Totally worth the effort. I'd also highly recommend the Nomad Lounge and Tiffin's at AK, but kids may be a little bored. Best food and drinks in the parks.MarathonAg12 said:G Martin 87 said:If you'll be spending time in Star Wars, do not miss Oga's Cantina. You'll need a reservation to get a table, but it's worth waiting to get in anyway. Outside of the Nomad Lounge at AK, Oga's has the best cocktails (and mocktails for the kids; the Hyperdrive and Jabba Juice are safe) of any of the parks. Can't beat the atmosphere either. The Fuzzy Tauntaun is famous for the numbing foam on top.MarathonAg12 said:
Thanks for all the info so far.
Just ordered the OG magic bands. $10 each
Arrive Thursday morning at 11:30. Need to book MEARS to get to resort. Reserved Animal Kingdom for the afternoon.
Friday we are going to Hollywood Studios and Reserved a droid build for two. Dinner at Epcot at the Coral Reef.
Saturday, No Park. Friends are getting married at Grand Floridian Wedding Pavilion. All sorts of receptions and cocktail hours
Sunday, All day at Magic Kingdom and probably relax at the resort later.
Monday, late flight so going to hit up one more park for a few hours before we split.
It sounds like Genie Plus is a must at this point!
Big time Star Wars nerd. Did sabers last time.
Unfortunately, they are booked at Ogas but I keep checking for more availability
Disney World Tips October 2022
2,659 Views |
45 Replies |
Last: 3 yr ago by G Martin 87
I'm late to the thread, but we've been to Disney World 6 times since 2017 and once to Disneyland in there, so I'm going to throw in a few things that I haven't seen posted by anyone else that are a bit off the beaten path.
1) Make sure the hotel staff knows it's your kids first trip. They'll get a button saying so at check-in and the odds of some "Disney Magic" happening increase significantly. My girls have had Tiana "visit" their room at Port Orleans while we were away and leave them some dolls and goodies and had the same thing happen at the Disneyland Hotel with a stuffed Olaf, candy, and a Frozen book.
2) When you need to take a break without taking a break, go watch the Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland. Dark theater, show is probably 20 minutes long, I have taken several high quality naps in there.
3) As of April 2022, watching the fireworks at night is godawful. They line everyone up in rows in front of the castle and if you have kids, you have to either pick them up, or they miss half the show cuz they can't see. You feel like you're a stormtrooper watching General Hux declare the activation of Starkiller Base. If you want a really cool experience that we found out by accident, go ride the PeopleMover during the fireworks. You get all these great views of the castle and you are outside for probably 80% of the ride, you'll see a good portion of the show while sitting down and not being crushed in a mosh pit.
4) Get on a Facebook group and talk to other people who are going to be there at the same time and you can add all of your names to the PhotoPass thing, split the cost, and get all those great photos they take of you when you are on rides and so forth. It's just like splicing the wire to have everyone share the cable bill at the dorms back in the day.
5) Don't buy any souveneirs until you are walking out of the park. Don't be the idiot stuck holding a balloon for 6 hours because your kid wanted it at 10 a.m.
6) Find a place to sit on the curb and watch the big parade at Magic Kingdom. Your kids are at the age where having Goofy wave at them and Cinderella blow them a kiss is going to be the whole world to them. Ditto with meeting the princesses. I'd stand in line for a whole day to be able to re-witness my kids' reaction at 5 years old to seeing Ana and Elsa.
7) Don't go on the ride in the Mexico temple at Epcot unless you need to take a nap. It's outdated and not working properly. We got off of it when my daughters were 6 and one of them said, "Um, what was the point of that?"
8) If you go on the Tomorrowland Speedway, get ready to ingest as many carcogenics as if you had just chain smoked for 9 years.
9) When you get on the shuttle of Rise of the Resistance, go straight to the back window and claim that space. It's an incredible view of what's going on "outside" and you get the first look at the Star Destroyer that pulls you into the bay.
10) Sit in the right-hand pilot seat on Smuggler's Run, because that person gets to pull the lever to send the Falcon into hyperspace, and that is the thing you've been waiting for your whole life.
11) Soarin' always has one of the longest lines at Epcot, so here's what you do. Book a breakfast at the Garden Grill (cool rotating restaurant) before the park opens. You go stuff your face with food and then you walk down and you're the first people in line for Soarin' because the park hasn't opened yet.
12) Get or find an app of the Hidden Mickeys that exist all around the parks. Your kids will LOVE finding them.
1) Make sure the hotel staff knows it's your kids first trip. They'll get a button saying so at check-in and the odds of some "Disney Magic" happening increase significantly. My girls have had Tiana "visit" their room at Port Orleans while we were away and leave them some dolls and goodies and had the same thing happen at the Disneyland Hotel with a stuffed Olaf, candy, and a Frozen book.
2) When you need to take a break without taking a break, go watch the Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland. Dark theater, show is probably 20 minutes long, I have taken several high quality naps in there.
