Walt Disney World!
(11 things we learned on our trip - September 2016)
Hi guys!
If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you know that I recently returned from a trip to Walt Disney World. I was lucky enough to go with my family - all 10 of us! It was a blast, and I'm still getting over my Disney blues by looking back over pictures and videos we took during the trip.
But besides being upset about just not being there (among the magic) anymore, I also find myself constantly having these "aw, man!" moments when I think of something I really wanted to do before we left, and then forgot to do it while we were there. Don't get me wrong, we did a LOT! Considering we had two toddlers (my nephews), a man in a scooter, and another who had knee replacement surgery in our group, I'd say we tackled quite a bit! But, I thought I would dedicate this post to share some tips, and some things I've already decided to try and do differently next time. (Because there will be a next time!) So, if you love Walt Disney World as much as I do... this one's for you! Here we go:
Tip #1: Arrive Early!
I don't mean get to the park when it opens (although we will get to that later)... I'm talking about getting to your Disney destination (your hotel; your Air B&B place; wherever you will be resting your head at night while you do the parks) at a decent hour - preferably, while it's still light out.
This was our first mistake. Our flight into Orlando did not arrive until 9:15pm or so. We were staying on Disney property (which I recommend, and will get into reasons why later), and one of the perks for staying on property is the free "Magical Express" transportation from the airport to your resort. Where we went wrong was getting there just after 9pm. On the paperwork we received (and everything I read about Disney's Magical Express leading up to our trip), it states that IF your flight arrives after 9pm, you are responsible for retrieving your own luggage at baggage claim. (Otherwise, you go straight to the terminal for the buses to take you to your resort.) So, we spent about 30 minutes (remember, there are 10 of us) navigating our way through the Orlando airport with two toddlers (past their bedtime) and 8 adults who were also tired from working full days before our flight. Once we reached the baggage claim, there was actually a man in uniform with a Disney name tag collecting bags. We asked him if we needed to get our bags (since it was after 9pm), and he kindly said they would take care of it. Good news: we didn't have to worry about our checked bags. Bad news: we were on the opposite side of the airport, and had to walk to other side to check in for the Magical Express. In all, we probably wasted about 45 minutes at the airport - all because we arrived 15 minutes after that cut off time for picking up our luggage, and were unsure of what to do.
SO, arrive earlier in the day to avoid the "do I or don't I get my bags?" conundrum. Also, I say to arrive while it's still light out - here's why:
Tip #2: Explore your Resort
If you stay on Walt Disney property (and you should), there are tons of ways to pass the time and things to know about each resort. If you arrive during the day, take the time to walk around and familiarize yourself with where the food areas are; where the pool area(s) are; and most important, where the bus stops are.
We knew none of this when we arrived. We had never stayed at this resort before, and I felt like all of us were walking around blind. We were dropped off at the front, so there were the usual food areas, gift shops, etc. that you would expect to find in the main building. But I wish we had time that first day to get familiar with where everything was. This trip, we stayed at Coronado Springs. It was beautiful - but I didn't fully appreciate that until I saw it the next morning.
Tip #3: Stay On Property
I know there will be some who disagree with me on this one. But, here's why I say it: Walt Disney World is huge! There's a lot to take in between Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and now the new expansive Disney Springs (formerly known as Downtown Disney). I know there are people who travel to Orlando to visit multiple theme parks, and if you plan on spending more of your trip at theme parks other than Walt Disney World, then it might make more sense to stay off property. But, if you're trip is more centered around the Disney theme parks, you will save a lot of time (and possibly money, if you hit it during one of their special offers) by staying on property. Not to mention, staying on Disney property (to me) just adds an extra something to the experience. You will be greeted every day by Disney cast members, who are trained to "spread the magic". If you have small children, they do an excellent job of making sure they are having a great time! As you can see below, my nephew made a new friend on our first day.
Also, Disney adds all kinds of perks to sweeten the deal for staying in one of their resorts. You will get first dibs on Fastpasses and dining reservations (which, if you know how hard it can be to get a spot at a character meal, then you know this is gold!)
And free transportation to and from all of the parks. Depending on which park you're staying in, this can be by bus, boat, or monorail.
Unless you're a Florida resident, when you go to Walt Disney World, you're there on vacation. But, if you were looking to relax, sleep in every day, and more or less, play things by ear, you may have picked the wrong vacation. The best way to take in the parks is to arrive when they open. The days we were there, there was still a bit of a crowd at the gate each morning. When you see this, don't get discouraged! You will still be able to get on rides and experience more (in less time than you'll get during the day) in those early morning hours. And the sleep you lose in the morning weighed against the time you get in the parks more than pays off.
