re: Disney World - Observations from my first trip

One misconception is that you can only get 3 FP a day. That isn't true. You can go to a kiios after you uses your three, so try and plan those for the morning.

However during the busy season your options for additional FP tickets will likely be limited.

One thing we noticed, and were surprised by (we went in July). You can hit up a shitload of rides after 8PM pretty quickly.

We won't be back agian or about 4 or 5 years with a baby on the way. I hope the adjust the fastpass before then.

quote:

---

I would put Animal Kingdom first and Hollywood last. Epcot 2nd and MK 3rd.

---

I feel mostly the same, except I probably enjoy epcot slightly more than AK.

Hollywood is definitely last for me

They are supposedly beefing up AK in the next few years. Some sort of Avatarland. I imagine Hollywood isn't far behind with Disney now owning Star Wars.

We were there 6 days. We pretty much hit up everything we wanted in MK in a day and a half.

The Mine Train and meeting Anna and Elsa are a nightmare. Those are the two you certainly need to get fastpasses for (2 hour plus waits).

The other good stuff varies between 20 minutes to 60 or so.

In Epcot, Soarin and Test track are the long waits. So get a fastpass for one of them and hit the other right when the park opens.

For Hollywood, Toy Story Mania is a must and gets really long. The rockin roller coast should be just hit up right when it opens. Tower of Terror can get long, but just go at night.

Nothing in Animal Kingdom is too bad. You probably want to get the FP for the Yetti coaster or the Safari..

Make sure you reserve your fastpass attractions as soon as your window opens. I think it is 60 days before you arrive. Otherwise others will book them all.

And if you have not made dining reservations. Do that NOW. You can book like 6 months in advance. If you don't do it soon, have fun eating at 8:30 for dinner and 2:30 for lunch.

quote:

---

Make sure you reserve your fastpass attractions as soon as your window opens. I think it is 60 days before you arrive. Otherwise others will book them all.

---

yeah gotta do that next week..

quote:

---

And if you have not made dining reservations. Do that NOW.

---

Yep did that already..

We need a Disney Resort ranking.

I've stayed at a few. In order of preference:

Port Orleans - French Quarter: small, quiet, not very crowded, great pool and water slide for the kiddos, good live music, good food. Also has ferry service to Downtown Disney. Far and away the best thing though is the buses are rarely crowded.

Contemporary Resort - Bay Lake Tower: DVC members only but still able to get through points. Very nice with lots of amenities. Sucks to not have room service though. Nighttime electric water parade is right out back and you can watch from balcony. Fireworks at MK can be seen nightly if you have theme park view room. Easy walking distance to MK. And of course, Monorail runs through the Contemporary so Epcot is easily accessible. Other con is that the Contemporary food service is not that great outside of Chef Mickey's.

Caribbean Beach: cool place to stay and themed nice. Beach hammocks are a nice touch and can see fireworks over at Epcot. Pool is decent and food options are typical for an intermediate resort.

Art of Animation: nice value resort with a huge gift shop, arcade, and dining area. Three separate pools so lots of options for the kiddos. Can be quite the walk from The Little Mermaid rooms to the buses but not too terrible. Buses back from parks are frequent but damn they can be crowded. Kids will love this resort - nighttime movies outside at Lion King rooms, characters are there, etc. Cool place but a touch crowded for me.

I personally like staying on or near the boardwalk. The boardwalk hotel is probably my favorite (has a throwback feel with radio shows playing in the bar and magicians doing shows most of the time).

quote:

---

Define a lot?

---

25+ trips in 30 years?

I'm staying at Coronado in two weeks.