Blog Posts

Under the Line: Navigating Walt Disney World for our tiny humans.

2/16/2017

For our daughter’s first birthday we took her to Disney World for a family celebration. We had decided to only go to The Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios because we didn’t want to overwhelm her (or us…). Looking back, I never actually sat down and researched what rides were acceptable to take her on and what were not. My cell phone decided to not work right before our trip, so I was out of easy Fast Pass+ access and kiosks were not easy to find. I found myself standing in lines (which I don’t normally do, and am not a fan of!) wondering if this ride was even ok for my 1 year old to be on.

Well, here we are again planning our second first birthday trip for our second daughter and I want to be more prepared so I’m not standing in a queue second guessing myself. Am I right? Ain’t nobody got time for that! It’s Disney World! At the very least I could be in line to munch down on a churro or Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar…that’s a line you don’t regret…So let’s make our way around the world and get some insight hand in hand.

Comments

Disney Springs: A New Adventure for an Old Pro

2/12/2017

Comments

It all started with a visit to Guest Services.

I had just arrived at my DVC home resort of Saratoga Springs. I had some things to take care of, so I got on the boat for the short trip to Disney Springs. Woohoo! It docked at the Landing! This stop between Paradiso 37 and The Boathouse had been closed during the updating. It’s now home again to the boats from Old Key West and Saratoga Springs, as well as the water taxi that stops near the Cirque du Soleil and the Marketplace.

I made my way to Guest Services in its usual spot near the Marketplace Co-op, but found the spot taken over by Photo Pass. Guest Services could be found at the Welcome Center at Town Center. Town Center? What’s that? Well, you go by World of Disney and make a left and you go up here and you make a right at this store and… Um, okay, right.

Comments

Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs)

1/24/2017

Comments

Do you ever look at Disney World advice pages and wonder what in the world they’re talking about with all of these letter acronyms? What is CRT? What is the TTC? I have no idea what an ADR is, but it looks important!

In this post, I want to talk about the all important ADR (which stands for Advanced Dining Reservation, by the way!). ADRs are a great way to make sure you get to experience the amazing restaurant offered at Disney Parks. You can make ADRs at Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Walt Disney World, but none are as important as those at Disney World. At both Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, ADRs can be made 60 days in advance. However, often it’s not really necessary and you’ll find available tables if you just arrive or call a few days ahead of your trip. In Walt Disney World, the reservations can be made 180 days in advance (that’s 6 months!). To guarantee you get to eat in some of these popular sit-down restaurants you're going to want to secure an ADR. The basic rules for ADRs are the same across the different Resort Parks, but I’m going to focus on Disney World for this post.

Some quick facts about Disney World to consider:

Disney World allows you to book dining reservations 180 days in advance of your first day PLUS 10 days of your stay (if staying in their resorts).
Disney World is a busy place, if you want to eat at “normal” meal times, you’re going to want reservations. It is possible to get lucky and walk in, but not usually during peak meal times
If you want some of those more popular and magical experiences, remember that so do most other guests. You’ll have to do some advanced planning.

Comments

Character Dining

1/23/2017

Comments

The most common questions I get when friends are traveling to Walt Disney World are about Character Dining. Is it worth it? What are the best places to visit? Do I need to make a reservation?

For my family, character meals are an absolute must! We have a very young daughter who is more interested in “seeing her friends” than most of the attractions. However, the rest of us would like to go on Splash Mountain, and Toy Story Mania. Character meals give us an opportunity to slow down for a while, eat a nice meal together, and knock of some of those characters out. In one of our trips, we spent 12 days in Disney, and enjoyed 5 different character meals. This may not be the best strategy for some families, but we find it works for us!

Here are my tips for successful character dining:

Comments

Under the Line: Navigating Walt Disney World for our tiny humans.

Disney Springs: A New Adventure for an Old Pro

Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs)

Character Dining

Author

Archives

Categories