I’ve been VIP many times before in different arenas.  My uncle, being a bishop, gives me VIP status in certain church circles.  My husband, working most of his career in the music business, included me in many VIP events in that world.  Being backstage at a Will Smith concert is nice–don’t get me wrong–but I think that I’ve been spoiled forever by Disney VIP (sorry Will, but Mickey is The Man).   I’ve done Disney World the easy way (off-season and short lines) and the hard way (during Spring Break when the park was at such capacity that they shut it down and lines were 2 hours long), but I’ve never done Disney World VIP-style until now.  And I must say, it’s going to be very hard to go back to being a normal park-goer after the experience I just had!

My pass to VIP-dom.  I’m officially press!

Believe me, I was working; we were gone from about 7:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. everyday and moving fast the entire time, but there was plenty of fun and Disney magic in everything we did.

Let’s start with the people that I was so fortunate to be with during this fabulous experience.  Taking us on this whirlwind journey was Laura Spencer, Social Media Manager for Disney World.  She was our fearless (and hilarious) leader.  I met Laura at Blogalicious ‘09, but didn’t know just how wonderfully kooky she was until now.  Laura ran a tight ship, but provided plenty of laughter along the way; she loves her job and it shows.  Heather Murry and Darcie Maranich, both on the 2008 Disney World Moms Panel, were also on hand to share their wealth of Disney World knowledge.

Heather, Laura & Darcie

Besides myself, there were 7 other bloggers invited to Disney World (pictured below from left to right):

Lucinda Anderson Hughs, FrugalSocialite.com

Deveter Brown, Blackplanet.com

Angela Cooper, Hangingwithmrsacooper.blogspot.com

Onica Cupido, Blasianbabynotes.blogspot.com

Me: Sherrelle Kirkland-Andrews, Funkidivagirl.com

Lorraine Robertson, Askwifey.com

Tara Jefferson, Theyoungmommylife.com

Lashanda Henry, Blackparenting.blogspot.com

Lorraine is the only person that I knew before the trip, but by the end, I had made new friends.  We were the social media bunch; there was traditional media represented as well and we spent much of our time as one big group.   Here’s a group shot of almost everyone:

The magic started upon entering Animal Kingdom Lodge; I had been there before, but didn’t get to spend much time in the lobby.  The decor is incredible, the art work authentic and the animals outside were so fun to look at (I love animals).  African drummers can be found at numerous times of the day providing further ambience to the whole African safari-like experience.  We ate breakfast one day at one of the restaurants on site, Boma, and it was just as incredible as the dinner that I had there before.

And talking about meals…we had some incredible working lunches and dinners.  Well, we had to eat right?–And Disney made sure that we experienced some of the best they had to offer.  Our first dinner at Contemporary’s California Grill, one of Disney’s signature restaurants, set the tone for our VIP treatment.  Delicious food, special pumpkin cocktails and an incredible view of the sunset over Cinderella’s castle–well I can see why people come to this restaurant to celebrate anniversaries and other special occasions.

Lunch at Contemporary’s The Wave was so delicious, especially the appetizers that just kept streaming out: Five-Spice Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Lump Crab Cake, Pear and Midnight Moon Cheese Salad, Black Bean Chili with a Jalapeno Corn Muffin, Pepper-seared Tuna and Chicken-filled Summer Rolls; we barely had room for our entrees!  My Organic Beer Flight was a nice way to sample all 3 beers on the menu.  The staff was so attentive and gracious at The Wave; my parting gift of a Tinker Bell cup (with a green glowing Tink) made the experience that much more magical.

Breakfast at Pizzafari was one of my favorite meal because of the french toast served; cinnamon and sugar-coated deep-fried goodness with sliced bananas and syrup….OH MY!  It was so good that I only had one piece; I was afraid of eating anymore or else I wouldn’t ever stop.  I know some of the Disney World restaurant recipes are online and I have to find this one in order to make it at home; my family will love it.

Dinner at Cat Cora’s new restaurant Kouzzina very was good (I had a delicious appetizer of goat cheese grilled in a grape leaf) and the drinks were good too.  Laura had one of the fancy glowing martinis while everyone else yelled “Opa!” and slammed down ouzo (not me; I was too chicken).  Lorraine didn’t exactly like the taste of ouzo.

During dinner, cast member Brad talked to us about Disney’s new promotion for 2010: “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day.” Starting January 1st Disney is giving away 1 million park tickets to anyone who signs up to do community service through Hands on Network.  It’s a great way for a family (ages 6 & up) to give back to the community and earn a Disney park ticket as a reward.

As wonderful as our meals were at Disney World, that’s all the sitting we did because the rest of the time we were in and out of the parks (via the backstage secret VIP entrance…shhh!) experiencing so much of the World.  Vinnie, our wonderful driver, made sure we made it to each destination on time and in total comfort.

We toured several of Disney World’s properties to have a look at different accommodation choices: the new Bay Lake Tower at Contemporary Resort (very hip and modern, like a W Hotel), Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom Villas, All Star Music Resort Family Suites and Saratoga Springs Treehouse Villas.  The Treehouse Villas were my favorite because they were just so different; the 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and full kitchen would be perfect for a large family or an extended family enjoying a vacation together.

We had a special VIP experience in each Disney World theme park.  Our first stop was Disney’s Hollywood Studios where after viewing the show, we took a behind-the-scenes tour of The American Idol Experience.  Michael, our cast member guide, explained the whole audition process and showed us the Coke Lounge and producer offices.  Here I am, ready to make someone’s dreams come true:

Our time at Magic Kingdom began in newly updated Hall of Presidents; Disney imagineer Diego Parras talked to us about the incredible work that goes into making the Disney magic.  Disney has a patent on the audio-animatronic system and Hall of Presidents is a good place to see that magic in action; while the whole show was impressive, the figure and gestures of newly added President Obama was so very life-like.  Diego confirmed that it was the most technologically advanced of all the presidents represented.

Speaking about the whole imagineer experience, Diego explained how it is the mission of the Disney to create stories for guests to immerse themselves; therefore, imagineers have to immerse themselves as well.   For example, while creating Expedition Everest they went to Nepal and while creating Mission to Space they worked with Nasa.  Most of all, he said to be an imagineer you have to think outside the box and act like a kid.  Sounds like a ideal job description to me!

We were also in Magic Kingdom to enjoy Mickey’s Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party, a ticketed event independent of regular admission.  Guests were dressed in costumes, trick-or-treating was available at various candy stops and Halloween decorations were everywhere.

We took a quick ride on Pirates of the Caribbean–a perfect ride for a Halloween party–and then enjoyed the highlights of the night: Happy HalloWishes Fireworks and Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade, which we got to experience VIP-style on the top of the train station.   Hot chocolate and dessert buffet selections in hand, we saw 2 awesome shows from the perfect vantage point.  The parade starts with a run by a headless horseman–truly magical, but hard to catch on film.

Our dessert party at the train station.

The castle was as beautiful as ever all lit up and made for perfect photo-opps.  That’s me in the first photo and Laura and Jawn Murray in the next photo.

So, how about this for VIP treatment at Epcot: being whisked right off our private bus and ushered into fantastic seats at a Boyz II Men concert.  Seats so good that it was an easy catch of the roses tossed our way.

Boyz II Men looked and sounded great, but our interaction didn’t stop there at the concert; we met up with them later at a VIP dessert reception.  That’s Lucinda eating fruit like a good girl, while I ate cheesecake.

Me & Lorraine

Animal Kingdom wasn’t left out of our tour of Disney World; we had a private Kilimanjaro Safari aided by the commentary of cast member Ric.  Before the safari we saw where many of the animals lived backstage and learned about the conservation efforts of Animal Kingdom such as how the safari trucks run on propane and cast members park their cars to ride bikes throughout the grounds.  As we viewed the animals Ric was a wealth of knowledge and answered all of our questions; we were so fortunate to have his expertise at our disposal.  First thing in the morning is the best time to catch the animals awake and they didn’t disappoint; they posed for photos graciously.  I think the lioness was waiting for a movie deal, she was so picturesque, and the rhino got so close to our truck that I’m not sure if that was a welcoming sign or a scare tactic.

Disney World made sure that we had many different wonderful and magical experiences, but the main reason we were there was for the debut of Princess Tiana, Disney’s newest and first African American princess and star of The Princess and the Frog.  The excitement started with this bag left in our rooms the night before the big media event:

Princess Tiana made her debut in Magic Kingdom with a processional and official welcoming ceremony.  Besides our crew, there were several media outlets present to cover this exciting event.

I was professionally taking photos and video of the ceremony, but I was positively giddy with excitement (maybe that’s why the camera is so shaky)!

I have more photos (of when I got to meet Princess Tiana!) and video, but that will be my next post.

I truly enjoyed doing Disney World VIP-style!  Not only did I get to be present for a historical Disney event with the debut of Princess Tiana, I got to have many other amazing Disney experiences and met some wonderful new friends as well.  Two more things made this trip fabulous.  First, when I asked Laura if we could stop our fast moving train for a refreshing Dole Whip, not only did she oblige, but she treated the whole crew!  I love her for that!  It’s my favorite snack in all of Disney World and no trip is complete to me without indulging.

