Disney World!

[returningliberty]

Hey guys, I'm taking my girl to Disney (gonna pop the question there too, luckily she doesnt read this board ), and I'm wondering if anyone has been there before and what advice would be on where to go / what to do/not to do there etc.
Pretty sure I'm going to select the Animal kingdom (we both love zoos and animals) but failing that we'll stay @ Coronado. Going to try to spend the days there, then hit Orlando for most nights. No kids or anything, just us. She really wants to go though.
So, ideas? Comments, thoughts?

 

[Specularius]

I would recommend the board walk over AK any day, but would stay at a cabin at Fort Wilderness as a first choice. The Flying Fish is one of the best places to eat. Victoria and Albert's at the Grand Floridian is the absolute best but it comes at an extreme price.

 

[king4456]

Animal kingdom sucked. My kids hated it and so did I. Worse part of disney. We stayed at fort wilderness condos and loved it.

 

[Jub Jub]

We stayed at the Coronado and had a terrible experience in 2009. I didn't even ask - I demanded- one night rate taken off my bill. Fire alarm went off at 1am and stayed on for 40 minutes. No exaggeration. The parks are awesome and we had no complaints there but my advice is to avoid the Coronado. Have fun.

Jub

 

[RyanW]

Sounds like somebody needs to watch Mallrats

 

[Golden-Eagle]

Schedule the Aloha Dinner Show. It's a great location for the question.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/disneys-spirit-of-aloha-dinner-show/

 

[drpc]

Boardwalk

Do you want to be in big crowded hotel or would you perfer a more isolated stay. Old Key west Villa is quieter and y'all would have less people around. I've never stayed at the Wilderness lodge but that would seem to be a more relaxed isolated place to stay.But my #1 choice is the Boardwalk! Not too crowded (we went to the Grand Floridian for breakfast and that hotel is noisy and crowded) and the entertainment along the Boardwalk is a great.(Jugglers and magicians at night, Jelly Rolls Piano Bar and a the Atlantic Dance Hall.)Boardwalk is great for vacations where you don't want to spend every second at the Parks. It's a short walk to 2 miniture golf cources where you could let her win! I assume you'll pop the question during the fireworks at the castle! But the Boardwalk has a nice Gazebo on the Lake that would be a nice spot to pop the question. (It's by the ESPN club so if she says no you could drown your sorrows and catch a game there)Plus you take a boat ride from the Boardwalk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios which beats the buses big time. You can't go wrong with a stay at the Boardwalk Inn. But book it early, it fills up quick.

 

[LACamper]

We stayed at the Carribean resort last time. It was OK but we had kids with us. There's a nice view of the fireworks from the hotel on the bridge by the pool.

 

[scooterj]

Animal Kingdom Lodge was a let down. Sure the room was nice, but you won't see as many animals as they lead you to believe. And it was too far from the parks, at least a 20 min bus ride.
Coronado Springs is very spread out. We walked at least 1/2 mile to get breakfast near the lobby. The rooms weren't any nicer than a Holiday or Hampton Inn.
If you don't plan to spend much time at the "hotel", go with one of the budget "hotels".

 

[Booseman]

Since you are young and you might enjoy it, I would head to Downtown Disney and hit all the clubs at night. There are also some great places to eat there just be ready to pay for it. I have not been home in a long time but what used to be Church St Station also has some nice places to eat and that is downtown Orlando. Hotels in Florida are a dime a dozen and I would suggest staying in the park. It will make for a much easier time while there.

Next suggestion is that you absolutely have to go to Universal!!!! That is a great place for adults and they have some of the best rides in the entire state. Get the VIP package, it is expensive but very worth it. If you are going to stay for an extended time frame I would also suggest making the drive to Tampa and hit up Busch Gardens!!!!

 

[aard3]

Epcot... really cool. Make sure you spend a day here.
Sea World, pay to feed/pet the dolphins and be sure to check out the dolphin show, along with the whale one... The seal show was kinda lame.
Kennedy Space Center if you have time... it another whole day event.

