Go to epcot and enjoy the Food and Wine festival. I was there last October and it was awesome!
I'll be there in early October for my honeymoon!
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Going to Disney in October! How do I prepare?
- Thread starter Jumpman64
- Start date
Go to epcot and enjoy the Food and Wine festival. I was there last October and it was awesome!
I'll be there in early October for my honeymoon!
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day...
I always expect this ride wil be closed the next time I go, but it's always open...
Yeah, universal is expensive to add on., My wife and I did that and ... I believe I dropped $600 on one day's worth of tickets. Was pretty insane. She ended up cutting her foot on like some errant glass there and we had to leave in a huff, too.
That sucks... I hope they made it better.
I rather like the Harry Potter stuff at Universal... Except King's Cross.
Having just been to the actual King's Cross months before, I didn't find that the approximation in Universal did it justice.
Diagon Alley is just amazing though, same with Knockturn Alley and the Gringot's vault ride. And the train ride itself is also pretty darn great... Not to mention all the fun stuff you can do if you buy a $$$ wand...
The rides at Islands of Adventure, less so. The resolution of the projection in the older Harry Potter ride is so low, it's enough to make anyone motion sick...but at least you get to hear Moaning Myrtle make fun of you while you're throwing up in her bathroom...
Get the avocado margarita at the Cava de Tequila in Mexico in Epcot. It's amazing. The orange frosty with grey goose and grand marnier in France at Epcot is epic on a hot day. There's a sake bar in the back of the Japanese department store in Japan.
Dole Whip is a cult for a good reason. Eat the dole whip. During Food & Wine they have it with rum in it at the permanent concession near the entrance to the world showcase.
Be silly. Have fun. Enjoy your child side.
Dole Whip is a cult for a good reason. Eat the dole whip. During Food & Wine they have it with rum in it at the permanent concession near the entrance to the world showcase.
Be silly. Have fun. Enjoy your child side.
yeah Dole Whips and Dole Whip floats are great. You can also get the Rum Dole Whips at Tamu Tamu in Animal Kingdom. yum
I agree with everything here except the bolded above. Renting a car is heaven sent here. Because you are staying on the resort you get free parking to all of the Disney parks in the area. The last thing you need is to usher kids through crowded shuttle bus and its schedule to get home from the firework shows when your kids are tired or you're trying to schedule when to hop on the shuttles to meet dinner reservations at different resorts. The convenience of a rental car is such a bonus when you want to move between parks or get your kids to their hotel rooms hassle free at the end of the night.
Ooh, that's not something I thought of, good tip. As an adult, and someone who always got properly liquored up going to some of the bars around the parks or elsewhere, I appreciated the shuttles... but if we went with our kids I probably wouldnt do that, and driving would make a lot of sense.
Great thread!
I have an Halloween 2019 reservation at the Yacht Club for my family of four. Please update this thread with any suggestions when you return!
I have an Halloween 2019 reservation at the Yacht Club for my family of four. Please update this thread with any suggestions when you return!
This is a useful video for me when I last went during May. All about the Fastpass. If you are already used to Fastpass making, then you can likely skip the video, but still useful.
If you can, try to get to the parks as they open, that way you can ride the more popular rides without as much crazy wait times. (like Pandora & Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride). Also, if you do go within the 1st hour, you really don't need a fast pass yet for anything.
With the app, you can keep refreshing the fast pass selection times for changing your selections. I did that constantly and was able to get several fasts passes at earlier times (sometimes right then with barely any wait time.).
If you can, try to get to the parks as they open, that way you can ride the more popular rides without as much crazy wait times. (like Pandora & Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride). Also, if you do go within the 1st hour, you really don't need a fast pass yet for anything.
With the app, you can keep refreshing the fast pass selection times for changing your selections. I did that constantly and was able to get several fasts passes at earlier times (sometimes right then with barely any wait time.).
Very little traffic on the roads as well. Gives you much more time on the park grounds instead of worrying when you want to catch whatever shuttle as well. Nothing worse then planning to quickly hop on a shuttle only to see a monster line to hop on because you've been lucky enough to want to ride one the same time as everyone else. The free parking for disney parks for staying on the grounds is a nice perk to have as well.
My foot went numb from all the walking. Maybe a trip to a nice massage place. Check out both Harry Potter sites at universal. They're each in different parks, you can ride train to travel between if you have right tickets.
