The first section is about our family (and tidbits we learned each day) and the last section is about my overall ratings regarding all attractions in the Disney Parks. Happy reading!
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We're back! We had a great time in Florida. We were gone 7 days and did 5 straight days of theme parks (from their opening to closing). Not only that, but we rented at Red Box two of those nights after a theme-park day, stayed up past midnight watching movies, AND still made it to the rope-drop of 3 of the 5 park days. How did we do that? I have an amazing husband who took care of packing the food/supplies bag each night so each morning we could get ready and leave fast. And I took care of our routes (with maps), ratings, and tips about the parks.
Even though we have two young kids (ages 3 and 5) and I'm pregnant with two more, Ross and I both agreed that our week here was less tiring than the first day in Disneyland on a family reunion in 2005 when Allen was 2.5 months old. I guess we're accustomed to parenthood a little more now :) We got pretty good at avoiding crowds, tips for shorter waits, packing good food to snack on, and managing our time to seeing everything. We had a great place to stay (thanks to Ross's parents!) with a good location, an extra bedroom, kitchen and volcano pool.
We had a lot of fun and to preserve our memories (especially if/when we decide to go back), I've included photos and descriptions each day with my own critiques. And because I was pregnant I couldn't ride the BIG stuff (which I was disappointed about), but I had my eye out for everything to see how well it matched the guidebooks I had read prior to our trip.
Day 1: Evening Flight to Orlando
We parked in long-term parking, took the shuttle and realized we forgot the car seats once we were ready to check our luggage. Ross took the shuttle back to get them and I checked the bags. By the time we met up again we waited through Dulles' horrendous new security process, fearing we might be last to board our plane, but luckily the plane was delayed 10 minutes and we were fine. Don't you love when delays work in your favor? Flight was fine. Kids entertained themselves with books and food. We arrived in muggy Orlando, rented a car, Ross magically managed to squeeze all the luggage in a Cobalt (luckily we didn't end up with an Aveo). We packed things in small bags because we knew our double stroller would mostly take up the whole trunk. We got to bed close to midnight.
Here's our Cobalt. We had a variety of cars to pick. Allen picked this because of the bright color -- which made it easier to spot in a parking lot.
Day 2: Magic Kingdom
Right after the fireworks and before the LONG wait to get out of the park, get on the monorail, get on a tram and find the car... and drive home.
Allen and Abby are wearing their sunglasses and animal hats. People thought we bought them their... nope Michael's for 2 bucks.
Waiting under some shade for the afternoon parade.
Meeting Emperor Zurg after the Buzz Lightyear ride.
Playing at the "Laughin' Place" while the boys rode Splash Mountain.
The teacups. Ross spun the teacup like crazy and the kids and they loved it!
Cinderella's Carousel
If you look closely you can see Allen and Ross riding in Dumbo (who is wearing a green hat) with part of Fantasyland in the background.
Right before riding Pirates of the Carribean
Other tidbits of the day:- We got a late start because we forgot our tickets in our room (for some reason I packed the copy of them like the guide books suggest in case you lose them and didn't get the real ones). Luckily a Disney worker used our copy and helped us out. The guide book advice saved us.
- Commuting from the parking lot, using the tram and then taking the ferryboat or monorail makes for a very long way to get to the Magic Kingdom. Seriously, what a pain to get there.
- We used Ride Max (something we'd do again because it maps out your rides nicely with the least amount of waiting time, and you don't have to talk about what to go on next -- you just follow your print-out... which also saves talking time) and went from ride to ride with very few waits.
- Allen was a little anxious on the first handful of rides but later on he rode the three mountain roller coasters (Splash, Big Thunder, and Space) and did fine. He said he loves when there are fast.
- Abby was smitten with the Buzz Lightyear ride. While the boys did Space Mountain a few times, we did Buzz Lightyear a few times. Abby loves that she can spin the car. It's kind of hard to aim at the aliens and score high when your daughter says, "Ready to spin?" and then off you go around and around. After a while I didn't care about the score.
- I lost my room key card on Aladdin's carpet ride.
- Favorite things that day: Me -- Hall of Presidents, Ross -- Splash Mountain (just because Allen liked it so much) Abby -- Buzz Lightyear, Allen -- Splash Mountain
Drumming in Africa
Ready for the 3D "It's Tough to Be a Bug" movie. See our bug glasses?
Pictures from the safari.
- If you arrive early, you can park close in the parking lot and can avoid the tram.
- I liked how Ross put it, "If this park wasn't owned by Disney, it wouldn't survive." It's mostly like a zoo with a few rides. Oh yeah, they have an Africa section and Asia sections (probably because they don't have a good representation at Epcot's World Showcase). Kids under three can go on two rides -- the Safari and the Triceratops Spin. Overall I was disappointed. It's a pretty small park. It might have been cooler if I could face the Yeti in the Everest Expedition coaster.
