Disney World - The Online Guide

General comments

This page is for your comments/reviews about anything & everything at WDW. What were your favourite rides/attractions, what did you think of the parks. Email me your comments to put on this page.

"Myself and my Boyfriend went to Disney World Florida in May 2002, we stayed in the Best Western on International Drive and had the best holiday EVER!!!. We used the complementary bus from our hotel straight to Disney everyday a very good idea as all you had to do at the end of each day was wait for the bus at your allocated parking lot at Magic Kingdom, get on and you would be transported right the way back your hotel. The bus driver (who looked like Meatloaf) was a real treat every morning he told us all about the rides and the best time to go on certain ones, like the Safari in Animal kingdom is better in the Morning when the animals are awake. We had hired a car and used this on the days when we went to the water parks, we only managed Typhoon Logoon as it was cloudy the day we went but the sun still must have been VERY strong as it burnt my boyfriend so bad he was unable to go out for the next 2 days.Still this didn't ruin our holiday as I was able to use the pool in our hotel. Every park was brilliant and there are no complaints about anything, we used the fast pass on most rides the only one I found a little disappointing was the Fast Track but every other ride came up to my expectation. The best ride was the Aerosmith ride, we have not stopped talking about that since we got back. We were both amazed by the entertainment while you queued for your rides, we didn't wait for more than 30minutes but even that felt like 10 minutes at the most because there is always something else going on around you. I was amazed by the fact that even at the end of the day everyone working on the rides were still so enthusiastic about what they were doing even though it was probably the 1000 time they had done that ride. I would recommend to anyone to go to Disney, even those who do not like the rides, my parents want to go Disney mainly to visit Epcot and Animal kingdom and they HATE fast rides. It puts the parks we have here in the UK to shame, I still ahven't found anything that is anywhere near as good." Sarah and Darren (Portsmouth UK)
"We went to WDW for the second time the day after Christmas, 2002 and stayed until the day before New Years Eve. Judging by the hotel prices WDW was full. We stayed at WDW Dolphin and loved the location but it doesn't have all those special "Disney" touches. My daughter missed the Mickey wake up calls we had at Wilderness Lodge and the hidden mickeys everywhere. Every morning we arrived at Magic Kingdom an hour before official opening and were able to enter the park and everything was open. (On early entry days we had to get there 1 hour before early entry) We rode Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain (several times), all of Fantasy Land, Buzz Light Year, the Haunted Mansion all by 10 a.m. The crowds were huge by that time so we left the park for a nap at the hotel, and then went to a different park in the afternoon." L Hanson San Antonio
"We just came back from a Disneyworld trip. We have been to Disneyworld a total of 5 times and think it is one of the coolest vacations we have taken. I highly recommend going in February, although I think crowds were a little heavier than normal because the weather was beautiful. Our only complaint was that a number of rides were breaking down. Test track, Space Mountain, the monorail, Big Thunder Mountain. We saw a lot of stranded tourist on each of these rides, but thankfully we were actually on only Big Thunder Mountain when it broke down. It took one of the workers about 10 minutes before they decided to unload us mid ride. All in all it made us wonder if the slow economy was affected the maintance of the rides. We plan on going back this year and wonder has anyone else commented on these things happening while they were on vacation."

"My husband and I are great Disney fans. I have gone to Disney about 10 times before we got married, an then came back for our honeymoon, on May, 2002. I can´t explain how great it was: there was the Garden and Flower Festival, the crowds were just right, and we experienced for the first time the magic of Disney cuisine. We went to Boma, at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, then to O´hana at the Polynesian Resort, and to Bongo´s at Disney´s Westside. We´ll go again on December, 2003 so we already checked priority seatings at 6 Restaurants: O´Hana, Boma, California Grill -Contemporary-, Cape May Cafe -Yacht Club-, AAlfredo Di Roma -EPCOT- and the Crystal Palace -Magic Kingdom-. Perhaps we´ll return to our country in bankrupt, but you can´t imagine how great it has being to make this discovery. The food and the service are EXCELLENT !!!"

