Disney World

Seriously? Double posted this?!

That one day plan is reasonable. I recommend tea at the grand Floridian around 2pm as your break.

rabbit wrote:

I recommend tea at the grand Floridian around 2pm as your break.

Seconded. Demyx took me there the first time we went and I had a great time.

You definitely need reservations for that one though.

The missus and I are planning our first trip to Disneyland this year. I'm pretty excited as I grew up going to Disneyworld and have never been to Disneyland. Have a couple questions for the crowd:

1 What are the big differences between Disneyland and Disneyworld? I know an obvious one is no Epcot, but wondering if there are some must see attractions that only Disneyland has.

2 Any advice for dealing with a 4 year old?

I've only been to Disneyland once after going to Disney World (a ridiculous number) of times, and I'm planning another trip this fall.

The big difference is that Disneyland is small. Very, very small. There are only two parks, Disneyland and California Adventure. They are right across from each other, right across a plaza that you can walk across in a few minutes. Downtown Disney and the hotels are attached to that plaza, again only a few minutes of walking distance.

Must-see attractions at Disneyland that you won't find at Disney World:
-Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. It's like Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom (in fact it uses the same ride system/layout) but it's really much better.
-The Matterhorn, obviously, the only mountain that Disney World lacks.
-Pirates of the Caribbean, the original. It's much longer and better than Disney World's version.
-It's a Small World isn't that different inside, but the outside is spectacular.
- I greatly prefer Space Mountain at Disneyland. It's less jerky and has a soundtrack. This is not a universally held opinion though.
- THE FIREWORKS. I love Wishes to death but Disneyland I think does fireworks even better.

Other differences that I consider less essential:
- Their versions of Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain, I find slightly inferior to Florida's. Classic Disney anyway, but not so much of a must-see.
- Buzz Lightyear is a superior version if you're interested in that, but not super different.
- Finding Nemo Subs is a ride we don't have at WDW, but I wasn't all that impressed, and since it has low ride capacity the line can get out of hand. Don't wait in a long line for this one.
- Roger Rabbit Cartoon Spin is a decent enough ride.
- Splash Mountain is annoying since it has seats you straddle instead of a bench type seat.

Then there's California Adventure. I haven't been to see the new additions such as Cars Land and World of Color yet but by all accounts they are not to be missed! Soarin' is the exact same film and ride as EPCOT, so skip if you don't have time. California Screamin' is definitely worth it, it's one of my favorite Disney coasters.

The matterhorn is only at Disneyland. Fun fact, back when they were building it in the 50s my grandfather helped build it.

jdzappa wrote:

The missus and I are planning our first trip to Disneyland this year. I'm pretty excited as I grew up going to Disneyworld and have never been to Disneyland. Have a couple questions for the crowd:

1 What are the big differences between Disneyland and Disneyworld? I know an obvious one is no Epcot, but wondering if there are some must see attractions that only Disneyland has.

2 Any advice for dealing with a 4 year old?

1. Everything is much closer together at the Disneyland Resort. Disneyland, California Adventure, and Downtown Disney all share the same entrance plaza, so it's very easy to jump between them. Most the Disney-owned hotels are at the other end of Downtown Disney and there are buses to all the local, non-Disney hotels in the area.

In Disneyland, you of course have the Matterhorn and the Indiana Jones ride that Disneyworld doesn't have. Matterhorn is a classic ride there, and one of the more noticeable eye-catches of the park. Indiana Jones is one of my favorites at the park and not one that should be missed.

In California Adventure, you have the the Aladdin Stage Show, Grizzly Peak, California Screamin', Disney Animation, and Cars Land, which Disney World lacks. I personally will take time to see the Aladdin show anytime I'm at California Adventure and it is showing. Disney Animation includes a few attractions from Disney World (Animation Academy and Turtle Talk with Crush), but the lobby is incredible. It's a great place to go in and get out of the heat for a while and just take in the music and scenes of Disney animated films. California Screamin' is a pretty good roller coaster. Grizzly Peak is a rapids ride, of which I'm not a huge fan of, so I generally skip it. Can't speak for Cars Land, as I haven't been to the park since it opened, but it's main attraction is based on the same technology as Test Track at EPCOT.

You'll probably be interested in the differences, though. Most of the rides are bigger at Disney World, as they have more space to build them, but not all of them. Small World is larger, with a huge front to it and, if possible, seems like a more enjoyable ride at Disneyland. Most everyone considers Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean to be the better version. Fantasmic is also considered to be better at Disneyland, though since it takes place on Tom Sawyer's Island with viewing from New Orleans Square, you have to grab a spot to watch it from a hour or two in advance. It's generally a split on the Haunted Mansion. There are certain aspects that are better at each park, imo.

