Walt Disney World in a day - can it be done???

[leightx]

I'm going to Disney! Ok, so it's just for work. But we're getting in a day early so we can spend a day at WDW. I've never been, so I'm pretty excited! I don't particularly want to ride any of the rides - that's just not my thing. Should we go to the Magic Kingdom for the day? Buy our tickets in advance? Are there any shows we should see? I've heard the restaurants were phenomenal - should we try to make reservations at one? We're going next week, so there's not too much time.

We're also planning to go as a family either this winter (early Dec.) or next - basically depending on how much my little guy grows. I want to make sure he's 48" so he can ride all the rides when we go (since we'll most likely make one big trip to Disney - there are just too many other places we want to see with the kids!).

[mcgeiger]

My personal favorites are Epcot and Animal Kingdom (shocker on that huh?). If you email Disney I'm sure they have booklets with the shows, restaraunts, etc. so you could get some ideas. You could also see which park is the "early open" park for the day--they always open one early--then you could do more with the one day...

[hlao23]

If you only have 1 day, I'd recommend Epcot. You'll still have to pick and choose as you can easily spend all day in the different "countries" and still not make the other sections (nutrition, technology...stuff like that). All are fun.

I personally don't care for the Magic Kingdom much. Would be more fun, I suppose, if you have kids.

[Gracie]

If you are not going with kids, I'd recommend MGM. There are so many interesting things dealing with movies and most of them are not rides per se. Epcot would be my second choice. It's fun and educational.

Loren

[LakeMartinGal]

Definitely Epcot! For adults, it seems to be more appealing, and has good stuff for children, too! When DH and I go, we always spend more time in Epcot -- Magic Kingdom is second, then Animal Kingdom and MGM. I may be in the minority, but MGM doesn't do it for me at all. :p

Kay

[ChristineVA]

Definitely Epcot! For adults, it seems to be more appealing, and has good stuff for children, too! When DH and I go, we always spend more time in Epcot -- Magic Kingdom is second, then Animal Kingdom and MGM. I may be in the minority, but MGM doesn't do it for me at all. :p

Kay

No, you're not in the minority--MGM is our "least" favorite of the parks and the first one we'd toss out if we had to. But, that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy it. The Tower of Terror and the Rock 'N Roller Coaster are great rides, but that's about it for me. The food in that park is pretty bad.

I think if I only had "one" day and didn't care about a lot of rides, I might go to Animal Kingdom. The safari is fun and interesting, the Dinosaur ride is pretty thrilling, there is the new Expedition Everest Ride, and then there's lots to "look at" there. Then you can leave the park and head right over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and have the Boma buffet or the upscale Jiko fine dining experience.

[leightx]

I'm thinking Animal Kingdom is out - we went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park last year, which was spectacular, so I kinda feel like I've already been there, done that. Unless someone who has been to both can convince me otherwise??

I was thinking Magic Kingdom just because it's the most "Disney-ish", but maybe Epcot would be better, since I don't think I'd be able to spend much time there with my kids when we go back. Are there good restaurants there? We also can go for dinner somewhere on Wed. night, the night we get in, and were thinking of getting a ticket into a park, going to dinner, and watching the fireworks. Would that be worth it? We get in around 3 PM.

[Grace]

Epcot, Epcot, Epcot!! It's the best. Magic Kingdom was disappointing for me as well. I never saw it as a kid (DH likes it because of the memories he has of it from when he was a kid), and we don't have any kids, so we don't get to see it through kids eyes (which I think would be fun.)

But Epcot is so much fun and even one day isn't enough to see it all, IMO, although you can see a great deal in a day. I would go to Epcot for a day if that was all I had in a minute.

Have a GREAT time!

[luckylori]

Epcot is a perfect place to spend a day. Lots of good restaurants...but do make ADR's before you go or you're unlikely to get into the good ones. LeCellier in Canada gets great reviews, although I've never eaten there, so I cannot attest to it myself. A couple websites that can help you out are allears.net and disboards.com.
If you go to Epcot and want to do "Soaring", try EARLY for a fastpass because it's the latest and most popular one, so it can be hard to get into.

[mrswaz]

I'm going to vote for Magic Kingdom. How old are your kids? We went last spring, DD was 4.5, DS was 15 months. While DS won't remember much, he still enjoyed the whole expereience. And there really is such a thing as Disney magic. I was brought close to tears so many times during the day by DD and her sense of wonder. She truly thought she was meeting Cinderella. *sigh* I cannot wait to go back.

While Epcot is great by itself, it just isn't as "magical" an experience IMO. For a one-shot deal, I would say start at Magic Kingdom, then when you come back you can see the rest.

[Kristilyn1]

I'd say for a trip by yourself, hit Epcot. My kids could have cared less about Epcot so even if you go when you bring the kid(s)--they may not enjoy it as much as the other parks. Plus, it's really fun to see Magic Kingdom through the eyes of your child--though I have to say, Magic Kingdom is MY favorite park.

Kristi

[Beth]

Without kids, I would also say Epcot or Animal Kingdom, unless you are a huge Disney fan.

I loved Epcot when I went as a teenager. Was probably my favorite. When we took the boys, we went to Epcot on the last day with suitcases already packed and they were tired. They didn't really get into it, and it didn't seem that we saw that much that excited me either. I don't know if it was the park or us being at the end of a week long trip.

