So before TKP goes away I wanted to start a thread I've been meaning to start for a few months.
Since we moved to Florida we have become Annual Passholders at Disney and I wanted to see if anyone else here is, visits a lot or that one member who works there wanted to share tips and tricks, inside information or just talk about being dragged around by your kids.
Forums:
DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Comments
Visitor. Any requests?
So we go at least once a month for a weekend. We stay off property because with 6 of us a on site suite would be way too much. My wife has mastered the 30 days out fast passes and dining reservations so going to the park is actually fairly easy.
My biggest concern it's whats going to happen come May 1st when Disney has banned our Keenz stroller.
Sorry, can't help you with that. My kids aren't kids any more. And our Disney expert friends also are out of the stroller ages.
My best suggestion is to buy extra large clothes, put the 2 closest in age in the same shirt and same pair of pants, get a wheelchair, and tell Disney they're conjoined?
Where do you usually stay? I'm an owner at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and may have some points to rent out this year.
I just got back from spring break there with my kids. My only advice is to get the Disney World app on your phone if you don't have it already. It gives you reminders of when and where your Fast Passes are and it maintains real-time wait times for all the rides/attractions.
Oh yeah. And check the weather forecast before you go. The one day we got rain, I also got soaked for ponchos for the wife and kids. 12 bucks for an adult size and 10 each for the kids.
O yea we both have the app, also good for the few lines we wait in to play the Disney exclusive ride games.
Wife and I are annual passholders and she's a fanatic and also just recently moved to Florida. The biggest tip I can give is look into Tables in Wonderland. Its a paid discount card but gets you 20% off any food and drink from any participating restaurants, which are only the big ones (character dining, etc.). It sounds like a scam but one dinner with drinks for a bigger party and it pays for itself. Its good for one year including the month you buy it so buy it early in the month for 13 months of use.
Is this in addition to the AP discount card?
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/tables-in-wonderland/
It is not. It's a separate discount altogether.
Tables in Wonderland is a good resource...not all restaurants are on it but several are and good savings.
Bumping this because we got tables of wonderland right after this and it was amazing. Free valet parking but discount on dining. But Disney hasnt sold new ones since the shutdown and no one knows if it's coming back.
We're AP holders even though we live in PA. Been a WDW fan my whole life. Looking to buy a rental unit down there both as an investment and a place to spend our summers now and our winters later. Always up for talking Disney!
let me know when you do and we will rent it... usually we are on property for one of our two yearly trips...last year 3 times.. this year two WDW and on Anaheim.
Definitely will!
I may have some points available at Bonnet Creek this year. It's not "on" property, but is about as close as you can get.
My wife and I are AP in Anaheim, but been to the World quite a bit.
My best tip is have a relative that is a Disney Vacation Club member and stay with them. Staying on property is very convenient in the World, but the cost is ridiculously high.
We stay here and it's awesome: https://www.magicvillagevacationhomes.com/
I'm that member that works there. The My Disney Experience App is a must. Fastpasses, PhotoPass and Dining Reservations can all be done through it. The 30-day AP fastpass window is a help, although for some of the super popular rides, even 30 days isn't enough. I would look into the VIPassholder Nights that they hold occasionally. I don't know if there's a cost, and you do have to sign up in advance, but it's a limited number of people in the park at night and most of the attractions are open with minimal wait and they have several different character meet n greets.
As you mentioned, May 1st will be an interesting day with the stroller restrictions and the no smoking at all policy 😳
We did Halloween and a Christmas extra hours it was awesome.
I'm a huge fan of the no smoking policy what I don't like is banning one style of stroller even though it fits the dimensions y'all have set out. I guess we will just be renting the giant strollers y'all have for now.
The Halloween and Christmas parties are great!! We try to do at least one of them every year.
What kind of stroller do you have, the wagon style?
Keenz Stroller. It's been a lifesaver with 4 kids.
Yeah, I don't know why the crack down on that style. It's not any bigger than some of the double-wides I see in the park everyday.
Which park do you work at?
Epcot
Honestly my favorite adult park, get my fish and chips every visit.
Fish and Chips are good...also of a fan of the Morocco food options...always seating and best bang for the buck...if you like that kind of thing.
Epcot is awesome. It is probably my hands down favorite with the wide variety of everything available.
The Christmas season evening pass is the best thing they offer. Cheaper tickets, no lines, special shows and parade.
was it because people were pulling them and causing others to trip or something? It seems like this new rule is going to hinder folks planning...
The Keenz is actually harder to pull than Push which is why I wish they didn't call them wagons. True wagons with the pull arm should be banned those are real hazards.
agreed. sorry man. I used to have this double stroller that was a beast and way more of a problem than the Keenz. also the wheels would get caught in tracks on main st. so annoying.
