Bougainvillea

Yesterday we decided on a spur of the moment trip to Walt Disney World. We are celebrating a new job, wedding anniversary and just because. We are leaving tomorrow morning (Sunday) at 7:00am. We have a 5 year old Disney Princess of our own who is so excited.
I think we are staying on property at a Hilton.
Do you have any tips on where to dine on the spur of the moment?
We bought park hopper passes for 5 days and 2 days Universal package.
I hate roller coasters but I love water adventures.
What are some good rides to aim for?
Does anybody have any hints about where to go for some nice dinners. By nice I mean under $70 for all 3 of us including wine, chicken nuggets and atmosphere.

We will not have a car.

Rich

You can go to any of the restruants and book a "sort of" reservation time . . We like the Californian at the top of the COntemporary . . which is a great place to stay with a munchkin because of the proximity to Magical Kingdom and view of the fireworks in MK from there. . the monorail runs right thru the middle of it. Another idea is one of the country specific restruants at Epcot . . great places to view the nightly fireworks displays. The Rose and Crown is our favorite.

We usually concientrte on one park per day . . and you have enough time to do that.

nytraveler

I don't think there is a HIlton ON property. There's one near downtown Disney and if that's the one, the shuttles to the parks are VERY unrelaible - and you will need a car - or to get used to a lot of waiting. We took the shuttle once and then rented a car. Other guests were constantly complaining about how long the shuttle took and how infrequently it ran.

Sorry , can;t help with dining - the only one we did was dinner at the Grand Floridian and it's not in that price range. We did like a casuale dinner at Hemingway's in the grounds at the Hyatt Grand Cyprus - but not sure it has things a small child would like. And again, you would need a car.

In terms of rides, with a 5 year old you will be somewhat limited, since she is too small for many of the exciting ones (I don't think they'll let her on any of the roller coasters - but do check the height requirements before waiting on line for anything.)

The only hint I have is that if any ride has two lines always take the one to the left. Most people go right automatically and the left usually moves faster.

Bougainvillea

Thank you so much Rich and nytraveler.
What a bummer about the shuttles. I think we are staying near downtown Disney but DH said it was "on property", go figure.
We will not have a car but I like the idea of Epcot and watching the fireworks.
I would like to do one really nice meal (as long as they have chicken nuggets). Is Emerils still good or has it passed it's prime? Is there somewhere else for a spluge that anyone can recommend?

nytraveler

Have just checked the "thrill rides" and all have height requirements of 40" and some have requiremnts as much as 52". There's s complete list if you go to the website - and that might help you plan your days.

rncheryl

Did not have the same experience with shuttle transportation. Is it as convenient as your own car: no, but no parking fees, no hassle.

Our favorite upscale dining in Disney is California Grill. A great place to watch nightly fireworks too.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/din...ifornia-grill/

Also love the Boma restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Be sure to take your Princess to see all the Disney Princesses. They "appear" at one location, not sure where it is now; last year was near the entrance to Main Street.

Kids love Dumbo,the River Jungle Cruise, Its a Small World. ( You will have that song in your brain for days!) Also loved "Soaring" in Epcot.

Have a great time!

polly229

Second Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge if you can get there. Also animals on the grounds of the lodge that you and your daughter will enjoy. Energy (with the dinosaurs), Imagination, Spaceship Earth, and The Land at EPCOT. Not sure if your daughter meets the height requirements but if so - and if she can manage the drop at the end (which you can see from outside - and what you see is the only drop), the trip through the "Briar patch" with all the scenes from Song of the South, Brer Bear, Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit will delight her at Magic Kingdom. Plenty of places to meet characters and princesses. Definitely the Little Mermaid show at Animal Kingdom as well as the safari ride and the train out to the petting zoo. Also Tough to Be a Bug. Muppet Movie at Disney Studios. Too, too much to name. Have never stayed at the Lake Buena Vista hotels to visit the parks and don't know how the shuttle will work out but imagine you might have to go to Downtown Disney to get it, transfer here and there to get where you want. Those hotels are on property owned by Disney and leased to the hotels, are not considered "Disney" hotels per se. Since you will be close to Downtown Disney you might try dinner at the new dinosaur restaurant or Rainforest Cafe. At Universal your daughter might enjoy the animal show and ET. If you and your husband want to do Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey and your daughter is too small (and it could be a bit stomach-churning for a young child), there is a place at loading where one can wait with your daughter while the other rides, then switch off so you don't have to wait in line twice. You will probably want to do the line through the castle even without the ride - only place you'll ever be happy you're in an attraction line.

Bougainvillea

Wow! Thank you everyone!!
I feel less stressed and more excited. I normally have months to plan a trip and this has thrown me for a loop since I have not been to WDW since I was.. well it has been awhile and I have never had a child with me.

Dukey1

I hope you enjoy yourself but I think it only fair to tell you that reservations at some eating places can be hard to get last minute. Three weeks ago we made reservations for our upcoming four nights in August. Places were already unavailable but I am certain your princess won't notice it and after all, that's a big part of the whole thing. Enjoy your stay.

Bougainvillea

It is Tuesday 5/15/12 and we have been down here since Sunday.

