Disney is not really known for thrill rides. They have a few but it's mostly family rides anyway, we went 5 times before my son turned 3 and had a great time every time.
How is Avatar related to anything in Animal Kingdom? Will the Avatar craze still be around in 2015/2016. The Harry Potter in Universal made perfect sense since people still love that book/movies/adventure... I think the Avatar thing will flop for Disney...
We gave up going in the summer time b/c of the heat. Our new time to go up to Orlando is Jan 2-3 or around there... Nice cool weather makes the parks more enjoyable. Lots of college fans though since its bowl season but that's not so bad... On a related note: Universal needs to blow that ET ride up...God that is so bad now...Can't believe I ever enjoyed it...
Not really. the original idea for animal Kingdom was Animals who are extinct, animals that live, and animals that are imagined. As for harry Potter, that Roller coaster you wanted to ride...Ws for Disney. Where? In Animal Kingdom? What? For a Part of the park that never opened? Huh? called Beastly Adventures. About Dragons...Michael Eisner nixed it.
Hackett- Where was your room located? No bunk beds, correct? What did you think of the ferry from WL to MK? How long did it take? Did you use the food court for breakfast? Any problems with buses to the other parks? I've been researching the snot out of the is resort- no stone left unturned.
My Room was located on the 3rd floor. No Bunk Beds, Two Queen size beds. Good news about the Ferry: The boats come rather frequently (I believe every 20 mins), and the direct trip from WL to MK takes about 15 mins. Bad News: Sometimes, the ferry would make unplanned/unannounced stops at the WL CAMPGROUNDS. This would potenially add 20 mins to the trip. That being said, we took the Ferry every single time to MK instead of the busses. It's a pleasant trip, and the kids acted like they were on a ride every time. Plus it leaves you literally on the doorstep of MK. We opted to order food from a local grocery store and have it delivered to our room. That way, the kids would munch ontheir favorite cereal/fruit while the adults got ready. Saved us both time and money. I can get you the name of the delivery service if you like. Other than being crowded, no. I would strongly reccomend you taking the Ferry to MK, and then the Monorail to EPCOT. Much more pleasant ride. You MUST try the Canyon Skillet for dinner one night at the Whispering Canyon Cafe in the WL http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/me...onCafe/whispering-canyon-cafe-menu-dinner.pdf Just be careful if you ask for Ketchup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYmOVuLqePw&feature=related
Well, what a trip. For those of you looking to book Disney in the future, if your budget permits I would absolutely recommend staying at the Wilderness Lodge. Fuck the monorail resorts- nothing but crowds to get on the trains at any time of the day. At the end of every park-closing night, you'd have 500-600 people waiting to get on the monorail, with 20-30 people lined up at the respective boat launches. The only bigger spectacle was the 1000+ mopes waiting to get on the ferry back to the ticket and transportation center, which looked very similar to the scene with Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds. With the WL, you're a simple boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom- boats arrived every 8-10 minutes and took around 10-15 minutes to arrive at the dock. A great way to start and end your day. Can't say enough about the resort- great rooms, perfectly manicured grounds, awesome staff, proximity to the parks. Going through serious vacation withdrawal now, need to start planning the next one!
I have stayed at the Polynesian, if the monorail lines are too long just take the ferry- it's pretty quick and if you stay at the Contemporary you can just walk. I am interested in the wilderness lodge(that's the newer one, right?) but I love the other hotels around the lake.
The boat lines for all hotels, including the ones you mentioned, weren't bad at all. Wilderness Lodge was a great property. I'm really picky when it comes to hotels if I'm paying on my own dime- it had everything you can ask for. If you've never visited the property,it's truly inspiring the first time you walk into the lobby. The fact that you can walk from one end of the property, to another, in a very short period of time, as opposed to Caribbean Beach, Port Orleans Riverside, even the Polynesian, is a huge bonus. I would go so far as describe it as a vacation within a vacation when staying at the hotel.
I really liked the look of the Wilderness Lodge, I hope to be able to check it out soon. Thanks for the update.
By the way, you mentioned the it being the "newer of the two" properties. The other property is the Fort Wilderness Cabins and Campground. It's truly Hillbilly Heaven and definitely on my list of places to avoid. We've all been there when going to the Hoop te Doo or Backyard BBQ- we rented a bike from Fort Wilderness and went along the path which ended up at the Campground this year and it's a whole different group of people there.
Another diddy, just heard that free dining will most likely be extended to January 1, 2013, with certain blackout periods of course applying.