First trip to Disney World

[trentsketch]

I like the design of Animal Kingdom. It's beautiful. I just can't see a full day there at all. Then again, I was much bigger on Animal Kingdom before they decided to dumb down all the conservation messaging to make it easier to swallow. I saw the original safari ride with both of the animatronic elephants and wish they didn't tone it down. The big raft ride that's supposed to be about deforestation now has a trashed forest on top with very little messaging to suggest why you're looking at a logging camp. The Yeti coaster rarely works right. I do enjoy the Dinosaur dark ride and the cat and mouse coaster in that part of the park.

You guys are right about Disney's Hollywood Studios. There's not a lot left there. The rides are good but there aren't many.

[EricMontreal22]

Very jealous! Enjoy your trip. Is this your first time at any Disney parks?

Trent said "It might sound silly, but I cannot recommend the Winnie the Pooh ride enough in Magic Kingdom. There really is nothing else like it. The mechanics of the cart and the layout of the track are worth the wait. "

I admit, I'm a sucker for the Fantasyland dark rides--no matter how old school they are (still mad about them getting rid of Snow White, and don't have high expectations for the mine coaster replacing it...) However, I've only been on the Pooh ride in California but have heard it's the same as in California and I thought it was only decent--I'm curious what you like about the track system? Many fans were mad because the Tokyo version got a MUCH more expensive version that was trackless with the vehicles actually bouncing through the exhibits, but at the time the American parks were under management that was cutting a lot of corners (they have improved since under Lasseter) and so they got basic vehicles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pooh%27s_Hunny_Hunt

[Hello doll!]

I go to Disney each year from the UK. I would certainly recommend that you buy the 'hopper' type ticket before you go. This is not available in the states. I think with it being ur first time I would go to all Disney parks, a must. Aspects of 'Magic Kingdom' do tend to focus more on the younger visitor, however we are all young at heart.

Try to look up and book online places that you fancy going for dinner. In the states they do appear to prefer to go early and it can get very very busy. You will walk walk and more walk, so think of ur footwear. It is a great idea to try and get to the parks when they open first thing, they are so so so much quieter. U can do the whole park by midday if you are lucky.

To say time queuing opt for the 'single rider' option, as you may get 2 or 3 rides for the time it takes you to wait in the standard line. I disagree with others, I luv 'fantastic' the night show at the movie park. You are on this forum, so u must love a good musical - 'finding nemo' at Animal Kingdom is worth the visit there alone.

I know lots of people are against Seaworld, however I do luv it. The shows with those sea creatures could bring a tear to a glass eye. Enjoy ur holiday ad roll on September for my return to the good US of A x

[GuyfromGermany]

Thanks everyone for all the input!

I've been to Disneyland Paris but it will be my first time at the World!

[harris007]

" For a bar there is Parliament House"

yeah ,but it's a 20-30 min from disney depending on I-4 TRAFFIC .

[DAME]

It would usually only takes us about 20 minutes.

[DAME]

I think this book will help you a lot.
http://www.amazon.com/Queens-Kingdom-Ultimate-Lesbian-Disney/dp/B001G8WE9U

[ArtMan]

Sometimes, even less. Just make sure you are going in the right direction on I4. Sunday is thee best day/night to go to P House, especially in May. Bob Carr and Amway Center is close to P house in the event there is a concert or Broadway show.

[pli1018]

The California Pooh ride is a super-lame attempt at a traditional dark ride. It's just sort of shoehorned in the old Country Bear theaters and feels short and cheap. Magic Kingdom's is lovely, and the new exterior queue is quite fun. Tokyo's is on a whole different level, that ride is one of the most incredible things you will ever ride. The bouncing sequence alone is insane. I think I rode it 7 times in 4 days. THAT is a new-age dark ride, it's insane that there hasn't been development into bringing a ride with that technology to either of the stateside parks. (Tokyo has TWO trackless rides, Hong Kong has one, Paris is getting one this summer when Ratatouille opens).

Anyway, back to Orlando recommendations, I would say the Napoleon cake at the Boulangerie in EPCOT's France pavilion is the best food item for sale in the state of Florida. It's incredible. Also, when you go to Islands of Adventure, buy your butterbeer from the Hog's Head pub. The lines are always short, it's indoors and air-conditioned and if you tip the bartender, some "magic" happens. Have fun!

[Eris0303]

I would certainly recommend that you buy the 'hopper' type ticket before you go. This is not available in the states.

Hoppers are available. When I worked at Disney Store we sold them.

[StageManager2]

Wow, GuyfromGermany -- talk about a blast from the past!

Sorry to threadjack, but are you still in touch with our other, former, German residents YessicaB and Franklin_Shepard?

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Definitely eat at the Sunshine Seasons (or something like that) for lunch at Epcot. They have delicious food. It is in the same building as The Land and Soarin'. I wouldn't miss the Magic Kingdom Electric Parade, that is pretty spectacular. I went with my family in January and we decided to do Animal Kingdom as a half-day and return to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day. I think a half day is plenty at AK. I recommend seeing Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios, I loved that one. The Be our Guest restaurant has good food and is beautiful. I can't speak for lunch, but I ate dinner there and loved the food and the design, it looks just like the castle from the movie. Request to sit in the West Wing, it is really cool there. (That's where I sat). If you get to the Swiss Family Robinson in the morning, look for white paintbrushes hidden around the attraction. There are free fastpasses taped on the back of these. Not sure if you'll be into this one, but if you get to MK right at opening, you can go directly to where Tinker Bell dwells and have the opportunity to "wake her up" and you will receive a certificate saying you did so. Don't miss the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor in MK, it's actually really entertaining.

