First Visit Questions...

[CogsworthWest]

Like most west coast Disney fans, I know every inch of Disneyland. The same cannot be said of Disney World. We've booked our first ever visit to DW and couldn't be more excited. I'm sure with a little digging I could find some of the answers to my questions, but I'm hoping someone will take pity on a DW newbie and help with these "critical" few

1. We're staying at the GF. If we hop on the monorail from the GF, will it take us INTO the park or drop us off outside? I'm hoping it's like Disneyland where you can take the monorail right into Tomorrowland and not have to deal with the long lines at the front of the park.

2. We are, unfortunately, limited to the week of 6/27 -7/4..and we know it will be busy. Are reservations a must for sit-down dining during this busy time?

3. Is there a special place to have dinner inside the MK that's the equivalent to the Blue Bayou in Disneyland? I know there is no BB at DW, but I was hoping there was something you all think is its equal -- I'd like to surprise my wife and daughter if there is.

That's all for now..everything else I'll dig for on-site and in books. Thanks for looking!!!

[Seasonscraps]

The monorail leaves you outside the park - you will have to proceed to security and then through the gates. The monorail to EPCOT does a loop around Future World before arriving at the depot but it still leaves you outside the park.

Dining reservations are pretty much always recommended. The dining plan really fills seats and the high capacity crowds that time of year really makes them necessary, especially if you want to go to specific restaurants at specific times.

I have never been to Blue Bayou, or disneyland for that matter, but the sit down dining options for the Magic Kingdom are: Cinderella's Royal Table, Tonys Town Square, Liberty Square Tavern, Crystal Palace and Plaza Restaurant. CRT is in the castle - the food is ok but it's a fun experience. But to be honest, none of it is spectacular. An outside the park dining experience is the California Grill at the Contemporary - it has a MK view and a lot of people try to coordinate their dining time with the nightly fireworks.

[CogsworthWest]

Thanks Christine! As always, the good folks at Intercot came through! I really appreciate the quick response - Let me know if I can ever help with recommendations on Disneyland!

-CogsworthWest

[scoot241]

If anything was equivalent to Blue Bayou at the MK, it would probably be Cinderella's Royal Table. It's the only restaurant inside an "attraction".

[dmosher]

Hey we are taking our first trip to DL this year in Sept, would love to trade recommendations!

S

[Figment78]

Regarding the Blue Bayou part of your post, the most "special" restaurant in the MK is probably Cinderella's Royal Table inside the Castle. But the most equivalent restaurant to BB is actually in Epcot, at the Mexico Pavillion. Similar to the Blue Bayou, San Angel Inn is located in a faux outdoor night setting, along the Rio del Tempo ride, just like BB and Pirates. Difference is obviously the BB is French Quarter themed, and Mexico restaurant is Mexican food.

And NOTHING in MK is as yummy as the Monte Cristo at BB!!!!

Any other questions??? One thing I think you will find is that you have a lot more dining options at WDW than in DL. After all, you're talking 4 parks instead of 2, and like 15 resorts instead of 3. Epcot alone may have more restaurants than all of DL! There are a lot of really great dining options all over the place.

Enjoy your first trip!

May I suggest that since you will be visiting Florida in a rather hot weather time, you might want to make some of those ADRs during lunch or early dinner, to get a break from the heat!

[faline]

I, too, was going to say that San Angel Inn is reminescent of Blue Bayou. It is in Epcot and there is a boat ride that comes along the dining area.

I would absolutely recommend that you make dining reservations in advance of your trip, particularly if you have some "must dos" on your dining list!

[Woozle]

Please make your ressies as soon as you can. We learned that the hard way 3 yrs ago. Good luck.

[mom2morgan]

Thanks Christine! As always, the good folks at Intercot came through! I really appreciate the quick response - Let me know if I can ever help with recommendations on Disneyland!

-CogsworthWest

Convince me. I live in Alberta, so it would certainly be less expensive to go to Disneyland (and it is an EIGHTEEN hour day to get from my rural town to Disney World - yikes!). But I'm SOOOO afraid that we'd be terribly disappointed by DL - weather, fewer parks, general atmosphere, everything :-( Make me want to go there, please!

[CogsworthWest]

Thanks SO much everyone! San Angel sounds great so I'll put that on our list. Great recommendation on beating the heat by making reservations for late in the day.

DW is a bit overwhelming, at least to me, but it's wonderful to have so many options. I'll definitely report back and let you know how we managed!

