Tip Tuesday: Even more reason to get there early

Hey there, hi there, ho there!

It's Tip Tuesday time!

If you're a regular here at DisneyDaddy, you know I'm a big fan of getting to the parks early to take advantage of the low morning crowds.

In the past, Disney held an event known as "rope drop" where guests could queue up at a pre-selected area and wait for an official opening.  Often, a welcome show greeted guests before the countdown to park opening.

Lately, though, this practice has been changing, especially at Epcot, Disney Hollywood Studios and Disney Animal Kingdom.

Now, it appears that the welcome shows are a thing of the past, with the exception of the Magic Kingdom, and, more importantly, gates are starting to open even earlier than expected.

Recent reports indicate that though park opening may be set for, say, 9 a.m., guests can often start entering the park and going straight to attractions as much as 15 minutes before the posted time.  Basically, the park opens 15 minutes early, in this example.  While this isn't an official practice yet, it does appear that this is happening on a nearly daily basis, though reports vary on how much before the official opening cast members are allowing guests to enter the park.

So what this really means to you and me is that you really need to get to the turnstiles no less than 30 minutes before the posted park opening time, because you'll likely be allowed to enter before that opening.  This also goes for Extra Magic Hours.

With all the recent and rumored future changes to FastPass, a few more crowd-free morning hours is a magical thing.

So, like I always say, get there early and enjoy those low-crowd mornings!

Tip Tuesday: Fastpass revisited

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

I've made several posts in the past about the Fastpass system at Walt Disney World.  Until recently, I often encouraged guests to disregard the later time posted on the Fastpass ticket as cast members were only concerned with the initial time.

Well things have changed as they often do at Walt Disney World and now cast members are enforcing the later return time.  What this means for you the guest is that now you have to more carefully consider when and for what you get a Fastpass.  No longer can you go grab a pass for your favorite attraction and hold on to it for use later in the day when the crowds are highest.  Now you have to use that Fastpass during the stated window or not use it at all.

So how does change impact the way you tour the parks?   Let's examine a few different scenarios.

Rope Drop
To standby or Fastpass.  That is the question.  Personally, I still say go standby if the posted standby wait is 30-40 minutes or less during the first hour of the day.  Keep in mind that you can always get a Fastpass after you come off the attraction, which likely will be for much later in the day - which allows you to enjoy other attractions before using that Fastpass. 

Mid-Day
Here's where the changes to FastPass may have the greatest impact.  I suspect (and time will tell if I'm right) that the more strict enforcement of Fastpass windows may mean that more Fastpasses will be available later in the day as fewer people opt to get a Fastpass early in the day since they can't hoard them anymore.  This longer availability of Fastpass may have an impact on standby lines.  Some argue that Fastpass actually increases standby line time and less Fastpasses used during the day will help shorten wait times.  I'm not so sure.  I can see the argument, but I also know that there are only a limited number of Fastpasses allotted per hour, so the total impact on wait times is pretty minimal.  The same number of people who were in Fastpass would be in the standby line anyway, so it's a wash.

In any case, you need to be much more cognizant of when your Fastpass windows are open.

Evening/Night
By this time, most Fastpasses are usually gone.  As mentioned before, there's the possibility that more Fastpasses will be available later in the day, but I think by evening, they should be all gone.  So the overall impact by this time should be minimal at most.

Now even though Disney's more strictly enforcing Fastpass return times does this mean you can no longer have more than one Fastpass at a time?  NO.  You can still hold more than one, depending on when your first Fastpass window opens.  See this post from January 2009 for more.

Hopefully the changes to Fastpass won't impact your time and your enjoyment of the parks.  Just remember, it's not all about racing from attraction to attraction.  Take your time and enjoy the (Walt Disney) World around you!

Tip Tuesday: Get there early

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday.

My apologies for the delay in this post. I just returned from a big trip to Walt Disney World last weekend. In fact, it was a trip fit for the Biggest Disney Fan! That's right! Last weekend was the big trip filled with lots of amazing experiences. The local newspaper even did a story on me.

Best of all, YOU get to share in what happened as I will be bringing reviews and articles about some of the more exclusive experiences at Walt Disney World, including the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, concierge service, fireworks aboard the Grand One and premier VIP park touring.

It was the best five days my family has ever spent at Walt Disney World.

So be looking for more on these topics coming to this blog very soon.

Now, on to today's feature presentation!

I've talked about this tip a few times in passing, but it's so important that I wanted to highlight it again -- get to the parks EARLY, especially if you're planning to catch major attractions.

