What can I expect for Mid June...

[MaXXimus]

My trip is June 17 - 24 and Im not sure really what to expect both weather wise and crowd wise. Im actually getting pretty nervous as the days count down. This will be my first trip with my new wife and 2 step kids of 8 yrs now who have never been there and all my past trips have been run by my brothers wife who planned the daily activities.

So I have all my plans etched out and all my dinners and shows scheduled but still cant help feeling jittery. I have tons of worries with hoping everything goes as planned or as close to it as possible. Im worried about bus times and being there on time and so on and so forth... think I may give myself an ulcer. :lol:

 

[k.hunter30]

There will be a good amount of people there at that time - families like to travel down once their kids get out of school - so you'll run into that. But don't worry so much. I've been to WDW on Easter and the Fourth of July - both extremely busy - and I still had a wonderful trip! Yes, you'll have to wait a bit longer for rides than if you were to go in Sept. or Feb. or something. But you'll still have an amazing trip.

The temp will be hot and humid - but not as bad as July or August I'd say.

But, like I said, don't worry too much about everything! You'll have a wonderful trip! And while it's great to plan ahead, be flexible. I love to plan things down to the hour - but usually I find that some of that goes right out the window when I'm surrounded by the Disney magic - and that's ok.

 

[DisneyBoiler]

Don't Worry Too Much... You'll be in WDW :sohappy:

Crowd levels will be high since its the summer, but the crowd level should be much lower than say 1 week later when the July Forth crowds are there.

As for the weather... The heat peaks in late July and August, but it will probably be in the low to mid 90's. I would plan for a 20-30 minute shower most afternoons.

Have a great time

 

[MaXXimus]

This is how I broke it down for myself:

Sunday June 17:
Arrive at Philadelphia Airport no later than 5:30 AM leaves at 7:00 AM
Arrive Orlando Airport around 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Arrive Wilderness Lodge around 10:30 AM
Lunch at Roaring Fork @ Wilderness Lodge
Depart to Magic Kingdom Theme Park ( Open till 2:00 AM )
Dinner The Crystal Palace @ Magic Kingdom ( 5:00 PM Confirmation )

Monday June 18:
Sleep in a little ( Up around 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM )
Breakfast Whispering Canyon Café @ Wilderness Lodge
Depart to MGM Studios
Lunch Flatbread Grill @ MGM Studios
Dinner The Hollywood Brown Derby @ MGM Studios ( Fantasmic Dinner Package ) ( 6:10 PM Confirmation ) (9:00 PM Fantasmic)
Fantasmic! @ MGM Studios

Tuesday June 19:
Depart to Epcot
Lunch Boulangerie Patisserie @ Epcot
Dinner Le Cellier Steakhouse @ Epcot ( 6:00 PM Confirmation ) (9:00 PM Illuminations)

Wednesday June 20:
Early Morning ( Up around 5:30 AM - 6:00 AM ) ( In-room breakfast ) ( Bus stop by 7:00 AM )
Depart to Animal Kingdom ( Opens 8:00 AM )
Lunch Tusker House Restaurant @ Animal Kingdom
Depart Animal Kingdom for Wilderness Lodge ( *if we leave later head straight for dinner @ Contemporary Resort )
Dinner Chef Mickey’s @ Contemporary Resort ( *Order Birthday Cake & see if Goofy can be there for it* ) ( 5:00 PM Confirmation )
Depart Contemporary Resort for Magic Kingdom

Thursday June 21:
Early Morning ( Up around 6:00 AM – 6:30 AM ) (Open 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM )
Depart to Universal Studios ( Call ahead and make transportation arrangements )
Dinner Mythos Restaurant (407-224-4012) ( Confirmation # ) (This meal is out of our pocket expense )

Friday June 22:
Early Morning: ( Up around 6:00 AM – 6:30 AM ) ( Open 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM )
Depart to SeaWorld ( Call ahead and make transportation arrangements )
Dinner Trails End Restaurant @ Fort Wilderness Resort ( 4:30 PM Confirmation )

Saturday June 23:
Up whenever we feel like.
Depart to Magic Kingdom ( Full day with no itinerary planned… relax and do as we please… SHOP!! )
Lunch Pecos Bills Café @ Magic Kingdom
Dinner Tony’s Town Square @ Magic Kingdom ( 6:05 PM Confirmation )

 

[MaXXimus]

How does transportation work down there? Is there some type of schedule you get so I know what time to be at the bus stop to be able to get to differant parks and all?

