Hello my lil fairies,
Welcome to the second installment (of many) of my Orlando Holiday Post Saga and the new greeting. After two trips, I'm lucky enough to know a few tips that will make your holiday so much easier. A few of them I knew before hand but some I found out as each day passed and it saved a lot of stress and money. I mean there's no point going on holiday if you won't enjoy it because you're worrying about everything.
1. If you can, stay at a Disney Resort for your holiday
Like I said in my last post, we stayed at an aparthotel with a kitchen and washing machine. Sure it made me feel like I was at home but it was really expensive. Most people assume that all Disney Resorts are mega expensive and a few are but there are some amazing budget resorts with the same perks. Looking at cheaper motels, there are still some Disney Hotels (Like the all-stars which are just basic rooms) which are pretty much the same price but without the benefits. With any Disney Resorts, regardless of price, you'll not just get guaranteed quality and service but also the Disney Shuttle to all the parks. This service saves so much money because you're not paying for petrol or the $20 parking price. You also get access to the Magic Hours for the different parks which is great if you want to avoid long lines on certain rides. It may be cheaper for food, if you buy your own, but it's a lot less stressful to stay at a Disney Resort.
2. Water Cheat
Water is probably the most expensive part of the holiday because you get so thirsty that you just keep buying bottles, which are really expensive in the park. Obviously it's cheaper to buy them at supermarkets like Target but there is a way around that if you can't get to one. If you go to any of the restaurants or kiosks and ask for either a cup of water or a cup of ice, then they will give you it for free! The water is great quality and refreshing so you quench your thirst without paying the hefty bill. There are also water fountains dotted around the parks to fill up water bottles but I didn't react well to that water so, to be safe, stick to the cups and you will save so much money!
3. Buy a Memory Maker
The best tip when buying park tickets is to look around and find the cheapest option which is the best for you. Take into consideration which parks you want to do and for how long, also make sure that the place you buy it from is legit. We chose a 14-day ticket for Disney and Universal (including Volcano Bay) and got it for a really good price. The best thing about our deal was the inclusion of the Disney Memory Maker which was one of the best things we could have got because it usually costs over $100 for multiple days. Basically, across the Disney parks, there are photographers dotted around who take amazing pictures of you at different locations and some with special effects. The Memory Maker let's you look at all of these photos and download them for free for up to a month after you leave. We managed to take over 200 with them alone and they are some of the best pictures we have on a trip. If you like making memories, this is definitely something worth investing in or finding in a ticket offer.
4. Ride Hacks
Everybody hates waiting for rides but you're going to have to do it. There are some ways to make this a bit easier and it starts before you even get to the parks. If you have a Disney Experience account, you can start booking fastpass's in advance, these passes will let you skip the normal queue and get on the ride's a lot quicker. My tip is to pre-book the most popular rides which, at the moment, are the Avatar rides in Animal Kingdom and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Peter Pan's Flight in Magic Kingdom to make sure you aren't waiting up to 3 hours. Also, make use of them once you get there because you can pre-book up to 3 and, once you've used them, you can book more in the park using the kiosks.
Using the Disney Experience app on your phone is also vital because, as well as showing fast pass times and photos, you can see the wait times for each of the rides. This means that you know which ones to do at what time and when the rides are the most popular so you can plan when to do each ride. It seems as if the most popular rides are the least busy when the park opens and during parade and firework times so, if you've done them before, take the opportunity to do some rides that were too busy during the day.
5. Uber Travels
If you're staying at either a Universal or Disney resort, you'll want to get around Orlando without having to hire a car - which is expensive. I was never an uber user before America but my auntie told me about how cheap it was in America and it was a literal God send. We needed a way to get to Universal Studios and Disney offered a service for $84 dollars return which is pretty expensive and pretty restricting in terms of times etc. We managed to get a return trip to and from Universal for only $38 which is a massive difference. If you've never used Uber, America is definitely the place to start.
Hopefully this post will help anyone going or thinking of going to Orlando. You'll be told a few of these things by reps and stuff but a lot is kept a secret so it's also good to do some research because there are hundreds of videos and articles with hacks that make your holiday even better.
That's all for now my dears,
xx
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