Category — The easy Guide

Josh and I published an updated version of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit last week, and as promised, here I’m both going into a little more detail on the update and also introducing the material in the book overall to those who aren’t familiar with it.

This post focuses on Chapter Seven: Where to Eat.

First, on the book itself—my co-author Josh of easyWDW is the world’s leading authority on the Disney World parks and how to maximize the value of your time within them.  I have the same world-beating insight into the Disney World resorts–after my April visit, I’ll have stayed in more than 125 different Disney World-owned rooms, villas, studios, suites, cabins and campsites.

We each know a whole lot about a lot of other stuff too, and as a result, the Disney World guidebook series we have written has received more than 95% five star reviews. You simply won’t find a better reviewed Disney World guidebook.

Chapter Seven has 60 pages on dining at Walt Disney World.

First timers often don’t know how much fun—and how expensive—dining at Disney World can be, whether your definition of fun is a memorable family meal with Mickey, Pooh, or princesses, or a sweet date night experience. (Babysitting options are covered in Chapter Two.)

They also often don’t realize how quickly such venues book up, how to book them, or the pros and cons of the various Disney Dining Plans.

Chapter Seven covers all of these key topics and includes both general material on them and also introductions to fining in the theme parks, Disney Springs, and the resorts, and the best collection in one place of reviews of all the Disney World table service options.

Many of the changes include updates to prices. Disney has been aggressively increasing restaurant prices, and we included all of those that were out by our press deadline. It also increased Dining Plan prices after we had put this update to bed.

At current trends, at some point, increases in cash prices will outpace increases in Dining Plan prices, and we will look more favorably then on the Dinning Plan value. Until then, for most it’s not a money saving choice. (Families with multiple folks three to nine years old who book multiple one credit character meals and buffets are the exception—even with the recent 9% increase in Dining Plan costs for 3-9 year olds, the regular plan used this way is still a good value for them.)

We also have included new reviews of several restaurants that opened after the first version of the 2016 edition came out in September 2015. New reviews include the Jungle Navigation Company Skipper Canteen at Magic Kingdom, and Morimoto Asia and Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar (above) in Disney Springs.

We’ve also included new character options at Hollywood & Vine, other changes to the dining landscape at the Studios, and a preview of the soon-to-open Tiffins at the Animal Kingdom.

Want a copy of your own of the most up to date and best reviewed Disney World guide book available? ? It’s available in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon here!

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Josh and I published an updated version of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit last week, and as promised, here I’m both going into a little more detail on the update and also introducing the material in the book overall to those who aren’t familiar with it.

This post focuses on Chapter Six: How to Spend Your Time.

First, on the book itself—my co-author Josh of easyWDW is the world’s leading authority on the Disney World parks and how to maximize the value of your time within them.  I have the same world-beating insight into the Disney World resorts–after my April visit, I’ll have stayed in more than 125 different Disney World-owned rooms, villas, studios, suites, cabins and campsites.

We each know a whole lot about a lot of other stuff too, and as a result, the Disney World guidebook series we have written has received more than 95% five star reviews. You simply won’t find a better reviewed Disney World guidebook.

You go to Disney World for the parks. That makes Chapter Six the most essential chapter of The easy Guide. Using it is what gives you the best visit possible no matter when you got to Disney World or how crowded it is.

Chapter Six, How to Spend Your Time, first covers the basics of FastPass+, Disney’s new program that allows—and honestly, requires–you to book low-wait windows at (to start) three rides in a park per day starting 30 to 60 days ahead of your visit. FastPass+ is an essential tool for a lower-wait visit and ours is the first guidebook written form scratch to take advantage of it.

Most of the key points about FastPass+ are in Chapter Six, but we do come back to the mechanics of booking them in Chapter Nine.

Next we talk about itinerary design—how to spend your time in the parks. How many days to visit, and how to divide those days among the parks, is covered in Chapter Three. Chapter Six is about the details. We give sample itineraries, include detailed overviews of each of the parks and all of their rides, and end with versions of Josh’s famous “Cheat Sheets,” all grouped at the end of the chapter so that you can cut them out and carry them with you in the parks.

The material on each park has common sections. First we give a quick overview of the park. Next we identify the most important FastPass+–in order—for that park. Then we talk about arrival tips and tricks, and then cover the lands of each park. The sections on the lands include dining, shopping, and up to date reviews of each attraction.

The Cheat Sheets at the end of the chapter repeat a bit of this material (because they are meant to be torn out and carried into the parks) and add some additional valuable stuff: coded park maps, overviews of the best ways to tour each park, multiple detailed step-by-step touring plans, and finally for data hounds, expected waits by hour by crowd level.

