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water park fun option

Walt Disney World Park Hopper Plus Option

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In addition to the Park Hopper option available on Walt Disney World park passes, you can also add another option to your tickets, the Water Park Fun & More option. Starting in 2017, this was changed to be called the Park Hopper Plus option. This option is a little different, as it has nothing at all to do with your access to the four Disney theme parks, but does give you access to other areas of the Walt Disney World Resort.

What is the Park Hopper Plus?

This option offers a certain number of visits to Walt Disney World destinations based on the length of your ticket. For example, a 4-day ticket allows 4 visits and a 7-day ticket allows 7 visits. The only exception is a 1 or 2-day ticket allows for 2 visits. For each visit, you can choose from the following destinations:

  • Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park – This thrilling water park features on of the world’s tallest and fastest free-falling waterslides, as well as slides and rides for the entire family.
  • Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park – From fast waterslides to a children’s area with pint-sized raft rides, this water park has attractions for everyone. Catch 6-foot waves and snorkel with real sharks!
  • ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex – Plat at the next level of sports excitement with state of the art video monitoring and sporting events year round.
  • Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course – Enjoy a 2,913 yard, par 36, 9-hole walking course with fun for everyone, from developing golfers to experienced players.
  • Disney’s Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course – Play one round of miniatures golf (prior to 4:00 PM) at a fun course inspired by the Disney classic film Fantasia.
  • Disney’s Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course – Treat yourself to one round of miniature golf (prior to 4:00 PM) at either of the 2 Santa Clause-themed courses.

Please note, with this option, you get “visits” and not “days”. So, if you visit Blizzard Beach and then later that day go play mini-golf, and then stop by Oak Trail for a round, that would count as three visits.

Also, you do not have to use these visits on a day that you have access to the theme parks. So, if you purchase a three day park pass, you will receive three visits to any of the options. You can technically stretch that out over 6 days, going to a theme park, then a water park and so on, in any order.

How much does the Park Hopper Plus Option cost?

In order to purchase the Park Hopper Plus option, you must already have the Park Hopper option on your Walt Disney World Park passes. It is an additional $25 per person to add the Park Hopper Plus option to your park hoppers.

Who should purchase the Park Hopper Plus Option?

For your planning information, a one-day admission to a Walt Disney World water park is $65 for adults and $59 for children, plus tax.

  • You can see that if you plan on going to the water parks, even one day, during your vacation, it is much cheaper to add on the $25 Park Hopper Plus option than to pay for one day at the water parks.

Personally, I rarely do the Water Park Fun & More option. While the water parks are fantastic, they are not usually high on my family’s wish list, so we rarely do them. They are usually content with our resort pool. The non-waterpark options don’t really appeal to me either. We decided to purchase the Water Park Fun& More Option our last trip, and we did end up going to the water parks a few times, and our kids loved going for a few hours then heading back to the parks. I didn’t feel like we needed to stay all day, and we had a blast. The decision to purchase it for our next trip will depend on the time of year. If we go in the early Spring like usual, we will probably pass, but if we go again in September, you can bet it will be purchased.

Do you purchase the Park Hoper Plus option at Walt Disney World?

deluxe dining plan

Is the Disney World Deluxe Dining Plan Worth It?

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At Walt Disney World, there are three dining plans that are available for purchase for guests staying in a Walt Disney World resort. Last month, we took a close look at the Quick-Service Dining plan, the least expensive option: Is the Disney World Quick-Service Dining Plan Worth It? Today, we are going to look at the Disney Deluxe Dining plan, the most expensive options available of the three dining plans. Now, there are more expensive plans, the Premium and Platinum Plans, but those are much more than dining plans, so we don’t include them when talking about dining plans.

The Disney Deluxe Dining Plan includes three (3) meals and two (2) snacks per person, per night of your stay, plus a resort refillable mug for each person. The three meals can either be quick-service or table service meals, that is completely up to you. Any signature restaurant will cost 2 meals per person. Technically you could do three table service meals each day if you like, but that is a lot of time sitting in the restaurants each day.

Currently, the cost for the Disney Deluxe dining plan is $115.08 for adults and $35.49 for children (3 – 9 years old) per night of your stay. You must purchase a plan for your entire stay, and everyone in your party must purchase the same dining plan, or no plan at all.

Let’s look at an average day for one adult and one child. That would cost $150.57, and include three meals for each person plus 2 snacks. We will leave the refillable mug out of the equation, as that only amounts to a dollar or two per night, depending on how long you stay.

We will look at two different options, since this plan is so flexible. In example one, our family is going to get a quick-service breakfast at their resort and then lunch and dinner at a table service in the parks, plus a few afternoon snacks. Let’s say they are staying at the Contemporary and then are in Epcot and pick these meals:

  • Breakfast at Contempo Cafe – Contemporary – Adult breakfast of Mickey Waffles ($9.49) and Orange Juice ($3.99). Child breakfast of Mickey Waffles ($5.99). With tax you get a breakfast total of about $19.47.
  • Lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall – Epcot – Lunch buffet is $45 for adults and $27 for children. With tax and tip you get a total of about $90.00.
  • Afternoon Snack – Two Mickey Ice Cream Bars ($4.25 each). With tax, a total price of about $9.00.
  • Second Afternoon Snack – A bottle of diet coke ($4.00) and popcorn ($4.00), a total price of about $8.50.
  • Dinner at Tutto Italia – Epcot – Adult dinner of Bistecca del Macellaio ($34.00) plus Mocha Tiramisu for dessert ($12.00) and a fountain drink ($3.00). Child dinner of Spaghetti ($10.00) and a Gelato Sundae for dessert ($5.00). With tax and tip you get a total price of about $79.61.

So, for the three meals and two snacks, I get a rough total price of about $206.58

Our second option will include three table service meals each day, plus the snacks of course.

  • Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s – Contemporary – Breakfast buffer for adults is $38 for adults and $20 for children. With tax and tip you get a total of about $71.00
  • Lunch at Chip ‘N’ Dale Harvest Feast at Garden Grill – Epcot – Lunch buffet is about $40 for adults and $22 for children. Prices at Garden Grill vary throughout the year. With tax and tip you get a total of about $76.00
  • Afternoon Snack – Two Mickey Ice Cream Bars ($4.25 each). With tax, a total price of about $9.00.
  • Second Afternoon Snack – A bottle of diet coke ($4.00) and popcorn ($4.00), a total price of about $8.50.
  • Dinner at Chefs de France – Epcot – Adult dinner of Filet de boeuf grillé ($35.99), Crème Brulee for dessert ($8.99) and a soft drink ($2.99). Child dinner of Ground beef steak on a brioche bun ($9.50) and a dessert of sorbet ($4.00). With tax and tip you get a total price of about $75.50.

So, for the three meals and two snacks, I get a rough total price of about $240.00.

You can see from both of the options, there is quite a savings by purchasing the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan. Of course, if you opted for 3 quick-service meals each day, the math would never work.

Disney Deluxe Dining Plan PROS

  • With the examples shown above, you do save money
  • Since you have so many meal credits, you can easily eat at signature restaurants and not “eat up” all of your credits for your entire trip in a few meals. Many people on this plan do a character breakfast or lunch and then a signature restaurant for dinner, using up their three meals for the day.
  • The biggest benefit I try to explain to my clients is that with all the dining plans, everything is prepaid and budgeted, so you just show up and eat, no need to worry about the cost of meals, how much money to bring or trying to order the cheapest thing on the menu just to save money. Just enjoy, that is the idea of going to Disney World, isn’t it?

Disney Deluxe Dining Plan CONS

  • The cost! The deluxe plan is expensive. For a family of four, assuming the kids are between 3 – 9, you are looking at an additional $2,108 for a 7 night trip, just for food!
  • The Disney Deluxe Dining Plan gives you A LOT of food. In order to make the math work for you, you have to do at least two table service meals each day, plus your quick-service meal and 2 more snacks. It feels like you eating more than you are riding rides.

So, is the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan worth it? Normally, my suggestion to my clients is NO, it isn’t worth it. In most cases, it is just too much food, you are better off going with the Disney Dining plan and just paying out of pocket for any other meals you decide to eat. I have only ever had one client come back and tell me he should have done the Disney Deluxe Plan instead, but after doing the math, he would have only saved a few dollars.

However, if you only have adults going, and you want to do nicer, signature restaurants, then YES, it is totally worth it. Take a look at the menus and do the math first, but in most situations, if you plan on doing a table service for breakfast or lunch, and then a signature restaurant for dinner, the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan will save you money.

 

 

fastpass strategy

FastPass+ Strategy

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With the announcement of new FastPass+ changes yesterday (see Walt Disney World FastPass+ Changes), it is time to look at the strategy of making your FastPass+ reservations. Here are some basics about FastPass you should understand before we proceed:

  • FastPasses give you access to “bypass” the line at certain attractions. While you still have to wait in line, the fastpass line is typically only a few minutes long.
  • FastPasses are available in all four Walt Disney Wold theme parks, and reservations can be made in advance or while in the theme parks.
  • FastPasses are free to everyone in who has a ticket to a Walt Disney World theme park, there is never a charge to get a fastpass.
  • To access FastPass+ service before you arrive, you must have either:
    • A valid Walt Disney World Ticket or Walt Disney World annual pass linked to your Disney account. If this is you, then you can make fastpass selections up to 30 days in advance of the day for which you are making reservations.
    • A reservation at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel that also includes your theme park tickets. Then you can start making fastpass selections as early as 60 days prior to your check-in date. You may make fastpass reservations for your entire stay at that time.
  • You are allowed to make up to three fastpass reservations per day in advance. With the changes announced yesterday, you can now make just one reservation at a time, or two or three, up to you.
  • Currently, your three initial reservations are limited to just one theme park, you are not allowed to spread your three between multiple parks if you plan on hopping.
  • Once you have used your three initial reservations in your park, you can now book one additional reservation via the My Disney Experience app or in-park kiosks. Once that additional fastpass is used, you can then make one additional reservation, and so on.
  • Both Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios have “tiers”, where you are limited to just one of your three initial selections from the first “tier”, while your second and third choices will be from the second tier. Currently, here are the first tier choices in each park:
    • Epcot: Illuminations, Living with the Land, Mission: SPACE, Soarin’ and Test Track.
    • Hollywood Studios: Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage, Fantasmic!, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, The Great Movie Ride and Toy Story Mania!.
  • Once you have used your first three reservations, the tier system is no longer involved, any additional reservations can be made from any available attraction.
  • FastPass reservations can be changed or cancelled at anytime from the My Disney Experience app.
  • While fastpasses for rides such as Space Mountain are not going away anytime soon, Disney does toy with availability at parades and fireworks show. Sometimes they are available, sometimes they are not.

So, what is my strategy to get the most out of FastPass?

Plan well in advance. Whether you can make your reservations for your entire stay 60 days in advance, or just one day at a time 30 days in advance, make a calendar of where you plan on being each day. This calendar really should have been made when you made your dining reservations several months before. Have this calendar handy well in advance of your reservation date.

Pick your attractions. Decide with your family your top four attractions that you want to get a reservation for for each day of your stay, an extra one so you have an alternate option. Make sure to have a list for each day, so if you happen to be in the Magic Kingdom three days during your stay, have three separate lists. This also allows you to swap attractions from one list to another if there isn’t any availability. Everyone wants to see Anna and Elsa, it may be sold out already once it comes your booking date.

Know your wait times. Don’t waste your tier one choice in Epcot on Living with the Land. Wait times for that ride most of the year are under 15 minutes, while Test Track and Soarin’ can reach an hour on really quiet days. While your family may really, really want to ride Living with the Land (and who can blame them, it is my favorite!), realize that you can walk on that with minimal wait just about anytime, while you will never just walk on Test Track. This goes for other attractions that historically have shorter wait times.

Book as early as possible. Know your 60 day date, and have your phone remind you every few days just so you don’t forget. Check out our Important Dates to know about Walt Disney World post to find a date calculator. Some days you may be able to access the fastpass system just after midnight, other times you may need to wait until about 5AM. Now, there probably isn’t any need to set your alarm for 5AM, but do get up early and get it done first thing. Anna and Elsa are really, really hard to get, and the longer you wait, the more likely it will be that you will be standing in line for several hours rather than going through the fastpass line.

Book all three reservations before you arrive at the park. While you can now book just one or two reservations in advance, get all three done. Again, once you use all three, you can start booking more, so pick the three attractions you want to see and get them booked.

Book your reservations for early in the day. Since you can book more once you have used your initial three reservations, don’t wait to start the fastpass process until later in the day. I usually book my three reservations before noon, and then start working on other ones before I have even headed to lunch. On crowded days, this gives you the ability to see more attractions than any other way.

Don’t waste your fastpasses on fireworks or parades. It is kind of silly to use one of your three times on a 10PM fireworks show. That just means that you will not be able to make any additional reservations at all. You are much better off using your fastpasses on attractions that have lines, not one things you can walk up to 5 minutes before and find a decent spot.

You can always make changes. If you aren’t 100% sure of where you are going to be one morning, or maybe you aren’t sure about the third fastpass you want, just make your reservations now, don’t wait. You can always make changes to your existing fastpasses later on if needed, but it is always harder to find the times and attractions you want the longer you wait.

Download the My Disney Experience app now! Walt Disney World has a great My Disney Experience app available for both iphone and android devices. Not only can you make and change your fastpass reservations directly from the app, it also shows you all of your existing fastpass and dining reservations, and the ability to change them in an instance right from your phone. Plus, you can even check out existing wait times in the parks to get an idea of what to expect on your trip, and which fastpasses to avoid (I am looking at you Living with the Land). The app is free, go get it.

Do you have any hints that you use with FastPass?