As I approach our Spring Break trip to the World, I am actually getting a little anxious for the first time in a long time about the crowd levels. I have never been at Spring Break before, and in fact the last time we went at a highly busy time was our honeymoon in 1998 which was the week before 4th of July. Our last seven trips have been in low times and we have frankly gotten very spoiled with crowd levels. However, it looks like that is all going to change in two weeks. The crowd levels are predicted to be 10 out of 10 on almost every day we are there. Yowza! That is going to force me to plan even more than I ever have in order to outmaneuver the crowds. With a little help from Touringplans.com, I accept that challenge.
Today's tip is simple....make touringplans.com your best friend! As you begin planning for your trip, visit the site and register. It is a very minimal $11.95 cost for a year long membership (sometimes there are coupon codes to lower this price through allears.net newsletters, so subscribe to those as well). In the past, you had free access to the planning features on this website when you bought the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, but I think now you get half off the $11.95 charge (I haven't bought the book in two years, so I am uncertain if this has changed or not). This website is my absolute favorite for trip planning and helps me out in so many ways. I will try to break down the benefits below.
The first benefit is helping you know what to expect as far as crowd levels for every day of the year. It will tell you the expected crowd number (on a scale of 1 to 10) and also tell you which is the best park to visit every day, and which park to avoid. It also lists the park hours, Extra Magic Hours, and show schedules for each day. There is also a place to click on each day so that you can "track" that day. If any changes are made to the crowd expectations, you will receive an email alerting you to check it out.
The second benefit is access to a very large number of touring plans that will help you ensure you see everything that you want to see in any given park. You choose the one that fits your family the best and it takes you step by step through each park telling you what ride to hit next so that you will have the shortest possible wait times at each attraction. If you don't find a plan that fits your family, the site allows you to create your own customizable plan. You tell it what rides and shows you want to see and it tells you in what order to see them. I assure you, if you follow these plans to the letter as they are written, you WILL get everything done, and then some. When we were on our honeymoon it was unbelievably crowded. However, I had printed a copy of a touring plan ahead of time and we gave it a try. We were done with Magic Kingdom at 1:30 in the afternoon! Now granted, we probably skipped a few things that they had listed, but we did everything we wanted to do. We were then able to go to the hotel and swim, then head out for more fun that night. Although we haven't needed one of these touring plans in a few years due to crowds, I am going to revisit them for the trip in a few weeks. One note about these plans....if you are not willing to get to the park at opening for rope drop, don't bother with the plans. I hate to hear people http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifsay how these plans don't work when really it is their fault because they didn't follow them as they are intended (to start at park opening). I know some people don't like the thought of planning out their every move of their vacation, but I would bet these same people hate the thought more of their children screaming at the end of the day because they didn't get to see everything that they wanted.
One final huge benefit is access to lines. This is an app on your smartphone that tells you actual wait times at every attraction in each park. If you are at Buzz Lightyear in Magic Kingdom and are thinking about heading to Splash Mountain, you can open up Lines and see what the actual wait time is before trekking all the way across the park. It will also tell you the crowd level expectations for that day and the crowd forecast for 10 days. It also has a chat feature on it that allows you to ask questions to fellow "liners" and get help while you are in the parks (or at home planning your trip). I love reading these discussion threads from home as it makes me feel a part of the magic even when I am far away from the parks. Another thing on the lines app is access to the park touring plans I discussed above. It is much easier to read the steps on your phone than it is to keep up with a printed piece of paper all day long!
So, if you are planning a trip to Disney World, check out touringplans.com before you go. Even if you don't pay for the subscription, you have some access to trip planning advise on the site, and you can read blog posts by the staff of touringplans. It is one more way to experience a small piece of the magic away from the real magic of the parks! Happy planning!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Travel Tip Tuesday
Today's travel tip is going to focus on helping you get the most bang for your buck when it comes to staying hydrated at Disney. I have already mentioned many times about how you can get a free cup of ice water or ice at any counter service window. The staff is always super friendly and more than willing to give you one, even if you don't buy anything else. So, with that being said, there is no reason NOT to stay hydrated. What about at meals though? Sometimes, people (like me) just want a cold soda to go with their meals. Is there a way to save money with a meal?
