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Update December 2015: There’s an updated high crowd itinerary.  If you have not yet set your park days and dining, you should use the updated one–it’s better!

Below is a Disney World FastPass+ based itinerary for the higher crowd weeks of the year.

FastPass+ recommendations are all in To-Do List for this itinerary. Daily instructions are here:

Thanks are especially due to Josh of easyWDW. With his permission, I picked the targeted park days based on both my own practices and his daily park recommendations.

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: NOVEMBER 30 TO DECEMBER 8, 2013

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the image, but organized by park, not by topic.

And for more on December 2013 at Disney World, see this.

[Read more →]

(For the first page of this review of the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian, click here.)

PHOTO TOUR OF A TWO-BEDROOM VILLA AT THE VILLAS AT DISNEY’S GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT & SPA

You can see the basics of all three of the most common room types at the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa from a Two-Bedroom Villa.

This is because a Two-Bedroom Villa combines

• The master bedroom (left on the floor plan above) and combined kitchen/dining/living space (center) of a One-Bedroom Villa…
• …with a second bedroom very similar to a Studio (right).

In some cases the room similar to a Studio actually is a Studio, connected to the space that’s otherwise a One-Bedroom Villa via a locking connecting door–these are called “lock-offs.”

In others, the space was designed from the start as a Two-Bedroom–these are sometimes called “Dedicated Two-Bedroom Villas,” and so the layout of the second bedroom is slightly different than that of a Studio.

Both my stays at the Villas at the Grand Floridian were in dedicated Two Bedrooms, so all the photos are of a “second bedroom,” not a studio. I’ll comment on the differences between the second bedroom and the Studio as I go.  I haven’t stayed yet in a pure studio, so these comments come from studying the studio floor plans, plus some of the comments I’ve gotten since my original review of these spaces.

I’ll start with the second bedroom/studio, go from there to the master bedroom, and finish the photo tour in the combined kitchen/dining/living space.

PHOTO TOUR OF THE SECOND BEDROOM/STUDIO IN THE VILLAS AT THE GRAND FLORIDIAN

In dedicated two bedrooms, the second bedroom is accessed from the main entry hall of the villa. On the floor plan, this image is from the entry , turned right toward the hall that leads to the second bedroom. Studios connect to lock-off One Bedroom from the same spot.

As you go down this hall, on one side you’ll find a desk. In the studios, you’ll find here instead an entry door to the main public corridor.

Beyond at an angle is another hallway leading back to the bedroom area, with the closet on one side and the bath on the other.

On one side of the hallway is the divided bath. One part of the divided bath has the typical toilet and tub/shower combo.

There’s a couple of innovations here.

First, instead of one bath space being entered from the other, there’s two doors to the hallway–one to the toilet/tub shown above, and the other to the other part of the bath. These two spaces are also connected internally by yet a third door, so these spaces are remarkably flexible.

The other innovation is that the other part of the bath has not only a sink, as is typical…

…but also a second shower, which is not. These are the most well-appointed and flexible baths you’ll find in a Studio or second bedroom except in the Studios at the Polynesian Village.

Back in the hall, on the other side from the baths in a dedicated two bedroom you’ll find a large closet–above is the half closer to the entry…

…and here’s the second half.

In Studios–and thus in lock-off Two-Bedrooms–things are a little different here.

Instead of the second closet area, you’ll find here a microwave, mini-fridge, and another sink. So families staying in a Studio or lockoff do get the second sink back that’s not in the bath–and those staying in a dedicated Two Bedroom can always send the kids (or dad…) to brush their teeth at the kitchen sink!

Further back in the main part of the room, you’ll find in the dedicated Two Bedrooms two queen beds on one side.

The beds from the back of the room.

A closer view of one of the queens.

In Studios and lockoffs, the further bed is replaced by a couch that folds out into a queen. The couch adds flexibility…but the regular bed is more comfortable.

A bedside table adds two small storage drawers.

On the opposite side of the room you’ll find a small table and chairs and an object with a TV on top.

The TV side of the room from the back.

The table and chairs are nothing special…

…but the object holding the TV is.

In the dedicated two bedrooms, you’ll find here 6 really large and deep drawers.

In the Studios and lock-offs, instead you’ll find under the TV a fold-down Murphy bed. I measured the same bed from the living room of my villa as 72 inches by 32 inches. A standard twin is bigger than this, and although there’s 77 inches clear between the framing elements, I found at my own 71+” that the bed did not work well for me.

Cushioning was fine–I measured the cushion as being more than 5 and a half inches deep.  Rather, the issue was my feet hanging off the end and banging into the bed framework. I suspect, though, that this bed will be just fine for anyone 5’6″ or shorter…

Because of the Murphy Bed, these studios sleep five.

Moreover, because the lockoffs have two of these Murphy Beds (one in the Studio/second bedroom, one in the living room) you have ten sleeping spots in 6 individual beds, really adding flexibility to sleeping arrangements.

On the other hand, a Studio has only half the closet space as the Two-Bedroom of a dedicated unit. Some of the drawer space lost from the Murphy Bed is made up for in Studios by drawers built into the frame of the queen bed.

The final component of these rooms is the full-width balcony. (That’s not me; it’s Josh from easyWDW, who came by to check out my digs.  You can tell it’s him because he’s funny, and I’m not.)

Dedicated units have a single long balcony covering all bays of the villa; lockoffs have a separation between the Studio and other balconies.

THE LIVING/DINING/KITCHEN SPACE IN THE VILLAS AT THE GRAND FLORIDIAN

This review continues here.

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YET ANOTHER JOINT FAN MEET UP WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 4TH

I had so much fun earlier this month meeting a bunch of you with Steve (see Steve’s post about it here) that, along with my bud Jodi from Magical Mouse Schoolhouse, there’ll be another joint fan meet up next week!

It will be 4.30-5.30p on December 4th in the northeast corner of the Magic Kingdom’s Town Square, interrupted by the 5p Flag Retreat.

Jodi of Magical Mouse Schoolhouse and I will be

• Meeting and greeting our fan(s)
• Giving away the new “Glow with the Show” mouse ear hats to the first five fans that show up (if we hit that many…), and
• Watching the Retreat together.

This time, I’ll be accompanied also by lovely wife Amy Girl—whom everyone likes so much more than they like me—and Jodi plans to bring her family too!

Look for us with goofy Glow with the Show hats between the candy (“Main Street Confectionery”) and hat (“The Chapeau”) shops!

We will tweet and update on Facebook where we are, and we’d love to meet you later in the evening as well, if you can’t make the 4.30-5.30 meet up.

We’ll be also be giving “Glow with the Show” ears away to randomly selected people who join the meet-up virtually by re-tweeting our tweets or commenting on our Facebook posts. (On Twitter, Jodi is @MagicalMouseSch  and Dave is @yourfirstvisit. On Facebook, Dave is here and Jodi here.)

Our travel partners are also helping out!  Thanks 3D Travel Agency and Destinations in Florida!

(By the way—Steve announced his Facebook and Twitter Glow with the Show hats winners from our November joint meet up on Saturday (here). My winners were: on Twitter, Kerri M; and on Facebook, Pam D.  I’ll message you two separately to get your mailing addresses so that we can send you the ears!)

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I did my second test of FastPass+ a week and a half ago, focusing on the value of FastPass+ for character greetings, parades, and fireworks.

(My first test, in September, focused on FastPass+ on rides; at my third test, next week, I’ll be showing up with nothing booked, and testing how well day-of FastPass+ bookings go.)

The comments below about the value of FastPass+ assume that you will be able to book only one headliner a day, and that parades, the big character greetings, and fireworks shows are gonna be in the list where you can only “choose one from here.”

This is now true at Epcot and the Studios, and I expect it to become the case at the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom soon…

FASTPASS+ FOR DISNEY WORLD CHARACTER GREETINGS

This site is aimed at kids 8 and older, for whom character greetings aren’t such a high priority.

Its itineraries handle character greetings largely through dining—recommending meals at which kids will meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pooh, Tigger and buckets of princesses.

Folks with younger kids, especially those for whom most of the other “headliners” offered in FastPass+ are not age-appropriate, may save some time in line by grabbing character greeting FastPass+, especially at the Magic Kingdom.

Some such lines in the other parks aren’t long now, but they may become long as more families grab such sessions as part of FastPass+.

Folks with older kids booking FastPass+ at parks where people can pick only one headliner should skip FastPass+ at character greetings—there’s better ways to use these.

(Note: I’m not counting Enchanted Tales with Belle or Turtle Talk with Crush as “character greetings”—these are much more, and much better, than that…)

FASTPASS+ FOR DISNEY WORLD PARADES

It’s not hard to find a good viewing spot for parades most of the time, but for many families with little kids the key is locking a spot early enough so that the kids can see the parade—that is, their views aren’t blocked out by older kids or adults.

(There’s some etiquette to the parades— see this.)

The current FastPass+ location for the Magic Kingdom parades is right in front of the Castle.  This creates a wonderful photo backdrop (especially if the day is a lot sunnier than when I was there).

However, the spot is so deep—much deeper, for example, than the Main Street viewing areas– that little kids can still not have a good view.

This was not an issue on the cold and quiet November day that I tested the FastPass+ for the parades, but as FastPass+ becomes more predominant, it will be.

Arriving at the FastPass+ parade viewing area when it opens (that is, at the earliest time your FastPass+ lets you in) solves this problem, as you’ll then be able to claim a viewing spot right on the curb.

My dates, FastPass+ let me in about 35 minutes before the parade was expected to pass by the FastPass+ viewing area…but most times of the year, you can find a front of the curb spot in Fantasyland at 35 minutes before…

So for the parades, too, for most families, I’m not seeing a lot of value to FastPass+…

FASTPASS+ FOR DISNEY WORLD FIREWORKS

There’s a coupla things you might want out of FastPass+ for the Disney World fireworks shows—including

• Being on the axis for which the show was designed to be seen without having to wait much
• For the shows that often close the parks—almost always Illuminations at Epcot, except on evening Extra Magic Hours nights, and often Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios—being closer to the cars and buses than most other people, so that if you want to leave then, you can without so long a fuss in getting out of the park
• Moreover, for Fantasmic in particular—the only evening fireworks show with limited capacity—you’d want guaranteed access as well.

By these criteria,

• Illuminations is worth a FastPass+ if you have two days at Epcot
• Fantasmic is nearly worth one if you have two days at the Studios
• And Wishes is not worth a FastPass+, unless you have four or more days at the Magic Kingdom.

FastPass+ and Illuminations

The Fastpass+ viewing area for Illuminations is at the intersection of the World Showcase Lagoon and Future World, between the two Tower gift shops.

This puts your family right on the axis from which Illuminations was designed to be viewed (although Illuminations is not so axis-dependent as the other two shows) and also pretty much as close to the exit to the transportation area as an Illuminations viewer can be.

This is not worth a FastPass+ if you are spending only a day at Epcot, but is worth one if you are spending more than a day.

FastPass+ and Fantasmic

Fantasmic is a trickier call.  Your Fantasmic FastPass+ guarantees you access, but not—at least of my November test—a good seat.

In my September test, the Fantasmic FastPass+ seats were in the Pocahontas section, which are in the better middle third of the Fantasmic viewing area.

But on my November visit, there were no dedicated FastPass+ seats.  Your FastPass+ guaranteed access, but how good a seat you got was still a function of when you got in line.

Our FP+ kicked in at 35 minutes before show-time—I think we would have been fine getting there even a few minutes earlier than then–but I didn’t roll in til 20 minutes before showtime, and by then, most of the good seats were taken.

Because I wanted to be close enough to finally take barely adequate photos of Fantasmic, I found good seats near the front, which those in the know avoid because they can be misted for pretty much the entire duration of the show, and greatly delay exit.

But it would have been rough to find “good” seats then.

The best way to see Fantasmic remains seeing it on a night with two shows, and hitting the second show.

Assuming that Disney sticks with the Fantasmic access model I saw in November, and not the one I saw in September–if you have more than a day at the Studios, and neither day has two shows, then the guaranteed access feature of FastPass+ makes it probably worth using one for Fantasmic.

But if you are able, still show up early in the FastPass+ window so that you can get good seats—in the center section, about halfway up.

FastPass+ and Wishes

I’m not so keen on the Wishes FastPass+ location, which is near, but off-center to, the Castle, and somewhat obscured by trees—it’s the area on the left side of the line in the lousy photo.

The best place to see Wishes is facing the castle with Main Street at your back, with no trees obstructing your view.  This lets you see both the great Celebrate the Magic castle show—typically 30 minutes before Wishes–and Wishes itself.  You’d be closer to the train station if you planned to leave right after, and closer to the castle if you didn’t.

The Wishes FastPass+ location has a couple of problems

• It’s very close to the castle—good unless you plan to leave right after, when it will put you behind thousands
• It’s off center—not hugely so, but being off center matters more the closer you are to the castle
• Parts of the viewing area are obscured by trees—not a big issue for Wishes, but a problem for Celebrate the Magic

So I’m not too keen on spending what at the Magic Kingdom are particularly valuable headliner FastPass+ on Wishes…

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: NOVEMBER 23 TO DECEMBER 1, 2013

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the image, but organized by park, not by topic.

[Read more →]