Planning For A Walt Disney World Trip, Stage 3 -I am at Walt Disney World. What Now? By Gil Pohl

Phase III of planning a trip to Walt Disney World is what I am going to do now?  The resort is so large that I find it impossible to just get up in the morning and start going.  I do need to plan ahead on what parks I will visit and the attractions that I have to see.  How do I decide what park to go to each day?

First, if you have taken my advice and had Ears of Experience book you into one of the many resorts at Walt Disney World, you should look to see if any parks have early Extra Magic Hours.  Extra Magic Hours is when one park opens early (or remains open late) only for those staying on Walt Disney World properties.  If there is an attraction that I know I must experience, I try to go to that park first and ride that ride first.

An example of this type of planning was on my 2008 trip to Animal Kingdom.  No one in the group that I was with had ridden Expedition Everest and we knew that this ride would have long lines all day.  We showed up for the early opening of Animal Kingdom and went directly to Expedition Everest.  We each got a “Fast Pass” for the ride.  A Fast Pass is a printed ticket that allows you to ride a popular ride at a later time without waiting in a long line. And best of all, they’re free. Then we rode the ride without using our Fast Pass, twice.  Once the line starting getting longer, we rode a third time using our Fast Pass.”  By combining Extra Magic Hours and the Fast Pass system, we where able to avoid the lines and experience this attraction three times; all before non-Disney guest where allowed into the park.

It should be noted that if you plan on getting a Fast Pass for any of the popular rides such as Expedition Everest, Toy Story Midway Mania, or Soarin’, get them as soon as you get to the park.  These attractions run out of Fast Passes early in the day.

I usually go to one Park in the morning and “Park Hop” to another in the evening.  I often will go to a park in the morning that does not have Extra Magic Hours and move to the park with evening Extra Magic Hours near closing time.  Again, making sure that during Extra Magic Hours I enjoy those rides that the lines would be to long to visit during the day.  When hopping between parks around noon time, I often return to my hotel room on the park to relax some before returning for an evening of fun.  This can be really important if you have small children with you.  Being able to return to your hotel room for a short rest period is just another benefit of staying on the World.

I guess the bottom line is, it does not matter if you are visiting during peak summer days or some of the slower times of the year, working with someone at Ears of Experience and doing a little advance planning just makes your Disney trip a little more Magical.

Discover the magic of Walt Disney World® Resorts and parks on a Walt Disney World® family vacation, and share the joy of Mickey Mouse and company with your kids. Let Ears of Experience plan the perfect Disney trip for you and your loved ones. Contact us today at 1-877-80MOUSE. We look forward to sending you on the magical vacation of a lifetime.

www.themouseexperts.com

 

To Park Hop or not to Park Hop, that is the question…

When traveling to Walt Disney World® Parks, there are several ticket options from which to choose. Two popular choices are the Magic Your Way Base Ticket and the Magic Your Way Base Ticket with Park Hopper® Option.

•  The Magic Your Way Base Ticket is one in which you can only visit one park per day for the number of days you bought the ticket. For example, if you bought a three day ticket, you could visit one park each day for three days. If you tried to go to more than one park on any given day, you would not be able to enter.
• The Magic Your Way Base Ticket with Park Hopper® Option allows you to visit multiple parks in one day. As you can imagine, this option costs a little more. However; the good news is the additional cost is a flat fee of $50 per ticket, regardless of the number of days purchased.

 If you were to ask ten people whether you should add the Hopper feature or not, you would likely get ten different answers. Some would say if it is off peak season, no. Others would say if you are traveling with older kids, no. But for flexibility, time management, and building rest into your trip, some would say yes.

With the Magic Your Way Base Ticket, hitting one park at 9 AM and leaving at the close of the day would exhaust you. And then you would have to turn around and do it at a different park the next day. Keep in mind though, with a base ticket, you can leave and return to the same park later in the day, which I would suggest for the big parks. For example, go to Epcot® when it opens and hit the big attractions early, then go back to your hotel and relax by the pool and return for dinner and the World Showcase fireworks at night.

There are many benefits to the Park Hopper feature; with the obvious being you can get more park visits into your vacation. Others include using crowd patterns to cut down on lines, making the trip a bit more leisurely, and returning to see some of your favorites at the end of your trip. By going to the Magic Kingdom® Park when it opens, you can hit the most popular attractions before the lines get too long. Then, you can take a mid-day break and head over to the Epcot® World Showcase for touring of the countries and dinner. The next day you could go to Epcot® in the morning for the popular attractions in Future World and then hit Disney’s Hollywood Studios^TM later in the day. Repeat this for four days and you would get to experience at least eight parks during your four day vacation. 

The key to maximizing the potential of the Hopper feature is crowd patterns and park hours. If you are staying at a Walt Disney World® Property, you have the added bonus of being able to enjoy the Extra Magic Hours Benefit. This is where Disney has added an extra park hour to a selected park either in the morning or at night.  Use these at the park it is being offered to cut down on lines. We have found the extra hours at night tend to draw large crowds, so this is not necessarily a benefit for riding the big attractions.  It can; however, be used for some of the shows and attractions you want to experience that do not draw huge crowds. Then on your last day, build time in to reflect on which park was your favorite or which had the most of your favorite attractions and go back to visit those. This way, you end your magical vacation feeling satisfied, rather than remorseful because you saw your favorites on the first day and did not get to see them again. The other benefit to this is if the crowds are unusually heavy at one park, you can move on to another park. If you have the base ticket, you would typically not know if a park has heavy crowds until you enter, therefore using your only day’s entrance at that park. Now you cannot move to another park. 

On a value side, let’s look at some numbers. A four day Magic Your Way Base Ticket will cost you $233.24 or $58.31 per park visit (4 days/4 parks). A four day Magic Your Way Base Ticket with Park Hopper® Option will cost you $286.49. If you visited eight parks during a four day stay (one in the morning and one later in the day) you would only be paying $35.81 per park visit. 

Whether or not you add the Park Hopper feature is a personal preference. Hopefully, you now you have more information to make a decision you and your traveling companions can feel comfortable with. Good news though, if you choose the Magic Your Way Base Ticket and decide during your trip you want to add the Park Hopper feature, you can!  Guest Relations in any park will be able to help you.

Discover the magic of Walt Disney World® Resorts and parks on a Walt Disney World® family vacation, and share the joy of Mickey Mouse and company with your kids. Let Ears of Experience plan the perfect Disney trip for you and your loved ones. Contact us today at 1-877-80MOUSE. We look forward to sending you on the magical vacation of a lifetime.

http://www.themouseexperts.com/