And lastly, I left Disney World on a very high note.  Lorraine and I managed to squeeze in a ride on Expedition Everest right before we left for the airport (no VIP this time, but luckily there were no lines because we were really pushing our luck).

It was her first time riding and as you will see, she loved it.

And that’s how you say good-bye to Disney World, with screams of joy and lots of laughter!  Woo-hoo!

*Continue reading about my trip to Disney World in the blog post Princess Tiana Has Arrived.

*Full Disclosure: I was invited to Disney World as “media” for the debut of Princess Tiana.  My entire trip was paid for by Disney (hotel accommodations, flight, transfers and meals).

*As anyone who has traveled through the nation’s busiest airport knows, “T is For Tango” refers to the Concourse T stop on the airport train.

*If you missed our road trip entertainment on the way to Disney World, you can see it here.

After a fun-filled week at Walt Disney World we are back home and I’m very grumpy.  It was a hard re-entry for me both physically (the exhaustion finally settled in) and mentally (back to reality).  This morning my husband told me to go find my Mickey ears and put them on because I needed to get out of my funky mood.  

 

I experienced my first Disney theme park (Disneyland) when I was five years old and have very vivid memories of having a great time.   But living in the Midwest for most of my childhood, I didn’t go back to Disneyland until I went to college on the West Coast and then I would go several times a year.  Often I went to Disneyland on a whim if I was having a bad day and it never failed to cheer me up.

 

But as much as I loved Disneyland and as many times as I had been, I had never been to Walt Disney World and I was just dying to go.  I figured, if I had so much fun in the “land”, well the “world” had to be even more fun!  When we moved to Atlanta in 2003 and I found out that Disney World was only a 7 hour drive away, I began plotting and planning.   My daughter’s 5^th birthday in October of 2006 was the perfect excuse.

 

So we went on a four day vacation for her birthday and had such a blast that we couldn’t wait to go again.  It took a few years, but finally we made it back to Disney World for the entire spring break vacation last week.  This time we were able to experience more and move around easier without a stroller and mandatory naptimes. 

 

Disney World can be tons of fun or a nightmare vacation, depending on how well you plan both in the logical sense and mentally as well.   If you don’t like Disney as a brand or the Disney characters, really don’t even bother going.   It will be a very expensive waste of time for you; Disney World is not for cynics.  The people who enjoy Disney World the most are the ones who can suspend belief and get into the spirit of the place.  Even if you don’t ride a single ride at Disney World you can have a great time just being “in the magic”.

 

Trust me when I say that Disney World is not a place that you roll up to without a plan!  Your plan can be loose or it can be airtight, but you need some sort of plan because Disney World can be overwhelming.   Besides the books and websites that I will recommend, you have me, Funkidivagirl, to help you!

Our touring of Disney World was based on my kids’ ages, our interests, likes and dislikes (or fears) and my many trips to Disneyland.  We haven’t ridden every ride or seen every attraction; sometimes we didn’t have time or it just wasn’t of interest to us.  My husband doesn’t like birds, so we didn’t see anything related to birds and I’m the only one in my family who rides fast roller coasters.  Despite our quirks, I hope that reading about our experience will help make your Disney vacation fun, (relatively) stress-free and most of all, magical.

 

PLANNING

Walt Disney World, while tons of fun and really one of my favorite places to vacation, is quite a beast to plan.  I don’t go anywhere without some sort of research and planning and Disney World was no exception.  I read books, surfed websites, lurked on forum boards and read endless reviews.  Now, I admit that I am kind of crazy about it because I like to always be well informed, but even I was overwhelmed with all the information.   Finally I was able to put together a good plan for our 2006 trip, test it in the field, take notes and use that knowledge for our latest trip. 

A good book to read is The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and the accompanying website, touringplans.com.    The official Walt Disney World website, disneyworld.com, is good for general planning or booking your vacation, but it doesn’t give detailed information on each ride, attraction, hotel and restaurant like allears.net, which is my go-to website for all Disney World information.  Mousesavers.com is a great website dedicated to saving money at Disney World.

 

When planning what parks to see on what days, look at the Crowd Calendar in The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World or on touringplans.com.  On the off-season it really doesn’t make a difference, but during the busy season it can.  Also, the book recommends that if this is your first time at Disney World (and you are traveling with kids) to see Epcot before Magic Kingdom.  I agree with this because Magic Kingdom is the best and the most magical and my opinion, Epcot is the least; if your kids see Magic Kingdom first then they will expect every park to be like that and they aren’t.   But of course some kids are just dying to go to Magic Kingdom and won’t rest until they do, so you may not have a choice but to see it first.

Next, if you are staying on Disney property, see what parks have Extra Magic Hours on which days.  If you are willing to get up that early or stay that late for the Magic Hours, plan your park days accordingly.  You can find out the Extra Magic Hours on disneyworld.com or allears.net.

 

By now you should have a rough itinerary of your days at the park and you can make reservations for table service restaurants.   If you plan on eating at quick-service restaurants for your whole vacation, then you don’t have to bother with this step, but I would encourage you to have at least a few restaurant meals.  For the most part Disney World has the normal quick service food—burgers, fries, chicken strips—and it can get old very fast and quite frankly it isn’t very good.   But the restaurants at Disney World have very good food and we’ve had fantastic food experiences at several places.   During the off-season you may be able to walk up to a restaurant and get a last-minute reservation, but during a busy season the reservations fill up very quickly.  I made our reservations about a week before leaving home and I had a hard time getting the places and times that I wanted; it is best to call for reservations as soon as possible (up to 90 days before your vacation), especially for the more popular restaurants.

 

Right now is good place to say a word about the Disney Dining Plan:  On our first trip we didn’t have the Dining Plan, but we did on our last trip as part of a vacation package along with the hotel and park tickets.   Comparing the two trips, I think we saved money with the Dining Plan, which is $39.99 per adult (anyone over age 10, so that’s 3 adults for us) and $10.00 per child per day.  Each day included a quick service meal (drink, entrée and dessert), a table service meal (drink, entrée and dessert) and a snack (drink, ice cream, pretzel, popcorn, etc).  Considering that an entrée or buffet at a table service restaurant can easily run $26 for adults or $10 for a kids’ meal, it’s a good deal if you like to eat in restaurants (and we do).   Since we paid for the Dining Plan up front before leaving home, it made our vacation feel all-inclusive and we didn’t have to think about how much we were spending on food.

 

However, there are a few drawbacks to the Dining Plan.  First of all, it’s a lot of food!  Some days, especially if we had a big table service lunch, we didn’t even feel like eating dinner, but we did anyway.  Also, it is way too much dessert (two a day!) and since we had already paid for it, we felt compelled to eat it (most desserts were excellent, but still that’s too much).   And having a snack everyday was too much as well, although you can use it for water (we didn’t; we had snacks).   

 

All in all, if you are foodies like we are and enjoy eating at least one good meal everyday in a restaurant, then the Disney Dining Plan is a good option.  Right now Disney is offering the Dining Plan for free if you book a vacation package for select travel dates so it’s a perfect time to try it; check out disneyworld.com for details.

 

WHAT TO PACK

Depending on what time of year you go, it can be very hot in Florida.  When we went in October, it was much hotter than I had anticipated and I should have packed tank tops for us.    Conversely, one of the days during our April vacation was freezing cold and we didn’t have the proper clothes at all.  If you are going in the fall or spring, I would be ready for any kind of weather and pack shorts, jeans, tank tops, short-sleeve tees, a long-sleeved tee and a few hoodies.   A couple of umbrellas and rain ponchos will come in handy if it rains (and it often does).   I bought a small Coach purse for our first Disney World trip that I used to hold my phone, Flip camcorder, camera, driver’s license, lipgloss and Key to the Kingdom card (hotel key, park admission and Dining Plan all in one).  I saw that many people had the same purse as well and it was perfect for touring the parks all day.  It’s an older version of this purse:

Of course the smaller your children, the more stuff you have to carry into the park with you.  In contrast to our first trip when my daughter was younger, we didn’t have much to take in the parks this time at all.  And it was soooo nice not having to deal with a stroller!  But since I didn’t have one, I was really annoyed with the people who did; they slowed me down, man!

 

SURVIVING IN THE PARKS

I hate to put it like that, “surviving”, but walking around all day in the parks can wreck havoc on your feet, your legs and really your whole body.  This is the first tip: wear athletic shoes.  These are the shoes I wore:

I know, I know, so unfashionable!   I just made sure that all photos taken of me were from the ankles up!  You will never see me in athletic shoes unless I am exercising; otherwise I will wear Converse, Vans or Ed Hardy gym shoes–all very fashionable, but not a good choice for walking around Disney World.   It was really hard for me to sacrifice fashion for comfort, but it was more than comfort, it was survival.   Flip-flops are not even an option (although we saw plenty of people torturing their feet this way).  I actually saw a mother reprimand her daughter for climbing on a rock because she could slip while wearing her flip-flops.   My kids mostly wear Converse at home, but I bought them cushioned sole Nikes for the trip. I wish we would have thought to buy gel inserts for our shoes; I would recommend those for sure.

Stretching in the morning, while waiting in line at the parks and again at night will go a long way to help keep your muscles limber; a little yoga  also would be great.  And we should have used the hot tub more to un-kink our body at the end of the day; if you have a hot tub where you are staying, use it.

