How to Maximize Your Stay at the Walt Disney World Resort

So you have chosen to take your family on a vacation to the house of mouse. For someone going on their first trip to the resort it can all seem a bit overwhelming. In this article we will go over the ways to make your stay at the happiest place on earth a great one, with some insider tips and tricks about the resort from a true Disney veteran.

Download the My Disney Experience app.

This first ones simple and easy. As long as you have access to an internet enabled smartphone or even tablet you can download the My Disney Experience app. The app is free and is available on the App Store and Google Play. The app can help any Disney newcomer tremendously or even teach an old dog some new tricks. The app includes maps of all four parks, the water parks and the shopping district Disney Springs. It will also show you the wait times off various rides in real time, allowing you to see what types of attractions that might be worth using one of your three Fastpasses on. Within the app you can also control your dining reservations, adding new ones or canceling with ease. This app is a lifesaver in many instances whether it be cancelling a dinner reservation on the fly or finally finding the Fastpass for the must see ride you've heard about for years.

Fastpass+ is a must.

If you are new to the Disney game you might of heard of this thing called Fastpass and thought to yourself, "That will be too much money we don't need that." That is your first big mistake, while many people believe that Fastpass is an add on that costs extra it is not. The service is included with your purchase of any Disney ticket. With Fastpass+ you are allowed to pick three rides to whose wait times will be decreased significantly. As their is a separate line for people with a Fastpass reservation. If you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort you can make your reservations 60 days in advance. While if you are staying on a resort off property you can only make your reservations thirty days in advance but don't fret in this situation as someone who stayed off property many times and their are still many great selections of Fastpasses to choose from. You can always change your reservations after you make them and if you did not get a Fastpass for you or your children's favorite ride make sure to check within the My Disney Experience app often, especially on the day you are supposed to go to the park as Disney adds Fastpasses at the beginning of each day. One more thing on the subject most people think that once you use all three you are done. for the day this is not true, if you happen to have gone to all your Fastpasses go into the My Disney Experience app and go to add Fastpass you will be allowed to make another reservation for a ride and once you use that one you can do that again. The only thing with this is that you can now only make on Fastpass+ reservation at a time and the ride you wanted to go on might have none left depending on the time your last Fastpass was finished. Also there is a five minute grace period on either end of a Fastpass time slot so do not worry if you arrived two minutes late for your reservation you can still get in line to ride.

Disney always has an offer going on so check it out.

Disney World always has a a special on going to get more people to the parks. Make sure to look up Disney World special offers and you should be directed to the official Disney website. From there you can scroll through different offers and choose which one will best suit your family as you plan your vacation.

The resorts are free to go too and roam.

While it may be a bit pricey to stay at some of the higher end Disney resorts, it does not cost you anything to go to them to shop and eat at the quick service restaurants. If you don't want to eat or shop you can still explore these expansive resorts as they are rich in theming and great way to spend the middle of a hot day at the resort.

Disney Springs does not involve buying another ticket.

Disney Spring the resorts shopping district is free to enter and explore for anyone even if you don't have a ticket to any of the Theme parks. Disney Springs has 110 shopping options, 60 dining, 14 entertainment and finally nine different activities to do whether seasonal or year round. The springs are a great place to spend a day of your vacation if you want to go to Disney without spending the money on an extra ticket. As detailed above their are plenty of things to do over the course of the day making Disney Springs a must do on your trip.

Other Tips and Tricks

If you are staying on Disney World property their are certain days that you can enter the parks early on certain days for what are called Extra Magic Hours. If you buy something in a store at the park they can carry it at the front of the park till the end of the day so you don't have to lug it around with you the entire day or worry about losing it. They can also be sent to the your resort anywhere on Disney property. Finally, if you are flying in to Florida take advantage of the Disneys Magical Express. The free shuttle service from the airport to your Disney resort and back at the end of your stay.

I hope these tips will help you whether it be your first Disney trip or your fifth. Thank you for reading and have a magical day.