Disneylander visiting WDW - Priorities?

[Psymonds]

We're coming in July out from the west coast to experience the humidity we've heard so much about. WE are frequent DL folks and haven't been to Orlando in 15+ years.
(we includes Me, DW, DS14, DD12 and DS6)

Trying to make a list for planning what our priorities should be at WDW because we likely won't be back out east for 10+ more years. Want to make sure we don't miss something special.

I think in General we're looking at:

1. Rides or Attractions Unavailable in DLR
   1. Magic Kingdom
      1. Country Bears
      2. 7Dwarves Mine Train
      3. People Mover
      4. Tron
      5. Barn Stormer?
      6. Hall of Presidents
      7. Monster's Inc Laugh Floor?
      8. Carousel of Progress
   2. DHS
      1. Rock N Roller Coaster
      2. slinky dog dash
      3. Stage Shows
   3. Epcot
      1. Everything but Soarin', Turtle Talk
   4. Animal Kingdom
      1. Everything except Kali River Rapids
2. Rides that are substantially different at DLR
   1. Haunted Mansion
   2. Fantasmic?
   3. Stage Shows at DHS
   4. Tower of Terror
   5. Big Thunder Mountain RR
   6. Space Mountain
   7. Swiss Family Treehouse
3. Things we enjoy anyway
   1. Tiki Room
   2. Jungle Cruise
   3. We'll ride Peter Pan either way because my wife loves it
   4. Runaway Railway
   5. We'll probably skip Small World.
   6. Muppet Vision
   7. Star tours
   8. Rise of Resistance
   9. Millennium Falcon
   10. Toy Story Mania
   11. Any Roller coaster (DS14 will want the credit)
4. Restaurants that are unique experiences:
   1. unique WDW dining thread
5. Unique other activities?
   1. Yeehaw Bob?
   2. AKL Savanna Views
   3. Resorts

Edits in italics from suggestions below

What are folks' suggestions in addition?

 

[Apiary]

In July my priorities would be keeping hydrated and finding air conditioning.

As for the rides:

• barnstormer is fun, and if you hit it off peak can have a very short wait.
• haunted mansion isn‘t that different, but the extra scenes are fun.
• I think tiki room is the same show. The outside of the building is different, but the show is the very similar if not the same.
• Pirates is different. You have the better version over on the west coast, but if you want to see the changes and it has a short wait, it might be worth it.
• I’m not a fantasmic person
• Tower of Terror is so good at wdw.
• Big thunder and space are different. Space is very different, closer to the Matterhorn (although less likely to injure you). Big Thunder has big views of the river, and is less compact on the east coast.

If you have time in the middle of the day when the lines are very long, all of the parks have some sort of interactive game available.

• MK has the pirate quest (sign up hut is between pirates and frontier land), where you search for treasure and may get to set off a cannon or talk to a tiki.
• Epcot has a new duck tails game in the world showcase. You start that one by going to the Play app. If it’s half as good as the old game in world showcase it will be worth playing in at least one country.
• HS has the same data pad “game” in galaxy’s edge as the west coast, but also has the new magic band+ bounty hunter game.
• Animal Kingdom is the one park where the activities are with people instead of animatronics. The Wilderness Explorers tables are throughout the park and are designed to do some playful teaching about the wild world and conservation. They give you stickers and a book.

The biggest difference on the east coast is The Bubble and the size. You never see the outside world if you stay on property and can take advantage of provided transportation. We enjoy using magic bands for everything, so we can leave most of our wallets behind in the safe. Almost all the shops and restaurants take magic band (or room key) for payment. Even if you aren’t relying on buses, it’s worth remembering that WDW is the size of a small city. It takes time to get from one area to another, so bouncing around doesn’t always make sense depending on what you want to get done.

 

[CynBeth]

At MK don’t forget Carousel of Progress, Swiss Family Treehouse, and the railroad. At Epcot I would still do Soarin’ I believe it has a different ending at each park. Where are you staying?

 

[_19disnA]

How many park days and where are you staying? July is like walking on the surface of the sun and if even if you think you are the go-go-go types, you will get exhausted from the heat/humidity. We would never go during the summer since it is far less enjoyable but to each their own. If you plan to use some of those paid Genie options you are more likely to be able to do the most popular rides. Waiting in long lines can eat up a LOT of time.

Disney is HUGE and will involve MILES of walking. Where you stay is mostly a function of your budget, which parks you will spend the most time at and what you think of the subjective 'theming' of each hotel.

 

[CynBeth]

I forgot to add my favorite restaurants:

MK - Be Our Guest, Tony’s, Liberty Tree Tavern. Crystal Palace breakfast.
Epcot - Space220, Coral Reef, Chefs de France, Tutto Italia, and Le Cellier.
HS - 50’s Prime Time Cafe and Hollywood Brown Derby. CS PizzaRizzo.
AK - Rainforest Cafe. CS Pizzafari. Tusker House breakfast.
Disney Springs - The Boathouse.
Resorts - Boma at AKL breakfast and dinner, Whispering Canyon Cafe at WL breakfast, Cape May at BC breakfast, Ale & Compass at YC breakfast.

