Fear of Disney
 

Wilma wrecked our beach vacation - - -so they're dropping us in Orlando for the week.

Who said "vacation"????

Disney?????

It's supposed to be fun - right?

I am sooo exhausted - I need a month of Sundays to read up on Disneyworld - figure out what's where - how you get around....how to park...how to find your car later......not to mention how to configure your ticket purchase. How many days? One park or multi? Add on a water park? Expiring or not expiring?

Finding out last minute that we are going to Disney is cruel and unusual treatment!!! --especially for a vacation research junkie like me!

I'm overwhelmed just looking at the web sites - - and forget about the message boards!
I've spent several hours - I'm definitely overwhelmed!

This is a WHOLE NEW WORLD to me.....I had NO idea......
People are obsessed by this place - after exploring what is there........ I can see why.
There are Disney junkies out there that spend ALL their money going back to Disney over and over and over....

They post messages and list what years they stayed at which hotels within the park (there are about 30)....
They rack up the entries like girl scout badges.

They have acronyms and abbreviations that seem like a magic code - I don't even know what they are talking about half the time!

This is what happens when you're 53 and never been to Disney when you were young enough to handle it. Now I feel like I need a private guide
or a seeing eye dog! What if I get lost?? How long will my feet last? Where's the parade and the giraffes?? I just want to see a parade and a giraffe!

Why am I up at 4 AM on my day off? I was having anxiety dreams about Disneyworld - I am not kidding!

Don't worry!!! You will have a good time! Think of yourself as 10 years old in Disney only you have money to spend. What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? Get a map and wander the parks!

Just keep telling yourself there is no prize for seeing the most stuff in the allotted time. Ignore all people who insist they saw everything at all Parks in 3 days - it does not matter - and no vacation should be a competitive event.

Get ONE guidebook. Skim it - stick post-it notes on the few things you feel you must see/do and plan your trip around that. You should have no more than 10 post-its.

If something has a short line - go on it. The reason people go to Disney repeatedly is that it takes many trips to see everything. Very little there stinks - so it does not matter if you see something you would rate a "9" versus something you would rate a "10". Waiting in line makes you hate Disney.

Plan some non-Disney Park time - like sitting at a pool, etc. The big Mouse gets old after a while. If you are anyplace where there are whining children, just go someplace else. Don't plan on spending entire day into evening touring various Parks - your feet will hurt and you will get nasty.

My personal roadmap involves getting there when it opens, heading to farthest corner from entrance and working backwards.

Keep telling yourself the idea is to have a nice vacation - if you were headed for the beach, then you likely wanted some good amount of down time - no reason you can't sit by the pool and read just like you would have done at the beach - just because you are at Disney, does not mean you need to race around your whole trip.

There's a book "out there" about how to get the most out of Disney-it's very detailed as in "turn left at the ... to avoid crowds". I'll see if I ever wrote down the title-in meantime, any Fodorites know what I mean?

Ha ha...I heard someone with a Tinkerbell tattoo say once that there is one doll in the Small World Ride in Florida who is NOT smiling, and that it is fun to try to spot it. Is that the kind of thing that is overwhelming you? People do go crazy, don't they?

Just get to the parks early and decide what you want to see before you get there. You have a week, so there's not need to rush around. Where are you staying? Plan some time at your hotel's pool to relax.

your post has me LOL!

i remember looking at the disboards once and having the same reaction as you did. what is up with those freaks?!? and, my husband's two sisters are right in the mix!

since marrying into this family, i've been to disney 5 times in 5 years. i had never been before. it really isn't overwhelming once you get there. and if you are going sometime between now and christmas, the parks will be quiet which is so much nicer.

enough people on these boards have been to disney, so if you have questions, we'll help out---without acronyms and bragging rights.

You have some shows, technical displays and lots of fun rides ahead of you- especially if you are going right now- this is the best time of year for DisneyW, IMHO. So just turn left, go for the short line or show that starts in 10 minutes- and enjoy.

You may like to hear this. I have one son who refuses to read one piece of information, even as small as a flyer, about any place before he goes there. He's just perverse that way; wants total serendipity and lack of preconceived ideas about what's "the bomb" and what isn't. And I, as most Fodorites, like to research and know where I am going and why.

Well he's been more places than any of my other kids worldwide, and he and his wife (no kids) go to DisneyWorld about every other year. He figured it out fine, and has been to more good restaurants there (Swan, Dolphin and California Grill, Victoria/Albert etc.) than I have.