As far as DL goes dmosher, the Blue Bayou is a must. The food is good (not amazing) but you're really there for the atmosphere..hard to explain unless you've been. It really makes you feel like you're outside, it's night, and you can hear the crickets and frogs in the background as the POTC boats glide by... Beyond that, Cafe Orleans has great food and is right across from the Blue Bayou. The remainder of the food in the park is OK, nothing spectacular, but the atmosphere can be fun. The absolute best dining on the Disney property is the Napa Rose in the Grand Californian.

Thanks again to everyone..and please keep those tips coming as you think of them!

[CogsworthWest]

Convince me. I live in Alberta, so it would certainly be less expensive to go to Disneyland (and it is an EIGHTEEN hour day to get from my rural town to Disney World - yikes!). But I'm SOOOO afraid that we'd be terribly disappointed by DL - weather, fewer parks, general atmosphere, everything :-( Make me want to go there, please!

Hmm...everyone loves Disneyland for their own reasons so I'm not sure if I can completely convince you. Based on my limited knowledge of the MK, I think you'll find that both parks really have the same things...with some exceptions, obviously. So I don't think you'll find something at DL that you really couldn't find in DW...at least not something so amazingly different that it alone is worth the trip. My love of Disneyland stems from visting when I was six. Now I return with my 10 year old daughter and relive that excitement through her. It's familiar, it's always fun, and it's the one-and-only Disneyland. Like so many DL fans, I know that park better than I do my own hometown....as corny as it sounds, it's like returning home and that's a nice feeling.

The weather in So.Cal. is almost always nice..and summers are fairly predicatable as far as heat. Atmosphere? It's thousands of happy people smiling from ear to ear. There will be fewer things to do than in DW, but that means you can ride certain attractions more than once and really get into the details...you always miss something the first time around!

I'm not sure I could ever convince someone to go to one park over another. Your park is your park...it really depends on where you grew up and where your memories are based. As wonderful as I imagine DW to be, it can never be the small, quaint, full-of-memories Disneyland where I went with my family at an age when I thought they were firing real canon balls in the POTC.

I can tell you that, if you don't try to compare one to the other, and you just sink into the Disney experience, you'll have a great time.

[ojeilatan]

Cogsworth,
As you can see from my signature, I'm a serial DL vacationer too! We did our first WDW trip last year. (next one is June! )

I have been to and enjoy Blue Bayou at DL. In EPCOT, the Meico Pavillon has a temple housing a boat ride and restaurant. The set up is very similar to BB, in that you can dine by the water and watch the boats. I have not eaten at the restaurant there (San Angel Inn). If you are looking for quality of food comparable to BB, I don't think this is the place, though, from reviews I've read. Coral Reef at EPCOT is surrounded the aquarium that is also part of the Nemo ride there. MK has Cinderella's Royal Table inside the castle, but I have not been here either - I do hear reservations are difficult though. When it comes to getting the same quality of food as BB, there are so many places around the World that match and even surpass it. We had fun trying new things the first time, and will this time again.

But, if it's the atmosphere of being 'inside' a ride or by the water you're looking for, San Angel Inn is the best bet.

Dining at DL and WDW are two totally different animals! I'm glad to know I'm not the only WDW newbie who knows DL like the back of my hand

Have a great trip!

[ojeilatan]

Convince me. I live in Alberta, so it would certainly be less expensive to go to Disneyland (and it is an EIGHTEEN hour day to get from my rural town to Disney World - yikes!). But I'm SOOOO afraid that we'd be terribly disappointed by DL - weather, fewer parks, general atmosphere, everything :-( Make me want to go there, please!

Coming from another serial DL-er:
1) The weather in Cali can be more forgiving. I've been to British Colombia, and it wasn't very humid (not sure about Alberta) and the Florida humidity can be tough to get used to.
2) I've heard over and over, that though WDW wins out overall Magic Kingdom to Magic Kingdom, DL is better.
3) With DL, you go knowing you're at the park that Walt built!


Honestly, having been to both, they're difficult to compare. They're just such different eperiences.

[Beast_fanatic]

Please stick to discussions of WDW here as this is the WDW Vacation Planning forum. Disneyland discussions should take place in the Disneyland forums. Mingling the topics can be very confusing to people that are not familiar with either park.

Thanks.

[mom2morgan]

Please stick to discussions of WDW here as this is the WDW Vacation Planning forum. Disneyland discussions should take place in the Disneyland forums. Mingling the topics can be very confusing to people that are not familiar with either park.

Thanks.

Sadly, those boards are so inactive as to be completely useless for any real planning :-(