This sounds cool. I’ll have to look into it. Thanks!
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Strongly Considering a Trip to WDW: Please Help me plan or talk me out of it
- Thread starter mickEblu
- Start date
This sounds cool. I’ll have to look into it. Thanks!
Little Green Men
Well-Known Member
The brown derby is fantastic, the Cobb salad is amazing. It’s up to you how hungry you are. When you go to MK be sure to ride things not at DL (or no longer there) or rides that are considered better like:
Splash Mountain
Country Bear Jamboree
Tom Sawyer Island
Swiss Family Treehouse
Jungle Cruise
Hall Of Presidents
Haunted Mansion
Winnie the Pooh
Seven Dwarves Mine Train
People Mover
High up Astro Orbitor
Carousel of Progress
Monsters inc laugh floor (if its open)
My wife loves a good Cobb salad!
All of these except Monsters are on my list. I’ll check out monsters if we have time. I’m sure my son would enjoy it. Hoping to get a chance to do them all if I have 2 days at MK. Also Hoping for no sudden attraction closures of any of the big E tickets.
EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
Here are my thoughts on Be Our Guest. Kind of lengthy but may be helpful.
Happy to see that the People Mover should be open when I go! Says it’s opening on 1/2. Bummed to see Thunder Mountain possibly down but of all the E tickets to be down, I’m least bothered by this one as it’s the most similar to DLR from what I understand.
Last edited:
Little Green Men
Well-Known Member
If you can on down days, you should visit the MK and Epcot resorts. Each has restaurants or longues you could consider. The MK monorail crawl Polynesian (Ohana and Trader Sams), Grand Floridian (Narcooses, Grand Floridian Cafe) and Contemporary (The Wave, Chef Mickeys, California Grill) and Epcot resorts connected by boat are Swan & Dolphin (Blue Zoo, Shulas, Il Milano Trattoria) Yacht & Beach Club (Cape May Cafe, Yachtsman Steakhouse), and Boardwalk (Trattoria Al Forno, Flying Fish). If you can visit Animal Kingdom Lodge as well it’s a great resort and has great restaurants (Jiko, Sanaa, Boma).
Nice write up! Thanks for sharing. I think I’m leaning towards skipping BOG. I think it’s very telling when someone says “I’d do it once but don’t find the need to do it again.” Is there anyway to see the inside of the restaurant without reservations? Or is this a Galaxies Edge Cantina situation?
Sounds great. Cant wait to try a few of these places. Definitely interested in checking out some of the resorts on the off days... particularly the MK resorts.
I’ve heard a lot about California Grill. That place must be good.
Little Green Men
Well-Known Member
It’s one of my favs. The Sunday brunch is fantastic if they still have it during COVID. The views of MK are unmatched.
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
RE: kid appeal and attractions at WDW:
Nothing at Epcot, save perhaps Mission: Space (which I haven't ever ridden), is IMO scary or inappropriate for kids, though Epcot famously isn't always loved by small children and they might find some of the older attractions a bit dry. I'm not sure if they're still doing it right now or not, but they used to have little passports that kids could get in each World Showcase countries, where a representative in each country would leave a little message and a sticker in the passport) and little crafts. I was a bit older than your kids, but I enjoyed that quite a bit during my childhood Epcot visit and it makes a great souvenir.
For Studios: YMMV on the Star Wars attractions. RNRC has more inversions than Screamin; and is a rougher ride. TOT is tamer than MB but definitely looks and feels taller.
Animal Kingdom: ITTBAB is the same as it used to be at DCA. Dinosaur is very much Indy, but the environments are sparser and the dinos are right there, popping out at your vehicle suddenly-that's the big difference, as the track layout and vehicle movement is very similar. Everest is like a bigger, smoother Matterhorn but with a decent length backwards section and a few bigger drops.
Not much to note at MK as you'd expect, though MK's Space is wilder and rougher than DL's with more sudden and wilder-feeling drops. Think a Matterhorn that's more comfortable but where you can't brace for what's coming at all.
Skipping Universal is probably the right call to make at this juncture.
In response to some of the other things I've seen/other thoughts:
DO NOT skip Impressions de France-it's easily the best of the "travelogue" films and the only one that has seating (though it is not a true Circlevision experience in the way the others are). Don't forget to see the Country Bears at MK too.
In addition to the Peoplemover and the Bears, don't forget about the other things MK has that DL got rid of, like the Swiss Treehouse and a proper TSI with a tourable fort. If you have to pick and choose attractions, make sure you make time for the things many people consider better at MK, like Mansion, Splash, and Jungle Cruise, but remember that the only attractions that are straight up 1:1 clones of each other are attractions that involve films and/or interacting with screens. If you only have time for one "yay America!" animatronic show, make it the American Adventure.
Last edited:
Tuvalu
Premium Member
@mickEblu you have been given some wonderful advice, but many suggestions aren’t possible now due to pandemic restrictions and closures.
‘Ohana is closed and there is no Sunday brunch at California Grill. Trader Sam’s is closed and there is no monorail access to the Polynesian (station is being refurbished.) Cape May Cafe, Yachtsman, Jiko, Boma are also closed. The dining page on the Disney website will give you all details on which restaurants are available. Check menus also, as offerings are streamlined (sometimes only 4 choices.)
