Help me Plan my First WDW trip... I think its really happening this time...three's a charm.

[Centauri Space Station]

You guys have sold me on the Lion King. Wasn’t really on my radar but I feel like it’s something we should k see.

You make the water parks sound appealing! Ultimately a day or 1/2 day there is cutting into either my “down” time or theme park time and it doesn’t sound like it’s worth it. Maybe on my second trip to WDW.

Yes Homecoming! So it’s not that great huh? I do love me some good bread pudding so Raglan Road might be the move. As far as AK, how do you feel about Nomad Lounge? I know it’s not known for its food but it looks pretty neat.

Nomad is really good! They have outdoor and indoor seating and it has the best churros at WDW.

 

[mickEblu]

Nomad is really good! They have outdoor and indoor seating and it has the best churros at WDW.

Good to know! Looks like a nice break from the park too.

 

[mickEblu]

Will throw out there that I did a split stay from Coronado to Beach Club for my first-ever WDW trip and the process was pretty painless (kudos to the CMs here) and the transfer was absolutely worth it (granted, Beach Club is literally steps away from Epcot so that certainly helps haha). I dropped my bags off at Coronado, headed to Epcot, and then by 4pm my room was ready so I left through International Gateway to freshen up before dinner and fireworks. Perfect move IMO.

In general, I think a split stay where the second hotel is the nicer of the two is worth it 9 times out of 10. Plus, you'll have gotten to experience two resorts during your trip.

Thanks for sharing! In my case the second hotel would be nicer as far as the grounds/ theming but I’d still just be going from a moderate to a moderate. Sounds like the hotel transfer is pretty painless. Still leaning toward just staying posted at French Quarter for 8 days.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Still leaning toward just staying posted at French Quarter for 8 days.

You'll love French Quarter, it's a great place to be! The charm of the little streets you walk down to get to your buildings is really special.

 

[mickEblu]

You'll love French Quarter, it's a great place to be! The charm of the little streets you walk down to get to your buildings is really special.

I’m excited! Loved what I saw in the videos. I think staying in that atmosphere and just being posted for 8 days is probably more valuable than having better transpo for three days.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Nomad is really good! They have outdoor and indoor seating and it has the best churros at WDW.

On our last trip about 8 months ago, we went to all 6 Disney and Uni parks. Our day at DAK was our favorite. (Unexpectedly, DHS was our least by far!) DAK was just so relaxing after the busyness of the other 5. I wish we'd planned it for mid-trip as a relaxing break. And yes, Nomad Lounge is just perfect.

 

[mickEblu]

On our last trip about 8 months ago, we went to all 6 Disney and Uni parks. Our day at DAK was our favorite. (Unexpectedly, DHS was our least by far!) DAK was just so relaxing after the busyness of the other 5. I wish we'd planned it for mid-trip as a relaxing break. And yes, Nomad Lounge is just perfect.

Shoot, I currently have my one and only AK day as the first park of my 8 day trip haha.

 

[waltography]

Shoot, I currently have my one and only AK day as the first park of my 8 day trip haha.

It's gonna be nonstop from there I fear, haha. I'm curious (and apologies if you mentioned this already), what do you have planned for the other 7 days?

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Shoot, I currently have my one and only AK day as the first park of my 8 day trip haha.

With kids, it's not a bad plan as it eases them into WDW without them expecting the three non-Castle parks to be similar. Regardless, you'll have a GREAT time!

 

[flynnibus]

Should I go with Dinosaur or Kali River Rapids for my 4th selection?

Both are going to make you believe WDW sucks. Both are incredibly inferior versions of rides with the same ride systems. Kali is basically pointless with it's story ripped out, shorted design, and complete lack of a good raft ride. Dinosaur is get slammed in the dark for no apparent reason. Best part of Dinosaur is seeing 90s era park design in the queue area, and loading areas.

Do it because you need to see just how bad things can be. Kali will feel like you got duped.

