old was terrified. It’s a vertical drop ride.

Beauty & the Beast Live on Stage – this was a good show.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid show – this was a good show.

Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular – Fantastic show! Very entertaining.

Star Tours Star Wars ride – good ride.

Backlot Tour – not as good as I thought it would be. The Lights! Motors! Action! show would have been better, although we didn’t see it.

Look for actors doing comic routines outside on the road towards the Tower of Terror. We saw them last year, but not this year. Kids will enjoy the High School Musical show. The big parade has characters from all the cartoon movies.

Restaurants:
Brown Derby – good food and lots of it.

Hollywood and Vine – we had lunch there. It’s a buffet and characters from Playhouse Disney come around. The food was okay -- not great, but not bad.

Sci Fi Dine-in Theater – This is an interesting restaurant. You sit in old-style cars-shaped “tables” and it looks like you are at a drive-in theater. Cheesy old sci-fi movies play on the big screen. The food was just okay.

ANIMAL KINGDOM
Rides/Attractions:
Lion King Show at Camp Minnie/Mickey – Very, very good show.

Kilimanjaro Safaris – Excellent. I suggest going there first thing in the morning in the summertime. Once it gets super hot, the animals are lying down or sleeping. Take your camera!

Pangani Exploration Trails – good walking tour with animals and birds.

Maharaja Jungle Trek – another good walking tour

Kali River Rapids – fun water ride for when you get hot. Someone in your boat will get soaked, and everyone gets at least a little wet.

Expedition Everest – an extremely interesting ride. Nice and smooth, and not your average roller coaster.

Discovery Island trails – nice to walk around. Some animals are tricky to see, so you have to keep your eyes peeled!

It’s a Bug’s Life – a creepy-crawly adventure. My husband and daughter went, but not me or my littlest. They enjoyed it, though.

Restaurants:
Pizzafari – good pizza and PB&Js.

Flame Tree Barbeque – ribs and other BBQ food. Fairly greasy ribs, but good.

Blizzard Beach: (we didn’t have much time here due to inclement weather)
We went on Teamboat Springs (twice!). It was great fun.
The lazy river was fun.

Downtown Disney
This is all stores to buy stuff.

Other Restaurants:
At the Beach Club Resort – Cape May Buffet – good breakfast buffet and dinner clam/mussels buffet.
At the Polynesian Resort – Ohana’s is an interesting restaurant. You don’t order your food. They just bring you an appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert. It’s all you can eat. Food was pretty good and they had some hula lessons during dinner, too. Plus, if you eat late, you can see the fireworks show at Magic Kingdom out the windows.

At the Contemporary Resort – California Grill is a good restaurant, but expensive, and includes things some folks don’t like, such as sushi. My daughter and I split one entrée and it was plenty for us both.

Also at the Contemporary – Chef Mickey’s – we went there for the breakfast buffet character meal. The food was very good and the characters are good about seeing all the kids. You get the chance to get a portrait taken before you get seated (NOT free).

*Note: the Contemporary Resort is undergoing renovation currently just outside of Chef Mickey’s. It was quite loud when they would start pounding, due to the open nature of the hotel.

At the Yacht Club Resort – The Yachtsmen Steakhouse – pretty good steak restaurant, but somewhat expensive. Portions weren’t huge.


Other notes to make your experience better:

Fast Passes — If you are staying at a WDW resort hotel, take advantage of as many Fast Passes as you can. As soon as you are able to get another Fast Pass, do it. Skipping those long lines of people makes it possible for you to go on more rides.

Fireworks are at 9:00 p.m. at Epcot, and 10:00 p.m. at Magic Kingdom.

Extra Magic Hours: If you are staying at a WDW resort hotel, you can get into a park one hour early each day before the general public can get in. The park that opens early changes each day, so check the schedule at your hotel. Then, one park stays open late just for Resort guests. Again, check the schedule. We didn’t stay late at any park due to my littlest needing to go to bed, but we did go to the early Magic Hours, and it was really nice to be there without the huge throngs of people.