Family Trip to Disneyworld - 7/29-8/1

[ChileMass]

Trip Report:

Area Visited: Orlando FL (Sea World, Magic Kingdom, Blizzard Beach and Animal Kingdom)

Dates: 7/29-8/1

Difficulty: Varied from moderate to extreme, depending on size of crowds, length of lines, and temp/humidity combo

Special Equipment Required: SPF30+, bottled water (lots), antibiotics, and the patience of a saint.

Report: Am I the only curmudgeon out there who hated Disneyworld in particular and Orlando in general? My wife and kids had been on me for years to go there and I had been holding off as long as possible, but this year I couldn't refuse.

The plan was to go in the "off season" as we assumed late July would be, and the weather would be hot, but it's hot in Fla year-round, right? We got inexpensive, direct airfare on a major airline, and we rented a big house with a nice pool 15 minutes from the entrance to Disney, so I figured it would be all OK. First off - the kids had a ball. If this vacation was for the kids, then I can count it an overwhelming success.

But - adults beware. If you enjoy crowds, pavement, unbelievably long lines for anything, plastic, bad food and worse water (undrinkable, hyper-chlorinated stuff New Englanders wouldn't give to horses), never-ending product advertising, bogus mythology, and stereotyping which borders on racism, then Disney is for you. During the big Magic Kingdom parade at dusk, a German woman turned to my wife and asked who the characters were that were on the floats. Neither my wife nor I could identify a single one of these generic little elf-like critters, and neither of us could say what the floats were other than a lot of pretty electric lights. Product placement for GE, perhaps? Blizzard Beach was the worst, though. There were about 10,000 people there at 9AM fighting for the available beach chairs, and we wound up shoved into a corner elbow to elbow with about 100 strangers next to a stinky bathhouse. The lazy river around the perimeter of the park was absolutely jammed with floating rings and people, everyone trying to stay together and cutting off everyone else who was trying to keep their own group together. It was a madhouse. The various swimming/wavepools had about 500 kids in each, and were like big toilets. It was gross. :angry:

I'm sure I'm being much too harsh, because as I said, my kids had the best time. But the next family vacation is going to be to some little island in the Caribbean or to Alta/Snowbird, so that Mom and Dad can have fun, too. In 2 weeks, our family will be in Bartlett, NH for 10 days, and that's all I could think of while getting shoved around Orlando last week.

I'd be interested in the perspctives of other AZ members. Anyone else take the family there and just endure it for the kids?

PS - one good thing is the "Kraacken" rollercoaster at Sea World. A 150-foot plunge and 7 inversions in 60 seconds......wow........

 

[Jaytrek57]

ChileMass-

Did this last year with the in-laws (In-family??). After that week, my wife and I did 10 days in the Everglades and the other two NPs in Florida. Plus two days in Key West.

In a nutshell...yeah I can do without the trappings of D-World but my in-laws and their kids loved it. We scheduled enough “Adult” time to keep everyone happy. We went in September and although crowded…was pleasant enough.

Stayed one day, the whole day at Epoct at the ‘English Tavern” , n’uff said.

In short… I can survive without Florida and the mouse, but I know I love seeing the smiles on kids faces, so I am sure……I will go again.

BTW…off to Utah this October to hit the NPs out there….It’s a small world after all….hey…wait a second. :wink:

Peace!

 

[skijay]

ChileMass...I have been to Universal Studios in August. After leaving our condo in Sarasota (about 80 degrees) with a nice sea breeze we ended up in Orlando at the entrance to the parking lot of Universal.

It was about 92 degrees with maybe about 92% humidity. It was nasty! We purchased a 1 day pass so it was EITHER Islands of Adventure or Universal's attractions. We did the attractions. It was hell. 45 minutes waiting line on average for Twister, the earthquake thing, and Back to The future.

Why was everybody here on a Tuesday in the heat??? Most lilely they were told that the best time to go to Universal is on a Tuesday!

