What to Do at Disney World

Must Sees at Disney World: More Magic Kingdom Favorites

Nancy What to Do at Disney World , , , 4 Comments

Continuing the discussion of our family “favorites” at the Magic Kingdom, I have to say that there are so many great attractions and rides in the Magic Kingdom, it is kind of hard to just pick a couple of favorites…we enjoy quite a few things!

Previously I shared our Tomorrowland and Fantasyland favorites.  Today we’re going to stroll over to Frontierland to start,  Untitledbecause it is here that we find my personal favorite ride in all of the Magic Kingdom: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

I absolutely cannot visit Disney World without riding this at least twice (thank goodness for FastPass!) This is THE ride for me, and I can guarantee that if you are in the park when I am riding it, you will hear me. 🙂 I have no shame.

The thing about Big Thunder Mountain is, I hate roller coasters. Won’t go on ’em, hate the “big drop” feeling. But this is not a typical roller coaster. Big Thunder Mountain doesn’t have drops but it is fast…..very fast….and I love that feeling a lot.

(The extent to how much I love this ride….and how loud I scream…. has been preserved on video by my oh-so-very funny husband, who thought it would be great to sit in the front seat once with the video camera and record my, um, enjoyment…. No, it is not on YouTube…. No, it will never be on YouTube…. Don’t ask lol.)

What I always tell folks who are not coaster fans, is that this is a “coaster” you can ride. No drops, but quite a few curves, and lots of speed. Go ahead, give it a try….And if you scream like a little girl, well that makes it a bit more fun, I can promise you that. 🙂

OK, Magic Kingdom required rides: Buzz Lightyear, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Anything else?

Probably our other “must see” has to be Pirates of the Caribbean…for a number of reasons.

First of all, it really is a Disney classic, and personally I am amazed each and every time I ride it, by the incredible attention to detail. Clearly it is such a favorite that it inspired an entire series of movies, and probably a million pirate wannabes all over the world.

Beyond this though, this is just a fun experience! You really need to ride it multiple times to “get” just how amusing it is, as you notice the “jokes” scattered throughout. Try to listen to some of the dialogue too if you can, it can be highly entertaining. (Hint: Listen to the auctioneer of the “ladies”….)

This ride underwent a refurbishment a few years ago, to add in some details…and a certain very popular pirate…from the blockbuster movies. So watch carefully to see where Captain Jack Sparrow pops up, it can be the most surprising locations!

I do have a warning for you though…and that is the pirate-themed gift shop that you have to walk through to exit the ride. If you have little pirates with you, be prepared to part with a bit of your gold on the way out, as it is going to be very hard to walk right through this without picking up a souvenir or two. Just be prepared is all I’m saying……..

100_0059There is actually one more favorite of ours, not a ride, but not-to-be-missed: the Magic Kingdom fireworks show called “Wishes”. Disney is known for their fireworks, and deservedly, and this show is one of their best: it is breathtaking, it is sweet, it is moving, and you cannot miss it. Be sure to check the times it will be shown and plan accordingly. This is not your hometown fireworks, I can assure you.

So there you have it, our must-sees at Magic Kingdom, the things which, for us, no Disney World vacation is complete without. There are certainly many other great rides and attractions, and to learn about all of them if this is your first visit, you should refer to a great Disney vacation planner such as The Complete Disney World to get all the details you will need to decide what is important to your family.

For those of you who are Disney veterans, I would love to hear about your “must-sees” at the Magic Kingdom! Please feel free to share in the comment section below.

Have a magical day!

Must Sees at Disney World: What’s so Magical About the Magic Kingdom? Tomorrowland and Fantasyland Favorites

Nancy What to Do at Disney World , , , , , , , 9 Comments

One question that I often get asked by friends when they are going to Disney World for the first time is: “What are the must-sees”?100_0046

My not-so-helpful answer is usually “Well it’s ALL a must-see!”……….. 🙂

OK, OK, I know what they want to know…..so I am going to take the next few posts to discuss the attractions at each park that my family considers “must-sees” on each of our visits.

Now of course, each family’s “favorites” are going to be dependent on the personalities and ages of the family members. Clearly toddlers and preschoolers are going to have different favorites than teens or adults.

And one other disclaimer while I’m at it: this list is no where close to complete! To get a comprehensive idea of all the Disney World attractions, you will want to refer to a good Disney guidebook such as The Complete Walt Disney World, Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World, or if you want to know everything that you didn’t know you needed to know, the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

But if you want a quick glance at what WE see every time we visit, well then keep reading…….. 🙂

Let’s start with the Magic Kingdom, since for most people, Disney World = Magic Kingdom. And if you have little children, you will probably spend the most time here…

As you probably already know, Magic Kingdom has a number of different “lands”, each with it’s own rides, attractions, shows, and theme: Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Adventureland, and of course, Main Street USA. When you enter the park, Main Street USA is the first thing you see, heading right up to Cinderella’s Castle. At the end of the street, on the right you will find Tomorrowland, where we will start.

My family enjoys several things here and we actually disagree on our favorite…so we do both. I really love Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club, and I know that many don’t necessarily agree with me on this, but I love corny jokes and the audience interaction here just makes this show an awful lot of fun in my opinion. A unique aspect here is that you can text jokes in while you wait, so if you have kids that just love “that” kind of joke, well send it in and the cornier the better! Warning though: every audience member has the potential to be featured on the screen as a part of the show….so if you can’t deal with the idea that you may become “that guy” in front of hundreds of others who will enjoy a good laugh at your expense….then skip this. If you do go, and find that your smiling face is suddenly part of the show, then by all means, enjoy and don’t worry about looking silly! After all, will you ever reaaallly see these people again? Plus, your kids will love it!

Galactic (2)My husband and daughter on the other hand are Buzz Lightyear junkies. A while back, we discovered some “secrets” to getting higher points on this ride….it’s all about choosing where you shoot. Let’s just say that certain targets are worth more than others… In any event, the line for this ride typically moves fairly quickly, but you can also use FastPass here to make the most of your Tomorrowland time. Each “car” can seat two people, who each control a “blaster” where the idea is to accumulate enough points to defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg…or something like that. Yeah, basically you just shoot at things and try to get the highest score. (And so it is now clearly evident why my husband and college-age daughter find this a favorite, lol.) One especially neat part though, is at the end where you will see pictures of you during the ride…..and I have to say, I had NO idea I concentrate the way I evidently do, while fighting the Evil Emperor Zurg. (Note: the picture is actually from Disneyland’s version, which is slightly different….but you get the general idea. Also Note: when looking at the score, you can clearly see why my husband prefers this ride to me!!)

Let’s talk Fantasyland next. Have small children? You will spend a significant part of your vacation here. Be prepared. But even for those of us who are grownups, there is a special magic to this part of the park. What is our favorite here? Mickey’s Philharmagic. This is an indoor 3-D show featuring Donald Duck, and what happens when he takes over Mickey’s orchestra. You will wear 3-D “opera glasses” while watching the show, and be prepared for all kinds of things to come at you…and I mean that literally. In our experience, this show may be one of the hidden gems of Magic Kingdom, as we rarely, if ever, face a long line here. Mickey’s Philharmagic is a great show, and we won’t visit Magic Kingdom without seeing it at least once.

OK, this post has gotten pretty long, so we’ll leave it here for now, and next time discover the rest of our Magic Kingdom favorites.

Have a magical day!

Christmas at Disney World: Make Like a Boy Scout and Be Prepared

Nancy Christmas Holidays, Disney Vacation Planning , , 0 Comment

So my motto for the best way to plan a Disney vacation is always to plan, plan, and plan some more. Never is that more important than when traveling to Florida for the Walt Disney World holidays.

In our years of having visited during the week between Christmas and New Years, there are two things that we have found you definitely need to keep in mind…and plan for….

First, is the weather. Let me just say that Florida is not ALWAYS sunny and hot. In fact, traveling at any point during the winter months can provide you with a very cold…and uncomfortable…surprise, if you don’t check ahead. We have visited during the winter and been blessed with sunny days, temps in the 70s, little humidity…weather that made my heat-hating husband actually say, “You know, maybe living in Florida would not be too bad after all”.

100_0805BUT, we have also had days where the temps never made it out of the 50s during the day, and were in the low 30s at night and in the mornings. And if you combine this with some humidity and a bit of wind…well it’s actually winter-coat wearin’ weather!

So if an affordable Disney family vacation is your goal, then check the weather forecast before you leave home. Trust me, if you need warm clothes, and did not pack them, you do NOT want to pay Disney park prices for sweaters, scarves and gloves.

The second thing to consider when planning a trip during the week between Christmas and New Years, is that this is THE busiest week of the year for the Disney parks. It is typical for one or more of the parks to actually close for periods of time, during several days during this week. Disney typically does a staggered type of closing schedule where the parks are first closed to non-Disney resort guests, then to Disney guests who have not already been to that park earlier in the day, and finally, to everyone. While this is most common at Magic Kingdom, it does also happen to the other parks as well.

So keep this in mind, ESPECIALLY if you are not staying on Disney property: go EARLY to make sure y100_0139ou get into the park of your choice.  Have a plan to visit your most important must-dos (especially those that are very popular) first thing, and make very good use of Fast-Passes. Expect the big attractions to have all Fast-Passes gone for the day by lunch, and to have lines of several hours.

