re: Walt Disney World Questions for Disney Pros

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Now you have to do everything months in advance and strategically pick which rides to use your pass on.

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Not true. I don't book fast passes until the day I'm going to the park. I don't like to plan out my trip so early. Sure, Disney gives you the ability to do so....but you don't have to.

Is DVC worth it? That's a really loaded question.

First, you have to understand what it is. Youre buying/leasing Disney property. Depending on the home resort, the contract could end anywhere from 2042 to 2065.

Then, if you're looking at saving money, it's not really the point. You won't be staying in value or moderate resorts or even in typical delux rooms. These are studios and condos.

Next is the cost and this can be complicated. Buy direct from Disney or buy resale? Buying direct can often cost you twice as much but it's rarely ever worth it (I'll explain when in a moment). The only advantage buying direct gets you on paper is the ability to use your points outside of the Disney resorts (e. i. The Cruise, adventures by Disney). But those use up so many points, that in terms of value it's always "cheaper" to use cash. Then there are maintenance fees. DVC, while a Disney company, isn't technically owned by Disney in the sense that Disney subsidizes the cost of ownership. Members pay for everything from renovations to security and maintenance and mousekeeping.

Finally, you need to understand home resorts and the points system. Do you care which resort you stay in? Do you have a specific one in mind that you love? These two questions are key. Your home resort gives you the advantage of booking 11 months out at that resort. You must wait for 7 months at all the others which can often be difficult if you often go during peak periods. But if you don't mind staying at Saratoga Springs or Old Key West, then buy resale at Saratoga. Points are some of the cheapest, as are maint fees, and the contract doesn't expire until 2054 which is 12 years longer than almost half of the resorts. But if you love Grand Floridian or love the Poly, buying Direct from Disney may be your only choice. This is the only instance where buying direct would make sense. Because in the end, do what makes you happy. The way points work aren't typical of most timeshares either. You can bank and borrow, meaning if you only think you'll be going every 3 years, you can get away with buying relatively few points. And you can always start out small and buy more later.

That's not all of it. Use years, room point cost, renting out, and the buying process can often be overwhelming. But I will say this. Disney is a rare timeshare where if you buy in, and it doesn't work out, you can sell. And very often, the price of the points appreciates. No other timeshare can say that.

Thanks for the reply. As I stated we stayed at Aulani and used a third parties points. Seemed to work out pretty flawlessly. I wonder if that is the best route to go? I never thought about doing that when we went to WDW though.

I got a fast pass for toy story the morning of last week. Granted, it was for 7 PM, but still got it.

I imagine during peak times, it's impossible though.

We usually go once every two or 3 years. Next year, we're going for food and wine as well as the half marathon. Then in December we're going to Hawaii. We still take other vacations.

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Good luck getting a fast pass for Toy Story.

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I go pretty often and have been on Toy Story Midway Mania plenty of times. With the age my kids are at, it's nothing I need to do. So we skipped it the last 2 times I was there. But, I've never had a problem getting a Fast Pass for anything because we go in the value seasons.

Spend the extra money if you have two kids in strollers and stay on the monorail. Will never stay anywhere else with strollers. Other than the strollers the buses are no problem.

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The big issue with the fast passes and Hollywood Studios is there just isn't much to do there anymore. So much is closed and the way they group the fast passes makes it really difficult. The way to do the fast passes there is you can get Toy Story, Tower of Terror and Star Tours in your group of 3. Do that. You may think you need to do Rockin Roller Coaster but you don't. Even when it's crowded that wait always gets down to 20 minutes or under eventually. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT WASTE YOUR FAST PASSES ON THE SHOWS. There's too many of them and they run all day. That's a common mistake made by people that haven't been in a while because they see they can fast pass something like Beauty and the Beast of Disney Jr. Just get a times guide when you walk in and plan accordingly.

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OR, you can get there early enough that the wait times are fairly minimal, do what you want to do there, book fast passes in a different park for the afternoon/evening (assuming you have a park hopping option ticket) and then leave DHS after lunch.

I'm at the bottom of the list of Disney fans in my house... but reading through this is making me want to go back (but not when it's hot).

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If your're trying to fit in Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones, Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney, etc, it can be really tough to get it all in in one morning. The only way that works is if you run to Toy Story when the gates open then run to Rockin Roller Coaster right after but even then you'd have to catch some Extra Magic Hours to pull it off. Not to mention if you're gone by lunch you miss out on Fantasmic which is Disney's finest show.

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Its true that it would be almost impossible to do all of those shows in one morning but most people aren't trying to do that. If you've been a couple times, there are things that most people are willing to skip. For example, I feel like I've seen the same Indiana Jones show 100 times. I probably haven't stopped to see it on my last 4 trips. Also, I usually stay for a week for each trip. I know I'll be back to each park more than once, so there is no reason to try to cram the entire park into 1 day. I find that leads to a miserable experience when you try to cram too much into a day at WDW. I like to show up early, get a couple big things done, and then just relax and enjoy the park. Maybe do a couple smaller attractions.

A lot of people disagree with how I visit WDW, but I almost never spend a full day at one park. Go to one park in the morning. Leave a little after lunch and go back to the hotel for swimming, a nice lunch, a nap, or whatever. Then I'll usually hit another park around 4:00 or so. Everyone is refreshed and ready to have a fun evening. You can usually spot the people that have been in the parks all day long. They are the ones biting each others heads off around 7:00.

By the way, Fantastic is garbage compared to Illuminations.

Fantastic, Fantasmic, whatever. frick some autocorrect.