I think every strollers wheels get caught there.
Is VIPassholder open everyone?
I'm not a pass holder so I don't know for sure, but I believe it's only open for Annual Passholders. However, there are several levels of annual passes and I don't know if all are eligible for the VIPassholder events
Is Jane D. still in Animal Operations?
what do you do at Disney?
VIP ass holder, i bet
Wife and I are DVC members it's awesome.
Pass holder at Shanghai Disney. Great decision. Toy Story land is open now and Zootopia is coming soon (which was going to be star wars but since has been changed due to Disney not understanding that Chinese weren't watching the movies because they are total shit and not because they just are unfamiliar with Star Wars). I like Zootopia though so looking forward to that.
Any global Disney travelers out there, skip Hong Kong (lame) and go to Shanghai or Japan. If you head this way I'll treat you to dinner.
We go a few times a year and are encyclopedias of useless WDW tips and tricks.
I went a couple months ago for the first time since I was a kid. Here's the key info you need and trust me, I did my research on this.
Best bar in Animal Kingdom: Nomad Lounge
Best bar in Hollywood Studios: Baseline Taphouse
Best bar in Magic Kingdom: NO BARS?!?!?! Flask it!
Best bar outside of the parks: Trader Sam's Grotto
No bars in MK but Be Our Guest serves alcohol. I think the other sit downs will follow suit shortly too.
All restaurants in Magic now serve Alcohol.
yep... but that Rum Dole Whip in AK is fantastic.
Reviving this, since i am in the middle of planning a Disney trip for next June.
We'll have six of us...my wife, my in-laws, and a 5 and 7 yr old. We've been working with a Disney Planner on our reservations.
Current dilemma...choosing between the Bay Tower at the comtemporary resort and the Wilderness Lodge. Options are limited, because we need a 2 bdrm place. Is Bay Tower worth the extra money, due to convenience of being able to walk to Magic Kingdom, plus the monorail is there. Or should we save money, and stay at Boulder Creek Villas at the Wilderness resort? I don't know how much of a hassle it would be to rely on shuttles to get around.
I am leaning towards the Wilderness Lodge, and then getting Hopper passes for the entire week, which would provide us plenty of flexibility. I think our kids would love the atmosphere, as opposed to the Bay Tower, which doesn't have a theme.
We are planning on visiting Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom.
We can't lock-in reservations until ~60 days before the trip. Lots of things are still closed, due to covid. We will plan on some character dinners, and visiting some of the nicer restaurants. My daughter would love Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and dressing up as a princess, but that is still closed. Hopefully it re-opens before our trip.
Any recommendations for our trip, especially things that 5 and 7 yr olds would love to see/do? Any tips or tricks? And any specific questions we should ask our planner?
Thanks!
You and/or your spouse need to watch some tutorial videos on using genie plus, learn how to stack etc. be aware that the parks themselves are getting busy VERY busy. Yes a lot of dining and other things like the hair saloon are either closed or have really changed. Smaller menus etc.
Skipping out on Hollywood Studios is a mistake IMO.
Even if you aren't a Star Wars fan, Galaxy's Edge is pretty great.
Toy Story Land is fun too. I love the Midway Mania ride and the Slinky Dog Dash.
Concur most times but Lighting Lane has basically taken Rise and Mickey and Minnie Railway out of rotation of rides available.
Also agree. If the trip is mostly for the enjoyment of your kids, epcot is the least liked by kids. Studios has a lot of great rides and shows for kids. And overall, a better park for adults too.
Honestly, epcot isnt that enjoyable, except when they have food events. Although, Epcot should get better soon with GotG and Remy's ride opening up soon.
Epcot with kids is: Test Track, Mexico, soarin and vegetable cruise and maybe turtle talk and under the sea ride.
And fireworks at night, assume the kids can make it that late(really not THAT late)
I hadn't looked at Studios much. I thought that was for older kids. And with the Nemo stuff, and Remy's Ratatouille, and Frozen Ever After at Epcot, I thought my kids would like all those. I'll have to look into Studios more.
Kid friendly rides at Studios: toy story flying saucers spin, Toy Story arcade, Minnie and Mickey and Minnie railway. Then Disney dance party is a fun. My kids (5,6,8 and 10) also like Rise of Resistance and Smugglers.
My nephews were 5 and 9 last time and loved the light saber duel with Vader. You have to get up early for that though.
Jedi training isn't running right now. It's a photo location currently.
Not a ride, but there are also the Frozen sing-along and Beauty and the Beast shows.
I loved Epcot as a kid back in the 80's and enjoyed it again as an adult. But then again, I grew up to be an Engineer who likes to travel.
I loved the different countries and the Land had the best breakfast of all the parks.
