• Overrated: Main Street, U.S.A.: In the early days, Main Street was a fantastic collection of A-ticket and B-ticket attractions. Main Street Cinema, Main Street Arcade, The Walt Disney Story, glass blowers, and more. There were quaint side streets and areas such as Flower Alley. Today, Main Street is just a large shopping mall. The Emporium, which carries virtually no unique or park-specific merchandise, dominates the entire west side of the street. The Main Street Bakery (which is quite good for a cup of coffee or pastry in the morning, however very busy) and other food options line the rest of the street. Save yourself some time, go directly to your first attraction when entering the Magic Kingdom, and maybe consider visiting on your way out of the park.
• Underrated: Columbia Harbor House: Pecos Bills may have the most condiments, and Cosmic Ray’s may be the busiest, but Columbia Harbor House is hands down the best. The selection is a bit more limited than the Magic Kingdom’s other two large counter service restaurants, however it is usually tasty, quiet and quick. Honorable mention for Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station – on those rare times that it is actually open.
• Overrated: Table Service Restaurants in the Parks: There are very few table service restaurants that are within the confines of the 4 WDW theme parks that I can honestly recommend. Teppan Edo, Tokyo Dining Room, Biergarten Restaurant, and Le Cellier (if you can get a reservation) are all I really highly enjoy. I highly recommend the options outside of the park, including Boma and Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Beaches and Cream at Yacht Club Resort, The Wave and California Grill at the Contemporary Resort, and Raglan Road at Pleasure Island.
• Underrated: Non-thrill rides: Some of the best rides in the parks are the ones with shorter lines, great theming, and a shot at some real rest and relaxation. After all, this is a vacation, right? Tommorowland Transit Authority is the model ride for this in the Magic Kingdom. Universe of Energy at Epcot is a fantastic ride for air conditioning and short waits. Great Movie Ride is probably the closest thing at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch gets the nod here at Animal Kingdom.
• Overrated: Disney’s Hollywood Studios: While this park has it’s fans and websites dedicated to it (Hi, Matt Hochberg!), I find it to be my least favorite. This park can be done easily in half a day – we hit Rock’n'Roller Coaster, Great Movie Ride, Toy Story Mania, Muppetvision 3-D, Star Tours, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, had PhotoPass pictures taken, and had lunch in our first 4 hours there. Add in that this was while baby swapping and during the first day of Star Wars Weekends, and it should be indicative of the size of this park. The dining options here are easily below the quality and variety of other parks. The only reason to stay late for this park is Fantasmic, and that is if you are there on a day it is being performed and don’t mind standing in line for an hour or more to get into a showing.
• Underrated: Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Interestingly, many of the same fans of DHS (Hi, Matt Hochberg!) find Animal Kingdom to be a half-day park. While Animal Kingdom does close earlier than other parks – typically at 5:00pm – it is meticulously themed, with attention to detail not seen in any other theme park in Orlando, or possibly the United States. The park is light on classic Disney rides – there’s only one true dark ride – however there is so much to explore here. Treks through trails full of exotic animals. Broadway-quality shows for the entire family. Great food, especially at the Yak and Yeti counter service restaurant. It’s great to spend some time at Dawa Bar and Tusker House. We had no problem getting there at rope drop and staying until the park was closed, and loved every minute of it!

So, there we go. Let me know what you think in the comments!

1. Overrated: Mickey’s Toontown Fair.  You want to meet Minnie, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy?  Don’t go here.  In my humble opinion your time would be better spent elsewhere.  Now I see the arguments now, “I have kids who have to meet Mickey, I have no choice.”  Well you do.  First of all, you have to wait in separate lines to see the characters at Toontown.  I much prefer the character pavilion at Epcot.  You get in one line and in an orderly fashion you get to meet all the characters in one shot.  You’re in and out.  Or consider a character breakfast.  Pick the breakfast with the characters your kids most want to meet and get that out of the way at breakfast.  Now that I’ve saved you 2+ hours of life you’ll have otherwise never gotten back, you can go ride Space Mountain again.
2. Underrated: Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe.  I didn’t think it was that bad!  It was crowded — extremely crowded, but the food wasn’t horrible as I’ve previously read by other Disney enthusiasts.  In fact, the Greek salad I had there was the best on property.  Also, considering how busy they were, we got our food FAST.  They definitely have their work flow down pat.  And the entertainment, aka Sonny Eclipse, was cute…although I did think maybe they could have used that area for extra seating.
3. Overrated: All the restaurants in World Showcase.  I’m sorry…maybe it is because I live in Atlanta and the restaurants here are fabulous or because I’ve visited many other countries, but the food at World Showcase just is ok.  I think the only restaurant that deserves mention is Tokyo Dining at Japan. The sushi bar is truly an authentic experience.  I also enjoy a brat at the counter service restaurant in Germany.  Literally every other place I’ve eaten has just been mediocre.  Mexico – come on – EVERYONE has eaten decent Mexican food.  Don’t waste your money.  Although they do get an A+ for atmosphere.  Chefs De France?  I was tres disappointed.  The French onion was good but really, Ruby Tuesday also makes a “good” French onion.  The German buffet was ok– not great, but ok.  I also enjoy the pastries at the counter service restaurant in France, but I’ve had better baked goods at Publix.  Granted, I haven’t tried all the restaurants and I do have it on my list to try Morocco and Le Cellier.  I just can’t bring myself to try the Chinese restaurant or Italian. Call me a food snob, I just call it how I see it.
4. Overrated: Boardwalk Resort.  Why is this resort so expensive?  It is definitely well appointed and nicely themed but I just wasn’t overly impressed and would opt to stay at another resort of the same class.   Boardwalk itself, is eh.  There is a couple of clubs, A Disney store, a restraunt or two but no counter service.  Where do I fill my mug at?  The pool is cool with the amusement park theme…I don’t know.  I just think it’s eh.  I think it’s the fact that there is no counter service.  It really bothers me!
5. Underrated: Goofy Candy Company Sweet and Sour Character candy.  I actually don’t know if these are underrated but I friggin’ love this candy!  I buy them the instant we get to the parks and eat them until I’m sick.  They are like sweet tarts but they crumble easily and are just delicious!  I wish I could buy them at home.  Boo.

