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30 Days of Disney ~ You can be a Monorail Pilot!

Photo courtesy of Joe Penniston.

Did you know you can ride in the very first car of the monorail with the pilot? This is one of the best Disney secrets I know. All you need to do is ask one of the Cast Members at the monorail station if you can ride up front.

It is up to the Cast Member to decide if you can ride. Sometimes, during peak hours or if there is a trainee you will not be able to ride in the front, but we have always been able to ride when we asked. You might have to wait your turn, but it is worth the wait. There is also a limit of four people in the car, but they have made exceptions for our family in the past.

Usually when you have finished your ride the pilot presents the kids with a Pilot License. “Driving” the monorail was a highlight of our Disney experience!

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30 Days of Disney ~ Tips from a Local


Here are a few tips that were emailed to me by a reader when we were on our Disney vacation. I completely agree with the fireworks/ ice cream idea. Main Street is a madhouse after the fireworks.

Animal Kingdom- if there is a big crowd going INTO Animal Kingdom, go into the Rainforest Cafe Gift shop- walk all the way to the back – on the other side there are turn styles to get into the park – no one ever uses these.

Magic Kingdom – if you stay to watch the Fireworks, here’s a couple things; if your kids can hang out a little longer – get some ice cream at the ice cream shop on Main Street, then sit at the tables and watch EVERYONE leave, once everyone is gone, you’ll get to see the lights on the castle change and then go off.
If you need to leave with everyone else and need to ride the monorail – If the main monorail is crowded – go to the one that is for the resorts. It goes to the transportation center anyways and it’s a lot less crowded ( a good tip if you have a stroller).

Speaking of the ice cream shop – they make GREAT ice cream sandwiches that are bigger then the ones you buy at the carts. You can easily feed two or more people off one sandwich.

If you have extra time during your visit. Get over to the Beach and Yacht club (either by walking from Epcot or driving in and telling them you want to eat at the soda shop) Go to the soda/ice cream shop that’s out by the pool – Order the kitchen sink – it’s about $20 some dollars but can feed more then 6 people. It’s EVERY ice cream and topping they have. They ring a bell and announce your family name and say what your about to eat. It’s a lot of fun.

If your at Hollywood Studios and want some good coffee drinks or cheap snacks – stop in the book shop/coffee shop next to the Sci Fi Diner. I like to go sit in there with a coffee and cookie while my family goes on Star Tours or the Muppet show for the upteenth time.

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30 Days of Disney ~ Disney Planning for Large Groups

The following is a guest post from Tiffany. Tiffany King is a homeschool mom of four kids, ranging in age from 17 years to 6 years old. She’s been married to Jim for twenty one years. On her blog, Eat at Home she shares recipes for everyday food for busy people.

7 Disney Planning Tips for a Large Group

We have been blessed to get to go to Disney three years in a row with my sister’s family and my parents, 13 of us in all.  I have been the designated travel planner for all of those trips and I have learned a few things about what works (and what doesn’t) when traveling with a large group.

1.    Be Sure You Know What Everyone Wants Out of the Trip – In our case, my parents paid for all the accommodations as a Christmas gift to us.  The main focus of the trip is having fun together.  Other families may want to spend time in smaller groups, only coming together for meals or certain attractions.  In some groups, the vacation is all about the kids and the adults are content to skip attractions that might be less interesting to young children.  Understanding this helps you plan a trip that will meet expectations.

2.    Sign up for Tour Guide Mike and Create a Plan – This is a fantastic service that will help you develop a plan to see all the best attractions without waiting in lines.  Having a plan with a large group of people is essential.  Otherwise, you will be standing around debating with 10-20 people what you should do next.