 

[mickEblu]

Both are going to make you believe WDW sucks. Both are incredibly inferior versions of rides with the same ride systems. Kali is basically pointless with it's story ripped out, shorted design, and complete lack of a good raft ride. Dinosaur is get slammed in the dark for no apparent reason. Best part of Dinosaur is seeing 90s era park design in the queue area, and loading areas.

Do it because you need to see just how bad things can be. Kali will feel like you got duped.

Lol. Well at least Kali will be fun as it’ll be my daughter’s first river raft ride. As far as Dinosaur it’ll be cool just to see how different it is from Indy before it goes away.

 

[mickEblu]

This kids, it's not a bad plan as it eases them into WDW without them expecting the three non-Castle parks to be similar. Regardless, you'll have a GREAT time!

Thank you!

 

[flynnibus]

You make the water parks sound appealing! Ultimately a day or 1/2 day there is cutting into either my “down” time or theme park time and it doesn’t sound like it’s worth it. Maybe on my second trip to WDW.

The water parks are the last area of WDW that really is above most of the competition. There are ones that are better, but areas like Typhoon Lagoon actually are a throwback to when WDW felt unique and ahead of it's peers.

Some people are just against water parks in general (think the people who think pools are just pee.. or don't want to be seen in a bathing suit).. but they are really worth it at WDW IMO. The kind of things that leave strong memories I think.

Obviously one is balancing their limited time on site... but don't discount them as 'not a Disney thing..' as many west coasters do. They also dove well into the idea of doing more than one thing in a day.. which in the old ticket models where days 6+ were so dirt cheap, it was easy to park hop with water parks as a good strategy. But it usually comes into play more for those who are staying 6-10 days.

 

[flynnibus]

Lol. Well at least Kali will be fun as it’ll be my daughter’s first river raft ride. As far as Dinosaur it’ll be cool just to see how different it is from Indy before it goes away.

That's the reason to do it.. for the disney fan in you.

 

[mickEblu]

It's gonna be nonstop from there I fear, haha. I'm curious (and apologies if you mentioned this already), what do you have planned for the other 7 days?

Right now I have 6 day park hoppers and the plan is …

Fri - Arrive
Sat - AK
Sun - MK
Mon - Down / pool n resort / boat to Disney Springs
Tues - Epcot
Wed - DHS / night down?
Thurs - MK / monorail resorts lunch or dinner
Fri - Epcot / DHS/ Must Do’s I might have missed
Sat - Depart

The park hoppers kind of seem like a waste of money but I’m getting them mostly for insurance and honestly the price difference between them and single park tickets aren’t that much. I’m sensing that I probably have one too many park days. I could probably get away with 5 days considering some of the things I can get away with not doing from MK and DHS but I can always wing it when I’m there and take some more downtime if I need it.

The good news is you don’t need to make park reservations anymore. The bad news is when you are purchasing LL’s you are basically make reservations and have to plan in advance haha. Maybe I won’t buy LL’s for the last day of the trip and keep it flexible in case I want to be spontaneous and do something like end my trip at AK or a water park.

 

[mickEblu]

The water parks are the last area of WDW that really is above most of the competition. There are ones that are better, but areas like Typhoon Lagoon actually are a throwback to when WDW felt unique and ahead of it's peers.

Some people are just against water parks in general (think the people who think pools are just pee.. or don't want to be seen in a bathing suit).. but they are really worth it at WDW IMO. The kind of things that leave strong memories I think.

Obviously one is balancing their limited time on site... but don't discount them as 'not a Disney thing..' as many west coasters do. They also dove well into the idea of doing more than one thing in a day.. which in the old ticket models where days 6+ were so dirt cheap, it was easy to park hop with water parks as a good strategy. But it usually comes into play more for those who are staying 6-10 days.

I think we and particularly the kids would enjoy the water parks. It just kind of comes down to where do you want to take that time from? Considering I have 6 park hoppers spanning over 8 nights I probably do have time to spend a half a day at one. Seems counterintuitive to do it on a down day when the resort has pools/ water slides and the idea is to relax so looking at my itinerary I’m guessing it would either have to go on the last day of the trip where by that point I would know if there are any Must Do’s I still need to hit. Of course the issue with that is I would have to pay full price for the water park since I didn’t purchase the option beforehand right?

