Just Returned... DisneyWorld and Cruise. My Top 10 Tips

[DisneyJayhawk]

Us: Family of four, kids ages 5 and 7. Spent 2 days at Wilderness Lodge, then 2 at Shades of Green with in-laws, then 4 days on the Disney Dream. Went in early June. Not peak, but still too crowded and hot for me!

10. Loved having a car, hate buses. Cheap, fast, and easy. Must use priceline name-your-price to get over 50% off.
9. Loved Wilderness Lodge. Location, peacefulness, theme, pool, and fun boat ride to WDW. $$, though. Shades of Green is awesome for the $ if you have a military connection. If staying >5 days or aren't rich, rent a condo.
8. Only eat at the parks at off times. What a zoo! Forget the sit down / slow / boring for kids / expensive restaurants.
7. Best place to eat: Captain Cook's at the Polynesian. Cheap, fast, great deck by the lake, on Monorail route.
6. We expected to beat crowds by getting to the parks early. Not a chance! Lines were bad 30 min after it opened. This only works if there's a magic morning. If you can do it, the little kids rides are empty after the fireworks. Coolest part of the day as well.
5. Fireworks were ho-hum. The magic projections on the castle and electric parade are much better. They often have 1 of each after the main fireworks display, so stick around. My crazy tip... get to the park around 8:30PM until close with little kids (after nap of course)!
4. Use Ace Transportation to get to/from the Disney Cruise. Fast, cheap, personal driver, and get on boat first and off last.
3. Nassau port, go ahead and spend the $ for the Atlantis waterpark. Slides are crowded, but beach and lazy river alone worth the $$.
2. Kids less than 7? Mine are incredibly athletic and still our small, foldable stroller was Priceless.
#1. Other than Animal Kingdom and a bigger castle, Disneyland is better in most every way. Less humid, hotels you can walk directly into parks, most all rides and shows. We'd much rather spend 4 days at DL, especially at the Grand Californian, than a week at DW. Take a long weekend and go in the Spring or Fall!

[petesimac]

Yikes, those are pretty bold statements, at least some of them. A bit of defense for WDW. First of all, I love DL, and think in many ways the MK there is superior to the MK in Orlando, but the bigger castle and the expansion of Fantasyland, when it is done, will just about balance it all out again. I think DL will always be just a bit more special because of Walt's presence, and I am happy that this is so.

I know that there are many who agree with you about the buses, but it wouldn't be a trip to WDW without that experience. We love the buses, and enjoy the convenience. I like being told to "sit back and leave the driving the us; you'll be home soon." To each his own, for sure, but here's a vote for buses.

If the Wilderness lodge is too expensive, go moderate, or go value, but in my opinion, on-site is far superior than off-site. Even Shades, to me, isn't really Disney. It would be like going to DL and saying at the Howard Johnson's; yes, I know it's cheaper, but I love staying on site, and I'm willing to save up to enjoy that total immersion.

Don't forget the sit-down. For me and my family, getting a chance to stop, rest, cool down, and enjoy an incredible meal at the most magical place on earth is one of the things we most look forward to on a trip. My kids have enjoyed it since they were very young, and now look forward to it more than I do. Again, to each his own, but you might want to give sit-downs another try when your kids are older.

Yes, Captain Cooks is very nice, but the best? No. It's not even the best food court. The surroundings are sure nice though; I'll give you that.

Arriving early can help, but I think you're right that later in the day can be the best. We stayed at AK after dinner one night and we were practically alone over near the Safari ride; had a great relaxing late evening there. Early morning hours are nice, though; take advantage of them when you can.

As for the whole package, 4 days at DL versus a week at WDW, I'll take the latter. I'm pricing a 6 night vacation for next year at DL, and it's just as expensive as 10 nights at Pop Century at the WDW. There's more to do at WDW, including 2 water parks, better places to eat (if you enjoy eating out while on vacation, lol), free transportation to the park from the airport, 2 additional parks (although one might argue that two of them are 1/2 day parks, especially for the older set), and the availability of a far more diverse set of resorts.

Yes it can be hot and humid, yes it can be busy, yes it's expensive (but it's Disney, who are you fooling, lol), but taken as a whole, I much prefer WDW to the DL resort. I prefer DL's MK for sure (although just barely), but I like Epcot more than California Adventures (although Carsland has made this opinion a lot harder to justify); I love CA's downtown Disney a lot more, and love walking through it to get to the parks, but I like the resorts of WDW better. I like the charm of DL but the expansiveness of WDW.

In the end, as is very common here, we should celebrate the differences and love both with as much passion. For me, I just never like seeing opinions go unchalleged, lol. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. We hope you'll give WDW another try, perhaps in a different season. You don't have to sell me on DL, though; you are correct, it's a special place, but so is WDW, and in some ways, the latter is superior.

That's my can of beans, someone open up another.