"We just got back a couple of days ago. We were there from Oct. 23 to the 28th. When we got to Port Orleans Riverside it was raining. We tried to get one of the golf cart shuttles to take us to our room. They put us in building #26 after I had called a week in advance to stay in a building closer to the main area. It was pouring down rain and we waited for 45 mins. My husband, me and our two kids age 6 and 10 carried all our luggage to the back 40. If that wasn't irritating enough, the walkway was flooded and we had to wade through and we all had wet shoes (be sure to always have 2 pairs per person like we did). I feel like after you have paid $545 for 5 nites someone could take the luggage for you. When you catch the buses to go to the Parks, over half the time they are already full, so you get to stand up. I don't want to stand up when I paid over $600 for park tickets. If we had to do it over, we would rent a car, stay in a hotel off the park, and be able to eat decently priced food. The food prices are enormous!!!!! I doubt if we will ever go back to WDW." (11/02) Karen from Arkansas

"We went two years ago,Dec. 3rd. Our 30th wedding anniversary on the 4th of Dec. We stayed from the 3rd to the 13th of Dec. 2000. We had a wonderful time, we had a lot of priorty diners and charcter dining. We stayed at All Star Movies. We are going again this year for our 32nd wedding anniversay. I cant explan how I feel about Disney World. I love it. I remember Walt Disney when I was little watching him on TV. Anyway I must not ramble." (11/02) Elizabeth from Portsmouth,NH

"Thank you for all your help, or should I say thank you for all the information you provided for me and my family for our visit. We stayed on the all starts resort, (during Aug 02)the accomidation and resort was clean and tidy. Everyone was very helpfull and friendly, we could not praise the place enough. The theme park's were bigger and better than I or my family could have imagined. We have never experienced anythink quite like it before, but we are looking to go back again when we save the money. we arrived on the 20th Aug 02 and spent 2 weeks on the resorts. We only had to wait 15-20 minutes for most of the rides, 30 minutes was our longest wait.Some of the rides we just walked straight on to them and with the help of fast pass (which is great) We would arrive early (their was not early entry for resrt geusts) 8.30 am for most parks and the que's were not bad at all even when the parks opened. We would always go to the back of the park to start our day and it really works we went on thunder mountain 4 times without to much of a wait( only because my youngest daughter loved it or twice would have been enough for me). We were told to expect to have lots of rain and thunder storms well we must have been very lucky as we think the weather was great 4 nights we had thunder storms, 3 of those nights we were waiting to watch fantasmic( each night was cancelled ). The 4 th night the skys were clear and the show was fantastic an I would have sat in the rain for another 3 nights just to see that show. I could sit here and write about Disney world Florida all day and night, but I must go once again thank you and your readers for making our family holiday a holiday to remember for the rest of our lives. (10/02) Colin( Liverpool UK ).

"My family has driven from New Hampshire to Florida at least once a year for the last 16 years. We leave in 2 days for our 3rd trip within a year. We can't say enough good things about Disney. We have stayed at several of the resorts ranging from the campground up to the Yacht and Beach Club and have never had a problem at any of them. All of the staff members have gone above and beyond to help with any problems we may have had. We like to go to the resorts and stay even if we aren't planning on going to the parks. Which we aren't this time. Can't wait to get to the resort and relax by the pool. My husband and I can sit by the pool and our 11 year old can go to the arcade, swim or go and munch out at the food court and we know that she is safe. The only thing we could ever complain about would be the long check in lines that they have at the resorts. But, we have gotten used to that and it doesn't even bother us anymore. So, if the parks aren't on your agenda this year you can still go and enjoy the wonderful resorts that they offer! Have fun!!" Pamela

"Three adults and one 17 y/o went on the Backstage Safari Tour. Prior to a day at the AK followed by the tour the next day, the 17 y/o had said that she heard that Disney was cruel to animals and would never go to the AK. We challenged her to this trip. Her conclusion after all was seen was that the Ak was by far Disney's best park and clearly Disney went above and beyond to care for the animals. For all of us the tour was excellent and the two educators were superb. Of course, we also stayed in the AKL and had a great meal at Boma."

