Info on Disneyworld - A promise kept !

Getting ready for Disney.
1. Start walking about 10 miles at a stretch, because believe me, it'll be really tiresome when you're walking all day in the sun.
2. Start drinking lots of water as it'll get you used to drinking a lot of water
3. Download maps for the 4 disney parks and study them
4. Plan a strategy to cover the park.
5. Take a camera and 2 times the memory cards that you think you'll need! We took about 6 Gb of photographs !! And this is when we forgot to take our video camera.
6. Take at least 2 sets of batteries and a battery charger. You'll surely run through at least 1 set each day. The 2nd is a backup. Remember to re-charge them each night.
7. If you like, take the video camera as well. But, its not really necessary and I personally feel, photographs are much better than videos. But your choice entirely.
8. Take loose bright or white clothing. Not dark clothes as they'll get hot quicker.
9. Take comfortable running/walking shoes. Comfortable lounge sandals are also a good idea. No heels or leather shoes! You're asking for trouble if you take them.
10. Take band-aid/plaster with you - you're bound to get blisters !!
11. Take some paracetamol / children's paracetamol just in case. Other basic medicines are also advised. But remember, you have to carry the stuff ! So, travel light.
12. Take hats/caps and glares/goggles for everybody and DON'T LOSE THEM ! They're life savers!
13. Take a pram for children if possible. You can rent these at the park as well, but at $15-20 / day, they're a steal.
14. Take your swim-suits/towels with you if you plan on going to water parks.

Tickets
1. Do your homework about what tickets you want and how long you are staying there for.
2. There is a local Walmart very close to International Drive. You can buy your Disney tickets from there at a small discount. But, they wont be able to advise you on what to buy.
3. The basic tickets are Make Your Own or way or something tickets. You buy these for the number of days you plan to stay there. It gets cheaper as you stay longer. For example, a 3-day pass may cost about $220, but a 10-day pass will cost about $250 only !
4. For $51 you can add the Park hopper option to your ticket. This is helpful if you want to go to more than 1 park in a day. Otherwise, you'll be limited to only 1 park / day.
5. There are water-parks in Orlando and you definitely want to go a few. They are a great way to relax and have fun. Some rides are excellent. You can add Water and fun to your normal tickets for only $51 / ticket. A very good option if you plan to stay long. Good value for money if you're staying long. You'll be given soap, shampoo and conditioner in most water parks.
6. Parking at disney is $12/day and they are valid at all parks. So, you could go to 1 park in the morning and another in the evening and not pay for parking again.
7. Parking at most places including water parks is about $12 and they're valid for the entire day. So you can leave and come back the same day without having to pay again. So, keep the receipts/tickets safe. Display them on the dashboard please !!


Food/Drink Advice
1. Take a 1 liter water bottle for each person in the group. You can easily refill them when you're inside and there are loads of cold water fountains scattered about to do this.
2. If you're a vegetarian, take sandwiches/chips/etc with you because you'll have a hard time finding food. The best you'll get are tomato/cheese pizzas or a veggie burger... and these are rare!
3. There are loads of ice-cream stands... eat loads of ice-cream to keep cool. No 1 and 3 are the best :). I like No 3 - the chocolate biscuit and ice-cream combo. These cost about $2.75 each and are pretty good.

Hotel advice
Most non-disney resort hotels are located here. Its a central location with easy access to the disney parks and Prime/Premium Outlets.
We stayed at the Metropolitan Resort Hotel. Its on 8444 International Drive... about 10 miles from all the kingdoms, but very conveniently located. Easy to get on and off from I4. Its a good medium 3-4 star hotel and the rooms are pretty large and comfortable. The bathroom is also neat and spacious with a tub for you to lie in after a long day.
1. Make sure you get the "full american breakfast" instead of "continental breakfast" as the latter is just muffins, fruits, toasts and tea/coffee. The prior is a proper breakfast. Make sure you eat as much as you can before you leave.
2. Disney resorts are good because you get added benefits like extra hours in the morning and free transport to and from the parks. Even if you rent a car. However, disney resorts cost at least 3 times what local hotels will cost, unless you've booked well in advance or have a special deal (again booked usually in advance).
3. Usually, try and get a medium range comfortable hotel. Even if the hotel advertises a pool, spa, etc... you'll never get a chance to use these facilities unless you plan to stay for 2 weeks or more. No point in getting a full board deal as you'll end up eating out during lunch and most probably for dinner as well.

Disney Parks
There are 4 kingdoms/parks in Disney. The best thing to do is to get the maps for each of the kingdom/park beforehand and make a strategy. There will be long lines. Get used to them! Off peak times don't have long lines, and usually these are about 1/5th of what you'd find in the peak season.

Points to note for a good strategy are:
1. Fast Pass can only be taken for 1 ride at a time. So, a good plan is to take a fast pass for 1 ride and go on another ride whilst your Fast pass time slot arrives.
2. We found that whilst waiting for our fast pass time, we could usually go to another fast pass ride in the normal waiting line, thereby covering 2 Fast Pass rides in 1 go.
3. Do the Fast Pass rides before 11-12 o'clock. That's when most people start coming in. Best time to get to the park is about 8:30am so that you can finish the best rides before everybody comes in. Then you can do the other rides and come back to the best rides again in the evening when people start going back home.
4. Its a good idea to alternate the Disney kingdoms with water parks. Or You could go to the disney park in the morning, go to a water park in the afternoon and come back to the disney park in the evening.
5. As soon as your time slot for the Fast Pass starts, you're allowed to take another Fast Pass. Go to another ride with a Fast Pass and take it. Fast Pass distribution centers are situated next to the rides themselves.
6. Fast Pass queues are usually 1/10 the size of a non-FP queue.
7. Fast Pass rides are marked clearly on the maps with a red "FP".

Here they are and the amount of time you need in each if this is your first time.
1. Magic Kingdom: 2 days
Must See Rides/Shows : Space Mountain(woohoo!!!), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash mountain, Mickey Philarmagic, Stich's Great Escape, Pirates of the caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Tom Sawyer Island, The Haunted Mansion, Its a small world, The Many adventures of winnie the pooh, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Mosters Inc Laughter floor, Tomorrowland Indy speedway, Tomorrowland transit authority... etc

2. Animal Kingdom : 1.5-2 days
Must see Rides/Shows : Everest Expedition, River Kali Rapids, Primeval Whirl, Finding Nemo: The Musical, Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Its tough to be a bear, Discovery island trail, Wildlife express train, Festival of the king.... etc

3. Epcot: 1 day
Must see Rides/Shows : Soarin, Test Track, Mission Space, Spaceship earth, The seas with Nemo and friends, Honey I shrunk the audience, Journey into imagination with figment,

4. Hollywood studios: 1 day
Must see Rides/Shows : Rock 'n Roll rollercoaster with Aerosmith, The Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, The American Idol experience, Star Tours, Lights, Motors Action! Extreme stunt show (wooohoo!!), Toy Story Midway Mania, Journey into Narnia... etc.