Disney Questions
 

My husband and I had planned a trip to San Diego in January but have decided it might be better to wait until he has more time off of his job since there's sooo much to see and do in that area. But since I need a break, to some place warm :) we are going to go to Orlando for 4 nights. I am booked at Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter based on reviews on Trip Advisor. Questions: is the food decent at this resort or the Riverside resort? It looks limited. Should I change to the Coronado Springs resort, which is in the same price range. One other question - the only Disney park I've done is Magic Kingdom. Having only 2 days open for parks which ones would you do? Two things that I really want to do are the Hoop de Doo dinner show and the Fantasmic dinner package. Which one is the best place to eat at? I was thinking of Mama Melrose because I love Italian food.

Any other tips? Thanks!

You don't say if you're traveling with children or not.

That may vary my comments.

Assuming you are not, I'd suggest that you might want to go to EPCOT. It sounds like food is something you're interested in. If so, I suggest walking around the different country pavilions and trying some of the regional dishes such as Fish & Chips in the England part, crepes in France, etc. Assuming you don't mind a cocktail or two, or three, etc. "drinks around the world" is popular.

If you spend a bit more money, you can buy a Park Hopper ticket. That will let you go to more than one park a day. If you're there on a Sunday, for example, I might suggest going to EPCOT when it opens and head to the Magic Kingdom around 6 or 7 and stay until it closes at midnight by taking advantage of Extra Magic Hours. That refers to times when the parks are open for Disney Hotel guests only.

Of the 4 parks, without kids I'd suggest the one to perhaps skip is the Animal Kingdom. It's a park we like, but we have two young kids. If you do go the the Animal Kingdom, hit Everest, Kali River Rapids, maybe the Lion King show, and the safari tour. You could be out of there in 3 hours.

Again, assuming food is something you want to experience, I suggest the MGM park. We really like the Hollywood Brown Derby for lunch but the Sc-fi Drive-in looks entertaining.

There are multiples of good food choices outside Port Orleans, so you probably would not be doing much more than a small snack or breakfast there. I, myself, always go to France in EPCOT to get pastries in the morning. See if they are still open and operating if that sounds good to you. I haven't been in years now, but I'll tell you my opinion only.

I always skip Magic Kingdom now, as it is to me, the least interesting. You've been there, so you could easily skip it. I would get a park hopper and do 1/2 a day in AK - don't miss a live early morning or dusk safari (do it early or late afternoon) and the Tough to be a BUG show in the Tree of LIFE.

I would do at least 1 full day in EPCOT and maybe even more, the rest in MGM or other parts of Downtown Disney or Pleasure Island.

There is a lot of information on the Disney boards and web pages like mousesavers. You can goggle and get the links quite easily.

There are many long posts in the past on Fodors here that you can find by using the search function. Put in Walt Disney World Restaurants or whatever, and you will see what I mean.

There's a thread on how Disney is so $$$ expensive now that might be enlightening. Maybe not.

I don't know where the Coronado Springs resort is - I have stayed at AK, Port Or., Disney Institute, Carb. Beach, and Yacht Club/Boardwalk area.
This is over long, long periods of time- 25 years plus, but I can tell you that the best place to be located is behind EPCOT off the Boardwalk area. LOTS of good restaurant choices and activities, while close to all the EPCOT shows. If Coronado Springs is closer on the map to EPCOT area, I would go for that over Port Orleans myself.

You mentioned Hoop de Do Rev. I've seen it and would go to the Fantasmic over that venue myself. Food is ok at both, but there are higher end restaurants to eat or lower too. Those choices are so very relative to your food likes/dislikes.

Get a recent Disney book at your local library now, or buy one. There are always changes in rides, shows, hours etc. Go left instead of right, for instance.

Also you are focusing on the resort food where you stay. This is not a factor for me or many people who go to WDW. Disney transportation is so good from nearly all points (except from AK in my opinion) that you could easily, especially in winter- go outside of your resort for all meals.

