Going to DIsneyworld in October any recommendations?

Headed there with the family in Early October. First time for my two boys aged 7-11 at the time of our trip. Anything I need to do/eat while we are there?

Chris

Check out the old school stuff. Most kids love the high falootin' new fangled crap, and it's a lot of fun- BUT the old school stuff is awesome.

It's going to be expensive. My wife (who isn't back with the Jr High Band trip yet) is already calling it a worse tourist trap than Pigeon Forge, TN.

DoctorBlade wrote: It's going to be expensive. My wife (who isn't back with the Jr High Band trip yet) is already calling it a worse tourist trap than Pigeon Forge, TN.

But it's going to be awesome!! You get what you pay for.

I've gone a lot at that time of the year as a Bday present to myself. IIRC sometime about then there is a change over of park hours and park theme. The halloween stuff and parade is usually pretty good.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. It's a hard ticket event that requires a separate ticket, but it's limited admission. They don't run all of the rides, but the ones that are open have very little wait time. Cast members hand out candy at stations within the park.

My other tip is to avoid Magic Kingdom on a day they are having the event, unless you have passes. They give out wrist bands, and they actually check for them, so you'll be booted early from the park if you don't have one. They start clearing the park at about 6PM. Here's a link to the dates with some more information: http://allears.net/tp/mk/mnssh.htm

We have season passes, so we're down there a lot. I've learned a lot of tricks from my wife about the park and things to do, so feel free to ask any specific questions about things.

Oh, and don't yell "Andy's coming!" to the Toy Story characters, as they've stopped dropping after the video went viral.

Be aware that Fantasy Land may still be under construction. Last time we were there, they had a lot of the scrims down, but there's still a roller coaster under construction right in the middle of Fantasy Land. The new Beauty and the Beast restaurant is open. We waited about 30 minutes for a seat when we ate there last. Beast's study is the coolest dining room, but beware of the 300 people using flash photography. It's a fairly dark room with a lot of stuff for people to come see, so they do, and nary a one knows how to work a camera.

There's a ton of stuff I'm missing, but I need to actually do some work. I'll try to post some stuff to do with your kids later. Are you looking for stuff to do off property, too? Adult stuff?

We'll be there in 16 days. I'm excited to see my 4yo sons reaction. You can make dinner reservations up to 180 days out. This is important for character meals. You can actually get into parks early my making a breakfast character meal reservation for prior the park opening time.

Very good crowd calendar info at http://www.easywdw.com/

I swear by the Disney Meal Plan, best value for eating. Call ahead and make reservations!!!! You will basically walk right in and get a table while everyone else sits in a 2-hour line. Sure, you have to show up at a specific time, but so what?

We ate at the Crystal Palace because the kids have their own buffet and there are characters there. The castle for dinner was also pretty cool. And we did a dinner at Wolfgang Pucks in Downtown Disney. (The meal plan works there too!)

We are going in September. Watching this thread with interest...

The Crystal Palace is one of the best places for a character meal. It was my favorite place to eat in MK until Be Our Guest opened.

Character meals are the absolute best way to meet them. They come around to your table as you eat, so you're not waiting in a 2 hour line to see Mickey. If you are already on the dining plan, which you should be if you are eating sit-down meals in the park and are staying on property, it won't cost a dime more to do so.

My wife and I are going to Animal Kingdom for Earth Day next Monday.

So meal plan is worth it?

If you don't have lodging set yet, look into camping / renting an RV on the Disney grounds. They have wonderful facilities, and it can be much more relaxing than the big resorts.

In reply to Conquest351: We got the dining plan for our trip in 17 days. We got the one with one table service meal, one quick service and a snack per day. If you are going to do character meals, that plan is worth the cost.

Also go to the Crystal Palace about 10:30-11:00. That way you get breakfast & lunch.

Yes, the characters come around to you.

If you stay onsite you get lots of after hours, less crowded time at the parks.

Also don't forget the Hoop De Doo Revue over in Frontierland. A nice boat ride away, plenty of food and a show to boot. Many of you will get to be part of the show.

In reply to Joe Gearin:

If you get really bored, there's an abandoned water park back there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q4JwgmPEIDQ

Be careful, because you don't want one of these:

It happens so often that they have a rubber stamp for it.

In reply to Derick Freese:

Ahh yes, River Country. No one knows why Disney closed that water park. Disney says it was from low attendance, Disney conspiracists believe it was due to an amoeba (that attacked the nervous system and brain) that is in Bay Lake that the park used water from.

