Day 1309: Use and Abuse

I've been waiting for the day you can make additional fastpass reservations from your phone since the initial introduction of Fastpass+. It's one of the things I loved about the old system - the ability to have a fastpass for more than a few attractions if you planned your day right. Of course, the new system has greater benefits: the ability to schedule your day prior to entering the park, securing a morning fastpass instead of getting to the park at 9 only to have a fastpass for 8 that night, and my personal favorite, the ability to change your fastpass time at any point in the day, actually making everything more flexible than I thought it might be. 

But what was missing was the ability to make additional fastpasses, which we now can, finally, do. I tend to have a rough idea of how my day is going to go, but I also love to plan on the spot, and from the second I realized I could have additional fastpasses, I went to town...or rather, all across Magic Kingdom...using and abusing the new system. 

Since the park was open until midnight the night I was there, I spent most of the afternoon hours at The Grand Floridian for Afternoon Tea, which allowed me to get out of the heat and take a much needed break. But by the time I got back to Magic Kingdom, I was ready to go. Now, the way the system works is that if you use all three of your fastpasses earlier in the day, you can make additional fastpass selections at any point for any attraction in any park. Often times, you can snatch up a fastpass for only minutes out from the current time, which means you could be outside Pirates of the Caribbean and could probably get a fastpass to skip that half hour or 40 minute line right then and there, and the second you scan your magic band at the fastpass line entrance, you can make another fastpass selection from the app. 

And you can keep doing this for as long as there are fastpasses available. 

Once I figured all of this out, I just started making new fastpass selections while in line for the attraction I had the previous fastpass for. So I began at Pirates, and while in line I made a fastpass for another attraction, which I believe was for Big Thunder. While waiting for the fastpass, which started soon after, I took the train to Fantasyland and walked the rest of the way to Tomorrowland, where I got a phone case for a friend and headed on the PeopleMover. Then it was all the way back to Big Thunder, where I made a fastpass for the Barnstormer. While waiting for the Barnstormer I made a fastpass for Dumbo, and while waiting there I made one for Winnie the Pooh. As I waited for Winnie the Pooh I made a fastpass for the Tomorrowland Speedway, and from there I secured one for Buzz Lightyear, and then Peter Pan, and finally Splash Mountain. It brought me to a total of 12 fastpasses in one day, which I didn't think was humanly possible...but apparently is. I also had a chance to head on the Teacups, the Carrousel, Astro Orbiter and then Pirates one more time at the end, so I guess you could say that it was a wild five hours after my Afternoon Tea. 

As for how many fastpasses you could get in one day, I'm sure 12 isn't the highest you could get, and I look forward to attempting to visit all the Magic Kingdom attractions in one day in the future, even if I have to really abuse the system to get there...but for now we'll say I'm utilizing the system, because really, that's what I'm doing! I'm just utilizing it to it's fullest potential...which may be a bit more than what Disney intended. 

Next time, I estimate 16 or 17 fastpasses...but who knows how many are possible! 

Have a magical day!

Day 822: Planning Ahead

One of the most important parts of your Disney Vacation starts long before the actual trip...and that's planning. Since the introduction of My Magic Plus, My Disney Experience and Fastpass+, planning ahead is more important than ever, and my trip in June is no exception. But instead of just telling you about my plans, I figured I'd take a step back and use my plans to explain HOW I plan ahead, as I know many of you are probably taking Disney Trips of your own and I happened to be working on my own plans just the other day. Up until a year ago, I honestly wasn't much for planning ahead when it comes to these things, preferring to go with the flow and use my Parkhopper to its fullest, but things have changed, and in the process of developing my own planning strategy, I definitely looked at how other's planned as well. In other words, hopefully this post will help some of you the same way others helped me!

Also, just a note, this post is referencing planning after you've already established when your trip is and have made a hotel reservation. For instance, you might know that you're staying at The Contemporary Resort from August 7-14. Additionally, this post is mainly geared towards Walt Disney World, but you can apply a lot of it to Disneyland too!

