Top Five Travel Agent Tips for Walt Disney World

So you want to take a trip to Walt Disney World. First off, great choice of location! A trip to Walt Disney World truly offers something for absolutely everyone. So what should your first steps be? Should you buy a guidebook, go online to Disney’s website, or call 407-W-DISNEY? These are all fine choices, of course! But before you do any of that, let me offer you a few pieces of advice that not every Walt Disney World resort guest knows right off the bat. Here are my Top Five Travel Agent Tips for Walt Disney World!

1 – Take Advantage of Disney Transportation

Did you know that if you’re flying into Orlando International Airport and staying on property in a Walt Disney World Resort hotel, you’ll never have to pay for any transportation? It’s true! Walt Disney World offers it’s free Disney’s Magical Express service that will pick you up from the airport and bring you to your Walt Disney World Resort hotel. You can also hop aboard the Magical Express for your trip back to the airport at the end of your trip. Disney also provides buses, boats, and monorails to get literally anywhere on Walt Disney World property! During your stay, let Disney handle the transportation so you can sit back, relax, and still get where you want to go — free of charge!

Be sure to take advantage of Disney transportation.
Be sure to take advantage of Disney transportation.

2 – Make Dining Reservations Early

Walt Disney World’s restaurants open up for booking 180 days out. That’s right, 180 days! Even if you’ve never been to Walt Disney World before, you can research the menus online (there are tons of WDW dining sites out there) to figure out exactly where you want to eat on your vacation. While not all on-property restaurants need to be booked that far in advance, the most popular ones will fill up very, very quickly. So do your research and book those dining reservations!

Plan ahead for your dining reservations.
Plan ahead for your dining reservations.

3 – Get Free Drinks

Okay, I don’t know what you’re hoping to read here, but no, Disney won’t give you free margaritas or glasses of wine. But, if you’re just looking for a cup of ice water on a hot day in the theme parks, stop by any restaurant and just ask! All WDW restaurants offer free cups of ice water for park-goers. Sure, it’s not a fancy wine from the France pavilion at Epcot, but you can’t beat free!

4 – Ride Popular Attractions During Parades & Fireworks

If you’re just dying to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train but failed to get a FastPass+ reservation for it, fear not! You don’t necessarily have to wait 90 or 120 minutes to ride one of the most popular attractions in Walt Disney World. By waiting to jump in line until the Main Street Electrical Parade or Wishes! is going on, you give yourself a pretty fair shot at having a significantly shorter wait. The same thing goes for attractions like Soarin’ or Test Track over at Epcot, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror or Rock ’N’ roller coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Expedition: Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Wait times for popular attractions often go down during parades and nighttime spectacular shows.
Wait times for popular attractions often go down during parades and nighttime spectacular shows.

5 – Use GardenGrocer.com

I don’t work for Garden Grocer, I don’t get a kickback from sending anyone their way, but I have to say, I’m a customer and a big fan! With Garden Grocer, you can purchase groceries (with a slight markup) that will be delivered to your resort the day you check in. This is especially great for families who have young children who are picky eaters (like mine!) My children will eat almost nothing that we can get in Walt Disney World’s restaurants, so we are constantly bringing food with us into the park that we purchased on gardengrocer.com. Oh, and Garden Grocer will also deliver beer and wine for adults of age that don’t want to pay WDW’s extremely high prices!

So there you have it, the top five tips from a Disney Travel Agent! If you follow my advice, you’ll be vacationing like a true pro in Walt Disney World on your next vacation. If you’re looking for more help, tips, and strategies for your next (or first) WDW trip, please feel free to get in touch with me and I’ll help you plan out the perfect magical getaway! My services are always 100% free!

Nighttime fireworks or more attractions – which do you pick?

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