Hope this helps!

[EricMontreal22]

Pli, thanks for that--I didn't realize the DL Pooh was so much worse than WDW's (which I haven't been on.) Hong Kong's new Mystic Manor or whatever looks awesome (too bad the park seems pretty underwhelming as a whole, especially with Shanghai coming in and Tokyo close by...)

[Eris0303]

Disney Lanyards

[GuyfromGermany]

Do you guys think one day for each Universal park is enough?

[Brian07663NJ]

Really stand by my recommendation and that of another post saying to get the Unlimited Express Pass. You will only need 1 day for both parks if you pay the extra for this type of ticket and you will wait 15 minutes or less per ride OR you will need 2 days (one for each park) if you pay general admission and then be prepared to wait 45-60 minutes per ride.

I've been on the Pooh ride in Disneyland and WDW. I didn't think it was OMG amazing. It did bounce. I miss Mr Toad's Wild Ride more than I like the Pooh ride. Going to see if anyone has posted the Tokyo version on YouTube.

Very cool to hear the fun paintbrush at Swiss Family and the Tinkerbell wake-up moment.

[pli1018]

The only time I've ever used Universal Express was when I visited during a holiday week. It's a pretty pricey add-on. I would only purchase it if you walk into the park and see that the times boards all have very long waits. Without it, I've had no issues navigating both parks in two days. Universal Studios Florida isn't quite there yet as a theme park and will take you less than a day (you'll just miss the new Diagon Alley expansion) while Islands of Adventure handles crowds really well.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey will likely have the longest wait time in Islands of Adventure, but it is a continuously-loading ride that moves really fast. Going through the queue is also half of the ride experience. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, you can't use Universal Express on Potter.

[SonofRobbieJ]

My guess is that if you go on a weekday during that time of the year, the wait times at Universal won't be that terrible. There will ALWAYS be a wait for the Harry Potter ride. A lot of people love the theme-ing of the queue. I don't know cause every time I've ridden it I've done the single rider line and avoided the long waits. Also, whatever Dueling Dragons is called now (it's the dueling coaster ride that has been Potter-ed), wait for the front row at least once. It's worth it.

Since it's your first time doing Universal, I would recommend doing one park each day, even if you did pay for any kind of express pass. Why run around? Stroll. Enjoy. Also, if you are one to ride a water ride, I would recommend wearing the proper clothing, cause you get WET on those rides at Islands of Adventure. If I were to go again, I would wear work-out clothes made of wicking fabric. And a comfortable flip flop. Even if you don't want to walk around in flip flops, bring them in your bag and just slip them on for the water rides. Wet sneakers make me crazy. Avail yourself of the lockers around the park to put your things in when you ride rides. It's just easier.

[FindingNamo]

We stayed at the Royal Pacific hotel at Universal, which is the cheapest of the three hotels there. Your room key lets you skip the lines on everything except the Harry Potter ride. (They are adding a budget hotel, but they won't be offering the line skipping perk.) Two of us were splitting the room cost, so it was fairly reasonable. We stayed two night and the had a three day admission and the passed worked on all three days.

That was more than enough time to see everything. The lines we skipped weren't even particularly long but we were there during non-school vacation time. What I loved about the parks was they are sort of like the anti-Disney. Or maybe like Disney's snotty younger brother. There was a level of wise-assery I really appreciated.

I so want to go back when the new Potter land opens.

[Eris0303]

I think the real question here is "are we all invited"?

[SonofRobbieJ]

I, too, stayed at the Royal Pacific (and the Hard Rock once). It was a great way to bypass the major lines. Plus, I was really cracked out, so it was nice to just tumble back to the room.

Have I said too much? There's nothing more I can think of to say to you.

[FindingNamo]

I couldn't handle the motion sickness of "The Simpsons" in what passes for my normal state. Enhancements might have killed me.

[SonofRobbieJ]

I can confirm your suspicions. I nearly crawled off that ride.

[trentsketch]

EricMontreal, I know Florida got the watered down version, but it still was something brand new for dark rides in America. The bouncing and tilting mechanics on the cart are timed really well and I love the Heffalumps and Woozles room with all the curves, doublebacks, and mirrors.

I also miss Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. They had the room to just construct a new building for the Winnie the Pooh ride and didn't. I'm also going to miss the Snow White dark ride. The detail work on the props in that ride was insane.

Coincidentally, I'm also heading back in May for four days. My group might make a day trip to Islands of Adventure, but I'm more than happy to go take eighty gazillion reference photos of the set dressing and line queues and never leave the Disney parks.

[EricMontreal22]

Brian, thank God DL kept Mr Toad (and their version is better, IMHO since they redid all their Fantasyland dark rides in the 1983 Tony Baxter led Fantasyland renovation, whereas the WDW versions are from the early 70s--although before it was stupidly torn down two years back, Snow White was already changed at WDW about ten years back to try to make it a bit less scary... sheesh, I thought that was the point :P )

Here's the ride video of Pooh in Tokyo Disneyland (that sounds attractive.) Hard to tell of course from these videos, but you can see the trackless system they use http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU88Bw_ivT8 They also use more sophisticated fully animatronic figures much more than DL (not sure about WDW.) And for another trackless ride, here's Hong Kong Disney's Mystic Manor which is kinda their version of the Haunted Mansion (except completely different.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwM2d4Wug4A

[FindingNamo]

That daddy in the honey pot. Oh my.