25 Tricks to Make Disney World Easier

with all the new announcements and changes at disney world lately it's easy to get overwhelmed while planning your next vacation to the parks how much are you gonna have to rely on your phone what services are unavailable should you stay on or off disney property so many questions so little time but since you've made the time to come check out our channel we're going to try to help make things a little less stressful and a whole lot easier for you that's what this video is all about [Music] hey everybody it's aj from disney food blog and we're going to talk about the 25 tricks to make disney world much easier like i said disney's probably changed a whole lot since your last trip even if you went like last week but then again if you're planning for your first ever disney world vacation you might not know how different disney's become because well this is your first time experiencing it all and there's a lot to learn the tricks i'm going to talk about today are for everyone whether you're a newbie or a park veteran ready to navigate let's get started oh and by the way there are lots more tips and tricks where this came from subscribe to our channel we've got them all now don't worry about taking notes i know this is a really long one we wrote up all the important details to share with you just head to disney foodblog.com easier to get all the info i'm about to talk about completely free we'll send it right to your inbox and sign you up for our newsletter our newsletter subscribers are the first ones to know about major disney news so if you got a trip coming up you don't want to miss a thing okay the first two tips i have for you today we don't really talk about on the channel very much at all these are restaurant booking tips and because i've been booking a bunch of restaurants recently because i'm going to disney world a couple times in the next two months i have been down in the nitty-gritty kind of figuring out how to search for restaurant reservations to make sure i get the best possible variety of options so the first one i want to talk about is searching the restaurant name when making reservations so when it comes to snagging those dining reservations especially for coveted restaurants like cinderella's royal table and oga's cantina time is key you're going to want to save yourself as much time as possible when those reservations are released so first thing in the morning or if a new restaurant is opening up space 220 is coming up that's going to take reservations soon so this tip is going to help you and seconds can be the difference between getting a reservation and not getting it now if you're booking a dining reservation 60 days out which for those hot ticket restaurants you're gonna have to remember that online booking begins at 6am eastern on the dot and you will not be the only one awake that early to grab a reservation disney people are dedicated people you can book a reservation on the disney website or the my disney experience app remember the name of that app i'm going to talk about it a lot today and if you already have a game plan and know exactly what restaurant you're wanting to book search for that specific restaurant online or on the app instead of just clicking check dining availability that way you don't have to sift through all the other dining reservations that will appear when you're trying to make a reservation on the main dining page if you already know the one restaurant reservation you're wanting to make and the one you know you've got a book quick then you might as well search the one and save yourself the extra hassle i just did this with ohana the other day i'm booking an ohana reservation for my birthday dinner with a bunch of our dfb team down there in orlando i could only get a 9 30 reservation and 30 p.m and i wanted a little bit earlier so i keep checking but i go directly to ohana i search ohana in the website and then i find that restaurant specifically and i click check availability and i look for the time i want at that specific restaurant so i don't kind of say hey disney what's available at 8 30 p.m on september 1st and then it just gives me a gazillion restaurants and i have to scroll scroll scroll scroll scroll to get to ohana and by that time the reservation's gone hope that makes sense now you can also call to book reservations but that phone line doesn't open until 7am meaning everyone else who's booking online gets a jump on those tough reservations so i do recommend 6am on the dot get on your phone get on your my disney experience on the disney world website and book that restaurant okay the next tip for booking restaurants is going to make your life a little bit easier i hope is to search for more restaurant reservations so when you're browsing the dining reservations you'll notice the my disney experience app gives you these nifty little breakfast lunch and dinner tab options when in the little drop down menu and those are meant to help you book a reservation for specific gnoshing times but if you're not careful these tabs can be misleading the breakfast lunch and dinner tabs provide you with the prime times of each category meaning they're not going to show you those weird in-between time frames like two or three in the afternoon so if you're looking to book just any reservation at a specific restaurant you're not seeing any reservations available for lunch or dinner don't assume just yet that all the reservations have been taken you can find more reservation times by simply clicking on the specific restaurant time frames instead of just clicking those breakfast lunch or dinner tabs if you're cool with eating a meal during that odd time between lunch and dinner if you just want to go to ogus cantina and you don't care if you're going at 10 30 a.m then you may have a better chance of eating at a more popular restaurant by choosing a specific time another reason why eating around 2 or 3 p.m is great to consider well this is usually the peak of the day for disney meaning crowd levels for rides and attractions will be at their highest so what better way to avoid the long weights and shoulder to shoulder crowds than by going to a restaurant during that time frame they're usually not too crowded so yeah skip clicking on breakfast lunch dinner and just look for the specific time frame that you want okay now here's another really really great tip that's