At some point that park was going to be rebuilt and used again especially being right between the Wilderness Lodge and Wilderness Campground, but Disney decided not to and it has sat abandoned since. It would have been cool if they opened back up a rustic type of water park again.

http://www.yesterland.com/rivercountry.html

It looked like a pretty cool place in both these picture sets:

http://www.lostepcot.com/rivercountrydry.html

http://www.lostepcot.com/rivercountrywet.html

Also I saw that Adam the Woo video about a year ago, but I just heard a few months ago that he finally got a permanent ban from WDW because he has trespassed too many times in places you're not supposed to be.

Thanks guys!!! So far we have made four dinner reservations. One for a 50's diner, One at the Coral reef restaurant, one for the hoop-dee-do-review, and one at Chef Mickey's. We did a character breakfast buffet at the Crystal Palace when we were there for our honeymoon so that my wife could meet Winnie the Pooh and friends. It was a great meal, and she had fun. I think I will try to set up something there as well. Maybe breakfast again, is that a good idea?

We have the dining plan, and are staying in one of the value resorts (Pop Century). I agree it is expensive, but I have never stayed in the park, even on our honeymoon 15 years ago. I want that experience, and I can't wait for my kids to see the place.We put this trip off for a few years while I saved money, and was worried about a contract at work. Now we are all set, and I can't wait!! Just need to get exercising more, and walking to get ready for the trip.

The last time I was there for our honeymoon was late April into early May of 98, and the Animal Kingdom had just opened weeks earlier. The entire continent of Asia was still under construction, and there were animal dying left and right. The only good part of the park was the giant tree in the middle, but I suspect it will be better this time.

Thanks again, and keep giving me ideas.

Chris

Crystal palace is a good idea. If you get a reservation before the park opens, you can get in the park and take pictures in front of the big landmarks, with little crowds to interfere. I've seen it suggested to have a character breakfast on the first day of your trip, to help get children acclimated to seeing the larger than life characters. Helpful for the younger ones, but yours being 7 and 11, that may not be a huge issue. We are doing crystal palace our first morning of our trip.

We have reservations at the plaza on main st on the night we arrive. Crystal place for bfast on day 2, hollywood and vine in the studios for bfast on day3, coral reef for dinner on day 4, chef mickey for dinner on day 5 and yak and yeti at animal kingdom for dinner on day 6.

If you have a android or apple product, download the free "my disney experience" app. It shows ride wait times and allows scheduling of reservations on the fly.

From my one trip, a few years ago.

Get the books, learn the maps and layouts of the parks. Become a master of knowing where this is, and where that is, and how to get from one to the other.

Learn the magic hours schedule, plan park selections to optimize this. This is assuming you are staying on the grounds.

Pick out the special places you need reservations for 6 months before. For they are generally booked in the first few hours of the first day you can make reservations.

Optimize special places with the magic hours if possible.

Stay flexible. Guide the kids, but don't force them. If they want to stay half a day at say the Star Wars ride, let the fast-pass tickets you got for space mountain go. The kids have fun, so you have fun.

Stay cool. Which means no running, and drinking lots of fluids.

Pick up the daily schedule at the park entrance every time. It changes daily, sometimes in the same day.

When shows start, crowds thin on the rides. When shows end, crowds thicken. Optimize. I've walked right into space mountain this way, with no wait.

Waits are not bad, there are interesting things to do and look at.

Lots of strange and interesting things are simply wandering around. Look and enjoy.

Don't overbook your time.

Above all, chill and relax. You will miss things, there will be things you hear about after you come home. So what. Enjoy the time you are there, and enjoy the fun with your kids.

I chose to stay on the grounds, and have no regrets. The pool at the end of the day was a wonderful break and way to relax. Riding their busses instead of driving my car was great, especially at the end of the day when I was exhausted, or when we were park jumping.

Park jumping was important, and we used it a lot. Spend the morning here, and the afternoon there. Sometimes we'd park jump four times in a day.

The meal plan wasn't good for us. We ate breakfast in our room, snacked whenever we wanted on what we wanted throughout the day, and then dined accordingly. A few dinners were planned, as was a breakfast.

Mazdax605 wrote: Just need to get exercising more, and walking to get ready for the trip.

Good idea. Make sure you're wearing something that's both long term comfortable on your feet and can handle getting wet. The amount of walking you will do is unbelievable. You don't think much about it until late in the day when you realize just how tired your legs are. Do it day in and day out, and it's a heck of a workout. Thunderstorms come quick and dump a ton of rain real fast. You're feet will get wet at some point. If you're wearing conventional sneakers and socks, it's not fun.

