Originally Posted By barboy Well, the last 5 or 6 trips I have been smoke free.....thus, more TLC and World Showcase drinks have been picking up the slack.
Originally Posted By danyoung >Clearly, most of that 3-4.5 hr. diviation would be for activities at the hotel.< Sorry I misunderstood - to me that wasn't clear at all!
Originally Posted By barboy ///So you're talking maybe a difference of an hour, yes?/// Pretty much...... although I could see 1.5 round trip for resort to resort(depending on which ones). Park to park generally will be the fastest followed by park to hotel(or hotel to park). Speaking of park to park..... who has done the EPCOT boat launch to Dis Sudios? I did it once. I foolishly thought I could quickly run over to the Studios via boat and back so I could take my nephew on ToT while his parents had dinner in Germany....stupid and big mistake as that little round trip must have taken a good 2.5 hrs!(including ToT time).
Originally Posted By DVC_dad I did it, but it took NOWHERE NEAR 2.5 HOURS OMG! I would say that it DID add about ONE hour of wasted time though, of course that was during March 07.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Speaking of park to park..... who has done the EPCOT boat launch to Dis Sudios? I did it once. I foolishly thought I could quickly run over to the Studios via boat and back so I could take my nephew on ToT while his parents had dinner in Germany....stupid and big mistake as that little round trip must have taken a good 2.5 hrs!(including ToT time).>> I've done the trip. Although it takes a long time, as DVC said it is nowhere near two hours. I've walked between the two parks and it takes about 25 minutes one way. Walking is more than likely the fastest way to get from the World Showcase to the Studios.
Originally Posted By danyoung I believe the boat takes 30 minutes from one park to the next, either way.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad I'll bet that is about right, but during the summer months when things are absolutely out of control and there are guests up to your arm pits, I probably takes a bit longer than "normal."
Originally Posted By barboy ///I did it, but it took NOWHERE NEAR 2.5 HOURS OMG!/// ///I believe the boat takes 30 minutes from one park to the next, either way./// We started our trek from Germany. We waited and waited for the boat at the Inter. Gateway. Maybe they were one or two boats down that night who knows but I don't plan on doing that route again. And when the boat finally pulled in we quickly loaded up only to stop at EPCOT resorts causing more time--- it was a painfully slow process. After ToT we probably just missed the return boat too as we waited there for a good 25 minutes-- might well have been 30 and on the outside 35. There were some very cranky people around waiting. In fact just about all of us ended up SITTING right there on the ground instead of standing at the dock. And it made stops at the resorts on the way back too. The two parks are fairly geographically close to each other but yet that night it took way longer than should be.
Originally Posted By danyoung > And when the boat finally pulled in we quickly loaded up only to stop at EPCOT resorts causing more time...< I'll grant you that it's not really an efficint way to get from park to park. They usually run 2 or 3 boats on that line, but maybe they were shorthanded that night. >Hey danyoung, you venture into any off limits places lately?< I think I was actually a good boy on this last trip. Next trip is coming up in October - we'll see what kind of trouble I can get into!
Originally Posted By Mr X Those boats are nice, but I never ride them from park to park. They make sense if you're at one of the hotels already, and pretty much only to MGM (Epcot is an easy walk from the hotels, even the Swan/Dolphin really). Parkhopping between Epcot and MGM would be best by bus, or even on foot if you really feel like it.
Originally Posted By dshyates Sidebar: Davewasbaloo, I know that you are a Marriott Vacation Club owner. I was in Otown this week interviewing at Central Florida News 13 and while down there I read that last Thur. they broke ground on a new set of villas at the Grande Lake Resort. It will be next to the JW and Ritz Carlton and will be the first to offer access to the high end amenities at a Ritz nd JW, like the spa and golf course. I stayed at the Ritz once for a couple of days and will never stay at a Disney resort again. The Grande Lakes Resort is fantastic. I've linked different news articles concerning the villas: <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/classified/realestate/orl-c3markets0908jul09,0,2077878.story" target="_blank">http://www.orlandosentinel.com...78.story</a> <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/tourism/orl-tourism1408jul14,0,6414834.story" target="_blank">http://www.orlandosentinel.com...34.story</a> <a href="http://www.commercialpropertynews.com/cpn/content_display/regions/southeast/e3iff4fffbfb65a506faeae198bf4c09387" target="_blank">http://www.commercialpropertyn...f4c09387</a> And here is the website for the Grande Lakes Resort: <a href="http://www.grandelakes.com/" target="_blank">http://www.grandelakes.com/</a> PS: I think my interview went well and I may be moving from WV to Daytona in a couple of weeks. The Ops Manager wants me there, now all I have to do is make it through all the hoops of HR. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Cheers dshyates, I really like he facilities on offer. Sadly the chosen interior décor looks like something out of I dream of Jeanie or Bewitched - yuk. But thanks for the update. More importantly, good luck on the career front. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!
