DisneyQuest or WonderWorks?

[Nostromo]

Hi!
The penultimate day of our 3-week trip to orlando in April-May 2004 is still vacant and unscheduled. We want to get up late and relax until after lunch but want to go somewhere after 2pm. We can afford to stay out late as our flight the following day is late in the evening and we have all of that day to pack. So, on this penultimate day we have narrowed our choice of visit to two, either DisneyQuest or WonderWorks but we cannot make up our minds. There are a couple of 9 year olds in our party and four 40-something kids. We are veering towards WonderWorks because of the option of the Attraction + Dinner Show at only $3 more than the entry ticket for DisneyQuest. What do you experts suggest?

[steph_goodrum]

"and we have all of that day to pack"
Have you taken into account that you will probably have to vacate your accommodation by around 10-11 am dependant on the terms and conditions.
The villa owner may well be expecting guests on the day of your departure who will expect to check in at 4pm and even if you leave a t 10 am there is only hours for the villa to be prepared for the next guest, much of that time is taken up with laundry etc, as you can imagine, especially if there has been a party of eight there are a lot of towels and sheets to wash and dry as well as all the other cleaning.
Also don't forget to allow for being at the airport 3 hours before departure.

[Nostromo]

Oh yes, Steph I have. We were fortunate to get an EXTREMELY helpful Villa owner who has already given (in writing) us leave to stay until 5pm on the last day. Since out flight is at 8:25pm, we cannot stay much longer than that! We have kept absolutely nothing for that last day except clearing-up and packing. I think we have more than enough time to do that before 5pm. Knowing my party, we are likely to be done and dusted by lunchtime.

[Nostromo]

As for cleaning, my obsessively tidy father-in-law is more than likely to finish his packing after breakfast and spending the next few hours cleaning and tidying up the villa. He has already told the rest of us that "we must leave it as though we had never even been there". Knowing him, he won't sleep otherwise.

[steph_goodrum]

The cleaners will be very grateful to you, if he happens to change the bedding, make sure you leave a note for the cleaners or they might change the clean ones
I must admit we always like to go and have a decent meal before we get on the plane, then when on board we can adjust our watches to UK time and try and sleep as much as possible on the way home.
Still haven't solved your dilemma over Wonderworks or Disneyquest but unfortunately we've not been to either so can't help, Gatorland is another 1/2 day visit which is suggested for the last day as it's reasonably close to the airport.

[MTP]

I would love to know the answer to this as I am really keen to try Disneyquest. In fact our last holiday included my birthday and as a birthday present Aileen said she would look after the kids for the day and I could have the day at Disneyquest. Anyway we have just spent the last year mainly apart (long story, but due to educational requirements) so I didn't want to spend time away from the kids in the middle of this. Aileen had also been in a car crash just before our holiday and was having real problems with hip pains (in fact we can recommend a really good chiropractor in Kissimmee as we visited it every second day of that holiday).

So, a bit like those Disney passes with days that don't expire, I am still hoping for my day at Disneyquest, but is it worth it?

Best wishes,


Euan

[blott]

Well, we've been to Wonderworks but not to Disney Quest. If you've got kids (or adults) who like something like a smaller version of the Science Museum, then it's great. Lots of 'hands on' things to do, try out, etc. When we were there, they had a wind machine which you could get inside and try out hurricane force winds. Just one tip, the food was awful so I would try and plan eating somewhere else! Oh, they've got a website at http://www.wonderworksonline.com

Now all you need to find is someone who's been to Disney Quest!

[athurstance]

Disney Quest is brilliant - much much much better than Wonderworks. If you have kids from about 8+ they will absolutely love DQ. My two boys are 8 and 11 and they would spend their entire vacation in there. Even DH and I enjoyed it - there is something for everyone really. The arcade games are free - absolute bliss - no children demanding more and more money to shovel into the machines. There are some fantastic virtual reality rides - Pirates of the Caribbean is superb as is Aladdin and there is a space one (can't remember the name) where you have to pick up colonists - brilliant. And there are lots more too.
The VR rides you do as a family which is great fun. And of course it is all wrapped up in Disney Theming.
The only downside I would say about DQ is the service in the restaurants. The food is excellent but the counter staff are some of the most inefficient disney employees I have ever come across - if you want to try the cheesecake (which you must!) then eat before or after the main lunch rush as they simply cannot deal with a crowd.

[chris]

The other thing I'd say about Disneyquest is make sure you feel well before going in. Any hint of a headache and forget it. It's a bit like when you get the feeling of being in a shopping centre too long. We also had a bit of trouble with motion sickness on the rides where you put a virtual reality head set on and each see your own version of it.
My 2 boys loved it. It's definitely a boy thing but my daughter did enjoy pirates. We managed to get away without being sunk umpteen times. Must have done that ride at least 10 times in the one day!

[Nostromo]

Thanks Chris. We HAVE to watch it then. I get migraine as well as motion sickness and my sister-in-law had similar problems with VR headsets.