3.    Split into Smaller Groups Sometimes – Chances are, your group will have a wide variety of ages and interests.  Even though our family goal was togetherness, there were times that we broke into smaller groups.  Mostly, this happened for rides.  We had the “fun group” and the “thrill group”.  For instance, at Animal Kingdom the “fun group” headed to the Safari while the “thrill group” took on Expedition Everest and Dinosaur.  There were a few people who floated between the groups, but they all understood the need to choose their group ahead of time.

4.    Plan Your Meals – Coming together at meal times is a great way to connect with your group.  You might choose to do this at one of the WDW restaurants.  If so, make sure everyone has the reservation time and number.  I even plan our counter service meals.  Knowing where we’re going to eat keeps us from that horrible group debate situation.  Last year, my sister came up with a fantastic idea.  She visited AllEars.net and checked out the menus for the counter service restaurants we would be eating at.  Then she “ordered” food for her family, and wrote it down.  When it was time to order the food at the restaurant she pulled out her list and read from it.  I took her cue and did the same thing.  We saved time, money and brain power.

5.    Create Info Books for Each Family – Keeping everyone on the same page can be hard, but I found a way to do it easily.  I buy small plastic photo albums (brag books) from the dollar store.  Into these I slip pages of info to keep the group informed.  These pages include the week’s itinerary, a more detailed itinerary for each day (including ride order, restaurants…), hotel and travel info for each group, restaurant reservation numbers.  This is where my sister and I put our counter service order info.  It became habit for all of us to review the day’s itinerary on the bus or in the car on the way to the parks each day.

6.    Have a Disney Kick Off Party – If you can do it, this is a fun time together before the trip.  It’s also a chance for you to glean information on what your group would like to do and to give them information as well.  It’s fun to theme this party and get everyone excited for Disney.  One year we had a Princess and Pirate theme.  We did a scavenger hunt with the kids where they hunted for treasure, which included themed toys from the dollar store.

7.    Have a Post Disney Party – Traveling with a group can be a challenge, but it’s also fun and full of memories.  Get together and share photos, get the scrap book stuff out and let the kids join in making pages, or write a trip report together.

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30 Days of Disney ~ Insights from a Former Cast Member


Former Cast Member shares Insider Disney Tips

I was pixie dusted at an early age and grew up near Walt Disney World.   When I was a junior in college I was accepted into the Walt Disney World College Program and my dream of becoming a Cast Member was realized.  I worked as a lifeguard during that summer and loved every minute of it! When I graduated from college I packed my belongings and dreams and headed back to the magical place in hopes of becoming the next marketing guru for Disney.   Though I didn’t become the next guru, I had the most wonderful time working for Disney and love to share my experiences with others.

As a Cast Member we see so many different sides of Disney and the parks than the regular guests.  I have many stories to tell but here are just a few insider tips:

  • Nothing cools a hot summer evening than eating an ice cream cookie sandwich on Main Street U.S.A. at the Main Street Bakery while watching the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom! Fun fact – the windows on Main Street U.S.A. contain names of people who have contributed to Walt Disney’s dream. Walt Disney’s name is above the Ice Cream Parlor.
  • Take naps! I saw so many guests in the middle of a hot summer day with their children in tow who were obviously beyond tired.  Tickets are expensive and we all try to maximize our time. However, take a break in the heat of the afternoon and take a nap – even adults too! You will feel revitalized and ready for the evening parades and fireworks and a much a happier family.
  • Don’t forget Downtown Disney. This is where I worked (at the time called Disney Village Marketplace). It is home to Disney Quest as well as Cirque du Soleil but also shops, gardens and yummy eateries. It is a great place to visit the first night you arrive in Orlando before you head to the parks for the rest of the week. If you are staying at Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter you can take a free water taxi to the complex too.
  • Look for Mickey! I don’t mean just the actual character but hidden Mickeys in the rides and attractions. It has been told that there is a Mickey silhouette in many of Disney the attractions.  For example, on Splash Mountain he can be found near the steamboat as an outline in the clouds.
  • When you want to meet Mickey without fighting a crowd? A must-visit place is the Judge’s Tent at the Magic Kingdom – a designated location at Mickey’s Toontown Fair where Guests of all ages can meet the famous mouse for autographs and pictures.
  • A bit of Disney trivia. According to legend, Walt Disney first came up with the idea of Mickey Mouse while traveling on a train from New York back to California. He had just lost his rights to Oswald the Rabbit and he came up with the idea for the mouse. He originally named him Mortimer but his wife Lillian convinced him to change it to Mickey Mouse because it sounded cuter.
  • Most importantly, I so often saw families and individuals just enjoying time together. During the holidays, it made me miss my family for sure! It’s not about the souvenirs, what rides you ride or where you stay, it is the time spent together that makes the memories! At a Disney destination, those memories are certainly more magical!