On one of our Magic Kingdom days, we arrived when the park opened, and were able to ride Peter Pan's Flight, The Journey of the Little Mermaid, Dumbo, and enjoy a Lefou's Brew and a cinnamon roll from Gaston's Tavern ALL before 11am - with no waits! And it might be TMI, but we also made a stop in the Tangled restrooms for my potty training nephews during that window. (For reference, the park opened at 9am that day).
Tip #5: Take Breaks
For those of you who are thinking, "is this girl serious" with tip #4, this is where you get your early morning rest back. Go to the park early, do as much as your heart desires. Then, when the rest of the vacationers are arriving to the park (after sleeping in, grabbing breakfast, and missing all the fun!), you will begin to notice those wait times on all those beloved rides go from 10-15 minutes to upwards of 45 minutes. This is about the time you want to think about possibly grabbing a quick snack or a lunch, and heading to the gate, hopping on the bus back to your resort, and laying low for a few hours. Take a nap; relax by the pool; get a bite to eat - recharge! Disney is a blast, but it will take a lot of you if you don't pace yourself.
This is another reason why I suggest staying on Disney property. You won't lose as much time going back and forth between your resort and the parks if you're less than 15 minutes from your room.
Now, if you're NOT staying on property, or you're a die hard who just will not leave the park under any circumstances mid-day, then my advice for you is to take a break in a different way. Find a show (more than one) where you can sit and relax in an air conditioned room to enjoy a less intense part of the park. Some of my favorites in Magic Kingdom: Country Bear Jamboree in Frontierland, The Enchanted Tiki Room, and The Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square.
Also a good break spot in the Magic Kingdom is The People Mover in Tomorrowland. If you find yourself needing a break in Epcot, go to any of the shows in the World Showcase (ie. Canada, France, and America all have really great shows to see). If you're in Hollywood Studios, go see MuppetVision 3D (never gets old - for kids and adults), Indiana Jones (seating is outdoors, but it's still a must-see), Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage. If you need to cool off or kill time in Animal Kingdom, go see Festival of the Lion King, or It's Tough to Be a Bug (you should do both of these even if you don't need a break).
Tip #6: Use Fastpass+
Fastpass+ is offered to everyone holding a ticket to the Disney theme parks. It's not an add-on, and it costs no extra money. It's a little gift from Disney - make sure you use it, and use it wisely! The long and short of how it works: you are allowed to pick up to 3 of your favorite rides and attractions to sort of save you a spot within a certain hour for the day you will be visiting that park.
The best uses for fastpass+ are for rides and attractions that are the newest or the most popular. At the time we went, Frozen Ever After had just opened in Epcot. I wasn't able to get a Fastpass for that one, so we headed straight for it right when the park opened, and waited less than 20 minutes to ride. Thanks to Fastpasses, that was the longest we had to wait for any ride all week.
Once you use up your 3 Fastpasses, you can schedule one at a time after that, as many times as you want. So, for example, I had 3 Fastpasses scheduled for mid-morning/early afternoon in Magic Kingdom for Peter Pan's Flight, Splash Mountain, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Once those were used, I scheduled another one for Winnie the Pooh for later that evening when we came back to the park. Then another for Haunted Mansion after that. You can keep doing this until the park closes, or until there are no more Fastpasses available.
I will say, if there's a ride that you really want to do, don't wait until the day of to hope you get it (after your first three). Book your top 3 "must dos" when Disney opens your window to book it. If you're staying on Disney property, you can set up your Fastpasses 60 days out. If you're not staying on Disney property, you can set yours up 30 days from your trip. (Another shout out to Tip #3)
Tip #7: If you don't get the Fastpass+ you want, Don't Sweat It
Like I said, we did not get the Fastpass for Frozen Ever After. And if there's a ride that you have to do, but are like me and just aren't willing to commit more than 30 minutes of precious park time to wait in line for it, then here are three ways to do it:
(we'll call these sub-tips for tip #7):
1) Do it first thing in the morning (wait times will only get worse as the day goes on). In fact, I believe the posted wait time for Frozen was 35 minutes, but we jumped in line anyway, and I'm so glad we did. I had read somewhere that Disney will often post wait times that are a few minutes more than the actual wait, so I was banking on that. But just for kicks, I checked the wait time later that afternoon, and it was up to 75 minutes. The ride was great, but I wouldn't have waited that long for it.
2) Do it just before the park closes. I read that Disney WILL let you get on a ride as long as you are in line for it before the park closes. So, if park closing is at 10pm, and you are in line for your ride at 9:59pm, guess what? You get to ride. And as an added bonus, you will probably be one of the few people in line for it. Most families with young kids will have made their way back to their hotels at that point. And anyone still in the park will most likely be heading for the gate, rather than thinking of jumping in line for one last ride.
