Have a question about planning a trip to Disney or something you’ve read here? Hopefully this blog can help! We’ve visited every Disney resort around the world, from Walt Disney World to Tokyo Disneyland, have stayed in nearly every Disney-owned hotel in the world, and have dined at the majority of Disney restaurants.
Presumably, most of you coming to this site are here for Walt Disney World or Disneyland trip planning advice. Common questions you have can probably be answered by posts we already have written that pertain to these topics and contain links to most critical vacation planning info.
If you’re trying to plan a Walt Disney World trip, visit our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide. If planning a Disneyland trip, check out our Disneyland Trip Planning Guide. If you look on the right-hand sidebar, you’ll also find links to other key planning-related posts. You can subscribe to our FREE email newsletter here.
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Thanks,
Tom Bricker
Hi Tom,
I have followed you for a while, and took advice about booking our vacation early for September in an attempt to snag a free dining upgrade later. I wanted to ask, should I add the dining plan now and then modify to the free dining later if we get it? Or do I have to wait until that promo is out because it won’t add if I already have a dining plan on the reservations? Thanks Tom!
HI
Could you please advise if Parksavers.com is a registered 3rd party ticket provider. We are traveling from Australia and do not want to spend $2k on tickets to find out that they are a scam and wont be accepted at the gate?
Thankyou
ParkSavers is an authorized third party ticket seller. They are legit.
Hello,
I very much enjoy your Facebook page. We are planning a trip to Disney in a couple weeks and I know you have reports on where to eat, however my daughter has a lot of food allergies. Do you know if it is possible to bring meals into the park? Or if there are any restaurants that would cater to her needs?
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Linda
How can I subscribe to your Blog?
Hey Tom and Sarah – I have such a great time reading your blog. The insights, photos, and most importantly, the writing, are all top notch. Do you have any kind of a donation section where fangirls can donate to your travel expenses and time/materials?
Tom, i love your Blog! It is so helpful and fun to read! I really love your Resort Comparison series! I also would like to ultimately stay at every resort! I wanted to suggest you do a Comparison with Polynesian and Animal Kingdom! Those are the two that I have the HARDEST time deciding from! Anyway, thanks for the fun reads! Its always a pleasure!
Hi Tom,
If I buy WDW 7-day hopper tickets from Parksavers.com it says I have to exchange them for real tickets at the ticket booths when we arrive? But if I link them to our magic bands through our Disney hotel, won’t the tickets be on the bands already so we won’t have to have real ones? Trying to get them now for our July 2018 trip since the prices went up! Thanks for all the advise on this blog! Read it periodically but found your blog again when the increase popped up on my mousesavers email this morning. We are in California and want to hook up fastpass+ at our 90-day mark in April/May but want to try to get the tickets now that don’t have the increase from last night.
Thanks!
Hey, I was wondering if there are any monopods for DSLR you could recommend for shooting fireworks? I couldn’t find any info in the photography section, and I’m looking into switching to monopods.
I don’t recommend a monopod for photographing fireworks.
Hey Tom,
Saw your note about coffee packets.
“This is our go-to instant coffee for Disney. Counter service restaurants provide free hot or cold water, and we mix it. We tend to use 6 sticks per day (we recently ordered the 100-pack, ha!), but even if you just use 2, that’s ~$50 saved over the course of a weeklong vacation! ”
I have not been able to get free hot water at WDW for several years now. You have to buy tea to get hot water. You can go to childcare center and get hot water there.
Do you know some secret to getting free hot water? Please share. Thanks
The only time recently that we’ve used hot water at Walt Disney World was on our recent trip during particularly cold weather, and we got it at Backlot Express. The park where we primarily get hot water (since we’re there when weather is cold) is Tokyo Disneyland, and we’ve never had any issues there.
Hi Tom,
I love your site, and used many of your tips during a quick 2-day trip in March 2017. I’m now planning the next one, probably for 6 days.
I’m interested in your thoughts on time/hassle for quick service versus table service (assuming you have ADRs). For example, we had a lunch at Be Our Guest – we were able to sit down right away, a cast member brought us a high chair, food arrived promptly – all easy and stress free. We also had a dinner at Pecos Bill and a lunch at Harambe, and in each case it was tough to find a table, then we had to find a high chair, then send one parent had to go order food while the other waited with the kids, so these meals didn’t end up being quicker than at Be Our Guest, and were less relaxing for the parents.
How do you and Sarah balance between quick service and table service meals?
Thanks!
Free Disney Dining Plan ?
If I arrive on Nov. 10 and the Free Meal Offer becomes available on Nov. 13 will I qualify for Nov. 10-12 for free dining or just Nov. 13-20?
Hi Tom, Thank you very much for the great info on Disney World, used a lot of it on our trip there this last December. We have been to Disneyland well over 100 times, since we lived in CA. only been to DWorld 4 times……much prefer Disneyland. Having said that, we decided to give DWorld another go to see the holiday decorations, went early December for just 4 days. We enjoyed………..however……….the Mickey Christmas Party was a complete waste of time and money. Thought it would be special, turned into just like spending the day in the Magic Kingdom. Way overcrowded, the snacks were a joke, the parade was terrible and short. Having seen many Disney parades, was expecting more, received less. Would never, repeat never spend that much money for a “special” night again………so disappointed. Anyway, keep up the great work on providing us with the inside stuff that Disney has going on…………..hope you and yours have a truly Magical year……….
