DisneyWorld questions

Hi, okay I take it this is your time to DisneyWorld in Florida? Don't skip downtown Disney...it is completely different from California. They have added some new items in the Magic Kingdom so you probably will want to spend at least a day and half there. Epcot is WONDERFUL however your children may only want to spend half a day there (there are some rides which are interesting but not many). As far as fastpasses....You are limited as to how many you can get within certain number of hours so I would check out which rides offer it and how long of a wait there are at the time you get there then decide and plan your day accordingly. My best advice is to get to the back of the park as quickly as you can - people have a tendency to stop at the front shops and castle so there might not be long waits for rides at the back. Hope this helps. if you have any additional questions, post and I'll get out my Disney notebook for my notes. :-)

Thanks for your inquiry. You'll have a wonderful time as Florida is absolutely lovely in March. I'll break my responses into sections to help make reading it easier.

*which rides are best to get fastpasses for?

Let's start with which rides have it, which is listed here: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/fast-pass/

Next thing: always be holding a fastpass for something.

Animal Kingdom: Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris. The Safari ride is the coolest thing in there in my personal opinion. Everest is a very unique coaster, but be warned that by Disney standards it's also an exceptionally violent coaster.

Hollywood Studios: Toy Story, Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror in that order. If you're familar with the Toy Story ride from California, alter that some. The Rock n Roller Coaster is just cool, and it's probably the closest approximation to the Space Mountain in California in that it has an in-car soundtrack, but it has a real "interesting" launch and it's the only Disney World ride with inversions. The Tower of Terror here is unique--much better theming and a few tricks that none of the others built since have, but since it has a bit of a reputation it doesn't get as stupid busy. March being tourist season your mileage may vary with that one though.

Magic Kingdom: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder*, Peter Pan (just because for a kid's ride it's cool). This Space Mountain is the first ever (ride the People Mover before going on it) and it's twice the size of California's. If you're familar with their Matterhorn the actual ride mechanism might seem familar... Splash Mountain is just fun, and I already explained Peter Pan--I like flying sequences. Big Thunder will be really familar if you've been on the one in California, the Jungle Cruise there is better but still fun, and Winnie the Pooh is not a great ride unless you're a huge Pooh fan.

Epcot: Soarin' and Test Track. Period. If you've been on Soarin' in California it is identical, but it's still the most awesome thing they've done in a long time in my opinion. Test Track has no analog out west and is very well done. It has the distinction of being the fastest ride in Disney World but it's not really a thrill ride. Mission Space can be done without Fast Pass if you really want to. Please note this is the most stomach churning ride in all 4 parks and it absolutely will obliterate the squeamish, so be careful with it. I'm not kidding. I don't know what they were thinking when they built this thing, even though I think it's way cool. Captain EO is neat for a blast from the past but not worth a fast pass, and the Malestrom is OK but same thing applies.

*Which park is the best for the half day?

Use "the half day" for catching up on stuff you didn't see, go have a nice lunch, play the Winter Summerland mini golf course, go to a waterpark if you can stand the cold. That said, there are parks that just don't consume a whole day.

Typically that would be the Studios, though I consider Animal Kingdom to be a half day park too. Depends on your personality. I prefer things that move and I don't care for theme parks without them, Epcot being a strange exception because while it has plenty of things that move it's so big that it still seems sparse. See some more advice below on this and tickets.

*How many days would you want in the Magic Kingdom?

One, maybe one and a half. I would however want as many NIGHTS in it as I could get. That's double true of Epcot also. Since you're staying onsite, you must take advantage of Extra Magic Hours, which is when the parks open early or stay open late for hotel guests. The most awesome thing in the world is a night when the MK is open until midnight and you have a 3 hour extra magic hour after that, so you can go in late and stay until 3 AM with less crowds :)

*Skip Downtown Disney since we've been to the southern CA one a number of times?

Depends on how much you like shopping and strange places to eat. This Downtown Disney is very much not like the one in California, which I actually like better by the way. It's huge, of course, and it's not right next to any theme parks. The restaurants and stores are a bit different. There's a Cirque du Soleil show there that is really good, and there's even a marina where you can rent boats (though if you're going to do that, I suggest going over to the Contemporary instead--boating in front of the Magic Kingdom is just too cool). My favorite restaurant there bar none is Raglan Road, which is an Irish pub. The food is really quite good. My least favorite is Bongos (Cuban place). I like Cuban food. This is an approximation of Cuban food :( The House of Blues is good, but you've likely eaten at one of those.

