Our hotel is booked.

The first thing you need to do when you visit Walt Disney World is book a hotel.  You have many categories to choose from and they can range in quality, and in proximity to the parks.  The first choice you have to make is if you want to stay on property or off of property.  The biggest difference you'll find between staying on or off property is the price.  Staying on property is always more expensive, and not just by a little bit.  Many of the cheapest hotels on property are more expensive than the pricier off property options, and keep in mind that there's a Ritz off property.  Almost all of the hotels on property are owned and operated by Disney, with a few exceptions, and all of the Disney hotels offer some extra perks such as transportation to and from the parks, Extra Magic Hours (extra time at the parks), and a general feeling that you haven't left the parks at all.

We decided that since this was to be an Epic "Disney" Vacation, staying on property was a must, so our next choice was what kind of hotel did we want to stay at.  Disney offers several different qualities of hotels on property, Value, Moderate, Deluxe, Deluxe Villas, and Camping.  We considered all of these options, however we cut out Value first.  We figured that Value resorts would be full of kids and families, and while Disney parks will be full of kids all the time, we thought living with them might be kind of crappy.  Both of us have stayed at Port Orleans before, a Moderate resort, and really enjoyed it.  So we played around with the idea of going back.  Deluxe was a thought, because as mentioned in the name of this blog, this trip is going to be "Epic".  We event thought about getting a cabin in the campground.  Then we came across the Deluxe Villas, or more to the point we discovered DVC.

DVC, or Disney Vacation Club is a timeshare thing.  I'm not too sure exactly how it works, but we learned that in some cases people who own "points" in the DVC sometimes have extra points.  You can buy these points on the open market and stay at a Deluxe Villa for about the same price as a Deluxe room.  Best of all for about the same price as this Deluxe room your villa will have one bedroom, and a kitchen.  This pretty much sold us as Allison is a breakfast monster (she loves breakfast) and we've read that breakfasts at the Magic Kingdom are regularly disappointing.

So when the time came, and we knew for sure that we were going on this trip (no more cancellations), we contacted a travel agent that could organize the purchase of points and allow us to stay at a DVC one bedroom villa.  We had several choices for places we wanted to stay.  Our first was the Yacht and Beach Club, however they had no availability for the time we were going.  Our second choice was right across the lake at the Boardwalk Inn, and it was good.  So we booked our room, bought our points, and we were set.

Once you get your room booked, this is when things start to happen.  Your Disney Experiences account can now be linked to something.  For those unfamiliar My Disney Experiences is basically an account you have on the Disney website that lets you build an itinerary, book restaurant (more on that later), book Fast Passes (more on that later too), and basically see what you may want to do on your trip.  With the hotel booked things started to get rolling.  We immediately got our accounts in order, made sure they were linked to our hotel reservation, and we even started getting mail to prep us for future planning options for our trip.

We're really happy with the Boardwalk Inn as it's in a prime location (walking distance to Epcot and Hollywood Studios), and it has stuff to do around it.  There's even a bakery just in front.  We looked online and thought that the rooms looked pretty spiffy as well.

This was the first step in officially planning our Epic Disney Vacation... Oh did we mention, we've decided to stay for 12 days... Epic.

It's Been A Little While, And A Lot Has Happened

As you may have remembered (or you can just look back on this blog) a few years ago our trip was postponed due to a moving situation.  Well, it's official, we're going to Disney World, and we're going in less than 180 days.  To the average person that doesn't mean very much, but to the Disney Parks nerd that means a lot.

We've been pretty busy the last few weeks and over the next few weeks I'm going to recap what we've been up to.  The thing about Disney is there's a lot to plan way in advance, particularly if you want to eat at certain restaurants, and take certain tours.  There's also been a few announcements and closures over the last few weeks that is going to affect us.  Most interestingly, we've discovered that we're going to be in the parks during two special events, and it looks like we'll be trying them on for size.

So here's what we have to cover:

Our hotel is booked.

Dinning reservations, how we managed to get two Be Our Guest Dinner reservations.

Special tours we've booked, some are simple, one is pretty epic.

What's closed down since we last posted a blog, and what might be open.

Epcot Food and Wine, yup, we're going.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween, we're likely going.

So the blog is back, and I'll be recapping you on some of the fun we've been up to.

A Quicker Trip

During a recent discussion about our plan to visit Disney World, we discovered that our timing for getting there and getting back wasn’t going to work with the time we have.  We had to make a choice, do we cut back on the Disney experience, or do we cut back on the getting there experience.  It wasn’t an easy choice, and a middle ground didn’t seem logical at all.