- Favorite thing of the day: Me -- Finding Nemo Musical, Ross -- Finding Nemo Musical, Abby -- Triceratops Spin, Allen -- Kali Rapids
The train exhibit in Germany
Allen playing in the fountain with new friends.
A random duck who wanted some company in the shade. He came RIGHT up to me.
Allen and Ross in their clam-mobile during the Nemo ride.
Abby and I in our clam-mobile.
- If you arrive early, you can park close in the parking lot and can avoid the tram.
- I found this theme park interesting. I enjoyed lots of the learning attractions (and so did the kids), and different buildings. I got to try riding on a Segway in the Innovations building. This park is not as big as the guide books say. When they talked about it being twice as big as Magic Kingdom (with a huge lake in the middle), I pictured the Tidal Basin downtown D.C.. Nope, this place really isn't that big as long as you aren't walking from one section to another again and again all day.
- There is a nice fountain to play in between Mission and Test Track.
- Favorite rides: Me -- Maelstrom and Spaceship Earth, Ross -- Test Track, Allen -- Test Track, Abby -- Journey to Imagination or Finding Nemo Seas Aquarium
The big hat in the center of the park
Catastrophe Canyon during the Backlot Tour.
Seeing two Herbie halves later on the tour.
Allen is excited for the Toy Story Mania ride.
Abby is ready for the ride too, 3D glasses and all.
A green toy soldier we met outside the Toy Story ride.
The tank outside the Indiana Jones stunt show.
This is where I ate lunch.
Honey I Shrunk the Kids movie set was just like the books said -- it should be called, "Honey, I Lost the Kids." There are too many places to hide in and climb around.
Abby wanted to touch that cookie and she gave Abby gave Anty a kiss.
The dress that Queen Narissa wears in Enchanted.
Other tidbits that day:
- If you arrive early, you can park close in the parking lot and can avoid the tram.
- Again, if this place wasn't owned by Disney, I don't think it would survive. It is mostly shows. There is only a few rides the whole family can go on.
- Favorite thing that day: Me -- Toy Story Mania, Ross -- Lights Motors Action! Extreme Stunt Show, Allen -- Toy Story Mania, Abby -- Toy Story Mania
Abby and I on our first ride of the day: Dumbo
Abby enjoying the inside of Minnie Mouse's house.
In line for the Buzz Lightyear ride.
- Still my favorite park. I'm glad we visited twice. The second day was so much better because we got an earlier start, we were at the rope drop, split up and covered tons of ride in one hour. Ross and Allen rode Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain repeatedly while Abby and I covered Fantasyland. We met up in Toontown (which is smaller than Disneyland's version) a little later.
- Favorite Ride that day: Me -- Carousel of Progess, Ross -- Splash Mountain (and he still can't get the song out of his head, "How Do You Do? lalala), Allen -- Splash Mountain, Abby: Dumbo
- Slept in, breakfast at IHOP, souvenir shops (I recommend the Orlando Outlet Disney store), Downtown Disney (which is a great place if you like to spend money), dinner at Steak 'n Shake, swimming in the volcano pool, packing up, and watching a movie.
Ross said farewell to his sneakers. The Florida heat separated the soles off the shoe.
In front of Downtown Disney's Lego store. Allen is checking out the Lego people and dogs.
Me and Cinderella in front of the World of Disney shop.
- Each of the kids got to pick out a stuffed animal. Both choices surprised me: Allen picked Rex (from Toy Story) and Abby picked Mike Wasowski (from Monster's Inc.)
I wish all the characters from the movie were plastic throughout the park. Who wants to meet fake people who wear the clothes, and make-up and stand in line for hours to get a fake autograph? Lame. Give me "animated" people throughout the park that I can stand by and get my photo taken next to. Afterall, the people never look the the movie characters since they're drawings. Ariel's wig needed some help.
- I got a ribbon-pin to wear for mother's day from a Southwest worker. It made me happy.
- The pilots made sure that whatever thrills, bumps or tummy tickles I missed out on (from not riding coasters due to pregnancy) they made up on the plane ride home. I've never experienced so much turbulence on an airplane before.
- I had a great Mother's Day: I got to spend a week at Disney World, I had breakfast at IHOP on Saturday, my husband bought me a new Jon Schmidt piano book, I got two packages from Utah (thanks Mom!), and I got to take a nap.
After reading three Disney World guide books, I decided to critique the rides/attractions/shows myself because there were things I agreed with and things that I disagreed with. Then in the future I can look back and remember what advice I had from our 2010 trip. I'm going to rate each attraction like this, keeping the whole-family interest in mind: 4 Stars -- Go on again! Recommend it! 3 Stars -- I liked it! 2 Stars -- It was okay. I don't need to do it again this trip -- once was enough. 1 Star -- Lame! Waste of time! I would discourage people from doing it.
