Time saving tips/tricks

[Seano846]

Does anyone have tips on how to save time, or on how to beat the crowds at wdw? A trick I like to use is when I am a resort guest I drive to the Contemporary and park in the lot,then walk to the MK.This saves a TREMENDOUS amont of time when leaving at closing instead of waiting for the Monorail or ferry

 

[mickeyfan]

On our "get late started morning" (which we always have one or two), we walk to Downtown Disney (stay at the Villas at the Disney Institute) and catch the bus to the Boardwalk, we browse around the Board Walk and then enter at the back of EPCOT at the International Gateway. That way we can walk around the World Showcase as soon as it opens at 11:00 a.m. One time when we did this we didn't run into anyone else until we were already half way around!! It was like having the World Showcase all to yourself, well almost!

 

[markymark]

Originally posted by Seano846
Does anyone have tips on how to save time, or on how to beat the crowds at wdw? A trick I like to use is when I am a resort guest I drive to the Contemporary and park in the lot,then walk to the MK.This saves a TREMENDOUS amont of time when leaving at closing instead of waiting for the Monorail or ferry

Nice one seano. I usually park @ the Poly - never thought about the Comtemp!!

 

[The Mom]

I would still try parking at the Contemporary if I were staying at another WDW resort, but be warned....some of the resorts(AKL comes to mind) are not allowing other WDW resort guests to park unless they have a reservation at a restaurant. I don't know if the MK resorts are doing this also. I think it depends on the guard.

 

[MrPromey]

They are supposed to be doing something like this. You can get in and park (with or without a reservation) but they only give you 2-3 hours. They give you a little thing to put in your windshield that has the time on it. Now, what happens if you go over, I don't know. I can't really imagine them towing a guests car and I have been there beyond the time (by about an hour) and never had a problem. Maybe it's just a deterrent. I don't know. I'm not looking to intentionally test it for a full day though

 

[MrPromey]

As for money saving tips there's always Ice Station Cool in Epcot which everyone already knows about. If you take a backpack you can also take your own drinks and snacks into the park, too. Sometimes we freeze a couple of bottles of water the night before and take them with us. If you put them in the part of the pack that your back is against, they cool you off a little and melt just fast enough to save you a some money in mid day when it's the hottest. If you are going to buy drinks in the parks be careful when buying them in paper cups, especially the larger sizes. If you are at a fast service dining area and are eating, it's not bad but for walking around it could be wasted money. The don't let you into any of the attractions with these and I often see people tossing them out half full. That's a big loss when you consider how much they cost and how many you may go through on a trip. Try to get the resealable plastic bottles when you can (and put them in the recycle bins when you are done) Also, go to Walgreens and get your little fans with the straps. They sell almost the exact same thing for $2 that you would buy at Disney for $7.Disney's comes with a cap and a picture of Mickey on the side but I personally would rather put that extra $5 toward a nicer souvenir. They usually also have the mist-bottle fans for about $6 which beats the $12-$15 that Disney charges. Never do Space Mountain in Epcot in the morning. There is almost always a rather long line in that time of the day. (It used to be the most visited attraction in all of WDW, not sure if it still is though) Just about any time after noon, it's almost always a walk-on attraction. It's similar for other popular Future World attractions like Honey I Shrunk the Audience, too (although TT is the one exception). On busy days, your best bet is to head straight for Norway at 11:00 when world showcase opens if you want to do the ride. It's not a very long ride but the lines can get long for it rather quickly. They have fast pass now if you want to use it but you can get on with no real wait if you go straight there first and then backtrack to Mexico to start with the rest of world showcase. Mexico is the only other country with a ride and there usually isn't much of a wait for it. The attractions for all the other countries rarely fill up so in most cases you are only waiting for the next show or presentation to begin.
Even if you call and they tell you that you can't make reservations for a restaurant, there's a good chance you can get in at the door. If you have a smaller party of 3 or less you can almost always get in with a small wait. (Someone I know from reservations gave me that tip but they aren't supposed to tell this to the guests because there is a chance you still won't be able to get in)
Wait to do all your major gift shop spending till after the park closes. If you aren't staying on property this keeps you from having to lug everything around all day. Even if you are staying on property where they will deliver to your room, you still save valuable time you could be spending on attractions. The shops towards the front of all the parks stay open well after the attractions and shops at the back of the parks close. Also, if you have time in advance, join the Disney club. You'll get %10 off your purchases at the World of Disney store which can save you big bucks on stuff that you have to take home to friends and relatives (they just don't have much in the way of things specific to individual parks there so if you really like that AK shirt, I suggest you get it at AK) If you really want to go even cheaper on those gifts there are also two outlet-like stores run by Disney in a mall not too far away. One is called "Character Premier" and I don't remember what the second one is called but they will point you to it rom CP if you ask. They sell all kinds of stuff there most of which comes from the parks. Some of it is even the same stuff that they are selling in the parks that very moment its usually at or over 50% off and it still says WDW on it. They circulate stock a lot more in the parks than most would realize so many of the 'discontinued' things are still pretty current as well. It's a great place to pick up WDW t-shirts. I suggest you do this on one of the first days you go though. The outlets are sort of a mixed bag and you may end up not finding a lot that you like. Better to go in the beginning to try getting some shopping done than wait till the last minute and then not find what you need and not be able to go back to WDW to get it. Anyone interested in this one let me know and I'll get you directions. That's all I can think of at the moment. This post is getting to be too long anyway. I'll go ahead and post more tips later though.