Openings, closures, changes and such means that Chapter Six changes with every revision we publish. The key changes for the March update include the following:

• Major revisions because of the refurb of Soarin, with new versions of every Epcot touring plan we offer. We also added new and revised attractions (Baymax, Disney and Pixar Shorts) and give advice on how to revise everything once Soarin and the new Frozen attractions open later this year
• Changes to the priority list of FastPass+ at every park, based on the latest trends in how much wait time a particular FastPass+ will save you.
• Updates to the Animal Kingdom sections based on the opening of Tiffins and of Rivers of Light and other evening shows later this spring
• Multiple minor updates across the Magic Kingdom sections, especially revised touring plans
• Major changes to the material on Disney’s Hollywood Studios, incorporating recent and early-April ride closures there, and the additions of Star Wars events, shows and fireworks

All these changes make The easy Guide to Your First Walt DInsey World Visit your best friend for an upcoming trip!

Want a copy of your own? It’s available in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon here!

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!

Josh and I published an updated version of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit last week, and as promised, here I’m both going into a little more detail on the update and also introducing the material in the book overall to those who aren’t familiar with it.

This post focuses on Chapter Five: Where to Stay.

First, on the book itself—my co-author Josh of easyWDW is the world’s leading authority on the Disney World parks and how to maximize the value of your time within them.  I have the same world-beating insight into the Disney World resorts–after my April visit, I’ll have stayed in more than 125 different Disney World-owned rooms, villas, studios, suites, cabins and campsites.

We each know a whole lot about a lot of other stuff too, and as a result, the Disney World guidebook series we have written has received more than 95% five star reviews. You simply won’t find a better reviewed Disney World guidebook.

Probably the biggest budget variable you have on your Disney World trip is where you stay, as rooms are available from less than $100 to ten times that much.

In the book we are pretty firm that most first-timers, and almost all first-timers who may never return, should stay in a Disney-owned resort, and give a number of reasons why.

We explain the Disney World resort price classes, and recommend particular hotels within each price class. This lets first-timers make quick decisions.

For returning visitors, or first-timers who want do understand better their options, we then offer detailed reviews including overall appeal, theming, standard rooms, dining and prices for every Disney-owned option, and also for the key on-site but not Disney-owned hotels.

Finally, the chapter includes a few suggestions for those staying offsite–but if you really need to know a lot about the off-site options, you should get The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2016, which has more detail.

The update has several components.

Almost every floor plan has been updated. Most show simple cosmetic changes from recent minor changes to fits and finishes. Incidentally, all are now in color–fun if you are viewing the kindle version on your Fire, laptop, or phone.

However, we also now have updated floor plans reflecting recently completed refurbs in the rooms at the Beach Club and a current refurb at the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. We’ve added the final update on the Caribbean Beach refurb, and also note that the studios in the BoardWalk Villas now sleep five after their recent refurb.

Also on the refurb topic, we’e noted that the refurb at the Wilderness Lodge is more extensive than we had thought, and that it’s hard for us to recommend it right now–at least until the construction walls in its lobby come down.

The material on the hotels is the weakest part of many Disney World guidebooks.

Frankly, too many of their authors just don’t put the time into staying up to date (and staying in the rooms) that it takes to be accurate.

Our hotel material was the most accurate available even before this update–now it is even better!

Want a copy of your own? It’s available in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon here!

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!

Josh and I published an updated version of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit last week, and as promised, here I’m both going into a little more detail on the update and also introducing the book overall to those who aren’t familiar with it.

This post focuses on Chapter Four: When to Go.

First, on the book itself—my co-author Josh of easyWDW is the world’s leading authority on the Disney World parks and how to maximize the value of your time within them, and I have the same world-beating insight into the Disney World resorts.

We each know a whole lot about a lot of other stuff too—like when to go in particular—and as a result, the Disney World guidebook series we have written has received more than 95% five star reviews. You simply won’t find a better reviewed Disney World guidebook.

The two most critical factors in having a great Disney World visit are having good plans for the parks themselves (covered in Chapter Six) and picking a good time to go. Chapter Four focuses on When to Go.

You can pick when to go based on crowds, prices, weather, special events, ride closures, or–most usually–some combination of these. Chapter Four covers each of these topics, then ends with month-by-month overviews.

The updated version of Chapter Four mostly sharpens the material we already published with updates based on new details that have come out since our late September publication date.

For example, we’ve now taken the Star Wars weekends out, and have the correct dates for the Flower and Garden and Food and Wine Festivals.

