Month: August 2024

Tips and tricks are an easy one to understand, but TUNNELS?

Disney offers a few special experiences besides just tickets to the parks, some of them include:

• Cake Decorating
• Autumn at Walt Disney World
• Behind the Seeds, a talk about the plants in the parks
• Caring for Giants: a special tour with the animals at Animal Kingdom
• DiveQuest: Scuba Diving in the aquarium at Epcot.

A full list of all tours and experiences can be found here. Among all the dozens of offerings, there is one that stands out: the Keys to the Kingdom tour. This is a chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at the park and visit some of the off-limits sections (called “backstage” in Disney lingo).

This includes getting the chance to see a part of the tunnels that run underneath the Magic Kingdom. Because I am a software engineer, nerd, and love to know how things work, where do I sign up? Take my money!

They don’t allow cameras on the tour; we still had a few days left on our trip and I didn’t want to get kicked out of the park, so I obliged.

The tour starts on Main Street near the entrance of the park at 9 a.m. There are about 20 people on the tour, and here are a few of the things they shared:

• Red concrete. Why is the pavement in Magic Kingdom red? Walt Disney wanted to share the movie experience, so the pavement is meant to be like a red carpet that leads you to the main feature, Cinderella’s castle. As you enter the park, there will always be popcorn beside the entrance, and candy straight ahead, because thats what you do when you go to a show.
• Buy the land. How much did Walt buy the land for? He bought the land for about $180/acre. However, a journalist from the Orlando Sentinel got suspicious: Who was buying thousands of acres of Florida Swampland under the name “Real Estate Development Company”? She suspected it was Disney, so she flew out to California and asked Walt Disney: “Are you buying land in Florida?” His response was, “Who would buy land there? It is only swamps, has no interstates, no tourism, and is hot all year.” The journalist thought, “You know a lot for someone who has no interest in the state.” She later published a piece as an opinion stating Disney is buying the land. The price per acre jumped from $180 to about $16,000/acre.
• Moving East. Why was Disney World built after Disney Land? After Disney Land was opened, Walt Disney entered 4 attractions for the World Fair. All of his attractions, including an animatronic feature, won out of a total of 5 awards. This showed him that there was demand for his products on the East coast as well, thus began the idea to open another theme park.
• The design of Magic Kingdom. What is so special about it? There are several “Lands”, and they are laid out with great attention to detail. It is a hub-and-spoke layout, with the garden and Cinderella’s castle at the center. Walt Disney said that when you hold out a treat for a dog (called a “weinie”), the dog will come towards it. So each “land”, has a tall, visual “weinie” to lead people: Cinderella’s castle, the Astro Orbiter in tomorrow land, the treehouse from Swiss Family Robinson, etc.
• The Shrubbery. Plants aren’t cool. Are they? Yes! Walt Disney had a neighbor who had a great yard. So, when Disney Land was opened in California, Walt asked his neighbor if he would do the landscaping. Then, when he added Walt Disney World, he said “Guess what? You get to do landscaping for Disney World Too!”. Also, Walt travelled the world and would bring back plants from exotic places, including smuggling seeds in his socks. Also, as you enter adventure land, there are trees planted specifically to block your view of the castle, to ensure people are experiencing adventure.
• What is NOT there. Why is everything…so perfect? Main Street has a ton of buildings and little store fronts. And not a single building has a defect: no peeled pain, not a single light bulb out of place, no gaps in the woodwork. I own a house. It is hard to keep everything in such shape, so I asked the tour guide. Her response? “A team comes in every night to fix things. If any paint needs to be added, or if any guest makes a complaint, they will often fix it immediately.”
• What else is missing. Why no bugs…or gators…in Florida? Every year, they release 6 billion ladybugs and dragonflies to help eat mosquitos. Another article I read to confirm says that they spray garlic as a natural repellant, release bats, and have chicken coups to help control the mosquito population. This is all to honor Disney’s wishes to not spray the park with chemicals, and leave as much natural as possible. As for gators, they have a gator-catching team that is on call whenever one is spotted. Everything is fenced off, but sometimes baby alligators can get through.
• Backstage passes. What happens backstage? A lot of people work at Disney World. 78,000 among the four parks. At the magic kingdom, they all need normal things: like parking, changing rooms, cafeterias, etc. They need to prepare for the parade, and more for all of the “magic” we experience as guests at the park. On the tour, I saw the Incredibles wearing only half a costume as they got ready for the parade. A golf-cart taking all of the princesses to their parade float. Where they house the floats in the off season. There was a full gym under Cinderella’s castle. And a dance studio for the “cast” to practice. And a gigantic room, like the first floor of our house, where a team does the sewing of all of the costumes people wear all around the park. I’m talking 6-12 princess dresses, every princess, along the walls of this entire room. Any little girl would have died to have played in there.