And finally you need a sense of humor.  All that excitement, the crowds, the heat, different hunger times, energy levels and bathroom stops–someone is bound to break down at some point during the day and it can either be funny or disastrous.  We did have a breakdown or two, but for the most part we used humor to keep the stress level down.

 

TOURING TIPS

*My tips are assuming that you want to experience the attractions (movies, live shows and rides) at Disney World.  If you are there to soak up the atmosphere—and that could be a very nice vacation—then you don’t really need touring tips; just wake up, pick a park and go at it.  But if you want to experience the attractions and get as much Disney fun out of your vacation as possible, then these tips should help you have a more enjoyable time.

Our first trip in 2006 was off-season in October; by using the touring plan that I made and getting to the parks early, our average wait for a ride was 5 minutes and the longest we waited was 15 minutes.  It was heavenly and made for a very relaxing trip, but we didn’t know how good it was until this last trip when the average wait for a ride was at least 70 minutes and stretched even to 200 minutes for the most popular rides.   Disney World was at full capacity and several times they quit admitting guests to Magic Kingdom by late afternoon; it was the busiest time EVER to go to Disney World.

 

My first piece of advice would be to not go during the busy season, which is around any school holiday and in the summer.   If that is not an option or you want to go anyway (like we did this spring break, knowing that it would be crowded), then the next piece of advice is to get to the park as early as you can—before it opens–and use the Extra Magic Hours if you qualify.  The days that we got to the park 30 minutes before it opened and rode the most popular rides first, it was a more enjoyable day.  The days that we slept in and got to the park in the afternoon, the lines for the rides were crazy long and in some cases there weren’t even any FastPasses left.  

 

I don’t want to scare you or make it seem like an exercise in military boot-camp, it is a vacation after all!  It’s okay to have late arrival days—we did a few times because getting up early and staying up late burned us out after a few days—just know that you will be with the crowds.  Or as my family said, getting there early “separated the wheat from the chaff.”  Honestly the days that we were “wheat” were the best because we experienced all the attractions that we wanted without a long wait or crowds (or the hot Florida sun!) and by early afternoon we were just cruising around or soaking up the atmosphere.   The days that we were “chaff” we had to really adjust our attitude to embrace the huge crowds, the hot sun and be willing to stand in long lines.  After being both “wheat” and “chaff”, my family much prefers to be “wheaties.”

If you get there early and experience the popular rides first, in theory you can take a long afternoon break back at your hotel for a swim or nap and then come back out to the parks in the late afternoon/evening.   Every book that you will read will recommend this and it is a good idea.  I say “in theory” because my kids didn’t want to do that on this trip.  When we went in 2006 we built in late afternoon naps for my daughter (and husband).  Here they are passed out in Magic Kingdom:

But in the last couple of years my daughter has stopped taking naps and refused to even stop and rest.    If you have kids like mine, bring along a few distractions like a coloring book and crayons (my son had his iPhone to play with), so when YOU have to take a rest at the parks for an hour, they have something to do.  Also, if you are on vacation for more than four days, build in a non-park day midway through to just hang around the hotel, swim or visit Downtown Disney; even high energy kids like mine hit a wall about on day three and needed a break from the parks. 

 

And my last piece of advice—and I can’t stress this enough—is to have a plan. Having experienced both extremes, I can say that while it is nice to have a plan during the off-season, it is absolutely mandatory during the busy season.  Research what the most popular attractions are, what appeals to you and plan accordingly.  In general, if you get there before the park opens, get in line or FastPass the most popular attractions first, then by late morning you can see the least popular/crowded attractions at a leisurely pace and in any order that you please.

 

Let me give you two examples where the plan saved us: 

On our first trip in 2006, I knew through research that Tower of Terror was one of the most popular rides at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Remember, this was my first time in Disney World, so even though I had done my research, it was still all theory to me.   But I heeded advice and we were at the park early and standing at the end of main street 15 minutes prior to the rest of the park opening.   Of course there was a large crowd with us as well and we could feel the pulsing energy and instinctively knew that we had better be ready.  Since only my son and I were riding, we took our place and as soon as the park announcer gave the word, we were off!  I had never seen anything like it; people would have ran if they could have, but there were Disney employees in front of us and they made us walk behind them all the way to the ride.   As crazy as that was, it was also fun and we literally walked right onto that ride; we were the first people to ride that day.  What a thrilling way to start the day!

 

On this last trip there was a new attraction, Toy Story Mania, that while I hadn’t heard too much about, I knew enough to go there first.  Once again we were there before the park opened—this time in freezing weather—but since it was so crowded we didn’t go to the Toy Story Mania line, but to the FastPass line instead.  Even with getting there so early, our FastPass wasn’t until hours later!  The people who came to the park late in the day couldn’t even get a FastPass and had a stand-by wait of 200 minutes.

 

And here’s an example of when we didn’t follow the plan:

This last trip was our first time going to Epcot, so I had no point of reference other than research, but I knew that both Soarin’ and Test Track were popular rides.  The plan was to send the rest of the family to Test Track to get in line while I got FastPasses for Soarin’.  Well, I had no idea how big Epcot was (so much bigger than the other parks), how popular Soarin’ was or that it was located inside a pavilion on the bottom level.  I sped-walked to the pavilion (along with a huge crowd), got inside and just became overwhelmed when I saw the rush of people going down the escalator to Soarin’.  So I left without getting the FastPasses and walked way on the other side of the park to find my family at Test Track.  I later found out that I had made a big mistake.  As we eventually found our way back to the pavilion and got FastPasses for much later in the evening, we had to re-route our whole day to accommodate the late time.  In other parks it’s not such of a big deal because there is less distance between attractions, but at Epcot criss-crossing the park or doubling-back can be a long endeavor.

 

Your touring plan can be as detailed or simple as you want, just have one (of course allowing for flexibility in park crowd conditions, weather and the temperament of your crew).   Touringplans.com has several touring plans already for different situations or you can make your own on their website (for a small fee; that’s what I did).  You can also just type up what you want to do in a Word doc or circle what you want to see on a park map.  Just being familiar with the park layout, reading up on some of the attractions and knowing what’s popular (and potentially crowded) can go a long way towards being prepared.  

 

Are you planning your Walt Disney World vacation yet or did I scare you?  In parts 2 and 3 I talk about our experience at the different Disney World Parks: the attractions, food, what we liked and what we didn’t.   But if you have a specific question, leave a comment and I’ll put on my “ears” and answer you back!

*As anyone who has traveled through the nation’s busiest airport knows, “T is For Tango” refers to the Concourse T stop on the airport train.

 

You’re back!  That means that I didn’t scare you off in my last blog post about Disney World and you are ready to learn even more!  This is all the fun stuff: what to ride, what to see and what to eat.

Before I begin telling you about our experiences at the different Disney World parks, a note about MEEETING CHARACTERS.

If you have a child between the ages of 3-6, meeting the Disney characters may be high on their list of priorities.   Since our first trip to Disney World was for my daughter’s 5^th birthday, we tailored much of the trip around her wishes and hunting down characters was a good part of each day.  I’m not going to lie; it’s a huge time-suck.  The characters are very gracious and talk to, take photos with and sign each child’s autograph book.  As charming as this is, as you can imagine, it takes forever.

To cut down on standing in line as much as possible, research where the characters congregate in each park and get there early (although many characters roam around, each park does have a specific character meet-and-greet place).   Another good way to hit a bunch of characters at once is to attend a character meal.  At any one meal there could be 4-6 characters.  Allears.net has a list of all the character meals and it is recommended that reservations be made early.   I’ll write more about the character meals that we attended in my next blog post.

Since we exhausted meeting many of the Disney characters on our first trip (and have the autographs and photos to prove it), my daughter didn’t express interest in talking to them again; she was happy to wave at them from afar.  As for me, as long as I saw Mickey at least once, I was good–and he blew me a kiss during a parade.   He knows I’m a fan!

DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM

This was our first trip to Animal Kingdom and our first day at Disney World, so we were anxious to explore.  It’s not a terribly large park and is easily explored in one day, although we did return another day for a couple of hours.  It was very crowded and like most of the Disney parks, the beauty is in the details—which is hard to see with so many people.  Our second time there it was not as crowded and we were able to appreciate all the small details that made everything seem so authentic in “Africa” and “Asia.”

 

RIDES & ATTRACTIONS

Kilimanjaro Safaris: This was the first thing on our touring plan of Animal Kingdom as it is one of the more popular attractions.  The whole family really enjoyed the safari ride!  The (real) animals are right there outside the vehicle and several times the jeep was stopped because an animal was crossing the road.  On the second safari my family said that a giraffe was right next to the jeep!  I really liked seeing the lions.  This is a must-see attraction.

These animals are about 10 feet away from our jeep.

It’s Tough to be a Bug!: Disney does 3-D movies very well and this one didn’t disappoint; we all liked it.  I won’t give too many details so as not to ruin it, but be sure to see it.  We practically walked right into the movie and all day whenever I passed by, I didn’t see more than a 15 minute wait.  But even if you have to wait a bit, looking at the carvings in the Tree of Life is fascinating. 

