Walt Disney World Tidbits

I named my blog “What Time Is The 3:00 Parade” because it was so characteristic of us. None of us could keep track of time, recall the time when we just checked it, or remember when something was due to start, be it a Fastpass or a show time. I am normally pretty aware of what time it is.  I guess it is just the emotion of Walt Disney World.

What totally surprised me,  is that apparently Bobby’s GPS in his phone, car and boat have completely ruined his sense of direction. I am not joking!!  He was always wrong about where we were, or what direction we needed to go in, even walking back to our resort room. It was quite comical to me.  To his credit, he was correct about two times, at the very end of the trip, when I was wearing down. Maybe.

Disney gives you special celebration pins if you ask. We requested “1st Visit”  and “I’m Celebrating” for graduation.

We carried nuts and granola bars in our backpack. Well, to be fair, Bobby carried the backpack. But, since there weren’t many long lines to get through, or hot weather to endure, there really were no worries.

My very best tip that I got from reading a blog, was that you can ask for free ice water with your meals or whatever.  I think I mentioned earlier that we wanted to be budget minded with food and drink. We didn’t want to have big meals anyway, because then you don’t feel good, and we had alot of theme park to cover! Nevertheless, a fountain soda costs nearly $2.50-$3.00 and I consider that reasonable. Have you seen the price of a soda at the movie theater??

Another good tip I got from my book was do not “follow the masses,” which I guess is just human nature.  Even though we generally had a plan, I was conscious of this tip and corrected us a few times.  It also came in handy when I would catch us following Bobby, and then realized we were heading in the wrong direction!

Also, as far as security checking bags, they move from right to left (each side) or maybe it is left to right. I have trouble with left and right.  Regardless, once you recognize the procedure, you can always get through quicker by looking for a shorter line. One day,  I saw a very long, single line of people on one side until someone figured out they could use the other side, as well.

We stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort. I liked the idea of the easy boat ride into Downtown Disney.  Plus, my friends, Kathleen and Pat, and some of Bobby’s coworkers, had stayed there. It is a moderately priced resort (the next up from value.) It rates high with guests, according to my book. However, I really did not like having to pay an extra $25 each night just because we had a 3rd adult, Elizabeth, in our room (that sleeps four anyway!) Regardless, the resort had a gorgeous setting and was meticulously maintained, as is everything in Disney World, even the trashcans. You could eat off of the trash cans. Really. Obviously, we didn’t spend anytime in our room, other than to sleep and shower.  You can sleep at a lesser priced resort, and still have dinner or visit the higher priced resorts.

I would have liked to check out the Carribean Beach Resort. We almost stayed there. I would have also liked to check out the value resort, Art of Animation, because it is newly themed with Cars, The Little Mermaid, Nemo and The Lion King. Elizabeth really wanted to stay there. No Surprise.

We didn’t ride any “wet rides” and one of the big water parks was closed. I wouldn’t have minded checking out the opened one.  In addition, the resorts have fun pools and activities.  Our resort food court is highly rated too. The create your own pasta was good. They also had create your own omelet or yogurt parfait.

The book I purchased was awesome for reference! Initially, I loved the idea of using their “touring plans” and had planned to do so.  But, the book also stated that a touring plan really isn’t necessary during the off season and suggested  following the touring plan the first 4 hours or so.   The idea is to get the most rides and attractions in without long waits. It’s based on research, crowd levels, how rides load and unload, etc. There are numerous plans, based on who you are touring with, whether you are staying a half day, whole day, two days, etc.  For me, it simplified learning about which rides or shows we would like. Obviously, anything with a FastPass.  But, I had always considered Disney World to be a complex place, expensive place.  I didn’t want regrets, not knowing if we’d go again, and I also didn’t want to spend alot of time planning the vacation. I HATE THAT. That’s work.  I just want to get there & go! This book had put it all in my fingertips.

Although we did visit during the off season, there were indeed lines! Some popular rides would be an hour or two hours long! I don’t want to mislead you. We didn’t have those issues because we arrived early & familiarized ourselves with, but didn’t necessary follow exactly, the tour plans. The kiddo rides are indeed long–Peter Pan, Dumbo, Pooh. I have no idea why parents and children want to endure that– for a 2 minute ride. But, that seems to be the situation. The Pooh ride was adorable though.

Probaby most importantly, because of the book, we had very little, “well, what ride should we do now?  or “where should we eat?” For us, I just think thats a good thing. Before our vacation started, I decided which park we would visit each day, based on crowd levels and Extra Magic Hours. It worked out perfectly, Super Heros mid week, the slower paced Animal Park at the end. But, I’m sure it would have worked out perfectly regardless. It is Disney World, afterall.  At the parks, we always knew our next 3-4 activities, a ride, a show or meal. I also knew where we (okay, I mean where I)  wanted to eat at each park before we left home. That may sound silly but it was real easy. I wanted to stick with what is referred to as quick service dining (no waitress basically) and I used my book to note lower priced places and to see where people liked to eat. So, I would know of 2-3 eateries in each park. In my opinion, it’s more overwhelming to be there and be surrounded by choices and not know what is good or what things cost or what may be around the corner. No problems. Elizabeth would ask, “Where are we eating today?” The other wonderful thing about the book was that it lists how long the ride or show is ( it could be 2, 8, 18, 30 minutes) That helps with the planning, obviously.

The book also has a website and a mobile app, not surprisingly. So, your touring plan can be on your phone, as well as how long the wait in line is and other helpful information. For example, a ride was down and we used the app to find out when it was working again and also to find out Fastpass return times, even show times, etc. Most of the time, since we were visiting during an off season anyway,  we just used it out of curiosity to keep up with how lines were doing.  I know there are lots of similar apps, but I’d say this is the best. Touring Plans .com and the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2013.  A new book is released every Septemeber, I think.

As far as food (why do I always want to talk about food?) with the quick service dining eateries, I’d say everything was about $10.  Somethings may have been $8 or $12, but $10 seemed typical. There are also dining plans based on points, I think I mean credits, that I just didn’t have the energy to deal with or learn about. I hear there are lots of choices and plenty of food, but I just want to do what I want. I guess people like them because they have their food plans/expenses paid for ahead of time. I know of a blogger that evaluated it and determined she was no better off. Perhaps that blogger was misguided. Supposedly, the quick service dining plan amounts to about $40 day. I do see alot of dining plan “sales” that seem like good deals if you have younger children in your group.

Same food experience at the Universal Parks, which my book also covers. I’m pretty sure eveyone of Disney’s menus is online. I feel like when you use the Disney’s travel company, they like to make you think you need park hopper tickets and that you have to get those dinner reservations made. But, you may not need park hopping and you can eat all week long without any dinner reservations!  Reservations are for what is considered table service, which you may indeed prefer.  But, we still sat at tables.

You already know we did have other dining experiences, like the fine dining with fireworks, Be Our Guest Restaurant, Pastamore before Blue Man Group, Raglan Road Irish Pub,  and the princess breakfast. By the way, Elizabeth bought her boyfriend, Bryan, a cookbook. It turned out to have the recipe for the goat cheese ravioli she ordered at the restaurant, which made her mouth water.

I’d say the shops were expensive, but lots of cute stuff, naturally.

Thanks for reading and have a magical day.