1st Visit - Not Impressed

I got back from a week's stay and I'm not impressed at all with Walt Disney World. We went to Epcot the first day for the Princess Breakfast. That was way overpriced and the food wasn't really that good. Epcot in itself feels like it's just a bunch of gift shops themed around whatever country they happened to be in. It wasn't very educational at all for our 10 and 11 year old girls. The only upside to Epcot compared to the other parks is that there were more 'get wet' stations than the other parks which was invaluable considering the heat index was 100 degrees farenheit on our visit. Epcot' Relections on Earth show at night and the 4th of July fireworks were 2 thumbs up as well.

The second day we went to MGM studios. We were disappointed there too as there weren't hardly any rides with the exception of the Rockin Rollercoaster and the Tower of Terror. There were more shows than Epcot here though.

The 3 day on our 4 day park hopper pass was spent at the Magic Kingdom. This was the better one out of the three we visited. But yet again, they didn't have as many rides as I thought they would. And it was too crowded. We ate dinner at Tony's Restraurant, which was cute but way overpriced.

In general, all three parks were overpriced. I mean, $2.50 for a 16 ounce bottle of water? And most adults seemed to have lost all sense of manners when the walk through the main gate. I saw more adults dragging around miserable kids that weren't having any fun than I care to remember. I wish Disney would make a kids section for the shows so that the smaller children can see around the big adults that insist on taking up that space. And adults should be made to stand back a bit during the parades and let the kids up front so they can see. One suggestion I would make is to list which characters appear at which parks on a board at the Main Gate of each park. My little girl spent most of the day at the Magic Kingdom looking for Jasmin only to find out that the only park she visits is Epcot in Morrocco. We spent quite a bit of time in Morrocco when we were there and never saw her. Alladin is at Magic Kingdom but Jasmin never visits?? My daughter was disappointed. One thing I must commend Disney on though. All of their employees are very polite and accomodating. Great attitudes too. Disney's shows are top rate as well. It looks like they try but definitely miss the boat for us.

The Sleuths Mystery Dinner Show was not that great either. The lasagna was runny and cold and the salad was wilted. While we were there we couldn't use the lady's bathroom because the plumbing was working therefore we left early before we even found out 'who dunnnit'. Way overpriced at $128 for 4 people.

The only thing that saved our vacation was the villa we stayed in. We stayed in the Highlands Reserve. Absolutely stunning to say the least! Was very impressed with the community here and the homes themselves. A Publix grocery store is opening this week right around the corner from there as well. I can't say enough good things about my experience with the home we rented. Loved it! And the kids loved the pool! They say that was the best part of the whole trip.

Well, next vacation we've decided to go the educational route and make a trip to Washington, D.C. I don't think we'll be back to Florida anytime soon.

Oh, sorry about the rant. I just needed to get it off my chest. Thanks for listening.

Please dont write off Florida until you have tried the rest of it. Disney was obviously not for you but did you try either of the Universal Parks, Seaworld or Busch Gardens? Or the water parks? The Disney experience is a big part of Orlando but it is only one part and the rest of Florida is a totally different experience again. Washington is great ( I have done that too) but only for one trip. Perhaps you could give Florida another shot at a future date and do the non Disney part?? Glad you liked your villa stay anyway. A lot of us on here own homes and it is always gratifying to hear that.
PS went to Sleuths at Xmas and had a totally different experience of it ( though we did avoid the lasagna, having read on here that it was the worst of the three meal choices). Perhaps you caught them on a bad night.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your vacation although I'm pleased you enjoyed the home you rented.

OK, so now you've 'done' Disney and I'm sorry it wasn't a 'magical' experience for you but that's not all that Florida has to offer by a long way! As Julie says, there's Sea World, Discovery Cove, Universal Studios, Busch Gardens, etc and loads and loads of unusual things to do and see there, so please don't write it off as a vacation destination altogether!

We also enjoyed Sleuth's dinner show but were pre-warned that the lasagne wasn't the best choice on the menu. There's a lot of British humour in the shows, although the US guests who shared our table seemed to be enjoying themselves and we managed a good chat with them in between times.