going to make your disney trip much much easier and it's something you can do before you even go you're going to want to make sure that disney world souvenir you're ogling over at the parks isn't already being sold online where you could go home and get it anytime you want so if you buy an item from shop disney you may run across an online deal that disney drops on its virtual customers every now and again so you could save money buying that precious item online rather than in person or like i said you can consider buying your souvenirs before your disney vacation think of how much backpack space you're going to free up by having all of your souvenir purchases completed before you even enter the parks and in this day and age my friends most of the stuff that they release in the parks is also being released on shop disney and sometimes they even have stuff on shop disney that they don't have in the parks so this can legit save you money especially if you hit shop disney during a time that they have a big sale going on twice a year they have their twice a year sale you can get huge discounts during that time frame so maybe snap up all of your park merchandise during those sales instead of buying it at disney world now this is a plan that may work better for you if you have little ones who want to get that overpriced disney bubble wand or plush doll now you can check out stores like five below who've been known to sell authentic wishables blind bags or hit up your local big box store and get those discounted bubble wands and disney themed snacks bubble wand prices at your big box stores are gonna run you around five to ten bucks but the one in disney parks are gonna cost you upwards of 25 so that's a little pricey i would say speaking of someone who's already bought two bubble wands and already has trashed two bubble wands yeah so check shop disney online check some of those other big box stores a lot of times you can find plushes and souvenirs that your kids are gonna love just as much as the stuff in the parks that you can kind of just sneak in put them in your backpack and by sneaking them in i'm not saying sneaking them past disney i'm saying sneak them past your kids put them in your backpack and pull them out when your kids are starting to ask for souvenirs now it's also a good idea to buy rain gear like ponchos and umbrellas outside the parks too since disney's gonna sell their items at an inflated price when it starts to storm and the demand is high for the grown-up disney fan i also recommend you swing by your local home goods or burlington coat factory if you have them in your area both stores have been known to get authentic overstocked disney merchandise some of our reporters have even found joffrey's coffee at these places a lot of disney stores are getting ready to close up shop around the us but if you have a disney outlet or if you're near one of the two disney character warehouses in orlando while on your disney vacation you can hit up those stores too for mostly cheaper access to authentic disney merch and more target stores around the country are getting those mini disney store in a store set up so you can find lots of authentic disney merchandise there as well but shop disney that's gonna be the place to find authentic this is sold in the parks disney merchandise get it before you go and then you've got it and you're ready to go you might be able to get that discount too okay that was a long one so i hope that all makes sense as well again all of these tips for you are going to make your life easier in disney world but there's a lot to say about each one of them there's a lot to explain about them so hopefully you're hanging in with us for the long ride here next tip is short and sweet and something that i've just recently had a run in with because my eight-year-old son is super into pins and pin trading at the moment so disney pin trading is a great little side quest you can participate in throughout your time in disney world and no i'm not going to tell you to become a pin trader i'm going to tell you to avoid wearing pin lanyards now hear me out many collectors wear lanyards to keep all their traders in place around their necks but this might not be the best way to do it pin lanyards are hectic especially if you're just relying on disney's standard mickey shaped pin backs to hold your pins in place these backs might be cute and mickey shaped but they are not super sturdy and they fall off all the time if your pins are clanking against each other while you're walking and they will if you're wearing them on a lanyard then they are very liable to fall off now we had a pin back fall off and then the pin basically drove itself right into my son's thumb and we had a really gross really yicky experience with that and we needed band-aids and we needed them fast and i'm sorry for the visceral reaction you're experiencing right now but it happens and you want to be prepared for it so if you're going to wear a lanyard invest in the sturdy butterfly clutches ahead of time to service your pinbacks you can find them in a bundle at pretty much any craft store for a cheap price if you want to protect your pins further consider investing in a window backpack maybe a waterproof and sturdy one these types of bags come in many styles and are super cute way to display your collection you can also display your mini ears in there too plus if a pin happens to come loose it'll just fall in your bag and not on the ground somewhere that you'll never see it again so if you're not big into the trading scene and just want to do a little pin swapping here and there think about only packing a few traders in a little pouch to keep in whatever bag you're taking to the parks believe me you don't want to be in the situation that we were in with all the band-aids is not good okay next tip we're gonna head back to food my friends you can book dining reservations now and by now i mean like now like when you're in the parks you don't necessarily have to book all your dining reservations 60 days in advance but don't take this advice the wrong way i still highly recommend the reservations just to secure the restaurants you know you're going to want to visit like don't gamble away a must-do restaurant for you and your travel group and assume you'll just be able to get a reservation the day of please don't that stresses me out this is just a fun little tidbit