Short Tips For Your Upcoming Disney Visit!! (with plenty more posts to come)

It's been forever since my last real Disney World post, and that's because I hadn't been there since 2012 (as a kid I was used to going with my family every 4 years, so it shouldn't feel like it was too long ago, but it does) and it's hard to post about Disney without visiting!

First, I have to say how wonderful it was to have Memory Maker.  We purchased it before our trip so that knocked $50 off the usual price.  It costs $14.95 to download ONE PHOTO if you don't have Memory Maker.  At $149.99 (if you purchase it during your visit it's the full price at $199.99) you can download all of the pictures you take with PhotoPass photographers throughout the parks (there are even photographers at the water parks), and photos from rides that take your picture are automatically linked to your account!  We took over 140 picture so it was definitely a bargain!

If you are DisneyBounding (dressed up as a character from Disney) and happen to meet that character, they give you LOTS of attention (at least that was my experience with Sulley, and I've seen other pictures posted from other DisneyBounding fans).  Cast Members may also recognize your outfit!

FastPasses (or FastPass +'s) are a must for the big-ticket rides!  The one we wanted the most, Toy Story Midway Mania in Hollywood Studios, had an 80-minute stand-by wait, and we cruised right through with our FastPasses.  If you want a guaranteed FastPass, make sure you have a MagicBand.  That way you can reserve your FastPass+ selections months before your trip!  I tried to reserve another FP+ for Toy Story Midway Mania two days prior to our next Hollywood visit and it was completely booked.  We ended up waiting 65 minutes stand-by (yes, the ride is that good).

If you are celebrating something (anniversary, birthday, first visit, whatever), definitely tell the people checking you in at your hotel.  You get a huge pin that you wear around the parks and everyone working there wishes you a happy celebration!    

If you are making dining reservations, be sure to "add a celebration" too.  Not all restaurants will acknowledge it, but if you have it added to all your reservations, you may get a little something (our Character Breakfast at the Crystal Palace had Mickey confetti on our table as we arrived and gave us a cupcake with a lit candle for us to make a wish and blow out together.  And it was delicious)!

Some shops will hold purchases you'd like to make but don't want to carry around the park!  You don't pay for them but they put them aside.  If you return before the store closes, you can buy them whenever you're ready to leave.  We tried this with a shop in Epcot France (wine glasses, a bottle of wine, and a heavy box of chocolates), but didn't have the time or energy to walk halfway across the "world" to retrieve them.  Good thing they don't charge you first!  You may also have them delivered to your room, but they warned me that there is an extra charge (I didn't find out how much it was).  We did end up buying those souvenirs when we returned a couple days later!

Drink a lot of water and, if possible, take the bus back to your hotel in the middle of the day.  If you don't have Park Hopper (we did not), you can return to the park you were visiting that same day.  If you don't have time to go back to your hotel, find an indoor or cool, shady spot to sit down and have a meal so you can recharge and rehydrate!  Your feet will be aching, and if you don't eat, your spirits may be low!  It's very easy to not relax because there's so much to see.  Sometimes you just have to push yourself out of the park, knowing you will still have time when you return!

FastPass+ Planning, and That Elusive Be Our Guest FastPass!

It's so fun to plan a Disney vacation.  You get stuff like this:

It's a magnet, and it has all my personalized "important dates" to help me plan!  One of the dates was June 24.  On that date, I would be able to begin selecting my "FastPass+" experiences!  I spent some time talking to my boyfriend (who's never been!) asking what he wants to do while we're there, and together we selected a few "experiences" we'd like to book.  I received a second reminder a week before that date:

So I stayed up till midnight the night before to make my selections (since this is so new, I didn't know if they "ran out" or "got booked").  But when I signed into "My Disney Experience," they said I couldn't start booking my FastPass+ selections until August 23, the date of our arrival in Disney!!  I shot off a polite-but-honest-about-my-feelings e-mail (since their online chat services run from 7AM-11PM).  I tried again in the morning at 7 before leaving for work and was able to use it!  I wonder if everything on their site operates within those hours, too, 7-11?  (They did reply to my e-mail very politely and saying they could see I was able to book, yadda yadda, did I have any further questions.)

After snagging FP+s for everything I wanted (I didn't even plan all 5 days yet--I just wanted to make sure we had FP+s for Toy Story Mania!), I remembered hearing about Be Our Guest quick-service lunch FastPasses.  I googled it and found some weird, secretive-looking sign-in to a website that gives you the FP!  You need to enter your first & last names and an ID number.  Hmmmm.  I tried my booking confirmation number, but it had a mix of letters and numbers, and the letters just didn't show up!  

I read a Disney blog that said if you are staying at a Disney resort, you receive this FastPass to Be Our Guest, and they said that after you "check-in" you will get an e-mail invitation to it.  I checked in online (which you can do starting 60 days before your vacation begins) and waited.  No e-mail.  

I used the online chat service for probably the 3rd or 4th time since beginning planning this trip, and asked a very helpful cast member about it!  She said that we will indeed be receiving this FP, and that we will get it when we "finish" checking in, when we're physically at the hotel.  

So there you have it, folks, if you will be staying at a Disney resort hotel, you are given a FP to quick-service lunch at Be Our Guest Restaurant!!  You even get to pick your meal before you go!  How wonderful!  I was worried we wouldn't be able to see the restaurant (I want to take pictures even though I've pretty much seen them all on blogs already)--I didn't want to waste any time waiting in line especially since we already have a Character Breakfast booked at Magic Kingdom (Crystal Palace).  But now we're going, and I can't wait!!  Hope you can enjoy this perk, too!