Step 1: Park Hours

Once I've got the dates for my trip set in stone, the first thing I do is locate the tentative park hours for when I'll be in the Disney Parks. These are relatively easy to find right on the Walt Disney World (Or Disneyland) website, but HERE'S a link to the WDW Calendar with Park Hours, just for your convenience. These hours are especially important as they change both daily and seasonally for the parks. I know that in June, the first night we're there, Animal Kingdom is only open until 5, but by the end of the trip it's open until 8, just because of the new season that's starting when we're there. I've found that the easiest thing to do is make a list of the park hours each day and then come back to them later when you're making more concrete plans, but they definitely give you an immediate idea of what the schedule will look like. 

Step 2: Want-To-Do Lists

With so much to do at the Walt Disney World Resort and so little time in which to accomplish things, I prefer to go through and make a list of things I hope to do on my trip, long before I set foot on Disney Property. Generally I have three sections on my list, which I keep organized in a document on Google Drive for easy access from any computer or my phone: Places/Things to Eat, Video Ideas and a General Things To Do. Places and Things to Eat is pretty self explanatory, although I find this is more important when I'm not already making reservations. We usually does one Advanced Dining Reservation per day, composed of a list we made as a family months before those reservations can be made, although in June we're running on more of a counter service basis, so this list becomes especially important. Once I've got a general idea of where I'd like to eat throughout the trip, I can go back when making finalized plans and insert those locations or treats to specific days or times. 

Video Ideas is more of a personal thing, as although I have completed work on the Seymour High School Band Trip Video, I want to keep up my YouTubing and Videoing, including something beyond just my usual vlogs. For instance, in June I'm planning a video focusing around doing Four Parks in One Day and another featuring Classic Disney Foods. I'll go back to this list later, probably a week or two before my trip, and narrow down the exact logistics of what I want to film and when, but for the most part it's just somewhere I can get my ideas down. The same goes for the General List of Things I'd like to do, such as an extra ride on Space Mountain, attend Star Wars Weekends, or head over to the Art of Animation Resort just for some extra fun. 

Step 3: Schedule It Out

Once you have park hours down, you can make yourself a rough schedule of where you'll be each day. While previously you could definitely just go and decide each morning where you'll spend the day, that's mostly a thing of the past thanks to making Fastpass+ reservations up to 60 days in advance. Generally, once I've picked a park for a particular day I'll highlight those park hours and then jot down some of what I'd like to accomplish each day, like seeing Festival of Fantasy or Illuminations. This is also the point where I add in the list of where I'd like to eat as well as any other important information. Finally, you'll want to get a general idea of what you'll want for Fastpasses each day of your trip, and once you schedule those ahead of time, write those in as a part of the plan as well. By the time you're finished, you'll have something that looks sort of like the following, which is part of my plan from this past January: 

You can then throw it all into a Google Doc if you'd like, which is what I usually do a week or so before the trip, making it easy for me to access it all from my phone at any point. 

Of course, the main thing with all of this is to remember a couple of things. One, there's only so much time in a day, and while last June on the band trip and this past January we accomplished more than I ever thought possible, you're going to have to make sacrifices and prioritize what you want to get done while you're there. After all, if you're number one concern is to have a Dole Whip, you're going to make sure you get one even if it requires you to skip a turn on Big Thunder Mountain. Likewise, while planning ahead is great, be aware that the parks are busy, lines are long, and things definitely change. Be patient and flexible with your schedule, making full use of your My Disney Experience App to reschedule Fastpasses if you need to while in the parks. If you get discouraged the second Tower of Terror is broken down, your entire day will be ruined, and that's the last thing you want at the most Magical Place on Earth. 

Ultimately, you're going to need a plan going into your day at Disney, especially if you're only there for a limited amount of time. It takes some time to figure out how it all works, but to be completely honest, one of my favorite parts of a Disney trip is what comes before the trip itself, so make it fun! Think about how you're going to meet Chewbacca at Star Wars Weekends, ride Splash Mountain for the first (or 50th) time, and get excited about your trip! 

Do you have any tips for planning your Disney Vacation? How do you go about scheduling? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a magical day!

