Just Back from Disney World
Jul 31st, 2006, 08:52 AM
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Just Back from Disney World
I just returned from a weekend trip to Orlando, where I found the parks crowded and hot but still manageable as long as I got an early start.
Having stayed both in WDW and out, I'd have to say that I still recommend staying in the WDW resorts. I stayed at the Doubletree Suites in Walt Disney World, which I loved as a hotel, especially for the staff, which were uniformly nice and helpful; I'd give this hotel a high recommendation. The suites are roomy and quite comfortable, but the food (esp. the breakfast) is overpriced, so I'd probably skip that unless you have a package that includes breakfast. My main gripe was with the theme park transportation, which wasn't the hotel's fault.
You're definitely a second-class citizen staying at the Downtown Disney hotels; the buses were just ok and never stopped where the other Disney buses stopped but rather far, far away. The Magic Kingdom bus doesn't take you to the front gates like other Disney buses, but rather to the ferry/monorail station. I also had one surly driver and a long, hot, delayed ride back on Saturday afternoon that was just a mess. Other than that, I enjoyed my stay.
I rode the new Expedition Everest (a fun but not too wild coaster, which was just my style) and discovered a "single rider" line, which allowed me to avoid the lengthy lines. But I tended to go early to the parks, enjoy them while they were less crowded, eat lunch early when there were no lines, and then exit by 2 or 3. I think my appetite for theme parks is not as strong as it was when I was younger and hardier (I was also by myself most days, so that didn't make it any more fun). I didn't go back to the parks at night because I was tagging along with a friend at a conference, so we went out to dinner at night and just hung out.
I did have dinner at Artist Point, and that was great, if expensive.
I did the Magic Kingdom, MGM Studios, and Animal Kingdom. I skipped Epcot this time. If anyone has general questions, post them, and I'll try to answer as best as I can.
Having stayed both in WDW and out, I'd have to say that I still recommend staying in the WDW resorts. I stayed at the Doubletree Suites in Walt Disney World, which I loved as a hotel, especially for the staff, which were uniformly nice and helpful; I'd give this hotel a high recommendation. The suites are roomy and quite comfortable, but the food (esp. the breakfast) is overpriced, so I'd probably skip that unless you have a package that includes breakfast. My main gripe was with the theme park transportation, which wasn't the hotel's fault.
You're definitely a second-class citizen staying at the Downtown Disney hotels; the buses were just ok and never stopped where the other Disney buses stopped but rather far, far away. The Magic Kingdom bus doesn't take you to the front gates like other Disney buses, but rather to the ferry/monorail station. I also had one surly driver and a long, hot, delayed ride back on Saturday afternoon that was just a mess. Other than that, I enjoyed my stay.
I rode the new Expedition Everest (a fun but not too wild coaster, which was just my style) and discovered a "single rider" line, which allowed me to avoid the lengthy lines. But I tended to go early to the parks, enjoy them while they were less crowded, eat lunch early when there were no lines, and then exit by 2 or 3. I think my appetite for theme parks is not as strong as it was when I was younger and hardier (I was also by myself most days, so that didn't make it any more fun). I didn't go back to the parks at night because I was tagging along with a friend at a conference, so we went out to dinner at night and just hung out.
I did have dinner at Artist Point, and that was great, if expensive.
I did the Magic Kingdom, MGM Studios, and Animal Kingdom. I skipped Epcot this time. If anyone has general questions, post them, and I'll try to answer as best as I can.
Jul 31st, 2006, 12:34 PM
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The last thing I seem to be thinking of at happy hour time in WDW is happy hour. But perhaps that's a side-effect of too many kids and too much sun by that time of the day. (If I'd been able to get back to my hotel to refresh myself in the pool and then return to a park, I might have been more interested in that.) I'll take your suggestion under advisement for my next trip.
Aug 1st, 2006, 10:54 AM
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The bad bus service were the buses that stopped directly at the Downtown Disney hotels.
You could walk to the bus stop at Downtown Disney Marketplace, which is about 15 minutes from the Doubletree and get buses there (they don't ask for your room key, but I also doubt they have buses to the parks first thing in the morning .... though I don't know the schedule). This was really my only complaint about this trip to WDW.
For some reason, even the food and drinks seemed more reasonably priced to me this time. They did sell a $1.25 bottle of water at all the parks; though small, it could certainly be refilled. In the past, I thought water was overpriced at about $3, but I could just be mis-remembering.
You could walk to the bus stop at Downtown Disney Marketplace, which is about 15 minutes from the Doubletree and get buses there (they don't ask for your room key, but I also doubt they have buses to the parks first thing in the morning .... though I don't know the schedule). This was really my only complaint about this trip to WDW.
For some reason, even the food and drinks seemed more reasonably priced to me this time. They did sell a $1.25 bottle of water at all the parks; though small, it could certainly be refilled. In the past, I thought water was overpriced at about $3, but I could just be mis-remembering.