 

[DisneyBoiler]

There is no true transportation schedule. Buses start running 1 hour prior to park opening, and then they generally run every 15-20 minutes.

From the WL you can take a boat to the MK. From what I can remember, they run about every 15 minutes also.

You will want to plan extra time for transportation in case you just missed the last bus.

 

[MaXXimus]

So no matter what park I want to go to they all run the same schedule? So on Day 2 I want to go to MGM I can just sit at the bus stop and a bus saying MGM will pull up at some point? And then the same thing for Day 3 when I go to Epcot?

 

[Kadee]

So no matter what park I want to go to they all run the same schedule? So on Day 2 I want to go to MGM I can just sit at the bus stop and a bus saying MGM will pull up at some point? And then the same thing for Day 3 when I go to Epcot?

Yep! That is pretty much the way it happens. The busses make their rounds to the bus stops and you get on the one you want. I LOVE Disney transportation. Just make sure you allow enough time to wait 20 minutes if necessary. I think I have waited that long once. Most of them come very quickly.

 

[DisneyBoiler]

Yup, all of the buses will come every 15-20 minutes to the WL bus stop. There hours will differ depending on the parks operating hours and EMH for that day.

There are 5 buses that stop at the WL bus stop. There is a bus for MK, Epcot, AK/Blizzard Beach, MGM, and after 4, there is a bus for DTD. The WL buses generally stop also at Poly and GF.

If you take a boat, I believe it is the red flag boat to the MK.

 

[MaXXimus]

Yea I remember the first time takin the boat... man Im excited and sick at the same time lol... and thanks for the replies


Edit: How often does the monorail run? I have reservations @ Contemp on Wednesday and wanna go to MK when we are done.

 

[eroyee]

:wave: The monorails run continuously from before park openings to after park closings. Arent you going to Downtown disney? Relax and slow down. dont plan every minute or it will be too stressful. vacations are supposed to be fun.....not stressful. You will be at the most magical place on earth. dont forget to ask for ketchup at the Whispering Canyon cafe!! :slurp:

 

[mom2boysiadore]

You didn't mention anything about swimming? Are you going to take rest periods and go swimming and relax at all? Just curious

 

[Ranch Dressing]

First off, its going to be hot, so I would highly consider a water-park upgrade.

Second, there will be crowds, and long waits, Fastpass is a time saver. But, try to hit MGM for the Star Wars week-ends, they are fun, for the Star War's nerds, but everyone as well.

 

[MaXXimus]

I dont have everything set in stone, though with having to book dinners in advance I only really have a couple days that DTD could even be an option... esp when Im told that there is no transportation till after 4 from WL. I dont have minute by minute plans per say... though I did order the RideMax software and going to give it a shot and see how I make out. (If anyone has used this and can post their personal experiences I woudl appreciate it)

Swimming is planned, I just didnt write it in. I figured most days I have figured on one park a day and Im sure not all the parks will take an entire day to see what we want... so that should leave ample time for getting wet. Also, my one daughter has Lupus and cant be in the sun for too long... esp with how instense it will be there, so plans for night time swimming is more or less what we need to limit ourselves with. Down time in general will just be when we had enough of one park and just come back relax and then head back later for dinner reservations and or to see what we might not have had time for.

I would also appreciate if anyone has first hand experience with disabilities while at WDW, I was told that there is a place in each park I can go to and explain the situation of my daughters illness along with a doctors note and they can offer out of the sun waiting areas for most of the rides... there isnt any skipping in front of the line, which isnt what I expected or wanted anyway... just simply a way to get out of the sun.


And whats with the "Ask for ketchup @ Whispering Canyon"? Will they squirt me with it or something? :lol:

 

[Kadee]

I dont have everything set in stone, though with having to book dinners in advance I only really have a couple days that DTD could even be an option... esp when Im told that there is no transportation till after 4 from WL. I dont have minute by minute plans per say... though I did order the RideMax software and going to give it a shot and see how I make out. (If anyone has used this and can post their personal experiences I woudl appreciate it).......

...... :lol:

I don't think this is correct. I KNOW that POR had transportation to DTD starting pretty early in the day. I think it starts around 9 or 10 am. If I am wrong, someone please correct me.