Our original plan was to take 4 or more days to get to and from the parks from Canada.  This would allow us to visit friends, stop at historical places, and generally meander a little between our house and the parks.  This would have probably worked a few years ago when we originally made this plan; however now it seems like our timing is a little tighter.

We spent one evening discussing what we wanted out of this trip, what was the key to an “epic” Disney adventure.  We eventually settled on the idea that Disney was the heart of this adventure, and we shouldn’t rush that at all. So our journey down and back up will have to be much more rushed.  This decision also came from the fact that we are going to want to de-stress a little when we go on this trip (for various reasons) and jumping from hotel to hotel is not a way to do that.  While we’ll have to do a bit of hotel jumping getting to and from the parks, we want to be sure we have a good long break at Disney to calm our nerves.

We also don’t want to rush the parks.  There is a lot to see and do, and we want to relax and take in all of the details.  While a road trip through the US is a lot of fun, it’s not the focus of this particular trip.  As a side note, we’ve also started to plan our cross the US road trip in the years to come; it might involve a stop at Disneyland too.

So now we have to decide where we are going to stop on this adventure.  However, now are stops are going to be on the way, with no side trips.  We’ll still stop and smell the flowers when we can, but we’ll no longer go out hunting for a particular bud.

Star Wars Is Here To Stay!

A few weeks back I posted about some of the new experiences that would not have been at Disney World had we gone when we originally planned.  One of the experiences was that of the Star Wars additions to Hollywood Studios.  While the finished Star Wars land will not be ready when we go, Disney has added several new Star Wars additions to tide people over.  Originally they were scheduled to be taken out in the spring, but Disney just announced that they're extending theses special exhibits well into the time we plan on going.

These exhibits include the Star Wars Launch Bay, a special exhibit with props and interactive fun things to do all about the new movies.  Special character meet and greets, including new and old characters.  As well as a special fireworks show, that looks pretty awesome.  In general it seems like they've put a Star Wars overlay over a section of the park, and they're keeping it for a while longer (in some cases it's staying forever).

My guess is that they put the "limited time" label on these additions just in case the movie bombed.  This way if there wasn't any interest they could switch everything out without having to commit.  However the movie did far from poorly at the theater, and it seems like they're actually adding new things regularly to these interim Star Wars attractions.  I've been keeping up with what's going on and it seems that new character meet and greets are being added, and the cruise ships are also adding more and more Star Wars material.

The only thing that I'm not so keen on, is the change they made to Star Wars the adventure continues.  Originally the attraction would have a random story line that changed every time you rode it. Now they have a "guarantee" that you'll see the new addition every time.  This never really appealed to me, even though the new scene looks pretty cool.  I like the random idea more, and it seems like the only people that would enjoy the guarantee are regular visitors.

My hope is that even more is added before we go. Although Allison may get Star Wars'ed out, I can't get enough of it.

Planning With Friends

While writing this blog I've realized that my information has really only been coming from one source, the Internet.  Any scholar would tell you that sourcing only one source is a bad idea; if that source is the Internet it's an even worse idea.  While there are a few "peer reviewed" historical and technical accounts of Disney World, frankly many of those are a little dry for my liking.  So our only option for a secondary source is to find an expert(s), and talk to them ourselves.

There are a couple of problems when it comes to finding experts.  First of all we're on the other side of the world right now, I could safely say that most of the people around us have never even been to the parks once, let alone have any hands on knowledge.  Secondly, we don't want to find someone at random because they don't know us, and frankly this blog is about our adventures in Disney World.  Then one day, during an improv meet up (I'm full of surprises), we discovered that two of our improv buddies used to live in Florida.  Better still they go back regularly, and they love Disney World.

So a plan was made, brunch with Allison's famous pancakes, and discussions about Disney World.  In this afternoon we went over lots of information.  Allison, who's been making a matrix of our timing in the parks based on reservations and extra magic hours, gave out copies of this matrix to our guests.  They were very impressed.  We went through some of our expectations and ideas for the trip.  For the most part we seem to have a pretty solid plan, however our friends had some tweaks that seem to improve our plans a fair bit.  Here are a few things that they've suggested that we're going to work into our plan:

Allison and I love miniature golf (we hate regular sized golf), and we want to try out the options at Disney World.  We had decided to do the Winter Summer Land course when we visit Blizzard Beach, and that was considered to be a good plan.  We also wanted to try our Fantasia Gardens at some point as well, but for this we were warned to avoid it on hot days, as there's no shade at all.

