Florida/Disney Vacation Itinerary

[Donnelly]

Planning on going to Florida/Disney in May. Anybody have any suggestions of "must see/do" things that we should not miss? The 10 year old daughter and I do not like thrill rides but the wife does. I'll go on rides but those roller-coasters that go 1000 feet in the air are OUT. Speed = OK. Heights = not OK. We are planning on hitting the Holy Land Experience on one day of the vacation.

 

[Donnelly]

11 hours, 46 views, and no one has an opinion on what to hit at DisneyWorld?

 

[Jeepster48439]

Go to one of the Character meals. Great way to meet and be photographed with the Disney characters. They walk around the dining room while you eat.

 

[CHCRandy]

Check this link.......they gave me all kinds of advice and information. May be why you are not getting many responses....I wore them out.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break-room/370204-disney-questions.html

 

[Fishersjohn48]

Here's my number 1 super secret tip. When you enter any park, turn left and circle the park clockwise. More people tend to go to their right so you avoid a little bit of crowds.

 

[KittySlayer]

11 hours, 46 views, and no one has an opinion on what to hit at DisneyWorld?

Posted in other recent Disney thread. I am not a big coaster fan but do not mind the Disney coasters. They are "smooth" and you don't feel beat up when done. May want to skip the Tower of Terror but otherwise the coaster rides are on the tamer side.

 

[hornadylnl]

Posted in other recent Disney thread. I am not a big coaster fan but do not mind the Disney coasters. They are "smooth" and you don't feel beat up when done. May want to skip the Tower of Terror but otherwise the coaster rides are on the tamer side.

This. Almost any coaster Disney has would be considered lame at any other amusement park if they were just stand alone coasters. It's all the decorations and themes that make the Disney coasters so awesome.

I'd budget at least 1 day per park. A 10 year old is probably beyond wanting character autographs but if she does, definitely do a character meal. I about flipped when I found out my wife booked breakfast in the castle at over $30 per person but it was totally worth being able to see so many characters in the span of an hour and not having to wait hours in individual lines to get their autographs.

 

[bradmedic04]

Go to one of the Character meals. Great way to meet and be photographed with the Disney characters. They walk around the dining room while you eat.

The Grand Floridian has a very reasonable character dinner. My girls got a kick out of it.

 

[shooter521]

Start booking/planning/making reservations NOW. We started planning in February for our October trip a few years back. Seemed crazy at the time, but ended up being a huge advantage.

• Character breakfasts - as noted above, great for autographs and photos without waiting in long lines (in October they weren't horrible, in May they'll be worse).

• If you're staying at a Disney resort, definitely do the meal plan.

• Fast Pass for rides.

• Budget at least 1 day per park, probably 2 for Magic Kingdom if you want to do/see everything.

Have fun!

 

[Classic]

There are lots of websites and books to help you plan your Disney World stay (here is a decent one: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/planning-guides/in-depth-advice/first-trip/).

There is so much to so and see that it gets down to individual tastes, even the big Disney Market Place (almost 100% shopping) and Downtown Disney (mostly drinking and loud music) are worth visiting. Get a map, figure one park per day, take naps, eat often and soak in as much as you can in the time you have there. Personally, I marvel at their processes for managing everything, creating a clean, safe and fun experience for everyone and making gobs of money.

I have been 7 times since it opened in 1972, the Magic Kingdom, Contemporary hotel and a big parking lots was all that was there on the first trip. I have stayed at hotels "off-park" a couple of times, tried the lower priced hotels on the park and a couple of times at the higher end resorts. I had a great time, EVERY time, regardless of the age of the kids because there is so much variety at WDW.

Some folks complain about the expense, and it does cost a lot to go there but there are ways to reduce expenses. Factor this in to your planning. If you are going to go to the parks every day *****in an moanin about the money it won't be much fun. Once, when my wife and I were on our Honeymoon we spent a week there and being newlyweds we were buying souvenirs for everyone we could think of. the bill came to several hundred dollars and I was handed one of those cute mickey pens to sign with. I jokingly asked the clerk if the pen was free for such a large purchase. The little grey haired lady looked over the top of her glasses at me and said "You don't know Mickey the way I know Mickey, or you wouldn't even ask". Mickey likes to have fun but he also loves to make money.