Tips and Tricks

We did 6 days in the parks. Here are the things that helped us the most:

• A stroller. Mercy doesn’t need a stroller in real life. She is tall for her age, and rarely uses it. Disney isn’t real life. We are walking, and it is hot. This saved us a ton of time to rent a stroller down there (no flying with one) to have her be able to rest when she needed, and to haul our ponchos, water bottles, etc. all day long.
• External Battery for phones. The Disney App does a lot (more on that later). But, since you are using the app a lot for maps and lines, not to mention taking pictures/videos, and more, the battery can drain pretty quickly. I had an external battery I got from Costco which worked great, and plugged it in at our hotel each night. My phone is an iPhone 13 (almost three years old), and though the phone is great, the battery isn’t amazing anymore, so this was a big help.
• Magic bands. I’d file this under a “maybe.” Mine fell off each time I put on my backpack, so I ended up just putting it in my pocket the whole week. Disney also offers the option to use a card instead of a magic band, or the app on your phone itself. They are neat as they light up with different colors on the various rides though.
• Lighting Lanes. The lines at the parks weren’t that bad when we visited, so they say. However, if you don’t want to wait 60 minutes for the fun rides, definitely opt for the lightning lane option to cut that wait time to 10-15 minutes.
• One person in charge. Taylor became an expert on ALL things Disney before our trip, including the rides and food. This helped as we just relied on her to make the decisions. I didn’t do much research (partially because I like being surprised!), so picking the right rides and places to eat was a lot easier for our group.
• Small backpacks. We ordered some small backpacks to haul around all day. The problem with a bigger backpack is, you will fill them if the space is available. These small, light-weight, bags were perfect for sunscreen, the battery charger, extra clothes for the kids, and any knick-knacks we got along the way.
• Dining Plan. We had the “quick service” dining plan, which offers a number of meals and snack each day you are at the park. A meal would be something like a burger, fries, and a drink (often times a beer!), and a snack would be ice cream, a pastry, etc. This helped us not think about costs while in the park; also, they were offered really cheap during the “slow” time of the year when we visited.
• Water bottles. Florida in August, need I say more? But this is my blog, so of course I will say more. We got hot and sweaty. We walked our butts off every day, especially the first two days. However, time is broken up by stores and attractions that are inside. Disney World does not skimp on the Air Conditioning either, so there is a cadence of cooling off throughout the day. However, everyone needs to drink a lot of water to make it through the day.
• Photo passes. This also depends: if you are coming back to the park often, you may not need a photo pass. If this is your one big trip, I recommend it. I realized last week that the pictures I shared were all the pictures I took, and didn’t include any group photos with Taylor parents. That’s because the group pics were all from the photo pass, and on Taylor’s phone. These pics are important, and I am glad we have them. Now, for a brief interruption to share ONLY pictures from our photo passes (also, I made it so you can click and see the full image):

• Tank tops. If you know me, you know tank-tops have become my thing. It started out with just the crazy/silly/funny tank tops at the pool, but my collection has grown to include more “normal” tanks as well. I say this because I started a few days wearing t-shirts but had to change around lunch because tank-tops really do keep me feeling much cooler in the Florida sun.
• Good walking shoes. I took 130,074 steps over a week; that’s an average of 18,582/day; or, 61 miles. Most of them pushing a stroller. Good shoes helped a lot. In fact, bring two pairs in case you run into one of the rainstorms Disney is known for, you won’t have wet shoes the next day.
• Staying on property. The transportation to the parks from the properties are amazing. Depending on where you stay, there are buses, trains, boats, or the skyway that run on a regular basis, so your wait time is pretty short. Also, people staying on property get to reserve their rides 7 days before the start of their trip, as opposed to 3 days before the trip when staying off-property.
• A rest day. For sure. Little kids absolutely can’t keep up. Grown ups also need a break. So if staying more than 3 days, add a rest day in between.

