Once again, my son and I are gearing up for another Walt Disney World vacation. Our last visit was in 2014 and wow, have things changed in those five short years.
The FastPast+ program is now fully operation, (it was in Beta mode where not everyone had the Magic Bands in October 2014 – including us). Now that it is available, there is the ability to reserve our place in attraction lines, secure restaurant reservations, and even complete Resort pre-check in with our preferences; basically, plan our entire minute by minute trip before we even board our flight to Orlando via the My Disney Experience (online).
Fast forward to today (January 2019) and we will be witness to all the additions and attractions of Theme Park updates. There is the ever-popular Pandora – The World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom with the Flight of Passage; the all new expansion of Andy’s backyard; Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios; the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride at the Magic Kingdom and the Frozen Experience at EPCOT. With so much to do, it is no wonder families are getting a jump on their vacation plans a head of time. You could say, we too have caught the Disney fever.
Being that Disney is such a sought-after vacation destination (not to mention the cost incurred for a visit), planning your days from the time you arrive on your Disney Adventure to your departure is by far the most significant tip I can offer.
- Plan, Plan and Plan some more; even using a Disney Travel Agent for all the best trade secrets
- Search YouTube and Pinterest for ideas and money savers
- Book your vacation
- Create an Account on the Disney’s website, easiest way to mange your plans in an instant
- Book your dining reservations
- Book your Fastpass+
- Link your vacation details (dining, resort, Party members, FastPass+, in the My Disney Experience
- Download the Disney app on your phone
- Count the days unless your vacation!
- Enjoy!
To say that we are excited is a great understatement. I love that my teen son and I can plan our Disney vacation together. We have watched hundreds of You-Tube videos of families enjoying their Disney vacations. We have watched countless videos of the many rides and attractions; we have studied each Theme Park map and scoped all the Resorts on Property. We have even watched numerous videos on different restaurants to narrow down our dining preferences. I have gone so far as to create a Pinterest Board for our Disney vacation. We are having so much fun talking about all the new experiences we will encounter, and which rides are on our must do list.
Pinterest has been a great resource as well. So many people are willing to share their good (and not so good) experiences along with their too many to count tips and tricks for getting the most out of our Disney vacation. I love all the tips about things to pack and not to pack; tips about dining times and getting the most of our snack credits. Secrets about the best time to visit the parks and things to have in your carry bag.
This year will be the first that we have the Dining Plan. As most people know, everything at Disney comes at a price and meals are no exception. So rather than be hit with the sticker shock for dining, we decided the meal plan was best for us. It was either pay up front and save a little OR pay with each meal and worry about the amount. Since this is our vacation, this is one less thing to worry about. The fun part is deciding on the cuisine and the restaurant for the duration of our vacation.
Stay tuned for more updates as we count down to our Magical vacation.
