The Complete Idiot's Guide to Walt Disney World, 2012 Edition Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Copyright Page

  Introduction

  Part 1 - Plan Your Walt Disney World Trip

  Chapter 1 - How to Plan Your Trip

  Chapter 2 - Establishing Your Budget

  Chapter 3 - Getting There

  Chapter 4 - Buying Tickets

  Chapter 5 - Vacation Strategies

  Part 2 - Choose Your Castle: Picking Your Resort Hotel

  Chapter 6 - Walt Disney World Resorts

  Chapter 7 - Deluxe Resorts

  Chapter 8 - Moderate Resorts

  Chapter 9 - Value Resorts

  Chapter 10 - Deluxe Villa Resorts and the Disney Vacation Club

  Chapter 11 - Hotel Plaza Boulevard and Orlando Resorts

  Part 3 - Feast Like Royalty: Dining at Walt Disney World

  Chapter 12 - Dining at Walt Disney World

  Chapter 13 - Dining in the Resorts

  Chapter 14 - Dining in the Parks

  Chapter 15 - Other Dining Options at Walt Disney World

  Part 4 - Bring on the Entertainment: The Theme Parks

  Chapter 16 - The Disney Theme Park Primer

  Chapter 17 - The Magic Kingdom

  Chapter 18 - Epcot

  Chapter 19 - Hollywood Studios

  Chapter 20 - Animal Kingdom

  Part 5 - The Rest of the Kingdom and Beyond

  Chapter 21 - Disney Water Parks

  Chapter 22 - Downtown Disney and the BoardWalk

  Chapter 23 - Other Activities at Walt Disney World

  Chapter 24 - Other Orlando-Area Attractions

  Appendix A - Itineraries

  Appendix B - Cards

  Index

  This book is dedicated to Tracy. Your love, friendship, and patience steady me in life, and feed my soul.

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  Copyright © 2011 by Doug Ingersoll

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  ISBN : 978-1-101-55256-8

  Interpretation of the printing code: The rightmost number of the first series of numbers is the year of the book’s printing; the rightmost number of the second series of numbers is the number of the book’s printing. For example, a printing code of 11-1 shows that the first printing occurred in 2011.

  ISBN : 978-1-101-55256-8

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  Introduction

  So you’re finally ready to take the plunge and plan a Walt Disney World vacation. You’ve probably known friends or family who have gone, and you may have heard the stories and thought that planning a vacation to the Magic Kingdom sounded like a daunting task.

  First you start with the four theme parks, with more than 150 attractions. What do you visit, and what do you choose to skip? Then there are the hotels. Disney has dozens, and Orlando has hundreds more. Where do you stay? Restaurants cloud your thoughts next. With almost 100 Disney restaurants, which ones are best for feeding your crew? Then just when you think you might be able to figure it all out, there are the ticket systems, the vacation packages, transportation headaches, and so much more to consider. How will you ever get this done?

  Easily, that’s how. And I’m here to help. You can navigate the seeming madness of Walt Disney World with ease if you just have someone steering you on the right course. We tackle all those challenges together, and when you’re done, you’ll have a simple-to-follow plan for getting your party there, having a great time, keeping within a sensible budget, and then getting home with great memories.

  So remember, the most enjoyable part of the vacation is in the planning. Let’s have fun planning your Walt Disney World vacation!

  How to Use This Book

  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Walt Disney World is a quick, concise guide to planning and enjoying a vacation to Walt Disney World. You probably already have a day job, and it’s not vacation planning! This book takes a different approach than most other Walt Disney World travel books. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Walt Disney World gives you the basic facts about your entertainment, accommodation, and dining choices. It gives you the essential information to decide whether they’re right for you, without offering excessive details or other information that you don’t need. The book then gives you a way to record your planning notes with Trip Cards and, in an exercise in ultimate portability, to carry them into the parks without having to take the book along.

  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Walt Disney World is all about real people vacationing at Walt Disney World. The book is designed for total newcomers who have never been here before, for those who may have not visited the park since they were little kids, and also for more regular visitors who want to keep track of their visit plans without having to drag a guidebook along for the ride. But most important, it is for those who know they’re sinking a lot of money into their vacation and want to ensure they get the most out of it, but don’t want to dedicate all their free time to trip preparation.