An incredible app.

Disney World has its own app. In order to build an app, it takes a bunch of systems and makes them all work together using the same interface for the user to interact with it. The systems usually involve creating APIs (Application programming interfaces), and it is very, very difficult to do.

The Disney App takes this to another level by integrating:

• Hotel Reservations
• Hotel Keys
• Disney Photo Passes
• Mobile ordering for most restaurants at the parks (Not the fancy restaurants)
• A map which can filter to find the nearest characters, bathrooms, restaurants, stores, help, etc.
• Wait times for rides
• Ride reservations.
• Walking directions/navigation on the map.
• Bus/boat time arrival tracking.

Any where else, building an app that can do ONE of these features would be a complex system in itself: things in the digital world are always breaking and need time to update and maintain. The complexity of making all of the Disney systems work together in an app like this just blows my mind.

Disney Redemption

We went to Disney in 2019 for 2 days and got to visit Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. Rosie was about to turn 5 at the time, and Taylor’s dad had a work trip at one of the Disney resorts. It was a very short notice, and we were on a tight budget at the time and wouldn’t have been able to afford going to Disney any other way. So we did what any normal person would do: share a single room with your in-laws for a 72 hour visit to the happiest place on earth. 

It was a whirlwind visit. We did all the rides in a short amount of time; except, Taylor was pregnant at the time and didn’t get to ride any of them. You might be thinking, “the math on that doesn’t line up though. Mercy is only 3”. This is correct. Taylor was pregnant, and ended up losing the baby. It was sad- terribly sad. Since that time, Taylor has had dreams about Disney World. It became her “happy place” in ways, and she would explain it as “I have unfinished business there.” That is where this story begins.

We wanted to do a big trip to Disney, and this was that. A bit excessive? Possibly. She looked into it all, and there are so, so many things to look into:

• Where will we stay? 
• How long will we go? 
• Will we fly or drive? 
• If flying, what is the best deal? 
• Is it better to stay on property (at a Disney resort) or not?
• What is the cheapest time of the year to go? 
• What food options make the most sense? 
• How many days will we go to the parks? Will we stay in one park, or have the option to switch parks (Park hopper). 
• How do we “skip the lines” the smartest way possible?
• Can someone help us with all of these things? Because this is a lot to take in. 

The answer to that final question, is “yes”. There are people that can help you make sense of all of those things, and they are called “Certified Disney Planners.” . Luckily for us, Rosie’s best friends dad is one (Mark). And he lives 2 blocks away, so that answered that.

The cheapest time of the year to go is August, when it is hot as blazes outside. And they had some deals on packages that included food and stay, and park-hopper tickets are a bit cheaper as well. And the more days you stay, the cheaper the tickets end up being. Also, with the help of Mark, Tay did all of this in her spare time. Is there anything she can’t do? 

We got to our resort on a Saturday, and as soon as we got there, Mercy hurt her ankle pretty bad by being a normal three year old and playing on a low-rise wall that was about 18” off the ground. “Daddy I can’t run because my foot hurts.” This was Taylor’s worst nightmare. But, by the end of the following day, that pain was gone. Thank God. 

We stayed in the French Quarter: Port Orleans. This is a moderate Disney resort, which gave us the chance to stay a little longer. 

What did you do while you were there? 

It’s not that easy. About a month before our trip Disney overhauled their entire ride system. The way it works is this: a week before the first day of the trip, you can book 1 tier one ride, and 2 tier 2 rides if you are using “lightning lanes.” Then, after you use a lightning lane, you can reserve your next ride. There is a 1-hour window in which to redeem your ride. 