What do you think?  What areas of Disney do you think are overrated or underrated?  Feel free to disagree with any of my assessments, I love a great debate!

• WDWMagic.com reports that FASTPASS will no longer be distributed during evening Extra Magic Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
• Get information on the 2010 Magic Your Way Vacation Plans and talk about them at the WDWMagic.com forums.
• Mark Goldhaber discusses Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival Reservations opening this week and other quick takes at MousePlanet.
• Wade Sampson of MousePlanet looks into Card Walker’s time at the helm of the Walt Disney Company.
• AllEars.net brings great photos of the opening day festivities at Bay Lake Tower.

Lesson 1: You need your own car at Walt Disney World.

If you have hotel reservations off WDW property (a.k.a. “Off-Site”), renting a car is the only reliable way to explore the Disney property. Getting to and from the airport will require a taxi or a shared shuttle (that will make several stops before getting to your hotel). The shuttles offered by most hotels only take you to the theme park gates – or sometimes only to the Ticket and Transportation Center – and are generally not reliable from a time perspective. If you want to go anywhere else, you will have to pay for a taxi. Instead, you should consider using your cab and shuttle fare to rent a car for your stay.

If you are staying at a Disney resort, you may be tempted to rely on the Walt Disney World Transportation System. We strongly advise against this. One of our guiding principles at Dis on a Dime is that time is money, and the more you have to stand around waiting, the less value you get out of the vacation you spent your hard earned money on. Disney’s Magical Express – which is a paid service much like a shared shuttle to and from the airport – will make several stops before getting you to your resort, with the added bonus of waiting hours for your luggage to be delivered. In certain situations Disney Transportation buses will get you to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom Park earlier and faster than driving – but that also depends on your resort and the number of bus stops on that bus route.

Think about this – after a long day at a theme park and waiting in line for attractions, your feet are hurting, your kids are cranky, and you can’t wait to get to your room. Would you rather hop in your car and go, or wait some more for a bus, shuttle, or taxi and make several stops before getting there?

Another advantage of your own car: you can get your supplies, food, and gifts for less money off-site. Sunscreen at a drug store, groceries for meals in the hotel and on the go, cheap breakfast at Waffle House, and fun gifts at the kitschy shops along US192 in Kissimmee.

So, now we know we need to rent a car. How do we get one cheap?

Lesson 2: Choose the smallest class car your family will fit in.

Though this may sound obvious, the easiest way to start is to only rent enough car to meet your needs. All you are really looking for is four wheels and an engine for a short period of time. There are two big advantages to this:

• Rental cars are priced by size “class,” from the least expensive smallest (“economy”) to the most expensive largest (vans, sport utility vehicles).
• The smaller the class of car you reserve, the better your chance of getting an upgrade. Rental agencies will only purchase a limited number of “economy” class cars, and will carry a large “midsize” and “full size” fleet. Pay for a small car, and you may likely get a larger car anyhow.

If you are a 2-person party, do not let a rental agency’s threat of a Hyundai Accent or Chevy Aveo scare you. First, these cars are perfectly capable of getting two people and their luggage around WDW for a week. Second, you probably won’t get one anyhow. My recent “economy’ size cars have included two Toyota Corollas, a Pontiac G6 sedan, a Saturn Ion, and a Mazda 3 sedan. I have still not been given an Accent or Aveo to rent.

For a family of four, you will most likely also be able to get by for a week in an “economy” rental. A family of four needing car seats for small children could consider moving up to “compact”. For larger families, “compact” or “midsize” should be your starting point.

Lesson 3: Use a credit card with car rental insurance for your reservation.

Do not pay for Loss Damage Waivers (LDW) or other types of rental car insurance from a rental agency. Most credit cards (including American Express) include some type of rental insurance, as well as many auto insurance plans.

Lesson 4: Use these two methods for the best price.