Throughout this planning, we've been trying to figure out if we wanted to do the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue or the Spirit of Aloha show at the Polynesian.  Our friends suggested that the Hoop-Dee-Doo show is not to be missed.  While they admitted that they haven't been to the Spirit of Aloha show in a while, so they don't really remember if it was good or not.  They were very enthusiastic about the Hoop-Dee-Doo show.

Our plan at this point has us possibly ending up at Disney World during part of the Food and Wine show at Epcot.  I've heard great things about this event, but I've also heard that it can be insanely busy.  We've been wondering whether or not we should avoid Food and Wine, to keep away from the crowds, or indulge in Food and Wine because it's that awesome.  Apparently it's that awesome.

Finally, the one piece of advice that really inspired me was that we shouldn't avoid leaving the Disney bubble.  We were encouraged to explore a few things outside of Disney World while we're in the area.  We're still not sure about that yet, however we'll have a car, so we may just venture out a little.

The Possible Dollar Delay

Every so often I feel like fate is trying to tell me not to go to Disney World. These signs aren't negative or frightening, but positive life things that keep pushing this trip back. The original plan for this trip was for us to go on our tenth wedding anniversary. At the time we were living in Greece and we thought we were coming home (back to Canada) right before our anniversary. Then, out of the blue, we had an opportunity to move somewhere else fun and exciting.

Since our plan for Disney World was to drive there, and the new place we were moving was nowhere near Florida, we decided to postpone. We did manage to find a pretty good compromise though, as luck would have it we were going to be near Paris around the time of our tenth anniversary. So we spent a few amazing days at Paris Disneyland.

Now it looks like we might be going home fairly soon, so we've started to plan the trip again. The delay from our tenth anniversary has only improved things in some ways. We have a little more money saved up, we know a little more about the Parks, and even the parks have improved a bit. But there is one other problem that's come up, the Canadian dollar.

Right now the Canadian dollar has fallen a great deal compared to the American dollar. We technically have to pay thirty percent more for our trip at the current rate. Sure we managed to save a little more money because of the delay, but we have mixed feelings about how this extra savings might be spent. I'd rather have an extra meal or adventure with this money, instead of paying for the exchange rates. The thought of postponing again has crossed our minds.

The decision doesn't simply depend on how our dollar does, Disney could play a role in this too if they wanted to. Years ago when I visited Disney World, our dollar was again well below the American dollar. The difference was at the time Disney offered at par prices for Canadians. So we would pay the same number of dollars, but using our Canadian money instead. If Disney offered this again it would make our choice to go much easier. I'm not saying it's a deal breaker, and we'd cancel our trip if they don't. I'm just saying that an offer like that would certainly swing us in the positive direction again.

What's New At Disney

This is not going to be a list of what's new for 2015, what we're expecting for 2016, or what's been built since we last visited the parks.  This is going to be a list of the things at Disney World that wouldn't have been there had we visited 2 years earlier as we had originally planned. It's very well known that Walt Disney always wanted his parks, and all of his projects to be in a constant state of change. He wasn't building a museum after all. So this is a list of attractions and updates that had we visited the parks when we originally planned would not have been opened yet.

Disney Springs - The Downtown Disney area has been around for a long time. When I last visit Disney World this area was a great place to visit, particularly for any adult on a Disney trip. After a few years, interest in this adult theme park started to decline. It could have been lack of interest from the visitors or Disney itself, but the entertainment area started to fall apart. Restaurants and stores closed down, the area was a shell of what it once was.

In the last few years Disney suddenly took interest again in this area. I imagine that the new modern foodie trend is a big part of this. People look at Disney World as not just a theme park, but today they also look at Disney as a food destination, in great part because of the food and wine festival. So Disney has upgraded Downtown Disney, a party and club district, to Disney Springs, a food and shopping district. It makes sense and completely appeals to me.

The construction of this massive enhancement will likely still be going on when we visit, however it's already been rechristened Disney Springs, and I think most of the new sections should be ready to go when we get there.

Star Wars Minor Additions - The last year at Disney has been filled with announcements about Star Wars. Most notably is the new Star Wars land they're planning to open in a few years. It's certain that the new Star Wars Land won't be open when we get there, but Disney isn't leaving fans high dry right now. Presently Disney has several temporary exhibits and attractions to keep the Star Wars fan interested in both the upcoming parks and the new movies.

