Category: Tips

7 Ways to Stay Cool While Exploring the Disneyland Resort

With temperatures heating up in Southern California, you may be looking for a few cool tips to beat the heat during your summer visit to the Disneyland Resort. Here are my favorite experiences and attractions to enjoy during the toasty summer months.

Take in a Show – With favorites like “Disney Junior Dance Party!” or “Frozen – Live at the Hyperion” at Disney California Adventure park and Mickey and the Magical Map at Disneyland park, escape the sun and take a rest while enjoying these immersive shows featuring some of your favorite Disney characters and stories.

Cruise Around – Catch a ride aboard your choice of resort transportation: Red Car Trolley, Disneyland Monorail, Main Street Vehicles or Disneyland Railroad. Not only are these short rides ideal to rest your feet, but they are also great to catch the sights from a different perspective!

Cross Paths with Characters – Choose the Light Side or Dark Side as you step into Star Wars Launch Bay at Disneyland park to meet characters like Rey or Kylo Ren. At Disney California Adventure park, encounter Arendelle sisters at Anna & Elsa’s Royal Welcome. These character experiences offer a cool indoors escape. Be sure to check the Entertainment times guide upon your arrival, as encounter times are subject to change.

Journey Under the Sea – Get ready to dive into the ocean at Disney California Adventure park. Join Nemo and friends at Turtle Talk with Crush, then experience magical moments on The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.

Break for Bowling – Take a break from the theme parks and head to Splitsville Luxury Lanes in Downtown Disney District for a bite and some bowling! The 40,000-square-foot restaurant serves delicious fare in a mod setting.

Set out on an Adventure – Journey over to Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island in Disneyland park for an afternoon of exploring! Soaring trees and mysterious caves dot the island’s landscape, providing a leisurely (and cool) stroll.

Get Soaked – Of course, there is nothing like cooling off on a warm day on a water attraction like Splash Mountain in Disneyland park or Grizzly River Run in Disney California Adventure park.

Lastly, be sure to maximize your day with Disney MaxPass. You’ll not only get unlimited PhotoPass downloads for the day, but also have the convenience of digital Disney FASTPASS selections on your mobile device–allowing you to avoid the lines and beat the heat!

July 13, 2018
Travel Tips For Families With Little Ones Visiting Walt Disney World Resort

Some of the most common advice that family’s traveling to Walt Disney World are looking for is how to travel with little ones on a Disney vacation. What attractions can they enjoy? How to pack with a toddler in tow? Here are a few of the best tips to help you with your summer travels to Walt Disney World Resort.

A day in the parks can be tiresome for your tiny princess or prince. For this reason purchasing a park hopper pass to make the most of your vacation is very helpful. First you want to get to a park early and get in as much as possible. Then after the little ones need a break there’s nothing like the quiet of your hotel room for a mid-day nap, which lets you visit another park in the evening.

Character meals are always a favorite of little ones! There are so many to choose from, but one guest favorite is Chef Mickey’s. Little ones can interact with Mickey and his pals while enjoying a scrumptious breakfast or dinner. It’s definitely a must-do dining experience for all ages in her opinion.

If you don’t bring your own stroller, then you might want to rent one. By renting from a Walt Disney World theme park, guests do not have to carry and break down their strollers on Walt Disney World Transportation. Renting a stroller is also convenient because you leave it in the park and it doesn’t take up space in her resort room.

June 15, 2018
What Do I Need To Bring When Packing For Disney World?

You are headed to the most magical place on earth. Resort reservations are made. Dining reservations are made, and every FastPass+ is secured. But what in the world should you bring when you’re packing for Disney World?

The Disney Parks Moms Panelists have been there and done that and recently shared some of their best advice on what you need to bring for your magical vacation. Here are some great packing tips for your next Disney vacation.

“I only pack 4-days worth of outfits for our family’s week-long Walt Disney World Resort vacations,” Ashley explained. “Mid-week, I use the laundry facilities at our resort hotel to get everyone’s laundry done, so those outfits can be worn again at the end of the week. The best part? The laundry room sends me a text when my laundry is finished, so I can be relaxing by the pool instead of waiting by a washing machine!”

