Tips, Tricks, and Anything Else We NEED to know before we go

[Missing20K]

so my girlfriend and I are trying to plan a last minute trip to WDW for January but neither of us have been there in over 10 years. Obviously our first decision is where to stay and we haven't quite figure it out yet. We both would like to stay on property to get that whole vacationing in disney feel, but realize it's quite expensive. We do have AAA though and if we stay at All-Star for 4 or 5 nights we should be able to swing it. We'll probably drive there as well, so we know off-site is a possibility. Any comments, suggestions??

Also, we already have 2, 2-day park hopper tickets as a gift from her parents when they visited a few months ago, but we are wondering can add 2 or 3 days at the discounted rate, as if we bought a 4 or 5 day pass??

Finally, as we haven't visited in so long, any tips or tricks to avoiding crowds, seeing good shows, places to eat, nightlife would be super helpful. Please try to remember we are young, fun, and moderately broke, but desperately want to go have fun in the happiest place on earth.

thanks in advance!

 

[disneycouple]

first off are the tickets with no exp. second i would suggest pop over the allstars. but hey thats just me.:shrug:

 

[macsmom]

I also recommend staying at POP if you decide to stay on property.

danna

 

[Missing20K]

oh sorry yeah the tickets are no exp. and actually I think I meant the POP hotel, but I guess I just lumped all the values into one category. thanks for the replies

 

[Monty]

If the tickets are ones your parents used while them were there, you can't use them. They would have used the biometric scan to enter the parks and those tickets can only be used by them. If they purchased two 2-day hopper tickets for you as gifts then you can use them and add more days to them for the difference in cost.

 

[Willful]

Finally, as we haven't visited in so long, any tips or tricks to avoiding crowds, seeing good shows, places to eat, nightlife would be super helpful. Please try to remember we are young, fun, and moderately broke, but desperately want to go have fun in the happiest place on earth.

thanks in advance!

January is a great time to go! The crowds tend to be light after the first of the year. The weather can sometimes dip down at night. One day during our Jan 2006 trip, it was very windy and cold so we had to skip Fantasmic...but otherwise fairly warm. But bring some warm weather clothes and cold weather clothes - depending on your personal preference with temps. Check weather.com or such the week or two before you'd leave.

If you happen to be celebrating a special event, like b-day or anniversary, let WDW know! When you book your ADR's and resort, let them know. Not a guarantee they'll do something but most often they'll give you an extra piece of pixie dust. And get a button too from the parks' guest relations so the CM's (and guests too) can wish you well on your special day.

I love to sit in the front of the monorail and chat with the driver. When you get to a monorail station, ask the CM there if you can ride up front with the drive.

Get FastPasses for the top attractions! If the wait time is over 40 minutes, that's what we do. When you first get to the park, head straight for the top ride of the park - your tastes may be different...but what we do is head to Soarin' at Epcot, EE at AK, Space Mtn at MK and Rockin' Roller Coaster at DS. Since you're staying on property go to the EMH's! They rock!! We use the evening EMHs to hit the E-tix rides.

See the Finding Nemo - the musical at AK. Try for the first showing of the day. If you're young at heart like us, try the Beauty and the Beast show at DS...Voyage of the Little Mermaid at DS...Story Time with Belle at MK

Other great shows
AK: Festival of the Lion King, It's Tough to be A Bug
DS: Lights, Motor, Action stunt show...Indy stunt show
MK: Mickey's Philharmagic

Of course watch all of the night time shows...Fantasmic, Wishes, Illuminations

Wishes in front of the castle is amazing!!

Eating cheap at Disney is kinda hard...but you could always order from the kids menu at quick service places. Or order a double cheeseburger and an extra bun (which is I believe less than a $1), split the double cheeseburger and ta-dah, 2 cheeseburgers. Go to Pecos Bills or Cosmic Rays at MK and you can throw some hot fixin's on it to spruce it up! If you can, "splurge" on a character breakfast...Chef Mickey, 'Ohana Breakfast are lots of fun!! And if you like character interactions, it's even more fun!! :sohappy:

Some "free" stuff is visiting Club Station Cool at Epcot to try soda from around the world. At DS, the Magic of Disney animation has a room where you can learn to draw a Disney character. Lots of fun!! I hear you can build a plastic robot at Innoventions in Epcot.

Make sure you talk to the CM's...we've had some fantastic interactions just by striking up a conversation...especially at World Showcase...ask them about the home country.

Walk around the World Showcase at night. That's free and romantic.

Hopefully this is some of what you were looking for? :animwink:

 

[a2grafix]

If you are military or your girlfriend is military, or if you work for the Department of Defense, you can secure reservations on the cheap at the Shades of Green, right across the street from the Polynesian.

Reservations are based on your rank / government-grade and there is no tax. As well, you can get discounted 'stars and stripes' discounted tickets to all the parks, the water parks, Pleasure Island, and Disneyquest.

