WDW tips?

[Prudence]

I leave in two short weeks for WDW. Just three 3-hour exams between me and the Florida sun. It'll be our first trip to Florida, so we're looking for hints, tips, tricks, secret passwords to the LoT clubhouse, the usual. No general discounts were released for our stay, so we went for AP rates. So, we've ever been before, but we'll have APs.

We check in to the Animal Kingdom Lodge on the 16th. (The 14th and 15th will be spent with my grandparents.) We check out and fly home on the 21st.

[Stan4dSteph]

Boma. Boma. Boma.

[Prudence]

Already scheduled for Wednesday dinner, 6:30 PS. I have to figure out a morning to do Boma for breakfast, though.

[Stan4dSteph]

Okay, here are some more from my trip Jan. 2004. If they're wrong, hopefully I will be corrected:

- I loved the cinnamon-sugar toasted almonds. I got them at an ODV cart near the entrance of Adventureland. Super yummy, and IMO, better than a churro.

- Rock N Roller Coaster was excellent. I would suggest going on either this or ToT first thing in the day when you go to MGM. Get FastPass for the other one you don't ride.

- Keep an eye out for HTHBellCaptain and Flippyshark during your travels! :cool:

- At MK you can get a FastPass for Peter Pan. You might want to get that depending on the wait times.

[Baileykat]

Oh...I have to second the Rock N Roller Coaster....totally ROCKED!

Test Track...very cool ride...get the fast pass early!!!

The buses DO not run from the MK..they run from the Transportation center...at least they didn't run to the All Stars...(better to know this..than find it out when it's pouring rain!)

Take enough time to enjoy World Showcase...we didn't, kinda rushed thru it...and it's the one thing I wished we'd spent more time on...

Gosh...I wish I was going again!

[mhrc4]

World Showcase - World Showcase - World Showcase

make reservations early at World Showcase, find a restaurant, and make reservations first thing in the morning, call the dining/reservations line, you will not regret this.

Also like baileykat said, ENJOY world showcase, probably one of the best places at WDW, hands down.

MGM is a half day park, so is Animal Kingdom. The water parks were fun as well, but hey, we have those here too. Magic Kingdom and Epcot are where you should spend most your time, adn experience everything.

Its been almost a year since we were at WDW and I want to go back so bad..... i LOVED it there... heat, humidity and everything.

oh, and at MK, poohs adventure is actually worth it ;)

[Stan4dSteph]

The bird show at AK is very cool. No parrots riding bicycles, just displays of natural behaviors. The only negative is the sort of lame story line that comes in later with the "tourist", but the first intro bit is outstanding.

[CoasterMatt]

If they're doing the Hour Early Magic Morning thingy whatever they're calling it now, that's the park to avoid going to that day, for the morning hours anyway.

See if you can beat our riding Rock N Roller Coaster 31 times in one day (The CMs were announcing us to people waiting for the preshow by about midway through our day). :D

[mousepod]

Back when we lived on the east coast, Heather & I were WDW APers, and we've gone back several times since we've moved out west (from our honeymoon in Jan '97 through December of last year). We've amassed a ton of favorite nerdy things to do... if you want a long list, give me a PM.

For now, my nerdiest suggestion is to get to the Wilderness Lodge before dusk and walk the hiking trail to Fort Wilderness (I saw an armadillo and a deer), and make your way to Chip 'n Dale's Campfire Singalong. You get to sing, eat s'mores and watch one or two classic Disney movies projected on an outdoor screen. Never a huge crowd, and always a hoot and a holler.

[cirquelover]

You should do Boma for breakfast and dinner. I have heard wonderful things about Jiko and that was even from locals! I looked at the menu and made a ps but then my husband became ill and I canceled almost all our ps's. We even enjoyed the pepper pot soup at Mara, the snack bar. The refillable mugs came in handy too!

Do go out to the other viewing areas at the AKL. Don't miss the night viewing of the animals with the night binoculars. When you get to AKL they should give you a calandar with all the activities. We loved the night viewing of the animals, storytelling by the fire pit and mask making inside. Also just wandering around the lodge is fun. There are African artifacts all over the place and most have a placard with a story.

I just loved watching the animals from our balcony, I could've sat out there all day and night. If you have concierge level rooms I hear the sunrise safari is not to be missed! I'm afraid I'll never get to go myself.

I could keep going on about AKL, I loved that place. It was a once in a lifetime trip!
You should have enough days that you can catch the night shows at every park. We enjoyed them all.
I think you should give every park a chance and then go back for the things you missed or want to do again. As I think of more I will post it, or if you have any questions I'll try to answer.

[Prudence]

I'm so excited! I just have these pesky exams to get through first....

We do have a PS for Jiko on....Thursday. Right now, we have:

Monday -- dinner PS for Liberty Tree Tavern. (18th century-themed characters? And stuffing? Does it get any better?)

Tuesday -- lunch at Biergarten, dinner at Rose and Crown.

Wednesday -- lunch? dinner at Boma.

Thursday -- lunch at Brown Derby, dinner at Jiko.

Friday -- lunch at Chefs de France, dinner at Marrakesh.

Saturday -- lunch? dinner on the plane in first class as we reluctantly wing our way home.

No plans to do the water parks because 1) I have the cutest ever fat-girl swimsuit, but it's not slide-appropriate and 2) I can't see without my glasses and I get really disoriented. Really. I can't see. I have no depth perception. It makes me really uncomfortable.

If only I didn't have to leave my babies! My poor kittycats! Alone for a week!

[Not Afraid]

I really really really enjoyed California Grill as well as Boma.

Mission Space queue warnings make you more afraid to be sick than the effects of the actual ride.

Pastry in France

Feed the turtles in the river near Flame Tree BBQ.

Look for lots of great copy at AKL and AK written by one of our own. Finding "Free Kittens" sign should be your geek goal. ;)

[Matterhorn Fan]

- I loved the cinnamon-sugar toasted almonds. I got them at an ODV cart near the entrance of Adventureland. Super yummy, and IMO, better than a churro.Those are also sold at the entrance to World Showcase. WDW churros are yucky--they don't "cook" them on the cart, so they're stale.
- Rock N Roller Coaster was excellent. I would suggest going on either this or ToT first thing in the day when you go to MGM. Get FastPass for the other one you don't ride.If you can only fastpass one, use your FP for Coaster. TOT has a nice queue; Coaster does not.
- Keep an eye out for HTHBellCaptain and Flippyshark during your travels! :cool:. . . and MatterhornFan will be the one with her nose in a Dole Whip. ;)
If they're doing the Hour Early Magic Morning thingy whatever they're calling it now, that's the park to avoid going to that day, for the morning hours anyway.My understanding is that they're not doing the Early hours anymore. I could be wrong, though.
For now, my nerdiest suggestion is to get to the Wilderness Lodge before dusk and walk the hiking trail to Fort Wilderness (I saw an armadillo and a deer), and make your way to Chip 'n Dale's Campfire Singalong. You get to sing, eat s'mores and watch one or two classic Disney movies projected on an outdoor screen. Never a huge crowd, and always a hoot and a holler.I may have a new summer project.
I have heard wonderful things about Jiko and that was even from locals!Really? All the locals I know can't walk past Boma to get to Jiko. :D
Friday -- lunch at Chefs de France, dinner at Marrakesh.I would replace Marrakesh with Alfredo's. Well, actually, I'd replace Biergarten with Alfredo's first, but that's the vegetarian talking. Alfredo's. Mmmmm.
Pastry in FranceAnd Norway. And Morocco. And candy in Japan. And Germany. . . . ;)

[Prudence]

I would replace Marrakesh with Alfredo's. Well, actually, I'd replace Biergarten with Alfredo's first, but that's the vegetarian talking. Alfredo's. Mmmmm.


The husband spent three of the formative years living in Italy. It has taken him years to be able to eat at Olive Garden, and only because he now considers it American diner food. The potential theatrics resulting from a meal at a restaurant purporting to represent Italy, the birthplace of all that is good in culinary-ness, eliminated that option first thing.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

First off, we clearly need to have a cutest-ever-fat-girl-swimsuit contest. Or if not a contest, a fashion show. Bless you, Torrid.