Oh, and even if it may seem silly, consider some kind of stroller for your kids, especially the younger one. The walking can be hard on adults, as I mentioned before. It's that much harder on kids...added to the fact they're already all amped up with excitement. It can make for an ugly crash and burn. I've seen 10-12+ year olds sitting in the rental strollers with their younger siblings while parents push them around. We're going to Disney in late June. My oldest is now 9, and my twins will be almost 6 by then. Our plan is to buy a two cheap umbrella strollers, a single and a double wide. We'll use them while we're there, then dump them in the trash when we go home. Money well spent.

They say folks average 7-8 miles a day on the average visit.

DoctorBlade wrote: It's going to be expensive. My wife (who isn't back with the Jr High Band trip yet) is already calling it a worse tourist trap than Pigeon Forge, TN.

HA! I spent a few days in Gatlinburg, in a nice little lodge right at the foot of the smokies entrance next door to a brew pub... awesome. We hiked and generally spent all the time in the hills but I got sucked in to taking the kids to a karting place in PF on the way home... man that place sucks. The karting was cool. THe empty wallet my wife made while the boys and I were karting was not.

The Pop resort (and the other similar ones) are worth it because you don't have to deal with transportation or parking, and you get back to your room fast enough that the kids can hit the pool until 10pm IIRC. We had almost as much fun there as we did anywhere else. We usually used their facilities for breakfast because it was cheap and easy. We also took the shuttle from the airport and never did rent a car. Another way to offset the cost, and Disney grabs your bags and everything. Nice when travelling with the kids.

FWIW, I had a bad experience at check in with a rude person working there, and luckily I said something to a manager. Disney does NOT allow that and they made it right...and more. Another perk to staying on property.

fyi, we did May 1st -7th. At a moderate level resort(Caribbean beach resort), dining plan with the table service meals, 7 day park hopper tickets for $2700. Air fare from Vermont, for the three of us about $740 with all fees. So roughly $180 a person per day, meals included. We could have saved by using a value priced resort. We could have saved by using non-park hopping tickets. I also added one day of tickets as it was 30 bucks more. Could have gone with the cheaper dining plan too. We easily could have done it for $1000 if we wanted to. For a bigger family, the value resorts of "suites" that make a heck of a lot more sense for folks.

It's not for everyone. I work for a decent sized ski resort, and I know you couldn't spend a week here for less.

The key if you are interested in going is to watch for the deals. They tend to get released near the first day of the month. There are also a couple of disney oriented travel agents, and the perks with using them is that they'll apply any newly released deal that might occur after your booking. You should be flexible on which resort you want to stay at within your range, as the discounted deals tend to get shoe horned in to one particular resort in each price range. There are a couple of disney oriented forums that have a lot of good info, but like any forum sometimes you need to wade through the BS.

27 Facts and Tips for Visiting The Magic Kingdom As I'm sure many others do, I often get questions from friends and family about Walt Disney World. Things that seem obvious to some Disney fans aren't necessarily as obvious for the typical family planning a vacation to the resort for the first time. This has inspired me to create a list of facts and tips I can point to for any newcomer and help them get the most out of their vacation. Who knows, maybe even the more fanatical of us will learn a thing or two here! Maybe even me, the person who wrote it!

The Magic Kingdom seems like the logical place to start this list, being the first park and originally called "Disney World", a name that sticks with some tourists to this very day.

