I am going to Disney World this week for the first time. Does anyone have any special insider tips for me?

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happy_teaching_gal

I am 22 years old and have been to Disney 15 times with my family. It is truly my favorite vacation spot and I cannot think of being able to go anywhere else and experience so much. Enclosed below are some of my favorite rides, restaurants, tips, ect.

Rides:
Here are my suggestions for each park:
Magic Kingdom-The Haunted Mansion is a classic fun ride that shows off some of the true Disney magic that Walt Disney created himself. I also highly recommend Splash Moutain, Buzz Lightyear, Pirates of the Carribbean and Dumbo. All are great rides for any age! Make sure you take sometime one evening to see the Electric Night Parade! It is beautiful and make sure you find a spot early on. People start sitting around 7 p.m. for the 9 p.m. show.

EPCOT- Test Track is my favorite. Make sure you get a Fastpass early if you ever want to ride it. I also recommend the ride in Norway and you can't go to EPCOT without riding the ride inside the big ball!

MGM Studios- Tower of Terror, the Great Movie Ride, the Beauty and the Beast theatre show, the Little Mermaid show....Great attractions at MGM. I love the old Hollywood feel of the park. Has great charm.

Animal Kingdom- The Kilomenjaro Saffari, the whitewater rafting ride, the It's Tough to be a Bug show, The Dinosaur Ride....Fun park. Make sure you go early in the morning. It seems to get hot at that park! The park also closes earlier than any of the other parks.

Restaurants:

Magic Kingdom- Cinderella's Royal Table (Character breakfast) Pricey but the food is wonderful (stuffed french toast) and its all you can eat. Also has a nice view of the Magic Kingdom. The Crystal Palace is another restaurant served buffet style with Winnie the Pooh and friends as the characters. Casey's has great hot dogs and is more of a eat and run type of place (much cheaper too)! Tony's Town Square serves Italian food which is reasonable for Disney.

EPCOT- I suggest trying any of the restaurants in the World Showcase. I enjoy Mexico and Canada but you won't go wrong with any of the countries sit-down restaurants.

MGM Studios- The 50's Prime Time Cafe is my favorite at this park. It's theme is 1950's and the staff of the restaurant treat you like you're at your family's house. It's a fun atmosphere that both children and adults enjoy. I recommend the Smores for dessert! The Hollywood Brown Derby is also good (more for adults) and if you have children, go to the Sci Fi Drive-In. You actually sit in replica 1950's cars and the setting takes place at a Drive-In movie. It's cute.

Animal Kingdom- Not many places to sit-down to eat at this park. There is the Rainforest Cafe and for breakfast, Donald's Prehistoric Character Breakfast served buffet style.

Resorts- If you have children (don't have to), check out Chef Mickey's Character Buffet for breakfast or dinner at the Contemporary Resort. Awesome atmosphere and the prime rib buffet is excellent. At the Polynessian, try Ohana. This is my favorite place to eat anywhere at Walt Disney World. You are served family style, with steak, pork, shrimp served hot from skewers. It is amazing. At the Grand Floridian, try the Grand Floridian Cafe. Pretty atmosphere around the rose gardens of the resort. They serve sandwiches and salads for lunch. Steaks and fish for dinner. The Grand Floridian also has 1900 Park Fare which is a character buffet.

As far as advice: Make priority seating for restaurants. It helps secure your place and time to eat, rather than walking around being turned down because nothing is available. I also highly suggest staying on Disney property. If you are flying in, Disney picks you luggage up (you don't) and Disney transports you directly to your resort. You also get other privilages by staying on property such as getting into the parks an hour and a half before anyone else. There are also additional park hours at night where guests can stay later than anyone else. The lines are short and you get to experience that much more on your vacation! If you like to shop or browse, I suggest taking sometime to head over to Downtown Disney Marketplace. Most of the stores are Disney related but if there is something specific you are looking for, they are bound to have it there.

Since you are thinking of taking a trip in January, make sure you pack sweatshirts and jeans. It is cold in the morning down there at that time. The first time my family and I went around Christmas time, we totally did not think of it being chilly so we ended up having to buy sweatshirts to keep warm.

As you can see, I have many favorites. To anyone reading this, if you are planning on traveling to Walt Disney World, I suggest purchasing the Birnbaum's guide to Walt Disney World. It is the official guide to WDW. It is very detailed and gives a lot of information and tips for your trip. It's worth the money!