Some stuff that wasn't asked but I'm going to say anyway:

FOOD

Bottom line with food generally: try to plan this a little bit if you can. Don't make reservations for every meal, but pick some things you like and set it up. There's not a penalty for cancelling except in rare circumstances. Seeing all the nice places to eat and then not being able to get into them is the number one frustration I see people not familiar with the place experience.

Use dining reservations to break up your day. In Epcot, have a late lunch instead of dinner. It's cheaper and it gets you out of the sun (Epcot is notorious for no shade). Have lunch at the Sci Fi Diner at the Sudios (my favorite, but notoriously overbooked so make reservations now if you want to do that). For the MK with family if you go in early my absolute favorite way to break up the day is to make reservations at the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. It's a boat ride from the front of the park. The Whispering Canyon is one of those restaurants where the servers are deliberately rude, crack jokes, etc--and whatever you do don't talk on a cell phone at your table. The food's good and kids seem to like the place. It's a good 2+ hour lunch including the boat rides, so don't do that on a day that the MK closes at 6 PM or something, but it's nice.

Also, between Epcot and the Studios is the Boardwalk, which has a lot of nice restaurants. You can take a boat from the back of Epcot, but it's not a huge walk either. Nice to remember that if you get in a "crowded theme park with crowded restaurants" situation.

Animal Kingdom is just a mess for dining. Seriously. There's a Rainforest Cafe outside of it, and I think they should have just finished a sit down restaurant inside, but almost everything is just fast food kind of stuff. You've been warned :-)

More on restaurants....

Best Epcot table service restaurants in no particular order: Mexico (inside the pavillion, not the new one outside), Morocco, China, Japan. I've not been to the steakhouse in Canada since they remodeled it so I can't comment.

Best Epcot "fast food": Morocco, Mexico, China, Japan.

Best MK table service: Liberty Tree Tavern if you just want real food, the Crystal Palace if for some reason a character buffet is of interest. Tony's Town Square (right at the entrance) is a popular Italian place, but it's hit and miss with quality. A very overlooked one is The Plaza at the end of Main Street--mostly burgers and fries and that such, but nicely done.

If you want something special while near the MK (acessible by monorail):

Ohana at the Polynesian Resort has a Hawaiian family style dinner. They don't call it a luau but the idea is the same. Reservations pretty much required right now for that one.

Oh, and if you get into one of those "just want a cocktail" moods because unlike the other three the MK has no alcohol in it, the bar outside of Ohana is great. Good tropical drinks, nice and laid back, and some of the staff seem to have been there since the place opened, which means they actually remember Disney style service.

The California Grill on top of the Contemporary Resort is my absolute favorite restaurant in all of Disney World, and one of my favorites anywhere. The food is awesome, the view of the Magic Kingdom and surrounding areas is unbelievable, and if you're there at the right time you can even watch the MK's fireworks from outside on the roof (complete with the music). It's a contemporary (bad pun) kind of place with an ever changing menu, a sushi bar, and flatbread pizzas among other things. Maybe not exactly what a 10 and 13 year old will be fans of, but I've seen much younger people there. Think just maybe a little nicer than the upstairs at Catal in California's Downtown Disney, which is also an awesome place.

Both of these are exceptions to the "no penalty for cancellation" rule by the way. I think it's $10/person if you do that inside of 24 hours prior.

Stuff to not miss...

Magic Kingdom: Wishes (fireworks). If you've seen "Believe" at Disneyland the first minute or so of this will make you think it's the same show. They were designed by the same person. They do differ quite a bit after that though.

The Main Street Electrical Parade: a direct, literally, transport from California Adventure, so you may have seen this. I never get tired of it.

