Never try to wing it at Disney World. The first time I visited what is arguably the world's most overwhelming theme park, I had no plan and my experience wasn't what it could have been. That was a generation ago and much has changed - except that everyone still has to bone up for their Disney World adventure. Tens of thousands of people visit Disney World daily, and the entire resort spans more than 55,000 acres.
Pro Tips
› Don’t waste Fast-Passes on early morning times when the park has just opened. Schedule your first for 10 a.m. and the next two for as soon as possible thereafter. You can hold up to three FastPasses at a time, gaining a new one after each one is used, so the earlier yours are used, the more opportunity you’ll have to try for more — though you may want to look into getting an unlimited data plan with your cellphone service if you want to get passes for the things you want. Designate someone in your group to acquire all your other FastPasses, adding new ones after each is used.› Attack the park counter-clockwise immediately after the doors are opened. The herd mentality at theme parks is pervasive.› If you want a kid-free hideaway for an hour or so, provided you didn’t bring your own, take the monorail to the Polynesian and visit its tiki bar. Go a half hour before opening and wander the resort until they text you. Otherwise, it can be tough to get into this popular spot, where different lighting effects occur as particular drinks are delivered.› If you use your own vehicle to hop between parks, know that your daily parking fee covers you for any park you choose to visit that day. You may have to remind the parking attendant. Guests at Disney’s on-site resorts must pay for parking at the parks as well, albeit at a reduced cost, but can avoid the parking charges by flying into Orlando and using Disney’s complimentary transportation system (the Magical Express), which transports guests from the airport to their resort free of charge, though tips are always appreciated.› Don’t forget about counter service restaurants, especially in Epcot. (The Moroccan marketplace takes the cake.) Do forget about the dining plan. Even if you’re able to eat the amount of food included, you really don’t save any money over buying a la carte.› If you can, snag FastPasses for these two rides. While other new rides like Slinky Dog’s Dash and ever-popular ones like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train are also good options, you’ll really be missing out if you can’t stomach the average 2-hour wait times for these two. And the rest of Animal Kingdom is a highlight, too, offering world-class shows, animal encounters, kid-friendly rides that are actually fun for adults, and versatile dining options.
My family has since figured it out - we visit every other year and now have 10 trips under our belt - but I learned the hard way that preparation is as significant as a FastPass.
Speaking of the FastPass, which dramatically cuts down guests' wait times for specific rides, you can select those rides up to 60 days before your trip if you're staying at a Disney property; otherwise, it's 30 days as long as tickets are linked to a registered My Disney Experience planning guide. The drag about the latter is that you have to plan your trip every day, for each day of your trip, once that 30-day window starts. And advance booking matters. Those who visit the in-park kiosks on the day of their experience will likely be out of luck when it comes to experiencing the marquee rides - or sometimes any rides - without a (long) wait.
The other advantage to staying at one of the park's more than 20 hotels, which range from value (the campgrounds and All-Star resorts) to the deluxe (we love the Polynesian Resort), is "Magic Hours." Every day, those who rest their heads at The Happiest Place on Earth can visit the parks for an hour or two either before the parks open to the general public or after the doors close.
"The Magic Hours are invaluable," agrees Scott Houston, a local contributor to the Disney Moms Panel which answers thousands of questions from visiting kids-at-heart from around the world. Even Disney World aficionados would likely defer to Houston when it comes to inside knowledge. He also professionally plans trips via Tink's Magical Vacations, which has been a source of income for Houston for seven years.
Personally, Houston is apparently going for some sort of Guinness Book of World Records run at Disney World. "I would say I've been there 50 or 60 times," he says. "I love it." He has honeymooned at Disney World and gone on 18 Disney cruises.
Houston believes guests should stay on property if at all possible. "You don't have to worry about a thing when you go on vacation at the park," he says. "Disney transportation is second to none. There are monorails, buses and boats."
Soon, there will be a gondola, dubbed the Skyliner, which will connect Epcot to Hollywood Studios. The word is that it will debut at some point in 2019 but, according to Disney World media relations specialist Charles Stovall, there is no exact date for when the Skyliner will set sail.
Those with children are especially wise to stay at the park since the nearby accommodations allow a much-needed midday break. It's smart to start your day with Magic Hours and plow through the park until noon, then take a hiatus when Disney World is packed. Either nap or hit the pool and then have lunch. After your batteries are recharged at, say, 3 p.m., head back. With that plan you can spend at least 10 hours in the park.
Houston also recommends picking up a Park Hopper pass, which allows you to visit all four parks within the same day. "You want to give yourself some options," he insists. "I never understand why anyone would just stay in one park for the day. Sometimes things fluctuate and it's a good idea to visit another park."
There is also the Park Hopper Plus, which adds Disney's water parks and miniature golf options to the list. "We've done water parks and miniature golf and enjoyed it immensely," Houston says.
Especially during the holiday and summer seasons, when the park is jammed, that kind of flexibility could come in handy.
"A great time to visit is during the first two weeks of November or the first two weeks of December," Houston notes. Another great time to go is weekdays in late January or early February before Presidents Day, but you won't have the magic of Disney's Christmas decorations.