DisneyWorld isn't my first choice because I feel I don't need to see it again after so many kid and grandkid visits, but if you have NEVER been. Well, just ignore the "dis" and go where your interests and imagination lead you.

As an Adult, do not fail to roam in EPCOT beyond the countries. The Land and some of the other science based exhibits are interesting. MGM has a lot of thrill rides.

Good roaming.

I became the obsessive planner that I am today thanks to my first trip to Disney as a parent. Because I hadn't read up on the early entry days at the various parks and had not made ressies in advance of the trip for some of the most kid-popular restaurants in the park I didn't feel like we got the most out of the trip.

The next time I was the crazy person who knew just where to turn left and at what time you could squeeze through the gates.

The more recent development of the fast pass to enter rides is also great. We usually go to MGMs Tower of Terror immeidately upon arrival(and we go super early because we found the gates often open earlier than posted times to all of the parks)then if they are offering fast passes to Tower of Terror or Rockin Roller Coaster as we exit the ride we scoop one of them up. Then we go do more minor attractions and come back and do the fast pass ride.

Good luck!!!

Thanks to all for all the calming words! We both hate rides so that will rule out alot of the lines.
I'd like to do the safari ride in Animal Kingdom but my husband has health problems and gets motion sickness. Do you think this would bother him or is it mild?
We plan to just try AK one day and Epcot a different day and spend lots of time by the pool (weather permitting). If we LOVE it - we'll head back for a thrid day.

If I were going to buy just one guide book it would be the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. Very, very helpful, especially if you have never been there before.

Don't ignore Universal Studios, which is a great place. Last time I was in Orlando, which is now several years ago, much of Disney World was looking tired compared to Universal.

I second Nikki's recommendation for the Unofficial Guide to Walk Disney World. It's the only book you'll need b/c it gives great information and tips on "doing" Disney. It also rates the various attractions based on how different age groups liked them, so that might give you a better idea of what you and your husband would enjoy.

For the Safari ride at AK, you ride in a jeep/bus thing and it's just like riding in a truck--it's not on a track or anything like that. The driver is in control of the vehicle and follows the road around the area. I don't recall it having any big bumps or really curvy parts; it's just driving around to see the various animals. Try to go early in the morning to see more animals out and about.

The Unofficial Guide is a great choice - you really don't have to read it. There are cut-out touring plans in the back. Just find your self (adults, no children) and cut out the plan and follow it.

There is also an online service called Tour Guide Mike - tourguidemike.com - that cost about the same as the unofficial guide and you can print out touring plans if your bookstore doesn't have the unofficial guide. We used Tour Guide Mike this summer and never waited more than 20 minutes for anything - and that was during peak season.

There are so many shows and wonderful things at each of the parks.

You're sure to enjoy Epcot. The important thing is to pick up a show schedule - they're readily available everywhere at Epcot. If you get an idea of the shows you want to see, Epcot is fantastic. I've been there 4 times and have yet to take everything in. But if you don't, it can feel like going from gift shop to gift shop.

And remember that Disneyworld is a "theme" park, rather than a "thrill" park. They do have rollercoasters etc. but it's mostly about the story. My mom is pretty anti-Disney but we made her go to Epcot for a day and she really enjoyed it. She also really enjoyed the Safari ride. Oh! I absolutely recommend the "Festival of the Lion King" show at Animal Kingdom - it's fantastic.

You might want to eat at Boma's, which is at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. That's one of the Disney hotels, not a park. The food is good and the hotel has its own giraffes. It's just a lovely setting.

You're going at a non-peak time...you'll do fine.

HI--as a "double agent", ie one who likes Disney World and *real* traveling, I recommend the Birnbaum guide. To me, the Unofficial Guide makes me think of the spoofs of that famous 70's book, the "Joy of Sex", that was called the "Job of Sex". I realize I may stand alone here, but the Unofficial guy makes his way of negotiating WDW sound like strategies for managing a root canal!! That is, of course, strictly my opinion, but it is rendered after more trips to WDW than I care to admit.

I second the recommendation for the Festival of the Lion King show in Animal Kingdom. LOVE IT! Also make sure you see Illuminations in the evening in Epcot. We also really enjoy the Fantasmic Show in the evening at MGM.

As long as you are going to AK anyway, do not miss "It's Tough to be a Bug" show within the big tree in the middle.
It's priceless!

Also the safari is extremely mild. You will not get car sick in any way.

You should visit Seaworld. It's calmer than the Disney and Universal parks. You can see it all in a day.