I hope you have a magical trip to Walt Disney World. I love Disney very much and I am always willing to talk about Disney! Good luck with planning your vacation and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

red

the best tip: make sure when going round theme parks you go around in an anti-clockwise direction, as the average person goes clockwise, trust me its quicker. have fun i've been twice and off there again next year, it rocks!

Jennifer S

use this site

www.allearsnet.com

jim0007766

yeah, make sure what's going on before you go, it could be gay day weekend, or swingers convention weekend, they don't always tell people this stuff... i'm sure you'll have fun though, i heard the flying simulator is a lot of fun

kopguy33

Hot time of year to go. Be prepared for long lines and take advantage of the reservation times offered on some of the more popular attractions.

Long Island Girl

You MUST go to Epcot to ride Soarin'. It is breathtaking!! I am going to Disney Aug 23-29 and that will be the first thing I see!

Enjoy!

MeLissa

Take lot and lots of money. But hey,have a good time! : )

basketcase88

I hope you're staying on site at one of the Disney hotels. You'll have the benefit of the early entry into a different park each day. This time of year you need to use that, because you can get into the parks at 8am, by noon you'll be wiped out, so you can go back to your hotel room, rest, swim, whatever, then hit the parks again about 5ish. Go early, stay late, and rest during the day should be your mantra. Make sure you drink plenty--and I mean PLENTY of water, the heat and humidity will be at their peak, and you run the very real risk of dehydration. The lines will be long, so use Disney's fastpass feature to save yourself some waiting. This is also why you want to get there early, the lines aren't nearly as bad before 10. Plan out what you're going to do each day, you don't want to wake up in the morning, look at the 3 other people with you and say "so, what are we going to do today?" Have a plan and stick with it. If you haven't gotten a Disney guidebook yet, I'd highly reccommend one. Birnbaum's is the "official" guide, but there's plenty of "unofficial" guides as well, I'd get the Birnbaum guide and 1 other. If you're also staying on site, go ahead and set up your priority seating for meals that you want to eat in sit down restraunts, if you wait until you get there, you may be eating at weird times. Also, EAT at off times. Eat lunch before 11 or after 1:30. Eat dinner before 5 or after 8. You'll beat the crowds, although, going now you're not going to beat many crowds, they're at their peak as well. These are some good, general tips, but if you have specific questions, please email me and I'll do my best to answer them.

Gungnir

Check out the attractions map before you start running, and plan a route. Saves tremendously on shoesoles and energy.

Have fun!

jedi_reverend_daade_selei

micky mouse is actually a guy in a big mouse suit...

...sorry to ruin the illusion!

Go to all the big rides early. Disney is really crowded get "Fast Pass" Tickets to all the rides you really want to hit for example: rock and roll coaster - if you go there early you can get a fast pass that will give you a time to come back to the attraction and not wait long in line. The fireworks in Magic Kingdom are great. The food at the italian place in magic kingdom called "Tony's" modeled after the lady & the tramp the food there really stinks. Other than that just have a good time!

cifurtrue

go to every ride you can enter! The only advice is, if you see a very big line go on the others with less people first and then came back when it's not so busy. if you go on the busiest rides when the day is over you will realize that you only went on 3 rides and stayed in line for most of the day. people say that the busiest ones are the best but that isn't always the case. even the greatest ride seems a bit shallow after you've been in line for 3 hours.
bottom line, go on every ride you see available and enjoy.

Nicky

Only one I can think of is - we went to the favourite rides during a parade - less queues and you might get a quick 2nd ride if you're really lucky and no one is wiating for his turn. (obviously we watched the parade another day)

guatepuertorico19993

Well, Cast members (employees) will take pictures in front of different Disney landmarks and/or beside characters its cool to look at them b/c they put in cute little special effects. you also have a fast-pass you just insert your Disney ticket and they give you the time to arrive and you come back with little or no waiting!FAST-PASS-ENABLED ATTRACTIONS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD:
MAGIC KINGDOM:
Splash Mountain
Space Mountain
Jungle Cruise
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan's Flight
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Stitch's Great Escape
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
DISNEY-MGM STUDIOS:
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
Voyage of The Little Mermaid
"The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror"
Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3-D
Star Tours
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Play It!
DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM:
DINOSAUR
Expedition Everest
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Kali River Rapids
It's Tough to be a Bug! !
EPCOT:
"Honey, I Shrunk The Audience"
Test Track
Living with the Land
Maelstrom
Mission: SPACE
Soarin'
wear comfy shoes you will do a lot of walking do not wear sandals you'll burn your feet in that heat trust me it happened to me.

