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TeresaWilliamsDorman

FastPass+ Magic Kingdom

I was reading back through my old posts and boy has FastPass+ changed my Park Strategy a lot!

What is FastPass+?

This is the new electronic FastPass system which has replaced the old ticketed FastPass system from a few years ago. FastPass+ times are designated return times to by-pass the main ride line and "fast pass" to the front of the line during your time.

How does it work?
To book FastPass+ times, you must have pre-purchased your Magic Your Way ticket. If you are staying on property, you can book 3 FastPass+ times per day at 60 days before arrival. If you are staying off property, you can book 3 FastPass+ times per day at 30 days out.

You will be able to book 3 designated FastPass+ rides and times per day, within a single park. Even if you have a Park Hopper ticket, FastPass+ reservations are limited to a single park.

How to prepare?

Decide which days you want to be at which parks. You don't necessarily have to be there first thing in the morning to do FastPass+. That's one of my favorite things about the new system! I can sleep in, have some breakfast, even a pool or water park day and then go to a park with later in the day FastPass+ times. You can also use them for your 2nd park of the day. For example, plan a morning at Animal Kingdom, where you stand in line for the rides you want, then change to Magic Kingdom later in the day where you have made FastPass+ times for popular rides like Splash Mountain, Peter Pan and the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! 

How to book?
Once you have your Magic Your Way tickets, log into My Disney Experience on your date (60 days prior with resort reservations and 30 days without) and pick out your parks, rides and times per day of your trip. You can always change them later, but focus on getting those really popular attractions at some point during your trip, because they will be hard to come by later.

How do you use them?

Once you are in the park, simply scan your magic band at the entrance to the ride. You will also scan it again as you get closer to boarding the ride vehicles. It's as easy as that! 

Can I only have 3?

No, but you must first use up your three for the day. Once you have used all three of you initial fastpasses for the day, visit any Fastpass + Kiosk stationed throughout the park to add your next one. At that point, you have to do them one by one, but you can keep going back until the end of the day.

My Strategy:

I just returned from Walt Disney World on Sunday, so I had a chance to really try out the new Fastpass + system. Here's my strategy...before my trip, I made Fastpass+ reservations for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan and Space Mountain. I made them for relatively early in the day, so that I had more flexibility later in the day. Once I had used my 3rd one, I visited the kiosk and got Pirates of the Carribbean for only 30 minutes later. After that, I was able to get The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh for about an hour later. This gave me time to grab a late lunch and ride It's a Small World (which had a shorter line that day). Once I rode Winnie the Pooh, I was able to grab a Fastpass+ for Buzz Lightyear. I kept doing this until it was time to leave the Magic Kingdom park. I knew that I was coming back later in the evening, so before leaving the park, I grabbed a late night Fastpass+ for Splash Mountain. This strategy will work on a relatively crowded day, but probably not on the busiest of days. It will also not work on the more popular rides. When I went to make those 4th, 5th and 6th Fastpass+ reservations, the most popular rides were not available any more that day. This will be true on many days and in most parks. Was the effort worth it? Absolutely! 

Good luck securing those Fastpass+ times and remember to link your Tickets and Resort Reservation ahead of time so you can get in right at 60 days to make these reservations.

Food.....and Wine!

The 17^th Annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival kicks off today at the Walt Disney World Resort! This is one of my absolute favorite events of the whole year…why you ask….well, the food, and the wine….and did I mention the food??

For this Festival, which runs this year from September 28 – November 12, there are almost 30 international food and drink stations positioned all around the World Showcase. These little huts offer tasty treats and refreshing drinks from all over the world!

My family likes to start off our tour with a light appetizer. Great choices are the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup (Canada); Greek Salad with Pita Bread (Greece); or Shrimp on the Barbie (Australia).

After we get warmed up, we move onto a few heartier dishes, for our main meal, like the delicious beef empanadas and grilled beef skewers (Argentina); Linda Bean's Perfect Maine Lobster Roll (Hops & Barley); or Jerk Spiced Chicken Drumstick with Mango Chutney (Caribbean).

We love to finish off our tour of the "World" with something sweet, like a traditional Belgian Waffle topped with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream or Guylian Belgian Chocolate Seashell Tuffles (Belgium);  Crème Brulee au Chocolat au Lait (France); or my absolute "must-eat" Apple Strudel with Karamel-Vanilla Sauce (Germany)…divine!

And we are bound to get thirsty while on our culinary excursion, so we are sure to sample some of the fantastic beverages offered at the marketplace pavilions!

Be sure to pick up a Festival Guide as you enter the park, so you can plan your strategy.

Here are a few more tips to make your dollar and your appetite go a little further:

-          - Split the foods/drinks that you want to try with your family members. Each person gets a little taste of each item, and no one gets too full to try many, many more!

-          - Target the pavilions that are not one of the main countries in the World Showcase. You can always enjoy the food and drinks of those countries while not attending the Festival, so focus more time on the "new" countries they have added just for a short time.

-          - Try to visit the Festival more than once during your trip…make it your lunch one day and your dinner another day. (you will need a park hopper ticket to enjoy another park on the days that you only stay half a day at Epcot)

Have a magical time dining around the World!

Where in the "World" to stay

The Disney World Resorts are divided into four categories:

- Value

- Moderate

- Deluxe

- Home Away From Home - Disney Vacation Club

There are pros and cons to staying at each level of resort...depending on your budget, size of group, transportation style, etc. There are also some benefits that all Disney Resort guests can utilize, regardless of the level of your resort.

Disney World Resort Guest benefits that guests at all level resorts can experience include:

- Free Airport Transportation on the Disney's Magical Express

- Free Resort to Park transportation aboard the various WDW Resort buses, boats and monorails

- Access to Extra Magic Hours at a different park every day

- Room Charge priviledges - keep all your expenses in one place for the duration of your trip

- Disney Dining Plan

- Free Merchandise Delivery to your Resort while visiting the parks

Value:

The Value resorts are the lowest price resorts on Disney World property. They usually feature multiple buildings with a main "community" building, outward facing doors, less fancy pool experience, and a counter service restaurant. 

Moderate:

The Moderate resorts are mid-range in price and amenities. They also feature multiple buildings with a main common building, but they are more likely to be laid out in a condo-style. Smaller buildings, spread out among the area, with their own parking close to the buildings. The have much more elaborately themed pools and will typically feature a quick-serve as well as a sit-down restaurant.

Deluxe:

The Deluxe resorts are much more fancy with better amenities and are typically closer to one of the parks. There are 3 deluxe hotels on the monorail, 2 within walking distance of Epcot and Hollywood Studios and 1 on the property (and with views) of the Animal Kingdom Savannah. There's also one more that sits just a short boat ride away from Magic Kingdom. They all feature very elaborate theming, multiple restaurants (both sit down and quick service) room service, valet parking and on-site recreation. 

The deluxe hotel locations also offer a Concierge level, for an extra cost, that includes your own Concierge attendant to help you with vacation planning, private floor, and access to a lounge that serves light snacks and drinks all day. 

Home Away From Home:

For those who like to travel back to Disney over and over, the Disney Vacation Club might be the best option for resort accomodations. You buy into the program, similar to a time share purchase, and you can stay at one of seven resort areas that are owned by Disney Vacation Club. The Home Away From Home resorts typically share amenities with one of the Deluxe level hotels, but also feature multiple pools (some "quiet" pools), kitchen facilities and flexible room arrangements. 

So whether you are on a tight budget or a royal budget, you can choose the resort accommodations that are just right for you and your group!

Hidden Gem

On a hectic morning at Disney's Hollywood Studios, I stumbled upon a hidden gem of a place that sells good coffee and provides a quiet and cool place to rest for a minute.

The Writer's Stop coffee shop is tucked away in a little corner right behind Sci-Fi Dine In restaurant, near the New York section of Streets of America. I had walked past it a million times and never stopped. Now it'll be a regular stop on our DHS days.

We ordered a Latte, a regular coffee and a chocolate milk and relaxed for a few minutes before going on with our busy day!

What an amazing little place! I can't believe I'd never been inside!

Park Strategy - Magic Kingdom

Ride your favorite rides first, right? Not necessarily...it may be better to ride everyone else's favorite rides first. Why, you ask? Because if you can get into the park early in the morning, and knock out the list of all the most popular rides before the crowds get really bad, you can sit back and enjoy a leisurely lunch, or even get a great seat for the parade while everyone else stands in long lines for their favorite rides.

Let's look at Fantasyland...is your favorite ride Dumbo? Or Peter Pan's Flight? My recommendation would be to get straight in line for those rides first thing in the morning. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, do not stop for the requisite picture in front of the castle (it will still be there later in the day, and the lines for those Photopass photographers will be shorter) - head straight to Fantasyland when you enter the park. The later you get in the line, the longer the line is going to be.

Here's my personal Fantasyland strategy:
*note this is changed from previous strategies based on the Fantasyland expansion, and them moving Dumbo

- Send hubby to get Fastpass tickets for Peter Pan's Flight
- Kiddo and I head to the line for Dumbo (hubby meets us there)
- Ride the Goofy's Barnstormer (sometimes twice, if we have time)
- Grab FP tickets for Winnie the Pooh as we walk past
- Use our FP tickets for Peter Pan's Flight
- Ride It's a Small World
- Ride The Prince's Regal Carrousel
- Use our FP tickets for Winnie the Pooh
- Ride Snow White's Scary Adventures (until it closes on May 31)
- Ride Tomorrowland Speedway -- the earlier in the day you do this one, the better - that line is HOT!

Using this type of strategy, you can ride all of the Fantasyland attractions by about 11:00 am. From there, you can head right or left out of Fantasyland and use a similar technique (get FP, ride another ride, come back to FP ride) to tour the other lands.

This strategy works particularly well in quite a few other areas of the Magic Kingdom park:
Adventureland: Pirates of the Carribean and Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride combined with Jungle Cruise which has FP

Fronierland: Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain both have FP, so get one, then take a ride across to tour Tom Sawyer Island, then go back and get the other before riding with your FP tickets for the 1st attraction. You can grab a snack, catch the parade (it starts in Frontierland at 3:00), or go ride the Haunted Mansion and/or see the Hall of Presidents while you wait for your 2nd FP time to start.

Tomorrowland: Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin both have FP, so use the same technique, alternating with Carousel of Progress, Monsters Inc, Tomorrowland Transit Authority and Astro Orbiter.

The age of your group/kids will like determine which direction you head out of Fantasyland. Remember, you have all day, and using this type of strategy, you can ride a group of attractions all at one time. This makes it easier to stop for lunch/dinner, grab a seat for the parade, watch the castle stage show, and meet some characters along the way.

Have a magical day!

Packing List

I used to be the biggest list-maker ever!! Especially when packing for Disney World trips...I would make lists way in advance, and add to them as I thought of everything that we needed for our trips. Then I would use those lists and mark off items as they went in the suitcase. Of course, for a few years in there, we were traveling with a baby/toddler and needed WAY more stuff!

These days, I start a stack of things to pack....usually in our spare room....and just add to it for a few weeks as I remember that we need to bring this or that. So, what is in that packing "stack"?

Here's my current Disney stack, and it's growing every day as we get closer to our trip:

Light Up Toys -- we refuse to buy them each trip, so we pack them and bring them back each time

Light Saber -- same as the light ups - not buying new, just taking the old one back with us

Rain Ponchos - one per person and one or two extra cheap ones for the stroller

Travel Size Woolite - just in case we need to wash something, or to freshen up swimsuits

Granola Bars and Goldfish Crackers

Backpack for the plane -- for my 5 yr old - filled with a few hot wheels, games, books, electronic game

Stroller Bag - we have one of those "gate check" stroller bags to keep it from getting messed up

Sunscreen - very expensive to buy in the gift shop if you forget

Swimsuits and Flip Flops

Camera and Accessories - now that we are passed our last "end of school" event

Extra batteries

Ziploc bags (gallon and quart) - these are good for keeping things dry in rain, packing your swimsuit to come home, etc -- I don't take a whole box, just a handful of each size

Phone Chargers

Other items you might consider: Autograph book and pen/marker, small thermal bag or collapsible ice chest, cinch sac style bag to take to the pool

Of course, in addition to this is all our clothes, shoes, make-up, toiletries, etc....and I'm usually up at midnight the night before our trip getting all that stuff together! :)