 

[flynnibus]

I think we and particularly the kids would enjoy the water parks. It just kind of comes down to where do you want to take that time from? Considering I have 6 park hoppers spanning over 8 nights I probably do have time to spend a half a day at one. Seems counterintuitive to do it on a down day when the resort has pools/ water slides and the idea is to relax so looking at my itinerary I’m guessing it would either have to go on the last day of the trip where by that point I would know if there are any Must Do’s I still need to hit. Of course the issue with that is I would have to pay full price for the water park since I didn’t purchase the option beforehand right?

If you bought parkhoper... I think you can still upgrade it before end of ticket? That was the old world.. would have to ask about the new world order.

With it being your first trip I think the waterparks are a secondary topic - the twist is you are Disney vets, just not WDW, so what you get drawn towards will be a bit distorted vs the 'first time WDW' folks.

I always advise people to try to take the last half of the trip more adhoc and do the things you want to see more of. Listen to your family and adapt. No one likes a vacation gulag. That's why I really despise Disney's 'plan everything 3yrs in advance' mindset they pivoted to.. and why I prefer the cruises more than the parks in the last decade. The flexibility without being overly punished.

 

[mickEblu]

If you bought parkhoper... I think you can still upgrade it before end of ticket? That was the old world.. would have to ask about the new world order.

With it being your first trip I think the waterparks are a secondary topic - the twist is you are Disney vets, just not WDW, so what you get drawn towards will be a bit distorted vs the 'first time WDW' folks.

I always advise people to try to take the last half of the trip more adhoc and do the things you want to see more of. Listen to your family and adapt. No one likes a vacation gulag. That's why I really despise Disney's 'plan everything 3yrs in advance' mindset they pivoted to.. and why I prefer the cruises more than the parks in the last decade. The flexibility without being overly punished.

I totally agree. Not sure if you noticed but I’m trying keep those last few days of my itinerary kind of loose.

As much as I want to finally visit WDW there’s always a point during the planning where I think “ya know wouldn’t a Disney Cruise just be better?” It’s so easy- you get on the ship and you’re done. I also saw some pretty interesting itineraries on the Treasure where I believe it would be visiting two places I haven’t seen like Jamaica and Cozumel and still have a nice day on Castaway Cay. To be honest my son has been begging to go on another Disney cruise because he understands what it is and has seen a couple YouTube videos showcasing the Treasure. Disney World he hasn’t been to so the desire isn’t as great.

 

[mlayton144]

Both are going to make you believe WDW sucks. Both are incredibly inferior versions of rides with the same ride systems. Kali is basically pointless with it's story ripped out, shorted design, and complete lack of a good raft ride. Dinosaur is get slammed in the dark for no apparent reason. Best part of Dinosaur is seeing 90s era park design in the queue area, and loading areas.

Do it because you need to see just how bad things can be. Kali will feel like you got duped.

Agree about dinosaur - loud, obnoxious, and CORNY. But you can say you rode it before and closed and join the yesterland club of extinct attractions.

As many times as I’ve vacationed at WDW I’ve only done Kali once.

LOVE the bird show, the trails, the food, Pandora, Lion King, safari, and vibe of the park. Everest a good roller coaster if not a bit too thrilling for my taste. Nemo is fine - place to sit and cool off and mildly entertained. Kids can ride the little train , go to affection station and pet some farm animals.

AK has so much potential….

 

[mickEblu]

Agree about dinosaur - loud, obnoxious, and CORNY. But you can say you rode it before and closed and join the yesterland club of extinct attractions.

As many times as I’ve vacationed at WDW I’ve only done Kali once.

LOVE the bird show, the trails, the food, Pandora, Lion King, safari, and vibe of the park. Everest a good roller coaster if not a bit too thrilling for my taste. Nemo is fine - place to sit and cool off and mildly entertained. Kids can ride the little train , go to affection station and pet some farm animals.

AK has so much potential….

I have seen people around here say they prefer Dinosaur. Granted not many but I wonder what about Dinosaur they prefer to Indy? The dark “scary” factor?