Because we had a trip out to NC for a wedding over the week
prior to Thanksgiving, we decided to go ahead and put together a trip to Walt
Disney World. We’ve been putting it off for about two years; but we wanted to go
at least one more time before my oldest son graduates, and also, since my
little one was four when we went last- he doesn’t remember much.
So, when we realized we’d be purchasing tickets out east
anyway- we said why not?!? Because it was Thanksgiving week, I was very leery
because I have heard that the crowds could be insane. Since we were staying off site, we could have hired a Magic Maker for about $100- which if you don't have time to plan; is a great option. If you are staying on a Disney property, there is no extra charge and I highly recommend utilizing their planning services. However, if you will be staying off site, I thought I'd offer some tips for those self planners out there....
Self-Planning tips:
The first step in self-planning your trip would be to create
an account on the Disney World website and then download the app. I realized
when I logged in that I had created an account about 2 years ago when we first
started talking about this… I had not downloaded the app- and you may be
wondering why in the world you’d need it before you’re even setting foot on the
property- but I’ll get to that in a minute.
In advance of our trip- as in about 90 days prior- I spent
tons of time on pinterest planning and researching, since we have such a short
amount of time, and it's such a busy time of year for Disney- the devil is in
the details. So, I found this site which has been an amazing source of
information- if you are not staying on site, and/or not using a Magic Maker to
plan your trip. (At this point, with the amount of research I've done, I could
just about qualify, LOL). Anyway: here's the super handy website that I've got
pinned all over my travel pinterest boards: http://wdwprepschool.com/. That site has everything about each park, dining options, fast pass plans, and more.
Dining Reservations:
Book dining reservations up to 180 days prior (even without
ticket purchase) for busy times. I will tell you right now, that the dining
reservations saved our lives. Dining in Disney is pricey- but at busy times
when everyone is cranky and there are no reservations and no tables to be found
at quick service locations (or a curb to sit on for that matter), it mattered.
I don’t think we could have covered so much ground at the parks in two days had
it not been for dining reservations. More about specific dining locations
later- but I did book at least one character meal (that was on Thanksgiving Day
at Chip and Dale’s Garden Grill so that we could have a pretty authentic
Thanksgiving meal). At about 90 days prior- most in park locations were booked
for the Wednesday and Thursday of Thanksgiving- so when I spotted reservations-
I snatched them up quickly. You can cancel without charge (otherwise $10/pp) up
to 24 hours in advance of the reservation, and Disney does send you reminder
emails so that you can change if you need too.
We ended up with a table service reservation for lunch in
Animal Kingdom the first day (at Yak and Yeti); and browsed and sampled Epcot’s
Christmas dishes for dinner that evening. However, I was extremely lucky to
find the Yak and Yeti reservation for lunch a couple days prior to our trip- so
don’t give up and don’t quit checking the app- even while you're in the park. I had originally booked a
character dinner in AK for that evening at 8:00 (that was all that was
available at the time), but we got through the park with our fast passes so
quickly, we were able to call and cancel that reservation about 5 hours prior.
We were prepared to pay the fee- because character dining is the most expensive
option and we would still end up ahead of the game even cancelling- but when
they asked why we were cancelling and replied that we would be finished with
the park and hopping on, they cancelled it without a fee- presumably it’s easy
to refill the reservation since the park was so busy.
Thanksgiving Day I had booked the lunch at Chip and Dale’s
Garden Grill since they had somewhat Thanksgiving-ish fare and all the other
TDay dinner locations were booked up. I didn’t have anything planned for
dinner on Thursday night. So, after realizing how badly our feet needed the sit-down dinner- I
kept checking the app on Wednesday and Thursday until I finally landed an open
spot at Tony’s on Main Street in Magic Kingdom. Granted, that dinner reservation
was at 9:55pm. But we got it; and it worked out great since we had a late lunch
and a Mickey pretzel snack in between. If you want reservations- shoot for off
times to eat; or during parades of fireworks shows. Again, don't quit checking the app because people cancel all day and new reservations popped up.
Fast Passes:
We knew we would use points to stay off site- so we were
allowed a 30-day window to book fast passes as long as our Disney tickets were
purchased online in advance. (If you are staying on site- you have a 60-day
window). We set reminders in our phone 30 days prior to our trip to obtain fast
passes online (you will need to login at 7am EST/6am CST on EACH day of your
trip) and got up at the crack of dawn- actually before- to book passes. The
first three allowed passes for a day must be booked in the same park. After
your last fast pass has been used/expired, you can continue to login in to the
app to get another, and then another, and then another; and these do NOT have
to be in the same park. If you are going over Thanksgiving or any busy time of
the year- booking time is key. I logged in right at 6am for our first ticket
day and did great getting good fast pass times. The second day (actually our
Thanksgiving day ticket) I logged in at 6:07 because I overslept a little, and
believe me- the good fast pass times got snatched quickly and that ended up
affecting our whole day’s plans… The app came in very handy as we did all of
this from our bed.