MAGIC KINGDOM ATTRACTION RATINGS:
I'd give this park a 4 even though commuting to the park is a pain. It has the most rides that the whole family can go on. I'm glad we spent two days here.
Swiss Family Treehouse (2, as long as you don't mind climbing stairs), Magic Carpets of Aladdin (2, the line is in the sun so it gets hot, but the kids like the ride especially the water-spitting camels), Tiki Room (2), Jungle Cruise (2), Pirates of the Carribean (4, choose the left side when the lines splits), Splash Mountain (4), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (4), Tom Sawyer Island (3, unlike the books say, young children can enjoy all the climbing and cave exploring), Country Bear Jamboree (2), Hall of Presidents (4, I thought the ending was outstanding!), Haunted Mansion (4, Allen even asked to go on it again. Stand under the portrait of a woman holding the umbrella -- when the doors open to the next room you can get ahead of the crowd), Columbia Harbour House dining (1, limited choices), It's a Small World (3), Peter Pan's Flight (4), Mickey's PhilharMagic (3), Snow White's Scary Adventures (4), Cinderella's Golden Carousel (4), Dumbo (4), Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (4), Mad Tea Party (4), Minnie's Country House (Abby would give this a 4, it draws more lines than Mickey's house because it's more interactive), Mickey's Country House (3), Goofy's Barnstormer (3, too short), Donald's Boat (4, the kids loved the water!), Tomorrowland Speedway (1, needs cruise control and no matter how much you floor-it, you still putt along), Space Mountain (4, even though the books recommended this for kids over 7, Allen went on it a few times), Astro Orbiter (3, the cars tip slightly so you can feel more centrifical force than Dumbo or Aladdin's carpets), Tomorrowland Transit Authority (2, annoying because it kept stopping), Carousel of Progress (3), Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (4, with Abby's requests we rode it 4 times straight. It was nice there was no line), Stitch's Great Escape (1), Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor (1), Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe (4, plenty of choices and very large so the lines move quickly and you can find places to sit even during peak eating times).
ANIMAL KINGDOM RATINGS:
This park is small and perfect if you like zoos. I'd give it a 2. It is the most un-Disney of all four theme parks. There is no closing show and very few rides that the whole family can enjoy. It does have a few cool shows.
Oasis Exhibits (n/a, didn't take the time to look for hiding animals, but plenty of people were very camera happy here), It's Tough to Be a Bug show (2, seen it before), Discovery Island Trails (1, hard to find the animals), Festival of the Lion King (2, I'm not a huge Lion King fan), Kilimanjaro Safaris (1, the animals were distant and the ride is kind of bumpy, the driver has lame jokes), Pangani Forest Exploration (2, just because the gorillas were entertaining to watch), Flights of Wonder (4, amazing to see what kinds of things they can train birds to do), Maharajah Jungle Trek (2), Kali River Rapids (Allen and Ross give this 3. Ross said it was too short), Expedition Everest (4), Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafe (2, the orange beef wasn't that good), The Boneyard (3, the kids loved climbing and exploring), Finding Nemo -- the Musical (4), Primeval Whirl (2, kind of rough), Dinosaur (n/a Ross doesn't remember it very well so I guess I could rate this low), TriceraTop Spin (4).
EPCOT RATINGS:
I'd give this park a 3. It's actually two separate parks in one -- the informational side and the countries from around the world (Europe has a little bit too much representation.) It's not as big as the guide books suggested (in my opinion) and the evening show was not as impressive as I've read it to be. Nonetheless, we spent the entire day enjoying the sites of Epcot.
Spaceship Earth (4, unlike the books, I found this ride very informative, creative and fun), Ellen's Energy Adventure (3, not sure what the dinosaur part has to do with energy, kind of a random item thrown in there, but a very comical attraction), Mission: Space (3, heavy G-forces), Test Track (4, the boys went on this ride repeatedly because of the fast speed), Innoventions (3, I enjoyed trying out a Segway. Ross did "Sum of All Thrills" which he would give a 4. He got to design his own roller coaster or jet ride. Didn't look like many people knew about it because there was not much a line), Seas With Nemo & Friends (2), Turtle Talk With Crush (3, too bad Crush doesn't talk to the parents or answer their questions), Soarin (3), Living With the Land (2), Circle of Life (2), Journey Into Imagination With Figment (2, Allen has Ross's childhood Figment animal so he likes it even more now), Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (1, seen it before, a little out-dated, and didn't appreciate the 10 minute Kodak commerical before the show), ImageWorks (2, fun if you don't have to wait in line to try out the machines), Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros (2), Maelstrom (3), Chinese acrobats (2, the show was too short), Train exhibit in Germany (4, the kids stood and watched for a long time), Sunshine Seasons dining (4, lots of food choices, lots of seating), The American Adventure (1, this show was about 10 minutes too long. The ending song just went on and on at very high volumes), Illuminations (3, easy to find a spot because it's over the large lagoon. Some weird delays in the middle, doesn't live up to the guide book's hype).