of info to let you know that some table service restaurants will be available for booking the day of your visit and disney's made it easier to figure out which ones if you are wandering through the parks and you are starving and you do not have a dining reservation and you don't want a mobile order or eat at a fast food restaurant open your my disney experience app go to check dining availability and pick the now option all available restaurants will show up with an estimated wait time if you don't see the restaurant you're wanting to dine at don't just check once and give up if there's nothing you want the first time around if guests don't make it to their reservation their table goes to the walk-up waitlist so keep checking and sometimes there's going to be restaurants that you don't expect to be on there sometimes there's very popular ones i don't think you're probably going to get cinderella's royal table as a walk-up reservation like now but there are several popular restaurants that you might be able to get so if you miss out on that 60-day reservation you're wandering through the park you're starving your group is starving and you want to sit down restaurant open my disney experience click the dining reservations and click now and it'll show you what's available for walk up wait list now let's talk allergies if you have any food allergies or specific dining accommodations you need to account for don't worry about not being able to eat at the parks disney's getting better and better about working with those with different dietary needs before your trip check out the online menus for the quick service and table service restaurants many of the allergy conscious menu items are provided there so you can plan what you're going to order ahead of time you can also request to see the allergy binders disney has at their quick service and snack locations these are supposed to be at every quick service and snack location are they always there sometimes it can be hard to get your hands on them but you can definitely ask these provide an organized list of all the specific ingredients you can find in each of the restaurant's meals although disney does its best to accommodate for different needs just note that these meals are not prepared in allergy friendly kitchens usually there's cross-contamination potential so always talk to a chef if you need to triple check that situation if you're hyper-sensitive to a certain type of food avoid the restaurants that specialize in it for example don't go to paddlefish in disney springs if you have a major shellfish allergy and again like i said always ask to speak to a chef cast members can get you a chef they're very very willing to come out and chat with you about your special dietary needs or your family's special dietary needs and what they can do for you in the kitchen all right now let's talk about mobile ordering mobile ordering isn't just for food you guys know all about mobile ordering for fast food restaurants right we talk about it all the time but mobile ordering is now for shopping too at select disney resort shops you can access the whole mobile checkout on your my disney experience app that means you don't have to wait in those long lines to pay for your purchases you can check out anytime you want wherever you want in the store major time saver and very easy too so how do you know if a store has mobile checkout well there should be signs plastered about the store whether it be in the windows or on the stands of end caps and these signs are going to have qr codes you can scan that'll take you straight to the mobile checkout process on your app okay so how does this work after you scan the mobile checkout qr code the my disney experience app is going to lead you to your virtual shopping bag press scan and item from there you'll be able to scan the barcode of the merchandise you're wanting to buy that item is going to be added to your cart immediately then you have the option of adding more to your virtual shopping cart or proceeding to the checkout as long as you have all your card info added to your app you should be able to check out almost instantly now after you check out online another qr code is going to pop up on your phone screen this is the code you'll need to show a cast member at the store's exit to prove you purchased your item or items on the app it's basically your receipt to get out of the store all right next tip is photo related you can find photopass cast members all over the parks with cameras to commemorate your trip but if you're gonna buy memory maker which is disney's whole system that lets you pre-buy all your pictures that you're gonna take around the parks you wanna definitely do your research so you know where you can have your picture taken where those specialty magic shots are and plan that into your trip a little bit so you don't miss out because you're spending a lot of money on that thing there are a few ways you can receive the pictures but the main option disney tries to sell you like i said is the memory maker that's going to give you all the digital copies of your photos for the entire trip you can either pay for memory maker ahead of time with that advanced price of 169 dollars for the whole trip or you can pay to purchase the entire trip's worth of pictures during or after your vacation for 199 you get 30 bucks back if you buy it in advance otherwise you can purchase photos individually and you can also ask a cast member to snap a photo with your own camera or phone as well if you decide to purchase memory maker do yourself a favor get your money's worth take advantage of those primary photo ops cinderella castle spaceship earth tree of life hollywood tower hotel chinese theater after that keep an eye out for cast members who are dressed in the signature garb those photopass photographers they're going to be wearing the off-white bucket hats beige vests and oh yeah they'll be carrying a real nice camera cast member photographers are super duper friendly so don't be afraid to request certain shots they'll give you directions on how to pose but if there's something particular you're wanting within reason of course throw the idea out there for the cast member because hey why not just remember they're not there to do a whole set of family photos for you they'll have other people waiting in line to get their pictures taken too so be respectful of their time by