 

[jasonj5313]

Epcot is awesome, you should try going around the world. (Drink an adult beverage from every country)
I almost made it, but it was fun trying.

Universal is cool

It's not super expensive so I suggest buying the VIP package for sea world.
Skip the lines, personal guide, reserved seating, play with penguins, etc...

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[john17427]

It's been a while since I've been there, but I used to like any of the Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club trio of hotels. From any of those three you can walk to Epcot where you can catch the monorail to Magic Kingdom. Or, you can take a boat from them to MGM. It's been a while, but those were the best somewhat affordable hotels. I've heard the Grand Floridian is pretty nice though.

 

[Booseman]

Also to throw this out there, you can arrange a proposal with Disney. You can do it right in front of the castle and they will take pictures and everything!!! You could have the characters around and all.

 

[Cat]

Epcot is awesome, you should try going around the world. (Drink an adult beverage from every country)
I almost made it, but it was fun trying.

Universal is cool

It's not super expensive so I suggest buying the VIP package for sea world.
Skip the lines, personal guide, reserved seating, play with penguins, etc...

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

Yeah... I did it on our anniversary trip during the Food and Wine festival. The wine flight, four countries, the beer flight, the liter of sangria in Italy at lunch. The Japanese peachy plum wine concoction, the grand mariner slushie in France. The most booze I have ever drank. It took all day, reason #1 I didn't have alcohol poisoning but it was a damned miracle and my husband never wants to pack my passed out ass through a theme park ever again.

Point is: Epcot has ALOT of alcoholic selections and if you have any ounce of enjoying flavor over just getting drunk, avoid drinking around the world. Oooh peaches! Ooh, blackberry wheat, I love berries!! Ooh, wine with the faint scent of crushed rose petals. yeah. That crap sucked me in.

 

[LACamper]

Seaworld was great. I think my daughter liked it more than Disney. We even did dinner with Shamoo (food sucked - burgers and hot dogs- but eating w/ an Orca sitting on a rock two feet from you was pretty cool).

 

[Gus McCrae]

I love WDW. I have more fun there as a grown up than I ever did as a kid. IMO, you don't even need to bother going to Orlando at night. Downtown Disney is fun as is whichever park is open. The way the wife runs things, we get there at the opening of whichever park we are at and end up at which ever park is open late for magic hours..... If I'm lucky, we go back to the room in the middle of the day to cool off and take the sleep ride for about an hour.

It's a shame the Adventurers Club was closed. That was one of the best things to do while drinking..... Drinking around the World is fun, but I always have a problem getting past England.

 

[returningliberty]

Also to throw this out there, you can arrange a proposal with Disney. You can do it right in front of the castle and they will take pictures and everything!!! You could have the characters around and all.

Ya I think I'm going to try to set something up with Disney. They have an engagement hotline and everything lol.
Thank you all for the great advice! I think we're gonna save universal and sea world for later trips, especially considering the Staggering cost of the trip + ring to begin with lol.
Neither of us are drinkers, so I think we'll be able to avoid getting carried out of the park, but we're definitely going to spend some time bar hopping around.

 

[zguinness]

Sounds like somebody needs to watch Mallrats

"When Jaws popped out of the water."

"That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard."

 

[Gus McCrae]

Ya I think I'm going to try to set something up with Disney. They have an engagement hotline and everything lol.
Thank you all for the great advice! I think we're gonna save universal and sea world for later trips, especially considering the Staggering cost of the trip + ring to begin with lol.
Neither of us are drinkers, so I think we'll be able to avoid getting carried out of the park, but we're definitely going to spend some time bar hopping around.

Honestly, both pale in comparison to Disney. We actually made a trip to see universal about a year ago. I'm satisfied, don't need to go back. Disney does a much better job with customer service and attention to detail.