Enjoy your next vacation in Washington and perhaps you'll feel able to return to Florida some day and sample some of the other delights on offer there.

Hello,
I would agree that the food is overpriced. You would have been better off going too Hollywood and Dine in MGM (you can eat the entrance fee in smoked salmon alone).
I do disagree that Epcot is not very educational. Every pavillion is packed full of informtion and very talkative/informative staff. My kids spend forever chatting to castmembers and always come away learning something new (but they are bright and very outgoing). The World Showcase is the same, of course there are shops but hey this is a business. Spend time chatting to the castmembers and they are more than keen to tell you all about their native land. The architecture is also surpisingly good for a cut down version. Each country has its own unique show which are also very good. Did you not see the show in the american pavillion, its worth the entrance fee alone. Along with test track, honey I shrunk the audience, space ship earth, figment, the living seas, universe of energy etc etc.
Water at $270 bottle is arip off, thats why most people take in their own (freeze it the night before). Just ask at any food place for a cup of ice and your away.
Each park does have an area where which tells you waht time and where each character will be (surpised you missed this). Also if you had stopped and asked any cast member they will call in and find out for you. Its waste of valuable time just wondering around hoping to find a character.
Slueths dinner show - I do agree that this is not the best.
Also we visted Washington DC to see the sites and museums. Its a pretty scary place, did not feel safe at all. Two many down and outs (and some other very wierd folk) bothering you all the time. Its somewhere I would not rush back too.

[quote]quote:Originally posted by MsRuthieB

I got back from a week's stay and I'm not impressed at all with Walt Disney World. We went to Epcot the first day for the Princess Breakfast. That was way overpriced and the food wasn't really that good. Epcot in itself feels like it's just a bunch of gift shops themed around whatever country they happened to be in. It wasn't very educational at all for our 10 and 11 year old girls. The only upside to Epcot compared to the other parks is that there were more 'get wet' stations than the other parks which was invaluable considering the heat index was 100 degrees farenheit on our visit. Epcot' Relections on Earth show at night and the 4th of July fireworks were 2 thumbs up as well.

The second day we went to MGM studios. We were disappointed there too as there weren't hardly any rides with the exception of the Rockin Rollercoaster and the Tower of Terror. There were more shows than Epcot here though.

The 3 day on our 4 day park hopper pass was spent at the Magic Kingdom. This was the better one out of the three we visited. But yet again, they didn't have as many rides as I thought they would. And it was too crowded. We ate dinner at Tony's Restraurant, which was cute but way overpriced.

In general, all three parks were overpriced. I mean, $2.50 for a 16 ounce bottle of water? And most adults seemed to have lost all sense of manners when the walk through the main gate. I saw more adults dragging around miserable kids that weren't having any fun than I care to remember. I wish Disney would make a kids section for the shows so that the smaller children can see around the big adults that insist on taking up that space. And adults should be made to stand back a bit during the parades and let the kids up front so they can see. One suggestion I would make is to list which characters appear at which parks on a board at the Main Gate of each park. My little girl spent most of the day at the Magic Kingdom looking for Jasmin only to find out that the only park she visits is Epcot in Morrocco. We spent quite a bit of time in Morrocco when we were there and never saw her. Alladin is at Magic Kingdom but Jasmin never visits?? My daughter was disappointed. One thing I mus

Im sorry that you did not enjoy your visit to Walt Disney World, I do have to agree with some of your statements but I do believe that visiting these parks in the fall time, winter, and early spring would be much more enjoyable as due to the hot temps in Florida it is very hard to enjoy all 4 of there wonderful parks. My kids usually visit one park while we are down here in the summer and enjoy more of the water parks which are fabulous and well organized.

