Any swanky tips/suggestions for Walt Disney World?

DisneyDaniel · 06-12-2006, 01:16 PM

Yes, I know LoT is definitely not like other boards--which are sometimes filled with threads about Disney trip advice, FAQs, and Disney for beginners. However, this thread is intended to seek the expert advice and highly-regarded tastes/interests of the many cool and informed people at LoT.

I've already done much research and reading on other Walt Disney World sites/boards, purchased a couple WDW/Orlando travel-guide books, and read some WDW-related posts here, but what special advice/suggestions do you have for someone like myself (a Southern California-based Disneyland fan) visiting Walt Disney World for the first time?

I will be on vacation (and attending a work-related conference) directly in the Walt Disney World Resort and Downtown Disney area for two weeks, from June 15-27, 2006, so it's not going to be a rushed trip. Hotel stay will be split between Disney's All-Star Sports the first half and the Grosvenor Resort (in Downtown Disney) the second half. Myself and two other adults (fellow SoCal Disneyland fans), no kids. No waterparks. The tentative plan, for now, is to spend at least a full-day at each of the four Disney parks, a couple extra days for park-hopping, a full-day at Universal's Islands of Adventure, and a day at Kennedy Space Center.

--FOOD: I'm planning to "eat my way around the world" at Epcot, but, of course, there are probably many special restaurants and foods that are unique to WDW. Do you have any suggestions for any favorite foods, drinks, or restaurants that should not be missed? Several people here at LoT have already mentioned the Boma restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge, for instance.

--THINGS TO ENJOY, ATTRACTIONS and EXPERT TIPS: For example, at Disneyland, there are things that frequent DL visitors know about, such as the Disney Gallery, Dole Whip, Monte Cristo, Disneyana store, fireworks/Fantasmic! viewing spots, BTMRR goat trick, DCA Animation Building, best time of day to visit certain attractions, etc. Do you have any of these kinds of suggestions for WDW? For instance, should someone actually take advantage of the "Extra Magic Hours" as a Disney hotel guest, or will certain parks be extra-crowded due to the EMH on those days?

No matter what, it will be a great trip visiting WDW for the first time. I hope to apply the same casual, laid-back approach of visiting Disneyland toward Walt Disney World--except it will be much larger, spread out, new and different.

So, if any of you from the East Coast/Florida area would like to meet up at some point between June 15-27 at WDW, please send me a PM. I would love to meet some East Coast LoTers/swankers in person--I'll be visiting your territory!

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Prudence · 06-12-2006, 02:10 PM

Hrm - are you sure you want to stay at one of the All-Stars? If there aren't any kids with you, that might not be ideal.

For other swanky tips -

We really enjoyed the "behind the seeds" tour in the Land pavillion in Epcot. It's best to book in advance, but it's not too much per person and there are usually several tours a day. You visit most of the same sorts of things that you see on the boat ride, but you get more info and you get to be more up close and personal with the growing methods. I'd probably do it again.

Boma is a definite don't miss.

If you're eating around the world in Epcot my recommendations are:

Canada - only has a sit-down restaurant and we've not tried it yet. Hope to next time.

UK - fish and chips at the counter. The sit-down restaurant is good, but over-priced more so than most. If you're on the meal plan thing, it would be a choice to consider.

France - Best deal in the park is the "French Menu" lunch at Chefs de France. Soup, sandwich with salad, and dessert for $15. There's a similar, but more expensive, deal at dinner. Crepes from the kiosk are also good. (sigh). We had crappy service at the patisserie (um, I know what you guys are saying about us?), and honestly I didn't think the products were that spectacular. Haven't tried the higher-end restaurant upstairs.

Morocco - Best deal here is at the counter-service cafe. If you're a meat eater, the lamb wraps are very good with lots of meat. (I think we had a wrap and not a schwarma, but I could be wrong.) The couscous is also very good here. The sit-down restaurant is good, and the interior very interesting, but portions are smaller than Americans expect and prices are higher than deserved. Also, on our visit the dancer wasn't particularly good and danced for about a millisecond. Again, if you have the dining plan, it might be worth considering.

Japan - Haven't done the teppanyaki dining yet. The Yakitori House counter service was disappointing. Not recommended. Do stop for the kaki gori, though.

US - only a counter-service restaurant, I believe. We can't imagine a reason to try it.