Don’t want to do laundry while on vacation? Then take the tip that several of the moms suggested, bring a pop-up laundry hamper or mesh laundry bag.

“Bring a mesh laundry bag!” said Jacqui. “It’s such a hassle to keep dirty laundry tidy on vacation, much less have to determine what’s been worn and what hasn’t been when you’re all getting ready for the day. The easy to pack mesh bag keeps all the dirty clothes tidy. At the end of the trip, just toss the bag in your checked luggage!”

Florida is known for warm temperatures and the occasional afternoon shower – which is why the panelists, including Lindsey P. – can’t stress the importance of sunscreen and rain gear enough.

“Don’t forget to pack those ponchos! Clear, reusable Mickey Mouse ponchos can roll up into a backpack, pulling out handily when a Florida popup shower rains overhead. The ponchos can also double as a protector from the mighty waters of Splash Mountain so you can go about your day in dry shorts. You can pick new ponchos up at any merchandise register and use them all summer long!”

And don’t forget the Ziploc bags, one of the most popular tips from the moms!

“If you’re traveling with little ones, bring a box of gallon-size zipper lock bags. They are great for packing diapers, underwear, and toiletries, but they are also awesome to have with you during your trip! You can use them to bring snacks with you during your theme park day and to hold wet swimsuits after a trip to the pool or water park,” Crystal explained.

Other top tips included portable cell phone chargers, coordinating t-shirts, your favorite Mickey ears, hand wipes and even pennies and quarters to be pressed!

April 10, 2018
Disney Dining Plans at Walt Disney World Explained
The Disney Dining Plan is available for resort guests who either purchase a Magic Your Way Package or book using Disney Vacation Club points. Guests who prefer to include dining in their vacation packages can choose a Walt Disney World Magic Your Way vacation package that includes a Disney dining plan – a convenient and easy way to plan, select and pre-pay for dining.

Disney Dining Plans feature a variety of meal and snack entitlements – both in terms of the type of restaurants guests can visit and the number of meals and snacks included with the plans. Three different Disney Dining packages are available.

The choices are:

Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan

What’s Included
Everyone in the party ages 3 and over will receive the following each night of their package stay:
- 2 Quick-Service Meals
- 2 Snacks
Each Guest ages 3 and over will receive a refillable drink mug, which is eligible for refills at self-service beverage islands at Quick-Service locations at any Disney Resort hotel.

Each Quick-Service meal includes (for breakfast, lunch or dinner):
- 1 Entrée
- 1 Non-alcoholic Beverage (or Alcoholic Beverage, for Guests 21 and older—2018 plan only)
The Quick Service Dining Plan is $52.50 for each adult or $21.74 for each child (ages 3-9) per night of your stay. These prices are pretty good estimates for planning purposes as Disney doesn’t give out exact prices because it’s all included in your Magic Your Way Package.

Disney Dining Plan

What’s Included
Everyone in the party ages 3 and over will receive the following each night of their package stay:

1 Quick-Service Meal

1 Table-Service Meal

2 Snacks

Each Guest ages 3 and over will receive a refillable drink mug, which is eligible for refills at self-service beverage islands at Quick-Service locations at any Disney Resort hotel.

Each Quick-Service meal includes (for breakfast, lunch or dinner):

1 Entrée

1 Non-alcoholic Beverage (or Alcoholic Beverage, for Guests 21 and older—2018 plan only)

Each Table-Service meal includes (for breakfast):

1 Entrée

1 Non-alcoholic Beverage (or Alcoholic Beverage, for Guests 21 and older—2018 plan only)

-OR-

1 Full Buffet** or Family-Style Meal

Each Table-Service meal includes (for lunch or dinner):

1 Entrée

1 Dessert*

Non-alcoholic Beverage (or Alcoholic Beverage, for Guests 21 and older—2018 plan only)

-OR-

1 Full Buffet** or Family-Style Meal
Disney Dining Plan is $75.49 for each adult or $25.75 for each child (ages 3-9) per night of your stay. These prices are pretty good estimates for planning purposes as Disney doesn’t give out exact prices because it’s all included in your Magic Your Way Package.
Disney Deluxe Dining Plan

What’s Included
Everyone in the party ages 3 and over will receive the following each night of their package stay:
- 3 Meals
- 2 Snacks
Each Guest ages 3 and over will receive a refillable drink mug, which is eligible for refills at self-service beverage islands at Quick-Service locations at any Disney Resort hotel.