When's the last time you went? It's something new. From their FAQ, any reservation made after March 1st 2018 has to pay (unless they get some kind of deal?). I went in May and was free, but only cause I made the reservation Nov of last year.
Odd, I stayed at the Grand Floridian weekend before last (reserved a couple weekends before that) and didn't have to pay. Either that or it just wasn't itemized in our bill.
I just got back from a week long trip at Disney world and 3 days trip at Disneyland this Summer.
Disney world:
-Get your fast pass in advanced and get the wristband
-Add your CC# on the wristband
-Avatar!!! get avatar max pass- if you dont want to wait 3+ hours, try to wait in like 10 minutes before the park close. They will not update the wait times before its closing- so even if it says 120 min wait- its not true, it's probably only a 45-50 wait for Avatar
-Wear comfy shoes- i recommend Adidas ultra boost- they are extremely comfy
-Go to the park of your choosing in the morning right when it opens and rest up during the afternoon and return to the park around evening times.
-Get a camelbak and fill it with ice and cold water
Have fun!!!
Disney world:
-Get your fast pass in advanced and get the wristband
-Add your CC# on the wristband
-Avatar!!! get avatar max pass- if you dont want to wait 3+ hours, try to wait in like 10 minutes before the park close. They will not update the wait times before its closing- so even if it says 120 min wait- its not true, it's probably only a 45-50 wait for Avatar
-Wear comfy shoes- i recommend Adidas ultra boost- they are extremely comfy
-Go to the park of your choosing in the morning right when it opens and rest up during the afternoon and return to the park around evening times.
-Get a camelbak and fill it with ice and cold water
Have fun!!!
Add your CC to your Wristband is a must. Makes thing so much more convenient.
There is so much walking, Magic Kingdom alone got my wife and I 20k steps each time. We wore work out shorts + shirts (quickwix). I highly recommend it if you can. I never once felt like I was sweating.
We brought a backpack with us, and filled with gaterade & water. You can take them on every ride. Even Rock N Roller Coaster (just put it between your feet.)
There is so much walking, Magic Kingdom alone got my wife and I 20k steps each time. We wore work out shorts + shirts (quickwix). I highly recommend it if you can. I never once felt like I was sweating.
We brought a backpack with us, and filled with gaterade & water. You can take them on every ride. Even Rock N Roller Coaster (just put it between your feet.)
My advice for you regarding Fastpass: Keep trying to modify/refresh them and see if better rides come up. They will. But you might have to refresh dozens or hundreds of times. Also make sure to refresh and modify when looking for 4th+ FPs the day of. You can get really good shit minutes away if you're diligent. Just do it while you're waiting in line.
You have a long way to go, my friend. I suggest digging deep into YourFirstVisit.net or you're gonna have a shitty time waiting in 2 hour lines for shit.
You can easily do WDW without waiting in any lines longer than 20 minutes if you know the ins and outs of FP. Most people don't, so use their ignorance to your advantage. Don't be one of those people who waits 3 hours for the fucking Avatar ride.
ALL of them have mini-fridges, whatchu talkin bout Willis. He's staying onsite.
You don't need repellent for WDW. Never got a bite there. If he's venturing offsite, sure.
I will defer to your knowledge on the fridges, I have never stayed in the branded hotels in the park, just the chain ones at the fringes, but I have been mugged by swarms of skeeters around the parking-lot lakes, particularly Universal and IoA
take advantage of your location to eat in Epcot at night.
-Le Cellier is my favorite (steakhouse, Canada)
-the food at the french restaurant is good too, Morocco not bad. British pub is solid too for British food (the sticky toffee pudding!).
-Animal Kingdom has great eats, Tiffins inside the park is great, Jiko and Sanaa at the resort there are good too
-Enjoy the resorts! There are fun things there. Do Breakfast and get Tonga Toast at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian
-Hollywood Studios is a place for fastpasses and bailing - don't plan a full day there,
-The ice cream shop Beaches I think, I think at the Yacht Club - has some insane ice cream sundaes, my favorite is the one with toasted banana bread and peanut butter
As others said - hit up Fastpasses ASAP, esp for Pandora, 7 Dwarves, etc.
If you need 7 Dwarves help - an early reservation at Be Our Guest for Breakfast will let you get behind the rope drop and be first in the standby line as long as you eat fast and get back out.
