15 Mistakes To Avoid on Your 2021 Disney World Trip

we are done telling you about all the things you need to do in 2021 now we're telling you about what you absolutely under no circumstances should not do this year in disney world [Music] hey everybody it's aj for disney food blog all the changes at disney world are making it super easy to make big costly mistakes on your vacation and we want to help you avoid that so don't sabotage your trip don't make things harder for yourself follow these tips on what not to do in disney world instead number one missing out on the park you want to visit if you haven't been to disney since the new rules and regulations have come into effect you're going to be in for a learning curve you'll want to familiarize yourself with the new park pass reservation system because without it you aren't getting into the parks so try to make your park reservations right after you purchase your tickets for the most availability but know that some dates like holidays may book up far in advance so be sure to knock those out quickly if you try to make a reservation and the park you want doesn't have any more availability keep checking back we've noticed that park reservations sometimes open up in the days before since other people are changing their plans sometimes disney adds more availability which means you might be able to snag that park reservation for hollywood studios at the last minute so just like when you're looking for dining reservations keep checking back because it can change all right next mistake to avoid sabotaging your ability to park hop you will have the option to park hop or visit more than one park each day if you have a ticket that allows it if it's got park hopping on it and that can be done pretty spontaneously you don't need to book a park pass for a park that you hop to later in the day yes you do need a park pass for your first park but not for the second one but you do need to plan where you want to start your day and actually go there before you start making decisions about which park to go to on the fly you must visit the park you have a park pass reservation for in order to hop or you will not be allowed into the second park you try to visit you can't wait until late in the day to just start visiting parks without a park pass reservation you need that park pass reservation in order to hop in the first place so don't decide around three o'clock that you just want to go to a random park and not have a park pass for it you've got to have a park pass for your first park all right number three not taking advantage of perks and extras disney may be starting to cut down on the extras they offer to resort guests we just learned that the magical express that provides hotel guests with free rides to and from the airport is ending on january 1st 2022 but there are still a few things you can take advantage of and a few that may return in the near future so you gotta know about these because if you don't know about them you're not gonna be able to use them transportation to and from the parks is still complementary and readily available you never need to worry about driving yourself to the parks or even other resorts at disney world though sometimes it can save you some time spent waiting on buses disney has discontinued free magic bands for hotel guests as well but you'll still get a discount on bands if you purchase ahead of your stay and disney has currently paused their package pickup service for the most part though you can still purchase artwork over 150 in epcot and have it sent to the park entrance for you to pick up on your way out the service did return over the holidays though you could have any purchased merchandise items sent to the front of the park so you don't need to juggle souvenir bags all day and it will likely return as disney gets back to normal we're also hoping that resort delivery could return when that happens you can have items purchased in the park sent directly to your resort hotel which is what we're really waiting for to come back but if you don't want to deal with carrying your souvenirs you can still ask to have the items shipped home for you this is really really important it isn't free you will need to pay for shipping but you won't need to worry about carrying your souvenirs home or paying extra for overweight bags on your flight home so this is a huge huge benefit especially if you're buying a large souvenir or a breakable souvenir because they will take care of all of that and it'll arrive at your house in a few days so definitely remember that you're able to do that and something else that's important about that shipping home even if you bought something in a different store so say you bought something on monday of your vacation and on friday you're trying to pack your bag to head home and that thing's just not fitting in your bag it's not fitting in your suitcase that's fine just take it to your resort gift shop they can still ship it for you as long as you can say you got it at disney world now they should be able to just scan a skew number if they've got one for it and it shouldn't be any problem for them to ship it home so even if you bought something earlier on your vacation that you just would rather have it shipped home instead of have to carry it yourself they can absolutely do that for you even days later now one resort hotel guest perk we are expecting to return only a little different than it was before is the extra magic hours so disney just announced that resort hotel guests will be able to enter all the parks 30 minutes prior to official park opening every day of the week