2. Sorry, I haven't been to the park with a 4 year old since my younger brother was that age (I would have been 5 or 6 at the time).

Demyx wrote:

- I greatly prefer Space Mountain at Disneyland. It's less jerky and has a soundtrack. This is not a universally held opinion though.
- Finding Nemo Subs is a ride we don't have at WDW, but I wasn't all that impressed, and since it has low ride capacity the line can get out of hand. Don't wait in a long line for this one.
- Splash Mountain is annoying since it has seats you straddle instead of a bench type seat.

Yes, I love Space Mountain at Disneyland. More so than the other ones I've ridden.

Finding Nemo is at Disney World in the Seas attraction of EPCOT. The differences are that Diney World's ride is a dark ride in an aquarium and Disneyland's has you sitting in a submarine. Not for the claustrophobic at Disneyland. And yes, the line does get out of control for it.

I actually prefer Splash Mountain at Disneyland. Seating aside, I really feel that Disneyland's Splash Mountain is more populated than Disney World's. Probably because they had America Sings to cannibalize for their animatronics, unlike Disney World. Man I miss America Sings... our Innovations attraction may fill its location, but doesn't fill its absence...

I don't consider Finding Nemo at Seas to be the same as Finding Nemo Subs, since they really don't have much in common other than theme and the "project in water" technology. *shrug* But yeah, with that comparison I prefer Seas since you're not crammed into a tiny submarine.

You're right about Splash I think, it just so happens that I really, really hate the seating

Demyx wrote:

I don't consider Finding Nemo at Seas to be the same as Finding Nemo Subs, since they really don't have much in common other than theme and the "project in water" technology. *shrug* But yeah, with that comparison I prefer Seas since you're not crammed into a tiny submarine.

Well, they use the same films, if I remember correctly. *shrug*

Isn't there a new Iron Man thing opening at Disney Land next month?

Oh right, they are adding his hall of armors for a while. I think it's in Innovations, but not sure.

jdzappa wrote:

The missus and I are planning our first trip to Disneyland this year. I'm pretty excited as I grew up going to Disneyworld and have never been to Disneyland. Have a couple questions for the crowd:

1 What are the big differences between Disneyland and Disneyworld? I know an obvious one is no Epcot, but wondering if there are some must see attractions that only Disneyland has.

2 Any advice for dealing with a 4 year old?

My question is how much time you're allotting. My experience with my younguns when they were that age is that they have no stamina. That is, after four or five hours they were completely done. So, if you want to see both parks, then you really need more than one day. To my mind, two days - one for each park - would be ideal.

A related thought is that you have to just resign yourself to the fact that you won't do everything. Besides having no stamina, my 4 year olds were slow and very easily distracted. So, there was no way that we were going to race around the park doing every ride that I thought they might love. I had to just be happy with them being happy, even if that meant that they were captivated by a duck that was swimming by Tom Sawyer Island when I thought that we could be getting a few more great rides in. (By the way, Tom Sawyer Island is a great place to take a 4 year old.)

Cool, thanks everyone for the advice. We're planning our trip now and will probably go in early June.

So is the Finding Nemo ride similar to the 20,000 leagues under the sea ride? I remember loving it as a 7-year-old, then going back in my teens and seeing how completely lame it actually was. Also, do they still have the Jungle ride? Looking back, that was probably the most politically incorrect ride in the whole park (shooting at endangered species, watching "cannibal" tribes dance around, etc).

jdzappa wrote:

Cool, thanks everyone for the advice. We're planning our trip now and will probably go in early June.

So is the Finding Nemo ride similar to the 20,000 leagues under the sea ride? I remember loving it as a 7-year-old, then going back in my teens and seeing how completely lame it actually was. Also, do they still have the Jungle ride? Looking back, that was probably the most politically incorrect ride in the whole park (shooting at endangered species, watching "cannibal" tribes dance around, etc).

It is similar. So, if you're not much for the old submarine ride, the new one won't do much for you either. And, yes, they still have the Jungle Cruise. Various efforts to smooth out the most offensive rough edges have left a ride that still fails the PC test.

Go for the offensively non-PC jungle cruise, stay for the really horrible puns.

easy sunday wrote:
jdzappa wrote:

Cool, thanks everyone for the advice. We're planning our trip now and will probably go in early June.

So is the Finding Nemo ride similar to the 20,000 leagues under the sea ride? I remember loving it as a 7-year-old, then going back in my teens and seeing how completely lame it actually was. Also, do they still have the Jungle ride? Looking back, that was probably the most politically incorrect ride in the whole park (shooting at endangered species, watching "cannibal" tribes dance around, etc).

It is similar. So, if you're not much for the old submarine ride, the new one won't do much for you either.

