Thursday Thirteen No. 29

Thirteen Tips for Visiting Walt Disney World

1. Plan ahead....way ahead. Book the trip six months in advance.
2. Purchase the Deluxe Dining Plan. It is $30 per person per day. It includes one quick service meal, one table service meal, and one snack per day. However you can use them anytime you wish. It is the best deal in town. The table service meals are wonderful and the service is great, regardless of the restaurant that you choose.
3. Stay on Disney property. While this is certainly a matter of taste and can be more expensive, if you are planning to visit only Walt Disney World parks, this offers the greatest amount of convenience. Shuttle buses and monorail service is available to take you anywhere you need to go at no extra charge. If you drive to the parks, they're gonna charge you $12 for parking.
4. If you have children under 12, visit Magic Kingdom first. It is a zoo, an absolute sea of people, regardless when you visit, so you might as well get it out of the way.
5. Don't vacation yourself to death. There is far too much to see and do in each park to get it done in one day. Enjoy what you can and don't worry about what you miss.
6. Have a plan. As soon as you enter a park, maps and schedules are available. Take a few minutes to review the schedules and determine what shows you want to see and when you intend to see them. We missed the stunt driving, thrill show at Hollywood Studios because of a lack of planning.
7. Take a break during the day. There is nothing wrong with going back to your hotel and taking a nap.
8. Find out when each park has extended hours. One night Hollywood studios was open until 2:00 a.m. This is the perfect time to ride your favorite thrill rides with minimum crowds and waiting times.
9. If you visit in May, June, or July, take a cheap rain poncho. It will rain some nearly every day.
10. If you intend to buy souvenirs, and who doesn't, go to Downtown Disney in the morning. The shops are nearly empty before noon. The place is extremely crowded at night and the shops are packed.
11. Again, if you have younger children and you want them to meet Disney characters, book a character breakfast one morning. Characters are in the parks for photo ops and autographs, but the lines can be long and the heat and humidity can be a little daunting. The character breakfasts are held in the hotels and they come to every table.
12. Take a park break during the middle of the week. Spend one day relaxing at your hotel pool or visit one of the two water parks, Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon. Yesterday I asked the 4-1/2 year old grand boy what he liked most about Disney World. His answer was, "Blizzard Beach, Soarin (a great ride at Epcot), and the hot tub (at our hotel). See, even the little ones like some down time.
13. See some of the shows. It's a break from the waiting lines at the rides. It's a break from the heat and humidity and it gets you and the kids off your feet for a 20-30 minutes. Monster's Inc., at Hollywood Studios is good. A Bugs Life in Animal Kingdom is very good. The 3-D shows are all very good (there is one in Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot).

Bonus feature. While waiting for the fireworks display to begin at Epcot one evening, my wife looked across the lake and said, "that sunset would make a pretty photograph." So I walked over to the rail, framed the shot, and snapped this picture. I think my wife has a good eye for a great photo. You just gotta click on this one to enlarge and enjoy it.

Sunset at Epcot Center