I do not like it….Trumps thumbs up after he speaks. Looks like he is campaign on stage….Disney you made a BIG mistake!!!! There are other GREAT presidents that should have a speaking role instead. I had a lot of respect for this great show, but now I am going to boycott Disney.
Tom,
I always enjoy your pics but am looking for some tips for nighttime shooting. I have a Sony Cybershot and really struggle at nighttime shots in the parks. My biggest issue is too much light and not enough clarity. There’s so much light bleed that most my shots get a glowing orb that ruins the pic. I need to learn how to set speed, aperture and ISO but struggle to know the correct ways to get some quality shots.
Thanks for any tips you can give or where to read to help figure it out before my next trip in March.
Keep up the good work and wonderful pics,
Glenn
Tom,
Thanks for the wonderful and helpful sites you maintain. I’ve picked up a lot of useful tips. I’ve recently returned to photography as a hobby after a decade away. Your photos on here and other sites (ig, Flickr etc) are inspiring. Have you already (and I can’t find it) or would you consider some tutorial posts on your editing Techniques? I’m headed to WDW this week and plan to shoot a bunch of photos! Thanks!
Thank you so much for keeping us updated on the reopening of the Hall of the Presidents,, I planned a vacation last summer 2017, just to see President Trump in the Hall of Presidents… very disappointed to find out it was still closed. I am planning another family vacation July 2018 and I feel Disney needs to get their act together and show some support and respect for our President Trump by having the Hall of Presidents open. We the people are fully aware of why it is not open. Open it …… looking forward to hearing your updates Mr. Bricker. Thank you for your time on this matter.
Hi Tom,
I’m a huge fan of the site, and your Tweets are basically the only thing that shows up in my Twitter feed that isn’t from a baseball writer (outside of the occasional Tweets from my favorite law prof).
My wife and I are batting around the idea of taking our girls (6 and 3) on a no-tickets trip in January. The Mrs. is from Florida and, after three years in Jacksonville, I moved us back to Michigan last year. As such, any chance to get her into Florida heat during the winter makes me much more popular at home.
I’ve long been attracted to the idea of a no-parks trip. There’s always so much to do and see at the resorts that ends up getting swept aside so we can spend more time at the parks; that feels like a shame. So we’re thinking about an ultra-lean trip (crazy cheap airfare + renting through David’s) and that leads me to this: have you ever considered/done a multi-day no-park trip? I’ve read through your one-day no-parks itinerary and many of the items you suggest were on my radar. But what about filling up three or four days? Most of the time would be in a heated pool/hot tub, to be sure, but I’m not sure if there’s enough out there between fun meals and a campfire singalong to swing this. Have you ever considered writing a post on such a topic?
Hey Tom and Sarah! It’s Susan Williams again and I just wanted to tell you how informative all of your Disneyworld posts are and how much I enjoy them. They have helped me so very, very much with the planning for my upcoming Christmas visit. I realize that you can’t answer a whole bunch of questions but there is one area that I’ve been unable to get a real/honest answer to and was wondering if you could help. Both my niece and I will be using ECVs during our visit over the Christmas holidays and we’re staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I understand that our only form of transportation to the other parks is a bus to and from Animal Kingdom. The last time I was at Disney (2008) the bus system left quite a bit to be desired – especially if you were using ECVs. There were only a few buses that were equipped to handle the loading/unloading of them. We sometimes had to wait over an hour to find an appropriate bus. I’m told the bussing system at Disney had improved but no one (even the Disney people themselves) is willing to tell me about possible estimated bus wait times during the Christmas season. I don’t expect the estimates to be that accurate just an idea “in the neighborhood”. Obviously, these wait times will provide me with background information from which I can plan FastPass+ requests, dinner reservations, etc. Is there any way you can give me a general idea about this?
This is not my area of expertise, but I don’t believe you’ll have to transfer through Animal Kingdom (park). Buses should pick you up directly at the Lodge. To my knowledge, every (almost every?) bus is equipped to load ECVs. The only problem would be if other ECVs are already waiting in line, and fill up the ECV slots on the bus. In which case, you’d have to wait for a second bus–at which point you’re looking at a 20-45 minute wait for a bus on average.
Maybe someone with direct experience can chime in–sorry I can’t offer anything more concrete!
Hey Tom, So I read your blog almost everyday, yes I have read most of your stuff twice now but hey its worth it! Anyway we are heading to WDW Jan 26th- Feb 4th, and I have been planning and today I ran across a post on another blog about the 2018 closures and I read that the Mike and Sulley meet and greet was closed. I never thought about that before today, but it was in the Part of HS that is now closed. Do you know if they have a meet and greet some place else? And I have a FasstPass+ question. At Animal Kingdom can you book 2 Safaris in one day say Pandora Flight, Safari in the morning and then one at night? Or can you not book 2 of the same rides? I have been reading everything I can on it and have not found an answer.
I’m not sure about Mike and Sulley–I don’t really keep track of characters all that well. They don’t have a dedicated meet, but they might appear elsewhere from time to time.
You cannot book two safari FPs in advance, but might be able to score a second same-day FP for the night version.
Hi Tom, thank you so much for your blog. I have read every bit of it.
We ( 2 teens and us) are arriving the 18th of December from Australia, yes I read on your posts how crowded it will be, but it is the only time we can go. Could you please help me with weather, tips and tax for USA. This is our 1st trip there and I heard things are different.
We have a 6 day hopper to Magic Kingdom and 2 day to Island Adventures, as I said I have read your blog thoroughly but if there’s any other tips please feel free to send them our way.
Thank you in advance
Noelia