lrad1952

It has been extremely hot in California this year. And more humid than usual. Generally Disney has very long lines, so be prepared.
It's lots of fun, I've been there 5-6 times since I was young. You'll have a blast.

michael2003c2003

You might want to consult this website before going.

hatfield41

Like someone said before, lots of sunblock! Also wear comfy clothes and good walking shoes. If your going to different parks, take the monorail, its quick and comfy to sit in. Bring your own bottled water since its expensive in the parks. Don't forget a camera, and don't make a schedule and plan to stick to it. There are so many little things to do or see besides the big rides. There are street performers who are hilarious. Also if you go to Epcot give lots of time for the Imagination Station, and DO NOT miss the Coke Igloo! It has free samples of Coke from around the world, and its super cold in there! Have fun!

de3fan0428

If you are staying at Disney, check into the dining pass. It is a good way to plan ahead for your food and save money. You get 1 snack, 1 counter meal, and 1 sit down dinner. It includes drink, appetizer, and desert, tax and tip. good way to save money also. Have fun. We are going again in December.

Equinox

Wear comfortable shoes since you'll be doing a lot of walking around. Wear something cool as well since Disney is open-air. Bring extra clothes if you intend to go on rides that will involve water. Bring a small body bag you can strap around your body for basics - money, hanky, face towel, gum, candy... cell phone.. big bags are too cumbersome. have fun!!!

â™¥ !zzy - Anilover â™¥â„¢

Yes but i'm not telling! OK I'll tell. Oh Now I forgot.

Anry

No, Just go.

beth m

I just heard yesterday about those little trading pins. you buy yourself the lanyard and a set of pins then you walk around the park trading them with employees for pins you prefer. They cannot tell you "no". Young and old alike are having a blast with this. Be careful though, you do not want to trade a "collector's" pin for a "trading" pin.

john john

pack plenty of sunblock!

powhound

bring sun tan lotion, rat trap (for the giant mouse), and lots of patience as you will be standing in line for at least an hour per ride. Maybe bring a book, or your knitting.

lisabee

Be prepared for long queue's. Enjoy your trip.

Angela D

The best thing I can tell you is don't avoid the early openings. Get there early, before you can get in and then get to the big rides. Get a fast pass for them early and ride and then use the fast pass. 2 hours after the park opens, the bigger rides will fill up and then you can move to the other rides. Plan on doing this with any of the roller coasters and Peter Pan. Don't pass on the Carasoul of Progress. It is an original ride and is only open during the busiest of times, but it is a great ride. Very fun. Ride Autopia at MK in the late opening times otherwise you will be waiting to ride forever. Don't forget to view the fireworks in front of the castle. You will get to see Tinker Bell fly and it is an awesome sight... and the fire works are great right now... better than usual in my opinion. At MGM, try to get in to Millionaire. They are shutting it down and you don't want to miss it one more time. The Stunt show is so good. I can't believe how awesome it is so don't miss that. Make a special effort to get to it. The Walt Disney show is right next to Ariel and it is a good thing to see. Wait until the park is busy and go rest in tehre. You will learn a lot. At Animal Kingdom, get there early. Get fastpasses for Everest and then if your children aren't too small, ride single rider until your fast pass comes up. That is the only way you will get to ride it multiple times. Bugs life... great. See it... you will enjoy it. Ride on the left hand side on the safari. That is where most of the animals are. At Epcot, ride everything, but make an effort ot see Turtle Talk with Crush... you will be amazed. I thought it was just something to see, but when I actually saw it... WOW. I can't figure it out. Sit down to watch Illumanations at the outside Mexican resturant. Best viewing place and you can eat as well. Try to get there about and hour to hour and a half... sit at a table by the water... you will be impressed. Have fun. And the pins... you can ask the employee for the cast member exclusives or just look for the little golden mickey on the front and that will tell you they are exclusive.

Lady

Take me with you! :-)

lumberjack9

ur in for a long as$ trip ur going to wait in line for hours,walk ur damn feet off,burn the hell up,and one more thing dont ride its a small world its the longest ride in amusment park history ull wanna start swimming out half way through trust me

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