Showing posts with label Walt Disney World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walt Disney World. Show all posts

Graduation Celebration Resort Selection

When we began planning this trip we knew we wanted a full week.  My husband has been working very hard and we've been lucky enough to take a few vacations along the way (2 Walt Disney World trips and a few cruises) but this trip was special and we really want to let loose and relax...and CELEBRATE! After we decided on the cruise, we thought about our pre-cruise stay. So here is the plan!

Wednesday- We'll leave around dinner to head to the airport. We are flying out of the next city over at 5 a.m. the next morning so we booked a stay and fly rate at a hotel nearby the airport.

Thursday-Fly out bright and early! Direct to Orlando where we'll hop in our rental car and head straight to the parks. We'll play until Sunday where we'll pick up friends and head to the Port (more on that later).

So we  knew we'd be at Disney for 3 nights...but WHERE to stay?  Let's take a look at this...we'd only be there 3 nights and since we had no kids with us, we won't be in the room much. Budget is a concern since we are cruising too BUT we are celebrating.

Read more »
No comments:
Labels: ,

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Guest Review

Thanks to Stacey for sharing her humorous review of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!!

Here is my review of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Keep in mind that neither me nor my daughter enjoy coasters, but we wanted to at least try this one. Also note that my husband is the guy behind us (the two screaming ladies) and looks like he’s out for a Sunday drive. :) So, here’s my review….

Normally, I wouldn’t share such an unflattering photo of myself, but this one is just too funny not to share. While on our recent trip to Disney, we rode the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. I don’t particularly care for roller coasters, but I had watched a few point-of-view videos and didn’t think it looked too bad. That, combined with the fact that Disney advertises this ride as a “family friendly” roller coaster, helped me find the courage to want to try it at least once. So, it was with anticipation that I booked my FP+ 60 days before our trip so we could ride the mine train. In fact, I was so confident we would like it, I reserved three FP+ (on different days, of course).
Read more »
No comments:
Labels: , ,

Family Photos

This post is brought to you by one of my clients Stacey! We'll be updating it next month with photos!

Each time we go to Disney, we try to come up with something new to do. One evening, my husband mentioned that it had been a while since we had family photographs taken. We decided to book a photo session through Disney Fine Art Photography during our upcoming Walt Disney World vacation. What could be better than family photos in our happy place?!

Read more »
No comments:
Labels: , ,

Happiness is...Pizza!

When I first met my husband, there was one VERY important thing I had  to learn about him. His love for pizza! So when we decided to get married and have children of our own, having pizza at least one night a week has become a regular item on our dinner menus.

This past year, our kids were finally at the perfect age (At least for us, anyway!) to plan our first “all-out” Walt Disney World vacation! Since it was our first trip with all four of us, we opted to do just the Quick-Service dining plan. While the Quick-Service dining plan did not disappoint, my husband’s
one request was to at least have one really nice sit down meal together. When he began to research, he came across Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria in Epcot and he knew he could not resist making a reservation. Perfectly enough they had reservations available for us the day we would be in Epcot. So without hesitation the reservation was made. 
Read more »
No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Rider Swap

Rider Swap is a very cool feature that many don't know about at the Walt Disney World Resort. What is Rider Swap?  Let's say you are traveling with 2 small children.  You arrive at Splash Mountain and your youngest doesn't meet the height requirement...or is simply not ready to ride due to a fear. This is where Rider Swap comes in!


1) Check with the Cast Member at the ENTRANCE if Rider Swap is available (see below for a list of attractions)

2) Your party will be issued Rider Swap passes for the adult who is going to stay behind with the younger child.   

3)  Parent #1 will enjoy the attraction with the child who is capable of/wants to ride, while Parent #2 stays behind.  Parent #1 and child will go through the regular queue at the posted wait time or Fastpass+ queue if you have reservations.

4) Once the first party has finished, Parent #2 can now enjoy the attraction (again with the child who is capable of /wants to ride...lucky kid!) with little to no wait!  Remember that Parent #2 only gets TWO passes to return; one for themselves and one for a 2nd guest.

How Does Rider Swap work with FastPass+
There are two ways to approach this!
1)Saving FastPass+ for the whole family.  For instance at Animal Kingdom, let's say your whole family wants to ride the Safari but only 3 of you want to ride Expedition Everest. Don't waste your FastPass+ on Everest!  Use your FastPass+ for something EVERYONE can enjoy and use Rider Swap early in the day when the Stand-by line is shorter, for Rider Swap! If you use this plan of attack, be sure to hit the Rider Swap rides when the Stand-by line is shorter so the rest of your party doesn't have long to wait.

2) Splitting up your FastPass+...this means Mom schedules 3 FastPass+ and Dad schedules 2 FastPass+.  Rider Swap works the same as it does above, except that Parent #1 is only waiting through the FastPass+ line instead of standby.

The problem with this approach is that Child #1 (that is able to ride) only gets THREE FastPass's. If you have 3 kids total and 2 can ride, while 1 can't, this approach might work by splitting up but it can be complicated and tricky!


No comments:
Labels: , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)