  Now comes the planning. In a few easy steps, you’ll be ready to enjoy the wide range of fun that is Walt Disney World and leave knowing that you made the most of your time.

  So what are these magical steps? The first is planning the broader details of your vacation, such as when you’ll visit, what your budget is, and how you’ll get to central Florida. This is covered in Part 1 of the book. The second step
is to plan your vacation so that you know everyone in your group will have a great time and that you won’t leave regretting the things you missed. This step is supported by Parts 2 through 5.

  But the unique part of this book involves the cards and itineraries found in the back of the book. I have never liked lugging a book on vacation, and Walt Disney World is no exception. Guidebooks for Walt Disney World can run to more than 700 pages, and that kind of cement block is not one that I want to lug around. So I devised a system that lets you easily and quickly record your plans onto small cards you can keep in your wallet, purse, or pocket. Leave the book back in the room, knowing that you have all the answers that matter to you already in hand.

  As you move through the book, you can easily record on these cards the attractions, restaurants, and activities that are a Must Do! experience, as well as those that just aren’t a good stop for your group. You can keep track of important information like meal reservation confirmation numbers, flight plans, and hotel phone numbers. You even have itineraries for each theme park that help you navigate through them in a quick, enjoyable, and logical manner. All in your pocket!

  HIDDEN MAGIC!

  Have a trivia buff in your group? Buy them either of Lou Mongello’s trivia books for a great array of information and secrets about Walt Disney World. Volumes I and II of The Walt Disney World Trivia Book are available at major resellers or his website, www.disneyworldtrivia.com.

  How This Book Is Organized

  The book is organized into five parts, along with two important appendixes. Let’s look at these parts to see what they’ll do for you.

  Part 1: Plan Your Walt Disney World Trip

  Chapters 1 through 5 set you to the task of planning the big details of your vacation. You start with a planning overview and then set your budget, arrange your transportation to Orlando, buy park tickets, and review some Walt Disney World–specific vacation strategies.

  Part 2: Choose Your Castle: Picking Your Resort Hotel

  Now that you have your big picture set, Part 2 helps you determine where you’ll stay. With a focus on the Disney resort hotels, Chapters 6 through 11 help you figure out what hotel has the right room rates, theme, location, and amenities to make your stay the best one possible.

  Part 3: Feast Like Royalty: Dining at Walt Disney World

  Eating at Walt Disney World is more than just filling your stomach. Bringing a new definition to entertainment dining, Disney has made your meal plans about more than cost and cuisine. Chapters 12 through 15 offer reviews of the dining and snack choices found in and around Walt Disney World.

  Part 4: Bring on the Entertainment: The Theme Parks

  Part 4 is what your whole vacation is all about: the Disney theme parks. Chapters 16 through 20 walk you through the four theme parks, complete with attraction ratings that will tell you what rides are appropriate for different age groups.

  Part 5: The Rest of the Kingdom and Beyond

  Disney has a lot more to offer than just the four parks, and here is where I explore those diversions. In Chapters 21 through 24, I cover the Disney nightlife, water parks, and other facilities, as well as some of the major non-Disney Orlando-area attractions, including competitive theme parks.

  Appendixes

  In these two appendixes are the tools that bring it all together. The Itineraries and Trip Cards are the portable cards that you will take with you, providing a record of your preferences and reminding you what you want to do.

  Trip Planning

  So how do you use the book to plan your vacation? Here are the basics.

  Step 1: Plan the big details. Use Chapter 1 to figure out some of the big-picture details of your trip—namely, pick the time of year that you plan on visiting, and figure out how you plan to get there.

  Step 2: Set your budget. Chapter 2 guides you through this. Set your budget for transportation, accommodations, dining, tickets and other entertainment, and incidentals. As you continue to go through the book, you can go back and adjust the budget so that you keep your wallet happy!

  Step 3: Pick your hotel. With your budget now in mind, you can move to the task of selecting your accommodations. Start by deciding whether you want to stay at a Disney resort and then select the price class of hotel. From that class, you can pick the resort that you think best matches your group’s needs.