3) As of April 2022, watching the fireworks at night is godawful. They line everyone up in rows in front of the castle and if you have kids, you have to either pick them up, or they miss half the show cuz they can't see. You feel like you're a stormtrooper watching General Hux declare the activation of Starkiller Base. If you want a really cool experience that we found out by accident, go ride the PeopleMover during the fireworks. You get all these great views of the castle and you are outside for probably 80% of the ride, you'll see a good portion of the show while sitting down and not being crushed in a mosh pit.
4) Get on a Facebook group and talk to other people who are going to be there at the same time and you can add all of your names to the PhotoPass thing, split the cost, and get all those great photos they take of you when you are on rides and so forth. It's just like splicing the wire to have everyone share the cable bill at the dorms back in the day.
5) Don't buy any souveneirs until you are walking out of the park. Don't be the idiot stuck holding a balloon for 6 hours because your kid wanted it at 10 a.m.
6) Find a place to sit on the curb and watch the big parade at Magic Kingdom. Your kids are at the age where having Goofy wave at them and Cinderella blow them a kiss is going to be the whole world to them. Ditto with meeting the princesses. I'd stand in line for a whole day to be able to re-witness my kids' reaction at 5 years old to seeing Ana and Elsa.
7) Don't go on the ride in the Mexico temple at Epcot unless you need to take a nap. It's outdated and not working properly. We got off of it when my daughters were 6 and one of them said, "Um, what was the point of that?"
8) If you go on the Tomorrowland Speedway, get ready to ingest as many carcogenics as if you had just chain smoked for 9 years.
9) When you get on the shuttle of Rise of the Resistance, go straight to the back window and claim that space. It's an incredible view of what's going on "outside" and you get the first look at the Star Destroyer that pulls you into the bay.
10) Sit in the right-hand pilot seat on Smuggler's Run, because that person gets to pull the lever to send the Falcon into hyperspace, and that is the thing you've been waiting for your whole life.
11) Soarin' always has one of the longest lines at Epcot, so here's what you do. Book a breakfast at the Garden Grill (cool rotating restaurant) before the park opens. You go stuff your face with food and then you walk down and you're the first people in line for Soarin' because the park hasn't opened yet.
12) Get or find an app of the Hidden Mickeys that exist all around the parks. Your kids will LOVE finding them.
Yep, these are all great. Photopass is money well spent. But I love the Three Caballeros ride at Mexico. The line is usually pretty short, the AC is strong, and it's especially fun after a few margs from La Cava del Tequila.
All solid recs.
Quote:
2) When you need to take a break without taking a break, go watch the Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland. Dark theater, show is probably 20 minutes long, I have taken several high quality naps in there. emoji for the bolded, but it's actually a good ride the first time you do it (I went to Disney several times since 1976, but only rode this for the first time a couple of trips ago).
Another tip - don't ride the extreme version of Mission:Space unless you want to feel like **** for the rest of the day. It resulted in motion sickness like nothing I've ever experienced. And the "easy" version is kind of lame.
Rent a double stroller from one of the outside vendors that will deliver it to your hotel. The parks are huge and giving the kids some rest time will keep them from getting as tired and cranky. Plus you can store snacks, jackets, whatever in the stroller too
helloimustbegoing said:
I'm late to the thread, but we've been to Disney World 6 times since 2017 and once to Disneyland in there, so I'm going to throw in a few things that I haven't seen posted by anyone else that are a bit off the beaten path.
1) Make sure the hotel staff knows it's your kids first trip. They'll get a button saying so at check-in and the odds of some "Disney Magic" happening increase significantly. My girls have had Tiana "visit" their room at Port Orleans while we were away and leave them some dolls and goodies and had the same thing happen at the Disneyland Hotel with a stuffed Olaf, candy, and a Frozen book.
2) When you need to take a break without taking a break, go watch the Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland. Dark theater, show is probably 20 minutes long, I have taken several high quality naps in there.
3) As of April 2022, watching the fireworks at night is godawful. They line everyone up in rows in front of the castle and if you have kids, you have to either pick them up, or they miss half the show cuz they can't see. You feel like you're a stormtrooper watching General Hux declare the activation of Starkiller Base. If you want a really cool experience that we found out by accident, go ride the PeopleMover during the fireworks. You get all these great views of the castle and you are outside for probably 80% of the ride, you'll see a good portion of the show while sitting down and not being crushed in a mosh pit.
4) Get on a Facebook group and talk to other people who are going to be there at the same time and you can add all of your names to the PhotoPass thing, split the cost, and get all those great photos they take of you when you are on rides and so forth. It's just like splicing the wire to have everyone share the cable bill at the dorms back in the day.
5) Don't buy any souveneirs until you are walking out of the park. Don't be the idiot stuck holding a balloon for 6 hours because your kid wanted it at 10 a.m.
6) Find a place to sit on the curb and watch the big parade at Magic Kingdom. Your kids are at the age where having Goofy wave at them and Cinderella blow them a kiss is going to be the whole world to them. Ditto with meeting the princesses. I'd stand in line for a whole day to be able to re-witness my kids' reaction at 5 years old to seeing Ana and Elsa.