Refer to pinterest and the wdwprepschool link above for some
great recommendations on fast passes. I stuck to their plan and it worked out
great for us. We booked three passes in Epcot- “burned” one by just scanning in
so that we could get another pass earlier since it was an attraction we didn’t
feel the need to do. After that, we booked one for Buzz Lightyear (my kids have
happy memories there) in Magic Kingdom; and then another at Pirates in MK. We
realized after using the 10:00pm fast pass at Pirates that no more fast passes
were available for our date. I don’t know if that means that no more were
available because of a cut-off time; or if they were all simply used up.
We’ve been to Disney in years past when fast passes were not
an option, and this made all the difference in the world. I can’t stress how
much more enjoyable our trip was with only having to wait in limited lines. Try
to get them to early/midday if possible so that you can maximize the number of
fast passes you’ll get to use.
A note about Flights of Passage, Avatar:
This was the most amazing ride I’ve ever been on. We did not
secure a fast pass for this attraction- they were long gone at 6:00am. However,
we got to the park at Animal Kingdom and were through security by 7:30am. While
we didn’t use it, I confirmed a tip I had read on Pinterest that you can cut
through the Rainforest Café gift shop to get ahead of the crowds to make your way
to the Pandora. But we almost ran to the attraction, and by the time we got
there it was a line already up to 90 minutes. I am not the type to say that
waiting in a line that long for anything is worth it. But I will tell you right
now that the line itself is a beautiful wait. I was never bored looking at the
sights. I would have been sad if I’d missed all that because of a fast pass. It
moved fairly quickly; and once inside- the ride is the most advanced thing I’ve
ever ridden. I will let you experience it for yourself.
Our lyft driver from the night before had ridden Flight of
Passage I think 3-4 times and hasn’t gotten tired of it. He told us to skip the
Navi River ride, so we did. From what I gather, it’s a standard Disney boat
ride- so waiting 215 minutes was not in the cards for us, and we don’t regret
that.
Parking/Transportation into the parks:
We had a rental car. However, the first night we had
reservations at Hoop de Doo Revue at Disney’s Camp Wilderness Campsites, and I
had heard that it’s hard to access due to limited parking. It also has beer/wine
included with the meal, so we opted to look for a ride over. We checked in with
the concierge at our hotel, who told us that Lyft is typically better in
Orlando than Uber (which we normally use). We used the app to order a Lyft
driver, and this turned out to be great because he was full of information that
we tucked away for the rest of the trip.
First of all, we discovered that parking at Disney ranges
from $20- 40 depending on how close you want to get to the gate. Our Lyft rides
into the parks (Animal Kingdom/Epcot) were about $16-18 one way. Which isn’t
bad considering you don’t have to walk to a car (and believe me, ow, ow, ow) or
sit in traffic. Our Lyft driver told us that they can drop you right at the
front for Animal Kingdom and Epcot because there are drop off lines. Boom,
you’re at the gate without the foot ache. Magic Kingdom was a different story
because of having to access the monorail or the boat over. So, he told us to be
dropped at the Contemporary and walk over.
Side note: When we did this- we thought we had to take the
monorail but the line that we got on runs to the transportation center followed
by all the resorts and finally the Magic Kingdom. That’s four stops to the
Magic Kingdom versus walking across the street- about 15 minutes. Lesson
learned. We actually opted when we were leaving to walk it from the front gate
to the Contemporary lobby. So that’s an option if the lines are long and if
your feet are still up for it. Getting into the Magic Kingdom was the most
confusing part of our trip; and the signage for the monorail was confusing. We
could have taken the boat- which is fun if that’s your first trip; but we opted
to use these options because they’re faster (as long as you don't get on the monorail going the wrong way- ha!).
Side tips:
- Utilizing the app will suck your battery dry before the end of the day. Plan to bring a backup brick (they were available for purchase in the parks for $30). Or, you can be like us and fight the system. We looked for outlets hidden (and well hidden, because it is, after all- Disney) in the flower beds and on columns, and charged our phone when we stopped for snack, meal and bathroom breaks.
- Because we had our final meal at Tony’s on Main Street right at 10:00, we saw the mass exodus after the fireworks show. We noticed that as people left- the restrooms in the restaurant (which includes a gift shop) were largely un-used. So, rather than using the restrooms on the way out of the park, I would step into this building where there were no lines if you’re exiting right at fireworks time. This is an especially good tip for us girls, since almost every bathroom line is double what the guys get since all the moms are stacking themselves plus at least one kid in a stall. Sigh, motherhood.
Coming soon, reviews of Hoop de Doo review, Yak and Yeti
restaurant, Chip and Dales’ Garden Grill, and Tony’s on Main Street.
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