New member here!

[DisneyBoundGals]

Hello everyone!
My name is Angi and my family (really just my mom and myself) are headed to Disney World in August and we are both very excited! I have been reading everything that I can get my hands (and eyes) on to learn about Disney World and everything that it has to offer. We're going in July and no need to tell me what I already know as far as the weather and how hot it's going to be. Evene with the heat, I don't think I will mind a bit. It's going to be hot here in Oklahoma, so I figure if I am going to be hot, I might as well have some fun as well!

Anyway, looking forward to getting to know as many of you as possible and to hear about everyone's experiences with Disney World!

Angi

 

[Terk-1]

Welcome to the boards!!! You'll get plenty of info here! Are you staying on or off property? Make sure to bring sunblock, hats, personal fan/spray bottle, as well as Johnson's Foot Bath. These are pretty essential, especially in the summer.

Some great must-dine places are the Crystal Palace & Cindy's at the Magic Kingdom, Garden Grill, Le Cellier & Rose & Crown at EPCOT, 50's Primetime & Sci Fi at MGM, and Tusker House at Animal Kingdom. Also, 1900 Park Fare at the Floridian, Concourse Steakhouse at the Contemporary, O'Hana's at the Polynesian, Spoodle's at the Boardwalk, the Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club and Beaches & Cream at the Beach Club.

Make sure to take advantage of Magic Hour (EE) and to take a break in the afternoons. Oh, and make sure to drink plenty of fluids!!!

Got any questions??? Let me know!

 

[DisneyBoundGals]

Thank you for all of the information Terk.

Mom and are staying on-property, at the All Stars Movies. When we book our reservations with the travel agent, I asked how much of a difference in cost would be to upgrade to the next grade of hotels. If I'm not mistaken it would have been about $300. My mom didn't think it was necessary to upgrade since it's our plan to spend as much time as possible in the parks. At least, as much time as we are physically able, since we ARE going in July and it will be hot.

I actually had thought about the necessity of all of the stuff you had mentioned with the exception of the foot bath stuff (adding to the list as we speak>.

Two of the places to dine you mentioned I have already made PS arrangements for: 50's Prime Time Cafe and Crystal Palace. Being that my mom IS a picky eater, I didn't want to make a lot of reservations. We have already planned a lot of vacation, as far as what parks we are going to be in on what day. For the most part, I want to play a lot of it by ear, so as to have as much fun as possible.

By the way, what is the Magic Hour? Thanks so much for your help!
Angi

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Hi Angi and a big welcome to you from the UK

Magic hour is where on-site guests get to go into one of the parks each morning for an hour before the other guests.

Sunday = MK
Mon = AK
Tues = MGM
Wed = Epcot
Thur = MK
Fri = AK
Sat = MGM

If you decide not to do the MH I'd advise you to avoid that park that day. What we normally do is head to the park for MH and then leave once it starts getting really busy (lunchtime) and perhaps go to back to the hotel pool before hitting another park. Not all the attractions will be open in each park - but normally the headliners are.

 

[nativetxn]

Welcome to the DIS, DisneyBoundGals and a very special welcome to our adults and solo travelers board. I'm very glad that you found us and I hope you can visit often.

You will be in WDW at the end of July into August? I'm planning on being there in August but not until the 19th.

Enjoy planning your trip. Terk-1 is one of our WDW experts and is a great help to us all. I see she has already helped you quite a bit

 

[Terk-1]

Angi,

I agree with NativeTxn on Magic Hour. I always do MH in the morning, then head back to my resort in the early afternoon for a break, then head for a different park later in the day.

I stayed at the Movies in September of 2001 with family and we really enjoyed it. I would pre-request a room in the Toy Story section with your travel agent, with the hotel a few days before you arrive and again when you check in. We had a room in the Buzz building and were very pleased. It is close to the main building, the food court, bus stop & main pool. Our room was on the first floor and overlooked the courtyard area. We found the room to be pretty quiet most of the time. We also went during the off-season, so it was a little less crowded.

The Movies share its buses with Sports & Music and is the last to pick up going to parks and last to drop off coming from the parks. I've never been in July or August, so I don't know if they vary this schedule, but this is what it was when we went in September. The food in the foodcourt is very good and we tended to eat either lunch or dinner there each day.