7) Don't go on the ride in the Mexico temple at Epcot unless you need to take a nap. It's outdated and not working properly. We got off of it when my daughters were 6 and one of them said, "Um, what was the point of that?"
8) If you go on the Tomorrowland Speedway, get ready to ingest as many carcogenics as if you had just chain smoked for 9 years.
9) When you get on the shuttle of Rise of the Resistance, go straight to the back window and claim that space. It's an incredible view of what's going on "outside" and you get the first look at the Star Destroyer that pulls you into the bay.
10) Sit in the right-hand pilot seat on Smuggler's Run, because that person gets to pull the lever to send the Falcon into hyperspace, and that is the thing you've been waiting for your whole life.
11) Soarin' always has one of the longest lines at Epcot, so here's what you do. Book a breakfast at the Garden Grill (cool rotating restaurant) before the park opens. You go stuff your face with food and then you walk down and you're the first people in line for Soarin' because the park hasn't opened yet.
12) Get or find an app of the Hidden Mickeys that exist all around the parks. Your kids will LOVE finding them.
Thanks man!
It's not their first trip. Since 2016, it's my 6 year old's 3rd trip and 3 year old's second trip.
We have stayed at Port Orleans-French Quarter…..which is probably my favorite. Coronado Springs and now Disney's All Stars Movie Resort.
I'm expecting this trip to be our most favorite one yet!
We started renting strollers within the park so we don't have to lug a double Bob stroller around on the buses. Nice to be done with the stroller at the end of the park!
Thank you for all those tips!
I'm not a Star Wars fan at all -- much of the references in that land were lost on me -- but even I enjoyed Oga's Cantina.G Martin 87 said:
If you'll be spending time in Star Wars, do not miss Oga's Cantina.
On the fireworks front, we fought the crowd one night, and it was fine, but we were so far away and obviously it's packed and my kid had to sit on my shoulders for most of it.
On our last night there though, we went back and did Magic Kingdom at night and instead of staying up by the castle, we went back towards the Dumbo ride. There was nobody there, and my toddler loved it, so we were allowed to ride it over and over again. I have some cool videos and pictures of us riding in circles on that thing while the fireworks are going off behind us.
And the Epcot show is worth it and a lot easier to manage in my opinion.
On our last night there though, we went back and did Magic Kingdom at night and instead of staying up by the castle, we went back towards the Dumbo ride. There was nobody there, and my toddler loved it, so we were allowed to ride it over and over again. I have some cool videos and pictures of us riding in circles on that thing while the fireworks are going off behind us.
And the Epcot show is worth it and a lot easier to manage in my opinion.
The Epcot show is EPIC. Although I received looks of horror from my family when I declared it better than the Magic Kingdom show. If you get get sit-down reservations at a restaurant around the world that has outdoor seating, you can sit and watch the fireworks during dinner. Gotta really hope for a nice server though, as everyone else has the same idea.PDWT_12 said:
On the fireworks front, we fought the crowd one night, and it was fine, but we were so far away and obviously it's packed and my kid had to sit on my shoulders for most of it.
On our last night there though, we went back and did Magic Kingdom at night and instead of staying up by the castle, we went back towards the Dumbo ride. There was nobody there, and my toddler loved it, so we were allowed to ride it over and over again. I have some cool videos and pictures of us riding in circles on that thing while the fireworks are going off behind us.
And the Epcot show is worth it and a lot easier to manage in my opinion.
Also, highly recommend exploring the space around the Canada pavillion. It has a hidden waterfall and a natural area that is really pretty.
Rose & Crown has specific fireworks dinner reservations through the Disney+ app. They do go fast, though, so set a reminder to grab a reservation 60 days out.helloimustbegoing said:The Epcot show is EPIC. Although I received looks of horror from my family when I declared it better than the Magic Kingdom show. If you get get sit-down reservations at a restaurant around the world that has outdoor seating, you can sit and watch the fireworks during dinner. Gotta really hope for a nice server though, as everyone else has the same idea.PDWT_12 said:
On the fireworks front, we fought the crowd one night, and it was fine, but we were so far away and obviously it's packed and my kid had to sit on my shoulders for most of it.
On our last night there though, we went back and did Magic Kingdom at night and instead of staying up by the castle, we went back towards the Dumbo ride. There was nobody there, and my toddler loved it, so we were allowed to ride it over and over again. I have some cool videos and pictures of us riding in circles on that thing while the fireworks are going off behind us.
And the Epcot show is worth it and a lot easier to manage in my opinion.
Also, highly recommend exploring the space around the Canada pavillion. It has a hidden waterfall and a natural area that is really pretty.
Have I mentioned how good the fish and chips are? And yet they're still only second best in Orlando IMO. Go to The Pub near the convention center. Fantastic bread pudding, too.
https://experiencethepub.com/orlando/
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