Walt Disney World

[Foale]

Totally agree. Best way to do it is to save up as much as you can before you go and completely splash out. The words 'Orlando' and 'budget' do not mix. Animal Kingdom is currently building an 'Avatar' section which is sure to be pretty amazing, so I'll have to go back for that.

 

NEWM I also agree it's best to go before having any kids! I've seen many misinformed parents in the past who bring their babies/toddlers along thinking they'll have the holiday of a lifetime, only for them to find out that the costs for a family are killer, and the kids are far too young to appreciate where they are anyway! Plus screaming kids get on everyone else's tits.

 

Oh and if you have the money you should definitely book a day at Discovery Cove. You can swim with stingrays and tropical fish all day, book a swimming session with a dolphin, visit their bird sanctuary and they have a restricted capacity so it never gets too busy. You also get all the drinks/snacks/beer you can handle all inclusive! Come to think of it, that might have been one of the best days of the holiday when I went.

[sgmilne]

Nice to see other people are repeat offenders for Orlando holidays. Me and the wife went for the first time for our honeymoon last year (landed a year ago today, funnily enough), and had the greatest two weeks ever. Have pretty much just wanted to be back there ever since, even though it's not cheap and there's loads of other places to go in the world. We went all out ticket/attraction-wise as it was a special occasion like, two week passes/hoppers for the lot, and plenty of spends. We'd have to do it a bit on the cheaper next time, but I reckon two weeks split between Disney and Universal whilst staying on International Drive again would be a decent way to go. We narrowly missed out on three separate robber attacks at the Walgreens near our hotel too, that was just over a two week spell.

 

Loved Busch Gardens as it was empty but probably wouldn't go again as it was a fair trek to get there and once was enough. The Hulk is probably my favourite ride in the world, but Jurassic Park and the absolutely epic Dudley Do-Right water ride are up there. Disney didn't have half the ride brilliance, but all the parks (apart from Animal Kingdom, animals can fuck off - though the Everest ride was worth a half-day trip there) were immaculate and totally fantastic. And I don't even like Disney.

 

I should also add that everywhere was completely dead. 10 minutes was probably the most we queued for anything anywhere. Thanksgiving Day seemed to have more people out and about, but that was it. Also - if you want to pick up a load of stupidly cheap shit, this is the time to go. We went to the post-Black Friday Weekend Sales at a nearby outlet mall and completely cleaned up. If we did go again, I'm pretty certain it would be this time of year again.

 

Fuck, I loved it there, wish we could go back. Especially before I get her knocked up, sticking a few kids on that holiday will have the bill going through the roof.

 

I take it all the Christmas stuff was good as well?

[Stylin_and_Profilin]

You pay for what you get though and Disney have the whole customer / client relationship down to a tee. Nothing is too much trouble and we had it drilled into us from the start when working about what was expected of us. Absolutely every attention to detail was addresses and nothing overlooked from time keeping to personal appearance (you got sent home unpaid if you even had a hint of stubble on your chin) down to how to fucking point to people........yep they even tell you how to point things to people; apparently one finger is aggressive and authoritarian so you were always to use the index and middle finger for a double point.

 

Getting over when it's quiet is a massive incentive i would agree and also without kids helps, the two generally go hand in hand as it'll mean you won't be tied down to UK school holiday times unless your a teacher or lecturer

 

Towards the end of our stint DanTheBruiser and i went to Islands Of Adventure in early September and it was that quiet the chaps running the Dueling Dragons let us come back at closing time and take one 'Dragon' each all to ourselves, absolutely incredible and it battered round like lightning without all the extra body weight on it.

 

I don't get all the Busch Gardens hate to be honest, a lot of people crapped on it when i was over due to the distance. I admin it can be a real, real shitter if you waste a day making the drive and the heavens open resulting in everything being shut down but other than that i thought it was great plus you can always make a day of it and see the Tampa Bay Rays baseball in the evening which is a cracking experience.

 

 

[Monkee]

If you're really on a budget for money and time then it is do-able but you'll miss a hell of a lot and it won't be as much fun.

 

Firstly, you're better off getting one of the FlexiTickets where you get 7/14/21 days unlimited entry to the parks. Even if you don't intent on doing the full 7 days at least you'll have the option if you find you can't fit it into the 2. A 14-day unlimited ticket is only

[PepperPlunge]

Actually, that's a great help. Thanks for that, made my planning easier.

[Van Dammer]

As for Universal Studios - the original park is in desperate need of an upgrade. I think they've had one new ride in about 7 or 8 years and it wasn't even working the last time I went there. I wouldn't really recommend paying the extra money for the 2-day ticket. As for Islands of Adventure, this is an absolute must. A fantastic park with something for everyone. If you only get to do one park the whole time you're in Florida then definitely choose Islands of Adventure.

 

Dont listen to her! Shes drunk on Disney!

 

The original Universal Studios is immense and in the last 7 or 8 years they have got, I believe, the new Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (massive roller coaster), the New Mummy Rollercoaster, The Simpsons ride, Shrek 4d, Jimmy Neutron and possibly even Men In Black. Admittedly most of these were just replacements for exact same rides but id rather that than Disney keeping very old rides for a very long time and introducing a new ride once every few years if that. In that time I can only think of Toy Story Mania and maybe Aerosmith (both great) being new at Hollywood Studios, Soarin and Mission Space at Epcot, Evert at Animal Kingdom and I havent a clue at Magic Kingdom, nothing major new I dont think. Agree on Islands of Adventure though, even without Harry Potter it was amazing with Spider Man, Hulk, Jurassic Park, Duelling Dragons, Dudley Do-Right (which was always broken) and the always briliant Popeye water ride.

 

Two Universal Parks > Everything at Disney combined.

[Thunderplex]

Universal is definatly best for doing things, but for wandering round and absorbing the incredible detail, Magic Kingdom wins hands down.

 

I'd go every year if I could. Amazing place and amazing people.

[Monkee]

Dont listen to her! Shes drunk on Disney!

 

Nope, IoA is definitely my favourite park.

 

And not to be picky or anything (what?) but Men in Black opened in 2000, Jimmy Neutron and Shrek 4-D opened in 2003, Revenge of the Mummy was 2004, Simpsons ride was 2006 and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was 2009. So most of the stuff is old. Universal seems to have concentrated on IoA a lot more than Universal Studios with only a handful of new rides in the last 10 years. Also, Wiki says that Jimmy Neutron has closed as they're creating a Dispicable Me ride there instead.

 

I remember when I first went there - many, many moons ago! - when it was first opened. Where Men In Black is there used to be a big hill there with the Psycho house on top of it. There was a path that went around the back of The Simpsons ride (which was the Back to the Future ride) that connected you to the old Hard Rock Caf

[Thunderplex]

Dont listen to her! Shes drunk on Disney!

 

Nope, IoA is definitely my favourite park.

 

And not to be picky or anything (what?) but Men in Black opened in 2000, Jimmy Neutron and Shrek 4-D opened in 2003, Revenge of the Mummy was 2004, Simpsons ride was 2006 and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was 2009. So most of the stuff is old. Universal seems to have concentrated on IoA a lot more than Universal Studios with only a handful of new rides in the last 10 years. Also, Wiki says that Jimmy Neutron has closed as they're creating a Dispicable Me ride there instead.

 

I remember when I first went there - many, many moons ago! - when it was first opened. Where Men In Black is there used to be a big hill there with the Psycho house on top of it. There was a path that went around the back of The Simpsons ride (which was the Back to the Future ride) that connected you to the old Hard Rock Caf

[Van Dammer]

Dont listen to her! Shes drunk on Disney!

 

Nope, IoA is definitely my favourite park.

 

And not to be picky or anything (what?) but Men in Black opened in 2000, Jimmy Neutron and Shrek 4-D opened in 2003, Revenge of the Mummy was 2004, Simpsons ride was 2006 and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was 2009. So most of the stuff is old. Universal seems to have concentrated on IoA a lot more than Universal Studios with only a handful of new rides in the last 10 years. Also, Wiki says that Jimmy Neutron has closed as they're creating a Dispicable Me ride there instead.

 

I remember when I first went there - many, many moons ago! - when it was first opened. Where Men In Black is there used to be a big hill there with the Psycho house on top of it. There was a path that went around the back of The Simpsons ride (which was the Back to the Future ride) that connected you to the old Hard Rock Caf

[Monkee]

If Disney did that then they wouldnt still have the 20 year old Indiana Jones show, Star Tours (although its not being updated), Splash Mountain, The Runaway Train, The Haunted House and other dated and horribly aged rides.

 

I agree with this. The Indiana Jones show should be updated so it at least includes something from the more recent film. The Star Tours ride was still great when I went back though, I loved that and it never got old for me but that was just personal. I can see how aged it is now. It is being updated though (not sure if you meant to say that). It was closed when I was there last year and I just looked it up to see when it's reopening (May next year). But I heard it was meant to be based around the podracing from the new trilogy rather than the original trilogy. Meh. Not really bothered.

 

Agree with the other stuff in Magic Kingdom again though - Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted House, etc. They're all in desperate need of being updated. I know they might be "classics" but they're ancient and something else needs to be added. They can't expand the park any more so they need to do something with the stuff they've already got.

 

On another note: has anyone played Rollercoaster Tycoon? If so, do you play the game in your head when walking around theme parks or is that just me?

[Van Dammer]

Oops yeah that was meant to say it is now being updated, some sort of 3D update or something.

[sgmilne]

Star Tours is up and running again with HD screen, 3D and 'more than 50 different adventures'

 

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/hol...ons/star-tours/

 

Splash Mountain is a legendary ride though.

[Foale]

Yeah I did the new Star Tours film, it's pretty good. Definitely better than before but still not as good as most of the other virtual simulators on Florida.

 

Also, I don't think any of the rides in Magic Kingdom needs an upgrade. The classic feel of the iconic rides really is all part of it's charm! Updating Splash Mountain is borderline blasphemy!

[Thunderplex]

The 3D on the Star Wars upgrade is the most realistic I have ever seen. Crisp, clear and touchable. Really is amazing.

 

Disney have upgraded and got rid of rides in the past (20,000 leagues and Mr Toad for example), but the backlash they get is unbeleivable, which is why they have expanded Fantasy Land, which looks like it is going to be awesome.