
Walt Disney World Guide
GENERAL POLICIES:
Park Reservations: Park reservations are ONLY required for Annual Pass Holders and Military Salute tickets at this time. Please check the park pass reservation calendar before making any changes, especially closer to your travel dates.
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ARRIVING AT DISNEY
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Getting to the Resorts:
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I recommend using Lyft/Uber to get to the resorts. They do not provide car seats though. Uber family will have one front facing car seat available. They are difficult to reserve at times though.
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If you want to pre-schedule something, Mears Connect is great. It gets pricey for larger families. Also, there is no guarantee you will get a bus, so if you need car seats, I would bring them with you regardless of which method you choose.
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If you would like to arrange a car service, I recommend Away We Go. Car seats can be added to the reservation at no extra cost. The vans fit 11 plus luggage.
Resort Check-in:
Please check-in at least 24 hours before arrival on My Disney Experience. This way you can skip the front desk when you arrive. If you check-in in advance, your room number will be sent to you via the app and through email or text message when it is available. If your room is not ready when you arrive, you can leave your bags at bell services and enjoy the amenities at your resort or the parks. I check-in as soon as I make a reservation so I do not forget.
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Magic Bands:
If you did not order magic bands, please see the concierge desk to receive your Key to the World cards. These will let you into your room and into the parks. You can use your phone app to get into your room, as well. Tickets can be linked to your actual phone through Magic Mobile in the Disney app. I suggest having a hard version, Magic Band or Key to the World card, as the phone app frequently glitches. Please see my guide on Magic Mobile for more details.
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**If you have Florida Resident tickets or Military tickets, you must go to guest services prior to entering the parks and provide valid ID to activate the tickets. You can do this at any of the parks or Disney Springs.
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DINING
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Your resort will have various dining options and grab and go options. You can check these out on the My Disney Experience app under “Resort Hotel”.
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You can bring food and beverages into the parks, just no alcohol or glass. If you have a cooler, make sure to use ice packs or place any loose ice in ziplock bags. All resorts have ice in the vending areas and small fridges in the room. If you need a freezer, ask bell services to store your items for you.
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For Quick Service dining, the best method is to mobile order through the My Disney Experience app. You cannot do this if you are paying with cash or need to discuss allergies. For mobile ordering, order a little bit in advance to make sure you can pick your desired return window. If you know where you want to eat, you can even order in the morning before you leave for the parks. You will get a notification from the app when your arrival window has started. I have them start preparing my order while I am walking there, so it is ready when I arrive.
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For table service, you need to check-in on the app once you arrive. It will verify your party and any allergies. Make sure to cancel any dining reservations you no longer want by 2 hours prior to your reservation in order to not be charged. It is a $10 per person fee if you miss a reservation.
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If you didn’t reserve dining and you would like table service. Check the app in the morning for walk up waitlists. You need to be at the resort or in the park with the restaurant to join the walk up waitlist. You can join them at any time. The popular places will fill up early, so do not wait too long to join.
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PARK HOURS
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Park hours will be listed on the My Disney Experience app. Make sure to check them the night before as they are subject to change.
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Early Entry: Guests of Walt Disney resorts and certain good neighbor hotels, can enter the parks 30 minutes prior to posted opening. This is for every park, every day. They are actually letting you in 45 minutes prior to that, but rides will not be operating. Some shops will be open. Rides begin operating 30 minutes prior to official park open in certain areas of the park. You will scan into the park and then scan again to prove you are staying at a qualifying resort. If you plan to be at the parks early and are staying on Disney property, I highly recommend getting to the parks about an hour early to take advantage of this perk.
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Evening Hours for Deluxe Resorts and Swan and Dolphin: EPCOT and Magic Kingdom are open 2 hours later one day per week for Disney deluxe resorts, Disney villa resorts, Shades of Green, and Swan and Dolphin guests. Be sure to check the calendar and plan accordingly. You will either need a park pass for that park for the day or add park hopper option to your tickets.
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LIGHTNING LANE MULTI-PASS AND SINGLE PASS
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Genie Planning Services: The My Disney Experience app has been updated to include a free planning feature called Genie. Be sure to explore it before your trip so you can make the most of it while in the parks. It will give real time suggestions while in the parks as well.
MULTI-PASS :
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If you would like to skip the wait for rides while in the park, you can pay for general Lightning Lane access, known as Genie+. The rate for this varies by day and by park and is per person. You can purchase starting at midnight the morning of the day you wish to use Genie+. I do not suggest waiting up until midnight, instead wake up around 6:45 to purchase.
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You can ride each ride once as available through the app. You can reserve rides starting at 7 am. You can make one reservation at a time through the app. Once you swipe into the ride you reserved you may make your next reservation. Some rides have two touch points so make sure you pass both before selecting the next attraction. The only exception to this is if you make a ride reservation more than two hours out. Then, you can make a second ride reservation two hours after you made the initial reservation. Ex: It is 10am. I am in Hollywood Studios and Slinky Dog Dash is available at 2pm. I grab it as my next ride reservation. Because it is so far in the future, I am allowed to make a second reservation at noon, even though I have not ridden Slinky Dog Dash. I would do this to ensure you get on popular rides. If you grab a later ride prior to park open, the two hour wait starts at park open. Ex. It is 7am. I grab Slinky Dog Dash for noon. Park opens at 9am. I can grab another lightning lane at 11am.
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I recommend grabbing the popular rides as they are available and plan to stack rides in the afternoon, especially in Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We like to do early entry for resort guests and ride as much as we can while waits are low. Then take the late morning/early afternoon to do shows, meet characters, or go back to the resort and hit the pool. Then, come back late afternoon to redeem our lightning lanes.
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My top picks for lightning lanes in each park:
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Magic Kingdom: Tiana's Bayou, Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, Big Thunder Mountain
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Hollywood Studios: Slinky Dog Dash (this will disappear at 7:01am), Tower of Terror, Smuggler’s Run
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Animal Kingdom: Safari and Navi River
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EPCOT: Frozen, Remy, and Test Track
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Individual Attraction Passes:
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You can also purchase two individual lightning lanes per day. This can be done at 7am for resort guests and at park open for non-resort guests. The cost varies by attraction and day. You cannot access these rides through lightning lane, unless you pay separately for them. They are available for standby or virtual queue (Cosmic Rewind and Tron) as well.
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The current Individual Attraction pass rides are: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tron, Rise of the Resistance, Flight of Passage, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
For the full list of what is included in Genie+, go here. Everything is listed by park.
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Here are videos I have made about genie+.
Virtual Queue:
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Both Tron in Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy in EPCOT do not have a stand-by line. You must either get a virtual queue boarding group or pay for an individual lightning lane. The virtual queue opens at 7am, 1pm, and 6pm for extended evening hours. These spots will fill within seconds. I would book this right at 7 am and then do your other genie+ selections. I have the screen up a minute or two before the queue opens and constantly refresh the screen until the join queue button appears.
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I have a video here for how to do it. Virtual Queue How To
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General tips:
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Be on the app prior to 7am and refresh right at 7. Some passes will go quickly. Most notably, Slinky Dog Dash. This disappears within seconds. Choose it first and then try and grab Rise of the Resistance or have two people on two different accounts on the app.
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I highly suggest buying the individual pass for Rise of the Resistance. The wait stays long throughout the day and the ride itself is 25 minutes long.
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I would make your genie+ selection first and then buy your individual lightning lane selection. If you do not see what you need, keep refreshing and check back every so many minutes because they refresh the selections frequently in the morning.
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GENERAL TIPS AND TRICKS
1. Make sure you check-in online prior to arrival to go straight to your room. If your room is not ready upon your arrival, you can leave bags with bell services. All resort amenities are available to you on check-in day. Arrival day is a great time to check out Disney Springs or have a pool day.
2. Park hours are constantly changing so double check the night before.
3. Parks have returned to traditional rope dropping policies. If you would like to get to the parks first thing in the morning, be in line for transportation at least an hour prior to park open. Once at the parks, pick a must do and head that way as soon as you are allowed to enter the park.
4. Ride lines will be at their peak during the middle of the day. Grab some lunch, head back to your resort for a break, or take a snack and sit along the cavalcade/parade route. It’s a great time to soak in the other sights and sounds of the parks.
5. Screen shot everything in My Disney Experience. If it glitches, you will have your plans to show a Disney Cast Member. If you are having problems on property go to the front desk of your resort, guest services outside the parks or at Disney Springs, or find a blue umbrella inside the park.
6. Always be prepared for rain. I like to pack disposable ponchos in my park bag. Bring extra shoes. If you have a stroller, I leave the rain cover on at all times. You never know when a downpour will occur.
7. Rider swap. If you have someone who cannot ride a ride, find a cast member near the ride line. They will scan your cards or bands for rider swap. This allows one person to stay with the non riders and not have to wait in line a second time.
8. If you want park hopper, it is a flat rate regardless of if you add it in advance or on the last day of your trip. I can add it to your package at anytime, just let me know. If you are in the parks and would like to add it, go to guest services.
9. You do not have to be on the ride by park close, just in line for the ride by park close. They are really strict about the timing. If park closes at 9, you must be in line by 8:59. Waiting till right before park close to hop in line for some of the more popular rides is a great strategy. It’ll also let you enjoy an empty park on your walk out.
10. If you are not a fireworks or parade fan, this is a great time to hop on the popular rides with little to no wait.
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Guides to Planning your Park Days:



