My sister's taking her family to Disney World this fall and I'm going to join them. It'll be the first real vacation I've taken in 12 years (the annual trips to The Gathering of Friends and going home for Thanksgiving don't count), and I'm looking forward to it. On the one hand, I haven't been to Disney World since I was a child, before MGM Studios, Blizzard Beach, or Animal Kingdom existed. There's a ton of stuff I haven't seen, and my adult eye can appreciate the genius of the Disney parks on a completely different level now. The richness of the theming, the way line lengths are cleverly concealed and there's always something new to look at around the corner, the relentless eradication of employee individuality-- all lost on me as a kid, but endlessly fascinating to me today.
On the other hand, I'll also be seeing the parks through the eyes of my nieces who'll be going for the first time. If ever there's a place to be an uncle, surely it must be Disney World.
To quote my sister, "This is going to be the family vacation we never had as a kid-- no Days Inns or not doing anything fun." And it's true-- our family vacations (the one or two that we had) were budget affairs. Economy hotels, no frills or extras, no activities that carried an extra cost. And my mother wonders where my parsimony comes from.
So we're staying at the Polynesian Resort (the nieces are thrilled that we're staying "where Lilo and Stitch would stay."), and we're already booked for the luau the night we arrive. The kids have a Princess Character Breakfast on the schedule (hell could have frozen over and we still wouldn't have gotten to go to one of these in our childhood), and we have reservations at the Brown Derby for dinner and seats at Fantasmic. A pair of little people, nattily attired in house livery, will follow us around all day and remind us of our schedules.
For my own part, I've got a list of must-do activities: DisneyQuest, The Adventurer's Club, Blizzard Beach, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Play-It, Mission: Space, and a day off-site at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure for the Spiderman and Hulk rides. Anything else I should put on the list?
Posted by Peter at August 15, 2003 10:40 PMLet's see... if you like the Muppets, the 3-D Muppet show is fun (and the fountain outside the theater is a
must-see).
If you're spending any time at Epcot, I thought the China pavilion was the most interesting - they had some
interesting exhibits, although those probably have changed, and the panoramic travelpic movie was actually
pretty good, although the narrator doesn't look anything like Li Po (he wasn't drunk, for one thing).
We didn't go on any of the more dramatic rides (my wife was pregnant at the time), so no help there. I have
advice on how to eat decent food at DisneyWorld without spending a fortune, but it doesn't sound as if
you need it (if you're prepared to spend a fortune, finding good food there is easy).
Follow the advice of "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2004": Get up to the rides as the park opens. Go back to the hotel to swim/relax/eat 10am-3pm when the crowds are out. Then take in the park late night as the off-park crowd exausts itself in the crush and bails.
AfricaUSA is best seen right as it opens because that's when the animals are fed, so they'll be out and able to be seen. Unfortunately this is 6am...
Epcot is the best place for meals. The Norwegian smorgesboard is excellent for lunch, 3-Paris(???) in the french district was best for dinner.
Twilightzone drop was well done, but the whole park that it's in can be polished off in one evening.
In Tomorrowland there is hidden the most anti-disney experience every, Alien Menace (?). It starts with a Disney cartoon character being transported in a failed experiment, and gets even more evil from there. Definately don't miss.
Avoid the Disney cruise. There's one really cool meal where the food (and the staff and the decor) start in black and white and end in color. Not worth the blaring music and nausea you'll otherwise suffer.
Frontierland still has Pirates of the Carribean, the mine car ride, and the very well done animatronic singing bird show.
If you have extra time between leaving the park and the airport, the Titanic exhibit downtown was interesting as a short 45 minute diversion.
Definately consider buying the unoffical guide book. They give good reviews of each ride and when during the day it's easiest to access.
Posted by: George on August 17, 2003 2:19 PMYikes! I'm scheduled for the Disney Cruise starting September 4th!
On the upside, it's a vacation even Pete's parents could love -- my wife's company is picking up the tab, for 1400 employees and family members.
I had just started to kind of look forward to it, too, even though it's not the sort of vacation I would choose for myself. So what do I do? Get Dramamine? Bring a bag lunch? Jump overboard?
Posted by: David Waldman on August 18, 2003 9:20 AMThe ExtraTERRORestial Alien encounter mentioned by George above is pretty unique. But depending on how old your nieces are, they might want to skip it. Basically you're put in a room, and they try to frighten the daylights out of you. It's dark, it's loud, and it's creepy. I think the warning signs say all that. :)
Just across the path, is one of the other great attractions that is only at Disneyworld. Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin, or something like that. You ride in (open-air) space ships and get to shoot at aliens with your ship mounted laser turrets. And they keep your score.
The Tower of Terror is can't miss at MGM. As is the Fantasmic show. The Rock & Roll roller coaster isn't worth much of a wait.
At the Animal Kingdom, the It's Tough to be a Bug movie is awesome.
Posted by: Greg on August 18, 2003 9:48 AMOh, the nausea is from the high product placement factor, not motion sickness from the ship. ;-) Conceptualize the local mall "Disney Store" enlarged to the size of a ship.
I personally don't feel the cruise is worth the cost, while I feel the multiple parks of WDW are. Given a choice between more time at WDW or taking the cruise, I'd unhesitatingly choose more time at WDW.
But now if someone else is paying for it, sit back and enjoy!
Posted by: George on August 18, 2003 10:32 PMOnce again the sister chimes in. I am very concerned that all of us (Pete, me, my husband, kids) have a great trip. I am looking forward to doing Disney Quest, Millionaire, Adventurer's Club and many of the other things Pete wants to do as well as the things that my girls will dig. They are (or will be at the time of the trip) 6 and 8. I was wondering if anyone can address what might be too overwhelming or frightening for the 6 year old who is very fearful in general. The older one will do almost anything but the little one I am prepared to sit out with if necessary. Just wanted to know what I can expect to sit out of, besides Alien as described above.
Posted by: Abby on September 4, 2003 11:52 AM