TIPS AND TIDBITS TO NAVIGATE THE WORLD

You've saved and waited and saved some more, now it is finally time for your trip to the Walt Disney World Resort!  Hopefully,you've had  your Ears to Adventure Concierge Travel Planner already make all of your daily itinerary plans and dining reservations, but once you get there, there are some tips and tidbits to help you navigate your way around the World and make the most of your time.

WHAT PARK ON WHAT DAY?

I know alot of Disney veterans will tell you to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours and I believe that to be true, but in a different way.  I have found that if you go to the park in the morning that had the late evening hours the night before, you will find yourself in a much less crowded park than any other. For example, if Magic Kingdom's late night hours were Monday night, go to that particular park on Tuesday morning. Most everyone else will be taking advantage of the late hours in to the night on Monday (since this is what alot of tips suggest) and they will be too tired or ready to move on to another park the next day. Some evenings, there are no parks that have the late hours; I would suggest taking advantage of the early morning park hours  the next day but once you have seen or done your favorite attractions, head out for the day to another destination or take your daily break  because that park will get crowded as the day goes on.

You've entered the park of your choice, now what?  At Magic Kingdom, you will see characters out and about and loooooong lines for autographs...do your best to keep walking. You will notice most of the crowd at the end of Main Street will be going right....you want to go LEFT towards Adventureland. By the time you've met up with the crowd that went right, you can have Adventureland, most of Frontierland and can be working on entering into Fantasyland. Now if you have small children, you may want to go straight to Fantasyland since they will enjoy those rides the most.  Fantasyland is becoming so much larger and now with two Dumbos and the interactive queu, it is more a matter of preference when to get there than it is to beat the crowds.  Don't forget, when you get to the Haunted Mansion and enter the stretch room, always stand under the picture of the lady with the parasol....you won't be sorry when that door slides open!

Disney Studios - With the popularity of Toy Story Mania, it is imperative to get to the Studios as early as possible, preferably right when or before they open.  Once you enter the park, head directly down Hollywood Blvd. and bear to the right at "the Hat". Head down the stairs and bear left and you will come upon Pixar Studios and the first attraction is Toy Story Mania. If you are really early, you can walk right up and get that all important fast pass and chances are the standby line is not long at all and you may want to just jump in that line.  This way, you can ride it twice, once in the stand by line and once when your fast pass return time arrives. If you have the fast pass time to kill, try looking around in One Man's Dream...you don't want to stray too far unless your fast pass time is much later in the day; if you get there early enough though, you will not have a  long time to wait.  Remember, when you make your way over to Tower of Terror, once you enter the library, you want to position yourself near the sliding door (usually opposite the TV) so that you can be ahead of the crowds entering the boiler room.

EPCOT -  Of course  the first thing you see as you approach Epcot is Spaceship Earth.  Most everyone sees that "big golf ball" and if you've never been here before, you want to ride it first! DON'T! Keep walking to the right towards the Fountain of Nations.  As you will see later in the day, Spaceship Earth will be a walk on (since everyone rode it first thing in the morning).  Your goal is to head right at the Fountain of Nations  over to The Land Pavilion to get a fastpass for Soarin; it won't be hard to find, the crowds will be heading there if they did not stop at Spaceship Earth.
 This is another example of grabbing that fast pass for Soarin  as soon as you can and possibly getting in the line immediately afterwards.  This is the lowest this line will be all day and you will see that the walk TO the ride is the longest part of the line this early in the day!  You can use your fast pass a couple hours later and this way you get to experience it twice without much wait at all.   There is enough in this pavilion to keep you busy in the meantime....the Land Boat Ride and The Circle of Life Movie are great attractions usually with very little wait.  The Sunshine Seasons Food Court is also the best counter service restaurant in Epcot, in my opinion.

ANIMAL KINGDOM - Depending on your party's personal preferences, you will want to  head first to the Safari in Africa; turning left at the Tree of Life (get your pictures later) and you will walk straight over the bridge and in to Harambe; the fast pass distribution is to the right under cover. Here again, you can usually grab that fastpass for later and then hop in the standby line without much wait.  This  works well here because no two safaris are alike and you will experience something different both times you ride.

If thrill rides are more your preference instead of the safari, instead of turning left at the Tree of Life, you will want to go right and head towards Asia.  You can't miss Expedition Everest! You can decide whether you want to ride this one twice or not!  If you do, you can grab a fast pass and/or jump in the stand by line OR you can enter the single rider line.  I highly suggest riding Everest BEFORE lunch!





These are just a few of the many park tips that will help you make the most of  your day.  I usually tour the parks using these tips unless I am there for an extended period and have more time to come and go.

Please let me know if you have any questions or tips to add.  I love hearing about other guests experiences and what works for them!


Donna @ Ears to Adventure!