As a majority of you know I did just get back from a 9 month internship at Disney World, while I was there not only picked up a lot of work experience but I also got to pick up a lot of park experience as a guest. I spent at least 25 hours a week in the theme parks, riding rides, trying food and watching shows. So I learned quite a bit about how things run from the inside out, and I thought I would share a few of my best tips for planning you Walt Disney World Vacation:
DINING PLANS
I would say I know more about the dining plans than an average human being or even an average Disney Cast Member. The dining plan was the number one thing people would ask me about at check in and it was the number one thing I would hear people asking about at the parks.
Dining plans are very confusing but easy to sell. The concept of a dining plan is that you are essentially paying for all of your food in advance thus making your Disney vacation closer to an all-inclusive. Which sounds great! But what they don’t explain to you is how and where you use it and what it provides you.
While I don’t intend on diving into exactly what each dining plan entitles you to (seems like it might be good for another post?) I will share some of my favorite tips:
- Snack credits tend to pile up and you don’t have to limit yourself to using your (2) snack credits per day, your credits are all pooled and you can use as many or as little as you would like at a time.
- Quick service credits are a little easier to get rid of than table service because you will not need a reservation. For table service you most likely will.
- If you have an excess of snack credits at the end of your stay go to any Disney shop and purchase non perishable snacks that you can take home with you!
- Utilize snack credits if you are staying during food and wine, they work at some of the booths.
PHOTOPASS
Photopass are what the Cast Members taking pictures around the park are called. Memory maker is what you purchase to get access to those photos during your stay. Here are my tips for getting your moneys worth:
- Find out if the pass you are purchasing comes with memory maker, my moms season pass did and it was awesome for getting family photos!
- If you are in the military go to shades of green (military resort) and ask about purchasing the memory maker there, they occasionally run deals!
- Use it as much as possible, take photos with things you wouldn’t even think of wanting, those are always the ones that mean the most.
I love memory maker and think it is an awesome way to document a vacation!
STAYING ON PROPERTY
My final tip for today is to stay on property if you can. At Disneyland (a whole different story) you don’t really need to stay on property to have the same experience. At Disney world it is not optional. On property resorts are so much more convenient I try to get everyone to do it. Here are my tips for getting your moneys worth at an on property resort (and trust me it’s a lot of money):
- Don’t get a package, I have found you can almost always get a better deal if you get everything seperate.
- Utilize the pool! As a former recreation cast member I cannot stress how many times I heard “my favorite part of the trip was the pool”. Honestly the Disney pools are so much fun, and there are games and prizes and pool parties your kids will love it.
- Get the refillable mugs! You can’t refill them at the parks but you will definitely get your moneys worth after a couple refills.
So those are some of my tips (I have quite a bit haha) but let me know if you want to know about anything specific! I wish I was going back today!