Disney Parks

[HasiraKali]

Ah, one of my favorite topics. We live between Disneyland and WDW. We go to WDW at least once a year, more if my sister can get off of work. We've had annual passes for a while now, since it's way cheaper than getting park hoppers each time. We're DVC members, so that makes it much easier to do that sort of thing. They recently added a bunch of the Asian park hotels to the DVC list of even points exchange, so we're planning on hitting those at some point in the future. We might be going to Disneyland for D23 in the summer, but that's not a for sure thing yet.

We rode Mine Train when it was about a week old. We got to the park super late after dinner, and it had been raining all day and it was right before Wishes, so it was mostly abandoned back there. Walked right on through the standby. I'd recommend going through the standby line, especially at night, if the wait isn't too long. It's really detailed and pretty with all of the glowing jewels.

Frozen Ever After... meh. There's a reason people call it "Broken Ever After"... That ride was broken the entire day, every day, while we were there. I got an email from the app that it was back up, so we went over there from the other side of Epcot to use an expired FP. If you do that challenge, you will definitely want to go to that park first, with FP for something else, like Mine Train. Depending on when you go, Everest does not need a FP, and the single rider line for RnR is usually really short.

I have TONS of pictures, but my favorite park is Animal Kingdom, for many many reasons. Like this subtle TLK joke...



And this hidden detail that my sister noticed in the little gift kiosk across from Harambe Theater...

[Tsuki]

^ Haha nice spot there . Ok, my post is going to be Loooooooooooooooong. So put kettle on dears .

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Disney World Florida- I have been to Disney World four times and I STILL haven't done all the parks. But I'm going to review the parks I did go to on the last two visits:

Magic Kingdom

I was so worried that this park was going to be childish and aimed at toddlers. Boy was I wrong!! I LOVED it . So magical and last time I went...and saw the castle again...I got so emotional. Though I've noticed it gets very busy very quickly .

Favourite rides- Ok, I have a a fair few favourites but I'll list why and these are of the rides I've been on :

Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin- I love lazer games and found this one so much fun! Though I did get a blister on my finger after . And the kid next to me got more points than me. Hmph!

Dumbo the flying elephant- Ok this ride is a personal favourite of mine. You see I visited WDW when I was 4 and Dumbo was my favourite character (I still love him nowadays too) and so I got so excited when I saw this ride. I must have gone on it so many times, trying to go on one with a different coloured hat each time. And so when I go to the Magic Kingdom I HAVE to go on this ride .

Jungle Cruise- An old classic that just has nostalgia for me <3. Try and go on a different boat each time .

Monster Inc Laugh Floor- Gosh my sides were aching after all the laughing. Brilliant show .

Walt Disney Railroad- A great way to see the lands from a different perspective. And gives you a chance to rest as you travel between lands.

Rides I wasn't too fussed about:

Enchanted Tiki Room- Done it once and won't do it again .

It's a small world- NIGHTMARES!! .

Teacups- I love Alice in Wonderland but boy this made me sick.

Splash Mountain- It is a great ride but I personally don't like wet rides ^^;.

Food and Restaurants:

I would have loved to have eaten at all the restaurants but money!! But here are a few of the places we ate last time at the Magic Kingdom:

Be Our Guest- Such a wonderful set up!! You can choose to sit in the ballroom, the west wing or in the gallery. When we went we sat in the ballroom and it was just beautiful. But do go have a look at the other rooms too. Food was Ok but I DO recommend that you order you food online with your booking otherwise you have to queue up. And book early!! It books up fast .

Casey's Corner- Great for a coffee and snack

Cheshire Cafe- How could I not? . Had breakfast here a few times, The muffins are delicious!

The Lunching Pad- The Tofu noodles from here are delicious <3

Note: I will get the kitchen sink next time I go

Other

Only saw one parade but for the life of me I can't remember which one it was. We decided to sit outside Tony's on main street to cool down and then a parade went past. Lots of fun and a great way to see characters.

If you want to meet any characters then do book fastpasses as you can be queuing up to two hours for some . I didn't get many in the Magic Kingdom because of this. In fact, the only one I managed to get was Marie.