The simplest addition comes from the Star Wars ride in Hollywood Studios, Star Tours (an older ride already at the park). What's been added is an addition that lets you fly through one of the scenes from Force Awakens.  The problem with seeing this is that the ride is random, so we won't necessarily see that particular scene, but really that doesn't matter because I haven't seen many of the other scenes either.

Presently there are also several Star Wars themed restaurant overlays, and a few temporary exhibits where you can see props from the movies and meet characters from Star Wars.  Most of these temporary exhibits are scheduled to be taken down before we go, but I'm sure there's a chance that they'll be extended if they remain popular.  Either way I'll be happy as long as I get to meet Chewbacca.

Jungle Cruise Skipper's Canteen - This is a new restaurant that really interests me.  The food looks interesting, with lots of Asian food. But the thing that really piques my interest is the theming.  The theme is that a canteen has opened next to the Jungle Cruise for people to grab a bite before or after their jugle adventure. I'm a sucker for pseudo jungle/adventurers theming, and this restaurant seems like it's full of it.

It reminds me a little of the now defunct adventurers club in the old Pleasure Island, and that was one of my favorite places in the parks the last time I visited.  This looks like a real winner, and I'm sure we'll stop in.

Polynesian Resort Updates - I'm not sure how much resort hopping we're going to do, but I'm pretty sure if we do, a stop at the Polynesian will be on the cards.  They've just updated a bunch of this resort, and it looks fantastic.  Apparently this resort is also a great place to watch fireworks, so that might be just reason to go visit.  The main expansion that appeals to me is their new bar, Trader Sam's Grogs Grotto. This place looks fantastic, and even if I don't buy a drink, I think I'll stop by to check it out anyways.

Harambe Expansion - Animal Kingdom is a bit of a mystery for me as to what to expect.  The big expansion, Avatar Land, will likely not be open at all while we're there, however there are a few things that might.  There's a new night show that's supposed to open up that looks pretty good, and they're also planning on lighting up the giant tree (the Tree of Life) at the center of the park.  All of this is still vague to me as to when it'll open, but there's a chance we'll be able to see it.  The part that is already open is the Harambe expansion in the Africa section of the park.

I'm looking forward to this for several reasons.  First of all, Disney fans are saying nothing but great things about it.  Secondly, I don't really know what to expect from Animal Kingdom, so the surprise is pretty interesting.  Finally, I just visited Africa, and I'm looking forward to seeing how detailed they got the theming.

There's a lot of new additions to the park, as well as a few closures (which I might write about later).  I think since we're not regulars these details won't really affect our happiness on this trip, but I can say that reading about them is really getting me excited.

Epic Disney Vacation - Take 2

A few years ago Allison and I decided to go to Disney World. The idea for the trip came about when we both realized that we had some unfinished business at this park. I don't want to get into nature of this business, but needless to say we felt that going to this park together was important. At the time we were living abroad, in Greece for a predetermined amount of time. As luck would have it our time in Greece was to end just before our tenth wedding anniversary.

About two years before our trip we started to research. We had both been to Disney World separately in our lives, and we'd both been to Tokyo Disney Sea together. I love planning Disney trips, so I went online and went nuts. About a year before our planned trip we started making calls, and organizing an itinerary. Everything was going to plan, then life happened.

It wasn't a bad thing, it was actually pretty great. Allison was offered a new position in a new country. Everything would be perfect except one thing, it would mean postponing our Disney plans for a couple of years. If we really wanted to we could have flown from our new home to Florida, but that would have been expensive, and it would have eliminated part of our trip, the road trip to Florida from Canada. So we decided to wait.

A surprise happened upon us on our 10th anniversary though. Friends of ours were getting married in the UK around the time of our anniversary. We decided that we could not only enjoy our friends big day, but we could also visit Disneyland Paris for our 10th anniversary. It wouldn't be the same, or replace our Disney World trip, but it would be a great primer.

So several days in Disneyland Paris not only prepared us for our trip, but it also wet our pallet. While we had a great time in Paris we were more excited than ever about Disney World. That trip was last summer.

Now it looks like we might be going home this upcoming summer, and that means that the Disney World plans are back. We've been keeping up with all of the news from the parks, and also savings even more money for our trip. A few things have changed in the parks, but our basic plans are still the same.

So that takes us to today.

After an additional two years later we're ready to book stuff again.  We have even more knowledge, and a little bit of a rehearsal (at Disneyland Paris).  It also means that we're going to start back at this blog once again.  This post, a refresher starts us off, and over the next few weeks I'm going to write about our plans once again.  I'll write about how our plans have changed, or how they haven't.  Once we start actually making the reservations, we'll get into how well the Disney system works, or doesn't.

