10 things we’ve learned from Disney World
July 21, 2015
1. This isn’t a one-day trip. You need three, preferably four or five days to see everything in Walt’s World. Get a multi-day pass and fork out the extra $50 to add a Pass Hopper, which lets you jump from park to park in the same day. With the smaller parks staying open till 9 p.m. and Magic Kingdom running till midnight, you can easily see two parks in one day. If you can’t afford to stay more than a day or two, hit the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s original park, and Animal Kingdom. They have the best rides, entertaining shows and delicious food.
2. Watch the weather. If you’re coming in the summer, be prepared for thunderstorms in the afternoon. That means Splash Mountain and the other outside rides are out of commission. Plan smart and hit the outside rides in the morning and the inside ones, like Space Mountain, in the afternoon. Plus, the rainy weather is the perfect time to catch one of the great shows, like “A Bug’s Life” at Animal Kingdom.
3. Get a FastPass. Disney’s system for line jumping isn’t perfect, but it’ll save you from suffering in hour-long lines. You can pick three rides or shows to FastPass and Disney gives you an hour window to show up for the ride. After you’ve used all three, you can add another FP at one of the kiosks in the park. The FastPass is easy to sign up for (download the Disney Experience app) and a time saver. Without the FastPass we waited 80 minutes for The Mine Train while FP people stood around for five. With FP, we skipped the horrendous 120-minute line for Thunder Mountain and slid onto the train roller coaster in less than 10. A day earlier’s wait on Space Mountain took an hour. With a FP the next day, it was 20 minutes.
4. FastPass early. You can pick your three rides up to 90 days in advance. Wait till the day of, and you’ll have some options, but they’ll be late in the evening. They day before works for many rides and shows, but not for meet and greets with Disney favorites, like Ariel, Cinderella and Elsa.
5. The unhappiest place on Earth? If Disney World is the happiest place on Earth, then it’s also home to the crankiest parents. There were dads snapping at kids and moms chastising them for behavorial mishaps at every turn. Even scarier were the selfish parents, refusing to step out of line even when their sobbing child was petrified of the upcoming ride
6. Fascinating people work at Disney. People who work at Disney, who are dubbed “cast members” not employees, have interesting jobs. There was the elderly lady standing on Main Street blowing bubbles at kids all day. The girl from China serving frozen bananas and frozen lemonade. The legion of singers holding giant fish puppets for five shows a day at “Nemo the Musical.” An Animal Kingdom employee named Heiseituti proudly showed us his hometown on a South Africa map and then humorously informed us we’ve been pronouncing water and zebra wrong on all of our lives. It’s wah-ter and zeb-rah for the record.
7. Get a Magic band. To get into each park and use the FastPass system, you have to carry around a credit card-like plastic card. An easier solution is the Magic band, which you wear on your wrist and can be scanned at the park and FP entrances and connected to a credit card to cover food and gift purchases. They come in fun, bright colors and even have cool Disney accessories that can be added.
8. Mickey ears are required. Disney goers show their love for the famous mouse in their apparel. Families in matching shirts. Buttons declaring 10th anniversary trips. Little girls twirling around in Frozen capes and Snow White dresses. But almost everyone was decked out in Mickey ears. From traditional ears with the names earnestly embroidered in the back to newlyweds donning bride and groom ears, it was rare to see someone without some type of mousy headgear. With their giant wheelhouse of Pixar movies and other Disney owned fare, there were ears for Cars, Toy Story and even Star Wars. A 3PO or Darth Vader cap with Mickey ears? The Force is definitely with the mouseketeers.
9. Hotel choices affect more than the budget. Trips to Disney World aren’t cheap. Where you stay can save or break your budget. If you’re looking to skimp, try searching for hotels in the Buena Vista area of Orlando. You can find hotels from $40 to $90 a day, about a third of the Disney-hotel prices, and they all have shuttles to the park. The downside? You’re stuck at the park all day. If you want to come back and forth, you’ll need to drive yourself (an $18 a day price tag). The hotel shuttles don’t run all day, they usually have a pick up time in the mornings and two in the evenings. If you really want to be able to shuffle back and forth from the hotel, maybe take an afternoon nap, and head back in the evening for the firework shows, it might be worth the extra moola to be around the corner from the four parks. Just do your homework to find the best deal.
10. Show up for the shows. Speaking of firework shows, it wouldn’t be a trip to Disney without taking in some of the incredible shows. The talent is top notch, with Broadway-like voices at some of the musical shows, and incredible acrobatics on display from performers. Even shows aimed more at younger children are entertaining for adults, like the Bug’s Life show that had people jumping out of their seats. But the best shows are saved for last. Each night, Epcot offers their Illuminations show, a dazzling display of lights and technology. Disney World lights it up with their electric parade and an incredible light show projected on Cinderella’s castle. Watching Tinkerbell fly over the crowd is a sight no one should miss. And the fireworks spectacular is an impressive way to end a trip to the happiest place on Earth.