the way if you do want a private photo session with your own photographer disney's got those too they're called capture your moment sessions but this will be an added 50 bucks per 20 minutes on top of your memory maker price tag you can also request those magic shots from cast member photographers most of the time there's no need to ask they'll tell you to hold out your hand or act shocked towards something off in the distance and then later when you're scrolling your photopass photos on your my disney experience app you'll see a little disney character that the cast member has added into your shot oh and don't forget to track down those super zoom magic shots super zoom magic shots are going to take your picture from a far off location and literally zoom in on you and your travel party there are three zoom locations right now the first is in front of cinderella castle the second is by docking bay 7 and batu and the third is near expedition everest all right next tip to make disney world much easier for you is another one you can do ahead of time whether you're traveling with one other person or ten other people it's a good idea to set aside some time before your trip and figure out everyone's vacation priorities i don't know if you've ever traveled with a group of people before but it can get really heated really fast when people start disagreeing about what to do so even if you have a designated leader of the group who's in charge of making their reservations keeping tabs on the my disney experience app and mapping out your route for the day you got to remember this is everyone's vacation not just the group leaders because i know that group leaders you i'm not gonna lie now over dinner one evening your group can get together give their input on what restaurants rides and must-do attractions they'd like to experience on the trip make sure everyone's voice is heard and planning with your group ahead of time can prevent arguments during the trip trust me everyone's hot they're tired they're hungry the last thing you're going to want is an unnecessary argument to break out and make everyone more miserable but it happens all the time so a little bit of pre-planning can really really help all right now this one's really important you guys so stick with me here download the right apps you're going to be using your phone a lot on your disney world vacation meaning you're going to need to load those handy-dandy apps ahead of time to make your life so much easier now first and foremost honestly the most important download the my disney experience app i can't emphasize it enough this is the one that's going to hold your tickets your passes your dining plans your rise of the resistance boarding passes your memory maker photos your mobile ordering capabilities it's vital get it please or at least have a designated person in your travel party get it and be the tech expert of your group it's important to familiarize yourself with this one ahead of time too it holds a ton of functions so download it play around with it check the maps loaded on it befriend it in general personally i enjoy looking at wait times for rides on the my disney experience app even when i'm not at the parks sometimes i like make a fake mobile order i don't pay for it obviously but i just i'm like if i were in the park today what would i order what would i eat and that can be really really helpful actually if you are strange like me and kind of go through and make sort of a fake mobile order because then you get the idea of how to use the mobile order function and what you might want to eat when you're in disney world oh by the way checking wait times for about a week or so before your trip can help you get an idea of what it'll be like when you're there and when to avoid certain rides because of long lines we also collect all that info over at disney foodblog.com each week if you don't want to check yourself now another disney app you might want to download that's not as crucial but still good to have haves the play disney parks app this is going to be especially useful if you have kiddos with you this has a ton of games loaded onto it and they're attached to those specific disney rides that tend to rack up the highway times this one's a great way to help kids pass the time in queue lines for example if you've got an hour long wait for smugglers run in batu and galaxy's edge you can use the app to sign up for missions while in the queue line and you'll be able to do things like collect cargo hack into droids translate the arabesh language and engage in other fun star wars-y things while you're waiting for your ride on the falcon now aside from disney apps it might also be a good idea to download a few reliable other apps for example grab that weather app orlando's weather is pretty much impossible to pin down but apps like accuweather and weatherbug are basically required reading for our reporters in the parks they can provide you with a clearer and more detailed representation of orlando's daily weather forecast some of them do minute by minute forecasts so you'll know exactly when that rain is going to come it's a nightmare when you've just waited an hour to ride test track and then the storm comes and now test track is shut down so you're going to want to keep an eye on how far away is the rain because we know it's going to rain how far away is the rain and how long do i have to ride those outdoor rides so i don't get in line at the wrong time oh and have you heard of a little thing called the disney genie i don't know maybe you have this new thing and it's something you're gonna have to read up on if you're going to disney world after they launch it depending on when your disney trip is you're gonna want to download disney genie okay this is a complimentary i know you're laughing mobile planning service that creates customized itineraries for you and your travel party at least according to disney now there's also an option you can pay for called the disney genie plus which will grant you access to lightning lanes which is the updated version of disney world's fastpass system and disneyland's max pass system so for 15 bucks a day per person in disney world you can access disney genie plus which will allow you to select one ride at a time for one specific time frame where you can skip the standby line you can make multiple selections throughout the day but you'll only be able to