Curses! You are staying at the AKL, you lucky wench. It is an incredible space and I was entranced by it-- and someday want to stay there. We spend an evening at Boma and exploring the back forty of the property. There are comfy rocking chairs and firepits and nocturnal animals aplenty.

You are probably used to the DL span of things, but be forewarned that WDW is much wider a collection of parks. It's not all crammed in, which is nice, but there's a longer walk... well... everywhere. If you are going to, say, spend the morning tooling around MGM followed by a hustle to catch an E-ticket at Epcot and a dash back to MGM's Fantasmic! and then a boat back to Epcot before it closes, you may find yourself collapsed in a heap the next day.

There are some fun places you haven't listed yet. The Sci-Fi drive-in was quite a fun meal, and I think the atmosphere would be to your liking. California Grill is a lovely place to eat and see fireworks; the beach at the Polynesian is another fireworks-watching spot (they pipe in the music in both locations.) We ate the dinner buffet at Cape May, and it was more than delightful if you like the east coast clambake kind of thing. I found the oreo truffles there to be superior to the zebra domes at Boma, if you can believe it. Of course, Boma is terrific and you'll enjoy it. I suspect that the PSes for Victoria and Albert's are already snapped up, but if it's in your budget, it's the best meal I've ever had. Anywhere.

As far as I've heard recently, they're doing a fair amount of fastpass tests at the different parks, so be wary. Kevin Yee on MiceAge has reported that MK is letting in a 50-50 balance of fastpass-standby so it seems hardly worth it there. Supposedly Epcot is allowing you to get many fastpasses at a time, tapping out the machines early in the day. Try to keep updated about what they're doing, or ask a pleasant-seeming CM.

[mousepod]

Having said that, I found the food at Marrakesh and San Angel to be pretty bland. It's as if they're afraid that American tourists won't be able to handle the real thing.

Alfredo's, on the other hand, is pretty damn authentic, though the portions are more than twice what you'd get just about anywhere else.

If I were you, I'd do Chefs de France for dinner and either graze or do the Coral Reef for lunch.

But that's just me.

[Matterhorn Fan]

Alfredo's is supposed to be a branch/extension of the Alfredo's in Italy, from what I understand (owned/run by the same people?). Whatever it is, or purpots to be, it was absolutely divine.

I'll be interested to hear your review of Marrakesh.

[mousepod]

...and as long as I'm talking WDW restaurants, here are the places that H & I have never missed on a trip back east:

- Flying Fish
- Artist Point
- The California Grill

If we haven't hit those three for dinner, then it hasn't been a trip to WDW...

[Baileykat]

We ate the dinner buffet at Cape May, and it was more than delightful if you like the east coast clambake kind of thing.


I'll second this! And it's a nice break to take the boat over and play in the sand on the beach after!


And I'll second, triple, quadruple the pastries in France! THE best Ham and Cheese Crossant I have ever had...make you slap your Momma! Oui! :D


And I really liked the Biergarten as well...but I adore German food and beer and the entertainment was wonderful!


I did have a wonderful wrap type sandwhich in The Land food court...It was all veggie...and I've been craving it for 2 years!


Chef Mickey's is overrated! (No one is allowed to throw things at me for that!)

[LSPoorEeyorick]

I refuse to throw things at Baileykat for saying things that I agree with.

On the topic of agreeing, Jesse's absolutely right about Coral Reef. It's lovely.

[Sheila]

As a grizzled (I must get some depilatory!) old veteran of WDW, here are my suggestions:

1. IMO, I think you have too many sit-down dinners scheduled. You're going to want to get Priority Seatings for many of those restaurants and when you do, a serious chunk of park touring time will then be devoted to the dining experience. I've eaten at most of the restaurants listed and they are all great. You'll enjoy 'em! But you may want to consider sacrificing the grand dining tour since this is your first trip to WDW. Consider counter service for dinner more often; plus with the time you've just freed up, you'll be able to go back to the hotel during the hottest part of the afternoon, cool off then come back for evening festivities.