 This is the Tree of Life far away:

This is a close-up:

Dinosaur: This was our first ride in DinoLand U.S.A. and I think after that my daughter was done with dinosaurs.  While not really scary, the ride is mostly in the dark with roaring dinosaurs popping out here and there.  It’s not something that we would ride again as my daughter didn’t like it and it wasn’t exciting or charming enough for the rest of us.  But it’s worth riding at least once.

 

Primeval Whirl: We all got in line to ride this and my daughter barely made the height requirement.  However when we got ready to ride, she refused to get on and waited with my husband while The Boy and I rode.  It was okay; a small carnival type roller coaster with spinning as the main source of excitement. 

 

Tricera Top Spin: A dinosaur version of the Dumbo ride at Magic Kingdom and completely harmless.  My family rode while I went to check out Expedition Everest (Which was so packed that I turned around and didn’t even get a FastPass. It was another big mistake I made of not following the plan; I wouldn’t be able to ride that day).

 

The Boneyard: This is a playground/climbing structure in DinoLand U.S.A. and my daughter wasn’t even remotely interested so we left without exploring.  It looked fun though and gives parents a chance to rest.

 

Kali River Rapids: I had read that this ride gets you really soaked, so we brought our rain ponchos (I am not a fan of walking around soaking wet for the rest of the day).  We were not the only ones in line with ponchos on either; most veteran riders had on some kind of protection.  I even bought small trash bags to put over my shoes because wearing wet socks is one of my biggest pet peeves.  And yes, if we hadn’t had on our ponchos, we would have gotten soaked!   At first my daughter was afraid, but it isn’t scary at all and she had fun; any kid can ride. 

 *A tip: the “dry” compartment that is used to store your personal belongings so that they don’t get wet is in fact full of water and not at all water-tight.  It would be a good idea to put your phone, camera, etc in a Ziploc bag first.

 

Expedition Everest–Legend of the Forbidden Mountain: Like I said, I missed out the first time we were in Animal Kingdom, but we went back on our last day specifically so that I could ride this roller coaster (I rode alone; the rest of the family road the Safari again).  I had to stand in line for 60 minutes because there wasn’t enough time to get a FastPass, but it was worth it.   A good part of the line is outside, which would be brutal on a really hot day (they have fans, so that should tell you something), but once the line moved inside it was really quite interesting to look at all the props in the “yeti museum”.   I was nervous because you can see from the outside that the roller coaster has a big hill to climb, but I was also excited.  What a blast!  The roller coaster is thrilling, like all roller coasters, but in an unexpected way.  And it is just so well done that I enjoyed just looking around at all the details (when I wasn’t screaming or laughing).  This is one of my new favorite rides and I will be riding again for sure!  As for kids, if they are tall enough and brave, then give it a shot.   There were definitely young kids on the ride, but my kids would have lost their minds on the climb up the hill (you can see the whole park).

*If this is your kids’—or your–first time riding roller coasters, try this: ride Big Thunder Mountain at Magic Kingdom.  Was it okay?  Then ride Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom.  Still okay?  Then ride Expedition Everest.   If that didn’t break a sweat then maybe they could even ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Holllywood Studios (the biggest roller coaster at Disney World; I haven’t ridden it yet).

 

Finding Nemo—The Musical: In general, the shows at Disney World are great and we try to see as many as we can.   We weren’t stressed to see this show, but we walked by when there was little wait and also we were hot and tired by now and could use a sit-down.  Many of Disney’s theaters are built so that you will have a good view from any angle, but this was not the case here and we were in the very back of the theater.  I don’t know if it was because we couldn’t see very well or because we’ve seen Finding Nemo a million times (although I really like the movie), but most of us thought that this was just okay and actually boring.   And it’s really too long.  My son fell asleep and my husband tried to.   My daughter didn’t seem to like it or dislike it.  Maybe I didn’t like it because it’s very similar to Voyage of The Little Mermaid at Hollywood Studios–which I liked a lot–but really how many of these things can you see before they all blend together?  My recommendation is to see it if you really like Nemo or just want to sit down (and get there early for a seat up front), but skip it if you are pressed for time.

 

Festival of The Lion King:  This show, in contrast to Nemo, is very high energy and really spectacular; there was no falling asleep in this show!  We did have a bit of a wait (15 minutes), but there really isn’t a bad seat, so you can even slide in at the last minute if there’s availability.   Really this show is Disney at it’s best and in my opinion one the best things in the park, so don’t miss it.

 

Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and Maharaja Jungle Trek:  These are “zoo walks” and basically you look at animals like you would in any zoo.  Honestly this part of Animal Kingdom was not that appealing to us because we go to the zoo all the time in Atlanta and saw many of the same animals; we breezed through.   We only stopped for a time to look at the bats because I thought that they were fascinating and had never seen a bat so close (we were really close; there were only wooden slats keeping the bats in, no glass).   My family did not share my fascination.  And the tigers were cool; the ones in Atlanta are always hiding.

 

 

We did not see: Flights of Wonder (my husband doesn’t do birds), anything in Rafiki’s Planet Watch or the characters in Camp Minnie-Mickey (my daughter wasn’t interested).

 

PARADES

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: I am not a big fan of parades, but on our way out the park I happened to find a shady space for us to enjoy our ice cream and it was the perfect spot to view the parade starting in five minutes.  I’m glad that we stayed because this was a really good parade with African masks and good music; it’s worth seeing.

 

FOOD

Flame Tree Barbeque: This was the most recommended counter service restaurant in Animal Kingdom.  My son had the ribs and I had the chicken; both were very good, very flavorful, but my husband didn’t care for the pulled pork sandwich.  I liked that the kids’ menu had baked chicken instead of the usual chicken nuggets. 

Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes: For a snack we had chicken fried rice and egg rolls and both were great, but the best thing there is the mango pie.  Yum!  It has the consistency of key lime pie, but with a mango flavor.  It was so good that my son was scheming to get back there all week for more mango pies.   When we finally made it back, the joke was on us when we read the package and saw that the pies are made here in Smyrna, Georgia at Kenny’s Great Pies!

 

SHOPPING

The gift shops in Asia and Africa have great souvenirs from those countries.  I liked (and bought) cute leopard print mouse ears for myself. 

In general I have found that while shopping in Disney World, if you see something in one place, don’t expect to see it elsewhere; get it when and where you see it because you might not see it again.   For instance, many of the rides exit out into a gift shop and sell souvenirs specific that ride, like pirate gear, Star Wars toys or Muppet tee shirts; it will be hard to find that merchandise anywhere else.

 

TOURING TIPS

Get there early; the Disney characters welcome you into the park when it opens and it’s cute.  Pick either Kilimanjaro Safaris or Expedition Everest to see first and go straight there as these are the most popular rides.  Or FastPass one and see the other.  It’s a good idea to ride Kali River Rapids early also or use  FastPass.  Other than those 3 rides, seeing the rest of the park is pretty chill.

 

OTHER THINGS WE LIKED/DISLIKED AND FINAL THOUGHTS

Don’t miss the monkeys on an island in Asia.  If you are walking by quickly you might not think that they are real, but they are and really funny to watch.

Animal Kingdom was cool; not our favorite park, but worth visiting again if only to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest and see Festival of The Lion King.  Dinoland U.S.A., in my opinion, should have been left out and instead another “country” should have been put in its place with real animals (not extinct ones).   As you can see, we did a lot; we were there at 8:00 a.m. and left about 4:30 p.m., so this in an easy park to do in one day.  Animal Kingdom is a nice park to just roam around leisurely.  It’s very well done and very beautiful, but since we already visit the zoo so much, it wasn’t that exciting overall for us.   On future trips I’m sure that we will make it a half-day tour and just hit the highlights.

 

DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

This was our second time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (it was called MGM Studios the first time we visited) and we were excited to go back.  We all really enjoy this park because the theme of old Hollywood is so well done.  Besides the great attractions, this is just a fun park to walk around.  It’s easy to navigate and not very big at all; you can tour this park in one day.  Also, since many of the attractions are shows, you’re often sitting down and exerting less energy; Hollywood Studios won’t leave you exhausted.

Check out the shirts! We made these on Zazzle.com.

 

RIDES & ATTRACTIONS

The Great Movie Ride:  Set inside a replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, it’s not really a “ride” as much as a tour of classic movie scenes.   We all like this ride and it’s a must-do for us at Hollywood Studios. 

 

The American Idol Experience:  This is a new show at Hollywood Studios and our first time experiencing it.  The stage looks just like the real Idol set and the audience votes for real park guests who have signed up to compete.  It was fun watching the singers and voting; we would do that again.

Sounds Dangerous: We happened upon this “movie” right before the park was closing and ducked in because we had nothing better to do—and it looked intriguing.  I put “movie” in quotes because really I don’t know what to call this attraction.   I know; I’ll call it stupid.  We all agreed that attraction is a waste of space and needs to be dismantled; it was our one disappointment with Hollywood Studios.  Please, do not waste your time seeing this.

 

Star Tours:  A favorite ride from Disneyland, this is a must-do for us.  This flight simulation is just fun enough for the thrill-seekers, but not too scary for the timid riders. 

 

Muppet Vision 3D:  I’m a big fan of The Muppets and they are just as hilarious in this 3D movie as they are on the old TV show.

 

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure: This is a fun playground filled with very large items (to make your kids seem small).  My kids had fun in 2006 playing while the parents took a rest.  We skipped it on the last trip because it was freezing the day we visited.