So look out Goofy!

What Can I Do That I Wanted To Do In Disney World

Originally our plan was to take a road trip from Canada (where we sometimes live) down to Florida, for a fun filled week at Disney World for our 10th anniversary.  Our plans had to change when it was discovered that due to employment issues we were not going to be back in North America at this time.  As you have been reading, our plans have now adjusted and we're going to be going to Florida later, but we're going to Paris Disney for our anniversary instead.  The thing is, we had some ideas about things we wanted to do in Disney World, but not all of these things are available in Paris Disney.  This week I'm going to present you with a list of all the things we wanted to do in Disney World, and we'll see if we're still going to pull them off in Paris.

The Harmony Barber Shop - Yes - Disney World and Disney Paris are the only two Disney parks that offer you the opportunity to get your hair cut on site.  This seemed like it would be a really fun thing to try, and fortunately we just might have the chance.

Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich - Not Sure - I've been investigating the treats at Disney Paris and they seem to really focus on baked goods.  I have yet to see any place that offers the Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich that's so popular in both US parks.  I'm not that disappointed; however if I find one I'll probably get it.

Turkey Leg - No - It appears that the famous giant Disney Turkey Leg is also something we wont find at Paris Disney.  While Allison may be a little upset about this, I'm sure I can distract her with some BBQ from one of the many BBQ places on site.

Dole Whip - The Dole Whip is also something that we'll have to wait for Florida to try.  I'm sure, much like the Turkey Leg, we'll find other fun snacks to distract us.

Earl of Sandwich - Yes - This may not seem like a big deal to many Americans, but to Canadians, and those of us living abroad, it's something totally new.  I'm super excited about having at least one lunch at this place, since I love sandwiches.

Rockin' Roller Coaster - Yes - While the idea of ridding this makes me ill, Allison is super pumped.  She not only loves roller coasters, she's also into Aerosmith as well.  She promises me that I don't have to ride with her, and that's a good thing, I want to keep my Earl of Sandwich lunch down.

Haunted Mansion - Yes... Sort Of - There is a Haunted ride at Paris Disney, but it's called the Haunted Manor, and it's supposed to be excellent.

There are many other rides and shows that we were looking forward to at Disney World, some cross over to Disney Paris, and others don't. Others still are in both parks, but are a little bit unique from each other.  For all the attractions we don't find at Paris Disney, that's just something to look forward to when we finally make our trip to Florida.  If there's any cross over, that's OK too, we'll get to see how they're different (if they are), or at the very least we'll get to see them twice.

Where We Stand in The New Year

With our great life's change, the date of our Epic Disney Vacation has been delayed for a few years. Don't get me wrong, this trip is still going to happen, the change is not a financial problem, nor have Allison and I grown apart.  We've moved the date for great news, and we're not having kids either.  It's simply one of life's changes that make it geographically difficult to get to Florida for our anniversary.

The biggest change that comes with this rescheduling is the chance for a date (time of year) change as well.  The initial plan was to visit Disney World for our 10th wedding anniversary, so our date was fairly locked.  Now that we're not going to make that date for sure, we're more open to the idea of moving the time of year we're thinking of going.  September seems like a good month to go, and we could tie it into Allison's birthday.  We'll have to do a little more research on this topic now that the time of year is open.

Finally with this extension comes the realization that some of the new attractions that would not have been open yet, will be ready to visit.  The new Fantasy Land will be running at full steam, and in three years shouldn't be as busy.  Avatar Land should be finished by then as well, something I was a little disappointed that I thought I might miss.  Disney Springs should also be up and running by then, and that could influence our hotel choice, depending on what they open there.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with this blog.

Blisters, and Other Injuries

One thing I've been thinking about a lot and researching a bit for this trip, but still haven't mentioned on this blog is health.  In particular what kind of preparations can I do to make sure my body doesn't give out while walking around the parks?  I've read several articles and even spoken to a physiotherapist about some of the common health problems people run into while taking on an epic trip of this nature.  Two issues in particular seem to come up again and again, foot damage (blisters and such) and general unhealthiness.

The foot damage comes from not having good footwear, and not having the proper medical supplies for blisters and sore feet.  Shoe wise I think I'm going to make sure I have a new, but broken in pair of sneakers for the trip.  I'm also going to bring comfortable sandals as well.  For the blisters I've read about several products that seem to work, such as Dr. Scholl's Moleskin Plus Padding and Blister Defence Anti-Friction Stick, but I've also had luck with duct tape too.