make another selection once your previous lightning lane ride has been checked into now some rides won't be available for the standard disney genie plus feature such as seven dwarfs mine train rest of the resistance in remy's ratatouille adventure basically the popular rides the fancy rides as molly calls them over on all ears now instead you're gonna have to pay a separate fee to receive lightning lane benefits for those hot attractions yeah i know it's a lot to take in we've got a whole video breaking down this new huge announcement with lots more videos on the way to help you make sense of everything and decide if the upgrade is worth it for you disney genie is going to launch this fall we'll be covering all of it testing out what works and what doesn't so follow along with us subscribe to the channel here sign up for our newsletter the link is in the description of this video and follow us on social media okay next hot tip to make your disney world trip much easier use the single rider lines you're gonna run into line after line at disney world all day long so if you're wanting to go through all the rides you're gonna need a plan of attack there are a handful of rides throughout the disney world parks that offer what's called a single rider option these lines fill in open spaces left by odd numbered parties so if someone has three people in their party so they take up three seats and there's a fourth seat left open they'll fill that with a single rider now single rider is usually a much faster way to skip the queue but you likely won't get to ride with your group so if a ride off or a single rider consider breaking up your party to get through the line faster that way you can spend more time riding together on the other rides instead so attractions that have single rider lines are rock and roller coaster millennium falcon smugglers run test track and expedition everest and you can also use rider switch so if you're going to disney world with little tiny kids or someone who doesn't want to ride some of the bigger or more thrilling attractions then someone's always gonna have to be that designated person who skips out on those rides and stays behind however disney has a rider switch service that'll make sure everyone in your travel party who wants to ride is able to ride without waiting in the queue line multiple times now to use rider switch also sometimes called rider swap you'll need to find a cast member at the entrance of the ride let them know you're using rider switch so they can scan your magic band or park ticket then the writing will commence as per usual the first group of your party will wait in the normal queue line while the others wait behind with the kids or with the people who don't want to ride after the first part of your travel party rides and returns they'll play a game of tag team now it's their turn to watch the kids or stay with the people who don't want to ride while the second part of the group goes and rides only this time the second members will get their band or card scanned by the cast member and get to use the fastpass or lightning lane to shorten their wait time this isn't just for little kids either anyone who can't or doesn't want to ride or need supervision from an adult doesn't have to wait alone while the rest of the group rides all right now another really really important change that disney is making right now is to the disability access service if you or someone you're traveling with has a disability the disability access service is in place to make your weights for rides easier and generally make the trip more palatable to that person so instead of having to wait in the regular queue you can go up to a cast member stationed at the ride just like you would for rider switch and request a return time however now that the disney genie is coming this fall the disability access service program is being updated as well instead of having to wait until you arrive at the parks to set up your disability service you'll be able to video chat with a cast member 30 days in advance and select two attractions per day that you want to prioritize you must make those selections at least two days in advance you'll also be able to self select rides the day of and get one hour return times right in the app rather than having to stop by each ride or a kiosk more info and specifics will be coming out closer to the release date of disney genie so stay up to date on the latest news if you or your family member qualifies for those disability services now for those of you who have used the das passes before this is a very very different system so there's lots to learn about it and we're gonna keep you updated okay now our next tip is very very specific to a certain park consider visiting hollywood studios on a weekday generally speaking crowd levels are typically higher on the weekends in disney world which makes sense locals are off work and out-of-towners can use the weekend days to prevent having to use more paid time off but during the week at least for the time being we may see a slight dip in the crowd levels especially since school started back up for kids teens and college students so if you're planning a trip to disney for the near future take advantage of these lighter weekday crowds particularly for your disney's hollywood studios day if you're wanting to book a boarding pass for the e-ticket star wars attraction rise of the resistance you may have an easier time doing so now during the week and if you go to hollywood studios on a weekday before disney world's 50th anniversary celebration begins meaning from now until the end of september you're probably gonna have an even better chance at grabbing a rise of the resistance pass before all the boarding groups are snatched up for the day since many guests are now waiting to book their vacations once the 50th anniversary celebration begins this could be a sweet spot in 2021 there have even been a few days where boarding passes were available late into the evening and even once when rise of the resistance went to a standby line remember boarding pass distribution times for rise happen twice a day the first is at 7 00 am the second is at 1 pm so if you oversleep and miss that 7 am distribution time then the light weekday crowds will hopefully play in your favor and you'll be able to get that 1pm pass not a guarantee crowds aren't always that predictable but here's to