Of course there is! In the past few years Disney has changed a few of the restaurants to include a serve yourself beverage station. This of course means as many free refills as you want. So, buy a drink with your meal, and drink until you get your fill. Then, after your meal, take one "to go" in your cup, but don't fill it with ice. Then in a little while when you are thirsty from the hot sun, get a free cup of ice from a counter service restaurant and pour your soda over it. This option will only work if you have a stroller to put your drink in while you tour though. I wouldn't recommend carrying a drink all over the park all day :)
There still aren't tons of places that offer the serve yourself beverage stations, but there are a few. At Hollywood Studios, you can visit The Backlot Express which is located next to the Star Tours ride. If you are in Epcot, you have two options to choose from. The Electric Umbrella, which is located beside Innoventions East and Sunshine Seasons which is located inside The Land (this is my favorite counter service meal inside the theme parks due to the variety and fact that it allows us to save some money on our meals). If you are at Animal Kingdom, you can eat at Restaurantosaurus in Dinoland and drink (soda) to your hearts content. A side note about Restaurantosaurus is that the kids meals are served in a sand bucket so needless to say, we eat here often :). I can't think of any serve your own stations inside of Magic Kingdom, but hopefully they will come soon!
One final way my husband and I save on drinks when we can't get refills is to order a large cola with no ice and a cup of ice. This maximizes the amount of cola you get for your money, and allows you to be able to pour it over ice as you go. We are all about saving a buck or two whenever we can at Disney!
Of course there is! In the past few years Disney has changed a few of the restaurants to include a serve yourself beverage station. This of course means as many free refills as you want. So, buy a drink with your meal, and drink until you get your fill. Then, after your meal, take one "to go" in your cup, but don't fill it with ice. Then in a little while when you are thirsty from the hot sun, get a free cup of ice from a counter service restaurant and pour your soda over it. This option will only work if you have a stroller to put your drink in while you tour though. I wouldn't recommend carrying a drink all over the park all day :)
There still aren't tons of places that offer the serve yourself beverage stations, but there are a few. At Hollywood Studios, you can visit The Backlot Express which is located next to the Star Tours ride. If you are in Epcot, you have two options to choose from. The Electric Umbrella, which is located beside Innoventions East and Sunshine Seasons which is located inside The Land (this is my favorite counter service meal inside the theme parks due to the variety and fact that it allows us to save some money on our meals). If you are at Animal Kingdom, you can eat at Restaurantosaurus in Dinoland and drink (soda) to your hearts content. A side note about Restaurantosaurus is that the kids meals are served in a sand bucket so needless to say, we eat here often :). I can't think of any serve your own stations inside of Magic Kingdom, but hopefully they will come soon!
One final way my husband and I save on drinks when we can't get refills is to order a large cola with no ice and a cup of ice. This maximizes the amount of cola you get for your money, and allows you to be able to pour it over ice as you go. We are all about saving a buck or two whenever we can at Disney!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Travel Tip Tuesday
This is going to be short and sweet (for me) as I am having computer issues and therefore having to use my tablet to enter this....not very fun :)
So, my tip for the day is more of a news bite that was announced last week. I had mentioned in a previous blog that you only have to concern yourself with the first return time on your fastpass ticket. In the past, it didn't matter if you were four hours past your return time, you could still use the fastpass as long as you returned sometime after the first posted time. For example, if the return time said 4:10 to 5:10 you could return anytime that evening after 4:10 and you would be allowed to enter the ride. That is all changing in a few weeks. Now, you will only be able to return during that hour that is listed on your fastpass ticket. That can sometimes be a challenge if it happens to fall during a dinner reservation, during a parade, or if you happen to be on the other side of the park. So, my advise is to double check the return time before you request a fast pass. If you know you can't make it back in time, pass it over and try to get one later.
So, my tip for the day is more of a news bite that was announced last week. I had mentioned in a previous blog that you only have to concern yourself with the first return time on your fastpass ticket. In the past, it didn't matter if you were four hours past your return time, you could still use the fastpass as long as you returned sometime after the first posted time. For example, if the return time said 4:10 to 5:10 you could return anytime that evening after 4:10 and you would be allowed to enter the ride. That is all changing in a few weeks. Now, you will only be able to return during that hour that is listed on your fastpass ticket. That can sometimes be a challenge if it happens to fall during a dinner reservation, during a parade, or if you happen to be on the other side of the park. So, my advise is to double check the return time before you request a fast pass. If you know you can't make it back in time, pass it over and try to get one later.
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