Same ride, new scenery and narration. They redressed the 20,000 Leagues ride into Finding Nemo. One of the disadvantages to Disneyland's limited space: they change or remove attractions for newer ones.

I hadn't seen this thread before!

Disneyworld in October is the BEST!

1) Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween party is a must! I've been three times, and we always try and dress up for it. Almost everyone in the park is in costume, and there are trick-or-treat lines set up so you can fill up a bag with candy before you go. The entire park gets lit in cool dark colors, and if you're lucky, the park will be light on people that night. One year, I never had a longer wait in any ride than about 3 minutes.

2) The Food and Wine Festival at Epcot is awesome! They set up little kiosks all around the World Showcase that will $5 you to death. You stop by and get a little quarter glass of wine and a little nibbly something from countries not normally represented in the Showcase. If you get there early, you can also get in on some excellent wine tastings (although the ones later in the day tend to involve a big queue).

3) Get the grandparents to watch the kids, and then go over one night to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal. It's really beyond belief, with seven or eight haunted houses set up around the park, plus big street scenes and scare zones. I recommend getting the fast pass, though. It costs quite a bit, like $20, but you get to get in a short line for each attraction, once each. Some of the lines can get truly monumental, and if you have the fast pass you can see everything in one night. As a bonus, when you're in the fastpass line, you miss most of the annoying teenagers..

I recommend everyone take their family in October at least once.

It's a shame you don't get the Holiday Haunted Mansion out in Florida. It's really something to see the Haunted Mansion transformed into the world of A Nightmare Before Christmas. Although it does mean I havn't been on the origional Haunted Mansion for a long time since it's either dressed up for the Holidays or in the process of being dressed up or undressed for a third of the year.

weswilson wrote:

2) The Food and Wine Festival at Epcot is awesome! They set up little kiosks all around the World Showcase that will $5 you to death. You stop by and get a little quarter glass of wine and a little nibbly something from countries not normally represented in the Showcase.

This is truth. Unfortunately it's still warm down there at that time of year so you can't really drink a ton without risking dehydration. But I had a blast last year at the fest without drinking a ton.

Well this isn't World, but I didn't think I needed to start another thread.

Another Disney holiday coming in February!
This time we are sailing the Disney Fantasy. I've already done the Dream (Last February, 4 days) and the Wonder (3 years ago, 3 days) during land and sea trips.
This time we will be doing a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise and bypassing the parks altogether! I can't wait. I'm so excited.

My son is 10 this time and is still too young to go to the next age group up for the Oceaneers club. He'll still love it and we both look forward to the waterslide, the AquaDuck.
My wife tried it last year and she screamed the whole way as she did not realize at the time that she has a deathly fear of that kind of ride.

Is it February yet?

Awesome sauce! My wife and kids and I are going with my folks on the Disney Wonder to Alaska next June. My boys are 9 and 11 so I'm also navigating which kids' group they'll be eligible for. My older son may be in the tween group while my younger son goes to Oceaneers. In any event it's gonna be a fun time, perfect for a three generation trip.

Have you cruised on Disney before?
It's fantastic. They know how to treat you.

And don't let images like this fool you,
IMAGE(http://whatsupwiththemouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Fantasy-Pool.jpg)
there are usually a lot more people on the deck though last time we were on the ship it was during the superbowl. EVERYONE was on the deck watching the game which left us on the Adult side (18+) to sit in the pool and hot tub all by oursleves. I mean really by ourselves. We had the whole place. My son was at the club.

This is it.
IMAGE(http://parksandresorts.wdpromedia.com/media/disneyparks/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1tgs318096LARGE.jpg)

I'm in Disney world right now! At Epcot today with the wife.

obirano wrote:

I'm in Disney world right now! At Epcot today with the wife.

If you have any sort of attachment to Jouney into Imagination go ride it one last time. On our recent trip, Demyx mentioned they're going to start renovating it soonish.

When you get to the Magic Kingdom, be sure to try the frozen apple juice drink at Gaston's Tavern. It was quite tasty.

Just got back from Disney World Sunday night ourselves. A day and a half at Epcot, a day at Hollywood Studios, a day at Universal Studios and a half day at Magic Kingdom. There is never enough time to do everything you want!

Great times!
Is it February yet?

groan wrote:

Great times!
Is it February yet?

No... it's March.
You must have missed it...

Yonder wrote:
groan wrote:

Great times!
Is it February yet?

No... it's March.
You must have missed it... :(

IMAGE(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/GoodLuckBear3/I%20got%20some%20Gifs/THEOFFICEmichaelnooooo.gif)

We're heading out tomorrow! Have the FastPass cards been completely replaced now by FastPass+? We have the dang bands, and they seem to be more trouble with less return (only 3 allowed per park per day).