Learn which rides have single rider
Check the app a TON for people who release fast passes. Gotten some killer ones (Mine Cart, Space Mountain) by just checking a lot
Definitely just uber to and from Universal, though it may be worth it to stay your last night there at a nicer resort that gives you front of line for most of the place (not Harry Potter), but also early access (for Harry Potter). You can do both of those parks in 1 day with front of line, tho it's a very busy day.
-Le Cellier is my favorite (steakhouse, Canada)
-the food at the french restaurant is good too, Morocco not bad. British pub is solid too for British food (the sticky toffee pudding!).
-Animal Kingdom has great eats, Tiffins inside the park is great, Jiko and Sanaa at the resort there are good too
-Enjoy the resorts! There are fun things there. Do Breakfast and get Tonga Toast at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian
-Hollywood Studios is a place for fastpasses and bailing - don't plan a full day there,
-The ice cream shop Beaches I think, I think at the Yacht Club - has some insane ice cream sundaes, my favorite is the one with toasted banana bread and peanut butter
As others said - hit up Fastpasses ASAP, esp for Pandora, 7 Dwarves, etc.
If you need 7 Dwarves help - an early reservation at Be Our Guest for Breakfast will let you get behind the rope drop and be first in the standby line as long as you eat fast and get back out.
Learn which rides have single rider
Check the app a TON for people who release fast passes. Gotten some killer ones (Mine Cart, Space Mountain) by just checking a lot
Definitely just uber to and from Universal, though it may be worth it to stay your last night there at a nicer resort that gives you front of line for most of the place (not Harry Potter), but also early access (for Harry Potter). You can do both of those parks in 1 day with front of line, tho it's a very busy day.
Disney does something that keeps them at bay. No idea what.
Also, OP, be sure to look into Halloween Horror Nights at Universal and Mickey's No So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom if you're a Halloween fan. WDW's is family friendly, Uni's... nope. The WDW one is fun, was there 2 years ago. Doing HHN this year. :)
And Yacht Club has the best fucking pool in all of WDW. Enjoy it, you lucky bastard. I stayed there once 10 years ago.
Yo. I live in Orlando, have annual passes for my family, and my firm does consulting work for Disney.
The best advice I can give you is to get your FastPass scheduled ASAP. That is either 30 days out from your first day at the park, or 60 days if you're staying at a resort. Sign up on the app and get it done.
Next advice is for you to plan to SWEAT while at Disney. October is still hot here in Orlando. Wear shorts, a t-shirt, and some comfy shoes.
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I'm excited about going at Halloween since it's one of my favorite holidays. I have fond memories watching disney's Headless horseman cartoon during Halloween time. Remember they used to have scary Disney stuff being narrated by the magic mirror from Snow White.
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Oh man I remember trying to wear basic sandals last time and tearing up my feet, I need to def get some comfy shoes
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I went last September so I guess they just implemented this a few months ago Dang...
Are you planning to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party? (That's their Halloween special event). If you are, make sure you have tickets (about $100 per person) for the specific nights you want to attend.
Yacht Club is really really nice and the Halloween Party is one of my favorite things that Disney offers. You're going to have a blast.
My advice is get one of those Celebration pins and tell the hotel that you're celebrating.
I went with my girlfriend to celebrate our 3 year and her graduating college and the hotel ended up upgrading us to a Suite in Coronado for free. You also might get free desserts when you eat at the restaurants.
My advice is get one of those Celebration pins and tell the hotel that you're celebrating.
I went with my girlfriend to celebrate our 3 year and her graduating college and the hotel ended up upgrading us to a Suite in Coronado for free. You also might get free desserts when you eat at the restaurants.
Take the Magical Express from the airport. You have to sign up in advance, but it's honestly just easier than getting a rental car, and you won't have to worry about transportation on property. Your day at Universal, you can just order an Uber to take you. Parking at Disney used to be free, but now they charge, so no need to have a car sitting there for days on end that you're not using.
Others have explained this in more depth, but you need to get your fastpass and reservations ready ASAP. Since it's just you and your wife, I don't know if I actually recommend getting a dining plan. I'd pay for park hopper, though.
Strangely enough, my wife and I are also going with some other friends from Oct 26th-Oct 30th.
