Hey guys, I thought I would give you 10 quick tips on how to make the most of your Disney World Vacation.
1. Plan an itinerary
Planning a brief itinerary can help you further down the line of planning your vacation. If you make a quick version of day to day events for example: Hollywood Studios on Day 1, Animal Kingdom on Day 2 etc, it can really help when it comes to fastpasses and meal reservations.
2. Book Fast Passes
I cannot stress this enough! If you are staying at a Disney World resort hotel you can book your fast passes 60 days in advance. You get 3 fast passes per day. If you are not staying at a Disney World Resort hotel you can book the up to 30 days in advance. Try and do it as early as possible to get the best selections. Attractions such as Peter Pan's Flight, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Toy Story Midway Mania will be among the first to go. As well as this, character meet and greets like Anna and Elsa disappear quickly too. Epcot and Hollywood Studios' fast pass system is tiered, which means you can only choose one (big style) attraction. This makes it harder for you to get all the attractions you may want. However, once you have used your 3 fast passes, you can find a fast pass kiosk in the parks and book another one, then once you've used that you can book another one and so on.
3. Book Meal Reservations
This year, me and my friends have the Disney Dining Plan which we got for free with our booking and makes everything a lot cheaper. It also means we can visit restaurants we would have never dreamed about before. But even if you are not on the dining plan, you will want to consider booking dinner reservations. The majority of table service dining restaurants accept reservations in advance, and a lot of them you will need to book in advance to even get the option of dining there. Be Our Guest at dinner is a prime choice where you can meet the Beast after you eat, this gets booked up quickly.
4. Get to the parks early
If you book and stay at a Disney World resort hotel, you will get the use of Extra Magic Hours, which means on certain days you can go to a specific park either earlier than everyone else, or stay later than everyone else. Regardless of this, you should always arrive at the parks early. The first hour of opening is the time you are most likely to get on your favourite ride. Plus there are Welcome Shows, characters waiting to meet and greet you and a whole hoard of guests still in bed at this time.
5. Make time for the shows
Lots of Disney World guests focus solely on the rides, the bigger the better they say. However, that is not the only thing Disney has to offer. Besides the obvious character meet and greets (which I will get onto in a minute), Disney has amazing shows, fireworks and parades that are not to be missed. If you are lagging a little in the afternoon and feeling like you need a sit down, instead of finding the nearest bench or coffee shop, head to one of the shows, there are lots to choose from. From musicals like Finding Nemo in Animal Kingdom to animatronic shows like The American Adventure in Epcot, there is something for everyone. And instead of leaving early in the evening, stay for one of the night time shows such as Wishes Fireworks in Magic Kingdom or Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios.
6. Be a kid!
What adult doesn't like to act like a kid again, and if you are still a kid, great! You will want to make time to meet all your favourite childhood characters, and there are lots to meet. Either grab a map and timesheet at the front of the park, or download the Disney World app to find where the characters are and when. There are plenty of characters to meet at each park, you've just got to be willing to look. Some characters have their own designated indoor area such as Tinker Bell or Mickey Mouse. But others stand in specific spots daily outdoors, or even just roam around randomly. You will definitely want a camera on hand for all the funny poses the characters will do, and also if you're into autographs, grab an autograph book and chunky pen for them. You won't be disappointed!
7. Buy Memory Maker
Memory Maker is a relatively new concept where you pay an overall price and can have all of your professional photos taken within the parks for free. We luckily got this deal for free in with our package like the meal plan. There are photographers all around the parks especially: in front of the main landmarks, at character meet and greets, on special occasions such as Christmas or Halloween parties. The more you can find and get photos taken, the more you get your money's worth. Also ride photos (and now video) will be added to your account too. The possibilities are endless for the amount of photos you could get. Also if you have a big group of you, you can all use the same Memory Maker pass and get lots of different photos of different members of your party.
8. Make the use of Disney World transportation
If you are staying at a Disney World resort hotel, then great, you will use the transportation without even thinking about it. Disney World buses are waiting outside the resort to take you all over, and at some resort hotels, there are boats to take you to the parks too. But if you're not staying at a Disney World resort hotel don't worry. Once you arrive on Disney World property you can use the transportation for free. From the ticket and transportation centre you can take the buses to Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom, or you can take the monorail to Epcot, or the monorail or ferry boat to the Magic Kingdom. If you're into collecting things, don't forget to ask the bus drivers, boat drivers, monorail drivers etc if they have any transportation cards. These are fun little collectables which tell you facts about the transport you're using.
9. Ask Cast Members
Cast Members is Disney's phrase for their employees. Cast members are very noticeable due to their uniforms and badges. If you are stuck with ANYTHING, always ask a cast member. Cast members are specifically trained to be extremely helpful and friendly. They know tips that even the biggest Disney World fans may not know, they will be able to rhyme off show times, directions and which characters will be out and when. They love to interact with guests and make your time truly magical.
10. Always mention a special occasion
If you are celebrating anything from a birthday to a family reunion then always mention it to a cast member. If you are checking in at a Disney World resort hotel then mention it at the desk. If not, then mention it at customer services area in the parks. They will give you a badge/button for you to wear throughout your trip. Cast members and Disney characters will go out of their way to make your trip special if they notice the button. They may sing Happy Birthday to you, bring out a cupcake or a birthday card in restaurants, it' their prerogative of whether they decide to make a fuss of you or not. But it's worth it to make the trip special.
Well these are just 10 quick tips on how to make the most of your Disney World vacation. Be sure to read the rest of my blog for other Disney themed posts.
Hope this helped!
See ya real soon!
