Category: Uncategorized

Explore the History
Believe it or not, the history of Walt Disney World and many of the Disney parks vastly exceeds what you may witness without taking a second look at many areas of the park. Disney Imagineering has woven an elaborate story into each and every part of the Disney experience. From the hidden gems of the windows of Main Street detailing legendary cast of the company from years past, to the little painstakingly detailed processes they have created to bring authenticity to this all encompassing realm of fantasy we call Walt Disney World. 

Taking a moment or even a day out of your vacation to step away from many of the attractions to seek out and find just a portion of the elaborate story can truly make all the difference in appreciating and reaching a higher level of enjoyment out of the overall experience. Personally, I’d do some research before you head to the park and go in search of the hidden gems you may have overlooked in the past. If you enjoy little details, hit the history tab at the top of our desktop site for a closer look at the many backstories which have developed at Walt Disney World over the years. 

Of course, this mindset and travel plan may not work for everyone, but it’s certainly something you may want to consider if you or someone you know enjoy history or want to fully round out your Disney experience not only at Walt Disney World, but also at Disneyland and the many other resort locations around the world.

Try a Golf Trip
I understand that not everyone is a golfer, but to be quite honest with you I wasn’t until a few years ago either. I’m still terrible at the game, but I enjoy it now more than I ever have. However, what many guests may not realize is that Disney World features some incredibly top tier golf courses that have been featured on both the PGA and LPGA tour. If you’re completely new to the game, they even offer a short course called Oak Trail which is the perfect length for young or inexperienced players really looking to just enjoy the experience without frustrations. The courses are, simply put, beautiful. The facilities are incredible and the clubhouse at both the Palm and Magnolia courses (which share a clubhouse) are truly world class facilities. 

Beyond the building, the full scale course layouts are quite difficult and while they do not feature large elevation changes the length of the courses can be a bit daunting at times. Multiple sets of tees ease the “pain” of the distance element, but tight fairways coupled with deep bunkers can make for an interesting yet enjoyable day on the course. 

Again, not everyone is going to be a golfer or have a desire to play the game, but I bring up this point for an additional reason as well. Disney isn’t just about the parks in many regards. It is a multi-faceted experience where everyone can find something they enjoy no matter what you enjoy doing the most. You can golf, but you can also fish, snorkel, scuba dive, meet Imagineers, shop, ride horses, and eat at some of the nation’s best dining locations without ever leaving property. To be quite honest with you, that barely even scratches the surface of all the potential opportunities. 

Spend a Day Exclusively at the Resort
At some point in every Disney vacation, there comes a moment that you want to escape the crowds, there’s really no better way to do that (in my opinion) than to plan a day exploring your resort or many of the other resorts on property. In many cases the concept is entirely free to participate in, and there’s enough resorts on property that you’ll likely never run out of places to explore. From dining locations in the form of both table service and counter service, and even a few character meals spread in the mix, to casual lounges and dessert locations, there are so many options that even the most experienced Disney guests will find something new to try time and time again, 

As a personal suggestion, I would highly recommend heading to the pool at your resort for a few hours after a table or counter service breakfast and then heading off to another resort in the early afternoon to explore and take a few things in from a new perspective. As the night slowly closes in, enjoy a nice meal at Ohana, Whispering Canyon, or one of the many other excellent resort dining offerings (reservations highly recommended) before stepping outside to take in the Florida sunset, or a view of the fireworks off in the distance. All things considered, you can have a vastly memorable day without even stepping foot in the parks. 

Journey Outside of Walt Disney World
When I started writing this article, I intentionally went with just Disney in the title rather than Walt Disney World. Simply put, if you’ve done Disney hundreds of times, try something a bit different while sticking with the Disney brand and legendary service the company is largely known for. Journey on Disney Cruise Line to the Caribbean, Alaska, or one of many other destinations. Explore the world with Adventures by Disney which oftentimes take the fear and unknown out of traveling to an entirely new location. Just as mentioned above, there really is a Disney experience for everybody in some way shape or form across their elaborate travel lineup. Try something new, and you never know what may turn a seemingly simple experience into a true memory of a lifetime and a new favorite travel destination.    

