Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Timing for a Disney vacation?

My family's looking into spending a week at Disneyworld (or land; the one in Florida, anyway) sometime. What's a good time of year for that?

Also, can anybody think of anything we really ought to see (or avoid) while we're there?

Kids are 10 and 8.

Thanks,
PJ

Disneyworld is Florida, Disneyland is California.

Beyond that, I only visited Disneyland with my kids last year, and I've never visited Disneyworld, so others will have to help with that.

I hope you have lots of fun, Pam! We sure did at Disneyland.

mmouse

Not summer. No. No. No. Anything but summer. *shudder* I've been in June, July and August and it's tough. I've also been in November and October. Both really awesome experiences in comparison. Nice and cool, way less lines.

We usually did the "rounds." Busch Gardens (an hour away), Sea World, Disney (usually Magic Kingdom only, but Epcot I hear has had some upgrades so it might be worth going), Wet n' Wild and Universal. I don't know about the new Disney water park and I'm not much fond of MGM. Caveat: it's been about 5 years since I was there.

If I'm remembering right--waking up early for everything is a must, we were usually among the first there. Also one strategy we used was attempting to go counterclockwise from all the parks' established routes (for example we always started in Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom). I don't know whether it really works *shrug* My parents swear by it though.

We also tended to avoid most of the parades like the plague, you can cram in rides during that time. It really depends how much time you intend to spend at each park. We usually do a day in each and use the weekend to rest up.

It's so much fun-- I have so many great memories. I look forward to taking my own kids in the future.

alcyone

Yeah, I've always been a *big* Epcot fan. /nerd alert/ I loved all the science-esque simulations, as opposed to the roller coasters and such in Magic Kingdom. /nerd alert/. I'm also a huge, huge fan of Universal Studios. I'm a little fuzzy on it; I probably haven't been there since my uncle stopped working there, but I thought he made some cool rides in his day. As far as Disney, I heard a lot of talk about some Animal Kingdom they built? My dad used to want to schedule a family trip there, heh. Have a great trip!

JD

I would definitely go to Epcot, it's a great experience. And, if you can make the trip (about 1.5 hours?), go to the Kennedy Space Center. There's a tourist attraction nearby that has a gravity spinner (or whatever that is as good as any regular roller coaster.)

But yeah, I would definitely agree that late fall would work best. Great weather and fewer crowds.

I'll be there in mid-June, but I didn't have a choice on the date. You can pretty much have fun no matter where you go. I love Epcot as well, though. And Universal Studios is a lot of fun if you like roller coasters.

~Kristen

My cousin and her family went during the week of Thanksgiving, and really enjoyed it. Said the lines were quite short, and, of course, it wasn't as hot as it is in summer.

I like Epcot, but I don't think it's the fan-favorite. It's got more educational stuff, less thrill rides.

Are you only visiting Disney parks or will you visit other parks (Universal Studios, etc) as well?

My husband and I went for our honeymoon in mid-June. It wasn't too bad. Just slightly hot, with an hour's rain about 4p, and the crowds weren't terrible. We avoided the roller coasters except for Splash Mountain because he can't ride them.

I recommend all of the parks. Each park has a few rides, a lot of shows, and a lot of cool things to look at. MGM is attached to DisneyWorld, and they have movie-based shows, like Indiana Jones, Muppets, and a Star Wars ride. And if you like zoos (who doesn't?) hit the Animal Kingdom. Not only do they have animals in semi-natural habitat (think Asheboro Zoo), but the Tree of Life is detailed and can keep you occupied for at least a half hour trying to pick out animals. Epcot was pretty cool, but the best best best part about it was the World Showcase. We had to go there twice so we could eat more food.

Missing the afternoon parades is a good idea if you want to hit the rides, but I recommend hitting at least one of them. If you spread the parks around, try hitting the night shows. Most of the rides are closed or closing by then, anyway.

Downtown Disney.. avoid if you're trying to save money. Though there are some really cool stores there. The Lego store has some life-sized lego constructions outside which is REALLY cool. DisneyQuest is one big arcade with state-of-the-art games. It was also the only place we could find to get online and say Hi to everyone and send emails.

I can't think of anything to particularly avoid. We spent the whole week there, pretty much on the go every day, and we never got bored. We'd like to go back someday. However, my dad took the family there a few years ago, and my brothers (12 and 7 at time time? somewhere around there) didn't like it and were bored the whole time.

