How To Spend A Day Getting Character Autographs In Disney World

I was recently asked how to spend the day getting autographs from the characters.  Hmm, what an intriguing idea.  Spend a whole day just meeting characters and getting autographs.  The idea to do that never occurred to me.  Going to a Disney World park and not go on any attractions is almost sacrilegious to a Disney fan like myself!  

After giving it some thought, I decided it could be a great way to stop and smell the roses.  I have to admit, I have been known to cringe when I see the lines for characters and family members want to get an autograph.  I have even gone as far as talking them out of it.  Shhhh, keep that a secret.

Here are some tips I came up with on how to spend a day getting character autographs:

• Pick A Park - Magic Kingdom and Epcot have the most opportunities to meet characters.  If you have a specific character you just have to meet, I found a great website to help you find him/her/it/animal (whatever it may be!).  The website is WDW Character Hunt.  Locations, times and characters can change often, nothing is set in stone!
• Make Reservations For A Character Meal - A character meal is the best way to get some one on one time with a character.  The characters make their way around the restaurant and will stop at your table.  Sometimes you get to see the characters more than once, depending on how long it's taking you to eat.  Each theme park has a character meal for at least one meal a day, some have breakfast, lunch and dinner.  There are also character meals at some of the resorts.  You can find a list of character dining at WDW Character Hunt .
• Get A Times Guide - When entering the park, make sure to pick up a times guide to find out the times and places of character greetings.  As I stated above - locations, times and characters can change!  You will have to take a few minutes and make a plan of where to go.  You will also find parade and show times.  You can't get an autograph, but you can see your favorite characters perform.
• Get To The Park Of Choice Early - Most people do not want to get up early on vacation.  If you get to the park of your choice at rope drop you will be rewarded with shorter lines at Character Greets (and attractions too!).
• Head To The Back Of The Park - If there are Character Greets at the back of the park, you may want to head there first.  Most people will stop at the first characters they see.

I hope these tips help you on your quest to get character autographs, even if you don't want to spend a whole day devoted to it.  I may incorporate a half day of just character meets on my next trip, I don't think I could skip attractions for a whole day!  I'll let you know how it goes.

Hi Ho Hi Ho, It's Off To Disney World I Go - Part One

Not very original, but kind of catchy.  You know you're humming the tune right now, don't deny it!  You can thank me later!

One of my favorite things to talk about is trip planning to Walt Disney World.  There's lots of information on the subject out on the wide world web.  So much, it could make your head spin!  You guessed it, I'm going to put more out there!  In this five part series I am going to share how I get the ball rolling on my Walt Disney World trips.

There are five major things you have to decide.  It doesn't matter if it's your first trip or your 50th!

They are:

          1. When To Go?  

          2. What To Do?  

          3. How Long To Stay?

          4. Where To Stay? 

          5. What Kind Of Ticket and/or Package To Get? 

Okay let's tackle When To Go!

I'm sure the number one question everyone has is:  When is the best time to go?  Here's the answer, drum roll please.......... Anytime you can!  Walt Disney World is open 365 days a year!  It never closes!

Seriously, the answer to the question is all relative - find the best time for YOU!  Some of the determining factors could be cost, crowd levels, park hours, weather and events.  Let's take a look at it:

Cost:  Long gone are the days when it was simple to determine the cost of a Disney World vacation.  Once upon a time there were three seasons of pricing for Disney resorts - value, regular and peak.  We now have- value, regular, summer, fall, peak and holiday.  There are also weeknight rates and weekend rates for all the seasons.

The cheapest time to go would be January (except Martin Luther King Weekend) and September.  These are times when people are least likely to travel.  Right after the holidays and right after school starts!

Disney does have promotions like free dining and resort discounts that can save you money too.  No one knows when and if they will continue these promotions.  One can only hope!

Crowd Levels:  There always seems to be a lot of people walking around the parks at Disney World.  The difference is the amount of people waiting in the lines for attractions. When the parks are more crowded you spend more time waiting in line.  Here's a break down of attendance levels.