Case in point: We arrived at rope drop in the Magic Kingdom on Monday morning. As soon as we entered the MK, we took the train to Frontierland (another quick reminder: the WDW Railroad doesn't stop a ToonTown until after 10am). My son and I then proceeded to walk on Big Thunder Mountain twice in a row while my wife and other two children walked onto Pirates and had an entire boat to themselves. They then walked onto Alladin's Magic Carpets.

We met up after this and just about walked onto the Jungle Cruise, and then walked again onto Pirates. After Pirates, we made our way to the Haunted Mansion where we had to wait only two minutes for the mansion doors to open and admit the next group.

Boom! Before 10am, we had hit several major attractions - some twice!

Now you might be thinking that the park wasn't all that crowded that day. Think again. At one point, Buzz Lightyear had a 70 minute wait -- the longest wait time I've ever seen for Buzz. Space Mountain was at 60 minutes and Big Thunder quickly rose to 60 minutes by lunchtime. By the afternoon, there was a line for even the smaller attractions like the TTA.

The reason getting to the parks early is so important is that most days, especially during busy times of the year such as spring break and holidays, the parks start to get very crowded around 11 a.m. Apparently most guests just don't want to get up early for a 9 a.m. rope drop. This is to your benefit.

After 11 a.m., be prepared for long lines and to make heavy use of FastPass (in fact, it's a good idea to go ahead and get some FastPasses early and not use them until the afternoon). Remember you can possibly hold more than one FastPass at a time (see this previous Tip Tuesday post for more about this).

The other benefit to arriving early and getting major attractions out of the way is that frees up time for you to enjoy some of those hidden details in shops, shows, restaurants or just out and about while other guests are standing in those massive standby queues.

So, as they saying goes: the early mouse gets the cheese, er, ride.

Tip Tuesday: "Touring" Plans

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

For those of you new to the DisneyDaddy blog, each Tuesday, I offer a tip I've either developed or heard of. You can always go back and read past Tip Tuesday posts by clicking on the "Tip Tuesday" link on the right side of this page.

Now for this week's tip:

In last week's post, I talked about some information you needed to keep with you while at Walt Disney World. This information included dining reservations, park hours and Extra Magic Hours (EMH). One reason why you want to have this information handy is so you can develop your own touring plans.

I use the term "touring plans" only because it's the most common term used among Disney fans describing a plan for how to go about spending time in the parks. There is a site (http://www.touringplans.com/) that offers (for a fee) more than 100 different touring plans designed for all sorts of scenarios. For those who feel they need some advice from some Disney experts, TouringPlans.com might be a resource to check out.

The best kind of touring plan, in my opinion, however, is the plan that does what you want to do. If you're a "gotta-do-it-all-and-see-it-all" kind of person, than you'll want to think about the best ways to mix the use of FastPasses, single rider lines, and standby lines to get in as much as possible (it also helps to go on a night with late EMH hours so that the park is open much later, giving you more time, assuming you're staying on-property).

Most guests, aren't quite so commando in their time at the parks. That's why I suggest making a list of the top 3-10 attractions you want to experience in each parks (top 3 for shorter visits, top 10 for longer trips). Once you have that list, try to map out where you want to go, keeping in mind some basic tips:

• If Dumbo's (MK) on the list - get there early and first (best on an EMH early day). That's one attraction that always has a long line - and there's no FastPass.
• If Toy Story Mania's (DHS) on the list - get there early and get FastPasses. They tend to run out by the afternoon, if not sooner. If you're at rope drop, you can get a FastPass and then go right into the standby line - you might just get two rides in a few hours.
• Peter Pan's Flight (MK) generally has a longer queue, especially in the afternoon. This is another good one to FastPass, if it's on your list.
• Like Toy Story Mania, fastpasses for Soarin' (Epcot) and Expedition Everest (AK) go quick. If it's on your list, get a FastPass early. Be sure to check the standby lines, however - if it's 20 minutes or less, you might want to just go right in.
• When Space Mountain (MK) reopens in a few weeks, it's going to be slammed, so if it's on your list, plan on using FastPasses, at least for the next few months.
• Remember that World Showcase at Epcot opens later than World Showcase. Lately, WS has been opening at 9 a.m. instead of 11. If you have Malestrom on your list, keep an eye on the opening time and you might be able to catch a walk-on at Malestrom before the crowds come.
• You can only hold one FastPass at a time, with some exceptions (see this previous post).
• Always pick up a times guide. This will help you better plan when certain shows and character meet-and-greets are available.

So before your next trip, take a few moments and plan what you want to do at each park. Then plan your route to make your day go a little bit easier.

Have fun!