Just a thought: Disney keeps records about all sorts of things, one of which is this: when approaching one of the Disney attractions remember that the lines on the left move faster than the lines on the right. Something about 70% of the people in the world being right handed makes them go to the right hand side. There are less people waiting for the attractions on the left lines, so they move faster.
((S))((*))

"There's a book "out there" about how to get the most out of Disney-it's very detailed as in "turn left at the ... to avoid crowds". I'll see if I ever wrote down the title-in meantime, any Fodorites know what I mean?"

That would be the unofficial Guide to DisneyWorld, best reference out there for WDW.

Disboards is for freaks, sorry, but I went there too.

Best advice I can give you is;

1. Stay onsite and take advantage of early openings.

2. Get up early, you are on a mission, the words you snooze you lose could not be more meaningful than at WDW, you can see more in the first 2 hours than you can in an entire day if you sleep-in.

2. When the late-risers start piling in around 11:00-12:00, leave. Go back to your hotel, have lunch, relax, swim, take a nap.

3. Go back to the parks around 5:00 when all the day-trippers are leaving, the parks start to empty out again.

Remember, WDW is NOT a relaxing vacation, however, it can be a lot of fun and it really is a must-see at least once. Sounds like you're going during low season though, so you should come out of there without any visible twitches or scars, good luck!

"they're dropping us in Orlando for the week."

Please tell me who "they're" so I can avoid these roaming bands of thugs forcing people to take a Disney Vacation.

If you DON'T stay onsite, know which parks have early openings for onsite guests and avoid them on those days.

Ryan - "They" would be RCI Timeshares - a crafty not-so-little group who love to rip-off the public with their rules and fees. They charged us an extra $150 to "switch" to Orlando - as if Wilma was our fault - and we chose not to go to the beach. When they sell you units - they tell you how wonderful that you can switch "anywhere in the world" but the real truth is - they almost never have availability when you want it AND alot of their properties are horrible - less than 2 stars. Orlando was the last place we would have chosen but now we will make the best of it.

Thanks, sorry about your situation.

This confirms my long held view that I'd never put my vacation plans in the hands of someone else.

Forget what you just wrote about, go with an open mind. And relax. You are going to have fun.

Assuming you have read about the parks ad nauseum, here are a couple of other ideas. Yesterday we drove over to Disney World from the Gulf Coast side of Florida, (Clearwater) on what I call my Free Disney Tour. Even though we are "locals",we go over several times a year and take our time enjoying the magic. We usually get a 3 day pass and go to the parks on different visits. We love Epcot's movies from the different countries, the Animal Safari at Animal Kingdom, and Mickey's Philharmonic at Magic Kingdom. But yesterday we didn't go into a park at all. (That is the beauty of your being there for a week. You will have leisure time,outside the theme parks, not rush rush rushing to see everything in a short time.) We have relatives staying on Clearwater Beach who had been to EPCOT and Magic Kingdom years ago but never to the hotels, around the property, etc. We take those who can't afford the parks over to the property and just have fun hotel hopping. Just tell the guard at the gate that you are visiting the resort, or having lunch there and there is no charge to park yourself. You can enjoy looking at the Wilderness Lodge and then take the boat over to the Contemporary. Hop on the monorail and get off at the Polynesian. Look around there and then follow the beach walk over to the Wedding Chapel. (You can take the monorail, but the walk is beautiful). We were fortunate enough to see a beautiful bride leave the Glass pumpkin carriage drawn by 6 white ponies and walk into the wedding chapel. We did not crash the wedding however.. Then we walked on around to the Grand Floridian. The men napped in the comfy couches and listened to the beautiful piano music while we girls visited the shops. Breakfast or lunch is the Grand Floridian is a lovely and not too expensive treat (9-15 dollars each) We then rode the mono-rail past the Magic Kingdom and then back to the Contemporary, where we took the boat over to Ft. Wilderess Campgrounds and back to our car at Wilderness Lodge. You can also visit the Yacht Club/Beach Club (nice places for adult atmosphere and a nice breakfast, check out POP Century, look at the shadow boxes in the registration area, walk around and look at the larger than life icons such as the Yoyos, rubix cubes, etc that cover the staircases - they are are so cool! etc. That is just one day of driving or taking the bus around to be astounded by all the imagination and variety of the Disney property. Disney bus system will take you anywhere on the property. Just stand in the designated line and notice what destination is indicated on the bus says above the front window. A day of swimming, soaking up the sun, ete. isn't a bad vacation either. Go to the Disney Market place even if you are not a shopper. LEGO LAND statues and the window boxes around the building are amazing. TAKE A COUPLE different PAIR OF SANDALS/SNEAKERS SO YOUR FEET GET A REST - DON'T WEAR THE SAME SHOES 2 DAYS IN A ROW...REALLY - IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE ON YOU COMFORT LEVEL!!

