OK, so you want to go to Disney World, “The Most Magical Place On Earth.” But the lines, the cost, the heat, the crying kids, the crying Dads?! What’s a parent to do?! Well, my friend, you came to the right place. We here at http://www.noshoestraveler.com grew up in Central Florida and know a thing or two about “The Most Magical Place On Earth.” With all our ears of experience, we are not just Goofying around and we have Pluto enough Disney World tips and hacks to help take the stress out of planning that epic Disney World family vacation.
Let get started with some of those Disney World Tips and Hacks.
Being from Florida, I practically grew up in Disney World, going to one of the parks at least 2-3 times a year. It seemed along with family vacations, school trips, Scouts, and work gatherings, I was always visiting the Disney parks. One thing I did not know until we visited recently for New Years is you can get a Disney authorized travel agent to plan your vacation and they will help you plan it for free! I repeat, FOR FREE! It is life changing!
I don’t think going through a Disney Vacation Planner is necessary every time you visit, but if it’s your first time to Disney World, or like us, you’re going with a large group with multiple hotel rooms, it can be very overwhelming with all of the FastPasses, dining reservations, meal plans, etc.
We used, and I highly recommend, https://www.peoplemovertravel.com/who is an authorized Disney Vacation Planner. I wasn’t sure about using them at first because it almost seemed too good to be true. The way they started to make the Disney Magic come to life months before we even stepped foot in Orlando was mind blowing.
“There are lots of factors that go into making your Disney vacation as magical as possible, and the agents at People Mover Travel will help you every step of the way. When you book through us, you get an expert Disney planner that can book your resort, park tickets, transportation, and even all your dining & FastPass+ reservations. The best part about it all? We work for you for free! We are your personal travel advisor, here for you before, during, and after your vacation!” – Tyler Braun of People Mover Travel
I can assure you, Tyler means every word of that. He even made some changes to reservations, cancelled a car rental, and checked on us while we were AT Disney!!
This is a Disney World Tips and Hacks that is probably more planning than anything else. You can do a Google search and come up with all kinds of dates. In the end, if you have kids and traveling from out of state, you are pretty much tied to summer, Spring break, or Christmas. These, of course, are the busiest times for Disney, especially Thanksgiving through New Year’s. However, they are busier because they offer very unique experiences that you can’t get any other time of year. You can also maximize your time by taking advantage of the Magic Hours and using Fast Passes the right way.
If you’re looking to save money and avoid the crowds, plan a September vacation after Labor Day. “There’s plenty of activity, with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party taking place during select nights at the Magic Kingdom, and the Food and Wine Festival happening every day at Epcot during September,” – Adult Tip. (This is a great event and a good reason to see Disney without the kids in tow).
I believe staying at a Disney property is the way to go. The benefits the Disney Resorts offer are worth every penny in my opinion. The Disney Resorts have free bus shuttles, some have water taxis, some are on the monorail route, and some are on the new Skyliner route. This alone is worth so much, especially if the park is crowded, hot, and/or rainy.
The 25,000-acre Disney Orlando resort has more than 30 hotels and villas. The themes range from New Orleans bayous to Spanish artists and explorers to classic cinema to music and pop culture. Maybe Camping is your thing? Disney has you covered and you even enjoy the same perks as those who stay at the top tier resorts. Each resort as a unique theme to it, influencing the cuisine, interior design, and even pool slides.
When thinking of what resort you would prefer, remember to take into consideration what kind of Disney Experience you would like to have. Do you care more about the freedom to walk to the Magic Kingdom or a lower price tag from a value resort? On your way to the parks, would you prefer a relaxing Skyliner gondola or a boat ride across the lake? A few select resorts offer the convenience of even having a monorail station inside the resort.
Here is a quick comparison of how each resort breaks down on a per night average cost.
Deluxe Villas – From $456/Night
Deluxe Resort Hotels – From $379/Night
Moderate Resort Hotels – From $238/Night
Value Resort Hotels – From $119/Night
Campgrounds/Fort Wilderness – From $60/Night
There are several resorts within each category and prices can vary slightly for each one. Personally over the years, we have stayed at Fort Wilderness, Caribbean Beach Resort, Port Orleans, Old Key West and recently we were just at Pop Century. I could write an entire Blog just about these resorts. CCN has ranked the Disney Hotels here
I have to say all of the resorts are really great and well worth the money as each offers something different. If money is an issue, or even if it isn’t, the value resorts are a really good deal for around $100 a night. We had a wonderful experience at Pop Century. Even my hotel snob wife loved Pop Century!
Disney Hotel Hack: Pop Century in connected to Art of Animation and you can access that hotel and use the Skyliner to access Epcot and MGM. No other value level resort offers that.
There are non-Disney hotels on Disney property that give you a lot of the same benefits as a Disney hotel at a cheaper price. Some even include complimentary breakfast and transportation to and from the parks. Magical Express airport transportation and linked Magic Bands are not included with a stay at any of the non-Disney owned properties. I have stayed at Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, which is right across the street from Disney Springs.
Disney Hotel Hack: If you stay at a Disney Springs hotel, they have their own bus route and you can also walk to Disney Springs if you missed a bus.
If you’re there during one of the 9 months of Florida Summer, dress in light, loose-fitting clothing. Pockets are your friend – it’s not a fashion show. Think Cargo shorts/pants and good walking or hiking shoes. You need to put those phones and chargers in something. If you have kids, you will need to think ahead for all the little stuff they need you to carry.
As for Florida weather, it’s not uncommon to encounter short, scattered rain showers. Prepare for these by purchasing a family pack of rain ponchos in advance of your trip. We grab a family pack off Amazon cheap enough to throw away after one use if needed.
Search Etsy.com for personalized Disney tees. You’ll notice that it seems like everyone at Disney has matching shirts of some kind. It got to the point I was buying Disney shirts at the resort because I was the only one in our party not wearing a Disney or Star Wars shirt. Don’t be that Dad! Just wear what your wife tells you to. You will thank me for this.
FastPass Hack: Once you have used your first three, go to the My Disney Experience app and search for a fourth, then get a fifth, etc. You can do this all day long, and it’s not unheard of to get 10 or more FastPasses in a day.
My Disney Experience is available for iPhone, iPad, and smartphones for Android, the My Disney Experience mobile app is free and allows you to purchase park tickets, see real-time wait times, make or modify dining reservations, and much more.
For more details on how to best utilize Fast Passes, check out Bob Bricker:
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/fastpass-plus-disney-world-guide/
Star Wars – Galaxy’s EdgeDads, this is for you! So wipe the tears and fairy glitter out of your eyes. This is what adulting at Disney is all about.
First, get there early, prepare, plan, be ready to leave the weak behind. You can get into Galaxy’s Edge without an issue other than it being crowded (unlike Universal did when they first opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and you couldn’t even walk into the place without a specific entrance time). But I digress – that’s a story for another blog post. At Hollywood Studios, the only thing you can’t walk up and get into line for is Rise of the Resistance. (currently). They have a virtual queue for this one ride and it’s only available at the published park opening time. You must log into the My Disney Experience app and pull up the queue for the ride. If you are early and lucky, you will be given a distinct window of time to enter the line for the ride. Once you are in line, the queue is fairly quick. Depending on how crowded the park is that day, you should plan to be in line at the park before opening and ready to submit your request as soon as they rope drop. I assume at some point this will end and it will open up to regular fast pass use. When we went this past New Years, they pushed opening time to 6AM and we had to be at the gates around 5:30 to ensure we got through the gates and into the virtual queue at 6AM.
I can’t lie, it was a lot of work in the pouring down rain to ride that single ride. Was it worth it? You bet! It was amazing, more than just a ride, it’s an Experience not to be missed. The entire Star Wars Galaxy Edge is an amazing place to see and experience. I could have spent all day there.
Reservations are highly recommended for Oga’s Cantina, Droid Depot, and Savi’s Workshop – Handbuilt Lightsabers. These can be made up to 60 days in advance. If you’re a die-hard Star Wars fan like me, don’t skip the Savi’s Workshop Experience.
Ride Hack: If a line is over an hour like Millennial Falcon, jump in the single rider line unless you have small kids in tow. If you do have small kids, use “Rider Switch,” which allows a member of your travel party to stay outside with the kids while the rest of your group rides. When the first group is done riding, the waiting guest and up to two additional guests can board the attraction without having to wait in the standby line.
Here is the breakdown of the Disney Dining Plan. We used it and it worked out great. We left the park with only one quick service meal we didn’t use. Also, take into consideration, you can use the table service at the character dining places in the park and at the resorts. Adults also get the option of an alcoholic beverage during their table service meals. There are a few restrictions, so please check out the fine print. https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-dining-plan.htm
Chef Mickey’s – character buffet starring Mickey @ Contemporary Resort
This is an easy monorail ride from Magic Kingdom and you don’t have to stay at the resort to eat here. Buffet style food is always good and Crystal Palace – Character buffet starring Winnie the Pooh and friends the food is pretty much the same as Chef Mickey’s, but is located inside Magic Kingdom.
The Spirit of Aloha – A spirited Hawaiian Luau @ Polynesian Resort
It’s a fun show and a great time for the family, but the food is mediocre at best.
Le Cellier – The best steakhouse in EPCOT is located in Canada.
This was the best place to eat in all of the Disney Resorts! You must order the cheese soup!
Tusker House – Donald’s Safari Breakfast buffet inside Animal Kingdom
You can also get a unique lunch and dinner buffet here.
Dining Hack: Bring reusable water bottles. There are water fountains all around the parks and all of the quick-service food locations will provide free ice and tap water. I would leave the Hydroflask or your refillable resort mug in the hotel and just bring a cheap, disposable one for when you leave it on a ride or your kid drops it out of the stroller and you don’t notice. You won’t have to make your way down to Disney lost and found building. Pretty sure this place has its own zip code. (This goes for the expensive sunglasses as well). Been there done that.
Stock your mini-fridge up if you don’t do the dining plan. I have heard of folks using Instacart and ordering whatever groceries they need. I only used it for Bourbon, but to each his own. You can save some serious moola this way by having an in-room breakfast, drinks, and snacks ready when you return to the room. You can also bring your own food into the food court and use the Disney refillable mugs for beverages. Kids probably wouldn’t know the difference – they will still get the resort experience without paying $10 for a muffin or doughnut.
You can bring almost any food into the parks and again save some moola, but no Bourbon or glass containers.
Character Dining Hack: The best way to save is to go for breakfast when the price tends to be lower. If you want to maximize that meal, make a late Advanced Dining Reservation (say 10:30 or 10:45 a.m.) and you’ll usually get breakfast food to start and lunch food as the cast members change over the buffet. Its a Scrooge McDuck money saving Brunch.
Keep in mind, you may not want to be too ambitious when it comes to making dining reservations. I see park guests walking around with itineraries, yelling at their spouse and kids they need to hurry up to get to the next FastPass, show, dining reservation, etc. The kids are crying, their husband is crying, wishing he had that Bourbon. (Note: my planner wife would totally disagree with me on this point, especially if it’s a busy time of year for the park. She would say, “reservations are a must!”)
You can’t do it all and you’ll stress yourself out trying to make it all work. (On the flipside, my wife would be totally stressed out if she didn’t get to eat at the one and only place she was dreaming of eating for the 6 months of planning the vacation). All it takes is one trip to the Orlando ER with a sick kid and all your plans are gone. (Been there, done that, twice)! Make a list of must-dos and try to get those done. Anything else is a bonus.
Saving Your Marriage Life Hack: Plan Hotel Days/ Break Days, whatever you want to call it, where you have nothing else planned but to hang out at the hotel pool. Depending on the length of the trip, maybe get a couple scattered in there. TRUST me, if you don’t remember anything else from this blog, remember Hotel Day!
Arriving early? Use the app to check into your hotel room. Once your room is ready, you’ll receive a text or look for updates in the app. Have a bathing suit in your carry-on? Lounge by the hotel’s pool as you wait.Avoid lines for food by using mobile ordering on your app. When you’re in line for a ride, get a jump start on your next meal.
Another food tip – find a seat early for the parade or fireworks and then order some food through the app. Once you’ve placed your order, send just one person from your party to get the food while the others save your spot.
Fireworks
If you want to know where the best spots for viewing Disney fireworks and parades are, you can ask a cast member or watch for someone with a nice camera or video recorder who has set up to record the show. That’s usually a good indication. You can also do some pre-Disney intel work of your own and put together a Disney Dossier to take with you. Check out WDW Prep School https://wdwprepschool.com/the-best-nighttime-show-and-fireworks-viewing-spots-at-disney-world/for some good tips. If you want to avoid a huge rush for the buses after the nightly fireworks conclude, I suggest viewing them as close to the entrance to the park as possible. It works – I did it! Stand on Main Street then make a beeline for the exit moments before the last one dissolves in the sky.
If there are two showtimes, go to the second performance. It is less crowded.
I could go on and on like it’s a Small World and keep writing ideas. If you have questions or you have some of your own Tips and Hacks, leave them in the comments below. We would love to see them and share. Always stay tuned to No Shoes Traveler for more travel tips http://www.noshoestraveler.com