I always go into the countries in EPCOT for a brunch or schedule dinner at the various 10 to 15 park restaurants or at Dolphin, Swan or other Broadwalk area choices.

Things I would not miss- too many to list- but go on the Rock n Roll roller coaster and also the haunted elevator for sure.

First, the Port Orleans Riverside food court will mostly be closed during your stay (it is going to be under rehab). So don't go there. The French Quarter is fine, enough options for when you aren't at the parks. Coronado has a nice food court - and if you are on the dining plan, I'd stay there. If you aren't, then remember that they add 10% onto the food court meals for a tip for the people who bring your drinks.

You likely won't be able to get into the Fantasmic package, those are very limited and sell out quickly. Hoop De Doo is iffy, you might be able to get in on a late seating. As far as restaurants in MGM - Mama Melrose is okay, as are the other sit-down restaurants.

As far as parks - MK and Epcot (with or without kids). Though if you have park hoppers, hitting MGM and AK for a few hours if great too. I am adding Disney photos to my site at www.neesie.org, it will be over the next few weeks for Christmas photos and such. I am near Disney, and that is my job essentially (booking Disney), so if you have questions on the parks or resorts, fire away.

Oh - and if you can get Coronado, it is a bit more upgraded (it is the only moderate resort, for instance, to have a fitness center).

If you have specific ideas of where you want to eat, book your dining reservations now. Places fill up really quickly, especially now that Disney offers a dining plan. People book out the restaurants months in advance and there have been reports of people not being able to walk up to many of the sit down restaurants without reservations. Buy yourself a good Disney guidebook or visit www.disboards.com to help plan your time in the parks.

There are guests who book 6 months out now - so that is correct. There are many message boards to look at for Disney information (Trip Advisor, Dis Boards, RADP newsgroup, etc.). Allearsnet.com is a great took as well.

I've stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort twice now and my family loves it. We are from the Northeast so the Mexican/Southwest them of the resort appeals to us. The food court there is very good but I would not select a resort based on that criteria personally as it is relatively easy to use transportation to visit any of the resorts or parks to give yourself the widest variety of restaurant choices. The pool area of this resort is great and it surrounds a small lake so the atmosphere is very nice. Your room will have a refrigerator and a coffee maker which at one point was not available or additional expense at the other moderate resorts.

As for which parks if it is just my DH and I, we would go to Epcot and MGM. But with the Park Hopper option (if available on a 2 day pass)you can easily see a little of all the parks.

Check out the menus and resort pictures at allearsnet.com. for more specific info/details.

The Fantasmic Dinner package is probably booked by now, but just in case it isn't: We did the FDP at both Brown Derby and Mama Melrose and enjoyed Mama Melrose the most. The food at Brown Derby was very expensive. Our appetizers and desserts were good. None of our entrees were good. The atmosphere is cool. If I were to go again, I'd go at lunch and get a cobb salad.

Mama Melrose was more casual, but we thought the food was better.

I had the same experience missypie between those two restaurant choices, but don't usually post my restaurant picks, because I believe most people like what they like, and that most like the higher end choice. I usually don't. Agree with you on these two opinions completely.

I like the Port Orleans resorts - it is great to have the boat to Downtown Disney and they're pretty resorts. The food court food is okay. The sit-down restaurant at Riverside was tasty when I was there for breakfast.

Mama Melrose is one of my favorites at Disney World.

Is there space at Hoop de Doo? It fills fast.

I love Epcot - it is a great park for adults. You'll want to check out the entertainment schedules at http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/

If you want to see Fantasmic, you'll be spending one day at Disney-MGM Studios, which is a fun.

