Going to Disney World with the kiddies this weekend

[kanrok]

Any suggestions?

[Shakeydave]

1. Skip DW and go up to Wekiwa Springs!

Rent a couple canoes, pack a lunch and see Florida before the F'ing Rat appeared!

[kanrok]

2. My 3 year-old will have a problem with that, I'm afraid

[Shakeydave]

3. Ahhh yes!

Do you live in FL?

[kanrok]

4. Nope

In the greater Chicagoland area.

[Shakeydave]

5. Next time you're down.................

post on it beforehand! We love to show off our more rural side! :hi:

[kanrok]

8. I happen to love it down in Fla.

Thanks for the heads-up.

[bearfan454]

19. I love that area.

Lived there 27 years before moving to Tx. Gino's East rules !

[fishnfla]

6. Have you been to DW before?

and no, I wont give you any bad advice because you're a Bare-ass fan.

[kanrok]

7. Never been there

I was deprived as a kid. All we ever did was go fishing in Northern Wisconsin. Is Favre ever going to freaking retire?

[fishnfla]

13. Favre has already retired, in a way

Fishing in Northern Wisc, you poor deprived soul. I'm jealous.

OK Disney advice. First of all you've picked a good time of the year. Off season, not too hot. we are getting rain on and off during the day right now, especially in the afternoon. rain, then sunny it'll drive you nuts.

the thing to do with Disney is get there EARLY, like first in line early. you can do anything you want before the crowds get in. Hit all the rides the kids want. if you see a line forming to meet a character that your kid likes, hop in. if you see a 50 deep line already formed, distract your kid and go the other way. The best way to have your child interact with the characters is to hit a character breakfast at one of the hotels. i think porto-fino has one, you need to make a reservation. Goofy and them come right to your table and you can take pictures at your leisure.

Ok after you've been at the park for awhile and the rain and crowds start to form up is a good time to leave, have lunch, hit the pool, give the young one a nap and then go back to the park for the light parade and fireworks in the evening. You have to see the light parade.By the by, if you like an adult beverage, you wont find one inside the park, and if you like to eat anything but turkey legs and gross expensive fast food, BYO.

before i give you any other suggestions, i guess i need to know how long you're staying and if you were planning to hit any other parks (hint,hint Universal) although the Disney safari thing is cool too.

I dunno what else ya got in mind?

[Shakeydave]

9. My dear fishnfla and kanrok.........................

does my Avatar bring back memories of yore?

[kanrok]

10. I'm glad the Bucs are no longer in our division.

The Bears will have enough trouble without you. Last I checked the Bucs were #1 in the NFL power ratings, and my beloved Bears were last.

[Shakeydave]

11. I miss the rivalries..................

that nobody outside the Central understood!

[kanrok]

14. The Bears have sucked for so long

(with the exception of 2001) that their "rivalries" were pretty much one-sided. I loved it when Sapp went after Favre. I could never really generate a hatred for the Bucs as I could (and still harbor) for the Packers.

[bearfan454]

23. I know they have.

I watched all the losing years with Payton. I watched them as a little boy when there were blizzards coming down in the back yard. My Uncle's would come over and them and my dad would drink what they used to call hi-balls in the gold rimmed glasses with the duck pics on them and smoke cigars. I saw Gayle Sayers, Butkus, Piccolo, Concanon, Payton, Dent, Gault, Singletary, McMahon and a bunch more. I was a kid back then in the late 50's and early 60's. They won the Super Bowl one time in my life in 1985. I was going through my divorce back then.I thought, Damn she even messed up the Chicago Bear Super Bowl for me too. But I still enjoyed it. If they win the super Bowl one more time before I die, I will be satisfied with that. You see, one thing that most people don't understand is that if you are a Chicago Bear fan, then you are a Chicago Bear fan from the day you are born until the day you die. Even if they go 0-16 for 50 years in a row, they are still your team. That's how it is for me folks....

[Shakeydave]

27. As well for me with the Bucs!

We don't have your rich history to buffer the disappointment though. I've been through it all with my team and wouldn't trade it for a second of Dallas Cowboy fame!

[bearfan454]

28. You guys rode to the the top last year

Your team did damn good !

[Shakeydave]

29. With many props to..................

Tony Dungy! Defensive genius!

[fishnfla]

15. Are you that racist guy from last night?

grrrrrrrrrrrr, just kidding SD

Great rivalries. Oh well you guys got the LOMBARDI trophy now so dig it

[Shakeydave]

16. Many years in the waiting!

Ain't that racism stuff, some poop? I was asking about a college!

[moof]

12. Tons , how long do you have for the data transfer?

been to the " World many times since the first trip with our 2 1/2 year old. How much info do you want, the works or just the basics ?

how long will you stay there

how many in your group

[kanrok]

17. Gonna have

4 adults and two kids, both girls, 6 and 3. Believe me, we need 4 adults to reign them in. Leaving Sunday, returning Friday. Need suggestions for dinner (adult, kids don't care what they eat). Will be staying on the property (some place called "Key West Resort"). Any help with "inside" knowledge would be appreciated. BTW, should I bother to bring my clubs or would that be considered selfish?

[fishnfla]

22. For dinner

Cafe Tu-Tu Tango on I Drive. You can also go any of the EPCOT restaurants (just to eat, not the attraction/park part---I think they let you do that) they have great international restaurants at EPCOT.

Any sushi lovers? the sushi restaurant at the Doplhin, which is a hotel at Disney.

[moof]

25. Cool, moof lives to plan trips to WDW

well that & to see the Bfee in ashes but we digress.

do you have tickets yet ? if so what are they ?

With a 3 and a 6 unless they are real gogetter nonstop non nappers you will probably have some time a couple afternoons to play a round. Sorry but not being a golfer here how long does 9 holes take ?

wow key west resort, nice place, who steered you there ?

For the money & two young ones one of the Monorail places might have been better but not a huge deal.

Also these simple tips.

Have a plan but don't worry about straying from it.
Always ask if something it is not what you want, more times than not the CMs will try to accomadate you.

Don't let a glitch slow you down or upset you too much, for a 5 day stay you are likely gonna get screwed over once but on the other hand you are likely to have one or two special happenings. Time flies at WDW don't waste time being upset over something & waste more time.

Here is a great place for more WDW info

http://www.wdwig.com/

Have any of the 4 adults been to the world before & when ?

What time (morning ,afternoon, evening) do you arrive In Orlando On sunday & what time do you leave on Friday ?

Renting a car ?
Planning on staying at WDW the entire trip or is a Universal studios/IOA or sea world day trip involved ?

[kanrok]

31. Thanks

I have no idea of we have tickets to anything. Being the male pig that I am, I left that up to my wife to plan. The Key west thing was planned, again, by my wife. She and my in-laws have been there before, but not for a fairly long time. We're leaving ORD at 0900, getting down there probably around noon. I'm fairly certain we're leaving around mid-afternon on Friday. Did not rent a car, but may depending on what comes up. We'll probably stay at WDW the entire time.

[Lorien]

26. Inside knowledge here

Worked for the Mouse (and still do) since '89. What kind of food do you like, and what's your budget? Will you be renting a car or using on site transport? Off property restaurants often offer a better meal without the themed ambiance. On property dining is best when the restaurant is NOT owned and operated by Disney-like the restaurants in the Pavilions at Epcot, which are managed by independent companies (often from the countries they represent). My favs are Italy (the original fettuccine Alfredo), France (the very best desserts) and Morocco (great kababs-and belly dancers for the boys). Britain has amazing fish and chips that are great for lunch or a cheap, quick dinner.
The Magic Kingdom isn't known for great cuisine, but King Stephan's Hall isn't bad (except for the price). Go for the Brown Derby at Disney MGM-great Cobb salad! Some of the Hotels have great places to eat, too. PM me if you want to know about dining off property.

Leave the clubs at home-I don't think you'll have the time, and what free time you'll have, you'll want to use resting. This place is huge! Take the kids to the Fantasia golf course in front of the Swan and Dolphin (goose and squid to us locals) if you have to have a fix! ;-)

[fishnfla]

30. Hey Jen 6

Do you know, can you just go to Epcot for the restaurants only? I love that Italian place too BTW.

whats cool about the restaurants at Epcot is all the servers and staff are natives of the country, talking to them about their home country and such, much digging it.

The English pub place is where most folks go to quaff the golden amber, altough Germany runs a close second

[Lorien]

32. Never tried to go for just the restaurants

How does that work? I've practically lived in the parks (started out as an Animator-with our studio in MGM-now work as a contract artist for the Parks, stores, global, etc.)I've generally had a "cast member" ID or pass to go wherever I want, but it would be nice to take out of state friends to dinner without a whole day at the park.

Yeah, I know what you mean about the employees at the Epcot pavillions; I made a few friends at Morocco over the years, and the Norweigens are always friendly.Those poor French kids have taken a lot of shit recently; I heard many had to be sent home because guests were threatening or even attacking them!

I agree on the Rose and Crown, too!

[sandnsea]

18. Here's how we did it

Mickey D's out the Buena Vista gate or stop at the store right there and buy quick breakfast foods. One of the worlds until 2:00, lunch and the water parks, Epcot or Pleasure Island in the evening. And the Fireworks Factory at Pleasure Island was fairly reasonable for lunch and delicious! And we did the luau at Sea World, there were coupons somewhere along the line and it was a little cheaper than Disney and really wonderful.

My second trip I took water pills to help with my swelling feet.

I LOVE Disneyworld, one of the best times our family ever had!!!

Oh yeah, if you do the Fireworks Factory, shrimp quesadillas for the 'Starter'. Yum!

[kanrok]

20. Thank you very much!

I'm gonna hit my wife (not "hit" my wife) with this and look like a hero.

[7th_Sephiroth]

21. Dude

dont go to DW, when i find the link i will post it but they have done some shaaaady stuff, oh and here is ONE link, another reason to hate them http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20020305_sprigman.html

[fishnfla]

24. make sure you do the character breakfast thing

from #13 above. Your wife and kids will love you. And yes bring your clubs.