"Visited WDW 12/1-12/16/01. Stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. Everything was pure Disney Magic!!! This was not a busy time and the parks were decorated for the holidays. It was so beautiful. We had unseasonably warm weater - 78 to 85 every day, which is perfect vacation weather. We went to all the special holiday events: "Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party", "Candlelight Celebration", "Osborne Family Christmas Lights", all the parades, special shows, just everything!!! It was particularly wonderful having 15 full days. We could sleep until we felt like it, go to the parks for just a few hours if we wanted, and return to the resort, go somewhere to eat supper, swim, whatever. It was very leisurely. Probably due to the decline in tourism, Port Orleans French Quarter was closed, and half way through our stay the mansions at Riverside closed, but these did not have a negative effect on our vacation at all...in fact the smaller crowds made it great for us! Don't get me wrong, there were still a LOT of people, but not long lines, or crowded buses. It was great. Particularly recommend eating at: LeCellier in Canada, Epcot; Palio's in the Swan; Hollywood Brown Derby at MGM; Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom; and Wolfgang Puck's in Downtown Disney. The House of Blues Gospel Brunch was outstanding!!! Cirque du Soliel was indescribably entertaining. The Disney "cast members" truly make every detail a Disney experience. Can't wait to go back again, but unfortunately, that won't be for at least a few years. It was the best vacation we ever had!" Mary C

"During one of my first trips to DisneyWorld, we were staying at the Carribbean Beach Resort. We had an early character breakfast at the Beach Club, so since it was early entry at the Magic Kingdom, we decided to take a bus from our hotel to the Magic Kingdom, and then take the Beach Club bus from The Magic Kingdom. We got to the Magic Kingdom and were over at the bus stop for the Beach Club, and the bus just wasn't coming!! At this point, we figured we'd be late for our breakfast and were disppointed. All of a sudden a bus pulled up that said Special. The driver opened the door and asked where we were going. We explained our story and he said hop aboard! So we had our own private bus to the Beach Club!! If it weren't for that wonderful man, we would have missed our breakfast. It's the "little" things like this that truly put the "MAGIC" into Disneyworld!!" ncataldo@wpi.edu

"I have just visited Disney World in Florida. I can honestly say it was the best holiday I have ever had. I went on 27/9 - 11/10 and stayed at Disney's All Star Music Resort. The Service at the resort was 1st class, just as you expect from Disney. When I go back I will be staying on Disney again as the bus services etc were great. We visited all the parks and must say were impressed with every one." (10/01) Julie

"We went to Disney World in early May and we felt it was a blessing. The longest line we had to wait in was Test Track and that was only 30 miutes! The Cornado Springs Resort is very nice, clean, and the restaraunt food tastes just like home!" Denise (2/01)

"My nephew and I enjoyed our stay at WDW last March. We stayed at the Contemporary for over a week. We really enjoyed the convienance of the monorail being there. We had a garden room and while the walk seemed long at the end of the day--the view was fantastic. We enjoyed the night time lake shows every other night--a complete and wonderful surprise for us. While the decor was nice, clean, but I want to try the Polynessian Resort next time! We ate at Ohanan's about 4 times and enjoyed walking around that resort. Chef Mickey's was the ONLY food that the Contemporary had which we enjoyed. Calif. Grill and Concorde Steak House were disgusting. Calif. Grill is NOT kid friendly and my nephew got sick eating their food. The Concorde Steak House tasted like food you'd get at Dennys but about 4 times the cost. Chef Mickey's and Ohannan's were the two favorite at the resorts. Character meals were never disappointing at either resort!!!"

"We went to WDW last March and bought a whole package, the one below the Grand, I think it was Deluxe Magic. Our travel agent said ALL TIPS were included (and we shouldn't tip anyone at WDW, not the waiters, not the luggage bell hops or anyone). We didn't. On our last day the non WDW cabbie told us that the luggage people were cussing us out behind our backs because we never tipped our entire stay. The point I'm trying to make, while our package said no tipping, I'm not sure I'd not tip the baggage or maids again. The waiters get their tip in the meal plan but I don't think these other service people do. In hindsight, I guess I'd do things differently...maybe."