   Low:

• January (except New Year's Day and Martin Luther King weekend) until just prior to Presidents' Week in February
• The week following Labor Day until the beginning of October
• The week following Thanksgiving until mid-December

   Moderate:

• After Presidents' week in February through early March
• Late April through early June (except Memorial Day weekend) 
• The end of August
• October until the first part of Thanksgiving week
• The week before Christmas (crowds pick up starting a few days before Christmas)

   High:

• Presidents' week in February
• Mid March through Late April (Spring Break for lots of schools)
• Memorial Day weekend
• Mid June through Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day and weekend
• Christmas week through New Year's Day 

Park Hours: Disney compensates the more crowded times of the year with longer park hours. When the parks are less crowded they do not stay open late.

Animal Kingdom can close as early as 5pm, Magic Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios as early as 7pm, Future World in Epcot closes at 7pm with the World Showcase staying open until 9pm.

If you go to Disney World during more crowded times of the year, you will find the parks staying open later ,sometimes as late as midnight or 1 am.  So if you are a night owl, you may want to plan a trip when the parks are open later.

Weather:  I personally do not like hot and humid weather.  I'm okay, not thrilled with hot, but humid weather turns me into a whiny baby!  Some people don't mind the heat and humidity.  I know people who love to go to Disney World in August.  To each his own and an example of having to determine when is best for you!

            Jan   Feb   Mar   Apr   May   Jun   Jul   Aug   Sep   Oct   Nov   Dec

Avg Hi      72      74      79       83      88       91      92     92       90       85     79       73

Avg Lo     50      51      56       60      66       71      73     73       72       65     59       53

Avg rain   2-3     2-3    3-4      2-3     3-4       7        7       6      5-6      2-3    2-3     2-3

Average Temperatures in (F) and average rainfall in inches.

Events:  There are some fun events planned throughout the year at Disney World. Some of the big ones are:

• Holiday Events:  From the end of November through December, the hotels to the theme parks and everything in between, are decked out for the holidays!  You'll find the Candlelight Processional at Epcot, The Osborne Family lights in Disney's Hollywood Studios and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom.

• Fall Events:  Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom from the middle of Sept until the beginning of November.  Epcot's Food & Wine Festival from Oct until the middle of November.

• Spring Events:  Epcot's International Flower & Garden Festival from March until the middle of May.

Hopefully this will help you determine the best time to go for you!

Determining factors for me are cost, crowds and weather.  That being said here are some of my favorite times to go:

• The first two weeks of December:  There is nothing like the Disney Magic mixed with holiday magic! It can be chilly – sometimes even cold, parks close earlier and some attractions may be closed for refurbishment but all of the holiday happenings more than make up for it!

• First three weeks of May:  Weather is warm (can get quite warm sometimes!)  Humidity doesn’t seem to be as bad as in the summer and fall months.  Flower and Garden Festival is in bloom.

• January after the holidays but before President’s Day:  Can be chilly – sometimes cold, parks close earlier and attractions can be down for refurbishment but the low crowds make up for it.

Other good times to visit are:

• First two weeks of June – Some schools are still in session so the crowds aren’t as bad yet!

• Last two weeks of August until the end of September:  Hurricane season, hot and humid – but low crowds. 

Until tomorrow...... Hi Ho Hi Ho, it's off to (fill in the blank) I go .........

You're welcome! 

Fun Things To Do At Walt Disney World

You've arrived at Walt Disney World and you don't want to go to a theme park.  Maybe you have a one day stop (like we do before our cruise) or you arrived in the afternoon.  Maybe you want to take a day off from the parks.  So, what else is there to do?

Here are some fun things to do:

Explore Your Resort - Take a dip in the themed pool. Go for a leisurely stroll around the grounds and take the time to notice all the details.  Visit the resort gift shop.  When you check in, ask if your resort has any special programs.  Depending on where you are staying, there could be hidden mickey challenges, tours or pool activities you may be interested in. Go to the arcade.  Your resort may have boat rentals or surrey bike rentals.

Go To A Character Meal At A Resort - Dine with Mickey and friends at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort or Cinderella and her evil stepsisters at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian.  Character meals book up pretty far in advance, especially Chef Mickey's, so make an advanced dining reservation (ADR).

Go To A Dinner Show -  The Hoop De Doo Musical Review at Fort Wilderness Campground or Disney's Spirit of Aloha Show at the Polynesian.

Go To Downtown Disney - Three different areas to explore!

• Marketplace - Shop till you drop! Home to the biggest Disney store in the world!  Lots of fun shops to explore including a huge Lego store.  If you're hungry there are plenty of options to eat.
• The West Side - Go to Disney Quest - an indoor interactive theme park.  Get tickets to Cirque du Soleil - La Nouba
• Pleasure Island - The night clubs are shut down and the area is going through a transformation but you can go to Raglan Road Irish Pub or visit Orlando Harley Davidson.

  
Explore The Monorail Resorts - Ride the monorail and get off at each of the three resorts. Have dinner at one of the resorts, then go to the beach and watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks and the Electrical Water Pageant. 

Go To The Boardwalk - You can check out the different resorts in this area plus find plenty of places to eat.  There is a pretty lake in the middle.  You could take the boat ride to Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios, go just for the ride!  You can rent a boat or a surrey bike also.

Visit The Animal Kingdom Lodge - This place is incredible!  An African lodge on a 43-acre wildlife preserve.  Where else can you see something like this - besides Africa? You can explore the resort and view the animals - there are four savannas with 30 species of wildlife!  The lobby, I don't even know what to say, you have to see it for yourself!  Here's your chance to try African cuisine too.

Play Miniature Golf -  

• Winter Summerland - two Santa themed courses - Snow and Sand
• Fantasia - two themed courses - Fairway (more like a traditional golf course) and Gardens (Fantasia themed)

 
Take A Carriage Ride - Carriage rides are available at Port Orleans Riverside and Fort Wilderness Campground.  During October there is a Haunted Carriage Ride at Fort Wilderness and in December there is a Sleigh ride there.  You can make advanced reservations for the carriage rides.  There's a wagon ride at Fort Wilderness too - no reservations accepted.

Parasailing/ Watersking - You can go do both!  As well as tubing and wakeboarding at the Contemporary Resort Marina.

You could go fishing, play golf, play tennis, play volleyball, go to a spa, go horseback riding or even drive an Indy car!

Walt Disney World is so much more than theme parks!




 

My Top Ten Tips For A Magical Walt Disney World Vacation

Let's get this party started!  What better place to start then Walt Disney World?  These are tips I put together from my experience.  I will discuss some of these tips in more length in future posts.

1.  Have A Plan – You should know what you are going to do each day before you get there.  There is nothing worse than standing around looking at each other saying “what do you want to do?”  answer: “I don’t know, what do you want to do?”.  You should have a general idea of what you would like to do in each park too.  You don't want to be one of those poor unfortunate souls standing around right inside, looking at a map, wondering where to go and what to do!

2.  Stay On Disney Property – Disney resorts are top notch and you're immersed in the magic 24 hours a day!  You get more time in the parks with Extra Magic Hours and less travel time.  There are other benefits to staying onsite too, I will tell you more about them later!

3. Make Dining Reservations – Once upon a time it wasn’t that important but even during the slower times of the year restaurants fill up quickly.  It’s not much fun trying to find somewhere to eat when you are tired and hungry!  Trust me, I've done it and it really doesn't create a magical memory!

4.  Go To The Parks EARLY!! - The mornings can be some of the nicest times to be at the parks.  Most people do not like to get up early and do not get to the parks until 11 am or later.  I recommend getting up and getting into the parks early, you can experience a lot of the attractions before most people get there!

5.  Eat At Off Times – For example: plan on eating lunch around 11 – 11:30am before the crowds or later around 1:30pm after the crowds.  You get the idea.

6.  Take A Break - Go back to your resort and relax!  Trust me – your feet will be happy that you do! Staying at a Disney Resort makes this much easier to do.

7.  Park Hop – Staying at one park all day can be too much.  Too much riding at Magic Kingdom, too much walking at Epcot, too much sitting at shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and too many people at Animal Kingdom (park seems more crowded!).

8. Use Fast Pass – If an attraction has a long wait and fast pass is available – get one!  You can come back and not wait as long.

9. Do Not Rush Out Of The Parks At Closing – Sit on a bench and wait out the crowds or wander through the gift shops.  Think about it, thousands of people all going out at the same time!  You end up waiting somewhere anyway, like in line for a bus or monorail.  You might as well just relax and not be in the mad dash for the exit!

10.  Stop And Smell The Roses! -  Disney World is full of amazing details.  If you are rushing through your day, running from attraction to attraction you can miss it!  Look around you as you walk or stop and sit on a bench and watch the magic around you (great time to have a Mickey Bar – an awesome ice cream treat!).  You might be surprised and make some of your best memories!