If you have time and a car, drive Hwy 4 West to Tampa and connect in Tampa to I 275 south. Exit onto Hwy 60 by the Tampa International Airport and cross over to Clearwater. Take Hwy 60 all the way across town to the best beach in the world. The sand is sugar fine and white, cool to walk on and the water CLEAR (get it?) and warm. You can easily get there in 2 hours, enjoy the beach and drive back to Disney.

I recommend this idea for less stress, (I use it when I travel to Europe, etc.) print out all the ideas Fodorites have given and photo copy from books the things you think you want to see. Put them in a small binder by location and then, after you see them, throw the papers away when you get back to your hotel room. Main thing is to relax, so what if you don't see it all, you might come back if you pace yourself and have a good time. We hope so. At least you won't be in a hurricane this week!

I also highly recommend the Unofficial Guide to WDW, but don't let it make you even more neurotic. The touring plans are very tightly scripted, sceduling basically every move you make, short of bathroom breaks. Actually, I think at times they do state that "now would be a good time to use the bathroom or get a drink". But the guide offers some excellent advice. Read it and use what applies to you. You won't need any other guide.

The Safari Ride at Animal Kingdom will absolutely not give him motion sickness. It's a great ride. Head there first, it's very popular. Enjoy the animal trails. See Festival of the Lion King and It's Tough to Be a Bug. Flights of Wonder is another great show. See the parade. Slowly explore the countries in World Showcase. Enjoy Illuminations. If you don't go to MGM, but you have the park hopper option on your tickets, visit the park in the evening to see Fantasmic (it's awesome).

I love Disney, as do my kids. We're heading there once again ourselves in a few weeks. But I have to agree with Nina about the people on disboards. They are obsessed. I visited it and read a few posts and considered responding to one but was so put off by how eveyone lists all their visits, where they stayed, etc., etc., that I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Fanatics!

Just relax, see everything at your own pace, and have a wonderful time.

Wow. Are you different from me! You're stressed because you have to go relax and enjoy yourself somewhere that you haven't had time to obsess about? If my trip to anywhere were cancelled and they said they were shipping us someplace I'd never even heard of, I'd consider it an adventure. Frankly it's clear that with your attitude you're going to have a horrible time in spite of yourself.

wow that was pretty nasty. she just seems irritated to have to go to disney b/c it's not her cup of tea. i would be too if i had my heart set on a beach vacation.

my point was that she has her mind set that she hates Disney, so give it up. Why go if you know you'll hate a place you've never been. I personally am not psychic, so I'm not able to KNOW that I'll hate a place I've never been. Instead I would probably try to enjoy it, but clearly this poster is not interested in doing that. Isn't it possible to refuse the change?

my hubby and I took our first DW trip this last may (we are 50 and 47 btw)
I thought, being from CA that this was going to be a grander scale of Disneyland--couldn't have been more wrong! It is unbelievable! And for those who jest about disboards.com, I could not have successfully planned it without their help! Those people are awesome, an amazing wealth of info, tips, support. One thing FOR SURE, so you aren't disappointed, MAKE YOUR PRIORITY SEATING RESERVATIONS! Really cool restaurants are Sci Fi Dinner Theater and Prime Time Cafe, both at MGM. And do not even consider staying at an off site resort..you will lose some of the experiance, not to mention transportation, and extra magic hours!
We stayed at the Yacht Club, loved it, a boat ride to MGM, boat ride or 10 minute walk to Epcot, easy bus ride to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney, and both water parks.
Have a great (magical!) time!

I just reread the OP, didn't see anything about hating Disney...just a stressed out obsessive planner who doesn't have time to plan. I would feel the same way without my usual prep time.

I do agree that SeaWorld is a good choice but even better is Discovery Cove for a very relaxing day. Its expensive to get in but (I think I have the numbers right) there are never more that 1,000 people in the park. And it is a more adult atmosphere, no crying babies or tired toddlers. Fun to wade with the stingrays and snorkel with fish. You can pay extra to have a dophin experience (no flames please).