As a side note, have you ever gone on Youtube and searched for “Disney World Tips and Tricks”? If not, I encourage you to do so. There is an overwhelming amount of content out there about the parks, and one in particular is called the Disney Food Blog. I suppose it started out just giving tips about the food at Disney, but they make great content with tips and tricks about EVERYTHING related to the parks. I don’t exactly know how many videos she watched, or Disney planning podcasts she listened to before our trip, but it was a few. And she seemed to really enjoy the process. Remember what I said earlier about “redemption”? Maybe that was her motivation? Regardless, it brought her joy in the months leading up to the trip, and our family was grateful for all the work she put in.

Day 1: Magic Kingdom

Our resort has better transportation to the parks than other resorts (thanks Mark!). Luckily, we got on the wrong bus on day one, and instead of heading to the Magic Kingdom, we were headed to Hollywood Studios. No pressure, as this was our first day and we were about to burst at the seams with excitement. After another bus to another resort, then another bus to MK, we got into the park just before 8:30. 

Mercy has never ridden on a roller coaster before, so it was hard to tell how this week would go. If she hated them, it could greatly change how our week played out. Starting out with a gentle ride like The Little Mermaid could work our way into it. 

Check: She liked it. Next up, Dumbo. 

Another success! Finally, the first REAL ROLLERCOASTER was Goofy’s Barnstormer:

Her response? “I wanna do it again.” 

At the end of the day, I had 20,076 steps. We left after riding Barnstormer again at 7:30pm, on the bus by 8. That’s about 12 hours in the park. 

Day 2: Epcot and Magic Kingdom

Mercy still takes naps, and we had a stroller to allow for it. So, when she was asleep, I made it my mission to find a tank-top to wear at one of the many stores. I failed at the magic Kingdom the day before, and looked in several stores at Epcot during Mercy’s nap time as well. On my 9th store, a little shop in Italy, I finally found it: 

I bought it, and proudly showed Taylor (and her parents). It was a shirt for women. “Where did you buy that? Was it around other women’s clothing?” I wasn’t really sure, but I did go back and get a pic to confirm: 

There is a ride called “Mission: Space.” Rosies cousin went to Epcot s few years ago, and said this ride was intense. There are wornings everywhere: “If you don’t like confined spaces or get motion sickness, avoid this ride.” Yada yada yada. This ride has an orange option, and a green option. Green is less intense, so obviously we wanted to do Orange. Rosie was getting really nervous as we got closer to the front, and as you move forward, there is a part where you are in a room with about 20 people and a video is played to set up the scene for the ride. The video ended and it was super quiet, Rosie was nervous, so I said “Rosie did you just fart?” Oh my good ness it was funny. Taylor and I couldn’t stop laughing, but Rosie is 9, and that was pretty embarrassing. Though I was just trying to calm down her tension for the moment, I think I went a bit too far and hurt her feelings. She was fine an hour later, but it was a dad-fail. 

Also we did the Character Brunch that day, and all the girls got to meet their favorite princesses:

We did as many rides as we wanted, and at some point took the bus back to the Magic Kingdom. Taylor wanted to see the fireworks, and we might not have the chance the rest of the week. 

On Space Mountain, people are put into the ride, and it goes a few feet and stops in front of the other people waiting in line before launching. During that moment, I waved at the people in line, and yelled “Let’s get weird everybody!” They laughed. Rosie laughed. There was a bit of redemption in that moment. I am an embarrassing dad, but don’t want to go too far. 

Taylor wanted to see the fireworks. Years ago, when we went to Disney the first time, Rosie fell asleep on my shoulders during the fireworks. This time was Mercy’s turn: but instead of falling asleep on my shoulders, she fell asleep in the stroller, and was out cold the entire time. 

The fireworks are great, and definitely worth sticking around for. We were in line for the bus at 9:20 (really late for us). Luckily, the next day was going to be a bit easier. 

