Disney Vacation 101

Trying to plan a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort for the 2014 season?  Don’t want to spend all of your time waiting in long lines?  Well, we are here to help!  Avoiding long lines became our specialty while working for the mouse and we were there in some of the busiest weeks of the year.  We suggest you avoid these times at all costs, if possible.

Rule of thumb, if there’s a holiday within 2 or 3 weeks of your trip, think again.  If it’s summer break, well, you’ll hit long lines and extreme heat all rolled into one.

You’re best bet for an enjoyable, less than crowded, Disney vacation would be anytime after the new year until the first week in February.  The next best time to go would be somewhere between the last week in February and the first week in March.  Other than this first week, avoid the month of March.  It will be complete chaos.  The parks will be filled with spring breakers and middle/high school sports teams (mostly little league baseball and cheerleaders).

If April is a must for you, wait until the last week, and stay into May.   After the second week in May, don’t go!  It will be crowded and hot and if traveling with children, you’re setting yourself up to be a little less than happy.  If you’re from up North like I am, you will still be able to squeeze in a summer trip the last week of August before the kids have to head back to school after Labor Day.  This seems to be the one exception to the “holiday rule of thumb.”  You’re basically in the clear from here on out, until the week of Thanksgiving.

Now, if you have plans to visit Walt Disney World during the weeks of Christmas and New Years, ABORT MISSION!  These are, in my opinion, the two busiest times in the parks during the year.  This past Holiday Season, lines to some attractions reached up to a 5 hour waiting time.  I LOVE Disney, but this news was insane.  I cannot begin to imagine how you could wait in a line to ride a 2 minute attraction for 5 hours.

For a very accurate visual of the busiest and slowest times to take a Disney vacation, click here.  Have used the same type of visual for 2013, this information is reliable and very accurate to the actual park crowds.

Hope this helps you plan a wonderful Disney vacation and allows you to get the most magic out of the trip!

-Buzz

Land and Sea Packages

 

*Photo courtesy of disneystore.com

Want to go on a Disney Cruise but really want to experience the magic of the parks too?  Well Disney is one step ahead of you.  With a Disney Land and Sea package you can do both.

The package includes a cruise to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, or other select locations and hotel and park ticket costs to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.  You can do the “land” portion before your cruise or choose to go to “sea” first.  The choice is up to you.    For more information on the Land and Sea packages, click here.

Disney has also just released the itineraries and ports for cruises setting sail in 2015.  You can start planning now for your perfect Disney vacation.

For all the information possible for Disney Cruises, click here to begin on a magical journey. °o°

-Buzz

 

Park Tips Tuesday: My Disney Experience

Have an upcoming trip to the Walt Disney World Resort? Then I have three words for you: My Disney Experience.

This app is a must for upcoming visits to the parks.  It puts everything right at your finger tips.  All you need is a smart phone, iPad, or other mobile device.  And the best part? IT’S FREE!! That’s right, I said it, it’s free.  (Plus, you’ll have a little Mickey icon on your home screen.)

This app has everything you need to make your Disney vacation the very best.  You can keep all of your vacation plans, reservations, tickets, reminders, and wish lists right with you at all times.  Have more than one guest in your party with a device, no problem.  You can all download the app and link your vacation to each one by adding them to your Friends and Family list.

One of the many features this app has is a character locator for every park.  Want to see if your favorite character is out for a meet and greet?  Get out your phone, go to this app, and click “Characters Today.”  Then click on the location you wish to search and a list of the characters meeting that day will be shown.  Along with the list, are the times that you will be able to meet the characters and where to find them.

You can also view show, parade, and firework times on here.  Just click the “Entertainment” button.  It will bring you every possible form of entertainment that could be happening in the park and tell you when and where.  My Disney Experience will also give you the wait times for each attraction, as well as a description of the attraction, height requirements, and ages that the ride is enjoyable for.  You can see what time the FASTPASS Return is at too.

This app is definitely makes more time in your stay, in my opinion.  Woody can back me up on this when I say that this app became my best friend.  I was constantly on the app, planning our next move in a park.  I would even look at it from our apartment to see wait times in certain parks to figure out how busy it was that day.  Through Disney magic (a.k.a. GPS) the app knows which park you are in to make it that much easier to get the most out of your stay at Disney.  The app is connected to the new My Magic+ bands but you do NOT need one to use the app.  You don’t even need to program all of your vacation plans and reservations in if you don’t want to.  You can use the app strictly for character hunting, park hours, wait times, and show times like I did.

Hope this is helpful and let us know if you have any questions or concerns! We will gladly answer any for you! °o°

-Buzz

 

Disney Fireworks: Where Your “Wishes” Come True

There’s nothing more magical than ending your Disney vacation with some fireworks. Disney does amazing firework shows every night in three of the four parks, and “Wishes” in the Magic Kingdom is just perfect.  It’s just so magical! If you only have time for one firework show while there, “Wishes” is a must.

Hope you enjoy the video I made! (Sorry about the camera movement! My arm was getting tired.)

I know it’s kind of late but it took a while to edit and upload this video.

-Buzz

It’s Park Tips Tuesday!

 

Looking to get away in the middle of winter? Then why not head to Disney World sometime between January 5 and March 5, 2014.  You could save up to $600 on a 5 night/ 6 day vacation for a family of 4 because of the recently announced Play, Stay, and Dine discount.  For this offer, you must book your vacation by December 31, 2013.

 

If you are looking to get the most out of your Disney vacation, then I recommend going somewhere between January 5th and February 5th because this isn’t a peak season for them.  It’s the in between time so most attractions have pretty short wait times, if any at all.  With shorter wait time, you are able to do more.  You can ride more rides, meet more characters, and eat at more places.

 

Another advantage in going to Disney World during this time is that you don’t melt (as much) in the Florida heat.  The weather is more mild during this time of the year.  You may get some really warm days or you might get days on the chillier side.  Definitely check the local weather before you head down there just to make sure you are prepared for anything.  I have learned from experience that you assume Florida is always warm so you pack your summer attire to soon find out that you really need a sweatshirt and maybe a pair of jeans.  If you go sometime in February, don’t be surprised if you see the lifeguards on the pool decks looking like they should really be on the sky slopes.  Usually, you’ll think it’s warmer out than they do though.

 

Hope this was helpful!

 

-Buzz

 

P.S. If you are planning a Disney Vacation during other times of the year, we are more than welcome to answering any of your questions about how busy it gets then, what fastpasses to get, etc.  Don’t hesitate to ask!