Not being facetious but can someone explain the appeal of disney, Orlando?

[Talou1]

Hi, what am I missing? It's expensive, hot and massive queues...isn't it? I've always wanted to visit Florida for the Keys and Everglades but feel I should visit at least the Magic Kingdom because everyone else does. 😆. I do like theme parks but in the UK I wouldn't spend 2 weeks going to Legoland, Chessington, Thorpe Park etc. So just wondering what I'm not getting? Is the Magical Kingdom (and rest of Disney) really magical and if so why? As I say, not being deliberately obtuse but for somewhere so expensive it seems so popular. Is it worth shelling out for? Any opinions much appreciated so I know how much money I should be saving for my Florida road trip 😂

Yep, I've been reading up and all the dos and don'ts and fast passes etc are confusing me. And a 4 hour wait for Avator? Where's the fun in that? 😱 Is it feasible to do just MK and H Potter and then move on, or not worth the cost for just the two? Just worried about spending loads of money to spend most of it queuing or sitting in traffic.

If you are stopping off in Orlando the Universal hotels are amazing a 4 night stay there with a 3 day Universal pass and a one

That said when are you thinking of going - Magic Kingdom Party nights (4pm to 12pm) are a very good cost effective way of doing it

I thought this was a thread for people who love Disney/Universal/Florida rather than the whole we went and hated it experience. And it is magical.

Disney's Fast pass is a virtual queue system which you can book in advance. For onsite guests (us) it can be booked 60 days in advance (and the next 10 days of your stay if you stayed that long) or 30 days for off site guest which it sounds like you will be which means you have to log on each day 30 days out. It is a perk of being an onsite guest.

So no, I have never queued for 4 hours for Flight of Passage (where you ride on a Banshee) maybe 20 minutes at most. But it is an incredible ride, you feel like you really are on a Banshee, it breathes beneath you like a real creature would and you ride it around Pandora.

Their Kilimanjaro Safari allows you to see animals with no cages or glass screens, just natural landscaping that means you are close to animals. I was literally 6 feet from a baby rhino just on the path.

So yes for us a once in a life time holiday turned into several visits, I have literally just come back from Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. The whole Wizarding World of Harry Potter was built by the same people who built the set for the movie, the dragon perched on top of Gringotts Bank breathes fire, the bank is filled with Goblins, the Hogwarts Express transports you from Kings Cross.

And yes it can be hot, but every shop and restaurant is air conditioned as are the rooms and transport systems. So if you get hot you can just walk past an open door for some relief or walk through the shop. There is free ice water at all parks plus water fountains.

TheDibb is a great British website for dipping your toe into the whole visiting Disney World and is obviously filled with people who are enthusiastic about Orlando.

Thks Summer Rain. So do I pay for the fast pass? Will check out the Dibb. It all just seems a minefield but maybe I'm over thinking it! 😁

You should get the fast passes for Disney included in the ticket price. Dh booked through Florida Picks, I’ve just asked him. The Universal ones were extra. Probably best to do like a pp suggested and stay at the park and then get the fast passes for free.

It didn't appeal to me but felt that as it is supposed to be the ultimate family holiday we should give it a go! Dh wasn't interested at the beginning at all.

It was amazing! So much fun we had 2 weeks in Orlando and a week at the beach. There is nothing like spending every day running around with the kids laughing I found it more relaxing than any other holiday we've been on as it's all fantasy and about being a kid again.

I like being s grown up! I don’t want to be a child again! I like culture, art and scenery and wildlife. No, Disney doesn’t appeal. I’d go somewhere more enlightening! No OP, I cannot explain the appeal of Disney other than fashion and having no imagination about what else to do!

Very different and quite special I would recommend staying in a premier hotel to get the fast passes into the parks. It makes it so much more relaxing

We first went 4 years ago and have booked a third trip for next year.

The only way I can describe it is as a WOW holiday. Everywhere you look, everything you do has the wow factor.

It IS extremely commercialised but there is so much more to Florida than the parks.......the beaches, the amazing wildlife.

For us, with DCs currently aged 11 and 13, it ticks every box for our family holiday.

As for,comparing the theme parks to ours in the UK, there is no comparison whatsoever. The Americans get an awful lot wrong but when it comes to Disney/Universal, they get it more than right!

Good luck, I hope you like it!

Bubbles I hasten to add that me and DH would go nowhere near Disney World if we didn't have children!

We go as for several restraints we haven’t been able to take the adventurous holidays with DD that we used to take before we had her. If you’d asked me 15 years ago if we were interested I would have said you were mad.

DH once met an elderly gentleman who had just gotten back from a tour of big trees in California. He said on the last day they took them to Disneyland. He was furious, as were all the other elderly gentlemen on the tour and they were going to complain to the company when they got back.
He said he ended up having one of the best days of his lives and everyone was sad on the coach at the end that it was over. The tour guide told them it happened every time. He was going on the tour again and was really looking forward to his day at Disney at the end.

It’s very much a place you don’t know if you’ll like it unless you’ve been and it probably isn’t like what you thought it would be.

I agree you. We went about 4 years ago, not at all magical. Kids weren’t that bothered and by the end we gave up on the parks. Magic kingdom is busy and tired, animal kingdom is quite good, Orlando is horrible but universal really is fantastic.

Florida on the other hand is just fabulous and a beautiful state, gorgeous scenery, amazing food. Well worth a visit.

Disney and Orlando, my kids have never mentioned it again from the moment we left and have no desire to return

If you want more information go onto the Disney Information Bulletin Board. Free to join and read. If you want to post then sort out a user name and password. There are loads of people on there who will help you with any question and assist you in planning including fast passes.

