Oh! Thanks for the speedy reply.
I've heard to the Fast Passes - but am unsure of where you get them? At the entrance to each ride?
To answer your questions:
We are staying off site
We have no dining plan
We have park hopper
Have 5 day tickets
children are 7.5 and 9
I wanted to share my top touring tips I give everyone new to touring Disney:
1. Get to the parks at opening if at all possible. You really can get a lot done in the morning because so many other people sleep in.
2. Eat lunch around 11:00 or 11:30 a.m. before the fast food places get busy. Then while everyone else is eating lunch, you will have lower crowds. Only send one or two people from each room to get in line to order at the counter service/fast food restaurants and send everyone else to get a table.
3. Buy a ton of the two for a dollar ponchos at the Dollar Store and keep them in your backpack. That way you can throw them a way after use and not worry about keeping up with a wet bulky poncho the rest of the day. Bring throw away ponchos to wear on Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom, if not you WILL get soaked. We also wear them on Splash Mountain too - sometimes you can get soaked, sometimes you won't get wet at all, it just depends on where you are sitting in the log.
4. Other things I put in the backpack each morning are Tylenol/Motrin, small first aid kit, camera with extra batteries, small hand towel, hand sanitizer, wipes and a bottle of water.
5. If you want to do ANY sit-down/table service/character meals, you need to get on-line now and see if there is any availability. With the popularity of the dining plan it's highly unlikely that any of the character meals or popular restaurants will be taking walk-ups.
7. At Magic Kingdom always head to Fantasyland first, if you are not doing Fantasyland on a particular day then head to Splash Mountain first, then Big Thunder Mountain; at Epcot always ride Soarin' first and get a Fastpass for later after you get off of the ride; at Disney Hollywood Studios always ride Toy Story Mania first, then head over to Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror; and at Animal Kingdom ride the Safari first.
8. Favorite fast food restaurants at MK are Pecos Bills and Cosmic Rays; favorite fast food at Animal Kingdom is Flame Tree Grill and Pizzafari. If you are there while it very hot or very cold, go to Pizzafari, as Flame Tree is outside.
9. If there are two lines going into an attraction, always take the line that goes to the left.
10. I like the Photopass. You can pre-buy it before your trip for $99.00. When you enter the parks you will see the staff photographers, they will take your pictures and give you a Photopass and you can use that for the rest of your trip. Each time you see a photographer have them take your picture and they will scan your picture. Then when you get home you can pull up the pictures, with the code they email you after purchase, and pick the photos you want on a CD. They will then mail you the CD and the copyrights to the CD and you can take them to
Walmart or Walgreens or wherever and get them developed. They also have a lot of cool software that you can use to edit your photos before you have them put on the CD. Here's the link if you want to purchase:
http://www.disneyphotopass.com/previsitoffer.aspx
11. My best tip would have to be use the Rider Switch pass when needed and USE THE FASTPASS SYSTEM. Our rule of thumb is if the wait is 25 minutes or less, we wait in line. If the wait is 30 minutes or more, use a Fastpass. It is not highly publicized, but your Fastpass does not expire until the end of the day. You can never use it before the return time stamp on the pass, but you can always use it after. We try to collect Fastpasses during the early part of the day and then use them later in the afternoon when the parks become more crowded.
Click on this link from fellow Diser, Doconeill, and it will give you an excellent overview of Fastpass and the Rider Switch Pass:
http://www.oinc.net/disney/fastpass.php
If you still don't understand, just let me know your specific questions.
My favorite Disney planning sites are:
www.disboards.com
www.allearsnet.com
www.wdwinfo.com
www.intercot.com
