Walt Disney World’s Overrated and Underrated: Ryan’s Turn
Author: Ryan Bennett
28
Sep
To add on to Syd’s great Disney’s Overrated and Underrated post, I’ve decided to post a few of my own:
- 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!
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4 Responses for "Walt Disney World’s Overrated and Underrated: Ryan’s Turn"
Damn….I had forgotten about the heyday of Main Street. Now I’m depressed at how bad it has become.
I still disagree about Le Cellier and would like to throw in the Hoop Dee Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness for a fun family meal with good food. The Wilderness Lodge Whispering Canyon Cafe is good for breakfast and BBQ dinner too.
The WEDway People Mover (yes, I still refuse to call it that stupid newer name) is one of the best deals in MK. Rarely any lines, and more times than I can count, we have stayed on and rode again and since there was nobody waiting, the CMs had no problem with it.
What do you think makes Le Cellier overrated? I’m interested.
Main Street really is a shadow of it’s former self. Most recently, some of the “buildings” such as the Hall of Champions (really it’s just one big facade for Emporium) have been under tarps for months. Additionally it was just announced that Main Street Bakery will be closed through October 6.
Magic Kingdom has really fallen down my list of favorite parks. I’m glad they are doing something as far as Fantasyland goes, but it makes you wonder what has really been going on over at the Magic Kingdom over the past 10 years. There’s only so many repetitive shops and Stitch attractions a person can take.
Hey Ryan,
I’ve with you on most of these. Definitely agree on AK. Not a huge fan of the Harbour House, but I enjoy the atmosphere and relative quiet of the place. I think DHS is what you make of it–you gotta do it right.
Keep these up!
-Henry
TouringPlans.com
You know me so well!
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