It’s the vacation every child wants to take and most parents dread. It’s hot. It’s time consuming. There is a lot to sort through. And, it’s expensive. I just got back from Disney World after visiting for the first time with two kids. It’s much more stressful than taking a fun, adult vacation to the happiest place on Earth, but I discovered plenty of tips and tricks to make the vacation easier for your family. Here are my top five:
Fast Pass. Unlike Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, this is FREE! But, you only get to “fast pass” three attractions. It’s basically making a reservation for the three things you really want to do or see, but want to bypass the standard line. For example, the wait for Enchanted Tales with Belle was about an hour long when we went, but because it was one of the attractions we selected on our “fast pass”, we only waited for five minutes. My one suggestion – select what you want early! Like days, weeks or even months early. (Yes, you can do that.) We tried to “fast pass” a meeting with Elsa and Anna, but it wasn’t available because so many people already reserved all the time slots for that day.
The Disney World App. You will use this app to select your Fast Pass attractions, but it’s also great to see the wait times for everything else. They are all listed right there – how long it’ll take to get on a ride or to meet a Disney character or princess. Everything you want to know about the restaurants, shopping, shows and even a map of the park is also included.
Think of your schedule. I’m not talking about your daily schedule. Try to avoid visiting during the busy times of the year if you can. This means avoid:
> weekends
> holidays (and days around holidays)
> spring break
> summer
Three day pass. You save A LOT of money as a Florida resident if you buy a three day park hopper pass. (If you’re not in the Sunshine State, you can’t try to sneak this one. You have to show proof of residence on an ID to get your tickets.) Even if you are going for just two days, this will save you money. My sister bought one of these while we were there and it was good for a month and a half. One person – three visits – $139.
Priceline. I’ve become a little addicted to this website for booking hotels. If you are picky, this may not be for you because you will pay for your hotel before you know which one it is. You pick where you want to stay by looking at a map and clicking a specific highlighted area. You also choose how nice of a hotel you want to stay at. (I always go with at least a 4-star hotel.) You can either name your price and wait to see if it’s accepted or you can see the “express deals” and choose one. Then, you get an email with your hotel information. Surprise! By doing this, we stayed at a 4-star hotel right across from Disney property for $87 a night, with a pool the kids loved!
Free Tip: If you have a certain blog or are a journalist – TV, print, web, etc., you get two park hopper passes a year for FREE! That’s two tix for one day to any Disney park. It’s called the public relations courtesy ticket policy, and it’s designed for business purposes to give working journalists an opportunity to experience and cover Walt Disney World Resort. Before requesting one of these passes, you must send in a sample of your work completed at least six months earlier or a link to your blog. Based off this, Walt Disney World Public Relations will decide whether or not to grant you courtesy tickets.