So, what would you add to our list? As always, we truly appreciate you following along with us and continually sharing these articles with friends. Your support truly helps us grow and build this dream into a reality. If you’re looking for Disney tickets, don’t forget that the Official Ticket Center is offering free upgrades from base tickets to park hoppers for a limited time for 2 and 3 day tickets! Plus they’re continuing to offer a 5th ticketed day free with the purchase of 4 days! As always, we are affiliated with the ticket center (and receive support from them) and we truly appreciate any purchases made through the following link. 


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Booking reservations for a Walt Disney World resort can certainly be tough when you start the booking process late in the suggested window. Everyone has their favorite resort, and staying at your favorite resort can sometimes be a sole selling point in the thought of traveling to Walt Disney World in the first place. Accommodations can really make a huge difference in the big picture. So, here’s the secret to overcoming limited reservations in regards to resort accommodations. You have to be repetitive in searching. Check the online site for accommodations many times a day and be sure to check at random times. I know it may be difficult to do so, but booking late at night or very early in the morning on a week night can make an incredible difference in availability based on my experience. This is one of the many reasons I recommend a travel agency, especially for last minute vacations, because they will follow cancellations and availability for you as closely as they can. Personally I use and recommend Destinations to Travel (quote request form below), not only because they help us out in return but because they really do go above and beyond in situations like this.  

Also worth noting is that you have to be flexible to a certain extent. If you’re used to staying at a deluxe tier resort, you may have to “settle” for a resort you may have never stayed at before. If that is the case when booking, I would personally take whatever reservation I could find at my price point then continuously check the site and call the Disney reservation phone number to see if anything pops up that was not previously available. Sometimes it’s surprising what may pop up on the screen of a cast member answering calls at the call center and what may be on your screen listed as available at home. It sounds crazy, but bookings and availability changes happen incredibly frequently and incredibly quickly at Walt Disney World. Also, and as a final tip, I highly suggest that you check the reservations system for dropped reservations at each of the required payment or cancellation windows (31 days out for resort accommodations without incurring a small fee for cancellation). Many guests will give up on their vacation last minute for various reasons and will typically cancel right before it costs them any money to do so. 

For Booking Your Dining Reservations
Beyond resort accommodations, dining reservations are an entirely different circumstance and in many cases more difficult to reserve. One of the biggest questions in the realm of Disney dining over the last few years has been, “how do I get a reservation for Be Our Guest.” The location has been the “must-do” dining option on everyones list since the day it opened and for good reason. The theming is second to none and something that every Disney guest should get to see at least once. 

I was lucky enough be there just a short time after it opened and managed a walk-up lunch meal, but that is no longer an option at this time to my knowledge. Setting that short story aside, the solution to that often proposed question truly has a few answers. The first and possibly the easiest way to guarantee a time and date you want is to book the meal 180 days out and make the reservation online at around 6am on that 180 day mark. It seems obsessive, but it does work. The phone booking system wont open until an hour later, so it really is your best bet to get exactly what you want. Unfortunately, in our proposed case scenario, that may not be an option. 

The second best way to find a reservation you want is to continue checking back on the site between 6:00am and 7:00am each and every day until you secure the reservation you so desire (this applies for all dining locations that take reservations). I’m not entirely sure if it is true, but we were told at one point by a reservations cast member that the booking system updates the reservations added and dropped from the overnight window one hour before the phone system goes live for the day. While that may or may not be the exact reasoning, the strategy works and I’ve utilized it many times first-hand to secure difficult reservations even a few days before our vacation began. Last but certainly not least, don’t forget to check the day of your desired reservation if all else fails. It is a bit amazing how many things open up the day of or the night before when failing to cancel begins to cost guests money. It’s not a fool proof plan to wait that late in the game, but it can be effective if all else fails. 

