Disney World
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When Your Partner Isn’t Your Disney Partner
I travel to Disney World with two partners in crime: my sister and my son. My husband and my sister’s boyfriend stay at home. Neither of them are fans of crowds or heat. Both have been to Disney World before, but just don’t share our love for it. When asked why, my husband will recount a few days spent sweltering at Epcot for a work related demonstration he did in Future World decades ago. My sister’s boyfriend, also not a fan of heat and crowds, will talk about the endless lines he waited in. I would argue that’s because neither of them were on a Dustless Pixie planned trip, but…
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Is Disney Springs Worth it?
The “Magical or Tragical” series offers up my group’s opinion on some of the offerings at Disney World. Pros and Cons, Dustless Pixie-style. Is Disney Springs worth adding to your Disney World vacation plans? While planning your trip to Disney World, I’m sure you have seen or heard the words “Disney Springs” a lot. Once called Downtown Disney, Disney Springs is, basically, a large outdoor mall located near the parks. It covers 120 acres along Lake Buena Vista with meandering paths around storefronts and restaurants. Considered part of the Disney World Resort, Disney Springs obviously has a lot of Disney going on, but not everything there is. Plenty of other…
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Are Park Hopper Tickets Worth it?
(Updated 3/12/2019) Deciding between a 1 Park per Day ticket or a Ticket with Park Hopper Option can be one of the first stumbling blocks in planning a trip to Disney World. 1 Park per Day Tickets allow guests to enter ONE park per day for each day the ticket is valid. Guests may leave that ONE park and re-enter as they please from park opening to closing that day. Ticket with Park Hopper Option allows guests to access ANY of the four parks each day the ticket is valid. Guests may come and go between any of the four parks from park opening to closing. The Park Hopper Option…
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How to Avoid Long Lines at Disney World
Updated 3/7/2019 While planning our first trip to Disney World, I combed the internet for information on how Disney World worked and how to make it work for our vacation. I saw a lot of catchy headlines like “How Not to Wait In Line!” or “How to Skip the Lines!”. While that sounds AWESOME, for most folks it’s not realistic. Now, I’m not saying that you will NEVER just walk onto a ride. It happens. In the interest of managing expectations though, it won’t happen very often and it most likely will NOT happen on popular rides. For most of us, planning a trip to Disney World means planning that…
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Five Fun Disney World Activities for Kids
Granted, there is a lot going on at Disney World. You don’t really need to go hunting for more things to do with your kids. Park days can certainly be filled with attractions, parades and character meet and greets that just scratch the surface of Disney World’s offerings. However, if you are looking for something a little different, there are quite a few fun little activities to do around the parks. These activities can take the pressure off tromping from one attraction to another and some even offer unique souvenirs. Take a detour from your park plan and give these activities a try. Here are five fun Disney World activities…
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How to Dine at Disney World
Dining at Disney World is not just turkey legs, hot dogs, popcorn and Mickey bars. Oh, no. Just like the Disney World attractions, you will pretty much find something for everyone. There are seasonal and special treats offered throughout the parks and the resorts. Each park has a “hidden in plain sight” Starbucks or Joffrey’s cart to caffeinate you for your day. Epcot’s World Showcase even has festivals built around food. All of the parks and resorts have “grab and go” locations, food stands, and quick service counter restaurants. Table service runs the gamut from fine dining to character breakfasts. You can make reservations for dinner shows, special fireworks dessert…
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How NOT to use FastPass
(Don’t know what this FastPass stuff is all about and need more information? You can find the basics here.) Unless you are an annual passholder or visit the parks regularly, making advance FastPass+ reservations can be one of the most important parts of planning a vacation to Disney World. You want to be able to insure that your group gets to experience most of the attractions on their to do list during your visit. This is especially true if it is a once in a lifetime or even a once every few years trip. If you are going to take advantage of this Disney World perk, it’s also important to…
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Are Extra Magic Hours Worth It?
Updated 8/21/2019 The “Magical or Tragical” series offers up my group’s opinion on some of the offerings at Disney World. Pros and Cons, Dustless Pixie-style. Extra Magic Hours are a hot topic in the world of Disney trip planning. Are extra magic hours worth it? On the surface, it seems simple. If you stay on Disney World property or at some Disney Springs Hotels, Shades of Green , Swan and Dolphin Resorts , Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria Orlando , you are entitled to something called Extra Magic Hours. On certain days in certain parks, you can enter either an hour BEFORE other ticket holders OR stay 2 hours after regular park close. The amount…
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Is Memory Maker Worth It?
The “Magical or Tragical” series offers up my group’s opinion on some of the offerings at Disney World. Pros and Cons, Dustless Pixie-style. A DISNEY WORLD VACATION DOESN’T NEED TO HAVE EXTRA BELLS AND WHISTLES TO BE MAGICAL. Disney World has been adding a lot of upcharge options recently. So many, in fact, that it can be hard to keep track of all of them. A lot of those trip enhancements can be pricey one-and-done hard ticketed events like holiday parties, dining/viewing packages and Early Morning Magic or Disney After Hours in the parks. We have tried some of those offerings on our trips and, for the most…
