1st - Tower of Terror... twice! If you skip RnRC, then go more than twice!
2nd - Rock 'n' Roller Coaster... just don't expect much.
3rd - Voyage of the Little Mermaid... still hugely popular!
4th or 5th - Animation Tour
4th or 5th - Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
If you have at least 45 minutes before the next Millionaire showtime, then do the Animation Tour first. Otherwise, go right after Millionaire. Also, if you have kids jonesing to see Playhouse Disney and you have enough time, get that out of the way NOW! Those shows tend to fill up all day.
Those are basically the biggies. The Backlot Tour, the Great Movie Ride, Star Tours and MuppetVision don't usually have lines, so go when you are there.
Things to save for the afternoon or when lines get long - Great Movie Ride (really packs them in), One Man's Dream, Beauty and the Beast (large theater), Indiana Jones (huge theater)
Things to skip if necessary - Whatever they put in the theater next to Sounds Dangerous, Beauty and the Beast, Animation Tour (too short now), Backlot Tour (very lame, but you should do it once)
FastPasses - There are seven here but two are extremely unnecessary: Star Tours and Indiana Jones. Of the remaining five, four cover the first four attractions on this itinerary. So assuming you followed that, then you only need to grab one for MuppetVision, which occasionally does get lines. After that you can grab them for anything you really liked. Most people grab them for the Tower of Terror, so expect those to disappear quickly.
Like Epcot, you will benefit greatly if you do a little homework before you leave. Go to Steve Soares' wonderful site - WDW Live Entertainment - and figure out when is the best time to see each show. For my itinerary, you need to find the first Millionaire show. After that I suggest you find the next Hunchback show and see that. Indy is usually easy to catch, but you might have to get there a little early. You will definitely have to get there at least 30 minutes early for Playhouse Disney, if you want to see that.
As for Fantasmic, I say don't bother with it on the day you come here. If you are buying a Park Hopper, then come here after a day in Animal Kingdom. Either do the Fantasmic Dinner Package or just get here a couple hours before showtime (depending on the crowds.) If there are two Fantasmics, by all means wait for the second. You won't have to wait as long. If you save it for your AK day, you can spend a couple hours in the park practically alone. Everyone is too busy sitting, so you can ride ToT twenty times if you desire.
Any other suggestions?
Yeah, I also just DECIDED to bash Disney after writing a lengthy itinerary helping people when they visit. I simply LOVE spending an hour or so writing about things I absolutely HATE! Go ahead and base your entire perception on ONE TINY COMMENT, why don't you? Sheesh!
Thanks so much for finally responding... you've added SO much to the proceedings!
Cedar Point Rocks. If you ever get the chance to go to CP for heavens sakes, GO. just not during the summer. And the corkscrew at the end of the Raptor is worth a three hour wait.
Islands Of Adventure Rocks. Nothing beats season tickets.
Of course Disney doesn't rock when it comes to coasters...Disney isn't ABOUT roller coasters. Disney has it's crowning glories elsewhere, right kids?
People are bound to be disappointed if they're looking to disney for a six flags excitement.
The rock n roller coaster is good. For Disney.
Concede?
--Leah
no idea. I-Drive can be fun though, and the hotels aren't bad.
2. Is it wise to get an I-ride pass? (Rental cars are not an option)
No idea. The bus service is great...taxis are everywhere...and some of the places you will even be within walking distance of.
3. We (two adults) plan on buying a 4-park Omni Flex ticket (IOA,WnW,UO and SW). We want to visit just one Disney park. Which is the best one?
If I had to pick ONE Disney park...I'd go to Epcot. Get there bright and early, and Make reservations FIRST THING for lunch at Alfredos (italy). The Caeser Salad haunts my dreams, and the Fettucine makes me cry.
Besides that, most of the entertainment comes in the form of mild rides and interesting shows/movies. If you don't like rough rides, this really might be your type of park. It's a beautiful park with lots to see and do.
4. What is the weather normally like in November? Will it be too cold to go to the waterparks and on rides that you get soaked on?
November is usually still warm. Low 80's, mid 70's.
WnW's pools are heated (or so they say) during cooler months, so even if it does turn chilly I don't think it'll be a concern. If you want to go, by all means - go.