 

 

Lights, Motors, Action! Exteme Stunt Show:  In 2006 my husband and son saw this while I sat with my daughter who napping in her stroller; they both loved it so much that they couldn’t wait to share it with Girly and me on this last trip.   It’s a great car stunt show for the whole family and a must-see attraction.

*Tip: The show is outside and 33 minutes long; the front part of the audience sits in the sun while those in the back sit in the shade—plan according to your tolerance for heat.

After the show don’t miss walking around Streets of America; tell me this doesn’t look just like New York City.  (Except maybe the sidewalk is too clean.)     

Studio Backlot Tour: This is a walking and riding tour about how things work in the movies (like making it rain or having a set catch on fire).   Eh, it was so-so; we saw it 2006 and did not feel the need to see it again on this last trip.  But if this is your first trip to Hollywood Studios, then you should experience this attraction.

 

Toy Store Midway Mania!: This is a new attraction and one of the most popular rides in the park.  This was our first time riding it and now we know why it’s so popular—it’s so much fun!   Even though we had a FastPass, we had a small wait and got to experience some of the waiting area, which is very fun and filled with Toy Store toys.  We really wanted to ride this again, but the FastPasses were gone early and the stand-by line was incredibly long.  We are riding this for sure on our next trip!

 

Journey Into Narnia: Prince Caspian:  My family blamed me for this one because I talked them into seeing this attraction.  It’s sort of a movie trailer and sort of an exhibit, but none of it is worth seeing; do not waste your time.

 

Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream:  In 2006 my husband enjoyed this short film and self-guided tour of Walt’s life, but the rest of us were just trying to get out the sun.  He tried to convince us to see it again on this last trip, but to no avail.  It’s worth seeing if you need shade, want a quiet activity or interested in learning about the man behind the dream.

 

Voyage of The Little Mermaid:  My daughter and I really liked this show, but my husband and son can’t comment because they fell asleep.  In their defense, it takes place in a cool, dark “cave” and it was a welcome respite from the heat.   But it’s a good show, very popular and worth seeing.

 

The Magic of Disney Animation:  We sat through this in 2006 because The Incredibles characters were waiting to be seen afterwards.  It was interesting, but I wouldn’t have chosen to see it if not for The Incredibles and we won’t be seeing it again.

 

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror:  Besides Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, this ride is the most intense ride at Disney World.  Disney describes it as “dropping 13 stories at random, into another dimension.” 

In How To Do Disney World Like Funkidivagirl: Part 1, you read how my son and I were in the first group of people to ride Tower of Terror that day.   Did I mention that my son doesn’t ride scary or intense rides?   He sort of got bamboozled because we literally walked on the ride and he didn’t have time to freak out.  He will tell you now, if he knew what he was getting into, he would have run the other way!  He was literally speechless when we exited the ride while he pulled himself back together.  I agree; it was the most intense ride that I have ever ridden and I ride practically anything.   It’s not like, “Whee!  This is thrilling, but I’m having so much fun!”  It’s more like, “What have I done?!?  Lord, I promise to be good if you get me off here alive!”   And just when you think that you can’t take anymore, the ride drops again—and again!  But it was not just terrifying; it was so well done and I was really impressed!  Even though we breezed through the line in the “hotel”, I could see how incredible it was.  Wow!—Disney outdid themselves with this ride!  If you can stand it, I encourage you to experience Tower of Terror because it’s unlike anything else.   Once was good enough for me; I didn’t ride it again on this last trip and I’m not sure if I ever will.

We did not see: Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectaular! (we tried three times unsuccessfully to get a seat),  Playhouse Disney—Live on Stage (it  is for younger children),  Beauty and the Beast—Live on Stage (no one was interested), Block Party Bash, HSM3 (we weren’t nearby) or  Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith  (no one will ride with me and I need a buddy to brave this ultra-fast loop de loop roller coaster).  

NIGHTTIME ENTERTAINMENT

Fantasmic:  I love how Disney makes up words!  Fantasmic is a nighttime show that is also shown in Disneyland, but it is much more dynamic at Disney World.   Live actors, Disney characters, special effects and lasers make this one of the best things to see in all of Disney World and a definite must-see for us again and again.  Truly spectacular!

 

FOOD

Hollywood Studios has the normal, predictable counter-service food, but for the second time we ate at 50’s Prime Time Café and for the second time we loved it.  The décor is reason enough to eat there because you’re eating in “Mom’s” 1950’s kitchen complete with black & white televisions. 

To make it even more fun the wait-staff are in character as well; our waitress made a man at another table stand in the corner because he kept putting his elbows on the table.  The food is delicious—just like Mom’s.  The meatloaf and chicken pot-pie were very good, but the pot roast is what you need to order—fantastic!  Milkshakes to wash it all down and s’mores for dessert make this a yummy and very filling meal.

SHOPPING

The shops on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards are great; some of them are dedicated to movie paraphernalia  and there’s a fun “villain” shop as well.  If you ride Tower of Terror you have to get a souvenir from the the gift shop as a reminder of your survival; they have really cool “hotel” items like soap and robes.

 

TOURING TIPS

Because Hollywood Studios is a small park, if it is crowded you feel it and lines form quickly.   Therefore, during the busy season it’s best to have a plan if you want to see the popular attractions.  Get there early and head straight for either Toy Story Midway Mania! or Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster if you are brave (FastPass one and ride the other; they are right next to each other).   Star Tours, The Great Movie Ride and Voyage of The Little Mermaid are popular too.  You shouldn’t have too much of a wait for other attractions; FastPass the ones that you can and come back later to the crowded ones.   Since the park isn’t that big, it’s not hard to double-back to attractions. 

The rest of your touring depends on the shows that you want to see; pick up a Times Guide when you enter and plan your day according to show times.   Most shows fill quickly so on a crowed day it may be a good idea to grab a snack and be in line 20-30 minutes before the show begins.   However Fantasmic is a different story; during the busy season you must be at the theater 45-60 minutes before the show begins if you want a seat (there is standing room way in the back, but you don’t want to do that).   There are bathrooms and food (snacks, burgers, chicken strips) in the theater, so get your seat first, settle in and then get food to keep your family distracted until the show starts.  I got Girly a bag of cotton candy and didn’t hear a peep.  It sounds daunting, but the time goes quickly and it’s worth the wait.

DOWNTOWN DISNEY

Downtown Disney is a fun place to go on your first night at Disney World or anytime you want a break from the parks, but still want some action.  There are shops, restaurants, movie theaters and tons of other entertainment—too much for me to list.   You can read all that Downtown Disney has to offer at allears.net.  This is what we experienced:

FOOD

Earl of Sandwich: This is a counter-service restaurant with really good sandwiches and excellent baked goods.  Try the Earl Grey Lemonade.

 

Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop: The best sundaes at Disney World are at Ghirardelli!   And they are huge—two sundaes were plenty enough for us to share.

 

SHOPPING

World of Disney:  This is a HUGE store full of all kinds of Disney merchandise: clothes, jewelry, household items, toys, Mickey ears and just about anything that you can think of.  My daughter had fun customizing a princess crown, but be careful; those little do-dads add up and that $10 crown can easily morph into a $30 crown before you’re done. 

 

TrenD: This is a new store in Downtown Disney and it is so cute!  This is the place to buy your fashionable Mickey gear.  I was really tempted to buy a tee emblazoned with a peace sign composed of Mickey heads.

 

Disney Days of Christmas: I always buy a Christmas ornament every time we travel to someplace new and this store has the most beautiful ornaments and a huge selection.  Each member of the family got their own ornament and we picked out a special family ornament as well.

 

Once Upon A Toy: On our first trip to Disney World my daughter and I spent at least an hour in this fantastic toy store.  I assume that it’s full of great toys, but we never made it past the Mr. Potato Head parts at the front of the store.  For one price you can fill a box full of parts and we had a ball picking out all the different “outfits” for Mr. Potato Head; we left with two full boxes.  On this last trip there new potato parts to buy and soon we were filling up one box, and then two boxes, until we saw a new bigger container available to fill—a giant Mr. Potato Head.

*Tips: The store employees are very good at stuffing the parts to full capacity; ask them to help you or show you what to do—there is a science to it.   We didn’t find out this next tip until we had three parts that wouldn’t fit in the container, but you can actually buy the parts separately for $2 each; obviously pick the biggest pieces.  For more fun I hear that there are places in the store to customize a lightsaber or My Little Pony, but we never made it past Mr. Potato Head.

DISNEYQUEST

While my daughter and I were forging for Mr. Potato Head parts, my husband and son were at DisneyQuest playing video games.  This is not your normal arcade, but a multi-level gamer’s dream.  For one price you can play unlimited games the entire day; my boys played games for about five hours and had a great time.  Their favorite “game” was CyberSpace Mountain where they got to create a roller coaster and then experience it in a simulator.   My husband made his a little too real because he was queasy for the rest of the day.

 

Part 3 is all about Epcot and Magic Kingdom.  If you have a specific question about Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios or Downtown Disney that I didn’t touch on before, just leave me a comment and I’ll try to answer.

*As anyone who has traveled through the nation’s busiest airport knows, “T is For Tango” refers to the Concourse T stop on the airport train.

