5 Things I Wish I Knew on My First Disney Trip

So there are all these little things that you don't know until you actually experience it, or you become a Disney nerd like me and research it.  :)  I thought I'd share a few of those valuable little tips I've found to be most helpful. 

1.  If there is theater style seating (like Philharmagic, It's Tough to be a Bug, American Adventure, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, etc.) you do NOT want to be first in line.  If you are first, they make you go all the way to the end of the row.  You want to try to be somewhere in the middle of the crowd, that way you get a seat in the middle of the theater.  (FYI:  There really aren't any "bad" seats).

2.  On most attractions, if there is a particular place you want to sit, ask.  You might have to wait until the next round, but most cast members will try to help you out.  This is the place where dreams come true, right? 

3.  You do not have to have park hopper.  If you don't want to stay in the park all day, you can leave and come back to the same park in the same day.  Park hopper tickets cost more, so don't pay for park hopper unless you really need to go to different parks in one day.  Oh, and you can always get a base ticket, and add park hopper later if you decide you need it.  You can even add it in the middle of your vacation if you want to.

4.  If you have small children, the stroller is so worth it.  You do a LOT of walking at Disney World.  It took us three years to figure out that our daughter was so much happier in a stroller.  Whether you bring your own, or rent one at the park, it is totally worth the trouble.

5.  The most popular attractions get crowded early, and run out of FASTPASSes early.  Head to those FIRST.  Before your trip, make priorities about the things you most want to see and do, and make sure you get to those first, then you can do others if you have time.  Use FASTPASS so you don't have to wait in line as long for the most popular attractions.

Hope this helps! 

Until next time...
Disney Diva

We're Baaaaack!

So we returned just a few days ago from our most recent trip to Disney World, and I wanted to share a little about what I learned on this trip with you.

1.  WEAR TENNIS SHOES!  Before this trip, I would have argued this point with you.  Tennis shoes are hot.  They are gross if they get wet.  But this year, I decided to try it out, and I tell you, I will never wear flip-flops at Disney World again!  My feet and legs felt so much better after wearing tennis shoes.  If you are worried about getting wet, take a cheap pair of flip-flops in your bag.  The tennis shoes are so worth it!

2.  USE FASTPASS!  Well, this is a given.  But sometimes, you'll see that the wait is only like 30 minutes, and you know if you use your fastpass you won't be able to get another one for a couple of hours, so you decide to wait.  Disney does their best to estimate wait times, but they are not always accurate.  Sometimes I have waited in line up to 20 minutes longer than the posted wait time.  The FASTPASS is SO worth it!  Don't wait in line! 

3.  IF YOU'RE ON THE DINING PLAN, USE YOUR SNACK CREDITS!  We ended up with 19 snack credits left over on the last day of our trip.  That means when we were waiting in line over an hour for Splash Mountain (did I say how important it was to use FASTPASS?) we could have been enjoying a nice Mickey popsicle, or a cold drink.  Don't try to save them for later!  Use them!

4.  PLEASE RAIN ON MY PARADE.  No one wants rain on their Disney World vacation, but we did have a totally overcast, rainy day this year, and it wasn't that horrible.  The only bad thing was that we lost our Test Track FASTPASSES because they had to stop the ride due to rain.  Otherwise, though, the temperature was cool, the park was less crowded, and it turned out to be a fairly nice day.  It was definitely the most comfortable day of our vacation. 

We also checked out the Fantasia Gardens miniature golf course this time, for the first time, and really enjoyed it.  You do have to pay extra for it, but it was a fun afternoon activity after we were done with Hollywood Studios. 

The great thing about Disney World is that there's so much to do, every vacation is different.  I learn something new every year.  This year was no exception.  :)

Until next time...
Disney Diva

FASTPASS

So you're really excited about your trip to Disney World and you want to squeeze in as much fun as possible, but what to do about the lines!?!?  Sometimes the wait for a popular ride can be an hour or more!  How will you fit it all in?  The answer is FASTPASS!

Each park offers FASTPASS for its most popular attractions.  A few examples are Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris and Animal Kingdom, the three "mountains" at Magic Kingdom (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad), Soarin' and Test Track at Epcot, and Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios. These attractions are most likely to have very long wait times.

CAUTION!  You can generally only have one FASTPASS at a time.  So you can't just plan to go in at 9 am and go around and get FASTPASSes for all your favorite rides and then ride all day long.  Choose your favorite ride first and head straight there as soon as you get to the park.  Get your FASTPASS and if you look at the bottom of your ticket, there will be a line that tells you when you can obtain your next FASTPASS.  It is usually after you are able to use the current one, but sometimes it will be a couple hours after you got it.  Only then can you head over to get another FASTPASS.

Another word of caution, some of the MOST popular attractions will run out of FASTPASSes quickly.  This includes the rides mentioned above, plus Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (MK), Rock'n'Roller Coaster (HS), and Mission: Space (Epcot).  If any of these attractions are must sees for you, make sure you head over as early as possible for your FASTPASS.

For more information on FASTPASS, go to:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/fast-pass/


Until next time...
Disney Diva