5. I do not enjoy rides that you come off of with a headache (we did Space Mountain in Eurodisney and I hated it). Which are the most vigorous rides that should be avoided? Would it be wise to avoid Busch Gardens?
uh....yes, you might not like Busch Gardens. most of their rides are more vigorous.
I'm also sorry to say you may not like Islands Of Adventure, as most of their rides are rather vigourous as well. They have a few shows, but their main draw IS rides, and they do rides well. The Hulk, Dueling Dragons, Spidar Man, Dr. Doom, even Jurrasic Park can be wet and exhilerating.
You'll have to decide, I guess. I love that park. but I love being thrown about too, so...?
6. Which are the best theme-type restaurants in Orlando?
I love the Rainforest Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe type thing.
They've got those...but I'm not too familiar with themed restaurants. The Catfish Place in Kissimmee is fabulous...a family owned little establishment that offers FRESH florida cusine, with their specialty being, of course...cat fish.
There's a really nice steak place...I forget the name (sorry) but it's like eating in Texas. I'll try to remember it.
7. Is it worth taking a trip out to Cape Canaveral?
Only if 1.) You happen to come during a scheduled shuttle/rocket launch, 2.) you're very interested in the Space Program or 3.) You want to come visit me. If not, there are (much) better beaches and the space center will bore you. Believe me.
Cape Canaveral is a large Port town, and because of that, the beaches suffer. You have to go way south, nearly to Sebastion Inlet before you start seeing nice beaches again. The coast up closer to Daytona is beautiful, and the WEST coast is even better. Crystal blue water and gorgeous sunsets.
Unless you desperatly want to shop at RonJons (which you don't) or see the Disney Cruise ships or visit the Space Center...you'll be fine where you are.
Hope that helps your planning.
--Leah
1st: Go ride TOT and RnRC (as many times as you wish queue time pertmitting)
2nd: Ride Star Tours
3rd: Go for Lunch
4th: Do Backlot tour
5th: Who wants to be a millionaire.
6th: Hang about or ride favourite rides till aroung 6.30pm
7th: (6.30pm or before) get seated for Fantasmic
8th: watch Fantasmic
TIPS:
The bigger the celeb, the longer the autograph wait will be.
Also, don't expect to get Carrie Fisher(Princess Leia) autograph on Sunday, if you didn't get in line on Thurs. Yes, I'm serious. It was out of the question for those that were there for the day to see "SW celebs" in person. But, they have really great Q&A sessions that you can get in on.
Don't dress up.
I think, in the last 2 years, I saw about 8 guests total(in 2 years) that dressed up. It's in May, so I don't think a Darth Vader costume will be a good idea in the FLorida heat.
Play 4 FL residence:
If you plan on seeing more than 1 weekend or day(celebs and activities change every weekend) then I advise you do the Disney Promo. Play four days 4 parks. That's any 4 days to any four parks.(MGM 3 days, Animal Kingdom 1 OR MGM/MK/Epcot in 1 day and Animal Kingdom 3), it's a very GOOD price for this pass as it's very flexible and only good for PER PERSON. Non Transferable.
Hope this helps!
Animal Kingdom can be done in a half day, but going later in the day will be disappointing. First of all, the animals are out in hordes in the early morning right after the park opens. Once it starts to heat up, they head for the shade and cant be seen much- and thats the whole point of the park. If you do choose to do this as your half day, do the safari ride first. Dont bother with Kali RIver Rapids. Dinosaur (or countdown to extinction) is a lot of fun. If you really into conservation and animal care and ecology, then by all means do the conservation station. If you wanna ride rides- don't bother.
If you like rides and dont care about shopping and the panoramic movie shows, you could probably do EPCOT in half a day and forget the world showcase. Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Mission:Space are the big ones. Journey into Imagination is so-so, and though I love Ellen, the energy ride can be skipped. If you wanna learn something, save this park for a full day when you can spend in Innoventions and the world showcase. DONT MISS ILLUMINATIONS. I've seen the show 7 times, and the best seats IMHO--If you are looking at the lagoon from in front of the American pavillion, just to the right of the ampitheatre- you'll see a park bench. If you can sit on that bench, you'll get a clear view of just about everything. Plus, a couple of shells are launched from only feet away from you- very cool.
