Ultimate Guide To Disney World Resorts Orlando

So Disney world is somewhere that most kids (and adults) dream of going to. So you want to make sure that you get the most out of your time at Disney. Hopefully, with this Ultimate Guide to Disney World Orlando, you will be able to make the most out of your time! A lot of first-timers go home from there holiday saying “I wish I had done..”. Now to make sure that that isn’t you check out the list of top tips and ultimate guide to Disney World Orlando below and get the most out of your first trip to Disney world!

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First of all there are things you can do at home before you go:

Download the “my Disney experience” app from the app store

First, create a free account. This is super fun you can customise your account with your favourite characters. This will be one of the main things you need to use for planning a successful trip. It gives you maps, real-time queue times, park hours, showtimes and much more including shopping and dining. Check out my Disney experience for full details of what functions the app will give you! 

Customise your magic bands

Magic bands are what you use to store all of your passes on. Staying in a Disney hotel your room key and your tickets will be added to your magic band. On the “my Disney experience” app you can pick your colour and add your name to your magic band before you go. They will be given to you when you arrive at your Disney hotel.

Check to see if your tickets include “memory maker”  if not make sure to add it! 

If this is the case it’s easy! memory maker is attached to your magic band, so once you are in the parks and you have a photo taken or a ride photo all you have to do is have your magic band scanned and it will be downloaded to your “my Disney experience” app. These sometimes take a while to appear on the app, but you can download them straight from the app to your phone. They stay on the app for 30 days from the last day of your holiday.

Make a plan ahead of time

There is so much to do at Disney. You need to think ahead of time to make the most of it. Have a plan. Are you going to park hop every day to fit all the big rides in? Are you going to save the weekends for shopping? Try and make a rough itinerary beforehand so you can get straight into the fun rather than trying to figure out where you need to go and getting lost! 

Fast passes

You can book your fast passes 60 days in advance if you are staying in a Disney resort and 30 days in advance if you are staying off sight. So be sure one you have made your itinerary to add your fast passes before you leave. You have 3 fast passes a day so use them wisely! Mainly book them for the big rides as they always have the longest queue times.

Make sure to pack comfy shoes!

You will be doing a lot of walking every day and shoes become uncomfortable very quickly if you are wearing the wrong shoes…trust me…make sure that the shoes you pack are super comfy to avoid having to go back to the hotel in pain in the middle of the day.

Pack a rain mac!

When you go to Disney world you can be hit by rain at any point. You don’t want this to spoil your day. So pack a poncho or mac that you can keep in your bag, put on and then carry on with the fun. Same goes for bags. Make sure you pack a waterproof bag if it doesn’t fit under your poncho so your tech and gifts doesn’t get ruined. Check out this one in the link below!

Don’t forget to pin it for later!

When you arrive 

Get free badges!

When you arrive at your Disney hotel, if it’s your first time, birthday or honeymoon, remember to tell the cast member who’s checking you in. They will give you free badges to fit the occasion that you are going for! A lot of people don’t know this so they are a neat addition to pop onto your jacket or bag! 

Request a free wakeup call 

Is there is a set time you want to be up every day?. Maybe to be on the first bus to the park, ask reception for a free wakeup call and Stitch or Mickey will call you to wake up in the morning! Pretty magical.

Keeping on top of fast passes

Once you have arrived you can keep refreshing the app to see if people have cancelled there fast passes. They tend to refresh at midnight so if you are up, always check at this time to get the best chance of getting a fast pass if you have missed booking one for the next day. We use this all the time for breakables.

Extra tip: Check queue times when parades are on. They will always be shorter, you can also check the chalkboard near the fountain in Hollywood studios for queue times of all the rides in that park.

Have souvenirs delivered straight to your hotel

There’s nothing worse than going on a shopping spree in the parks then seeing there is a 5 minute wait time for your favourite ride but you have loads of bags of shopping. When you are in the shops, ask the cast member to have it delivered to your hotel. You can then collect your goods from reception once you are back!

Disney buses

Disney buses are great. They are a free way to get around the park as you are staying in a Disney hotel. They collect you from the front of your hotel and take you to the different parks. Bare in mind though these buses get VERY crammed so you might have to stand up or wait for the next one to come along in peak times. If you are park hopping all day you have to take a bus to a hotel before getting on a bus to a different park. This is a cool way to see more of the Disney complex and grab collectables so not all bad! We love doing this. We can get a sneak peek into what other hotels we might want to stay in.

Don’t forget your pennies

If you have spare pennies you can press them to create cool souvenirs. There are over 80 locations across the parks and hotels. Don’t forget to check in the hotel receptions when you are waiting for busses. You can also buy nice pennies collection books from most stores in the parks and Disney springs, so you don’t loose them and you can display them once you get home.

Pin trading

You will see pins in every shop throughout the parks. They are awesome keepsakes. You can get collectable pins and even blind packs. Cast members will be walking around with pin tabs or on their lanyards. If you like one of there pins better just ask them to trade! Make sure to keep an eye out for trade posts. People tend to use Epcot to trade. There will always be people around the trade tables. Also, check out around the pin stalls people will be looking to trade here too!

Extra tip: If you are really into pins and pin trading, buy pins at the outlet stores for a few dollars or take pins you don’t want anymore especially for trading so you always have some on you.

Get free refills!

Drinks can become really expensive especially if you are a group or family. Remember to bring a refillable bottle and ask for ice water when you are in any quick service restaurant if you don’t have a bottle they will also give you a cup of ice water for free.

Free mini golf!

This is something a lot of people overlook. When you buy the ultimate package you will get one round of mini-golf per day. These are Disney’s Fantasia Gardens or Disney’s Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course. Theses are a great way to break your day up. This is a top tip for the ultimate guide to Disney World Orlando.

Make reservations early!

Whether this is a character breakfasts of just what you are having for dinner that night, don’t forget to make your reservations early. Book any additional excursions or experiences months in advance to avoid disappointment. You can also use the “my Disney experience” app to order and pay for food in advance then skip the line to collect your food, this makes for more time enjoying the parks! 

Hopefully, this ultimate guide to Disney World Orlando will help you with your first or even next trip! I hope these tips will help you have an easier Disney trip so you spend less time getting lost and more time having fun! 

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