Italy - only a sit-down restaurant here, and we haven't tried it yet. Or the pastry shop, which I don't even remember seeing.

Germany - we love the Biergarten buffet. The show is very entertaining, so if you choose this make sure you're dining during the show. They seat you at tables of 8. So if there are three of you, prepare to meet 5 new people. I like the food a lot. There's a lot of variety. However, there's also a lot of meat, so if you have vegetarians this probably isn't the best bet. I found that some of my favorite items were things that didn't look so appetizing. (Apparently Germans haven't mastered the display aspect.) There's also a counter service place here, which isn't important. What IS important is the chocolate shop, which has GINORMOUS bricks of mint chocolate.

China - Haven't done the sit-down here yet, but did enjoy the counter-service. Thought it was reasonably priced and portioned and tasty.

Norway - Tried to do the bakery thing, but there was a huge line. Apparently it's very tasty. Did bite the bullet and do dinner with the princesses. Food was tasty and we got all princess giddy in spite of ourselves.

Mexico - meant to get a margarita last time and didn't get around to it. Haven't eaten at either of the restaurants here.

Oh- and at Animal Kingdom, don't miss the Flights of Wonder show. It's really fantastic. But first thing, RUN to Expedition Everest! It is SO cool! Ride fast pass and stand-by to see the different, highly-detailed queues.

DisneyDaniel · 06-12-2006, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prudence

Hrm - are you sure you want to stay at one of the All-Stars? If there aren't any kids with you, that might not be ideal.

An "All-Star" resort was booked by my workplace, since it's the Value-level, lowest priced, Disney hotel. My workplace is actually paying for most of the hotel, airfare, and even theme-park ticket costs, so I can't complain.

What great detail about the Epcot foods and tour. THANKS for your suggestions, Prudence! ... and I read your posts about your recent WDW trip, too.

Scrooge McSam · 06-12-2006, 02:43 PM

Resorts? You didn't mention if you'll have a car. If I'm driving, sometimes I'll stay at one of the All Stars because you can generally park closer to your room. And you can't beat the price. The rooms are smaller, so if the three of you are bunking together it will be tight. Noise has never been a problem for me as I sleep like a log, but this is an issue for some of the lighter sleepers. Plus I love watching all the kiddies in the morning trying to hurry their parental units along to the parks. Of the three All Stars, Sports is my least favorite as far as theming. AS Movies is my fave of the three. If I'm not driving, I'll generally stay elsewhere.

(add... You posted while I was composing so... never mind

)

At the Grosvenor, go ahead and pop for a Downtown Disney view room as high in the tower as you can get. They had nightly fireworks at DD last I was there. The hotel is nothing special, but the view added to my enjoyment immensely.

Prudence · 06-12-2006, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DisneyDaniel

An "All-Star" resort was booked by my workplace, since it's the Value-level, lowest priced, Disney hotel. My workplace is actually paying for most of the hotel, airfare, and even theme-park ticket costs, so I can't complain.

Not sure if this would work, but when you check in you might ask about the possibility of paying the difference to upgrade to better resort.

Stan4dSteph · 06-12-2006, 03:54 PM

I love the cinnamon-roasted almonds they have at some of the ODV carts there. Mmmm.

Not Afraid · 06-12-2006, 04:36 PM

My favorite swanky restaurant is The California Grill located on the top cloor of the Contemporary. Fantastic food with a sweeping view of the lake and the Magic Kingdon. If you book it right, you can be there to see fireworks as well as the sweet little electrical water parade that takes place on the lake. The meal I had there was superb.

Boma is another winner. Don't miss it.

Epcot requires 2+ days. It's a fantastic park and World Showcase alone reqires a full day. Of course, there's the lagoon show at night (Illuminations?) that is a must see.

After your meal at Boma, be sure to go up to the second floor of the hotel and relax on the outside balcony that overlooks the park. This was one of the loveliest experiences we had at WDW. You can see the animals roaming or, as we did, a lightening storm moving over the sky.

The candy store in Japan is wonderful. I loved the boat ride in Norway. I love World Showcase in general.

At AK, we got some food at Flame Tree BBQ then walked down to the river to eat. There are gazebos you can sit in and relax. There is one that overlooks the river and, from here, you can feed turtles that swim in the river. It's a nice place to experience the natural wildlife of Florida. Apparently, there are even occasional gators in that there river.

CoasterMatt · 06-12-2006, 05:07 PM

Use the WDW Railroad at the Magic Kingdom to full advantage - parades effectively split the park in two, and Splash Mountain and Big Thunder are right next to a station.

Single rider line is the best way to get on Test Track

Animal Kingdom is especially beautiful early in the morning - all of my best photos from there were from before 12 noon.

CoasterMatt · 06-12-2006, 05:18 PM

Islands of Adventure - My favorite non-Disney theme park, in many ways because the theming is so well executed...

My usual plan of attack for IoA is to stay on site and enjoy Express pass, but that doesn't seem to be an option for you.

Get there early, and head clockwise through the Islands

There's tons of detail in just about every Island, especially Toon Lagoon and The Lost Continent; I've never been able to take enough photographs.

If you're looking for good food at IoA, you've gotta eat at Mythos - absolutely wonderful - especially the desserts.

cirquelover · 06-12-2006, 09:40 PM

Let's see- At the Magic Kingdom check out Mickeys Philharmagic(sp) we really enjoyed it, it's a 4d movie. If Carousel of Progress is open it's a must see. They have a Stitch ride, I haven't been on it though. The Pooh ride there is done much better than ours, we liked the moving hunny pot. Everything is a little different than our rides so personally I think they are all worth checking out!

At MGM- Fantasmic is different there also, it has stadium seating and is a different show than DL but we personally enjoyed it. It was nice to have a seat, we like to sit up close but you may get wet if you do! They have an Indianna Jones show instead of a ride. I've heard good things about the car stunt show there, it wasn't open yet when we were there. The Little Mermaid show was well done but it can be a wait if you don't time it right. I've never done Rock n Roller Coaster but it sounds interesting

I know there is a website with menus for all the restaurants, maybe someone else knows it otherwise I can try to find it for you.
Boma is wonderful or if you want a more upscale experience at AKL they have Jiko, some wonderful African wines. I second NA's suggestion of deinitely go check out the savannahs while you are at AKL.

Of course at DTD I'm going to suggest the Cirque du Soleil show La Nouba, it is a wonderful show and a great way to spend an evening!

I need to put the kid to bed but if I think of anything else I'll post again.

Have a great trip!!