 

I’m feeling a bit sad as I sit here sipping green tea and typing the last installment of How To Do Disney World Like Funkidivagirl because I have really enjoyed sharing Disney World with you through these few blog posts.

 

If you missed the previous 2 installments, go back to part 1 (how to prepare for Disney World) and part 2 (Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Downtown Disney) to catch up.   To make it even easier for you, all the posts are in a special “T as in Tango: Disney World” category.

But before I break down Epcot and Magic Kingdom (this is a very long post, there’s much to say about these parks), here are reviews of some RESORT RESTAURANTS at Disney World:

Chef Mickey at Contemporary: We loved this breakfast buffet in 2006, but we couldn’t get a reservation for our last trip.  The food is good (especially the pancakes), but we were there to see the characters.  This is the best part of a character meal because the characters come around to each table and spend a good amount of time socializing (as much as they can non-verbally), signing autographs and taking photos.   My daughter was excited to see Chip & Dale and Goofy while I loved seeing Mickey.

O’hana at Polynesian:  This was by far our favorite dinner during our 2006 trip and I tried almost day to get a reservation for this last trip, but I couldn’t swing it.  The décor is great, the atmosphere is fun and participatory, but most of all the food is really, really good.  Grilled meal is served all-you-can-eat family style and I think that my son tried to eat it all.    I kept the grilled shrimp coming to the table.   We all loved the bread pudding with bananas and caramel sauce for dessert.  Next time I am making my reservations early!

Whispering Canyon Café at Wilderness Lodge: This was our first experience at Whispering Canyon, but it won’t be our last.   The boys had the All-You-Care-To-Eat Canyon Skillet and wow that was a lot of food.  My husband said, “That’s what a sausage should taste like!”  We all had bottom-less milkshakes.   The wait-staff have “stage names” and really get into character, so don’t be offended if they throw straws on your table or do something else kooky. 

 

Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge:  Part of the fun of eating at a resort restaurant is that you get to check out all the different resorts.  I really wanted to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge on this trip, but it was all booked up; at least I got to see it during dinner.   While we were there too late to see the animals on the savannah, the lobby was awesome.   But the food….the food!  O’hana may be replaced as our favorite Disney World resort restaurant because we all agree that Boma’s food is delicious!  My daughter found a favorite dish in the Curried Green Beans, while my son had several helpings of FuFu and Potatoes with Afritude.  My favorite dish was the Tunisian Couscous; I had never had couscous as good as this!  I asked for the recipe.   We all loved the Curried Coconut Seafood Stew and I have the recipe for that as well.   We will be back to Boma for sure!

 

Alice in Wonderland Tea Party at The Grand Floridian: While not technically a restaurant, my daughter attended a tea party with Alice and The Mad Hatter in 2006.  They played games, decorated cupcakes and drank tea.  She said that she had a good time.  While she was at the tea (parents weren’t allowed in; they gave us a pager in case of emergency) I roamed The Grand Floridian hotel.  To say that I love The Grand Floridian would be an understatement; my husband actually counted how many times I said “Grand Floridian” on this trip (many, many times).  I must stay there during a future trip to Disney World!

  

EPCOT

This was our first time going to Epcot and we were excited to explore, however our initial reaction was not a good one.  Remember my failed quest to get FastPasses for Soarin’ in How To Do Disney World Like Funkidivagirl: Part 1?  Not a great way to start the morning.  Future World does not look like any other Disney park; there’s a lot of concrete and many of the attractions are in buildings.   It took us quite awhile to orient ourselves to the park’s layout and my husband never figured it out; he was perpetually lost.  The “magic” is not as apparent as it is in the other Disney World parks and it took a couple of days for us to warm up to Epcot, especially Future World. 

 

RIDES & ATTRACTIONS IN FUTURE WORLD

Spaceship Earth:  This is the park’s icon, like the big hat at Hollywood Studios, Cinderella’s castle at Magic Kingdom and Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom.  It’s enormous and quite awe-inspiring up close.  There’s also an attraction inside about communication throughout the ages.  It’s good and worth experiencing.

 

The Seas with Nemo & Friends: Another Finding Nemo attraction!  I guess this makes sense because Nemo is a fish and this attraction takes place in an aquarium, but I think Disney needs to start tapping into the other characters; I would love to see an attraction based on The Incredibles.  But I digress…back to The Seas attraction.  This is a very slow and harmless conveyor belt “ride” on a hunt for Nemo.  Little kids will like it, but kids over the age of 10 may find it boring.   Instead walk around to the exit and look at the aquarium, which is decent.   I admit that we are a little blasé because Atlanta has the biggest aquarium in the world, but I had never seen a manatee before, so it was nice to experience a new sea creature. 

 

Turtle Talk With Crush:  You don’t need to ride The Seas to see this because it is part of the aquarium.  Crush is our favorite character in Finding Nemo and we loved watching him interact with the audience.   I thought it was really funny and definitely something that you should experience.

 

Journey Into Imagination with Figment:  A conveyor belt journey about the senses, we didn’t quite get this attraction.  In my opinion, it’s not a high priority; experience this when you’ve seen everything else.

 

Living with the Land: It’s a slow boat ride to learn about  how we use the land.  My son would say a slow boat ride to hell; he was so bored.  I don’t think it was that bad; the latter part in the greenhouse was interesting.  I do agree that you should not stand in line to ride this; ride only if you can walk right on and you have experienced everything else in Future World.

 

The Circle of Life: The Lion King characters school us on ecology.  Frankly, it could be more interesting than it is.  See it when you have exhausted the rest of the park or while you are waiting for your Soarin’ FastPass time to arrive.  Or skip it.

 

Honey, I Shrunk the Audience: We didn’t actually see this at Epcot because we have seen it many times at Disneyland.  It’s a fantastic 3D film and definitely a must-see attraction.

 

Test Track: This was my son’s favorite ride and the rest of us loved it too.  Well, my husband and I did; Girly screamed bloody murder and wouldn’t ride a second time.  At first I was like, “Ho-hum; cute, but not exciting.”  Then the ride kicked into high gear!  It’s not scary, just fast, so most little kids should be fine.  It’s a definite must-ride.

 

Mission: SPACE:  I had read a lot of reviews about this ride and had mixed emotions.   Specifically I was concerned about the spinning and confined space (I can be slightly claustrophobic sometimes).   It seems that the spinning was too much for a lot of people so Disney made a non-spinning version and you can choose which version you want to ride; we chose the non-spinning version.  We had a FastPass and made it to the instruction chamber without a wait….and then had to exit again because Girly had to pee.  Luckily they gave us a special “your-kid-had-to-pee-but-you-don’t-have to-stand-in-line-again” FastPass and we were back in the instruction chamber in no time.   Many of Disney’s rides have this instruction chamber; “blah, blah, blah”—I was only half-listening because I was trying to psych myself out about the impending small imprisonment of my body in the spaceship cockpit.   I should have had a clue when the announcer warned against claustrophobic individuals riding—about 50 times he said this!  Still, I entered the chamber, sat down and began freaking out.   My husband tried to calm me, but I knew I had but a split second before they locked me in.   I didn’t look at anyone, say good-bye or give the kids an explanation; I just bolted.  The rest of the family loved this ride and even rode it again the next day.   The moral of the story is: this is a great ride and a must-do IF you are not claustrophobic.   But if you are even slightly concerned about small spaces, do not ride.

 

Innoventions:  My son was looking forward to seeing and playing with “the toys and tools of tomorrow” in the two Innoventions buildings, but in the end he didn’t think anything presented was very exciting.   This is something that you can do at anytime, so experience all the popular attractions first and see Innoventions at your leisure.

 

Soarin’: Collectively as a family Soarin’ was our favorite ride at Epcot and we rode it twice.  This simulated “flight” over California was exhilarating but not scary at all, so anyone can ride and everyone should; this is a must-do attraction at Epcot.

 

The only attraction we did not see was Ellen’s Energy Adventure.  My husband wanted to see this film about how the world uses energy, but The Boy refused after experiencing Living With the Land and Circle of Life.  If anybody can make energy entertaining it would be Ellen DeGeneres, but 45 minutes seemed like a long time.  Perhaps we will see it on our next trip.

 

FOOD IN FUTURE WORLD

We did not eat at any counter-service restaurants in Future World.

 

Coral Reef Restaurant: I had read mixed reviews about this restaurant, but decided to give it a try anyway.  The food was good, but the décor is dated and the lighting is very dark.  The “entertainment” provided by the fish, sharks and rays swimming behind the enormous glass wall was nice.   I would recommend dining at this restaurant if you want to have a table-service meal in Future World, but I think that we will eat all of our meals in World Showcase on future visits to Epcot.

 

SHOPPING IN FUTURE WORLD

We did not go into any shops in Future World; the place did not entice me to spend money.  Girly bought a Crush stuffed animal in The Seas gift shop.

 

RIDES & ATTRACTIONS IN WORLD SHOWCASE

World Showcase is more of an experience than a place to seek thrills and it’s best toured at a leisurely pace to appreciate the architecture and nuances of each country. 

We saw every attraction in every country that had one.  The films in Canada, France and China were all very good and worth seeing.  During our first tour of World Showcase my family didn’t want to see The American Adventure film because they were more interested in learning about other cultures, but during our second tour I felt that it would be unpatriotic to see everything but America.   Although my daughter fell asleep and my son was protesting, it was a very well done multi-media presentation.  The building that houses the attraction is beautiful and worth seeing by itself.