[3Princesses1Prince]

I came home from my first trip with similar feelings about WDW vs. DLR. I felt out of place while DL was "home". But some time and prospective has changed these thoughts the last 10 months. I went into MK expecting Disneyland. It's hard not too when everything is familiar but foreign at the same time. I now appreciate that WDW is different and I can't expect the same experience. There's a lot I would've done differently and look forward to trying again (something I had no interest in doing when we got home).

[scoobydooby]

Well I have never been to Disneyland so cannot compare. But I love WDW although am not a pro. My thoughts on your thoughts? Have done car and no car. Like having a car but we still also use the buses a lot and I like those too. My children from their first trip (5 and 8) have enjoyed the sit down table service meals and there is no particular zoo to them if you have advance ADR's. My experience of getting to the parks early at the busiest times has been great. You need a touring plan as well though to stay ahead of the wave of people. A stroller. Yes. For children lithe and out of a stroller at home. Yes. My DD had one at 5 and 6 and it was a good idea. She is neither fat or lazy but WDW is huge. Finally, for me anyway, I will always stay on site. Immersion is the key for me. I enjoyed your reflections. Hope some of them improve over time. If not, continue enjoying Disneyland

[disnut8]

It sounds like the OP had a somewhat different experience than what I am used to at Disney World. But some points are valid. Although I think it could have been worded more nicely.

I think #10 and #1 kind of go together as I'm thinking the OP just wanted to get to a park and didn't want to wait for a bus or a boat or any other kind of transportation. Me? I think Disney transportation is perfectly fine. Think about trying to get around Manhattan. That's the size of Disney World so, well, I think Disney does it good enough.

#9 - been there, done that and rented a house with family members. Never again. You have to drive every single day but then again, that goes back to #10. The OP preferred to drive.

#8 - gotta agree with that one.

#7 - never been there so can't comment.

#6 - agree 100% - we skipped rope drops after feeling like cows. And the evenings are cooler.

#5 - a question - were the Magic Kingdom fireworks the only ones the OP did? I love Illumination and when my son and his family (kids ages 14 and 5) went with us, they had the same reaction to the Magic Kingdom ones but really liked Illuminations.

#4 -#2 - no comment on those.

For #1 - Disney World is VERY different from Disneyland and that's why there IS a Disney World. Walt didn't like the way everything sprung up all around Disneyland. He didn't want the clutter. That's the main reason I do love Disney World. Because I am taken away from the freeways and the highways and all that crap. Because I am on vacation. I don't want to drive, I don't want to cross a main road, I don't want to see tons of motels and hotels all around me that aren't Disney.

If I go to the beach, I want an oceanside room. Not a room that is two blocks away and I have to cross a busy highway to get to. At Yellowstone, I didn't like going outside the park to get to our hotel. At the Grand Canyon, I wanted a place that was right there, not down the highway.

While it will be labeled as "defending Disney", I'm just pointing out that some of us like to be immersed in whatever experience we are doing at the time.

[WDW]

DisneyJayHawk has opinions! Yeah!

[danyoung]

DisneyJayhawk, I enjoyed reading your top ten. While I agreed with some points and disagreed with others, I did want to make this one comment -

9. Loved Wilderness Lodge. Location, peacefulness, theme, pool, and fun boat ride to WDW.

The boat ride from the Wilderness Lodge is to the Magic Kingdom. The entire property is WDW. Common mistake.

[magicalmoments]

10. I've only been once and I liked the buses. Sure they aren't the quickest or easiest but it's nice to know when you're dead tired from a full day that you can plop down (or stand if packed) and not worry about getting lost.

8. "off times" don't really exist because more and more people eat at "off times". I say, just eat when you're hungry. A hungry person is a cranky person.

Also, having a reservation for a sit down restaurant can be a God-send when you need to get out of the heat.

1. You cannot even begin to compare WDW and Disneyland. It's more accurate, to compare the MK and Disneyland, not the resort though.

I'm a a DLR vet and I loved WDW. It is a totally different experience for me. I love the whole super planning, completely immersed part of it. It's kind of bummer seeing non-disney properties when you take the monorail into Disneyland.

[magicalmoments]

DisneyJayhawk, I enjoyed reading your top ten. While I agreed with some points and disagreed with others, I did want to make this one comment -



The boat ride from the Wilderness Lodge is to the Magic Kingdom. The entire property is WDW. Common mistake.

Funny thing is, me being a WDW newbie, totally hates it when people call the Magic Kingdom WDW. It's so much more then that!

[DisneyJayhawk]

Excellent replies everyone. I didn't mean to sound pessimistic. I love all things Disney. I have just as much researching/planning as going, as I suspect you all do too. I think the real reason I like DL better is because of the Grand Californian. With direct access and less humidity, it make the whole trip so much more enjoyable for us, not to mention the large selection of flights to L.A.

A rental car was easy in Orlando, I didn't want to wait the hour for the bus. A glass of wine on the deck of the hotel after the kids are in bed is priceless! There's also 2 grocery stores and a liquor store on the way. Parking at the Wilderness lodge was easy as a grocery store lot (and free!). It took us 5 minutes to drive to Animal Kingdom. Yes, it's a luxury, but I'm willing to pay for convenience.