The Cellar - Florida --the touristy bit

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- - Florida --the touristy bit (http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=21099)

Quote:

Originally Posted by monster (Post 599122)

Are there "no outside food" rules?

Nope, but there are container rules.

That's an excellent link, thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by monster (Post 599126)

That's an excellent link, thank you.

Choco and I often consult allears.net for other info when trying to plan. I think Choco knows of even more links to good info sites -- hope she will share them.

Actually, I rely primarily on memory and allears.net for our planning. :) Since Kitsune and I don't have kids (yet), we don't have to worry so much about logistics and are able to just pick up and go.

Monster, if you and your family DO decide to eat at a table-service restaurant within the parks, I'd recommend making reservations in advance. Waiting for a table can often take a ridiculously long time -- time that could otherwise be spent running around and having fun. It can be pricey, but a lot of the food is so good it might be worth it to plan at least one nice dinner out.

Are you staying at a Disney villa, or one off-property?

I don't know if this is viable for Disney or not, but when we took the boys (and their friends) to Cedar Point, we filled two huge coolers with drinks and food and kept them in the trunk of the car. We just met out there for for our midday meal.

Answer from my bro, multiple-Floridian-holidayer:

Quote:

Blimey - that's a real loaded question! Before I could even start on this, there are a couple of things I'd need to know, because it will dramatically affect the advice I would give.

1) Are they only interested in doing Disney, or do Universal, Seaworld and any of the other attractions locally stand a chance? With us, we go everywhere and anywhere, but I know a lot of people who basically spend their whole holiday with the mouse and won't do anything else.

2) What would be their typical theme park strategy/experience? Do they tackle them commando style (and I don't mean without underwear!), charging from one attraction to the next, trying to get everything they can done; or do they prefer to take their time even if it means missing out on certain things due to a lack of time.

3) On a similar sort of note, are they planning to spend most of their days in the parks, or are they there to relax and might spend every other day relaxing by the pool in the villa or shopping etc.

4) Rollercoaster junkies, or scaredy cats? Obviously with a six year old in tow, I would probably try to steer them to some of the more tame stuff and the kid-friendly attractions (like meeting characters) that I'd normally not bother with, but they might surprise me.

As a warning - there are so many variables in an Orlando holiday (it's a huge place - 8+ theme parks, 4 water parks and so much more entertainment) and everyone's idea of fun is different, so it can be hard to give advice. As I've found out on various Disney message boards, everyone thinks they are right, but most of the time no-one is (mainly because what works for their family ain't necassarily going to be right for someone else). I can try and give general advice, but sometimes it's easier answering specific questions or reading what someone has put as their tentative plan and then making your recommendations on what to change from there.

I will state "The Golden Rule" however: Get to the parks for opening. Actually scratch that - BEFORE opening. So many people turn up from 10/11am onwards - if you've already been in the park for an hour or two by then, you could have done half the big rides with little wait and then you get to watch while they have to queue for ages to get on them and laugh!

He came round today (before I'd had a chance to read his mail) and said he's more than happy to advise if you are willing to provide info as per questions above. Ste is like me - a planner and a pedant. Of course we agreed you might not be arsed about detailed advice, but if he's going to give even general advice, he likes to to get it right :)

staying in a villa off-disney. No, no expensive Disney restaurants for us.

No, not detailed planning, usually we pick up and go. This only has any element of planning due to rendezvous with rellies.

yes, other parks.

more commando than placid, but is not necessary to do absolutely everything. maybe some chillin' by the pool, but not much as we swim every day anyway ;) Deffo no shopping for us ugh, prolly some for the visitors. perhaps do two park days, one day off....then two more. s/t like that.

mix of roller-coaster junkies and fraidy-cats, but we can probably figure that part out thanks. I guess we mostly want to know where to find good deals on tickets etc.

Oh and the get there before opening is noted and taken on board, thanks. We tend to do that just to get the most out of the day but it does have the advantage of stuff being quieter at the start so we usually head straight for the biggies rather than build up to them because that's when lines are shortest.

appreciate input on which are the long-wait things in any park -sometimes things we don't think will be popular are and those we expect long lines for are not.....

A lot of the more popular rides at the Disney parks have a feature called FastPass. (Universal Studios has these too, but I can't remember what they call theirs.) You put in your ticket and it gives you a time to return to go through a shortened line. These are incredibly valuable for getting through the most popular attractions without wasting three hours of your life waiting in the Florida sun.

Allears.net has a list of which attractions have FastPass lines here. Most of the rides also have a clock at the front which'll tell you right off the bat how long the wait is, so you can decide whether you really want to wait 2 hrs for Splash Mountain before hand.

We really liked Discovery Island too. And add my vote for Epcot.

The travel agent (AAA) tried (sort of) to talk us into the park hopper deal - you pay extra and can visit more than one park per day. We opted not to get it, and I think that was wise; there's certainly more than enough to see in one park to spend a whole day there without getting bored.

I want to go Baaaaaaaaack! ::sob::

Having just been there in the wrong month (August in Florida sucks the life out of you) ...

I loved Disney, especially the Magic Kingdom. EPCOT was quite cool. Hollywood Studios superneat, Animal Kingdom was cool, but not as exciting as I had hoped it might be. Okay, Expedition Everest rocked. Fastpasses get handed out EARLY. If you want a fast pass for one of the more popular rides, you have to head straight for it as soon as you enter the park, because once they are all handed out, they are gone. One thing nobody tells you, is that you can arrive any time AFTER the time on your fastpass and get on, even if your pass is "expired."

Parkhopper is a fantastic option, especially if you decide you want to bumble around the Magic Kingdom during the day and then catch the monorail to EPCOT for their fireworks.

Oh, and another advantage of staying on a Disney property is that you get "Extra Magic Hours" ... you get into the park early, and you can stay late. There is a schedule posted. It is very cool to be bopping around in the Haunted House after midnight.

Disney Pin trading is a racket, but it is a fun racket, and cast members cannot refuse a trade. I will have to post a picture of my lanyard at some point.

Universal Studios ... my opinion only, YMMV ... stick to the Movie side, the other half is really just a conventional amusment park. Spiderman was okay, but The Simpsons was WAY better. DO NOT MISS Terminator, the Mummy, and Men in Black.

Express Pass at Universal is a ticket add-on, works for all the rides. It is worth it.

Sea World was magnificent. I did not go for the rides, I went to look at the fishies, sharks, and sundry and assorted sea mammals. I cried during Shamu. It was beautiful.

It's actually very convenient to stay at a Disney Site. I was at Old Key West, which was beautiful. You only need a vehicle if you're going to a non-Disney property. All the Disney Parks have either a Magic Mickey bus or a boat that will get you there.

Parking for The Magic Kingdom is off-site, you have to take the monorail to approach it.

I want to go back during a more sensible time of year. You know, one with temperatures around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, with no hurricanes.

Pretty much unedited vacation photos from Orlando.

Oh, and the Pirate Adventure Dinner is a heck of a lot of fun. Great entertainment, with audience participation.

thanks, that's great..... say, why not come back in Feb? :D

yeah,, Juni, my sis mentioned then and I thought "more than one park in one day with 3 kids -in what way is that a vacation?" :lol: