DisneyDawgs

Tag: Walt Disney World Resorts

  • Dealing With the Crowds at Disney World

    Crowds… If you’ve ever been to any of the Disney parks, you have had to deal with the huge crowds that are in the parks.

    In the past, there were times of the year where the crowds were not as bad.  This was called the off-season.  The off-season was mainly mid-January through mid-February and late August into the first week of October.  During this time the parks were not as crazy as say Christmas week or Spring Break. You would be able to get on attractions fairly quick.

    Unfortunately, the off-season does not exist anymore.  Whether April, December or January you are going to face an obscene amount of people in the parks at any given time.  Even more so now in this era of Disney unveiling a new land or attraction every year or so.

    So how do you deal with crowds and still be able to enjoy a vacation at Disney World?  Below is a list that we have compiled through our experience and from other Disney Bloggers and Message Boards.

    Our Tips

    1. Rope Drop – Get to the parks early.  Rope Drop is the official opening time of the park. Yes, in some areas of the parks, they actually drop a rope to let people in.  Once you have entered the park, head to the very furthest ride from the entrance as quickly as possible. (Magic Kingdom – Thunder Mountain. Epcot – Soarin or Test Track.  Animal Kingdom – Pandora. and Hollywood Studios – Rock n Rollercoaster or Tower of Terror). You will most-likely encounter a very short wait to get on that ride. Most people will try to ride the attractions closest to the entrance.
    2. Extra Magic Hours – If you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, check to see if there are “Extra Magic Hours”.  Extra Magic Hours are usually rotated throughout the four parks. They are where guests staying at WDW hotels are allowed in the park before the general public.  EMH are usually 1-2 hours before or after normal park operation.
    3. FastPass+ – WDW parks offer free FastPasses which are basically a reservation for a certain time at a specific attraction.  Your FastPass will allow you to skip the “standby” line for that attraction saving having to wait in some cases over an hour.  You may select 3 FastPasses at the beginning of the day and once you have used those three, you may select additional attractions based on availability.  A benefit to staying at a WDW Resort is that you are able to select your FastPasses up to 60 days before your visit (30 days if you are staying off-site.). Fastpasses for the most popular attractions do run out quickly, so reserve them as soon as you can.
    4. Food – Ordering food anywhere in the parks can be time consuming.  Try to eat at off hours (lunch at 2PM, supper at 8PM, etc), crowds will be much later at those times.  WDW has recently introduced Mobile Ordering through the MyDisney app on your phone.  This program allows you to order and pay for your food ahead of time and, for the most part, it is ready for you to pick up when you enter the Quick Service Restaurant.

    Dealing With the Crowds

    Like we said, no matter when you visit a WDW park, there are going to be crowds.  Here some personal tips for you.

      1. Get Plenty of Sleep: Make sure that you get as much sleep as you can.  You will be walking miles and miles in the Florida heat and humidity.  That alone will take a toll on any unrested individual.  Now add in crowds and you could make yourself miserable very quickly.
      2. Comfortable Shoes: Believe it or not, your shoes could make or break your vacation.  Trust me, if your feet are not happy, you will not be happy and like we said earlier, you will be walking your entire visit to the Park.  I suggest that a light pair of broken in sneakers will make your vacation.  If you are buying new shoes for your trip, make sure to give plenty of time to break them in before you hit the parks.
      3. Take Breaks: The Florida heat and humidity can make you very sick if you do not take care of yourself during your visit.  Even during January and February the parks can get quite warm.  If you are coming from a climate that has 6 feet of snow on the ground and sub-zero temperatures, even a 70°day can knock you for a loop.  Make sure to every now and then duck into one of the air conditioned shops for a few minutes or find a table in one of the quick-serve restaurants and take 5 and get a cold drink and/or snack to recharge you batteries.  Your body will thank you later on in the evening.

    Like we said, no matter when you go to Disney World, there are going to be crowds.  Hopefully the tips that we gave can help ward off some of the frustration that comes with them.  Let us know if you have any tips or tricks that you have for dealing with the crowds.

    We hope that you have a fun and memorable visit to the parks.