Day 3: Hollywood studios

The Star Wars land is here, and that was the part I was most excited about. My whole life, people have referenced the “Luke, I am your father” quote. This would happen at places like summer camp whenever there were ice-breakers for people to meet each other, freshman orientation in college, meeting your classmates in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th, 12th grade. Basically, everywhere. All the time. It used to be a bit embarrassing, but now was my day to fully embrace it. In fact, Taylor got me a special shirt for the occasion: Meeting Darth Vader. 

Rosie got to meet Rey: this was who Rosie was for Halloween last year when we were watching the Star Wars movies for the first time; Rey is an awesome character. 

Nothin significant happened this day; but it was great. I did enjoy Hollywood Studios because it had everything closer together; for Epcot, everything is so spread apart, it just took forever to get there. Some people asked about the heat during the day, and by the third day, we were doing much better. It is not like being outside exposed to the heat all day long- there are plenty of breaks where shade is available. Even the lines for the rides have shade and air-conditioned rooms. 

Day 4: Animal Kingdom/Keys to the kingdom tour. 

Taylor and her parents did Animal Kingdom, while I did the “Key’s to the Kingdom” tour. This was a special tour at the Magic Kingdom that takes people around the park, including “backstage” and in the system of tunnels and corridors underground. It was so cool, I think it deserves its own special blog post. 

After the tour, I went back to the hotel for a quick nap and shower and then Taylor and I got to do a date night in Epcot. Our reservations for Le Cellier were at 6:30, and the steak for two that they serve is one of the best I’ve ever had. It was $$$, but date night was great while the kids stayed in with Zippy and Papa. 

We strolled around the world and had drinks. I had several drinks, and we got to ride a slow ride before heading in for the night. 

Day 5: Rest Day at the Resort. 

The pace for the past 4 days was insane. If staying at Disney for a while with kids, especially little ones, a built-in rest day can help. Our rest day really did help us all re-align. 

We did the pool at our place; then took the boat to do the pool at the neighboring property, which was much bigger. Naps, and bus and monorail for dinner at the fancy resort: the Polynesian. Our place did Movies on the lawn at 7:30, so we tuned in to “A Goofy Movie” for a bit before bed. 

Day 6: Hollywood Studios. 

At this point, we were cooked. Sleeping in was great, and we got to sleep in and catch the 9:30 bus to the park. 

Did the kids get along? 

Every day at about 1 or 2, when Mercy was exhausted from only eating sugar and salt and sweating all day as a 3 year old, she transformed into a little jerk for a short period of time. She would irritate Rosie, Rosie had a lot of patience and tried to get her to stop, but it didn’t work. Then, Mercy would sleep in her stroller, and things would be fine. This would repeat itself for the last hour before bed each night and the bus ride home. Other than that, things were great. 

Back to Hollywood: There is so much to look at everywhere, it is awesome This is true for all parks. 

One of the biggest rides here is the “Tower of Terror.” Great ride, people love it. People who don’t have a fear of falling love it. I have a fear of falling. Like, I have bad dreams where I am falling. Dropping rides, like Drop Zone at Carowinds in Charlotte gives me nightmares. This ride is an elevator, and instead of dropping riders on time, it drops them four times. I rode this ride with Rosie, and she was concerned why I was so quiet on the ride. The reason is this: I was full of DREAD going on it. For some reason I thought it might alleviate some fear; but it didn’t. In fact, it may have made it worse. I was absolutely terrible. I held the handles as tight as I could so my butt wouldn’t leave the seat. When the ride dropped us and I saw my backpack rise from the floor up to eye-level, I thought to myself “HELL no, this is terrible!” 

Everyone else loved it though. We made it back home in bed by 10:22, another late night. 

DAY 7: Magic Kingdom and Epcot. 

Another late start. Late on purpose. Late because sleep was needed and it was wonderful. This was our last day in the park, Taylor’s birthday, and a chance to hit up any last rides we didn’t get to do. 

Taylor heard that a restaurant at Epcot called Space: 220 was awesome, so she got us reservations there for her birthday dinner. Did it stand up? YES! Was it expensive? Also yes. 

We did our last few rides, and made it home earlier to do some packing before our flight the next morning. 

There may be some duplicates here, but here is a giant gallery of the highlights: