Disney world Advice

[creditcardfree]

As far as parks go, we love Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. We finally went to Animal Kingdom last time, but only wanted to stay half the day since it was HOT. We liked AK, but not as much as the other parks.

I'm very excited that you get to go! I love Disney World.

[disneysteve]

As far as parks go, we love Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. We finally went to Animal Kingdom last time, but only wanted to stay half the day since it was HOT. We liked AK, but not as much as the other parks.

We had the privilege of visiting AK in 1998 before it opened to the public. We also got to attend the grand opening celebration. We absolutely loved the place. It was so different than anything Disney had done before. Unfortunately, that turned out to be exactly the problem. The general public didn't want "different" but rather wanted more of the same.

At MK, EC and HS, the paths and walkways are just a route to get from one attraction to the next. At AK, the paths and walkways ARE the attractions. People didn't know what to do with AK. They didn't know how to properly experience the park and enjoy all it had to offer. All they said was, "there aren't enough rides." My wife and I, on an initial visit, spent nearly an hour exploring The Oasis, the area between the front gate and the shops at the hub. Most guests spend under 3 minutes in that area, racing through it to get into the park and on to the "real" attractions like the safari and other rides. Disney actually had to remove the sloth from The Oasis because people complained that it didn't do anything and was boring to see.

Little by little, Disney has caved to public pressure and made AK more like the other parks, adding shows and thrill rides. In fact, since the opening of Expedition Everest, AK has become the most visited park. I'll admit, EE is an incredible ride. I love it and ride it every chance I get. And the Finding Nemo stage show is one of the best Disney has ever done - well worth the price of park admission all by itself. But overall, the tone of the park has changed a lot since 1998 in order to appeal to the masses.

[creditcardfree]

I'm fortunate to live near a very nice zoo with a jungle area that has similar things as the oasis, so we did skip that area. I definitely didn't like the paths, either. We loved the things we did do, including Everest. I probably need another chance to go explore!

[disneysteve]

I'm fortunate to live near a very nice zoo with a jungle area that has similar things as the oasis, so we did skip that area. I definitely didn't like the paths, either. We loved the things we did do, including Everest. I probably need another chance to go explore!

Far too many people get to Disney World in commando mode: see and conquer. Do as many things as possible in as little time as possible. Guidebook in hand, they race through the parks checking off attractions as they go. With sun-burned, hungry, cranky and sleeping children in tow, they plow through the parks determined to hit every attraction they can.

To fully enjoy and appreciate Animal Kingdom, you need to really dial down the internal engine. Slow down. Stroll. Stop and look around. Oh look, there's an okapi behind those trees - almost missed it. Cool. Looks like a cross between a horse, a zebra and a giraffe.

Check out the carvings on that roof. Those are really neat.

Look at this lightpost. Hey, have you seen the lizard carvings inside the Pizzafari restaurant. Don't miss it, even if you aren't going to eat there. Go in and look around. And try to ride the safari a couple of times at different points in the day. Every ride is different. Some animals come out more in the morning, some more in the afternoon. The weather can affect what you see when also.

As you walk along the path to It's Tough to be a Bug, take your time. Many of the carvings on the Tree of Life, especially on the roots, can only be viewed from that queue area. Don't be afraid to let others who are in a hurry go past you as you take in the sights, take pictures and marvel at the carvings.

When you are in the Maharajah Jungle Trek and enter the aviary, be sure to pick up bird identification guides and spend time trying to find as many of the birds as you can.

Just one more example of something changed due to public demand: Pangani Forest Exploration Trail was originally called Gorilla Exploration Trail but people complained that they didn't always get to see a gorilla. They didn't get that it wasn't Country Bear Jamboree where the animals are bolted to the stage and perform on command.

[creditcardfree]

[QUOTE=disneysteve;250399Look at this lightpost. Hey, have you seen the lizard carvings inside the Pizzafari restaurant. Don't miss it, even if you aren't going to eat there. Go in and look around.

As you walk along the path to It's Tough to be a Bug, take your time. Many of the carvings on the Tree of Life, especially on the roots, can only be viewed from that queue area.[/QUOTE]

We saw all of those! Pretty cool. Disney does everything on a grand scale with great detail. We never went wanting to "do everything", because the truth is it just is not possible. Pick what you really are interested in and enjoy it!

[disneysteve]

We saw all of those! Pretty cool. Disney does everything on a grand scale with great detail.

Absolutely, but lots of people don't take the time to appreciate it or learn the story behind the decor. For example, in MK, things were pretty much all done by in-house artists. Nothing special. But at AK, Disney brought in artisans from all over Africa and Asia to design and build and decorate and carve the things in the park. The thatched roofs are real, done with traditional African materials. The carvings are genuine, not machine-made. Stepping into AK is like entering a giant open-air art museum.

[terces]

All of this information is awesome. I'm very excited to do this trip with my boys. Now that they are older I think they will appreciate it even more.

[disneysteve]

terces, head over to Disney World - The Largest Unofficial On-Line Guide to Walt Disney World. Along with being the home of the DIS boards discussion forum I mentioned earlier, it is also a wealth of information about every aspect of planning your WDW vacation. There you can get maps, park hours and schedules, pricing info, restaurant menus and reviews and more. And the discussion forums are invaluable, filled with people passionate about WDW (like me) who are eager to help and answer any questions you may have.

[graceful]

OP, you are getting great advice!!

I'm really excited for you. LOVE, LOVE Disney World. In fact, I'm going down in about 10 days.

I agree with DS and the others that your best option would be off-site with lots of room to spread out especially with 2 boys. Buying your own food would save tons if your boys eat a lot. Food is expensive in the parks.

