Pittsburgh North Tips For A Most Magical Walt Disney World Vacation

As you can imagine, my family and I are having a blast bringing in the New Year at Walt Disney World! If you recall back in August, I announced, much to my surprise, that I was the winner of the Publisher Disney Vacation Giveaway! After the reality set in of winning such an amazing giveaway opportunity, I decided, what better place than Walt Disney World to start the New Year off together enjoying this magical getaway! Follow along with us by SUBSCRIBING and joining our magical journey through Walt Disney World, and save up to $100 per ticket while planning your own Disney vacation by clicking HERE!

We were all extremely excited to see for ourselves why everyone who visits Disney can’t get enough! Let me just say that, now we know why! We are having an incredible time! To help you with planning your trip to Walt Disney World, I have some great tips to share including how to manage the crowds during one of the busiest times of the year to visit!

The plan was to see all 4 Disney theme parks in 3 days! That alone is a pretty tall order, but we were ready to make it happen! One of the first things you will want to invest in if you are limited on your vacation days is a Hopper Pass which allows you to visit more than one park in a single day! This is the only way we were going to accomplish our goal to see all 4 parks, and it worked out extremely well!

Disney Planning Tips  

Once you have your vacation planned and purchase your Disney Ticket Package, the very next thing to do is download the My Disney Experience App and plan which theme parks you will start with each day. The next most important selection is dining reservations if you want a character dining experience. These are often reserved 60 days in advance. Next, you will want to plan your top 3 list of rides that have the longest wait times, and mix in some less crowded attractions in between to give your family a rest from the lines here and there. If you have young children who need nursed or bottle fed and changed throughout the day, you can scope out the Baby Care Center locations as well! 

If you are entering the park the same day that you arrive, most hotels will store your luggage until you return to check in, and Disney Resorts will allow you the convenience of checking in and accessing your room from the My Disney Experience App. It is also worth mentioning that the parks also have a luggage storage area if you decide to go straight to the park from the airport.  However, there is a fee for each storage unit needed to store your luggage or bags at the park for the day.

Disney Time Saving Tips 

Some of the best benefits of staying at one of the Disney Resorts are the convenient travel options back and forth from your resort to the theme parks, and the benefit of early park  entry and reservation access is a bonus as well! We stayed at Disney Pop Century Resort and loved the convenience of riding the Skyliner back and forth to each theme-park! I can tell you from experience that it is much faster to skip the front gate and the monorail when arriving at the park. 

Another time saving tip that works well if you plan it out is purchasing a Lightening Lane Pass at the very beginning of the day and knowing the ride(s) that you want to use it on. By using the Disney Genie Feature in the My Disney Experience App, you can purchase your Lightening Pass and avoid long lines on some of the most popular attractions. Another way to save time with the App is by placing a mobile food order rather than waiting in line. Simply place and pay for your food order, and you will get a notification when it is ready for pick up!

Disney Money Saving Tips

Vacationing with my family of 6 can be costly. In order to curve the cost of dining, we chose to watch our spending when it came to breakfast and lunch so that we could enjoy a nice dinner. How we did this was by carrying a backpack loaded with water, sandwiches and snacks. You can use a delivery service such as Amazon, and there is no fee for orders over $35 or you can shop at your hotel which has salads, sandwiches and food selections that are less expensive than those at the park.

New in 2024, families with children ages 3 and over receives the following during their package stay:

• 2 Quick-Service Meals Per Night of Stay
• 1 Snack or Nonalcoholic Beverage Per Night of Stay
• 1 Resort-Refillable Mug

For example, if you book a 4-night package with a Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan, each Guest (ages 3 and up) in your party would receive 8 Quick-Service meals and 4 Snacks or Nonalcoholic Beverages—which can be used at any time during your 4-night stay.

Another way to curve your spending is to use Disney Gift Cards with a predetermined amount instead of credit cards.  Costco has a great deal where you get an extra $25 for every Disney Gift Card you purchase.

Disney Rider Tips

My family and I love the experience of riding the rides at each theme-park! The more thrilling the ride, the better! If your family is the same, be sure to pay attention to the My Disney Experience App Virtual Que messages! This is sometimes the only way to access the most popular rides at Disney! This is how we were able to ride Tron Lightcycle. Another trick to riding the most sought-after rides is to use the single rider lane. This is not available for every ride, but when it is, I encourage you to take advantage of it! The downside is that you will not get to ride with your entire family, but the plus side is that this option can turn a 90-minute wait into 30 minutes or less! It's a great option if you have teenagers! As I mentioned before, arriving to the park as early as possible to get in line first for the most popular rides is the way to go if you don't want to spend money on lightening lane passes.

The Schantz Family's Top Rides that you don't want to miss:

• Tron Lightcycle / Run
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• Test Track^®  Presented by Chevrolet^®
• The Twilight Zone Tower Terror
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Space Mountain^®
• Soarin'
• DINOSAUR
• Rock 'n' Roll Coaster^® Starring Aerosmith

Disney Shopping Tips

I couldn't believe the assortment of adorable Mickey and Minnie Ears that I saw on display by the Walt Disney World visitors!  My daughter and I quickly went in search of a pair of our own! It seemed like the later it got, the more people filled the Souvenir Shops looking for something special to take home.  Therefore, our final tip is to shop early or shop online before you get to Walt Disney World.  If that's not an option, you can also pay for the items you want to purchase on the My Disney Experience App and skip the line! If you have a free day, you can also visit Disney Springs where you will find the widest selection of Disney Merchandise and you won't have to carry it around with you in the park!

As you begin planning your Disney Adventure, I hope these tips come in handy, and you have a most magical stay! My family and I are forever fans of Walt Disney World, and we are sure that you will be too once you experience the magic and endless fun that awaits you at Walt Disney World!

Have a magical week!

CeCe   

 Preview ENTIRE MONTH'S events here and check back often for more additions and Subscribe!

View this profile on Instagram

Macaroni KID Pittsburgh North (@mackidpittsburghnorth) • Instagram photos and videos

Facebook | Instagram 

Find more local events by joining us on social media!

We very much appreciate you! And, we're so glad you're here! 🥰