 

Tin Toy Stories (Japan): We almost walked by this exhibit space, but glad that we stopped in.  We did not know that the tin toys popular in America during the 50’s & 60’s were a result of Japanese culture!   It was a fun and interesting exhibit and definitely worth a look.

 

There are only two “rides” in World Showcase:

Maelstrom (Norway): Maelstrom, a Viking boat voyage, was strange to us.  It might have been because the ride momentarily broke down, so the “story” was disconnected.   But it’s a popular ride and is worth experiencing. 

 

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros (Mexico): It started out as sort of a Small World ride about Mexico and that would have been fine, but the screens interspersed throughout the ride showing the cartoon The Three Caballeros was bizarre.   We won’t ride that again.

World Showcase has a lot of street performers and this is how you get the flavor of each country.  We saw Mo’Rockin, an Arabic fusion rock band, in Morocco along with a belly dancer.  Matsuriza, Japanese Taiko drummers, were fantastic to watch in Japan.  My kids really loved watcing Dragon Legend Acrobats, Chinese children, in China.  While we were waiting for The American Adventure to start we saw Voices of Liberty, an Americana a cappella group, perform; they are very talented.  I was bummed that I didn’t get to see The British Invasion, a 60’s British retro group, perform in the United Kingdom.

 

 

NIGHTTIME ENTERTAINMENT

Illuminations is the big nighttime show at Epcot; it’s shown in the World Showcase lagoon.  It was fine and definitely worth seeing, but it’s not as spectacular as Fantasmic.  We would see it again if we happen to be nearby  when it starts, but I don’t think we will make special provisions to do so.

 

FOOD IN WORLD SHOWCASE

A family of foodies, we were excited to eat in the different countries in World Showcase.  We had a few counter-service meals as well as a couple restaurant meals.

Tangierine Café (Morocco): My son had this for dinner one night.  He had a full plate of lamb, couscous, hummus, tabouleh and Moroccan bread—and he loved it all.

 

Yorkshire Country Fish Shop (United Kingdom):  Traditional English fish & chips, we ate this while waiting for Illuminations to start.   It was very tasty and a good bet for a quick bite.

 

Yakitori House (Japan):  Despite the lovely outside seating in a Japanese garden, this Japanese counter-service food was so-so; I don’t think that I would eat there again. 

 

Teppan Edo (Japan): Similar to Behinana, this teppanyaki style Japanese restaurant was a favorite of the whole family.  We enjoyed the entertainment provided by our talented chef and the food was very good.  We’ll be back!

Restaurant Marrakesh (Morocco): Dinner in this restaurant was a real treat: beautiful décor, good Moroccan food and great belly-dancing entertainment.  My son loved the lamb.  We highly recommend this dining experience.

 

SHOPPING IN WORLD SHOWCASE

Most of the buildings in World Showcase are stores, so this is a place that you can really do some retail damage.  I didn’t come to Epcot to shop, so we breezed through all of the stores, just to see what each country had to offer.  Everything is authentic from that country; you can learn a lot just by browsing, even if you don’t buy a thing.

 The exception for us was the store in Japan—we loved that store!  I think we stayed in there over an hour and even returned another day.  It’s a huge store full of cool clothes, stationary, toys, food, decorative items and jewelry.   We already love Japanese candy, so we went nuts when we saw the huge display of candy available for purchase.   We bought so much candy and it was gobbled up in no time flat.

 

TOURING TIPS

Epcot is huge, HUGE—so much bigger than the other parks.   If this is your first time there, do not try to tour this park in one day or you will either drop from exhaustion or skip some really great attractions.  We broke up our Epcot touring into two days–one day for Future World and one day for World Showcase.  We actually ended up going back to Epcot a third time for a few hours; we rode our favorite rides again in Future World and spent more time in World Showcase.  

 

If you want to ride the popular rides in Future World, it does require some planning during a busy season.  Get there when it opens (this isn’t too hard because it doesn’t open until 9:00 a.m.) and go straight to Soarin’ for a FastPass.  Then make the long trek to the other side of the park and ride Test Track and Mission: SPACE.  You shouldn’t have a long wait for the rest of the rides and attractions in Future World.  There are two big electronic boards on each side of the park displaying the current wait times for the more popular attractions.

 

World Showcase is pretty easy to tour in a clockwise or counter-clockwise fashion going from one country to the next.   Most of the films in World Showcase are shown continuously throughout the day, so you will either walk right into a movie or wait a few minutes until the current one is finishing.  The exception is The American Adventure, which is shown at specific times.   For this attraction and other entertainment performed throughout World Showcase, pick up a Times Guide on your way in and try to be in or near that country during the correct time.

 

OTHER THINGS WE LIKED/DISLIKED AND FINAL THOUGHTS

The big fountain in Future World spouts water in time to music and changes colors at night; if you walk by quickly you might miss it, but it’s fun to stop and to watch for awhile.

 

After a few days at the park we can say that Future World is still not our favorite part of Epcot.  While we loved Soarin’, Test Track and Mission: SPACE, we did not like the “feeling” of Future World; I think it needs a make-over.  My son kept saying that it looked like “an 80’s mall” (never mind that he was born in 1995).  We’ll be back to experience our favorite rides, but we won’t spend much time just milling about.

 

On the other hand, we really liked World Showcase and we’ll go back to eat in other countries, see the street entertainment and buy more Japanese Candy.  

 

MAGIC KINGDOM

 

Cinderella’s Castle lit up at night

 

I saved the best for last; Magic Kingdom is our favorite park and to us, the epitome of Walt Disney World.  While the rides, shows and parades are fun to experience, Magic Kingdom is really not about that.  It’s just so magical!   The moment I enter Main Street I start grinning from ear to ear and practically skip down the street. 

 

RIDES & ATTRACTIONS

Since Magic Kingdom is basically a bigger version of Disneyland, I have experienced most of these attractions several times.  They are listed starting in Frontierland and end in Mickey’s Toontown Fair.

 

Walt Disney World Railroad: The main depot is on Main Street.  The train makes a 20 minute loop with stops in Frontierland and Mickey’s Toowntown Fair.  It’s nice to use for transportation to those lands or as a relaxing roundtrip ride.

 

Swiss Family Treehouse: We hadn’t seen this attraction in a long time, so we did the walk through on this trip.  Because it was crowded we couldn’t really stop to look at anything, so it wasn’t that fun.  Tour this when there isn’t a line.

 

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin: This is a more fun version of the Dumbo ride.  It’s a must-ride for my daughter and we all enjoy it too.

 

The Enchanted Tiki Room: We haven’t seen this show in many years and I heard that it has been re-done.  Since they aren’t real birds, I think my husband will be okay and we need to see this on our next trip.

 

Jungle Cruise:  It’s dated, it’s corny, but it’s a classic Disney ride; I love it.

Pirates of the Caribbean:  A few years ago this attraction was re-done to incorporate Captain Jack Sparrow.  It was a good addition and makes a classic ride even better.  This is a must-ride for us every time.

 

Splash Mountain:  My family won’t ride this, so I haven’t ridden since I’ve been married, but it’s fun and you will get wet.

 

Big Thunder Mountain:  This is my son’s favorite ride at Magic Kingdom; it’s thrilling, but there aren’t any big drops and it isn’t too fast.  We must ride this multiple times.  Here’s a video I shot on our last trip.  As you can hear, my daughter will ride, but doesn’t really like it too much; most kids will do just fine.  You can hear me scream “My ears!” as my Mickey ears were flying off.

 

 

Tom Sawyer Island:  You have to take a short raft-ride to get to this island playground.  My kids love exploring the caves and it’s fun for adults too.  Go when you are tired of riding and need something different to do.

 

Country Bear Jamboree: I love this audio-animatronic show because it’s a classic, but my family is not impressed anymore; we haven’t seen it in years.    See it if you have seen everything else or you have some time to kill in Frontierland.

 

Liberty Square Riverboat:  This was my kids’ first time riding the riverboat.   I think they enjoyed it in a quiet way, but won’t be asking to ride again soon.  It’s a relaxing 20 minute ride around Tom Sawyer’s Island; good for when you need a break from the crowds and lines, but not a must-do attraction.

 

Haunted Mansion:  Both of my kids love this classic attraction.  It’s not scary really, just fun.

 

It’s a Small World:  Classic Disney; we can’t leave Magic Kingdom without taking this boat ride around the world.   Of course we are singing the song for the rest of the day!

 

Peter Pan’s Flight: We love flying over London and Never Land; it’s always on our list of must-do attractions.

 

Mickey’s PhilharMagic: This is a fantastic 3-D movie and a must-see for everyone.

 

Snow White’s Scary Adventure: On this last trip we only rode because it was our second day at Magic Kingdom and there wasn’t a long line.   It’s okay for little kids, but nothing special.  I would put this on the “ride-if-we-have-time” list.

 

Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel: We haven’t ridden this in a long time because the lines are always long and I figure that we can ride a carrousel anywhere.   Ride it if your kids are dying to, but otherwise wait until there isn’t a line.

 

Dumbo the Flying Elephant: It’s a classic Disney ride for sure, but I try to avoid it unless Girly asks; since it doesn’t hold many people, there is almost always a wait. 