The Kali River Rapids ride is my favorite "new" ride (you will get wet for sure so dress for it) but I wouldn't want miss the Pirates of the Caribbean or Star Tour experiences while I was there. The live steam engines (restored originals, BTW) are worth seeing and riding are is the Monorails. The Tower of terror, Space Mountain and Expedition Everest are must do's for the thrill riders.

One of my most memorable park experiences was getting to ride in the front of a Monorail (not allowed any more due to liability) one day and taking pictures as we passed oncoming trains, viewed the MK Castle from a distance and rode through the Contemporary hotel. As far as hotels are concerned they have all been nice, but one year we really splurged and stayed in the Contemporary, Club Level (top floor, 4 x per day free snacks, drinks and alcohol) and we had a meal plan on top of it. I have never been so stuffed before or since.

I think the reason you aren't getting a lot of replies is because there is just too much to write about in a forum post and the experiences are very individual. The other thing is the more I think about it, the more I want to be planning my own next trip down there, thanks for getting me started on that!

 

[longbow]

Ask for the Disney underground tour. It is much better than anything else at the park. I think they do it at least weekly.

 

[wtfd661]

Here is a great book we use when planning for a Disney trip, contains a lot of great information

http://www.amazon.com/Birnbaums-2015-Walt-Disney-World/dp/1423194101

I would highly suggest staying on Disney property, while its expensive it really makes it a total Disney experience. Last time we went we got a great deal on a condo off property by using VBRO VRBO - The Most Popular Vacation Rental Site in the US but it really felt like we were leaving vacation every day.

As far as thrill rides go, Disney really doesn't have any of the extreme thrill rides, they have a copule of neat roller coasters (Areosmith Rocking Roller coaster, Space Mountain), they have a really neat drop ride (Twilight Zone Tower of Terror) but for the most part their thrill rides while a lot of fun most of the family can enjoy.

EPCOT has a really cool ride called Sorain that is a very neat experience, its like taking a hang glider across California, they way the ride is built it feels like your flying through orange groves, across the ocean, etc they even include the smells to make it realistic.

Best advice I can give you is use the Disney Fastpass+ for the popular rides, it will cut down your wait times dramatically
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/p...dc|disney fastpass|68978712688|b|15402cl14044
My favorite place to stay on property is at the cabins in Fort Wilderness, I could spend a very enjoyable two week vacation there never leaving the camp gound and have a great time.

Research is your friend when planning a Disney trip, enjoy!!! and I am very jealous

 

[Thegeek]

Don't skip Disney Animal Kingdom. It's very cool. Also, invest in the magic bands. Very convienient!

 

[littletommy]

As I posted in the other thread, stay on property and get the dining plan. Check with AAA or other travel agencies to see when Disney is offering special deals, they offer free dining for the slower times of the year. I know of other families who have gone recently and didn't stay on property/didn't have the dining plan because it was too "expensive", and to a letter, each group spent more than we did on our recent trip. Stay in a value resort, Disneys cheapest option, the value resorts are as nice or nicer than anything in the surrounding area of comparable cost.

The only ride at Disney that I consider rough, is Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, that thing beat the crap outta me last time. Thing about Disney is, if you don't like the ride you're standing in front of, walk another 50 yards and there's another. Also take in as many shows as you can, every show I've seen there has been amazing.

 

[TiMMaY]

i have not been to Disney since the IRL held the inaugural Disney 200 there in January 1996.

 

[badapples]

Just went over fall break and learned a lot from this website. Lots of good info.

WDW Prep School ? you?ll learn things you never knew you never knew

 

[Classic]

And don't forget the Mad Tea Party ride in MK. If you look it up on line some of the Teacups (purple) go a good bit faster than others. Have fun!