Being about your age, I'd second the idea of spending time at EPCOT. It's got some interesting 'rides' and is a lot of fun. Magic Kingdom might be worth a visit, too, but it's obviously more for the younger set. And the Lion King show at Animal Kingdom is worth it, too-- but in general we were a bit disappointed with that park.
And believe the signs at any Disney park that warn you when a ride will be rough for anyone with back, neck or heart problems. Because they really mean it! Some of those rides really jerk your neck around. If your husband gets motion sickness...
On the other hand, two of our favorites attractions are "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" and "Bugs Life". They are 3-D shows and pretty funny.
On my last visit to Orlando, my college-age daughter and I tried Universal Studios and were really disappointed. I mean the one with the movie-related 'rides'. It was really out-dated and schlocky. The Jaws ride had us laughing because it was so cheesy! And Twister-- really stupid. Definitely not worth the money to visit there. We kept walking around, seeing lots of places to buy junk food and junk trinkets, but not many rides or attractions. We thought the place definitely was second-rate to any Disney place-- not very well-kept or well-run IMHO.
If you're there for a week, maybe get the three-day pass that allows you to come and go during any day. You probably won't want to do two parks in two days in a row. I'd suggest spending a day at the pool between each park day.
It's also a good idea, I think, to hop on the free transportation system and visit the Disney hotels. They have nice restaurants and are each interesting, if you like Disney-created magic.
Relax. Have fun!

Hi,

I am also love to do lots of research before traveling & had less than 2 weeks to research DisneyWorld before going (husband's boss suddenly couldn't go to a conference & he got the nod). I found the Unofficial Guide very helpful, but even better were 2 websites

www.mousesavers.com
www.allearsnet.com

Both are huge sites but they have, in my opinion, the absolute best advise available on the web.

Good luck.

My husband and I went to Walt Disney World for the first time (and only time so far) this past March. We are really more of the world traveler-type of people, but it was one of those things where my husband was going for business and we had one free ticket that was about to expire so off to Orlando we went.

We really had a great time at WDW! We are from southern California so grew up going to Disneyland. But WDW is really special and we had the best time.

We LOVE eating at great restaurants, and had some of the best meals there on the Disney property and in Orlando itself. We had a rental car so that made it easy for us to go to places other than just at WDW.

I also suggest going to the Kennedy Space Center. It was marvaleous.

As far as reseach, we got the Fodor's WDW travel book and one other one (don't rememer the name now) but we just got them from the library and took them with us for reference. They were both very helpful.

We got the 5 day pass and went to a different theme park each day. We enjoyed them all. Even if you're not big on rides, there are plenty of shows that are great to watch. EPCOT was really fun (and big). We went there twice to try and see it all.

Have a wonderful time. I think Disney does a wonderful job of having fun things to do for everyone of every age. Enjoy!

I admit I'm one of those people who go all the time (I've been 6 or 7 times in the past year). We only live 2.5 hours away so we go for usually 3 nights; it's usually a last minute trip. We also travel to other places (in the past year, we've also been to Georgia twice, Penn., Virginia and Mass.), but we like Disney.

Don't worry about seeing everything because you can't on one trip. We've been so many times and still haven't done everything. We don't go to the parks everyday while we're there. There are lots of other things besides the parks, like spas, hanging out at the pools, or just exporing the different resorts.

Epcot is our favorite park. You can just walk around and hang out in the countries or ride some rides. Just pick out the things you want to do and do those. Anything else can just be extra.

My favorite restaurants are Bistro de Paris in Epcot, Le Cellier in Epcot, Flying Fish in Boardwalk and Artist Point in Wilderness Lodge.

pamann mentioned the 2 best sites.
nina gave some good tips. You can do a lot in the morning before most people arrive. Then you can come back late afternoon.

Enjoy your trip!

ufgator mentioned Le Cellier in Epcot. It is the fine dining option in the Canada part of Epcot. We are a family of creme brulee lovers and theirs was to die for, some of the best we've ever had. The hard maple sugar on top... yum!

ok calm down well i went out with my mom and bought a book it is called 'walt disney world with kids' u may be thanking thats not the book for me but it is it is not just for tips for kids it has in it time and money-saving tips, insider's secrets,and scare factors for every ride,clear easy to read maps,full restaurant and hotel descriptions with star ratings,quick guides,dont miss list,and fav attractions by age groups,updates on Disney's FASTASS systemand unversal's express system it has helped us so if u get the book i am sure it will help you it says here it has helped over 400 familys so hope i was a help