 

Ariel’s Grotto: This is not a ride, but Ariel’s meeting place.  It’s actually very nice and Ariel is really sweet.  It’s a must-see if your child is a Little Mermaid fan.  Look at a Times Guide to see when she starts taking visitors and be there 10 minutes before.

 

Pooh’s Playful Spot: A very cute Pooh-themed playground for kids to run around and parents to rest.

 

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: We like riding Pooh, but it was not worth the perpetual 70 minute stand-by time on this last trip.   I didn’t know that this ride was so popular!

 

Mad Tea Party: A classic and favorite Disney attraction for adults and children alike; we always ride the teacups.  Be sure to ride with someone who shares your same tolerance for spinning; one of few arguments we had in Disney World was between my son and husband about how fast to turn the spinning wheel.   My son thought that it should be a slow-spinning day after a big lunch at Whispering Canyon Café, while my husband wanted to go faster.  On our second time around The Boy opted out and as you can see, it was my husband who wanted a slow-spin now:

 

 

 Space Mountain: This is my favorite ride at Magic Kingdom!  I’ve ridden many, many times, but the whole family as yet to ride together.   When my son was 5 years old I made him ride it at Disneyland; I made him ride all the roller coasters before he decided that he didn’t like them—Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Matterhorn.  He didn’t cry, scream or protest, but at the end of the day he said, “I don’t want to do that again.”  On our first trip to Disney World in 2006 he tried to ride Space Mountain for the first time in 7 years and just as we were about to board, there were technical difficulties—that was enough for him to exit out the back.  On this trip I got FastPasses for the whole family, thinking that I could talk them all into riding with me.  We almost made it to the front of the line when we saw the roller coaster go by; I had forgotten that the seats are for single riders.  My daughter wouldn’t ride without someone holding on to her so she and Daddy exited out the back.   I looked at The Boy and saw that look that he gets at the doctor’s office when he has to get a shot; I knew it was a wrap and we exited without riding also.  Arrgh!  I should have left all of them outside and rode alone as usual; next time I will make sure to get my thrills.   Be sure to get yours by making Space Mountain a high priority on your must-see list.

 

Astro Obiter: Girly loves this circling spaceship ride; she always rides with her father while I’m trying to ride Space Mountain.

 

Tomorrowland Transit Authority:  Some people still refer to this as the old-school name of “The People Mover” and that’s all it does–moves a group of people through Tomorrowland.  It’s a favorite for some, but boring to us.

 

Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress:  We got tricked into this attraction; when we got our Buzz Lightyear FastPasses, we also got “free” FastPasses for this attraction as well.  Not ones to look a gift horse in the mouth—especially one bearing FastPasses—we hurried over to Carousel of Progress.   As soon as we sat down we knew it was a mistake; we were stuck watching a 20 minute audio-animatronics show about progress through the ages.  They were giving away FastPasses to make people see this outdated attraction!   My son was so upset that we wasted valuable time watching it and even more upset that he couldn’t get the catchy song out of his head for the rest of the day.   Do not make the same mistake we did.

 

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin: This is one of my family’s favorite attractions at Magic Kingdom.  Since this is more like a game than a ride, we compete against each other for the high score.  Twice I was the champion, but on our last ride my husband stole my title.  This is a must-ride attraction at Magic Kingdom.

 

Stitch’s Great Escape: Every review that I read about this ride warned that it scared small children, but did I listen?—No.  We experienced this bizarre “entertainment”—honestly I don’t know what to call it—in 2006 and my daughter was terrified.   The rest of the family thought it was neither fun or nor amusing; it was just weird.   We will never see that again and did not understand why people on this last trip were waiting in line upwards of 80 minutes to see this attraction.

 

Monster’s, Inc. Laugh Floor: This interactive comedy show in Tomorrowland is a new addition since our last trip in 2006 and most of the family thought it was funny.  All of us except my son, who was spotlighted in the audience to be an impromptu part of the show; he did not think that was funny.  (But it was.)   Go see this show for some good laughs, but be prepared to be the butt of Mike Wazowski’s jokes.

 

Mickey’s Toontown Fair: On our first trip to Disney World we spent a lot of time there because we catered the trip towards my daughter.  She met Mickey in the Judge’s Tent and several other characters in the Toontown Hall of Fame Tent.  We waked through both Mickey’s and Minnie’s Country Houses and had fun riding the kiddie roller coaster, The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm.  This last trip we skipped Mickey’s Toontown Fair, but it’s cute and a place that you must see in if you have little kids.

 

We did not see:  Storytime with Belle or Dream Along with Mickey (we never close by), Tomorrowland Speedway or Donald’s Boat (neither were appealing).  Girly did not do Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, a princess beauty salon.

 

PARADES, FIREWORKS AND NIGHTTIME ENTERTAINMENT

Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party:  This is not a parade, but an interactive dance party with some of the Disney characters.   It’s fun to dance and sing along if you happen to be in the area of Cinderella’s castle when the street party gets going.

 

Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade:  I’m trying hard not to impart my dislike of parades to my children, so I suggested that we find a spot and watch this parade (it helped that we waked into Magic Kingdom 5 minutes before the parade was scheduled to begin).  I loved it!  High energy but magical too, this parade already has loyal fans as I saw many people singing along; obviously they had seen the parade many times before.  It’s worth seeing for sure.

 

SpectroMagic: I absolutely MUST see the SpectroMagic parade every time I am Disney!   It’s my favorite thing!  This is a newer version of The Main Street Electrical Light Parade that I saw so many times at Disneyland.  While I like the floats better in SpectroMagic, I miss the music of the old parade.  Either way, it’s magical!

 

 

Wishes: As much as I make sure to see SpectroMagic, I don’t have to stick around for Wishes because I see fireworks often in other places.  However, we were grabbing some food at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café right after SpectroMagic and got a seat on the patio just in time for Wishes.  It was perfect and we enjoyed the fireworks show very much.  Stick around for Wishes after SpectroMagic.

 

FOOD

In my experience most of the counter-service food in Magic Kingdom is nothing too spectacular, just the normal fare of burgers, chicken fingers, pizza, etc; the food is not even worth reviewing.  However, we have had some good meals at a couple of the table-service restaurants in Magic Kingdom.

 

Liberty Tree Tavern:  When I couldn’t get reservations for the Pooh character meal at Crystal Palace I reluctantly agreed to eat at Liberty Tavern.  We had a very tasty lunch of traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and steamed vegetables.  I would definitely eat here again and recommend it over the tasteless burger stands nearby.

 

Cinderella’s Royal Table: This was a special birthday splurge for Girly’s 5th birthday; she got all dressed up in her Cinderella outfit for the occasion.   The dinner package included a photo with Cinderella, who was so sweet and talked to Girly a long time. 

 Entertainment during dinner was provided by the Fairy Godmothers and Cinderella’s mice.  Dinner was delicious, but personally I just was very excited to be in Cinderella’s castle!   There were many adults in there without children celebrating anniversaries or another special occasion, so I’m not the only one who felt that way.  This is an extremely popular meal, so if you are interested, make reservations very far in advance.  It’s worth the splurge.

 

 

Aloha Isle:  This is our favorite snack bar in Magic Kingdom; we never miss an opportunity to indulge in a cool, refreshing, tasty Dole Whip!  The pineapple float is the best!  After getting your snack, exit Adventureland over the bridge back towards the central hub; there are plenty of shady benches to eat your Dole Whip and you might be in time to catch a parade.  Now that’s what I’m talking about! 

 

SHOPPING

The shops on Main Street carry all kinds of Disney merchandise, but the one shop that you need to know about is The Chapeau; this is where you can buy Mickey ears and have your name stitched on the back.  Ah, but we found a new, revoluntionary way to wear ears—design your own!  To make your custom Mickey ears, you pick the cap, ears, patches, and embroidery color and style for your name; there are hundreds of combination limited only by your imagination.   My daughter’s favorite character is Goofy right now, so she put a goofy patch on the front of a blue sparkly cap, hologram-like Mickey ears and her name embroidered in gold on the back.

 

 

TOURING TIPS AND FINAL THOUGHTS

Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and many rides in Fantasyland are all very popular at Magic Kingdom.  If you are visiting during a busy season, I would strongly suggest following one of the Magic Kingdom touring plans at touringplans.com or making a priority “must-see” list; even though it is not a large park and easily navigated, there are just so many things to do. 

I suppose that you can tour Magic Kingdom in one day if you rush from ride to ride, but we like to take our time in this park so we usually reserve 1 ½ days; leaving us plenty of time to see our favorite attractions, but yet sit on a bench and leisurely eat a Dole Whip for as long as we like.  Soaking up the magic, baby; that’s what Disney World is all about!

 

I can’t wait for our next trip to Disney World.  I’m sure that it won’t be for a couple of years, but right on time when we need to check out of reality for a bit and have some fun.  I hope that my blog posts will help you plan your own magical vacation.  Leave a comment if you have a question or want to share your favorite Disney World experience; I would love to hear it!  Until then, I leave you with the words of the original Mousekteers:

 

Now it’s time to say good-bye to all our company

M-I-C….

See you real soon!

K-E-Y….

Why? Because we like you!

M-O-U-S-E