We only use one of two methods for reserving a car. In order of preference:

• Priceline. Unlike a hotel or a flight, I don’t care which vendor I purchase from. With Priceline, you choose your rental car class and how much you are willing to pay per day, and rental car companies will either accept your bid or deny it. If your bid is denied, you can try a different car class and bidding price, or wait 24 hours and try all over again. This process may take some time, so this strategy works best when you have 4-6 weeks or more of time before your vacation to secure a rental car. Bidding on Priceline is a bit of a science, and could take up an entire post in and of itself. Use BiddingForTravel.com to see what bids have recently been successful on Priceline to help choose an opening bid. Also, use sites like Hotwire to get an idea of what car rental rates per day look like for the dates of your vacation. Generally, bids in the $14 – $18 a day range will be successful in most seasons. On average, I pay around $150 – $190 to rent a car a week using Priceline – less than one night’s stay at most on-property Disney resort hotels.
• Deep Discount Coupons. Occasionally we have used a deep discount coupon to secure a better price on short notice than we could get on Priceline. These coupons can often be found from your auto insurer, auto clubs like AAA, and occasionally from the Entertainment Book. Never buy directly from a rental agency without a coupon!

The one major exception to these rules is if you travel for business regularly, in which case you may be able to use loyalty program points and status for upgrades and discounts.

Lesson 5: Fill ‘er up before you take ‘er back.

Rental car agencies will absolutely gouge you on gas prices if you forget to fill your car’s tank before returning it. Make sure to fill up at one of several gas stations around the Orlando Airport before returning your rental car.

A word of caution: DO NOT use the on-property Walt Disney World gas stations to fill your car before returning it to the Orlando Airport! Rental agencies consider those stations to be too far from the airport, so your full tank will not be “full” once you reach the airport and you will be charged for at least one gallon of gas at inflated rates.

Enrichment: Free Parking for WDW Resort Guests

As Syd mentioned in a recent quick tip, guests staying at a WDW resort can park free at all theme park lots.

My story begins here…it was lunchtime and Alex was hungry. It was also pouring rain and every restaurant was packed. I panicked. I had literally no where to go. I finally decided to run the Baby Care Center located right off Main Street near the Crystal Palace restaurant. What a life saver this was!

I tried wheeling my stroller inside — no can do. They make you park outside and schlep all your stuff inside. This was a pain. I ended up leaving some stuff in the stroller because I was alone and couldn’t carry it all. Once inside I was greeted by a lovely older lady and she gave the lay of the land:

A private breastfeeding room. This room had a closed door. I wasn’t breastfeeding so I didn’t go inside. Anyone have experience with this?  Are there comfy chairs inside?

Main seating area. This room had all wooden chairs, wooden highchairs, kids tables and chairs and a TV playing old Mickey Mouse cartoons. The decor was old fashioned colonial style. Kind of reminded me of the furniture you find in a Cracker Barrel. I wish there would have been a few couches or soft chairs because Alex was still bottle feeding and couldn’t sit up on her own yet. I had to hold her in the wooden chair and feed her. I did use the highchair to feed her some baby food. The equipment seemed safe and in good working order.

Changing table room. There were about 4 large changing tables. Underneath each table were large pieces of paper to lay onto the table, so no need to worry about it being sanitary. When you are done, you just throw the paper away.

Bathroom. A unisex bathroom is available for anyone to use.  It had about 2-3 stalls and was kept very clean.

Kitchen. The kitchen had a sink, bottle warmers, microwave to handle any feeding needs.  It also had items you could purchase or have charged to your room: Diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream, formula, etc.  All prices were ridiculous but it was nice knowing there were options in an emergency.

The one thing I didn’t like was there was no safe place to put baby on the floor while I went and cleaned her bottles or to go to the bathroom myself. I suppose I could have had one the cast members hold Alex but I was paranoid leaving her.  I ended up struggling to hold her instead.

The facility was very quiet and clean.  It was a nice place to take a break and get out of the rain!  I would recommend it to anyone with small children.

• Jack Spence at AllEars.net has a great article (and fantastic January 1972 pictures) of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
• Deb Wills at AllEars.net reviews the Gaylord Palms Resort and Spa, a favorite of DisOnADime.com!
• The WDWToday podcast ranks their top 5 WDW resort pools.
• MouseSavers.com has information on booking Free Dining at WDW – booking ends July 26, so hurry!
• WDWMagic.com readers can rent Big Leap GPS trackers from just $4 per day.

• Budget Travel shares some tips about a Walt Disney World vacation. We’ll be covering many of these topics in depth soon.
• WDWMagic.com reports that Beaches and Cream will be offering quick service breakfast over the summer.
• The WDWToday Podcast takes a look into the Disney’s Magical Express service.
• Sam Grennawey concudes a three part series on an urban planner’s walk through of Liberty Square and Fronteirland.
• Jack Marshall at AllEars.net provies a tribute to Austin Wuennenberg, the pilot who died at the helm of Monorail Purple.

Most counter service lines in the parks have a cast member who takes your order at a register station and then you walk forward to pick up your food. A lot of people don’t know or forget: The cast member takes orders from both sides of her register! So queue up on both the left AND right side for quicker service. Sometimes one side has no one in line!