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS RATINGS:
This park gets a 2. It has too many shows, not enough rides and is built with a maze-like fashion to confuse crowds. We didn't see Fantasmic because it was only playing on the weekend, but my memory of seeing it in Disneyland says it wouldn't be as cool as the books say, especially if you have to get there an hour early to get a seat. No show is worth waiting an hour for.
Great Movie Ride (2, Ross says it didn't meet his expectations, but it did give us ideas for future movies to watch), American Idol Experience (n/a didn't go because I don't even watch this on tv), Sounds Dangerous (1, too long. The sound booths in the lobby have a cooler sound effect), Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular (3), Star Tours (2, we're not big fans of virtual reality rides), Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set (2, not very big, easy to loose your kids), Lights, Motors, Action! (4, Ross LOVED this. They did some amazing stunts with cars), Studio Backlot Tour (1, compared to Universal Studios in Hollywood this was lame!), Pizza Planet Arcade (1, the place looks nothing like the movie except having a few characters on the wall, the arcade is expensive, but I enjoyed my pizza and salad), Toy Story Midway Mania (4, very cool! Liked it more than Buzz Lightyear because it's 4D and you get feedback on how you're shooting. This has very long lines so visit first and get a FastPass too because you'll love it!), Voyage of the Little Mermaid (3, some cool effects), Magic of Animation (2, Allen laughed repeatedly at Mushu's comments), Beauty and the Beast (2, hurried through the story, kind of weird that the furniture was as big as the Beast), Rock 'n Roller Coaster (4), Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (4).
DOWNTOWN DISNEY RATINGS:
Perfect place is you like malls, shopping and hanging out with crowds. I'd give this place a 2.
Once Upon a Toy (3, lots of stuff to spend money on, similar souvenirs to what you find in the parks), Mickey Mart (2, which is now known as Pooh's Corner, has items under $10 -- which you think would be cool -- but the sizes of items are under 5 inches), Lego (3, great place if you like Legos. There is some cool stuff built out of Legos).
(Note: Ross would rate all 3D shows -- which there are plenty of -- lower because he kept seeing two objects. The 3D effects didn't work for him.)
Andrea's advice about visiting Disney World:
- A stroller is a must! Even big kids (mine were 5 and 3 then), need to take a break. But don't rent from one from Disney unless your kids don't care about comfort.
- Get used to feeling like cattle. Disney workers will tell you where to go and all too often you have to walk ALL THE WAY around just for crowd control purposes.
- Don't buy Disney's $17 misting fans. I found one at the grocery store for $6.99. Check out souvenir stores before you pay double at Disney parks.
- Slightly overrated, overpriced, and overcrowded, but that's only part of the fun, right?
- Carry theme park tickets/fast passes in a holder around your neck.
- Remember sunscreen, sunglasses, hats, and water bottles.
- Water fountains are hard to find around the park (I think that's on purpose so you feel like buying Disney's expensive beverages) so have extra water bottles and when you see a fountain fill it all up!
- RideMax worked fairly well to map out our day with the attractions we wanted to see. The longest line we waited in was probably 30 minutes for Dumbo. Many of them were 10 minutes or less.
- Find a Winn-Dixie grocery store (and apply for their discount card online before you arrive), stock up on great snacks (peanuts, string cheese, apples, microwave popcorn, candy, soda/juice) and eat throughout the day. That way you only have to buy one Disney meal.
- I saw many parents buy their kids everything they wanted. I let mine pick a few items at the end of the trip so they could get an idea of what they wanted from what they saw all week. And you can usually find similar items in souvenir stores for MUCH cheaper.
- Stay off-site. There are so many more choices when it comes to shopping and buying food. And then you don't have to take the Disney shuttle bus to all the parks.
- If you're visiting the Magic Kingdom, arrive an hour early if you want to park close in the parking lot (so you don't have to take the tram) and can get across the Seven Seas Lagoon by ferryboat or monorail and be at the front on the line when the rope drops. (Note: As hard as it is to get there, if you're at the rope drop you start your day off right. You can go on so many more rides with lighter crowds.) Fantasyland is best to visit first thing in the morning.
- FastPasses are awesome! Take advantage of them.
- You're going to walk A LOT!! Prepare weeks ahead by doing more walking than you normally do.
- Always pack extra clothes for the kids. You never know when you'll find water opportunities (rain or fountains).