"I am 5 months pregnant & was worried that I would be missing tons of rides. There were still a lot that I had to miss just to be on the safe side. My husband would ride first, then he would let me know if he thought it was O.K. to ride. I had to miss Back to the Future Ride & Hanna Barbera at Universal Studios. They are simulator rides and VERY jerky. At the Magic Kingdom I missed Space Mountain & Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I thought I could get by on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but my husbnad road it & said although it is pretty tame, the sudden turns toss you around a bit. I hated to miss that one. I did ride Splash Mountain although it had a restricted sign. I had no problem - even with the big drop. If I was any larger (7-8 months) I would skip it because when you sit in the logs, your knees press up against your belly - but when you are not huge, I think it's O.K. I skipped the Mad Tea Cups only because the thought of being spun around would make me queasy. Everything else I rode with no problem. At Epcot, I skipped Test Track. My husband thought it was O.K. for me to ride, but they were having problems with the ride that day & it caused the cars to stop short from 65 mph, so I decided to play it safe & skip it. At Animal Kingdom (which we thought stunk) I had to miss Dinosaurs a/k/a Countdown to Extinction. It was a simulator ride & it even tossed my husand around alot, so I skipped it. I rode the Kilamanjari Safari ride although it was restricted. I rode with no problem - it was just like a jeep ride with a few bumps in the road. At MGM, I missed the Hollywood Tower of Terror because of the big elevator drop & the new Aerosmith Rock-n-Roller Coaster. There are not many rides anyway at MGM, so it was a bummer to miss those!
I hope this answers any questions that pregnant women have regarding Disneyworld & the rides. I also dranks lots of cold beverages throughout the day and took 5 minutes breaks whenever I felt tired. Being on the monorail line & staying so close to the parks was a big plus - everyday we would come back to the hotel and take a quick nap & also a dip in the pool. If you have any questions, please let me know - I'll be glad to share!!" Sheri - pulido@inetmail.att.net

"3-26-00 JUST UNPACKED THE SUITCASES FROM 8 DAYS AT THE BEACH CLUB...AND IT WAS MAGICAL. EVERYTHING IS RIGHT THERE AT THE BEACH CLUB.WE HAVE TWO GIRLS AGES 13 AND 11 AND IT WAS PERFECT FOR THEM. WE COULD WATCH THE EPCOT FIREWORKS FROM OUR ROOM ....OR FROM THE BEACH AT THE BEACH CLUB. THE POOL IS UNBELIEVABLE AND THEY WERE CHECKING I.D.'S AT THE POOL TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE A RESORT GUEST, WHICH WAS NICE AS THE POOL DOES GET CROWDED. THE WATER SLIDE WAS A BIG HIT. MY DAUGHTER HAD A HAIR WRAP DONE RIGHT ON THE BEACH..VERY CUTE. WE HAD PASTEL CHALK PORTRAITS OF OUR GIRLS DONE IN THE LOBBY ONE NIGHT...VERY WELL DONE. WE LOVED WALKING ON THE BOARDWALK AT NIGHT FUN MUSIC AND DANCING THAT INVOLVED THE KIDS, DONE BY A DJ. OUTSIDE THE DANCE HALL.THE TRANSPORTATION COULDN'T BE BETTER, WE NEVER WAITED MORE THEN 5 MIN. AT ANY PARK. FANTASMIC THE EVENING SHOW AT MGM WAS GREAT, BUT YOU REALLY NEED TO BE THERE 1 HOUR BEFORE IF YOU WANT A SEAT. I LOVED BEING ABLE TO WALK TO EPCOT IT IS RIGHT OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR! WE BOUHGT A 5 DAY HOPPER PASS AND WE USED UP EVERY MINUTE AT THE FOUR PARKS ON THOSE 5 DAYS . WE DID A COUPLE OF PARKS EVERY DAY...WITH SWIMMING DURING THE AFTERNOONS. IT WAS THE PERFECT MIX. OUR FAVORITE RIDE WAS THE TOY STORY RIDE AT THE MAGIC KINGDOM. IF YOU WANT A FAST PASS FOR THE WINNIE THE POOH RIDE AT THE MAGIC KINGDOM GO AND GET THE PASS FIRST THING ONCE INSIDE THE PARK..THE WAIT WAS UP TO 4 HOURS AT NOON ON THE DAYS WE WERE THERE. IF YOU WANTED TO STAND IN LINE THE WAIT WAS 1 HOUR. HAVE FUN...AND ENJOY THE DISNEY MAGIC." LEEANN OVERMAN

"My name is Torry Dean and reading your web page made me go and get my photos from my trip to Disney. We went in Feburary of "98". We also stayed in Wilderness Lodge. We were on the seventh floor with an woods view. I loved everything about Wilderness. We have decided that every year we go we're going stay there. I also enjoyed the dining part of your page. The few times we've been, we hadn't had any really bad experiences. We tried the Crystal Palace for lunch the day we arrive and that wasn't to great. We had to wait almost two hours before we were called. than after the wait the food wasn't that great. Same with Cinderella's Royal Table. We waited for a while but thr food made up for the wait. Another thing we have been going everytime we go is The Hoop Dee Doo Dinner Show. It is great. It also gets funnier and funnier every time I see it. Worldshowcase dining is great too. I want to know what the food is like at Akershus and Marrakesh. We stop in Morocco to see what the tour was about but didn't try the restaurant. We loved the pastries and wines France. It's one of our favorite spots."

"I suggest packing water and alot of film! -don't forget an autograph book
-go in February,October or November...during the "colder" weather.it may range from 18-40 C!! and it's not that crowded!
-Fave Attrations:(not to miss) a) Animal Kingdom:Safari,A Bug's Life(in the tree of life),water ride and the jurassik roller coaster! b) Epcot:ride in the epcot ball,crash test ride,and biography on China! c )Magic Kingdom:Splash Mountain,train roller coaster,swiss family robinson treehouse,boat safari,haunted mansion and Space Mountain! d) MGM:The Tower Of Terror,Indiana Jones,Star Wars and "the behind the scenes"! not too mention all parades,fireworks and characters live.listed.different all the time! oh yeah and all the 3d/4d shows!!"

