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INTRODUCTION - ABOUT THIS BOOK
1. It Really Is a Companion While some information is better communicated in prose, other details are best presented photographically. For example, photos of rooms or the pool at a Disney hotel are better than verbal descriptions. Our 850-plus-page Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World is the most comprehensive guidebook in print to Disney's Orlando empire. However, when it comes to visualizing something, there's just no substitute for a good photo. So, to cover all the bases, we offer this companion book There's more than enough information here to plan your entire Disney vacation, but if you want to dig deeper, using the Color Companion in conjunction with The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World gives you the whole enchilada.
2. This Guide Has a Sense of Humor There are plenty of dry, plodding travel guides for readers who would prefer to know how many rivets there are in a flying elephant than to have a good chuckle. As for us, we're all about providing excellent information and having some fun. No useful information was sacrificed to make room for humor in the Companion. We nailed down the essential content first and then added artistic and humorous elements to make the Companion a zippier and more enjoyable read. So, if you can tolerate a little irreverence, parody, and general wackiness, the Color Companion will serve you well.
3. Sometimes We'll Pull Your Leg We might describe a fantasy resort that's 100 feet underground with rock-chiseled furniture and an occasional mole in the guestrooms, or an octopus sandwich with tentacles everywhere and malevolent eyes peeking from between the buns. We're pretty good at this, and sometimes we might fool you for a minute, but to make sure you don't call Disney reservations and attempt to book a room, or try to order the octopus sandwich at the theme park, we've included this little icon to signal that we've taken a brief break from reality.
4. It's in the Genes The humor in this guide is totally consistent with the humor in The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. In fact, most of the humorous elements in Color Companion originally appeared in the Big Book, though not in photographic form.
PART 1: PRACTICAL STUFF
WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD
Selecting the Time of Year for Your Visit
Walt Disney World is busiest Christmas Day through the first few days of January. Next busiest is the spring-break period from mid-March through the week of Easter, and then Thanksgiving week. Following those are the first few weeks of June, when summer vacation starts, and the week of Presidents' Day.
The least busy time is from Labor Day in September through the beginning of October. Next slowest are the weeks in mid-January after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend up to Presidents' Day in February (except when the Walt Disney World Marathon runs after MLK Day). The weeks after Thanksgiving and before Christmas are less crowded than average, as is mid-April-mid-May, after spring break and before Memorial Day.
Late February, March, and early April are dicey. Crowds ebb and flow according to spring-break schedules and the timing of Presidents' Day weekend. Besides being asphalt-melting hot, July brings throngs of South American tourists on their winter holiday. Though crowds have grown in September and October as a result of promotions aimed at families without school-age children and the international market, these months continue to be good for touring.
The Downside of Off-Season Touring
Though we strongly recommend going to Disney World in the fall, winter, or spring, there are a few trade-offs. The parks often close early during the off-season, either because of low crowds or special events such as the Halloween and Christmas parties at the Magic Kingdom. This drastically reduces touring hours. Even when crowds are small, it's difficult to see big parks such as the Magic Kingdom between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Early closing also usually means no evening parades or fireworks. And because these are slow times, some rides and attractions may be closed. Finally, Central Florida temperatures fluctuate wildly during late fall, winter, and early spring; daytime highs in the 40s and 50s aren't uncommon.
Given the choice, however, smaller crowds, bargain prices, and stress-free touring are worth risking cold weather or closed attractions. Touring in fall and other "off" periods is so much easier that our research team, at the risk of being blasphemous, would advise taking children out of school for a Disney World visit. Lastly, don't forget August. Kids go back to school pretty early in Florida (and in a lot of other places too). This makes mid- to late August a good time to visit Walt Disney World for families who can't vacation during the off-season.
Crowd Conditions and the Best and Worst Parks to Visit for Each Day of the Year
We receive thousands of e-mails and letters inquiring about crowd conditions on specific dates throughout the year. Readers also want to know which park is best to visit on each day of their stay. To make things easier for you (and us!), we provide at touringplans.com a calendar covering the next year (click "Crowd Calendar" on the home page). For each date, we offer a crowd-level index based on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being least crowded and 10 being most crowded. Our calendar takes into account all holidays, special events, and more. All you have to do is look up the days of your intended visit on the calendar. Our online Crowd Calendar explains why we rate the parks a specific way on a specific day, including how we weigh the various factors listed above. The site also shows you our predictions versus actual crowd levels for past days, so you can see how we fared with our predictions. To support our research, there is a small charge to access the calendar.
Extra Magic Hours
Extra Magic Hours (EMHs) are a perk for families staying at a Walt Disney World resort, including the Swan, Dolphin, Shades of Green, and the Hilton in the Downtown Disney Resort Area. On selected days of the week, Disney resort guests are able to enter a Disney theme park 1 hour earlier or stay in a selected theme park about 2 hours later than the official park-operating hours. Theme park visitors not staying at a Disney resort may stay in the park for Extra Magic Hour evenings, but they can't experience any rides, attractions, or shows. In other words, they can shop and eat.