  • Rabies Alert for Epcot

    The Florida Department of Health in Orange county has issued a rabies alert for a two mile radius of where a where a feral cat was caught and determined to have rabies.

    A spokesman for Disney World confirmed that two Disney Cast Members had been scratched by the cat.  This occurred in an office building’s parking lot outside of Epcot itself.

    The Florida Department of Health believes that it is likely that the cat may have infected other wild animals in the woods around Epcot.

    The Florida Department of Health warns is scratched or bitten by an infected animal, you will want to see immediate medical care.  Rabies is easy to treat if care is administered immediately.  Though, without treatment, it can be fatal.

  • Gran Destino Tower is Open

    The Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is officially open.  With a “soft” opening on July 10th for media, the resort officially opens today to the public.

    Gran Destino Tower is a convention hotel at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.  Coronado Springs has always been a convention resort.  It boasts two featured restaurants and several large halls that have held many company and athletic meetings over the years.

    The main issue with Coronado Springs is it’s size.  This resort is almost the same size (area-wise) as the Magic Kingdom.  Having to walk from one end of the resort was a great inconvenience for those there for a convention.  Not to mention the Florida heat or tropical rain showers.

    The 15 story tower contains 545 rooms, including several Executive Suits.  The Tower was built with Mexican, Spanish and Soutwestern USA styles in mind.  The landscape around the building is beautiful and there is also a covered/air conditioned walkway for The Gran Destino to the conference centers to keep guests cool and dry.

    Rooftop views are breathtaking.  You have a clear panoramic view of Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom.  Firework viewing from the roof is spectacular.

    Along with the Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, three new bridges were built to crossing Lago Dorado so that guests will be able to walk over the lake, rather than around it.  This will mean lest walking for visitors to get to the new restaurants or to bring the kids to the Dig Site pool.

    Having stayed at Coronado Springs with my family several years ago, I have to agree that the resort is huge.  So adding the bridges is a definate plus for those staying on the other side of the resort or those wanting to go to the pool.  I can also see why this resort is for an older, convention-type crowd.  After a day in the parks, having another 15-20 minute walk with toddlers from the parking lot to your room can be life-draining.

  • Planning a trip to Disney World

    Hey everyone, we are starting out a new Blog here. We are going to chronicle the steps that we go through for planning our 2019 trip to Disney World in Orlando Florida.

    We will go through all of the steps that we take from planning hotel rooms, airfare, Planning meals, And more.

    We are planning on visiting the Orlando area in either February or April 2019. The first step that we usually do is purchase airfare. This step usually does not take place until the airlines that we take from the region that we live in, Rhode Island, open up purchase date. The two airlines that we mainly use to fly from Providence Rhode Island to Orlando Florida are JetBlue and Southwest airlines. Southwest airlines will be opening purchase dates for February starting on July 10.

    We will share with you the steps that we take in the tips and tricks that we have learned over the years that will save you lots of money for a trip to Disney World in Orlando. Our budget for this year is $5000. That will include hotel, car rental, tickets to the parks, And food while we were down there. Do you to Disney World resorts charging for parking, we will most likely not be staying in a Disney world resort hotel.

    Although we have always stayed at a Disney resort hotel, in particular pop century, The cost of staying for a night with the additional cost of parking our rental car has made it not worth it. In addition, the benefits of staying at one of the Disney world resort have slowly been dwindling away. We would stay at pop century due to the fact number one, you did not have to pay to park at any of the amusement parks. Resort transportation, buses, etc. meet staying late at the parks more convenient if you’re part of our party wanted to stay and others want to go back to the resort.

    Extra magic hours were one of the big draws for us staying at a Walt Disney World resort, but late night hours for extra magic hours are no longer offered. The majority of extra magic hours are from 7 AM until 8 AM which does not work for my family, we are not early risers.

    So follow this blog and see the steps that we use to book our 2019 Disney World vacation. If you have any questions comments or tips that you would like to give us please feel free and we will respond to let you know if we use them.

    Thanks again, and if you have any tips ahead of time, please send them to info@disneydawgs.com.