2. Since you'll be going during peak season, get to each park at rope drop! I kid you not. You can get more done in the first two hours while the rest of the families straggle in. I know it's rough being from the left coast and getting to the parks at 8:00-9:00 a.m., but it's totally worth it! Showing up at 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. means standing in lots of lines. Ugh.

3. Consider following (maybe not to the letter, but take their advice) the Unofficial Guide touring plans. Even as a DLR veteran, it's a good thing to at lease have a plan of attack.

4. Buy bottled water offsite and bring with you every day. You'll save a ton of money.

[Prudence]

Yay tips!

Re: the dining madness

For us, dining is a vacation priority. I swear there's somewhat of a method to our madness. (No, really!) Liberty Tree is our one character meal 'cause dammit, we like that sort of thing. In theory, Tuesday's lunch is buffet so we can eat as quickly as we can chew (and my husband can have his fill of his favorite food group: meat.) Also in theory, we'll be eating at Rose and Crown during Illuminations and if I get lucky, we'll have a patio table. If I'm moderately lucky, they'll at least let us go visit the patio. If I have zero luck, it's only Tuesday so I can try again later in the week.

Wednesday and Thursday I had to eat outside the parks so that if desired my relatives, who live in Orlando, that I haven't seen in years, who I was planning to visit the 14th & 15th before checking into AKL, and who knew of my plans since last August, decided last month to spend that weekend in New Mexico so my cousin, who already got married so his "wife" wouldn't have to live in sin, but didn't tell anyone until just a few weeks ago, can have the big fancy wedding in her family's orchard, because the new already-wife thinks the date 5-15-05 is cool and couldn't imagine having her big fake wedding any other day, and registered for an $80 toaster... I'm off track. Anyhow, I have to leave a few evenings for them to come visit us. So I made those our half-day park days, scheduled meals outside the park, and we can maybe have dessert or something with family. (And the night they don't come, we scamper over to MK.)
I'm rather ambivalent about our Thursday PS at Brown Derby. I kind of made it in case I wanted it. Might change my mind.

Thursday, our sole purpose in eating as Chefs de France is to have the lunch combo meal thingy. Hence the lunch not dinner. And we chose the first PS of the day in hopes of speedier service. The thinking behind Marrakesh is that a) he wants to see the belly dancers and b) we'll be exhausted and they're not known for speedy service (and I have unfortunate "commando" tendancies) so it's an enforced rest break. And early enough to afford another shot at Illuminations.

See, warned you. Meal planning is by far the most important part of any trip for us. Every variable is carefully weighed. We might not be right, but we sure did think about it a lot!

Oh, and the husband ix-nayed California Grill because he felt it might sully his memory of Napa Rose (yes, I did mention the fireworks). And I'm saving V & A for my graduation victory vaction. And I don't like fish. :(

[Name]

watch one or two classic Disney movies projected on an outdoor screen. When I was a youngun I saw sleeping beauty and song of the south there. good stuff.

[Sheila]

Pru, you so goofy! In a good way, of course.... :D You are a woman after my own heart. I love visiting WDW for three reasons: the atmosphere of no longer being in the real world, the rides and the FOOD!!

Since there is method in your madness, I'll just offer one more piece of gratuitous advice: I think most folks find they need to take a mid-day break and go back to the hotel to nap/shower/swim. You may be able to go a couple days from sun-up to fireworks, but not every day. Scheduling all those lunch and dinner time meals means hustling back to the parks when you may not feel up to it, kwim?

Plus, for those who are not used to the Florida humidity, it's a killer. And if you're overweight like me, it's really tough sledding. My body has problems throwing off all the heat.

So in a nutshell, plan on being prepared to throw your planning to winds if need be. And all those fabulous restaurants will be waiting for you on your next trip. :)

[Not Afraid]

Ummmmmmmm. Candy at the Japanesse Pavilion............

[Prudence]

But if I throw my plans to the winds that means...I get to make new plans! Because the only thing better than months and months of detail-obsessed plan-making is getting to rearrange it on the fly!

Did I mention I probably have the Unofficial Guide memorized by now?

[Sheila]

But if I throw my plans to the winds that means...I get to make new plans! Because the only thing better than months and months of detail-obsessed plan-making is getting to rearrange it on the fly!