Check out Shades of Green website for more. There are many "green" / open dates throughout the month of January.

On top of that, if you love to golf, there are two golf courses stradling the military resort. And if you are military, and they have space, you can golf for $50 for 18 holes and a cart. Non-military pricing for the Palm and Magnolia are around $135-$145, pending if you are a resort guest or not.

 

[kristineamb]

My Fiance and I always enjoy SpectroMagic from the Liberty Square Bridge, early in the morning or upon first entering the park, head over to guest relations and remember to be very polite and just inquire about possibly getting into the reserved area to watch the SpectroMagic parade from there. Explain that this is your first time back in over ten years and see what they can do for you. Sometimes it is not possible, however, right before they start roping off for the parade go over there and wait around for a few and when they rope off that area ask the CM roping the area off. Alot of times they will fill in that area if guests who have spaces reserved don't show up.

I find it very magical and a little more personalized with the majority of the characters focusing on that area being that you are only on one side of the bridge there. Hope that helps for a little tip on getting a nice spot for SpectroMagic if you have a desire to see it. :xmas:

Wow this sounds great! I've never heard of this....do you have to be celebrating a special occasion??? What constitutes special???:xmas:

 

[Missing20K]

wow, thanks for the replies, all great ideas. while it's not technically our anniversary, we might just imply that it is anyway, to see if we can get some special treatment. Personally, I always loved spectromagic or whatever it used to be called. This is the parade with all the crazy lights and fiber optics right? So, we will definitely try to see that.

does anyone have any ideas on dining? We are trying to save money wherever possible and it seems like eating can get quite expensive. We will have a budget to probably have 2 sit down dinners that wont cost more than 50 or so for the both of us, and hopefully have enough to have one really nice dinner, whether a show or just somewhere really nice. Any suggestions?

oh, and we also would like to know about any good nightlife. PI seems kinda overpriced and I have heard they water down their drinks. I don't want to go on vacation in florida and drink beer, I can do that anywhere. So any suggestions on good nightlife (we like to dance and drink and well, we're in our early 20's so what can you expect) would be helpful as well.

 

[bradandsarabr]

When we were in our late 20's, my wife & I did the shoestring budget trip. We enjoyed PI. (there was no cover then) The club & sports bar @ Boardwalk were fun as well. I think PI will be what you are looking for.

Be ready with your wallet. You are not going to drink for cheap anywhere on property. Expect to pay double what a college bar charges for beer & sometimes triple on spirits.

A nice counter service menu is found at the Land food court.

For sit down dinners, y'all need to decide if you are looking for romance, kid fun, or grown up fun.

 

[Missing20K]

bradandsarabr, any suggestions on going on a shoestring budget? we haven't quite decided if we are going to stay on or off property, but we will have a car. we won't however, be going anywhere but disney (probably, I'd like to hit up universal, but probably not this time considering time and budget constraints).

in terms of sit down, we would probably want to try and stay away from the super kiddy places, as annoying, misbehaved children get on our nerves (i know we are going to disney so we'll have to just deal most of the time but still) but we are two kids at heart, hence going to disney in the first place. we would probably like one, quiet, semi-romantic evening though.

and thanks for all the great replies everyone, very very helpful

 

[alanbrai]

As far as your dining question the best thing I can suggest is going with a dining plan. When I went last summer I used the dining plan and not only saved me money but was the easiest way (I thought) to pay for you meal.

 

[wdwforus]

If you want to save money eating bring a cooler for your room, put some drinks and snacks in it and stop at a Walmart or something like that and stock up. Buy water also. Not at the parks. If you keep your breakfasts down to eating at your room then you could swing a couple of good resturaunts. You might find you end up snacking during the day and just want a nice dinner. Lunch is cheaper than dinner though and if you planned it out you could probably eat at some very nice resturaunts, make your reservations late in the afternoon before dinner time. Brown Derby is my wife and I favorite. If your going to be out partying at nighty it might be hard to get up and into the parks at the rope drop but that is what I would do if I were you then hit the major rides and shows, head back to your room for a nap or swim if weather permits and then back out for the evening parades/fireworks. I highly suggest Soarin, Everest, Mission Space, Nemo the musical, Philaharmagic, Rock and Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Fantasmic shouldnt be missed, Lion King, all the big rides at MK, try and catch Jack Sparrow outside POTC.

 

[wdwforus]

..... we would probably like one, quiet, semi-romantic evening though.

and thanks for all the great replies everyone, very very helpful

Most of the resturaunts in the World Showcase could fit this need. My wife and I were surprised how romantic and quiet the resturaunt in Mexico was, kind of dimly lit, water flowing by, it seemed very nice. Le Cellier is always spoke of highly if you want a steak house. I have also always wanted to try the California Grill at the Contemporary.

