Disney World Gave Me NIGHTMARES!

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Friends, let me confess that I absolutely love planning Disney vacations. All the little tricks and hacks to get just the right price and have every little detail fall into place! That being said, this type of involvement can cause some odd side effects! Let's talk about those!

1. The Park Pass Nightmare

This is a relatively new point of stress that our brains have decided to use against us. After the 2020 closures, Disney Parks on both coasts implemented what are called Park Pass Reservations.

• This is a system where you must select (in advance) what park you plan to visit for each day of your vacation.

• You cannot enter a theme park without both a valid ticket purchase and a Park Pass Reservation for that park.

If you are park hopping, you do not need a Park Pass for that second park.

Ok, now that we got that out of the way, why exactly is this nightmare fuel you ask? Well, because planning a Disney vacation is SO involved our brain has a funny way of taking a point of stress, or even a new area of focus and weaves in those subconscious "What-ifs?" I have woken up the next morning stressed and panicked because I had lived an entire day at Disney, but wasn't allowed into the park of my choice because I didn't have a reservation. SCARY!

While this seems like a silly fear, in reality it can impact a family's park day if they didn't prepare in time. Once I decided to take a last minute trip with my kids which was amazing - probably one of my top 3 favorite trips I took last year - but we were limited in the park pass availability. Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios were sold out, leaving us only two park options. I am flexible, so spending a day in EPCOT is not an issue for me.

How to avoid this nightmare: As soon as you make your ticket purchase, make a Park Pass Reservation. Get your planning party together as soon as you can and discuss what parks you would like to visit on what days. This is a crucial step that you do not want to leave until the last minute. Most Park Pass Reservations will be available up until 30 days before, but that is never guaranteed if you are entering a busy season (RunDisney events, Spring Break, Holidays, etc.).

2. The Not Riding ANY Rides Nightmare!

This may be unique to me, or the late night snack I had before bed, but I have woken up on several occasions thinking I had spent an entire day at a Disney park, but didn't ride a single thing! Why did you do this to me, brain? Don't worry - there shouldn't be any reason for anyone to spend an entire day at a park without riding something (unless you're a lucky AP and can do that just for the flex).

Disney attractions are not all the same! You have fan-favorites that will rack up those 60+ minute waits for an entire day, then you have your classics that hover between 30-60 minutes, and then you have what we call "filler" attractions that live their life in the 30 minute and under category. Only on busy days can you see a filler attraction creep into higher digits, but give it some time and it will return to normal. That being said, there is ALWAYS something you can jump onto while at the park. If you live your life in the 60+ wait club, here are some suggestions for you.

How to avoid this nightmare: Implement any (or as many as possible) of these strategies to help you maximize your park day!

Utilize Early Entry when staying at any Disney resort (or select Good Neighbor hotels). This gives you a 30 minute advantage to those long lines! You will want to plan ahead for transportation and getting through security. My pro tip to not waste your Early Entry time? Be at the park 30 minutes BEFORE Early Entry begins. Yes, you end up having to wait for them to let you in, but believe me you want to be at the front of the line and have your pick of attractions.

Join the Rope Drop Club! Not a fan of Early Entry, or don't have that as your option? You can still Rope Drop the park and have a fantastic day. Rope Drop occurs after that 30 minute Early Entry period. The parks play a little announcement over the loudspeakers, announcing the park is officially open for business! I have found that with a solid Rope Drop strategy, you can accomplish quite a few things before 10am if you hustle.

Purchase Genie+ or an Individual Lightning Lane (or both). Genie+ is the relatively new paid FastPass system. You can purchase it at midnight for your park day and reserve your first Lightning Lane at 7am. You can tackle this strategy by snagging a popular ride right at 7am for the earliest possible, then let Genie+ availability run your day, or you can "stack" Lightning Lanes for popular rides later in the day. This can help you focus on those filler attractions early, and allow for more breaks then pack in all those big rides later in the day!

Some rides require a separate purchase of an Individual Lightning Lane. You will purchase these at 7am (if you are a resort guest) or at the time the park opens (if you are not staying at a Disney resort). There are only 4 of these rides and you do NOT need to purchase Genie+ in order to buy a Lightning Lane for these rides.

• Rise of the Resistance (Hollywood Studios)

• Flight of Passage (Animal Kingdom)

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (EPCOT)

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Magic Kingdom)

• TRON (opening April 4th - Magic Kingdom)

3. The Fighting with Your Family Nightmare

This one is mostly unavoidable in real life, then to add insult to injury your brain keeps coming up with new ways to have a brawl with your loved ones in a theme park! Stop it! Unfortunately due to the crowds, the costs, the long hours in the car (or other modes of travel), the sleepless nights in a new environment, the thing you forgot back home, the cranky levels of everyone, etc. you WILL get irritated with your travel party and things will get snippy. Imagine spending 4+ days with ANYONE in a high stress environment - it is going to result in conflict.

How to avoid this nightmare: Here are three major sources of conflict and my suggestions:

1. Include everyone in the planning process, even those kiddos! Treat your travel party like a team, if someone on the team doesn't win, then no one wins! Have a roundtable, a FaceTime call, a lunch date, or even a group text to keep everyone in the loop with planning and allow all voices to be heard. Once you have a list of everyone's "must-dos" you can build your park schedules accordingly.

2. Take breaks, offer rest, stay flexible, and stay positive. Instead of having the mindset of "everything has too long of a line, there's NOTHING to do" try saying "Hey, let's go grab a snack and sit somewhere" or "Oh look, there's a parade in 20 minutes, let's all find a nice spot to sit and watch." There is always something happening around the parks, you just have to know where to look and allow yourself to slow down for a few minutes. Worst case scenario you need to leave the park and take a breather at your hotel, that is completely fine! Take a rest and head back to the park for the evening time when crowds are more manageable, and the weather isn't oppressive.

3. Mobile order your food, or have a dining reservation lined up! Nothing on this planet is worse (for me) than being extremely hungry and then being told I'll have to wait another 20+ minutes for food. I wanna eat when I wanna eat!! At Disney, some restaurants require advance reservations, while others are more cooperative with a walk-up waitlist. These lists do not have high success rates during peak seasons or during peak meal times. Other quick service locations offer what is called "Mobile Order" where you can purchase your food at park open, and won't have to pick it up until your window opens up. This allows you to roam about freely knowing you have a guaranteed meal at your desired time. It is encouraged to order your food BEFORE you want to eat as Mobile Order windows will disappear throughout the day. Another suggestion? Bring your own food! You can absolutely bring your own snacks, sandwiches, etc. into the parks and enjoy a little picnic in a quiet area. Just make sure none of that food needs to be refrigerated, microwaved, and no glass containers!

I hope I didn't scare you with all these nightmare scenarios! A Disney vacation is supposed to be whimsical and magical, not a source of stress and fear.

Friendly reminder that I specialize in Magical Vacations and can help you plan your nightmare-free trip! All of those suggestions I mentioned above? Dining, Genie+, Park Passes? I can help with that! My services are 100% free and the value of your vacation goes up because you have a certified nerd by your side.

• If you are interested in a quote you can click THIS LINK to fill out a form.

• If you are interested in finding an affordable stay at a Deluxe Disney resort, check out this AFFILIATE LINK for the DVC Rental Store where you can purchase reduced rate Villas at popular DVC Resorts! Then shoot me an email at catt.inthekingdom@gmail.com to request any tickets to complete your vacation & receive all of the services I would provide to a complete package guest!

• Wanting to travel soon and want a guaranteed reservation? Check out these confirmed reservations at the DVC Rental Store using this AFFILIATE LINK & I can help you with planning and tickets as well!