Insider Tips for Disney World
This spring, my family was able to take our first trip to Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. We were blessed to be ushered around, for most of the day, by a friend who is also an employee at Disney World! I have some tips to share with you, based on our experience, and some fun insider tips as well!
Other helpful Disney articles:
- How to Save Money on Your Disney Tickets
- Save Money Planning A Shorter Disney Visit
- Saving Money on Food While Visiting Disney
1. Never pay for water
If you go to ANY concession stand/restaurant in Magic Kingdom, they will give you a free glass of ice water (with a lid and a straw!) for free! I was surprised that I didn’t get a dirty look from workers when I ordered these glasses of water, either! They were all smiles and happily handed out the ice cold water.
2. Cinderella’s Castle
Go to Cinderella’s Castle early in the day if you want to be able to walk through it. By about 1:00 PM they close most of the castle off for shows that will happen in the afternoon. If you head straight there in the morning, you’ll be able to have a full walk through!
3. Bring a portable charger for your phone
This is one of the best insider tips for Disney that I can pass along to you!!
If you’re like me, your phone is rarely ever your just your phone. It is your camera, watch, camcorder, etc. I tried to conserve battery for as much of the day as possible, and even put my phone on airplane mode to make sure I wasn’t using any extra battery life.
No matter how much I conserved, by 2:00, my phone was dead. That meant I missed capturing some amazing moments. Check out some of these affordable portable battery options.
4. Look for hidden historical easter eggs
Easter eggs is a term for hidden facts or fun inclusions that you wouldn’t notice right off the bat. If you’re walking through Frontierland, you will see many of these! Look down and you will see a curvy brown path of stones running throughout Frontierland.
At first glance, it just seems like artsy pathways, but it’s not! It’s symbolic of how they used to allow the sewage to just run through the streets. Gross, but neat information! Also, look up at the shutters on the buildings there. They are slightly crooked! That’s because in the past, shutters were attached to the windows with leather. And as time passed, the leather would stretch and tighten, and leave the shutters crooked. Pretty neat inclusion!
5. Downtown Disney
This is one of Disney’s best kept secrets. Downtown Disney is a free shopping district that’s very near all the parks. It’s free to go in, and there’s some amazing things to do there!
There’s a luxury bowling alley, an eat-in movie theater (with meals for less than $10!), a place where you can drive amphibious cars into the water, tons of super cute Disney themed shops, and three AMAZING, over-the-top themed restaurants; Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex.
We ate at T-Rex. While the meal costs were pretty high ($18+ per entree) the food was amazing, portions were large, and the experience was absolutely incredible. The animatronics were well done, the lighting was exciting, and each room was themed by a different era (ice cave, rainforest, wooly mammoth, sea life – complete with multiple large aquariums!). It ended up being one of our favorite parts of our vacation.
6. Reservations matter
If you plan on enjoying a sit down meal, you need to make reservations before you visit. Otherwise, when you arrive, you will move to the bottom of the list and it can take even longer to get a table. You can book your reservations online directly from Disney.
7. Affordable Character meals
8. Get a Cut in Line Voucher
If you have younger children, they may not yet be tall enough to enjoy some of the rides. If that is the case, visit with one of the nearest cast members and ask them for a voucher. This will allow them to cut to the front of the line when they are finally tall enough to ride.
9. Saving Money on Meals
10. Use the app
The app is your best friend. It will help you navigate the park so you can get to the attractions you want. You can filter it by family event, thrill rides and more. Better yet, it will even tell you the average wait time for every ride.
What other secrets have you learned when you visit Disney? We’d love to hear from you!