Epcot: Reflections of Earth, 9 PM every night. There's nothing like this in California. The fireworks and music are just awesome. You can see it from all around the World Showcase Lagoon. The absolute bar none best place is right at the "front" near Future World, but that gets pretty crowded. The bridge between England and France is good. There's a viewing area "downstairs" on the water on the England side of that which is just awesome, but it's not always open. My new best favorite place is in Germany. There's an outdoor crystal shop there. If you go to the railing on the lake behind that it's usually nice and not populated. Just make sure you can see the center of the lagoon (the show barges have running lights--look for them low on the water and you're good) and that you can hear the music properly.

Studios: Fantasmic. The one in California is generally acknowledged to be better, but I've never seen that one as I haven't been able to get near it while out there. If you are there on a night when they run it twice, go to the second one. Less crowded by far.

Animal Kingdom: not far from the Safari ride is a walking tour through some of their nature stuff. I can't remember what it's called, but it's pretty neat. You can get pretty close to some unusual animals.

Odd things to do:

La Nouba (Cirque du Soleil), Downtown Disney. Good show. Self explanatory.

DisneyQuest: an indoor "theme park" in Downtown Disney. Lots of virtual reality stuff, plus video games (old and new) all on freeplay. Ask about discounts and times--the prices go down throughout the day. This is an awesome place to, ah, occupy kids for a little while if they're mature enough to be alone for a bit and you want to shop or eat at a restaurant which they won't like nearby. Just feed them first--dining inside is sparse. There used to be a Cheesecake Factory but now it's just a snack bar.

Speedboat rentals: pretty common at the hotels and in Downtown Disney. The best one is at the Contemporary.

Do some monorail riding: unlike in California, this is free. Visit the hotels, explore, grab lunch, have a drink, whatever. There's a nice game room in the Contemporary, and the Polynesian is just pretty. Also, if you don't happen to be in the MK but you're nearby when the fireworks start, they play the music in the outdoor public gathering areas at the hotels and at the Transportation and Ticket Center across the lagoon.

Boardwalk: they have old 1920s carnival games, a modern gameroom, bike rentals, etc. Nice ice cream shop too.

Mini Golf: Winter Summerland is fun. The one near the Swan and Dolphin is kind of boring.

Waterparks: in winter and early spring, one is usually down for maintenance but one is always open. I couldn't take the temperature but enough people seem to.

Oh...and remember your sunscreen ;-)

*which rides are best to get fastpasses for?
Soarin in Epcot, Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios. We just got back from there and had lots of "Disney Magic" - fast passes bestowed on us by people who had them, but didn't need them b/c the lines were so short when we went and we did the same thing. So, if you do fast pass and don't need it - give it to the attendants at the entrance to the ride and they will pass it along to someone who might need it. There were lots of great character photo opportunities if your kids are into that. We didn't ride any rollercoasters as our kids are still too short for those. Make sure you check the EMH hours!

*Which park is the best for the half day?
We spent the least time in Animal Kingdom, but I think it is probably different for everyone. HS could also be a 1/2 day park.

*How many days would you want in the Magic Kingdom?
Do you have park hoppers? We were in the MK at least once a day, but I had a child who wanted to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride once a day. :)

*Skip Downtown Disney since we've been to the southern CA one a number of times?
We should have skipped it this year since we have been several times before and it seems to be mostly shopping to me. There is supposed to be a good Wolfgang Puck counter service restaurant there, but we have to eat at the TRex place everytime we go b/c I have boys. :)

Have a great time!

Kelly,
Cavalletta and Runnergrrl have so much good advice. I will give my 2 cents. We are heading down for the third time in April with our 10 year olds and a 7 year old. Being that you have 10 and 13 I think we might be in need of similar planning.Plan out every day based on the Disney schedule for Extra Magic hours which you can get from their website. Morning Extra Magic hours are especially good for Animal Kingdom-the animals are most active at early hours with overcast skies and Magic Kingdom-everyone heads to MK first so 8am hours let you get in many attractions early. Pick an area (ie FanasyLand....Frontierland and hit those big attractions before the masses arrive.