06-12-2006, 01:16 PM	#1
DisneyDaniel California Adventurer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: SoCal Posts: 537	Any swanky tips/suggestions for Walt Disney World? Yes, I know LoT is definitely not like other boards--which are sometimes filled with threads about Disney trip advice, FAQs, and Disney for beginners. However, this thread is intended to seek the expert advice and highly-regarded tastes/interests of the many cool and informed people at LoT. I've already done much research and reading on other Walt Disney World sites/boards, purchased a couple WDW/Orlando travel-guide books, and read some WDW-related posts here, but what special advice/suggestions do you have for someone like myself (a Southern California-based Disneyland fan) visiting Walt Disney World for the first time? I will be on vacation (and attending a work-related conference) directly in the Walt Disney World Resort and Downtown Disney area for two weeks, from June 15-27, 2006, so it's not going to be a rushed trip. Hotel stay will be split between Disney's All-Star Sports the first half and the Grosvenor Resort (in Downtown Disney) the second half. Myself and two other adults (fellow SoCal Disneyland fans), no kids. No waterparks. The tentative plan, for now, is to spend at least a full-day at each of the four Disney parks, a couple extra days for park-hopping, a full-day at Universal's Islands of Adventure, and a day at Kennedy Space Center. --FOOD: I'm planning to "eat my way around the world" at Epcot, but, of course, there are probably many special restaurants and foods that are unique to WDW. Do you have any suggestions for any favorite foods, drinks, or restaurants that should not be missed? Several people here at LoT have already mentioned the Boma restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge, for instance. --THINGS TO ENJOY, ATTRACTIONS and EXPERT TIPS: For example, at Disneyland, there are things that frequent DL visitors know about, such as the Disney Gallery, Dole Whip, Monte Cristo, Disneyana store, fireworks/Fantasmic! viewing spots, BTMRR goat trick, DCA Animation Building, best time of day to visit certain attractions, etc. Do you have any of these kinds of suggestions for WDW? For instance, should someone actually take advantage of the "Extra Magic Hours" as a Disney hotel guest, or will certain parks be extra-crowded due to the EMH on those days? No matter what, it will be a great trip visiting WDW for the first time. I hope to apply the same casual, laid-back approach of visiting Disneyland toward Walt Disney World--except it will be much larger, spread out, new and different. So, if any of you from the East Coast/Florida area would like to meet up at some point between June 15-27 at WDW, please send me a PM. I would love to meet some East Coast LoTers/swankers in person--I'll be visiting your territory! Thanks in advance for your suggestions. __________________ Yes, I do LOVE Disney California Adventure. Disneyland is not so bad either ;-) Last edited by DisneyDaniel : 06-12-2006 at 01:31 PM.
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06-12-2006, 02:10 PM	#2
Prudence Beelzeboobs, Esq. Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Gavel - I haz it Posts: 6,287	Hrm - are you sure you want to stay at one of the All-Stars? If there aren't any kids with you, that might not be ideal. For other swanky tips - We really enjoyed the "behind the seeds" tour in the Land pavillion in Epcot. It's best to book in advance, but it's not too much per person and there are usually several tours a day. You visit most of the same sorts of things that you see on the boat ride, but you get more info and you get to be more up close and personal with the growing methods. I'd probably do it again. Boma is a definite don't miss. If you're eating around the world in Epcot my recommendations are: Canada - only has a sit-down restaurant and we've not tried it yet. Hope to next time. UK - fish and chips at the counter. The sit-down restaurant is good, but over-priced more so than most. If you're on the meal plan thing, it would be a choice to consider. France - Best deal in the park is the "French Menu" lunch at Chefs de France. Soup, sandwich with salad, and dessert for $15. There's a similar, but more expensive, deal at dinner. Crepes from the kiosk are also good. (sigh). We had crappy service at the patisserie (um, I know what you guys are saying about us?), and honestly I didn't think the products were that spectacular. Haven't tried the higher-end restaurant upstairs. Morocco - Best deal here is at the counter-service cafe. If you're a meat eater, the lamb wraps are very good with lots of meat. (I think we had a wrap and not a schwarma, but I could be wrong.) The couscous is also very good here. The sit-down restaurant is good, and the interior very interesting, but portions are smaller than Americans expect and prices are higher than deserved. Also, on our visit the dancer wasn't particularly good and danced for about a millisecond. Again, if you have the dining plan, it might be worth considering. Japan - Haven't done the teppanyaki dining yet. The Yakitori House counter service was disappointing. Not recommended. Do stop for the kaki gori, though. US - only a counter-service restaurant, I believe. We can't imagine a reason to try it. Italy - only a sit-down restaurant here, and we haven't tried it yet. Or the pastry shop, which I don't even remember seeing. Germany - we love the Biergarten buffet. The show is very entertaining, so if you choose this make sure you're dining during the show. They seat you at tables of 8. So if there are three of you, prepare to meet 5 new people. I like the food a lot. There's a lot of variety. However, there's also a lot of meat, so if you have vegetarians this probably isn't the best bet. I found that some of my favorite items were things that didn't look so appetizing. (Apparently Germans haven't mastered the display aspect.) There's also a counter service place here, which isn't important. What IS important is the chocolate shop, which has GINORMOUS bricks of mint chocolate. China - Haven't done the sit-down here yet, but did enjoy the counter-service. Thought it was reasonably priced and portioned and tasty. Norway - Tried to do the bakery thing, but there was a huge line. Apparently it's very tasty. Did bite the bullet and do dinner with the princesses. Food was tasty and we got all princess giddy in spite of ourselves. Mexico - meant to get a margarita last time and didn't get around to it. Haven't eaten at either of the restaurants here. Oh- and at Animal Kingdom, don't miss the Flights of Wonder show. It's really fantastic. But first thing, RUN to Expedition Everest! It is SO cool! Ride fast pass and stand-by to see the different, highly-detailed queues. __________________ traguna macoities tracorum satis de