Trail’s End is currently take-out only. If you want BBQ, Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge is very good.
Tom Sawyer Island, the Liberty Belle and Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor are closed.
Check park hours for your trip dates. The parks are closing between 5-7 pm which negates a lot of nighttime activities, including dining. Currently, dining reservations can be made only 60 days in advance. And research mobile ordering ~ it’s the only way to get food at quick service locations.
You will need to have car seats (even for a 5 year old) if you use Uber/Lyft. The cost of your rides will be higher (assuming you can get a driver with 2 car seats.)
Strollers need to be folded up on buses and on the Skyliner. Bear in mind if you choose Caribbean Beach you room may be a hefty walk (or short bus ride) to the Skyliner station.
You cannot see the inside of Be Our Guest without a reservation. (Also presently the case at any resort restaurant, since all guests are required to have their temperature taken before being admitted and seated.)
Fastpass is unlikely to return anytime soon, but be aware that park crowds have increased and that wait times for popular attractions can be 45-60 minutes. Check the app to get an idea of wait times closer to your trip.
‘Ohana is closed and there is no Sunday brunch at California Grill. Trader Sam’s is closed and there is no monorail access to the Polynesian (station is being refurbished.) Cape May Cafe, Yachtsman, Jiko, Boma are also closed. The dining page on the Disney website will give you all details on which restaurants are available. Check menus also, as offerings are streamlined (sometimes only 4 choices.)
Trail’s End is currently take-out only. If you want BBQ, Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge is very good.
Tom Sawyer Island, the Liberty Belle and Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor are closed.
Check park hours for your trip dates. The parks are closing between 5-7 pm which negates a lot of nighttime activities, including dining. Currently, dining reservations can be made only 60 days in advance. And research mobile ordering ~ it’s the only way to get food at quick service locations.
You will need to have car seats (even for a 5 year old) if you use Uber/Lyft. The cost of your rides will be higher (assuming you can get a driver with 2 car seats.)
Strollers need to be folded up on buses and on the Skyliner. Bear in mind if you choose Caribbean Beach you room may be a hefty walk (or short bus ride) to the Skyliner station.
You cannot see the inside of Be Our Guest without a reservation. (Also presently the case at any resort restaurant, since all guests are required to have their temperature taken before being admitted and seated.)
Fastpass is unlikely to return anytime soon, but be aware that park crowds have increased and that wait times for popular attractions can be 45-60 minutes. Check the app to get an idea of wait times closer to your trip.
Definitely will make time for all the things you mentioned at MK. I’m even curious to see the attractions that are considered worse like POTC.
American Adventure is actually a ride right? Not a show ?
These are great things to keep in mind. Thank you! I hope I didn’t miss the boat on the shorter wait times. I’ll be monitoring the park app.
Bus ride to the Caribbean Beach skyliner station? Ugh. That kind of defeats the purpose of staying there. How far is it?
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
I suggest renting a car and not bothering with resort transportation. Plus, you can leave and do normal things and Universal. Or just Lyft everywhere.
Really? I don’t want to deal with driving and parking and car seats. As long as the waits for the buses aren’t ridiculous and the skyliner stations are convenient, I think I’d rather do that.
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
I'm not someone who can stay on property. I need normal things like convenience stores, cigarettes, liquor and non-Disney restaurants. I need to drive there.
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
American Adventure is actually an elaborate AA show, arguably the most elaborate in the world still operating at any Disney park. I don't know that I can describe it in a way that does it justice, but it's definitely worth seeing.
Oof, one thing that apparently hasn't been mentioned is that some of the moderate hotels (including Carribbean Beach) are so big that they require internal bus networks to get from the building where your room is to the building where the lobby, restaurants, and transportation to the parks is, a situation I'd recommend avoiding.
I thought I remembered reading one of Skalrs books about an intricate ride system at Epcot. Thought it was American Adventure. Guess not.
Avoid as in don’t stay at Caribbean beach? It’s better than staying at Coronado Springs no?
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
I haven't actually stayed at either, so I can't say from experience, but to my understanding both CB and CS have the same issue of just being that huge.
If I had to pick one of those two, I'd probably choose CB simply because of the Skyliner.
But keep in mind that unless you (pay extra to) stay in the buildings closest to the lobby/food/transportation, each morning you will have to get on a bus just to get to the transportation area before getting on another form of transportation (bus/skyliner/etc) to actually get to the parks and repeat the process when you come back from the parks. Perhaps someone who has actually done it can chime in-maybe it's not actually as bad as I'm picturing-but I've heard horror stories and to me it sounds like a giant hassle best avoided, especially if you're going to have to manuever multiple young children simultaneously each time you do it.
It may not be a bad idea to look at Pop Century instead-that way you still get to be on the Skyliner, you save money, and the kids will probably like the theme more than either CB or CS anyway.
This is an important detail to keep in mind. Thanks for pointing it out. I’m wondering how long of a walk it is to the skyliner station? Maybe it’s worth the up charge to stay closer to the skyliner station