hoping the odds are ever in your favor or so we don't mix up our movies may the force be with you okay another tip kind of along the same lines plan a trip around the beginning of next year if you're waiting to plan your disney vacation after the 50th anniversary kickoff on october 1st you might want to consider waiting for the initial hype to die down october 1st crowds are going to be intense how do we know because park pass reservations keep filling up in one way being there for the kickoff of disney's 50th is going to be a lot of fun you'll get to be one of the first to see the all-new golden character statues watch the new fireworks shows and magic kingdom and epcot ride remy's ratatouille adventure eat at the crepery we've done a whole video discussing all the different things that will be happening starting october 1st so check that out after this video but for now you just need to know that a lot will be happening at once which will make the parks busy busy busy if you want to experience the 50th anniversary festivities but you don't want to deal with the intense crowd levels just remember that the 50th anniversary celebration is literally gonna last 18 months yep disney's really milking this for as long as they can so as long as you get to disney within a year and a half after the initial kickoff you'll still be able to experience all the fun celebratory additions plus a lot of those other new rides well they're not gonna open till next year anyway my advice try going around january or february i like going in january and february even without any special celebrations going on because the crowds are so much lighter and it's not so hot that i want to rip my skin off now this is when the holidays are over people are returning to their regularly scheduled programs aka school work and real life nonsense plus the temperatures aren't sweltering like i said with my previous skin ripping off comment you can expect 70 to 80 degree days instead of upper 90s some days you may even need a jacket for those chilly evenings i have been known to wear gloves in disney world in january and february plus plus festival of the arts is happening in epcot around then you get to see so many artists around the world showcase try out some colorful cuisines and even add to the artwork by contributing to a giant paint by number winter tends to have lighter crowds meaning you're not only going to have an easier time navigating the all-new 50th anniversary editions but you also might run across some seasonal discounts and room deals at disney world resorts and hey those lines they're going to be shorter okay now let's talk hotels disney's going to provide you with some perks for staying on property because well they want to keep you on property because the longer you're on property the more food you're gonna buy souvenirs you're gonna buy etc but even value resorts can be pricey for what they're worth instead of an actual disney resort you might find it more worthwhile to book with one of disney's good neighbor resorts good neighbor resorts are not disney owned but they do partner with disney so they still provide a lot of the same benefits you'd find in a disney world hotel so why stay at one of these hotels when you could just stay in an authentic disney world resort because good neighbor hotels are usually going to be a lot more affordable depending on the time of year my personal favorite good neighbor hotels are the swan and dolphin now you may be confused a lot of people think they are official disney resorts they are on disney property and they are within walking distance to two disney world parks epcot and hollywood studios the land they reside on is owned by disney world but the resorts are part of the starwood hotel group marriott and weston hotels to be specific the swan and dolphin provide deluxe resort benefits without the deluxe prices plus they're going to offer the same types of disney world perks they are actually kind of in between official disney world resort hotels and good neighbor hotels for example the disney genie hotel perks that only disney world resort hotel guests have are going to be extended to the swan and dolphin hotels as well but not other good neighbor hotels so they kind of get benefits that not everybody does another good example starting in october people who are staying at a disney hotel would be able to enter the parks 30 minutes before opening those staying at a deluxe resort will get the added benefit of extended evening hours at select parks on select nights two extra hours in magic kingdom or epcot and guess what those extended evening hours will also be available for the swan and dolphin guests the swan and dolphin along with most of the other good neighbor hotels also provide complimentary transportation to and from the parks if you're interested in making your vacation just a little easier on your wallet you may want to check out disney's good neighbor hotels disney even has a link to them on their website so you don't have to worry about cheating on disney with some other hotel options i don't know why you would but maybe you do and you can even book these hotels directly through the disney world website again though swan and dolphin they're amazing i stay there all the time and i love that i basically get all the same perks of staying at the boardwalk or the beach club or the yacht club because these hotels are within walking distance to epcot hollywood studios the skyliner it's all right there so definitely definitely great options if you don't want to spend quite as much as you'll spend on a disney deluxe resort oh and by the way the new swan reserve hotel is opening up in september that's going to be an extension of the swan and dolphin resorts it's going to be beautiful i haven't been in there yet but i can't wait to check it out all right next tip to make disney world much easier don't be afraid to go against the crowd if you decide to arrive at a park for rope drop aka park opening don't feel like you have to hit up those hot e-ticket attractions right off the bat that's where everyone else is going we're talking seven dwarfs mine train at magic kingdom slinky dog at hollywood studios flight of passage at disney's animal kingdom and test track at epcot and unless you arrived before rope drop like an hour early the lines for these rides are still going to be lengthy because that's where all these rope