Mouse Travel Tips

Despite the heat and the crowds, many people travel to Disney parks during the busy peak seasons.  This is especially true for families with school aged children, and for teachers and others in the education profession.  In today’s podcast, we’ll discuss how you can survive a trip during Spring Break, Summer, or the holiday season.

One of the websites we use in our planning to beat the crowds at Disney Parks, no matter what time of year we go is Touring Plans.  This website offers detailed analysis on what the crowd levels will be at the Walt Disney World resort parks throughout the year, based on historical data and statistics.  You can view the next two weeks for free anytime, or you can opt for a paid subscription for access to a years worth of data.

One other fun post is by “Kidani Kate”, author of the blog “The DVC Life“.  In her “Summer Blogtastic” post from Feb. 12, 2010, she gives some great pointers on how to survive the heat and crowds during the busy summer months.  I love her enthusiasm for Disney during summer (especially because the heat just about kills me each time we go – in Spring!), and she does a great writeup on the new Summer Nightastic! special events at Walt Disney World.  Check it out!

Also in this Episode we introduce you to Disney’s Hollywood Studios (information on www.wdwautism.com).  Although this is the smallest of the four Walt Disney World theme parks, it has several major attractions.  In this episode, we chose to highlight my favorite ride:  Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, starring Aerosmith.  Check out www.wdwautism.com for additional information on Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. Zero to Sixty in 2.8 seconds – let’s go!

We also highlight the Villains in Vogue store, for all of you who enjoy a walk on the dark side of Disney characters.  Purchase Fantasmic memorabilia and Villain merchandise at this store on Sunset Boulevard.

In Episode 4 next week, we’ll discuss the Fastpass Reservation System, and we’ll park hop over to Disneyland in California, to profile several Alice in Wonderland themed rides (in honor of the Tim Burton movie opening in the U.S. on March 5).

Hello everyone:

I am planning a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida this coming April, and as a special report,  wanted to share with you some of my planning tips.  This way, you can see the Mouse Travel Tips advice in action!  In this post, I’ll explain how I selected my travel date.

My first step was to think about why I wanted to take a trip to Walt Disney World.  I want to attend the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival, partly for research for this blog and podcast, and partly because I absolutely love the beauty of the festival!  So, I knew it was held in Spring, but which dates?  I did a simple search on Google  “2010 EPCOT Flower and Garden”, to find out that the dates are March 3 – May 16, 2010. 

Next step – finding a weekend that works well for me and my budget.  Airfare is the first thing I searched for, using the online travel agency Travelocity.com.  I picked 2-3 weekends within the festival timeframe, that worked well for my personal schedule (given work responsibilities and meetings, and other family commitments).  I also wanted to get non-stop airfare.  So armed with these parameters, I shopped until I found an airfare that was reasonable – which ended up being the first weekend in April.

Ironically – the first weekend in April is Easter weekend!  YARGH!  The means more peak season crowds than I like, but hey – I have strategies for dealing with that as well.  Plus, I’ll be able to pick up a limited edition Easter holiday trading pin for our collection.

In my next posting, I’ll talk about making Advanced Dining Reservations, and how I plan my days.

Rachel