 

[wdwmagic]

Originally posted by MrPromey
As for money saving tips there's always Ice Station Cool in Epcot which everyone already knows about

This brings up a point I always mean to mention....

Has anyone else noticed it is impossible to drink a lot of Ice Station Cool?

I have gone in there bone dry - anbd could only manage a maximum of 4 of those little cups. Outside I could easily do 8 or so.

We are convinced they are using some kind of airborne gas in the room to make you not want to drink!!!

Another tip - avoid the drink called Beverly!! Or even better, recommend it to someone else near you, and watch the reaction when they drink it!

 

[DisneyFreak]

Originally posted by MrPromey
They are supposed to be doing something like this. You can get in and park (with or without a reservation) but they only give you 2-3 hours. They give you a little thing to put in your windshield that has the time on it. Now, what happens if you go over, I don't know. I can't really imagine them towing a guests car and I have been there beyond the time (by about an hour) and never had a problem. Maybe it's just a deterrent. I don't know. I'm not looking to intentionally test it for a full day though

What's to stop you from not leaving that in your windshield and then they wouldn't know if your car was actually staying at the Poly or just visiting? Also myself, staying as a DVC member, I should think I could park where I wanted.

 

[MrPromey]

Originally posted by DisneyFreak


What's to stop you from not leaving that in your windshield and then they wouldn't know if your car was actually staying at the Poly or just visiting? Also myself, staying as a DVC member, I should think I could park where I wanted.

Well, most recently I went to the Contemporary they also made me park in a different area - In that lot that's right by the road. As for the Poly, I'm not sure. Last time I was there they weren't too restrictive on where I parked but they did give me the slip. I suppose i could have just stuck the slip in the glove compartment rather than in the windshield though and then they wouldn't have known what or how my car got there unless they went to the trouble of checking the my license plate with the list at the guard gate. Seems like a lot of work for one car in a parking lot though. As for DVC, I don't know. Does that give you access to all the facilities (pools and so on) of all the resorts in WDW? If not, I don't see why they would allow you to park where ever you wanted any time you wanted. Would be a nice little perk though if they would.

 

[DisneyFreak]

Originally posted by MrPromey


Well, most recently I went to the Contemporary they also made me park in a different area - In that lot that's right by the road. As for the Poly, I'm not sure. Last time I was there they weren't too restrictive on where I parked but they did give me the slip. I suppose i could have just stuck the slip in the glove compartment rather than in the windshield though and then they wouldn't have known what or how my car got there unless they went to the trouble of checking the my license plate with the list at the guard gate. Seems like a lot of work for one car in a parking lot though. As for DVC, I don't know. Does that give you access to all the facilities (pools and so on) of all the resorts in WDW? If not, I don't see why they would allow you to park where ever you wanted any time you wanted. Would be a nice little perk though if they would.