droppers are going they want to hit up the biggest attractions first thing so they don't have to worry about waiting in line for them all day this isn't a terrible idea but if you're looking to ride as many rides as possible before the crowds fill in consider using that rope drop time to hit up the other rides around the park before those crowds distribute and make all the wait times increase i can tell you from experience i have power walked to test track first thing in the morning and it was already an hour wait by the time i got there that's not worth it go ride literally everything else in epcot and then go wait an hour for test track if you're going to wait an hour anyway hit up some of the rides in the morning that don't have such long lines first thing right off the bat and remember disney will still let you jump into the queues for rides until the park closes literally the minute the park closes so even if you jump in the queue 10 minutes before the end of the day disney's still gonna let you ride cast members will make sure to get everyone through the queue before they close down the ride so you're not only going to have a shorter line to wait in there at the end of the day but you'll also get some extra time in the park too now i know what you're thinking aj i don't want a rope drop and then stay the very end of the day i totally get it i get it viewer i don't want to do that either so take some time in the middle of the day go back to your hotel take a swim have a nice meal take a nap and then go back and ride the top attraction last thing in your day i know great idea right that's why you watch these videos all right next up on our list of tricks to make disney world much easier study the maps for all you vacationers who are about to go to disney world for the first time this one's for you disney world's a really big place it's not just magic kingdom it's four parks 25 resorts an entire shopping district two water parks several golf courses and a partridge in a pear tree jklol studying up on these places ahead of time is going to save you some time when it comes to navigating your way around i know we've all walked into a theme park and not known our way around and just stood there in the middle of the road staring at the map and not knowing where to go first we've all done it don't do it in disney world y'all it's not worth it you're spending too much money to be there to waste your time looking at the map look at that map ahead of time it's right there on your my disney experience app you don't want to waste precious time trying to find bus stops restrooms or must-do attractions disney world provides physical park maps and virtual park maps in the my disney experience app so don't worry if you don't memorize all the maps this isn't school this is an escape from school and if you're having trouble finding a certain location while you're at the parks ask a cast member for help that's what they're there for to help but if you want to avoid asking cast members for every little location and wasting a ton of time looking for a bathroom on the map you got a few other options readily available to help you figure out the lay of the land yourself spend some time before your trip learning where everything is it's going to be so so helpful when you finally arrive next tip to make disney world easier and i'm not even joking with this one you guys get enough sleep do not underestimate the exhaustion you are going to experience after a full day at walt disney world your feet are going to kill you even with those high quality shoes of yours you're going to feel sticky and gross after sweating all day the relentless sun's gonna drain you by the end of the day you will be wiped out and you probably despite our warnings did not drink enough water so you're gonna be totally dehydrated as well so yeah plan to be tired because even if you have the perfect itinerary all laid out for your travel party your exhaustion can throw a kink in that so consider doing half park days instead of full park days especially if you're vacationing with kiddos who might need an afternoon nap and trust me it's not just going to be the little ones in your party wanting a nap after your day is all said and done or don't stress too much about getting to the park right when it opens sleep in a bit if you need to it's much more beneficial for you to catch up on your beauty rest than to wake up at the crack of dawn and make it to rope drop and if that wave of sleepiness smacks you across the face while you're in the midst of your fun-filled park day don't be afraid to admit to the rest of your party that you need a breather slip into one of the shows or grab a place to sit while you munch on an afternoon snack in an ac restaurant even stopping for a few minutes and rehydrating is gonna do wonders for you so don't push yourself till you're on the brink of tears as the title of this video says go easy on yourself okay now when disney genie launches and we all have to get up at seven a.m every single morning of our vacation we will have to rethink this one won't we my dear viewers but for now get some sleep all right now in case i didn't emphasize it enough in my last tip disney is exhausting so we're gonna talk about a walking regimen let's say you do stay in one of the four parks from rope drop to park closure you're probably gonna be taking around 20 to 25 000 steps per day sometimes our park reporters even clock in with 30 000 steps if you're not used to that kind of physical activity then disney could be difficult for you so start practicing ahead of time start small make sure to get in those recommended 10 000 steps daily take walks on your lunch break stroll on your gym's treadmill use the uphill feature to practice walking around animal kingdom because that park is pretty much all inclines use the stairs when you can make the rounds at your local mall however you can get in those daily steps get them in that way your body will be more prepared for the physical exertion that's going to happen when that disney trip commences one of our readers even sent us a super sweet message saying all our proactive walking tips help them get into shape and lose 30 pounds before their disney world trip so if you got to use disney as your fitness motivator do it all right now here's a weirdly specific tip for you if you take an umbrella with you to disney world make sure to take it out