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@T.H.O.U.: For the characaters like Mulan, is there a schedule set ahead of time, or is it just a day by day thing we have to figure out when we get there?
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@twodoghouse: @T.H.O.U.: @Anagram: Correct, Anna and Elsa meet and greet switched from Magic Kingdom to Epcot when the new Frozen ride opened in Epcot. They no longer offer FP+ for it, but you don't need it because they have a special "magic" that allows the line to move fairly quickly :). The place that they meet in is so awesome, you don't mind waiting a bit to go through it.
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@twodoghouse: If you go on the Disney website, you can enter your "date" and it will show you the times.
Also note that often these are smaller meet and greet spots. They are there for a short period before going on break. Often the line is outside or in crammed areas. Not like the big rides that have stuff to look at while you wait.
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@T.H.O.U.: Thanks!
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@twodoghouse: For the Epcot F&G festival we did this with the kids and they had a lot of fun with the butterflies landing on them. You walk through a tent like green house with lots of plants as a butterfly garden and you can hold/touch/catch the butterflies. Plus they got free applesauce pouches.
Butterflies on the Go Presented by GoGo squeeZ
– Visit this foliage-filled exhibit to view a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttering in every direction. Kids will have an opportunity to observe several species up-close, learn about their life cycles and may even witness them emerging from cocoons.
Epcot Mexico has this small indoor boat ride (like a small version of Its a Small World). The kids like it! https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/gran-fiesta-tour-starring-three-caballeros/
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@T.H.O.U.: That's an awesome idea! I think a and B would love the butterflies. Thanks!
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@twodoghouse: that sounds like a good Epcot plan! I think we will try to do something similar. Come back and let us know how lines for Frozen Ever After are. We will probably also add on the slow ride THOU mentioned in the Mexico area--my kids love rides, they don't care what it's about. We went to Hershey, PA and they rode on the "all about chocolate" ride about 5 times...they LOVED it, and it's literally just about how chocolate is made, haha.
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No line for Turtle Talk and Nemo when we went. FP for those are available throughout day for second round so you can hit them on the way out but might be the only thing to do before 11 depending on how your morning is spent.
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@808love: Yes! Those are two great rides.
Another thing we didn't research/know is that in the afternoon/evenings some of those rides do close earlier than the countries.
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I'm starting to wonder if Epcot could be a half day with the kids, and then if my inlaws are amenable to the idea...us all going back to Boardwalk to nap and swim all afternoon and then after an early dinner with the kids, my husband and I could go back out to Epcot for kind of a date night. Do you think the kids would be mostly satisfied with the Frozen ride, meeting Elsa and Ana, doing the Mexican boat ride and a few kidcot stations and calling it a day? Since they will probably both be under 40", are there any other can't misses for their age? Maybe add the Nemo aquarium and/or Turtle talk?
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@Anagram: Nemo and the Turtle Talk are pretty cool. Turtle Talk is in the aquarium so you can see that pretty easily too. I wouldn't really want to miss those.
Here is an older but decent break down.
http://www.buildabettermousetrip.com/epcot-with-young-children/
ETA to answer your question, yes I think a 1/2 or 3/4 day at epcot is fine for them. I would definitely add in the Nemo thing. All the countries (besides Norway) have cool street performances but again I'm sure they wouldn't mind skipping.
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I will maybe be a bit of a naysayer but I really dont like the KidCot things at Epcot. Most of them are basically coloring stations. My kids color enough worksheets at daycare everyday. I'm not standing there with them while they color a flag.
Now I will say for older kids, Animal Kingdom has a passport thing that you can collect stickers. To collect the sticker you have to find the guide and they tell you a little bit about the spot. Very educational and most often my daughter loved asking extra questions.
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Are the innovation east and west pavilions open? They had a ton of stuff my son liked.
And my husband went on Soarin' probably three times while my son and I had breakfast in The Land. There's a circle of life movie in there as well as a boat ride, it's kind of boring, but it's dark and slow moving, so my son was a fan.
My son loved the boat ride that takes you across the pond, we got stuck in a rainstorm and just rode it back and forth a few times until it stopped. He had a blast looking at all the stuff outside, I think Germany (not sure, someone check me here) has a miniature village and he thought it was awesome.
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@looch: I think they are open but not sure what all they house. I know we saw Beymax (Big Hero 6) in there as well as the Mickey meet and greet. We found a lot of those attractions great for bad weather times but if I was only doing a half day there (or a leisurely full day) they wouldn't be on my list or they would be low.
I agree that I really like going into The Land. The boat ride is fun for kids and adults (goes through a dark tunnel as well as a green house). I haven't been on the new Soarin but the old one is one of my favorite classic disney rides. I could see how you may want to skip though with little kids instead of waiting for the long line.
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@T.H.O.U.: They're air conditioned, so we used them as pass throughs. My husband is a huge baby in the humidity, lol!
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We leave tomorrow...I am so excited !!
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@Charm54: good luck. It's cool this week!
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@Charm54: how exciting!! Have an amazing time!
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@T.H.O.U.: lol...My mom is there now and called to tell me to bring a coat for Dd... but the forecast says 23+C all week?!
It's -25C here today, so I'll take anything above freezing
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@Charm54: I just checked the temp and looks pretty cool in evening and won't warm up to take off light jacket until 10 am.
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@Charm54: it'll be warm in the sun cool in the shade. Assuming you don't do water rides it should be perfect weather.
Animal kingdom is BY FAR the hottest park. Epcot usually the coolest because of the lake.
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@Charm54: Did you leave yet? We were in universal 2 weeks ago and could have used either long sleeved tees or a light jacket in the mornings.
