Travel: USA - Florida/Orlando

[jtoh]

Dnls_mum:

Agree with you, Honey. We had considered going California this year with the kids since we were at WDW in 07. But then decided to go a second time to WDW since DD did not go previously as she was only 1.5 years old then. Also the boys want to visit Harry Potter. i figured we should go now and capture the disney magic while we can still enjoy it as a family. dS 1 is already 15 and he will outgrow all these soon, if not already outgrown it I like it there very much. :love: Reasonable priced food, good shopping, good weather and it's just so happy to be there! Disney has this effect on people


Queues are reasonable in WDw compared to the smaller disney parks in Asia. Also Disney parks in Asia do not all speak English. We went Hk Disney 2 years ago, and the DSs just kept doing space mountain and buzz over and over again as there was nothing else they wanted to do, having been to WDW. The shows had mickey speaking in cantonese, sounded so strange to me while the kids don't understand at all! I recall a friend who told me he had to make up the story of a show in Tokyo Disney for his daughter as the show was going on as everything was in Jap! :rotflmao: He says that from then, only Dismey parks in USA will do

Your kids will love Harry Potter. They managed to capture the magic of the book and the movie. There are only a couple of rides but they are worth doing. And it's fun shopping for the merchandise, the wands and so forth.

[Laura02]

Last year, I went to Orlando a week before Thanksgiving, and left a week after. Yes, there were long queues, but it didn’t seem much different after Thanksgiving. But the post-Thanksgiving sales were great!


Actually, I like Tokyo DisneySea most. Yes, everyone there speaks Japanese, but the park is immaculately clean. It was crowded the first day there, but a day later school (for the Japanese) started and queues were much shorter (generally 5 - 20 min wait). I liked that the Japanese really "got into the mood", dressing up as their favorite character, even the adults. And I like the food at Tokyo DisneyLand most. My favorite - the roast chicken at the Alice-in-Wonderland foodcourt. Juicy, tender, just the right flavour …

I gave Harry Porter a miss. I’m not one for roller coasters, and dd got nightmares after watching the movie! But it has won an award for being the most thrilling roller coaster ride - great for teenage thrill seekers.

[Dnls_mum]

jtoh & laura,

We are really looking forward to Harry Potter as we are a family of Potter fans. :rahrah: DH just came back from US last Monday and he bought the new Harry Potter Scene It video board game. We had the older version and had enjoyed it and this new version is even better! We played over the long weekend and it has definitely whet our appetite for more of anything Potter!

laura,
I thought the Forbidden Journey ride is not a roller coaster but rather like Soaring at Epcot with better 3D and cinematic effects etc. We are looking forward to that ride but DD won't be able to take it as I think she'll be too scared of the simulations so we'll do the baby swap.

But agree that the dragon roller coaster is scary. It was there previously already but was known by another name that slipped by mind now. I didn't dare take it previously and will not attempt it this time as well. But DS2 loved it and can't wait to see if anything has changed.

Because of the WWoHP, I have booked a 5 night stay at Hard Rock Hotel after our 11 nights stay at Contemporary. If we really like forbidden journey, we may just go there every morning at early entry to ride it before the crowd! :rotflmao: We'll probably come back with an overdose of Potter! I am that crazy and kiasu!!

I am concern when you did not find it less crowed after Thanksgiving. Previously we went after Thanksgiving and came back before Christmas and crowds were light. Hoping for the same this time too. Thanksgiving this year is on Nov 22. We'll be there a week later on 28 Nov (hope the thanksgiving crowds have gone home by then) and coming back on Dec 13.

Planning my dining now so that I can make my reservations once by 180days is here! :imcool:

[Dnls_mum]

Laura02:

Check out Legoland if you're a Lego fan, like I am. The type rides are mostly the same as in any other theme park, but I liked the Imaginarium section where they let you \"experiment\" with lego.

Can anyone advise how much time I should set aside for Legoland? :? One full day or half a day? We will be probably staying at Hard Rock Hotel by then. I understand it is 45 mins to Legoland. Is it correct? Is it as crowded as Disney and Universal?

[serenasgreenhouse]

Hi, just to share one DIY travel tip. If you have a Singapore Science Centre membership, do remember to take the membership card along with you when you go on your vacation. Admission to participating Science Centres is free My sister who is in the US for half a year has visited a number of Science Centres there with her kids. The kids love the trips!


Find out details of the participating Science Centres.
http://serenagreenhouse.blogspot.com/2012/04/gain-free-admission-to-science-centres.html

[Laura02]

Oh, I wish I’d known that we could use our Singapore Science Centre family membership in Orlando’s Science Centre. They have lots of hands-on learning activites for kids. It was a great one day outing.

