Disney Florida - what are the must do's?

[MozzchopsThirty]

We have park tickets for all the Disney parks and all universal parks.

It's a trip of a lifetime and I doubt we'll ever go again.

What special things do we definately need to do? Someone has recommended dinner in cinderella's castle but I have two boys aged 9 & 5 and dd 18 so not sure if that would be the best option.

Any suggestions would be great, thanks

hi as many of the Disney shows/parades/fireworks as you can

our favourite rides were and our dcs were 10 and 12;

soarin, mission space- epcot

expedition Everest, safari- animal kingdom

tower of terror, rock n roller coaster- Hollywood studios

splash mountain, space mountain, pirates of carribean, haunted mansion, buzz lightyear- magic kingdom

revenge of the mummy, simpsons, ET, spiderman-universal/IOA

also the waterparks which were our faves were- typhoon lagoon and blizzard beach.

What are your DC's interests?
What kind of rides do they like?

TBH - start with one day at each and then return to the others if you like them.

However - look on the website at the restaurants and book any that take your fancy.

DD loves the 50s style restaurant in Hollywood Studios, anda lso the drive in movie style on (same park)

Well we've only done things like Alton towers/legoland in the past.

Neither like thrill seeker rides but like fun stuff and I think they'll like the themed rides.

Ds1 likes sports, Star Wars, Lego
Ds2 likes Ben 10, Star Wars, toy story, wizards and witches.
I think the water parks will be fun days out.
Just thinking of somewhere to have a special/memorable family meal

Downtown Disney has nice restaurants.

Keep UK times and go to the parks first thing.

Not Disney, Universal. The Harry Potter bit is awesome.

We liked Disney and would go back but Universal was better by far imho.

Disney Hollywood Studios great too.

Biggest Lego shop ever at down town Disney.

Ah, Disney has a habit of making you go back again. We went on a 'once in a lifetime trip' and have been back twice already.

My DS is a similar age and the best things for us were:

Jedi Academy at Hollywood Studios
Captain Jack show at Magic Kingdom
Blizzard Beach waterpark
Lego shop at Downtown Disney always a hit
Countless rides - Harry Potter rides and Spiderman ride at Universal stand out. The Simpsons ride there is really quite scary!
Epcot Soarin
My Ds also really loved Epcot on our last trip

I'd plan to spend most time at Disney - you can do Universal in a couple of days.

PS. The food in Orlando is not great - standard pizza, hotdog etc.

We did the lunch in Cinderella's castle when my DS was 5 - primarily for DD3 who was 9 but DS LOVED it - he was completely mesmerised by the princesses and had to have his photo taken with all of them. The best thing about it though as parents was that it gave us a cool haven in the middle of the day with endless cold drinks - we even took them with us when we left recharged and rested to face the afternoon fun. Having done Disney with DD1 and DD2 10 years previously, this was by far a better and less tiring day and we didnt have to fight for seats to sit down and eat. If you can afford it I would recommend it.

Epcot - we weren't that keen to go tbh but it was great as bonvivant said - Soarin' should not be missed!

And all my children preferred the water parks - that is where we returned on our extra days - particularly Typhoon Lagoon and Aquatica (Seaworld though not Disney).

If you are staying in a villa, buy bottles of water from the supermarket and put in the freezer to take with you on park days - much cheaper!

yes we went on a once in a lifetime trip and have been back 8 times since

I liked epcot, it wasn't as busy as the other parks when we went. I loved test track.

we're not overly keen on universal and prefer SeaWorld and Busch gardens.

most of Disney is magical to the dc, I can't think of anything that they went on that hey were disappointed with. we are back in august and can't wait.

Oh my! I love this topic
Get yourself onto the dibb. It's got everything you need to know.
When do you go? You can make ADR's 180 days before you go (advance dining reservations)
Epcot -
Teppan Edo is amazing.
Get a FP for soaring (you can get these online 30 or 60 days in advance now)
Try the different colas at the free machine!
Work around the world showcase clockwise! Everyone goes the other way so it's better this way.
Next to France there's an exit to boardwalk, follow this and go to beaches and creams!

Magic kingdom -
Get there for rope drop it's well worth it
Make an ADR for breakfast for before the park opens and you'll get to walk along an empty Main Street!

Animal kingdom -
Use the entrance through rainforest cafe for a shorter queue.
Eat at the yak and yeti - yum!
Do the safari first thing when the animals are awake

Hollywood studios -
Get a fast pass for toy story mania
Make an ADR for sci-fi dine in

Downtown disney -
Earl of sandwich is the best sandwich you'll ever have. Nothing like subway!
Disney quest is actually really good!

If you need to know anything feel free to pm me I'm a bit obsessed disney fan

Marking place with interest as we are planning to go next year.

If you have any extra days allotted, you might enjoy the Kennedy Space Center, which is about an hour's drive from Orlando. When we were in Florida a number of years ago, my kids loved the space center! There was an astronaut talk and lots of great exhibits. I understand the space shuttle Atlantis is now there as an exhibit.

I think our favorite park was the Hollywood Studios - but all were great.

Thank you for all the eaterie suggestions
The dibb irritates me, it's just too much info

We enjoyed done with shamu at sea world. You get to sit at the side of the training pool and one of the killer whales does a few tricks, food and drink are included.

Dine not done in my previous post

If you want a special meal I'd recommend either booking Chef Mickeys which does character breakfasts and I think lunches - but it books up really fast, you'll need to book online and/or T-rex is meant to good, but we didn't make it - again you can book online.

Your 5 year old would love Chef Mickeys, 9 yr old might be a bit grown up - downside with doing breakfast is that you miss an early entry to the parks so they'll basically be rammed when you get out.

If you can get a decent early dinner time at T-rex definitely go for that - unfortunately it booked up solid 6 months in advance and walk in queues were 2+ hours when we went.

Ohhh and do whispering canyon and ask for ketchup!

If you get to Kennedy then do the Shuttle Launch experience (my youngest didn't want to do it, so they let her opt out just as we went in and she watched us safely from just outside with the Kennedy staff). It is amazing.

My other top tip is to pace yourself. Read the guide books and plan (we followed rigid tours the first 2 times we went, last time we just picked our top rides and prioritised them). Also do allow yourself down time, to just swim and relax. You will get more out of it that way.

Mummytime can you give me an idea of plans to follow. It's really important we make the most of the parks we have.

Have booked chef mickeys for breakfast stupidly excited

Jedi training academy at Hollywood Studios for your boys.

Worth the scrum and queue at the beginning if the day to het registered. Very much a fun activity that you will all enjoy watching too!

Oh, and Make sure you allocate a half day at Disney Quest in DTD. It's 4 floors of free video games plus some interactive games (pinball where you're acting as the 'bumpers' trying to score points against other players/a raft ride where you need to paddle hard and may get wet/etc).

Also T. Rex for lunch and a dinner in sci fi dine in

Definitely want to do the Jedi training.

Do I need to get to the parks early?
Is it best to do theme park, followed by water park etc.
Can I fit it in 2 weeks

Just want to have the best time, this money came out of something awful and I'm going to enjoy it