As for the physical fit part, I think the key is to prepare in advance.  So starting now, I'm going to start an exercise routine to get into shape.  I don't want to change my diet too much because I know that when I get to the park any kind of healthy eating will be lost.  It's not that Disney doesn't offer healthy food; I just know that I'll be tempted with those awesome Disney treats.  I'm also going to start stretching more, as I've been told for an epic trip with lots of walking that pulled muscles can be the most common type of injury you can get, and simply stretching can make a huge difference.

Youtube Channels of Note - Part 3 - WDW Radio

WDW Radio - WDW Radio is a YouTube channel where you follow Lou Mongello, an exceptional Disney World fan, on his fact finding missions about the Disney World.  Lou has two themes to his posts on YouTube.  One of themes we see Lou wandering around the parks checking out new attractions or pointing out some tips.  In the other theme he's sitting behind a microphone talking about the latest Disney World news.

WDW Radio is a pretty positive look at the Disney parks, Lou Mongello doesn't often have anything bad to say about the parks, and when he does, he often glides over it with little detail.  The segments where he walks around the parks are by far my favourites, however the news segments are very informative.  The only real fault to this YouTube channel is the constant reminding that he has other websites, books and merchandise available for sale.  Thought I can't fault him considering the amount of free information he provides.

Youtube Channels of Note - Part 2 - Disney Parks

Disney Parks - Disney's official theme park YouTube channel is obviously the least neutral channel, but it's still very informative.  Often this is the place where you learn true information about what's going on at the parks.  There is 0 speculation going on here, because everything you see is official.  You also have to do a bit of sorting since the channel covers all of their parks and not just Disney World.

If you follow other blogs and YouTube channels you'll get more information, however this is the channel to confirm all speculation. This channel is also very well produced, and many of the videos are fairly entertaining.

The only true downfall of this channel is the complete lack of neutrality.  Everything on this channel is about getting you to a Disney park to spend your money.

Youtube Channels of Note - Part 1 - The DIS

All this week I'm going to highlight some of the YouTube channels that I've started to watch on the subject of Walt Disney World. As I've mentioned before, I've decided to open my brain up on the subject and try to take in as much as I possibly can. While I've also been reading a lot (come back later for my list of great blogs on the subject), there's something really great about being able to watch videos on Walt Disney World as well.



The DIS - The DIS is probably one of the driest podcasts on the subject of something so fun.  This recorded podcast (which is then posted on YouTube) is a group of Disney fans that get together and talk about what's new at Disney World that week.  There are a few regulars throughout but there are also some people that rotate in and out.  One thing to note is that the host is part owner of the main sponsor, and many of the sub-hosts work for the sponsor, so you're often subjected to advertising.  It's also worth noting that several of the regulars used to work at Disney World, so their information can be on the inside track.

The great thing about this show is you get many different opinions on the same subject.  They're also on regularly so the news is up to date.  This is a great source of up to the minute Disney World information, but isn’t as exciting as some other YouTube channels.

More Than Disney, The Stops We’ll Make Along the Way – St Augustine

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this in the past, but Allison and I are planning to drive to Florida and back as part of our Epic Disney Adventure.  We figure that getting to Disney and back has to be as epic as the visit to Disney itself.  For the next few post I’m going to talk about some of the stops we plan on making on our way to and from Walt Disney World.  Most of these “plans” are works in progress, and we’re constantly changing our minds as we go.  Some stops will be long, others only a few hours, but we want to taste a little bit of the USA before we go visit the House of Mouse.

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St Augustine is very close to Disney World, you may be asking yourself, why don't you just head straight to the park instead of stopping just short.  There are two reasons we chose St Augustine as a stop right before our trip, and here they are:  First of all we want to have our first day at the park be a full day.  We're planning on staying at St Augustine the night before we're supposed to check in.  Then we're going to head over to our resort first thing in the morning, check our bags, and get ourselves started on the theme parks.

The second reason we want to stop at St Augustine is the city itself.  This is the oldest continuously inhabited city (by Europeans) in the USA, and it shows it.  The architecture in this city looks fantastic, and I think considering our epic adventure it only makes sense to visit a city with such a history.  I also think that this city will give us a little of the Florida vibe before we walk into the Mickey Mouse utopia.

Buses, Monorails, or Car?

