Shuttles and Taxis

This will be the last of my posts about my holiday and will deal with the various shuttles and taxis I took during my trip.

Airports

Here are my thoughts on the various airports I transited through on my trip.

Flights

Here are my thoughts on the various flights I took on my trip.

Hotels at Disneyland, Disney World and Universal Orlando

Here are my thoughts on the hotels I stayed in on my trip.

Touring Universal Orlando

This will be my last post about the parks and will focus on strategies for touring Universal Orlando, including buying tickets, Early Entry, Universal Express, Single Rider lines, crowd levels, touring plans and navigating the parks. I will still have a few more blog posts about my trip after this one, looking at hotel, flights, and so on.

Dining at Universal Orlando

Here are my thoughts on some of the dining options I tried at Universal Orlando.

Entertainment at Universal Orlando

There are quite a few shows at Universal Orlando, especially at Universal Studios Florida, but I only saw a few of them, so this post will be relatively short. Universal Orlando also only has one nighttime show (Cinematic Spectacular), and it wasn't showing any of the three days that I was in the parks.

Attractions at Islands of Adventure

Here are my thoughts on the attractions at Islands of Adventure in Universal Orlando.

Attractions at Universal Studios Florida

I'm moving on to my posts about Universal Orlando, starting with the attractions at Universal Studios Florida. This was my first visit to this park (on my previous trip to Universal Orlando I only visited Islands of Adventure), although I was familiar with a few of the attractions from Universal Studios Hollywood.

Touring Disney World Part 2

Here are some more thoughts on strategies for touring Disney World, including FastPass Plus, single rider, crowd levels, touring plans and navigating the parks.

Touring Disney World Part 1

I'm getting to the end of my posts about Disney World and will soon move on to Universal. As with Disneyland, I will have a couple of posts on my thoughts on strategies for touring Disney World. This post will cover buying tickets, using Disney transportation, rope drop procedures and Extra Magic Hours.

Other Activities in the Disney World Parks

In this post I will cover a couple of activities that didn't quite fit in anywhere else - the Backstage Tales tour at Animal Kingdom and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom.

Disney Dining Plan

For the first part of our Disney World trip, I had a package which included a free quick-service dining plan. This plan included two quick service meals and one snack for each night of my stay, plus a refillable mug for the length of stay (actually valid for 14 calendar days regardless of how long the stay is).

Dining at Disney World Hotels

Here are my thoughts on some of the dining options at Disney World hotels. The main hotels I ate at were the two I stayed at - Pop Century and Art of Animation - but I also visited Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Grand Floridian.

Dining at the Other Parks

It seems like most of my in-park dining occurred at Magic Kingdom and Epcot, so this post will cover a number of locations - Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach and Downtown Disney/Disney Springs.

Dining at Epcot

Here are my thoughts on the dining options that I tried in Epcot.

Dining at Magic Kingdom

Here are my thoughts on the places I ate at in the Magic Kingdom.

Entertainment at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom

Here are my thoughts on the entertainment in the remaining two parks, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

Entertainment at Magic Kingdom and Epcot

I don't have as much to say about the entertainment offerings at Disney World as I did about the attractions so I am combining Magic Kingdom and Epcot into one post.

Attractions at Epcot World Showcase

This is the last instalment of my posts about attractions at Disney World - this time looking at attractions in World Showcase. I haven't listed all the countries, only those that have a ride, movie or gallery to look at.

Attractions at Epcot Future World

Like Magic Kingdom, I will split my post on attractions at Epcot into two parts, beginning with the attractions in Future World.

Attractions at Magic Kingdom Part 2

Here are my thoughts on the remaining attractions in Magic Kingdom; that is, those in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

Attractions at Magic Kingdom Part 1

Since there are so many more attractions at Magic Kingdom than at any of the other parks, I will split my post about the attractions there into two parts. This part will deal with attractions in Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square.

Main Street, U.S.A.

Walt Disney World Railroad - As in Disneyland, this train can be used as transportation around the park (with stops in Frontierland and Storybook Circus) or as an attraction. Like in Disneyland, using it as transportation can save a little bit of walking if you are close to a train station but it generally won't save any time. As an attraction, the Disney World version isn't quite as interesting as the Disneyland version because it is missing the Grand Canyon and dinosaur dioramas.

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom - This is a game where you collect trading cards and use them to interact with "magic" windows around the Magic Kingdom. As a concept it's pretty awesome, the storyline is well done and the cards themselves make a great free souvenir, but there were some logistical difficulties.

The worst problem was that when I went to collect my Halloween card I was wearing a different Magic Band to the one I had started the game; apparently the game is linked to the specific Magic Band. I was told I needed to start a new game on the new Magic Band to collect any cards, which I was okay with. What I wasn't told was that doing so would delete the game on my original Magic Band and lose all of my progress (an hour or two worth of playing). Since we weren't playing enough to finish the first level anyway it wasn't a huge deal but if I had been hoping to make progress on the game I would have been devastated. I also felt like the Cast Members involved didn't care at all.

In addition, some magic windows weren't very good at recognising the spell cards, so I had to keep trying until the fight failed and it sent me to another window with better cameras. It got a little frustrating after a while. Overall I felt like Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom was better suited to locals and other regular visitors rather than to people like me who only visit every few years.

Adventureland

Swiss Family Treehouse - Unlike Disneyland, Magic Kingdom still has the original attraction themed to Swiss Family Robinson. There are some interesting contraptions to look at but it's not a high priority for me.

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin - This is a Dumbo style ride. I'd never ridden it before because the waits were always long and I didn't think it was worth the wait. Now that the ride has been around for a while the waits are shorter and since we were in the area within the first area of opening we were able to ride with about a 5 minute wait. It was fun but I wouldn't ride it again without kids. You may get a little bit wet.

Enchanted Tiki Room - This wasn't a high priority for me, especially since I'd seen it at Disneyland, but I had some time to fill in so I saw it. If nothing else, it's a nice place to sit down in the air-conditioning.

Jungle Cruise - This is pretty similar to the Disneyland version of the ride. Like I said in my Disneyland blog entry, the focus here is on the corny jokes. It's a Disney classic but not a high priority for me.

A Pirate's Adventure - This is an interactive game somewhat similar to Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. You sign up for a mission and are given a map to follow. At each location you tap your magic band (or a special "talisman" if you don't have a magic band) to hear a message and be directed to the next location. At most spots there is also a special effect like cannons firing or chests opening. Even though this seemed to have a younger target audience than Sorcerers, I actually enjoyed it more, I think because there were less technical difficulties getting in the way.

Frontierland

Splash Mountain - This is probably my favourite Disney ride. I can take or leave the final drop, but I love the music and the animatronics. The Disney World version is definitely better than the Disneyland version, especially the Laughing Place sequence. The wait with FastPass Plus was very short.

Tom Sawyer Island - This island is interesting to walk around although I didn't find it to be quite as fun as the Disneyland version. It also isn't the best place to be in hot weather. I would definitely come here with kids but I don't think it's a high priority for adults.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - This is high up on my list of Disney rollercoasters, although as I said in my Disneyland post I find it more jerky now than I used to. I rode this twice and both times had a FastPass Plus for it immediately following Splash Mountain - because Splash is such a long ride it was easy to time things so that by the time I got off Splash the window for Big Thunder had started.

Liberty Square

Liberty Square Riverboat - This boat ride gives you unique views of Tom Sawyer Island and the areas around the Rivers of America, but it takes a long time to load and unload and there's not much respite from the weather onboard. Also, you have to stand directly under a speaker in order to hear the narration. I probably wouldn't bother going on this again unless the weather was nice.

The Hall of Presidents - The best thing about this attraction is that the seats are comfortable and the theatre is air-conditioned. I like the way the animatronics move subtly when someone else is talking, but as a non-American I find the whole thing fairly boring. The show runs about every half hour but doesn't seem to be on a set schedule - it's best to ask a CM when the next performance will be. There are a few things to look at in the lobby while you wait, but again I imagine they would be more interesting to an American.

Haunted Mansion - This ride has had some updates since I was last in Disney World and I like the changes but I think I preferred the Disneyland version. One of the updates was a new interactive queue but like most interactive queues the interactive elements make up a small proportion of the actual wait. The wait was shorter with FPP, but the merge point is before the stretching room pre-show, so there is still a bit of a wait after that.

Attractions at Animal Kingdom

Here are my thoughts on the attractions that I visited at Animal Kingdom.

Attractions at Hollywood Studios

Here are my thoughts on the attractions I visited in Hollywood Studios. Unfortunately the number of attractions in Hollywood Studios seems to be constantly decreasing.

Outside the Theme Parks

My posts about Disney World and Universal are going to come out in a somewhat unusual order because I am still combining notes from my tweets and photo (in chronological order) but I want to get posts out as soon as I can. So today's post is about some of places we visited outside the major theme parks, namely Blizzard Beach (water park), Fantasia Gardens (mini golf) and Downtown Disney/Disney Springs

General Thoughts on Universal

It's going to be a while before I get all my Disney World posts together, but in the mean time here are some general thoughts on Universal (which I visited in the middle of my Disney World trip).

General Thoughts on Disney World

It's going to take me a while to organise all my notes on Disney World into structured blog posts, so in the meantime here are some general thoughts.

Boston

A lot of the time I spent in Boston was just relaxing and hanging out with my family, but here are my thoughts on the attractions we visited while I was there.

Touring Disneyland Part 2

Here are some more of my thoughts on touring Disneyland, including crowd levels, touring plans and navigating the park.

Touring Disneyland Part 1

I will conclude my blog posts about Disneyland with thoughts about strategies for touring in Disneyland. In this post I will cover choosing tickets and using FastPass and Single Rider to save time in line.

Dining at Disney California Adventure

Here are my thoughts on some of the food and drink options available at Disney California Adventure. In general I think I preferred what was available at Disneyland, especially when it came to Table Service choices.

Dining at Disneyland Park

Here are some of my thoughts and experiences with dining at Disneyland Park

Entertainment at Disney California Adventure

Here are my thoughts on the entertainment (shows, parades, etc.) at Disney California Adventure.

Entertainment at Disneyland Park

Moving on from the attractions, here are my thoughts on some of the entertainment at Disneyland (I'm defining entertainment here as things that are on at particular times listed in the Times Guide, i.e., shows, parades, fireworks, etc.).

Attractions at Disney California Adventure

Continuing on from my last couple of posts, here are my thoughts on the attractions at Disney California Adventure. There are not quite so many attractions here as at Disneyland Park, so I will keep it all in one post.

Attractions at Disneyland Park Part 2

Here are my thoughts on the remaining attractions in Disneyland, i.e. those in Fantasyland, Toontown and Tomorrowland.

Attractions at Disneyland Park Part 1

Even now that I am back in Perth it is taking me longer to get my notes together then I expected, so now I think it's going to take a while before I get all my blog posts done. But I guess it's a good way of extending the enjoyment that I get out of my holiday :)

So here is the first instalment of my thoughts on the attractions at Disneyland, this one focusing on Main Street, Adventureland, New Orleans Square, Critter Country and Frontierland.

General Thoughts on Disneyland

So the Disneyland portion of my trip is over and I am now in Boston for a while before I head down to Orlando. I'm hoping to post some more detailed reviews of attractions and restaurants in Disneyland but I may not have time for that until I am back in Perth so I just wanted to post some initial thoughts.

Leaving Today!

I'm finally leaving on my trip today! It's been a long time coming, although the final month or two have gone very quickly.

I have been doing a lot of last minute trip preparation.

1 Week to Disney: Blogging Plans for My Trip

Every week seems to be going faster than the last. A complication since last week is that I have come down with a cold, which has limited the amount of trip preparation I have been able to do. Hopefully it will clear up in the next few days; otherwise it will be a pain on the flights.

My main planning focus now is on packing. I have a master list of what I want to take but I still need to figure out if there is enough room to fit it all in my suitcase and still leave plenty of room for souvenirs.

My main aim for today's blog post is to outline how I intend to post about my trip, both here and on Twitter.

2 Weeks to Disney: 10 Things I've Learnt

Time seems to be going quicker and quicker as my trip gets closer. I'm starting to get a bit stressed, as evidenced by the number of times I wake up in the middle of the night from a bad dream. For the most part the dreams aren't related to the holiday, but they're a good indication that I'm a bit anxious. A few months ago my anxieties mainly revolved around whether my plans for the parks would work out, but as the trip gets closer I'm more worried about practicalities - getting through airport security, finding the shuttle to take me to my hotel, and so on. Rationally I'm sure that everything will work out fine, but everything always seems insurmountable in the middle of the night.

Since I've finished outlining my major plans for my trip, I thought this week I'd go through some lessons I've learnt during the planning process.

3 Weeks to Disney: Disneyland and Universal Plans

Every week seems to go faster than the last, so I imagine that the next three weeks are going to race by.

My plans for Disneyland and Universal are not particularly fixed in stone, but I'll outline what I am currently intending.

4 Weeks to Disney: Disney World Plans

It's hard to believe that it's now less than a month until I leave on my trip.

I still have a lot of work to do on my plans for Disneyland, even though it's the first part of my trip. But since operating hours for Disney World have been out for months and I've already made my FastPass+ bookings, my plans for there are fairly firm.

I do have very detailed plans worked out on touringplans.com but here's a rough overview.

5 Weeks to Disney: Overall Itinerary

The last week seems to have gone so fast, and I suspect the next five weeks will go even faster. I am still fiddling with some of the details of my plans, but the broad strokes have been in place for a while now.

6 Weeks to Disney: Some Background

Today it is officially six weeks until I leave for Disney. I'm hoping to blog the whole trip, and I thought I'd spend the next six weeks giving some background and outlining my plans for the trip.