of your backpack ahead of time before walking through the park's automatic security check this isn't major or anything but it's a huge nuisance if someone or multiple people in your party have to get pulled aside for a more thorough bag inspection since the umbrellas sometimes trigger the security check same goes for large phone chargers take those out of your backpack and carry those big boys through security too that way when the security check is triggered the security cast members will see what specifically caused it to be set off just another time saver tip you are welcome and yes when you see me at the park carrying my umbrella and my phone charger out of my bag through security you can say hi and i will say hi back all right next tip this one's a little random but again we're going to tell you everything consider bringing your doggo don't have anyone to watch your pooch while you're on vacation you may want to book them their own getaway at disney world because yes disney world does have a pet hotel best friend's pet care is a resort for your pup located on disney world property they're not paying us we're just letting you know that they're there so while you're at the parks your dog will be living large in a space with seventeen thousand square feet of air-conditioned indoor space ten thousand feet of outdoor space and a dog park and guess what this best friend's resort isn't limited to dogs cats and pocket pets as described on the disney world website can also be housed at the best friend pet care resort while you're away just no exotic or venomous species i think they they specified a few resorts on disney world property are also considered dog friendly as long as your dog has all their required vaccines is leashed while outside and is in general well-behaved disney's art of animation resort port orleans resort riverside yacht club resort and the cabins at fort wilderness all have dog friendly accommodations sorry no kitties or pocket pets there when you arrive at your hotel expect a complimentary pluto's welcome kit in your room to greet you and your furry best friend which will include items such as a mat bowl an id tag disposable bags puppy pads and a map to show all the different dog walking areas around your hotel if you decide this sounds like an awesome deal just keep in mind you'll have to pay 50 bucks per night on top of your hotel fee to let your pet stay in the room with you and pets can't be left alone for extended periods of time so make sure to budget that into your vacation fund ahead of time next big tip especially right now you guys bring multiple masks yep disney's masking policies change frequently but around the time of this video the masking policy for indoor locations still remains in effect if you are unvaccinated you will be asked to wear a mask at both indoor and outdoor locations around the parks disney isn't checking vaccination status but does expect people to follow that rule so my advice pack many masks i am already stockpiling for my trips here in september and october if one of your masks gets sweaty wet and gross it's gonna be hard to wear and they will get sweaty wet and gross and if you accidentally lose it on a ride then you're gonna have to purchase one of disney's and there's really no need to spend your souvenir money on another mask if you can avoid it unless the mask is part of your souvenirs because admittedly some of those are pretty cute that being said it's still a good idea to pack multiple masks also pack multiples of different types of masks too cloth masks and paper masks that way you're not stuck with one texture throughout the entire trip that you may find uncomfortable later on if a mask starts rubbing the wrong way you're going to want to switch to a different one they're just like shoes now the mask that works for you back home may not be the mask that works for you in florida with all the humidity and rain and just sweatiness sometimes certain masks work better than others so just plan to pack multiples and figure out what the right fit is for you i personally really like cloth masks when i'm in disney world because they soak up all the sweat pretty well but i always change them out as well and finally this huge tip is going to make your trip so much easier get a dfb guide if you need a guide that will provide you with the latest tips tricks taste tests in disney world i know a pretty awesome team that can hook you up go over to our dfv store at dfbstore.com and order the dfb guide to walt disney world dining 2021 we're going to provide you with restaurant reviews of every single restaurant in disney world recommendations tips updated dining info to make your disney world vacation that much easier this thing is 800 pages of our team's knowledge i pour everything into these guides so you're covered for anything you might encounter on your vacation we also have snack guides for each park epcot festival guides guides to the holidays at disney world and more and all of these guides come with a full money back guarantee so if it's not right for you you can get a refund no problem we have really really nice customer service people and our youtube viewers get a special promo code to use at our shop enter code youtube to get a discount so relax read up and let us help you with that planning and there you have it tricks to make your disney world vacation much easier and if i were to summarize this info for you today i'd say make sure you're planning ahead impromptu trips are great and all but it's so difficult to waltz into disney world without a game plan nowadays especially with all the latest changes that have already been made and the ones that are predicted to happen in the near future so to make things easier on yourself and to make your disney world experience worth the hefty cost plan plan plan and let us help you along the way and remember you can get all the info i shared here in a quick cheat sheet on pdf by heading to disneyfoodblog.com thank you for listening i know this was a long one we really appreciate you hanging with us through the whole thing i hope this has been super helpful as always this is aj for disney food vlog and we'll see you real soon you

Channel: DFBGuide

Views: 191,160

Rating: 4.9523683 out of 5

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: ArrRURMYMZI

Length: 43min 51sec (2631 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 30 2021