We mention the new variable prices for single day tickets, but don’t make a big deal out of this for picking your visit dates because in 2016 multi-day tickets still have the same price all year.  We would not be surprised to see variable pricing on multi-day tickets in 2017.

We put the update to bed too early to include the recently-released dates for the Halloween and Christmas parties, but you can see the dates at the links.

We also missed the recently announced special evening events and the expected morning events at the Magic Kingdom.  At current prices, I doubt these will make their way into the book (we more or less ignore in the book many high-priced opportunities of little general interest, to keep it short and focused on the many), but we’ll see.

I’ll be writing more about these shortly, and will be doing one of the evening events in April so that I can advise on for whom it might be worth the high cost.

Want one of your own? It’s available in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon here!

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!

Josh and I published an updated version of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit last week, and as promised, here I’m both going into a little more detail on the update and also introducing the book overall to those who aren’t familiar with it. This post focuses on the first three chapters of the book.

First, on the book itself—my co-author Josh of easyWDW is the world’s leading authority on the Disney World parks and how to maximize the value of your time within them, and I have the same world-beating insight into the Disney World resorts.

We each know a whole lot about a lot of other stuff too—like when to go and where to eat in particular—and as a result, the Disney World guidebook series we have written has received more than 95% five star reviews. You simply won’t find a better reviewed Disney World guidebook.

Chapter 1 both introduces and summarizes the rest of the book. It is inspired by the home page of this site, and like it, it lets you—if you are willing to be guided—make all the key decisions in planning a Walt Disney Word trip quickly.

The rest of the book gives you much more detail on all the topics covered in Chapter 1, so that first timers can make their own decisions if they wish to, and returning visitors can make nuanced choices based on the “when to go” material, and the resort, ride, and dining reviews in the rest of the book.

The only major change in Chapter 1 was that we have pulled the Wilderness Lodge from our list of recommended resorts, based on the more extensive refurb happening there than we had thought when we originally published.

Chapter 2 covers a topic that surprises some first timers with it importance—how old and tall your kids should be. This is an important issue if you can afford to go only once. If first-timers can return, it matters less. And returning visitors will already have internalized the issues about maturity and height. Changes here were quite minor.

Chapter 3 covers a topic related to that of Chapter 2—how long to stay. Our recommendations in this chapter vary by whether or not you can return, and how old you kids are.

Changes here were also minor—we stopped using Soarin as an example while it is down for refurb, and we updated some observations about the value of longer trips after Disney World’s latest ticket price increase—where the price to add ticket days five to seven went up from around $11/person/day to $16/person/day.

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Josh and I (and our publisher, Theme Park Press) released an updated version of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2016 earlier this week.

Written by the world’s leading experts on the Disney World parks and how to tour them (my co-author Josh) and on the Disney World hotels (me, I’ll stay in my 125th different Disney World-owned hotel room in later April), this is the best reviewed Disney World guidebook on Amazon, ever, with more than 95% of the 200+ reviews of the series being 5 star reviews.

Josh and I take pride in producing the most helpful, easy to use, to the point, accurate and up to date guidebook series ever seen. So we update the current annual edition every few months until the version for the next year is published.

Our latest update includes more than 50 pages of changes. Here’s some of the key changes

In Chapter 6 (“How to Spend Your Tine”), we’ve updated the Epcot touring plans and many other spots in the book to reflect how to approach Epcot with Soarin closed for refurbishment.

In this same chapter we’ve also updated Hollywood Studios to reflect the new and shortly expected changes to the Star Wars offerings there, including the new fireworks.

We also offer in Chapter 6 thoughts on Epcot after the new Frozen offerings open, and the Animal Kingdom after Rivers of Light opens.

We’ve updated almost all the resort hotel floor plans in Chapter 5 (“Where to Stay”), and added special notes about recently completed refurbs at Caribbean Beach, the Beach Club, and the BoardWalk Villas, and the ongoing refurb at the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. We also increased our level of concern about the Wilderness Lodge during its refurb.

In Chapter 7 (“Where to Eat”), among other updates we’ve redone the review of Skipper Canteen at the Magic Kingdom and added reviews of new dining venues including Morimoto Asia and Jock Lindsey’s Hanger Bar.

There’s more on these changes:

• Details on the updates to Chapters One to Three
• Details on the updates to Chapter Four (When to Go)
• Details on the updates to Chapter Five (Where to Stay)
• Details on the Updates to Chapter Six (What to Do in the Parks)

The best-received Disney World guidebook, ever, just got better.

It’s available in paperback and Kindle editions here. The PDF version isn’t updated yet, so I’ve taken down the links to it until I can get it loaded.

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