I will always fondly remember my years when I worked for the Mouse.  I look forward to sharing new experiences with my family as I hope you do too!  Happy travels!

Jenny Reed still travels to the parks and is a Disney College of Knowledge Certified Disney Expert.  She turned her passion for travel into her own travel agency www.OurCruisePlanner.com specializing in family and group travel.  She can be reached at jenny (at) OurCruisePlanner (dot) com and can be followed on Twitter @TheTravelExpert

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30 Days of Disney ~ Club Cool

Not everything at Walt Disney World costs money. If you are thirsty while walking around Epcot, visit Club Cool. This little oasis gives you a chance to taste sodas from other countries. I did not see it on the map, but it is directly across from the large fountain on the same side of the park as Imagination! It is all you can drink, for free. The kids think this is better than getting ice cream so I highly recommend stopping by.

The fountain across from Club Cool.

Do you know of any Disney freebies?

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30 Days of Disney ~ Save Money by Staying off Property

The following is a guest post from Tiffany. Tiffany King is a homeschool mom of four kids, ranging in age from 17 years to 6 years old.  She’s been married to Jim for twenty one years.  On her blog, Eat at Home she shares recipes for everyday food for busy people.

Our Most Relaxing Disney Vacation

You know what I used to think of people who stayed in a rented house or condo at WDW?  I thought they were crazy!  They were missing all the magic of staying on-property.  They actually cooked on vacation to try to save a buck.  They had to make their own beds.  On top of it all, they drove to the parks!  And paid for the privilege to do so.  I would never do that.

We had been to WDW three years in a row on the Free Dining Promotion.  It was how we afforded to stay on-property.  Then came 2008 and we couldn’t travel during the dates for Free Dining.  Cuts had to be made in our WDW vacation budget in order to be able to make the trip.  Suddenly, we were one of those crazy families with an off-site trip planned.

That vacation turned out to be the most relaxing of all our trips.  We traveled with my sister’s family and my parents, 13 of us in all.  We rented a 7 bedroom pool home in Emerald Island.  Here’s how the family ranked renting the house versus staying on-property in a value resort.

Relaxing Vacation – 5 Stars – From family dog-paddle contests in the pool, to naps, to meals together, the house provided relaxation for all of us.  We had room to spread out during our afternoon breaks, which meant the breaks really did re-charge and energize us.

Driving to the Parks – 3 Stars – This can go either way – sometimes it’s easier to drive, sometimes not.  It was nice to have our own car and not need to wait in yet another line for transportation.  Pulling right up to the house and not having to walk all the way back to the room made everyone happy.  Travel to Animal Kingdom took about 10-12 minutes.  Epcot and DHS took about 15 minutes. Getting in and out of the Magic Kingdom is a little trickier when driving your own car, because you need to park at the TTC and still have to take the monorail or ferry across but it can be done.  That whole process took anywhere from 35 minutes to nearly an hour the time we ran into monorail trouble.

Breakfast in the House – 5 Stars – When staying on-property, we always sent someone to bring breakfast back to the room to eat while we got ready for the day.  This time it was nice not to have that long walk or to try to juggle eating in the room.  The food court was fun the first day, but it lost some magic each consecutive morning.  At the house, breakfast was relaxed and yummy.