Each Quick-Service meal includes (for breakfast, lunch or dinner):
- 1 Entrée
- 1 Non-alcoholic Beverage (or Alcoholic Beverage, for Guests 21 and older)
Each Table-Service meal includes (for breakfast):
- 1 Entrée
- 1 Non-alcoholic Beverage (or Alcoholic Beverage, for Guests 21 and older)
-OR-
- 1 Full Buffet** or Family-Style Meal
Each Table-Service meal includes (for lunch or dinner):
- 1 Appetizer
- 1 Entrée
- 1 Dessert*
- 1 Non-alcoholic Beverage (or Alcoholic Beverage, for Guests 21 and older)
-OR-
- 1 Full Buffet** or Family-Style Meal
Disney Deluxe Dining Plan is $116.24 for each adult or $39.99 for each child (ages 3-9) per night of your stay. These prices are pretty good estimates for planning purposes as Disney doesn’t give out exact prices because it’s all included in your Magic Your Way Package.
Snacks options included in all of the various plans:

At Quick-Service restaurants, most Outdoor Carts and select merchandise locations, snacks may include a single serving of items such as:

Frozen ice cream novelty, popsicle or fruit bar

Popcorn scoop

12 oz. coffee, hot chocolate or hot tea

Prepackaged milk or juice

Piece of whole fruit

Bag of snacks

20 oz. bottle of Coca-Cola®, Sprite® or Dasani® water

20 oz. fountain soft drink
The package cost varies based on which package a guest chooses, guests’ ages, and the number of nights in the package stay. If you need help booking your magical vacation, contact Travel Time with Vikki for help. My services are completely free and I will always find you the lowest rates. Let me do all the work so you don’t have to!

Here are some additional facts regarding the Disney dining plans:
- Guests can redeem their meals in any order throughout their package stay until each person on the package has depleted his/her allotted meals and snacks. For instance, a guest who has purchased a Magic Your Way Package Plus Dining for three nights would have entitlements of three table-service meals, three quick-service meals and three snacks during their stay. The guest could use all three table service entitlements on the same day if they choose.
- Guests’ MagicBand or Key to the World card electronically tracks the use of dining entitlements included in a package. It should be presented at dining locations, and the server or cashier will provide guests with a receipt showing the meals and snacks remaining on their Disney dining plan.
- Children ages 3-9 must order from a children’s menu, where available. A Disney dining plan is unavailable for guests under the age of 3, but they may share from an adult plate at no charge, or a meal may be purchased from the menu.
- Gratuities are not included except for pizza delivery, in-room private dining, dinner shows and character dining meals at Cinderella’s Royal Table. An automatic 18 percent gratuity charge will be added to the bill for parties of six or more. For parties of six or more, an automatic gratuity charge may also be added to the bill for items ordered that are not included in a Disney dining plan (for example, alcoholic beverages).
- Some of the table-service restaurant locations available with certain Disney dining plans are: Kona Café at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, The Wave…of American Flavors at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Les Chefs de France and Coral Reef Restaurant at Epcot, 50’s Prime Time Café at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Wolfgang Puck Café in the Downtown Disney area.
- Some of the signature restaurant locations available with certain Disney dining plans are: Kona Café at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, The Wave…of American Flavors at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Les Chefs de France and Coral Reef Restaurant at Epcot, 50’s Prime Time Café at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Wolfgang Puck Café in the Disney Springs area.
- Table-service meal entitlements can be exchanged for special dining experiences that guests will remember for a lifetime. One table-service meal entitlement can be used for most table-service restaurants which include some character dining meals. Two table-service meal entitlements can be exchanged for one character dining meal at Cinderella’s Royal Table in Magic Kingdom, one signature restaurant experience (such as Cítricos at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa), one Disney dinner show (such as “Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue” at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground), or one pizza delivery in-room (requires adult entitlements). If the vacation package includes lodging at select Disney Deluxe or Disney Deluxe Villa Resort hotels, two table-service meal entitlements can be exchanged for in-room private dining.
- Some of the more than 50 quick-service dining locations available with a Disney dining plan are: Tangierine Café and Sunshine Seasons at Epcot, Backlot Express at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Columbia Harbor House at Magic Kingdom and Pepper Market at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.
- Examples of a snack are: frozen ice cream novelty, popsicle or fruit bar, popcorn scoop (single serving box), single-serving bag of chips, single piece of whole fruit, 20-oz. bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or Dasani water, medium fountain soft drink, single-serving pre-packaged milk or juice, 12-oz. coffee, hot chocolate or hot tea.
- Dining reservations in advance of a visit are strongly encouraged, as due to the popularity of the Disney restaurants, the restaurant and seating of guests’ choice may be limited or may not be available. Reservations are accepted at most Walt Disney World table-service restaurants, signature restaurants, character dining locations and dinner shows, and may be made up to 190 days prior to arrival.
December 29, 2017
Disney World Park Capacity and Closing Phases Explained
Disney World parks can hold a lot of people, but certain times of year are so busy that they have to throttle the crowds coming into the parks as they approach full capacity. Here is Disney World’s Park Capacity and Closing Phases Explained.

