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Going to Disneyworld, Any advice?

L

LookBehindYou

Platinum Member
As the title suggests, I'm taking the family to Disneyworld from the 1st of July through the 8th. We're staying at the Shades of Green, so hotel was covered on the cheap. I've got the 4 day pass ($138 promo for vets) but it has a blackout date of the 4th so we'll do Kennedy Space Center that day.

Anyone have any tips/suggestions while we're there?

How bad are the lines? Everything you see online and on tv, they don't show the actual crowd, how bad is it.

Also what else is there to do besides the usual.

word.

lby
 
Do a search within the forum as this question has been previously asked alot.

I live nearby and can provide the following:

- It will be HOT (today's temp will be 97).

- It will be crowded (holiday week).

- It will be expensive, even with your VERY well priced tickets.


Drink lots of water and let us know if it was worth it after you return.
 
We figured it will be hot, though at that point I don't think it will be too much different than where i'm at (kentucky) probably more humid there.

I figured it would be expensive, i've planned for it.

As for crowds and holiday weekend, not much i can do about it, just the way it worked out schedule wise.
 
I was just at SoG this past March and went to Disney for a couple days. I don't have any kids, but here's what I recommend:

1. Extra Magic hours are PACKED. I was really surprised so see so many children/toddlers awake at 11pm.

2. Make use of the Express Pass/Fast Pass or whatever its called. Its free, so you basically just get one for a ride with a ridiculous line, like Space Mountain, and then go during your allotted time. If you miss your time, its actually good for any time after as well.

3. Use the single rider line whenever possible. Its WAY shorter. We were essentially able to walk up to the front of the line on a couple coasters cause of groups will odd numbers of people. You don't sit together (so what?) and the wait time is drastically reduced.

4. If you have a stroller, I'd recommend bringing your own bottled water.

EDIT: I'm 28 and went with a bunch of similarly aged friends for a wedding, so my advice isn't necessarily geared towards families.
 
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LookBehindYou said:
As the title suggests, I'm taking the family to Disneyworld from the 1st of July through the 8th. We're staying at the Shades of Green, so hotel was covered on the cheap. I've got the 4 day pass ($138 promo for vets) but it has a blackout date of the 4th so we'll do Kennedy Space Center that day.

Anyone have any tips/suggestions while we're there?

How bad are the lines? Everything you see online and on tv, they don't show the actual crowd, how bad is it.

Also what else is there to do besides the usual.

word.

lby
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We stayed at Shades of Green in late September. Freakin' awesome! Did you get one of the deals with the included meals?

It's gonna be way hotter for you though. Bring Camelbaks for your whole family. When I was in the Navy I went to boot camp there (around the time you're going) and guys were dropping like flies.
 
Yea the express pass's worked great for rides really long while you rode the shorter ones. Seeing peoples faces that have been waiting a hour or longer as you walk by and get on in minutes, awesome
.
Also lots of sunscreen before you get there and a good fitting hat.
 
dainthomas said:
We stayed at Shades of Green in late September. Freakin' awesome! Did you get one of the deals with the included meals?

It's gonna be way hotter for you though. Bring Camelbaks for your whole family. When I was in the Navy I went to boot camp there (around the time you're going) and guys were dropping like flies.
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No deals with meals included. It was my understanding that those are only for the disney parks. Is that not the case? I'd definitely get one of those packages.

Yeah, hydration is a must, planning on it. And it helps that my 7 year old drinks water more than anything else anyways.
 
LookBehindYou said:
No deals with meals included. It was my understanding that those are only for the disney parks. Is that not the case? I'd definitely get one of those packages.

Yeah, hydration is a must, planning on it. And it helps that my 7 year old drinks water more than anything else anyways.
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When we went it was three nights for $329 with breakfast and dinner at SOG included. You could buy multiple packages so we actually stayed six days. The breakfasts there are still a great deal. It's buffet style so you can really load up for all the walking you'll be doing.

Make sure you buy your Kennedy Space Center tickets there too, much cheaper.
 
Here's a tip if you have a child who isn't old enough to ride the big rides. They have the "Fast Pass" which you get like an hour or more before time and then you get in a faster line to ride the ride at that designated time. What a lot of people do not know is they also have a "Switch Pass". Find an attendant who's at the ride and tell them you have a child who is too young to ride, but that you and your wife both want to ride the ride. They will give you a Switch Pass. The pass allows you to go through the fast pass line and ride the ride while your wife is with the younger child. Then when you are done, you give her the pass and she jumps to the front of the line. The great thing is the ticket works right then - there is no time slot you have to go.

We ended up going to Disney 3 times in 2009 because work kept sending me down in that area. My oldest Son could ride the rides but my youngest was too young at the time. So what we did was get a pass and go with our oldest, then switch off and the other adult would go with our oldest. That way he got to ride the rides twice and we each got to ride once. We ended up doing Space Mountain this way 3-4 times in one day. Same with some of the other rides as well. It rocks and it's a quick and easy way to avoid the crowd. I think it only works on rides with the Fast Pass though.

Note you can also do this if you are with someone in a wheelchair or elderly.
 
highland145 said:
If I slip you $200, will you pick my kid up on the way?
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Sure why not, how old is he? Mine's 7, they can keep each other entertained while i get drunk in the evenings, maybe even act as designated driver.

Also, at 7, and 48" I think my son can pretty much ride everything.
 
LookBehindYou said:
Sure why not, how old is he? Mine's 7, they can keep each other entertained while i get drunk in the evenings, maybe even act as designated driver.

Also, at 7, and 48" I think my son can pretty much ride everything.
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10. He's 4'9" so if you push the seat all the way up, he can drive like a champ. I mean, he should be able to. Theoretical, of course.:sneaky:

What could go wrong?
 