3) Do it during the fireworks show or parade. Almost every park offers some night time show (especially now that Animal Kingdom has extended their evening hours). You will be shocked how wait times can plummet when there's a show going on. It's a give and take, but if you're willing to miss a fireworks show, or if it's something you can see another time in your trip, take advantage of that hour or more when almost everyone else in the park congregates to one location - leaving rides and other attractions completely open!
Tip #8: Spend Time with the Characters
Walt Disney's dream to create a place for children and adults to enjoy things together goes beyond the rides with the characters. There's something for everyone, from the old Classics, like Mickey, Pluto, Minnie, Chip, Dale, Goofy, and the Winnie the Pooh characters, to newer additions like Woody, Buzz, and Judy Hopps.
Character meet & greets sometimes have wait times that rival the most popular rides. So, unless you just HAVE to get your picture taken with Woody and Jesse, I wouldn't recommend waiting more than 25 minutes in line. If you can, plan some character meals into your trip.
We were lucky enough to score the free dining plan during our trip. That included a snack, a quick service meal, and a table service meal for every day of our trip. If you get the dining plan, I strongly suggest making some of your table service meals your character meals!
Even though Blaine and I were the only couple in our group with no kids, I had just as much fun as my nephews meeting the characters. Plus, when you "meet" a character that you spent your childhood adoring, it just adds a little something special to the trip!
Tip #9: Leave Time for Disney Springs
Like I said earlier, Walt Disney World is huge! There are 4 parks, and a 5th very big shopping & dining "park" (as I see it), Disney Springs. (The men may disagree with me on that one, but ladies, do yourself a favor and block out at least half a day to explore Disney Springs). If you can, plan your trip to where you can do this on your arrival day. This was another goof in our planning.
We made a lunch reservation at T-Rex in Disney Springs on the same day we went to Hollywood Studios. We had no idea how much there was to do in Disney Springs!
For the boys, there was T-Rex (even if you don't eat here, it's so worth peeking inside and looking around the gift shop), the Lego store, the World of Disney, and Once Upon a Toy. And for adults, there are countless places to shop and eat! We really did have to pry ourselves away from spending the whole day there.
In fact, we missed 2 of our 3 first fastpasses in Hollywood Studios because we were still shopping in Disney Springs (whoops). To try and compensate for the time we lost, we ended up skipping the Fantasmic show that evening and doing some rides instead (when wait times were low).
Tip #10: Leave Time to Repeat a Park
This one may go without saying. With all there is to do in each of the parks (particularly the Magic Kingdom and Epcot), leave at least one day open to revisit one of them. I've heard some families that will actually split the Magic Kingdom in half (ie. Tomorrowland and Fantasyland), and dedicate one full day to just that half of the park. If you're able to show that kind of restraint, kudos to you! I can't help but tap into almost every corner of the Magic Kingdom in one day. But, I also end up skipping a lot of things I would otherwise do if I had more time.
One of the things I kicked myself for when we came home was never going to the Country Bear Jamboree - it was one of my favorite shows as a kid, and we must have passed it 4 times in the 2 days we did the Magic Kingdom, but we were always on our way to do something else, and I never made it back there for a show. Also, you may be like my Mom who fell in love with the new Soarin' ride in Epcot, and wanted to go back there just for that ride. We never made it back to do that, either....
Which brings us to my last tip....
Tip #11: Enjoy! (And Go Again!)
You can spend two weeks or more at Disney, and still feel like you didn't cover everything you wanted to do. Make use of the Fastpasses; Take Breaks; Arrive as early as you can; But don't be too hard on yourself (or the people you're traveling with) to pack as much as you can into the time you're there.
Admittedly, some of my favorite moments looking back were the things we didn't plan, but just sort of happened. Like, the morning we decided to take our time and relax by the pool at our resort. (Our family made up for half the people at the pool that morning, so we were able to go down the water slide over, and over, and over..... my nephews loved that!) And the day we spent way too much time in Disney Springs and bought Christmas gifts for each other.
If there are things you missed, just try to plan to go again.
One of the big things I was looking forward to before we left was the Fantasmic show in Hollywood Studios. We ended up not seeing it, because we wanted to make the most of our time (since we had spent so much of the day in Disney Springs). So, instead of being super bummed about missing it, it just gives me another reason to try to plan to go back. (Hopefully, the show will still be going on by the time we save up enough to go again). But, don't be too hard on yourself if plans change.
See you real soon!
I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is so awesome Karyn! I am so glad you started writing this blog!
ReplyDeletethank you, April!! If anyone could write on Disney World though, it's you! :) I hope we can start going more! <3
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