DINING
Houston's main suggestion for making the most of your park experience is something that I always forget about: dining reservations.
"Many people don't know this but you can make your dining reservations 180 days out," he reveals. "Not only should you do this, you really have to if you want to book one of the popular experiences."
What’s New and What’s Happening
Pandora: The World of Avatar is relatively new at Animal Kingdom. And it’s amazing. Even those who aren’t crazy about James Cameron’s “Avatar” movie should have no problem waiting in the long lines for Disney World’s most popular attraction, Flight of Passage. A staggering amount of folks — approximately 30,000 people — board that ride every day.If you would like to experience IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, an evening display of pyrotechnics that would give KISS a run for its money, you’d better head to Epcot soon. IllumiNations has been around for nearly 20 years, but will be retired at the end of the summer. The final show is slated for Sept. 30.Guardians of the Galaxy is slated to open in Epcot in 2021. It will be part of Epcot’s 40th anniversary celebration and face-lift. Being built on the site that was once home to Ellen’s Energy Adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy will be a massive indoor roller-coaster. Over in the Magic Kingdom, the TRON roller-coaster is also slated to see the light of day in 2021.Toy Story Land is now open inside Hollywood Studios. There are three rides in Toy Story Land, one of which is Slinky Dog Dash, a family roller-coaster with no loops or drops. It’s a smooth ride, but the best part is that it gives you a good vantage point of the soon-to-open Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, offering a 3-second sneak peak at the future. Galaxy’s Edge will open in late 2019 and Disney is implementing some cool new technology, taking the new realm to another echelon. Building on the hype, Disney’s Star Wars Starship Resort is expected to open by 2020.Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will also open at Hollywood Studios at some point this year, replacing the Great Movie Ride which transported riders through popular films using special effects and live actors. The Runaway Railway will be like a 3-D ride but you won’t need glasses for the experience. It will also be the first Mickey-themed ride in any of the parks. How’s that for some Disney trivia?
According to Houston, the "Be Our Guest" dining experience sells out in a day, welcoming crowds to breakfast, lunch or dinner at Beast's Castle in the Magic Kingdom. Themed after "Beauty and the Beast," there are different dining spaces that resemble different parts of the castle. It's like stepping into the actual movie. Those with dinner reservations even get to meet Beast personally. Also special is that you can experience a dessert, "The Grey Stuff" (as in "Try the grey stuff, it's delicious."), that is only served there.
"There are other dining experiences that aren't as popular as Be Our Guest, but if you know you're going to Disney World in six months, why not book in advance and get what you want?" says Houston.
If you can't gain entrance to Be Our Guest, there's always Cinderella's Royal Table, which is also located in Magic Kingdom. After ascending a spiral staircase to the banquet hall in Cinderella's Castle, you'll meet the princess herself before sitting down to breakfast, lunch or dinner amid sweeping arches and stained glass windows that transport you back to medieval times, albeit with a modern - and elevated - menu.
If you prefer your meals with an ethnic twist, there's also Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot. It's in the Norway Pavilion, where you'll also be greeted by princesses. While the lunch and dinner served here have a decidedly Norwegian slant, don't expect to meet Elsa. It's mostly a rotation of the classic princesses: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle and Ariel.
One of the best character breakfasts is actually at the Four Seasons. Only guests can go, and the hotel's super-clean water park is worth the price of the room alone, but the food at the character breakfast really is the brunch to end all brunches. While the Four Seasons isn't a Disney resort, guests have Magic Hours perks, free transportation to the parks, and great fireworks views of multiple Disney parks.
RIDES
With average wait times spanning from a modest 30 minutes to a staggering 3 hours, prioritizing what you want to ride is key. Here are my "don't miss" attractions.
MAGIC KINGDOM
» The mountains: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain. These are classics that can be revisited ad nauseum. The drop on Space Mountain still takes me back to the first time I experienced it. And the fact that the indoor coaster whisks you through near-darkness always translates to a thrill.
» Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Featuring swinging cars traveling around a mountain that you can rock back and forth, it's a fun, family-oriented, free-flowing coaster.
EPCOT
» Soarin' Around the World. This is my favorite Disney ride. I was bummed when they revamped it since I didn't experience it during my visit two years ago, but the new - and very much improved - Soarin' tops the prior experience, which was a run over California. This time out the trip takes you over the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower and some other amazing destinations. When you're flying over a savanna in Africa, you can smell the dirt. Amazing! Also, the lines are shorter now that a new guest lane and theater have opened.
» Test Track. The ride has been modernized and is the fastest experience at Disney World, topping out at 65 mph. It's also the longest ride in the park, with the aforementioned Splash Mountain coming in second place.
» Frozen Ever After. This boat ride has Disney World's most advanced audio animatronics. It's such a cool experience.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
» Na'vi River Journey. This gentle boat ride is akin to floating down the Avatar Rivers, with all of the film's animals in bioluminescence. It's one of the most striking visual experiences you can have on this planet.
» Flight of Passage. It's Soarin' on steroids. I don't want to ruin the effect, so suffice it to say that it's dramatic and completely unforgettable.