The flight was on time (Southwest) and a little bumpy.
Our hotel is the Hilton at Lake Buena Vista. There was not a shuttle to the hotel from the airport. The taxi cost $60.00 (bummer).

The upsides to the hotel is that it was paid for by points and it has a free bus that runs every 30 minutes without fail to the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. The room is also pretty large. It has a couple of restaurants and the staff are extremely helpful. The pool is nice. Only the rooms on the 1st floor have balconies or patios. All other floors are enclosed.

The downside, it takes 30+ minutes to get to the park. The first day (Sunday) it took 50 minutes.

We have loved Disney World. My dd cannot get enough of the Pirates of the Carribean and the Haunted Mansion. She is in love with everything Disney. Tha parades are great.

Fast Pass does not seem to be worth the price so far unless you are really short on time and fine with the time limits Disney gives you to show up for your rides. Whatever you do, don't accidentilly get in the Fast Pass lane if you don't have the pass. There is no mercy.

Epcot was fun, we loved SOAR!!! We Hated Mission to Space or whatever it was called. I have never felt so sick except when I had the stomach flu. Everyone was completely green upon exiting. Innovations was boring, I would not waste my time again.

The grounds are stunning. Beautiful gardens everywhere you look.

We ate at a new restaurant in Italy. I will pull up the name later. It was really good and very relaxing, the service was spectacular, but a little pricey I think for the 3 of us (dd only ate a fruit cup) it was $90.00 (including tip). We traveled down to France and I bought a glass of champagne at a kiosk for $13.00. The wine in Italy for $7.00 a glass was a much better bargain and tasted better.

We walked a little farther and across a bridge to watch the fireworks. It was the best fireworks display I have ever seen.

We spent today at Universal Studios and it was a complete bust for us. There are very few rides that worked for us with an average 5 year old. We did like the water slide ride at Fivals park, and ET was a blast.

We are heading to Universal Islands of Adventure tomorrow. Wish us luck.

familythattravels

So happy your trip is going well. We went a couple of years ago. My kids enjoyed Animal Kingdom - the park is so pretty and there are some great shows there. Also some fun rides - my daughter loved the dinosaur area including the scary ride (my niece was scared and they were both 5ish at the time) so depends on your kid. Also did a safari type ride which all enjoyed. Got soaked on the water ride there. Have fun tomorrow - never been there.

Elyse_Dorm

Sounds fun! make sure to do plutos barge or wtvr it is called... the rafting water rides are a lot of fun in both parks. In Universal make sure not to miss the virtual Simpsons ride but you need to get there early because the lines can be long... that ride is the best!

schmerl

==="Fast Pass does not seem to be worth the price "===
Is WDW charging for Fast pass now? They have always been free when we have been there.

Bougainvillea

I actually don't think they charge for Fast Pass come to think of it. However the schedules just don't work for us when I am dragging dd around on a hot Spring day. Today someone was nice enough to offer us a fast pass for the Safari ride in Animal Kingdom. It was great because we were over there already and on our way to the line.

I have to say that Animal Kingdom is beautiful. It is a wonderful place to walk around and there is so many stunning plants and flowers everywhere.

We have gotten to the point of getting a stroller for our 5 year old at every park because we can't take the complaining anymore. I know she is small but really, can her legs hurt that much? One hint about the stroller if you decide to go that way. You can get a stroller rental for the length of your stay at a reduced rate. So if you are like us and want to go to 2-3 parks a day, you do not have to pay separately for each park.

We rode the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdone today. For us, it was horrible. Really really loud, dark and extremely jarring. I would not ride it again. My dd who loves rides that tickle her belly, was very upset with how loud and dark it was. My left ear was ringing for about 45 minutes after.

Safari was fun. There is no wrong side of the jeep to ride on. We also enjoyed the trail afterwards. The gorilla's were so awesome.

We ate at Pizzaria in the main part of the park. It was ok. The pizza had a really thick crust. I got the antipasta salad and I probably would have been better off starving.

We then headed off to Hollywood Studios. What a great place for a movie lover like myself. It is great to look at.

We started off with the Star Wars ride. This was my favorite movie growing up so I was really excited about this. My families opinion after the ride is that it is not for people who have ever imagined they might get motion sickness. Ugghhh...

I will be back later with more.

Suzie

"I probably would have been better off starving."

Funniest thing I have read all day!

Bougainvillea

Getting fatter by the minute, but I guess that is the good side of a vacation.
Back to Universal Studios-
We loved the musical show and the Extreme Stunt Show. The American Idol Experience was a blast and we saw a really great singer.
We ate dinner at the 50's diner. The food was ok. My crabcake was runny (yuck) and dh's porkchop was average at best. The Daddy's Brownie was really good. Total for dinner with 1 glass of wine was $67.00 plus tip. We did not have reservations but were able to sit at the bar right away and have a full menu.
All in all a great day.

emd3

Did your dd like the Dr. Suess area at Universal IOA? That is a nice area for 5 yr olds (and I like it too!).

Bougainvillea

We did Dr. Suess today. We loved it. DH ran off to do Harry Potter and it took him about 4 hours to recover from the blurry screen and nauseating ride.
DD and I followed up Dr. Seuss with a ride on Jurassic Park river adventure. That was fun although a little loud and for small ears. I think we liked Splash Mountain better.