Here is a breakdown of Walt Disney World’s Capacity Closing Procedures.
Phase A Closing

No admission of guests with one day tickets, and no admission of guests even with FastPass+ reservations unless they have one of the following:
- WDW Resort Guests, including The Four Seasons Resort, Swan, Dolphin or Shades of Green, Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotels arriving by bus (Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort Hotel, The Buena Vista Palace, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel, B Resort, Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort, Hilton), Golden Oak residents and guests.
- WDW Premier Passport, Annual & Premium Passholders
- Guests with Park Hopper tickets re-entering or crossing over from another WDW Theme Park
- Guests with Memory Maker
- Guests with dining reservations
- Magic Kingdom Guests with reservations for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Harmony Barber Shop or The Pirates League.
Phase B Closing

No admission of guests with one day tickets, and no re-entering or crossing over from another park unless they have one of the following:
- WDW Resort Guests, including The Four Seasons Resort, Swan, Dolphin or Shades of Green, Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotels arriving by bus (Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort Hotel, The Buena Vista Palace, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel, B Resort, Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort, Hilton), Golden Oak residents and guests.
- WDW Premier Passport, Annual & Premium Passholders
- Guests with Memory Maker
- Guests with dining reservations
- Magic Kingdom Guests with reservations for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Harmony Barber Shop or The Pirates League.
- FastPass+ reservations and is a WDW Resort hotel guest.
Phase 1 Park Closing

Guests with ‘Magic Your Way’ base tickets, or a ‘1-Day 1-Park Ticket’, Guests without an admission ticket, and Cast Members using Main Gate & Silver Passes will be turned around at the parking lot booths.

Phase 2 Park Closing

Admission is limited to:
- Disney Resort Guests (including the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, and guests arriving by bus from the Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotels)
- Annual, Premier and Premium Annual Passholders
- Guests with Hopper tickets coming from another park
- Guests re-entering the park
- Guests with dining reservations
- Magic Kingdom Guests with reservations for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or The Pirates League
- Guests using Walt Disney World Resort Transportation will be admitted.
- Guests with pre-purchased 1 day Magic Kingdom tickets
Phase 3 Park Closing

Admission is limited to:
- Disney Resort Guests (including the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, and guests arriving by bus from the Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotels)
- Annual, Premier and Premium Annual Passholders
- Guests with dining reservations
- Magic Kingdom Guests with reservations for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or The Pirates League
Phase 4 Park Closing

Closed to all guests.

All four Disney World theme parks have reached some level of closure in the past. As the most visited theme park in the world, Magic Kingdom is the park most likely to experience capacity-based closures during busy times of year. Due to its size, Epcot is the least likely to close, and has not done so in recent memory. Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom rarely close, but their smaller capacities still make them more likely to close than Epcot.

To be specific, Magic Kingdom closes, on average, around 6 days per year. New Year’s Eve and July 4 are always two of them, often getting up to a Phase 3 closure. Two to four other days during Christmas week can be expected each year as well, although those rarely go above Phase 2. The years where Easter week falls during late-March or early-April can also see closures due to the Easter break/Spring Break overlap.
December 25, 2017