UNOFFICIAL TIP If you're going to get up early for one morning Extra Magic Hour session during your vacation, make sure it's for the Magic Kingdom.
Summer and Holidays
The upside to visiting Disney World among teeming hordes of vacationers is that Disney puts on an incredible array of first-rate live entertainment and events to compensate for the packed parks.
Shows, parades, concerts, and pageantry continue throughout the day. In the evening, so much is going on that you have to make tough choices. Concerts, parades, light shows, fireworks, and dance productions occur almost continuously. Disney also provides colorful decorations for most holidays, plus special parades and live entertainment for Christmas, New Year's, Easter, and Fourth of July, among others.
If you visit on a nonholiday midsummer day, plan to arrive at the turnstile 30-40 minutes before the stated opening on a non-Extra Magic Hour morning day. I you visit during a major holiday period, arrive 1 hour before. To save time in the morning, buy your admission in advance. Also, consider bringing your own stroller or wheelchair instead of renting one of Disney's.
Hit your favorite rides early using one of our touring plans, and then go back to your hotel for lunch, a swim, and perhaps a nap. If you're interested in the special parades and shows, return to the park in the late afternoon or early evening. Assume that unless you use FastPass+ (see page 40), early morning will be the only time you can experience the attractions without long waits. Finally, don't wait until the last minute in the evening to leave the park—the exodus at closing is truly mind-boggling. Above all, bring your sense of humor, and pay attention to your group's morale.
PART 2: WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORTS
Animal Kingdom Lodge and Villas
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge combines African tribal architecture with the exotic, rugged style of grand East African national park lodges. Your entrance into the lodge's main-building (Jambo House), five-story lobby, featuring a thatched roof and native art and artifacts, will definitely make an impression. So too will the lodge's restaurants—Boma's buffet and Jiko's fine dining—which readers consistently rank among the best in Walt Disney World.
The Animal Kingdom Lodge's swimming complex is among the best in Walt Disney World too, with a zero-entry pool for small children and enough space for everyone. The lodge's rooms feature hand-carved furnishings and colorful soft goods. Most rooms have balconies, and those that face the savanna offer the opportunity to see wildlife grazing throughout the day. At night, the lodge offers campfire storytelling and night-vision goggles to better see the nocturnal animals.
Kidani Village, sister resort to Animal Kingdom Lodge, has similar design, theming, and artwork, albeit on a smaller scale. Kidani rooms are decorated in lighter tones but feature hand-carved furniture and balconies similar to those in Jambo House. Kidani has one restaurant located
downstairs from the lobby. Sanaa (sah-NAH) is not as upscale as Jiko, the resort's African restaurant, but the kitchen offers diners a chance to sample and share a variety of Indian-African creations. The naan
bread sampler is delicious.
Strength
Beautiful lobbies
Excellent on-site dining options
Nice pools
On-site cultural and nature programs
Best theming of any Disney hotel
Weaknesses
Beautiful lobbies
Excellent on-site dining options
Nice pools
On-site cultural and nature programs
Best theming of any Disney hotel
PART 5: THE MAGIC KINGDOM
SORCERERS OF THE MAGIC KINGDOM
APPEAL BY AGE: Preschool ***1/2 Grade School ****1/2 Teens ****
Young Adults **** Over 30 **** Seniors ***
What it is Interactive video game. Scope and scale Minor attraction. When to go Before 11 a.m. or after 8 p.m. Comments Long lines to play. Authors' rating Great idea; HHH. Duration of presentation About 2 minutes per step, 4 or 5 steps per game. Probable waiting time per step 10-15 minutes. The Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom combines aspects of role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons with Disney characters and theme park attractions. Your objective: to help the wizard Merlin keep evildoers from taking over the Magic Kingdom. Merlin sends you on adventures in different parts of the park to fight these villains. Each land hosts a different adventure within the game.
The game is played with a set of trading cards—similar to baseball cards—with a different Disney character on each card. Each character possesses special properties that help it fight certain villains. Pick up the cards (free), plus a map showing where in the park you can play the game, at either the Fire Station on Main Street, U.S.A., or across from Sleepy Hollow Refreshments in Liberty Square.
You'll need your park ticket to pick up your first set of cards and start the game. One card, known as your key, is special because it links you to your game. You'll need to present your key card when you pick up a set of cards to start your next adventure.
When you pick up your first set of cards, you'll view an instructional video explaining how to use them and the object of the game. Then you'll be sent to another location to start your first adventure. Each location in the park is associated with a unique symbol: an eye, a feather, a dragonfly, or something along those lines. Look for these symbols on the map to find the best route to your starting point.
Each adventure consists of four or five stops in a particular land. At each stop, another story will play on a video screen, outlining what your villain is trying to do. Merlin will ask you to cast a spell to stop the villain—to do so, hold one or more of your cards up to the
