Help! I'm a WDW virgin--Teach me your ways!!

[fielin]

You have 6 days pass. As this is your first trip, I suspect you will not need to hop from park to park : a day at each park will let you enjoy everything you want, and you then have two full days to do what you didn't find the time to do the first time.

Magic Kingdom (MK) is the classic Disney park, very close to what you experienced at Disneyland, but not quite the same. It's quite big, and full of nice dark rides. Nearly every ride there is a classic, and that's where you'll find Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and Space Mountain. You won't want to miss Haunted Manor (not scary) and Pirates of the Carribean (with Johnny Depp !) Newest show there is Monster Inc Comedy Club, which is a great interactive experience, very funny, in Tomorrowland. Some here think it takes two days to do everything, but with a clever use of Fastpass, you can do most in one day. This is a beautiful park to just walk in, with a very lush landscape. The nightshow is a firework named Wishes, and is great.

Epcot is another classic park, including future world (a land about discovery and science) and World Showcase (a land about countries around the world). Big rides there are all in Future World and include Test Track, Mission : Space and Soarin'. You'll want to make some time to discover the differnet countries and talk to the Cast Members for your report : they come from all these countries. Minor rides can be found in the World Showcase, they are nice and you should experiment some of them. The nightshow is a show with water, fire, video and fireworks named IllumiNATIONS and should not be missed.

Disney's Hollywood Studios (DHS) once was a working studio, but no more. Big rides there include Tower of Terror (free fall), Rock and Roller Coaster and Toy Story Midway Mania. There are lots of shows there, and you should make some time to experience som (like Beauty and the Beast, and Indiana Jones). This is my least favorite park. The nightshow is a show with fire, water and video, and is also my least favorite, but shoukd be seen at least once.

Animal Kindom (AK) is a park about animals, but it is not a zoo. Big rides there include Kilimanjaro Safari (a safari) and Expedition Everest (coaster). Nemo is a GREAT muscial, and my personal favorite on property. Don't miss it ! You should make some time to walk around : there are animals everywhere, and the trails give you great opportunities to see them from up close. Some people think this is a half day park, mostly because there are not a lot of rides. But if you take the time to discover all the animals, you will spend the day there. There is no nightshow (hey, animals need to sleep !)

If you want to get away from the parks on your last two days, you could enjoy a waterpark (there are two : Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach), play minigolf (There are two : one near blizzard beach, and another near the Boardwalk), shop around Downtown Disney, or enjoy a giant arcade with tons of videogames at DisneyQuest (in Downtown Disney).

Now, this is a lot of info, so don't hesitate to ask questions and we will all gladly answer them !

All this reflects only my personal opinion, and I'm sure some other posters will disagree with some of my opinions ! This is what's great with WDW : we all like different things, and we still all love it !

[Beauty908]

Quick question?
Does WDW let you bring water bottles or ceral bars into the park?

[fielin]

Yes they do. They check bags to be sure there's nothing dangerous inside, but they let you bring bottles and snacks. No problem !

[Goofy Texan]

First visits are so much fun. While you're likely to have a blast, try not to get over excited. Disney will exceed more of your expectations if you don't over due the expecting

Decide if the trip will be a marathon (no exhausting yourself the first few days) or a sprint. If you choose to sprint (also known as "going commando") so you can see as much as humanly possible, be sure to get in good physical shape. If you're not working at a job that requires standing for 8 hours - find one! Nothing will get you in shape better than a job standing on concrete. If that's not possible, walk a lot - at least 3 miles a day.

Understand how fast pass works and use it to your advantage

I'm not sure if your group will be allowed to split up. If you do, only do repeat attractions or rides the others aren't interested in. It's a pain to wait for attractions you've already done, and don't want/need to do again, just because others haven't done them yet.

Plan each day (which park, when you'll get there), as much as you can. Especially the "when will you get there" part. Many people don't like to start a vacation day before noon, but the shortest lines are when the park opens at 9am. If you want to do both, split your week by doing early mornings the first half of the week and late nights (and sleeping late) the second half.