Thank you all for the help. I have decided to stay at POFQ as the reviews are all really good most places I've checked. I can't believe how far ahead you have to reserve for dinner. I luckily got a reservation for Hoop Dee Doo but not the date I was planning. I also book the Fantasmic dinner package at Mama Melrose. I can't believe all there is to see and do Disney-wise!! Just a few more questions - besides Fantasmic - which is the best parade/fireworks to go see? Also, what is the best breakfast buffet - we're a big fan of breakfast/brunch. Doesn't have to involve characters since we don't have kids. Thx!

Great choice. POFQ is one of the quietest resorts and I love the decor. Also you can get fresh made beignets made in the food court! Makes you think you were in the real French Quarter. Also, on the nights you are not in the parks or the nights they close early you can take the boat to Downtown Disney.

Since we go to Disney every year, (without kids) I have seen all the shows at least once, usually many more times. I still don't think there is anything better than the fireworks looking up from Main Street to the Castle in Magic Kingdom. EPCOT evening show is nice, having just seen it 2 weeks ago, but without the extra Holiday fireworks, I really don't think it is that great. Needs a little updating.

As far as Parks, my order of preference is Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, MGM, Animal Kingdom. If you have a park hopper you can hit all 4 in 2 days. Mind you it would just be a sampler tour, but still a lot of fun.
enjoy,
Duane

The fireworks are great at both Epcot & Magic Kingdom but I probably prefer the Magic Kingdom.

Here are a couple of links with great photos:

Magic Kingdom: http://www.themagicinpixels.com/gall...es!/index.html

Epcot: http://www.themagicinpixels.com/gall...ons/index.html

Here is a link with info on the breakfast buffets: http://www.allearsnet.com/din/buffet.htm#breakfast

Thanks Duane and AJ. An update: I've managed to get a reservation for Mama Melrose/Fantasmic dinner show on the 19th and Hoop De Doo review on the 21st. The only catagory available is catagory 3 for Hoop De Doo - are these seats bad? I was hoping for 1 or 2 but I waited too long to book. I also made a reservation for breakfast at Boma since most reviews I've read say the breakfast buffet is good. My hubby really wants to do Animal Kingdom and I want to do MGM. We will see if we can squeeze EPCOT in too....although that looks like my least favorite park. Thanks for the advise.

At Epcot we ate in Morocco, and the food was great. The restaurant is a little hidden and so not crowded. We had no reservations and they seated all 8 of us immediatly.

Awww, don't skip Epcot! It sounds so boring in theory, but it's such a fun park! I don't love the sciencey stuff (too much ad placement) but the World Showcase is great -- you can get pastries in France, sushi in Japan, beer in Germany, and so on. And it's my favorite place to shop in all the parks. You can pick up fun souvenirs -- no Mickey Mouse shot glasses! :)

As far as the Hoop-de-doo Revue, I don't think you can get a "bad" seats. Even if you're far from the stage, you'll enjoy the show. It's pretty funny.

Epcot is my favorite park. My husband is a Disney fanatic so we go to Disney World A LOT. All of the parks are neat but once you've done, you've done them. Epcot has a live, interactive element that makes the experience different everytime. The entertainment around the World Showcase is great and it is a perfect park for a couple - lots of time for hand-holding and enjoying one another.

I always recommend doing some advance research for Epcot just so you know which entertainment interests you and you don't miss the scheduled times. You'll want to pick up the times guide with the map when you arrive but use this site to help you figure out what interests you:Click on the Epcot tab at http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/

Come of my favorite performers are:

Jammitors - a Stomp-like percussion group in the Future World area.

Off-Kilter - Celtic infused rock/pop in the Canada pavillion.

World Showcase Players - Monty Python-esque silly skits in the UK & Italy pavilions.

MoRockin' - Middle Eastern sounding pop music.

Miyuki - candy artist in Japan.

British Invasion - Beatles sound in UK, better after dark IMO.

Serveur Amusant - balancing act with a slightly Cirque du Soleil feel.

Sergio is a juggler that gets good review in the Italy pavilion but I haven't seen him yet.