Also, people tend to go commando-style during their first few trips just because there is just so much to do and see and tickets are so expensive. You won't realize how much you needed a break from the parks until you get back to your relaxing condo/house off-site.

When you stay LATE at the parks to maximize your day, it is NOT fun to wait on long lines for the resort bus along with what seems like half the population of the park.

Whenever, we stay off-site, we usually try to stay at one of the Marriott time shares. My parents have a Mexican timeshare and they deposit 2 weeks into Interval International to exchange to other timeshares every year. They have enough weeks that I can use it whenever I want for the cost of the exchange fee of about $160 (?) for the entire week.

If we didn't have this cheap option or our own timeshare at WDW, I would seriously think about renting one of those many houses available around Disney with a private pool.

Because I love WDW so much and I (use to) go so much (1-2 times a year), DH purchased the Disney Vacation Club for me when I was expecting our second child. She is turning 9 this year. My 11 yo DD has probably been to WDW 17 times?

It is NOT the cheapest way to go to Disney. But it works for our family. Once our youngest DD was out of diapers, DH would take us to the airport and send us off to WDW on our own. DH likes Disney and joins us about once every 3rd trip, whereas I love it.

Staying on-site is the only way I would have been able to travel on my own with 2 children while DH stayed home and worked to pay for it all. We tag our luggage with the tags the Disney Resort provides and check them in at the airport. The next time we see our luggage is our room. Once the plane arrives at MCO, we make a restroom break and then head to the "free" Magical Express buses that take us directly to the Disney resort - no need to pick up our own luggage or rent a car.

When it is time to go home, we take our luggage down to the lobby of the resort and check-in our luggage for our flight and get our boarding passes. When it is time for our flight, we take the ME bus back to the airport.

We never leave the Disney complex during the trip. I actually love the surrounding Orlando, Lake Buena Vista area and miss having a car, but traveling alone with 2 small children, it is much easier and safer staying on-site the whole time. It gives DH some peace of mind too.

This trip during the kids' Spring Break will be the "last" trip for a long while since we bought a new house. But DH encouraged the 3 of us to go. We had pre-paid lodging (DVC) and Annual Passes that didn't expire yet. So, OOP, we have to pay for airfare ($600) and food & tips ($400). We are getting groceries delivered (no car) and only plan to eat out once or twice. So, about $1000 cash for 3 people (1 adult, 2 kids) for 6 nights, not counting our maintenance fees for the timeshare.

We don't buy the over-priced souvenirs. And this trip for once, all 3 of us are going to bring a small carry-on instead of checking in our luggage. We will have a washer/dryer so we won't have to over-pack.

My FAVORITE show at Disney is the Festival of the Lion King at DAK. My favorite park is Epcot. My favorite spot to eat a packed lunch and people watch is sitting on the low stone/brick wall opposite the Columbia Harbor House (outside Haunted Mansion). My youngest DD took many a nap in her stroller while we eat lunch and people watched and chatted with others sitting on that wall.

Have a GREAT trip!! Half the fun is planning!

[disneysteve]

graceful reminded me of something I meant to mention. One additional pro of staying onsite, and this one really is a pro, is that individual members of your group can come and go on their own. You have an 18-year-old who might not want to spend every moment of the day with mom and dad. If you are onsite, he can sleep in or stay out later or go back and swim mid-day while the rest of you are in the park. Offsite, he wouldn't have any way to get around.

When I was in high school, I used to go to WDW with my best friend and his parents. We camped in Fort Wilderness, parents in a motor home and he and I in a tent. We usually all had breakfast together and sometimes dinner and the rest of the time, he and I were off on our own. We couldn't have done that had we been offsite as we would have had no way to get around.

[terces]

Yay dh's vacation was approved. We seem to be leaning toward the VRBO.

DS would love to have your recommendations. I'm kind of thinking a condo with maybe a pool onsite.

[disneysteve]

Yay dh's vacation was approved. We seem to be leaning toward the VRBO.

DS would love to have your recommendations. I'm kind of thinking a condo with maybe a pool onsite.

Check out Windsor Palms. They have 2 and 3 bedroom condos and there is a nice community pool. Another option is their 3-bedroom town homes. Some of them have what they call a splash pool. It is a private pool but only about 10 feet square, so good for cooling off and relaxing but too small to actually swim laps.

Also, check out Windsor Hills. I believe that is the same company and is nearby with similar accommodations.

We've stayed at Windsor Palms a few times. Windsor Hills is a few years newer as Palms was built first.

In addition to VRBO.com, each of those complexes have their own websites.
Windsor Palms Resort the official web site for private owners at Windsor Palms Florida
Windsor Hills Resort ★ Orlando florida vacation Homes rentals holiday villas townhomes condos

[terces]

Got our reservations for Windsor Palms (yes I procrastinated) Got an awesome rate for the 6 days. Some friends of ours are planning a trip but they are staying onsite. Yeah I see the benefit of being onsite.....but I love the idea that we are paying a 1/3 of what they are!

[graceful]

GREAT news!!! And a GREAT decision on off-site. It's probably what I would have chosen if I were in your shoes.

Have fun planning and good luck keeping it under $2000. I think you will definitely be able to do that and more since your tickets will be so affordable and you already got good rates for lodging.

[disneysteve]

Got our reservations for Windsor Palms (yes I procrastinated) Got an awesome rate for the 6 days. Some friends of ours are planning a trip but they are staying onsite. Yeah I see the benefit of being onsite.....but I love the idea that we are paying a 1/3 of what they are!

That's great. You will have a great time at Windsor Palms. We've stayed there 2 or 3 times.

I have to stop procrastinating myself and book our trip for August.