Go to the Magic Kingdom on your arrival day and eat a hot dog at Casey's for me. It was my very first meal there and for some reason I remember it vividly. The hot dog was good too.

Hope this helps!

[Beauty908]

Awesome!! That alone will save $$

[Beauty908]

[QUOTE=
Decide if the trip will be a marathon (no exhausting yourself the first few days) or a sprint. If you choose to sprint (also known as "going commando") so you can see as much as humanly possible, be sure to get in good physical shape. If you're not working at a job that requires standing for 8 hours - find one! Nothing will get you in shape better than a job standing on concrete. If that's not possible, walk a lot - at least 3 miles a day.
[/QUOTE]

the exercise part is a really good idea. Can you tell me more about the fast pass?

[TinkerbelleRoo]

I recently did a trip 'on the cheap' to WDW and also stayed at one of the Value resorts. I found that a really easy way to save money if you're not a big eater is to buy a package of pop tarts (2 per package) for I believe $1.99. That can be breakfast for two days and is acutally cheaper than cereal and milk which is only sold seperatly and about twice the price.

Also the kids meals are about 4.99 or 5.99 at most of the quick service/fast food restuaruants. At the Land Pavillion, there's a food court, and that price bought me a small bottled water, a small turkey sandwich, carrot sticks and an applesauce. I think milks were also available and included in this price instead of the water (it was about 100 degrees and sunny so milk wasn't too appetizing). Just to give you an idea, its usually a personal pizza, grilled cheese or some other sandwhich, a veggie, a fruit and a drink.

I was there for about 8 days and only spent about $100 total on food. And no one really questioned my ordering the kids meal.

As for rides and stuff in the parks, there are a few that you should get the fast passes for but don't make yourself crazy with it. Its only going to make your feet hurt running back and forth.

I'd suggest getting the fast passes for Soarin, Toy Story Mania, and the roller coasters.

Everything else may have a wait but if you're in the general area and can see when the FPs are available for, for example if you're right at the Tiki Birds and see that the Jungle cruise is giving out Fast Passes for the next half and hour time slot, and that beats the wait time posted for standby, get it.

Its then when you see how silly the whole FP thing is but I'm sure most people think it has its uses. Personally I feel it makes the waits longer than they've ever been.

Another hint, if you don't care about sitting next to your classmates on Test Track, there is a single rider line that moves a great deal faster than the main line. The ride seats 3 and 3 in two rows so sometimes there are spots that need filling. That's where the single riders line fits in and that is worth it.

If the weather is rainy, stick to the Magic Kingdom that day. Lots of awnings and everything is near each other. The other parts are more spread out.

These are the first things off the top of my head, just ask if there's more you've got questions on.

[fielin]

the exercise part is a really good idea. Can you tell me more about the fast pass?

The fastpasses allow you to not wait in line for some popular attractions. For these attractions, you can choose the stand-by line (waiting in line) or the fastpass.

To get a fastpass, you put you ticket in a machine that prints you a ticket (one per person) with a return time. When the time comes, you just get in the fastpass line (which is shorter), and after 10 minutes or so, you get on the attraction.

You can get your next fastpass after your return time, or after two hours, whichever comes first.

Fastpasses are best used for the attractions that have more than a 20 minutes wait.

[Goofy Texan]

Fast pass is a ticket that lets you wait in line without actually waiting in line. It's available for FREE to all guests. Selected rides have special ticket kiosks near them (their location will be obvious).
As you approach the kiosks you'll see two times. The standby time is the anticipated wait if you just get in line. If any wait is 20 minutes or less than riding standby is the way to go.

The other time is the fast pass return time. Technically you have an hour past that time to use the Fast Pass - but as long as the time on it has arrived (and it's still the same day), it is valid. You can get a fast pass with a return time of 11am and use that evening at 8pm if you want.

Once you get the pass, you'll see a smaller time printed near the bottom. This is the time when you can get another fast pass. The time is normally either the time your pass becomes valid or about two hours from the time you first got it.

There are several ways to use fast pass wisely:
Get a pass and shop or eat fairly nearby until time to return. Basically instead of "standing" in line, you're "sitting" or "shopping" in line.

Collect fast passes during the morning inbetween riding non-fast pass attractions. Then make a second circuit of the park using your stack of fast passes. Note: some people think that is cheating the system, but Disney allows it - and it's a lot of fun.

Lastly you can get fast passes even if you don't intend to use them and just give them away before you leave, thus making someone else's day magical.

Wow this is long...

[BMan62]

A few small things about Pop that I have not seen mentioned:

1) Take the walk down Memory Lane. This is a path that starts at the parking area for the 50's buildings and continues along the lake to the 90's parking area. Along the path you will find signs with trivia questions pertaining to the time frame of the area you are in -- the front of the sign having the question, the back having the answer.

2) Take a walk across the Generation Gap Bridge. This is about half way down Memory Lane (directly across from the main building - Registration/Food Court). This was to have been a connector between the two halves of the resort - Classic Years & Legendary Years. Only Classic Years was built. 9/11 was part of the reason for work stoppage on Legendary Years. Note the decade lights on the bridge and how the numbers are in the style of the predominant text font for that decade.

3) Take note of all the 'icons' for the buildings and 'eras' around the property - they are all perfectly scaled up - to the point of the Big Wheel having the Maximum Load weight listed - the standard load for a Big Wheel multiplied by the scale of the icon. The Rubik's Cubes on the stairwells of the 80's buildings show a possible solution to the cube. The Bowling Pins on the 50's buildings - note there are only 9....the 10th is the pool!

So much to take in!!!! Enjoy every minute!!

When you check in.....Get a 1st Visit pin and wear it everywhere!! If nothing else, you'll get lots of welcoming comments from CM's!!!

[bruin1344]

Here are my cautions:

Beware that Ellen's Universe of Energy is 45 minutes long. I would only go on it if you like Ellen, dinosaurs, or have an hour to spare.

The only night extra magic hours that are worthwhile is Magic Kingdom. The other parks dont have enough attractions open and they get very crowded. If you dont use morning extra magic hours, stay away from that park.

Prepared to get soaked on Kali Rapids and potentially Splash Mountain.

Skip Peter Pan if the lines are very long. Its way too short of a ride.

Go AK on cooler days of the week. The park is huge, requires a lot of walking, and not a lot of indoor attractions.

Mission Space Orange is very intense. Its the only ride that makes me nauseous. If you go on it, follow the directions.

Once you see Wishes or Illuminations, local 4th of July fireworks are never the same.

[brad192]

All the previous posters have given you great advice, and I can't add too much to that (just don't miss the Voices of Liberty in Epcot, or Finding Nemo the Musical in AK). But...

A WDW class? REALLY??? Happy birthday to me! One quick question - is there a syllabus or course outline for the class? I'm trying to put together a course for our local public school Rec & Ed department which offers an incredible array of courses for the local community, and I really want to pitch my idea to them for the fall of this year. If you've got access to anything like that please PM me with the info. I'm really jacked to teach a class on WDW!

[kurt]

one of the things i would recommend seeing is the fieworks show at epcot. its spectacular

[c&d]

If you're at MK for a day, hop on the monorail and grab lunch at one of the resorts. You can get a lunch at the Grand Floridian Cafe and then eat outside and relax for a bit before heading back into the park. It's nice to sometimes get away from the parks for a breather and exploring the resorts is a fun thing to do.

[disneykid@hrt]

First of all Congrats on taking THE COOLEST CLASS EVER! That is really really really cool. And a cool way to experience your first time.