Did I mention I probably have the Unofficial Guide memorized by now?

LOL! Pru, I'd mojo you again if I could. But, alas, I must spread my love around first. It's hard being a mojo ho. ;)

You have exactly the right attitude to enjoy your trip to WDW. Have a blast, girlfriend!! :)

[tracilicious]

But if I throw my plans to the winds that means...I get to make new plans! Because the only thing better than months and months of detail-obsessed plan-making is getting to rearrange it on the fly!

Did I mention I probably have the Unofficial Guide memorized by now?

Lol, I was just going to say to get the Unofficial Guide. I'm working on it for our December trip.

The only thing I really have to add is that extra magic hours are different now. Sometimes it's an hour extra in the morning, sometimes it's three extra hours at night. Go to the Unofficial Guide's site, www.touringplans.com (http://www.touringplans.com) for a list of what is open when. www.allearsnet.com (http://www.allearsnet.com) also has tremendous tips. I wish I were going this week.

[mousepod]

Ummmmmmmm. Candy at the Japanese Pavilion............

On a trip to a couple of years ago, I shot a ton of video. I originally posted it only for Prudence, but since NA brings it up...

CANDY! (http://www.ped-xing.com/watching.html)

[Not Afraid]

I could've watched the candy makers all day long. As a matter of fact, I could just move into World Showcase and be perfectly happy.

[Matterhorn Fan]

You just wanted to hook up with your Italian boyfriend.

[Not Afraid]

Ahhhhhhh, my Italian BF..............:Swoon:

[Prudence]

Thanks for all the tips, guys and dolls -- I have to get up in 4 hours and get ready to head to the airport. Two days with grams and gramps and then it's off to the parks! See y'all in a week.

[mhrc4]

have fun :D

[Prudence]

I'm back! I have TONS of photos! And we made every single one of our scheduled meals! I'm shocked that I managed as much walking as I did. I guess 2 months of regular treadmill use did do something after all, even if I didn't see it on the scale. It was HOT! Didn't rain AT ALL until we were on the plane, ready to leave. I'll have to do up some full report later. Any questions?

[UvaGirl]

Yay! Glad you had such a good time - looking forward to hearing about it in full. Any particular highlights?

[Prudence]

Some really great cast members. Eating breakfast with animals right below our balcony. Oktoberfest in a restaurant where people don't stumble over my last name. Watching Illuminations from dead center (!!!) on the lower porch of Rose & Crown. Not losing our luggage. Flying first class for the 6-hour flight home. World Showcase. The Flights of Nature show at Animal Kingdom. Finally getting my photo with the White Rabbit. The Queen of Hearts showing my husband his proper place. The amazing streetmosphere "Hollywood" couple at MGM who were drop dead hysterical and fully in character. Playing in the pool. (And finding out that my swimsuit's now a little big on me!) Getting good and tipsy on South African wine at Jiko.


Here's our pressing question for the week:

Every time we saw a particularly egregious form of queue-jumping, it turned out that the perpetrators were Aussies. What the heck? There are a number of cultural differences I'm prepared to encounter, but this was new. Is there some sort of Australian cultural quirk that makes this expected behavior or did we just encounter particularly rude ambassadors? I'm actually quite curious.

(for example, at one point there was a line-up to take pictures on the Star Wars bike-thingy at MGM, it being Star Wars and all. Big line. I was finally next up and my husband went to get on while I focused the camera. All of a sudden these people spring FROM BEHIND THE BUSHES to shark in front of him. The woman taking pictures for that group was right behind me and there were plenty behind her, so it's not like she didn't know what was going on. And no, we didn't yield. That was just ONE example of the line sharking.)

It's not a big deal, it was just our curiosity of the week. It was actually pretty funny by the end of the week because someone would do something astonishingly rude and we'd look at each other and wait to hear speaking and then bust up at the accent.

Oh! and the best part of all? Sleeping in my own bed last night!

Now to work on that new avatar...

[UvaGirl]

Bloody Aussies....don't get me started;)

[Drince88]

Now to work on that new avatar...
LOVE IT!!! :cool: