From: djdaneh@pbhyc.PacBell.COM (Dan'l DanehyOakes)
Subject: Re: Unofficial Guide to WDW
Reply-To: djdaneh@PacBell.COM (Dan'l DanehyOakes)
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 17:27:14 GMT


In article <Rich_Koster.0kax@agwbbs.new-orleans.LA.US> Rich_Koster@agwbbs.new-orleans.LA.US (Rich Koster) writes:
>RE:  The Unofficial Guide to WDW
 
>We'll be going to WDW for the Disneyana Convention in late September, and
>plan to use "The Unofficial Guide to WDW" to tour the parks.  We've been
>to WDW several times before reading any guide book's advice, mostly in the
>fall and early December. My brother and his family swear by this book and
>its recommendations and touring plans, with some reservations, after their
>first trip to WDW the last week of May.  

We've toured Dland once and WDW twice with the help of the "Unofficial Guides,"
and I for one find them invaluable -- if used correctly.

It is *not* worthwhile following their "1-day touring plans" in a slavish,
robotic manner.  It *is*, however, worth reading the book thoroughly, to get the
*reasons* behind their touring plans.  Then you can use this, in combination 
with your own desires for what you want to do and see in the parks, to optimize 
your own touring experience.

For example, it's incredibly useful knowing what days which parks are most and 
least crowded.  We followed the recommendation that Sunday was the best day to 
see EPCOT, and -- in late June -- experienced almost no wait for any attraction;
the only demi-exceptions were UNIVERSE OF ENERGY and CAPTAIN EO, both of which 
were due to the nature of the attraction rather than lines.  Even BODY WARS' 
line was well within tolerable limits.

It's also good to know the loading cycles of rides, the techniques for 
estimating wait times, etc.

>the tour plans offered sound as if they save you a lot of time in line for
>the sake of an afternoon nap/swim/attitude adjustment at your hotel, paid
>for by a *lot* of walking and very early rising.  

We never tried that; it's very hard to tear yourself away from the parks once 
you're there.  Unfortunately, this made for very long days, with a five-year-old
who got rather cranky around 9PM.


>Some practical reaction to actually living these tour recommendations from
>my brother:  If you make dinner show reservations, in this case Hoop-De-Doo
>Revue at Fort Wilderness, reconfirm the reservations and the show starting
>time when you arrive on site, 

This is very important!


>Once they got there, they
>discovered the 7:30 PM show they booked months before had been changed to
>7:15 PM without their knowledge.  Reservations are only held for 15-minutes
>before being given to stand-bys, so they just barely lucked out.  

Wow.  That stinks.  They've never pulled anything like that on us!


>And once
>they got in, the 8-year old daughter and 5-year old son were bored by the
>show, and they all say the ribs were overcooked, the fried chicken was dry,
>and the strawberry shortcake consisted of cake, frozen strawberries and
>Cool Whip-type topping.  

By contrast:  my 9-yr daughter and 5-yr son (and we) *loved* the show; we all 
thought the fried chicken was some of the best we'd ever had and the shortcake 
excellent.  (What time of year did your brother go?  It may affect the
availability of fresh strawberries.)  I agree about the ribs, though. . .


.I think he relied too strictly on the advice that a
>rental car gets you to and from your hotel and the parks quicker than WDW
>transporation does.  Had he merely taken the boat from the Polynesian to
>Fort Wilderness some of the delays and hassle (maybe?) would have been
>alleviated.

Don't bet on it.  We also used the rental car option, but on our first
trip we took in-park transpo almost exclusively.  Guess what?  The rental
car got us where we wanted to go when we wanted to get there; the busses
sometimes take all sorts of strange roundabout routes that made us late
to things.


>"The Unofficial Guide to WDW" recommends early in the day touring, but
>doesn't address the fact that church attendance times compete with those
>hours.  

That's because the "Unofficial Guide" is a general book.  I suppose they could
deal with the subject of Sunday morning church services -- but unless they
wanted it to be a book strictly for Christians, they'd then have to deal with
Saturday worship for Jews (and Seventh-Day Adventists); Friday afternoon
worship for Discordians; etc.  I think it's reasonable for them to assume
that you can take your own religious needs into account.


>The food recommendations in the book were "on target" they told us, but the
>cafeteria Le Cellier in Canada could have offered hotter food, though it was
>good food and a good value.  

Le Cellier is an excellent place for a mid-afternoon snack, if (as we tend to
do on vacation) you eat a late breakfast and dinner and punt lunch.  The
fruit and cheese plate was sufficient for both kids with leftovers for us
to nosh on.


>They really loved the Minnie's Menehune
>Character Breakfast at the Polynesian, the huggy characters and the quality
>and quantity of food.  

Much better than the "Empress Lily"'s Breakfast a la Disney, which is what
we did this year -- we should have gone back to the Polynesian!


>They also enjoyed the food at the 50's Prime Time
>Cafe (thought it was over-priced, though, and didn't care for the acting
>the wait staff was doing as part of the ambiance), Tony's in Magic Kingdom, the
>beer garden in Germany, the Portobello Yacht Club in Pleasure Island and
>Pebbles in the Crossroads Shopping Center at the opposite end of Walt
>Disney
>Village.  At the Adventurer's Club in Pleasure Island, a private banquet
>delayed their entry and then heavy cigarette smoke inside ruined their fun
>later when they were able to go in.

I haven't been to *any* of these places.  But let me recommend *the* best
eating experience we had on *both* of our trips to WDW:  the Liberty Tree
Tavern in Liberty Square.  On both occasions, we walked up without reservations
and were offered seatings that gave us just enough time to go watch the
"Hall of Presidents" show across the path.  And if you time it right, you'll
be in a perfect place to watch the parade go by.


>Using "The Unofficial Guide to WDW" they were able to see almost the entire
>complex of Disney parks except for River Country and Discovery Island. 

Oddly enough, we also missed both those places on both trips.  Is this a
side-effect of the Guide, or is it just that with limited time, they're
low-priority items?  (After all, most urban areas have zoos and water parks.)


>They
>complained a little about the crowds, but their trip coincided with the
>1/2-rate airline ticket wars, so WDW may have been more crowded than normal
>for that time of year because of the airline promotions.  Being from
>suburban NYC they complained about the heat, humidity and afternoon/early
>evening showers which are typical Gulf weather for most of the warm months.

I'm originally from Long Island -- I found Florida's weather *better* than
New York's in June, and about equal in August.  "Your mileage may vary."


Personal note:  don't bother with Dixie Landings!  We found the room small
and cramped, the bed too small for two of us to sleep in comfortably, and
the layout very poor (most of the rooms are a good distance from parking).

		He's got a mask that's black and white
		  Mine's just black but that's all right
		In silence and cunning he plies his trade
		  I ply mine in silence and shade
		[. . .]
		In the heart of the city it's murder time
		  It ain't no crime to kill a mime
			-- "Killing a Mime" by Visual Purple

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, Net.Roach
My opinions do NOT represent Pacific Bell,
Professional Development, or anyone else.
But I'm willing to share.