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We just got back from the most magical trip!! Some thoughts while it's still fresh in my head ...
-Ohanas was AMAZING - one of the best meals I've had on property. Maybe ever. I've been dreaming of it ever since we left. We will definitely be back
-Akershus was a let down. The princesses were fun but the food was barely edible for any of us. Maybe breakfast would be better
-Other big hits for meals were Biergarten and Raglan Road... the entertainment kept DD (and us) engaged and the food was super good.
-We really enjoyed the convenience of the dining plan and it did save us $$ in the end
-The bus system was convenient - I don't think we waited more than 10 minutes for a bus all week. There are screens at the bus stop that tells you when the next bus is coming so that was helpful.
-The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique left a bad taste in my mouth after they sneakily upgraded the original package I had booked to the most expensive without my knowledge and I had to fight to get my $$ back.
-Memory Maker was awesome and so worth it ... we split it with other family members who were there at the same time so it was a steal.
-Disney Springs is incredible... between the new dining, entertainment and shopping, there's so much to see and do so we will spend more time there next year for sure
- it was easy to change our fastpasses and dining on the go as our plans changed. Even though I had pre planned literally everything before, life happens and our days were a lot more flexible than I anticipated.
-Overall we had a wonderful time and are already thinking ahead to March 2018! We stayed at Caribbean Beach (which we love) but it will be undergoing major renos soon so we will probably rent points next year. -
We're on vacation in FL and had to extend our stay because of the storm. My parents' place is kind of cramped with four additional people, so we decided to do a spur of the moment trip to Disney Saturday-Tuesday. We're going to Epcot for a day, eating at Asherkus for dinner one night, and spending the rest of the time at the pool and Disney springs. We got a great deal on a 3 bedroom offsite hotel at the same exit as Disney springs. Wish us luck!
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@ShootingStar: Mind sharing the name of the hotel?
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@Jennibenni: Worldquest
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@ShootingStar: Thanks! I'm going to look
it up. -
@Charm54: Sounds like a great trip!
@ShootingStar: Good luck! I hope you guys have tons of fun!
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I liked the swedish meatballs with lingonberry at Akershus. Looking forward to a distant future trip and already linking my tickets I bought at last year's price a few weeks ago. By the way Undercover Tourist has an amex offer right now on some credit cards. Check your amex account to see if you can add the offer before charging. I think it is around $30 off purchases of $150. If anyone plans to go in Nov or winter season, Disney Springs has a 20+ Christmas tree walk all themed out. We like to get a cheap meal (Earl of Sandwich) there and sign up online for deals before going.
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@Charm54: We are staying at Carribean beach in 4 weeks. I am worried about it being so big, was that an issue?
We have Ohana reservations and I am super pumped about it!
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@Charm54: Good to hear! The only 2 reservations I made were Cinderella's castle and Ohana for MIL's birthday, so I'm glad I finally decided on Ohana. What rides/activities were your LOs favorite?
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@babynumber1: We almost always stay at C Beach - we don't mind the size. Avoid Barbados and Trinidad South. Our favourite is Jamaica... we really like block 43/44 because it is close to the bus stop and quiet pool but 45 is also good too. It is only a 5 minute walk from Jamaica to the big pool and food court. We actually like the walk over the little bridge. The splash area for kids is amazing and there is a really nice playground! We are disappointed we can't stay there next year but we are looking forward to going back in a couple years when the renos are all done!
@Anagram: YUM you will love Ohanas. Dd's favourite rides this year were the roller coasters (Big Thunder, Splash, Kali River Rapids, Seven dwarves, Soarin and Test Track)... she just barely hit the 40 inch requirement and I couldn't believe how much she loved them! Girl has a need for speed.
She also really liked Turtle Talk (Crush singled her out and she can't stop talking about it), Frozen Ever After, Dumbo, Philarmagic, People Mover, Safari and Enchanted Tales with Belle.
We did end up going to Hollywood Studios for a morning to do Toy Story, Frozen sing along, Voyage of Little Mermaid and Rockn a roller Coaster, and we all had fun but next year we will probably just skip it. There's really not much there anymore while it's under construction and dd probably would have had just as much fun (maybe more?) with another pool day.
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@Charm54: How was the weather for you?
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@looch: gorgeous! First part of the week was cooler, but still warm for us Canadians. It was perfect for theme park touring and we still were able to swim etc. The second part of the week was HOT and we soaked up every ray. It didn't rain a drop while we were there.
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@Charm54: That sounds wonderful, I am glad you all had a great time!
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@Charm54: Oh good she was 40 in! The rapids, Soarin and TT were the only tall rides LO wanted to go on. I could ride those rapids all day! She hated Splash Mountain.
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@808love: I think we did Kali Rapids 5 times total. At the end of the night they told us just to stay on as we were the only ones crazy enough to ride it in the cool night weather
Animal Kingdom was so gorgeous at night!! It was a madhouse during the day, but dead in the evening. That will probably all change now that Rivers of Light is playing nightly though. Tusker House was really good and one of the best chsracter buffets I've had.
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@Charm54: OOh I heard about Tusker. I want to try next time. We were at AK at night and the atmosphere was so nice and relaxed like you were really in a village. Yes the rapids are a repeater for our family. I somehow get in the completely soaked seat each time. I wonder if it is bc I sit next to LO and she is the lightest. (Tip to others: bring extra clothes or spring for a souvenir outfit at kiosk nearby)
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Has anyone tried the new park hopper express transportation?
http://howtodisney.com/10-almost-secret-disney-services-that-could-save-you-time-and-money-2/
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@T.H.O.U.: That sounds like a great incentive for the hopper!
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