Loved the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom card game. Go to the town hall and sign up to do it if you are interested. It's free to play and you get given a pack of cards. The idea is to find the portals in different lands and defeat the villian and Hades' plot to take over the magic kingdom. It's a great way to spend the day if the park is busy or if you're waiting for a parade or for your fastpasses to be in use. It can be donw as quickly or as slowly as you like and there's no rush . You can sign up each day you go to the magic kingdom and get a new pack of cards each time. If you manage to complete it report to the town hall and get a new card. You can then play it on a harder mode.

Pin trading is another great way to spend the day. Cast members will trade up to two pins on their lanyards for two of yours. You can only trade twice with the same person on the day. And if the cast member has a green lanyard they will only trade with kids. But you can trade with visitors too but be aware of pin sharks. These are people who ask you to buy them a badge for one that they have. Most of the time the pins they have are fakes. Disney has cracked down on this but heads up .
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Animal Kingdom

Definitely one of my favourite parks, and a great one for animal photography if you're into that sort of thing . It is a rather big park so my advice would be start at the back and move towards the enterance so you get to see most of it. But I would spend two days here if possible.

Rides and attractions:

Here are my faves:

Expedition Everest- Wow!! Loved this coaster. I won't spoil anything but you're in for a treat .

Kilimanjaro Safari-Sadly, it rained we went on this so a lot of the animals were sheltering. And it can be a bit bumpy. My advice is to go early in the morning with a fastpass or last thing in the day.

Dinosaur- Great ride though it did make me jump in places. Especially at the end. But a brilliant ride .

Festival of the Lion King- One of my fave shows and definitely one for the Lion King fans . (I've been an elephant and a giraffe)

Flights of wonder- A wonderful bird show and got some pretty nifty photos. Though I was asked to go on stage and had an owl fly right towards me and over my head .

The rides and attractions I wasn't fussed about were The Finding Nemo musical and Kali river rapid. The Finding Nemo musical just wasn't my cup of tea and made me cringe. Urgh! And as I said, I don't do wet rides and I got SOAKED on that one .

Food and Dining

We didn't eat much at Animal Kingdom as we only went once (due to unforeseen circumstances) and had a booked meal later that day at the park.

Rainforest Cafe- We use to have one of these in Manchester and it was always my favourite restaurant there. So I was so happy to get the opportunity to go again. The food is delicious!! And if you order a cocktail/smoothie you can op to buy the glass <3. The set up is amazing with the robot animals, thunderstorms and fish tanks. The only downside is the waiters shouting "VOLCANO!!!" whenever someone orders one. Which was every five minutes when we were there .

Harambe Market- Nice quick service place makes you feel as though you really are in a market place in Morocco. Their grilled vegetable stack was very nice . Note: No Gorillas

Other

I personally just loved walking all the animal trails and taking photos of the animals there, especially the tigers. Loved the walk in aviaries and the conservation station. I learnt so much there about the park and the animals within it. I also got the opportunity to meet Chip and Dale and Rafiki . I found the characters here didn't have long queues like the ones at the Magic Kingdom. I got to meet Dug, Russell, Chip, Dale, Rafiki, and Pocahontas in one day!
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Epcot

Personally my favourite park and what I can only describe as "Disney for adults". When I went when I was younger, I didn't enjoy it that much. But last time I loved it! We must have gone three times during our visit as we just loved it that much. Could have been that the Food and Wine festival was on too....but it was still great!

Rides:

Ellen's Energy Adventure- Great to do if the weather is rubbish. It's a long ride but very interesting and amusing .

The Seas with Nemo and Friends- A cute little ride and you end up in the aquarium afterwards which was beautiful.

Test Track- Such a fun and interactive ride . Loved it!

Rides I wasn't too fussed about:

Spaceship Earth- Done it once. Wouldn't do it again.

Mission: SPACE- Got a bit sick on this ^^;.

Food and Dining

TBH, we didn't really go to any restaurants here and just ate from the stalls that were there for the food and wine festival. We did have noodles in Japan and funnel cakes so I can't really recommend anything. But I'd love to do Eat to the beat one day

Other

TBH, I loved everything about Epcot. Loved the Oceans and watching the manatees and the fish. But truthfully my favourite thing was wandering around the world showcase and looking in the different shops. Japan and Canada being my favourites. I also got a chance to meet almost all the characters minus Snow White (She was off show due to illness) and Belle (had to book). And I stumbled on the Winnie the Pooh meet and greet my chance. It's hidden away in the UK part behind the shop in the square . And OMG Alice!! I was SO pleased I got to meet her. AH! And the fireworks are some of the best I've ever seen!! .
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Disney Springs

This was still under construction when we went last year but we managed to shop and go to a few restaurants there. I find it was best to go early afternoon as the evening got so busy that we could hardly move. Ugh! But we loved the shopping there! And there were a fair few pin traders too . We LOVED T-Rex but unfortunately it was fully booked. But we did get to have a look around. We ate at a place called Portabello and the food was delicious!

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Side notes: Never been to a Disney water park and last time I went to Hollywood studios it was still MCM . I remember Fantasmic and the Beauty and the Beast stage show, both of which were great .

If you are planning a trip then do download the memory maker app. It makes life so much easier! You can make bookings and reservations as well as choose your fastpasses. You can also check waiting times and which characters are available for meet and greets that day.

Hope this helps somewhat . I'll do my Paris one at a later date ^^;. And I really really really want to do a Disney Cruise and go to Aulani.

[FlipMode]

I'm in the early stages with this idea so far but it's looking pretty likely... I will be going to Disneyland CA in May next year! man I'm excited to see the original park.

[Mikokat]

I figured this would be the appropriate place to share my Disney Parks-inspired costume from 2015. I think anyone who is familiar with the parks will see who I'm going as.

Yes, the name badge is real and with my real name on it!

[FlipMode]

Lol a jungle cruise skipper?
There's a dock on the left and a dock on the right, it's a paradox

[Mikokat]

You don't know just how many times I've done the spiel in my room...

[HasiraKali]

Jingle Cruise. The backside of EGG NOG!

[Mikokat]

I'm going to be at Disneyland in one week! Super excited to see Believe In Holiday Magic playing again (It didn't play last year due to the 60th Anniversary show Disneyland Forever playing) and to see the new World of Color: Season of Light! I'm going again with family shortly after the New Year and I hear the classic Main Street Electical Parade will be running by then (Rumors, no official date announced yet). I swear, I will be crying tears of joy when I hear that music coming over the speakers on Main Street USA again.

[SilverSimba01]

Well, since this is a topic to talk everything Disney Parks, I would post some of mine experience and things

like 2 weeks ago my family and I took a trip to Disney World for some vacations, well, it seen that this year it wasn't as much excited as previous year, but still, is was pretty cool be able to go back again

I have to say this first that even knowing that Disney's Hollywood Studios is going into a big renovation, it end up feeling so empty and sad, aside that the Star Tours was awesome since they add new trips, and I feel like the show "Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular" has it days number. Shame that the "Lights, Motor, ACTION" and the "Studio Backlot Tour" are gone, will always going to miss those. Well, one good thing is that Hollywood Studios is going to add a Star Wars zone which I hope looks sooo cool, really excited for that one

On Disney Epcot, which is my favorite park, don't ask me why but I like that park, was a little more pack than last year, even with the whole "Food and Wine Festival" going on, still, is was really nice to be there, I have to say that everytime I go there, I always have to ride the Test Track more than 5 times, WOW, I love that ride so much, have no idea how much I love it, is always my favorite ride, and yes, I know isn't longer the testing facility that originally was before it turn into a futuristic track. I don't mind that, I love it either way.
One ride that is incredibly awesome and yet unable to ride it a least 2 times has to be Soarin, OMG, that ride is sooo incredible amazing, love it and this time we went, it seen that they change the trip because rather than make the fly to Disneyland, it makes the fly to Disney's Epcot, and my god, is beautiful. This ride is a must to ride when arriving to the park.


Well, I could say more but that much I want to write at the moment

[FlipMode]

I'm looking forward to going on Soarin' it was closed for refurb when I was last there.