With regards to this, my best advice is to have very low expectations. You will probably not see or do everything you want. But go with the flow, and take the time to enjoy the many OTHER things that Disney offers during the Holiday season. Most are absolutely free. 🙂

If you decide to leave any of the parks, make certain that you can live without necessarily getting back in. While crowds often lessen somewhat in the evenings, on nights like New Years Eve….well not so much. If you plan to ring in the New Year in one of the parks, then expect to make a … very…long…day of it.

Having said all of this, the holiday season at Disney World is my favorite time of year. We have done it many times, and will do it many more times. It can be a magical and wonderful way to create family memories….just Be Prepared!

Have a magical day!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year at Disney World: Creating Dining Magic

Nancy Christmas Holidays, Saving Money on Food 0 Comment

Continuing our series on visiting Walt Disney World during the Holidays, my plan today is to talk about meals. Presumably, if you are visiting during the 2009 Christmas holiday season, you already have made travel and hotel arrangements. =)

When making your dining plans….and you MUST make dining plans….you need to realize that, if you are visiting during the week between Christmas and New Years, you will be at Walt Disney World during the busiest time of the year. Period. Lots more people than you have ever, ever seen.

Now if your plans to visit Disney are to go before Dec. 24, there will be less people. In fact, historically from the week after Thanksgiving until the week or so before Christmas, crowds are usually lighter, and so it can be a delightful way to experience all that the holidays have to offer at Disney World. But you should realize that many, many Disney veterans travel during these weeks, and these folks typically know better than to not have dining plans in advance.

So either way, make your dining plans in advance, and if they include any table service meals, make those Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) before you get to Disney World. And if you are going during Christmas week….Make. Them. Now.

I can’t stress this enough. People have been making Advanced Dining Reservations for Christmas week since the end of September (90 days in advance). The popular times and restaurants fill quickly, especially on the big days of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and New Years Day. So if table service is something you want to do, don’t delay on this.

What if you can’t get ADRs for any of the restaurants you want? Consider some of the lovely, and lesser-known restaurants at the hotels: many are wonderful, and it is a great way to see some of the fantastic Holiday decorations at the resorts. They are a little off-the-beaten path, but it can be nice sometimes, during all the hustle and bustle, to have a little peace and quiet. 🙂

Also consider eating meals…all meals outside of your room…at “off” times. Try having your main, table service meal for lunch instead of dinner. Eat early…lunch at 11, dinner at 5…or late…lunch at 2, dinner at 8. You may find crowds, especially for counter meals, to be a little lighter during these times.

Of course, typical advice about eating some meals in, especially if you have access to a kitchen, can be helpful. Many folks with these types of amenities in their accommodations actually do the entire turkey and fixings, which can be very nice and a great way to create some special memories.

Affordable Disney family vacations can occur during the Christmas holidays too, and if you plan well, your trip can have an extra dose of holiday magic. Stay tuned for more Affordable Mouse Holiday Tips in the near future!

Have a magical day!

Visiting Disney World at Christmas? Be Prepared!

Nancy Christmas Holidays, Disney Vacation Planning 0 Comment

I saw my first Christmas commercial the other day. And “pre-Black Friday” sales are out as well, lol, which means that the holiday season is right around the corner…..

Thoughts of Christmas cheer naturally lead me to think of Disney World, as we have visited there several times over the Christmas/New Years holidays, and while it is crazy…it is very, very fun. It is just not for the faint-hearted 😉

But, as I know that this is a popular time to visit Walt Disney World (in fact, it is the busiest week of the year!), I thought that I would devote several blog posts to some strategies for how to handle a Disney vacation with crowds that you never thought were possible.

Because while it IS The Affordable Mouse, and I do write about saving money…well time is money, isn’t it? And to me at least, one of the keys to a successful Disney vacation, is getting the most for your money.

And probably, at no other time of the year, is careful planning as important, as it is during the Holiday Season.

It is certainly one of the loveliest times of year to visit. The holiday decorations are beautiful, and so festive. One of the things that I love is that every resort is decorated to the hilt as well, which then becomes Affordable Mouse Holiday tip #1: Visit the resorts to see the decorations! It’s FREE! 🙂 On your list should be the Grand Floridian for the Gingerbread House, the Boardwalk for the Carousel, and the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge for the enormous trees. These are absolutely not-to-be-missed, and great ways to get away from the crowds for a bit.

If you are planning a Holiday vacation to Walt Disney World, then be sure to follow my blog posts for more Affordable Mouse Holiday tips, so that you know what to expect and can plan accordingly. =)

And if you know someone who has a Christmas/New Years trip planned, please send them this way!

Have a magical day!