Jul 10
24
WDW Vacation Planning Tips: Part 5
Today we conclude our look at WDW Vacation Planning Tips for the rookie and veteran, with three things that are usually overlooked, and not usually taken into consideration when looking ahead to Disney. We’re going to cover where to buy your tickets, making sure you know how to use your camera and finally the importance of Twitter and various Disney forums/communities on the internet and how they can really help with planning! So without further ado, lets get down to it and hopefully we can give you some information that you may not have known before and save you some time, trouble and cash down the road!
Buying your Disney Tickets:Now its no secret, when it comes to Disney tickets, if you think its simply “Buy ticket, go to Disney”, you are sorely mistaken. Disney sells what they call “Magic Your Way” Tickets, which is your basic ticket, that has a flat rate based on how many days you want, and then can add “extras” onto the ticket to make them customizable for your particular situation. You can add the option “Park Hopper” which lets you go to more than one park per day, also available is the “Water Parks and More” which gets you into Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, Disney Quest, and Wild World of Sports, and finally they offer a “No Expiration” option. Each option increases your overall ticket price, however the more days you purchase on a ticket, the larger the savings for you. You also have the option of Annual Passes and Premium Annual Passes if you are going to visit WDW multiple times in a year, however we are not going to cover those. (If you do want to know more about WDW’s AP’s, head over to the Official Disney Passholder site.)
OK so you get the basics figured out.. now where to get the tickets? Sure you can walk up to the parks and buy a ticket at the front gate (and stand in a very long line), or you can purchase them through Disney when you book a vacation package (Tickets and Room, with the option of a Dining Plan), your local Disney Store, the lobby of your WDW resort or any other various Disney approved ticket retailer. You can buy tickets from outside Disney, however I urge extreme caution when dealing with things like Ebay, and other websites. It is possible to get scammed there and Disney won’t do anything to refund your money. Now there is one place that is outside of Disney that I have bought Disney Tickets from. Undercover Tourist is an authorized seller of Disney and other theme park tickets, and if you are just looking for tickets, this is the way to go. They offer tickets at a discount (anywhere from 5 bucks up to 20 or more, per ticket), and will ship them directly to you at home, and if your lucky you can catch one of their specials and really save some cash.
If you get a paper ticket, (and this one cannot be overstated enough) MAKE SURE YOU RECORD THE NUMBERS ON THE BACK OF YOUR TICKET, AND STORE THEM IN A DIFFERENT PLACE THAN WHERE YOUR TICKETS ARE STORED. If you lose your paper ticket, this is the only way to get Disney to replace your tickets, and is your proof. You can take a picture, scan, or simply write the information down, just make sure you can read those numbers.
Your Camera and Disney: This may seem like something simple, but I’ve heard many people complain about not getting the kind of pictures they were wanting at Disney, or hearing them complain that their camera isn’t working the way it should. If you buy a new camera before your trip, make sure you spend a lot of time tinkering with it and making sure you know how to get the kinds of photos you want in various scenarios. Inside, outside, no light, little light, huge explosions, whatever! Disney has many things worth taking pictures of in every kind of setup you can imagine, so make sure you know which settings on your cameras are the best for each situation, and I promise you, the photos you bring home will be wonderful. You guys with video cameras.. same rules apply. Make sure you know what does what on that thing! Last thing you want is to be recording something you can catch once a day (Like Illuminations), and hit the wrong button and either stop the recording or totally goof it up (I’m guilty of this LOL).
And finally, Twitter & Disney Communities/Forums: If your a Disney fan who has never been to the parks, or if you have been to Disney World hundreds or thousands of times (Lou Mongello, Len Testa, Matt Hochberg.. looking at you guys here!), it doesn’t matter. There are many incredible people and websites and forums run by fans of Disney, that are great places to check out and join some welcoming and friendly communities of nothing but Disney fans. Many of them have this wonderful thing called Twitter! For those unfamiliar with Twitter, its a way for people to keep in touch with each other and send short messages back and forth with others. Its quite addicting, and a great way to keep up to date with people and places. Disney Parks has an official twitter page and most people who run Disney sites or podcasts have Twitter, as well as the seemingly uncountable amounts of Disney fans. Now.. why would you want to get involved in all this insanity? Your just a simple Disney fan you say?
Many of the Disney communities, podcasts, forums, and websites out there that are run by people who eat/sleep/breathe Disney, give some of the best information, on any aspect of Disney, Disney World, and anything remotely related to Disney, and from my experience, they are all incredibly friendly, normal people who are like you and me. The best way to figure out everything from must do to must eat to must avoid and any planning aspect or what deal is being offered is to join one of these groups,and start talking to and getting to know people. You’d be surprised at how fast many of these “names on a screen” become friends. To wrap this up, I’m going list a few of our favorite communities, the people who run them and their twitters for you to follow them and get involved. Why you ask? Because if it wasn’t for meeting them and joining their communities, this website wouldn’t be here today, and in a way, this is my “thank you” to them for all the help they have given me concerning Disney, and many of them contributed in some way or another to this blog series!
Mike Newell – @mouseworldradio – Mouse World Radio, and the WDW Today Podcast
Matt Hochberg aka “The Hoch” – @studioscentral - Webmaster of Studios Central
Lou Mongello – @loumongello – WDW Radio
JL “Neurotic Disney Mom #1″ – @NDM_1 – The Disney Driven Life
AJ – @disneyfoodblog – The Disney Food Blog
Suzannah DiMarzio – @zannaland – Zannaland
Brad Johnson – @diszine – DisZine
Stuart Sternberg – @disneygeekdad – Disney Geek Dad
Deb Wills – @allearsdeb – All Ears.net
Len Testa – @touringplans – Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World
Mike Rahlmann – @beourguestmike – Be Our Guest Podcast
Twitter Friends who helped with this series: @fotodave @bufferflybrie @disneycollegeblog @Disneyworlds @jaredsward @njoysiscaretti @stacythatgirl @epcotexplorer @epcotpluto @RikkiNibs @JL_Davis @ryankilpatrick @wdwstevieb @eweaver6405 @wdwjill @lady_aurora @chrisreid1983 @amybethcombs @bigbluemomma @duchess_99 @nicwillis007 and countless others! If Ive tweeted with you or spoken to you on Facebook, thank you!