1. As you enter the park underneath the train station, note the posters on the walls. These are all posters for upcoming movies based on attractions in the Magic Kingdom!
2. At the train station, be sure to keep an eye out for the trains that stop by periodically. These are real trains!
3. As you enter Adventureland, you will surely be aware of The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, the only ride in the park like this!
4. The Jungle Cruise was originally planned to have real animals instead of animatronics, but it was decided that animatronics would actually be cheaper because they don't die quite so often and have a slightly lower tendency to maul guests.
5. Pirates of the Caribbean is a fantastic boat ride that was originally called Western River Expedition, and featured cowboys and Indians instead of the pirates you find today. Much to Imagineer Marc Davis' dismay, the ride was overhauled when someone pointed out that the building was accidentally built in Adventureland instead of Frontierland and was entirely out of place.
6. The Golden Oak Outpost on the path between Frontierland and Adventureland is a great place to grab a quick snack. This was once the only location in the parkw here you could find McDonald's french fries, but this partnership was discontinued after their promise of "There's gold in them thar fries!" resulted in high operating costs and dental bills.
7. Splash Mountain is a log flume based on one of the most well known Disney films that few have ever seen, Splash. This is a great ride for cooling off on a hot day and features a 52-foot drop into the popular retail chain The Briar Patch.
8. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was designed as an extension of the Walt Disney World Railroad but troubles arose when the entire expansion was built without the use of a level. The result is an unintentionally fun roller coaster that remains separate from the park's original railroad.
9. The Country Bear Jamboree is a fantastic live stage show that takes place in The Original Country Bear Hall and actual characters come on stage and perform the show! It concludes with a glorious three-hour finale called A Salute to All Animals But Mostly Bears.
10. The Liberty Belle riverboat is a great place to relax and rarely sinks, so you'll probably be okay.
11. There's nothing in the Diamond Horseshoe and there never was so just keep on walking, understand?
12. The Haunted Mansion is another great place to relax and usually features a pretty short line. It should be noted however, that the ride vehicles are continuously moving and do not stop for loading and unloading. Some of the more ambitious managers have been known to speed the ride up to match the crowds on busier days, making the ride as short as 15 seconds and making getting into a ride vehicle a very difficult task!
13. The Hall of Presidents is a slow-moving ride that takes you through the history of the American presidency. With a little touch of Magic from the Imagineers, guests will have a first-person experience of infamous moments from each President. These include uniting the country following the Civil War, getting stuck in a bathtub and having an affair with Marilyn Monroe!
14. When heading into Fantasyland from Liberty Square, the first thing you will notice on your left is the brand-new Tangled water ride! Be sure to check out this brand new multi-million dollar experience shortly after lunch.
15. After part of Fantasyland got into a bitter feud with Magic Kingdom president Phil Holmes over the excessive taxation of water features, a group of middle-managers decided to break off into a separate park they are calling New Fantasyland. They've even installed a picture of Phil Holmes looking like a complete doofus to mock him.
16. The Be Our Guest ride is the landmark attraction in New Fantasyland, taking riders on a journey through the world of Beauty and the Beast.
17. The area where Storybook Circus is now was once known as Mickey's Toontown Fair, a small area that featured the homes of several Disney characters and a small fair. Unfortunately, the 2008 economic crisis sent Mickey and Minnie Mouse's houses into foreclosure and a lengthy drought left the area with few crops, destroying the fair. With real estate at extremely low prices, an opportunistic carnie moved in and set up a circus on the land.
18. As you enter the Storybook Circus neighborhood of New Fantasyland, you will surely be aware of Dumbo, the only ride in the park like this!
19. The Mad Tea Party is a classic carnival-style blacklight dark ride featuring larger than life caricatures of Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and Ann Coulter.
20. Ever wanted to see what it would be like to drive a car powered by Briggs & Stratton? The Tomorrowland Speedway might just be for you!
21. As you enter Tomorrowland, you will surely be aware of Astro Orbiter, the only ride in the park like this!
22. Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe is a great place to dine with animatronic entertainment from Sonny Eclipse. Just uh, make sure to get food somewhere else.
23. The Carousel of Progress is a very popular show and Fastpasses can be hard to obtain. Unlike normal Fastpasses, the Carousel of Progress' Fastpasses are only given out as a surprise bonus when guests get a Fastpass for Space Mountain or Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. It could take all day to get just one Fastpass for the Carousel of Progress but after seeing the show, you will understand why it was worth the effort.
24. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover is a ride that features brief moments in the dark, high speed, shapr turns and sudden drops. Expectant mothers should not ride.
25. There was once a commonly empty stage near Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. It was rarely used and made for a good place to relax. Some frequent guests referred to this area as Paradise due to it's quiet and calm atmosphere compared to the typically noisy and busy Tomorrowland. Unfortunately management decided to pave Paradise and put up a parking lot.
26. Like Disneyland's Club 33, there is a Club 626 in Tomorrowland. This exclusive-access restaurant features signature drinks such as the Tik Tok, and the Cotton-Eyed Joe.
27. To reflect the futurisitic themes of Tomorrowland, there is only one trash can in the entire area. Instead of remaining in one static location, this trash can moves around the land, meaning he will come to you! When you see a trash can roll up, just dump whatever garbage you have on in. I hope this list of facts and tips helped with your next trip to the Magic Kingdom. In the future, I'll be posting lists for the other three parks as well.

http://duffyngtonpost.blogspot.com/2013/04/27-facts-and-tips-for-visiting-magic.html?spref=tw&m=1

That trespass warrant was issued to one of the local explorers that explored with Adam the Woo. The experiences of those two (+1 other) explorers further cements why I don't explore on property.

We leave in 7 days.... So excited!!!