Dinner at the House – 5 Stars – My mom prepared and packed food on dry ice for our dinners.  She planned it so that we just had to assemble the meals, not really cook them.  She brought a crock pot that we used several times.  By using the shopping service We Go Shop to get groceries delivered we avoided having to run out for items that wouldn’t travel well.  Sitting down to eat together at the house was more relaxing than being in a Disney restaurant and generally took less time.  Everyone pitched in to clean up so it only took minutes after dinner and we were ready to roll out to the parks again.  It also allowed us longer afternoon breaks because there was no restaurant reservation time to make.

Nights at the House – 5 Stars – It was great to have extra bathrooms to get kids ready for bed.  King-sized beds and separate bedrooms made the adults happy.  My oldest daughter had a room to herself, since she is the only teen girl in our group.  We didn’t have to hear people running outside the door or being loud at the pool, keeping us awake.

“Magic Feel” of the House – 4 Stars – I give this a 4 because some of the people in our group didn’t think it felt quite as “Disney-ish” as staying on-property.  I didn’t choose a house with lots of Disney themed rooms, although houses like this do exist.  To me, the house felt tropical and vacation-y.  We didn’t get those famed towel animals or come back to cleaned rooms, but I didn’t feel the need to really clean either.  Having the extra space made up for the fact that we didn’t make the beds.  Also, having the washer and dryer handy was wonderful.  It kept the laundry from piling up and we actually went home with clean clothes instead of dirty mountains to add to Mt. Washmore.

So are you ready to plan your off-site trip now?  Here are some tips to get you started.

Search vrbo.com for rental homes/condos – Search the Kissimmee neighborhoods of Windsor Hills, Emerald Island Resort and Formosa Gardens.  These are close to WDW and get good reviews.

What to look for:
1)    The obvious – find a house/condo with the number of beds and baths you’ll need.
2)    Especially if you’re traveling with a large group and plan to eat meals together at the house, make sure there is enough dining seating for everyone.  Our house had a table that seated 6 in the kitchen area plus a table that seated 8 in the dining room.
3)    Houses range from being standard to offering a wide array of amenities.  You might want special Disney themed rooms, baby equipment, pool, game room, gas grill, video games…
4)    Look at the check in/check out policy to be sure it’s reasonable.  Most places ask you to put all the used towels in one central location or maybe start a load in the washing machine, clear all food from the pantry and fridge, take out the trash.
5)    Email the owner with any questions.  Their correspondence with you will give you an idea of how it will be to work with them.  Ask how problems with the house will be handled (for instance, if the air conditioner goes out or a bathtub drain clogs up).
6)    Read over the terms and conditions closely before agreeing to rent.  You want to be sure of all rules, how security deposits and payments are handled, how you will gain access to the property (keys or keyless entry).

Start packing your suitcase!  It’s going to be a great trip!

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30 Days of Disney ~ Kim Possible

The following is a guest post from Amy who works with my husband. She loves Disney and shares with us one of her favorite Epcot activities.

A new addition to Epcot is the “Kim Possible World Showcase Adventures”, which is a state-of-the-art interactive adventure that takes kids young and old through the countries in the World Showcase. Those participating are issued a “Kimmunicator”, which looks like a cell phone but is altered to work only in the park and triggers events to complete your mission. Your job is to help Kim Possible and her friends catch villains lurking in one of 7 different countries in the World Showcase, each of which have a different mission to complete! The adventures are interactive with objects in the park that are triggered by your Kimmunicator to help you figure out clues to complete your mission. By participating you’ll be introduced to sites and sounds in each country that you may not have ever noticed before. It’s a great activity to do together as a family, or for older children who may be too old for the Kidcot stops. Check out this video, as my daughters Madison and Gabrielle lead me through China in search of the Jade Monkey!

To participate, you have to volunteer to be a Team Possible agent at one of three Team Possible Recruitment Centers at either Innoventions East, Innoventions West, or on the bridge to World Showcase Plaza. Once you have your mission pass, agents report to one of three Team Possible Field Stations that are in Italy, Norway, or the International Gateway. There you will receive your Kimmunicator and will be ready for an adventure!

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30 Days of Disney ~ Wait Times Delivered to Your iPhone

My sister provided me with this next Disney tip. For visitors with an iPhone there is an application that tells you how long the wait is for rides at the Magic Kingdom. The application was just approved by Apple this week, and relies on other park visitors to provide wait time information. The application costs $0.99 and apps for other theme parks will be available soon.

This is such a great idea, because it will keep you from running from Space Mountain to Splash Mountain, only to find that upon arrival the wait is over and hour and you passed several shorter lines on your way to the ride.

This application is called “Wait Times” and you can read more about it here.

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How to Make it Easy for Someone to Watch your Kids

This weekend my husband and I are attending the HEAV convention in Richmond, Virginia. Since we don’t live in Richmond, my mother-in-law is staying at our house to watch the children. Taking care of kids while the parents are away is a tough job, but you can show your appreciation by making it as easy as possible for someone to watch your children.

Here are some tips, a few might be very obvious, but you never know.

Leave your contact information. Cell phone, hotel information, schedule, anything that would help your caregiver get a hold of you whether it be an emergency or just a simple question.

Leave local contact information. While you might have your address and home phone number memorized, your caregiver probably does not. Leaving this information along with the names and numbers of neighbors or close friends will be very helpful in case of an emergency.

Create a schedule that details your children’s day. Do they take naps or watch a specific show at a certain time? Creating a schedule will help your caregiver keep your child in a routine.

Leave a stocked fridge and pantry. I always have meals in the freezer and lots of breakfast and lunch options when I go out of town. This gives your care giver one less thing to worry about while you are gone. You do not want your caregiver to have to haul your 4 kids to the store because you only bought enough milk for 2 days and you are gone for 3.

Speaking of leaving, leave any car seats your children might need and make sure your caregiver knows how to use them. While it is probably unlikely that they will be going anywhere, you don’t want your children improperly buckled or put into the car without their seat.

Leave a Child Medical Consent Form for each child. If you google the words “child medical consent form” you will find tons of options. Some are free, I am not an expert in this area, but it is important that your caregiver has your consent to seek medical treatment for your child in case of an emergency.

Leave a list of guidelines. Are your children allowed to watch television, when is bedtime, can they play outside without supervision? If your caregiver is not familiar with your daily routine this will make watching your kids much easier for them. A list of guidelines means you are setting the rules, not the caregiver and it decreases conflict while you are away.

Leave a clean home and clean laundry. If you leave a mess you will most likely come home to a bigger mess. If you leave a clean house, you will most likely come home to a moderately clean house. Don’t expect your caregiver to clean up a mess you made three days earlier. Clean laundry ensures that everyone will have enough clothes while you are away and no one needs to do laundry while you are gone.

Leave cash. It is always nice to leave some cash for the caregiver to use in case they do need to run to the store, pay the yard guy, or order a pizza because the oven broke in the middle of dinner.

Lower your expectations. It is okay if your caregiver does things a little bit differently than you do. The kids might stay up a few minutes past their bedtimes or get a little dessert after dinner, accept it. ( I am not talking about a caregiver that provides regular care for your children) If you are like me, there are two reasons you have someone watching your children, either you are in labor or at a homeschool convention. So, cut your caregiver some slack and remember that your kids will survive even if they eat hot dogs for lunch and dinner while you are gone.

Note: This post applies to planned getaways. I realize there will be emergencies in which you will not be able to do many of these things. In those situations I am always thankful to those who have been able and willing to help out with the kids, whether it be for a few hours, or several weeks. (Thanks Mom!)