Often I hear from people who have horror stories about their Disney trip. “It was so crowded! We waited in line for hours! We couldn’t get into a restaurant. I don’t know why everyone thinks that place is great. We had a horrible time and we would never go back!”
Usually I let them vent, and then I start asking questions. Did you make dining reservations before you left? How many Fastpasses did you book each day? What time did you show up at the parks every day? Did you take a break in the middle of the day? All of these questions and the answers to them will usually determine in large part what type of trip you have to Walt Disney World.
In the old days (15 years ago) you actually could just show up and wing it. Walk in, walk around, stroll up to a sit down restaurant, get a table, wait a reasonable (less than an hour for the major attractions) amount of time for things. However if you just try to wing it at Disney now, you are in for quite a surprise.
Let’s have a look at why a plan is so important.
Dining:
Dining reservations at Disney open at 180 days out. While you might not have thought about what you want to be eating six months from now, I assure you that every Mom with a little girl who wants to have breakfast in the Castle with the Princesses is primed and ready at day 180 to make that reservation. Want to have dinner in the Beast’s Castle? Better be online at 7AM. Certainly you can find reservations closer to your travel date, and you could probably go online this afternoon and find something for tonight. The point is you need to make reservations if you are planning to have a real sit down meal. Walking to each restaurant, and asking at the podium if they have an open table when you decide you are hungry isn’t going to work for you. But an Ears of Experience plan can help.
Fastpasses:
The Fastpass Plus service is Disney’s attraction reservation system and it is free to all guests. You do not pay extra for it. It allows you to make three attraction reservations each day in advance. This means you don’t have to wait in line for over an hour at major attractions. The window for on site guests to make Fastpass Reservations is 60 days in advance.Those not staying on property can make reservations ( as long as they have purchased admission tickets) 30 days in advance. For those without a plan, you can buy a ticket on the way in and then stop at a kiosk in the parks to make your reservations, so there’s hope, but 60 days after everyone else has starting picking away at reservations times, you may not find a whole lot left. So welcome to standing in line for everything. But an Ears of Experience plan can help.
Arrival:
“Hey I’m on vacation! I think I’ll sleep in, grab a little breakfast, make my way over to the park around noon.”
Yeah that’s great…except those of us in the know were at the gate 40 minutes before the park opened, and have cruised through 7 major attractions without fastpasses before you were even ordering your Mickey Waffles. There is no better way to beat the crowds than to get to the parks early. After an easy morning of touring, I’m headed back to my hotel for a swim or a nap at 12:30. I’m taking the afternoon off. In the parks, it’s hot, crowded, and the lines are long. After my nap, I’ll head back in around 5, have dinner at the place I made my reservation, use my Fastpasses, and I’ll see you at the fireworks. I’ll know who you are.
Wise use of your resources and some advance planning can make even the craziest of Disney days workable. I’ve been there Christmas week and the basic principles that work in the off season work at the busiest times of the year too. The picture above was taken Saturday December 10th. It’s not even Christmas week yet and that is what you’re up against. With a plan, you would have been through the park already, had lunch and been back at the pool when all this was going on. Without a plan, or some idea of what you are doing, you are just a hot, tired, and cranky tourist, wandering among that massive crowd, ready to scream. Don’t be that person. Have a plan.
I specialize in the plan. Let me help you make your time at Disney magical.
