Reddit reviews Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2012 (Birnbaum Guides)

I am not sure exactly how long you are staying at disney for. One concern is how many sit down meals you attempt to do in one day. I would really suggest only doing 1 sit down a day. Each sit down, more so at the buffets, contain a lot of food. Depending on your eating style, you may even find that you can split a Quick Service meal with your girlfriend(counter service- pick up food at a counter and then sit down at a table to eat- like fast food).

The buffet at Crystal Palace is good- sometime the walk from buffet to table can be long and you have to wind around people and characters. The characters will come to your table, so you dont have to track down characters. I like this better than standing in a line to greet the characters out in the parks.

Le Cellier is good- however- The Wave has many of the same foods and i was told by the chef that the stakes for the wave are the same cow as they serve in victoria and alberts (we had eated at V&A before the Wave and told our waitress the meal at the Wave was great, she got the chef and we complimented him as well, great experience). So i admit, i recomend the Wave over Le Cellier. However, next time my boyfriend and i got to disney, we are planning on eating at Le Cellier.

Jiko- great place. Also, The Mara is a QS location at AKL- great QS food that is not just hamburgers.

I would also choose 50s prime time over sci fi.

I have not done spirit of aloha yet.

I have not done the fantasmic dinner (DHS is my least fav park).

Princess sotrybook dining - i did breakfast, it was good but crowded

Donalds safari - great breakfast, i HIGHLY recomend booking this before the park opens. As in if AK opens at 9 am, book your breakfast for 8am. You get to walk into the park before it opens and you can have a "leisurly" stroll through the unopened park. Great for snaping photos of the Tree of life without people in the way.

Via napoli - i ate lunch here. It was not amazing. i think they have reworked the restaurant since then. If i was not on the dining plan and payed for my meal out of pocket, i would have been upset. The food was Ok, Service was OK, but i admit to expecting a little more out of the place.

Teppan Edo - i have been here a few times. It is fun, but i will admit you will get more for your money by eating off propery at KOBE like mentioned before. However Teppan Edo can be fun and if you cannot leave property to go to Kobe, you can still book Teppan Edo.

Chef Mickeys - i like their breakfast. I know some folks dont, but i was happy with it.

Often- all of the buffet meals will have whole fruit on the buffet. I always grab an extra apple/orange/banana before i leave and save it as a snack for later.

If you want to do a dinner type show, i also recomend the Hoop De Doo review. It may be a little hokey, but the songs are great and it is fun. If you do the earlier showing of Hoop De Doo, you can try and walk over to the wagon ride (hay ride, whatever you want to call it). they have a large wagon pulled by 2 draft horses. I think the cost is around 7 or 9 bucks a person- cash, first come first serve. The wagon goes through the campgrounds and then out into the canal areas. Depending on the time of the year- the wagon will sometimes stop near the lagoon and you get to watch the MK fireworks from across the water. It is a neat experience because you SEE the fireworks, and then HEAR them with a delay. the wagon driver will basically talk as much as you like, he will either stay mostly quiet if no one engages him, or he will talk your ear off if you talk to him.

For touring, i plan out my stay almost to the hour. This helps to remove stress and keep everything on schedule during the trip. I will create a schedule within excel showing the days of the trip, park opening times, firework schedule, meal reservations (with number) and a general idea of what park to go to based on opening times, crowd level and meal plans.

I would recomend using touring plans to help with touring ideas. however their important info has to do with the crowd levels in the parks. I pay the yearly fee to have full access to walt disney world info. Very much worth it.

Also, if you have not already, perhaps pick up a tour guide book. Not so much to use at the parks, but to prepare you. In the US, i recomend Birnbaums. I am not sure if the same book would be good for the UK market.

Also, dont try to do EVERYTHING in one day. Take a break. I often will go to the park in the AM, come to the hotel around lunch and use the pool a little, then head back out to a park for the evening. Do something on the side, rent a little power boat at one of the marina's (i recomend the Poly marinia). it gives you a chance to rest from all of the walking you will do and you may even find those little side items you do will have a more lasting memory than some of the classic rides within the them parks.

have fun!!!!

I would definitely recommend looking for dates with a free dining plan! It's totally worth it...and trust me - the year will fly be and you'll have twelve nice months to save for souvenirs and the like. I'm not sure if they do free dining during the summer - I know they do it during off seasons like January and September...But if you are going to be going to college that makes it difficult (we had to cut our trip short by a few days so I could get back to school...ugh!)

Let me know if you have any questions! I'm pretty familiar with Disney World, have stayed at a value resort (they are all the same pretty much!) and the Wilderness Lodge, and the dining plans. If you want some easy reading (that will make you squeal and get you so excited), I'd recommend Birnbaum's Guides to Walt Disney World....They come out with a new one each year and even have special ones like traveling with/without kids, etc. I also found a set of Disney Vacations DVD's at Best Buy for $30....5 or 6 DVD's covering each of the parks! Great to watch with the family to get excited and learn more about what the rides are like and where to eat!

Another great way to save and get great vacation deals is by opening a Disney Rewards Visa credit card...You earn 1% Disney reward dollars that you can spend in the parks. You've got a year to save with that! They will send you e-mail and promotionals with free dining plans or 30% off an entire vacation! Definitely worth it if you are responsible with a credit card. Just pay it off in full each month and you're good!

I DIGRESS OH MY GOODNESS I AM SO SORRY! I'm tellin' ya, I could just go on and on and on. And with that, I'll totally stop. For now.

From my own experience, I would suggest the all-stars resorts if you are looking to stay on a budget(all-stars movies, music, and sports), they seem to have the best rates i've found in the past. They also have food courts in those resorts that are decently priced with a good selection of food. They have buses running from the resorts to all of the parks so you can get around pretty easy if you are staying on the property. I think the longest bus ride we ever had was 15 min.

Check out this book if you are going, i've used it the last 4 trips I've taken and it's been pretty helpful http://www.amazon.com/Birnbaums-Walt-Disney-World-2012/dp/1423138619. you should be able to find it at any local book store.