Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Disney Week: Disney 101 – a primer – WRAL.com

Editor’s Note: Disney Week was last week on Go Ask Mom, however I knew I simply had to extend it once I heard from Courtney Licklider, a Wake Forest mom that has actually been to Disney 50 times over the last 30 years. She offers this Disney primer today. Thank you, Courtney!

Planning your very first trip to Walt Disney Globe Resort? It can easily be a little overwhelming, especially if you didn’t mature in “the world” yourself. Here are a few points that can easily recommendations you as you think about Preparing for this enjoyable family destination.

1. Walt Disney World: Not simply a castle!

What I discover that several individuals that haven’t been to Walt Disney Globe don’t know yet is that Walt Disney Globe encompasses a full 40 square miles, roughly equivalent to the size of a major city like San Francisco. In that area, there are four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom), two water parks, a sports complex, much more Compared to 25 resorts, and a plethora of shopping and dining options. Did I mention golf courses, mini-golf, and bowling?

2. Lodging

One of the biggest decisions you have actually to make regarding your trip is where you will certainly stay. There are, as mentioned, much more Compared to 25 resorts on Walt Disney Globe property. There are several different choices in a variety of price ranges for on-property lodging, such as campsites, value resorts (the cheapest hotel-like option), moderate resorts, deluxe resorts, and house away from house resorts (Disney’s equivalent to a timeshare that can easily likewise be rented on a nightly basis). In addition, there are a number of hotels that are nearby, as well as various condos and vacation homes. It is vital to think about that staying at one of the Walt Disney World-owned properties might be a little much more expensive, however comes along with a number of “perks” that may make the costs worth it.

Some of the perks of staying on property include:

  • Free transportation from the Orlando airport to your Walt Disney Globe Resort hotel by bus
  • Early admission, or extended nighttime hours, at one of the theme parks daily
  • Free parking at the theme parks
  • Early access (60 days prior vs. 30 days prior) to FastPass+ reservations
  • Ability to timetable dining reservations for your entire trip starting at 180 days prior to arrival (Off-property guests can easily timetable at 180 days, however then have actually to timetable everyday for each day after the very first day. This can easily be really helpful for the much more in-demand restaurants)
  • Included MagicBands mailed to your house prior to your trip

3. FastPass+

FastPass+ is basically Disney’s means of keeping you from waiting in long lines for each attraction. There is NO CHARGE for FastPass+. Typically, you will certainly sign up for your FastPass+ time online prior to your trip, then, during your assigned time block, you go to the attraction and, as opposed to going through the “stand-by” line, you go through a much shorter line along with typically almost no wait. Now, this is surely much more effective on some attractions Compared to others and much more valuable for some rides Compared to others, however it can easily certainly be a fairly helpful means of minimizing your wait time. At this time, you can easily register for 3 FastPass+ times per day at a single park. once you have actually used all three of your original FastPass+ reservations, you can easily then visit a kiosk in the park to obtain another. You can easily keep on this cycle until the end of the park day.

4. Ticket Structure

It is vital to understand the ticket structure prior to purchasing your ticket media so that you don’t buy much more tickets Compared to you need. Especially if you buy a ticket package from Walt Disney World, sometimes the ticket that the package is automatically set for is much more ticket Compared to Just what you actually need.

The “base” ticket is a ticket that includes admission to one park per day for the number of days you purchase. Base tickets are available from 1 to 10 days. For our family, I buy base tickets for the number of full days we will certainly be there. For example, if we are spending six nights, I purchase five-day base tickets since the day we grab there we do others things, such as explore our resort; hang out at the pool; or visit Disney Springs, a shopping, dining, and entertainment district on property. I likewise don’t Strategy for us to visit a park on the day we leave. The per day cost decreases significantly along with each day added to the base ticket.

Disney offers two “add-ons” to their base ticket option, both of which can easily be used separately or together. The very first is park hopping, which allows you to visit multiple parks in the same day. This is not something our family uses, however a lot of families delight in going spine to their resort for a mid-day break, then returning to a different park in the afternoon. The second option is called “Water Parks & More,” and this includes admission for the same number of times as your base ticket (so a five-day base ticket would certainly provide you five admissions on the Water Parks & much more option) to either of the two water parks, as well as a few others options. Your cheapest option is always going to be the base ticket free of the add-ons.

5. MagicBands

What are these MagicBands? OK, so here’s the deal. MagicBands are rubber wristbands equipped along with an RFID chip. You have actually the option of equipping your MagicBand along with your ticket media, room key, dining Strategy (if you purchase one), charging privileges, FastPass+ selections, and Photo Pass (Disney’s photography service).

If you remain on-property, you can easily customize your band online prior to your trip by choosing the color and placing the name on the inside of the band. Then, the bands will certainly be delivered to your house regarding 30 days prior to your trip. Basically, the MagicBand is your key to the magic. Use it to grab in to the parks, your room, and to make purchases.

Our family really likes them and considers wearing them to be portion of the fun. Now, if you don’t remain on-property, you do have actually the option of purchasing the bands, however you really don’t need to. All ticket media is now equipped along with RFID, so you can easily simply scan your actual ticket at entry, FastPass+ attractions and for Photo Pass photographers. Personally, I would certainly not pay extra for them, however I do delight in the ones we receive as a portion of our resort stay.

6. Dining

I know a lot of individuals hear regarding Disney Preparing and booking dining reservations (Disney calls them ADRs-Advanced Dining Reservations) 180 days out and discover this a little overwhelming. I do too!! Is it really necessary? That depends. If you know that you want to consume at one of the much more in-demand restaurants, then yes. If you aren’t worried regarding where you will certainly eat and simply want to go along with the flow, that can easily work too. You have actually to think of your priorities for the trip. If a meal at Be Our Guest, the Beauty & the Beast themed restaurant at the Magic Kingdom, is a must-do for your crew, then certainly make the reservations once possible. If you’re great along with consuming counter service (AKA fast food) for the trip, then don’t worry regarding it. Disney has actually certainly been upping their counter service game over the past few years along with a larger variety of options fairly Compared to the standard burger and chicken nugget fare commonly associated along with theme park dining. On our most recent trip, I booked a total of three ADRs for a six-night trip. We had a terrific time, and my crew, consisting of myself, my husband, two little boys (5 and 3), and my father, had fairly few complaints. We ate once we were hungry at a place nearby. I kind of enjoyed this much more flexible style of travel. Decide Just what your traveling party’s priorities are and Strategy accordingly.

I chance this helps you as you start Preparing your Walt Disney Globe vacation! If you need much more write-up and recommendations Preparing your trip, there are a lot of resources available to you. I delight in several Disney-themed podcasts, such as the DIS Unplugged, WDW Today, and WDW Radio.

Also, websites like easywdw.com, wdwinfo.com, and disneyfoodblog.com, as well as the disboards.com message boards are some of my personal favorites for Preparing and write-up gathering.

Courtney Licklider, a school psychologist, lives in Wake Forest along with her husband and their two sons, ages 5 and 3. She started going to Disney Globe at the age of 3 and goes as often as she can easily convince her husband to go.



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