  Step 4: Plan your daily details. Decide what you’ll do on each day of your trip, select restaurants for your meals, and work out your overall plan.

  Step 5: Fill out your Trip Cards and Itineraries. Keep the cards in the back of the book handy as you read through the four theme park chapters. As you read those chapters, simply put a check in the box next to attractions that you’re sure you want to try. If you decide that you don’t want to try an attraction, place an X in that box. Leave the other boxes clear so you know that these rides are “maybes.”

  When it’s time to go to the park, take the cards with you. You now know what rides you want to try and those you want to avoid—and when you have some free time, you can try one of the “maybes.”

  A theme park Trip Card.

  The other appendix in the book offers you a series of one-day and a few half-day theme park itineraries. These itineraries basically walk you though the park, showing you a sensible route that takes you through efficiently. You can use these with or in place of the cards. Check the rides on the itinerary that you intend to visit, and cross off those that are undesirable. Then when you enter the park, you have a blueprint for how to navigate the park to maximize your fun.

  A theme park Itinerary.

  Understanding the Reviews

  As we go through the book, we review attractions, restaurants, and hotels. Each review has different information that will help you decide what is the best hotel, meal, or ride for your group. Here’s how you can easily use those to find out your best choices.

  Hotel Reviews

  It’s time to look at your accommodation options. Part 2 reviews a variety of resort options. For the Disney resorts, I have provided some standardized information, including the following:

  Overall Rating

  The star ratings are intended to give you a general gauge of the resorts and how they compare. The overall score rates a resort for the hotel’s features, amenities, appeal, and atmosphere. Although cost is taken somewhat into account, it is pretty secondary because you can always judge that element of the resort by looking at the price range. Star ratings range from 0 (worst) to 5 (best).

  ★ = Full star

  ★ = Half star

  Location

  The general location of the resort is identified. The areas within Walt Disney World are as follows:

  • Animal Kingdom area

  • Downtown Disney area

  • Epcot area

  • Magic Kingdom area

  Price Range

  General prices shown are for one night in a standard room, ranging from the least expensive to the most expensive resort seasons from 2011. With villas and campgrounds, multiple room type categories are compared.

  Transportation

  This is a review of the on-property transportation provided.

  Special Features

  This section provides an overview of some of the special amenities or resort features that distinguish it from other resorts at Walt Disney World.

  Room Types

  The standard room is described, with attention to bed types and arrangements. Of course, most resorts have special suites, so check with them if you’re looking for something different.

  Best Room Locations

  This section identifies the more preferential room locations in a resort for you to request. Although the best room locations in most resorts will cost you a premium, some may not cost you extra, so try to get your room located accordingly, to improve your vacation stay.

  Dining

  An overview of the dining options in the resort is provided.

  Atmosphere

  This final se
ction provides a more broad description of the ambiance, quality, and general appeal of the resort. The theme is explained, and some of the special features are elaborated on.

  Restaurant Reviews

  Part 3 reviews the restaurants in the parks, in the resorts, and elsewhere in Walt Disney World. The reviews include the following elements.

  Cuisine Type

  Restaurants are identified for cuisine types. Be aware that some establishments with otherwise exotic-sounding names may still just be serving standard American fare, so read carefully.

  Serving Style

  Restaurants in the Magic Kingdom all have different serving styles, so these describe the formats for ordering and service:

  • À la carte—This is the standard restaurant ordering format, with you selecting items from a menu. Prix fixe menus are listed as à la carte as well, although that distinction is made later in the review.

  • Family style—Food is served to the entire table as a group, even if there’s more than one family/group there. This is a very good way to meet people and is used often at dinner show establishments.

  • Buffet—The buffets here are pretty darn good, so don’t let the designation turn you off.

  Meal Listings

  The next review elements list the key meals of the day, providing unique information for each. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and, where appropriate, high tea are each rated for cost and other features. The icon means that, for that meal, the restaurant is hosting a character meal. The price range represents the per-adult cost for a buffet, or for an appetizer and an entrée.