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06-12-2006, 02:43 PM	#4
Scrooge McSam What? Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,635	Resorts? You didn't mention if you'll have a car. If I'm driving, sometimes I'll stay at one of the All Stars because you can generally park closer to your room. And you can't beat the price. The rooms are smaller, so if the three of you are bunking together it will be tight. Noise has never been a problem for me as I sleep like a log, but this is an issue for some of the lighter sleepers. Plus I love watching all the kiddies in the morning trying to hurry their parental units along to the parks. Of the three All Stars, Sports is my least favorite as far as theming. AS Movies is my fave of the three. If I'm not driving, I'll generally stay elsewhere. (add... You posted while I was composing so... never mind ) At the Grosvenor, go ahead and pop for a Downtown Disney view room as high in the tower as you can get. They had nightly fireworks at DD last I was there. The hotel is nothing special, but the view added to my enjoyment immensely.
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06-12-2006, 03:54 PM	#6
Stan4dSteph Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: East Bay Area, CA Posts: 3,156	I love the cinnamon-roasted almonds they have at some of the ODV carts there. Mmmm.
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06-12-2006, 04:36 PM	#7
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	My favorite swanky restaurant is The California Grill located on the top cloor of the Contemporary. Fantastic food with a sweeping view of the lake and the Magic Kingdon. If you book it right, you can be there to see fireworks as well as the sweet little electrical water parade that takes place on the lake. The meal I had there was superb. Boma is another winner. Don't miss it. Epcot requires 2+ days. It's a fantastic park and World Showcase alone reqires a full day. Of course, there's the lagoon show at night (Illuminations?) that is a must see. After your meal at Boma, be sure to go up to the second floor of the hotel and relax on the outside balcony that overlooks the park. This was one of the loveliest experiences we had at WDW. You can see the animals roaming or, as we did, a lightening storm moving over the sky. The candy store in Japan is wonderful. I loved the boat ride in Norway. I love World Showcase in general. At AK, we got some food at Flame Tree BBQ then walked down to the river to eat. There are gazebos you can sit in and relax. There is one that overlooks the river and, from here, you can feed turtles that swim in the river. It's a nice place to experience the natural wildlife of Florida. Apparently, there are even occasional gators in that there river.
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06-12-2006, 05:07 PM	#8
CoasterMatt BRAAAAAAAINS! Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: One Step Beyond... Posts: 8,802	Use the WDW Railroad at the Magic Kingdom to full advantage - parades effectively split the park in two, and Splash Mountain and Big Thunder are right next to a station. Single rider line is the best way to get on Test Track Animal Kingdom is especially beautiful early in the morning - all of my best photos from there were from before 12 noon. __________________ Do you like my photography? Visit photosbymatt.tumblr.com to purchase prints!
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06-12-2006, 05:18 PM	#9
CoasterMatt BRAAAAAAAINS! Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: One Step Beyond... Posts: 8,802	Islands of Adventure - My favorite non-Disney theme park, in many ways because the theming is so well executed... My usual plan of attack for IoA is to stay on site and enjoy Express pass, but that doesn't seem to be an option for you. Get there early, and head clockwise through the Islands There's tons of detail in just about every Island, especially Toon Lagoon and The Lost Continent; I've never been able to take enough photographs. If you're looking for good food at IoA, you've gotta eat at Mythos - absolutely wonderful - especially the desserts. __________________ Do you like my photography? Visit photosbymatt.tumblr.com to purchase prints!
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06-12-2006, 09:40 PM	#10
cirquelover Cruising around in my automobile... Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,617	Let's see- At the Magic Kingdom check out Mickeys Philharmagic(sp) we really enjoyed it, it's a 4d movie. If Carousel of Progress is open it's a must see. They have a Stitch ride, I haven't been on it though. The Pooh ride there is done much better than ours, we liked the moving hunny pot. Everything is a little different than our rides so personally I think they are all worth checking out! At MGM- Fantasmic is different there also, it has stadium seating and is a different show than DL but we personally enjoyed it. It was nice to have a seat, we like to sit up close but you may get wet if you do! They have an Indianna Jones show instead of a ride. I've heard good things about the car stunt show there, it wasn't open yet when we were there. The Little Mermaid show was well done but it can be a wait if you don't time it right. I've never done Rock n Roller Coaster but it sounds interesting I know there is a website with menus for all the restaurants, maybe someone else knows it otherwise I can try to find it for you. Boma is wonderful or if you want a more upscale experience at AKL they have Jiko, some wonderful African wines. I second NA's suggestion of deinitely go check out the savannahs while you are at AKL. Of course at DTD I'm going to suggest the Cirque du Soleil show La Nouba, it is a wonderful show and a great way to spend an evening! I need to put the kid to bed but if I think of anything else I'll post again. Have a great trip!!
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