Hopper is nice, but with small kids you are going to do basically 1 park per day.
We found hopper super nice for convenience of dinner. We could book dinners where we wanted and then didn't worry about matching parks for the most part. I would match animal kingdom and a restaurant there just because its so big and takes so long to walk.
Is it reallly worth it to spend the extra money on hopper passes vs deciding beforehand which places you want to go to, and getting single park tickets for those days?
From my experiences at the World, park hoppers aren't great for 3 or 4 day trips. It takes at minimum 30 mins to get from one park to the other.
That said, a park hopper is convenient for doing animal kingdom (which closes early) and epcot (closes the latest) in one day.
I've stayed in the bay towers. They are really nice. Ive had dinner at the wilderness lodge and it looks cool. It's probably not worth the price difference to stay in the bay tower though.
The monorails (and gondolas) are convenient, but your own car is often the most convenient (if you're driving there). The line for the gondolas or monorails can be crazy long at the end of the day (sometimes over an hour long).
what time is end of the day? or what time do the lines start getting long for the gondola and monorail? i figured we would be leaving the parks around 5, unless we have dinner there. my kids will be exhausted, i am sure, so we'll have them in bed by 7:30 every night.
Closer to closing, although there is a bit of a line around 5-6PM as people try to get to their hotel and/or dinner location too.
Coming from someone who hates leaving MK at park close due to the insane lines for the ferry, monorail and buses, I'd say being able to walk back to your hotel without waiting is worth it, but I don't know how much of a price difference it is. (The savings could be enough to pay for Genie+, $15 per person per day, but allows you to skip most of the lines). Plus, the park views from there are amazing! Also, if you plan on going to Epcot, you can take the monorail to the TTC and then switch over to take one to Epcot. Wilderness Lodge is beautiful and quiet (it's my favorite resort) but you need a bus or car to get to Epcot and AK.
As said earlier, park hopping takes time. It could be better to go back to your hotel to rest and then back to the park in the evening when it's usually less crowded/cooler.
Finally, I work at Studios so I say it's worth it! :-) my 6 year old loves Runaway Railway, Star Tours, Rise of the Resistence, Slinky Dog and Millennium Falcon, but it depends on their thrill tolerances. If they like Frozen, there's a Frozen song-a-long show as well.
we won't be there until close, my kids are too young, and i am sure they will be exhausted, so we'll be getting them ready for bed between 7-7:30 every night.
i'll really have to consider studios, and since Epcot is open later, my wife and i can go one night, and in-laws can stay in with the kids.
difference between Bay Tower and Wilderness (2 bdrm villas) is about $2000 for the week. i am leaning towards Boulder Creek Villas at Wilderness, getting hopper passes, and driving to the parks sometimes, since we'll have our minivan there. we'll definitely take the boat to MK one day, i know my kids would love that. we'll probably take a day or two off from parks too, and visit Disney Springs, and some of the other hotels.
$2000 is a big difference. Also, copper creek is quiet and great place to relax after the chaos that is the theme parks. Enjoy your trip!
It was so amazing seeing the Arendale historians back again this weekend. That is my favorite show.
We were just there last month and there were little girls walking around that looked like they had just come from Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Hair, dress and everything. I don't have small children but I would check again. Unless they dressed like that before they left where ever they were staying. But it looked professionally done.
We just returned from a visit to the Wilderness Lodge in late October. A coupe of observations that might be relevant.
The Wilderness Lodge is one of the better themed resorts - I was once there on a business trip with a bunch of architects and interior designers, and their jaws dropped walking into the lobby. Its a visually stunning place. In late October, the resort did not have a lot of rooms available, but seemed to be pretty deserted. Its apparent that the capacity at resorts is still being limited.
Transportation between the two resorts you outlined is definitely different. Both resorts use busses to get to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. The Wilderness Lodge uses boats to get back and forth to Magic Kingdom, as opposed to a short walk. On our visit, the boats were very empty and running often. To get to Epcot is a bus from Wilderness Lodge, and from Bay Lake is taking the resort monorail and then transferring to the Epcot monorail. We didn't take busses as we had a car, but it seemed like the bus system was working well - but with lower resort capacity that's not surprising.
One thing to keep in mind if you do get a car, we experienced the parking lots opening later than guests being admitted to the parks via other modes - leading to longer waits at park opening. For instance, the parking lot for Hollywood studios didn't open until 7:30am, while guests showing up via bus or Skyliner were getting in at 7:15am. This led to a long wait for Rise of the Resistance at opening because we were behind all of those people. Also, Disney does charge for parking at its resorts - $25 a night, but that gets you into the park parking lots for free.
My god I read the first sentence of the original post and about had a heart attack.
.