 

[MaXXimus]

Just found this:

Downtown Disney Marketplace, Downtown Disney West Side, Pleasure Island: Before 4 p.m., take the Crockett bus to the Ticket & Transportation Center, and transfer to the bus marked Downtown Disney. After 4 p.m. there will be direct Downtown Disney buses from the resort.

Are there no busses to MK from WL? All I saw on their site was mention of the red flag boat launch.

 

[WhyteAL]

If this is your first trip...The only thing you should do is relax and enjoy. If your from up north or from the midwest. The temp. will be very different Hot you might be used to but humid might be a whole new experience. Drink lots of water. And for the most part you'll experience mid afternoon showers for about 30-45 min. But really if you take it light and have fun you'll love it.

:wave:

Hope you have fun and please take pix so you can post up on a thread here.

**edit** you might also want to have lunch at "The Land" pavillion instead of France only because there is more variety and in france hit the bakery for a snack. Also Sea World is really cool (I am a ocean loving person so I love it more than US or IOA) but they only have like three rides sometimes it's a lot of walking and watching shows in the sun you might want to take some water to stay hydrated.

 

[MaXXimus]

Hope you have fun and please take pix so you can post up on a thread here.

Oh I plan on lots of pics, my memory card can hold about 760 of them and I plan on going plum crazy and may just need to have them transfered to cd and take some more... LOL

Also you mentioned being out in the sun a lot in Sea World, I havent been there in at least 22 yrs (EEEEEK) and cant for the life of me remember what it was like. Anyway, Im asking baout the sun part because as I mentioned earlier in the thread my daughter has Lupus which makes it so she shouldnt be in direct sun for a long amount of time. Typically we keep her to and hour or less at a time and with how intense the sun will be down there during that time Im thinking no more then 45 minutes with some indoor activities. What would you suggest? Do you think I should ditch Sea World, or are there some activities indoors worth seeing?

 

[Kadee]

NO! DON'T DITCH SEAWORLD! There are several things you can do either indoors or in the shade.

• The Shamu show seating is mostly shaded (if not all....don't remember)
• The Dolphin show has a shaded area.
• The Wild Arctic (MY FAV!!!) is all indoors! And VERY nice and cool! I could stay in there for hours.
• There is a huge tunnel aquarium (don't know what to call it, really...it is the kind where you go through on a moving belt and the aquarium is all around .... even above you) with all kind of sea life ... tons of sharks. There is also a section in that same building with penguins.
• The manatee exhibit is indoors
• The big dolphin tank has a shaded (and very cool) viewing area, although, if you want to feed them, you have to go outside in the sun.
• The ray pool is under cover

I'm sure there are more things that you can easily do, but I don't remember them all. I hope this info helps you some.

Have fun!

 

[WhyteAL]

Anyway, Im asking baout the sun part because as I mentioned earlier in the thread my daughter has Lupus which makes it so she shouldnt be in direct sun for a long amount of time. Typically we keep her to and hour or less at a time and with how intense the sun will be down there during that time Im thinking no more then 45 minutes with some indoor activities. What would you suggest? Do you think I should ditch Sea World, or are there some activities indoors worth seeing?

I would try to contact Sea World to see if they can accomidate for her situation. Maybe they will have some sort of fast pass or a thing were you can go to the front of the line and not have to wait in the sun before being seated for a show. If they could accomodate that then I would say go for it. There are a lot of shaded area and places to be under cover but they mostly are in an outside setting like for the shows its open stadium. Around the dolphin encounter there are trees near by and also an area which goes under to see them from the tank which is covered. The stingray pool is around buildings and there is a covered outside like patio area same thing for the feeding sea lions thing. But there really is not much in the form of rides and shows in completly enclosed shelters. Like the previous poster said you could go to shark show, and the reef, or the polar bear encounter but for the most part that is it (mind you I have not been there in over 3 years so my mem. is a little jagged) I would also be there at least an hour before park opens so you don't have to wait in line for parking and tickets that way you might be able to knock off a good chunk of the park before mid-afternoon sun. It would also depend on how sever her disease is and what causes flare ups. If she is on some sort of treatment yo might want to do this closer to the begining of the trip so that her treatment is fresh and her body is runing at full health. Definetly take sun screen not just to sea world but all the parks. If you do get another chance at MGM you might also want to dine at the 50's prime time cafe. You will love it and the kids will too! Very fun to watch mom put you in a corner for not eating your veggies. Or making a grown adult do the I'm a little tea cup song in front of the resturant.

Hope this kinda helps some :wave: