Walt Disney World Hacks: 350+ Park Secrets for Making the Most of Your Walt Disney World Vacation
By Susan Veness
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About this ebook
There’s adventure in every Disney story…now, experience your own adventure when you visit Walt Disney World! Let Walt Disney World Hacks show you how to meet your favorite characters, eat the best and most iconic food the park has to offer, and enjoy your favorite rides. This guide has practical tips such as:
-Start at the back of the park to avoid crowds
-Plan your visit for January or September for lower prices
-Wait at Hollywood Studios to meet characters you might not otherwise see
-How to use special offer codes for discounts
You’ll learn how to do Disney right—without spending the whole day in line and without going over your budget!
Susan Veness
Susan Veness is an international travel writer, researcher, online content provider, and itinerary planner specializing in Florida, Disney, Orlando’s theme parks, and cruising. She is the author of four books in The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World series, and coauthor of The Brit Guide to Orlando and the biography Defying Expectations. She has been visiting Walt Disney World since it opened in 1971 and with a home just minutes from the Mouse, she continues to tour the parks on a regular basis.
Read more from Susan Veness
The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World: Over 600 Secrets of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
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Walt Disney World Hacks - Susan Veness
INTRODUCTION
Walt Disney World deserves its reputation as one of the most magical vacations on Earth, but it’s also one of the most complicated destinations you’ll ever experience. First-timers find nearly every element confusing, from which tickets to buy, to what to ride, where to dine, and how to get around. Seasoned Disney pros are always looking for ways to avoid frustrations, to try new things, and to enhance their enjoyment of the place they know and love. And everyone appreciates a good hack that will save them time, money, and stress.
Every stage of your vacation is covered, starting with pre-trip planning right through to bringing the magic home with you. Learn the secrets that will help you make the most of the FastPass+ queue-beating system, and how to get extra value from the Disney Dining Plan. Discover the shortcuts to getting around Disney property and the theme parks; how to score free food and drinks; where to find excellent discounts; how to master character meet-and-greets; and how to tour with children so that everyone ends the day happily.
Watch for Newbie and Pro Alerts throughout the book, which highlight pitfalls and solutions for each level of proficiency. Find out how to avoid annoyances through Practical Matters hacks; tour the parks and attractions like a boss, whether it’s your first time or your fiftieth; and don’t skip the Disney with Kids chapter, even if you’re adults-only. A few of the hacks work for kids-at-heart, too!
Whether you try them all or select a few dozen, use these hacks with confidence, knowing you’re not breaking any of Disney’s rules. You’re just working within the system to get the best out of your travel, your finances, and your time spent enjoying a truly memorable vacation.
1.
Schedule FastPass+ Backward
If you’re staying at a Disney resort, or a Good Neighbor
resort that offers FastPass+ bookings at the sixty-day mark, maximize your chances of getting a FastPass+ on My Disney Experience for Avatar Flight of Passage, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Frozen Ever After, and the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge headliners by jumping straight to the final day of your vacation and working backward. Most guests will look for FastPass+ times starting with their first day, so you’ll have less competition if you look as far ahead as possible. Once you’ve locked in your times for a biggie, click No, I’m Done
when prompted to select more, and try for your next day’s priority. Then, go back and schedule your remaining two attractions at each park.
2.
Go for the Big Three Early
All bets are off when it comes to getting a FastPass+ for Avatar Flight of Passage, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Frozen Ever After (plus the two headliner attractions in Galaxy’s Edge) if you’re staying offsite and can only make reservations thirty days prior to each day of your vacation. If any of these show up as a selection, take any time slot you can get. If you have a choice, take the earliest time possible. Onsite or offsite, keep refreshing the page just seconds before 7 a.m., then book the attraction when the page goes live, and lock it in. Quickly select Change Party
to add remaining family members.
3.
Power Up Your Cell Phone
Your cell phone will get a lot of use while you’re playing in the theme parks. You’ll use it to check your restaurant reservation times and booking numbers, or to make or cancel reservations if your plans change. You’ll use it when you need to check times and locations for your FastPass+ selections or to change your selections on the go, and while Disney’s Wi-Fi is generally reliable, the one thing that is likely to give out is your phone’s battery. Bring along a power bank to charge it as you tour rather than fighting for one of the few charging stations in the park. You can even find solar-powered chargers, perfect for use in the Sunshine State.
4.
Finger Scan or ID
Gone are the days of turnstiles at Disney’s theme park front gates. In their place are scanners that read guests’ entry tickets or MagicBands, and the fingerprint connected to each person’s park admission. But what if you’re not comfortable with biometric scans? No problem. Although the scanners turn each fingerprint image into a numerical value
and discard the image rather than entering it into a database, you don’t have to use the system to enter the parks. Simply show photo identification, such as a driver’s license or passport, which corresponds with the name on your park pass or MagicBand, and you’re good to go. Take note: you’ll need photo ID each time you enter a park.
5.
Newbie Alert: Plan in Order
Following a timeline for your bookings makes planning a first-time visit less overwhelming. First, book your flights. Next, book your resort. Also purchase park passes at that time, to have your ticket/MagicBand identification numbers available when scheduling FastPass+ times. Then book a rental car, if you’re using one. At 180 days prior to travel, start booking dining reservations, dinner shows you’d like to see, and other experiences such as tours or a visit to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. At sixty days prior to travel (onsite guests), or thirty days prior to each day of your vacation (offsite guests), start booking your FastPass+ selections.
6.
Double Your Tier 1 Choices
One of the benefits of admission tickets that allow park hopping is the ability to schedule more than one Tier 1 FastPass+ attraction, and nowhere is that more useful than Pandora at Animal Kingdom and Galaxy’s Edge (when it opens). Their attractions are both Tier 1, meaning you can select only one with your initial three choices, and they book up quickly. Reserve one of the two headliners for one morning, and spend the day touring the park. On another day, book an evening FastPass+ for the second headliner, spend the day at another park, and return to your FastPass+ park for your ride. When your FastPass+ booking date arrives, it’s easier to get late-evening Tier 1 times first.
7.
Get Dressy
Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa boasts Forbes Travel Guide’s prestigious Five-Star Award and has been awarded the AAA Five Diamond designation every year since 2000. As would be expected at such an elegant venue, the dress code requires men to wear a shirt with a collar. To keep the collar from getting crushed in your suitcase while you’re in transit, coil the belt you’ll be wearing with your dress slacks and insert it into the collar of the folded shirt. Tension from the belt will keep the collar upright, and the belt’s edge will hold up any clothes placed on top of it. For extra padding, stuff your dress socks into the empty space inside the coiled belt.
8.
Have a Park-Free First Day
Orlando vacations often start with an arrival at midday or later due to long car rides or flight schedules, which means getting less than full value from that day’s theme park admission. Make the most of a late arrival by purchasing one less day on your tickets and do what Walt Disney did when choosing land for his Florida parks: put a buffer zone
between the real world and the theme parks and make your first day a laid-back transition day. Settle into your resort, enjoy your pool, and head to Disney Springs Guest Services if you need to exchange eTickets for hard tickets. Your first evening is also ideal for a character meal; meet your favorites without a long, hot wait in the parks.
9.
Photograph Your Schedule
To avoid having to open the My Disney Experience app on your phone each time you need to check your FastPass+ or dining reservation times, write down a daily schedule with all the important times and locations on a white piece of paper, with each day’s date at the top. Take a separate photo of each schedule using your cell phone, and the info will be readily at hand, even if you enter one of the dreaded Wi-Fi drop-out zones around the parks, or when Disney’s Wi-Fi system goes down, which does happen occasionally. Remember not to delete your schedule photos if you download your gallery, but do delete them at the end of each day to avoid any confusion.
10.
Write Down Your Schedule
The new reality at Walt Disney World is that you’ll be connected to your phone throughout the day. If you prefer not to let technology take over your vacation, print out a small daily spreadsheet, highlighting your FastPass+ bookings and any restaurant reservations you’ve made, and have it laminated so it’s waterproof. Or use the poor man’s lamination
trick by laying strips of clear packing tape sticky-side up on a table, press your spreadsheet onto it, cover it with more tape, and cut it down to size. Be sure to round the edges so they don’t poke you when reaching for it in your backpack. Crafty? Punch a hole in one corner and hang it on your backpack using a carabiner.
11.
Create Your Own Thank You
Cards
Before you leave home, decorate several index cards using stickers or drawing with markers, to carry in your backpack while you’re in the theme parks. Write things like, Thank you for making my day magical,
Sprinkling you with pixie dust to thank you for all you do,
You’re the real magic in the most magical place on Earth,
and Thank you for going above and beyond.
Be sure to sign them with your name or From the ________ Family.
Allow kids to hand out their own cards as a reminder to be grateful to others. Even easier, enter the phrase Printable Disney Cast Member thank you cards
or Cast Member appreciation cards
into a search engine for several websites that offer templates for free.
Plan a Surprise Vacation
The only thing more fun than planning a Walt Disney World vacation is surprising someone with a Walt Disney World vacation. Whether you’re keeping it a secret from the kids until you’re already in transit, or it’s a January birthday gift for a December trip, the moment of your grand reveal can be unforgettable.
12. First, consider the receiver. Think carefully about how and when they’d like to be told. Some people love surprises; some like to be in on the decision-making and enjoy the anticipation of a countdown. If you’re planning a summer trip, Christmas or Hanukkah may be too soon to tell preschoolers but ideal for teens, so tailor your reveal
to their personality for the best response.
13. Here is an easy and inexpensive reveal. Fill a wrapped box with Disney character helium balloons tied to a note from Mickey,
or wrap up a travel outfit with a T-shirt featuring the person’s favorite Disney character and leave it on their bed on departure morning.
14. Kids love scavenger hunts. Create clues based on a Disney character or movie and hide them in corresponding locations, such as #1. Where in our living room would Pluto sleep?
with the next clue hidden under the dog’s bed.
15. Have a Disney movie night, then surprise everyone with custom-made T-shirts, such as, Jimmy Jones. I’m Going to Walt Disney World!
It isn’t a given, but guests wearing matching T-shirts are often chosen to ride in the Magic Kingdom parade.
16. Cut out yellow construction paper footprints shaped like Mickey’s shoe, and have them lead up to your reveal. Strew Mickey confetti over a table with filled vacation backpacks and your MagicBands.
17. Tuck a Disney Gift Card into the toe of a Christmas stocking. Add a note stating, Here is $50 to spend at Walt Disney World!
Or slip a new autograph book and a fat pen into the stocking, with the reveal on the front page.
18. Mail a Secret Mission
to older kids or teens. You can feature elaborate clues and difficult puzzles, with the big reveal at the end. Take a page out of the Imagineers’ handbook and create a detailed backstory, then play along as if you’re part of the mission so that you can drop hints if the clues prove too difficult.
19. Want to do a treasure hunt? Crumple up a big piece of white paper; steep it in cold, strong-brewed tea; let it dry; draw your map on it; then singe the edges a bit. Hide clues to the big reveal around the house or yard, leading treasure hunters to an X-marks-the-spot. Bury a small treasure chest with the final clue, and be sure to leave a shovel nearby for digging.
20. For a last-minute reveal, create a treasure hunt with clues attached to items the surprisee will use during the trip, with a packed suitcase and a pair of Mickey ears as the treasure.
Then, tell them it’s time to go!
Don’t forget to video the moment. Your reveal
may be the next social media sensation.
21.
Share the Light
While you’re at the dollar store purchasing light-up toys for yourself or your kids (see Chapter 2), splurge on a few more to hand out to other children during long waits for nighttime parades, fireworks, or shows such as Fantasmic! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, or Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom. There is a portion of each show during which the lights will go out and the (expensive) glowing Made with Magic Mickey ears will twinkle and dance
along with the music. Kids with light-up items will feel like they are part of the show, and it’s a magical way to end the day, especially when you share it with others.
22.
Newbie Alert: Take a Midday Break
When you’ve paid all that money for a vacation with Mickey and friends, the very idea of not squeezing every penny out of it seems unthinkable. However, while taking a midday break each day, or every other day, during your stay is the most counterintuitive thing you can do, it’s also the one decision you’ll sing the praises of when you return home. By planning for time out of the parks at midday, you’ll escape the worst of the heat and humidity as well as avoid lines when they are at their longest. Not only that, but the parks are at their most magical at night, and you won’t burn out before the fireworks begin.
23.
Anticipate the Day Three
Phenomenon
The average guest is filled with adrenaline for the first two days of his vacation. He’s up by 7 a.m., he’s had breakfast, and he’s chomping at the bit to get into the parks for opening time. By the third day, especially in summertime when Florida’s heat and humidity can be exhausting, you’ll be lucky to have your teeth brushed by 11 a.m. and you’ll miss any FastPass+ times scheduled for early in the day. Bear that in mind when booking FastPass+ in advance, opting for time slots of 11:30 a.m. and later starting on your third day. However, if one of the hard to get
attractions shows early FastPass+ availability, take it, and get up early so you make it!
24.
Disney Box
Many first-time visitors think their Disney vacation will be a one-off trip of a lifetime,
but when they return home they’re ready to book the next one. Keeping track of the accoutrements can be difficult, and that’s where a Disney box comes in. Create a dedicated box to store autograph books, Sharpie markers, MagicBands, rain ponchos, refillable mugs or water bottles, misting fans, Disney trading pins, and other essentials you’ll want to take with you each time you visit. Having them all in one place saves having to purchase basics again because you left them at home. Be sure to include less obvious items such as pressed penny holders, lanyards, moleskin pads, and carabiners, which are easy to forget.
25.
Create Personalized Honeymoon Keepsakes
There is no mistaking a honeymooner at Disney. Although bride-and-groom Mouse Ears are timeless attention-getters in the parks, personalized items add to the happily ever after
sentiment once you’re home again. Choose an ornament at Disney’s Days of Christmas in Disney Springs and have it personalized by an onsite artist, then add new ones during return visits; in the theme parks or at Disney Springs, select hand-drawn sketches of the characters that most represent each of you, and have them personalized and signed by the artist; sit for a couples’ silhouette, portrait, or caricature; or purchase hand-engraved, personalized wine or champagne glasses at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, or Disney Springs. They’re everlasting, just like love.
HOW TO USE MY DISNEY EXPERIENCE
Once you create a My Disney Experience account, click on My Reservations
to link your resort reservation, link your family (and/or friends), then link tickets and customize MagicBands when prompted.