Originally Posted By DOG1 I know this post comes late in the game as far as this topic goes but it seems like Disney folks (1) wanted to make certain that their parks were built in such a way to allow them (Disney) to control the visual environment and (2) may have had to make some decsions about park or hotel locations based upon the suitability of such land for major construction. From a practical standpoint it would be nicer if each park and/or hotel was conveniently closer but there is little doubt WDW does give you choices (both experiential and economic) about where you stay and your ultimate proximity to those attractions/locations you are most interested in. With teenage kids, we've enjoyed the proximity of the GF or the CR to MK - when with other adults, staying closer to Epcot with it's dining options has been a benefit. Have been to WDW high on the hog (GF, YC) and on the cheap (All-Stars). If the ultimate goal of WDW was to try and be all things to all people, they have come close in some ways to becoming that type of resort.
Originally Posted By demderedoseguys >>Our longest trips to WDW have been ten days, and on day ten I am definitely ready to go home. For me it was not so much disappointment in anything; just a case of how many times can you walk through the same parks. This year we are going for twelve days, but a couple of those days will be occupied by our daughter's wedding. I figure Epcot is always good for three days. The Animal and Magic Kingdoms are each good for two days. The Studios is good for one day. That totals eight days. Days nine and ten we kind of looked at each other and asked "well, what do you want to do now?" Downtown Disney always used to be good for a day but now is hardly worth more than two hours. We go to the Art of Disney and the Christmas store and that is about it. Everything else is a complete repeat of stuff you see in the parks. What we SHOULD do is head over to Universal for a couple of days. But when you have annual passes to WDW it always seems like you are wasting money if you do that.<< That's it for me in a nutshell, except I spend more time at the Epcot resorts since I can walk to either from the BW or BC. The best thing I ever did was buy DVC because I love Disney, but the worst thing I ever did was buy DVC because I feel guilty if I go anywhere but Disney, not to mention the discounted AP and Disney Dining Experience. One of these days, I'm going to skip a year, but I just got back 8/1 and already miss the place. To address the original premise of the thread, I think WDW is just right. Look at it from the standpoint that it's no different than if you rented a hotel off property and visited all the attractions in central FL. My guess is that you would spend at least the same time on a bus and face the same issues if you forget something at your hotel, etc. WDW,in all it's vastness is still quite convenient.
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 Consider if you're at DL and want to see animals. How far away is the San Diego Zoo? The bus rides at WDW may be too long for some, but everything is still within reach.
Originally Posted By DOG1 If you compare WDW to DLR: 1. WDW - an animal park, EPCOT (unique), a movie park, a DL park and 2 water parks all reachable in 15 minutes or less by bus, monorail, boat, etc. Not to mention golf, boating, etc. available at WDW as well. 2. DLR - the DL park and a movie park together, but animal park/zoo is 2 hours away, another movie park is 1 hour away, another theme park with some decent thrill rides and a water park is 15 mins away and a thrill ride park is 2 hours away (SFMM) So if you want variety and proximity, it seems like WDW has it all over DLR.
Originally Posted By barboy ///but animal park/zoo is 2 hours away,/// Actually, normally 1.5 hrs.--- perhaps 1 hr. 20 minutes even. ///and a thrill ride park is 2 hours away (SFMM)/// With nasty traffic north on I-5 yes 2 hrs; with typical traffic patterns figure 1.5 hrs. tops; with very light traffic 1 hr. to 1 hr. 10 minutes.
Originally Posted By smeeeko ^still I would rather be at WDW.. I've been there about 14days max (food & wine fest) and there is plenty to do at WDW without leaving property. If you want though, you can go to IoA and Sea World (that can tack on a few more days if you really wanted) but seriously.. everything you need is right there at WDW, The only thing I'm a little bummed is that one of the few places where a couple of adults can go and have fun without the kids is closing in September.. I love the Adventurer's CLub and would go at least once or twice when staying at WDW.. now there won't be a reason to go to Pleasure Island anymore. Still there is plenty to do at WDW and even if we go every year, our trips are always unique.