 

[SilentCal]

I've heard the whispers from the family to go to Disney as well. I abhor crowds and detest waiting in lines. The kids have season passes to Six Flags New England and go about once a week. They complain about how hard it is to get on rides and how insanely crowded the waterpark always is. I can't see how a vacation can be fun with all that aggravation. The kids were very happy with a week at Lake Sunapee and another camping near Misquamicut (sp) Beach in Rhode Island. I remind them that Disney is even more crowded than Six Flags and hopefully they will still want to hit the lake and the beach with that piece of advice.

 

[TenPeaks]

The last couple of times I went to Disney was in mid-October. I think the longest line I waited in was 15 minutes. Most of the rides did not have a line.

This may be a good time to go since kids are just back to school, it's past summer vacation and too soon for holiday vacations. Also, the weather can be a bit cooler.

The worst time to go is around Christmas. I did that one year and remember waiting over 2 hours for one ride!!!

 

[Charlie Schuessler]

We went Disney, Busch Gardens & Cape Kennedy at the end of September in 1984 when EPCOT was still developing, there were no lines and really nice weather. We watched the Packers play the Bronco's on Monday Night Football in a blizzard, funny how I remember that (landed in the AM, swimming in the outdoor pool in the evening and there was a blizzard on TV with a football game). We were spoiled by the Disney Magic and thus were initially disappointed at Cape Kennedy until we took the bus to the launch pad, then reality kicked in. NASA is the real deal and Disney was dreamland. We haven't been back to either place and feel no urge too...we are drawn to the mountains, lakes and the ocean.

 

[Greg]

Seems the family trip to Disney is an American institution. You gotta do it.

True. I've already heard rumblings about it from my wife and my daughter is not even 19 months yet. I guess I have a few more years to go, and by the time my daughter is ready hopefully we'll have another to make going not worth it. Hopefully I can stall off another 5+ years!

Funny topic, CM, with the TR format and all... :lol:

 

[smitty77]

Personally I have zero desire to go as I get very motion sick on almost any ride. However, I assume my little boy will want to go at some point so I guess a Disney vacation is in the cards about 8 years from now. A co-worker advised me to wait until the kids are tall enough to ride most of the rides (I think 48"??) otherwise they'll have to sit out. He also advised spending the extra $$ to buy the premier passes and get lodging inside the park as it cuts down on travel headaches. He went in mid January (between school vacations for most of the country) and said the lines were tolerable.

Fortunately for us, a good friend of my father-in-law worked for Disney for many years and although he is retired he still has an all-access pass to the park for himself and guests. Might have to take advantage of that....

 

[ChileMass]

Smitty -

I have such bad motion problems that I can get sick on the Ferris Wheel, but I was determined to ride the rides, so I took 2 Bonine pills (like Dramamine but less drowsy) and rode everything with my kids. The Kraacken rollercoaster at Seaworld is unbelievable. It's one of those coasters where your feet dangle in space, and the 15-story plunge at the start is topped only by the 7 inversions. I wanted to do it again, and so did my 2 girls, but the lines were too long. At Magic Kingdom, Space mountian is very cool because it's pitch black and you have no idea what's coming next. And - the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kindgom is terrific. It's also completely black and huge fake dinosaurs jump out of the black and bellow at you as you go by in a shaky Jeep. The rides at Magic Kingdom are mellower than other parks and little kids have lots to choose from. It's definitely a lot of fun. Take some Bonine or Dramamine and you'll be fine. It makes your head a little loopy, but it's better than barfing and you can ride almost anything.......

 

[hammer]

My spouse LOVES the place and we end up going about every other year, so we bought into the Disney timeshare a few years ago. In addition, we usually go in mid April, when the weather is the best but when the crowds are just about the worst (I guess that makes me a real glutton for punishment!).

The good thing about having the timeshare is that you get to stay in some nice accomodations right on the Disney property, which cuts down on the driving and parking hassles and makes it nice for the "apres-park" times. Also, since we've gone many times already, we don't get too worried if we don't get to all of the rides and attractions anymore.

The other thing I'm looking forward to is exchanging for a week at a timeshare near a good ski resort once I can get everyone in the family into skiing (that's one of my goals for this ski season).