I think it really depends on you OP. Some people go to Orlando every year for their summer holiday - for them the word holiday = theme parks. I can take them or leave them personally, although DH and I have taken our kids to FL twice - one week to visit the Disney parks and the second to do the Universal ones and Kennedy Space Centre. When I was a kid I'd have loved to have done it, but we didn't, because my family could never have afforded it, so it was nice to do that for them. However, we won't be going back, and doing two separate weeks was the right thing for us. Two weeks of theme parks in one go would've have us both wanting to jump in the nearest lake (preferably alligator infested!). Was it magical? Not in my opinion. It was fun, but it was bloody expensive and now when people say they're going to Disney I don't even one iota of envy. I'm glad we're done with it and moving on to far more interesting holidays!

We have been several times and love the Disney parks. Animal Kingdom is my favourite. Theme parks in America are a very different experience go here. However this was the first time we had been to Universal and I wouldn't bother again. The Harry Potter part is amazing, thought the rest was tatty and tired but I see previous posters loved it so it's clearly personal preference!

It's not Disney that puts me off (well the heat does) but really the American airport security staff especially with their 'prepare to be interrogated ' signs

Just returned from Florida with Dh and dc 12 and 10.

We got 14 day tickets for Universal from a Uk company Floridatix. This gave entry to both Universal parks- they are next to each other. The HP area is amazing but a long queue for the new Hagrid ride. We also got entry to Volcano bay with the Universal tickets- it’s a water park and excellent.

Other highlights were watching a space launch- check online dates and view points.
Kids loved Gatorland and really enjoyed Busch gardens. We spent days at Daytona and Cocoa beach and traveled south (due to hurricane warnings) and saw Fort Meyers beach and Naples Zoo.

The first time we went was in the early 90s. Just me and DH. As we had no children we were able to go out of season so wasn’t as busy. It was our first ever time on a real rollercoaster. We also liked the water parks. Magic Kingdom was fantastic. We’ve been back with DS also a big rollercoaster fan and Mainstreet, seeing the castle is my favourite sight. We always planned to do the Keys but never got round to it.
Universal with Harry Potter was great and I’ve never watched any of the films. DS favourite park is Busch Gardens.
We have been a few times so it will probably be a long time if at all before we go back as the world is a big place.

Sorry meant to add there are great Facebook groups to join - Orlando DIY, Orlando time and Deewols Orlando Park tickets. This lady does a weekly list of the best priced ticket sellers. She does it on a purely informative basis and isn’t affiliated with any company or gains any monetary perks.
We took advantage of booking a night in a Universal Hotel which got us an hours early entry and 2 days fast passes in Universal which was very handy.

Disney Imagineering spend years researching areas before they build rides/areas to make the most immersive experiences possible and that's what makes them so different to other places. When they built Expedition Everest, for example, they flew to Nepal and spent months studying the landscape and collecting actual artefacts to being back and use in the ride. There are lots of books and articles about the theming of the parks and the time, effort and money that have gone into their design over the years.

And for people too "grown up" to go, Walt opened the parks because he was fed up of watching his children have fun on carousels while the parents stood and watched so he wanted to make a theme park for families. When Disneyland California opened, people were leaving early because they could see traffic building on the highways outside. Because of this Walt wanted Disney World to allow guests to suspend their beliefs and their real lives for a few days by keeping them away from the real world.

For us, it gives us a lot of fun family time together that we don't get at home. The over reliance on phones does annoy me a bit these days with Fastpass+ but it was always going to go that way at some point. You either get it or you don't I think. If you don't do an ounce of planning or reading and go in a school holiday though (Christmas/Easter/4th July being the busiest) I think people can end up having a less than magical time!

Who proposes in a theme park? I don't get it. Wouldn't it make you wonder whether the whole thing was an act?

NearlyGranny why would you think it was an act in a theme park...? Unless your fiance had adopted a different persona and dresses up for the day

To get the most out of a Florida/theme park holiday you need to plan plan plan. For some this takes the joy out of things (my dh).

We were glad we did though as it was a high cost holiday. We flew into Miami, had 4 days there, worked our way up the beautiful coastline over another week then spent about a week or so doing the parks/water parks and Kennedy Space center. Our favourite bits were Universal Studios - both parks, loved the whole Harry Potter experience, Typhoon Lagoon, looking for alligators and manatees, Miami and the beaches/vibe and the Cheesecake Factory! Could take or leave the MK but Space Mountain is a fantastic ride and the fireworks are spectacular. Animal Kingdom also great. We were there in October half term which was perfect weather wise, not crowded and ds loved Mickeys Halloween Party. They really know how to do Halloween. You can get an app which tells you the shortest queue times, dates, spread sheets about that etc!

We planned to the nth degree for a year though - spreadsheets, booked hotels that offered early opening, booked luxury dining (some very nice places), had a Disney hotel, fast passes etc. ££££!

If you have time and can be bothered then start with 'The Dibb'. People post their planning and itineraries. There are people who do the whole thing on a budget and last minute but for the cost it really pays to plan.

Ps - it's quite bizarre to see grown adults in full Minnie/Mickey Mouse regalia - ears and everything!

We are going for 4 days at Christmas. One of the busiest times but the only way as we were travelling that way anyway and we could never have afforded it otherwise. We have bought a 3 day hopper with fast pass plus. We figured that it would be easiest to stay in a Disney hotel. I have been waiting since I was a child to go, so long overdue and I just want to soak up the atmosphere! Apparently things like the fireworks and the Christmas parade are amazing.

It will be the first and last trip but Dcs will be 10 and 13 so hopefully, a Greta game for it. The plan is to do 1/2 days at Epcot and animal kingdom and 2 days at MK. Whistle stop tour!