Here are the best resources I can think of to give:
https://wdwprepschool.com <-- This site has a bunch of good recommendations around pretty much everything. I highly recommend searching for the park you're going to and "Fast pass", as it'll pull up recommended rides/shows to fast pass for that park (based on average non-FP wait times).
https://www.mousesavers.com/ <-- This site has a bunch of good recommendations around time frames, weather, and other cost-saving things.
https://touringplans.com/ <-- This site has the best crowd calendars I've seen on the net. Sadly to get more than a few weeks in advance, you have to subscribe. However I think a "subscription" is like $15 for a whole year, and it doesn't auto-renew. They also have an app (WDW Lines) that will give you even more accurate line times than the posted time at the rides themselves. You can also plug in what rides you want to see at a given park and it'll build an optimized order for you.
As others mentioned, you want to get your dining reservations in right now. You really wanted to get them in 6 months in advance. One of our favorite restaurants, O'hana's, has been completely booked for all times, and we started looking 4+ months in advance.
You want to get your Fast Pass reservations in immediately. Many rides are already completely out of FP options for the day (my understanding is that the Avatar rides get filled 90 days in advance almost instantly).
In general, I wouldn't worry too much about planning everything. Focus on what rides you really want to do, use the above resources to figure out what day you should go where, then just plan for those rides. If you do the things you want to do and have time left, then do the others.
Oh, one final tip:
Buy moisture-wicking socks for running or hiking, something with Coolmax or Smartwool. Also get walking/hiking insoles for your sneakers. Bring blister bandages and the roll-on blister guard stuff. You will be standing or walking for 12+ hours a day on multiple days. Trust me on this.
The above sites will mention this is well, but I cannot stress enough how important this is.
Here are the best resources I can think of to give:
https://wdwprepschool.com <-- This site has a bunch of good recommendations around pretty much everything. I highly recommend searching for the park you're going to and "Fast pass", as it'll pull up recommended rides/shows to fast pass for that park (based on average non-FP wait times).
https://www.mousesavers.com/ <-- This site has a bunch of good recommendations around time frames, weather, and other cost-saving things.
https://touringplans.com/ <-- This site has the best crowd calendars I've seen on the net. Sadly to get more than a few weeks in advance, you have to subscribe. However I think a "subscription" is like $15 for a whole year, and it doesn't auto-renew. They also have an app (WDW Lines) that will give you even more accurate line times than the posted time at the rides themselves. You can also plug in what rides you want to see at a given park and it'll build an optimized order for you.
As others mentioned, you want to get your dining reservations in right now. You really wanted to get them in 6 months in advance. One of our favorite restaurants, O'hana's, has been completely booked for all times, and we started looking 4+ months in advance.
You want to get your Fast Pass reservations in immediately. Many rides are already completely out of FP options for the day (my understanding is that the Avatar rides get filled 90 days in advance almost instantly).
In general, I wouldn't worry too much about planning everything. Focus on what rides you really want to do, use the above resources to figure out what day you should go where, then just plan for those rides. If you do the things you want to do and have time left, then do the others.
Oh, one final tip:
Buy moisture-wicking socks for running or hiking, something with Coolmax or Smartwool. Also get walking/hiking insoles for your sneakers. Bring blister bandages and the roll-on blister guard stuff. You will be standing or walking for 12+ hours a day on multiple days. Trust me on this.
The above sites will mention this is well, but I cannot stress enough how important this is.
100% you want a park hopper due to being right by EPCOT.
I mean - here's the thing, outside of Magic Kingdom none of the parks are full day. I prefer Epcot and the World Showcase for dinner. Hollywood Studios has essentially four rides (Midway Mania, Star Tours, Tower of Terror, Rock n roller coaster) and maybe you see the Indiana Jones show (Fastpss three rides and use single rider for Rock'n), Animal Kingdom is now nearing full day status with night time shows, lighting and Pandora, but even that if you get there early to knock out Pandora you probably are done by mid afternoon even with a sit down lunch.
So you wanna be able to jump around at will, use fastpasses to skip lines, and have time to relax and eat.
I don't think you need a meal plan either but some people like those and manage to extract value.
Oh one more recommendation is he new Jungle Cruise Skipper canteen in Magic Kingdom, really fun vibe, I also like Liberty Tree Tavern for food in MK.