 

[rhenkt]

Carousel of Progress, especially in the summer heat, will give you a much needed break.

Riding the Monorail and/or Skyliner would be a good activity.

 

[holden]

Keep in mind how big WDW is. If you are using Disney transportation (buses, boats, etc.) allow 1.5 to get from one place to another. It might not take that long, but sometimes it will. That's one of the biggest differences between DL and WDW.

The heat is brutal. I like to book some lunches in the summer so we get a guaranteed break from the heat. The heat is easier to tolerate after the sun goes down, so take advantage of any evening hours.

Be prepared for rain every afternoon. You might get lucky, but it rains a lot in the summer.

Read as much as you can about using Genie+ LL if you aren't familiar with it. I think it's a little challenging figuring out how to use it efficiently. Stack in the afternoon? Go with whatever is available? Lots to consider.

If you won't be back to WDW for a long time, I'd consider buying ILL for those attractions they don't have in DL (like GOTG, for example).

Have a great trip!

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Hopefully you’ve got time to schedule in time for water parks. Both are head and shoulders above most water parks. A day at each would be ideal. I’d recommend another day for touring the monorail resorts and taking the boat out to the campground. Plus you could spend a day at Disney Springs and take the boats up to Riverside.

Boma’s is great for breakfast or dinner. Give yourself plenty of time to check out the lodge and see the animals.

 

[Psymonds]

Where are you staying?

we are staying at CBR, fits our budget and our family of 5.

Boma’s is great for breakfast or dinner. Give yourself plenty of time to check out the lodge and see the animals.

I think we're planning that on one of our transition days, DW and DD want a pool/resort day while visiting something cool. We had specifically discussed going out to AKL on a non-park day to see the animals and eat.

 

[Psymonds]

Keep in mind how big WDW is. If you are using Disney transportation (buses, boats, etc.) allow 1.5 to get from one place to another. It might not take that long, but sometimes it will. That's one of the biggest differences between DL and WDW.

The heat is brutal. I like to book some lunches in the summer so we get a guaranteed break from the heat. The heat is easier to tolerate after the sun goes down, so take advantage of any evening hours.

Be prepared for rain every afternoon. You might get lucky, but it rains a lot in the summer.

Read as much as you can about using Genie+ LL if you aren't familiar with it. I think it's a little challenging figuring out how to use it efficiently. Stack in the afternoon? Go with whatever is available? Lots to consider.

If you won't be back to WDW for a long time, I'd consider buying ILL for those attractions they don't have in DL (like GOTG, for example).

Have a great trip!

DW was explaining the scale to DD12 and DS14 who are used to being able to park hop as more of a hop/walk in California.

We are definitely approaching the heat seriously, looking at gong hard rope drop to after lunch, then A/C attractions and breaks until dinner. We actually use a similar pattern when it's over 100 in DLR but we are anticipating feeling much more exhausted.

We are definitely getting up to speed on LL/Genie+. Interesting similarities with Genie+ to the old maxpass which we are very familiar with, working on understanding the differences. we will probably buy ILL's because well, we're not coming back for a while.

 

[Psymonds]

Carousel of Progress, especially in the summer heat, will give you a much needed break.

Riding the Monorail and/or Skyliner would be a good activity.

Good suggestion!

and we are at CBR so we're going to be skyliner pros by the end.

 

[gmi3804]

Do stuff you can't do in CA. Lots of Epcot, Animal Kingdom shows. Enjoy the resorts.

 

[Psymonds]

How many park days and where are you staying? July is like walking on the surface of the sun and if even if you think you are the go-go-go types, you will get exhausted from the heat/humidity. We would never go during the summer since it is far less enjoyable but to each their own. If you plan to use some of those paid Genie options you are more likely to be able to do the most popular rides. Waiting in long lines can eat up a LOT of time.

Disney is HUGE and will involve MILES of walking. Where you stay is mostly a function of your budget, which parks you will spend the most time at and what you think of the subjective 'theming' of each hotel.

so we're coming for 11 nights, 3days UOR, 1 day Busch Gardens for DS14 and I (because DS is a coaster Youtuber and he wants to ride Iron Gwazi) and 6.5 days at parks (last day flight is evening, can probably do a morning at a park. we have 1 fuzzy day.

Due to length of trip and school age children (plus wife being a teacher) we can basically only come winter break or summer. We did winter break at DLR once and said never again. Ergo, we're preparing for a hot summer week. DS14 and I are going on a backpacking trip in the Rockies in June and I expect to be more tired at Disney.

