Park navigation

[beachezncream]

Does anyone else get this amazing feeling when you walk into any of the disney parks AP in hand and know you can get yourself around without using a Map? and know that if anyone asks you where the bathroom is or like how to get to a certain ride you are totally prepared to answer that. haha and be correct.

I love to walk into MK and be like okay i want to go to get popcorn from the popcorn station in Tomorrow Land =] ..which I didnt see last time maybe i just overlooked it.

what do you enjoy about navigating your way through the parks?

[princessimagineer]

before i became an expert in this field (roughly 5 years ago) i remember being at home and looking at a map and asking my mom how to get from point A to point B and she would tell me all these different routes while i followed them on the map, AND BE CORRECT! i was awe inspired so i made it a point to someday be just as good.

now i can perfectly do MK AK and EPCOT, do you also find MGM to be sorta difficult? idk it might just be me. im still working on getting the countries in order, but i almost got it.

[RockinRollerMom]

It is a kind of coming home feeling for me when I enter a Disney park after being gone for a year or so. I have to admit that I still always pick up a map even though I rarely need to look at it. I get so proud of my DH and DD when they finally don't need to ask which way to go to get to something

I think my vast knowledge of all things Disney is one of the reasons why I can talk DH into going every year. This is truely a vacation for him. Of course with some input form DD and DH, I make all the plans, book all of the ADR's and always know where to go and how to get there. We always stay on-site so DH never has to drive.

I take a lot of pride in my disney knowledge, but at the same time I am not afraid to admit that I don't know something. There is always something new to explore. That's why I appreciate all of my friend here on intercot to guide me and answer my questions when I need it.

[beachezncream]

now i can perfectly do MK AK and EPCOT, do you also find MGM to be sorta difficult? idk it might just be me. im still working on getting the countries in order, but i almost got it.

MGM is a little difficult, but I think ive got it pretty much ... but AK is still a little confusing for me haha

also I have friends who are from other countries and i like to take them the Maps in their language =] also i took my french class an AK map in French

[mainemajor]

I get around great in MK, DHS, and Epcot, but AK still drives me nuts. I"ve gotten turned around so many times there that I have lost count. I do think there is hope though because on our last trip it only happened once and I have begun to learn some of the shortcuts.

[beachezncream]

absolutely , haha it takes Practice. Ak is confusing =/

[Mary M]

The best part is being able to navigate the park in your mind when you're not even there. Like dentist appointments, boring meetings, rush hour traffic...

[joanna71985]

Since I started working at WDW in 2005, I now can get around the parks without a map.

The funny thing is, that even when I'm not working and playing in the parks, I still get asked questions. Case in point- I was off from work (so in regular clothes) and waiting in Frontierland for Spectro. I was asked several questions while waiting. Not that I minded;I will always answer questions.

[#1donaldfan]

That's part of re-living the magic during our off (not at Disney) times. I like thinking about what I'd be doing if I were there RIGHT NOW, and in doing so, in my minds eye, I can see what's around and even catch a vague smell or two from that part of the park. I love knowing where I'm going and how best make my way there........even if I'm not there......

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I too find Hollywood Studios confusing until I've been in the park for a while. Then it all comes back to me. And I have to confess that AK is my least favorite park so I don't know my way that park very well.
But MK, no problem. We were late for an ADR at LTT one night. So my nephew Joe & I took off running to check everyone in on time. He went one way and I went the other. And I got there before him. It helped that I remembered short cuts as I was running.

[homeschool mom]

I love that feeling! I guess you could call it a little bit prideful, but I'm just glad I have been able to go to WDW enough times to know my way around. Like others, I still get a little confused in DHS and AK, but once I'm there a while, I'm fine.

[Jasper]

I have to sometimes be careful about bragging about things like this because while I don't have fully photographic memory it is fairly close. That means I can look at a map once or twice or traverse a path once or twice and I will have it locked in my memory. That means I don't even necessarily have to have been there to tell you a lot of the detail about each park. However, I will agree that Animal Kingdom is one of the more confusing ones to keep straight.

This actually gets to be a bone of contention between my wife and I at times because she can't find her way from the bedroom to the bathroom without a guide dog! So when she is out someplace she has been to several times and calls me for directions I get irritated because I don't understand why she is having trouble finding her way and she doesn't understand why I am irritated with her.

[ltam16]

I study the maps like crazy before a trip and the night before we go to a park to plan best routes,etc... MK and Epcot I have down pat. This past trip AK and DHS were a little easier. My dh actually said to me this trip that he now understands why I try to memorize it and that it cuts down on so much time because you know where you are going.

[Mickey91]

Since I started working at WDW in 2005, I now can get around the parks without a map.

The funny thing is, that even when I'm not working and playing in the parks, I still get asked questions. Case in point- I was off from work (so in regular clothes) and waiting in Frontierland for Spectro. I was asked several questions while waiting. Not that I minded;I will always answer questions.

We get that too and we only go as guests once or twice a year. It is an awesome feeling being able to help other guests. I almost feel like I'm playing in my own back yard and am playing hostess. Boy are you guys lucky I like you enough to let you play too!

[Polynesian Dweller]

It is a kind of coming home feeling for me when I enter a Disney park after being gone for a year or so.

That is exactly the feeling. When we walk through the entrance of each park for the first time each trip, it feels like we were just there yesterday. Fabulous feeling.

[xoHelloKittyox]

My family and I have a routine when going into MK and EPCOT, so that has helped me learn the parks like the back of my hand! I could sit here and map out the entire magic kingdom right now with out looking at a map or with out anyones help




i'm such a dork

[JasonH]

I'm the same way like others here. I know the way to everything that I know of, the shortcuts to get to certain areas and even where the nearest bathrooms are at. My fam usually relies on me as of late to be their "map". I've even mentioned to friends of mine, if I EVER won the Powerball and had enough money to take them on vacation to WDW, I'd be their tour guide. And speaking of bathrooms from earlier, remember, there are no bathrooms in Liberty Square. If you think otherwise, even CM's at MK will tell you technically there are none.

[boobalk]

To be able to go anywhere on property w/o guides, maps, or directions, is a wonderful feeling. Especially if, like me, you know all the shortcuts and how to navigate timely. But, to have others who are planning a magical journey call me to have a WDW "orintation" before they go...well, that is the ultimate honor.

[KineGirl]

I can close my eyes and trace each route through each park (and where my favorite turkey leg stands are) but when we enter a park the first thing I do is grab a map and check it out. Even though I was probably just there a few months ago and Ive researched the vacay to death I hate to think I might miss anything new. I wouldve missed the Kimpossible thing entirely if not for the map. Its also how I discovered VMK. Plus I feel I need to know all possible showtimes asap whether I want to go to the show or not.