we're waiting to hear when this new system may start they call it early theme park entry and those extra 30 minutes can mean you get to ride some of the top rides in the park before regular day guests even arrive so that could be a big perk be sure you keep that on your planning platform and know that that's available to you because it will be brand new when it opens up all right number four mistake to avoid on your 2021 disney world trip only bringing one mask yep you're still going to be wearing a mask in disney world for the foreseeable future so you better plan ahead eating and drinking can get your mask dirty especially your little ones and a pop-up rainstorm or ride on splash mountain can mean a soggy damp mask which doesn't work anymore no one wants to deal with that all day and it's just not safe also masks can irritate just like the wrong shoes can so bring a few different kinds to switch between because different fabrics a few disposable masks being able to switch between masks means that things won't rub your ears the same way all day long you can switch around now synthetic masks like disposable masks don't absorb sweat so they can get really uncomfortable during those hot summer months cotton masks do absorb sweat but then they get kind of heavy and swampy and it's good to switch between throughout the day i always like to do that when i've got a full day at a park also bring that mask chain it's more sanitary to keep your mask on a chain and around your neck than setting it on a table or taking it off and putting it on the ground or whatever or even stuffing it in your pocket i loved having the mask chain because if i needed to just take a sip of water i could just take the mask off and it would just hang around my neck while i took a sip of water and then i could put the mask back on super easy no problems i didn't have to find a place to stuff it in a bag or something like that and remember to check what counts as a mask in disney world before your trip you will not be allowed in if you bring gators masks with vents or bandanas alright next mistake to avoid missing those huge discounts don't miss out on hotel and merchandise discounts hotel discounts should be plentiful this year except maybe for super busy times like major holidays or the 50th anniversary in october right now hotels are up to 30 off into july with fewer people in the parks merchandise is getting deeply discounted too when it doesn't sell we just saw holiday merchandise for 70 off right after new year's seasonal merchandise always gets a discount but 70 that's huge all right next mistake to avoid sleeping in on your hollywood studios day with the park opening at 9 00 a.m or later you might be tempted to sleep in but do not do this if you want to ride rise of the resistance now i know you're saying aj you told me i didn't have to go in to the park right when it opens anymore is that what you sound like i don't know am i am i wrong okay well that's right viewer you do not have to go into the park right when it opens anymore but you still have to wake up because boarding passes or your spot in that virtual queue opens at 7 00 a.m right now and you'd better be awake phone in hand ready to click through the my disney experience app in order to get one even if your time to ride isn't until later in the day you may still want to arrive early at park open when crowds are lowered and knock out a few other rides first thing in the morning and yes you can currently try to get a boarding group at 1 pm once you're in hollywood studios but if for me i wouldn't risk waiting until then to try for a pass there aren't as many available later in the day and the later your boarding group the less likely it is that you will definitely get to ride though even if you get up at 7 am do everything right or you might still strike out all right number seven mistake to avoid thinking you'll definitely get a boarding group so building on that last mistake we just talked about yeah you can do it all think you were lightning fast clicking through those screens in the app and still not end up getting a boarding group this ride is popular like epically popular everyone who's going to hollywood studios that day is trying to get a spot in that line at the exact same time some people are going to get shut out so we have tips on the blog to help you get your best shot but even still you might not get one that's why we recommend you plan a backup date in hollywood studios if you're a big star wars fan you don't want to leave yourself only one shot to ride this ride so get a park pass for two days in hollywood studios just in case and you can always switch your park pass to a different park if you get to ride the first day all right number eight only booking dining reservations in your scheduled park not all restaurants are open and the ones that are open have shortened menus so check those before you go to make sure there's something you definitely want to eat on that menu and don't limit yourself to restaurants in the park you're visiting on that day look at resorts around the park or really any resort hotel just leave yourself time to get there and there are lots more options as far as open restaurants and menu items at the resorts if you're at hollywood studios consider skyliner ring over to riviera resort where you can get great options over there and need to get out of the magic kingdom crowds for a bit well hop on the monorail or walk to dine at the contemporary polynesian village resort or the grand floridian you'll have more options resort restaurants may be less crowded especially during lunch when everybody's