Category — i. Itineraries for Walt Disney World

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: MARCH 31 TO APRIL 8, 2012

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the table, but organized by park, not by topic.

(For more on April 2012 at Walt Disney World, click here.)

[Read more →]

(This is the first entry in a new series on Disney World Controversies.)

AFTERNOON PARADES OR AFTERNOON NAPS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD?

Welcome to the first stop aboard Magical Blogorail Teal. Enjoy the ride as we delve into the great Disney controversies, large and small.

I’m working on revising my itineraries, for a couple of reasons:

• To incorporate the Fantasyland Expansion and a few other more minor changes at Disney World
• To simplify them a bit, and
• To do a little better job at targeting lower crowd days.

While doing so, I’m going back to and testing first principles.  The itineraries are designed to show “all the best” of Walt Disney World in one eight night trip.

So what’s not the best?  What can be left out?  Can I leave out the afternoon parades? [Read more →]

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: MARCH 24 TO APRIL 1, 2012

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the table, but organized by park, not by topic.

(For more on March 2012 at Walt Disney World, click here.)

[Read more →]

There’s an unusual number of 8a openings in May at Walt Disney World.

So far, these apply only to the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, but this may change.

At the Magic Kingdom, every Saturday is showing an 8a opening–and Friday May 6th is as well.

At the Hollywood Studios, because of the re-opening of Star Tours, 8a openings are currently showing for May 20, 21, and 22.

The Animal Kingdom is currently showing an 8a opening on May 22.

These changes (and other differences from the usual Disney World patterns) require changes to the Autumn-Winter-Spring itinerary for these weeks.  Click here for details of these changes.

The best way to keep up with these changes is to check Disney’s park calendars.

SKIPPABLE DISNEY WORLD RIDES

Every ride at Walt Disney World is worth trying.

But not at the cost of your sanity.

If your pace it getting too intense–or you just need to cut some time out of your vacation–the image (click to enlarge) presents a few rides that almost no one will regret missing, and a longer list of rides that appeal to some and not to others, with notes about to whom these would most appeal when it’s not obvious from seeing the ride.

(See the Comprehensive Guide to Rides for a view of rides that includes not just skippable rides but also favorites by age group.)

For detailed reviews of each Disney World ride and attraction, see this.

ITINERARY LINKS

• For itinerary design goals and the basic December Itinerary, see this
• For shorter and longer itineraries targeted at the same December week, see this
• For itineraries covering all the other parts of the year, see this
• To design your own itinerary, see this
• For rides that might be skipped, see this
• For a comprehensive guide to rides and attractions, see this

LINKS FOR HOW OLD/TALL YOUR KIDS SHOULD BE

• How Old/Tall Your Children Should Be
• What if They’re Too Short/Young?
• Taking Your Too Short/Young Kids Anyway,&*#$@!!
• The Comprehensive Guide to Rides
• Rides That Might be Skipped

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DISNEY WORLD RIDES RANKED FOR LITTLE AND BIGGER KIDS

This chart (as always on this site, click it to enlarge it) ranks all attractions at Walt Disney World based on two different points of view:

• Vertically from the eyes of pre-school kids: best loved, to be avoided, or neither;
• Horizontally from the eyes of kids in the third grade or older, and their parents: skippable, favorites, or neither.

Groupings are based on ratings by age from a number of sources, on height restrictions, and on “scariness.”

If you have trouble interpreting it, this should help

• The lower right shows rides and attractions everyone likely will love
• The upper left shows ones everyone may find skippable
• The upper right shows ones 3rd graders and older guests will likely love, but that pre-schoolers should avoid
• The lower left shows ones pre-schoolers will love, but that every one else likely may find dull

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