I would tend to agree about the princess breakfast food - we went to the one at MK in the castle. The food was so-so but it is the atmosphere and the chance to meet characters which are not really easily available elsewhere that you are paying for. It was my youngest son's 4th birthday when we went and they gave him a little cake with a candle and had everyone sing happy birthday to him. We saw Prince Charming, Beauty, Cinderella, Fairy Godmother and they all took plenty of time for photos and autographs at each table.
Can't agree about Epcot not being educational though. You can see and play with all the latest techie stuff in Innovations - my kids can be in there for hours - its not only games either although they have these its new phone systems and communications and all that stuff.
The main pavilions are full of educational info - it is like a huge encyclopedia and having everything so visually displayed with hands on exhibits is - in my opinion - the best way to learn about anything. Where else can you be told about plants growing in moon soil and actually see them for yourself for instance. I would agree with Martin - my kids are always chatting to the cast members in the pavilions and asking this and that and the CMs are usually very well informed.
I'd love to know where you go that has more rides and shows than Disney for you to be so disapointed. This was the one thing that absolutely floored me when we first went to Disney World - just how much was actually there - so much to do so little time. I've never been to anything that compares with it.
We love Universal and Busch Gardens too for the rides - more thrill rides I suppose but less character.
Still at least you enjoyed your villa. It is wonderful in the heat to be able to chill out in the pool isn't it? I love the way I can just sit either in the jacuzzi or on the pool deck and let the boys play around in the pool. They can be in the pool for hours.
I notice you didn't mention the water parks - we usually go to one every day and it is one of the real highlights of our trip. We get a lot of 'family time' on the raft rides etc then I chill out with a book while the daredevils hit the slides.

Sorry to hear that you did not like Disney. But we enjoy it. Always find plenty of rides and things to go on. We usually have a meal with Pooh Bear and characters at MK and with Mickey at Epcot.

We also can't agree that Epcot isn't educational, plenty of things for the kids to do and learn about.

My husband and I were discussing why we feel that WDW wasn't up to par for us while everyone else here enjoyed it. I believe that a lot of it has to do with the Amusement Park we visit every year. Disney is a Theme Park. I believe therein is the difference. Here's the rides at Cedar Point: http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/ins...s.cfm?defimg=1
It has 16 roller coasters, shows, a water park, it's on the beach, several resorts to choose from, and it's within a half hour drive from our house. I guess we're a little spoiled in that we are used to a ton of rides (and rollercoasters). Yeah, I think Cedar Point has spoiled us for any other parks. Plus, we may have enjoyed it more if it wasn't so crowded and so hot all at once. I still believe it wasn't worth the money though. Oh well, you can't please everyone :)

I chose the cheese lasagna at Sleuths because I'm vegetarian and that was their only option. Other dinner shows that I looked at didn't have many if any non-flesh entries.

We really did want to visit Blizzard Beach but it closes at 6 p.m. That's early don't you think? Why would it close so early when the sun doesn't even set until about 9? We passed Wet and Wild and considered going there, but we had already purchased our park hopper tickets to Disney.

I agree that there did seem to be more interesting things to do besides WDW. Maybe in a few years we may return. Like I said, the villa was beautiful. I wanted to bring it home with me. As a matter of fact, my husband jokingly mentioned making the owner an offer to buy it. I'm going to refer my friends if they ever are going to visit that area.

Disney is a Theme Park not an Amusement Park .....lots of people using Disney can't use roller coasters.....too young....too old.....ill health....etc.....I think the parks in Orlando are gearing up too much now towards people who like roller coasters.....I have to pass tons of rides I can nolonger use because of my bad back....

Food...well I just send it back if I'm unhappy......it is over priced but I go to the themed dinners for the fun of them not the food....
I don't look for anything educational when I take my kids away....unless its to do with the local area.....I like them to have a breakaway from everything if I can....so I've never looked at visiting the countries in Epcot in the way I think you were trying too.....it is just shopping for gifts from the countries.....a nice quiet walk after a busy day.....

You can ask anyone in Disney where you can see the characters at any given time......its also best to visit in spring or fall.....the heat would be too much with so many people in summer for me....I'm sure it makes everyone a little bad tempered......
Orlando and the whole of FL are not just the parks.....there's so much history to the place if you do your homework before leaving.....
I really hope Disney and the other parks add no more rides that are not suitable for everyone....young and old...if I want lots of wild rides....I'll go to an Amusement Park....I'd hate to see Disney and the others turn their parks into something like that.....

I just looked at Cedar Point and if that is the sort of theme park you like with lots of white knuckle rides, you would have loved Universals Islands of Adventure or Busch Gardens which are much more along those lines than Disney is.