at the parks and you'll get a break from the park crowds just be sure to leave enough time or plan to dine before or after the park you're visiting is open so you don't waste any ride time and remember you can actually make a dining reservation in a park you're gonna hop to so if you start your day at magic kingdom and you're going to hop over to epcot you can book that dining reservation in epcot for after 2 pm at your 60 day advanced dining reservation mark so if you know you're going to hop to epcot and you're pretty sure it's not going to close to capacity then go ahead and book over there all right next mistake to avoid assuming your favorite restaurant is open like i just said a lot of restaurants around disney world are still closed and you shouldn't assume your favorite is open or that they'll have your favorite meal at this time i know it seems like disney world reopened ages ago but things are still in the process of coming back and there's lots of hotels and restaurants that haven't opened yet and there are lots of meals favorite meals that aren't back on the menu restaurants have odd hours right now too they might only be open on the weekends or they may close much earlier than they used to those 24-hour restaurants at the polynesian and grand floridian are only open until 10 pm right now fan favorites like ohana and casey's corner still closed just because a restaurant's popular doesn't mean it's a hundred percent for sure reopened but all of that can change at any time we could hear tomorrow that casey's corner is reopening and i'll have to re-record this whole voiceover or that another restaurant has moved to weekend-only hours so keep tabs on all that info at disney foodblog.com we are sticklers for reporting that stuff we make sure to keep you updated what restaurants are open which ones are closed which ones are only open certain hours of certain days and we've got a whole post that we're constantly updating with what's open and what's not all right number 10 not leaving enough time to get from place to place this is one we struggle with all the time even when disney world is normal but with capacity restrictions it takes longer than ever to get around disney world which to be honest still took a long time when things were totally normal plans sit down meals at resorts before or after park hours so it's less of a concern to use up your park time riding around on disney transportation or finding a parking spot or waiting for a bus that has room in it because remember those buses are chopped up into different sections so that they're not seating groups next to each other and also know how to get from park to park if you're park hopping so you don't waste time figuring out or taking a less direct route the epcot monorail is still closed so it will take longer to get between magic kingdom and epcot than what you're probably used to if you're a disney veteran most parks will require a bus to get between them though you can take the skyliner or boat between epcot and hollywood studios and know how to get from place to place in general if you're traveling between resort hotels you'll more often than not need to transfer at a park or at disney springs most resorts are not connected by walking paths skyliner or boat though a few are so plan that transfer time into your schedule and not all resorts are connected by the same boat system or even the skyliner line check out what connects to what ahead of time if you're still in doubt signs at the mode of transportation will tell you where it goes you can get a boat to the polynesian from the magic kingdom but that's a different boat than the one you take to wilderness lodge and the contemporary so don't waste your time by getting in the wrong line or worse on the wrong boat altogether you can always drive to cut down on travel time but there may still be lines at parking lot toll booths that can slow you up so always have plenty of time to get where you need to go all right number 11 don't miss those big updates one thing we do absolutely a hundred and fifty percent know about 2021 is that things are going to change things are going to change a lot and it could be tomorrow and it could be next month and it could be both so things are going to change up to and during your trips health and safety guidelines park capacities park hopping rules which restaurants and resorts are open booking windows could change and resort perks or the dining plan may return fireworks character meet and greets etc etc a lot of things will be in flux this year so it's important to stay on top of everything and adjust your plans accordingly that likely means not planning everything down to the second months in advance of your trip which is a hard habit to break if that's the disney trip you're used to so join our newsletter so you know when those discounts happen when fastpass comes back when the disney dining plan comes back or even free dining is announced there's a lot that's going to happen this year and if you're going to disney you're going to want to know about it to have the best trip you possibly can so we've got a link to sign up for our newsletter in the description of this video sign up and i promise you won't miss the thing we write about everything that happens it's it's kind of crazy but we just can't help ourselves all right number 12 don't miss out on all the new stuff okay so so much stuff is happening this year is gonna take planning there are new restaurants ever glazed donuts and cold brew and gideon's bakehouse have already opened to disney springs just in case you were having a sugar deficiency gideon's should