I'm going to Disney!!

[Krikit 1,163]

Krikit I think you need to raid your cupboard and get a snackie!

I ended up making some popcorn.

I can't recall, but there was a huge uproar on the off topic section,lol He Probably would have beem in VJ's top 5 idiots!!

I love a good uproar.

[trailmix 77]

Krikit I think you need to raid your cupboard and get a snackie!

I ended up making some popcorn.

I can't recall, but there was a huge uproar on the off topic section,lol He Probably would have beem in VJ's top 5 idiots!!

I love a good uproar.

What kind of popcorn do you have krikit? I have been making the Orville natural stuff, I quite like it.

We haven't been to Disney World yet, although we are probably only 20 mins from it, have been to Disneyland though and thought it was nice.

We probably won't visit until winter as i'm not trekking around anywhere when the temps are like- 34 - it's quarter to 11 and already 31 here. We might go sooner if it's like a rainy day lol

[SapphireDreams 71]

Yey! Have fun! The bf and I are going to go in September!

[melusine 5]

disneyworld is one of the dream i have since i am a child (and will do it !) with animal kingdom, epcot and all the other one (harry potter in 2009!)...

Can't wait for that day to come. Where will u be staying ?

[JillA 2]

disneyworld is one of the dream i have since i am a child (and will do it !) with animal kingdom, epcot and all the other one (harry potter in 2009!)...

Can't wait for that day to come. Where will u be staying ?

We are staying at "Pop Century Resort" it is one of the newer hotels at Disney, and it is also "budget" friendly so it is one of the cheaper resorts, but still pretty nice!!

[DeadPoolX 9]

*** WARNING! LONG BUT INFORMATIVE POST! ***

Disney World, huh? While I haven't visited since 1993, I have been there at least twice (maybe three times -- I sometimes get Disney World and Disneyland confused a little bit, since I've been to both). Some things have probably changed a bit, but overall, much of it is likely the same.

One word of caution: you're heading to a Disney theme park after school has been let out. That's exceptionally dangerous, since families across the nation (and many outside of it) will be there lining up to go on the rides. So expect to have long waits unless you plan out ahead of time which rides you want to go on, get there early (preferably sometime very close to when the park first opens) and dart around the park to all of the most popular rides first.

I realize that seems counterintuitive at first. You'll probably want to look around a bit and maybe see what rides are available in your immediate vicinity but that's a mistake. If you get there early, WDWR won't be too crowded yet, so the extremely popular rides won't have long wait times; sometimes, they won't even have any at all! If you follow my instructions, you'll get to go on the rides you want (assuming any of them are some of the most popular rides) before the lines get so long you'll have to wait an hour or longer in the hot afternoon Florida sun.

There are four main parks within what is officially called "Walt Disney World Resort." I say "officially" since at nearly everyone refers to it as "Walt Disney World" or merely "Disney World."

Anyway... the parks are as follows:

• The Magic Kingdom -- more or a less a clone of Disneyland (with a few differences in ride selections and experiences).
• Epcot Center -- a science fiction oriented park that looks towards adventure and the future; it also includes the World Showcase.
• Disney's Hollywood Studies -- think of this as Disney's answer to Universal Studios, since runs on a similar theme.
• Disney's Animal Kingdom -- a safari-based park where the idea is to experience "wild animals" without unnecessary danger.

The only section of WDWR I haven't been to is DAK (it opened up in 1998). Honestly, I don't mind having missed it, since I can't see how viewing so-called "wild animals" in captivity (when they're supposed to be running free while we view them on a safari) would be entertaining at all. But it obviously works for a lot of people.

If you have young children, the Magic Kingdom will hold the most appeal for them. It's definitely the most "kid friendly." Even if it's just you two, but you're "kids at heart," you'll probably still enjoy some of it, especially the classic rides.