 

[Psymonds]

In July my priorities would be keeping hydrated and finding air conditioning.

Me too!

As for the rides:

• barnstormer is fun, and if you hit it off peak can have a very short wait.
• haunted mansion isn‘t that different, but the extra scenes are fun.
• I think tiki room is the same show. The outside of the building is different, but the show is the very similar if not the same.
• Pirates is different. You have the better version over on the west coast, but if you want to see the changes and it has a short wait, it might be worth it.
• I’m not a fantasmic person
• Tower of Terror is so good at wdw.
• Big thunder and space are different. Space is very different, closer to the Matterhorn (although less likely to injure you). Big Thunder has big views of the river, and is less compact on the east coast.

If you have time in the middle of the day when the lines are very long, all of the parks have some sort of interactive game available.

• MK has the pirate quest (sign up hut is between pirates and frontier land), where you search for treasure and may get to set off a cannon or talk to a tiki.
• Epcot has a new duck tails game in the world showcase. You start that one by going to the Play app. If it’s half as good as the old game in world showcase it will be worth playing in at least one country.
• HS has the same data pad “game” in galaxy’s edge as the west coast, but also has the new magic band+ bounty hunter game.
• Animal Kingdom is the one park where the activities are with people instead of animatronics. The Wilderness Explorers tables are throughout the park and are designed to do some playful teaching about the wild world and conservation. They give you stickers and a book.

The biggest difference on the east coast is The Bubble and the size. You never see the outside world if you stay on property and can take advantage of provided transportation. We enjoy using magic bands for everything, so we can leave most of our wallets behind in the safe. Almost all the shops and restaurants take magic band (or room key) for payment. Even if you aren’t relying on buses, it’s worth remembering that WDW is the size of a small city. It takes time to get from one area to another, so bouncing around doesn’t always make sense depending on what you want to get done.

Good suggestions! I just ordered our Magic Bands for the group.

I'll definitely have the kids see if they want to do the Interactive games. I think they spent 5 or 6 hours on the interactive game at the great wolf lodge, so it may be a hit.

 

[CynBeth]

We stayed at CBR our last trip for Thanksgiving 2021 and loved it! We were in a preferred room in Martinique and were so close to the food court. We took the internal bus to the Skyliner station and got the park buses to AK and MK at that stop as well. There are stops in every area.

 

[Psymonds]

We stayed at CBR our last trip for Thanksgiving 2021 and loved it! We were in a preferred room in Martinique and were so close to the food court. We took the internal bus to the Skyliner station and got the park buses to AK and MK at that stop as well. There are stops in every area.

glad to hear! we're just happy they had the room rate discount and we could find a room for the 5 of us reasonably, since the values are not really a "value" with 5.

 

[Harmacist]

Heads up, RnR will probably be down for refurb during your trip. It is slated to return this summer, and has permits for through September (which is still Summer).

My girlfriend and I just planned a last minute trip to WDW in three weeks. We have DLR booked for June and when figuring what park to skip in WDW, we calculated that there would only be one ride at HS that isn't in DLR in one form or another. I was shocked. Yes HS has some great stage shows, Indy is a classic and the Frozen singalong is surprisingly fun, but that park really needs some exclusives.

 

[No.1000]

I feel like the Happily Ever After fireworks at MK are not to be missed.

 

[Psymonds]

Heads up, RnR will probably be down for refurb during your trip. It is slated to return this summer, and has permits for through September (which is still Summer).

My girlfriend and I just planned a last minute trip to WDW in three weeks. We have DLR booked for June and when figuring what park to skip in WDW, we calculated that there would only be one ride at HS that isn't in DLR in one form or another. I was shocked. Yes HS has some great stage shows, Indy is a classic and the Frozen singalong is surprisingly fun, but that park really needs some exclusives.

RnR is a bummer. DS14 will be sad to miss on the roller coaster credit.

I agree on DHS but as my wife says "If I enjoy it at Disneyland, I'm going to want to ride it anyway".

Indy stage show is such a classic I saw it in '93.

 

[Psymonds]

If you have time in the middle of the day when the lines are very long, all of the parks have some sort of interactive game available.

• MK has the pirate quest (sign up hut is between pirates and frontier land), where you search for treasure and may get to set off a cannon or talk to a tiki.
• Epcot has a new duck tails game in the world showcase. You start that one by going to the Play app. If it’s half as good as the old game in world showcase it will be worth playing in at least one country.
• HS has the same data pad “game” in galaxy’s edge as the west coast, but also has the new magic band+ bounty hunter game.
• Animal Kingdom is the one park where the activities are with people instead of animatronics. The Wilderness Explorers tables are throughout the park and are designed to do some playful teaching about the wild world and conservation. They give you stickers and a book.

how long do these take to play? are they crowded? do you have to wait for stations?