absolutely be on your list of new things you've got to check out the cookies are amazing these things have a cult following for a reason so time it out so you get an extra special treat too that's only available for one hour each day from 7 to 8 pm you can get that hot chocolate chip cookie with ice cream and saying it's life changing probably is not too much of an exaggeration for a lot of us then there's the stuff we're all waiting for remy's ratatouille adventure and the crepery coming to the france pavilion guardians of the galaxy cosmic rewind coming to future world and epcot better be ready to tackle the virtual cues that come from these new rides be prepared to make a dining reservation asap for what we expect to be some amazing crepes maybe space 220 will even open oh my gosh can you imagine or woody's roundup barbecue there's a lot that could open this year and strolling into disney world on a whim with no plans in 2021 means you'll likely miss out on a lot of the new exciting stuff planning is your friend even though we just told you don't plan too much planning is still necessary all right number 13 waiting in lines you don't need to wade in okay lines are everywhere in disney world right now they are long and unwieldy and you want to avoid every line you can right mobile ordering may not be the line cheating hack it once was but disney has introduced mobile checkout that they're testing in some stores which lets you scan your items with your phone's camera pay in an app and skip the cashier all together if you're dining at table service restaurants take advantage of the walk up wait list reservations you can see if there are any last minute reservations nearby without having to wait and ask at the restaurant podium and remember to use mobile check-in for your table service meals there may not be anyone at the podium and you'll have to wait or there may be a line you can let them know you're there and ready to eat right in the app all right number 14 not getting to eat when you want to so about that mobile ordering this used to be our go-to hack to skip long lines waiting to order at counter service restaurants in the park well now everyone has to mobile order and you might not need to wait in a physical line but it also might be two hours before you can pick up your food so place your mobile orders at least an hour before you want to eat though keep an eye on crowd levels and adjust accordingly if it's super busy and you want to eat at a traditional meal time because those can sell out you actually have to choose the time you want to eat when you mobile order and only so many people can eat at a certain time so by the time you get hungry at 11 a.m the 12 p.m and 1 p.m slots might already be gone and you might have to wait till 2 p.m to eat your food so you're gonna want to plan ahead on that one place your mobile order earlier in the morning and you can choose pretty much any time you want to choose and number 15 the mistakes people make all the time we know you guys don't like when we repeat things here on dfb but for those of you who are new to our channel here are a few things we say all the time but are very important then you guys need to know about them these are all the mistakes people make on their disney trips even when it's not 2021 and you need to know about these and prepare for them number one don't get dehydrated it's harder to drink water when you're wearing a mask all day and you need to be stationary and socially distanced to take your mask down so set some timers plan water breaks do whatever you got to do you can get free water all over disney world just ask at quick service restaurants or anywhere with fountain sodas and they'll grab you a cup so stay hydrated you will feel so much better and you can actually keep yourself from getting really really sick all right keep your phone charged as well you'll need it for practically everything in disney world and you don't want to get caught without it so bring your own portable charger we used to always recommend fuel rods which you can swap out for a freshly charged charger at kiosks in the park but now they charge three dollars a swap if you didn't buy one years ago so it's not the best deal anymore just bring your own portable charger and break in those shoes you are gonna walk a ton and poor fitting shoes or new shoes your feet aren't used to are not gonna cut it save those cute new shoes for another occasion disney world is the place for your tried and true well worn in sneakers or your sandals that you know can get wet and dry really quickly you know the ones that maybe don't look as cute but they are reliable so there it is the stuff you under no circumstances should mess around with in disney world we love sharing these tips with you guys because we've all been there before these are real life mistakes our team has made and dealt with and we don't want you to have to work through the same headaches and missteps and if you've got any tips of your own if you've been in 2020 or 2021 and you've got some tips for our viewers please leave them in the comments they'll be super helpful thank you guys for listening and thanks for watching as always this is aj for disney food blog and we'll see you real soon you

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Keywords: disneyfood, disney, disney world, disneyland, disneyvideo, disneyvacation, food, disney parks, disney travel, disney tips, disney guides, disney planning, disney trip, disney how to, disney vlog, disney vlogger

Id: T7zpfb1DMj4

Length: 20min 49sec (1249 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 14 2021