If you want my advice, here are the "best" rides in the Magic Kingdom:

• The Haunted Mansion (Liberty Square)
• Pirates of the Caribbean (Adventureland)
• Jungle Cruise (Adventureland)
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Frontierland)
• Splash Mountain (Frontierland)
• Space Mountain (Tomorrowland)
• Peter Pan's Flight (Fantasyland)
• Snow White's Scary Adventures (Fantasyland)
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Fantasyland)

In general, young children tend to enjoy the Jungle Cruise and the last three in Fantasyland far more than adults. Of course, it depends on the child too. When I was a kid, I loved Space Mountain, but that might be because I had to remove my glasses and since that rollercoaster is in the dark, it didn't matter if I could see anything or not. Once again, I don't know if you have any kids with you, but just as a precautionary measure, you should know that some of those rides have been known to scare young children. The two main culprits are usually the Haunted Mansion and the Snow White ride, interestingly enough.

I've always like EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) better than the Magic Kingdom, but then again, I've a geek. There's far fewer rides than in the MK, but I think most of them are better overall. With the exception of the World Showcase (which aren't really rides, but more like "miniature lands"), they're all science or sci-fi in nature, so if that's "not your thing," you may not enjoy at least some of EPCOT.

My recommendations for rides in EPCOT are:

• Spaceship Earth
• Innoventions
• Universe of Energy
• Mission: SPACE
• Test Track
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends

What most people focus on in EPCOT is the World Showcase. As I said before, it's a collection of "mini-lands" that sort of represent their countries. The reason I say "sort of" is because much of what tends to be shown often relies on stereotypes. This doesn't mean that negative stereotypes are necessarily employed, but for the most part, guests are shown a characiture of whatever country they're visiting.

For the record, Canada is among the World Showcase and yes, many stereotypes were put into the creation of the Canadian pavilion. As an example... totem poles, NHL jerseys, maple syrup (is Disney really hoping people are going to take home three ounces worth of syrup now or what?), lumberjack-style clothing, and a "variety" of stuffed animals, including moose, elk and beaver. While that may seem pretty sad, the other countries didn't got off lightly either.

The countries that have pavilions are...

• American Adventure (I'm still not sure why this even needs to be here, since WDWR is within the U.S.)
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• Morocco
• Norway
• United Kingdom

There's not much I can say about Disney's Hollywood Studios, except that it's really just Disney's version of Universal's theme park. If you were to look at the two side-by-side, you'd see some very startling similarities, beyond those you'd expect to see in two theme parks.

So anyway... here are the rides and attractions I think I worth visiting:

• The Great Movie Ride (Hollywood Boulevard)
• Star Tours (Backlot)
• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! (Backlot)
• Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3D (Backlot)
• Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show (Backlot)
• Studio Backlot Tour (Mickey Avenue)
• The Magic of Disney Animation (Animation Courtyard)
• Rock'n'Roller Coaster (Sunset Boulevard)
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Sunset Boulevard)

I can't right anything about Disney's Wild Kingdom, since I've never been there. I'm sure there's more than enough information about it online or elsewhere, should you really be interested in going to see it.

I'd also like to state that I completely glossed over any restaurants (there are many) within the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center, and Hollywood Studios. Most of the places there to eat won't be five-star dining, although if you're careful, you can find some pretty nice restaurants within the park. The most important thing to remember when dealing with Disney (or any theme park) is that you should only buy food there when you really, really have to do it. Disney knows that once you're inside, you're not going to feel like leaving, so you're only option to eat is with them, which means they'll raise their prices higher than normal (i.e. popcorn and soda at the movies). The best solution to counter this is to bring snacks with you, which is easy to do if you're a woman and have a decently sized purse.

Depending on the number of days you'll be going to WDWR, you may or may not have time to do even a third of what I listed. When I went years ago, I was a kid and my family stayed for a week. So we had plenty of time -- even so, we never got to do "everything" so if you're planning on being at the park for a couple of days, mark down what's most important and just do that. You'll need to schedule a lot of your time when dealing with a place like WDWR, since it's extremely hectic, especially when there are tons of families with even more crazed kids running around, clamoring for their parents to take them on every ride they see.

Edited June 10, 2008 by DeadPoolX

[T.O_2_FL 0]

Have fun! Just prep for the heat and the kids out of school.

We recently went to Epcot...it was ok...seemed a lot better when I was a kid..he he he...Pavilions were disappointing....food..terrible!

Universal Studios for Hallowe'en was a lot better if you're into that kind of scary stuff! =)