Travel Tip Tuesday

Getting around Disney property using only Disney transportation can be a little challenging without a little bit of planning. One of the most important things to remember about Disney buses is that they do not go from resort to resort. Therefore, if you want to have dinner in a resort that you are not staying in, you must first go to a theme park and then transfer to another bus. For example, if you are staying at an All Star resort and have a breakfast at Chef Mickey's, you cannot get there on one bus alone. You will either need to pay for a cab, or take a bus to Magic Kingdom (the closest park to the Contemporary Resort) and then either walk or take the monorail to the resort for your meal. This takes a little extra time, so please allow for extra time before your reservation time. The concierge at the hotel can help you determine how much time to allow to get to your destination.

The best advice I can give for meals inside of resorts that you are not staying in, is to take a bus (or boat, monorail, etc) to the closest park and then catch another bus to the resort you are trying to get to. Keep in mind, with the transfers it could potentially take an hour to get to your dining reservation. This is the longest time I have had to date, and sometimes it can be a lot shorter if you hit all of the buses just right.

One final tip. Not only do buses NOT run from resort to resort, but they also do NOT run from Downtown Disney to any of the four major theme parks. Just something else to keep in mind when planning out your transportation during your trip!

Travel Tip Tuesday

Did you know that you can use fastpasses even after the scheduled time printed on the pass? For example, if your return time is 4:05 to 5:05 for Winnie the Pooh, you can use that fastpass anytime that day after 4:05. As long as you return sometime that same day after the first printed time, you can still use your fastpass (the second time may as well not even exist to most cast members). So, what we do is make sure we get a new fastpass at the first chance we can, even if we haven't ridden Winnie the Pooh yet so that we can get more rides in each day, and minimize our wait times. There have been times we have had three or four valid fastpasses to choose from. This helps minimize walking back and forth across the parks, and allows us more time on rides, and less time in lines. So, first thing in the morning, get a fastpass for one of your must do rides, then go get in line for another one that will get busy quickly (this is a must do for Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios...send someone to get fastpasses for everyone, while the rest of your party heads to Tower of Terror or Aerosmith).

Travel Tip Tuesday

We had an exciting quick trip to the World last weekend. It was a very exciting trip for me as we finally became annual pass holders. With several trips planned in the next year, it was an easy decision and something I have always wanted to do. I still can't believe I have an annual pass!!! That is not the tip this week though :) The tip includes meeting the Princesses and Mickey Mouse in the new Town Square Exposition Hall at Magic Kingdom. We went on a Saturday so the crowds were pretty large (at least in comparison to what we are used to as normal October visitors). We wanted to meet Mickey, but the lines were pretty long. We had decided to watch the Light Parade on Main Street in front of Tony's Town Square so that we could make a quick exit after the parade. While we were waiting we noticed the wait times to meet Mickey and the Princesses dropped down to five minutes each. So, as soon as the parade was over we hurried in and were second in line for the Princesses. After meeting them we hopped over to the Mickey line, which was already about 15 minutes. What I suggest doing is heading up to get a fastpass to meet Mickey about an hour before the parade starts (use the awesome app Lines to keep tabs on fastpass return times). Then once the parade is over, get in line for the Princesses, then use your fastpass to meet Mickey. You should be in and out of both within 15 to 20 minutes.