Day 813: That's Just Brilliant

One of the great things about being a blogger is that some times you just need to sit down and do some research, and sometimes that research means sitting down and doing any number of things. It could mean listening to a CD, reading a book, eating food or, in my case today, watching YouTube videos. Now, as you may already know, I'm not just a blogger, as I also make vlogs that correspond with my Disney trips for YouTube. While yes, the rate at which those vlogs actually appear on YouTube is very slow, you can bet that the previous trip's vlogs are done before I go and film new stuff (which means I have roughly two and a half months left to finish the ones from January...right?) To be honest, being a part of the YouTube community is great, and there are so many wonderful videos out there for you to discover, if you only spend a few minutes searching for them. After all, I've had several blog posts here on Everyday Disney that explore some of my favorite YouTube videos, and who knows what else there is out there that I haven't found yet.

Today, while sitting in one of my classes, for some reason I felt the real urge to just sit and watch some old time, vintage Disney things, and while that's not at all what I ended up watching, it is a common hobby for me. Instead, I simply searched YouTube for Disney World and came up with a few things, including some commercials put out by the official Disney Parks YouTube. Here's my personal favorite:

Now I know our Disneyland friends haven't had their share of MyMagic+ yet, but let me tell you...you think you'll hate it and then suddenly you wonder what in the world you did without it. MagicBands are like...I don't even have words to describe them. They do so much and make your entire trip a million times more convenient. I have no clue what I'm going to do without one when I head to Disneyland come August! 

The problem is that, as you can see in the video, when you get home you kind of fall into this weird place where you start to wonder why you can't just charge everything to the magical colored wristband on your arm. Suddenly you need a key to open doors (and I swear that colleges should invest in this because it would be a million times easier than an ID card all the time), and no...you can't just skip in lines because guess what..Fastpass+ doesn't exist in the rest of the world. 

There are several other ads similar to this one out there, and I highly suggest watching them all if you're a Walt Disney World fan and want a laugh. There's another one that talks about the MyDisneyExperience App and the mom has post-it notes just everywhere and that is 100% how I feel about my life right now. Regardless, give them all a watch! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on March 27 due to a wonderful cold...)

Day 453: Fastpass+ For Everyone

I guess I never really gave my thoughts on Fastpass+ from my recent trip. I mean, I talked about them a little bit, but never in great detail, and since I spent a good portion of yesterday talking about fastpass+ and the new system, I figured I would actually write a whole blog post on it. Plus, as of March 31, the advanced fastpass reservation system is ready for everyone to use, even just day guests. That's right, no matter if you're an annual passholder or staying on property, you can now use My Magic Plus and make your fastpass reservations 30 days in advance of your trip (those staying on property get 60 days).

Now, I think the new system is absolutely brilliant. Everything works very efficiently, especially when you do get to make those fastpass reservations well before you step foot on property. But coming from a person heading down to Disney World with Disney Performing Arts, I'm a bit concerned. There's a good chance that we won't get our tickets until we actually get to Florida, and that's really going to limit what we can and can't get for our fastpasses. And since it's really set up for families, in order to get the same times as one another, we'll have to have people in groups ahead of time, meaning that people will need to have some sort of an idea of who they want to spend their time with before we actually leave on the trip. That makes things kind of difficult. But I know we'll get through it. I have no doubt we will.

I think the hardest part about Fastpass Plus is that it's going to be a bit confusing for a while. There are a lot of rumors and tons of false information about the system out there, which doesn't help either. Personally, I feel like those who have used the fastpass system previous to this, so with the paper tickets, could be even more confused than those who haven't been to Disney with it at all. It's easy enough to grasp the idea of skipping the line, but this new system is completely different from the old one, and the prospect of planning out every minute of your day well in advance is kind of daunting.

I guess the only thing I really don't like about it is that fact: you have to have a pretty good plan of what you're going to be doing on each day before you go. I'm certainly more of a spontaneous person when it comes to Disney. So maybe someday when I go by myself or something I really will have dining reservations for one place, but I'll wake up that morning and randomly decide to go to Epcot. If my reservation for that night was for Magic Kingdom, I will ultimately end up there, but other than that, I'm just not really the type of person to plan ahead. Unless it comes to when I'll be going to Disney in the future. I know that stuff WAY in advance.

But then again, don't all of us crazy Disney fans?

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on April 2 due to a super crazy week!)