One of the biggest problems Allison and I are having when planning our epic Disney World trip is deciding which hotel we should stay at.  We keep saying that we’ve made up our mind, but at least once a week we investigate another option.  Right now we’re in a really big debate about Port Orleans French Quarter and the Yacht and Beach Club resorts.  There are two factors that are really making this decision difficult, price and location.

While price is a fairly easy term to figure out, paying less money is always better, location is really much more complicated.  The biggest problem we have with location is wondering if the location of our hotel can really make a difference towards improving our visit.  Disney has many different transportation options to choose from, from buses, to monorails, to highways.  You can pretty much get anywhere you’ll need to go from any hotel.  The problem is how convenient are al of these transportation methods.

The Monorails seem like they’re pretty efficient, they run on time, they’re fast, and they seem like they’re big enough to handle some big loads.  The problem with the monorails is the limited places that it goes.  Park wise you basically have Epcot and the Magic Kingdom, hotel wise there’s only 3 directly on the Monorail line.  The buses go everywhere, but I’m told that they can be very crowded.  They also don’t go from one resort to another, only from the resorts to the parks.  So if you want to travel to a resort for a meal, you’ll be transferring.

The other option is our car.  Since we’re driving all the way down from Canada, we’ll have our car with us.  Each of the parks offers free parking for all guests staying on site.  The resorts all offer free parking as well.  With the car we’ll have the flexibility to travel where we want, when we want.  The problem is gas prices, having to walk through crowded parking lots, and the general inconvenience of having a car.

This is why we’re having such a hard time picking a hotel.  Is it worth getting a hotel that’s a little closer to the action, and relying on Disney transportation?  Or is it better to stay in a cheaper hotel and just drive to the parks and resorts.  Just because we’re staying closer to the action, does that mean we won’t be driving at all, or are there still a few things we’ll want to drive to?

Kids and Bully Parents

I'm about to explain the one part of Disney World where I'm going to come off as a jerk.  I'm going to explain to you the part of this epic trip that I'm pretty sure I'm not going to like.  There's no guarantee that this is going to happen, but I'm pretty sure it will.  I'm talking about parents and their children.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that all kids and parents get on my nerves, I'm just saying that I'm expecting many kids and parents on this trip to get on my nerves.

Here's my problem, I know that you and your children have been planning your trip to Disney World for a long while, I know that it's not a cheap place to visit, and I know that you're trying to bond as a family.  The thing is, so are we, the only difference is, we don't feel that we have any entitlement over you.  Allison and I love having fun at theme parks, we like riding kiddie rides, and we love to get involved in the story.  We'll happily wait in line to ride It's a Small World, and you better believe we're going to be singing along.

I just don't think that because you have children that you deserve anything extra.  You don't deserve not to wait in line; your kids don't deserve to meet Mickey first because they're kids.  We're all here to have fun, and parents should know this.  This is our trip too; so don't go bullying your way around because your kid wants to shake Goofy's hand.

Basically I hate parents that have this sense that their kid deserves more than me because they're a kid.  Guess what?  We all paid to be in here, and we all want a good time, just because your kid has no patience doesn't mean my trip should suffer.  I don't really hate kids, I just hate parents that let their kids go crazy at places like Disney World and expect us to be OK with it.

I'll be honest, if the kids aren't related to me, or related to friends of mine, I'm not that interested in them.  To me they’re just little adults, and therefore deserve nothing extra.  There, I’ve said it, and I might be a jerk for saying it.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom, the newest park in Walt Disney World, is more than just a bunch of rides with cool themes.  Animal Kingdom is also a zoo.  Disney themselves have been trying to encourage people not to refer to it as a zoo, but I think it's because people somehow associate zoos with boredom.  Personally the idea of Disney building a zoo sounds fantastic.  Since it is Disney you can only assume that it's not just going to be a traditional zoo.  You know it's going to be something pretty awesome.

I think I'm most interested in seeing how they deal with the animals at Animal Kingdom.  I've been told that it has some of the best animal enclosures in the world, and I can't imagine that they don't theme everything perfectly.  After the animals I think I'm most looking forward to Expedition Everest.  This ride is getting a lot of hype right now, and everything I've seen about it looks great.  I'm a little worried about getting woozy on it, but Disney's pretty good about making smooth rides that even I can generally handle.