We figured it will be hot, though at that point I don't think it will be too much different than where i'm at (kentucky) probably more humid there.
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It's significantly hotter and more humid than you expect. Kentucky's no joke, but FL has tropical heat. Wear a baseball cap or sombrero, just something to keep the sun out of your face. Sunblock is a must for the pasty folks. SPF15 reapplied all day long.

Also our rainy season is in full effect. Umbrellas are useless against slanted tropical downpours, but when it does start to pour everybody usually scatters for whatever cover exists/stores/restaurants. The lightning is fairly dangerous too, so take it seriously and get under cover. The best part is that the rain will only last 15 minutes, will probably occur once per day between 2 and 8 pm, and afterwards, will be even hotter and more humid. Heat indices approached 105 this year. Bring Water. Bring containers for more water.

There is a LOT of walking. More than you think. (we 4 twenty-somethings wore out by 9pm after a park hopper single day. Seriously with blisters and everything. Granted we did drink around the world, AND MGM, AND magic kingdom and the monorail rides between and the boats and everything.) SInce you are there for days, don't try that crap. Just take it easy.
 
Have a plan of attack for each park.

Know what the most popular rides are and get a Fastpass for them early.

Use the free crowd calendar at http://www.easywdw.com/ to decide what parks to go to.

Since you're going at a super crowded time of the year, I would even consider buying a subscription to http://touringplans.com/ and pick a suitable touring plan.
 
If you're going to Epcot, get Fast Passes to Soaring and Test Track first thing in the morning when go in. Both sold out of Fast Passes by about 1pm when I was there in April. You'll have to wait about an hour after getting your first Fast Pass so I suggest getting Soaring first.

If you have any kids that want to do the Star Wars Jedi Training show at Hollywood Studios, show up at the park before the gates open and head over there first. Spots are taken up quickly...like within 30 minutes of the gates opening.
 
I've been to Disneyworld at least 25 times the last 20 years. Went at various times of the year. I hate to say this, but I recommend you do not go except in the fall or spring. Heat and the crowds are terrible in the summer. If you still go anyway, I would PLAN everything. Find what rides you want to definitely go on and first thing RUN to the ride and get a fast pass. Rules on how many you can get for a day changes all the time. So I would call and get the latest rules on that. I've never been there with kids, but what I have seen are that children have a great time even when their parents don't. If you are driving, I would stay off the monorails because of wasted time and the smell. You will save bunches of time if you drive where you want to go. Maybe even get a rent car if you are flying.
Most of all, RELAX. If you look like you are having a good time and don’t yell at your kids you might have an employee give you some free stuff like fast passes and character dinners. I too would be interested in what you think about your trip. Please post your thoughts when you get back.
 
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Marlin1975 said:
Yea the express pass's worked great for rides really long while you rode the shorter ones. Seeing peoples faces that have been waiting a hour or longer as you walk by and get on in minutes, awesome
.
Also lots of sunscreen before you get there and a good fitting hat.
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between the lines and the cost we have gone else ware for family vacations.
 
Good recommendations everyone, thanks. Definitely doing Epcot, and i've heard the same about the fastpasses. I'm going to plan some, wing the rest. My family is pretty laid back and I don't stress easy at all. Should be fun, as of right now, we're planning on 3 days for disneyworld, a day at the space center and a day at universal studios.

I definitely post back with the results of the trip. Good or bad.
 
Never heard of Shades of Green. Is it military only?

I found their Eligibility page, looks liek it's pretty strict for military, DoD, etc.
 
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Just got back from there. SOOOOOOO hot! We took frozen bottles of water and had cold water up until around 5PM that way. You could only get fast passes for one ride - had to use them up before you could get ones for another ride. If you have an iPhone (maybe other kinds as well, I don't know) get a free app that gives ride wait times, ride status, maps, etc. There are several. Whichever one we had was very accurate. It helped decide what to ride when and what to get passes for. We had the 4-day military tickets as well and a 7 yr-old with us. Did Epcot, 2 days Magic Kingdom and Hollywood. I recommend one night excursion for the fireworks and nighttime parade (we saw the 11 o'clock at Magic Kingdom. I will say that, regardless of how crowded WE thought it was, we never spent more than about 20-25 minutes in line for any ride.

Be prepared to spend lots for food - hamburger $8, small pizza about $9, bottle of water $2.50 or so, soft serve ice cream cone $3.19. You can take stuff of your own in, though.

I have very fair skin and used a waterproof spf 30 each morning and got no sunburn.

Can't think of anything else right now, but if there's anything you want to know that I can help with, just let me know.
 
allisolm said:
Just got back from there. SOOOOOOO hot! We took frozen bottles of water and had cold water up until around 5PM that way. You could only get fast passes for one ride - had to use them up before you could get ones for another ride. If you have an iPhone (maybe other kinds as well, I don't know) get a free app that gives ride wait times, ride status, maps, etc. There are several. Whichever one we had was very accurate. It helped decide what to ride when and what to get passes for. We had the 4-day military tickets as well and a 7 yr-old with us. Did Epcot, 2 days Magic Kingdom and Hollywood. I recommend one night excursion for the fireworks and nighttime parade (we saw the 11 o'clock at Magic Kingdom. I will say that, regardless of how crowded WE thought it was, we never spent more than about 20-25 minutes in line for any ride.

Be prepared to spend lots for food - hamburger $8, small pizza about $9, bottle of water $2.50 or so, soft serve ice cream cone $3.19. You can take stuff of your own in, though.

I have very fair skin and used a waterproof spf 30 each morning and got no sunburn.

Can't think of anything else right now, but if there's anything you want to know that I can help with, just let me know.
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Awesome info. Our son is 7 as well, did you encounter anything that he wouldnt meet height requirements for? Also, did you check out any of the star wars stuff?
 
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