Best rides for Fast passes:

Fast pass tip;
Arrive to the park early(opening time is best). Get a fast pass for one major ride and wait in line for another while you wait for your time.
When obtaining fast pass they sometime give out extra bonus fast passes for other attractions.
HS:
####Honey I Shurnk and Back lot tours closed Feb 13 thru March 10.( back lot pretty cool)###
Toy Story-one of the best rides
Tower of Terror-my 10 year old daughters favorite ride
Rock-n-Roller coaster a must do themed roller coaster.
Hollywood studios is their favorite park. Last time we spent 2 days there.
MK
Space mountain
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain (closed for refurbishment from January 2012 thru May as is the Dumbo ride.. not that a 10 and 13 year old are looking forward to Dumbo, but it is iconic. The Alladin ride is closed Feb26 thru March 10th and the Mickey toon town area is also permanently closed)


Epcot:
Test track-coolest big kid ride in Disney
Soarin'

AK:
Kilimanjaro Safari's
Everest
(We never needed a fast pass for Kalahari River Rapids as the line was always manageable)

Best Half Day park?
This really depends on what you and your family want to do. If you just want to hit the big attractions I would say Animal Kingdom..but it closes at 5PM anyway, so you can take in another park in the evening if you have the stamina and a park hopper. We pressed for time we usually do 1/2 day in the World Showcase of Epcot and 1/2 in 'the other part". However our days start at 8 and go until 11pm. I would definitely take Cavallettas advice and plan your meals. You can order groceries thru gardengrocer.com if your room has a refrigerator.It is not cheap ,but not as expensive as Disney for kid food especially if you have picky eaters. You can order in breakfast foods and lunch foods and pack a lunch and eat breakfast in room, assuming you do not have the meal plan. If you have the meal plan get a guide book and pick your spots after you outline your days and make reservations if needed.

How many days at MK?
Again this is a preference. I would say w/your age kids I would not pass over any of the parks b/c their are great attractions for them at all of them. So I guess it would be 1 day at each park and repeat your favorite on the 1/2 day or head to the waterpark if the weather is warm. However Typhoon Lagoon is closed until March 17th so all waterpark fans will be at Blizzard beach so it might be crowded depending on when you are there in March.

Downtown Disney;
Our kids have never been save for DisneyQuest which they love. If you buy the waterparks and more option you can visit this place with no additional charge, but w/ 4 1/2 days you probably won't be doing that. This would be a great 1/2 day option. We are not big shoppers so the rest of the area we have not explored except for a bad meal my husband and I had at the House of Blues. DD was a disappointment for us and a skip if you are not big shoppers/eaters.

Hope you have a great time. I would love to answer any other questions you have..feel free to pop me a message.

I think you already got some good advice above but here is my 2 cents.

For the half day I would go to Animal Kingdom or use that to explore Downtown Disney. I always found Animal Kingdom has the least to do and doesn't hold my kids attention as well. In fact, when we just went to Disney a few months ago, we skipped this park. Go early and head straight to the Kilmanjaro Safari ride and then work your way out from there. The Lion King and Nemo shows are great.

Hollywood Studios, while not everyone's favorite, we love it here. There are a lot of shows to see and low key rides. Our favorite restaurant is the 50's Primetime Cafe. If you can get reservations here we highly recommend it. Don't miss Toy Story Mania, however be warned, Fast Passes disappear very quickly for this ride.

I find splitting Epcot into 2 days is the easiest way to tackle that park. Spend a day exploring the Lands and another day exploring the countries. Don't miss Soaring! Fast Track is fun too. Both of these are fast passes.

We spend our most time in Magic Kingdom. (my kids are 7, 9, 11) There is something for everyone to love here! A surprisingly yummy meal was at the Liberty Tree Tavern. Buzz Lightyear's Spin Station is a favorite ride here. The bigger rides that you will want to consider getting fast passes for is Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad.

Have fun!

Thank you all so much. My family is getting really excited for the trip.

My thoughts on Disney Downtown:
Downtown Disney is home to restaurants, nightclubs and shopping adventures. You will find that it has the same souvenir shopping experience, including a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique salon as you will find in the Kingdom. So if you are trying to maximize your theme park time, you might save some of that for here. Even if you are just a window shopper, there is a very cool Lego store with some fantastic Lego sculptures on display.

We went here twice-Both times for dinner. Both times we took a chance without reservations. I wouldn’t recommend this at all, especially on a Saturday night. However if you find yourself in this situation, we managed to score bar seating at Portobellos.