We went to the Animal Kingdom at least twice. We were also staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and are animal nuts anyway. It is very different that the San Diego Park. We saw great street performances, the evening parade, the Lion King live show (can't remember what it was called, but it was fabulous), there is a nature path exhibit, as well as rides (Kannali Rapids if you want to get wet and cool off :D). Animal Kingdom closes earlier than the other parks -- don't know if that would be an issue for you.

[cangoss]

A suggestion for Wednesday night - unless you're getting free park tickets, you could save the admission price and still have a Disney experience by having dinner at one of the hotel restaurants that have a fireworks view (Ohana at the Polynesian or the California Grill at the Contemporary are the ones I'm familiar with). You can also eat somewhere else and watch the fireworks from the beach at the Polynesian.

[Beth H]

Magic Kingdom is the smallest of the parks, and it feels very crowded (and is very crowded).

I'd also suggest Epcot - it has the best dining options (both casual and non-casual), and a wide variety of things to do. They have the best Disney ride - "Soarin" (imho), and also that "Mission to Mars" ride which is stomach-churning.

The suggestion about going to Polynesian or the Contemporary is a good one, too (although I wouldn't recommend the luau - the food was mediocre) - I think you could monorail over there. Epcot is easier to park at than the Magic Kingdom as well. I definitely would stay to see fireworks - Epcot's are great, and so are the Magic Kingdom's if you can see them from restaurants there.

[ChristineVA]

Some great hotel restaurants are:
Citricos at the Grand Floridian
Artist Point at Wilderness Lodge
California Grill at the Contemporary
Jiko or Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge

Spectacular dining without buying a park ticket which is very pricey!

Also, I haven't been to the San Diego Zoo, but Animal Kingdom is nothing like any kind of zoo. Nor is it filled with animal exhibits. It's like visiting a small piece of Africa and Asia. VERY nice theming.

Epcot is nice too but as someone else said, not really the "magical" experience. But I really do enjoy myself at that park and Soarin is a wonderful ride.

The good food at Epcot is Le Cellier (Canada pavillion). Now this is consistently good but some people rave about it and then others go and are disappointed. It is basically a steak place, good cheese soup. Not much on atmosphere AT all.

When I was at Epcot last summer, I ate at Restaurant Marrakesh. This restaurant gets good reviews. I was not "wowed" with because I don't particularly care for Morrocan cuisine. Plus I had gone on Spaceship Earth right before dinner and for some reason I got a little motion sickness and my dinner didn't sit well with me. :confused: Most people really like this place and they like the belly dancer there. Biergarten also gets good reviews. I would call it very mediocre to good German food with great atmosphere.

[lindrusso]

I'm thinking Animal Kingdom is out - we went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park last year, which was spectacular, so I kinda feel like I've already been there, done that. Unless someone who has been to both can convince me otherwise??

I see you're getting lots of different suggestions! :)

I would agree about skipping Animal Kingdom. Not that it's not fun, but it definitely had the "been there, done that" feel to it and since you're already thinking along those lines anyway, you'd probably be better off skipping it. Be warned that if you do go with your kids later on, it's a long day with lots of walking - not that all the parks aren't - be we found that even more true of Animal Kingdom.

We only made it to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom when we went, so I don't think I can help you out. If I had to choose blindly and were going without kids, I'd pick Epcot.

Whatever you choose, have fun! :)

[BucknellAlum]

If you want WAY too much information about WDW, check out these boards:

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1

[ChristineVA]

If you want WAY too much information about WDW, check out these boards:

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1

:D I'm a *regular* there!

[LakeMartinGal]

Epcot ...Are there good restaurants there?
Epcot is FULL of good restaurants, and some of them need reservations, so check on the website! The seafood restaurant, and the French one that needs a reservation are both excellent, and you can make reservations by phone before you go. The Mexican place is great, too! As you can probably tell, DH and I ate our way around the Epcot world... and the walking kept the weight down! Well, except for the French pastries... :p

Kay

[mrswaz]

Oh! I missed the part where you'd be going without the kids, if that is the case, definitely head to Epcot and save the Magic Kingdom experience for when you can go with your kids.

[Tally]

:D I'm a *regular* there!

Me too!

Great suggestions here . . . just wanted to recommend the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. It's a huge book, with everything you could possibly want to know about WDW. Since you're taking a one day visit with an eye toward planning a family trip later, this book would be a great reference to help you see what you want to check out.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge is wonderful and its restaurants are not to be missed. You might want to call and make a reservation if you can for there or any other table service. Some friends just got back from a long weekend and had trouble getting seaing at a lot of their favorite restaurants.

[leightx]

ChristineVA - thanks for those hotel restaurant suggestions! The Animal Kingdom does sound a lot like the Wild Animal Park - the San Diego Zoo is entirely different. I think we may try to do that when we go with the kids though, especially since they loved the W.A.P.

I had forgotten about the disboards - one of the women I used to work with is a moderator over there! I'll definitely go check those out. I'll try to pick up a guidebook too - I think I'd definitely get some use out of one this year...

[ChristineVA]

I had forgotten about the disboards - one of the women I used to work with is a moderator over there! I'll definitely go check those out. I'll try to pick up a guidebook too - I think I'd definitely get some use out of one this year...

Really!! What's her moderator name?

Tally: Are you Tally on the disboards?

[Tally]

No, my user name there is Maggi May. I don't post very much, but lurk like crazy. My DH and I are taking our DS on his first trip in a few months.

[ChristineVA]

No, my user name there is Maggi May. I don't post very much, but lurk like crazy. My DH and I are taking our DS on his first trip in a few months.

You're right--I haven't "seen" you over there.

You will have a fabulous trip if you listen to the DIS!! :D