Going to Disney World? Here's some advice... Part 2

So, yesterday I offered some advice on going to the Disney World theme parks in Florida and today I'll cover some other points of (possible) interest: organize your days at Disney, the joy of park-hopping, Disney's Fast-Pass system and how to use it, and where we love to eat in the Disney parks.

As a reminder and for those who may not have read my earlier post - this is really advice meant for adults who are going to Disney without children (or kids who are at least 12 and older).

When my mom and I travel to Disney World, we always get a 3-4 day ticket with the park-hopper option. The "Park Hopper" option costs extra but it's worth it. For example, on the Walt Disney World website the price for a 4-day adult base ticket is $256 - adding in the park-hopper option and it goes to $313 - just $57 more or just over $14 per day. On the base ticket, you get entry to one park each day - period. If you go to The Animal Kingdom in the morning you can leave and walk back into the Animal Kingdom as many times as you want but you cannot gain entry to The Magic Kingdom that evening see the fireworks.

So, here's the main reason we love the park-hopper pass... the parks are not all open during the same hours everyday. Every morning the parks open for all ticket holders at 9am. The Magic Kingdom stays open until 11pm most evenings (sometimes midnight!) while Epcot and Hollywood Studios close at 9pm or 10pm depending on the day and The Animal Kingdom closes as early as 7pm some days. A little bit of planning and a park-hopper pass means more bang for your buck! When The Animal Kingdom closes at 7pm, you still have 4 hours of fun available to you at The Magic Kingdom! Hop onto the free transportation and travel to the next park or feel free to drive your car - your parking pass is good for the entire day - just show it to the gate guard as you enter the next parking lot.

Here's a quick sample of a possible park-hoppin' day at Disney... Park at The Magic Kingdom and take the complimentary transportation to The Animal Kingdom. Ride "Everest" (one of the coolest coasters ever!!) and "DINOSAUR" before going see "The Festival of the Lion King" at The Animal Kingdom. Travel to Epcot to enjoy lunch at "The Land Pavilion", ride "Spaceship Earth" and "Ellen's Universe of Energy" at Epcot, hop on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom where you can have an ice cream sundae for an afternoon snack at "Auntie Gravity's", enjoy the 3-D experience of "Mickey's PhilharMagic", and, after a quick bite to eat at "Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café", you can still get to Disney's Hollywood Studios that evening to ride "The Rockin' Roller Coaster". If it all works out just right, and you aren't totally exhausted, then go back to The Magic Kingdom for the 11pm fireworks show and sneak in one more ride on "Pirates of the Caribbean". This is not everything you'll see or do in one day but the point is, with a park-hopper pass you CAN do all of these and much more ALL IN ONE DAY!! See what I mean? Park-hopping rocks!! Get the park-hopper option.

When we were a bit more spry, my mom and I would have days like this. We aren't that crazy anymore! But we do use our park-hopper pass quite a bit. For instance: we love The Animal Kingdom in the morning - the crowds aren't so fierce and the animals are more active so we got there in the morning. We love eating lunch at The Land Pavilion at Epcot and will travel there just to have lunch some days! The Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese on Fresh Mixed Greens with Raspberry Vinaigrette and Candied Pecans is TO DIE FOR!! Get this salad and any number of other yummy selections in the Food Court. When things heat up in the afternoon - around 3pm or so - we usually head back to our hotel for a little break. Around 6pm or so we head to The Magic Kingdom for the evening. This park is so incredibly beautiful in the evening!! We love it there. We eat dinner at Cosmic Ray's and head out to enjoy the park.

The park-hopper pass is not the only way to get the most out of your trip to Disney - you will also want to take advantage of Fast Passes. Visit the web page to get the basic idea of what they are and how they work and then come back here for some additional pointers...

Rule #1 - Appoint one person in your party to be the ticket keeper. This makes getting fast passes SO much easier. That person can quickly feed the tickets in one-at-a-time and retrieve a fast pass for each person in the party. On the fast pass it will give you a window of time during which you can return to the ride and by-pass the regular lines. You can return ANY TIME during that window - not before and not after. After the designated time, your pass is void. If you have a REALLY nice gate attendant, they might feel sorry for you and let you in late but most likely not. One thing most people do not notice written on the bottom of their pass is the time at which they can get another fast pass.

So, here's an example of how it works for us.... we get a fast pass for "Space Mountain" at 9:15am and it says to return between 10:30am and 11:30am. At 10:30am we're eligible to get another fast pass with our tickets. Instead of waiting breathlessly at the gate to "Space Mountain" for 10:30am, we go and enjoy other attractions. At 10:30am we snag another fast pass from some other ride like "Thunder Mountain Railroad". Go ride "Space Mountain". Our return window for "Thunder Mountain Railroad" is between 12:20pm and 1:20pm. At 12:20pm we snag yet another fast pass - maybe this time from "Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin" and go ride "Thunder Mountain Railroad". Our return time for "Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin" is 2:30pm. At 2:30pm get a fast pass for "Peter Pan's Flight" and go ride "Buzz Lightyear". Anyway, do you see where I'm going with this? Get your next fast pass as soon as you are eligible for one and then go ride your other ride.