That being said- WDW is EXPENSIVE. You will look at something, like a hot dog, in a whole new light. I think the dogs on our last trip were somewhere around 5 bucks. The grocery store at home sells them for 88 cents a pack and the buns are 99! So please plan on saving as much money as possible, so that you can remain comfortable. And snacks and bottled waters are an absolute must on a budget- and for time's sake it is quicker to grab breakfast in the room. Plus if you are a little hungry while touring, for example a usually 99 cent bag of chips is over 3 dollars in the parks and a bottled watter is $3, as well. Also glasses of iced tapped water are free, while a fountain pop is 2.50. If I went to WDW unprepared for the prices, I think I'd have a heart attack. SO take time to look at menus and plan accordingly.

I don't know how many sit-down meals you and your class are planning. Since your professor sounds like he knows the ropes, perhaps he has set up some Grand Gatherings? IDK what his budget is- but be aware, once again, that a simple buffet can cost you upwards of $30. For the meals you do plan, breakfasts and lunches tend to be cheaper. You MUST do a character meal. They are so fun- and Disney does it best.

As for your comment about a $20 t-shirt... I saw a t-shirt for 50 bucks while we were just there! They have some value priced souvenirs, so dont worry too much about that. Save any larger purchases for the end of the trip. I would worry more about essentials. Forgetting your shampoo will cost you more than 5 bucks. If you guys are driving, I would BEG for a grocery stop. You will save LOADS!

I hope I don't sound too negative! It is truly the MOST MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH. A five dollar hot dog is PRICELESS when you're eating it on Main Street with Cinderella's Castle in the background. Enjoy!

[LVT]

Sounds wonderful.
1. Share some meals. IE we get a big breakfast
and some fruit at POP and Share 3 ways.
2. Refillable mugs (Coke products.coacao, coffee)
3. Take prepackaged non-crushable snacks like nuts, granola and dried fruit from home in bulk.
4. We prefer not to carry much - belly bags only.
5. Get going early and take pool breaks/or naps
so you and keep going until 2am if needed.
6. Please write to us when you return.
Best wishes.

[Beauty908]

Sounds wonderful.
1. Share some meals. IE we get a big breakfast
and some fruit at POP and Share 3 ways.
2. Refillable mugs (Coke products.coacao, coffee)
3. Take prepackaged non-crushable snacks like nuts, granola and dried fruit from home in bulk.
4. We prefer not to carry much - belly bags only.
5. Get going early and take pool breaks/or naps
so you and keep going until 2am if needed.
6. Please write to us when you return.
Best wishes.

For the writing part: Actually since I received a travel grant for part of the travel programs expenses, I will be keeping a blog about the entire trip. I'll be sure to post a link or the name of the site so you can follow my adventrue!!

[websitekid]

useful things for others to know concerning your trip (so they can offer meaningufl advice) would include:

the number of days you will be at the parks

the age range of the group you will be traveling with

your general budget (i.e. is this going to be an economy trip or a 'first class all the way" affair.)

We will be at the parks for 6 Days in March over Spring break. Most days will be academically based, and the nights will be up to the students. All of the students are between 18 and 20 (there are eight of us)
Most of our time will be spent researching an aspect of WDW, then evaluating it in the sense of how it relates to Communication.

With that said, anyone have an aspect of WDW (IE, service, management, rides, scenery) that could be debated or altered?

[mulderxcoltrane]

This class sounds awesome!

Make sure you read, so you can learn!

[disneykid@hrt]

With that said, anyone have an aspect of WDW (IE, service, management, rides, scenery) that could be debated or altered?

I have a book about the Disney Service philosophy- "Be Our Guest." Possibly you could look into that and compare what the goal is vs what you experienced. You could highlight ways that they ARE meeting their goals and areas that they need work.
Or you could look into what they are doing at Universal and find a marketing startegy that Disney could come up with to answer to this Harry Potter fella?

OMG! Put me in this class!! I am super jealous. What a great opportunity! Is this a one-time deal or is your professor planning on continuing the course?