 

[peemagg]

Here is a quick tip, if you are going to do sit down dinners in DW it is going to probably cost you more than $50 for the 2 of you. If you want that price range you will most likely have to eat off site. Look on here and other boards for dining menus and cost to see what tickles your fancy.

For counter service figure about $10 for each of you per meal.

If you can I would stay on site and get the dining plan. It will cost you $38 each per day for the length of your stay, but it would help with your budget. With it you get 1 counter service, 1 snack, 1 table service per day per person. There is lots of options with that as far as where you can eat.

 

[KHockett]

One thing you can do is choose meals that actually fill you up enough so you don't have to eat as many times. As far as dinner places - Ohana is a flat rate - I think $27.99 per person - it doesn't include any "drinks" but it is a great meal, and extremely filling. Also, I agree with the above posts that if money is a concern - you should make late lunch reservations - then you can eat at some of the really nices places for less money. If you are staying off-property, you could buy breakfast stuff and eat it there. What about Mama Melrose in MGM? Haven't been there but in looking at the menu - it is very reasonable. YOu could definitely eat for under $50 there. I think the person who suggested the dining plan is smart though - you would both eat each day for $38 and you would have more than enough food. Have a great time.

 

[Nemo14]

To get the dining plan, though, you must stay on property and book a package with at least a 1-day ticket. Frankly, I think you'd be better off staying off property and eating breakfasts at your room. The savings can be quite a bit that way, then book one nice dinner to celebrate.

 

[GoofyMom2]

To get a good idea of the restaurants on property, go to www.allears.net. They have menus, reviews of all the restaurants on Disney property. They also have a lot of good other info!

When are you going in January? If it is the first week, I might plan on crowds......many schools don't go back until Jan 7 or so so families are taking advantage of it. If later, crowds shouldn't be too bad at all.

I also agree with the OP who stated to eat at your sitdowns at lunch.....very similar menu to dinners but lower price. Plus, gives you a nice break in the middle of the day.

Innoventions East and West have a lot of fun activities inside if the day is chilly or rainy. Many are "kid" oriented but adults have lots to do as well! That is where you can make your own plastic robot to take home. You have to have a "race" first with other guests on large video screens, but my DH is quite competitive and found this fun! (and tiring since you have to run in place!) There is also a spot to make your own paper and other fun things.

If you have the Dinsey Visa, you can get your free picture w/ characters at Innoventions...(can't remember which one)

There are interactive games at the exit of Mission Space as well. You can also send home videos of yourself being silly. In Imagination Lab are you can send home pictures of your self as well (both of these are sent via Email).

For shows I recommend:
Fantasmic, not to be missed!
I think you would really enjoy the Lights, Motor, Action stunt show
Beauty and the Beast for your girlfriend, just wonderful
Festival of the Lion King
Flights of Wonder also in AK
Wishes in MK........great viewing can be found at central hub, Main Street, and bridge to Tomorrowland.
Parades in MK
Illuminations

There are also different acts/shows throughout Epcot....look on Times guide when you enter. Off Kilter in Canada is a favorite, and so are Jamminators.

Whispering Canyon Cafe can be a lot of fun to eat at, but it is very loud and crazy. Food is very good. I think you can have fun! PS Remember to ask for ketchup!!! :lol: Again, lunch is a little cheaper.

Biergarten gives you tons of food on their buffet without characters and they serve huge beers

For a taste of the UK without the sit down expense, try Harry's Fish Shop....walk up counter for Fish and Chips. For a great Morroccan experience, again without the sit down cost, the Tangerine Cafe is fabulous. We always try to eat here.....I love their chicken platter. Note: Pizza here is horrible! They also have a bakery/coffee shop in there that has some great pasteries!

I might think of more! I hope you have a great trip! :wave:

 

[eroyee]

I suggest Liberty tree tavern for a sitdown and for a walk-up the fish and chips place in the UK in World Showcase. someone else mentioned sharing the burgers, etc. at counter service places. theres lots you can do if you want to......... forgot to mention at Port Orleans Riverside has a piano guy at nite that is very entertaining. the expense of drinks is how many you drink there........

 

[bradandsarabr]

You really aren't going to stay anywhere cheaper than POP or AS. & that way you have no worries if you are successful in finding a good drink.
Back in our shoe string days, my wife & I would split a meal. The portions are huge. She would always be satisfied with her half. I would munch on the granola from home. By splitting, we could eat at the nice places.
Sorry, I have no recommendations, it was 8 years ago that the wife & I went pre-kids. The last visit, which was not shoestring, involves appeasing my finiky kiddos above.
I would very clear of the DP. You can eat for less than than the $38 plus tip per day that the DP charges.
Have fun. Oh & I enjoyed the resort bars with the kiddos. There is nothing better than sitting on CB watching my kids build sand castles with SE in the background nursing my $8 draft beer.