Has anyone regretted going to Disney Florida?

[ForthethingsIdo]

I feel I want to take my child but am so put off by the crowds and queues.

I’ve read people often stand in queues for 60-90min to ride.

Is it really worth it?

Thank you

THe turkey legs are unhealthy but you can research restaurants etc and find some really good food at a reasonable price. Also you don't have to eat on site.
Look up some of the restaurants before you book.

@veryberry89 yes in the supermarket. But not at quick service places and most sit down places do not have healthy food. Generally only the very expensive ones.
That is not a consideration for many people, but it is a reality.

Yeah point taken but you have to take into account you see a lot of unhealthy people in uk now and it is a world holiday destination so you are going see a lot of people there.
They haven't got fat in a two week holiday....

@veryberry89 I never found healthy food at a reasonable price in Disneyworld. There are plenty of restaurants outside though.

It’s not that it’s not cool to like it, we just didn’t like it. We know lots of people who were meh about it. We did it, we didn’t like it, we thought it was a glorified funfair and we won’t go back. I will say universal was great and puts Disney to shame but a day there was ample. I also thought Orlando was an utterly hideous place.

florida as a state though is fabulous, we adored Miami Sarasota and Anna Maria

@veryberry89 I was not suggesting people got very fat on two weeks holiday. Simply that the calorie count for some of the food is enormous. I would expect a cupcake to be about 300 calories and would allow my kids to have it as a treat on holiday. Not for it to have more calories than an evening meal.
I am fine if people want to buy and eat one, up to them. But I am not convinced people understand how many calories and this how much fat and sugar they are consuming.

Yeah Florida is an expensive holiday I agree with you there and we have forsaken doing house projects and stuff here to go as memories more enjoyable than a new extension or whatever else people want to do.
I'm not knocking that btw just choices we all make are different.

I'm not a huge fan of queues as well but we had a good time at DLP even though we spent a bit paying for the fast track or whether it's called.

We're not huge Disney people so while my daughter enjoyed DLP she wasn't interested in queuing up for characters which made my life easier and I realized she enjoyed the thrill rides more hence why were going to Universal for a day this summer.

When my daughter started talking about Disney I wasn't keen but found out about the Disney cruise so we're doing that this summer and spending the week before in Orlando before the cruise.

We're not doing Disney but will spend a day at universal Island or adventure with express, I would rather do one park with express than 2 parks and spend so much time queuing. I'm really looking forward to a day to discovery cove in Orland which looks so amazing and then river tubing and snorkeling in a natural river spring in the Orlando area and drive along a natural reserve where you can see alligators and other animals.

The discovery cove tickets comes with access to SeaWorld and aquatica a water park so we will spend a day each there, want to to go Kennedy space center and then board the shop for a 7 night cruise.

The cruise looks a lot more relaxing then the parks, and I love that they have kids clubs so hoping our daughter makes friends there and we can have some time to ourselves.

Anyway there will be people who regret it and many who love it so you need to decide based on what you like and you and your kids interests, but no it is not compulsory.

go April the weather is better July is hot humid and rainy apparently

Enjoy
I'm jealous
Will get back one day

I like watching people on YouTube who go there, but It seems like it has to be a mega organised/every second on a tight schedule thing to actually be worthwhile. Otherwise it’s just hours of queuing for rides/food in the Florida humidity, or running madly around the parks with every minute planned out ahead of time with no room for spontaneity.

There are parts of it that really appeal to me, and the kids would love it, but in reality I think it’s just too much money for too much stress. Perhaps 20/30 years ago it seems like it was more of a ‘holiday’ experience than it does now.

It was less stressful back 20/30years ago.
All this booking rides in advance, having to get up early to not miss rides, genie plus and lightening lanes has spoilt the magic to some extent and does feel more like a chore.
Despite this we still had a brilliant time last time we went but even though we went for three weeks and have been loads we could not get on rise of resistance attraction!
I think the only way you would have a chance is booking Disney hotel.
You have to relax and just enjoy atmosphere and do some of it.

Haven't regretted it. However, first time was back in the 90s, so queues probably not that long then. Second time (2018), we used fast passes in the ones we knew would be popular. The rest were shorter queues.

I think I do regret it in terms of value for money - it wasn’t enjoyable being in long queues and the main park was a bit dated and lacklustre compared to what I’d expected. But I did really enjoy Epcot and my son liked the rides there.
I preferred Universal studies to Disney - it was more fun, lots of great parades and shows and shorter ride queues.

I’ve been several times and never once regretted it. Nowhere else ever beats it. It’s really magical and worth the queues but the expense of it is just getting too much now. The cost is the only thing stopping me from going back again.

The food absolutely isn’t unhealthy - unless you want it to be. I went with my teen daughter last year who has anorexia and was in the grips of it while we were there, so I am more clued up than I ever wanted to be on the food. At the vast majority of the quick dine places there are salads with a choice of protein and loads of veggie options. I am veggie and had a lovely and healthy chickpea salad at the harambe quick dine place in Animal Kingdom. There is junk food if you want it, but it is absolutely possible to go there and eat perfectly healthily.

The people saying there are similar rides at any other theme park, where in the UK is there a ride on the same scale as guardians of the galaxy or rise of the resistance??

Guardians of the Galaxy was a great ride. Really memorable. Rise of the resistance I remember for being in a queue for almost two hours and then it breaking down before we could get on... we had the fast passes but the premium rises like Resistance required an extra one that would have cost four of us over a hundred quid.
Go on the least busy day you can!

Yes, agree on the food, we found plenty of flatbreads, wraps, hummus, veg sticks, fruit cups etc. when we wanted - ultimately you're on holiday though, and a few 1000 calorie cupcakes and cookies to combat the 30,000 steps a day you walk don't exactly cause too much concern over two weeks.

I can’t believe anyone can visit both Alton Towers and Disney and say that the Alton Towers experience is on a par.

It’s rubbish. Someone comparing a run down Merlin attraction with Disney has clearly never been.

@NeverHadHaveHas yes Animal Kingdom is better as it has African food. But that chickpea salad is only served with the ribs I thought.

I do not think there is anything quite like it. You can see the ride here. The question is whether you think it is worth the queue and worth the cost of going there. There are only a handful of rides that are different from ones in the UK.

The Swarm and Wicker Man rollercoasters in the UK though are different from the usual rollercoasters.

Nope, the Harambe salad is available on its own, quinoa, corn, crispy chickpeas. Delicious, could have eaten that every day and was only around $10 which was reasonable given portions are huge

I've been to DW Florida and Disneyland Anaheim several times but many years ago (25-30 years ago!). I have amazing memories of arriving and feeling it was somewhere really special. I loved all the rides and have no memories of long queues, just going on Space Mountain again and again.

Would I go now? Probably not, it sounds like a holiday that needs to be organised with military precision, and a whole holiday centred round Disney (we went for 1 day each time as part of a fly-drive, maybe another 1 day for Universal).