Legoland was also a one day event. I think it was around a half hour drive from our holiday apt. They have all the usual rides with a Lego theme. They had Lego statues, minuature buildings, life-sized elephants which looked amazing. More suited for kids 10 and under, I though. But i’m a Lego fan. I found their Lego factory fascinating, and their Lego store had a huge selection of Lego toys.

[RAmom]

Hi Dnls_mum,


We (2 families of 4) will be visiting NYC, DC & Florida/Orlando from 25/11 to 13/12. :rahrah:

We hope you can advise us the following:

1. Is it necessary to opt for Park Hopper tickets?
2. Is worth to purchase the Mickey's Merry Chrismas party 2012 tickets?

TIA. :grphug:

[Dnls_mum]

RAmom:

Hi Dnls_mum,


We (2 families of 4) will be visiting NYC, DC & Florida/Orlando from 25/11 to 13/12. :rahrah:

We hope you can advise us the following:

1. Is it necessary to opt for Park Hopper tickets?
2. Is worth to purchase the Mickey's Merry Chrismas party 2012 tickets?

TIA. :grphug:

How many days do you intend to spend in WDW? Do you plan to visit Universal as well? My answers will be dependent on how much time you have

[RAmom]

Dnls_mum:

RAmom:

Hi Dnls_mum,


We (2 families of 4) will be visiting NYC, DC & Florida/Orlando from 25/11 to 13/12. :rahrah:

We hope you can advise us the following:

1. Is it necessary to opt for Park Hopper tickets?
2. Is worth to purchase the Mickey's Merry Chrismas party 2012 tickets?

TIA. :grphug:

How many days do you intend to spend in WDW? Do you plan to visit Universal as well? My answers will be dependent on how much time you have

Hi, We intend to spend 4D3N in Universal & 7D6N in WDW. :rahrah:

[Dnls_mum]

RAmom:

Dnls_mum:

[quote=\"RAmom\"]Hi Dnls_mum,


We (2 families of 4) will be visiting NYC, DC & Florida/Orlando from 25/11 to 13/12. :rahrah:

We hope you can advise us the following:

1. Is it necessary to opt for Park Hopper tickets?
2. Is worth to purchase the Mickey's Merry Chrismas party 2012 tickets?

TIA. :grphug:

How many days do you intend to spend in WDW? Do you plan to visit Universal as well? My answers will be dependent on how much time you have

Hi, We intend to spend 4D3N in Universal & 7D6N in WDW. :rahrah:[/quote]To enjoy the park at a leisurely pace, you will need 2 days each in MK and Epcot and one day each in DHS and AK. You have enough time for that so you don't really need park hoppers in my opinion.

We did MVMCP in 2007. We did not think it was worth it. For the price you pay, you can easily pay for one more day ticket. At the party, they have mainly photo ops with characters in Christmas costumes and lines were long. But to be fair DSs did the Tomorrowland speedway several times. The line at some rides were manageable. The shows were extremely crowded, you need to squeeze and push! We don't intend to go this time round, especially since the kids were extremely tired. How old are your kids? My DSs were 10 and 8 when we were there and they were flat out!!

The problem with the period you are going is that MK closes early on 3 to 4 nights for MVMCP. That means if you do not attend the party and want to watch the fireworks you will need to plan one of your MK days on a non-MVMCP day. But pls bear in mind that these will be more crowded days at the park since the opening hours of MK are longer on these days.

What we do to overcome these are:
1. We stay onsite at the Contemporary Hotel MK View room. We can see the fireworks from our room with music piped in from the TV.
2. We are on the onsite dining plan and have planned many character dining experiences so we don't queue for photos in the park, albeit these characters will not be in special holiday attire.
3. If you are prepared to splurge, dinner at the California Grill on the 15th floor of Contemporary provides an excellent view of the fireworks, and have piped in music too.

If you do not stay at the Contemporary, you can watch the fireworks at the beach at the Polynesian for free or you can book a fireworks cruise that leaves from the Contemporary. I can't remember how much it cost.

Where will you be staying, will you have a car and do you plants have mid day breaks? All these will also determine your touring patterns and how much you can do as the period you are going, the parks generally close early. The general rule if you do not stay onsite is to avoid a park with AM EMH.

In the case of Universal, will you be staying onsite? We always stay onsite for the Express Pass and so one day for each park was more then enough in 2007. Now with WWoHP at IOA, we plan to give ourselves 2 days at IOA even though we will have early entry to WWoHP. We want to be fully immerse in WWoHP! :rahrah: :imcool: We have a breakfast per-booked at 3 Broomsticks too!

Not sure if I have answered all your questions, but if you still need any more info, just ask and I'll try to answer as best I can.