Maximizing time and money at Disney World

On Monday, I talked about how the next time my family goes to Disney World, we’re going to make some tweaks to ensure that we stay on budget. Today, I’m going to talk about how to save time, money, and maximize your days in the park.

During our trip to Disney World, we were fortunate to go with some Disney experts. We have friends who live in Florida and go to the parks about 12 times a year. They also have a 5 year old girl, so they know how important it is to get through the parks, rides, and character meet and greets as efficiently as possible. They also showed us some inexpensive ways to keep the kids entertained at the park because the park is expensive enough. You don’t need to waste even more money when you can accomplish some of the same goals for free.

A few tricks:

• Pixie dust. If you walk around the park, you will see little girls decked out in all kinds of princess regalia. Because for a mere $75,000 (fine, I’m exaggerating but it’s really expensive), you can get your child a princess makeover. I find this ridiculous. Instead, you can go into some of the stores, talk to a worker and that person will—for free—sprinkle your child’s head with “pixie dust” (really, it’s just glitter in a wand. But it works).  Princess magic for no cost.
• KidCot. For the younger kids, EPCOT is really not the greatest place. Let me amend that. For the younger kids, the countries part of EPCOT is not the greatest place. There aren’t many rides and learning about culture is lost on most kids younger than 7. Enter KidCot. In each of the countries, there is a station where kids can, for free, obtain a Duffy bear (Mickey Mouse’s bear). Really, it’s just a cut-out of the bear, stapled to a wooden stick but my kid thought it was the greatest thing ever. After receiving a bear at the first time, the kids take the bear from country to country, getting a stamp from an “ambassador” of the country and coloring in the bear. It’s a nice, free way to keep the kids entertained and engaged. Plus, it gives you a chance to rest your feet.
• FastPass. The greatest thing at the parks. For select rides, you can walk up to a specific FastPass machine, insert your park pass, and get a pass that essentially allows you to cut the line. This works perfectly for rides like Peter Pan’s Flight Adventure of Soarin’, where the wait time averages about 50 minutes. A few tricks about FastPass: you can only get passes for one ride at a time. So, let’s say you’re at EPCOT and you get your FastPass for Soarin’ but you also want one for Test Track. You must wait until the next designated time for Test Track in order to be able to obtain the passes for that second ride. Also, there will be a time on your ticket that leads you to believe that you must show up at the ride during that time in order for the pass to be valid. This is not true. You can use that FastPass for any time after the first listed time, even if it’s 3 hours later.  So, while you’re waiting for your FastPass time, you can maneuver around the park going on all the other rides and attractions knowing that you’ll be able to skip the lines later.
• Pin Trading Centers. Throughout the parks, there are little carts where you can buy pins for the kids’ lanyard necklaces (which you have to purchase. They are not free).  The initial necklaces come preloaded with some pins, and you have the option to add on to them. The Disney cast members wear them too and the kids can trade pins with them (and each other, too). It’s a fun little perk but it can be expensive. Our friend did tell us about one clever way to save some money: go onto eBay and purchase one that someone is trying to sell. The pins will be older but the overall initial cost will be much lower. Then, start trading around the parks for newer pins. You will have spent a fraction of the cost and your kids will have new, updated pins while the others might think they’re getting collector’s items. Only you’ll know better. I? Think this is brilliant!
• Hidden Mickeys. Those Disney imagineers are clever folk. On every single ride and attraction, there are hidden Mickey ears. There’s even a book that they sell in the gift shops telling you where they are on each ride or attraction. You can buy the book and let it act as a field guide. But why do that? Go on each ride, look for the Mickeys and, if you can’t find them, just browse the book at the gift shop. That’s free and looking for the Mickeys adds an extra element of fun to each ride.

Another thing I suggest is to pay careful attention to times. Times for character autographs and pictures, shows, parades…all of these will have a significant impact on your day.

It seems like it’s impossible to have a relaxed, fun day at a Disney park. But I assure you that it is. I don’t know what it is but that place really is magical!

How have you been able to maximize your time and money inside a Disney theme park?