There's also a fun mini golf course near Dolphin/Swan that Inthinn you could walk to from the Yacht Club
Yeah, if it's just you and your wife, you probably don't need a diner plan. Just be careful! Food is expensive, esp sit down restaurants.... Went there for 5 days in May and paid $1000 in food... We mainly did sit down, which was a major mistake money wise. Food wise, it was delicious and we enjoyed every bit of it. I'd recommend you do more fast service. The main culprit was breakfast at our hotel (Contemporary). We really should have brought cereal and milk and did that for most of the breakfasts....
That being said:
The Italian Restaurant (Tony's?) at the entrance of Magic Kingdom is awesome. So is the Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen by the Jungle Cruise.
Hollywood Studios def starting to become more of a full day park. Almost. Once Star Wars land opens, I'm sure it will be.
That being said:
The Italian Restaurant (Tony's?) at the entrance of Magic Kingdom is awesome. So is the Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen by the Jungle Cruise.
You forgot the new ride at Toy Story Land. Which will def need a fast pass for. Don't get a fastpass for Star Tours. Not worth it IMO and usually has small wait anyways.
Hollywood Studios def starting to become more of a full day park. Almost. Once Star Wars land opens, I'm sure it will be.
The Slinky coaster? Lol
How is Hollywood Studios a full day Park? With proper fastpss usage I cannot imagine spending more than 6 hours there.
I definitely will swing by 2-3 times in a week trip to hit the rides on fastpass, but the standby lines are just horrific for the major rides because there is so little to do in the park. I suppose if you actually wait another 75-90 minutes for a second ride on Midway Mania you can blow your day there, but my general philosophy is to avoid long standby waits - I'm on vacay!!
I'd rather visit Hollywood Studios 2-3 times for 3-4 hours each on a trip, before heading to EPCOT or Magic Kingdom, than spend one full day there
Yes? What's so funny? Looks like fun.
I said starting to. Certainly not there yet. When I went in May we left around 1. (Sadly Toy Story land wasn't open yet). So I don't disagree, just saying it starting to. Star Wars land, depending on the attractions and rides, certainly will help extend the time spent there.
I mean you're leaving at 1, even with another 90 minutes in Toy Story land we are talking 2:30?
It's just not even close right now. My example of a park that's starting to become a full day park would be Animal Kingdom or Hong Kong Disney, both of which are can be stretched with two sit down meals and multiple shows into doing it.
I really like the E-Tickets at Hollywood Studios. Tower of Terror is a masterpiece and Rock'N was the best coaster they had built until Everest.
But that park is basically the second worst Disney park in the world, which still puts it heads and shoulders over the worst Disney Park in the world.
Given the overcrowding (aka the constant SW Marketing) - you can spend a full day there waiting in line - but I find it far more efficient to treat it as a half day park at best to use fast-passes and single rider lines in - while getting in and out.
Star Wars Land (and maybe the Mickey Ride) will change everything of course, but again, fastpasses will be your huckleberry there
Somewhat related, can you guys at Insomniac somehow get Universal to update the CG in the Spider-Man ride to use your models? I love that ride, but the video is decades old and the stuff from the game is greatly improved over what they have.
More related: Since they're going in October, lines will actually be much shorter (which is why we're going then too). However, if it is there first trip, there will probably be a lot of time eaten up by exploring shops/shows/etc. I could see HS being not a full day, but depending on when they start in the day, it could still be a good 6-8ish hours.
Yes to all of this. Skipper Canteen is delicious and Liberty Tree Tavern is great if you want some homey Thanksgiving style food.
If you want something fantastic and really different, check out Boma is probably the best restaurant on property.
And if you go to Animal Kingdom, skip the Pandora river ride. It is easily the worst ride at Disney. Flights of Passage is phenomenal though.
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I have a reservation for Tony's, wanted to do it years ago when we were still dating but couldn't get a seat
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Okay i might need some help with strat what days to go where. I want to do a universal day for sure out of the 7 we will be there and ill drop 700 on the good tickets. Also we are going because of my wife's medical conference but she only has to go three days 26-28 and its 8am-12pm.
First day we arrive around 10 and magic kingdom stays open till 12 am that day so i was kinda thinking that we would go there first. I might look into park hoppers since our tickets are reduced to 60 something a piece thanks to the conference prices.
First day we arrive around 10 and magic kingdom stays open till 12 am that day so i was kinda thinking that we would go there first. I might look into park hoppers since our tickets are reduced to 60 something a piece thanks to the conference prices.