The time of year really depends. Can you take your kids out of school to go or are you wanting to go on a school break? If you go in the summer I would say that the earlier you go the better the weather will be. I would not go in late July or in August. The weather then is miserable here. Also, keep in mind that in the summer it rains every day here. It doesn't last long, but there will be a down-pour every afternoon. In my experience, September and October have been the best times to go.

This website gives you a pretty accurate idea of what Disney is like at each time of the year. When to go to Disney

Morning is almost always the best time to do Magic Kingdom. The crowds are usually less then and you aren't in the worst heat of the day.

If you can afford to do so, staying on property is a great experience. There are many resorts in varying price ranges. My family usually stays at Fort Wilderness which is a campground were you can stay in a camper, 5th wheel, moterhome, tent, etc. Or you can stay in a Cabin. We have also stayed in the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Each resort has it's own unique theme so you could can one based on what your family likes.

In the Downtown Disney area there are some hotels which are still on Disney Property but not owned by Disney. These are not as much fun as the Disney Resorts, but are less expensive and give you the convienience of free transportation to the parks and free parking.

My favorite parks have always been Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I have seen a few comments about Epcot being mostly educational, and while that is true, they have added several more exciting rides in the past few years such as test track and mission space. Test Track takes you in a car through many of the saftey tests that would be given to an actual car - rough roads, breaking systems, hairpin turns, etc. It is an exciting ride without being too scary for most children (this is coming from the biggest wuss in the world when it comes to rides). Mission Space is one of my absolute favorite rides at Disney, but I will warn you that it is not for people who get dizzy eaisly. It is simulated ride that takes you on a shuttle mission through space. It feels very real and I know many people who love regular roller coasters but can't handle this ride. I am the opposite, I love simulated rides but don't like most roller coasters.

The World Showcase at Epcot is fabulous and is something that should be seen though I will say that kids often seem to find it boring. There are only two rides in the World Showcase, one in Mexico and one in Norway. Both are basicly slow-moving rides. The Norway ride does have one short backward drop, but nothing too scary or thrilling (depending on how you look at it )

Downtown Disney has some fun stores and resturaunts, but as Karen said, if you are trying to save money, I wouldn't spend too much time there. The kids will want everything they see.

MGM recently added a very exciting stunt which shows how many vehicle stunts are done in movies. This show is lots of fun for both adults and children.

Ok, I've rambled on long enough. Hope I've been helpful. I've spent a lot of time at Disney so if you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

I agree with Lauren. Also, if you go to either the Disney website or the Disney Store, you can get your tickets in advance. That's a huge timesaver!

I recall hearing something - not sure if it was for Disney or another park, though - about a service where you could like give a number, and they'd tell you to come back in 30 minutes and you wouldn't have to wait in line?

Disney does have that fast pass. I can't remember exactly what it's called, but I think we used it for Splash Mountain. You can only use two in a day, I think. You take a pass, and it gives you a time to ride the ride. It's a heck of a lot better than waiting in line.

I haven't been to Disney in years, but here's my advice just from being a Florida resident:

The weather is pretty miserable July - September. Hot, humid and it rains every day at 3 pm - you can set your watch by it! June is iffy. The weather really gets nice in mid-September, but if you have kids in school, that's probably a no-go.

Summer is also when the state doubles in population because of all the people visiting, and I imagine most of them are at Disney!

Last time I went to Disney it was in January and it was GREAT, both weather-wise and people-wise.

I like heat and humidity, so I won't comment on going in the summer. For part of our honeymoon, we hit a couple of amusement parks, and we went in June but before school got out, and on weekdays. It wasn't deserted, but it was much, much better than it would get in a few weeks. It might make less of a difference at Disney, because it's so national (international) that *some* schools are bound to be out, and people might take their kids out early to go. Might be worth a try.

Personally, I love Epcot. Always have. Busch Gardens is fun, but we have a more local one, so we don't usually bother going to the Florida one when we're there. I went to MGM years ago, didn't like it much, but I'm sure they've added stuff since. The Animal Kingdom sounds fun, but I've never been there. Universal Studios is fun, but as I recall a lot of the rides are best if you're a bit older, maybe a teenager. Again, though, haven't been there for some years.

Do rides that are likely to have long lines first thing in the morning. Splash Mountain, or other roller coasters, the most popular rides. You'll hit them with the shortest lines if you do them first thing, and that way you can get one or two out of the way before the lines get too long. You might also consider starting at the furthest end of the park and working your way back (most people start near the entrance and work their way out).