DONT TRY TO DO MAgic Kingdom in half a day. Its the largest park in terms of the number of rides.
If you can, stop by your local Disney store (no, I'm not a cast member) and pick up Birnbaums Guide to Disney. It talks about every attraction and service available in the parks and will help you plan your trip. There are two books, one WITH and one WITHOUT KIDS.
Hope you have fun!!!
(((((AND PLEASE CAN WE KEEP THESE BOARDS ON TOPIC- IM AN ADULT AND TIRED OF WADING THROUGH PISSING CONTESTS))))
My suggestion is to try and get a seat in the middle of the car. Riders seated in seats against the sides get the least amount of air time.
One word of caution, on a recent trip I saw several small children get upset at the Twilight Zone "movie" shown in the Library. There were even more small children who found the boiler room scary and became very upset.
I wish more attractions would use theming to "weed out" riders who won't be up for the experience. I'd much rather see kids freak out in the preshow and refuse to board, than to go on and freak out one hundred times worse during the ride.
1. Get there at opening! You'll be glad you did. When they let people in, blow immediately down Sunset Blvd. Most people will be attracted by the Tower of Terror so skip that for now and ride the Rock 'n' Rollercoaster.
2. After you exit, the line for the Tower should be quite a wait. Get a FASTPASS and go to the Great Movie Ride.
3. Once that is over, you should return with your FASTPASS to the Tower and ride it.
Now that you have done those three, head to Star Tours. Then do the rest of the attractions at your schedule because the schedules when I went should be different.
1) If you have to decide between getting a FastPass for ToT or RRC, get one for RRC because there queue isn't anything to write home about. Especially on hot days you will be much cooler in the standby line for ToT.
2) If you're going in the summer with the world famous Florida summer thunderstorms (don't take the storms part lightly either) get a poncho. Yea, you'll look like a dork but it's better than getting COMPLETELY soaked in the HEAVY rains.
3) Don't waste time getting a FastPass for Indiana Jones or Star Tours. Indiana Jones you just need to show up 15 minutes prior to the show and Star Tours I have never exceed 25 minutes in waiting time. Do FastPass Voyage of the Little Mermaid though since lines for that build up quickly.
4) If you're going in the summer, save The Great Movie Ride for when the afternoon storms roll in since you'll spend upwards of an hour in that building. The wait during the rains is usually a half hour (but it's all covered and has a great preshow and queue area) and the ride will take another 15 minutes or so. Yea I know a half hour is a while but would you rather wait that long or run between short lines in the heavy Florida downpours?
5) See the WHOLE Muppet Show preview. It is just as or maybe even more funny than the actual show. Muppetvision 3-D is a definite must-see.
6) Don't skip the Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Play It! That is really cool and much overlooked.
7) Eat at least one sit-down restaurant. They're all good and you won't be disappointed with any of them. The counter service is okay but once in the middle of February (which is usually considered the off-season) we waited 35 minutes for counter service pizza.
8) Arrive at least 75 minutes early for Fantasmic especially during the crowds. Once when we went in the summer they were filling in the standing room only area 45 minutes before the show. I reccommend the front center but the front anywhere is good. If you or a couple others in your group want to ride ToT or RRC again, assign a couple people in your group to save your Fantasmic seats while you ride a ride. 75 minutes does sound like a long time to wait for just a show but it's worth the wait and the time will fly by fast. They always start the wave or do something else cool like that.
MGM is a really cool theme park and is not to be missed!
MK: if you want a general Disney experience. Do things like the Mountains (Space, Splash and Big Thunder), Haunted Mansion is always a must for us, and whatever else peaks your personal interest.
Epcot: One of my favorite parks because I like to just wander around and sopak up the atmosphere. There are a couple of decent rides, a lot of food and shopping.
MGM: 2 good thrill rides and a lot of movie stuff. could be a good option.
AK: I love the atmosphere, but Kevin is right about there not being enough to do here yet.
The Universal parks: definitely great parks. Very good for younger, more thrill seeking type adventures. Depending on the length of your stay a side trip here could be a good option (although since you are staying a Disney resort I was assuming you were looking for a Disney park to attend)