I too am a picky eater and the places I listed are my must-dines! There is always something at each of these that I like. Mostly the basics. A great place to look at each of the full menus is at the website below. This is what I do to see if there is anything there that I would eat. I don't recommend Chef Mickey's for dinner. I thought the food was awful and a total waste of money. I really liked the variety at the 1900, Crystal Palace & Garden Grill.

http://www.wdwig.com/menu/menus.htm

Once the official hours come out, keep an eye out on parades, shows & fireworks, as they cut back on these during slower times. SpectroMagic & Fantasy in the Sky are musts at the Magic Kingdom. Illuminations is excellent at EPCOT, as is Fantasmic at MGM. The daytime parades are cute at the MK, MGM & AK, but nothing that I would say imperative to see.

Downtown Disney is nice, but I would avoid it over the weekends, as it tends to get pretty crowded.

If you purchase something in one of the parks, but don't want to cart it around, take advantage of package delivery. You can either have your packages sent from the store to the main entrance for you to pick up or you can have them delivered to your resort. If you choose the latter, they will tell you that it will arrive sometime the following day, so keep this in mind if you purchase anything the day before you check out.

Let's see..... What else.....

 

[yecats]

Hi and welcome to the boards. You've gotten plenty of good advice. My personal opinion, is stay away from the MK on Saturdays as the park will be oversaturated with locals and those who fly in for long weekends.

AS are cute but the rooms are small and sometimes the neighbors are noisy. Should this happen just remember you can always ask to move to a different room further back in the hotel (families with young children are less frequent in that area).

Bring an extension cord, this always helps. If your an early riser, then do the MH and you can leave the park earlier for a break (esp. in the heat and humidity) then go back to another park in late afternoon (4:00 or so).

If your a picky eater, make lunch and dinner ressie's at any of the sit-down buffet rest. as they will have something you like (it will cost you more, but at least your not eating junk food 24/7). Check out the menu's and prices at wdwig.com.

Remember everhone is allowed to visit and eat at any of the other Disney resorts so check them out and walk around (we always eat one meal at another Disney resort and tour the property while there). Try AKLodge as their are general outlook areas to sit and watch the animals at night.

If you want a day out of the parks but still on Disney property, go to Fort Wilderness. In the evenings, they have hay rides (pay small price for) and a free sing-a-long with Chip and Dale and then a Disney movie is shown on the screen. You need to call them to check for the hour this begins but it is fun (you can also roast smores by a campfire). If your visiting earlier in the day, you can rent bikes, horses or boats.

Dont' forget to check out the Boardwalk one night.

You'll have a great time and don't forget to pack that extension cord, trust me you'll be glad you did.

 

[Terk-1]

Just thought of a few more things!

An absolute must see is the Legend of the Lion King show at Animal Kingdom! This is the best!!!!

Also, they still may be offering the vouchers at AK. This is a great deal and includes a meal w/drink, either a box of popcorn or an ice cream bar and either a bottle of soda or water. I had a fantastic lunch at Tusker House one day, then used the other 2 vouchers for an ice cream and a bottle of water on another day.

Make sure to bring water shoes for either the pool or if you plan to go to a water park. The pavement gets pretty hot!

Here is a link to a great packing list. I tweak it a little to add and subtract what I need, but it's a great list.

http://www.wdwig.com/forgot.htm

Disposable cameras are nice and take great daytime pictures, but not very good nightime one's (including the HQ). The pictures I posted on the link below are pretty much daytime one's. If you bring a camera & film or disposables, make sure to pack them in your carry on bag and not in your checked bag. The same goes for camcorders and tapes. The scanners are so powerful now that it will ruin any film that goes through them. To make life easy, I put the cameras & camcorder tape in Ziplock bags. This way, when I pulled them out at security it was all together.

I also tried space saving in my suitcase by putting smaller items likes socks, underwear, etc., in ziplock bags. This made packing a little easier. I did try putting my t-shirts in bags, but I found they got pretty wrinkled.

I know there's more to tell you......

 

[winniedapooh]

Welcome.....

Sprinkling faith, trust, and pixie dust on you.....