"My family (I mean my whole family!) recently went to the Magic Kingdom for a sort of "get-together" There were 16 of us... 8 adults and 8 children... the children were 9,7,6,5,4,3,3,and 3. The trip was exhausting, among other things. We stayed at the All Star Resort--Movies... at the Toy Story Pavillion...mostly because I read (here I think) that it was the most accessible to everything. It is also the furthest away of all bus stops for all Disney parks. For what it was, it was fine... as for the lady who said it accomodated her and her 2 teenage children...they must be a very close family! The rooms are small and the bathroom is tiny... two double beds in each of our rooms... 6 drawers in room to accomodate 4 for a week! The television in the room was also smaller than expected... The maid service was excellent. The pool was lots of fun. The food court was reasonable. The playground was small. The giftshop of course was over priced and didn't offer the same discount on 1999 attire that the parks did. Typhooon Lagoon was closed. The Parks were wonderful! Exhaustiong but wonderful. THey did close earlier as it is the off season... but we were so tired, that this was fine. The buses to/from the parks were often overcrowded...On occaision, we had a "fun" driver who entertained with Disney Trivia... How many of you knew that Donald Duck's middle name was Fauntleroy? or that Minnie's first full length feature film was "Roger Rabbit"? or that Donald's sister's name was Dumbella? Anyway... We found the Magic Kingdom wonderful... my little ones especially enjoyed the "Lion King" show..my father still enjoyed "It's a Small World" and Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain, Splash Moountain, and Thundar Mountain were all favorites. We went to all the parks...including Universal Studios... We saw many of the live shows.. Tarzan Rocks, Beauty and the Beast, Bear and the Big Blue House to name a few...wasn't pleased with the seating for Bear.. it was on the floor...We also did almost all the character breakfasts.... we saw alot of Goofy and Chip and Dale... Those autograph books were the best buy... all the kids filled them easily...I think the character breakfast meals were very overpriced! I must add that our dinner at the Brown Derby (not a character meal) was a disaster. Although we had a reservation, we waited over 45 minutes to get seated, the meal took almost 2 hours to come, and then it was burnt! The piano player there, however, was excellent! We had our last character meal at The Yacht and Beach Club Resort... the Beach Club..not to be confussed with THE carribean beach club... The breakfast was a birthday celebration... the staff and the hotel were wonderfull!! I have so much to say... but that's enough for now... oh, the clothes.. well we went in mid November... it was 75-80 degrees during the day and in the 60's at night. you can always buy a sweatshirt there... however may I suggest wearing a bathingsuit to the parks and bringing dry underwear and shorts... the parks don't sell underwear( at least we couldn't find any!) and the clothes can get expensive...Also there was laundry available..1$ for each load...1$ for each dryer load...and 1$for each single serve box of soap.....
One last mention... STROLLERS... they are available at each park for rental...both single and twin strollers...however, you have to turn them in before you leave the park...so if your child falls asleep, you'll have to carry them to the bus or boat or monorail... be brought our own cheap umbrella strollers (each 20$) cheaper and more convenient than rental and a life saver at the airport! Also available everywhere were wheelchairs and rideon scooters...
Last word...(I PROMISE!) Most enjoyable were the shows like Honey I shrunk the Audience and The Bug's Life in Animal Kingdom. (Aside from the Safari and the Tree of Life...Animal Kingdom was a bit disappointing) Thanks for letting me write... " Dee

"Just returned from four fantastic days at WDW. Mid-November is an especially good time to go. The weather was great - no rain and temps in the high 70's/low 80's. The crowds were manageable. We were able to walk onto most rides and attractions with little or no wait. We were also able to eat at SOME restaurants without PS however, don't try this at MGM or Epcot on the nights of Illluminations or Fantasmic. There were mostly adult crowds in Epcot, AK and MGM on the days we visited.
My favorite attractions included the shows at MGM (Hunchback, Raiders, and Beauty and the Beast). They were as well-performed as any Broadway production. At Epcot, American Adventure and Voices of Liberty were outstanding. They will bring you to tears with their heart-grabbing patriotic themes.
I am 56 years old and I did NOT like Countdown to Extinction and Tower of Terror. I could have enjoyed ONE drop down the elevator shaft, but 3 drops were too much!! It took me awhile to recover from that one!!! I skipped all the rest of the "thrill rides" after those two .
We ate at the Cape May Buffet. We are real seafood lovers and enjoyed the steamed clams, shrimp and mussels. They offer melted regular and garlic butter for dipping. For those who don't like seafood, there were ribs, chicken, beef, garlic mashed potatoes, grilled veg. medley, many deli salads, corn, red potatoes and a dessert bar. Don't miss the key lime pie squares and the decadent chocolate truffles and mousse pies. Cost: $19.95 p.p. had a good selection for kids - fried shrimp, chix fingers, mac and cheese, mini hot dogs, etc. Costs less for kids.
At Brown Derby, we had the Cobb salad for dinner ($12.95). It was huge. The homemade bread (tomato and pumpkin seed) was fabulous. A glass of house wine ($6.50) and a piece of Grapefruit cake (which tasted like wedding cake with a grapefruit frosting similar to lemon cake) completed the meal. Cake was $4.75 and not worth it. Mickey Ear ice-cream is a lot better.
Had lunch buffet at Akershaus. Not a good place for kids because of amount of unfamilar foods. We liked it because we like to try new things. The lamb and cabbage was excellent and the smoked salmon with eggs and potato bread with goat cheese were delicious. Soup was fish soup and the special veg. was cauliflower with Norwegian cheese. Many deli-type salad, herrings, breads and cheese. Also cold meats- beef,pork and turkey. Cost was $11.95 p.p. Dessert is extra."

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