Achieving Desired Specific Resort Room Placement
Specific room requests and location requests are something that gets talked about quite frequently on sites across the internet. Many claim that there is a fool proof method of achieving the room location or view that you want but in all reality that’s never the case. Personally, we’ve tried all the tips, left requests on our reservation and many other things, but the only one that has been even remotely successful has been calling the day of your reservation check-in date, or the day before. Occasionally a cast member can pull a few strings and manipulate the system a little bit, but unless you pay for a preferred room, there really are no guarantees. Of course, that’s probably not what you wanted to hear, but hopefully it takes you a step in the right direction. 


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For many of you reading this, you’ve either considered booking or have already booked a date for a Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party experience. There’s no escaping the reality that the party is very expensive at $89 – $109 per person, but I will say it is worth the money in many cases. However, there’s a few things I recommend you do to get the most out of the experience and limit the costs associated with the party itself in more than one way. 

Of course, I will preface this article with one main constraint that should not be overlooked, and that is that we have not been to this year’s iteration of the party. We went last year and have been in many years past, but the party itself does very slightly from year to year in regards to attendance numbers, exclusive dining offerings, and showtimes. With all of that being taken into consideration, here’s 5 of our top tips to get the most out of your Very Merry Christmas Party Experience. 

Get There As Early As Possible
One of the greatest “hidden gems” of the Christmas Party event is that guests can enter the party earlier than the posted 7:00pm official start time. While there has been some rumors of the time being pushed back this year for party guests, I do not believe it has been a widespread issue. Either way, despite the posted start time, party guests can typically enter up to three hours before the event actually begins (usually near 4:00pm for entrance with a 7:00pm event start time). 

Personally, I’ve found it highly beneficial to schedule your party day on a day that you either arrive at Walt Disney World, from a potentially mid-day flight arrival, or spend the morning and early afternoon exploring Disney Springs or enjoying your resort before the party begins. By doing so, you not only get to try something a little bit different, but also save yourself around $100 per person on ticket costs (unless you buy discounted tickets through one of the avenues mentioned in our 2017 Discount Disney World Ticket Buying Tips – What is the Best Option For Your Situation? and catch a better option). Interestingly, the party itself does not require admission in addition to the party costs. When you take that into consideration, you may even save money when compared to a one-day park ticket at typical pricing. Obviously, you’ll lose quite a few hours of park time, but as I like to say, you may discover something by doing so that make the experience entirely worth it in the end. 

Exploring the resorts can really add something to any Disney vacation. You can try new food, discover little hidden details or experiences like the Carolwood Room, or even simply relax and enjoy the ambience of a theme you may have never really noticed or fully explored in the past. In this particular case (and really in the case of any WDW vacation), I highly recommend getting at least one dining reservation at a resort hotel. Some of the best options, in my opinion, are Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge, Ohana at the Polynesian, and Chef Mickey at the Contemporary.     
  

Utilize the Attraction Wait Times
While this tip will seem a bit counter productive and slightly obvious, I still highly recommend that once the party begins, take serious advantage of the roughly a hour to hour and a half window between 6:00 and 7:30 to ride attractions with shorter wait times. As the crowds of the day slowly get “booted” out for party guests, the attractions will typically (its not guaranteed) have a slight lull in wait times. Throughout the night, you’ll likely find other randomly short attraction queues, but in my experience that early window of opportunity or staying late is the best way to take advantage of attractions. 

Additionally, use that previously mentioned time of early entry, before the party officially begins, to ride as much as you can. Once the party begins, you’ll want to grab free desserts and see the special shows and fireworks, so you’ll want to get as much done as you can before those events begin in regards to attractions. One more thing not to forget is that character meet and greet offerings will be widespread and outstandingly unique in many cases. The most popular character interaction I witnessed was a meet and greet with all Seven Dwarfs in Christmas costumes. The wait time for it was exponentially long, but also something you’ll want to consider when laying out your night in the parks.      
    

Make Sure To Try All The Different Food Offerings
As mentioned above, the Very Merry Christmas Parties do include desserts and snacks throughout the night which are included with admission. For years, the dessert offerings were fairly limited to mostly sugar cookies and hot cocoa, but now those offerings have grown exponentially. Today, and last year, Disney began offering different treats at different distribution locations throughout the park ranging from sugar cookies (as before) to new cookie varieties and even snow cones! It’s great to see the variety, but it also adds a bit more fun to the dining portion of the event. Don’t expect a meal, but in a few hours most guests can put away quite a few cookies and simple snacks in addition to hot cocoa and cider. Personally, we had a lot of fun jumping from distribution location to distribution location trying every option available for the night. 

Additionally, be sure to look out for special limited time paid food offerings that may guests will simply overlook. Also, as a bit of a side note, I would not recommend a table service dining reservation for any time during the event. Magic Kingdom table service dining is excellent, but it typically isn’t the best use of your time during a party event. Of course, you may want to use some of the “early entry” time to eat a table service meal before the special events debut at 7:00pm.      

Dont Miss The Fireworks or the Shows
Two of the true highlights of the experience overall is the Once Upon a Christmastime Parade and Holiday Wishes. The parade has become iconic over the years in a way that very few have accomplished. Of course we’ve witnessed the Main Street Electrical Parade and even Spectromagic over the years, but there’s just something iconic about this parade experience. From the toy soldiers marching down the streets to the flurries that fill the sky, it’s near impossible not to fall in love with the character and heart of Once Upon a Christmastime. 

Due to that iconic nature, be prepared to face large crowds when the parade files down Main Street and throughout the parade route. Personally, I don’t see the crowds as a huge factor in viewing the experience, but if you want that prime viewing spot you’ll want to lay out some time to stake out a spot and prepare for the showcase of dancing colors Disney debuts as a wonderful parade. If you’re not looking for that prime viewing area, a little bit of an “insider tip” is to head to entrance are of the Emporium, near the fire station and exit gate for the floats, and you’ll typically find a small area with very light crowds up until about 10 minutes before showtime. It’s not the perfect and iconic castle view backdrop for photos, but is unique in that you’ll get see the floats twice as they make the loop around the square. 

Moving on to fireworks, this is the one aspect of Disney that I would highly recommend staking out a spot for well in advance. The fireworks associated with this event hold a special place in my Disney memories for so many reasons, but first and foremost because they are really one of the closest renditions of current fireworks that align with the previous ‘Wishes’ fireworks spectacular. I have and always will love the heart of the ‘Wishes’ fireworks spectacular and this performance and iteration of that fantastic display is just unique and different enough to bring back feelings while still offering up a holiday twist.            

Reserve A Little Bit of Time For Main Street
Last, but certainly not least, be sure to spend a little bit of time simply exploring Main Street. Many of you have likely heard me mention that same element time after time, but there really is a certain level of joy in the basic nature of exploring the shops and decor of Main Street around the holidays. The decor has a way of taking you back to childhood memories and taking you “home” in a classic elegance that each and every one of us can relate to in one way or another. Beyond that feeling and nature of the experience as a whole, be sure to stop by some of the stores for limited edition merchandise that can only be bought during the party. 

As the holidays approach, we’re taking a look today at ways we’ve attempted to manage the crowds at Walt Disney World during the busiest times of the year. As a family with two school teachers who typically travel with us, we’re rather limited on when we can travel and unfortunately those times typically tend to correspond with the most popular vacation dates of the year at Disney. However, while it’s not always the best case scenario, we’ve found ways to manage the crowds over the years and truly make the most of any and all opportunities to travel to the parks that we come across. If you have any tips of your own that we may have overlooked in our list, be sure to share them in the comments on your favorite social media site not only to share with us but also to help anyone else who may stumble across them. You never know when your simple (or complex) tip may drastically improve someones vacation experience.  

In this particular case, I’m going to recommend something a little bit rare and go against our 5 Simple Fastpass+ Tips That Could Better Your Vacation Experience. In that article, I recommended booking your fastpasses early in the day to help maximize the potential of the revolving 4th fastpass+ selection. Well, if you’re traveling at peak times it’s best to do one of two things. First, book your fastpasses during the heart of the day (typically 1-3pm) in order to guarantee at least a few attractions without long waits during the most crowded times of the day. Additionally, and ideally, schedule your fastpasses around one (or more) table service meals. Which leads us to the next tip…  

Schedule a Table Service Meal Within Park
For many of you this seems like common sense to schedule meals in the parks, but to me it is particularly important to schedule a table service meal on peak crowd level days. Throughout the day, inevitably you’ll reach a point where you no longer want to be engulfed by crowds wherever you go. A sit down meal in the park is the perfect way, and oftentimes the only way, to get a few moments of personal space and enjoy a great meal with friends and family along the way. Beyond the seating area itself, a good meal has a way of “recharging” you and allowing you to gear up for the rest of the day. Also notice how I said a meal within the park. If you’re traveling on specific holidays and the park fills to capacity there is no guarantee that if you leave the park for a dining reservation elsewhere that you will be granted access back into that park. Unfortunately, we learned that lesson the hard way when we attempted to head to Fort Wilderness for a quick meal at Trails End on New Years Eve. Thankfully we were advised to change the reservation and actually managed a walk up reservation at Crystal Palace by sheer luck.     

Arrive Early and Stay Late
When considering peak seasons and holidays, there tends to be very few options in regards to arrival windows. If you get there too late you’re going to face potential guest capacity limitations and may or may not be granted entrance into that particular park. Nobody wants to be denied entrance for a special holiday celebration and Disney never intends to do so, but as with any area, there is a safety limitation to how many guests are allowed to enter the park at one time. The earlier you arrive the better. 

As the main gates open and the park welcomes guests it will likely start to fill very quickly, and even more so than a typical Disney day. As a result, attraction wait times will grow exponentially as the minutes pass. The more you can get done in the first hour or two, the better off you will be. If you are traveling on an actual holiday, I highly recommend a park hopper pass. The price difference is fairly negligible from discount ticket sellers and even when you buy from Disney when you consider how many additional options it opens up. 

If you get into Magic Kingdom (or get there after the park fills to capacity) and it’s overwhelmingly crowded to your travel group you can simply head to another park. Typically Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are far less crowded than Magic Kingdom if you truly just want to avoid the crowds as much as possible. Personally, I see Epcot as an excellent option as well. It typically draws large crowds, but Epcot tends to hold the crowds better than the other parks. We spent the 4th of July holiday there this year and really enjoyed the vast variety of things to do that didn’t require a wait time at all. I’ve always been a huge proponent of touring the world showcase and the little details but it gives you so many options when the crowds are larger than normal.    

Prepare for the Traffic
This is one of those aspects of Disney holiday planning that is rarely talked about but largely a factor in touring the parks at peak times. After experiencing New Years Eve, you quickly realize that holidays can drive insane crowds to the parks, but the entrance and exit structure of parking lots and roads have a tough time holding the crowds as they arrive all at once. Don’t get me wrong, Disney does an incredible job managing people and parking cars. To be quite honest, they’re the best of the best when it comes to that type of a situation. However, nobody can successfully deal with that many people arriving all at the same time. It’s a logistics nightmare but if you leave a little earlier to get to the parks than you typically would you should have plenty of time to get to the main gates before they open for the day.      

Prioritize Your Top “Must-Do” Attractions
Before you arrive at your desired park, you’ll want to create a list of “must-do” attractions. Poll the family or whatever group you’re traveling with and find out what the one or two things that each individual wants to do more than anything else. That way, at the end of the day everybody is happy no matter how much else you get done. Prioritizing your plans for the day can make all the difference when the crowds can be a bit overwhelming.     

Avoid Driving to the Park If You Can
If at all possible, I highly recommend using Disney’s transportation on holidays (Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving) rather than attempting to drive your own vehicle to the park. Disney really has the transportation and specific transportation routes down to a science and as a result can typically get you to your desired destination much faster than you will be able to do on your own. You’ll get to avoid parking booths and the tram system delays trying to get to the front of the park and will likely spend less time in route than you would otherwise. If your resort offers a monorail, the monorails are nearly always your fastest source of transportation. All in all, I know not everyone will have this option available to them, but it’s certainly something you may want to consider. If you’d like to learn more about the monorail resorts and costs associated with that, contact our friends over at Destinations to Travel for their free booking services as an authorized Disney vacation planner (it also helps us out a bit as well).