As of the last time I was there we could. On our resort ID's they clearly state DVC Member and I've never had any sort of problem before unless something has changed.

 

[MrPromey]

Originally posted by DisneyFreak


As of the last time I was there we could. On our resort ID's they clearly state DVC Member and I've never had any sort of problem before unless something has changed.

so are you allowed to use the pools and various other facilities of all the resorts or are you just allowed to park there? I'm don't know a whole heck of a lot about DVC. The subject recently came up on Steve's email list and was discussed at length so I know a lot more than I did but I'm still kind of in the dark.

 

[The Mom]

I think the parking is dependent upon how busy the hotel and parks are on a given day, and how "by the book" the gate guard is. I've stayed at MK when the MK hotels are almost full, and guest parking was a real problem. No offense, but if I am staying at a hotel, I would like a place to park that isn't a mile away! Too many people were using the MK resort lots as a way to beat the crowd, so guests at that particular hotel had no place to park at check-in, or were being forced to use valet parking. If things aren't busy, it doesn't matter.

 

[DisneyFreak]

Originally posted by MrPromey


so are you allowed to use the pools and various other facilities of all the resorts or are you just allowed to park there? I'm don't know a whole heck of a lot about DVC. The subject recently came up on Steve's email list and was discussed at length so I know a lot more than I did but I'm still kind of in the dark.

As per the last declarations and by-laws that I read, yes on both.

 

[DisneyFreak]

Originally posted by marciahahn
I think the parking is dependent upon how busy the hotel and parks are on a given day, and how "by the book" the gate guard is. I've stayed at MK when the MK hotels are almost full, and guest parking was a real problem. No offense, but if I am staying at a hotel, I would like a place to park that isn't a mile away! Too many people were using the MK resort lots as a way to beat the crowd, so guests at that particular hotel had no place to park at check-in, or were being forced to use valet parking. If things aren't busy, it doesn't matter.

You may be right here marcia since we go usually in September and October but last time down (July 2000) we had no problem with any of the guards at the gates.

 

[MrPromey]

Originally posted by marciahahn
I think the parking is dependent upon how busy the hotel and parks are on a given day, and how "by the book" the gate guard is. I've stayed at MK when the MK hotels are almost full, and guest parking was a real problem. No offense, but if I am staying at a hotel, I would like a place to park that isn't a mile away! Too many people were using the MK resort lots as a way to beat the crowd, so guests at that particular hotel had no place to park at check-in, or were being forced to use valet parking. If things aren't busy, it doesn't matter.

That makes sense and I agree with your viewpoint. I have to admit though that I've used resort parking to run into the park quickly once or twice although it's usually been early in the morning and only for an hour or two. I've also been in the resorts for lunch and to meet people staying at them which could still be a problem based on the limited parking that all of the MK

 

[markymark]

Originally posted by wdwmagic


This brings up a point I always mean to mention....

Has anyone else noticed it is impossible to drink a lot of Ice Station Cool?

I have gone in there bone dry - anbd could only manage a maximum of 4 of those little cups. Outside I could easily do 8 or so.

We are convinced they are using some kind of airborne gas in the room to make you not want to drink!!!

Another tip - avoid the drink called Beverly!! Or even better, recommend it to someone else near you, and watch the reaction when they drink it!

I can't drink anything in there!! I only go in to get cold. Is i just me, or are all the drinks absolutely vile!!

 

[The Mom]

It's just you.

 

[markymark]

Yeah, I had a feeling it might be.

 

[Disneynut]

The only vile drink has to be Beverly.

 

[mightyduck]

I like the watermelon soda...(can you tell I'm from the northeast? if I were Jay-Rod, I would probably prefer the watermelon pop, I'm guessing...)