Now, there are some lines that are fairly pleasant to wait in and others that down-right suck! Not all rides offer a fast pass option but here are the rides you may want a fast pass for and why (in order of importance):
MAGIC KINGDOM
Peter Pan's Flight - I don't know why but this kiddie ride always has an insane line - it's almost always 45 minutes or more. It's hot and long so, if you must fly with Peter (OK, it is pretty cool for a kiddie ride!) get a fast pass if you can. The same goes for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Another line that it really hot and uncomfortable to stand in. Absolutely get a fast pass! This is a super fantastic roller coaster! If you can't snag a fast pass, stand in the line (but wait until the sun goes down) - it's worth it
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - While this line does sometimes ramble outside in the sun, it is mostly enclosed and air-conditioned but this line is LOUD!! Inside you are constantly pelted with very loud,  military-like drum cadences that never end. Get a fast pass and save your sanity (and your hearing).
Space Mountain - A very LONG wait - sometimes over an hour - but it is shady and air-conditioned. Also, they have some pretty fun video games to play while in line which make the wait seem a bit shorter but fast pass it if you can.
Splash Mountain - One of the best rides in the park! The line can be long but it is shady and cool - one of the most pleasant line-standing experiences around. I don't mind standing in this line one bit! Only get a fast pass for this if you can't get one for the other rides I mentioned.
Jungle Cruise - In recent years I have not seen a line long enough to warrant getting a fast pass for this attraction. Don't waste a fast pass on it.

EPCOT
Soarin' - Fast pass, absolutely! This is the only attraction at Epcot for which a fast pass is an absolute must!! Go to Epcot in the morning and get a fast pass straight away before doing anything else! The line is VERY long and tiring despite being inside and air-conditioned.
Mission: SPACE Pavilion - I can't say honestly what this line is like. I'm pretty much ready for anything but I rode this the first year it was open - I hated it and have not missed it! You'll have to check out the wait times and decide for yourself.
Captain EO starring Michael Jackson -Huh? They offer a fast pass for this? I have yet to see crowds clamoring to get inside the theater - not worth getting a fast pass for IMO.
Maelstrom is located at the Norway pavilion in the World Showcase. It's interesting enough and worth checking out and the line can be really long. I'm not sure why except that there aren't very many rides at Epcot - get a fast pass if they are available but it's no big deal if you don't.

ANIMAL KINGDOM
Expedition Everest - Get a fast pass! Like Soarin' at EPCOT - get there in the morning and snag a fast pass ASAP. If your party doesn't mind being split up, this is one ride that offers a single-rider option. There is a separate line for "Single Riders" and the wait is minimal - sometimes as short as 2 minutes! We always take advantage of the single rider line for this ride but if you must ride together - fast pass it!
DINOSAUR - A really fun ride - not to be missed! The lines the last few times we've been there have been pretty short - less than 25 minutes - and we've never found it necessary to get a fast pass. You'll have to judge for yourself.
Primeval Whirl - Again, a really fun ride - I didn't notice that they were even distributing fast passes for this one this year. The lines were extremely short - literally 5 minutes long. Don't waste a fast pass on this one!
Kilimanjaro Safaris and Kali River Rapids - We have not gone on either of these for several years now. The line for the Safari trip, in the past, was long, hot and fairly uncomfortable - I don't know if the line situation has changed or not. If available, get a fast pass to be safe.

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Toy Story Mania! - This ride is new and thus in high demand - it's also a ride like no other and you will not want to miss it! Super fun! While we find the line fairly entertaining it might be worth it to get a fast pass if you don't like standing around for an hour. Get one early in the day as there are a limited number of fast passes available and they go fast!
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith - This ride, like Expedition Everest, offers a single rider option - take it if your party doesn't mind being split up. Otherwise, get a fast pass. This line is another that is long and tedious to stand in. Can't get a fast pass for some reason? Stand in line anyway! If you love roller coasters, you do not want to miss this one!
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - I don't really mind this line standing experience too much but get a fast pass if you can.
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue  - Another fairly new attraction but the line is inside, air-conditioned and fast-moving - it's also fairly entertaining! Not a bad line to stand in but you might want to fast pass anyway. 

So, if I haven't' already lost you - be sure to tune in tomorrow for tips on getting around inside the parks. Yes, believe it or not there are some walkways (and restrooms!) that seem to be undiscovered territory. Also, I will list attractions and other stuff that really, truly are, IMO, the not-to-miss things - some might surprise you! I hope you'll stop back - feel free to comment and ask any questions you might have regarding today's post. I'd love to hear from you!