Of the research I've been doing, it doesn't really seem like Animal Kingdom has the greatest food.  The only exception seems to be the Flame Tree Barbecue that serves up some awesome sounding meals that I think will make a perfect choice for lunch.  The Yak and Yeti might be an OK choice for dinner, or we may take this opportunity to leave the park and head over to Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The only show that I think is a must see at this point is It's Tough to Be a Bug, located in a theatre below the giant Tree of Life.  I've read that it's the only Disney show ever to have been released the same time as the movie.  If time permits, I may also be interested in seeing the Finding Nemo show as well, since it's a puppet show and puppet shows can be really fun.

Of all the parks in Disney World, Animal Kingdom is the only one that I've never visited before.  My last visit happened about year before the doors opened, so there was lots of speculation, but I couldn't see much. I do however remember visiting Blizzard Beach on my last visit and climbing to the top of Summit Plummet.  From that vantage point you could see them working on the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom.  It's been a few years since I've visited Disney World, so I'm looking forward to seeing this newest addition.

Hollywood Studios

I get the idea that among Disney purists, Hollywood Studios is the least favourite park.  Its creation is often described as a reaction to Universal Studios, and many say that it's really not well organized with any real theme.  When Epcot and Animal Kingdom were opened there was an instant sense of what was going on at these parks; Hollywood Studios has had to evolve a little bit, and it continues to do so.  Other parks seem to add attractions, while HS seems to change them.  It seems however that this park is starting to make a niche for itself as the thrill ride hub for the Disney parks.  I'm not sure how I feel about Hollywood Studios, but I am really excited to see how it's changed since my first visit.

The two attractions that I'm looking forward to most of all on this whole epic adventure are found at Hollywood Studios.  The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Star Tours are rides that I just don't want to miss.  The Tower of Terror I'm fairly familiar with, but Star Tours has recently updated itself and apparently it's a totally new ride.  Also at this park is one of the rides that I'm most undecided about, the Rockin' Roller Coaster.  It looks like a really great fun ride, but it also looks really intense, and I'm not sure how my stomach will take it.

Food wise I wouldn't be upset if I made another visit to the Sci-Fi Dine in Theatre Restaurant.  I went the last time I visit the Studios, and it was a really fun time with some great food.  I'd also be interested in trying the Cobb Salad at the Brown Derby as well, since it's a classic dish in the culinary world.  Other than that, the food at Hollywood Studios seems fine, but nothing really sticks out as a must try.

When it comes to the shows, a visit to the Muppet's Theatre is an absolute must.  I've seen the show before and it was one of my favourite shows in the whole park.  There are a few other shows at the park that I wouldn't mind seeing, like the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, and the Lights, Motors, Action show.

When I visited Hollywood Studios in the past, I remember it as being full of fun rides, but also full of empty spaces.  I always thought of this park as being very big with small attractions.  I also remember the general theme of the place to be a little scattered, but it didn't really bother me that much.  Some people call this a half-day park, but I think it deserves a full day, maybe even two.

Epcot

Epcot (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) is often referred to as the "educational theme park" of Disney World.  While it has a few fun rides, it does move at a much slower pace than the other parks.  It also does offer more in the area of learning than the other parks.  I wouldn't say that it forces education down your throat, but there's a good chance you might learn something while visiting Epcot.

Attraction wise I think Soarin' is something I really don't want to miss.  It's a hang gliding simulator that flies you over California with just about all of your senses being assaulted (in a good way). I'm a big fan of the flume ride at the Norway pavilion as well.  I'm also interested in seeing what they did to the Living Seas pavilion since I last visited.

Of all of the parks in Disney World, Epcot is the park I'm most looking forward to eating in.  With the world showcase we should be able to sample some foods from many different countries.  I'm most interested in the Moroccan pavilion since I can't honestly say that I've eaten Moroccan before.  Many of the other pavilions might be fun as well, particularly if it's a place we've visited.  We can compare and enjoy the memories of our visit to these countries.

The shows in Epcot aren't really the same as the shows at other parks.  They don't seem to really have any Broadway style theatrical performances, just small shows all over the park.  I like the idea of just walking around and bumping into entertainment, rather than having to wait in line to go into a theater.  I'm not sure if this counts as a "show" per se, but in the Japan pavilion they have a girl named Miyuki that makes awesome candy art that I'm really keen to watch her work.

I think this might be the park I've visited most of all.  This is also the only park that Allison has visited in Florida.  Because it's the only park she's been to, she's informed me that in no way are we visiting this park first.  Not that she doesn't like it; she just wants to be sure to see at least one other park on this adventure.  I seem to remember this park having a really nice relaxing vibe about it, so I think on a day where we want to walk around and not rush around too much, Epcot will be perfect.